Daily GK Updates - 12th March, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India to supply 18 meter gauge Diesel Electric Locomotives to Myanmar: RITES (Public Sector Enterprise under Ministry of Railways) signed a contract to supply 18 meter gauge 1350 HP Diesel Locomotives to Myanmar Railways. The contract was signed at Naypyitaw on 4^th March.

2. Suresh Prabhu has launched ‘Clean My Coach’ service: The service allows a passenger to make request for a dirty coach to be swept and cleaned by sending an SMS on mobile number 58888.

3. Government sets new norms for Hydrocarbons licensing: Government of India has approved a new policy for exploration and also defined the norms for pricing of existing and new discoveries made in difficult areas.

4. Aadhar scheme collects biometric data of 99 crore Indians: The Aadhar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016 was passed by a voice vote after a brief debate, during which Finance Minister Arun Jaitley assured the House that details provided for the card will not be misused in any manner. 

5. Union Cabinet gave green signal for amendment to Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925: The Union Cabinet approved the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs to amend the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 through the Parliament retrospectively with effect from 8 October 2013.

6. Long march against Indo-Bangladesh power plant near Sundarbans started: A 250 km long protest march against plans to build Rampal Power Station, Indo-Bangladesh coal-fired power plant near the Sundarbans, was kicked-off.

7. PM Modi to unveil railway project in Bihar: PM Modi will arrive in Patna today on a day-long visit to Bihar where he will dedicate to the nation the newly constructed Digha-Sonepur rail-cum-road Bridge and inaugurate a new rail bridge in Munger.

8. Gujarat; Leaks in Kakrapar Nuclear Plant, One unit shut.

9. Crisil sees GDP growing at 7.9% in 2016-17: On the occasion the actress also launched the new campaign of the brand titled ‘Be more human’.

10. Uber opens Asia’s 1^st Engineering Hub in India: The ride sharing service provider has opened its first Asian engineering centre in Bengaluru highlighting the focus on India to solve the localized challenges of Uber users in the country.

11. Defence Ministry gives nod to 7 stealth frigates worth Rs 13,000 crore.

12. Cabinet approves ratification of BIMSTEC Convention: The Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing and ratification of the Bay of Bengal Initiative on Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.

13. Honey festival in Mangaluru from March 12: The Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, in association with the Karnataka Horticulture Department, will conduct a ‘Honey Festival’ in Mangaluru on March 12 and 13.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Egyptian Diplomat Ahmed Abul Gheit named as Secretary General of Arab League.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. HDFC Bank ties up with 5 start ups: These companies are Sense forth Technologies, Tagpin, Safe 2 Pay, Bugclipper, Taptis Technolgies. The bank tied up with these companies to strengthen their web, mobile and payment offerings.

AWARDS:

2. Tezpur University and JNU won the annual Visitor’s Awards for Central Universities.

Daily GK Updates - 11th March, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. NITI Aayog launches ‘Women Transforming India’ campaign: The NITI Aayog (GOIs premier think tank) has launched the Women Transforming India initiative on 8^th March the International Women’s Day in partnership with the UN in India and MyGov.

2. India to launch 25 foreign satellites this year: India will launch the satellites of 7 countries and the list of satellites is topped by USA other countries being Canada, Algeria, Germany, Japan and Malaysia.

3. Rajya Sabha passed long awaited bill to protect home buyers: It has passed a landmark Real Estate Bill with a promise to secure the interests of home buyers and developers in equal measure and remove corruption and inefficiency from the sector.

4. Ex-Supreme Court Judge Balbir Singh Chauhan appointed as Chairman of 21^st Law Commission of India. 

5. Project Mausam of Ministry of Culture aims to explore multi-faceted Indian Ocean World: Project Mausam is the initiative of Ministry of Culture which is to be implemented by the ASI as the nodal agency with research support of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and National Museum as associate bodies.

6. Rajya Sabha passed the National Waterways Bill, 2015.

7. India signs Raptor MoU to save Birds of Prey: To conserve several species of birds Government has signed ‘Raptor MoU’- a Memorandum of Understanding on conservation of birds of prey in Africa and Eurasia.

8. Tapan Chand elected as the Chief of Aluminium Association of India (the metal governing body).

9. Kangana Ranaut has become the brand ambassador of Reebok India: On the occasion the actress also launched the new campaign of the brand titled ‘Be more human’.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Egyptian Diplomat Ahmed Abul Gheit named as Secretary General of Arab League.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. Country’s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank launched a credit-linked subsidy scheme for home loans under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY): Under the scheme, an eligible customer will get a subsidy at 6.5% per annum on a maximum amount of Rs 6 lakh or the loan amount, whichever is lower, for a maximum tenure of 15 years.

SPORTS:

2. Korean Car maker Hyundai is now the official partner of BCCI.

OBITUARIES:

3. Brazilian musician Nana Vasconcelos passed away at the age of 71.

Daily GK Updates - 10th March, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Cabinet approves Rs 8000 crore for Rural LPG under PMUY Scheme: The cabinet headed by PM Modi has approved Pradhan Mantri Ujwala Yojana with an outlay of Rs 8000 crore for three years. Under this scheme the government will spend Rs 8000 crore to LPG connections to rural households.

2. India and Indonesia to conduct joint training exercise ‘Garuda Shakti IV’: The 4^th edition of the exercise will be hosted by Indonesia and will begin from today at Magelang, Indonesia.

3. Cabinet clears amendment to MMDR Act: The Union Cabinet approved amending the Mines and Minerals (Developments and Regulations) Act to regulate mining sector activities in the country.

4. PSUs spent over Rs 2400 crore for CSR in 2014-15. 

5. Five healthcare ATMs launched in 4 states: The states are MP, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. These ATMs are going to come up under a Health Ministry pilot project that combines telemedicine with a rudimentary free drug programme.

6. Government mulls policy to promote wind energy projects: In order to propel the wind energy potential in India, Union Government will soon unveil a policy to give incentives including an interest discount of .25% for increasing capacity of wind mills of up to 1MW.

7. Government to divest 5% stake in Container Corporation of India (CONCOR).

8. Railways form Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to execute Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Project.

9. Gujarat tops the list of states in terms investment potential: It is followed by Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. The lowest in the rankings are UP, Bihar and Jharkahand.

10. IAF to get the first batch of Women Fighter pilots in June: Bhawna Kanth, Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh are likely to create history as India’s first women fighter pilots if they put on the wings and are inducted into the IAF fighter stream.

11. S Rao will take over as the new Chairman and Public Interest Director of BSE: He will replace S Ramadorai.

12. Sonakshi Sinha enters Guinness World Record for nail painting: She along with several other women participated in an initiative to set a record for most people painting their fingernails simultaneously.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Iran successfully test fired several ballistic missiles: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has successfully test-fired several ballistic missiles from silos across the country.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. Yes Bank launches all women branch ‘Yes Grace’ in Bengaluru.

SPORTS:

2. Rest of India complete record run chase to beat Mumbai by 4 wickets to win Irani Trophy.

Daily GK Updates - 9th March, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Paytm gets ready for first Payment Bank: The country’s largest mobile wallet provider Paytm has got into a strategic tie-up with Florida-based global provider dedicated to banking and payments technologies FIS Global.

2. Mumbai to host BRICS Friendship Cities Conclave in April: Mumbai, the financial capital of India to host BRICS Friendship Cities Conclave in April involving top Urban Policy makers and Planners from BRICS nations.

3. Karnataka launches Mukhyamantri Santwana Harish Yojana: Government of Karnataka has launched Mukhyamantri Santwana Harish Yojana to provide free medical treatment to road accident victims for the first 48 hours (2 days) in the nearest government or private hospital.

4. NTPC bags poll based Research Inventor Communication Award among the ‘Large Corporates’ category. 

5. Sun Pharma signs MS Dhoni as Brand Ambassador for Revital H.

6. Reliance Jio to offer free Wi-Fi at 6 stadiums for T20 World Cup: Spectators of cricket matches in Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali and HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala will enjoy free wi-fi during T20 World Cup.

7. Telangana and Maharashtra CMs ink pact on Godavari water projects to construct five barrages across Godavari and Pen Ganga rivers.

8. Germany partners with India to develop Kochi, Coimbatore and Bhubaneswar as Smart cities.

9. 108-feet Jain teerthankar idol enters ‘Guinness book of world records’: A 108 feet idol of Lord Rishabhdeva, the first Teerthankar of Jains, carved out of a single rock, has entered the ‘Guinness World Records’ as the world’s tallest Jain statue.

10. India’s leading Integrated Travel Thomas Cook signs Strategic Alliance with Western Union Business Solutions and DCB Bank.

11. Freecharge partners with Mexico-based movie theatre chain Cinepolis to provide its customers an easy to use and secure way of making payments.

12. Rajya Sabha passed Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015 which extends the ambit of the BIS to include services, processes and products while ensuring production of world class goods.

13. Meghalaya police extended Operation Hillstorm 3: Combat operation by three months.

14. Cycling event of Indian Army with theme ‘Cycle to Recycle’ flagged off from Pangsau Pass on the India-Myanmar border.

15. CA Media Digital (India) Pvt Ltd appointed Vivek Jain as CEO of digital business.

16. Widow marriage included under Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah Yojana in Madhya Pradesh.

17. Indian Railways appointed Ernst and Young as consultant to discover advertising potential of trains and stations.

18. India, ASEAN Plus multilateral military exercise FORCE 18 concluded in Pune.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Iran successfully test fired several ballistic missiles: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has successfully test-fired several ballistic missiles from silos across the country.

2. IAEA to transfer Sterile Insect Technique under 2.3 Million Euro Project to combat Zika: The spread of the virus will be tackled with a nuclear technique that has been used to suppress various insect pests.

3. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNICEF launched global programme to accelerate action to end child marriage.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. Yes Bank launches all women branch ‘Yes Grace’ in Bengaluru.

2. ICICI Bank launched iWork@Home programme for its Women employees that will enable women employees of the bank to work from home.

SPORTS:

3. Indian men and women won Gold at World Team Table Tennis Championship held in Kuala Lumpur defeating Brazil and Luxemburg respectively.

AWARDS:

4. President Pranab Mukherjee presented 2015 Nari Shakti awards to 15 women, 5 organisations, one state and panchayat.

5. Mahindra Group CMD Anand Mahindra conferred France’s Knight of the Legion of Honour.

OBITUARIES:

6. George Henry Martin, legendary producer of The Beatles, died at the age of 90.

Daily GK Updates - 8th March, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Fitch maintains India’s growth forecast at 7.5%: Fitch, the global rating agency has maintained India’s growth forecast at 7.5% for the 2015-16 fiscal year and also sees higher growth around 7.7% and 7.9% over the next two financial years.

2. E-Haat; an online marketing platform launched by Union Government: Union Minster for Women and Child Development Maneka Sanjay Gandhi launched Mahila e-Haat portal in New Delhi to facilitate women entrepreneurs to sell their products to buyers. The Mahila e-Haat portal, www.mahilaehaat-rmk.gov.in is an online marketing platform.

3. PM Modi selects another village in Varanasi for development under SAGY: SansadAdarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) is a rural development programme broadly focusing upon the development in the villages which includes social development, cultural development and spread motivation among the people on social mobilisation of the village community. PM Modi has adopted Nagepur village in Varanasi under the scheme. He had earlier adopted Jayapur village in the same Varanasi constituency.

4. Government to import 8500 tonnes of pulses: Government has contracted import of 8500 tonnes of pulses and the shipments are on the way. The step is taken to maintain the buffer stock as the target of 50000 tonnes set for this kharif season has been surpassed. 

5. Union Government announced to withdraw tax proposal Employee Provident Fund: Union Finance Minister ArunJaitley announced to withdraw the proposal while clarifying NDA government’s stand on the issue in the LokSabha.

6. Indian Railways signs agreement with Bajaj Power: Bajaj Power Generation Company has signed an agreement with the Indian Railways for electrification of the Lalitpur-Udaipura rail section under the public private partnership (PPP).

7. Countdown for launch of India’s 6^th navigational satellite IRNSS-1F begins in Sriharikota: ISRO’s workhorse PSLV-C32 will lift off at 4pm on Thursday.

8. Union Government re-classified industries on four-colour scheme based on pollution potential: The four colours are red, orange, green and white with red categories industries having the highest pollution potential while white having the least.

9. New species of burrowing snake named MelanophidiumKhairei discovered in Western Ghats.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. International Women’s Day observed with campaign theme ‘PledgeForParity’: International Women’s day was observed across the world on 8^th March 2016. This year’s theme for the day is ‘Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step it up for Gender Equality’. The campaign theme for the day is #PledgeForParity.

2. SoftBank splits into two subsidiaries: The firm has said that it is planning to separate its profitable domestic mobile business from its international business, which includes a majority stake in US mobile operator Sprint Corp. Both the subsidiaries will be 100% owned by SoftBank. 

3. South Korea, US began largest ever military exercises off the coast of the Korean peninsula: The bilateral exercise comes just days after the UN passed new sanctions against Pyongyang, North Korea following its recent nuclear test and rocket launch.

4. France’s highest honour ‘Legion d’Honneur’ was presented to Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Nayef by President Francois Hollande. 

5. Women at Work: Trends 2016 report released by International Labour Organisation.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. Banks disburse over Rs 1.15 lakh crore under PM Mudra Yojana: Banks have so far disbursed over Rs 1.15 lakh crore under PradhanMantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY).

SPORTS:

2. Maria Sharapova provisionally suspended after failing drugs test at Australian Open.

3. Australian Golfer Adam Scott won 2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral, Florida (US).

4. Sri Lankan Cricket Board constituted Arvinda de Silva-led National Cricket Selection Panel.

Daily GK Updates - 7th March, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Gyan Sangam, 3^rd phase of bank reforms to focus on Bad Loan begins in Gurgaon: With mounting bad loans, the second edition of the Finance Ministry’s brain storming session with public sector banks focused on management of non-performing assets and consolidation in the sector.

2. Oil Minister lays foundation stone of Octomax unit at Mathura (UP): Dharmendra Pradhan, the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gases laid the foundation stone of country’s1st of its kind Octomax unit at Mathura refinery.

3. 27 Government banks may be merged into just 6: Finance Minister of India, Arun Jaitley has indicated that the Government may merge 27 public sector banks into just six because the PSB is working under pressure to tackle their dismal bad loan scenario and consolidation is the way forward to handle this situation.

4. Country’s first small Finance Bank to start operations on April 13: Jalandhar-based Capital Local Area Bank has become the first entity to receive the Reserve Bank of India’s licence to start operations as a small finance bank. 

5. Amazon is India’s most trusted Online Shopping Brand: Amazon world’s largest e-retailer is India’s most trusted online shopping brand followed home-grown Snapdeal and Flipkart.

6. Tata Housing ties up with SBI for Women’s Day offer: Tata Housing will allow its women customers to pay only 20% of the agreement values while the balance can be paid on taking possession of the property.

7. ‘Happening Haryana Global Investors Summit 2016’ begins in Gurgaon with 12 participating countries.

8. President Mukherjee presented Standard to 119 HU and Colours to 28 ED of IAF: The Supreme Commander of Indian Armed Forces Pranab Mukherjee presented President’s Standard to 119 Helicopter Unit (HU) and President’s Colours to 28 Equipment Depot (ED) of the Indian Air Force.

9. Sirshendu De selected for Innovation Award 2016 for developing laterite based arsenic water filter.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Myanmar grants operating licenses to four more Asian Banks including SBI: It has granted operating licenses to four Asian Banks, bringing to 13 the number of foreign banks allowed conducting business in the previously isolated country. Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, SBI, Taiwan’s Sun Commercial Bank and South Korea’s Shinhan Bank are the four banks which got the licenses.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Patna Pirates beat U Mumba 31-28 to win 3^rd season of Pro Kabaddi League.

2. India beat Bangladesh by 8 wickets to win Asia Cup for the record 6^th time.

AWARDS:

3. Amrita Patel gets Mahindra Samriddhi India Agri Lifetime Achievement Award.

4. Renowned Dogri poetess Padma Sachdev awarded Krutitava Smagra Samman.

OBITUARIES:

5. Email inventor Ray Tomlinson dies at the age of 74 due to heart attack.

6. Renowned Singer and Actor K Mani passed away at the age of 45 following a liver ailment.

7. American Actress Nancy Reagan died at the age of 94.