Daily GK Update : 26th February, 2016

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

Daily GK Update : 25th February, 2016

1. All About Railway Budget 2016-2017

i. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu presented his second rail budget this year. 

ii. He kept the fares unchanged.  In his budget speech, he said that for this budget he owes its inspiration to vision of PM Modi who said: "My vision is to make railways backbone of India’s progress & economic development."

iii. He outlined the 3 pillars of strategy - raise new revenues, raise productivity and efficiency and revamp the processes. 

iv. He also said that the Core objective is to become engine of economic growth, create employment and provide customer service.

v. Here are the highlights of the Rail Budget 2016: The Capital plan of Rs 1.21 lakh crore. Operating ratio kept at 92% FY17 as against 90% in current year. To generate revenues of order of Rs.1,84,820 cr next year which is a 10.1% higher than revised target of current year.Railways will get Rs 40,000 crore budgetary support from the government etc. 

2. India extends $1 million aid to cyclone-hit Fiji

i. Cyclone-hit Fiji will receive one million dollars as immediate assistance from the Indian Government. 

ii. This was announced by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Vikas Swarup. 

iii. Fiji has been struck by “Cyclone Winston” which brought with it wind gusts of 325 kilometres per hour and sea and ocean waves up to 12 metres high. 

iv. The area’s crops and several villages have been flattened completely by the natural calamity. 

v. So far, 29 people have reportedly died and many others have been shifted to evacuation centres.

3. Union Govt To Introduce Coal Linkage Auction Policy For Power Corporation

i. Union Govt to introduce coal linkage auction policy for power corporation which did not have such coordinations with Coal India Ltd. 

ii. Anil Swarup, Coal Secretary said that the current surplus stock with Coal India Ltd (CIL) was a temporary phenomenon. 

iii. CIL take several steps for implementing further process :  Reduction in import of thermal coal, Improved fuel supply levels, Better evacuation of pit head coal stock, Restructuring of debt for power distribution companies had been initiated.

iv. Secretary told that six months large states distribution companies would come under the UDAY scheme for restructuring of their debts and unleash demand for coal.

v. Coal import has already gone downby 16per cent in the April-January period, which has resulted in Rs. 20,200 crore savings for the government.

4. PNB declares 904 firms as wilful defaulters

i. State-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) has declared 904 borrowers who owed it a combined Rs.10,869.71 crore as of December-end as wilful defaulters. 

ii. The bank added 140 companies to the list of wilful defaulters over the last quarter. 

iii. At the end of September, 764 companies who owed the lender Rs.9,200 crore had been classified as wilful defaulters.

iv. The wilful defaulters to PNB are Winsome Diamonds and Jewellery, which owes Rs.900.37 crore, Forever Precious Jewellery and Diamonds (Rs.747.98 crore), Zoom Developers (Rs.410.18 crore), Nafed (Rs.224.26 crore) and S. Kumar Nationwide (Rs.146.82 crore). 

v. The bank recently declared Kingfisher Airlines and its guarantors UB Holdings and Vijay Mallya as wilful defaulters. Kingfisher Airlines owes PNB Rs.1,500 crore.

5. Infosys Extends Vishal Sikka's Term By Two Years

i. India's second largest software exporter Infosys has extended the tenure of chief executive officer & Managing Director Vishal Sikka by another two years till the year 2021. 

ii. Sikka was earlier appointed as MD & CEO till 2019. Official stating that his initiatives have helped the company to grow towards leadership position.

iii. Mr. Sikka was the first non-founder who was appointed as the CEO and Managing Director of the company. 

iv. Under the leadership of Sikka, Infosys started delivering industry leading growth in the last couple of quarters. 

v. Since he assumed office in August 2014 Mr Sikka has taken various measures to fuel growth. Some of the major measure includes leadership changes, employee retention measures, forming corporate venture fund.

6. SBI launches new branch for e-commerce loans

i. Banking giant SBI has taken another leap in this space with the launch of SBI e-Smart SME, a working capital loan offering for sellers on ecommerce platforms. 

ii. With this development, sellers can apply for the loan online on the e-commerce platform and get instant sanctioning of the loan.

iii. This product uses proprietary platform data and surrogates information from public domain to assess the seller’s creditworthiness for loan sanctioning. 

iv. The product was launched in partnership with ecommerce platform Snapdeal in the presence of bank’s chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya & Snapdeal CEO Kunal Bahl.

7. INS Arihant – India’s first nuclear submarine ready to operate

i. INS Arihant, India’s first nuclear armed submarine is now ready for full fledged operations. 

ii. The submarine has passed several deep sea diving drills as well as weapons launch tests over the past five months. 

iii. The formal induction into the naval fleet is only a political call away. 

iv. The Arihant, which is the first of five nuclear missile submarines or SSBNs planned for induction, has also undergone deep sea dives off Vishakhapatnam where it was build. 

v. A Russian diving support ship the RFS Epron that arrived on October has been accompanying the Arihant on its deep sea dives and launch tests.

8. India to induct women in combat roles : President

i. The Government has decided to induct women in all military combat roles in the future. 

ii. The announcement has been made by President Pranab Mukherjee during the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

iii. The President said, “In our country, shakti is the manifestation of female energy. This shakti defines our strength. 

iv. My government has approved the induction of women as short service commission officers and as fighter pilots in the IAF. 

v. In the future, my government will induct women in all fighter streams of our armed forces.”

9. Rajendra Singh Appointed As First Non-Navy Officer To Head Coast Guard

i. Rajendra Singh appointed as first non-navy officer to head Coast Guard. 

ii. This is the 1st time that the force will get a chief from its own internal cadre since it was set up in 1978 as the country's fourth armed force after the Army, 

iii. Appointments Committee of Cabinet approved Rajendra Singh's appointment an order from the Department of Personnel and Training.

iv. Rajendra Singh is at present director General of coast  guard 

v. This is the first time an officer who is not from the Indian Navy has been elevated to the position also he was Coast Guard cadre to be elevated to three-star officer. 

10. Indian Government to provide wi-fi at 25,000 spots in country

i. The Indian government has planned to set up wi-fi facilities at 25,000 spots in the country by March 2016.

ii. At present, the facilities are available at three hundred spots across India.

iii. The government is exploring to have such more wi-fi spots in near future.

iv. The government is laying optical fibre network in two lakh 50 thousand gram panchayats of the country to provide broadband facilities.

11. Afghanistan's National Women’s Cycling Team nominated for 2016 Nobel Peace Prize

i. The Afghanistan’s National Women’s Cycling Team has been nominated by a group of Italian MPs for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for their dedication.

ii. Afghanistan’s National Women’s Cycling Team is among the first Afghan girls to be riding bikes socially. 

iii. They face enormous challenges to ride a bike but these women are challenging gender barriers, breaking one of the last taboos in the country for women.

iv. These women have used cycling to promote social justice and social stigma. They are opening the door to allow girls to ride bicycles for transportation.

v. It is the 1st Afghan women's team to compete on the international stage, at the Asian Cycling Championships in Delhi in 2013. 

12. Mastercard to launch payments by selfie

i. Mastercard is launching new mobile technologies that will allow customers to authenticate their online purchases using selfies or fingerprints. 

ii. The technology will be rolled out by big banks in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and some European countries over the next few months. 

iii. People from around the world will be regularly using this authentication technology within five years, said Ajay Bhalla, president of enterprise security solutions at MasterCard.

iv. Mastercard plans to roll out the technology to the UK, US, Canada, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

v. Customers who want to try selfie authentication will have to download a special MasterCard app that will allow them to take a photo each time they make an online purchase. Their face (or fingerprint) will be scanned to prove that they — not hackers or thieves — are making a purchase.

13. Facebook launhced Telecom Infra Project

i. Facebook has announced the Telecom Infra Project, which will look at developing new and alternative technologies to build and deploy telecom infrastructure, with partners including Aricent, HCL Technologies, Intel, Nokia and T- Mobile. 

ii. The Project is working on providing currently unserved rural communities with wireless network efforts. 

iii. A pilot 4G network is already underway in the Philippines, and Facebook has a project in planning for the Scottish Highlands.

iv. TIP will focus on open designs for three areas of telecommunications hardware and software: access points, the backhaul network to connect them, and network core and management systems.

v. Facebook said TIP members will contribute designs in three areas- access, back haul, and core and management. TIP will apply the design principles of the Open Compute Project, which is a Facebook project to share data centre designs.

14. GVK Bio wins Global CSR Excellence & Leadership Awards

i. GVK Biosciences has bagged the Global CSR Excellence & Leadership Awards in the category of Best Environment-Friendly Project.

ii. The award has been given for its 'Go Green, Grow Green' plantation drive.

iii. The awards are constituted by the World CSR Congress every year on the World CSR Day. 

iv. The awards are presented to companies who believe in the value of sustainable corporate social responsibility.

v. GVK Bio has obtained this recognition for its mega plantation drive conducted in July 2015.

15. Australia replaces India as world No.1 in ICC Test rankings

i. Australia has replaced India at the top of the world's test rankings in Cricket with a 2-nil test series victory over New Zealand in Christchurch.

ii. Captain Steven Smith and Joe Burns hit fifties on the final day as Australia achieved the target of 201 set by the hosts losing just 3 wickets in their second innings. 

iii. Joe Burns was selected as man of the match for his 170 and 65 runs from both innings.

iv. New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum bid farewell test cricket. 

v. The 34- years old wicket keeper batsman has scored over 6000 test runs at an average of 39.

Daily GK Update : 24th February, 2016

1. Government To Sell Its 5 % Stake In NTPC

i. Government will sell its 5 per cent stake in India's largest power producer NTPC at a floor price of Rs 122 per share to raise Rs 5,029 crore. 

ii. The government, which owns almost 75% of the company, plans to sell its stake in the two-day sale filings.

iii. Retails investors, for whom 20 per cent shares have been reserved, will get to bid on February 24. 

iv. Indian government still remains well short of its Rs69,500 crore stake sale target for the year to 31 March. 

v. This fiscal, the government has sold shares in companies including Power Finance Corp. and Rural Electrification Corp. It has raised Rs13,340 crore, or a fifth of the aim through disinvestment in five PSUs — EIL, Indian Oil Corp, PFC, REC and Dredging Corporation. 

2. Indian Origin Ismail Mahomed Conferred Knighthood By French Government

i. An Indian-origin art lover and playwright Ismail Mahomed from South Africa has been knighted by the French government for his lifelong devotion to the promotion of arts. 

ii. He was bestowed with Knight of the Order of Arts and Literature (The Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres) by French Ambassador Elisabet Barbier in Johannesburg. 

iii. Presently, Ismail Mahomed is working as the Artistic Director of the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. He has also received numerous other award in his 30 year career. 

iv. In 1999, he was awarded Premier’s Award for developing and promoting the arts and culture sector as an economic enterprise in the South African province of Mpumalanga. 

v. He has a long standing relationship with France and has brokered several collaborations between French and South Africa artists. 

3. Naval Exercise IBSAMAR 2016 between India, South Africa, Brazil kicked off in Goa

i.  The fifth edition of IBSAMAR 2016 trilateral naval exercise between Brazil, India and South Africa kicked off in Goa. 

ii. IBSAMAR is abbreviated as India-Brazil-South Africa Maritime. 

iii. This is the for the first time the exercise is held in India as all the previous editions were held in South Africa since it began in 2006. 

iv. This trilateral naval exercise aims at increasing (i) Interoperability among navies of three countries (ii) Common understanding maritime security between them. 

v. This edition of IBSAMAR naval exercise will be conducted two phases namely Harbour phase and Sea Phase. During harbour phase, wide range of professional interactions will be undertaken and during Sea Phase diverse range operational activities will be conducted off Goa coast. 

4. Pakistan Parliament Become 1st In World To Run Entirely On Solar Power

i. Pakistan parliament became the first in the world to completely run on solar power, a venture supported by close ally China with a whopping $55 million funding. 

ii. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a simple ceremony switched on solar-powered building of the parliament in capital Islamabad.

iii. It was launched in 2015 when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited and addressed the Parliament. 

iv. The first announced of the project was in 2014 by Chinese government as an act of friendship with financial support of 55 million dollars. The solar panels of parliament have installed capacity 80 Mega Watts (MW) of which 62 MW is sufficient for it while remaining 18 MW will be connected to national grid. 

v. The project was completed in seven months at a cost of 280.61 million rupees. The solar plant will help the parliament save around 12 million rupees in electricity bills every year. 

5. Vienna Is The World's Best City To Live In : Survey

i. Austria’s capital Vienna is the best place in the world to live, according to an international survey on quality of life that has no Indian city in the top 100. 

ii. Baghdad is the worst, and London, Paris and New York do not even make it into the top 35, according to international research into quality of life.

iii. According to the 18th Mercer Quality of Life study which examined socioeconomic conditions of 230 global cities, Vienna, a city of nearly 1.8 million people, is the world’s best city, followed by Zurich, Auckland, Munich and Vancouver. 

iv. Among Indian cities, Hyderabad topped the rankings at 139th position, followed by Pune at 144, Bangalore 145, Chennai 150, Mumbai 152, Kolkata 160 and national capital Delhi at 161. According to the World Bank, Austria has one of the highest figures for GDP per head in the world, just behind the US and ahead of Germany and Britain.

v. The study examined social and economic conditions, health, education, housing and the environment, and is used by big companies to assess where they should locate and how much they should pay staff. 

6. Tamil film Kanavu Variyam wins 2016 Remi Award

i. Tamil film Kanavu Variyam has won the prestigious 2016 Remi Award in the United States. 

ii. The film has been directed and produced by a Chennai-based techie Arun Chidambaram and Karthik Chidambaram. 

iii. The film deals with the incessant power cuts and shortage of electricity faced by the Indian villages. It stars Jiya as the lead character and the music is by Shyam Benjamin. 

iv. The award will be presented to A Chidambaram during the 49th WorldFest Houston International Film Festival that will be held from 8 to 17 April, 2016 The movie also has won Special Jury Award at the National Science Festival. 

v. The song Kalla Manna in the film which is based on compilation of 51 traditional games of rural India has been accepted for screening at the Bare Bones International and Music Festival in Oklahoma. 

7. Udai Kumar Appointed As Full Time MD And CEO Of MSEI

i. Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India (formerly MCX Stock Exchange) has appointed its interim Managing Director & CEO Udai Kumar as MD & CEO after receiving necessary approvals from securities regulator SEBI. 

ii. Prior to this appointment, he was given an interim charge after then MD and CEO Saurabh Sarkar had resigned. 

iii. Udai Kumar is a veteran of the capital and financial markets. 

iv. He has over two decades of rich experience in stock exchange administration, fund-raising, capital markets, restructuring and merger and acquisition functions. 

v. The SEBI approval comes after a stringent short-listing process and interviews by the Selection Committee to select a suitable candidate for the role.

8. World’s 1st fast-acting Anti-Rabies drug to be launched in India

i. World’s first fast-acting anti-rabies drug Rabies Human Monoclonal Antibody (RMAb) will be launched in India. 

ii. The drug has been developed by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) and US-based MassBiologics of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. 

iii. RMAb drug is a human IgG1 monoclonal antibody that instantly deactivates rabies virus by specifically binding to a conformational epitope of glycoprotein of the virus. 

iv. It is 25% cheaper compared to the existing expensive human rabies immunoglobulin (hRIG) treatment. 

v. It has advantage of automatically precluding the chances of transmitting blood-borne infections that are present in rabies immunoglobulin vaccines. 

9. RBI extends currency swap arrangement with SAARC nations

i. In order to enhance economic cooperation and strengthen financial stability, RBI has extended the $2 billion currency swap arrangement to SAARC nations till mid-November 2017.

ii. Under the arrangement, RBI is to offer swap arrangement up to an overall amount of $2 billion both in foreign currency and Indian rupee.

iii. The SAARC Swap Arrangement was offered by the RBI to SAARC nations on November 15, 2012.

iv. The facility will be available to all SAARC member countries — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

v. The swap amount available to various member central banks has been arrived at broadly based on two months import cover subject to a floor of $100 million and a maximum of $400 million per country.

10. Rahul Taneja Appointed As Chief People Officer of Jet Airways

i. India's 2nd largest airline Jet Airways India Ltd named Rahul Taneja as its chief people officer, responsible for shaping the operations and performance of the group. 

ii. Taneja previously headed corporate human resources (HR) at Essar Group where he led the strategic redesign of the organization and HR function for global operations across all business portfolios.

iii. He will join the Executive Management Committee that has been tasked by the Board of Directors to drive the company’s growth and future strategy. 

iv. Taneja, 47, has over 25 years of experience in diverse industry sectors and has worked in HR leadership positions across leading Indian and international companies. 

v. His earlier roles included HR Director at computer giant Dell International and Group HR Head at telecom networks solutions company HFCL.

11. CGPDTM issues revised patent guidelines for Computer Related Inventions

i. The Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDT) has issued an order excluding software patents in its revised guidelines for Computer Related Inventions (CRIs). 

ii. The new order clearly mentions that, mere computer programmes those not in conjunction with a novel hardware will not be granted patent in India. 

iii. The new guidelines Follow CGPDT’s stay on the revised guidelines issued in August 2015 which have allowed the patenting of software which demonstrated technical advancement and did not clarify it. 

iv. Have been aligned to the Patents Act, 1970 and brings out clarity in terms of exclusions expected under sub-section 3(k) of the Act.

12. KN Vyas appointed as Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre

i. Distinguished scientist KN Vyas has been appointed as Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) for a term of three years.

ii. His appointment was confirmed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. 

iii. He succeeds Shekar Basu who was appointed as Atomic Energy Secretary and Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in October 2015.

13. Justice Vineet Saran appointed as Chief Justice of Orissa High Court

i. President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Justice Vineet Saran as the new Chief Justice (CJ) of Orissa High Court as per the provisions of Article 217 of Constitution. 

ii. His appointment comes after it was lying vacant ever since transfer of Justice D H Waghela as CJ of Bombay High Court. 

iii. During the vacant period, Justice Pradeep K. Mohanty was officiating as Acting CJ of Orissa High Court.

iv. Prior to this appointment, Justice Saran was officiating in Karnataka High Court as a senior judge.

14. All About Asia Cup 2016

i. The much awaited Asia Cup 2016 will kick off from Today, where hosts Bangladesh will take on India in the opener at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur. 

ii. The 2016 Asia Cup is a Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket tournament to be held from 24 February to 6 March 2016. 

iii. It will be the 13th edition of the Asia Cup, the fifth to be held in Bangladesh, and the first to be played using the T20I format.

iv. Along with Bangladesh (the host) and Sri Lanka (the defending champions from the 2014 event), the tournament will include India, Pakistan, and one ICC associate member, the United Arab Emirates, who qualified from a qualifier played from 19 to 22 February 2016.

15. Mortaza Set To Become UNDP’s Goodwill Ambassador

i. Bangladesh limited overs captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza is set to be named as the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) “national goodwill ambassador for youth”. 

ii. The appointment will be made official on that day following a signing ceremony, the UNDP said in a statement.

iii. The release stated that UNDP Bangladesh will appoint Mashrafe Bin Mortaza as the UNDP National Goodwill Ambassador for Youth in Bangladesh. 

iv. Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, who is currently the ODI and Twenty-20 skipper, said that he had received the proposal a month ago and was extremely excited to receive the opportunity.

v. The UNDP has enlisted the volunteer services and support of prominent personalities from the worlds of art, music, film, sport and literature to highlight key issues and to draw attention to its activities.