Daily GK Update : 19th February, 2016 For LIC AAO And Other Exams

1. Make In India Week Concludes In Mumbai

i. The week long Make in India concluded in Mumbai. 

ii. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 13, 2016. The event has secured investment commitments worth Rs 15.2 lakh crore, with host state Maharashtra alone accounting for Rs 8 lakh crore. Besides, it received investment enquiries worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore. 

iii. The Make in India was country’s biggest show of manufacturing sector that had successfully brought manufacturing, design and innovation to the centre-stage. 

iv. 102 countries were represented in the mega expo and more than 8 lakh people visited the expo and other events, out of which 49,74 were registered delegates. 

v. A total of 150 events were organized under the banner of this event and more than 25 thousand people had participated in seminars. 

2. India And Myanmar Sign Standard Operating Procedure On Joint Patrol

i. The 4th edition of India-Myanmar Coordinated Patrol (IMCOR) was conducted jointly by ships of both navies along the International Maritime Boundary Line in the Andaman Sea since 2013.

ii. Indian Navy ships Saryu and Bitra along with Union of Myanmar ships Aung Zeya and FAC 563 participated in the patrol. 

iii. Naval Component Commander from the Tri-Service HQs in Port Blair Cmde Girish Garg was embarked onboard INS Saryu.

iv. During the Ceremony of 4th IMCOR, the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for IMCOR was also signed between Indian Navy and Myanmar Navy. 

v. Cmde Atul Anand VSM from Indian Navy and Cmde Aung Zaw Hlaing from Myanmar Navy signed the document in the presence of H.E Gautam Mukhopadhaya, the Ambassador of India to Myanmar.

3. Warren Richardson An Australian Photographer Wins World Press Photo of 2015

i. The World Press Photo of the Year honors the photographer whose visual creativity and skills made a picture that captures or represents an event or issue of great journalistic importance in the last year.

ii. The jury of the 59th annual World Press Photo Contest has selected an image by Australian photographer Warren Richardson as the World Press Photo of the Year 2015.

iii. Richardson is a freelance photographer, currently based in Budapest, Hungary. 

iv. His picture which also won first prize in the Spot News category shows refugees crossing the border from Serbia into Hungary, near Horgoš (Serbia) and Röszke (Hungary). Taken at night on 28 August 2015, this man and child were part of the movement of people seeking to cross into Hungary before a secure fence on the border was completed.

v. The jury gave prizes in eight categories to 41 photographers from 21 countries. 

4. Union Cabinet approves LIGO-India research project on gravitational waves

i. The Union Cabinet has given an in-principle approval to the LIGO-India mega science proposal for research on gravitational waves.

ii. The proposal is piloted by the Department of Atomic Energy and the Department of Science and Technology.

iii. It will establish a state of the art gravitational wave observatory in India in collaboration with the LIGO Laboratory in the US run by Caltech and MIT.

iv. The gravitational waves were detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) — a system of detectors in Washington and Louisiana.

5. BHEL commissions GVK Goindwal Sahib’s 270-MW unit in Punjab

i. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd has commissioned a 270-MW coal-based thermal power project of GVK Group in Punjab.

ii. The unit has been commissioned at the upcoming 540 MW (2×270 MW) Goindwal Sahib coal-fired plant of GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd located in Tarn Taran district in Punjab.

iii. BHEL had commissioned four hydel power units of 82.5 MW each at Alaknanda hydropower project in Uttarakhand for GVK.

iv. GVK had enlisted BHEL for the Goindwal Sahib project under design, engineering, manufacture, supply and erection and commissioning of steam turbine and implement the project.

v. BHEL has so far supplied six units of 210 MW, two units of 210 MW and two units of 250 MW and 270 MW units in Goindwal Sahib, all in Punjab.

6. YES Bank, UltraCash partner to launch payments service

i. YES Bank has partnered UltraCash Technologies to launch payments processing through sound waves.

ii. UltraCash utilises a patent-pending technology through which payment data is securely transferred from one device to the other using unique ultra-high frequency sound waves.

iii. The innovative technology ensures that UltraCash’s ‘Tap and Pay’ works on all devices and doesn’t need any special hardware to make the payment. There are no need of special near field communication (NFC) chips.

iv. UltraCash’s sound wave technology enables mobile payments to be done without the need for Internet connectivity using any of the options, such as bank accounts and cards.

v. UltraCash will issue YES Bank-branded digital wallets to consumers to aid quicker, seamless and friction-free payments.

7. Karnataka Bank bags IBSA Banking Technology Award

i. Karnataka Bank Ltd has won the IBA Banking Technology Award’ in the category of ‘Best Risk and Fraud Management Initiative – Runner Up’ amongst small banks.

ii. The award was announced as part of Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) Technology Conference, Expo and Awards 2016.

iii. Mahabaleshwara MS, Chief General Manager of the bank has received the award from HR Khan, Deputy Governor of RBI and Ashwani Kumar, Chairman of IBA in Mumbai.

8. SBI Opens “Japan Desk” In New Dehi

i. India’s Banking Giant State Bank of India (SBI) has launched ‘Japan Desk’, a single window for inbound Japanese investments in India and vice-versa. 

ii. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative that seeks to facilitate Japanese corporate looking to invest in India with banking and advisory services. 

iii. This SBI Japan Desk will also serve as an one-point comprehensive and reliable information support source for India-bound investments of Japanese companies. 

iv. It will also facilitate establishment of banking relationship with Japanese corporates and Japanese nationals and provide information on industries, sectors etc. 

v. In future, SBI is planning to set up another dedicated Japan Desk at Chennai, Tamil Nadu. 

9. Punjab to sign MoU with British Pig Association

i. The Punjab government plans to sign a MoU with British Pig Association (BPA) to develop and promote piggery in the State.

ii. The tie-up of State Animal Husbandry department with BPA would turn around the stagnant economy of the peasantry, which is grappling with low returns from conventional farming.

iii. Punjab Government also gave permission to AOV Group for setting a modern meat processing plant at a cost of nearly ₹50 crore at Mattewara village in Ludhiana district for value addition of goat, sheep and pig meat.

iv. The company will export high-quality meat products from the upcoming plant to ensure better prices to pig farmers.

v. There are 3 government pig breeding farms at Chajju Majra (Mohali), Gurdaspur, Malwal (Ferozepur) besides the modern farm at Nabha (Patiala).

10. Robin Chaurasiya Nominated For ‘Global Teacher Prize’

i. Robin Chaurasiya, an Indian teacher who runs a non-profit school in Mumbai for girls from the city’s red light areas has been named in the top 10 short-list for a global prize for teachers. 

ii. Robin Chaurasiya, founder of Kranti, will compete with teachers from the UK, US, Nairobi, Palestine, Japan, Finland, Australia and Pakistan to win the $1-million Global Teacher Prize 2016.

iii. The prize was created last year as a kind of Oscars for the teaching profession by the U.K.-based Varkey Foundation.

iv. The Global Teacher Prize was set up to recognize one exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession as well as to shine a spotlight on the important role teachers play in society. 

v. The top ten have been narrowed down from 8,000 nominations and applications from 148 countries from around the world. 

11. Alok Kumar Verma to be next Delhi Police Chief

i. Senior IPS officer Alok Verma will be the next Delhi Police Commissioner.

ii. Mr. Verma will succeed incumbent Delhi Police Chief B S Bassi who will retire on 29th of this month.

iii. Mr. Verma is currently serving as Director General of Tihar prison.

iv. He will serve as the top police officer in Delhi for 17 months.

12. Eminent Vocalist Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan Passes Away

i. Veteran Hindustani classical vocalist Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal. 

ii. He was 107. Rashid Khan, the  oldest performing musician, was awarded a Padma Bhushan in 2013.

iii. Khan has written some 2,000 poems and used to write under the pseudonym of ‘Rasan Piya’.

iv. The Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee was a resident guru at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy in the city. 

13. Tata unveils first ever India-made Robot ‘Brabo’
i. TAL Manufacturing Solutions, a Tata Group company, is expected to launch first ever India-made robot before May 2016.

ii. Dubbed ‘Tata Brabo’, the robot has been showcased in the Make in India week in Mumbai.
iii. Brabo has been developed in-house by a team of six engineers whose average age is 24 years, led by Anil Bhingurde, chief operating officer of TAL Manufacturing Solutions.
iv. The development cost is reported to be about Rs 10 crore.
v. The design of the robot was done in-house at TAL, styling was done at Tata Elxi, and manufacturing of some parts at Tata AutoComp, while Tata Capital provided the finance.

14. Rio Haryanto Becomes Indonesia’s First Formula1 Driver

i. Rio Haryanto will become Indonesia’s first Formula One driver after signing a deal with Manor Racing. 

ii. The 23-year-old will make his F1 debut at the Australian Grand Prix on 20 March after testing in Barcelona next week. 

iii. Haryanto replaced the Briton Will Stevens, who failed to score a point in 18 starts last year. 

iv. Haryanto will join the German rookie Pascal Wehrlein, a former Mercedes reserve driver, at Manor.