Daily GK Update 10th May, 2017

World Migratory Bird Day: 10th May

i. The World Migratory Bird Day is observed every year on 10 May. 
ii. The theme of WMBD 2017 is “Their Future is Our Future – A Healthy Planet for Migratory Birds and People”. 

Supreme Court becomes paperless, digital court 

i. The Supreme Court has taken its first step towards becoming a paperless, digital court.

ii. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the digital filing system at a function in New Delhi where the Integrated Case Management System will be connected with the Supreme Court website.


SAMADHAN: Rajnath Singh coins an acronym to wipe out left-wing terror 

i. Presiding over a review meeting of the states affected by Left-Wing Extremism (LWE). Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced a new strategy against the Maoists—SAMADHAN. 
ii. The Minister explained the acronym as S-smart leadership, A-aggressive strategy, M-motivation and training, A-actionable intelligence, D-dashboard-based KPIs (key performance indicators) and KRAs (key result areas), H-harnessing technology, A-action plan for eachtheatre and N-no access to financing.

DIPAM launches online investor facilitation platform

i. The Finance Ministry has set up an Investor Facilitation Platform that will provide information about stocks of public sector units. 
ii. Set up by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), the platform will be an interactive forum for all stakeholders, including investors, investment banks, law firms, public sector units and administrative ministries that are involved in stake sales. 

Cashkaro.com ties up with YES Bank to launch card-linked offers

i. Banking on the Government's drive to promote a cash-less economy, cashback portal Cashkaro.com has tied up with YES Bank to launch card-linked offers as part of its loyalty programme for both offline and online shoppers. 
ii. The offer will be currently available on all YES BANK debit cards, and will be extended to all other payment products of YES Bank in the near future.

Oracle launches cloud computing service for India

i. Technology giant Oracle has launched its cloud computing service for India, which aims to support the government's GST rollout in July and plans to open data centres in the country. 
ii. In an effort to simplify the tax regime in India and to ensure higher compliance with tax laws, Oracle's ERP solution aims to provide support for GST Network integration, statutory reporting, payment processing, among others. 

Moon Jae-In began his five-year term as president of South Korea

i. South Korea's liberal leader Moon Jae-In took the oath as president, tasked with navigating the country out of rising tensions over North Korea's nuclear program and the risk of a rift with the United States. 
ii. The National Election Commission said Moon, of the Democratic Party, took 41.1 percent of the votes, far ahead of Conservative Hong Joon-Pyo, his closest rival on 24.03 percent.

Apple tops $800 bn market cap for first time

i. Apple Inc became the first US company to top the $800 billion mark in market capitalization slightly more than two years after it crossed the $700 billion thresholds. 
ii. The iPhone maker's shares have gained 33 percent this year and almost 50 per cent since the US election in November 2016 and the company now represents about 4 percent of the $21.7 trillion that makes up the entire S&P 500 index.

Jhulan Goswami becomes world's highest wicket-taker in ODIs

i. Jhulan Goswami, India’s fast bowler, is now the leading wicket-taker in Women’s ODIs, going past Australia’s Cathryn Fitzpatrick record of 180 wickets. 
ii. She now has 181 wickets in 153 matches at an average of 21.76 with two five-wicket and 4 four-wicket hauls. She won the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year award in 2007.

N'Golo Kante named Football Writers' Footballer of the Year

i. N'Golo Kante has been voted Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers' Association. 
ii. Kante is the fifth player in six seasons to complete the awards double having last month been named Player of the Year by the Professional Footballers' Association.



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

• 2017 ICC Women's World Cup will be hosted by England
• 2013 ICC Women's World Cup  won by Australia
• In 2010 and 2012, Jhulan Goswami was conferred with Arjuna Award and Padam Shri respectively.
• Moon Jae-In has replaced Park Geun-Hye
• Capital of South Koria is Seoul and its Currency is Won (KRW)
• The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal
• The Supreme Court of India came into existence on 26th January, 1950
• The First Chief Justice of Supreme Court was Harilal Jekisundas Kania.
• Union Home Minister of India is Rajnath Singh
• Rajnath Singh announced a new strategy against the Maoists—SAMADHAN.
• DIPAM is headed by Finance Minister of India Shri Arun Jaitley
• From 27th May, 2004, the Department of Disinvestment is one of the Departments under the Ministry of Finance
• The Department of Disinvestment was set up as a separate Department on 10th December, 1999 and was later renamed as Ministry of Disinvestment from 6th September, 2001
• The Department of Disinvestment has been renamed as Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) from 14th April, 2016.
• The GST is governed by GST Council and its Chairman is Union Finance Minister of India Arun Jaitley.
• GST is a destination-based tax on consumption of goods and services
• It is amalgamating a large number of Central and State taxes into a single tax
• Oracle headquarter is in the United States of America.
• World Migratory Bird Day is observed on 10th May
• The theme of WMBD 2017 is “Their Future is Our Future – A Healthy Planet for Migratory Birds and People”
• Yes Bank CEO and MD is Rana Kapoor 
• Headquarter of Yes Bank in Mumbai
• The tagline of Yes Bank is 'Experience our Expertise'.

QUIZ-10

Q1. Name the Indian/Indians who made it to the annual list of ‘100 most influential people in the world’ 2017 in the recently released list by the Time magazine.

(a) Narendra Modi

(b) Mukesh Ambani

(c) Vijay Shekhar Sharma

(d) Both (a) and (c)

(e) Both (a) and (b)

Q2. The United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) has recently awarded its Peace Prize 2017 to ________.

(a) Antonio Guiterrs

(b) Giuseppina Nicolini

(c) Ang Ban ki

(d) Takehiko Nakao

(e) None of the given options are true

Q3. United Nations International Day of Vesak 2017 will be hosted by which of the following countries?

(a) Sri Lanka

(b) India

(c) China

(d) Nepal

(e) Myanmar

Q4. Mongolia launched its first satellite named ____________ as a part of its efforts to make use of new technology to diversify its resource-dependent economy.

(a) Al Nagah- I

(b) Mongolian-I

(c) Mongol Sat-I

(d) Dharansuk Sat-I

(e) Azerkham Sat-I

Q5. Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has announced the introduction of Video gaming as full sports in Asian Games. It will be implemented fully in __________ Asian Games.

(a) 2018

(b) 2020

(c) 2019

(d) 2021

(e) 2022

Q6. Name the company that has recently regained its status as India’s most valued firm by market capitalization.

(a) TCS

(b) Tata Power

(c) Infosys

(d) Reliance Industries Ltd.

(e) Reliance Communications

Q7. The 3rd edition of International Conference and Exhibition on Steel Industry 'India Steel 2017' was held recently in ____________.

(a) New Delhi

(b) Bengaluru

(c) Gandhinagar

(d) Mumbai

(e) Chennai

Q8. Name the company that has recently signed an agreement with Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (AVVNL) for electricity distribution in Ajmer for 20 years.

(a) Reliance Power

(b) Tata Power

(c) TCS

(d) Havel’s Electricals

(e) None of the given options are true

Q9. United Nations International Day of Vesak 2017 will be hosted in one of the Asian countries from 12-14 May 2017. It will be _________ edition of Vesak Day.

(a) 10th

(b) 13th

(c) 11th

(d) 14th

(e) 16th

Q10. World Earth Day is observed globally on ____________.

(a) 23 April

(b) 21 March

(c) 18 April

(d) 24 March

(e) 22 April

Solutions

S1. Ans.(d)
Sol. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma were the only two Indians to make it to an annual list of ‘100 most influential people in the world’ 2017, released by the Time magazine.

S2. Ans.(b)
Sol. The United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) has awarded its Peace Prize to Giuseppina Nicolini, the mayor of the Italian island of Lampedusa, for her commitment to saving the lives of migrants and refugees.

S3. Ans.(a)
Sol. The 14th Edition of United Nations International Day of Vesak 2017 will be hosted by Sri Lanka from 12-14 May 2017.

S4. Ans.(c)
Sol. Mongolia launched its first satellite named Mongol Sat-I, part of its efforts to make use of new technology to diversify its resource-dependent economy

S5. Ans.(e)
Sol. Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has announced Video gaming as full sports at the 2022 Asian Games which is scheduled to be held in Hangzhou, China from 10-25 September 2022.

S6. Ans.(d)
Sol. The Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) regained its status as India’s most valued firm by market capitalization. RIL overtook Tata Group’s crown jewel TCS.

S7. Ans.(d)
Sol. The 3rd edition of International Conference and Exhibition on Steel Industry 'India Steel 2017' was held at Mumbai Exhibition center in Mumbai from 19th-21st April 2017.

S8. Ans.(b)
Sol. Tata Power has signed an agreement with Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (AVVNL) for electricity distribution in Ajmer for 20 years.

S9. Ans.(d)
Sol. United Nations International Day of Vesak 2017 will be hosted in one of the Asian countries from 12-14 May 2017. It will be the 14th edition of Vesak Day.

S10. Ans.(e)
Sol. World Earth Day is observed globally on 22 April.

Daily GK Update 09th May, 2017

India unanimously elected as President of UN-Habitat

i. India has been unanimously elected as the President of UN-Habitat, an organ of the United Nations Organisation.  
ii. Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation M Venkaiah Naidu is chairing the four-day meeting of the 58-member Governing Council of UN-Habitat at Nairobi in Kenya that began on 8th May 2017. 
iii. The theme of the 26th meeting of the council is 'Opportunities for effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda' 

Haryana to start door-to-door survey to collect data of every resident

i. Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar has decided to gather a detailed data of every resident and issue a sleek identity for every house in Haryana. 
ii. The objective of this two-month long data generating exercise, to be launched on June 15, 2017 is to get details of land holdings and status of facilities. 
iii. The facilities includes social security pension, scholarship, MGNREGA, loans and LPG connection. During the survey, address of each house,  location, details of owner of the house, bank account numbers, IFSC code and Aadhaar and personal details will be gathered.

Techmagnate acquires BlogX, the largest blog conference in India

i. Techmagnate, India’s leading Digital Marketing Agency acquired BlogX, India’s largest blog conference where bloggers and content managers connect. 
ii. In the event, top bloggers from across the country share their experiences and stories of journey towards becoming successful bloggers. The blogger’s meet emphasizes on content, relationship and brand building.

Ola ties-up with Airtel to roll out integrated digital offerings to customers

i. India's largest cab aggregator Ola has partnered with Bharti Airtel to launch a range of integrated digital offerings to customers. 
ii. As part of the partnership, Ola will integrate Airtel Payments bank to its app and Airtel will integrate Ola's mobile wallet Ola Money as a payment solution on Airtel website and MyAirtel app for mobile recharges and bill payments. 

Oracle signs MoU with Jharkhand for cloud-based citizen services

i. The Government of Jharkhand and Oracle signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) intended to improve cloud-based citizen services and to make Jharkhand an attractive destination for start-ups. 
ii. Oracle will offer its support to the state through its vast portfolio of technology solutions, including Oracle Cloud. 
iii. As part of the MoU, the Government of Jharkhand and Oracle will jointly explore and identify areas in which Oracle’s latest cloud-based technologies can be used to deliver improved citizen services and to address the state’s citizen and business requirements.

DIPP & WIPO to set up Technology and Innovation Support Centers

i. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) have signed an agreement to establish Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISC). 
ii. WIPO’s Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISC) program provides innovators in developing countries with access to locally based, high-quality technology information and related services, helping them to exploit their innovative potential and to create, protect, and manage their intellectual property (IP) rights.

India to grow at 7.7 per cent in 2018-19: IMF

i. India's growth is expected to rebound to 7.2 percent in the 2017-18 fiscal and 7.7 percent in 2018-19 after disruptions caused by demonetization, as per the IMF (International Monetary Fund) report. 
ii. According to the report, growth in Asia is forecast to accelerate to 5.5 percent in 2017 from 5.3 percent in 2016. Growth in China and Japan is revised upward for 2017 compared to the October 2016 World Economic Outlook.

Sohail Mahmood to replace Abdul Basit as Pakistan’s envoy to India
i. The government of Pakistan has approved the appointment of Sohail Mahmood as Pakistan’s next high commissioner to India. 
ii. Mahmood is a top diplomat of Pakistan and will replace the incumbent envoy to India Abdul Basit this month.


Edelweiss Tokio launches India's first life insurance Product

i. Edelweiss Tokio launched India's first and the simplest life insurance product that can be bought at a point of sale (PoS) has finally been launched. 
ii. Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance has recently launched PoS Saral Nivesh the first product to be approved by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India's (IRDAI) guidelines on point of sale-life insurance products. 
iii. PoS Saral Nivesh is a non-linked, non-participating endowment life insurance plan which offers both protection and saving. 

Jordan, US launch Eager Lion military exercise
i. Jordan and the United States kicked off Eager Lion, an annual military exercise in Jordan with about 7,400 troops from more than 20 nations taking part. 
ii. Jordan is a key recipient of US financial aid and a partner in the US-led coalition battling Islamic State group jihadists in Syria and Iraq. 


Venu Rajamony appointed India’s Ambassador to Netherlands

i. Press Secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee and senior diplomat Venu Rajamony has been appointed India’s Ambassador to the Netherlands. 
ii. Mr. Rajamony will also be India’s Permanent Representative to the Organisation for Prevention of Chemical Weapons based in The Hague and cover the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration and other international organisations based in the Netherland.

Emma Watson bags first ever ‘genderless’ award

i. Hollywood actor Emma Watson picked up the first-ever Genderless Acting Award for the Best Actor category for "Beauty and the Beast" at the MTV Movie and TV Awards. 
ii. The star, who first became known for her role as Hermione in the Harry Potter films, is a feminist campaigner and UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador. "Beauty and the Beast" also won movie of the year.

'Lion' actor Sunny Pawar named Rising Star at Asian Awards

i. Child actor Sunny Pawar, best known for his performance in the Oscar-nominated film Lion, has been chosen for the Rising Star Award. 
ii. The award will be presented to Sunny at the 7th Annual Asian Awards. He portrayed young Saroo Brierley in the film.


Adil Hussain’s Mukti Bhawan wins the Best Film award at the New York Indian Film Festival

i. “Mukti Bhawan”, a movie about a man who accompanies his father on a journey to Varanasi, has won the Best Film at the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF). 
ii. NYIFF was held in New York between April 30-May 7, 2017.

Logo and mascot of Asian Athletics Championships unveiled in Odisha capital

i. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has unveiled the logo and mascot of the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships scheduled to be held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar from July 6 to 9, 2017.
ii.  Mr. Patnaik also formally announced Bhubaneswar as the host for the sports event. The mascot, named Olly Turtle, depicts the Olive Ridley turtles.

Heena Sidhu wins bronze in Grand Prix of Liberation Plezn 2017 Shooting championship

i. Heena Sindhu claimed a bronze medal in the women's 10m Air Pistol as India ended the Grand Prix of Liberation Plezn 2017 Shooting championships in Czech Republic with seven medals. 
ii. On the final day of the championship, Heena shot 218.8 in the eight-woman final, won by Greek shooter Anna Korakaki claimed gold medal sot 246.3 to finish ahead of Germany's rising star, Michelle Skeries took silver with a score of 237.8.


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

• India is unanimously elected as President of UN-Habitat
• UN habitat was established in 1978
• India has been earlier elected as President in 1988 and 2007
• M Venkaiah Naidu is chairing the four-day meeting of the 58-member Governing Council of UN-Habitat at Nairobi in Kenya
• The theme of the 26th meeting of the council is 'Opportunities for effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda'
• Jharkhand govt and Oracle signed a MoU intended to improve cloud-based citizen services
• CM of Jharkhand is Raghubar Das and Governor is Draupadi Murmu
• Headquarter of Oracle is in the United States of America.
• India to grow at 7.7 percent in 2018-19 according to IMF report
• Created in 1945, the IMF is governed by and accountable to the 189 countries
• IMF is Headquartered in Washington, D.C.
• Managing Director of IMF is Christine Lagarde.
• DIPP & WIPO have signed an agreement to set up Technology and Innovation Support Centers
• Full form of DIPP is The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion  and full form of WIPO is World Intellectual Property Organization
• DIPP comes under the Government Of India-Ministry Of Commerce & Industry
• WIPO headquarter is in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Logo and mascot of Asian Athletics Championships unveiled in Bhubaneshwar
• Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has unveiled the logo and mascot
• 22nd Asian Athletics Championships will be held in Odisha
• The mascot is named as Olly Turtle.
• India's largest cab aggregator Ola has partnered with Bharti Airtel
• Gopal Vittal is the MD & CEO (India & South Asia) Bharti Airtel
• Emma Watson bags first ever ‘genderless’ award for her role in "Beauty and the Beast"
• She is also the UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador
• "Beauty and the Beast" also won movie of the year at the MTV Movie and TV Awards.
• Haryana govt has decided start door-to-door survey to collect data of every resident and issue a sleek identity for every house
• CM of Haryana is Manohar Lal Khattar and Governor is Kaptan Singh Solanki. 
• Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance launched India's first insurance product Saral Nivesh  that can be bought at PoS
• Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance headquarter is in Mumbai.
• Techmagnate, India’s leading Digital Marketing Agency acquired BlogX
• Founder of BlogX is Manmeet Pal Singh and CEO of Techmagnate is SarveshBagla
• Venu Rajamony has been appointed India’s Ambassador to the Netherlands.
• The capital of Netherland is Amsterdam and its Currency is Euro.
• Heena Sindhu claimed a bronze medal in the women's 10m Air Pistol at Grand Prix of Liberation Plezn 2017 Shooting championship
• Greek shooter Anna Korakaki claimed a gold medal and Germany's Michelle Skeries claimed a silver medal.

QUIZ-09

Q1. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected a marginally higher than expected growth for the world economy at _______ percent in 2017

(a) 4.5

(b) 3.6

(c) 3.5

(d) 3.2

(e) 4.2

Q2. Madhya Pradesh government has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with which Rail Corporation to supply 24 per cent of electricity generated from the Rewa ultra mega solar project.

(a) Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation

(b) Delhi Metro Rail Corporation

(c) Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation

(d) Karnataka Metro Rail Corporation

(e) Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation

Q3. TAL Manufacturing Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors has launched India’s first industrial articulated robot and it goes by the name ___________.

(a) BRAVO

(b) CHARLIE

(c) TITAN

(d) BRABO

(e) None of the given options is true

Q4. The RBI permitted banks to invest up to _________ of the unit capital of a Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs) or Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs).

(a) 20%

(b) 12%

(c) 15%

(d) 14%

(e) 10%

Q5. The English translation of writer Perumal Murugan’s novel named has won the Sahitya Akademi’s award for translation in English 2016.

(a) Half Woman

(b) Part time Worker

(c) Mangalayatan

(d) One Part Woman

(e) None of the given options is true

Q6. Name the person who has become the first visually impaired Indian runner to complete the historic Boston Marathon.

(a) Sagar Baheti

(b) Naval Kulkarni

(c) Saumya Vashishtha

(d) Shankar Alam

(e) Noor Sheikh

Q7. The 2017 BRICS Film Festival will be held in which country from June 23 to 27, 2017?

(a) South Africa

(b) Russia

(c) Brazil

(d) China

(e) India

Q8. National Civil Services Day is celebrated on _____________.

(a) 22 March

(b) 21 March

(c) 21 April

(d) 23 April

(e) 22 April

Q9. BRICS Film Festival 2016 was held in _____________.

(a) Brazil

(b) New Delhi

(c) Russia

(d) South Africa

(e) China

Q10. Name the person who inaugurated the two-day 11th Civil Services Day program in New Delhi.

(a) Shri Pranab Mukherjee

(b) Shri Rajnath Singh

(c) Shri L K Advani

(d) Shri Narendra Modi

(e) Shri Amit Shah

Solutions

S1. Ans.(c)
Sol. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected a marginally higher than expected growth for the world economy at 3.5 percent in 2017

S2. Ans.(b)
Sol. Madhya Pradesh government has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to supply 24 per cent of electricity generated from the Rewa ultra mega solar project to be set up in the state.

S3. Ans.(d)
Sol. TAL Manufacturing Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors has launched India’s first industrial articulated robot and it goes by the name “BRABO”.

S4. Ans.(e)
Sol. The RBI permitted banks to invest up to 10% of the unit capital of a Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs) or Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs).

S5. Ans.(d)
Sol. The English translation of writer Perumal Murugan’s novel Mathorubhagan (One Part Woman) has won the Sahitya Akademi’s award for translation in English 2016.

S6. Ans.(a)
Sol. Bangalore-based Sagar Baheti has become the first visually impaired Indian runner to complete the historic Boston Marathon, the world's oldest and the hardest marathon to qualify for.

S7. Ans.(d)
Sol. The 2017 BRICS Film Festival will be held in Chengdu, southwest China’s Sichuan Province from June 23 to 27, 2017.

S8. Ans.(c)
Sol. Civil Services Day is celebrated in India every year on 21st April.

S9. Ans.(b)
Sol. BRICS Film Festival 2016 was held in New Delhi, India.

S10. Ans.(b)

Sol. The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the two-day 11th Civil Services Day program (20-21 April) in New Delhi. Civil Services Day is celebrated in India every year on 21st April.

Daily GK Update 07th and 08th May, 2017

World Red Cross Day: 8th May

i. World Red Cross Day is observed on May 8 every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of Henry Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross as well as the founder of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). 
ii. The theme for this year (2017) is “Less Known Red Cross Stories”


PM Modi addresses Indian heads of mission meet in New Delhi

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed an Indian heads of mission meet in New Delhi, which is brainstorming key foreign policy issues and challenges including India’s engagement with major powers as well as strain in ties with Pakistan and China. 
ii. The four-day conference, was formally inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. 

Country's 1st bio refinery plant inaugurated in Pune

i. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highway Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the country's first bio-refinery plant which produces ethanol from the variety of biomass. 

ii. The project is situated at Rahu in Pune district. Mr. Gadkari stated that Plant can produce one million litre of ethanol per annum by processing a variety of agro-residue like rice and wheat straw, cotton stalk, cane trash, corn cobs with superior product yields.

Odisha to introduce boat ambulances in four districts  

i. Odisha will introduce boat ambulance service in four districts where people face difficulties in getting health service. 
ii. The boat ambulance service will be available in the districts of Koraput, Malkangiri, Kendrapara and Kalahandi where people face problems in availing 108 ambulance service due to intervening large water bodies in the form of rivers and dams disrupting road communication, stated by Health and Family Welfare secretary P K Meherda.

India organized festival in Egypt to mark Tagore’s birth anniversary

i. India has organized a cultural festival in Egypt to mark the 156th birth anniversary of the famous Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore. 
ii. The Tagore festival is being organized by the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture, the cultural wing of the Indian Embassy in Cairo which is conclude on May 12 with ‘Rituranga -Play of Seasons’ and will be performed by members of the Indian community at the Hanager Theatre. 
iii. Rabindranath Tagore received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. He was the first non-European to win this prestigious award, in recognition for his collection of poems, ‘Gitanjali’.

 Hinduja brothers top UK's rich list
i. The Hinduja brothers have topped the 2017 list of the richest 1,000 people in the UK with an estimated fortune of 16.2 billion pounds, a massive 3.2 billion pound hike in their fortunes over the previous year. 
ii. Besides brothers Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja there are over 40 Indian-origin super-rich in this year's (2017) list which also includes a record number of British billionaires with 14 new ones emerging over the last year. 

3 Indian scientists elected fellows of Royal Society

i. Three Indian Scientist have been elected as the Fellows of The Royal Society, a premier scientific academy of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, for their “outstanding contributions to science“.
 ii. Krishna Chatterjee from Cambridge University has been recognised for his discoveries of genetic disorders of thyroid gland formation. 
iii. Subhash Khot from New York University has been credited for throwing insight into unresolved problems in the field of computational complexity. 
iv. Yadvinder Malhi from Oxford University is recognised for his works on understanding the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems and its response to the pressures of global change, including climate change, degradation and loss of large animals.

Prabhat Kamal bezboruah 1st non-IAS to head tea board

i. Renowned tea planter from Assam Prabhat Kamal Bezboruah has been named the new chairman of the Tea Board of India by replacing Shri Santosh Sarangi, stated by the Union government.
 ii. With this, Bezboruah becomes the first non-IAS and an industry insider to be at the helm of the Kolkata-headquartered Tea Board, the governing body of the industry.

Facebook Launches ‘Express Wi-Fi’ in India

i. Facebook has launched its 'Express Wi-Fi' commercially in India and the service is now available via 700 hotspots across four states of Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Meghalaya. 
ii. For the expansion of service, Facebook has announced a partnership with Bharti Airtel for setting up an additional 20,000 hotspots covering millions of Indians over the next few months

Emmanuel Macron elected as President of France

i. Pro-European centrist leader Emmanuel Macron has been elected as President of France.  
ii. Mr. Macron will also become the first President from outside the two traditional main parties since the modern republic’s foundation in 1958. 




Sachin Tendulkar conferred with Fellowship Award in UK

i. India’s cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar plans to support charities and various initiatives to help the under-privileged people. 
ii. He has received the Fellowship Award at the 7th annual Asian Awards in UK.  India’s playback singer Adnan Sami won the award for 'Outstanding achievement in Music'.

Saqib Majeed wins 2016 Wisden-MCC Cricket 'Photograph of the Year' award

i.Kashmir based freelance photographer Saqib Majeed has bagged prestigious 2016 Wisden-MCC (Melbourne Cricket Council) Cricket ‘Photograph of the Year’ for capturing a stunning image of boys playing cricket at the Nishat garden in the outskirts of Srinagar. ii. With this Saqib Majeed has become the first Kashmiri and second Asian after Atul Kamble to receive the prestigious award.

Justice Leila Seth: First Woman Chief Justice of a State High Court Passed Away
i. Leila Seth, the first woman judge of the Delhi high court and member of the Justice J. S. Verma committee that was set up to re-look at rape laws in India died of a cardiac arrest.




Pakistani sitarist Ustad Raees Khan dies

i. Legendary sitar player Ustad Raees Khan Passed awayd. He was 77. 
ii.  Ustad Raees was born in 1939 in Indore, India in a family of musicians. He belonged to the Mewati Gharana of Indian classical music.

Shiva thapa wins silver at Asian Boxing Championship

i. Indian boxer Shiva Thapa ended up with a silver medal in the 60-kg category at the Asian Boxing Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. 
ii. Thapa also became the first boxer from the country to win medals at three consecutive championships. He lost the final match to Elnur Abduraimov from Uzbekistan as he got injured at the beginning of the Match.

Great Britain wins Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament
i. Great Britain beat Australia 4-3 in a thrilling hockey final of the 26th edition of the Azlan Shah Cup at Ipoh, Malaysia. 
ii. This victory came to Great Britain in the Azlan Shah Cup after 23 years. Australia is the world champions and had won the Azlan Shah title nine times. Great Britain becomes the first team from the British Isles to win the Azlan Shah title since 1994.

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

• Great Britain wins Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament.
• Great Britain beat Australia 4-3 in a thrilling hockey final.
• India outclassed New Zealand 4-0 to clinch a bronze medal.
• 26th edition of the Azlan Shah Cup was held at Ipoh, Malaysia.
• World Red Cross Day is observed on May 8 by International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
• The theme for this year (2017) is “Less Known Red Cross Stories”
•  It is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of Henry Dunant.
• Country's first bio-refinery plant inaugurated in Pune
• Union Minister for Road Transport and Highway is Nitin Gadkari.
• PM Modi addressed an Indian heads of mission meet in New Delhi
• It was inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj
• India organized festival in Egypt to mark Tagore’s 156th birth anniversary
• The festival will conclude on May 12
• Shri Tagore received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913
• Cairo is the Capital of Egypt and its currency is Egyptian pound.
• Emmanuel Macron has been elected as President of France
• He becomes the youngest President of France
• Mr. Macron has succeeded François Hollande
• Three Indian Scientist have been elected as the Fellows of The Royal Society viz. Krishna Chatterjee, Subhash Khot, Yadvinder Malhi.
• Facebook has launched its 'Express Wi-Fi' in India
• Facebook has announced a partnership with Bharti Airtel for setting up an additional 20,000 hotspots 
• Founder and CEO of Facebook is Mark Zuckerberg.
• Shiva Thapa wins silver medal at Asian Boxing Championship 
• He also became the first boxer from the country to win medals at three consecutive championships.
• Asian Boxing Championship was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
• The capital of Uzbekistan is Tashkent and Currency is Uzbekistani som.
• Legendary sitar player Ustad Raees Khan died at 77
• Ustad Raees was born in 1939 in Indore, India.
• Odisha will introduce boat ambulance service 
• The boat ambulance service will be available in the districts of Koraput, Malkangiri, Kendrapara and Kalahandi
• CM of Odisha is Naveen Patnaik and the governor is Dr. Senayangba Chubatoshi Jamir.
• Sachin Tendulkar has received the Fellowship Award at the 7th annual Asian Awards in UK
• Adnan Sami won the award for 'Outstanding achievement in Music'
• Prabhat Kamal Bezboruah has been named the new chairman of the Tea Board of India
• He has replaced Shri Santosh Sarangi
• Bezboruah becomes the first non-IAS to head tea board.
• Facebook has launched its 'Express Wi-Fi' in India
• Facebook has announced a partnership with Bharti Airtel for setting up an additional 20,000 hotspots 
• Founder and CEO of Facebook is Mark Zuckerberg.