Daily GK Updates - 28th October, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.        Government sets up Justice R V Easwar Panel to simplify Income Tax Laws: The Government set up a high level committee under a former Delhi High Court judge to suggest simplification of Income Tax laws, a report that could form basis for tinkering with the controversial retrospective applicability of tax.

II.    Sajjan Singh Yadav has been appointed Delhi’s VAT Commissioner by Lt.Governor Najeeb Jung.

III.     Union Finance Ministry launched E-Sahyog Pilot Project to facilitate Taxpayers: It launched the e-Sahyog pilot project of the Income-Tax Department to facilitate taxpayers by reducing their need to physically appear before tax authorities. The project is aimed at reducing compliance cost, especially for small taxpayers.

IV.  ABIL, Versace to develop new project in South Mumbai: Pune based realty developer ABIL (AvinashBhosale Group) is partnering with Versace to develop a new exclusive residential project in Hughes Road, South Mumbai.

V.       Government of Andhra Pradesh declared 196 mandals as drought-hit: With this, Andhra Pradesh became third state to declare drought in the country as Karnataka and Maharashtra earlier made the announcement in this regard.

VI.   Bengaluru based Saankhya Labs developed ‘Pruthvi’ chip to power White-Fi devices: The Pruthvi-based White-Fi devices will be used by Microsoft to extend the reach of internet services in remote areas of the country.

VII. NITI Aayog panel on Innovation submitted its report recommending private funding for R&D: The panel headed by Prof. TarunKhanna submitted its report recommending that the private sector should help fund research and development, including in research labs at universities and startups.

VIII. Sub Group of Chief Ministers on Centrally Sponsored Schemes submitted its report to the NITI Aayog Chairperson and PM NarendraModi.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

  I.     India overtakes China, becomes biggest gold consumer: India regained its top position from China as the biggest overall consumer of gold in the first nine months this year with a total consumption of 642 tonnes, a survey said.

II.       Tata Trusts, Harvard University announce collaboration: Tata Trusts and Harvard University South Asia Institute (SAI) announced collaboration on knowledge creation and capacity building for social and economic empowerment in India.

III.     4^th Edition of the India-Sri Lanka bilateral naval exercise SLINEX 15 begins in Sri Lanka: The six day exercise seeks to reinforce the strong neighbourly ties underscored by extensive maritime interaction and improved understanding between both countries.

IV.  Sylvie Lucas appointed as Chair of the IGN on UNSC reforms: Luxembourg ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Sylvie Lucas was appointed as the Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on UN Security Council (UNSC) reforms.

V.     Russia to launch manned moon missions by 2029: The Russian Federal Space Agency, commonly called as Roscosmos, announced its plans to launch a manned flight to the moon by 2029.

VI.         Bidhya Devi Bhandari elected as the first woman President of Nepal.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.            City India appoints SamiranChakraborty as its chief economist for India.

II.   India ranked 130 in ease of doing business: World Bank Report: World Bank announced that India ranked 130 out of the 189 countries surveyed in terms of ease of doing business for domestic firms. It was revealed in the report entitled ‘Doing Business 2016: Measuring Regulatory Quality and Efficiency’.

III.   Barclays names former JP Morgan banker as new boss: Troubled British Bank Barclays announced the appointment of former JP Morgan investment banker James Staley as its new Chief Executive.

IV.        PK Gupta elevated as SBI Managing Director.

V.          EXIM Bank announced setting up of project development firm KPDC in Africa: It announced that it will be set up a development firm, the Kukuza Project Development Company (KPDC), in Africa to facilitate Indian participation in infrastructure projects across the continent. IL&FS Group, African Development Bank and State Bank of India are also the shareholders in KPDC.

SPORTS:

VI.        Jammu and Kashmir to host South Asian Rugby 7’S Championship in 2016.

VII.    IOC allowed refugees to compete in Olympics for the first time: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach announced that all the highly qualified athletes who are refugees will be allowed to compete in the Olympic Games.

AWARDS:

VIII.  India’s Chintan Group bags UN Climate Solutions Awards: An Indian environment group was awarded this year’s UN Climate Solutions Awards for their work with waste pickers and e-waste to tackle climate change. The prestigious award was given to the Delhi-based group for its project ‘E-waste: From Toxic to Green’.

IX.       Shashi Kapoor honoured with Retrospective at 2015 International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

OBITUARIES:

  X.    Renowned Ireland born Hollywood actress Maureen O’Hara passes away at the age of 95.

XI.      Britain’s Curry King Lord Gulam Noon died of cancer at the age of 79:Known as the Curry King, Noon founded the Noon Products business, which is credited with the popularity of Chicken Tikka Masala in Britain.

Daily GK Updates - 27th October, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.        Third India-Africa forum summit begins in New Delhi: The 3^rd India-Africa forum summit (IAFS) began in New Delhi. The four day summit is one of the largest gatherings of African countries outside Africa as all 54 nations of the continent have participated.

II.      Department of Heavy Industries drafted National Policy on Capital Goods: The policy on Capital Goods is focused on the most critical sector for achieving the vision of Make in India and also is envisages unlocking the potential for this promising sector and establish India as a global manufacturing hub.

III.   Financial powers of Health Institutions enhanced to 5 lakh rupees per patient under RashtriyaArogyaNidhi (RAN) scheme: After the enhancement, only cases for financial assistance beyond 5 lakh rupees would now be required to be referred to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare from the earlier upper limit of 2 lakh rupees per patient.

IV.       Blackberry appoints NarendraNayak as Managing Director of India Operations.

V.      Reliance Industries Ltd first corporate to sign revised listing pact with BSE: It became the first corporate to sign the revised listing agreement with the BSE as mandated under the newly introduced Listing Regulation notified by SEBI.

VI.     Indian Immunologicals Ltd opened 250 crore rupees multi-purpose facility near Hyderbad: It has operationalized the new multi-purpose facility to produce vaccines against infectious diseases of humans and animal health formulations.

VII. SC appointed UpamanyuHazarika Commission submitted report on illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

VIII. Dinesh, Yekona open cast mine projects of Western Coalfields inaugurated in Nagpur: Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal & New Renewable Piyush Goyal inaugurated Dinesh and Yekona open cast mine projects. They are run by the Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) and located in Umred area of Nagpur district in Maharashtra.

IX.     Union Law Ministry notified Delhi HC Amendment Act, 2015: The Act provides for enhancement of pecuniary jurisdiction of the District Courts from 20 lakh to 2 crore rupees.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

  I.        Gautemala elected comedian Jimmy Morales as the President: Jimmy Morales, a former TV comedian, swept to power in Guatemala’s presidential election. In the presidential election, Morales won more than 67% of the votes. On the other hand, the ex-first lady Sandra Torres received less than 33% of the votes.

II.      China launched third mapping satellite of Tianhui-1 series: A Long March-2D carrier rocket carried the Tianhui-1C mapping satellite.

III.      European Union and Balkan leaders agreed on 17 point plan to manage inflow of migrants.

IV.      Law and Justice Party won Poland’s Parliamentary Elections 2015: Conservative Right-wing Law and Justice Party (PiS) won the Polish parliamentary elections 2015. Following the preliminary result, PiS leader J Kaczynski claimed victory.

V.     World Bank released a report on Arab Spring Revolution: It released a report entitled Inequality, Uprisings, and Conflict in the Arab World as part of the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA) Economic Monitor series.

VI.    India is World’s largest remittance recipient: World Bank: It was revealed in the Migration and Development Brief that conveyed recent trends in remittance flows and migration across the world.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.      FIIs/RFPIs can now invest up to 74% in DEN Networks Limited:  RBI: The RBI notified that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/ Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs) can now invest up to 74% of the paid up capital of DEN Networks Limited under the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS).

II.      Yes Bank advances after operationalizing IFSC Banking Unit in GIFT city: It has operationalized its IFSC Banking Unit in Gujarat International Finance Tech City.

III.     RBI and Bangladesh Bank ink MoU on Information Exchange: Both the institution now will look forward to exchange of supervisory information.

SPORTS:

IV.      Hashim Amla becomes fastest to score 6000 ODI runs, breaks ViratKohli’s record: For this Amla took just 123 innings as compared to Kohli, who achieved this feat in his 136^th innings.

V.       Deepika Kumari won silver medal in Archery World Cup Final held in Mexico City.

VI.     ICC released Test, ODI, T20I and Women’s Ranking: South Africa was placed at the top position in the Test ranking list, while Australia topped the ODI list and Sri Lanka topped the list of T20I rankings. Australian women team topped in ICC Women’s Ranking.

AWARDS:

VII.    Indian-American farmer Anita Adalja to be honoured for exemplary agriculture work: Indian-American farmer is among 12 individuals from across the country that will be recognised as White House Champions of Change for sustainable and climate-smart agriculture at an event in the US.

VIII.  AR Rahman received the 5^thHridaynathMangeshkar Award: He was conferred with the award in Mumbai for his contribution to the Indian music.

IX.     Angry Indian Goddesses bagged People’s Choice Award at Rome Film Festival: Director Pan Nalin’s film, Angry Indian Goddesses was awarded with BNL People’s Choice Award at the 10^th Rome Film Festival held in Rome, Italy. The award was presented by the BNL Gruppo BNP Paribas.

Daily GK Updates - 26th October, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.   India’s 1^st double-decker Shatabdi train to run between Mumbai, Goa: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has announced that the Railways would soon start country’s first-ever double decker Shatabdi Express that would ply between Mumbai and Goa.

II.      NDRF ties up with 30 PSUs to jointly tackle emergencies: National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has partnered with about 30 public sector undertakings to jointly tackle and mitigate man-made or natural disasters or emergencies. In this regard a coordination meeting was held between NDRF and prominent PSUs like ONGC, Air India, GAIL and others involved in the mining and shipping and heavy industries sector.

III.     Ministry of Railways flagged off Vigithon to fight against corruption: Suresh Prabhu flagged off Vigithon Marathon in Mumbai to sensitize people for a fight against corruption at the grass-root level. Vigithon was a run for corruption free India and was organised by public sector lender Union Bank of India.

IV.    Sin Tax to be imposed on alcohol, tobacco during GST regime: Sin Tax has been included under the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) law that will be effective from 1 April 2016. GST is being seen as one of the biggest tax reforms in the country.

V.  Haryana to commission 215 new power sub-stations in three years:Haryana Government announced that it planned to commission 215 additional sub-stations of various capacities to reduce transmission and distribution (T&D) losses.

VI.    Indian Railways developed warning system for unmanned level crossings: It has developed a vandal-proof warning system for unmanned level crossings which is working satisfactorily for the last three months on Coimbatore-Metupallayum section.

VII.    Haryana Government announced to open Sanskrit University at Mundri Village for Scheduled Castes: The Sanskrit University will be named after Maharishi Valmiki.

VIII.  Andhra Pradesh signed two memorandums with Japan for development of the state: Government of Andhra Pradesh signed a MoC for development of economic infrastructure and a MoU to develop Amravati with the Government of Japan.

IX.      Shekar Basu took over as Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary of Department of Atomic Energy.

X.            Suresh Arora appointed as the DGP of Punjab.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 I.         World Polio Day observed globally: It was observed on 24^th October 2015 to create awareness about the hazards of the crippling disease.

II.            China made copying in examinations a crime punishable up to seven years.

III.     WHO released report titled Reducing global health risks through mitigation of short-lived climate pollutants.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

I.         Abhishek Verma became first Indian to win silver medal in Archery World Cup final held in Mexico City.

II.        Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won 2015 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix title.

III.      South Africa clinched 1^st ever bilateral ODI series in India: South Africa defeated India 3-2 in the ODI series.

IV.       Emily Kristine Pedersen of Denmark won Hero Women’s Indian Open 2015 Golf Tournament.

AWARDS:

V.      Nandakumara, Sivanesan honoured in UK with Lifetime Achievement Award and SangeetAcharyaRatna: Indian High Commissioner to the UK, RajanMathai honoured Dr MN Nandakumara and SivasaktiSivanesan with Lifetime Achievement Award and SangeetAcharyaRatna Award respectively in London.

OBITUARIES:

 VI.         Renowned Hollywood actress Maureen O’Hara passes away at the age of 95.

VII.         Bengali actor PijushGanguly passes away at the age of 50.