Daily GK Update 06th July 2017

1. India Signed 7 Agreements with Israel

i. A total of seven agreements were signed between India and Israel in sectors ranging from agriculture to water conservation and space as they sought to deepen ties beyond high-priced defence deals.

ii. The PM of India Mr. Narendra Modi and his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu presented a series of agreements for cooperation on satellite technology, water and agriculture, as well as the creation of a $40 million innovation fund.

Important Takeaways From Above News-

• Benjamin Netanyahu is the PM of Israel.
• The Capital of Israel is Jerusalem.
• Israeli new shekel is the Currency of Israel.
• PM Modi's visit marks 25 years since India and Israel established diplomatic relations.

2. Sushma Swaraj inaugurated the 9th edition Delhi Dialogue

i. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has inaugurated the 9th edition of Delhi Dialogue.
ii. The theme for Delhi Dialogue 9 is 'India-ASEAN relations: Charting the Course for the Next 25 Years'.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• ASEAN was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand.

3. 5th Meeting of BRICS Education Ministers held in China

i. Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Education was held in Beijing, China. The Indian delegation was led by Shri Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Human Resource Development, India.

ii. Javadekar highlighted some of the initiatives of the Govt. of India in education. He specifically spoke about the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), SWAYAM platform which has already hosted over 480 courses online, research initiative IMPRINT and Smart India Hackathon.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

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

4. AIIB approves USD 329 mn loan to build roads in Gujarat

i. China-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) announced its approval to a $329 million loan to build access roads across 4,000 villages in Gujarat.
ii. The funds have been approved to construct road linkages for last-mile connectivity to schools and tribal areas in 33 districts of the state. 

Important Takeaways from the above News:

• Jin Liqun is present president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
• Beijing, China is headquarters of AIIB.

5. 10th Session of the India- Jordan Trade and Economic Joint Committee held in New Delhi

i. The 10TH India-Jordan Trade and Economic Joint Committee (TEJC) Meeting was held in New Delhi under the co-chairs of Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce and Industry, (India) and Mr. Yarub Qudah, Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply (Jordan).

ii. The two leaders also inked the revised Economic and Trade Cooperation Agreement between India and Jordan, aiming at boosting and diversifying bilateral trade relations, in addition to promote economic, trade and investment cooperation based on the principle of equity, non-discrimination.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Amman is the Capital of Jordan.
• The currency of Jordan is Jordanian dinar.

6. Jammu & Kashmir Assembly passes resolution to implement GST in the state

i. Jammu and Kashmir Assembly adopted a resolution to implement the goods and services tax (GST), bringing the state’s indirect taxation into the new unified tax regime that the rest of the country adopted on 1 July at a landmark ceremony in Parliament.

ii. With this Jammu and Kashmir has become the last state to pass the GST bill in the state.

Important Takeaways from the above News-

• Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed is the present chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
• Narinder Nath Vohra is the present governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

7. Pradeep Kumar Rawat appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Indonesia

i. Pradeep Kumar Rawat presently a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Indonesia.
ii. Rawat, an Indian ForeignService (IFS) officer of the 1990 batch, is expected to take up his assignment shortly.

Important Takeaways from Above News- 

• The capital of Indonesia is Jakarta.
• Joko Widodo is the current president of Indonesia.

8. N Chandrasekaran appointed as Chairman of Tata Global Beverages Limited

i. Tata Global Beverages Ltd. appointed Natarajan Chandrasekaran as the Chairman of its board with immediate effect. Chandrasekaran will succeed Harish Bhat.

ii. The Board has also appointed Siraj Azmat Chaudhry as Non-Executive Independent Director.

Important Takeaways from the above News-

• Natarajan Chandrasekaran is also head of  Tata Sons.
• Harish Bhat was appointed in place of former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry in November 2016.

9. Trilateral Malabar exercise to kick off on July 10

i. The Malabar naval exercise involving Indian, American and Japanese navies will kick start on July 10 in the Bay of Bengal.
ii. The aim of the Malabar exercise is to achieve deeper military ties and greater interoperability among the three navies in the strategically-important Indo-Pacific region. India and the US have regularly conducted the annual exercise since 1992.

Important Takeaways From Above News-

• Admiral Sunil Lanba is the Chief Naval Officer of Indian Navy. 
• Yutaka Murakawa is the Chief of Staff of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). 
• Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) of American Navy is Admiral John M. Richardson.

10. Pankaj Advani-led Indian team beat Pakistan to clinch Asian Snooker Championship

i. India’s leading cueist Pankaj Advani teamed up with Laxman Rawat to demolish Pakistan in the final of the Asian Team Snooker Championship in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Advani pieced together a brilliant break of 83 to seal the first tie of the best-of-five final.

ii. Advani remained the only player not to lose a single individual match in the team event. This title brings up Advani’s second Asian title this season and 8th overall while it was a first major first international title for Rawat.

Important Takeaways from above News-

• Bishkek is the Capital of Kyrgyzstan.
• The Currency of Kyrgyzstan is Kyrgyzstani som.
• The President of Kyrgyzstan is Almazbek Atambayev.

11. South Indian Bank ties up with PFG Forex

i. South Indian Bank has tied up with PFG Forex for remittance facility for the benefit of Indian expatriates from Australia. The new facility will leverage the bank to reach the Indian diaspora.

ii. Under this arrangement, NRIs can enjoy cost-effective and fast remittance services using SIB's Express facility. NRIs can visit the PFG Forex outlets across Australia for remittances to India. SIB is already having correspondent banking arrangement with National Australia Bank and Fly World Money Exchange for remittances to India.

Important Takeaways from the above News:

• Headquarter of South Indian Bank is in Thrissur, Kerala.
• Current MD and CEO of South Indian Bank is Mr. V.G Mathew.