Daily GK Update 18th March, 2017

RBI to print Rs 10 plastic notes

i. RBI has been authorized by Government of India (GOI) to conduct field trials of plastic notes of Rs 10 in five cities across the country viz Kochi, Mysore, Jaipur, Shimla and Bhubaneswar.

ii. The main purpose of introducing plastic note is to extend the life cycle of banknotes. Moreover, Plastic notes are cleaner, lasts longer and are difficult to counterfeit.

Trivendra Rawat elected as Uttarakhand CM

i. Trivendra Singh Rawat, a former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Pracharak elected as Uttarakhand's 9th Chief Minister after replacing of Harish Rawat.

ii. He is currently the convener of the Modi government’s flagship program for Ganga cleanup, the ‘Namami Gange’ program and also the party in charge in Jharkhand. 

India, Russia sign long-term support pact on Sukhoi Su-30MKI

i. India and Russia have signed two long-term support agreements for the Sukhoi Su-30MKI combat aircraft fleet, of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

ii. Bangalore-headquartered Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) with United Aircraft Corporation and United Engine Corporation also signed an agreement for maintenance of other Russian-origin platforms.

Essar group: India’s first private sector township to go cashless

i. The Essar group’s township at Hazira in Surat district of Gujarat has become India’s first private sector township to go cashless.

ii. This will prove to be an important step towards making India a cashless economy.

iii. TMW is a Mumbai-based financial technology company whose wallet is powered by Mumbai-headquartered RBL Bank Ltd.

GST Council Approves SGST & UTGST Draft Bills

i. The Goods and Service Tax (GST) council headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley cleared the remaining State GST (SGST) and Union Territory GST (UTGST) draft bills during its 12 Council meeting.

ii. Now with this Council has approved all five draft bills for GST which is likely to be rollout by July 1, 2017.

iii. The UTGST draft law is for the Union Territories like Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, which do not have legislative assemblies.

Indian railways signs agreement with Australian research center

i. To support future research and technology development, related to critical infrastructure in India, a railway research center in Australia has entered into an agreement with the Indian Railways.

ii. Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL), a Special Purpose Vehicle set up under the administrative control of Ministry of Railways, has signed an agreement with representatives from Monash University's Institute of Railway Technology (IRT), Australia in New Delhi.

iii. Establishment of a new applied research and development institute in India, SRESTHA (Special Railway Establishment for Strategic Technology & Holistic Advancement) will be guided by them.

Sanjauli police post becomes first in India to be linked with CCTNS

i. Sanjauli police station of Sanjauli the main suburb of the city of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh has become the first police post in the country to be linked with Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), a nationwide online tracking system. Chief minister Virbhadra Singh inaugurated the system.

ii. The system will facilitate people in lodging online/offline complaints, police verification of job applicants, tenants, character verification and migrant labourer registration. 

Kerala gets first private bank: ESAF Small Finance Bank

i. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched ESAF (Evangelical Social Action Forum) Small Finance Bank, Kerala’s first private sector bank since the country’s Independence, in Thrissur, Kerala.

ii. R Prabha, former Chairman, Kerala Grameen Bank, is the Chairman of ESAF Small Finance Bank. The Bank will launch a new social deposit scheme ‘Hridaya Deposits’ for HNI and NRI customers.

World Bank approves funding for India's ambitious National Hydrology Project

i. The World Bank has approved a $175 million loan to India for the National Hydrology Project to improve India’s ability to forecast floods and reduce the recurring chances of floods and droughts.

ii. The loan would be disbursed by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). The loan has a six-year grace period in which no interest payments will be due and will mature in 23 years.

Social Security Agreement between India and Brazil

i. India and Brazil initialed the text of the Social Security Agreement (SSA) in Brazil.

ii. The SSA between India and Brazil once in force by early 2018 will be the first such agreement between the BRICS countries.

Mallikarjun Kharge becomes next PAC Chairman

i. Former Minister of Inidan Railways Mallikarjun Kharge has been nominated for the post of chairman of the Public’s Account Committee (PAC) of Parliament.

ii. Kharge will take charge from K.V. Thomas on May 1, 2017.

India ranks 148 in 2017 UN Women in Politics Map

i. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women launched the ‘Women in Politics 2017 Map’ in New York.

ii. The Women in Politics 2017 Map is the visual representation of women’s political empowerment in executive government and parliament as on January 1, 2017. 

iii. As per the Map, India ranked 148 out of 193 UN member nations in representing women in the executive government. The theme for 2017 is 'Women’s Economic Empowerment In The Changing World Of Work'.

iv. Top 5 countries with highest women in parliament: Rwanda, Bolivia, Cuba, Iceland and Nicaragua.

Michael Clarke’s launches his autobiography ‘My Story’

i. Former Australia captain Michael Clarke has launched his autobiography named ‘My Story’ in Kolkata.

ii. This book was triggered by how he was affected by Phil Hughes’ death when India was touring Australia in 2014-15.

QUIZ-18

QUIZ-18

Q1. Which banks has tied up with IFFCO, a cooperative, to provide co-branded debit cards with inbuilt overdraft facilities to the farmers?
Answer: Bank of Baroda

Q2. Which Bank has partnered with leading online data and information portal Commodity Online for the distribution of loans against warehouse receipts and collateral management services across the country.
Answer: Federal Bank

Q3. RBI governor Urjit Patel led Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has kept the key repo rate unchanged at _____________ in the first monetary policy review of 2017 and after Budget 2017. 
Answer: 6.25 percent

Q4. ICICI Securities, a subsidiary of ICICI Bank, has entered into a strategic partnership with Saxo Bank, an online multi-asset trading and investment specialist. Saxo Bank based in-
Answer: Denmark

Q5. The Supreme Court has approved the government‘s plan to record the identification details of mobile subscribers through an e-KYC mechanism linked to Aadhaar in a bid to enhance national security and prevent fake users. What is meaning of "C" in KYC-?
Answer: Customer

Q6. Which country has surpassed Germany to become the world’s largest producer of solar energy after nearly doubling its installed photovoltaic capacity in 2016?
Answer: China

Q7. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch Chandrayaan-2, a totally indigenous initiative consisting of an orbiter, lander and rover, during the first quarter of-
Answer: 2018

Q8. Which bank has collaborated with fintech startup IndiaLends to enable first-time borrowers who do not have a credit history to take loans?
Answer: IDFC Bank

Q9. CBDT, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance has entered into four more unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs). What is meaning of "B" in CBDT? 
Answer: Board

Q10. Name the veteran freedom fighter, who was passed away recently?
Answer: Racharla Samrajyam

Q11. Name the Indian cricket team captain, who has recorded his sixth Test 150, against Bangladesh at Hyderabad to set the record for most 150-plus scores by an Indian captain in Tests?
Answer: Virat Kohli

Q12. Enthused by the success of two pilot projects on utilising the head post offices as Passport Seva Kendra, the government has now decided to scale up this programme by opening ____________ such facilities across the country.
Answer: 56

Q13. Who has appointed as Managing Director of state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India recently?
Answer: Hemant Bhargava

Q14. To give a leg up to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in the diamond industry _______________ is planning to launch a supply chain financing product for the industry on a pilot basis in Surat.
Answer: Bank of Baroda

Q15. How much amount has been decided in Union Budget to allocate towards recapitalisation of public sector banks in FY2017-18?
Answer: Rs. 10,000 crore

Daily GK Update 17th March, 2017

Cabinet Approvals

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in its meeting has approved several MoUs.

Some important cabinet approvals are as follows:

1. National Health Policy, 2017 approved by Cabinet Focus on Preventive and Promotive Health Care and Universal access to good quality health care services.

2.  MoUs for cooperation in Youth and Sports Matters with Indonesia and the Kyrgyz Republic.

3.  MoU between India and Bangladesh on Aids to Navigation (AtoNs). 

Click here to read more

India joins WHO call to end TB by 2030 in South East Asian

i. India with World Health Organization (WHO) signed a 'call for action' and pledged to scale up measures to end the Tuberculosis by 2030.

ii. India among other countries in the South East Asian Region, which bear half of the global tuberculosis burden. India reports 2.8 million new TB cases annually and nearly half a million deaths due to the disease.

iii. Six of the region's countries Bangladesh, Democratic People's Republic (DPR) Korea, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand are among the 30 high TB burden nations globally.

IISc, Bengaluru Placed Among Top 50 in THE’s Asia Universities Ranking

i. The Times Higher Education (THE) released its Asia University Rankings 2017. The top rank in the Asia University Rankings was attained by the National University of Singapore (NUS) for the second consecutive year. 

ii. According to the 2017 ranking, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru has been ranked best Indian University and has been placed at 27th position among the universities in Asia.  

iii. Besides, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay was another Indian university among top 50 placed at 42 position.

Bandhan Bank, Avenues India tie up

i. Bandhan Bank, has signed an agreement with Avenues India Pvt Ltd, a payment solution provider to provide merchants with seamless access to point-of-sales (POS) and payment gateway products.

ii.  Merchants are expected to have a faster and more direct access to POS machines, payment gateways, and competitive financing options.

BSE ties up with Sentifi for algo analysis, updates

i. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has tied up with Sentifi, a Swiss company and leader in algorithmic-based analysis, for social media updates of 40,000 globally listed stocks.

ii. Sentifi analyses in real time the public online communication of more than 60 lakh persons and organizations relevant to the financial markets. Under the partnership, Sentifi would track, analyze and report social media messages on various stocks which would be provided on the BSE website. 

SEBI allows celebrity endorsements in MFs

i. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) allowed celebrities to endorse Mutual Fund products at the industry level and issued new advertising code that will require fund houses to communicate in a simple manner with the public.

ii. SEBI stated that it has permitted celebrity endorsements at the industry level for the purpose of increasing awareness of mutual funds as a financial product category. 

Dilip Shanghvi appointed as member of RBI's western board 

i. Sun Pharmaceuticals Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi has been appointed by the central government as a member of the western area local board of Reserve Bank of India.

ii. The appointment is for four years with effect from March 11, 2017, as per the central bank.

Jwala Gutta appointed SAI governing body member

i. India's most successful Badminton Doubles specialist Jwala Gutta has been appointed a member of the governing body of Sports Authority of India (SAI).
ii. The 14-time national champion and two-time Olympian Jwala won the bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships. She is also a 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games champion and a silver medallist at the 2014 Glasgow Games in women's doubles.

Indian-American Teen Indrani Das Wins 2017 Regeneron Science Talent Search

i. An Indian-American high school student, Indrani Das, 17, of New Jersey, has won the 2017 Regeneron Science Talent Search bagging the top award of 250,000 dollars.

ii. Indrani, a student at the Academy for Medical Science Technology in Hackensack, won the prestigious high school science and mathematics competition for her new approach to neurological damage.

ONGC to invest Rs 21,500-crore in India's deepest gas find

i. State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will invest over Rs 21,500 crore to develop India's deepest gas discovery by 2022-23, helping it more than double output from its prime KG basin block.

ii. ONGC, which had last year firmed up an investment of Rs 34,012 crore in bringing to production 10 oil and gas discoveries in its Bay of Bengal block KG-DWN-98/2 (KG-D5), plans to invest another Rs 21,528 crore in developing the ultra-deepsea UD-1 find.

Aeries Financial Tech, Rubique form tie-up

i. CASHe, a fin-tech product promoted by Aeries Financial Technologies, has entered into a strategic partnership with online marketplace for financial products Rubique.

ii. Under the partnership, Rubique will enlist CASHe on its online platform for borrowers to avail viable short-term loan products from CASHe. 

iii.CASHe disburses multiple loan products ranging from Rs. 5,000-1 lakh payable over 15, 30 and 90 days.

Changi voted World's Best Airport for 5th consecutive year

i. Singapore's Changi Airport has been voted the World's Best Airport by air travellers at the 2017 World Airport Awards for the fifth consecutive year. 

ii. The 2017 World Airport Awards are based on 13.82 million customer nominations across 105 nationalities of air travellers, with 550 airports worldwide taking part.

Click here to read more

China, Saudi Arabia ink deals worth about $65 billion  

i. China and Saudi Arabia have signed preliminary deals that is about $65 billion while four-day visit by Saudi King Salman to China. 

ii. China’s Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Ming stated that President Xi Jinping and King Salman inked a total 14 cooperation agreements, including a memorandum of understanding on 35 projects for production capacity and investment cooperation.

NEXTracker partners with to APL Apollo Tubes to expand domestic manufacturing

i. Global solar tracker manufacturer, NEXTracker has partnered with APL Apollo Tubes for manufacturing a bulk of its products in India. 

ii. NEXTracker will be increasing its local steel content percentage to over 80% by volume and weight of its final product. NEXTracker also assess that the association with new Indian steel manufacturer reduces shipment time by up to 50%.

 SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launches EchoStar 23 Satellite 

i. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket conducted its third flight of the year to launch a commercial communications satellite in the geosynchronous transfer orbit. 

ii. The launch took off from NASA’s Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and carried the EchoStar 23 communications satellite into orbit. 

iii. Having a mass of around 5,500 kilograms (12,000 lb), EchoStar XXIII was the heaviest geosynchronous payload yet launched by the Falcon 9 and will operate at 45 degrees west in geostationary orbit.

Pakistan successfully test-fires surface-to-sea missile

i. Pakistan Navy conducted a successful test of a land-based anti-ship missile, bolstering the operational reach of the country’s navy to launch long-range, anti-ship missiles from land. 

ii. The trial of the missile was conducted from the coastal region and the missile secured a hit on a target placed at sea. The missile is equipped with advanced technology and avionics, which enable engagement of targets at sea with a high degree of accuracy.

QUIZ-17

QUIZ-17

Q1. Which one of the following companies has agreed to buy Opel brand from General Motors in a deal valuing the business at $2.3 billion, recently?

(a) Volkswagen

(b) PSA Group

(c) BMW

(d) TATA Motors

(e) Maruti Suzuki

 Q2. Name the bank that has recently launched three technology services named FASTag, UPI and BBPS.

(a) SBI

(b) Kotak Mahindra

(c) Karur Vysya Bank

(d) City Bank

(e) IDBI Bank

Q3. 'BCCI Annual Awards for 2015-16' was held recently in ___________.

(a) Bengaluru

(b) New Delhi

(c) Ahmedabad

(d) Mumbai

(e) Chandigarh

Q4. Name the country that has recently signed an agreement with India to amend the existing Agreement and Protocol for an avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion in New Delhi.

(a) Indonesia

(b) Belgium

(c) Oman

(d) Uganda

(e) Austria

Q5. The International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV 2017) was held in New Delhi, recently (March 2017). It was ___________ edition of ICEGOV.

(a) 16th

(b) 8th

(c) 6th

(d) 10th

(e) 12th

Q6. Which of the following state has launched 24*7 helpline number 181 to assist women in distress on the occasion of International Women’s Day (8th March 2017)?

(a) Assam

(b) Odisha

(c) Manipur

(d) Uttarakhand

(e) Jharkhand

Q7. In 'BCCI Annual Awards for 2015-16', who won the Best Umpire in Domestic cricket award?

(a) Vipul Sharma

(b) Nadeem Ghauri

(c) Amiesh Saheba

(d) Sunil Banerjee

(e) Nitin Menon

Q8. Name the state that has recently launched a housing scheme estimated at Rs 1,580 crore.

(a) Kerala

(b) Assam

(c) Tamil Nadu

(d) Maharashtra

(e) Gujarat

Q9. Name the ballistic missile that was recently launched by Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

(a) Hormuz 2

(b) Nagah 3

(c) Bomani 3

(d) Narou 4

(e) Wahadu 1

Q10. Parliament recently approved a bill granting women working in the organized sector paid maternity leave of ___________ weeks up from 12 weeks now.

(a) 23

(b) 26

(c) 24

(d) 18

(e) 22

Q11. Name the Eminent writer, who has been honored with the Saraswati Samman 2016 for his novel ‘Hawthan’, recently.

(a) Milind Bhattacharya

(b) Swaroop Vishkarma

(c) Roop Nath Joshi

(d) Mahabaleshwar Sail

(e) T Padmanabhan

Q12. Indian Public Sector Undertaking Company National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) has commissioned 45 MW solar capacity at Bhadla, recently. Bhadla solar Plant is located in __________.

(a) Punjab

(b) Gujarat

(c) Haryana

(d) Madhya Pradesh

(e) Rajasthan

Q13.  Name the Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC) that was commissioned recently in Indian Navy at Karwar, Karnataka.

(a) INS Viraat

(b) INS Arihant

(c) INS Tillanchang

(d) INS Vishal

(e) INS Vikramaditya

Q14. The banking system of which one of the following countries is now the biggest in the world, according to the Financial Times?

(a) China

(b) Japan

(c) Australia

(d) France

(e) USA

Q15. Kalika Prasad Bhattacharya, who passed away recently, was a popular ________ folk singer.

(a) Gujarati

(b) Bengali

(c) Asami

(d) Punjabi

(e) None of the given options are true

                                                            ANSWERS

S1. Ans.(b)

Sol. PSA Group has agreed to buy Opel from General Motors in a deal valuing the business at 2.2 billion euros ($2.3 billion), creating a new regional car giant to challenge market leader Volkswagen.

S2. Ans.(c)

Sol. Karur-based Karur Vysya Bank’ s Chief Executive K. Venkataraman has rolled-out of three technology services FASTag, UPI and BBPS.

S3. Ans.(a)

Sol. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the 'BCCI Annual Awards for 2015-16'. The awards were given away at a ceremony held in Bengaluru March 8, 2017 which also marks the International Women’s Day. 

S4. Ans.(b)

Sol. India and Belgium have signed an agreement to amending the existing Agreement and Protocol between the two countries for avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income in New Delhi.

S5. Ans.(d)

Sol. The 10th edition of the International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV 2017) was held in New Delhi from March 7-9, 2017.

S6. Ans.(b)

Sol. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has launched 24*7 helpline number 181 in Odisha to assist women in distress on the occasion of International Women’s Day (8th March 2017).

S7. Ans.(e)

Sol. In 'BCCI Annual Awards for 2015-16' Nitin Menon won the Best Umpire in Domestic cricket award.

S8. Ans.(c)

Sol. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami launched a housing scheme estimated at Rs 1,580 crore. The scheme was being implemented by the state government with Central assistance for the economically poor

S9. Ans.(a)

Sol. Iran's Revolutionary Guard has successfully tested a ballistic missile named Hormuz 2. Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh, chief of the Guard's aerospace division said the missile destroyed a target from a distance of 250 kilometers (155 miles).

S10. Ans.(b)

Sol. Parliament approved a bill granting women working in the organized sector paid maternity leave of 26 weeks, up from 12 weeks now, a decision which will benefit around 1.8 million women.

S11. Ans.(d)

Sol. Eminent Konkani writer Mahabaleshwar Sail has been honored with the Saraswati Samman 2016 for his novel Hawthan.

S12. Ans.(e)

Sol. Indian Public Sector Undertaking company National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) has commissioned 45 MW solar capacity at Bhadla in Rajasthan.

S13. Ans.(c)

Sol. The Vice Admiral Girish Luthra has commissioned INS Tillanchang to the Indian Navy in Karwar, Karnataka. INS Tillanchang is a Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC) and will add to the firepower of the Indian Navy.

S14. Ans.(a)

Sol. China’s banking system has surpassed that of the eurozone to become the world’s largest by assets, a sign both of the country’s increased influence in world finance and its reliance on debt to drive growth since the global financial crisis.

S15. Ans.(b)

Sol. Popular Bengali folk singer Kalika Prasad Bhattacharya passed away in a road accident at Palsit in West Bengal’s Burdwan district. Born in Silchar in Assam, Bhattacharya made a name for himself in the Bengali music industry by popularizing rural folk traditions.