Daily GK Updates - 26th May, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. BJD’s Chandrani Murmu from Orissa set to become youngest ever Lok Sabha MP: In a first, a 25-year-old engineering graduate from Odisha has become the youngest Member of Parliament to the 17th Lok Sabha. Chandrani Murmu represents tribal-dominated Keonjhar. Her major focus will be on generating employment in her region, and that she would not leave any stone unturned to accelerate setting up of new industries. According to Chandrani representing Keonjhar has always been a challenge. Though possessing India’s 20% of iron ore reserves and is rich in mineral resources, the district lags in many human development indices. So much so, it has earned the epithet, ‘A rich land with poor people’.

2. Higher education to get a boost with Rs. 1.5 lakh crore action plan: In what could be one of the first new initiatives of the NDA government, the Ministry of Human Resource Development plans to launch an ambitious Rs. 1.5 lakh crore action plan to improve the quality and accessibility of higher education over the next five years. This is being described as the implementation plan for the National Education Policy. The last National Education Policy (NEP) was released in 1986, with a revision in 1992. EQUIP project was being worked on in order to bring transformational change to the Higher Education system.

Note: EQUIP stands for the Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme. It was crafted by ten committees led by experts within the government such as NITI Aayog CEO, principal scientific advisor K. Vijay Raghavan and former revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia, as well as some corporate chiefs.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. SpaceX successfully launches first 60 satellites in “Starlink” internet constellation: SpaceX has launched the first 60 satellites of its “Starlink” constellation, which is intended to provide Internet from space in an array that could one day contain over 12,000 transponders. The launch was on a Falcon 9 rocket. The 60 satellites mark the beginning of SpaceX’s deployment of a global internet mega-constellation intended to generate more revenue to fuel the company’s interplanetary ambitions. The final orbit of the satellites is slightly higher than the International Space Station, but well below terrestrial satellites.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS 

1. Apurvi Chandela bags gold medal in 10m Air Rifle in ISSF World Cup: Indians had a good day at the year's third International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Rifle and Pistol tournament in Munich, Germany. Apurvi Chandela grabbed a gold,  winning the women's 10m Air Rifle competition after a closely-fought contest. She shot a score of 251 in the final to outshine Wang Luyao of China, who shot 250.8. This was Apurvi's second ISSF World Cup gold of the year followed by a world record score in New Delhi in February. This was also her career's fourth ISSF medal. Another Indian in the fray, Elavenil Valarivan also made it to the finals. But she missed out on a bronze medal to Xu Hong of China by just 0.1 points and finished fourth.

2. India's Mahesh Mangaonkar wins Sekisui Open: In squash, India's Mahesh Mangaonkar triumphed for the second time in the Sekisui Open in Kriens, Switerzland. Three years back he had won it the first time. Sekisui Open is a Challenger tour event of the Professional Squash Association (PSA), the world body which governs the sports. Top-seeded Mahesh beat third seed Bernat Jaume of Spain in four games 11-9, 3-11, 11-5, 11-5 yesterday to win his 8th PSA title. 

3. Men's compound team win bronze in Archery World Cup: The men's compound team of Rajat Chauhan, Abhishek Verma and Aman Saini earned India a solitary bronze medal in the Archery World Cup Stage III at Antalya in Turkey yesterday. The trio put up a solid performance to edge out higher seeded Russian team of Anton Bulaev, Alexander Dambaev and Pavel Krylov 235-230 in the bronze medal play-off. The Women's compound team of Jyoti Surekha Vennam, Muskan Kirar and Swati Dudhwal lost to Great Britain's Layla Annison, Ella Gibson and Lucy Mason by two points in the contention for a bronze medal. Indian archers have failed to make it count in the recurve section, finishing without a medal. The third stage of the World Cup is the last meet before the World Championships in the Netherlands.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. From investment cap to pension funds, SEBI plans changes to FPI rules: In an attempts to streamline the regulations to encourage foreign inflows in the Indian market, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed fast track on-boarding procedure for such investors, apart from a simplified registration process. The capital markets regulator released the report of the working group formed under the chairmanship of former RBI deputy governor HR Khan last year.

2. Facebook plans to launch 'GlobalCoin' cryptocurrency in 2020: Facebook wants to create a digital currency that provides affordable and secure ways of making payments, regardless of whether users have a bank account. The currency, dubbed GlobalCoin, would enable Facebook’s 2.4 billion monthly users to change dollars and other international currencies into its digital coins. The coins could then be used to buy things on the internet and in shops and other outlets or to transfer money without needing a bank account. The social networking site, which owns WhatsApp and Instagram, is hoping to disrupt existing networks by breaking down financial barriers, competing with banks and reducing consumer costs.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Sony to stop selling its smartphones in India: Japanese technology giant Sony has revealed it will stop selling its smartphones in several countries including India. Sony added it presently considers Japan, Europe, Taiwan and Hong Kong as the "focus regions" — to drive profit for the smartphone business. Sony reported an operating loss of 97.1 billion yen ($879.45 million) in the year ended March. Samsung with shipment of 71.9 million units, Huawei with 59.1 million, Apple with 36.4 million, Xiaomi with 25 million, Vivo with 23.2 million and Oppo with 23.1 million are the top smartphone brands in the first quarter of 2019.

2. Google bans 2nd largest phone maker Huawei from some Android updates: New Huawei smartphones are set to lose access to some Google apps like YouTube and Maps and the next version of Android to be launched later this year. This comes after the US government sought to blacklist Chinese company Huawei around the world. Google’s suspension follows a report calling for Huawei to be prevented from supplying 5G mobile networks in the UK, because its operations are “subject to influence by the Chinese state”. Australia, which also shares intelligence with the UK, has already moved to ban Huawei as a supplier for its future 5G network.

DEFENCE

1. AN-32 fleet of IAF allowed to use bio-jet fuel: In a significant move, the fleet of AN-32 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force was certified to fly on blended aviation fuel containing up to 10 % bio-jet fuel. The approval for use of bio-fuel to fly the Russian made fleet was given by the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC). The indigenous bio-jet fuel was first produced by the Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun in 2013, but it could not be tested or certified for commercial use on aircraft due to lack of test facilities in the civil aviation sector. On 27 July 2018, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa had formally announced IAF's intention to permit the use of all its resources for testing and certifying the indigenous fuel.