Daily GK Updates - 21st July, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Chandrayaan-2 moon mission to take off on July 22 at 2.43 pm: ISRO: India’s second mission to the Moon ‘Chandrayaan-2’ will now lift off at 2.43 pm on July 22 with scientists resolving the technical glitch in GSLV-MkIII-M1 rocket that led to the aborting of the launch three days ago. Chandrayaan-2 was originally scheduled to take off in the first week of January but was rescheduled for 2.50 am on July 15. It was again postponed after a technical snag was observed in the rocket GSLV Mk-III, which is the most powerful and heaviest rocket of Isro.

Note: ISRO Headquarters: Bengaluru, Founder: Vikram Sarabhai, Founded: 15 August 1969

2. Kerala to set up India’s first space tech park in Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government will set up the country’s first space tech park at Thiruvananthapuram’s Knowledge City. The move is aimed at making the city a manufacturing hub for space-related technology. A space museum named after former President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam will also be a part of the infrastructure. The state government has issued orders to allot the land required for the facility. This will be an added attraction. The entire investment will be made by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), a major space research centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Note: Kerala Capital: Thiruvananthapuram, Chief minister: Pinarayi Vijayan

3. Amit Shah to head panel on Air India sale: Home Minister Amit Shah will head a reconstituted group of ministers (GoM) on Air India disinvestment and Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has been dropped from the panel, sources said. The panel, which is to work out modalities for the sale of Air India, will now have four Ministers: Mr. Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

Note: The panel: Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM) was first set up in June 2017.

4. Anandiben Patel Replaces Ram Naik as UP Governor, 5 Others Transferred: In a major rejig, Madhya Pradesh Governor and former Chief Minister of Gujarat Anandiben Patel has been transferred and appointed as the new Governor of Uttar Pradesh after the Centre appointed six new Governors in MP, UP, West Bengal, Bihar, Nagaland and Tripura. Senior Supreme Court advocate Jagdeep Dhankhar was appointed as the new Governor of West Bengal, replacing Keshari Nath Tripathi. BJP member Ramesh Bais has been appointed as the Governor of Tripura, replacing Kaptan Singh Solanki. Lal Ji Tandon, who is at present the Governor of Bihar, has been transferred and appointed as the Governor of Madhya Pradesh. Tandon replaces Anandiben who has now got the charge of Uttar Pradesh, while Phagu Chauhan has been appointed as the Governor of Bihar and RN Ravi has been appointed as the Governor of Nagaland.

State	New Governors
Madhya Pradesh	Lal Ji Tandon
Uttar Pradesh	Anandi Ben Patel
Bihar	Phagu Chauhan
West Bengal	Jagdeep Dhankhar
Tripura	Ramesh Bais
Nagaland	RN Ravi
Andhra Pradesh	Biswa Bushan
Chhattisgarh	Anusuiya Uikey
Gujrat	Achrya Devrat
Himachal Pradesh	Kalraj Mishra

5. Ajay Bhadoo appointed as Joint Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Shri Ajay Bhadoo, IAS (GJ:1999) as Joint Secretary to the President for a tenure co-terminus with the President. Vadodara Municipal Commissioner (VMC) Ajay Bhadoo has been deputed as the Joint Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, making way for a change of guard at the VMC. Bhadoo has been the municipal commissioner of Vadodara since July 2018 and is also the chairman of the Vadodara Urban Development Authority (VUDA).

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Benjamin Netanyahu becomes the longest serving Prime Minister of Israel: Benjamin Netanyahubecame the longest serving Prime Minister of Israel.He overthrew the record set by David Ben-Gurion, Israel's founding father and first leader. Netanyahu has spent 4,876 days, more than 13 years, in office as on 20 July, 2019. Netanyahu is the Israel's youngest-ever Prime Minister as won his first election in 1996, at the age of 46.

Note: Israel President: Reuven Rivlin, Capital: Jerusalem, Currency: New shekel (ILS)

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Golden Girl’, Hima Das bags fifth gold medal of the month: Making a sensational comeback to her favourite event, Hima Das won her fifth gold of the month in the 400-metre race at the Czech Republic. The 19-year-old athlete, whose season-best before the win was 52.88 seconds, recorded her best timing: 52.09 seconds, in the 400-metre event. In her first competitive 200m race of the year, the 19-year-old Assam runner had clocked 23.65 seconds on her way to gold at the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland on July 2. After that, she won her second 200m gold at the Kutno Athletics Meet, also in Poland, on July 7 with a time of 23.97 seconds. On July 13, she won her third 200m gold at the Kladno Athletics Meet in the Czech Republic with a time of 23.43. What really got everyone talking was how she improved her time with every win.

2. Indonesia Open final to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi won: Star badminton player P.V. Sindhu had to be content with a runner-up finish at the Indonesia Open after losing the title clash in straight games to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi, in Jakarta. Sindhu lost the final of the BWF Tour Super 1000 tournament 15-21 16-21 to the fourth seed. The Olympic silver medallist had come into the contest with a favourable 10-4 head-to-head record against the Japanese.

Note: Indonesia Capital: Jakarta, Currency: Indonesian rupiah, President- Joko Widodo

3. Indian bodybuilder Ravinder Malik clinches Mr South Asia title: Indian bodybuilder Ravinder Kumar Malik has clinched Mr. South Asia title. He has crowned the overall champion at 12th South Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championship in Kathmanduon. Malik, the winner of 80 kg category, was adjudged best bodybuilder among the winners of nine senior men’s weight categories. Afghanistan won team championship by securing a top position with 535 points. Host Nepal finished second with 445 points, while India remained third with 380 points.

4. Delhi’s Prithu becomes India’s 64th Grandmaster: Delhi’s Prithu Gupta has become India’s 64th Grandmaster, crossing the Elo threshold of 2500 points after beating IM Lev Yankelevich in the fifth round of the Portuguese League 2019. Gupta, who picked up the sport as a nine-year-old, has achieved the sensational feat at the age of 15 years, 4 months and 10 days. His achievement came 31 years after Viswanathan Anand had become India’s first Grandmaster.

OBITUARIES

1. LJP MP Ram Chandra Paswan passes away: Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) MP from Bihar’s Samastipur Ram Chandra Paswan died on Sunday afternoon following a brief illness. He was 57. Ram Chandra Paswan, the younger brother of Union minister and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan, passed away at 1.24 p.m. at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital here. He was admitted to the hospital last week after suffering a heart attack.