Daily GK Updates - 5th August, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Govt. revokes Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir: The Union government has moved to scrap provisions under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which grants special status to the state of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) in the Union of India. It has decided that Jammu and Kashmir would be turned into a Union Territory with a legislature, and the Ladakh division would be made a separate Union Territory (without legislature). Home Minister Amit Shah has announced in the Rajya Sabha that provisions of Article 370 were being scrapped. The notification has already been signed by President Ram Nath Kovind.

How does this change the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir?- Any citizen of the country will be able to buy property in Jammu and Kashmir. J&K will no longer have a separate flag. J&K will no longer have dual citizenship. J&K will no longer be a separate state but a union territory with assembly. Ladakh is declared a separate union territory (UT). The term of the Legislative Assembly will be 5 years instead of 6 years. The special status of Jammu and Kashmir is scrapped. Laws like RTI and CAG will also apply here. Now, any citizen of the country can get a job in Jammu and Kashmir. After the removal of Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir do not get any exclusive rights.

2. Maharashtra to get world’s first ultra-fast Hyperloop project: Maharashtra has granted infrastructure project status for a USD 10 billion (about Rs. 70, 0000 crores) plan to establish the world’s first ultra-fast hyperloop project. The projects aim to link Mumbai with the neighbouring city of Pune. Hyperloops use magnets to levitate pods inside an airless tube, creating conditions in which the pods can shuttle people and freight at speeds of up to 1,200 km per hour. The status could help fast-track land acquisition for the project over a 117.5 km stretch that will shuttle people between the cities in about 35 minutes. The route from Mumbai to Pune is one of the country's busiest, with roughly 75 million passenger journeys each year. Note: The Hyperloop is a high-speed transportation system in which specialized pods are accelerated through a low-pressure tube to achieve speeds near the speed of sound. The system is intended to provide a more cost-effective and faster mode of travel between cities separated by distances less than approximately nine hundred miles.

3. Kolkata to get India’s first underwater Metro: Kolkata metro commuters will soon be able to travel through India's first underwater metro tunnel. Kolkata Metro has constructed the first-ever transport tunnel in the country which will pass through underwater. The East-West Metro corridor will pass through under Hooghly River and it will become the first such river crossing in the country. Two tunnels are being constructed on the up and down line, which is about 1.4 kilometres long. The width of the Hooghly River here is about 520 meters and this tunnel passes through the bottom of the river bottom.

Note: The metro line between Salt Lake Sector-5 to Salt Lake Stadium has Karunamayi, Central Park, City Center and Bengal Chemical metro stations.

4. AP Home Minister flags off riot control vehicle 'Vajra': Arunachal Pradesh State Home Minister Bamang Felix flagged of Five Anti-Riot police vehicle ‘Vajra’ from Police Headquarter in Itanagar. Two will be deployed in the Capitol Complex and one each will be routed towards Yupia, Pasighat and Bomdila. These vehicles come with special features for quick response, automatic multi-barrel launchers for tear gas, with a capacity of 12 persons and a battery backup for long hours stuck in the rioting crowd.

The initiative is a step towards the total modernization of the state Police department.

5. HRD Minister inaugurates Technology Expo at IIT Delhi: Human Resources Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has inaugurated the Technology Expo at IIT Delhi to showcase the latest innovation in the field of science and technology. Over 80 latest innovations and 90 research posters by institutions from across the country are showcasing the prototypes developed by the investigators in the day-long exhibition. The Minister said research should be in accordance with the need of common people and industry. Later talking to media, Mr Nishank assured all kinds of support to the research community.

6. Aadi Perukku” festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu: The “Aadi Perukku” festival (or Aadi monsoon festival) was celebrated in Tamil Nadu. People performed Puja on the banks of larger water bodies including sea coasts, lakes and rivers. The festival is to show reverence by the public to rivers, as the traditional season of sowing of seeds for the next crops. Aadi is the name of the current Tamil month, and Perukku is the term for the flooding of waters.

7. Lalit Kala Akademi celebrates 65th Foundation Day: National Academy of Art, Lalit Kala Akademi, celebrated its 65th Foundation Day in New Delhi.  The event was inaugurated by Culture and Tourism Minister. The Minister also inaugurated art camp and artwork and painting exhibition and released a book - Mithila Ki Lok Chitrakala. Lalit Kala Akademi or National Academy of Art was established in New Delhi in 1954 by the government to promote and propagate understanding of Indian art, in and outside the country.

Note: Union Culture and Tourism Minister: Prahlad Singh Patel.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. EAM Jaishankar attends 10th Mekong-Ganga Cooperation in Bangkok: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar attended 10th Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) in Thailand's Bangkok. In MGC the Ministers adopted the new MGC Plan of Action 2019-2022 that envisages project-based cooperation in the seven areas of MGC cooperation, namely tourism and culture, education, public health and traditional medicine, agriculture and allied sectors, transport and communication, MSMEs as well as three new areas of cooperation, i.e. water resources management, science and technology, skill development and capacity building.

Note: Capital of Thailand: Bangkok, Currency of Thailand: Baht.

2. French inventor crosses English Channel on 'Flyboard': French inventor Franky Zapata is 1st person in history to cross the English Channel on the jet-powered hover board. Zapata completed the crossing in 22 minutes, reaching speeds of up to 110mph (177km/h) flying 15-20 metres (50-65ft) above the water. Zapata made the 35-kilometre (21.5 miles) crossing from the French seaside town of Sangatte to St. Margaret's Bay in Dover, England.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Thailand Open: Satwiksairaj, Chirag 1st Indian doubles pair to win Super 500 title: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (World No. 16) became the first Indian pair to win a BWF Super 500 badminton tournament in Bangkok, Thailand. They beat the reigning World Champions and third seeds Li Jun Hui and Liu Yu Chen of China in three hard-fought games 21-19, 18-21, 21-18 to win the men’s doubles category.

Note: The 2019 Thailand Open was a badminton tournament which took place at Indoor Stadium Huamark in Bangkok, Thailand and had a total purse of USD 350,000. This tournament was organized by the Badminton Association of Thailand with sanction from the BWF.

2. Vinesh Phogat wins third successive gold in 53kg: Star India grappler Vinesh Phogat (24-years) has bagged gold in women's 53kg category of the Poland Open wrestling tournament in Warsaw. Vinesh Phogat prevailed 3-2 over local wrestler Roksana in the final of the competition. This was her third consecutive gold in the 53 kg category after winning Gold at Grand Prix of Spain and at the Yasar Dogu International at Istanbul, Turkey.

3. Lewis Hamilton wins Hungarian Grand Prix 2019: British racing driver, Lewis Hamilton (34-years) has won the Formula 1, Hungarian Grand Prix 2019. Mercedes driver Hamilton hunted down Max Verstappen to win the Hungarian Grand Prix for a record-extending seventh time.

Note: The 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race which was held at the Hungaroring in Mogyorod, Hungary. The race was the twelfth round of twenty-one of the 2019 Formula One World Championship and the 35th running of the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Race Classifications

S. No.	Driver	Constructor	Points
1.	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	25
2.	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-Honda	19
3.	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	15

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. RBI imposes a penalty on seven public sector banks for violating norms: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a penalty ranging between one to two crore rupees on seven public sector banks for violating norms on fraud classification, bill discounting and monitoring of end use of funds. According to RBI press release, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank and Union Bank of India were fined 1.5 crore rupees each, while Allahabad Bank and Bank of Maharashtra were penalised 2 crore rupees each. Oriental Bank of Commerce was penalised with 1 crore rupees. RBI said in a release that a scrutiny was carried out in the accounts of the companies of a group and it was observed that the banks had failed to comply with provisions of one or more of the directions issued by RBI. In a separate release, RBI said a fine of 1 crore rupees was levied on Corporation Bank for non-compliance of norms on cybersecurity framework as well as fraud classification and reporting.

2. Noel Quinn becomes interim CEO of HSBC: Noel Quinn (57-years) has been appointed as interim CEO (Chief Executive Officer) and Director of HSBC. Noel Quinn will replace John Flint as the interim CEO.

Note: HSBC Bank India is a bank with its operational head office in Mumbai. It is a foreign bank under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and thus is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

3. Siddhartha Mohanty takes charge as MD-CEO of LIC Housing Finance: Siddhartha Mohanty has assumed charge as Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LIC Housing Finance (LIC HFL). He has replaced Shri Vinay Shah. Earlier, he was the COO (chief operating officer) of LIC HFL.

Note: LIC Housing Finance Limited (LIC HFL) is one of the largest housing finances (mortgage loan) companies in India having its Registered and Corporate office at Mumbai. Now LIC OF INDIA also holds promoter & controller status in IDBI Bank Ltd from January 2019.

DEFENCE

1. India test-fires Surface to Air-Missile from Chandipur in Odisha: India successfully test-fired its all-weather tracked-chassis Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QR-SAM) from a mobile launcher at launch complex III of the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha. It was the second developmental trial (first- 26th Feb, 2019) of the missile in this year from the same test range. It was jointly developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Bharat Electronics Ltd, the QR-SAM weapon system is a quick reaction, network-centric missile system capable of search-on-the-move. The QR-SAM system can also engage multiple targets within a range of around 25 to 30 km with two vehicle configurations for area air defence. It is a truck-mounted missile with a 360 degrees rotatable, electro-mechanically operated, turret-based launch unit. The missile intended to defend Army formations operating in plains and semi-desert areas.

2.  ISRO sets up SSAM in Bengaluru: K Sivan, chairman, ISRO, laid the foundation stone for Space Situational Awareness Control Centre at Peenya in Bengaluru. ISRO has set up a directorate of space situational awareness and management aiming at protecting high valued space assets from space debris close approaches and collisions. The control centre would facilitate the intensified activities foreseen for SSAM, in view of increasing debris population and operational space assets.  The control centre would host a range of activities pertaining to the protection of Indian space assets from inactive satellites, pieces of orbiting objects, near-earth asteroids and adverse space weather conditions.

3. ISRO releases first set of earth pictures captured by Chandrayaan-2: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has released the first set of pictures of the earth, captured by Chandrayaan-2. The pictures were captured by L 14 camera onboard Chandrayaan II. The first set of pictures by the lander of the Chandrayaan-2 are only indicative of the high-resolution camera it has. The LI-4 camera onboard the lander Vikram of the spacecraft show the crystal clear and panoramic view of the earth, around which it is still revolving.

OBITUARIES

1. Veteran Gujarati journalist Kanti Bhatt passes away: Veteran Gujarati journalist, author and columnist Kanti Bhatt (88-years) passed away in Mumbai. He worked as journalist, writer, columnist and editor in various Gujarati publications like Chitralekha, Mumbai Samachar, Janshakti, Sandesh, Yuva Darshan, Jansatta, Vyapar and Abhiyan. Kanti Bhatt was born on 15th July 1931 in Sachra village in the erstwhile Bhavnagar state of Gujarat.

2. Cricket commentator Anant Setalvad, passes away: Cricket commentator Anant Setalvad, who used to draw pictures of the game's progress on airwaves with his fine command of the English language, from the mid 1960s through to the 1980s, passed away. Anant was the commentator for All India Radio (AIR) in Ranji Trophy and other BCCI tournaments and also for Test matches.