Daily GK Updates - 7th November, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. WB inked $172 million agreement with AP : The Central and Andhra Pradesh governments and the World Bank have signed the $172.20 million loan agreement for an agriculture project.The project will enhance the agricultural productivity, profitability, and climate resilience of poor and marginalised farmers in Andhra Pradesh.The projects seeks to ensure that farming continues to remain a financially viable activity.

2.PM to inaugurate various projects in Varanasi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Ring Road Phase-I and Babatpur-Varanasi road in Varanasi on 12 November 2018.The Prime Minister will also launch inland waterways terminal on river Ganga.It is the first of the four multi-modal terminals being constructed on NW-I (River Ganga) as part of the World Bank-aided Jal Marg Vikas project.

3. Namrata Ahuja bagged IPI-India Award : The prestigious 2018 IPI India Award for excellence in journalism has been given to Namrata Ahuja of ‘The Week’ magazine.She received the award for her exclusive story on Naga underground camps.The award comprises a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh, a trophy and a citation.The  International Press Institute (IPI) is a forum of editors, publishers and senior executives of newspapers and magazines.

4. Meghalaya announces Aqua Mission 2.0 : The Meghalaya Government announced `378 crore investment in the State’s flagship aquaculture mission named ‘Meghalaya State Aqua Mission 2.0’.The aim of the mission is to cut down fish imports into the State.Under the mission, willing partners will need to contribute only 15% while another 25% will be credit linkages and the rest 60% Government assistance.

5. First Chairperson of Lokayukta sworn in : Retired Gauhati High Court judge Pranoy Kumar Musahary was sworn in as the first Chairperson of Meghalaya Lokayukta on 6 November 2018.Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy administered the oath of office to Justice (retd) Musahary.The Lokayukta is empowered to probe allegations of corruption against public functionaries such as the Chief Minister, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Assembly.

6. Separate High Court for Andhra Pradesh : The Supreme Court has given nod for a separate High Court for Andhra Pradesh.It will start functioning from 1 January 2019 in Amravati.The new court will be the 25th High Court in the country.Presently, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have a common High Court situated at Hyderabad.The existing court will from 2019 be known as the Telangana High Court.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Pakistan-China luxury bus service launched : Pakistan and China have launched a luxury bus service passing from Lahore to Kashgar city in China on 5 November 2018.

It is part of an initiative to connect the two countries via road under the US$ 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).The bus will take 36 hours from Lahore to reach the Xinjiang province in China’s far west

2. China unveils replica of its space station : China has unveiled a replica of its first permanently crewed space station.The Chinese space station would replace the international community’s orbiting laboratory, International Space Station (ISS).The station assembly is expected to be completed around 2022 and would have a lifespan of around 10 years.The ISS has been in operation since 1998 but is due to be retired in 2024. 

3. S. Korea, U.S. resumed marine drills : South Korea and the United States resumed their combined marine drills on 5 November 2018.The Korea Marine Exercise Program (KMEP) exercise has been suspended for six months since May 2018 as the two countries engaged in diplomacy with North Korea.The two-week KMEP involves some 500 troops, including U.S. Marines from Okinawa, Japan, and military equipment.

4. Dharmendra appointed Ambassador to Iran : Senior diplomat Gaddam Dharmendra has been appointed India’s Ambassador to Iran.Dharmendra is a 1990-batch Indian Foreign Service officer.At present, he is the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.He replaced Saurabh Kumar, who was appointed India’s ambassador to Myanmar in October 2018.

5. India elected as a Member of the ITU Council : India has been elected as a Member of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Council for another 4-year term (2019-2022).The elections to the council were held during the ongoing ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2018 at Dubai, UAE.The ITU is a specialised agency of the United Nations (UN) that is responsible for issues that concern information and communication technologies.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. MoU signed between NMCG & HCL foundation : The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has signed a MoU with the HCL Foundation to work on tributaries of Ganga- Hindon and Yamuna and to increase forest cover in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.The two organisations will work for sensitisation and awareness programs on forest and environment conservation.The organisations will also try to ensure plantation success rate of 60% to 70%.

SPORTS:

1. Book on history of women’s cricket to be out : A book on history of women’s cricket in India will be released on 30 November 2018.The book, titled ‘The Fire Burns Blue: A History of Women’s Cricket in India’, is co-authored by sports journalists Karunya Keshav and Sidhanta Pathak.The book explores the biggest moments for the game in the country.

2. Elavenil-Hriday won gold in shooting : India’s Air Rifle mixed team junior pairing of Elavenil Valarivan and Hriday Hazarika won the gold medal at the 11th Asian Championship in Kuwait City on 6 November 2018.A second Indian pair of Mehuli Ghosh and Arjun Babuta also won bronze in the same event.The silver medal was won Chinese pair of Shi Mengyao and Wang Yuefeng.

3. Angad Vir Singh won gold medal in shooting : Angad Vir Singh Bajwa won the gold medal in the men’s skeet final of the 8th Asian Shotgun Championship on 6 November 2018.He became the first Indian skeet shooter to win a gold medal at any continental or world level event.Di Jin of China won the silver medal while Saeed Al Maktoum of UAE won the bronze medal.

Daily GK Updates - 19th October, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 6th meeting of NDMA held : Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the sixth meeting of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) at New Delhi on 18 October 2018.NDMA is an agency of the Ministry of Home Affairs NDMA was established through the Disaster Management Act enacted by the Government of India in may 30 2005.The Prime Minister is the ex-officio chairperson of NDMA.

2. Haryana to form GST Appellate Tribunal : Haryana Government has decided to constitute State Bench of Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal in Hisar for speedy settlement of matters related to Goods and Services Tax (GST).The State Government would soon send its request to the Central Government.Central GST Act, 2017 provides that the Central Government would constitute an Appellate Tribunal known as GST Tribunal.

3. Festival to promote organic farming : The Women and Child Development Ministry will organise the fifth edition of the ‘Women of India Organic Festival’ in Delhi.It will be held from 26 October 2018 to 4 November 2018.The move aims to empower women to boost organic culture and promote women organic farmers and entrepreneurs.Women entrepreneurs would be coming together from across the country with their organic products

4. Arshdeep won 2018 Wildlife Photographer award : Arshdeep Singh is among the winners of the 2018 Wildlife Photographer of the Year award in the 10-years-and-under category.He won the award for his ‘Pipe Owls’ photograph.The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is organised by the Britain’s Natural History Museum.Arshdeep recently won the Junior Asian Wildlife Photographer of the Year award.

5. Assam celebrated Kati Bihu festival : Assam’s third Bihu festival, known as Kati Bihu or Kongali Bihu, was celebrated across the state on 18 October 2018.The other two Bihu festivals are the Rongali and Bohagi Bihu.The festival is held at this time of the year since the granaries of the farmers usually remain empty and therefore it is known as Kongali (poor) Bihu.

6. Two apps launched by North Central Railways : The North Central Railways (NCR) launched two apps – ‘NCR RASTA’ (Railway assets Summarised Tracking Application) and ‘Yatri RASTA’ (Railway Approach to Station Tracking Application).The ‘NCR RASTA’ app is for the use of railway officers and staff and has the exact mapping of all railway assets.The ‘Yatri RASTA’ app will allow the general public to locate the railway stations easily.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. China to launch three artificial moons : China will launch three artificial moons in space in 2022.The artificial or man-made moon is a satellite carrying a huge space mirror, which can reflect the sun light to the Earth.The man-made moon is expected to be put on an orbit within 500 km from the Earth.Man-made moon is especially useful in civil area.

2. Indo-Japan Joint Exercise: Dharma Guardian : India and Japan will hold the first-ever joint military exercise ‘DHARMA GUARDIAN-2018’.The exercise will be held at Counter Insurgency Warfare School, Vairengte, Mizoram from 1 November to 14 November 2018.The Indian contingent will be represented by 6/1 Gorkha Rifles.Japanese contingent will be represented by 32 Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Ground Self Defence Force.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Anti-dumping duty on China steel products : India has imposed anti-dumping duties of up to US$ 185.51 per tonne for five years on certain varieties of Chinese steel.This will guard domestic manufacturers from cheap imports from China.The revenue department imposed the duty based on recommendations of the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR).

2. Indian household wealth grows modest 2.6% :  According to Credit Suisse Research Institute’s 2018 Global Wealth Report, wealth in India grew a modest 2.6% and wealth per adult stayed flat at US$ 7,020.By mid-2018, there were an estimated 3.43 lakh millionaires in India and 3,400 ultra high net worth individuals.Among major countries, India has one of the highest proportion of female billionaires at 18.6%.

Daily GK Updates - 25th October, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. NS Venkatesh has been appointed as CEO of Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI): Before joining AMFI, Venkatesh served in Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) for over 19 years, where he held several senior positions, including that of chief financial officer and executive director. He was also working as the executive director at Lakshmi Vilas Bank.

2. Kanwaljit Singh Cheema appointed principal secretary BoA-Darjeeling:  West Bengal government appointed Kanwaljit Singh Cheema as the principal secretary of Board of Administrators (BoA) in Darjeeling. Kanwaljit Singh Cheema, was the principal secretary of the Mass Education Extension and Library Service Department. The BoA is a nine-member board.

3.  Meghalaya Election Department has entered Limca Book of Records for the formation of the biggest human logo comprising young voters in the state: The logo formation was part of Mission Unite (U and I towards Enrolment) as part of the Special drive to enroll young and left out voters. A total of 2,870 students, 113 schools, three colleges participated. The logo size was 120ft x 75ft.

4. MP aggressive in digital initiatives: As per a report by Coeus Age Consulting, Madhya Pradesh has emerged as the top state in terms of digital initiatives undertaken by State Government. Coeus Age Consulting is an organisation which provides consultancy services on various aspects of digital economy. A comparative assessment of digital initiatives by 36 states and Union Territories was undertaken by Coeus Age Consulting.

5.  Paika Bidroha: Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar mentioned that from the next academic session, ‘Paika Bidroha’ of 1817 will be included in history text books as ‘the First War of Independence’. Paika Rebellion was an armed rebellion against British East India Company, which broke out in the year 1817 across Odisha. Combination of social-political-economic causes triggered the Paika rebellion.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Central American country Nicaragua has signed the Paris Agreement on climate change: Only two countries, United States and Syria are left, who have not signed this global climate pact. Till June 2017, 195 UNFCCC members have signed the agreement, 148 of which have ratified it.

2. India’s gift to Bangladesh - memorabilia of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971: On 22nd October 2017, India gifted a memorabilia of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 to the Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. During the war, about 10 million Bangladesh people took refuge in India. India and Bangladesh fought together to drive out the Pakistani occupation army. The memorabilia includes military equipment utilized during the war, artifacts, documents etc.

3. India – Indonesia CORPAT: The 30th edition of CORPAT (Coordinated Patrol) and 3rd Bilateral exercise between the Indian Navy and the Indonesian Navy is being conducted in Belawan, Indonesia. The exercise will be held from 24th October to 5th November 2017. Indian Naval Ship Sukanya arrived at Belawan to participate in the 30th edition of CORPAT. CORPAT exercise is conducted on IMBL twice a year since 2002.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Manav Thakkar has become the first Indian to occupy the top spot with 3,455 points on the ITTF World Junior Circuit standings:  Manav Thakkar hails from Surat. He was previously placed at No. 5 position. He has reached the top position of top ITTF Junior Circuit standings after finishing runner-up at the 2017 Serbian Junior and Cadet Open, Belgrade.

2. India’s Divij Sharan and America’s Scott Lipsky won the European Open trophy in Antwerp, Belgium:  Divij Sharan and Scott Lipsky defeated Santiago Gonzalez and Julio Peralta by 6-4, 2-6, 10-5 in the finals. They won the 2017 European Open title. Divij Sharan has won his first title of the 2017 season on the ATP World Tour, and third overall, by winning the European Open trophy.

BANKING/ FINANCE:

1. RBI assigned task Force on ‘Public Credit Registry’: Reserve Bank of India has constituted a 10-member ‘High Level Task Force on Public Credit Registry (PCR) for India’. It will suggest a roadmap for developing a transparent, comprehensive and near-real-time PCR for India. The committee will be Headed by YM Deosthalee, ex-CMD, L&T Finance Holdings.

2. EEPC India - PNB Pact: Engineering Export Promotion Council of India has signed an MoU with PNB to provide easy access to finance for SMEs and merchant exporters of the council. PNB will provide finance with assurance that loans up to Rs. 10 crore would be provided within 6 to 7 weeks at competitive rates. PNB would also extend foreign currency loan facilities and provide advisory support to EEPC India members.

3. SBI ties up with Escorts Ltd: SBI announced that it has entered into a tie-up with Escorts Ltd to finance farmers for the purchase of Escorts tractors. As per the terms of the tie-up, farmers across India, who wish to purchase Powertrac and Farmtrac brand tractors manufactured by Escorts, will be provided finance facility by SBI at competitive interest rates. This will help a large number of small and marginal farmers.

4. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is set to make Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) compulsory for companies : Companies having aggregate fund-based and non-fund based exposure over Rs 5 cr. LEI is a unique 20 digit alphanumeric code that will be assigned to corporate borrowers. Fetching loan details on basis of LEI, will prevent banks from extending multiple loans to companies against the same collateral.

5. IndusInd Bank and MobiKwik announced the launch of a co-branded wallet, “IndusInd Mobikwik”: IndusInd Mobikwik wallet allows IndusInd bank’s customers to pay at the MobiKwik merchant network using their accounts. This wallet has a ‘direct debit feature’ which allows IndusInd Bank account holders to link their accounts just once and pay using the co-branded app as and when required.

OBITUARIES:

1. Noted Malayalam filmmaker I.V. Sasi passed away: He was 69 years old. He had been ill for a while. He has directed more than 150 movies in his 40 year career. He started his career as an art director for Kaliyalla Kalyanam in 1968. He made his debut as a director with the movie Ulsavam. He has won various awards like National Film Award, Kerala State Film Awards etc.

Daily GK Updates - 9th October, 2017

                 NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. GoM Set Up to Review Composition Scheme:  A group of ministers (GoM) has been set up under Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to make the composition scheme more attractive and also revisit GST rates on restaurants. The GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had constituted the GoM.With only 15.50 lakh businesses out of the total 98 lakh registered under the goods and services tax (GST) regime opting for the composition scheme, the GST Council has decided to set up the GoM to examine measures to make it more attractive.

                   INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Rajesh Nath has been conferred the ‘Cross of the Order of Merit’, the highest civilian honour of Germany: Rajesh Nath, the managing director of VDMA India, has been conferred the ‘Cross of the Order of Merit’, the highest civilian honour awarded to individuals for their services to Germany. The award, also known as Bundesverdienstkreuz or Federal Cross of Merit was instituted in 1951 and is Germany’s only honour that is awarded to both Germans and foreigners for achievements in the economic, social, political or intellectual realms.

                                OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. PNB MetLife Appoints Ashish Srivastava as MD & CEO: PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Ltd (PNB MetLife),a life insurer, has appointed Ashish Srivastava as a new Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of the company.Prior to this elevation, Srivastava was an interim CEO at PNB MetLife. Srivastava joined PNB MetLife in 2013 as the Head of HR for the India business.

SPORTS:

1.India's Anupama Ramachandran wins World Open U-16 Snooker Championship: Anupama Ramachandran (India) has won the World Open Under-16 Snooker Championship title at St. Petersburg in Russia.In the Girls category, she defeated top seed Keerthana Pandian 3-1.In boy category, Dylan Emery of Wales has claimed the title.Total 73 cueists from across the world have participated in this championship.

2.Rafael Nadal wins 2107 China open title: Top-ranked 16-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal (Spain) has won 2017 China 0pen title in Beijing.Rafael Nadal defeated Nick Kyrgios (Australia) 6-2, 6-1 to win his 6th ATP title of the year.In the women’s event, Caroline Garcia (France) defeated world no.1 Simona Halep(Romania) in straight sets of 6-4, 7-6 .

Daily GK Updates - 25th August, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Dera Chief Ram Rahim convicted of Rape by CBI court: A CBI special trial court in Panchkula convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a rape case registered in 2002. Notably, till now five people were killed in riots after he was convicted of rape by a CBI court.

2. Newly Appointed DG -RPF – Dharmendra Kumar: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) is a security force of India entrusted with protecting railway passengers, passenger area and railway property of the Indian Railways. The force is under the authority of Ministry of Railways (India). Shri Dharmendra Kumar (1984 batch IPS officer) has been appointed as the Director General (DG) Railway Protection Force. Presently he is working in CISF as Additional DG. The appointment of Shri Dharmendra Kumar will be effective from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

3. Launch of  web portal for competitive exams by Maharashtra Government: The Maharashtra educational board has launched a web portal with online question banks to help students prepare for competitive exams on their own. The portal which can be accessed for free, will function as a substitute for expensive coaching classes.

4. Karnataka Agriculture Department signed Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with Microsoft India to develop a “farm price forecasting model” using latets IT toolsin a bid to help farmers: The proposed initiative is the first of its kind in the country as it is a multivariate one that takes into consideration various factors beyond the conventional supply demand equation while forecasting the prices of crops.

5. Privacy tests – Ajay Bhushan Pandey: Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey said that, tax payers will have to link their PAN with Aadhaar by the stipulated deadline, which is this month-end, as the Supreme Court verdict on privacy has no bearing on the requirement. He exuded confidence that Aadhaar Act, with its data protection safeguards, will pass the test of privacy being a fundamental right.

6. Newly appointed interim Chairman and MD of Air India - Rajiv Bansal : Rajiv Bansal, Additional Secretary & Financial advisor at Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has been appointed as the interim Chairman and MD of state air carrier Air India. This comes after former Chairman and MD of Air India Ashani Lohani took over as the Railway Board Chairman.

7. Government tweaks norms to boost UDAN scheme:  The Civil Aviation Ministry on Thursday announced increasing viability gap funding for helicopter operators, diluting exclusivity clause and relaxed other norms to facilitate more participation in its regional connectivity scheme, UDAN. The Ministry also abolished the 150-km minimum distance required between two airports to be qualified for operations under the scheme.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. South Korean electronics giant Samsung’s acting chairman Lee Jae-yong was sentenced to a five-year jail term after being found guilty in corruption case:  He was accused of making large donations to foundations run by impeached President Park Geun-hye’s close friend, in return of political favours.

2. Gender Neutral Passports in Canada: According to the Canadian govt. Canadian citizens who do not identify as male or female will soon be able to mark ‘X’ on their passports and other identity documents. Citizens will be able to add an ‘observation’ to their passports stating their sex should be “identified as ‘X’, indicating it is unspecified from 31st August this year.

3. Russia’s Nuclear capable Tupolev-95MS strategic bombers  fly near S Korea, Japan: Russia’s Nuclear capable Tupolev-95MS strategic bombers flew over the neutral waters of the Pacific Ocean, the sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea and the East China sea. The bombers were escorted by S Korean and Japanese military jets along the route. This comes amid tensions in the Korean Peninsula over N Korea’s missile program.

4. Joint Infrastructure Project between India and Nepal: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held comprehensive talks with his Nepalese counterpart ‘Sher Bahadur Deuba’ in New Delhi and decided to expedite various joint infrastructure projects such as laying of rail links and building of roads. PM appreciated the efforts being made by the Nepal govt. to take all sections of the society on board in the constitution implementation process and in establishing Nepal as a federal, democratic republic. Both sides recognized the need for early completion of Jayanagar- Bijalpur-Bardibas and Jogbani-Biratnagar cross-border rail-link projects. They also noted with satisfaction that the railway line from Jayanagar to Janakpur and from Jogbani to Biratnagar Custom Yard will be completed by 2018. Both were agreed that the Joint Working Group on Cross-Border Transport Facilitation will meet early to address operational issues for existing and additional routes.

5. Japan imposed fresh sanctions on North Korea by freezing the assets of Chinese and Namibian firms doing business with the nuclear-armed state: The move against a half dozen organizations and a couple of individuals comes days after Washington expanded its own punitive measures against Chinese and Russian firms, as well as people linked to Pyongyang.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1.India defeated Sri Lanka by 3 wickets(D/L method) to take a 2-0 lead in the give-match ODI series: Sri Lankan spinner Akila Danjaya took six wickets, with India losing seven wickets for 22 runs.

2. Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo has been named as UEFA’s Best Player of the Year for the 3rd time:  The 32-year old was the top scorer in last season’s UEFA champions league, which was won by Real Madrid.

BANKING/FINANCE:

1.  Co-founder of Indian software giant Infosys Nandan Nilekani has been appointed as non-executive chairman of Infosys Board: This comes after board’s chairman R Seshasayee and co-chairman Ravi Venkatesan submitted their resignations.

2. RBI Launches new Rs.200 notes: The Reserve Bank (RBI) has issued new Rs. 200 and Rs. 50 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series, bearing signature of RBI Governor Urjit Patel. Initially, the new Rs 200 notes will be circulated by select RBI offices, and some banks. The new denomination Rs. 200 has the motif of Sanchi Stupa on the reverse and its base colour is bright yellow. The base colour of the note is bright yellow.

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY:

1.AI – Project “Brainwave”:  Microsoft has announced a deep learning acceleration platform 'Project Brainwave' for real-time artificial intelligence (AI). With ultra-low latency, the system processes requests as fast as it receives them. Real-time AI is becoming increasingly important as cloud infrastructures process live data streams, whether they be search queries, videos, sensor streams, or interactions with users. The 'Project Brainwave' uses the massive field-programmable gate array (FPGA) infrastructure that Microsoft has been deploying over the past few years.

BOOKS/AWARDS:

1. A book by Raghuram Rajan - ‘I Do What I Do’ -  to be publish on 4th September, 2017:  “ I Do What I Do”: On Reforms, Rhetoric & Resolve’ a book by Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan will launch on 4th September, exactly a year after Rajan quit as RBI Governor. The book conveys what it was like to be at the helm of RBI in those turbulent but exciting times.