Daily GK Updates - 27th July, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. SC Scheme to include child victims : The Supreme Court said that a government scheme for rape survivors should include child victims of sexual assault.SC suggested that the Compensation Scheme for Women Victims/Survivors of SexualAssault/Other Crimes-2018, proposed by the National Legal Services Authority should include child victims.

2. Projects for 6,320 km roads awarded : Projects for constructing 6,320 km of road have been awarded under the first phase of the Bharatmala project.Under the first phase, a total of 34,800 km of road, including 10,000 km of residualNHDP (National Highway Development Project) have been approved for development.The first phase of Bharatmala is to be implemented during the period from 2017-18 to 2021-22.

3. Railways to launch ‘Mission Satyanishtha’ : All the 13 lakh employees of the Indian Railways will take turns to swear an oath publicly to “bring about integrity” and “eradicate corruption”.Termed “Mission Satyanishtha”, the program will involve railwaymen attending formal training course on probity and integrity in public life.

Railway Board members and all senior officers of the ministry will swear the oath of ethics and integrity.

4. Kerala to host Global Hackathon series : AngelHack, the world’s largest hackathon organisers, will conduct the Global Hackathon series in the Kerala Startup Mission on July 28 and 29.The challenge for this round of the hackathon is to address problems that prevent female entrepreneurship, with its focus on health, safety, economic empowerment and culture.The hackathon is being organised to solve social or environmental problems.

5. Govt approves new scheme to empower women : The government has approved a new scheme to empower rural women through community participation.The cost for implementing the scheme, Mahila Shakti Kendra, from 2017-18 up to 2019-20 would be shared in the 60:40 ratio between the Centre and states.The scheme is envisaged to work at the national level and state level to governments on issues related to women.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World’s oldest person dies at 117 : The world’s oldest person, a 117-year-old Japanese woman, has died.Miyako, born on May 2, 1901, became the world’s oldest person in April after Nabi Tajima from the Kikai island in southern Japan died at age 117.Guinness said the successor to her world record is yet to be confirmed.

2. Kochi airport gets UN environmental award : The United Nations has honoured the Cochin International Airport (CIAL) with ‘Champion of Earth’ award for being the firstairport in the world to be completely powered by solar energy.CIAL is the first airport in the world to receive the highest environmental award issued by the United Nations.UN established ‘Champion of Earth’ award in 2005 to recognise outstanding environmental leaders.

3. India, B’desh Coast Guards conduct exercise : The Indian Coast Guard conducted a bilateral table-top exercise on maritime pollution response with Bangladesh Coast Guard.The two-day exercise is being conducted in the backdrop of the MoU signed between India and South Asian Cooperation for Environment Protection (SACEP).

The SACEP was approved by Union Cabinet in May 2018.

4. Bharat & Sonam named Ramon Magsaysay winners : Bharat Vatwani and Sonam Wangchuk are among the winners of Ramon Magsaysay Award 2018.Bharat Vatwani is a psychiatrist who works for mentally-ill people living on the streets.Sonam Wangchuk, known for his reforms in the education sector in Ladakh.The Ramon Magsaysay Award is often referred to as the Asian version of the Nobel Prize.

5. 6th India-UK SIC Meeting held in Delhi : The 6th India-UK Science & Innovation Council (SIC) meeting was held in New Delhi on 26th July 2018.In the meeting a range of issues on S&T cooperation between the two countries were discussed.Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Science & Technology, India and Mr. Sam Gyimah, Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, UK led the Indian and UK delegations respectively.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. DoT clears Vodafone, Idea merger : The Department of Telecommunications gave its final approval to the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular.The combination, to be known as Vodafone Idea, will create India’s largest mobile-phone company.

The next process is to notify the Registrar of Companies and get the company registered.

BANKING/FINANCE :

1. SoftBank partners with Paytm : SoftBank Group Corp will launch a digital payments service in Japan, and has partnered Paytm for the service.The service PayPay will be launched by SoftBank’s joint venture PayPay Corporation (with Yahoo Japan) in 2018.Paytm offers seamless mobile payments to over 300 million customers and 8 million merchants in India.

SPORTS:

1. India secures top position in archery : The Indian women’s compound archery team has been ranked as the No. 1 team in the latest world rankings.The team, which comprises of V. Jyothi Surekha, Trisha Deb, P. Lily Chanu, Muskan Kirar, Divya Dhayal, and Madhumita, reached the top spot with 342.6 points.World Archery Association also announced the rank in compound mixed team and India bagged fifth rank in world rankings.

Daily GK Updates - 26th July, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.NITI Aayog mulls using PSUs’ CSR funds : The NITI Aayog is seeking to realign the deployment of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) in accordance with the pressing requirements in aspirational districts.The transformation of aspirational districts is a flagship initiative of the Centre in partnership with State governments, anchored at the NITI Aayog.

2. Government amends definition of hydrocarbon : The government has amended the Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules 1959 to include shale in the definition of petroleum.The change would allow private companies to explore and produce the resource in the blocks they already operate.It would help in enhancing domestic exploration and production of hydrocarbons and increasing India’s energy security and reducing dependency on imports.

3. Free WiFi services for villages : All villages adopted by the Member of Parliaments under ‘Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna’, will be provided free WiFi services across India by the Government.The government has proposed to set up 25000 WiFi hotspots at existing rural exchanges of BSNL.The government has targeted to link each of the 2.5 lakh gram panchayats of India through optical fibre network under Bharat Net Project.

4. Rajnath to inaugurate 2nd conference of SPs : Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the second conference of young Superintendents of Police in New Delhi.The theme of the conference is, ‘Predictive Policing and Contemporary Challenges for Indian Police Forces’.The objective is to generate awareness among young SPs and commandants in the areas of artificial intelligence, cyber crime and surveillance tracking.

5. Kovind to launch Sanchar Kranti Yojna : President Ram Nath Kovind will launch Chhattisgarh government’s Sanchar Kranti Yojna at Jagdalpur in the Naxal-affected Bastar region.Under the scheme, 50 lakh smartphones will be distributed free of cost to the people.President Ram Nath Kovind is on a two-day trip to Chhattisgarh’s Bastar range.

6. Parliament passes fugitive offenders bill : Parliament has given its nod to legislation that will help the government to bring back fugitives to stand trial in India.The bill empowers the government to attach properties of fugitives who run away from the country after committing tax and loan related offences.The Bill enables action against economic offenders committing offences worth Rs.100 crore and above.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Earth Overshoot Day 2018 is on August 1 : In 2018, the Earth Overshoot day is set to fall on August 1, which is two days earlier than last year’s date, as predicted by the Global Footprint Network (GFN).GFN is a think tank which observes the usage of natural resources every year.The day signifies the official date when the yearly ecological budget of natural resources is completely exhausted by human beings.

2. 10th BRICS Summit in South Africa : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 25 landed in South Africa to take part in the 10th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg.This 2018 theme for BRICS summit in Africa is ‘cooperation for inclusive growth and sharing the benefits of the fourth industrial revolution’.Twin stamps of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela will also be released during the meeting of PM Modi and Cyril Ramaphosa.

3. Int. Children’s Film Festival inaugurated : 18th International Children’s Film Festival was inaugurated on 25th July in West Bengal.The festival is being organised by Cine Central, one of the oldest cine clubs of the country in collaboration with the UNICEF.Thirty-six films from 17 countries will be screened in the festival.The inaugural film of the festival is ‘Moana’ from the USA.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. SEBI proposes using UPI : The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed allowing investors to use the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) while bidding for shares in an initial public offer (IPO).This will reduce the public issue timeline from the current T+6 to T+3.T+3 refers to a system wherein the equity shares would be listed on the bourses on the third day from the day the IPO closes.

SPORTS:

1. Floyd Pinto is Indian Arrow head coach : All India Football Federation (AIFF) appointed Floyd Pinto as the head coach of the Delhi-based Indian Arrow football club.The decision was taken unanimously at AIFF’s technical committee meeting, headed by the chairman of the committee, Shyam Thapa.The committee confirmed that the deputy coach of the Indian Arrow will be appointed later.

2. Virat receives Int Player of the Year award : Virat Kohli received the International Player of the Year award for 2017-2018 from England’s Barmy Army.Barmy Army is a popular fan club of English cricket supporters.In 2018, Kohli has played a total of 19 matches across formats and has scored 1181 runs with an average of 65.61. He has scored four hundred and four half-centuries.

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.