Daily GK Update - 28th March 2017

1. India beat Australia by 8 wickets to win Test series 2-1

• Today, India beat Australia by eight wickets in the fourth and final cricket Test to claim the four-match series 2-1 at the HPCA stadium, Dharamsala.
• India achieved the target of 106 runs for two wickets in their second innings on the fourth day of the final Test.
• Indian Opener ‘Lokesh Rahul’ (51-run) and stand-in skipper ‘Ajinkya Rahane’ (38-run) remained unbeaten.
• With this victory, India regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Note:

• The Border–Gavaskar Trophy is a Test cricket series, played between India and Australia.
• The first Border–Gavaskar Trophy series was played in India the 1996–97 season and was won by the hosts 1–0.

Final Score:

• Australia :300 & 137
• India: 332 & 106/2 (23.5 over)
• Player of the series: Ravindra Jadeja (India).

2. Satwiksairaj & Chirag won Vietnam Open International Challenger Badminton Doubles title

• Indian pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have won the USD 20,000 ‘Vietnam Open International Challenger badminton title’ in Hanoi, Vietnam.
• They defeated the fifth-seeded Thai duo of Trawut Potieng and Nanthakam Yordphaisong in 17-21, 21-9, 21-15.
• It was their maiden title this season, while fifth victory overall.

3. Vanita Gupta appointed president of 'Leadership Conference'

• Indian-American Vanita Gupta (41-year) has been appointed as president and CEO of 'The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights'.
• Gupta will also lead its sister oorganization'The Leadership Conference Education Fund'.
• She will succeed Wade Henderson, who is stepping down after more than two decades of service in the organization.
• She has also become the first woman to head the prestigious organization.

4. Rana Kanwar Pal elected speaker of Punjab Assembly

• Today, former Punjab Youth Congress President Rana Kanwar Pal Singh (59-year) has unanimously elected speaker of Punjab Assembly.
• Rana K P Singh is elected from the Anandpur Sahib constituency for the third time.

Note:

• The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer (chair).

5. BSF gets first woman field officer in Tanushree Pareek

• The Border Security Force (BSF) has received its first woman field officer ‘Tanushree Pareek’ after 51 years.
• Pareek led the passing-out parade at the BSF Academy as the first woman field officer in the BSF academy at Tekanpur, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.

Note:

• She started training in the year 2016 in a 52-week Assistant Commandant training programme with the 40th batch of the BSF Academy.

6. Eminent Jurist Tehmtan R Andhyarujina passes away

• Eminent jurist Tehmtan R Andhyarujina (84-years) passed away due to illness.
• He was the Solicitor General of India from 1996 to 1998.
• Andhyarujina was known for his expertise in a branch of constitutional law relating to parliamentary privileges.

7. Anupam Kher receives Kala Ratan Award from Vice President

• Veteran actor Anupam Kher (62-year) was honored with the ‘Kala Ratan Award’ from Panjab University by Vice President Hamid Ansari at Chandigarh.
• Earlier, The Government of India honored him with the Padma Shri in 2004 and the Padma Bhushan in 2016 for his contribution in the field of cinema and arts.

8. Indian Railways to install Wi-Fi kiosks at 500 remote stations for e-services

• Indian Railways will set up Wi-Fi hotspot kiosks at about 500 stations to help people access an array of online services, including various government schemes.
• The Wi-Fi kiosks will function like a PCO for Digital India and enable people to use services like e-commerce, online banking, offer them access to open school/university and insurance schemes, e-ticketing for train and bus services among others.
• Automated form filling, mobile, and DTH recharge are other services which the Rail wire Saathi is expected to provide in areas with limited connectivity.

 9. Union Petroleum Ministry launches MoPNG e-Seva

• The Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has launched MoPNG e-Seva.
• MoPNG e-Seva is a dedicated grievances redressal platform on Social Media for all queries and grievances relating to Oil and Gas Sector.
• The grievances will be dealt on real-time basis.

 10. Uttar Pradesh BPL households to get free power connection

• In Uttar Pradesh, all below poverty line (BPL) households in the urban and rural areas of the state will get free power connection while those above poverty line (APL) will be given 100 % financing option with easy EMIs.
• The decisions were taken after a meeting between Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal and Uttar Pradesh Energy Minister Shrikant Sharma in New Delhi.
• These electricity connections will be given without any discrimination on caste or religious lines and will be based on the latest Socio-Economic Census data.

11. Odisha becomes the first state to bring banking to remote rural areas through SHG

• Odisha has become the first Indian state to carry financial inclusion and extend banking services to unbanked areas through Self Help Groups(SHGs).
• The state government has signed an agreement with State Bank of India (SBI)to provide banking facilities to people in unbanked areas.
• In the first phase, SHGs would be engaged as Banking Correspondents in around 1,000 remote Gram Panchayats having no banking facilities.
• Gradually it would be extended to 4,000 non-banked panchayats.

12. Syndicate Bank opens 40 ‘Ananya’ branches

• The ‘Syndicate Bank’ has digitally inaugurated 40 ‘Ananya’ transformed branches to enhance customer experience, improve sales focus, and improve digital transactions through a dedicated digit zone.
• ‘Project Ananya’ is a two-year large-scale transformation project undertaken by the bank to provide customers with ‘best in class’ services while improving and modernizing the whole bank.
• Earlier, the bank has launched its first micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) hub in Bengaluru.
• The hub aims to reduce the turnaround time of the loan sanctioning process.

13. ‘Karur Vysya Bank’ bags ‘best small bank’ award

• The ‘Karur Vysya Bank’ (KVB) has been adjudged the ‘Best Small Bank for 2016’.
• The managing Director(MD) of ‘Karur Vysya Bank’ has received the award from Sudhir Munguntivar, Minister of Finance and Planning, Government of Maharashtra, at a function in Mumbai.
• This is the eighth award won by KVB in the current fiscal.

Note:

• Karur Vysya Bank is an Indian private-sector bank, headquartered in Karur in Tamil Nadu.
• It was set up in 1916 by M. A. Venkatarama Chettiar and Athi Krishna Chettiar.

"Thought of the Day"

“Success is simple. Do what's right, the right way, at the right time.”

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