DAILY GK UPDATES 9TH MARCH 2016

DAILY GK UPDATES 9TH MARCH 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Paytm gets ready for first Payment Bank: The country’s largest mobile wallet provider Paytm has got into a strategic tie-up with Florida-based global provider dedicated to banking and payments technologies FIS Global.

 

2. Mumbai to host BRICS Friendship Cities Conclave in April: Mumbai, the financial capital of India to host BRICS Friendship Cities Conclave in April involving top Urban Policy makers and Planners from BRICS nations.

 

3. Karnataka launches Mukhyamantri SantwanaHarish Yojana: Government of Karnataka has launched Mukhyamantri Santwana Harish Yojana to provide free medical treatment to road accident victims for the first 48 hours (2 days) in the nearest government or private hospital.

 

4. NTPC bags poll based Research Inventor Communication Award among the ‘Large Corporates’ category.  

 

5. Sun Pharma signs MS Dhoni as Brand Ambassador for Revital H.

 

6. Reliance Jio to offer free Wi-Fi at 6 stadiums for T20 World Cup: Spectators of cricket matches in Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali and HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala will enjoy free wi-fi during T20 World Cup.

 

7. Telangana and Maharashtra CMs ink pact on Godavari water projects to construct five barrages across Godavari and Pen Ganga rivers.

 

8. Germany partners with India to develop Kochi, Coimbatore and Bhubaneswar as Smart cities.

 

9. 108-feet Jain teerthankar idol enters ‘Guinness book of world records’: A 108 feet idol of Lord Rishabhdeva, the first Teerthankar of Jains, carved out of a single rock, has entered the ‘Guinness World Records’ as the world’s tallest Jain statue.

 

10. India’s leading Integrated Travel Thomas Cook signs Strategic Alliance with Western Union Business Solutions and DCB Bank.

 

11. Freecharge partners with Mexico-based movie theatre chain Cinepolis to provide its customers an easy to use and secure way of making payments.

 

12. Rajya Sabha passed Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015 which extends the ambit of the BIS to include services, processes and products while ensuring production of world class goods.

 

13. Meghalaya police extended Operation Hillstorm3: Combat operation by three months.

 

14. Cycling event of Indian Army with theme ‘Cycle to Recycle’ flagged off from Pangsau Pass on the India-Myanmar border.

 

15. CA Media Digital (India) Pvt Ltd appointed Vivek Jain as CEO of digital business.

 

16. Widow marriage included under MukhyamantriKanya Vivah Yojana in Madhya Pradesh.

 

17. Indian Railways appointed Ernst and Young as consultant to discover advertising potential of trains and stations.

 

18. India, ASEAN Plus multilateral military exercise FORCE 18 concluded in Pune.

 

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Iran successfully test fired several ballistic missiles: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has successfully test-fired several ballistic missiles from silos across the country.

 

2. IAEA to transfer Sterile Insect Technique under 2.3 Million Euro Project to combat Zika: The spread of the virus will be tackled with a nuclear technique that has been used to suppress various insect pests.

 

3. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNICEF launched global programme to accelerate action to end child marriage.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. Yes Bank launches all women branch ‘Yes Grace’ in Bengaluru.

 

2. ICICI Bank launched iWork@Home programme for its Women employees that will enable women employees of the bank to work from home.

SPORTS:

3. Indian men and women won Gold at World Team Table Tennis Championship held in Kuala Lumpur defeating Brazil and Luxemburg respectively.

 

AWARDS:

4. President Pranab Mukherjee presented 2015 NariShakti awards to 15 women, 5 organisations, one state and panchayat.

 

5. Mahindra Group CMD Anand Mahindra conferred France’s Knight of the Legion of Honour.

OBITUARIES:

6. George Henry Martin, legendary producer of The Beatles, died at the age of 90.

DAILY GK UPDATES 8TH MARCH 2016

DAILY GK UPDATES 8TH MARCH 2016

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Fitch maintains India’s growth forecast at 7.5%: Fitch, the global rating agency has maintained India’s growth forecast at 7.5% for the 2015-16 fiscal year and also sees higher growth around 7.7% and 7.9% over the next two financial years.

 

2. E-Haat; an online marketing platform launched by Union Government: Union Minster for Women and Child Development Maneka Sanjay Gandhi launched Mahila e-Haat portal in New Delhi to facilitate women entrepreneurs to sell their products to buyers. The Mahila e-Haat portal, www.mahilaehaat-rmk.gov.in is an online marketing platform.

 

3. PM Modi selects another village in Varanasi for development under SAGY: Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) is a rural development programme broadly focusing upon the development in the villages which includes social development, cultural development and spread motivation among the people on social mobilisation of the village community. PM Modi has adopted Nagepur village in Varanasi under the scheme. He had earlier adopted Jayapur village in the same Varanasi constituency.

 

4. Government to import 8500 tonnes of pulses: Government has contracted import of 8500 tonnes of pulses and the shipments are on the way. The step is taken to maintain the buffer stock as the target of 50000 tonnes set for this kharif season has been surpassed.  

 

5. Union Government announced to withdraw tax proposal Employee Provident Fund: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced to withdraw the proposal while clarifying NDA government’s stand on the issue in the Lok Sabha.

 

6. Indian Railways signs agreement with Bajaj Power: Bajaj Power Generation Company has signed an agreement with the Indian Railways for electrification of the Lalitpur-Udaipura rail section under the public private partnership (PPP).

 

7. Countdown for launch of India’s 6th navigational satellite IRNSS-1F begins in Sriharikota: ISRO’s workhorse PSLV-C32 will lift off at 4pm on Thursday.

 

8. Union Government re-classified industries on four-colour scheme based on pollution potential: The four colours are red, orange, green and white with red categories industries having the highest pollution potential while white having the least.

 

9. New species of burrowing snake named Melanophidium Khairei discovered in Western Ghats.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. International Women’s Day observed with campaign theme ‘PledgeForParity’: International Women’s day was observed across the world on 8thMarch 2016. This year’s theme for the day is ‘Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step it up for Gender Equality’. The campaign theme for the day is #PledgeForParity.

 

2. SoftBank splits into two subsidiaries: The firm has said that it is planning to separate its profitable domestic mobile business from its international business, which includes a majority stake in US mobile operator Sprint Corp. Both the subsidiaries will be 100% owned by SoftBank.

 

3. South Korea, US began largest ever military exercises off the coast of the Korean peninsula: The bilateral exercise comes just days after the UN passed new sanctions against Pyongyang, North Korea following its recent nuclear test and rocket launch.

 

4. France’s highest honour ‘Legion d’Honneur’ was presented to Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Nayef by President Francois Hollande.

 

5. Women at Work: Trends 2016 report released by International Labour Organisation.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. Banks disburse over Rs 1.15 lakh crore under PM Mudra Yojana: Banks have so far disbursed over Rs 1.15 lakh crore under Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana(PMMY).

 

SPORTS:

2. Maria Sharapova provisionally suspended after failing drugs test at Australian Open.

 

3. Australian Golfer Adam Scott won 2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral, Florida (US).

 

4. Sri Lankan Cricket Board constituted Arvinda de Silva-led National Cricket Selection Panel.

GK UPDATES 7th March

 GK UPDATES 7th March 

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 15 states have joined UDAY scheme: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has given permission to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to issue the bonds as part of the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY).

 

2. MoU between Indian Army and IndusInd Bank: A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Indian Army and Hinduja Grouped IndusInd Bank on the Defence Salary package.

 

3. Sunil Sabharwal reappointed as Alternate Executive Director at International Monetary Fund (IMF).

 

4. River Information System like ATC to be launched for Inland Waterways Traffic: The Government has launched a River Information System (RIS) between Haldia and Farakka stretch of the National Waterway-1 (NW-1). The system enhances swift electronic data transfer between mobile vessels and shore (Base stations) through advance and real-time exchange of information.  

 

5. Chapchar Kut Festival celebrated across Mizoram: The traditional festival of Chapchar Kut of the Mizos was celebrated across the north-eastern state of Mizoram and also in the Mizo-inhabited areas in the neighbouring states.

 

6. Election Commission announces assembly election in 4 states and 1 union territory: It announced the schedule for assembly polls in four states West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and for Union Territory Puduchchery.

 

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World’s costliest train station opened in New York at 9/11 site: The world’s most expensive train station in the world opens at the World Trade Centre site in New York, USA.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. TCS chief N Chandrasekaran appointed as non-official director to board of Reserve Bank.

 

SPORTS:

2. PepsiCo named as new associate sponsor of BCCI.

 

3. Anirban Lahiri jumps to 9th spot at World Golf Championships.

 

4. Indian shooter Jitu Rai clinches 50m pistol gold at the ISSF World Cup Bangkok.

 

AWARDS:

5. The Advertising Club Madras conferred its 1stDistinguished Service Award on Srinivasan K Swamy, Chairman and Managing Director, R K Swamy BBDO for his outstanding contribution to the advertising industry.

OBITUARIES:

6. Pat Conroy, Prince of Tides and Great SantiniAuthor dies at the age of 70.

 

7. Congress MLA R Venkat Reddy passed away at the age of 72.

 

8. Legendary Film Archivist P K Nair passed away at the age of 86.