June 27 & 28 – Current Affairs Quick Gyan

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

CAG Shashi Kant Sharma gets honorary professorship in China

Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Shashi Kant Sharma has been conferred honorary professorship by the Nanjing Audit University in China. It is the only university which is recognised by the Institute of Internal Auditors. In his acceptance address, CAG put an emphasis on capacity building for auditors of international fraternity in view of ever-changing governance structures. He stressed on the need for co-operation among the five Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs), especially in data analytics, audit of infrastructure projects and environmental issues.

Quick Link – CAG in China

Two Indians get Queen’s Young Leaders Award 2016

A visually challenged young man with a passion for education and a youth facilitator from Hyderabad are among 60 people from across the globe who were presented medals for their exemplary work by Queen Elizabeth at the Buckingham Palace.

The two Indians are Kartik Sawhney (21) and Neha Swain (28). Launched in 2014 by the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, each year from 2014 to 2018, 60 exceptional young people are selected to receive a Queen’s Young Leaders Award and become ‘Queen’s Young Leaders’ – one for every year that she has served as head of the Commonwealth at the time of her Diamond Jubilee.

Quick Link – Queen’s Young Leaders Award

Beyoncé wins four awards at BET Awards 2016

Beyonce Knowles was the biggest winner at the 2016 BET Awards as the singer took home a total of four awards, including Best female R&B/pop artist. The 34-year-old star also won video of the year, Coca-Cola viewers’ choice award and centric award, all for her music video “Formation”. Drake and Bryson Tiller trailed behind with three and two awards, respectively. Besides the best male hip-hop artist title, Drake nabbed the best group award for his works with Future and best collaboration for his latest hit with Rihanna, “Work”, reported Aceshowbiz.

Quick Link – BET Awards

APPOINTMENTS

Sujoy Bose appointed as first CEO of NIIF

The finance ministry said that Sujoy Bose has been appointed as the chief executive officer (CEO) of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) Ltd. Bose at present is director at Infrastructure and Natural Resources, International Finance Corporation (IFC). Bose has extensive international experience in the infrastructure sector including experience in raising funds from international investors.

Quick Link – Sujoy Bose as CEO

NS Vishwanathan named RBI’s new Deputy Governor

A government-appointed panel has selected NS Vishwanathan as a Reserve Bank of India deputy governor, replacing incumbent HR Khan. Vishwanathan is currently an executive director at the RBI, overseeing the banking regulation and non-banking department. He will succeed Khan, who will retire on July 3.

The key departments under Khan are financial markets, external investments and operations, payment and settlements, information technology, foreign exchange and internal debt management. The RBI currently has four deputy governors.

Quick Link – NS Vishwanathan as DG

INDIAN AFFAIRS

Govt targets to set up 1L biogas plants in FY17

To increase the level of clean energy, the Centre has asked the states/UTs to set up one lakh biogas plants. The plants should be of one to six cubic meter capacity this fiscal, which will save 21.90 lakh LPG cylinders every year. With an objective to provide clean gaseous fuel for cooking and organic bio-manure as a by-product. Besides providing bio-manure to reduce the use of chemical fertilisers. There would be a saving of about 10,000 tonnes of urea.

Quick Link – FY17

PM Narendra Modi releases book titled The Birds of Banni Grassland

PM Modi releases book titled “The Birds of Banni Grassland”. The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi released a book titled “The Birds of Banni Grassland” in New Delhi. The book was presented to the Prime Minister by the Scientists of Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology (GUIDE). The Book is a compilation of the research work, relating to more than 250 species of birds found in the Banni area of Kutch, Gujarat. The Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology, located at Bhuj, has been studying the plant, bird and marine life in the Rann of Kutch for over 15 years.

Quick Link – The Birds of Banni Grassland

Andhra Pradesh govt signs deal for $10k crore fertiliser plant

The Andhra Pradesh government has signed an MoU with a three-nation consortium of China Huanqin Contracting and Engineering Corporation, LEPL Ventures Private Limited and Isomeric Holdings to set up a gas-based fertilizer project at Krishnapatanam with an investment of Rs 10,183 crore. The MoU was signed during Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s ongoing visit to China, wherein he was participating in the World Economic Forum’s 10th annual meeting of New Champions in Tianjin.

Quick Link – AP signs fertiliser plant

Assam’s Majuli becomes India’s 1st island district

BJP leader and Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has declared Majuli, an island in the Brahmaputra a district. The BJP-led government also announced appointment of 10,000 TET-qualified school teachers by March 2017. The decision to upgrade Majuli – till now a sub-division within Jorhat district – was taken in the first cabinet meeting of the new BJP-led government that had assumed office on May 24 after the BJP and its allies clinched a historic victory over the Congress that was in power for three consecutive terms.

Quick Link – Majuli as 1st island district

1.2 million kids died of preventable diseases in India

According to a UNICEF Report, around 1.2 million children died of preventable causes in India in 2015. Most of the deaths were caused by diseases which are easily preventable and treatable. The report counts India among the five countries accounting for half the 5.9 million under-five deaths reported across the world last year. The other four countries are Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Pakistan, whose economies are smaller when compared with India’s.

Quick Link – 1.2 million kids died

India ranked 105th on WEF’s Human Capital Index

India has been ranked low at 105th position globally on a worldwide Human Capital Index, which measures countries’ ability to nurture, develop and deploy talent for economic growth and was topped by Finland. India ranks much below China’s 71st position while Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka are also placed higher on the index released by Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF) at its Annual Meeting of New Champions — also known as ‘Summer Davos’ summit. Pakistan ranks further lower at 118th place.

Quick Link – Human Capital Index-India 150th

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Gudni Johannesson wins 2016 Presidential election of Iceland

Guðni Jóhannesson, a history professor, has won Iceland’s presidential election in a vote held in the aftermath of the Panama Papers leak in April, which implicated several top Icelandic officials. Jóhannesson’s victory, won with 39.1% of the vote. Halla Tómasdóttir, a businesswoman without party affiliation, came second with 27.9%.

Iceland’s president holds a largely ceremonial position, acting as a guarantor of the constitution and national unity. Legislative elections are due in the autumn. Jóhannesson will now replace Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, 73, who served 20 years as head of state.

Quick Link – Gudni Johannesson

Sweden inaugurates world’s first electric road

Sweden inaugurated a test stretch of an electric road, making it one of the first countries in the world to conduct tests with electric power for heavy transports on public roads. The test will be conducted on parts of road E16, and involves a current collector on the roof of the truck cab feeding the current down to a hybrid electric motor in the truck, according to a press release from the country’s transport administration Trafikverket, Xinhua reported.

Quick Link – World’s first electric road

Turkey, Israel end 6-year diplomatic standoff

Israel and Turkey have finalised a deal to end the six-year diplomatic rift that began when Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish activists aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla in 2010. The agreement, which came after months of negotiations and encouragement by the US, restores full diplomatic ties between the two countries and opens the path for a major natural gas deal.

Israel agreed to pay $20 million in compensation to the families of the dead and wounded activists and in return the families agreed to drop any future claims against the Israeli military. The deal will allow Turkey to build a 200-bed hospital in Gaza and invest in other other infrastructure projects as part of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s policy of casting himself as a champion of the Palestinians.

Quick Link – Diplomatic standoff

Russian Parliament passes new anti-terrorism laws

The lower house of the Russian parliament has voted 325 to 1 to adopt the “Yarovaya law”, a package of amendments authored by the ruling United Russia party member Irina Yarovaya, who is known for previous legislative crackdowns on protesters and non-governmental organisations.

The legislation makes it a crime to not warn the authorities of “reliable” information about planned terrorist attacks, armed uprisings, hijacking and several other crimes. Expressing approval of terrorism on the internet will now be punishable with up to seven years in prison.

Quick Link – Yarovaya law

FOREIGN RELAIONS

India joins Missile Technology Control Regime

India has joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) at a ceremony in South Block, attended by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and diplomats from the Netherlands, France and Luxembourg missions.  India had intensified efforts at gaining membership of the MTCR, the NSG, the Australia Group and Wassenaar Arrangement since getting a waiver at the NSG in 2008. Membership of these groups would help India trade more effectively in critical high tech areas.

Quick Link – MTCR

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

CSIR launches ayurvedic anti-diabetic drug

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has launched BGR-34 – an anti-diabetic ayurvedic drug designed for type 2 Diabetes mellitusBGR-34 is developed jointly by National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) and Central Institute for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), the research units of CSIR at Lucknow. BGR-34 has been economically priced at Rs. 5 per tablet as compared to latest DPP4 inhibitors globally.

Quick Link – Ayurvedic drug

Union Rural Development Ministry, ISRO ink MoU for geo-tagging MGNREGA assets

The Union Rural Development Ministry and ISRO, Department of Space have signed an MoU for geo-tagging the assets created under MGNREGA in each gram panchayat. Annually around 30 lakh assets are created under the rural job schemes across the country. The MoU was signed after the Ministry had decided that the geo-tagging of such assets will be done on a mission mode to monitor rural development.

Quick Link – MGNREGA

SPORTS

Lionel Messi retires from international football

Lionel Messi has retired from international duty after missing in a penalty shootout as Argentina lost a fourth major final in nine years. Messi, 29, has won eight La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues with Spanish side Barcelona. But his only major international honour is Olympic gold at the 2008 Games.

As well as losing two Copa America finals on penalties to Chile, Messi was in the Argentina side beaten 1-0 by Germany in the 2014 World Cup final. The forward, who was been awarded the Ballon d’Or five times, was also on the losing side against Brazil in the 2007 Copa America final.

Quick Link – Lionel Messi retires

OBITUARY

Noted Malayalam theatre artist Kavalam Narayana Panicker passes away

Playwright Kavalam Narayana Panicker, who brought native idiom into Malayalam theatre, passed away at the age of 88. The Padma Bhushan-winning theatre doyen, a trailblazer at a time when proscenium theatre held the centre stage, has given to Malayalam literature and theatre such fine works as Avanavan Kadamba, Daivathar, Kaikkuttappad, Ottayaan, and many productions based on major Sanskrit works. He had worked closely with such stalwarts of theatre as C.N. Sreekantan Nair and G. Aravindan, bringing a new rhythm and grammar of acting to theatre.

Quick Link – Kavalam Narayana Panicker passes away


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