Daily GK Updates - 22nd May. 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Bhosle to be conferred with Banga Bibhushan : Asha Bhosle will be conferred with the highest civilian award of West Bengal, the Banga Bibhushan, by the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.She has done playback singing for over a thousand Bollywood movies & has sung in over 20 Indian & foreign languages.Bengal government in 2011 instituted Banga Bibhushan award to recognize the services of eminent personalities from their respective fields.

2. First advisory centre for energy regulation : Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur has set up first of its kind Centre for Energy Regulation in the country to strengthen policy and regulatory limitations in energy and power sector.The centre has been set up with the assistance of the UK government.The centre would develop a regulatory database to enable stakeholders in taking more informed decisions.

3. National registry of crimes against women : National Crime Records Bureau is in the process of creating a national registry of crimes against women.The move comes against the backdrop of an around 3% increase in crimes against women and a 12% rise in incidents of rape in 2016 as compared to 2015.Majority of cases categorised as crimes against women were reported under “cruelty by husband or his relatives”.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 100% business ownership to foreign investors : United Arab Emirates Cabinet has approved a plan to allow foreign investors to own 100% of UAE-based businesses by end of 2018.At present, foreigners generally cannot own more than 49 percent of any UAE firm unless it is incorporated in a special “free zone”.The decision is part of a wider change to the system that would grant residency visas of up to 10 years to investors and specialists.

2. Venezuela’s Maduro won presidential vote : Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro won a new six-year term in what is being seen as a controversial vote.Country’s main opposition coalition, Democratic Unity Roundtable, had boycotted the election.The two most popular opposition leaders, Henrique Capriles and Leopoldo Lopez, were barred from running in the vote.Several democratic countries have rejected to recognize the vote.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. BoB launched MSME factory in Gurgaon : Bank of Baroda has launched its first integrated SME Loan Factory in Gurgaon to cater the needs of MSME segment in NCR.It will function as a One Stop Shop’ for MSME customers and will provide end to end solutions viz. acquisition, processing, disbursement & relationship management.BoB has also decided to centralize Government Sponsored Schemes loan processing at the district level.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:

1. Facts about the Nipah virus : According to WHO, the Nipah virus infection is a newly emerging zoonosis, that is, a disease transmitted from animals to humans.The virus belongs to a new genus termed Henipavirus (subfamily Paramyxovirinae).The symptoms of Nipah are similar to that of influenza: fever, muscle pain, and respiratory problems.The Nipah virus has so far lead to 3 deaths in Kerala.

2. Satellite to explore dark side of moon : China has launched a relay satellite “Queqiao” designed to establish a communication link between earth and a planned lunar probe that will explore the dark side of the moon.The launch is a key step for China to realize its goal of being the first country to send a probe to soft-land on & rove the far side of the moon.It will be the world’s 1^st communication satellite operating from moon.

DEFENCE:

1. Artificial Intelligence in defence forces : India has decided to include Artificial Intelligence in its defence forces with an aim to enhance the operational preparedness of the armed forces.A task force has been set up under the chairmanship of N. Chandrasekaran to finalise the specifics & framework of the project.Major countries like Russia, US & China are taking steps to ensure that their defence systems are fully empowered by AI.

2. India test-fired BrahMos supersonic cruise : India has successfully test-fired the Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from a test range along the Odisha coast.Trial was conducted to validate its “life extension” technologies developed for the first time in India by DRDO and team BrahMos.The successful test will result in huge savings of replacement cost of missiles held in the inventory of the Armed Forces.

SPORTS:

1. 1st international football tournament in Iraq : Iraq will host a West Asia Football Federation championship in Basra in November 2018, the first international tournament to be staged in the country since the 1990s.Iraq has not played competitive internationals on home turf since its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.In March 2018, FIFA decided to lift a 30-year-old ban from Iraq on hosting the international football.

2. Pawan Singh named RTS Jury chief : India’s former shooter & national coach Pawan Singh has been appointed as the Chairman of Result Timing Score Jury by the International Shooting Sports Federation for the ISSF World Cup in Munich.With this appointment, Singh became the first Indian to chair the RTS Jury at a senior World Cup.He would be responsible to resolve any score related issue and provide an accurate result on time.

3. Messi won European Golden Shoe : Barcelona striker Lionel Messi has won his 5^th European Golden Shoe after his team defeated Real Sociedad in their final La Liga match of the season.Messi won the award with 34 goals, for a total of 68 points during the 2017-18 season.Messi is the only player to have won the European Golden Shoe 5 times.4-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo finished 9^th after scoring 26 goals for Real Madrid.

4. Nadal won 8th Rome Masters 2018 : Rafael Nadal won the Rome Masters for the 8^th time after he defeated the defending champion Alexander Zverev 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 in the finals.The win is Nadal’s 78th ATP Tour title and takes him clear of John McEnroe into 4^th place in the list of most men’s titles won in the Open era.The victory means Nadal will reclaim the Number 1 ranking from Federer.