Daily GK Updates:24th August 2016

President Pranab Mukherjee launches Akashvani Maitree channel

i. India state radio broadcaster's Akashvani Maitree Channel, a special Bengali channel targeted at the Bengali-speaking audience of India, Bangladesh and in other countries, was launched by President Pranab Mukherjee. 

The initiative will provide a platform for blending content both from India and Bangladesh and preserving Bengali culture. It will be broadcast from a state-of-the-art brand new high power 1000Kw DRM transmitter. 

Union Cabinet clears Surrogacy Bill

i. The Union Cabinet Today cleared the draft Surrogacy Bill 2016, aimed at regulating commissioning of surrogacy in the country in a proper manner.

ii. The bill aims to safeguard rights of surrogate mothers and make parentage of such children legal.

iii. It will now be introduced in the Parliament.

Maharashtra to have own law for internal security

i. The newly drafted Maharashtra Protection of Internal Security Act (MPISA) has proposed setting up of Special Security Zones (SSZ) where movement of arms, explosives and inflow of unaccounted funds will be prohibited .

ii. Maharashtra is the first State in the country to draft its own internal security act.

Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh & Gujarat Assembly Ratifies GST Bill

i. The Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh state Assembly passed the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Constitution Amendment Bill, becoming the fifth, sixth and seventh state to pass the bill respectively.

ii. Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat governments ratified the Constitution 122 Amendment Bill (GST) after Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh. 
iii. In Madhya Pradesh, the state legislative assembly today ratified GST Amendment Bill.

India is 7th wealthiest country, China second

i. The New World Wealth, India is ranked 7th among the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of private wealth held by individuals. The New World Wealth is a research consultancy that tracks the global wealth sector. 

ii. The value of total individual wealth in India – which includes property, cash, equities and business interests – is pegged at $3,492 billion in 2015.

iii. The Top 5 Counties are: 1. US 2. China 3. Japan 4.  UK 5. Germany

Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govt of Maharashtra and AAI sign MOU on Regional Connectivity Scheme

i. The Maharashtra State government, Civil Aviation Ministry and Airports Authority of India signed a tri-partite Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 23-August-2016 at Mumbai.

ii. The MOU pave the way for collaborative process of these agencies together for successful launch of the Regional Connectivity Scheme.

iii. It was signed by Chairman, Airports Authority of India, Principal Secretary Civil Aviation (Maharashtra) and Joint Secretary (Ministry of Civil Aviation).

India, Germany sign pact on vocational training

i. India and Germany today signed an agreement that aims to foster conditions that will help create and improve workplace-based vocational training in India's industrial clusters. 

ii. Under the pact, German technical assistance will be used to enhance industry institute partnerships between Indian and German organizations, build capacity of local training institutions and foster industry linkages which will help adapt elements of the German dual system into the Indian context.

India's Oscar entry for 2017 to be picked by Ketan Mehta

i. The Film Federation of India (FFI) has kickstarted the process to cherry pick the film, which will officially represent India at the 89th Academy Awards next year.

ii. And the deadline for submitting entries for the foreign film category Oscar is October 1. Ketan Mehta has been approached to head the 17-member jury which comprises technicians and artists within the film industry.

Delhi To Get All-New Aerospace Museum

i. Delhi will soon have a sprawling new Aerospace Museum close to the international airport focused mainly on Nation's rich aviation history. New Aerospace Museum is not only meant to preserve the glorious tradition of the IAF but also to create awareness in general public about India's rich Aerospace heritage.

ii. After the approval, the new museum would be ready for the tourists within 3-5 years.

P D Gupta appointed VC of Homi Bhabha National Institute

i. Eminent scientist P D Gupta was appointed as Vice Chancellor of Mumbai-based Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI).

ii. The HBNI is an aided institution of the Department of Atomic Energy and is a deemed to be university under the UGC Act. 

Pfizer to acquire oncology specialist Medivation for $ 14 bn

i. The US-headquartered pharma major Pfizer Inc has entered into an agreement to acquire Medivation Inc, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercialising small molecules for oncology, for a total enterprise value of approximately $ 14 billion. 

ii. The merger will give a boost to Pfizer’s consolidation effort through a series of acquisitions, especially after its bid to take over Allergan Plc in a $150 billion deal late last year fell apart when the Obama administration prevented the proposed combination with new rules.

China's unmanned submersible sets new national record

i. China's unmanned submersible has dived to a depth of 10,767 metres at the world's deepest ocean point, setting a new record for the country to enable it to explore ocean beds for minerals and other natural resources.

ii. This dive created a new record for China that also helps the country to enable it to explore ocean beds for minerals and other natural resources. 

Toxic gas leak at Bangladesh fertiliser unit sickens 250; plugged

i. About 250 people, including children, have fallen sick and hundreds of residents have been evacuated from their homes after a toxic gas leak from a fertiliser unit in Bangladesh's port city of Chittagong.

ii. Di-ammonium phosphate (DPA) leaked from the DAP Fertiliser Company Limited on the bank of Karnaphuli river last night and firefighters battled until late morning to plug the leakage. DPA is one of a series of water-soluble ammonium phosphate salts that can be produced when ammonia reacts with phosphoric acid.

Mathrubhumi former editor K K Sreedharan Nair passes away

i. Mathrubhumi former editor K K Sreedharan Nair passed away. He was 86. 

ii. The end came at a private hospital in Kochi.

iii. He started his carrer in Journalism as a sub-editor in Mathrubhumi in 1953, Nair had an illustrious career in various capacities including Chief Sub-Beginning his journalism career as a sub-editor in Mathrubhumi in 1953, Nair had an illustrious career in various capacities including Chief Sub-Editor, News Editor and Deputy Editor.

2 Indian-American women named White House fellows

i. Two Indian-American women have been selected for the prestigious White House Fellow programme that offers first hand experience of working at the highest levels of the US federal government.

ii. Astrophysicist Anjali Tripathi from California and physician Tina R Shah from Chicago are among the 16 White House Fellows appointed from across the nation for the year 2016-17.

Volvo Auto India hires Nalin Jain as CFO

i. Luxury carmaker Volvo Auto has announced the appointment of Nalin Jain as the new Chief Financial Officer and Jyoti Malhotra as the Director, Sales, Marketing and PR for India operations. 

ii. The Swedish carmaker has also roped in Rajeev Chauhan as the Network Director.

Airtel and Vodafone unveils e-KYC solution to use Aadhar number for SIM activation

i. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone has started rolling out Aadhaar based e-KYC solution following the notification by the Department of Telecom, Government of India. 

ii. Telecom operator Vodafone will roll out e-KYC facility across 4,500 stores in India that will quickly activate SIMs of its customers with an Aadhaar number.

North Korea test fires new ballistic missile

i. North Korea today test fired a new ballistic missile. South Korea's military said, it was launched from a submarine in the Sea of Japan, off North Korea's eastern coast. 

ii. The test comes one day after the United States and South Korea launched joint military exercises on the peninsula. 

Odisha cabinet approves Startup Policy 2016

i. Odisha Cabinet has approved the “Odisha Startup Policy 2016” to promote entrepreneurship for start-up ventures with provision of government incentives. 

ii. The policy will chart out a roadmap to place Odisha among the top three investment destinations in the country by 2020.