Daily GK Updates - 12th April, 2019

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India to Be Guest of Honour Country at ADIBF 2019: The UAE has announced that India will be the Guest of Honour country at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, ADIBF 2019, to be held at the end of April 2019. The fair aims to highlight the UAE’s rich heritage, showcasing its authenticity and modernity, as well as its cultural and literary output. Director of ADIBF: Abdullah Majed Al Ali, UAE Capital: Abu Dhabi, Currency: United Arab Emirates Dirham. 

2. Google Launches New Cloud Platform Anthos: Google launched Anthos, a new open platform from Google Cloud, that lets users run applications from anywhere. Anthos allows users to run applications, unmodified, on existing on-premise hardware or on the public cloud and is based on the Cloud Services Platform that Google announced in 2018.

OTHER UPDATES:

APPOINTMENTS

1. Shiv Das Meena appointed as NBCC Chairman and Managing Director: Shiv Das Meena, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has been appointed as the Chairman cum Managing Director (CMD) of National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC). Shiv Das Meena, an Indian Administrative Service officer of Tamil Nadu cadre of 1989-Batch, will succeed Dr. Anoop Kumar Mittal. He takes charge as the 17th CMD of the company after Mittal.

About NBCC: NBCC (India) Limited (formerly National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited) is a blue-chip Government of India Navratna enterprise and a Central Public Sector undertaking which trades publicly in the market.

AWARDS

1. Dost Education Wins $25,000 Global Tech Prize: India's education technology startup 'Dost Education' won a $25,000 tech prize along with two other winners from Tanzania and Egypt. The Next Billion Edtech Prize 2019, run by UK-based Varkey Foundation, recognizes the most innovative technology destined to have a radical impact on education in low income and emerging world countries.

2. Namami Gange Gets Global Recognition At World Summit: The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) was awarded the distinction of “Public Water Agency of the Year” by Global Water Intelligence at the Global Water Summit in London. The Global Water Awards are presented at the Global Water Summit, the major business conference for the water industry worldwide.

3. Indian Oil Bags AIMA Managing India Award for Outstanding PSU: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has bagged the prestigious 'AIMA Managing India Award 2019 for outstanding PSU of the year.'  The award was presented by former President Pranab Mukherjee to Sanjiv Singh, Chairman, Indian Oil.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. TCS, Google Partner to Build Industry-Specific Cloud Solutions: Tata Consultancy Services partnered with Google Cloud to build industry-specific cloud solutions. TCS’ solutions on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) will help enterprises build secure, cloud-native analytics platforms that enable high levels of personalization, and are cost-effective, easy to maintain, and future ready.

2. RBL Bank Partners With CreditVidya For Improving Customer Experience: RBL Bank has partnered with credit profiler CreditVidya to improve the lender's customer experience.  Through this partnership, the private sector lender will be able to gain significant insights into its customer base. RBL/Ratnakar Bank Limited is a scheduled commercial bank, headquartered in Mumbai.

3. SBI inks co-origination loan pact with Paisalo Digital Ltd: With a vision to empower Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and small businesses, PAISALO Digital Limited signed the first co-origination loan agreement with State Bank of India (SBI). Introducing a platform for the last mile customer, the loan ticket is designed at Rs 10,000 to 2 lakh. The company expects to disburse 200,000 loan applications in FY20. PAISALO Digital Limited is a systemically important non-deposit taking NBFC registered with the Reserve Bank of India and has been in operations since 1992.

SPORTS

1. AITA Signs MoU with Serbian Tennis Federation to Train Junior Players: The All India Tennis Association (AITA) has signed a MoU with Serbian Tennis Federation (STF) to train Indian junior players under world-renowned Serbian coaches. Both the federations have also agreed to work on the education of officials, coaches and physical trainers and their exchange for tournaments.

2. Deepa Malik honoured with New Zealand Prime Minister’s Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship for 2019: Rio Paralympics silver medallist Deepa Malik was named as the recipient of the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship for 2019 in recognition of her “inspiring achievements“. The first Indian woman to earn a medal at the Paralympic Games, Deepa has won 58 national and 23 international medals. A recipient of the Padma Shri and Arjuna Award, she has entered the Limca Book of World Records four times.