Daily GK Updates - 4th April, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. IIM Ahmedabad, IISc Bengaluru, JNU among top 10 universities according to NIRF: The Indian Institute of Science is India’s top university followed by Jawaharlal Nehru University and Banaras Hindu University, declared the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). The NIRF which works under the Ministry of Human Resource Development released the list of top 10 universities in the country. All the top three universities retained their previous year rank.

2. India’s first blockchain implemented: The platforms—RXIL, A.TReDS and M1xchange—approved by the RBI had been set up to bring together buyers, sellers and financiers for discounting the MSME invoices and provide them with timely funding. This is billed as India’s first live blockchain implementation in the enterprise financial segment. US-based MonetaGo has designed and implemented the production solution.

3. Indian scientist Shyam Salim gets global recognition: Shyam S Salim, Principal Scientist at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), has been elected as an executive member of the ‘International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade’ (IIFET) based in the USA. Shyam is an expert in fisheries economics at CMFRI. IIFET is the forum for the exchange of research, information, and ideas on the economics of fisheries management.

4. “Satyagraha Se Swachhagraha” launched: The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MoDWS) launched “Satyagraha Se Swachhagraha” campaign in New Delhi. It is a nationwide campaign and will culminate on 10th of this month marking the 100th year of Champaran Satyagraha. The campaign commemorates Champaran Satyagraha to spread the message of Swachhata across the country.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. International Mines Awareness Day observed: International Day for Mines Awareness is observed to spread the awareness about the threat caused by landmines to the safety, health and lives of civilian populations. The theme for 2018 is “Advancing Protection, Peace and Development”. On 8 December 2005, the UN declared that 4 April of each year shall be observed as the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.

OTHER UPDATES

SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY:

1. Icarus, the farthest star ever seen: Scientists have detected the most distant star, Icarus, ever viewed, located more than halfway across the universe. The star was formally named MACS J1149+2223 Lensed Star-1. Scientists used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to spot the star. The star is 9.3 billion lights years away from Earth and it is about twice as hot as our sun.

BUSINESS / ECONOMY:

1. Jio Payments Bank began operations: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that Jio Payments Bank has commenced its banking services. Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) was one of the 11 applicants which were issued the in-principle approval for setting up a payments bank in August 2015. Telecom major Bharti Airtel was the first to begin payment bank services in November 2016.

2. MoU between Indian Army and HDFC Bank: A Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) was signed between the Indian Army and HDFC Bank on the Defence Salary Package. The first MoU between HDFC Bank and the Indian Army was signed in 2011 and was renewed on 13 Mar 2015. Indian Army has MoUs on Defence Salary Package with 11 public and private sector banks.

SPORTS:

1. 21st edition of Commonwealth Games inaugurated in Australia: The 21st edition of the Commonwealth Games commenced in Gold Coast, Australia. The inaugural ceremony was held at the Carrara Stadium, Gold Coast. For the first time, there will be the same number of men’s and women’s medal events at the Games. The Indian contingent at the ceremony, which consists of over 200 athletes, was led by flag-bearer P V Sindhu, the Rio Olympic silver medallist.

2. India’s Selena, Shreya clinched bronze in TT: India’s Selena Selvakumar and Shreya Shivakumar clinched two bronze medals at the 2018 Ivory Coast Junior and Cadet Open Table Tennis Tournament in Abidjan, Africa. Selena settled for the bronze in the junior girls’ singles. Shreya teamed up with China’s Yininghua Hu got a medal in the junior girls’ doubles category of the event which is part of the International Table Tennis Federation.