Daily GK Updates - 9th September, 2017

                 NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Tamil Nadu government hikes freedom fighters pension: The Tamil Nadu state govt. has hiked the Freedom Fighters pension from Rs. 12000 Rs. 13000 per month. According to an order by the Public Department, family pension to their eligible heirs would be enhanced from Rs. 6000 to Rs. 6500 with retrospective effect from the 15th August.

2. Nagaland to implement DBT under MGNREGA: Nagaland state govt. will start implementing Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) under MGNREGA to ensure transparency and check corruption at all levels. Wages of the MGNREGA workers will be directly credited to the individual accounts of the job card holders through National Electronic Fund Management System or Public Financial Management System.

3. Bharat Petroleum to get Maharatna status: Bharat Petroleum Corporation is all set to become a Maharatna company. The company is at present a Navratna firm. Decision to elevate BPCL to Maharatna status was taken by a panel headed by Cabinet secretary. At present there are 7 Maharatna organisations in India.

4. Army to induct women in military police: The government has decided to recruit women jawans into the Army’s Corps of Military Police for investigating gender specific crimes. The plan is to induct approximately 800 women in military police with a yearly intake of 52 personnel per year.

5. West Bengal cabinet approves changing state’s name to Bangla: Cabinet ministers in West Bengal have cleared a proposal to name the state Bangla. State will be renamed Bangla, & will be called so in all languages. State wants to change its name because WB is always last in list of states in alphabetical order.

6. Andhra Pradesh signs MoU to build India's first Hyperloop: The Andhra Pradesh govt. has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the US-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) to build India's first Hyperloop system.

Hyperloop will cover 35 km distance between Vijayawada and Amaravati only in five minutes. It is a system of magnetically levitating capsules that are sent at high speeds through low-pressure tubes.

7. Gujarat govt. announces Rs. 1 lakh cash reward to find out Blue Whale curators: The Gujarat state govt. has announced Rs. 1 lakh cash reward to those providing information about the administrators and curators of the deadly Blue Whale Challenge.

8. DRDO test-fires Anti-Tank Guided Missile in Rajasthan: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) twice successfully flight tested India’s indigenously developed third generation Anti Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) ‘Nag’ in Rajasthan. These two successful flight trials marked the successful completion of development trials of Nag Missile.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

1. PNB and BSNL join hands to roll out open mobile wallet Speedpay: Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) join hands to roll out open mobile wallet Speedpay across 10 states in the country.

2. Johnson & Johnson’s rolls out paternity leave for its Indian workforce: Johnson & Johnson India has rolled out a new global parental leave for its Indian workforce. As part of this new initiative, new and adoptive fathers will now be entitled to 8 weeks of paid leave during the first year to bond with the newborn or newly adopted child.

The company has been offering up to 26 weeks of maternity leave for the last six years.

3. Hit Refresh – a book on Satya Nadella’s journey to the top of Microsoft: Satya Nadella, one of the most celebrated Indians in the global technology sector, has penned the inside story of his journey of becoming the CEO of software giant Microsoft. The book, titled ‘Hit Refresh’ is co-authored by Greg Shaw and Jill Tracie Nichols.

SPORTS:

4. BCCI releases its first ever players handbook:  The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has released its first ever players handbook '100 things every professional cricketer must know' in New Delhi. The book was released by the Committee of Administrators (COA) and is in line with the recommendations of the Lodha panel.The document will be the official handbook for all the cricketers registered with the BCCI.The book has 10 sections covering topics ranging from money management to injury management.

5. Anderson becomes the first Englishman to reach 500 Test match wickets mark: James Anderson became the sixth bowler and first Englishman to take 500 Test wickets. He achieved this feat when he dismissed West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite on the second day of the third Test at Lord’s.

Daily GK Updates - 8th September, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. PM Modi visits Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the 2,500-years-old Shwedagon Pagoda and performed 'puja' at the Kalibari Temple located at the west of the Royal Lake in Yangon.Shwedagon Pagoda is considered to be the most sacred and impressive Buddhist site for the Myanmarese people. Shwedagon Pagoda is covered with hundreds of gold plates and the top of the stupa is encrusted with 4,531 diamonds, the largest of which is a 72-carat diamond.

2. Assam govt. signs MoU with Google to increase digital literacy: Assam govt. has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ‘Google India’ to take Internet connectivity to the remotest part of the state.Through the MoU with Google, Assam govt. would work to provide Internet connection to 26,000 villages and 1,500 tea garden areas to increase digital literacy.The MoU would be used as a launch pad to materialize the state government's vision of women empowerment, skill development, and universal education.

3. Narmada Mahotsav Yatra flagged off in Gujarat: Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani flagged off statewide ‘Narmada Mahotsav Yatra’ from Surendranagar district.

The aim of this Narmada Mahotsav Yatra – is to create awareness about the importance of increased water supply from Narmada canal-based projects in different parts of the state.

4. Parali I island of Lakshadweep vanishes: One of the uninhabited islands that is part of Lakshadweep has vanished due to coastal erosion & another 4 such territories are shrinking fast, claims a new study. Parali I island, part of Bangaram atoll which had an area of 0.032 square kilometres in 1968 has been completely eroded.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. International Literacy Day: The International Literacy Day (ILD) is being observed on 8th September every year throughout the world to raise public awareness to eradicate illiteracy and create environment in favour of adult education programs.  The theme of ILD 2017 was ‘Literacy in a Digital World’.

2. India and Sri Lanka begin joint naval exercise ‘SLINEX 2017’: Sri Lankan naval ships Sayura and Sagara entered Visakhapatnam harbour today to participate in the fifth edition of SLINEX 2017, a bilateral naval exercise between India and Sri Lanka, from 7 to 14 September. SLINEX series of biennial and bilateral maritime exercises initiated in 2005.

3. India refuses to join declaration of international meet against Myanmar: The Bali Declaration, adopted at the World Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development in Indonesia, called on all parties to contribute to restoring stability and security in the region. It urged everyone to “exercise maximum self-restraint from using violent means, respect the human rights of all people in Rakhine state regardless of their faith and ethnicity, as well as facilitate and guarantee safe access for humanitarian assistance”. India has maintained that the Bali Declaration was not in line with the agreed principles of sustainable development. India also maintained that it continues to support achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

4. Mother Teresa declared a patron saint of Calcutta: The Vatican has declared Mother Teresa a patron saint of the Archdiocese of Calcutta at a Mass in the city where she dedicated her life to the poorest of the poor. The honour came 16 months after Pope Francis declared Mother Teresa a ‘saint’.

5. US shuts Pakistan’s Habib Bank: US banking regulators has ordered Pakistan’s Habib Bank to shutter its New York office for repeatedly failing to heed concerns over possible terrorist financing & money laundering. State’s Department of Financial Services slapped a $225 million fine on the bank. The bank permitted at least 13,000 transactions that were not sufficiently screened to ensure they did not involve sanctioned countries.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. India to Host Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in 2019: India will host the 2019 edition of the Commonwealth (Youth, Junior, and Senior) Weightlifting Championships. The Executive Board of Commonwealth Weightlifting Federation met at Gold Coast, Australia and decided to allot the 2019 edition of the competitions to India. The current edition of the tournament is being held at the Gold Coast, Australia.

2. Sonam wins Gold in Cadet World Wrestling: Indian grappler Sonam clinched the gold medal at the Cadet World Wrestling Championship in Athens. She defeated her opponent, Sena Nagamoto by a margin of 3-1.

3. Harendra Singh been appointed as high performance specialist coach for Indian Senior Women Hockey Team (ISWHT): Harendra Singh, the hockey coach and Dronacharya Awardee, has been appointed as High Performance Specialist Coach for Indian Senior Women Hockey Team (ISWHT). The decision was recently taken jointly by SAI and Hockey India on the basis of his recent and past performance.

4. Sjoerd Marijne named chief coach of Indian men’s hockey team: Holland’s Sjoerd Marijne has taken over as the head coach of the India men’s hockey team following the sacking of fellow Dutchman Roelant Oltmans. Marijne, who was working as the chief coach of the India women’s team since February this year, has been asked to take over the men’s team.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

5. NHAI awards first international project to Punj Lloyd-Varaha: National Highway Authority of India has awarded its first international project in Myanmar to a joint venture of Punj Lloyd-Varaha. This is for the upgradation of the Yagyi–Kalewa section in Myanmar to 2 lanes with earthern shoulder in the engineering, procurement, and construction mode.

6. Nestle sets up first food safety institute in Haryana: Swiss food major Nestle has set up a food safety institute to help develop standards in food safety and quality in Manesar, Haryana. The institute aims to train and guide its students in food safety including nutrition check and keeping the ingredients in the food items within the limit among others.

Daily GK Updates - 7th September, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Vijay Rupani flags off Narmada Mahotsav Yatra: The Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani flagged off 10-day long ‘Narmada Mahotsav Yatra’ from Surendranagar district to create awareness about the importance of increased water supply from Narmada canal-based projects in different parts of the state. The procession will culminate at Dabhoi.

2. NITI Aayog constitutes expert task force on employment & exports: NITI Aayog has constituted an ‘Expert Task Force’ (headed by Vice Chairman Dr. Rajiv Kumar) to provide a major thrust to job creation by enhancing India’s exports. The panel will give recommendations on sector-specific policy interventions in key employment sectors and measures to enhance trade in services with high employment potential.

3. Gujarat and AMUL sign an MoU to save children of Anganwadi from malnutrition through “Take Home Ration”: Gujarat Govt. and AMUL (Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation) have signed the Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) to save the children of Anganwadi from malnutrition. Under the ‘Take Home Ration’, district dairies in cooperation with the GCMMF will provide nutritive foods to more than 42-lakh children of more than 53 thousand Anganwadis, pregnant-mothers, lactating mothers and young girls.

4. Andhra Pradesh signs MoU to build India's First Hyperloop: Andhra Pradesh government has signed an MoU with the US-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) to build India's first Hyperloop system. The planned project is aimed at connecting cities Amaravati and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, supposedly covering the distance of over 35 km in just five minutes.

5. Shyam Saran's book 'How India Sees the World' launched: The book of former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran named “How India Sees the World: Kautilya to the 21st Century” was launched by former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. 

6. Viveck Goenka elected new PTI Chairman: Viveck Goenka, Chairman & Managing Director of the Express Group was unanimously elected Chairman of Press Trust of India. Mr. Goenka succeeds Riyad Mathew, who is Senior Assistant Editor and a member of the Manorama group.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. UJALA scheme launched in Melaka, Malaysia: Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), launched the UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable Lighting for All) Scheme in the State of Melaka, Malaysia. The Scheme was launched by Chief Minister of Melaka Datuk Seri Utama Ir. Hj. Idris Bin Hj. Haron. The successful Indian model of UJALA scheme will now be implemented in Melaka to extend programme benefits to people of the region.

2. India & Japan agree to collaborate in defence production including on dual use technologies: India and Japan have agreed to collaborate closely in defence production, including on dual-use technologies, as the two countries resolved to ramp up overall military engagement under the bilateral special strategic framework. Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and his Japanese counterpart Itsunori Onodera held wide-ranging talks, as part of the India-Japan annual defence ministerial dialogue in Tokyo during which issues relating to the US-2 amphibious aircraft also figured.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Ashok Leyland inks pact with Rosoboron export, ELCOM: The defense entity of Hinduja Group’s flagship company Ashok Leyland has signed an MoU with Rosoboron export, Russia, to supply tracked vehicle solutions to the armed forces. 

2. HCL acquires Datawave: HCL Technologies has announced an acquisition of Datawave to accelerate data integration & migration for their clients. The flagship product Datawave won the Informatica Innovation Award, is extendable to other platforms, including big data.

3. Exide Life, PMC Bank tie up: Exide Life Insurance has announced a partnership with Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank to offer its protection and savings products to the latter’s customers. PMC Bank is a multi-State scheduled urban cooperative bank with 127 branches spread across India.

SPORTS:

4. Duleep Trophy cricket tournament starts: Duleep Trophy cricket tournament has begun in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Suresh Raina has been appointed as captain of India Blue while Abhinav Mukund and Parthiv Patel will captain India Red and India Green teams respectively.

5. Fastest to 15,000 international runs: Virat Kohli became the fastest to score 15,000 runs in international cricket, achieving the feat in 333 innings pushing Hashim Amla, who did so in 336 innings, to the second place.

Daily GK Updates - 6th September, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Govt. accepts National Anomaly Committee recommendation of disability pension for defence forces: The government has accepted the recommendations of a panel that parity with civilians for the grant of disability element to the defence forces under the 6th Central Pay Commission. The armed forces have been pressing for reverting to the percentage-based regime for the disability pension and were strongly opposed to the slab-based system conceived by the 7^th CPC.

2. Jharkhand Governor gives assent to Religious Freedom Bill-2017: Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu has given assent to the Jharkhand Religious Freedom Bill-2017 along with Land Acquisition Bill-2017(passed by the State Assembly). Now, the state government will issue a notification on the Religious Freedom Bill, after which it will become an Act.

3. Assam Govt. sets up DBT cell for implementation of DBT scheme: Assam govt. has set up a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Cell for the implementation of DBT across schemes in the country. The purpose of the cell is to coordinate efforts at the state level in taking the DBT initiative forward with immediate effect.

4. NITI Aayog launches National Nutrition Strategy: NITI Aayog has launched the National Nutrition Strategy aimed at Kuposhan Mukt Bharat. It intends at bringing nutrition to the centre-stage of the National Development Agenda and lays the roadmap for targeted action to address India's nutritional needs. The Nutrition Strategy framework envisages a Kuposhan Mukt Bharat - linked to Swachh Bharat and Swasth Bharat.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Joint India-Nepal army exercise 'Surya Kiran' begins: India-Nepal joint military exercise ‘Surya Kiran XII’ was held at Nepal Army Battle School (NABS) in Saljhandi, Nepal. It is the largest exercise in terms of troop’s participation in series of military training exercises undertaken by India with various countries.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. Sankara Narayanan takes charge as MD & CEO of Vijaya Bank: R A Sankara Narayanan has taken charge as Managing Director (MD)and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vijaya Bank. He took charge from Dr Kishore Sansi, who had attained Superannuation on 31st August.

SPORTS:

2. ISSF World Cup: India bags one Gold, two Silver medals in men's double trap: India has bagged a Gold and two Silver medals in the Men's Double trap event at the ISSF World Shotgun Championship in Moscow. India won the Gold in the Junior team section of the event with a combined score of 401. Silver medals came in the individual section of both Senior Ankur Mittal and Junior categories Ahvar Rizvi.

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

3. BharatQR launched by Visa: Digital payments network Visa has partnered with payment gateway entity BillDesk, to enable around 59 service providers to start accepting BharatQR payments. This partnership would enable a major shift towards pushing of bill payments into digital mode especially through QR codes.

4. BSNL, Coriant tie up to chart 5G, IoT: BSNL has entered into an agreement with US-based networking solutions provider Coriant to chart the path to 5G and Internet of Things in India. MoU was signed for laying foundation for innovation in network architectures and services leveraging 5G, IoT, and mobile edge computing technologies.

5. Parineeti as Ambassador for Tourism Australia: Australia has roped in Parineeti Chopra to be its first Indian woman Ambassador to encourage Indians to visit the country. She was presented Friend of Australia recognition by Australian Consul General Tony Huber for her contribution to promote Australia.

OBITUARIES:

6. Noted journalist Gauri Lankesh shot dead in Bengaluru: Noted journalist and activists Gauri Lankesh was shot dead at her Rajarajeshwari Nagar's residence in Bengaluru. She was the editor of popular Kannada tabloid Lankesh Patrike.

Daily GK Updates - 5th September, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. National Teachers Day celebrated: National Teachers Day is observed every year on 5th September in India to commemorate birthday of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. The first Teachers’ Day was celebrated in India in 1962. This is the year when Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan began serving as the second president of India.

2. “Lets Talk IP” Campaign to Promote Indian GIs: The Cell for IPR Promotions and Management has launched a social media campaign to promote Indian Geographical Indications with “#LetsTalkIP”. The initiative aims to make more people aware about the importance of Intellectual property rights. GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin & possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.

3. Lucknow Metro rail flagged off: Rajnath Singh, Yogi Adityanath, Hardeep Singh Puri and Ram Naik (Governor of UP) flagged off the first train of Lucknow Metro. For general public the services of five metro trains will start a day later.

4. Environment Ministry launches environment awareness initiative on Teachers’ Day: The Environment Ministry has launched an environmental awareness initiative on the occasion of Teachers’ Day. Under the initiative, an online environmental quiz competition will be conducted at the national level to generate interest among school children about the science related to the environment. This will help in sensitizing the children on the issues related to environment and development.

5. Odisha CM inaugurates the fourth Govt. Medical College in Koraput: The Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik has inaugurated the fourth Government Medical College in Koraput.The Medical College has been named after Saheed Laxman Naik (freedom fighter of Koraput).The Admission process for one hundred seats has been completed and classes began on Monday.

6. Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani launches Gyankunj project: On the occasion of Teachers Day, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has launched ‘Gyankunj e-class project’ at Shahpur primary school in Gandhinagar. The entire project will work on the pilot basis with interactive e-class room. Smart boards have been provided under this initiative.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Iranian spiritual leader sentenced to death: The court imposed death sentence on Mohammed Ali Taheri, the founder of the spiritual group Erfan Halgheh, for the second time. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison for insulting Islamic sanctities.

2. US returns Saddam Hussein’s stolen chess set to Iraq: The chess set was one of the thousands of valuable antiques which were stolen from the Iraq museum in the aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 .The US said that it remains committed to helping return stolen artifacts belonging to Iraq .

3. Seychelles ratifies ISA pact: Seychelles has become the ninth member to ratify the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement. With this, the ISA will need the ratification of just 6 more countries to become a recognized inter-governmental body. The ISA was instituted to connect 121 solar-resource-rich nations for research, low-cost financing and rapid deployment of clean energy.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Star India bags IPL media rights: Star India has piped 23 top companies participating in the auction to win the Indian Premier League media rights for a period of five years from 2018-2022. Star India bagged the IPL media rights for a whopping Rs 16347.5 cr making it the biggest deal in the history of Indian television.

BANKING/FINANCE:

2. SBI’s Intelligent Chatbot SIA operational now: SBI is currently beta-testing its intelligent assistant called SIA – SBI Intelligent Assistant. SIA is a chatbot which is aimed at handling customer queries & help guide them through various retail products & services offered by SBI. Chatbot has been developed by Allincall, a startup backed by IIT B. It makes use of machine learning & bot experience to be able to respond to customer queries.

3. RBI gives HDFC “too big to fail” status: Reserve Bank of India has included HDFC Bank in the list of too big to fail lenders, referred to as domestic systemically important bank. With this, HDFC Bank joins SBI & ICICI Bank, which have been tagged as D-SIBs, or “too-big-to-fail” for 3d consecutive year.

4. DBS Bank gets nod from RBI: DBS Bank, Singapore’s largest lender, has received inprinciple approval from RBI to start a local banking subsidiary in the count. DBS will have to lend 40% of its net bank credit to borrowers in sectors such as agriculture or to small enterprises within five years of opening a local subsidiary.

OBITUARIES:

5. Arunachal health minister Jomde Kena passes away: Arunachal Pradesh health and family welfare minister Jomde Kena passed away in Guwahati. The state government has declared two days state mourning from today and announced a holiday tomorrow.

Daily GK Updates - 4th September, 2017

                    NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Central scheme for senior citizens in Gujarat: Union minister Thawarchand Gehlot launched a scheme that provides for physical aids and assisted-living devices for senior citizens belonging to the BPL category in Gujarat. The centrally-sponsored scheme, `Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana’, was unveiled on April 1 this year. Under the scheme, aids and assisted-living devices like walking sticks, elbow crutches etc are provided free of cost.

2. Cabinet reshuffle details: Nirmala Sitharaman has taken charge as the Minister of Defence. She has become the first woman to take charge as the full-time defence minister (Indira Gandhi had the additional charge). The previous Railways Minister, Suresh Prabhu will hold the office of Minister of Commerce & Industry. Piyush Goyal has taken charge as the Minister of Railway and also Minister of Coal. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who earlier had the independent charge as the Minister of State for Minority Affairs will now hold the office of Minister of Minority Affairs. Uma Bharti will hold the post of Minister of Drinking Water & Sanitation. Earlier, she held the portfolio of River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation.

3. President to lay foundation stone for Link-4 of SAUNI Scheme in Rajkot: President Ramnath Kovind laid the foundation stone for a link - 4 of Saurashtra Narmada Avataran Irrigation Scheme (SAUNI) Yojana in Rajkot, Gujarat.Earlier, SAUNI project had been launched by Mr. Modi to fill up 115 major dams by diverting overflow of water from the Sardar Sarovar Dam on Narmada River. Three phases of SAUNI yojana already dedicated to the people following completion of the work.

4. Augmentation Programme In Buxa Tiger Reserve: Tigers will roar again at Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal.  Located in Alipurduar district, the reserve, parts of which border Bhutan, has been identified for the tiger augmentation programme by the National Tiger Conservation Authority.

5. Ministry of Defence to procure weapons from HAL: The Ministry of Defence will buy 41 more ALH advanced light helicopters from public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. The Rs. 6,100-crore order signed recently includes 40 of the indigenously developed ALHs for the Army and one for the Navy.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. BRICS summit begins in Xiamen: The 9th BRICS summit begins in the Chinese city of Xiamen. This is the second time the China has hosted the summit after the 2011 summit. In a joint declaration, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) condemned all terror attacks worldwide, including those attacks in the member states, stressing that there can be no justification whatsoever for any such act. Host country China has also invited five guest countries (Egypt, Kenya, Tajikistan, Mexico, and Thailand) for the summit under its BRICS plus approach.

2. Nepal signs UN development assistance plan: Nepal govt. has signed a USD 635 million United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for 2018-2022 to lay out the country’s development strategy for the next five years. The package involving 26 individual UN agencies is aimed at assisting Nepal in four areas - inclusive economic growth, social development, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

3. Trump to nominate Kenneth Juster as US Ambassador to India: America's foremost expert on US-India trade relations Kenneth I. Juster has been nominated as the U.S ambassador to India.He will succeed Richard Verma.The appointment will take effect once the U.S Senate confirms him.

4. Iran tests its homegrown air defence “Bavar”: Iran has tested its home grown air defence system, designed to match the Russian S-300, the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ air defence has said. Bavar (which means “belief”) is Tehran’s first long-range missile defence system, and is set to be operational by March 2018.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Country's foreign exchange reserves swell to lifetime high of USD 394.55 billion: The country's foreign exchange reserves swelled by USD 1.148 billion to a new lifetime high of USD 394.55 billion for the week ended 25th August this month.RBI data showed the foreign currency assets (FCAs) increased by USD 1.142 billion to USD 370.833 billion for the week under review. Gold reserves remained unchanged at USD 19.943 billion. The country's reserve position with the IMF also rose by USD 3.6 million to USD 2.273 billion. The total reserves had declined by a marginal USD 211.1 million to USD 393.401 billion in the previous reporting week.

2. AMD presented a new line of microprocessor chips called ‘Ryzen Pro’: The Ryzen Pro desktop processor is an 8 core and 16 thread CPU and much faster than the rival Intel’s ‘Core i7’. The new Ryzen Pro processors are for commercial usage.

SPORTS:

3. Konsam Ormila Devi bags Gold at Commonwealth Youth championship: India’s Konsam Ormila Devi bagged a gold medal in 44kg weight category of the Commonwealth Youth (boys & girls) weightlifting championships, held at Gold Coast, Australia. Ormila lifted 57kg in snatch and 76kg in clean and jerk for an overall effort of 133kg, to finish on the top of the podium.

4. Tejasvi Duduka wins US Open Carrom Tournament: Tejasvi Duduka from Hyderabad won the women’s singles of U.S. Open Grand Slam Carrom tournament.

5. Lewis Hamilton wins 2017 Italian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton was first, while Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel came second and third respectively. The 2017 Italian Grand Prix was the Formula One motor race held on 3 September 2017 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Monza, Italy.

6. MS Dhoni becomes the first wicketkeeper to effect 100 stumpings in ODI Cricket: Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become the first wicketkeeper in world cricket to effect 100 stumpings in One Day Internationals(ODI). He has taken 281 catches apart from scoring 9,657 runs so far. 

SPORTS:

7. Pulitzer-Prize winning poet John Ashbery passes away: Pulitzer-prize winning poet John Ashbery, a post-modern American trailblazer passed away in Hudson, New York. His 1975 collection, "Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror," was the rare winner of the book world's unofficial triple crown: the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle prize.

Daily GK Updates - 3rd September, 2017

                 NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Latest Cabinet reshuffle: PM Modi inducted 9 new ministers and promoted 4 to expand his Cabinet. Nirmala Sitharaman became the Defence Minister. Piyush Goyal got Railways and Coal MInistry. Suresh Prabhu got Commerce and Industry whereas Sushma Swaraj retained External Affairs Ministry.

2. Ram Rahim to lose access to VIP lounges: The Airports Authority of India has written to Civil Aviation Ministry to remove rape convict Ram Rahim Singh’s name from the list of people who have access to VIP lounges in the airports. The access to lounges is granted to dignitaries like the PM, President and the Cabinet secretary among others.

3. World Bank suggests safety measures to Indian Railways: This was done to help the Railways in averting accidents. It advised that the trains be painted yellow to enable visibility during twilight hours and has asked the Railways to set up an independent rail safety regulator.

4. Coconut palm declared State tree of Goa: The BJP-led coalition Cabinet of Goa passed an amendment granting coconut palm the status of “State tree”. “The State government has decided to include coconut palm as tree in the Goa, Daman and Diu (Preservation of) Trees Act, 1984 to regulate felling of coconut trees under this Act.

                                 INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. N Korea’s 6th nuclear test 9.8 times powerful: South Korean weather agency claimed that the 6th test was 9.8 times powerful than the 5th test conducted in Sep 2016. N Korea has hailed the bomb test as a perfect success and a meaningful step to complete its nuclear programme.

2. UN suspends food aid to refugees in Myanmar: The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) has suspended the aid works citing safety concerns as the ethnic violence escalated among Rohingya Muslims. The violence erupted after Rohingya Muslims attacked Myanmar’s security forces.

3. US takes control of Russian trade mission in DC: The Russian trade mission building in Washington DC has been closed down and its staff is barred access. The US State Department is conducting a search inside the building which the Russia’s US embassy spokesperson called ‘illegal’.

4. Rohingya children to get UNHCR cards: The West Bengal government will distribute identity cards issued by the UNHCR to Rohingya children lodged in the juvenile justice homes of the State. The move comes at a time when there are reports that the Union government is planning to deport Rohingyas refugees.

                                OTHER UPDATES:                               

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Aditya Birla Group’s valuation crosses $50 billion: The Group has crossed market capitalisation of $50 billion after the listing of Aditya Birla Capital.Among Indian conglomerates, Tata is on the top with a total valuation of its listed firms at over Rs.8.46 lakh crore.

2. Nike fires 20% of employees in India: Sportswear giant Nike has fired 20% of its Indian workforce and asked many others to join its operations in Southeast Asia. Earlier, as a cost cutting measure, Nike closed around 35% of its stores in India.

SPORTS:

3. Bumrah sets record for most wickets in 5-match ODI series: Jasprit Bumrah set the record in a 5-match bilateral ODI series after taking his tally in the India-Sri Lanka series to 15.He overtook Australia’s Clint McKay who had taken 14 against Pakistan in 2010.

4. Rajyavardhan Singh first sportsperson to become the sports minister: Olympic silver medal winning shooter was named the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports in the cabinet reshuffle. He is the first sportsperson to hold the position and he replaced Vijay Goel.

BANKING/FINANCE:

5. Syndicate Bank gets new Chairman: Ajay Vipin Nanavati has assumed charge as Chairman of Syndicate Bank. A board member of Alicon, Nanavati is an innovation evangelist. He mentors start-ups/SMEs, and is an angel investor.

6. IDRBT to develop a model platform for blockchain technology: IDRBT, an arm of the RBI is developing a model platform for blockchain technology. It’s a type of distributed ledger or decentralised database that keeps records of digital transactions. People generally use a trusted third-party like a bank to make a transaction but blockchain removes the need for a third-party by directly connecting the customers and suppliers on the same platform

7. RBI cuts repo rate by 25 bps to 6%: The RBI has cut the repo rate by 25 bps to 6%.

The economy has slowed down through the past five quarters from a high of 9.1% registered in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 to a level of 6.1% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017. Reverse Repo rate has also been cut by 0.25 % to 5.75 %.

OBITUARIES:

8. Poet Shirish Pai passes away: Shirish Pai, the renowned Marathi poet and activist, passed away in Mumbai. She was credited with introducing Japanese ‘Haiku’ to the Marathi speaking world.