Daily GK Update 17th May 2017

India’s ‘Ujala’ to light up homes in the United Kingdom 

i. India has taken a new initiative to supply cheap LED bulbs for the citizens of London in the United Kingdom. Taking this process to the final stages India will launch ‘UJALA’ scheme in the United Kingdom. 
ii. UJALA is globally one of the largest efficiency programs and being run by Energy Efficiency Services Ltd, an energy services company promoted by Indian state-run power majors.


Andhra Pradesh ropes in Singapore firms to develop start-up area in Amaravati

i. Singapore-based Ascendas-Singbridge Pvt Ltd and Sembcorp Development Ltd were awarded a contract by the Andhra Pradesh government to act as the master developer for a start-up area in the capital city of Amaravati.  

ii. For the speedy implementation of the project, a high-level joint implementation steering committee (JISC) will also be formed. 

iii. The JISC will be co-chaired by the AP CM chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Minister of trade and industry of Singapore govt S.Iswaran.

IIEST creates India's first smart grid project 

i. IIEST has successfully created the country's first smart grid project, which will generate power from renewable sources of energy. 
ii. The project will be inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee.
iii. The smart grid will be synchronized to generate power from solar, wind and vegetable waste resources, depending on the weather conditions and availability of waste products. It is the first of its kind in the country. 

India ranked second in renewable energy attractiveness index 

i. India has moved up to the second spot from third position in this year's (2017) 'Renewable energy country attractiveness index' released by EY (Earnest and Young). ii. China, which has been ranked first in the index and India have surpassed the US, which fell for the first time since 2015 to third place in the ranking of top 40 countries.



Ovais Sarmad Appointed Deputy Executive Secretary in UNFCCC

i. Ovais Sarmad, an Indian has been appointed by the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to the post of Deputy Executive Secretary, which is a key post in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 

Admiral Sunil Lanba attends international maritime review in Singapore

i. Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba attended Singapore's first International Maritime Review (IMR) held at the country's prime Changi Naval Base. 
ii. Mr. Lanba attended the review along with navy ships INS Sahyadri and INS Kamorta. 
iii. The INS Sahyadri was part of the land review INS Kamorta was part of the sea review.

Indian Navy signs MoU with Space Application Centre
i. The Indian Navy and Ahmedabad- based Space Application Centre (SAC)  inked a pact on data sharing and scientific cooperation in the field of meteorology and oceanology. 
ii. The pact provides for the creation of a common platform for sharing expertise achieved by SAC with the Navy in a number of areas, including satellite data acquisition technology. 
iii. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Vice Admiral S N Ghormade, Director General Naval Operations, and SAC Director Tapan Misra at an event in Ahmedabad. 



ISRO, NASA to jointly inspect 'oldest civilization' site in Haryana 

i. Teams of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) would inspect the excavation being carried out at an archaeological site in Haryana's Fatehabad district to verify claims of it being the oldest civilization in the world. 
ii. Archaeologists have recovered artifacts pre-dating the Harappan Civilisation from the site, located in village Kunal in Fatehabad district. 

SpaceX launches Inmarsat communications satellite

i. The USA based SpaceX has launched a communications satellite for Inmarsat, marking its first launch for the London-based mobile broadband company. 
ii. The Inmarsat-5 F4 satellite, built by Boeing, blasted off atop Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. 


Deepti Sharma, Poonam Raut create cricket history with record 320-run stand

i. India women’s cricket team openers Deepti Sharma and Poonam Raut became the first-ever pair to share a 300-run stand in a One-Day International. 
ii. This feat was accomplished in a match against Ireland at Potchefstroom during the quadrangular series in South Africa.

Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows-

• Union Energy and Power Minister of India is  Piyush Goyal
• UJALA full form is Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All
• PM of United Kingdom is Theresa May
• Capital of UK is London and its Currency is Pound Sterling.
• CM of Andhra Pradesh is N. Chandrababu Naidu and the governor is E.S.L Narasimhan
• Capital of Andhra Pradesh is Amaravati
• PM of Singapore is Lee Hsien Loong and Currency of Singapore is Singapore Dollar.
• IIEST full form is The Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology
• Dr. Kopillil Radhakrishnan is the Chairman of IIEST.
• Earnest and Young Headquarter is in London
• Earnest and Young is one of the largest professional services firm in the world and is one of the "Big Four" accounting firms.
• General Bipin Rawat is the current and 27th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army
• Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa is the current and 25th Chief of the Indian Air Staff.
• ISRO Chairman is Alur Seelin Kiran Kumar and its headquarter is in Bengaluru
• NASA headquarter is in Washington. D.C. USA.
• SpaceX full form is Space Exploration Technologies Corporation.

QUIZ-17

Q1. Union Health Minister has launched the Test and Treat policy for providing treatment to patients suffering from Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Who is the present Union Health Minister?

(a) Dr. Harsh Vardhan

(b) Radha Mohan Singh

(c) Bandaru Dattatreya

(d) DV Sadananda Gowda

(e) Jagat Prakash Nadda

Q2. From 04th May 2017 "Bhilar" will become India’s first ‘book village’ where tourists and locals can come and read books, magazines, newspapers stacked at 25 premises. "Bhilar" is located in ________________.

(a) Uttar Pradesh

(b) Rajasthan

(c) Karnataka

(d) Maharashtra

(e) Gujarat 

Q3. Which among the following states has organized the country's first transgender one-day athletic meet in which 132 participants from 12 districts participated?

(a) West Bengal

(b) Assam

(c) Kerala

(d) Madhya Pradesh

(e) Bihar

Q4. Internationally renowned sand artist ________________ has won the jury prize gold medal at the 10th Moscow Sand art Championship.

(a) Rahul Arya 

(b) Sudarsan Pattnaik

(c) Nitish Bharti 

(d) Harish Rawat

(e) None of the given options is true 

Q5. Who has become the first Indian to take pole in the F3 European series, securing the top spot on the starting grid for Race 1 of the second round of the championship in Monza, Italy?

(a) Jehan Daruvala

(b) Narain Karthikeyan

(c) Gul Panag

(d) Mohan Rama Rao

(e) None of the given options is true

Q6. India will give how much amount to children of freedom fighters in Bangladesh in the next five years under the new 'Muktijodha scholarship' scheme?

(a) Rs 35 crore

(b) Rs 100 crore

(c) Rs 05 crore

(d) Rs 350 crore

(e) Rs 50 crore

Q7. Who is the present president of Bangladesh?

(a) Mamnoon Hussain

(b) Mohammad Abdul Hamid

(c) Mohammad Hamid Ansari

(d) Sheikh Hasina

(e) Ashraf Ghani

Q8. Former Union minister _______________ has been selected by Japan for this year's Spring Imperial Decorations, for his contribution to the strengthening of bilateral ties and promotion of friendship between the two countries.

(a) Sushilkumar Shinde

(b) Pawan Kumar Bansal

(c) Ashwani Kumar

(d) P Chidambaram

(e) Abdul Bari Siddiqui

Q9. What is the currency of Japan?

(a) Baht

(b) Yuan

(c) Renminbi

(d) Yen

(e) Rupee

Q10. The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) is observing 'Ganga Cleanliness Pledge Day' on 02nd May 2017 at various places in the river's basin states to spread awareness and ensure public participation in the programme. Uma Bharti is present Union Water Resources Minister; she is present Member of Parliament (MP) from which constituency? 

(a) Vadodara, Gujarat

(b) Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh

(c) Bhilwara, Rajasthan

(d) Purnea, Bihar

(e) Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh

Q11. International Labour Day, also known as International Worker's Day or May Day is observed globally on ____________.

(a) 2nd May

(b) 1st May

(c) 30th April

(d) 29th April

(e) 3rd May

Q12. Name the driver who recently won the Russian Grand Prix after a tense final few laps as he was chased down by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

(a) Lewis Hamilton

(b) Narayan Kartikey

(c) Michael Schumacher

(d) Valtteri Bottas

(e) Roberto Bonomi

Q13. Aymanam ward in which of the following district has become India’s first digitalised panchayat ward?

(a) Kerala

(b) Tamil Nadu

(c) Karnataka

(d) Odisha

(e) Jharkhand

Q14. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has appointed Syrian refugee and Olympic athlete ____________ as a Goodwill Ambassador.

(a) Yousuf Malaila

(b) Zarna Saify

(c) Korni Groz

(d) Mouflo Prosdin

(e) Yusra Mardini

Q15. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2017 (RERA) aimed to protect the interests of homebuyers across the country and bring transparency has come into force from _______________.

(a) 30th April

(b) 1st April

(c) 1st May

(d) 1st March

(e) 2nd May

Q16. Name the software giant that has recently announced the new "Solve for India" initiative, especially for tier-2 cities with an aim to support entrepreneurs and developers of the country.

(a) Microsoft

(b) Google

(c) Infosys

(d) TCS

(e) WIPRO

Q17. Name the player who has recently won a record-extending 10th Barcelona Open title by defeating Dominic Thiem of Austria.

(a) Roger Federer

(b) Andy Murray

(c) Novak Djokovic

(d) Rafael Nadal

(e) Stan Wawrinka

Q18. India's top cueist Pankaj Advani has recently lost to China's Lv Haotian in the summit clash of Asian Snooker Championship. The championship was held in __________.

(a) Doha, Qatar

(b) Beijing, China

(c) Chennai, India

(d) Shanghai, China

(e) Ottawa, Canada

Q19. Name the state that has recently got its first automatic weather station at Dongargaon in Vidarbha region that would help farmers to plan and manage the sowing process better.

(a) Tamil Nadu

(b) Karnataka

(c) Kerala

(d) Odisha

(e) Maharashtra

Q20. The daughter of legendary Sitar Maestro (late) Ustad Vilayat Ali Khan, Begum Yaman K. Khan has passed away recently. She was famous ______________.

(a) Classical Dancer

(b) Classical Singer

(c) Sufi Singer

(d) Sitar Player

(e) Violin Player

Solutions

S1. And.(e)
Sol. Union Health Minister JP Nadda has launched the Test and Treat policy for providing treatment to patients suffering from Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). It is a centrally sponsored scheme and people suffering from HIV will benefit from it. Under the scheme, a person detected HIV positive will be provided ART treatment. 

S2. And.(d)
Sol. A village in Maharashtra famous for its strawberries is soon going offer more - rare Marathi books and magazines. From May 4, Bhilar will become India’s first ‘book village’ where tourists and locals can come and read books, magazines, newspapers stacked at 25 premises. Near the popular the British-era hill station of Mahabaleshwar, Bhilar already attracts a large number of tourists, who come to taste the locally produced strawberries.

S3. And.(c)
Sol. Kerala has organized the country's first transgender one-day athletic meet at Thiruvananthapuram in which 132 participants from 12 districts participated. Kerala Sports Minister A. C. Moideen has inaugurated the event at the Central Stadium. Member of Parliament A Sampath and Member Legislative Assembly V S Sivakumar were also present during the inaugural function.

S4. And.(b)
Sol. Internationally renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik from Odisha won the jury prize gold medal at the 10th Moscow Sand art Championship. The competition was held between 22nd and 28th April at Kolomenskoye, Moscow in Russia.

S5. And.(a)
Sol. Jehan Daruvala, in his rookie season at the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, is already making waves. The 18-year-old product of Force India Academy became the first Indian to take pole in the F3 European series, securing the top spot on the starting grid for Race 1 of the second round of the championship in Monza, Italy. However, he was unable to translate that into a race victory, and finished the hard-fought race in second place, behind his Carlin Racing teammate Lando Norris of the UK.

S6. And.(a)
Sol. India will give Rs 35 crore to children of freedom fighters in Bangladesh in the next five years under the new 'Muktijodha scholarship' scheme. India initiated the Muktijodha Scholarship Scheme in 2006 for descendants of the 1971 Freedom Fighters. Until now, more than 10,000 scholarships worth Tk150 million have been disbursed.

S7. And.(b)
Sol. Mohammad Abdul Hamid is present president of Bangladesh.

S8. And.(c)
Sol. Former Union minister Ashwani Kumar has been selected by Japan for this year's Spring Imperial Decorations, for his contribution to the strengthening of bilateral ties and promotion of friendship between the two countries. The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, the highest category of decorations among the Orders of the Rising Sun, is conferred in recognition of distinguished accomplishments of individuals.

S9. And.(d)
Sol. Yen is the currency of Japan.

S10. And.(e)
Sol. The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) will observe 'Ganga Cleanliness Pledge Day' on 02nd May 2017 at various places in the river's basin states to spread awareness and ensure public participation in the programme. The events will be organized in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Hardoi, Bithoor and Vidhur Kuti; Uttarakhand's Srinagar and Devprayag; Patna and Bhagalpur in Bihar; Sahibganj (Jharkhand) and Kolkata (West Bengal). Uma Bharti is present Union Water Resources Ministe, she is present Member of Parliament (MP) from Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh.

S11. Ans.(b)
Sol. International Labour Day, also known as International Worker's Day or May Day is observed on 01st of May every year to promote and encourage the international labour associations. The day marks the victory of workers' movement for eight hours of work.

S12. Ans.(d)
Sol. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) claimed his first Formula One victory, taking the flag at the Russian Grand Prix after a tense final few laps as he was chased down by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

S13. Ans.(a)
Sol. Aymanam ward in the Kerala district on became India’s first digitalised panchayat ward. Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment Krishan Pal Gurjar inaugurated the website of the first digitalised panchayat ward number 15 of Aymanam gram panchayat.

S14. Ans.(e)
Sol. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has appointed Syrian refugee and Olympic athlete Yusra Mardini as a Goodwill Ambassador. Ms. Mardini, who has settled in Germany, participated in the first ever Olympic refugee team at the Rio de Janeiro games in 2016.

S15. Ans.(c)
Sol. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2017 (RERA) aimed to protect the interests of homebuyers across the country and bring transparency has come into force from 1st of May 2017.

S16. Ans.(b)
Sol. Google has announced the new "Solve for India" initiative, especially for tier-2 cities such as Pune, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kochi, Indore, Nagpur, Nashik, Madurai, Kanpur, and Chennai. This program will aim to support entrepreneurs and developers of the country.

S17. Ans.(d)
Sol. Rafael Nadal won a record-extending 10th Barcelona Open title by defeating Dominic Thiem of Austria. He collected his second clay-court title in a row.

S18. Ans.(a)
Sol. India's top cueist Pankaj Advani has recently lost to China's Lv Haotian in the summit clash of Asian Snooker Championship. The championship was held in Doha, Qatar.

S19. Ans.(e)
Sol. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has inaugurated the State’s first automatic weather station at Dongargaon in Vidarbha region. With the installation of this station information from the stations would help farmers plan and manage the sowing process better.

S20. Ans.(c)
Sol. Famous Sufi singer and daughter of legendary Sitar Maestro (late) Ustad Vilayat Ali Khan, Begum Yaman K. Khan has passed away after multiple organ failures.