Daily GK Update 30th May 2017

Govt to launch new campaign called Darwaza Band

i. The government launched new campaign called Darwaza Band for promotion of toilet usage in the rural areas across the country.
ii. Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, who leads the campaign, is proposed to be joined by Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation Narendra Singh Tomar and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the formal launch event to be held in Mumbai.
iii. The campaign also features actor, Anushka Sharma, who will be seen encouraging women to stand up for this issue in their villages and assume a leadership role.

Static Takeaways-

• Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a campaign by the Government of India to clean the streets, roads and infrastructure of the country's 4,041 statutory cities and towns.
• It is launched on the occasion of  Gandhi Jayanti 02nd October 2014.

Prakash Javadekar launches UGC App to fight ragging

i. Union Human Resource Development Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar launched an Anti-Ragging Mobile App introduced by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in New Delhi.
ii. This mobile app will help students register complaints to counter the menace of ragging.
iii. This app will work on android system on which students can log in and register their complaints immediately. Accordingly all concerned will be informed immediately and action will start immediately.

Static Takeaways-

• The University Grants Commission of India is a statutory body set up by the Indian Union government in accordance to the UGC Act 1956. 
• It comes under the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

EPFO gives nod to hike in stock investment to 15 per cent 

i. The Employees Provident Fund Organisation has approved hike in investment limit in exchange traded funds (ETFs) to 15%, from the existing 10%, Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya stated it.
ii. The decision was taken during the meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT). In 2016, the investment was raised to 10%.

Static Takeaways-

• EPFO came into existence under the pormulgation of the Employee's Provident Fund Ordinance on the 15th November,1951. 
• It was replaced by the Employee's Provident Fund Act, 1952.

Banks Board Bureau gets 2 more members

i. The government has expanded the Banks Board Bureau (BBB) headed by former comptroller and auditor general Vinod Rai by adding two more members.
ii. Former Allahabad Bank chairperson and managing director Shubhalaxmi Panse and private equity player Pradip Shah have been inducted into the board as independent members.

Static Takeaways-

• Banks Board Bureau (BBB) headed by Vinod Rai 
• The Bureau started functioning from April 01, 2016 as an autonomous recommendatory body.

Prasar Bharati signs MoU with Morocco's SNRT

i. Government-run Prasar Bharati has got into an agreement with Morocco's Societe Nationale de Radiodiffusion et de Television (SNRT) to step up cooperation in the broadcasting sector.
ii. The MoU was signed during the fifth India Morocco Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) in Rabat, Morocco's capital.

Static Takeaways for Dena Bank PO Exam-

• SNRT full form is Societe Nationale de Radiodiffusion et de Television
• Morocco currency is Moroccan Dirham and its capital is Rabat.

Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla appointed Jamia Millia Islamia Chancellor

i. Manipur Governor and former Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla has been appointed as the Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
ii. 77-year old Heptulla succeeds Lt. Gen. (Retd.) M.A. Zaki, who completes his five-year term this month. Ms. Heptulla will also serve for the term of five-years.

Static Takeaways-

• Talat Ahmad is the Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia
• Jamia Millia Islamia, an institution originally established at Aligarh, in 1920 it became a Central University by an act of the Indian Parliament in 1988
• In Urdu language, Jamia means ‘University’, and Millia means ‘National’.

Amul inks MoU with ISRO for fodder acreage estimation

i. Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF)  has signed an agreement with ISRO for fodder acreage assessment using satellite observation and space technology.  

ii. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), ISRO will help in identification between food crops and fodder crops at village level and also locate suitable areas of current fallows and cultivable wastelands at village level for green fodder cultivation. 

Static Takeaways-

• Managing Director of GCMMF is R S Sodhi
• Chairman of ISRo is A S Kiran Kumar
• ISRO was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka
• Vikram Sarabhai was the founder of ISRO

India is second most complex tax jurisdiction: Deloitte

i. Indian tax laws are perceived to be second most complex in the Asia-Pacific region, becoming even less predictable over the last three years, according to Deloitte survey. 

ii. India ranks only after China in having most complex jurisdiction for taxation and most complicated requirements of tax, the Asia Pacific Tax Complexity Survey conducted by Deloitte.Japan, Australia, Indonesia and South Korea trail India in the complexity index.

Static Takeaways-

• CEO of Deloitte is Punit Renjen.

Former Greek Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis dies

i. Constantine Mitsotakis, a former prime minister of Greece remembered for fierce confrontations with Greece's liberal and socialist parties has died.
ii. He served in several Cabinet posts, including finance minister, in liberal governments in 1951-52 and 1963-65.

Static Takeaways-

• Greece Capital is Athens and its Currency is Euro
• PM of Greece is Alexis Tsipras.

Fencer Bhavani Devi, First Indian to win gold in International Event

i. Indian fencer C A Bhavani Devi struck gold in the Turnoi Satellite Fencing Championship at Reykjavik (Iceland).
ii. Bhavani Devi, who hails from Chennai, defeated Great Britain’s Sarah Jane Hampson 15-13.
iii.With this win, Bhavani Devi has also become the first Indian to win a gold medal in an international fencing event. She had previously won a silver medal.

Static Takeaways-

• Fencing, also called Olympic fencing, is a sport in which two competitors fight using 'rapier-style' swords.

Sebastian Vettel wins Monaco Grand Prix

i. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel won the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix at the Circuit de Monaco, La Condamine and Monte Carlo, Monaco. 

ii. The second place in the race was secured by Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, while the third place was secured by Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.

Static Takeaways-

• Sebastian Vettel is a German racing driver currently driving in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari.

QUIZ-30 +

Q1. India’s first and longest ropeway to connect Mumbai with the famous Island in the Arabian Sea is planned to be constructed by the Mumbai Port Trust. What is name of that Island?
Answer: Elephanta Island

Q2. The Indian Navy has begun a joint maritime exercise with the French Navy at the Mediterranean Sea to further deepen combat coordination between the two navies. The Joint exercise is named as ____________.
Answer: VARUNA

Q3. The White House has recently named a retired Marine major general ______________ as the new Director of the Secret Service.
Answer: Randolph Ailes

Q4. The World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated globally on __________.
Answer: April 26

Q5. Private sector lender Yes Bank announced the alliance with which e-commerce company under which the bank will offer conditionally approved loans to the latter’s existing customers?
Answer: Paisabazaar.com

Q6. ESAF Small Finance Bank has launched a social deposit scheme called _____________ in Thrissur, Kerala.
Answer: Hrudaya Deposit scheme

Q7. Name the mobile manufacturing company that has recently partnered with Airtel and BSNL to set up 5G internet speed in India to introduce a fast internet ecosystem in the country.
Answer: Nokia

Q8. Carme Chacon, the first female defense minister of which country has passed away recently.
Answer: Spain

Q9. Name the person who has recently become the youngest noble prize winner to address Canadian parliament.
Answer: Malala Yousafzai

Q10. The first rail freight service ‘British goods’ has started recently from the UK to which country?
Answer: China

Q11. Which kick-started itAs ambitious ‘Deendayal Rasoi Yojana’ under which subsidised meals that will be available at Rs 5 per plate to people, especially the economically disadvantaged sections of society?
Answer: Madhya Pradesh

Q12. India's largest e-commerce player Flipkart recently bought eBay's India business, and closing a $1.4 billion fund-raising round from Tencent, eBay and Microsoft. Name the Chief Executive Officer of Flipkart.
Answer: Kalyan Krishnamurthy

Q13. The 12th edition Indo-Mongolian Joint Military Exercise Nomadic Elephant 2017 has begun in __________.
Answer: Mizoram

Q14. The Agriculture Ministry joined hands with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) to geo-tag agricultural assets for their real-time monitoring and effective utilization. NRSC is a wing of ____________.
Answer: Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)

Q15. Saraswat Bank is the largest lender in the co-operative space in India. What is the Motto of Saraswat Bank?
Answer: Service to the common man

QUIZ-30

Q1. Name the Indian Shooter who claimed a bronze medal in the women's 10m Air Pistol as India ended the Grand Prix of Liberation Plezn 2017 shooting championships in Czech Republic with seven medals.

(a) Jeetu Rai

(b) Deepa Malik

(c) Heena Sindhu

(d) Aparna Ghosh

(e) Rupali Tomer

Q2. Name the senior diplomat who has been appointed as India’s Ambassador to the Netherlands.

(a) Gopal Rangasami

(b) Venu Rajamony

(c) Kavitha Kalavathi

(d) S S Kamath

(e) Anirudh Bhattacharya

Q3. Name the fast bowler who is now the leading wicket-taker in Women’s ODIs, as per the recent ICC data.

(a) S.R. Taylor

(b) E. Bisht

(c) M. Kapp

(d) Jhulan Goswami

(e) A. Shrubsole

Q4. Name the newly appointed President of South Korea.

(a) Park Geun-hye

(b) Lee Myung-bak

(c) Roh Moo-hyun

(d) Kim Dae-jung

(e) Moon Jae-In

Q5. The Supreme Court has taken its first step towards becoming a paperless, digital court. The First Chief Justice of Supreme Court was _____________.

(a) Harilal J. Kania

(b) M. Patanjali Sastri

(c) Mehr Chand Mahajan

(d) Sudhi Ranjan Das

(e) Bijan Kumar Mukherjea

Q6. Presiding over a review meeting of the states affected by Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has recently announced a new strategy against the Maoists which is named as ____________.

(a) SURAKSHA

(b) SABAL

(c) SAMADHAN

(d) VAJRA

(e) SAMARTHA

Q7. DIPAM has recently set up an Investor Facilitation Platform that will provide information about stocks of public sector units. What does 'I' stands for on DIPAM?

(a) Import

(b) Investment

(c) Income

(d) Investigation

(e) None of the given options is true

Q8. DIPAM is headed by ____________.

(a) Defense Minister

(b) Home Minister

(c) Parliament of India

(d) Finance Minister

(e) Agriculture Minister

Q9. The World Migratory Bird Day is observed every year on __________.

(a) 12 May

(b) 10 May

(c) 9 May

(d) 11 May

(e) 8 May

Q10. South Korea has recently got its new President. Its Currency is ______________.

(a) Krone

(b) Mon

(c) Won

(d) Rial

(e) Korean Dollar

Q11. Technology giant Oracle has launched its cloud computing service for India, which aims to support the government's GST rollout in July and plans to open data centers in the country. Oracle is ________ based company.

(a) South Korea

(b) USA

(c) Sweden

(d) UAE

(e) Australia

Q12. The theme of World Migratory Bird Day 2017 is _________________.

(a) Lets Bring them Back

(b) Save Birds and Save Our Future

(c) Helping Birds along the Way

(d) Their Future is Our Future – A Healthy Planet for Migratory Birds and People

(e) Conserving Colonial Birds - A step towards better future

Q13. Banking on the Government's drive to promote a cash-less economy, cashback portal Cashkaro.com has tied up with which of the following banks to launch card-linked offers as part of its loyalty programme for both offline and online shoppers.

(a) YES Bank

(b) SBI

(c) Axis Bank

(d) ICICI Bank

(e) HDFC Bank

Q14. What is the capital of South Korea?

(a) Incheon

(b) Pohang

(c) Seoul

(d) Pyongyang

(e) Hamhung

Q15. CEO and MD of Yes Bank is ______________.

(a) Ravi Krishan Takkar

(b) Rana Kapoor

(c) Sunil Mehta

(d) Shikha Pandey

(e) Yatendra Singh

Solutions

S1. Ans.(c)
Sol. Heena Sindhu claimed a bronze medal in the women's 10m Air Pistol as India ended the Grand Prix of Liberation Plezn 2017 shooting championships in Czech Republic with seven medals.

S2. Ans.(b)
Sol. Press Secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee and senior diplomat Venu Rajamony has been appointed India’s Ambassador to the Netherlands. Rajamony will also be India’s Permanent Representative to the Organization for Prevention of Chemical Weapons based in The Hague and cover the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration and other international organizations based in the Netherland.

S3. Ans.(d)
Sol. Jhulan Goswami, India’s fast bowler, is now the leading wicket-taker in Women’s ODIs, going past Australia’s Cathryn Fitzpatrick record of 180 wickets. Jhulan, the former India captain, achieved the feat during the ongoing Women’s Quadrangular Series in South Africa. She now has 181 wickets in 153 matches at an average of 21.76 with two five-wicket and 4 four-wicket hauls.

S4. Ans.(e)
Sol. South Korea's liberal leader Moon Jae-In took the oath as president, tasked with navigating the country out of rising tensions over North Korea's nuclear program and the risk of a rift with the United States. Moon Jae-In has replaced Park Geun-Hye.

S5. Ans.(a)
Sol. The Supreme Court has taken its first step towards becoming a paperless, digital court. The First Chief Justice of Supreme Court was Harilal Jekisundas Kania.

S6. Ans.(c)
Sol. Presiding over a review meeting of the states affected by Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced a new strategy against the Maoists—SAMADHAN.

S7. Ans.(b)
Sol. Keen on creating more awareness about the forthcoming disinvestment issues, the Finance Ministry has set up an Investor Facilitation Platform that will provide information about stocks of public sector units. Set up by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), the platform will be an interactive forum for all stakeholders, including investors, investment banks, law firms, public sector units and administrative ministries that are involved in stake sales.

S8. Ans.(d)
Sol. DIPAM is headed by Finance Minister of India Mr. Arun Jaitley.

S9. Ans.(b)
Sol. The World Migratory Bird Day is observed every year on 10 May. The theme of WMBD 2017 is “Their Future is Our Future – A Healthy Planet for Migratory Birds and People”.

S10. Ans.(c)
Sol. South Korea's liberal leader Moon Jae-In took the oath as president. The capital of South Korea is Seoul and its Currency is Won (KRW). 

S11. Ans.(b)
Sol. Technology giant Oracle has launched its cloud computing service for India, which aims to support the government's GST rollout in July and plans to open data centers in the country. Oracle is USA based company.

S12. Ans.(d)
Sol. The World Migratory Bird Day is observed every year on 10 May. The theme of WMBD 2017 is “Their Future is Our Future – A Healthy Planet for Migratory Birds and People”.

S13. Ans.(a)
Sol. Banking on the Government's drive to promote cash-less economy, cashback portal Cashkaro.com has tied up with YES Bank to launch card-linked offers as part of its loyalty programme for both offline and online shoppers.

S14. Ans.(c)
Sol. The capital of South Korea is Seoul.

S15. Ans.(b)
Sol. CEO and MD of Yes Bank is Rana Kapoor. Headquarter of Yes Bank is in Mumbai. The tagline of Yes Bank is 'Experience our Expertise'.