Daily GK Update: 19th May 2022

 Honours & Awards

1. Ajay Piramal receives Order of the British Empire award

• Chairman of  Piramal Group, Ajay Piramal has received the prestigious Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) award from Queen Elizabeth II.
• He has been honoured with this award for his services to the UK-India trade relationship as India Co-Chair of the UK-India CEO Forum.
• President Rolls-Royce India, Kishore Jayaraman, also receives the Honorary Order of the British Empire for his services to International Trade and Investment.

 Honours & Awards

2. Cecile Ndjebet wins 2022 Wangari Maathai Forest Champions' Award

• Cameroon activist, Cécile Ndjebet has received the 2022 Wangari Maathai Forest Champions Award in recognition of her contribution to preserving forests and improving the lives of people who depend on them.
• The award has been presented by the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), which is chaired by the Food and Agriculture Organization.
• This award was established in 2012 in memory of Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai.

 Sports

3. Eintracht Frankfurt beat Rangers to win UEFA Europa League

• Eintracht Frankfurt (German club) has won their first European trophy in 42 years after defeating the Rangers by 5-4 on penalties in Seville, Spain.
• Goalkeeper, Kevin Trapp has saved at the end of extra time and another in the shootout to help give Frankfurt the 5-4 win on penalties.
• Rangers (Scottish club) was also trying to win its first European title since the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1972.
• Man of the Match: Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt)

 National Affairs

4. PM’s economic advisory panel proposes urban job guarantee scheme

• The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) has proposed the implementation of an urban employment guarantee scheme on the lines of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
• The report on the State of Inequality in India has been released which states that the labour force participation rate in the country was 51.5% in 2019-20.
• Participation of educated till higher secondary from 2017-18 to 2019-20 was low at 40-43%.

 Agreement

5. Ministry of Heavy Industries and NRDC sign MoU for Capital Goods Scheme

• Ministry of Heavy Industries has signed an MoU with National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) for the enhancement of competitiveness in the Indian capital goods sector.
• Aim: Evaluation and review of the scheme, management of intellectual property rights, and commercialization support for the products developed under the Capital Goods Scheme.
• Vision: Make India a global hub for the manufacturing of capital goods.
• Heavy Industries Minister: Mahendra Nath Pandey

 Summits & Conferences

6. China to host BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting through video conference

• China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has hosted the meeting of the BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs on May 19 through video conference.
• The meeting was attended by:  S. Jaishankar (India), Naledi Pandor (South Africa), Carlos Alberto Franco França (Brazil) and Sergey Lavrov (Russia).
• India has handed over the BRICS Chairmanship to China from January 2022.
• Theme 2022:  Foster High-Quality BRICS Partnership Usher in a New Era for Global Development

 Agreement

7. C-DOT and Vodafone Idea sign MoU for cooperation in area of IoT/M2M

• Centre for Development of Telematics(C-DOT) has signed an MoU with Vodafone Idea Limited on the occasion of “World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD)”.
• Aim:  To help both the organizations leverage each other’s expertise in their respective domains to develop and deploy IoT/M2M solutions in India.
• C-DOT is a telecom R&D organization under the Ministry of Communications, Government of India.

 National & International Appointments

8. Dr. Kamal Bawa elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences

• A conservation biologist and President of the Bengaluru-based Ashoka Trust for Research and Ecology and Environment (ATREE), Dr. Kamal Bawa was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
• Election to the 170-year-old Academy is a recognition of the significant contributions to science by its members.
• Dr. Kamal Bawa is also an elected fellow of the Royal Society (London) and the American Philosophical Society.

 National & International Appointments

9. B Govindarajan appointed as the new CEO Of Royal Enfield

• Eicher Motors Limited (EML), the parent company of Royal Enfield, has appointed B Govindarajan as the motorcycle brand's Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
• He had been serving as the Executive Director of Royal Enfield since August 2021 and prior to that, he was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at the company since 2013.
• He will also serve as a Wholetime Director on the Board of EML.
• He has spent more than 23 years across Royal Enfield and Eicher Motors.

 Defense

10. Indian Navy successfully test-fires naval anti-ship missile

• Defence Research and Development Organisation and Indian Navy successfully conducted the flight test of the indigenously-developed Naval Anti-Ship Missile.
• The missile was launched from a Naval Helicopter from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.
• It is the first indigenous air launched anti-ship missile system for the Indian Navy.
• Recently, Rajnath Singh has launched two frontline warships of the Indian Navy: INS Surat and INS Udaygiri.

 State Affairs

11. Tamil Nadu government notified Nanjarayan Tank as 17th bird sanctuary

• The Tamil Nadu government named the Nanjarayan lake as the 17th bird sanctuary in Tiruppur.
• The government also set up an information centre to raise awareness about the bird population in the lake.
• The Nanjarayan Tank also known as Sarkar Periyapalayam Reservoir, is located in Tirupur city near Koolipalayam, Tami Nadu.
• A Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be prepared for setting up another wildlife sanctuary for the endangered Slender Loris in Dindigul and Karur. 

 Books & Authors

12. Wesley Morgan wins Colby award for ‘The Hardest Place’

• Wesley Morgan (Author and journalist) has won the William E. Colby Award for his military and intelligence writing.
• He was cited for his book “The Hardest Place: The American Military Adrift in Afghanistan’s Pech Valley."
  The Colby Award is presented by Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont.
• The Colby award was established in 1999 and named for the late CIA director William E. Colby.
• Colby award prize money: $5,000 prize

 State Affairs

13. Kerala to launch India's first state-owned OTT Platform

• Kerala government will launch a state-owned over-the-top (OTT) platform named 'CSpace' on November 1.
• Offers: An array of movies, short films and documentaries of their choice.
• This is an initiative of Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC) on behalf of the state government through video conferencing at a function in Kalabhavan Theatre.
• The films will be streamed on CSpace only after their theatrical release.
• KSFDC Chairman:  Shaji N Karun