Daily GK Updates - 24th August, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. President Pranab Mukherjee launches AkashvaniMaitree channel: India state radio broadcaster's AkashvaniMaitree Channel, a special Bengali channel targeted at the Bengali-speaking audience of India, Bangladesh and in other countries, was launched by President Pranab Mukherjee.

2. Union Cabinet clears Surrogacy Bill: The Union Cabinet Today cleared the draft Surrogacy Bill 2016, aimed at regulating commissioning of surrogacy in the country in a proper manner. The bill aims to safeguard rights of surrogate mothers and make parentage of such children legal.

3. Maharashtra to have own law for internal security: The newly drafted Maharashtra Protection of Internal Security Act (MPISA) has proposed setting up of Special Security Zones (SSZ) where movement of arms, explosives and inflow of unaccounted funds will be prohibited. Maharashtra is the first State in the country to draft its own internal security act.

4. Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat Assembly Ratifies GST Bill: The Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh state Assembly passed the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Constitution Amendment Bill, becoming the fifth, sixth and seventh state to pass the bill respectively.

5. India is 7^th wealthiest country, China second: The New World Wealth, India is ranked 7th among the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of private wealth held by individuals. The New World Wealth is a research consultancy that tracks the global wealth sector.The Top 5 Counties are: 1. US 2. China3. Japan 4.  UK 5. Germany.

6. Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of Maharashtra and AAI sign MoU on Regional Connectivity Scheme:The Maharashtra State government, Civil Aviation Ministry and Airports Authority of India signed a tri-partite Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 23-August-2016 at Mumbai. The MOU pave the way for collaborative process of these agencies together for successful launch of the Regional Connectivity Scheme.

7. India and Germany sign pact on vocational training: India and Germany today signed an agreement that aims to foster conditions that will help create and improve workplace-based vocational training in India's industrial clusters.

8. India’s Oscar entry for 2017 to be picked by Ketan Mehta: The Film Federation of India (FFI) has kickstarted the process to cherry pick the film, which will officially represent India at the 89th Academy Awards next year. And the deadline for submitting entries for the foreign film category Oscar is October 1. Ketan Mehta has been approached to head the 17-member jury which comprises technicians and artists within the film industry.

9. Delhi to get all new Aerospace Museum: Delhi will soon have a sprawling new Aerospace Museum close to the international airport focused mainly on Nation's rich aviation history. New Aerospace Museum is not only meant to preserve the glorious tradition of the IAF but also to create awareness in general public about India's rich Aerospace heritage.

10. P D Gupta appointed VC of Homi Bhabha National Institute.

11. Volvo Auto India hires Nalin Jain as CFO.

12. Two Indian-American women named White House fellows: Astrophysicist Anjali Tripathi from California and physician Tina R Shah from Chicago are among the 16 White House Fellows appointed from across the nation for the year 2016-17.

13. Airtel and Vodafone unveil e-KYC solution to use Aadhar number for SIM activation: Bharti Airtel and Vodafone have started rolling out Aadhaar based e-KYC solution following the notification by the Department of Telecom, Government of India. Telecom operator Vodafone will roll out e-KYC facility across 4,500 stores in India that will quickly activate SIMs of its customers with an Aadhaar number.

14. Odisha Cabinet approves Startup Policy 2016: Odisha Cabinet has approved the “Odisha Startup Policy 2016” to promote entrepreneurship for start-up ventures with provision of government incentives. The policy will chart out a roadmap to place Odisha among the top three investment destinations in the country by 2020.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Pfizer to acquire oncology specialist Medivation for $ 14 bn: The US-headquartered pharma major Pfizer Inc has entered into an agreement to acquire MedivationInc, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercialising small molecules for oncology, for a total enterprise value of approximately $ 14 billion.

2. China’s unmanned submersible sets new national record: China's unmanned submersible has dived to a depth of 10,767 metres at the world's deepest ocean point, setting a new record for the country to enable it to explore ocean beds for minerals and other natural resources.

3. Toxic gas leak at Bangladesh fertilizer unit sickens 250; plugged: About 250 people, including children, have fallen sick and hundreds of residents have been evacuated from their homes after a toxic gas leak from a fertiliser unit in Bangladesh's port city of Chittagong.

4. North Korea test fires new ballistic missile: North Korea today test fired a new ballistic missile. South Korea's military said, it was launched from a submarine in the Sea of Japan, off North Korea's eastern coast.

OTHER UPDATES:

OBITUARIES:

1. Mathrubhumi former editor K KShreedharan Nair passed away at the age of 86.

Daily GK Updates - 23rd August, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Himachal Pradesh assembly ratifies GST Bill: The Bill was introduced by CM Virbhadra Singh on the first day of five-day monsoon session. Himachal Pradesh has become the fourth after Assam, Bihar and Jharkhand to ratify the Bill.

2. JagdishMukhi sworn in as Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar.

3. BrajendraNavnit, V Sheshadri appointed as Joint Secretaries of PMO: Senior IAS officers BrajendraNavnit and V Sheshadri have been appointed as Joint Secretaries in PMO as part of massive mid-level reshuffle.

4. Bajaj Finance ties up with India Post to facilitate two-wheeler purchase: Bajaj Finance Limited, a motorcycle finance company, has partnered with India Post to facilitate purchase of vehicles in Karnataka.

5. Telangana Government to create 17 new districts in October: The two-year-old Telangana government has issued draft notification on rearranging district borders to create 17 new districts.

6. Mahindra AMC launches new scheme:Mahindra Asset Management Company has launched an open ended scheme, which will generate long-term capital appreciation through a diversified portfolio of equity and equity related securities. Mahindra Mutual Fund KarBachatYojana - an open ended ELSS Scheme - with a three year lock-in period.

7. V P Singh Badnore sworn in as Punjab Governor.

8. Catholic Syrian Bank MD quits: Anand Krishnamurthy, Managing Director and Chief Executive of Kerala-based Catholic Syrian Bank, has submitted his resignation, a year after taking over the posts.

9. Government set to ban cash transactions of over Rs 3 lakh: The government is set to ban cash transactions over Rs 3 lakh as it seeks to clamp down on black money in the economy following recommendations from the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team.

10. GAIL signs MoU with Bloom Energy for fuel cell power generation: State-run GAIL (India) Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with California-based Bloom Energy for developing natural gas-based fuel cell power generation.

11. Punjab CM Prakash Singh Badal launches mobile app for farmers: The app will provide basic information on weather updates, crop prices and expert advices. Praising the Agriculture Department initiative, he said this would go a long way to keep the farmers abreast with the changing agricultural practices and marketing support, coupled with the latest agronomical techniques to enhance productivity.

11. Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust to sign agreement with bankers for External Commercial Borrowing: Mumbai based container port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port has signed an agreement with State Bank of India and Development Bank of Singapore for External Commercial Borrowing to the tune of USD 400 Million under External Commercial Borrowings.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. China launches first Tibetan-language search engine: China has launched its first Tibetan-language search engine 'Yongzin'. The search engine will serve as a unified portal for all major Tibetan-language websites in China.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. Ashok Chawla to take over as YES Bank non-executive chairman.

2. Mobikwik launches partial payment for bus ticket booking: The new entrant in the bus booking industry MobiKwik today announced its industry first initiatives to capture the lead position in the industry by end of 2016.

SPORTS:

3. National Sports Awards 2016: Rio Olympics 2016 medalists PV Sindhu (badminton) and Sakshi Malik (wrestling) have been chosen for KhelRatna award for 2016. The highest sporting award of India will also be given to DipaKarmakar and JituRai. DipaKarmakar's coach Bisweshwar Nandi will be awarded Dronacharya Award for 2016.

4. Ahmedabad to host 2016 Kabaddi World Cup: Gujarat will play host to 12 kabaddi teams from USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Iran, Poland, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Korea, Japan and Kenya, besides hosts India.

5. VikashAnand wins premier title in National Racing: Chennai hailed VikashAnand won a double to clinch the title in the MRF Formula 1600 category and a ticket for the Mazda Road to Indy shootout as the fifth and final round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship concluded in Chennai.

AWARDS:

6. Asian Filmmaker Award posthumously for Kiarostami at Busan: Late Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami has been selected for the Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award at the Busan International Film Festival. He passed away on July 4 at the age of 76.

Daily GK Updates - 22nd August, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Manjula Chellur sworn in as Chief Justice of Bombay HC.

2. BSNL and Microsoft India join hands for effective connectivity and telecom solutions: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) inked pact with Microsoft India to offer telecom and IT solutions for big businesses promoting the demand for IT and cloud services. ii. MoU will assist audio and video needs of the BSNL's enterprise customers and government organizations.

3. Railways to partner with Google for showcasing its heritage: Google has agreed to partner with Railways to digitise its heritage assets and help create a digital repository for universal online access free of cost.

4. Vistara Airlines appoint Deepika Padukone as brand ambassador: Vistara, is an Indian domestic airline based in Gurgaon has announced that Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone will be their new brand ambassador.

5. Najma Heptullah sworn in as the Governor of Manipur.

6. Uma Bharti launches Rs 560 crore projects under Namami Gange programme:Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Sushri Uma Bharti launched various Projects on the Bank of Ganga worth Rs. 560 crore under NamamiGange programme at Ganga Barrage in Kanpur. The Projects are Interception and diversion plan of Sisamau drain—worth Rs. 63 crore, Networking schemes at Bithoor–Worth Rs. 397 crore, River front development scheme at Bithoor–worth Rs. 100 crore, Ghats and five crematoria will be constructed at Bithoor.

7. Guruvayur included in PRASAD scheme: The famous Sreekrishna temple in Guruvayur has been included in the Union Tourism Ministry’s Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spirituality Augmentation Drive (PRASAD).

8. ‘Shankhachil’ selected for Montreal Film Festival: Director Goutam Ghosh's National award-winning film "Shankhachil", an Indo-Bangla joint production, has been selected for the coveted 40th Montreal World Film Festival.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Indo-Canadian Sikh MP becomes Canada’s 1^st woman House leader: Indo-Canadian Sikh MP Bardish Chagger has been named as the new Leader of the government in Canada’s House of Commons, becoming the first woman to hold the post in the country’s history.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Sania Mirza gets No.1 spot in women’s doubles by defeating Martina Hingis: Sania Mirza, paired with Barbora Strycova from the Czech Republic, defeated Martina Hingis and her partner Coco Vandeweghe 7-5, 6-4.

AWARDS:

2. IOA Chief N Ramachandran awarded with the Olympic Order: Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President, N. Ramachandran was awarded the Olympic Order for his outstanding services to the Olympic movement.

3. Kamal Haasan to get prestigious French honour: Famous Actor Kamal Haasan will be awarded the Chevalier de L'Ordre Arts etLettres (The Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French government.The Order is part of France’s premier award, the Legion of Honor.

OBITUARIES:

4. Prize-winning author Joyce Carol Thomas died at the age of 78: Joyce Carol Thomas was an African-American poet, playwright, motivational speaker, and author of more than 30 children’s books.

Daily GK Updates - 21st August, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Government selects four investment banks for share sale in HUDCO: Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), the nodal agency under the finance ministry that coordinates government disinvestment programme has selected four investment banks for the proposed share sale in HUDCO (Housing & Urban Development Corporation Limited). These four banks include Nomura, SBI Caps, ICICI Securities and IDBI Capital.

2. China’s high speed train maker launches operation in India: China largest high-speed train maker has announced the launch of its first joint venture (JV) plant in India with USD 63.4 million investments to manufacture and repair railway locomotives. The joint venture, named CRRC (China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation) Pioneer (India) Electric Co Ltd, is housed in Bavo Industrial District of Haryana between New Delhi and Bombay. The Chinese side holds 51% of the share.

3. NLC Ltd to add 6820 MW of power at cost of Rs 27,740 crore: Navaratnacompany NLC Ltd, which comes under the Ministry of Coal, is planning to add over 6,821 megawatt (Mw) of power, with an investment of over Rs 27,740 crore in these projects.

4. India pledges Rs 39.97 million for upgrading school in Nepal: India has pledged financial assistance worth 39.97 million Nepali Rupees for the construction of a new building and a hostel facility at a Sanskrit school in eastern Nepal.

5. Andhra Pradesh announces Rs 3 crore cash award, Group 1 cadre job for Sindhu: The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet has decided to felicitate the Olympic badminton star PV Sindhu with Rs. 3 crore reward in cash, a 1,000 sq yard site in the new capital city of Amaravati and a Group I cadre job in the State. The Cabinet also approved a Rs. 50 lakh cash reward to PullelaGopichand, the former badminton star and coach of Sindhu.

6. Andhra Pradesh police launches pilot project on DNA profiling:Andhra Pradesh Police has launched DNA Index System (DIS), the first-of-its-kind initiative that allows generation of DNA profiles from live samples like saliva and blood stains. The system uses the latest DNA technology tool called RapidHIT developed by IntegenX of USA.

7. India ranks 39^th in Asia Pacific on fixed broadband: India ranks a low 39th in terms of fixed broadband adoption among Asia-Pacific countries, with just 1.3% of its citizens subscribing to such a service in 2015, according to a study by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Hong Kong, New Zealand, Japan, Macao, Australia and Singapore topped the list of 53 countries.

8. Maneka Gandhi inaugurates Animal Birth Control Centre in Dehradun: Union Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister Maneka Gandhi inaugurated the state’s first animal birth control centre (ABC) at Kedarpuram. The centre will take up birth control measures with stray dogs the population of which has been rising in the city and the state.

9. Sunil Mittal re-appointed as the Chairman of Bharti Airtel for 5 years: Sunil Bharti Mittal has been re-appointed as the Chairman of telecom giant BhartiAirtel for another 5 years, with effect from October 1, 2016.

10. Amul MD R S Sodhi appointed on board of India Post Payment Banks.

11. YogeshwarSangwan concurrently accredited as the Ambassador of India to Georgia.

12. India world’s third biggest tech start-up hub: Assocham: India is home to the 3rd largest number of technology-driven start-ups in the world, with the US and the UK occupying the top two positions.

OTHER UPDATES:

OBITUARIES:

1. Former international test umpire Subrata Banarjee died at the age of 71.

Daily GK Updates - 20th August, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. PM Modi to be new brand ambassador of incredible India: Indian government’s Tourism Ministry has decided that instead of getting a brand ambassador for the Incredible India campaign, it will make Prime Minister NarendraModi the face of the campaign.

2. PM Modi’s monogrammed suit enters Guinness Records as ‘most expensive suit sold’: The monogrammed suit worn by Prime Minister NarendraModi during his meeting with American President Barack Obama last year, which created huge controversy, entered Guinness Book of World Records as ‘the most expensive suit sold’. The suit was sold at an auction for Rs 4.31 crore.

3. Two-day meeting of BRICS women Parliamentarian’s forum to begin in Jaipur today: The two-day meeting of the BRICS Women's Parliamentarian Forum will begin here on Saturday in which 42 delegates from member countries will participate. LokSabha Speaker SumitraMahajan will inaugurate the meeting which will have different plenary sessions.

4. Kerala Cabinet approves new debt relief scheme: Kerala government has approved a new debt relief scheme for low income and poor people who face the threat of revenue recovery proceedings after they fail to repay loans taken from various financial institutions under the government. The scheme, expected to cause an additional burden of Rs 40 crore to the exchequer, would benefit more than 10,000 persons.

5. BEL head bags top award: SK Sharma, Chairman and MD, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), has been awarded as the Most Enterprising CEO in Electronics Sector by the Indo Global Business Council (IGBC), a policy think-tank based in New Delhi.

6. Cipla, Godrej recognized in Fortune ‘Change the World’ list:India’s pharmaceutical giant Cipla Ltd and consumer goods conglomerate Godrej have been recognized by Fortune magazine in a list of global firms changing the world for the good and having a positive social impact through their activities. The list has been topped by British pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline and includes Swiss food products major Nestlé (5), India-born Ajay Banga-led Mastercard (7).

7. KVIC approves hike in wages of Khadi Artisans: Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has approved a wage hike along with a hike in Market Development Assistance. The KVIC has informed that spinners will now earn 5.50 rupees instead of 4 rupees per hank with an additional 10 percent Market Development Assistance.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Indian-American inducted in Texas Women’s Hall of Fame: RenuKhator, Indian-American woman academic, will be inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame for making significant contribution for the benefit of the US' second largest state.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. Urjit Patel appointed as the next RBI Governor: Urjit Patel is the new Reserve Bank of India Governor, the Finance Ministry announced.Patel will succeed RaghuramRajan as the RBI chair once he steps down on September 3, after his term comes to an end.

SPORTS:

2. P V Sindhu wins silver in women’s singles badminton: Rio Olympic 2016: India's P V Sindhu today created history by winning a silver medal in women's singles badminton event at Rio Olympics 2016. She is the first Indian female and first ever Indian shuttler to win Olympic silver.Carolina Marin of Spain beat P.V. Sindhu of India to take gold and Japan's NozomiOkuhara won bronze medal. She also became the fourth Indian to win silver at the Olympics.

3. Usain Bolt wins 200m to complete hat-trick: Jamaican's sprinter Usain Bolt has won the 200 metres final to add to his 100m title at the Rio Olympics 2016. Bolt eased to victory in the 200m final in 19.78 seconds.

Daily GK Updates - 19th August, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Sachin Tendulkar adopts village in Osmanabad under SAGY: Former Cricketer and RajyaSabha MP Sachin Tendulkar has selected Donja village in Osmanabad district of Maharashtra for development under the SansadAdarsh Gram Yojna (SAGY).

2. IIT Kanpur adopts villages under NamamiGange: IIT-Kanpur has adopted 5 villages under the NamamiGange programme and will use its expertise to restrict the flow of sewage into the river. The task will be undertaken by the institute's civil engineering department.

3. Indian companies among top 200 carbon clean firms: Seven Indian companies have made it to a carbon-clean list of 200 largest companies worldwide ranked by their total clean-energy revenues. The list is topped by Japan's Toyota Motor. Indian companies are Suzlon Energy at 68 rank for its wind farms, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd at 106 for its wind electric generators and solar cells, Tata Chemicals at 114 for chemicals for biodiesel, solar energy, and fuel cells, Thermax Ltd is at 139, Exide Indus at 153 for electric storage batteries, IDFC Ltd is at 155 for its green infrastructure financing, Havells India at 166 for energy meters.

4. NMCG and IOC sign MoU for industrial use of treated water: National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) sign MoU for industrial use of treated water. This MoU helps in the establishment of STP in Mathura which will provide treated water for industrial use.

5. E-auction portal for power transmission: Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal launched the process of tariff-based reverse auction in the transmission sector and also inaugurated a portal for electronic bidding for transmission projects. Union Minister has launched “Tarang” mobile App, “e-Trans” and “DEEP” (Discovery of Efficient Electricity Price) e-bidding web portals developed by Rural Electrification Corp which reverse auction is being introduced in transmission sector on the lines of coal sector in order to facilitate better price discovery in such projects.

6. India Post Payment Bank incorporated, to start ops in 2017:India Post Payments Bank has come into existence after it received certificate of incorporation from the Registrar of Companies, setting the stage for the new bank to begin operations in 2017.

7. India inks deal to ferry oil through Bangladesh: India has signed a short-term route agreement with Bangladesh to allow transport of petroleum goods from Assam to Tripura through Bangladesh after heavy monsoon damaged roads and made the transportation between the two states difficult.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Alibaba Group launches ‘million books’ donation drive: Online and mobile commerce major The Alibaba Group, along with Crossword and RatnaNidhi Charitable Trust has launched ‘Mission Million Books’, a pan-India initiative inviting Indian citizens to donate textbooks and educational material for the underprivileged.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. SBI approves merger with associates: The board of country's largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI) has approved share swap ratio to merge 5 associate banks and BharatiyaMahila Bank (BMB) with itself. In the swap ratio an acquiring company will offer its own shares in exchange for the target company's shares during a merger or acquisition.

2. Doha Bank opens first branch in Kerala: Doha Bank QSC, one of the prominent banks in Qatar, is formally inaugurating its first branch in Kerala on August 27.

3. Federal Bank to use Chillr app: Federal Bank has partnered with Chillr, a mobile banking application that connects directly to a person’s bank account and enables instant money transfers, bill payments, phone recharge and e-commerce payments in a very secure environment.

AWARDS:

4. Hindi author Sunita Jain conferred VyasSamman Award: Hindi scholar and writer Sunita Jain was awarded the prestigious 25th VyasSamman 2015 for her poetry collection "Kshama". West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi conferred the award on the scholar.

OBITUARIES:

5. Love Story director Arthur Hiller passed away at the age of 92: The Canadian-born, dauntingly prolific Mr. Hiller ascended during the era of live television, and his versatility and workmanlike skill brought him a great deal of Hollywood work in TV and then film.