Daily GK Updates - 6th August, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Rajasthan Assembly passes bills against honour killings and Mob Lynching: The Rajasthan Assembly passed Bills against mob lynching and honour killing, which make the cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable offences with life imprisonment and a fine up to Rs 5 lakh. The bill to curb honour killing also has a provision of the death penalty for the convict. Now Rajasthan has become the 2nd state after Manipur which passed a law to curb lynching cases.

Note: CM of Rajasthan: Ashok Gehlot; Governor of Rajasthan: Kalyan Singh.Capital: Jaipur.

2. Centre has approved the project to link Kosi & Mechi Rivers: The Centre has approved a Kosi-Mechi river interlining project in Bihar. Estimated cost of the project is Rs 4,900 crore. The project will provide irrigation for over 2.14 lakh hectares of command areas spread across the districts of Araria, Kishanganj, Purnia and Katihar in north Bihar. This is India's 2nd major river linking project after Ken-Betwa of Madhya Pradesh.

Note: Chief Minister of Bihar: Nitish Kumar; Governor: Phagu Chuhan.

3. Mohali gets first 3-D traffic signal: Mohali traffic police have launched 3-D Smart Traffic Signal devised by the students of a Chandigarh university. The wireless system, called 'Intelights', has been installed at the traffic crossing near the Airport Road, on a pilot project basis, and will regulate traffic signals with a smartbird's eye view wireless sensor system. The new system will have sensors which would automatically switch on the green and red signals depending upon the number of vehicles coming from that particular side.

4. Udaipur to host India's Largest Education Brainstorm: The 3rd edition of India's largest education brainstorming event, the ScooNews Global Educators Fest (SGEF) will held in the city of lakes, Udaipur, Rajasthan (9 & 10th August 2019). The theme for fest is ‘Education for Sustainability: Moving on from Conformity to Creativity'. It will bring together over 500 educators to discuss the way towards establishing India as the next global education powerhouse.

5. 2nd All India Annual Conference of IIS Officers: The 2nd All India Annual Conference of Indian Information Service Officers was held in New Delhi. The Conference was organized with a view to attain greater integration of all Media Units under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in order to further amplify government communication. A Performance Review of Media Units under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting was also conducted during the Conference.

Note: Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting Ministry: Prakash Javadekar.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. U.S. labels China a ‘currency manipulator’: The United States has officially labeled China a "currency manipulator". The US has accused China of using yuan to gain “unfair competitive advantage” in trade. The US took the action as Beijing has allowed its yuan to fall below the politically sensitive level of "seven" to the U.S. dollar for the first time in 11 years.

2. AustralianSuper, Ontario Teachers’ to invest $2 bn in NIIF: AustralianSuper and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan will invest $1 billion each in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) Master Fund. The agreements include commitments of $250 million each in the Master Fund and co-investment rights of up to $750 million each in future opportunities alongside the Fund. National Investment and Infrastructure Fund is India’s first sovereign wealth fund that was set up by the Government of India in February 2015. It manages over $4 billion of capital commitments across three funds. The Fund invests in equity capital in core infrastructure sectors in India with a focus on transportation, energy and urban infrastructure.

Note: AustralianSuper is Australia’s largest superannuation fund and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is Canada’s largest single-profession pension plan. AustralianSuper and Ontario Teachers’ will also become shareholders in National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited.

3. NASA satellite uncovers 'first nearby super-Earth': The Super-Earth planet named ‘GJ 357 d’ was discovered in early 2019 owing to NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a mission designed to comb the heavens for exoplanets. Scientists have characterised the first potentially habitable world outside our own solar system located about 31 light-years away.

Note: Administrator of NASA: Jim Bridenstine; Headquarter of NASA: Washington DC, US.

4. Japan marks the 74th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima: 6 August: Japan marked the 74th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe led commemorations at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima as residents offered silent prayers, lit candles and placed wreaths to remember those killed in the August 6, 1945 bombing.

Note: Japan suffered two nuclear attacks (1st Hiroshima & 2nd Nagasaki) by the United States at the end of World War II. The bombings claimed 1 Lakh 40 thousand lives in Hiroshima and 74 thousand in Nagasaki.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Aamir Khan launches Mission Shakti sports initiative in Maharashtra: Film actor Aamir Khan attended the launch function of Mission Shakti, an initiative by Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar to train athletes from Chandrapur and Gadchiroli for international events like the Olympics.

Note: CM of Maharashtra: Devendra Fadnavis; Governor: CH Vidyasagar Rao. Capital: Mumbai.

2. Rohit Sharma becomes the batsman with most-number of sixes in T20Is: India's opening batsman Rohit Sharma (32 years) has become the batsman with the most- number of sixes in the T20I format. He blasted two sixes to go past West Indies's Chris Gayle at the top spot. Now, the right-handed batsman Rohit Sharma has 106 sixes in the format whereas Gayle has 105. Kiwi opening batsman Martin Guptill sits on the third position with 103 sixes. Currently, Rohit Sharma holds the record for the most number of centuries (four) and highest run-scorer in the T20I format.

3. Ravichandran Ashwin named "PCA Player of the Month": Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been named as Professional Cricketers Association's Player of the month of July 2019. He has been named for his consistent performances in the county championships as he hit 197 runs and picked up 23 wickets from just 3 matches for Nottinghamshire.

4. Dale Steyn retires from Test cricket: South African bowler Dale Steyn has announced his retirement from Test cricket. Dale Steyn has played 93 Tests for South Africa, finishing with 439 wickets, the most in the long format by a south african bowler. His strike-rate of 42.3 balls per wicket is the best of anyone with more than 200 Test wickets. Steyn will be available to play for South Africa in One-Day and T20 International series.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Statue of Unity shortlisted for UK-based structural award: The ‘Statue of Unity’ (182-metre-tall) has been shortlisted for 'The Structural Awards 2019' of the UK-based Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE). The Objective of the award to increase awareness of the important work that structural engineers do. It is among the 49 structures that will vie for the prestigious award.

Note: The awards will be announced in a function in London on 15th November 2019. Past winners of this award include iconic structures such as the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Pompidou Centre in Paris and the Severn Bridge in England.

OBITUARIES

1. Former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj passes away: Former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj passed away in Delhi following a cardiac arrest. She was the first woman external affairs minister of India. The 67-year-old leader, who had served her fourth term in Lok Sabha had long been her party’s most prominent woman face. She was the youngest cabinet minister at 25 when she joined the Haryana government in 1977 and the first woman chief minister of Delhi. Swaraj served as the Minister of External Affairs of India from 26 May 2014 to 30 May 2019. She was elected seven times as a member of parliament and three times as a member of the legislative assembly.