Monday, 16 November 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 15TH NOVEMBER 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 15TH NOVEMBER 2015

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Smriti Irani inaugurates National Children Assembly: Union Human Resources Development (HRD) Minister Smriti Irani inaugurated the National Children Assembly at Bal Bhawan.

 

2. Naval ship Vishwakarma commissionedINS Vishwakarma, the erstwhile Shipwright School (SWS) and a premier training establishment. It was commissioned by Admiral R K Dhowan, Chief of the Naval Staff at a formal ceremony held at Vishakhapatnam.

 

3. 21st Kolkata International Film Festival began in Kolkata on 14th November 2015.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. PM Modi inaugurates Ambedkar memorial in London: He inaugurated the recently acquired Ambedkar memorial by Maharashtra Government at King Henry’s Road in London, UK.

 

2. 2017 announced as the UK-India Year of Culture: Britain announced 2017 as the UK-India Year of Culture to mark the 70th Anniversary of Indian Independence. To mark the occasion, UK Institute will partner with Indian Institutes for the program and the British Library will digitize 2,00,000 pages from its South Asian Archives. 

 

3. World Pneumonia Day observed with the theme ‘Every breath counts; stop pneumonia now’: It was observed across the world on 12th November 2015.

OTHER UPDATES:

 

AWARDS:

1. Abraham M Keita from Liberia won the 2015 International Children’s Peace Prize: Liberian teenager Abraham M Keita was awarded with the prestigious International Children’s Peace Prize 2015. He was awarded for his extraordinary and peaceful fight for justice for child victims of physical and sexual violence, and for successfully campaigning for the Liberian parliament to adopt the Children’s Law.

 

 

 

DAILY GK UPDATES - 14TH NOVEMBER 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 14TH NOVEMBER 2015

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Children’s Day observed across India on 14thNovember 2015.

 

2. 35th IITF begins at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi: The 35th India International Trade Fair, IITF has begun on 14th November 2015 in New Delhi. The theme of the fair this year is Make in India.

 

3. 21st Kolkata International Film Festival began in Kolkata on 14th November 2015.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India, UK announced commercial deals worth 9 billion pounds: The deals took place between the companies operating from both the countries and were agreed upon during PM Modi’s visit to the UK. The deals were done in the fields of education, healthcare, IT and cyber, energy and finance and professional services.

 

2. Terrorist attack in Paris; hundreds killed: Terrorists attacked six locations around Paris around 160 civilians and injuring another 200 people and security personnel. France President Francois Hollandeannounced a state of emergency.

 

3. 2015 Valletta Summit on Migration concluded: It was held for two days at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valleta, Malta. It was attended by around 65 heads of governments/high level policy makers from Europe and Africa, besides official from the UN and various organisations of the European Union. It committed to solve the on-going Mediterranean Migration Crisis.

 

4. World Pneumonia Day observed with the theme ‘Every breath counts; stop pneumonia now’: It was observed across the world on 14th November 2015.

 

5. Pakistan and China kick off ambitious economic corridor project: Both the countries kicked their ambitious 46 billion USD economic corridor project with Beijing acquiring over 2000 acres of land in restive Balochistan to develop the strategic Gwadarport.

 

6. UK signs a deal with Ghana: The UK has signed a deal with the West African nation of Ghana for the transfer of prisoner between the two countries.

 

7. Japan and Turkey agree to cooperate on climate change and refugees: The leaders of Japan and Turkey have agreed that their countries will cooperate in dealing with global issues such as climate change and refugees.

 

 

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

2. Naresh Kumar becomes first para athlete from India for 2016 Rio Paralympics: Veteran shooter Naresh Kumar Sharma became the first para athlete from India to grab a quota for 2016 Rio Paralympics.

 

 

 

DAILY GK UPDATES - 13TH NOVEMBER 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 13TH NOVEMBER 2015

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. President approved Haryana GauvanshSanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Bill: The bill was passed by the Haryana Legislative Assembly on 16 March 2015. Cow slaughter in Haryana will invite rigorous imprisonment ranging from 3 to 10 years and a fine of up to 1 lakh rupees.

 

2. India inked MoUs with six countries in the International Civil Aviation Negotiations: The Government of India announced that it signed MoUs with six countries namely Finland, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, and Oman and Ethiopia. The MoUs were signed during International Civil Aviation Negotiations (ICAN) 2015, which was held in Antalya, Turkey.

 

3. India’s GSAT-15 communication satellite launched successfully: Indigenously made communications satellite GSAT-15 was successfully launched by the European Ariane 5 VA-227 launch vehicle. The launch took place from Kourou in French Guyana in South America.

 

4. Defence Minister commissioned India’s Coast Guard offshore patrol vessel ‘Samarth’ at Vasco in Goa.

 

5. Annual Hundred Drums Wangala Festival begins in Meghalaya.

 

6. World famous wax museum Madame Tussauds’ to open in Delhi.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Russian President Putin ordered inquiry into allegations of major drug abuse in athletics: He ordered an inquiry into allegations of major drug abuse in athletics that have left the country facing a possible Olympic ban.

 

2. Opposition Croatian Democratic Union led by HDZ Party won Parliamentary Elections of Croatia: On the basis of 99.5 percent of votes counted, the opposition conservatives HDZ party headed by former intelligence chief Tomislav Karamarko won 59 seats in the 151-seat parliament.

 

3. Indian origin barrister Kalyani Kaul sworn-in as Circuit Judge in the UK.

 

4. 12th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ meet held in Luxemburg: 12th Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers’ meeting took place in Luxemburg. The meeting was held under the theme ‘Working together for a Sustainable and Secure Future’.

 

5. Ukrainian Parliament approved amendment to Labour Code prohibiting discrimination at workplace: The Sexual Minorities Anti-Discrimination Bill that bans any discrimination at the workplace on the basis of age, health condition, race, political inclination, religion, family and property status, social and foreign origin, gender identity and sexual orientation, was passed by 234 votes.

 

6. IEA released World Energy Outlook 2015: International Energy Agency released the report which in light of low energy prices, calls for no complacency on energy security front and sees clear signs that the energy transition is underway, that is, from fossils to renewable.

 

7. Sameer Panda-led Indian team won NASA award for Burst Prevention and Puncture Curative technology: A team of Indian scientists led by Sameer Panda won the NASA award for an innovative technology named Burst Prevention and Puncture Curative (BPPC) technology.

 

8. PM Modi launches Neev Fund in UK: India’s 1stLow Income State Infrastructure Equity Partnership (the Neev Fund) was launched by PM Modi in the UK. The fund has co-investment from the UK Department of International Development and the State Bank of India.

 

9. India and UK strike 3.2 billion pound deal on energy, climate change during PM Modi’s visit in UK.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

AWARDS:

1Abraham M Keita from Liberia won the 2015 International Children’s Peace Prize: Liberian teenager Abraham M Keita was awarded with the prestigious International Children’s Peace Prize 2015.He was awarded for his extraordinary and peaceful fight for justice for child victims of physical and sexual violence, and for successfully campaigning for the Liberian parliament to adopt the Children’s Law.

 

OBITUARIES:

2Former Israeli President Yitzhak Navon died at the age of 94: He was the 5th President of Israel.

 

 

DAILY GK UPDATES - 12TH NOVEMBER 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 12TH NOVEMBER 2015

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Jayant Sinha is planning to meet Chief Executives of state-run banks every 45 days: Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Finance, is planning to meet CEOs of state run banks every 45 days to take stock of various performance parameters and discuss evolving issues.

 

2. Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd (IHFL) has acquired a 40% stake in OakNorth Bank of the United Kingdom.

 

3. Easier FDI norms: advantage realty companies, private banks: The changes in the Foreign Direct Investment policy will help listed companies in the real estate and construction sector. Removing the caps on project size, giving greater flexibility in transfer of investments to other overseas investors and allowing investments in completed projects will attract more investments into this sector.

 

4. Subir Gokarn, former RBI Deputy Governorappointed as the Executive Director on the board of International Monetary Fund (IMF).

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Budweiser maker Anheuser-Busch InBevfinalised takeover of SABMiller: As part of the deal, SABMiller will sell its stake in a venture with Molson Coors. AB InBev is seeking to bolster growth by acquiring SABMiller’s brands in Africa and Asia as changing tastes and craft beers cut sales in developed markets.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. State Bank of India announced partnership deal with Emirates NBD: A leading UAE based bank has announced its partnership deal with SBI to help NRI customers in the gulf to carry out their remittances instantly and more conveniently.

 

SPORTS:

2. Pakistan Cricketer Younis Khan retired from ODI Cricket.

 

AWARDS:

3. Indian-origin community campaigner awarded by British PM for charity work: Muna Chauhan, an Indian-origin community campaigner has been named a ‘Point of light’ by the British PM David Cameron for her fantastic charity work and empowering young people, including women.

 

OBITUARIES:

4. Rhythm and Blues legend Allen Toussaint died at the age of 77.

 

DAILY GK UPDATES - 11TH NOVEMBER 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 11TH NOVEMBER 2015

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Tension prevails in Kodagu (Karnataka): In Karnataka, tension prevails at Madikeri town in Kodagu district, when two groups clashed on 10thNovember 2015 over the birthday celebrations of TipuSultan, erstwhile ruler of Mysore Kingdom. Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister inaugurated the Tipu Sultan Jayanti celebrations in Bengaluru on 10thNovember 2015.

 

2. NHRC issues notice to Gujarat Government: National Human Rights Commission, NHRC has issued notice to Gujarat Government over the issue of a separate Anganwadi for the Dalit children in Hajipurvillage of Patan district.

 

3. Amazon goes brick and mortar with UdaanAmazon, which is on its way to become India’s top online marketplace, has launched a project code-named Udaan to go offline across the country.

 

4. India’s first foreign exchange mobile app launched: Thomas Cook (India) on 10th November, 2015 launched ‘foreign exchange app’, a consumer-empowering one stop shop for foreign exchange transactions. The Android mobile app features live rates across major global currencies, including USD, Euro, Swiss and Franc, to cover both buying and selling foreign exchange.

 

5. Tata Mutual Fund launches ‘Own a Piece of India Theme’: Tata Mutual Fund has announced five new fund offerings (NFOs) and one current scheme under what it termed ‘Own a piece of India’ theme.

 

6. First Rashtriya Sanskriti Mohotsav organised by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India held at New Delhi.

 

7. CISF launched ‘m-Power’ mobile app for its troops which will enable them to check their pay-related queries and register grievances while being on the move.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. UNESCO rejects Kosovo membership: UNESCO rejects Kosovo’s bid for membership yesterday afterKosovo failed to receive the support of two-thirds of the body’s member nations.

 

2. Indian Economy to grow at 7.2%: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has said that the Indian economy is expected to grow by 7.2% this fiscal (2015-2016). It will be followed by 7.3% in 2016-17 and 7.4% in 2017-18 periods.