Champs Academy: 12/17/15

Thursday, 17 December 2015

Daily GK Updates - 16th December, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Vijay Divas observed across the country to commemorate India’s victory in 1971 war: On this occasion, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Army Chief D S Suhag, Navy chief R K Dhowan and Air Force Chief Arup Raha remembered martyrs and paid tributes at Amar Jawan Jyoti in New Delhi.

2. World Bank approved 1.5 billion USD loan to support Clean India Campaign (Swachh Bharat Mission) : The loan was granted to support the government in its efforts to ensure all citizens in rural areas have access to improved sanitation and end the practice of open defecation by 2019.

3. Combined Commanders Conference held on INS Vikramaditya off Kochi coast: It was attended by Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, all three services chiefs and other senior officers of three armed forces. The conference is also known as the Unified Commanders’ Conference (UCC).

4. Supreme Court appoints Virendra Singh as Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh.

5. Supreme Court bans registration of new diesel SUVs, luxury cars in Delhi: The ban will be valid to SUVs, luxury cars with engine capacity of 2000cc or more till March 31, 2016.

6. Arun Kumar Jain appointed as the Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).

7. NIIT Technologies appointed Amit Kumar Garg as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

8. Snapdeal launched mobile website in Hindi and Telugu.

9. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation approved Smart City Proposal for Maharashtra: It approved the smart city proposal for Maharashtra with worth of 32000 crore rupees.

10. Supreme Court asks Government to prepare draft memorandum of procedure on appointment of judges to higher judiciary.

11. UP Governor Ram Naik gave assent to state’s Revenue Code (Amendment) Ordinance 2015: The proposed ordinance will enable dalits of the state to sell their land to non-dalits without approval of the administration.

12. Union Ministry of Finance raised monetary limit for filing appeals to 10 lakh rupees in Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) and 20 lakh rupees in High Courts.

13. Green Peace India released report on National Air Quality Index of 17 cities: As per the report, Delhi was listed as the most polluted city in the World, while 13 Indian cities were figured in the list of 20 most polluted cities on the planet.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Pakistan successfully tests fires nuclear capable Shaheen-IA ballistic missile: Range of the missile is 900 kilometres.

2. IAEA ends 12 year Iran Nuclear Weapon probe: International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) has ended its 12-year investigation into concerns that Iran might be developing nuclear weapons. The move is seen as a key step towards lifting EU, UN and US sanctions and a symbolic victory for Iran.

3. Arctic Region hits record high temperature over land: NOAA: The average temperature over Arctic land for the year ending in September 2015 was the highest on record indicating that the Arctic is warming twice as fast as other parts of the earth. It was revealed by the annual Arctic Report Card of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a federal agency of US for monitoring condition of the oceans and the atmosphere.

4. Japan’s SoftBank wins its 1st solar project in India: Marking its debut in the Indian solar industry, post its investment announcement of 20 billion USD, Japan’s SoftBank won its 1st 350 Mw solar power project in Andhra Pradesh through its joint venture company SBG Cleantech.

5. Merriam-Webster declares ‘ism’ as word of the year for 2015.

6. 14th Meeting of the heads of governments of SCO member states concluded in Zhengzhou, China: India, which is a acceding state at present, was represented by Minister of State for External Affairs Gen V K Singh at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet.

7. European Commission adopted proposal for a European Border and Coast Guard force to protect Schengen area: The creation of new border force was part of proposals to manage migration more effectively, improve the internal security of the European Union and safeguard the principle of free movement of persons.

8. ISRO’s PSLV-C29 successfully launched 6 Singapore satellites into space.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. PAN mandatory for all transactions over Rs 2 lakh from New Year: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that to counter domestic black money, the centre will make it mandatory to furnish PAN for cash dealing above Rs 2 lakh. The Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia confirmed the same later on.

2. ICICI Prudential Life launches iProtect Smart: It offers cover against death, critical and terminal illness, accidental death and disability due to an accident.

SPORTS:

3. Apoorvi Chandela wins gold medal at 59th National Shooting Championships: She won the gold medal in 10 m air rifle event in the women’s category by shooting 207.8 score in the finals.

4. IPL 2016: Dhoni, Ashwin to play for Pune; Raina, Jadeja for Rajkot: India’s limited overs captain MS Dhoni emerged as the top draw in the IPL draft with the Sanjeev Goenka-owned new franchise Pune to pick him first for the stipulated price of Rs 12.5 crore. Suresh Raina also went for Rs 12.5 crore to Rajkot.

5. Chain Singh won gold at the 59thNational Shooting Championships: He won the Men’s 50m rifle 3 positions gold at the event held at Tughlakabad in New Delhi.

6. Serena Williams is SI’s Sportsperson of the year: Serena Williams was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year, the first female athlete honoured on her own by the magazine in more than 30 years.

7. Rory Mcllory wins European Tour Player of the Year Award 2015: He has won the award for the third time in the past four seasons.

8. Shiva, Mandeep among four boxers to receive IOC Olympic scholarships: Four Indian boxers namely Shiva Thapa, Mandeep Jangra, Gaurav Bidhuri and Sumit Sangwan were selected by the International Olympics Committee for a scholarship.

Daily GK Updates - 15th December, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Maharashtra Government constituted a task force for setting up an IFSC in Mumbai: The task force for setting up an International Financial Services Centre will be headed by Union Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha.

2. Mahindra Group acquired Italian Auto design firm Pininfarina: Tech Mahindra and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, part of the Mahindra Group acquired Italian car designer Pininfarina SpA for 165 million US Dollars in an all-cash deal. Pininfarina is well known designing cars for Ferrari, Maserati, Rolls-Royce and Cadillac.

3. Union Government appointed L Narasimha Reddy to head Judicial Committee on OROP: The committee has been given a six month deadline for submission of its recommendations. It may give interim reports to the government on any of the matters related to its terms of reference.

4. Operation Smile-II to start from January 1, 2016: Operation Smile-II is a campaign to rescue/rehabilitate the missing children. It is a follow up of the exercise Operation Smile that helped in rescuing and rehabilitating 9146 missing children.

5. Gift City Phase-2 work launched: Gujarat International Finance Tech-City announced the launch of phase 2 development, which will be focused on International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) to be set up in GIFT SEZ. GIFT IFSC has already made allotment to around 20 institutions including leading names such as YES Bank, SBI, IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

6. Infosys invests USD 3 million in sports startup WHOOP: WHOOP’s system includes a device worn by athletes on their wrist that continuously measures key strain and recovery variables and actionable analytics powered by proprietary algorithms that generate intensity and recovery scores.

7. Rajasthan first to submit smart city plan: Rajasthan has become the first state to submit smart city action plan to the Urban Development Ministry.

8. Lok Sabha passed Atomic Energy (Amendment) Bill 2015: The bill seeks to overcome difficulties encountered in the setting up of new nuclear projects and enhancement of nuclear power generation.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. United Nations Human Development Report 2015 released: The report was released with the title ‘Work for Human Development in Ethiopia’. As per the report, 2 billion people lifted out of low human development in the last 25 years. India has been ranked 130th out of 188 countries.

2. Indian-origin politician Pravin Gordhan becomes South Africa’s Finance Minister.

3. Saudi Arabia launched a 34-nation Islamic Military Coalition to counter terrorism: It was established in pursuance of the principles and objectives of the charter of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which calls for member states to cooperate to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt are also a part of the coalition.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. World Bank released Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty report: The report examines the two-way relation between climate change and poverty and concludes that climate change is one of the primary contributing factors for growing poverty scenario across the world.

2. World Bank Group, FIRST Initiative launched Principles for Public Credit Guarantee Schemes: The principles provide a generally accepted set of good practices that can serve as a global reference for the design, execution and evaluation of public CGSs that serve small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

SPORTS:

3. Anirban Lahiri wins Order of Merit crown of Asian Tour: India’s star Golfer Anirban Lahiri has won the coveted Order of Merit crown of Asian Tour for the year 2015.

AWARDS:

4. West Bengal Government honoured Bappi Lahiri and Kumar Sanu with Lifetime Achievement Awards: State CM Mamata Banerjee handed over the awards at the inauguration of the Annual Bangla Sangeet Mela. Besides, Bollywood musician Shantanu Moitra was awarded with the Sangeet Mahasamman Award.

5. Renowned Violinist Itzhak Perlman won 2016 Genesis Prize: Renowned Israeli-US violinist Itzhak Perlman was announced as the 2016 Genesis Prize laureate for his accomplishments as a musician, teacher and advocate for people with disabilities. He will receive the award from Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

Daily GK Updates - 14th December, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Mumbai Police Commissioner Ahmad Javed appointed as the Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

2. Security expo in Capital concludes: UBM India recently concluded its 9thInternational Fire and Security Exhibition and Conference (IFSEC) India Expo 2015 in the capital. It was inaugurated by Deputy CM Manish Sisodia.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. COP 21 under UNFCCC adopted Paris Agreement on Climate Change: Conference of the Parties 21 (COP 21) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted the Paris Agreement on Climate Change which was attended by 192 parties. India was represented by Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar. The agreement facilitates enforcement of global greenhouse emission reduction measures in the post 2020 (post Kyoto Protocol) scenario. The primary objective of the protocol is to limit the global average temperature to well below 2̊ C above pre-industrial level.

2. Losar, the biggest Tibetan Buddhist festival, began in Ladakh region: The festival marks the beginning of New Year of Buddhists. The annual festival is celebrated by people of the area with traditional and religion fervor.

3. Saudi voters elected women candidates for first time in Municipal council polls: Saudi Arabian voters voted to elect women in at least 18 municipal council seats. This was a historic local elections in Saudi Arabia in which women were allowed to vote and run for office for the first time in the history of the country.

4. Construction work of TAPI Gas Pipeline started: The construction work of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) started after the button to begin the welding process was pressed by Vice President Hamid Ansari along with PM of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif, President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani and President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimohamedov.

5. Typhoon Melor struck Philippines: The storm is expected to trigger flooding, landslides and 4 meter storm surges in the coastal region.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Mascot and Logo of 2016 South Asian Games unveiled: Organising Committee of 12th South Asian Games unveiled mascot of the games and logo at ITA Cultural Centre Machkhowa in Guwahati, Assam. The mascot Tikhor is a one horned Rhino. On the other hand, the logo has eight petals representing the countries participating in the mega event.

2. Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara, Kento Momota won singles titles at World Dubai Super-series Finals: The shuttlers won the Women’s singles and Men’s singles titles respectively.

3. Vijay Kumar won gold at the 59thNational Shooting Championships: He won the centre fire pistol gold at the event held at Tughlakabad in New Delhi.

AWARDS:

4. Indian-origin writer J M Sali won 2015 South East Asian Write Award for Singapore: The legendary actor was presented the award by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at the thespian’s residence in suburban Bandra.

Daily GK Updates - 13th December, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. NGT bans registration of new diesel-run vehicles in Delhi: National Green Tribunal has ordered ban on registration of new diesel-run vehicles in Delhi to curb the growing menace of air pollution in the capital city.

2. Union Government inks MoU for establishing IIITs at Ranchi, Nagpur and Pune: The agreement to this effect was signed between Department of Higher Education (DoHE) and private agencies including Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, ADCC Infocad and Hubtown.

3. 3-day international tourism expo from December 11 at Madurai: In a release there will be several stalls from Mauritius, Malaysia, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Goa and Karnataka.

4. Government to construct 7000 kms of new national highways under ‘Bharatmala Pariyojna’: The Ministry has taken up detailed review of national highways network with a view to improve connectivity in border areas, including coastal boundary and connectivity covering development of about 7000 kms of new national highways.

5. Lok Sabha passes bill to transfer control of potable alcohol to states: The bill proposes to amend the first schedule of the Act so that it would be in conformity with the judgement of the Supreme Court and also ensure that the industries engaged in the manufacture of alcohol meant for potable purposes shall be under the total and exclusive control of states in all aspects.

6. Chhattisgarh joins UDAY scheme for debt-laden discoms: Chhattisgarh has formally joined the ‘UDAY’ scheme of the central government which is meant for revival of debt-laden discoms. Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojna (UDAY) aims at reviving ailing state electricity boards and operational efficiencies of power distribution companies. It envisages on reducing interest burden, cost of power and AT&C losses.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Myanmar launched its first UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Inle Lake: The Inle Lake was designated as UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Paris in 2015. The Lake is situated in Taunggyi district in Myanmar’s eastern Shan State.

2. Alibaba agreed to buy 112-year old newspaper South China Morning Post of Hong Kong: The agreement includes acquisition of SCMP Group’s other media assets, such as licenses to the Hong Kong editions of Esquire, Elle, Cosmopolitan and Harper’s Bazaar.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. RBI lets IDFC Bank into Second Schedule list: Earlier, in October this year, IDFC Bank started its formal banking services with a total of 23 branches across the country. Of these, as many as 15 branches are in rural Madhya Pradesh.

AWARDS:

4. Dilip Kumar gets Padma Vibhushan award: The legendary actor was presented the award by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at the thespian’s residence in suburban Bandra.

OBITUARIES:

5. Renowned agro-economist and veteran leader Sharad Joshi passed away at the age of 81: He was the founder of Shetakari Sangathana (Farmers’ Organisation), an NGO dedicated to the cause of farmers in Maharashtra.

Daily GK Updates - 12th December, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. UNESCO designated Varanasi and Jaipur as members of Creative Cities Network: UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, announced the designation of 47 cities from 33 countries as new members of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. From India, Varanasi and Jaipur made it to the network in the categories, City of Music and City of Crafts and Folk Art respectively.

2. National Commission for Safai Karmacharis recommended making it a permanent and statutory body: National Commission for Safai Karmacharis presented its Annual Report 2014-15 to the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot. It recommended making the commission a permanent and statutory body with powers of civil court to lend it more credibility.

3. Prakash Kumar Singh appointed as the new chairman of Steel Authority of India Limited

4. India and Japan signed deals on bullet train, defence, civil nuclear energy: Taking their robust bilateral ties to a new level, both the countries inked a number of pacts in key areas of defence and nuclear energy as well as building of first bullet train network between Mumbai-Ahmedabad at a cost of about Rs 98000 crores.

5. India and Japan signed protocol to amend double taxation avoidance pact: Both the governments inked a protocol for amending the existing convention for the avoidance of double taxation and for the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.

6. Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma inaugurates India-Laos conference in Delhi.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

3. DuPont and Dow Chemical Company announced to merge to form DowDuPont: Both the companies are American chemical companies.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Elizabeth Susan Koshy clinched gold in 59th National Shooting Championships held in New Delhi: She won the Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Gold.

2. Indian Cyclist Deborah Herold became World No.4 cyclist: She became the 1st Indian female cyclist to be ranked 4th in the World Elite Women Ranking for the 500m time trial event.

AWARDS:

3. Wipro won 2015 Aegis Graham Bell Award for innovation in IoT: Global software giant Wipro won the 2015 Aegis Graham Bell Award for developing a solution for the Internet of Things (IoT). The solution is named as Universal Data Parser (UDP).

Daily GK Updates - 11th December, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. PM Modi and Shinzo Abe to visit Varanasi on Dec 12: Marking a new chapter in centuries-old ties between India and Japan, PM Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe will visit the ancient temple town tomorrow. The Japanese PM is on a three-day visit to India.

2. Kapil Chopra to head World Tourism Council: The President of Oberoi Group has been appointed as the Chairman of World Travel and Tourism Council, India Initiative (WTCII) for 2016.

3. India and South Korea ink MoU on taxation treaty: Both the countries have inked a new memorandum of understanding on suspension of collection of taxes during pendency of mutual agreement procedure.

4. Udai Kumar to take over as MD & CEO of Metropolitan Stock Exchange (formerly MCX Stock Exchange).

5. ABB India Ltd appoints Sanjeev Sharma as Managing Director.

6. Union Government slashed the Minimum Export Price of onions to 400 dollar per tonne: MEP is the rate below which no traders are allowed to export their goods. The rise in MEP restricts exports and improves domestic supplies.

7. Supreme Court upheld Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2015: The Act mandates educational qualifications and other eligibility criteria for candidates who aspire to contest the rural local body elections.

8. NGT gave directions to keep River Ganga pollution free: There will be a complete ban on use of plastic of any kind from Gomukh to Haridwar along Ganga with effect from 1 February 2016.

9. India Health Report: Nutrition 2015 released: Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda released the India Health Report: Nutrition 2015. The report by Transform Nutrition Consortium offers a critical analysis of the current situation with nutrition at the national and state levels in India.

10. TATA owned Jaguar Land Rover will set up a one-billion pound premium manufacturing plant in Slovakia to make all new aluminium vehicles as part of its commitment to deliver lightweight cars.

11. Shah Rukh Khan unseats Salman Khan as India’s top-earning celebrity.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World’s first dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, approved for use in Mexico: The Mexican authorities approved the use of the first-ever vaccine against dengue fever, which will be publicly available for the first time. The vaccine is manufactured by French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur.

2. Myanmar inaugurated Yangon Stock Exchange: The exchange was set up by local companies in a joint venture with Daiwa Institute of Research Japan and Japan Exchange Group, which operates the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

3. 5th Ministerial Conference on Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process concluded in Islamabad: The event was jointly inaugurated by Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif and President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani. The event was attended by high-ranking delegations from 14 participating states, 17 supporting countries and 12 international and regional organisations. The Indian delegation was headed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The objective and for the 5th Conference was ‘Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process: Enhanced cooperation for countering security threats and promoting in the Heart of Asia region’.

4. Mauricio Macri Blanco sworn in as the President of Argentina: It was the 10th summit since the inception of G20 in 1999. The focus of the summit was to evolve strategies to ensure inclusive and robust growth through collective action.

5. UN agencies launched $1.98 billion Sahel humanitarian appeal for 2016: The purpose of the initiative is to mobilise international support to tackle triple crisis of poverty, insecurity and climate change that plagues the Sahel region in Africa.

6. India ranks 135 on Women Empowerment Index of UN.

7. O P Jindal University signs MoU with Queen Mary London University: Both the universities signed a MoU to facilitate collaboration between emerging research universities in South Asia for teaching, academic and research activities.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. International Cricket Council (ICC) announced OPPO, one of the world’s leading mobile telephone device companies as global partner for a period of four year.

AWARDS:

2. Naseeruddin Shah receives lifetime achievement award at DIFF: Veteran Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah was honoured with the lifetime achievement award at the Dubai International Film Festival. French actor Catherine Deneuve also received the award.

3. Salman Rushdie receives Mailer Prize for lifetime achievement for 2015.

4. Jawaharlal Nehru University conferred Honorary Doctorate on Japanese PM Shinzo Abe.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

5. The book titled ‘On My terms: From the Grassroots to the Corridors Power’ an autobiography of Sharad Powar was released by PM Narendra Modi.

Daily GK Updates - 10th December, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. DECEMBER 10- HUMANS RIGHTS DAY:

Human Rights Day is observed on December 10 every year. It commemorates the day on which, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1950, the Assembly passed resolution 423 (V), inviting all States and interested organizations to observe 10 December of each year as Human Rights Day.

2. UNION CABINET APPROVED 4000 CRORE RUPEES PROPOSAL FOR SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY:

The proposal for introducing measures to encourage Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Industry in India. The proposal will give a big boost to the shipbuilding and ship repair industry and will facilitate the Make in India initiative of the Union Government.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. IISC BAGS SOLAR PANNEL R&D CONTRACT FROM US MILLITRAY:

The Indian Institute of Science has bagged a US military contract for research and development on solar powered micro-grid. The federal contract worth USD 52,900 has been awarded by the US Pacific Air Forces, Yokota Air Base in Japan to develop solar powered micro-grid with battery and super capacitor energy storage system. This is one of the rare instances that an Indian scientific institute known for its high-end cutting edge research has been awarded a federal contract by the US military.

2. “2016 UK- INDIA YEAR OF EDUCATION, RESEARCH AND INNOVATION” LAUNCHED:

India and United Kingdom launched a joint initiative “2016: UK-INDIA Year of Education and Research” in New Delhi. Minister of HRD Smriti Irani highlighted the importance of mobility of students and faculty and expressed hope that, under the GIAN Program, more UK academicians would be able to come to India in 2016. She expressed hope that areas of mutual interest in research could be picked up out of the ten research priority areas under IMPRINT (Impacting Research Innovation and Technology).

3. US JOIN “AMBITION COALITION AT UN CLIMATE TALKS:

The United States has announced that it had united with the European Union and 79 developing countries to jointly push for an ambitious accord in Paris to curb global warming. The decision, announced by US Secretary of State John Kerry, came a day after the European Union said it had joined the African, Caribbean and Pacific nations most vulnerable to climate disasters to lobby for a far-reaching deal.

4. MOSCOW ANNOUNCES TRILATERAL SYRIA TALKS IN GENEVA :

Russia said Moscow, Washington and the United Nations will hold Syria talks in Geneva as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict are ratcheted up. The announcement has been made by Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov. Representatives from Syria’s fragmented opposition began a two-day closed-door meeting in Saudi Arabia to seek a united front for potential talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

5. LUXEMBOURG BECAME THE 10TH COUNTRY TO RATIFY AOA OF INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT BANK:

Luxembourg on 8 December 2015 became the 10th country to ratify the Articles of Agreement (AoA) that will lay the legal framework for the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).Apart from Luxembourg, Australia, Austria, Brunei Darussalam, China, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Singapore and United Kingdom ratified the 60-article agreement so far. These 10 countries are among the 57 founder-member countries of the multilateral bank that has its headquarters in the Chinese capital Beijing.

0THER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. MAHELA JAYWARDENE AWARDED HONORARY LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP OF MCC:

Jayewardene became the 14th Sri Lankan to be awarded with MCC Honorary Life Membership. Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas were awarded with the same.

BANKING & ECONOMY:

2. MOU BETWEEN INDIA & INDONESIA IN THE FEILD NEW AN DRENEWABLE ENERGY COOPERATION:

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on cooperation in the energy sector.

3. GLOBAL FINANCIAL INTEGRITY RELEASED THE GLOBAL ILLICIT FINANCIAL FLOWS REPORT 2015:

This study is GFI’s 2015 annual global update on illicit financial flows from developing economies. It is the sixth annual update of GFI’s 2008 report-Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries 2002-2006. Among the 149 countries surveyed, India stood at the 4th position in terms of illicit financial flows between 2004 and 2013 with 51 billion US dollars.

AWARDS:

5. TWO INDIAN WINS QUEEN’S YOUNG LEADERS AWARDS IN UK:

Two Indians have won the Queen’s Young Leaders award in the UK for their exceptional work in transforming the lives of others and making a lasting difference in their communities. Kartik Sawhney, 21, and Neha Swain, 28 from India are among 60 others who won the Queen’s Young Leaders award 2016 which will be presented by the British monarch at a gala ceremony in Buckingham Palace in June 2016.

Daily GK Updates - 9th December, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

INDIA’S RANK 4TH IN BLACK MONEY OUTFLOW PER ANNUM:

India ranks fourth in the world in black money outflows with a whopping $51 billion siphoned out of the country per annum between 2004 and 2013. China topped the list with $ 139 billion average outflow of illicit finances per annum, followed by Russia ($ 104 billion per annum) and Mexico ($52.8 billion per annum), according to the annual report released by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington-based research and advisory organization.

HETERO DRUGS BECOMES INDIAN COMPANY TO RECEIVE DGCI’S APPROVAL FOR HEPATITIS C DRUG:

Hyderabad-based Hetero Drugs on 8 December 2015 announced that it received the approval of Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to launch fixed-dose combination therapy Ledipasvir-Sofosbuvir. The product will be available under the brand name Ledisof in India. With this approval, Hetero became the first company in the country to get approval from DGCI to launch hepatitis C medicines.

MANOHAR PARRIKAR BECOME 1ST INDIAN DEFENCE MINISTER TO VISIT PACOM:

Manohar Parrikar has visited the US Pacific Command headquarters in Hawaii, becoming the the first-ever Indian Defence Minister to visit the key facility in a sign of deepening of military ties between the two strategic partners. Parrikar held meetings with the PACOM Commander Admiral Harry B Harris and discussed the growth of the strategic partnership between the two nations. The two also emphasised the importance of expanded maritime security cooperation within the context of broader military-to-military ties, especially in the Indo-Asia- Pacific.

KARANATAKA GOVT. SIGNS EoI WITH REITZEL GROUP:

Karnataka delegation, which is touring France to promote ‘Invest Karnataka 2016’ (global investment meet), has signed an Expression of Interest (EoI) agreement with Reitzel Group.The agreement signed in the presence of R V Deshpande, Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium Industries and Tourism at Paris is for Reitzel’s expansion of its existing Gherkin production plant at Kunigal, Tumakuru district.

GOI PROPOSES JOINT VENTURE BETWEEN NPCIL AND NTPC,NALCO:

To boost to nuclear power generation in the country, the government has proposed joint ventures between Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and other Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) like the NTPC, Indian Oil and NALCO. However, this is subject to the passing of Atomic Energy Amendment Bill 2015 introduced in the Lok Sabha. The JVs proposed with other PSUs is to pool equity for expanding installed nuclear power capacity.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

DEC-09 INTERNATIONAL DAY OF COMMEMORATION AND DIGNITY OF THE VICTIMS OF THE CRIME OF GENOCIDES:

The United Nations General Assembly established 9 December as the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime. The purpose of the day is to raise awareness of the Genocide Convention and its role in combating and preventing the crime of genocide, as defined in the Convention, and to commemorate and honour its victims.

SINGAPORE’S CHANGI AIRPORT TO RUN JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD AIRPORT:

Passengers using Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports look forward to a retail and food and beverages experience that passengers going through Singapore’s Changi airport enjoy at present. This follows the Governments of India and Singapore signing an agreement for Singapore airport developer Changi being nominated for taking up the operations and management of the two Indian airports. The agreement was signed during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the island city state and will see. The operations of the airport will remain with AAI.

NEW ZEALAND FORMALLY BECOMES MEMBER OF AIIB:

New Zealand has formally become a member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Finance Minister Bill English said Tuesday. New Zealand's ratification would contribute to the AIIB reaching the 50-percent threshold of the needed for the AIIB to establish operations, English said in a statement. The move followed the passage of the International Financial Agreement Amendment Act in the New Zealand Parliament in November. New Zealand was the ninth country to formally become a founding member.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

CHEN LONG AND CAROLINA MARIN BAGGED 2015 BWF PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD:

China’s Chen Long and all England and World champion Carolina Marin on 7 December 2015 bagged the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Male and Female Player of the Year Awards respectively in Dubai. Marin held off competition from Zhao Yunlei, Saina Nehwal and Bao Yixin. On the other hand, long retained the Male Player of the Year award that he won last year. China’s rising star and World Junior Champion in Mixed Doubles and Men’s Doubles Zheng Si Wei grabbed the Eddy Choong Award for Most Promising Player of the Year.

BANKING & ECONOMY:

CENTRE SETS UP ‘SETU’TO SUPPORT START UP BUSINESSES:

A mechanism known as SETU to support all aspects of start-up businesses and other self- employment activities has been set up by the government, Lok Sabha was informed today. Union Minister for Skill Development Rajiv Pratap Rudy said the National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurs envisaged fostering entrepreneurship and grassroots innovation by providing support in terms of fiscal incentives, creation of grass root technology innovation hubs, legal support and market linkages.

YES BANK COMMITS 5 BILLION USD FOR CLIMATE CHANGE:

YES Bank, India’s fifth largest private bank, has announced it would mobilize $5 billion towards climate finance by 2020 to help India meet its target of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). The bank made the declaration on the sidelines of the Conference of Parties (COP) 21 climate summit underway in Paris.

AWARDS:

ANGELA MERKEL IS TIME ‘PERSON OF THE YEAR’:

Time Magazine has named German Chancellor Angela Merkel its “Person of the Year”. The magazine bestowed the title on the 61-year-old world leader for the way she managed the economic crisis over the summer, and the way she’s currently handling the refugee crisis and terrorism threat looming over Europe. Merkel is the first individual woman to receive the “Person of the Year” recognition since TIME changed its title from “Man of the Year” in 1999. Women, however, have been recognized as part of a group, such as last year’s winner, “Ebola Fighters.”

Daily GK Updates - 8th December, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

MAHARASTHRA BECOMES FIRST STATE TO ALLOW MLA’S ONLINE QUESTION:

The Maharashtra legislature has become the first in the country to launch an online mechanism for its members to send questions and move different motions in the House. In this regard state government has launched a website mls.org.in as part of Digital MLAs initiative in the winter session of state legislature in Nagpur.

CENTRAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE IN YOGA AND NATUROPATHY :

Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN), an autonomous organization under the Ministry of AYUSH has obtained 20 acres of land from Odisha Government in Binjhagiri Village in Khordha District to establish a Central Research Institute in Yoga and Naturopathy.

MoU SIGNED FOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT IN MANUFACTURING SECTOR:

A MoU for skill development in the manufacturing sector has been signed between Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the Department of Heavy Industry (DHI). The purpose of the MoU is to create centre of excellence for different manufacturing skills and a multi-location national institute of manufacturing technologies for training education and research by utilizing/upgrading the existing training facilities of Central PSUs such as HMT, BHEL and Instrumentation Ltd. under the DHI.

GENETICALLY MODIFIED MOSQUITO TO HELP FIGHT MALARIA:

Scientists have genetically modified malaria-causing mosquitoes to become infertile and pass on the trait rapidly, an advance that may substantially reduce the transmission of the deadly disease. The mosquito species Anopheles Gambia is a major carrier of dangerous malaria parasites in sub-Saharan Africa, where 90 per cent of annual malaria deaths occur.

ATOMIC ENERGY (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2015 INTRODUCED IN LS:

To fast-track nuclear power projects in the country, a Bill to amend the Atomic Energy Act to enable Nuclear Power Corporation of India to enter into joint ventures with other public sector undertakings was introduced in the Lok Sabha. The amendment has been brought to facilitate the fastexpansion of nuclear power, utility and establishment, living up to India’s commitment of using nuclear energy for peaceful purpose.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

FIRST RED ALERT ON POLLUTION DECLARED IN BEIJING:

The Chinese capital’s first ever pollution “red alert” came into effect. The alert, the highest possible warning level, was issued on December 7 and will last until midday on December 10. It comes as China, the world’s worst polluter, takes part in talks on carbon emissions in Paris. It is the first time China has declared a red alert under the four-tier alert system, which was adopted a little over two years ago, although pollution levels were far from the city’s worst

US HOUSE PASSED VISA WAIVER PROGRAMME IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2015:

US House of Representatives on 8 December 2015 passed the Visa Waiver Program Improvement Act of 2015. It amends the United States' visa travel practices. The lawmakers voted 407 to 19 in support of the Bill that seeks to impose restrictions on people who have visited Iraq, Syria and countries listed as supporting terrorism to travel visa-free to the United States.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

INDIA PICKS UP HISTORIC WIN OVER SOUTH AFRICA:

India wins Kotla Test against South Africa to seal series 3-0.This was also India’s highest victory margin in terms of runs, beating their 320-run defeat of Australia in Mohali in 2008.

2. PUNE , RAJKOT BECOME INTERIM IPL FRANCHISEES TO REPLACES CSK, RR:

Pune and Rajkot have become the new interim franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) through the reverse bidding process. They will replace the suspended teams of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) for a period of two years. The Pune franchise was bought by Kolkata-based company New Rising owned by business tycoon Sanjiv Goenka, while Intex Mobiles won the bid for the Rajkot franchise.

BANKING & ECONOMY:

3. VODAFONE ANNOUNCES 4G SERVICES ROLL-OUT: Vodafone India Ltd, the country’s second largest communications services provider announced the launch of its 4G telecom services in Kochi, becoming India’s second Telco to roll out the high-speed telecom service in India, after Bharti Airtel, the country’s largest Telco.

AWARDS:

4. INS SINDHUDHWAJ BAGS AWARDS FOR INNOVATION FROM MODI:

INS Sindhudhwaj, a submarine of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC), has been awarded ‘The Best Innovation Trophy’ by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The award was given as part of the Navy Day celebrations that concluded recently. The innovation undertaken by the submarine to repair their ventilation system under challenging circumstances at sea during a search and rescue (SAR) operation was adjudged the first among the 137 entries of Navy.

5. INDIAN- AMERICAN ENTREPRENEUR TO GET UTTAR PRADESH RATNA AWARD:

An Indian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist will be conferred with Uttar Pradesh Ratna Award to recognise his achievements and outstanding contributions in a foreign country. Frank Islam studied at Aligarh Muslim University will be honoured by UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav at the inaugural UP Pravasi Diwas in Agra on January 4. The UP Ratna award has been instituted to recognise achievements and outstanding contributions of NRIs who hail from the state.

OBITUARIES:

6. FORMER FIFA REFEREE SK BHATTACHARYA PASSES AWAY:

Former FIFA referee SK Bhattacharya has passed away in Chandanpur, West Bengal following a brief illness. One of India’s most reputed referee in the 1960’s and 1970’s, Bhattacharya held the distinction of supervising the Asia Cup finals in the 1972 in Tehran. He also supervised the finals of all top tournaments in the country, including Durand Cup, DCM trophy and IAF Shield.