Daily GK Updates: 02nd December 2016

India's GDP growth stays healthy at 7.3% in Q2

i. The Central Statistical Office  has announced that India’s Gross Domestic Product accelerated to 7.3 % in the second quarter (July-September) of the 2016-17 financial year from a provisional 7.1 % expansion in the previous quarter.

ii. On the other hand, the Gross Value Added (GVA) increased to 7.1 percent. While GDP growth accelerated in the second quarter from the 7.1 percent seen in the April-June quarter, GVA growth slowed from the 7.3 percent registered in that period.

UNESCO includes Yoga in Intangible Cultural Heritage list

i. Yoga, India’s one of the ancient practices to keep oneself healthy, has been inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. 

ii. It was inscribed on the list during the 11th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 

iii. The declaration describing Yoga as a Human Treasure got unanimous support of the 24 members of the Committee.

India's football federation wins Asian award

i. The All-India Football Federation has won the Asian Football Council's Developing Member Association of the Year Award in Abu Dhabi.

ii. The award is given on the basis of organisation of courses, seminars and competitions, grassroots, youth development and women's programmes and special projects. 

In 2014, AIFF had earlier won the AFC President's Recognition Award for grassroots football.

Nihonium becomes Asia's 1st Periodic Table element discovery

i. Chemistry’s highest gatekeepers have accepted the newly proposed names for elements 113(Nihonium), 115(Moscovium), 117( Tennessine) and 118(Oganesson).

ii. Periodic Table elements with atomic number 113, Nihonium (Nh) has become the first ever element to be discovered by an Asian country after it was officially revealed by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).

iii. Along with three other elements that helped to complete the Periodic table, Nihonium was discovered and proposed by the RIKEN collaboration team in Japan.

Union HRD Minister launches 'Vittiya Saksharata Abhiyan'

i. Union HRD Minister launches 'Vittiya Saksharata Abhiyan' to use the network of Centrally-run educational institutions for propagating the benefits of digital mode of payment in wake of the government’s demonetisation move. 

Pak-China start direct rail and freight service

i. China and Pakistan have launched a direct rail and sea freight service with the first cargo train departing from China’s southwestern Yunnan province. 

ii. The service was launched with the first cargo train loaded with 500 tonnes of commodities left Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, an inland province in south-west China departed for Karachi, state-run Xinhua.

Katy Perry honoured with humanitarian award at UNICEF event

i. Singer Katy Perry was honoured with the 'Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award' for her work as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador at a UNICEF event in New York on 1st December.

Maharashtra Gets Its First 'Cashless Village'

i. Amid the Centre's push for the digital transaction, Dhasai village in Thane district has become the first "cashless village" in Maharashtra.  

ii. This was informed by Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar on 1st December. 

iii. All payments in the Dhasai village are being done through plastic money. 

iv. Traders, vegetable and fruit vendors and others providing goods and services in Dhasai are using swipe machines for cashless transactions.

Magnus Carlsen wins 2016 World Chess Championship

i. Magnus Carlsen won the 2016 World Chess Championship on 30 November 2016 in New York City, USA.

ii. Carlsen defeated Sergey Karjakin to retain the World Chess Champion title. It’s the third time that Carlsen has won the championship.

Emirates launches world's shortest service on largest plane

i.Emirates launched the world's shortest scheduled service on an Airbus A380, flying it from Dubai to Doha within 80 minutes. 
ii.The 378-kilometre route is the shortest on which an Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft, is used. The double-decker aircraft has 14 first class suites, 76 business class flat-bed seats and 429 economy class seats.