Daily GK Update 29th May 2017

PM Narendra Modi to embark on 4-nation tour today

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a four nation tour beginning today. He will visit Germany first. Trade and commerce, economic cooperation and counter terrorism will be high on the agenda during the Prime Minister’s visit to Germany, Spain, Russia and France.
ii. He will take part in the 4th Indo-German Inter-governmental Consultations. Mr. Modi will be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Spain in almost 30 years.

Static Takeaways-

• Capital of Germany is Berlin and its President is Frank-Walter Steinmeier
• Madrid is the Capital of Spain and its PM is Mariano Rajoy
• The Capital of Russia is Moscow its Currency is Russian rubleand President is Vladimir Putin
• The Capital of France is Paris, its President is Emmanuel Macron and Prime minister is Edouard Philippe.

International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers: 29th May

i. 29 May is celebrated as the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.
ii. The day was established to Honour the memory of the UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives in the cause of peace and pay tribute to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in UN peacekeeping operations for their high level of professionalism, dedication and courage.
iii. The theme for the 2017 International Day of UN Peacekeepers is “Investing in Peace Around the World".

Static Takeaways-

• The first UN peacekeeping mission was established in 1948
• The name "United Nations", coined by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt was first used in the Declaration by United Nations of 1 January 1942
• On 24 October 1945, The United Nations officially comes into existence
• Antonio Guterres is the Secretary-General of United Nations
• United Nations is headquartered in New York.

Vadodara creates Guinness record for most people sweeping street

i. Vadodara, which was declared the 10th cleanest city in the country made a new Guinness world record for the maximum number of people sweeping a single venue.
ii. About 5,058 residents of the city came together to achieve the feat at the venue which was a bridge that connected Akota, an urban area.
iii. The large-scale event saw about 50,000 people in attendance as they cheered and rendered their support to the participants.  The event was organised as a tribute to prime minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ initiative.

Static Takeaways For SBI PO Mains Exam-

• Indore was the the Cleanest city in India
• Gonda was the dirtiest city in India
• The capital of Gujarat is Gandhinagar
• Om Prakash Kohli is the current governor of Gujarat.

Pune city police receive FICCI Smart Policing Award 2017

i. The Pune city police have received the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) Smart Police Award for the year 2017.
ii. Pune Police Commissioner Rashmi Shukla received the award from BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi during a program organized by FICCI and Vivekanand International Foundation on Homeland Security in Delhi.
iii. The program focused on the use of modern technology for countering internal security issues.

Static Takeaways-

• FICCI full form is Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries
• President of FICCI is Pankaj R Patel.

Dailong village in Manipur declared Biodiversity Heritage Site

i. The Manipur government has declared Dailong village of Tamenglong district as a Biodiversity Heritage Site of the state. Dailong village, covering an area of 11.35 sq km, has been declared as Biodiversity Heritage Site under Section 37(1) of Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
ii. The declaration was made after the recommendation of Manipur Biodiversity Board, the state government has stated in the notification.

Static Takeaways-

• CM of Manipur is N. Biren Singh and the governor is Dr. Najma Hptulla
• The Keibul Lamjao National Park is situated in Manipur.

ISRO set to launch monster rocket into space

i. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch its most powerful launch vehicle, Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark III into space.
ii. ISRO will be launching the GSLV Mark III, earlier named Launch Vehicle Mark (LVM)-3, a heavy launch capability launcher, on June 5, 2017 from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. 

Important Points about GSLV-Mark-III:

1. GSLV Mark-III enables ISRO to launch from India heavier communication spacecraft to geostationary orbits of 36,000 km. 

2. GSLV Mark III will launch the GSAT-19 satellite, which is a high throughput communication satellite. It will help in India’s efforts to increase internet connectivity in the country. 

3. The GSLV is a three-stage vehicle with two solid motor strap-ons, a liquid propellant core stage (L110) and a cryogenic stage (C25). 

4. GSLV-Mk III-D1 is the first developmental flight carrying the GSAT-19 satellite.

China launches satellite navigation positioning system

i. China launched a national satellite navigation and positioning system which will provide positioning service to transportation, emergency medical rescue and city planning and management. It is the largest in the country and boasts the widest coverage.
ii. The system consists of 2,700 base stations, a national database centre and 30 provincial level database centers.
iii. The system, featuring faster speed, higher accuracy and wider coverage, will be compatible with other satellite navigation systems, such as the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System and Global Position System (GPS).

Static Takeaways-

• PM of China is Li Keqiang and President is Xi Jinping
• Currency of China is Renminbi and Capital is Beijing
• The Great Wall of China is situated at Huairou in China.

IOC overtakes ONGC to become India's most profitable PSU

i. Indian Oil Corporation has overtaken Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to become India’s most profitable state-owned company.
ii. IOC, which has for decades been India’s biggest company by turnover, posted a 70 per cent jump in net profit to Rs. 19,106.40 crore in the financial year ended March 31, 2017.
iii. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries retained the crown of being India’s most profitable private company for the third year in a row, posting a net Rs. 29,901 crore in financial year 2016-17. Tata Consultancy Services, India’s largest software services exporter, with a net profit of Rs. 26,357 crore was the second most profitable private company in the country.

Static Takeaways-

• Mr. B. Ashok is Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.
• Dinesh K. Sarraf is the Chairman & Managing Director of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd.
• Natarajan Chandrasekaran is the Chairman of TCS.

 Defence Minister inaugurates DRDO’s Aeronautical Test Range in Karnataka

i. Union Defence and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO)’s new Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Karnataka.
ii. The ATR is a facility under the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) which works on a range of UAVs (unmanned air vehicles). It will be an integrated test center for the DRDO’s cluster of aeronautical laboratories, most of them based in Bengaluru.

Static Takeaways-

• CEO of DRDO is S. Christopher and its headquarter is in New Delhi. 

Satyabrata Rout gets Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar

i. Satyabrata Rout, a professor from the Department of Theatre Arts, S N School of Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad (UoH) has been awarded Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar for the year 2016.
 ii. He is one of the pioneers of ‘visual theater’ in India, and has ‘Scenography: An Indian Perspective’.

Static Takeaways-

• The Sangeet Natak Akademi created by a resolution of the Ministry of Education, Government of India on 31 May 1952.

BSF officer summits Mount Everest a record 6th time, 1st Indian to clinch feat

i. Uttarakhand Mountaineer Love Raj Singh Dharmshaktu has become the first Indian to summit Mount Everest a record six times. 
ii. Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, the premier institute of mountaineering under the ministry of defence in Uttarkashi, has confirmed that Dharmshaktu is the first Indian to summit the peak six times.

Static Takeaways for SBI PO Mains Exam-

• Mount Everest, also known in Nepal as Sagarmāthā and in China as Chomolungma, is Earth's highest mountain.
• Mount Everest height is about 8,848 meters.

Sudirman Cup 2017: South Korea beat China to clinch the title after 14 years 

i. South Korea won Badminton's Sudirman Cup for the first time in 14 years with 3-2 victory over 10-time champions China at Australia's Gold Coast. 

ii. Before 2017, South Korea won the Sudirman Cup in 1991 and 1993, fought back from 2-1 down in the final to claim victory.

Static Takeaways-

• South Korea capital is Seoul and currency is South Korean Won.

 Priyanka Chopra bags Dadasaheb Phalke Award 

i. Actress Priyanka Chopra will be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award for being an international icon. 'Internationally Acclaimed Actress' category at a ceremony.
ii. The board of trustees for Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Awards include Johny Lever, Pahlaj Nihalani, Mithun Chakraborty and TP Agrawal. The award ceremony will be held on June 1, 2017 in Mumbai.

Static Takeaways-

• The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in cinema and it was established in 1969. 
• The first recipient of this award was Devika Rani.