Daily GK Updates - 2nd July, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. NABARD assigns 735 Cr for projects in Bengal : NABARD has sanctioned Rs 735.53 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) for West Bengal.They include six solar power, one medium irrigation, five minor irrigation and 12 flood protection projects.The work on the irrigation projects is expected to benefit 11,554 hectares of land and provide supply of water in commercial areas.

2. India’s 1st khadi mall in Jharkhand : India’s first khadi mall would come up in Jharkhand and would provide a major boost for khadi and other handicrafts industry.The Jharkhand Khadi Board would be providing people employment along with training, raw materials and machinery.Apart from this, the role of the urban market along with rural haats and tourists spots would also generate significant revenue.

3. TBN Radhakrishnan : New CJ of Hyderabad court : Justice Thottathil Bhaskaran Nair Radhakrishnan, presently Chief Justice of Chattisgarh High Court, will assume charge as Chief Justice of Hyderabad High Court.The new Chief Justice is likely to be sworn in any time next week by Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan at Raj Bhavan.Justice Ramesh Ranganathan had been Acting Chief Justice of Hyderabad High Court from July 30, 2016.

4. Stainless steel charkha unveiled at Sabarmati : BJP president Amit Shah unveiled a stainless steel Charkha at the Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad.The charkha, which is 21 feet in length, 11 feet in height, and 6.5 feet in breadth, is made of chromium-nickel stainless steel and is installed on the Sabarmati Riverfront across the Sabarmati Ashram.The move is said to popularise Khadi amongst youth in the country.

5. 1st meeting of Cauvery Water Management Board : The first meeting of the Cauvery Water Management Board will be held in New Delhi to resolve the dispute among southern states.The meeting of the 9-member board will be chaired by the Central Water Commission Chairman S Masood Hussain.The meeting will discuss the issues including water storage in Cauvery basin reservoirs with the judgement of the Supreme Court in this regard.

6. Dalai Lama launches ‘Happiness Curriculum’ : The Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and Dalai Lama launched the ‘Happiness Curriculum’ in the Delhi government schools on July 2.The new initiative that focuses on holistic education would cover around eight lakh students.The curriculum focuses on meditation, moral teachings, and mental exercises, with the aim of turning students into good human beings.

7. Conference of States Power Ministers : A conference of Ministers for Power, New & Renewable Energy of States & Union Territories will be held on 3rd July at Shimla.The aim conference is to review various ongoing schemes & deliberate on a host of issues related to the energy sector.The conference would of lines of UDAY performance assessment, shifting to the prepaid system in 3 years & 24X7 Power for All – from 1st April 2019.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. RCEP trade bloc at Tokyo meet 2018 : Asian trade ministers from the 16-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which includes China, Japan and India but not the US, met in Tokyo on 1st July.The partnership would include the 10 members of the ASEAN as well as South Korea, Australia & New Zealand.The development in RCEP could put pressure on the US to consider rejoining the TPP, as the US-China trade war continues.

2. ROK & DPRK reopen maritime communication : North Korea and South Korea Sunday reopened maritime communication channel for the first time in 10 years with vessels from the 2 countries making contact.North Korean patrol boat responded immediately when the South Korean Navy contacted it via an international radio channel in the western sea.The Korean govt on both sides are working on confidence-building measures to boost cooperation.

3. PSLV bags first Australian order : The Indian PSLV launcher has bagged its first order from Australian startup.Fleet Space Technologies, an IoT (Internet of Things) startup, said that its first 10-kg nanosatellite Centauri I would fly to space on a PSLV.The company is planning a series of 10-kg nanosatellites about the size of a shoebox to enable low-cost connectivity for agriculture, logistics, mining sectors.

OTHER UPDATES:

DEFENCE:

1.Golden Globe Race 2018 : Commander Abhilash Tomy of the Indian Navy will be participating in the prestigious Golden Globe Race that commences from Les Sables d’Olonne harbour in France on 1st July.The uniqueness of the race is that use of GPS, satellite communication, navigational aids, etc is forbidden.Cdr Tomy will be sailing in sailing vessel ‘Thuriya’ has been built by M/s Aquarius Shipyard Ltd at Goa.

SPORTS:

1. Australia wins Champions Trophy 2018 : World Champions Australia defeated India 3-1 via shoot-off after both teams were locked at 1-1 in regulation time to clinch its 2nd consecutive Champions Trophy hockey title.It was the 37th and final edition of the tournament with Australia winning 15th Champions Trophy title. It was being held at Breda.India won their consecutive silver medal while the Netherlands won the bronze medal.

2. Lee Chong Wei wins 12th Malaysia Open title : Malaysian Lee Chong Wei beat Japanese shuttler Kento Momota 21-17, 23-21 to grab the Malaysia Open title for a historic 12th time.In the women’s singles final, top seed Tai Tzu Ying from Taiwan saw off China’s He Bingjiao.Indian campaign had ended with the defeat of PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth in their semi-finals.Lee Chong Wei is currently world number 6.