Daily GK Update 24th May 2017

Piyush Goyal launches mobile app 'SEVA' for quick tracking of coal dispatch

i. Union Minister of State (I/C) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Shri Piyush Goyal launched the Saral Eindhan Vitaran Application (SEVA), in News Delhi.
ii. The app is developed in-house by Coal India Limited (CIL) for power sector consumers.
iii. SEVA is a part of ‘Digital India’ initiative, which is aimed at increasing the Consumer Connect as well as the Transparency and Accountability in Coal dispatch.

Static Takeaways-

• Shri Piyush Goyal is the Union Minister of State (I/C) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines
• Jharkhand is the largest producer of Coal in India
• The nationalization of coal mine was done in two phases, the first with the coking coal mines in 1971-72 and then with the non-coking coal mines in 1973.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' resigned as Nepal Prime Minister

i. Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has resigned paving way for Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba to become the next Prime Minister.
ii. The resignation is to honor an accord signed in August 2016 when Prachanda was elected the prime minister with Deuba's support.

Static Takeaways-

• Pushpa Kamal Dahal was 39th prime minister of Nepal
• Kathmandu is the capital of Nepal
• Bidhya Devi Bhandari is the President of Nepal

‘Good morning’ squads to tackle open defecation in Maharashtra

i. The Maharashtra government has decided to form ‘good morning’ squads to monitor and prevent open defecation in villages and districts across the state.
ii. These squads will comprise representatives of local bodies, self-help groups, NGOs, students and social workers working in the area of sanitation and cleanliness.



Static Takeaways-

• CM of Maharashtra is Devendra Fadnavis and governor is C.Vidyasagar Rao
• Melghat Tiger Reserve and Bor Tiger Reserve is situated in Maharashtra
• Tadoba National Park is situated in Maharashtra.

Bank of Baroda, IFFCO roll out co-branded debit card for farmers

i. Bank of Baroda (BOB) and IFFCO rolled out their first set of co-branded debit cards for farmers as part of a novel initiative to push digitalisation and cashless economy.
ii. The co-branded debit cards, with inbuilt overdraft of Rs. 2,500 in special savings bank account, could be used for purchase of various agri products at IFFCO sale counters.
iii. Two lakh co-branded debit cards will be issued initially to the farmers beginning with the States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. These co-branded debit cards will be exclusively used for the purchase of IFFCO products only.

Static Takeaways-

• Chairman of BOB is Mr. Ravi Venkatesan and CEO is Mr. P.S. Jayakumar
• BOB headquarter is in Vadodara, Gujarat and its tagline is 'India's International Bank'
• IFFCO full form is Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited.

Karnataka Bank pact with HDFC Asset Management

i. Karnataka Bank Ltd has entered into a distribution agreement to sell the mutual fund products of HDFC Capital Asset Management Ltd (HDFCAML) during exchanged the memorandum of understanding in Mangaluru, Karnataka.
ii. Investment in mutual funds will provide an opportunity to those customers who are uncomfortable about investing directly in stock markets as this tie-up will give HDFCAML an opportunity to expand its base in these centers.

Static Takeaways-

• CEO of Karnataka Bank is  Mahabaleshwara MS and its headquarter is in Mangaluru, Karnataka
• MD of HDFC Bank is Aditya Puri.

Tata appoints new legal chief

i. A day after appointing a new Chief Financial Officer Saurabh Agrawal, Tata Sons has appointed a new legal head.
ii. The group has appointed Shuva Mandal as the Group General Counsel after incumbent Bharat Vasani quit the role.
iii. Mandal will assume in July 2017. Vasani will continue with the group as Legal Adviser to the Chairman’s office.


Static Takeaways-

• Chairman of Tata Sons is Natarajan Chandrasekaran
• Founder of Tata was Jamsetji Tata.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is the new WHO Chief

i. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a former Ethiopian health minister, has been chosen to head the World Health Organisation (WHO) and is the first African to do so since the creation of the United Nations agency in 1948.
ii. He will begin his five-year term on 1 July 2017. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has replaced Margret Chan who steps down after ten years as the WHO chief.


Static Takeaways-

• WHO’s Constitution came into force on 7 April 1948, a date which is celebrated every year as World Health Day
• WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Dr B. Chisholm was the first Director-General of WHO

Japan to build war museum in Manipur

i. Japan is going to build a war museum at the hillock at Maiba Lokpa in Bishnupur district in Manipur where a Japanese camp was located during World War II. 

ii. The Japanese ambassador Kenji Hiramatsu, has stated that about 70,000 Japanese soldiers had died in battles from March to June 1944 in Imphal and Kohima.

Static Takeaways-

•  PM of Japan is Shinzo Abe and its capital is Tokyo
•  Currency of Japan is Yen

 Union Home Minister releases the book India 2017 Yearbook

i. The Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh has released the book India 2017 Yearbook authored by the Union Home Secretary, Shri Rajiv Mehrishi. 

ii. The CEO, NITI Aayog, Shri Amitabh Kant was also present on the occasion. The book was published by the Mc Graw Hill Education India. 

Static Takeaways-

• Chairman of NITI Aayog is Prime Minister of India
• Current chairman of NITI Aayog is Shri Narendra Modi

Kiren Rijiju unveils world's first philosophical novel on God

i. In a rare feat, a young Indian IAS officer, Haulianlal Guite, who hails from Manipur state has recently published a book titled "Confessions of a dying mind: the blind faith of atheism" in New Delhi.
ii. The book was unveiled by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju in presence of David Syiemlieth, Chairman, UPSC in august gathering at Civil Services Officers' Institute.


Static Takeaways-

• Dr. Najma Heptulla is the governor of Manipur
• Nongthobam Biren Singh is the present CM of Manipur
• Loktak Lake is situated in Manipur which is the largest fresh water lake in the North-East.

Roger Moore, Who Played James Bond 007 Times passes away

i. Actor Sir Roger Moore, best known for playing James Bond, has died at age 89.
ii. He played the famous spy in seven Bond films including Live and Let Die and A View to a Kill.
iii. Sir Roger was also well known for his humanitarian work he was introduced to UNICEF by the late Audrey Hepburn and was appointed as a goodwill ambassador in 1991.


Static Takeaways-

• UNICEF full form is The United Nations Children's Fund and its headquarter is in New york City, USA
• Executive Director of UNICEF is Anthony Lake.

SSC MTS Exam 2016 Cancelled

SSC MTS Exam Cancelled! Yes, you read it right. Due to many issues related to leakage of exam papers, Staff Selection Commission(SSC) has taken a decision to cancel the Multi-Tasking Staff (Non-Technical) Examination, 2016 in the OMR based mode for all 5 days.

The examinations already conducted on 

• 30.4.2017  
• 14.5.2017

The examinations to be conducted on 

• 28.5.2017, 
• 4.6.2017,
• 11.6.2017 

Now the examination would be conducted by the Commission afresh in the computer based mode, tentatively during the month of September-October, 2017. 

QUIZ-24

Q1. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has recently approved USD 160 million loans for a power project in Andhra Pradesh, the first credit from the bank for an Indian project. The AIIB is sponsored by ____________

(a) Japan

(b) Austria

(c) China

(d) South Africa

(e) Brazil

Q2. Braj Bihari Kumar has been recently appointed as the chairman of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). He has succeeded famous economist ______________.

(a) Shashi Tharoor

(b) Kamla Kiran

(c) P N Mallikarjuna

(d) S K Thorat

(e) S N Tiwari

Q3. In order to improve the connectivity of the state, Union Cabinet approved ______________ Airport as International Airport recently.

(a) Vijayawada

(b) Chennai

(c) Hyderabad

(d) Bengaluru

(e) Thiruvananthapuram

Q4. India is all set to get world's highest railway bridge in J&K which is 35 meters taller than Eiffel Tower. The Bridge will be built across which of the following River?

(a) Beas River

(b) Jhelum River

(c) Churu River

(d) Chenab River

(e) Nubra River

Q5. The 'Swachh Survekshan 2017' survey results were recently announced by Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu. Which of the following city is India’s cleanest city?

(a) Bhopal

(b) Indore

(c) Bengaluru

(d) New Delhi

(e) Bhubneshwar

Q6. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for restructuring the schemes of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) under new Central Sector Scheme named SAMPADA. What does 'P' stands for in SAMPADA?

(a) Production

(b) Permeable

(c) Processing

(d) Power

(e) Provident

Q7. The Union Cabinet chaired by ____________ has given its approval for National Steel Policy (NSP) 2017.

(a) Shri Birender Singh

(b) Shri Arun Jaitley

(c) Shri Rajnath Singh

(d) Shri Narendra Modi

(e) None of the given options is true

Q8. The Indian men’s national football team has made it into the top 100 of the FIFA world football rankings for the first time in 21 years. Who is the President of FIFA?

(a) Sepp Blatter

(b) Joao Havelange

(c) Gianni Infantino

(d) Takehiko Nakao

(e) Soal Manol

Q9. What is the best ever ranking of Indian football team in FIFA world ranking?

(a) 99th

(b) 86th

(c) 96th

(d) 95th

(e) 94th

Q10. The 'Swachh Survekshan 2017' survey results were recently announced by Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu. Which of the following city is the dirtiest city in India?

(a) Itawah

(b) Varanasi

(c) Hardoi

(d) Gonda

(e) Bhusawal

Q11. India has launched the GSLV-F09 carrying the GSAT-9 or the “South Asia” satellite from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. What is the meaning of "S" in GSLV?

(a) Satellite

(b) Solutions

(c) Search

(d) Science

(e) Space

Q12. In order to Strengthen defence ties, India has opened its first private small arms manufacturing plant at- 

(a) Vadodara, Gujarat

(b) Malanpur, Madhya Pradesh

(c) Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

(d) Darbhanga, Bihar

(e) None of the given options is true 

Q13. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has constituted Technical Committee to lay down Technical Standards for the performance of core services and other services in accordance with Regulation 14 of the IBBI (Information Utilities) Regulations, 2017. The committee will be chaired by-

(a) Mr. Anthony Lianzuala

(b) Shobana Kamineni

(c) Dr. RB Barman

(d) Yusra Mardini 

(e) Nita Ambani

Q14. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India was established on ______________ in accordance with the provisions of The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

(a) 01st April 2017

(b) 01st October 2013

(c) 01st November 2015

(d) 01st October 2016

(e) 01st September 2016

Q15. Which among the following state government has passed a resolution granting river Narmada the status of a living entity and committed itself to the protection of its legal rights recently?

(a) Andhra Pradesh

(b) Himachal Pradesh

(c) Arunachal Pradesh

(d) Uttar Pradesh

(e) Madhya Pradesh

Q16. The NABARD (Amendment) Bill, 2017 was introduced by Minister of Finance, Mr. Arun Jaitley. Who is the present Chairman of NABARD?

(a) Dr. Kshatrapati Shivaji

(b) Yaduvendra Mathur

(c) Urjit R Patel

(d) Ajay Tyagi

(e) Harsh Kumar Bhanwala

Q17. Reliance Corporate IT Park Ltd. (RCITPL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with enterprise application software major SAP SE to launch ________________ solution for taxpayers.

(a) SUKHAD GST

(b) SUGAM GST

(c) SINEH GST

(d) SARAL GST

(e) None of the given options is true 

Q18. Thirty-four MoUs amounting to about Rs 2 lakh crores were signed in the three-day India Integrated Transport and Logistics Summit that was concluded in-

(a) Mumbai

(b) Lucknow

(c) New Delhi

(d) Chennai

(e) Kolkata

Q19. Who is the current Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping?

(a) Radha Mohan Singh

(b) Nitin Jairam Gadkari

(c) Ram Vilas Paswan

(d) Anant Geete

(e) Bandaru Dattatreya

Q20. The Haryana government has decided to open canteens offering meals at subsidized rates to registered construction workers under the "Antyodaya Anna Yojana" at 23 locations in the state. Who is the present Chief Minister of Haryana?

(a) Manohar Lal Khattar

(b) Captain Amarinder Singh

(c) Shivraj Singh Chouhan

(d) Yogi Adityanath

(e) Virbhadra Singh

Q21. The Antyodaya Anna Yojana, an important milestone in providing foodgrains to the poor was launched on- 

(a) 25th December 2000

(b) 02nd October 2006

(c) 20th August 2004

(d) 14th November 2010

(e) 15th August 2015

Q22. The promulgation of the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 inserting two new Sections (viz. 35AA and 35AB) after Section 35A of the __________________ enables the Union Government to authorize the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to direct banking companies to resolve specific stressed assets by initiating insolvency resolution process, where required.

(a) Banking Regulation Act, 1935

(b) Banking Regulation Act, 1949

(c) Banking Regulation Act, 1956

(d) Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934

(e) Reserve Bank of India Act, 1949

Q23. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved seven top-level changes in various public sector banks recently. Who has been appointed as MD & CEO of Allahabad Bank?

(a) G Rajkiran Rai

(b) R Subramaniakumar

(c) Usha Ananthasubramanian

(d) Dinabandhu Mohapatra

(e) RA Sankara Narayanan

Q24. Who has been appointed as MD & CEO of Punjab National Bank by appointments Committee of the Cabinet?

(a) G Rajkiran Rai

(b) R Subramaniakumar

(c) Usha Ananthasubramanian

(d) Sunil Mehta

(e) RA Sankara Narayanan

Q25. Which among the following countries has beat Australia 4-3 in a thrilling hockey final of the 26th edition of the Azlan Shah Cup at Ipoh, Malaysia?

(a) Russia

(b) Singapore

(c) India

(d) New Zealand

(e) Great Britain

Solutions

S1. Ans.(c)
Sol. China-sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has recently approved USD 160 million loan for a power project in Andhra Pradesh, the first credit from the bank for an Indian project. The AIIB, in which India is the second largest shareholder after China, has approved the project with the objective to strengthen the power transmission and distribution system in Andhra Pradesh.

S2. Ans.(d)
Sol. Braj Bihari Kumar, the editor of quarterly journals Dialogue and Chintan Srijan, has been appointed as the chairman of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). He has succeeded famous economist S K Thorat.

S3. Ans.(a)
Sol. Union Cabinet approved Vijayawada Airport as International Airport recently. This move will improve the connectivity of the state and provide a wider choice of service at competitive cost to air travelers.

S4. Ans.(d)
Sol. Around two years from now, the Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir will be spanned by the world’s highest railway bridge that is expected to be 35 metres taller than Paris’ Eiffel Tower. The massive arch-shaped structure, being constructed at a cost of around Rs. 1,100 crores, will rise 359 m above the river bed.

S5. Ans.(b)
Sol. The 'Swachh Survekshan 2017' survey results were recently announced by Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu. The total 434 cities of India were surveyed. Indore in Madhya Pradesh is India’s cleanest city while Gonda in Uttar Pradesh is the dirtiest, according to the ‘Swachh Survekshan-2017’.

S6. Ans.(c)
Sol. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for restructuring the schemes of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) under new Central Sector Scheme – SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters) for the period 2016-20

S7. Ans.(d)
Sol. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for National Steel Policy (NSP) 2017. The new Steel Policy enshrines the long term vision of the Government to give impetus to the steel sector.

S8. Ans.(c)
Sol. The Indian men’s national football team has made it into the top 100 of the FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) world football rankings for the first time in 21 years. Gianni Infantino is the President of FIFA.

S9. Ans.(e)
Sol. The Indian men’s national football team has made it into the top 100 of the FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) world football rankings for the first time in 21 years. The last time India had been in the top 100 of the rankings was way back in 1996, with the 94th spot in February 1996 being the country’s best ever FIFA ranking.

S10. Ans.(d)
Sol. The 'Swachh Survekshan 2017' survey results were recently announced by Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu. The total 434 cities of India were surveyed. Indore in Madhya Pradesh is India’s cleanest city while Gonda in Uttar Pradesh is the dirtiest, according to the ‘Swachh Survekshan-2017’.

S11. Ans.(a)
Sol. India made its biggest space diplomacy push when the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F09), carrying the GSAT-9 or the "South Asia" satellite, was launched successfully from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. 

S12. Ans.(b)
Sol. In order to Strengthen defence ties, India has opened its first private small arms manufacturing plant at Malanpur, Madhya Pradesh in a joint venture with Israel. The plant has been set up as a joint venture Punj Lloyd Raksha Systems between Indian defence conglomerate Punj Lloyd and Israel Weapons Industries (IWI).

S13. Ans.(c)
Sol. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has constituted Technical Committee to lay down Technical Standards for the performance of core services and other services in accordance with Regulation 14 of the IBBI (Information Utilities) Regulations, 2017. The committee will be Chaired by Dr. R. B. Barman and the three members of the committee are Dr. Nand Lal Sarda, Dr.  Pulak Ghosh and Sh. V. G. Kannan.

S14. Ans.(d)
Sol. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India was established on October 1, 2016 in accordance with the provisions of The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. Dr. MS Sahoo currently serves as Chairperson of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).

S15. Ans.(e)
Sol. The Madhya Pradesh government has passed a resolution granting river Narmada the status of a living entity and committed itself to the protection of its legal rights. A month ago, the Uttarakhand High Court had declared Ganga, Yamuna and their tributaries living entities with the status of a legal person.

S16. Ans.(e)
Sol. Minister of Finance, Mr. Arun Jaitley in Lok Sabha on April 5, 2017, The Bill seeks to amend the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act, 1981. Harsh Kumar Bhanwala is the present  Chairman of NABARD.

S17. Ans.(d)
Sol. Reliance Corporate IT Park Ltd. (RCITPL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with enterprise application software major SAP SE to launch 'SARAL GST' solution for taxpayers. According to the subsidiary of Reliance Industries, the new offering will enable taxpayers to be GST compliant and smoothly access the government's GST System, once GST is rolled out from July 1, 2017.

S18. Ans.(c)
Sol. Thirty-four MoUs amounting to about Rs 2 lakh crores were signed in the three-day India Integrated Transport and Logistics Summit that was concluded in New Delhi. 

S19. Ans.(b)
Sol. Nitin Jairam Gadkari is the current Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping.

S20. Ans.(a)
Sol. The Haryana government has decided to open canteens offering meals at subsidized rates to registered construction workers under the "Antyodaya Anna Yojana" at 23 locations in the state. Besides, mobile food vans would be started at 23 convenient sites with a large number of workers. Manohar Lal Khattar is the present Chief Minister of Haryana.

S21. Ans.(a)
Sol. The Antyodaya Anna Yojana, an important milestone in providing foodgrains to the poor was launched on December 25, 2000.

S22. Ans.(b)
Sol. The promulgation of the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 inserting two new Sections (viz. 35AA and 35AB) after Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 enables the Union Government to authorize the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to direct banking companies to resolve specific stressed assets by initiating insolvency resolution process, where required. The RBI has also been empowered to issue other directions for resolution, and appoint or approve for appointment, authorities or committees to advise banking companies for stressed asset resolution. 

S23. Ans.(c)
Sol. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved seven top-level changes in various public sector banks. Usha Ananthasubramanian, MD, and CEO, Punjab National Bank, has been appointed as MD & CEO of Allahabad Bank. 

S24. Ans.(d)
Sol. Sunil Mehta, Executive Director, Corporation Bank, has been appointed as MD & CEO of Punjab National Bank. 

S25. Ans.(e)
Sol. Great Britain beat Australia 4-3 in a thrilling hockey final of the 26th edition of the Azlan Shah Cup at Ipoh, Malaysia. This victory came to Great Britain in the Azlan Shah Cup after 23 years. Australia is the world champions and had won the Azlan Shah title nine times. Great Britain becomes the first team from the British Isles to win the Azlan Shah title since 1994.

Daily GK Update 23rd May 2017

PM launches various projects of Kandla Port Trust, Gujarat
i. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has launched various projects of Kandla Port Trust at Gandhidham in Gujarat. 
ii. He unveiled plaques to mark the laying of Foundation Stone for the construction of the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Convention Centre and the development of the 14th and 16th General Cargo Berth.
iii. He handed over Letters of Award for Construction of Interchange-cum-ROB (Railway Bridge) at Kutch Salt Junction, Deployment of two Mobile Harbour Cranes and Mechanization for the handling of fertilizers at Kandla Port.

Static Takeaways-

• Kandla was constructed in the 1950s as the chief seaport serving western India.
• CM of Gujarat is Mr. Vijay Rupani and its governor is Mr. Om Prakash Kohli.
• Shri.Ravi M Parmar is the Chairman of Kandla Port Trust.

India becomes second largest steel producer in the world

i. India overtook Japan to become the second-largest steel producer in the world after China in 2016, according to data released by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF).
ii. India’s stainless steel production rose to 3.32 million tons for 2016 showing an impressive growth of about 9% over 3.0 million tons achieved in 2015.
iii. The data were released at ISSF annual conference in Tokyo, Japan.
Static Takeaways-

• The International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) is a non-profit research and development organization which was founded in 1996
• Roeland Baan is the Chairman of ISSF
• The Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA) is the unifying point for the growth and development of stainless steel usage in India and it was Founded in 1989.
• Shri Chaudhary Birender Singh is Union Minister of Steel since July 2016.

Free Wi-Fi Facility to be provided at 28 Railway Stations

i. Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu has inaugurated the WiFi facility from Kudal Railway Station at 28 Railway Stations of Konkan Railway.
ii. Indian Railways has tied up with M/s SYSCON/JOISTER for provision of 2 Mbps peer to peer 24 hrs FREE Wi-Fi INTERNET bandwidth at 28 stations of Konkan Railway.
iii. This facility will help travelling public, commutes & tourists on Indian Railways to access essential information and they could use their time productively while waiting for trains at railway stations.  This initiative of corporation is a steps towards making a smarter India.

Static Takeaways-

First Railway Minister of Independent India is John Mathai

HDFC Life launches AI-based insurance email bot 'SPOK'

i. HDFC Life announced the launch of an artificial intelligence-based application 'SPOK' that can automatically read, understand, categorize, prioritize and respond to customer emails sent to the private insurer.
ii. 'SPOK', an insurance email bot, can read customer queries within milliseconds and respond to them.
iii. The deployment of SPOK will improve customer experience, while providing the support staff with the bandwidth to focus on customer satisfaction.




Static Takeaways-

• HDFC Bank MD is Aditya Puri
• Headquarter of HDFC Bank is Mumbai.

Federal Bank launches new trading platform

i. Federal Bank, in association with Geojit, has launched a new trading platform called “Selfie” for customers.
ii. Designed and managed by Geojit, the trading platform will give its users absolute control over their investments with timely research inputs to make sound investment decisions.

Static Takeaways-

• Federal Bank Headquarter is in Kochi, Kerala and its CEO is Shyam Srinivasan.

Israel aerospace industries signs $630 million deal with India

i. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has closed another major deal worth 630 million US dollar with India to supply advanced long-range air and missile defense systems for four ships of the Indian Navy. 

ii. According to State-owned IAI, the contract is for supplying Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LRSAM) systems.

iii. The LRSAM is a joint development by IAI and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The system provides the ultimate protection against a variety of aerial, naval and airborne threats. The deal, a major boost to the ‘Make in India’ campaign.

Static Takeaways-

• Mr. Joseph Weiss is the President & CEO of IAI
• Israel Aerospace Industries was established in 1953 as Bedek Aviation Company.
• Israel is the Country in the Middle East and its Capital is Jerusalem.

First draft of nuclear ban treaty released by UN

i. A United Nations-backed panel has publicly released a draft treaty banning the possession and use of all nuclear weapons.
ii. The draft treaty is the culmination of a sustained campaign, supported by more than 130 non-nuclear states, to prohibit nuclear weapons and persuade nuclear-armed states to disarm.
iii. Nine countries that are known to possess nuclear weapons are- the US, UK, Russia, China, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel has not supported the draft plan.

Static Takeaways-

• The United States dropped nuclear weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively.

 World Biodiversity Day.

i. Every year, May 22 is observed as International Day for Biodiversity or World Biodiversity Day. This date commemorates the date of Adoption of the Agreed Text of the Convention on Biological Diversity at UNEP Headquarters, Nairobi on 22 May 1992. 

ii. The theme for 2017 for World Biodiversity Day is “Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism”

Static Takeaways-

• UNEP full form is United Nations Environment Programm
• UNEP headquarter is in Nairobi, Kenya.

India's Rohan Chakravarty won WWF International President’s Award 2017

i. Rohan Chakravarty, a wildlife and environment cartoonist from India, has won WWF International President’s Award 2017 for his efforts to change attitudes towards nature.
ii.The award is the top accolade given by WWF (World Wildlife Fund) to recognize leadership in young conservationists who are under the age of 30 from around the world. The award ceremony was held recently in Manado, Indonesia.


Static Takeaways-

• Carter Roberts is the President & CEO of WWF (World Wildlife Fund)
• Green Humour is the first Indian comic strip to be distributed internationally

Indian-born woman elected to City of London Corporation

i. A 43-year-old UK entrepreneur has become the first India-born woman to be elected as a councillor to a ward in the UK. 

ii. Rehana Ameer, who was born and raised in Chennai, contested from Vintry ward in the City of London county as an independent candidate. 

Static Takeaways-

• UK capital is London and its currency is British Pound
• PM of UK is Theresa May.

Mathunny Mathews, the Real-life Hero of 'Airlift' passes away

i. Indian businessman Mathunny Mathews died aged 81 in Kuwait after being part of the tiny emirate's fortunes and trials for over six decades.
ii. He was known as one of the heroes who made possible the largest civilian evacuation in known history and the main inspiration behind the 2016 Bollywood historical drama Airlift.




Static Takeaways-

Airlift movie was directed by Raja Krishna Menon.

India's Vaishali wins gold in Asian Blitz Chess Championship

i. India's R Vaishali won the women's title with eight points from nine rounds in the Asian Continental Blitz Chess Championship in Chengdu, China.
ii. Vaishali drew her final round game against Uurtsaikh Uuriintuya of Mongolia to finish half-a-point ahead of Iran's Sarasdat Khademalsharieh and clinch the gold medal.
 iii. The Chennai player with an ELO rating of 2203 had finished third in the Asian Championship event.
Static Takeaways-

Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports is Vijay Goel.

ssc mts

NOTICE:

           The Staff Selection Commission has taken a decision to cancel the (Paper-I) (Afternoon Shift) of the MTS (Non-Technical) Examination 2016 held on 30th April 2017, because the said paper was found to be compromised. The re-examination for only those candidates who appeared in this shift will be held in due course and the candidates would be suitably informed accordingly. The inconvenience caused to the candidates is regretted.

ssc mts

NOTICE REGARDING MTS EXAMINATION, 2016

23rd May, 2017

       The Commission has taken a decision to cancel the Multi-Tasking Staff (Non-Technical) Examination, 2016 in the OMR based mode for all 5 days (viz. the examinations already conducted on 30.4.2017 and 14.5.2017, and to be conducted on 28.5.2017, 4.6.2017 and 11.6.2017). The said examination would now be conducted by the Commission afresh in the computer based mode, tentatively during the month of September-October, 2017. The details in this regard would be hosted on the website of the Commission in due course.

QUIZ-23

Q1. In 'Swachh Shakti Saptah' Gurugram, Haryana, held recently, approximately how many districts have been declared ODF (Open Defecation Free). 
Answer: 100

Q2. Which Regulatory body has proposed up to 50 per cent increase in insurance premium for cars, motor cycles as well as commercial vehicles from April 1.
Answer: IRDAI

Q3. The GST Council recently approved the draft CGST and IGST Bills. The letter ‘C’ in the term CGST stands for ‘Central’ while letter ‘I’ in the term ‘IGST’ stands for __________.
Answer: Integrated

Q4. The Union Finance Ministry has agreed in-principle to allow public sector banks to offer ESOPs to their employees from 2017-18. The term ESOPs stands for _____________.
Answer: Employee Stock Option Plans

Q5. Which country has won the Most Popular Tourism Destination Award, recently?
Answer: Sri Lanka

Q6. Name the City in which a two-day North-East Business Summit (NEBS) held, recently.
Answer: New Delhi

Q7. Which organisation has extended the last date of submission of digital life certificate through Jeevan Pramaan Patra by March 31st, 2017 under Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS).
Answer: EPFO

Q8. Which institutes has recently won the 2017 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Spectrum Technology in the Service of Society Award for its solar-direct current (DC) inverter system.
Answer: IIT- Madras

Q9. Name the first state to launch web-based portal to showcase the government’s performance and achievements to the citizens of the state.
Answer: Andhra Pradesh

Q10. Name the country that will host Mobile World Congress (for the first time) to be held in September 2017.
Answer: India

Q11. Which state has launched 24*7  helpline number 181 to assist women in distress on the occasion of International Women’s Day (8th March 2017).
Answer: Odisha

Q12. In 'BCCI Annual Awards for 2015-16' who won the Best Umpire in Domestic cricket award?
Answer: Nitin Menon

Q13. Name the state that has recently launched a housing scheme estimated at Rs 1,580 crore.
Answer: Tamil Nadu

Q14. Name the ballistic missile that was recently launched by Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
Answer: Hormuz 2

Q15. Parliament recently approved a bill granting women working in the organized sector paid maternity leave of ___________ weeks up from 12 weeks now.
Answer: 26