Daily GK Update : 26th February, 2016 For LIC AAO And Railway Exams

Feb 28, 2016

Economic Survey 2015-16 highlights

Finance ministry presents the Economic Survey in parliament every year, before the Union Budget.
Survey reviews the developments of the Indian economy over the previous 12 months, summarizes the performance on major development programs, and highlights the policy initiatives of the government and the prospects of the economy in the short to medium term.
It is the Finance Ministry’s view on the annual economic development of the country that gives a broad idea on the macro-economic data, which will impact the budget decisions.
This year the report is authored by chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian.

150 million dollar credit line approved by India for Chabahar port development.

India has approved a $150 million credit line for the development of Iran’s Chabahar port.
Under the agreement signed last year between the two countries, India will equip and operate two berths in the first phase of development at Chabahar Port and extend a credit line of $150 million through its external lending arm.
Both berths will commence operations within 18 months of the signing of a final contract.

MoU signed between India and UK for research in crop science

Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology and a consortium of top UK research institutions signed an MoU for establishment of a joint India-UK collaboration programme in crop science.
The aim of the agreement is to enhance collaborative research, promote knowledge exchange, and support capacity building to develop resilience in food security.

Jonathon Sinclair Neal : CEO of AAE Travel

Expedia, the online travel company has appointed Jonathon Sinclair Neal as the Chief Executive Officer of AAE Travel.
AAE Travels is the joint venture between AirAsia and Expedia Inc.Jonathon will be based out of Singapore.

Dinesh Maheshwari : Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court

Justice Dinesh Maheshwari has sworn in as the Chief justice of the Meghalaya High Court.
He was administered the oath as Chief Justice by state Governor V. Shanmuganathan.
Prior to this appointment he was working in Allahabad High Court.

EPFO tightened norms for funds withdrawl.

EPFO stands for “Employees Provident Fund Organisation”.
EPFO has tightened norms on withdrawal of provident fund as well investment of such amount in Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana for its over five crore subscribers.
As per the new norms he subscribers will not be able to claim withdrawal of their provident fund after attaining age of 54 years.

3 news information commissioners appointed by Indian Government.

They are Amitava Bhattacharyya, IAS, (Gujarat 1980).
Retired Chairman, Staff Selection Commission,Bimal Julka, IAS (Madhya Pradesh:1979).
Retired Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting,Divya Prakash Sinha, Indian Police Service (Manipur-Tripura: 1979), retired Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat.

Ashwini Nangia : Director of CSIR-National Chemical Lab, Pune.

He was born in 1960 and an alumnus of the IIT Kanpur is at present with the School of Chemistry at the UoH.
After, his Ph.D. (1988), he worked in NOCIL Agrochemicals R&D Centre, Navi Mumbai for a year, and then joined the University in 1989.

IRCTS join hands with Oyo Rooms for hotel bookings.

OYO Rooms has tied up with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)The tie-up aims to offer standardised accommodation and a convenient booking platform to rail travellers.
Under the tie-up, OYO Rooms will power the IRCTC hotel-booking page, offering their inventory and standardised amenities to passengers.
With this, IRCTC customers will have ready access to hotel accommodations under OYO.

UP Govt signed pact with Taxi aggregator OLA.

Taxi aggregator Ola has entered into an agreement with the UP government to create over 50,000 entrepreneurship opportunities across the state.
According to the pact, Ola will work with the state government towards skill development of youth in state and provide entrepreneurship opportunities for 50,000 men and women across the state over the next five years.

Times Internet partnered with Investopedia.com to deliver trusted financial content to India.

Indian largest digital network Times Internet announced strategic partnership with Investopedia.com, one of the web’s premier destinations for financial information.
In this partnership Investopedia and Times Internet will collaborate to create and curate a blend of local and international content, knowledge events and seminars to grow the brand amongst the audience in India.

Ratan Tata to head the Indian Railway Innovation Committee.

In 2016- 2017 he has announced plans to set up a dedicated cross functional team called Special Unit for Transportation Research and Analytics (Sutra).
The main aim is to carry out detailed analysis leading to optimized investment decisions and operations.
The team would comprise professional analysts and best in class decision support systems and optimization engines.

Atal Innovation Mission approved by Union Cabinet.

Union Cabinet chaired by the PM Modi has given its approval for establishment of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and Self Employment and Talent Utilisation (SETU) in NITI Aayog with appropriate manpower.
Establishment of AIM and AIM Directorate would result in implementation of Mission activities in a focussed manner.
NITI Aayog will hire Mission Director and other appropriate manpower. The headquarter of the Mission will be New Delhi.

Indian Cricketer Rohit Sharma named as global ambassador of Nissan.

Japanese Carmaker Nissan has named Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma as their new global ambassador.
Nissan also named West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell and New Zealand women’s team captain Suzie Bates as its ambassadors.

Indian Sports Awards 2015 : Lalita Babar, long distance runner named as sports person of the year.

India’s top female Long-distance runner Lalita Babar was named as the Sports Person of the Year in the India Sports Awards 2015.
The award ceremony was organised by the FICCI with the support of the Sports Ministry.