Daily GK Updates - 26th October, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Tech, tariff concerns weigh on Jaitapur N-plant deal: Technological and financial concerns as well as differences over taking responsibility for the construction of the proposed 10,000-mw nuclear power plant at Jaitapur in Maharashtra are weighing down efforts to fast-track the general framework agreement ahead of French president Emmanuel Macron's visit in December.  Macron will be in Delhi on December 8 for a three-day visit, primarily to adopt the legal framework for International Solar Alliance, an international band of sunshine countries to promote solar energy. Efforts are on to get the deal with EDF, French state-controlled company that is Europe's largest operator of nuclear power plants, in the bag for Macron to carry back home.

2. 1.5 lakh children to participate in International Children Film Festival: As many as 295 films from 93 countries will be screened during the 'The Golden Elephant 2017' - the 20th International Children Film Festival India from November 8-14 in the city.  The film festival is being organized by the Children's Film Society India in association with the Telangana state government. The films were selected from a total of 1,408 entries received from 108 countries.  While the main festival venue is Prasads imax where movies will be screened for delegates from across the globe, the inauguration will take place at the Shilpa Kala Vedika, Madhapur. The closing ceremony will also be at the same place. 291 child delegates from across the world will participate in the film festival.

3. Major fire outside Bandra station in Mumbai, harbour line now working: Western Railway denies any impact on services due to fire incident near Behrampada adjacent to Bandra station in Mumbai. A major fire broke out at Behrampada adjacent to suburban Bandra station in Mumbai this afternoon, forcing the railway authorities to halt train services on the harbour line, a senior railway official said.  “All lines at Bandra working including Harbour lines. No effect on Railway lines & trains,” ANI quoted the Western Railway PRO as saying.

4. Drug-resistant tuberculosis cases on rise in India: A study found over 40% of 45,076 patients, in 75 selected studies for review, suspected for resistance to any first-line anti-TB drugs, tested positive in the last 20 years. India has witnessed an alarming increase in Drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (DR-TB) in the past two decades, a study published in Bio-Med Central (BMC) Public Health journal revealed. The study found that over 40% of 45,076 patients, in 75 selected studies for review, suspected for resistance to any first-line anti-TB drugs, tested positive in the last 20 years. Comparative analysis of the studies revealed a worsening trend in DR-TB between the two study decades. It was found to be 37.7% between 1995 and 2005 and 46.1% between 2006 and 2015. A systematic review of published studies reporting prevalence of DR-TB from biomedical databases (PubMed and IndMed) was conducted.

5. 2.5 million died due to pollution in India in 2015, says Lancet study: Report published in The Lancet journal said in 2015, pollution was the reason behind nine million deaths worldwide—or about one in six. Even as national capital Delhi reels under heightened air pollution levels following Diwali celebrations, a report has said that pollution led to 2.5 million deaths in India in 2015 –the highest in the world. India was closely followed by China, which saw 1.8 million deaths due to pollution during the year. The report, published in The Lancet journal, said that in 2015, pollution was the reason behind nine million deaths worldwide—or about one in six.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Inferno at Indonesia fireworks factory kills 47:  A fire broke out at a fireworks factory next to a residential area in Tangerang, on the outskirts of Jakarta. 47 people have been killed in the fire. Police say the toll could rise further.

2. Rohingya crisis: Rex Tillerson calls Myanmar army chief, urges him to end violence in Rakhine state: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has urged Myanmar's army chief to help end the violence in Rakhine state that has forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims to flee. In a phone call with Min Aung Hlaing yesterday, Tillerson expressed "concern about the continuing humanitarian crisis and reported atrocities in Rakhine", according to a statement by State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. India thrash USA 22-0 in Sultan of Johor Cup 2017: For India three players - Vishal Antil, Dilpreet Singh, Harmanjit Singh and Abhishek - scored a hat-trick each. Harmanjit top-scored for India with five goals. There were 10 different goalscorers from India.

BANKING/ FINANCE:

1. PNB Housing board approves $1 billion masala bond issuance: PNB Housing Finance board also approves the issuance of secured and unsecured non-convertible debentures aggregating up to an amount of Rs6,000 crore in tranches. PNB Housing Finance Ltd, a housing finance company sponsored by state-owned lender Punjab National Bank and backed by private equity investor Carlyle Group, Thursday said its board has approved raising up to $1 billion by selling masala bonds. Masala bonds are rupee-denominated bonds sold in offshore capital markets. PNB Housing Finance board also approved the issuance of secured and unsecured non-convertible debentures aggregating up to an amount of Rs6,000 crore in tranches. World Bank arm International Finance Corp. (IFC) was the first to issue masala bonds in November 2014. It raised Rs1,000 crore to fund Indian infrastructure projects.

2. Rs2.11 trillion bank recapitalisation plan sufficient to tackle NPAs: SBI report: After provisioning for bad loans, SBI believes there may still be around Rs1 trillion in the bank recapitalisation outlay available for handing out loans. The government’s Rs2.11 trillion bank recapitalisation plan is sufficient to tackle the bad loan problem and will also give a push to economic growth, says an SBI research report.Finance minister Arun Jaitley unveiled the Rs2.11 trillion bank recapitalisation plan, which includes issue of recapitalisation bonds worth Rs1.35 trillion while the rest will be raised through budgetary allowances and fundraising by the banks from the capital markets.

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY:

1. First Jurassic-era ‘fish lizard’ fossil found in India: Scientists say the Jurassic-era ichthyosaur or ‘fish lizard’ fossil — nearly 5.5 metre long and rare in Southern Hemisphere— was discovered from Kachchh area in Gujarat. In a first, a near- complete fossilised skeleton of a Jurassic ichthyosaur — large marine reptile which lived alongside dinosaurs — has been discovered in India, scientists said. Fossil records of ichthyosaurs, which means ‘fish lizards’ in Greek, have been found in North American and Europe previously. However, in the Southern Hemisphere, they have mostly been limited to South America and Australia.  Researchers including those from the University of Delhi and University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) in Germany have found what they believe to be the first Jurassic ichthyosaur in India, from the Kachchh area in Gujarat.

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Sensex, Nifty close record high; metal, oil and gas stocks rally: BSE Sensex closed higher by 104.63 points to 33,147.13, while the Nifty 50 rose 48.45 points to close at 10,343.80. Here are the latest updates from the markets. Sensex and Nifty extended their record-setting run for the second session and ended at fresh lifetime highs on Thursday on short-covering following derivatives expiry amid optimism over earnings. The BSE Sensex gained 104.63 points to end at 33,147.13, while the broader Nifty rose 48.45 points to finish at 10,343.80. Both the key indices had climbed to lifetime highs yesterday as well, buoyed by the government’s massive Rs9 trillion package to boost the economy.

2. Albert Einstein’s theory of happiness fetches $1.3 million : Albert Einstein’s musings, handwritten on a note and given as tips to a bellboy in a Tokyo hotel, shed light on one of the great modern minds. While Albert Einstein’s theory of happiness may be relative, it fetched $1.3 million at a Jerusalem auction on Tuesday. The Nobel-winning scientist’s musings, handwritten on a note, may not be as famous as his groundbreaking theory of relativity, but they still shed light on one of the great modern minds. Winner’s Auctions and Exhibitions said Einstein was travelling in Japan in 1922 when he was told he would be awarded the Nobel Prize in physics. In Tokyo, Einstein scribbled the note in German to a bellboy after he did not have cash to give him a tip.

3. SpaceX, Google top list of companies techies want to work for: SpaceX, Google, Shopify and Tesla are the most appealing companies for technology workers, according to a survey by online jobs marketplace Hired. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Shopify Inc. and Tesla Inc. are the most appealing companies for technology workers, according to a survey by online jobs marketplace Hired. While big tech names topped the list, geographical breakdowns showed more diversity. Startups like SendGrid Inc., which does marketing email, had the highest ranking in Denver, while financial services like Capital One Financial Corp. topped scores in Washington. Online real estate database Redfin Corp., which went public this year, topped the list in Seattle. Notable companies excluded from the global top-ten were Amazon.com Inc., Uber Technologies Inc., and Airbnb Inc. Amazon did come in No. 3 in hometown Seattle, however, just ahead of Microsoft Corp.

4. Vodafone launches ‘SuperWeek plan’ with unlimited calls, 500 MB data at Rs69: Vodafone says the ‘SuperWeek plan’ will enable customers to make ‘unlimited local and STD calls to any network bundled with 500 MB data at just Rs69 for a week’. India’s second-largest telecom operator Vodafone on Thursday announced a short-duration plan that offers unlimited calling and 500 MB data at about Rs69 with 7 days of validity. The move comes at a time when the Indian telecom market — the second-largest in the world after China — is witnessing an intensifying competition among telecom operators which are trying to outdo each other with newer packs and attractive bundled offers to woo consumers. Vodafone, in a statement, said its ‘SuperWeek plan’ will enable customers to make “unlimited local and STD calls to any network bundled with 500 MB data at just Rs69 for a week”.

5. GST unleashed tsunami of tax terror, says Rahul Gandhi: Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government of ‘killing’ the economy by firing the ‘double tap’ of demonetisation and GST into its heart. Launching a fresh salvo at the ruling BJP, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government of “killing” the economy by firing the “double tap” of demonetisation and GST into its heart.

Daily GK Updates - 25th October, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. NS Venkatesh has been appointed as CEO of Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI): Before joining AMFI, Venkatesh served in Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) for over 19 years, where he held several senior positions, including that of chief financial officer and executive director. He was also working as the executive director at Lakshmi Vilas Bank.

2. Kanwaljit Singh Cheema appointed principal secretary BoA-Darjeeling:  West Bengal government appointed Kanwaljit Singh Cheema as the principal secretary of Board of Administrators (BoA) in Darjeeling. Kanwaljit Singh Cheema, was the principal secretary of the Mass Education Extension and Library Service Department. The BoA is a nine-member board.

3.  Meghalaya Election Department has entered Limca Book of Records for the formation of the biggest human logo comprising young voters in the state: The logo formation was part of Mission Unite (U and I towards Enrolment) as part of the Special drive to enroll young and left out voters. A total of 2,870 students, 113 schools, three colleges participated. The logo size was 120ft x 75ft.

4. MP aggressive in digital initiatives: As per a report by Coeus Age Consulting, Madhya Pradesh has emerged as the top state in terms of digital initiatives undertaken by State Government. Coeus Age Consulting is an organisation which provides consultancy services on various aspects of digital economy. A comparative assessment of digital initiatives by 36 states and Union Territories was undertaken by Coeus Age Consulting.

5.  Paika Bidroha: Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar mentioned that from the next academic session, ‘Paika Bidroha’ of 1817 will be included in history text books as ‘the First War of Independence’. Paika Rebellion was an armed rebellion against British East India Company, which broke out in the year 1817 across Odisha. Combination of social-political-economic causes triggered the Paika rebellion.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Central American country Nicaragua has signed the Paris Agreement on climate change: Only two countries, United States and Syria are left, who have not signed this global climate pact. Till June 2017, 195 UNFCCC members have signed the agreement, 148 of which have ratified it.

2. India’s gift to Bangladesh - memorabilia of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971: On 22nd October 2017, India gifted a memorabilia of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 to the Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. During the war, about 10 million Bangladesh people took refuge in India. India and Bangladesh fought together to drive out the Pakistani occupation army. The memorabilia includes military equipment utilized during the war, artifacts, documents etc.

3. India – Indonesia CORPAT: The 30th edition of CORPAT (Coordinated Patrol) and 3rd Bilateral exercise between the Indian Navy and the Indonesian Navy is being conducted in Belawan, Indonesia. The exercise will be held from 24th October to 5th November 2017. Indian Naval Ship Sukanya arrived at Belawan to participate in the 30th edition of CORPAT. CORPAT exercise is conducted on IMBL twice a year since 2002.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Manav Thakkar has become the first Indian to occupy the top spot with 3,455 points on the ITTF World Junior Circuit standings:  Manav Thakkar hails from Surat. He was previously placed at No. 5 position. He has reached the top position of top ITTF Junior Circuit standings after finishing runner-up at the 2017 Serbian Junior and Cadet Open, Belgrade.

2. India’s Divij Sharan and America’s Scott Lipsky won the European Open trophy in Antwerp, Belgium:  Divij Sharan and Scott Lipsky defeated Santiago Gonzalez and Julio Peralta by 6-4, 2-6, 10-5 in the finals. They won the 2017 European Open title. Divij Sharan has won his first title of the 2017 season on the ATP World Tour, and third overall, by winning the European Open trophy.

BANKING/ FINANCE:

1. RBI assigned task Force on ‘Public Credit Registry’: Reserve Bank of India has constituted a 10-member ‘High Level Task Force on Public Credit Registry (PCR) for India’. It will suggest a roadmap for developing a transparent, comprehensive and near-real-time PCR for India. The committee will be Headed by YM Deosthalee, ex-CMD, L&T Finance Holdings.

2. EEPC India - PNB Pact: Engineering Export Promotion Council of India has signed an MoU with PNB to provide easy access to finance for SMEs and merchant exporters of the council. PNB will provide finance with assurance that loans up to Rs. 10 crore would be provided within 6 to 7 weeks at competitive rates. PNB would also extend foreign currency loan facilities and provide advisory support to EEPC India members.

3. SBI ties up with Escorts Ltd: SBI announced that it has entered into a tie-up with Escorts Ltd to finance farmers for the purchase of Escorts tractors. As per the terms of the tie-up, farmers across India, who wish to purchase Powertrac and Farmtrac brand tractors manufactured by Escorts, will be provided finance facility by SBI at competitive interest rates. This will help a large number of small and marginal farmers.

4. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is set to make Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) compulsory for companies : Companies having aggregate fund-based and non-fund based exposure over Rs 5 cr. LEI is a unique 20 digit alphanumeric code that will be assigned to corporate borrowers. Fetching loan details on basis of LEI, will prevent banks from extending multiple loans to companies against the same collateral.

5. IndusInd Bank and MobiKwik announced the launch of a co-branded wallet, “IndusInd Mobikwik”: IndusInd Mobikwik wallet allows IndusInd bank’s customers to pay at the MobiKwik merchant network using their accounts. This wallet has a ‘direct debit feature’ which allows IndusInd Bank account holders to link their accounts just once and pay using the co-branded app as and when required.

OBITUARIES:

1. Noted Malayalam filmmaker I.V. Sasi passed away: He was 69 years old. He had been ill for a while. He has directed more than 150 movies in his 40 year career. He started his career as an art director for Kaliyalla Kalyanam in 1968. He made his debut as a director with the movie Ulsavam. He has won various awards like National Film Award, Kerala State Film Awards etc.

Daily GK Updates - 24th October, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. IPS Rakesh Asthana appointed CBI Special Director: Senior IPS officer (1984-batch: Gujarat cadre) has been appointed as the special director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Earlier, Asthana had been serving in the Central Bureau of Investigation as Additional Director. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the domestic security agency of India, overseen by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions of the Federal government headed by a Cabinet Minister who reports directly to the Prime Minister.

2. Japan's ruling coalition wins overwhelming victory in general election: Japan's ruling coalition has won an overwhelming victory in yesterday's general election. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito party won more than two-thirds of the Lower House seats. The LDP, led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, secured 283 seats, one less than before the election but far more than a simple majority of 233. Komeito won 29, bringing the total of seats held by the ruling camp to 312.

3. TRAI recommends 40% carbon emission reduction in telecom network by 2022-23: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended 40% carbon emission reduction in telecom network by 2022-23. The target for reduction in carbon emission be set as 30% by year 2019-20 taking base year as 2011-12 and 40% by the year 2022-23. The report of carbon footprint of telecom operators should be submitted annually within 45 days after March of every year. The targets should be reviewed in the year 2022-23.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. United Nations Day is observed on 24^th October, 2017: The United Nations Day is being observed globally on 24th October to make people aware of the aims and achievements of the United Nations Organization. In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly declared 24 October, the anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations. United Nations Day is part of United Nations Week (runs from 20 to 26 October).In 1971, the United Nations General Assembly had declared 24th October as the United Nations Day by adopting Resolution 2782.

2. Bangladesh - India deal for Gas and Oil: The Bangladesh Petroleum Corp. (BPC) and Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) has signed long-term sales and purchase agreement to import gas oil to meet the country’s energy demand. BPC will take up to 250,000 tonnes of gas oil each year from NRL for the first three years of the deal to the BPC’s northern fuel depot via a 131-km (79 mile) pipeline, which will be built by India.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1.  Jitu Rai & Heena Sidhu strike gold in air pistol mixed team event: Commonwealth and Asian Games gold-medallist Jeetu Rai and Heena Sidhu have won the gold medal of the ISSF World Cup Final in New Delhi, in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. Rai and Sidhu picked up their third gold together in the mixed team event. The mixed team competitions were organised as test events in the World Cups this year and will be making their Olympic debut in the Tokyo 2020 Games. France secured the silver medal and China settled for the bronze medal.

2. Best FIFA Men's Player- Cristiano Ronaldo: The four-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo claimed the Best FIFA Men's Player award (second straight year) at the 2017 award ceremony in London. Real Madrid's Portugal striker helped Real to a Champions League-La Liga double in 2016-17. Lieke Martens of Barcelona and the Netherlands won best female player, Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid) was named best men's coach and Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands) the best female coach. Arsenal's Olivier Giroud received the Puskas award for the best goal of 2017 for his 'scorpion kick' against Crystal Palace in January. Celtic won the fan award after they honoured the club's 1967 'Lisbon Lions' with a stunning 360-degree card display on the 50th anniversary of their historic European Cup win.

3. Brazil and Spain have joined England and Mali in the semi-finals of the Under-17 FIFA World Cup Football being held in India: Brazil will face England in Guwahati, with Spain taking on Mali in Mumbai on 25th of this month. The Final is slated to take place on 29th Oct 2017 (Saturday) in Kolkata.

BANKING/ FINANCE:

1. India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) appoints Suresh Sethi as its MD & CEO: Suresh Sethi was former MD of Vodafone M-Pesa Ltd. IPPB has appointed him as its Managing Director (MD)and chief executive officer (CEO). He takes over from AP Singh who had held the post in the interim since January 2017. IPPB plans to leverage the unparalleled reach of the India Post network to achieve a pan-India roll out of 650 branches by early next year. The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has been incorporated as a public-sector company under the Department of Posts with 100% GOI equity. India Post has about 1,54,000 post offices, of them 90% are in rural areas. After State Bank of India, India Post has the largest deposits valued at Rs. 6 lakh crores.