Dear Aspirants,
The General Awareness Section of Banking Exams covers numerous sections in it like Banking Awareness, Static GK, and Current Affairs. But the most important thing that you might have noticed is that both the Banking Awareness and Static Awareness questions asked in the General Awareness Section are based on Current Affairs only. The questions on Static and Banking Awareness are related to the countries, events or anything that has been in news for a while. Here is the Daily GK Update to get you acquainted with the top events that made the headlines today!!
National News
1. Vice president M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated Smart City Expo India-2018
i. Vice president M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated Smart City Expo India-2018 in Jaipur. He stressed the need for water harvesting. According to the Vice President, Smart Vision, Smart execution and smart Implementation are essential to develop smart cities and no city can become smart without the participation of the public.
ii. The object of this three days long expo is to have discussions among different experts and groups to utilize benefits of new technology, town planning, capacity management, challenges before socio-economic development and development of networking in the Smart City sector. Near about 6000 delegates from MNC’s of different countries, researchers, CEO’s of different Smart cities, Mayors and corporates are participating in the expo.
2. Cabinet approves National Digital Communications Policy
i. The cabinet has approved the new telecom policy, now named National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP) 2018, which aims to attract USD 100 billion investment and create 4 million jobs in the sector by 2022. According to the draft of the policy, NDCP is focused on increasing high-speed broadband penetration, with use of modern technologies like 5G and optical fibres across the country at affordable rates.
ii. The draft promised to rationalise levies such as spectrum charges to rejuvenate debt-ridden telecom sector, the proposed new telecom policy seeks to provide broadband access to all with 50 megabit per second speed, 5G services and create 40 lakh new jobs by 2022.
3.Aadhaar Linking Must For PAN and Filing Income Tax Returns
i. The Supreme Court declared the Centre’s flagship Aadhaar scheme as Constitutionally valid. The Supreme Court ruled that linking the Aadhaar card to PAN card is mandatory and is needed for filing income tax returns. The apex court, however, said Aadhaar is not mandatory for opening bank accounts and linking with existing accounts.
ii. The Supreme Court also struck down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act that allowed private companies to avail Aadhaar data. Calling the section unconstitutional, the court asserted that private companies cannot insist on having Aadhaar number of customers. Aadhaar authentication records cannot be stored beyond six months, striking down the current rule of five years.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-
- Chairman, UIDAI- J. Satyanarayana
- CEO, UIDAI- Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey
4. Supreme Court Allows Live Streaming Of Cases of Constitutional importance
i. The Supreme Court agreed to live-streaming and video recording of court proceedings, saying “sunlight is the best disinfectant”. The Supreme Court allowed live streaming of cases of Constitutional importance that take place in the Court of the Chief Justice of India.
ii. The bench said that they want to implement the concept of ‘open court’ in a bid to decongest the court. As per the court the public had a “right to know” what happens inside the courtroom. The decision came on the back of a clutch of petitions filed by senior lawyer Indira Jaisingh, law student Snehil Tripathi and NGO Centre For Accountability and Systemic Change.
International News
5.. UN Declared Nelson Mandela Decade Of Peace 2019-2028
i. Unanimously adopting a political declaration at the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit, nearly 100 Heads of State and Government, Ministers, Member States and representatives of civil society committed to redoubling efforts to build a just, peaceful, prosperous, inclusive and fair world, as they paid tribute to the late South African President’s (1994-99) celebrated qualities and service to humanity.
ii. Recognizing the period from 2019 to 2028 as the Nelson Mandela Decade of Peace, the Declaration saluted Mr Mandela for his humility, forgiveness and compassion, acknowledging as well his contribution to the struggle for democracy and the promotion of a culture of peace throughout the world.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for RRB PO/ Clerk Mains 2018-
- Nelson Mandela International Day- July 18
- UN Headquarters– New York, US
Banking News
6. Finance Ministry Launched Mobile App “Jan Dhan Darshak”
i. Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance and National Informatics Centre (NIC) have jointly developed a mobile app called Jan Dhan Darshak as a part of financial inclusion (FI) initiative. This app will act as a guide for the common people in locating a financial service touch point at a given location in the country.
ii. While over 5 lakh FI touch points (Bank branches, ATMs, Post Offices) have been mapped on this App, approx. 1.35 lakh Bank Mitras would be on-boarded by 01.12.2018. Phone number of bank branches are available in the app, with the facility of call button for integrated dialling.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for IBPS PO 2018-
- The NIC was established in 1976.
- Present Director General of NIC– Neeta Verma
Science and Technology News
7. Japan Landed Rovers On Asteroid In Historic Mission
i. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) landed a pair of rovers on an asteroid, marking the world’s first moving, robotic observation of an asteroid surface. The two rovers Hayabusa2 managed to land on the asteroid are expected to take advantage of the low gravity and jump around the surface, reaching heights of up to 15 meters.
ii. The small compact MINERVA-II1(MIcro Nano Experimental Robot Vehicle for Asteroid, the second generation) rovers separated from the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. The MINERVA-II 1 consists of two rovers, Rover-1A and Rover-1B. The Hayabusa2 probe was launched in December 2014 to explore the surface of the asteroid known as Ryugu. If all goes well, the Hayabusa2 will return to earth with soil and rock samples in 2020,
Defence News
8. DAC approves procurement of one thousand engines for T-72 tanks
i. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved procurement of 1,000 engines for fitment in T-72 tanks of the Army at an approximate cost of over 2,300 crore rupees. According to the Defence Ministry, the engines will enhance mobility, agility and acceleration of T-72 tanks making them more versatile and effective in the battlefield.
ii. Post-transfer of technology, most of these engines will be manufactured by Ordnance Factories Board. The DAC has also approved several amendments to Defence Procurement Procedure 2016, the manual governing the defence procurements.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-
- DAC was set up in 2001.
- DAC Chairperson- Union Defence Minister (Current Chairperson– Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman)
Ranks and Reports News
9. Finland Topped In ‘Human Capital’ Score, India Ranked 158th
i. India ranks 158th in the world for its investments in education and health care, according to the first-ever scientific study ranking countries for their levels of human capital. The nation is placed behind Sudan (ranked 157th) and ahead of Namibia (ranked 159th) in the list.
ii. The study, published in journal The Lancet, says that India is ranked at 158 out of 195 countries, an improvement from its position of 162 in 1990. The U.S. is ranked 27th, while China is at 44th and Pakistan at 164th.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for IBPS PO 2018-
- Finland topped the list, followed by Iceland and Denmark.
10.Mukesh Ambani Toped Barclays Hurun Rich List For 7th Time In A Row
i. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani, chairman of India’s second-most valued firm ‘Reliance Industries’, has topped the ‘Barclays Hurun India Rich List 2018’ for the seventh consecutive year, with the total net worth of INR 371,000 crore. Barclays Hurun India Rich List 2018, a compilation of the individuals in India having a net worth of INR 1,000 crore or more, featured 831 Indians compared to 617 last year.
ii. Mr Ambani is followed by London-based S.P. Hinduja, with the net worth of INR 1,59,000 crore; and L.N. Mittal, with a net worth of INR 1,14,500 crore. Azim Premji, with the wealth of INR 96,100 crore, is fourth in the list. The cumulative wealth of the 831 individuals featured in the list stood at $719 billion, amounting to a quarter of India’s GDP of $2,848 billion.
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