Daily GK Updates - 7th November, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. WB inked $172 million agreement with AP : The Central and Andhra Pradesh governments and the World Bank have signed the $172.20 million loan agreement for an agriculture project.The project will enhance the agricultural productivity, profitability, and climate resilience of poor and marginalised farmers in Andhra Pradesh.The projects seeks to ensure that farming continues to remain a financially viable activity.

2.PM to inaugurate various projects in Varanasi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Ring Road Phase-I and Babatpur-Varanasi road in Varanasi on 12 November 2018.The Prime Minister will also launch inland waterways terminal on river Ganga.It is the first of the four multi-modal terminals being constructed on NW-I (River Ganga) as part of the World Bank-aided Jal Marg Vikas project.

3. Namrata Ahuja bagged IPI-India Award : The prestigious 2018 IPI India Award for excellence in journalism has been given to Namrata Ahuja of ‘The Week’ magazine.She received the award for her exclusive story on Naga underground camps.The award comprises a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh, a trophy and a citation.The  International Press Institute (IPI) is a forum of editors, publishers and senior executives of newspapers and magazines.

4. Meghalaya announces Aqua Mission 2.0 : The Meghalaya Government announced `378 crore investment in the State’s flagship aquaculture mission named ‘Meghalaya State Aqua Mission 2.0’.The aim of the mission is to cut down fish imports into the State.Under the mission, willing partners will need to contribute only 15% while another 25% will be credit linkages and the rest 60% Government assistance.

5. First Chairperson of Lokayukta sworn in : Retired Gauhati High Court judge Pranoy Kumar Musahary was sworn in as the first Chairperson of Meghalaya Lokayukta on 6 November 2018.Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy administered the oath of office to Justice (retd) Musahary.The Lokayukta is empowered to probe allegations of corruption against public functionaries such as the Chief Minister, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Assembly.

6. Separate High Court for Andhra Pradesh : The Supreme Court has given nod for a separate High Court for Andhra Pradesh.It will start functioning from 1 January 2019 in Amravati.The new court will be the 25th High Court in the country.Presently, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have a common High Court situated at Hyderabad.The existing court will from 2019 be known as the Telangana High Court.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Pakistan-China luxury bus service launched : Pakistan and China have launched a luxury bus service passing from Lahore to Kashgar city in China on 5 November 2018.

It is part of an initiative to connect the two countries via road under the US$ 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).The bus will take 36 hours from Lahore to reach the Xinjiang province in China’s far west

2. China unveils replica of its space station : China has unveiled a replica of its first permanently crewed space station.The Chinese space station would replace the international community’s orbiting laboratory, International Space Station (ISS).The station assembly is expected to be completed around 2022 and would have a lifespan of around 10 years.The ISS has been in operation since 1998 but is due to be retired in 2024. 

3. S. Korea, U.S. resumed marine drills : South Korea and the United States resumed their combined marine drills on 5 November 2018.The Korea Marine Exercise Program (KMEP) exercise has been suspended for six months since May 2018 as the two countries engaged in diplomacy with North Korea.The two-week KMEP involves some 500 troops, including U.S. Marines from Okinawa, Japan, and military equipment.

4. Dharmendra appointed Ambassador to Iran : Senior diplomat Gaddam Dharmendra has been appointed India’s Ambassador to Iran.Dharmendra is a 1990-batch Indian Foreign Service officer.At present, he is the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.He replaced Saurabh Kumar, who was appointed India’s ambassador to Myanmar in October 2018.

5. India elected as a Member of the ITU Council : India has been elected as a Member of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Council for another 4-year term (2019-2022).The elections to the council were held during the ongoing ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2018 at Dubai, UAE.The ITU is a specialised agency of the United Nations (UN) that is responsible for issues that concern information and communication technologies.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. MoU signed between NMCG & HCL foundation : The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has signed a MoU with the HCL Foundation to work on tributaries of Ganga- Hindon and Yamuna and to increase forest cover in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.The two organisations will work for sensitisation and awareness programs on forest and environment conservation.The organisations will also try to ensure plantation success rate of 60% to 70%.

SPORTS:

1. Book on history of women’s cricket to be out : A book on history of women’s cricket in India will be released on 30 November 2018.The book, titled ‘The Fire Burns Blue: A History of Women’s Cricket in India’, is co-authored by sports journalists Karunya Keshav and Sidhanta Pathak.The book explores the biggest moments for the game in the country.

2. Elavenil-Hriday won gold in shooting : India’s Air Rifle mixed team junior pairing of Elavenil Valarivan and Hriday Hazarika won the gold medal at the 11th Asian Championship in Kuwait City on 6 November 2018.A second Indian pair of Mehuli Ghosh and Arjun Babuta also won bronze in the same event.The silver medal was won Chinese pair of Shi Mengyao and Wang Yuefeng.

3. Angad Vir Singh won gold medal in shooting : Angad Vir Singh Bajwa won the gold medal in the men’s skeet final of the 8th Asian Shotgun Championship on 6 November 2018.He became the first Indian skeet shooter to win a gold medal at any continental or world level event.Di Jin of China won the silver medal while Saeed Al Maktoum of UAE won the bronze medal.