Daily GK Updates - 2nd March, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. PM Modi inaugurates Construction Technology India-2019 Expo-cum-Conference : Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the two-day Construction Technology India-2019 Expo-cum-Conference in New Delhi. The Construction Technology India Conference will provide avenues for stakeholders to open up new areas for collaboration and facilitate the conversion of ideas into market-ready products.The conference will also identify innovative and globally established technologies for use in the Indian context. Technology providers, researchers, start-ups, developers, academia, public sector agencies and other domain experts will participate in the event.

2. West Bengal launches ‘Banglar Shiksha’ portal : West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee has inaugurated a web portal ‘Banglar Shiksha’ to provide real-time data on state-run and aided schools. The portal ‘banglarshiksha.gov.in’ will be up and running in two months times. According to the school education department, the portal will store real-time data of 1.5 crore students, 5 lakh teachers and 1 lakh schools.

3. AYUSH Minister lays foundation stone for National Institute of Unani Medicine :AYUSH Minister Shripad Yesso Naik laid the foundation stone of National Institute of Unani Medicine (NIUM) at Ghaziabad. It will be developed on a 10-acre area, costing about 300 crore rupees. Once 200-bedded hospital established, it will be one of the largest institutes of Unani Medicine in North India. The institute is an extension of the existing NIUM at Bengaluru.

4. Arun Jaitley releases a book titled ‘Mann Ki Baat - A Social Revolution on Radio’: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has released a book titled ‘Mann Ki Baat - A Social Revolution on Radio’ in New Delhi.  The Book is a compendium encompassing 50 editions of the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ by Prime Minister Narendra Modi over All India Radio.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India-Bangladesh joint military exercise 'Sampriti 2019' in Tangail : According to the Defence Ministry, Joint military exercise ‘Sampriti 2019’ between India and Bangladesh has been conducted at Tangail in Bangladesh (2nd-15th March 2019.)This will be the eighth edition of the exercise which is hosted alternately by both countries.The objective of the exercise to strengthen and broaden the aspects of interoperability and co-operation between the Armies of both countries. The exercise will involve tactical-level operations in a counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism environment under the UN mandate.

2. India ranks 47th in 'Inclusive' Internet list : India ranked 47th in the overall "Inclusive Internet Index 2019” (3i).The index has been prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) for Facebook. Sweden topped the index which was followed by Singapore and the US. The index was expanded to include 100 countries which will represent 94% of the world’s population and 96% of global GDP.

3. US, N Korea fail to strike a deal at Hanoi Summit : The United States and North Korea have failed to reach a formal deal at two-day North Korea– United States Hanoi Summit 2019 held at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam. The talk has ended with no agreement after the US refused North Korean demand to lift all international sanctions. This was the second meeting between North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump following the first meeting in June 2018 in Singapore.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Inland Waterways Authority of India and Indian Oil Sign MoU : Inland Waterways Authority of India and Indian Oil Sign MoU on Fuel Needs for National Waterways.The MoU includes jointly developing infrastructure for fuels, lubricating oil, LPG, Natural Gas and any other related fuel and gas for meeting the requirement of National Waterways. IWAI and IOCL have agreed to conduct techno-economic feasibility studies for preparation of detailed land requirement, storage facilities and other supporting infrastructure with details of the cost.

2. GST collection in February stands at Rs 97,247 cr : According to Finance Ministry release, The GST collection in the month of February stood at 97 thousand 247 crore rupees (January- one lakh crore rupees).The total number of GSTR 3B returns filed for the month of January up to 28th February is over 73 lakhs. The Government has settled 19,470 crore rupees to CGST and 15,747 crores to SGST from IGST as a regular settlement. The total revenue earned by Central Government and the State Governments after regular settlement in the month of February 2019 is over 37 thousand crore rupees for CGST and around 40 thousand crore rupees for the SGST.

SPORTS:

1.Deepak Singh wins Gold at Makran Cup in Boxing : National champion boxer Deepak Singh has won a gold medal while five others claimed silver medals in the Makran Cup in Chabahar, Iran.Deepak (49-kilogram) defeated Jaafar Naseri in the finals. Silver medal winners were P Lalitha Prasad (52kg), Manish Kaushik (60kg), Duryodhan Singh Negi (69kg), Sanjeet (91kg) and Satish Kumar (91kg). Rohit Tokas (64kg) and Manjeet Singh Panghal (75kg) lost in the semi-finals to sign off with bronze medals.

2. Chris Gayle becomes the first player to smash 500 Sixes in International Cricket :West Indies opener Chris Gayle has become the first batsman ever to smash 500 or more sixes in International cricket.In the 4th ODI against England in Grenada, Gayle scored 162 runs. His innings contained a staggering 14 sixes and powered the Windies to their highest-ever ODI score of 389. Gayle also reached the 10,000-run milestone in ODIs and became only the second West Indian after Brian Lara (10,405 runs) to achieve the milestone.