Daily GK Updates - 1st May, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016 came into force: It promotes the growth of real estate sector in an environment of trust, confidence, credible transactions and efficient and time bound execution of projects.

2. Reliance Defence signed agreements with 3 Ukranian companies: This will allow them to collaborate on a range of military products including transport aircraft, upgrade of armoured vehicles, maritime gas turbines and unmanned aerial vehicles. The agreements were signed during meeting between Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani and Ukranian President Petro Poroshenko in Ukraine.

3. Government approves Rs 9005 crore investment for affordable housing for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) under the Prime Minister’s AwasYojana (PMAY) in three states viz. Maharashtra, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

4. First in South India, underground corridor of Namma Metro inaugurated in Bengaluru: The newly inaugurated underground section of about 5.12 kilometres long from Cubbon Park to City Railway station completes the 18.10 kms long east west corridor which is also called Purple line.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. China developed world’s first graphene electronic paper: It will be a huge breakthrough that will catapult the material to a new level. It was developed by the Guangzhou OED Technologies in partnership with a company in Chongqing. Compared with traditional e-papers, a graphenee-paper is more pliable and has more intensity and its high-light transmittance means optical displays will be much brighter.

2. Bitcoincreater confirms identity as Australian Craig Wright: Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright has reportedly confirmed that he created digital payment system bitcoins and provided technical proof for his claims. He had earlier developed it under the pseudonym ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Charles Borromeo resigned from Tata Steel Sports Department.

2. Vijender Singh records 5^th consecutive victory in professional boxing as he defeated Frenchman Matiouze Royer at London’s Copper Box Arena via knock-out.

Daily GK Updates - 30th April, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Nagaland’s capital Kohima declared ‘smoke-free city’.

2. SIDBI signs MoU with SAARC Development Fund: Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and SAARC Development Fund (SDF) has signed a MoU for mutual cooperation and collaboration.

3. Government approves Rs 9005 crore investment for affordable housing for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) under the Prime Minister’s AwasYojana (PMAY) in three states viz. Maharashtra, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

4. S K Bhagat appointed Director General of Railway Protection Force (RPF).

5. Blackberry launches BBM Money Transfer Service in India: The BlackBerry users can download the BBM Money app and transfer funds to one another through BlackBerry Messenger.

6. Former Bureaucrat andPolitician N K Singh selected for Japan’s highest civilian award for promoting economic, educational and cultural ties between India and Japan.

7. Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launches 100 piped water supply projects: He dedicated to the people 100 piped water supply projects for rural areas and promised to make piped water provision in all gram panchayats by 2017.

8. Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal launched UJALA Scheme in Madhya Pradesh: UJALA stands for UnnatJyoti by Affordable LEDs for All.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. International Jazz Day observed across the world on 30^th April 2016: The Day is intended to raise awareness in the international community of the virtues of jazz as an educational tool, and a force for peace, unity, dialogue and enhanced cooperation among people.

2. Endangered Asiatic wild dogs spotted in China nature reserve.

 OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. NABARD partners with Germany for food security initiative: It entered into collaboration with the German government for a special programme on ‘Soil Protection and Rehabilitation for Food Security’.

SPORTS:

2. AbhinavBindra joins Salman Khan as India’s Goodwill Brand Ambassador for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

3. Tobago batsman Iraq Thomas made fastest ever century in cricket history of just 21 balls.

Daily GK Updates - 29th April, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. BSF to put tallest ‘Tiranga’ at Wagah border by January 2017: The flag at 350 feet is part of BSF’s expansion plans for the visitors’ gallery at the site of the iconic Retreat ceremony.

2. First time direct tax details published by CBDT: First time in the history, a total of 84 page data has been released and put in the public domain, as the Central Board of Direct Taxes has published direct tax data including income disclosed in tax returns by various categories of tax payers from 2000 to 2015.

3. Government plans to keep 1% of highways project cost for road safety: The government is committed to reducing the number of road accidents and fatalities by 50% in next two to three years.

4. India and Papua New Guinea sign four agreements in the fields of Agriculture, Health, Information Technology and Infrastructure.

5. Government approves BPCL’s Rs 3000 crore investment in Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd: The BORL is planning for capacity expansion in its refinery in Bina, Madhya Pradesh.

6. NITI Ayog launched urban management programme for capacity building of states and urban local bodies: The programme is designed by NITI Ayog, Temasek Foundation and Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) under the platform of the MoU signed between NITI Ayog and the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE).

7. ISRO’s 7^th navigational satellite IRNSS 1G launched: It was launched from the First Launch Pad of the SatishDhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, which is situated 90 kms from Chennai.

8. Indian Naval Ship Veer and Nipat decommissioned.

9. Rahuri Municipal Council of Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra has become the first municipal council to attain the status of integrated with digital locker for the issuance of all essential documents.

10. Election commission launches mobile app ‘e-voter’ for Kerala assembly polls.

11. Gujarat announces 10% quota for reservation in higher education and government jobs for economically backward members of all non-reserved castes, with annual income below Rs 6 lakh.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Mongolia confers highest civilian honour to two Indians: Mongolia has conferred its highest civilian honour ‘North Star’ to two Indian scholars-Lokesh Chandra and Mansura Haider for their contribution to Mongolian studies.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Former Sri Lankan cricketer SanathJaysuriya recalled as Sri Lanka’s cricket chief selector.

2. GarimaChaudhary wins gold at Commonwealth Judo Championship held in Port Elizabeth in South Africa.

AWARDS:

3. Swat Activist Tabassum Adnan wins 2016 Nelson Mandela Award.

OBITUARIES:

4. Kerala cartoonist V T Thomas passed away at the age of 86.

Daily GK Updates - 28th April, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. MoU signed between Railways and ISRO: The Railways has signed a MoU with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to develop an application for Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System.

2. New Naval detachment launched at Lakshadweep Androth Island: It will help Indian Navy to have better surveillance and reach in the Arabian Sea.

3. Cabinet nod to solar power plant of 200 MW at Jetsar in Rajasthan.

4. Cabinet approves MoU between India and Papua New Guinea on cooperation in the field of health area and medical science.

5. MoU between Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India and the Insurance Authority, UAE: The MoU provides for enhanced cooperation between the two authorities in the field of insurance supervision by providing a framework for co-operation such as channels of communication.

6. BSE inks pact with Korea Exchange to list Sensex-based derivatives: The agreement is expected to further the development of derivatives markets in India and South Korea. It will encourage the sharing of information, and foster new opportunities for the exchanges and their respective issuers.

7. Experian India has launched the fraud detection mechanism: The Global data services company, Experian, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland has launched its ‘Hunter Fraud Score’ in India, which is a new scoring mechanism. The mechanism will help to measure the probability of fraud in a credit application across banking and insurance industries.

8. Panel suggests fine or jail for celebrities in misleading ads: The panel will be headed by MP J C Divakar Reddy and it suggests that for first time offence the violator may be penalised with either a fine of Rs 10 lakh or imprisonment up to two years or both. For second time offence, a fine of Rs50 lakh and imprisonment of five years will be the penalty.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. New Zealand’s $5 bill named best banknote of the year: It has been named the banknote of the year for 2015 by the International Bank Note Society. The banknote incorporates some of the world’s most advanced security features and beautifully showcasing New Zealand’s history, culture and heritage.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. DBS Bank launches ‘mobile-only bank’ in India: The Singapore’s largest bank, DBS has unveiled the ‘mobile-only bank’ in India. The ‘digibank’ uses technologies, such as biometrics and artificial intelligence, to enable paperless, signature-less and branch less bank.

SPORTS:

2. Japan unveiled Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympics emblems: The logo features a circular Japanese Traditional checkered pattern. Below the design are the words ‘Tokyo 2020’ and under them the five interlocking Olympic rings.

3. ICC suspends the Cricket Association of Nepal due to a vacuum of cricket leadership in the country and also in view of government interference in the board.

4. Deepika Kumari equals world record of South Korea’s Ki Boe Bae in recurve event at Archery World Cup held in Shanghai.

AWARDS:

5. Sudarsan Pattnaik bags gold medal at 9^th Sand Sculpture Championship in Moscow, Russia.

OBITUARIES:

6. Kerala cartoonist V T Thomas passed away at the age of 86.