Daily GK Updates - 5th January, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 15 states have joined UDAY Scheme: Piyush Goyal: Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Bihar have agreed to join the central government’s electricity distribution utility (Discom) financial turnaround scheme to take the total number up to 15.

2. Wipro management changes, T K Kurien elevated as Vice Chairman, COO becomes CEO: T K Kurien was the CEO earlier. Abidali Neemachwala has been appointed as the new CEO. He was the COO earlier.

3. Paytm acquires Shifu for $8 million to enrich customer experience: Shifu, a context-aware personal assistant application, mines the smartphone usage patterns of users and makes personalized and highly relevant recommendations to them.

4. LIC offers longer cover under ‘Jeevan Labh’: LIC is offering a ‘New Year gift’ to the public in the form of a limited-premium, non-hiked and with-profit endowment assurance plan ‘Jeevan Labh’. The highlight of the plan is that premium is payable for a limited period while risk is covered for the whole policy term.

5. PM Modi lays foundation for HAL’s new helicopter plant in Tumkur, Karnataka.

6. Jharkhand Government inaugurated land bank web portal jharbhoom.nic.in: Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das inaugurated the state’s land bank web portal, jharbhoom.nic.in, which will help investors know land related information.

7. LinkedIn names Akshay Kothari as India Country Manager.

8. Supreme Court directed Gujarat Government to make Gujarat State Cooperative Tribunal functional.

9. Toilets made mandatory to contest Panchayat polls in Bihar: State Election Commissioner (SEC) Ashok Kumar Chauhan announced that toilets will be made mandatory requirement for eligibility to contest panchayat elections. This declaration means that no one can contest the Bihar Panchayat elections 2016 without having a toilet at their home.

10. Union Government to launch River Information System for Inland Waterways: The system is expected to improve navigation in Inland Waterways in the country as the government is set to expand the network across the country through the National Waterways Bill, 2015.

11. Sterlite Grid commissioned first power project under TBCB incentive regime: Sterlite Grid set a new benchmark by commissioning the Transmission Project to Rajasthan Atomic Power Project (RAPP) ahead of the schedule under the Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) incentive regime.

12. PM Modi inaugurates Indian Science Congress in Mysuru: This is the 103^rd edition of the ISC and the theme of this year is ‘Science and Technology for Indigenous development in India’. The Congress will continue till January 7.

13. Volvo Buses India merged with Volvo India Pvt Ltd.

14. IRB Infra bagged 10050 crore rupees project to build Zozila Pass Tunnel Project in Jammu & Kashmir.

15. BHEL commissioned 600 MW thermal unit at Kakatiya Thermal Power Project in Warangal.

16. Radha Krishna Mathur took charge as Chief Information Commissioner of India.

17. Industry body the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) appointed FreeCharge CEO Kunal Shah as Chairman.

18. Vishal Suri appointed as the new MD of Kuoni India.

19. Department of Posts formed Kamlesh Chandra Panel on Gramin Dak Sevaks.

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INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Nokia completed acquisition of Alca-Lucent for 15.6 billion euro: Nokia Corporations announced that it has completed the regulatory formalities for acquiring the French telecom equipment company Alca-Lucent. 

2. Mary Barra elected as the Chairperson of General Motors Board of Directors: She was earlier serving the company as its CEO.

3. India-Nepal bus service resumed after 27 years: The service was suspended 27 years ago in the wake of the Indo-Nepal Trade and Transit Treaty. The service runs between Kanchanpur in Nepal, which is close to Banbasa border in Champavat district of Uttarakhand, and Anand Vihar ISBT in Delhi.

4. IUPAC announced addition of four elements to complete the Seventh row of Periodic Table: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) announced discovery and assignment of elements with atomic numbers 113, 115, 117 and 118.

5. Filippo Grandi takes helm as UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

6. Sachin Tendulkar has been appointed as the brand ambassador for Danish Pharmaceutical Company Novo Nordisk for the disease awareness campaign ‘Changing Diabetes’ initiated by it in India.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore on State Bank of Travancore, for violation of some of its instructions.

2. Andhra Bank launches Immediate Payment Service: It has announced its Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) across branches to provide interbank electronic transfer service, capable of processing person to account remittances.

SPORTS:

3. ONGC won 26^th Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey Tournament by defeating Indian Railways.

4. Pranav Dhanawade became the first batsman to score 1000 plus runs in an innings in any form of cricket.

AWARDS:

5. Kate Atkinson won 2015 Costa Novel Prize for her book ‘A God in Ruins'

OBITUARIES:

6. Ian Murdoch, best known for founding one of the World’s best known Linux distributions, passed away in San Francisco.

7. Former CJI S H Kapadia died at the age of 68 in Mumbai.

8. Former Wigan Athletic defender Steve Gohouri passed away at the age of 34 after he went missing on 12 December 2015.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

9. The book titled ‘Jinnah often came to our house’ authored by Kiran Doshi released by Vice President Hamid Ansari.

Daily GK Updates - 4th January, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Arunima Sinha scaled Mount Aconcagua in Argentina: Arunima Sinha, the amputee mountaineer who set a record by climbing the Mount Everest, conquered Mount Aconcagua in Argentina. 

2. India successfully test fired indigenously developed MBRL Pinaka II at Pokhran: Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) successfully test fired Pinaka II multi barrel rocket launcher (MBRL) system from Pokhran test range in Rajasthan.

3. Union Cabinet gave ex-post facto approval for MoU on BRICS Network University: The Union Cabinet gave ex-post facto approval for signing of MoU among BRICS countries on BRICS Network University. The MoU will help in developing pro-active cooperation among the BRICS nations for the purpose of enhancement of scientific research, higher education and information exchange.

4. Terrorist attacked IAF Airbase at Pathankot: Several heavily armed terrorists belonging to Jaish-e-mohammad, an islamist militant group attacked Pathankot Air Force Station, part of the Western Air Command of the Indian Air Force.  

5. Union Government announced setting up of CCL Sports University in Jharkhand: The University will have a capacity of 1400 students and 15 sports academies. As 700 out of the total 1400 students will be selected from Jharkhand, the university will help the youth from the state to sharpen their skills under coaches of international standards. A MoU was signed between Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) and the Jharkhand Government.

6. Justice R M Lodha Committee submitted its report to the Supreme Court: The Committee submitted its report to the Supreme Court suggesting reforms in the Board of Cricket Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The panel has recommended separate governing bodies for IPL and BCCI, with limited autonomy for the IPL Governing Council. It has also recommended legalising betting.

7. President Pranab Mukherjee gives assent to five key legislations: The legislations are the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, the Schedule Castes and the Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, The Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Act, The Atomic Energy (Amendment) Act and the Payment of Bonus Act, 2015.

8. A strong 6.7 magnitude earthquake jolts North Eastern and Eastern parts of the country.

9. CM Akhilesh Yadav kick starts three day long UP Pravasi Divas at Agra.

10. R K S Bhadauria takes over as Deputy Chief of Air Staff.

11. Maharashtra Government inks MoU with Pawan Hans: In a bid to give impetus to tourism in state, Maharashtra government has signed a MoU with private helicopter company Pawan Hans.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Iran: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir announced that his country has broken off diplomatic ties with Iran. The announcement was made amid a row over the Saudi execution of prominent Shia Muslim cleric.

2. World Braille Day observed on January 4: World Braille Day was observed across the World on January 4 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Louis Braille. 

3. Indian consulate in Afghanistan’s Mazar-i-Sharif city attacked: All consulate personnel are safe. Explosions and gunfire were heard at the compound when the attackers tried to storm the consulate building. 

OTHER UPDATES:

OBITUARIES:

1. Veteran CPI leader AB Bardhan passed away at the age of 92 after prolonged illness.

2. Oscar winning Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond died at the age of 85 in California (USA): He won the Oscar award for Steven Spielberg’s ‘Close Encounters of the third kind’.

3. English cricketer Matthew Hobden passed away at the age of 22: He played for Sussex.

Daily GK Updates - 3rd January, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Atul Sobti took charge as CMD of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited. 

2. Government constitute Kamlesh Chandra Committee to study wage structure of Gramin Dak Sevaks: The Union Government has constituted a committee to examine the wage structure, service conditions of the Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) in the Department of Posts (DoP).

3. Shekhar Saran took charge as the CMD of Ranchi based Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Ltd (CMPDI).

4. Telangana becomes first state to accept e-motor insurance policies: Electronic motor insurance policies are legally accepted by the police and transport authorities in Telangana from today, making it the first state in the country to do so. The e-Vahan Bima, an electronic motor insurance policy issued in digital form with Quick Response (QR) code, has been formally launched here by the Minister of IT, K T Ramarao.

5. Government clears tax information exchange pact with Maldives and Slovenia: The agreement will stimulate effective exchange of information between the two countries which will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance.

6. Norway to help India manage construction waste: India will sign a MoU with Norway for training of human resource to handle construction and demolition waste, in tune with the Clean India Campaign launched by PM Narendra Modi. An MoU will be signed between SINTEF, Norway and Central Public Works Department (CPWD) for cooperation in the development of human resource capacity-building and scientific research in the field of Recycling of Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste in India.

7. CBSE launches ‘E-CBSE’ mobile app for e-learning material: The Central Board of Secondary Education has launched its latest mobile application ‘E-CBSE’ for providing e-learning material for students and teachers.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Copyright of Adolf Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ expires: For the first time in 70 years, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi manifesto Mein Kampf is to be available to buy in Germany. The copyright has now expired and Munich’s Institute of Contemporary History is to publish a new edition.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. India won 2015 SAFF Cup football tournament for the 7^th time defeating Afghanistan.

Daily GK Updates - 2nd January, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Union Government constituted Shyam Benegal Committee to revamp Censor Board: The recommendations of this committee will provide a holistic framework and enable those tasked with the work of certification of films to discharge their responsibilities keeping in view this framework. 

2. Javed Ahmed appointed as the Director General of Police of Uttar Pradesh.

3. NABARD, NRSC sign MoU for web-based monitoring of watershed projects: National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) for web-based monitoring of watershed projects. The web-based monitoring of Indo-German Watershed Development (IGWDP) projects will happen in three states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Telangana.

4. Government offloads 1.12 lakh tonnes of seized pulses in retail market: Prices of key pulses, especially Tur and Urad shot up during few last months due to fall in domestic output by two million tonnes in 2014-15 crop year because of deficit monsoon. Now the government has offloaded over on lakh and 12 thousand tonnes of seized pulses in the retail market to improve availability and tame prices.

5. Government issues draft guidelines for kidney donation: The Government of India has issued draft guidelines for allocating criteria for kidney donation from deceased source. The move is aimed at easing rules and procedures to encourage organ donation in the country. The draft guidelines have been posted on the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) website.

6. Lucknow gets Rs 5000-crore ring road as New Year gift: The proposal is aimed at easing traffic congestion. It was one of the promises made by Rajnath Singh in his campaigns during the Lok Sabha elections 2014.

7. Direct transfer of kerosene subsidy in 26 districts from April 1: After the success of paying subsidy to LPG users in their bank accounts, government will from April 1 roll out a similar programme for kerosene, where the users will buy the cooking fuel at the market rate and get the subsidy money directly in their bank account.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Copyright of Adolf Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ expires: For the first time in 70 years, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi manifesto Mein Kampf is to be available to buy in Germany. Reprinting the anti-Semitic book was banned after WW2 by Bavaria’s regional government, which held the copyright. The copyright has now expired and Munich’s Institute of Contemporary History is to publish a new edition.

2. Rupee among best of Asian currencies in 2015: Rupee turned out to be one of the best performers in 2015 among all Asian and BRICS currencies, excluding Yen.  

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. Reserve Bank of India asked banks to open branches in villages with a population of more than 5000: The banking regulator has asked banks to submit a roadmap on how many branches they will be opening by 31^st March 2017.

SPORTS:

2. Mithali Raj won the BCCI’s Women Cricketer of the Year Award 2015.

OBITUARIES:

3. Grammy-winning singer Natalie Cole passed away due to heart failure at the age of 65.

Daily GK Updates - 1st January, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Ambitious Odd-even scheme of Delhi Government started off in New Delhi: The ambitious odd-even scheme of Delhi Government, a first such intervention in the country to combat spiralling air pollution, got off to a decent start on New Year with volume of cars on the city roads coming down significantly amid deployment of thousands of policemen and moderately augmented public transport. 

2. D K Hota to be the new CMD of defence PSU BEML Ltd.

3. DAVA project of Department of Commerce won 2015 e-ASIA Award: Drug Authentication and Verification Application Project won the 2015 e-ASIA Award under Trade Facilitation category. The award was announced by Asia Pacific Council for Trade Facilitation and Electronics Business (AFACT) in Tehran, Iran.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Iran’s leading banks will soon open branches in India: Iran’s leading banks will open branches in India to energise commercial ties between New Delhi and Tehran. The decision was amongst a slew of commercial measures taken by the India-Iran Joint Commission that met for the first time.

2. Pakistan’s singer Adnan Sami gets Indian Citizenship: The Union Home Ministry cleared the proposal to grant Adnan Sami the citizenship of India. Mr. Sami, who has been staying in India since 2011, will now have to fill a citizenship form at the Home Ministry’s office in Delhi and pay Rs 13,700.

3. India-origin Software Engineer wins UK award: An Indian-origin software engineer named Nandagopal Lakshminarayanan has won a prestigious award in the UK for creating an innovative electronic smart key system which enables the creation and management of keys and locks that cannot be copied or picked. 

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. Reserve Bank of India asked banks to open branches in villages with a population of more than 5000: The banking regulator has asked banks to submit a roadmap on how many branches they will be opening by 31^st March 2017.

SPORTS:

2. Magnus Carlsen won the Qatar Masters Open chess tournament.

AWARDS:

3. Vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyam conferred with 2015 Sangita Kalanidhi award.

OBITUARIES:

4. Ian Murdock, founder of Debian Linux, passed away at the age of 42.

Daily GK Updates - 31st December, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Union Cabinet approved Raptor MoU for conservation of migratory birds of prey: The Union cabinet has given its approval to sign Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on the conservation of migratory birds of prey in Africa and Eurasia. This MoU is also called as the ‘Raptor MoU’ under the Convention of Migratory Species (CMS). With signing it, India will become the 54^th signatory to the MoU. 

2. Union cabinet gives nod for India-Australia Civil Nuclear Cooperation: The Union cabinet chaired by PM Modi approved the India-Australia Civil Nuclear Cooperation deal that came into force on Nov 13, 2015. The deal along with the administrative arrangement for implementing the accord will bolster India’s energy security by supporting the expansion of nuclear power in the country.

3. Union Government approves constitution of 69 bridges on Trilateral Highway in Myanmar: It has approved the construction of 69 bridges including Approach Roads on the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa (TKK) road section of the Trilateral Highway in Myanmar.

4. Union Government unveils National Biotechnology Development Strategy 2015-2020: It was unveiled by the Union Science and Technology Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan in New Delhi to establish India as a world class bio-manufacturing hub.

5. Dr Gyanendra D Bandgaiyan appointed as the Director General of National Centre for Good Governance.

6. Union Cabinet approved MoU between India and Jordan for promoting cooperation in IT and Electronics: Its objective is to develop and strengthen industrial, technological and commercial cooperation between the two countries in Information Technology and Electronics (IT&E) sector. It also tries to implement institutional and capacity building cooperation programme aimed at fostering partnerships between the two countries.

7. Andhra Pradesh Government decided to hike wages of Anganwadi workers: The wages of Anganwadi workers will be increased from 4200 rupees to 7000 rupees and the wages of Anganwadi helpers will be hiked to 4500 rupees.

8. Airtel acquires 100 percent stake in Augere Wireless.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Japan and South Korea reached Agreement on Issue of Comfort Women: The agreement was reached after a meeting between Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs of South Korea in Seoul. It aims to resolve a decades-old dispute over Korean women who were used as sex slaves by Japanese soldiers during World War II.

2. World Bank offers $50 million loan for minority education: The Government of India and the World Bank signed a $50 million credit for the ‘Nai Manzil: The Education and Skills Training for Minorities Project’ to help young people from minority communities complete education and gain from market-driven training programmes with the aim of improving their employment outcome.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Sweden’s Bjorn Isberg named as Tournament Director of 2016 Hockey India League.

2. Lakshmi Ratan Shukla announced retirement from all forms of Cricket: He played for Bengal in the Ranji format and for the Kolkata Night Riders in the IPL.

3. Viral Kohli named BCCI Cricketer of the Year.

4. Ravichandran Ashwin named ICC’s No.1 test bowler, first Indian since Bishan Singh Bedi’s feat in 1973.

AWARDS:

5. Indian-origin Cancer Researcher Harpal Singh Kumar knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for being ‘hugely influential’ in his work on prevention and treatment of cancer.

OBITUARIES:

6. Former New Castle United goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek died at the age of 47: The Czech Republic footballer suffered cardiac arrest.

7. Singapore’s Indian-origin Blind Champion of Disabled Ron Chandran-Dudley dies at the age of 81.

Daily GK Updates - 30th December, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Sand Artist Sudarshan Pattnaik’s Santa Claus sculpture featured in Limca Book of Records: Pattnaik claimed that he had created 45 feet high sand Santa Claus at Puri beach on 24^th December 2015, which was recognised as the largest sand Santa Claus as of today by the Limca Book of World Records. 

2. Cabinet clears formation of JVs between Indian Railways and states: The cabinet approved the formation of joint venture companies with various state governments to mobilise resources for undertaking rail infrastructure projects. The initial paid up capital of the Ministry of Railways will be limited to Rs. 50 crore for each state. The joint venture companies would be formed with equity participation from the Ministry of Railways and the state governments concerned.

3. Online virtual science lab for school students: Students, who have opted for the Science stream at the high school level, but have no access to physical labs now have the option to perform experiments in a virtual science-lab. Thanks to the educational technology initiative-‘Online Labs’-developed by Amrita CREATE (Centre of Research in Advanced Technologies for Education) in association with CDAC (Centre for Development of Advance Computing).

4. Indian Navy successfully test fires Barak-8 long range missile from INS Kolkata: Surface to Air missile having a range of nearly 70 km was test fired from INS Kolkata, paving the way for installation of the system, developed jointly by India and Israel, on board country’s frontline warships.

5. HAL ties up with Russian firm Rostech to build 200 Kamov helicopters: Under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, Russian firm Rostech State Corporation has tied up with India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to manufacture 200 Kamov 226T light helicopters. The new fleet of Kamovs will replace the ageing Cheetah and Chetak helicopters.

6. BHEL commissioned Prayagraj power project in Uttar Pradesh: State run Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited commissioned a 660 MW unit of Prayagraj Super Thermal Power Project at Bara in Allahabad district of UP.

7. SpiceJet launched travel solutions platform SpiceVacations.com: The platform offers customised travel packages to customers who can avail various services while planning their holiday, at no added cost.

8. CCEA approved Amended Technology Up-gradation Fund Scheme for textiles: The new scheme will give a boost to ‘Make in India’ in the textiles sector. It is expected to attract investment to the tune of one lakh crore rupees and create over 30 lakh jobs.

9. Satyavati Berera became first woman Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Big Four accounting firm in India.

10. Madhu S Nair assumes charge as CMD of Cochin Shipyard.

11. Jetha Bharwad elected as first Vice-Chairman of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation: The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change notified norms of emission standards for coal-based thermal power plants in India. Beginning 2017, thermal plants across India will have to cut particulate matter emissions by as much as 40% and reduce their water consumption by nearly one-third.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Giorgi Kvirikashvili elected as the Prime Minister of Georgia: He will succeed PM Irakli Garibashvili, who resigned recently.

2. Guinea free of Ebola, WHO announced: Guinea was declared Ebola free by the World Health Organisation two years after the virus’ deadliest-ever outbreak began in the country, killing more than 11000 people in the West African region.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Rakhi Haldar, Kavita Devi bagged gold at National Weightlifting Championships: Haldar lifted 94 kg in the snatch and 119 kg in clean and jerk to come up with a total lift of 213 kg in Women’s 69 kg to grab the gold medal. In Women’s 75 kg category, Devi lifted 95 kg in snatch and 122 kg in clean and jerk for a total of 217 kg to win the top medal.

AWARDS:

2. Noted Gujarati writer Raghuveer Chaudhary selected for the 51^st Jnanpith award.

OBITUARIES:

3. Ian Fraser Lemmy Kilmister, founding member of British heavy metal band Motorhead died at the age of 70.

4. Veteran Singer Subir Sen passed away at the age of 81.

5. Iconic Marathi poet Mangesh Keshav Padgaonkar passed away at the age of 86.