Daily GK Update 28th February, 2017

Daily GK Update 28th February, 2017

National Science Day: 28 February

i. National Science Day is celebrated all over India with great enthusiasm on 28th of February every year in order to commemorate the invention of the Raman Effect in India by the Indian physicist, Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman on the same day in the year 1928. 

ii. For his great success in the field of science in India, Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was honored with the Nobel Prize in the Physics in the year 1930.

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India & Ukraine to strengthen bilateral cooperation through Cinema 

i. Minister for Information & Broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu and Member of the Parliament of Ukraine and Chairman of the National Council of Television Ukraine Mr. Iurii Artemenko have agreed to strengthen the bilateral cooperation between the two countries through the medium of Cinema in New Delhi. 

ii. The cooperation would be helpful to showcase films through the medium of Film Festivals and utilizing the Film Facilitation Office platform established by India.

Iran and Russia Agrees Road map to Jointly Produce Nuclear Fuel

i. Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation (AEOI) stated that Russia and Iran have reached an agreement to jointly produce nuclear fuel. 

ii. A preliminary agreement with Russia on the joint production of nuclear fuel was reached during the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the major world powers in 2015. 

Government Issues Sovereign Gold Bonds 2016-17-Series IV

i. The Government of India launched the 7th tranche of the Sovereign Gold Bonds and it will be the last offering for 2016-17.

ii. The Sovereign Gold Bonds 2016-17–Series IV will be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on behalf of Government of India. Applications for the bond has accepted from February 27, 2017 to March 03, 2017 and the Bonds will be issued on March 17, 2017. 

iii. The Bonds will be sold through banks, Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited (SHCIL), designated post offices, National Stock Exchange of India Limited and Bombay Stock Exchange.

Suresh Prabhu flags off first Antyodaya Express between Ernakulam, Howrah

i. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off the first Antyodaya Express a long distance, fully unreserved, superfast train service between Kochi's Ernakulam Junction and Howrah Junction through video conferencing from Rail Bhavan. 

ii. The new clan of trains will have facilities like cushioned luggage racks which can serve as seats, potable drinking water dispenser, mobile charging points, modular toilets of reinforced plastic, toilet occupation indication display board, LED lights among others for comfortable long distance travel.The 22-coach train will cover a distance of 2,307 kilometers in 37 hours.

Haryana Launches Online Sex Ratio Monitoring System For Panipat

i. The Haryana government has set up an online system for Panipat to monitor the sex-ratio in the district as part of the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' programme.

ii. The system, called the sex ratio monitoring dashboard, will have the data of child sex-ratio collected from all villages by the Health and Women and Child Welfare Departments every month.

iii. The dashboard had been developed in association with National Informatics Centre (NIC) as a pilot project.The dashboard is also proving to be an effective tool for enhancing ground-level coordination between the Health and Women and Child Welfare Departments.

Apollo Munich and Dena Bank Enters Into Bancassurance Tie-Up 

i. Standalone health insurer Apollo Munich Health Insurance expanding its footprint across the country with bancassurance tie-up with state-owned Dena Bank. 

ii. Under the tie-up the bank will distribute customized Apollo Munich Health insurance and personal accident policies to the bank's 20 million customers nationwide. 

SIDBI expert panel sanctions Rs 1,112 cr to funds for startups

i. An expert committee Venture Capital Investment Committee (VCIC) set up by SIDBI has sanctioned Rs 300 crore to fund managers who would invest in startups, taking the total sanctions so far this fiscal (2017) to over Rs 1,100 crore. 

ii. During the fiscal year 2014-15 and 2015-16 sanctions were made to 11 funds (Rs 314 crores) and 16 funds (Rs 607 crores) respectively while the number during the current financial year (2017) has already crossed Rs 1,112 crores to 30 funds.

Paytm arm unveils online shopping portal Paytm Mall

i. Paytm E-Commerce, the online marketplace arm of One97 Communications Pvt. Ltd, launched Paytm Mall, a mobile app and online shopping portal.

ii.  Paytm Mall is the new avatar of Paytm’s three-year-old e-commerce business. 

iii. Paytm Mall will allow customers to shop from 68 million products across categories such as fashion, electronics, consumer durables and home furnishings, from about 140,000 sellers.

Tata Communications partners with HPE for roll-out of LoRa network

i. Tata Communications is partnering with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to support the roll-out of the former's Internet of Things platform, the LoRa network.

ii. The company will also work with HPE to provide a range of domestic and cross-border IoT connectivity and management services, particularly for applications requiring elements of mobility, such as connected cars, fleet management and transportation services.

Kabir Bedi appointed honourary brand ambassador of Sightsavers

i. India’s most famous international actors Kabir Bedi was appointed as the honourary brand ambassador of Sightsavers India to prevent avoidable blindness by RN Mohanty, CEO of Sightsavers.

ZTE launches world’s first 5G IT baseband unit (BBU) in partnership with Intel

Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment company ZTE made an announcement that it has launched a next generation 5G IT baseband unit (BBU) partnered with Intel Corporation for this technology. The announcement was made at the  Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. 

Former Union Minister P Shiv Shankar Passes Away

i. Former Union Minister P. Shiv Shankar passed away after a prolonged illness.He was 89 ii. He contested the by-election to the Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency in 1979 on the Indian National Congress party ticket. 

iii. He became Law Minister in the Indira Gandhi Cabinet in 1980. From 1985 till 1993, he represented the Congress as Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat.

Kohli named captain of the year at ESPNcricinfo Awards

i. Indian international cricketer Virat Kohli has named as the ‘Captain of the Year‘ at the 10th annual ESPNcricinfo Awards.

 ii. Kohli led India to nine wins out of 12 Tests in the year 2016. 

iii. Stuart Broad bagged the Test Bowling performance of the year for his brilliant spell of 6/17 in the final Test against South Africa.

Daily GK Update 25th February, 2017

 Daily GK Update 25th February, 2017

India, ADB ink $375 mn loan pact for industrial corridor

i. India and ADB have signed USD 375 million pact for loans and grants to develop 800 km Visakhapatnam—Chennai Industrial Corridor, which is the first phase of a planned 2,500-km East Coast Economic Corridor. 

ii. ADB had approved USD 631 million in loans and grants for the industrial corridor, last September, 2016. It approved loans comprising a USD 500 million multitranche facility to build key infrastructure in the four main centers along the corridor — Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Amaravati, and Yerpedu—Srikalahasti in Andhra Pradesh.

India clears Rs 17,000-crore mega missile deal with Israel

i. A Rs 17,000 crore deal has been cleared by the government for jointly developing with Israel a medium-range surface-to-air missile (MR-SAM) for the Indian army.

ii. The project will be implemented by the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israeli Aircraft Industry (IAI). The MR-SAM, a land-based version of the long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) for the navy, will have a strike range of up 70 km. The deal envisages 40 firing units and around 200 missiles.

 India, Bangladesh ink MoU for development of Sylhet city 

 i. India and Bangladesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the sustainable development of Sylhet city with financial aid from India. Indian High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla and Sylhet City Corporation CEO Enamul Habib signed the tripartite agreement in Sylhet, a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh.

ii. Under the MoU, three projects are considered i.e construction of a five-storeyed Kindergarten & High School Building, a six-storeyed Cleaner Colony Building and Development of Dhupa Dighipar area -will be implemented with Taka 24.28 crore.

 Rajasthan 2nd largest crude oil producer in country

i. Rajasthan has become the second largest crude oil producer in the country after the offshore field Bombay High.

 ii. Mr. Kalyan Singh, Governor of Rajasthan stated that oilfields in the state were producing nearly 90 lakh tones oil annually, which is 24% of the total domestic crude oil production.

AYUSH Minister to inaugurate the World Integrated Medicine Forum on Regulation of Homeopathic Medicine

i. The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH, Shripad Yesso Naik inaugurated the World Integrated Medicine Forum on Regulation of Homeopathic Medicinal Products- National and Global strategies in New Delhi.

ii. The two day event that concluded was organized by Ministry of AYUSH and Central Council for Research in Homeopathy (CCRH).

iii. The first-of-its-kind forum is expected to increase the perception of the international world towards India as a key player in the progress of the homeopathy drug industry.

Dena Bank rolls out RFID-enabled cards to serve valued clients better

i. Dena Bank has introduced Radio Frequency Identification Card (RFID) enabled banking cards whereby a branch manager can identify a valued client entering a branch with the card. 

ii. Once the client enters the branch, complete information about customers will pop up on the manager’s desktop.

Gorb, Ola form tie up

i. Food technology company Gorb has partnered with cab aggregator Ola to offer food to consumers at discounted rates in Mumbai. 

ii. As per the deal, Ola riders will receive a code via SMS and mail every time they book a cab, which can be availed on the Gorb app or website to order food.

iii. The offer, valid till April 30, 2017 will provide a discount of Rs. 100 on a minimum order value of Rs. 200. Launched in 2016, Gorb is a food-tech startup with a tagline ‘Jaisa Mood Waisa Food’.

FDI inflow zooms 18% to USD 46 billion in 2016: DIPP

i. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India grew 18% during 2016 to touch $46 billion, data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). The country attracted FDI of $39.32 billion in 2015.

ii. The main sectors which attracted the highest foreign inflows include services, telecom, trading, computer hardware and software and automobile.

Government ropes in Shilpa Shetty as Swachh Bharat brand ambassador

i. The government has roped in actress Shilpa Shetty as a brand ambassador for the Indian government's cleanliness initiative Swachh Bharat Mission.

ii. She will feature in TV and radio campaigns aimed at discouraging people from littering on roads.

Former CM T R Zeliang appointed Finance Advisor to Nagaland government

i. Former Nagaland Chief Minister T R Zeliang was appointed as Finance Advisor to the state government in the rank of a cabinet minister. 

ii. Zeliang, appointed by the Governor P B Acharya, will receive the pay and allowances and all other facilities admissible to a cabinet minister.

 Motherson Sumi’s Vivek Sehgal bags EY’s ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award

i. Vivek Chaand Sehgal of Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd (MSSL) has been awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year 2016 award by assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services firm Ernest Young (EY). Sehgal will now represent India at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Monte Carlo from June 7 to 11, 2017.

ii. Infosys Co-founder Nandan Nilekani was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) — the Aadhaar initiative.

ISSF World Cup: Pooja Ghatkar clinches bronze

i. In International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), Indian shooter Pooja Ghatkar secured India’s first medal in New Delhi. She finished third in the 10 meter Air Rifle event. Ghatkar clinched bronze with a score of 228.8 in the final round. 

ii. China’s Mengyao Shi secured gold with a score of 252.1 - setting a new world record in the event.

iii. The silver went to China’s Lijie Dong for a score of 248.9.

Daily GK Update 24th February, 2017

9th BRICS Summit to be held in China's Xiamen city

i. The ninth BRICS Summit will be held in China's Xiamen city from September 3 to 5, 2017. The theme of this year's event is 'BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future'.
ii. The Xiamen BRICS summit will promote members strengthening solidarity and collaboration, and improving global governance, deepening pragmatic cooperation to achieve mutual benefit.

India and Japan ink pact on rail safety

i. India signed an agreement with Japan on enhancing railway safety in the Indian Railways with focus on railway track and rolling stock safety.

ii. The areas of cooperation include rail inspection, rail wielding and providing automatic railway track safety inspection, maintenance of rolling stock and “any other relevant railway safety matters jointly determined by both sides” with the aim to prevent major rail accidents.

74th Central Excise Day celebrated by CBEC

i. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) celebrated 74th Central Excise Day on 24th February in New Delhi. 

ii. CBEC is the single largest contributor to the national exchequer with the collection of Rs 8,50,000 crore a year. 

iii. Justice Satish Chandra, President, Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) was the chief guest. Olympic silver medalist, P.V. Sindhu was the guest of honour.

Sikkim becomes 22nd State to join UDAY

i. The Center and and the state of Sikkim has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) for operational improvement of the state’s power distribution department. 

ii. With the signing of the MoU, the total number of states covered under UDAY has reached 22. Andhra Pradesh is the first state to join UDAY Scheme.

Maneka Gandhi announces compensation fund for child abuse victims

i. Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi has announced the setting up of a compensation fund under Nirbhaya scheme to provide financial help to children who are victims of sexual crimes.

Visa signed MoU with AP to make Vizag, India’s first 'less cash' city

i. Global payments network Visa signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh government to help transform Vishakhapatnam into India's first 'less cash' city. 

ii. This initiative is designed to provide the foundation for the city to emerge as India's 'Fintech Valley'.

Kerala to launch sex offenders registry, first in the country

i. The Kerala government will launch the country’s first sex offenders registry which will contain all identification details of sex offenders and would be kept in public domain.

ii.  A comprehensive victim relief fund will be set-up by the state government to provide interim relief for victims of sex crimes, both children and adults.

Oriental Bank Ties Up With Chola Mitsui Sumitomo To Sell Insurance Products

i. Haryana based Oriental Bank of Commerce has signed a corporate agency agreement with Chennai based general insurance provider Cholamandalam General Insurance Company for distribution of insurance products.

ii. The insurance products includes motor, health, home and travel.

Tata Power Renewable commissions 15 MW solar plant in Telangana

i. Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd has synchronised its 15 MW solar plant at Bellampally in Telangana, thereby taking the Tata Power's total installed operating capacity past 10,500 MW mark.

ii. The solar plant has been built over 80 acres of land and includes an 18 km transmission line.

China overtakes US, France as Germany’s biggest trading partner, for first time

i. China for the first time became Germany’s most important trading partner in 2016, overtaking the United States, which fell back to third place behind France in the data shown recently. 

ii. German imports from and exports to China rose to 170 billion euros ($180 billion) in 2016, Federal Statistics Office figures reviewed by Reuters showed. France remained the second-most important business partner with a combined trade volume of 167 billion euros. The United States came in third with 165 billion euros.

Nobel-Winning Economist Kenneth J. Arrow Dies At 95

i. Nobel-winning economist, mathematician Kenneth J Arrow has died in USA . He was 95.
ii. Kenneth  received the Nobel memorial prize in economic science for their pioneering mathematical work on general equilibrium theory in 1972 

Ravichandran Ashwin breaks Kapil Dev's record of most wickets in home season 

i. Premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, broked Kapil Dev's Indian record of most Test wickets in a domestic season. 

ii. Ashwin, the fastest in the world to reach 250 Test wicket mark recently and took his tally of wickets in the current home season to 64 in 10 Test matches broke Kapil Dev's record who took 63 wickets in 13 Tests.

Daily GK Update 23rd February, 2017

Daily GK Update 23rd February, 2017

Cabinet approvals: 23 February 2017

i. Cabinet approves MoU between India and Australia for promotion and development of cooperation in civil aviation security.

ii. Cabinet approves signing of Air Services Agreement between India and Greece 

iii. Cabinet approves signing of an Agreement between India and Poland on cooperation in the field of agriculture and allied sectors.

India's GDP projected to slow to 6.6% due to demonetization Strains: IMF

i. India's growth is projected to slow to 6.6% in 2016-17 fiscal due to the strains that have emerged in the economy as a result of temporary disruptions caused by demonetization.
ii. The post November 8, 2016 cash shortages and payment disruptions caused by the currency exchange initiative have undermined consumption and business activity, posing a new challenge to sustaining the growth momentum. India's economy grew at 7.6% in 2015-16.

Govt doubles maternity leave for women workers in industries

i. The government has allowed women working in industries to take six months maternity leave pre-empting parliamentary approval on the maternity benefit amendment bill that is pending in the Lok Sabha.

ii. Through an executive order the labour and employment ministry has doubled maternity leave to six months from three for industrial women workers. However the benefit will be restricted to women who make a monthly contribution to the employees’ state insurance corpus from their salaries. This means about 2.9 million women working across various industries will get the benefit.

National Biodiversity Congress 2017 held in Kerala 

i. Third National Biodiversity Congress (NBC) 2017 held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. To identify practical evidence based case studies at regional level to support the plan of action. 

ii. Biodiversity is the lifeline of a nation and to retain pulses is the responsibility of every individual and society with the support of science and technology and through sustainable development CM Pinarayi Vijayan stated. 

iii. Theme of National Biodiversity Congress 2017 is “Mainstreaming Biodiversity for Sustainable Development”.

GVA growth to decline by 70 bps to 6.2% in Q3: ICRA

i. The economy based on the gross value added (GVA) is set to slip to 6.2% in the December quarter from 6.9 percent a year ago, and GDP growth will decline to 6.5% from 7.2%, stated by domestic rating agency information and credit rating agency (ICRA).

 ii. The slippages will be driven by the slowdown in growth of the industry and services, offsetting the healthy agricultural expansion during the period, the agency added.

Bharti Airtel to acquire Telenor India

i. The country's largest telecom services provider, Bharti Airtel (Airtel) has officially announced that it will acquire Telenor India. Although both the companies did not disclose the deal size, internal sources from the companies said it ranges between Rs. 6,500 crore and Rs. 7,000 crore. 

ii. According to Telenor, the transaction will not trigger any impairment. As part of the agreement, Airtel will acquire Telenor India’s running operations in seven circles  Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West) and Assam. 

Karnataka Bank bags 2 awards

i. Karnataka Bank has bagged two ‘IBA-Banking Technology’ awards. The bank was the winner in ‘Best financial inclusion initiatives (small bank)’ category, and was runner-up in ‘Best use of digital and channels technology (small bank)’ category. 

ii. IBA-Banking Technology award recognises and rewards individuals, professionals and banks who have recorded noteworthy technology and business benefits in 2016.

Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd launches instant microloan facility

i. Hyderabad based non-banking finance company Microfinance institution Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd launched an instant loan approval at a village near Bassi in Jaipur district, Rajasthan. 

ii. The objective of this initiative to help rural areas embrace cashless transactions. The loan amount will be  deposited directly to the loanees bank account.The loan facility based on a three-step verification process of Aadhar-based eKYC, credit bureau authentication and e-Sign and non collateral loans up to Rs 60,000 for one year to rural women. 

iii. It will be rolled out by June 2017 in all microfinance company's nationwide network with several being in Rajasthan, Bihar and Delhi.

Nasscom signs MoU with ITAC Japan 

i. The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with the IoT Acceleration Consortium (ITAC) Japan.

ii. To collaborate to address digital technology shifts and accelerate IoT (Internet of Things) adoption at a global level across the industry.

AAI, IATA launch e-billing solution SKYREV360 for airport operators

i. The state run Airports Authority of India, along with International Air Transport Association (IATA) launched its e-billing solution for airport operators and air navigation services providers across the world.

ii. The e-billing solution, SKYREV360 developed by in-house experts the electronic billing solution for data, e-invoicing and collection of tariff from the airlines is being used by the AAI for several years now.

N Chandrasekaran elected chairman of Indian Hotels

i. N Chandrasekaran has been elected as the Chairman of its board of directors. N Chandrasekaran has been elected as the Chairman of the board of directors of the company with effect from February 22, 2017 vide a written resolution of the Board.

ii. He was initially appointed as a Member of the board on January 27, 2017 Chandrasekaran had taken over as Chairman of Tata Sons on February 21, becoming the first non Parsi Chairman of the USD 103 billion Tata Group after heading its crown jewel TCS for years.

FreeCharge CEO Govind Rajan Quits

i. The chief executive officer of Jasper Infotech-owned digital payments platform FreeCharge, Govind Rajan has submitted his resigned.

ii. Snapdeal’s chief strategy and investment officer, Jason Kothari will oversee the business operations of FreeCharge.

Suresh Prabhu unveils Antyodaya Express for common man

i. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu unveiled Antyodaya Express for common man Equipped with cushioned seats, aluminium composite panels, and LED lights, the Antyodaya Express, a new fully unreserved train for the common man with specially designed colourful coaches.

ii. The first Antyodaya Express will be launched between Mumbai and Tatanagar, and the second will be between Ernakulam and Howrah shortly

7 new Earth-like exoplanets discovered, NASA announced

i. Astronomers of NASA have discovered seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a star called TRAPPIST-1. Three of them are in the habitable zone  the happy place where liquid water can exist on the surface of rocky planets, as it’s not too hot or cold. 

ii. The space agency calls the discovery of the fascinating solar system record-breaking. The three planets in the habitable zone, also known as the Goldilocks Zone, are called TRAPPIST-1e, f, and g. Exoplanet “e” is about the same size as Earth and even gets around the same amount of star light as we do.

WTO's trade facilitation agreement comes into effect

i. The WTO's trade facilitation agreement, which seeks to ease customs norms, came into effect from with its two-thirds members ratifying the pact. The TFA, which has been ratified by India, will give a boost to the global trade, which has been impacted due to slowdown in the world economy. 

ii. According to experts, the agreement comes at a time when India's efforts to improve exports are gaining momentum.The 164-member World Trade Organisation (WTO) in a statement stated that a major milestone for the global trading system was reached as the first multilateral deal concluded in the 21-year history of the multi-lateral trade body entered into force.

Russia’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin dead at 64

i. Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin has died in New York City. He was 64.

ii. Churkin has been Russia’s envoy at the United Nations for a little over a decade and was considered Moscow’s great champion at the UN.

Mithali, Harmanpreet in top-10 of ICC rankings

i. India’s one day captain Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur were placed 2nd and 10th in the ICC batswomen’s rankings released after the World Cup qualifier that ended recently. 

ii. Meg Lanning of Australia leads the charts with 804 points while Raj with 733 points is second in the list. Harmanpreet, known for her towering sixes has 574 points. 

Adidas Ties Up With FIFA U-17 World Cup For Mission XI Million

 German Sportswear giant Adidas announced its ties up with FIFA U-17 World Cup Local Organizing Committee for the Mission XI Million programme. 

India to host 2019 Combined World Cup for shooting

i. The National Rifle Association of India(NRAI) announced that India will be hosting the Combined World Cup for shooting in 2019 during the meeting held in New Delhi.

ii. Combined World Cup will a qualifying event for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. It will comprises all the three categories shotgun, rifle and pistol.