GK Updates - 1 July | Banking Quiz

National Doctors’ Day observed across India on 1 July

I.India on 1 July 2014 observed the National Doctors’ Day. The day is observed to honour legendary physician, Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy whose birth and death anniversary falls on the same day. On 4 February 1961, he received the Bharat Ratna.

II.The doctors’ day gives an opportunity to raise the awareness about the doctor’s role in our daily lives.

Third edition of Ladakh International Film Festival held in Leh

I.The third edition of Ladakh International Film Festival (LIFF) was held in Leh, Jammu and Kashmir from 27 June to 29 June 2014. The festival screened over 50 films which included among others Bollywood, Iranian and Korean films etc.

II.Bollywood’s Kaafiron Ki Namaaz (The Virgin Arguments) won four awards and Iranian film Wet Letters bagged three awards at the third edition of Ladakh International Film Festival.

Malala Yousafzai won Liberty Medal for the year 2014

I.Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani education advocate, on 30 June 2014 won the 2014 Liberty Medal given by the National Constitution Centre in Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, US.

II.She won the medal for her continued demonstration of courage and resilience in the face of adversity and for serving as a powerful voice for those who have been denied their basic human rights and liberties

III.Malala, the youngest recipient of medal in 25-year history, will receive the award at a ceremony to be held at the centre in Philadelphia on 21 October 2014.

Scientist at BITS Pilani develops device to test antibiotic sensitivity

I.A new low-cost portable device to test antibiotic sensitivity has been developed by Suman Kapur, a scientist at BITS Pilani, Hyderabad campus.

II.The technology is being transferred to an incubate company, Xcellence in Bio Innovation and Technologies Pvt Ltd, for commercial scale production.

III.An agreement has been signed by VS Rao, Director, BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus with the representative of the company in the presence of Kapur in this regard, according to a release issued on Monday.

Fastest finder

Describing it as the “fastest antibiotic finder available to date,” Kapur said the new technology, developed with funding received from NPMASS-DRDO, was expected to obliterate the empirical use of antibiotics and thus help fighting the growing microbial resistance to antibiotics.

In reliability and cost, the device was comparable to the conventional assays for antibiotic sensitivity of pathogens.

Versatile

It can be used in any setting including a clinic, lab or hospital, to test antibiotic sensitivity of pathogens found in human biological fluids and tissue scrapings and comes with a ready-to-use kit.

The results could be known in a couple of hours as against the normal wait of two to three days for a sample to be cultured and tested in any lab.

Former Haitian President Leslie Manigat died at 83

I.Former Haitian president Leslie Francois Manigat on 27 June 2014 died at the age of 83. He was elected as the President of Haiti in January 1988 but was overthrown by General Henri Namphy in June 1988.

II.He led the centre-left Assembly of Progressive National Democrats party (RNDP) that was founded in the late 1970s.

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan’s sarod goes missing on British Airways flight

I. Ustad Amjad Ali Khan’s sarod, which he has been strumming for the last 45 years, has gone missing on a British Airways flight while the iconic musician was returning to Delhi from London on Saturday night.

II.The airline claimed that there has been “intermittent problems” with Heathrow Airport’s baggage system in Terminal 5 and that efforts were underway to resolve it.

III.The 68-year-old Padma Vibhushan sarod maestro had gone to London along with his wife Subhalaxmi for a performance at Dartington College to celebrate the life of Rabindranth Tagore on June 21 and returned on the night of June 28.

IV.He and his wife were travelling first class on British Airways flight (BA-143) on their return journey from London.

V.“But when we arrived at Delhi airport on June 28, I could not find my priceless sarod. We waited there for 4-5 hours while airline people tried to trace the instrument. But they were not able to trace it, and they said most likely it would come by the next flight,” Khan told PTI.

VI.“But now its more than 48 hours and still I am waiting for some news. How can such a big airline be so irresponsible,” Khan said.

VII.Khan later posted on his Facebook page, “After damaging my Sarod in 1997, British Airways now misplaces my Sarod. 48 hours and I still wait anxiously for some news. Still not traced!!!

Inland Waterways, Odisha govt, Paradip and Dhamra ports to sign pact for NW 5

I.Inland waterways authority of India (IWAI), government of Odisha, Paradip port and Dhamra port are set to an agreement today to develop a portion of national waterway 5, connecting Kalinganagar industrial area with ports of Paradip and Dhamra.

II.Paradip Port Chairman Sudhanshu Shekhar Mishra told Business Line, "we are signing the agreement today."

III.Kalinganagar, located in Jajpur district in coastal Odisha, houses Tata Steel plant.

IV.The project cost needs to be updated. But an earlier detailed project report pegged the project cost at Rs 4,200 crore.

West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan resigned

I.MK Narayanan, the Governor of West Bengal on 30 June 2014 tendered his resignation to the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee. Narayanan’s resignation came within a week after being questioned by the CBI as a witness in connection with its probe into 3600-crore rupees VVIP chopper from Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland.

II.He is the first ever person holding a gubernatorial post to be questioned by the agency. He was questioned as at the time of the chopper deal, he was the national security adviser to the Prime Minister. He had presided over a meeting which made changes to technical specifications for VVIP Choppers.

Sri Lanka and Seychelles signed six agreements

I.Sri Lanka and Seychelles on 28 June 2014 signed 6 agreements of bilateral importance. The agreements were signed during the visit of Sri Lankan President to Seychelles. The six agreements were signed between Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and President of Seychelles, James Michael in the capital, Victoria.

II.As per the agreement a Joint Commission on cooperation will be established that will guide the entire bilateral cooperation mechanism including identifying areas of bilateral cooperation, arriving at agreements, implementation, identifying issues and finding solutions.

III.Apart from this, the two Presidents in their discussion agreed to strengthen bilateral relations while expanding cooperation into new areas like areas of trade, investment, tourism, education and people-to-people contact. Rajapaksa also emphasized on Sri Lankan interest to develop the Blue Economy concept as well as their partnership in the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Forum to be held in Samoa in September 2014.

India and China inked 3 agreements including one to facilitate setting up of Chinese Industrial

I.India and China on 30 June 2014 signed three agreements in the fields of commerce, water resources and human resources development. The signed agreements will facilitate China to set up industrial parks, share hydrological information during Brahmaputra floods and impart training to public officials.

II.These agreements were signed after delegation level talks between Hamid Ansari, the Vice President of India and his Chinese counterpart Li Yuanchao at Chinese Parliament called Great Hall of People in Beijing. Hamid Ansari was on a visit to China from 26 June to 30 June 2014.

'ICAR must start international services in agriculture'

I.Eminent agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan has said that the ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) start an international services in agriculture.

II.He said it is time the country start this service under the aegis of Agricultural Scientists' Recruitment Board as a sub-cadre.

III.Addressing a gathering at the National Academy of Agricultural Research (NAARM) here on Tuesday, he said the Government is setting up a Genetic Garden at Kandahar in Afghanistan and a Rice BioPark in Myanmar.

IV."Efforts like these require specially qualified scientists to help other developing countries. It's time for ICAR to establish International Agricultural Research Services," he said.

V.Similarly, ICAR should start a sub-cadre to take care of special needs of agriculture in north-eastern states.

SBI launches digital touch banking branches

I.State Bank of India has launched six digital branches across the nation, as part of its programme to offer next generation banking solutions to the mobile and internet-savvy customer base.

II.These branches are located in Mumbai, Bangalore,Chennai and Ahmedabad, besides Delhi.

III.One of such branches in Delhi was inaugurated this morning by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

IV.Named as sbiINTOUCH, these branches will have digital banking capabilities, which include instant account opening with personalised debit cards, instant loan approvals for education, car and home and remote expert advisors available via video links. The new branches are equipped with interactive wall and table displays and multi-function kiosks.

V."Today, more than half of India's population is under the age of 25. By 2020, India's average age will be 29 years — this is a digital demographic, one that expects businesses to provide solutions immediately. At the same time, the mass afflunet — no matter what their age — have similar espectations. Indian banks need to provide a strong response to these new demands," Chairman of SBI Arundhati Bhattacharya said here.

Digital biz strategy

I.The bank has engaged Accenture to develop the digital business strategy for its programme.

II.Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 293,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.

III.Accenture helped SBI in designing the branch layouts, implementing the digital processes and technology at the branches, and providing back-end integration, including employee training.

'Touch' branches

I.Customers can open a SBI savings account by visiting the new 'Touch' branches launched by the bank.

II.The new branches will be located in malls and will be primarily aimed at youth, who look for digital banking.

E appoints Munesh Makhija as MD, GE India Tech Center

I.Munesh Makhija has been appointed Managing Director, GE India Technology Center and Chief Technology Officer, GE India. Effective immediately, he takes over this role from Dr. Gopichand Katragadda who is leaving GE.

II.Munesh, who will be based at the John F. Welch Technology Centre in Bangalore, will lead GE’s R&D efforts in India and carry forward the technology legacy of the center, which is GE’s first and largest integrated multi-disciplinary Research and Development Centre. In his new role, he will lead a team of 5,300 technologists across GE’s centres in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai.

IDBI Bank launches mobile banking service

I.IDBI Bank on Tuesday introduced mobile banking service for its customers. This facility enables the customer to meet all banking needs such as fund transfer, bill payments, visa money transfer, DTH/ mobile recharge and much more from any destination.

II.To commemorate 50 years of its journey in the Indian financial sector, the public sector bank’s Chairman & Managing Director M.S. Raghavan also opened 50 new branches pan-India through e-inauguration.

III.With the opening of these new branches, IDBI Bank now has 1,467 branches, and 2,535 ATMs spread across 1,046 geographical locations of the country.

IV.Founded on July 1, 1964 through an Act of Parliament, IDBI — the Development Financial Institution (DFI) — played the role of mentor during the pre-reform era (1964-91) in catalysing broad-based industrial development and creation of financial institutions in the country for financing corporates and MSEs. The institution was later transformed into a bank in October 2004.

World Cup: Germany beat Algeria 2-1 to qualify for quarter-finals

I.Andre Schuerrle and Mesut Ozil struck in extra time to earn Germany a 2-1 win over Algeria in a pulsating last-16 clash here and a quarter-final date with France.

II.Chelsea forward Schuerrle broke the deadlock in the 92nd minute, with Arsenal’s Ozil adding a second in the 120th minute.

III.Abdelmoumene Djabou struck in the first minute of stoppage time to give Algeria a consolation goal.

IV.This was Algeria’s first ever appearance in the knockout stages and they covered themelves with glory, taking the game to the three-time champions.

V.Sporting Lisbon striker Islam Slimani had a goal disallowed for off-side in the first half while Germany’s best early chance came as the break beckoned, when only the lightning reflexes of Algeria keeper Rais Mbolhi denied first Toni Kroos’ and then Mario Goetze from the rebound.

VI.Germany coach Joachim Loew introduced Schuerrle for Goetze after the interval and he almost made an immediate impact, his 48th minute drive only narrowly deflected.

Sub-junior wrestling championship in Srinagar

I.As many as 900 wrestlers from 28 states is all set to be seen in action at the four-day 33rd boys and 17th girls sub-junior national wrestling championship, which commenced here on Monday.

II.The championship, organised by J&K Wrestling Association in collaboration with State Sports Council, was inaugurated by Youth Services and Sports Minister Raman Bhalla at Indoor Stadium, an official spokesman said. The spokesman informed that besides 900 wrestlers, 250 officials are also taking part in the event.

France beat Nigeria 2-0 and enters World Cup quarter-finals

I.A late strike by Paul Pogba and an own goal by Joseph Yobo give France a 2-0 victory over Nigeria and a berth in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

II.Pogba outjumped the Nigerian defence to head home a 79th minute corner that denied Nigeria its a first-ever quarter-final appearance. Yobo bundled the ball into his own net as he attempted to clear in injury time.

III.France now face the winner of the day’s later last 16 tie between Germany and Algeria in Porto Alegre. Both teams played fast, attractive football, but the French showed their domination in the later stages, hitting the crossbar and having more of the chances.