Daily GK Updates - 23rd May, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Lok Shabha election: The NDA returns: BJP-led NDA government looks set to become the only non-Congress government to return to power in the Indian political history. After Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, Narendra Modi is also the third prime minister of India who has been able to retain power for a second term with full majority in Lok Sabha. Repeating its near improbable feat of landslide victory in North and West India with a vote share of nearly 50 per cent, the NDA has taken a massive lead over the Congress-led UPA. The alliance has crossed the majority mark of 272 and is moving towards 350 seats mark out of the total 542 Lok Sabha seats. 

Markets cheered the trends, as the benchmark BSE Sensex touched 40,000 for the first time and NSE Nifty breached the 12,000 level. The rupee appreciated 14 paise to 69.51 against the US dollar trade.

2. 5th Smart Cities India 2019 Expo Inaugurated in New Delhi: The 5th Smart Cities India 2019 expo, including Transport India, Solar India, Buildings India and Water India expos, was inaugurated by Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoUHUA) at the Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. Organised by India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) and Exhibitions India Group, the event builds upon Government of India's 'Smart Cities Mission' through a display of a vast array of products and solutions relevant to building smart cities in India.

3. Supreme Court gets four new judges; now has full strength: Four new judges were appointed to the Supreme Court, raising their number to 31. The four appointed are justices Aniruddha Bose, A S Bopanna, B R Gavai and Surya Kant. The selection of judges was based on the decision of 5 member collegium. The five-member Collegium is headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. WHO Declares Algeria, Argentina Malaria-Free: The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Algeria and Argentina as malaria-free, with no recorded cases of indigenous transmission of the disease since 2013 and 2010 respectively. It accounted for an estimated 219 million cases from 87 countries and over 400,000 related deaths in 2017, according to WHO's World malaria report 2018.

Note: Malaria parasite was first discovered in Algeria by French physician Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran in 1880. Algeria Capital: Algiers, Currency: Algerian dinar. Argentina Capital: Buenos Aires, Currency: Argentine peso.

2. US, Japan, South Korea, and Australia Hold 1st Naval Drills in Western Pacific: U.S. Navy ships conducted joint drills with warships from allies Japan, Australia and South Korea in their first combined exercise in the Western Pacific. The Pacific Vanguard exercise near the U.S. island of Guam takes place ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit to Japan, as Washington looks to allies in Asia to help counter China’s military might in the region.

3. World Turtle Day: 23 May: The purpose of World Turtle Day, May 23, sponsored yearly since 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue, is to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for, turtles and tortoises, and encourage human action to help them survive and thrive. Throwing a spotlight on freshwater turtles ahead of World Turtle Day on May 23, the India Biodiversity Portal has initiated a ‘Turtle Spotting Week’ as part of a unique exercise to document the creatures across India.

4. Pakistan successfully test-fires ballistic missile Shaheen-II: Pakistan on Thursday successfully test-fired surface-to-surface ballistic missile Shaheen-II, capable of hitting targets as far as 1,500 kilometers away, bringing major Indian cities under its range. Shaheen-II Missile is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads upto a range of 1,500 km. Shaheen-II is a highly capable missile which fully meets Pakistan’s strategic needs towards maintenance of desired deterrence stability in the region.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Sethu FC Crowned As Indian Women's League Champions: Sethu FC turned around a first-half deficit to clinch their first ever Indian Women's League trophy after defeating Manipur Police at the Guru Nanak Stadium, in Ludhiana, Punjab.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. HDFC Group Overtakes Tata Group As India’s most Valuable: The HDFC group has overtaken the 151-year-old Tata group to emerge as India's most valuable by way of market capitalization (m-cap). The combined market value of the five listed companies of the HDFC group - HDFC, HDFC Bank, HDFC Life, HDFC Asset Management and Gruh Finance stood at Rs 11.66 lakh crore while the combined m-cap of 29 Tata group companies stood at Rs 11.64 lakh crore, about Rs 2,000 crore less than that of the HDFC group.

2. Kids Right Index 2019: India Ranks 117, Iceland Tops: India stands in a lowly 117th position out of 181 countries in the KidsRight Index, the annual global index which ranks how countries adhere to and are equipped to improve child rights. Iceland secured the top position in the index followed by Portugal. Countries are judged on five indicators: right to life, right to education, right to health, right to protection and enabling environment for child rights.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Insurer Bharti AXA Bags Claims Excellence Award: Bharti AXA Life Insurance, a private life insurer, has been conferred with the FICCI Claims Excellence Award. The insurer improved its individual claim settlement ratio, the number of claims paid to the number of claims received, to 96.85% in the financial year 2017-18. 

2. Indra Nooyi received doctorate from Yale: Former PepsiCo chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi was presented with an honorary degree by the prestigious Yale University, her alma mater, in recognition of her achievements in business and for being a global role model who encouraged women and girls to see themselves as top corporate executives. Nooyi, who received a degree in Master of Public and Private Management from the university's Yale School of Management in 1980, was presented with the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. 

DEFENCE

1. Brahmos Air Missile Successfully Launched From Su-30 MKI Aircraft: Indian Air Force successfully fired the BrahMos air version missile from its frontline Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft. The air-launched BrahMos missile is a 2.5-ton supersonic air to surface cruise missilewith ranges of close to 300 km, designed and developed by BAPL. 

2. Lt Bhawana Kanth, 1st Woman to Qualify to Go to Day Missions on Fighter Jet: Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth became the first woman pilot of the Indian Air Force to qualify to undertake missions by day on a fighter aircraft. She completed the Day Operational syllabus on MiG-21 Bison. Bhawana joined the fighter squadron in 2017 and flew the first solo on MiG-21 Bison in 2018.

3. Tech Mahindra Signs Rs 300 crore Defence Contract with Indian Navy: Tech Mahindra announced its biggest defence order worth over Rs 300 crore with the Indian Navy. As part of the ‘Armed Forces Secure Access Card’ (AFSAC) Project. Tech Mahindra will implement RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) based Access Control System across all naval bases and ships. The new AFSAC Card will replace the existing paper-based Identity Card for all Navy personnel including dependents and ex-servicemen.