Daily GK Updates - 17th November, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Chhattisgarh first state to adopt resolution on Demonetisation: Chhattisgarh has become the first state to adopt a resolution welcoming the demonetization of high-value currency notes.The state Assembly adopted a resolution moved by Chief Minister Raman Singh on 16th November welcoming the Centre’s decision.

2. Reliance Group launches IoT services under venture Unlimit: Reliance Group has partnered with Cisco Jasper for the launch of a venture called Unlimit, which will provide Internet of Things (IoT) services to its enterprise customers in India. IoT is a network of “things” that include identifiable devices, appliances, equipment, the machinery of all forms and sizes with the intelligence to seamlessly connect, communicate and control or manage each other to perform a set of tasks with minimum intervention.

3. Women Commando Team inducted in CRPF: A team of women commandos has been inducted for the first time in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to counter Naxal insurgency in Jharkhand. A Naxal or Naxalite is a member of any of the Communist guerrilla groups in India, mostly associated with the Communist or Leftist ideology.

4. 20 Nations sign framework agreement of International Solar Alliance as process begins: More than 20 countries, including Brazil, France and India, on 15 November 2016 signed the framework agreement of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) at Marrakech, Morocco. The Framework Agreement of ISA was opened for signature on the sidelines of the CoP22 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World Philosophy Day: 17^th November: The World Philosophy Day is observed globally on the third Thursday of November every year. This year, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) organised the special events.

2. Russia withdraws from International Criminal Court: President Vladimir Putin has signed an executive order removing Russia’s signature from the International Criminal Court’s founding treaty on 16th November.

3. ‘Post-Truth’ named Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year amid 2016 political climate:Oxford Dictionaries has declared "post-truth" to be its international word of the year citing a 2,000% spike in its usage. The word beat competition from "adulting," "alt-right," "Brexiteer," "glass cliff" and "woke". Last year's choice was the "face with tears of joy" emoji.

4. Nawaz Sharif inaugurates Gwadar port in Pakistan:Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif inaugurated a trade route linking the south-western Gwadar port to Kashgar city in China as part of $46 billion project to jumpstart economic growth in the South Asian country. With the operationalization of the revamped Gwadar port, the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), linking western China to the Arabian Sea, became a reality.

OTHER UPDATES:

OBITUARIES:

1. Former J&K Governor Lt General S K Sinha passes away: Former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Lt Gen S K Sinha passed away at a hospital this morning after brief illness. He was 92.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

2. Book titled ‘The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad’ authored by Twinkle Khanna was launched: Actor-turned-author Twinkle Khanna launched her second book titled 'The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad'. Twinkle's first book was 'Mrs Funnybones: She's Just Like You and a Lot Like Me', which was published in 2015.

Daily GK Updates - 16th November, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Union Budget to be presented on February 1: The government has announced that it will present the Union Budget for 2017-18 on February 1 and the budget session may begin in January. The government had issued the customary budget circular in September. Notably, the Centre earlier approved the scrapping of the 92-year old practice of presenting a separate Railway Budget and merged it with the Union Budget.

2. India, ADB sign $500 million loan pact to build 9.8 km Ganga Bridge in Bihar: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India on 15 November 2016 signed a 500 million US dollar loan to build a 9.8 km long road bridge across the Ganges River. This will be India’s longest river bridge.

3. Nitish Kumar launches free power connection programme: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has launched a key programme to provide free electricity connection to about 50 lakh households above the poverty line.The chief minister launched “HarGharBijliLagataar” programme, which was key development thrust for the Assembly polls.

4. DRDO’s combat drone Rustom-2 flies for the first time: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully tested its unmanned combat aerial vehicle, Rustom-2. The medium-altitude long endurance (MALE) category vehicle met all the expectations during the first flight.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. International Day for Tolerance 2016 observed across the world: The International Day for Tolerance is observed globally on 16 November every year. The Day aims at educating masses about the need for tolerance in society and helping them understand the negative effects of intolerance.

2. Doctors perform brain implant for the first time in history: Netherlands-based doctors have performed the first-ever brain implant on a 58-year-old woman paralysed by Lou Gehrig's disease, enabling her to communicate in day-to-day life via a speech computer. The disease-caused nerve degeneration had left her with control only over her eyes. The implant enabled her to control the computer using brain signals, spelling out messages at two letters per minute.

  

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Hockley - 1^st woman to head a Test nation’s cricket board: Debbie Hockley has been elected as president of New Zealand Cricket, becoming the first woman to hold that role in the 122-year history of the sport's national governing body.

  

2. Padmini Rout wins National Women Premier Championship for the third time: Rout played out a draw with her Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB ) teammate EeshaKaravade that made her achieve the hat-trick of title wins.

Daily GK Updates - 15th November, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Moon came close to earth after 1948: The moon arrived at its closest point to the Earth since 1948. The 'supermoon' reached its brightest in Asia on 14 November 2016. The Moon was closest, only 2 lakh 21 thousand 524 miles (356509 km) away at 11:21 GMT.

2. Demonetisation: RBI sets panel to oversee ATM recalibrations: o oversee recalibration of ATM machines after the country introduced new banknotes to replace old 500 rupee and 1,000 rupee notes, RBI will set up a task force under Deputy Governor SS Mundra. Panel will provide "direction and guidance" for recalibrating ATM machines to dispense the new notes.

3. President inaugurates the India International Trade Fair in Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee on 14th November has inaugurated the India International Trade Fair at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi which will see participation of over 150 companies from 27 countries. This year's edition of the mega trade fair with 'Digital India' theme is being held from November 14-27.

4. India, US launch $95 million clean energy projects: As part of its efforts to continue the global transition to zero-and-low carbon energy sources, the United States (US) has announced two financial projects worth 95 million US dollars for India. The projects announced on 14 November 2016 aims at bringing more energy-efficient appliances to rural sector of the country.

5. Thiruvananthapuram becomes country’s ‘breast cancer capital’: Thiruvananthapuram has been termed as the country's breast cancer capital, with cases at a record high of 40 per lakh of population.

6. India’s 1^st Cherry Blossom Festival starts in Meghalaya: Meghalaya on Monday became the first state to start India's first Cherry Blossom Festival, which is widely celebrated in Japan. The four-day festival will also provide opportunities to showcase the unique beauty of pink and white cherry blossoms as well as Meghalaya's traditional arts, culture and cuisine to the naturalists and tourists.

  

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Australia to introduce Hindi language in Pre-schools from 2018: Australia announced an online program for its pre-schools to learn foreign languages, including Hindi from 2017. In order to teach foreign languages in Australia a program named Early Learning Languages Australia (ELLA), was launched in the 2015-16, with five languages namely Chinese (Mandarin), Japanese, Indonesian, French and Arabic. These were taught to the children using seven apps.

2. Bulgarian PM resigns after losing presidential election: The Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov gave resignation of his cabinet after his party’s candidate Tsetska Tsacheva , failed to win the country’s presidential election on November 14, 2016.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Golfer Chawrasia wins first Asian Tour title outside India: Indian golfer SSP Chawrasia clinched the $1 million (Rs. 6.8 crore) Resorts World Manila Masters in the Philippines, his first ever Asian Tour title outside India. Chawrasia beat Malaysian Nicolas Fung and American Sam Chen on the final day of the tournament.

OBITUARIES:

2. UK’s first Indian-origin Sikh judge dies: Mota Singh, an Indian-origin Sikh, who became UK’s first-ever ethnic minority judge to sit on the English Bench wearing a turban instead of a horse-hair wig, died.He was 86. Mota Singh, a Ramgarhia Sikh, was born in 1930 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Daily GK Updates - 14th November, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Children’s Day observed on 14^th November: On 14th November, Children’s Day is celebrated every year to mark the birth anniversary of our first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. Pandit Nehru had a great love for children. He wanted to be among them, talk to them and play with them. The children also loved and respected him and called him CHACHA NEHRU.

2. Israel President arrives in Mumbai on 6-day visit to India: Israel President ReuvenRivlin arrived in Mumbai on November 14th on a six-day visit to India to further strengthen bilateral ties. He will meet Prime Minister NarendraModi and External Affairs Minister SushmaSwaraj

3. Molinari Rail to set up manufacturing unit in India: Swiss major Molinari Rail will set up a manufacturing and assembly centre for auxiliary power units for diesel locomotives in India by next year.  Molinari Rail AG has entered into a strategic pact to design, manufacture and deliver the auxiliary power units (APUs) for 1,000 diesel locomotives to be built in India for Indian Railways.

4. Mahindra and Mahindra elevatePawanGoenka as MD: Mahindra and Mahindra appointed Pawan Goenka as Managing Director and Anand Mahindra was redesignated as executive chairman.

5. Mauritius PM Anerood Jugnauth to visit Mumbai on November 18: Mauritius Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth is set to visit the city on November 18, where he is expected to discuss various issues, including one that provides a subsidy for Bollywood films shot there, with the Maharashtra government.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World Diabetes Day celebrated on 14^th November: The theme for this year is "Eyes on Diabetes". World Diabetes Day is an annual campaign, led by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and its member associations. It is celebrated every year on 14 November and engages millions of people worldwide in diabetes advocacy and awareness.

2. APEC Forum’s Week starts in Lima, Peru: The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum's Week started at Lima in Peru today bringing together leaders of world's largest economies, businessmen and investors. A creation of Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, which would include all APEC states, is one of the main topics on the agenda of the 2016 APEC Summit that is widely seen as the premier business event drawing together business and economic leaders of 21 Pacific Rim countries.

3. Fortune magazine named Mark Zuckerberg as the Business Person of the Year: The 32-year-old Zuckerberg, was honored based on various criteria, including the company’s performance year over year as well as his vision for growth and the ability to achieve it.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. Yes Bank appoints AmreshAcharya as Head Global Indian Banking.

2. Federal Bank to open its first overseas branch in Dubai: Federal Bank, India's major commercial bank in the private sector has received Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s permission to open its first international branch at the Dubai International Financial Centre.

SPORTS:

3. Aditi Ashok makes history by winning the Women’s Indian Open: Aditi Ashok is an Indian professional golfer who has scripted history on November 13th as she became the first Indian woman to win a Ladies European Tour title by clinching the Hero Women’s Indian Open.

AWARDS:

4. 5 decades and 200 films later, Jackie Chan ‘finally’ wins Oscars: Hollywood actor Jackie Chan received his little gold statuette, an honorary Oscar for his decades of work in film on November 13th at the annual Governors Awards.

5. Gulzar named for Tata LitFest’s Poet Laureate 2016 award: Lyricist-writer Gulzar will be honoured with 2016 Tata Literature Live! Poet Laureate Award. The award will be presented to Gulzar, an Oscar and Grammy Award winner, at the inaugural of the festival on November 17.

6. Indian-origin humanitarian gets Global Citizen Award: An Indian-origin man from South Africa was awarded the Global Citizen Award for his "innovative and visionary" contribution to the global community. ImtiazSooliman founded the internationally-lauded Gift of the Givers Foundation, which is Africa's largest disaster relief organisation.

Daily GK Updates - 13th November, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India and Bhutan signs agreement on trade for better bilateral relations: Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Bhutan's Economic Affairs Minister Tengye Lyonpo Lekey Dorji signed the agreement in New Delhi. The first agreement on trade and commerce between both countries was signed in 1972.

2. India to preside next edition of COP in Geneva in 2018: India will preside the eighth edition of the Conference of Parties (COP) to WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which will be held in Switzerland's Geneva in 2018. Health Secretary CK Mishra has been chosen as the President of the COP Bureau, for the next two years, after a unanimous decision by the COP7 Plenary session.

3. Pune to host India-China 'Hand-In-Hand 2016': The India-China Joint Training Exercise "Hand in Hand 2016" is scheduled to be held in Pune from November 15-27. 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Sydney to host Invictus Games in 2018: Britain's Prince Harry: Australia will host the 2018 Invictus Games for wounded military personnel, Britain's Prince Harry announced. More than 500 serving and former personnel from 17 nations will compete in the multi-sports competition in Sydney.

2.IMF approves largest-ever loan for a Middle East nation: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a three-year $12 billion loan program for Egypt, the largest such package to a Middle East nation. The loan will help in boosting Egypt’s foreign currency inflows, which have dwindled since the 2011 Arab Spring uprising, and revive the African nation's economy.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Batra 1^st Indian to be elected as International Hockey Federation Chief: NarinderBatra has become the first Indian to be elected the President of the International Hockey Federation. He was voted to the top post by an overwhelming margin during the penultimate day of the 45th FIH Congress in Dubai.

2. Vandana Kataria to captain Indian women’s hockey team in Australia series: Forward Vandana Katariya will captain Indian senior women's hockey team in the Test Series against Australia to be played at Melbourne from November 23 to November 30.

Daily GK Updates - 12th November, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India, Japan Sign Landmark Nuclear Energy Deal:India on Friday signed a historic civilian nuclear deal with Japan during the annual bilateral summit held in Tokyo. India is the first non-member of the non-proliferation treaty (NPT) to have signed such a deal with Japan.

2. 11-year-old Pune girl wins ‘Doodle 4 Google’ 2016 contest: 11 year old Pune girl Anvita Prashant Telang has been named national winner of the “Doodle 4 Google” contest. The sixth standard student from Vibgyor High School in Balewadi area was chosen for her Doodle submission on the theme titled “If I could teach anyone anything, it would be”.

3. TAFE setting up Centre of Excellence in Rajasthan: TAFE, the world’s third largest tractor maker, in collaboration with the Rajasthan government, is setting up a Centre of Excellence — ‘JFarm Rajasthan’ — and a Custom Hiring Centre in six zones in Rajasthan at a total outlay of Rs.970 crore. 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World Pneumonia Day Observes today: 12th November: World Pneumonia Day is observed across the world on 12 November. The day is annually observed to raise awareness about pneumonia, the world’s leading killer of children under the age of five; promote interventions to protect against, prevent and treat pneumonia; and generate action to combat pneumonia. 

2.Chinese Minister elected Interpol President: China’s Vice-Minister for Public Security on Thursday was elected the President of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). Meng Hongwei is the first Chinese official to take the post.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Indian Women's team wins Gold at the 7th World Carrom Championship: Indian women’s carrom team defeated Sri Lanka to win the gold at the seventh World carrom championship in Birmingham (UK) on Friday.India's S Apoorwa and Kajol Kumari also won gold in the women's doubles event.

OBITUARIES:

5. Leonard Cohen dies aged 82: tributes pour in to legendary singer-songwriter:Leonard Cohen, the baritone-voiced Canadian singer-songwriter who seamlessly blended spirituality and sexuality in songs like Hallelujah, Suzanne and Bird on a Wire, has died at age 82.

Daily GK Updates - 11th November, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.G Mahalingam is SEBI’s new Full-Time Member: Gurumoorthy Mahalingam took charge as Full-Time Member of SEBI on 10th November. He will be responsible for leading the Integrated Surveillance Department, Investment Management Department, Enforcement Department (ED), Foreign Portfolio Investors and Custodians, Collective Investment Schemes, and Department of Economic and Policy Analysis, among others.

2. Maharashtra, Canada to work on urban infrastructure, smart cities: Maharashtra government has signed an agreement with Canada to implement a joint action plan on urban infrastructure development in the state. 

3. Tata Chemicals' Director Bhaskar Bhat resigns: Bhaskar Bhat, the non-executive and non-independent director on the board of Tata Chemicals Ltd, has resigned with immediate effect. Bhat had expressed displeasure at the continuation of Mistry as Chairman. On Friday, the independent directors unanimously supported Mistry's chairmanship on Tata Chemicals board.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1.Roger Federer wins Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award: Former world number one Roger Federer won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award at the ATP awards on 10th November, for the 12th time in his career.  

2. Mumbai’s Western Railways beat Haryana 4-2 to win Surjit trophy: Mumbai's Western Railways women's team on 10 November 2016 won the 33rd Indian Oil Servo Surjit Hockey Tournament.The team defeated Haryana XI 4-2 in the title clash played at the Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar.