Daily GK Updates - 4th August, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Six year old Indian boy enters Guinness World Record: A six-year-old boy, Om Swaroop Gowda from Karnataka has set the world record for covering longest distance by limbo skating under cars. He clinched the Guinness World records title after a successful attempt to travel a staggering 65.283-metre distance while holding his body just above the ground and maintaining a splits position throughout.

2. LS Speaker inaugurates DRDO exhibition in Parliament premises: LokSabha Speaker SumitraMahajan has inaugurated the three-day Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) exhibition in the Parliament premises in New Delhi.

3. Urban Development Ministry approves investment of Rs 4404 crore to 8 states, UTs: Ministry of Urban Development has approved an investment of Rs. 4,404 crore in augmenting water supply, sewerage networks, drainage, urban transport and public and green spaces in urban areas in 8 States and UTs under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) for the current financial year.

4. Vasundhara Raje lays the foundation of 14 projects in Jaipur: Rajasthan's Chief Minister VasundharaRaje has laid the foundation of 14 projects worth Rs 2,229 Crore and stated that the city of Jaipur will be a 'wonder city' in next two years. The project aims to make the 47-km long water body pollution free and beautiful in the next two years. Plantation of 16,000 saplings in 65,000 sq meters will also be a part of the beautification of the river, etc.

5. Shipping Corporation of India inks MoU amid Growth Plans: Shipping Corporation of India Ltd. has signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Shipping for the financial year 2016-17.

6. Dr D K Gayen appointed as the new GM of East Central Railway.

7. Sudhanshu Mani appointed as new GM of Integral Coach Factory (ICF).

8. Nimesh Kampani resigns as Managing Director of JM Financial Ltd.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 4 Indian-origin persons among US’ top wealth advisors: Forbes: Raj Sharma and Ash Chopra, both working in Merrill Lynch - Private Banking & Investment Group, have been ranked 17th and 129 respectively on the Forbes 2016 'America's Top Wealth Advisors' list. While Sonny Kothari of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management has been ranked 176, RajuPathak of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is placed at 184.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. RBI launches new website ‘Sachet’ to curb Illegal Collection of Deposits: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor RaghuramRajan has launched ’Sachet- www.sachet.rbi.org.in’, a web portal to curb illegal collection of deposits. Sachet is an SLCC (State Level Coordination Committees) website from which the members of the public would be able to obtain information regarding entities that are allowed to accept deposits, lodge complaints and also share information regarding illegal acceptance of deposits by unscrupulous entities.

2. RBI constitutes a committee on Household Finance: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up a committee to look at the various facets of household finance in India and to benchmark India’s position vis-à-vis both the peer countries and advanced countries.

SPORTS:

3. IOC gives nod to addition of five new sports in Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has agreed to add Baseball-Softball, Karate, Skateboard, Climbing Sports and surfing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The decision was taken by the 129th IOC session being held in Rio de Janeiro.

AWARDS:

4. ShubhaMudgal to be awarded Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award: Mudgal will be honoured for her outstanding contribution towards the promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill on 20 August 2016 at JawaharBhawan Auditorium.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

5. Book titled ‘Grassroots Innovation’ authored by Prof. Anil K Gupta has been released.

Daily GK Updates - 3rd August, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. WEF India Economic Summit in Delhi on October 6-7: World Economic Forum (WEF), will host its annual India Economic Summit on October 6-7 in New Delhi which would be attended by over 500 business and political leaders including top policymakers and CEOs. This year's meet will be convened under the theme, 'Fostering an Inclusive India through Digital Transformation'.

2. Rajasthan becomes first state to approve sewage and waste water policy: Rajasthan has become the first state in the country to approve sewage and wastewater policy. It has been approved by Chief Minister VasundharaRaje in Jaipur. Under this policy, all district headquarters, heritage cities, and cities in the state which have more than one lakh population will be included. Waste water treated under it will be used in irrigation and agricultural work. The requirement of next 30 years will be covered in this policy.

3. Khandu expands cabinet, inducts 10 ministers: In its first expansion of the cabinet, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister PemaKhandu has expanded his cabinet by inducting 10 ministers including former Speaker NabamRebia. The politicians included in the cabinet are: TangaByaling, Rajesh Tacho, NabamRebia, HonchunNgandam, WangkiLowang, KamlungMossang, TapangTaloh, Kumar Waii, TakamPario and JomdeKena. All of them were sworn in as cabinet ministers.

4. Kerala cabinet appoints Achuthanandan head of administrative reforms panel: The Kerala cabinet has decided to appoint veteran CPI-M leader V.S Achuthanandan as the chairman of the Kerala Administrative Reforms Commission with cabinet rank.

5. Six new IITs get parliament nod: The Parliament has approved the establishment of six new IITs across the country by passing the Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in the RajyaSabha. These IITs will be started in Palakkad (Kerala), Goa, Dharwad (Karnataka), Bhilai (Chhattisgarh), Jammu, and Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh.

6. Neyveli Lignite plans to buy 1200 MW Raghunathpur Thermal Power Project:Neyveli Lignite (NLC) is planning to acquire a 1200 MW Raghunathpur Thermal Power Project (RTPP) of Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC). The proposed acquisition will be done through a joint venture company (JVC) of NLC and Damaodar Valley Corporation DVC with an equity shareholding of 74:26.

7. BHEL commissions 500 MW Marwa Thermal Power Station in Chhattisgarh: State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has commissioned the second 500 Mw (megawatt) thermal unit at Marwa Thermal Power Station in Janjgir-Champa district of Chhattisgarh.

8. Anant Maheshwari named as the President of Microsoft India.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Pushpa Kamal Dahal elected as new Prime Minister of Nepal.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. SBI launches cheaper home loan schemes for public sector undertaking employees and Defence personnel: The bank has introduced ‘Privilege Home Loan’ for government employees and ‘Shaurya Home Loan’ for Defence Personnel with pensionable service. Under the new schemes, loans will be available without any processing fees. The interest rates will be 0.05 % less than current interest rates on home loans.

2. AXA, Alibaba, Ant Financial have tied up in global strategic partnership: AXA, Alibaba, and Ant Financial Services have stated that they have agreed to engage in a global strategic partnership to explore opportunities to distribute AXA's insurance products and services through Alibaba's global e-commerce ecosystem.

SPORTS:

3. BCCI appoints Katju to head a legal panel to help implement Lodha report: The BCCI has appointed former SC judge MarkandeyKatju as the head of a 4-member legal panel to help the implications of the Justice Lodha Committee reforms.

4. Angela Ruggiero appointed IOC’s Athletes’ Commissions Chair: Angela Ruggiero is a former ice hockey player who has played more games for Team USA than any other man or woman. She is the current Vice-Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission.

OBITUARIES:

5. Nobel Laureate Ahmed Zewail passed away at the age of 70: Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian-American chemist Ahmed Zewail, a science and technology advisor to President Barack Obama and the first U.S. science envoy to the Middle East, has passed away in the United States. He was 70 years old.

6. Former Ferrari driver Chris Amon died at the age of 73.

Daily GK Updates - 2nd August, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Parliament passes Indian Medical Council (Amendment Bill), 2016: The Parliament has passed Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016 to conduct of uniform entrance examination for admission to all medical educational institutions.

2. Central body approves Rs 400 crore for Ganga Rejuvenation projects: A high-level panel of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) has approved various projects worth approximately Rs 400 crore for development of ghats (river fronts) and crematoria at different places along the river Ganga from Uttarakhand to West Bengal under the Centre’s ambitious NamamiGange programme.

3. Government launches credit rating scheme for MSMEs: The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has launched a performance and credit rating scheme to assess the capabilities and creditworthiness of industries in the sector. The 'Performance and Credit Rating Scheme' will provide "trusted" third party opinion to create awareness about the strengths and weaknesses of enterprises' existing operations.

4. India to host international summit on tobacco-control: India is going to host a crucial global summit in November to eliminate the illicit trade of tobacco products. The summit is scheduled for November 7-12 at the Indian Exposition Mart in Noida. In this summit delegates from 180 countries will take part.

5. Odisha Government to recruit transgenders as jail warders: The Odisha government has decided to recruit members of transgender community persons as warders in jails of the State as per the directive of the Supreme Court. The home department has issued instructions to the Odisha Subordinate Staff Selection Commission (OSSC) to include the gender category.

6. Resolution for the renaming of Madras High Court passed:The Tamil Nadu Assembly has passed a unanimous resolution that the Madras High Court be renamed as Tamil Nadu High Court and not as High Court of Chennai as proposed by the Centre.

7. Freecharge inks partnership with PayUbiz: India's digital payments platform Freecharge has partnered with the leading payment gateway solution provider, PayUbiz, to further strengthen its merchant base and help consumers move from cash to digital payments.

8. Deepak Iyer appointed Mondelez India MD.

9. BhaskarKhulbe appointed as Secretary to PM Modi.

10. Air Marshal Neelakantan takes charge of Southern Air Command.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. ICICI Bank ties up with Apollo India to form ARC: ICICI Bank has inked a MoU with Apollo India Credit Opportunity Management LLC and AION Capital Management to set up an asset reconstruction company.

2. Bank of Baroda ties up with start-up Fisdom: India's leading public sector bank, Bank of Baroda has tied up with a fintech start-up Fisdom for personal wealth management services. Fisdom app helps users make financial investments in an easy and paperless manner by blending cutting-edge technology with personalised financial advice. It helps people manage their money with the help of a robo-advisor.

SPORTS:

3. SimonaHalep wins Rogers Cup women’s singles by defeating Madison Keys 7-6, 6-3.

AWARDS:

4. Anita Gopalan wins 2016 PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants: Translator and artist Anita Gopalan has awarded with the 2016 PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants for her English translation of Hindi novel Simsim by GeetChaturvedi.

OBITUARIES:

5. Indian-American Professor Emeritus Braj B Kachru passed away at the age of 84.

Daily GK Updates - 1st August, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Suresh Prabhu flags off Agartala-Delhi train 'Tripura Sundari Express': Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has flagged off maiden broad-gauge train service between Agartala and Delhi, ‘Tripura Sundari Express’.The ‘Tripura Sundari Express’ will run weekly between Agartala and AnandVihar in Delhi. The rail link was developed at an expense of 968 crore rupees.

2. Andhra Pradesh signs MoU with Japan to develop food value chain: Under the MoU, Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) will encourage direct investments by Japanese companies in the fields of agriculture and food-related industry in Andhra Pradesh.

3. IRCTC's app tie-up with Mobikwik for e-cash payments: Mobile Payments CompanyMobiKwik and Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) have announced an exclusive partnership, wherein MobiKwik will power e-cash payments on IRCTC's e-catering app, Food on Track. 

4. NTPC commissions NP Kunta power project:NTPC Ltd has commissioned a 50 MW (1X50 MW) capacity solar photovoltaic power project of NP Kunta Ultra Mega Solar Power Project Stage-I at Anantapuramu in Andhra Pradesh.

5. Justice DB Bhosale sworn-in as Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court: Justice DilipBabasahebBhosale has sworn-in as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court. His oath of the office was administered by Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik. 

6. DilipRath assumes additional charge as NDDB chairman:DilipRath took over as the chairman of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), after the department of personnel and training (DoPT), Government of India gave him the additional charge of the post until the appointment of a regular incumbent. 

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1.Oracle India Joins SBI To Foster Digital Skills Initiative: Global software major, Oracle India has announced corporate citizenship collaboration with State Bank of India (SBI) and launched the 'D-Change' programme which will support education and learning, women's empowerment and rural skills development in the country.

2. ICICI Bank reduces MCLR by 0.05%:Country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank has announced a 0.05% reduction in its marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR).

SPORTS:

3. India to host Kabaddi World Cup in October:International Kabaddi Federation has announced the selection of India for hosting "The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup".

4. Patna Pirates wins 4th season of Pro Kabaddi League:The Patna Pirates have won the fourth edition of STAR Sports-ProKabaddi League by defeating Jaipur Pink Panthers in the final match played at Gachibowli Stadium, Hyderabad (Telangana). 

5.Lewis Hamilton wins 2016 German Grand Prix title of Formula One:Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has won the 2016 German Grand Prix title of Formula One. It was his fourth consecutive win in the 2016 season and overall fifth title of the 2016 season.

AWARDS:

6. Syed Nayeemuddin conferred Mohun Bagan Ratna: The Mohun Bagan FC has conferred club’s highest decoration Mohun Bagan Ratna (jewel) on legendary Indian Footballer Syed Nayeemuddin.With this, he became the 16th recipient of the prestigious award, which is bestowed upon a person for making a seminal contribution to the success of the club. He is also the only sportsperson awarded with the prestigious Arjuna and Dronacharya Awards for football.

Daily GK Updates - 31st July, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. PM Modi flags off ‘Run for Rio’:  Prime Minister NarendraModi has flagged off the Run for Rio event in New Delhi today to celebrate the Olympic mood in the country. The mass run was announced by the Sports Minister Vijay Goel at a press conference.

2. PM Modi wishes Rio-bound athletes in ‘Mann Ki Baat’: PM Modi talked about various subjects such as health, environment, technology, Olympics games while addressing 22nd edition of ‘MannKiBaat’ programme and appealed the country to encourage the Indian contingent for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

3. Centre to organise ‘Make in India’ conference in Bhubaneswar: Centre has decided to organise a Make in India conference in Bhubaneswar in December this year. The conference would be organised by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to attract investment in the state as well as the country.

4. Yahoo researchers built a powerful new online abuse detector: Yahoo researchers have developed a new online abuse detecting algorithm. Most current abuse filters use a combination of blacklisted terms or expressions to catch hate speech online, but the new method applies machine learning as well.

5. Bihar lifts ban on toddy (palm wine) sale, consumption: Bihar government has lifted the ban on the sale and consumption of toddy (palm wine) in the state. In April after Bihar imposed a total liquor ban in the state, it also banned the sale of ‘toddy’. But the decision to banned toddy was not lauded by Lalu Prasad and his party Rashtriya Janata Dal.

6. Kerala tourism bags six National Tourism awards:Kerala Tourism has bagged six National Tourism awards for 2014-15 in the marketing category for states. It received two more awards, including the one for its Responsible Tourism (RT) initiative in Wayanad.

7. WHO to remove transgenders from its mental disorders list: The World Health Organisation (WHO) is considering changing the way it classifies transgender identity. It came following calls from researchers and advocates to remove it from the WHO's list of mental disorders.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Oracle to buy NetSuite for $9.3 billion: Business software maker Oracle has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire NetSuite, the very first cloud company. The transaction is valued at $9.3 billion.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. SEBI’s first phase of new enterprise portal goes live: Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has initiated the first phase of its new enterprise portal to facilitate accurate and timely circulation of information to internal and external stakeholders.

2. Gold bond schemes sees record Rs 919 crore in 4^th tranche: The government's collections under the Sovereign Gold Bond scheme realised through the fourth tranche reached around Rs. 919 crore, the highest achieved yet.

SPORTS:

3. Skydiver Luke Aikins sets record for highest jump without Parachute: Skydiver Luke Aikins, 42, became the first to jump from a height of 25,000 feet without a parachute, landing in a net in southern California. He has completed the jump in Simi Valley, west of Los Angeles.

AWARDS:

4. AAAI confers Lifetime Achievement Award on adman SrinivasanSwamy: he Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) announced the recipient of this year’s AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award as Srinivasan K Swamy popularly known as SundarSwamy.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

5. Book titled ‘Harry Potter and the cursed child’ authored by J K Rowling released.

Daily GK Updates - 30th July, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. CM Chandrababu Naidu launches ‘Mission Harita Andhra Pradesh’: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has launched 'Mission Harita Andhra Pradesh', with the theme 'green cover for a happy living', by planting saplings at Sunkollu village under Nuzividu mandal in Krishna district.

2. Centre sanctions nearly Rs 620 crore to UP as drought assistance: Centre has sanctioned nearly Rs. 620 crore to Uttar Pradesh as assistance for the recent drought situation in the state. It also approved almost 80 crores for Rajasthan which was affected by hailstorm and 15 crores to Manipur affected by earthquake.

3. Indian-American girl becomes the youngest delegate at DNC: An 18-year-old Indian-American girl has become the youngest delegate at the Democratic National Convention which has nominated Hillary Clinton as the party's presidential candidate. SruthiPalaniappan from Cedar Rapids and a student of Harvard University is a strong supporter of Clinton, the first woman to be nominated as a presidential candidate by a major political party.

4. Cochin Chamber launching Aadhaar-based e-certificate of origin: The Cochin Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCCI) is launching an Aadhaar based e-Certificate of Origin service.

5. Justice DilipBabasahebBhosale sworn in as the CJ of Allahabad High Court.

6. Gujarat names J N Singh as new Chief Secretary:The Gujarat government has appointed Dr. Jagdip Narayan Singh, a Gujarat-cadre IAS of 1983 batch as Chief Secretary of the State.

7. Suresh Prabhu lays foundation stone of new Railway station at Imphal: Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu laid foundation stone for construction of a new Railway Station at Imphal. Mr.Prabhu also assured that the proposal from Manipur Government to extend the rail link from Imphal to the border town Moreh of the state will be looked into.

8. Joint Indo-Thailand Military Exercise ‘Maitree’ culminates: he Indo-Thailand Military Exercise "Maitree" has been concluded at Krabi, Thailand. The aim of the joint exercise was to train contingents of both the armies on conduct of counter-terrorist operations in an urban environment.

9. HP Government signs MoU with NTPC and NHPC: A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed today in New Delhi between Himachal Pradesh government, NTPC and NHPC for setting up Hydro Engineering College in the State.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. IWF bans Russian team from Rio Olympics: International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has formally suspended an 8-member Russian team from next month's Rio Olympics due to doping offences.

OBITUARIES:

2. Rajjat Barjatya, MD & CEO of Rajshri Productions, passes away.

Daily GK Updates - 29th July, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Government forms ‘Disha’ for timely implementation of Central Schemes: The Centre has announced the formation of District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DDCMC) in place of the District Vigilance and Monitoring Committee (DVMC) and to be named Disha for effective implementation of Central government schemes.

2. BCCI Chief Anurag Thakur joins Territorial Army as Lieutenant: BCCI chief Anurag Thakur was commissioned into the Territorial Army (TA) as a regular officer by Army chief Dalbir S Suhag.Thakur is the first serving BJP MP to join the military force.

3. India and Bangladesh agree on anti-terror cooperation: India and Bangladesh have agreed to enhance cooperation on anti-terror efforts with Dhaka saying that New Delhi will be "side-by-side" with it in fighting terrorists. National Security Advisor AjitDoval, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrish and Director Generals of Border Security Force and Narcotics Control Bureau participated in the talks.

4. CK Mishra appointed as New Health Secretary.

5. T Nanda Kumar resigns as NDDB Chairman: T Nanda Kumar has resigned as chairman of Gujarat-based National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) from August 1, about 30 months ahead of the end of his tenure.

6. First woman head of aviation regulator moves out:The first woman chief of aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) M Sathiyavathy was named as new Union Labour Secretary.

7. Railway Board chairman, AK Mittal gets 2-year extension.

8. Justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari appointed as the Chief Justice of Patna High Court.

9. Intex ropes in Madhuri Dixit as its Brand Ambassador.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. International Tiger Day being observed today: Every year 29th July is celebrated as the International Tiger Day. The day is celebrated to raise awareness for tiger conservation and to give worldwide attention to the preservation of tigers.

2. A10 Networks acquires cloud firm Appcito: US-based A10 Networks, an application networking and security company has announced the acquisition of Appcito.Appcito is a provider of Software-As-A-Service (SaaS)-based, multi-cloud Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) solutions.

3. Brazilian scientist discover another type of Zika-transmitting mosquito: The public Brazilian laboratory FundacionOswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz) announced that researchers found the presence of the Culexquinquefasciatus mosquito infected by the Zika virus in three out of 80 groups of mosquitoes analyzed up until now.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. OKI installs more than 600 recycling ATMs for State Bank of India: apanese payments company OKI has installed 600 automatic teller machines with cash recycling abilities for country's largest lender State Bank of India across the country.

SPORTS:

2. Germany football team Captain Bastian Schweinsteiger retires: German professional footballer, Bastian Schweinsteiger has retired from the national team, marking the end of a glittering international football career.

AWARDS:

3. Four new writers get Jananpith ‘Navlekhan’ award: AmlenduTiwari and BalramKawant were awarded for their novels 'Parityakt', and 'Sara Morila,' while Om Naagar and Tasneem Khan were awarded for their non-fictions 'Nib KeChire Se' and 'Yeh Mere Rahnuma' respectively.

OBITUARIES:

4. American Author James Alan McPherson passed away at the age of 72.