Daily GK Updates - 25th August, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Dera Chief Ram Rahim convicted of Rape by CBI court: A CBI special trial court in Panchkula convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a rape case registered in 2002. Notably, till now five people were killed in riots after he was convicted of rape by a CBI court.

2. Newly Appointed DG -RPF – Dharmendra Kumar: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) is a security force of India entrusted with protecting railway passengers, passenger area and railway property of the Indian Railways. The force is under the authority of Ministry of Railways (India). Shri Dharmendra Kumar (1984 batch IPS officer) has been appointed as the Director General (DG) Railway Protection Force. Presently he is working in CISF as Additional DG. The appointment of Shri Dharmendra Kumar will be effective from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

3. Launch of  web portal for competitive exams by Maharashtra Government: The Maharashtra educational board has launched a web portal with online question banks to help students prepare for competitive exams on their own. The portal which can be accessed for free, will function as a substitute for expensive coaching classes.

4. Karnataka Agriculture Department signed Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with Microsoft India to develop a “farm price forecasting model” using latets IT toolsin a bid to help farmers: The proposed initiative is the first of its kind in the country as it is a multivariate one that takes into consideration various factors beyond the conventional supply demand equation while forecasting the prices of crops.

5. Privacy tests – Ajay Bhushan Pandey: Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey said that, tax payers will have to link their PAN with Aadhaar by the stipulated deadline, which is this month-end, as the Supreme Court verdict on privacy has no bearing on the requirement. He exuded confidence that Aadhaar Act, with its data protection safeguards, will pass the test of privacy being a fundamental right.

6. Newly appointed interim Chairman and MD of Air India - Rajiv Bansal : Rajiv Bansal, Additional Secretary & Financial advisor at Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has been appointed as the interim Chairman and MD of state air carrier Air India. This comes after former Chairman and MD of Air India Ashani Lohani took over as the Railway Board Chairman.

7. Government tweaks norms to boost UDAN scheme:  The Civil Aviation Ministry on Thursday announced increasing viability gap funding for helicopter operators, diluting exclusivity clause and relaxed other norms to facilitate more participation in its regional connectivity scheme, UDAN. The Ministry also abolished the 150-km minimum distance required between two airports to be qualified for operations under the scheme.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. South Korean electronics giant Samsung’s acting chairman Lee Jae-yong was sentenced to a five-year jail term after being found guilty in corruption case:  He was accused of making large donations to foundations run by impeached President Park Geun-hye’s close friend, in return of political favours.

2. Gender Neutral Passports in Canada: According to the Canadian govt. Canadian citizens who do not identify as male or female will soon be able to mark ‘X’ on their passports and other identity documents. Citizens will be able to add an ‘observation’ to their passports stating their sex should be “identified as ‘X’, indicating it is unspecified from 31st August this year.

3. Russia’s Nuclear capable Tupolev-95MS strategic bombers  fly near S Korea, Japan: Russia’s Nuclear capable Tupolev-95MS strategic bombers flew over the neutral waters of the Pacific Ocean, the sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea and the East China sea. The bombers were escorted by S Korean and Japanese military jets along the route. This comes amid tensions in the Korean Peninsula over N Korea’s missile program.

4. Joint Infrastructure Project between India and Nepal: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held comprehensive talks with his Nepalese counterpart ‘Sher Bahadur Deuba’ in New Delhi and decided to expedite various joint infrastructure projects such as laying of rail links and building of roads. PM appreciated the efforts being made by the Nepal govt. to take all sections of the society on board in the constitution implementation process and in establishing Nepal as a federal, democratic republic. Both sides recognized the need for early completion of Jayanagar- Bijalpur-Bardibas and Jogbani-Biratnagar cross-border rail-link projects. They also noted with satisfaction that the railway line from Jayanagar to Janakpur and from Jogbani to Biratnagar Custom Yard will be completed by 2018. Both were agreed that the Joint Working Group on Cross-Border Transport Facilitation will meet early to address operational issues for existing and additional routes.

5. Japan imposed fresh sanctions on North Korea by freezing the assets of Chinese and Namibian firms doing business with the nuclear-armed state: The move against a half dozen organizations and a couple of individuals comes days after Washington expanded its own punitive measures against Chinese and Russian firms, as well as people linked to Pyongyang.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1.India defeated Sri Lanka by 3 wickets(D/L method) to take a 2-0 lead in the give-match ODI series: Sri Lankan spinner Akila Danjaya took six wickets, with India losing seven wickets for 22 runs.

2. Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo has been named as UEFA’s Best Player of the Year for the 3rd time:  The 32-year old was the top scorer in last season’s UEFA champions league, which was won by Real Madrid.

BANKING/FINANCE:

1.  Co-founder of Indian software giant Infosys Nandan Nilekani has been appointed as non-executive chairman of Infosys Board: This comes after board’s chairman R Seshasayee and co-chairman Ravi Venkatesan submitted their resignations.

2. RBI Launches new Rs.200 notes: The Reserve Bank (RBI) has issued new Rs. 200 and Rs. 50 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series, bearing signature of RBI Governor Urjit Patel. Initially, the new Rs 200 notes will be circulated by select RBI offices, and some banks. The new denomination Rs. 200 has the motif of Sanchi Stupa on the reverse and its base colour is bright yellow. The base colour of the note is bright yellow.

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY:

1.AI – Project “Brainwave”:  Microsoft has announced a deep learning acceleration platform 'Project Brainwave' for real-time artificial intelligence (AI). With ultra-low latency, the system processes requests as fast as it receives them. Real-time AI is becoming increasingly important as cloud infrastructures process live data streams, whether they be search queries, videos, sensor streams, or interactions with users. The 'Project Brainwave' uses the massive field-programmable gate array (FPGA) infrastructure that Microsoft has been deploying over the past few years.

BOOKS/AWARDS:

1. A book by Raghuram Rajan - ‘I Do What I Do’ -  to be publish on 4th September, 2017:  “ I Do What I Do”: On Reforms, Rhetoric & Resolve’ a book by Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan will launch on 4th September, exactly a year after Rajan quit as RBI Governor. The book conveys what it was like to be at the helm of RBI in those turbulent but exciting times.

Daily GK Updates - 24th August, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Right to privacy is fundamental - Supreme Court: In a path-breaking decision, the Supreme Court held that privacy is a fundamental right under the Constitution of India. However, like all other fundamental rights, it is not absolute. Delivering the unanimous verdict of the nine-judge bench, Chief Justice J.S. Khehar said: “Privacy is intrinsic to the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution and an inherent part of fundamental freedom under part III of the Constitution.”

2. Nandan Nilekani returns to Infosys as the new Chairman: The appointment, a significant victory for co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy in his fight against the board of Infosys, will soothe the nerves of the company’s largest investors, who have been spooked by the events of the past week, during which Vishal Sikka stepped down as CEO.

3. Political tug-of-war over NMML: A tug of war is playing out between those who want to preserve the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library and those who want it to honour other Indian prime ministers as well. According to a press statement, Rajnath Singh, who is also vice-president of the NMML Society, told the meeting that the planned museum for former prime ministers will be showcased as an iconic one and will utilize 3D technology to offer a virtual reality experience. However some people, who are in the administration of the same, are of the opinion that the museum should for Pt. Nehru exclusively.

4. DGCA may soon issue drone flying licence for civilians: Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) may soon issue licences for flying both small and large drones for civilian use. At present only government organizations and companies are permitted to fly drones. The regulator plans to start issuing remote pilot licences (RPL), which are much like the commercial pilot’s licences (CPL) or private pilot’s licences (PPL) it issues to pilots.

5. Govt dilutes UDAN scheme norms to boost regional connectivity: The relaxations include dilution of the exclusivity clause mandating that only one airline may fly on one route in the initial years. The norm that restricted two airports in close proximity from participating in the bidding has also been relaxed.

6. India and Nepal sign 8 MoUs: India and Nepal have signed eight Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) in various fields, including Housing grant, prevention of drugs, post-earthquake reconstruction packages in health and education sectors. The agreements were inked after delegation level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba in New Delhi.

7. CCEA approves renaming SAMPADA Scheme as PM Kisan Sampada Yojana: The SAMPADA scheme was approved by the CCEA in May 2017 for the period of 2016-20 coterminous with the 14th Finance Commission cycle. The objective of the scheme is to supplement agriculture, modernize processing and decrease agricultural-waste.

8. Government to establish first National Sports Museum in New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs is going to establish National Sports Museum at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi. It will be first of its kind in the country. It will showcase the India’s achievements in sports and also focus on the traditional sports within the country.

9. Cabinet approves commission on sub-categorisation of OBCs: The Union Cabinet approved a proposal for setting up of Commission under article 340 of the Constitution to examine the issue of sub-categorization of OBCs. The Commission shall be known as the Commission to examine the sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes (OBCs). It will submit its report within 12 weeks of the date of appointment of the Chairperson.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Climate Smart Snow Leopard Plan launched by Nepal: Nepal launched its first, ‘Climate Smart Snow Leopard Landscape Management Plan’, in order to safeguard this endangered species. This conservation plan was announced ahead of Nepal’s International Snow Leopard Summit and Ecosystem Forum.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

1. Hero FinCorp in talks to raise Rs1,000 crore at $1 billion valuation: Hero FinCorp Ltd, the financial services arm of India’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp Ltd, is looking to raise up to Rs1,000 crore at a valuation of $1 billion at its next funding round. Credit Suisse, which was mandated to manage the fund-raising, has approached several large domestic and global private equity funds for a potential investment.

2. BharatMatrimony.com parent may launch Rs. 500 crore IPO in September: Popular matchmaking website BharatMatrimony.com’s parent company, Matrimony.com Ltd, is planning to go public in the first half of September. Matrimony’s business comprises two segments—matchmaking services and marriage services. The company operates multiple portals such as BharatMatrimony.com, CommunityMatrimony.com and EliteMatrimony.com.

3. Google rolls out its biggest crackdown on YouTube hate speech: Google will police YouTube like it never has before, adding warnings and disabling advertising on videos that the company determines contain hate speech or promote terrorism. YouTube isn’t removing the selected videos, but is instead setting new restrictions on viewing, sharing and making money on them. 

4. Soft Bank invests additional $3 billion in shared-office startup WeWork: WeWork has received an additional $3 billion investment from Japan’s SoftBank Group and its Vision Fund, helping the shared-office startup ramp up its expansion globally.

5. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Kabir Khan, Karan Johar top Nepotism Index by Mint: In an attempt to quantify the extent of nepotism in the industry, and to measure how nepotism varies across production houses, Mint has developed a Nepotism Index, based on the share of insiders (those with Bollywood family connections) cast as leads. Nadiadwala Grandsons Entertainment tops the list of companies in nepotism index. The index is developed by Mint, a leading financial daily of India.

6. Roopa Purushothaman as chief economist of Tata Sons: Tata Sons has appointed Roopa Purushothaman as chief economist & head of policy advocacy. She will drive macroeconomic research as well as policy & advocacy initiatives relevant to businesses of Tata group.

Daily GK Updates - 23rd August, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Union cabinet sets PSU bank mergers in motion: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said a ministerial panel will be set up to supervise merger proposals from 21 PSU banks, adding that the objective of the planned consolidation is to create strong banks. Prime Minister Modi will decide who all will be there in the ministerial panel, referred to as the alternative mechanism. After the banks that are interested in getting merged secure in principle approval from the ministerial panel, they will take steps as per regulatory requirements.

2. Supreme Court to deliver verdict tomorrow on right to privacy: A nine-judge constitution bench headed by chief Justice J.S. Khehar had on 2 August reserved its verdict after hearing marathon arguments for six days over a period of three weeks, during which submissions were advanced in favour and against the inclusion of the right to privacy as a fundamental right. The Supreme Court is likely to pronounce on 24th August its judgement on the vexatious issue whether the right to privacy can be held as a fundamental right under the Constitution.

3. New cadre policy for IAS, IPS officers finalized – Govt.: A new policy for cadre allocation has been finalised by the Central government for Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and other officers, aimed at ensuring “national integration” in the country’s top bureaucracy. Officers of all-India services—the IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service (IFS)—will have to choose cadres from a set of zones instead of states.

4. ISRO to launch back-up navigation satellite on 31st August: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said it will launch its navigation satellite ‘IRNSS-1H’ on 31 August to augment the existing seven satellites of the NavIC constellation. To be launched on board PSLV-C39, IRNSS-1H will be a ‘back-up’ navigation satellite for IRNSS-1A, one of the seven satellites in the constellation, as its three rubidium atomic clocks on board have stopped functioning. 

5. Raghuram Rajan pens book on RBI stint: Raghuram Rajan’s commentary and speeches in ‘I Do What I Do: On Reform, Rhetoric & Resolve’ convey what it was like to be at the helm of RBI in those turbulent times. It is being published by Harper Collins. This is not Rajan’s first book. He co-authored Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists with Luigi Zingales and wrote Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy, for which he was awarded the Financial Times-Goldman Sachs prize for best business book.

6. Kaifiyat Express derails in Uttar Pradesh’s Auriya district: Kaifiyat Express, travelling from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh to Delhi, collided with a dumper at around 2:50am between Pata and Achhalda railway stations, injuring 50 persons. HRD ministry junks plan for common engineering entrance examination: The human resource development (HRD) ministry has decided to junk the plan of introducing a common engineering entrance exam from next year. It is noteworthy that, All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), the country’s technical education regulator, had announced in March that a national-level common entrance examination for engineering colleges would be conducted from the next academic year in 2018.

7. Union cabinet clears transfer of AAI’s 40 acre land to MMRDA for Mumbai Metro: The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved transferring 40 acres of land owned by the Airports Authority of India to Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). The land at RR station, Dahisar, would be transferred to the MMRDA for its metro shed. In return, 40 acres of state government land at Gorai would be swapped.

8. Ashwani Lohani appointed new Chairman of Railway Board: Ashwani Lohani was on Wednesday appointed as the new Chairman of Railway Board after AK Mittal tendered his resignation following recent train accidents.

9. Drones to guard Gujarat’s river-beds against sand mafia: In an attempt to crack down upon the illegal sand mafia operating in and around the river beds of Sabarmati, Orsang, Tapi and Narmada, the Gujarat government for the first time will be deploying drones for mining surveillance. 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Mark Wahlberg world’s highest-paid actor, Shahrukh, Salman, Akshay in top 10: Mark Wahlberg soared to the top of the world’s highest paid actors on an annual Forbes magazine list that highlighted a huge disparity between male and female Hollywood stars. Wahlberg, 46, earned an estimated $68 million in 2017. The magazine named “La La Land” Oscar winner Emma Stone as the world’s highest paid actress with an estimated 2017 take of $26 million.Three of Bollywood’s biggest stars—Shahrukh Khan ($38 million), Salman Khan ($37 million) and Akshay Kumar ($35.5 million)—took the eighth, ninth and 10th places on the Forbes list, respectively. 

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING & FINANCE:

1. RBI to issue Rs 200 notes, notifies finance ministry: “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 24 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and on the recommendations of the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India, the Central Government hereby specifies the denomination of bank notes of the value of two hundred rupees,” the finance ministry notified through the Gazette of India. Finance ministry notified issuing of Rs 200 notes, making it a legal tender and paving the way for its circulation by RBI.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

2. Investors seek Nandan Nilekani’s appointment to Infosys board: As many as 12 key domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have written to Infosys, batting for co-founder Nandan Nilekani’s appointment to the board, and expressing their concerns over Vishal Sikka’s resignation from the post of chief executive officer (CEO) last week.

3. Five airports to allow Ola, Uber bookings at kiosks: Airports Authority of India has tied up with Ola and Uber to allow for cab bookings from airport kiosks at Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Lucknow and Bhubaneswar. This will help passengers in booking cabs at the kiosks instead of depending on the mobile apps.

SPORTS:

4. IPL brand value jumps 26% to touch $5.3 billion: IPL brand value jumps 26% in 2017 to over $ 5.3 billion from $ 4.2 billion in 2016 on the back of the renewed title sponsorship deals of the popular T20 tournament.

5. Wayne Rooney announces retirement from international football: Wayne Rooney announced his retirement from International football. He said, "I will always remain a passionate England fan. One of my very few regrets is not to have been part of a successful England tournament side."

Daily GK Updates - 22nd August, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Supreme Court Bans Triple Talaq: According to the Supreme Court, triple talaq will not be in operation for six months and asked political parties to keep their differences aside and help Centre in bringing out law on triple talaq. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar also asked the union govt. to come out with legislation on ‘triple talaq’. The Supreme Court set aside the practice of instant triple talaq saying it was violative of Article 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution. Triple Talaq is a form of divorce practiced in India, whereby a Muslim man can legally divorce his wife by pronouncing talaq (the Arabic word for divorce) three times. The pronouncement can be oral or written, or, in recent times, delivered by electronic means such as telephone, SMS, email or social media.

2. US-based Indian doctor ‘Dr. Pinaki Panigrahi has discovered an inexpensive prevention technique against sepsis:  His team found that feeding babies with probiotic bacteria dramatically reduces the risk of sepsis in new borns. This is a breakthrough study and going to be an inexpensive treatment that could possibly save hundreds of thousands of newborns from a top killer ‘Sepsis’. Sepsis is a life-threatening illness caused by your body’s response to an infection. In early infancy, it results in one million annual deaths worldwide, most of them in developing countries.

3. ‘Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jayanti’: The 413th ‘jayanti’ of Sri Guru Granth Sahib (11th guru of Sikhs) is being celebrated with religious fervour on 22nd August, 2017. The Guru Granth Sahib (also called the Adi Granth or Adi Guru Darbar) is more than just a scripture of the Sikhs for the Sikhs treat this Granth as their living perpetual Guru. Sri Guru Arjan Dev ji completed the Aad Granth in 1604 and first Parkash was done at Sri Harmandir Sahib.

4. Digital police portal of India: The union Home minister ‘Rajnath Singh’ has launched a digital police portal to create a national database of crimes and criminals (under the CCTNS project). The police portal will provide 11 searches and 46 reports from the national database for state police and central investigation agencies. The Central investigating and research agencies have also been provided logins to the digital police database to access crime statistics. The Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems Project (CCTNS) has enabled 13,775 out of 15,398 police stations to enter 100 % data into the software. He said as of now the CCTNS national database has around 7 crore data records pertaining to past and current criminal cases.

5. Urad and Moong dal - under restricted category: According to Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in a notification, Govt. has put imports of ‘Urad’ and ‘Moong dal’ under the restricted category and fixed an annual cap of three lakh tonnes for their import.

6. IFFI to be held in Goa in November2017: The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has constituted a 40-member 'preview committee' with filmmaker ‘Vivek Agnihotri’ as its convenor to select movies for the international film festival at Goa. The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be held in Goa from 20 to 28 November this year. Earlier, Information and Broadcasting Ministry had constituted the steering committee and the technical committee for the IFFI.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.  ICMR – India signs pact with IVI – S.Korea:  The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Union Ministry of Health inked a pact with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), South Korea to collaborate on vaccine research and development. The ICMR is the apex body in the country for the formulation, coordination, and promotion of biomedical research. India officially became a signatory to the treaty of the Seoul-based organisation International Vaccine Institute(IVI) in 2012. Now, India is committing an annual contribution of USD 5,00,000 to IVI and joins as financially contributing signatories to IVI.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. ONGC approves to acquire 51.11% stake in HPCL: The board of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has given 'in-principle' approval to acquire government's 51.11 % stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd. in New Delhi. The ONGC board also constituted a committee of directors to examine various aspects of the acquisition and to provide its recommendations to the board of directors. Earlier, the union govt. had also approved the sale of its 51.11% stake in oil refiner HPCL to India's largest oil producer ONGC.

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY:

1. World's smallest surgical robot – Versius: British scientists have developed the world’s smallest surgical robot ‘Versius’, which could transform daily operations for tens of thousands of patients. The robot ‘Versius’ mimics the human arm and can be used to carry out a wide range of laparoscopic procedures like hernia repairs, colorectal operations, and prostate and ear, nose, and throat surgery. The robot is controlled by a surgeon at a console guided by a 3D screen in the operating theatre.

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Android ‘Oreo’ is launched by Google: Google has launched the latest version of its mobile operating system ‘Android Oreo’. The Oreo boasts of a two times faster boot speed, autofill option, and a longer battery life. The new update comes with a Picture-in-Picture feature that allows the user to see two apps simultaneously. There is also a Notification Dots option, which when pressed pops out the notification at a glance without having to open the app. Android Instant Apps is another new feature, which teleports directly into new apps from the browser, with no installation needed. Android Oreo is more secure with Google Play Protect built in, security status front and centre in settings.

2. FDI growth 37% to 10.4 billion USD: Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country grew by 37% to USD 10.4 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal and bulk FDI came from Singapore, Mauritius, the Netherlands, and Japan. According to the figures of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) India had received around USD 8 billion during the same period last year. The main sectors which attracted the highest foreign inflows include services, telecom, trading, computer hardware and software and automobile. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment made by a company or individual in one country in business interests in another country, in the form of either establishing business operations or acquiring business assets in the other country.