Daily GK Updates - 29th August, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Odisha inks MoU for malaria-free state : Odisha government signed a MoU with an America-based agency ‘Malaria No More’ and Indian agency ‘Malaria Elimination Trust’ to make the state malaria-free.The two agencies will prepare the roadmap for public awareness and will work with the various organization in the state.Earlier this year 1.13 crore mosquito nets medicated with larvicides were distributed in the state.

2. New science & tech council to advise PM : A 21-member committee has been set up to advise Prime Minister Narendra Modi on science, technology, and innovations. Vijay Raghavan, the principal scientific adviser to the Government of India will head the committee.Secretaries of at least 10 central ministries, related to science, technology, energy, and education, are special invitees to the panel.

3. $250 mn to support electricity distribution : The Government of India, Government of Rajasthan and World Bank signed a $250 Million agreement to support electricity distribution sector reforms in Rajasthan.It is the second electricity distribution reform policy for Rajasthan. The first closed in March 2017.The program will support the distribution sector, provide incentives to employees, reducing the costs of energy procurement etc.

4. India celebrates its National Sports Day : The National Sports Day is celebrated every year on August 29 on the birth anniversary of Indian hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand.This year, though, the date has been postponed to September 25 so the Indian athletes could return from Asian Games 2018.On this day, Arjuna and Khel Ratna awards are conferred by the President of India to celebrate the achievements of athletes in the country.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. N Korea to host Asian Youth Championships : The 2019 Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships will be held in the North Korean capital Pyongyang.At the Asian Games weightlifting in Jakarta, which North Korea has dominated winning seven golds.The Asian Weightlifting Federation and North Korea’s Sports Minister Kim Il Guk signed an agreement for North Korea to hold the championships from October 27, 2019.

2. First SAARC ACB Forum in Kathmandu : The First SAARC Agri Cooperative Business Forum began in Kathmandu.The theme of three-day Forum is the ‘Organizing and Strengthening Family Farmers’It is being co-organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Asian Farmers’ Association with the support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development

3. 1. G20 Digital Economy meeting in Argentina : The G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting was held in Salta, Argentina.The theme of the meeting was ‘Building consensus for fair and sustainable development’.The meeting took place as part of Sherpa Track for 2018 G20 Leaders’ Summit, which is to be hosted by Argentina by end of 2018.

4. India’s next High Commissioner to UK : Senior diplomat Ruchi Ghanashyam has been appointed as India’s next High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.Ghanashyam is a 1982 batch Indian Foreign Service officer and is currently Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs.She succeeds Y K Sinha who had assumed the charge in December 2016.

5. Google launched Project Navlekha : Google has launched the Project Navlekha, which in Sanskrit means “a new way to write”.Project Navlekha will empower offline newspapers and magazines in India to bring their content online.Google is using its expertise in artificial intelligence for Project Navlekha, which will quickly render any PDF with Indian language content into editable text.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. DBS Named Best Bank for digital innovation : DBS Bank has been named the world’s best bank by Global Finance magazine.It shows a reflection of its ability to invest in digital innovation while still maintaining stable operations for its customers.DBS is the first Asian bank to receive the accolade from the New York-based publication, which last year gave the title to ING Bank.

2. PNB Gets Top Rank In Digital Transaction : Punjab National Bank (PNB) has announced that the Department of Financial Services report has rated it as number one state-owned bank in terms of digital transactions.The bank is also rated as the sixth overall amongst all banks in India for digital performance.The bank is rated as ‘Good’ by the government with a score of 71 which is the highest category of performance.

3. World Bank signed $300mn agreement with India : The Government of India and the World Bank signed a $220 million Loan Agreement and $80 million Guarantee Agreement for the India Energy Efficiency Scale-Up Program.The program will be implemented by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL).It will help to avoid lifetime emissions of 170 million tons of CO2 by replacing traditional machinery with energy efficient equipment.

SPORTS:

1. Historic bronze in men’s TT at Asiad : The Indian table tennis men’s team won a historic bronze medal after losing against South Korea in Asian Games 2018.This is the first first-ever bronze medal in Table Tennis at Asian Games.The team comprising G Sathiyan, Achanta Sharath Kamal and A Amalraj fight against the lopsided Koreans and lose the game by 0-3.

2. India won silver and bronze in Kurash : India bagged two medals at Asian games 2018 in Kurash, a form of wrestling indigenous to Central Asia.Pincky Balhara and Malaprabha Yallappa Jadhav won silver and gold respectively in debut of Kurash at Asian Games 2018.The 19 year old Pincky lost 0-10 to favourite Gulnor Sulaymova of Uzbekistan in the gold medal clash.

3. Manjit Singh won gold in men’s 800 m : Manjit Singh clinched gold in men’s 800 m track and field event at Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta.This is Manjit’s first major international medal, he completed the 800 m race in 1 min and 46.15 seconds.In the event Jinson Johnson of India and Abubaker Abdalla of Qatar won Silver and Bronze respectively.