Daily GK Updates - 7th October, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Country’s biggest skill competition ‘India Skills 2018’ concludes : The country’s biggest skill competition, ‘India Skills 2018′ has concluded in New Delhi. The 164 winners were awarded by Minister of State for Skill Development and   Entrepreneurship Anant Kumar Hegde. India Skills 2018 was the second edition of the nationwide competition organized by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to identify, recognize, promote and reward the best talents in various skills.

2. Srinivasan Swamy appointed as chairman of International Advertising Association : Srinivasan Swamy, chairman of marketing communications firm RK Swamy Hansa Group, has been unanimously elected as the chairman and world president of International Advertising Association, for a period of two years.He takes over the reins from legendary advertising professional Felix Tataru from Romania. He becomes the first Indian to hold the position.

3. Sudha Menon’s Book “Feisty At Fifty” Released : The book “Feisty At Fifty” authored by Sudha Menon, was released at the Pune International Literary Festival recently. It has been published by Pan Macmillan India. The books speaks about different phases of a woman’s life

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India-Japan maritime exercise commences at Visakhapatnam : JIMEX-18, a bilateral maritime exercise between India and Japan, began in Visakhapatnam. The nine-day event is aimed at enhancing inter-operability, improving understanding and imbibing the best practices of each other.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Flipkart Forays Into Insurance With Bajaj Allianz : E-commerce major Flipkart has partnered Bajaj Allianz General Insurance to offer customised insurance solutions to power its mobile phone protection programme for all leading mobile phone brands that are sold on its platform.Under the programme, it will offer both cash payout option or free pick up, service and drop convenience to customers.The insurance offering will be available from October 10, the start of Flipkart’s The Big Billion Days (TBBD).

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. RBI approved formation of ‘Kerala Bank’ having Rs 650 bn in deposits : BI approved the proposal of Kerala government for the formation of Kerala Bank. RBI approved formation of ‘Kerala Bank’ having Rs 650 bn in deposits. The decision was taken by special task force headed by Chairman M S Sriram. The bank will be formed by consolidating State Cooperative Bank and the 14 district cooperatives.It will have a net deposit amount of Rs 650 billion. It will provide modern facilities to the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS). The unification will be completed by March 2019.

2. Government appoints former Canara Bank MD Rakesh Sharma as IDBI MD : The government appointed former Canara Bank managing director Rakesh Sharma as head of IDBI Bank for a period of six months.This comes after the tenure of B Sriram who was appointed as the chief executive of IDBI Bank for three months ended in September 2018.

SPORTS:

1. India beat Sri Lanka to lift U-19 Asia Cup trophy : India clinched the Under-19 Asia Cup, beating Sri Lanka by 144 runs in the final. This is India’s sixth title in seven editions of the U-19 continental tournament.India and Sri Lanka both came into the final as unbeaten but it was India who kept the winning streak going.

2. Lewis Hamilton wins Japanese Grand Prix : Lewis Hamilton won the Japanese Grand Prix in a Mercedes one-two to take a 67-point lead in the Formula One hampionship. Finland’s Valtteri Bottas secured the Mercedes one-two with second place while Verstappen finished third.