Daily GK Updates - 18th September, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.            Jet Airways’ Krishnan Balakrishnan joins GoAir as CFO.

II.            Union Government launches PMKKKY for mining affected people: Union Government has launched the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) for the welfare of people affected by mining related operations. It is to ensure long-term sustainable livelihoods to people in areas affected by mining.

III.            Perumanna Gram Panchayat becomes first Panchayat in Kerala to declare a water policy: Perumanna Gram Panchayat in Kozhikode district of Kerala has become the first panchayat in the state, to declare its own water policy. The water policy has been framed in the lines of the state government’s water policy declared in 2008.

IV.            Madhya Pradesh Government launched M-Shiksha-Mitra mobile app for teachers: It has become the 1^st ever state to launch such a mobile app for teachers. The app developed by NIC will provide various services and teaching-related work to a teacher in a simple and easy way.

V.            Expert Group on tackling cyber-crimes submitted its report to Ministry of Home Affairs: The committee advised the government to set up Indian Cyber-Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to monitor, analyse and counter cyber-crimes.

VI.            4^th meeting of India-Kuwait Joint Working Group on Hydrocarbons held in New Delhi: During the meeting both sides discussed various issues of bilateral engagement in the hydrocarbon sector and expressed satisfaction at the progress achieved on the decisions taken during 3^rd Joint Working Group signed in 2014 in Kuwait.

VII.            Hero Cycles acquired Firefox Bikes in all-cash transaction: The world’s largest bicycle manufacturer by volume, Hero Cycles acquired Firefox Bikes Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed sum in an all-cash deal.

VIII.    Supreme Court stayed implementation of Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2015: The Act prescribes for minimum educational qualifications for contesting in local bodies’ elections.

IX.            Mahesh Rangarajan resigned as Director of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

   

 I.            NASA may launch its Mars sample return mission by 2022: A mission that could bring chunks of rock samples collected by NASA’s 2020 Mars rover back to earth for analysis could launch as early as 2022. NASA’s Ames Research Centre has developed a draft proposal for the ‘Red Dragon’ project which would see NASA team up with Elon Musk’s company SpaceX.

II.            Disney Researchers invented ways to network VLC devices using IoT Technology: Disney Researchers announced that Internet of Things (IoT) technology can be successfully used in Visible Light Communication (VLC) devices to network them and thereby creating smarter devices.

III.            Report titled ‘Achieving the malaria MDG target released by WHO & UNICEF: The report concluded that the malaria Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target to stop and reverse the incidence of malaria by 2015 was achieved. India stood at third place after Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo in terms of number of cases and number of deaths due to malaria.

IV.            Pakistan to generate 40,000 MW nuclear power as part of Nuclear Energy Vision 2050: An announcement in this regard was made by the chairman of Pakistan Atomic Energy Agency (PAEA) at the 59^th International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference at Vienna, Austria.

V.            Report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Investigation on Sri Lanka released: It concluded that war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed by both sides- Sri Lankan Security Agencies and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

VI.            2000 year old Nangchen Stupa with Lord Buddha’s relics sent by Emperor Ashoka restored in Qinghai Province of China.

VII.            India and US created Join Challenge Coin to mark partnership: Both the countries jointly created a Joint Challenge Coin to symbolize their unique partnership in creating a next-generation aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy. One side of the coin reads ‘Together we go’ and ‘Chale Saath Saath’ in Hindi which is the vision statement of both the countries.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.            CAD to be around 1.5% of GDP this fiscal: RBI: RBI Deputy Governor Urjit Patel said that the central bank expected Current Account Deficit (CAD) 1.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the current fiscal.

II.            Government mulls raising FDI limit in private banks to 100%: Seeking to further relax foreign investment norms, the government is considering increasing the foreign direct investment limit in private banks to 100%, from the existing 74%.

SPORTS:

III.               Skeet shooter Mairaj Khan books Olympics quota: Veteran skeet shooter Mairaj Ahmad Khan clinched a Rio Olympics quota place for India at the ongoing ISSF Shotgun World Championships.

IV.               National Athletic Coach Nikolai Snesarev resigned: Renowned Russian middle and long distance coach Dr. Nikolai Snesarev whose contract runs till the end of 2016 Rio Olympics, resigned from his position due to poor infrastructure and lack of facilities.

AWARDS:

    

V.            Afghan refugee teacher Aqeela Asifi awarded with 2015 Nansen Refugee Award by UNHCR: It was awarded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to her for dedicating her life to bring education to refugee girls in Pakistan.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

VI.            Book titled ‘Two years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Nights’ authored by Salman Rushdie was released.

Daily GK Updates - 17th September, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.            Kochi based South Indian Fertilizers to set up Kissan Kendra, agri super markets in Kerala: The Kissan Kendra will provide all information on agriculture and make available organic fertilizers, different varieties of seeds, organic pesticides, grow bags, etc. under one roof.

II.            Godavari and Krishna rivers have been formally linked at Ibrahimpatnam ferry village in Andhra Pradesh.

III.            NGT passed directions to prevent pollution of Yamuna River: In its directions, bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar issued ban on immersion of idols except those made of bio-degradable materials.

IV.            Nana Patekar established Naam Foundation to fund drought relief for farmers: The Naam Foundation, a brain child of Nana Patekar and fellow Marathi actor MakrandAnaspure, was set up for donating money to drought affected farmers. The foundation will collect the contributions from people and for this purpose Nana Patekar has opened a bank account with SBI.

V.            Union Government banned NSCN-K for 5 years: It banned the Naga rebel group National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) for 5 years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. It was banned following due legal process as it had unilaterally abrogated the ceasefire agreement with the Union Government and perpetrated a string of terror attacks.

VI.            Union Finance Ministry launched NXT DIGITAL-Headend in the sky platform: It launched the Headend in the Sky (HITS) digital platform initiative, under the brand name NXT DIGITAL promoted by Hinduja Group. The platform will provide viewers access to over 500 television channels of their choice be it international, national, regional and local; besides a host of other services like e-applications and TV everywhere.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.            Nepal approves new constitution: Nepal’s parliament has overwhelmingly approved a new constitution which is due to come into effect on 20^th September 2015. It was passed by 507 votes to 25 in the assembly. The present prime minister of Nepal is Sushil Koirala.

II.            India, Cambodia ink 2 MoUs for bilateral cooperation in Tourism, Mekong Ganga Project: These MoUs were signed in the presence of Vice President Hamid Ansari and his Cambodian counterpart Prime Minister Hun Sen in Pnom Penh.

III.            Apus Group tied up with mobile advertising network InMobi: One of the world’s biggest Android application development companies has tied-up with Bengaluru based Indian mobile advertising network InMobi.

IV.            5 cities officially named as candidates to host 2024 Summer Olympics: International Olympic Committee announced name of five cities namely Los Angeles, Hamburg, Paris, Rome and Budapest as the candidates to host 2024 Summer Olympics.

V.            Private Equity investor Blackstone Group LP repurchased the India based BPO operations of the UK’s Serco Group Plc.

VI.            Sun Pharma, the largest Indian drugmaker entered into a deal to acquire US-based InSite Vision Inc. for about 300 crore rupees.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.            RBI grants small finance banks licence to 10 entities: It gave in-principle licence for small finance banks to ten entities namely Au-Financers, Capital Local Area Bank, DishaMicrofin, Equitas Holdings, ESAF Microfinance and Investments, etc. The in-principle approval will be valid for a period of 18 months.

II.            RBI gives flexibility to banks for equity investment: It allowed banks to invest in equities of financial service ventures including stock exchanges and depositories without any prior approval. The investment flexibility will be limited to banks that have capital adequacy ratio (CRAR) of 10% or more and also made net profit in the previous fiscal.

III.            Banks CEOs can avail loan below base rate, says RBI: Banks CEOs and Directors will now be able to avail personal loans from their own bank below the base rate-the floor rate below which banks do not lend to their customers.

IV.            Spice Digital launches m-wallet SpiceMudra, focus on remittances: Spice Digital, a subsidiary of Spice Connect has launched mobile wallet ‘SpiceMudra’ which will focus on domestic remittances.

V.            EPFO raises maximum insurance cover to Rs 6 lakh: Retirement body Employees Provident Fund Organisation substantially increased the maximum amount assured under its Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI) to 6 lakh from the existing 3.6 lakh.

SPORTS:

VI.               ManpreetKaur breaks national shot put record on road to Rio Olympics: Railway shot putter ManpreetKaur today became the latest Indian Athlete to qualify for next year’s Olympics when she shattered an 18-year old national record en route to a sixth title at the 55^th National Open Athletics Championship.

VII.       Chanderpaul receives Icon Award: Veteran West Indies Test cricketer ShivnaraineChanderpaul has been honoured with the Icon Award by the Indo-Carribbean Alliance.

VIII.               India Cements won Moin-udDowlah Gold Cup Tournament 2015-16: India Cements won the tournament defeating Hyderabad XI in the final match played at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. This was the 3^rd title for the winning team.

AWARDS:

  IX.            Afghan refugee teacher AqeelaAsifi awarded with 2015 Nansen Refugee Award by UNHCR: It was awarded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to her for dedicating her life to bring education to refugee girls in Pakistan.