Daily GK Update 23rd March, 2017

Nation paying tribute on 86th martyrdom day: 23 March

i. Nation is paying tributes to freedom fighters -Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev on their 86th martyrdom day (23 March).

ii. On this day in 1931, British rulers had executed them in Lahore for their revolutionary activities against the British rule.

World Meteorological Day 2017 observed globally

i. The World Meteorological Day was observed globally on 23rd March 2017.

ii. The theme of WMD 2017 is 'Understanding Cloud' to highlight the enormous importance of clouds for weather climate and water.

iii. The day is organized every year by World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Govt approves 1.17 lakh more affordable houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

i. The government approved construction of 117,814 more affordable houses for urban poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in six states (Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha) with a total investment of Rs 5,773 crore and with central assistance of Rs 1,816 crore.  

ii. With this, the total number of affordable homes sanctioned under PMAY so far has gone up to 1,760,507, with a total investment of Rs 96,018 crore and a central assistance of Rs 27,714 crore. 

Cabinet approves proposal for Amendments to the NABARD Act, 1981

i. Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the following proposals:

(a) Amendments to National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Act, 1981, include provisions that enable Central Government to increase the authorized capital of NABARD from Rs. 5,000 crore to   Rs. 30,000 crore and to increase it beyond Rs. 30,000 crore in consultation with RBI.

(b) Transfer of 0.4 percent equity of RBI in NABARD amounting to Rs. 20 crores to the Government of India.

India ranks 131 on Human Development Index, Norway No.1

i. In the recently released Human Development Index by United Nations, India is ranked 131 out of 188 countries in the list.

ii. The list is topped by Norway followed by Australia and Switzerland on 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.

iii. India’s HDI value for 2015 is 0.624, which puts the country in the medium human development category but behind fellow South Asian countries like Sri Lanka (73rd)and the Maldives(105th).

PM to inaugurate India’s longest road tunnel in J&K on April 2

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation, the country’s longest road tunnel named Chenani-Nashri tunnel, built on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, which will cut short the distance between Jammu and Srinagar by nearly 30 km.

ii. The Prime Minister will inaugurate the 9.2 km long twin-tube tunnel on JK highway on April 2, 2017.

NABARD launches water conservation campaign in Karnataka

i. NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) will help Karnataka with low-cost technologies for water conservation and efficient use of water in the drought-affected districts.

ii. The main focus of the save water programme would be to create awareness and to cover maximum number of villages in the districts.

India and ADB Signed $350 Million Loan for Roads in Madhya Pradesh

i. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $350 million loan for improving about 1,500 kilometers of major district roads in Madhya Pradesh in line with the State’s Road Development Plan.

ii. The Project will involve upgrading roads with concrete pavements, strengthening culverts and bridges, and maintaining the improved road assets for a period of five years.

iii. Along with ADB’s loan, the Government of Madhya Pradesh will provide counterpart support of $150 million.

High level committee to examine working of CCIM, CCH and their governing legislation

i. The high-level Committee has been formed to examine the working of the regulatory bodies Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) and Central Council of Homoeopathy (CCH) and their governing legislations namely, Indian Medicine Central Council Act 1970 and Homoeopathy Central Council Act 1973 respectively, for suggesting suitable reforms for AYUSH.

ii. The committee will be headed by Arvind Panagariya, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog. Other members of the committee are Chief Executive Officer (CEO), NITI Aayog and Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH. 

IIT-Kharagpur to get supercomputing facility

i. The Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, is the first academic institution to get a supercomputing facility under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).

ii. This will provide large computational support to users to carry out both research and teaching activities that involve modern High Performance Computing (HPC) and usher in a new age in research and innovation in the country.

Samsung Pay launched in India 

i. Android phone maker Samsung launched its digital payment application, called 'Samsung Pay', in the country as Indians look to shift to newer payment methods after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation exercise.

ii. The early access service is available only with a few banks - Axis, HDFC, ICICI, SBI, and Standard Chartered.'Samsung Pay' works with both NFC (near field communication) and MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission).

HUDCO gets SEBI approval to float IPO

i. State-run Housing and Urban Development Corp. Ltd (HUDCO) has received capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) approval to raise funds through an initial share sale as part of the government’s disinvestment drive.

ii. The government holds 100 per cent stake in the company.IDBI Capital, Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities, SBI Capital Markets and ICICI Securities will manage the company’s public issue.

World Sparrow Day: 20 March

i. The World Sparrow Day was observed across the World on 20 March 2017. The day was created with an aim to raise awareness about the house sparrow and then other common birds to urban environments.

ii. The first World Sparrow Day was celebrated in 2010 across the World.

PepsiCo ropes in PV Sindhu as brand ambassador

i. PepsiCo’s sports drink brand Gatorade has roped in Indian shuttler PV Sindhu as its brand ambassador.

ii. Sindhu is the first Indian brand ambassador of the PepsiCo brand.

ICC appoints Ankur Khanna as new CFO 

i. The International Cricket Council (ICC) on announced the appointment of Ankur Khanna as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

ii. Khanna will join the ICC at the end of March leaving Air Asia India where he has held the post of CFO for the last one year.

Ravindra Jadeja replaces Ravichandran Ashwin to rank top test bowler in ICC rankings

i. Ravindra Jadeja replaces R Ashwin to become number 1 Test bowler.

ii. Ravindra Jadeja tops the ICC Test bowlers ranking. He is at number one position with 899 points.

QUIZ-23

Q1. Name the singer, who has been selected for the awareness project against human trafficking 'Blue Heart Campaign' by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Answer: Satinder Sartaaj

Q2. Multinational communications and information technology company Nokia has announced to buy telecoms software firm Comptel for 347 million euros ($371 million). Nokia is based in-
Answer: Finland

Q3. Which county will host the BRICS summit 2017?
Answer: China

Q4. The Union Minister of State for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Piyush Goyal has launched the TAMRA  portal and Mobile Application in New Delhi. What is the meaning of "T" in TAMRA?
Answer: Transparency

Q5. The Union Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Harsh Vardhan has released the world’s first comprehensive Braille atlas for nearly 50 lakh visually challenged people in-
Answer: New Delhi

Q6. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) launched a skill development centre (Kaushal Vikas Kendra) in Mangaluru, recently. Who is the working Managing Director (MD) of MRPL?
Answer: Mr. H. Kumar

Q7. Recently, people in northern California have been told to evacuate their homes after an overflow channel at the tallest dam in the US was weakened by heavy rainfall. What is the name of this dam?
Answer: Oroville Dam

Q8. Q8. The FIFA governing body has named former soccer player Diego Maradona as its new Ambassador. He is from ____________.
Answer: Argentina

Q9. The 11th International Aerospace and Defence Exhibition - Aero India 2017 begins on 14 February 2017 at the Air Force Station ____________ in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Answer: Yelahanka

Q10.  ___________ bags The Guinness world record for making the tallest sand castle on the beach of eastern Puri, recently.
Answer: Sudarshan Pattnaik

Q11. India’s first floating elementary school particularly for drop outs has been inaugurated on the Loktaklakeat LangolsabiLeikai of ChampuKhangpok floating village on the occasion of World Wetlands Day, recently. 'World Wetlands Day' is observed on___________.
Answer: 2nd February

Q12. India's leading agriculture and FMCG company ____________ has signed an agreement with Baba Ramdev-promoted PatanjaliAyurved Ltd for physical refining and packaging of edible oils.
Answer: Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd

Q13. Housing finance firm __________ said its promoterCanara Bank will divest up to 13.45 per cent stake in the company by the end of March 2017. What is the name of this firm?
Answer: CanFin Homes

Q14. The First ever National Entrepreneurship Awards 2016 was presented by the Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh in-
Answer: IIT-Delhi

Q15. National Career Services (NCS) and JeevanPraman Facility for EPFO Pensioners has been Launched in Hyderabad Post Office, recently. It was launched by ___________.
Answer: BandaruDattatreya

Daily GK Update 22nd March, 2017

World water day observed globally

i. World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

ii. In 2017, the theme for World Water Day is 'Wastewater'.

Rs 2 lakh is the cash transaction limit, Aadhaar mandatory for I-T returns

i. The Rs 3-lakh limit proposed for cash payments in the Budget for 2017-18 will be brought down to Rs 2 lakh as part of an unprecedented 40 amendments to the Finance Bill. 

ii. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced the amendments in the lower House. This is aimed at tightening the noose on those dealing in cash. 

iii. Most other amendments are making Aadhaar mandatory for filing tax returns, applying for permanent account numbers (PAN) and allowing payments by only non-cash modes such as cheques, bank drafts or electronic transfers for electoral trusts are also aimed at curbing black money.

                                                       

RBI proposes to fix upper limit in PPIs at Rs 1 Lakh

i. The RBI proposed to fix the upper limit for Pre-paid Payment Instruments (PPIs) at Rs 1 lakh in view of growing usage of PPIs for a purchase of goods and services.

ii. The central bank has sought comments on draft circular on Master Directions on Issuance and Operation of Pre-paid Payment Instruments (PPIs) in India till March 31, 2017.

iii. As per the draft, the amount in a PPI should not exceed Rs 1 lakh at any point of time if the customer provides full KYC and Rs 20,000 if the customer provides minimum KYC details to the PPI issuing entity.

Assam Government approves recommendation of 7th Pay Commission

i. The Assam state cabinet has decided to implement the recommendation of the Seventh Pay Commission.

ii. The implementation will make state exchequer bear an additional burden of over Rs. 3000 Crore in the next financial year and the proposed pay structure would come into effect from 1 April 2016.

Second India-UAE conference on globalization to be held in Dubai

i. The second India-UAE conference on globalization held at Dubai with an aim to promote cooperation between the two countries, organized by All India Management Association (AIMA).

ii. Health care innovation will be among the subjects discussed during the conference themed as ‘Resetting Globalisation: Collaborating in a Fast Changing World'.

Russia’s VTB bank to shut India office

i. Russian bank VTB has decided to close its only office in New Delhi, India to cut costs but will continue to work in India.

ii. The decision to shut the branch in India was taken as part of a strategy of VTB Group aimed at optimizing costs and will continue to work on the Indian market expanding its cooperation with local partners. 

 Madhabi Puri Buch appointed as SEBI whole time member

i. The government has announced Madhabi Puri Buch as new whole time member of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for the period of three years.

ii. She is currently serving in the New Development Bank, Shanghai.

ABB India bags award for restoring 1,035 MW Sharavathi plant in Karnataka

i. ABB India has restored and modernized the critical 1,035 MW Sharavathi hydropower plant in Karnataka that accounts for 25% of Karnataka Power Corporation’s generation.

ii. For restoring the crucial power infrastructure, the ABB has bagged 'the India Smart Grid Foundation (ISGF) innovation award'.

ISRO commissions two major facilities at VSSC 

i. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) commissioned two major facilities a Hypersonic Wind Tunnel and Shock Tunnel at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at Thiruvananthapuram. 

ii. Commissioning of such facilities would provide adequate data for design and development of current and future space transportation systems in the country.

Majuli all set to become India’s 1st carbon neutral district

i. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched initiatives to develop Majuli, world biggest river island, as India’s first carbon neutral district and as a biodiversity heritage- yet not officially released.

ii. He launched “Forests are Lives” campaign to celebrate the importance of Assam’s rich forest and biodiversity.

Shri Upendra Tripathy Appointed as Full Time Interim Director General of ISA

i. Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines and Ms. Ségolène Royal, Minister for Environment, Energy and Marine Affairs Government of France jointly decided to appoint Mr. Upendra Tripathy, as the Interim Director General (IDG) of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) on a full time basis.

ii. Mr. Upendra Tripathy was the Former Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

ICMR head named to UN group on antimicrobial resistance

i. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director Soumya Swaminathan has been named to a high-level group set up by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to provide expertise on and coordinate the global fight against antimicrobial resistance.

4 Indian cities among cheapest globally: EIU

i. Four Indian cities are among the cheapest to live in globally, while Singapore (last in the list) has been ranked as the most expensive for the fourth consecutive year, according to a 'Worldwide Cost of Living 2017' report by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

ii. Bengaluru (3rd place), Chennai (6th), Mumbai (7th) and New Delhi (10th) have been ranked by EIU among the 10 cheapest cities in the world.

iii. Almaty has been ranked as the cheapest city in the world. 

 Major Rohit Suri awarded Kirti Chakra

i. Major Rohit Suri, from the Parachute Regiment who led the army team that carried out a surgical strike in PoK last year, was presented the second highest peacetime gallantry award Kirti Chakra by President Pranab Mukherjee.

ii. Corporal Gursevak Singh of Indian Air Force was posthumously conferred the Shaurya Chakra for putting up a valiant fight against terrorists who had attacked the frontline Pathankot air base.

K T Irfan Wins Bronze in Asian Racewalking Championships

i. India’s national record holder in men’s 20km race walk, K T Irfan has won bronze at the Asian Race Walking Championships in Nomi, Japan. 

QUIZ-22

Q1. Who has won the men’s singles title of the 2017 Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament in Lucknow recently?
Answer: Sameer Verma

Q2. In which Indian cities, Cab-hailing firm Uber has launched two-wheeler aggregation service UberMOTO recently?
Answer: Hyderabad

Q3. The Supreme Court has appointed a four-member committee to run the affairs of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) which will be led by-
Answer: Vinod Rai

Q4. Name the person, who has been appointed as the president of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) recently?
Answer: Dushyant Chautala

Q5. Union Health Secretary C.K. Mishra has recently launched a kit that will provide information on adolescent related issues such as puberty and mental health, among others. What is the name of that kit?
Answer: Saathiya Resource Kits

Q6. Which countries has become the first country in the world to divest coal, oil and gas investments from Ireland Strategic Investment Fund?
Answer: Ireland

Q7. Start-up firm E-paathsala has launched an integrated accreditation and ERP technology solution for the colleges and universities to enable them better manage their multiple accreditation standards in an easy, efficient and fast manner and bridge the gap identified for specific accreditations. E-paathsala is based in-
Answer: Bengaluru

Q8. Which countries has introduced a legislation by making it mandatory to raise the minimum salary of the H-1B visa holders to more than double at USD 1,30,000 from the previous USD 60,000? 
Answer: USA

Q9. NABARD has hailed the increased focus on irrigation and dairy sectors in the Budget which has hiked the corpus of long-term irrigation fund by another Rs 20,000 crore, taking the total fund size to how much amount?
Answer: Rs 40,000 crore

Q10. Name the Operation, which has been launched by Income Tax Department to verify the cash deposited in the banks during November 09th to December 30th 2016?
Answer: Operation Clean Money

Q11. Which Bank has tied up with Earthport Plc, a cross-border payment network, to enable faster outbound cross-border payments for its customers through Earthport’s state-of-the-art global payments network?
Answer: Axis Bank

Q12. According to a new study conducted by scientists in collaboration with the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), two new groups of wheat rust have been identified that posed threat to wheat produced in Africa, Asia and Europe in 2016. Where is the headquartered of FAO?
Answer: Rome, Italy

Q13. In an effort to strengthen the bilateral relations between India and UAE, the Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Samudra Pavak made a goodwill visit at the Mina Al Rashid Port from February 04th to 07th, 2017. Mina Al Rashid Port is located at-
Answer: Dubai

Q14. Which banks has partnered with insurance company Cigna TTK Health to market the insurer’s products in the bank’s branches across the entire country?
Answer: Bank of Maharashtra

Q15. Name the Island, in which the Railway Ministry has decided to develop the first ever railway line?
Answer: Andaman and Nicobar

Daily GK Update 21st March, 2017

Daily GK Update 21st March, 2017

International Day of Forests: 21 March

i. March 21 is the United Nations’ (UN) International Day of Forests, which promotes the importance of forests and trees in our lives. 

ii. The 2017 theme is 'Forests and energy'.

Click here to Read more

Bharatiya Mahila Bank to be merged with SBI

i. New-Delhi headquartered The Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) will be merged with the country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI).

ii. The move will ensure that banking services are provided to more women at a faster pace, given the advantage of the large network of SBI.

Branches of SBBJ, SBH, SBM, SBP and SBT to operate as branches of SBI from April 1, 2017

i. All branches of State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT) will function as branches of State Bank of India from April 1, 2017.

ii. The Customers, including depositors of all the five Banks will be treated as customers of State Bank of India with effect from April 1, 2017.

Click here to read

India home to 101 billionaires, Mukesh Ambani tops the list: Forbes

i. India is home to world’s fourth highest number of billionaires with Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani (33rd position globally) leading the club of more than 100 super rich Indians.

ii. The list has been topped by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates for the fourth year in a row. 

Uttarakhand HC accords human status to Ganga, Yamuna

i. The Uttarakhand High Court has given the status of "living human entities" to the Ganga and Yamuna. 

ii. The Director of Namami Gange project for cleaning and rejuvenating the river, the Chief Secretary and the Advocate General of Uttarakhand will act as the "legal parents" of the holy rivers and work as the human face to protect, conserve and preserve them and their tributaries.

India's first sign language dictionary to come up soon

i. The government is all set to come up with the country's first-of-its-kind dictionary which aims to bring uniformity in sign languages used by hearing and speech impaired people across the nation.

ii. The Indian Sign Language (ISL) dictionary is being developed by the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC). The dictionary is being developed in both print and video format.

Solar Energy Scheme for Small Powerloom Units

i. The Government has approved a new scheme to provide financial assistance or capital subsidy to small powerloom units, for installation of Solar Photo Voltaic (SPV) plant, in order to alleviate the problem of power cut and shortages faced by decentralized powerloom units in India.

ii. Under the Solar Energy Scheme, the plants have two options:

On-Grid Solar Power Plant where power cut/shortage is negligible and power tariff is high.

Off-Grid Solar Power Plant in areas where there is power shortage & on-grid power is not continuously available.

ICICI Bank launches new app for rural customers 

i. ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank by consolidated assets has announced the launch of a mobile banking app 'Mera iMobile' for rural customers.

ii. This app will allow them to access banking services as well as information on agri-services.

India ranks 122nd in World Happiness Report

i. India ranked 122nd out of 155 countries in the recently released World Happiness Report, 2017.

ii. India is behind Pakistan (80th) and Nepal (99th) in the global list of the happiest countries. The top three happiest countries in the list are- Norway, Denmark and Iceland.

ICRISAT, ICAR join hands for crop improvement

i. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) would work together on crop improvement and agronomy programmes for grain legumes and dryland cereals.

ii. ICAR and ICRISAT, recently signed an agreement in New Delhi, in which climate-smart crops, smart food and digitalisation of breeding database were identified as some of the core areas of research.

IIT-Madras inks pact with Tanstia-FNF Service

i. IIT-Madras and small scale industry body Tanstia-FNF Service Centre have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for technology transfer of water treatment analysis kits designed to treat drinking water mainly in rural areas.

ii. The research at IIT-Madras for developing the filter and the kit was funded by International Development Research Centre, Canada.

NBCC to execute social housing project in Mauritius

i. National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC), a Navratna construction major under the Ministry of Urban Development will execute a US $ 20 million (Rs.130 crore) social housing project in Mauritius.

ii. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard was signed between NBCC and Mauritius.

Canadian wins $1m Global Teacher Prize

i. A Canadian school teacher Maggie MacDonnell was awarded the annual Global Teacher Prize and won a $1-million prize during a ceremony in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Five Indians in WEF’s 100 Young Global Leaders list

i. Five Indians have made it to the World Economic Forum's list of 100 Young Global Leaders under 40 years of age.

ii. These include Paytm Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Blippar app's Founder Ambarish Mitra, journalist in Fortune India Hindol Sengupta, Swaniti Initiative's Rwitwika Bhattacharya and The Tamara Coorg hospitality's Shruti Shibulal. All the people in the list are entitled to a five-year leadership journey.

2017 healthiest country index

i. Bloomberg released it's 2017 World Health Index. Italy has been named the healthiest country by the index followed by Iceland and Switzerland at the top second and third position respectively.

ii. The list graded 163 countries based on variables such as life expectancy, causes of death and health risks such as high blood pressure, malnutrition, the availability of clean water and tobacco use.

Tamil Nadu wins Vijay Hazare Trophy

i. In Cricket, Tamil Nadu has won the domestic 50-over competition, the Vijay Hazare Trophy, for the fifth time.

ii. In the Final played at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi, Tamil Nadu defeated Bengal. Dinesh Karthik was named man of the match.

Cheteshwar Pujara becomes first Indian to face 500 balls in Test innings

i. Cheteshwar Pujara has become the first Indian to face 500-plus balls in an innings, going past the mark against Australia.

ii. He broke past Rahul Dravid's record of 495 balls, which were the most faced by an Indian in one Test innings.

BCCI’s new constitution ousts Mumbai Cricket Association as full member

i. Mumbai, 41-time Ranji Trophy champions, will no longer be considered a Full Member association in accordance with the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) new constitution. 

ii. The new constitution stipulates that only 30 associations will function as controlling bodies for domestic cricket in their respective states by the Justice Lodha Committee.  

iii. Maharashtra and Gujarat cricket associations were included in the list of Full Members which means that the cricket associations of Mumbai, Vidarbha, Saurashtra and Baroda previously functioning as Full Members will now be considered Associate Members henceforth.