Daily GK Updates - 21st December, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India achieves 4^th rank in Global Wind Power Installed Capacity Index: India has ranked 4th in the Global Wind Power Installed Capacity index after China, USA and Germany with cumulative installed wind power generation capacity of 28,279 MW in 2016.

2. India and Kyrgyzstan signed 6 agreements to boost bilateral cooperation: The agreements were signed in New Delhi during the State visit of Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambaye.
Agreements: MoU on cooperation in the field of Tourism, Agreement on cooperation in the field of Agriculture and Food Industry, MoU on cooperation in the field of Youth development: The agreement was signed between the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and the state agency of Youth Affairs, Physical Education and Sports of Kyrgyzstan, MoU on cooperation between Foreign Service Institute, MEA, New Delhi and Diplomatic Academy of MOFA of Kyrgyzstan, MoU in the field of cooperation in youth exchange between NCC of India and Military Lyceum of Kyrgyz Republic, MoU on cooperation in the field of Broadcasting and exchange of audiovisualprogrammes:TheMoU was signed between PrasarBharati of India and Public Broadcast Corporation of Kyrgyzstan.

3. 9^th World Confluence of Humanity, Power and Spirituality held in Delhi: The ninth edition of World Confluence of Humanity, Power and Spirituality, organised by ASSOCHAM in association with Srei Foundation and Times Foundation, introduced a fresh culture of ‘Spirituality @ Work’ through its brand Sach Bharat, inspiring distinguished industrialists, business leaders, industry captains and noted politicians to imbibe spirituality at their respective work places and lives.

4. India signs Open Skies Agreement with six countries at ICAN 2016: International Civil Aviation Negotiations (ICAN) – 2016 were held recently in Nassau. Open Skies agreement allows unlimited number of flights to six metro airports namely Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai, was signed with six countries namely Jamaica, Guyana, Czech Republic, Finland, Spain and Sri Lanka.

5. Government announces Rs 207 crore project for protection of Majuli Island: Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region Dr Jitendra Singh has announced to provide 207 crore rupees for protection and development of the world heritage island Majuli located along river Brahmaputra in Assam. 

6. Chhattisgarh CM dedicates country’s first cashless bazaar to people in Raipur: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has launched India’s first cashless bazaar in Raipur. This ‘Smart’ bazaar consist of nearly Over 900 shops which are providing the facilities of cashless payments using POS, UPI and other digital systems to its customers.

7. Madras High Court bans Sharia Courts functioning in Tamil Nadu: The Madras High Court has banned unauthorised ‘Sharia’ courts functioning on premises of mosques in Tamil Nadu while hearing a petition from a husband who was allegedly forced to pronounce talaq by one such court in the city.

8. India gets most FDI from Singapore: India has received the maximum Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows from Singapore in 2015-16 followed by Mauritius, the US, the Netherlands and Japan, a report by industry chamber PHDCCI and KPMG. India attracted $13.69 billion foreign direct investment from Singapore in that financial year.

9.  Tamil poet-saint Thiruvalluvar statue gets place at Haridwar’s Mela Bhavan: The 12-foot-tall stone statue of renowned Tamil poet and philosopher-saint Thiruvalluvar was inaugurated at Mela Bhawan premises in Haridwar, Uttarakhand by Chief minister Harish Rawat.

10. Huge ‘Dead Zone’ discovered in Bay of Bengal: The Bay of Bengal hosts a ‘dead zone’ of an estimated 60,000 square kilometres — an area that contains little or no oxygen and supports microbial processes that remove vast amount of nitrogen from the ocean, scientists, including those from India, have found.

11. Health Ministry wins gold in the Web Ratna Category: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare lead by Jagat Prakash Nadda has won gold in the Web Ratna category in the Digital India awards 2016. Jitendra Arora, Director, e-Governance, at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare received the award from the Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology and Law & Justice, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad.

12. Deepak Agarwal appointed Noida CEO Authority: The Uttar Pradesh government has designated Deepak Agarwal, CEO of Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA), as the CEO of Noida Authority on 21st December 2016.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Ukraine Nationalized Nations’ Largest Private Bank ‘PrivateBank’: "Privatebank', Ukraine’s largest private bank, is being nationalised to protect the country’s financial system and preserve an essential bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund.

2. China commissions its 1^st 7-tonne civil helicopter: China commissioned its first seven-tonne helicopter. AC352 civil helicopter can be used for operations like search and rescue and law enforcement, marking a new advancement in its aviation industry.

3. Flock launches world’s first chat operating system: A free instant messaging service for work and business environments, Flock has launched world’s first chat operating system”FlockOS” by Bhavin Turakhia, Flock CEO. Flock’s Developers can build apps by using Flock OS that provided a tightly integrated experience by using widgets. This OS provides setup slash commands, providing an additional option for users to interact with the app.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. Corporation Bank bags award: Corporation Bank has bagged the SKOCH silver award for attaining the position of number one channel partner of LIC of India for the past three financial years, according to a press release by the bank here.

SPORTS:

2. India’s Boxing Federation gets permanent membership in world body: The International Boxing Association has unanimously voted to induct the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) as one of its permanent members.

OBITUARIES:

3. Veteran Malayalam Actor Jagannatha Varma passed away at the age of 77.

Daily GK Updates - 20th December, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Government mulls merging cyber tribunal with TDSAT: As part of plans to merge some of the tribunals into larger entities to avoid identical functions, the government is looking to converge the Cyber Appellate Tribunal (CyAT) and Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). According to Sources of the government   CyAT is proposed to be merged with the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) and a Cabinet note to this effect will be moved shortly.

2. PM launches major skill development projects in Kanpur: Prime Minister NarendraModi laid foundation of the first-ever Indian Institute of Skills of the country at Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh 19 December 2016. The institute is aimed at making youth more employable and self-reliant. The institute has been conceptualised by the Prime Minister during his visit to Singapore's Institute of Technical Education.

3. EPFO lowers interest rate on EPF to 8.65% for FY17: Employee's Provident Fund Organization EPFO decided to lower the interest on EPF deposits for the current fiscal to 8.65%, from 8.8% provided in 2015-16, for its over four crore subscribers.

4. India-Nepal Folk Craft Festival kicks off in Kathmandu: The five-day India-Nepal Folk Crafts Festival (INCF-2016) begins in Kathmandu, Nepal on December 19, 2016 to promote cultural exchanges between the two countries. The Main aim of the festival to promote crafts based bilateral relations and enhance cultural exchanges between the artisans of India and Nepal.

5. Justice J S Khehar appointed as the next Chief Justice of India.

6. Single tribunal to decide all inter-state water dispute: The Centre has decided to set up a single, permanent Tribunal to adjudicate all inter-state river water disputes subsuming existing tribunals, a step which is aimed at resolving grievances of states in a speedy manner.

7. Priyanka Chopra becomes Assam Tourism brand ambassador.

8. Micromax, Uber join hands to offer integrated experience: Mobile phone brand Micromax Informatics, and taxi-hailing service Uber announced a partnership that will help Micromax customers book an Uber ride on their phones without having to download application. Through the partnership, Micromax aims to push nearly 100 million devices that offer an integrated experience with Uber over the next three years.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. International Human Solidarity Day observed on 20^th December: The United Nations' (UN) International Human Solidarity Day is annually held on December 20 to celebrate unity in diversity. It also aims to remind people on the importance of solidarity in working towards eradicating poverty.

2. World’s oldest water sample found to be 2 billion years old: University of Toronto scientists have discovered the oldest water sample dating back to about two billion years, more than 500 million years more ancient than the previous oldest samples.

3. Harvard researchers create world’s smallest radio receiver: Harvard researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have built the world’s smallest radio receiver, made out of atomic scale defects in pink diamonds.

4. World’s first cloned goat with Cashmere wool born in China: The world's first cloned goat bearing superfine Cashmere wool was born in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The goat will be raised in a base for animal husbandry research conducted by experts from agricultural universities and academies in Inner Mongolia and southwest China's Yunnan Province.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. India beat England by innings and 75 runs, win series 4-0.

2. Atletico de Kolkata wins 2016 Hero Indian Super League beating Kerala Blasters 5-4.

3. Andy Murray wins record 3^rd BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

4. Karun Nair scores triple century in last test, 2^nd Indian to do so: Karun Nair became the second Indian to score a triple ton in Test cricket as the smashed unbeaten 303 runs off just 381 balls and powered India to their highest ever team total in Tests.

OBITUARIES:

5. Creator of Heimlich maneuver, Dr Henry Heimlich died at 96: The surgeon who created the life-saving Heimlich maneuver for choking victims has died at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati due to heart attack. He was 96 year's old.

Daily GK Updates - 19th December, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Piyush Goyal to launch GARV-II app to ensure power access to all: To ensure transparency in the implementation of rural electrification programme, the Power Ministry will launch a new app, GARV-II, to provide real-time data of all six lakh villages of the country.

2. PM Modi to unveil Vibrant Gujarat summit in January 2017: About 25-30 global CEOs and the heads of the multi-national corporations will throng to Gujarat on January 10, 2017 for the 8th edition of biennial Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) 2017. 

3. Manipur Chief Minister inaugurates two new districts amid Naga protests: Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh has inaugurated two new districts Pherzawl and Noney. 

4.Swasthya Raksha Programme launched by AYUSH Ministry: The Union AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) Ministry has launched ‘SwasthyaRaksha Programme’ to promote health and health education in villages.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Puerto Rico's Stephanie Del Valle crowned Miss World 2016: Puerto Rico's 19-year-old Stephanie Del Valle has been crowned as the Miss World 2016 at an event held in Maryland, US. 

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. YES Bank, Ola ties up to provide cash at your doorstep:YES Bank, India’s fifth largest private sector bank has partnered with Ola, one of the popular mobile apps for transportation, to provide cash-on-demand at customer’s doorstep. 

SPORTS:

2. India beat Belgium 2-1 to win the hockey junior World Cup: India beat Belgium 2-1 to win the hockey junior World Cup in Lucknow on 18th December 2016. This is India’s second world title.

OBITUARIES:

3. Former Planning Commission member Saumitra Chaudhuri passed away:Former Planning Commission member Saumitra Chaudhuri passed away in Sir Ganga Ram hospital on 18th December. 

Daily GK Updates - 18th December, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Lt Gen BipinRawat to be next Indian Army chief; B.S Dhanoa to be IAF chief: The Vice Chief of Army Staff, Lt General BipinRawat will be the new Chief of Army Staff, while Air Marshal BS Dhanoa, the next Chief of Air Staff. They will take charge in the afternoon of 31st of this month.

2. India, Tajikistan decides to strengthen cooperation to address issue of terrorism; Sign four agreements:India and Tajikistan have signed four agreements in areas including on double taxation avoidance, money laundering and counter-terrorism. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon witnessed the exchange of MoUs in New Delhi following delegation level talks.

3. Rajiv Jain named next Director of IB, AK Dhasmana to head RAW: Jharkhand cadre IPS officer Rajiv Jain was appointed as the new chief of Intelligence Bureau (IB) while Anil Dhasmana will head external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). Both the officers will have a tenure of two years. Jain, who is at present serving as the Special Director in the IB, will take over on January 1 after the incumbent Dineshwar Sharma completes his two-year tenure on December 31, 2016.

4. First Cyber-crime police station opens in Shimla: In Himachal Pradesh, the first Cyber Crime Police Station has been opened at state police headquarter in Shimla. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh inaugurated this Police Station through video conferencing from his office.

5. Odisha Govt sets target for construction of 1000 km concrete road: Odisha government has decided to construct more 2,000 kilometre of cement concrete roads under the Gopabandhu Gramin Yojana in rural areas by March 2017. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik issued this direction while chairing a review meeting on the progress of concrete road construction works in rural areas at the State Secretariat in Bhubaneswar. 

6.Himachal Pradesh becomes sixth in India to attain 100% Aadhaar saturation:The Himachal Pradesh has achieved 100 percent Aadhar saturation on the basis of population of year 2015. With this, Himachal Pradesh has become the sixth State/UT in the Country. 

7. Priyanka Chopra beats DiCaprio, JLaw on IMDb’s most popular celebs list:Here’s another achievement in Priyanka Chopra’s kitty. She has now made it up to the list of IMDb’s most popular celebrities’ list. Standing at number 55, Priyanka is ahead of Hollywood’s big names like Jennifer Aniston, Emma Watson, and Leonardo Di Caprio, Johnny Depp, Scarlett Johansson and others.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1.State Bank MobiCash Mobile Wallet launched: Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, ArunJaitley and Minister of State for Communications (Independent charge) and Minster of State for Railways Manoj Sinha has jointly launched State Bank MobiCash Mobile Wallet, a product by SBI and BSNL. 

2.RBI lowers charges on debit card payments to promote digital transactions:In order to incentivise greater adoption of digital payment methods, the Reserve Bank has announced special measures to be adopted between 1st January 2017 and 31st March 2017. 

SPORTS:

3.Vijender Singh retains WBO-Asia Pacific Super title: Indian boxing star Vijender Singh knocked out former world Francis Cheka to retain WBO-Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title. Vijender took less than 10 minutes to beat Tanzanian boxer to defend his title at the packed Thyagraj Stadium in New Delhi last night. 

4. Paris opens 'world's largest non-permanent indoor ice rink: A 2,700-square-meter skating space, which is being considered the world's largest non-permanent indoor ice rink, recently opened at the Grand Palais in Paris. Over 100 workers constructed the ice rink, which will remain open until January 2. The rink was inaugurated by a show featuring skating stunts and acrobatics as part of the 'Grand Palais des Glaces' festival.

Daily GK Updates - 17th December, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Rajasthan launches Amma canteen-type meal scheme: Rajasthan government has launched a subsidised meal scheme ‘Annapurna Rasoi'.  As per the scheme, the poor and the needy will get breakfast for Rs 5 and lunch or dinner for Rs 8.

2.PIFF to be held from Jan 12: The 15th Pune International Film Festival will be held from January 12 to 19. Around 250 films in different categories will be screened at the festival, which is collaboration between Maharashtra government and Pune Film Foundation. 

3. City corporation to receive Digital India Silver Award: The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation in Tamil Nadu has been selected for Digital India Award instituted by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. 

4. Nalco, NTPC ink MoU to set up power plant in Odisha: The National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) and NTPC Limited have signed a MoU to set up a 2400 MW power plant at Gajmara in Dhenkanal district of Odisha and supply captive power for expansion plans of Nalco at Angul and also Greenfield project at Kamakhyanagar in Dhenkanal district.

5. The Dharwad-headquartered Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank has bagged two awards for inclusive insurance from Skoch Group for 2016.

6. Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill passed in Lok Sabha:The Lok Sabha has passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2016 in LokSabha on 16 December 2016, which replaces the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995. 

7. BHEL bags Rs 200-cr railway order for traction converters: The state-owned BHEL has bagged a major order from Indian Railways for the supply of IGBT-based traction converters.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. India's foreign exchange reserves down by USD 887.2 mn to USD 362.987 bn:India's foreign exchange reserves declined by 887.2 million dollars to 362.987 billion dollars in the week ended 9th December. 

AWARDS:

2. BEML Ltd, a defence public sector undertaking, has been conferred with CEPM Fellowship Award-2016. 

Daily GK Updates - 16th December, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Nation pays tribute to bravehearts of 1971 Indo-Pak war on Vijay Diwas : The nation is paying tributes to the bravehearts on  16 December 2016, who laid down their lives during 1971 India-Pakistan war on the occasion of Vijay Diwas which is observed on 16 December of every year.

2. Indian-American woman elected as Mayor of Californian city: For the first time, an Indian-American woman has been elected as the new Mayor of the key Californian city of Cupertino, globally known for its Apple headquarters. 

3. MukeshAmbani featured among World's Most Powerful People: Reliance Industries Chairman MukeshAmbani has been ranked 38 on the World's Most Powerful People list for 2016 by Forbes. 

4. Seventh Edition of bilateral Exercise ‘EKUVERIN’ commences in Maldives: The Seventh edition of Exercise EKUVERIN will be held from 15 to 28 Dec 2016 at Kadhdhoo, Laamu Atoll, Maldives. The aim of the exercise is to conduct military training with emphasis on amphibious & counter-insurgency counter-terrorism operations with a view to enhancing interoperability between the two armies.

5.India tops Asia in innovation chart: The ‘Silicon Valley’ of the east, Bengaluru, which is 5th largest hub at the global level, saw most of the innovations in 2016 including the opening of 3 new centres between March and October 2016, apart from setting up of startup accelerator by Apple.

6. ICFA presents 'Global Agriculture Leadership Award 2016' to Ratan Tata:Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) has presented 'Global Agriculture Leadership Award 2016' to Tata Sons interim Chairman Ratan Tata in Mumbai on 15th December 2016. 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Pakistan successfully test-fires cruise missile: Pakistan has successfully test-fired an enhanced version of an indigenously-designed cruise missile that can hit targets at 700km with all kinds of warheads, bringing many Indian cities within its range.

2. 5th Edition of India-Arab partnership conference held in Muscat, Oman:The Conference was organised in collaboration with the Oman Foreign Ministry, Arab League Secretariat, the Ministry of External Affairs in India, the General Union of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the Arab Countries (GUCCIAC) and Federation of the Arab Business (FAB)

3. Nigeria's Amina Mohammed confirmed as new UN deputy Secretary­General: New United Nations (UN) Secretary ­General Antonio Guterres has announced Nigeria’s Environment minister, Amina Mohammed as his Deputy Secretary ­General (DSG) on 15th December 2016. 

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Smriti Mandhana named in ICC Women’s Team of the Year: India batswoman SmritiMandhana has been named in the ICC Women’s Team of the Year 2016, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced.

Daily GK Updates - 15th December, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.PM Modi9th most powerful person: Forbes: Prime Minister NarendraModi has ranked 9th on the Forbes list of 74 of the World's Most Powerful People.

2. Gujarat-born 1970s activist on BBC’s power women list: A Gujarat-born activist who led a campaign against low pay for women workers at a UK factory in the 1970s has made it the BBC’s most influential women of the past 70 years list released on 15th December.

3. Paytm launches ‘Each one, teach one’ to increase digital inclusion: Paytm has announced a program to increase the digital inclusion in the country where in it is calling upon consumers and merchants across India to teach others on how to use Paytm to pay and accept money.

4. Now you can listen 'Mahabharata' on AIR from Dec 19: 'Mahabharata', B R Chopra's famed tele-serial, is set to be broadcast in its radio avatar on the All India Radio (AIR) from December 19.

5. Govt announces Lucky Graahak Yojana from Christmas: The Government has announced to launch a 'Lucky Graahak Yojana' and 'DigiDhan Yojana' to encourage digital payments.Schemes will begin from 25th Dec till April 14, 2017. 7,000 weekly awards and a maximum award of Rs 50,000 each for merchants will be awarded under DigiDhan Vyapari Yojna.

6. Union Cabinet approves agreement between India and Tajikistan for avoidance of double taxation:Union Cabinet on 14 December 2016 approved the protocol for amending the agreement between India and Tajikistan for the avoidance of double taxation. Moreover, the agreement also aims at the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.

7. India to contribute $500,000 to UN emergency response fund: India will contribute $500,000 to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for the year 2016-17 announced by Indian diplomat Anjani Kumar a counsellor at India’s UN Mission at the pledging session held at UN.

8. VG Kannan appointed CEO of Indian Banks’ Association: V G Kannan has taken charge as Chief Executive of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) on 14th December 2016. He succeeds M V Tanksale who demitted office as Chief Executive on August 9, 2016 after being at the helm for three years. 

9. A ban was imposed by the National Green Tribunal on December 14, 2016 on the procurement, sale and use of glass powder coated ‘manja’ and other dangerous strings for flying kites.

10. ‘Courts of India – Past to Present’ by Supreme Court of India – Bar & Bench:The book titled ‘Courts of India – Past to Present’ released by the Supreme Court of India.

11. e-Tourist visa extended to citizens of 161 countries:The Government of India informed that it has extended the e-Tourist Visa facility to citizens of 161 countries.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 'Brexit' and 'get your freak on' added to Oxford Dictionary: 'Brexit' and 'Grexit' (hypothetical withdrawal of Greece from the EU) are among the 1,500 new words and phrases added to the Oxford English Dictionary this week. 'Get your freak on' (sexual activity, especially unconventional) and 'glam-ma' (glamorous grandmother) have also been added. 'Bomb', a surfing term for large wave, and 'Bama', popularised by Beyoncé in Formation, are among the additions.

2.Rio Gets UNESCO World Heritage Status: The  Marvelous City or Rio de Janeiro officially has entered into the UN’s list of world heritage sites while UNESCO status was announced in 2012 in recognition of its soaring granite cliffs, urban rainforest and beaches.

3. Sochi, Russia won’t host 2017 Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Championships: The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) has announced that Russia will not host the 2017 Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Championships. 

4.Qatar abolishes controversial 'kafala' labour system: Labour Minister of Qatar, Issa bin Saad al-Jafali al-Nuaimi on December 13, 2016, formally announced the end of its controversial “kafala” system, which was the biggest ever labour reform in Qatar.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. November WPI inflation at 3.15%: he Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation for November 2016 came in at a five-month low of 3.15 %, lower than 3.39 % in the October month.

OBITUARIES:

2. Bewitched, Titanic actor Bernard Fox dies at 89:Bernard Fox died of heart failure at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, California on 14th December. He is best known for his roles on the ABC series Bewitched and James Cameron's Oscar-winning picture Titanic. Fox also made appearances in several British films and TV shows.