Dear Friends,
Welcome to the Quick Gyan (QG) Section of D2G. QG is just a glimpse of what happened today all over the world.
Only For Serious Candidates : We strongly recommend you to read the Current Affairs in detail. For your convenience, we have provided quick links under the updates. Make use of it.
Always Keep Yourself Updated!!!
AWARDS AND HONORS
Sudarsan Pattnaik wins gold in sand art contest in Russia
Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has won gold medal in an international sand art championship in Russia. He made sand art — “Mahatma Gandhi sculpture for non-violence and peace” — in the contest. The week-long sand sculpture competition had started on April 21 at Kolomenskoye, Moscow. Twenty top sculptors from across the world displayed their sculptures.
He has participated in more than 50 international sand sculpture championships across the world and won many awards for the country. He has also got the fourth highest civilian award Padma Shri in 2014. Mr Pattnaik runs a sand art school at Puri beach in Odisha.
Quick Link – Sudarsan Pattnaik
Mongolia confers highest civilian honour on two Indians
Mongolia has conferred its highest civilian award “North Star” on two noted Indian scholars – Lokesh Chandra and Mansura Haider for their contribution to Mongolian studies.
- Mongolian Foreign Minister Lundeg Purevsuren conferred the award on Lokesh Chandra, president of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), and Mansura Haider, former academic adviser at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), at ceremony at the Mongolian embassy here which was also attended by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju.
- This year being the 60th Anniversary of Indo-Mongolian diplomatic relations, the award has been presented to two Indian scholars for their outstanding “contributions to the development of friendly relations between India and Mongolia and promotion of Mongolian studies”.
Quick Link – highest civilian award
APPOINTMENTS
UN chief Ban appoints Indian to University Council
An Indian academician is among 12 people appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the globalbody’s University Council to formulate its principles and policies, consider and approve biennial budget and work programme. Radha Kumar, 63, the Director General of New Delhi-based think tank Delhi Policy Group was named to the governing UN University Council. The 12 appointees, who will take office next month, will serve for terms of either three or six years.
The main functions of the UN University Council are to formulate the principles and policies of the University, govern its operations, and consider and approve its biennial budget and work programme.
Quick Link – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
INDIAN AFFAIRS
Shyam Benegal panel submitted report on Censor Board functioning
The Shyam Benegal-headed committee constituted by the Information and Broadcasting ministry to look holistically into the functioning of the censor board submitted its report to I&B minister Arun Jaitley. The panel was set up on January 1 to take a relook at the functioning of the controversy-ridden board, headed by Pahlaj Nihalani.
The committee was asked to take note of the best practices in various parts of the world, especially where the film industry is given sufficient and adequate space for creative and aesthetic expression. It was also asked to recommend broad guidelines under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act for the benefit of the chairperson and other members of the Screening Committee.
Quick Link – Shyam Benegal committee
GOI constitutes Ashok Dalwai committee for doubling farmers’ income by 2022
The central government has set up a panel to suggest ways to double farm incomes by 2022, as promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The task of the inter-ministerial committee will prepare a blueprint to transition farm policies from being production oriented to based on incomes or value addition.
The committee will look into ways to examine the potential of Indian agriculture and where investments are required, and will identify segments with potential for growth.
Quick Link – Double farm incomes by 2022
‘Panic Button and GPS in Mobile Phone Handsets Rules 2016’ notified
The Department of Telecommunications has notified the “Panic Button and Global Positioning System in Mobile Phone Handsets Rules 2016”. The Ministry of Women and Child Development had taken up the issue of installation of a physical panic button on mobile phones as one of the initiatives in June 2014.
It was observed that in order to provide safety to women in distress situation, it is important to enable them to send out distress signal to a family member or the police authorities so that they can be rescued.
Quick Link – Mobile Phone Handsets Rules 2016
Lok Sabha passed the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2016
The Lok Sabha has passed the Sikh Gurdwara (Amendment) Bill, 2016. With this, the Bill — already having been passed by Rajya Sabha — has been approved by Parliament and now awaits the President’s sanction.
Here key facts on the bill:
- The amendment brings the inclusion of Sahjdhari Sikhs to vote in the elections to the Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC)
- Sahjdhari Sikhs are the people from the Sikh religion who cut/trim their beard or hair
- Sahjdhari Sikhs were not allowed to vote in the SGPC since 1944
Quick Link – Sikh Gurdwara
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2016 observed globally
The 2016 World Day for Safety and Health at Work was observed across the world on 28 April 2016. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) celebrates World Day for Safety and Health to raise awareness of safety in the workplace. Occurring annually since 2003, each year it focuses on a specific area and bases a campaign around the theme.
The day 28 April has also long been associated with the world’s trade union movement’s commemoration of the victims of occupational accidents and diseases.
Quick Link – World Day for Safety and Health at Work
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
China successfully launched Kunpeng-1B Sounding Rocket
China has successfully launched the Kunpeng-1B sounding rocket from a launch pad in Danzhou City in the southern Chinese Hainan Province. The research rocket, which is due to take measurements in the upper atmosphere and help with high-speed flight and space tourism research, was launched by China’s National Space Science Center (NSSC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
The rocket reached a maximum height of 316 kilometers (196 miles), with the total flight time coming to 10 minutes.
Quick Link – Kunpeng-1B
India successfully launches IRNSS-1G navigation satellite
With the launch of IRNSS-1G satellite, ISRO’s Indian Regional Navigation Spacecraft System (IRNSS) which is India’s own version of the Global Positioning System (GPS), is in place! The flawless launch of IRNSS-1G, the seventh satellite in the navigation system, marks a big milestone for the Indian Space Research Organisation.
When the IRNSS-1G becomes operational in about a month’s time, the system would offer services like terrestrial and marine navigation, disaster management, vehicle tracking and fleet management, navigation aide for hikers and travellers, visual and voice navigation for drivers.
Quick Link – IRNSS-1G
SPORTS
India third in global dope violation in WADA report
According to the World Doping Agency, India had the third highest Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) in 2014, with 96 cases, behind Russia (148) and Italy (123). Belgium (91), France (91), Turkey (73), Australia (49), China (49), Brazil (46) and South Korea (43) followed India in the top 10. Out of these 96 dope violations, 79 (56 men and 23 women) failed in-competition tests while 13 (9 men and 4 women) were caught out-of-competition.
India, whose medal count in the Olympics has been a mere 24 since 1920, has one of the highest number dope offenders in the last few years. Among the sports which contributed most dope cheats in the country, athletics continued to maintain the top spot with 29 cases, followed by powerlifitng (23) and weightlifting (22) as the trend of the last few years continued.
Quick Link – WADA
Gopal Subramanium appointed as amicus curiae to implement Justice RM Lodha committee recommendations
The Supreme Court has pulled up the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for “monopolising” cricket in the country and said several youngsters wanting to be Dhonis and Kohlis are not given equal opportunity if they are not on the right side of the cricket body.
The apex court also appointed senior advocate Gopal Subramanium as amicus curiae in the matter and sought his assistance to explore as to how the recommendations of Justice RM Lodha committee favouring large-scale structural reforms, which BCCI and other boards have been resisting, could be implemented.
Quick Link – BCCI for monopolising
Indian rower Dattu Bhokanal qualifies for Rio Olympics
Indian rower Dattu Baban Bhokanal has qualified for the Rio Olympics after winning a silver in the men’s single sculls event at the FISA Asian and Oceania Olympic Qualification Regatta at Chung-ju in South Korea. The 25-year-old army man clocked 7 minutes, 7.63 seconds in the 2 km course to finish second. The top seven in the finals qualify for the Rio Games.
- Nashik-born Bhokanal, who trains at the Army Rowing Node (ARN) in Pune, was on course for a gold medal finish as he was leading the five-man field till the 1,500 metre mark but Korean Dongyong Kim (07 minutes, 5.13 secs) overtook him at the final stretch.
- India could not, however, book a Rio berth in the men’s lightweight double sculls as the pair of Vikram Singh and Roopendra Singh finished fifth in the finals. Only top three qualify for Rio Olympics in this category.
Quick Link – Rio Olympics
Deepika Kumari equals world record in recurve event at Archery World Cup
Indian archer Deepika Kumari equalled the world record in women’s recurve event before helping the country to the mixed pair bronze play-off in the first stage of the Archery World Cup. The former world No.1 and winner of two Commonwealth Games gold medals shot 686 in the 72-arrow ranking round to equal the feat of London Olympics gold-medallist Ki Bo Bae of Korea.
Ki Bo Bae, who had won two gold medals at the London 2012 Olympics in the individual and team competition, had erased an 11-year-old world record when she got past fellow Korean Park Sung-Hyun’s 682 at qualification of the Universiade in Gwangju in 2015.
Quick Link – Archery World Cup
OBITUARY
Renowned Kerala cartoonist VT Thomas passes away
Well known cartoonist VT Thomas, the creator of ‘Boban and Molly‘, has passed away at the age of 86. VT Thomas, better known as Toms for the Malayali population. ‘Bobanum Moliyum’ cartoon series was first published in Malayala Manorama weekly in the late 1950s, following which he worked with Manorama for nearly three decades, before retiring in 1987.
Boban and Moly, the naughty next-door siblings from his neighborhood in Kuttanad and their dog became Toms’ central characters, and went on to entertain thousands of readers. Thought provoking and humorous, the cartoon series became a household name in Kerala, which was later made into an animation series.
Quick Link – VT Thomas passes away
Chinese human rights activist Harry Wu died
Longtime Chinese human rights activist and former political prisoner, Harry Wu, has died at age 79. Wu died while on vacation in Honduras.
- At age 23, Wu was sentenced to 19 years in the Chinese prison camp system, known as laogai, for criticizing the Soviet Union, a then ally of China.
- During his life, Wu claims to have spent time in 12 Chinese labor camps, where he experienced harsh work and torture among other abuses.
- He was released in 1979 and moved to the United States in 1985 where he worked to raise awareness about the Chinese prison system, founding the Washington, D.C.-based Laogai Research Foundation.
Quick Link – Harry Wu Passes away
Thank you 🙂 🙂 🙂
