Daily GK Updates - 26th August, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.  Nine Dera Sacha Sauda Ashrams sealed in Kurukshetra: The step is aimed to avoid any act of violence similar to the one that led to over 30 casualties in Panchkula after the Ram Rahim verdict. The Army and paramilitary forces also entered the Dera headquarters in Sirsa and evacuated the supporters from the premises.

2.  Rs.500 crore relief fund for flood-hit Bihar: PM Modi undertook an aerial survey of Bihar floods and announced the relief package for the state. He also announced fiving Rs.2 lakh to the families of the deceased and Rs.50,000 to the injured from the PM’s National Relief Fund.

3. Monsoon floods takes over 1,200 lives in South Asia: The death toll from India, Bangladesh and Nepal has climbed above 1,200. Six flood affected Indian states accounted for 850 deaths.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Failure of N Korea’s Missiles test:  N Korea test fired 3 short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan. This comes amid the US and S Korea’s ongoing joint military drills which N Korea has denounced as preparation for war.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Sania Nehwal and PV Sindhu enters into Finals and Semi fimals at Badminton World Championships: Shuttler Saina Nehwal reached Badminton World Championships semi finals for the second straight time. PV Sindhu also entered the semifinals.

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. Newly appointed  Syndicate Bank chairman – Ajay Vipin Nanavati: The appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC) has approved Mr. Ajay Vipin Nanavati’s appointment as non-official director/non-executive chairman of Syndicate Bank for three years.

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. JioPhone pre-booking temporarily suspended: This came after its website crashed for a short while following large volumes of requests within minutes of launching the service. The firm is currently allowing prospective buyers to register their interest and check device order status online.

2. CEO hunt by Infosys: Infosys has appointed Egon Zehnder to help it find a new CEO, a week after Vishal Sikka stepped down from the post. The firm will work with the nomination and remuneration committee to identify the right candidate.

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY:

1.  A new species ‘Nasikabatrachus bhupathi(N.Bhupathi)’ -  a frog with the face of a pig: Indian scientists have discovered a new species of frog ‘Nasikabatrachus bhupathi’ that has a snout-shaped nose, just like a pig in West Ghats. Soiled-dwelling species ‘Nasikabatrachus bhupathi’ discovered by scientists from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad. It inhabits the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, near the Srivilliputhur Grizzled Giant Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. It has been named after the Indian herpetologist S. Bhupathy.

OBITUARIES:

1. Oldest Indian cinematographer Ramanda Sengupta (101-year) passed away: He worked with legends like Jean Renoir, Ritwik Ghatak, and Mrinal Sen. In 1946, the first film as a full-time cinematographer was in Purbaraag directed by Ardhendu Mukherjee.

Daily GK Updates - 25th August, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Dera Chief Ram Rahim convicted of Rape by CBI court: A CBI special trial court in Panchkula convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a rape case registered in 2002. Notably, till now five people were killed in riots after he was convicted of rape by a CBI court.

2. Newly Appointed DG -RPF – Dharmendra Kumar: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) is a security force of India entrusted with protecting railway passengers, passenger area and railway property of the Indian Railways. The force is under the authority of Ministry of Railways (India). Shri Dharmendra Kumar (1984 batch IPS officer) has been appointed as the Director General (DG) Railway Protection Force. Presently he is working in CISF as Additional DG. The appointment of Shri Dharmendra Kumar will be effective from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

3. Launch of  web portal for competitive exams by Maharashtra Government: The Maharashtra educational board has launched a web portal with online question banks to help students prepare for competitive exams on their own. The portal which can be accessed for free, will function as a substitute for expensive coaching classes.

4. Karnataka Agriculture Department signed Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with Microsoft India to develop a “farm price forecasting model” using latets IT toolsin a bid to help farmers: The proposed initiative is the first of its kind in the country as it is a multivariate one that takes into consideration various factors beyond the conventional supply demand equation while forecasting the prices of crops.

5. Privacy tests – Ajay Bhushan Pandey: Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey said that, tax payers will have to link their PAN with Aadhaar by the stipulated deadline, which is this month-end, as the Supreme Court verdict on privacy has no bearing on the requirement. He exuded confidence that Aadhaar Act, with its data protection safeguards, will pass the test of privacy being a fundamental right.

6. Newly appointed interim Chairman and MD of Air India - Rajiv Bansal : Rajiv Bansal, Additional Secretary & Financial advisor at Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has been appointed as the interim Chairman and MD of state air carrier Air India. This comes after former Chairman and MD of Air India Ashani Lohani took over as the Railway Board Chairman.

7. Government tweaks norms to boost UDAN scheme:  The Civil Aviation Ministry on Thursday announced increasing viability gap funding for helicopter operators, diluting exclusivity clause and relaxed other norms to facilitate more participation in its regional connectivity scheme, UDAN. The Ministry also abolished the 150-km minimum distance required between two airports to be qualified for operations under the scheme.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. South Korean electronics giant Samsung’s acting chairman Lee Jae-yong was sentenced to a five-year jail term after being found guilty in corruption case:  He was accused of making large donations to foundations run by impeached President Park Geun-hye’s close friend, in return of political favours.

2. Gender Neutral Passports in Canada: According to the Canadian govt. Canadian citizens who do not identify as male or female will soon be able to mark ‘X’ on their passports and other identity documents. Citizens will be able to add an ‘observation’ to their passports stating their sex should be “identified as ‘X’, indicating it is unspecified from 31st August this year.

3. Russia’s Nuclear capable Tupolev-95MS strategic bombers  fly near S Korea, Japan: Russia’s Nuclear capable Tupolev-95MS strategic bombers flew over the neutral waters of the Pacific Ocean, the sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea and the East China sea. The bombers were escorted by S Korean and Japanese military jets along the route. This comes amid tensions in the Korean Peninsula over N Korea’s missile program.

4. Joint Infrastructure Project between India and Nepal: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held comprehensive talks with his Nepalese counterpart ‘Sher Bahadur Deuba’ in New Delhi and decided to expedite various joint infrastructure projects such as laying of rail links and building of roads. PM appreciated the efforts being made by the Nepal govt. to take all sections of the society on board in the constitution implementation process and in establishing Nepal as a federal, democratic republic. Both sides recognized the need for early completion of Jayanagar- Bijalpur-Bardibas and Jogbani-Biratnagar cross-border rail-link projects. They also noted with satisfaction that the railway line from Jayanagar to Janakpur and from Jogbani to Biratnagar Custom Yard will be completed by 2018. Both were agreed that the Joint Working Group on Cross-Border Transport Facilitation will meet early to address operational issues for existing and additional routes.

5. Japan imposed fresh sanctions on North Korea by freezing the assets of Chinese and Namibian firms doing business with the nuclear-armed state: The move against a half dozen organizations and a couple of individuals comes days after Washington expanded its own punitive measures against Chinese and Russian firms, as well as people linked to Pyongyang.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1.India defeated Sri Lanka by 3 wickets(D/L method) to take a 2-0 lead in the give-match ODI series: Sri Lankan spinner Akila Danjaya took six wickets, with India losing seven wickets for 22 runs.

2. Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo has been named as UEFA’s Best Player of the Year for the 3rd time:  The 32-year old was the top scorer in last season’s UEFA champions league, which was won by Real Madrid.

BANKING/FINANCE:

1.  Co-founder of Indian software giant Infosys Nandan Nilekani has been appointed as non-executive chairman of Infosys Board: This comes after board’s chairman R Seshasayee and co-chairman Ravi Venkatesan submitted their resignations.

2. RBI Launches new Rs.200 notes: The Reserve Bank (RBI) has issued new Rs. 200 and Rs. 50 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series, bearing signature of RBI Governor Urjit Patel. Initially, the new Rs 200 notes will be circulated by select RBI offices, and some banks. The new denomination Rs. 200 has the motif of Sanchi Stupa on the reverse and its base colour is bright yellow. The base colour of the note is bright yellow.

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY:

1.AI – Project “Brainwave”:  Microsoft has announced a deep learning acceleration platform 'Project Brainwave' for real-time artificial intelligence (AI). With ultra-low latency, the system processes requests as fast as it receives them. Real-time AI is becoming increasingly important as cloud infrastructures process live data streams, whether they be search queries, videos, sensor streams, or interactions with users. The 'Project Brainwave' uses the massive field-programmable gate array (FPGA) infrastructure that Microsoft has been deploying over the past few years.

BOOKS/AWARDS:

1. A book by Raghuram Rajan - ‘I Do What I Do’ -  to be publish on 4th September, 2017:  “ I Do What I Do”: On Reforms, Rhetoric & Resolve’ a book by Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan will launch on 4th September, exactly a year after Rajan quit as RBI Governor. The book conveys what it was like to be at the helm of RBI in those turbulent but exciting times.

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."