Daily GK Updates - 19th October, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 I.            Swadhar Greh Scheme approved by Haryana Government for women in distress: The Haryana Government approved SwadharGreh Scheme, which will assure economic and social security to women in distress.

II.         Telecom Operators to compensate consumers by Rs 1 for call drop:TRAI: As per the new TRAI rules, the compensation will be limited to three dropped calls in a particular day. It is mandatory for telecom operators to send a message to the calling customer within 4 hours of the occurrence of call drop along with details of amount credited in his account.

III.  Post-doctoral fellowship in name of APJ Abdul Kalam: The Ministry of Environment, forest and climate change has announced the launching of post-doctoral research fellowships in the name of APJ Abdul Kalam on his 85^th birthday.

IV.     Infosys to acquire Noah Consulting for $70 mn: IT major announced a definitive agreement to acquire Noah Consulting, LLC, a provider of advanced information management consulting services for the oil and gas industry in a $70 million all cash deal.

V.          Housing.com appointed Mani Rangarajan as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

VI.     IRCTC launches pilot project on ‘e-catering’ service: The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation has launched a pilot project of a ‘station-based-e-catering’ service allowing  passengers to order meals as per their choice, which will be delivered at stations from popular private caterers.

VII.     Gurjeet Singh has been appointed as India’s new envoy to Germany.

VIII.    BaichungBhutia appointed as All India Football Association’s advisor.

IX.     Alkesh Kumar Sharma has been appointed as the MD&CEO of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

  I.        Typhoon Koppu hits northern Philippines: Powerful typhoon Koppu, (also known as Lando) has hit the northern Philippines battering the coast with powerful winds with speed of 240 kph.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.     ICICI Bank leads in mobile banking transactions: India’s largest private sector lender has outpaced its peers to record the highest number of mobile banking transactions.

SPORTS:

II.      Great Britain beat India to win Sultan of Johor Cup Hockey tournament: GBR defeated defending champions India by 4-3 in sudden death penalty shootout in the final after the match had ended in 2-2 in regulation time.

III.      China’s Xuerui Li wins 2015 Denmark Open title of badminton by defeating P V Sindhu of India in the finals.

IV.    Saketh Myneni wins 2015 Vietnam Open Tennis Trophy by defeating Australia’s Jordan Thompson.

V.      Novak Djokovic won 2015 Shanghai Rolex Master Tennis title after defeating Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in the final match held in Shanghai, China.

VI.   FIFA suspended Kuwait Football Association because of interference of the government officials in the running of the sports by the KFA.

AWARDS:

VII.   Indian short film ‘An Old Dog’s Diary’ wins award at 2015 London Film Festival: It was awarded with the best short film award at the 2015 LFF.The 11 minute film has been directed by Shai Heredia and ShumonaGoel.

 

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

VIII. The book titled SmitaPatil: A brief Incandescence authored by Maithili Rao was released on SmitaPatil’s 60^th birthday.

 

OBITUARIES:

 IX.     Renowned Egyptian writer Gamal-al-Ghitani died at the age of 70.

X.        Noted Telugu Comedian Kallu Chidambaram died at the age of 67.

XI.       Actress Pat Woodell died of cancer at the age of 71.

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.