Daily GK Updates - 12th January, 2018

Daily GK Updates - 12th January, 2018 NATIONAL UPDATES 1. Government issues guidelines on the usage of the National Flag as Republic Day nears: The central government urged everyone not to use a national flag made of plastic. It also asked the States and Union Territories to ensure strict compliance of the Flag Code in view of the Republic Day celebration ahead.The Flag Code of India, 2002 sets the details on the usage of the National Flag. 2. National Youth Day observed: National Youth Day is celebrated in India every year on 12th January to mark the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. He took the Indian thoughts to the western world and also had brought tremendous change in the Indian youth by his thoughts and work. He was the disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhansa and had founded the Ramakrishna Mission in Calcutta (now Kolkata). 3. Rajputana state to digitise historical records: Rajasthan is all set to digitize administrative and historical records of Rajputana’s princely states. The move will boost the state government’s effort to use technology to improve the lives of people further. It will also help in preserving the state’s rich heritage. 4. Govt. to offer free treatment of Hepatitis C: The health ministry is set to roll out a National Programme for Control of Viral Hepatitis from the 2018-19 financial year. With the focus on Hepatitis C, an anti-viral treatment that costs $63,000-94,000 for the full course in the US and Europe will be provided free at all government health set-ups. Hepatitis C is caused by a blood-borne virus which affects the liver. 5. Cabinet (CCEA) approves continuation of MPLADS scheme: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval to the continuation of Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme till the term of the 14th Finance Commission.The Scheme would entail an annual allocation of Rs. 3,950 crore and a total outlay of Rs. 11,850 crores. MPLADS was formulated by the Government of India in 1993. 6. New passports to drop parents’ names, address:The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday announced that new passports will soon be printed without the usual last page of the document, which contains names of parents, and address of the applicant. The statement came even as it was declared that the passports for the Emigration Check Required (ECR) category will be issued with orange jackets. 7. Maharashtra starts surveys of Marathas in villages to answer the Quota demand: The Maharashtra government is conducting a sample survey of the Maratha community members in over 700 villages, ahead of the deadline set by the Maratha Kranti Morcha over its reservation demand. According to Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission Chairman, Justice (retired) M.G. Gaikwad, the sample survey has been undertaken for data collection to ascertain the economic backwardness within the community to justify its demand for quota in public service and educational institutions. The Maratha organisations in Maharashtra last month gave an ultimatum to the government saying it should address their demands — chief among them being reservations for the community. 8. PDP presents populist budget: Jammu & Kashmir Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu, who presented the fourth budget of the Peoples Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata Party government on Thursday, came up with a slew of populist measures, including welfare initiatives for local industry, employees, women and transgender community. In the ₹80,000-crore budget, Dr. Drabu announced a social security net for the poor, employees and journalists, in the form of medical insurance and education loans. 9. Gujarat to conduct tiger census: The state of Gujarat, which is known to have approximately 650 lions, has decided to conduct a census to count the tigers in the state. The last tiger spotted in Gujarat was in 1985. However, reports say that tigers are present in Gujarat too. The state govt got the approval from National Tiger Conservation Authority to conduct the census. INTERNATIONAL UPDATES 1. Saudi women to watch a soccer match in stadium for the first time: Saudi women will be allowed for the first time to enter a sports stadium to watch a soccer match between two local teams, though they will be segregated from the male-only crowd with designated seating in the so-called “family section”. The first stadium is to open its doors to women in the Red Sea city of Jiddah. 2. North & South Korea agree to hold talks: North and South Korea agreed to hold military talks. North Korea also decided to send a high-ranking delegation and a cheering squad to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea next month. OTHER UPDATES DEFENCE: 1. Army Chief calls for multi-pronged approach to deal with an assertive China, to set up premier schools for the children of the Armed Forces: India had to intervene in Bhutanese territory in Doklam as China was trying to change the status quo by constructing a road, Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat was quoted saying. He called for a multi-pronged approach to deal with an assertive China that includes diplomatic, military and partnerships with other countries in the region. On the issue of capping tuition fees for children of disabled soldiers and those killed in the line of duty, Gen Rawat said the Army would set up premier educational institutions to educate them. SCIENCE/ TECHNOLOGY: 1. ISRO launches its 100th satellite: The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle lifted off from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. It carries 31 satellites in total from countries including India and six other countries. Cartosat 2, a surveillance satellite that was part of India’s 100th satellite was placed into sun-synchronous orbit according to ISRO. The satellites are to be launched in two orbits which makes the mission a unique one. BUSINESS/ ECONOMY: 1. Highest growth of domestic air traffic in India: India’s domestic air passenger traffic grew by 16.4 percent in November 2017, topping the growth chart worldwide, according to the global aviation body, the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Globally, the total revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) increased 8 percent compared to November 2016. The available seat kilometers (ASKs) or capacity grew by 6.3 percent. The increase in the disposable income of the people is a major factor propelling the growth. SPORTS: 1. A new comic book on Rahul Dravid titled “The Wall”: In an attempt to immortalise Rahul Dravid, Sportwalk, a sports media and merchandise startup in Chennai has released a comic book titled ‘The Wall’. Hailing him as a superhero, the comic book has compiled 15 of the most glorious moments of his life. It is written by Himanshu. 2. Sanjay Manjrekar’s autobiography ‘Imperfect’ released: Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar unveiled Sanjay Manjrekar’s autobiography ‘Imperfect’ in Mumbai. Sanjay Vijay Manjrekar is a former Indian cricketer and is known for playing great innings with his mate Sachin Tendulkar.

Daily GK Updates - 11th January, 2018

Daily GK Updates - 11th January, 2018 NATIONAL UPDATES 1. Dr. Sivan K appointed as ISRO Chairman: The government appointed renowned scientist Sivan K as the Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation. Sivan, at present the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, will succeed Kumar, who was appointed on January 12, 2015. He graduated from Madras Institute of Technology in Aeronautical Engineering in 1980. 2. Soumitra Chatterjee to receive “Legion d’Honour” award: The French government will confer, actor Soumitra Chatterjee with the “Legion of Honour” which is the highest order of merit in France. The award will be given to him at the 42nd Kolkata Book Fair on January 30. The Legion of Honour is the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits, established in 1802 by Napoléon Bonaparte. 3. Narendra Modi to attend WEF: US President Donald Trump will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month. This would be for the first time in 18 years that a US president would be attending an annual gathering of global economic leaders. Modi will travel to Switzerland on January 22 on a two- day visit. This would be the first time since 1997 that an Indian prime minister will attend the Davos summit. 4. First all-women station in India-Matunga, Mumbai: The first all-women station in India, Matunga on Central Railway (CR), manned by a staff of 41 women, has entered the Limca Book of Records. The unique initiative was taken by CR General Manager D.K. Sharma in July 2017 with the aim of empowering women, Matunga station is situated in Mumbai. 5. Fourth International Dharma Dhamma Conference: President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated a three-day International Dharma-Dhamma conference at Rajgir in Bihar. The conference was jointly organised by India Foundation, Nalanda University, Ministry of External Affairs, ASEAN-India and Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha. 6. West Bengal government launches water ATMs in city, districts: The West Bengal government has launched a water ATM project to provide bacteria-free drinking water in schools with the help of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Asian Development Bank, and the World Bank. If someone can prove the presence of harmful bacteria in any such water ATM, he will be given Rs 2 lakh. INTERNATIONAL UPDATES 1. Rishi Sunak inducted into Theresa’s team: British Prime Minister Theresa May has inducted Indian-origin lawmaker Rishi Sunak into her government. Mr. Sunak is the son-in-law of Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy. He has been appointed as an Under Secretary of state in Britain’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. 2. Jeff Bezos becomes the richest person: Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon has become the richest man in the history, overtaking Bill Gates, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The Index showed that Bezos’ net worth had hit USD 105.1 billion. Index mentions Mukesh Ambani as the richest Indian and the 20th richest person in the world. 3. Ecuador gives citizenship to Julian Assange: Ecuador has granted citizenship to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been living in asylum at the nation’s embassy in London for more than five years. Ecuador gave Assange political asylum after he sought refuge in the embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden for investigation of sex-related claims. OTHER UPDATES BUSINESS/ ECONOMY: 1. Paytm launches Paytm Money Ltd.: Paytm, run by One97 Communications Ltd, has set up a new entity called Paytm Money Ltd. It will offer investment and wealth management products and will invest close to $10 million upfront in the new entity. Paytm Money is the fourth product after Paytm Mall, Paytm Payments Bank and Paytm wallet. Vijay Shekhar Sharma is the founder of One97 Communications. 2. Reliance Jio planning its own cryptocurrency called JioCoin: After disrupting the telecom sector with its free offers and hyper-competitive tariffs, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd plans to create its own cyptocurrency, JioCoin. With Mukesh Ambani’s elder son Akash Ambani leading the JioCoin project, Reliance Jio plans to build a 50-member team of young professionals to work on blockchain technology, which can also be used to develop applications such as smart contracts and supply chain management logistics. BANKING/ FINANCE: 1. SEBI bans Price Waterhouse entities from issuing audit certificates for 2 years: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred auditor major Price Waterhouse's network entities from issuing audit certificates to any listed company in India for two years. The order comes after Price Waterhouse's network is guilty of the multi-crore Satyam scam. SEBI also ordered disgorgement of over 13 crore rupees wrongful gains from the audit major and it's two erstwhile partners who worked on the IT major's accounts.    SPORTS: 1. Aditya Mehta wins Kolkata Open 2018: Veteran Aditya Mehta won the Kolkata Open 2018 International Invitation Snooker Championship at the Hindustan Club. He edged out Englishman Alfie Burden 5-4 in a thrilling final. This is his third Kolkata Open title since its inception. 2. BCCI bans all-rounder Yusuf Pathan: Indian all-rounder Yusuf Pathan was handed a five-month retrospective suspension for failing a dope test. The 35-year-old Pathan had provided a urine sample as part of the BCCI’s anti-doping testing program during a domestic T20 match between his team Baroda and Tamil Nadu on March 16 last year. His sample was subsequently tested and found to contain bronchodilator Terbutaline.