Daily GK Updates - 19th May, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Moody’s pegs India’s growth rate at 7.5% in 2016 and 2017: Global rating agency, Moody’s has forecast a growth rate of about 7.5% for the Indian economy in 2016 and 2017.

2. Centre to postpone NEET by a year: Buckling under pressure, the centre has decided to defer the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for medical college admission by a year through an ordinance or executive order.

3. Bonded labour rehab to be made Central sector scheme: Labour Minister (Independent) Bandaru Dattatreya stated that the centre is revising the rehabilitation of bonded labour scheme, bringing it into the Central sector, and plans to raise financial assistance from Rs 20,000 to Rs 100000.

4. Government approves three pharma FDI proposals worth Rs 60.73 crore: The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has approved Rs 60.73 crore worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals of Wockhardt, Aurobindo Pharma and Advanced Enzyme Technologies.

5. Apple announces opening of its map development centre in Hyderabad.

6. Ola signs MoU with government to benefit ‘Safai Karamcharis’: It has signed a MoU with the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) established under the aegis of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to focus on building a sustainable framework by supporting entrepreneurship, skill development training and self-defence courses for Safai Karamcharis and Scavengers.

7. BHEL commissions 250 MW Thermal Unit at Parli Thermal Power Station located in Beed district in Maharashtra.

8. TATA Power bags 100 MW solar projects in Pavagada Solar Park in Tumkur district of Karnataka.

9.  Japanese financial company Nomura exits joint venture with Life Insurance Corporation.

10. Five Indian cars namely Renault Kwid, Maruti Suzuki Celerio and Eeco, Mahindra Scorpio and Hyundai Eon failed crash tests by the Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP).

11. Ola signs MoU with KIAB: App-based cab service provider Ola has launched a unique initiative for travellers arriving at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). The move will help users to get an Ola cab in less than three minutes.

12. Rakesh Kumar Mishra appointed as the Director of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB).

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Scientists developed world’s first Zika virus clone: Scientists from the University Of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) have developed world’s first genetically engineered clone of the Zika virus strain.

2. UN-habitat releases World Cities Report 2016, Urbanization and Development: Emerging Futures: As per the UN reports, India is projected to add 300 million new urban residents by 2050 and it will also need to build Climate Friendly Cities to deal the challenge of accommodating the needs of the Population growth. 

3. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon appoints Patricia Espinosa Cantellano as Executive Secretary of UNFCCC.   

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. SBI seeks to take over 5 associate PSBs, Bhartiya Mahila Bank: The country’s largest lender State Bank of India has decided to merge its five associate public sector banks and the Bhartiya Mahila Bank with itself.

2. Nepal SBI launches payment gateway to facilitate online trade and non-trade transactions between the Himalayan nation Nepal and India.

3. PNB tops list of worst losses in Indian banking history: Public sector lender Punjab National Bank has reported the largest net loss of Rs 5,367.14 crore for the 4^th quarter ended on 31^st of March against the backdrop of a surge in bad loans.

SPORTS:

4. Sevilla Football club wins the 3^rd consecutive Europa League title by defeating Liverpool 3-1 in the final played in Basel: He was named as the Test Player of the Year, Limited Overs Player of the Year and Fan’s Player of the Year at the England’s annual award ceremony.

AWARDS:

5. Indian-American bio-technologist Rupa Iyer received the University of Houston’s highest teaching award for her sustained and significant contributions to education in the US.

Daily GK Updates - 18th May, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World’s largest single Rooftop Solar Power Plant inaugurated in Amritsar: In Punjab, Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal inaugurated the world’s largest Single Rooftop Solar Power Plant with the capacity of 11.5 Megawatt (MW) at Dera Baba Jaimal Singh at Beas, in Amritsar district.

2. Union Government opened Tatkal window to expedite examination of patent application: It has opened a Tatkal window to expedite examination of patent applications by start-ups as well as entities choosing India for the first filing of patent.

3. CCEA gives approval to the proposal for offering improved VRS package: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval to the proposal for offering an Improved Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) package based on 2007 notional pay scales for the employees of Hindustan Vegetable Oil Corporation, HVOC.

4. Draft National Policy for Women, 2016 unveiled: It will replace the National Policy for Empowerment of Women, 2001. It will also guide Government action on Women’s issues over the next 15-20 years.

5. Five member committee headed by Former Revenue and Expenditure Secretary N K Singh to give recommendations on Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management.

6. India successfully test fired its indigenously developed Prithvi-II missile from Chandipur, off Odisha coast.

7. Odisha to launch Green Passage Scheme for Orphan students: The Odisha Government has decided to launch Green Passage Scheme for orphan students to ensure that they get free of cost higher education in the state.

8. Trial run of Delhi Metro’s new driverless trains flagged off by CM ArvindKejeriwal.

9. Belgium based company Barco appoints Rajiv Bhalla as MD for India.

10. Manzil Saini becomes first women SSP of Lucknow.

11. IndiGo names Rohit Philip as its new CFO.

12. Shell India appoints Nitin Prasad as its new India head.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World’s first robot lawyer ROSS hired by US law firm Baker Hostetler: ROSS has been built by ROSS Intelligence and it is built upon IBM cognitive computer Watson. With the support of Watson’s, lawyers can ask ROSS their research question.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. England Cricketer Joe Root bags top three England cricket award: He was named as the Test Player of the Year, Limited Overs Player of the Year and Fan’s Player of the Year at the England’s annual award ceremony.

2. IOC to ban 31 athletes from competing in Rio after their sample from Beijing Olympics found tainted.

AWARDS:

3. 15-year old Indian-American student Syamantak Payra wins prestigious Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award: He won the prize for developing a low cost electronic device for people who cannot talk well through disease or injury.

Daily GK Updaes - 17th May, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World Bank approves $625 m loan to support rooftop solar programme in India: The project will finance the installation of at least 400 MW grid connected rooftop solar photovoltaic (GRPV) across India which will provide clean renewable energy and reduce GHG emissions by displacing thermal generation.

2. Government launches Swacch Office Drive across India: The government launched a 15-day ‘Swachh Office Drive’ across India to ensure cleanliness at government-run offices.

3. Union Government launches e-PACE, INFRACON and up-Scaled INAM PRO for Road Transport Sector: These three innovative IT initiatives are aimed at making the road building procedure faster, more transparent and more efficient.

4. India ranks 3^rd in ‘Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index’ with China at 2^nd position and the US on top.

5. India, US hold first Maritime Security Dialogue: The dialogue was held between the officials of Defence and External Affairs ministries and their US counterparts. It was created as a part of the maritime security objectives under the India-US Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region.

6. NTPC forms joint venture with Coal India: State run power generating firm NTPC has signed a joint venture agreement of 50:50 contribution with state-run Coal India to revive plants run by the Fertilizer Corporation of India (FCIL).

7. Indian short film ‘Beti’ to be screened at the 42^nd Seattle International Film Festival, Washington DC.

8. New CJs of Rajasthan HC, Tripura HC and Chhattisgarh HC have sworn in: Justive Navin Sinha-CJ of Rajasthan HC, Justice T Vaiphei-CJ of Tripura HC and Justice Deepak Gupta-CJ of Chhattisgarh HC.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World Hypertension Day being observed today: The World Hypertension Day is being observed across the world on 17^th May 2016 to increase awareness about hypertension. The theme for the WHD is ‘Awareness of high blood pressure’.

2. NASA launches super pressure balloon from New Zealand: It launched a super pressure balloon from New Zealand’s South Island Wanaka Airport to conduct near-space scientific investigations.

3. China launches Yaogan-30 Remote Sensing Satellite.

4. British Royals launches Heads Together Campaign to tackle stigma of mental health: The campaign launched by Prince Harry and Princess Kate aims to change the national conversation on mental health and wellbeing.

5. Pfizer to buy Anacor Pharma in a $5.2 billion deal.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. RBI authorises 29 agency banks to accept payments of IT due: Tax payers can now use the facility of online payment or use alternate channels like the authorised agency banks. Some of the agency banks authorised by RBI to collect tax include Allahabad Bank, UCO Bank, Bank of India, Canara Bank, etc.

2. DBS Bank to set up new technology hub in Hyderabad.

3. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to shut down its operations in India.

SPORTS:

4. Archers Deepika Kumari, Bombayla Devi and Laxmirani Majhi named for Rio Olympics 2016.

AWARDS:

5. South Korean author Han Kang wins 2016 Man Booker International Prize for her novel ‘The Vegetarian’.

6. J K Rowling received highest French civilian honour- ‘French Legion of Honour’.

OBITUARIES:

7. Discoverer of Neptune’s rings, French Astrophysicist Andre Brahic died at the age of 73.

Daily GK Updates - 16th May, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. ‘Dhan Wapasi’ Income Declaration Scheme for domestic black money to commence from June 1: Individual willing to declare their black money in the country will have to pay tax and a penalty, totalling 45%, to come clean.

2. Union Minister J P Nadda lays foundation stone for three medical colleges in Jammu and Kashmir: The three new medical colleges will be opened at Rajouri, Anantnag and Baramulla districts in Jammu and Kashmir.

3. India Posts goes High-tech, Geo-tags post offices on Bhuvan: The postal department of India, India post is going hi-tech by geo tagging the post office on Bhuvan and has begun monitoring timely clearance of letter boxes through a mobile app.

4. Centre approves proposal to set up Kalinganagar National Investment Manufacturing Zone in Jajpur district of Odisha.

5. Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation positive for 1^st time in 18 months: Wholesale prices rose for the first time in 18 months, posting an annual gain of 0.34 per cent, driven up by higher costs for food and manufactured items.

6. India successfully test fires Interceptor missile from the Odisha coast: The missile is capable of destroying hostile ballistic missile and will help in strengthening India’s Missile Defence System.

7. BHEL wins Rs 1600-crore order from the joint venture of NTPC and SAIL to set up a coal based thermal power project in Odisha.

8. India and Bangladesh power ties with 21^st-century nuclear deal: India and Bangladesh has concluded a nuclear agreement with each other to engage the bilateral neighbourhood relationship.

9. United Nations to honour 4 Indian peacekeepers and a civilian: They have died while serving on peacekeeping missions last year. The names of the awardees are Head Constable Shubhkaran Yadav, Rifleman Manish Malik, Havildar Amal Deka, Naik Rakesh Kumar and Gagan Punjabi. All of these will be honoured with the Dag Hammarskjold Medal on May 19, International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.

10. Justice Mukul Mudgal appointed as the Deputy Chairman of FIFA’S Governance Committee.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 2016 Red Flag Aerial Combat exercises concluded in US: The multilateral Red Flag Aerial Combat exercises between US, NATO and allied forces and Indian Air Force (IAF) concluded in Alaska (US).

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Indian women’s squash team led by Joshna Chinnappa clinched silver at Asian Squash Championship held at Taipei.

2. Andy Murray defeated Novak Djokovic to list his maiden Rome Masters title 2016.

3. Serena Williams defeated Madison Keys to win her 4^th Rome Masters title.

4. Sudha Singh breaks 3000m steeplechase national record by clocking 9 min and 26.55 sec.

5. FC Barcelona crowned La Liga Champions for the 24^th time.

6. Mirza and Hingis win Rome Masters Women’s doubles title.

7. Max Verstappen becomes the youngest Formula 1 winner by defeating Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

AWARDS:

8. Former ISRO Chairman U R Rao becomes first Indian to be honoured with International Astronautical Federation (IAF) ‘Hall of Fame’ Award.

9. Celina Jaitley honoured by Harvey Milk Foundation for her contribution to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) equality as a United Nations Equality Champion.

OBITUARIES:

10. Former Test Cricketer Deepak Shodhan passed away at the age of 87.

Daily GK Updates - 15th May, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India inks Project Collaboration Agreement with WHO to promote traditional medicine: India has signed a historic Project Collaboration Agreement (PCA) with World Health Organisation (WHO) for cooperation on promoting the quality, safety and effectiveness of service provision in traditional and complementary medicine.

2. PM Modi and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Srisena release Simhastha Declaration at Ninora Village in Ujjain: Simhastha Declaration has 51 sacred points for betterment of mankind that will start new discourse not only in India but around the world.

3. Justice Naveen Sinha sworn-in as the Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court.

4. Supreme Court upholds validity of Criminal Defamation Law.

5. Maharashtra Government declared drought in 29000 villages 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. 2016 Red Flag Aerial Combat exercises concluded in US: The multilateral Red Flag Aerial Combat exercises between US, NATO and allied forces and Indian Air Force (IAF) concluded in Alaska (US).

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Sri Lanka’s Former captain Mahela Jayawardene appointed as Member of the ICC Cricket Committee.

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

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

3. The book titled ‘The Drowned Detective’ authored by Neil Jordan was in news recently.

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.