Daily GK Updates - 25th August, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Inaugurates First PPP Model National Food Laboratory of FSSAI in Ghaziabad: The Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the upgraded National Food Laboratory (NFL) of FSSAI in Ghaziabad on the occasion of 13th anniversary of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The NFL, Ghaziabad is the first national laboratory upgraded on Public-Private-Partnership (PPP). The lab has state-of-the-art collaborative training centres, namely, the Food Safety Solution Centre (FSSC) and the Centre for Microbiological Analysis Training (C-MAT). The NFL in Ghaziabad and Kolkata are the two premier referral laboratories under the direct administrative control of the apex food regulator, Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI). The laboratory in Kolkata is also being upgraded.

2. Haryana govt rolls out Mukhya Mantri Parivar Samridhi Yojana: Haryana Government announced the roll-out of ‘Mukhya Mantri Parivar Samridhi Yojna’ which will provide social security to families. Under the scheme, Rs 6000 per year will be given to each eligible family. The eligibility for the scheme is for families having an annual income less than Rs 1,80,000 or a total landholding of fewer than two hectares. Under the scheme, each beneficiary family will be entitled to get Rs 500 per month.

3. Gujarat ranked first in Composite Water Management Index 2.0: NITI Aayog has prepared the second Round of Composite Water Management Index (CWMI 2.0) in which Gujarat is at the top. CWMI 2.0 ranks various states for the reference year 2017-18 as against the base year 2016-17 (for first edition). Gujarat is at the top in the reference year (2017-18). Andhra Pradesh is on 2nd, Madhya Pradesh on 3rd, Goa on 4th, Karnataka on 5th and Tamil Nadu on 6th. In the last ranking also Gujarat was on top. In North Eastern and Himalayan States, Himachal Pradesh has been ranked one. Delhi is at the last spot.

Note: CWMI: Composite Water Management Index was first launched in 2018 by NITI Aayog as a tool to instill the sense of cooperative and competitive federalism among the states.

4. Book Titled “Flawed: The Rise and Fall of India’s Diamond Mogul Nirav Modi” to Be Launched on August 31: The story depicting the details of the fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi in the form of a book titled, “Flawed: The Rise and Fall of India’s Diamond Mogul Nirav Modi” will hit the stands on August 31, 2019. The book has been written by journalist-author Pavan C Lall. 48-year-old Modi is currently lodged in a prison in London and is wanted in India in connection with the nearly USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud.

5. Mihir Dalal Pens Book Titled ‘Big Billion Startup – The Untold Flipkart Story’: The story of how the IIT graduates Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal founded and built the e-commerce start-up Flipkart and turned it into a multi-billion-dollar powerhouse in few years as India’s biggest online market has come out in the form of a book. The book titled ‘Big Billion Startup – The Untold Flipkart Story’ has been penned by journalist Mihir Dalal. The book has been published by Pan Macmillan India and will be released in October 2019. Mihir is a journalist at Livemint and this is his first book based on extraordinary research, extensive interviews and deep access to key characters in the Flipkart story revealing how the Bansals built and sold India’s largest internet company.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. PM Modi launches RuPay card in UAE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the RuPay card here, making the UAE the first country in the Middle East to initiate the Indian indigenous system of electronic payment. RuPay card scheme was launched in 2012 to fulfil the Reserve Bank of India’s vision to have a domestic, open and multilateral system of payments. UAE is third country launched the RuPay card after Singapore and Bhutan.

Note: UAE President: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan;Capital: Abu Dhabi; Currency: United Arab Emirates dirham

2. Serbia becomes 73rd non-regional member of AIIB, Greece as 74th: Serbia has officially become the 73rd non-regional member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The Resolution of the Board of Governors also confirmed Greece as a 74th member of that international organization. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, based in Beijing, has begun operation in 2016. Aside from Serbia, its new non-regional member, banks members outside of The Asia-Pacific include Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and others,

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OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. PV Sindhu Beats Nozomi Okuhara to Win BWF World Championships: Ace Indian shuttler P.V. Sindhu became the first Indian to win a Badminton World Championships gold by beating familiar rival Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in a lop-sided final. The Indian won 21-7 21-7 in the summit clash that lasted just 38 minutes. Two years after being robbed off the gold by Okuhara in an epic 110-minute final at Glasgow that went down as one of the greatest battles in badminton history, Sindhu finally exorcised the ghost of that heart-wrenching loss with a completely dominating win over the same opponent. It was Sindhu’s fifth World Championships medal- joint most for a woman singles player with former Olympics and world champion Zhang Ning of China- to go with the two successive silvers and a couple of bronze medals.

Note: BWF World Championships is a badminton tournament which is held at St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland.

2. BWF World Championships: Sai Praneeth finishes with bronze: India’s B Sai Praneeth lost the men’s singles semi-final 13-21, 8-21 to World No. 1 Kento Mmomta of Japan at the BWF World Championships 2019 in Basel but finished with his maiden medal at the world meet. With this, Praneeth became the first Indian male shuttler in 36 years to secure a medal in the BWF World Championships. Thus he became the only 2nd Indian men’s singles player to win a medal in BWF World Championships

Note: Prakash Padukone was the first Indian to win a men’s singles World Championships medal- a bronze- in the 1983 edition.

3. Gokulam Kerala Beats Mohun Bagan 2-1 to Win Durand Cup 2019: Gokulam Kerala defeated Mohun Bagan 2–1 to win their maiden Durand Cup finals held at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. The 2019 Durand Cup was the 129th edition of the oldest football tournament in Asia since its foundation in 1888.

BANKING & FINANCE

1. SEBI Eases Norms for FPIs: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has eased the regulatory and compliance framework for foreign portfolio investors (FPI) with an aim to boost investments and expedite the registration process for FPIs. Some major announcements and approvals made by SEBI is listed below: FPIs may be re-categorized into two categories – Category I and II, instead of the present requirement of three categories. The central banks that are not the members of BIS (Bank for International Settlement) shall also be eligible for FPI registration. Documentation requirements for KYC have been simplified. At the time of making the application for trading under regular category of main board, the number of shareholders should be minimum 200. The company should have profitability/ net worth track record of 3 years or have 75% of its capital.

2. Govt to release ₹70,000 crore immediately to state-run banks: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced measures to revive economic growth and markets. She also said that GST regime will be simplified further and the government will release ₹70,000 crore capital upfront to public sector banks to boost credit to different sectors of the economy.

3. DBS named 'World's Best Bank' by Euromoney magazine: In a feat unmatched by other banks globally, DBS has become the first bank to concurrently hold three global best bank awards. This was achieved after DBS was named "World's Best Bank" by leading global financial publication Euromoney in its 2019 Awards for Excellence. It follows the bank's wins of Global Finance's "Best Bank in the World" in August 2018 and The Banker's "Bank of the Year - Global" in November 2018. This is the first time an Asian-headquartered bank has been named "World's Best Bank" by Euromoney since the award was launched in 1993. Past winners included Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Citi, and UBS. DBS was also named Asia's Best Bank and Singapore's Best Bank in this year's Awards for Excellence.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Amazon to acquire 49% stake in Kishore Biyani’s Future Coupons: Kishore Biyani-led Future Group announced that American e-commerce giant Amazon.com is acquiring a 49% stake in a group entity — Future Coupons Ltd. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

2. India Ranks 86th in Henley Passport Index 2019; Japan & Singapore Tops: India has been ranked at 86th place in annual Henley Passport Index 2019, a slip of 5 place from 81 in 2018. Japan and Singapore shares the top spot on the Henley Passport Index, with a visa-free or visa-on-arrival score of 189. India shares its position with two countries namely Mauritania and Sao Tome and Principe at 86th place with a score of 58. This means India will able to access 58 destinations around the world without a prior visa.  Among the 109 countries included in the index, Afghanistan remains at the bottom with weakest passport having Visa-free access to only 25 destinations.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Dr Jitendra Singh Presents 4th Annual ANUBHAV Awards 2019: Dr. Jitendra Singh presented the ANUBHAV Awards 2019 in New Delhi at the Pre-Retirement counseling workshop function organized by the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. ANUBHAV Awards 2019 is the fourth edition of the annual award scheme launched by Prime Minister in 2015, instituted to encourage the retiree to submit his/her valuable experience/ suggestions through write-ups. Dr. Jitendra Singh is the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region and Minister of State for Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Departments of Atomic Energy and Space.

2. CPWD-DG Prabhakar Singh Selected for ‘Eminent Engineer Award 2019’: Shri Prabhakar Singh, Director General, Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has been chosen for the ‘Eminent Engineer Award for the Year 2019’ by the Institution of Engineers (India) for his distinguished and exemplary Service in the field of Engineering and Technology.  He shall be conferred the Elite and Prestigious Award on the ‘Engineers Day’ on September 15, 2019 in New Delhi. The Institution of Engineers (India) (IEI) is the national organization of engineering professionals in India.

3. Bahrain Confers PM Modi With ‘The King Hamad Order of the Renaissance’: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred ‘The King Hamad Order of the Renaissance’ by the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for his effort to strengthen the bilateral ties with the Gulf nation. PM Modi is the first-ever Indian Prime Minister to visit Bahrain.

4. Scarlett Johansson named highest-paid actress in 2019 by Forbes: Actress Scarlett Johansson has topped the Forbes Highest-Paid Actresses list 2019 with an earning of $56 million. The list contains top 10 paid actress. Some other names in the list are: (2) Sofia Vergara- Earnings: $44.1 million; (3) Reese Witherspoon- Earnings: $35 million (4) Nicole Kidman- Earnings: $34 million (5) Jennifer Aniston- Earnings: $28 million.