Daily GK Updates - 4th May, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. AK Mittal to be acting CJ of Punjab & Haryana : Justice AK Mittal has been appointed as the acting Chief Justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court, Chandigarh.Appointment of Justice Mittal, who is the first puisne Judge of the HC, has been notified by centre because of the retirement of CJ Vazifdar.Collegium had recommended the appointment of Justice Krishna Murari as the CJ of High Court but the Centre did not act on this recommendation.

2. MT Vasudevan Nair wins ONV Literary Award : Legendary writer M T Vasudevan Nair has been selected for the ONV Literary Award instituted by the by the ONV Cultural Academy. The award carries Rs 3 lakh.The ONV award for young promising writer has gone to ‘Amma urangunnilla’, a poetry collection by Anuja Akathoottu.The awards were presented by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

3. Ashok Lahiri appointed full-time member : Former Chief Economic Adviser Ashok Lahiri has been appointed as full-time member of the 15th Finance Commission.He is at present the part-time member of the commission, headed by N.K. Singh.He will be accorded the status of the Minister of State.The 15^th finance commission’s chairman is N. K. Singh, with its full-time members being Shaktikanta Das and Anoop Singh.

4. Sushma to chair session on Act East Policy : External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will be chairing an interactive session on Act East Policy in New Delhi.Chief Ministers of 8 North Eastern states – Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura have been invited to attend this meeting.They will be accompanied by senior officials from the States who deal with policy issues related to the subject.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India to organise cultural festival in Egypt : India is organising a 5 day cultural festival in Egypt to commemorate the 157^th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.Festival is being organised by Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture, the cultural wing of Indian Embassy in Cairo.An exhibition of paintings of Tagore titled ‘Rabindranath Tagore: Rhythm in Colours’ will be held at Museum of Ahmed Shawky at Giza.

2. Pakistan reopend major trade route with Afghan : Pakistan has reopened a major trade route with Afghanistan, the Ghulam Khan pass after four years.Authorities had closed Ghulam Khan border crossing in 2014, after the launch of military operation in North Waziristan.Pakistan’s army claims that 95% of the area is now militant-free and all the militants’ hideouts have been destroyed.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. 4th Regional Conference of AIIB : The 4th Regional Conference of AIIB on Futuristic, Resilient and Digital Infrastructure was organised in Bengaluru on May 3.It was organised by the Ministry of Finance, Confederation of Indian Industry, and Research and Information System for Developing Countries.The 2-day Conference is a lead-up to the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

2. EPFO introduces View Pension Passbook service : EPFO introduced ‘View Pension Passbook’ Service for the pensioners through ‘UMANG app’.On clicking ‘View Passbook’ option, it requires PPO Number and Date of Birth information to be entered by the pensioner.Other e-services of EPFO already available through UMANG app includes EPF Passbook, Raise claim, Track Claim, eKYC services etc.

DEFENCE:

1. First meet of Defence Planning Committee : The new Defence Planning Committee (DPC) met for the first time under the chairmanship of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.The DPC will draft National Security Strategy (NSS) and other doctrines as well as ushering reforms in the country’s higher defence management and planning.The Chief of Integrated Staff in the Ministry of Defence will be the member secretary of DPC

SPORTS:

1. Kidambi Srikanth became Deputy Collector in AP : Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth formally took charge as the Deputy Collector of Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, his native town.In June 2017, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu had offered Srikanth a Group 1 officer post after he won the Indonesian and Australian Open titles.Recently, Srikanth bagged his maiden singles’ silver medal at Commonwealth Games.

2. Mary named ambassador for TCS World marathon : Former tennis star Mary Pierce has been named the International Event Ambassador for TCS World 10K 2018 Marathon.The marathon, scheduled to be held in Bengaluru for May 27.Mary Pierce reached her career high ranking of World No. 3 in 1995, post her first Grand Slam Singles title – that of the Australian Open in January 1995.

OBITUARIES:

1. Freedom fighter Keyur Bhushan passed away : Well-known Gandhian, freedom fighter & writer Keyur Bhushan passed away.Bhushan took part in the 1942 Quit India movement as a student in Raipur and was incarcerated.He penned novels, collections of short stories and poems. He also edited `Sapthahik Chhattisgarh’ and `Antyoday’.During the 1980s, when terrorism ragged in Punjab, he undertook a foot march to promote peace.