Daily GK Updates - 22nd January, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.  The ‘Halwa ceremony’ begins: The printing of union budget documents 2018-19 started with the traditional annual Halwa ceremony. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley performed the symbolic Halwa ceremony along with Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla and other senior officials at North Block in New Delhi. The Halwa ceremony will stay in Budget printing press until the Budget is presented in Parliament.1st of Feb 2018, Mr. Jaitley will present the Union Budget in Parliament.

2.Om Prakash Rawat appointed new Chief Election Commissioner: Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat (1977-batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre) has been appointed the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).He succeeds the incumbent CEC, A K Joti (retires today).Former Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa has been also appointed as Election Commissioner to fill the vacancy created by Mr. Rawat’selevation.In August 2004, Mr. Rawat was appointed the principal secretary to then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Babu Lal Gaur and remained in office till January 2006.

3. 63rd Jio Filmfare Awards 2018: The best of Bollywood in the year 2017 at 63rd Jio Filmfare Awards 2018, held at the NSCI Dome in Worli, Mumbai(Maharastra)'Hindi Medium' bagged honors in the categories of Best Film and Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male) for Irrfan Khan's impeccable performance.Vidya Balan won her career's sixth Filmfare award for her passionate portrayal of a middle-aged homemaker who turns into a radio jockey in 'Tumhari Sulu' as she claimed the Black Lady for the Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female).

                                               INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Eight-edition of International Conference on Wild Silk Moths begins in Assam: the three-day International Conference (eight-edition) on Wild Silk Moths has begun in Guwahati, Assam.Scientists, delegates from 15 countries have come together to discuss strategies and share knowledge on improving wild silk production and quality globally.India is holding the event for the second time with an aim to explore latest research and development.

2. Fourth India International Science Festival to be held in Lucknow: The fourth edition of the India International Science Festival will be held in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.The decision was taken at the first preparatory meeting for the 4th India International Science Festival (IISF) chaired by the Union Minister for Science & Technology, Dr. Harsh Vardhan. In December, 2015, The first IISF was held at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) New Delhi.

3. First missile attack drill held by Tokyo since WW-II:Tokyo held an evacuation drill simulating a missile attack since World War II.The drill comes amid tensions over North Korea’s missile programme which had threatened to sink the country and turn it into ashes.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Richest 1% held 73% wealth generated in 2017 in India- Survey :The survey released by the International rights group Oxfam has revealed that the richest 1% in India held 73% of the wealth generated in 2017 in India.The survey also showed that 67 crore people constituting India’s poorer half increased their wealth by 1% last year . 

SPORTS:

1. Soloman Deksisa wins 15th edition of Mumbai Marathon: Solomon Deksisa (Ethiopia) has won the Mumbai Marathon (15th edition) with a time of two hours, nine minutes and 33 seconds, prize money worth USD 4 lakhs 5,000. Another Ethiopian, Shumit Akalnaw became the first runner-up, while Joshua Kipkorir (Kenya) came second.Indian Olympic athletes, T Gopi has won in the Indian Elite category, Nitender Singh Rawat came second.Sudha Singh (Central Railways) has won the Mumbai Marathon in the Indian Elite Women category.It is the largest mass participation (44,407 runners) sports event in the continent.