Daily GK update : 17th July 2015

1. India and Canada sign MoU in the field of Civil Aviation.

i. The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri NarendraModi, has approved the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) betweenIndia and Canada in the field of Civil Aviation. 

ii. MoU will help in deepening the bilateral cooperation and enhancing theexperience and technical knowledge in the field of Civil Aviation between Indiaand Canada. 

iii. The two countries shall have a cooperation programme in the areas of safetyof aircraft operations and related issues that will provide more up-to-dateknowledge to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to make it familiar withbest international practices and latest International Civil AviationOrganisation’s safety oversight programme requirements. 

2. IBM, IIM-B, Catalyst complete women’s leadership development programme.

i. IBM on Friday today announced the graduation of the first group of students from Tanmatra, an innovative, cross-industry women's leadership development program conducted in collaboration with The Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore ( IIM-B) and Catalyst India WRC. 

ii. Thirty high-potential women from industries including IT, banking, pharma, and manufacturing completed Tanmatra (which means potential in Sanskrit). The 10-month program was open to organisations across the country and trained a select group of women with at least 12 years of work experience, IBM said in a press statement. 

iii.This course helps prepare women for leadership in the Indian business community and offers a common platform to network with industry leaders.

3. Haryana government named Parineeti Chopra as its Brand Ambassador for 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao.'

i. Haryana Government named Parineeti Chopra as its brand ambassador for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' campaign to promote the cause of girl child.

ii. Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' campaign, aimed at ensuring survival, protection and empowerment of the girl child, was launched by Prime Minister Modi from Haryana's Panipat in January this year. The state has one of the worst sex ratios in the country.

4. India inks $250-million loan pact with World Bank for Andhra Pradesh Disaster Recovery project.

i. India has inked a financing agreement with World Bank (WB) to raise US 250 million dollars financial assistance for Andhra Pradesh Disaster Recovery Project (APDRP).

ii. The motive of this project is Objective: To restore, enhance resilience and improve public services, livelihoods and environmental facilities in targeted communities of Andhra Pradesh.

iii. It also seeks to increase the capacity of the state to promptly and effectively respond to crisis or emergency.

iv. It includes approximately 3 million populations in 4 heavily impacted districts of state viz. Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and East Godavari.

5. Union Cabinet gives nod to redevelop 400 major railway stations.

i. Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the redevelopment of 400 major railway stations.

ii. This approval will enable the Union Ministry of Railways to accelerate the redevelopment of ‘A-1’ and ‘A’ category railway stations across the country. These stations generally are located in major cities, metros, pilgrimage centres and important tourist destinations.

iii. These major railway stations will be redeveloped under a new a unique method which is form of public procurement of ideas called the Swiss Challenge. It will also encourage innovative ideas from interested parties without any additional extra cost from the Railways.

iv. Under this initiative, major stations will be redeveloped by leveraging real estate development of land and air space in and around the stations. It also includes permitting commercial development of real estate by the Zonal Railways.

6. ICC ODI Rankings: India retain 2nd spot after clean sweep over Zimbabwe

i. India have retained their 2nd position in the latest ICC ODI Rankings which were released today. 

ii. its 3-0 series victory over Zimbabwe, India has maintained its second place ranking and still remains 14 points adrift of Australia who leads the field on 129 points

iii. Australia retained the top notch in ICC ODI Rankings.

7. Neeraj Kumar appointed chief security advisor for ICC World T20 2016.

i. Former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar was appointed as the Chief Advisor of Security and anti corruption unit (ACSU) of BCCI for next year’s T20 World Cup to be hosted by India.

ii. Kumar was already roped in by the BCCI for a one-year period in the anti-corruption unit during the IPL.

iii. The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the names of the organising committee for the mega event with Dr M V Sridhar as the General Manager for Cricket Operations,” the BCCI said in a statement.