Daily GK Updates - 18th August, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Tigress released into Satkosia Tiger Reserve : A female tiger, brought from Madhya Pradesh’s Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve was released in Satkosia Tiger Reserve.The name of the tigress is ‘Sundari’.A male tiger was also brought from Madhya Pradesh’s Kanha National Park to Satkosia Tiger Reserve.Satkosia Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve located in the Angul district of Odisha.

2. East-Coast freight corridor to come in 2019 : India’s third freight corridor is likely to come up between Kharagpur and Vijaywada sections.The project, which is also called the East Coast Corridor, will be 1,114 km in length and is part of the Golden Quadrilateral project of Indian Railways.The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd has sent a proposal to Indian Railways to undertake the 3rd freight corridor project.

3. IRCTC partners with PhonePe : Mobile payment platform PhonePe has partnered with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to facilitate digital payment on the IRCTC Rail Connect Android app.The partnership will enable over 100 million PhonePe users to use their bank accounts to pay for their travel booking directly via UPI, credit and debit cards, and PhonePe digital wallets.PhonePe is owned by Flipkart.

4. Govt launches ‘Digital northeast vision’ : The Central Government launched the ‘Digital Northeast Vision Document 2022’ in Guwahati.North East Indian region has become the newest member of the Centre’s flagship programme ‘Digital India’ initiative.‘Digital Northeast India Vision 2022’ envisages in implementing the initiative throughout the North East through optimum utilization of information, communication, and technology.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Delhi official wins WHO award : Delhi government’s additional director of health S K Arora has been awarded the prestigious WHO World No Tobacco Day 2017 Award for his extraordinary contribution towards tobacco control.Tobacco prevalence in Delhi has come down by 6.5% in the past six years.The National Health Policy 2017 has set targets of relative reduction in tobacco prevalence by 15% by 2020 and 30% by 2025.

2. United States forms Iran Action Group : Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, has announced the creation of the Iran Action Group (IAG).IAG is a dedicated group to coordinate and run the US’s policy towards Iran following President Donald Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from a multinational nuclear deal with Tehran.Brian Hook, the Department of State’s director of policy planning, has been appointed as its head.

3. Ibrahim re-elected as president of Mali : President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has been re-elected as President of Mali after beating opposition candidate.Keita will serve his second five-year term as Malian leader.Keita will take office on September 4, 2018.Mali is a landlocked nation home to at least 20 ethnic groups where the majority of people live on less than $2 a day.

4. Imran Khan takes oath as Pakistan PM : Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on 18th August, 2018 took oath as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan.The oath-taking ceremony was administered by Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain.In the July 25, 2018 general elections, the PTI had emerged as the single largest party with 116 seats.

5. McQueen to receive BAFTA’s Britannia Award : British director Steve McQueen will receive BAFTA’s John Schlesinger Britannia Award.McQueen, who won an Oscar for 12 Years a Slave, would be this year’s recipient of the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for excellence in directing.The award’s previous recipients include Danny Boyle, Christopher Nolan, and Quentin Tarantino.

6. 11th World Hindi Conference begins : The 11th World Hindi Conference, an event aimed at expanding the reach of the Hindi language at a global level, was inaugurated in Mauritius on 18th August, 2018.The theme of the conference for the year 2018 is “Hindi World and Indian Culture”.World Hindi Conference was started in 1975 to make the Hindi language a medium of service and knowledge.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Infosys CFO MD Ranganath resigns : IT major Infosys said its Chief Financial Officer M D Ranganath has resigned from the company.Ranganath will continue in his current position till November 16, 2018.Ranganath had taken over the said role after the then CFO Rajiv Bansal had quit in 2015.Ranganath has worked at Infosys for 18 years.

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. MSME credit growth slowed during note ban : According to Reserve Bank of India’s report, credit growth in the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector declined during the demonetisation phase.Bank credit to MSMEs increased on average by 8.5% year on year during the June quarter of fiscal year 2018-19.MSMEs face constraints in accessing credit through formal channels because about 97% of them operate in the informal sector.

DEFENCE:

1. U.S. imposes sanctions on Myanmar military : The United States imposed sanctions on four Myanmar military and police commanders and two army units.The sanctions were imposed for their involvement in human rights abuses against the country’s Rohingya Muslims.The sanctions marked the toughest US action so far in response to Myanmar’s crackdown on the Rohingya minority which started in 2017.

SPORTS:

1.UAE all set to host Asia Cup 2018 : The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) signed an agreement for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to host the prestigious Asia Cup.The Asia Cup 2018 will have cricket teams from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.The tournament will be held from September 15 to September 28 in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

2. India won silver medal at cycling C’ship : Teen cyclist Esow Alben won the silver medal at the UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships in Switzerland.This is India’s first-ever medal at any cycling World Championships.Alban became the Junior World No. 1 this July 2018 after becoming the first Indian to win a gold medal at the Asian Junior Track Cycling Championships.

3. Asian Games begin in Jakarta : The 18th edition of the Asian Games officially kicked off in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on 18th August 2018.Asian Games 2018, also known as Jakarta Palembang 2018, starting from August 18 will end on September 2, 2018, in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang.It is the second time for Jakarta to host the sports games after 1962.