Daily GK Updates - 10th October, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Dearness allowance of government employees hiked by 5%: The Central government has increased the Dearness Allowance (DA) of Central government employees and pensioners. The government has hiked DA by 5%, which means the dearness allowance has been increased from 12% to 17%. The decision was approved in a cabinet meet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The hike would be effective from July 2019. The cost to the exchequer will be Rs 16,000 crore.

The cabinet also approved inclusion of 5,300 families under the development package of Jammu & Kashmir, who initially opted to move outside the state, but later returned and settled in the Jammu & Kashmir. This will enable such development package families to become eligible to get one-time financial assistance of Rs 5.5 lakh under the existing scheme.

Cabinet has also relaxed the mandatory requirement of Aadhaar-seeded data as a pre-condition for release of funds to the beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme. The relaxation will be till 30th November 2019. It will enable immediate release of benefits to a large number of farmers who are not able to avail the same due this requirement.

2. “DHRUV” a Learning Programme launched from ISRO, Bengaluru: Union Minister of HRD Ramesh Pokhriyal has inaugurated the ambitious Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme (PMILP) ‘DHRUV’ (named after a pole star ‘DHRUV TARA’) from ISRO Headquarters at Bengaluru and will conclude at IIT, Delhi. The programme aims to further sharpen innovative imagination, skills and knowledge of the students who are expected to contribute to bringing solutions to socio-economic, political and environmental issues in the country. 60 brightest and talented students from Science, Mathematics and Performing Arts have been chosen for the programme.

3. “GEMINI” system to warn fishermen of danger: GEMINI is a portable receiver developed to avoid communication blackouts. It linked to ISRO-satellites and is “fail-proof” and warn fishermen of danger. The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services collaborated with Accord, a private company, to develop a box-shaped receiver that has an antenna and in-built battery that can last 3 to 4 days. GEMINI works on GAGAN, developed by ISRO and the Airports Authority of India and is an India-made global positioning system and relies on the positioning system by ISRO’s GSAT satellites. When GEMINI is connected to an app, it also lets fishermen know the probability of fish-catch in the surrounding seas.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. V Prez Naidu to embark on 5-day visit to Comoros & Sierra Leone: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu embarked on a five-day visit to African countries Comoros and Sierra Leone. It will be the first high-level visit from India to the two African countries. Mr. Naidu will reach in Moroni (the capital of Comoros) and hold a detailed bilateral meeting with country's President Azali Assoumani on the next day. The three-day visit will witness the Vice President interacting with the Indian community and calling on Abdou Ousseni (President of the Assembly of Comoros). On the second leg of his visit, Mr. Naidu will arrive in Free Town, Sierra Leone on Saturday.

Note: Comoros Capital: Moroni; Currency: Comorian franc

Sierra Leone Capital: Freetown; Currency: Sierra Leonean leone

2. Vishnu Nandan among 300 researchers to join MOSAiC Expedition: Vishnu Nandan, polar researcher from Kerala will join largest ever Arctic expedition “MOSAiC Expedition“. He will be the only Indian aboard among the 300 researchers for multidisciplinary drifting observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate expedition. Vishnu Nandan will aboard the German research vessel Polarstern, anchored on a large sheet of sea ice in the Central Arctic, drifting along with it during the pitch-black Polar winter. Led by the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany, MOSAiC, the largest ever Arctic expedition in history, will be the first to conduct a study of this scale at the North Pole for an entire year. The expedition will help the researchers better understand the impact of climate change and aid in improved weather projections.

3. World Mental Health Day: 10 October: World Health Organization observes World Mental Health Day on 10th of October every year. The day is celebrated with an objective of raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilizing efforts in support of mental health. The theme selected for this year’s Day: ‘Suicide Prevention’. The Day provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide. This year’s Day is supported by WHO, the International Association for Suicide Prevention, and United for Global Mental Health. World Mental Health Day is organized by the World Federation for Mental Health.

Note: WHO Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland; Director general: Tedros Adhanom.

4. Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2019: October: October is observed as Brest Cancer Awareness Month worldwide. The Breast Cancer Awareness Month (marked in countries across the world every October) helps to increase attention and support for awareness. This month creates awareness about the importance of early detection and treatment of breast cancer. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) breast cancer is by far the most common cancer in women worldwide, both in developed and developing countries.

5. World Space Week: 4th-10th October: The United Nations (Office for Outer Space Affairs) observes 4-10 October every year as World Space Week. It is an international celebration of science and technology, and their contribution to the betterment of the human condition. The theme for 2019 is: ‘The Moon: Gateway to the Stars’. During World Space Week space education and outreach events are organised by space agencies, aerospace companies, schools, planetaria, museums, and astronomy clubs around the world.

Note: The United Nations General Assembly declared in 1999 that World Space Week (WSW) will be held each year from October 4-10. The dates were in recognition of the October 4, 1957 launch of the first human-made Earth satellite, Sputnik 1.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. German Footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger announces his retirement: German World Cup champion Bastian Schweinsteiger has announced his retirement from soccer. Schweinsteiger spent a major part of his career with European giants Bayern Munich, where he won 8 Bundesliga titles and 7 German cups as well as the Champions league in 2013. He made over 300 appearances for the Bavarian side, scoring 45 goals from 2002-2015.

2. Mithali Raj becomes 1st female player to complete 20 yrs in international cricket: India women's cricket captain Mithali Raj (36-years) became the first female player to last more than 20 years in international cricket. She achieved the feat while leading India to an emphatic eight-wicket win over South Africa Women in the first ODI at Vadodara. Mithali (ODI debut against Ireland on June 26, 1999) completed 20 years and 106 days in the 50-over format. The right-handed batswoman has played 204 ODIs till now, the most by a female. Mithali who retired from T20 cricket last month has also played 10 Tests and 89 T20 Internationals for India. On 1 February 2019, during India's series against New Zealand Women, Raj became the first woman to play in 200 ODI matches.

Longest One-Day International careers: (Men/Women)

S. No.	Players Names	One-Day International careers
1	S. Tendulkar (Dec 1989 - Mar 2012)	22y 91d
2	S. Jayasuriya (Dec 1989 - Jun 2011)	21y 184d
3	Javed Miandad (Jun 1975 - Mar 1996)	20y 272d
4	Mithali Raj (Jun 1999 - Present)	20y 105d*

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. RBI rejects Indiabulls Housing & Lakshmi Vilas Bank merger deal: The Reserve Bank of India has rejected the merger proposal of Indiabulls Housing Finance and Lakshmi Vilas Bank. RBI has rejected the application for voluntary amalgamation of Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd. and Indiabulls Commercial Credit Ltd. with the Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd. The merger was crucial for Lakshmi Vilas Bank as it is now under the prompt corrective action framework of the RBI due to a high level of bad loans and insufficient capital.

Note: Chairman of Indiabulls Group: Sameer Gehlaut.

2. RBI approves merger of DCBs to form ‘Kerala Bank’: The Reserve Bank of India has given the go-ahead to the Kerala government to amalgamate 13 district cooperative banks (DCBs) with the Kerala State Cooperative Bank to form the proposed “Kerala Bank”. Except the Malappuram District Cooperative Bank, all district banks had approved the scheme of amalgamation proposed by the State government at their respective general body meetings. Now, the government has to complete the stipulations laid for merger and submit a compliance report to the apex bank before March 31, 2020. RBI also insisted that the State government would have to consistently infuse additional capital and also put in place a well-defined governance structure by amending the KSCS Act.

AWARDS & HONOURS

1. Russia honors astronaut Nick Hague with “Order of Courage”: Russia has honoured NASA astronaut Nick Hague with one of its highest honours, “The Order of Courage“. Nick Hague survived an aborted space launch with Russian cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin when their Soyuz rocket failed minutes after blast-off from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in October 2018. Hague has been awarded for his “courage and high professionalism” shown during life-threatening conditions.

2. Prez Kovind presents colours to Army Aviation Corps in Nashik: President Ram Nath Kovind presented the prestigious President’s colours to the Army Aviation Corps during a grand ceremonial parade held at the Combat Army Aviation Training School, Nashik, Maharashtra. The presentation of colour is an acknowledgement of the meritorious service rendered by the Army Aviation Corps over the years by the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. It is a visible symbol of excellence and is earned through dedication and worthy contribution both during war and peace.

Note: The Army Aviation Corps is a component of the Indian Army formed on 1st November 1986. The aviation arm is headed by a Director-General of the rank of Lt General at the Army HQ, New Delhi.