Daily GK Updates - 1st November, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Suresh Chukkapalli appointed as Consul General of Korea: Suresh Chukkapalli, Chairman of Phoenix Group of Hyderabad, has been appointed as Honorary Consul General in Hyderabad by the Republic of Korea.

2. Five states celebrate their Foundation Day: Five states — Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, and Karnataka — are celebrating their foundation day today, Wednesday, November 1.

3. ERO-Net launched in Rajasthan: Rajasthan’s Chief Electoral Officer Ashwini Bhagat launched the Election Commission’s web-based project, ERO-Net. By using this, voters can register their names on electoral rolls. It could not identify multiple entries of a voter.

4. India tops list of new TB cases in 2016: According to ‘Global TB Report 2017’ released by World Health Organization (WHO), India has topped the list of seven countries, accounting for 64% of the 10.4 million new tuberculosis cases worldwide in 2016. Tuberculosis is a contagious disease which affects the lung and is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. The World Bank Releases Doing Business Report 2018: According to the World Bank’s released report, 'Doing Business 2018: Reforming to Create Jobs', India ranked 100th (earlier 130th) among the 190 countries, assessed by the Doing Business Team. The Doing Business Report assesses covers 10 indicators which span the lifecycle of a business. India is the only country in South Asia and BRICS economies to feature among most improved economies of the DB Report this year. India's rank has improved in 6 of the 10 indicators and Distance to Frontier (DTF) has improved in 9 of the 10 indicators.

2. World Vegan Day 2017 observed: In 1994, the Chair of the Vegan Society Louise Wallis decided to set November 1 as World Vegan Day. Veganism is practiced both as a diet (to abstain from all food items using animal products) as well as a philosophy (which rejects the commodity status of animals). One who practices either of the two is said to be a vegan.

3. Jackson named top-earning dead celebrity: Michael Jackson, who died in the year 2009 is still generating millions of dollars. Jackson named top-earning dead celebrity for the 5th time. He was an American singer, songwriter, and dancer.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. TV Narendran appointed as Global CEO of Tata Steel: Tata Steel Ltd promoted T V Narendran as chief executive officer and managing director globally. Narendran is 52 years old. He was serving as Managing Director (India and South East Asia) for the past four years.

SPORTS:

1. Diya Chitale wins silver medal at ITTF World Cadet Challenge: Indian table tennis player Diya Chitale won a silver medal in the girls’ doubles category of the 2017 ITTF World Cadet Challenge, in Suva, Fiji.  Diya also won a gold medal in the Team event, as part of Team Asia.

2. Heena Sidhu wins Gold at Commonwealth Shooting Championships: Ace Indian shooter Heena Sidhu has bagged gold in women’s 10m Air Pistol event at Commonwealth Shooting Championships in Brisbane, Australia. Heena shot a score of 240.8 in the finals to beat Australia’s Elena Galiabovitch, who has to settle for silver after posting 238.2. India also got its second medal through Deepak Kumar as he won bronze in men’s 10m Air Rifle event.

3. Birendra re-elected as President of IWLF: Birendra Prasad Baishya was re-elected as President of the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) in the Annual General Body Meeting. The newly formed Executive Committee of IWLF consists of seven vice-presidents, and Sahdev Yadav has become the secretary general.

OBITUARIES:

1. Kannada writer and journalist, Khadri Achyuthan, dies at 71: Veteran Kannada writer and journalist Khadri Achyuthan died after a brief period of illness at 71 years age. He has also contributed to the coinage of new Kannada words. He is a veteran journalist, author, academic and translator of various literary works.He has written a book in Kannada on ISRO. He has worked on Kannada translations of Sardar Patel and Dr. Ambedkar.

Daily GK Updates - 23rd August, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Union cabinet sets PSU bank mergers in motion: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said a ministerial panel will be set up to supervise merger proposals from 21 PSU banks, adding that the objective of the planned consolidation is to create strong banks. Prime Minister Modi will decide who all will be there in the ministerial panel, referred to as the alternative mechanism. After the banks that are interested in getting merged secure in principle approval from the ministerial panel, they will take steps as per regulatory requirements.

2. Supreme Court to deliver verdict tomorrow on right to privacy: A nine-judge constitution bench headed by chief Justice J.S. Khehar had on 2 August reserved its verdict after hearing marathon arguments for six days over a period of three weeks, during which submissions were advanced in favour and against the inclusion of the right to privacy as a fundamental right. The Supreme Court is likely to pronounce on 24th August its judgement on the vexatious issue whether the right to privacy can be held as a fundamental right under the Constitution.

3. New cadre policy for IAS, IPS officers finalized – Govt.: A new policy for cadre allocation has been finalised by the Central government for Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and other officers, aimed at ensuring “national integration” in the country’s top bureaucracy. Officers of all-India services—the IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service (IFS)—will have to choose cadres from a set of zones instead of states.

4. ISRO to launch back-up navigation satellite on 31st August: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said it will launch its navigation satellite ‘IRNSS-1H’ on 31 August to augment the existing seven satellites of the NavIC constellation. To be launched on board PSLV-C39, IRNSS-1H will be a ‘back-up’ navigation satellite for IRNSS-1A, one of the seven satellites in the constellation, as its three rubidium atomic clocks on board have stopped functioning. 

5. Raghuram Rajan pens book on RBI stint: Raghuram Rajan’s commentary and speeches in ‘I Do What I Do: On Reform, Rhetoric & Resolve’ convey what it was like to be at the helm of RBI in those turbulent times. It is being published by Harper Collins. This is not Rajan’s first book. He co-authored Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists with Luigi Zingales and wrote Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy, for which he was awarded the Financial Times-Goldman Sachs prize for best business book.

6. Kaifiyat Express derails in Uttar Pradesh’s Auriya district: Kaifiyat Express, travelling from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh to Delhi, collided with a dumper at around 2:50am between Pata and Achhalda railway stations, injuring 50 persons. HRD ministry junks plan for common engineering entrance examination: The human resource development (HRD) ministry has decided to junk the plan of introducing a common engineering entrance exam from next year. It is noteworthy that, All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), the country’s technical education regulator, had announced in March that a national-level common entrance examination for engineering colleges would be conducted from the next academic year in 2018.

7. Union cabinet clears transfer of AAI’s 40 acre land to MMRDA for Mumbai Metro: The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved transferring 40 acres of land owned by the Airports Authority of India to Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). The land at RR station, Dahisar, would be transferred to the MMRDA for its metro shed. In return, 40 acres of state government land at Gorai would be swapped.

8. Ashwani Lohani appointed new Chairman of Railway Board: Ashwani Lohani was on Wednesday appointed as the new Chairman of Railway Board after AK Mittal tendered his resignation following recent train accidents.

9. Drones to guard Gujarat’s river-beds against sand mafia: In an attempt to crack down upon the illegal sand mafia operating in and around the river beds of Sabarmati, Orsang, Tapi and Narmada, the Gujarat government for the first time will be deploying drones for mining surveillance. 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Mark Wahlberg world’s highest-paid actor, Shahrukh, Salman, Akshay in top 10: Mark Wahlberg soared to the top of the world’s highest paid actors on an annual Forbes magazine list that highlighted a huge disparity between male and female Hollywood stars. Wahlberg, 46, earned an estimated $68 million in 2017. The magazine named “La La Land” Oscar winner Emma Stone as the world’s highest paid actress with an estimated 2017 take of $26 million.Three of Bollywood’s biggest stars—Shahrukh Khan ($38 million), Salman Khan ($37 million) and Akshay Kumar ($35.5 million)—took the eighth, ninth and 10th places on the Forbes list, respectively. 

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING & FINANCE:

1. RBI to issue Rs 200 notes, notifies finance ministry: “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 24 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and on the recommendations of the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India, the Central Government hereby specifies the denomination of bank notes of the value of two hundred rupees,” the finance ministry notified through the Gazette of India. Finance ministry notified issuing of Rs 200 notes, making it a legal tender and paving the way for its circulation by RBI.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

2. Investors seek Nandan Nilekani’s appointment to Infosys board: As many as 12 key domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have written to Infosys, batting for co-founder Nandan Nilekani’s appointment to the board, and expressing their concerns over Vishal Sikka’s resignation from the post of chief executive officer (CEO) last week.

3. Five airports to allow Ola, Uber bookings at kiosks: Airports Authority of India has tied up with Ola and Uber to allow for cab bookings from airport kiosks at Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Lucknow and Bhubaneswar. This will help passengers in booking cabs at the kiosks instead of depending on the mobile apps.

SPORTS:

4. IPL brand value jumps 26% to touch $5.3 billion: IPL brand value jumps 26% in 2017 to over $ 5.3 billion from $ 4.2 billion in 2016 on the back of the renewed title sponsorship deals of the popular T20 tournament.

5. Wayne Rooney announces retirement from international football: Wayne Rooney announced his retirement from International football. He said, "I will always remain a passionate England fan. One of my very few regrets is not to have been part of a successful England tournament side."

This Diwali – “Sweeten Lives”

This Diwali – “Sweeten Lives”

Diwali, also known as Deepawali, is celebrated across the world as a symbol of the victory of good over evil. This day is often celebrated as the day on which Lord Ram came back to Ayodhya after defeating the asur Ravana and the people of Ayodhya lightened up entire Ayodhya with diyas to welcome Lord Ram. The same tradition of lighting up the diyas is still followed, albeit with a little bit of alteration. Now, we deck up our homes and offices with diyas and a lot many other things as a commemoration.  We fire crackers, meet people, meet our relatives, and share happiness.

Most of us celebrate Diwali by firing crackers, meeting friends and relatives, eating and sharing sweets and stuff like that. But let’s think bigger, broader! Let us lighten up the lives of people.

This Diwali, we have a message: “ Sweeten Lives”.

Here’s how.

Share:

Most of us visit friends and relatives during Diwali, exchange pleasantries and what’s more, we exchange gifts and sweets too!

Now, if we just look at it from the perspective of sharing, we can share knowledge too! Sounds interesting or difficult? We would say both. But most importantly, we believe sharing knowledge is quite simple, provided we want to share it.

Anil, a student preparing for CAT examination, visits his uncle’s place to greet him. His cousin is preparing for his 12^th Board examination. Now here comes a simple and a noble gesture: Anil shares his knowledge of CAT examination with his uncle/ uncle’s family/ his cousin(s). In return, the family members get an actual feedback about the CAT exam and this piece of information will also help the cousin shape his future.

The same thing can be done by an IAS, when someone visits him and questions about the functions of an IAS officer. And these examples can be applied to any person: a teacher, a doctor, a student and as we said, everybody.

Remember, by doing so, we are just helping some person to make his/ her life better by making an informed decision. It is more important in today’s era of information-bombarding because of the digital revolution.

Gift of Knowledge:

Move-over from the sweets! Move-over from the expensive gits! And if not, take the them as a supplement. Innovate.

Gift books. Share knowledge.

As they say, “books are a man’s best friend, and possibly a woman’s too”. This Diwali we would suggest that if at all you want to gift something, gift books! Yes, an e-book too will do.  Developing the reading habit in a person may arguably be one of the most difficult tasks, but to attempt to do so can be most fulfilling too.

As most of us have heard umpteenth of times that “education is the solution to most of the problems in the world”, let us try to educate. Let us share knowledge.

Remember, by doing so, you would not only share happiness but you will “sweeten lives” too.

Spread Knowledge.

Wishing you a very happy Diwali and a prosperous New Year.

Sweetening Lives,

Paridhi Trivedi Parikh | Hardik K. Parikh

Building Careers, Shaping Lives!