Daily GK Updates - 31st May, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. PM Narendra Modi takes oath for the 2nd consecutive term: Narendra Damodardas Modi was sworn-in as the Prime Minister for the second time at a grand and star-studded ceremony in the sprawling forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan on 30th May, 2019. During the ceremony, Apart from PM Modi, 57 ministers administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Nath Kovind. A total of 24 Cabinet Ministers took oath at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, followed by nine Ministers of State (Independent Charge) and 24 Ministers of State. The glittering ceremony was witnessed by a galaxy of leaders, diplomats, industrialists and prominent personalities from various fields.

Note: The function was attended by leaders from BIMSTEC countries and foreign envoys, Governors, Chief Ministers, Opposition leaders, corporate heads and film stars. Maithripala Sirisena (President of Sri Lanka), U Win Myint (President of Myanmar), Md. Abdul Hamid (President of Bangladesh), Dr Lotay Tshering (Prime Minister of Bhutan), K P Sharma Oli (Prime Minister of Nepal), Grisada Boonrach (Special Envoy of Thailand), Sooronbay Jeenbekov (President of the Kyrgyz Republic,) and Pravind Jugnauth (Prime Minister of Mauritius) witnessed the event.

2. Union Cabinet Ministers Portfolio 2019: A day after the incoming Union Council of Ministers was sworn in the portfolios of ministers was announced. Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier sent the list of portfolios for his Council of Ministers to President Ram Nath Kovind, after which the same was unveiled. Here's the full list of the Union Council of Ministers and their portfolios, under the Modi Government 2.0.

Narendra Modi	Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy; Department of Space; all important policy issues; and all other portfolios not allocated to any minister
Cabinet Ministers
‏Rajnath Singh	Defence
Amit Shah	Home Affairs
Nirmala Sitharaman	Finance; Corporate Affairs
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar	External Affairs
Nitin Gadkari	Road Transport and Highways; Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
DV Sadananda Gowda	Chemical and Fertilizers
Ram Vilas Paswan	Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
Narendra Singh Tomar	Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Rural Development; Panchayati Raj
Ravi Shankar Prasad	Law and Justice; Communications; Electronics and Information Technology
Harsimrat Kaur Badal	Food Processing Industries
Thawarchand Gehlot	Social Justice and Empowerment
Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank	Human Resource Development
Arjun Munda	Tribal Affairs
Smriti Irani	Women and Child Development; Textiles
Dr. Harsh Vardhan	Health and Family Welfare; Science and Technology; Earth Sciences
Prakash Javdekar	Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Information and Broadcasting
Piyush Goyal	Railways; Commerce and Industries
Dharmendra Pradhan	Petroleum and Natural Gas; Steel
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi	Minority Affairs
Prahlad Joshi	Parliamentary Affairs; Coal; Mines
Mahendra Nath Pandey	Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
Arvind Sawant	Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise
Giriraj Singh	Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat	Jal Shakti
Ministers of State (Independent Charge)
Santosh Kumar Gangwar	Labour and Employment
Rao Inderjit Singh	Statistics and Programme Implementation; Planning
Shripad Yesso Naik	Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH); MoS Defence
Dr. Jitendra Singh	Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region; MoS PMO; Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy; Department of Space
Kiren Rijiju	Youth Affairs and Sports; MoS Minority Affairs
Prahalad Singh Patel	Culture; Tourism
Raj Kumar Singh	Power; New and Renewable Energy; MoS Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
Hardeep Singh Puri	Housing and Urban Affairs; Civil Aviation; MoS Commerce and Industry
Mansukh L Mandaviya	Shipping; MoS Chemicals and Fertilizers
Ministers of State
Faggansingh Kulaste	Steel
Ashwini Kumar Choubey	Health and Family Welfare
Arjun Ram Meghwal	Parliamentary Affairs; Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
General (Retd) VK Singh	Road Transport and Highways
Krishan Pal	Social Justice and Empowerment
Danve Raosaheb Dadarao	Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution
G Kishan Reddy	Home Affairs
Parshottam Rupala	Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
Ramdas Athawale	Social Justice and Empowerment
Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti	Rural Development
Babul Supriyo	Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Sanjeev Kumar Balyan	Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries
Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao	Human Resource Development; Communications; Electronics and Information Technology
Anurag Singh Thakur	Finance; Corporate Affairs
Angadi Suresh Channabasappa	Railways
Nityanand Rai	Home Affairs
Rattan Lal Kataria	Jal Shakti; Social Justice and Empowerment
V Muraleedharan	External Affairs; Parliamentary Affairs
Renuka Singh Saruta	Tribal Affairs
Som Parkash	Commerce and Industry
Rameswar Teli	Food Processing Industries
Pratap Chandra Sarangi	Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries
Kailash Choudhary	Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
Debasree Chaudhuri	Women and Child Development

3. Centre launches song ‘Hawa Aane De’ on air pollution: As the World Environment Day is approaching, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched a theme song ‘Hawa Aane De’ on air pollution. The song was launched in the national capital. The aim is to spread awareness regarding protecting the environment. Secretary of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched the song in the presence of actor Shekhar Suman and singer Shaan. World Environment Day is celebrated on June 05. This year the theme of Environment Day is ‘Air Pollution’.

4. Binny, India’s Only Orangutan Dies In Odisha Zoo: A 41-year-old orangutan at Odisha’s Nandankanan Zoological Park died following a prolonged illness. ”Binny”, the country’s lone orangutan passed away around 9:40 pm due to old-age related ailments followed by respiratory tract infection. The great ape was under treatment for the last one year by experts from the College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry OUAT who were under constant advice of the Orangutan experts from UK and Singapore.

5. IIT Guwahati signs MoU with ISRO to set up space technology: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati has signed an MoU with The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to set up an IITG-ISRO Space Technology Cell (STC) at the institute where Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi inaugurated a new academic complex and research and development building. IITG-ISRO STC would be first of its kind in the North-east region to augment research and capacity building processes in the field of space technology.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Trump announces tariffs on all Mexico goods: US President Donald Trump has announced tariffs on all goods coming from Mexico in a bid to curb illegal immigration. From 10th June 2019, a five percent tariff would be imposed and slowly raised until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied. President Trump has declared a national emergency to tackle what he claims is a crisis at the US southern border.

Note: Mexico President: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Capital: Mexico City, Currency: Mexican peso

2. World No-Tobacco Day: 31st May: Every year, on 31st May, the World Health Organization (WHO) and global partners celebrate World No Tobacco Day (WNTD). The annual campaign is an opportunity to raise awareness on the harmful and deadly effects of tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure, and to discourage the use of tobacco in any form. The focus of World No Tobacco Day 2019 is on “tobacco and lung health.”

Note: In 1988, WHO’s World Health Assembly had passed a resolution calling for the celebration of World No Tobacco Day, every year on 31st May.

3. Israel to hold fresh polls as Netanyahu fails to form coalition govt: Israeli lawmakers voted to dissolve Parliament and hold fresh elections after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition before a midnight deadline. He became the first prime minister-designate in Israel's history who was unable to form a government. Israeli lawmakers voted 74-45 in favour of dissolving the 21st Knesset (Israeli Parliament). The repeat general elections will be held on September 17. Netanyahu's victory in the April 9 polls securing him a record fifth term proved temporary. 

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. FICCI survey forecasts India’s GDP growth at 7.1% for FY20: The country’s median GDP is forecast at 7.10 percent for Financial Year 2020 and 7.20 percent for Financial Year 2021. The industry body FICCI’s economic outlook survey stated that the minimum and maximum growth estimate stood at 6.80 per 0cent and 7.3 percent for 2019-20. The survey was conducted in May 2019 among economists belonging to the industry, banking, and financial services sectors. Inflation is expected to remain moderate and the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation rate is projected at 3.1 percent in 2019-20, while, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation has a median forecast of 4 percent for 2019-20.

Note: FICCI stands for Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Headquarter- New Delhi. Established in 1927.

Daily GK Updates - 30th May, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Goa celebrates its statehood day: Goa celebrates its statehood day on 30th May. It was on this day in 1987 Goa became the 25th state of the Indian Union. It was a Union Territory along with Daman and Diu from December 1961 onwards when Goa was liberated from the colonial rule. Once Goa was liberated there was a controversy regarding merging Goa with the neighbouring state of Maharashtra or Mysore. However, an opinion poll of 1967 suggested that Goa, Daman, and Diu be Union Territory.

Note: Chief Minister of Goa - Pramod Sawant, Capital- Panaji, Governor- Mridula Sinha

2. Justice Ajay Kumar Mittal sworn in as Chief Justice of Meghalaya HC: Justice Ajay Kumar Mittal has been sworn in as the Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court. Governor Tathagata Roy administered him the oath of office in a ceremony at Raj Bhavan, Shillong. The Office of the Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court fell vacant upon the retirement of Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir. Justice AK Mittal was the judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court before his appointment as the Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court.

Note: The Meghalaya High Court established in March 2013, after making suitable amendments in the Constitution of India and North-Eastern Areas (Re-organisation) Act of 1971.

3. Military tribunal allows Karambir Singh to take charge as new Navy Chief: The Armed Forces Tribunal cleared the way for Vice Admiral Karambir Singh to become the next Navy Chief, while it deferred for four weeks the matter of Vice Admiral Bimal Verma which seeks to quash Singh’s appointment. Karambir Singh, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command, will take over as the Navy Chief on 31st May 2019.

4. SC extends the tenure of NCDRC’s judicial member by one year: The Supreme Court has extended the tenure of Justice VK Jain, a judicial member of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), which was expiring on 30th May 2019. A vacation bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Aniruddha Bose stated the extension of tenure would be for one year or till the process of fresh appointment is completed. Justice Jain was appointed as a judicial member of the NCDRC on 30th May 2014.

Note:  The NCDRC is a quasi-judicial commission in India which was set up in 1988 under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The head office of NCDRC is in New Delhi.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. US-UAE defense agreement comes into force: The United States and the United Arab Emirates have announced that mutual defense cooperation agreement had come into force, amid increasing tensions between Washington and Tehran. The DCA (Defense Cooperation Agreement) will enhance military coordination between the United States and the United Arab Emirates, further advancing an already robust military, political, and economic partnership at a critical time. US President Donald Trump bypassed Congress to sell USD 8.1 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies, citing the alleged threat from Iran.

2. International Everest Day: 29th May: International Everest Day is being observed on 29th May. Nepalese Tenzing Norgay and New Zealand’s Edmund Hillary had climbed the Mt. Everest on this day (29th May) in 1953, as the first humans to achieve the feat. Nepal decided to observe the day as International Everest Day since 2008 when the legendary climber Hillary passed away.

Note:  Mount Everest, known in Nepali as Sagarmatha and in Tibetan as Chomolungma, is Earth’s highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas.

3. James Marape elected new Papua New Guinea PM: James Marape, a former finance minister and critic of a major global gas development deal, has been elected by parliament as the prime minister of Papua New Guinea. His election came after weeks of political turmoil that saw his predecessor, Peter O’Neill, resign having lost the support of the House after more than seven years in power.

4. Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari sworn in for second term as president:  Muhammadu Buhari has been sworn in for a second term as Nigeria’s president, following a campaign that focused on tackling security threats and rooting out corruption. He did not make a speech during the low-profile event attended by members of the diplomatic community. Buhari, a former military ruler, won 56 percent of the votes to defeat his main challenger, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 2019 election.

5. Nepal celebrates its 12th Republic Day: Nepal is celebrating its 12th Republic Day on 29th May 2019. A number of programmes are being organized in different parts of the country to mark the occasion. The main function was held at Army Pavilion in Kathmandu, which was attended by the President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister K.P.Sharma Oli, cabinet ministers, senior government officials, heads and representatives of various diplomatic missions and other dignitaries.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019: The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 begins on 30th May 2019. England will open the tournament at The Oval in London when they will take on South Africa. The World Cup will span 48 matches in all, of which 45 will make up the group stage. Each team will play nine group stage matches, and the top four will progress to the semifinals, similar to how the 1992 World Cup was held.

2. Manu Bhaker secures India 7th Olympic quota: Indian shooter Manu Bhaker (17-year) secured India its seventh Olympic quota with a fourth-place finish in the women's 10-meter air pistol event of the ISSF World Cup in Munich, Germany. This is India's first quota in women's 10-meter pistol. Bhaker shot 201 in the final to secure the quota for the Tokyo Games. She finished third in the qualification with a total of 582 points, shooting a solid 98 in her last two rounds.

3. Europa League final: Chelsea beat Arsenal 4-1: Chelsea got the better of its English Premier League rivals to win the Europa League final, beating Arsenal 4-1 in the Baku Olympic Stadium, Azerbaijan. Despite a bright start from the Gunners, Chelsea ran riot in the second half with three goals in quick succession. Chelsea won their fifth major Uefa European competition final, with only Liverpool winning more among eight English clubs.

Note: The UEFA Europa League is an annual football club competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions. It is the second-tier competition of European club football, ranking below the UEFA Champions League.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. RBI sets up committee on corporate loans: RBI has constituted a six-member committee on the Development of Secondary Market for Corporate Loans to come up with recommendations to increase the efficiencies of the debt market and aid in the resolution of stressed assets. The committee, headed by TN Manoharan, Chairman, Canara Bank, will make recommendations on required policy/regulatory interventions for facilitating the development of the secondary market in corporate loans, including loan transaction platform for stressed assets.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Annie Zaidi honoured with Nine Dots Prize 2019: Freelance writer Indian writer ‘Annie Zaidi’ has won the Nine Dots Prize 2019 for her entry ‘Bread, Cement, Cactus’- combining memoir and reportage, exploring concepts of home and belonging to her experience based in contemporary life in India. The prize included an award of 100,000 US dollar. It is a prestigious book prize created to award innovative thinking that addresses contemporary issues around the world.

Note: The winner of the Nine Dots Prize is supported to develop their response into a full-length book, which is published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) and given the opportunity to spend a term at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH), Cambridge University.

OBITUARIES 

1. Godfather actor Carmine Caridi dies aged 85: Carmine Caridi, known for roles in The Godfather franchise, has died at the age of 85. The veteran actor also appeared in the final part of “The Godfather” trilogy in a different role – Albert Volpe, an investor in Michael Corleone’s casinos who is killed in an attack at a hotel in Atlantic City.

Daily GK Updates - 29th May, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. NSIC signs MOU with Ministry of MSME: The National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC) signed an MoU with Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) for the year 2019-20. The MoU envisages provision of enhanced services by NSIC under its marketing, financial, technology, and other support services schemes for MSMEs in the country. The Corporation projects to increase Revenue from Operation by 22% from Rs. 2540 crore in the year 2018-19 to 3100 crore in the year 2019-20.

2. Record 78 women MPs elected to 17th Lok Sabha: Record 78 women candidates have been elected to the Lok Sabha in the recently held general elections. According to the Election Commission, the number has grown from the previous 62 women who were elected to the 16th Lok Sabha in 2014. In the country’s first general elections in 1951, twenty-four women were elected to the Lower House, and since then, the number has been increasing.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Saudi Arabia lifts export ban on fruits and vegetable from Kerala: Kerala’s fruits and vegetable exporters have heaved a sigh of relief following the lifting of the export ban by Saudi Arabia after the Nipah virus attack last year. With the lifting of the embargo, he said Kozhikode airport was alone handling 20 tonnes of fruits and vegetables per day valued at $50,000 to various destinations in Saudi. Kerala ships around 150 tonnes of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis to various gulf countries and of this, the consignment to Saudi alone was 30-40 tonnes.

2. US removes India, Switzerland from its currency monitoring list: The Trump administration removed India from its currency monitoring list of major trading partners, citing certain developments and steps being taken by New Delhi addressing some of its major concerns. Switzerland is the other nation that has been removed from the list. However, the list includes China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam among others.

3. India moves up to 43rd in competitiveness; Singapore tops chart: India has moved up one place to rank 43rd most competitive economy in the world on the back of its robust economic growth, a large labour force and its huge market size, while Singapore has toppled the US to grab the top position, a global study showed. Singapore has moved up to the top, from the third position last year, while the US has slipped to the third place in the 2019 edition of the IMD World Competitiveness Rankings. Hong Kong SAR has held onto its second place, helped by a benign tax and business policy environment and access to business finance.

4. Scott Morrison sworn in as Australia’s PM: Scott Morrison has been sworn in as Australia’s Prime Minister, 11 days after retaining the position in the country’s general election. Along with Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack, Morrison was sworn in by Queen Elizabeth’s official representative in Australia, Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, in the capital, Canberra. Also sworn in was Morrison’s revamped Cabinet, which includes a record seven women, and Australia’s first Aboriginal federal Cabinet member, Indigenous Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt, who wore a traditional kangaroo skin.

5. 29th May: International Day of UN Peacekeepers: The ‘International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers’ is being observed on 29th May to pay tribute those who served in the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations. They also honour the memory of people who died in the name of peace. The theme for the 2019 International Day of UN Peacekeepers is “Protecting Civilians, Protecting Peace.”

6. Sri Lanka signs tripartite agreement with India and Japan: Sri Lanka has signed a tripartite agreement with India and Japan for development of eastern terminal of Colombo port. The Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) was signed in Colombo by Sri Lankan ports minister Sagala Ratnayake, Indian high commissioner to Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu and a Japanese representative. As per the agreement, Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) will hold 51% majority stake in the port development while Japan and India will have combined stake of 49 percent. The deal is significant as over 70% of India’s transhipment business is handled at Colombo ports.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS 

1. ICC launches criiio campaign on eve of World Cup: The ICC has launched the criiio campaign on the eve of the men’s World Cup, bringing together 460 million people playing cricket globally to celebrate the magnificent diversity of cricket. The ICC asked the fans to join the social cricket tribe by sharing pictures and videos of where and how they play cricket across the world using the newly launched #criiio and visiting criiio.com. This builds on the success of the recent user-generated social media initiative #WorldWideWickets and is the first of a series of programs that will be launched by the ICC over the next 12 months.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. RBI extends timings for RTGS from 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended timings for customer transactions in the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system to 6:00 pm from 4:30 pm. The new time window for RTGS will come into effect from 01st June 2019.

Note: The RTGS is an online fund transfer system, supported by the RBI, which enables money transaction on a real-time basis. The minimum amount for the transaction under this system is Rs 2 lakh. There is no upper limit on the value of funds that can be transferred via the RTGS system.

2. Corporation Bank launches loan scheme for MSME sector: State-owned Corporation Bank has launched ‘SMESuvidha’ scheme to provide loans to the GST-registered MSMEs at affordable interest rates. The product is designed as a part of the lender’s efforts to improve service and provide the best products to the MSME sector. This is a unique product for GST-registered Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The bank is actively participating in the government’s flagship programmes including ‘MUDRA’ and ‘Stand-up India’ to provide the much-needed push to the MSME sector.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Walmart Appoints Suresh Kumar as Chief Technology Officer: US-based retail chain Walmart has appointed Suresh Kumar, an IIT Madras graduate and former Google executive, as chief technology officer and chief development officer. The appointment comes at a time when Walmart is transforming its customer and associate experiences.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Horticulture award for TNAU V-C: N Kumar, Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has been conferred the lifetime recognition award by the Confederation of Horticulture Association of India. The award has been conferred for his outstanding contribution in the field of horticulture and academic leadership focussed on human resource development in agriculture.

OBITUARIES

1. Nobel prize winning Physicist Murray Gell-Man passes away: Nobel laureate and American physicist, Murray Gell-Mann (89-years) passed away at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Gell-Mann transformed physics by devising a method for sorting subatomic particles into simple groups of eight based on an electric charge, spin and other characteristics. He called his method the “eightfold way” after the Buddhist Eightfold Path to enlightenment. Mr. Mann received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1969 for his work on the theory of elementary particles.