Daily GK Updates - 24th July, 2015

  DAILY GK UPDATES - 24TH JULY, 2015

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.        SunEdison signs largest private solar PPA with Tata Power Distribution: The Renewable Energy Company signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Tata Power Distribution for supplying electricity from a 180 MW solar plant that it would build in Madhya Pradesh.SunEdison will sell electricity to Tata Power for 20 years.

   II.        Ajay Mathur replaces R K Pachauri as TERI chief: Nobel laurate R K Pachauri who is facing sexual harassment allegations from a woman employee, has been removed as the Director-General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

 III.       Maharashtra Government approved scheme for development of villages around Tiger Reserves: The scheme is named Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Jan Vikas Scheme.

 IV.  Indian drug company Lupin acquired US generic company GAVIS Pharmaceuticals and Novel Laboratories for $880 million to strengthen its presence in the United States.

  V.      Supreme Court allowed States to release life convicts; Rajiv Gandhi Assassination case kept out of purview: It allowed state governments to exercise its power of remission to release life convicts with a rider. The decision was taken by a 5-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu, which said that those life convicts who have undergone prison term of 14 or more years can be released.

 VI.       Haryanavi film ‘Pagdi: The Honour’ made tax free in Haryana: The film bagged the title of best Haryanavi film and its actress BaljinderKaur won best supporting actor (female) award at the 62^nd National Film Awards.

VII.     No citizen or institution has a fundamental right to affiliation or recognition: SC: The Supreme Court held that fundamental right given under Article 19(1)(g) of the constitution does not give an institution or a person or a citizen the fundamental right to affiliate or recognition of their institutions within the meaning of the article 19(6).

VIII. Reliance Group, Augur Overseas Operations signed MoU to Manufacture Aerostats and Airships: Anil Ambani led Reliance Group through its entity Reliance Unmanned Systems signed the MoU to manufacture Aerostat Radars and Airships. Aerostats are currently manufactured in US, Germany and France.

 IX.        Suresh Narayanan appointed as new Nestle India MD after Maggi scare.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

         I.     First all women Trans Continental road expedition from Delhi to London flagged off: The expedition was flagged-off from Major Dhyanchand Stadium of New Delhi. The three women participants namely NidhiTiwari, RashmiKoppar and SoumayaGoel will reach UK in 55 days covering a distance of 15000 kms via Myanmar, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium and France.

   I  II.  Mosquirix, world’s 1^st malaria vaccine approved by European Medicines Agency: The world’s 1^st malaria vaccine developed by the British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline in association with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, named RTS, S or Mosquirix got approval from the European Medicines Agency for use on babies aged between 6 weeks and 17 months in Africa.

II  III. Forbes Asia’s Fabulous 50 List of the year 2015 released: The most valuable company is Tencent and the biggest is Lenovo. Some Indian companies on the list are HCL Technologies, AurobindoPharma, HDFC Bank, Lupin, TCS, TATA Motors,and Tech Mahindra.

       IV.  NASA Scientists have announced the discovery of Kepler 452b, also known as ‘Earth 2.0’, an earth like planet in our galaxy: A year on this planet last for 385 days, just 20 days longer than a year here on earth.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

FINANCE/BANKING:

       I.     Pearson to sell Financial Times to Nikkei for $1.3 billion: Pearson PLC, the owner of Financial Times has agreed to sell FT Group to Nikkei Inc.

       II.     IT Companies CSC and HCL Technologies have signed an agreement to form a banking software and services company to provide technology services and solutions to the banking industry.

AWARDS 

III.   Peter Higgs received Royal Society’s Copley Medal, the world’s oldest scientific prize: He was awarded this prize for his fundamental contribution to particle physics and his pioneering work on the theory of Higgs Boson that explains the mass in elementary particles.

Daily GK Updates - 23rd July, 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 23rd july, 2015

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

I.         Indian Government has earned $100 million from launching 45 foreign satellites.

 

II.   T.K Chand takes over as the Chairman and Managing director of the National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO).

 

III.   Puducherry city first to get Smart city Nomination: The city has emerged as the 1^st nomination to be received by the Urban Development Ministry for a smart city mission.

 

IV.  14 states, UTs achieve literacy rate of 80%: Government: It was announced by the Union Human Resource Development Minister SmritiIrani in a written reply to the LokSabha. The UTs and States include Kerala, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Goa, Tripura, Daman & Diu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, NCR of Delhi, Chandigarh, Puducherry, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Sikkim and Tamil Nadu.

 

V.      National Broadcasting Day observed on 23rd July 2015 across the country: On this day in 1927, the Indian Broadcasting Company started Radio Broadcasting form Bombay Station.

 

VI. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has extended the deadline for implementation of Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System (CCNTS) project till March 2017.

 

VII.  Union I&B Ministry approved ENIL proposal to purchase TV Today Network’s ‘Oye FM’: Entertainment Network India Ltd received the approval to purchase 104.8 FM radio station of TV Today Network.

 

VIII. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd lauched affordable Type 2 diabetes drug  Teneligliptin under the brand name Ziten and Zita Plus.

IX.  India ranked 12^th in terms of Power Generation from Nuclear source: USA leads the list of Power Generation from Nuclear sources.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

I.       Conarky named as World Book Capital for 2017 by UNESCO: Conarky, the capital of the Republic of Guinea was named as the World Book Capital for 2017 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

II.   Soyuz rocket with 3 astronauts launched towards the International Space Station (ISS): It was launched from Russia’s ‘BaikonurCosmodrome.

III.  China returned passport to dissident artist Ai Weiwei: The Artist was arrested during a government crackdown on political activists and was held over alleged crimes of Tax evasion and bigamy and was later released without any charge. He is now free to travel overseas.

IV.   French Film ‘The Big Day’ to showcase Anand Kumar’s super 30: Super 30 initiative of mathematician Anand Kumar was in new as it will now feature a 90-minute film The Big Day made by famous French Director P. Plisson. The Super 30 initiative helps students of deprived section to crack the prestigious IIT entrance exam.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

I.      BEE signed agreement with RECPDCL for Partial Risk Guarantee Fund for Energy Efficiency: Bureau of Energy Efficiency signed an Implementing Agency Agreement with REC Power Distribution Company Ltd for the operationalization of Partial Risk Guarantee Fund for Energy Efficiency.

SPORTS:

II.    BCCI ties up with British Council to train Indian Umpires: As a part of the Umpire Development Programme, it has decided to host an English language up-skilling to enhance the communication skills of the umpires.

III.   World University Games no-show: AIU hands over 3 year ban to coach and archers, wants money back: The Association of Indian Universities has banned three archers and their coach when they missed the bronze-medal play off during the recently-concluded World University Games at Gwangzou, South Korea. The Indian team did not turn up at the bronze medal play-off against Italy at the prestigious event. AIU has also asked the team to return the money spent on them.

IV. Indian-American AmitojChhabra won junior title at US Powerlifting Championships 2015 held at Las Vegas.

AWARDS:

V.      Naomi Klein wins 2015 American Book Award: Noted Canadian Author Naomi Klein has won the 36^th edition of American Book Award 2015 for her environmental work ‘This Changes Everything: Capitalism Vs Climate’ publish in 2014. The awards were announced by the ‘Before Columbus Foundation’ at San Francisco.

VI.  The Lifetime Achievement Award under the 2015 American Book Awards was given to ‘Anne Waldman’.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

VII. The book titled ‘R D Burman: The Prince of Music’ written by K D Burman was released on his 76^th birth anniversary.

VIII.   The book titled ‘Ghosts of Calcutta’ written by Sebastian Ortiz was released.

OBITUARIES:

IX.     Archie Comic Cartoonist Tom Moore dies at 86.

Daily GK Updates - 22nd July, 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 22ND JULY, 2015

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 I.      Union Government launched SurakshitKhadyaAbhiyan: Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan launched the SurakshitKhadyaAbhiyan, a country wide campaign to create mass awareness and capacity building for safe and hygienic food.

II.     DD Kisan ropes in Amitabh Bachchan for Rs. 6.31 crore.

III.   NRIs can invest in NPS: PFRDA: Non-resident Indians (NRIs) can invest in National Pension System (NPS) to get a social security cover. While RBI has communicated to PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority) about NRIs being eligible to make such investments, the government will shortly come out with a clarification on Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) guidelines to facilitate non-resident Indians to invest in NPS.

IV.    Pipavav Defence inks pact with Russian firm Zvyozdochka to refit submarines: Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group’s Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering (PDOE) inked a multi-crore agreement with the Russian firm to refit submarines. The pact was inked in lines with the Make in India campaign. With this, Reliance Group became the 1^st private sector Indian company to refit submarines in India.

V.       Ananth Narayanan appointed as CEO of Myntra.

VI.   NDRI (National Dairy Research Institute), Karnal (Haryana), scientists developed technique to decrease cholesterol level in Ghee.

VII.  State Government of Manipur constituted a 5-member committee headed by State Law Minister T. Debendra Singh to draft bill for the protection of indigenous people of the state.

VIII. Supreme Court rejected curative petition of Mumbai serial bomb blasts convict YakubMemon: Curative petition is meant to ensure natural justice and to prevent abuse of process after review petition is rejected. The 1993 Mumbai blast accused had applied for curative petition after his review petition was rejected earlier by the SC upholding the death sentence to him. He is to be hanged to death on 30^TH July 2015. He has filed a mercy petition in front of the President.

IX.     Supreme Court rejected Union Government’s review plea seeking OBC status for Jats.

X.         New Fish species named Puntius Dolichopterus discovered in Kerala.

 

XI.  PM Modi to launch 4 ICAR schemes: Farmer First, Student Ready, ARYA, MeraGaonMeraGaurav schemes will be lauched in Patna on 25^th July on the 87^th foundation day of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

XII.  NABARD launched initiative to digitise SHGs: It has launched a project named ‘Eshakti’ for digitisation of all Self Help Groups.

XIII.  Government gives final approval to set up 13 mega food parks during the current 5-year plan period.

 

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 I.    India, Singapore sign key agreement to boost maritime cooperation: Both the countries signed an agreement on sharing white-shipping information to enhance maritime cooperation between the two navies as visiting Navy chief Admiral R K Dhowan held talks with top defence officials in Singapore.

II.        Hisao Tanaka resigned as CEO and President of Toshiba.

III.    World’s 1^st 100% Green Airport: Galapagos Ecological, located on Ecuador’s Baltra Island, is officially now the world’s 1^st solely renewable energy powered airport. It is also known as Seymour Airport.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

 I.     Union Government extended Interest Subvention Scheme to Public Sector Banks, Private sector commercial banks, rural regional banks, cooperative banks and NABARD to ensure availability of crop loans of up to 3 lakh rupees to farmers at 7% per annum.

SPORTS:

II.       Zach Johnson of United States has won the prestigious British Open Golf title for 2015.

AWARDS:

III.     Naomi Klein wins 2015 American Book Award: Noted Canadian Author Naomi Klein has won the 36^th edition of American Book Award 2015 for her environmental work ‘This Changes Everything: Capitalism Vs Climate’ publish in 2014.

OBITUARIES:

 IV.       Noted Hollywood actor O. Pooley passed away.

Daily GK Updates - 21st July, 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 21ST JULY, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 I.    Hero Motor Group has appointed Pankaj Munjal as its Chairman and Managing Director.

 

II.     BhanuPratap Sharma appointed as chairman of FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India).

 

III.   Indian Railways and Odisha Government signed MoU for Dasappla-Bolangir Railway Line: The MoU was signed for implementation of New Broad Gauge railway line on cost sharing basis.

 

IV.   Indigenous Visibility measuring system, DRISHTI, installed at IGI Airport, New Delhi: The system developed by CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL), Bengaluru will be used to for reporting the runway visual range.

 

V.      KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) partners IRCTC, to serve meals on trains: IRCTC reservation portal will have an option to book KFC meal while booking tickets.

 

VI.   India’s 1^st indigenously designed and developed High Thrust Cryogenic Rocket engine tested by ISRO.

 

VII.  Workshop held to discuss Pam Rajput Committee’s recommendation on Status of Women.

 

VIII. Snapdeal has tied-up with Tata Capital: Now Snapdeal’s merchants and online merchants can get a loan from Tata Capital for anywhere between 5 lakhs to 2 crores.

 

IX.     Delhi Metro has launched a smart card recharge facility at ICICI Bank’s Business Correspondent outlets across the national capital.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

I.      India, Singapore sign key agreement to boost maritime cooperation: Both the countries signed an agreement on sharing white-shipping information to enhance maritime cooperation between the two navies as visiting Navy chief Admiral R K Dhowan held talks with top defence officials in Singapore.

II.     Maurice Obstfeld appointed as Chief Economist of IMF: He will be responsible for handling the IMF’s huge, troubled rescue programs for Greece and Ukraine while keeping a close eye on the slowdown in the global economy.

III.  China is expected to become the World’s 3^rd largest nuclear generating nation around 2017, said the U.S Energy Information Administration.

IV.     Japanese cabinet approved Defence White Paper 2015: In the White Paper 2015, the cabinet described the security situation surrounding Japan as increasingly tough.

V.        United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted resolution endorsing Iran Nuclear Deal: It unanimously adopted resolution 2231(2015) that establishes a monitoring system for Iran’s nuclear programme.

VI.    Diplomats from the G20 group of countries will be meeting in Ankara, Turkey on July 27-28 to discuss climate change finance which is meant to stitch together a new global agreement under the United Nations (UN) Climate Convention.

VII.  British Physicist Stephen Hawkings launches $100 million search for aliens.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.     BRICS Bank launched in China as alternative to World Bank and IMF: The 100 billion New Development Bank floated by BRICS nations, including India as an alternative to the World Bank and IMF to boost infrastructure funding in the emerging economies was launched here. The opening ceremony was held in Shanghai and was attended by Bank’s president K V Kamath.

 

II.       Union Government launches National Career Counselling portal: It has launched this portal under the aegis of National Career Service (NCS) project of Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, in a bid to modernize all government-run employment exchanges.

 

III.    Now an exclusive mobile app for VAT, GST and Service Tax: CA Atul Kumar Gupta along with his team made mobile application ‘TAXO’ where the general public can get an insight into the basic fundamentals of indirect taxation

SPORTS:

IV.  Ganguly in BCCI working group to study Lodha verdict: Former India captain SauravGanguly was named in the BCCI’s four-member working group formed to study the justice R M Lodha committee’s order and give recommendations within six weeks.

V.         Eden Gardens, Kolkata to host 2016 World T20 finals.

VI.      BCCI has dropped Duleep Trophy form its 2015-16 domestic season.

AWARDS:

VII.   Model-actor Milind Soman wins Ironman title in ‘toughest’ triathlon in Zurich, Switzerland.

VII. Telugu cartoonist P.Shankar won Grand Prix World Press Cartoon 2014 Award:  He is cartoonist working with the prominent Telugu Daily newspaper Sakshi. He won the award for sketching Nelson Mandela.

IX.  Film maker BinoyBehl won the Best Documentary Producer award at Madrid International Film Festival: He won the award for his film ‘Indian Roots of Tibetan Buddhism’.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

  X.   The book ‘Locale, Everyday Islam and Modernity’ written by Vice President Hamid Ansari was released.

OBITUARIES:

 XI.     Alex Rocco, the actor known for his role in ‘Godfather’ died at the age of 79.