Daily GK Update 18th April, 2017

The International Day for Monuments and Sites: 18th April

i. Every year on 18 April, ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) celebrates the International Day for Monuments and Sites (also called as World Heritage day).
ii. The theme for 2017 is “Cultural Heritage & Sustainable Tourism".


Suresh Prabhu Launched 'Vistadome' Coaches 

i. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu launched India's First Train With Glass Ceiling, LED Lights And Rotable Seats in 'Vistadome' Coaches.
ii. He has flagged off the train with Vistadome coaches between Visakhapatnam and Araku through video conferencing from Rail Sadan in Bhubaneswar.
iii. He Inaugurated the Life Line Express at Sindhudurg, Maharashtra of Konkan Railway.

PM Modi inaugurated Link-II of SAUNI project in Botad, Gujarat

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated phase-I of the Link-II pipeline canal of the ambitious Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran Irrigation (SAUNI) Yojana in Botad district of Gujarat.
ii. This will be the second milestone in the Rs 12,000 crore project to pump Narmada water in 115 dams of arid Saurashtra region after the PM dedicated to public phase-I of the Link-I canal in August 2016.

President inaugurates Kempegowda festival in New Delhi
i. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the Kempegowda Festival in New Delhi.
ii. The festival is organized by the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Foundation.




BHEL commissions 2 units at Maharashtra thermal power project 

i. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has successfully commissioned two units of 270 MW at RattanIndia Nasik Power Ltd's, Maharashtra. 
ii. With the commissioning of these units, BHEL has commissioned eight sets for RattanIndia in Maharashtra in which 3 sets at Nasik and 5 sets at Amravati.

BEML bags Hindustan PSU award
i. Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) a defence public sector has received the Hindustan PSU Award under the category ‘Fastest Growing Organisation – Miniratna’.
ii. Umesh Chandra, Executive Director, received the award on behalf of the company. The award was presented by Nitin Gadkari a Union Minister of State for Road Transport.

PNB launches three new products on foundation day

i. On the occasion of its Foundation Day, Punjab National Bank (PNB) has launched three new products for its customers.
ii. The three new products are automated electronic toll collection to facilitate hassle-free toll payment/ collection, a credit card mobile App and a scheme for financing a grid connected Roof Solar Power Project.

SBI surpasses ONGC to become most valued PSU stock

State Bank of India (SBI) surpassed oil exploration major Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to become most valued public sector undertaking (PSU) stock in terms of market capitalization (m-cap) in intra-day trade. SBI with m-cap of Rs 239,808 crore was ahead of ONGC having m-cap of Rs 236,003 crore, BSE data showed.



ISRO, BHEL tie-up for lithium-ion batteries 

i. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) to help develop low-cost lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.



Philippine President Duterte wins TIME 100 Reader Poll 

i. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has won Time magazine's readers' poll of the 100 most influential people in the world. 
ii. Rodrigo also known as Digong, is a Filipino politician and jurist who is the 16th and current President of the Philippines.

Gayatri Pullela wins twin crown at Pembangunan Jaya Raya Junior Grand Prix

i. National Badminton coach Pullela Gopichand's daughter Gayatri Pullela has bagged both the singles and doubles crown at the Pembangunan Jaya Raya Junior Grand Prix in Jakarta.
ii. Gayatri eked out a hard-fought win over her doubles partner Samiya Farooqui to win the girls U-15 singles title.
iii. She later teamed up with Samiya to clinch the U-15 doubles title with a straight-game 21-17, 21-15 win over Indonesian pair of Kelly Larissa and Shelandry Vyola.

Sebastian Vettel wins Bahrain Grand Prix 2017

i. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) won the Bahrain Grand Prix 2017 by defeating Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes).
ii.  It was Sebastian's 3rd victory in Bahrain and 44th of his career. Sebastian Vettel belongs to Germany.




Important Takeaways from above GK Update are as follows

• SBI surpass ONGC to become most valued PSU 
• SBI headquarter is in Mumbai and it was founded in 1955
• ONGC headquarter is in Uttarakhand and it was formed in 1956
• SBI slogan is The Banker to Every Indian
• SBI chairman is Arundhati Bhattacharya 
• ONGC chairman is Dinesh K Sarraf
• BHEL and ISRO tie-up for lithium-ion batteries 
• Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd is a full form of BHEL
• Indian Space Research Organization is a full form of ISRO
• BHEL headquarter is in New Delhi and was founded in 1964
• CEO of BHEL is Atul Sobti
• ISRO was founded in 1969 and its Headquarter is in Bengaluru
• ISRO founder is Vikram Sarabhai and CEO is Aluru Seelin Kiran Kumar
• Gayatri Pullela wins twin crown at Pembangunan Jaya Raya Junior Grand Prix in Jakarta
• Samiya Farooqui was her doubles partner
• Gayatri Pullela is the daughter  of National Badminton coach Pullela Gopichand
• BHEL has successfully commissioned two units of 270 MW at Maharashtra
• Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd is a full form of BHEL
• BHEL headquarter is in New Delhi and was founded in 1964
• CEO of BHEL is Atul Sobti.
• 16th Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has won Time magazine's readers' poll of the 100 most influential people in the world
• PM Modi had been named among the probable contenders for the annual list of the most influential people in the world. 
• Philippine Capital is Manila and Currency is Philippine Peso
• Sebastian Vettel wins Bahrain Grand Prix 2017
• He defeated Lewis Hamilton
• Sebastian Vettel belongs to Germany
• Bahrain is an Arabian country with its capital in Manama.
• India's First Train With Glass Ceiling, LED Lights And Rotable Seats in 'Vistadome' Coaches has been launched by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu
• The train is running between Visakhapatnam and Araku 
• Inaugurated the Life Line Express at Sindhudurg, Maharashtra.
• The International Day for Monuments and Sites is celebrated on 18th April
• The day is celebrated by ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites)
• The theme for 2017 is “Cultural Heritage & Sustainable Tourism”
• Punjab National Bank (PNB) has launched three new products for its customers viz.  automated electronic toll collection,  a credit card mobile App, a Roof Solar Power Project.
• PNB CEO is Usha Ananthasubramanian
• PNB Headquarter is in New Delhi and was founded on 12th April 1895.
• PM Modi inaugurated phase-I of the Link-II pipeline canal of SAUNI Yojana
• Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran Irrigation is full form of SAUNI