Daily GK Updates - 6th September, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. HRD Ministry awarded Institute of Eminence status to 5 public institutions: The Human Resource Development Ministry has awarded the Institute of Eminence status to 5 public institutions. The status was awarded to the following institutions: (1) IIT Madras; (2) IIT Kharagpur; (3) Delhi University; (4) Benares Hindu University; (5) University of Hyderabad. Each of the above university has to sign an MoU with the HRD Ministry and will lay out its plan to achieve the objective of becoming a world-class institution. The public institutions on the list will then be eligible for a government grant of Rs 1,000 crore.

Note: Union Minister of Human Resource Development: Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank'.

2. Mini Conclave of First Investor Summit-2019 is held in Leh: After the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, the Mini Conclave of First Jammu and Kashmir Investor Summit-2019 held in Leh. An MoU has been signed by Jammu and Kashmir Trade Promotion Organisation and CII for organisation and management of the event. The meet will provide J-K with an opportunity to showcase its strengths, strategies and potential. Navin Choudhary (Jammu and Kashmir Industries & Commerce Principal Secretary) has announced to reduce the Premium of SIDCO Land in Ladakh in a couple of days. The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are going to be the Union Territories from 1st November onwards.

3. Ministry of culture rolls out 25 new mobile science museums buses: Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge), flagged off the first-ever Mobile Science Exhibition buses for the entire Ladakh Region in Leh. The  Minister simultaneously launched 25 new Mobile Science Exhibition buses for Aspirational Districts of India. Mobile Science Exhibition buses in Ladakh will benefit all the people of Ladakh through its mobility and knowledge. This programme, originally launched as Mobile Science Museum (MSM) in 1965, with a mission ‘If the people cannot visit the museum, let the museum visit the people at their doorsteps’, is the largest and the longest-running outreach programme of NCSM.

Note: Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge): Shri Prahlad Singh Patel.

4. Uttar Pradesh Police Launches C-Plan App for Better Community Policing: Uttar Pradesh Police has launched a mobile application named ‘C-Plan’ to keep a tab on anti-social elements prevailing across the state. It will verify the received information and counter these criminal activities in time. The department has identified 10 people in every village, known as Sambhrant-10, across the state who will inform about anti-social elements, simmering communal tensions or land disputes taking place in their respective villages through the app. This initiative will help the state to have better community policing and bringing down the crime rate by improving the police-public partnership with the help of technology.

5. BSNL launches Next Trillion Users Initiative: BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) has launched IPV6 services to bring a new era of the internet in the country. This service is launched from Bangalore and shall be available to all the customers across the country in next few weeks. IPV6 is having the highest security levels possible which will be very helpful for deploying IoT and other applications with enhanced security features. Now, Customers shall be using multiple devices at home and office, all these devices shall need an exclusive addressing scheme for which IPV6 is the right way forward.

6. Gujarat Govt, Delaware State of America sign MoU for sister-state: Gujarat Government and the Delaware State of America have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for sister state in Gandhinagar. MoU was signed in Gandhinagar when a delegation of Delaware State of America called on Gujarat Chief Minister Delaware’s Vijay Rupani. According to official sources, cooperation in the field of services and investment opportunities in GIFT IFSC have also been discussed during the meeting. This is the first sister-state MoU signed by Gujarat with any state of America. Sectors like Biotechnology University, biosciences, financial services, animal husbandry and dairy, port services have been shortlisted for future cooperation. The American delegation has also invited Gujarat Chief Minister to visit Delaware State.

7. Microsoft & CBSE partners to build AI learning for schools: Microsoft India and the Central Board of Secondary Education have partnered to build AI learning for schools. They will conduct capacity building programmes for high school teachers with an aim to integrate cloud-powered technology in K12 teaching. The programme is for teachers of grades 8-10 and will be conducted in 10 cities across the country. The programme will provide teachers better access to the latest Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools.

Note: Chairperson of Central Board of Secondary Education: Anita Karwal.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 5th Eastern Economic Forum held in Vladivostok, Russia: 5th Eastern Economic Forum held in Vladivostok, Russia. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated as the Chief Guest at the Eastern Economic Forum. During the plenary session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the “Act Far East” policy for Russia. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced a $1 Billion line of credit to Russia for the development of the resource-rich region. Indian PM further launched Indo-Russian Innovation Bridge, an online platform to bridge the gap between Indian and Russian startup ecosystems and promote joint innovations. PM Modi has also accepted President Putin's invitation to attend 75th anniversary of the victory of Russian federation & erstwhile the Soviet Union in World War-2, next May in Moscow.

Note: Russia Capital: Moscow; Currency: Ruble

2. WHO South-East Asia Region to eliminate measles & rubella by 2023: World Health Organisation South-East Asia Region have resolved to eliminate measles and rubella by 2023. The resolution to eliminate the highly infectious childhood killer diseases "measles and rubella" was taken at the 72nd session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia in Delhi. The member-countries resolved to strengthen the immunisation systems against the two diseases to achieve the new targets.

Note: Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia: Poonam Khetrapal Singh.

3. India moves up 6 places to 34th rank on world travel and tourism competitiveness index: According to the World Economic Forum (WEF) report, India has jumped 6 places to claim 34th spot on world Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2019. The WEF report shows, over 1.5 crore international tourists arrived in India while the share of travel and tourism industry was 3.6 per cent and that of industry employment was 5.1 per cent. Spain tops the ranking index followed by France and Germany. Other countries in the top 10 include Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Canada, and Switzerland.

4. Indian army to participate in joint exercise "TSENTR 2019": Indian army will participate in a multilateral exercise "TSENTR 2019" to be held in Russia. Armies of Pakistan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Russia will also participate in the exercise. This will be the first time that forces from India and Pakistan will participate in a multilateral exercise together since the Balakot airstrikes conducted by Indian forces. The exercise is a part of the annual series of large scale exercises that form part of the Russian Armed Forces’ annual training cycle. The exercise rotates between the four main Russian operational strategic commands.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Anupama Swain wins bronze in World Martial Arts Mastership: Indian woman athlete Anupama Swain won a bronze medal in the recently concluded World Martial Arts Mastership Jiu-Jitsu 2019. The event was held in Chungju, South Korea. Now she qualified for 2022 Asian Games. she was the only Indian to participate in the championship.

Note: Jiu-Jitsu is a form of martial art and combat sport and it puts the entire focus on grappling with particular emphasis on ground fighting.

2. Rashid Khan breaks 15-Year-Old record to become youngest Test Captain: Afghanistan leg spinner Rashid Khan holds a new record when he dons the whites for Afghanistan as captain. He broke the 15-year-old record by becoming the youngest Test captain in the Test Cricket history. He is 20 years and 350 days old. Previously, the former Zimbabwe wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu was holding this record who was 20 years and 358 days old.

Note: Afghanistan Capital: Kabul; Currency: Afghan Afghani.

3. Manu-Saurabh won gold medal in ISSF World Cup: Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary won the gold medal in mixed 10m air pistol at the ISSF World Cup in Rio de Janeiro. In the air pistol final, the pair of Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary prevailed over Yashaswini Singh Deswal and Abhishek Verma 17-15. With this, India finished the ISSF World Cup at the top of the medals tally with 5 gold, 2 silver, and 2 bronze.

Note: Capital of Brazil: Brasilia; Currency of Brazil: Brazilian Real.

4. Steve Smith becomes 2nd Australian to score 500 in consecutive Ashes in England: Steve Smith has become the second Australian player after Allan Border to score 500 and more runs in the consecutive Ashes series in England. Smith reached this milestone after he added 122 runs in the ongoing fourth Ashes Test. In 2015 Ashes which took place in England, Smith scored 508 runs while this time in his third match he crossed the 500 runs mark. Before Smith only Border had amassed the 500 plus runs consecutively in the Ashes in England. Allan Border scored more than 500 runs in 1981 and 1985.

Note: The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia at least once every two years. The 2019 Ashes series is being played in England, which began on 1st August in Edgbaston, Birmingham.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Standard Chartered Bank launches “DigiSmart” credit card: British multinational banking & financial services company ‘Standard Chartered Bank’ has launched a DigiSmart credit card. The primary focus of the Bank on the ever-growing segment of millennials. The credit card will offer instant discounts and benefits across key e-commerce categories of travel, entertainment, fashion, groceries, and food delivery around the year. The new credit card is available for a nominal monthly fee of only Rs 49. However, this fee (49-rupees) will be waived off if the spends of the customer are Rs 5,000 or above in the previous month.

Note: Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank: Jose Vinals; Headquarters: London, United Kingdom.

2.  MCX and Zhengzhou Exchange sign MoU for exchange of information: Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) and Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE), one of the leading commodity exchanges in China, have signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) for co-operation and the exchange of information. The MoU is intended to facilitate cooperation between the two exchanges in areas such as knowledge sharing, education & training, organizing events as well as to explore areas of mutual interests between the exchanges.

Note: Managing Director & CEO of MCX: P S Reddy.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Odisha won the IT Excellence Award, 2019 in disaster management: Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) has won the IT Excellence Award, 2019 for its innovative conception by using information technology in the field of disaster management. The "SATARK" (System for Assessing, Tracking and Alerting Disaster Risk Information based on Dynamic Risk Knowledge) application has been chosen for the award. This app has been developed to provide real-time watch, alert and warning information for different natural disasters and hazards such as heatwave, lightning, agriculture risk, flood, tsunami, earthquake, cyclone or storm, road accident and snakebite.

Note: Chief Minister of Odisha: Naveen Patnaik; Governor: Ganeshi Lal.

OBITUARIES

1. Former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe passes away: Zimbabwe's former President Robert Mugabe passed away. He was the country's first post-independence leader and also considered as Zimbabwe's founding father. He served the country as its leader for 37 years. He also served as the rotating chairman of the 54 nation African Union and the 15-nation Southern African Development Community.

Note: Capital of Zimbabwe: Harare; President: Emmerson Mnangagwa.

2. Sahitya Akademi Award-winning writer Kiran Nagarkar passes away:  Sahitya Akademi Award-winning writer Kiran Nagarkar passed away in Mumbai. He began his career as an educationist, a journalist and then later as a screenplay writer in the advertising industry. His novel "Cuckold" (1997) won him the 2001 Sahitya Akademi award. He wrote his first book Saat Sakkam Trechalis in 1974 in his mother tongue, Marathi.

3. Congress leader Sukhdev Singh Libra passes away: Congress leader and former MP Sukhdev Singh Libra (87-years) passed away after a prolonged illness. Sukhdev Singh Libra was the member of the 14th (Fatehgarh Sahib) and 15th (Ropar) Lok Sabha and MLA in Punjab in 1985.

He was a member of Rajya Sabha from 1998-2004. Libra had also served as a member of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).