Daily GK Updates - 14th April, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Prasar Bharati releases booklet based on Dr. Ambedkar's speeches: Prasar Bharati Chairman, Dr A Surya Prakash released a booklet on ‘Selected Speeches of Babasaheb in the Constituent Assembly’ in New Delhi on 12 April 2019. The event was organized to mark the 128th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar falling on 14 April 2019.

2. Sanjay Dutt appointed as chairman of RICS South Asia board: The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) a global body to promote professionalism and standards in real estate sector, has  appointed Tata Housing's MD & CEO, Sanjay Dutt as chairman of the South Asia Board.

                          

3. Gargi Kaul Appointed Secretary of Defence Finance: The Centre has appointed Gargi Kaul as Secretary, Defence Finance. She is a 1984-batch officer of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS). Kaul was earlier Financial Advisor, Defence Services in the Defence Ministry.

4. CMFRI signs agreement with ISRO to save coastal wetlands: In an attempt to build resilience against impact of climate change, the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have joined hands to map, validate and protect smaller wetlands in coastal regions. The programme is aimed at restoring them through coastal livelihood programmes.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Jean Michel Lapin Announced As Haiti’s New Prime Minister: President Jovenel Moise announced that Jean Michel Lapin will be the new prime minister of Haiti. It is French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.Haiti Capital: Port-au-Prince, Currency: Haitian gourde.

2. Abdelkader Bensalah- Interim President of Algeria: The Algerian Parliament confirmed upper house speaker Abdelkader as the interim President of the country. On April 2 2019, Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned as the Algeria’s president before his mandate was to end on April 28, after remaining in power for about 20 years. Algeria Capital: Algiers, Currency: Algerian dinar

3. New ancestors- Homo luzonensis’ discovered: Scientist have identified a new human ancestors named Homo luzonensis’ in Philippines.

4. World’s largest plane makes first test flight: The world's largest aircraft took off over the Mojave Desert in California on Saturday, built by Stratolaunch Systems Corp, started by late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The white airplane is called ‘Roc’, has a wingspan the length of an American football field and is powered by six engines on a twin fuselage.

5. SpaceX carried out its first commercial launch: SpaceX carried out its first commercial launch with its Falcon Heavy rocket which took a Saudi satellite in Orbit. The launch took place in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA. Founder of SpaceX: Elon Musk.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. HDFC Bank ranked No. 1 in India by Forbes:  HDFC Bank has been identified as number 1 bank by customers in India, as per Forbes World’s Best Bank survey. HDFC Bank emerged as India’s No 1 bank. ICICI Bank was at number 2 and SBI (India's largest public sector bank) was surprisingly ranked 11th in the list.

2. PayU Acquires Online Payments Processor Wibmo: Naspers-owned fintech company PayU has acquired Bengaluru and Cupertino-based Wibmo that specialises in processing online payments in a deal worth $70 Mn. PayU Global, CFO: Aakash Moondhra, Wibmo CEO and founder: Govind Setlur

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Digital Sukoon founder, Sudhanshu Kumar receives Best Digital Agency award: Digital Sukoon founder, Sudhanshu Kumar was honoured with the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Nobel Award by International Human Rights Council at Hotel Sea Princess Juhu Mumbai. Digital Sukoon is a Mumbai based Digital solutions agency, which provides a comprehensive 360-degree solution to their clients for the promotional needs by creating innovative campaigns and optimum usage of technology tools.

Daily GK Updates - 13th April, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 1. Kanpur ranked 1st as the most polluted city: According to the ‘Political Leaders Position and Action on Air Quality in India 2014-2019’report, Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh is the most polluted city in the world and is ranked one on the list. Faridabad in Haryana has been ranked second and Varanasi, is ranked third on the WHO's list of 15 most polluted cities. Fourteen of the 15 cities, including four in Uttar Pradesh, on the World Health Organisation (WHO) list of most polluted cities in the world, are in India.

2. Jamia Millia Islamia gets its first woman vice-chancellor: Professor Najma Akhtar of the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi was appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia University for a period of five years, from the date on which she enters upon her office or until she attains the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier.

Ms. Akhtar is the first woman to be appointed as the JMI V-C

3. Jallianwala Bagh massacre 100th anniversary: Political leaders across the country paid homage to the victims of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on its 100th anniversary on Saturday.A massacre took place in Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on Baisakhi in April 1919 when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Dyer opened fire on a crowd of people holding a pro-independence meeting, leaving hundreds of people dead and scores injured.

4. Baisakhi harvest festival being celebrated in India: The festival of harvest ‘Baisakhi’ is being celebrated with traditional enthusiasm in the northern part of the country today. Baisakhi is celebrated with much fanfare in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. For the large farming community of Punjab, Baisakhi Festival marks the time for harvest of rabi crops and they celebrate the day by performing joyful bhangra and gidda dance. Baisakhi also commemorates the formation of Khalsa Panth by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699.

5. Rama Navami being celebrated with religious fervor: Ram Navami is being celebrated with religious fervor and enthusiasm in different parts of the country today. The festival marks the birth of Lord Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. First Supermassive Black hole photographed to be named Powehi: The first-ever black hole to be photographed has been named "Powehi". The name Powehi, meaning embellished dark source of unending creation, was deliberated upon by astronomers and renowned Hawaiian language professor, Larry Kimura. "Powehi", is sourced from the Hawaiian word "Kumulipo", a primordial chant describing the creation of the universe. Powehi, the black hole photographed for the first time ever, lies at the centre of Messier 87, the largest galaxy we know of, about 54 million light-years away.

2. International Day of Human Space Flight: 12 April: The International Day of Human Space Flight is the annual celebration, held on April 12, of the anniversary of the first human space flight by Yuri Gagarin. It was proclaimed at the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly on April 7, 2011.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Google Pay launches gold buying feature in a tie- up with MMTC-PAMP India: To make Google Pay more useful for Indian customers, Google has partnered with MMTC-PAMP India to introduce buying and selling of gold through the app. Now, Google Pay users will be able to buy 99.99 per cent 24-karat gold. Director and Product Management of Google Pay, India: Ambarish Kenghe

2. Reinsurance brokers permitted to open foreign currency accounts, says RBI: The Reserve Bank of India Thursday said reinsurance brokers have been permitted to open non-interest bearing foreign currency accounts with banks for undertaking transactions. Foreign currency account refers to a bank account held or maintained in currency other than the currency of India or Nepal or Bhutan.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Hong Kong's Stock Market Overtakes Japan To Be World's 3rd Largest: Hong Kong's equity market has overtaken Japan to be the world’s third largest in value, behind only the U.S. and mainland China. Hong Kong’s market cap was $5.78 trillion, compared with $5.76 trillion for Japan.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Russia awards PM Narendra Modi with highest state honour: Russia awarded his highest civilian award “Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First,” on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his work on bilateral ties. About ‘Order of St Andrew the Apostle’: It is awarded to prominent statesmen, public figures and those working in the fields of science, culture and arts in recognition of their exceptional services in promoting prosperity and glory of Russia.

2. Two West Bengal Government Schemes Win UN Awards: Two schemes of the West Bengal government for skill development- “Utkarsh Bangla” and distribution of bicycles to students “Sabooj Sathi” have won the prestigious World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) awards of the United Nations.

3. Telugu Poet K Siva Reddy Selected For Prestigious Saraswati Samman 2018: Telugu poet K Siva Reddy is to be conferred the prestigious Saraswati Samman, 2018, for his collection of poems titled Pakkaki Ottigilite (Turning Aside While Lying Down).

Daily GK Updates - 12th April, 2019

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India to Be Guest of Honour Country at ADIBF 2019: The UAE has announced that India will be the Guest of Honour country at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, ADIBF 2019, to be held at the end of April 2019. The fair aims to highlight the UAE’s rich heritage, showcasing its authenticity and modernity, as well as its cultural and literary output. Director of ADIBF: Abdullah Majed Al Ali, UAE Capital: Abu Dhabi, Currency: United Arab Emirates Dirham. 

2. Google Launches New Cloud Platform Anthos: Google launched Anthos, a new open platform from Google Cloud, that lets users run applications from anywhere. Anthos allows users to run applications, unmodified, on existing on-premise hardware or on the public cloud and is based on the Cloud Services Platform that Google announced in 2018.

OTHER UPDATES:

APPOINTMENTS

1. Shiv Das Meena appointed as NBCC Chairman and Managing Director: Shiv Das Meena, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has been appointed as the Chairman cum Managing Director (CMD) of National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC). Shiv Das Meena, an Indian Administrative Service officer of Tamil Nadu cadre of 1989-Batch, will succeed Dr. Anoop Kumar Mittal. He takes charge as the 17th CMD of the company after Mittal.

About NBCC: NBCC (India) Limited (formerly National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited) is a blue-chip Government of India Navratna enterprise and a Central Public Sector undertaking which trades publicly in the market.

AWARDS

1. Dost Education Wins $25,000 Global Tech Prize: India's education technology startup 'Dost Education' won a $25,000 tech prize along with two other winners from Tanzania and Egypt. The Next Billion Edtech Prize 2019, run by UK-based Varkey Foundation, recognizes the most innovative technology destined to have a radical impact on education in low income and emerging world countries.

2. Namami Gange Gets Global Recognition At World Summit: The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) was awarded the distinction of “Public Water Agency of the Year” by Global Water Intelligence at the Global Water Summit in London. The Global Water Awards are presented at the Global Water Summit, the major business conference for the water industry worldwide.

3. Indian Oil Bags AIMA Managing India Award for Outstanding PSU: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has bagged the prestigious 'AIMA Managing India Award 2019 for outstanding PSU of the year.'  The award was presented by former President Pranab Mukherjee to Sanjiv Singh, Chairman, Indian Oil.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. TCS, Google Partner to Build Industry-Specific Cloud Solutions: Tata Consultancy Services partnered with Google Cloud to build industry-specific cloud solutions. TCS’ solutions on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) will help enterprises build secure, cloud-native analytics platforms that enable high levels of personalization, and are cost-effective, easy to maintain, and future ready.

2. RBL Bank Partners With CreditVidya For Improving Customer Experience: RBL Bank has partnered with credit profiler CreditVidya to improve the lender's customer experience.  Through this partnership, the private sector lender will be able to gain significant insights into its customer base. RBL/Ratnakar Bank Limited is a scheduled commercial bank, headquartered in Mumbai.

3. SBI inks co-origination loan pact with Paisalo Digital Ltd: With a vision to empower Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and small businesses, PAISALO Digital Limited signed the first co-origination loan agreement with State Bank of India (SBI). Introducing a platform for the last mile customer, the loan ticket is designed at Rs 10,000 to 2 lakh. The company expects to disburse 200,000 loan applications in FY20. PAISALO Digital Limited is a systemically important non-deposit taking NBFC registered with the Reserve Bank of India and has been in operations since 1992.

SPORTS

1. AITA Signs MoU with Serbian Tennis Federation to Train Junior Players: The All India Tennis Association (AITA) has signed a MoU with Serbian Tennis Federation (STF) to train Indian junior players under world-renowned Serbian coaches. Both the federations have also agreed to work on the education of officials, coaches and physical trainers and their exchange for tournaments.

2. Deepa Malik honoured with New Zealand Prime Minister’s Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship for 2019: Rio Paralympics silver medallist Deepa Malik was named as the recipient of the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship for 2019 in recognition of her “inspiring achievements“. The first Indian woman to earn a medal at the Paralympic Games, Deepa has won 58 national and 23 international medals. A recipient of the Padma Shri and Arjuna Award, she has entered the Limca Book of World Records four times.

Daily GK Updates - 11th April, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Lok Sabha Election 2019: Phase 1 voting kicks off today : The phase 1 of the Lok Sabha Election 2019 begins from today The Lok Sabha Elections 2019 will be conducted across the country in seven phases, the first of which took place today on April 11. The voting time for Phase 1 elections was from 7 AM to 6 PM. A total of 18 states and two union territories voted in the first phase of Lok Sabha election, which begins the process of electing a new government. In the first phase, citizens of 20 states voted for 91 out of the 543 seats.

2. Vikram Nath appointed as first chief justice of new Andhra Pradesh HC :  Senior judge of Allahabad high court, Justice Vikram Nath has been appointed as the first Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court. A collegium of Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and judges S A Bobde and N V Ramana recommended the name of Justice Nath as the chief justice of the AP High Court. The new high court for Andhra Pradesh was created on January 1 this year, following the bifurcation of a combined high court for AP and Telangana, which had been operating from Hyderabad since June 2, 2014, when the two Telugu states got separated.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.India’s education technology startup bags global tech prize :  India’s education technology startup ‘Dost Education’ has bagged a $25,000 tech prize along with two other winners from Tanzania and Egypt. Dost was awarded for its ability to empower parents to take charge of their child’s early education by creating short, friendly audio content that is sent to them via their mobile phones. The software, audio content, and tool kits of Dost Education makes it easy fun and addictive for parents to boost their child’s early development, so low-income families need no longer send their children to primary school behind and without a chance to catch up.

2. Israeli PM Netanyahu wins record fifth term: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has won the Israeli national election, securing a record fifth term in office. With 97 percent of the votes counted, neither of the candidates' parties had captured a ruling majority, but Netanyahu was clearly in a strong position to form a coalition government with other right-wing factions that have backed him.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. India’s population grew at a 1.2 % average annual rate between 2010 and 2019: UN report :  According to a report by the United Nations Population Fund, India’s population grew at an average annual rate of 1.2 per cent between 2010 and 2019 to 1.36 billion, more than double the annual growth rate of China. India’s population in 2019 stood at 1.36 billion, growing from 942.2 million in 1994 and 541.5 million in 1969.India’s population grew at an average annual rate of 1.2 per cent between 2010 and 2019, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency said in the State of World Population 2019 report.

2. RBI imposes Rs 1 lakh penalty on Lucknow-based co-op bank :  The Reserve Bank Wednesday said it has imposed a penalty of Rs 1 lakh on UP Postal Primary Co-operative Bank, Lucknow for violation of norms regarding shifting of its branch. The Rs 1 lakh penalty has been imposed on the co-operative bank "for violation of RBI Instructions/Guidelines for shifting of its branch without obtaining prior approval from RBI", the central bank said.

3. Emirates Islamic becomes the world's first Islamic bank to launch banking via WhatsApp  : Emirates Islamic has announced the launch of Chat Banking services for customers via WhatsApp, marking a global first in the Islamic banking sector. The bank’s customers will now able to conduct daily banking activities via WhatsApp in a seamless and hassle-free manner. The Chat Banking solution, supported by Infobip, further enhances Emirates Islamic’s suite of digital banking channels and allows customers to use features such as checking account balances and temporarily blocking or unblocking of an existing card.

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. India's steel demand to grow by over 7% in FY19, FY20 :  As per the Indian Steel Association, India's steel demand is likely to grow by over 7 percent in 2019 and 2020, driven by sectors like construction, capital goods and railways. "The Indian Steel Association has forecast India's steel demand to grow by 7.1 percent in the calendar year 2019 and by 7.2 percent in the calendar year 2020. The World Steel Association had recently estimated steel demand in India to touch 103 million tonnes in 2019, against 96 million tonnes logged in 2018 and 110 million tonnes in 2020.

2. Govt. retains interest rate for General Provident Fund at 8% :  The government has retained the interest rate for General Provident Fund (GPF), Contributory Provident Fund and other related schemes at 8 per cent for the first quarter of current financial year. The interest rate on these funds was at 8 per cent in the January-March quarter of 2018-19 and government kept it unchanged for April to June for 2019-20.

SPORTS:

1. Virat Kohli named Wisden's 'Leading Cricketer' for a third straight year :  India captain Virat Kohli was on Wednesday named the Leading Cricketer in the World and featured in Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year, by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.Kohli was also among Jos Buttler and Sam Curran to be listed in Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year, a rare accolade which has been eluding him in his career until now.The India skipper had a fantastic 2018 in which he racked up 2,735 international runs at 68.37 across all formats, more than 700 more than his nearest challenger, England's Joe Root.

2. Smriti Mandhana named Wisden’s leading Women’s Cricketer of The Year : Team India opener Smriti Mandhana has been named as the Wisden Almanack’s ‘Leading Women’s Cricketer of the Year’. The 22-year-old is currently the top-ranked player in women’s ODIs and third in T20Is. In 2018, Mandhana scored 669 runs at an average of 66.90 in 12 ODIs and 622 runs at a strike-rate of 130.67 in 25 T20Is

Daily GK Updates - 10th April, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Guwahati Railway Station first to get ISO Certification in India :  The Guwahati Railway Station (in Assam) has become the first ever railway station in the Indian Railways to get an ISO certification (ISO-14001) from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for “providing passenger amenities in a clean and green environment.” Guwahati Railway Station is ISO-14001, which is for Environment Management System as per international norms which were upgraded in 2015.In April 2017, Guwahati railway station became the first railway station to run entirely on solar power.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 10th April: World Homoeopathy Day :  The World Homoeopathy Day 2019 is being observed across the world on 10th April to commemorate the birth anniversary (264th) of the founder of Homoeopathy (Dr Christian Fredrich Samuel Hahnemann). On this occasion, The Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy(CCRH) has organised a two-day convention at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi. Homoeopathy is a system of medicine (the second most widely used system) was developed by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann in Germany in 1796.

2.  17th MENA World Economic Forum held in Jordan :  The World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) 2019 took place in Jordan.The 17th WEF meeting in the region called for united efforts to address the most pressing challenges of the area. The forum assembled more than 1,000 government, business and civil society leaders from more than 50 countries.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. IMF Cuts India GDP Growth Forecast To 7.3% For 2019 :  According to The International Monetary Fund (IMF) report, India’s economy projected to grow at 7.3% in 2019 and 7.5% in 2020. In 2018, India's growth rate was 7.1% as against China's 6.6 per cent. All the estimates are 0.2 percentage points less than its previous assessment in January.

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. SBI cuts interest rates on home loans :  The State Bank of India (SBI) has re-priced home loans up to Rs 30 lakh by 10 basis points. Accordingly, the interest rate on housing loans of such size will now be in the range of 8.6 to 8.9 per cent. The bank has also lowered its lending rates by a nominal five basis points across all tenors.In a statement, the SBI said the new one-year marginal cost of funds-based lending rate is down to 8.50 per cent now from 8.55 per cent. This is the first reduction by SBI in over 17 months.

2. Karnam Sekar to take over as MD, CEO of Indian Overseas Bank from July 1 :  According to Union Government, Karnam Sekar (MD and CEO of the erstwhile Dena Bank) will take over as MD and CEO of Indian Overseas Bank from 1st July 2019.He will work as officer on special duty and whole-time director with IOB till the end of June this year. R A Sankara Narayanan (former MD and CEO of Vijaya Bank) will move to Canara Bank in the same position.

SPORTS:

1. Graham Reid appointed new Indian men's hockey team chief coach :  Former Australian field hockey player Graham Reid (54-years) has been appointed as the men's national team chief coach till the end of 2020. Graham Reid was a member of the team that won the silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. He was ratified after Hockey India received necessary clearance from the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

2. Vikramjit Sahney elected as President of ICC India :  Vikramjit Singh Sahney has been elected as the new president of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) India. He is the Chairman of SUN Group. ICC India is one of the most active chapters of the ICC, the world's apex business organisation.

3. Shot putter Manpreet banned for dope flunk :  Asian champion shot putter Manpreet Kaur (29-years) has been banned for four years by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for flunking four dope tests in 2017. According to an order of the anti-doping disciplinary panel (ADDP) of the NADA, the period of suspension would begin from 20th July 2017. She has the option of filing an appeal before the Anti-Doping Appeal Panel. She had set the national record of 18.86m at Jinhua.

Daily GK Updates - 9th April, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. IIT Madras bags top spot in NIRF Rankings 2019 :  President Ramnath Kovind declared the 4th edition of National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF India Rankings 2019) at Plenary Hall, Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. He also announced the Atal Ranking of Institutions for Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2019. The NIRF rankings were released for a total of 9 categories Overall, Universities,  Engineering,  Colleges, Management, Pharmacy, Medical, Architecture, and Law. The NIRF India Rankings 2019 for each category will also be released on the official website ‘nirfindia.org’.

2.  CRPF celebrating its 54th Valour Day :  President Ram Nath Kovind paid homage to the martyrs of police at National Police Memorial in New Delhi on 54th Valour Day of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Mr. Kovind also presented Gallantry medals to six Jawans posthumously. As a tribute to the brave personnel of the Force, 9th April is celebrated as Valour Day in the Force. The President also launched the App - Veer Parivar for assistance to next of kin of Martyrs of CRPF personnel.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Guillermo del Toro to co-write new Pan’s Labyrinth novel :  Guillermo del Toro will expand the folklore around his Oscar-nominated film Pan's Labyrinth with a new novel titled Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun. The novel is co-written by the filmmaker and Cornelia Funke. The book will include stories that expand the folklore on which the original film was based on.

2. World Homoeopathy Day convention organised in New Delhi :  According to Ministry of Ayush, India is hosting a two-day convention to mark the ‘World Homeopathy Day’(10th- April) at Dr Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi (9-10th April 2019). The day is observed to commemorate the birth anniversary of the founder of Homoeopathy, Dr. Christian Fredrich Samuel Hahnemann. AYUSH awards relating to Homoeopathy for Life Time Achievement, Best Teacher, Young Scientist and Best Research paper will be conferred on this occasion.

3.  Dhanush Artillery Gun inducted into Indian Army :  The first indigenous long-range artillery gun ‘Dhanush’ has been inducted into the Indian Army. The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) handed over the first batch of six Dhanush artillery guns to the Army. The 155 mm calibre artillery gun was manufactured by the Jabalpur-based Gun Carriage Factory.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. RBI issues norms for banks to set up currency chests :  Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has come out with guidelines for banks to set up new currency chests, which include a minimum area of 1,500 square feet for the strong room. The new chests should have a processing capacity of 6.6 lakh pieces of banknotes per day. It added that for those situated in the hilly/ inaccessible places, capacity should be 2.1 lakh pieces of banknotes per day. Earlier, RBI appointed committee had recommended that the apex bank should encourage banks to open large currency chests with modern facilities and Chest Balance Limit (CBL) of at least Rs 1,000 crore.

SPORTS:

1. Virat Kohli becomes all-time leading IPL scorer :  Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper ‘Virat Kohli’ overtook Suresh Raina to become the leading run-scorer in the Indian Premier League. Kohli also became the 2nd fastest after Chris Gayle to reach 8000 T20 runs. Till date, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina are the only two players to score 5000 runs in the IPL. Both men got to the landmark this year. Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians) is 3rd in the list of most runs in the IPL with 4600 runs

OBITUARIES:

1. Film actor Navtej Hundal passes away : Bollywood actor Shri Navtej Hundal passed away in Mumbai. Mr. Hundal had been a part of films like Khalnayak (1993), Tere Mere Sapne (1996) and The Whisperers (2009). The actor was last seen in Vicky Kaushal starrer ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’ which released in January this year.He played the role of the Home Minister in the movie.

Daily GK Updates - 8th April, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Indian Navy Signs MoU With CSIR : The Indian Navy and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) inked an MoU to undertake joint research and development of advanced technologies for the Indian Navy. This will be a collaborative arrangement between labs of CSIR, the Indian Navy and Indian industry. The MoU provides a formal framework for interaction between the Indian Navy and CSIR.

2.  Phayeng Village becomes India’s first carbon-positive settlement :  Phayeng Village of Manipur has been tagged as India's first carbon-positive settlement.A village is given the carbon-positive tag if it sequesters more carbon than it emits, slowing the accumulation of greenhouse gases and mitigating the effects of climate change. Phayeng is a scheduled caste village of the Chakpa community in Imphal West district.As part of the carbon-positive village project, Phayeng will receive a grant of Rs10 crore in phases to facilitate afforestation in the catchment of river Maklang that flows along the village.

3.  National Handloom Week observed from 7th April to 14th April It is a celebration :  of the country’s 5,000-year old tradition of hand weaving cloths. On this occasion, a book named ‘The Indian textile Sourcebook’ authored by Avalon Fotheringham and published by Thames and Hudson will be launched on 9th April. In 2018, the National Handloom Week was observed during December month. The National Handloom Day is observed on 7th August every year across India. It was on this day that the Swadeshi Movement was launched in 1905. The First National handloom day was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on August 7, 2015 in Chennai.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Morocco-US Joint Military Exercise 'African Lion 2019' Starts In Morocco : The joint military exercise between Morocco and the US, “African Lion 2019,” kicked off in southern Morocco. The exercise marks the participation of thousands of military officers.  The exercise will include various types of training including command post, manoeuvring, peacekeeping, operations, and aerial refuelling.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1.  Sathiyan books World Cup berth :  G. Sathiyan (10th-seeded) stunned fifth seed Wong Chun Ting of Taipei 12-10, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 in the playoff for 5-8 positions at the Asian Cup table tennis championship. The win helped Sathiyan qualify for the World Cup. Sathiyan lost to a former World Cup, Olympic and World champion in Ma Long.

2. ITBP organises first National Sky Running Championship :  The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) along with Sky Running Association of India organised the National Sky Running Championship (junior and senior categories) at Mountaineering and Skiing Institute of ITBP at Auli in Uttarakhand. This is the first time such championship was organised at a high altitude of up to 4000 metres. Various athletes from ITBP, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Uttarakhand participated in the championship.