Daily GK Updates: 26th August 2016

RBI asks banks to provide loans to women SHGs in rural areas at 7% 

i. RBI has asked banks to provide loans to women self-help groups in rural areas at 7% per annum, as per the government's revised guidelines for the current financial year. 
ii. The Reserve Bank said in a notification that all women self-help groups (SHGs) will be eligible for interest subvention on credit up to three lakh rupees at 7% per annum under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission in 250 districts.

Rail passengers to get insurance cover worth Rs 10 lacs at a premium of only 92 paise

i. A travel insurance cover of up to Rs10 lakh can be availed while booking a train ticket online by paying less than one rupee from 31 August.

ii. A person booking a train ticket through the IRCTC website will be able opt for travel insurance cover for a premium of 92 paise only from 31 August.

iii. Indian Railways subsidiary IRCTC has assigned the task to three private firms are Shriram General Insurance, ICICI Lombard General Insurance and Royal Sundaram General Insurance. 

1st BRICS film festival from Sept. 2 – 6 in New Delhi

i. India will be hosting the first BRICS film festival which will begin from Sept. 2 to 6 New Delhi.

ii. The film festival will showcase an amalgamation of culture, films, song, dance and food of the 5-member countries including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa

Maharashtra to tie up with corporates to transform 1,000 villages

i. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has announced the State government plans to transform 1,000 villages with the help of corporate sector, and the civil society over the next few years.

ii. He said the corporate sector is already working with the government in various sectors.

Indian economy to grow 7.9% this fiscal: Goldman Sachs

i. US multinational banking firm Goldman Sachs says Indian economy is likely to grow 7.9% in this year 2016-17.

ii. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational banking firm that engages in global investment banking, investment management, securities, and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients.

SRK, Akshay, Salman & Big B amid top 20 highest-paid global actors

i. The list published by Forbes magazine considers earnings from June 2015, and featured Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar as the top two highest paid actors on 8th and 10th rank. The list also includes Salman Khan on 14th rank, which is followed by legend Amitabh Bachchan on 18th position.

ii. The list was topped by former WWE wrestler and present actor, Dwayne Johnson, who filled his pocket with as much as 64.5 million dollars through movies such as Central Intelligence and Fast & Furious 8.

Five Indian companies ranked among world's 100 most innovative

i.  Five Indian companies ranked among world's 100 most innovative, including Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Consultancy Services, Sun Pharma and Larsen & Toubro have been ranked among Forbes’s list of ‘The World’s Most Innovative Companies’. 

ii. The list is topped by Tesla Motors for the second consecutive year.

iii. Indian Companies: 1.  Asian Paints 18th position 2. Hindustan Unilever - 31st 3. Tata Consultancy Services - 66th 4. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries - 73rd 5. Larsen & Toubro stood at 89th spot.

Abhinav Bindra to Head NRAI Review Committee on Rio Debacle

i. Olympic gold-medallist Abhinav Bindra was named Chairman of a 5 member review committee to probe the shooters' Rio Games debacle but has recused himself from questioning them as he was himself a part of the team. 

iii. The committee is also mandated to recommend concrete steps that NRAI must immediately undertake to ensure that this is not repeated in future Olympics.

Pankaj Harjai appointed head of Lenovo's SMB business

i. PC maker Lenovo has appointed Pankaj Harjai to head its newly constituted Small and Medium Business (SMB) vertical.

ii. Pankaj has also taken charge of Lenovo's commercial channel business.

iii. In his new role, Pankaj will lead sales, product and go-to-market strategy for the SMB vertical.

Ronaldo wins UEFA Best Player in Europe award

i. Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has won the UEFA Best Player in Europe award for the second time. 

ii. Ronaldo, 31, claimed the prize ahead of his club team-mate Gareth Bale and Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann.

Sugamya Pustakalaya- an online library for persons with visual disabilities launched 

i.  “Sugamya Pustakalaya: A step towards an Accessible Digital India” (An online library for persons with visual disabilities) was launched by Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister for Law & Justice and Electronics & Information Technology at a function organized by Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.

Saina drops to 9th spot, Sindhu remains at 10th

i. India's Saina Nehwal has been dropped 4 points to be 9th, while compatriot PV Sindhu remained in the 10th spot in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings despite getting a silver in the women's singles competition at the recently concluded Olympics in Rio 2016.

ii. The women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa dropped four places to the 26th spot following their failure to reach the knock-out stage in the Rio Games. 

iii. However, men's singles shuttler Kidambi Srikanth, who reached the Olympics quarter-finals, jumped a place to be 10th, while Ajay Jayaram improved his 22nd rank by a position.

Satheesh Reddy conferred first IEI-IEEE award

i. G. Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and DRDO's DG (Missiles & Strategic Systems), was conferred the first IEI-IEEE Award for engineering excellence 2015. 

ii. The award is in recognition of his ‘significant national contributions towards missiles and aerospace technologies’.

The award was presented by the Institution of Engineers (India) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Asia Pacific region.

BCCI signs MoU with TERI to promote renewable energy

i. Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has signed an memorandum of understanding (MoU) with The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri) for promoting renewable energy.

ii. State Power Minister Shobandeb Chatterjee, who was present on the occasion, promised all support to the clean energy initiative by the BCCI. BCCI energy committee chairman Deb A Mukherjee said the agreement will forge an alliance between the chamber and TERI to work together in the domain of renewables and allied fields.

Colombia, FARC Rebels Reach Deal to End Half-Century War

i. Colombia's government and the country's biggest rebel group reached a historic deal Wednesday evening for ending a half-century of hostilities in one of the world's longest-running and bloodiest armed conflicts.

ii. President Juan Manuel Santos hailed the agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia as an opportunity to turn the page on decades of political violence that has claimed more than 220,000 lives and driven more than 5 million people from their homes.

Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award will be conferred with the Jharkhand Dungdung

i. Former Olympian Silvanus Dungdung Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award will be rewarded. 

ii. Dhyan Chand was an Indian field hockey player, who is considered as one the greatest field hockey player of all time.

CTTC-Bhubaneswar signs agreement with ISRO

i. Central Tool Room and Training Centre (CTTC), Bhubaneswar, has signed an agreement with ISRO for technology transfer and a contract for supply of spacecraft component.

ii. Under the agreement, Indian Space Research Organisation would transfer three types of temperature sensor technology to CTTC to further strengthen its manufacturing capability, Managing Director of CTTC-Bhubaneswar. As per the contract, the CTTC would supply spacecraft component for next five years for a total value of Rs 23 crore.