Daily GK Update: 18th February 2023

National & International Appointments

Rajan Amba has been appointed as the managing director of Jaguar Land Rover India, effective from 1st March 2023.
He will replace Rohit Suri, who announced his retirement from the position of MD and President in January 2023.
Prior to this role, he worked as the Vice President - Sales, Marketing, and Customer Care of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles.
He has also worked as a Chief Operating Officer with Carat Lane (a subsidiary company of Titan).

National & International Appointments

Lt Gen MV Suchindra Kumar has been appointed as the new Vice Chief of Army Staff.
He is currently serving as the Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategy) in the Army Headquarters.
He will succeed Lt Gen B S Raju, who has been appointed as the Jaipur- headquartered South Western Army Commander.
While Lt Gen NSR Subramani has been appointed as the next Central Army Commander in Lucknow.
All the new appointments will come into effect on March 1.

Honours & Awards

Former Health Minister, K.K. Shailaja has been selected for the 32nd Ramashramam Unneerikkutty Award.
Reason: For her services as a minister during the times of the Nipah outbreak, the COVID-19 pandemic, and her services to the State.
This is an annual award, which is given to individuals who have made a mark in the fields of art, literature, culture, politics, or social service.
She is the fourth woman to win the award ever since its inception in 1985.

Banking & Finance

The Reserve Bank of India has appointed former Bank of Baroda ED, Vikramaditya Singh Khichi as a member of the Advisory Committee on Reliance Capital.
The move follows the resignation of former Axis Bank Deputy MD Srinivasan Varadarajan.
The Advisory Committee on Reliance Capital was set up to advise the administrator of crisis-ridden Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Capital.
Other members: Sanjeev Nautiyal (former DMD, SBI) and Praveen P Kadle (former MD, Tata Capital).

Defense

The Indian Air Force has developed an innovative solution named ‘Vayulink’ to send radio communication to the base station when the signals are low.
It would help pilots to deal with bad weather and also provide them with jammer-proof uninterrupted communication with the base station.
It is an ad-hoc data link communication system.
It will be installed in an aircraft and provide information about other aircraft close by, encrypted traffic data over a secured channel.

National Affairs

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Rishikesh conducted a trial to test the feasibility of drones supplying medicines to primary health centers or smaller hospitals by Vertiplane X3 drone.
This drone was used to deliver a 2kg package of anti-tubercular drugs to a district hospital in Tehri Garhwal during the trial.
The aerial distance of nearly 40 kilometers between the helipad at AIIMS and the hospital was covered in 30 minutes.

National & International Organizations

According to the services trade restrictiveness index (STRI), conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), India ranked 47 out of 50 countries.
As per the report, India had been progressively introducing reforms over the past years, contributing to a slight liberalization of services trade in some sectors.
Top 5: Japan (1), UK, Netherlands, Czech Republic, and Chile (5)
Bottom: Indonesia (50), Thailand(49), and Russia (48)

Obituaries

Noted Yakshagana Bhagavatha (playback singer), Balipa Narayana Bhagavatha passed away at 85.
He gained fame with his ‘Balipa style’ of singing.
His grandfather Balipa Narayana Bhagavatha was also a famous Bhagawatha who had first popularised the Balipa style of singing.
He has written more than 30 Yakshagana ‘Prasanga’ (scripts).
He was the chief Bhagwat of Kateel Durgaparameshwari Prasadita Yakshagana Mandali (Kateel Mela).

Honours & Awards

Former India Davis Cup tennis player, Ramesh Krishnan was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual awards, organized by the Rotary Club of Madras, T. Nagar (RCMT), Chennai.
Tamil Nadu Tennis Association president and ace tennis player Vijay Amritraj presented the award.
Vijay Amritraj was the recipient of the first award in 2010.
Golf player, Uttam Singh Mundy was awarded for vocational excellence.

International Affairs

Bharat Electronics Limited and Israel Aerospace Industries have concluded an MoA to form a JV aiming at a single point of contact for extending long-term product support services for India's defense forces.
The new JV is being established to provide life cycle support for MRSAM (Medium Range Surface to Air Missile) air defense systems.
MRSAM is an advanced air and missile defence system.
The IAF, Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Israeli Defence Forces use it.