DAILY GK UPDATES 9TH JANUARY 2016

DAILY GK UPDATES 9TH JANUARY 2016

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited (BAPL) signed two pacts for air services and bus manufacturing on the last day of Bengal Global Business Summit: The first MoU was signed with Bhutan’s Drunk Air for operating flights from Andal to Durgapur, Bagdogra, Bhutan and onwards to Singapore. The 2nd MoU is for bus manufacturing at Andal in Burdwan district with China’s Zhongtong Bus Holding Company.

 

2. French Soldiers to march down Rajpath on Republic Day 2016 along with Indian troops: French President Francois Hollande is to be the chief guest.

 

3. Thermal power companies to transport fly ash free of cost to road construction site in Odisha: The decision in this regard was taken at the joint meeting between NTPC and State Pollution Control Board at Bhubaneswar.

 

4. Smriti Irani inaugurates 43rd New Delhi World Book Fair: HRD Minister Smriti Irani inaugurated the 43rd edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair which commenced here with China as the guest of honour country and a theme presentation of the cultural heritage of India.

 

5. President promulgated Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance, 2016: These amendments will help in dealing with the loopholes of the Enemy Property Act, 1968 and ensure that the enemy properties that have been vested in the custodian remain so and they do not revert back to the enemy subject or enemy firm.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. South Korea’s Parliament adopted a resolution denouncing DPRK’s (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) fourth nuclear test: In the resolution, the South Korean lawmakers urged Pyongyang to scrap all plans relevant to nuclear development, saying that its reckless acts would further isolate itself from the international society and increase pressures and ostracism.

 

2. US introduced measures to combat recruitment of Americans to extremist groups.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. Urjit Patel to be RBI Deputy Governor for three more years.

 

SPORTS:

2. Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won 2016 with WTA Brisbane title.

 

3. Australia wins Hopman Cup for 1st time in 17 years: Nick Kyrgios and Daria Gavrilova had singles wins over Ukraine to lead Australia Green to the Hopman Cup, the country’s first title in the mixed team’s event in 17 years.

 

 

 

DAILY GK UPDATES 8TH JANUARY 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES 8TH JANUARY 2015

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Rajan is The Banker’s central banker of the year: RBI Governor Raghuram G Rajan was named The Banker magazine’s Global and Asia-Pacific Central Bank Governor of the Year 2015, for stabilising the Indian rupee, initiating key reforms to attract much needed foreign capital in the country and reigning in a runaway price appreciation. The Banker is a prestigious monthly magazine of the Financial Times Group.

 

2. Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry and MEA merged: In order to avoid duplication of work and to improve efficiency, the Government merged the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs with the Ministry of External Affairs.

 

3. Indo-French military exercise Shakti-2016 started: India and France started their eight-day counter terrorism and counter-insurgency joint exercise Shakti-2016 in Rajasthan. This is the third edition in the series of bilateral exercises under this banner and is being held in Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Rajasthan’s Bikaner.

 

4. First Company of Ganga Task Force deployed: As a major initiative towards fast track implementation of Namami Gange Programme, the first company of Ganga Task force Battalion was deployed at Grahmukteshwar yesterday.

 

5. Sailesh appointed new Registrar General and Census Commissioner.

 

6. Tata Steel bags PM’s trophy: Tata Steel has been declared as the winner of Prime Minister’s Trophy for being the ‘Best Performing Integrated Steel Plant’ in the country for the performance year 2013-14 for the 8th time.

 

7. Amitabh Kant appointed as the new CEO of NITI Aayog.

 

8. Devendra Kumar Sikri appointed as Chairman of Competition Commission of India.

 

9. Indigenously built ASW Corvette INS Kadmattcommissioned in Vishakhapatnam: Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvette INS Kadmatt was commissioned in the Indian Navy at naval dockyard in Vishakhapatnam by Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral R K Dhowan.

 

10. Operation Green Hunt to hunt Maoists: Operation Green Hunt, an all-out offensive by India’s paramilitary forces and the state’s forces against the Naxalites came in news recently. The operation which is believed to start in November along five states in the ‘Red Corridor’ came in news after Maoists called a two-day bandh opposing it in Nuapada, Malkangiri and Kalanidhi districts of Odisha.

 

11. Union Government allowed traditional bull-taming sports Jallikatu in Tamil Nadu.

 

12. Quikr acquired online real estate portal Commonfloor.com: After the deal, Quikr will be valued at about 1.5 billion USD based on the share-swap ratio.

 

13. Azim Premji, who donated Rs 27, 514 crore for education is the ‘Most Generous Indian’ for the third year running followed by Nandan Nilekaniand Narayana Murthy in the second and third place, respectively as per the Hurun India Philanthropy List.

 

14. Union Ministry of Urban Development approved the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) for Punjab and Uttarakhand for the year 2015-16.

 

15. Rajasthan inked deal with Cairn India to provide clean drinking water in Barmer.

 

16. Kerala Government decided to implement health care project Sampoorna Arogya Keralam.

 

17. Airtel appoints Rakesh Bharti Mittal as Non-Executive Director.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. California declared state of emergency in Los Angeles after methane gas leak: The leak happened at the Southern California Gas Company’s Aliso Canyon storage field in Porter Ranch of Los Angeles.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Miguel Tabuena won Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the month.

 

AWARDS:

2. GMR Group Chairman G.M Rao was honoured with ‘Bulandh Bharath Award’ for his exemplary contributions towards nation building. 

 

OBITUARIES:

3. Indian-origin South African freedom fighter Indrasena E Naidoo dies at the age of 79.

DAILY GK UPDATES 7TH JANUARY 2016

DAILY GK UPDATES 7TH JANUARY 2016

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Mufti Sayeed passes away, Mehbooba likely to succeed as CM: Jammu and Kashmir CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, a crafty politician who took on the powerful Abdullah family and rose to become the country’s first Muslim Home Minister, died at AIIMS.Her daughter Mehbooba is likely to succeed as CM.

 

2. Watan ko Jano initiative, A programme that aims to expose youth from J&K to rest of India: Watan koJano, an initiative being carried out by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in coordination with the J&K Government was in news. It is essentially a Youth Exchange Programme under which the children of militancy-hit victims, orphanages, and weaker section of society are identified by J&K State Rehabilitation Council as beneficiaries under the programme in the state.

 

3. Gadkari launches India’s first River Information System: Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkariinaugurated the River Information System (RIS)-the first of its kind in India-to facilitate safe and accurate navigation on National Waterway-1 (the Ganga River).

 

4. International media conference in Mysuru: The Global Communication Association (GCA), a not-for-profit professional organisation, to host the 11thinternational conference of media experts and communication specialists from around the world at Mysuru.

 

5. Mysuru to get Cauvery river gallery: Karnataka’s Tourism and the National Academy of Sciences of India (NASI) have signed a MoU to set up a Cauvery river gallery in Mysuru.

 

6. Telangana Cabinet Okays ‘Sampoorna ArogyaKeralam’ medical care project: The project aims to bring all major government health services under one umbrella. With this, people will not be required to visit multiple offices or agencies for medical care.

 

7. India to skip BS-V, leapfrog to BS-VI norms from April 1, 2020: In a bid to curb vehicular pollution, the centre decided to implement stricter emission norms of Bharat Stage VI from April 1, 2020 skipping BS-V altogether.

 

8. Uber launches ‘uberEXCHANGE’, start-up mentorship programme:  Taxi-hailing app Uberannounced a new start-up mentorship programme in the country in partnership with Invest India called ‘uberEXCHANGE’.

 

9. A B Khare appointed as the CMD of Madras Fertilizers.

 

10. Achyuta Samanta elected as General President of 105th Indian Science Congress.

 

11. Sam Pitroda appointed as the Technical Advisor of Odisha Government.

 

12. Pavan Kapoor appointed as India’s Ambassador to Israel.

 

13. Tata Trusts and Mars sign MoU to work on food safety in India: The Global food manufacturer Mars Incorporated will help develop methods and tools to increase crop productivity, farm income among others.

 

14. Centre approved Rs 815 cr drought aid for Odisha.

 

15. Tata Motors and Petronas joined hands for lubricants: Tata Motors in association with PetronasLubricants International launched Tata Motors Genuine Oil (TMGO) for its passenger vehicles range in the Indian market.

 

16. Delhi Government scrapped management and other quotas in private schools.

 

17. Vedanta appointed Samir Cairae as India metals business CEO.

 

18. National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued notice to Bihar Government over poor conditions of prisons.

 

19. Union Cabinet approved MoU with Bangladesh to set up border haats.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Filippo Grandi takes helm as UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

 

2. California declared state of emergency in Los Angeles after methane gas leak: The leak happened at the Southern California Gas Company’s Aliso Canyon storage field in Porter Ranch of Los Angeles.

OTHER UPDATES:

 

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. Cabinet nod for credit guarantee fund for MUDRA loans: The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the creation of a credit guarantee fund for Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency loans.

 

SPORTS:

2. Hashim Amla resigned as Test Captain of South Africa.

 

AWARDS:

3. Subodh Sarkar conferred with GangadharNational Award for Poetry.

 

OBITUARIES:

4. Noted Gujarati writer Labshankar Thakarpassed away at the age of 80.

 

5. Pierre Boulez, French Conductor and Composer passed away at the age of 90 in Baden-Baden, Germany.