Daily GK Updates - 13th February, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. 4th Meeting of Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister held in New Delhi: The 4th meeting of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) was held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Dr. Bibek Debroy, Chairman, EAC-PM & Member, NITI Aayog. During the meeting, EAC-PM discussed the possible modalities of implementing National Health Scheme announced by the government in Union Budget-2018-19. Besides, presentations were also made on Health Reforms, World Bank Report on Indian Economy and on Indian Fiscal – Monetary Framework. National Health Protection Scheme (Ayushman Bharat Scheme) will cover 10 crore poor and vulnerable families.

2. 12th International Conference on CSR Held in Bengaluru: The Institute Of Directors organised it’s 12th International Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility in Bengaluru, Karnataka. In the conference, the Prestigious Golden Peacock Award 2017 were presented. The leadership award for philanthropy and social change was presented to Mr. Vineet Nayar, Founder Chairman, Sampark Foundation.

3. R.K. Singh Inaugurates International Conference ‘Indian Power Stations 2018’ in New Delhi: Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New and Renewable Energy, Shri R.K. Singh inaugurated the ‘Indian Power Stations 2018’ in New Delhi. It is the three-day International Conference on Operations and Maintenance. The Minister exhorted the NTPC to become India’s power sector multinational by setting up power plants in other Nations and become world’s largest power producer.

4. India posts marginal increase in forest cover: India posted a marginal 0.21% rise in the area under forest between 2015 and 2017, according to the biennial India State of Forest Report 2017. The document says that India has about 7,08,273 square km of forest, which is 21.53% of the geographic area of the country. Getting India to have at least 33% of its area under forest has been a long standing goal of the government since 1988.

5. Chandrashekhar Kambar to head Sahitya Akademi: Kannada litterateur Chandrashekar Kambar has been elected as president of the Sahitya Akademi in the election held for the post. Hindi poet Madhav Koushik has been elected as vice-president. Prof. Kambar is the third Kannada writer to head the country’s premier literary institution, after Vinayak Krishna Gokak (1983) and U.R. Ananthamurthy (1993).

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. World Radio Day observed on 13 February: World Radio Day is observed annually on 13 February. The theme for WRD 2018 is “Radio and Sports“. The Day is organised globally by the UNESCO.

2. Pakistan to get its first Hindu woman MP: The Pakistan Peoples Party’s Krishna Kumari is poised to become the country’s first woman Hindu lawmaker next month, after the party nominated her for the upcoming Senate elections.

3. World’s first Autonomous Pods unveiled in Dubai: Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority launched the first tests of the world’s first autonomous pods at the World Government Summit. The pods are launched in cooperation with Next Future Transportation and are designed to travel short and medium distances in dedicated lanes. They can be coupled together in as little 15 seconds or detached depending on the riders’ destination in five seconds.

OTHER UPDATES

BANKING/ FINANCE:

1. Cryptocurrency regulation is inevitable-IMF: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde has stated that regulatory action on cryptocurrencies is “inevitable”. “It’s clearly a domain where we need international regulation and proper supervision,” she said.

2. BoB to exit South Africa after controversies: Bank of Baroda will reportedly exit the South African market amid allegations that politically connected Gupta family used its network for illicit transactions. Authorities alleged that the Gupta family used the bank to transfer large sums of illegal money and influence President Jacob Zuma.

BUSINESS/ ECONOMY:

1. 4% Growth in Foreign Tourist Arrivals in One Year: Ministry of Tourism compiles monthly estimates of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) & FTAs on e- Tourist Visa on the basis of Nationality-wise, Port-wise data received from Bureau of Immigration (BOI). The growth rate in FTAs in January 2018 over January 2017 was 8.4%. During the month of January 2018, a total of 2.40 lakh foreign tourists arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 1.52 lakh during the month of January 2017 registering a growth of 58.5%. The percentage share of top 3 source countries availing e- Tourist Visa facilities are- UK (18.6%), USA (10.6%), Russian Fed (6.5%). The percentage share of top 3 ports in foreign tourist arrivals on e-Tourist Visa are- New Delhi Airport (37.3%), Mumbai Airport (19.6%) and Dabolim (Goa) Airport (12.4%).

SPORTS:

1. Kishan Gangolli Wins 13th Edition of National Chess Championship for Blind: Defending champion Karnataka’s Kishan Gangolli won the 13th edition of the National ‘A’ Chess Championship for the blind in Mumbai. The championship was organised by All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB). Gangolli became the champion for the fifth consecutive time with 10.5 points. Gujarat’s Ashvin Makwana stood second with 9.5 points.