Daily GK Updates - 27th August, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

I.      ISRO successfully launches GSLV-D6 carrying GSAT-6 satellite:  The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D6) has successfully blasted from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at ISRO in Sriharikota near Chennai.

II.        Airtel acquires Augure to strengthen 4G footprint: It has acquired Augure Wireless Broadband India in a deal that will allow it to take its 4G operations to nine circles.

III.      Union Cabinet cleared 4 months extension for 7^th pay commission: Union Cabinet chaired by PM Modi gave 4 months extension (up to 31^st December 2015) to the 7^th Pay Commission. Justice Ashok Mathur is the chairman of the commission.

IV.      Government releases smart cities list;13 cities from UP, 12 from Tamil Nadu, 3 from Bihar included.

V.        NITI Aayog launches improved data tool for energy planning: It has launched an improved version of its interactive data tool on the country’s energy security scenario to help policy makers and stakeholders make informed choices for better energy planning for the future. The Indian Energy Security Scenarios (IESS) 2047 (Version 2.0) calculator will suggest measures to shift the energy pattern in a way to ensure advancement of the country’s energy security considerations.

VI.       Union Government approved amendments in the central list of OBCs: It approved the amendments in respect of two states Gujarat and Uttarakhand for making suitable amendments in the central list of OBCs.

VII.     Kolkata port adjudged as the best ‘Major Port of 2014-15’: It was adjudged as the Major Port of the Year for 2015 amongst 12 major ports in the country.

VIII.  Snapdeal appoints former Adobe executive Rajiv Mangla as CTO: e-Commerce major Snapdeal, appointed Rajiv Mangla as Chief Technology Officer.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

  I.         Novak Djokovic named new UNICEF goodwill ambassador: Reigning world tennis champion Novak Djokovic became a new goodwill ambassador for the UN Fund for Children, joining a roster of athletes and celebrities to hold the post.

II.         Kazakhstan to host 1^st Nuclear Fuel Bank: The International Atomic Energy Agency and Kazakhstan have signed an agreement to create the world’s 1^st internationally controlled bank of low-enriched uranium in the ex-Soviet nation to ensure fuel supplies for power stations and prevent nuclear proliferation.

III.        Rajendra Singh conferred with 2015 Stockholm Water Prize: He was named for the prestigious award for his innovative water restoration efforts, improving water security in rural India, and for showing extraordinary courage and determination in his quest to improve the living conditions for those most in need.

IV.       Three Indians were named as Fellows of American Society for Metals for 2015 (ASM): The Indian fellows were PradeepGoyal, VivekanandKain and GankidiMadhusudan Reddy.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

I.         Dilip Vengsarkar elected president of cricket statistician’s body: Former India captain DilipVengsarkar has been elected as the president of the Association of Indian Statisticians and Scorers of India.

II.               Vikas Gowda enters discus final at World Athletics Championships.

Daily GK Updates - 26th August, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.      After Hardik Patel’s huge quota rally, waves of violence across Gujarat: Gujarat police declared curfew at many areas in Ahmedabad, Surat, Junagarh, Baroda and other cities of the state. Internet connectivity and SMS service has been blocked by the administration to stop spreading of any unwanted message. The Patel community led by Hardik Patel is pressing for OBC reservations in educational institutions and government jobs.

II.           Caste Census 2011 data released by Registrar General of India: The data shows that Muslim population in the country’s population increased by 0.8%. Their overall population of Muslims is 14.23% of the total population while Hindus constitute 79.8% of the country’s total population.

III.            Bengaluru goes the BJP way: The ruling Congress party in Karnataka suffered a major setback after it failed to defeat the BJP in civic polls for the Bengaluru city council.

IV.            UP Lokayukta Appointment: The ongoing tussle over the appointment of Lokayukta in Uttar Pradesh intensified with Governor Ram Naik refusing to accept the name of Jutice (Retd) Ravindra Singh for the post, as recommended by CM Akhilesh Yadav.

V.           PM inaugurates birth centenary celebrations of Rani Gaidinliu: On this occasion he launched commemorative coin of 100 rupees and circulation coin of 5 rupees of Rani Gaidinliu to mark her birth centenary celebrations. Rani Gaidinliu was a Naga political and spiritual leader who had led a revolt against British colonial rule in India.

VI.            Rajasthan Government approved Arogya Rajasthan Campaign: CM VasundharaRaje approved the three-month campaign that will help in collection of health data of the rural population in the state.

VII.   India to implement Sendai framework for Disaster Reduction 2015-30: It was adopted during the 3^rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan in March 2015. Its adaptation involves adopting integrated and inclusive institutional measures in order to work towards preventing vulnerability to disaster.

VIII.    War museums built recently at the military stations of Jaisalmer and Yuddhsthal at Laungewala to showcase the traditional bravery of the Indian Army were inaugurated by Lt. Gen Ashok Singh (C-in-C), Southern Command.

IX.        PayU India tied up with redBus to attract customers to use its wallet PayU Money.

X.            2^nd Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit held in Jaipur.

XI.  Rajasthan Government and FCEL inked agreement to launch Annapurna BhandarYojana: Rajasthan State Food and Civil Supplies Corporation inked an agreement with the Future Consumers Enterprise Ltd to launch the Annapurna BhandarYojana, which is a Public Private Distribution Scheme, the 1^st of its kind in India.

XII.    Noble Laureate MuhammedYunus to help Maharashtra in reviving MSMEs:Social Entrepreneur and Noble Peace Prize winner MuhammedYunus of Bangladesh will guide Maharashtra on microfinance and how to revive dying MSMEs in the state. He is the founder of Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank.

XIII.     AnanthPadmanabhan appointed as CEO of Harper Collins India.

XIV.  Girish Sahni assumed charge as Director General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

  I.        US to deploy F-22 fighter jets in Europe: The United States soon will deploy F-22 Raptors in Europe, sending the stealth fighter jets to reassure NATO partners concerned about Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

II.            Researchers, including those of Indian-origin, from University of Texas have found a new electrical mechanism that can control molecular switches which regulate human cell growth and are linked to life-threatening cancers.

III.      UK to fund Kolkata’s climate action programme: The United Kingdom will fund a capacity building programme for making Kolkata a low carbon city.

IV.    BRIDGE programme of Australia extended to include Navodaya Schools: The agreement was reached during the third Australia-India Education Council (AIEC) meeting held in New Delhi.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.            MCX inks pact to set up GIFT city bourse: Commodity exchange MCX has signed an agreement with GIFT SEZ Ltd to establish an International exchange at GIFT City in Gandhinagar.

II.            Suzlon commissions Wind project for NSE: Wind turbine maker Suzlon completed the commissioning of 6.25 MW wind power project for country’s leading stock exchange NSE.

SPORTS:

III.   Kenyan policeman Nicholas Bett won gold in 400m hurdles at World Championships in Athletics.

IV.         India to host Commonwealth weightlifting for the 1^st time: For the 1^st time in the history of weightlifting, an individual international tournament will be organised in India when it hosts the Commonwealth Youth, Junior and Senior Weightlifting Championships in Pune, Maharashtra from October 11-15^th

Daily GK Updates - 25th August, 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 25TH AUGUST, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.       Union Government released Postal Stamp on Ashoka: Union Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad released a commemorative postal stamp on emperor Ashoka. The postal stamp of Rs 5 will be available for sale in the post offices.

II.    Jains held nationwide protest against ban on Santhara by Rajasthan High Court:Santhara, an ancient ritual also called Samadhi Marana, is the voluntary starvation to embrace death. The court termed it as a criminal offence under the section 306 of the Indian Penal Code.

III.       Justice M L Tahaliyani sworn-in as Lokayukta of Maharashtra.

IV.      India-Australia signed MoU on cooperation in the fields of education, research and training: The MoU was signed by HRD Minister SmritiIrani and Christopher Pyne MP, Minister for Education and Training, Australia during the meeting of the Australia-India Education Council (AIEC) in New Delhi.

V.          NITI Ayog decided to set up expert group to draft Model Land Leasing Law.

VI.      105-year-old Urdu copy of Ramcharitamanas written by Shiv Bharat Lal found: It was found from a scrap market at HauzKhas in New Delhi. The book written in 1904 and printed in 1910 was bought for Rs 600 by SankatMochan temple priest family.

VII.   eBird India Taxonomists reclassified Indian Bird species: The Taxonomists gave out a list of species that includes all species, subspecies groups, hybrids, intergrades, spuhs, slashes, domestics and forms.

VIII.  Government, Apollo Hospitals partner to launch new health service: It launched a health service called SEHAT (Social Endeavour for Health and Telemedicine) along with Apollo Hospitals which will connect 60,000 Common Services Centre (CSCs) across the country to a common network.

IX.      Extended implementation of APY through Post Offices: Government has decided to extend the benefit of the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) through post offices across the country to bring more people under its ambit.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 I.         India, Egypt agree to step up bilateral cooperation: India and Egypt decided to put in place a bilateral framework for enhancing cooperation in key areas of security, counterterrorism, defence and investments. Both sides agreed to step up engagement in a range of potential areas while underlining the need to combat terrorism particularly the threat of IS in an effective manner as visiting External Affairs Minister ShushmaSwaraj called on Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.

II.     Two Guatemala ministers resigned amidst allegations of import bribery scandal: Guatemala’s Finance Minister D. Carias and Communication Minister V. Corado resigned from their positions as a result of mounting allegations against officials and ministers in the government for their involvement in the La Linea (the line) import bribery scheme.

III.  Indian-American Vince Chhabria appointed as a full-time federal judge by Obama: He was appointed as the full time federal judge of the California Court by President Barack Obama.

IV.       India and Nepal signed MoU for construction of Petroleum Products pipeline: The petroleum product pipeline will be built from Raxaul in India to Amlekhganj in Nepal.

V.         Seychelles President on a 3 day visit to India: Mr. Michael will deliver an address on Maritime Security for Blue Economy at the Indian Council for World Affairs besides addressing a business event.

VI.     Typhoon Goni rips through Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.    RBI okays re-appointment of Rana Kapoor as YES Bank MD, CEO: Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor has got approval from the RBI for his re-appointment as MD and CEO of the bank for 3 years.

SPORTS:

II.         Raipur to host 2015 FIH Hockey World League final.

III.  Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser retained Women’s 100m gold at World Championships in Athletics.