Gk Update 25 July 2016

1. China unveils world's largest amphibious aircraft

i. China has unveiled AG600, the world's largest aircraft which can land on both water and land and used to fight forest fires and perform marine rescues. 
ii. The aircraft is around the size of a Boeing 737 - far larger than any other amphibious plane. It has a maximum flight range of 4,500 km. and can collect 12 tonnes of water in 20 seconds during emergencies. Its maximum take-off weight of 53.5 tonnes.
iii. The plane AG600 has been unveiled by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) in southern port city of Zhuhai. Before the AG600, the largest amphibious cast was the H-4 Hercules, known as the Spruce Goose, used in WW2. Its wingspan is still longer than the AG600's.

2. Rs 2,048 crore sanctioned under 'Swadesh Darshan' scheme

i. The Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned 25 projects under the Swadesh Darshan scheme worth Rs. 2048 Crore. The scheme is launched in January 2015.
ii. For the North Eastern States, the Ministry has sanctioned 9 projects worth Rs. 821 Crores covering all the 8 states.
iii. For Tribal areas, the Ministry has sanctioned 3 projects for Rs. 282 Crores to the SG of Nagaland, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana. For Buddhist Circuit, the Ministry has sanctioned 2 projects worth Rs. 108.11 Crore to the SG of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

3. Solar power tree developed for the generation of electricity

i. The Ministry of Science and Technology has come up with a 'Solar Power Tree', an innovative way to generate electricity using solar power in a limited space. 
ii. The Solar Power Tree model is actually designed like a tree with branches made of steel to hold the photovoltaic panel.
iii. It has been developed by the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI), Durgapur, a laboratory of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

4. RBI imposes a penalty of rs. 5 cr. on Bank of Baroda

i. The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of rs. 5 crore on Bank of Baroda in the alleged rs. 6,000 crore forex related irregularities that were observed in October last year. 
ii. The RBI had carried out an investigation and noted weaknesses and failures in the bank's internal control mechanisms including transaction monitoring, and assigning of Unique Customer Identification Code.
iii. As the bank has allegedly transferred in the garb of payments for imports that never took place, investigators suspect. 

5. ICICI, Axis bank join Swift's global payments initiative 

i. ICICI Bank and Axis Bank are the first Indian banks to sign up for Swift’s global payments innovation initiative. The Belgium-based Swift is a global member-owned cooperative and a leading provider of secure financial messaging services.
ii. The initiative aims to “enhance” cross-border payments by using its messaging platform. In its first phase, the initiative will focus on business-to-business payments. 
iii. The service offers key features such as the same day use of funds, transparency, and predictability of fees, end-to-end payments tracking, and transfer of rich payment information.

6. TCS top employer in IT industry, says Nasscom

i. Software services major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been ranked as the top employer in the Indian IT industry by the representative body Nasscom. Though Cognizant is a US-based IT firm, it has the largest number of employees in India with development centres in Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.
ii. The Mumbai-based firm was followed by its peers Infosys, Cognizant, Wipro and Capgemini, Nasscom said in a statement.
iii. At the end of June 2016, TCS had a total headcount of 3.62 lakh while Infosys and Wipro had 1.97 lakh and 1.73 lakh, respectively. Others in the top 10 include HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Genpact, Intelenet Global Services, and Aegis.

7. Quikr acquires online recruitment startup Hiree

i. Online classifieds platform Quikr has acquired Bengaluru-based online recruitment firm Hiree for an undisclosed amount. 
ii. Hiree will be merged with the startup's jobs vertical QuikrJobs, and will work out of Quikr headquarters. 
iii. Founded in 2014 by former Yahoo executives Manjunath Talwar and Abhijit Khasnis, Hiree is an online hiring platform focused on white collar jobs.

8. Nepal Prime Minister KP Oli resigns ahead of a no-confidence vote

i. Nepal's Prime Minister, Khadga Prasad Oli has resigned from his office. He resigned ahead of a no-confidence vote.
ii. Oli, 64, who became prime minister of Nepal in October 2015, has been facing a no-trust motion after the Maoists withdrew support from the coalition government.
iii. Oli tendered his resignation after two key ruling alliance partners -Madhesi People's Rights Forum-Democratic and Rastriya Prajatantra Party decided to support the no-confidence motion tabled against him by the Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-Maoist Centre led by Prachanda. 

9. ITC appoints Sanjiv Puri as COO

i. Kolkata-based diversified conglomerate ITC Ltd has named Sanjiv Puri as Chief Operating Officer of the company.
ii. He has become a successor to chairman YC Deveshwar, as Mr. Deveshwar is all set to step down from his post in February 2017. But he will continue as a non-executive chairman for three years.
iii. Prior to this Mr. Puri was a whole-time director of the company.

10. Ricoh India Chairman Tetsuya Takano resigns and Winham became Director & Chairman

i. Ricoh India has stated that its Chairman and Director Tetsuya Takano has resigned from the company.
ii. The company has appointed Ian Peter Winham as its Director/Chairman with immediate effect.
iii. Winham joined the Ricoh Group in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) in 2002 as CFO and was appointed Executive Vice President, CIO and CFO of Ricoh Europe in 2007.

11. Violinist A Kanyakumari, first female violinist to get Sangita Kalanidhi Award

i. In the 87 years of the Sangita Kalanidhi award, this year is special as Renowned violinist Avasarala Kanyakumari from south India was selected for the prestigious 2016 Sangita Kalanidhi Award. 
ii. With this, Vijayanagaram in Andhra Pradesh born violinist becomes first female violinist chosen in the history of this prestigious award. 
iii. The award will be conferred on her at the 'sadas' on January 1, 2017. She will also preside over the 90th annual conference of the Music Academy scheduled from December 15, 2016, to January 1, 2017.

12. Ericsson CEO Vestberg steps down

i. Swedish mobile telecoms maker Ericsson's Chief Executive Officer Hans Vestberg has resigned from his post with immediate effect. 
ii. Vestberg has been the company's CEO since 2010.
iii. So after Vestberg, Chief Financial Officer Jan Frykhammar will be the acting CEO, with group treasurer Carl Mellander as acting CFO.

13. Lewis Hamilton wins 5th Hungarian Grand Prix

i. Formula one driver Lewis Hamilton (British Formula One racing driver from England) has won the Hungarian Grand Prix to top the drivers’ championship table for the first time this season. 
ii. Hamilton overtook Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg (2nd). While Australian Daniel Ricciardo third for Red Bull.
iii. This is Hamilton’s fifth win at the Hungaroring circuit, making him the most successful driver at the track.

14. Indian shooter Manavaditya Rathore clinch Bronze in Junior World Cup in Italy

i. Promising Indian shooter Manavaditya Rathore has won the trap bronze medal in the Champion of Champions match at the Junior World Cup in Porpetto, Italy. 
ii. While Anant Naruka has also bagged a bronze in skeet. 
iii. 'Champion of Champions' battle is where the medallists of the three Junior World Cups of the year compete against each other. 

15. Feliciano Lopez wins 2016 Swiss Open Gstaad

i. The 2016 Swiss Open Gstaad, a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts has won by the Spain player Feliciano Lopez. 
ii. He has defeated Robin Haase of the Netherlands.
iii. It is Lopez’s first title on clay and his fifth overall.