Daily GK Updates - 22nd December, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Emami ropes in Sania Mirza as brand ambassador of Kesh King Hair oil and shampoo.

2. Parthasarathi Mukherjee appointed as MD and CEO of Lakshmi Vilas Bank.

3. Cochin Shipyard Limited became first licensed Indian shipyard to make LNG ships: CSL received certification to build LNG-transporting ships for any client world-wide making it the first shipyard in India to get the nod. The shipyard successfully completed a Mark-III Flex Mock-up, which has been certified by the GaztransportetTechnigaz (GTT), France, thereby completing all requirements to be licensed by GTT.

4. Delhi Government appointed Gopal Subramanium Commission on DDCA scam: The commission will probe the alleged financial irregularities by the administrators of the DDCA.

5. Odisha Government launched Anwesha scheme to provide free education to SC/ST students: Under the scheme, 5000 SC and ST children will annually be enrolled into Standard I in leading private schools in urban areas of the state.

6. Search engine giant Yahoo named Cow as the Personality of the Year 2015.

7. National Mathematics Day observed on 22^nd December 2015 to commemorate birth anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanujan.

8. Digital media company Arre acquired Apalya Technologies: Arre, the digital media brand of UDigital, a venture found by Ronnie Screwvala, B Saikumar and Ajay Chacko announced the acquisition of Apalya Technologies.

9. Gurgaon based on-demand grocery service PepperTap acquired Bengaluru based hyper-local grocery delivery start-up Jiffstore in a cash and stock deal.

10. Union HRD Ministry launched the 6^th All India Survey on Higher Education: The survey covers all the Higher Education (HE) institutions of the country including universities, colleges and stand-alone institutions from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Indian-American named Secretary of Texas’ Engineering Board: Sockalingam ‘Sam’ Kannappan, a professional engineer and senior design engineer for SNC Lavalin Hydrocarbons and Chemicals has been appointed as the Secretary of the Texas Board of Professional Engineers that licenses qualified engineers and regulates the practice of professional engineering in the USA.

2. 10^th WTO Ministerial Conference adopted Nairobi Package: The five day long 10^th World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference concluded in Nairobi, Kenya.The conference concluded with the adoption of the Nairobi Package that is aimed at benefitting organisation’s poorest members.

3. EU extended economic sanctions against Russia for 6 months: It has extended its economic sanctions against Russia over its involvement in the Ukraine crisis.The 28-member body renewed the sanctions until 31 July 2016.

4. SpaceX successfully launched and landed Falcon 9 rocket:  American Space Company SpaceX achieved a historic feat of successfully launching and landing Falcon 9 rocket. It is the 1^st time in the history of rocketry that a rocket has returned back after delivering a spacecraft to its orbit, so that it could potentially fly again.

5. Nepal Cabinet decided to amend constitution to address Madhesis’ demands: The Government of Nepal decided to amend the constitution to address the key demands of agitating Madhesis regarding proportional representation and constituency delimitation.

6. Australian Sea Snake species Aipysurusfoliosquama and Aipysurusapraefrontalis rediscovered by a team of scientists from James Cook University, Australia.

7. UNSC extended sanctions against Taliban in Afghanistan: The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2255 (2015) under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.

8. China launched DAMPE satellite to shed light on mysterious dark matter: China launched the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) Satellite to shed light on mysterious dark matter.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. New Zealand Captain Brendon McCullum announced retirement from all forms of cricket.

AWARDS:

2. MalayalaManorama Journalist picked for IPI India Award: Shajil Kumar of Malayala Manorama has been chosen for this year’s International Press Institute (IPI) India Award for Excellence in Journalism for his outstanding work on ‘endangered tribal communities’ who live on the slopes of Western Ghats in Kerala.

3. Andy Murray won 2015 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.

Daily GK Updates - 21st December, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Tata Motors listed as only Indian firm on top 50 global R&D spenders: Prepared by the European Commission, the annual Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard for 2015 was topped by the German automaker Volkswagen. Tata Motors moved up from last year’s 104^th position to 49^th in 2015.

2. Local bodies likely to get 22% of State tax revenue: The fifth State Finance Commission has reportedly recommended that the government devolve 20 to 22% of the net State’s own tax revenue (SOTR) to local governments for the next five years.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. UN launched 2016 International Year of Pulses: The United Nations launched the year at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Rome, Italy. It was launched with the theme ‘Nutritious seeds for a sustainable future’.

2. Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach crowned Miss Universe 2015 at the final of 64^th edition of Miss Universe held in Las Vegas, USA.

3. Miss Spain Mireia Lalaguna Royo crowned Miss World 2015.

4. Miss Iraq beauty pageant held for the first time since 1972:  It was held at a hotel in the capital city of Baghdad and involved eight contestants.ShyamaaQasimAbdelrahman was crowned Miss Iraq.

5. US Senate ratified IMF reforms in budget bill to boost representation of emerging economies: The legislation will now go to President Barack Obama. If adopted, it will allow emerging economies and industrial powerhouses like India and China to have a greater say in how the IMF is managed.

6. Conservative People’s Party won Spain election; but falls short of majority.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. World Bank released Migration and Remittances Factbook 2016: The report provides a snapshot of latest statistics on immigration, emigration, skilled emigration and remittance flows of 24 countries and territories. India was the largest remittance receiving country with an estimated 72 billion USD in 2015.

SPORTS:

2. EugensonLyngdoh and Bala Devi bagged top AIFF honours: Bengaluru FC midfielder EugnesonLyngdoh and striker Bala Devi were named the 2015 All India Football Federation (AIFF) Player of the year and woman footballer of the year respectively.

3. Kane Williamson became first ever Kiwi batsman to top ICC Test Rankings.

4. Abhay Singh won U-19 Singapore Squash Open.

5. Chennaiyin FC crowned 2015 ISL Champions: In the final played at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa, Chennaiyin defeated the hosts FC Goa by 3-2.

6. FC Barcelona won 2015 FIFA Club World Cup: To win the title, Barcelona defeated Argentina’s River Plate 3-0 in the final match held at the International Stadium in Yokohama, Japan.

7. OUE Singapore Slammers crowned Champions of IPTL 2015: The host Singapore Slammers beat the table toppers Micromax Indian Aces in the final to win the crown of the Indian Premier Tennis League (ITPL) 2015.

OBITUARIES:

8. Famous German conductor Kurt Masur passed away at the age of 88.

Daily GK Updates - 20th December, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. PFRDA switches to PAN for online enrolment under NPS: Pension fund regulatory body PFRDA has started using PAN instead of Aadhaar for validation of new customers who can now be registered online under the National Pension System (NPS) Scheme.

2. PM Narendra Modi inaugurates top Police Officer’s Conference in Gujarat: PM Modi has formally inaugurated the All-India conference of Directors General of Police (AICDGPs) at Dhordo in white Rann of Kutch region near Bhuj, Gujarat.

3. WB Government approves proposal for formation of five new districts: West Bengal Government has approved proposal for formation of five new districts in the state, namely Kalimpong, Sundarbans, Basirhat, Burdwan, Jhargram. With this, the total number of districts of Bengal will increase to 25.

4. India’s biggest wildlife rescue centre commissioned in Nagpur: India’s biggest Wildlife Rescue Centre named as Gorewada Zoo and Wildlife Rescue Centre has been commissioned at Gorewada near Nagpur, Maharashtra.

5. ZSI scientists discovered a new eel species named Bengal Moray Eel: The new species was found along the coast of Digha in PurbaMedinipur district of West Bengal.

6. Tata Trusts to sign MoU with UP Government for community welfare: Impressed with the strides taken by Uttar Pradesh, Ratan Tata-led Tata Trusts will enter into an understanding with the state government by signing an MoU for community development programmes in sectors like education and health.

7. Lok Sabha passed bill to create Commercial Benches in High Courts: The LokSabha passed the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Bill, 2015 that will bring in big foreign investments into the country and improve India’s global image on ease of doing business.

8. AP Cabinet decided to abolish VAT, CST on sugar factories.

9. Maharashtra Government announced 10512 crore rupees aid for farmers hit by drought.

10. Kwality Limited, the dairy product manufacturer appointed Akshay Kumar as brand ambassador.

11. Tata Starbucks appointed Sumi Ghosh as Chief Financial Officer.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. US Security Council unanimously adopts resolution on Syria peace plan: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has unanimously adopted a resolution No. 2254 outlining a peace process in Syria.The resolution endorses an international roadmap for a Syria peace process to end Syria’s five-year long civil war. 

2. US doubles H-1B visa fee on highly qualified Indian IT professionals to $4000 from $2000. 

3. IMF approves half a billion financial assistance to Pakistan: The IMF approved nearly USD 500 million in its latest tranche of financial assistance to Pakistan, bringing the total amount of money released to revive the country’s economy to USD 5 billion. 

4. Anil Ambani, Spielberg join hands to form Amblin Partners:  The Anil Ambani owned Reliance Entertainment and acclaimed Hollywood director Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks announced formation of Amblin Partners- a new film, television and digital content creation company.

5. Sundar Pichai is India’s most-searched for business leader in 2015.

6. India ranks 97^th on Forbes’ best countries for business list; Denmark tops the list.

7. Jet airways CEO Cramer Ball resigns.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. Federal Reserve of US, the central banking system of USA increased rate by 0.25% for the first time since 2006.

SPORTS:

2. Dhoni to remain captain till World T20: The National selectors decided that M.S Dhoni will remain the captain of the limited overs sides till the World T20 championship in March.

Daily GK Updates - 19th December, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Harvard University’s Public Health School opening Mumbai centre: The Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health is to open its new centre in Mumbai, the first in South Asia, in a bid to help broaden and coordinate the school’s nearly 60 years of collaboration to improve health in India and around the world.

2. Mumbai’s iconic Marine Drive turns 100: Mumbai’s iconic boulevard Marine Drive, also popularly called the Queen’s Necklace, completed 100 years, and residents of city’s western waterfront flagged off the centenary celebrations with a postcard showing the crescent-shaped bay off the Arabian Sea.

3. PM Narendra Modi hands over Shyamji’s UK Bar certificate to CM Anandiben Patel: PM Modi recalled nationalist leader Shyamji Krishna Varma as the 1^st ‘non-brahmin’ to have received a ‘degree of pandit’ in Varanasi. The certificate was given to Modi in the presence of UK PM David Cameron, during his visit to London last month.

4. DAC approved purchase of Russian S-400 Triumf Air Defence Missile System: The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the purchase of Russian advance S-400 Triumf Air Defence Missile Systems from Russia at an estimated cost of 40000 crore rupees. This system is capable of destroying incoming hostile missiles, aircraft and even drones within a range of up to 400km.

5. Government lowers Growth Projection to 7-7.5% for 2015-16.

6. Hindustan Unilever signed agreement with Mosons Group to acquire Indulekha: Hindustan Unilever (HUL) announced that it signed an agreement with Mosons Group to acquire its flagship brand Indulekha for 330 crore rupees.

7. K K Maheshwari appointed as new MD of UltraTech Cement.

8. Priyanka Chopra 3^rd most followed woman on Twitter in Asia: Indonesian singer-actress Agnez Mo and Bollywood actress DeepikaPadukone were ranked 1^st and 2^nd respectively.

  

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Jeff Williams appointed as Chief Operating Officer of Apple Inc.

2. 2^nd World Internet Conference concluded in Wuzen, China: The three day long 2^nd World Internet Conference concluded at Wuzen in China. The conference was held with theme ‘An Interconnected World Shared and Governed by All-Building a Cyberspace Community of Shared Destiny. 

3. India-born Padmasree Warrior named US CEO of Chinese Company: Warrior, 55, will be the Chief Development Officer and CEO of the US start-up NextEV. 

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. RBI released final guidelines of Marginal Cost of Funds Methodology to calculate Interest Rates: The new methodology is aimed at bringing uniformity among BRs of banks so that they will be more sensitive to any changes in policy rates of RBI like CRR, SLR, etc.

AWARDS:

2. Husband-wife duo Claude and Norma Alvares awarded with 2015 Sanctuary Lifetime Service Award: The husband-wife duo was honoured with the 2015 Lifetime Service Award by Sanctuary Asia Magazine.

OBITUARIES:

3. British Novelist Peter Dickinson passed away at the age of 88.

4. Veteran Communist leader Noorul Huda passed away at the age of 86.

5. Musician and TV composer Adam Roth died of cancer at the age of 57.

Daily GK Updates - 18th December, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. MLAs of Arunachal Pradesh Assembly passed resolution to remove Speaker NabamRebia.

2. A P Shah Committee to look into ONGC, RIL dispute on KG gas fields: Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas appointed a single-member committee to look into the dispute between Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) and Reliance Industries Ltd on Krishna Godavari gas fields.The committee will be headed by the Chairman of the 20^th Law Commission of India Justice (retd.) A P Shah.

3. CII-ITC Sustainability Awards 2015 for Excellence in Sustainable Business conferred: The awards conferred in New Delhi are part of the CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development’s efforts to create awareness, promote policy and practices, and create capacity to mainstream sustainability practices.

4. NSE launches three new group indices: The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has launched three separate indices on three corporate houses viz. Tata, Aditya Birla and Mahindra Group. The first of its kind three separate indices based on corporate houses have been designed to reflect the performance of companies belonging to the respective corporate group.

5. R K Mathur appointed as CIC: Former Defence Secretary R K Mathur has been appointed as Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), breaking away from the convention of appointing the head from among the serving Information Commissioners.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. American University announces APJ Abdul Kalam Fellowship for Indian student: The University of South Florida (USF) has announced a postgraduate fellowship in the name of former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam to support accomplished and talented Indian students looking to study abroad.

2. International Migrants Day observed across the world on 18^th December 2015: The year 2015 will be remembered as a year of human suffering and migrant tragedies.

3. Indian-origin official Sanjay Pradhan to lead Open Government Partnership: The Open Government Partnership (OGP) selected the Indian-origin World Bank official Sanjay Pradhan to lead the organisation. Open Government Partnership is an international organisation promoting multilateral initiative. It was formally launched when the 8 founding governments (Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, South Africa, UK and USA) endorsed the Open Government Declaration, and announced their country action plans. 

4. WTO approved Afghanistan’s membership terms to join as 163^rd member:  World Trade Organisation unanimously approved Afghanistan’s WTO membership at the WTO’s 10^th Ministerial Conference (MC10) in Nairobi.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. RBI released final guidelines of Marginal Cost of Funds Methodology to calculate Interest Rates: The new methodology is aimed at bringing uniformity among BRs of banks so that they will be more sensitive to any changes in policy rates of RBI like CRR, SLR, etc.

SPORTS:

2. Rory Mcllory wins European Tour Player of the Year Award 2015: He has won the award for the third time in the past four seasons.

AWARDS:

3. Sahitya Akademi Awards announced for the Year 2015: Among the winning books are six poetry collections, six books of short stories and four novels, besides two books each of essays and criticism. The awards were recommended by distinguished jury members representing 23 Indian languages and approved by the Executive Board of the Akademi, under its President Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari.

4. President Pranab Mukherjee earns Garwood Award for Outstanding Global Leadership in Open Innovation: He received the award from UC Berkeley-Haas School of Business at RashtrapatiBhawan. Prof. Solomon Darwin, Executive Director Garwood Centre for Corporate Innovation presented the award to the President.

OBITUARIES:

5. Theatre Artist ChatlaSriramulu passed away at the age of 84.

Daily GK Updates - 17th December, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Union Cabinet approved MoU with BRICS for energy conservation: The MoU provides for joint scientific and technological research and conferencing and holding of lectures and seminars. Capacity building and technology transfer and technology development, sharing policies and best practices was also included in the MoU.

2. Justice Reva Khetrapal took oath as Delhi’s Lokayukta.

3. Union Cabinet approved revised Model Text for Indian Bilateral Investment Treaty: The revised Indian model text for BIT will be used for re-negotiation of future BITs and negotiation of future BITs and investment chapters in Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreements (CECAs)/Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPAs)/ Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

4. IRCTC ties up with Paytm for e-catering payments: Train passengers will now find it easier to make online payments for the food ordered through e-catering with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) entering into a tie-up with Paytm, a leading payment and e-commerce shopping website.

5. UP Governor Ram Naik gave assent to state’s Revenue Code (Amendment) Ordinance 2015: The proposed ordinance will enable dalits of the state to sell their land to non-dalits without approval of the administration.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 14^th Meeting of the heads of governments of SCO member states concluded in Zhengzhou, China: India, which is a acceding state at present, was represented by Minister of State for External Affairs Gen V K Singh at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet.

2. ISRO’s PSLV-C29 successfully launched 6 Singapore satellites into space.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. RBI liable to disclose information about banks under RTI Act: Supreme Court:The Supreme Court held that the Reserve Bank of India is liable to disclose information about the banks and financial institutions for their action against the loan defaulters including industrialists under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.

SPORTS:

2. Lalit Modi back as Rajasthan Cricket Association President: After being ousted as president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) for 14 months, former IPL Commissioner LalitModi was reinstated.

3. Rohit Sharma to launch cricket comic series ‘Hyper Tygers’: Cricketer Rohit Sharma along with Graphic India, UK-based ISM Komix and Cornerstone Sport are set to launch a new environmental superhero team called ‘Hyper Tygers’.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

4. The book titled ‘The Bose Brothers and Indian Independence-An Insider’s account’ authored by Madhuri Bose was released.

Daily GK Updates - 16th December, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Vijay Divas observed across the country to commemorate India’s victory in 1971 war: On this occasion, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Army Chief D S Suhag, Navy chief R K Dhowan and Air Force Chief Arup Raha remembered martyrs and paid tributes at Amar Jawan Jyoti in New Delhi.

2. World Bank approved 1.5 billion USD loan to support Clean India Campaign (Swachh Bharat Mission) : The loan was granted to support the government in its efforts to ensure all citizens in rural areas have access to improved sanitation and end the practice of open defecation by 2019.

3. Combined Commanders Conference held on INS Vikramaditya off Kochi coast: It was attended by Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, all three services chiefs and other senior officers of three armed forces. The conference is also known as the Unified Commanders’ Conference (UCC).

4. Supreme Court appoints Virendra Singh as Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh.

5. Supreme Court bans registration of new diesel SUVs, luxury cars in Delhi: The ban will be valid to SUVs, luxury cars with engine capacity of 2000cc or more till March 31, 2016.

6. Arun Kumar Jain appointed as the Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).

7. NIIT Technologies appointed Amit Kumar Garg as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

8. Snapdeal launched mobile website in Hindi and Telugu.

9. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation approved Smart City Proposal for Maharashtra: It approved the smart city proposal for Maharashtra with worth of 32000 crore rupees.

10. Supreme Court asks Government to prepare draft memorandum of procedure on appointment of judges to higher judiciary.

11. UP Governor Ram Naik gave assent to state’s Revenue Code (Amendment) Ordinance 2015: The proposed ordinance will enable dalits of the state to sell their land to non-dalits without approval of the administration.

12. Union Ministry of Finance raised monetary limit for filing appeals to 10 lakh rupees in Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) and 20 lakh rupees in High Courts.

13. Green Peace India released report on National Air Quality Index of 17 cities: As per the report, Delhi was listed as the most polluted city in the World, while 13 Indian cities were figured in the list of 20 most polluted cities on the planet.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Pakistan successfully tests fires nuclear capable Shaheen-IA ballistic missile: Range of the missile is 900 kilometres.

2. IAEA ends 12 year Iran Nuclear Weapon probe: International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) has ended its 12-year investigation into concerns that Iran might be developing nuclear weapons. The move is seen as a key step towards lifting EU, UN and US sanctions and a symbolic victory for Iran.

3. Arctic Region hits record high temperature over land: NOAA: The average temperature over Arctic land for the year ending in September 2015 was the highest on record indicating that the Arctic is warming twice as fast as other parts of the earth. It was revealed by the annual Arctic Report Card of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a federal agency of US for monitoring condition of the oceans and the atmosphere.

4. Japan’s SoftBank wins its 1st solar project in India:  Marking its debut in the Indian solar industry, post its investment announcement of 20 billion USD, Japan’s SoftBank won its 1st 350 Mw solar power project in Andhra Pradesh through its joint venture company SBG Cleantech.

5. Merriam-Webster declares ‘ism’ as word of the year for 2015.

6. 14th Meeting of the heads of governments of SCO member states concluded in Zhengzhou, China: India, which is a acceding state at present, was represented by Minister of State for External Affairs Gen V K Singh at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet.

7. European Commission adopted proposal for a European Border and Coast Guard force to protect Schengen area: The creation of new border force was part of proposals to manage migration more effectively, improve the internal security of the European Union and safeguard the principle of free movement of persons.

8. ISRO’s PSLV-C29 successfully launched 6 Singapore satellites into space.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. PAN mandatory for all transactions over Rs 2 lakh from New Year: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that to counter domestic black money, the centre will make it mandatory to furnish PAN for cash dealing above Rs 2 lakh. The Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia confirmed the same later on.

2. ICICI Prudential Life launches iProtect Smart: It offers cover against death, critical and terminal illness, accidental death and disability due to an accident.

SPORTS:

3. Apoorvi Chandela wins gold medal at 59th National Shooting Championships: She won the gold medal in 10 m air rifle event in the women’s category by shooting 207.8 score in the finals.

4. IPL 2016: Dhoni, Ashwin to play for Pune; Raina, Jadeja for Rajkot: India’s limited overs captain MS Dhoni emerged as the top draw in the IPL draft with the Sanjeev Goenka-owned new franchise Pune to pick him first for the stipulated price of Rs 12.5 crore. Suresh Raina also went for Rs 12.5 crore to Rajkot.

5. Chain Singh won gold at the 59th National Shooting Championships: He won the Men’s 50m rifle 3 positions gold at the event held at Tughlakabad in New Delhi.

6. Serena Williams is SI’s Sportsperson of the year: Serena Williams was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year, the first female athlete honoured on her own by the magazine in more than 30 years.

7. Rory Mcllory wins European Tour Player of the Year Award 2015: He has won the award for the third time in the past four seasons.

8. Shiva, Mandeep among four boxers to receive IOC Olympic scholarships: Four Indian boxers namely Shiva Thapa, Mandeep Jangra, Gaurav Bidhuri and Sumit Sangwan were selected by the International Olympics Committee for a scholarship.