Daily GK Updates - 8th May, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. New norms for labeling food planned : Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has released new draft regulations on food packaging.All packaged food with at least 5% content from genetically engineered sources need to be labeled so.Foods that exceed norms of sugar and fat will need to carry ‘red’ and ‘green’ labels specifying the extent to which they do so.

2. Government to expand Van Dhan Vikas Kendras : Tribal Affairs Ministry will expand Van Dhan Vikas Kendras in Tribal Districts across the country.The aim of the establishment of these Kendras is to provide skill upgradation and capacity building training to increase the incomes of tribals.Van Dhan Vikas Kendra was launched at Bijapur, Chattisgarh on 14th April 2018 for training, providing equipment and tools for primary level processing.

3. India funds flood, earthquake warning systems : India has launched a flood & earthquake early warning systems in Myanmar aimed at helping the country mitigate the effects of natural calamities that affects people every year.Under the Flood Warning System, 12 automatic water level stations and 3 automatic weather stations have been established.Under the Earthquake Monitoring System, 10 telemetered seismic stations have been added.

4. Sensitization Meeting of Stakeholders held :The ‘first sensitization meeting of stakeholders to make Delhi a model Accessible city’ was held in the national capital on May 7.The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities took this initiative to coordinate the meeting of all key stakeholders, sensitize them about the legal mandates.Delhi being the capital city of the country is proposed to be selected for this drive.

5. Pradeep Kumar Sinha got one year extension : Cabinet secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha has got another one-year extension as the country’s top bureaucrat.Cabinet Secretary is the administrative head of the cabinet secretariat & is also the ex-officio chairman of the civil services board.The cabinet secretariat is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister.The cabinet secretariat assists in decision-making in the government.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India, Guatemala signs various agreements : India and Guatemala agreed to work together to combat terrorism.A Memorandum of Understanding was signed on enhancing cooperation in diplomatic academics.A Letter of Intent (LoI) of providing training for the English language to Guatemalan teachers was also signed under the ITEC (Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation) programme.

2. SCO Secretary-General arrived in India : Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Secretary General Rashid Alimov has arrived in India to hold talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj & other Union ministers.India became a full member of SCO in 2017, at the summit held in Astana, Kazakhstan.SCO is an intergovernmental international organisation aimed at strengthening mutual trust & neighbourliness among the member states.

3. Asia Media Summit to be hosted by India : The 15th Asia Media Summit (AMS) 2018 is being hosted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India from 10th-12th May​ 2018 in New Delhi.The AMS 2018, an annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) Kuala Lumpur, is a prestigious summit in the Asia Pacific Region.The theme of the summit is “Telling Our Stories – Asia and More”.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. BSE to launch commodity derivatives trading : Bombay Stock Exchange has decided to launch trading in the commodity derivatives segment from October 1.BSE will begin commodity derivatives with non-agriculture commodities like metals, energy and base metals.A derivative is a contract between two parties which derives its value/price from an underlying asset.The most common types of derivatives are futures, options, forwards and swaps.

DEFENCE:

1. US and Philippines began military exercises : US and Philippine forces have begun their largest annual military exercises named Balikatan on 7th May.The Balikatan exercises involved combat drills in mock urban settings to train special forces in battling terrorists.In 2017, Balikatan focused mainly on honing humanitarian responses to the Philippines’ frequent natural disasters.