Daily GK Updates - 28th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India jumps 16 places in global competitiveness ranking: India has climbed 16 places to the 39th rank on the Global Competitiveness Index released by the World Economic Forum. Switzerland has topped the list for the 8th straight time.

2. Cabinet approves MoU with Singapore for industrial property cooperation: The Union Cabinet has given its formal nod for cooperation between India and Singapore on industrial property rights intended to boost innovation, creativity and technological advancement in both countries.

3. Project Saksham: 5 things to know about new tax network of CBEC: Project Saksham, a new indirect tax network of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), has been approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister NarendraModi. The total cost of the project is estimated to be Rs 2256 crore, which will be incurred over a period of 7 years.

4. Special trees in Delhi to get ‘natural heritage’ tag: The 16 trees located in Aravali and NCR to be notified as “protected” natural heritage, on the lines of recognising special monuments in Delhi, announced by Delhi Cabinet Minister Kapil Mishra. Some of the trees in the list are banyan, ailanthus, mango, arjuna, and ashok.

5. IPS Officer O P Singh takes over as the new DG of CISF.

6. Telangana ties up with ISRO for bandwidth to telecast coaching programmes:The Telangana Government has signed an agreement with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to get bandwidth to telecast Mana TV programmes.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World Rabies Day observed on 28^th September: The theme for the World Rabies Day is Educate. Vaccinate. Eliminate. The day is annually celebrated to raise awareness about rabies prevention and to highlight progress in defeating the disease.

2. Typhoon Megi hits Taiwan: The powerful typhoon Megi has recently hit island-nation Taiwan with winds up to 230 km/hr that causing heavy rains and triggering damaging winds. It is equivalent to Category 4 tropical cyclone.

3. British woman at 26 becomes one of the world’s youngest airline captains: A British woman has become one of the world’s youngest commercial airline captains at the age of 26. She flies Airbus A319 and A320 planes to around 100 destinations, such as Reykjavik, Tel Aviv and Marrakesh.

4. Microsoft signed Adobe for Azure Cloud Computing Services: Tech giants Microsoft and Adobe have announced a major partnership to promote the use of each other's cloud-computing tools among their mutual customers.

5. Obama nominates ambassador to Cuba: The United States President Barack Obama has appointed its first Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis to Cuba in 55 years.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. Jim Yong Kim re-appointed as World Bank President.

AWARDS:

2. Uttam Singh to be honoured with ‘LataMangeshkar Award’: Famous music director and violinist Uttam Singh on 27 September 2016 was named for the 2016 LataMangeshkar Award for Lifetime Achievement of the Maharashtra Government.

OBITUARIES:

3. Shimon Peres, former Israeli President dies aged 93: The former Israel's defining political figures and a Nobel peace prize laureate, Shimon Peres has died at the age of 93.

Daily GK Updates - 27th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. CSIR celebrates Platinum Jubilee: India's largest civilian research and development agency Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR is celebrating its platinum jubilee.

2. Government removes Sushil Muhnot as CMD of Bank of Maharashtra: The Centre has removed Sushil Muhnot from the post of Chairman and Managing Director of Bank of Maharashtra. The head office of Bank of Maharashtra is in Pune.

3. Vijay Kelkar elected as the President of Indian Statistical Institute: Former petroleum Secretary Vijay Kelkar has been elected as a president of the prestigious Indian Statistical Institute (ISI). Vijay Kelkar has succeeded former RBI governor C Rangarajan.

4. Sachin, Amitabh in new Swachh Bharat Campaign: The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has launched an ad campaign featuring Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar, for the Swachh Bharat Mission. Under this campaign, three ad films featuring.

5. Veerappa Moily led parliamentary panel to examine merger of budgets: The parliamentary committee headed by the Congress MP M Veerappa Moily, has been constituted to review the all budgetary reforms. Besides the budget, the committee will also review the disinvestment policy, the banking sector in India, RBI’s emerging role and its framework.

6. Tripura Legislative Assembly ratifies GST Bill: Tripura becomes 22nd state to ratifies the Constitutional Amendment Bill on Goods and Services Tax (GST).

7. Agriculture Minister inaugurates KrishiUnnatiMela in Mathura: The Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh has inaugurated the 4 days Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Krishi Unnati Mela – 2016, in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World Tourism Day observed on 27^th September: The World Tourism Day (WTD) is being observed annually on 27th September to raise awareness about the importance of tourism. Theme for the World Tourism Day is - "Tourism for all promoting universal accessibility’.

2. Pakistan assembly passes marriage bill protecting Hindu women’s rights: Pakistan’s lower house of parliament has passed a landmark bill giving its small Hindu minority the right to register marriages.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran wins Belgium Open: Sathiyan Gnanasekaran has become only the second Indian table tennis player to win an ITTF event as he clinched the men's singles title of the Belgium Open.

Daily GK Updates - 26th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. ISRO launches 37^th Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle Sriharikota: The Indian Space Research Organisation has launched its 37th Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, carrying 8 satellites from its Sriharikota base.Out Of the 8 satellites, 3 each are from India and Algeria and the remaining are from Canada and the United States.

2. Anurag Srivastava appointed Ambassador of India to the Republic of Djibouti:Shri Anurag Srivastava who is presently the Ambassador of India to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, has been concurrently accredited as the Ambassador of India to the Republic of Djibouti, with residence in Addis Ababa.

3. Ajay Singh elected as BFI President: Uttarakhand’s Ajay Singh has been elected president of the Boxing Federation of India. Also the Mumbai-based Jay Kowli won the post of Secretary-General as the election process for the office-bearers of the new National federation was completed.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Japan to host 2026 Asian Games: Olympic Council of Asia: Japan’s Aichi prefecture and its capital city Nagoya were confirmed as co-hosts of the 2026 Asian Games. South Korea is already hosting the Winter Olympics at Pyeongchang in 2018, while Tokyo hosts the 2020 Summer Olympics before the winter games go to Beijing in 2022.

2. Alexender Zverev stuns Stan Wawrinka to claim St.Petersburg Open Title: Alexander Zverev clinched his first ATP Tour title with a three-set victory over world number three Stan Wawrinka in the final of the St Petersburg Open. Dominic Inglot and Henri Kontinen have won the 2016 St.Petersburg Open Men’s Doubles title.

3. Velavan wins Asian Junior Squash Title: India’s Squash player VelavanSenthilkumar defeat Jordan’s Mohammad Al-Sarraj to won the U-19 Asian Junior Individual squash championship title in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

4. Indian Shuttler Rituparna wins Polish Open: Indian shuttler Rituparna Das won the Polish Open after defeating compatriot Rasika Raje, in the women's singles final of the International challenge badminton event. The women's doubles pair of Sanjana Santosh and Arathi Sara Sunil also clinched the doubles title after defeating top seeds Natalya Voytsekh and Yelyzaveta Zharka.

OBITUARIES:

5. FCAT Chairman Mahajan passes away: The chairman of Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), Justice (retd.) S K Mahajan has passed away. He was the Former Delhi High Court judge. The Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) is a statutory body, under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India.

6. Arnold Palmer, one of the greatest golfers of all times, passes away at 87, in Pittsburgh due to heart complications.

Daily GK Updates - 25th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Madhya Pradesh passes GST Amendment Bill: The Madhya Pradesh Assembly has passed the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Constitution Amendment Bill. MP became the seventh state in the country to ratify the historic tax amendment bill. Before Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have already passed the bill in their respective assemblies. 

2. Five Indian cities in the top 100 MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index: Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Pune are the Indian cities that have made it to the list of top 100 cities in the 6^th Annual MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index. Kolkata ranks 62nd in the index. The study is based on data from IATA, National Tourism Boards, IMF and other organisations.

3. Race Course Road renamed as LokKalyanMarg: The Prime Minister's residential address will now be called 7 LokKalyanMarg and not the famous Race Course Road. The authorities have approved the renaming of the iconic British-era road in posh Lutyens' Delhi.A decision to this effect was taken at a high-level meeting of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) presided by Chief Minister of Delhi ArvindKejriwal.

4. Rajasthan replaces 5 lakh streetlights with LED bulbs: Rajasthan becomes the first state to adopt Centre's Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) in all its urban local bodies (ULB). Almost 5 lakh conventional streetlights have been replaced with LED streetlights across the state. The project has been funded by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a public energy services company under the administration of Union ministry of power at no cost to the state.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. French Development Agency and Chandigarh Administration, sign MoUs: Chandigarh Administration and French Development Agency (AFD) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoUs) on Chandigarh Smart City Project and 'Technical Cooperation' in the field of Sustainable Urban Mobility.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. Govt. appoints ICICI Prudential AMC to manage new CPSE ETF: The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, Ministry of Finance has appointed ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Ltd as the asset management company for the creation and launch of a new Exchange Traded Fund (ETF).

2. ICICI Bank team up to launch UPI for micro-merchants, ftCash:Mobile payments and loans start-up ftcash, backed by IvyCap Ventures, is the first fintech start-up to launch Unified Payment Interface (UPI) for merchants in association with ICICI Bank. ftcash is a virtual POS for micro-merchants to accept payments through credit cards, debit cards, and wallets such as Freecharge, Mobikwik, and PayPal, among others.

SPORTS:

3. Sania Mirza - Barbora Strycova crowned women’s doubles champions at Pan Pacific Open: India’s Sania Mirza along with her partner Barbora Strycova from Czech Republic produced a straight sets win over China’s Chen Liang and Zhaoxuan Yang in the final to win the women’s doubles titles at Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on 24 September 2016.The current tournament in Tokyo is Sania’s 40th doubles title win and third in Tokyo.

AWARDS:

4. Lopamudra Raut, the 2^nd runner-up at Miss United Continents 2016:  Lopamudra Raut makes India proud as she stands tall as the 2^nd runner-up at Miss United Continents 2016, which was held on 25th Sept, 2016 in Ecuador. 32 participants from the four continents of America, Asia, Europe and Africa were a part of this grand event. Whereas Jeslyn Santos from Philippines won the Miss United Continents 2016 title.

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.