Daily GK Updates - 31st December, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Annual bird census to begin from Jan 4 : Annual bird census in Chilika lake is slated to be carried out on 4 January 2019. Chilika lake is the biggest brackish water lake in the country. Experts from organisations like Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Wild Odisha, National Board of Wildlife, Regional Museum and Natural History, Chilika Development Authority (CDA) will take part in the census.

2. Govt extends import restrictions on peas : The commerce ministry extended the import restrictions on peas for another three months till 31 March 2019. Such measures help in curbing cheaper imports and boost local prices. The restrictions were imposed by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT. India is the largest producer of pulses in the world.

3. Telangana govt hospital enters Guinness Book : Telangana government’s MNJ Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre entered the Guinness Book of World Records.It organised the largest men’s Health Awareness programme on prostate cancer on a single day. Besides the Guinness World Record, the hospital also received recognition from ‘High Range Book of World Records.

4. Swachh Surveksahan award for GHMC : The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation was awarded Best Capital City in the Solid Waste Management in the Swachh Survekshan 2018 rankings. The Swachh Survekashan survey ranks cities on various sanitation parameters. The GHMC was also at the 27th place among 4,041 cities. Swachh Survekshan 2019 was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in January 2016.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. PM Sheikh Hasina wins the election : Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina secured her third consecutive term on 29 December 2018. Her ruling party Awami League and its allies have won 288 of the 300 parliamentary seats contested, surpassing its previous election wins. Bangladesh’s parliament has 350 seats in total, 50 of which are reserved for women and allotted proportional to the overall vote.

2. ESAF is now ‘scheduled bank’ :  ESAF Small Finance Bank Ltd has received the RBI’s approval for inclusion in the second schedule of the RBI Act, 1934. Now the bank can seek funds from trusts, associations, religious institutions, and mutual funds.

It will also enable the bank to avail higher refinance facility. R Prabha is the Chairman of ESAF Small Finance Bank. The headquarters of the bank is in Thrissur, Kerala.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. Banks recover Rs.40,400 crore from defaulters : According to RBI, in the fiscal ended March 2018, banks recovered ₹40,400 crore worth of bad loans as against ₹38,500 crore recovered in FY17. The various channels through which lenders recovered their bad loans include the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), SARFAESI Act, Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) and Lok Adalats. The amount recovered through SARFAESI was ₹26,500 crore in FY18.

SPORTS :

1. Smriti won the ICC ‘Women’s Cricketer’ award : India women’s cricket vice-captain Smriti Mandhana won the ‘Women’s Cricketer of the Year’ and the ‘Women’s ODI Player of the Year’ by the International Cricket Council (ICC). She won the ‘Women’s Cricketer of the Year’ for scoring 669 runs in 12 ODIs along with 622 runs in T20 Internationals in 2018. She became only the second India woman player to win an ICC award after Jhulan Goswami.

2. ICC name Women’s ODI and T20I team of the year : International Cricket Council (ICC) announced women’s ODI and T20I teams of the year 2018. New Zealand’s Suzie Bates was named as captain of the 50-over side and Harmanpreet Kaur of India appointed captain of the T20 team. The teams have been selected by Voting Academy comprising of members from media and broadcast.

OBITUARIES:

1.Noted film maker Mrinal Sen passed away : Legendary filmmaker Mrinal Sen passed away in Kolkata on 31 December 2018. He is a Padma Bhushan and Dada Saheb Phalke awardee. He made his directorial debut with ‘Raat Bhore’ in 1955.He is known for making films that focussed on socio-political issues He was also a member of the Indian People’s Theatre Association.