Daily GK Update 20th June 2017

1. Afghan President inaugurates first Afghanistan-India air corridor 

i. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani inaugurated the first Afghanistan-India air corridor at the Kabul International Airport. The corridor is a direct route that will bypass Pakistan and is meant to improve commerce in Afghanistan.

ii. The aim of the route is to create more opportunities and make Afghanistan an exporter country. Afghan agricultural products will for the first time head to India on cargo planes.

Static Takeaways-

• Kabul is the Capital of Afghanistan.
• Ashraf Ghani is the Present President of Afghanistan.

2. 114-year-old Taj Palace of Mumbai becomes first Indian building to get trademark 

i. The iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in the Mumbai City has acquired an 'image trademark', making it the first building in the country to get intellectual property rights protection for its architectural design. 

ii. With this, it had joined the elite and small club of trademarked properties in the world which includes the Empire State Building in New York, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and Sydney Opera House.

Important Takeaways-

• Taj Palace is located in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• It first commenced operations in the year 1903.
• It is owned by Indian Hotels Company Limited(IHCL), which was incorporated by the founder of the Tata Group, Jamsetji Tata.

3. Dr. Harshvardhan Launches Mobile App “Celebrating Yoga” 

i. Minister for Science & Technology Dr. Harshvardhan launched a Mobile App “Celebrating Yoga” developed by Ministry of Science & Technology in New Delhi. 

ii. The Mobile App has been developed by DST on the occasion of International  Yoga Day (21 June) 2017. The purpose of the App is to popularize Yoga and encourage people to participate in it for a scientifically healthy living.

Important Takeaways-

• International Yoga Day is Celebrated across the world on 21st June.

4. Shri Piyush Goyal Launches Energy Conservation Building Code 2017 

i. Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines launched the Energy Conservation Building Code 2017 (ECBC 2017). Developed by Ministry of Power and Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), ECBC 2017 prescribes the energy performance standards for new commercial buildings to be constructed across India.

ii. The updated version of ECBC provides current as well as futuristic advancements in building technology to further reduce building energy consumption and promote low-carbon growth.

Important Takeaways-

• Bureau of Energy Efficiency is an agency of the Government of India, under the Ministry of Power.
• Headquarters of BEE is located in New Delhi.

5. Lockheed Martin signs pact with Tata to make F-16 planes in India 

i. The defense arm of the Tata Group has signed an agreement with American firm Lockheed Martin to produce and export new generation F-16 fighter aircraft, potentially kick-starting a mega ‘Make in India’ project.

ii. The agreement has been signed at the Paris Airshow, Lockheed to produce F-16 fighter planes in India. It is the newest and most advanced version of the world’s most successful, combat-proven multi-role fighter.

Important Takeaways-

• TATA Advanced Systems is the defense arm of TATA.
• S Ramadorai is the Chairman of TATA Advanced Systems.
• Sukaran Singh is the CEO & Managing Director of TATA Advanced Systems.

6. Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind resigns 

i. Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind has resigned from his gubernatorial post. The resignation follows his nomination as the ruling NDA’s presidential candidate. President Pranab Mukherjee has accepted the resignation of Kovind as the Governor of Bihar.

ii. West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi will discharge the functions of the Governor of Bihar, in addition to his own duties.

Important Takeaways-

• Rajendra Prasad was the first President of India.
• Pranab Mukherjee is the 13th President of India.

7. World Refugee Day: 20 June

i. The World Refugee Day is observed across the world on 20 June to commemorate the strength, courage, and perseverance of millions of refugees. The day is celebrated by United Nations.

Important Takeaways-

• 9th Secretary-General of United Nations is Antonio Guterres
• The headquarter of UN is in New York City, USA.

8. Mangalyaan completes 1000 Earth days in its orbit

i. Indian Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) also called Mangalyaan completes 1000 Earth days in its orbit on 19th June 2017. The interplanetary mission of ISRO was launched on 5th November 2013.

ii.  It was inserted into Martian orbit on 24th September 2014 in its first attempt.

Important Takeaways-

• The Operator of the MOM is Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
• PSLV-C25 launched Mars Orbiter Mission Spacecraft from the First Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.
• ISRO was founded in 1969.
• A S Kiran Kumar is the present chairman of ISRO.

9. BankBazaar.com opens office in Malaysia

i. Online financial services marketplace BankBazaar has begun its operations in Malaysia to strengthen its presence in South East Asia.

ii. Further, to scale and steer its international operations, BankBazaar has appointed former Visa employee Vipin Kalra to lead the business growth internationally.

Important Takeaways-

• Co-founder and CEO of BankBazaar.com is Adhil Shetty.
• The Capital of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur.
• The Currency of Malaysia is Malaysian ringgit.

10. India becomes 71st country to ratify UN International Convention on Road Transports

i. India has become the 71st country to ratify the United Nations International Convention on Road Transports, TIR. The Convention is a multilateral treaty to boost International Transport of Goods. TIR is managed and developed by IRU - the world road transport organization.

ii. The TIR Convention is part of India's multi-modal transport strategy that aims to integrate the economy with global and regional production networks through better connectivity. TIR will help India to integrate with Myanmar and Thailand as well as Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal.

Important Takeaways-

• IRU was founded in 1948 in Geneva, Switzerland.

11. IDBI initiated insolvency proceeding against Lanco, first among 12 accounts identified by RBI

i. IDBI Bank has started insolvency resolution process against Lanco Infratech Ltd. following a directive from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). While this is the first resolution process initiated by the lenders against 12 large borrowers identified by the RBI recently.

ii. The other accounts identified by RBI include Essar Steel, Bhushan Steel, Electrosteel Steel, Alok Industries, Jyoti Structures, Monnet Ispat and Jaypee Associates.

Banking Takeaways-

• Headquarters of IDBI bank is in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• Industrial Development Bank of India is the full form of IDBI.
• CEO of IDBI Bank is Mahesh Kumar Jain.

12. Indian Wushu Team bags six medals in BRICS Games

i. India won six medals in the Wushu competition of the first ever BRICS Games, which concluded in Guangzhou, China recently. The medals haul comprised two each in gold, silver, and bronze.

ii. It featured some 300 athletes from five countries- Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa (BRICS Nations) with 10 events in 3 sports – men’s basketball, women’s volleyball, and Wushu.

iii. China will host the 9th BRICS summit in September 2017.

Important Takeaways-

• Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa are the five-member Nations of BRICS.
• It was established in 2009.

13. Predhiman Krishan Kaw, father of India’s nuclear fusion passes away

i. The father of India's nuclear fusion reactor research program, Padma Shri Prof Predhiman Krishan Kaw, passed away.

ii. He was the founder director of Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), Gandhinagar.