Daily GK Update 1st April, 2017

Government launched two mobile apps- echallan and mParivahan

i. The government has launched two mobile apps, echallan and mParivahan, that provide access to various services and information, and enable citizens to report any traffic violation or road accident.

ii. 'eChallan' is an integrated enforcement solution to manage traffic violations.

iii. 'mParivahan' is an empowering app for the citizen which provides access to various services, information and utilities related to the transport sector.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak Visits India

i. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is on a 6-day visit to India.

ii. This year marks the 60th anniversary of formal diplomatic relations. Malaysia’s father of independence, Tunku Abdul Rahman, visited India in 1962.
iii. India and Malaysia signed their strategic partnership in 2010. India has trained Malaysian pilots for the Russian SU-30 aircraft. 

Japan commits 371 bn yen assistance for infra projects in India

i. Japan has committed an 'Official Development Assistance' (ODA) of 371.345 billion yen (about Rs 21,590 crore) under 2016-2017 for various infrastructure projects, including the dedicated freight corridor, in India.

ii. The notes in this regard were exchanged in New Delhi between S Selvakumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and Kenji Hiramatsu, Ambassador of Japan to India.

Kanha tiger reserve becomes first in India get official mascot

i. Kanha tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh has become the first tiger reserve in India to officially introduce a mascot of its own.

ii. The Mascot has been named 'Bhoorsingh the Barasingha' to present the hard ground swamp deer as the spirit of the reserve and spread awareness to save it from possible extinction. Barasingha or Swamp Deer is the State animal of Madhya Pradesh.

 82nd Establishment Day of RBI- 01st April 2017
i. The Reserve Bank of India is the central bank of the country. The Reserve Bank of India was set up on the basis of the recommendations of the Hilton Young Commission. The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (II of 1934) provides the statutory basis for the functioning of the Bank, which commenced operations on April 1, 1935.
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IIT-Madras signs MoU with Indian Army

i. The Indian Army has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M).

ii. The objective of the agreement is to identify and enhance the critical technological areas that can be enhanced in the armed forces.


Vanaja Sarna appointed as CBEC's new Chairman

i. Vanaja N. Sarna was appointed as the new chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC).

ii. She has replaced Najib Shah after his retirement. Prior to becoming Member of the CBEC, she held the charge of Director General of Vigilance and Chief Vigilance Officer of the Department.

SBI gets new logo and enters in the league of top 50 Global Banks

i. From April 1, the associate banks which will be merging with State Bank of India will sport the lender's signage and logo, with its iconic keyhole set against the background of inky blue.

ii. On the design, “SBI” legend will be seen in white colour and will be written in a new font called Effra.

iii. As per the Reserve Bank of India, all branches of the associate banks will function as branches of SBI from April 1, 2017.
iv. With The merger, State Bank of India will enter the league of Top 50 Global Banks with a balance sheet size of Rs. 41 trillion.

Axis Bank ties up with Wells Fargo for US remittances

i. Axis Bank has tied up with Wells Fargo (the third largest American bank by assets) to offer real-time remittances from the Indian diaspora to their relatives back home.

ii. Under the arrangement between the two banks, any member of the Indian diaspora with an account with the Wells Fargo will be able to transfer money to their relatives back home and there will be no transaction fee applicable to the money transfers from the USA. But the relative or the beneficiary in India will need to have an account with Axis Bank.

Kotak Mahindra Bank launches 8-11 app to double customer base

i. Kotak Mahindra Bank has launched the '811 banking app' which is part of the lender's vision to double customer base in 18 months.

ii. Customers will be able to open an account on the 811 banking app with zero balance. Only Aadhaar and PAN card would be required to open 811 account which would provide access to over 100 features on mobile. The account offers up to 6 percent interest rate on savings deposits.

Railway Minister released Book Titled 'Indian Railway- The weaving of a National Tapestry'

i. Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu released the book titled 'Indian Railway- The weaving of a National Tapestry' jointly authored by Shri Bibek Debroy (Member, NITI Aayog) Shri Sanjay Chadha (Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce) & Ms. Vidya Krishnamurthi.

ii. The theme of this book is the historical development of railways in India, organized into chapters dealing with different periods of development in chronological order.

iii. In addition, Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhu also launched Hi-speed free Wi-Fi services for the visitors at National Rail Museum, New Delhi.

Important Takeaways from above GK Update are as follows-

• Government launched two mobile apps named echallan and mParivahan
• Apps are available on Google Playstore
• Prime Minister of Malaysia is Mr.Najib Razak
• Tunku Abdul Rahman is Malaysia’s father of independence
• Capital of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur and its Currency is Malaysian ringgit
• Japan has committed an 'Official Development Assistance' (ODA) of 371.345 billion yen
• Kenji Hiramatsu is the Ambassador of Japan to India
• Currency of Japan is Japanese yen and its Prime minister is Shinzō Abe
• Kanha tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh becomes first in India get official mascot
• Name of the mascot is 'Bhoorsingh the Barasingha'
• Barasingha or Swamp Deer is the State animal of Madhya Pradesh
• RBI was set up on the basis of the recommendations of the Hilton Young Commission.
• Reserve Bank of India was established on 01st April 1935.
• Sir Osborne Smith was the first Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.
• Urjit Ravindra Patel is present and 24th Governor of RBI.
• The Reserve Bank of India was nationalized on 1st January 1949.
• C. D. Deshmukh was the first Indian governor of RBI.
• The headquarter of RBI is in Mumbai, Maharashtra. 
• IIT-Madras has signed an MoU with the Indian Army
• The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) is General Bipin Rawat
• Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) is Lieutenant General Sarath Chand
• Director of IIT- M is Bhaskar Ramamurthy.
• Vanaja N. Sarna is now the new chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC)
• She has replaced Najib Shah
• CBEC has been renamed as Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) under GST Regime
• Public Lender State Bank of India gets a new logo
• State Bank of India will enter in the league of Top 50 Global Banks with a balance sheet size of Rs. 41 trillion
• SBI will be written in a new font called Effra
• Chairman of SBI is Mrs. Arundhati Bhattacharya
• Axis Bank has tied up with Wells Fargo for US remittances
• Wells Fargo is the third largest American bank by assets
• Wells Fargo & Company WFC is a diversified, community-based financial services company
• WFC was founded in 1852 and is headquartered in San Francisco
• Axis Bank is Headquartered in Mumbai and its CEO is Shikha Sharma.
• Kotak Mahindra Bank launched the '811 banking app
• Headquarter of  Kotak Mahindra Bank is in Mumbai and was founded in 2003
• Uday Kotak is the executive vice-chairman and MD of Kotak Mahindra Bank 
• Railway Minister released the book titled 'Indian Railway- The weaving of a National Tapestry'
• Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu is the Railway Minister of India
• He launched Hi-speed free Wi-Fi services for the visitors at National Rail Museum, New Delhi.