Daily GK Update: 15th May 2023

National & International Appointments

A 1986 batch IPS officer and the current Karnataka DGP, Praveen Sood was appointed as the new CBI director for a period of two years.
He would replace current CBI Director Subodh Jaiswal, who will retire on May 25, 2023.
He started his career in Mysore as Assistant Superintendent of Police in 1989.
Later, he served as Superintendent of Police, Bellary, and Raichur before being posted in Bengaluru as Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP).

Honours & Awards

Ben Whishaw has received the best leading actor award for his role in 'This is Going to Hurt (BBC One)' at the BAFTA TV Awards 2023.
While Kate Winslet won the leading actress award for her role in I Am Ruth (Channel 4).
Other awards:
- Drama series: Bad Sisters (Apple TV Plus)
- Mini-series: Mood (BBC Three)
- International: Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix)
- Supporting actor: Adeel Akhtar – Sherwood (BBC One)

Summits & Conferences

The first ministerial-level meeting of the India-European Union Trade and Technology Council will be held b on May 16, 2023.
Aim: To discuss ways to increase cooperation in strategic technologies, digital connectivity, clean energy, trade, and investments
Commerce Minister, Piyush Goyal will co-chair the meeting along with EAM S Jaishankar and MoS, Electronics and information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Honours & Awards

Technology Development Board (TDB) has conferred the National Technology Awards 2023 in five categories: Main, MSME, Startup, Translational Research, and Technology Business Incubator.
T-Hub Foundation, Telangana has received the National Technology Awards 2023 in Technology Business Incubator.
T-Hub (Technology Hub) is an innovation hub and ecosystem enabler.
T-Hub leads India’s pioneering innovation ecosystem and is the world’s largest innovation campus.

National & International Appointments

Actor Alia Bhatt has been appointed as the global ambassador for luxury fashion brand Gucci, becoming the first Indian to represent the esteemed Italian brand worldwide.
She will make her inaugural appearance as Gucci’s newest global ambassador during the upcoming Gucci Cruise 2024 show in Seoul.
Gucci is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy.
Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, home decoration, etc.

National & International Appointments

Linda Yaccarino has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Twitter.
Prior to this, she was serving as the head of advertising at NBCUniversal.
She had served 19 years at Turner Entertainment and has been credited with dragging the network's ad sales operation into the digital future.
She is an alumna of Penn State University, having studied liberal arts and telecommunications.
In October 2022, Elon Musk completed $44 billion acquisition of Twitter.

International Affairs

China will launch pilot projects in more than 20 cities to create a "new-era" marriage and childbearing culture to foster a friendly childbearing environment.
Aim: To boost the country's falling birth rate
China's Family Planning Association will launch projects to encourage women to marry and have children.
Cities included in the pilot include the manufacturing hub Guangzhou and Handan in China's Hebei province.

Important Dates

The 7th UN Global Road Safety Week is being observed from 15-21 May 2023 to raise awareness about road safety and the importance of taking steps to prevent accidents.
2023 slogan: #RethinkMobility
The week is organized by the WHO and the UN regional commissions and supported by governments, NGOs, and individuals.
The Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 reflects an ambitious target to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030.

Important Dates

International Day of Families is celebrated on May 15 to raise awareness of the importance of families and their role in society.
2023 theme: Demographic Trends and Families
The UN adopted a resolution in 1994 establishing the International Day of Families to celebrate the institution of family and to raise awareness regarding the issues faced by families.
It acknowledges the role of families in promoting social and economic development.

State Affairs

Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has launched a 'Him Data Portal' a common digital platform to integrate data of all organizations for the deliverance of welfare schemes and to better serve the public.
The people associated with the Him Pariyojna project would get information about various welfare schemes easily.
From July 2023, the HP government would start the Him Parivar project which will give a special digital identity to the people of the State.