Daily GK Update : 9th May 2017

Honours & Awards

1. Emma Watson bags first ever ‘genderless’ award

• Hollywood star 'Emma Watson' (27-year) has received the first-ever Genderless Acting Award for the best actor category at the 2017 MTV Movie and TV Awards in Los Angeles, California.
• This is the first ever genderless award that doesn’t separate nominees based on their sex.

Note:

• The MTV Movie & TV Awards is a film and television awards presented annually to winners decided online by the general public.
• The ceremony was preceded by the "Movie & Television Festival".

National Affairs

2. Oracle signs MoU with Jharkhand for cloud-based citizen services

• Oracle and Jharkhand govt. have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to improve cloud-based citizen services and make Jharkhand an attractive destination for start-ups.
• They will jointly explore and identify areas in which Oracle’s latest cloud-based technologies can be used to deliver improved citizen services
• Oracle will offer its support to the state through its vast portfolio of technology solutions, including Oracle Cloud.

3. Maharashtra govt. bans sale of junk food in school canteens

• The Maharashtra government has imposed a ban on the sale of junk food (like Potato chips, pizzas, burgers, cakes, biscuits, pastries) in school canteens across the state.
• It gave a list of 20 items that can be sold, which include wheat roti, vegetable pulao, idli-vada, coconut water and Jal Jira.
• Earlier, the task force has recommended to promote consumption of healthy food by children in schools and to ban the sale of junk food.

Note:

• Junk food containing high levels of fat, salt and sugar and very little nutritional content leads to obesity, dental diseases, diabetes and heart ailments in later life.

4. CRPF Command Shifted from 'Kolkata' to 'Chhattisgarh'

• The strategic anti-Naxal operations command headquarters of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has been shifted back from Kolkata to Raipur.
• Earlier, the central zone command headquarters was shifted from Raipur to Kolkata due to logistics, and connectivity issues.
• CRPF is the largest central armed police force or paramilitary force in India.

5. Assam govt decides to set up Act East Policy Affairs department in state

• The Assam govt. has decided to set up Act East Policy Affairs department in the state.
• The new department will be set up in a bid to give the boost to the ‘Act East policy’.
• The State Cabinet has also decided to create a Rhino Protection Force to curb poaching.

6. Union govt. approves Under Ground metro extension from Najafgarh

• The union Govt. has approved the Under Ground metro extension from 'Najafgarh' to 'Dhansa bus stand' in the next three years at a cost of Rs.565 crore rupees.
• Centre will bear 107 crore rupees and Subordinate Debt. Japanese International Cooperation Agency will provide 323 crore rupees and the rest by the Delhi government.
• Najafgarh-Dhansa Bus Stand Metro Extension is estimated to serve the travel needs of an additional 10,000 passengers daily.

7. Supreme Court Sentences ‘Justice Karnan’ to 6 Months Imprisonment

• A constitution bench (seven-judge) of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice ‘J S Khehar’ has sentenced, Justice C S Karnan (the Calcutta High Court judge) to six months of imprisonment for repeated incidents of contempt of court.
• This is the first time that the Supreme Court has sent a high court judge to jail on charges of contempt.
• Earlier, the Supreme Court had ordered to examine the medical condition of Justice Karnan but he refused to undergo medical tests in compliance with courts’ orders.

Obituaries

8. Pakistani sitarist Ustad Raees Khan passes away

• Legendary sitar player ‘Ustad Raees Khan’ (77-year) passed away in Karachi, Pakistan.
• He was born in 1939 in Indore (India) in a family of musicians later in 1968, he moved to Pakistan.
• He was honored with the Presidential award (2005) and Sitara-e- Imtiaz (2017).

Banking & Finance

9. SBI cuts home loan rates in affordable housing push

• The State bank of India (SBI) has announced an interest rate cut of up to 25 basis points for affordable housing loans under Rs 30 lakh (valid till 31st July).
• Salaried woman borrowers can avail loan at an interest rate of 8.35%, offering a reduction of 25 basis points, while for the non-salaried, the rate cut will be 20 basis points.
• For salaried male borrowers, the loan will be available at 8.40% (a rate cut of 20 basis points), while for the non-salaried, the rate cut will be 15 basis points.

10. India to grow at 7.7 per cent in 2018-19: IMF

• According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India's growth is expected to rebound to 7.2% in the 2017-18 fiscal and 7.7% in 2018-19 after disruptions caused by demonetization.
• The removal of long-standing structural bottlenecks to enhance market efficiency.
• Temporary disruptions caused by cash shortages accompanying the currency exchange initiative are expected to gradually dissipate in 2017 as cash shortages ease.

National & International Appointment

11. Sohail Mahmood to be Pakistan's New Envoy to India

• A senior official of the Pakistan Foreign Service ‘Sohail Mahmood’ (55-year) will be the new Pakistani High Commissioner in India.
• He will replace ‘Abdul Basit’.
• currently, he is the Pakistan's ambassador to Turkey.

12. India unanimously elected as President of UN-Habitat

• India has been unanimously elected as the President of UN-Habitat.
• The UN-Habitat promotes socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements across the world.
• It is only the third time that India has been elected to lead this important organization after 2007 and 1988.

Note:

• Earlier, the union minister M Venkaiah Naidu has chaired the 58-member Governing Council of UN-Habitat at Nairobi in Kenya.
• He will preside over the deliberations of the Council of UN-Habitat for the next two years.

"Thought of the Day"

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”

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