Today's GK Updates ► 07-Feb-2017

Sports

1. Rituparna Das wins women's singles title at National championship

• Rituparna Das (2nd seed) fromTelengana has won the Women's Singles title of the 81st Senior National Badminton Championships tournament played at Patliputra Sports Complex Patna.
• She defeated Reshma Karthik(9th seed) from Air India in straight sets 21-12, 21-14.
• In Women's doubles event, the pair of Aparna Balan and Prajakta Sawant clinched the title defeating Shikha Gautam and Sanyogita Ghorpade 21-9, 21-11.
• In mixed doubles title, the Pair of Satwik Sai Raj and Maneesha Kclinched the title defeating Venkat Gaurav and Juhi Dewangan 21-14, 21-18.

2. Alastair Cook resigns as England Test captain

• England Test captain Alastair Cook (32-year) has resigned as test captain after a record 59 matches in the role, but he will continue playing Test cricket.
• He became captain in August 2012 and led his country to Ashes glory on home soil in 2013 and
• Cook is England's leading scorer in Tests with 11,057 runs.
• He also led England in a record 69 one-day internationals (ODI) between 2010 and 2014.
• Cook was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2012 and ICC World Test Captain in 2013.

 3. Russia to miss summer’s World Athletics Championships

• Russia will miss this summer's World Athletics Championships after governing body IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) voted to extend their suspension from international competition in Monaco.
• However, some Russians may be able to compete under a neutral banner, if they can satisfy testing criteria.
• Earlier, Russia was suspended by the IAAF in November 2015.
• London will host the World Championships between 4-13 August.
• More than 1,000 Russian athletes were part of a state-sponsored doping program between 2011 and 2015.

4. India to host FIBA Women's Asia Cup basketball tournament

• India will host FIBA (International Basketball Federation) Women's Asia Cup basketball tournament at Bengaluru.
• The tournament will be held from 23rd to 29th July 2017.
• India has also given another tournament FIBA U-16 Women's Asian Championship, held from 22nd to 28th October in Hyderabad.
• Fourteen teams will compete in both the FIBA Women's Asia Cupand the U-16 Women's Asian Championship, with eight teams inDivision A and six in lower Division B.

Note:

• The FIBA Asia Women's Cup is an international basketball tournament for women's national team organised by FIBA Asia.
• It was known as the FIBA Asia Women's Championship before 2017.

National Affairs

5. Andhra Pradesh: First Smart Police Station inaugurated

• The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu has inaugurated the first smart police station at Nagarampalem in Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh).
• The fully air-conditioned Smart Police Station has a staff room, dormitory, mini control room, a reception chamber, and individual enclosures for the Station House Officer and three Sub-Inspectors.
• The Andhra Pradesh Police administration has planned to build another 100 such Stations across the state and to phase out congested police stations.
• The model Police Station doesn’t look like a typical Police Stationwith plush exterior and interiors that leave one with a feeling of having walked into a corporate style office.
• Staff manning the station will not wear the usual khaki uniform and instead sport a navy blue trouser and a light blue shirt.
• The women Constables have a light blue sari for uniform while the lady receptionist will additionally sport a navy blue blazer.

6. Railway Tunnel Qazigund-Banihal to be used during heavy snowfall

• Railway tunnel of J&K between Qazigund-Banihal will be used for plying vehicular traffic during extreme weather conditions and heavy snowfall on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.
• The chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has reviewed the operating procedures to adopted while opening the tunnel at a meeting.
• Earlier, the Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had agreed to thesuggestion and it was decided that working out of modalities will be followed soon.

7. Manipur assembly election process begins today

 

• Today, two-phase polling of Assembly elections in Manipur begins with the issuance of notification for the first phase of 38 seats.
• The last date of filing of nominations is the 14th of this month, while withdrawal of candidature can be done till the 18th.
• The 60-member Manipur Assembly will go to polls in the first phase4th March and second phase on 8th March.

National & International Appointment

8. Rajiv Singh takes over as acting CEO of Prasar Bharati

• The Prasar Bharati member (Finance) Rajiv Singh has taken over as the acting chief executive officer (CEO) of the public service broadcaster of India “Prasar Bharati”.
• He succeeded Mr. Suresh Panda.

Note:

• Prasar Bharati is a statutory autonomous body established under the Prasar Bharati Act and came into existence on 23rdNovember,1997.
• Prasar Bharati is an autonomous body set up by an Act of Parliament and comprises Doordarshan Television Network and All India Radio(AIR), which were earlier media units of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Honors & Awards

9. Arunachal Pradesh govt introduces ‘Arunachal Civil Service Awards’

• The Arunachal Pradesh government has introduced ‘Arunachal Civil Service Awards’ for excellence in public administration in the state.
• It is an effort to encourage good governance and to recognize theextraordinary services rendered by the government employees in the state.
• The award will consist of a medal, a scroll, and a cash award of 1 lakh rupees for an individual and 5 lakh rupees for organization /group/team.

International Affairs

10. India & Austria agree to amend bilateral taxation treaty

• India and Austria have agreed to amend their existing bilateral taxation treaty to prevent tax evasion as well as enable mutual assistance.
• The protocol will broaden the scope of the existing framework of the exchange of tax-related information, which will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance between the two countries.
• This will also enable mutual assistance in collection of taxes.
• The Protocol was signed by CBDT Chairman Sushil Chandra and Charge d’ Affaires of the embassy of Austria Georg Zehetner in New Delhi.

11. India Education Fair for Sri Lankan students begins in Colombo

• Today, two-day India Education Fair for Sri Lankan students has begun in capital Colombo (Sri Lanka).
• A delegation of around 20 Universities from India participating in the fair to educate Sri Lankan students on education opportunities in India.
• The focus of the event is to invite students to study in India under various scholarships.
• The lndian government has provided more than 700 scholarshipslots to Sri Lankan students at various levels under the lndian Technical and Economic Cooperation Scheme.

12. 17th session of BIMSTEC senior officials’ meeting begins in Kathmandu

• Today, the 17th session of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) senior officials’ meeting has begun at Kathmandu (Nepal).
• The Indian delegation is led by Secretary (East) Preeti Saran.
• During the meeting, delegates of member countries will review the progress made by BIMSTEC and recommend future course of action to strengthen regional cooperation among the group.

Note:

• The main objective of an international organization BIMSTEC is technological and economic cooperation among south Asian and south east Asian countries along the coast of the bay of Bengal.

Banking & Finance

13. No queries on deposits of up to Rs 2.5 lakh: CBDT Chairman

• According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) ChairmanSushil Chandra, no questions will be asked about deposits of up to2.5 lakh during the demonetization period.
• Only those accounts will be probed who do not match tax returns.
• Earlier, The Income Tax Department has segregated different kinds of deposits and accounts who do not match their income tax returnsfiled in previous years will be taken for later enforcement.
• 3 lakh rupees are justified if a person has an annual taxable income of 10 lakh rupees and the tax department will not touch them.
• if companies show a cash in hand in the balance sheet of 10 lakh rupees and have deposited 5 lakh rupees, the tax department will not scrutinize such entities.

14. Bank of Maharashtra ties up with Cigna TTK

• The Bank of Maharashtra((BoM) has collaborated with insurance company “Cigna TTK Health” to market the insurer’s products in the bank’s branches across the country.
• BoM will offer the entire gamut of Cigna TTK’s superior health insurance products to its customers through its network of over 1,896 branches and 14,000 bank employees.

Note:

• Cigna TTK is a health insurance firm established as a joint venture between the Cigna (global insurance player) and TTK Group (Indian conglomerate).

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Today's GK Updates ► 21-Jan-2017

National Affairs

1. Bihar Govt launches "Nasha Mukt campaign" to make state addiction-free

• Today, the Bihar government has launched  "Nasha Mukt campaign" to make the state addidction-free.
• Over two crore people have participated in human chains formed across the state on the occasion.
• The total length of the chain was 11292 kilometers and it covered all panchayats of the state.
• Besides Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, all teachers and students ofschools and colleges have participated the human chain and it covered all panchayats of the state.
• ‘Nasha Mukti’ in Bihar will herald a new era in the state as no one will be permitted to use intoxicating substance and tobacco products.

Note:

• The Nasha Mukt (addiction-free) campaign was a follow-up exercise of the ban imposed on liquor in the state.
• The ban on liquor was imposed in the state on 5 April 2016.

2. First flight under UDAN scheme to take off in February 2017

• The first flight is likely to take off next month under the government's ambitious regional connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh Ke Aam Naagrik).
• The scheme seeks to boost regional air connectivity and provides various incentives to airlines.
• Under the scheme, the fare for a one hour journey of approximately500 km on a fixed wing aircraft or for the 30-minute journey on a helicopter will be capped at Rs. 2500.
• Airports Authority of India has received 45 initial proposals from 11 bidders covering more than 190 routes under the scheme.
• 75 operational airport in the country at present and 43 new airports will be added after the implementation of UDAN scheme.

3. Dharamsala declared second capital of Himachal Pradesh

• The Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has announced Dharamsala town (Kangra district) will be second capital of Himachal Pradesh.
• The Dharamsala town is around 250 km from the state capitalShimla and has a significance and history of its own.
• Dharamsala was already marked prominently not only in the map of India but of the world due to its significance owing to many reasons, including the Dalai Lama's abode.

4. Workshop on MSME Cooperation amongst IORA Member Countries

• The Union Minister of MSME Shri Kalraj Mishra has inaugurated Workshop on MSME Cooperation amongst Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Member countries in New Delhi.
• This workshop will strengthen economic relationship amongst the member countries in the field of trade and investment facilitation especially in MSME sector.
• India has Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with 18 countries for cooperation in MSME sector. 

Banking & Finance

5. India's biggest aircraft carrier ship INS Vikramaditya first to have ATM onboard

• Indian Navy’s largest warship INS Vikramditya has become the first warship to be equipped with its own dedicated ATM (Automated Teller Machine).
• The ATM will be provided by India’s largest public sector bank State Bank of India (SBI).
• The services will be on the satellite link and will cater to over two thousand naval personnel deployed on the aircraft carrier.
• INS Vikramaditya is a modified Kiev-class aircraft carrier purchased from Russia.

6. 9.2 lakh Cr. rupees remonetised till date: RBI

• The RBI Governor Urjit Patel appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance and briefed the panel aboutgovernment's recent decision to demonetize high-value currency.
• The committee headed by Congress leader Veerappa Moily.
• 9.2 lakh crore rupees in new currency has been introduced in the system after the decision.

7. Cooperative banks can't accept deposits under PMGKY: Govt

• Today, the union government has clarified that Co-operative Banksare not authorized to accept deposits under the “Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme” (PMGKDS).
• The scheme was launched on 17th of Dec and will remain open for declarations up to 31st March this year.

Note:

• The PMGKDS permits voluntary declarations of previously undisclosed income with an effective tax rate of 50% and requires assessees to deposit a further 25% of such wealth into a four-year interest-free deposit.

Sports

8. St Petersburg unveils logo for UEFA Euro Cup 2020

• Russia’s second largest city St Petersburg has launched an official emblem for the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup during a solemn ceremony.
• The city is the last of the 13 UEFA Euro 2020 host cities to unveil itshost city logo.
• Three group stage matches and a quarter-final will take place at St Petersburg’s stadium.
• The logo sees each of the 13 host city logos feature a single bridge from St Petersburg.
• The picturesque Palace Bridge is the key element of St Petersburg's host city logo.

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Today's GK Updates ► 17-Jan-2017

Honours & Awards

1. 25 young children to receive National Bravery Awards

• Twenty-five children (13-girls) have been selected for the national bravery awards 2016.
• The coveted Bharat award has been conferred on 8-year-old LateKumari Tarh Peju (Arunachal Pradesh), who sacrificed her life while saving two of her friends from drowning.
• The prestigious Geeta Chopra award has been conferred on 18-year-old Tejasweeta Pradhan and 17-year-old Shivani Gond (West Bengal) who showed immense courage fearlessly helping police and NGO in uncovering an international sex racket leading to the arrest of the mastermind in Delhi.
• The Sanjaya Chopra award has been given to 15-year-old Sumit Mamgain (Uttarakhand)who displayed outstanding bravery in fighting a leopard to save his cousin.
• The children will receive their awards from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 23rd of this month and they will participate in the parade.

Obituaries

2. National award-winning filmmaker Deepak Roy passes away

• Deepak Roy (67-year) known for his movie "Limit to Freedom" has passed away.
• He started his career as a film critic in 1974 and ventured into the direction in 1982.
• He has won a National award in 1996 under the category of bestinvestigative film.

3. Veteran film actress Geeta Sen passes away

• The Veteran film and stage actor Gita Sen (86-year) passed away, in Kolkata.  
• Sen had acted in several films including "Kolkata 71" and "Akaler Sandhane".

National Affairs

4. Rajyavardhan Rathore inaugurates Indian Panorama Film Festival

• The Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore has inaugurated the Indian Panorama Film Festival at Siri Fort auditorium in New Delhi.
• The art of storytelling through movies has undergone a change with the times and a trend has now started in India to produce Films based on inspiring stories of real life events.
• The Indian Panorama Film Festival, organized by Directorate of Film Festivals shall be screening a package of five iconic films of Late Om Puri to pay tribute to the legendary actor.

5. India & Mauritius sign MoU for cooperation in Agriculture

• Today, India and Mauritius has signed n Memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of Agriculture and cooperatives.
• The MoU was signed between Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and Mauritius Business and cooperatives Minister Mr.Soomilduth Bholah in New Delhi.
• The MoU will enable the two countries to collaborate in Dairy and fisheries sector, which will benefit thousand of Mauritius.
• India offered to exchange its expertise and technology with Mauritius in the agro, industry, fisheries and dairy sector.

6. RBI enhances cash withdrawal limit from ATMs to Rs 10000 per day

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has raised the daily Cash withdrawal limit of 4500 rupees from ATMs to ten thousand rupees per card with immediate effect.
• The overall withdrawal limit from saving accounts will remain unchanged at 24 thousand rupees per week.
• The limit on withdrawal from current accounts has also been enhanced from 50,000 rupees per week to one lakh rupees.
• Earlier, the ATM withdrawal limit from Rs. 2500  to Rs. 4500 form 1stof this month.

7. IIMC to start post graduate course in Urdu journalism

• The union Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naiduwill launch a post-graduate course in Urdu journalism at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) in New Delhi.
• The Executive Council of the IIMC has approved the course.
• The minister would also re-launch the Communicator, prestigious journal of the institute.

8.  North-East Frontier Railways to launch new tourist train

• The North-East Frontier (NF) Railways has announced the launch ofAastha Circuit Tourist Train from Guwahati (Assam).
• The train would take the tourists to various famous religious destinations like Gangasagar, Sri Swamy Narayan Temple, Kalighat, Birla Temple in Kolkata, Sri Jagannath Temple and Konark Temple in Puri and Bhubaneswar - Lingaraj Temple.
• This type of special dedicated tourist train was being originated from NF Railway for the first time.
•  The duration of the tour from Guwahati to Guwahati is six nights & seven days and per person cost for the entire trip is Rs 6,161.
• The all-inclusive special tourist train will start on 17th February.

9. Govt to organize Bharat Parv at Red Fort from Jan 26

• The Union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma has announced to host the mega-cultural event "Bharat Parv" from 26th January at Red Fort as part of Republic Day celebrations.
• Bharat Parv will be organized from 26th to 31st January at Red Fort.
• Festival aim to generate patriotic mood and promote the rich cultural diversity of the country, include food festival, crafts mela and cultural performances from different regions of the country.

Sports

10. Sports Ministry to launch diploma course for sports training

• The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Mr. Vijay Goel has announced to launch "diploma course" for sports training in SAI center of Rohtak on the pattern of Patiala.
• Youth to utilize their energy through participation in sports and recreational activities along with focusing on work and career-building.

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Today's GK updates

1. Sanjiv Singh is new Chairman of  Indian Oil Corporation

• Sanjiv Singh (56-year) will be the new Chairman of nation’s biggest company (by revenue) Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
• He will replace B Ashok on his superannuation at end of May 2017.
• Singh is currently Director of Refineries at IOC since 1st July 2014.

Note:-

• Sanjiv Singh is the Chemical Engineer from IIT-Roorkee.
• He joined IOC in December 1981 as Trainee Engineer and has worked in various positions at Mathura, Barauni and Panipat refineries of the company.

2. International airport to come up at Purandar, Pune

• Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced that proposed Pune International Airport will now come up in Purandar taluka, which is about 42 km fromPune.
• An expert team of Airports Authority of India (AAI) had conducted the feasibility study of the land for the project at Purandar taluka and approved it four days ago.

3. Delhi Government to have state-level bravery awards

• The Delhi government has cleared a proposal of having state-level bravery awards.
• These awards will be given out on Independence Day (15-August) and Republic Day (26th-January) every year.
• Ten awards will be given and will carry a cash award of 2 lakh rupees each.
• The winners will be selected as per the nominations by the public.

4. Govt. to launch Mission Parivar Vikas for improved family planning services

• Union Government to launch Mission Parivar Vikas in seven states (145-districts) for improved family planning services.
• These 145-districts having the highest total fertility rates are in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam.
• Its main objective of the mission is to accelerate access to high-quality family planning choices based on information, reliable service and supplies within a rights-based framework.

 5. Delhi government raises Doctors retirement age to 65

• The Delhi government has increased the retirement age of city government services doctors to 65 years.
• Earlier, the retirement age of doctors was 62 years.
• The Lieutenant Governor (LG) Najeeb Jung  has given his approval to government’s proposal to increase the retirement age of doctors.

Note:-

• Earlier, in May2016 Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced raising the age of retirement of government doctors to 65 years.

6. Sanjay Dutta, Ritesh Sarothiya selected for wildlife awards

• Indian forest officials Sanjay Dutta and Ritesh Sarothiya have been selected for the2016 Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Awards.
• Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Awards honours individuals engaging in exemplary law enforcement actions to protect wildlife.
• Sanjay Dutta is the range officer of Belakoba Forest Range Jalpaiguri in West Bengal.
• Ritesh Sarothiya is the assistant conservator of Madhya Pradesh State Forest.
• The award ceremony will be held on 3rd October 2016 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

7. India and Russia joint military exercise Indra 2016 begins

• The eighth edition of  India-Russia  11-days joint military exercise ‘INDRA-2016’  has begun in the Ussiriysk District in Vladivostok, Russia
• The main focus is on Counter-Terrorism Operations in semi-mountainous and jungle terrain under United Nations Mandate.
• The ‘INDRA’ series of annual bilateral exercises and is one of the major bilateral defence cooperation initiatives between India and Russia since 2003.

8. IAF successfully test fires long range air-to-air MICA missile

• Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully fired long-range air-to-air MICA missile fromMirage-2000 Upgrade combat aircraft on a manoeuvring target.
• The missile achieved a direct hit on a target which was much smaller than an actual aircraft and flying at a low altitude.
• IAF has become one of the few air forces in the world that have the capability of launching such beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile.

9. Velavan Senthilkumar wins squash U-19 Asian title in Kuala Lumpur

• India’s Velavan Senthilkumar (from Chennai) bagged the Under-19 Asian Junior Individual squash championship title in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• Senthilkumar beat Jordan’s Mohammad Al-Sarraj (12-14, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7) to claim the title.

10. Sania Mirza & Barbora Strycova lift Toray Pan Pacific Open tennis trophy

• India’s Sania Mirza and her Czech partner Barbora Strycova have lifted the Toray Pan Pacific Open trophy in Tokyo.
• They win over  unseeded Chinese pair of Chen Liang and Zhaoxuan Yang  straight-set (6-1, 6-1) in the final of the women’s doubles event.
• This is Sania and Strycova’s 2nd title in three tournaments since they have paired together.

Note:

• Premier Tournaments is a category of tennis tournaments in the Women’s Tennis Association tour, implemented since the reorganization of the schedule in 2009.

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