Wednesday, 13 September 2017

Daily GK Update 13th September 2017



i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi received his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe at Ahmedabad in Gujarat. Mr. Abe is in India on a two-day visit to attend the India-Japan annual summit meeting.
ii. The 12th edition of the summit will be held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
iii. They will also attend a function to mark the commencement of work of India’s first high-speed rail project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

Important Takeaways from Above News-
  • Tokyo is the Capital of Japan.
  • The Japanese Yen is the third most traded currency in the world.


i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Belarus President Aleksandr Grigoryevich Lukashenko in New Delhi and discussed various issues of mutual interest of both countries. A number of agreements were signed in several areas after the talks.
ii. Mr. Lukashenko’s visit was significant as it took place in a year when Belarus and India are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
iii. Following Agreements/MoUs were signed:

1. MoU between the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus
2. MoU between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of the Government of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Education of the Government of the Republic of Belarus for Cooperation in the Field of Vocational Education and Training
3. Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation between Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus
4. MoU between Indian Council of Agricultural Research, India and Belarusian State Agricultural Academy, Gorki, Belarus for Cooperation in Agricultural Research and Education
5. Protocol amending the Agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer’s Welfare of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Belarus signed on April 16, 2007
6. Programme of cooperation between the Government of Republic of India and the Government of Republic of Belarus in the field of culture for 2018-2020
7. MoU between M/o Petroleum & Natural Gas of the Republic of India and Belarusian State Concern of Oil and Chemistry in the Oil and Gas Sector
8. MoU between JSV "Belzarubezhstroy” and National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd.
9. MoU between JSC Belarusian Potash Company (BPC) and Indian Potash Ltd (IPL)
10. Agreement on the implementation of MoU signed between OJSC Minsk Tractor Works and Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd. India in Pune

Important Takeaways from Above News-
  • Minsk is the Capital city of Belarus. 
  • Its Currency is Belarusian ruble.


i. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has sacked his deputy Tourism Minister Arundika Fernando for allegedly defying the party leadership.
ii. He is the second top Minister removed from the government in less than a month. The President’s Office stated Arundika Fernando has been dismissed from his portfolio with immediate effect.

Important Takeaways from Above News-
  • The capital of Sri Lanka is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte.
  • This is the administrative capital where most of the administrative institutions exist including Parliament of Sri Lanka.


i. Halimah Yacob was sworn-in as the 8th President of Singapore. She became the country’s first female President and the first in five decades to come from the Malay ethnicity.
ii. She was certified by the Presidential Elections Commission as the only eligible candidate, and since she has no opponent, there was no election held.

Important Takeaways from Above News-
  • Halimah Yacob held the key government post of Speaker of Parliament since 2013.
  • Singapore dollar is the Currency of Singapore.


i. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India organized the second State Startup Conference in New Delhi. The Minister of State, C.R. Choudhary inaugurated the conference. The conference was held mainly to deliberate on issues including incubation facilities and making regulations easier for budding entrepreneurs.
ii. The discussions were centered on four main themes related to key components of the startup ecosystem:
  1. Governance reforms to be undertaken by states for start-ups.
  2. Incubation facilities in India and role of state governments in developing these facilities.
  3. Role of state governments in setting up funds for start-ups.
  4. Making regulations easier for Start-ups.

Important Takeaways from Above News-
  • Shri Suresh Prabhu is the present Minister of Commerce and Industry.


i. Kochi will host the fifth edition of the ‘Coastal Shipping and Inland Water Transportation Business Summit 2017’. The summit will be an initiative to explore the immense potential of coastal shipping and waterways as well as an effort to build a shared commitment and decipher the role that each stakeholder will have to play in integrating the coastal and waterways transport infrastructure.
ii. Kerala Governor P Sathasivam will present the India Seatrade Award for Excellence in Coastal Shipping & Inland Water Transportation.


i. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi to monitor and resolve the IT challenges faced in the implementation of GST.
ii. The GoM will be assisted by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN). Besides, a Committee on Exports has also been constituted under the convenorship of the Revenue Secretary Dr.Hasmukh Adhia to look at the issues of export sector and to recommend the GST Council suitable strategy for helping the export sector in the post-GST scenario.

Important Takeaways from Above News-
  • The Committees have been set up in pursuance of the decision taken at the 21st Meeting of GST Council held in Hyderabad.
  • GST Council is headed by Finance Minister of India, Arun Jaitley.

i. London retained its crown as the world’s top financial center in a ranking that surveys industry professionals, extending its lead over New York and Hong Kong despite ongoing uncertainty about the implications of Brexit.
ii. The U.K. capital fell only two points in the latest Global Financial Centres Index published by Z/Yen and the China Development Institute, the smallest decline among the top 10 centers. New York held on to second place. In Asia, Hong Kong leapfrogged Singapore into third place.

Important Takeaways from Above News-
  • Theresa May is the PM of the United Kingdom.
  • London is the capital city of the UK


i. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched a nationwide Hackathon ‘OpenGovDataHack’ to support and showcase potential ideas/talent from inner India.
ii. As part of the start-up eco-system development program, the National Informatics Centre (NIC) and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) have collaborated to conduct the Hackathon at Jaipur, Chennai, Noida, Bhubaneswar, Patna, Hyderabad, and Surat.

Important Takeaways from Above News-
  • Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad is the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology.


i. As per the notification of Finance Ministry, the Reserve Bank of India will introduce 100 rupees coin to mark the birth centenary (hundredth anniversary) of AIADMK founder Late Dr. M G Ramachandran.
ii. On the obverse, the face of the coin will bear Lion Capitol of Ashoka Pillar in the center with Satyamev Jayate inscribed below on it in Devanagari script. It will also bear the rupee symbol and denominational value of 100.
iii. On the reverse side, the portrait of Dr. MG Ramachandran will be in the center. The standard weight of the coin will be 35 grams.

Important Takeaways from Above News-
  • RBI Headquarters in Mumbai.
  • The 24th Governor of RBI is Dr. Urjit Patel.


i. Turkey has signed a deal with Russia to buy S-400 missile defence systems in its first major weapons purchase from Moscow, according to the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
ii. The accord for the surface-to-air missile defence batteries is Ankara's most significant pact with a non-NATO supplier.

Important Takeaways from Above News-
  • Turkey is a NATO member since 1952.


i. Telecom services provider, Bharti Airtel and SK Telecom of Korea have announced a strategic partnership under which Airtel will leverage the latter's expertise to build advanced telecom network in India.
ii. SK Telecom is Korea’s largest telecommunications company. The two companies will also collaborate on an ongoing basis to evolve standards for 5G and Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV).

Important Takeaways from Above News-
  • SK Telecom was established in March 1984. 
  • Bharti Airtel is Headquartered in New Delhi.
  • Gopal Vittal is the MD & CEO (India and South Asia) of Bharti Airtel.


i. Paytm Payments Bank (PPB) has partnered with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch a RuPay-powered digital debit card. With the PPB Digital debit card, customers will now be able to transact at all merchants who accept credit and debit cards.
ii. Existing Paytm users need to complete a KYC process to become an account holder with PPB. Following this, they will be issued a free digital RuPay card.

Important Takeaways from Above News-
  • As a payments bank, PPB can take a demand deposit of up to Rs 1 lakh per customer, but it cannot undertake lending activities.
  • PPB launched its services in May 2017.
  • Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma owns 51 per cent stake in PPB while One97 Communications which runs Paytm owns the remaining 49 per cent.


i. Payment gateway provider PayU has announced its collaborations with the IRCTC to provide users a safe and secure option to pay for rail tickets booked via the IRCTC website.
ii. PayU will now be available as a payment option under the Multiple Payment Services (MPS) option on the IRCTC website at the payment stage of booking an e- ticket.

Important Takeaways from Above News-
  • IRCTC stands for Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation.
  • Shri Piyush Goyal is the present Minister of Railways.

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