Daily GK Updates - 9th February, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Kulbhushan Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court in April last year on charges of espionage and terrorism: Pakistan claimed India has not responded to its questions on Indian prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav’s passport and details of his service. “It is regrettable that India has so far not given us any reply on how commander Kulbhushan Jadhav was in possession of the passport of Hussain Mubarak Patel, or any details of his retirement from Indian Navy. This prompted India to move the Hague-based International Court of Justice in May. Subsequently, a 10-member bench of the ICJ restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav till adjudication of the case. While Pakistan claims its security forces arrested Jadhav from restive Balochistan province on March 3 in 2016 after he reportedly entered from Iran, India maintains that he was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy.

2. Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh to go on nationwide agitation against on February 20: The protest is against negligent attitude of the central government towards labour problems. RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) has given a call for a nationwide agitation on February 20 to protest against “anti-labour policies” and is rethinking to attend Indian Labour Conference (ILC) later this month. The Kendriya Karya Samithi (national executive committee or KKS) meeting of BMS held at Ambaji in Gujarat on February 8 has called for “nationwide agitation against the central government’s anti-labour policies, BMS General Secretary is Virjesh Upadhyay.

3. Centre, states to fill posts on child rights panels and implement Juvenile Justice Act - SC: The Juvenile Justice Act is an act to consolidate and amend the law relating to children alleged and found to be in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection by catering to their basic needs through proper care, protection, development, treatment social re-integration, by adopting a child-friendly approach in the adjudication and disposal of matters in the best interest of children and for their rehabilitation through processes provided, and institutions and bodies established hereinunder and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The apex court bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta also directed the states to ensure that all positions in juvenile justice boards and Child Welfare Committees are filled up expeditiously and in accordance with rules.

4. NITI Aayog launches ‘Healthy States Progressive India Report’; Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu best performers: In an effort to better assess health outcomes across India, the NITI Aayog launched the Healthy States Progressive Report. Released by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, Ministry of Health Secretary Preeti Sudan and India country director of World Bank Junaid Ahmad, the report is the first step to establish an annual systematic tool to measure and understand the complexity of nation’s performance in health. the Health Index has been evolved through comprehensive study and inputs from World Bank India and the Ministry of Health.

5. National Fisherfolk Forum demands Justice Chandrachud withdraw his ‘fish market’ remark: "Let us not reduce the dialogue in this court to the level of fish market,"Justice Chandrachud had said during a hearing of PILs seeking a probe into Judge Loya’s death, on February 5.  

6. Punjab - ‘We may not recover production cost of potato for third year in a row’: Under the new scheme announced in the recent Budget, a corpus of Rs 500 crore has been kept to help potato, tomato and onion growers. Despite the Centre announcing its new Operation Greens in the Union Budget last week, potato farmers of Punjab see little hope of recovering their production cost even this year, as harvesting begins in Doaba region, the potato belt of the state. Under the new scheme announced in the recent Budget, a corpus of Rs 500 crore has been kept to help potato, tomato and onion growers.

7. Bird flu alert sounded in Bhitarkanika National ParK (Odisha): Forest officials have sounded a bird flu alert at the habitats of migratory birds’ in Bhitarkanika National Park here following detection of flu infection in Karnataka. Precautionary measures have been initiated to find out possible flu infection of avian species. They are prone to carry the H5NI strain of avian influenza.

8. An area of about 43.6 hectares of Wullar lake is under encroachment in the Kashmir valley – J&K: In a written reply in Legislative Council, Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh said that an area of about 43.6 hectares is under encroachment within Wullar lake and these families will have to shift from the lake area. Wullar lake, the largest freshwater lakes in Asia, is in Bandipora district of Kashmir division, 34 km north of Srinagar. The Revenue department has already moved a proposal in which nearly 20 acres of land has been identified outside the lake for rehabilitation of the affected families. 130 square kilometers of the lake is demarcated physically with the help of demarcation pillars, he said adding comprehensive Management Plan for the conservation of Wullar lake was formulated and work on the project was started in 2011-12.

 INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Maldives Political crisis-2018: A political crisis in the Maldives intensified on 6 February 2018, when President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency, and ordered the arrest of two judges of the Supreme Court of the Maldives and former President (as well as his half-brother) Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. This followed a Supreme Court ruling the previous day ordering 12 opposition MPs be released from detention and resume their seats in Parliament, giving the opposition control of the chamber and potentially paving the way for Yameen's impeachment.  Some observers have described the events as an autocoup.

2. India can play a role in Middle East peace process - Palestine Prez Mahmoud Abbas: The unilateral US decision to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was challenged at the UN General Assembly where 128 nations, including India, voted to turn down the move as "null and void". Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic Palestine visit, President Mahmoud Abbas said he will discuss with him India’s role in the Middle East peace process and the creation of a multilateral forum of negotiations to strike a final deal with Isarel. Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Palestine, is reaching Ramallah on Saturday amid heightened tensions in the region after US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

3. Indian journalist among two scribes arrested in Maldives: Two journalists (a British national and an Indian national) employed by French news agency Agence France-Presse were on Friday arrested in Maldives amid the ongoing crisis in the country. Money Sharma from Amritsar and Atish Ravji Patel from London, who are both AFP employees, have been arrested under Maldivian SoE decree for ‘national security purposes’.

4. Egypt launches assault on militants weeks ahead of election: Egypt began a major assault on against Islamist militants in the Arab world’s most populous country, aiming to crush their insurgency ahead of a three-month deadline set by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is seeking re-election. Residents reported seeing and hearing warplanes above the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, which is close to the area of operations in northern and central Sinai. Security forces have for years battled an Islamic State insurgency in North Sinai that has killed hundreds of soldiers and police. The militants have expanded their targets to include civilians over the last year or so.

5. China says US bill on Taiwan ties threatens stability: The United States has no formal ties with Taiwan but is bound by law to help it defend itself and is the island's main source of arms. China regularly says Taiwan is the most sensitive issue in its ties with Washington. Beijing considers democratic Taiwan to be a wayward province and integral part of “one China”, ineligible for state-to-state relations, and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.

6. Turkish warplanes strike Kurdish militia targets in Syria: Turkish warplanes resumed strikes on Kurdish YPG militia targets in Syria’s Afrin region on Friday after a five-day lull that followed the shooting down of Russian warplane elsewhere in Syria, the Hurriyet newspaper and other media reported. Hurriyet said Turkey had halted air strikes as Russia worked on its air defence system after Syrian rebels shot down a Russian warplane in Idlib province on Feb. 3.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018: Delhi thrash Maharashtra by eight wickets, Bengal lose.Delhi thrashed Maharashtra by eight wickets to continue their unbeaten run in the domestic one-day cricket tournament for the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Dharamsala. Opting to bowl after winning the toss, Delhi bowled out Maharashtra for 246 in exactly the last ball of the 50th over at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Stadium.

2. 2018 Winter Olympics: Schedule, Athletes to look out for and the political ramifications. 2018 Winter Olympics run from February 9-February 25 in PyeongChang, South Korea. This is the second Olympics for South Korea and the first Winter Olympics. It is the 23rd edition of the Winter Games.

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Bosch’s India arm developing a slew of low-cost products: Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions, a 100% owned subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH, is developing a range of low-cost products in the areas of healthcare, aerospace, agriculture and electronic equipment meant for smart cities. With a team of about 15,000 engineers at its Bengaluru software development center, the largest outside Germany, the company is making “frugal” products meant for testing eyes, tracking traffic violations, pollution levels, stream airport logistics and for farmers. Robert Bosch India has invested about 10 million euros on its labs in Bengaluru, Coimbatore and one in Mexico to test and validate the products.

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY:

1. IISc team identifies an early-stage biomarker for Alzheimer’s Disease: Researchers at Bengaluru’s Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have identified a potential biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease. The biomarker shows up very early in the disease process and well before clinical and even pathological manifestation of the disease. They also found that it is possible to reverse the disease process if identified early.

OBITUARIES:

1. The doyen of Odia literature Chandrasekhar Rath passed away: He was 89 and is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son. The eminent writer breathed his last while undergoing treatment for age-related ailments.Born on October 17, 1929 at Malapada village in Balangir district, the writer was nominated for the prestigious Padma Shri award this year. Rath was conferred with several awards, including Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award and Atibadi Jagannath Das Samman, for his contribution in the field of literature.

Daily GK Updates - 8th February, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. I-T Department sends one lakh notices to cryptocurrency investors: Arun Jaitley had stressed that cryptocurrencies are not legal tender and that the govt would clamp down on illegal transactions done using the medium. The Income Tax Department has issued one lakh tax notices to people who have invested in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Central Board of Direct Taxes Chairman Sushil Chandra said. The tax department reportedly conducted a nation-wide survey which showed that Indians had conducted $3.5 billion worth of transactions on the various cryptocurrency exchanges in operation in India over a period of 17 months. People who have made investments in cryptocurrency and have not declared income while filing taxes and have not paid tax on the profit earned by investing.

2. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has organized a three-day National Meet on Grassroot Informatics- VIVID 2018 in New Delhi:  The event has been inaugurated by Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad at India Habitat Centre. The theme for VIVID 2018 is ‘Cyber Security and Innovation’. The Meet is aimed at showcasing the various initiatives of NIC in creating and enhancing the security of Digital Infrastructure in the country. VIVID would be an extensive platform for knowledge sharing which would empower 240 NIC district officials from across the country to interact and leverage each other’s experience and best practices.

3. Maharashtra state will be the first state to have Transgender Welfare Board (TWB) – Dilip Kamble:  The state government will construct TWB within one month and a provision of Rs. 5 crores for the welfare of the transgender community. The board for transgenders will be working for welfare for transgenders in various areas like education, employment, housing, and health scheme. It will also take care of Constitutional and human rights of transgenders.

 INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 'Maldives Prez wanted to send special envoy to India but visit dates did not suit Indian side': Maldives' beleaguered President Abdulla Yameen wanted to send his foreign minister as special envoy but the Indian side did not find the dates "suitable", the Maldivian ambassador said, even as officials here maintained that no "real action" was taken by that country on India's concerns over democracy there. Yameen has already dispatched special envoys to China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to brief them about the deepening political crisis+ in the country.

2. Three Global militant group as per US: The United States designated three militants linked to Pakistan-based terror networks ás ‘global terrorists’ and called on the Pakistani government to deny “sanctuary to these dangerous individuals and organizations”. The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Rahman Zeb Faqir Muhammad, Hizb Ullah Astam Khan, and Dilawar Khan Nadir Khan as Specially Designated Global Terrorists for their connections to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and other groups.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1.The first woman cricketer to claim 200 wickets in one-day internationals(ODI): Indian fast bowler Jhulan Goswami (35-year) has become the first woman cricketer to claim 200 wickets in one-day internationals(ODI). Goswami achieved this feat when she bagged the wicket of South African opener Laura Wolvaardt during the second one-day game of the three-match series at Kimberley. Cathryn Fitzpatrick (Australia) occupies the second spot with 180 wickets followed by compatriot Lisa Sthalekar on 146 wickets. Goswami has taken just 166 one-day games to get 200 wickets with an economy of 3.23.

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Bitcoin drops below $6,200 for first time in three months: Bitcoin plunged 20% to a three-month low, its latest sharp loss following a series of setbacks for the cryptocurrency that, with a collapse across global mainstream markets adding to the selling. The virtual currency fell to $6,190 for the first time since mid-November, according to Bloomberg News, and represents the latest hammering for a unit that saw a stratospheric 26-fold rise last year recent collapse comes just six weeks after bitcoin hit a record high of $19,511, fuelled by a flood of speculators looking to make a quick buck, with warnings it could fall another 50 per cent.

2. NCERT joins hand with Google: Google and National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) signed an agreement to integrate ‘Digital Citizenship and Safety’ course in information and communication technology curriculum. The NCERT contains a curriculum on IT and communication technologies in its teacher's training programme. Students from class I to XII will be trained using the curriculum developed jointly by NCERT and Google. This curriculum has four themes (being smart, being safe, being a digital citizen and being future ready). No fee is charged by Google for this training.

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. RBI to link base rate with MCLR as more sensitivity tool to policy rate signals: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will link the base rate with the MCLR from 1st of April this year to ensure expeditious transmission of its policy rate to borrowers. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had introduced the Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rates (MCLR) system with effect from 1st April 2016. RBI observed that large proportion of bank loans continue to be linked to Base Rate. RBI has been decided to harmonize the methodology of determining benchmark rates by linking base rate to MCLR as it is more sensitive to policy rate signals.

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY:

1. Tesla car sent to Mars takes wrong turn into deep space: Elon Musk's car is headed off into very deep space after being strapped to the top of a rocket. The Tesla Roadster was originally intended to head into orbit around Mars as part of the Falcon Heavy test, which would try out the most powerful rocket on Earth. To fill up the space that would normally be occupied by scientific equipment or another payload, Mr Musk put a car into the rocket — and blasted it out into space, filming it as it went. In the original plan, the car and the dummy that is sat in it would have gone into orbit between Mars and Earth, slowly passing around the solar system. However, the payload has overshot that route and is now headed even deeper into space.

BOOKS:

1. “A century is not Enough” – An autobiography of Sourav Ganguli: India most famous captain Sourav Ganguly (Prince of Kolkata) unveiled the first look of his autobiography titled “A Century is Not Enough”. The book co-authored by Gautam Bhattacharya and published by Juggernaut Books. The contents of the book shall draw from all the highs Ganguly enjoyed in his career as well as the lows. The book will be released by the end of February 2018. Currently, Ganguly is the President of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and also one of the four members of the Indian Premier League's Governing Council.

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Daily GK Updates - 7th February, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurates Mahamastakabhisheka Utsav: President Ram Nath Kovind has inaugurated the 88th Mahamastakabhisheka Utsav of Lord Gommateshwara in Sharavanabelagola in Hassan district of Karnataka.Mahamastakabhiseka of Gommateshwara (known as Bahubali) takes place once in 12 years.It is an important Jain pilgrimage center and lakhs of tourists visit Shravanbelagola to see a monolithic stone statue (57 feet tall)  that is anointed from head to feet during the Utsav.

2. Pelican festival held at Atapaka bird sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh: The first-of-its-kind ‘Pelican Bird Festival-2018’ was held in Atapaka Bird Sanctuary at Kolleru lake (freshwater lakes) in Andhra Pradesh.It was organized jointly by Krishna district administration and Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority (APTA).Every year Over 5,000 pelican birds from various countries reach Kolleru lake during winter by traveling over 3500 km.Recently, Atapaka Bird Sanctuary has been recognized as one of the largest pelicanry in the world.

3. UP Govt. launches DASTAK Campaign: The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditya Nath has launched massive door to door campaign 'DASTAK' against Acute Encephalitis Syndrome(AES) and Japanese Encephalitis.The war cry of DASTAK is ‘Darwaja khatkhatao, AES aur JE ko bhagao’.the whole state machinery with the help of UNICEF will go door to door in 38 JES and AE affected districts which mostly fall in the Tarai region of the state which contributes to about 60% of the total AES cases all over the country.

4. The world’s busiest single-runway airport: The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International airport has become the world’s busiest single-runway airport, after creating a new world record for single-runway operations by handling 980 arrivals and take-offs in 24 hours, or almost one flight every minute on January 20, 2018.

 INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. The South Asia Region Public Procurement Conference (SARPPC) held in New Delhi: The South Asia Region Public Procurement Conference (5^th edition) was held in New Delhi. The Conference was hosted by Public Procurement Division (PPD) of Ministry of Finance and All India Management Association (AIMA).The theme this edition of the conference was “Public Procurement and Service Delivery. The First Conference was held in Kathmandu in 2010, second in Islamabad (2014), third in Dhaka (2015) and fourth in Sri Lanka (2017).

2. SpaceX's Falcon Heavy blasts off at Cape Canaveral: SpaceX (USA’s private space organization) has launched ‘the world’s most powerful rocket’ ‘Falcon Heavy’ from Kennedy Space Centre near Cape Canaveral, Florida (USA).It was launched from the same launch pad, from where Apollo 11 moon rocket was launched.SpaceX's Falcon Heavy is carrying CEO Elon Musk's cherry red Tesla roadster to an orbit near Mars. This rocket generated 22,819 kilonewtons (5.13 million pounds) of thrust through 27 Merlin engines.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Govt doubles import duty on sugar to 100%, hikes chana to 40%:According to the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) notification, govt. has doubled the import duty on sugar to 100%(currently 50%) and raised duty on chana to 40% (Currently 30%) to protect domestic farmers. The higher tax has been imposed with immediate effect and without an end date. The move is aimed at curbing cheaper imports and ensure remunerative prices to domestic growers. In case of the sugar industry, ex-mill rates have fallen below the cost of production, affecting their ability to make cane payment to farmers on time.

2. The Assam Government has signed MoU with OLA: The Government of Assam has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with cab-hailing company Ola for a pilot project of app-based river taxi services in Guwahati. This MoU was signed during the ongoing Global Investors Summit: Advantage Assam. According to the MOU, bringing water taxis on the online platform will strengthen the transportation ecosystem.

3. The current repo rate, according to 6th Bi-monthly Monetary policy statement for 2017-18: In the 6th Bi-monthly Monetary policy statement for 2017-18, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kept the key interest rate “repo rate” unchanged at 6% and reverse repo at 5.75%. Also, the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate kept at 6.25%. 

SPORTS:

1.Shubhankar Sharma from Chandigarh has become the highest ranked Indian golfer: Shubhankar Sharma from Chandigarh has become the highest ranked Indian golfer after grabbing 72nd position in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). He has won the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sharma now also has the rare distinction of leading both the European Tour Race to Dubai and the Asian Tour Order of Merit. Shubhankar’s latest success also helped him join the exclusive club of Indians who have achieved two wins in the same European Tour season, the others being Jeev Milkha Singh (2006) and Anirban Lahiri (2015).

OBITUARIES:                                                      :

1.  Kathakali maestro Madavoor Vasudevan Nair passes away: Kathakali maestro Madavoor Vasudevan Nair (89-year) passed away while performing at Agasthyacodu Mahadeva Temple, Anchal.He was the recipient of several awards including Padma Bhushan.Madvoor had worked as a faculty in the Thekkan Kalari (Southern school of Kathakali) of Kerala Kalamandalam.

Daily GK Updates - 6th February, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. ‘Gobardhan Yojana’: The Haryana government has launched the ‘Gobardhan Yojana’ to provide for the sale of organic manure and cow urine with an aim to benefit farmers. Under this scheme, a provision of Rs 11 crore has been made to provide benefits of various projects. According to official release, the Gobardhan Yojana would help in doubling the income of farmers and next time, the MSP would be given with additional benefit of 50% over the cost of production.

2, The 2018 Genome Valley Excellence Award of Telangana: Eminent molecular biologist Professor Michael N Hall of the Biozentrum University of Basel, Switzerland, has been chosen for the 2018 Genome Valley Excellence Award for his pioneering work in discovering the nutrient-activated TOR (Target of Rapamycin) proteins and their central role in the metabolic control of cell growth. The award will be presented to him during BioAsia 2018, an annual flagship event of the Telangana government. The award, instituted in 2004, was in recognition of the transformative advances toward biomedical research and facilitating improvement in human life and was chosen by an international advisory board consisting of eminent personalities of the life sciences industry.

3. security campaign has been launched by Google India: Google has launched new online security campaign #SecurityCheckKiya in India to promote security awareness among general public. The purpose of the campaign is to protect young and first-time web users from account hijacking, safeguard Android devices from malicious apps and secure all their personal data if they lose their device. Under the campaign, Google recommended three simple steps for Internet safety. It includes reviewing security settings and Google account activity. Furthermore, ‘Google Play Protect’ service scans and checks Android devices for any harmful apps.

4. ‘Times Power Women of the Year 2017’: Shabnam Asthana, an Indian public relations expert, speaker, and entrepreneur, has been honoured with the ‘Times Power Women of the Year 2017’- Pune for Global PR. The Times Group recently celebrated the invaluable contribution of women by introducing The Times Power Woman 2017 (Pune) awards. These awards were initiated to celebrate the victories of women who have been a great source of inspiration. These awards focused on the women of Pune and the prestigious list included 34 select women with power, supremacy, command and control. These awardees have been instrumental in working towards the improvement of the socio-economic, art, health, education, and fashion, scientific and intellectual potential of the society.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. The world’s smallest rocket to carry tiny satellite into orbit: The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has successfully launched the world’s smallest rocket with the ability to put a tiny satellite into orbit. The experimental SS-520 sounding rocket lifted off from the Uchinoura Space Center. It carried a microsatellite TRICOM-1R, a three-unit CubeSat weighing about 3 kilograms. The CubeSat will now be used to collect images of the Earth’s surface via multiple cameras. This satellite launch was a re-flight of the TRICOM-1 mission, which was lost in SS-520’s failure in 2017.

2. The new Chairman of the Federal Reserve: Jerome Hayden Powell has been sworn-in as the new Chairman of the Federal Reserve for a four-year term on February 5, 2018. The oath was administered by Vice Chairman Randal K. Quarles in the Board Room. He succeeded Janet Yellen, the first woman to lead the US central bank in its 100-year history. He was nominated to the position by President Donald Trump on November 2, 2017, and was later confirmed by the United States Senate.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Murugappan takes charge of Murugappa Group: South-based diversified conglomerate Murugappa Group has appointed M M Murugappan as the Executive Chairman. Murugappan, who was the vice-chairman, succeeds A Vellayan, who served as executive chairman from November 2009.

SPORTS:

1. India Open Badminton tournament 2018: Zhang Beiwen, a professional badminton player from America, has won the 4th edition of India Open Badminton tournament 2018 in New Delhi on February 4, 2018. In the final, she defeated Olympics and World Championships Silver medalist PV Sindhu by 21–18, 11–21, 22–20 at Siri Fort Indoor Stadium. It was the fifth meeting between Sindhu and Zhang and the head-to-head record now is 3-2 with Sindhu losing this match.

Daily GK Updates - 5th February, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. A new wildlife sanctuary has been approved by Maharashtra government: A new wildlife sanctuary at Ghodazari in Chandrapur has been approved by the Maharashtra government.This sanctuary, in the north east of Tadoba, will include 159 sq.km. of Brahmapuri forest. This will not only save the forest but will also improve tourism in nearly 40 villages in the area.

2. Green Good Deeds campaign: Dr Harsh Vardhan, the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has launched people-oriented campaign “Green Good Deeds” to sensitize the people and students, in particular, about climate change and global warming. Referring to the crucial role played by “Polio Sainiks” for Pulse Polio campaign, Dr Vardhan has underlined the need for “Green Sainiks” to broad-base the Green Good Deeds movement and to take it down to the grassroots level successfully.

3. Dinesh Srivastava-newly appointed Chief Executive of the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC): Dr. Dinesh Srivastava, the distinguished nuclear scientist, has taken charge as the new Chief Executive of the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC). He succeeded G. Kalyanakrishnan. In this capacity Dr. Srivastava will also be Chairman of the NFC Board. Prior to this assignment, he was holding the position of Deputy Chief Executive in NFC. Previously, he had worked for 3 decades in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai and is a senior Professor in Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Mumbai.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. PM Modi to visit UAE to boost ties: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit the UAE later this week which authorities and business leaders say signifies the special importance India attaches to its ties with the oil-rich nation and will help in furthering cooperation in diplomatic, economic and security issues.Narendra Modi will be in the UAE on February 10 and 11 and will address the sixth World Government Summit in Dubai.

2. India contributes $1 mn to UN Development Partnership Fund: India has contributed additional $1 million to India-UN Development Partnership Fund, earmarked for South-South cooperation. The contribution aims to intensify its partnerships with other developing countries in south. India has pledge multi-year contribution of $100 million to the fund established in June 2017. India has already provided $6 million within the seven months since launch of fund.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING/ECONOMY:

1. RBI sending alerts regarding Rs 10 coins: The Reserve Bank of India is sending alerts to people busting rumours regarding Rs10 coins that are doing the rounds in markets. The alert message from RBI read, “Rs10 coins have been issued both with rupee symbol and without it. Both are valid. Accept them without dear.”

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Singtel to invest in Airtel’s parent firm: Singapore Telecommunications(Singtel) has said that it will invest Rs. 2,649 crores in Airtel’s holding company Bharti Telecom. After having this investment, Singtel’s total stake will increase from 47.17% to 48.9% while Bharti Enterprises will continue to hold over 50% in Bharti Telecom.

SPORTS:

1. A Galaxy is named after Football player Ronaldo: A galaxy, Cosmos Redshift 7, is named after five times Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who is known as CR7.Ronaldo also has an airport named after him.

2.Harmanpreet and Bumrah have been named in Forbes India 30 under 30 list: Indian cricketers Jasprit Bumrah and Harmanpreet Kaur have been named in Forbes India 30 under 30 achievers list.Bumrah finished 2017 as the third highest ODI wicket taker while Harmanpreet scored 171* against Australia in 2017 WC, the fourth highest individual score in Women’s WC history.

OBITUARIES:

1. Sudha Karmarkar, the veteran theatre artist has passed away: Sudha Karmarkar (83), the veteran theatre artist, director, and pioneer of Children’s Theatre in Maharashtra, has passed away in Mumbai on February 5, 2018. Karmarkar founded the children’s theatre in Mumbai which is known as ‘Bal Rangbhumi- Little Theatre’ and directed various plays for children. She not only directed the plays but also acted in the plays.

Daily GK Updates - 4th February, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Shyam Benegal receives lifetime achievement award: Shyam Benegal has been conferred with V Shantaram Lifetime achievement award at the 15th Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films. The award carries a trophy, a citation and cash prize of Rs 10 lakh. Maharashtra’s Minister of Culture and Education Vinod Tawde, Former Sheriff of Mumbai Kiran Shantaram and Director of Films Division Manish Desai were present.

2. Justice Mahmud Hossain appointed new chief justice: Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, the second senior most judge of the Appellate Division, has been appointed as the new chief justice of Bangladesh. President Abdul Hamid signed the file approving his appointment on Friday, and a gazette notification was also issued in this regard, said Law secretary ASM Md Jahirul Haq. Justice Hossain will be sworn in as the 22nd chief justice at Bangabhaban in Dhaka.

3. Rashtrapati Bhavan’s annual ‘Udyanotsav’: President Ram Nath Kovind will be inaugurating the annual “Udyanotsav” of Rashtrapati Bhavan. The Mughal Gardens will be open for the public from February 6, 2018, to March 9, 2018 (except on Mondays which are maintenance days and March 2, 2018, in view of Holi) between 9.30 am to 4 pm. The public will be able to visit the Spiritual Garden, Herbal Garden, Bonsai Garden and Musical Garden during these hours.

5. The first ever International Kala Mela : The First ever International Kala Mela was inaugurated by the Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi today . The Minister of State for Culture (I/C) and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr. Mahesh Sharma, the Administrator of Lalit Kala Akademi, Shri C.S. Krishna Setty and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. The International Kala Mela has been organised by the Lalit Kala Akademi in partnership with IGNCA of the Ministry of Culture. More than 800 artists from across the world are taking part in the Festival.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Sri Lanka celebrates 70th anniversary of Independence Day: Sri Lankan military personnel attend the country's 70th Independence Day celebrations in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Feb. 4, 2018. Sri Lanka celebrated its 70th anniversary of Independence Day here on Sunday with grand military parades and attendance of political celebrities. Sri Lanka tri forces held a colorful grand parade along the Galle Road, close to the Colombo Harbour to celebrate its 70th anniversary of independence from the British colonial rule in 1948.

2. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades Wins Reelection: Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades won reelection to second five-year term, promising to continue economic recovery and the island's reunification efforts.The conservative Anastasiades beat his leftist challenger Stavros Malas 56 to 44 percent. The two also faced-off in the 2013 election. Cyprus has been split between a Greek Cypriot south and Turkish Cypriot north since 1974.

3. World Cancer Day 2018:  February 4, 2018, individuals and communities across the world will come together to spread and raise awareness about cancer. For 2016 to 2018, the theme for observing World Cancer Day is 'We Can. I can.' Under this theme, people are expected to, individually and collectively, understand and work towards lessening the impact and harmful effects of the condition globally.

                                      OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1.7000 Indian millionaires moved abroad in 2017: India saw the second highest number of millionaire outflow globally with 7,000 ultra-rich individuals shifting overseas in 2017.As many as 10,000 Chinese millionaires changed their domicile in 2017, the highest globally.

2. Assam got investment proposals of Rs.70,000 cr: In the state’s first ever global investors summit ‘Advantage Assam’, CM said Assam has received investment commitments worth nearly Rs.70,000 cr.ONGC committed Rs.13,000 cr investment while Oil India pledged an investment of Rs.10,000 cr.

SPORTS:

1.Indian golfer wins European Tour title: India’s Shubhankar Sharma won the Maybank Championship in Malaysia for his second European Tour title.Sharma had won his maiden title at Joburg Open in December last year.

OBITUARIES:

1. BJP MP from Kairana Hukum Singh dies at 79: Hukum Singh, BJP MP from Kairana in Uttar Pradesh, passed away at a hospital in Noida at evening. He had been under treatment at JP hospital for a month and was suffering from breathing difficulties.

Daily GK Updates - 3rd February, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.US Air Force chief flies Indian-made Tejas aircraft in Jodhpur: Aiming to strengthen the relationship between the air forces of US and India, Chief of Staff of the US Air Force General David L Goldfein on Saturday flew the ‘Made in India’ light combat aircraft Tejas at Air Force Station in Jodhpur. Goldfein also became the first foreign military chief to fly Tejas aircraft.

2. Narendra Modi at Assam Global Investors’ Summit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the inaugural Assam Global Investors’ Summit in Guwahati.  the event will showcase the state’s investment potential to countries in South and South East Asia, in sectors including manufacturing, services, power, agriculture and food processing, IT, transportation, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles and handicrafts and tourism.

3. PM Modi’s ‘Exam Warriors’ book: A book authored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for students facing exams was launched on Saturday by HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi. The book, titled ‘Exam Warriors’, aims to get through to students across the country on the threshold of examinations, and hopes to help them thread the needle with ease.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Bhutan opens consulate in Guwahati: Bhutan opened a consulate general's office in Assam's capital on Friday, a day before the first Global Investors' Summit here is to be inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi.It is the second country in the Indian subcontinent, after Bangladesh, to do so. Bangladesh had set up its consulate general here last year.

2. New Manchester-India Partnership set up in UK : A new Manchester-India Partnership (MIP) aimed at connecting Indian companies with the northern regions of England has been set up to further trade, investment, science and innovation ties between India and Britain.The public-private initiative between India and Manchester, a core city of what has been termed as the Northern Powerhouse in Britain, is backed by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and will have permanent full-time teams based in Manchester, Delhi and Bangalore.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1.India win U-19 World Cup: India won the finals of the U-19 World Cup defeating Australia by eight wickets at the Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui on Sunday. With this victory, India became first nation to win the trophy four times. Manjot Kalra was the star on the day as he became the second player in history to score a ton in ICC U-19 World Cup final, after Unmukt Chand.

2. Two athletes to represent India at the Winter Olympic: Luger Shiva Keshavan and cross country skier Jagdish Singh will represent India at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.The Winter Olympics is set to begin on Feb 9th.

BANKING/FINANCE: 

1. IWAI signs agreement with World Bank for Jal Marg Vikas Project on Ganga: The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) on Friday signed a project agreement with the World Bank, even as the latter entered into a 375 million dollar loan agreement with the Department of Economic Affairs, for Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP). The JMVP, which is expected to be completed by March, 2023, was being implemented with the financial and technical support of the World Bank. 

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. IOC to invest Rs 3,400 crore in Assam to augment operations: Indian Oil Corporation will invest Rs 3,400 crore in Assam over the next five years to expand its operations by setting up new units as well as upgrading the existing ones. The company will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Assam Government to this effect at the two-day ‘Advantage Assam – Global Investors Summit 2018’, beginning in Guwahati

2. Maharashtra has largest share in India’s export and GST base: Maharashtra’s status as one of the largest states in terms of its economic size and prosperity gives it the largest share in India’s exports and the goods and service tax (GST) base, showed the Economic Survey 2017-18 released on January 29. According to the survey, authored by Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian, there were 9.8 million unique GST registrants in the system as of December 2017.

3. India’s first MSE sentiment index: Honourable Finance minister Shri Arun Jaitley today launched CriSidEx, India’s first sentiment index for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) developed jointly by CRISIL and SIDBI. CriSidEx is a composite index based on a diffusion index of 8 parameters, and measures MSE business sentiment on a scale of 0 (extremely negative) to 200 (extremely positive). The parametric feedback was captured through a survey of 1,100 MSEs in November-December.