Daily GK Updates : 22nd August, 2015

Daily GK Updates - 22nd August, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.       BhartiAirtel ties up with Uber for wallet services: Telecom operator BhartiAirtel has tied-up with taxi-hailing app Uber for its services. Now, Uber riders can pay for their trips with Airtel’s mobile wallet service-Airtel Money. Uber has earlier tied up with Paytm Wallet. Also, with this service Uber will set up WiFi hotspots in each its cabs and will pay Airtel for the bandwidth consumed.

II.     Noted academician Amitabh Mattoo appointed as Advisor to J&K CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed:Mattoo will now have the status of a cabinet minister.

III.    Puducherry CM N Rangasamy launched free laptop scheme: The scheme envisages providing free laptops to all students who have passed 12^th class from Government Higher Secondary Schools in the last two academic years i.e. 2013-14 and 2014-15.

IV.   Infosys launches three new services Ai-ki-do: India’s second largest IT services company Infosys launched Aikido, three enhanced service offerings in design thinking, platforms and knowledge-based IT (KBIT).

V.         Gujarat High Court stays compulsory voting rule in Gujarat civic polls.

VI.     Union Government to sell 10% stake in IOC: The Union Government announced that it will sell a 10% stake in Indian Oil Corporation on the stock market through an offer for sale (OFS).

VII.   AAP Government joins hands with FIFA for U-17 World Cup: The FIFA U-17 World Cup is to be held in India in August-September 2017.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

  I.    NASA spacecraft LADEE found presence of Neon gas in Moon’s atmosphere: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) spacecraft LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer) confirmed the presence of Neon gas in Moon’s atmosphere.

II.       Iran no longer on restricted visa list: The Union Government has removed Iran from the list of countries put under the restricted visa category, indicating that it wants to reach out to the Persian Gulf Nation.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.       SEBI bars 59 entities for manipulating markets, evading taxes: The Securities and Exchange Board of India passed an interim order against several wealthy investors, for alleged manipulation of the stock exchange route for evading taxes.

II.        Union Government issued norms for selection of CEOs and MDs of smaller banks: The guidelines were issued after the approval by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) for selection of MDs & CEOs in Public sector banks other than five large public sector banks.

SPORTS:

III.  Back as World No.1, SainaNehwal signs Rs 25 crore deals: The World Championships’ Silver medallist regained top spot ahead of Carolina Marin and also struck a landmark deal with Management Company IOS Sports and Entertainment.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

  I.       Book titled ‘Making India Awesome’ authored by ChetanBhagat released.

OBITUARIES:

   I.        Eminent Sanskrit scholar and Indologist NR Varhadpande passed away.

Daily GK Updates - 21st August, 2015

Daily GK Updates - 21st August, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I. Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Value Added Tax (amendment) Regulation 2015 promulgation approved: The amendment was promulgated by the president under article 240 of the constitution of India.

II.      Union Cabinet approved signing of MoU between India and Australia on education and research: This MoU will help deepen the existing partnership between India and Australia in higher education and research, including technical and professional education, schools, vocational education and it will now open up new and innovative areas of cooperation.

III.  Union Government launched web portal Vidya Lakshmi for students seeking Educational Loans: The portal www.vidyalakshmi.co.in is the first portal of its kind that provides single window for students to access information and make application for educational loans provided by banks as well as for government scholarships. The portal was developed by NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited.

IV.      ASA and Exchange of Information with respect to Taxes between India, Seychelles approved: The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Modi gave its approval for the signing of the revised Air Services Agreement (ASA) and exchange of information with respect to taxes between India and Seychelles.

V.     Himachal Pradesh Government launched RISHTA project: The Rajiv Gandhi Illuminating Scheme for Hill Town Advancement (RISHTA) Project is an efficient smart LED based street lighting project. With this, HP became the 1^st state in North India to do so.

VI.     Minority Ministry launches Online Application Management System (OAMS) for ‘NaiRoshni’:NajmaHeptullah, the Union Minister for Minority Affairs launched it for NaiRoshni, a scheme for Leadership Development of Minority Women.

VII. NarendraModi-Barack Obama hotline becomes Operational: With this India becomes only the 4^th country after Russia, Great Britain and China with which the US has a hotline.

VIII.Rajasthan Government join hands with Future Group to Modernise Public Distribution System: It entered into an agreement with Future Consumer Enterprise Ltd (FCEL) to modernise the public distribution system (PDS) by providing multi-brand consumer goods at competitive prices to public through fair price shops.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

  I.     $10 billion Pak Nuclear power plant to be built by China: The Karachi Nuclear Power Plant II (Kanupp II) with the capacity to produce 1100 MW electricity is being built with the assistance of China, which has become the biggest investor in energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan.

II.     Lahore HC banned film ‘Phantom’ from release in Pakistan: The decision was taken on a plea by Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief and Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

III.  Greece PM Alexis Tsipras resigned and called for snap polls: He submitted his resignation to President P. Pavlopoulos and asked for the earliest possible election date. Tsipras resigned with an aim to defend the massive bailout of 86 billion Euros, which Greece received from the creditors. This 3^rd bailout to the country since 2010, led to rebellion within his left-wing Syriza party.

IV.  RanilWickremesinghe sworn in as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka: He was administered oath of office by President MaithripalaSirisena at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.     R Gandhi Panel recommended conversion of UCBs into regular banks: The RBI’s High Powered Committee on Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) headed by RBI Deputy Governor R. Gandhi in its report has recommended conversion of UCBs with business size of 20000 crore rupees or more into regular banks. This will allow them to grow and proliferate further for financial inclusion.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

  I.     Book titled ‘Mrs Funnybones: She’s just like you and a lot like me’ authored by Twinkle Khanna released.

OBITUARIES:

   I.     Former Gujarat Finance Minister Sanat Mehta passes away.