Daily GK Updates - 15th July, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. T.C.A. Raghavan appointed as DG of ICWA : Dr. TCA Raghavan was appointed as the Director General (DG) of the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA).He had served as India’s High Commissioner to Islamabad (Pakistan) and Singapore and has served in missions at London, Thimphu and Kuwait.ICWA was established as a non-official, non-political and non-profit organization under the Registration of Societies Act 1860.

2. Army, FTII to provide acting courses in J&K : Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) has joined hands with the Indian Army to provide acting courses for the youth of J&K.Renowned actor Gufi Paintal was invited as a special guest faculty to mentor the youth for the course.The youth trained by the Army in theatre and art earlier this year also witnessed the creative rendition of the budding artists.

3. Odisha Govt constitutes Heritage Cabinet : The Odisha Government constituted Heritage Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to preserve the history and culture of Odisha.The Cabinet comprises eight members, including the Chief Minister.While the Chief Secretary will be Secretary of Heritage Cabinet, Secretary in the Department of Odia Language, Literature and Culture will be the convenor.

4. Assam’s first transgender judge Swati Baruah : The court in Guwahati has got the first transgender judge of Assam.Swati Bidhan Baruah has been appointed as a judge to mediate cases in Lok Adalat.She is the third transgender judge in the country and will mediate in pre-litigation cases related to finance companies.Joyita Mondal of West Bengal is India’s first transgender judge.

5. Haryana Governor gets additional charge : Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki has been given the additional charge of Himachal Pradesh by President Ram Nath Kovind.Solanki would discharge the functions of the Governor of Himachal Pradesh, during the absence of Himachal Governor Acharya Devvrat.Solanki has previously served two terms as a member of the Rajya Sabha and has been a member of various Parliamentary committees.

6. “I Am Not Afraid Of English” campaign : The Haryana Education Department has launched ”I am not afraid of English” initiative to promote English language right from Class 1 in the state’s primary schools.The initiative is aimed at capacity building of teachers to enable them to help the students to learn, read, write and speak English.To start with, a booklet containing 1,000 sentences/phrases has been prepared

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. NASA Juno spots volcano on Jupiter moon Io : Scientists have discovered a volcano close to the south pole of Jupiter’s moon Io, using data collected by NASA’s Juno spacecraft.The infrared data were collected in December 2018, when Juno was about 470,000 kilometres away from the moon, using its Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument.Juno was launched on August 5, 2011, from the US.

2. New Vice-Chair of WCO : India to be VC of WCO’s Asia Pacific regionIndia has become the Vice-Chair of the Asia Pacific Region of World Customs Organisation (WCO) for a period of two years, from July 2018 to June 2020.A ceremony will be organized in New Delhi on 16 June. The Theme of the Inaugural Ceremony is “Customs – Fostering Trade Facilitation”.WCO represents 182 Customs administrations across the globe that process approx 98% of world trade.

3. University of Houston signs MoU with IIPE : The University of Houston has signed a MoU with the Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE) to build scientific and technical knowledge through joint research.It covers key areas of possible collaboration in faculty exchanges, offshore and onshore petroleum engineering and process control systems.The MoU also covers possible student exchanges for short-term visits and learning.

4. World’s cheapest clean drinking water : With the launch of the cost-effective innovative water project, Bihar will soon provide the cheapest drinking water in the world.The first of such project was launched in Bihar’s Darbhanga district, by Sulabh International.With the help of this project, people will be able to get clean water in 50paisa/litre.The project converts contaminated pond & river water into safe drinking water.

5. South Africa launches powerful new telescope : South Africa has unveiled the 64-dish MeerKAT radio telescope, slated to be the world’s largest and most powerful telescope on its completion in 2030.Built for $330 million, MeerKAT will be integrated into an array of 3,000 dishes.The telescope is being built by an international consortium, including Australia, Britain, Canada, China, India, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden and the Netherlands.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. Malhotra to head Investment Banking of HSBC : The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) has appointed Amitabh Malhotra as the Head of Investment Banking for HSBC India.Amitabh will lead the Investment Banking and Equity Capital Markets business.Prior to HSBC, Amitabh worked at Rothschild India, where he was the co-head and managing director of the Global Investment Bank, based in Mumbai.

SPORTS:

1. Men’s hockey team to be a part of TOPS : The Mission Olympic Cell of Union Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs has included Men’s Hockey team under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).The 18 team members will be provided with a monthly allowance of Rs. 50,000 each.TOPS was launched in 2015 by Ministry of Sports with National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) with the aim supporting potential medal prospects for Olympics.

2. Mike & Jack win 2018 Wimbledon men’s double : Mike Bryan teamed with US compatriot Jack Sock to beat Raven Klaasen of South Africa and New Zealand’s Michael Venus in the final of Wimbledon 2018.Bryan is the oldest man in the Open Era to win the Wimbledon title and it is his 17th Grand Slam title.Bryan had also won the doubles title in 2006, 2011 and 2013 alongside brother Bob.

3. FIFA-France crowned world champion : Twenty years after France won the first World Cup in its country's history, a youthful Les Bleus side beat Croatia 4-2 in Moscow to win football's most prestigious prize for the second time. A Mario Mandzukic's own goal and a controversial Antoine Griezmann penalty either side of Ivan Perisic's wonderful long-range strike gave France a 2-1 lead at the break.