Daily GK Updates - 7th August, 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 7TH AUGUST, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

  I.       Centre liberalizes single-brand retail norms: India might see a flurry of single-brand retailers entering, with the government allowing them to operate across multiple platforms.

II.      Ashish Dasgupta assumes charge as Air India Engineering Services’ new Executive Director.

III.    Southern States to set up Inter-State Coordination Council to resolve forest-related issues: Forest Ministers of the Southern States of India decided to set up a Southern Forest Ministers’ Inter-state Coordination Council. Kerala Forest Minister T. Radhakrishnan will be the president of the council for the 1^st year.

IV.       Delhi Government reconstituted Urdu Academy: Dr.MajidDeobandi was appointed as the Vice-chairperson of the academy.

V.         Amitava Ghosh appointed as Vice-President (Engineering) of Snapdeal: Ghosh will head company’s technology innovation centre in Bengaluru and lead the company’s future development of intuitive technology solutions.

VI.  The Charted Institute of Management Accounts, (CIMA) has conferred the prestigious award of the ‘Most Influential CFOs of India’ on Rakesh Kumar, Director-Finance, Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC).

VII. PM Modi inaugurated first National Handloom Day on 7^th August 2015: He inaugurated the 1^st National Handloom Day at the Centenary Hall of Madras University in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, where he also unveiled ‘India Handloom’ brand.

VIII. Snapdeal tied up­-with department store chain Shoppers Stop Ltd.

IX.   LokSabha passed Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015: The bill provides for filing of Cheque bounce cases at the place where a cheque is presented for clearance and not the place of issue. It will have implications for over 18 lakh cheque bounce cases pending in various courts.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

  I.         Indo-American AtulKeshap confirmed Ambassador to Sri Lanka: Indo-American AtulKeshap has been confirmed as the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives, becoming the second Indian-Origin diplomat to be posted to the region after Richard Rahul Verma.

II.        Ukraine lifts ban on HIV positive visitors: It has removed its restriction on entry and foreign travel for HIV positive people as a part of growing efforts to improve relations with Europe after decades of Moscow rule.

III.     Egypt launches Suez Canal expansion: Egypt’s government has inaugurated an $8 bn expansion of the Suez Canal with an elaborate ceremony hailing the project as a national achievement.

IV.      India and Myanmar inked agreement to set up CESDT in Myanmar: The Centre of Excellence in Software Development and Training (CESDT) is to be set up with the financial support through ASEAN-India Cooperation Fund and will be implemented by C-DAC.

V.        48^th ASEAN Foreign Minister’s meet held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: The meet was held under the theme ‘Our People, Our Community, Our Vision’ and was chaired by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, Mr.AnifahAman.

VI.       IS seizes central Syrian town of Qaryatain.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.    Banks can shift; merge urban, semi-urban branches without approval: RBI: Reserve Bank of India notified that banks can shift, merge or close urban and semi-urban branches without its approval. This is to allow greater operational freedom.

II.        EPFO makes stock market debut through SBI Mutual Fund: In a historic move, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation has commenced investing into Indian Stock markets, a move aimed at generating inflation-beating returns in the long term.

III.       LIC is market leader in Bahrain, No. 3 in the UAE: India’s top life insurer, LIC has emerged as the market leader in Bahrain, part of the Gulf Cooperation Council. It has also emerged as the third player in the UAE with a strong presence in cities like Dubai.

IV.       SBI Life Insurance launched Smart Humsafar Plan: It is a unique plan which offers multiple benefits of savings and insurance cover for husband and wife under a single policy.

SPORTS:

V.       August Edition of FIFA World Rankings released: Argentina maintained its No.1 position followed by Belgium at No.2 and the World Cup winner Germany at No.3 position.

OBITUARIES:

   VI.    Hollywood actor George Cole passed away.

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.