Daily GK Update 10th June 2017

India, Pakistan Become Full Members Of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation 

i. India and Pakistan became full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the first-ever expansion of the China-dominated security grouping after 2001.
ii. With the inclusion of India and Pakistan, SCO now represents over 40% of world population and nearly 20% of the global GDP.

iii. 2017 SCO summit was based on the theme “Future Energy”.

Important Takeaways-

• The SCO was founded at a Summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
• SCO is regarded as a counterweight to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

President Pranab Mukherjee launches 'Selfie with Daughter' mobile app 

i. President Pranab Mukherjee today launched the 'Selfie with Daughter' mobile application, aimed at raising awareness about female foeticide and sex selection.

ii. The campaign was started by Sunil Jaglan in June 2015 in village Bibipur in Haryana's Jind district.
iii. The aim of the campaign is to motivate society to feel proud to be parents of a girl child, which, in turn, will result in improving child sex ratio.

Static Takeaways-

• Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the first President of India.

Minister of Railways Inaugurates 1st Indian Railways HR Round Table Conference 

i. Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu inaugurated Indian Railways' 1st HR Round Table Conference in New Delhi. The Conference was organized around three themes i.e.

(1) Stakeholders Expectations from HR.

(2) The Future of Work – HR Role

(3) Creativity Within Constraints

ii. HR experts and leaders of industry held round table discussion on each of the above mentioned themes.

Static Takeaways-

• Indian Railways is the biggest civilian employer in the country.
• John Mathai was the first Minister of Railways of India.

RBI Governor to appear before House panel on July 6 

i. RBI Governor Urjit Patel will appear before a Parliamentary panel on July 6 during which he is expected to be questioned about total deposits made in banks post government’s demonetisation move.
ii. This is the fourth time Patel has been summoned by the Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) on Finance, headed by Congress MP and former Union Minister Veerappa Moily.

Static Takeaways-

• The Reserve Bank of India was established on April 1, 1935 in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934
• Urjit Patel is the 24th Governor of RBI.
• Sir Osborne Smith was the first Governor of the Reserve Bank.

SBI cuts interest rate on home loans above Rs 75 lakh by 10 bps 

i. The State Bank of India, country’s largest lender cut the interest rate on home loans above Rs 75 lakh by 10 basis points (bps) to 8.60 percent. For salaried women borrowers, the loans will be offered at 8.55 percent.

ii. According to SBI, the new rates will be effective from June 15. The home loan rates offered are lowest in the industry.

Important Takeaways-

• SBI was established in 1955 
• Smt. Arundhati Bhattacharya is the Chairperson of SBI 
• SBI is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Indian Overseas Bank launches retail mart in Thiruvananthapuram

i. Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), the Lead Bank for Thiruvananthapuram district, has launched the Retail Mart, a retail lending concept, in Kerala's capital city. 

ii. The Retail Mart has been designed with an aim to complete all the pre-release formalities at the customer’s doorstep and sanction quality retail loans at a competitive rate of interest with a minimum turnaround time.

Banking Takeaways-

• Shri R. Subramaniakumar MD & CEO of IOB.
• IOB is headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

SEBI clears Vikram Limaye as NSE chief

i. Capital market regulator SEBI has given conditional approval for the appointment of Vikram Limaye as the MD and CEO of the NSE. 

ii. SEBI had delayed clearing his appointment as he was also part of the four-member Supreme Court-appointed panel managing the affairs of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. His term with the BCCI ends in August 2017.

Static Takeaways-

• Ajay Tyagi is the Chairman of SEBI
• SEBI is headquartered in Mumbai
• The National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India Limited is the leading stock exchange of India, located in Mumbai.

Canara Bank ties up with New India Assurance Company

i. Canara Bank has inked pact with the state-owned general insurer The New India Assurance Company Ltd. to sell policies through its branches.
ii. The pact allows Canara Bank to offer non-life insurance products to its customers across metros and tier II and III cities through the bank’s extensive network of over 6,000 branches.

iii. Under the agreement, New India Assurance will make offer a bouquet of products such as motor, home, health, travel, fire, marine, and engineering insurance policies through branches of Canara Bank.

Banking Takeaways-

• New India Assurance Co Ltd is a 100 % Govt owned multinational general insurance company operating in 28 countries and headquartered at Mumbai.
• Mr. G. Srinivasan is the present Chairman cum Managing Director of New India Assurance Company.
• Canara Bank was founded as 'Canara Bank Hindu Permanent Fund' in 1906.
• Headquarter of Canara bank is in Bengaluru.
• Shri. T.N. Manoharan is the Chairman of Canara Bank.

Microsoft signs agreement to acquire Israeli security firm Hexadite

i. Ransomware attacks have prompted Microsoft to sign an agreement to acquire Hexadite.
ii. This deal cost $100 million. Hexadite is an Israeli startup that uses Artificial Intelligence to identify and protect against cyber attacks.

Important Takeaways-

• CEO of Microsoft is Satya Nadella.
• Headquarters of Microsoft is in Washington D.C., USA.

Govt sets up 18 sectoral groups for smooth GST rollout

i. The government has set up 18 sectoral groups, comprising senior members from the Centre and the States, to ensure the smooth rollout of the Goods and Services Tax.
ii. The 18 groups pertain to sectors such as banking and insurance, textiles, exports, information technology, transport, and oil and gas.

Takeaways from Above News-

• The GST Council is headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

IOC approves new events for 2020 Tokyo Game

i. The International Olympic Committee has approved new events for the 2020 Tokyo Games, including a number of mixed gender competitions. The IOC’s Executive Board made the decision at a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland. The choices reflect the IOC’s focus on gender equality and appeal to young people.

ii. The additions include a mixed team event for judo. Table Tennis will also get a mixed doubles competition. The event was featured in the recent world championships in Germany. Three-on-three basketball is an example of the IOC’s focus on youth and urban sports.

Static Takeaways-

• 2018 Olympic Winter Games will be held in PyeongChang.
• International Olympic Committee headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Eminent rights activist Mehrunnisa Dalwai passes away

i. Mehrunnisa Dalwai, a noted social activist and author, and the wife of one of modern Maharashtra’s most remarkable and formidable social reformers, Hamid Dalwai, passed away. She was 87.

ii. Her autobiography, "Mi Bharun Pawle" is considered an inspirational piece for progressive movement.