Thursday, 15 June 2017

Daily news 11 june 2017

1. Ayush Ministry launches yoga awareness drive using attractive mascots

i. The Central Council for Research in Yoga & Naturopathy (CCRYN) under the Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India, has initiated a Yoga Awareness Drive through Mascots and Flash Mobs (YogMob) prior to International Yoga Day (21st June) to increase the popularity of Yoga, especially among the youth. The campaign is underway at Delhi NCR, Haryana and Lucknow.
ii. The first such event was held in Rohini area of the National Capital. According to the Ministry, illustrative Yoga sessions with the help of mascots were organised where the Mascots demonstrated a few Yoga asanas to the crowd. The mascots Provide an eye-catching way of helping boost the awareness of International Day Of Yoga. They are connecting with families by providing added entertainment and interactivity, especially at Malls, Public Places, Events & Recreational Tourist Areas.

Static Takeaways-

On December 11 in 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 21st as the International Day of Yoga.
Yoga is a 5,000-year-old physical, mental and spiritual practice Having its origin in India, Which Aims to transform both body and mind.
The Ministry of AYUSH was formed on 9th November 2014 to ensure the optimal development and propagation of AYUSH systems of health care.
2. Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee to receive Legion d' Honneur

i. Thespian Bengali actor, Soumitra Chatterjee has been conferred with the France's highest civilian honour, the coveted Legion of Honour. The award will be presented to the Kolkata-based actor by the Ambassador of France to India Alexandre Ziegler. The award comes to the octogenarian Bengali screen legend exactly 30 years after Satyajit Ray got the honour by the then French President Francois Mitterrand in 1987.
ii. Dadasaheb Phalke award winner, Chatterjee featured in some of Ray’s most talked about movies such as Apur Sansar, on one of the famous Apu trilogy, Charulata, Aranyer Din Ratri and Sonar Kella.

Static Takeaways-

Soumitra Chatterjee first worked with Ray in `Apur Sansar' in 1959.
Soumitra Chatterjee or Soumitra Chattopadhyay is an Indian Bengali film and stage actor and poet.
3. EU, France grant 3.5m euros to curb emissions in India

i. Aiming to reduce emissions and promote sustainability to help India’s smart city programme, France and the European Union have extended a grant of 3.5 million euros under the ‘Moblise Your City’ (MYC) initiative. Three Indian cities- Nagpur, Kochi and Ahmedabad -- will get the grant as part of the EU’s commitment under the Paris Climate agreement according to French Development Agency (AFD).
ii. More funds would be provided to India as the loan to take forward the smart city and sustainable transport initiatives in the three cities on the pilot basis. The MYC, supported by the French and German government, also has financial support from the European Union (EU).

Static Takeaways-

Emmanuel Macron is present President of France.
Prime Minister of France is Edouard Philippe.
The European Union is a unique economic and political union between 28 European countries that together cover much of the continent.
The EU was created in the aftermath of the Second World War.
4. NITI Aayog launches SATH programme

i. Furthering the agenda for cooperative federalism, NITI Aayog has launched SATH, a program providing ‘Sustainable Action for Transforming Human Capital’ with the State Governments. The vision of the program is to initiate transformation in the education and health sectors. The program addresses the need expressed by many states for technical support from NITI.
ii. NITI Aayog invited all States and Union Territories for the three-stage selection process out of which 16 responded. Five States were shortlisted post project presentation by 14 States. Subsequently, three States will be selected through further assessments. SATH programme will be implemented by NITI Aayog along with global consultancy McKinsey & Company and IPE Global consortium in the three selected States after the signing of MoUs.

Static Takeaways-

The National Institution for Transforming India, also called NITI Aayog, was formed via a resolution of the Union Cabinet on January 1, 2015.
NITI Aayog is the premier policy ‘Think Tank’ of the Government of India, providing both directional and policy inputs.
The Government of India, in keeping with its reform agenda, constituted the NITI Aayog to replace the Planning Commission instituted in 1950.
Arvind Panagariya is Vice-Chairman of Niti Aayog.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is Chairperson of NITI Aayog.
5. Michael Venus-Ryan Harrison clinch French Open men's doubles title

i. Michael Venus became New Zealand's first Grand Slam champion since 1974 when he partnered American Ryan Harrison to the French Open men's doubles title. Venus and Harrison defeated Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and American Donald Young 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (4/7), 6-3 in the final at Roland Garros.
ii. The 29-year-old is just New Zealand's second Grand Slam winner in the modern era after Onny Parun teamed up with Australian Dick Crealy to win the men's doubles crown in Paris 43 years ago.

6. Jelena Ostapenko won French Open title 2017

i. Jelena Ostapenko won her first Grand Slam title by beating Simona Halep 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in just under two hours in the women’s final of the French Open 2017. With this win, the unseeded Latvian became the youngest women’s champion at Roland Garros in 20 years.
ii. Ostapenko also recovered from a break behind in the third set and finished the contest with a flashing backhand winner to become the first unseeded player to win the title since Briton Margaret Scriven in 1933.

Static Takeaways-

Simona Halep is a Romanian professional tennis player.
The French Open is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris, France.
Michael Venus-Ryan Harrison clinches French Open men's doubles title 2017.
7. Adam West, TV's Batman dies at 88

i. A well known US actor, Adam West died in Los Angeles. He was suffering to leukaemia for some time. He was 88. Adam West rose to prominence in the 1960s for a TV series Batman. First appearing in season two in 2002, he voiced Quahog's eccentric Mayor Adam West, described by series creator Seth MacFarlane as an "alternate universe", satirised version of the actor.


Daily news 12 june 2017

1. India, Mauritius sign MoU to institutionalize cooperation between Parliaments

i. India and Mauritius have signed an MoU to institutionalize cooperation between Parliaments of the two countries. The MoU was signed by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Speaker of National Assembly of Mauritius Santi Bai Hanoomanjee in Port Louis.
ii. Mrs. Mahajan was on a five-day visit to Mauritius from 6th of June with a Parliamentary delegation.

Static Takeaways from above News-

The President of Mauritius is Ameenah Gurib-Fakim.
Port Louis is the capital of Mauritius.
The currency of Mauritius is Mauritian rupee.
2. Govt launches Tele Law to provide legal aid in rural areas via video conferencing

i. The government of India has launched ‘Tele Law’ service to provide legal aid for the people living in rural areas through video conferencing. The service has been launched to make legal aid easily accessible to the marginalized communities and citizens living in rural areas.
ii. The Ministry of Law and Justice partnered with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to provide legal aid services through its Common Service Centres, CSC at the panchayat level, spread across the country. The service was launched by IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
iii. Under the scheme, the Tele-Law portal will be available across the CSC network connecting the citizens to legal service providers. In the first phase, the Tele-Law scheme will be tested as a pilot across 1000 CSCs in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Takeaways from above News-

Ravi Shankar Prasad is the Law & Justice, Electronics & Information Technology Minister of India.
3. Dr. Jitendra Singh Announces “Hill Area Development Programme” for Northeast

i. The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Dr Jitendra Singh announced the launch of “Hill Area Development Programme” (HADP) for Northeast in Imphal, Manipur.
ii. He announced the launch of the program to address a meet of Investors and Entrepreneurs, organized by NEDF (North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd), with joint participation of the Union Ministry of DoNER and the Government of Manipur.
iii. The program aims to bridge the gap between the hill and valley districts in terms of infrastructure, quality of roads, health and education. HADP was launched during the Fifth Five Year Plan aimed at balanced regional development.

Static Takeaways from above News-

Keibul Lamjao National Park is situated in Manipur.
Nongthombam Biren Singh is the newly selected CM of Manipur.
4. Kolkata to get India's first underwater Metro

i. Kolkata, the ‘City of Joy’ is about to experience a wonder in the form of an underwater Metro train which will run beneath the Hooghly river. It’s one of the path-breaking projects in India as never before a tunnel has been dug beneath a flowing river.
ii. The entire project is 16.6 km long, out of which 10.8 km runs under the ground. Of this 10.8 km, 502 meters is under the water. The project connects Howrah to the west and Salt Lake to the east.
iii. The project is expected to be completed by December 2019.

Static Takeaways for IBPS PO Exam-

Managing Director of Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Ltd is Satish Kumar.
Howrah Bridge is a propped cantilever bridge with a suspended span over the Hooghly River in, Kolkata, West Bengal.
5. GST Council revises rates for 66 items

i. At its meeting in New Delhi, the council revised rates on 66 items such as pickles, sauces, fruit preserves, insulin, cashew nuts, insulin, school bags, coloring books, notebooks, printers, cutlery, agarbattis and cinema tickets, following representations from industry.
ii. Restaurants, manufacturers and traders having a turnover of up to Rs 75 lakh can avail of the composition scheme with lower rates of 5%, 2%, and 1%, respectively, with lower compliance, against Rs 50 lakh previously.
iii. A GST rate of 5% will be applicable on outsourcing of manufacturing or job work in textiles and the gems and jewelry sector. Bleaching and cleaning of human hair, a big industry in Midnapore, will not face any tax.

Takeaways from above News-

GST Council is Headed by Finance Minister of India Mr. Arun Jaitley.
6. The French Open 2017- Complete list of Winners

i. The French open title 2017 was held recently from 22 May-11 June 2017 at Roland Garros in Paris, France. Here is the complete list of all the winners in different categories of The French Open 2017.

French Men's Singles Open Title- Spain's Rafael Nadal (10th French Title) defeated Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland).
French Women's Singles Open Title- Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko (1st Grand Slam Title) defeated Simona Halep (Rome).
French Men's Doubles Title- Michael Venus (New Zealand) and Ryan Harrison (USA) defeated Santiago Gonzalez and Donald Young.
French Women's Doubles Title- Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) and Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) defeated Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua.
French Open Mixed Doubles title- Rohan Bopanna (India) and Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada) defeated Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Robert Farah.
7. Shashikant Kutwal wins gold at world chess championship for differently-abled

i. Shashikant Kutwal has won the gold medal at the 17th World Individual Chess Championship for differently-abled.
ii. The World Chess Championship was held in Slovakia. Shashikant Kutwal is a railway employee with Pune Division.

Static Takeaways from Above News-

The Capital of Slovakia is Bratislava and its Currency is Euro.
8. Poet, essayist Haraprasad Das gets Kalinga Literary Award

i. Legendary poet and essayist Haraprasad Das was conferred with the covetous Kalinga Literary Award for his work and contribution to literature at the fourth edition of Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF).
ii. The three-day literary festival was inaugurated by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. This year the KLF introduced two new awards -- the Kalinga International Literary Award, which was received by Anand Neelakantan for his contribution towards literature, and the Kalinga Karubaki Award, which was given to Paramita Satpathy for her contribution to Odia poetry.

9. Jairam Ramesh’s book on the naturist in Indira Gandhi launched

i. The book “Indira Gandhi – A life in Nature”, was launched by Congress president Sonia Gandhi at the Indira Gandhi Memorial.
ii. The book was authored by Former Union minister Jairam Ramesh. The 488-page book was launched to mark the birth centennial year of the former Prime Minister.


Daily news 14 june 2017

1. IRDAI takes over management of Sahara Life Insurance

i. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has taken over the administration of Sahara India Life Insurance, a first of its kind move in the insurance sector.
ii. R.K. Sharma, general manager, IRDA has been appointed as the administrator with “immediate effect” to manage Sahara India Life Insurance Company.
iii. The current board of Sahara India Life is headed by Chairman OP Srivastava. Sanjay Agarwal is whole-time director and CEO.

Takeaways from Above News-

Lucknow-based Sahara India Life Insurance was the first wholly Indian owned life insurance company in the private sector.
It is promoted by Sahara Pariwar Group headed by Subrata Roy.
2. Uttar Pradesh tops the list with maximum child labor in the state– CRY report

i. According to the Child Rights and You (CRY) report, over 8 lakh children in India between the age group 5 and 6 years are engaged in child labor.
ii. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of 2,50,672 children engaged in labor, followed by Bihar with 1,28,087 children and Maharashtra where the number stands at 82,847.
iii. The report has outlined that reach of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), which was introduced with the intent of providing a strong base to these children, is quite limited as it covers only 50% percent of this population.

Takeaways from Above News-

Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) was Launched on October 2, 1975, by Government of India.
Its Objective is to provide food, organization preschool education, and primary healthcare to children under 6 years of age and their mothers.
CRY is an organization working to restore child rights in India.
It was founded in the year 1979 by Rippan Kapur.
3. Sikkim govt signs MoU with British Council

i. The Human Resource Development department of Sikkim government signed an MoU with the British Council to enhance the quality of education in the state. The MoU will improve the educational structure of the schools of Sikkim.
ii. The purpose of the MoU is to support the aims and aspirations of the young people of Sikkim through collaborative projects in the area of English, education, and skills by strengthening the capacity of the teachers and other professionals, working with youth in the state and support its cultural economy.

Static Takeaways from Above News-

Khangchendzonga National Park is situated in Sikkim.
Rangit Dam is a famous Dam in Sikkim.
4. G7 environment ministers meeting 2017 held in Bologna, Italy

i. Group of Seven (G7) Environment Ministers Meeting was held in Bologna, Italy to discuss issues ranging from climate change to sustainable development and litter at sea. The meeting was attended by the Environment Ministers of the seven countries (US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan) and the Commissioners of the European Union for Environment and Climate.
ii. ‘5-year Bologna Roadmap’ was adopted at the meeting, which focuses on important issues such as resource efficiency indicators, citizen involvement, awareness on food waste and economic analysis of the efficient use of resources.

Takeaways from Above News-

G7 members include US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Japan.
G7 presidency rotates annually between member countries. The Presidency for the year 2017 is held by Italy. Canada will hold the G7 presidency in 2018.
Rome is the Capital of Italy.
Paolo Gentiloni is the Prime Minister of Italy.
5. India's first canal top solar PV system at NTPC Mouda

i. State-run power giant National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has energized India's first 150 kWp canal top solar PV System on cooling water (CW) channel inside power station premises at its 2,320 MW, Mouda Thermal Power Project, near Nagpur in Maharashtra.
ii. This novel Solar PV system makes use of side walls of CW channels as load bearing structure thereby significantly decreasing cost of civil and mounting structure.

Important Takeaways from above News-

NTPC was Incorporated on November 7, 1975.
Shri Gurdeep Singh is the Chairman and MD of NTPC.
6. Telangana launches PashuBazar website for online cattle sale

i. The Telangana government has launched a website to facilitate this service. The online sale or purchase of cattle through pashubazar.telangana.gov.in website will help farmers as the cattle need not be brought to shandies every time and farmers can save on transportation cost on cattle.
ii. Special Chief Secretary, Animal Husbandry, Suresh Chanda launched the website developed with NIC’s support. The Pashu Bazaar platform was developed to help farmers to sell their animals without physically taking them to weekly markets. The farmer can keep maximum five registrations for sale at any time.

Takeaways from above News-

K. Chandrashekar Rao is the CM of Telangana.
E. S. L. Narasimhan is the Governor of Telangana.
7. India ratifies two key ILO conventions on child labour

i. India ratified two key ILO conventions on child labor, according to a statement issued by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland. Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, who is in Geneva stated that the ratification reaffirmed India’s “commitment to a child labor free society”.
ii. According to ILO, the Government of India deposited with the International Labour Office the instruments of ratification of the two fundamental ILO Conventions concerning the elimination of child labor, the Minimum Age Convention (No 138) and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (No 182).
iii. India is the 170th ILO member state to ratify Convention No 138, which requires states to set a minimum age under which no one shall be admitted to employment or work in any occupation, except for light work and artistic performances.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

ILO Director-General is Guy Ryder.
The ILO was created in 1919.
ILO Headquarters in  Geneva, Switzerland.
8. NASA confers Exceptional Public Service Medal to Michael A'Hearn posthumously

i. NASA has posthumously awarded the Exceptional Public Service Medal to Michael A’Hearn, one of the world’s leading comet scientists. A’Hearn died at the age of 76.
ii. The NASA Medal is for “fundamental work on comets and small bodies of the solar system, leadership in space missions, and ensuring public access to data from NASA missions and related projects.”

Takeaways from above News-

National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the full form of NASA.
Robert M. Lightfoot Jr. is NASA Acting Administrator.
NASA was established in 1958.
9. Virat Kohli becomes No.1 ranked ODI batsman

i. In a major shakeup at the top of the rankings after the group stages of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, Indian captain Virat Kohli displaced South Africa’s AB de Villiers as the No.1 ranked ODI batsman in the world while Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood took over from Proteas pacer Kagiso Rabada as the No.1 ranked bowler.
Top three ODI Batsman are-

Virat Kohli (IND)
David Warner (AUS)
AB de Villiers (SA)
Top Three ODI Bowlers are-

Josh Hazlewood (AUS)
Imran Tahir (SA)
Mitchell Starc (AUS)
10. Ex-Uttarakhand CM Pokhriyal authors book on Vajpayee ‘Yug Purush, Bharat Ratna, Atal Ji’

i. Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank, has officially handed over the first copy of the 450-page book titled -‘Yug Purush, Bharat Ratna, Atal Ji’ to the President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee.