Daily GK Updates - 14th May, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India’s 1^st solar-powered train set for trial in Jodhpur: In a bid to provide solar energy, the Indian Railways is all set to conduct trial of its first solar panel-powered train in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur city.

2. Securities and Exchanges Board of India approves Ashok Chawla as NSE Chairman.

3. Haryana Backward Classes Act 2016 notified: The act was enacted to provide reservation to Jats and four other castes in services and admission in educational institutions in the state.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. First World Conference on tourism for development will be held in Beijing: The 1^st World Conference on Tourism for Development will be held in Beijing, China from 18^th to 21^st of May, 2016. The conference aims at advancing the contribution of tourism to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the theme ‘Tourism for Peace and Development’.

2. Italian Parliament approves same-sex civil unions: The new law grants same-sex couples many of the same rights as married heterosexual couples. Partners in a civil union can apply for public housing as couples.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. FIFA appoints Fatma Samoura as first female Secretary General.

2. Rwanda national captain Eric Dusingizimana creates new Guinness World Record by batting for 51 hours continuously.

AWARDS:

3. Indian Artist Anjali Chandrashekar wins 3^rd prize in UN Poster for Peace Contest on N-disarmament: The UN Poster Competition was held for creating awareness about nuclear disarmament.

Daily GK Updates - 13th May, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. NITI Aayog to replace 5-year plans with 15-year vision document: These will be framed to meet the country’s social goals without wavering from the sustainable growth agenda. The first 15-year vision document will start from 2017-18, along with seven-year National Development Agenda which will lay down the schemes, programmes and strategies to achieve the long term vision. It will be implemented after the 12^th five year plan which is going to terminate in 2017.

2. Cabinet approves India’s first IPR policy: The policy is guided by seven objectives, including IPR public awareness, generation of IPRs, human development, and strong law enforcement.

3. Government approves Rs 1, 984 crore Delhi-Meerut Expressway stretch.

4. TRAI penalty on Telecom companies for call drops illegal: SC: The Supreme Court of India has ruled that Telecom companies will not compensate mobile phone users for inconvenience caused by call drops.

5. Indian Air Force’s Electronic Maintenance Management System inaugurated at Air Force Station, Pune.

6. Railways to constitute Mobility Directorate, Non-fare Revenue Directorate: It will be constituted to focus on areas like speed enhancement. It will handle work such as identification and prioritisation of train corridors for raising speed and identification of path for timetabled freight trains.

7. Sri Lankan President on a two day India visit: President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Srisena will arrive in the capital today. The visit is expected to contribute to further strengthening the close and cooperative relations between India and Sri Lanka.

8. Delhi no longer the world’s most polluted city as per WHO: The dirtiest air was recorded at Zabol in Iran, which suffers from months of dust storms in the summer.

9. India and five countries sign agreement on tax info sharing: As per a report published by the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), India and five other countries have signed a multilateral pact for automatic exchange of information on tax issues and developing new tools to tackle the tax evasion. The signing took place in Beijing, China.

10. India and Bangladesh hold security talks in Dhaka.

11. Cabinet approves pact between SEBI and Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), Abu Dhabi for Mutual Co-operation and Technical Assistance.

12. World’s largest cargo aircraft has landed in Hyderabad, India: The World’s largest cargo plane Antonov-225 Mriya has landed in Hyderabad for refuelling today.

13.  Prakash Singh Committee headed by former DGP of UP Prakash Singh, has submitted its report on Jat Quota agitation to Haryana CM M L Khattar.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Central Asian state leaders inaugurated CASA-1000 power project in Tajikistan: Central Asian state leaders have inaugurated the Central Asia South Asia (CASA-1000) transmission line near Dushanbe in Tajikistan to link the four nations and to promote regional stability, security and prosperity. These countries are Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

2. Indian-American Manjit Singh appointed as Member of President’s Advisory Council on Faith-based.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. RBI issues norms for prior approval of branch offices by foreign entities in India.

SPORTS:

2. Anil Kumble retained ICC Cricket Committee head, Rahul Dravid made Member.

OBITUARIES:

3. Head of Sant Nirankari Mission Guru Hardev Singh passed away at the age of 62.

Daily GK Updates - 12th May, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Bankruptcy Bill passed in RajyaSabha: The RajyaSabha has passed the insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016, which had already been passed by the LokSabha last week. The code seeks to consolidate and amend the laws relating to reorganising and insolvency resolution in a time bound manner.

2. President of India presents National Florence Nightingale Awards: He presented the awards to 35 nursing personnel at function in RashtrapatiBhavan on the occasion of International Nurses Day which is celebrated on 12^th May 2016.

3. President appoints CJs of MP, Allahabad and Kerala HCs as SC Judges.

4. Government inks MoU with NDTV Ethnic Retail Ltd to popularize India Handloom products: The joint endeavour will endorse and launch a project, Indiaroots Fashion Accelerator (IFA), a project by NDTV to support fresh talent and to support new and innovative ventures in fashion industry. Government will support the project with incubation and production support.

5. NALCO signs MoU with BARC for research and development.

6. Reliance JioInfocomm launches digital wallet: MukeshAmbani-owned Reliance JioInfocomm has launched its digital wallet service, called as JioMoney Wallet, for Indian consumers, following the introduction of 4G services to the public through an employee-driven invite system.

7. Kotak sole Indian on Forbes’ most powerful list: Kotak Mahindra Bank Chief UdayKotak, with a net worth of $7.1 billion is the only Indian in the list.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Rwanda hosts 26^th World Economic Forum on Africa: Rwanda is hosting the 26^th World Economic Forum on Africa (WEF) in its capital Kigali from 11^th to 13^th May. The theme of this 26^th WEF on Africa is ‘Connecting Africa’s Resources through Digital Transformation. The event is focusing, among other things, on how to diversify economies, tackle inequality and strengthen collaborations among countries.

2. Iran stops free shipping of oil to India.

3. Kenya to close World’s biggest refugee camp in Dadaab: The Kenyan Government has decided to close the World’s biggest refugee camp in Dadaab. Presently, around 3, 28,000 refugees mostly from Somalia are staying in Dadaab camp.

4. Brazil PrezRousseff suspended for six months: Brazil’s President DilmaRousseff was suspended for at least six months after the country’s Senate voted 55-22 to impeach and put her on trial.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. ICICI launches country’s 1^st contactless credit cards for SMEs: It has launched the country’s first contactless business credit card in association with Jet Airways for small and mid-sized enterprises and their employees.

SPORTS:

2. AR Rahman named Goodwill Ambassador of the Indian Contingent for the Olympics 2016.

3. SashankManohar elected as first independent ICC Chairman.

4. Stephen Curry named NBA’s Most Valuable Player for second straight year.

AWARDS:

5. Obama honours Indian-American elementary teacher RevathiBalkrishnan: She was honoured by the US President at the White House for the excellent work in the field of education. She was also named as 2016 ‘Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year’ by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).

OBITUARIES:

6. Cricket commentator Tony Cozier has passed away at the age of 75.

7. RajyaSabha MP from Gujarat Praveen Rashtrapal has passed away at the age of 76.

Daily GK Updates - 11th May, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 11^th May celebrated as National Technology Day: The theme for this year was ‘Technology enablers of Start-up India’. This day glorifies the importance of science in day to day life and to celebrate the anniversary of first of the five tests of Operation Shakti (Pokhran-II) nuclear test which was held on 11^th May 1998 in Pokhran, Rajasthan.

2. Indian Navy decommissions fighter planes Sea Harriers: The Naval Air Squadron 300- INAS 300, popularly known as ‘white tigers’, de-inducted these fighter aircrafts and replaced them with new generation Mig-29 K fighters in a touching ceremony on INS Hansa near Vasco.

3. Indian Navy launches underwater vigil system in Vishakhapatnam: It has launched the state of art Harbour Defence Systems, viz. Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence and Surveillance System (IUHDSS) and Mine Warfare Data Centre (MWDC) which would enable the Navy’s surveillance capability and response to security threats at the Naval Dockyard in Vishakhapatnam.

4. Harish Rawat set to return as Uttarakhand CM: He is all set to be reinstated as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, over six weeks after he was ousted by the centre, with the Supreme Court, putting its stamp of approval on the floor test in the Assembly.

5. Government constitutes Sanjay Mitra committee to prepare policy framework for taxi operators: The Union Government has launched nine projects initiatives for rural sanitation initiatives for conservation of river Ganga in Sahibganj, Jharkhand.

6. India signs revised tax treaty with Mauritius: After this India will get taxation rights on capital gains arising from sale of shares acquired on or after 1^st April, 2017 in Indian companies.

7. India to develop regional connectivity projects worth $5 billion in South Asia: The projects include road corridors connecting India with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan through West Bengal and India-Myanmar through Manipur.

8. Quikr acquires in-home beauty services provider Salosa for an undisclosed amount.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. US-India Defence Cooperation Act introduced in Senate: The US-India Defence Technology and Partnership Act was introduced in the Senate by Senators Mark Warner and John Cornyn- co-chairs of the Senate India Caucus. If the act is passed, it will elevate the status of the Indo-US defence relationship on par with that of America’s closest allies like NATO and Israel.

2. Amazon launches its online video service: The online video service is called Amazon Video Direct. This facility will facilitate the users by allowing to post clips on its website and earn through advertising, royalties and other sources.

3. Bangladesh hangs Jamaat-e-Islami chief Nizami for war crimes committed during the country’s 1971 Liberation War.

4. Rodrigo Duterte wins 2016 Philippines Presidential Elections: He will become the 16^th President-elect of Philippines.

5. Sadiq Khan elected as the first Muslim Mayor of London.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. RBI cancels license of 4 NBFCs and 7 other surrender licence: The NBFCs whose certificate of registration were cancelled include M/s Neelanjali Engineering Pvt Ltd, M/s Novoflex Tradecom Pvt Ltd, M/s Guide Investment and Trading Co. Pvt Ltd and M/s Enol Ventures Pvt Ltd.

2. Karnataka Bank launches ‘cash back’ campaign: It has launched ‘cash back’ campaign for its VISA debit cardholders. Those cardholders, who have done a minimum of five swiping at POS terminals or five online transactions with a minimum value of Rs 200 each will qualify under this campaign.

SPORTS:

3. Sania-Hingis continue to lead Women’s Doubles rankings.

AWARDS:

4. MP Tourism wins Lonely Planet’s Best Indian Destination for Wildlife Award: It was conferred with the National Award for Smart Policing instituted by Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Daily GK Updates - 10th May, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Parliament passes Anti-Hijacking Bill, 2016: It has passed the Anti-Hijacking Bill, 2016 to widen ambit of law dealing with this hijacking crime. The bill was first passed in RajyaSabha and later in LokSabha in May 2016.

2. President of India to attend the National Technology Day celebration tomorrow: ShriPranab Mukherjee will attend the National Technology Day (May 11) celebrations at VigyanBhavan, New Delhi tomorrow.

3. Ministry of Environment and Forests launches web-based application on Integrated Waste Management System: Objective of the Integrated Waste Management System is to enhance transparency in the working of the Ministry and other Centre/state level regulatory bodies and to reduce the time taken for processing applications, seeking various types of permissions under the recently notified waste management regulations.

4. Indian Army conducts ‘Chakravyuh-2’ training exercise in Suratgarh, Rajasthan.

5. Rural sanitation initiatives for Ganga Rejuvenation launched in Jharkhand: The Union Government has launched nine projects initiatives for rural sanitation initiatives for conservation of river Ganga in Sahibganj, Jharkhand.

6. Google launches free Wi-Fi at five railway stations namely Ujjain, Jaipur, Patna, Guwahati and Allahabad.

7. Asia’s leading cloud telephony company, Knowlarity Communications acquired Delhi-based customer engagement platform Smartwards.

8. Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Dr Mahesh Sharma has released a Commemorative coin of Rs 100 and a circulation coin of Rs 10 in New Delhi on the 475^th birth anniversary of MaharanaPratap.

9. Sanjay Kaul is the new Country Head for Apple India.

10. MrugankParanjape took charge as MD and CEO of Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).

11. Indian Scientist bags SGD 3 million grant from Singapore’s NRF: Dr.Manvendra K Singh from UP’s Gorakhpur city has been awarded a grant of about Rs 14.7 crore by National Research Foundation of Singapore to research in congenital and adult cardiovascular diseases.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. BAFTA TV Awards 2016 announced: The British Academy Television Awards hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) were announced. Drama Series: Wolf Hall (BBC2), Entertainment: Strictly Come Dancing, International: Transparent, Single Drama: Don’t take my baby.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. RBI to issue Rs 1000 banknotes with inset letter ‘R’: As per the Reserve Bank of India it will shortly issue Rs 1000 denomination bank notes in the Mahatma Gandhi Series of 2005 with the insertion of letter ‘R’ in both the number panels.

2. 100% FDI through Automatic Route permitted in Asset Reconstruction Companies: Till now Foreign Direct Investment through Automatic Route was only 49%.

3. RBI releases ‘Draft Guidelines for ‘on tap’ licensing of Universal Banks in the Private Sector’

SPORTS:

4. ShashankManohar quits as BCCI President as he is currently the ICC Chairman.

5. Indian boxers won 4 medals at 7^th Asian Youth Championships held in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan and finished third.

OBITUARIES:

6. US actor William Schallert passed away at the age of 93.

Daily GK Updates - 9th May, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India’s single emergency number ‘112’ to be active from January 1, 2017: It will help people to reach immediate services of police, ambulance and fire department.

2. India ranks 9^th among crony capitalist nations: India is ranked at the 9^th position in crony-capitalism with crony sector wealth accounting for 3.4% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Among the 22 countries in the updated index, Germany is the cleanest with least number of crony capitals.

3. India launches Bharat Darshan Tourist Train for pilgrims: Railways has launched the Bharat Darshan Tourist Train for pilgrims to visit Shirdi, Tirupati, Jagannath Puri, Gangasagar, Baidyanath Dham and Jyotilingams among others.

4. Government of India starts UBIN drive for budding entrepreneurs: GOI has started the process for issuance of Unique Business Identification Number (UBIN). It will help enable budding entrepreneurs to set up their business without any delays as it produce results within targeted time and it is no longer business as usual in India.

5. Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Kalraj Mishra inaugurated Khadi Spinning and Weaving Centre in Srinagar.

6. Gujarat Government accords minority status to Jain community: The Gujarat Government has granted minority status to the Jain Community after issuing a resolution for the same. This will be benefiting the poor among Jain community as they will be eligible for many scholarships and welfare schemes.

7. Infosys Foundation signs pact with Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune to support from economically weaker section to pursue ‘high quality’ education.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Cultural festival in Egypt inaugurated to observe Tagore’s birth anniversary: To mark the 155^th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore a five day cultural festival has been organised by India in Cairo, Egypt from 8^th May to 12^th May.

2. England automotive brand Jaguar Land Rover Ltd and a subsidiary of Indian Automaker Tata Motors tied up with UK-based Bullitt Group to develop mobile devices and a range of accessories under its brand.

3. United Nations launched Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Zika Virus response: The fund aims to provide rapid, flexible and accountable platform to support a coordinated response from the UN system and partners.

4. Airport show opens in Dubai: It has shown a participation of more the 300 companies from 55 countries. This is the 16^th edition of the Airport Show.

5. Sadiq Khan elected as the first Muslim Mayor of London.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. Saraswat Bank donates Rs 1 crore reliefs for drought for Maharashtra.

2. South Indian Bank announces tie-up with National Australia Bank for online inward remittances from Australia at a competitive rate.

SPORTS:

3. Novak Djokovic wins 2016 Mutua Madrid Open.

AWARDS:

4. SMS-based Vehicle Monitoring Service of Nagaland Police bags award: It was conferred with the National Award for Smart Policing instituted by Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  

OBITUARIES:

5. Veteran freedom fighter and former Sircilla MLA Chennamaneni Rajeshwar Rao passed away at the age of 93.

Daily GK Updates - 8th May, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Bombay High Court decriminalizes beef possession, upholds ban on slaughter of bulls, bullocks in Maharashtra: It upheld the ban on slaughter of bulls and bullocks in Maharashtra indicating that consumption of beef will remain banned across the state.

2. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabu launched Wi-Fi hotspot at Vijayawada, Kachiguda and Raipur in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh respectively.

3. H R Nagendra Committee on Yoga Education in Universities submitted its recommendations.

4. Indian Railways creates Non-Fare Revenue Directorate to explore advertising in Train Coaches: It will explore getting advertisements on coaches, wagons, locomotives and at stations and commercial exploitation of vacant rail land among others.

5. Radha Binod Barman took over as part-time Chairperson of National Statistical Commission.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. US based private space transport Service Company; SpaceX successfully launched Japanese JCSAT-14 communication satellite into the space.

2. Alberta Wildfire: State of Emergency declared by Canada Government: Alberta, a province in Western Canada, came in news as on 5^th May 2016 a state of emergency was declared in the city of Fort McMurray due to a massive wildfire destroyed several of homes.

OTHER UPDATES:

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

1. Shashi Kapoor’s biography ‘Shashi Kapoor-the Householder, the Star’ authored by Journalist Aseem Chhabra was released.