Daily GK Updates - 21st July, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Odisha to host mega triennial in Dec-Jan : Odisha will host to what is billed as India’s first private sector triennial in December-January that will see theconvergence of artists from the national and international scene.Named the Odisha Triennial of International Art , the events under it will take place in Bhubaneshwar, Puri and Konark.OTIA is the brainchild of Artists Network for Promoting Indian Culture.

2. New cell to resolve child custody disputes : A mediation cell would be set up under the apex child rights body, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), to resolve child custody disputes arising from cases of transnational marital discord.The Ministry of Women and Child Development has in-principle decided to establish a Mediation Cell under the NCPCR chairperson.

3. MIB panel to be replaced soon : A committee set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) to devise ways to regulate online media and other content has been disbanded.The 10-member committee was set up in April.Its mandate will now be handed over to a panel overseen by the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY).The committee has the secretary of MeitY, Ajay Prakash, as convener.

4. Student Police Cadet Programme to be launched : Home Minister Rajnath Singh will launch Student Police Cadet Programme in Gurugram.The programme seeks to build a bridge between the Police and the larger community through school students by inculcating values and ethics in them.The initiative seeks to cover broadly two kinds of topics: crime prevention and control, and values and ethics.

5. Nabard launches Centre for Climate Change : NABARD has launched a centre for accelerating concerted action on climate change by various stakeholders including government, private and financial sectors.The Centre for Climate Change has been set up in Lucknow.It would also support capacity building and project preparation effort in developing countries in the region as also in Africa.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India Heritage Walk fete wins PATA award : India Heritage Walk Festival, a collaboration of Sahapedia and YES Arts & Culture, has been awarded the PATA Gold Award 2018.Sahapedia is an open online resource on the arts, cultures and heritage of India.Sahapedia got the award, announced by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) in Bangkok, has been presented to it under the ‘Heritage-Culture’ category.

2.NASA launches online toolkit : NASA has launched an online toolkit to make it easier for users to find, analyse and utilise the most relevant satellite data for their research, business projects or conservation efforts.The “Remote Sensing Toolkit” provides a simple system that quickly identifies relevant sources based on user input.The toolkit is designed to help users search for data as well as code to build new tools.

3. Emergency ambulance service for Sri Lanka : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will eflag a countrywide emergency ambulance service for Sri Lanka through video conferencing from New Delhi.The service has been introduced in two provinces of Sri Lanka with grant assistance from Government of India.India has given a grant of USD 22.8 million to Sri Lanka.This is the largest Indian grant project in Sri Lanka after Indian housing project.

4. Myanmar joins International Solar Alliance : Myanmar joined the India-initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA), becoming the 68th member of the group that is aiming at the optimum utilisation of solar energy.ISA was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then French President Francois Hollande at the Paris climate summit in 2015.ISA is open to all 121 member countries falling between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn

5. BIMSTEC summit to be held in Nepal : The 4th BIMSTEC Summit will be held in Kathmandu from 30-31 August 2018, the Nepal government said. Sub-regional connectivity and poverty alleviation will be top of the agenda during the two-day BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multilateral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Summit.The group formed in 1997 consists of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand.

                                         OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Athena to beam internet on earth : Facebook is working on an internet satellite project called ‘Athena’ to beam internet connectivity down to Earth.The company aims to launch the satellite in early 2019.The new satellite project will provide broadband internet connections to “unserved and underserved areas”.

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. BoB inks pacts with ten companies : Bank of Baroda signed agreements with 10 companies promote micro and small business entrepreneurs.These companies are from e-commerce, logistics, service providers and traditional small business which contribute 31% to GDP and 45% of exports and employ over 100 million.These MoUs with will help enhance the bank’s footprint in the MSME eco-system.

SPORTS:

1. Mansi settles for silver at Junior Wrestling : India won two medals with Mansi claiming silver and Swati winning bronze in their respective weight categories in women’s freestyle in the Junior Asian Wrestling Championships, 2018.In the 57 kilogram category, Mansi had to settle for a Silver after she lost to Japan’s Akie Hanai in the Final.The overall trophy went to Japan, who finished with seven gold medals.

2. Alisson is world’s most expensive goalie : Brazil goalkeeper Alisson Becker became the world’s most expensive goalkeeper when he joined Liverpool from Roma.Roma said the deal for Brazil’s starting goalkeeper at the World Cup in Russia “could be worth up to 72.5 million euros” ($84.5 million).He has been at Roma for two years, playing 37 Serie A games in 2017-18.Alisson became Brazil’s starting goalkeeper in 2016.

OBITUARIES:

1. Chhattisgarh’s first FM Ramchandra Dies : The former and first finance minister of Chhattisgarh, Ramchandra Singh Deo died on 20th July, 2018.He served as the Minister of Water Resources before Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000.The first Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Ajit Jogi, chose him as the minister with key portfolios, including finance, commercial tax and planning.