Daily GK Updates - 12th September, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Piyush Goyal launches a web portal ‘Rail Sahyog’ : The Union Railways Minister Shri Piyush Goyal launched a web portal railsahyog.in.The web portal will provide a platform for the Corporates and PSUs to contribute to the creation of amenities at/near Railway Stations through Corporate Social Responsibility funds.This portal will not only be beneficial for passengers but also for a neighbourhood of Railway vicinity.

2. First ever Bihar-Nepal bus service launched : The Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar flagged off the first bus service between Bihar and NepalThe service will link Bodh Gaya & Patna (in Bihar) to Kathmandu & Janakpur (in Nepal).The bus service was commissioned following an agreement between India and Nepal.Bus services from Kathmandu to Bodhgaya will be started by the Government of Nepal on the 13th of Sept.

3. India's first railway university starts operations in Vadodara : The National Rail and Transportation Institute (NRTI) has started operations this week.A total of 103 students formed the first batch of this unique institute.This year it has started with two UG courses.

4.  NITI Aayog, Intel and TIFR collaborate for Model International Center for Transformative AI : NITI Aayog, Intel, and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) are collaborating to set up a Model International Center for Transformative Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI) towards developing and deploying AI-led application-based research projects.The initiative is part of NITI Aayog’s National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence discussion paper that focuses on establishing ICTAI through private sector collaboration.

5. 1st regional workshop on RERA inaugurated by Hardeep Puri in Pune :

The union Hardeep Singh Puri has inaugurated the first regional workshop on RERA (Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act) in Pune.It was launched in 2016 is aimed at consumer protection, by creating an online system for information sharing in the real estate sector.It allows states to set up the Regulatory Authority and the Appellate

6. Apsara-U research reactor becomes operational at BARC : According to the Department of Atomic Energy, Apsara is now operational as 'Apsara-U' on Trombay campus of Maharashtra.Apsara is the first research reactor in Asia that worked nearly five decades before shutting down in 2009.The reactor can also be used for research and production of radioisotopes for medical application and would also be extensively used for research in nuclear physics, material science and radiation shielding.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India-born student Rajalakshmi Nandakumar to get 2018 ‘Young Scholar’ award : An Indian-born women scholar in the US ‘Rajalakshmi Nandakumar’ has been chosen for the 2018 ‘Young Scholar’ award for her work to help detect potentially life-threatening health issues using smartphones.She has been selected for the 2018 Marconi society Paul Baran Young Scholar award.

2. INDO-US joint military exercise Yudh Abhyas 2018 : The two-week long, joint military training Exercise ‘Yudh Abhyas 2018’ (14th edition) is scheduled to be conducted in the foothills of Himalayas at Chaubattia in Uttarakhand. (16 - 29 September 2018).The joint exercise Yudh Abhyas 2018 will simulate a scenario where both nations will work together in counter insurgency and counter terrorism environment in mountainous terrain under United Nation charter.It will witness participation of about 350 personnel of the US Army and similar strength of the Indian Army.

3. Dubai to host India-UAE Partnership Summit : The Two-day 2^nd India-UAE Partnership Summit (IUPS) will be held in Dubai (30^th from October).The India-UAE Partnership Summit is being organised by the Business Leaders Forum (BLF) in partnership with the consulate.According to the Consul General of India in Dubai, Vipul, the second edition of the IUPS is being organised by the BLF this year in partnership with the consulate.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Asiad gold medallist Amit Panghal nominated for Arjuna award : Indian boxer Amit Panghal (Asian Games gold medal-winner) has been nominated for this year's Arjuna awards by the Boxing Federation of India.Amit joined Sonia Lather and Gaurav Bidhuri in the list of boxing nominees for the second highest sporting honour after the Khel Ratna.Amit claimed the light flyweight (49kg) category gold after defeating reigning Olympic champion Hasanboy Dusmatov of Uzbekistan in the Asiad final.

Daily GK Updates - 14th November, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. Children’s Day observed across India: Children’s Day is celebrated on the 14th of November in India as a tribute to Jawaharlal Nehru, who was born on November 14, 1889. Jawaharlal Nehru, who was fondly called Chacha Nehru or Chachaji, was known for his love for children. Prior to 1964, India celebrated Children’s Day on 20 November, which was observed as the Universal Children’s Day by the United Nations.

2. India to get its first ‘Air Dispensary’: Northeast is all set to get India’s first-ever “Air Dispensary” based in a helicopter. The Union Ministry of Development of Northeast has already contributed Rs. 25 crore funding for this initiative.

3. 37th India International Trade Fair begins in New Delhi: 37th India International Trade Fair (IITF) has begun at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. The 14-day annual event has been organised by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO). This year the theme of the fair is “Startup India Standup India”. Vietnam is the Partner Country, while Kyrgyzstan is the Focus Country.  Jharkhand is participating as a Partner State in the event.

4. Indian Railways to launch Project Saksham: Railways will launch the country’s largest time-bound “upskilling” exercise for government employees to upgrade the skill sets of its 13 lakh-strong workforce with a single drive spanning 9 months. Project Saksham will start in January 2018 and go on until September 2018.

5. Bharat Net, Phase 2 launched: Central Government launched the Phase 2 of Bharat Net project to connect 1.5 lakh gram panchayats with high-speed broadband by March 2019. Bharat Net Project, formerly known as National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) was launched by Central Government in October 2011 with an aim to deploy high-speed optical fiber cables across rural areas of India.

6. India Youth Development Index: Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore released the India Youth Development Index and Report. The objective of constructing YDI 2017 is to track the trends in Youth Development across the States. The Index enables recognizing the high and low performing states, identifies the weak domains and informs the priority areas of intervention for youth development.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. World Diabetes Day 2017: World Diabetes Day is the world’s largest diabetes awareness campaign. It is celebrated every year on 14th November. The theme of World Diabetes Day 2017 is Women and diabetes – our right to a healthy future.

2. Founding Ceremony of International Solar Alliance held in Bonn: A Curtain Raiser Event for the Founding Ceremony of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) was held in Bonn, Germany. The ISA is a treaty-based alliance of 121 prospective solar-rich Member Nations situated fully or partially between the Tropics & aims at the development of solar energy globally.

3. 10th South Asia Economic Summit begins in Kathmandu: The 10th South Asia Economic Summit (SAES) has begun in Kathmandu, Nepal. The theme of the 3-day summit is “Deepening Economic Integration for Inclusive and Sustainable Development in South Asia”.

OTHER UPDATES

BANKING & FINANCE:

1. Asian Bankers Association summit to be held in Mumbai: For the first time, Mumbai is to host the 34th annual conference of the Asian Bankers Association on 16th and 17th November 2017. Summit will be hosted by State Bank. The theme for this year’s summit is ‘Asia’s turn to transform’.

SPORTS:

1. Pankaj Advani wins his 17th title at ISBF World Billiards Championships: Indian cueist Pankaj Advani has won his 17th world title at the IBSF World Billiards Championship 2017 in Doha, Qatar. Pankaj beat Mike Russell of England by 6-2 (0-155, 150-128, 92-151, 151-0, 151-6, 151-0, 150-58, 150-21) and won his 17th world title at the IBSF World Billiards Championship 2017.

2. Rafael Nadal receives ATP World No. 1 award: Tennis player Rafael Nadal was presented the ATP World Number 1 award on court, at the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena, in London. Rafael Nadal replaced Andy Murray of Britain at Number 1 position on 21 August 2017.

Daily GK Updates - 29th October, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Govt. approves Rs. 7,000 crore for 6 New IIT Campuses: The Union Cabinet has approved over Rs 7,000 crore for construction of permanent campuses of six new IITs across the country. Campuses will be built at Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Palakkad (Kerala), Dharwad (Karnataka), Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir), Bhilai (Chhattisgarh) and Goa.

2. Assam launches “Assam Darpan” portal: Assam Chief Minister launched a web portal ‘Assam Darpan’ where details of government schemes and projects would be available to the people. The platform has been developed as a part of the Digital India Programme.

3. A coffee table book on the Department of Defence Production released: Nirmala Sitharaman released a coffee table book on the Department of Defence Production, titled ‘A journey towards self-reliance’. “A journey towards self-reliance” is the first ever coffee table book on DDP. It narrates the post-independence years of development, production of arms, ammunition and defence equipment, with a view to achieve self-reliance for the Armed Forces of India.

4. OPV Vikram handed over to the Indian Coast Guard: An offshore patrol vessel (OPV), entirely developed in-house by Larsen and Toubro and the country’s first-ever such defence craft to be built in a private shipyard, was handed over to the Coast Guard. The vessel is named as “Vikram”. This is the first of the seven vessels for which the Rs 1,432-crore contract was made.

5. Shipping Ministry offers grant to JNPT: Shipping Ministry announced that it has sanctioned Rs 25 cr to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and another Rs 50 cr to the Karwar port in Karnataka. Funds are given for development of coastal berth under the flagship Sagarmala project. Sagarmala project was launched by Union Shipping Ministry in 2015, with an aim to modernize India’s Ports which will contribute in country’s economic growth.

6. New initiative named #AsktheSpokesperson launched: The Ministry of External Affairs launched the “#AsktheSpokesperson” initiative on Twitter, to create better awareness and understanding of foreign policy issues to general public. It is launched on Twitter handle @MEAIndia. Initiative will be a regular feature to engage and educate the public about foreign policy matters in simplified terms.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Catalonia gets independence from Spain: Catalonia declared independence from Spain after lawmakers in the autonomous region voted to declare independence.

The decision was made during a secret vote in Barcelona on 27th October 2017. After the declaration, the Spanish government dismissed the Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and his cabinet. It allowed Madrid to directly administer the region.

2. World’s first hydrogen-based tram becomes operational: The world’s first hybrid electric tram powered by hydrogen fuel cells has started running in China. With water being its only emission, the tram emits no pollutants. No nitrogen oxides will be produced as the temperature of the reaction inside hydrogen fuel cells is controlled under 100 degrees Celsius.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. India is the second largest smartphone market in the world now: India has overtaken the United States and become the 2nd largest smartphone market in the world, according to independent analyst Canalys. Canalys has released a report recently that states, India has become the second largest smartphone market in the world. The 1st position is occupied by China.Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, and Lenovo are considered the top five vendors in India

2. First Insurance Policy for Cancer patients:  Star Health and Allied Insurance (SHAI) has introduced first-ever health insurance cover for people already diagnosed with cancer. This insurance policy has been named ‘Star Cancer Care Gold’. It covers the risk of recurrence, the spread of cancer (metastasis) and second cancer (second malignancy). Policy has two sum-insured options – Rs. 3 lakh and Rs. 5 lakh.

SPORTS:

1. Patna Pirates won Pro Kabaddi Title: Pardeep Narwal scored incredible 24 points to steer Patna Pirates to third consecutive Pro Kabaddi title. Pardeep, who had scored 76 points in three playoffs, helped Patna come from behind and thump Gujarat Fortunegiants 55-38 in the summit clash of Pro Kabaddi season 5.

2. England wins first-ever FIFA U-17 title: England won the 2017 FIFA U17 World Cup for the very first time after a 5-2 win over European U17 champions Spain. The final was held in Kolkata.