Daily GK Update 14th May &15th May 2017

International Day of Families: 15 May

i. The International Day of Families is observed on the 15th of May every year. 
ii. The theme of 2017 is “Families, education and well-being”. 
iii. This year’s observance focuses on the role of families and family-oriented policies in promoting education and overall well-being of their members. 

Govt revised base year of WPI, IIP to 2011-2012 from 2004-05

i. The government has revised the base year of Wholesale Price Index, WPI and Index of Industrial Production, IIP to 2011-2012 from 2004-05.
ii. 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.

Kerala tops, Bihar last in public affairs index

i. 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.


India-UK agree on MoU in urban transport sector

i. India and the UK agreed to sign an MoU in the urban transport sector for cooperation in policy planning, technology transfer and institutional organisation.
ii. Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari was on a three-day visit, finalised the bilateral cooperation arrangement between the Transport for London (TfL) and the India's Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to cover a wide range of transport mobility solutions and associated activities in urban environments.

Telangana hosted first Videsh Sampark

i. 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.
ii. It was inaugurated by the Minister of State for External Affairs, Gen. V.K. Singh.
iii. Also, Telangana has become the first state in the country where the pilot ‘e-Sanad’ project for online attestation of documents, was rolled out.

RBI puts restriction on Uco Bank's business 

i. 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.
ii. RBI has initiated 'Prompt Corrective Action' (PCA) framework on  UCO bank on account of high bad loans and negative return of assets.
iii. UCO has become the second lender to face business restrictions after IDBI Bank.

 IIT Kharagpur collaborates to turn Varanasi into smart city 

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

ISKCON's Govardhan Eco Village wins Smart Village Award

i. 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.
ii. The award, "Smart Village," has been instituted by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO).





India ranks 26 in World Bank’s electricity accessibility list
i. India moved up to the 26th spot in the global electricity accessibility rankings of the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business index 2016.
ii. India was at the 99th position in 2014, it jumped 73 ranks in 2016. The compounded annual growth in electricity prices in 2014-16 stood at 3.27% compared to 5.97% in 2004-14.

Palestine President arrives on 4-day visit to India

i. President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas arrived in India on a four-day State visit.
ii. The visit of President Mahmoud Abbas will provide an opportunity for reviewing the entire gamut of bilateral relations, regional and international issues.
iii. This is his third State visit to India.

Rafael Nadal wins 5th Madrid Open title

i. Rafael Nadal beat Dominic Thiem to win his fifth Madrid Open title held in Spain and move into the world's top four.
ii. In Madrid he battled past a determined Dominic Thiem of Austria to win the crown in straight sets 7-6, 6-4.
iii. For the 14-times Grand Slam Winner, it was also the 72nd tournament win of his career.

India win 1 gold, 5 silver & 4 bronze in Asian Wrestling Championship

i. India finished their Asian Wrestling Championship campaign on a resounding note with Sumit winning a silver medal in the 125 kg category on the concluding day of the continental event held in New Delhi.
ii. 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.
iii. The Indian wrestlers overall bagged 10 medals comprising a gold, five silver, and four bronze. 

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

• WPI  stands for Wholesale Price Index.
• IIP stands for Index of Industrial Production.
• The team which prepared the PAI 2017 report was led by Dr. C.K.Mathew.
• Pinarayi Vijayan is the current Chief Minister of Kerala.
• Palanisamy Sathasivam is the current Governor of Kerala. 
• International Day of Families is organized by United Nations
• United Nations Headquarters in New York
• The current Secretary-General of the UN, and the ninth occupant of the post is Mr. Antonio Guterres of Portugal
• Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping is Mr. Nitin Gadkari
• London is the Capital of UK
• Theresa May is the Prime Minister of UK
• Pound Sterling is the Currency of UK.
• CM of Telangana is Chandrasekhar Rao and the governor is E. S. L. Narasimhan
• Hyderabad is the capital of Telangana.
• MD and CEO of UCO bank is Shri Ravi Krishan Takkar
• UCO bank headquarter is in Kolkata
• Newly appointed Deputy Governor of RBI is BP Kanungo.
• Tagline of the UCO Bank is 'Honour your Trust'
• Director of IIT Kharagpur is Prof. Partha Pratim Chakrabarti 
• IIT Kharagpur was founded in 1951.
• ITPO is the premier trade promotion agency of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry of India. 
• ISKCON full form is International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
• Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player
• Nadal became the first man to win the Monte-Carlo Masters Tournament by 10 times in 2017.
• The last edition of the Championship was held in Bangkok in which India bagged 9 Medals
• Sakshi Malik, the first Indian woman wrestler to win an Olympics medal, clinched silver in the Championship.
• She was defeated by Japan’s Risako Kawai in the 60kg category final.
• Capital of Palestine is East Jerusalem
• Its Prime minister is Rami Hamdallah.
• Arabic is the official language of Palestine.

ఇండియన్ కోస్ట్‌గార్డ్‌

ఇండియన్ కోస్ట్‌గార్డ్‌ -ఎస్సీ/ ఎస్టీలకు ఉద్దేశించిన అసిస్టెంట్‌ కమాండెంట్‌ పోస్టుల భర్తీకి స్పెషల్‌ రిక్రూట్‌మెంట్‌ డ్రైవ్‌ను నిర్వహిస్తోంది.

విభాగాలు: జనరల్‌ డ్యూటీ , జనరల్‌ డ్యూటీ (పైలట్‌)

అర్హత: ఇంటర్‌(ఎంపిసి) +55 శాతం మార్కులతో బిఇ/ బిటెక్‌

వయసు: 1988 జూలై 1-1999 జూన 30 మధ్య జన్మించి ఉండాలి

ఆనలైన దరఖాస్తుకు ఆఖరు తేదీ: మే 20

వెబ్‌సైట్‌ : www.joinindiancoastguard.gov.in

రిజర్వ్‌ బ్యాంక్‌ ఆఫ్‌ ఇండియా

రిజర్వ్‌ బ్యాంక్‌ ఆఫ్‌ ఇండియా - ఆఫీసర్‌ గ్రేడ్‌ బి పోస్టుల భర్తీకోసం దరఖాస్తులు కోరుతోంది.

మొత్తం ఖాళీలు: 161

విభాగాలవారీ ఖాళీలు: జనరల్‌(డిఆర్‌) 145, ఎకనామిక్‌ & సోషల్‌ పాలసీ

 డిపార్ట్‌మెంట్‌ 12, స్టాటిక్స్‌ & ఇన్ఫర్మేషన మేనేజ్‌మెంట్‌ 4

అర్హత: డిగ్రీ ఉత్తీర్ణులై ఉండాలి.

ఎంపిక: ఆనలైన టెస్ట్‌, ఇంటర్వ్యూ ఆధారంగా

ఫేజ్‌ 1 ఆనలైన టెస్ట్‌: జూన 17న

ఫేజ్‌ 2 ఆనలైన టెస్ట్‌: జూలై 7

ఆన్‌లైన్‌ దరఖాస్తుకు ఆఖరు తేదీ: మే 23

వెబ్‌సైట్‌: www.rbi.org.in

QUIZ-15

Q1. e-SOT and e-PRAN card launched for Atal Pension Yojana subscribers, recently. What is the full form of PRAN?

(a) Permanent Retaliated Account Number

(b) Permanent Retirement Account Number

(c) Provident Retirement Account Number

(d) Protection Retirement Account Number

(e) Provident Risk Account Number

Q2. Veteran actor Vinod Khanna passed away recently. He was an active politician and Member of Parliament from ____________.

(a) Amritsar, Punjab

(b) Jalandhar, Punjab

(c) Gurdaspur, Punjab

(d) Ludhiyana, Punjab

(e) None of the given options is true

Q3. Name the private sector Bank that has won the prestigious ‘Golden Peacock Innovative Product/Service Award 2017’ (in Financial sector Banking).

(a) ICICI Bank

(b) HDFC Bank

(c) DENA Bank

(d) Axis Bank

(e) YES Bank

Q4. India successfully carried out a fresh user trial of 3,000-kilometer range Agni-III ballistic missile from Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast. Abdul Kalam Island was previously named as _____________.

(a) Wheelers Island

(b) Betad Island

(c) Vikram Sarabhai Island

(d) See-saw Island

(e) Indian Island

Q5. Name the India’s first woman International Olympic Committee member who has made it to two important commissions of the global sports governing body, including the prestigious Olympic channel.

(a) Arundhati Bhattacharya

(b) Preeti Zinta

(c) Nita Ambani

(d) Juhi Chawla

(e) Mary Kom

Q6. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has recently become India's first public hospital to start plaque brachytherapy facility for the treatment of ____________ tumors. 

(a) Brain

(b) Stomach

(c) Intestine

(d) Eye

(e) Liver

Q7. As per the recent announcement of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar Ballabgarh town in Faridabad is renamed as ____________.

(a) Ramgarh

(b) Balramgarh

(c) Balrampur

(d) Ballabpur

(e) None of the given options is true

Q8. An android App 'Solar Calculator' for the computation of solar energy potential has been developed by Space Applications Centre (SAC), ISRO, Ahmedabad. Name the current Chairman of ISRO.

(a) Nair, G. Madhavan

(b) AS Kiran Kumar

(c) K.K. Radhakrishnan

(d) Shailesh Nayak

(e) R Subramanyan

Q9. 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. What is the capital of Egypt?

(a) Hawaii

(b) Pattaya

(c) Colombo

(d) Cairo

(e) Hawana

Q10. Name the city that has recently become the first Indian city that has won Pierre L’enfant Planning Excellence and Achievement Awards-2017.

(a) Bengaluru

(b) New Delhi

(c) Bhubaneswar

(d) Kolkata

(e) Chennai

Q11. On the visit of the President of Cyprus to India, both the countries have signed four agreements in different fields. Name the president of Cyprus.

(a) Ioannis Kasoulidis

(b) Socratis Hasikos

(c) Costas Kadis

(d) Ionas Nicolaou

(e) Nicos Anastasiades

Q12. Director Jonathan Demme, the Oscar-winning director behind classics like The Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia died recently. He belonged to ___________.

(a) America

(b) Germany

(c) France

(d) Russia

(e) Sweden

Q13. India won six medals in the second leg of the Asian Grand Prix Athletics Meet. The event was held in ___________.

(a) Beijing, China

(b) Wuhan, China

(c) Jiaxing, China

(d) Chengdu, China

(e) Shanghai, China

Q14. India won six medals in the second leg of the Asian Grand Prix Athletics Meet. In this event single gold medal was bagged by ___________.

(a) Reema Malik

(b) Neena Varakil

(c) Arunima Rao

(d) Raima Sen Gupta

(e) Anjum Singh

Q15. In the recent figures released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) India stood on which rank in the military expenditure?

(a) 4th

(b) 5th

(c) 3rd

(d) 6th

(e) 7th

Solutions

S1. Ans.(b)
Sol. With a view to digitally empower the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) subscribers and improve the quality of service, the facility of online viewing of the statement of the transaction (e-SOT) and also the e- Permanent Retirement Account Number (e-PRAN card) have been launched.

S2. Ans.(c)
Sol. Veteran actor Vinod Khanna passed away in Mumbai. He was battling with cancer for many years. He was an active politician, and Member of Parliament from Gurdaspur, Punjab.

S3. Ans.(e)
Sol. India’s fifth largest private sector Bank, the YES BANK has won the prestigious ‘Golden Peacock Innovative Product/Service Award 2017’ (in Financial sector Banking).

S4. Ans.(a)
Sol. India successfully carried out a fresh user trial of 3,000-kilometer range Agni-III ballistic missile from Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast. Abdul Kalam Island was previously named as Wheelers Island.

S5. Ans.(c)
Sol. India’s first woman International Olympic Committee member Nita Ambani has made it to two important commissions of the global sports governing body, including the prestigious Olympic channel.

S6. Ans.(d)
Sol. 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. 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.

S7. Ans.(b)
Sol. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced the renaming of Ballabgarh town in Faridabad as Balramgarh. Situated around 30 km from Delhi on National Highway-2, Ballabgarh is a town and a tehsil (sub-division).

S8. Ans.(b)
Sol. An android App 'Solar Calculator' for the computation of solar energy potential has been developed by Space Applications Centre (SAC), ISRO, Ahmedabad. A S Kiran Kumar is the current Chairman of ISRO.

S9. Ans.(d)
Sol. 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. The capital of Egypt is Cairo

S10. Ans.(c)
Sol. Odisha’s capital city, Bhubaneswar has become, the first Indian city that has won Pierre L’enfant Planning Excellence and Achievement Awards-2017. This award is instituted by the American Planning Association.

S11. Ans.(e)
Sol. 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.

S12. Ans.(a)
Sol. American Director Jonathan Demme, the Oscar-winning director behind classics like The Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia, died in New York.

S13. Ans.(c)
Sol. India won six medals in the second leg of the Asian Grand Prix Athletics Meet in Jiaxing, China

S14. Ans.(b)
Sol. 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. Neena produced the best jump of 6.37 meters in the sixth and final round.

S15. Ans.(b)
Sol. India's military expenditure grew around 8.5 percent in 2016, making it the world's fifth largest spender at $55.9 billion, figures released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

QUIZ-14

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?

(a) Majuli Island

(b) Havelock Island

(c) Barren Island

(d) Elephanta Island

(e) Diu 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 ____________.

(a) PARAKRAM

(b) VARUNA

(c) KAUSHAL

(d) GRAMANA

(e) SHAKTI

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

(a) SandishMachol

(b) Sebastian Andrew

(c) Randolph Ailes

(d) JohnneferSout

(e) HarrynaraDahol

Q4. The World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated globally on __________.

(a) March 28

(b) March 21

(c) April 19

(d) April 28

(e) April 26

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

(a) Paisabazaar.com

(b) Naptol.com

(c) Askbazar.com

(d) Bookmyshow.com

(e) None of the given options is true

Q6. Northeast India's largest Information Technology (IT) hub was opened recently in _____________ to boost employment and e-governance besides to export software technology.

(a) Assam

(b) Tripura

(c) Meghalaya

(d) Arunachal Pradesh

(e) Sikkim

Q7. Name the youngest chancellor of any university in the nation who has bagged Dr. BabasahebAmbedkar International Foundation award for excellent performance in the field of education.

(a) Sankalp Joshi

(b) Manish Subrato

(c) Mangalam S Sen

(d) Dileep K Nair

(e) Mahesh K Rawat

Q8. Name the country that has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with India on economic co-operation, recently.

(a) Myanmar

(b) Bangladesh

(c) Sri Lanka

(d) Australia

(e) Malaysia

Q9. Name the country that has become the first to open an honorary consulate office in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).

(a) Austria

(b) Belgium

(c) Russia

(d) France

(e) Japan

Q10. Name the country that will host the 18th World Road Meeting (WRM 2017) in November 2017 according to the International Road Federation (IRF).

(a) India

(b) China

(c) Japan

(d) Indonesia

(e) Pakistan

Q11. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully launched its football-stadium-sized, heavy-lift Super Pressure Balloon (SPB) from _____________.

(a) La Condamine, Monaco

(b) Canberra, Australia

(c) Chicago, USA

(d) Wanaka, New Zealand

(e) Boston, USA

Q12. The 2nd quarterly review meeting on the Swachh Iconic Places (SIP) was held recently at Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Jammu & Kashmir. On this occasion how many new Iconic places to be taken under the Phase II of the Swachh Iconic Places initiative were announced?

(a) 6

(b) 10

(c) 8

(d) 15

(e) 5

Q13. Who was crowned as Miss Teen Universe 2017 at the event held in Managua, Nicaragua?

(a) AryTrava

(b) Samantha Pierr

(c) SrishtiKaur

(d) Ritalia Jones

(e) SonakshiPawar

Q14. Who is the Managing Director and Group CEO of Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City)?

(a) SandeepJajodiya

(b) SamnwaySarkar

(c) Sankalp Sharma

(d) Ajay Pandey

(e) ManojShukla

Q15. e-SOT and e-PRAN card launched for Atal Pension Yojana subscribers, recently. What is the full form of SOT?

(a) Statement of Truncation

(b) Statement of Transfer

(c) Service of Transaction

(d) Security of Transaction

(e) Statement of Transaction

Solutions

S1. Ans.(d)
Sol. India’s first and longest ropeway to connect Mumbai with the famous Elephanta Island in the Arabian Sea is planned to be constructed by the Mumbai Port Trust, according to the official report.

S2. Ans.(b)
Sol. 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. Guided missile destroyer INS Mumbai, stealth frigate INS Trishul and fleet tanker INS Aditya are taking part in the 'Varuna' exercise.

S3. Ans.(c)
Sol. The White House has named a retired Marine major general Randolph Ailes as the new Director of the Secret Service. Ailes was in the Marine Corps for 35 years.

S4. Ans.(e)
Sol. Every April 26, World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated to learn about the role that intellectual property rights (patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyright) play in encouraging innovation and creativity.

S5. Ans.(a)
Sol. Private Sector lender Yes Bank announced the alliance with Paisabazaar.com under which the bank will offer conditionally approved loans to the latter’s existing customers.

S6. Ans.(b)
Sol. Northeast India's largest Information Technology (IT) hub was inaugurated at Agartala to boost employment and e-governance besides to export software technology. The Hub was set up at a cost of Rs. 50 crore. The Chief Minister of Tripura, ManikSarkar inaugurated the IT hub.

S7. Ans.(d)
Sol. The youngest chancellor of any university in the nation, Dileep K Nair has bagged Dr. BabasahebAmbedkar International Foundation award for excellent performance in the field of education in Trivendurum, Kerala.

S8. Ans.(c)
Sol. India and Sri Lanka have signed anMoU on economic co-operation. The agreement was exchanged in the presence of Prime Minister NarendraModi and his Sri Lankan PM RanilWickremesinghe in New Delhi.

S9. Ans.(b)
Sol. Belgium has become the first country to open an honorary consulate office in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City). Besides the Belgian Embassy in New Delhi, two Consulates-General in Mumbai and Chennai, and an honorary consulate in Kolkata, Belgium has expanded its diplomatic representation in India with this new office in Gandhinagar.

S10. Ans.(a)
Sol. India will host the 18th World Road Meeting (WRM 2017) on November 13, 2017 as per the International Road Federation (IRF). The WRM is the biggest global platform for road engineers, safety and transport experts and companies engaged in road safety products.

S11. Ans.(d)
Sol. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully launched its football-stadium-sized, heavy-lift Super Pressure Balloon (SPB) from Wanaka, New Zealand.

S12. Ans.(b)
Sol. The 2nd quarterly review meeting on the Swachh Iconic Places (SIP) was held recently at Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine, in Katra, Jammu & Kashmir. On this occasion, ShriNarendra Singh Tomar announced 10 new Iconic places to be taken under the Phase II of Swachh Iconic Places initiative.

S13. Ans.(c)
Sol. SrishtiKaur was crowned Miss Teen Universe 2017 after beating 25 contestants from around the world at the annual beauty pageant. The event was held in Managua, the capital of Central American country Nicaragua.

S14. Ans.(d)
Sol. Ajay Pandey is the Managing Director and Group CEO of GIFT City

S15. Ans.(e)
Sol. With a view to digitally empower the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) subscribers and improve the quality of service, the facility of online viewing of the statement of the transaction (e-SOT) and also the e- Permanent Retirement Account Number (e-PRAN card) have been launched.

Daily GK Update 13th May 2017

Election Commission of India Launches National Contact Centre

i. The Election Commission of India has added feather to its cap with the launch of National Contact Centre with a toll-free No. 1800111950. 

ii. Now any citizen from any part of the country can call 24*7 on the toll-free in English or Hindi with any query or complaint at any time of the day. 

iii. The National Contact Centre is operated on a National Grievance Redressal System Software.

Aadhaar not mandatory for PAN, ITR in J&K, Assam & Meghalaya: Govt

i. The government has exempted the residents of Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Meghalaya and citizens above 80 years from mandatory quoting of Aadhaar to obtain PAN cards and file tax returns. 

ii. As per the official notification of the Finance Ministry, the exemption has been given to an individual who does not possess the Aadhaar number or the enrolment ID. The exemption will also apply on non-residents and non-citizens. 

Telangana first state with logo for hearing impaired drivers

i. Telangana has introduced a logo for identifying vehicles driven by persons with hearing impairment and has become the first state in the country to do so. 
ii. The state’s transport department has finalized the logo designed by Hyderabad-based graphic designer Manikanta Annapragada, who incidentally is the first person to obtain a driving license in the ‘hearing impaired’ category.

Ahmedabad to host biggest ever International Yoga Day event on June 21

i. Ahmedabad in Gujarat will host biggest ever International Yoga Day event on the 21st of June announced by Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev. 
ii. Chief Minister of Gujarat Mr. Vijay Rupani will inaugurate the event. 
iii. The program will be conducted in partnership with Gujarat government which will also involve various social organizations. 

Rajnath Singh launches mobile app for paramilitary forces to lodge grievances

i. Union home minister Rajnath Singh launched a mobile phone app 'MHA Mobile Application' to remain ‘just a click away’ from troopers of all central forces to address their grievances.   
ii. Rajnath Singh also launched a dedicated app for BSF personnel named 'BSFMyApp'. The app provides the mechanism to address issues related to pay, provident fund, leave or deputation of the personnel. The app will also help troopers with financial literacy.

Vinay Mohan Kwatra named India’s new ambassador to France

i. Vinay Mohan Kwatra currently a joint secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office has been appointed as the next ambassador to France. 

ii. Mr. Vinay Mohan Kwatra has succeeded Mohan Kumar

Amitabh Bachchan appointed WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Hepatitis

i. Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has been appointed by the World Health Organisation as its Goodwill Ambassador for Hepatitis in South-East Asia Region to spread awareness about the disease. 

ii. This is the first formal association between WHO and Amitabh Bachchan, who served as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Polio in India.

Light Combat aircraft Tejas successfully test-fires air-to-air missile

i. Light combat aircraft 'Tejas' has successfully demonstrated an Air-to-Air Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missile firing capability by releasing Derby Air-to-Air BVR missile in RADAR guided mode. 

ii.The objective of the test was to assess the Derby integration with aircraft systems on-board Tejas including the aircraft avionics, fire-control radar, launchers and Missile Weapon Delivery System and to verify its performance. The test was conducted on a Manoeuvrable Aerial Target at the Interim Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Odisha. 

India test-fires ‘Spyder’ surface-to-air missile from Odisha test range

i. 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. 
ii. Spyder ( Surface-to-air PYthon and DERby) is an acquired missile system from Israel which is a short-range quick reaction surface-to-air missile to neutralize enemy targets up to a distance of 15 km and at heights between 20-and-9,000 meters.

Bahamas elects Hubert Minnis as new prime minister

i. The Bahamas has elected Free National Movement's Hubert Minnis as its new Prime Minister, defeating incumbent Progressive Liberal Party's leader Perry Christie in a 34-5 parliamentary split. 





Forbes Middle East lists top 100 Indian business leaders

i. Retail Mogul Yusuff Ali and Pepsico executive Sanjeev Chadha are among the top 100 Indian business leaders in the Arab World 2017, according to a Forbes ranking for the Middle East. 
ii. Ali, managing director of Lulu Group International topped the Indian business owners’ category and Chadha CEO of Asia, Middle East and Africa at PepsiCo International led the Indian executive’s category.

VVS Laxman awarded honorary life membership by MCC

i. VVS Laxman awarded with an honorary life membership by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). 
ii. The elegant Hyderabad batsman becomes the fifth Indian to receive the honour after fellow stalwarts, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Zaheer Khan.

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

• Dr. Nasim Zaidi is the 20th Chief Election Commissioner of India
• Election Commission of India was founded on 1950.
• Aadhaar number is a 12-digit random number issued by the UIDAI to the residents of India
• UIDAI full form is Unique Identification Authority of India
• Shri J. Satyanarayana is part-time Chairman of the UIDAI.
• CM of Telangana is Chandrasekhar Rao and the governor is E.S.L Narasimhan
• The capital of Telangana is Hyderabad
• Telangana is the 29th state of India and was founded in 2014.
• 1st International Yoga Day (IYD) was Hosted by New Delhi on 21st June 2015
• Ministry of AYUSH made the arrangements for 1st IYD
• Mr. Rajnath Singh is the Union home minister of India
• K K Sharma is the Director-General of Border Security Force
• Mr. Vinay Mohan Kwatra has succeeded Mohan Kumar
• Emmanuel Macron has been recently elected as President of France
• Paris is the capital of France and currency is Euro
• Margaret Chan is the Director-General of WHO
• WHO is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland
• Defence Minister of India is Arun Jaitley
• The first defence minister of independent India was Baldev Singh during 1947-1952
• Tejas is a Light Combat Aircraft that uses fourth generation technologies.
• Spyder full form is Surface-to-air PYthon and DERby
• Bipin Rawat is 27th chief of Army Staff.
• Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club of London and was founded in 1787.
• Anjum Chopra was the first Indian woman cricketer to receive MCC life membership.