Daily GK Updates - 3rd January, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.PM Modi inaugurates Indian Science Congress-2019 in Jalandhar : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Indian Science Congress-2019 (106th edition) in Jalandhar, Punjab. The theme of this five-day mega event is ‘Future India: Science and Technology’. This meet brings together leaders in science and technology from the country and abroad every year. The Prime Minister addressed about 30,000 delegates, including Nobel laureates, eminent scientists, policymakers, young researchers and school children, from across the country and abroad. Eminent personalities from DRDO, ISRO, AIIMS, UGC, AICTE and many elite universities of the country, USA, UK, and other countries are participating.

2.Entire Nagaland declared ‘disturbed area’ under AFSPA  : According to Home Ministry notification, Entire state of Nagaland has been declared ‘disturbed area’ for six (June-2019) more months, under the black law Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).AFSPA gives armed forces the power to maintain public order in “disturbed areas”. They have the authority to prohibit a gathering of five or more persons in an area, can use force or even open fire after giving due warning if they feel a person is in contravention of the law

3.West Bengal Govt. announced two Initiatives for farmers : The West Bengal government has announced two welfare initiatives for farmers, part of the ‘Krishi Krishak Bondhu’ scheme.The first of the two initiatives will provide Rs 2 lakh to the family of a deceased farmer.Under the second initiative, farmers would get Rs 2,500 twice a year for growing a single crop on one acre of land.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Qatar will cease to be a member of OPEC : Qatar will cease to be a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC). The country had sent an official notification to the OPEC expressing its wish to pull out and to focus on its liquefied natural gas production in December. The decision came amid the ongoing diplomatic and economic blockade imposed on the country by its Persian Gulf neighbours and several Arab states. These countries accuse Doha of supporting terrorism and interfering in their internal affairs. Qatar has strongly refuted these allegations.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. Govt appoints Hemant Bhargava interim chairman of LIC : The Union government has appointed Life Insurance Corporation's (LIC) senior-most Managing Director (MD) Hemant Bhargava as the interim chairman.He replaced V K Sharma who retired on 31^st Dec 2018. The government has also initiated a process to select the regular chairman and managing director of LIC. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is an Indian state-owned insurance group and investment company headquartered in Mumbai.

2.Cabinet approves the merger of Vijaya Bank & Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda : The Union cabinet has approved the merger of Vijaya Bank & Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda. The merger will be effective from April 2019. The decision was in a bid to create a stronger and sustainable global-sized lender. After the merger, Bank of Baroda will become the third biggest public sector bank, behind State Bank of India and HDFC Bank (in terms of assets).

SPORTS :

1. Sachin Tendulkar's coach Ramakant Achrekar passes away : Sachin Tendulkar's childhood coach cricket coach Ramakant Achrekar (87-years) passed away due to age-related ailments in Mumbai. Besides Tendulkar, he also coached some prominent players in Vinod Kambli, Pravin Amre, Sameer Dighe and Balwinder Singh Sandhu. He was bestowed with country's fourth highest civilian award Padma Shri (in 2010) and Dronacharya Award (for Outstanding Coaches in Sports and Games) in 1990.

2. ICC announces women's ODI and T20I teams of the year :  International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced women's ODI and T20I teamsof the year 2018. Suzie Bates (New Zealand) was named as captain of the 50-over side and Harmanpreet Kaur (India) appointed the captain of the T20 team. Smriti Mandhana & Poonam Yadav (India) are the two other players Healy (Australia)and Bates (New Zealand) featured in both the ODI and T20I squads. ICC T20 Women's team of the year includes three Indians Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and Poonam Yadav.