Daily GK Updates - 23rd July, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Bihar Govt. passes new liquor Amendment law : The Bihar Government unanimously passed an amendment law on liquor prohibition in the monsoon session of the state assembly.The amendment has been passed by voice vote in the assembly.Bihar implemented total ban on any type of liquor since 5 April 2016

2. Supreme Court lifts ban on protests : The Supreme Court lifted the ‘complete ban’ on holding dharna at the Jantar Mantar and Boat Club near India Gate.SC directed the Centre to frame guidelines for granting permission for protests at these sites.The SC observed that there was a need to strike a balance between the right to protest and right of citizens to live peacefully.

3. Agarwal - New member of Railway Board : S.N. Agrawal has taken over as Member Staff, Railway Board and Ex-officio Secretary to the Government of India on 20.07.2018.Prior to this, Shri Agrawal was General Manager of South Eastern Railway, Kolkata.S.N. Agrawal, a Civil Engineer, belongs to the Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE) of 1980 batch.

4. IIT Bombay Generates Highest Revenue : According to HRD Ministry data, the revenue generated by IIT-Bombay in the last three years through research, inventions, consultancy and patents was the highest among the premier engineering institutes.The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, was followed by IIT-Madras and IIT-Delhi in terms of revenue generated.IIT Bombay was founded in 1958.

5. Kerala tops in governance, says report : Kerala stands as the best governed state in the country and Karnataka is in the 4th position.It is according to Public Affairs Index 2018 released by the think tank Public Affairs Centre in Bengaluru.Released annually since 2016, the index examines governance performance in the states through a data-based framework, ranking them on social and economic development they are able to provide.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. BRO completes strategic road in Bhutan : Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has completed construction of a strategically key road in Bhutan.The road will connect Bhutan’s border town of Phuen-tshog-ling with its capital city of Thimphu.The new road is expected to reduce the travel time between Southern Bhutanese city of Phun-tsho-ling to Thimphu by one hour and reduce the journey by around 19.5 km of steep uphill driving.

2. World’s first mission to study the Sun : NASA will launch mankind’s first mission to the Sun – a car-sized probe that will swoop to within 4 million miles of the solar surface.The ‘Parker Solar Probe’ will study the Sun closer than any human-made object ever has.The Parker Solar Probe carries a lineup of instruments to study the Sun.Parker Solar Probe will explore the corona, a region of the Sun only seen from Earth.

3. Google is working on project “Fuchsia” : Google has been working on software that will replace Android.The project, known as Fuchsia, was created to overcome the limitations of Android as more personal devices and other gadgets come online.It’s being designed to better accommodate voice interactions and frequent security updates and to look the same across a range of devices, from laptops to tiny internet-connected sensors.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. Banks, Financial Institutes sign pact : Banks and financial institutions, including SBI, PNB and LIC entered into an overarching inter-creditor agreement (ICA) to fast track resolution of stressed assets of Rs 50 crore or more.Under the pact, which is part of project ‘Sashakt’, each resolution plan will be submitted by the lead lender to an Overseeing Committee.The ICA has been signed by 22 public sector banks.

2. Federal Bank gets RBI nod : Federal Bank has received the regulatory nod to open offices in Bahrain, Kuwait and Singapore, but is awaiting local clearances before it starts operations.Federal bank already has representative offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.The bank will be focusing more on the unsecured lending segment, where its book stands at Rs 380 crore at present.

DEFENCE:

1. Army to get artillery guns from September : From September 2018, the Army will be inducting two types of artillery guns into its arsenal.These will be the first induction of heavy artillery since the Swedish Bofors guns imported in the 1980s.The Army will start taking delivery of the K9 Vajra-T tracked self-propelled artillery guns from South Korea in September.

SPORTS:

1. India bags 8 medals at Jr Asian Ch’ship : India won 8 medals in the Junior Asian Wrestling Championship.The medals comprised 2 gold, 3 silver and as many bronze. Sachin Rathi won the gold after winning the bout in the 74 kilogram category.Deepak Punia then won the gold in the 86 kilogram category.Suraj Rajkumar Kokate won a bronze in the 61 kilogram category while Mohit won bronze in the 125 kilogram category.

2. Chhetri, Kamala get AIFF honours : Sunil Chhetri has been declared the 2017 Player of the Year by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).The Woman Player of the Year award was given to Kamala Devi.Chetri recently became the second Indian footballer to play 100 international games after Bhaichung Bhutia.Anirudh Thapa was declared as the 2017 Emerging Player of the Year.