Daily GK Updates - 10th May, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Vikram Vishal has won the Indian National Science Academy medal for Young Scientists, 2017: He is an assistant professor in the Earth Sciences department at IIT-B. He has been awarded a cash prize of Rs. 25,000 and a bronze medal.

2. PM Modi launches ICMIS: Integrated Case Management Information System (ICMIS) will help the Supreme Court go paperless. It will help bring transparency, reduce manipulation and help the litigant know about the progress of the case on a real time basis.

3. India to replace Maitri station in Antarctica: India has decided to replace the Maitri research station in Antarctica with a new one in the next three to four years. India is poised to expand its research activity and a new ship, with special ice-cutting facility, will be procured for the purpose. India does not have laws for Antarctica and is currently governed by international laws.

4. SC to begin hearing on triple talaq from May 11^th: The Supreme Court will commence hearing on a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of ‘triple talaq’, ‘nikahhalala’ and polygamy practices among Muslims. Chief Justice of India JS Khehar will head the bench.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. IMF warns Asia of its rapidly ageing population: IMF called on Asian economies to learn from Japan’s experience and act early to cope with rapidly aging populations. The population growth rate is projected to fall to zero for Asia by 2050. The challenges are particularly huge for Japan, which faces both an aging and shrinking population. Its labour force shrank by more than 7 percent in the past two decades.

2. Moon Jae-in wins South Korea presidential election: Moon Jae in is the 12th President of South Korea. He is a former human rights attorney and student activist. He is preceded by Park Geunhye who was impeached due to corruption charges.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. FIBA revises earlier rule banning headgears: International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has revised its earlier rule banning players from wearing headgear. It will enable India's Sikh players to wear turbans and play in the upcoming FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers in China.

Daily GK Updates - 9th May, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Maharashtra government has imposed a ban over selling and serving foods high in fats, sugar and salt in school canteens: Schools have been asked to replace food items with healthy food such as whole grain, home-made rotis, parathas, rice, etc.
Although the Delhi high court and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had curbed junk food in schools in 2015 and 2016, no such regulations or guidelines were in place in Maharashtra until now.

2. 200 airports to be brought under regional air connectivity: Under the UDAN regional air connectivity scheme, 33 airports have been already included since its launch in addition to 75 taking the total to 108. There will be multiple rounds of bidding. All Greenfield airports would be built through the PPP route.

3. Konkona Sen Sharma wins Best Actress award for ‘Lipstick Under My Burkha’: Konkona Sen Sharma has been named the Best Actress for the film ‘Lipstick Under My Burkha’ at the 17th edition of the New York Indian Film Festival. She also received the Best Director award for her directorial debut, ‘A Death in the Gunj’. Director of Lipstick under my burkha – Alankrita Shrivastava

4. Sachin Tendulkar welcomes INS Tarkash to London: INS Tarkash, under the command of Captain Rituraj Sahu, set sail from Mumbai last month
INS Tarkash, a state of the art stealth ship. It is in the UK for naval exercises and to mark UK India Year of Culture 2017. It is the first time an Indian stealth frigate has docked at Canary Wharf in London.

5. India top user of WhatsApp video calls: WhatsApp has revealed that India is the top user of its video calling feature in terms of time spent. Indians are making 5 crore minutes of video calls daily. WhatsApp users globally make34 crore minutes of video calls every day. CEO of Whatsapp – Jan Koum. WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook in February 2014 for US$19 billion.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India unanimously elected as President of UN-Habitat: India has been unanimously elected as the President of UN-Habitat. The UN-Habitat promotes socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements across the world. It is only the third time that India has been elected to lead this important organization after 2007 and 1988.

2. Sohail Mahmood to be Pakistan’s new envoy to India: Mahmood is a top diplomat of Pakistan and will replace Abdul Basit.
Mahmood is currently Pakistan’s ambassador to Turkey,

3. Venu Rajamony has been appointed as India’s Ambassador to the Netherlands: He is currently press secretary to President of India.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Jhulan Goswamibecomes the leading wicket taker in women’s ODIs: With 181 wickets Jhulan Goswami is the leading wicket taker. She over took former Australia pacer Cathryn Fitzpatrick’s (tally of 180). She has been awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award and the Padma Shri.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

2. India to grow at 7.7 per cent in 2018-19: IMF: According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India's growth is expected to rebound to 7.2% in the 2017-18 fiscal and 7.7% in 2018-19 after disruptions caused by demonetization.

Daily GK Updates - 8th May, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India’s 1st bio refinery plant inaugurated in Pune: The plant will produce ethanol from variety of biomass. The project is situated at Rahu in Pune district.

2. Justice CS Karnansentences Chief Justice of India to 5 yrs in jail: Calcutta High Court Judge C.S. Karnan has sentenced 8 Supreme Court judges to five years of “rigorous imprisonment” and imposed a fine of Rs. 1,00,000 each under SC/ST Act of 1989 and the amended Act of 2015. He said that the eight “shall undergo the sentence concurrently” and “fine amount shall be paid within a period of one week to the National Commission, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes Constitutional body.

3. Odisha to introduce boat ambulances: Odisha will introduce boat ambulance service in four districts where people face difficulties in getting health service. The service will be available in the districts of Koraput, Malkangiri, Kendrapara and Kalahandi. IIT, Chennai is providing technical support to this project

4. Every house to get smart ID in Haryana: The teams of Saksham and e-Numerator would visit houses to feed their GPS location in tablets and create smart house IDs online and link each house with biometric in Haryana. During the survey, the address of each house, photo, location, details of the owner of house, electricity connection, water connection, details of electronic devices, bank account numbers, IFSC code, Aadhaar and personal details would be gathered.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World Red Cross Day: May 8:  Every year May 8 is celebrated as World Red Cross day. It is an annual celebration of the principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.This date is the anniversary of the birth of Henry Dunant, the founder of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the recipient of the first Nobel Peace Prize. Theme of 2017 World Red Cross Day – “Less Known Red Cross Stories”

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Olive Ridley to be mascot of Asian Athletics: The Chief Minister of Odisha ‘Naveen Patnaik’ has released the logo and mascot of the ‘Asian Athletics Championships’ in presence of Olympians PT Usha and Anju Bobby George. More than 700 athletes from nearly 45 countries would participate in 42 sports events during the four-day sports extravaganza.

2. Great Britain wins Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey Cup 2017: Great Britain has won the ‘Sultan Azlan Shah Cup’ after a gap of 23 years with a rousing 4 -3 victory in the final against Australia (defending champions) at Ipoh in Malaysia.

3. Devender Singh becomes 2nd Indian javelin thrower to qualify for world championship: Devender Singh has become the second Indian after Neeraj Chopra to qualify for the world championships to be held in London. Devender Singh is a javelin thrower.

4. Heena Sidhu wins bronze medal in the Womens 10m Air Pistol: Heena Sidhu settled for the bronze medal in the Womens 10m Air Pistol category of the 48th Grand Prix of Liberation Plzen Shooting championships. She is the first Indian Pistol shooter to be Ranked World No.1 by ISSF.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

5. ONGC Videsh Ltd. produces record 12.6 million tons of crude oil in 2016-17: The overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC Videsh Limited) has produced a record 12.6 million tons of crude oil and equivalent gas from its assets abroad in 2016-17. The output was up from 8.92 million tons of oil and oil equivalent gas in 2015-16.

Daily GK Updates - 7th May, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Security forces conduct biggest combing operation in Kashmir since 90s: In view of growing attacks on policemen and incidents of bank robberies, a massive ”cordon and combing” operation had been launched by the security forces in south Kashmir’s Shopian district. The massive door-to-door joint search operation launched by the Army, paramilitary and J&K Police is probably the biggest such exercise in the past 15 years in the violence-hit South Kashmir.

2. India opens small arms manufacturing unit in MP in a joint venture with Israel: Strengthening defence ties, India has opened its first private small arms manufacturing plant at Malanpur, Madhya Pradesh in a joint venture with Israel. The JV company, Punj Lloyd Raksha Systems Pvt Ltd, will manufacture small arms in the plant for the Indian defence forces and also for exports. The plant will manufacture weapons like X95 assault rifle, Galil sniper, Tavor assault rifle, Negev light machine gun and the Ace assault rifle, which is similar to the Tavor but less advanced.

3. UN Technology innovation lab to be set up in Naya Raipur: The United Nations will set up a technology innovation laboratory in Naya Raipur, the new capital of Chhattisgarh, officials said. A meeting, presided over by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh concluded the same.

4. Sudarsan Pattnaik to create the world’s longest sand Buddha: Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik is all set to create the world’s longest sand Buddha in Sri Lanka. He will participate in the 14th International Vesak Day Celebrations organised by the Government of Sri Lanka.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Emmanuel Macron France’s next president: As no candidate won a majority in the first round a runoff was held between the top two candidates, Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. Macron is France’s youngest ever president

2. Hinduja brothers top UK rich list: The Hinduja brothers have topped the 2017 list of the richest people in the UK. Their estimated fortune stands at 16.2 billion pounds, a massive 3.2 billion pound hike over the previous year. Besides them, there are over 40 Indian-origin super-rich in this year's list.

3. Russia blocks social media app WeChat: Russia has blocked access to Chinese social media app WeChat for failing to give its contact details to the Russian communications watchdog. Last year Russia blocked U.S. social networking site LinkedIn for violating a law that requires data on Russian citizens to be stored on Russian servers.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Lasith Malinga becomes first bowler to take 150 wickets in IPL: He reached this landmark during the match against Delhi Daredevils. Malinga has played for Mumbai Indian’s since the inception of IPL in 2008.

2. Mumbai beat Delhi by biggest margin in IPL history: Mumbai Indians defeated Delhi Daredevils by 146 runs, the biggest margin of victory in terms of runs in the IPL history. Delhi was dismissed at 66 – Third lowest score in the IPL.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

3. Baahubali 2 becomes first Indian movie to earn Rs. 1,000 crore: ‘Baahubali 2 - The Conclusion’ has become the first ever Indian movie to achieve Rs. 1,000 crore earnings milestone. Baahubali collected 125 crore at the box office on Day One. It has proved to be the highest first day grosser in the history of domestic box office.

Daily GK Updates - 6th May, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Maharajas’ Express to begin new circuits 'Southern Sojourn' & 'Southern Jewels': Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has decided to launch two new circuits (Southern Sojourn & Southern Jewels) of its flagship luxury train Maharajas' Express this year. The ‘Southern Sojourn’ will cover Goa, Hampi, Mysore, Ernakulam, Kumarakom and Trivandrum. The ‘Southern Jewel’ will cover Chettinad, Mahabalipuram, Mysore Hampi and Goa. 

2. Madhya Pradesh assembly declares 'Narmada' living entity: The Madhya Pradesh govt. has passed a resolution granting river Narmada (1312-km-long) the status of a living entity and committed itself to the protection of its legal rights. Earlier in its judgment, the Uttarakhand High Court had declared Ganga, Yamuna and their tributaries living entities with the status of a legal person.

3. 34 MoUs worth Rs 2 lakh crores signed at India Integrated Transport & Logistic Summit: According to the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, MoUs worth 2 lakh crore Rupees have been signed at three-day India Integrated Transport and Logistic Summit in New Delhi. Total 34 investment pacts committed and more than 15 pertain to setting up multi-modal logistics parks by state governments.

4. Assam declared as ‘Disturbed’ Area under AFSPA for 3 more months: The government has declared the entire Assam as a “disturbed” area under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act for another 3 months. As per the notification, the entire Assam besides bordering areas of Meghalaya has been declared as “Disturbed Areas”. In addition, the government has placed three districts of Arunachal Pradesh, namely, Tirap, Changlang and Longding and other areas falling under 16 police stations bordering Assam as “disturbed” area under the AFSPA.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. China’s C919 Passenger Jet completed its Maiden Flight: China’s home-grown C919 passenger jet has completed its maiden flight. China’s C919 is a symbol of China’s ambitions to take market share from Boeing and Airbus in the lucrative global jet market estimated to be worth $2 trillion over the next two decades. It is a part of China’s broader “Made in China 2025” plan aimed at boosting its domestic high-tech manufacturing.

2. Nepal's Supreme Court orders reinstatement of Chief Justice Sushila Karki: Nepal's first woman Chief Justice Sushila Karki has resumed office after the Supreme Court (SC) ordered her reinstatement and directed Parliament to put on hold the impeachment motion against her. The court issued the order saying that the impeachment move was against the spirit of the country's Constitution.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Lionel Messi's suspension lifted by FIFA: The world soccer's ruling body FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) has lifted a four-match international suspension on Argentina forward Lionel Messi. Earlier, he was banned for insulting an assistant referee during a qualifier against Chile in March. The decision based on television images as the incident was missed by match officials.

BANKING & FINANCE:

2. RBI makes substantial changes in norms for dealing with stressed loans: The Reserve bank of India (RBI) has made substantial changes in the norms for dealing with stressed loans and warned the banks they will be penalized for missing Non-Performing Assets (NPA) resolution timelines. Any non-adherence to these instructions and timelines specified under the Framework shall attract monetary penalties on the concerned banks. Earlier, the union government has notified an ordinance empowering the Reserve Bank to issue directions to banks to initiate insolvency resolution process in case of a default under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

3. Heads of 7 PSU Banks Appointed: In a major restructuring in the banking sector, Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed heads of seven public sector banks besides shifting managing directors of PNB and Bank of India. PNB Managing Director (MD) Usha Ananthasubramanian has been appointed as the head of Kolkata-based Allahabad Bank. Melwyn Rego of Bank of India will head the Syndicate Bank. Rajkiran Rai G, currently executive director of Oriental Bank of Commerce will head Union Bank of India as its MD and CEO for a period of three years. R Subramaniakumar, currently executive director of Indian Overseas Bank, has been made as its MD and CEO. Sunil Mehta, currently the executive director of Corporation Bank will head the PNB in place of Usha Ananthasubramanian. The executive director of Canara Bank Dinabandhu Mohapatra will be the MD and CEO of Bank of India. R A Sankara Narayanan, currently executive director of BoI will be the MD and CEO of Vijaya Bank.

4. RBI tightens Rules for JLFs: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has tightened the rules around making the Joint Lenders’ Forum (JLF) more effective, directing banks not to break any rules and to meet all deadlines. The RBI has said that any breach of rules would attract a monetary penalty.

Daily GK Updates - 5th May, 2017

­­­­NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. PM Narendra Modi inaugurates Patanjali Research Institute in Haridwar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated Patanjali Research Institute at Patanjali Yogpeeth in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. Patanjali Research Institute has been established by Patanjali Yogpeeth with an aim to globally establish the Great Vedic knowledge of Ayurveda of our ancient India's saints and sages. An amount of Rs. 2000 crore was spent on building the Patanjali Research Centre.

2. Over 2 crore LPG connections given under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY): The PMUY scheme has been implemented across 600 districts in the country and LPG distribution process has been integrated through digital Platforms. 4600 new distributors were added in the last 3 years primarily in the rural areas. Last 3 years saw 10% growth in LPG demand and 38% beneficiaries of the scheme belong to Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST).

3. Draft Rules for No Fly List for Banning Unruly Passengers Unveiled: The government has released draft rules for a ‘no-fly list’ for banning unruly passengers. The Ministry of Civil Aviation had set up a committee to come up with the final draft of the new set of rules. The new rules would be opened for public comments for a period of one month. After receiving comments, the civil aviation ministry would study the comments and then will release the final Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR).

4. SAMPADA Scheme for re-structuring the schemes of MoFPI: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved re-structuring the schemes of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) under new Central Sector Scheme called as SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters) for the time period 2016-20.

5. BB Kumar appointed new ICSSR chairman: The union Human Resource Development ministry has appointed  Braj Bihari Kumar as the new chairman of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) for a term of three years.

6. New Chairmen appointed: Chairman of Tea Board of India and Chairman of Coffee Board of India: Prabhat Kamal Bezboruah has been appointed as the Chairman of the Tea Board of India (till November 2018). Renowned coffee grower M S Boje Gowda has been appointed as Chairman of the Coffee Board of India (till December 2018).

7. India launches South Asia Satellite GSAT-9: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has launched the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) carrying GSAT-9, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The main goal of the GSAT-9 satellite is to provide communication channels and meet the telecommunication needs of the SAARC nations.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. China to launch its own encyclopedia as a rival to Wikipedia: China has the plan to launch its own online encyclopedia next year rivaling Wikipedia and Britannica (Britain’s Encyclopedia). The main objective of this project is to guide public thought. China fears that its citizens who use Wikipedia are being corrupted by foreign influences. Around 20,000 scholars and academics have been tasked to create more than 300,000 entries before launch in 2018.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Union Sports Ministry announces changes in National Youth Awards: The Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports Vijay Goel has revamped the National Youth Awards (NYA) to promote transparency in the selection process. The number of Awards in the Organization category has now been increased from one to ten and the prize money is now two lakhs with a Trophy and Certificate.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

2. Quikr acquires home services start-up Zimmber: Online classifieds company Quikr has announced the acquisition of on-demand household services provider Zimmber. Zimmber will benefit from synergies with Quikr Services and other Quikr verticals. 

Daily GK Updates - 4th May, 2017

­­­­NATIONAL UPDATES: 

1.  Indore ranked the cleanest city in India: The Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu has announced the Swachh Survekshan 2017 Report, Indore (Madhya Pradesh) is the cleanest city in India in the survey. Bhopal is ranked second and Vishakhapatnam is in the third position. Gonda (Uttar Pradesh) has been ranked as the dirtiest city among surveyed. The 'Swachh Survekshan' was commissioned in 434 cities and towns which saw the participation of 37 lakh citizens.

2. Gadkari inaugurates The Highway Saga, SRISHTI exhibitions: The Union Minister of Road Transport Nitin Gadkari inaugurated two exhibitions (the Highway Saga Past Present and Future and Safe Road and Inter-State Highways Transforming India) at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. The Highway Saga exhibition will depict the evolution of road transport in India.

3. Cabinet clears ordinance to tackle bad loans of banks: The Union Cabinet has cleared the ordinance to amend Banking Regulation Act for the issue of Non-Performing Assets (NPA) in the banking system. The Banking Regulation Act will give more powers to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and its committees to act on behalf of banks while deciding on NPAs.

4. Union Cabinet Clears New National Steel Policy: The Union Cabinet has approved the National Steel Policy (NSP)-2017 to encourage the steel sector. The policy aims to enhance domestic steel consumption and transform Indian steel industry into a technologically advanced and globally competitive steel industry.

5. Vijayawada Airport becomes International Airport: The Union Cabinet has approved the declaration of Vijayawada Airport as International Airport, as per the provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. The Vijayawada airport is currently undergoing infrastructural upgradation and improvement in facilities for international operations.

6. MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurates world-level weapon production unit, Punj Lloyd Defence System: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has inaugurated the world level weapon production unit, Punj Lloyd Defence System, at Bhind district in the state. It is the first small weapon manufacturing unit in private sector in the country. It has been set up in the joint partnership of Punj Lloyd and Israel Weapon Industry under the Make in India Programme.

7. Banganapalle Mango of Andhra Pradesh gets GI Tag: The Registrar of Geographical Indications Registry, Chennai, has accorded GI Tag for the much famed Banganapalle Mango of Andhra Pradesh. Henceforth, Andhra Pradesh government will be the registered proprietor of the GI tag for Banganapalle mangoes.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Nepal Dy PM Bimalendera Nidhi withdraws his resignation: Nepal Deputy Prime Minister & Home Minister Bimalendera Nidhi has withdrawn his resignation after a meeting the Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba at Kathmandu. Earlier, he had resigned expressing dissatisfaction over registration of impeachment motion in Parliament against Chief Justice Sushila Karki.

                       OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. India Ranked 100th in FIFA Rankings: As per the updated FIFA world football rankings, the Indian national football has managed to secure a 100th spot and entered into the top 100 of FIFA rankings. This is the first time in 21 years that India has been ranked into top 100.

BANKING & FINANCE

2. Global gold demand declined by 18% during the first quarter of 2017: According to the World Gold Council's latest Gold Demand Trends report, Global gold demand declined by 18% during the first quarter of 2017.

3. ADB predicts 7.4 percent growth for Indian economy this fiscal: According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Indian economy will grow 7.4% this fiscal, and 7.6% in the next fiscal. India had grown 7.1% in the previous fiscal.

HONOURS & AWARDS:

4. Shabana Azmi starrer 'The Black Prince' awarded at film fest in Houston: The Hollywood film The Black Prince starring singer-poet Satinder Sartaaj and actress Shabana Azmi has been awarded the Special Jury Remi Award at the 50th annual Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival (WHIFF). The film is a historic biopic on the poignant life story of the last king of Punjab, Maharajah Duleep Singh and his relationship with Queen Victoria.