Daily GK Update 13th February, 2017

 Daily GK Update 13th February, 2017

PM Narendra Modi extends greetings on World Radio Day 2017

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his greetings on the World Radio Day on 13 February 2017. Terming radio as “a wonderful way to interact, learn & communicate”, the PM stated.  The theme for the 2017 edition of World Radio Day is 'Radio is You'.

 ii. World Radio Day is observed every year on February 13 to celebrate radio as a forum for entertainment and information, as a bridge of communication for remote communities and its role in empowering people. 

iii. In 2011, the Unesco General Conference had proclaimed February 13 as World Radio Day, the day United Nations Radio was established in 1946. Radio is the most prevalent mass medium, with the ability to reach up to 95 percent of the world’s population.

National Women’s Parliament begins in Andhra Pradesh

i. The three-day National Women’s Parliament, being organised by Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly with the theme of ‘Empowering Women - Strengthening Democracy’, began  in the state capital region Amaravati. 

ii. The vision of NWP is to enable and encourage social, political and economic empowerment of women in all strata of the society.

iii. One of the objectives of NWP is to generate new ideas, concepts, theories and ideologies for women empowerment.An ‘International Woman Icon of the World’ award and 12 best young achievers awards for women in different fields will be presented at the NWP.

MRPL launches skill development centre

i. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) launched a skill development centre (Kaushal Vikas Kendra) in Mangaluru. Speaking at the alunch programme, H Kumar, Managing Director of MRPL stated that the centre will train 60 youths in areas such as ‘industrial electrician’ and ‘CNC operator-turning’.

ii. He also stated that all expenses, including food, lodging, tutorial expenses, will be borne by MRPL Kaushal Vikas Kendra. MRPL has got the approval to launch a start-up fund of ₹10 crore, which will be used to support the new ventures and start-ups. 

iii. At another function, Nalin Kumar Kateel, MP from Dakshina Kannada, launched the smoke-free village campaign of MRPL. As a part of oil and gas conservation month, MRPL has identified villages under four panchayats in its surroundings to make them smoke-free.

iv. Under this campaign, families in the below poverty level category are identified and given free LPG kits and gas stoves. MRPL will bear the cost of the gas kit and the gas stove provided to these beneficiaries. In the first phase, the company distributed free LPG kits to nearly 200 families from Soorinje and Chelaru village panchayats.

Second edition of International Spice Conference Begins at Thiruvanantapuram

i. The second edition of the International Spice Conference began at Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala from February 12, 2017.

ii. The three days conference has been hosted by All India Spices Exporters Forum (AISEF) in association with the Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The conference was inaugurated by the Nestle India Limited Chairman and Managing director Suresh Narayanan. 

iii. The theme of the conference is '21st Century Spic Industry-Disrupt or be Disrupted' the main aim of the event is to deliberate on effective strategies and innovative technologies to improve the livelihood of spice farmers, address spice industry challenges, food safety concern, demand supply disparity and foster sustainable growth.

Government Approves Setting Rs. 6,831 crore Electronics Development Fund 

i. The centre has approved setting up the Electronic Development Fund Tele communication Ministerwith a total corpus of Rs. 6,831 crore to support entrepreneurship and innovation in electronics and IT.

ii. The Minister of Law and IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad approved a seed capital of Rs 681 crore on the basis of which more venture capital will be raised.The Electronic Development Fund will help to contribute to various other funds under it forthose who invest the money in companies for creation of intellectual property rights in the field of electronics and IT.

FSSAI sets up panel to finalise laws on food fortification

i. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has set up a 11 member scientific panel to frame final regulations on fortification of foods and prepare strategies to address malnutrition problem.

ii. Fortification means deliberately adding or increasing the content of essential micro nutrients in food items to improve quality.The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has already issued the draft guidelines on fortification for five food items including salt, milk, wheat flour, rice and edible oil to boost production and consumption of fortified foods.

Sandeep Jajodia appointed Assocham president

i. Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd. CMD Sandeep Jajodia has been appointed the new president of industry chamber Assocham. Balkrishan Goenka, Chairman, Welspun Group and Kiran Kumar Grandhi, vice-chairman of GMR Infrastructure Ltd, have taken over as senior vice-president and vice-president respectively. 

ii. Assocham will continue to play a transformational role both nationally and globally and the chamber will empower Indian enterprises by focusing on the most critical and relevant issues in a highly impact-oriented manner stated Jajodia who took over from Sunil Kanoria former President of ASSOCHAM

Narinder Chauhan appointed as Ambassador of India to the Republic of Philippines

i. Former IFS officer Narinder Chauhan  has been appointed as the next Ambassador of lndia to the Republic of the Philippines .

ii. Currently Narinder is working as the Ambassador of lndia to the Republic of Serbia.

Diego Maradona Gets Ambassador Role at FIFA.

i. The FIFA governing body has named Argentina’s former soccer player Diego Maradona as the new Ambassador of the FIFA .The 56 year old will have major role in FIFA’s activities to promote the game across the globe and will also be be involved in relevant development projects. 

ii. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association is the international governing body of association football, futsal, and beach soccer. President is Gianni Infantino and Headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland

Yo-Yo Ma and his ensemble win Best World Music Grammy

i. Cello virtuoso Yo-Yo Ma won a Grammy with his Silk Road Ensemble for Sing Me Home, an exploration of the musical connections across Eurasia.

ii. The French-born Chinese American cellist had previously won an impressive 17 Grammys, but his latest is his first for Best World Music Album.

iii. Ma set up The Silk Road Ensemble to bring together musicians from the historic route that connected the Middle East and Asia, in hopes both of finding artistic commonalities and furthering the cause of intercultural understanding.

BAFTA 2017: La La Land takes 5 trophies, Dev Patel wins for Lion

i. Director Damien Chazelle’s musical 'La La Land' continued its award dominance by taking five trophies, including the best film and best actress for Emma Stone, at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards , which also recognised British-Indian star Dev Patel in the best supporting actor category for 'Lion'.

ii. 'La La Land', which also won Chazelle a best director Bafta, is expected to sustain its momentum at the Oscars on February 26 where it has scored a record 14 nominations.

Eminent journalist and Laughter Persona Pandit Dharmsheel Chaturvedi Dies 

i. The eminent thinker, writer and journalist Pandit Dharmsheel Chaturvedi passed away. 

ii. The Hindi Kavi Pt. Dharmsheel Chaturvedi was considered ‘Swayam Mein Benaras’ means ‘Banaras in Himslef’ in elite circle.

Jiro Taniguchi, a Japanese manga legend Dies at 69

i. Jiro Taniguchi, a Japanese manga writer died in Tokyo on February 11, 2017. He was 69.

Taniguchi began his career as an assistant to the artist Kyota Ishikawa.

ii. His own first piece of manga was published in the year 1970 named 'A Desiccated Summer'.

 iii. Taniguchi first shot to fame in Japan at the end of the 1980s with the first volume of 'The Times of Botchan'

Ravichandran Ashwin Becomes Fastest Bowler To Claim 250 Wickets

i. Indian off-spin specialist Ravichandran Ashwin became the fastest cricketer to take 250 wickets in Test matches. 

ii. He achieved this feat in his 45th test match against Bangladesh on 12 February 2017, when he dismissed captain of Bangladesh team Mushfiqur Rahim at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium in Hyderabad.

iii. Ashwin surpassed Australian fast bowler Dennis Keith Lillee, who played 48 matches to reach the milestone of 250 Test wicket.

NBA & Take Two to Launch NBA 2K E-League

i. The National Basketball Association (NBA), an American professional basketball league is creating a brand new e-sports league called NBA 2K e-League in partnership with Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., the developers of the popular NBA 2K video games.

ii. This is the first time that a professional sports organization will operate an e-sports league. The competitive gaming league will be launched in 2018.