Daily GK Updates - 28th May, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Govt sets up tribunal for adjudicating ban on LTTE: The government has constituted the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal to adjudicate whether or not there is sufficient cause for declaring the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as an unlawful association. The Tribunal is comprised of sitting Judge of Delhi High Court Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal. LTTE was banned in India after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.

2. Pema Khandu to take oath as Arunachal Pradesh CM for 2nd term: Pema Khandu will be sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh for the second time on 29th May. After having a landslide victory in the Assembly elections with 41 seats in the 60-seat house, the BJP held it’s Legislature Party Meeting in Itanagar. Mr. Khandu met Governor Dr. BD Mishra and staked claim to form the government.

3. Madhya Pradesh to tentatively have new UNESCO heritage site: Orchha town in Madhya Pradesh has a plethora of historical sites with the Bundela dynasty architectural style. The Archaeological Survey of India has included that heritage town of Orchha in a tentative list of UNESCO world heritage sites. It was included in the proposal sent by the ASI to the UN body in April 2019. UNESCO’s rules state that to be a part of the World Heritage sites, the heritage or historical site must first be on the tentative list. After making it to that list, yet another proposal is sent to the UNESCO. In their initial proposal, the ASI had requested that Orchha be included as a cultural heritage site.

4. Government invites BIMSTEC leaders for the swearing-in ceremony on May 30: Leaders of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) have been invited for PM Modi’s swearing-in ceremony to be held on 30th May. However, Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasina will not attend the event due to her prior commitments. Myanmar State Councillor Aung Saan Suu Kyi’s presence is also uncertain as she is travelling overseas. Kyrgyzstan, the current chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), too has been invited for the event.

Apart from India, BIMSTEC comprises Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar. Indian-origin Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth, who visited India for Pravasi Bhartiya Divas in January, has also been invited for the May 30 event.

5. VD Savarkar’s birth anniversary being celebrated: Swatantryaveer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s birth anniversary is being celebrated on 28th May. Born on 28th May in 1883 near Nasik in Maharashtra, Savarkar was popularly called Veer Savarkar. He was a revolutionary who fought against the British Government. On the occasion, a function to pay floral tributes to him will be held in the Central Hall of Parliament House.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India elected to Executive Board of first UN-Habitat Assembly: India has been elected to the Executive Board of the first UN-Habitat Assembly, announced by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. India has been elected to the Executive Board of the first UN-Habitat Assembly at the Plenary Session of the Assembly being held in Nairobi. The first session of the UN-Habitat Assembly started on May 27th at the headquarters of UN-Habitat in Nairobi and will go on till May 31st. The special theme for the UN-Habitat Assembly is “Innovation for Better Quality of Life in Cities and Communities”.

2. Maldives Ex-Leader Mohamed Nasheed Tipped As New Speaker:  The former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed has been nominated as the country’s parliamentary speaker. Nasheed was unanimously chosen to head the People’s Majlis, or the parliament, by his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) which won a near three-quarter majority in the 87-member assembly in April.

Note: President of the Maldives- Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Capital- Male, Currency- Maldivian rufiyaa

3. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz ousted in the no-confidence vote: Austrian Parliament has removed Chancellor Sebastian Kurz from office as he lost the no confidence in a special Parliamentary session. His previous coalition ally, the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) and the opposition Social Democrats (SPO) backed the no-confidence motions. Austria’s President Alexander Van der Bellen named Vice Chancellor Hartwig Loger as the interim leader. Loger will serve until a new transitional government can be appointed ahead of elections expected in September.

4. Russia launches new nuclear-powered icebreaker in bid to open up Arctic: Russia launched a nuclear-powered icebreaker, part of an ambitious programme to renew and expand its fleet of the vessels in order to improve its ability to tap the Arctic’s commercial potential. The ship, dubbed the Ural and which was floated out from a dockyard in St Petersburg, is one of a trio that when completed will be the largest and most powerful icebreakers in the world. The Ural is due to be handed over to Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy corporation Rosatom in 2022 after the two other icebreakers in the same series, Arktika (Arctic) and Sibir (Siberia), enter service.

Note: President- Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister- Dmitry Medvedev, Capital- Moscow, Currency- Russian ruble

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Saurabh Chaudhary wins 10m Air Pistol gold in ISSF World Cup: India's Saurabh Chaudhary (17-year) has won 10m Air Pistol Gold beating his own World Record in ISSF shooting World Cup, in Munich, Germany. Mr. Chaudhary scored 246.3 bettering his previous best of 245 points that were set in New Delhi World Cup Shooting in February 2019. Chaudhury has already secured a berth for the Tokyo Olympics.

2. Rahi Sarnobat books Olympic berth for India at ISSF WC: In the ISSF World Cup rifle pistol stage in Munich, Germany, Rahi Sarnobat has booked an Olympic quota place for India winning gold in women's 25m pistol event. Asian Games champion Rahi clinched her career's second World Cup Gold, which helped India win its sixth quota place in shooting for 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In the women's final, another Indian in the fray, Manu Bhaker had a better start than Rahi, having five out of five hits in the first of 10 series of five shots each. Now, India topped in the Munich World Cup medals tally with three gold. China is second with one gold, one silver and three bronze.

3. Anton Aditya Subowo re-elected as President of Badminton Asia: Indonesia's Anton Aditya Subowo was re-elected as the President of Badminton Asia for another four years. There were seven other people who were selected as the vice-presidents of Badminton Asia. The Badminton Association of India's president Himanta Biswa Sarma has also been elected as the vice-president. Badminton Asia also got in a new Secretary-General in Moosa Nashid from the Maldives. A total of 40 countries voted for the posts of President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary-General.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Indian Overseas Bank launches ‘Bank on Wheels’ facility: Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has announced that it has launched ‘Bank on Wheels’ facility in 14 of its lead districts in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, besides Vijayawada. The mobile van facility will enable the public, especially senior citizens, conveniently get door-step banking facility available at identified locations of the lead districts. A dedicated banking correspondent will accompany the vehicle with a micro-ATM inside the van to take care of services such as account opening, enrollment of customers in Social Security Scheme, passbook printing, and other financial inclusion activities. R Subramaniakumar is MD & CEO of IOB.

2. BHEL net profit jumps 50.7% to Rs 1,215 crore in FY19: The public sector giant Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has posted a quantum jump in profits and has recommended a final dividend of 60% during the financial year 2018-19. During the year, the company achieved a profit before tax (PBT) of Rs. 2,058 crores (last year Rs. 1,585 Crore), registering a surge of 29.8%. Net profit for the year stands at Rs. 1,215 crores, (last year Rs.807 crores), resulting in a 50.7% jump. During the year, BHEL had also developed in-house the country’s first state-of-the-art regenerative braking system and delivered the first 6,000 HP electric locomotive to the Indian Railways.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Acharya Balkrishna receives 'UNSDG 10 Most Influential People in Healthcare Award': The United Nations had chosen Acharya Balkrishna, among the 10 most influential people in healthcare. Mr. Balakrishna has been invited to Geneva (UN Headquarters) to deliver a talk among other speakers from UNICEF and WHO. Acharya Balkrishna is the managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of Patanjali Ayurveda.

Note: Patanjali Ayurved Limited is an Indian consumer goods company producing range Ayurvedic medicinal and personal care products, among other consumer items. Popular yoga guru Baba Ramdev co-founded the company along with Balkshrina.

2. Artist Nalini Malani wins Joan Miro prize: Artist Nalini Malani has won the seventh edition of the Joan Miró Prize. Miro international award is considered one of the most prestigious art awards in the world. The recipient gets prize money of 70,000-Euro ($78,000) cash prize. Malani (born in Karachi in 1946) is a film, photography, installation, video art and performance artist.

DEFENCE

1. India’s first all-women medium-lift chopper crew flies the battle mission: Two women IAF officers from Punjab were part of the country’s first all-women crew to fly a medium-lift helicopter Mi-17 V5. Flight Lieutenant Parul Bhardwaj (Captain), Flying Officer Aman Nidhi (co-pilot) and Flight Lieutenant Hina Jaiswal (Flight Engineer) flew the chopper, which took off from a forward air base in South Western air command.

2. New version of Akash missile test-fired successfully: The DRDO successfully test-fired the new version of the Akash surface-to-air defence missile system with a new indigenously-developed seeker in Balasore off the Odisha coast. The medium range multi-target engagement capable missile was developed as part of the Integrated Guided-Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) other than Nag, Agni, Trishul, and Prithvi missiles. The supersonic missile has a range of around 25km and up to the altitude of 18,000 meters.

3. DRDO successfully test fires Akash-1S surface to air defence missile system: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test fired the Akash-1S surface to air defence missile system. Akash-1S is a new version of the missile which is fitted with an indigenous seeker. The Akash surface-to-air missile was designed to intercept enemy aircraft and missiles from a distance of 18 to 30 km. The Akash missile system has the capability to neutralise aerial targets such as fighter jets, cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles as well as ballistic missiles.

4. IAF chief leads 'missing man' formation in MiG-21: Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa (Chief of the Air Staff) led a four aircraft, MiG-21 'Missing Man' formation flypast at Air Force Station Bhisiana in Bhatinda, Punjab to honour the valour and supreme sacrifice of men killed in action during Operation Safed Sagar at Kargil. The 'Missing Man' formation is an aerial salute accorded to honour the fallen comrades-in-arms. This is an Arrow Formation, with a gap between two aircraft in the formation depicting the Missing Man. Later, the Air Chief Marshal laid a wreath at the War Memorial in Bhatinda to honour the Air Force men who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.