Daily GK Updates - 16th February, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Ashwani Lohani appointed as Air India CMD : Former Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani (1980-batch IRSME) has been appointed as the Chairman and managing director (CMD) of Air India.Lohani will take over from Pradeep Singh Kharola.Earlier, Pradeep Singh Kharola (IAS officer -1985 batch- Karnataka cadre) has been appointed as the Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.In December 2018, Mr Lohani retired as the Railway Board chairman.

2. BP Sharma re-employed as Pawan Hans CMD : The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved re-employment of B P Sharma as the chairman and managing director (CMD) of Pawan Hans Limited for a period of five monthsSharma took over as the CMD of Pawan Hans in March 2015.Pawan Hans has a fleet of more than 50 helicopters.

3. President Kovind directs that Finance and Corporate Affairs portfolios be assigned to Jaitley : President Ram Nath Kovind has directed that the Finance and Corporate Affairs portfolios be assigned to Union Minister Arun Jaitley.Mr Jaitley, who left for New York last month, returned home last week after undergoing medical treatment.On 23rd of January, the charge of the Finance Ministry and Corporate Affairs was given to Union Minister Piyush Goyal on a temporary basis.

4. PM Narendra Modi flags-off Vande Bharat Express : PM Narendra Modi flags off India's first semi-high-speed train ‘Vande Bharat Express’ (codenamed Train 18) without any flower decorations. A two-minute silence observed before the launch in memory of at least 37 CRPF soldiers who lost their lives in one of the deadliest attacks in J&K. The Vande Bharat Express will run between Delhi and Varanasi at a maximum speed of 130 km/hr and is expected to cover a distance of 750 kilometres in eight hours.

5. Challachitram National film festival to begin from 1st March :  Challachitram National Film Festival will be held at Guwahati in March 2019, with a special award for entries from the north-eastern region.  The theme of this three-day film festival is 'Our Heritage, Our Pride'.  Chalachitram is a Guwahati-based organisation working for showcasing the heritage and culture of the northeast to a national and international audience through films.

6.New book ‘What Marx Left Unsaid’ released by Manish Tewari : Indian Politician Manish Tewari has released ‘What Marx Left Unsaid’ ‘Production of Skills by Means of Skills’ at Indian International Centre, New Delhi. The book has been authored jointly authors by 3 generations of the same family Dr. Malay Chaudhari, Dr. Arindam Chaudhari and Che Kabir Chaudhari. The book speaks about why human beings must earn as per their skills, which will in turn determine their ability to contribute to society.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India withdraws most favoured nation status to Pakistan : India has announced withdrawal of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status for Pakistan, following the Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir.The decision was taken during the Cabinet Committee on Security meeting (CCS) in New Delhi.India had granted the status to Pakistan in 1996, a year after WTO’s formation.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Sportstar Aces Lifetime Achievement Award for Prakash Padukone : Badminton legend Prakash Padukone has been honoured for the Lifetime Achievement at the Taj Mahal Palace Mumbai. In the Sportsman of the Year (Cricket) category, India skipper Virat Kohli and pacer Jasprit Bumrah were declared as joint winners. Indian women's cricket team opener Smriti Mandhana bagged the Sportswoman of the Year (Cricket) award.

OBITUARIES:

1. England’s Legendary Goalkeeper Gardon Banks passed away : Famous goalkeeper Gordon Banks (81-years) passed away in England.He was widely considered as one of the greatest Goalkeeper of his generation.Gordon Banks was named as FIFA (The Federation Internationale de Football) Goalkeeper of the year six times and earned 73 caps for England between 1963 to 1972. Banks was suffering from kidney cancer for the second time since 2016.