Daily GK Updates - 18th August, 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 18TH AUGUST, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.     The Kullu district administration imposed a ban on plying of diesel and petrol driven vehicles in Rohtang Pass in compliance with the orders of National Green Tribunal (NGT).

II.       Microsoft and Andhra Pradesh Government to work together for Low Cost Net Connectivity: Microsoft will be working with AP Government on TV White Spaces Project- a technology that uses unused TV spectrum to deliver low-cost internet connectivity to users.

III.     Delhi Government announced City Taxi Scheme: Under this scheme, permits will be issued to 600 cc vehicles that will have minimum flag down rate of 25 rupees for the first two kilometres.

IV.      Kerala Government signed MoU with Adani Group for development of Vizhinjam Port: It includes proposal for usage of foreign ships for the carriage of goods between two ports in one country and relaxation of Centre’s Cabotage law that allows use of registered Indian ships only.

V.         ICICI Bank launched locker facility named ‘Smart Vault’: It was launched by the MD&CEO ChandaKochar. It is first of its kind locker facility by a bank in India with latest robotic technology.

VI.      Telangana Government launched GramaJyothi Scheme across the state:Telangana CM K. Chandrashekhar launched the scheme which is aimed at comprehensive development of rural areas allowing planning and execution of works by village themselves.

VII.   Supreme Court order on Aadhaar sweetens cash for grain initiatives: The SC order on the use of Aadhaar Card only for the direct benefits transfer (DBT) and public distribution scheme (PDS) is set to provide a boost to these programmes, with the government planning to speed up implementation of cash transfers for food grain subsidy nationwide.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

  I.        Second round of Foreign Office Consultations between India and Paraguay held at New Delhi: The meet is aimed to strengthen the cooperation between the two countries. During the meet, the entire gamut of bilateral relations including political, commercial and trade, financial, tourism, technical and other areas of cooperation were discussed.

II.       India and UAE released joint statement to take bilateral relations to a higher level: The joint statement was released in Abu Dhabi after meeting of His Highness Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and PM Modi.

III.      PM Modi visited Masdar City of Abu Dhabi: Masdar City is a zero carbon planned city which relies on solar energy and other renewable energy sources. It aims to be one of the world’s most sustainable urban developments powered by renewable energy.

IV.     PM Modi announced that the Indian Mission in UAE has set up an ‘e-migrant portal’ to help Indian migrant workers and an online platform ‘MADAD’ to assist them.

V.   Egypt’s Sisi approves anti-terrorism law: Egypt’s President has approved a far-reaching anti-terrorism law that establishes stiffer prison sentences for terror related offences, heavy fines for journalists who publish ‘false news’ and a special judicial circuit for terrorism cases.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

I.          Five coaches recommended for Dronacharya Award: Veteran coaches Swatantra Raj Singh (Boxing), NiharAmeen (Swimming) and Harbans Singh (Athletics) were among the five coaches recommended for the prestigious Dronacharya Award this year. Wrestling Coach Anoop Singh Dahiya and Para-athletics coach Naval Singh were included for recent performances of their trainees.

II.         Australia’s Jason Day wins PGA Championship 2015.

AWARDS:

III.   Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone’s Piku wins best movie at Indian Film Festival of Melbourne for 2015.

Daily GK Updates - 17th August, 2015

Daily gk updates - 17th august, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.     President Pranab Mukherjee approved 67 Gallantry Awards: The President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Pranab Mukherjee approved 67 gallantry awards to armed forces personnel and members of paramilitary forces on the eve India’s 69^th Independence Day celebrations.

II.      Housing.com acquired Bengaluru based HomeBuy360: Mumbai based real estate listing portal Housing.com acquired Bengaluru based customer relationship management software company HomeBuy360 in all cash deal of 2 million USD.

III.       Odisha Government approved Fisheries Policy 2015: The policy aims at increasing the productivity and production of fish from Island, brackish water and marine resources.

IV.     Union Government appointment two private sector professionals to head BoB, Canara Bank: Union Government appointed private sector professionals, namely PS Jayakumar and Rakesh Kumar as MD and CEO of Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank respectively.

V.            Ajith Kumar Seth appointed as Chairman of Public Enterprise Selection Board.

VI.    Odisha Government approved State Capital Region Improvement of Power System Scheme: The scheme aims to provide 24x7 quality power supplies to people in and around the state capital of Bhubaneshwar.

VII.  Taj Mahal becomes 1^st monument in the World to have a twitter account: The monument’s official twitter handle @TajMahal was launched by UP CM Akhilesh Yadav on the eve of 69^th Independence Day in Lucknow.

VIII.  Birla Corporation to acquire Lafarge’s two Indian units for Rs 5000 crore: It has signed an agreement with French-based Lafarge Group to acquire its Jojobera unit in Jharkhand and Sonadih in Chattisgarh for a sum of Rs. 5000 crore.

IX.       Hero Cycles acquires leading UK based Avocet Sports.

X.         MHA to setup pan-India National Fingerprint Database: This will aid in the speedy identification of criminals and identification of crimes across the country.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

  I.       India and Bangladesh signed MoU to tackle the menace of fake Indian currency notes: The MoU was signed during a maiden meeting of the Joint Task Force on Fake Currency Notes in Dhaka.

II.        India- US combined Military Training Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2015 to be held from Sep 9-23.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.         HDFC to sell its 9% stake in HDFC Life to JV partner Standard Life for Rs 1700 crore.

SPORTS:

II.       World Badminton Championship: Saina became 1^st Indian shuttler to win silver medal: India’s ace shuttlerSainaNehwal became the 1^st Indian to win silver in the World Badminton Championship. She lost to Spain’s Carolina Marin in the final held at Jakarta, Indonesia.

III.       Andy Murray won Rogers Cup Masters tournament: Briton Andy Murray won the Rogers Cup Masters tournament in Montreal, Canada. In the title clash, Murray defeated world number one Novak Djokovic 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. It was Murray’s 11^th Masters Title.

IV.     Indian Men’s Hockey team won European series against Spain: The three match series of the European Tour 2-1 after registering 2^nd win in the third and final match of the series.

AWARDS:

  V.   Mustansir Barma won 2015 Gujar Mal Modi award for innovative science and technology: He was awarded for his commendable contribution in the field of Science and Technology.

Daily GK Updates - 16th August, 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 16TH AUGUST, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.        PM Modi announced a new campaign ‘Start-up India; Stand-up India’: On the eve of Independence Day at red fort PM Modi announced the new campaign which is an initiative to promote bank finance for start-ups (an entrepreneurial venture).

II.        Union Government unveils Indradhanush Mission for PSBs: It has launched a seven pronged plan called Indradhanush Mission to revamp functioning of Public sector banks. It was launched by Union Finance Minister ArunJaitely in New Delhi. The seven shades of Indradhanush Mission include appointments, de-stressing PSBs, capitalisation, empowerment, framework of accountability and governance reforms.

III.      Union Government to form Bank Board Bureau: Union Government has decided to set up a Bank Board Bureau to monitor key performance indicators of two dozen public sector banks. It was announced by Union Finance Minister as part of the Indradhanush Mission.

IV.   Gujarat Government declares ban on use of Plastic: Gujarat Government has declared ban on the use of plastic in the state for the first time. It was announced by Gujarat’s chief minister Anandiben Patel after unfurling the National Flag at the Independence ceremony in Mahisagar district of Gujarat.

V.     Kerala Government declares state as ‘Digital State’:  Kerala Government has declared state totally digital, thus becoming first state in the country to achieve it. It was announced by CM OommenChandy during his Independence day speech held in the capital Thiruvanathpuram.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

  I.         Researchers discovered evidence of an ancient lake on Mars: A team of researchers for University of Colorado have discovered evidence of an ancient lake on Mars. The findings of the research titled Late-stage formation of Martian Chloride salts through ponding and evaporation were published in journal of Geology.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

I.     Abhishek Verma wins gold medal in Archery World Cup: Ace Indian Archer AbhishekVerma has won gold medal in Archery World Cup held at Wroclaw in Poland in the stage 3 in the compound men’s individual section. It should be noted that Verma is currently ranked 18^th in the world in the men’s individual archery.