Daily GK Updates - 20th January, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Question rose against Darwin’s theory of evolution: Union minister Satyapal Singh has claimed that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution of man was "scientifically wrong" and it needs to be changed in school and college curriculum.  Singh, the Minister of State for Human Resource Development, said our ancestors have nowhere mentioned that they saw an ape turning into a man.  "Darwin's theory (of evolution of humans) is scientifically wrong. It needs to change in school and college curriculum. Since the man is seen on Earth he has always been a man," he said while speaking to reporters yesterday here.  The IPS officer-turned-politician was in this central Maharashtra city to attend the 'All India Vaidik Sammelan.' "Nobody, including our ancestors, in written or oral, have said they saw an ape turning into a man," he said.  "No books we have read or the tales told to us by our grandparents had such a mention," the minister added.

2. Nine more smart cities to come up: The Urban Development Minister ‘Hardeep Singh Puri’ has announced the name of nine more smart cities (total to 99). Silvassa in Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli has topped the list of winning cities in this round of competition. The other cities include Erode (Tamil Nadu), Diu (Union Territory of Daman and Diu), Biharsharif (Bihar), Bareilly (UP), Saharanpur(UP) and Moradabad (UP),  Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) and  Kavaratti (Lakshadweep). The total proposed investment in 99 Smart Cities will be two lakhs three thousand 979 crore rupees.

3.  Former Chief Minister of Gujarat Anandiben Patel will be the next Governor of Madhya Pradesh: She replaces Om Prakash Kohli who has an additional charge of the office of MP Governor along with the office of Gujarat Governor.

4. The Anthem -  “Bharat Ke Veer” : The Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has launched ‘Bharat Ke Veer’ anthem and a short film on India’s brave hearts in New Delhi.Bharat Ke Veer is a fund to support the families of those courageous and brave Indian soldier belongings to the eight Central Armed Police Forces, who lost their lives protecting the nation from terrorists and other anti-social elements.The fund is directly administered by the Home Ministry and is given as an annuity or one-time grant to the family of the martyred soldier.

5.  Ramayana festival with ASEAN nations in Delhi : The five-day Ramayana festival with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) nations has begun in Delhi. Troupes from ASEAN countries will display the shared heritage also at Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Ayodhya and Kolkata. The festival seeks to underline the common cultural heritage and India's friendship with ASEAN nations. The Festival is a fitting prelude to the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit on 25th January.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Britain announces public register against money laundering: Britain has announced the world's first public register that requires overseas companies that own or buy property in the country to provide details of their ultimate owners. The government is set to publish relevant draft laws and the register will go live by early 2021.This register will build on their reputation for corporate transparency as well as help create a hostile environment for economic crimes like money laundering. Properties in Britain worth 250 million dollars has been under criminal investigation for being linked to corruption since 2004. Over 75% of the properties currently under investigation have been suspected of being used off-shore corporate secrecy, a tactic regularly seen by investigators pursuing high-level money laundering.

2. India becomes 43rd member of Australia Group: India has formally become the 43rd member of the Australia Group, a group of countries instituted to counter the spread of materials, equipment and technologies. The inclusion will raise India’s stature in the field of non-proliferation and help in acquiring critical technologies. The Australia Group is a multilateral export control regime (MECR) and an informal group of established in 1985 to help member countries to identify those exports which need to be controlled so as not to contribute to the spread of chemical and biological weapons.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. India to face Pakistan in the fifth edition of “Blind Cricket World Cup” Final: The 5th edition of the Blind Cricket World Cup tournament is currently held from 8 Jan -21st Jan 2018 in Pakistan and in the United Arab Emirates(UAE). Team India (defending champion) will face arch-rival Pakistan in the 5th edition of the 2018 Blind Cricket World Cup Final at Sharjah. India defeated Bangladesh by 7 wickets in the semis to enter the Finals of the 2018 Blind Cricket World Cup. Pakistan qualified for the final of the Blind Cricket World Cup after defeating Sri Lanka.

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY:

1. Robo Scientist makes malaria breakthrough: Research carried out in part by a 'robot scientist' has found that a common ingredient of toothpaste could be developed to fight drug-resistant strains of malaria. In a study in 'Scientific Reports', scientists from Britain's Cambridge University who used the robot to conduct high-throughput screening said the ingredient, triclosan, showed the potential to interrupt malaria infections at two critical stages - in the liver and the blood. Malaria kills around half a million people every year, the vast majority of them children.

BANKING/ FINANCE:

1. The IMF and World Bank have commended the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) for the remarkable progress in strengthening banking supervision system: The multilateral agencies have released two Detailed Assessment Reports relating to the 2017 India Financial Sector Assessment Programme. The Report providing ‘Detailed Assessment of Observance-Basel Core Principles noted that the supervision and regulation by the Reserve Bank remain strong and have improved in recent years. Most of the Basel III framework has been implemented and cooperation arrangements are now firmly in place.

OBITUARIES:

1. Iconic Cartoonist Chandi Lahiri (86-years) passed away due to illness: Lahiri left generations of Bengalis enthralled with his brand of humour that was non-acerbic for the past five decades. He created a number of animal characters like Giraffe, Nengti (a rat), Michke (a cat) and their relationship with children.

Daily GK Updates - 13th November, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. India’s first Military Literature Festival to be held: India’s first Military Literature Festival (MLF) will be held in Chandigarh, between December7 and 9, 2017. It is a tribute to the armed forces, whose contributions to the nation remain etched in history as iconic events.

2. Child Rights Week to be observed: The Ministry of Women and Child Development will celebrate the Child Rights Week (Hausla 2017) from 16th to 20th November 2017. The commemoration of the festival “Hausla 2017” will provide an occasion to showcase the talents of children and to provide them with a space to express their dreams and aspiration.

3. Odisha, Bengal to hold joint exercise ‘Sagar Kavach’: The governments of Odisha and neighbouring West Bengal will soon organize a joint security exercise named as ‘Sagar Kavach’. It is to further tighten the existing coastal security mechanism along the 630 km long coastline. Sagar Kavach security exercise is a realistic drill to check the efficacy of the security parameters and preparedness of various security forces.

4. Cabinet approval for restructuring National Rural Drinking Water Programme: Cabinet has accorded its approval for continuation and restructuring of National Rural Drinking Water Programme. The scheme was launched to ensure good quality service delivery to the rural population. The restructuring will make the programme flexible and will enable the Ministry towards to reach the goal of increasing coverage of sustainable Piped Water Supply.

5. Award of President’s Standard & Colours: Mr. Ramnath Kovind will give the prestigious President’s standard to 223 Squadron and 117 Helicopter Unit during a ceremonial parade scheduled to be held at Air Force Station Adampur on 16th November 17. The Commanding Officer of 223 Squadron, Group and 117 Helicopter Unit will receive the President’s Standard. This honour is an acknowledgement of the meritorious service rendered by the selected units.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. World Pneumonia Day observed:  On 12th November 2017, World Pneumonia Day was observed all over the world. It was first observed in 2009 when over 100 organisations joined to form the Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia. It helps to highlight the severity of pneumonia and encourages more organisations to look at ways of fighting the disease.

2. APEC summit held in Vietnam: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting was held on 10th and 11th November, 2017 in Da Nang, Vietnam. Theme of this meeting was ‘Creating New Dynamism, Fostering a Shared Future’. Leaders of 21 Pacific Rim countries attended this meeting. This was the first APEC meeting for several leaders.

3. Global Climate Risk Index released: India is the sixth most vulnerable country in the world in terms of facing extreme weather events, according to global climate risk index.

Haiti, Zimbabwe, Fiji, Sri Lanka and Vietnam are at top five positions in the fresh list of nations facing climate risk. The ranking was released here by ‘Germanwatch’, an independent Berlin-based development and environmental organisation.

OTHER UPDATES

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

1. Cartoon Network’s first amusement park to come up in Surat: Turner International India and Rajgreen Group are making Amaazia – India’s first Cartoon Network-branded amusement park, in Surat. Cartoon Network’s popular characters will be part of the amusement park. Amaazia will be divided into four major sections – a theme park branded by Cartoon Network, a water park, a family recreational hub and a service apartment and retail shopping area.

SPORTS:

1. Bharat Khandare to be the first India-born fighter in UFC: Bharat Khandare is all set to be the first Indian-born Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter in the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC). He was first approached by UFC three years back but the deal did not go through because of his prior commitments. Earlier this year Arjan Singh Bhullar became the first Indian to sign up in the UFC.

2. New Ombudsman of AIFF named: Supreme Court appointed former captain of the football team, Bhaskar Ganguly, as ombudsman of All India Football Federation. Ganguly had served as captain of the Indian team at the 1982 Asian Games.

Daily GK Updates - 24th October, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. IPS Rakesh Asthana appointed CBI Special Director: Senior IPS officer (1984-batch: Gujarat cadre) has been appointed as the special director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Earlier, Asthana had been serving in the Central Bureau of Investigation as Additional Director. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the domestic security agency of India, overseen by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions of the Federal government headed by a Cabinet Minister who reports directly to the Prime Minister.

2. Japan's ruling coalition wins overwhelming victory in general election: Japan's ruling coalition has won an overwhelming victory in yesterday's general election. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito party won more than two-thirds of the Lower House seats. The LDP, led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, secured 283 seats, one less than before the election but far more than a simple majority of 233. Komeito won 29, bringing the total of seats held by the ruling camp to 312.

3. TRAI recommends 40% carbon emission reduction in telecom network by 2022-23: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended 40% carbon emission reduction in telecom network by 2022-23. The target for reduction in carbon emission be set as 30% by year 2019-20 taking base year as 2011-12 and 40% by the year 2022-23. The report of carbon footprint of telecom operators should be submitted annually within 45 days after March of every year. The targets should be reviewed in the year 2022-23.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. United Nations Day is observed on 24^th October, 2017: The United Nations Day is being observed globally on 24th October to make people aware of the aims and achievements of the United Nations Organization. In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly declared 24 October, the anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations. United Nations Day is part of United Nations Week (runs from 20 to 26 October).In 1971, the United Nations General Assembly had declared 24th October as the United Nations Day by adopting Resolution 2782.

2. Bangladesh - India deal for Gas and Oil: The Bangladesh Petroleum Corp. (BPC) and Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) has signed long-term sales and purchase agreement to import gas oil to meet the country’s energy demand. BPC will take up to 250,000 tonnes of gas oil each year from NRL for the first three years of the deal to the BPC’s northern fuel depot via a 131-km (79 mile) pipeline, which will be built by India.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1.  Jitu Rai & Heena Sidhu strike gold in air pistol mixed team event: Commonwealth and Asian Games gold-medallist Jeetu Rai and Heena Sidhu have won the gold medal of the ISSF World Cup Final in New Delhi, in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. Rai and Sidhu picked up their third gold together in the mixed team event. The mixed team competitions were organised as test events in the World Cups this year and will be making their Olympic debut in the Tokyo 2020 Games. France secured the silver medal and China settled for the bronze medal.

2. Best FIFA Men's Player- Cristiano Ronaldo: The four-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo claimed the Best FIFA Men's Player award (second straight year) at the 2017 award ceremony in London. Real Madrid's Portugal striker helped Real to a Champions League-La Liga double in 2016-17. Lieke Martens of Barcelona and the Netherlands won best female player, Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid) was named best men's coach and Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands) the best female coach. Arsenal's Olivier Giroud received the Puskas award for the best goal of 2017 for his 'scorpion kick' against Crystal Palace in January. Celtic won the fan award after they honoured the club's 1967 'Lisbon Lions' with a stunning 360-degree card display on the 50th anniversary of their historic European Cup win.

3. Brazil and Spain have joined England and Mali in the semi-finals of the Under-17 FIFA World Cup Football being held in India: Brazil will face England in Guwahati, with Spain taking on Mali in Mumbai on 25th of this month. The Final is slated to take place on 29th Oct 2017 (Saturday) in Kolkata.

BANKING/ FINANCE:

1. India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) appoints Suresh Sethi as its MD & CEO: Suresh Sethi was former MD of Vodafone M-Pesa Ltd. IPPB has appointed him as its Managing Director (MD)and chief executive officer (CEO). He takes over from AP Singh who had held the post in the interim since January 2017. IPPB plans to leverage the unparalleled reach of the India Post network to achieve a pan-India roll out of 650 branches by early next year. The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has been incorporated as a public-sector company under the Department of Posts with 100% GOI equity. India Post has about 1,54,000 post offices, of them 90% are in rural areas. After State Bank of India, India Post has the largest deposits valued at Rs. 6 lakh crores.

Daily GK Updates - 20th October, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. New Tourism policy of Assam:  Assam state cabinet has launched a new Tourism policy- 'Tourism Policy of Assam 2017' with the aim of increasing tourist inflow in the state two to three folds within the next five years. Its main focus to make Assam a filmmaking destination by offering a range of incentives to movie producers to come and shoot in the state. The new policy will be effective starting January 2018 till December 2022.

2. Loan waiver scheme of Maharashtra Government: The Maharashtra Govt. has released the sum of 4,000 crore rupees under the first phase of the over 34,000 crore rupees farm loan waiver scheme. A list of 8.4 lakh beneficiaries has been uploaded online and it would be sent to banks. From a single bank account, money will be transferred to banks and they will be asked to deposit the money in farmers' accounts as per the list.

3.'Online chat' platform to answer queries of taxpayers: Income Tax Department has launched an online chat service for taxpayers. They can get answers to their basic queries and doubts relating to direct tax issues. A window has been hosted on the main page of the department's website 'incometaxindia.gov.in' with a prominent icon stating Live Chat Online- ask your query. A person can enter the 'chat room' by furnishing an email-id and ask questions as a guest. A team of experts from the department and independent tax practitioners has been deputed to answer the general queries of a taxpayer.

4. Kamle - 23rd district approved by Arunachal Assembly: The Arunachal Assembly passed a bill paving way for creation of a new district to be named Kamle (bifurcating Subansiri districts). Now, the total number of districts in the state shot up to 23.

It consists of six administrative units, three under Lower Subansiri and three under Upper Subansiri.

5. Reduction in call rates on Satellite Phone used by armed forces: The Union Govt. has abolished the monthly charges on Digital Satellite Phone Terminal (DSPT) and reduced call rates to 1 rupee per minute to personnel of military and paramilitary. The Defence, as well as paramilitary personel will be able to make calls to their families using the satellite phone for Rs 1 per minute (existing Rs 5 per minute). Now, no monthly fee will be taken for using the service.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India, Brazil & South Africa sign IBSA Trust Fund agreement: India, Brazil and South Africa signed the IBSA Trust Fund Agreement that seeks to fight poverty in developing countries. The agreement was signed by Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh who led the Indian side at the 8th IBSA trilateral Ministerial Commission Meeting in Durban. The IBSA Trust Fund brings together the three emerging economies of India, Brazil and South Africa to combat poverty in other developing countries. Each country contributes USD 1 million annually to this fund which is managed by the UN Development Programme's (UNDP) Special Unit for South-South Cooperation.

2.  South Africa displace India from top of ODI rankings: India lost their number one status in ICC ODI rankings to South Africa. Now, India and South Africa have identical 120 points against their name, India is placed second on the basis of decimal points. Recently, India had claimed the top spot in the ICC rankings following their 4-1 win over Australia at home recently.

OTHER UPDATES:

HONOURS/AWARDS:

1. Environmental scientist Schellnhuber receives Blue Planet Prize: The world’s most prestigious award for pioneers in environmental science has been given to Hans Joachim Schellnhuber in Tokyo. The Blue Planet Prize honors outstanding thinkers who help to meet challenges of planetary dimensions.

Daily GK Updates - 19th October, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Diwali celebrated with fanfare across the nation: The nation celebrated the festival of lights, Diwali, with fanfare across the length and breadth. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, celebrated Diwali with the jawans of Indian Army and BSF, in the Gurez Valley, near the Line of Control, in Jammu and Kashmir. He was there for nearly two hours. This is the fourth successive Diwali that the Prime Minister has celebrated with jawans on the border.

2. Rex Tillerson to visit India next week to dramatically deepen ties: US secretary of state Rex Tillerson, in a speech titled Defining Our Relationship with India for the Next Century at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, called for US and India to expand strategic ties, accuses China of challenging international norms needed for global stability.

3. New petition in apex court challenges linking Aadhaar with bank account and phones: A new writ petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the linking of Aadhaar with one's bank account to mobile phones. The writ filed on behalf of noted gender activist and writer Dr. Kalyani Menon Sen is expected to be heard after Diwali holidays. This is the recent writ after a spate of petitions led by retired Justice K. S. Puttaswamy.

4. BJP and Congress release their first list of candidates for the Himachal elections: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced its list of candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh where the party in opposition is trying to make a comeback. The Congress also announced its first list of 59 candidates for the 9 November Himachal Pradesh elections, with chief minister Virbhadra Singh being fielded from the Arki constituency in Solan district.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Canada's Quebec province to ban face coverings in public sector: Quebec will ban face coverings for people giving or receiving provincial government services under a law passed recently that rights groups have criticized as marginalizing Muslim women in the mainly French-speaking Canadian province.

2. Pakistani anti-corruption court indicts ousted PM Nawaz Sharif and his daughter: An anti-corruption court on Thursday indicted Pakistan's ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law over corruption references filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The accountability court in Islamabad indicted 67-year-old Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and her husband retired Captain Mohammad Safdar in the London properties reference even though Sharif and lead defence counsel Khawaja Haris are both out of the country

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Reliance Jio tariff hiked: Reliance Jio customers will have to pay 15% more for its popular 84-day plan at Rs 459 from Thursday, under which subscribers get 1GB 4G data per day. However, subscribers of its Rs149 plan will get 4GB of data for each billing cycle of 28 days under the new “Diwali Dhamaka” scheme compared to 2GB being offered at present.

2. BP Plc working with Reliance Industries to start petrol pumps: A year after BP Plc received an in-principle approval to launch its fuel retail business in India, the oil firm is working along with partner Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) to begin operations in a few months. BP is RIL’s partner in its exploration and production, and gas-sourcing businesses. BP had received approval and licence to set up 3,500 fuel retail outlets in October 2016.

3. Government plans to cap margins for medical devices to provide relief to industry: The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has asked medical device associations, healthcare industry bodies and relevant regulatory agencies to help it categorise the devices. The DoP secretary will hold a meeting on October 25 to fix trade margins, according to a letter sent by the department to the stakeholders.

SPORTS:
4. Hockey Asia Cup 2017 - Dominant India crush Malaysia 6-2: India displayed how dangerous they can be when they play an all-out attacking game as they pummelled Malaysia 6-2 in their second game of the Super 4s stage of the Asia Cup hockey in Dhaka. With the win, India jumped to top of the Super 4s standings with four points from two games.

5. Denmark Open: Saina Nehwal, K Srikanth advance to second round, PV Sindhu out: India had a bitter-sweet day at Denmark Open as Saina Nehwal knocked out Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain but title-contender PV Sindhu suffered a straight game loss against China's Chen Yufei to crash out of the opening round.

6. South Africa displace India from top of ODI rankings: India on Thursday lost their numero uno status in ICC ODI rankings to South Africa following their win over Bangladesh in the second ODI.

7. Gaganjeet Bhullar shares opening day honours at Macau Open: India's Gaganjeet Bhullar put up an outstanding display by carding a flawless seven-under-par 64 to grab the opening round lead with Korean duo Yikeun Chang and Giwhan Kim at the Macao Open golf tournament at Macau.