Daily GK Updates - 13th April, 2018

                 NATIONAL UPDATES

1. 5,000MW solar park to come up in Dholera: Gujarat Government approved setting up a 5000 MW capacity solar park at the Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR), which would be the largest such entity in the world after its completion. The solar power generation project would be set up in 11,000 hectares of land. The project will contribute significantly in achieving the target of producing 175 gigawatts of electricity by 2022.

2. Jayant Sinha to head task force for UAV tech :The Government has formed a task force under the Chairmanship of MoS Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha for fast-tracking the roll-out of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle technology. The Task Force will focus on R&D, acquisition and commercialisation, regulatory framework and preference for Make in India. The task force will submit its report within 6 months of its constitution.

3. NBCC ties up with Skill Development Institute NBCC (India) Ltd: under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs signed MoU with the Skill Development Institute Bhubaneswar, for the construction of the institute. This will facilitate empowering the youth in Odisha with relevant skill sets and train them in various disciplines. NBCC has pledged to impart training to 40,000 workers (including both onsite and offsite) in the next five years.

4. Bhanu Sharma appointed Banks Board Bureau’s Chairman: The government appointed Bhanu Pratap Sharma as the new Chairman of Banks Board Bureau, which primarily recommends senior executive appointments in state-run banks. Sharma will replace former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai, whose term ended on March 31. Notably, Sharma is the former Secretary of Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. World’s first long-distance electric bus line : The world’s first long-distance electric bus line was inaugurated in Paris on 12th April.The bus will cover the 160 kilometres between Paris and Amiens in northern France in just over 2 hours.The bus can travel as far as 250 kilometres on one 5-hour battery charge. It emits no pollutants at all and creates less noise than conventional buses

2. AIIB decides to invest in India: The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a $140 million loan for enhancing rural connectivity in Madhya Pradesh. The project, co-financed with the World Bank, aims to improve the rural road connectivity and management for residents of about 5,640 villages.The project will benefit around 1.5 million rural residents through improved livelihood, education and mobility.

OTHER UPDATES

SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY:

1. 2nd magnetic field created by Earth found: The European Space Agency has created the most detailed map ever of the elusive oceanic magnetism generated by Earth’s lithosphere. While Earth’s magnetic field is majorly generated within the outer core, a small fraction comes from magnetised rocks in the crust and the upper mantle. This lithospheric magnetic field is 20,000 times weaker than global magnetic field at satellite altitude.

BUSINESS / ECONOMY:

1. Startups with up to ₹10 cr to get concession: The government has allowed startups to avail tax concession if total investment including funding from angel investors does not exceed ₹10 crore. Several startups and investors had raised concerns over the ‘angel tax’ saying it could discourage investments. The tax was levied on capital raised by startups in excess of the fair market value of their shares.

SPORTS:

1. Discus thrower Seema Punia won silver medal: India’s Seema Punia bagged her fourth successive medal at the Commonwealth Games by winning silver in women’s discus throw final with a throw of 60.41m in Gold Coast.The 34-year-old has now won three silver medals (2006, 2014 and 2018) and one bronze (2010) at the Games.Another Indian athlete Navjeet Dhillon won bronze in the same event.

2. Sushil Kumar won his 3rd straight CWG gold: Indian wrestler and Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar bagged his third straight Commonwealth Games gold medal after winning the men’s Freestyle 74 kg event.The 34-year-old wrestler won the final 10-0, having dominated all previous opponents with scorelines of 11-0, 10-0, and 4-0.Sushil has a silver and a bronze in Olympics and was crowned world champion in 2010.

3. Rahul wins India’s first wrestling gold at CWG: Rahul Aware bagged India’s first wrestling gold medal at the Commonwealth Games 2018.He beat Canada’s Steven Takahashi in the final of men’s Freestyle 57 kg event.Before the final, the 26-year-old had claimed two dominating victories with the scorelines 11-0 and 10-0, while he defeated Pakistan’s Muhammad Bilal 12-8 in the semi-final.