Daily GK Update 12th July 2017

1. NGT imposes nationwide ban on nylon and synthetic manja

i. The National Green Tribunal banned the use of ‘Chinese’ kite strings, made of nylon or any synthetic material on the grounds that it poses threat to life and environment.
ii. The Tribunal directed all state governments to prohibit the “manufacture, sale, storage, purchase and use” of synthetic manja or nylon threads and all other synthetic strings used for flying kites with immediate effect.

iii. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar ordered the authorities to ban import of any synthetic manja.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Mr. Justice Swatanter Kumar is the Present Chairperson of NGT.
• The National Green Tribunal has been established on 18.10.2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010.

2. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurates ‘Ashiana Annexe’ in Dehradun, Uttarakhand

i. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the annexe of the presidential retreat Ashiana which has accommodation facilities for accompanying officers and staff of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

ii. The Ashiana retreat was built originally as a bungalow of the commandant of the President's Bodyguard and was revived by Mukherjee after long years of disuse. K R Narayanan, in March 1998, was the last president to stay here.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Rashtrapati Ashiana was built by British in 1920 as Commandant’s Bungalow.

3. HAL signs MoU with Defence Ministry

i. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has signed an MoU for the financial year 2017-18 with the Ministry of Defence. The annual MoU was signed between Ashok Kumar Gupta, Secretary, Department of Defence Production and T Suvarna Raju, CMD-HAL.

ii. The MoU has outlined targets on various performance parameters of the company during the year 2017-18. The revenue from operations has been targeted at Rs. 17,900 crore, the highest ever.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Shri T. Suvarna Raju is the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of  HAL.
• HAL had its origin as the Hindustan Aircraft Company which was incorporated on 23 Dec 1940 at Bangalore.
• HAL is Headquartered in Bengaluru.

4. Axis Bank ties up with IIC to boost trade with Latin America

i. Axis Bank has entered into a collaboration with Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) to facilitate trade with Latin America and the Caribbean.

ii. Axis Bank becomes the first Indian bank to participate in the Trade Finance Facilitation Programme as a confirming bank. IIC, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, is a multilateral development bank committed to supporting the private sector in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Shikha Sharma is the MD and CEO of Axis Bank.
• Headquarter of Axis bank is in Mumbai.

5. 36th Foundation Day of NABARD celebrated

i. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated the 36th NABARD Foundation Day and Silver Jubilee of SHG Bank Linkage Programme, in New Delhi.

ii. Self Help Group Bank Linkage Programme (SHG BLP) is a pioneering initiative of Financial Inclusion by NABARD. The pilot stage of this program was started in year 1992.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Harsh Kumar Bhanwala is the Chairman of NABARD.
• National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development is the full form of NABARD.
• NABARD came into existence on 12 July 1982.

6. CM of Delhi launches e-RTI, Delhi becomes 2nd state to accept online applications

i. Filing an RTI application with the Delhi government is now just a click away. Delhi became the second state to launch e-RTI portal that will enable citizens to file online Right to Information (RTI). Maharashtra is the first state to launch the online RTI platform.

ii. The portal launched recently will enable citizens to file RTI and seek information related to 172 departments of the Delhi government including the office of the CM and his ministers.
iii.  The e-RTI portal, which has been designed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), includes filling of application, payment of fees and getting replies online.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• The current Lt. Governor of Delhi is Anil Baijal.

7. Maharashtra, first state in the country to launch free injectable contraceptive for women

i. Maharashtra has become the first state in the country to provide women an injectable contraceptive for free. The state’s public health department launched a program called Antara to offer women an injection of Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), a birth-control hormone.

ii. The announcements were made on the occasion of World Population Day (11th July). According to state health officials, the injection, a safe means of birth control, is effective for three months. The injection will be given intramuscularly to women in the age bracket of 18-45 years.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Devendra Fadnavis is the CM of Maharashtra.
• Shri Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao is the Governor of Maharashtra.

8. Venkaiah Naidu releases new version of NHB RESIDEX

i. Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs M Venkaiah Naidu released the new version of NHB RESIDEX on the occasion of the annual day of National Housing Bank, entering its 30th year in New Delhi.

ii. The NHB RESIDEX captures movements in the prices of residential real estate prices. NHB RESIDEX for January-March,2017 revealed that price indices for residential properties based on actual market prices for ongoing construction prices have increased over the previous quarter in 24 of the 47 cities covered in the Index.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• The Head Office of NHB is at New Delhi.
• NHB was set up on July 9, 1988, under the National Housing Bank Act, 1987.
• Shri Sriram Kalyanaraman is the MD & CEO of NHB.

9. IROAF sets gold standards by winning Golden Peacock Award for Eco Innovation for year 2017

i. Indian Railways achieves a major landmark in the field of Eco friendly fuel technologies at Indian Railways Organization for Alternate Fuel (IROAF) which has been awarded the coveted National level “Golden Peacock Award for the Year 2017 for Eco-Innovation” for substitution of fossil fuels (Diesel) by environment friendly CNG in DEMU passenger train services.

ii. Use of CNG in Train Sets for passenger transportation has been done for the first time in the world. 

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Golden Peacock Awards were instituted by the Institute Of Directors (IOD), India in 1991.

10. Debi Prasad Dash takes over as DRI chief

i. Debi Prasad Dash, a 1985-batch Indian Revenue Service (Customs) officer, has taken over as director-general of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DG-DRI), the premier agency that tackles smuggling and black money. 

ii. Mr. Dash was the acting DRI chief for the past five months. He has earlier worked in the UN Security Council, Commonwealth Secretariat, and the CBI.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Sh. Jayant Misra was the previous DG of DRI.

11. Subhash Garg takes charge as Economic Affairs Secretary

i. Senior bureaucrat Subhash Chandra Garg assumed charge as Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) in the Finance Ministry. Mr. Garg was World Bank Executive Director for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Sri Lanka prior to this appointment.

ii. He succeeds Shaktikanta Das, who retired after an extended tenure on May 31. Corporate Affairs Secretary Tapan Ray was given additional charge of DEA Secretary after Das’ exit.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Department of Economic Affairs comes under Finance Ministry.

12. Mithali Raj creates history, becomes leading run-getter in Women’s ODIs

i. Mithali Raj has been India’s premier player ever since she made her debut in 1999.

ii. In the crucial game against Australia, Mithali became the woman cricketer who has scored most runs in ODIs. Mithali Raj became the first women’s player to reach 6000 ODI runs.  England’s Charlotte Edwards was the previous leading run-getter in ODIs with 5992 runs. 

iii. She has 48 not-outs to her name, which is the most in women’s cricket.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Mithali Raj is the present Captain of Indian Woman's Cricket Team.

13. Ravi Shastri appointed new head coach and Zaheer Khan bowling coach: BCCI

i. Ravi Shastri has pipped Virender Sehwag to become Indian cricket team’s new head coach. The appointment was confirmed by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Shastri will take charge from India’s upcoming three-Test series against Sri Lanka, starting July 26.

ii. Shastri, was chosen by the BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) that included former captains Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and veteran batting star VVS Laxman.
iii. Zaheer Khan has been appointed as the bowling coach of Indian Cricket Team.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Chairman of BCCI is Vinod Rai.
• Ravi Shastri replaces Anil Kumble as a head coach.

14. Renowned cartoonist Mangesh Tendulkar passes away

i. Renowned cartoonist Mangesh Tendulkar passed away in Pune.
ii. He was 83. Tendulkar was suffering from bladder cancer for the last three years.
iii. Tendulkar was one of the most decorated cartoonists in India. He was conferred with the president’s medal in 1980, Marathi Natya Parishad Award in 1993 and Pulotsav award in 2003 among several other honors.