Daily GK Updates - 25th July, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Meeting of Nat Council under POSHAN Abhiyaan : Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India has organised the 2nd meeting of National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan on 24th July 2018 in New Dehli under the Chairmanship of Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog.The month of September to be celebrated as National Nutrition Month every year.POSHAN Abhiyaan was launched on 8th March 2018.

2. Rajnath Singh inaugurates Traders Conclave : Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the 3-day National Traders’ Conclave organised by the Confederation of All-India Traders, in New Delhi.The discussion on simplification of GST, policy for e-commerce, the relevance of FDI in retail business, digital payment & digitization of retail business etc. took place.The conclave is organised by Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).

3. Media banned inside Karnataka assembly : Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has issued an order to not allow access to media personnel inside the Vidhana Soudha- the state assembly building.To begin with, the movement of journalists and media personnel will be restricted inside the Vidhana Soudha on a day-to-day basis.This is the first time that such a move has been initiated in Karnataka state assembly.

4. WCD Ministry launches ‘#Childline1098’ Contest : The Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched a contest, #Childline1098, inviting people to share images of the Childline 1098 logo that they spot at unique locations and send it with a tagline.The contest has been organised to mark ‘World Day against Trafficking in Persons’ on July 30.The Childline has been operating at 450 locations across the country.

5. ‘The most ambitious book’ on Mahatma Gandhi : Renowned historian and author of several bestselling books, Ramachandra Guha has penned a new book on the father of the nation.Billed as the most definitive new biography of Gandhi, the upcoming book is titled “Gandhi: The years that changed the world (1914-1948)”.It will not only tell the story of Gandhi’s life, but also the history of our freedom movement and its many strands.

6. Odisha CM launches ‘Green Mahanadi Mission’ : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has launched the ‘Green Mahanadi Mission’, a plantation drive under which 5 crore saplings will be planted in the Mahanadi river basin.The objective of the mission is to stop soil erosion on river banks and recharge the groundwater reserve. The volunteers will plant fruit-bearing trees like mango, jackfruit & jamun within 1 km radius of the river bank.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Graphic novel in Booker Prize longlist : A graphic novel was longlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction for the first time on July 24, with Nick Drnaso’s novel Sabrina in contention for the prestigious award.The U.S. cartoonist was among the 13 authors longlisted for the prize which markets itself as the leading literary award in the English-speaking world.The winner receives £50,000 and the award.

2. Mars coming closest to Earth : The mars is making its closest approach to Earth in 15 years.The earth and mars will be just 35.8 million miles (57.6 million kilometres) apart.That means Mars and the sun will be on exact opposite sides of Earth.In 2003, Mars and Earth were the closest in nearly 60,000 years—34.6 million miles (55.7 million kilometres). NASA said that won’t happen again until 2287.

3. Conference of female parliamentarians : Ireland will hold an international conference of female parliamentarians in Dublin.Named “The International Congress of Parliamentary Women’s Caucuses”, the event will be attended by an estimated 300 delegates from over 27 countries and regions.It will be organized by the Irish Women’s Parliamentary Caucus (IWPC), a cross-party forum for female parliamentarians within the Irish parliament.

4. Myanmar to host Asean education meet : Myanmar will host the next Asean Education Ministers Meeting (ASED) that aims to boost its education sector by cooperating with India, China and the US among others.The Association of Southeast Asian Nations partner countries include India, China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia, US and Australia.The first ASED was held in Singapore in 2006, while the last in Malaysia.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Panel to review third party motor cover costs : Insurance regulator IRDAI has constituted a 16-member committee to examine motor third party insurance pricing aspects and make recommendations on the premium rates for 2019-20.This is for the first time the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has formed such a committee.IRDAI Member – Non Life P.J. Joseph will be the Chairman of the committee.

DEFENCE:

1. IAF to participate in multinational exercise : For the first time, Indian Air Force will be participating in Exercise Pitch Black 2018, a multinational drill scheduled in Australia.Ex Pitch Black is a biennial large force employment warfare exercise hosted by Royal Australian Air Force.It involves over 100 aircraft from around the globe & will provide a unique opportunity to air-warriors to operate in a dynamic warlike environment.

Daily GK Updates - 24th July, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 19th Kargil Vijay Diwas celebrations begins : The 19th Kargil Vijay Diwas celebrations began at the Drass War Memorial in Jammu and Kashmir.The Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated every year for three days till 26th July to commemorate India’s emphatic victory against Pakistan.During the war, the Indian Army evicted Pakistani intruders and succeeded in recapturing the Tiger Hill and other posts as a part of Operation Vijay.

2. Sitamarhi - 1st ODF district in Bihar : Sitamarhi becomes the first Open Defecation Free (ODF) district in Bihar with more than five lakh households having toilets.Bihar needs to construct over six lakh toilets to go ODF by October 2019.Swachh Bharat Mission is a campaign launched on 2 Oct 2014 that aims to achieve Open-Defecation Free and a clean India by 2nd Oct 2019, which is the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

3. Odisha forms committee for film development : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has set up a ministerial committee to prepare a draft policy for the development of Odia film industry.The committee headed by Finance Minister S B Behera, will have Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Prafulla Samal and Industries Minister Ananta Das as its members.The committee will examine the problems faced by the Odia film industry.

4. Gadkari kicks off work on road projects in MP : Union roads minister Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stones for over Rs 35.8 billion of roads projects in Madhya Pradesh.The minister said work on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway passing through Jaipur and the Bhopal-Indore Expressway and the Chambal Expressway will start soon.The minister also inaugurated the upgraded Shivpuri-Guna, Guna-Biora, Lakhanadoan-Chhapara roads.

5. First-ever tribal atlas of Odisha released : Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik released the first tribal atlas of Odisha, a set of maps and statistics highlighting the tribal demography of the state.The atlas has been prepared by the SC & ST Research and Training Institute in collaboration with the Academy of Tribal Language and Culture.The atlas has been brought out utilising the data of Census 2011 and other relevant statistics.

6. Bijli Mitra’ Mobile app in Rajasthan : Farmers in Rajasthan will soon be able to get their defunct transformers replaced within six hours of registering a complaint through a mobile app.The government decided to introduce mobile app ‘Bijli Mitra’ so that farmers can register their complaint.The scheme was being launched on a pilot basis from Jhalawara in Rajasthan.

7. Lupin Foundation adopts 3 districts : An agreement was signed between the Niti Aayog and Lupin Foundation.Lupin Foundation has adopted Dholpur, Vidisha and Nandurbar as part of government’s ‘Aspirational Districts Programme’ under the Niti Aayog.Dholpur in Rajasthan, Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh and Nandurbar in Maharashtra are amongst the districts ranked at the bottom in terms of development.

8. Lok Sabha passes NCTE amendment bill : The Lok Sabha passed a bill to amend the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) Act.It will provide post-facto approval to those approved institutions which are funded by the Centre or states but do not have recognition under the 1993 law.This has been done as a one-time measure to ensure that the future of students studying in these institutions is not jeopardised.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Venezuela inflation will hit 1,000,000% : Inflation in Venezuela is expected to reach 1,000,000% by the end of 2018, according to the International Monetary Fund.Venezuela’s economy has been steadily collapsing since the crash of oil prices in 2014.Venezuela’s economy is expected to shrink 18% in 2018 — the third consecutive year of double-digit contractions.

2. Pakistan gets its first woman chief justice : Justice Tahira Safdar was named as the Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court.Justice Safdar will take charge of her new role following the retirement of incumbent Balochistan High Court Chief Justice.Justice Safdar had made history in 1982 when she became the first woman civil judge in Balochistan.

3. Iran pips S. Arabia in oil supply to India : Iran overtook Saudi Arabia to be the second largest supplier of crude oil to Indian public sector firms during the first three months of current fiscal.Indian PSUs bought 5.67 million tonnes of crude oil from the Persian Gulf nation during April-June, higher than imports from Saudi Arabia.

Imports from Iran were only second to Iraq.

4. India, Rwanda sign eight agreements : India and Rwanda have signed 8 agreements following delegation-level talks between PM Modi & Rwandan President Paul Kagame.The two countries signed agreements in the fields of Defence, Trade, Agriculture, Leather and Dairy.India also extended 2 Lines of Credit of $100 million each – one for development of industrial parks & Kigali SEZ and the other for 3 agricultural projects in Rwanda.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Karnataka sees 300% jump in FDI inflows : Karnataka registered the biggest increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2017, as inflows from overseas jumped 300% in the 12 months ended March 2018.While Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh all saw a drop in FDI inflows, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) presented in Parliament show.While Karnataka received $8.58 billion in 2017/18 and Tamil Nadu netted $3.47 billion.

2. India drops 3 ranks in FDI Confidence Index : India in 2018 has fallen out of top 10 destinations for FDI in terms of its attractiveness, according to an AT Kearney report.

India ranks 11 in the 2018 AT Kearney FDI Confidence Index, down from 8 in 2017 and 9 in 2016.According to the report, the fall in ranking is due to teething troubles in the implementation of the GST and the government’s demonetisation decision in 2016.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:

1. Materials that respond to light developed’ : Scientists have developed new materials that move when exposed to lightThe light actuated materials created by researchers are based on the principle of the Curie temperature.Curie Temperature is a temperature at which certain magnetic materials undergo a sharp change in their magnetic properties.

SPORTS:

1. Dhanvir Singh wins gold in shotput : Indian shot-putter Dhanvir Singh bagged a gold medal in the ongoing 15th National Youth Athletics Championship.While Adish Ghildiyal of Uttarakhand won the silver medal with a throw of 18.23 metre. Meanwhile, Dhanvir Singh and the winner of Women’s 100-metre hurdle race, Aparna Roy, were declared the ‘Best Athletes’ of the National Youth Athletics Championship.

Daily GK Updates - 23rd July, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Bihar Govt. passes new liquor Amendment law : The Bihar Government unanimously passed an amendment law on liquor prohibition in the monsoon session of the state assembly.The amendment has been passed by voice vote in the assembly.Bihar implemented total ban on any type of liquor since 5 April 2016

2. Supreme Court lifts ban on protests : The Supreme Court lifted the ‘complete ban’ on holding dharna at the Jantar Mantar and Boat Club near India Gate.SC directed the Centre to frame guidelines for granting permission for protests at these sites.The SC observed that there was a need to strike a balance between the right to protest and right of citizens to live peacefully.

3. Agarwal - New member of Railway Board : S.N. Agrawal has taken over as Member Staff, Railway Board and Ex-officio Secretary to the Government of India on 20.07.2018.Prior to this, Shri Agrawal was General Manager of South Eastern Railway, Kolkata.S.N. Agrawal, a Civil Engineer, belongs to the Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE) of 1980 batch.

4. IIT Bombay Generates Highest Revenue : According to HRD Ministry data, the revenue generated by IIT-Bombay in the last three years through research, inventions, consultancy and patents was the highest among the premier engineering institutes.The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, was followed by IIT-Madras and IIT-Delhi in terms of revenue generated.IIT Bombay was founded in 1958.

5. Kerala tops in governance, says report : Kerala stands as the best governed state in the country and Karnataka is in the 4th position.It is according to Public Affairs Index 2018 released by the think tank Public Affairs Centre in Bengaluru.Released annually since 2016, the index examines governance performance in the states through a data-based framework, ranking them on social and economic development they are able to provide.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. BRO completes strategic road in Bhutan : Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has completed construction of a strategically key road in Bhutan.The road will connect Bhutan’s border town of Phuen-tshog-ling with its capital city of Thimphu.The new road is expected to reduce the travel time between Southern Bhutanese city of Phun-tsho-ling to Thimphu by one hour and reduce the journey by around 19.5 km of steep uphill driving.

2. World’s first mission to study the Sun : NASA will launch mankind’s first mission to the Sun – a car-sized probe that will swoop to within 4 million miles of the solar surface.The ‘Parker Solar Probe’ will study the Sun closer than any human-made object ever has.The Parker Solar Probe carries a lineup of instruments to study the Sun.Parker Solar Probe will explore the corona, a region of the Sun only seen from Earth.

3. Google is working on project “Fuchsia” : Google has been working on software that will replace Android.The project, known as Fuchsia, was created to overcome the limitations of Android as more personal devices and other gadgets come online.It’s being designed to better accommodate voice interactions and frequent security updates and to look the same across a range of devices, from laptops to tiny internet-connected sensors.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. Banks, Financial Institutes sign pact : Banks and financial institutions, including SBI, PNB and LIC entered into an overarching inter-creditor agreement (ICA) to fast track resolution of stressed assets of Rs 50 crore or more.Under the pact, which is part of project ‘Sashakt’, each resolution plan will be submitted by the lead lender to an Overseeing Committee.The ICA has been signed by 22 public sector banks.

2. Federal Bank gets RBI nod : Federal Bank has received the regulatory nod to open offices in Bahrain, Kuwait and Singapore, but is awaiting local clearances before it starts operations.Federal bank already has representative offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.The bank will be focusing more on the unsecured lending segment, where its book stands at Rs 380 crore at present.

DEFENCE:

1. Army to get artillery guns from September : From September 2018, the Army will be inducting two types of artillery guns into its arsenal.These will be the first induction of heavy artillery since the Swedish Bofors guns imported in the 1980s.The Army will start taking delivery of the K9 Vajra-T tracked self-propelled artillery guns from South Korea in September.

SPORTS:

1. India bags 8 medals at Jr Asian Ch’ship : India won 8 medals in the Junior Asian Wrestling Championship.The medals comprised 2 gold, 3 silver and as many bronze. Sachin Rathi won the gold after winning the bout in the 74 kilogram category.Deepak Punia then won the gold in the 86 kilogram category.Suraj Rajkumar Kokate won a bronze in the 61 kilogram category while Mohit won bronze in the 125 kilogram category.

2. Chhetri, Kamala get AIFF honours : Sunil Chhetri has been declared the 2017 Player of the Year by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).The Woman Player of the Year award was given to Kamala Devi.Chetri recently became the second Indian footballer to play 100 international games after Bhaichung Bhutia.Anirudh Thapa was declared as the 2017 Emerging Player of the Year.

Daily GK Updates - 22nd July, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Yadagirigutta Temple obtains ISO certificate : Telangana Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao congratulated Yadagirigutta Temple for obtaining International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certification.The temple has received the ISO certification for the environment, security, management, power supply, as well as for the management of the temple.This is the first ever ISO certification for the temple.

2. NCERT introducing QR code in textbooks : The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has initiated the process of introducing QR code in their textbooks.The move aims at helping students understand chapters better by reading additional content on laptops & digital boards.Quick Response (QR) Code is a machine-readable code used for storing web-links which can be read by a camera on a smartphone.

3. Meghalayan Age - Latest Era in Earth’s History : The last 4,200 yrs have been classified by geologists as a new distinct age in Earth’s history, called the “Meghalayan Age,” named after the northeastern Indian state.The International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) has made it a part of Holocene Era.The Meghalayan goes back 4,200 yrs when a drought severely impacted civilizations in Egypt, Greece, the Indus Valley, Yangtze River Valley.

4. Enerparc commissions rooftop solar project : Enerparc India, a subsidiary of global solar solution provider Enerparc AG has commisioned 980 KW solar project at Bharat Fritz Werner Ltd. in Bengaluru, Karnataka.The rooftop solar project at BFW will generate approx. 15 lacs of units annually thus reducing its dependency on fossil fuels.Enerparc India had also Installed World’s 1st Solar Power Plant on Ship to Shore cranes in Mumbai.

5. India’s 1st ceramics triennale to be in Jaipur : Jawahar Kala Kendra in collaboration with the Contemporary Clay Foundation presents the first Indian Ceramics Triennale: Breaking Ground.The event will be from 31 August to 18 November 2018 in Jaipur.The first-ever international ceramics event to be held at the Jawahar Kala Kendra will present 35 Indian Artists, a Symposium, Film Screenings and Workshops for Adults and Children.

6. J&K’s 1st all women branch at J&K Bank : First Lady Usha Vohra inaugurated the 1st All-Women Branch of Jammu & Kashmir Bank at the Sher-i-Kashmir centre.The bank also launched products designed exclusively for women clients which included Pink Gold Saving Scheme, Pink Platinum Saving Scheme, Special Loan Facility for Women Entrepreneurs.J&K Bank started on​ Oct 1 1983, was the 1st bank in India to emerge as a state-owned bank.

7. H. Rao takes up addl charge as GM of SER : Harindra Rao, General Manager, Eastern Railway and Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) has taken over additional charge of General Manager South Eastern Railway.He was previously working as Chief Electrical Engineer in South Eastern Railway.Rao has previously worked in Eastern Railway, South Eastern Railway, Diesel Locomotive Works, East Central Railway and North Central Railway.

8. SAFAR unveiled at Chandni Chowk : Minister for Science and Technology, Harsh Vardhan has unveiled the 1st of a kind Air Quality and Weather Forecast System, SAFAR at Chandni Chowk in Delhi.The system will measure regular air quality parameters such as PM2.5 & PM10, levels of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide & benzene.The station will provide online information about ultrafine particles PM1 & mercury.

9. 28th meeting of GST council held : The 28th meeting of GST council was held in New Delhi on 21st July 2018 under the Chairmanship of Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Railways, Coal, Finance & Corporate Affairs.Refrigerators, washing machines, Lithium-ion batteries, Vacuum cleaners were reduced from 28% to 18% tax rate.Sanitary Napkins, Coir pith compost, Rakhi were exempted from tax slab from previous 12% tax slab.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 8th BRICS Health Ministers Meeting at Durban : The 8th BRICS Health Ministers’ Meeting was held at Durban, South Africa. The meeting was led by Mr J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health who stated India’s commitment to eliminate TB by 2025.

India has achieved the reduction in the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) by 77% to 130 per 1 lakh live births as recommended by WHO SEARO.The 1st BRIC Summit was held in 2009 in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

2. Google & UNEP to track environmental changes : The UN has entered into a partnership with Google to monitor the impacts of human activity on ecosystems by using online tools.UN Environment Programme (UNEP) aims to develop a platform to enable govt, NGO’s & the public to track environment-related development targets.

Google will produce geospatial maps & data on water-related ecosystems by employing massive cloud computing technology.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Wipro to buy Alight’s India for $117 million : India’s third-biggest software services exporter, Wipro Ltd, has decided to buy US-based Alight Solutions’ India operations for $117 million in cash.Alight Solutions provides benefits administration and cloud-based HR and financial solutions to 1,400 clients serving 19 million employees and their 18 million family members.The current CEO of Wipro is Abidali Neemuchwala.

SPORTS:

1. Sen clinches Asia Junior C’ship title : Indian badminton player Lakshaya Sen bagged the gold medal after defeating world no. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsaran in the final match of the Badminton Asia Junior Championship held in Jakarata.The Indian shuttler created history by beating the top-seed 21-19 and 21-18, thus clinching the championship.He was previously the runners-up in Tata Open India International, 2017

2. SAI selects 734 youngsters under Khelo scheme : The Sports Authority of India (SAI) announced that it has shortlisted 734 young players for a scholarship programme under the Khelo India Talent Identification Development scheme.An annual stipend of Rs 1.2 lakh will be given to each player on a quarterly basis to meet their pocket expenses.The current Sports Minister is Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.

3. Mohd Anas breaks own national record in 400m : Indian sprinter Muhammed Anas broke his own national record to win the 400 metres race at the Cena Noveho Mesta meet in Czech Republic.Anas set a time of 45.24 seconds to break his own record of 45.31 seconds which he had set during the Commonwealth Games 2018 in Gold Coast.He is the third Indian track athlete to qualify for the event at the Olympics, after Milkha Singh & K. M. Binu.

4. Mascots for Olympics & Paralympics unveiled : Japan has unveiled the names of its mascots for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.The mascot for Olympics is “MIraitowa” which means ‘eternal future’.The mascot for Paralympics is “Someity” which means ‘so mighty’.The Tokyo Olympics are set to begin on July 24, 2020, and run through until August 9.The Paralympics will take place between August 25 and September 6 2020.

Daily GK Updates - 21st July, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Odisha to host mega triennial in Dec-Jan : Odisha will host to what is billed as India’s first private sector triennial in December-January that will see theconvergence of artists from the national and international scene.Named the Odisha Triennial of International Art , the events under it will take place in Bhubaneshwar, Puri and Konark.OTIA is the brainchild of Artists Network for Promoting Indian Culture.

2. New cell to resolve child custody disputes : A mediation cell would be set up under the apex child rights body, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), to resolve child custody disputes arising from cases of transnational marital discord.The Ministry of Women and Child Development has in-principle decided to establish a Mediation Cell under the NCPCR chairperson.

3. MIB panel to be replaced soon : A committee set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) to devise ways to regulate online media and other content has been disbanded.The 10-member committee was set up in April.Its mandate will now be handed over to a panel overseen by the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY).The committee has the secretary of MeitY, Ajay Prakash, as convener.

4. Student Police Cadet Programme to be launched : Home Minister Rajnath Singh will launch Student Police Cadet Programme in Gurugram.The programme seeks to build a bridge between the Police and the larger community through school students by inculcating values and ethics in them.The initiative seeks to cover broadly two kinds of topics: crime prevention and control, and values and ethics.

5. Nabard launches Centre for Climate Change : NABARD has launched a centre for accelerating concerted action on climate change by various stakeholders including government, private and financial sectors.The Centre for Climate Change has been set up in Lucknow.It would also support capacity building and project preparation effort in developing countries in the region as also in Africa.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India Heritage Walk fete wins PATA award : India Heritage Walk Festival, a collaboration of Sahapedia and YES Arts & Culture, has been awarded the PATA Gold Award 2018.Sahapedia is an open online resource on the arts, cultures and heritage of India.Sahapedia got the award, announced by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) in Bangkok, has been presented to it under the ‘Heritage-Culture’ category.

2.NASA launches online toolkit : NASA has launched an online toolkit to make it easier for users to find, analyse and utilise the most relevant satellite data for their research, business projects or conservation efforts.The “Remote Sensing Toolkit” provides a simple system that quickly identifies relevant sources based on user input.The toolkit is designed to help users search for data as well as code to build new tools.

3. Emergency ambulance service for Sri Lanka : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will eflag a countrywide emergency ambulance service for Sri Lanka through video conferencing from New Delhi.The service has been introduced in two provinces of Sri Lanka with grant assistance from Government of India.India has given a grant of USD 22.8 million to Sri Lanka.This is the largest Indian grant project in Sri Lanka after Indian housing project.

4. Myanmar joins International Solar Alliance : Myanmar joined the India-initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA), becoming the 68th member of the group that is aiming at the optimum utilisation of solar energy.ISA was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then French President Francois Hollande at the Paris climate summit in 2015.ISA is open to all 121 member countries falling between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn

5. BIMSTEC summit to be held in Nepal : The 4th BIMSTEC Summit will be held in Kathmandu from 30-31 August 2018, the Nepal government said. Sub-regional connectivity and poverty alleviation will be top of the agenda during the two-day BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multilateral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Summit.The group formed in 1997 consists of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand.

                                         OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Athena to beam internet on earth : Facebook is working on an internet satellite project called ‘Athena’ to beam internet connectivity down to Earth.The company aims to launch the satellite in early 2019.The new satellite project will provide broadband internet connections to “unserved and underserved areas”.

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. BoB inks pacts with ten companies : Bank of Baroda signed agreements with 10 companies promote micro and small business entrepreneurs.These companies are from e-commerce, logistics, service providers and traditional small business which contribute 31% to GDP and 45% of exports and employ over 100 million.These MoUs with will help enhance the bank’s footprint in the MSME eco-system.

SPORTS:

1. Mansi settles for silver at Junior Wrestling : India won two medals with Mansi claiming silver and Swati winning bronze in their respective weight categories in women’s freestyle in the Junior Asian Wrestling Championships, 2018.In the 57 kilogram category, Mansi had to settle for a Silver after she lost to Japan’s Akie Hanai in the Final.The overall trophy went to Japan, who finished with seven gold medals.

2. Alisson is world’s most expensive goalie : Brazil goalkeeper Alisson Becker became the world’s most expensive goalkeeper when he joined Liverpool from Roma.Roma said the deal for Brazil’s starting goalkeeper at the World Cup in Russia “could be worth up to 72.5 million euros” ($84.5 million).He has been at Roma for two years, playing 37 Serie A games in 2017-18.Alisson became Brazil’s starting goalkeeper in 2016.

OBITUARIES:

1. Chhattisgarh’s first FM Ramchandra Dies : The former and first finance minister of Chhattisgarh, Ramchandra Singh Deo died on 20th July, 2018.He served as the Minister of Water Resources before Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000.The first Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Ajit Jogi, chose him as the minister with key portfolios, including finance, commercial tax and planning.

Daily GK Updates - 20th July, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Debate on no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha : Speaker Sumitra Mahajan announced that the Lok Sabha has taken up the debate on no-confidence motion moved by Oppn parties.The motions dealt on issues like special status to Andhra Pradesh, cow vigilantism, lynching and dilution of the SC/ST Act.A motion of no-confidence is a statement or vote which states that the ruling govt is no longer deemed fit to hold the position of power.

2.TN govt launches 24h helpline for couples : The Tamil Nadu govt has informed the Madras High Court that a 24-hour helpline has been set up to investigate issues faced by inter-caste couples and offer them necessary assistance and protection.A special cell has been formed in all districts and cities in the state, comprising district-level officers at the city level, to receive complaints of harassment & threat to inter-caste couples.

3.New Manufacturing Facility For EVM :  ProductionElection Commissioner Shri Sunil Arora inaugurated a new Manufacturing Facility For EVM Production At Bharat Electronics Limited, Bangalore.Braille EPICards were also distributed for the first time in Karnataka to visually impaired voters.Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) are being used in Indian General and State Elections to implement electronic voting and are part from 1999 elections.

4.Andhra CM launches e-Pragati platform :Andhra Pradesh CM N. Chandrababu Naidu launched ‘e-Pragati’ project, a digital platform for governance in the state.The e-Pragati project, launched at Undavalli, Guntur plans to achieve digitalization in the state & bring transparency in governance; it will work through cloud management.Reforms in education, agricultural marketing, panchayat raj are also available on this platform.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.CPPIB to step up investments in India : Canada’s biggest public pension scheme, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) views India as its main focus for investment in Asia.CPPIB manages Canada’s national pension fund, has invested nearly C$7 billion ($5.30 billion) in India.CPPIB currently owns shares in some leading fast moving consumer goods companies like ITC Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd. & Britannia Industries Ltd.

2.PM to visit Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa from July 23-27.Modi will attend the BRICS Summit in South Africa and will visit Rwanda for a two-day visit, the first by an Indian prime minister where he will sign defence cooperation agreement.During his BRICS summit in South Africa international peace and security will be his main agendas.

3.Google announces Android Dev Summit : The Android Dev Summit is being organized at the Computer History Museum, Moutain View, California on 7 – 8 Nov 2018.The last one was in 2015, and it also happened at the Computer History Museum.Android Developer Days, or ADD, is an open conference held at various locations worldwide each year.

4.First High-Level ‘2+2 Dialogue’ With India : The inaugural ‘two-plus-two dialogue’ between India and the US will be held on September 6 in New Delhi.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis would travel to India for the dialogue.The landmark discussions would be covered by the US to recognize that its purchase of the S-400 air defense system from Russia and CAATSA.

5.2018 BRICS Media Forum in South Africa: A decision to establish a BRICS Media Academy and a BRICS news portal was taken at the 2018 BRICS Media Forum at Cape Town in South Africa.The Forum, a high-level dialogue among media organizations from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, was held over 2 days under the theme — ‘Fostering an Inclusive, Just World Order’.The forum unanimously agreed to adopt the above declaration.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1.MoU between Infosys & BMRCL : The Infosys Foundation signed a MoU with the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) to build a metro station at Electronic City.The station, part of Phase II metro line under from R.V. Road to Bommsandram, will be named the ‘Infosys Foundation – Konappana Agrahara Metro station’.The Foundation is spending close to Rs. 200 crore to build the station at Konappana Agrahara.

SPORTS:

1.International Army Games 2018, Moscow : Indian Army team has reached Moscow to participate in the International Army games scheduled from July 28 to August 11.India is participating in 2 competitions including the Tank Biathlon and Elbrus Ring – which is mountain warfare combat patrol competition near Elbrus Mountain.The Army games 2018 will be held in 7 countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Iran, Kazakhstan & Russia.

OBITUARIES :

1.Poet Gopal Das Saxena ‘Neeraj’ passes :  awayFamous Hindi poet Gopal Das Neeraj passed away at the AIIMS trauma center on 19 July.He was a Professor of Hindi at Dharma Samaj College in Aligarh.He was also accorded the rank of a cabinet minister by the previous Akhilesh Yadav government in UP.He was awarded Padma Shri in 1991 and Padma Bhushan in 2007