DAILY GK UPDATES 12TH JULY 2016

DAILY GK UPDATES 12TH JULY 2016

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India, Kenya ink seven agreements: MoU on Cooperation in the field of standardisation, expertise sharing and mutual trade between Bureau of Indian Standards and Bureau of Kenya Standards, MoU on Cooperation in the field of National Housing Policy Development and Management, the line of Credit Agreement for US $15 million (first tranche of US $30 million) to IDB Capital Limited, Kenya, for the development of various small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya, the line of Credit Agreement for the US $29.95 million to the Government of Kenya for the upgrade of Rift Valley Textiles Factory (RIVATEX East Africa Limited), Kenya, revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), a bilateral agreement on the exemption of Visa for holders of Diplomatic passports and MoU on Defence Cooperation were in the list.

 

2. D Rajkumar appointed CMD of BPCL and UtpalBora appointed as CMD of Oil India Ltd.

 

3. HDFC Bank’s Aditya Puri named best banking CEO in Asia: Aditya Puri, the chief executive and managing director (MD) of the second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank, has been ranked as the best banking CEO in Asia by the investor community.

 

4. Ministry of Health launches Nationwide Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDFC): Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Shri J P Nadda, Ministry of Health launched nationwide Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF) to be observed from July 11-23.

 

5. Maharashtra Police launches 4 apps: The four applications Pratisaad Ask, Police Mitra, Vahanchoritakrar and Railway helpline app were launched by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavisin Nagpur. With the launch of these apps, dependency on police emergency number 100 would reduce substantially and citizens can reach out to police to report any emergency situation or crime like robbery or assault on women 24X7.

6. Karnataka trade body inks pact with Sanya City:The Karnataka Region Economic and Trade Organisation (KRETO) and the Sanya People Municipal Government, China, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to foster trade between SanyaCity and Karnataka.

 

7. Lafarge to sell India assets to Nirma for $1.4 billion: Lafarge-Holcim has entered into an agreement with Nirma Ltd to sell its entire 100% holding in cement maker Lafarge India for an enterprise value of $1.4 billion.

 

8. Sun Pharma introduces anti-cancer product in Europe: Sun Pharma has announced rollout of Gemcitabine InfuSMART in Europe. InfuSMART is a technology in which oncology products are developed in a ready-to-administer (RTA) bag.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Nepal’s first woman chief justice sworn in: Justice Sushila Karki took charge as the first woman chief justice of Nepal’s Supreme Court after her name was endorsed by a parliamentary panel.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Jinson Johnson, Dharambir Singh and RenjithMaheshwari qualify for Rio Olympics 2016: Sprinter Dharambir Singh and Jinson Johnson along with Triple jumper Renjith Maheshwari were the latest athletes to join the line for representing the country at the Olympics in Brazil.

 

AWARDS:

2. President confers the 51st Jnanpith Award on Dr.Raghuveer Chaudhari.

DAILY GK UPDATES 11TH JULY 2016

DAILY GK UPDATES 11TH JULY 2016

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Tathagata Roy sworn-in as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh: Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy was sworn-in as the acting Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. Roy has been given the additional charge of Governor of Arunachal Pradesh during the leave of absence of incumbent Governor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa.

 

2. DRDO inks pact with IITs for Centre for Propulsion Technology: The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has signed an agreement with IIT-Bombay and Madras to establish a bi—nodal ‘Centre of Propulsion Technology’ (CoPT) at the two institutions.

 

3. Talgo train clocks 120kmps during Mathura-Palwal trial: Spanish train Talgo commenced its second phase trial from Mathura at 120km per hour speed with senior officials from Spain and Railways on-board. The trial between Mathura and Palwal will go on for 25 days and the speed will go up to 180 kmph this time.

 

4. Bill introduced in US to prevent Indian firms from hiring staff on H-1B, L1 visas: A bipartisan group of two US lawmakers has introduced in the House of Representatives a legislation, which if passed by the Congress would prevent Indian companies from hiring IT professionals on H-1B and L1 work visas. The bill if passed would prevent Indian companies from hiring IT professionals on H-1B and L1 visas that will prohibit firms from hiring H-1B employees on certain grounds.

 

5. Dumping duty imposed on PTA imports from 5 countries: The Finance Ministry has imposed definitive anti-dumping duty on purified terephthalic acid (PTA) imports from China, Iran, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia. An anti-dumping duty is a protectionist tariff that a domestic government imposes on foreign imports that it believes are priced below fair market value.

 

6. Union Government constitutes cyber cell: The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) is taking measures to protect women and children from harassment and trolling on social media platforms. Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi announced a cyber-cell in New Delhi to keep a check in this regard.

 

7. Aircel, Airtel 4G Spectrum Trading Deal approved by DoT: Telecom Ministry is believed to have cleared the Rs 3,500-crore 4G spectrum trading deal between service providers Bharti Airtel and Aircel.Airtel has entered into an agreement with Aircel to acquire rights to use 4G spectrum of Aircel in eight telecom circles for Rs 3,500 crore.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. China Navy conducts Combat Drill in the South China Sea: The Chinese navy conducted combat drills near its southern island province of Hainan and the Paracel islands in the South China Sea, the ministry of defence said on July 9.

 

2. Astronomers discover planet with 3 suns located 340 light years from Earth: A team of astronomers led by the University of Arizona discovered a planet HD 131399Ab which is unlikely any other known world – one with, by far, the widest known orbit within a multi-star system. Located about 340 light years from Earth in the constellation Centaurus, HD 131399Ab is believed to be about 16 million years old, making it one of the youngest exoplanets discovered to date.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Serena Williams and Venus Williams won women’s doubles of Wimbledon Open 2016.

 

2. Lewis Hamilton wins 4th British Grand Prix of his career.

 

3. Portugal wins Euro 2016 football championship by defeating France 1-0.

 

OBITUARIES:

4. Indian football legend Amal Dutta passed away at the age of 86.

DAILY GK UPDATES 10TH JULY 2016

DAILY GK UPDATES 10TH JULY 2016

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Andhra Pradesh decided to conduct ‘Smart Pulse Survey’ of 1.48 crore households: Andhra Pradesh government has decided to conduct a 'Smart Pulse Survey' for collecting socio-economic data of 1.48 crore households in the state. The survey started on 8 July 2016 will end on 30 July 2016.

 

2. Zydus, Medicines Patent Pool inks agreement for Bristol-Myers Squibb’s daclatasvir tablets: ZydusCadila, a leading global healthcare firm inked a non-exclusive, royalty free agreement with the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP). Under the pact they will be manufacturing global pharma major Bristol-Myers Squibb’s daclatasvir tablets used for the treatment of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV).

 

3. Union Government launched National Green Highways Mission: Under this initiative, plantation drive on 1500 km of National Highways was launched at a cost of about 300 crore rupees. The greening project has a huge potential to generate jobs and can prove to be a game-changer for agriculture and rural economy.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. US sanctions North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un for human rights abuses: The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on 6 July 2016 designated top officials of the North Korean regime along with Kim Jong-Un and for their ties to North Korea’s notorious abuses of human rights.

 

2. New Tarantula species named after Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Scientists has named a newly discovered species of tarantula (a big hairy spider) as Kankuamo Marquezi after the famed Colombian novelist and 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The species was discovered in large number in an isolated mountain range in Caribbean Colombia.  It was named after him as homage to the country where it was found.

 

3. Russian leader Putin signs ‘Big Brother’ law: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the “anti-terrorist” legislation adopted by the lower and upper houses of parliament. This anti-terror amendment is dubbed as Big Brother by US intelligence contractor turned privacy activist Edward Snowden. It boosts the surveillance powers for the security services by requiring communication providers to store users’ calls, messages, photographs and videos for six months, and the Metadata for up to three years.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:​

1. SBI launches social media banking platform SBI Mingle: The State Bank of India (SBI) on 1 July 2016 launched SBI Mingle, a social media banking platform for Facebook and Twitter users. The platform was launched by SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya, on the occasion of 61st State Bank Day that is observed on 1 July every year. To avail services from this platform, customers will have to register for it through a simple one time registration process using either their social account number or their ATM/Debit Card details.

 

SPORTS:

2. Andy Murray beat Milos Romanic to win the Wimbledon 2016 grand slam.

DAILY GK UPDATES 9TH JULY 2016

DAILY GK UPDATES 9TH JULY 2016

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India and South Africa sign MoUs in four areas of co-operation: The first MoU is on cooperation in the area of information and communication technology. Another MoU calls for cooperation in the tourism sector and is being seen as an important bid to improve people-to-people ties. A third MoU calls for cooperation in grassroot innovation in the science and technology sector. While the fourth agreement has been signed for a programme of cooperation in arts and culture. The two countries have also agreed to cooperate in combating terrorism, regionally and globally.

 

2. India gives SUVs to Mozambique, completes delivery of $4.5 million grant: Coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Mozambique, India has handed over 30 SUVs to Mozambique. With this India completed the delivery of 4.5 million US dollar grant assistance as part of supporting the institutions of this African country.

3. Nirmala Sitharaman to lead business delegation to Russia: Commerce and Industry Minister NirmalaSitharaman will lead a delegation of over 110 Indian companies that will showcase their engineering prowess at a trade fair in Russia. India is the partner country for 'INNOPROM 2016', which is the largest annual international industrial trade fair of Russia. The 4-day fair starts from the coming sunday (10th july) in Ekaterinburg.

4. Kerala Government imposes 14.5% Fat tax on junk food: The Kerala government has announced its decision to impose 14.5 per cent tax on junk food on the lines of ‘Fat Tax’ imposed on such food items. This will make food items like burgers, pizzas, pasta costlier.

 

5. Radhika Menon becomes the first woman to receive award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea: Radhika Menon will become the first woman in the world to receive the Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea from the International Maritime Organisation for saving the lives of seven fishermen, whose hopes of survival were all but over.

 

6. Phiroz Vandrevala steps down as TCS Director:The country’s largest IT services firm Tata Consultancy Services stated that its non-Executive Director PhirozVandrevala has resigned from the company. However, Vandrevala, also the Vice-Chairman and MD of Diligenta, a TCS subsidiary, will continue with this role.

 

7. Sanjay Gupta named as the CMD of KonkanRailway.

 

 

 

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. NATO summit begins in Warsaw: The NATO summit has begun in Warsaw, Poland. In the two day Summit, the leaders of the 28 NATO Allies and many partner nations will deliberate and take decisions to enhance the Alliance’s security by strengthening its deterrence and defence, and projecting stability beyond its borders.

2. COO of Microsoft Kelvin Turner has resigned.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Serena Williams beat Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon Open 2016 to equal the record of Steffi Graff for having winning 22 grand slams.

 

AWARDS:

2. Ad award for Srinivasan K Swamy: The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) has announced that Srinivasan K Swamy, Chairman of R K Swamy Hansa, would be the recipient of this year’s AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award.

 

OBITUARIES:

3. Noted Pakistani Philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhihas passed away at the age of 88.