Daily GK Updates - 21st June, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Namma Kolhapuri chappal gets GI boost: Maharashtra's extremely popular footwear industry, renowned for its handcrafted leather Kolhapuri chappal has been given the Geographical Indication (GI) tag. The Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks has granted the GI tag for Kolhapuris to four districts of Maharashtra- Kolhapur, Solapur, Sangli and Satara, along with four in Karnataka- Dharwad, Belgaum, Bagalkot and Bijapur.

Note: A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. In order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place. Geographical Indication Tag provides rights and protection to holders. For a product to get GI tag, it has to have a unique quality, reputation or characteristic which is attributable to its geographic origin.

2. Venkaiah Naidu suggests automatic lapsing of bills if Rajya Sabha fails to clear them within five years: Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu came up with suggestions “if a bill is not passed for five years in the Rajya Sabha, then such bill should be deemed as lapsed automatically“to tackle the issue of lapsing of bills due to the dissolution of the Lok Sabha and the long pendency of legislation in the Upper House, in some cases for more than 30 years. According to Article 107 of the Constitution, bills passed in the Lok Sabha and pending in the Rajya Sabha get lapsed with the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. As many as 22 bills passed by the 16th Lok Sabha got lapsed as they cannot be cleared in the Rajya Sabha.

Note: Laws pending in Rajya Sabha: At end of the 248th session of the Rajya Sabha 55 bills were pending before the Upper House including the now lapsed bills. The Upper House now has 33 bills pending. Three are pending for more than 20 years. Six are pending for 10 to 20 years. Fourteen are pending for five to 10 years and the rest are pending for up to 5 years. The oldest pending bill is the Indian Medical Association (Amendment) Bill, 1987 that is pending for more than 32 years.

3. 35000 km of highways to be built by 2022 under Bharatmala: According to the President of India, construction or upgradation of about 35,000 kilometres of national highways are to be undertaken by 2022 under the 'Bharatmala Project'. Also under the 'Sagarmala Project', a network of good quality roads are to be constructed in coastal areas and areas adjoining ports.

4. IIIDEM (ECI) Orgnises Capacity Building Program on ‘Electoral Technology’: The India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) (ECI) organized five-day training programme on Use of Technology in Elections for Election Officials of Union Election Commission of Myanmar. The Capacity Building Programs on Electoral technology is the 7th program in the series of the 09 programs scheduled across 2018-2019.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. International Day of Yoga: 21 June: The International Day of Yoga is being observed on 21st June every year. The International Day of Yoga aims to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practicing yoga. This is the 5th Edition of International Day of Yoga. This year, the International Yoga Day's theme is "Climate Action" and it will be celebrated at the UN on 20 June as "Yoga with Gurus," followed by a panel discussion on 21 June.

Note: The idea of the International Day of Yoga was first proposed by PM Modi during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 27, 2014. The first International Yoga Day (IYD) was celebrated across the world on 21st June 2015.

2. World Music Day: 21 June: World Music Day is observed on 21st June every year with the aim to shed light on the importance of music. On Music Day, the citizens of a city or country are allowed and urged to play music in their neighborhoods or in public spaces. World Music Day has its origins in France, but soon got adopted by over 120 nations across the world, including India. In France, it is known as ‘Fête de la Musique’ meaning “festival of music” to honour both amateur and professional musicians.

Note: The idea was conceived in the 1970s by American musician Joel Cohen— then working for a French radio station—as he wanted bands to play on the evening of June 21 to welcome the first day of summer. The first World Music Day took place on June 21, 1982.

3. World Hydrography Day: 21 June: World Hydrography Day (WHD) is being observed annually on 21 June to publicise the work of hydrographers and the importance of hydrography. The theme of this year is – “Hydrographic information driving marine knowledge”. Since 2006, the day is observed annually on 21 June. It was adopted by the International Hydrographic Organization as an annual celebration to publicise the work of hydrographers and the importance of hydrography.

Note: The International Hydrographic Organization is an intergovernmental consultative and technical organization that was established in 1921 to support the safety of navigation and the protection of the marine environment. The IHO headquarters is in Monaco.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. World Archery appoints Abhinav Bindra to sort AAI mess: Abhinav Bindra was appointed as an independent person by the World Archery to sort out the ongoing mess in the Archery Association of India (AAI). The development comes a day after the world body de-listed the AAI for violating the constitution by unanimously electing two parallel bodies in Chandigarh and New Delhi. The suspension would prevent Indian archers from participating at any world event, including the Asian Archery Championships, an Olympic qualifying event.

2. Bronze for India in the 58th Ostrava Golden Spike Athletics meet: Annu Rani won the women’s javelin bronze in the 58th Ostrava Golden Spike athletics meet, an IAAF World Challenge event. While Croatia’s Sara Kolak took the gold and Slovenia’s Martina Ratej bagged the silver.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. SEBI sets up panel to review margins on derivatives: NSE Clearing Ltd. will head the panel set up by SEBI to review margins on derivatives. The panel will submit its recommendations to the Secondary Market Advisory Committee. These margins on the derivatives segment are pushing up the cost of trading while not managing risk in the most efficient manner.

Note: Chairman of NSE Clearing Ltd.: Mr. Harun R Khan; SEBI Headquarter: Mumbai, Chairperson: Ajay Tyagi.

2. CCI approves Indiabulls Housing Finance and Lakshmi Vilas Bank merger: Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the merger of the Indiabulls Housing Finance and Lakshmi Vilas Bank. Lakshmi Vilas Bank is going to merge with Indiabulls Housing Finance in a share swap deal with intent to create a combined entity with a larger capital base and wider geographical reach. After the merger, Indiabulls Housing Finance will get access to low cost deposits, geographical diversification and expanded client base and cross selling opportunities.

3. Apollo Munich to merge with HDFC ERGO: HDFC Ltd. has signed a definitive agreement with Apollo Munich Health Insurance to buy out the entire Apollo Hospitals Group’s stake of 50.8% for ₹1,136 crore and another 0.4% stake held by a few employees for ₹10.84 crore. Post the acquisition of shares by HDFC, Apollo Munich would be merged with the former’s general insurance subsidiary — HDFC ERGO. ERGO is a subsidiary of Munich Re, which has been a joint venture partner of HDFC ERGO since 2008. Munich Re will continue to hold 49% stake in HDFC ERGO post the merger. The acquisition would make HDFC ERGO the second-largest private sector insurer in the combined accident and health insurance vertical, with an 8.2% market share.

Note: HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Ltd. is a joint venture between HDFC Ltd. and ERGO International AG, the primary insurance entity of Munich Re Group. HDFC holds 51 per cent, and ERGO the other 49 per cent. The headquarters is located in Mumbai. Ritesh Kumar is the CEO of HDFC ERGO.

4. Sundaram Fin to buy entire BNP Paribas stake in housing arm for Rs 1,000 crore: Sundaram Finance Ltd (SFL) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance have reached an agreement under which BNP Paribas Personal Finance will sell its entire 49.9 per cent equity stake in Sundaram BNP Paribas Home Finance Ltd (SBPHFL) to SFL for a consideration of about ₹1,000 crore. The proposed acquisition follows BNP Paribas Group’s decision to exit the retail housing finance business.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. 249 startups were given financial support with FFS: DPIIT: According to Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Fund of Funds for Startups have provided financial support to 249 startups in last 3 years. The DPIIT is the monitoring agency and Small Industries Development Bank of India is the operating agency for FFS. FFS contributes to the corpus of SEBI registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs). The AIFs in turn have to invest at least twice the contribution under FFS in startups.

2. Group of Secretaries constituted on e-Commerce: A Standing Group of Secretaries (GoS) has been constituted on e-Commerce by Ministry of Commerce and Industry. GoS under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is constituted to ensure inter-ministerial/inter-departmentalcoordination on resolving issues, cutting across Ministries and Departments of Government of India in e-Commerce.

Note: Union Minister of Commerce and Industry: Piyush Goyal; Secretary of DPIIT: Ramesh Abhishek.

3. Tech Mahindra signs contract with Airbus: Software and business re-engineering services firm Tech Mahindra announced the signing of a multi-year contract with Airbus for cabin and cargo design engineering. Tech Mahindra said it is aiming to grow its cabin engineering business over the next few years. The company is betting big on next-generation technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Internet of Things (IoT), cybersecurity, robotics, automation, Blockchain and 5G, to solve real business problems of the customers by delivering innovative solutions and services.

Note: Tech Mahindra Limited is a multinational Information Technology (IT) Software and business re-engineering services firm. It is a subsidiary of the Mahindra Group. Chairman of Tech Mahindra: Anand Mahindra, Headquarter: Pune; Airbus's corporate headquarter: Leiden, Netherlands. CEO of Airbus: Guillaume Faury

Daily GK Updates - 1st April, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. E-way bill system comes into force: The Uniform System of e-way Bill for inter-State movement of goods has come into force from April 1, 2018. Under the new system, every transporter will have to carry a system-generated bill to move goods from one place to another. The e-way bill will be mandatory for inter-state transportation of goods with a value of 50 thousand rupees and above.

2. Delhi becomes the first city to roll-out Bharat Stage VI fuel: With an aim to combat the rising levels of air pollution in Delhi-NCR region, petrol pumps in the capital have started supplying ultra-clean Bharat Stage VI grade fuel. This move makes New Delhi the first city in the country to switch from BS-IV grade fuels to BS-VI. The major difference in standards between the existing BS-IV and the new ​BS-VI auto fuel norms is the presence of sulphur.

3. India becomes the world’s second largest mobile phone producer: As per the information shared by Indian Cellular Association, India is now the second largest mobile phone producer in the world after China. Annual production of mobile phones in India increased from 3 million units in 2014 to 11 million units in 2017. India replaced Vietnam to become ​the second largest producer of mobile phones in 2017.

4. India’s longest elevated road inaugurated: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated a 10.3 km long Hindon Elevated Road, touted to be the longest elevated road in the country. It will be connecting Raj Nagar Extension in Ghaziabad to UP Gate, shortening an hour-long journey to just 18 minutes. The entire stretch of the Hindon Elevated Road is built on 228 single-pier pillars.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. India to assist Seychelles for civilian projects: India is giving financial support to five civilian projects in Seychelles amounting to $8.36 million, notwithstanding the fact that Delhi’s plans to build military infrastructure on Assumption Island in the strategically located Indian Ocean country has hit a rough patch. Of the total $ 8.36 million support, $3.45 million will be devoted towards the construction of a state-of-the-art Magistrate’s Court with all modern amenities in Seychelles capital Victoria.

OTHER UPDATES

DEFENCE:

1. Russia test fired new ICBM ‘Sarmat’: The Russian military has successfully tested its latest intercontinental ballistic missile ‘SARMAT’. The RS-28 Sarmat can cross South Pole as well as the North Pole, the shortest route between Russia and US and can strike targets anywhere in the world. Sarmat is intended to replace the Soviet-designed Voyevoda, the world’s heaviest ICBM known as “Satan” in the West.

SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY:

1. ISRO loses contact with GSAT-6A satellite: ISRO has lost contact with the GSAT-6A, India’s most powerful communication satellite, in less than 48 hours after it was launched. The GSAT-6A, the 2nd in the series of GSAT-6 satellites to provide high speed broadband on mobile phones was designed for a life of 10 years. This is the second mission failure for Isro in six months, with the previous one being the PSLV-C39.

2. China’s Tiangong-1 space lab is all set to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere: China’s Tiangong-1 or Heavenly Palace space station is set to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere b/w March 31 & April 1. Scientists have underlined that the danger of Tiangong-1 being hit by falling debris is tiny, as the structure is likely to burn up in the atmosphere during its re-entry. In 2011, China launched Tiangong-1 as a prototype for Beijing’s goal of establishing a permanent space station.

3. S Korea, US began joint military drills: South Korea & US have kicked off their annual joint military exercises after they were delayed about a month for Olympics. Foal Eagle field exercise, which involves combined ground, air, naval & special operation troops, will continue for a month while the computer-simulated Key Resolve is scheduled for 2 weeks. The two drills would involve 23,700 US troops & 300,000 South Korean forces.

4. First bank to roll out AI-run voicebot: Kotak Mahindra Bank has launched the country’s first artificial intelligence-powered voice-bot ‘Keya’ in the banking sector. Keya uses automatic speech recognition, natural language understanding and text-to-speech technology. The ​voice-bot uses natural language understanding to navigate the customer directly to the destination where he can get his issue resolved.

BANKING / FINANCE:

1. Allahabad Bank cuts lending rates: Allahabad Bank has reduced the base rate and benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) by 45 basis points each. The Bank has the slashed base rate to 9.15% from 9.60%. BPLR has been brought down to 13.40% from 13.85%. The reduction in the rates will lower EMIs for its borrowers.

SPORTS:

1. Cricketer Irfan Pathan joins J&K in a player-cum-mentor role: Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association has appointed former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan as the coach-cum-mentor of its senior state side for 2018-19 season. He will be the coach-cum-mentor of J&K team for a period of 1 year. He will also be holding coaching clinics in various parts of J&K for the development of the game.

2. New head of BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Unit: BCCI has appointed former Rajasthan Director General of Police Ajit Singh as the head of its Anti-Corruption Unit. He will replace former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar. He will take charge of the office ahead of IPL and will be based out of BCCI headquarters in Mumbai.

3. Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj was adjudged ‘Sportsperson of the Year’ : At an event  at the Telangana Sports Journalists Association annual awards for 2017. She is the highest run-scorer in women’s international cricket and the only female cricketer to surpass the 6,000 run mark in ODIs. In December 2017, she was named as one of the players in the ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year.

4. Sloane Stephens won Miami Open: US Open champion Sloane Stephens defeated Latvian Jelena Ostapenko 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 to win her first Miami Open title. Sloane Stephens has now won 6 WTA titles & has never lost in a final. This win will move Stephens into world top 10 for the first time. Stephens had beaten 3 former Grand Slam champs – Garbine Muguruza, Angelique Kerber, and Victoria Azarenka to make the final.