Daily GK Updates - 6th May, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Justice Ravindra Bhat becomes CJ of Rajasthan High Court: The senior most judge of the Delhi High Court Justice Shripathi Ravindra Bhat was sworn in as new Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court (36th). Justice Bhat was administered the oath office by Governor Kalyan Singh at a special function in Raj Bhawan in Jaipur. He was appointed as an additional judge of the Delhi high court in 2004 and became a permanent judge on February 20, 2006.

2. Myntra ropes in Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma as first brand ambassadors: Star couple Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma have been roped in as the first official brand ambassadors of Flipkart-owned ecommerce platform, Myntra. Its campaign ‘Go Myntra-la-la’ brings alive the joyful experience of shopping and kicks-off with an ad film starring the star couple.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India to attend G-7 meet in France: India will be attending the Group of 7 industrialised nations meet organised by France in Biarritz in August along with Australia, Chile and South Africa, in a sign of the recognition of India’s growing economic heft in the international arena. According to analysts, the invitation clearly reflects the strong strategic connect between India and France.

2. Pakistan appoints ex-IMF official as new SBP governor: Pakistani economist Dr Reza Baqir has been appointed as the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for a period of three years. He will replace Tariq Bajwa, who was removed from his post. Currently, Dr Reza Baqir (Harvard and Berkeley University of California alumnus) is serving in the IMF as senior resident representative to Egypt. The government also appointed Ahmed Mujtaba Memon as the chairman of the FBR - the tax collection body.

3. Sri Lanka lifts a temporary ban on social media platforms: In Sri Lanka, the temporary ban on several social media platforms has been lifted. Meanwhile, security operations continue all over the country as secondary schools opened today for the first time after attacks, but attendance has been reported low. Government primary schools up to grade 5 are scheduled to open next week. Security arrangements are being made at every school and the public has been asked not to park cars close to schools.At least 257 people, including 42 foreigners, were killed when nine suicide bombers attacked eight locations including five-star hotels and churches all over the country.

4. Nepali girl dances for 126 hours straight to set new World Record: Nepali dancer Bandana Nepal (18-years) dances continuously for 126 hours to set a Guinness World Records on "Longest Dancing Marathon by an Individual" at a function in Kathmandu. Bandana Nepal broke the record set by India’s Kalamandalam Hemlatha who danced continuously for 123 hours and 15 minutes (in 2011). Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli honoured the girl Bandana Nepal for achieving the feat.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Indian boxers win six medals at 36th Feliks Stamm International Boxing: Indian boxers finished with a rich haul of six medals, including two gold at the 36th Feliks Stamm International Boxing Tournament in Warsaw, Poland. Solanki (22-years) out-punched England's William Cawley 5-0 in 52 kilograms on his way to the coveted yellow metal. Kaushik beat Morocco's Mohamed Hamout 4-1 in 60 kilograms weight category. Indian boxers also clinched a silver and three bronze.

2. Shahid Afridi’s book “Game Changer”: So it turns out we know little about Pakistan’s former cricket captain Shahid Afridi. In a new book, called ‘Game Changer’, Boom Boom – as he is popularly called – has decided to come clean – about his age, his experiences and THAT infamous match-fixing scandal. And in doing so, he’s done some explosive revealing. Book is co-authored by journalist Wajahat S Khan.

3. Saurav & Joshna win Asian Individual Squash Championship titles: Ace Indian squash players Saurav Ghoshal and Joshna Chinappawon their respective Asian Individual Squash Championship titles in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Saurav Ghoshal defeated Leo Au Chun Ming (Hong Kong) 11-9, 11-2, 11-8 to win the men's title.  Joshna Chinappa retained her title as she beat top seed Annie Au (Hong Kong) 11-5, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6 in the women's final event. Ghoshal who had become the first Indian male player to reach top ten of the world rankings is the finalist of the previous edition.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. GST collections touch an all-time high of over Rs 1.13 lakh crore in April: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection scaled an all-time high of over 1.13 lakh crore rupees last month, up from 1.06 lakh crore rupees in the previous month. According to Finance Minister statement, out of the total gross GST revenue collected in April, Central GST is 21 thousand 163 crore rupees, State GST is 28 thousand 801 crore rupees, Integrated GST is 54 thousand 733 crore and cess is 9 thousand 168 crore rupees.

2. Foreign exchange reserves rise by 4.3 Billion: According to RBI data, the country's foreign exchange reserves soared by USD 4.368 billion to USD 418.515 billion in the week to April 26. Foreign currency assets rose by USD 4.387 billion to USD 390.421 billion. According to the data Gold reserves remained unchanged at USD 23.303 billion. The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund was down by USD 5.9 million to USD 1.449 billion. The country's reserve position with the Fund also declined USD 13.6 million to USD 3.341 billion.

Note: Foreign exchange reserves (FX reserves) are the foreign currencies held by a country's central bank. Reserves are held in one or more reserve currencies, mostly the United States dollar and to a lesser extent the Euro.

3. RBI imposes fines on PPIs for violating norms: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed penalties on five prepaid payment instrument (PPI) issuers, of Rs 3.05 crore was imposed on Vodafone m-pesa and Rs 1 crore each on Mobile Payments, PhonePe, Private and GI Technology, for violation of regulatory norms. RBI has imposed the penalty of Rs 29,66,959 and Rs 10,11,653 on Western Union Financial Services Inc, USA, and MoneyGram Payment Systems Inc, USA, respectively, for non-compliance of regulatory guidelines. Also, a penalty of Rs 5 lakh has been imposed on Y-Cash Software Solutions.

DEFENCE

1. Launch of Fourth Scorpene Class Submarine – VELA: Vela, the fourth Scorpene class submarine being constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited for the Indian Navy, was launched 06 May 2019, by Mrs Veena Ajay Kumar, wife of Dr Ajay Kumar, IAS, Secretary Defence Production, who was the Chief Guest on the occasion. This event reaffirms the steps taken by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) in the ongoing ‘Make In India’ programme, which is being actively implemented by the Department of Defence Production (MoD). The submarine was towed to Mumbai Port Trust, for separation from the pontoon, after which she will undergo rigorous trials and tests, both in harbour and at sea before delivery to the Indian Navy.