Daily GK Updates - 24th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World’s largest Charkha unveiled at Delhi airport: The idea behind displaying the Charkha at the airport is to highlight India’s quest to foster an egalitarian society as demonstrated by Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation.

2. TRAI launches app to track mobile data speed: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) will soon start a consultation process to fix ‘quality of service’ rules for mobile data, including the average data speed for operators. The regulator also launched a mobile app (TRAI Myspeed App) for measuring real-time internet speeds that consumers get. The data will be made available on the Trai Analytics Portal.

3. President of India inaugurates Swami VivekanandSabhagar at Kathak Kendra of SangeetNatakAkademi: The President of India, ShriPranab Mukherjee has inaugurated Swami VivekanandSabhagar at Kathak Kendra of SangeetNatakAkademi in New Delhi.

4. Rajasthan becomes first state to introduce minimum wages for part-time workers: Rajasthan has become the first state in the country to introduce minimum wages for part-time workers. Labour Department has issued a notification in this regard. With this notification, part-time workers now come under the Minimum Wages Act 1948. In another decision, the government has increased minimum wages in all categories of scheduled employments by Rs 104 per month.

5. Nation pays homage to BabuJagjivan Ram on his death anniversary: Nation pays homage to the veteran leader and great freedom fighter and administrator BabuJagjivan Ram on his death anniversary today at SamtaSthal near Rajghat in New Delhi.

6. PM and the whole nation pays tribute to Dr.Shyama Prasad Mookerjee on his birth anniversary:Prime Minister NarendraModi has led Parliamentarians in paying tribute to former Parliamentarian, Minister in the first cabinet post independence and founder of Bharatiya Jana SanghDr.Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his birth anniversary at the Parliament house. He founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1951 which was re-formed as the Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP in 1980.

7. World famous RathYatra of Lord Jagannath begins: The world famous RathYatra or chariot festival of Lord Jagannath has begun today in Puri, Odisha as well as in different parts of the country. RathYatra marks is an annual celebration of the journey of Lord Jagannath, his brother Lord Balbhadra and sister Subhadra to the Gundicha temple.

8. Aditya Birla Fashion acquires global clothing brand Forever 21: Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) has stated that it will acquire global clothing brand ’Forever 21’ in the Indian market for USD 26 million (around Rs. 175.52 Crore).

9. Centre appoints ThiruppathiVenkatasamy as the new Accountant General, Economic and Revenue sector audit, of Tamil Nadu.

10. Zee Learn appoints DebshankarMukopadhyay as CEO.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. NASA tests rocket booster for space mission: A booster for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), the most powerful rocket in the world, has been successfully tested, an advance that may pave the way for future human exploration in deep space, including the journey to Mars.

2. Suzuki Motors appoints scion Toshihiro Suzuki as CEO: Suzuki Motor Corp has appointed Toshihiro Suzuki, son of Chairman Osamu Suzuki, as its next chief executive effective the same day, as the Japanese automaker attempts to recover from a vehicle testing scandal.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. Cabinet clears pay hike for 1 cr. govt employees, pensioners: More than 1 Cr. central government employees will get a pay hike after the Cabinet approved the implementation of the recommendations of the Seventh Central Pay Commission.

SPORTS:

2. Annu Rani sets national record at National Interstate Athletics Championships: Javelin thrower Annu Rani has bettered her national record with a 59.87m throw at the 56th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Hyderabad.

3. Bengali actor Jeet acquires Kolkata team of PFL: Bengali cine star Jeet has acquired the Kolkata franchise of the first-ever multi-nation Premier Futsal League (PFL), which is scheduled to start on July 15. The team will be known as 'Kolkata 5s' as each franchise will be similarly named in the inaugural season.

AWARDS:

3. Indian-origin Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharya awarded Regius Professorship in Manufacturing by Queen Elizabeth II.

4. Ridley Scott to receive American Cinematheque Award for his valuable contributions to the International Film Industry.

OBITUARIES:

5. Actress Noel Neill passed away at the age of 95: Noel Neill, the first actress to play Superman’s love interest, has passed away at the age of 95.
ii. Neill was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1920, the daughter of Minneapolis Star Tribune news editor David Neill and the New York vaudeville performer LaVere Neill.

6. Acclaimed Iranian film director Abbas Kiarostami passed away at the age of 76: Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, whose 1997 film "Taste of Cherry" won the prestigious Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, has passed away following a prolonged illness in Paris.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

4. Book titled ‘The Unseen Indira Gandhi’ authored by Dr K P Mathur released.

Daily GK Updates - 23rd September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. President, PM launch VP’s book titled ‘Citizen and Society’: President Pranab Mukherjee has released Vice President Hamid Ansari’s book ‘Citizen and Society’ at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The book is a collection of lectures delivered by Hamid Ansari ranging from the role of women in a multicultural society to other dynamics of a democratic nation.

2. Union Cabinet approvals: Cabinet gives ex-post facto approval to the enhancement of Pension for Freedom Fighters. Union Cabinet approved Agreement between India and Samoa for the exchange of information on Taxes. Cabinet approves the provision of submarine optical fibre cable connectivity between Chennai and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

3. MadhusudanSahoo appointed as the chief of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India.

4. NavtejSarna appointed as India’s new Ambassador to US.

5. IOCL, GAIL sign MoU for taking equity stake in Dharma LNG Terminal: ndian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and GAIL (India) Limited on 21 September 2016 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dhamra LNG Terminal Private Limited (DLTPL) for taking equity in the 5 MMTPA capacity LNG Receiving, Storage and Regasification Terminal. The Dhamra LNG terminal is being built by Adani Enterprises Ltd at Dhamra Port, Odisha.

6. Wipro acquires Chinese FMCG Brand:Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting, the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) arm of Wipro Enterprises has signed a pact to acquire 100% shareholding in Zhongshan Ma Er Daily Products to boost its presence in the fast-growing toiletries and liquid detergent space in south China.

7. India International Seafood Show in Visakhapatnam from today: The 20th Edition of India International Seafood Show (IISS-2016) to be organised by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) will be kick-started in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Afghanistan signs peace deal with militant group Hezb-e-Islami: Afghanistan has signed a peace agreement with one of the country's largest militant groups Hezb-e-Islami led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. This agreement paves the way for Hekmatyar to make a political comeback.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. Andhra Bank ties up with Cigna TTK, Reliance General Insurance: Andhra Bank has entered into corporate agency agreements with Cigna TTK Company Ltd, and Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd for providing health and general insurance respectively, to its customers.

AWARDS:

2. Two Indians selected for wildlife awards: Two Indian forest officials, Sanjay Dutta and Ritesh Sarothiya, have been selected for the 2016 Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Awards. Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Awards honours individuals engaging in exemplary law enforcement actions to protect wildlife.

Daily GK Updates - 22nd September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Delhi Race Course road renamed as Lok Kalyan Marg.

2. MukeshAmbani tops Forbes’ 100 Richest Indians list: Forbes India has released the annual India rich list and Reliance Industries Chairman MukeshAmbani has topped the Forbes' '100 Richest Indians' list. India's richest pharmaceutical magnate DilipShanghvi remains at 2nd.

3. Centre appoints three members to Monetary Policy Committee: They are ChetanGhate, Professor, Indian Statistical Institute; PamiDua, Director, Delhi, School of Economics; and RavindraDholakia, Professor, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. The members will have a term of four years.

4. Mohan M Shantanagoudar appointed as the new Chief Justice of Kerala High Court.

5. Girish Chandra Gupta sworn in as Calcutta HC Chief Justice.

6. Rafael deal cleared:The government has cleared the much-anticipated deal with France for 36 Rafale fighter jets which will cost 7.878 billion Euros. Last year, the original plan to buy 126 planes was scaled down to 36 due to the Air Force's urgent requirement.

7. SIEMA inks pact with Anna varsity: The Southern India Engineering Manufacturers’ Association (SIEMA) has inked an agreement with Anna University, Regional Campus, Coimbatore (AURCC) to work jointly on projects required for industries.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Oxford tops the list as the world’s leading university: In the latest Times Higher Education world rankings index, Oxford topped the list as the world's leading university, followed by the California Institute of Technology, Stanford and Cambridge.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. HDFC Bank named India’s most valuable brand: HDFC Bank has emerged as India’s most valuable brand for the third consecutive year, ranking first on the BrandZ Top 50 list released by WPP Group. HDFC Bank was followed by Airtel and SBI in the list.

SPORTS:

2. Ritu Rani retires from International hockey: Former Indian women's hockey captain Ritu Rani has announced her retirement from international hockey.

3. Dhoni named captain of India’s all-time Test XI by Wisden: MS Dhoni has been named as captain of the Wisden's all-time India Test XI team. The team was announced as India is all set to face New Zealand in Kanpur for their 500th test match.

AWARDS:

4. Industrialist Adi Godrej conferred Clinton Global Citizen Award: Industrialist Adi Godrej, the Chairman of Mumbai-based Godrej Group, was conferred the 10th Annual Clinton Global Citizen Award for leadership in business and philanthropy.

Daily GK Updates - 21st September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Indira AwasYojana renamed after Prime Minister: The flagship rural housing scheme Indira AwasYojana (IAY), started by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, has been restructured and renamed as PradhanMantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), which will be launched next month.

2. Government merges Railway Budget with Union Budget: The Cabinet today approved the scrapping of the 92-year old practice of presenting a separate Railway Budget and merged it with the Union Budget.

3. Centre announces new list of 27 smart cities: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency Varanasi made it to the list of 27 Smart Cities that was announced. Vadodara, Agra, Nagpur, Ajmer, Amritsar, Gwalior, Thane and Thanjavur are some of the other cities that have been named.

4. Government approves 9 highway projects worth Rs 2600 crores: These projects include Rehabilitation and Up-gradation of Allahabad-Mirzapur section of NH-76 in Uttar Pradesh to 2-lane. The other highways approved are in the states of Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

5. Flipkart becomes 1^st e-commerce in India to cross 100 million customers: Flipkart has crossed the 100-million registered users mark, becoming the first e-commerce company in the country to hit the milestone.The Bengaluru-based company has doubled its user base over the last year.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Google rolls out travel app: Google Inc. has rolled out Google Trips, a new travel app that lets users plan each day of their trip and help them manage travel reservations.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. Bangladesh’s Junaid Ahmad appointed as new World Bank head in India: Junaid Ahmad has become the World Bank's Country Director for India, replacing OnnoRuhl who served a four-year term based out of the national capital.

SPORTS:

2. Ajay Shirke re-elected as BCCI Secretary.

3. Anup Kumar to lead India in Kabaddi World Cup.

4. Misbah-ul-Haq becomes first Pakistani to receive Test mace from ICC: Misbah-ul-Haq has received the prestigious ICC Test Championship mace for inspiring Pakistan to the top of the ICC Test Team Rankings.

AWARDS:

5. Shubha Mudgal to get ‘Lalit Arpan Samman’: Hindustani classical singer Shubha Mudgal will be honoured with the annual 'LalitArpanSamman' this year.Mudgal, a Padma Shri recipient, was born in Allahabad and is known for her singing in genres of Khayal, Thumri and Dadra.

OBITUARIES:

6. Oscar winning writer and director dies at the age of 71: Oscar-winning writer and film director Curtis Hanson has died at his home in Hollywood at the age of 71.He is known for his work in films like Kevin Spacey-starrer LA Confidential, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and The River Wild.

Daily GK Updates - 20th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India successfully test fires surface to surface air missile: India has successfully test-fired its new, long-range surface-to-air missile jointly developed with Israel from a defence base off Odisha coast. The missile was launched from a mobile launcher at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur.

2. Punjabi version of PM Narendra Modi’s website launched: People can now visit the PM Modi's website in the Punjabi language at the URL www.pmindia.gov.in/pa.The website which was initially started in English and Hindi is now accessible in nine regional languages - Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Tamil, Telugu and Punjabi.

3. Param-Ishan supercomputer unveiled at IIT Guwahati: The high-performance “Param-Ishan” has computing speed of 250 teraFLOPS and capacity of 300 tera bites (TB).

4. Railways to launch YatriMitra for differently-abled: The Ministry of Railways has announced the launch of ‘YatriMitraSeva’, through Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to provide wheelchair-cum-porter services for the differently-abled, elderly and ailing passengers at major railway stations.

5. India’s GDP to grow by 8% over next few years: Standard & Poor's (S&P) Global Ratings has forecasted a "relatively high quality and steroid-free" GDP growth of 8% for India over the next few years.

6. Facebook appoints Anand Chandrasekaran in a strategic role for its Messenger app.

7. Jubilant Food Works CEO Ajay Kaul resigns.

8. BSE ties up with Twitter to provide live stock updates: Investors can now track BSE updates real-time on Twitter by following the official Bombay Stock Exchange account.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Vladimir Putin’s big win: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party won a huge victory in the country’s parliamentary election. Putin’s party had won 54% of the vote in elections for the Duma, the lower house of parliament.

2. First Indian music-dance festival starts in Australia: The 10-week long festival “Confluence: Festival of India” was inaugurated by Union Tourism and Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma in Sydney, Australia.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. Vijaya Bank rolls out three new apps: The new IT products, according to Kishore Sansi, Managing Director and CEO of Vijaya Bank, are: VPAYQWIK, Vijaya *99# and V-eConnect+.

2. ADB approves $631 million loan for Vizag-Chennai industrial corridor: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $ 631 million loan to develop the proposed Vishakhapatnam- Chennai industrial corridor, the first such along a coastline in India.

3. SS Mallikarjuna Rao appointed as the new Executive Director of Syndicate Bank.

SPORTS:

4. Deaf Shooter Priyesha Deshmukh wins bronze in World Championship: Investors can now track BSE updates real-time on Twitter by following the official Bombay Stock Exchange account.

Daily GK Updates - 19th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Alka Sirohi appointed as the Chairman of UPSC.

2. Charkhi Dadri is Haryana’s 22^nd district: Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today announced CharkhiDadri as 22nd district of Haryana.

3. ‘Selfie with toilet’ to boost Swachh Bharat in Ludhiana: To make the Swachh Bharat Mission successful and encourage people to use clean toilets, the Ludhiana district administration has started a ‘Selfie with my Shauchalya’ campaign.

4. Government to expand DBT to 147 schemes by next March: The Government plans to double the number of schemes under DBT to 147 by March and has launched pilots for paying subsidy on food, kerosene and fertiliser directly via bank accounts of beneficiaries.

5. Lt Gen Surinder Singh takes charge of Western Command.

6. Monika Kapil Mohta appointed Ambassador to Sweden.

7. Indian-origin South African is head of Global Blood Service: An Indian-origin South African has become the first person from the African continent to head a global organisation of medicine professionals working for the safety of blood transfusion worldwide.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Malaysian envoy releases translated book on Sai Baba: The Consul General of Malaysia in India EldeenHusaini Muhammad Hashim has released the translated version of 'SaiCharitraGranth', a book on the life of Sai Baba.The book is translated into Malay by a social outfit called 'I love Sai'.

2. 17^th NAM summit held at Venezuela: 17th NAM summit held in Venezuela and Vice President Hamid Ansari held talks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on a host of issues of mutual interest.

3. World’s largest ship lift begins trial run in China: The trial operation of a world's largest permanent ship lift designed by Chinese and German engineers on China's Three Gorges Dam began.

4. Nobel laureate Aung San SuuKyi to get Humanitarian award: Myanmar leader Aung San SuuKyi has been honored as the 2016 humanitarian of the year by students and faculty at the Harvard Foundation. SuuKyi gained international prominence as the General Secretary of the newly formed National League for Democracy in Myanmar in 1990.

5. China and Russia conduct naval exercises Joint Sea-2016 to improve security:The Chinese and Russian navies have concluded Joint Sea-2016, eight days of naval exercises, in the South China Sea.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. Federal Bank launches Federal Skill Academy at Coimbatore: Federal Bank has launched its second FederalSkill Academy at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu as part of its CSR initiatives.

SPORTS:

2. Rio Paralympics 2016 concluded: The 15th Rio 2016 Paralympic Games 2016 (7-18 September) is over now and this time, we have witnessed some of the world record-breaking performances by the athletes. The 2020 Summer Paralympics, the 16th edition of the international multi-sports event, will be held in Tokyo, Japan.

AWARDS:

3. Malayalam Critic M Leelavathi bags Mohanan Suvarna Mudra Award: Eminent Malayalam critic and academician Dr M Leelavathi has been chosen for the prestigious N Mohanan Suvarna Mudra Award 2016, instituted in memory of well-known short story writer N Mohanan.

4. West Bengal to confer Bangabi bhushan Award to LataMangeshkar.

5. Emmy Awards 2016: 68th Emmy Awards, television's biggest award ceremony, was held in Los Angeles on September 18. 'Game of Thrones' won the best Drama Series award. Tatiana Maslany won the best actress award for Orphan Black, Rami Malek won the best actor for Mr. Robot.

Daily GK Updates - 18th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Punjab National Bank appointed ViratKohli as its new brand ambassador: State-owned Punjab National Bank has roped in Indian test skipper ViratKohli as brand ambassador to improve its image which has taken a hit due to rising bad loans. 

2.  'Sunrise', Parched' scripts archived at Oscar library: The scripts of AdilHussain-starrers "Sunrise" and "Parched" have been archived at the library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

3. Guided missile destroyer 'Mormugao' launched in Mumbai: The vessel has been built by government-run Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) and belongs to the Visakhapatnam class of ships being constructed under Project 15B.

4. World Bank will invest nearly 1,000 crore rupees in Assam:World Bank will invest nearly 1,000 crore rupees in Assam for the betterment of the inland waterways.

5.  Prabhu launches cleanliness drive at railway premises: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 17-Sep-2016 launched the 'SwachhtaSaptah' as part of the Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat Mission from New Delhi Railway Station. After launching the cleanliness drive Suresh Prabhu said In order to create massive awareness on sanitation and cleanliness at railway premises and make hygiene a habit amongst the travelling public. 

6. Odisha government to organise two-day national conference on labour: Odisha government, labour minister PrafullaMallick at a press meet on Saturday announced that the state government in association with International Labour Organisation (ILO) will organize a two-day long national conference on labour in the city from September 20. 

7. ISRO, Katrina, Juhi Chawla will get Priyadarshini Global Awards: Bengaluru-based Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Bollywood actors Katrina Kaif and JuhiChawla are among recipients of the Priyadarshini Global Awards 2016 which will be presented on September 19.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.  China successfully launches Tiangong-2 space lab: China, launched its second experimental space station.The Tiangong 2 was carried into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northern China. 

OTHER UPDATES:

AWARDS:

1. Lord Narendra Babubhai Patel ,a 78-year-old Indian-origin British obstetrician and member of the UK Parliament was honored the 'Lifetime Achievement Award'during the Asian Achievers Awards for his work in the medical profession and public life in Britain over the years.

2. Abhishek Bachchan Holds a Guinness World Record: Jr. Bachchan holds the record for 'Most Public Appearances made by a Film Star in 12 Hours.' In fact, he beat Hollywood actor Will Smith who had made three public appearances in 2 hours during the promotions of his film I, Robot in 2004.