Daily GK Updates - 25th September, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Anil Kumar Chaudhary appointed as new SAIL chairman : Anil Kumar Chaudhary has been appointed as the new chairman and Managing Director of the Steel Authority of India (SAIL), country's largest steel making company.Currently, Mr. Chaudhary is serving as the Director (Finance) in SAIL.Chaudhary joined SAIL in 1984 as junior manager (F&A).SAIL is the largest steel-making company in India and one of the seven Maharatnas of the country's Central Public Sector Enterprises.

2.  Andhra Pradesh gets 1st rank in Ease of Living Index under AMRUT : Andhra Pradesh state has topped the charts among States in terms of “Ease of Living Index-2018” rankings launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).It was followed by Odisha and Madhya Pradesh.The three States were awarded best performing States at the National Dissemination Workshop on Ease of Living Index, 2018

3. Arunachal CM launches GeM in state : Arunachal Chief Minister Pema Khandu has launched the nation-wide mission for the promotion of GeM (Government e Marketplace), aimed at bringing in more transparency and streamlining the government procurement.More than 26,000 government agencies have been incorporated in the Government e Marketplace (GeM).The objective of the launch is to accelerate the adoption and use of GeM by the state government and its agencies.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Indian actress Jaya Prada appointed Nepal's tourism goodwill ambassador : Indian actress Jaya Prada (60-year) has been appointed Goodwill Ambassador for four years, for the promotion of Nepal tourismThe Nepal government has decided to observe the year 2020 as the 'Visit Nepal Year' campaign.

2. Pakistan launches a nationwide anti-polio vaccination drive : Pakistan has launched a massive nationwide three days anti-polio vaccination drive so that no one was left out.It has been touted as the final push against the crippling disease to cover 38.6 million children less than five years of age.A country must have no cases for three consecutive years in order to be considered to have eradicated polio by the World Health Organisation.

3. Statue of Nelson Mandela unveiled at United Nations : A statue of Nelson Mandela has been unveiled at the United Nations to honor the late South African leader's birth.This year marks the 100th anniversary of Mandela's birth, and the U.N. is declaring 2019-2028 the "Nelson Mandela Decade of Peace.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the dedication today that Mandela embodied the highest values of the United Nations peace, forgiveness, compassion and human dignity.

4. India to organize 'Gandhi March' in the Netherlands : According to Indian Embassy in Hague, India will organize 'Gandhi March' from the iconic Peace Palace at the Hague to Grote Kerk to launch the two-year long celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.The 'Gandhi March' will see the participation of people of all nationalities and around 20 ambassadors of different countries.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1.  Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger resign : Instagram Co-founders ‘Kevin Systrom’ (Chief Executive Officer) and ‘Mike Krieger’ (Chief Technical Officer) announced to resign from their respective positions in the social media company.They founded the photo-sharing app ‘Instagram’ in 2010 and sold it to Facebook (in 2012 for) about USD 1 billion in cash and stock.Instagram has seen explosive growth since its founding, with an estimated 1 billion monthly users and 2 million advertisers.

2. BSNL inks deal with Softbank, NTT to roll out 5G, IoT service : Telecom firm BSNL has inked a pact with Japan's Softbank and NTT Communications to roll out 5G and internet of things technology in India.Under the agreement with Softbank, BSNL will look at collaborating with the Japanese firm for its satellite constellation BSNL has signed an agreement with Nokia and Cisco as well for developing 5G ecosystem.

SPORTS:

1.  Croatian footballer Luka Modric wins FIFA's best player of the year award : Croatian footballer Luka Modric (33-year) has been named the world's best male player at the Best FIFA Football Awards in London.He beat former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah to the award.Brazil and Orlando Pride forward Marta won the best female player award.France's Didier Deschamps was named best men's coach.

OBITUARIES:

1.Former BCCI president BN Dutt passes away : Former BCCI president iswanath Dutt’ (92-year) passed away after suffering from acute lung infection.Mr. Dutt was best known in Indian cricket fraternity as Jagmohan Dalmiya's mentor.Dutt was the BCCI president in 1989 after a six-year stint as the vice-president of the parent body from 1982-88.