Daily GK Update : 8th June 2017

Important Dates

1. World Oceans Day being observed globally

• World Oceans Day is annually observed on 8^th June to raise awareness of the challenges humanity faces to protect the world's oceans.
• The overall theme of this year is 'Our Oceans, Our Future'.
• The United Nations General Assembly had designated 8th June as the World Oceans Day in 2008.

Science & Defence 

2. 650 light years from Earth, scientists discover hottest known planet in universe

• Scientists have discovered the hottest known planet from Earth (located 650 light years), which is warmer than most stars in the universe and sports a giant, glowing gas tail like a comet.
• It is hotter than most stars and only 926-degree Celsius cooler than Sun.
• The ultraviolet radiation from the star it orbits is so brutal that the planet may be evaporating away under the intense glare, producing a glowing gas tail.
• The reason the exoplanet is so hot is that the star it orbits is more than twice as large and nearly twice as hot as Sun.

3. North Korea launches multiple ground-to-ship missiles

• Today, North Korea has launched multiple surface-to-ship missiles from the vicinity of Wonsan, Gangwon Province.
• It would be the fourth missile test by the nuclear-armed regime in less than five weeks.
• Early last month, the North test-fired its longest-range ballistic missile yet tested, in a bid to bring the US mainland within reach.

4. Indian-American among 12 new astronauts chosen by NASA

• NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) has selected 12 (7 men and 5 women) new astronauts including an Indian-American ‘Grinder’ from 18000 applications.
• Lt Col Raja Grinder Chari (39-year) is a commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron as well as the director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
• The 12 candidates include military officers (6), scientists (3), doctors (2), lead engineer at SpaceX (1) and NASA research pilot (1).
• The selected astronauts will be assigned various roles like performing research on the International Space Station (ISS) and flying on deep space missions after completion of two years of training.

Note:

• Grinder has obtained his Master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT and has graduated from the US Naval Test Pilot School.

Honors & Awards

5. Anand Neelakantan, Haraprasad Das & Paramita Satpathy to be honored with Kalinga Literary Awards

• Anand Neelakantan, Haraprasad Das, and Paramita Satpathy have been announced as the winners of the Kalinga Literary Awards.
• Neelakantan(writer): Kalinga International Literary Award.
• Haraprasad Das (Odia poet):  Kalinga Literary Youth Award.
• Satpathy (author): Kalinga Karubaki Award.

Note:

• They will receive the award during the Kalinga Literary Festival 2017 (fourth edition) which will be inaugurated by Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

National Affairs

6. Health Secretary inaugurates ‘Vatsalya – Maatri Amrit Kosh’

• The Health and Family Welfare Secretary 'Mr. C K Mishra' has inaugurated the ‘Vatsalya – Maatri Amrit Kosh’a National Human Milk Bank and Lactation Counselling Centre at the Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) in New Delhi.
• With this donor human milk bank, all newborn in and around Delhi will have access to life saving human milk regardless of the circumstances of their birth.
• It is established in collaboration with the Norwegian government, Oslo University, and Norway-India Partnership Initiative (NIPI).

National & International Appointment

7. Hoshiar Singh appointed chief of copyrights office

• Senior bureaucrat ‘Hoshiar Singh’ (Indian Telecom Service - 1994 batch) has been appointed as Registrar of Copyrights for a period of five years.
• The Copyright Office is under the control of a Registrar of Copyrights, who acts under the superintendence and directions of the central government.

Note:

• The Copyrights Office was established under Section 9 of the Copyright Act, mandated to protect the music and film industry.

8. Sam Pitroda resigns as technical advisor to Odisha govt.

• Noted technocrat ‘Sam Pitroda’ has resigned from technical advisor post (status of a cabinet rank minister) of Odisha government.
• A year back, Mr. Pitroda had joined Odisha government as its Technical Advisor.
• Recently, he was appointed as the Chairman of Congress’s overseas department.

9. Nepal's first woman Chief Justice retires

• First woman Chief Justice of Nepal Supreme Court ‘Sushila Karki’ has retired after attaining the age 65 years.
• Justice Karki handled many important cases including impeachment of Chief of Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) and appointment of Inspector General of Police.
• Justice Gopal Parajuli (senior most judge) has assumed the charge of acting Chief Justice.

Banking & Finance

10. Vijaya Bank set to develop 100 digital villages

• Vijaya Bank is going to develop one hundred digital villages across various states of the country initiative to promote digital banking among the rural population.
• The Bank is the only public sector financial institution to develop digital villages with the focus on rural areas.
• The digital villages will give the services like the internet Wi-Fi connectivity, mobile payment facilities, ATM cards and online banking among others.

International Affairs

11 Annual SCO summit begins in Astana

• Today, the two-day annual 17th summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has begun in Astana, Kazakhstan.
• Heads of six member countries of the SCO (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgzstan, Russia, Tajikisthan, and Uzbekistan) are taking part and deliberate on matters of mutual interest including security and economy in Central Asia.
• India and Pakistan (so far observers) in the SCO are set to join as its full members and a formal announcement is expected during the summit.
• The last summit of SCO was held at Tashkent, Uzbekistan in 2016.

Note:

• The first established as Shanghai Five in 1996 and later renamed as Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) gained international recognition as a platform for cooperation between member states on issues of mutual interest.
• Currently, SCO group is focussing on enhancing bilateral cooperation among its member countries while making efforts to tackle global issues such cross-border terrorism, extremism, and drug trafficking.

"Thought of the Day"

“If you believe in yourself first, you’re unstoppable.”

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