Daily GK Updates - 7th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Government approves Rs 450 crore SwadeshDarshan projects: he scheme was launched with an objective to develop 13 theme-based tourist circuits in the country and the approval for five was given in a meeting of the central sanctioning and monitoring committee.

2. UN Charter translated into Sanskrit: The UN Charter, the seminal treaty of the United Nations, has now been translated into Sanskrit. The Charter is available in all six official languages of the UN.

3. DharmendraPradhan launches ‘Gas4India’ campaign to boost natural gas use: The Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas DharmendraPradhanhas launched Gas4India campaign for the aimed at promoting the use of gas in the country.

4. Helpline no. 14401 for info on power cuts launched: The Department of Telecom (DoT) has created ‘UrjaMitra Helpline’ through which customers can get information on power outages from distribution companies by dialling 14401.

5. India’s light utility helicopter maiden flight successful: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has successfully completed test flight of indigenous Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) Bengaluru.The LUH will replace the military’s obsolescent fleet of Chetak and Cheetah helicopters that have flown for over three decades.

6. Filmmaker K G George to be honoured with J C Daniel Award:National award winner and veteran director K G George has been selected for the JC Daniel award 2015, Kerala Government's highest honour for outstanding contribution to Malayalam cinema.

7. 1^st phase of ESIC’s pilot project of telemedicine services inaugurated: Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment BandaruDattatreya inaugurated the first phase of telemedicine services of Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) for providing specialist medical services at a distance to insured workers.

8. Government approves 6 start-up centres: The Central government has approved six proposals to set up centres of excellence to promote and fund start-ups under the National Initiative for Development and Harnessing Innovation (NIDHI), a programme steered by the Department of Science and Technology. The proposals for six centres of excellence that were approved by the National Expert Advisory Committee include SINE-IIT Bombay, Venture Centre-NCL Pune, CIIE-IIM Ahmedabad and a research park at IIT-Gandhinagar.

9. Religare Enterprise appoints Sunil Godhwani as CEO.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India and Chile expand preferential trading pact to boost economic ties: India and Chile have expanded their Preferential Trade Agreement with both offering to lower or eliminate tariffs on a number of items traded with each other. Chile has offered concessions to India on 1798 tariff lines with margin of preference (extent to which duties are lower than those offered to other countries) ranging from 30% to100%.

OTHER UPDATES:

AWARDS:

1. ‘Thithi’ wins Best Film honour at 1^st BRICS Film Festival in New Delhi.

Daily GK Updates - 6th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Assam CM inaugurates Asia’s biggest digital library in Silchar: On the occasion of the 55th Teachers’ Day Chief Minister SarbanandaSonowal inaugurated Asia’s biggest digital library dedicated to the memory of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India, in NIT Silchar.

2. John Abraham roped in as brand ambassador of Arunachal Pradesh: The government of Arunachal Pradesh has roped in Bollywood bighead John Abraham as a brand ambassador for state tourism to boost tourism with the help of actor.

3. Haryana Government to develop 340 villages as Horticulture Villages: Haryana Government has decided to develop 340 villages as Horticulture Villages at a cost of 93 crore rupees during the Golden Jubilee year of the State.

4. GRSE hands over fast attack craft ‘Tihayu’ to Indian Navy: Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) handed over the Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC), “TIHAYU” to Indian Navy.

5. Rajasthan partners with Cisco for connected learning solution: Rajasthan’s education department has partnered with US-based technology firm Cisco to promote digital learning across the state using virtual digital room solutions. It aims to enhance the quality of education.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 11^th G20 Summit Concludes in Hanghzou, China: The 11th Summit of the Group of Twenty (G20) concluded in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou.The theme of 2016 G20 Summit was Toward an Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive World Economy.The chair of the summit was Xi Jinping, President of China. The 12th G20 summit 2017 will be held in Hamburg, Germany.

  

2. UK appoints ambassador to Iran for first time since 2011: The United Kingdom (UK) has appointed an ambassador to Iran for the first time since 2011. Nicholas Hopton, a former British ambassador to Qatar and Yemen, will take up the role.

3. 22-year old Indo-Japanese Priyanka Yoshikawa crowned Miss Japan.

4. Intel acquires Google’s Project Tango partner Movidius: Intel has acquired computer vision firm Movidius, which partnered with Google to develop 3D space mapping technology for Project Tango devices.

5. WHO certifies Sri Lanka malaria free: In a remarkable public health achievement, Sri Lanka was certified by WHO on having eliminated malaria.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. MobiKwik launches one step offline payments with ‘Bubble Pin’: MobiKwik, the fin-tech player has launched one-step offline payments with ‘Bubble Pin’. The pin is a combination of numbers and alphabets. Bubble pin also makes the transaction more secure as no phone number is required to be shared.

SPORTS:

2. ViratKohli remains at No. 2 in the latest ICC ODI Rankings, Rohit Sharma on 7^th while AB de Villiers has topped the rankings.

3. Sikki and Pranaav win Brazil Open Grand Prix: Indian mixed doubles pair of Sikki Reddy and Pranaav Jerry Chopra clinched their maiden Grand Prix title, bagging the Brazil Open with a straight game victory over Canadian combo of Toby Ng and Rachel Honderich in the finals, in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil.

AWARDS:

4. LIFFI: NawazuddinSiddiqui, TannishthaChatterjee wins Best Actors Award: NawazuddinSiddiqui won the Best Actor award for his role in 'Manjhi-The Mountain Man'. TannishthaChatterjee won the award for her role in 'Rough Book'.AnantMahadevan won the Best Director honour at the debut edition of the Lonavla International Film Festival India (LIFFI).

OBITUARIES:

5. World’s oldest cricketer Lindsay Tuckett passes away at the age of 97: World's oldest cricketer, Lindsay Tuckett, passed away in Bloemfontein at the age of 97. Tuckett represented South Africa in nine Test matches against England between 1947 and 1949.

Daily GK Updates - 5th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Urjit Patel takes over as the 24^th Governor of RBI: Urjit Patel today assumed charge as the 24th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.He succeeds RaghuramRajan, whose 3-year term came to end on September 4.

2. India Posts releases commemorative postage stamp on Saint Teresa: The Postal Department has released a commemorative stamp to honour the Mother Teresa’s canonization in Mumbai.

3. Ankasamudra to become a conservation reserve: The Karnataka State Wildlife Board, chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, has decided to declare Ankasamudra tank in HagariBommanahalli taluk as a bird conservation reserve.

4. Goa to host bird festival from Nov 11: Goa will host a three-day bird festival from November 11 to 13, targeting audiences from both within the country as also internationally. Goa's state bird “Bulbul” has been chosen as the logo for the festival.

5. Infosys sets up joint venture for Saudi Arabian Market: Software major, Infosys has entered into a joint venture (JV) with the Saudi Prerogative Company to offer IT services in the Middle Eastern country. The Bengaluru-based IT services firm will own 70% of the JV.

6. Kerala appoints Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador for anti-liquor campaign.

7. Odisha Government launches BijuKanyaRatnaYojana: Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launched the ‘BijuKanyaRatnaYojana’ (BKRY) and inaugurated 1,000 Anganwadi buildings as part of the celebration marking the birth centenary of legendary BijuPatnaik. The objective of the scheme is to improve Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) and Child Sex Ratio (CSR) in the three districts.

8. Rajasthan launches e-stamping facility: The Rajasthan High Court launched the e-stamp facility in its Jodhpur and Jaipur benches simultaneously. The facility is already available in Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh.

9. Pondicherry Lt Guv launches Shramdaan movement in remote village: Lt. Governor KiranBedi has launched 'Shramdaan movement' as part of Swachh Bharat and SwachhPuducherryinitiative at a remote village.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Canada’s British Columbia becomes first foreign government to issue masala bonds: Canada’s British Columbia province has become the first foreign government to issue of masala bonds, a rupee-denominated bond.

2. World’s largest LEGO ship sets Guinness record: The World’s largest LEGO ship named Jubilee Seaways has created Guinness world record for set in Denmark, where employees of a shipping company successfully constructed the incredible 2,860 kg boat using over one million interlocking plastic bricks.

3. Ricky Ponting appointed brand ambassador for Tasmania: Former Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has been appointed brand ambassador of his home state Tasmania and will join a government-led trade mission to the subcontinent that will explore export opportunities.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Lewis Hamilton battles to second as NicoRoseberg wins Italian Grand Prix: German Formula One racing driver NicoRosberg won the Italian Grand Prix after close battle with his teammate Lawis Hamilton who also drive for the Mercedes AMG.

2. SriramBalaji and Sasi Kumar win titles in ITF events: Tamilnadu based tennis player SriramBalaji who ranked 546 restrained top seed Seong Chan Hong of Korea by 6-4, 7-6(3) for the title in the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament held in HuaHin Thailand.

3. AbinavBindra announces retirement from Shooting.

4. Sakshi Malik appointed Wrestling Director of Rohtak University.

AWARDS:

5. Ecologist BibhutiLahkar bags Heritage Heroes Award of IUCN: Assam-based ecologist and conservation activist Bibhuti Lahkar has become the first Asian to be awarded the prestigious 'Heritage Heroes Award' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Lahkar received the award at the IUCN's ongoing World Conservation Congress in Honolulu.

6. JSS Malappuram wins Unesco literacy award: The Jan ShikshanSansthan (JSS), Malappuram, has won the Unesco Confucius Prize for Literacy. The award has been conferred on the JSS in recognition of its literacy-linked skill development activities among the underprivileged in rural areas.

7. Dr HrushikeshMallick to get prestigious Sarala Award-2016: Noted Odia poet Dr.HrushikeshMallick will be honoured with the 37th edition of prestigious Sarala Award for his outstanding poetry. The annual award carrying a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh and a citation would be conferred on Mallick for his poetry work "Jeje Dekhi Nathiba Bharat”.

Daily GK Updates -4th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. GumthalaGarhu becomes first Wi-Fi hotspot village in Haryana: In Haryana, village GumthalaGarhu near Pehowa in Kurukshetra district has become the first Wifi hotspot village in Haryana circle under bulk plan of BSNL.

2. MukundChoudhari assumes charge as CMD of Manganese Ore India Limited (MOIL).

3. Army Design Bureau formed to reduce dependence on imports: The ADDB will facilitate the weapons and technology building efforts between the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), industry and the army.Establishment of ADB was announced by Army Chief General Dalbir Singh at an Army seminar on Make in India. At the seminar, the Army Chief also launched the ‘Make in India Army Website’ that will serve as a one stop platform for information to vendors.

4. Reliance Industries launches Reliance Jio offering free voice calls, cheap Data plans: The Jio Welcome Offer will be effective from 5 September 2016 up to 31 December 2016. As part of the Jio Welcome Offer, users will have access to unlimited LTE data and national voice, video and messaging services along with the full bouquet of Jio applications and content free of cost.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Mother Teresa is being declared saint by Pope Francis in Vatican City: Mother Teresa is being declared a saint by Pope Francis today at a canonisation ceremony in Vatican City.
The canonization comes on the eve of her 19th death anniversary. Once declared Saint, she will be known as Saint Teresa of Calcutta.

2. Bangladesh hangs Islamist tycoon Mir Quasem Ali: In Bangladesh, Jamaat-e-Islami leader and media tycoon, Mir Quasem Ali was executed last night for war crimes committed during the country's 1971 Liberation War.

3. New species of Pterosaur from early Jurassic Era discovered in Patagonia: A group of scientists has discovered a new species of pterosaur from the early Jurassic period in the Patagonia region of South America. The new species has been named Allkauren koi from the native Tehuelche word ‘all’ for ‘brain’, and ‘karuen’ for ‘ancient’.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. DCB Bank rolls out mVisa card-less solution at retail outlets: DCB Bank, a new-generation private sector bank, has announced the launch of mVisa, a mobile based payment solution that will make payments at retail outlets much easier. Customers can pay now through their smartphones by scanning the unique Quick Response (QR) code at the retail outlet.

SPORTS:

2. Serena Williams sets women’s record of 307 victories in grand slams: In Tennis, world number one Serena Williams has created history by setting a record of most number of Grand Slam matches wins by a woman in the Open era. In the US Open last night, the American defeated Johanna Larsson of Sweden, 6-2, 6-1 to progress to the pre-quarterfinals and surpass Martina Navratilova's record of 306 wins.

OBITUARIES:

3. Veteran trade Union Leader Sharad Rao passes away at the age of 78.

Daily GK Updates - 3rd September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India, Vietnam sign 12 agreements to boost bilateral ties: India and Vietnam have signed 12 agreements for cooperation in areas, including defence and IT, to boost bilateral ties. PM Modi said New Delhi will provide $500 million credit line for Vietnam for defence cooperation. India also offered a grant of $5 million to set up a software park in Vietnam.

2. Maharashtra Governor sworn in as Tamil Nadu’s acting Governor: ChennamaneniVidyasagarRao, Governor of Maharashtra, was sworn in as the acting Governor of Tamil Nadu.

3. India and Egypt sign agreement in area of Maritime Transport: The agreemnt would help the two nations to step-up co-operation on the seas not only in terms of maritime commerce but also in transit of naval vessels.

4. K KAggarwal elected as the National President of Indian Medical Association (IMA).

5. BHEL commissions Unit-4 of Teesta Low Dam Hydropower project: State-run BHEL has commissioned the 4th and last unit of the 4x40 MW Teesta Low Dam Hydro Electric Project (HEP) Stage-IV in West Bengal.

6. CCI slaps Rs 6700 crore fine on 10 cement companies:The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed the penalty of over Rs 6,700 crore on 10 cement companies including ACC, Lafarge, Ultratech, Jayprakash Associates, Binani and their trade association the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) on charges of cartelisation in the sector.

7. PM announces Rs 200 crore for sports in J&K: With a view to engaging youth of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) in constructive sporting activities, a special package of Rs. 200 crore has been announced by Prime Minister NarendraModi.

8. World’s first made-in-India leprosy vaccine out on pilot basis: The Indian Institute of Immunology in New Delhi has developed mycobacterium indicuspranii (MIP), an exclusive and completely domestic vaccine for leprosy.

9. Majuli names world’s largest river island: Majuli Island on the Brahmaputra in Assam was declared the largest river island in the world, toppling Marajo in Brazil, by Guinness World Records. The river island covers an area of around 880 sqkm.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. China ratifies Paris global climate agreement: China and the US are expected to announce ratification jointly before or at the weekend's G20 Hangzhou Summit. China is the world's largest emitter of harmful carbon emissions causing climate change.

2. G-20 Summit 2016 start in Chinese city of Hangzhou tomorrow: Two-day G-20 Summit of the world's major economies will start in the Chinese city of Hangzhou tomorrow to discuss efforts to reform global economic governance. The theme of the summit is toward an Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive World Economy.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Bangladesh hire former Sri Lankan cricketer Thilan Samaraweera as batting coach.

2. Zaheer Khan gets MCC’s Honorary Life Membership.

OBITUARIES:

3. Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov died at the age of 78.

4. Actor Jon Politopasses away: on Polito, best known for his frequent presence in Coen Brothers films, died of cancer in Duarte, California. He was first diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2010.iii .The actor had been in more than 100 films, TV shows and Broadway plays.

Daily GK Updates - 2nd September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Puducherry, Odisha and Rajasthan ratifies GST Bill: The PuducherryOdisha and Rajasthan Legislative Assembly have unanimously ratified the Constitution Amendment Bill for Goods and Services Tax (GST).

2. First BRICS film festival to begin in New Delhi from today: Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting RajyavardhanRathore will inaugurate the festival. The film festival is the run up to the BRICS summit which is to be held in Goa next month from 15th to 16th.

3. Country’s economic growth recorded 7.1% in first quarter of current fiscal:The country's economy grew at 7.1 % in the April to June quarter of the current fiscal, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office.

4. Gujarat signs MoU with aviation ministry: The Gujarat government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the ministry of civil aviation to develop 11 airports and airstrips to boost regional connectivity.

5. Justice Dhingra hints at irregularities in Haryana land deals case: ustice S.N. Dhingra has submitted a 182-page report to the Haryana government on granting of Change of Land Use (CLU) licences in 4 villages of Gurgaon during the rule of the previous Congress government, hinting at irregularities.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Deep Kumar Upadhyay re-appointed as Nepal’s envoy to India.

2. SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, satellite destroyed in explosion: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded on its Cape Canaveral launch pad during a test, destroying a commercial satellite that Facebook had planned to use to extend Internet access in Africa.

3. LG Electronics ties up with Amazon on smart-home services: LG Electronics Inc. has tied-up with Amazon.com Inc on smart-home services. This tie-up will help to enable the services of Amazon such as the Alexa virtual assistant on some of the electronics maker's devices.

4. Jackie Chan to receive lifetime achievement Oscar: Martial arts expert and actor Jackie Chan will receive a lifetime achievement Oscar. The announcement was made by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Chan made his movie debut at the age of 8.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. Union Bank rolls out mobile app: Union Bank of India has launched USSD (unstructured supplementary service data) based ‘*99#’ mobile application on Play Store on Android platform. This ‘*99#’ mobile app does not require internet connectivity to perform banking and other value-added services.

2. DCB launches ‘mVisa’, a mobile-based payment solution: DCB Bank has launched ‘mVisa’, a mobile-based payment solution that will make payments at retail outlets much easier.

AWARDS:

3. Bezwada Wilson, TM Krishna wins Ramon Magsaysay Award: Karnataka-born Bezwada Wilson, a prolific campaigner for eradication of manual scavenging in India, and Carnatic singer T M Krishna from Chennai, were chosen for the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2016.

4. Kiran M Shaw appointed ‘Knight of Legion of Honour’ by France: Biocon chairperson and managing director (M) KiranMazumdar Shaw has been appointed 'Chevalier de l'Ordre National de la Legion d'Honneur' (Knight of the National Order of the French Legion of Honour) for her outstanding contribution and dedication to Biosciences and Research field globally.

OBITUARIES:

5. Australia’s oldest surviving test player dies: ustralia's oldest surviving Test cricketer, Len Maddocks, has passed away aged 90. Maddocks, a batsman and wicket-keeper, played seven Tests for Australia between 1954 and 1956, and managed the Australian cricket team on its 1977 tour of England.

6. Noted Assamese poet NaliniDharBhattacharyaa died at the age of 95: Noted Assamese poet, literary critic and author and winner of the SahityaAkademi award Nalinidhar Bhattacharyya passed away in Guwahati early Friday morning.

Daily GK Updates - 1st September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Union Cabinet Approvals: Cabinet approves the dissolution of Central Inland Water Transport Corporation Limited. Union Cabinet approved MoU between CERT-In and CERT-UK in the field of cyber Security. Union Cabinet approves Project Development Fund for CLMV countries. Union Cabinet approved the scheme for the grant of Permanent Residency Status (PRS) to foreign investors.

2. Union Cabinet approves simplification of FDI Policy 2016 in various sectors: Private Security: The earlier policy permitted 49% FDI under government approval route in Private Security Agencies. FDI in Defence Sector up to 100%, Earlier FDI regime permitted 49%.Pharmaceutical: 100% FDI under automatic route in Greenfield pharma, FDI up to 100% under government approval in Brownfield pharma and 74% FDI under automatic route in Brownfield pharmaceuticals.

3. Odisha CM to share his thoughts through radio every month: Odisha CM, Naveen Patnaik, would share his thoughts on different issues through the radio for 10 minutes every month. The State government has decided to launch ‘BijuGoan Radio’ through which the Chief Minister would address the people soon.

4. Madhukar Gupta committee submits its report to centre: Madhukar Gupta committee was formed to review security at India-Pakistan border; the report running close to thousand pages submitted its report to Home Minister Rajnath Singh.Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had constituted a Committee under the Chairmanship of Madhukar Gupta, former home secretary in April 2016, for strengthening border protection and addressing the issue of gaps and vulnerability in border fencing along Indo-Pakistan Border.

5. Ashok Chawla is new Chancellor at Teri University: The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri) has officially appointed former Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla as the new Chancellor of Teri University.

6. BRICS convention on Tourism to begin today:The two-day long "BRICS Convention on Tourism" will begin today at world heritage site Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh.

7. MoUD, Amar Chitra Katha sign MoU to publish comic book on Swachh Bharat Mission: Storyteller to generations of Indians, Amar Chitra Katha will now publish and distribute a special edition of a comic book focusing on Swachh Bharat Mission.

8. President of Egypt to arrive on three-day visit to India today: President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, is arriving on a three-day visit to India today. He will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising Ministers, officials and business leaders.

9. Anuradha Rao appointed as MD, CEO of SBI Mutual Fund.

10. Kerala to form JV with Railways for infrastructure projects: Kerala has decided to enter into joint venture agreement with Railways for rail projects in the state under the 51:49 equity partnership arrangements.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Michel Temer sworn in as new Brazil President.

OTHER UPDATES:

AWARDS:

1. Sudarshan Patnaik wins prize in Moscow Sand Art Show: India's Sand artist SudarsanPattnaik has won the people's choice prize for his sand sculpture titled "Mahatma Gandhi - World Peace" at the ninth Moscow Sand Sculpture Championship 2016.