Daily GK Updates - 6th August, 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 6TH AUGUST, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

I. LokSabha passes SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill: The bill aims to prohibit the commission of offences against members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and provides for establishing special courts for trials of such offences and the rehabilitation of victims.

II. ISRO bags 1^st ever bunch of US launch orders: ISRO’s commercial venture Antrix Corporation recently signed contracts to launch nine micro and nano space-crafts separately as small co-passengers on the PSLV light-lifter during this year. This will be the first time that ISRO will launch US satellite.

III. TATA Sons to acquire stake in Titan for Rs.680 crore.

IV. LokSabha passed Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2015: The bill amends the Delhi High Court Act, 1966 and also increases the pecuniary jurisdiction of district courts from Rs. 20 Lakh to Rs. 2 crore.

V. Bharti Airtel launched 4G services in 296 towns across India: With this the largest telecom operatorof India became the 1^st company to roll out the pan-India 4G network which is built on an open partner ecosystem model.

VI. CBDT signed two unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements to usher in tax certainty: This includes for the first time an APA with ‘Rollback’ provision which means extending the tax certainty for nine financial years as against five years in APAs without ‘Rollback’.

VII. The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Modi in New Delhi approved the proposal of hiving about 65000 towers of BSNL into a new company.

VIII. Murugappa Group signed agreement with Organo Corp to form Joint Venture: The water treatment engineering company Polutech Limited of Murugappa Group signed an agreement with Japan based Organo Corp to form a Joint Venture (JV) of an industrial water treatment requirement company.

IX. Haryana’s CM M L Khattar launched ‘Thari Pension Thare Pass’ scheme in Chandigarh: Khattar launched the scheme by pressing a button that allowed transfer of social security pensions of July amounting to about 119 crore rupees directly into the bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries under the scheme.

X. Union Cabinet approved direct release of wages into bank accounts of MGNREGA workers: As per the scheme, the wage component of MGNREGA will be released following the State Employment Guarantee Fund window directly to the worker’s accounts.

XI. Bihar Legislative Assembly passed the Bihar Public Grievance Redressal Bill, 2015.

XII. Cabinet approves proposal to sign agreement with UNESCO: The Union Cabinet approved the signing of the agreement with UNESCO for establishment of a centre for World Natural Heritage Management and Training for Asia-Pacific region at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehradun as a category-2 centre of the UN body.

XIII. The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has appointed GirishSrivastava as its General Secretary.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

I.  Indian origin rugby coach Rahul Das named Personality of the Year in New Zealand.

II. NASA signed 490 million US dollars contract with Russia for international space station travel: NASA signed the contract with Russia’s space agency ROSCOSMOS for carrying the US astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).

III.  Forbes released the World’s Highest-paid actors 2015 list: The list was topped by Robert Downey Jr, for the 3^rd time in a row. Jackie Chan was placed at the second place while Vin Diesel stood at the third spot. Amitabh Bachhan and Salman Khan stood at seventh position.

IV. India, Mozambique signed MoU to boost ties in Renewable Energy Sector: The agreement was signed during the official visit of Filipe Nyusi, President of Mozambique to India.

V. FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) and International Labour Organisation signed MoU to establish National Coordination Centre for SCORE Training services.

VI. 70^th Anniversary of Hiroshima bombing observed in many parts of the World on 6^th Aug with special vigil and peace marches.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

I. South Africa’s Cameron Van Der Burgh breaks 50m Breaststroke Swimming world record at the World Swimming Championship.

AWARDS:

II. ZhannaNemtsova awarded with Poland’s Solidarity Prize 2015: The daughter of slain Russian politician Boris Nemtsov received the award for championing democracy and human rights.

OBITUARIES:

III. Canadian Fashion Designer Arnold Scaasi passed away.

IV. World War-2 hero Colonel (retd) Harwant Singh passed away.

Daily GK Updates - 5th August, 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 5TH AUGUST, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

I. Ola shuts TaxiForSure in 22 cities: Cab aggregator Ola is shutting operations of its subsidiary TaxiForSure (TFS) in around 22 smaller cities.

II. Bharti Airtel appoints Nilanjan Roy as Global CFO.

III. Rural Development Minister launched ‘SAMANVAY’ for Gram Panchayats: Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh launched SAMANVAY, a compilation of all schemes of both Union and State governments for gram panchayats. It was launched with an aim to help MPs in utilising relevant schemes in the planning and implementation of Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).

IV. Kamayani Express and Mumbai-Jabalpur Janata Express derailed over Machak River of Madhya Pradesh as base material on the tracks got washed away in heavy rains.

V. Snapdeal launched Snapdeal Instant to make instant delivery of packages: It has launched the new service Snapdeal Instant to enable delivery of packages to customers as early as within an hour of placing the order.

VI. Jharkhand empowered ACB to arrest Ministers and civil servants in bribery cases without permission: The decision to change the rule of Anti-Corruption Bureau was taken during the state’s cabinet meet chaired by CM Raghubar Das.

VII. Delhi Government decided to have tram network in Old Delhi: The tram network in Old Delhi will comprise Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk, Sheeshganj Gurudwara, Old Delhi Railway station and Fatehpuri Masjid.

VIII. Maharashtra Government increased the retirement age of medical officers from 58 to 60: The retirement age of ‘Group-A category medical officers’ has been increased from 58 to 60 years.

IX. Uttar Pradesh Government decided to rename Uttar Pradesh Technical University as APJ Abdul Kalam Techinical University under the UP Techincal University (Amendment) Bill, 2015.

X. Scientific Technology named SHEFROL (Sheet Flow Root Level) was in news as the SHEFROL based waste water treatment plant built at Chinna Kalapet fishing hamlet in Pudducherry was found to be successful.

XI. Two films ‘Masaan’ and ‘Jaanisaar’ made tax free in UP.

XII. India’s biggest Telescope MAST inaugurated at Udaipur Solar Observatory: Udaipur Solar Observatory has operationalized a unique telescope ‘Multi Application Solar Telescope’ for detailed study of solar activities which could facilitate space weather predictions in the future.

XIII. 13 day ‘Bharat Parv’ begins in Delhi: It is celebration of Culture and Cuisine from different states of India being organised as a part of Independence Day celebrations.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

I. Barack Obama to honour three Indian American Startup entrepreneurs: The three are P. Bradoo from San Francisco, A.M Sastry from Michigan and Suma Reddy from New York.

II. 48^th ASEAN foreign ministers’ meet starts in Malaysia.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING: 

I. SEBI slaps Rs 35 lakh fine on Monarch Research and Brokerage: Capital markets regulator SEBI has imposed a penalty of Rs 35 lakh on Monarch Research and Brokerage failing to check fictitious trade in Sky Industries Ltd’s stock. 

II. IDFC Bank to start operations from October after it recently got licence for undertaking banking business.

III.Alibaba to invest INR 400 crore in Paytm. 

SPORTS: 

IV. South Africa’s Cameron Van Der Burgh breaks 50m Breaststroke Swimming world record at the World Swimming Championship.

AWARDS:

V. Mathematician A. Krishna won the Ramanujan Prize for 2015: He was bestowed with this award for his outstanding contributions in the area of algebraic cycles, algebraic K-theory and the theory of motives.

VI. National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) wins award for Geographical Info System 2015.

OBITUARIES:
 

VII. British Singer Cilla Black passed away.

VIII. Last Surviving Dambusters Pilot L. Munro died in New Zealand at the age of 96: He was one of the pilots who took part in the legendary Dambusters operation in the World War-2 in 1943. The operations consisted of using bouncing bombs to attack German Dams.

Daily GK Updates - 4th August, 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 4TH AUGUST, 2015

 NATIONAL UPDATES:

    I.   Tamil Nadu Government launches 352 lactating mother’s room, milk banks: With an aim to help lactating mothers who are travelling, Tamil Nadu CM J. Jayalalithainaugurated 352 rooms in bus terminals across the state where women can feed their new borns. Timing the launch to sync with World Breast Feeding Week (August 1-7), she also inaugurated Mother’s Milk Banks in seven government hospitals, including Tiruchirapalli and Madurai.

II.  Haryana Government to honour victims of Emergency 1975 with TamraPatra: Those who struggled for the restoration of democratic values during the 18-month long emergency will be given ‘TamraPatra’ on the Independence Day function.

III. Government signs peace accord with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland: With an aim of ending insurgency in Nagaland, government signed an accord with key outfit NSCN (IM) in the presence of the PM, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, NSA AjitDoval and NSCN leader T. Muivah.

IV.   Iqbal Ahmed Ansari appointed as Acting Chief Justice of Patna High Court.

 V.   Operation Muskaan helped Gurgaon police to trace over 1000 kids: Operation Muskaan, an initiative launched by the Railway Police to trace missing and destitute children and reunite them with parents, helped Gurgaon Police to  trace 1094 children in Haryana during a month-long operation.

VI.   Delhi police launched operation Shishtachar to teach lesson to eve-teasers.

VII.ITBP climbing and Ski down expedition to Saser Kangri-3 peak in Ladakh flagged-off.

VIII.   BhartiAirtel acquired YTS Solutions for mobile payment solutions: India’s largest telecom operator BhartiAirtel acquired financial solutions firm YTS Solutions for an undisclosed amount. With this acquisition, YTS Solutions will be integrated with the operations of Airtel Money Services Ltd, a subsidiary of Airtel.

IX.   Union Government extends term of R S Katoch as Director of Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the third time.

 X.   NTPC inks agreement to form JV with Jharkhand for Patratu Power Plant: National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd has inked an agreement with Jharkhand BijliVitran Nigam Ltd (JBVNL) to form a joint venture company for Patratu Power Plant, located in Ramgarh district of Jharkhand.

XI.   DU permits Skype Viva for PhD students, plagiarism check must: Scholars pursuing PhD at Delhi University can now appear for their viva through Skype or other modes of video conferencing.

XII.   Goa to host defence expo: The 9^th edition of the biennial defence trade exhibition, Defexpo India 2016, will take place in Goa.

XIII.   Lt General MMS Rai takes over as Army’s new vice chief of staff.

XIV.   18^th IIT opens at Palakkad: The 18^th IIT Palakkad is Kerala’s first IIT and is presently lodged in a temporary campus.

XV.   State run BSNL appointed N Poonguzhali as the 1^st Women Chief General Manager, Tamil Nadu circle.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

     

I. Afghanistan banned mourning ceremonies for deceased Taliban leader Omar: National Directorate of Security, the intelligence agency of the government of Afghanistan banned all mourning ceremonies for deceased Taliban leader Mullah Omar.

II. 193 UN members reached agreement on sustainable development agenda for the next 15 years: It calls for eradicating poverty and hunger, achieving gender equality, improving living standards and taking urgent action to combat climate change. The document is called ‘Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’.

III.500-m Aperture Spherical Telescope being constructed in China: The world’s largest radio telescope, Five hundredmeter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) is being constructed in the Guizhou province of South China, whose dish size will be equivalent to 30 football fields.

IV.CERN formally confers its Associate Membership to Pakistan: The European Organisation for Nuclear Research, has formally conferred its associate membership on Pakistan as it becomes the 1^st associate member of CERN among Asian Countries.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

    I.   Reserve Bank of India leaves door open for more easing: RBI kept its policy rate on hold at 7.25% while leaving the door open to ease further depending on the inflation outlook and how swiftly banks lower their lending rates.

II.   HSBC India plans to launch ‘Green Bonds’: HSBC India’s chairman NainaLalKidwai announced to launch ‘green bond’ in India for raising funds for investments in environmental projects.

III.   Japanese conglomerate SoftBank invests Rs 630 crore in online aggregator of budget hotels OYO Rooms (Gurgaon).

IV.   UTI Mutual Funds, the country’s oldest fund house, has attained an asset base of over Rs. 1 Lakh crore with about one crore investor accounts.

SPORTS:

 V.   DipaKarmakar won bronze medal at 6^th Senior ART Gymnastic Asian Championship: Ace Indian Gymnast DipaKarmakar clinched the women’s vault bronze medal at the 6^th Senior ART Gymnastic Championship at Hiroshima, Japan.

VI.   International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially recognised ‘Frisbee’ as an Olympic sport.

VII.   German Cup winner Wolfsburg upset Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich on penalties to win its 1^st domestic Super Cup.

VIII.   RajatChauhan earned India its 1^st ever individual medal in the World Archery Championship 2015 held at Copenhagen, Denmark.

AWARDS:

    IX.   Hindi litterateur Kashinath Singh chosen for Bharat Bharti literary award 2014: He is known for his famous novel ‘KashikaAssi’, which captures the vibrant hues of Banaras.

OBITUARIES:

     X.   Former MP Labour Minister and senior BJP leader Jaganath Singh passed away in Bhopal at the age of 69.