Daily GK Updates - 15th October, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Nation pays homage to former President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam on his 88th birth anniversary: The nation pays homage to former President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam on his 88th birth anniversary and remembered his contributions to the country. The birthday of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam the most popular President of India is celebrated as World Students Day. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, better known as the ‘Missile Man of India’ for his contributions towards the development of the country’s missile projects was born on October 15, 1931, at Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu. Dr Kalam made innumerable contributions to Indian defence. Dr Kalam’s commitment, patriotism and vision to make India a strong nation will continue to inspire people. In 2002, Dr Kalam became the 11th President of India and famously became the ‘People’s President’ for his friendly nature to one and all. The former President suffered a cardiac arrest on July 27, 2015, and passed away while giving a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong.

2. Air India becomes first airline to use Taxibot on A320 aircraft: Air India became the first airline in the world to use a Taxibot on a A320 aircraft with passengers on board. Taxibot is a robot-used aircraft tractor for taxiing an aircraft from parking bay to runway and vice versa. The national carrier’s Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani flagged off flight AI665, which was carried to runway using Taxibot at terminal 3 of the Delhi airport to Mumbai. It is a pilot-controlled semi-robotic towbarless aircraft tractor used as alternate taxiing equipment. Taxibots will also help in decongesting boarding gates and the apron area by providing efficient pushbacks. It is the first such usage on any Airbus aircraft worldwide.

3. IIT Madras to collaborate with ExxonMobil for research in Energy and Biofuels: IIT Madras will collaborate with ExxonMobil on Research in Energy and Biofuels. The 5-year joint-research agreement focuses on biofuels, data analytics, gas conversion and transport, and is intended towards finding low-emission solutions. ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company (EMRE) for research on energy and biofuels is the research and engineering arm of ExxonMobil Corporation, a leading global oil, natural gas, and petrochemicals company. ExxonMobil works with over 80 universities around the world. India is the 3rd highest producer of agro-residues globally with the surplus potential of over 230 million tonnes per year after China and Brazil.

Note: Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil: Darren W. Woods; Headquarters of ExxonMobil: Texas, United States.

4. Nitin Gadkari inaugurates conference on ‘One Nation One Tag – FASTag’ in New Delhi: Union Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated a conference on ‘One Nation One Tag – FASTag’ in New Delhi to roll out the process for having a unified electronic system across the country. Under this system the same FASTag affixed on the windscreen of a vehicle can be used to pay toll across all toll plazas in the country. ‘One nation, one FASTag’ rule to be implemented from 1st December 2019

5. DPIIT launches website, mobile app for IPR: Secretary Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Guruprasad Mohapatra launched the website and mobile application L2Pro India [Learn to Protect, Secure and Maximize Your Innovation] on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). The website and app have been developed by Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM)-DPIIT in collaboration with Qualcomm and National Law University (NLU), Delhi. The website and app will be very useful to the startup community which holds great promise for India and its economy. The L2Pro has been successfully implemented in Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and France, benefiting immensely from close collaboration with respective IP organizations and public research institutions. The learning app has been customized for India in order to ensure that innovation which is fundamental to startups are protected, managed and commercialised.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Kais Saied elected as new President of Tunisia: Kais Saied is elected as the new President of Tunisia after a landslide victory in recently concluded Presidential runoff. The Independent law professor Kais Saied won against his rival, Nabil Karoui. He won Tunisia’s presidential election with 73% of votes. The elections followed the death of President Beji Caid Essebsi in July 2019.

Note: Capital of Tunisia: Tunis; Currency of Tunisia: Tunisian Dinar.

2. 2nd phase of LOTUS-HR launched in New Delhi: India and the Netherlands has launched the 2nd phase of the Local Treatment of Urban Sewage Streams for Healthy Reuse (LOTUS-HR) program at Barapullah drain in New Delhi. This project was launched by Minister of Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan and the Dutch Royal couple, Netherlands King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima. The Dutch Royal couple is on a five-day visit to India at the invitation of President Ram Nath Kovind. The project aims to demonstrate a holistic waste-water management approach that will produce clean water which can be reused for various purposes. The (LOTUS-HR) project was set up in 2017 at the Sun Dial Park here as part of a collaboration between the governments of India and the Netherlands.

3. International Day of Rural Women: 15 October: The International Day of Rural Women is observed on 15th October. The day recognizes the crucial role of women and girls in ensuring the sustainability of rural households and communities, improving rural livelihoods and overall wellbeing. This year’s theme is “Rural Women and Girls Building Climate Resilience”. This year’s theme highlights the important role that rural women and girls play in building resilience to face the climate crisis. The first International Day of Rural Women was observed on 15th October 2008.

4. World Students’ Day: 15 October: World Students’ Day is celebrated every year on October 15 on former president APJ Abdul Kalam’s birthday. The day is commemorated on his birth anniversary because of Dr Kalam was a dedicated teacher and identified himself foremost in that role before anything else. Due to the former President’s love for students, various educational institutions in India observe Kalam’s birthday in their own way. In 2010, the United Nations declared October 15 to be World Students’ Day..

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Priyanshu Rajawat wins men’s singles title at Bahrain International Series: Indian shuttler Priyanshu Rajawat wins the men’s singles title at the Bahrain International Series Badminton at Isa Town, Bahrain. 17-year-old Rajawat beat top-seed Jason Anthony Ho-Shue from Canada in the finals 16-21, 21-7, 21-12 in the summit clash. Indian mixed double pair of Juhi Dewangan and Venkat Gaurav Prasad also finished at the top. They defeated Thailand’s Pannawat Theerapanitnun and Kanyanat Sudchoeichom 21-18, 21-16 in 34 minutes to bag the gold medal. Indian men's doubles pair of Rohan Kapoor and Saurabh Sharma settled for the runners-up position.

Note: King of Bahrain: Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa; Capital: Manama.

2. ICC changes super over rule for all its major events: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has changed the super-over rule for all its major events following the uproar over the outcome of the men’s World Cup final this year when England was declared winners against New Zealand on boundary count. As per new rule, in case of a super over tie, there will be a repeated super over until one team has more runs than the other.

Note: ICC Chairman: Shashank Manohar; Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The 13th edition of ICC Cricket World Cup will be held in India from February 9 to March 26, 2023.

AWARDS & HONOURS

1. Director Priyadarshan gets MP govt’s Kishore Kumar award: Noted director and producer Priyadarshan, who has made several blockbuster Malayalam and Hindi films, was conferred the Madhya Pradesh government’s National Kishore Kumar Samman for 2018-19 at a function in Khandwa, MP. The award, instituted by MP Department of Culture, carries a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh and a citation.

2. Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo jointly win Booker Prize: Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo have jointly won the 2019 Booker Prize after judges flout the rules by declaring a tie. The Booker rules say the prize must not be divided, but the judges insisted they could not separate Atwood’s – ‘The Testament’ and ‘Girl, Woman, Other’ by Evaristo, who is the first black woman to win the prestigious award since its creation in 1969. British Indian novelist Salman Rushdie’s tragicomic ‘Quichotte’ was among the six books shortlisted for the prize. This was the fifth time that the Mumbai-born novelist was shortlisted, including the 1981 win where he bagged the award for “Midnight’s Children”.

Note: The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original novel, written in the English language, and published in the UK and Ireland between October 2018 and September 2019.