Daily GK Update : 13th May 2017

By Vijay Kumar|Updated : May 13th, 2017

National & International Appointment

1. V K Saraswat appointed new JNU Chancellor

  • Eminent scientist and former Director General of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) V K Saraswat has been appointed as the Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) for five years term.
  • He succeeds former ISRO chairman K Kasturirangan.
  • Currently, Mr. Saraswat is serving as the Member of NITI Aayog.

Note:

  • Jawaharlal Nehru University was established in 1969 by an act of parliament.
  • It was named after India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

2. UN chief names Britain's Mark Lowcock as humanitarian chief

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  • UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed British humanitarian expert Mark Lowcock as the UN Humanitarian Chief.
  • He will replace Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Stephen O'Brien in September.
  • The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs mobilizes and coordinates humanitarian action with international, national and civil society partners to provide aid during disasters, emergencies and conflicts.

Honours & Awards

3. VVS Laxman awarded honorary life membership of Marylebone Cricket Club

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  • Former India cricketer batsman V V S Laxman has been awarded an honorary life membership to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).
  • He is the fifth Indian to receive the honour after Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, and Zaheer Khan.
  • He was awarded the Padma Shri award in 2011 and retired from international cricket in 2012.

Note:

  • Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club in London, founded in 1787.

4. Chanda Kochhar receives Woodrow Wilson Award

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  • ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar (55-year) has become the first Indian woman to be conferred with the prestigious Woodrow Wilson Award for Global Corporate Citizenship
  • Woodrow Wilson Award was instituted in 1998 by the prestigious Wilson Center to felicitate individuals whose actions and accomplishments either in their careers or through service.
  • Now, she has joined the league of APJ Abdul Kalam and Narayana Murthy.

National Affairs

5. CBSE asks its schools to set up Aadhaar enrolment centres

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  • The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has asked its affiliated schools to set up Aadhaar enrolment centres and encourage students who do not have the identification number to be enrolled.
  • CBSE has not mandated the schools to set up the centres.
  • Earlier, the Central government mandating Aadhaar card for several benefits in educational institutions, including mid-day meal schemes and several fellowships.

6. Election Commission of India Launches National Contact Centre

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  • The Election Commission of India has launched National Contact Centre with a toll-free number (1800111950).
  • Now, any citizen from any part of the country call on the toll-free number and get their query or complaint addressed at any time of the day in Hindi or English.
  • The Centre is operated on a National Grievance Redressal System Software.
  • It is a single window platform to manage complaints and feedback received through calls, SMS, emails, and website access in an integrated and time-bound manner.

7. IRCTC launches cash-on-delivery for train tickets

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  • The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has introduced pay-on-delivery (PoD) service to allow passengers to book train tickets online and pay at the time of delivery.
  • IRCTC is now offering home delivery of rail tickets and will allow passengers to make payment through any payment mode, including cash.

Note:

  • Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, is a subsidiary of the Indian Railways that handles the catering, tourism and online ticketing operations of the Indian railways.

8. J P Nadda launches new Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine for pneumonia

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  • The Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J. P. Nadda has launched new Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine, (PCV) for Pneumonia at Lal Bahadur Shastri Medical College Hospital in Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh.
  • The vaccine will give protection against 13 types of pneumococcal bacteria which cause pneumonia disease
  • This vaccine would help health department to control the pneumonia and child mortality rate.

Note:

  • This is the twelfth disease against which vaccine has been launched by the Health Ministry.

9. Gujarat govt. launches implementation of Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojna

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  • Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has launched the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojna in the state.
  • It will provide benefits of housing to more than 2 lakh homeless families in the rural areas.
  • In the first phase, it will provide homes to 14,000 beneficiaries in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Anand, Aravalli and Kheda districts.
  • The rural homeless people can build their own house with 20 percent subsidy to be directly deposited in their bank account.

Note:

  • Gujarat Government has made provision of Rs.1372 crore in the budget for Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana.

International Affairs

10. WHO declares Ebola outbreak in Congo

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  • World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an Ebola outbreak in Congo.
  • Teams of experts, including epidemiologists, biologists and hygiene specialists had been dispatched to the region.
  • Earlier, more than 11,000 people died in the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014-2015

11. Nepal signs MoU with China on Cooperation under OBOR initiative

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  • Nepal has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China on Cooperation under One Belt and One Road (OBOR) initiative.
  • The MoU seeks to strengthen cooperation in connectivity sectors including transit transport, logistic systems, transport network and related infrastructures development.
  • Similarly, the MoU also aims to promote people-to-people exchanges of different levels between the two countries.

Sports

12. Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat & Divya Kakran win silver in Asian Wrestling Championship

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  • Indian women wrestlers Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Divya Kakran bagged silver medals in their respective categories in the Asian Wrestling Championship in New Delhi.
  • Sakshi Malik lost her final against Risako Kawai (Japan) in 60kg category.
  • Sakshi wrestled for the first time in this category after jumping up the weight division from 58kg.
  • Vinesh Phogat lost the final in women's 55kg category and Divya Kakran in 69 Kg to settle with silver medals.

"Thought of the Day"

“There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving and that's your own self.”

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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Read Daily GK update of  12th May here.

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Daily GK Update : 13th May 2017

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