Daily GK Updates - 22nd July, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Yadagirigutta Temple obtains ISO certificate : Telangana Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao congratulated Yadagirigutta Temple for obtaining International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certification.The temple has received the ISO certification for the environment, security, management, power supply, as well as for the management of the temple.This is the first ever ISO certification for the temple.

2. NCERT introducing QR code in textbooks : The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has initiated the process of introducing QR code in their textbooks.The move aims at helping students understand chapters better by reading additional content on laptops & digital boards.Quick Response (QR) Code is a machine-readable code used for storing web-links which can be read by a camera on a smartphone.

3. Meghalayan Age - Latest Era in Earth’s History : The last 4,200 yrs have been classified by geologists as a new distinct age in Earth’s history, called the “Meghalayan Age,” named after the northeastern Indian state.The International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) has made it a part of Holocene Era.The Meghalayan goes back 4,200 yrs when a drought severely impacted civilizations in Egypt, Greece, the Indus Valley, Yangtze River Valley.

4. Enerparc commissions rooftop solar project : Enerparc India, a subsidiary of global solar solution provider Enerparc AG has commisioned 980 KW solar project at Bharat Fritz Werner Ltd. in Bengaluru, Karnataka.The rooftop solar project at BFW will generate approx. 15 lacs of units annually thus reducing its dependency on fossil fuels.Enerparc India had also Installed World’s 1st Solar Power Plant on Ship to Shore cranes in Mumbai.

5. India’s 1st ceramics triennale to be in Jaipur : Jawahar Kala Kendra in collaboration with the Contemporary Clay Foundation presents the first Indian Ceramics Triennale: Breaking Ground.The event will be from 31 August to 18 November 2018 in Jaipur.The first-ever international ceramics event to be held at the Jawahar Kala Kendra will present 35 Indian Artists, a Symposium, Film Screenings and Workshops for Adults and Children.

6. J&K’s 1st all women branch at J&K Bank : First Lady Usha Vohra inaugurated the 1st All-Women Branch of Jammu & Kashmir Bank at the Sher-i-Kashmir centre.The bank also launched products designed exclusively for women clients which included Pink Gold Saving Scheme, Pink Platinum Saving Scheme, Special Loan Facility for Women Entrepreneurs.J&K Bank started on​ Oct 1 1983, was the 1st bank in India to emerge as a state-owned bank.

7. H. Rao takes up addl charge as GM of SER : Harindra Rao, General Manager, Eastern Railway and Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) has taken over additional charge of General Manager South Eastern Railway.He was previously working as Chief Electrical Engineer in South Eastern Railway.Rao has previously worked in Eastern Railway, South Eastern Railway, Diesel Locomotive Works, East Central Railway and North Central Railway.

8. SAFAR unveiled at Chandni Chowk : Minister for Science and Technology, Harsh Vardhan has unveiled the 1st of a kind Air Quality and Weather Forecast System, SAFAR at Chandni Chowk in Delhi.The system will measure regular air quality parameters such as PM2.5 & PM10, levels of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide & benzene.The station will provide online information about ultrafine particles PM1 & mercury.

9. 28th meeting of GST council held : The 28th meeting of GST council was held in New Delhi on 21st July 2018 under the Chairmanship of Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Railways, Coal, Finance & Corporate Affairs.Refrigerators, washing machines, Lithium-ion batteries, Vacuum cleaners were reduced from 28% to 18% tax rate.Sanitary Napkins, Coir pith compost, Rakhi were exempted from tax slab from previous 12% tax slab.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 8th BRICS Health Ministers Meeting at Durban : The 8th BRICS Health Ministers’ Meeting was held at Durban, South Africa. The meeting was led by Mr J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health who stated India’s commitment to eliminate TB by 2025.

India has achieved the reduction in the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) by 77% to 130 per 1 lakh live births as recommended by WHO SEARO.The 1st BRIC Summit was held in 2009 in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

2. Google & UNEP to track environmental changes : The UN has entered into a partnership with Google to monitor the impacts of human activity on ecosystems by using online tools.UN Environment Programme (UNEP) aims to develop a platform to enable govt, NGO’s & the public to track environment-related development targets.

Google will produce geospatial maps & data on water-related ecosystems by employing massive cloud computing technology.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Wipro to buy Alight’s India for $117 million : India’s third-biggest software services exporter, Wipro Ltd, has decided to buy US-based Alight Solutions’ India operations for $117 million in cash.Alight Solutions provides benefits administration and cloud-based HR and financial solutions to 1,400 clients serving 19 million employees and their 18 million family members.The current CEO of Wipro is Abidali Neemuchwala.

SPORTS:

1. Sen clinches Asia Junior C’ship title : Indian badminton player Lakshaya Sen bagged the gold medal after defeating world no. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsaran in the final match of the Badminton Asia Junior Championship held in Jakarata.The Indian shuttler created history by beating the top-seed 21-19 and 21-18, thus clinching the championship.He was previously the runners-up in Tata Open India International, 2017

2. SAI selects 734 youngsters under Khelo scheme : The Sports Authority of India (SAI) announced that it has shortlisted 734 young players for a scholarship programme under the Khelo India Talent Identification Development scheme.An annual stipend of Rs 1.2 lakh will be given to each player on a quarterly basis to meet their pocket expenses.The current Sports Minister is Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.

3. Mohd Anas breaks own national record in 400m : Indian sprinter Muhammed Anas broke his own national record to win the 400 metres race at the Cena Noveho Mesta meet in Czech Republic.Anas set a time of 45.24 seconds to break his own record of 45.31 seconds which he had set during the Commonwealth Games 2018 in Gold Coast.He is the third Indian track athlete to qualify for the event at the Olympics, after Milkha Singh & K. M. Binu.

4. Mascots for Olympics & Paralympics unveiled : Japan has unveiled the names of its mascots for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.The mascot for Olympics is “MIraitowa” which means ‘eternal future’.The mascot for Paralympics is “Someity” which means ‘so mighty’.The Tokyo Olympics are set to begin on July 24, 2020, and run through until August 9.The Paralympics will take place between August 25 and September 6 2020.