Daily GK Updates - 17th January, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. Kerala, Bangla and Odisha opt out of aspirational scheme: West Bengal, Kerala and Odisha have opted out of the Central Government’s Transformation of Aspirational Districts scheme. Aspirational districts refer to selected 115 backward districts that are lagging on specific development parameters. Central Government has undertaken a major policy initiative for rapid transformation of these districts.

2. Haryana government to set up SAT:  The Haryana government paved the way for setting up of a State Administrative Tribunal. The state Cabinet, under the Chairmanship of CM Manohar Lal Khattar, approved the Haryana State Administrative Tribunal Rules, 2017. The establishment of the SAT will prove advantageous and essential in view of the increasing number of court cases.

3. Haj subsidy scrapped: Thousands of Muslims who go on Haj pilgrimage each year will no longer get subsidised or cheaper air tickets. The big move would help empower Muslims with dignity, said union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. The subsidy will be used for educating girls. Saudi Arabia has agreed to allow people to go on the Haj by ship, which is cheaper than flying.

4. Adults have right to marry anyone: SC: The Supreme Court said “any adult” has the “right to marry anyone”, and nobody, including parents, khap panchayats or society, can question their choice of spouse. The decision was given by a Bench headed by CJI Dipak Misra. The Bench was hearing a petition filed by NGO Shakthi Vahini, which asked the court to direct the central and state governments to take action to prevent honour crimes.

OTHER UPDATES

DEFENCE:

1. AB Singh takes over as Chief of Staff, WNC: Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh took over as Chief of Staff, Western Naval Command from Vice Admiral Ravneet Singh. Vice Admiral AB Singh was the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Forces Command prior to his current appointment.

SCIENCE/ TECHNOLOGY:

1. First image taken by Cartosat-2: The first-day image captured by India’s recently launched weather observation Cartosat-2 series satellite shows a part of Indore city in Madhya Pradesh. The image was acquired on January 15, three days after the launch of the satellite. Cartosat-2 Series satellite was successfully launched onboard the PSLV-C40 rocket on January 12 by ISRO from its spaceport at Sriharikota. 

SPORTS:

1. Goldberg to be in WWE Hall of Fame: WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) announced that Goldberg will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class at a ceremony in 6th April 2018, in New Orleans. Goldberg retired from in-ring competition in 2017. He is the first to be listed in the WWE’s 2018 Hall of Fame class. He is 51 years old.

BUSINESS/ ECONOMY:

1. India attends its first SCO meeting: India, for the first time, took part in a meeting of the international military cooperation departments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation since joining the bloc last year. An Indian delegation led by Major General Ajay Seth participated in the meeting.

2. CIPAM Launches Competition for students: Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM), under the department of industrial policy and promotion, has launched a competition for college and university students. Its aim is to foster a culture of innovation and creativity in the youth. The competition invites students to submit films on piracy and counterfeiting.

3. Indian Oil signs LoI with Israeli Firms: Indian Oil Corporation has signed letters of intent with Phinergy, an Israeli start-up, & YEDA, a technology spin-off from Israel’s Weizmann Research Institute. The agreement with Phinergy allows IndianOil to work on adoption of advanced energy systems for the domestic market. This association could lead to the setting up of manufacturing units for these energy systems, initially in India.

4. TCS bags over $690 million deal: India’s largest IT services firm TCS has signed an over GBP 500 million deal with M&G Prudential, the UK and European savings and investments business of Prudential plc. TCS will digitally transform M&G Prudential’s business and deliver enhanced service for its UK savings and retirement customers.

The value of this agreement exceeds GBP 500 million over 10 years.

Daily GK Updates - 16th January, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. Oil refinery work starts in Barmer: Prime Minister inaugurated the commencement of work of an oil refinery at Pachpadra. Dharmendra Pradhan, the minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, tweeted out saying the Barmer Refinery and Petrochemicals Project of HRRL will bring an unprecedented surge in infrastructure development.

2. Joint estimation of tigers in Sunderbans: The first joint estimation of tigers in the Sunderbans, spread across India and Bangladesh, began on Monday, with a training workshop. Eminent tiger biologist Qamar Qureshi said the Sunderbans houses the fifth largest tiger population in the world. The region hosts 75% of all big cats in the world.

3. Sudhir Dalvi gets Janakavi Sawlaram award: Sudhir Dalvi was presented the Janakavi P Sawlaram award at a function in Thane, Maharashtra. Sudhir Dalvi was handed over the Janakavi P Sawlaram award along with a citation by Meenakshi Shinde, Thane Mayor. The Janakavi P Sawlaram award is instituted by Thane Municipal Corporation in association with the Janakavi P Savlaram Kala Samiti. Dancer Jaishree T was awarded the Ganga Jamuna award. Sudhir Dalvi is best known for his role as ‘Valmiki’ in tv serial ‘Ramayan’.

4. Aadhaar mandatory for bail in Chhattisgarh: Chhattisgarh High Court has issued a directive to all trial courts in the state to mandatorily obtain Aadhaar Cards of accused persons. The order is an attempt to curb the rampant practice of obtaining bail on the basis of forged revenue papers or by impersonating the real surety. High Court has also instructed that trial courts should verify the genuineness of Aadhaar card and revenue papers.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. Romanian PM Mihai Tudose resigns after losing party support: Romania's Prime Minister Mihai Tudose resigned after losing the backing of his party due to internal power struggles. Mr. Mihai handed in his resignation after senior members of the ruling Social Democrats (PSD) voted to withdraw their support at a leadership meeting. Tudose's resignation will have to be signed off by center-right President Klaus Iohannis.

2. Brazil bans buying cryptocurrencies: Brazil’s securities regulator prohibited local investment funds from buying cryptocurrencies. Brazil regulator bans funds from buying cryptocurrencies. The prohibition has been imposed, citing the reason that Cryptocurrencies cannot be considered financial assets. Owing to this decision, Brazilian funds cannot directly invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

OTHER UPDATES

SCIENCE/ TECHNOLOGY:

1. ‘Elcysma Ziroensis’ discovered in Andhra Pradesh: A new moth species named ‘Elcysma Ziroensis’ has been discovered in the Talle Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh. This discovery has been published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa. This new species has been scientifically named Elcysma Ziroensis. It would be commonly called Apatani Glory. This has been named after a local tribe called Apatani.

2. NASA discovers “SPT0615-JD”: NASA scientists have spotted the farthest known galaxy in the universe. “SPT0615-JD” galaxy is a cluster of 500 million year-old stars. The image of SPT0615-JD was captured by NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes. The images were captured through gravitational lensing. SPT0615-JD was found in Hubble’s Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey and companion S-RELICS Spitzer programme.

SPORTS:

1. Assam wins 8th Sub-junior Hockey Championship: Assam Hockey won the 8th Hockey India Sub Junior Men National Championship 2018 (B Division), at Hojai Hockey stadium, in Assam. Assam Hockey beat Hockey Rajasthan 3-2 in the final and won the 8th Hockey India Sub Junior Men National Championship 2018 (B Division).

2. Rajyavardhan Rathore launches ‘Khelo India’ Anthem: The Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore has launched the official anthem and mascot of Khelo India School Games (from 31st January this year). The anthem aims to focus on brotherhood, equality, and solidarity in sports. Now, an athlete wins a medal at Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Olympics, the coach gets the incentive.

3. Nation's Cup tournament: Indian boxers claim 11 gold medals: Indian boxers have claimed 11 gold medals and both the team championship trophies in the Nation's Cup tournament for junior and youth women in Sombor, Serbia. The junior team won 13 medals(nine gold, two silvers and two bronze medals)while the youth team clinched four medals(3 gold and one bronze).

Daily GK Updates - 15th January, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. Indian Army Day celebrated: The nation celebrated the 70th Army Day today. Army Day is celebrated on 15th January every year in India, in recognition of Field Marshal Kodandera M. Cariappa's (then a Lieutenant General) taking over as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from General Sir Francis Butcher, the last British Commander-in-Chief of India, on 15th January 1949. The day is celebrated in the form of parades and other military shows in the national capital New Delhi as well as in all headquarters. 

2. India’s International Camel festival starts: The two-day long, 25th International Camel festival kick-started today in Rajasthan’s Bikaner district. Organised by Department of Tourism, Art & Culture, Bikaner Camel Festival is a yearly event, organised in January, which the city celebrates in honour of ship of the desert, Camel.

3. Rajnath Singh inaugurates Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infra: Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a two-day International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure in New Delhi. The workshop has been organized by National Disaster Management Authority. Good practices in making infrastructure disaster resilient and identifying critical gaps in current practices that need to be addressed in the coming years were the main objectives of the workshop.

4. UIDAI to enable face authentication: UIDAI has decided to enable face authentication in fusion mode on registered devices by 1st July 2018. It will help in inclusive authentication of those who are not able to biometrically authenticate due to their worn out fingerprints, old age or working conditions. It will be allowed only in fusion mode along with one more authentication factor combined with either fingerprint or iris or OTP.

5. First agro options contract in guar seeds launched on NCDEX: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley launched options trading in guar seed on commodity bourse NCDEX. NCDEX Agri-Options in Guar Seed aims to provide farmers better engagement in the commodity markets. NCDEX is the second exchange after MCX to launch options trading in commodities. Guar seed is a major contributor to revenue generation, hence making it a suitable commodity to start with for Options.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. Iran lifts the ban on internet use: The Iranian government lifted the ban on the usage of internet in Israel, including the Telegram message app. The ban was forced upon by the government as there were huge protests in parts of Israel on account of unemployment and rising prices. The protests were held with the help of social media and hence in order to gain control, the government had to impose the ban on internet.

OTHER UPDATES

DEFENCE:

1. Government to raise 15 new battalions: The government is planning to raise 15 new battalions in the country’s two important border guarding forces – the BSF and the ITBP. It is being done to fortify defence along the strategic frontiers with Pakistan, Bangladesh and China. While the BSF is the country’s largest border guarding force with a strength of about 2.5 lakh, the ITBP is about 90,000-personnel strong.

BUSINESS/ ECONOMY:

1. SEBI approves Vijay Kumar’s appointment as NCDEX MD & CEO: SEBI has approved the appointment of Vijay Kumar as the MD and CEO of NCDEX. Kumar, a former chief business officer at NCDEX, is likely to assume the office next week. He is an agro-industry veteran, having worked for Cargill and National Bulk Handling Corporation.

SPORTS:

1. Anil Khanna appointed as the of the Finance Commission of IOA: Sports administrator Anil Khanna has been named as the Chairman of Finance Commission of Indian Olympic Association. Indian Olympic Association is the body responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at Olympic Games.

Daily GK Updates - 14th January, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. Amendment in Act leads to ‘enemy’ properties worth Rs 1 trillion being auctioned: Over 9,400 ‘enemy’ properties, worth more than Rs 1 trillion, are set to be auctioned by the home ministry starting the process of identifying all such estates. The properties were left behind by people who took citizenship of Pakistan and China. The move came after the amendment of the 49-year-old Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Act.

2. Migrant Workers to Have Orange Passports: New passports for citizens who have Emigration Check Required (ECR) status will have orange cover jackets, instead of the traditional dark blue. Indian passports have a blue cover, diplomatic and official passports have white and red jackets, respectively. Applicants who haven’t cleared 10th standard are given a passport with ECR category.

3. NFHS4 names Delhi and Punjab as the richest states in India: On the basis of data from fourth round of the National Family and Health Survey (NFHS-4), people in Delhi and Punjab are the richest, with more than 60% of their households in the top wealth quintile. The survey was conducted among more than 6 lakh households in 2015-16. The index has been prepared on the basis of scores on ownership of consumer goods and household characteristics.

4. Google Doodle as a tribute to Mahasweta Devi: Google celebrated the 92nd birthday of eminent Bengali littérateur and social activist Mahasweta Devi with a doodle on 14th January, 2018. Hailing from a family of prolific playwrights and writers, Mahasweta Devi wielded the power of the pen to bring to light the plight of “suffering spectators”. Her first book, Jhansir Rani was a biography of the Rani of Jhansi.

5. U5MR declines in India: Under-five mortality rate (U5MR) in India has shown an impressive decline of 9 per cent, from 43 per 1,000 in 2015 to 39 per 1,000 in 2016. The data comes from the recently-released 2016 sample registration system (SRS) bulletin. The number of under-five deaths in the country have come down to below 1 million with nearly 1,20,000 fewer under-five deaths in 2016 as compared to 2015.

6. Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav begins in Karnataka: The seventh edition of the Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav, under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat matrix, is set to begin in Karnataka. The state paired with Karnataka is Uttarakhand. The event will cover a profusion of art forms from classical and folk, music and dance, theatre to literature and visual arts.

7. Teen Murti to be renamed as ‘Teen Murti Haifa’: As a symbolic gesture of friendship with Israel, India will rename the iconic Teen Murti Chowk, a war memorial. The new name of the memorial which was the official residence of the first Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru will be, Teen Murti Haifa Chowk.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. Israeli PM Netanyahu set to visit India: Israeli PM is set to visit India where a series of events that will showcase the growing friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Israeli prime minister. PM Modi will break protocol to receive Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, at the airport.

OTHER UPDATES

DEFENCE:

1. China commissions new missile frigate ‘Rizhao’: China’s Navy has commissioned a new missile frigate, named ‘Rizhao’, in a naval port in China’s Dalian located in the Liaoning Province. Rizhao is China’s indigenous missile frigate. It is 140-meter-long and 16-meter-wide with the capability to displace more than 4,000 tonnes.

BUSINESS/ ECONOMY:

1. Japan tops, India at 30th position on Global Manufacturing Index by WEF: The World Economic Forum (WEF) has ranked India at 30th position on a global manufacturing index. Japan has been found to have the best structure of production in the Geneva-based WEF’s first ‘Readiness for the future of production report’. It is followed by South Korea, Germany, Switzerland, China, Czech Republic, the US, Sweden, Austria and Ireland in the top 10.

2. BSE’s INX lists IRFC’s first Green Bond: The BSE’s India International Exchange, India INX, has listed the IRFC’s green bonds on its debt listing platform – the global securities market. With this, the Indian Railway Finance Corporation’s green bonds have become the first debt security to be listed on an exchange at International Financial Services Centre in Gujarat’s GIFT city. The bonds have an annual yield of 3.835 percent.

3. World Bank to recalculate EODB rankings: World Bank has announced that it will recalculate the national rankings of business competitiveness going back to at least four years. The announcement was after a complaint by Chile, the ranking of which has come down from 34th in 2014 to 57th in 2017. The last major changes in the methodology and parameter of the EODB rankings were done under the watch of Romer’s predecessor Kaushik Basu.

4. India’s first IT trade union gets registered in Pune: The Pune chapter of the Forum for IT Employees (FITE) has become the first officially registered trade union for the IT sector in India. FITE was formed in Bengaluru a few years ago to fight the layoffs in IT sector. The FITE also helped affected employees file cases under the Industrial Disputes Act before the offices of the Labour Commissioner and the labour court.

5. Bangla tops DIPP’s BRAP 2017: Bangla currently tops the list of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion’s Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) 2017. It is followed by Gujarat. The rankings are based on implementation only and scores of feedback evaluation have not been considered.

Daily GK Updates - 13th January, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. Indu Malhotra becomes the first woman lawyer directly appointed for SC judgeship: The Supreme Court collegium has recommended the name of senior advocate Indu Malhotra as the first woman lawyer to be directly appointed as a judge of the apex court. She will be the seventh woman judge since independence to make it to the Supreme Court.In 1989, the first woman to be appointed as a judge of the apex court was Justice M Fathima Beevi.

2. 3rd edition of annual Raisina Dialogue to begin: The third edition of the annual Raisina Dialogue between India and Israel will be inaugurated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on January 16, 2018. The event will see a series of high-powered panel discussions on geopolitical issues. Agriculture and water are the major strategic cooperation areas between the two nations.

3. Election Commission panel to suggest changes to Representation of People Act, 1951: In view of social media expansion, Election Commission (EC) of India has constituted a 14-member committee chaired by Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha to suggest changes to Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act. The Act prohibits poll campaign in the last 48 hours of voting. The Committee will study the impact of social media during the silence period and suggest modifications to the election law and model code of conduct.

4. J&K govt to open 17 new degree colleges in the state: According to the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) State Minister for Higher Education Altaf Bhukhari, the state cabinet has approved the opening of 17 new degree college in the state. These colleges shall be established in the uncovered areas of the State adding that the locations for these colleges are being worked out by the department.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. World's largest solar thermal plant to be built in South Australia: The world's largest solar-thermal power plant has been given development approval by the South Australian government. The capacity of the plant will be 150-megawatt. The construction of power plant will begin in 2018 at an estimated cost of $509 million.

2. Russia plants new missiles in Crimea: Russia deployed a new division of S-400 surface-to-air missiles in Crimea, Russian news agencies reported, in an escalation of military tensions on the Crimean peninsula. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, triggering economic sanctions by the EU and U.S. and a tense stand-off in the region.

3. China breaks India’s internet monopoly in Nepal: China on Friday became Nepal’s second internet service provider, breaking India’s monopoly in providing internet access to the Himalayan Kingdom. The Hong Kong and Beijing based China Telecom Global (CTG) — a company formed in 2012 — has teamed up with Nepal Telecom to provide alternate cyber-connectivity to Nepal.

OTHER UPDATES

BUSINESS/ ECONOMY:

1. Forex reserves surge to all time high: India’s foreign exchange reserves surged by $1.758 billion to mount a new record high of $411.124 billion. The reserves had crossed the $400-billion mark for the first time on September 8, 2017 but had since been fluctuating. Expressed in the US dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of change due to the non-US currencies.

2. HDFC to raise Rs11,104 crore from investors including GIC, KKR: Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd (HDFC) will be raising around Rs11,104 crore from marquee institutional investors like KKR, GIC and Premji Invest among others. Separately, the country’s largest mortgage lender will also be raising up to Rs1, 896 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP).

3. Shoppers Stop allots Rs179.26 crore shares to Amazon: Retail chain Shoppers Stop said it has allotted shares worth Rs179.26 crore to Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings LLC, an investment arm of Amazon.com. As part of the deal, Shoppers Stop will have an exclusive flagship store on the Amazon marketplace. The two companies have an existing partnership since 2016 under which Shoppers Stops private and exclusive brands (Stop, Kashish, Haute Curry, RS by Rocky Star) have been listed on the Amazon marketplace.

4. TCS bags its biggest contract - ‘$2-plus bn’ contract with Transamerica: TCS has signed the ‘largest contract to date’ to become a third party administrator (TPA) for Transamerica. It will take care of Transamerica’s life insurance, annuity, supplemental health insurance and workplace voluntary benefits products. The multi-year agreement, worth more than $2 billion, would enable Transamerica to rapidly enhance its digital capabilities.

BANKING/ FINANCE:

1. IDFC Bank to merge with Capital First: IDFC Bank will merge with Warburg Pincus-backed Capital First in an all-share deal. V Vaidyanathan, the current chairman of Capital First, will become the MD and CEO of the merged entity, succeeding Rajiv Lall. Post-merger, the combined entity of IDFC Bank and Capital First will have assets under management of Rs 880 billion and will serve more than five million customers.

2. India a top borrower from China-sponsored AIIB in 2017: India has emerged as a top borrower from the China-sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) with USD 1.5 billion worth of loans last year and USD three billion more in the pipeline. Indonesia has emerged as the second largest borrower with about USD 600 million loans. China is the largest shareholder with 26.06% voting shares in the bank.

India is the second largest shareholder with 7.5% followed by Russia 5.93% and Germany with 4.5%.

SPORTS:

1. Sarjubala, Sarita Devi win National Women’s Boxing Championship: Former world silver medallist Sarjubala Devi representing Manipur claimed the gold in 48 kg category in the National Women’s Boxing Championships. While L Sarita Devi representing the All India Police, AIP picked up a gold medal in the 60 kg category.

Daily GK Updates - 12th January, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. Government issues guidelines on the usage of the National Flag as Republic Day nears: The central government urged everyone not to use a national flag made of plastic. It also asked the States and Union Territories to ensure strict compliance of the Flag Code in view of the Republic Day celebration ahead. The Flag Code of India, 2002 sets the details on the usage of the National Flag.

2. National Youth Day observed: National Youth Day is celebrated in India every year on 12th January to mark the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. He took the Indian thoughts to the western world and also had brought tremendous change in the Indian youth by his thoughts and work. He was the disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhansa and had founded the Ramakrishna Mission in Calcutta (now Kolkata).

3. Rajputana state to digitise historical records: Rajasthan is all set to digitize administrative and historical records of Rajputana’s princely states. The move will boost the state government’s effort to use technology to improve the lives of people further. It will also help in preserving the state’s rich heritage.

4. Govt. to offer free treatment of Hepatitis C: The health ministry is set to roll out a National Programme for Control of Viral Hepatitis from the 2018-19 financial year. With the focus on Hepatitis C, an anti-viral treatment that costs $63,000-94,000 for the full course in the US and Europe will be provided free at all government health set-ups. Hepatitis C is caused by a blood-borne virus which affects the liver.

5. Cabinet (CCEA) approves continuation of MPLADS scheme: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval to the continuation of Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme till the term of the 14th Finance Commission. The Scheme would entail an annual allocation of Rs. 3,950 crore and a total outlay of Rs. 11,850 crores. MPLADS was formulated by the Government of India in 1993.

6. New passports to drop parents’ names, address: The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday announced that new passports will soon be printed without the usual last page of the document, which contains names of parents, and address of the applicant. The statement came even as it was declared that the passports for the Emigration Check Required (ECR) category will be issued with orange jackets.

7. Maharashtra starts surveys of Marathas in villages to answer the Quota demand: The Maharashtra government is conducting a sample survey of the Maratha community members in over 700 villages, ahead of the deadline set by the Maratha Kranti Morcha over its reservation demand. According to Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission Chairman, Justice (retired) M.G. Gaikwad, the sample survey has been undertaken for data collection to ascertain the economic backwardness within the community to justify its demand for quota in public service and educational institutions. The Maratha organisations in Maharashtra last month gave an ultimatum to the government saying it should address their demands — chief among them being reservations for the community.

8. PDP presents populist budget: Jammu & Kashmir Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu, who presented the fourth budget of the Peoples Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata Party government on Thursday, came up with a slew of populist measures, including welfare initiatives for local industry, employees, women and transgender community. In the ₹80,000-crore budget, Dr. Drabu announced a social security net for the poor, employees and journalists, in the form of medical insurance and education loans.

9. Gujarat to conduct tiger census: The state of Gujarat, which is known to have approximately 650 lions, has decided to conduct a census to count the tigers in the state. The last tiger spotted in Gujarat was in 1985. However, reports say that tigers are present in Gujarat too. The state govt got the approval from National Tiger Conservation Authority to conduct the census.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. Saudi women to watch a soccer match in stadium for the first time: Saudi women will be allowed for the first time to enter a sports stadium to watch a soccer match between two local teams, though they will be segregated from the male-only crowd with designated seating in the so-called “family section”. The first stadium is to open its doors to women in the Red Sea city of Jiddah.

2. North & South Korea agree to hold talks: North and South Korea agreed to hold military talks. North Korea also decided to send a high-ranking delegation and a cheering squad to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea next month.

OTHER UPDATES

DEFENCE:

1. Army Chief calls for multi-pronged approach to deal with an assertive China, to set up premier schools for the children of the Armed Forces: India had to intervene in Bhutanese territory in Doklam as China was trying to change the status quo by constructing a road, Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat was quoted saying. He called for a multi-pronged approach to deal with an assertive China that includes diplomatic, military and partnerships with other countries in the region. On the issue of capping tuition fees for children of disabled soldiers and those killed in the line of duty, Gen Rawat said the Army would set up premier educational institutions to educate them.

SCIENCE/ TECHNOLOGY:

1. ISRO launches its 100th satellite: The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle lifted off from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. It carries 31 satellites in total from countries including India and six other countries. Cartosat 2, a surveillance satellite that was part of India’s 100th satellite was placed into sun-synchronous orbit according to ISRO. The satellites are to be launched in two orbits which makes the mission a unique one.

BUSINESS/ ECONOMY:

1. Highest growth of domestic air traffic in India: India’s domestic air passenger traffic grew by 16.4 percent in November 2017, topping the growth chart worldwide, according to the global aviation body, the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Globally, the total revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) increased 8 percent compared to November 2016. The available seat kilometers (ASKs) or capacity grew by 6.3 percent. The increase in the disposable income of the people is a major factor propelling the growth.

SPORTS:

1. A new comic book on Rahul Dravid titled “The Wall”: In an attempt to immortalise Rahul Dravid, Sportwalk, a sports media and merchandise startup in Chennai has released a comic book titled ‘The Wall’. Hailing him as a superhero, the comic book has compiled 15 of the most glorious moments of his life. It is written by Himanshu.

2. Sanjay Manjrekar’s autobiography ‘Imperfect’ released: Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar unveiled Sanjay Manjrekar’s autobiography ‘Imperfect’ in Mumbai. Sanjay Vijay Manjrekar is a former Indian cricketer and is known for playing great innings with his mate Sachin Tendulkar.

Daily GK Updates - 11th January, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. Dr. Sivan K appointed as ISRO Chairman: The government appointed renowned scientist Sivan K as the Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation. Sivan, at present the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, will succeed Kumar, who was appointed on January 12, 2015. He graduated from Madras Institute of Technology in Aeronautical Engineering in 1980.

2. Soumitra Chatterjee to receive “Legion d’Honour” award: The French government will confer, actor Soumitra Chatterjee with the “Legion of Honour” which is the highest order of merit in France. The award will be given to him at the 42nd Kolkata Book Fair on January 30. The Legion of Honour is the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits, established in 1802 by Napoléon Bonaparte.

3. Narendra Modi to attend WEF: US President Donald Trump will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month. This would be for the first time in 18 years that a US president would be attending an annual gathering of global economic leaders. Modi will travel to Switzerland on January 22 on a two- day visit. This would be the first time since 1997 that an Indian prime minister will attend the Davos summit.

4. First all-women station in India-Matunga, Mumbai: The first all-women station in India, Matunga on Central Railway (CR), manned by a staff of 41 women, has entered the Limca Book of Records. The unique initiative was taken by CR General Manager D.K. Sharma in July 2017 with the aim of empowering women, Matunga station is situated in Mumbai.

5. Fourth International Dharma Dhamma Conference: President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated a three-day International Dharma-Dhamma conference at Rajgir in Bihar. The conference was jointly organised by India Foundation, Nalanda University, Ministry of External Affairs, ASEAN-India and Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha.

6. West Bengal government launches water ATMs in city, districts: The West Bengal government has launched a water ATM project to provide bacteria-free drinking water in schools with the help of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Asian Development Bank, and the World Bank. If someone can prove the presence of harmful bacteria in any such water ATM, he will be given Rs 2 lakh.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. Rishi Sunak inducted into Theresa’s team: British Prime Minister Theresa May has inducted Indian-origin lawmaker Rishi Sunak into her government. Mr. Sunak is the son-in-law of Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy. He has been appointed as an Under Secretary of state in Britain’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

2. Jeff Bezos becomes the richest person: Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon has become the richest man in the history, overtaking Bill Gates, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The Index showed that Bezos’ net worth had hit USD 105.1 billion. Index mentions Mukesh Ambani as the richest Indian and the 20th richest person in the world.

3. Ecuador gives citizenship to Julian Assange: Ecuador has granted citizenship to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been living in asylum at the nation’s embassy in London for more than five years. Ecuador gave Assange political asylum after he sought refuge in the embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden for investigation of sex-related claims.

OTHER UPDATES

BUSINESS/ ECONOMY:

1. Paytm launches Paytm Money Ltd.: Paytm, run by One97 Communications Ltd, has set up a new entity called Paytm Money Ltd. It will offer investment and wealth management products and will invest close to $10 million upfront in the new entity. Paytm Money is the fourth product after Paytm Mall, Paytm Payments Bank and Paytm wallet. Vijay Shekhar Sharma is the founder of One97 Communications.

2. Reliance Jio planning its own cryptocurrency called JioCoin: After disrupting the telecom sector with its free offers and hyper-competitive tariffs, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd plans to create its own cyptocurrency, JioCoin. With Mukesh Ambani’s elder son Akash Ambani leading the JioCoin project, Reliance Jio plans to build a 50-member team of young professionals to work on blockchain technology, which can also be used to develop applications such as smart contracts and supply chain management logistics.

BANKING/ FINANCE:

1. SEBI bans Price Waterhouse entities from issuing audit certificates for 2 years: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred auditor major Price Waterhouse's network entities from issuing audit certificates to any listed company in India for two years. The order comes after Price Waterhouse's network is guilty of the multi-crore Satyam scam. SEBI also ordered disgorgement of over 13 crore rupees wrongful gains from the audit major and it's two erstwhile partners who worked on the IT major's accounts.

  

SPORTS:

1. Aditya Mehta wins Kolkata Open 2018: Veteran Aditya Mehta won the Kolkata Open 2018 International Invitation Snooker Championship at the Hindustan Club. He edged out Englishman Alfie Burden 5-4 in a thrilling final. This is his third Kolkata Open title since its inception.

2. BCCI bans all-rounder Yusuf Pathan: Indian all-rounder Yusuf Pathan was handed a five-month retrospective suspension for failing a dope test. The 35-year-old Pathan had provided a urine sample as part of the BCCI’s anti-doping testing program during a domestic T20 match between his team Baroda and Tamil Nadu on March 16 last year. His sample was subsequently tested and found to contain bronchodilator Terbutaline.