Daily GK Updates - 13th August, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Air India first flight over North Pole from Delhi to San Francisco: On the nation's Independence Day, Air India will become the 1st Indian airline to fly over the North Pole while connecting New Delhi and North America. The inaugural flight over the Polar region will take flight on August 15, 2019, and will fly from New Delhi to San Francisco. Currently, the route taken by New Delhi to San Francisco flight goes over Bangladesh, Myanmar, China and Japan before crossing the Pacific Ocean to enter the United States of America.

2. Doordarshan produced a patriotic song “Watan”: Union Information and Broadcasting Minister have released a patriotic song “Watan” to mark the occasion of Independence Day, 2019. The song is sung by singer Javed Ali, penned by lyricist Alok Shrivastav and musically composed by Dushyant. The patriotic song is produced by Doordarshan. The song highlights several path-breaking initiatives of the government including the determination and vision behind the recent successful launch of "Chandrayaan 2".  The song also pays tribute to the bravery and valour of our armed forces and the martyrs of the country.

Note: Union Information and Broadcasting Minister: Prakash Javadekar.

3. Punjab govt to provide 28000 agro-machines to farmers to prevent stubble burning: With a view to making Punjab a ‘zero stubble burning state’, the Punjab Agriculture Department has initiated a massive drive to provide more than 28000 agro-machines/farm equipment to farmers. Subsidy component of 278 crore rupees will be provided for the scheme during the current fiscal year under the first phase for in-situ management of paddy residue. Subsidy ranging from 50 per cent to 80 per cent is being provided to the farmers under the scheme with 80 per cent subsidy to cooperative societies and farmers groups while 50 per cent for individuals.

4. Headgear becomes mandatory for children above 4 years: Central government has made "Headgear" mandatory for children above 4 years while travelling on a motorcycle. The safety measures for the children travelling on motorcycles have been included in the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019. Only Sikhs wearing turban have been exempted from the provision of Section 129 that makes helmets mandatory for all riders of motorcycles above 4 years of age.

5. IIT Kharagpur researchers develop low-cost blood test device: Researchers from IIT Kharagpur have developed a low-cost diagnostic device which can perform various pathological tests by using blood taken from a finger prick. The device requires only a paper strip based kit integrated with a smartphone to enable analytics and readout functions and an LED light for imaging.

6. Two new UTs, J&K and Ladakh will come into existence on Oct 31: President Ram Nath Kovind gave assent to legislation for bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir, and two Union Territories, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh will come into existence on October 31.

7. ‘Sridevi: Girl Woman Superstar’ a book on the life of Sridevi: The book, titled ‘Sridevi: Girl Woman Superstar’ will be launched on cinema legend Sridevi’s 56th birth anniversary (13th August). The book is written by author-screenwriter Satyarth Nayak and approved by the actor's producer husband Boney Kapoor. The book recounts the life and times of the iconic actor who changed how women stars were perceived in the male-dominated film industry. The book will be published under the Ebury Press imprint of Penguin Random House in October 2019. Sridevi passed away at the age of 54 in February 2018 in Dubai.

8. Chandrima Shaha elected INSA’s first woman president: Former director of the National Institute of Immunology Chandrima Shaha has been elected as the first woman president of the reputed Indian National Science Academy (INSA).

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Alejandro Giammattei elected as Guatemala’s new president: Right-wing candidate Alejandro Giammattei (63-years) has been elected as the new President of Guatemala. He defeated former First Lady Sandra Torres from the centrist National Unity of Hope party. Giammattei will succeed corruption-tainted outgoing President Jimmy Morales. Alejandro Giammattei will assume office on 14th January 2020.

Note: Guatemala Capital: Guatemala City, Currency: Quetzal (GTQ)

2. Ghotu Ram Meena named India’s next Ambassador to Republic of Congo: Ghotu Ram Meena has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Congo. Currently, Meena is serving as a counsellor, Embassy of India in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Note: Congo Capital: Brazzaville; Currency: Congolese franc.

3. PM Modi to visit Bhutan on 17th August: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Bhutan on 17th of this month. During the two-day visit, Prime Minister Mr Modi will hold talks with his Bhutanese counterpart Lotay Tshering. According to Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, MoUs (Memorandum of understanding) in various fields will be signed between the two countries. Besides, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate a hydropower project and will roll out RuPay Cards.

Note: Bhutan Capital: Thimphu, Currency: Ngultrum (BTN)

4. India cancels Samjhauta Express train after Pakistan suspends operations on its side: Indian Railways has cancelled ‘Samjhauta Express’ train after Pakistan suspended operations on its side. According to Northern Railway, Pakistan has cancelled the Samjhauta Express running between Lahore and Attari. The railways run the train on Sundays from Delhi to Attari and back, while Pakistan used to run the train between Lahore and Attari.

Note: The train (Samjhauta Express) was started on 22 July 1976 following the Shimla Agreement and ran between Amritsar and Lahore, a distance of about 52 km. Following disturbances in Punjab in the late eighties, due to security reasons, Indian Railways decided to terminate the service at Attari, where customs and immigration clearances take place. On 14 April 2000, in an agreement between Indian Railways and Pakistan Railways (PR), the distance was revised to cover just less than three km.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Aishwarya Pissay becomes first Indian to claim a world title in motorsports: Aishwarya Pissay became the first Indian to claim a world title in motorsports, annexing the FIM World Cup in the women's category after the final round of the championship at Varpalota in Hungary. Earlier, Aishwarya has won the first round in Dubai. Aishwarya, who won the first round in Dubai and was placed third (Portugal), fifth (Spain) and fourth (Hungary) in the subsequent outings, finished with a tally of 65 points, just four ahead of Portugal’s Rita Vieira in the final overall standings for women.

2. Virat Kohli becomes second-highest run-getter for India in ODIs: India’s Skipper Virat Kohli (30-years) has become the second-highest run-getter for India in ODIs as he played a knock of 120 runs against Windies in the second ODI at the Queen's Park Oval. Kohli surpassed Ganguly's record in his 238th game while Ganguly took 311 ODIs to score 11,363 runs. Tendulkar has 18,426 runs, most in the ODI cricket by any batsman in the world. Kohli also became the highest run-scorer against West Indies in the ODIs.

3. Rafael Nadal, Bianca Andreescu wins Rogers Open: Spanish professional tennis player Rafael Nadal has won the Men’s single Rogers Open. Canadian Bianca Andreescu (19-years) has won the Women’s Singles title at the Canadian Open (Tennis) 2019. The 2019 Rogers Cup (Canadian Open) presented by National Bank is a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is the 139th edition (for the men) and the 128th (for the women) of the Canadian Open. The women's event is taking place at the Aviva Centre in Toronto and the men's event is being held at the IGA Stadium in Montreal.

Complete winners list:

Events	Winners
Men’s Single	Rafael Nadal
Women’s Single	Bianca Andreescu
Men’s doubles	Marcel Granollers & Horacio Zeballos
Women’s doubles	Barbora Krejcikova & Kateřina Siniakova

    

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. AePS crosses 200 million transactions in July: NPCI: National Payments Corporation of India has announced that Aadhaar enabled Payment System has crossed the milestone of over 200 million transactions during July 2019. The transaction count of AePS stood at 220 million in july 2019. AePS is a bank led model which allows basic banking transactions at point of sale. AePS empowers a bank customer to use Aadhaar as identity to access respective Aadhaar enabled bank account and perform basic banking transactions like cash withdrawal, intrabank or interbank fund transfer and balance enquiry.

Note: MD & CEO of NPCI: Dilip Asbe.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Huawei launches its own operating system HarmonyOS: Chinese telecom giant Huawei unveiled its own operating system will be called the HongmengOS, known in English as the HarmonyOS. The operating system will be released as an open-source platform worldwide to encourage adoption. HarmonyOS is future-oriented and designed to be more smooth and secure, and is completely different from Android and iOS.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. National Youth Awards conferred for development and social service work: The Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports (I/C) conferred the National Youth Awards. The awards were conferred to 20 individuals (aged between 15-29 years) and 3 organizations for excellent work and contribution in different fields of development and social service. The individual award comprises of a medal, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 50,000. The award to a youth organisation includes a medal, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 2,00,000.

Note: Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports (I/C): Kiren Rijiju.

DEFENCE

1. Army launches 'Mission Reach Out' in Jammu: The Army has launched "Mission Reach Out" was chaired by White Knight Corps Commander Lt Gen Paramjit Singh in Jammu.  This Mission aims to ensure basic necessities and essential services are available in the region post the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 and reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir. It was attended by Jammu Divisional Commissioner Sanjeev Verma, members of the civil administration, representatives of the J&K Police, CRPF, BSF and intelligence agencies.

Note: Governor of Jammu & Kashmir: Satya Pal Malik.

OBITUARIES

1. Music star DJ Arafat passes away: Ivorian musician Houon Ange Didier (popularly known DJ Arafat) passed away after getting involved in an ugly road accident. DJ Arafat(33-year) issued 11 albums, mainly of “coupe-decale”, a dance music form combining rapid percussion, choppy rhythms with hip hop-style vocals. He was also named “Best Artist of the Year” at the Ivorian “Coupe-decale” Awards in 2016 and 2017.

2. Freedom fighter Dayanidhi Nayak passes away: Noted freedom fighter ‘Dayanidhi Nayak’ (95-years), who struggled against the British Government during the Quit India movement passed away. One of the 32 freedom fighters from Panimora, he joined the Quit India movement against the British government and was a devout follower of Mahatma Gandhi. During the Quit India movement, he was jailed for nine months. He was a pure Gandhian and he even used to weave his own clothes like him.

3. Former ASG Amarendra Sharan passes away: Senior advocate and former Additional Solicitor General Amarendra Sharan passed away. Sharan was the Additional Solicitor General in the Supreme Court from 2004 to 2009. He was also appointed as an amicus curiae by the apex court which was hearing a petition seeking fresh investigation in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.