Daily GK Updates - 22nd October, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Union Culture Minister launches E-Portal, YouTube Channel of CCRT: Union Minister of State for Culture & Tourism (IC), Prahlad Singh Patel launched the E-Portal of Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) ‘Digital Bharat Digital Sanskriti’ and CCRT YouTube Channel in New Delhi. For this initiative, CCRT has tied up with Routes 2 Roots, an NGO, for connecting seamlessly all the CCRT Regional Centres i.e., Guwahati, Udaipur and Hyderabad. On this Occasion Union Minister also released a film ‘Rahas’ directed by Sunil Shukla. Rahas is basically Raaslila of Chhattisgarh. Subsequently, he released a book “Dewas ki Sanskritik Parampara” written by  Jeewan Singh Thakur.

Note: Director of CCRT: Rishi Kumar Vashist; CCRT Established: 1979.

2. World’s highest battlefield ‘Siachen glacier’ opens for tourism: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has announced that the Siachen Glacier (the world’s highest battlefield) is now open for tourism. The decision comes months after declaring Ladakh as a Union Territory. This is the first time that the area has been opened by the army for tourists. Now, you can travel from the Siachen Base Camp (altitude of 12,000 feet) to Kumar Post. The Siachen Glacier is on the eastern Karakoram Range in the Himalayas.

Note: The Siachen Glacier at the height of around 20,000 ft in the Karakoram range is known as the highest militarised zone in the world where the soldiers have to battle frostbite and high winds. The Glacier came under the strategic control of India in 1984 following ‘Operation Meghdoot’.

3. Delhi becomes the first Asian city to get public transport feature from Uber: American multinational ridesharing company Uber has launched its public transport service in Delhi. With this feature, Uber users in Delhi would be able to use the public transport option that will appear on the app. Once the users use this option, Uber will show the best three routes for using metro or bus in the city. Uber has tied up with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for the new service. Uber will show end-to-end directions from point A to point B.

4. WB Govt to invest Rs 540 Cr for infrastructural development of Calcutta Leather Complex: The West Bengal Government has decided to invest Rs 540 Cr for infrastructural development of Calcutta Leather Complex (renamed as Karmadiganta) situated at Bantala in South 24 Parganas District. The Karmadiganta complex is considered Asia’s first integrated leather complex. The West Bengal Government is aiming to raise the target to Rs 30,000 Cr in the next five years. At present, 385 tanneries and 40 leather Goods units are operational. The tanneries from Kolkata, Kanpur and Chennai are being shifted to the leather complex to take advantage of modern infrastructure.

5. NCRB releases Crime in India Report 2017: National Crime Records Bureau has released the annual “Crime in India Report 2017”. The report has been released after a delay of 2 years.

Key findings of the report are:

According to the report, 3.59 lakh cases of crime against women were reported in the country. Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 56,011 cases followed by Maharashtra with 31,979 cases and West Bengal 30,002 in cases of crime against women. Majority of cases under crimes against women were registered under ‘Cruelty by Husband or his Relatives’ (27.9%) followed by ‘Assault on Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty’ (21.7%), ‘Kidnapping & Abduction of Women’ (20.5%) and ‘Rape’ (7.0%).

The NCRB report also cited 58,880 incidents of rioting in 2017. Maximum incidents of rioting were reported from Bihar (11,698), followed by Uttar Pradesh (8,990) and Maharashtra (7,743).

The incidents registered under the Scheduled Caste Prevention of Atrocities Act saw an increase from 5,082 incidents reported in 2016 to 5,775 in 2017.

The NCRB for the first time collected data on circulation of “false/fake news and rumours”. Under the category, maximum incidents were reported from Madhya Pradesh (138) followed by Uttar Pradesh (32) and Kerala (18).

A total of 28,653 murder cases were registered across the country in 2017 and enmity cited as the maximum triggers for such murders. Among Union Territories, Delhi recorded the most murder cases in 2017 at 487.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India-Bangladesh Stakeholders’ Meet begins in Guwahati: Today, India-Bangladesh Stakeholders’ Meet begins in Guwahati with trade and connectivity high on the agenda. A 70-member delegation from Bangladesh, including two Central ministers and two advisors of the Prime Minister, are participating in the meet. A similar top-level team from India, including Union ministers, will represent the host nation. The idea of the meet is to put Assam at the centre point of India’s trade expansion with ASEAN and Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal or BBN countries. Country’s first International multi-model hub will be set up at Jogighopa in Assam at a cost of 600 crore rupees.

2. China signs deal to lease ‘Tulagi’ island: A Chinese company has signed an agreement to lease an entire island in the Solomon Islands. Tulagi, an island about two square kilometres (0.8 square miles) with a population of 1,200. It is the site of a former Japanese naval base and was the scene of fierce fighting in World War II. The agreement with China Sam mentions developing a refinery on the island, but its potential for dual use as a Chinese military base is certain to raise concerns with the United States and Australia.

3. United Nations WFP launches ‘Feed Our Future’ cinema ad campaign: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has launched a cinema advertisement campaign ‘Feed Our Future’ to raise awareness and take steps against hunger and malnutrition in India. This programme held in Facebooks Mumbai office, Maharashtra with support from UFO Moviez India Limited and Indian digital cinema distribution network. The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization committed to saving lives in emergencies and changing lives through sustainable development. In India, WFP has been working in partnership with the Government for more than 50 years to contribute to its efforts to achieve food and nutrition security.

Note:  Executive Director of WFP: David Beasley; Formed: 19 December 1961; Headquarters: Rome, Italy.

4. The 18th NAM Summit to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan: The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit has been scheduled to be held between 25 October and 26 October 2019 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The 18th NAM summit 2019 will be preceded by Ministerial meetings and senior official meetings. The 18th Summit Conference of the NAM will be hosted by H.E. Mr Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Nepal PM Oli and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina will be attending the summit. The Non-Alignment Movement was founded in 1961. India is a founding member of the NAM summit. NAM was based on Bandung principles that were adopted at the Belgrade Summit, an Afro-Asian Conference, in 1955. The movement worked towards the attainment of independence for many countries. The principles of non-alignment constitute one of the basic tenets of Nepal’s foreign policy NAM. The 17th NAM Summit was held in 2016 at the Island of Margarita, Venezuela.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Raunak Sadhwani becomes India’s 65th Grandmaster: Raunak Sadhwani has becomes India’s 65th Grandmaster. He defeated Russian GM Alexander Motylev to become the Grandmaster at the age of 13 years, 9 months and 28 days. Sadhwani’s first GM norm came in the 2019 Aeroflot Open and the 2nd in the 2019 Porticcio Open and the final norm at FIDE-Chess Grand Swiss. With the victory, Sadhwani has joined the growing list of country’s teenaged GMs that includes enormously-talented Nihal Sarin, R. Praggnanandhaa and D. Gukesh, among others.

2. Denis Shapovalov wins the Stockholm Open: Canadian player Denis Shapovalov has won the Stockholm Open title. He defeated Filip Krajinovic by 6-4, 6-4 in the Stockholm Open final. Denis Shapovalov has become the first Canadian ATP singles champion since Milos Raonic won at Brisbane in January 2016.

3. Riya Bhatia wins ITF title in Nigeria: Riya Bhati has won the ITF women’s tennis tournament in Lagos, Nigeria. She defeated Slovenian player Nastja Kolar of Slovenia 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 in the summit clash of the $25,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament. This was the 3rd singles title in the professional circuit for Riya, who had won her last two titles in 2016 and 2017.

4. Rohit Sharma set a record of highest average in Test cricket: Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma smashed the former Australia cricketer Don Bradman’s record of highest average in Test cricket on home soil. He set the record on day two of the third Test match against South Africa. He broke the 71-year-old record that was previously held by Bradman by scoring an average of 99.84. Bradman, the legendary Australia cricketer had an average of 98.22.

5. RCB becomes the first IPL team to hire a woman in support staff: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has appointed Navnita Gautam as their Sports Massage Therapist. Navnita Gautam became the first Indian Premier League (IPL) team to have a woman in the support staff. Navnita will work with Evan Speechly, the Head Physiotherapist and Basu Shanker, Strength and Conditioning Coach. She will be responsible for performing specialized techniques pertaining to the preparation, motivation, overall supervision and all individual physical ailments relating to the team.

6. Ronaldo Singh wins the gold medal at Asian Track Cycling Championships: Indian cyclist Ronaldo Singh has won a gold medal in the men’s junior Keirin event at the Asian Track Cycling Championships at Incheon in South Korea. Earlier, Ronaldo Singh had created a Junior Asian record during the Track Asia Cup in September this year in New Delhi. Apart from Ronaldo, James Singh clinched a bronze medal in the event.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. SBI Card launches contactless mobile phone payments facility: SBI Card announced the launch of ‘SBI Card Pay’, a feature which allows contactless payment using mobile phones at PoS terminals. Using SBI Card Pay, customers can make contactless payments at near field communication (NFC) enabled point of sale terminals with just one tap of their mobiles, without using the physical credit card or entering any PIN. SBI Card Pay is a payment feature based on Host Card Emulation (HCE) technology for faster, convenient and more secure card payments using mobile phones.

Note: CEO of SBI Card: Hardayal Prasad; Headquarters: Gurugram, Haryana.

2. Govt rolls out 6th tranche of Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme 2019-20: The Union Govt rolls out 6th tranche of Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme 2019-20 (continue till 25th Oct 2019). The issue price of the Bond during this subion period is 3835 rupees per gram, with the settlement date of 30th of this month. The Centre, in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India, has decided to allow a discount of 50 rupees per gram from the issue price to those investors who apply online and make the payment through the digital mode. For such investors, the issue price of Gold Bond will be three thousand seven hundred and eighty-five rupees per gram of gold. Government of India (consultation with the RBI) has decided to allow a discount of Rs 50 per gram from the issue price to those investors who apply online and the payment is made through digital mode.

The features of the Bond are:

No.	Item	Details
1	Product name	Sovereign Gold Bond 2019-20
2	Issuance	To be issued by Reserve Bank India on behalf of the Government of India.
3	Eligibility	The Bonds will be restricted for sale to resident individuals, HUFs, Trusts, Universities and Charitable Institutions.
4	Denomination	The Bonds will be denominated in multiples of gram(s) of gold with a basic unit of 1 gram.
5	Tenor	It will be for a period of 8 years with exit option after 5th year to be exercised on the interest payment dates.
6	Minimum size	The minimum permissible investment will be 1 gram of gold.
7	Maximum limit	The maximum limit of subscribed shall be 4 KG for individual, 4 Kg for HUF and 20 Kg for trusts and similar entities per fiscal (April-March) notified by the Government from time to time.

AWARDS

1.”Gully Boy” & “Delhi Crime” wins at Asian Academy Creative Awards: “Gully Boy” & “Delhi Crime” have won awards at the Asian Academy Creative Awards. Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt-starrer “Gully Boy” won the best film from India award in the regional finals at the Asian Academy Creative Awards ceremony. Netflix series “Delhi Crime” has won in a number of categories at the Asian Academy Creative Awards. Delhi Crime won for Best Actress, Best Direction, Best Drama Series, Best Editing and Best Original Programme.

DEFENCE

1. DAC cleared indigenous projects worth Rs 3,300 crore: The Defence Acquisition Council has approved 3 projects worth Rs 3,300 crore of “indigenously designed and developed equipments”. The projects include 3rd generation Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) and Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) for the T-72 and T-90 Tanks to be executed by the Indian industry. This is the first time the Ministry of Defence has offered complex military equipment to be designed, developed and manufactured by the Indian private industry. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting was chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

OBITUARIES

1. Dhyanchand award recipient Wrestler Dadu Chougule passes away: Dadu Chougule, wrestler and recipient of Major Dhyanchand award, passed away. In 1973, Chougule had won the titles ‘Rustum-e-Hind’ and ‘Mahan Bharat Kesari’ in national-level tournaments. In the 1974 Commonwealth Games, he won the silver medal. He won the ‘Maharashtra Kesari’ title twice in 1970 and 1971 and was awarded by the state government with ‘Shivchattrapati Puraskar’.

2. Oracle co-CEO Mark Hurd passes away: Oracle co-CEO (until last month) Mark Hurd (62-years) passed away. Mr. Hurd made his name as a strong-willed leader who helped revive the fortunes of two companies, including Hewlett Packard (HP), where he was CEO last decade. Earlier, Hurd had taken a leave of absence last month to focus on his health.