Daily GK Updates - 11th December, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Upendra Kushwaha resigns from Union Council of ministers : Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) chief Upendra Kushwaha (Minister of State for HRD in Government of India) resigned from the Union council of ministers.He has sent his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he is quitting the BJP-led NDA alliance.He is a Member of Parliament from Karakat Loksabha in Rohtas district, Bihar.

2.  India’s Prathamesh Maulingkar wins Mister Supranational 2018 : Goa’s Prathamesh Maulingkar (27-years) has become the first Asian/Indian to win Mister Supranational title at Krynica-Zdroj, Poland.He defeated 37 contestants from all over the world in the final round to win the coveted title.Mister Supranational (Poland) was adjudged first runner-up, Mister Supranational (Brazil) was adjudged second runner-up.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.11^th December: International Mountain Day : The International Mountain Day is being observed every year on 11^thDecember.The theme for 2018 IMD is Mountains Matter’.International Mountain Day was established by the UN General Assembly in 2003 to encourage sustainable development in mountains.

2. International Conference on ‘Sustainable Water Management’ held in Mohali : The 1^st International Conference on ‘Sustainable Water Management’ was held at Indian School of Business (ISB) in Mohali, Punjab.The conference was organized by Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) under the aegis of the National Hydrology Project of the Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. Direct Tax Gross collections for 2018-19 up to November are at Rs 6.75 lakh Cr :
The provisional figures of Direct Tax collections for 2018-19 up to November 2018 show that Gross Collections are at 6.75 lakh crore rupees.This is 15.7% higher than the Gross Collections for the corresponding period of last year.The refunds mounting to 1.23 lakh crore rupees have been issued during April to November this year which is 20.8% higher than refunds issued during the same period in the preceding year.

The Net Collections after adjusting for refunds have increased by 14.7 per cent to 5.51 lakh crore rupees from April to November.

2. Govt contribution to NPS raised to 14 per cent : The Central Government contribution will be raised to 14 per cent in NPS (existing 10%).The tax exemption limit for lump sum withdrawal on exit has been enhanced to 60%.Now, the entire withdrawal will be exempted from income tax.Freedom of choice will be provided for selection of Pension Funds and pattern of investment to central government employees.

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1.Myntra’s CEO Ananth Narayanan resigns : Myntra’s chief executive officer (CEO) Ananth Narayanan has resigned from his According to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, role with his position set to be abolished.Myntra is the unit of Walmart Inc-owned Flipkart.Flipkart’s executive Amar Nagaram has been given the responsibility to head Myntra.Mithun Sundar (Myntra's chief revenue officer) and Manpreet Ratia (human resources head) have also resigned.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:

1.  India successfully test-fires Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile Agni-5 : The indigenously built Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile Agni-5 has been test-fired successfully from Abdul Kalam island under Chandipur Interim Test Range.Previously the test of Agni 4 was unsuccessful.The length of Agni-5 is 17 meters length and 2 meters diameter, the missile can hit the target from of 5 thousand kilometres distance.The first test was conducted in 2012 from ITR Chandipur in Balasore district.

SPORTS :

1. Ranji Trophy: Ajay Rohera creates a world record for highest first-class debut score Madhya Pradesh opener Ajay Rohera (21-year) etched his name in the record books by slamming the highest first-class score on debut. He remained unbeaten on 267 against Hyderabad in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group-B Cricket in Indore. Earlier, the record was held by former Mumbai stalwart Amol Mazumdar, who had hit 260 versus Haryana at Faridabad in 1994.