Daily GK Updates - 7th April, 2017

Daily GK Updates - 7th April, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.  Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated 3-day National Children’s Film Festival:The Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu has inaugurated a three-day National Children’s Film Festival in Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh). The aim of the film festival is to expose children to quality cinema and to introduce novel elements beyond films.

2. Two-day national TB summit began in Dharamshala: The two-day national TB summit has begun with the slogan “TB Harga, Desh Jeetega” in Dharamshala, Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.

3. Jio complementary offer not in sync with regulations: TRAI: The telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has advised ‘Reliance Jio’ to stop complimentary three-month service offer as it was not in accordance with the regulatory framework.

4. India, Russia ink deal on Unit 1 of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant:India has signed a joint statement with Russia takeover full operational control of Unit 1 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP). It formally marks the full transition. The agreement was signed between representatives of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and the ASE Group of Companies, a subsidiary of ROSATOM State Atomic Energy Corporation of Russia.

5. Government launches Cyber Physical Systems programme: Department of Science and Technology (DST) has launched Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) programme dealing with self-driven cars, autonomous unmanned vehicles and aircraft navigation systems The programme is still at a nascent stage. Rs. 3,000-crore has been has been conceived for it and it will first take root in some of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. April 7: World Health Day: The World Health Day (WHD) is observed every year on 7 April to mark the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO). WHD 2017 theme: “Depression: Let’s talk”. It seeks to encourage people to come forward for treatment.

2.  India & Israel sign defense deals worth over 2 billion USD: India and Israel have signed megdefensece deals worth over 2 billion USD for advanced surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems to destroy hostile aircraft, missiles, and drones at a range of 70-km. The major deal was for the joint project between the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for the Barak-8 medium-range SAM systems to initially include one regiment of 16 launchers and 560 missiles for the Indian Army.

3. India & UK to set up 240 mn pound fund for green energy: India and the United Kingdom (UK) have decided to set up a 240-million Pound fund to finance clean energy projects. India had in 2015 set up the Rs 40,000 crore National Infrastructure and Investment Fund (NIIF) to finance greenfield as well as brownfield projects. The Green Growth Equity Fund will be a sub-fund of NIIF. The fund will focus initial investments in India’s rapidly growing energy and renewables market.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. PV Sindhu reaches career-best World No.2 ranking: P V Sindhu (21-year) has jumped three places to achieve world number two ranking (career-best) in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) ranking. She has become only the second Indian woman after Saina Nehwal to break into the top-five of the world rankings. The women's singles chart is led by Tai Tzu Ying (Chinese Taipei) with 87911 points.

BANKING & FINANCE:

2.  NEFT transfers to be faster as RBI cuts clearance time: The NEFT settlement cycle will be reduced from hourly batches to half hourly batches. According to RBI, 11 additional settlement batches will be introduced at 8.30 am onwards.