Daily GK Update : 23-24thApril 2017

Sports

1. Bopanna and Cuevas lift men's doubles Monte Carlo Masters

• India's Rohan Bopanna and his Uruguayan partner Pablo Cuevas have lifted the men's doubles crown at the Monte Carlo Masters after 6-3, 3-6, 10-4 win over Spain's Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez at the Monte Carlo Country Club.
• The Spanish professional tennis player Rafael Nadal (30-year) has won the Men's Singles title of Monte Carlo Masters Tennis tournament.
• He defeated Albert Vinolas (Spain) 6-1, 6-3.

Note:

• The Monte-Carlo Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, a commune that borders on Monaco.

2. Haryana wins the team championship at National Youth Athletics Meet

• Haryana has won the team championship (with overall 166.5 points) at the ‘National Youth Athletics Meet’ at G.M.C. Balayogi Stadium in Hyderabad.
• Kerala has finished as runners-up managing 134.75 points.
• Kerala retained the team crown for girls with 100 points, while Haryana boys topped with 5 points.
• Javelin throw player Damneet Singh (Punjab) has been declared the best Athlete in boy category while in girls Aparna Roy of who win 100m hurdles race awarded as the best.

Important Dates

3. National Panchayati Raj Diwas being observed today

• The ‘National Panchayati Raj Diwas’ being observed on 24^th April every year across India.
• This year Ministry of Panchayati Raj is commemorating National Panchayati Raj Day at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
• Twenty ‘best Panchayats’ from all over the country has been awarded, the Kuther Gram Panchayat in Nagrota Surian Development Block of Kangra district (Himachal Pradesh) was the first to become open defecation free (ODF) and was awarded sum of five lakh Rupees.
• The 'Kuther Gram Panchayat' is a model Gram Panchayat among 3226 Gram Panchayats in this hill state Himachal Pradesh.

Note:

• This day marks the passing of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that came into force with effect from 24 April 1993.

4. 23rd April: World Book & Copyright Day

• The ‘World Book and Copyright Day’ (WBCD) is being observed every year on 23rd April to raise awareness about the importance of reading and promote publishing and the protection of copyright around the globe.
• It is a yearly event organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
• The focus, this year is on the visually impaired to have easy access to printed materials.
• UNESCO has released three books, Reshaping Cultural Policies, Rethinking Education in a Changing World and Reading in a Mobile Era.

Note:

• UNESCO at its General Conference held in Paris chose 23rd of April to celebrate World Book Day as it is a highly symbolic date for world literature in 1995.
• The capital of Guinea ‘Conakry’ has been designated ‘World Book Capital 2017’.

5. 23rd April: United Nations English Language Day

• The United Nations English Language Day being observed annually on 23 April every year across the world to entertain as well as inform people about the culture, history, and achievements associated with the English language.
• It is the date traditionally observed as both the birthday and date of death of the greatest writer ever known in the English language ‘William Shakespeare’.
• English has official or special status in at least 75 countries that have a total population of over two billion.

Note:

• The day was established in 2010 by the Department of Public Information, as a result of its efforts to establish language days for each of United Nation’s six official languages.

The days are as follows:

• Arabic days: 18 December
• Chinese day: 20 April
• French day: 20 March
• Russian day: 6 June
• Spanish day:23 April

International Affairs

6. 1st India-Indonesia Energy Forum held in Jakarta

• The Union Minister ‘Piyush Goyal’ and Indonesia’s Energy and Mineral Resources Minister ‘Ignasius Jonan’ have participated in the first Indian-Indonesia Energy Forum in Jakarta, Indonesia.
• Major Indian companies in oil and gas sector, like ONCG Videsh Limited, Petronet LNG Limited, Gas are participating in this forum.

7. Google to introduce 'Copyless Paste' feature

• Google has introduced the first code for its new feature ‘Copyless Paste’ in its Chrome app running on Android OS.
• The Copyless Paste feature will take data from Chrome usage and use that to improve the experience in other apps.
• Copyless Paste feature will automatically copy the useful information and will suggest it for pasting in apps where it might be relevant.
• Presumably ‘Copyless Paste’ will arrive in the next few months.

 National Affairs

8. Maharashtra govt signs MoU with India Railway to expand green cover

• The Maharashtra government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Railways to expand the green cover.
• Trees will be planted on the land adjacent to the railway tracks in the state.
• The state Forest department has planned to plant 4 crore trees across the state till 1^st July 2017.

Honours & Awards

9. GNFC wins Golden Peacock Award

• The Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd (GNFC) has won the prestigious “Golden Peacock Award 2017” in the category of Innovative Product/Service for pioneering a cashless township transformation model.
• The GNFC has won from among 313 applicants for Golden Peacock Global Award for Innovative Product/Service.

Note:

• Golden Peacock Awards has been instituted by the Institute of Directors (IOD), India in 1991, are now regarded as a benchmark of Corporate Excellence worldwide.

10. Newton wins best film honor at Hong Kong International Film Festival

• Bollywood film "Newton" has won the Jury Prize for best film at the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
• The festival started on 11th April, and will go on till 25th April.
• ‘Newton’ is Amit Masurkar's second film after ‘Sulemani Keeda’ in 2014.

Note:

• Newton is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language black comedy film directed by Amit V Masurkar and produced by Manish Mundra of Drishyam Films.

11. Kailash Satyarthi honored with P C Chandra Puraskaar 2017

• Nobel laureate (2014) Kailash Satyarthi (63-year) has been awarded the ‘P C Chandra Puraskar 2017’ for his global crusade against child slavery and exploitative child labour in Kolkata.
• He was handed over a citation, a trophy and a cheque of Rs 10 lakh.

Note:

• Satyarthi has founded the 'Bachpan Bachao Andolan' in 1980.
• He is the fifth Nobel Prize winner for India and only the second Indian winner of the Nobel Peace Prize after Mother Teresa in 1979.

12. MCC offers honorary life membership to ‘Sandhya Agarwal’

• The ‘Marylebone Cricket Club’ (MCC) has offered the honorary life membership to the former captain of the Indian women's Test team ‘Sandhya Agarwal’.
• Agarwal is being honoured in recognition of her distinguished service to the game.
• She has played 13 Tests and 21 ODIs from 1984 to 1995.
• Presently, she is the chairperson of girl's Under-19 and senior women's team of Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA).

Note:

• Marylebone Cricket Club has been recognized as the sole authority on the laws of cricket since its foundation.

 "Thought of the Day"

“Skillful listening is the best remedy for loneliness, loquaciousness, and laryngitis.”

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