Daily GK Updates - 31st July, 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 31ST JULY, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

I. Centre to put Rs. 20,000 crore more as capital infusion in public sector banks this year: The Government has decided to infuse capital to the tune of Rs. 20,000 crore in public sector banks. 50% or Rs. 10,000 crore of this money will find its way to ‘weak’ banks.

II. RajendraSrivastava of Singapore Management Universities to be next dean of ISB: RajendraSrivastava, professor of marketing at Singapore Management University, will be the next dean of Indian School of Business with effect from January 1, 2016.

III. BHEL signs three MoU in Kazakhstan for Power Projects: It will work with JSU on projects of mutual; JSU is the national power utility of Kazakhstan having a major share in Kazakh power sector. BHEL also signed MoU with KUS and Karnex Invest.

IV. DIPP accepts ADB, JICA plans on industrial corridors: Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has given nod to Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for their conceptual development plan report on Vizag Chennai Industrial Corridor and Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor respectively.

V. Film Talvar based on ArushiTalvar case, directed by MeghnaGulzar to be premiered at Toronto International Film Festival.

VI. Punjab Government to create Beas Belt near Harike Patan as habitat for Gharials.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

I. British PM on Landmark 1^st visit to Vietnam: David Cameron hailed rapidly growing trade with Vietnam during the 1^st visit by a British Prime Minister to the communist country, as a number of key business deals were signed.

II. Russia vetoes Security Council proposal on MH17 tribunal: Russia vetoed a UN Security council resolution that would set up an international criminal court to prosecute those responsible for shooting down a Malaysia Airlines plane over Ukraine a year ago.

III. SALt, a lamp that runs eight hours on water and salt, developed: A start-up in Philippines developed a lamp named SALt (Sustainable Alternative Lighting) that runs on a glass of water and two tablespoons of salt.

IV. Microsoft launched Windows 10 operating system.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

I. RBI decided to issue 10 rupees coins to commemorate International Day of Yoga.

SPORTS:

II. Paytm bags BCCI sponsorship rights: Mobile marketplace and payments site Paytm has bagged the title sponsorship rights of BCCI for Rs 203 crore.

Daily GK Updates - 30th July, 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 30TH JULY, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

I. Tripura: Pension for transgender launched: The Tripura Government has introduced a pension scheme for transgenders. Monthly pension up to Rs 500 would be given to transgenders. The council of ministers also decided to pay a monthly pension to women and patients suffering from leprosy and AIDS.

II. Maharashtra FDA chief Harshadeep Kamble to head top panel on online pharmacies: The central government has formed a sub-committee on issues related to online pharmacies under the chairmanship of Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Harshadeep Kamble.

III. Maharashtra’s first IIM unveiled in Nagpur: Maharashtra CM DevendraFadnavis has inaugurated the new Indian Institute of Management in Nagpur. The proposal of setting up of six IIMs was made by PM Modi last year. It is Maharashtra’s 1^st IIM and is being mentored by IIM Ahmedabad.

IV. Yakub Memon executed as Supreme Court rejected his fresh plea in pre-dawn hearing: 1993 Mumbai serial blasts lone death row convict, YakubMemon was hanged till death early in the morning at Nagpur Central Jail.

V. Union Cabinet approved RajyaSabha panel’s amendments on GST Bill, 2014: The RajyaSabha Select Committee chaired by Bhupender Yadav in its report submitted on 22^nd July 2015, suggested that compensation to the states should be made for 5 years instead of up to 5 years for any revenue loss due to introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

VI. Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a penalty upon Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC), Karnataka Television Association (KTVA) and Kannada Film Producers Association (KFPA) for contravening the Section 3 of the Competition Act, 2002.

VII. ‘Visaarnai’ became the first Tamil film to enter Venice Film Festival: Actor Dhanush produced Tamil thriller ‘Visaarnai’ will have its world premiere at 72^nd Venice International Film Festival.

VIII. Union Cabinet approved setting up of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) to back new and stressed projects which may help restart the investment cycle: The fund will have an initial corpus of 20,000 crore rupees which can be leveraged by infrastructure companies.

IX. Cyclone Komen formed over Bay of Bengal: Cyclone Komen, a new tropical cyclone formed over Northern Bay of Bengal which is expected to make landfall on the coast of Odisha and West Bengal.

X. Procter and Gamble (P&G) appoints David Taylor as its new CEO.

XI. Airtel appoints JigneshHegde as CEO of Sri Lanka operations.

XII. Kalyani Group partners with Israel’s Rafael to make Spike Missile: India’s Kalyani Group and Israel’s Rafael have partnered to produce Spike Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) in India.

XIII.  Flipkart launches ‘India Art House’ for handicraft lovers.

XIV. Assam state government would set up a centre of innovation named after late former President APJ Abdul Kalam, who passed away on 27^th July 15.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

I.  India, Slovak republic ink agreement for standards formulation: India and Slovak Republic signed an agreement to facilitate cooperation and exchange of information about standards formulation, testing facilities and third party product certification, among others.

II. E-tourist visa to Chinese nationals from July 30: As promised by PM Modi, e-tourist visa facility will be rolled out to Chinese nationals beginning from 30^th July, 2015. Along with the citizens of China, the e-tourist visa facility will also be offered to the nationals of Hong Kong and Macao.

III. Nepal Temple bans mass animal slaughter at festival: Nepalese temples authorities end a centuries-old Hindu Tradition of mass animal slaughter during Gadhimai festival that attracts hundreds of thousands of worshippers.

IV. UNSC failed to adopt proposal to create tribunal on crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) was unable to adopt the resolution titled International Criminal Tribunal for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. The adoption of resolution would have established an international tribunal to prosecute persons responsible for the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 which crashed in Ukraine.

V. India to become most populous nation by 2022 according to the UN World Population Prospects: The United Nations released the report titled World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision at the UN Headquarters in New York. According to the report, India will surpass China to become the most populous nation in the world by 2022.

VI. Gates Foundation world’s wealthiest private charitable organisation: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has topped the list of the World’s wealthiest private foundations established by ultra-high net worth individuals, according to a Wealth-X report.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

I. IndusInd Bank acquires RBS’ bullion financing business for Rs 4,100 crore: Private sector lender IndusInd Bank has completed the acquisition of the diamond and jewellery financing business and related deposit portfolio of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

II. SEBI cancelled certificate of Registration of Sahara Mutual Fund: The Securities and Exchange Board of India in its order said that the company is not fit and proper entity to carry out the business of mutual fund.

III. Kotak Bank launches ‘Kotak Bharat’ mobile banking app for unbanked regions.

SPORTS:

IV. Paytm bags BCCI sponsorship rights: Mobile marketplace and payments site Paytm has bagged the title sponsorship rights of BCCI for Rs 203 crore.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

V.  Anuradha Roy’s ‘Sleeping on Jupiter’ shortlisted for Man Booker Prize.

OBITUARIES:

VI. Eminent vocalist VasundharaKomkali died at her residence in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh at the age of 85.

Daily GK Updates - 29th July, 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 29TH july, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

I. Ashish Bahuguna appointed as Chairman of Food Safety Regulator FSSAI: His tenure will be of 3 years as the chairman of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and he will succeed K. Chandramauli whose tenure ended in January 2015. Earlier, B.P Sharma was given the interim charge of chairman of FSSAI.

II. Kerala to become 1^st Digital State: The state Government is moving ahead with plans to declare the state as the 1^st digital one in the country.

III. CCI imposed a penalty of 420 crore rupees on Hyundai: The Competition Commission of India imposed a penalty of 420 crore rupees on Hyundai as it was found to be guilty of anti-competitive practices in contravention of the Competition Act, 2002.

IV. Justice Mahajan Committee constituted for Re-drafting National Sports Development Code of India: Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports constituted a working group headed by Justive C K Mahajan, on re-drafting National Sports Development Code of India to make it more relevant from both sports governance and legal angles.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

I. GM to invest $1 billion in India to launch 10 Made-in-India vehicles over 5 years: General Motors, as part of Chevrolet’s global growth strategy said that it will invest $1 billion in India to strengthen its market here over the next 5 years.

II. General Council approved Kazakhstan’s membership terms to join WTO as 162^nd member: General Council of the World Trade Organisation in Geneva. Switzerland approved the membership terms of Kazakhstan, thus enabling it to join the world trade body as 162^nd member.

III. World Hepatitis Day observed on 28^th July with a theme ‘Prevent Hepatitis, Act Now’.

IV.  World Tiger Day observed on 29^th July: India home to 70% of world’s Tigers: World Tiger Day is an annual celebration to raise awareness for tiger conservation. The population in the country is estimated to be around 2,226 which is around 70% of the total Tiger population in the world.

 

 OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

I. Raina signs up with Sports Management Group ‘IOS’ for 3 years: IOS Sports and Entertainment will now manage Raina’s endorsements and brand associations, corporate profile, patents and digital rights, images, visibility on social networking sites and merchandise.

II. Court of Arbitration for sports allowed Indian Athlete Dutee Chand to compete in Women’s event: The historic verdict was given by CAS chaired by Justice A.C Bennett. In its verdict CAS suspended the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) regulation governing eligibility of females with naturally-occurring Hyperandrogenism.

AWARDS:

III. SanjeevChaturvedi and Anshu Gupta win Ramon Magsaysay Award: SanjeevChaturvedi is a 2002-IFS officer and Anshu Gupta is the founder of Delhi based NGO ‘Goonj’ which works in 21 states across in disaster relief, humanitarian aid and community development.

OBITUARIES:

IV. Former South African Cricket team skipper Clive Rice died at the age of 66.

V. Dr.Suniti Solomon, pioneering Indian HIV/AIDS researcher dies at 76.