Daily GK Updates - 24th August, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Right to privacy is fundamental - Supreme Court: In a path-breaking decision, the Supreme Court held that privacy is a fundamental right under the Constitution of India. However, like all other fundamental rights, it is not absolute. Delivering the unanimous verdict of the nine-judge bench, Chief Justice J.S. Khehar said: “Privacy is intrinsic to the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution and an inherent part of fundamental freedom under part III of the Constitution.”

2. Nandan Nilekani returns to Infosys as the new Chairman: The appointment, a significant victory for co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy in his fight against the board of Infosys, will soothe the nerves of the company’s largest investors, who have been spooked by the events of the past week, during which Vishal Sikka stepped down as CEO.

3. Political tug-of-war over NMML: A tug of war is playing out between those who want to preserve the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library and those who want it to honour other Indian prime ministers as well. According to a press statement, Rajnath Singh, who is also vice-president of the NMML Society, told the meeting that the planned museum for former prime ministers will be showcased as an iconic one and will utilize 3D technology to offer a virtual reality experience. However some people, who are in the administration of the same, are of the opinion that the museum should for Pt. Nehru exclusively.

4. DGCA may soon issue drone flying licence for civilians: Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) may soon issue licences for flying both small and large drones for civilian use. At present only government organizations and companies are permitted to fly drones. The regulator plans to start issuing remote pilot licences (RPL), which are much like the commercial pilot’s licences (CPL) or private pilot’s licences (PPL) it issues to pilots.

5. Govt dilutes UDAN scheme norms to boost regional connectivity: The relaxations include dilution of the exclusivity clause mandating that only one airline may fly on one route in the initial years. The norm that restricted two airports in close proximity from participating in the bidding has also been relaxed.

6. India and Nepal sign 8 MoUs: India and Nepal have signed eight Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) in various fields, including Housing grant, prevention of drugs, post-earthquake reconstruction packages in health and education sectors. The agreements were inked after delegation level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba in New Delhi.

7. CCEA approves renaming SAMPADA Scheme as PM Kisan Sampada Yojana: The SAMPADA scheme was approved by the CCEA in May 2017 for the period of 2016-20 coterminous with the 14th Finance Commission cycle. The objective of the scheme is to supplement agriculture, modernize processing and decrease agricultural-waste.

8. Government to establish first National Sports Museum in New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs is going to establish National Sports Museum at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi. It will be first of its kind in the country. It will showcase the India’s achievements in sports and also focus on the traditional sports within the country.

9. Cabinet approves commission on sub-categorisation of OBCs: The Union Cabinet approved a proposal for setting up of Commission under article 340 of the Constitution to examine the issue of sub-categorization of OBCs. The Commission shall be known as the Commission to examine the sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes (OBCs). It will submit its report within 12 weeks of the date of appointment of the Chairperson.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Climate Smart Snow Leopard Plan launched by Nepal: Nepal launched its first, ‘Climate Smart Snow Leopard Landscape Management Plan’, in order to safeguard this endangered species. This conservation plan was announced ahead of Nepal’s International Snow Leopard Summit and Ecosystem Forum.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

1. Hero FinCorp in talks to raise Rs1,000 crore at $1 billion valuation: Hero FinCorp Ltd, the financial services arm of India’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp Ltd, is looking to raise up to Rs1,000 crore at a valuation of $1 billion at its next funding round. Credit Suisse, which was mandated to manage the fund-raising, has approached several large domestic and global private equity funds for a potential investment.

2. BharatMatrimony.com parent may launch Rs. 500 crore IPO in September: Popular matchmaking website BharatMatrimony.com’s parent company, Matrimony.com Ltd, is planning to go public in the first half of September. Matrimony’s business comprises two segments—matchmaking services and marriage services. The company operates multiple portals such as BharatMatrimony.com, CommunityMatrimony.com and EliteMatrimony.com.

3. Google rolls out its biggest crackdown on YouTube hate speech: Google will police YouTube like it never has before, adding warnings and disabling advertising on videos that the company determines contain hate speech or promote terrorism. YouTube isn’t removing the selected videos, but is instead setting new restrictions on viewing, sharing and making money on them. 

4. Soft Bank invests additional $3 billion in shared-office startup WeWork: WeWork has received an additional $3 billion investment from Japan’s SoftBank Group and its Vision Fund, helping the shared-office startup ramp up its expansion globally.

5. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Kabir Khan, Karan Johar top Nepotism Index by Mint: In an attempt to quantify the extent of nepotism in the industry, and to measure how nepotism varies across production houses, Mint has developed a Nepotism Index, based on the share of insiders (those with Bollywood family connections) cast as leads. Nadiadwala Grandsons Entertainment tops the list of companies in nepotism index. The index is developed by Mint, a leading financial daily of India.

6. Roopa Purushothaman as chief economist of Tata Sons: Tata Sons has appointed Roopa Purushothaman as chief economist & head of policy advocacy. She will drive macroeconomic research as well as policy & advocacy initiatives relevant to businesses of Tata group.

Daily GK Updates - 23rd August, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Union cabinet sets PSU bank mergers in motion: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said a ministerial panel will be set up to supervise merger proposals from 21 PSU banks, adding that the objective of the planned consolidation is to create strong banks. Prime Minister Modi will decide who all will be there in the ministerial panel, referred to as the alternative mechanism. After the banks that are interested in getting merged secure in principle approval from the ministerial panel, they will take steps as per regulatory requirements.

2. Supreme Court to deliver verdict tomorrow on right to privacy: A nine-judge constitution bench headed by chief Justice J.S. Khehar had on 2 August reserved its verdict after hearing marathon arguments for six days over a period of three weeks, during which submissions were advanced in favour and against the inclusion of the right to privacy as a fundamental right. The Supreme Court is likely to pronounce on 24th August its judgement on the vexatious issue whether the right to privacy can be held as a fundamental right under the Constitution.

3. New cadre policy for IAS, IPS officers finalized – Govt.: A new policy for cadre allocation has been finalised by the Central government for Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and other officers, aimed at ensuring “national integration” in the country’s top bureaucracy. Officers of all-India services—the IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service (IFS)—will have to choose cadres from a set of zones instead of states.

4. ISRO to launch back-up navigation satellite on 31st August: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said it will launch its navigation satellite ‘IRNSS-1H’ on 31 August to augment the existing seven satellites of the NavIC constellation. To be launched on board PSLV-C39, IRNSS-1H will be a ‘back-up’ navigation satellite for IRNSS-1A, one of the seven satellites in the constellation, as its three rubidium atomic clocks on board have stopped functioning. 

5. Raghuram Rajan pens book on RBI stint: Raghuram Rajan’s commentary and speeches in ‘I Do What I Do: On Reform, Rhetoric & Resolve’ convey what it was like to be at the helm of RBI in those turbulent times. It is being published by Harper Collins. This is not Rajan’s first book. He co-authored Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists with Luigi Zingales and wrote Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy, for which he was awarded the Financial Times-Goldman Sachs prize for best business book.

6. Kaifiyat Express derails in Uttar Pradesh’s Auriya district: Kaifiyat Express, travelling from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh to Delhi, collided with a dumper at around 2:50am between Pata and Achhalda railway stations, injuring 50 persons. HRD ministry junks plan for common engineering entrance examination: The human resource development (HRD) ministry has decided to junk the plan of introducing a common engineering entrance exam from next year. It is noteworthy that, All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), the country’s technical education regulator, had announced in March that a national-level common entrance examination for engineering colleges would be conducted from the next academic year in 2018.

7. Union cabinet clears transfer of AAI’s 40 acre land to MMRDA for Mumbai Metro: The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved transferring 40 acres of land owned by the Airports Authority of India to Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). The land at RR station, Dahisar, would be transferred to the MMRDA for its metro shed. In return, 40 acres of state government land at Gorai would be swapped.

8. Ashwani Lohani appointed new Chairman of Railway Board: Ashwani Lohani was on Wednesday appointed as the new Chairman of Railway Board after AK Mittal tendered his resignation following recent train accidents.

9. Drones to guard Gujarat’s river-beds against sand mafia: In an attempt to crack down upon the illegal sand mafia operating in and around the river beds of Sabarmati, Orsang, Tapi and Narmada, the Gujarat government for the first time will be deploying drones for mining surveillance. 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Mark Wahlberg world’s highest-paid actor, Shahrukh, Salman, Akshay in top 10: Mark Wahlberg soared to the top of the world’s highest paid actors on an annual Forbes magazine list that highlighted a huge disparity between male and female Hollywood stars. Wahlberg, 46, earned an estimated $68 million in 2017. The magazine named “La La Land” Oscar winner Emma Stone as the world’s highest paid actress with an estimated 2017 take of $26 million.Three of Bollywood’s biggest stars—Shahrukh Khan ($38 million), Salman Khan ($37 million) and Akshay Kumar ($35.5 million)—took the eighth, ninth and 10th places on the Forbes list, respectively. 

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING & FINANCE:

1. RBI to issue Rs 200 notes, notifies finance ministry: “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 24 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and on the recommendations of the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India, the Central Government hereby specifies the denomination of bank notes of the value of two hundred rupees,” the finance ministry notified through the Gazette of India. Finance ministry notified issuing of Rs 200 notes, making it a legal tender and paving the way for its circulation by RBI.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

2. Investors seek Nandan Nilekani’s appointment to Infosys board: As many as 12 key domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have written to Infosys, batting for co-founder Nandan Nilekani’s appointment to the board, and expressing their concerns over Vishal Sikka’s resignation from the post of chief executive officer (CEO) last week.

3. Five airports to allow Ola, Uber bookings at kiosks: Airports Authority of India has tied up with Ola and Uber to allow for cab bookings from airport kiosks at Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Lucknow and Bhubaneswar. This will help passengers in booking cabs at the kiosks instead of depending on the mobile apps.

SPORTS:

4. IPL brand value jumps 26% to touch $5.3 billion: IPL brand value jumps 26% in 2017 to over $ 5.3 billion from $ 4.2 billion in 2016 on the back of the renewed title sponsorship deals of the popular T20 tournament.

5. Wayne Rooney announces retirement from international football: Wayne Rooney announced his retirement from International football. He said, "I will always remain a passionate England fan. One of my very few regrets is not to have been part of a successful England tournament side."

Daily GK Updates - 22nd August, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Supreme Court Bans Triple Talaq: According to the Supreme Court, triple talaq will not be in operation for six months and asked political parties to keep their differences aside and help Centre in bringing out law on triple talaq. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar also asked the union govt. to come out with legislation on ‘triple talaq’. The Supreme Court set aside the practice of instant triple talaq saying it was violative of Article 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution. Triple Talaq is a form of divorce practiced in India, whereby a Muslim man can legally divorce his wife by pronouncing talaq (the Arabic word for divorce) three times. The pronouncement can be oral or written, or, in recent times, delivered by electronic means such as telephone, SMS, email or social media.

2. US-based Indian doctor ‘Dr. Pinaki Panigrahi has discovered an inexpensive prevention technique against sepsis:  His team found that feeding babies with probiotic bacteria dramatically reduces the risk of sepsis in new borns. This is a breakthrough study and going to be an inexpensive treatment that could possibly save hundreds of thousands of newborns from a top killer ‘Sepsis’. Sepsis is a life-threatening illness caused by your body’s response to an infection. In early infancy, it results in one million annual deaths worldwide, most of them in developing countries.

3. ‘Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jayanti’: The 413th ‘jayanti’ of Sri Guru Granth Sahib (11th guru of Sikhs) is being celebrated with religious fervour on 22nd August, 2017. The Guru Granth Sahib (also called the Adi Granth or Adi Guru Darbar) is more than just a scripture of the Sikhs for the Sikhs treat this Granth as their living perpetual Guru. Sri Guru Arjan Dev ji completed the Aad Granth in 1604 and first Parkash was done at Sri Harmandir Sahib.

4. Digital police portal of India: The union Home minister ‘Rajnath Singh’ has launched a digital police portal to create a national database of crimes and criminals (under the CCTNS project). The police portal will provide 11 searches and 46 reports from the national database for state police and central investigation agencies. The Central investigating and research agencies have also been provided logins to the digital police database to access crime statistics. The Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems Project (CCTNS) has enabled 13,775 out of 15,398 police stations to enter 100 % data into the software. He said as of now the CCTNS national database has around 7 crore data records pertaining to past and current criminal cases.

5. Urad and Moong dal - under restricted category: According to Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in a notification, Govt. has put imports of ‘Urad’ and ‘Moong dal’ under the restricted category and fixed an annual cap of three lakh tonnes for their import.

6. IFFI to be held in Goa in November2017: The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has constituted a 40-member 'preview committee' with filmmaker ‘Vivek Agnihotri’ as its convenor to select movies for the international film festival at Goa. The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be held in Goa from 20 to 28 November this year. Earlier, Information and Broadcasting Ministry had constituted the steering committee and the technical committee for the IFFI.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.  ICMR – India signs pact with IVI – S.Korea:  The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Union Ministry of Health inked a pact with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), South Korea to collaborate on vaccine research and development. The ICMR is the apex body in the country for the formulation, coordination, and promotion of biomedical research. India officially became a signatory to the treaty of the Seoul-based organisation International Vaccine Institute(IVI) in 2012. Now, India is committing an annual contribution of USD 5,00,000 to IVI and joins as financially contributing signatories to IVI.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. ONGC approves to acquire 51.11% stake in HPCL: The board of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has given 'in-principle' approval to acquire government's 51.11 % stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd. in New Delhi. The ONGC board also constituted a committee of directors to examine various aspects of the acquisition and to provide its recommendations to the board of directors. Earlier, the union govt. had also approved the sale of its 51.11% stake in oil refiner HPCL to India's largest oil producer ONGC.

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY:

1. World's smallest surgical robot – Versius: British scientists have developed the world’s smallest surgical robot ‘Versius’, which could transform daily operations for tens of thousands of patients. The robot ‘Versius’ mimics the human arm and can be used to carry out a wide range of laparoscopic procedures like hernia repairs, colorectal operations, and prostate and ear, nose, and throat surgery. The robot is controlled by a surgeon at a console guided by a 3D screen in the operating theatre.

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Android ‘Oreo’ is launched by Google: Google has launched the latest version of its mobile operating system ‘Android Oreo’. The Oreo boasts of a two times faster boot speed, autofill option, and a longer battery life. The new update comes with a Picture-in-Picture feature that allows the user to see two apps simultaneously. There is also a Notification Dots option, which when pressed pops out the notification at a glance without having to open the app. Android Instant Apps is another new feature, which teleports directly into new apps from the browser, with no installation needed. Android Oreo is more secure with Google Play Protect built in, security status front and centre in settings.

2. FDI growth 37% to 10.4 billion USD: Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country grew by 37% to USD 10.4 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal and bulk FDI came from Singapore, Mauritius, the Netherlands, and Japan. According to the figures of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) India had received around USD 8 billion during the same period last year. The main sectors which attracted the highest foreign inflows include services, telecom, trading, computer hardware and software and automobile. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment made by a company or individual in one country in business interests in another country, in the form of either establishing business operations or acquiring business assets in the other country.

Daily GK Updates - 21st August, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Govt all set to hike GST cess on luxury cars, via ordinance: The government is set to promulgate an ordinance within weeks, allowing an increase in goods and services tax (GST) cess on luxury cars and SUVs, as it seeks to restore tax revenue from the automobile industry that unintentionally got affected in the transition to the new indirect tax regime.

2. Number of PSU banks to fall to 10-15 after consolidation - Sanjeev Sanyal: The government is looking to reduce the number of public sector banks to 10-15, more than what was envisaged earlier, through a series of mergers and acquisitions so that none of the banks become too big to fail, said Sanjeev Sanyal, principal economic adviser at the finance ministry. Earlier it was speculated that the number of PSBs might be reduced to 4-5.

3. AIADMK factions finally unite, Panneerselvam is deputy CM: The AIADMK factions finally merged following a power sharing arrangement. Palaniswami will remain the chief minister and O Panneerselvam will be his deputy. Panneerselvam will also be the AIADMK coordinator while Palaniswami will be the co-coordinator.

4. K Chandrasekhar Rao gets global agriculture leadership award: Chief Minister of Telangana ‘K Chandrashekhar Rao’ has been selected for the prestigious Agriculture Leadership Award-2017 for his innovative services rendered to the welfare of farmers and the farm sector. The Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) Committee headed by agriculture scientist MS Swaminathan has recommended the CM’s name.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. China launches first cyber court in e-commerce hub of Hangzhou: China launched its first cyber (internet) court specialising in handling internet-related cases in the e-commerce hub of Hangzhou, amid a spike in the number of online disputes. The cyber court will handle cases such as online trade disputes and copyright lawsuits. These cases handled by the court will be tried online.

2. China's army conducts military exercises 'to strike awe in India':  Global Times made sure to mention that the drills were conducted "amid tensions in Doklam" to "lay the ground for plateau warfare". More than 10 PLA units from the 'western theater command' participated in the drills. The units included aviation and armoured forces, said a China Central Television report.

3. World’s smallest surgical robot: British scientists have developed world’s smallest surgical robot which could transform daily operations for tens of thousands of patients. The robot, called Versius, mimics human arm & can be used to carry out a wide range of laparoscopic procedures including hernia repairs, colorectal operations.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING & FINANCE:

1. SBI waives processing fees on personal loans: State Bank of India has waived processing fees on most of its retail loans. It will waive upto 100 per cent processing fee on car loans, personal gold loans and other personal loans. The retail push comes three weeks after the bank announced a cut in the savings bank rate.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

2. Rosneft closes $13-billion Essar Oil acquisition deal: The nearly $13-billion acquisition of Essar Oil Ltd by a consortium led by Russia’s Rosneft PJSC is believed to have been completed, sources close to the matter said. This paves the way for the Essar group to reduce its debt. The deal, which Essar termed the largest foreign direct investment in India, includes the sale of a 20 million-tonnes-per-year Vadinar refinery and Vadinar port in Gujarat to Rosneft, United Capital Partners and Trafigura Group Pte. Essar’s promoters, the Ruias, will retain a 2% stake in these assets.

3. McDonald’s terminates franchise agreement with CPRL for 169 restaurants: McDonald’s India Pvt. Ltd (MIPL), the Indian subsidiary of the American fast food chain on Monday terminated its franchise agreement with Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt. Ltd (CPRL), the north and east India licensee of McDonald’s, the company said in a statement.

4. NTPC seeks shareholder nod to raise Rs15,000 crore via bonds: State-owned power giant NTPC Ltd has sought shareholders’ approval to raise Rs15,000 crore via non-convertible bonds on private placement basis domestically for capex, working capital and other corporate purposes. The special resolution is listed on the agenda of the annual general meeting scheduled for 20 September.

5. Chaayos plans to expand tea range, open more stores in India: Tea cafe chain Chaayos is planning to expand its range of tea-based packaged consumer goods and open more stores. Chaayos CEO Nitin Saluja says launching Chai Pattis to help customers enjoy top selling Chaayos Chai at the comfort of their homes.

6. Government imposes anti-dumping duty on tempered glass from China: The Union Finance Ministry (Revenue Department) has imposed anti-dumping duty on certain “textured toughened (tempered) glass” imported from China. This will help the local industry against the heavily dumped Chinese products.

SPORTS:

7. Indian hockey is on par with the best: Rupinder Pal Singh: Rupinder was named TOISA Hockey Player of the Year (Jury’s Choice) for an excellent 2016. He was part of a fruitful 2016 campaign during which India won the Asian Champions Trophy.

8. Shapath Bharadwaj wins bronze at Junior Shotgun World Cup: Shapath Bharadwaj (15-year) has won a bronze medal in the double trap event at the ISSF Junior Shotgun World Cup in Porpetto, Italy. Lakshay Sheoran and Manisha Keer combined to win a bronze in the mixed team trap competition.

Daily GK Updates - 20th August, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Utkal Express derailment - Railways to probe if maintenance work caused accident: The Indian Railways on Sunday indicated negligence could be the reason behind the derailment of the Utkal Express, with a senior official saying a probe would ascertain if any maintenance work was being done on the tracks without permission. The probe, which will begin on Monday, will be conducted by the commissioner (railway safety), Shailesh Kumar Pathak, who will look into “every angle, be it sabotage, technical lapse or manual fault”.

2. Bank unions call for all-India strike on 22 August against privatisation: Nearly 10 lakh bank employees are likely to participate in the strike to protest plans to privatise PBUs, merger, consolidation of banks and not to write-off NPAs, say unions. Services at public sector banks (PSBs) may take a hit on Tuesday as all unions under the aegis of United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) have threatened to go on strike against the government’s proposed consolidation move besides raising a host of other demands.

3. IIT JEE (Advanced) to go completely online from next year: The entrance examination for the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) will go completely online from 2018, the joint admission board decided on Sunday. The joint admission board, which is the policymaking body on IIT admissions, took the decision at a meeting in New Delhi.

4. Govt plans monthly fellowship of Rs70,000 for IIT, IISc researchers: The Centre will provide Rs70,000 as monthly fellowship to those researchers doing their PhDs in Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) or Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Union higher education secretary Kewal Kumar Sharma has said. However, the scholarship recipients can’t do any other job.

5. BRO gets more powers for road construction along China border: Concerned over inordinate delays in the construction of strategic roads along the India-China border, the defence ministry has delegated more administrative and financial powers to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) for the speedy completion of the projects. The decision to give additional powers to BRO came months after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) also took strong objection to the long delays by the BRO in constructing 61 strategically important roads, with a total length of 3,409km, under the India-China Border Roads (ICBRs) project.

6. BSF begins drive to curb suicides: In a first-of-its-kind step, the Border Security Force (BSF) has launched two ambitious projects to curb suicides and depression amongst its jawans and has introduced a ‘wellness quotient assessment’ test in their annual medical check-up.

7. Rajiv Gandhi remembered on his birth anniversary: Rajiv Gandhi was born on 20th August, 1944 and was assassinated on May 21, 1991.“On his birth anniversary, we remember former PM Shri Rajiv Gandhi & recall his contribution to the nation,” Modi tweeted.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Indian-origin TV star crowned ‘Child Genius’: A 12-year-old Indian-origin boy has been crowned as the U.K.’s ‘Child Genius’ in a popular television quiz competition, days after he became an overnight sensation after answering all questions correctly. Rahul Doshi won the Channel 4 show ‘Child Genius’ by beating his nine-year-old opponent, Ronan, 10-4 in the programme’s finale.

2. Iraq starts offensive to take back Tal Afar from Islamic State: Iraqi security forces launched an offensive to take back the city of Tal Afar on Sunday, their next objective in the U.S.-backed campaign to defeat Islamic State militants, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi was quoted saying.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. England thrashes West Indies: Stuart Broad starred as England thrashed the West Indies by an innings and 209 runs to ensure the inaugural day/night Test in Britain ended inside three days at Edgbaston.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

2. Three insurance companies file IPO papers in 3 weeks, may fetch Rs20,000 crores: HDFC Standard Life Insurance’s IPO is expected to fetch Rs7,500 crore, while IPOs of New India Assurance and GIC of India may raise over Rs6,500 crore each. A positive outlook of the market is the reason behind increase in the number of IPOs.

3. Infosys approves Rs13,000 crore share buyback at 24.57% premium: The buyback offer size is 20.51% of the total paid-up equity capital and free reserves of the company as per the latest audited balance sheet as on 30 June, 2017,” said a company statement to BSE. However, the buyback price at Rs. 1,150 per share is at a steep 24.57% premium to the closing price of Rs. 923.10 on 19th August.