Daily GK Update: 27th November 2018

National Appointment

1. Sunil Arora appointed new Chief Election Commissioner

• Election Commissioner 62-years-old Sunil Arora (1980-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre) has been appointed the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)
• Mr Arora (take over on 2^nd December) succeeds the incumbent CEC Mr Om Prakash Rawat (retired on Saturday).
• He has worked in ministries such as finance, textiles and the Planning Commission.
• Arora has graduate (BA Honours) and postgraduate (MA) degrees in English from Panjab University in the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

Note:

• The Chief Election Commissioner heads the Election Commission of India, a body constitutionally empowered to conduct free and fair elections to the national and state legislatures.
• The Election Commission of India (ECI) was formed on 25 January 1950 is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering election processes in India.
• Election Commission headquarters is in New Delhi.

National Affairs

2. Centre & ADB sign 200 million USD loan pact to upgrade state highways in Bihar

• The Union Government and Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a 200 million USD loan agreement to finance widening and upgrading of about 230 Kilometers State Highways in Bihar.
• The agreement was signed by Sameer Kumar Khare (Additional Secretary in the Finance Ministry) and Rajeev P. Singh (Officer-in-Charge of ADB's India Resident Mission) in New Delhi. 
• This loan will help the State government to upgrade all State Highways to meet the minimum two-lane standard with better surfaces and improved road safety.
• Under the Bihar State Highways-3 Project, a State-level Road Research Institute will also be established to improve the technical and management capacity of the Road Agency Staff.

3. Vice President lays foundation stone for Kartarpur corridor

•  Vice President of India Sri Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone of the Dera Baba Nanak - Kartarpur Sahib Corridor in an event at Mann village of Gurdaspur district of Punjab, India.
• The corridor will connect ‘Dera Baba Nanak’ (in Gurdaspur district-India) to the ‘Gurdwara Darbar Sahib’ (in Kartarpur in Narowal district of Pakistan).
• The corridor will provide smooth and easy passage to Sikh pilgrims to visit ‘Gurdwara Darbar Sahib’ in Pakistan throughout the year (completed by 23^rd November 2019).
• Currently, Sikh pilgrims have-to go through the long visa process, wait for particular dates of buses to reach the Gurudwara via Wagah border.

Note:

• The Kartarpur Gurudwara (Darbar Sahib Kartarpur) is situated on the banks of river ‘Ravi’, considered to be the first gurdwara ever built.

4. Government to set up National Sports Stadium for differently-abled in Meghalaya

• According to Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot, A stadium of international standard for differently-abled persons (estimated cost of over Rs 200 crore) will be set up in Meghalaya.
• The decision was taken after Conrad Sangma (Meghalaya Chief Minister) came forward with the proposal and provided 50 acres of land for the same.
• The stadium is expected to be completed before National Games 2022.

5. National festival for CCI children ‘HAUSLA-2018’ inaugurated in New Delhi

• The Shri Rakesh Srivastava (the Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development) has inaugurated the four-day National Festival for Children of Child Care Institutions (CCIs) ‘Hausla 2018’ in New Delhi.
• 'Hausla 2018' has seen the participation of more than 600 children from CCIs across 18 states.
• The theme for the event is 'child safety'.
• The objective of the event was to provide a national platform to the children from CCIs to showcase their talent, realise their hidden talents and to take it forward in their lives.

Note:

• CIF and National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) are assisting the ministry to organise the event.

6. Dr Rajat Kumar inaugurates the five-day exhibition on 'Our Vote- Our Future'

• Dr Rajat Kumar (Telangana Chief Electoral Officer) has inaugurated a five-day exhibition on "Our Vote- Our Future" organised by the Regional Outreach Bureau of Information and Broadcasting Ministry in Hyderabad.
• He appealed to people to increase the polling percentage.
• He also highlighted the measures that are being taken for Accessible Election and Ethical voting in Telangana (on 7th December).
• 46 panels of photos were displayed in the exhibition which depicted the election process and its transformation ever since it started in the country.

International Affairs

7. Microsoft surpasses Apple to become the most valuable US Company

• Microsoft has become the most valuable US company with USD 753.3 billion in market capitalization, past Apple (USD 746.8 billion) for the first time since 2010.
• Currently, Amazon with USD 736.6 billion is at third and Alphabet (the parent company of Google) with USD 725.5 billion is at the fourth spot.
• Now, the investors are betting big on companies with robust Cloud services and software services which are witnessing an increased demand.
• Microsoft has become the most valuable US company with $753.3 billion in market capitalisation, riding past Apple for the first time since 2010 when it came close to the Cupertino-based tech giant.

8. Monaco to host 2019 Laureus awards in February

• The 19th edition of Laureus World Sports Awards will be held in Monaco on 18^th February 2019.
• The Laureus World Sports Awards (considered ‘Oscars of sports) celebrate global sporting achievements across the calendar year.
• Last year, tennis great Roger Federer won the Laureus Sportsman of the Year award for a record fifth time.
• Serena Williams won the Sportswoman of the Year recognition for the fourth time.

Obituaries

9. Veteran Kannada actor Ambareesh passes away

• Veteran Kannada actor, former minister Ambareesh (66-year) passed away in a Bengaluru.
• He served as a union minister in the UPA government led by Manmohan Singh.
• The actor was an MP from 1998-99, 1999-2004 and 2004-2009.

Sports

10. The inaugural ceremony of Men's Hockey World Cup 2018 held in Bhubaneswar

• The opening ceremony of the 14th edition of Men's Hockey World Cup (HWC) held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
• Around 1,100 artists, star actors Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit and AR Rahman (music composer) have performed at the ceremony.
• Meanwhile, matches for the World Cup will commence at Kalinga Stadium from tomorrow.

Note:

• The 2018 Men's HWC is the 14th edition of the Hockey World Cup field hockey tournament, scheduled to be held from 28^th November to 16^th December 2018.
• Sixteen teams (divided into four groups) will fight for the Men's Hockey World Cup title.

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'Thoughts of the day'

"Our attitude toward life determines life's attitude towards us.”