Daily GK Updates - 27th July, 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 27TH JULY, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

I. Union Government approves Rs 1000 crores for India-Bangladesh rail link: The Government of India approved a hefty sum of Rs 1000 crores for the 15-km India-Bangladesh rail link that will connect Agartala with Akhaura junction in Bangladesh. The entire link will be constructed by IRCON.

II. Gujarat HC constituted panel to ensure amenities to labourers at Alang ship-breaking yard: Gujarat High Court constituted a four-member panel to ensure basic amenities like housing and hospitals for labourers at Alang ship-breaking yard in Bhavnagar district following a public interest Litigation.

III. Delhi High Court allowed Red FM to participate in Stage-3 of FM auctions: Delhi High Court allowed Digital Radio Broadcasting Ltd, which runs Red FM to participate in the Stage-3 of the FM Radio waves auctions.

IV. Central Government constitutes a committee to suggest measures for selection of the most meritorious to teaching profession: The committee constituted by the UGC and the Union Government is chaired by Prof. Arun Nigavekar, former chairman of UGC to give recommendations on various provisions for regulating recruitment of teachers and academic staff in universities and colleges and their development advancement in UGC funded institutions.

V. Union Government, in collaboration with 3 State Governments to start artificial breeding of Great Indian Bustard: Under an integrated collaborative effort, the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change along with the state governments of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra will soon undertake an artificial breeding programme for the Great Indian Bustard, one of the critically endangered flying bird species in the world, to boost the population of the species.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

I. World’s largest flower Amorphophallus Titanium bloomed at Jindai Botanical Gardens in Tokyo: World‘s largest flower Amorphophallus Titanum bloomed for the 1^st time in 5 years at Jindai Botanical Gardens in Tokyo, Japan. The flower Titan arum measuring 2-meter (6.5 feet) in height rarely flowers and is notoriously difficult to propagate.

II. EU banned marketing of around 700 generic medicines of GVK Biosciences: The medicines will be banned in 28 member countries of European Union. This is the last suspension imposed on the sales and distribution of generic drugs and it will come into effect from August 2015.

III. China launches two new Navigational Satellites into space: The satellites, designated BDS (Short for BeiDou Navigation Satellite System) M1-S and M2-S were put into a medium-earth orbit about 13,700 miles above Earth.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

I. Shah Panel submitted report on MAT: The Panel headed by Law Commission chairman A P Shah has submitted its 66-page report to Finance Ministry. The Government had in May appointed the Shah Committee to examine the matter relating to levy of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) on FIIs prior to April 2015.

II. Amazon overtakes Walmart to become largest U S retailer.

SPORTS:

III. Ferrari Driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany won Hungarian Formula one Grand Prix which was held in Budapest: This was Vettel’s second win of the season and it came only days after the funeral of the Mercedes French former test driver Jules Bianchi.

IV. Team Sky cyclist Chris Froome of Britain won 102^nd Tour de France: With this, Froome became the 1^st Briton to win the Tour De France for the second time.

V. The 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games that will involve 6,500 athletes with intellectual disabilities from around the world started in Los Angeles, California.

OBITUARIES:

VI. P R Chari, the nuclear disarmament advocate died: The ardent nuclear disarmament advocate was known for promoting a consensual approach on the nuclear issue.

Daily GK Updates - 26th July, 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 26TH JULY, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

I. Union Government approves Rs 1000 crores for India-Bangladesh rail link: The Government of India approved a hefty Rs 1000 crores for the 15-km India-Bangladesh rail link.

II. Government of India orders blocking of websites inciting Religious Intolerance: In the wake of terror groups using the internet to incite religious intolerance, the government has ordered blocking of at least 40 webpages with inflammatory content relating to minority community, including posts on social media and popular video sharing platforms.

III. Anand Krishnamurthy appointed CEO and MD of CSB Bank.

IV. Vijay Divas celebrated in the whole country on 26^th July 2015: An indebted nation led by PM Modi paid tributes to the martyrs and heroes of the 1999 Kargil War.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

I. Nigerian national ArunmaOteh appointed as World Bank Treasurer: World Bank President Jim Yong Kim announced the appointment of ArunmaOteh as Vice President and Treasurer of the World Bank.

II. IRCTC signs MoU with Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) for promotion of tourism in the hilly state.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

I. IDFC gets RBI nod for starting Banking Operation: Infrastructure financing firm IDFC Ltd today has got banking licence from the RBI for undertaking banking business in the country.

II. India increased its exposure to US Government securities by USD 31bn in the first five months of the year, taking the overall holding to USD 114bn in May.

III. ONGC to invest $8.8 billion in KG Oil and Gas: State owned Oil and Natural Gas plans to invest over $8.8 bn in bringing to production its much-touted KG-basin oil and gas discoveries by 2018-19.

IV. China’s Leyard to invest Rs 125 cr in MIC Electronics: The Synergy between Leyard and MIC is expected to create a strong design and manufacturing base of LED (Light emitting diode) products in India.

 SPORTS:

V. Sri Lanka’s TillakratneDilshan completes 10,000 ODI runs: He became the 11^th batsman and 4^th Sri Lankan to compile 10,000 runs in one-day cricket, achieving the feat against Pakistan.

AWARDS:

VI. PM awards journalists at ICAR function: PM Modi presented Journalist GargiParsai and five others with the ‘ChaudharyCharan Singh Award’ for excellence in Journalism in Agricultural Research and Development, 2014 at Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s (ICAR) 87^th foundation day.

OBITUARIES:

VII. Former Union Minister Bijoy Krishna Handique dies.

VIII. Former Governor of Bihar Ramkrishna Suryabhan Gavai passed away.

Daily GK Updates - 25th July, 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 25TH JULY, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

I. FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) proposes draft on regulating sale of Health Supplements and Nutraceuticals: The proposed draft ‘Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2015’ in its ambit seeks to regulate Health Supplements, Nutraceuticals, Food for Special dietary uses, Food for special medical purpose, Functional Foods, and Novel Food.

 

II. Union Government constituted All India Council of Sports: It is constituted as an advisory body for the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

 

III. PM Modi launched Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana in Patna: This is a flagship scheme of the government to provide electrification to all villages.

IV. President nominates two members of Anglo-Indian community to Lok Sabha: The president of India nominated 2 members of Anglo-Indian community to Lok Sabha as per the provisions of article 331 of Indian Constitution. The two members are Professor Richard Hay from Kerala and George Baker from West Bengal.

V. IRCTC signs MoU with Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) for promotion of tourism in the hilly state.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

I. WTO members sealed a deal to cut tariffs on $1 trillion worth products: The members will add more than 200 products to the list of goods covered by zero-tariff and duty free trade

II. IMI Kolkata signs pact with Sinchuan University of China: International Management Institute Kolkata has signed an agreement with the Sinchuan University of China for exchange of students and researchers and joint work programmes.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

I. IDFC gets RBI nod for starting Banking Operation: Infrastructure financing firm IDFC Ltd today has got banking licence from the RBI for undertaking banking business in the country.

II. New Development Bank’s first loan will be in Chinese Currency: NDB President K V Kamath has said that the 1^st loan to be issued by the $100 billion NDB in April next year would be in Chinese currency Renminbi.

SPORTS:

III. Dhoni is world’s 9^th most marketable athlete, beats Ronaldo and Messi: He was placed 9^th in the list of Most Marketable Athlete released by the London School of Marketing. 17 time grand slam winner Rodger Federer topped the list while Golf Legend Tiger Woods was ranked second.

AWARDS:

IV. Ramchandra Guha chosen for Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize 2015: The historian who is best known for his book ‘India after Gandhi’ will receive the award on 17^th Sep 2015 in Fukuoka Congress Centre in Japan.

V. Helena Ndume, Jorge Sampaio awarded with 1^st ever Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize: Helena Ndume of Namibia, a female ophthalmologist and Jorge Sampaio, former president of Portugal were awarded with the 1^st ever Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize by the United Nations at the UN headquarters in New York.

Daily GK Updates - 24th July, 2015

  DAILY GK UPDATES - 24TH JULY, 2015

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.        SunEdison signs largest private solar PPA with Tata Power Distribution: The Renewable Energy Company signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Tata Power Distribution for supplying electricity from a 180 MW solar plant that it would build in Madhya Pradesh.SunEdison will sell electricity to Tata Power for 20 years.

   II.        Ajay Mathur replaces R K Pachauri as TERI chief: Nobel laurate R K Pachauri who is facing sexual harassment allegations from a woman employee, has been removed as the Director-General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

 III.       Maharashtra Government approved scheme for development of villages around Tiger Reserves: The scheme is named Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Jan Vikas Scheme.

 IV.  Indian drug company Lupin acquired US generic company GAVIS Pharmaceuticals and Novel Laboratories for $880 million to strengthen its presence in the United States.

  V.      Supreme Court allowed States to release life convicts; Rajiv Gandhi Assassination case kept out of purview: It allowed state governments to exercise its power of remission to release life convicts with a rider. The decision was taken by a 5-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu, which said that those life convicts who have undergone prison term of 14 or more years can be released.

 VI.       Haryanavi film ‘Pagdi: The Honour’ made tax free in Haryana: The film bagged the title of best Haryanavi film and its actress BaljinderKaur won best supporting actor (female) award at the 62^nd National Film Awards.

VII.     No citizen or institution has a fundamental right to affiliation or recognition: SC: The Supreme Court held that fundamental right given under Article 19(1)(g) of the constitution does not give an institution or a person or a citizen the fundamental right to affiliate or recognition of their institutions within the meaning of the article 19(6).

VIII. Reliance Group, Augur Overseas Operations signed MoU to Manufacture Aerostats and Airships: Anil Ambani led Reliance Group through its entity Reliance Unmanned Systems signed the MoU to manufacture Aerostat Radars and Airships. Aerostats are currently manufactured in US, Germany and France.

 IX.        Suresh Narayanan appointed as new Nestle India MD after Maggi scare.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

         I.     First all women Trans Continental road expedition from Delhi to London flagged off: The expedition was flagged-off from Major Dhyanchand Stadium of New Delhi. The three women participants namely NidhiTiwari, RashmiKoppar and SoumayaGoel will reach UK in 55 days covering a distance of 15000 kms via Myanmar, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium and France.

   I  II.  Mosquirix, world’s 1^st malaria vaccine approved by European Medicines Agency: The world’s 1^st malaria vaccine developed by the British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline in association with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, named RTS, S or Mosquirix got approval from the European Medicines Agency for use on babies aged between 6 weeks and 17 months in Africa.

II  III. Forbes Asia’s Fabulous 50 List of the year 2015 released: The most valuable company is Tencent and the biggest is Lenovo. Some Indian companies on the list are HCL Technologies, AurobindoPharma, HDFC Bank, Lupin, TCS, TATA Motors,and Tech Mahindra.

       IV.  NASA Scientists have announced the discovery of Kepler 452b, also known as ‘Earth 2.0’, an earth like planet in our galaxy: A year on this planet last for 385 days, just 20 days longer than a year here on earth.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

FINANCE/BANKING:

       I.     Pearson to sell Financial Times to Nikkei for $1.3 billion: Pearson PLC, the owner of Financial Times has agreed to sell FT Group to Nikkei Inc.

       II.     IT Companies CSC and HCL Technologies have signed an agreement to form a banking software and services company to provide technology services and solutions to the banking industry.

AWARDS 

III.   Peter Higgs received Royal Society’s Copley Medal, the world’s oldest scientific prize: He was awarded this prize for his fundamental contribution to particle physics and his pioneering work on the theory of Higgs Boson that explains the mass in elementary particles.