Daily GK Update - 29th March 2017

By Vijay Kumar|Updated : March 29th, 2017

Science & Defence

1. INLCU L51 commissioned into India Navy 

  • The surveillance ship ‘INLCU L51’ was commissioned into the Indian Navy by Vice Admiral 'Bimal Verma', AVSM, Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command in a ceremony at Port Blair.
  • LCU 51 is the first of the eight ships of the Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mk IV Class.
  • The ship has been built to assist in amphibious operations by carrying out beaching operations.

Note:

  • It has been built by M/s Garden Reach Ship Builders & Engineers Ltd, Kolkata.
  • The ship is also equipped with Integrated Platform Management System and Integrated Bridge System for automated controls and quick functioning.

National Affairs

2. Union Govt. imposes 10 % import duty on wheat & Tur dal

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  • The Union Government has imposed 10% import duty on wheat and tur dal to protect farmers’ interest amid projection of a record crop this year.
  • This will help curb sharp fall in the wholesale prices of these commodities and ensure support price to farmers.
  • Earlier, the government had reduced customs duty on wheat to 0 from 10% to boost domestic availability and check retail prices.
  • The estimated revenue implication of this decision is about Rs. 840 crore at the current levels of imports.

Honours & Awards

3. R Ashwin receives Sir Garfield Sobers trophy

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  • Indian off-spinner ‘Ravichandran Ashwin’ (30-years) has received the ‘Garfield Sobers Trophy’ for the ‘ICC Cricketer of the Year 2016’ as well as the ‘ICC Test Cricketer of the Year 2016’ from former India captains and ICC Cricket Hall of Famers Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh.
  • Ashwin has become the third Indian and the 12th player overall to win the award after Rahul Dravid (2004) and Sachin Tendulkar (2010).
  • During the voting period (September 14, 2015 to September 20, 2016) Ashwin played eight Tests in which he took 48 wickets and scored 336 runs.
  • He also claimed 27 wickets in 19 T20Is.

Note:

  • The ‘Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy’ is a cricket trophy awarded annually by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to its chosen world player of the year.
  • The trophy is named after former West Indies cricket captain ‘Sir Garfield Sobers’.

4. President Pranab Mukherjee presents Dr. B. C. Roy National Awards

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  • President ‘Pranab Mukherjee’ presented B. C. Roy National Awards to 49 Doctors for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.
  • He also presented the Hari Om Ashram Alembic Research Awards for the years 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
  • B. C. Roy National Award is the highest recognition for medical practitioners in India.

Note:

  • ‘Bidhan Chandra Roy Award’ was instituted in memory of former West Bengal Chief Minister Dr. B. C. Roy by Medical Council of India in 1976.
  • B. C. Roy was first awarded in 1973 to Sandip Mukerjee (FRCS, of Willingdon Hospital) by then President VV Giri.

International Affairs

5. British PM Theresa May signs letter to trigger Brexit from EU

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  • British Prime Minister ‘Theresa May’ has signed the letter that will trigger Britain's exit from the European Union.
  • Official notification to other 27 European Union members that Britain has invoked Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, will be delivered to European Council President Donald Tusk by the British ambassador to the EU Sir Tim Barrow.
  • It sets the clock for a two-year negotiation process for Britain's relationship with the EU as a non-member.
  • Britain will have left the economic bloc by 29th March, 2019.

6. US signs executive order to roll back Obama's climate change measures

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  • The US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to roll back his predecessor Barack Obama's climate change measures keeping up his campaign promise.
  • The executive action is a historic step to lift the restrictions on American energy, to reverse government intrusion and to cancel job-killing regulations.
  • This decision is the latest in the series of steps to create American jobs and to grow American wealth.

Obituaries

7. Renowned playwright Arun Sarma passes away

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  • Noted playwright & Sahitya Akademi Award winner Arun Sarma (86-year) passed away after a brief illness.
  • He had written more than 50 plays and books.
  • Sarma has also won Padma Shri, and Assam Valley Literary.

8. South African anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada passes away

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  • Veteran South African’s Indian-origin anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada (87-year) passed away.
  • Kathrada was among eight African National Congress activists sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964.
  • He spent 26 years and 3 months in prison, including 18 years on the infamous Robben Island.
  • He was one of Nelson Mandela’s closest aides in his struggle to end the white minority

Note:

  • Apartheid was a legalized system of discrimination against non-white people introduced in South Africa in 1948.
  • Kathrada was born in 1929 to Indian immigrant parents in north west South Africa.

9. Former Punjab minister Gurdev Singh Badal passes away

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  • Former Punjab minister and senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Gurdev Singh Badal (85-year) passed away at Ludhiana.
  • He was a five-time Member of Punjab Legislative Assembly, representing the Panjgrain constituency in Jalandhar district Punjab.

Sports

10. Gauri Singh becomes the first girl to swim from Sea Link to Gateway of India

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  • Gauri Singh (14-year) has become the first Indian girl swim from Sea Link near Worli Koliwada to the Gateway of India in the Arabia Sea.
  • She took over 6 hours 30 minutes to complete the 36-km long distance route.
  • Gauri Singh is a class 8th student from Udaipur (Rajasthan).

11. Lionel Messi banned from next four competitive internationals

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  • Professional footballer Lionel Messi (29-year) has banned from their next four competitive internationals starting with the World Cup's qualifier in Bolivia for swearing at a match official.
  • The decision means he will play in only one of Argentina's remaining five World Cup qualifiers.
  • Messi had directed insulting words at an assistant referee during the 1-0 win over Chile.

Note:

  • "Leo" Messi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team.

12. Bhubaneswar to host 2017 Men's Hockey World League final

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  • Today, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has confirmed that the ‘Men’s Hockey World League Final 2017’ and ‘Hockey Men’s World Cup 2018’ will be held in Bhubaneswar, (Odisha)India.
  • The Men’s Hockey World League Final, involving eight of World’s best teams including hosts India, will be played between 1st -10th December 2017.
  • The World Cup is scheduled between 28th November to 16th December 2018 and will see 15 teams in action.

Note:

  • The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is the international governing body of field hockey and indoor field hockey.
  • FIH is responsible for field hockey's major international tournaments, notably the World Cup.

 "Thought of the Day"

“If you don’t have confidence, you’ll always find a way not to win.” 

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GK Quiz (for previous day’s news only) Take the quiz below to find out how well-versed you are with current affairs. You can also go through the Daily GK Update: 28th March 2017 before attempting the quiz.

Read Daily GK update of  28th March here.

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Daily GK Update - 29th March 2017

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