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
Obama honours Indian-American Teacher Revathi Balakrishnan
Indian American elementary teacher Revathi Balakrishnan was among 56 “State Teachers of the Year” honored by President Barack Obama at the White House.
- Balakrishnan is a talent and gifted specialist teacher at Patsy Sommer Elementary School in Austin, Texas, and was chosen as the Texas Teacher of the Year by the Council of Chief State School Officers as part of the National Teacher of the Year Program.
- In addition to being chosen to the CCSSO honor, Balakrishnan in 2016 was named Patsy Sommer Elementary School Teacher of the Year, Round Rock Independent School District Elementary Teacher of the Year and Region XIII Elementary Teacher of the Year, as well as Texas Teacher of the Year and Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year by the Texas Association of Supervisors and Administrators.
Quick Link – State Teachers of the Year
Uday Kotak, only Indian in Forbes Most Powerful People in the Financial World list
Kotak Mahindra Bank Chief Uday Kotak, who has a net worth of about $7.1 billion (nearly Rs 47,234.5 crore), is the sole Indian in Forbes’ list of 40 of the most powerful people in the financial world who control the flow of trillions of dollars around the global economy.
57-year-old Kotak is ranked 33rd in the Forbes list of ‘Money Masters: The Most Powerful People In The Financial World‘ topped by Blackstone Group’s CEO Stephen Schwarzman, who has a net worth of $10.2 billion (nearly Rs 67,858.05 crore) and oversees assets worth $344 billion (nearly Rs 22.8 lakh crore). Forbes said the Indian billionaire, who has a net worth of about $7.1 billion, has made his fortune lending to the sprawling masses between Mumbai and Delhi and has also taken a stand on behalf of savers.
Quick Link – Financial World list
APPOINTMENTS
Prez Pranab Mukherjee clears four new judges for Supreme Court
With President Pranab Mukherjee signing their warrants of appointment, all four names — three high court chief justices and one senior advocate — recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium are set to take oath as Supreme Court Judges. Union Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda confirmed the new appointments in a series of tweets.
Quick Link – New judges for Supreme Court
Shashank Manohar elected unopposed as ICC’s first independent Chairman
Veteran cricket administrator Shashank Manohar has been elected unopposed as ICC’s first independent chairman, two days after he stepped down from the post of BCCI President. The 58-year-old was elected to the post after the ICC Full Council’s approval of constitutional amendments proposed by the Board following its April meeting. Manohar recently resigned as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, is the first elected independent Chairman of the game’s governing body and will commence his two-year term with immediate effect.
According to the election process, ICC directors were each allowed to nominate one candidate, who had to be either a present or past ICC director. Nominees with the support of two or more Full Member directors would have been eligible to contest the election, which was scheduled to have been concluded by May 23.
Quick Link – Shashank Manohar as ICC’s independent chairman
INDIAN AFFAIRS
TRAI penalty on Telcos for call drops illegal: SC
Telecom companies will not compensate mobile phone users for inconvenience caused by call drops, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday, quashing the penalty rule framed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). A bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and RF Nariman termed Trai’s rule “arbitrary, illegal and unreasonable” and said no proper deliberation had gone into its framing. It said telecom companies cannot be punished by Trai in the name of protecting consumer interests, and dismissed the conclusion that the firms alone were to blame for call drops and were thus deficient in service.
Trai had framed the rule in October last year. As per the rule, telcos (call originating service provider) were to pay consumers Re 1 for every call drop with the penalty capped at Rs 3 per day. It was to come into force from Jan 1, 2016 for 6 months on a trial basis.
Quick Link – TRAI
Supreme Court asked Delhi Government not to register New Diesel Cars
The Supreme Court has relaxed its ban on diesel taxis in Delhi-NCR, allowing them to ply till their permits expire. But the bench, led by Chief Justice TS Thakur, said the Delhi government will not register any new diesel taxis, and that registration of all city taxis shall be permitted only if the vehicles operate on dual-fuel (CNG/petrol) or purely CNG or petrol. The bench also underlined that diesel taxis will eventually have to go off the roads.
The ruling was given by the apex court bench headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur and comprising of Justice AK Sikri and Justice R Banumathi.
The court order is likely to free up more than 60,000 taxis, which had to go off roads since they had not switched to CNG. Further, the court-mandated stipulation regarding fare compliance with government norms may affect ‘surge pricing’ used by taxi aggregators, which the Delhi government had sought to stop during odd-even phase 2.
Quick Link – Delhi-NCR
Maharashtra declares drought in 29,000 villages
The Maharashtra government has sent out a resolution that declares drought in 29,000 villages, most of them in Marathwada and Vidarbha. The government issued a corrigendum clarifying that wherever reference is made to a ‘drought-like situation‘, it would be read as ‘drought’. In the wake of acute water shortage in various parts of Maharashtra, the state government had informed the High Court that it would declare drought in over 29,000 villages in the state and all relief prescribed in the Drought Manual, 2009 would be provided.
On May 7, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and requested Rs 10,000 crore as relief for the parched state. Of this, Rs 7,500 crore was to be spent on completing irrigation projects in Marathwada and Vidarbha over the next three years, while the remaining would be used for projects in Western Maharashtra.
Quick Link – Drought-like situation
ED seeks Interpol arrest warrant against Vijay Mallya
After Britain declined India’s request to deport Vijay Mallya, ED has now sought an Interpol arrest warrant against the liquor baron to make him join investigations in connection with a money laundering probe case.The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has written to CBI to obtain a Red Corder Notice (RCN) against Mallya from the global police body. CBI acts as the nodal office for execution of Interpol warrants in India.
An RCN is issued “to seek the location and arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition or similar lawful action” in a criminal case probe. Once the said notice is issued, the Interpol seeks to arrest the person concerned in any part of the world and notifies that country to take his or her custody for further action at their end.
Quick Link – Arrest warrant against Vijay Mallya
Parliament passes bill on potable alcohol
Parliament has passed the Industries (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015 which seeks to transfer the control over industries engaged in the production of potable alcohol from the Centre to states with Lok Sabha approving some technical amendments suggested by the Rajya Sabha.
The bill in the Lok Sabha was introduced by Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and was later approved by the House amid din. The bill was earlier approved by the Rajya Sabha last month and changes were adopted by the Lower House.
The Industries (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015 seeks to amend a schedule to exclude production of alcohol for potable purposes from the ambit of the Act.
Quick Link – Potable alcohol
Madhya Pradesh Tourism wins Lonely Planet’s Best Indian Destination for Wildlife Award
Madhya Pradesh Tourism (MPT) has received the “Best Indian Destination for Wildlife” award by the Lonely Planet Group. The award was handed over to MPT at a function in Mumbai by actress Amy Jackson. Madhya Pradesh has 25 wild life sanctuaries including nine National Parks. Among them Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Pench are ideal habitat for tigers.
Madhya Pradesh has launched number of programmes for the conservation of flora and fauna because of which Kanha and Pench were regarded as the most beautiful national parks in Asia while Bandhavgarh and Pench are known world over because of tiger reserves.
Quick Link – MPT
Chakravyuh-II: Indian Army’s massive military training exercise in Rajasthan
A fortnight-long training exercise, which was conducted as a follow up to ‘Exercise Shatrujeet’, concluded in Suratgarh area of Rajasthan. The exercise ‘Chakravyuh-II’ was held by the pivot formations of the Indian Army and involved rapid mobilisation and execution of plans in sync with the Air Force in the desert terrain and was declared a success. It validated the battle readiness and operational effectiveness of the RAPID Division along with all its affiliated components. The exercise had elements depicting opposing forces to add realism in planning and execution and was conducted in various phases. Senior officers of Pivot Corps witnessed the operational maneuvers of the Division.
Quick Link – Chakravyuh-II
Congress’s Harish Rawat wins Uttarakhand floor test
The central government has informed the Supreme Court that the Harish Rawat – led Congress government has legislative majority in Uttarakhand and President’s Rule will be revoked from the hill state soon. The Congress’s Rawat got the support of 33 of the 61 MLAs who voted.
The floor test, also called a trust vote, was held to ascertain whether the ousted chief minister still enjoys a majority in the House. The Centre imposed President’s Rule in Uttarakhand on March 27 saying Rawat lost his majority when nine Congress legislators rebelled.
Quick Link – Uttarakhand floor test
GOI constitutes Sanjay Mitra committee to prepare policy framework for taxi operators
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has constituted a three-member committee to prepare a policy framework for taxi and other transport operators. The panel will be headed by Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Sanjay Mitra, and have Joint Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and Delhi Transport Commissioner as its members.
A group of taxi and other transport operators had met Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari apprising him of the situation that has emerged following Supreme Court’s order dated December 15, 2015, and directions of EPCA dated April 29, 2016, banning diesel taxis in the NCR, and the various problems they are facing as a result of the ban.
Quick Link – Sanjay Mitra
UP Government approves ‘bicycle highway’ between Taj and lion safari
With a view to encourage eco-tourism in the vicinity of the Taj Mahal, Uttar Pradesh Cabinet gave its nod to develop over 197 km long ‘bicycle highway‘ from Agra up to the lion safari in Etawah. The Cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav approved the ‘bicycle highway’ which will not run along the Agra-Etawah main road but will cover various historical and tourism centres.
Starting from eastern gate of the Taj, it will cover areas such as Raja Bhoj ki Haveli, Bateshwarnath Temple, Mela Kothi Jarar, and Naugava ka Quila and other rural areas to reach lion safari in Etawah.
Quick Link – Bicycle highway
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
National Bison Legacy Act Signed in US
US President Barack Obama has signed National Bison Legacy Act into law officially making the American bison the country’s first national mammal. With this, Bison, the animal that once roamed North America, joins the ranks of the Bald Eagle as the official symbol of the country. Its designation as national mammal do not hampers bald eagle’s position as the national animal because eagle that is birthed through eggs in not a mammal.
Millions of bison once roamed the Great Plains. About 500,000 now live in the U.S. but most of those have been cross-bred with cattle, and are semi-domesticated. About 30,000 wild bison roam the country, with the largest population in Yellowstone National Park.
Quick Link – National Bison Legacy Act
India, China, 3 others sign pact on tax info sharing
India and five other nations, including China and Israel, signed a pact for automatic exchange of information on tax issues and develop new tools and standards for tackling tax base erosion and evasion. As part of continuing efforts to boost transparency by multinational enterprises (MNEs), Canada, Iceland, India, Israel, New Zealand and the People’s Republic of China signed the Multilateral Competent Authority agreement for the automatic exchange of Country-by-Country reports, bringing the total number of signatories to 39 countries. The signing ceremony took place Beijing.
Other countries which have already signed the pact include Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Italy and the UK. The pact allows all signatories to bilaterally and automatically exchange Country-by-Country Reports with each other.
Quick Link – Tax info sharing
UN launches Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Zika virus response
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced the establishment of the UN Zika Response Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) to finance critical unfunded priorities in the response to the Zika outbreak. The Fund, which aims to provide a rapid, flexible and accountable platform to support a coordinated response from the UN system and partners, will directly support the Zika Strategic Response Framework, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in consultation with UN agencies, partners and international epidemiological experts.
- Since January 2015, 61 countries and territories have reported local transmission of Zika, which is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes.
- The recent rise in the spread of the virus in some countries has been accompanied by an unprecedented rise in the number of children being born with unusually small heads – identified as microcephaly.
Quick Link – MPTF
FOREIGN RELATIONS
US-India Defence Cooperation Act introduced in Senate
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s expected visit to US next month, two top American senators have introduced a legislation which if passed by Congress would elevate the status of the Indo-US defence relationship on par with that of America’s closest allies like NATO and Israel. The US-India Defence Technology and Partnership Act was introduced in the Senate.
- The legislation, a similar version of the bill was introduced in the House of Representatives in March, institutionalises the US government’s focus on the US-India security relationship while sending a powerful signal to India that the US is a reliable and dependable defence partner.
- The bill puts India on par with America’s closest defence partners, including NATO member states and Israel, for the purpose of congressional defence sales notifications.
Quick Link – US-India Defence Cooperation Act
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
NASA says 1,284 new planets found by Kepler telescope
NASA has announced the discovery of 1,284 new planets outside our solar system, more than doubling the number of exoplanets found with the Kepler space telescope. The unmanned Kepler space observatory, which launched in 2009, has been scanning 150,000 stars for signs of orbiting bodies, particularly those that might be able to support life. It works by observing a dimming in the light of a star, known as a transit, each time an orbiting planet passes in front of it. The latest trove of planets was confirmed by a new statistical method, instead of the time-consuming, one-by-one process previously used.
Quick Link – Kepler telescope
Reliance Jio Launches JioMoney Digital Wallet
Reliance Jio has quietly launched its new wallet app on the Apple and Android app stores. The new app, which joins Jiochat Messenger and My Jio apps in the respective stores, is called JioMoney Wallet. According to Jio, the app has been launched with an aim to make payments easier.
Customers can use JioMoney’s digital wallet, a Jio Money card or any other credit/debit card directly from the wallet to pay merchant seamlessly and instantly. JioMoney digital wallet also gives consumers the option of opening a Digital Bank Account or linking their existing account.
Quick Link – JioMoney Digital Wallet
OBITUARY
Congress Leader Praveen Rashtrapal and Renowned commentator Tony Cozier passed away
Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Praveen Rashtrapal (76) died on after suffering a cardiac arrest. He is survived by three daughters and a son. Rashtrapal was associated with the trade union movement of Income Tax employees. He was an Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax before he took a plunge into politics. He was elected to the 13th Lok Sabha (1999-2004). He was a member from the Upper House from April 2006 to April 2012 and was re-elected in April 2012. Following his demise, the Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day.
Tony Cozier, the West Indian cricket writer, commentator and journalist, has died in his home country, Barbados, at the age of 75 after an illness. He had been admitted to hospital on May 3 for tests related to infections in the neck and legs.
Cozier began writing on cricket as a teenager in 1958 and, despite not having played the game at a high level, he became one of its most distinguished voices. His last column on these pages was published on May 1.
Quick Link – Praveen Rashtrapal and Tony Cozier passed away
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