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Daily GK Update : 26th February, 2016 For LIC AAO And Other Exams

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1. Highlights of Economic Survey 2015-16
i. The Economic Survey is presented by the ministry of  Finance in the parliament every year, before the Union Budget. 
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ii. The Economic Survey reviews the developments of the Indian economy over the previous 12 months, summarizes the performance on major development programs, and highlights the policy initiatives of the government and the prospects of the economy in the short to medium term. 
iii. It is the Finance Ministry’s view on the annual economic development of the country that gives a broad idea on the macro-economic data, which will impact the budget decisions.  
iv. This year the report is authored by chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian. 
v. It contains data of various macroeconomic indicators which reflect the state of the economy such as Gross Domestic Product, Gross National Product, Inflation rate, foreign exchange trends, balance of payments etc. To read more go through our website currentaffairs.adda247.com or http://currentaffairs.adda247.com/2016/02/highlights-of-economic-survey-2015-16.html

2. India approves $150 million credit line for Iran’s Chabahar port
i. India has approved a $150 million credit line for the development of Iran’s Chabahar port. 
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ii. The port in southeast Iran is central to New Delhi’s efforts to circumvent arch-rival Pakistan and open up a route to landlocked Afghanistan where it has developed close security ties and economic interests.
iii. Under the agreement signed last year between the two countries, India will equip and operate two berths in the first phase of development at Chabahar Port and extend a credit line of $150 million through its external lending arm. Both berths will commence operations within 18 months of the signing of a final contract.
iv. India and Iran agreed in 2003 to develop Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman, near Iran’s border with Pakistan, but the venture has moved slowly because of the sanctions over Iran’s atomic programme. 
v. India will make a capital investment of $85.21 million and annual revenue expenditure of $22.95 million on a ten year lease following which the ownership of equipment will be transferred to Iran.

3. India and UK sign MoU for research in crop science
i. Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology and a consortium of top UK research institutions signed an MoU for establishment of a joint India-UK collaboration programme in crop science. 
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ii. The aim of the agreement is to enhance collaborative research, promote knowledge exchange, and support capacity building to develop resilience in food security. iii. This collaboration builds on the close links already established between leading researchers in the United Kingdom and India.
iv. This collaboration will create opportunities for leading experts in the UK and India to come together to tackle global challenges in the areas of food security, crop science and biotechnology. 
v. All parties agreed on the importance of crop science as an area of enormous potential for scientific collaboration, and of great importance for global food security in India and beyond.

4. EPFO Tightens Norms For Withdrawal Of Funds
i. Retirement fund body EPFO(Employees Provident Fund Organisation) has tightened norms on withdrawal of provident fund as well investment of such amount in Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana for its over five crore subscribers.
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ii. As per the new norms he subscribers will not be able to claim withdrawal of their provident fund after attaining age of 54 years. 
iii. Earlier norms, the EPFO subscribers were allowed to claim 90 per cent of their accumulations in their PF account at the age of 54 years. 
iv. Now EPFO  has made it mandatory to wait till attaining the age of 57 for claiming PF withdrawal for transferring that  to the Life Insurance Corporation of India for investment in Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana.In today’s scenario when  retirement age is 58 years across all organisation the clause of scheme is not relevant. 
v. But the big change is that now under this facility, the subscriber would be able to withdraw his contribution and interest earned on it unlike 90 per cent of the total accumulations earlier. Now subscribers can directly file their claims like PF withdrawals without attestation of present or previous employers. 

5. Indian Government appoints 3 news information commissioners
i. The Indian Government has appointed three information commissioners in the Central Information Commission (CIC).
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ii. They are Amitava Bhattacharyya, Indian Administrative Service, (Gujarat 1980). 
iii. Retired Chairman, Staff Selection Commission,Bimal Julka, IAS (Madhya Pradesh:1979). 
iv. Retired Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting,Divya Prakash Sinha, Indian Police Service (Manipur-Tripura: 1979), retired Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat.
v. The appointments have been made for a term of five years from the date on which they enter upon their office or till they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier, as per the provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005.

6. Jonathon Sinclair Neal appointed CEO of AAE Travel
i. Expedia, the online travel company has appointed Jonathon Sinclair Neal as the Chief Executive Officer of AAE Travel.
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ii. AAE Travels is the joint venture between AirAsia and Expedia Inc.Jonathon will be based out of Singapore.
iii. Now, Jonathon will provide strategic direction to the Singapore-based online travel company that drives two key brands, Expedia and AirAsiaGo, across 12 countries including India, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea.
iv. Currently, Jonathon was the Chief Financial Officer of AAE Travel where he was responsible for all aspects of finance as well as corporate strategy and business analytics.

7. Justice Dinesh Maheshwari Appointed As Chief Justice Of Meghalaya High Court
i. Justice Dinesh Maheshwari has sworn in as the Chief justice of the Meghalaya High Court. He was administered the oath as Chief Justice by state Governor V. Shanmuganathan.
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ii. Prior to this appointment he was working in Allahabad High Court. 
iii. The post of the Chief Justice of the High Court fell vacant after the retirement of Chief Justice Uma Nath Singh on January 14, 2016. Since then, Justice Sudip Ranjan Singh was serving as the acting Chief Justice of the state high court.
iv. Justice Maheshwari graduated in Law from Jodhpur University in 1980. He enrolled as an Advocate on 8 March 1981. He practiced mainly on civil and constitutional sides. 
v. He took oath as judge of Rajasthan High Court on 2 September 2004 than later on he was transferred to Allahabad High Court in 2014.

8. Ashwini Nangia becomes Director of CSIR-National Chemical Lab, Pune
i. Ashwini Nangia has been appointed as the Director of the CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune.
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ii. He was born in 1960 and an alumnus of the IIT Kanpur is at present with the School of Chemistry at the UoH.After, his Ph.D. (1988), he worked in NOCIL Agrochemicals R&D Centre, Navi Mumbai for a year, and then joined the University in 1989.
iii. He has contributed to the new field of cocrystals and its applications to the pharmaceutical industry.
iv. He is a JC Bose National Fellow and an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, London, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, Indian National Science Academy, New DelhiHe has over 200 research papers to his credit including several reviews. 
v. Nangia has guided over 20 Ph.D. students in the past 25 years at UoH.

9. USL appoints MK Sharma as new chairman
i. The Diageo-controlled United Spirits USL) has announced the appointment of MK Sharma as its new chairman, a day after the embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya resigned from the post. 
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ii. Mallya’s exit from the board of United Spirits ended a long-drawn tussle between him and the majority owner, UK’s Diageo, following allegations of irregularities on loans given to UB Group companies.
iii. USL is now controlled by the world’s largest spirits maker Diageo, which had acquired an additional 26 per cent stake in USL for Rs 11,448.91 crore in July to take its total share in the Indian firm to 54.78 per cent.
iv. Vijay Mallya UB group chairman has stepped down as non-executive chairman  of United Spirits Ltd controlled by Diageo Plc,after striking a sweetheart deal with the UK  firm which  agreed to  drop all charges of irregularities under his watch, and pay him $75 million over five years in return for getting him to go.
10. IRCTC, OYO Rooms tie up for hotel bookings
i. OYO Rooms has tied up with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)The tie-up aims to offer standardised accommodation and a convenient booking platform to rail travellers.
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ii. Under the tie-up, OYO Rooms will power the IRCTC hotel-booking page, offering their inventory and standardised amenities to passengers.With this, IRCTC customers will have ready access to hotel accommodations under OYO.
iii. IRCTC-OYO Rooms will offer nearly 45,000 hotel rooms in over 170 cities in India. 
iv. The IRCTC portal witnesses 5 to 5.5 lakh bookings a day.
v. The partnership symbolises the growing leverage of synergies between the government and homegrown Indian businesses to drive the next wave of innovation.

11. Reliance Capital To Transfer Commercial Finance Business Into Separate Firm
i. Reliance Capital said that it will transfer its all commercial finance division into a separate company to unfold the value through sale of stake post the transfer, Reliance Capital would be apply to the RBI for registering itself as a Core Investment Company (CIC) and this move would  also facilitated the application of banking as license and when the apex bank’s policy permits.
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ii. According to the scheme the scheme the commercial finance division of Reliance Capital would be merged into Reliance Gilt Securities a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Capital and this merged entity would be renamed Reliance Commercial Finance. 
iii. The company has an aggregate loan portfolio of Rs 15,049 crore at the end of December.
iv. The proposal will enhance management focus on Reliance Commercial Finance and also provide flexibility to the company to unlock value through stake sale.
v. Reliance Life Insurance and Reliance Asset Management, both subsidiaries of Reliance Capital, already have a strategic partner Nippon Life Insurance – with 49% stake. 

12. Ratan Tata To Head Indian Railways’ innovation Committee
i. Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Railway has announced Ratan Tata to head the Indian Railway Innovation Committee. 
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ii. In 2016- 2017 he has announced plans to set up a dedicated cross functional team called Special Unit for Transportation Research and Analytics (Sutra). 
iii. The main aim is to carry out detailed analysis leading to optimized investment decisions and operations. 
iv. The team would comprise professional analysts and best in class decision support systems and optimization engines.
v. The initiative would be administered by an Innovation Committee comprising reputed investors, representatives from National Academy of Indian Railways, Railway Board and ‘Kayakalp’ headed by Ratan Tata. 

13. Cabinet approves Atal Innovation Mission
i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for establishment of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and Self Employment and Talent Utilisation (SETU) in NITI Aayog with appropriate manpower. 
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ii. Establishment of AIM and AIM Directorate would result in implementation of Mission activities in a focussed manner. 
iii. This would be a focal point for innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
iv. The Mission would be guided by a Mission High Level Committee (MHLC) which will take all decisions relating to approval of requisite guidelines including Grand Challenge areas, prize money and implementation of various elements of AIM and SETU.
v. NITI Aayog will hire Mission Director and other appropriate manpower.The headquarter of the Mission will be New Delhi.

14. UP Government signs pact with OLA
i. Taxi aggregator Ola has entered into an agreement with the Uttar Pradesh government to create over 50,000 entrepreneurship opportunities across the state.
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ii. According to the pact, Ola will work with the state government towards skill development of youth in state and provide entrepreneurship opportunities for 50,000 men and women across the state over the next five years.
iii. Ola will also strive to introduce innovative and customised mobility solutions like Ola Auto, Ola Share and Ola Shuttle in the coming months.
iv. After bringing transportation solutions on to its app using technology, now Ola is looking to serve citizens across UP giving them instant access to reliable and convenient mobility.
v. Ola have presence across nine major cities in the state that includes Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Meerut, Aligarh, Allahabad, Saharanpur, Varanasi and Mathura.Currently, over 2,100 vehicles are registered on the Ola platform in the state and it is expected to go up to 20,000 in the next five years.

15. IDBI Bank Gets SEBI Nod To Raise Rs 3,771 cr Via QIP
i.SEBI has given approval to State-owned IDBI Bank market regulator to raise Rs 3,771 crore through issue of shares to qualified institutional playersa (QIP) move which would dilute the government’s holding significantly in the lender.
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ii. IDBI Bank said that Sebi has acceded to the request to permit the bank to raise capital by issue of equity shares aggregating upto Rs 3,771 cr. by way of a QIP subject to provisions. 
iii. As per the bank it is exempted from the applicability under the Regulation of 82(c) of Sebi (ICDR) Regulation, 2009 as per Regulation 113 of Sebi (ICDR) Regulation, 2009. 
iv. The current market valuation, Rs 3,771 cr. represents about 36.6 per cent equity stake of IDBI Bank. 
v. The government holding in the bank stands at 80.16 per cent. Its current market capitalization stood at Rs 10,583.30 cr..
16. Times Internet partners with Investopedia to deliver trusted financial content to India
i. Indian largest digital network Times Internet announced strategic partnership with Investopedia.com, one of the web’s premier destinations for financial information. In this partnership Investopedia and Times Internet will collaborate to create and curate a blend of local and international content, knowledge events and seminars to grow the brand amongst the audience in India. 
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ii. Investopedia is the world’s largest financial educational website in India, leveraging Times Internet’s 150 million monthly unique users. 
iii. Through this partnership, Investopedia and Times Internet will collaborate to create and curate a blend of local. 
iv. As part of the collaboration,Times Internet will drive local commercialization of Investopedia across both desktop and mobile.
v. According to this collaboration, Times Internet will drive local commercialization of  Investopedia across both desktop and mobile. 

17. Promotion of Payments through cards and digital means
i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for introduction of steps for promotion of payments through cards and digital means. 
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ii. The move aims at reducing cash transactions. Promotion of payments through cards and digital means will be instrumental in reducing tax avoidance, migration of Government payments and collections to cashless mode, discourage transactions in cash by providing access to financial payment services to the citizens to conduct transactions through card/ digital means and shifting payment ecosystem from cash dominated to non-cash/less cash payments.
iii. The infrastructure of card/digital payments is growing, but remains modest in comparison to cash payments. 
iv. For card/digital payments to increase, they should be easy to use, readily available and accepted, should not impose any undue financial burden on the merchant and user, and should offer an appropriate level of security.
v. While the payment system initiatives taken in the form of Electronic Clearing Service Scheme, National Electronic Funds Transfer, Real Time Gross Settlement Scheme etc. have been impressive, the benefits of modern card/digital payment systems are yet to reach all sections of the society and be accepted across the length and breadth of the country.

18. Rohit Sharma named global ambassador of Nissan
i. Japanese Carmaker Nissan has named Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma as their new global ambassador. 
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ii. Nissan also named West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell and New Zealand women’s team captain Suzie Bates as its ambassadors.
iii. In addition to an advertising campaign, the ambassadors will be active on social media across the World T20, supporting fan-focused initiatives of Nissan.
iv. Rohit, Russell and Bates join South African pacers Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada in the Nissan cricket family who were recently announced as ambassadors in their home country.
v. Nissan’s eight-year sponsorship deal with ICC comprises all tournaments for the period 2016 to 2023. The World T20 will be played in India from March 15 to April 3.

19. India Sports Awards 2015 : Long Distance Runner Lalita Babar Named As The Sports Person Of The Year
i. India’s top female Long-distance runner Lalita Babar was named as the Sports Person of the Year in the India Sports Awards 2015 in a ceremony organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) with the support of the Sports Ministry. 
ii. The Indian Sports Award were given away in New Delhi at the conclusion of day one of ‘Turf 2015-16′.
iii. The long distance runner Lalita Babar has qualified for Rio Olympics in the 3000 meter steeplechase event and is the current Indian national record holder. 
iv. She has also won a bronze medal in 2014 Incheon Asian Games and is the current Asian champion. 
v. On the other hand, Gymnast Dipa Karmakar was named as the Breakthrough Sports Person of the Year while Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India was conferred with the Best National Sports Federation recognition. 
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