Daily GK Updates - 8th July, 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 8TH JULY, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

I. Japan’s SoftBank to set up 20 GW solar plant in AP: As part of ‘Make in India’ initiative, SoftBank will take up manufacturing of solar panels in the state.

II. Delhi leads in construction of public toilets: Delhi has built the highest number of community toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission, followed by Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, while Gujarat topped in the individual household category.

III. R K Dutta appointed as CBI Special Director.

IV. Ex-Vodafone global CEO ArunSarin joins Ola board as independent director.

V. Ashok Haldia appointed MD and CEO of PTC India Financial Services.

VI. Bharti Enterprises appoints Rahul Bhatnagar as MD&CFO.

VII. Entire Nagaland declared as ‘Disturbed Area’: The centre has declared the entire state as Disturbed Area for one year as it finds that a dangerous condition prevails in there. ASFPA will be applicable in the state for a period of 1 year.

VIII. National Dairy Development Board launched a mobile app named PashuPalan that will boost dairy farmers’ income by raising milk yield and cutting feed cost. It will recommend a balanced diet for cows and buffaloes.

IX. Telangana Government signed MoU with Uber to expand operations in Hyderabad.

X. Hillard Energy plans to set up 650 MW renewable energy projects in AP: The US Company has expressed its intent to set up a multi-phase 650 MW solar and wind energy project in Anantapur district.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

I. India and Kazakhstan launch first drilling at Satpayev oil block of OVL: The oil block is jointly owned by ONGC Videsh Ltd and Kazakhstan Company KazMunaiGaz. It was jointly launched by PM NarendraModiand Kazakhstan Premier KarimMassimov in Astana, Kazakh capital.

II. According to World Bank report ‘MGNREGA’ world’s largest public works programme: The report was named ‘The state of Social Safety Nets 2015’ which highlights that MGNREGA provides social security net to 182 million beneficiaries i.e. almost 15 % of Inda’s population. Mid-day meal scheme was classified as biggest school feeding programme. JananiSurakshaYojana is top most social security programme with unconditional cash transfers. Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension scheme is the 2^nd largest unconditional cash transfers social security programme in the world.

III. India and Russia signed MoU for Funding of Hydro- Generation Projects: Russia’s Direct Investment Fund (RFID) signed an agreement with India’s Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC). This agreement was signed during the BRICS Business Council Meeting.

IV. India, Uzbekistan signed three agreement to enhance bilateral cooperation: The agreements were signed during PM Modi’s visit to Uzbekistan. The agreements include Intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the field of tourism, protocol on cooperation between Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Uzbekistan, and Ministry of External Affairs, India and Agreement on intergovernmental Programme of Cultural Cooperation for 2015-17. PM Modi also met President Islam Karimov and PM S.Mirziyoev during the visit.

V. India and Kazakhstan signed five agreements including a contract for supply of Uranium: The agreements were signed during PM Modi’s visit to Kazakhstan in the presence of Kazakh president N. Nazarbayev. The agreements include agreement on transfer of sentenced persons, agreement on Defence and Military-Technical cooperation, MoU on Cooperation on Physical Cultural and Sports, MoU on Technical Cooperation in the field of Railways, Long term contract between  Dept of Atomic Energy, India and KazAtomProm for sale and purchase of natural uranium concentrates.

VI. 1^ST ever female Supreme Court nominee, AnisaRasoli of Afghanistan has failed to garner enough votes of approval from the parliament.

VII. Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka enters Guinness World Records for spending 804 days on the International Space Station (ISS).

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

I. UK’s ESpark, Viridian Ventures tie up, to invest $300mn: UK based Entrepreneurial Spark and India’s Viridian Ventures announced a joint venture called Viridian ESpark Accelerator to create programmes for entrepreneurship development, for which the Viridian Venture led consortium and its partners plan to invest about $300 million in a phased manner.

II. BRICS Central Banks sign Forex reserves Pool pact: The pool would be drawn on by the central banks of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa whenever they suffered a shortage of dollar liquidity, helping them maintain financial stability. India will contribute $18 billion to BRICS $100 billion foreign exchange reserves pool.

III. Infosys signs Multi-year agreement with Deutsche Bank: India’s 2^nd largest IT Company will provide services like development, application maintenance, digital and mobility package implementation and testing services across the Deutsche Bank Group.

SPORTS:

IV.  Floyd Mayweather Jr. stripped of the title he won in Pacquiao fight:He has been stripped of the Welterweight world title he won after beating F.M Pacquiao for failing to comply with rules, the World Boxing Organisation said.

V.  India women’s cricket team crush New Zealand to win series, BCCI awards Rs 21 lakhs.

VI. Goa to host the 5^th Youth Delphic Games in Feb 2016. The motto of the 2016 games is Celebrating Arts and Cultures.

AWARDS:

VII. Jodhpur Film Society was honoured withPritamSarkar Award 2014-15 for the consequent 4^th time

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

VIII.  The book titled India Central Asia Relations: The Economic Dimension authored by Amiya Chandra released.

IX. The book titled Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years authored by AS Dulat and AdityaSinha released.

OBITUARIES:

X. ‘Ocean’s eleven’ legendary producer J C Weintraub died.

Daily GK Updates - 7th July, 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 7TH JULY, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

I. IIT JEE topper KrutiTiwari appointed as the brand ambassador of the ‘Digital India Campaign by PM Mod: Kruti will travel extensively across the country to spread the message of Digital India.

II. Samsung to set up Digital Academy: Korean electronics major Samsung is setting up a Digital academy to train the youth in software development and testing tools as it signed an agreement with TASK (Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge). It will train the youth on Tizen Operating System.
 

III. ICRISAT unveils $300 phablet for farmers: Farmers can now have customised tips on their phablet on the kind of agricultural inputs they might require for their fields. Based on the specific soil health of their small chucks of lands, scientists at the International Crop Research Institute for Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and Government of Telangana would send timely messages to the farmers through the Phablets which are priced at $300.

IV.  President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurates ‘NakshatraVatika’ in the gardens of RashtrapatiNilayam in Hyderabad.

V. Inshore patrol vessel ‘Rani Durgavati’ joins Indian Coast Guard: The Hindustan Shipyard Ltd built patrol vessel was inducted into the Indian Coast Guards at the Eastern Naval Command.

VI. Supreme Court issued notice to Union Government, Election Commission on petition seeking to bring political parties under the RTI.

VII. PM Modi is on an 8 day visit to five Central Asian states, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan: During the journey, he will also visit Russia to attend BRICS Summit and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit at Ufa.

VIII. University Grants commission grants heritage status to 19 colleges:  The colleges which are 100 years old have been granted heritage status and financial assistance for their improvement and upgradation.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

I. India and Bangladesh launch survey in enclaves over Nationality: Both the countries launched a joint survey to record the ‘choice of nationality’ of around 52000 people in 162 enclaves in each other’s territories ahead of the July 31 integration of the land with the respective mainland under the historic Land Boundary Agreement (LBA).

II. International Criminal Court began hearing a case brought by the Philippines against China on territorial claims in the South China Sea: Nine Dash line, the demarcation line initially used by China to claim major ports of South China Sea was in news in this regard.

III. China submitted climate action plan to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

IV. USA, Brazil issued joined statement on Climate Change: It was issued by the President of USA, Barack Obama and the president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff which intends to increase the share of renewable resources and reduce Green House Gases emissions.

V. India, Uzbekistan released Joint Statement to intensify security cooperation, exchanges: The Joint Statement was issued during PM Modi’s official visit to Uzbekistan.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

I. Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis resigned: His resignation comes after Greeks delivered a resounding ‘No’ to the conditions of a rescue package with the Troika.

II.  China nominated Jin Liqun, former Chinese Finance Minister, for the post of AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) president.

III.  IDBI Bank signed refinance agreement with Mudra Bank: The Bank will offer credit facilities up to Rs 10 Lakh to micro enterprises at a competitive interest rate under the PradhanMantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) and Mudra will be providing refinance assistance to bank for eligible sanctioned loan cases.

SPORTS:

IV. FIFA Women’s World Cup: Adidas Golden Ball award-Carli Lloyd (USA), Adidas Golden Boot award-Celia Sasic (Germany), Adidas Golden Glove award-Hope Solo (Goal keeper of USA).

V. Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic strongly came back after losing 1^st two sets and defeated 14^th seed Kevin Anderson of Russia in the 4^th round of Wimbledon 2015.

VI. India Women’s Cricket team skipper Mithali Raj completes 5000 runs in ODIs: She scripted history after being the 1^st from the country and overall 2^nd in the World to reach the 5000 run mark. England skipper Charlotte Edwards was 1^st in the world to achieve this milestone.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

I. The book titled 37 Bridges and Other Stories authored by Pakistan writer Aamer Hussein released

OBITUARIES:

I. Young Cricketer Bavalan Pathmanathan, 24 dies after being struck in chest by ball in British Tamil League.

Daily GK Updates - 6th July, 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 6TH JULY, 2O15

NATIONAL UPDATES:

I. Supreme Court ruled that unwed mother can be child’s guardian without father’s consent.

II.  E-filing of ITR: Aadhaar can be linked for easier processing: The ITR forms now have a space for Aadhaar card holders to provide their Unique Identification Numbers.

III. Tata Teleservices appoints AnuragSrivastava as CFO (Chief Financial Officer).

IV. UP 1^st to have vehicle tracking system: Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) has become the 1^st state transport corporation to have a vehicle tracking system for inter-city buses which has led to a reduction in accidents and deaths as drivers are wary of crossing the speed limits.

V.   C-DOT launches solar powered, long distance WiFi hotspots as part of the ‘Digital India Week’: The solar powered Wi-Fi hotspots can be used for smart cities, rural schools or panchayats extending broadband connectivity. It can also be used in ship to ship communications in deep seas.

VI. Finally, a new artillery gun for the Army: The ‘Dhanush’ Artillery guns have entered the production phase to meet Army’s operational gap of field howitzers. The ‘Make in India’ defence manufacturing project took off with the receipt of Bulk Production Clearance (BPC) from the Army for 144 Dhanush guns.

VII.  Bengaluru has been ranked 12^th in the list of top 20 Technology rich cities in the World: Survey conducted by global property consultant Jones Lang Lasalle.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

I. World Bank releases revised classification of World’s economies based on Gross National Income:Bangladesh, Kenya, Myanmar and Tajikistan moved from Low income group to lower middle income group. Mongolia and Paraguay moved from the lower middle income status to upper middle income group. Argentina, Hungary, SeychellesVenezuela have moved up from the upper middle income category to high income category. India continues to be in the lower middle income category.

II.  Champagne vineyards of France granted World Heritage status by UNESCO.

III. Greece rejected creditors’ demands for more austerity in crucial referendum: People of Greece rejected the creditor’s demand for more austerity in exchange of extension of bailout package (15.5 billion Euros). The creditors include the Troika of European Central Bank (ECB), European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund (IMF). 61.31 % voted ‘No’ as compared to 38.59 % ‘Yes’.

IV. President of Tunisia declared 30-day state of Emergency: B. C Essebsi declared state of emergengy in the country for 30 days against the backdrop of ISIS gun attack on 26^th June on Hotel Riu Imperial Marhaba.

V. Japan promised $6 billion to Mekong Region countries at 7^th Mekong-Japan Summit in Tokyo: The aid was the part of the New Tokyo Strategy 2015 for Mekong-Japan Cooperation in the next three years.

VI. MIT Scientists developed a Quantum Dot Spectrometer small enough to function within a smartphone: Spectrometers are the instruments that measure the properties of Light.

VII. UNESCO and UNITAR signed agreement to protect cultural heritage with geo-spatial technologies: The agreement was signed between United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural organisation (UNESCO) and UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) at the annual meeting of World Heritage Committee in Bonn, Germany.

VIII. Malaysian PM Najib Razak faces allegations that $700 million were transferred from a state fund to his personal account.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

I.   HDFC Bank launches Watch Banking: It has become the 1^st bank in India to launch Watch Banking for Apple Watch. It aims to provide banking services through all wearable devices across platforms like iOS and Android.

II. Rupee rises for 5^th day against dollar, Up 4 paisa to 63.40.

SPORTS:

III. India won 2015 South Asian Basketball Championship (SABA): India defeated Sri Lanka 93-44 in the finals of the 4^th Edition of SABA. It was India’s third SABA title. With this win India qualified for the FIBA Asia Championship to be played in China in September.

IV.  Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain won 2015 Formula 1 British Grand Prix title: His teammate NicoRoseberg stood second.

V.  US win Women’s FIFA World Cup for the 3^rd time: It defeated Japan 5-2 in the final played at Vancouver, Canada.

VI. SaniaMirza and Martina Hingis advanced to the 4^th round of Wimbledon Open.

VII. Serena Williams beat Venus Williams to enter Wimbledon Quarter Final.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

I.  The book titled "Modi’s World: Expanding India’s sphere of Influence" authored by C. Raja was published by Harper Collins

OBITUARIES:

I.  Renowned Urdu Novelist Abdullah Hussain passed away in Pakistan: He was suffering from Blood cancer. He was known for his bestseller and critically acclaimed novel ‘UdasNaslain’.

II.  Hollywood actress Diana Douglas died.