DAILY GK -- MAY 2016 -- 51 TO 100

51. Kotak Mahindra Bank opens IFSC banking unit at GIFT City

i. Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd has became the fourth bank to open its IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) at International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) City. IFSC is the India's first and only financial centre. 

ii. The bank offers a range of financial services, transaction banking and also include lending verticals, manages IPOs, and provides working capital loans. At IBU, the bank expects a balance sheet of $ 1 billion in the next three years.

iii. The IBU allows an Indian bank to deliver a complete range of products to its clients with foreign currency funding requirements. It can offer products such as external commercial borrowings (ECBs) to its customers.

52. IREDA may be converted into a Green Bank

i. IREDA, the state run Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency can be converted into a Green Bank to enable its access funding from overseas banks. But this will be done without any  alteration in its basic structure. 

ii. After conversion into Green Bank, it would be entitled to avail of certain benefits supported by the Union Power Ministry. 

iii. IREDA, is an arm of the Indian government. It is a public entities created to work with the private sector to increase investment in clean energy and bring clean energy financing into the mainstream. A green bank could offer lower interest charges than traditional banks and tap into international capital to finance solar and wind projects to help India power its cities and rural communities.

53. Wilful defaulters owe Rs 66,000 cr to govt banks

i. The Minister of state for Finance Jayant Sinha has stated that there were 7,686 wilful defaulters owing Rs 66,190 crore to state-owned banks as of December 2015. 

ii. The number of wilful defaulters of Public sector banks, (PSBs) rose from 5,554 to 7,686 in three years to December 2015 while the amount involved more than doubled to Rs 66,190 crore from Rs 27,749 crore.

iii. The total outstanding amount in top 100 non-performing accounts (NPAs) with PSBs was 1.73 lakh crore rupees as of December 2015. The total exposure of top 50 defaulters of PSBs as of December 2015 was Rs 1,21,832 crore. There were 1,365 borrower accounts having funded outstanding loans of Rs 500 crore and above at the end of 2015.

54. Corp Bank gets MSME award

i. Corporation Bank has been awarded ‘excellence award on empowering MSMEs’ by the Federation of Industry, Trade and Services (FITS).

ii. A press release from the bank stated that Jai Kumar Garg, Managing Director and CEO of the bank, received the award from Kalraj Mishra, Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), in New Delhi.

iii. It said the bank had reached the regulatory target of 7 per cent of annual net bank credit under micro enterprises for 2015-16.

55. ECB decided to end production and issuance of 500 euro banknote

i. The European Central Bank (ECB) has announced that it will permanently stop producing the 500 euro banknote by the end of 2018. 

ii. The ECB will also exclude it from the Europa series, taking into account concerns that this banknote could facilitate illicit activities.

iii. The issuance of the 500 euro note will be stopped around the end of 2018, when the 100 euro and 200 euro banknotes of the Europa series are planned to be introduced. However, 500 euro banknote, like the other denominations of euro banknotes, will always retain its value and can be exchanged at the national central banks of the Eurosystem for an unlimited period of time.

56. Researchers create World's Smallest Thermometer from DNA

i. The University of Montreal researchers created a programmable DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) thermometer that is 20,000x smaller than human hair. 

ii. This scientific creation may significantly aid our understanding of natural and human-designed nanotechnologies by enabling to measure temperature at the nanoscale.

iii. With this idea, researchers engineered DNA structures that are capable of folding and unfolding at specific temperatures making it nano-scale  temperature signalling device. It can help in understanding of natural and human designed nanotechnologies by enabling to measure temperature at the nanoscale.

57. Bhupendra Kainthola appointed as Director of FTII

i. Indian Information Service (IIS) officer Bhupendra Kainthola has been appointed as the Director of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) or a term of 3 years. 

ii. He replaces Prashant Pathrabe, who had served as interim Director during the 139-day long strike by students opposing the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan and four other members of the FTII Society on the ground of ‘merit’.

iii. He has also worked with PIB, Directorate of Audio Visual Publicity (DAVP), Directorate of Film Festival (as Director, National Film Awards and Indian Panorama) and also with the Lok Sabha Television. 

58. Mexican diplomat Patricia Espinosa selected as the next Executive Secretary of UNFCCC

i. Mexican diplomat Patricia Espinosa selected as the next executive secretary of UNFCCCUN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has selected Mexico's ambassador to Germany, Patricia Espinosa, as the executive secretary of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). 

ii. She will replace the incumbent Christiana Figueres when her term ends in July.

iii. She will play an important role in implementing the Paris Agreement on climate change that was approved by 195 countries in Paris, France. Earlier she had served as Mexico’s representative at the UN in New York for drug traffic, human rights, women promotion, social development and children’s rights.

59. Swiss honour for Yash Chopra

i. Late director Yash Chopra, who captured the verdant Swiss valley in his films, has been honoured with a special statue by the Switzerland government. The statue was inaugurated on Wednesday.

ii. A sculpture made of pure bronze, and weighing about 350 kilos, will present Yash Chopra in an iconic pose of him directing a film.

iii. The statue will be installed at the heart of Interlaken, inside the KURSAAL area, near the Congress Centre. A prime, popular spot with tourists, the statue will remind many of the cinematic splendour that Yash Chopra had created for this picturesque nation.

60. Seven Indian shuttlers qualify for Rio Olympics

i. Seven Indian shuttlers have booked their berth for the upcoming Rio Olympics, scheduled in August. 

ii. The list includes two female singles players in Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu, a male singles' player in Kidambi Srikanth, women's doubles pairing of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa while Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy make up the male doubles team.

iii. It is the biggest badminton contingent India would be fielding at the quadrennial Games. T

61. Bankruptcy Bill passed in Lok Sabha

i. The Lok Sabha has passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Bill 2016, which is seen as a “transformational” legislation that will help to improve India’s ranking in the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ index. 

ii. It aims to defuse the crisis of the looming bad loans in the banking sector and also to cover individuals, companies, and partnership firms. 

iii. The bill proposes setting up of an Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Fund.

62. Railway minister launches new train services for J&K

i. Railway Minister of India Suresh Prabhu remotely flagged off two new train services for Jammu and Kashmir from the Rail Bhawan in New Delhi. 

ii. These trains will ply on the Banihal-Baramulla-Budgam route. 

iii. The rail line in the Kashmir Valley was constructed in a phased programme with the Railway gradually commissioning rail sections in different stages. The rail-link from Banihal to Katra, connecting Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country, is expected to be completed by 2020.

63. Andhra Pradesh Harita-Priya Agriculture Project wins 2016 WSIS Prize

i. Harita-Priya Agriculture Project of Andhra Pradesh has won the prestigious World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 2016 prize in the e-Agriculture category. 

ii. International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Secretary-General Houlin Zhao announced the prize in Geneva. The project is developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) in Anantpur district, Hyderabad. 

iii. Harita-Priya (Harmonized Information of Agriculture, Revenue and Irrigation for a Transformation Agenda – Precision Technology for Agriculture) project is meant to collect very specific climate data from farms and give farmers personalized information through SMS. The data is used to create advisories and alerts on irrigation schedules and pests and plant diseases.

64. Cabinet apprised IT agreement between India and Qatar

i. The Union Cabinet has apprised of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Qatar for promoting bilateral cooperation in the field of Information Communication Technology (ICT). 

ii. The Union Cabinet Meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi has taken the decision on this cooperation. Earlier, in March, 2015, both the countries has signed this MoU than later ratified by both the countries on 1st January, 2016 and 12th January, 2016 respectively.

iii. The MoU covers, active cooperation and exchanges between the private entities, capacity building institutions, Governments and other public organisations in the field of Telecom and IT.

65. SBI launches card-less payment solution for offline transactions

i. The country's largest bank, State Bank Of India has launched a mobile payment solution that will enable customers to make digital payments at offline stores by scanning a QR (quick response) code on their smartphones at merchant outlets. 

ii. Private lenders ICICI Bank and Axis Bank have already introduced the mVisa application for their customers.

iii. The service is launched in Bangaluru with a sizable number of merchants and will soon expand into other cities. The service will be available to all SBI credit card, debit card and net banking users. The Bank customers can simply download the latest version of SBI Anywhere application from Google Play Store.

66. ICICI first Indian bank to partner with New Development Bank

i. The largest private sector bank of India, ICICI bank has become the first financial institution in the country to tie up with the New Development Bank to explore opportunities around bond issuance, co-financing, treasury management and human resources.

ii. The decision to consider each other as preferred partner to work in the aforementioned areas has been taken by the head of New Development Bank, Mr. K V Kamath. 

ii. This MoU would help NDB in exploring bond issuance opportunities in the Indian and international bond markets, particularly in rupee-denominated bonds.

67. Snapdeal acquires TargetingMantra

i. E-commerce marketplace Snapdeal has acquired Gurgaon-based predictive marketing technology startup TargetingMantra for an undisclosed amount. 

ii. The startup company is founded by Saurabh Nangia and Rahul Singh in March 2013 which helps manage customer life cycle through personalization, targeting and big data analytics. 

iii. In 2014, TargetingMantra raised $1.1 million in seed funding led by 500 Startups and others.

68. Zimbabwe to print own version of US dollar

i. Zimbabwe is all set to introduce its own version of US dollars in order to ease a cash shortage in the country. 

ii. The governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, John Mangudya has stated that the bank will introduce the note of $2, $5, $10, and $20, which will hold the same value as their US dollar counterparts.

iii. Earlier in 2009, Zimbabwe introduced the US dollar after ditching its own currency following sustained hyperinflation. Since then Zimbabweans have been using the dollar. The new notes will come in circulation within the next two months.

69. Google partners Idea for direct carrier billing

i. Google has entered into a partnership with telecommunications major Idea Cellular to offer direct carrier billing in India. 

ii. Idea users would now be able to make purchases on Google Play Store directly through their postpaid and prepaid accounts. 

iii. Costs for the same will be charged through monthly bills and phone balance respectively.

70. Indian professor wins Commonwealth short story regional prize

i. Indian author and Social Science professor from India Prashar Kulkarni has won the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for 2016, in the Asia region for his "politically grounded, funny" fiction ‘Cow and Company’ about four men in search of a cow. 

ii. The short story was adjudged the ‘best piece of unpublished short fiction in English’ from Asia and will receive 2500 pounds prize.

iii. Now Mr. Kulkarni will complete with winners from other four regions- Africa, Cananda and Europe, Carribbean and the Pacific for the 5000 pounds grand prize. The prize for this will be announced at the Calabash International Literary Festival in Jamaica in June 2016.

71. Sudhir Yadav Is New Tihar Director-General

i. Sudhir Yadav, the 1985 batch IPS officer of the Delhi police, was appointed as the new Director-General (DG) of Tihar. 

ii. An order issued by the Lt Governor announced Yadav's appointment as the next DG of Tihar.

iii. Earlier, he served as Special Commissioner of the Delhi police. Yadav had earlier served as DGP of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 2013. Earlier, the government had appointed JK Sharma as new DG of Tihar on April 19, but the order was nullified as the government had not sought prior approval of Lt Governor Najeeb Jung before the appointment.

72. Kumar Rajesh Chandra Appointed Aviation Security Wing Chief

i. Senior IPS officer Kumar Rajesh Chandra has appointed as chief of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the aviation security wing of the government, over 3 years after the post fell vacant.

ii. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the name of Chandra, a 1985 batch IPS officer of Bihar cadre, for appointment to the post of Director General (formerly known as Commissioner of Security Civil Aviation) in the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, an order issued by Department of Personnel and Training. 

iii. He has been appointed in the place of IPS officer G S Malhi, who had completed his tenure as BCAS chief in November 2012. The crucial post was lying vacant since then.

73. Musician Angelique Kidjo honoured with Amnesty International top human rights award

i. Renowned musician Angelique Kidjo along with three inspirational African youth activist movements have been declared the joint winners of the prestigious Amnesty International top 2016 human rights award.

ii. The award will be shared between the singer and the activist groups Y’en a marre from Senegal, le Balai Citoyen from Burkina Faso and Lutte pour le Changement (LUCHA) from DRC. All will be honoured at the awards ceremony in Dakar, Senegal, on 28 May. 

iii. Last year it was awarded to Chinese artist Ai Weiwei and American singer-songwriter Joan Baez.

74. Rohit Sharma unveils India's first sports expo

i. Indian batsman Rohit Sharma has inaugurated India's first sports expo in Pune. 

ii. It is the first sports expo being held in the country organised by city-based Steps Sports Entertainment Private Limited and will be open for public till May 8.

iii. It is organised to showcase various products and modern technologies for fitness and sports by Indian as well as multinational brands.

75. India finish fourth in junior shooting World Cup

i. The Indian squad ended their campaign at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup with a creditable fourth place finish in the medal’s table. 

ii. The Indian juniors had an overall tally of three gold, four silver and three bronze medals in the competition which ended on Thursday. 

iii. Italy topped the medals tally with seven gold, four silver and one bronze in their kitty. Russia were second with five gold, six silver and nine bronze while Germany finished third with five gold, three silver and three bronze medals. A total of 585 shooters from 48 countries participated in the event, but only 24 countries made it to the medals table.

76. Enda Kenny re-elected as Ireland's prime minister

i. Enda Kenny has been re-elected as Ireland's Taoiseach, leading his Fine Gael party into a minority government. 

ii. Mr Kenny is the first Fine Gael leader in history to secure two terms in power back to back. He secured the support of a diverse group of independents and managed to strike a deal with opposition party Fianna Fail.

iii. He will now lead a minority government after traditional adversaries in Fianna Fail - enemies since the civil war 90 years ago - agreed to prop up his administration by abstaining in the crucial vote and supporting a selection of policies including on water bills and housing.

77. President presents Gallantry Awards and Distinguished Service Decorations to Defence personnel

i. President Pranab Mukherjee has presented Gallantry Awards and Distinguished Service Decorations to Defence personnel at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. 

ii. Constable Gautam Koch of Assam Armed Branch who made supreme sacrifice fighting UPLA insurgents in Assam's Difu was awarded Kirti Chakra posthumously. Naib Subedar Rajesh Kumar Singh who made supreme sacrifice while fighting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir was awarded Kirti Chakra posthumously. 

iii. President also conferred the Param Vishisht Seva Medal,Kirti Chakra, Uttam Yudh Sewa Medal, Atti vishisht Sewa Medal and Shaurya Chakra. Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Three services Chiefs were present in the ceremony.

78. 4th SAIEVAC Ministerial Meeting to be held in New Delhi

i. The eight nations composing the South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children, SAIEVAC, are assembling in New Delhi next week for their 4th Ministerial Meeting. 

ii. The meeting will set strategies and agree on commitments to ensure the protection and security of the children of the region. It is being hosted by the Ministry of Child and Women Development. The Ministerial meeting on 11th of this month will be preceded by a two day technical consultation focusing on critical issues of child protection and violence in the region. 

iii. Delegates from the governments and civil society organizations of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will assess progress and developments of the past decade of regional effort and identify priorities for SAIEVAC for the next five years. The Minister of Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi, will chair the meeting.

79. Union government approves proposal of Infosys to set up IT SEZ

i. The Union government has approved the of Infosys to set up an IT/ITeS special economic zone (SEZ) in Bengaluru in an area spread over 4 hectares. 

ii. The decision has been taken by the Union inter-ministerial Board of Approval (BoA), headed by Commerce Secretary Rita Teatia.

iii. The Board also granted more time to 20 developers to complete their projects. Those that got additional time include Mayar Infrastructure Development for a biotechnology SEZ in Haryana, Wipro for IT SEZ in Karnataka and Vedanta for its sector-specific SEZ for manufacturing and exports of aluminium in Odisha. The board has also approved application of Unitech Realty Project. 

80. Offshore patrol vessel IGCS Shourya launched

i. Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) has launched Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Shaurya at Panaji. 

ii. It was launched by the Governor of Goa, Mridula Sinha, in the presence of GSl and ICG officials. 

iii. ICGS Shaurya is fifth of a series of six Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) designed in-house and built by GSL. The vessel is 105-metre long and is capable of cruising at a speed of 23 knots. It has a range of 6000 nautical miles. ICGS Shaurya will be commissioned into service in 2017. It will be deployed for search and rescue operations, pollution control and external firefighting. It will also be deployed for monitoring sea lanes of communication and ocean surveillance.

81. Nepal recalls its Ambassador to India over charges of non-cooperation

i. Nepal has recalled its Ambassador to India over charges of non-cooperation and indulging in anti-government activities. 

ii. Nepalese Foreign Ministry sources said in Kathmandu last night that Ambassador Deep Kumar Upadhyaya had "confronted" with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli regarding the cancellation of President Bidya Devi Bhandari's scheduled visit to India. 

iii. The conversation between Oli and Upadhyaya reportedly took place after the cancellation of the President's trip. Bhandari was scheduled to visit India from May 9 as the state guest at the invitation of President Pranab Mukherjee.

82. Australian university signed two MoU With India to provide medical technology

i. Australian state of Victoria, Swinburne University has announced two agreements with India in the area of medical technology to address major health challenges in India. 

ii. The decision has been taken during the meeting of government-led Neuroscience Victoria trade mission to India.

iii. The one agreement has signed to improve the diagnosis of epilepsy across India with Medanta, one of India's largest private hospitals. The second agreement has signed with the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to develop a cutting edge 'smart helmet' to reduce the incidence of head injuries for motorcyclists.

83 Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines to conduct joint water patrols to curb kidnappings

i. Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines has agreed to conduct coordinated sea patrols and establish a hotline to combat piracy and kidnappings in waters bordering the three nations. 

ii. The agreement will be signed by the foreign ministers of the countries in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. 

iii. The decision has been taken after the recent kidnapping of 10 Indonesian sailors in the southwestern Philippines by Abu Sayyaf. However, the sailors were released on 1 May 2016. The group Abu Sayyaf is considered very violent and was responsible for the Philippines' worst terrorist attack, the bombing of Super ferry 14 in 2004, which killed 116 people.

84. India and Japan to sign MOU for Cooperation in Sports

i. India and Japan has decided to exchange sports persons, coaches, experts and administrators to improve the standard of the game between both nations. 

ii. Both the nations has also agreed to play some friendly matches before the Under 17 World Cup tournament, as India is going to host the Under 17 World Cup tournament. 

iii. The decision has been taken during a meeting between both the countries delegates. Indian minister for Youth Affairs & Sports, Mr. Sarbananda Sonowal has also got the invitation for attending World Forum on Sport and Culture" to be held in October 2016 in Tokyo. 

85. YES Bank gets SEBI nod to provide custodian services

i. India's fifth largest Private sector lender Yes Bank has received a ‘Custodian of Securities’ licence from the markets regulator SEBI to allows the entity to offer custodial services to financial market participants, including FIIs and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs).

ii. The bank has given a year to establish the business by developing the operational, tech and human capital capabilities. The bank had earlier received the RBI’s approval to enter the CoS business. 

iii. Once it receives the final nod, it can offer custodial services to financial market participants, including foreign portfolio investors which would help its fee-based income.

86. Facebook and NASSCOM sign MoU to Support Start-Ups

i. Facebook and the trade body of Indian IT firms 'National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM)' has signed an agreement to build a product design initiative to engage the country's young entrepreneurs into becoming problem solvers and solution builders.

ii. This MoU is likely to propel innovative thinking and approaches to build solutions in key sectors where technology can play a transformational role. 

iii. The idea is to ensure that at least 500 plus product start-ups get enabled tools programs, more than 5,000 design thinking professionals to get paid and at least 50 or more award winning product should come out of this whole initiative.

87. Flipkart to launch its own map services

i. The e-commerce giant Flipkart has partnered with a Bangaluru based social technology company 'MapUnity' to launch its map services. ii. The network will cover the 126 cities including those chosen in the 'Smart Cities' mission. The company service will help Flipkart in handling logistics, supply chain and promotes public engagement in solving the key problems of metropolitan areas.

iii. Flipkart confirms that the project will be driven by the MapUnity as well as by a Delhi based digital mapping company MapMyIndia. The acquisition of MapMy India has taken place in December, 2015. As per Flipkart, this will be a platform that cross-uses drives innovation, features, value.  

88. Ghosh named as next ambassador to Tajikistan

i. Somnath Ghosh has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Tajikistan. He has so far served in Russia, Tajikistan, Belgium (European Union Headquarters) and Bangladesh.

ii. He also handled various desks in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. 

iii. Before joining Ulaanbaatar, he was Assistant High Commissioner of India in Chittagong, Bangladesh.

89. Mickey Arthur appointed as Pakistan cricket team's head coach

i. In Pakistan, former South African cricketer and coach for PSL's Karachi Kings, Mickey Arthur, has been appointed as cricket team's head coach. Confirmed the Pakistan Cricket Board. 

ii. The post was left vacant after Waqar Younis resigned following Pakistan’s disastrous World Twenty20 performance in India, where they triumphed in only one of four matches before crashing out. 

iii. Pakistan’s search for a new national coach hit a fresh roadblock on Thursday as officials said their top pick, Australia’s Stuart Law, turned down the offer to coach the team.

90. Pakistan beat India at Asian Kabaddi championships

i. Pakistan beat India at the Asian Kabaddi championships in Islamabad yesterday, retaining the title. 

ii. In the final match of the tournament, in which Iran, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal also participated, Pakistan defeated arch rivals India by 50-31.

iii. Pakistan has won the third edition of the Asian Kabaddi Championship 2016 (Circle Style) by defeating India. This is Pakistan’s second successive win in the Asian Kabaddi title as they had won it in 2012. The championship was organised by the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) in collaboration with POF Sports Control Board under the banner of the Asian Kabaddi Federation. 

91.Shashi Kapoor’s Biography ‘Shashi Kapoor – the Householder, the Star’ released 

i. Veteran actor Shashi Kapoor’s autobiography titled ‘Shashi Kapoor – the Householder, the Star’ was released recently. 

ii. The biography has been authored by film journalist Aseem Chhabra and with forword by Karan Johar. It unveils the chapters of actor’s personal and professional life. 

About Shashi Kapoor 

• Born as Balbir Raj Prithviraj Kapoor on March 18, 1938 in Kolkata, West Bengal. 
• Started acting in films as a child in late 1940s. Since then he has appeared in 160 movies altogether, 12 being in English and the rest in Hindi. Advertisement 
• His Bollywood debut as a lead actor was in the film Dharmputra (1961). His best known performances as child artist were in Aag (1948), Awaara (1951) and Sangram (1950). 
• He is also best-known for his performances in Hindi films like ‘Jab Jab Phool Khile’, ‘Deewar’, ‘Waqt’, ‘Trishul’, ‘Utsav’and ‘Kabhi Kabhie’. 
• He also acted in American and British films. They are The Householder (1963), Shakespeare Wallah (1965), Bombay Talkie (1970), Heat and Dust (1982), The Deceivers (1988), Side Streets (1998) etc. 
• Apart from acting in movies, he also had worked as a film director, assistant director and film producer. 

92. SpaceX successfully launches Japanese JCSAT-14 Satellite 

i. US based private space transport service company, SpaceX has successfully launched Japanese JCSAT-14 communication satellite into the space. 

ii. The satellite was place into its intended preliminary geostationary transfer orbit by SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket which was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, US.

iii. After meeting its primary goal of the mission, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully landed on an ocean (floating) platform, known as a drone ship, off the coast of Florida. 

iv. This is for the second time in row the reusable main stage booster of Falcon 9 rocket successfully landed on offshore floating platform after the April 8, 2016 landing. 

About JCSAT-14 Satellite 

• JCSAT-14 Satellite is owned by Sky Perfect JSAT Corporation. The satellite will boost the company’s fleet of relay stations to 17. 
• The satellite is built by Space Systems/Loral and is equipped with 26 C-band and 18 Ku-band transponders. 

93. ICICI Bank signs MoU with BRICS’s New Development Bank 

i. India’s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank has inked a MoU with the BRICS Grouping-promoted New Development Bank (NDB) for a partnership in bond issuances, co-financing, treasury management and human resources.

ii. With this ICICI Bank becomes first financial institution in the country to tie up with the BRICS Grouping-promoted NDB. The MoU was signed by BDB’s first President and ICICI Bank veteran KV Kamath and ICICI Bank Chief Chanda Kochhar in Mumbai, Maharashtra. 

Key facts 

• The MoU will help NDB in exploring rupee-denominated bonds in the domestic and international markets. 
• It will make both the lenders collaborate to fund development projects in India. 
• They will also leverage a mutually beneficial partnership in other areas such as treasury risk management, human resource development and account and cash management services. 
• The MoU will help NDB to leverage the deep market access and insight of ICICI Bank in the India’s financial markets. 

About New Development Bank 

• NDB is a multilateral development bank promoted by BRICS nations viz. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. It is outcome of 6th BRICS Summit being held in Fortaleza, Brazil. 
• It is headquartered in Shanghai, China. It will have a regional office in Johannesburg, South Africa. 
• NDB began its operations in July 2015 with an initial capital of 100 billion dollars. 
• The goal of the bank is to fund infrastructure projects in emerging economies for sustainable development. 
• In the NDB, each participant country has been assigned one vote, and none of the countries have veto power.

94. Switzerland Government honours Yash Chopra with special statue 

i. Switzerland Government has honoured late veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra by unveiling bronze statue at Interlaken. 

ii. The bronze statue weighing about 250 kilos was inaugurated by his wife Pamela Chopra and daughter-in-law Rani Mukerjee.

iii. Chopra was known for opening a legacy of South Asian tourists flocking to Switzerland and spend much time in the country besides shooting his movies. 

iv. This statue has been installed at the heart of Interlaken, inside the Kursaal area near the Congress Centre which is a prime, popular spot with tourists. 

v. This is not the first time the filmmaker has been honoured in this way by the Switzerland Government. Earlier in 2011, government of Interlaken awarded him the honorary title of Ambassador of Interlaken and Jungfrau Railways had named a train after him – an honour shared only with the railway’s founder, Adolf Guyer.

95. India’s single emergency number ‘112’ to be active from January 1

i. The single emergency number ‘112‘ will be operational throughout India from January 1, 2017 to help people reach immediate services of police, ambulance and fire department. 

ii. Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has approved the provision of a single number for various emergency services that would be similar to the ‘911’ all-in-one emergency service in the US.

iii. The service will also be accessible even through those SIMs and landlines whose outgoing call facility has been stopped or temporarily suspended. People will be able to feed ‘112’ in panic button system which will also be available on all mobile phones from January 1 under law. The panic button will enable users to make emergency call or send alerts to multiple numbers just by pressing a button.

96. India ranks ninth among crony capitalist nations

i. India is ranked at the ninth position in crony-capitalism with crony sector wealth accounting for 3.4 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). 

ii. In India, the non-crony sector wealth amounts to 8.3 per cent of the GDP, as per the latest crony-capitalism index. In the 2014 ranking also, India stood at the ninth place.

iii. Among the 22 countries in the updated index, Germany is the cleanest with least number of crony capitalists, ranking at the bottom of the index, while China has the biggest concentration of crony wealth in the world at $360 billion. 

97. Cultural festival in Egypt inaugurated to observe Tagore’s birth anniversary

i. To mark the 155th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore a five day cultural festival has been organised by India in Cairo, Egypt. 

ii. It is with the objective to build connections between the people of the two countries who share strong cultural bonds.

iii. The Embassy of India in Cairo and Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture are hosting the Tagore Festival from 8th May to May 12. The Tagore festival was inaugurated by India's Ambassador to Egypt Sanjay Bhattacharyya in Cairo with a painting exhibition showcasing works of artists from Egypt, India and other countries.

98. Indian Railways launches Bharat Darshan Tourist train for pilgrims

i. Railways has launched the Bharat Darshan Tourist train for pilgrims to visit Shirdi, Tirupati, Jagannath Puri, Gangasagar, Baidyanath Dham and Jyotirlingams among others. 

ii. Comprising 10 coaches, the train begins the “East Darshan” on May 8 from Chandigarh and travelling from Delhi Cantonment to cover Jagannath Puri, Gangasagar, Baidyanath Dham, Gaya, Banaras and Ayodhya. The bookings are being done by IRCTC and it has firmed up a budget-friendly package for pilgrims.

iii. According to the package, a person has to pay Rs 830 per day to selected destinations in the east or south of the country or packages that cover major religious sites. Bharat Darshan will also cover “7 Jyotirlinga” package beginning on May 23 from Chandigarh through Delhi Cantonment will cover Ujjain (Omkareshwar and Mahakaleshwar), Dwarka (Nageshwar), Veraval (Somnath), Aurangabad (Grishneshwar) and Nasik (Bhimashankar and Triyambakeshwar).

99. GOI starts UBIN drive for budding entrepreneurs

i. The Government of India has started the process for issuance by Unique Business Identification Number (UBIN) drive. 

ii. It will help enable budding entrepreneurs to set up their business without any delays as it produce results well within targeted time and its no longer business as usual in India.

iii. The drive has been launched by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) under the aegis of Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry. This portal will be automatically linked to Ministry Of Corporate Affairs (MCA) portal after it is issued to the intended beneficiary. The move is seen as a major step towards ease of doing business and the start-up India initiative of the government

100. Kalraj Mishra Inaugurates Khadi Spinning and Weaving Centre in Srinagar

i. The Minister for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) Kalraj Mishra has inaugurated a spinning and weaving centre and marketing plaza for khadi goods in Srinagar. 

ii. At the centre — Harmukh Khadi Gram Udyog Sansthan — Mishra also distributed 25 model charkhas among local artisans at a function. iii. The event was organised by Khadi and Village Industries Board, Srinagar.

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