Daily GK Updates - 17th October, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. J&K’s Chenani-Nashri Tunnel to be renamed after Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee: India’s longest Tunnel Chenani- Nashri on NH 44, in Jammu and Kashmir will be named after Bhartiya Jansangh Founder Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. According to Union Road, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, it is the humble homage to Mukherjee whose battle for Kashmir, One Nation One Flag. Syama Prasad Mukherjee was an Indian politician, barrister and academician, who served as the Minister for Industry and Supply in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet. With the help of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS), Mr Mukherjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the predecessor to the Bharatiya Janata Party (in 1951).

Note: Jammu and Kashmir governor: Satya Pal Malik.

2. Railways Minister Piyush Goyal flagged off 9 ‘Sewa Service’ trains: Railways Minister Piyush Goyal flagged off 9 ‘Sewa Service’ trains. These trains are connecting small towns to major cities and one of those, the Vadnagar-Mehsana train, was the railways’ gift to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who sold tea at the Vadnagar station during his younger days. The 9 “Sewa Service” trains were launched without any additional investment by the railways and it was an example of how to use existing resources to the maximum. The trains are – Delhi to Shamli, Bhubaneswar to Nayagarh town, Murkongselek to Dibrugarh, Coimbatore to Palani, Coimbatore to Pollachi, Vadnagar to Mehsana, Asarya to Himmatnagar, Karur to Salem, Yesvantpur to Tumkur.

3. Shirui Lily Festival inaugurated in Manipur: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism & Culture Prahlad Singh Patel has inaugurated ‘2019 Shirui Lily Festival’ (3rd) at Shiru Vangayan Ground of Ukhrul in Manipur. The festival featured demonstrations of the age-old traditions and culture of the inhabitants of the district of Ukhrul. This initiative will provide an opportunity to youth outside the region to develop a positive perception of North-East. Mr Patel along with N. Biren Singh (Manipur Chief Minister) jointly inaugurated the Strength of Unity Statue as a mark of opening the third edition of the four-day state festival.

Note: Governor of Manipur: Padmanabha Balkrishna Acharya; Capital of Manipur: Imphal.

4. GOAL: Digital Skill Training Programme for Tribal Women: Arjun Munda (Union Minister of Trible Affairs) has announced the 2nd phase of programme GOAL (Going online as leaders) for tribal women. The objective of this GOAL program is to digitally mentor 5000 young women in India’s tribal-dominated districts. Ministry of Tribal Affairs partners with Facebook and Niti Aayog are running GOAL for tribal women. The GOAL program will give technical support to the socially and economically marginalized women for their needs to succeed, using the technology they may otherwise have not had access to.

5. Andhra Pradesh CM launches 'YSR Rytu Bharosa - PM KISAN' scheme: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy has launched 'YSR Rytu Bharosa - PM KISAN' in Nellore. Under the scheme, farmers will get financial assistance of Rs 13,500 per annum in three instalments. The State Government contributing Rs 7,500 and the Centre Rs 6,000. Andhra Pradesh Government allocated budget of Rs 5,500 crore for the scheme and the number of beneficiaries is initially put at roughly Rs 40 lakh.

6. Textiles Secretary Inaugurates IHGF-Delhi Fair 2019: Textiles Secretary, Ravi Capoor, inaugurated the 48th edition of the Indian Handicrafts and Gifts Fair (IHGF) at the India Expo Centre & Mart at Greater Noida. More than 3,200 Indian exhibitors are participating in the fair. Around 110 overseas buyers from 110 countries are participating in the event as well. They are here to source furniture, fashion, lifestyle and textiles products of the exhibitors. The sector earns around Rs 43,000 crores (2015) of rupees annually. Out of this, it earns an export of Rs 10,000 crores annually. The theme of IHGF-Delhi Fair 2019: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

7. Kiran Uniyal, w/o a serving Colonel of Indian Army sets Guinness World Records: Kiran Uniyal, w/o a serving Colonel of Indian Army has created Individual Guinness World Records for “The most full contact knee strikes in three minutes (one leg) (female), 263 strikes” & “The most full contact knee strikes alternate legs in one minute(female),120 strikes”. The earlier records were of 177 strikes and 102 in female category respectively. The objectives of both her records were to promote martial arts for girls and women safety and self-defence. While creating the record for the most full contact knee strikes for three minutes, she surpassed the existing male category record of 226 knee strikes. She has so far achieved 15 World Records, including 10 Guinness World Records in Martial Arts, Fitness and Social Work.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. President Kovind embarks on a two-nation visit to Philippines and Japan: President Ram Nath Kovind has left for a two-nation visit to the Philippines and Japan. The president will hold delegation-level talks with his Filipino counterpart Rodrigo Roa Duterte in Manila and attend business and community events ((17th to 21st October). Mr Kovind is visiting Japan (from 21st to 23rd October) to attend the enthronement ceremony of the Emperor of Japan Naruhito.

Note: The Philippines (world's 5th largest island country) is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Capital of Philippines: Manila, Currency: Philippine peso

Japan (world's 4th largest island country) is an island country in East Asia, Located in the Pacific Ocean. Capital of Japan: Tokyo, Currency: Yen

2. India-Bangladesh rail links closed after 1965 war with Pakistan will reopen: Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has announced that all the rail links with India closed after the 1965 war will be reopened. Trains from Bangladesh to Darjeeling via Siliguri operated till 1965. Earlier, PM Sheikh Hasina has inaugurated the first intercity train between Dhaka and Kurigram.

The first rail line between India and Dhaka was opened in 2008 when Maitree express between Dhaka and Kolkata was started. In 2017 Bandhan express was also started between Kolkata and Khulna.

Note: At present, there are four operational rail links between India and Bangladesh. Two more rail links namely Karimganj/Mahisasan in India to Shahbazpur in Bangladesh and Haldibari in India to Chilhati in Bangladesh are being revived to connect West Bengal and Assam with Bangladesh.

3. UAE announces establishment of world’s 1st AI University: UAE announced the establishment of the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in Abu Dhabi. This is the first graduate-level, research-based AI university in the world. MBZUAI will enable graduate students, businesses and governments to advance the artificial intelligence field. MBZUAI will introduce a new model of academia and research to the field of AI, providing students and faculty access to some of the world’s most advanced AI systems to unleash its potential for economic and societal development.

Note: Currency of UAE: Dirham, Capital: Abu Dhabi.

4. India hands over 2nd pair of Mi-24V helicopters to Afghan Air forces: India handed over the second pair of Mi-24V helicopters to war-torn Afghanistan, boosting the capability of the Afghan Air forces. The helicopters were officially handed over by Indian Ambassador Vinay Kumar to Afghanistan’s acting Defence Minister Asadullah Khalid at a ceremony held in the military airport, Kabul. These helicopters are a replacement for the four attack helicopters previously gifted by India to Afghanistan in 2015 and 2016. The combat performance and offensive firepower that the helicopters provide will increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the Afghan Air Force (AAF) in ensuring that the ANDSF maintain an agile and robust Counter-Terrorism capability.

Afghanistan Capital: Kabul; Currency: Afghan Afghani; President: Ashraf Ghani

5. India ranked 82 in the 2019 World Giving Index: India ranked 82 spots among the 128 countries surveyed in the World Giving Index (WGI). The average figures for India over the past decade show that 34 per cent people helped a stranger, 24 per cent donated money and 19 per cent volunteered or donated their time. According to the WGI, the USA stood at the top followed Myanmar, New Zealand and Australia.

6. NASA unveils spacesuits to be worn by the first woman on the moon: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has unveiled its next-generation space suits for upcoming Artemis programme, which aims to land the first woman and next man on the moon by 2024. The garment is known as the exploration extravehicular mobility unit (xEMU). The xEMU suits will allow astronauts to move more freely on the moon and during spacewalks. The suit has been designed for exploring the lunar surface, specifically the South Pole – the target for Nasa’s next crewed lunar landing.

7. International Day for the Eradication of Poverty: 17 October: The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is an international observance celebrated on 17th October throughout the world each year since 1993. The main objective of this day is to raise awareness about the efforts being made to eradicate poverty in the world community. The theme of 2019 is ‘Acting together to empower children, their families and communities to end poverty’.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Mumbai's Yashasvi Jaiswal, youngest cricketer to score 200 in One Day cricket: Mumbai teenager Yashasvi Jaiswal (17 years- 192 days) has become the youngest cricketer in the world to score a double century in One Day Cricket. Playing in his debut Vijay Hazare season, Yashasvi Jaiswal (left-handed batsman) scored 203 runs (in 154 balls-12 sixes and 17 fours) against Jharkhand at Alur, Karnataka. Yashasvi Jaiswal became the seventh Indian batsman to score a double century in List A cricket and fourth to achieve it in the domestic circuit.

Riding on Jaiswal's quickfire double hundred, Mumbai posted 358 for 3 in 50 overs and bowled out the opposition for 319.

2. Indian Women football Team wins 3rd SAFF U-15 Women’s Championship 2019: The Indian football team won the 3rd Edition of the SAFF U-15 Women’s Championships 2019 by beating Bangladesh by 5-3 in the penalty shoot-out. The tournament was organized by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) and was held at Changlimithang Stadium in Thimpu, Bhutan. Indian captain Shilky Devi slotted home from the final spot-kick to hand her side 5-3 win.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. RBI guidelines for ‘on tap' payment systems: Reserve bank Of India (RBI) has issued some instructions and guidelines 'on tap' authorisation of payment systems. The RBI has been decided to offer on-tap authorisation for Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU), Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) and White Label ATMs (WLAs). The payment system operators should ensure interoperability among different retail payment systems. As per the guidelines, interested entities should have a minimum of 100 crore rupees net worth and should always be maintained. TReDS scheme is to facilitate the financing of invoices and bills of MSMEs drawn on corporate buyers by way of discounting by financiers.

2. Mastercard launches an initiative to promote digital payments in India: Mastercard has tied up with Indian Cricketer M.S. Dhoni (brand ambassador of Mastercard) to launch a nationwide initiative to accelerate the acceptance and adoption of digital payments in India. The initiative dubbed as ‘Team Cashless India‘. The objective of this initiative to bring consumers and merchants to the “forefront of the digital payments dialogue”. Mastercard will work together with Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), acquirer banks and financial technology companies to support nominated merchants to deploy digital payments acceptance infrastructure.

Note: To take part in ‘Team Cashless India’, anyone can either nominate merchants online or give a missed call to 9016861000. Team Cashless India’ is an important step towards Mastercard’s goal to equip 10 million merchants in India with digital payments acceptance capabilities by 2020. Mastercard Founded: 1966; Headquarters: New York, US.

3. India Post launches mobile banking facility for savings accounts: The Department of Post announced that it has launched mobile banking for its savings account customers. The facility will be available all the post office savings account holders of the CBS (core banking solutions) post offices. The launch of the mobile banking facility comes almost a year after the Department of Post launched Internet banking facility for its savings account holders.

AWARDS & HONOURS

1. Lionel Messi wins 3rd straight Golden Shoe as top scorer in European Leagues: Barcelona captain Leo Messi received his 6th Golden Shoe as the top scorer in the European leagues. Messi won the trophy for a 3rd straight year after scoring 36 goals, 3 more than his closest challenger, Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain. Messi now has two more Golden Shoes than his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo. The award was created in 1967 when it was won by Eusebio.

DEFENCE

1. India-Japan joint Air Force Exercise ‘Shinyuu Maitri’ in West Bengal: The Indian Air Force and Japanese Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) has carried out the annual joint military exercise ‘Shinyuu Maitri’ at Air Force Station, Arjan Singh, Panagarh, West Bengal (17 to 23rd October). C-130 J aircraft of the Special Operations Squadron of IAF and C-130 H of Tactical Airlift Squadron of JASDF is participating in the exercise. The focus of the exercise, to undertake Joint Mobility and Tactical interoperability among the two forces.