Daily GK Updates - 26th October, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.   India’s 1^st double-decker Shatabdi train to run between Mumbai, Goa: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has announced that the Railways would soon start country’s first-ever double decker Shatabdi Express that would ply between Mumbai and Goa.

II.      NDRF ties up with 30 PSUs to jointly tackle emergencies: National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has partnered with about 30 public sector undertakings to jointly tackle and mitigate man-made or natural disasters or emergencies. In this regard a coordination meeting was held between NDRF and prominent PSUs like ONGC, Air India, GAIL and others involved in the mining and shipping and heavy industries sector.

III.     Ministry of Railways flagged off Vigithon to fight against corruption: Suresh Prabhu flagged off Vigithon Marathon in Mumbai to sensitize people for a fight against corruption at the grass-root level. Vigithon was a run for corruption free India and was organised by public sector lender Union Bank of India.

IV.    Sin Tax to be imposed on alcohol, tobacco during GST regime: Sin Tax has been included under the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) law that will be effective from 1 April 2016. GST is being seen as one of the biggest tax reforms in the country.

V.  Haryana to commission 215 new power sub-stations in three years:Haryana Government announced that it planned to commission 215 additional sub-stations of various capacities to reduce transmission and distribution (T&D) losses.

VI.    Indian Railways developed warning system for unmanned level crossings: It has developed a vandal-proof warning system for unmanned level crossings which is working satisfactorily for the last three months on Coimbatore-Metupallayum section.

VII.    Haryana Government announced to open Sanskrit University at Mundri Village for Scheduled Castes: The Sanskrit University will be named after Maharishi Valmiki.

VIII.  Andhra Pradesh signed two memorandums with Japan for development of the state: Government of Andhra Pradesh signed a MoC for development of economic infrastructure and a MoU to develop Amravati with the Government of Japan.

IX.      Shekar Basu took over as Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary of Department of Atomic Energy.

X.            Suresh Arora appointed as the DGP of Punjab.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 I.         World Polio Day observed globally: It was observed on 24^th October 2015 to create awareness about the hazards of the crippling disease.

II.            China made copying in examinations a crime punishable up to seven years.

III.     WHO released report titled Reducing global health risks through mitigation of short-lived climate pollutants.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

I.         Abhishek Verma became first Indian to win silver medal in Archery World Cup final held in Mexico City.

II.        Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won 2015 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix title.

III.      South Africa clinched 1^st ever bilateral ODI series in India: South Africa defeated India 3-2 in the ODI series.

IV.       Emily Kristine Pedersen of Denmark won Hero Women’s Indian Open 2015 Golf Tournament.

AWARDS:

V.      Nandakumara, Sivanesan honoured in UK with Lifetime Achievement Award and SangeetAcharyaRatna: Indian High Commissioner to the UK, RajanMathai honoured Dr MN Nandakumara and SivasaktiSivanesan with Lifetime Achievement Award and SangeetAcharyaRatna Award respectively in London.

OBITUARIES:

 VI.         Renowned Hollywood actress Maureen O’Hara passes away at the age of 95.

VII.         Bengali actor PijushGanguly passes away at the age of 50.

Daily GK Updates - 25th October, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.     Doordarshan emerges most watched Hindi channel: Public broadcaster Doordarshan claimed that it has emerged as the most watched Hindi channel in terms of time spent per viewer ahead of top General Entertainment Channels.

II.    Sanjay Dutt buys franchise in Masters Champions League: He bought a franchise in the UAE based Masters Champions League (MCL), which is slated to commence next year.

III. Law on equal rights for daughters over property is prospective:SC: The Supreme Court of India declared in its verdict that the law, which gave equal rights to daughters in ancestral property under the Hindu Succession Act, is prospectively enforceable and not with retrospective effect.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

  I.    Forbes released the list of richest Indian tech billionaires 2015: The list was topped by AzimPremji of Wipro followed by Shiv Nadar of HCL, while Sunil Mittal of Bharti Enterprises stood at third position.

II.    22^nd October 2015 was observed globally as the International Stuttering Awareness Day: This day is intended to raise public awareness among the millions of people about stammering.

III. Adnan Sami to get Indian Citizenship: The Government is set to give Indian citizenship to Adnan Sami. The Pakistani singer has been staying in India since 2001, will be given Indian Citizenship under section 6 of the Indian Citizenship Act, 1955.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.    Bank free to fix interest rates on Gold Monetisation scheme: RBI: Reserve Bank of India issued guidelines for the Gold Monetisation Scheme that will allow banks to fix their own interest rates on gold deposits.

SPORTS:

II.   BCCI set to appoint ombudsman: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to bring administrators under the disciplinary ambit of the Ombudsman.

AWARDS:

IV.Kashmiri Folk Singer Abdul Rashid Hafiz was honoured with the SangeetNatakAkademi award by President Pranab Mukherjee.

Daily GK Updates - 24th October, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:
I. Indian mountaineers climbed an untouched mountain peak, named it after APJ Abdul Kalam: Indian mountaineers Arjun Vajpai and Bhupesh Kumar created history by becoming first people to climb 6180m high unnamed peak in Himachal’s Spiti Valley. The duo named the peak as Mount Kalam, in honour of former President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam.

II. Haryana Government announced New Integrated Licencing Policy 2015: It announced the launch of New Integrated Licencing Policy (NILP) 2015 for development of Hyper and High Potential Urban Complexes (HHPUC).

III. President promulgated Ordinances on Constitution of Commercial Courts and Amendment to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996: Ordinance on Constitution of Commercial Courts seeks constitution of Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division in the High Courts for adjudicating commercial disputes of specified value and for matters connected there with or incidental thereto. The Ordinance on amending the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 seeks amendments based on the Law Commission’s recommendations of 246th reports and suggestions received from stakeholders.

IV. Defence Ministry approved induction of women as IAF fighter pilots: Ministry of Defence approved the induction of women into the combat stream of the Indian Air Force. This approval clears the path for women to fly warplanes for the first time.

V. President gives away Sangeet Natak Akademi awards, fellowships for 2014: While leading musicologist S R Janakiraman, theatre doyen and noted filmmaker M S Sathyu, and musicians Vijay Kumar Kichlu and Tulsidas Vasant Borker were awarded fellowships of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, 35 eminent personalities were honoured with Akademi awards.

VI. Ratan Tata invests in Virtual cash start-up Abra: Abra is a Silicon Valley bitcoin startup which deals with a system of electronic money.

VII. Himachal Pradesh to host India’s 1st Paragliding World Cup: India’s 1st paragliding World Cup has begun at Bir Billing near Baijnath town in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. Snow leopard is the official mascot of this world cup.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
I. Indian origin Ashok Alexander Sridharan sworn in as mayor of Bonn city in Germany: With this, Sridharan became the 1st Person of Indian Origin (PIO) to be elected as the mayor of a major city in the country. Bonn is the 18th most populated city in Germany.

II. US President designated Brett McGurk as Envoy to US-led coalition fighting ISIS.

III. Maldivian Vice-President arrested on suspicion of links to a blast on President’s boat: Vice President Ahmed Adeeb was arrested at the airport when he returned from an official visit to china. The explosion took place aboard the boat when President Yameen Abdul Gayoom and his wife were returning to the capital from the airport after a Haj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

IV. Hurricane Patricia struck Mexico’s Pacific Coast: The hurricane carrying destructive winds with a speed of 165mph forced thousands to flee homes and beach front resorts.

V. Grant Agreement on gas interconnector between Poland and Lithuania signed: Poland and three Baltic states-Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia signed the grant agreement on the GIPL (Gas Interconnector Poland-Lithuania) in Brussels, Belgium.

VI. Japan offers soft loan to India for bullet train project: Japan has offered soft loan of 15 billion dollars (Rs 90,000 crore) at an interest rate of less than 1% to India’s ambitious first bullet train project viz. Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail corridor along with technology.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:
I. Paytm ties up with Bank of Maharashtra: Paytm, leading mobile payment and ecommerce platform has tied up with Bank of Maharashtra to offer mobile wallet top up facility through bank ATMs

II. KVG Bank, Karnataka government to sign MoU for lending to panchayats: Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank sponsored by Syndicate Bank has entered into a MoU with the State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department along with Sanjivani, an NGO, for implementing the Rajiv Gandhi Chaitanya Yojane. KVG Bank plans to lend 150 crore rupees.

AWARDS:
III. Kashmiri Folk Singer Abdul Rashid Hafiz was honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi award by President Pranab Mukherjee.

Daily GK Updates - 23rd October, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

I. PM Modi lays foundation stone for Andhra Pradesh’s new capital city: He laid the foundation stone of Amravati, a new capital city of Andhra Pradesh on the occasion of Dussehra and Vijayadashmi. The foundation stone of new futuristic capital city of the state was laid at a grand ceremony held in Guntur district.

II. Alok Rawat becomes first male member of National Commission for Women: His appointment fills the fourth seat in the five member body that seeks to review the constitutional and legal safeguards for women.

III. PM Modi laid foundation stone of Shri Venkateswara Mobile and Electronics Manufacturing Hub: He laid the foundation stone of Shri Venkateswara Mobile and Electronics Hub in Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. The hub will be a dedicated mobile handset manufacturing facility.

IV. Union Government cleared first batch of AMRUT projects for 89 cities worth 2786 crore rupees: The approved action plans have a total of 143 projects in 89 AMRUT cities in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

V. ISRO to launch six Singapore-made satellites in December: India will launch six Singapore-made satellites, including a dedicated 400 kg spacecraft for carrying out surveillance missions for maritime and border security, in mid-December onboard PSLC C-29.

VI. Flipkart appoints Samardeep Subandh as the new chief Marketing Officer.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
I. Western Digital buying SanDisk in deal worth about $19 billion: Western Digital, a maker of hard drives for businesses and personal computer, is buying SanDisk in a cash and stock deal worth about $19 billion as it looks to extend its reach in the storage industry.

II. Pakistan Nuclear Forces, 2015 Report released by Bulletin of Atomic Scientists: It is an update of Nuclear Notebook on Pakistan released in 2011by Hans M Kristensen and Robert S Norris of Denmark and the USA respectively.

III. New species of Giant Tortoise named Chelonoidis donfaustoi identified in Galapagos Islands: The tortoise was named after a retired Galapagos park ranger.

IV. Britain signed Strategic Investment Agreements for building three nuclear plants with China: Under the agreement, China will help the UK in building three nuclear plants including Hinkley Point C nuclear plant, which will be the 1st since 1980s.

V. China planned to form JV to develop overseas market for third-generation nuclear reactor Hualong 1: China’s top two nuclear power companies, China General Nuclear Power Group and China National Nuclear Corporation announced that they plan to combine their technologies in the country’s flagship third-generation reactor Hualong-1.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:
I. RBI issued direction on implementation of Gold Monetisation Scheme 2015: The RBI issued the direction to all Scheduled Commercial Banks (excluding Regional Rural Banks) in exercise of powers conferred on it under section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The GMS 2015 will replace the existing Gold Deposit Scheme, 1999.

II. Finance Ministry exempts banking correspondents under PMJDY from service tax: The Government has exempted services provided by a business correspondent to a banking company with respect to basic savings bank deposit accounts covered by Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana from payment of service tax.

SPORTS:
III. Jacques Kallis appointed as the Head coach of Kolkata Night Riders.

IV. Saina Nehwal lost World No.1 ranking to Carolina Marin: She lost her rank after making early exits from Japan Open and Denmark Open.

V. 1st World Indigenous Games began in Brazil: The games are a multi-sport event involving indigenous athletes has around 2000 athletes participating from many indigenous ethnic groups and 30 countries like Ethiopia, Mongolia, Brazil, Australia, Russia, Philippines and New Zealand.

AWARDS:
VI. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe awarded 2015 Confucius Peace Prize by China: The Prize is dubbed as Chinese equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize. He has been chosen for this edition of prize for his inspirational leadership and service to pan-Africanism and African independence.

OBITUARIES:
VII. RIP Labh Janjua: Bollywood mourns ‘London Thumakda’ singer’s demise:  He was found dead at his residence in Goregaon (West). He was best known for his songs like ‘London Thumakda’ and ‘Jee Karda’.

VIII. Veteran Labour MP Michael Meacher dies in UK at the age of 75.

IX. Ashwini Kumar, IOC honorary member died at the age of 94.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:
X. The book titled ‘Dreaming Big: My Journey to connect India’ by Sam Pitroda has been released.

Daily GK Updates - 22nd October, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:
I.Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje appointed Suman Sharma as the new chairperson of the Rajasthan State Commission for Women.
II.PM Narendra Modi to launch ‘India Gold Coin’ bearing Ashok Chakra: He will launch the 1st ever ‘India Gold Coin’ bearing Ashok Chakra on November 5, 2015. He will also launch Gold Monetisation and Sovereign Gold Bond Schemes on the same day.
III.Union Minister launched skill development centre: It was launched by Union Minister Jitendra Singh as IMS Health Skill Development Centre under the aegis of ‘UDAAN’ programme. It is aimed at empowering the youth of Jammu and Kashmir with active support and assistance from central government.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
I.Spain and USA signed a new deal to clean up land contaminated by radiation from undetonated nuclear bombs that accidentally fell on a site in Spain in 1966: The two sides agreed for cooperative effort to conduct further remediation of the Palomares site and arrange for disposal of the contaminated soil at an appropriate site in the United States.
II.Apple ordered to pay $234 million in patent suit: A US Jury ordered Apple Inc to pay the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s patent licensing arm more than $234 million in damages for incorporating its microchip technology into some of the company’s iPhones and iPads without permission.
III.Russia builds massive military base in Northern Atlantic: It has built a military base in the far northern Arctic where 150 soldiers can live autonomously for up to 18 months.
IV.Microsoft nominates Johnson and Johnson’s Sandra Peterson, ex-Cisco Systems executive Padmasee Warrior to its board.
V.Google takes minority stake in China artificial intelligence start-up Mobvoi for $75 million.

OTHER UPDATES:
FINANCE/BANKING:
I.Mudra Bank to miss loans target amid weak demand: The Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank, has managed to sanction just about 30% of its annual target in the 1st half of the fiscal year 2015.

Daily GK Updates - 21st October, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.   Justice Vaiphei appointed as acting Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court: The President of India Pranab Mukherjee appointed Justice T Vaiphei, senior most judge of the Gauhati High Court, as the acting Chief Justice for the Gauhati High Court.

II.      Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports constituted All India Council of Sports: It has constituted All India Council of Sports to advise the ministry on matters relating to the promotion and development of sports and games in the country. It will be headed by Prof V K Malhotra.

III.  Ministry of Information and Broadcasting reconstituted Central Press Accreditation Committee: It has reconstituted the Central Press Accreditation Committee (CPAC) that issues Press Information Bureau (PIB) cards to journalists.

IV.         Snapdeal has appointed AnupVikal as Chief Financial Officer.

V.    Union Cabinet approved agreement between India and Egypt on Maritime Transport: The agreement will be signed on a mutually convenient date and venue. It will help both the nations to encourage and facilitate the development of their maritime relationship.

VI.     Union Cabinet approved amendments to Payment of Bonus Act 1965 hiking bonus for Industrial workers: The bonus ceiling under the legislation was increased from 3500 rupees to 7000 rupees.

VII.   Union Cabinet approved treaty between India and Maldives on Mutual Legal Assistance in criminal matters: The treaty aims to boost efficiency of both the countries in investigation and prosecution of crime, through cooperation and mutual legal assistance in terrorism, transnational crime and criminal matters.

VIII. Erstwhile Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Areas divided into two Separate Headquarters: It was divided into two under Flag Officer Maharashtra Area and Flag Officer Gujarat Naval Area. This was done with an objective to enhance operational and administrative structure of the organisation.

IX.       Reva Khetrapal appointed as Lokayukta of Delhi.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

  I.        A B De Villiers of South Africa has been named as the brand ambassador of MRF.

II.      Russia and USA signed deal to avoid clashes between their air forces over Syrian skies: Both the countries signed a MoU on preventing incidents and providing for aviation flights during operations in Syria. It was signed between the Defence Ministers of Russia and the United States.

III.    Global Iodine Deficiency Disorders Prevention Day observed across the world on 21^st October 2015.

IV.      United Nations released ‘The World’s Women 2015: Trends and Statistics report: The report provides an update of the statistics and indicators on the situation of women and men around the world covering gender-specific information on eight key areas- population and families, health, education, work, power and decision-making, violence against women, environment and poverty. The report also shows that Indian women are facing inequality at all stages of life cycle.

V.       Global Maternal New-born Health Conference 2015 held in Mexico City: It was a technical meeting focused on accelerating progress towards effective and sustainable coverage of maternal and new-born interventions at scale.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.    Reliance Capital Asset Management (RCAM) signed agreement to acquire Goldman Sachs mutual funds business in India.

II.        Bank of Baroda first PSU bank to join Chillr platform: It has become the second bank after HDFC Bank to join the Chillr payment platform which enables peer to peer payment through a mobile application.

SPORTS:

III.    Anil Kumble named Brand Ambassador of Champions Tennis League team Raipur Rangers.

IV.     Yuki Bhambri becomes 1^st Indian to enter top 100 since 2010 by achieving a career best rank of 99 in the WTA rankings.

V.           Golfer Anirban Lahiri wins Asian Tour Golfer of the Month award.

AWARDS:

VI.   Noted Criminologist K Chockalingam won Paul H Appleby Award: He was awarded for his distinguished services to public administration and Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), where he was a member.

VII.  Seong-Jin Cho of South Korea won 17^th International Frederic Chopin Piano competition in Warsaw, Poland.

OBITUARIES:

VIII. Renowned Marine Biologist Syed ZahoorQasim died at the age of 88: He is considered as the founder of Polar Biology in India and was part of the first Indian Expedition to Antarctica in 1981-82.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

VIII.  The book titled ‘Dreaming Big: My Journey to connect India’ by Sam Pitroda has been released.