Daily GK Update 28th April, 2017

India and Cyprus sign 4 agreements

i. India and Cyprus have signed four agreements after delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.
ii. The areas in which the MoUs have been exchanged are Air Services, Agriculture, Merchant Shipping and Culture Education.

Bhubaneswar becomes 1st Indian city to win Pierre L’enfant Awards-2017

i. Odisha’s capital city, Bhubaneswar has become, the first Indian city that has won Pierre L’enfant Planning Excellence and Achievement Awards-2017.
ii. This award is instituted by the American Planning Association. Smart City Bhubaneswar received this award for good and advanced town planning and engaging its residents in the planning process. 

AIIMS becomes India's first public hospital for eye tumors

i. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is India's first public hospital to start plaque brachytherapy facility for the treatment of eye tumors.
ii. The facility is a form of local radiation delivered to the eye through a radioactive device which is attached to the eye for a temporary period of time. The move will benefit children suffering from retinoblastoma, which is a form of eye cancer, and adults suffering from ocular melanoma.

Haryana's Ballabhgarh renamed as Balramgarh

i. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced the renaming of Ballabgarh town in Faridabad as Balramgarh.
ii. Situated around 30 km from Delhi on National Highway-2, Ballabgarh is a town and a tehsil (sub-division).
iii. The princely State was founded by Balram Singh in 1739. 

ISRO Develops "Solar Calculator" Android App

i. An android App 'Solar Calculator' for the computation of solar energy potential has been developed by Space Applications Centre (SAC), ISRO, Ahmedabad at the behest of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Govt. of India.
ii. It is a very useful tool for installation of PV solar panels for tapping solar energy.
ii. The App provides monthly/yearly solar potential (in kWh/m2) and minimum/maximum temperature at any location. 

Indian cultural center in Egypt holds seminar to deepen ties

i. Indian cultural center in Egypt, serving as India's window to reach out to Egyptians, has organized a seminar aimed at maintaining and strengthening bilateral relations.
ii. Organized by the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC), the seminar titled as 'Cultural Festivals - Bridge between India and Egypt' was part MACIC's monthly seminar series involving youth, academicians, culture lovers, civil society to discuss the issue of bilateral interest.

T Krishnakumar is Coca-Cola India’s new chief

i. Beverage major Coca-Cola Company announced key leadership changes for its India & South West Asia business and Hindustan Coca-Cola Bottling (HCCB) operations.
ii. T Krishnakumar has been appointed as the president of India and South West Asia Business Unit. He has replaced Venkatesh Kini.

India wins 6 medals in 2nd leg of Asian Grand Prix Atheletics Meet

i. India won six medals in the second leg of the Asian Grand Prix Athletics Meet in Jiaxing, China. This included the gold medal bagged by Neena Varakil in women’s long jump.
ii. World junior record holder javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra took the silver. Neeraj also qualified for the IAAF World Championships to be held in London in August, 2017.

Oscar-Winning Director Jonathan Demme passes away

i. American Director Jonathan Demme, the Oscar-winning director behind classics like The Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia, died in New York.
ii. He was 73 years old. The cause was esophageal cancer and complications from heart disease.

Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows-

• India and Cyprus have signed four agreements
• President of Cyprus is Mr. Nicos Anastasiades
• The capital of Cyprus is Nicosia and its currency is Euro.
• Bhubaneswar becomes 1st Indian city to win Pierre L’enfant Awards-2017
• The award is instituted by the American Planning Association
• Shri Naveen Patnaik is the Chief Minister of Odisha
• AIIMS becomes India's first public hospital for eye tumors
• This move will benefit children suffering from retinoblastoma
• Haryana's Ballabhgarh is renamed as Balramgarh
• The State was founded by Balram Singh in 1739
• Manohar Lal Khattar is Chief Minister of Haryana
• Kaptan Singh Solanki is the Governor of Haryana
• Indian cultural center in Egypt holds seminar to deepen ties
• The title of seminar was 'Cultural Festivals - Bridge between India and Egypt'
• The capital of Egypt is Cairo and PM is Sherif Ismail.
• T Krishnakumar appointed as Coca-Cola India’s new chief
• He has replaced Venkatesh Kini.
• Headquarter of Coca-Cola company is in Georgia, United States.
• India won six medals in the second leg of the Asian Grand Prix Athletics Meet in Jiaxing, China
• Gold medal was bagged by Neena Varakil in women’s long jump
• Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra took the silver
• He also qualified for the IAAF World Championships.
• Oscar-Winning Director Jonathan Demme Dies at 73
• The Silence of the Lambs, released in 1991 was his most famous work

QUIZ-28

Q1. India-Malaysia has recently signed seven agreements including air services agreement and MoUs in education and sports. What is the capital of Malaysia?

(a) Penang

(b) Selangor

(c) Kuala Lumpur

(d) Malaysian City

(e) Mallacca

Q2. Name the state that has become the 27th State to join the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY).

(a) Himachal Pradesh

(b) Mizoram

(c) Tripura

(d) Kerala

(e) Arunachal Pradesh

Q3. Name the person who has been recently appointed as the new Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.

(a) KumariBhatnagar

(b) Jaya Biswas

(c) NeelamSulema

(d) Indira Banerjee

(e) SulekhaSubrato

Q4. The Government has recently launched a comprehensive scheme for power loom sector development at over 45 locations in the country. What is the name of that scheme?

(a) PowerTex India

(b) Loompower India

(c) TextilePower India

(d) Powerloom India

(e) None of the given options are true

Q5. Name the person who has been appointed as the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations Offices in Geneva, Switzerland.

(a) SandeepJajodia

(b) B P Kanugo

(c) Sumit Kumar Rao

(d) Amit Gupta

(e) Rajiv Kumar Chander

Q6. The Madhya Pradesh government has launched an app named ____________ to provide various municipal services online.

(a) MP i-Seva

(b) MP e-Safai

(c) MP i-Safai

(d) MP e-nagarpalika

(e) MP e-Cleaning

Q7. Which of the following Indian Universities has topped the list of country's official higher education rankings, recently announced by the HRD Ministry?

(a) Banaras Hindu University

(b) Jawaharlal Nehru University

(c) IISc-Bengaluru

(d) Delhi University

(e) Aligarh University

Q8. Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist ___________ passes away, recently.

(a) LakshmikantBai

(b) Sarana Begum

(c) KishoriAmonkar

(d) Girija Lakshmi Pandit

(e) SuvarnalekhaKumari

Q9. FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) has recently banned Guatemala's former football chief Brayan Jimenez for lifetime. Name the President of FIFA.

(a) IssaHayatou

(b) SeppBlatter

(c) Stanley Rous

(d) Gianni Infantino

(e) JoãoHavelange

Q10. After the merger of subsidiary bank in the State Bank of India, the base rate or the minimum lending rate of the bank has been reduced from 9.25% to ___________.

(a) 9.10%

(b) 9.15%

(c) 9.20%

(d) 9.00%

(e) 8.95%

Q11. Name the Cab aggregator that has integrated with Unified Payment Interface (UPI) to simplify digital payment options for its customers.

(a) Uber

(b) Ola

(c) Meru

(d) Mycab

(e) Tesla

Q12. Phoenix India Research and Development Group launched the first bio-gas fuelled bus in which of the following Indian cities keeping a flat fare of just Rs 1.

(a) Bengaluru

(b) Chennai

(c) Kolkata

(d) Mumbai

(e) Chandigarh

Q13. Name the country that has topped in a doping violation report published by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for 2015.

(a) Norway

(b) China

(c) Japan

(d) Russia

(e) Italy

Q14. A Malaysian company MTN has recently agreed to help set up a technology park in which of the following Indian State that’s expected to attract private sector investment of $100 million in the first phase.

(a) Andhra Pradesh

(b) Arunachal Pradesh

(c) Assam

(d) Maharashtra

(e) Tripura

Q15. Kerala, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh have also recently joined the Centre’s power distribution company debt relief scheme, UjjwalDiscom Assurance Yojna (UDAY). UDAY scheme was launched in ___________.

(a) 2010

(b) 2012

(c) 2013

(d) 2014

(e) 2015

Solutions

S1. Ans.(c)
Sol. India-Malaysia have recently signed seven agreements including air services agreement and MoUs in education and sports. Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia.

S2. Ans.(b)
Sol. Mizoram has become the 27th State to join the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY).

S3. Ans.(d)
Sol. Justice Indira Banerjee, a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court, has been appointed as the new Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.

S4. Ans.(a)
Sol. The Government has launched PowerTex India, a comprehensive scheme for power loom sector development, simultaneously at over 45 locations in the country.

S5. Ans.(e)
Sol. Rajiv Kumar Chander has been appointed as the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations Offices in Geneva.

S6. Ans.(d)
Sol. The Madhya Pradesh government has launched an app named ‘MP e-nagarpalika’ to provide various municipal services online.

S7. Ans.(c)
Sol. IISc- Bengaluru has topped the list of best universities of country's official higher education rankings, recently announced by the HRD Ministry.

S8. Ans.(c)
Sol. Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist KishoriAmonkar passes away. She was 84.

S9. Ans.(d)
Sol. FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) has recently banned Guatemala's former football chief Brayan Jimenez for lifetime. Gianni Infantino is the President of FIFA.

S10. Ans.(a)
Sol. After the merger of subsidiary bank in the State Bank of India, the base rate or the minimum lending rate of the bank has been reduced from 9.25% to 9.1%. SBI cuts lending rates by 0.15%.

S11. Ans.(b)
Sol. Cab aggregator Ola has integrated with Unified Payment Interface (UPI) to simplify digital payment options for its customers.

S12. Ans.(c)
Sol. Phoenix India Research and Development Group launched the first bio-gas fuelled bus in Kolkata keeping a flat fare of just Rs 1.

S13. Ans.(d)
Sol. India has been ranked third for the third year in a row in a doping violation report published by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for 2015. The list was topped by Russia.

S14. Ans.(a)
Sol. A Malaysian company MTN has agreed to help set up a technology park in Andhra Pradesh that’s expected to attract private sector investment of $100 million in the first phase.

S15. Ans.(e)
Sol. Kerala, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh have also recently joined the Centre’s power distribution company debt relief scheme, UjjwalDiscom Assurance Yojna (UDAY). UDAY Scheme was launched in November 2015.