Daily GK Updates - 25th March, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.  Financial Technology (Fintech) Conclave held in New Delhi :  NITI Aayog organised the Financial Technology (Fintech) Conclave 2019 on financial technologies at Dr Ambedkar International Center, New Delhi The Conclave was inaugurated by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. The objective of the conclave is to shape India’s continued ascendancy in FinTech, build the narrative for future strategy and policy efforts, and to deliberate steps for comprehensive financial inclusion.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. WEF’s global Energy Transition index: India ranks at 76th position :  India has been ranked at 76th position among 115 countries in the global energy transition index. Overall, India has moved up two places from 78th last year. China is ranked even lower than India at 82nd position, though it ranks very high at seventh place in the world for regulation and political commitment. Sweden remains on the top in the index. Switzerland and Norway ranked at second and third position respectively in the index. Among major economies, the United Kingdom (UK) is ranked seventh. Singapore has been ranked thirteenth, while Germany, Japan and the US have bagged the seventeenth, eighteenth and the twenty-seventh place respectively.

2. Sri Lanka President hands over a proposal to declare Tripitaka as World Heritage :  Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena handed over a proposal seeking to declare the Theravada Tripitaka as a UNESCO World Heritage. The Theravada Tripitaka (sacred scripture of Buddhists) was declared as a National heritage of Sri Lanka by President in January this year. Buddha’s preaching was propagated through the word to mouth for generations till the Tripitaka was finally written down in Sri Lanka about 100 years BC.

3.  World’s Largest e-Waste Recycling Hub : The World’s Largest e-Waste Recycling Hub has opened at the Dubai Industrial Park, Dubai.This is 120 million dirhams project which is backed by the Swiss Government Export Finance Agency.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Disinvestment Target of Indian Government :  Government of India has exceeded its Disinvestment target for 2018-19 by 5000 crore and it has touched 85000 crore. The Government set a Disinvestment target of 90000 crore for the next fiscal year (2019-20). Disinvestment can also be defined as the action of an organisation (or government) selling or liquidating an asset or subsidiary. It is also referred to as ‘divestment’ or ‘divestiture.’ In most contexts, disinvestment typically refers to sale from the government, partly or fully, of a government-owned enterprise.

SPORTS:

1.Latest World Badminton Rankings :  Indian shuttlers Lakshya Sen at 76th and Riya Mookerjee at 94th are in the top-100 among Men’s and Women’s singles respectively. Kento Momota of Japan is leading the men’s single chart. Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei is leading the women’s single chart. KIDAMBI Srikanth at 7th is the Highest Ranked Indian.