Daily GK Updates - 31st March, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. India’s first female doctor’s birthday celebrated with a Google Doodle: Google celebrated the 153rd birth anniversary of Anandi Gopal Joshi, India’s first female doctor on 31st March with a doodle dedicated to her. Anandi Joshi was born on this day in Maharashtra in 1865. There is a crater on Venus named after her.

2. NMR to run to meet the demand: The unique Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) in Tamil Nadu, which has been conferred Heritage status by UNESCO, will run special train services from today till 24th June this year to cater to popular demand during summer holidays. The Southern Railway has informed that the special services will be provided on Saturdays and Sundays during the period.

3. Long term capital gains tax and other taxes to begin from April 1: Several budget proposals, including the reintroduction of the tax on long-term capital gains (LTCG) exceeding Rs. 1 lakh from the sale of shares, will come into effect from April 1. The 2018-19 Budget had reintroduced 10% tax on long-term capital gains. Tax proposals like the reduced corporate tax of 25% on businesses on turnover of up to Rs. 250 crore will come into effect.

4. Chandra Bhushan appointed as the Deputy Election Commissioner: Chandra Bhushan Kumar has been appointed as Deputy Election Commissioner. Bhushan is a 1995 batch IAS officer of union territories cadre. He has been appointed to the post for five years, an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

5. Vineet Joshi appointed as DG of National Testing Agency: Vineet Joshi was appointed the first Director-General of the National Testing Agency (NTA) on 30th March. NTA is an independent body dedicated to conducting entrance tests for higher education in India. NTA, which was approved by the Union cabinet last October, will conduct entrance tests entrusted to it by any department or ministry.

6. ‘Pucca House’ for all in MP by 2022: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan a state-wide campaign will be launched from April 1-14 for registration of unorganized labourers. Also, Pucca houses will be constructed for all laborers registered under Chief Minister’s Unorganized Labourer Welfare Scheme by the year 2022. 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. 9th India-Japan Strategic Dialogue in Tokyo: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended the 9th India-Japan Strategic Dialogue in Tokyo. Japanese FDI in India during 2016-17 was USD 4.7 billion, an increase of 80% over the last year. India’s import from Japan for 2016-17 was USD 9.76 billion. India and Japan concluded a Special Strategic and Global Partnership during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Japan in 2014.

2. China launches a pair of Beidou satellites: China successfully sent pair of twin Beidou-3MEO satellites – Beidou-30 and Beidou-31 –into space as part of its third and final stage of launching its domestic Beidou (Compass) satellite navigation system. They were launched on board Long March-3B carrier rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in south-west China's Sichuan Province. It was a 269th mission for the Long March rocket family.  

OTHER UPDATES

SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY:

1. SpaceX confirms the successful launch of 10 satellites: SpaceX has confirmed successful deployment of all 10 communications satellites to low-Earth orbit. The Iridium-NEXT satellites were launched for satellite operator Iridium Communications. The Iridium-5 NEXT Mission marked the fifth set of 10 satellites that SpaceX has launched for its customer’s Iridium NEXT global satellite constellation.

BUSINESS / ECONOMY:

1. International Yachting Festival begins in Vishakhapatnam: International Yachting Festival was inaugurated in Andhra Pradesh on 29th March. The festival is being conducted by Andhra Pradesh Government and is being held from March 29 to April 1. The Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) is facilitating necessary support for conducting the festival.

2. Logistics startup, Rivigo, to tie up with IDFC & YES Bank: Rivigo is tying up with YES Bank, IDFC and 10 other financial institutions to make cheaper funds available to truck owners and operators on its platform. The funds will be available at an interest rate of 1-2% per month, lower than the usual industry standard of 2-3%. Rivigo is a homegrown logistics start-up that owns as well as acts as an aggregator of trucks.