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 HONOURS
Amlendu Tiwari, Om Nagar get Jananpith’s Navlekhan award
Two new Hindi writers Amlendu Tiwari and Om Nagar have been chosen for the 11th Navlekhan award of the Bharatiya Jnanpith. The decision to confer the award on Tiwari for his novel ‘Parityakt’ and on Nagar for his non-fictional prose ‘Nib Ke Cheere Se’ was taken unanimously by a selection panel headed by senior writer and journalist Madhusudan Anand. The prize includes Rs 50,000 cash along with a certificate of merit and an idol of Vagdevi each. Vishnu Nagar, Govind Prasad and Om Nischal were among other members of the selection panel for the award, which is given to first time litterateurs.
Quick Link – Amlendu Tiwari and Om Nagar got Jananpith’s Navlekhan award
Abhinav Bindra honoured by ISSF
Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra has been awarded the Diploma of Honour and President’s Button by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) as an acknowledgment to his “contribution as an athlete” to the sport. The 33-year-old Beijing Olympic gold medallist was bestowed the honour by ISSF President Olegario Vazquez Rana on the sidelines of the Asia Olympic Qualifying Competition at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range, New Delhi.
Quick Link – Abhinav conferred by ISSF
Wildlife filmmaker Naresh Bedi honoured with V Shantaram Award
At the inaugural ceremony of MIFF 2016, Fadnavis and Col. Rathore honoured the veteran wildlife film maker Naresh Bedi with the V Shantaram Life Time Achievement Award. The award comprising a trophy, shawl and a cash prize of Rs 5 lakhs (Rs 500,000) is instituted in memory of legendary film maker V Shantaram, who was head of the Films Division in the past.
Quick Link – Shantaram Award for Naresh Bedi
Actress Waheeda Rehman honoured with special award
Veteran actress Waheeda Rehman was honoured with a special award for her contribution to the film industry as curtains came down on Yashwant International Film Festival. The 6th Yashwant International Film Festival-2016 is a joint venture of Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishthan and Pune Film Foundation. The festival was organised from January 22 to 28 and around 60-65 movies were screened. While 22 films were showcased in the category of Global Cinema, 14 in Kaleidoscope, six in Latin America, six in Country Focus, five in Retrospective, besides five Marathi movies and seven films of Hector Beveko. Presenting the award, NCP MP Supriya Sule said that Rehman always portrayed the role of a dignified lady in her career.
Quick Link – Waheeda Rehman won special award
APPOINTMENTS
Leslie Berland appointed as CMO of Twitter Inc
Leslie Berland has been named as Twitter’s new chief marketing executive. Hailing from the financial sector, Berland was Executive Vice President, Global Advertising, Marketing & Digital Partnerships at American Express. She brings expertise in working with a global team to create marketplace demand and driving commerce worldwide. Her connection and tie-in to the financial world will likely be instrumental in allowing Twitter to build a bridge with institutions that can benefit from the reach of the micro-blogging social network.
Quick Link – Leslie Berland as CMO of Twitter
Gurdeep Singh named chairman and MD of NTPC
Government of India has appointed Gurdeep Singh, currently head of Gujarat State Electricity Corp, as the chairman and managing director of NTPC Ltd, India’s biggest power producer. Singh, 51, will be the first person to be appointed to the top job at a Maharatna company through a search committee route. Government headhunters, Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) normally selects board appointees to state-owned firms but in case of NTPC a Search-cum-Selection Committee was constituted after Arup Roy Choudhury was denied an extension of service in August.
Quick Link – Gurudeep Singh as MD of NTPC
Kamlesh Kumar Pandey – Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities
Dr. Kamlesh Kumar Pandey has been appointed as the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) for a period of three years. Dr. Pandey is a Science Graduate from University of Allahabad and Medical Graduate from Agra University in 1990. He has been associated with Sewa Bharti, an NGO working in rehabilitation of slum dwellers, Akhil Bhartiya Dristihin Kalyan Sangh, an NGO working for visually challenged persons. Before joining the post of CCPD, Dr. Pandey was associated with Saksham, an NGO working in the field of disability.
Quick Link – Kamlesh Kumar Pandey as CCPD
Ten Non-Official Directors appointed in banks
Ten part-time Non-Official Directors (NODs) have been appointed by the government on the board of various public sector banks. Of them, Girish Kumar Ahuja and Pushpendra Rai have been appointed NODs in State Bank of India, Amit Chatterjee and G Gopalkrishna in Dena Bank, Archana Ravindrarai Dholakia in Bank of Maharashtra, V V R Sastry and M Bhagavantha Rao in Vijaya Bank.
Quick Link – Non-Official Directors in banks
INDIAN AFFAIRS
USAID extends funding for projects for TB-free India
To support India’s efforts to end tuberculosis, US development agency USAID has announced grants aimed at scaling up innovative solutions for combating the disease in a country where an estimated 2.2 million such cases are reported annually. As part of the Tuberculosis Health Action Learning Initiative (THALI) project, $7.5 million has been awarded to the World Health Partners (WHP) for implementing activities in Kolkata while another $7.5 million has been awarded to Karnataka Health Promotion Trust (KHPT) for work in Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Pune.
Quick Link – USAID projects for TB-free India
Akash missile successfully test fired at Chandipuri in Odisha
India has test fired its indigenously-built surface-to-air Akash missile from complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Odisha. It was as part of a user trial mission. A total of three rounds of test were carried out by Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel aiming at para-barrel targets. The Akash (sky) is a mid-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system. It is developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India under the integrated guided-missile development programme (IGMDP). Akash has the capability to “neutralise aerial targets like fighter jets, cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles” as well as ballistic missiles.
Quick Link – Akash from ITR
IRCTC limits passengers to just 6 tickets a month
In a bid to facilitate genuine users and prevent touting activities, a limit has been imposed by authorities on IRCTC online ticket booking and this has been cut to a maximum of 6 tickets in a month from the existing provision of maximum of 10 tickets by an individual user. This provision will come into effect from 15th February, 2015. Officials at IRCTC state that this has been done keeping in view the analysis of usage of quota of 10 tickets which indicated that 90% of users are booking up to 6 tickets in a given month and only 10% are booking more than 6 tickets.
Quick Link – IRCTC limits 6 tickets a month
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Tom Hanks is America’s favourite movie star
Tom Hanks is officially America’s favourite Hollywood star. The Bridge of Spies actor topped the annual Harris Poll which drew the results from a survey of over 2,200 adults. His closest competitor was actor Johnny Depp who most recently starred as real-life mobster Whitey Bulger in Black Mass. Reigning champion Denzel Washington – this year’s recipient of the Golden Globes’ Cecil B. DeMille award – fell two places to third, while the top five was rounded out with Western icon John Wayne (the only deceased actor in the top ten) and Harrison Ford.
Quick Link – Tom Hanks is favourite star
31 countries sign Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement
As part of continuing efforts to boost transparency by multinational enterprises (MNEs), 31 countries have signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) for the automatic exchange of Country-by-Country reports. The signing ceremony marks an important milestone towards implementation of theOECD/G20 BEPS Project and a significant increase in cross-border cooperation on tax matters. It was jointly developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the G20 to provide governments with solutions for modernising international tax rules.
Quick Link – 31 in MCAA
Airtel and Axiata to merge Bangladesh operations
Axiata Group Berhad (Axiata) and Bharti Airtel will merge their telecom operations in Bangladesh. Both companies have signed a definitive agreement to merge their subsidiaries in Bangladesh — Robi Axiata Limited (Robi) and Airtel Bangladesh Ltd (Airtel). Upon completion, Axiata will hold 68.3 per cent controlling stake in the combined entity, while Bharti will hold 25 per cent. The remaining 6.7 per cent will be held by the existing shareholder, NTT Docomo of Japan.
Quick Link – Airtel & Axiata in Bangladesh
The Most Corrupt Countries in the World
In order to identify the 15 most corrupt countries in the world. The lowest 15 index scores from Transparency International’s 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index of 168 countries. Nations were assessed by experts as part of a variety of data sources. National economic data came from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). GDP per capita figures are based on purchasing power parity. Literacy rates, Gini index scores, and poverty rates are from the World Bank. All data are as of the most recent period available.
Quick Link – Corrupt countries
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Customs Department launches mobile app
A mobile-based application has been launched by the customs to inform people about all Indian customs rules including those related to import of pets and goods. The app–Indian Customs-Guide to Travellers– has been developed by IRS officer Sandeep Kumar Rawal, now posted as Joint Director, Regional Training Institute of National Academy of Customs Excise and Narcotics(NACEN), Bhopal in coordination with Bengaluru customs.
Quick Link – Mobile app by Customs department
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Apple acquires educational startup Learnsprout
Apple has acquired education-technology startup LearnSprout, which creates software for schools and teachers to track students’ performance. LearnSprout is a three-year-old, San Francisco-based software startup whose online data insights help K-12 educators track students’ performances. The company had raised $4.7 million from investors across two rounds, including Andreessen Horowitz, Formation 8, and Samsung Ventures.
Quick Link – Apple startup Learnsprout
SPORTS
Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis wins womens double crown
Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis have won their 3rd Grand Slam title and 36th match on the trot. The top seeds were challenged in the opening set by the seventh seed pair of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka but sealed the second in emphatic fashion to win 7-6, 6-3. The top seeds are just nine matches away from equalling the all-time record of 44 set by Jana Novotna and Helena Sukova in 1990.
Quick Link – Sania and Martina wins double crown
OBITUARY
Jefferson Airplane’s Paul Kantner dies at 74
Paul Kantner, one of the giants of the San Francisco music scene has died. Mr. Kantner, a founding member of the Jefferson Airplane, was 74 and had suffered a heart attack. His death was confirmed by longtime publicist and friend, Cynthia Bowman, who said he died of multiple organ failure and septic shock. Mr. Kantner had a string of health problems in recent years, including a heart attack in March.
Quick Link – Paul Kantner passes away
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