Daily GK Updates - 11th May, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. New Heat-Sensing Snake Species Found, Named after Arunachal Pradesh: Pune-based Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) team found a new species of reddish-brown pit viper snake with a unique heat-sensing system, the first in past 70 years in India. The species is named 'Trimeresurus arunachalensis' after Arunachal Pradesh, where it was discovered. This makes Arunachal Pradesh the only state to have a pit viper named after it.

2. National Technology Day: 11th May: National Technology Day is observed every year on 11th of May in India, acting as a reminder of the anniversary of Shakti. On May 11, 1998, India successfully test fired the Shakti-I nuclear missile at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range (in Rajasthan) in an operation led by aerospace engineer and late President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. India conducted five underground nuclear tests at Pokhran test range in Rajasthan, on 11th and 13th of May in 1998. The first nuclear test Pokhran with a codenamed as ‘Smiling Buddha’ was carried out in May 1974.

3. BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta to be new Maharashtra chief secretary: BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta (1984 batch officer) will be Maharashtra's new chief secretary. Out-going chief secretary UPS Madan will be the chairman of SICOM and would be also an advisor to chief minister. Meanwhile, Additional chief secretary Praveen Pardeshi will be appointed as the new BMC chairman.

4. Air India offers hefty discounts on last-minute flight bookings: National carrier ‘Air India’ has decided that very last moment available seats within three hours of departure will be sold at a hefty discount. The decision was taken during a commercial review meeting at Air India headquarters. According to Air India Spokesman, Tickets can be purchased from all outlets including Air India Booking Counters, Air India Mobile App, Air India website and Travel Agents. The discount will normally be exceeding 40% of the selling price.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Konkan Railways Signs Contract Agreement with Nepal to Supply two 1600 HP DEMU Train Sets: Konkan Railways Corporation Ltd has signed a contract agreement with Nepal's Department of Railways to supply two 1600 HP DEMU train sets. These trains will be used to operationalise railway link between Jayanagar in India and Kurtha in Nepal. The train sets will be manufactured by the Integrated Coach Factory, Chennai. 

2. Ireland Becomes 2nd Country to Declare Climate Emergency: Ireland has declared a climate emergency in their country, to be the second country after Britain to do so. Britain's parliament became the first in the world to declare a climate emergency, passing the largely symbolic motion on May 1. 

3. Actress Dia Mirza Selected Among 17 New 'SDG Advocates' Of UN:  Indian actress Dia Mirza and Alibaba chief Jack Ma are among the 17 global public figures appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as the new advocates to drive action and solidify global political will for the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

4. NASA to crash spacecraft into an asteroid in 2022: The US space agency ‘NASA’ revealed its plan to hit a small moonlet target in a double asteroid system with a spacecraft in 2022. It is its first mission to demonstrate a planetary defence technique. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) will get one chance to hit its target. The asteroid, called Didymoon or Didymos B, is a moon asteroid around 150 meters tall orbiting a larger body Didymos A.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Bharatpe Launches India's 1st UPI Bahi Khata For Merchants: BharatPe - India's first Fintech start-up enabling payments for merchants through interoperable UPI QR codes, has announced its foray into merchant services with a new app. Along with UPI payments, the app now allows merchants to manage their entire Bahi Khata and even note receivables and payables seamlessly. 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Actress Anne Hathaway Receives Star On Hollywood Walk Of Fame: Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in Los Angeles, US.

DEFENCE

1. 1st Apache Helicopter Formally Handed Over To IAF: First AH-64E (I) - Apache Guardian helicopter was formally handed over to the Indian Air Force at Boeing production facility in Arizona, USA. IAF had signed a contract with US Government and M/s Boeing Ltd in Sep 2015 for 22 Apache helicopters. The first batch of these helicopters is scheduled to be shipped to India by July 2019. The helicopter has been customized to suit IAF’s future requirements and would have significant capability in mountainous terrain. It has the capability to carry out precision attacks at standoff ranges and operate in hostile Airspace with threats from the ground. They have the ability to transmit and receive battlefield picture to and from the weapon systems through data networking

OBITUARIES

1. ITC's Non-Executive Chairman YC Deveshwar Passes Away: The Padma Bhushan awardee and ITC's Non-Executive Chairman YC Deveshwarpassed away at the age of 72. He spearheaded the diversification of ITC to an FMCG company. He stepped down as chief executive of ITC in 2017. Between 1991 and 1994, he led state-owned carrier Air India as the Chairman and Managing Director.

2. Tamil Novelist and Sahitya Akademi Awardee Thoppil Mohamed Meeran Passes Away: Noted Tamil novelist and Sahitya Akademi awardee Thoppil Mohamed Meeran, passed away in Pettai, Tamil Nadu. Saaivu Naarkkaali (The Reclining Chair), released in 1995, bagged him the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1997. 

3. Acting Guru Roshan Taneja passes away: Roshan Taneja (87-years) known as the 'pioneer of method acting' in India passed away in Mumbai. Roshan Taneja trained scores of Hindi film actors like Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Jaya Bachchan and Anil Kapoor. He had been training talent first at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune and later at his private school in Mumbai, the Roshan Taneja School of Acting.