Daily GK Updates - 27th March, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Artificial Intelligence, Yoga to be part of the CBSE curriculum for 2019-20 session :  The CBSE is set to introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI), Early Childhood Care Education (ECCE), and Yoga as skill subjects in the school curriculum for the upcoming academic session. A decision to introduce the three subjects was taken at a recent meeting of the board's governing body. The CBSE is introducing artificial intelligence as an optional 6th subject at Class IX from the session 2019-2020 onwards.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.World’s largest e-waste recycling facility opens in Dubai :  The world’s largest e-waste recycling plant has been opened in Dubai Industrial Park, Dubai by ‘Enviroserve’ company with a total cost of USD 5 million. It will recycle Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), IT asset disposition (ITAD), refrigerant gas and specialized waste. The processing capacity of this recycling hub is 100,000 tonnes of total integrated waste (per year), of which 39,000 tonnes is e-waste.

2. 27th March: World Theatre Day : The World Theatre Day (WTD) is observed globally every year on 27th March to generate awareness about the importance of theatre arts. World Theatre Day was created in 1961 by an international non-governmental organization International Theatre Institute (ITI), France. ITI was founded in 1948 by UNESCO and the international theatre community.

3. Neha Upadhyaya selected by Yale University among 2019 World Fellows : A social entrepreneur from India is among 16 persons selected by Yale University as the 2019 World Fellows. Neha Upadhyaya founded GUNA Organics in 2014 that provides ethically-sourced organic food products grown by rural female Indian farmers. Upadhyaya's work has also focussed on working with children suffering from various health issues including diabetes, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). She has been the recipient of Future Leaders Connect (2018) and Social Impact India (2017) awarded by the British Council.

4. Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport 12th busiest in the world :  According to Airports Council International (ACI) report, India’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has become the world's 12th busiest airport, moving up four places (in 2017- 16th spot). The preliminary world airport traffic rankings for 2018 has been released by the Airports Council International (ACI). The IGI airport saw 6.9 crore domestic and international flyers in 2018, which is 10.2% points higher than the combined passengers of 2017. ACI's World Airport Traffic Forecasts also predicts that India will represent the third largest aviation market, in terms of passenger throughput, after the US and China by 2020.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. RBI slaps Rs 2 cr penalty on PNB for violating SWIFT norms :  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has slapped a penalty of Rs. 2 crores on Punjab National Bank (PNB) for non-compliance of regulatory directions about ‘SWIFT’ operations. ‘SWIFT’ is a global messaging software used for sharing information on inter-bank transactions by financial entities. The massive Rs 14,000-crore fraud perpetrated by billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi at the PNB was a case of misuse of this messaging software.

DEFENCE:

1.  INS Kadmatt to participate in maritime and aerospace exhibition in Malaysia :  Indian Navy's frontline corvette INS Kadmatt reached Malaysian archipelago Langkawi. It will participate in the 15th edition of Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition, LIMA-19. INS Kadmatt is an indigenous stealth anti-submarine warfare corvette and was commissioned into the Indian Navy in January 2016. The ship is fitted with state-of-the-art weapons, sensors and machinery.

OBITUARIES:

1. Malayalam writer Ashita passes away :  Renowned Malayalam writer and poet Ashita (63-year) passed away at a private hospital in Thrissur, Kerala. She did her graduation and post-graduation in English Literature from Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam. Ashita has been the recipient of several awards including the prestigious Edaserri Award (1986) and the Lalithambika Antharjanam Award (1994).