Daily GK Update 24th March, 2017

Daily GK Update 24th March, 2017

World Tuberculosis Day- 24 March

i. World Tuberculosis Day celebrated on 24 March each year. 

ii. The theme for World Tuberculosis Day 2017 is 'Unite to End TB: Leave no one behind'. 2017 is the second year of a two-year "Unite to End TB" campaign for World TB Day.

ISRO commissions world's third largest hypersonic wind tunnel

i. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) created history by commissioning the world’s third largest hypersonic wind tunnel at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

ii. A wind tunnel is used to study the effects of air flowing past a solid object in ISRO's case, space vehicles.

 India Notifies Amended Tax Treaty with Singapore

i. The government notified the amended India-Singapore tax treaty under which capital gains tax will be levied at source of investments with effect from April 1,2017.

ii. India had amended the tax treaty with Singapore on December 30, 2016, under which for two years  capital gains tax will be imposed at 50 percent of the prevailing domestic rate. Full rate will apply from April 1, 2019.

iii. The revision of tax treaty will help curb revenue loss, prevent double non-taxation and streamline the flow of investments adding that the amended tax treaty has been notified.

Assam govt, SBI sign MoU over housing, educational loan at subsidized interest rates

i. The state government of Assam has signed two MoUs with Mumbai-based State Bank of India(SBI) to provide housing loan and education loan for its employees. 

ii. To provide housing loan at hugely subsidized interest rates of 5% for its women employees and 5.5 % for men, and education loan for higher education for their children at 4% interest rate. Both types of loans will be free of any collateral security and processing fee.

South Indian Bank introduces Aadhar-based payment app

i. To promote cashless digital transactions, South Indian Bank (SIB) has introduced Aadhar-based payment in its Unified Payment Interface (UPI) mobile application- 'SIB M-Pay'. 

ii. Even non-customers of South Indian Bank can link any of their bank accounts in this mobile application. 

iii. With the latest addition in SIB M-Pay, the fund transfers can be done by just entering the Aadhar number of the beneficiary. SIB M-Pay app is currently available in Android Playstore.

World Bank signs US$ 100 million credit agreement with Uttarakhand, Centre

i. The World Bank has signed a 100 million US dollar credit agreement with the Centre and Uttarakhand in New Delhi to improve the quality of health care services in all 13 districts of the state.

ii. The project aims to reduce the financial risk for its citizens and make affordable, quality health care available to all. 

Airtel acquires Tikona’s 4G business for ₹1,600 crore

i. Bharti Airtel has acquired Tikona Digital's 4G airwaves for Rs 1,600 crore, ramping up its high-speed broadband spectrum capacity to take on Reliance Jio Infocomm and the Vodafone-Idea Cellular in the competitive market.

ii. Bharti Airtel as India's largest telecom company provides access to Tikona's 4G airwaves in five circles are Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West), Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan. 

BSE, NSE to launch F&O series in 15 companies

i. Indian capital markets Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) will introduce futures and options (F&O) contracts in 15 companies including InterGlobe Aviation and Indian Bank from 31 March 2017. 

ii.  F&O are derivative securities derived from a debt instrument, share, loan, whether secured or unsecured or any other form of security. It also derives its value from the prices, or index of prices, of underlying securities.

Raghu Rai conferred with Lifetime Achievement award

i. Photojournalist Raghu Rai was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Mr. Venkaiah Naidu for “his remarkable contribution to the field.” at 6th National Photography Awards organized by the photo division of the ministry in the capital. 

ii. Rai is also a Padma Shri awardee. 

Yves Meyer wins the 2017 Abel Prize

i. The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has awarded the Abel Prize for 2017 to mathematician Yves Meyer.

ii. He was awarded for his pivotal role in the development of the mathematical theory of wavelets. The theory of wavelets that he started and made fundamental contributions to finds wide-ranging applications from image processing to fluid dynamics.

 8th Laadli Media Awards 2016

i. The 8th Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity 2016 (Northern and Eastern Region) were announced at the Chinmaya Mission in New Delhi. 

ii. Anima Pookkunnyil, Assistant Editor with BusinessLine, and Shreya Ila Anasuya, a freelance journalist, were awarded this year for their critical gender-sensitive reportage.

iii. Ila Anasuya was awarded for her report on Suzette Jordan. Anima Pookkunnyi was awarded for her story about Kamlesh Kairi’s petition to the Supreme Court against the unjust laws.

RBI okays appointment of T S Anantharaman as part-time chairman

i. The Reserve Bank of India has accorded its approval for the appointment of T S Anantharaman as part-time Chairman of the bank. 

ii. Anantharaman has been holding the position of Non-Executive Director of the bank since August 28, 2009. 

iii. At present, he is an investment consultant and director of a number of other companies and institutions.

India ranks 87th on energy architecture performance: WEF

i. India has marginally improved its position to 87th place on a global energy architecture performance index, but ranks among the worst for pollution, a survey showed. 

ii. Switzerland topped the annual list released by Geneva- based World Economic Forum (WEF) and was followed by Norway, Sweden, Denmark and France in the top five. India's rank improved three places from 90th last year. 

Sarbananda Sonowal launches initiative to make Majuli carbon neutral

i. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched initiative to develop Majuli, the world’s largest river island, as the country’s first carbon neutral district and a biodiversity heritage site. 

ii. He launched the Sustainable Actions for Climate Resilient Development (SaCReD) Initiative would ensure that infrastructure in Majuli had less carbon.

Radha Mohan Singh launched Book titled '50 Years – The Great Indian Milk Revolution'

i. The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Radha Mohan Singh has launched a Coffee Table Book titled “50 Years – The Great Indian Milk Revolution” commemorating National Dairy Development Board’s (NDDB) Golden Jubilee year.

Writer Ashokamitran passes away

i. Prominent Tamil writer and Sahitya Akademi winner Ashokamitran died at the age of 86.

ii. He was given the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1996 for his work Appavin Snegidhar, a collection of short stories.

Ankur Mittal wins gold in double trap at ISSF World Cup

i. Young Indian shooter Ankur Mittal, defeated rival James Willett, and bagged the first World Cup gold medal of his career in double trap at the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup.

ii. The event was held in Acapulco, Mexico.