Daily GK Updates - 19th April, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Petrol pumps to be closed on Sundays: Beginning 14 May, petrol pumps in eight states will be closed on Sundays.Nearly 20,000 outlets in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Haryana would be shut for 24 hours on Sundays, starting 14 May.The decision was made in view of the Prime Minister’s call during his recent “mann ki baat” programme to conserve oil to save the environment

2. Sri Lanka to offer India port development: Sri Lanka is now set to allow India to jointly develop the Trincomalee port in northeastern part of the country.Sri Lanka has readied an MoU for joint development of the project and that it’s likely to be signed during PM Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Colombo.Sri Lanka, however, has backed China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative about which India has serious reservations.

3. WB Govt brings Social Security Yojana:West Bengal Government has introduced the Social Security Yojana by converging five separate beneficiary schemes for workers in the unorganised sectors and for self-employed people.Around 5 crore people will benefit from the Yojana, with around 1 crore getting direct benefits.The State Government has started another scheme – State Nutrition Mission.

4.New Film Institute in Itanagar: Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu announced that a Film Institute will be set up in Itanagar.Mr Naidu said that the institute will start functioning from a temporary campus with an introduction of 10 week short term course from 15th of May this year.An investment of 200 crore rupees will be made for the institute for the students of North East region.

5. UP airport to be named after Gorakhnath: UP state cabinet has decided to name an upcoming airport terminal at Gorakhpur Air Force station after Mahayogi Gorakhnath.Mahayogi Gorakhnath is known as the founder of the Nath monastic movement.Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is the head priest of the Gorakhnath Math.He is also a five-time MP from Gorakhpur.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.China Names places in Arunachal Pradesh: China has announced its own names for six places in Arunachal Pradesh.China claims the state as ‘South Tibet’, while India says Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India and is inseparable from the country.The names announced by China are Wo’gyainling, Mila Ri, Qoid ngarbo Ri, Mainquka, B mo La and Namkapub Ri.

2. UK parliament votes on snap election: Britain’s parliament is to vote on holding a snap election in June.Prime Minister Theresa May is seeking to make strong gains against the opposition ahead of gruelling Brexit negotiations.An early election would therefore be the fourth big vote in four years after the general election of 2015.

3.UN to issue stamps for Yoga Day: United Nations will issue special stamps commemorating the International Yoga Day on June 21 this year.UN Postal Administration will issue the new special event sheet to commemorate Yoga Day that has been marked annually since 2015.The special sheet consists of stamps with images of the sacred Indian sound “Om” and various yogic postures.

4. India, Russia to hold combat exercise: In the first such tri-Service wargames, India will hold a major combat exercise with Russia this year.The Indra exercise, to be held in Russia, will include assets and manpower from the Army, Navy and IAF.

This is the first time India will deploy the three services together for an exercise with a country.Moscow Conference on International Security will be held on April 25-26.

5.World Liver Day being observed today:The World Liver day is observed on the 19th April every year to spread awareness about the second largest organ ‘liver’ in the body.This year, the theme of World Liver Day 2018 is 'Riding New Waves in Liver Diagnosis, Staging & Treatment'.Liver diseases can be caused by hepatitis A, B, C, alcohol, and drugs.According to WHO (World Health Organization), liver diseases are the 10th most common cause of death in India.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Goldman Sachs for Flipkart merger talks: Bengaluru-based ecommerce marketplace Flipkart has appointed Goldman Sachs as an advisor for the “proposed acquisition” of rival Snapdeal.Last week, Flipkart had announced its acquisition of eBay.in as part of a $1.4 billion fundraising round.Snapdeal has raised about $1.65 billion from about two dozen investors, including SoftBank and SoftBank-backed Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba.