Daily GK Updates - 28th September, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.            Union Government formed B S Baswan committee to revisit civil services examination pattern: The seven member committee headed by B S Baswan is to submit the report within six months from the date of its constitution.

II.            Grant citizenship to Chakma-Hajong refugees within 3 months: Supreme Court: The Supreme Court has directed the Union and Arunachal Pradesh Governments to grant citizenship to Chakma-Hajong refugees who migrated to India from Bangladesh in 1964-69 and settled in the state.

III.            India’s 1^st dedicated satellite for Astronomy research ASTROSAT launched: The satellite was launch from the 1^st Launchpad of SatishDhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh at 10 am by PSLV-C30. PSLV-C30 is the 10^th flight of PSLV in its ‘XL’ configuration. It also carried six foreign satellites from Canada, Indonesia and USA.

IV.            Google teamed up with Indian Railways to provide free Wi-Fi at 400 stations: The facility will be provided under the ‘Project Nilgiri’.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.            Zuckerberg backs call for Universal Internet Access by 2020: A day before he met PM Modi, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a call to world leaders at the UN to ensure universal internet access by 2020 to ‘give a voice to the voiceless and power to the powerless’.

II.            World Tourism Day observed with theme One Billion Tourists, One Billion Opportunities: The World Tourism Day was observed across the world on 27^th September 2015. Burkina Faso will host the official celebrations 2015.

III.            Qualcomm announced investment of 150 million USD for Indian start-ups: Silicon valley based chip maker Qualcomm has announced that it will invest 150 million USD for Indian start-ups. The investment will come through a venture fund. The announcement was made by company’s executive chairman Paul E Jacobs who met with PM Modi at the Digital Economy event in San Jose.

IV.            Nepal imposed vehicle curbs due to fuel shortage: It enforced an odd-even licence plate system for plying of vehicles on alternate days. With this, drivers are permitted on the roads only on alternate days depending on whether their licence plates end in odd or even numbers.

V.            G-4 countries issue Joint Statement on UNSC Reforms: G-4 countries viz. Brazil, Germany, India and Japan have issued a joint statement on United Nations Security Council Reforms at the G-4 meeting held at New York.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.            World Bank released report entitled Leveraging Urbanisation in South Africa: The report provided original empirical and diagnostic analysis of urbanisation and related economic trends in the South Asia region.

SPORTS:

II.               Advani pockets 14^th World Title: India’s most successful cueist PankajAdvani added another feather to his cap by winning the IBSF World Billiards Championship by outplaying his opponent in the final to take his world title count to 14.

III.               Bindra shoots down gold in Asian Air Gun Championships: Beijing Olympic champion AbhinavBindra produced some excellent shooting to clinch the gold while London Games bronze medallist GaganNarang failed to finish on the podium in the men’s 10m Air Rifle event.

IV.               Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won 2015 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix held at the Suzuka circuit.

AWARDS:

V.     Mathematician Jacob Tsimerman won 2015 SASTRA Ramanujam Prize: Tsimerman is currently working as an Assistant Professor in the University of Toronto. He primarily conducts research on Number Theory.

VI.            Lucknow based CSIR-CIMAP won CSIR Award for S&T Innovations for Rural Development, 2014: Council of Scientific and Industrial Research- Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants was awarded for enhancing the incomes of farm communities through Vetiver based Technological Interventions.

OBITUARIES:

VII.            England’s former fast bowler Frank Tyson died at the age of 85.

VIII.       Manipur Governor Syed Ahmed died of cancer at the age of 70.

  IX.     Meghalaya’s longest serving legislator Hoping Stone Lyngdoh died at the age of 86.

Daily GK Updates - 27th September, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.            NCC enters Limca Book of Records: National Cadet Corps was presented the certificate by Limca Book of Records for the ‘Largest Yoga performance simultaneously by a single uniformed youth organisation’ at multiple venues on International Day of Yoga (June 21).

II.            Assam Government launches mobile app: The mobile application will disseminate information about disaster management to the people in need. The application-‘Disaster Ready Assam’was inaugurated by Chief Secretary V K Pipersenia in Guwahati.

III.            Rajan Wadhera appointed as ARAI President: Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) has appointed Rajan Wadhera and Vikram Kirloskar as its new president and vice president respectively.

IV.            CAG orders a dengue audit for Delhi: The Comptroller and Auditor General Shashi Kant Sharma ordered an audit of the preparedness of the Delhi Government and local authorities to deal with dengue.

V.            Balika Vadhu completes 2000 episodes: Popular TV show BalikaVadhu, starring Toral Rasputra in the lead, has become the 1^st drama series to cross the 2000 episode milestone.

VI.            London’s Ambedkar house is finally India’s: After a relay of around nine months and many moments of embarrassment, the Maharashtra Government has finally acquired the London bungalow where B R Ambedkar lived as a student. The 2,050 sq-ft three storey bungalow on King Henry Road, NW3, was bought at Rs 31 crore.

VII.            Chinese gift of Mansarovar water enriches ShahiSnan: In a gift by the Chinese Government, water from the Mansarovarlake was poured into the Godavari river on the last ShahiSnan of SimhasthaKumbhMela.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.            U S moots ‘Sri Lankan Judicial mechanism’ with foreign judges: A draft resolution submitted by four countries, including the US and the UK, in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has mooted the participation of commonwealth and other foreign judges in ‘a Sri Lankan Judicial mechanism’ to probe allegations of war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law.

II.            Corbion Purac, the Netherlands based speciality chemicals firm has acquired lactic acid business of Chennai based Malladi Specialities.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

I.               World Bridge Team Championships: The 42^nd World Bridge Teams Championship is being held in Chennai with 66 teams participating in it. This is the 1^st time India is hosting the event.

Daily GK Updates - 26th September, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.            Shiv Mohan Singh resigned as executive vice-chairman of Fortis Healthcare Ltd: After a brief transition period, he will be designated as non-executive vice-chairman of Fortis with effect from 1 January 2016. Fortis is a New Delhi based hospital chain.

II.            Kolkata start-up launches portal for preparing IT returns: A Kolkata base start-up has announced the launch of its portal that helps in preparing income-tax returns and their filing. It is named as ‘Make Your Tax Technologies’.

III.            Bajaj Auto finally launches quadricycle named ‘Qute’: It has launched its much awaited RE60 quadricycle at a free-on-board price tag of $2000 (around Rs 1.35 lakh).

IV.            Centre announces Rs 1000 crore Special Assistance to Andhra Pradesh.

V.            CCI cleared Heidelberg-Italcementi deal: The Competition Commission of India approved German firm Heidelberg Cement’s proposed acquisition of ItalcementiSpA.

VI.            Rear Admiral Sanjay Mahindru took charge as Flag Officer Submarines.

VII.            CSI released survey report on prevalence of cardiovascular disease in India.

VIII.            Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 to apply on Muslims also: Gujarat HC: The ruling held that the Child Marriage Act is a special act and it will override the provisions of Muslim Personal Law, Hindu Marriage Act or any personal law.

IX.            S K Sharma appointed as Chairman of Bhakra Beas Management Board.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.            Volkswagen AG appoints Matthias Muller as new CEO: German auto maker Volkswagen AG has appointed Matthias Muller as the new CEO, who was earlier serving as the CEO of Porsche AG, a subsidiary of Volkswagen.

II.            UNGA adopted ‘Transforming Our World:The 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development’: The 193 member United Nations General Assembly formally adopted the agenda. It was adopted during the UN Sustainable Development Summit that is being held at the UN headquarters in New York.

III.            Facebook to test wireless broadband services in India: It has announced its partnerships with Internet Service Providers in India to launch Wi-Fi enabled broadband services, called Wi-Fi Express, which will provide internet access in rural areas. The initiative is a part of Facebook’s Internet.org platform.

IV.            WADA and China signed MoU on Performance Enhancing Drugs: The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the General Administration of Sport of China signed anMoU on performance enhancing drugs.

V.            EU imposed anti-dumping duty on Indian Water and sewage pipes for six months: It has imposed a provisional anti-dumping duty of up to 31.2 percent on imports of water and sewage pipes made of ductile cast iron from India for six months to protect its industry.

VI.            Indian tribal woman PermilaTirkey won 1^st discrimination based case in United Kingdom: She won the case against her Indian-origin employers Ajay Chandok and Puja Chandok. Tirkey was discriminated against because of her low caste.

VII.            UNICEF unveiled Assembly of Youth digital installation at the UN headquarters in New York: The purpose of the installation is to bring the voices of children and young people from across the world to the heart of the UN General Assembly. It was developed by Goolge.

VIII.            China successfully launched carrier rocket Long March-11: The rocket carried four micro-satellites into space, which will be used mainly for testing.

IX.            Conference on contemporary relevance of Bhagvad Gita held in United Kingdom: The conference was organised by Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) and High Commission of India.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

I.               SaniaMirza and Martina Hingis win Guangzhou Open title.

AWARDS:

II.    Assam Conservationist 1^st Indian to get Harry Messel Award: Conservationist Goutam Narayan has become the 1^st Indian to get Harry Messel Award for Conservation Leadership in recognition of his pivotal role in leading the Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme in the North-East.

Daily GK Updates - 25th September, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.            West Bengal Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi got additional charge of Governor of Tripura: He will discharge the functions of the Government of Tripura, in addition to his own duties, during the absence of Tathagata Roy, Governor of Tripura who has gone on leave.

II.            Union Home Minister released a Graphic booklet on Sardar Post: Union Home Minister RajnathSingh released a graphic depicting the valour and sacrifice of the CRPF personnel during the battle of Sardar Post, Rann of Kutch in the 1965 Indo-Pak War.

III.            Ministry of External Affairs appointed envoys for Pakistan, China, UK and other countries:NavtejSarna will be the new high commissioner to the United Kingdom. GautamBambawale, India’s Ambassador to Bhutan will take over as the New High Commissioner to Pakistan. Syed Akbaruddin will be the next permanent representative of India to the United Nations. Vijay Gokhale will be the Ambassador to China.

IV.            Union Environment Ministry notified Guidelines on Sustainable Sand and Minor Mineral Mining: The Policy seeks forward to strike a balance between increasing demand of sand and sustainable sand mining practices. It may help in achieving the goal of Sustainable development.

V.            Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM):India’s Pride: The MOM successfully completed one year of the mission life around the mars with a large data set acquired by all five payloads of MOM. On this occasion, Space applications centre of ISRO, Ahmedabad launched a Mars Atlas.

VI.            MUDRA credit camp on Sept 28: The banks in Dakshina Kannada district will conduct a mega credit to disburse loans under the MUDRA scheme of the centre. MUDRA stands for Micro Unit Development and Refinance Agency.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.            Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull announced 70 million USD package to fight domestic violence: The package was announced to tackle rising domestic violence in the country and declared violence against women as a national disgrace.

II.            Haj stampede killed more than 700 people in Mecca.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.            RBI relaxed Change in Ownership Norms of Borrowing Entities: It announced relaxation in norms that allow banks to upgrade credit facilities extended to borrowing entities upon a change in ownership, only if the ownership has been changed outside Strategic Debt Restructuring Scheme (SDR)

SPORTS:

II.               Government Chawngfiang Middle School won U-14 sub-junior Subroto Cup Football tournament: Government Chawngfiang Middle School of Mizoram defeated Esteqalal School of Afghanistan 3-2 in the finals.

III.        Former Cricket Captain SouravGanguly appointed President of Cricket Association of Bengal.

AWARDS:

 IV.            EPFO won Skoch Award for Smart Governance Initiatives: It was awarded at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi for its initiatives on UAN Programme and Transformation of Social Security Agenda in India. Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation won two Skoch Order of Merits.