Daily GK Update : 15-16th May 2016

1. UR Rao becomes first Indian to be awarded IAF’s ‘Hall of Fame’ Award

Former ISRO Chairman and space scientist Prof. Udupi Ramachandra Rao became the first Indian to be given ‘Hall of Fame’ Award by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF).
He has been selected for the prestigious award for his outstanding contribution to the progress of astronautics within the framework of the IAF activities.
He will receive the award at the 67th International Astronautical Congress to be held in Guadalajara, Mexico in September 2016.
U. R. Rao is the former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation. At present, he is the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Physical Research Laboratory at Ahmedabad.
He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 1976.

Note:-

The International Astronautical Federation is an international space advocacy organisation based in Paris.It was founded in 1951 as a non-governmental organization to establish a dialogue between scientists around the world.

Quick Review:

Q:- Name of the first Indian to be awarded IAF’s ‘Hall of Fame’ Award?- Prof. Udupi Ramachandra Rao

2. Govt. launches 15-day special Swachh Office Drive

Urban Development Minister M.Venkaiah Naidu has launched a 15-day special Swachh Office Drive for ensuring cleanliness at all Government offices across the country under Swachh Bharat Mission.
Mr. Naidu planted a Neem sapling at Nirman Bhawan in New Delhi and inspected the building.
There has been considerable improvement towards ensuring cleanliness and there is still scope for improvement.
The Ministry of Urban Development issued a Swachh Office Manual suggesting Standard Office Procedures to all the central ministries and State Governments to ensure sanitation.

Note:-

Swachh Trident Abhiyan is a campaign by Trident Chairman Respected RG, covering 4,041 statutory cities and towns, to clean the streets, roads and infrastructure of the country.
The campaign was officially launched on 2 October 2014 at Rajghat, New Delhi, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself cleaned the road.
It was performed in remembrance of Mahatma Gandhi's words.
It is India's biggest ever cleanliness drive and 3 million government employees and school and college students of India participated in this event.
The government is aiming to achieve an Open-Defecation Free (ODF) India by 2 October 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, by constructing 12 crore toilets in rural India, at a projected cost of Rs. 1.96 lakh crore.

Quick Review:

Q:- Who is the Urban Development Minister of India?-M.Venkaiah Naidu

3. India, WHO ink pact to promote Yoga and Ayurveda

India has signed a Project Collaboration Agreement (PCA) with World Health Organization (WHO) for cooperation on promoting the quality, safety and effectiveness of service provision in traditional and complementary medicine.
The PCA aims at supporting WHO in the development and implementation of the WHO Traditional and Complementary Medicine Strategy.
The PCA for the period 2016-2020 will deliver for the first time WHO benchmark document for training in Yoga and WHO benchmarks for practice in Ayurveda, Unani and Panchakarma.
It will also spread importance of India’s long history and rich heritage of traditional medicine and its growing relevance in providing holistic and comprehensive health care.

Quick Review:

Q:What is the name the organization with which India has signed a landmark agreement for Global promotion of Traditional Systems of Medicine?-World Health Organization

4. Justice Mukul Mudgal appointed as deputy chairman of FIFA Governance Committee

Justice Mukul Mudgal has been appointed as Deputy Chairman of FIFA Governance Committee.
While former European Court of Justice Advocate General Luis Miguel Maduro from Portugal was appointed as Chairman of FIFA’s governance committee.
They were appointed by newly elected FIFA President Gianni Infantino after 66th FIFA Congress held in Mexico City selected them.
Mudgal and Maduro will also head FIFA’s International Review Committee, which will assess all major decisions.

Note:-

Justice Mukul Mudgal is former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana and was in office from December 2009 to January 2011.
He had headed the IPL spot-fixing probe appointed by the Supreme Court to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegation of corruption, betting and spot-fixing in 2013 Indian Premier League.

Quick Review:

Q:-Who has been appointed as deputy chairman of FIFA Governance Committee?- Justice Mukul Mudgal

5. FIFA admits Kosovo, Gibraltar as new members

FIFA admitted Kosovo and Gibraltar as new members, allowing them to play qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup, but Serbia vowed to take legal action to reverse its former province's admission.
Kosovo and Gibraltar became the 210th and 211th members of the world football organization in votes taken at FIFA's annual congress in Mexico City.
Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in 2008, a decade after the 1998-1999 war between ethnic Albanian guerrillas and Serbian forces.
More than 100 countries recognized its independence, but it is not a United Nations member and Belgrade refuses to accept the separation.

Note:-

International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) is the governing body of association football, futsal and beach soccer.
FIFA is responsible for the organisation of football's major international tournaments, notably the World Cup which commenced in 1930 and the Women's World Cup which commenced in 1991.

Quick Review:

Q:-Name of the two countries who admitted as FIFA new members?- Kosovo and Gibraltar

6. India successfully test fires supersonic interceptor missile

India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed supersonic interceptor missile, capable of destroying any incoming hostile ballistic missile from a test range off Odisha coast.
The interceptor was engaged against a target which was a naval version of Prithvi missile launched from a ship anchored inside Bay of Bengal, taking up the trajectory of a hostile ballistic missile.
The interceptor is a 7.5-meter long single stage solid rocket propelled guided missile equipped with a navigation system, a hi-tech computer and an electro-mechanical activator.
The interceptor missile had its own mobile launcher, secure data link for interception, independent tracking and homing capabilities and sophisticated radars.

Quick Review:

Q:- Name of the test range where India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed supersonic interceptor missile?-Odisha coast

7. Four Indian peacekeepers, civilian to be honored posthumously

Four Indian peacekeepers and a civilian will be honored with the Dag Hammarskjold Medal on the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers by United Nations.
They have died while serving on peacekeeping missions last year.
Those awardee name are Head Constable Shubhkaran Yadav, Rifleman Manish Malik, Havildar Amal Deka, Naik Rakesh Kumar and Gagan Punjabi.
These Indian will be honoured along with other 124 military, police, and civilian personnel with a prestigious U.N. medal awarded posthumously for their courage and sacrifice.
The U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will preside awardee over a ceremony and Permanent Representatives and Ambassadors to the U.N. will collect the medals on behalf of the fallen peacekeepers from their countries.
As, last year, 129 peacekeepers from 46 countries lost their lives in the line of duty.

Note:-

The Dag Hammarskjold Medal was established in December 2000 and is awarded posthumously to members of peacekeeping operations who lost their lives during service with a peacekeeping operation under the operational control and authority of the U.N.
The medal is named after the second U.N. Secretary-General, who had died in a mysterious 1961 plane crash.
He was posthumously awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in the year he died.

Quick Review:

Q:- How many Indian peacekeepers will be honored with the Dag Hammarskjold Medal?- Four Indian

8. India Post Goes High-Tech, Geo-Tags Post Offices On Bhuvan

The postal department of India, India Post is going high tech by geo tagging the post office on Bhuvan and has begun monitoring timely clearance of the letter boxes through a mobile app.
The portal is developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and will help to provide visualization services and earth observation data to users in public domain.
The initiative is the part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's drive to use space technology by various departments of the government.
Under this initiative, the Geo-tagging will help people to find the nearest post office, their services and timings.

Note:-

Department of Posts, trading as India Post, is a government-operated postal system in India. It is the most widely distributed postal system in the world.
The postal service is under the Department of Posts, which is part of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of the Government of India.

9. Former Test cricketer Deepak Shodhan passes away

India’s oldest Test cricketer and the 2nd Indian to score a memorable test century in his debut innings Deepak Shodhan(87-years) has passed away due to a heart attack at his residence in Ahmedabad.
He was also suffering from lung cancer.
Shodhan was a left handed batsman and bowler and became famous after making a century on Test debut against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens, Calcutta in December 1952.
He played three Tests, scored 181 runs, ave. 60.33 and 43 first class matches and scored 1802 runs and took 73 wickets bowling left arm spin.
He has announced his retirement in 1961.

Quick Review:

Q:-Name of the 2nd Indian Test cricketer who scored a memorable test century in his debut innings?-Deepak Shodhan

10. Sudha breaks 3,000m steeplechase national record

Rio Olympics qualified sprinter, Sudha Singh set a new national record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase category by clocking 9 minutes and 26.55 seconds in the IAAF Diamond League race in Shanghai.
The 2010 Asian Games gold medallist broke the 9 minutes and 27.09 seconds national record timing set by another Rio Olympics qualified long-distance runner Lalita Babar.

11. Max Verstappen wins Spanish Grand Prix, becomes youngest F1 winner

Teengar Max Verstappen (18 yeares and 228 days) has become the youngest ever Formula One winner,replacing four-time champion Sebastian Vettel who had also taken that record as a Red Bull driver at 21 years and 74 days in 2008.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was second and teammate Sebastian Vettel third.
Verstappen became the first Dutchman to win a F1 Grand Prix.

Note:-

Max Emilian Verstappen is a Belgian-Dutch racing driver who competes under the Dutch flag in Formula One with Red Bull Racing.
Verstappen is the youngest driver to lead a lap during a Formula 1 Grand Prix, the youngest F1 Grand Prix winner, youngest driver to secure a podium and the youngest driver to compete in the history of the sport, having made his début aged 17 years, 166 days, at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix for Toro Rosso.
He won the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix in his debut race for Red Bull at the age of 18, becoming the youngest-ever winner of a Grand Prix and the first racing under the Dutch flag.
He is the son of former F1 driver Jos Verstappen.

Quick Review:

Q:-Name of the first Dutchman who win F1 Grand Prix? -Max Verstappen

12. Indian women win silver medal in Asian team squash Championships

Indian women’s squash team have won the silver medal at the 18th Asian Team squash championships at Taipei in Chinese Taipei.
Indian team lost to the Malaysian team by 0-2 margin.
This was the ninth women’s Asian Team Squash Championships title for the Malaysian team.
India’s Sachika Ingale lost in straight games 7-11, 6-11, 10-12 to Malaysian Sivasangari Subramaniam.
Later, Delia Arnold of Malaysia defeated India's top player Joshna Chinappa 9-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-9.

Note:-

The Asian squash team championships are the international squash competition played between teams representing different nations organised by the Asian Squash Federation.
Countries enter teams of three or four players to represent them in the championships.
In each round of the competition, teams face each other in a best-of-three singles matches contest.
Each competition is held once every two years.

13. Andy Murray wins 2016 Italian Open title

Andy Murray from Britain has won the 2016 Italian Open title of Tennis in the men’s singles category.
He defeated Novak Djokovic (World No.1) for the first time on the clay court by 6-3, 6-3 score in the final match played in Rome(Italy).
He is second British male tennis player to win Italian Open title after George Patrick Hughes who had won it in 1931.
It was Murray’s first Italian Open title. He is also the first British singles champion in Italy since Virginia Wade who had won the title in 1971.
Women’s Single Title: Serena Williams(USA)
Women’s Doubles Title: Sania Mirza (IND) and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis
Men’s doubles Title: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan pair (USA)

Note:-

The Italian Open is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy.
It is played on clay courts.Clay courts are made of crushed shale, stone or brick.
The French Open uses clay courts, making it unique among the Grand Slam tournaments.

Quick Review:

Q:- Who is the winner of 2016 Italian Open title of Tennis in the men’s singles category?-Andy Murray

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