Daily GK Update : 22nd July 2017

National Appointment

1. Kamal Haasan to be brand ambassador of  Pro Kabaddi League franchise 'Tamil Thalaivas'

• Tamil film actor ‘Kamal Haasan’ has now been appointed as the brand ambassador of Tamil Thalaivas team in the season five of Pro Kabaddi league.
• Tamil Thalaivas co-owned by India batting legend Sachin Tendulkar.
  
• The fifth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League is all set to start on 28^th July and will for the very first time, it will feature 12 teams from across 11 states in the country.
• The teams will face off against each other in a truly exciting format that will see the teams pitted in two zones, with the top six qualifying for the playoffs.

2. Sanjay Kothari appointed secretary to President-elect Ram Nath Kovind

• Sanjay Kothari (1978 batch - IAS Haryana cadre) has been appointed as Secretary to President elect Ram Nath Kovind.
• Currently, Mr. Kothari is the Chairman of Public Enterprises Selection Board.
• Bharat Lal (forest service officer) has been appointed as Joint Secretary to the President.
• Senior journalist Ashok Malik will be Press Secretary to the President.

Obituaries

3. Chester Bennington, lead singer of Linkin Park passes away

• American singer and songwriter Chester Bennington(41-year), the lead singer of Linkin Park passed away in California, U.S.
• He was best known as the frontman for the rock band Linkin Park the sixth-greatest band of the music video era and the third-best of the new millennium.
• He was also the lead singer for Dead by Sunrise and fronted Stone Temple Pilots from 2013 - 2015.
• The band has sold over 70 million albums worldwide and has won two Grammy Awards.

Science & Defence

4. New giant ocean sunfish species discovered

• The new species of giant ocean sunfish hoodwinker (mola tecta) has been discovered by an international team of researchers led by Murdoch University in Perth, Australia.
• The heaviest type of bony fish that can weigh over two tonnes and grow to three metres long.
• The new species has so far been found around New Zealand, around the southeast coast of Australia, off Africa and southern Chile.

Banking & Finance

5. BoB signs MoU with DGS&D for services to govt’s e-marketplace

• Bank of Baroda (BoB) has signed an agreement with Directorate General of Supplies & Disposal (DGS&D) for extending various banking services to Government e-Marketplace (GeM).
• DGS&D has been mandated to set up GeM, an initiative intended to bring greater transparency and efficiency in public procurements.
• It will immensely benefit all stakeholders and ensure a support system including a dedicated team for seamless functioning of the portal.

National Affairs

6. Suresh Prabhu inaugurates round table conference- ensuring cyber security on Indian Railways

• The union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has inaugurated round table conference- ensuring cyber security on Indian Railways in New Delhi.
• Railways keep conducting audits to ensure safety checks and cyber security is one of the top priorities.

Note:

• Cyber security on railway has now been identified as the focus area and it must be implemented as per acceptable standards in the IT industry.

7. Kerala to host literary festival with ‘Tolerance’ as theme

• Kerala state will host the fifth edition of South India Writers Ensemble (SIWE) at Chengannur, a town in Kerala’s coastal Alappuzha district from 24th July this year.
• The core theme of this year festival is ‘tolerance’.
• The three-day event is being organised by People for Performing Arts and More, an art and cultural outfit.

8. Rajyavardhan Rathore inaugurates Rojgar Mela in Jaipur

• The Union Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting (I&B) Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has inaugurated a ‘Rojgar Mela’ in Kukas area of Jaipur(Rajasthan).
• Three thousand students have been enrolled in the Rojgar Mela and more than 40 companies would take interviews of them.

9. CBSE invites online application from girl students for enrollment in UDAAN project 2017-19

• The Central Board of Secondary Education(CBSE) has invited online application from girl students for enrollment in UDAAN project 2017-19.
• The scheme is open for deserving girl students who aspire to pursue higher education in engineering and to assist them to prepare for entrance exam while studying in Class 11 and 12th in Kendriya Vidyalaya(KV), Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya(JNV) or government schools affiliated to CBSE or any board.
• The selected girls get tutorials and study materials for the entrance exam free of cost.
• The last date for applying under the scheme is 31st of July 2017.

10. Union Government launches quality mark logo for milk and milk products

• The Union Agriculture Minister ‘Radha Mohan Singh’ has launched National Dairy Development Board's (NDDB) quality logo for milk and milk products to signify safe and quality milk and milk products from dairy cooperatives.
• This move will reinforce the consumers' recognition that the quality mark is synonymous with good quality.

Note:

• NDDB's quality mark will provide dairy cooperatives and producer institutions the much-needed brand identity and a competitive edge.

 "Thought of the Day"

“Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.”

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