Thursday 8 June 2017

Daily GK Update 08th June 2017


World Oceans Day- 8 June

i. World Oceans Day is a global day of ocean celebration and collaboration for a better future. It is observed globally on 08th June.
ii. The overall theme for World Oceans Day 2017 is 'Our Oceans, Our Future'.

Static Takeaways for IBPS PO Exam-
  • The Ocean Project has promoted and coordinated World Oceans Day globally since 2002.

Elections for India’s 15th President on July 17

i. The process for electing the 15th President of India will begin on June 14 with the Election Commission issuing the notification for the polls. As per the Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi, the Presidential elections will take place on July 17.
ii. The Commission has set June 28 as the last date for filing nominations, while July 1 will be the last date for their withdrawal.
iii. The term of President Pranab Mukherjee will come to an end on 24 July 2017. He assumed the office of President in July 2012.

Static Takeaways for IBPS PO Exam-
  • Rajendra Prasad was the first President of Independent India
  • Pratibha Patil was the first female President of India.

Centre approves modifications to ‘kambala’ Bill

i. The Centre has approved the modifications to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Karnataka Amendment) Bill 2017 to pave way for organizing ‘kambala’ in the coming season, according to PP Chaudhary, Union Minister of State for Law and Justice.
ii. Now, the Bill will be placed before the President for his approval. The approval by the President will help in the smooth conduct of ‘Kambala’ (the traditional slush track buffalo race) in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka. 
iii. The Bill proposes to exempt ‘kambala’ from the ambit of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960.

Static Takeaways for IBPS PO Exam-
  • Kambala is the traditional slush track buffalo race in Karnataka
  • Shri Siddaramaiah is the CM of Karnataka
  • The Governor of Karnataka is Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala.


i. The Union Cabinet recently gave its nod for Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to enter into two separate memoranda of understanding (MoU) with securities market regulators of the European Union and Iran.
ii. These MoUs are expected to strengthen cooperation between India and the respective countries on matters pertaining to securities market.

Static Takeaways-
  • The Securities and Exchange Board of India was established on April 12, 1992, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992.
  • Ajay Tyagi has been appointed as the chairman of SEBI in February 2017.

Cabinet approves MoU between India and Korea for export credit of USD 9 billion

i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) and Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) for export credit of USD 9 billion for infrastructural development in India and for the supply of goods and services as part of projects in third countries.
ii. The MoU is proposed to be signed between the two banks during the forthcoming visit of the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley, to Seoul, the capital city of South Korea during 14-15 June 2017 for the Annual Financial Bilateral Dialogue.

Static takeaways for IBPS PO exam-
  • EXIM Bank was established by the Government of India, commenced operations in 1982 under the Export-Import Bank of India Act, 1981
  • David Rasquinha is the Current MD of EXIM Bank of India
  • Headquarter of Export–Import Bank of Korea is in Seoul, South Korea.

i. Shri C K Mishra, Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) inaugurated the ‘Vatsalya – Maatri Amrit Kosh’, a National Human Milk Bank and Lactation Counselling Centre at the Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) in New Delhi.
ii. The Vatsalya – Maatri Amrit Kosh will be the largest milk bank and lactation counseling center available in the North India.  
iii. It is established in collaboration with the Norwegian government, Oslo University and Norway-India Partnership Initiative (NIPI). It is a national human milk bank and lactation counseling center that will collect, pasteurize, test and safely store milk that has been donated by lactating mothers and makes it available for infants in need.

Static Takeaways for IBPS PO Exam-
  • J P Nadda is the present Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare
  • Rajkumari Amrit Kaur was the first health minister in the Indian Cabinet post-Independence.

PM of India leaves for Kazakhstan to attend SCO summit

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today left for Kazakhstan, where he will attend the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), and meet some foreign leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping.
ii. At the summit in Astana, India and Pakistan will become full members of the grouping, which at present comprises China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Ahead of his two-day visit, PM Modi stated that he looked forward to deepening engagement with the SCO countries.
iii. On the evening of June 9, he will also attend the inauguration of the Astana Expo with the theme of “Future Energy”.

Static takeaways for IBPS PO Exam-
  • Kazakhstan is a Country in Central Asia 
  • The Currency of Kazakhstan is Kazakhstani tenge 
  • The Capital of Kazakhstan is Astana 
  • Bakytzhan Sagintayev is the PM of Kazakhstan.

Rajnath Singh inaugurated conference on disaster management

i. Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a two-day national level conference on "Capacity Building of SDRF-2017" in New Delhi.
ii. The conference was organized by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF),  holded discussions to develop a synergy and to highlight the way ahead to strengthen the response capabilities of State Disaster Response Forces (SDRF).

Static Takeaways for IBPS PO Exam-
  • R K Pachnanda is the Director General of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)
  • NDRF comes under Ministry of Home Affairs
  • Head Office of NDRF is in New Delhi.

i. Wedding ceremonies in Kerala are all set to become ‘green’, with the state government coming out with a green protocol to make auspicious occasions more nature-friendly.
ii. With the implementation of the protocol, plastic and other non-biodegradable articles including disposable glasses and plates and thermocol decorations will be kept at bay from marriage functions. 

Static takeaways for IBPS PO Exam-
  • Pinarayi Vijayan is the present Chief Minister of Kerala
  • P.Sathasivam is the present Governor of Kerala
  • Sasthamkotta Lake is situated in Kerala
  • Onam is Kerala's harvest festival
  • Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary is in Kerala.

K G Karmakar, Gauri Shankar appointed directors of IPPB

i. K G Karmakar and Gauri Shankar were appointed as Independent Directors of India Post Payments Bank (IPPB). The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved their appointment to the post on the board of directors of the bank for a period of three years.
ii. The IPPB has been incorporated as a public sector bank under the Department of Posts with 100 percent equity of the government of India.

About IPPB in Brief-
  • IPPB was launched on January 30th, 2017 in Ranchi and Raipur
  • For now, IPPB is offering Savings account up to a balance of Rs 1 Lakh, along with digitally enabled payments and remittance services of all kinds between individuals
  • IPPB offers 3 distinct accounts- 1. Regular Account – Safal, 2. Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA) - Sugam, and 3. BSBDA Small - Saral.
  • The Tagline of IPPB is Aapka bank, aapke dwaar.
  • IPPB incorporated as a public limited company under the Department of Posts, Govt. of India on 17th August 2016.


i. Indian tennis ace Rohan Bopanna and Canadian partner Gabriela Dabrowski produced a fighting performance to beat their German-Colombian opponents Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Robert Farah in the final to clinch their maiden French Open mixed doubles title in Paris, France
ii. Seeded seventh, Bopanna and Dabrowski took an hour and six minutes to win, saving two match points, as they overcame the unseeded Groenefeld and Farah 2-6, 6-2, 12-10 on Philippe-Chatrier Court.
iii. Bopanna has become only the fourth Indian to win a Grand Slam crown, after Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza.

Static takeaways for IBPS PO Exam-
  • Bhupathi won India’s first Grand Slam title in 1997 when he partnered Japan’s Rika Hiraki to claim the French Open.
  • French Open 2017 is organized in Paris, France.

QUIZ-08


Q1. India test fired a missile named ‘Spyder’ from a test range at Chandipur in Odisha as part of missile launch practice of a series of tests of the short-range quick reaction. Spyder is a __________.
(a) Surface-to-Surface Missile
(b) Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM)
(c) Air-to-Air Missile
(d) Air-to-Surface Missile
(e) Submarine Missile

Q2. The government has revised the base year of Wholesale Price Index, WPI and Index of Industrial Production (IIP) to ____________ from 2004-05.
(a) 2009-2010
(b) 2010-2011
(c) 2011-2012
(d) 2012-2013
(e) 2013-2014

Q3. Which of the following Indian state has topped the list in recently released Public Affairs Index (PAI) 2017 in governance?
(a) Karnataka
(b) Himachal Pradesh
(c) Manipur
(d) Maharashtra
(e) Kerala

Q4. President of Palestine has recently arrived in India on a four-day State visit. Who is the current President of Palestine?
(a) Azlaan Sheikh
(b) Zahhoor Gualim Maka
(c) Mahmood Zaliman
(d) Mahmoud Abbas
(e) Mahkama Khajan

Q5. Which of the following tennis player has beaten Dominic Thiem to win his fifth Madrid Open title 2017 and move into the world's top four?
(a) Rafael Nadal
(b) Novak Djokovic
(c) Roger Federer
(d) Andy Murray
(e) Andre Agassi

Q6. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur has recently collaborated with the British Geological Survey to turn which of the following city into a smart city?
(a) Ajamgarh
(b) Varanasi
(c) Muzaffarpur
(d) Jhargram
(e) Chhapra

Q7. Which of the following Indian Wrestler defeated Lee Seung-chul of Korea to win the gold medal in themen’s 65 kg freestyle category at the Asian Wrestling Championship 2017?
(a) Sushil Kumar
(b) Yogeshwar Dutt
(c) Bajrang Punia
(d) Sakshi Malik
(e) Narsingh Yadav

Q8. Which of the following Indian state was on bottom most position in the list of recently released Public Affairs Index (PAI) 2017 in governance?
(a) West Bengal
(b) Chhattisgarh
(c) Odisha
(d) Bihar
(e) Madhya Pradesh

Q9. Which of the following Indian city hosted the first outreach program of the Ministry of External Affairs ‘Videsh Sampark’ to engage the State governments in creating awareness about various programmes of the Ministry?
(a) Bengaluru
(b) Karnataka
(c) Hyderabad
(d) Thrissur
(e) Telangana

Q10. Who is the current governor of Kerala?
(a) ESL Narsimhan
(b) P R Rangasami
(c) Rameshwar Thakur
(d) Palanisamy Sathasivam
(e) Sushil Kumar Shinde

Q11. Reserve Bank of India has put restriction on UCO Bank’s lending and branch expansion plans as the state-run lender made net losses for the two successive fiscal amid severe stress on asset quality. UCO bank is headquartered in ___________.
(a) Kolkata
(b) Mumbai
(c) New Delhi
(d) Mysore
(e) Chennai

Q12. What is the Capital of Palestine?
(a) Makao
(b) Jabalia
(c) East Jerusalem
(d) West Hebron
(e) Nablus

Q13. Govardhan Eco Village, set up by the ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) has won a Smart Village award for being a sustainable project instituted by the India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO). This village is located in which of the following state?
(a) Tripura
(b) Maharashtra
(c) Madhya Pradesh
(d) Karnataka
(e) Uttar Pradesh

Q14. The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh has recently inaugurated the second meeting of NPDRR in New Delhi. What does 'RR' stands for in NPDRR?
(a) Rail Road
(b) Reserve Risk
(c) Risk Reduction
(d) Random Risk
(e) Risk Reward

Q15. Asian Wrestling Championship 2017 was concluded recently in ____________.
(a) Chennai
(b) New Delhi
(c) Beijing
(d) Shanghai
(e) Indonesia

Solutions

S1. Ans.(b)
Sol. India test fired a surface-to-air missile ‘Spyder’ from a test range at Chandipur in Odisha as part of missile launch practice of a series of tests of the short-range quick reaction. Full form of Spyder is Surface-to-air PYthon and DERby.

S2. Ans.(c)
Sol. The government has revised the base year of Wholesale Price Index, WPI and Index of Industrial Production (IIP) to 2011-2012 from 2004-05. As per the new series, April WPI inflation stood at 3.85 percent and March IIP at 2.7 percent. The Consumer Price Index-based inflation in April stood at 2.99 percent.

S3. Ans.(e)
Sol. Two South Indian States - Kerala and Tamil Nadu - secured first and second rankings for the second year in a row while poll-bound Gujarat gained two positions rising from five in 2016 to three in 2017 and Bihar stayed at the bottom in public affairs index (PAI) in governance in States.

S4. Ans.(d)
Sol. President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas recently arrived in India on a four-day State visit. During his stay in New Delhi, President Abbas will visit C-DAC in Noida to forge cooperation between Palestine - India Techno Park being built by India in Palestine and Indian IT industry.

S5. Ans.(a)
Sol. Rafael Nadal beat Dominic Thiem to win his fifth Madrid Open title and move into the world's top four.

S6. Ans.(b)
Sol. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur has collaborated with the British Geological Survey to turn Varanasi into a smart city. 3D geological modeling of the geology under Varanasi will be prepared to help improve the building of new transport and service infrastructure. It would be the first major 3D subsurface urban study and planning of its kind in India.

S7. Ans.(c)
Sol. Bajrang Punia defeated Lee Seung-chul of Korea to win the gold medal in the men’s 65 kg freestyle category at the Asian Wrestling Championship.

S8. Ans.(d)
Sol. Two South Indian States - Kerala and Tamil Nadu - secured first and second rankings for the second year in a row while poll-bound Gujarat gained two positions rising from five in 2016 to three in 2017 and Bihar stayed at the bottom in public affairs index (PAI) in governance in States.

S9. Ans.(e)
Sol. Telangana hosted the first outreach program of the Ministry of External Affairs ‘Videsh Sampark’ to engage the State governments in creating awareness about various programmes of the Ministry. It was inaugurated by the Minister of State for External Affairs, Gen. V.K. Singh. The conference will create awareness on the schemes regard to consular and passport services, engagement with overseas Indians, welfare and protection of overseas Indians.

S10. Ans.(d)
Sol. Palanisamy Sathasivam is the current Governor of Kerala.

S11. Ans.(a)
Sol. Reserve Bank of India has put restriction on Kolkata based PSU UCO Bank’s lending and branch expansion plans as the state-run lender made net losses for the two successive fiscal amid severe stress on asset quality.

S12. Ans.(c)
Sol. The Capital of Palestine is East Jerusalem

S13. Ans.(b)
Sol. Govardhan Eco Village, set up by the ISKCON in adjoining Thane district, has won a Smart Village award for being a sustainable project in rural Maharashtra.

S14. Ans.(c)
Sol. The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the second meeting of National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR) in New Delhi. The Second meeting of NPDRR will be held over two days, i.e. 15-16 May 2017 on the theme 'Disaster Risk Reduction for Sustainable Development: Making India resilient by 2030'.

S15. Ans.(b)
Sol. Asian Wrestling Championship 2017 was concluded recently in New Delhi in which Indian Players have clinched 10 Medals (1 Gold, 5 Silver and 4 Bronze).