Daily GK Updates - 7th March, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. Neiphiu Rio to be the new CM of Nagaland: Senior NDPP leader Neiphiu Rio was selected as the new Chief Minister of Nagaland by Governor P B Acharya. The governor said he had received letters of support in Rio’s favour from 12 legislators of the BJP, one letter from the JD(U) and another from an Independent MLA, besides the 18 legislatures of the NDPP. The new ministry will be sworn in on March 8.

2. Sukhad Yatra App to be launched, toll free number 1033: Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari will launch a mobile App and Toll-free number. Sukhad Yatra mobile application has been prepared by NHAI, to empower the Highway user. A toll-free number, 1033, will enable users to report an emergency condition, or highway-related feedback, across the highway.

3. NITI Aayog to launch WEP on Women’s Day: NITI Aayog will launch its Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) on 8th March, on the occasion of the International Women’s Day. Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) would provide a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem where women do not face any gender-based barriers. The theme of this year’s campaign is ‘Women and Entrepreneurship’ which will be launched in partnership with United Nations.

4. Kollam to be first district to bring all food companies under FSSA: Kollam will become the first district in India to bring all food business operators under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA). Bakeries, auditoriums, hospitals, schools, charity organizations, public distribution chains, hostels have been included. Factories operating in the cashew sector and ice plants in the fishing sector have been put through the licencse process.

5. AWBI headquarters moves from TN to Haryana: The headquarters of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has been shifted from Chennai to Haryana’s Ballabhgarh for “better coordination” between the environment ministry and the board. AWBI consists of 22 members even though the total number should be 28 as per the PCA Act.

The new office will be at the eight-acre National Institute of Animal Welfare (NIAW) campus in the Delhi.

6. ONGC Videsh, Iran’s IDRO Oil sign agreement for co-operation: ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of government-owned ONGC, has signed a cooperation agreement with Iran’s IDRO Oil. The agreement will enable joint bidding for a $900 million development plan of Susangerd oilfield in southwest Iran. The Susangerd field, discovered in 2009, is estimated to hold more than 5 billion barrels of in-place reserves.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. EBRD approves the membership of India: India is all set to become the 69th member of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) after shareholders of the international financial institution gave their nod to the country’s candidature.  The formal membership process will now get underway, which includes the purchase of shares by India at an estimated cost of around 1 million euros. The EBRD’s Board of Governors, which represents all the existing shareholders of the UK-based bank, voted in favor of India’s membership application.

2. Jeff Bezos first in the World, Mukesh Ambani tops in India: With a fortune worth $110 billion, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is the world's richest man and tops a 2018 Forbes Magazine list of billionaires. According to the Forbes, Bezos is the first person to top $100 billion as number one on the Forbes list of the World's Billionaires. Microsoft founder Bill Gates is second ($90 billion), investment guru Warren Buffet third ($84 billion), Bernard Arnault and family fourth ($72 billion), and Facebook founder-CEO Mark Zuckerberg fifth ($71 billion). Indian industry titan Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries Limited, is 19th on the list. He is valued at $40.1 billion.

3. Iraq becomes the largest oil supplier to India: Iraq has overtaken Saudi Arabia by a wide margin to become India’s top crude oil supplier. Iran was India’s second biggest supplier of crude oil after Saudi Arabia till 2010-11 but western sanctions relegated it to the 7th spot in the subsequent years. Venezuela is India’s fourth largest supplier with 15.5 MT during April-January, followed by Nigeria with 14.9 MT.

4. Saposhi threat looms over cyberspace: The cybersecurity agencies have detected a new malware called Saposhi, which is capable of taking over electronic devices and turning them into bots. Bots can be then used for any purpose, including a Distributed Denial Of Service attack which can cripple entire industries. Depending on the size of the botnet, malware can execute multiple DDOS attacks at the same time.

OTHER UPDATES

SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY:

1. Increase in shelf life of the food produce: Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) & Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in particular is engaged in extensive research on the use of radiation processing for extending shelf life of food products. Irradiation is very effective in treating agricultural produce to enhance its shelf life. Application of nuclear techniques has helped in increasing productivity and production in agriculture.

BUSINESS / ECONOMY:

1. Paytm’s CEO is the youngest billionaire: Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma (39) is the youngest Indian billionaire. Sharma founded fast-rising mobile wallet Paytm in 2011. He has also created Paytm Mall, an e-commerce business and Paytm Payments Bank. Sharma is ranked 1,394th on the list with a fortune of $1.7 billion, is the only Indian billionaire in the under-40 league.

2. Jeff Bezos is now the Richest Person: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has become the first person to amass a fortune surpassing $100 billion and richest man on earth. Mukesh Ambani, the energy and petrochemicals magnate, is the richest Indian. The world now holds more than 2,200 billionaires with a combined fortune of $9.1 trillion.

3. Microsoft finalizes its first renewable energy deal: Tech giant Microsoft has inked its first renewable energy deal in India for powering its new facility in Bengaluru. The agreement will see Microsoft purchase 3 megawatts of solar-powered electricity from Atria Power for its new office building in Bengaluru. The project will bring Microsoft’s total global direct procurement in renewable energy projects to nearly 900 megawatts.