GK Update 8 August 2016

1. PM launches Mission Bhagiratha and lays Foundation Stone of key development projects in Telangana

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Telangana government's ambitious Mission Bhagiratha at Komatibanda Village, Gajwel, in Medak District of Telangana. 
ii. The scheme has been launched by the State Government with an objective to provide safe drinking water to all. As the Mission, Bhagiratha is a pet project of the Chief Minister, taken up at an outlay of Rs. 42,000 crore. Apart from creating a water grid for supply drinking water to houses, it aims to rejuvenate more than 45,000 water tanks.
iii. The Prime Minister also laid the Foundation Stones for important development projects. These included the 1600 MW Thermal Power station of NTPC at Ramagundam, revival of a Fertilizer Plant at Ramagundam, Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences, Warangal, and Manoharabad-Kothapalli Railway line. He also dedicated to the nation the 1200 MW Thermal Power Station of Singareni Collieries at Jaipur, in Adilabad district at an outlay of Rs. 7,000 crore.

2. Odisha Government launches special assistance scheme for elderly weavers

i. The Odisha government launched a special assistance scheme- ‘Baristha Bunakar Sahayata Yojana’  for elderly weavers to mark the National Handlooms Day (7th August). 
ii. It has been launched by the state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik with an aim to improve the financial condition of over 8,000 weavers, who have been working in this field for the last 20 years. 
iii. The Baristha Bunakar Sahayata Yojana is for all senior weavers who are above the age of 60 years. Under this scheme all weavers who are above 60 years they will get a monthly pension of 500 rupees, and those above 80 years would get 700 rupees. 

3. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar inaugurates Chhattisgarh’s first IIT

i. Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar has inaugurated the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) - Raipur at the Government Engineering College campus. 
ii. The IIT will have its own campus by the time its first batch of students pass out.

4. IRCTC signs MoU with Manipur govt to provide hospitality & tourism services

i. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and the Manipur government have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which seeks to provide improved hospitality and tourism services to their customers by making 'joint use of their capabilities and facilities'.
ii. The MoU entails upon both the parties to identify areas of cooperation and draw up detailed plans for the development of joint tourism products and opening and managing various catering and hospitality outlets, budget hotels and handicrafts shops at railway as well as non-railway locations.
iii. The MoU also include involvement of Self Help Groups (SHGs), setting up of water vending machines, use of Rail Neer (IRCTC's packaged water) and development of lounges and greeting services for tourists.

5. Over 1000 Dancing Robots Set Guinness Record In China

i. A new Guinness World Record for the most robots dancing simultaneously has been set in China where 1,007 robots shimmied in unison, nearly double the previous record. 
ii. The attempt was organised by Qingdao-based Ever Win Company which almost doubled the previous record of 540 dancing robots which was achieved earlier this year by Chinese company UBTECH Robotics Corp.
iii. A few robots were disqualified because they did not dance or fell over, but the majority of the mechanical dance troupe completed the 60 second routine in perfect unison. Each of the 43.8 cm tall dancing machines at the Qingdao Beer Festival were controlled using just one mobile phone and they had to dance for a full minute in order to count towards the record.

6. First-ever 'Pizza ATM' opens in the US

i. The first-ever 'Pizza ATM' has been installed at a university campus of US by French- based company Paline, which developed the ATM. 
ii. The pizza vending machine on the campus of Xavier University (XU) in Ohio can hold seventy 12-inch pizzas and dispense them fresh and hot in just three minutes. The cost of each pizza is around $10, with the ATM accepting credit and debit cards, as well as a student card.
iii. Customers can select what kind of pizza they want using the 24-hour machine's touchscreen. The pizza ATM, which opens for public on August 10. 

7. Former RBI Deputy Governor Anand Sinha joins IDFC Bank board

i. IDFC Bank has appointed former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor Anand Sinha to the bank's board. 
ii. His appointment comes into effect from August 1. 
iii. This comes after Vinod Rai, the former comptroller and auditor general (CAG) of India, who served as a nominee director representing IDFC Limited on the board of IDFC Bank, stepped down after serving on the board for a year. 

8. Syndicate Bank launches new products

i. Arun Shrivastava, MD & CEO of Syndicate Bank has launched new products to ease customer transactions.
ii. The  first products launched by the bank was the fund transfer based on ‘Aadhaar Number through NUUP’, using an ordinary mobile phone without internet connection.
iii. While the other one was ‘Fund Transfer through IMPS’ at any branch for instantaneous credit to any bank account.

9. Zydus acquires derma brand Melgain from Issar Pharma

i. Ahmedabad-headquartered Zydus Group has acquired Melgain brand from Hyderabad based Issar Pharma for an undisclosed sum that would marketed in India by Liva Healthcare. 
ii. Zydus is currently the leader in the skin de-pigmentation segment and the acquisition of Melgain marks its foray into the re-pigmentation.
iii. Zydus is a fully integrated, global healthcare provider, with strengths all along the pharmaceutical value chain.

10. Sitaraman Shankar appointed Network18 Managing Editor

i. Network18 has appointed Sitaraman Shankar as Managing Editor - Special Projects. Shankar will work across all digital and TV news properties.
ii. Shankar will also serve as Group Training Editor and manage the content quality.
iii. He is a chemical technologist-turned-journalist and has 22 years of experience in journalism. His last assignment was with Hindustan Times where he played a variety of roles including that of Deputy Managing Editor and Editor. 

11. Australian surfing champion Bernard Farrelly dies

i. Australian surfing champion Bernard Farrelly, best known as Midget for his slight size, has passed away. He was 71 years old. 
ii. He won the first official surfing World Championship at Sydney's Manly Beach in 1964 and dominated the sport as it gained popularity during that decade. 
iii. Farrelly was inducted into the Sports Australia Hall of Fame in 1985. He was also the first president of Australia's oldest surfboard riders club.

12. Gymnast Dipa Karmakar becomes first Indian to qualify for Vault Finals

i. Dipa Karmakar, the Indian Gymnast, created history by becoming the first Indian gymnast to enter the Olympic final at the Rio Olympic Centre.
ii. The 22-year-old qualified for the final round in the Individual vault final of artistic gymnastics after finishing eighth on the standings.
iii. Competing in the third sub-division, Dipa had an average score of 51.665. She scored 14.850 by performing her much-vaunted ‘Produnova’ vault cleanly on the vault, 11.666 on the uneven bars, 12.866 in balance beam and 12.033 in floor exercises. While American Simone Biles, the three-time world all-round champion topped the charts with a score of 16.050.