Daily GK Update : 27th December 2016

Sports

1. Yuki Bhambri wins ITF Hong Kong F4 Futures title

• Indian professional tennis player and former Junior No. 1 Yuki Bhambri has won the title of the $ 10000 ITF Hong Kong F4 Futures.
• It is the first singles trophy of the season.
• He defeated the tournament's number two Shintaro Imai of Japan 6-4,7-5.
• He is the first Indian to seal victory in the junior Australian Open Title 2009.

National Affairs

2. PM lays foundation stone of Char Dham highway development project in Dehradun

• Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone of Char Dham highway development project in Dehradun(Uttarakhand).
• The Char Dham project is a tribute to Kedarnath flash flood victims.
• The project will allow uninterrupted access for pilgrims to the four Himalayan shrines of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri which bore the brunt of devastating floods in 2013.
• The project which involves an expenditure of over 12 thousand crore rupees.

3.UP CM lays foundation stone of Film, Television and Liberal Arts Institute

• The  Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav has laid a foundation stone of the Film, Television and Liberal Arts Institute at Lucknow in an area of 14 acres of land.
• The state of the art technology and world class facilities will be roped in to educate nearly 500 students seeking expertise in filmmaking and other allied subjects.
• He also gave away subsidies to 17 films which were totally or partially shot in Uttar Pradesh.

4. Karnataka govt. launches 25 bio-diesel buses in the state

• First time in the country, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has launched 25 bio-diesel buses (Rs. 90 lakh each) in the state in an effort to reduce pollution caused by diesel buses.
• These eco-friendly buses will play on four routes.
• The Biodiesel buses eject 60 to 70 percent less emissions than diesel buses and save the Corporation Rs.80 lakh each year.

5. Digi Dhan Mela held in Gurugram to promote cashless transactions

• The 'Digi Dhan Mela' has been organised in the outskirts of the national capital in Gurugram (Haryana).
• It was the first such fair in the country outside Delhi post-demonetisation to promote cashless transactions.
• More than 3,000 peoples Banking accounts were opened and about 7,000 persons has been imparted training about digital payments during the mela.
• Earlier, the "Lucky Grahak Yojana" and "Digi Dhan Vyapar Yojana" awards have been launched to encourage people to adopt the cashless mode of payments.

6. Salman Khan launches his app 'BeingInTouch' on 51st birthday

• Today, Indian film actor, producer, television personality Salman Khan (51-year) has announced the launch of his app "BeingInTouch" through Twitter.
• The app will provide access to Salman's social media accounts, his unseen pictures videos and also avail discounts from various brands on the app.

Obituaries

7. US Astronomer Vera Rubin passes away

• US Astronomer Vera Rubin (88-years), whose pioneering work on galaxy rotation rates led to the theory of dark matter has passed away due to the natural causes.
• In 1974, Rubin discovered that the stars at the edges of galaxies moved faster than expected.
• Her studies earned her numerous honours and become the second female astronomer to be elected to the US National Academy of Sciences.

Banking & Finance

8. SBI adopts village in Pen for Aadhaar-based payments

• Country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has adopted Shirki village in Pen taluka in Maharashtra for driving the Aadhaar-based merchant payment initiative.
• The merchants in the village have been provided with simple android phones with a USB-based fingerprint capture device and required a bank account with an Aadhaar number.

 International Affairs

9. Japanese PM Abe & US President Obama to visit Pearl Harbor today

• Today, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Barack Obama will visit Pearl Harbor (the US naval base) that was attacked by the Japanese in 1941 and 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded.
• It will be the first visit by the leaders of both countries since the attack.
• Both leaders will pay homage to those killed during the attack.
• Mr Abe visited a nearby memorial for nine boys and men who died when a US Navy submarine collided with their Japanese fishing vessel in 2001.

Note:

• The attack on Pearl Harbor ( Battle of Pearl Harbor ) by the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters and Operation Z during planning was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor of December 7, 1941.
• The attack led to the United States' entry into World War II.

Thought of the Day

“We aim above the mark to hit the mark.”

“हम लक्ष्य तक पहुंचने के लिए लक्ष्य से ऊपर निशाना लगाते हैं।”

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