Daily GK Updates -5th November, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.The Indian Army launched an Independent and Fully-Integrated Joint Training Node(JTN) at Umroi cantonment in Shillong, Mehghalaya: The concept was envisaged keeping in mind the conducive weather terrain offering optimal training environment.

2.India to have middle income country by 2047 - World Bank: Praising India’s increasing per capita income, World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva said she has no doubt India will be a high-middle income country by 2047,when it completes 100 years of Independence. She further lauded India for the 30-rank jump in Ease of Doing Business ranking, terming it the biggest leap ever in the history of the survey.

3.Parliamntary panel to submit report on Sino-Indian ties - Shashi Tharoor: The parliamentary committee on external affairs plans to submit a comprehensive report on Sino-Indian ties next year, and is currently looking at the “extremely topical” Doklam issue, panel chairman Shashi Tharoor has said. “Just as this year we submitted to Parliament a report on Indo-Pakistan relations, similarly for next summer we want to submit a report on Sino-Indian relations,” he said.

4. Goa to host Nobel prize event in February 2018: The Goa government signed trilateral MoU with the Department of Bio-Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India and Nobel Media, Sweden to hold the ‘Nobel Prize Series-India 2018 to be hold form Feb 1-2018 in Goa. The Nobel series has earlier been organized in Gujarat.

5. Glide Bomb successfully test-fire by DRDO: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully tested an indigenously-built lightweight ‘glide bomb’. It was launched at the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur, Odisha. The ‘glide bomb’ is named as Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW). It was released from the IAF aircraft and guided through precision navigation system.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Lebanese PM Saad al-Hariri resigns: Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri resigned unexpectedly. Saad al-Hariri has said after his resignation that, he sensed a plot to target his life and feared the same fate as his assassinated father if he remained as leader. Saad al-Hariri became Lebanon’s Prime Minister in 2016 and headed a 30-member national unity cabinet.

2.Saudi Arabia intercepts missile targeted at Riyadh airport: Saudi Arabia’s military forces intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the international airport in Capital Riyadh. The 800-Km range missile was destroyed over the capital and fragments landed in the airport area.

3. Asia’s largest Island-Building Vessel: China unveiled Asia’s largest artificial island-building ship. The 140-metre-long vessel, which has been dubbed as “magic island maker”, is capable of digging 6,000 cubic metres an hour. The boat named Tian Kun Hao is equivalent of three standard swimming pools.

4.China to build world’s highest planetarium in Tibet in 2018: China will begin construction of the world’s highest planetarium next year in Tibet, which is often dubbed “Roof of the World”, being 4,000 meters above sea level. Planned to be completed in 2019, the planetarium in Tibetan capital Lhasa would benefit from clear skies due to altitude and have the region’s largest optical astronomical telescope.

5. World Tsunami Awareness Day – November5: The World Tsunami Awareness Day was observed across the world on 5 November. The theme for 2017 WTAD is ‘Reduce the Number of Affected People’. The day is celebrated to spread awareness among people across the world in matters related to the dangers of tsunami. It was observed across the world in 2016 with the theme ‘Effective Education and Evacuation Drills’.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1.Mary Kom named Women’s Youth World Championship Ambassador: Five time world champion and Olympic bronze medalist MC Mary Kom has been named as the ambassador of the upcoming AIBA Women’s Youth World Championships. The event is being held in Guwahati, Assam is scheduled to be held from November 19 to 26.

2.Indian Women’s hockey team wins Asia Cup after 13 years: The Indian women’s Hockey team defeated Two-time Asia Cup champion China to clinch the Hockey Asia Cup for the second time. The match had ended in a 1-1 stalemate after regulation time and India went to win the match 5-4 in the penalty shootout.

BUSINESS/ ECONOMY:

1.AU small finance bank gets scheduled commercial bank status: AU Small Finance bank has received Reserve Bank of India(RBI) approval to operate as schedule commercial bank. Now AU Small Finance bank will be able to do borrowing and lending with RBI under Liquidity Adjustment Facility(LAF) and Marginal Standing Facility(MSF).

2. Air New Zealand named Airline Of The Year for 5th time: Air New Zealand has been named Airline Of The Year for the fifth consecutive year by AirlineRatings.com. It has also topped the top 10 airlines for 2018 list, followed by Quantas Airways, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Australia and Virgin Atlantic.

Daily GK Updates – 4th November, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Indian Naval Ships Tir & Sujatha visit to Sri Lanka: The Indian Coast Guard ship Sarathi arrived at the Colombo port on 02nd Nov 2017 on a goodwill and training visit. Two another Indian naval ships Tir & Sujatha are on a 5-days goodwill visit to Sri Lanka to participate in the training exercises. The crew will also take part in a series of friendly sports events and community service activities organised by the Sri Lanka Navy.

2. Andhra to convert 29,000 fair price shops into village malls: The mini-malls will offer subsidised grains along with over 500 grocery items and fast moving consumer goods. The initiative is aimed at improving the rural population’s lifestyle.

3. India to witness ‘Beaver Moon’ tonight: The moon would appear around 14% larger in diameter and 30% brighter than usual as the Moon comes closer to Earth. November’s Full Moon is called ‘Beaver Moon’ after beavers who build their winter dams at this time of the year.

4. IAF, DRDO successfully test-fire ‘Glide’ bomb: They test-fired indigenously developed lightweight ‘Glide’ bomb named SAAW(Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon) in Odisha. Three tests were conducted with different release conditions and were all successful.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Trump to be 1st US President in 25 yrs to visit South Korea: Donald Trump has begun his 12-day trip to five Asian nations. Trump and South Korean President Moon-Jae are expected to discuss North Korean nuclear issue among other things.

2. US launches first airstrike against Islamic State in Somalia: General Joseph Dunford announced that the US saw Africa as a new frontline against ISIS. The US had previously carried out drone strikes against al Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militant group in Somalia.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Mary Kom assured of a medal in Asian Women’s Boxing Championships: Mary Kom defeated Chinese Taipei’s Meng-Chieh Pin in a split verdict in the quarterfinals to make the last four stage of the light flyweight (48kg) category. The 34-year-old, who has won four gold, a silver in her five previous appearances at the event, will face Japan’s Tsubasa Komura in the semifinals.

2. French laboratory suspended from anti-doping activities: World Anti-Doping Agency carried out this suspension because of analytical issues. The laboratory was provisionally suspended on September 24th due to issues self-reported to WADA by the laboratory.

SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY:

1. New Orangutan Species Found : A new species of orangutan ‘Pongo tapanuliensis’ was discovered in the Sumatra island of Indonesia, which has become the world’s most endangered great ape. The species, called ‘Tapanuli orangutan’, lives in the Batang Toru forest on Sumatra island of Indonesia. They are only 800 in number totally. This has made them the most endangered great ape in the world.

2. Fake version of WhatsApp surfaces in Google play store: The app is named ‘Update WhatsApp Messenger’ under the developer name ‘WhatsApp Inc’. The fake app has been downloaded one million times while the original WhatsApp has one billion users.

3. Longest dolphin in captivity died : Nana, a female bottlenose dolphin, died at the Shizuoka Prefecture aquarium, in Japan. Dolphin Nana recently broke a national record of staying captive at the aquarium for 15,666 days, or 42 years and 11 months. Nana was captured off the coast of Ito in 1974. She had lived at the aquarium since then. She had given birth to eight calves and also had taken part in dolphin shows.

BUSINESS/ ECONOMY:

1. Broadcom plans to acquire Qualcomm for $100 billion: The acquisition of Qualcomm would make Broadcom the third-largest chipmaker after Intel and Samsung Electronics. Broadcom has a current market capitalisation of about $110 billion.

2. RCom to shut voice call service from December 1: TRAI has directed RCom to not reject any porting out request of its subscribers and customers can move to other networks by December 31. This comes after RCom called off its merger with Aircel in October.

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. India jumping 30 spots in ease of doing business rare - World Bank: World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgiva has said that this jump for India is very rare and that it is an extraordinary achievement. Georgieva further said that the GST regime has created an opportunity for India to grow.

Daily GK Updates - 3rd November, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Allahabad to get India’s first black buck conservation reserve: UP cabinet decided to make India’s first conservation reserve for Black Bucks in Allahabd’s Meja. The decision taken for the protection of black deer will also help in wooing tourists.

2.Prime Minster Narendra Modi inaugurated the most anticipated International Mega Food Event- World Food India 2017: It is the the biggest congregation of global investors and businesses leaders of major food companies. The event is organized by the Food Processing Industries Ministry in Delhi.

3.India-Kazakhstan joint exercise “Prabal Dostyk 2017” begins: A fourteen day joint training exercise “Prabal Dostyk 2017” between the Indian Army and the Kazakhstan Army commemenced with the opening ceremony at Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh. The joint exercise is aimed at enhancing the military ties between two countries and also at achieving interoperability between the two armies.

4. 9th Global Green film festival to be host by Delhi: The ninth edition of CMS Vatavaran – an international film festival on environment and wildlife – will begin in Delhi, showcasing 113 films, including four from Kashmir, one of the most ecologically sensitive zones facing the threat of global warming. The “Conservation 4 Water”-themed five-day gala at Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti will also have seminars, workshops, exhibitions and an award ceremony focusing on the environmental, social and economic aspects of water conservation.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. The former chief of Colombia’s FARC rebel group, Rodrigo Londono, has announced his run for the presidency next year: Londono had led the negotiations with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos to end the 53-year-old conflict between FARC rebels and the Colombian government.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1.FIR against Sharapova for endorsing Gurugram housing project: A Delhi court has ordered an FIR against Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova, who was part of a complaint by a homebuyer who had invested in a housing project in Gurugram. The project was named after the Russian but the construction never took off.

SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY:

1.Ford develops trucker hat that wakes driver up with sound: American automaker Ford has developed a hat that senses a driver’s head movements associated with sleepiness and wakes them up using sound, light and vibration. Ford develop the hat in partnership with Brazil based creative agency GTB.

2 Apple briefly touched $900bn market capitalization: Apple is the world’s most valuable company followed by Google which has a market value of $718bn.

BUSINESS/ ECONOMY:

1.AIIB grants Rs.13,000crore loan to Andhra Pradesh: China sponsored, AIIB(Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) has granted a loan of Rs.13,000crore for five projects in Andhra Pradesh. Five projects includes two roads and buildings department, one each for rural safe drinking water department, municipal and urban development department and Panchayat Raj department.

2.Walmart India launches India’s first fulfillment centre in Mumbai: Walmart India launched its first fulfillment centre in Mumbai. The fulfillment centre is a new fromat of its cash-and-carry store model that will focus exclusively on FMCG products and staples and will not stock fresh food or electronics. The company has also planned another fulfillment centre in Lucknow. Krish Iyer is the President and CEO of Walmart India.

Daily GK Updates - 2nd November, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Gender Vulnerability Index in Indian States: According to the Child development NGO Plan India released index, Goa state ranked top and Bihar featured at the lowest in Gender Vulnerability Index (GVI). The index, which provides a state-wise ranking, has been calculated by analyzing four issues pertinent to the situation of girls — child safety/protection, poverty, health, and education. In the ranking, Goa is followed by Kerala, Mizoram, and Sikkim. Bihar ranked the lowest at 30, with Delhi faring only slightly better at 29 and Uttar Pradesh at 28.

2.  Inauguration of 21st World Congress of Mental Health by President Ram Nath Kovind: President Shri Ram Nath Kovind has inaugurated the 21st World Congress of Mental Health in New Delhi. The World Congress of Mental Health is taking place in India for the first time. The World Congress is being organized by the World Federation for Mental Health in partnership with Caring Foundation and other institutions. National Mental Health Survey 2016 found that around 14% of India’s population required active mental health interventions.

3. Lifetime pensions for 'Hindi Satyagrahis – Haryana Government: The Chief Minister of Haryana ‘Manohar Lal Khattar’ has announced the lifetime monthly pension of Rs 10,000 for 'Hindi Satyagrahis' (jailed during the Emergency) of the state. The state government also announced that it would be providing enhanced financial assistance to World War-II veterans and their widows (from Rs 4,500 to Rs 10,000). Earlier, the state govt. has identified 194 'Satyagrahis' who were imprisoned during the 'Hindi Satyagraha' launched by the Punjab Arya Pratinidhi Sabha in 1957 to promote the language.

4. Recently appointed India's high commissioner to Pakistan - Ajay Bisaria: Senior diplomat Ajay Bisaria (1987-batch IFS officer) has been appointed India's High Commissioner to Pakistan. He will succeed Gautam Bambawale (posted to China last month). Currently, Mr. Bisaria is India's Ambassador to Poland.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. US shares list of 20 terrorist groups with Pakistan: USA shared the list containing names of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed that they believe are operating from Pakistan’s soil to target India and Afghanistan. This comes after the US said it is going to test Pakistan by giving them a chance to act against terrorism.

2. US First Lady not on Forbes Powerful Women list: The list was topped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the 12th time. It features 23 new entrants including Ivanka Trump.

3. Russia to help build India-Iran natural gas pipeline: Russia and Iran will prepare a legal framework for the 1,200 km long pipeline project which is expected to begin next year. Russian Energy Minister said that it will involve the participation of Iranian, Pakistani and Indian firms.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Gagan Narang wins silver medal in 50m rifle shooting  prone event in Commonwealth Games: Olympic bronze-medallist Gagan Narang has won a silver medal in the men's 50m rifle prone event of the Commonwealth Shooting Championships. Dane Sampson of Australia won the gold and Swapnil Suresh Kusale (India) bagged the bronze in the same event, India's Suraj Singh won the bronze in women's 25m pistol final, while the gold and silver went to host country's L Yaumleuskay and E Galiabovitch respectively.

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. SBI cuts home, auto loan rates by 5bps: The State Bank of India (SBI) has announced to reduce the interest rates on home and automobile loans by five basis points (bps). SBI’s home loan rates will be 8.30% for the loan (up to Rs 30 lakh). Car loan amount ranges from 8.70% to 9.20% compared to an earlier range of 8.75% to 9.25%. Home loan rates have been reduced for 5 bps across all brackets. The exact rate depends on the amount of loan and the credit score of the individual.

AWARDS/HONOURS:

1. K Satchidanandan selected for Ezhuthachan Puraskaram: Noted Malayalam Poet and literary critic ‘K Satchidanandan’ has been selected for this year's Ezhuthachan Puraskaram for his contributions to Malayalam literature and poetry. Ezhuthachan Puraskaram is the Kerala government's highest literary honour, carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh and a citation. Satchidanandan' began his literary career with the publication of 'Kurukshetram', a collection of essays on poetry (1970) and 'Anchusooryan', a collection of poems (1971). He was also a former editor of Indian Literary Journal and former secretary of Sahitiya Akademi.

2. Asia's Richest Person – Mukesh Ambani: According to Forbes’ real-time billionaire’s list, Mukesh Ambani (Chairman & MD of Reliance Industries Limited, RIL) has become the Asia’s richest person with a total wealth of USD 42.1 billion. He overtook Hui Ka Yan (China). Ambani, whose total estimated wealth is USD 42.1 billion (boost of USD 466 million) courtesy 1.22% rise in shares of Reliance Industries to Rs 952.30. Businessman Hui Ka Yan, whose total estimated wealth went down by USD 1.28 billion to USD 40.6 billion.

Daily GK Updates - 1st November, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Suresh Chukkapalli appointed as Consul General of Korea: Suresh Chukkapalli, Chairman of Phoenix Group of Hyderabad, has been appointed as Honorary Consul General in Hyderabad by the Republic of Korea.

2. Five states celebrate their Foundation Day: Five states — Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, and Karnataka — are celebrating their foundation day today, Wednesday, November 1.

3. ERO-Net launched in Rajasthan: Rajasthan’s Chief Electoral Officer Ashwini Bhagat launched the Election Commission’s web-based project, ERO-Net. By using this, voters can register their names on electoral rolls. It could not identify multiple entries of a voter.

4. India tops list of new TB cases in 2016: According to ‘Global TB Report 2017’ released by World Health Organization (WHO), India has topped the list of seven countries, accounting for 64% of the 10.4 million new tuberculosis cases worldwide in 2016. Tuberculosis is a contagious disease which affects the lung and is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. The World Bank Releases Doing Business Report 2018: According to the World Bank’s released report, 'Doing Business 2018: Reforming to Create Jobs', India ranked 100th (earlier 130th) among the 190 countries, assessed by the Doing Business Team. The Doing Business Report assesses covers 10 indicators which span the lifecycle of a business. India is the only country in South Asia and BRICS economies to feature among most improved economies of the DB Report this year. India's rank has improved in 6 of the 10 indicators and Distance to Frontier (DTF) has improved in 9 of the 10 indicators.

2. World Vegan Day 2017 observed: In 1994, the Chair of the Vegan Society Louise Wallis decided to set November 1 as World Vegan Day. Veganism is practiced both as a diet (to abstain from all food items using animal products) as well as a philosophy (which rejects the commodity status of animals). One who practices either of the two is said to be a vegan.

3. Jackson named top-earning dead celebrity: Michael Jackson, who died in the year 2009 is still generating millions of dollars. Jackson named top-earning dead celebrity for the 5th time. He was an American singer, songwriter, and dancer.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. TV Narendran appointed as Global CEO of Tata Steel: Tata Steel Ltd promoted T V Narendran as chief executive officer and managing director globally. Narendran is 52 years old. He was serving as Managing Director (India and South East Asia) for the past four years.

SPORTS:

1. Diya Chitale wins silver medal at ITTF World Cadet Challenge: Indian table tennis player Diya Chitale won a silver medal in the girls’ doubles category of the 2017 ITTF World Cadet Challenge, in Suva, Fiji.  Diya also won a gold medal in the Team event, as part of Team Asia.

2. Heena Sidhu wins Gold at Commonwealth Shooting Championships: Ace Indian shooter Heena Sidhu has bagged gold in women’s 10m Air Pistol event at Commonwealth Shooting Championships in Brisbane, Australia. Heena shot a score of 240.8 in the finals to beat Australia’s Elena Galiabovitch, who has to settle for silver after posting 238.2. India also got its second medal through Deepak Kumar as he won bronze in men’s 10m Air Rifle event.

3. Birendra re-elected as President of IWLF: Birendra Prasad Baishya was re-elected as President of the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) in the Annual General Body Meeting. The newly formed Executive Committee of IWLF consists of seven vice-presidents, and Sahdev Yadav has become the secretary general.

OBITUARIES:

1. Kannada writer and journalist, Khadri Achyuthan, dies at 71: Veteran Kannada writer and journalist Khadri Achyuthan died after a brief period of illness at 71 years age. He has also contributed to the coinage of new Kannada words. He is a veteran journalist, author, academic and translator of various literary works.He has written a book in Kannada on ISRO. He has worked on Kannada translations of Sardar Patel and Dr. Ambedkar.