Daily GK Updates - 27th November, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Sunil Arora appointed new Chief Election Commissioner : Election Commissioner 62-years-old Sunil Arora (1980-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre) has been appointed the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Mr Arora (take over on 2^nd December) succeeds the incumbent CEC Mr Om Prakash Rawat (retired on Saturday). He has worked in ministries such as finance, textiles and the Planning Commission. Arora has graduate (BA Honours) and postgraduate (MA) degrees in English from Panjab University in the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

2. Vice President lays foundation stone for Kartarpur corridor : Vice President of India Sri Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone of the Dera Baba Nanak - Kartarpur Sahib Corridor in an event at Mann village of Gurdaspur district of Punjab, India.The corridor will connect ‘Dera Baba Nanak’ (in Gurdaspur district-India) to the ‘Gurdwara Darbar Sahib’ (in Kartarpur in Narowal district of Pakistan).The corridor will provide smooth and easy passage to Sikh pilgrims to visit ‘Gurdwara Darbar Sahib’ in Pakistan throughout the year (completed by 23^rd November 2019).

3. Government to set up National Sports Stadium for differently-abled in Meghalaya : According to Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot, A stadium of international standard for differently-abled persons (estimated cost of over Rs 200 crore) will be set up in Meghalaya.The decision was taken after Conrad Sangma (Meghalaya Chief Minister) came forward with the proposal and provided 50 acres of land for the same.The stadium is expected to be completed before National Games 2022.

4. National festival for CCI children ‘HAUSLA-2018’ inaugurated in New Delhi :The Shri Rakesh Srivastava (the Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development)  has inaugurated the four-day National Festival for Children of Child Care Institutions (CCIs) ‘Hausla 2018’ in New Delhi.'Hausla 2018' has seen the participation of more than 600 children from CCIs across 18 states.The theme for the event is 'child safety'.The objective of the event was to provide a national platform to the children from CCIs to showcase their talent, realise their hidden talents and to take it forward in their lives.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Monaco to host 2019 Laureus awards in February : The 19th edition of Laureus World Sports Awards will be held in Monacoon 18^th February 2019.The Laureus World Sports Awards (considered ‘Oscars of sports) celebrate global sporting achievements across the calendar year.Last year, tennis great Roger Federer won the Laureus Sportsman of the Year award for a record fifth time.Serena Williams won the Sportswoman of the Year recognition for the fourth time.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Centre & ADB sign 200 million USD loan pact to upgrade state highways in Bihar : The Union Government and Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a 200 million USD loan agreement to finance widening and upgrading of about 230 Kilometers State Highways in Bihar.The agreement was signed by Sameer Kumar Khare (Additional Secretary in the Finance Ministry) and Rajeev P. Singh (Officer-in-Charge of ADB's India Resident Mission) in New Delhi. This loan will help the State government to upgrade all State Highwaysto meet the minimum two-lane standard with better surfaces and improved road safety.

2. Microsoft surpasses Apple to become the most valuable US Company :Microsoft has become the most valuable US company with USD 753.3 billion in market capitalization, past Apple (USD 746.8 billion) for the first time since 2010.Currently, Amazon with USD 736.6 billion is at third and Alphabet (the parent company of Google) with USD 725.5 billion is at the fourth spot.Now, the investors are betting big on companies with robust Cloud services and software services which are witnessing an increased demand.

SPORTS:

1. The inaugural ceremony of Men's Hockey World Cup 2018 held in Bhubaneswar : The opening ceremony of the 14th edition of Men's Hockey World Cup (HWC) held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.Around 1,100 artists, star actors Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit and AR Rahman (music composer) have performed at the ceremony.Meanwhile, matches for the World Cup will commence at Kalinga Stadium from tomorrow.