Daily GK Updates - 18th October, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.    G NarayanaRaju appointed as Legislative Secretary: Senior Indian Legal Service officer G NarayanaRaju was appointed as the legislative secretary, the top draftsman of the government.

II.      Hike in DA for government employees:  Tamil Nadu government announced a 6% hike in the dearness allowance for its employees and pensioners.

III.      4^th International Tourism Mart inaugurated: It was inaugurated by the Minister of State for Tourism (independent charge), Culture (independent charge) and Civil Aviation, Dr Mahesh Sharma, along with CM of Sikkim, PawanChamling in Gangtok.

IV.       ICGS Anmol Commissioned: Fast Patrol vessel ‘ICGS Anmol’ was commissioned by the Indian Coast Guard. The vessel will be based at Haldia in West Bengal.

V.      Maharashtra Government has declared 15^th October as ‘Reading Day’ marking the birth anniversary of Dr Kalam: Students observed a ‘no bags day’ as the government asked the school students to read books other than the academic books.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

  I.        NITRA inks MoU with Tajikistan: The Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA) under textiles ministry has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Technological University of Tajikistan. It has been signed to give a boost to bilateral trade between the two countries.

II.       US to extend Military in Afghanistan beyond 2016: The US President Barack Obama has confirmed plans to extend military presence in Afghanistan beyond 2016, in a shift in policy.

OTHER UPDATES:

AWARDS:

III.   KailashSatyarthi gets ‘Harvard Humanitarian of the Year’ award: Nobel Peace Prize winner KailashSatyarthi has been conferred with Harvard University’s prestigious humanitarian award for this year, in recognition of his continuing contributions to the cause for child rights.

OBITUARIES:

   I.     Admiral RadhakrishnaHariramTahiliani (Retd) passed away at the age of 85. He served as the 11^th Chief of Naval Staff from Dec 1984 to ovember 1987.

Daily GK Updates - 17th October,2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.       M K Surana appointed as new HPCL Chairman.

II.        Civil Aviation Minister inaugurates International Civil Helicopters Conclave 2015: Union Minister of Civil Aviation P Ashok GajapathiRaju inaugurated the International Civil Helicopters Conclave 2015 in New Delhi.

III.   G R Chandak appointed as Director of Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderbad, under the Department of Biotechnology.

IV.    Association for Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), the industry body for mutual funds, elected Leo Puri of UTI AMC as its new chairman and retained A Balasubramanian as Vice-chairman.

V.     Mumbai Metro Users can now recharge their smartcards on Paytm: Paytm, a leading mobile commerce platform, has tied up with the Mumbai metro to offer online ticketing and recharges on the ‘Paytm platform’.

VI.      PM Modi says India proud to host India-Africa Summit: Ahead of the India-Africa summit, he said India was proud to host the event which reflects a desire by the two sides to engage more intensively for better future. Representatives of 54 African Nations including the heads of state and government of around 40 countries and powerful African Union are expected to participate in the four day India-Africa Summit beginning on October 26.

VII. Aditya Birla Group launched online fashion store Abof.com.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

  I.     Nepal elects first woman as Parliament Speaker: Nepalese lawmakers elected the country’s 1^st woman speaker of the parliament following formation of a new government after promulgation of the constitution. Parliament unanimously elected UCPN-Maoist lawmaker OnsariGhartiMagar as the speaker of the house.

II.      China launches new communication satellite for HK firm: China put into orbit a new communication satellite APSTAR-9 in a commercial mission by the Long March-3B carrier rocket for the Hong Kong based APT Satellite Company Ltd.

III.   Pakistan and Russia signed agreement to build 1100 km Gas pipeline: The pipeline will be stretching from Karachi on Arabian Sea to the eastern city of Lahore.

IV.  China and Indonesia signed 5.5 billion USD deal to build high-speed railway in Indonesia: The project will be implemented by state-owned China Railway International and a consortium of Indonesian State Companies.

V.    International Day for the Eradication of Poverty Observed globally: It was observed on 17^th October 2015 with a theme ‘Building a sustainable future: Coming together to end poverty and discrimination’.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.        RBI formed Financial Inclusion Fund with 2000 crore rupees corpus: The fund was formed by merging the Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF) and Financial Inclusion Technology Fund (FITF). The new FIF will be administered by the reconstituted Advisory Board constituted by Union Government and will be maintained by NABARD.

SPORTS:

II.       Indian lifters sweep team trophies at Commonwealth Championship: India bagged top honours in senior men, senior women, junior men, junior women and youth girls’ categories, while finishing runners-up in the youth boys division.

AWARDS:

VI.   Shah Rukh Khan receives honorary doctorate from Edinburgh University: Shah Rukh Khan received the degree of Doctor HonorisCausa from the University Chancellor HRH The Princess Royal in Edinburgh.

VII. Bank of Baroda has conferred poet, lyricist and advertising guru Prasoon Joshi with Maharaja SayajiraoBhashaSamman.

OBITUARIES:

   I.     Admiral RadhakrishnaHariramTahiliani (Retd) passed away at the age of 85. He served as the 11^th Chief of Naval Staff from Dec 1984 to ovember 1987.

Daily GK Updates - 16th October, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

  I. Rameswaram, birthplace of Dr Abdul Kalam included as 498^th town under AMRUT: Union Minister of Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu declared that former President Dr.Kalam’s birthplace Rameswaram has been included in Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) for providing basic urban infrastructure.

II.      SC declared National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) unconstitutional: The five-judge Constitutional bench of Supreme Court (SC) in a collective order ruled that 99^th Constitutional Amendment Act and the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, 2014 is unconstitutional and void. It also upheld the Collegium System that existed before the NJAC as operative.

III.  Central Victim Compensation Fund set up with 200 crore rupees by Union Government: The scheme aims at enabling support to victims of various attacks, such as rape, acid attacks, human trafficking and women killed or injured in the cross border firing.

IV.   Supreme Court allowed use of Aadhar Card for all Central and State Welfare schemes on voluntary basis.

V.          Union Government flagged off Science Express Climate Action Special Train: The train is a unique collaborative initiative of Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Ministry of Railway. The train was flagged from Safdarjung Railway Station in New Delhi.

VI.     Pedana fabric recommended for the Handloom Brand:Pedana’s Handloom woven fabric made of yarn dyed with natural was recommended by the Weavers’ Service Centre (WSC), Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, under the Ministry of Textile for recognition as one of the India Handloom Brands.

VII.  Jharkhand signed Gas Cooperation Agreement (GCA) with GAIL for construction of Urja Ganga Jagdishpur-Haldia pipeline project in the state: The project aims at connecting eastern India to the national natural gas grid.

VIII.  TRAI made mandatory for telecom operators to compensate for call drops from 1 January 2016.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

  I.            India and Israel signed 10 MoUs to enhance bilateral cooperation: The MoUs were in the field of cultural exchange programme for the years 2015-2018, MoU between Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Agreement of cooperation between the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, etc.

II.         Myanmar signed National Ceasefire Agreement with 8 armed ethic rebel groups: The peace deal was signed in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw and is the culmination of two years of peace talks between the government and rebels. Representatives from the United Nations, China and the US witnessed the signing.

III.        Australian Government re-approved Carmichael Coal Mine Project to be built by Adani Group: The approval granted is subject to 36 of the strictest conditions in Australian history.

IV.     International Religious Freedom Report 2014 released: It was released by the US State Department. The Report attempts to give voice to those oppressed people and to document when and where the universal human right to religious freedom was violated.

V.        World Food Day observed with the theme Social Protection and Agriculture: It was observed on 16^th October 2015 with an aim to raise public awareness about hunger challenges and encourage people worldwide to take action in the fight against hunger.

VI.            Malaysia proposed to invest 30 billion USD for urban development in India.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.         RBI formed Financial Inclusion Fund with 2000 crore rupees corpus: The fund was formed by merging the Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF) and Financial Inclusion Technology Fund (FITF). The new FIF will be administered by the reconstituted Advisory Board constituted by Union Government and will be maintained by NABARD.

SPORTS:

II.       Zaheer Khan retired from International Cricket: He has retired from all forms of international cricket and first-class cricket.However, he will continue to play in IPL for one more season.

Daily GK Updates - 15th October, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.      DRDO Missile Complex renamed as Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex: The country’s prestigious DRDO Missile Complex in Hyderabad was renamed as Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex on his birth anniversary on 15^th October 2015 by Defence Minister ManoharParrikar.

II.   President Pranab Mukherjee becomes 1^st Indian President to address Israeli Parliament Knesset: He addressed the Knesset as last leg of his official visit to three countries of west Asia viz. Jordan, Palestine and Israel.

III.      Union Cabinet gives nod to RCE for Kaladan Multi Modal Project in Myanmar: The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the Revised Cost Estimate (RCE) of 2904 crore rupees for the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project in Myanmar.

IV.    Union Cabinet approved MoU with Mozambique for cooperation in Renewable Energy: The MoU aims at establishing a cooperative institutional relationship to encourage and promote technical bilateral cooperation, investment promotion and partnership on new and renewable energy issues on the basis of mutual benefit, equality and reciprocity.

V.        Tata Housing tied-up with Facebook to sell its affordable homes online: Real Estate developer Tata Housing tied-up with social networking firm Facebook to sell its affordable homes online. For this, Tata Housing launched the new campaign titled Social Sell on Facebook.

VI.      Uttar Pradesh Government launched mobile app mSehat for health workers: The application was developed by Kellton Tech, a company that was selected as the technology partner for the initiative by State Innovations in Family Planning Services Agency (SIFPSA).

VII.  Government to declassify Netaji files from January 23: PM Modi has announced that the process of declassification of files relating to Netaji will begin on 23^rd January 2016, the birth anniversary of Subhash Chandra Bose.

VIII. Union Cabinet approved MoU between India-Taipei Association (ITA) in Taipei and Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre (TECC) in India: The MoU was signed for the cooperation in the field of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

IX.   Kundhavi Kadiresan appointed as Food and Agriculture Organisation Assistant Director General.

X.     Union Government approved performance-linked payment for CIL Officers: It gave a green signal to payment of Performance Related Pay (PRP) to executives and non-unionised supervisors of Coal India Ltd (CIL) and its subsidiaries.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

  

I.          India, US and Japan navies kick off 2015 Malabar Naval Exercise: The navies have started 2015 Malabar Naval Exercise of the eastern coast in Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean.

II.  Dell Inc acquired EMC Corporation for 67 billion USD: Dell Inc and EMC Corporation signed a definitive agreement under which Dell, together with its owners will acquire EMC Corporation, while maintaining VMware as a publicly-traded company. VMware Inc is a subsidiary of EMC Corporation.

III.   Portugal became the 1^st European country to sign the MoU on establishment of Nalanda University: It was signed in New Delhi by Portugese ambassador to India Ana Martinho and Dr JitendraNathMisra, the ambassador of India to Portugal.

IV.  India and Israel signed pacts on Double Taxation Avoidance and Cultural Exchange: The agreements were inked after President Pranab Mukherjee, who was in Jerusalem on the final leg of his tri-nation tour to West Asia, held a meeting with his Israeli counterpart ReuvenRivlin.

V.  Iran’s Parliament, Majlis approved Vienna Agreement on Iran Nuclear Programme: Ending a 12-year stand-off, the agreement was signed by Iran and P5+1 countries comprising of United States, UK, Russia, China, France and Germany on 14^th July 2015. With this, the agreement gives Iran to develop its nuclear programme for peaceful purposes; on the other hand it lifts the economic sanctions on Iran.

VI.         Omid Kordestani appointed as Executive Chairman of Twitter.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  

I.           RBI data shows bank credit growth at 9.4%: Credit in banking system continues to grow at a muted pace. As per the RBI data, credit in the system grew by 9.4% by October 2015.

AWARDS:

II.  Kailash Satyarthi selected for 2015 Harvard Humanitarian of the Year Award: Nobel Peace laureate KailashSatyarthi has been selected for the prestigious 2015 Harvard Humanitarian of the Year Award. He has been awarded this award in recognition for championing the cause of child reform and ending all forms of violence against children.

III. Salisbury University of US honoured Tibetan PM LobsangSangay with Presidential Medal for Promoting peace.