Daily GK Updates - 17th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. All India Launches Balochi Website, Mobile App: All India Radio (AIR) has been launched a website and mobile app for its Balochi service to reach people who speak this language across the globe.

2. India Signs MoU With Sri Lanka To Support Fishermen And Farmers: India and Sri Lanka Signed MoU to support livelihood of the fishing and farming communities by providing them equipment worth USD 2 million in the country’s southern Hambantota district.

3.Paytm to power IRCTC’s payment gateway:Mobile payment and commerce platform Paytm has tied up with the country’s largest rail ticketing platform IRCTC to enable digital payments for travellers. 

4. Telangana signs MoU to help Goa in IT development: The Telangana government has been signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Goa government to help the latter in information technology (IT) development.

5. HAL gets membership of APAQG with voting rights:Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on Friday has been conferred the prestigious membership of the Asia-Pacific Aerospace Quality Group (APAQG)under the category 'Full Member with voting rights'.

6. V K Sharma gets additional charge as LIC chairman:V K Sharma, who is currently one of the two managing directors at Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), has taken additional charge as Chairman, LIC of India. Sharma joined LIC in the year 1981 as a Direct Recruit Officer.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Former Italian president, prime minister and central bank governor Carlo Azeglio Ciampi has died at the age of 95.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma conferred with Arjuna Award: Sports Minister Vijay Goel conferred Arjuna Awards on cricketers Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane at a function in New Delhi.Sharma was given the award for 2015 and Rahane for 2016.

AWARDS:

2. Ujjivan Financial Services Ltd, a microfinance institution, has won the Platinum Award for Inclusive Insurance at the SKOCH Insurance Awards 2016.

OBITUARIES:

3. Legendary playwright Edward Albee, widely considered one of the greats of his generation, has died at the age of 88.

Daily GK Updates - 16th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Government notifies GST Council: The Government has formally notified the GST Council, which will decide on the tax rate, exempted goods under the new taxation regime.

2.Atul Kumar Goel takes charges as ED in UBI:Atul Kumar Goel, General Manager, Allahabad Bank, has taken charge as Executive Director in Union Bank of India. 

3. Uber partners NSDC, Maruti to skill 1 million by 2018: Transportation app Uber has launched a new initiative in partnership with Maruti Suzuki and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for creating livelihood opportunities for one million people by 2018.

4. Ahmedabad to host African Development Bank meet next year: India will host the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group in May next year.  To be held at Mahatma Gandhi Convention Centre, Ahmedabad on May 22-26.

5. Reliance Communication-Aircel merger approved: Reliance Communications (RCom) board has approved the company’s merger with Aircel, in one of the biggest deals in the telecom space in recent times. 

6. Two India-Born MIT Scientists Win Prestigious US Awards:Two Indo-American scientists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have been conferred with prestigious awards for their path-breaking inventions.

7. Naropa Festival begins in Ladakh: The Naropa festival, which is held every 12 years, began today at the 17th century Hemis Monastery in Ladakh.

8. Indian-American physician to receive National Humanities Medal:Indian-American physician-author Abraham Verghese, whose work has emphasised empathy in medicine, has been selected for the prestigious 2015 National Humanities Medal, the White House has announced.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Nadia Murad named UN Goodwill Ambassador: Nadia Murad, a former ISIS captive, has been named the UN’s new Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. Atul Kumar Goel, General Manager, Allahabad Bank, has taken charge as Executive Director in Union Bank of India. 

AWARDS:

2. Vijaya Bank has bagged the second prize under Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar (Region C) for the year 2015-16. 

3. Dharwad-headquartered Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank has bagged four awards for inclusive insurance for 2016 from Skoch Group.

Daily GK Updates - 15th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Nawazuddin appointed brand ambassador of UP farmers' scheme: The Uttar Pradesh govt has appointed Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the brand ambassador of its flagship programme 'Samajwadi Kisan Beema Yojana'.

2. India Declares itself Free from Avian Influenza (H5N1): The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers welfare has declared India free from Avian Influenza (H5N1) from 5th September, 2016.

3. Priyanka Chopra among world's 10 highest paid TV actresses: Forbes: Bollywood queen Priyanka Chopra is in the top 10 in Forbes magazine's annual list of best-paid television actresses.

4.Gionee signs MoU with Haryana govt for investment of Rs 500cr: Gionee mobile phones would now be manufactured in Haryana as the company today signed a MoU with the state government to set up its phone manufacturing hub with an initial investment of Rs 500 crore which, later on, would be increased to Rs 1,500 crore. 

5. Uttarakhand Governor releases book by author “Nagrath”: Uttarakhand Governor K K Paul has released a book titled 'Shanti ki Talaash mein Zindagi' written in Hindi by Haridwar-based author and journalist Radhika Nagrath. 

6. Narayana Murthy named Director of RCI, DRDO:BHVS Narayana Murthy, an expert in Avionics has been appointed as Director, Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), Hyderabad.

7. Vice President Ansari to represent India at NAM Summit: Vice-President Hamid Ansari will be representing India at the upcoming 17th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to be held at Margarita Island in Venezuela from September 17-18.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Jim Yong Kim heads for second term as World Bank president:Kim, 56, has focused the World Bank on programs to reduce extreme poverty.
Kim's first term ends on June 30, 2017.

2. US sign 38 billion dollars deal with Israel:The United States has signed a 38 billion dollars deal with Israel to provide the country with military assistance over a 10-year period. 

3. Hiroshi Nakagawa takes over as Chairman of Isuzu Motors India: Japanese automobile maker Isuzu today announced top-level changes in its Indian operations with Hiroshi Nakagawa taking over as the Chairman of Isuzu Motors India (IMI) with immediate effect. 

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. Axis Bank, BHU team up for banking courses: Private sector Axis Bank has tied up with Banaras Hindu University (BHU) to offer specialised banking courses. 

SPORTS:

2. India Blue wins 2016-17 Duleep Trophy Tournament:GautamGambhir-led India Blue has won the inaugural day/night Duleep Trophy Cricket tournament held in Greater Noida.

3. India wins 6 medals on opening day of Track Asia Cup: Indian cyclists put up a commendable show on the opening day of the Track Asia Cup 2016, bagging 6 medals, including three gold and two silver and one bronze.

AWARDS:

4. Actor Ewan McGregor will receive the Britannia Humanitarian Award at the British Academy Britannia Awards in California next month.

Daily GK Updates - 14th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Hindi Divas being celebrated throughout country today: Hindi Divas is celebrated on 14th September every year, because on this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of the country adopted the Hindi language as the official language of the Republic of India.

2. 3rd BRICS Urbanisation Forum Meet begins in Vishakhapatnam today: The meet will be inaugurated by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in the presence of Union Minister of Urban Development, M. Venkaiah Naidu and other dignitaries. 

3. 105-yr-old Kunwar Bai made 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' mascot: 105-year-old Kunwar Bai, who was felicitated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for building toilet by selling off her goats, has been chosen as the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ mascot.

4. Andhra Pradesh becomes second state to achieve 100% electrification: Andhra Pradesh has become the second state in the country after Gujarat to achieve 100% electrification of households.

5. Raman Singh launches ‘Start Up Chhattisgarh’ project: In line with the Centre's 'Start Up India' initiative, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has launched the 'Start Up Chhattisgarh' programme to encourage entrepreneurs in the state. 

6. Anoop K Sharma new CMD of Shipping Corporation: Anoop Kumar Sharma has taken charge of the post of CMD, Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) with effect from September 12, 2016 for a period of three years.

7.PayU acquires Citrus Pay for $130 million: Global online payment service provider PayU has acquired Indian payments technology player, Citrus Pay, for $130 million.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.AleksanderCeferin named newUEFA president: Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) elected Aleksander Ceferin to succeed Michel Platini as president today.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. SBI, PNB, Paytm to issue e-toll tags for vehicles: State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, IDFC Bank, and digital wallet Paytm will start issuing electronic tags to vehicles for toll collection.

2. Freecharge partners with Axis Bank, launches UPI payment: Digital payment platform FreeCharge in partnership with Axis Bank has launched Unified Payments Interface (UPI) that allows instant transactions from a smartphone using a virtual payment address (VPA).

SPORTS:

3. Devendra Jhajharia wins second gold, breaks world record at Rio Paralympics 2016: Javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia became the first Indian to clinch two gold medals at the Paralympics after he broke his own world record to clinch the top honours at the Rio Games.

AWARDS:

4. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to be awarded by Jewish rights group: honoured with a humanitarian award by a prominent Jewish human rights organisation for promoting human dignity, interfaith relations and tolerance among people.

5. Mumbai-based writer wins FON South Asia Short Story Award: Writer Meghna Pant will be honoured with Kumaon Literary Festival's FON (Fellows of Nature) South AsiaShort Story Award in Nature writing in October for her short story "People of the Sun."

Daily GK Updates - 13th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Union Cabinet Approvals: Cabinet approves Extradition Treaty between India and Afghanistan. Cabinet approves Bilateral Technical Arrangement between India and Switzerland.

2. Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa removed as Arunachal Pradesh governor: Governor of Arunachal Pradesh JyotiPrasad  Rajkhowa was removed from the post  of Arunachal PradeshGovernor. 

3. Subramanian Swamy was awarded ‘Tamil Ratna’ in US: BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has been honoured with ‘Tamil Ratna’ award by a body of Tamil diaspora in New York for fighting corruption and working for more transparency in the functioning of the government.

4. ‘Bhattacharya, Kochhar among most powerful women outside US’: India’s top women bankers, SBI chief Arundhati Bhattacharya, ICICI head ChandaKochhar and Axis Bank CEO Shikha Sharma, are among the 50 most powerful women based outside the US, according to a list by Fortune, which is topped by Banco Santander’s boss Ana Bot.

5. CM inaugurates week-long Onam celebrations in state:Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has inaugurated the Onam celebrations in Thiruvananthapuram.

6. Wadhwa Group ties-upwithSnapdeal:Realty player Wadhwa Group has tied-up with e-commerce platform Sanpdeal to make its properties accessible to customers online.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World’s longest bullet train network established in China: World’s longest bullet train network length of 2000 kms established by China Railway. Construction of the line started in December 2012.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. Cabinet approves establishment of Higher Education Financing Agency: The Cabinet has approved the creation of the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA), taking a step closer to developing high quality infrastructure in premier educational institutions.

SPORTS:

2.Chinappa rises to 10^th in PSA rankings: In Women’s Ranking Indian squash player Joshna Chinappa rose to 10th while Deepika Pallikal remained at 19th in the latest Professional Squash Association (PSA) rankings.

3. Deepa Malik becomes first Indian woman to win medal at Paralympics: India’s Deepa Malik created history by becoming the first ever woman from the country to win a medal at the Paralympics.

Daily GK Updates - 12th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Joint Indian-US Army exercise ‘YudhAbhyas 2016’ to begin in Uttarakhand: As part of the ongoing Indo-US defence cooperation, a joint military training exercise, ‘YudhAbhyas 2016’ is set to be conducted in Uttarakhand from September 14 to 27. The exercise in Chaubattia was being conducted by the headquarter Central Command.

2. Cabinet approves Formation and Functioning of GST Council: The primary function of the GST Council will be to decide the GST rate along with many other things. Finance Minister ArunJaitley will be heading the GST Council, which will comprise state finance ministers as well.

3. Guru KelucharanMohapatra Awards presented: The five-day-long 22nd Guru KelucharanMohapatra Award Festival concluded at the RabindraMandap auditorium with the presentation of the prestigious awards named after the legendary Odissi artists.

4. VidyaBalan appointed as the brand ambassador of Samajwadi Pension Yojana: Bollywood actress VidyaBalan appointed as brand ambassador of the ambitious Samajwadi Pension Yojana by Uttar Pradesh government. The actor who had earlier been associated with the "ghar-gharshauchalya" campaign of the Union government will be seen campaigning about the scheme in the coming months.

5. Government launches toll-free number for postal complaints: The government today launched a toll-free number 1924 to register postal complaints. It will initially be operational for 12 hours on working days and has been started in Hindi, Malayalam, and English. Notably, Department of Posts (DoP) is the 8th largest department in terms of the number of complaints.

6. Mandi, Sindhudurg emerge cleanest districts in India:Mandi in Himachal Pradesh and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra have emerged the cleanest districts in India according to a report released in New Delhi by Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.

7. Himachal Pradesh and Singapore sign MoU for smart integrated township: Himachal Pradesh government has signed a preliminary Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Singapore government for developing a smart integrated township in Jathiadevi near Shimla airport.

8. Centre Inaugurates National Fair in Bengaluru: Union Minister of State for Ayush (Independent Charge) ShriShripadYessoNaik and Union minister for Fertilisers and Chemicals and Parliamentary Affairs ShriAnanth Kumar inaugurated the National Fair on comprehensive Indian Medicine system (AROGYA) in Bengaluru. The two days BRICS Wellness Workshop and AROGYA fair is being organized by the Ministry of AYUSH, in collaboration with Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS).

9. Centre issues fresh guidelines for flexi-fund for CSS: The government has issued fresh flexi-fund guidelines that will give more freedom to states in spending money under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) to meet local developmental requirements.

10. Government approves agreement with Kenya for cooperation in National Housing Policy: Union Cabinet under the chairmanship of Prime Minister gave approval for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Kenya on cooperation in the field of National Housing Policy Development and Management (NHPDM).

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Army Green beat Neroca FC to win Durand Cup: Army Green on has won the 128th edition of Durand Cup football title. Army Green defeated Neroca FC 6-5 via penalty shootouts.

2. Pakistan appoints Wasim Bari as manager of national cricket team.

3. Stan Wawrinka beats defending champion Novak Djokovic to win US Open 2016: Stan Wawrinka defeated world number one Novak Djokovic to claim a 3rd Grand Slam title at the US Open tennis tournament. Wawrinka secured a 6-7 (1/7),  6-4, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Serbia's Djokovic.

AWARDS:

4. Filipino revenge drama wins best picture at the world’s oldest film festival: A revenge drama AngBabaengHumayo (The Woman Who Left) on 10 September 2016 won the Golden Lion for Best Film Award at the 73 Venice Film Festival.

Daily GK Updates - 11th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Indo-US Economic Summit from September 13: The 2-day Indo-US Economic Summit will begin in New Delhi on September 13. Leaders from business, government and academia from both the countries will participate in the summit.

2. Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev sets up mega Food Park in Nagpur: Renowned Yog Guru and founder of Patanjali group Baba Ramdev has laid the foundation stone of his dream project Patanjali Mega Food and Herbal Park in Mihan area which is located at outskirts of Nagpur.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. BakytzhanSagintayev appointed as the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan: BakytzhanSagintaev appointed as Prime minister of Kazakhstan by Kazakhstan President NursultanNazarbayev on September 9,2016.

2. World’s 1^st robotic eye operation performed in Britain: British surgeons have successfully performed the world’s first robotic operation inside the eye, potentially revolutionising the way such conditions are treated. The procedure was carried out at John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford.

3. Qatar National Bank soon to open branch in India: Qatar National Bank (QNB) has received approval from India's regulatory authorities to open a branch in the country and begin operations.

4. US Navy reveals interior of $4.4 bnZumwalt destroyer: The 186-metre-long ship is equipped with stealth features and a gun system that can launch 600 rocket-powered projectiles at targets more than 110 kilometres away.It is named after World War II hero Admiral Elmo Zumwalt.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Jamie Murray-Bruno Soares win US Open doubles title: Great Britain’s Jamie Murray and Brazil's Bruno Soares won their second Grand Slam doubles title, defeating Spaniards Pablo CarreñoBusta and Guillermo García-López 6-2, 6-3.

2. Vietnam wins 1^st Paralympic gold with world record: Vietnam won its first-ever Paralympic gold medal after para weightlifter Le Van Cong lifted 183 kgs, to set a new world record at the event.

3. Real Madrid secures 15^th straight La Liga win: Real Madrid registered a 5-2 win over Osasuna in the La Liga, marking a 15th straight league win.

4. Angelique Kerber wins US Open Tennis Tournament: German professional tennis player Angelique Kerber won her first U.S. Open title and the second Grand Slam trophy of her breakthrough season. The German defeated Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.