Daily GK Updates - 7th June, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Himachal Pradesh becomes the first state to launch green-concept based State Data Centre: It has become the first state in the country to have a State Data Centre (SDC), designed using green data centre concept to minimize power requirement and increase power utilization efficiency.

2. Guwahati declares Gangetic River Dolphin as its ‘city animal’: Gangetic River Dolphin is locally known as ‘Sihu’ which remains in the River Brahmaputra along Guwahati.

3. Swachch Yug campaign to make gram panchayats along Ganga open defecation free: As a part of its efforts to make villages located along Ganga open defecation-free, Government has launched a campaign ‘SwachchYug’, a collaborative effort of three Union Ministries, to bring about behavioural change among people staying in villages along the holy river.

4. Rajasthan Government launches Mobile App RajVayu on Air Quality Index: The information provided on RajVayu is based on the data collected by sophisticated air quality monitoring equipment and weather sensors.

5. Government and ADB sign $120 million loan agreement for Odisha: The government and multilateral lending agency Asian Development Bank has signed a $120 million loan agreement to improve irrigation and water management infrastructure in Odisha.

6. Facebook appoints former Adobe Executive UmangBedi as India MD.

7.  Ashok Ganapathy appointed as Director of Airtel Business.

8. Kulmeet Bawa appointed Adobe MD for South Asia.

9.  Diya Mirza named Ambassador for SwachchSaathi (student internship) programme: It is a youth based programme of Swachch Bharat Mission. Under this programme, more than 2000 interns would be enrolled to coordinate around 10000 schools across India.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. US Army Reserve Officer Deshauna Barber crowned as Miss USA 2016.

2. Walmart retains top position in Fortune 500 list: In 2016 rankings, Walmart has topped the Fortune 500 list for the fourth consecutive year. Apple, which was the most profitable company on the list jumped to no. 3 from no.5.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. RBI announces second bi-monthly monetary policy statement: Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram G Rajan has announced the second bi-monthly monetary policy statement for the year 2016-17. This time he keeps repo rate unchanged at 6.5%, reverse repo rate at 6% and CRR remains at 4% while, LAF will remain unchanged at 6% and the MSF and Bank rate at 7%.

SPORTS:

2. Serena Williams overtakes Maria Sharapova as the World’s highest paid sportswoman as per the Forbes Magazine report.

AWARDS:

3. International Olympic Committee (IOC) honours Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chief N Ramachandran with ‘Olympic Order’ for his outstanding services to the Olympic movement.

Daily GK Updates - 6th June, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Suresh Prabhu launches Tiger Express train on the World Environment Day: Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhu has flagged off the inaugural run of the Tiger Trail Circuit Train from Delhi Safdarjung station.

2. ADB, India inks $200 million loan agreement for Jharkhand roads: The Indian government and the Asian Development Bank have signed an agreement for a $200 million loan to upgrade 176-km roads in Jharkhand.

3. India and Qatar sign seven agreements to boost bilateral ties: The MoUs include MoU for investment in National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), MoU on cooperation in tourism, agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance in custom matters, MoU on Finance Intelligence Unit-India and Qatar Financial Information Unit, MoU in the field of youth and sports, MoU on cooperation in skill development and recognition of qualifications and MoU on cooperation in the field of health.

4. India ranks 70^th on 2015 Good Country Index, and 2^nd in GRD index: The list has been topped by Sweden as the best country in the world out of 163 countries.

5. V Narayanasamy sworn in as the CM of Puducherry.

6. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar launches Right to Public Grievance Redressal Act: The act seeks disposal of peoples’ complaints or Redressal of grievances from Government officials within 60-days.

7.  P Dhanpal re-elected as Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Speaker.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World Environment Day observed on 5^th June 2016 with theme ‘Zero tolerance for the illegal trade in wildlife.

OTHER UPDATES:

AWARDS:

1. Renowned Indian Sand Artist Sudarsan Patnaik wins gold in People’s Choice Prize at the World Championship festival of sand sculpting Russe, 2016, which was held in Bulgaria.

OBITUARIES:

2. Veteran Actress Sulabha Deshpande passed away at the age of 79.

3. India’s first Mr Universe Manohar Aich passed away at the age of 104.

Daily GK Updates - 5th June, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. TRAI launches DND services mobile application to register complaints against pesky calls, SMSs: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) launched DND Services Mobile Application for telecom subscribers to register their complaints against pesky calls and SMSs.

2. P Dhanpal re-elected as Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Speaker.

3. CCEA approved Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for kharif crops for 2016-17 seasons: The approved MSP is based on recommendations of Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP) which takes into account the cost of production, overall demand-supply among others.

4. Singapore International Arbitration Centre to open representative office at GIFT City, Gandhinagar.

5. Union Cabinet approves proposal for extension of Corridor-1 of Chennai Metro Rail Project Phase-1.

6. Sachin Tendulkar’s name to be used in Kerala Government’s Anti-Drug Campaign: The cricket icon has given his consent to use his name to strengthen the campaign against liquor and drug abuse in the state.

7. Indus Valley Civilization is 8000 years old as per IIT Kharagpur research.

8. India announces to double investment in Clean Energy Research in next five years.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. German Parliament passes Resolution recognising Massacre of Armenians as Genocide: The motion was put forward for voting by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s governing coalition of right and left and the opposition Greens.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Novak Djokovic beats Andy Murray to clinch the French Open 2016 Trophy.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

2. Book titled ‘The Unseen Indira Gandhi’ authored by Dr K P Mathur released.

Daily GK Updates - 4th June, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. C R Sasikumar appointed as the Managing Director of State Bank of Travancore.

2. Odisha becomes first state to give social welfare benefits to transgender community: It is the first state in the country to give transgender people social welfare benefits such as a pension, housing and food grains. This move seeks to give the transgender community in the state same benefits as those living below the poverty line (BPL) in order to improve their overall social and economic status.

3. Indian Boxing Council (IBC) gets affiliation from Commonwealth Boxing Council.

4. Haryana Chief Minister ManoharLalKhattar inaugurated ‘Jai JawanAwasYojana’ to provide affordable housing to serving and retired JCOs.

5. HDFC Ergo buys L&T Insurance for Rs 551.

6. PM Modi and Afghanistan President Dr Ashraf Ghani jointly inaugurated the Afghan-India Friendship Dam with in Herat province in Western Afghanistan.

7. Afghan President Dr Ashraf Ghani conferred the highest civilian honour of Afghanistan, the Amir Amanullah Khan Award on Indian PM NarendraModi.

8. Asia’s first Gyps Vulture Reintroduction Programme launched at Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre, Pinjore (Haryana): It is a significant step in the direction of saving the endangered species.

9.  Navin Agarwal appointed as the Director General of Anti-Doping Agency.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression 2016 observed: The purpose of the day is to acknowledge the pain suffered by children throughout the world who are the victims of physical, mental and emotional abuse.

2. Asia’s largest annual security forum Shangri-La Dialogue inaugurated in Singapore: It is the 15^th Asia Security Summit to openly discuss and debate security matters in the Asia-Pacific region.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Leander Paes wins to complete mixed doubles ‘Career Slam’: Veteran Indian tennis star Leander Paes completed a ‘Career Slam’ in mixed doubles with Swiss partner Martina Hingis with a hard-fought win over compatriot SaniaMirza and Ivan Dodig in the French Open.

2. Spaniard GarbineMuguruza stunned defending champion Serena Williams to win the French Open 2016.

AWARDS:

3. V O Chidambaranar Port bags National Award for Excellence in Cost Management.

OBITUARIES:

4. Boxing Legend Muhammad Ali dies at the age 74: He also wrote several best-selling books about his career, including ‘The Greatest: My Own Story’ and ‘The Soul of a Butterfly’.

Daily GK Updates - 3rd June, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. BSE gets RBI nod to start online bidding platform for SGBs: BSE, Asia’s oldest bourse, has received the Reserve Bank approval to start an online bidding platform for Sovereign Gold Bond scheme. The exchange plans to offer an online bidding platform for collecting bids from members and their clients for the SBG issue.

2. CPI (M) nominee P Sreeramakrishnan elected as Kerala Speaker.

3. India and Tunisia sign MoUs for co-operation in IT, handicrafts sector: The MoUs were signed after the delegation level talks between the two countries in the presence of Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari and Tunisian Prime Minster HabibEssid in Tunis. The two sides also discussed the issue of spreading tide of terrorism and decided to enhance co-operation in counter terrorism.

4. India joins The Hague Code of Conduct: India has joined the Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCoC) to further strengthen global non-proliferation.

5. N K Chari appointed as the MD of State Bank of Mysore.

6. India-US ink MoU to boost energy security, clean energy cooperation: India and the United States of India have signed aMoU to enhance cooperation on energy security, clean energy and climate change in New Delhi with an aim to promote sustainable growth.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. BRICS Bank to issue first Yuan denominated bonds: The reason behind the grant is to support China from sharp slowdown as Chinese economy slipped to 6.9% last year. Although, India is the only member among the BRICS countries whose GDP continues to grow above 7%.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Argentina retains top spot in FIFA rankings: Argentina retains its top ranking while Belgium continues to hold 2^nd spot.

AWARDS:

2. Dr R Seetharaman conferred with 2016 Green Economy Visionary Award for his contribution in environment-friendly activities and thereby promoting green economy for nearly two decades.

OBITUARIES:

3. Actor-director BaluAnand dies of heart attack at the age of 62.

Daily GK Updates - 2nd June, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Prime Minister releases National Disaster Management Plan to make India disaster resilient: The plan aims to make India disaster resilient and reduce loss of lives. It is the first of its kind of national plan prepared in India. It emphasises on a greater need for information, education and communication activities to prepare communities to cope with disasters.

2. Union cabinet approved several MoUs: The Union cabinet has given its approval for signing of MoU between India and United States to enhance cooperation in the field of wildlife conservation and combating wildlife trafficking. It has also given its ex-post facto approval to the signing of MoU between DGCA and French Civil Aviation Authority.

3. Cabinet clears India Post’s payment bank proposal: The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to set up India Post payment bank as Public Limited Company under Department of Posts, with 100% government equity.

4. India and the US sign an agreement on ‘exchange of terrorist screening information’: An agreement between the authorised governmental agencies of the Government of India and United States of America has been signed for the exchange of terrorist screening information, in wake of the recent terror attacks. With the help of this agreement both the countries will share real time terrorist screening and exchange of information.

5. Government of India approves Mau-Tarighat new railway line project.

6. India gifts 2000 bicycles to poor dalit girls in Nepal: India has gifted 2000 bicycles to poor dalit girls in different government schools of Nepal to encourage them to enrol in schools and enhance the literacy rate among them.

7. Union Cabinet approves proposal for extension of Corridor-1 of Chennai Metro Rail Project Phase-1.

8. TRAI launches mobile app for subscribers to register complaints against pesky calls, SMSes.

9.  Two Indian-origin women in Forbes’ self-made American women list: India born Neerja Sethi, who co-founded IT consulting and outsourcing firm Syntel with her husband Bharat Desai, is ranked 16^th on ‘America’s Richest Self-made Women’ list while President and CEO of Arista Networks Jayshree Ullal is ranked 30th.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. BRICS Bank to issue first Yuan denominated bonds: The reason behind the grant is to support China from sharp slowdown as Chinese economy slipped to 6.9% last year. Although, India is the only member among the BRICS countries whose GDP continues to grow above 7%.

2. China successfully launches three satellites: It has successfully launched three (one domestic and two foreign) satellites namely Ziyuan III 02 satellite and two NewSat satellites.    

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. ICICI Bank cuts lending rate by 0.05% to 8.95%.

SPORTS:

2. Rahul Johri assumes charge as first ever CEO of BCCI.

3. Novak Djokovic becomes the first player to win $100m prize money when he made the French Open quarter finals for the 10^th time.

4. League system for test matches to start by 2019.

OBITUARIES:

5. Former Eden Gardens curator Prabir Mukherjee passed away at the age of 86.

Daily GK Updates - 1st June, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Four month window to disclose black money opens today: The Income Declaration Scheme which seeks to provide an opportunity to all persons who have not declared their income correctly in previous years to come forward and declare undisclosed income, will open today and will remain in force till 30^th September 2016.

2. Government raises retirement age of doctors to 65: The PM has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for enhancing the age of superannuation of all doctors of the Central Health Service to 65 years with effect from 31^st May 2016.

3. India and Morocco conclude five MoUs to enhance cooperation in various fields: Both the countries have signed MoUs covering fields as diverse as water resources management, television broadcasting, institutional co-operation and cultural and educational exchanges, further providing venues for enhanced cooperation. The MoUs were signed during the delegation level talks in the presence of Vice President Hamid Ansari and Moroccan PM Abdelilah Benkirane in the capital city Rabat.

4. India and World Bank sign agreement for efficient bus service: The Government of India and the World Bank have signed a 9.2 million USD grant agreement under the World Bank-Global Environment Facility (GEF) Programme for the Efficient and Sustainable City Bus Service Project.

5. India and Morocco launch Chamber of Commerce and Industry: Both the countries have launched the India-Morocco Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IMCCI) in Rabat which was inaugurated by Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari and the Moroccan Prime Minister.

6. Admiral Sunil Lanba takes over as the Chief of Naval Staff.

7. IPS (Retd) Bhim Sain Bassi appointed as the member of UPSC.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Asia’s largest tech trade show COMPUTEX kicks off in Taipei: The trades show has four main themes that focus on IoT, Applications, Innovations and Start-ups, Business solutions and gaming.

2. China successfully launches three satellites: It has successfully launched three (one domestic and two foreign) satellites namely Ziyuan III 02 satellite and two NewSat satellites.

3. World’s longest and deepest rail tunnel has been inaugurated in Switzerland: The 57-km long tunnel has connected the northern and southern Europe and shortened travel time for many rail routes.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Sri Lanka’s NuwanKulasekara retires from Test Cricket.

AWARDS:

2. India-American Scientist Arnab De wins Springer Theses Award in recognition for his outstanding research in which he developed transgenic mice to study a critical tumour-suppressor called A20.

OBITUARIES:

3. Bollywood actor and comedian Razzak Khan passed away in Mumbai due to cardiac arrest.