Daily GK Updates - 11th October, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.     India’s 1^st Dolphin reserve to come up in West Bengal: It would be set up in the Hooghly River and the methodology to develop the community reserve is being chalked out by a separated committee.

II.    Formation of Indian Skill Development Service approved:  The Government approved the formation of the Indian Skill Development Service (ISDS). It is a Group ‘A’ service of the technical cadre of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSD&E).

III.      Airtel launched its Wi-Fi app: Bhartiairtel launched its new Wi-Fi app named Airtel Hangouts. Airtel customers can download the app free from the Android or i-OS store and latch on to the network in these zones to experience faster internet speeds.

IV.      Telenor launches free Insurance: It has started offering life insurance to its new and existing customers, with covers starting from Rs 5000 going up to Rs 50,000, for which customers don’t need to pay any premium.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 I.        Ramakumar Raman, an 18-yr old Indian Boy is the world’s youngest chartered accountant: This Indian student from the Indian High School Dubai is the youngest CA in the world. He has been recognised by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the global professional accounting body in the gulf.

II.   New Zealand tourism has roped in actor SiddharthMalhotra as the brand ambassador for India.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

I.     Vijender knocks out Whiting to win his pro debut bout: Lot of surprise, some skepticism and a few brickbats followed by his decision to quit amateur boxing and star Indian pugilist Vijender Singh lived up to the unprecedented hype when he knocked out Britain’s Sonny Whiting in the 3^rd round of  his debut match.

II.       Sania and Martina lift China Open Trophy: The Indo-Swiss pair defeated 6^th seed Taipei girls Hao-Ching Chan and Yung-Jan Chan.

III.       SA beat India in a thriller, by 5 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the India-SA ODI Series.

AWARDS:

 IV.      Emirati activist Ahmed Mansoor wins Martin Ennals Award: Ahmed Mansoor, an Emirati human rights activist was named the 2015 winner of an award often dubbed as Noble Prize for human rights.

OBITUARIES:

   V.       Bollywood’s veteran music composer Ravindra Jain dies at the age of 71.

Daily GK Updates - 10th October, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.     AP Government signs pact with SBJ Cleantech, Gamesa for solar, wind power projects: In a major boost to renewable energy sector, Andhra Pradesh Government has inked MoUs with several companies with a total investment outlay potential of Rs 19,000 crore. SBJ Cleantech is a joint venture of SoftBank Corporation of Japan, Foxconn Technology Group of Taiwan and Bharti Enterprises. Gamesa is a Spanish Wind turbine maker.

II.       Andhra Pradesh CM inaugurates ‘e-pragati’: The new Andhra Pradesh will create the right eco system for the IT companies and they should invest in the state to create a win-win situation for both. It is a single integrated platform encompassing all government services and liking all government departments.

III.      Former Forward Markets Commission director S K Mohanty appointed as SEBI Executive Director (ED).

IV.        Future Group partners with PatanjaliAyurvedi: Under this tie-up, the products will be available at the Big Bazaar, KB’s and EasyDay outlets.

V.        India and Ecuador ink protocol to establish Ecuador Joint Economic and Trade Committee: It was signed by M. Villagomez, Ecuadorian Ambassador to India and Rita Teotia, Commerce secretary during the meeting between delegations of both countries.

VI.     Kerala Government launched Operation Valsalya to track missing children: This ambitious programme is envisaged to be implemented on the lines of the much acclaimed Operation Smile project in Ghaziabad.

VII.    Shekhar Basu appointed as the Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission.

VIII. Rajasthan Government unveiled Rajasthan Start-up Policy 2015: It was unveiled to galvanize the start-up ecosystem in the state and provide them required sustenance to the entrepreneurial talent.

IX.     Tapan Ray appointed to Board of Securities and Exchange Board of India.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

  

 I.      Gannett Co agreed to acquire Journal Media for 280 million USD: A publicly traded media holding company, Gannett Company Inc. reached an agreement to acquire newspaper company Journal Media for approximately 280 million USD.

II.      Amrita Sher-Gil self-portrait sold for 17 crore rupees in London: She is also known as India’s Frida Kahlo. The eminent painter had created the self- portrait in 1931 and gave it to French Artist Boris Taslitzky.

III.    British researchers developed mobile app ASCmel.T to help people with autism: The app was developed by a consortium of researchers from the Universities of Southampton, Bath and Sussex.

IV.     North Korean soldiers parade in massive anniversary celebration: It was the 70^th anniversary of the North’s ruling party.

V.       V20 Group launched by Vulnerable Nations to foster greater investment in Climate Resiliency: Finance Ministers of 20 nations vulnerable to climate change launched the V20 Group during the annual meeting of IMF and World Bank in Lima, Peru.

VI.    Joint Declaration of the Heads of the Migration Authorities of the BRICS countries released: The Joint declaration was released after the 1^st BRICS Ministerial meeting on Migration that was held in Sochi, Russia. The declaration guided by Ufa Declaration is a commitment to respect human rights.

VII.    Wipro and First Book to provide 35000 new books to kids in need in 5 cities in US and Canada.

VIII. EU launched second phase of Operation Sophia to fight traffickers in Mediterranean Sea: The operation was launched by European Union Naval Force for Mediterranean (EUNAVFOR MED).

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.      HDFC Bank launches nationwide campaign to go digital: ‘Integrated, nationwide brand campaign ‘HarZarooratPooriHoChutki Mein, Bank ApkiMutthi Mein’, will reinforce bank’s position as India’s premier digital bank.

SPORTS:

II.    FIFA suspended President Sepp Blatter, VP Michel Platini and Secretary General Jerome Valcke.

OBITUARIES:

III.            Bollywood’s veteran music composer Ravindra Jain dies at the age of 71.

IV.            Popular Filipino Entertainer Elizabeth Ramsay dies at the age of 83.

V.            Renowned Carnatic Flautist NatesanRamani died of cancer at the age of 82.

Daily GK Updates - 9th October, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.        Aircel ties up with Tech Mahindra for new service offering: Mobile service provider Aircel has selected Tech Mahindra to roll out a comprehensive set of Internet of Things (IoT) service offerings. Tech Mahindra is providing these services in association with Aeris Communications.

II.        Priyanka Chopra tops list of most sensational celebrities on internet:Intel Security: Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra has replaced Alia Bhatt as the most ‘sensational’ celebrity on the internet in 2015, shows a study by Intel Security.

III.   Amit Gossain appointed as Kone India MD: Elevator and Escalator manufacturer Kone has appointed AmitGossain as new Managing Director in India.

IV.   TATA Power launched LED tube light scheme in Mumbai: Under the scheme, TATA Power will provide five lights to each household at 525 rupees per piece against the market price of 1325 rupees.

V.  Swine Flu Vaccination for High-risk Groups made mandatory by Delhi Government.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 I.   China launched the 1^st phase of China International Payment System: It is a milestone in bolstering Yuan’s global usage and furthering cross border clearing of its currency from the Chinese mainland instead of offshore centres abroad.

II.    Indo-China Joint Military Exercise Hand-in-Hand 2015: It will be conducted at Kunming Military Academy of Yunnan province in China from 12 to 23 October 2015. It will be the 5^th Joint military exercise in the Hand-in-Hand series between the armies of both countries which had started in 2007.

III.  World Egg Day observed on 9^th October 2015: Celebration of this day gives a unique opportunity to help propagate the nutritive value of eggs in human nutrition.

IV.     World Sight Day observed on 8^th October with theme ‘Eye care for all’.

V.       The US Food and Drug Administration approved Keytruda drug to treat advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

VI.    Forbes Asia’s Richest Families list released: The list was topped by Lee (Byung-Chull) family of Samsung Group of South Korea with 26.6 billion dollar. Ambani family of India was placed at 3^rd position.

VII.   CiplaMedpro partnered with Serum Institute India to provide Vaccines in South Africa.

VIII.   World Post Day observed globally on 9^th October 2015 with the theme ‘Posts claim their place in the changing communication landscape’.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.  Kotak Bank launched an offline funds transfer facility: Kotak Mahindra Bank launched a fund transfer service for its offline mobile app ‘Bharat’ in Ahmedabad. With this, Kotak has become the first bank in India to offer a funds transfer facility that does not require internet connectivity or a beneficiary.

II.    ICICI launches ‘m-VISA’ mobile payment service for Pockets app: Top private sector lender ICICI Bank launched a mobile-payment solution based on ‘m-VISA’, that will allow its customers pay for services using their smartphones.

SPORTS:

III.      South Africa won the 3 match T-20 series against India 2-0 as the third and the final T20 at Eden Gardens Kolkata was washed away by rains.

AWARDS:

IV.   Nobel Peace Prize 2015 awarded to Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet: Four Tunisian civil society groups have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their contribution to the country’s transition from dictatorship to democracy.

V.            A R Rahman chosen for 2015 Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award.