Daily GK Updates - 11th September, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Bharat Yatra against child abuse: Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi launched a march across the country to mobilise action against sexual abuse and trafficking of children. Starting from the southernmost tip of peninsular India, Kanyakumari, and passing through Kashmir, the Bharat Yatra will culminate in New Delhi.

2. Upper age limit of National Pension Scheme raised: The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority has announced that the upper age limit for joining the National Pension Scheme had been raised to 65 years, from the current 60. The aim is to open up pensions to sectors that are without pensions.

3. World’s most expensive coffee, Civet, now manufactured in India: India, Asia’s 3rd-largest producer & exporter of coffee, has started producing world’s most expensive coffee, in Coorg district of Karnataka. The Civet coffee, also called as Luwark coffee, is expensive because of uncommon method of producing such a coffee. It is produced from the coffee beans digested by civet cat. The faeces of this cat are collected, processed and sold.

4. PM Modi address students on theme of ‘Young India, New India': Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed a gathering of students at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on the theme of ‘Young India, New India'. The convention of students is being held to mark the historic address of ‘Swami Vivekananda delivered at Chicago in 1893.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Infosys acquires Brilliant Basics: Infosys has completed the acquisition of London-based Brilliant Basics. Through this acquisition, Infosys further expands its worldwide connected network of Digital Studios that are focused on fulfilling the needs of global clients for end-to- end digital transformation solutions.

2. ADB to provide $152 million to Nepal: Asian Development Bank will provide a $152 mn to Nepal for implementation & enhancement of its power transmission & distribution. The project, having a 4 to 5-year completion period, would incorporate various components such as construction of transmission lines, upgrading sub-stations.

3. Abhay Firodia takes over as SIAM President: Force Motors Chairman Abhay Firodia has been elected as the new President of the automobile industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

SPORTS:

4. Sumit Nagal wins ITF Futures Men’s Tennis Championships: Sumit Nagal blasted Colin van Beem 6-3, 6-0 in the singles final to justify the top billing in the 8th MCC – S R Subramaniam Memorial ITF Futures Men’s tennis championship. Nagal, who is ranked 261 in the world will pocket 18 ranking points and a cheque for $2,160 for his effort.

5. Maharashtra wins the National kickboxing championship: Maharashtra has won the Chief Minister’s cup with 45 gold medals at the National kickboxing championship being held in Raipur. Chhattisgarh secured second position with 27 gold and Haryana third with 15 gold medals.

6. Hingis, Jan win women’s doubles title at US Open: Martina Hingis & Chan Yung-Jan won the US Open women’s doubles title after defeating Lucie Hradecka & Katerina Siniakova 6-3 6-2.

7. Rafael Nadal wins US Open (Men’s): World No. 1 Rafael Nadal defeated No. 28 Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 to lift his third US Open title and his 16th overall Grand Slam title. He is second to Roger Federer, who has 19 Grand Slam titles.

8. BWF World Senior Badminton Championship begins at Kochi: the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Senior Badminton Championship has begun at Kochi.

A total of 665 players (175-Indian players) from forty countries in eight different groups are participating in the week-long Championship. It is for the first time the Championship is being held in India.

Daily GK Updates - 10th September, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. SIM cards not linked to Aadhaar will be deactivated after Feb 2018: Centre: The Centre has issued a notice, stating that all the SIM cards have to be linked to Aadhaar before February 2018 to avoid deactivation of the phone numbers.

2. First water ATM in Hyderabad Inaugurated: The first water ATM has been inaugurated by Telangana State. A total of 200 ATMs will be set up to reach a targeted 150,000 people. It will provide affordable, 24×7 safe water access in Hyderabad.

3. UIDAI Chief A.B. Pandey Appointed Interim GSTN Chairman : The Unique Identification Authority of India’s (UIDAI) chief executive officer (CEO) A.B. Pandey was appointed the interim chairman of the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN). This firm provides information technology (IT) backbone and portal for registration and tax returns under the GST regime.

4. Sushmita Dev as the Chief Of Mahila Congress: Congress has appointed party lawmaker Sushmita Dev as the chief of Mahila Congress. She will be replacing Shobha Oza, who has been in the post since August 2013. 

5. Navika Sagar Parikrama - Women global circumnavigation expedition flagged off: Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman flagged off Navika Sagar Parikrama in Goa, a circumnavigation programme by women naval officers. This is the 1st Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew. Under the project, a team of 6 women officers of Indian Navy would circumnavigate the globe on India-built sail boat INSV Tarini.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Adopt tailored solutions to eliminate TB by 2030-WHO: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has told the South East Asian countries to integrate their national plans and mobilise and utilise resources efficiently to reach the Tuberculosis elimination target of 2030. The WHO South East Asia Region includes India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, North Korea, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste.

2. Pakistan PM opens China-backed 5th nuke plant: Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khan Abbasi inaugurated the country’s fifth nuclear power plant, developed in collaboration with China. The fifth nuclear plant C-4 plant is located at Chashma in Mianwali district of the Punjab province. Mr. Abbasi said that the nuclear plants were a source of cheap energy and Pakistan would work on setting up more such plants.

3. Longest-serving Prince of Wales: Prince Charles has become the longest-serving Prince of Wales in history. The 68-year-old broke the record of Queen’s Victoria’s son Albert, who went on to become King Edward VII after holding the title of Prince of Wales for more than 59 years before becoming monarch.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Tata Trusts to invest Rs. 500 crore for upliftment of tribals: Tata Trusts has earmarked around Rs 500 cr towards livelihood enhancement of the tribals in 4 states over the next 5 years under its flagship scheme CINI. Under CINI, or Collectives for Integrated Livelihood Initiatives, the trust has already spent Rs 25 crores of the Rs 119 crores budgeted for the project in the first phase.

2. ‘Heart Attack’ app to guide heart patients launched: Cardiological Society of India has announced launch of an app that can help people suffering from heart disease with rapid & accurate information about the nearest health care centres. The app, named “Heart Attack”, would guide patients with real time information about the nearest hospital capable of immediate care.

SPORTS:

3. India win 2nd SABA U-16 Championship: India has won 2nd South Asian Basketball, SABA, Under – 16 Championship. India remained unbeaten in its all four matches and accumulated 8 points. Bangladesh finished second and host Nepal third. India has now qualified for 2017 International Basketball Federation, FIBA, Under-16 Asian Championship to be played in Malaysia later this year.

4. Sloane Stephens wins 2017 US Open title: Sloane Stephens won the first major title of her career after defeating Madison Keys 6-3, 6-0 in the final of the 2017 U.S. Open.

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.