Daily GK Update 30th May 2017

Govt to launch new campaign called Darwaza Band

i. The government launched new campaign called Darwaza Band for promotion of toilet usage in the rural areas across the country.
ii. Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, who leads the campaign, is proposed to be joined by Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation Narendra Singh Tomar and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the formal launch event to be held in Mumbai.
iii. The campaign also features actor, Anushka Sharma, who will be seen encouraging women to stand up for this issue in their villages and assume a leadership role.

Static Takeaways-

• Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a campaign by the Government of India to clean the streets, roads and infrastructure of the country's 4,041 statutory cities and towns.
• It is launched on the occasion of  Gandhi Jayanti 02nd October 2014.

Prakash Javadekar launches UGC App to fight ragging

i. Union Human Resource Development Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar launched an Anti-Ragging Mobile App introduced by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in New Delhi.
ii. This mobile app will help students register complaints to counter the menace of ragging.
iii. This app will work on android system on which students can log in and register their complaints immediately. Accordingly all concerned will be informed immediately and action will start immediately.

Static Takeaways-

• The University Grants Commission of India is a statutory body set up by the Indian Union government in accordance to the UGC Act 1956. 
• It comes under the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

EPFO gives nod to hike in stock investment to 15 per cent 

i. The Employees Provident Fund Organisation has approved hike in investment limit in exchange traded funds (ETFs) to 15%, from the existing 10%, Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya stated it.
ii. The decision was taken during the meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT). In 2016, the investment was raised to 10%.

Static Takeaways-

• EPFO came into existence under the pormulgation of the Employee's Provident Fund Ordinance on the 15th November,1951. 
• It was replaced by the Employee's Provident Fund Act, 1952.

Banks Board Bureau gets 2 more members

i. The government has expanded the Banks Board Bureau (BBB) headed by former comptroller and auditor general Vinod Rai by adding two more members.
ii. Former Allahabad Bank chairperson and managing director Shubhalaxmi Panse and private equity player Pradip Shah have been inducted into the board as independent members.

Static Takeaways-

• Banks Board Bureau (BBB) headed by Vinod Rai 
• The Bureau started functioning from April 01, 2016 as an autonomous recommendatory body.

Prasar Bharati signs MoU with Morocco's SNRT

i. Government-run Prasar Bharati has got into an agreement with Morocco's Societe Nationale de Radiodiffusion et de Television (SNRT) to step up cooperation in the broadcasting sector.
ii. The MoU was signed during the fifth India Morocco Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) in Rabat, Morocco's capital.

Static Takeaways for Dena Bank PO Exam-

• SNRT full form is Societe Nationale de Radiodiffusion et de Television
• Morocco currency is Moroccan Dirham and its capital is Rabat.

Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla appointed Jamia Millia Islamia Chancellor

i. Manipur Governor and former Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla has been appointed as the Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
ii. 77-year old Heptulla succeeds Lt. Gen. (Retd.) M.A. Zaki, who completes his five-year term this month. Ms. Heptulla will also serve for the term of five-years.

Static Takeaways-

• Talat Ahmad is the Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia
• Jamia Millia Islamia, an institution originally established at Aligarh, in 1920 it became a Central University by an act of the Indian Parliament in 1988
• In Urdu language, Jamia means ‘University’, and Millia means ‘National’.

Amul inks MoU with ISRO for fodder acreage estimation

i. Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF)  has signed an agreement with ISRO for fodder acreage assessment using satellite observation and space technology.  

ii. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), ISRO will help in identification between food crops and fodder crops at village level and also locate suitable areas of current fallows and cultivable wastelands at village level for green fodder cultivation. 

Static Takeaways-

• Managing Director of GCMMF is R S Sodhi
• Chairman of ISRo is A S Kiran Kumar
• ISRO was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka
• Vikram Sarabhai was the founder of ISRO

India is second most complex tax jurisdiction: Deloitte

i. Indian tax laws are perceived to be second most complex in the Asia-Pacific region, becoming even less predictable over the last three years, according to Deloitte survey. 

ii. India ranks only after China in having most complex jurisdiction for taxation and most complicated requirements of tax, the Asia Pacific Tax Complexity Survey conducted by Deloitte.Japan, Australia, Indonesia and South Korea trail India in the complexity index.

Static Takeaways-

• CEO of Deloitte is Punit Renjen.

Former Greek Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis dies

i. Constantine Mitsotakis, a former prime minister of Greece remembered for fierce confrontations with Greece's liberal and socialist parties has died.
ii. He served in several Cabinet posts, including finance minister, in liberal governments in 1951-52 and 1963-65.

Static Takeaways-

• Greece Capital is Athens and its Currency is Euro
• PM of Greece is Alexis Tsipras.

Fencer Bhavani Devi, First Indian to win gold in International Event

i. Indian fencer C A Bhavani Devi struck gold in the Turnoi Satellite Fencing Championship at Reykjavik (Iceland).
ii. Bhavani Devi, who hails from Chennai, defeated Great Britain’s Sarah Jane Hampson 15-13.
iii.With this win, Bhavani Devi has also become the first Indian to win a gold medal in an international fencing event. She had previously won a silver medal.

Static Takeaways-

• Fencing, also called Olympic fencing, is a sport in which two competitors fight using 'rapier-style' swords.

Sebastian Vettel wins Monaco Grand Prix

i. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel won the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix at the Circuit de Monaco, La Condamine and Monte Carlo, Monaco. 

ii. The second place in the race was secured by Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, while the third place was secured by Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.

Static Takeaways-

• Sebastian Vettel is a German racing driver currently driving in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari.