Daily GK Update : 29th & 30th May, 2016 For All The Upcoming Exams

1. Sushma launches PMO's website in 6 languages

i. External Affair Minister Sushma Swaraj has launched the official website of PM Narendra Modi's Office in six regional languages including Gujarati, Marathi, Malyalam, Tamil, Telgu and Bengali. 

ii. The PMO website was earlier available only in English and Hindi. 

iii. This initiative is part of the on-going efforts of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reach out to the people and communicate with them in their own language. 

2. Railways holds trial of high-speed Talgo coaches

i. Indian Railways has conducted the first ever trial run for high-speed Talgo trains of Spain on the Bareilly-to-Moradabad stretch in Uttar Pradesh with speeds averaging 80-115 kmph.

ii. Talgo consumes 30% less energy and can run on curves without decelerating, an official said. It can complete the journey between Delhi and Mumbai in about 12 hours against the present 17 hours.

iii. The second trial run will be conducted on the Palwal-to-Mathura section of the North-Central Rail​​way.​ Talgo is a Madrid-based Spanish leading manufacturer of semi-high speed (160-250 kmph) and high-speed (350 kmph) passenger trains, which are energy-efficient.​

3. Manohar Parrikar inaugurates second submarine assembly workshop in Mazgaon

i. Second submarine assembly workshop of the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) was inaugurated by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

ii. After inaugurating the workshop, Parrikar said that the level of indigenisation in submarine construction should be much higher than the present. At present, MDL is building six Scorpene class of submarines for the Indian Navy, with around 35% of indigenisation.INS Kalvari, the first submarine of this class, is expected to join the Indian Navy by end of 2016.

iii. Submarine Marine Assembly Workshop is a pre-engineered building structure to handle construction of multiple submarines simultaneously. It was built at an expense of 153 crore rupees. It will make it possible to assemble five submarines in the workshop at the same time.

4. Gujrat CM launches state-wide campaigns against malnutrition

i. Chief Minister of Gujrat, Anandiben Patel has launched two state-wide campaigns against malnutrition at Ahwa town in Dangs district.

ii. As part of Bal Amritam and Mission Shakti campaigns, iron-rich supplementary food would be provided to children and women, whether they live in towns or remote forested areas.

iii. She also called for creating awareness among tribal women about free screening and treatment of breast and cervical cancers at government hospitals. During her visit Patel dedicated several projects to the people. They include a nursing school for 40 students and a hostel built at a cost of Rs 12.70 crore, a science college built for Rs 11 core and modernization of a civil hospital a at cost of Rs 31.46 crore.

5. China to launch world's 1st quantum satellite

i. According to a scientist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China will launch the world's first quantum communication satellite in July.

ii It aims to improving the security of data transmission. 

iii. The satellite, which took five years to develop, will use quantum photons, which cannot be separated or duplicated, making the communication immune to wiretapping or interceptions.

6. Vice Admiral Girish Luthra takes charge of Western Naval Command

i. Vice Admiral Girish Luthra has succeeded Sunil Lanba as the Flag Officer Commander-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command in a ceremonial parade in Mumbai.

ii. Vice Admiral Lanba will take over as the Chief of Naval Staff in New Delhi.

iii. Before taking over as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Western Command, Vice Admiral Luthra served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Southern Naval Command. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy in Pune, the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington and Naval Command Naval War College, USA. Luthra was awarded Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2012 and Vishisht Seva Medal in 2008.

7. Kiran Bedi takes oath as Lt Guv of Puducherry

i. Former IPS officer Kiran Bedi has taken oath as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. 

ii. She is the fourth woman Lt Governor of Puducherry, a post which was under the additional charge of Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Island for almost two years. 

iii. It was lying vacant since the removal of UPA nominee Virendra Kataria by the BJP-led central government.

8. V Narayanaswamy to be Puducherry Chief Minister

i. Former Union Minister of State, V Narayanaswamy was unanimously elected as Congress Legislature Party leader, to become the Chief Minister of Puducherry, where the Congress-DMK alliance won the May 16 Assembly polls. 

ii. This was announced by former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit and AICC General Secretary Mukul Wasnik, during the Congress legislature party meeting held in Puducherry.

9. Madhavan becomes goodwill ambassador for LEPRA India

i. Bollywood Actor R Madhavan has become the goodwill ambassador of LEPRA India organization that fight against diseases like leprosy and tuberculosis. 

ii. LEPRA India is a non-government organisation working in the fields of leprosy, tuberculosis, malaria, HIV or AIDS and community health. It is also known as the Lepra Society.

iii. Lepra Society was registered in Hyderabad in 1989 and becomes Lepra India Trust in New Delhi in 1996. Presently, Lepra Society is working in 54 districts of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh and since its inception has cured 3.6 lakh persons affected by leprosy and treated 67,000 patients with disabilities. LEPRA Society works with the Central & State Government in various disease control programme.  

10. India, Australia sign MoU to enhance R&D capabilities in biotech

i. India and Australia have signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance research and development capabilities in biotechnology by launching a joint funding call. 

ii.The MoU was signed between India’s BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council) and Horticulture Innovation Australia (HIA). BIRAC is a PSU which works under the Union Ministry of Science and Technology, while HIA is a non profit, grower-owned R&D and marketing company for Australia’s horticulture industry.

iii. The MoU seeks to stimulate and enhance the strategic research and innovation capabilities of the Indian biotech industry. The focus of the funding call is to undertake horticultural research in order to develop and deploy modern tools of plant biotechnology to improve crop productivity. The funding commitment from BIRAC and Horticulture Innovation is up to 6 million Australian dollars over a period of 3 years.

11. Indian-American scientist Arnab De wins Springer Theses Award

i. An Indian-American scientist Arnab De has received the prestigious Springer Theses Award in recognition for his outstanding research in which he developed transgenic mice to study a critical tumour-suppressor called A20. He was nominated by New York’s Columbia University for his PhD thesis. ii. Before this, Mr. De, who has also developed peptide-based prodrugs as therapeutics for diabetes. For this he had received the Young Investigator Award at the American Peptide Symposium.

iii. The thesis prize is awarded by Springer, a leading global publisher of renowned scientific journals and books, to recognize outstanding PhD research. The Internationally top-ranked research institutes select their best thesis annually for publication in the book series: “Springer Theses: Recognising Outstanding PhD research”. 

12. Actor Suresh Chatwal passes away in Mumbai

i. Veteran film and television actor Suresh Chatwal has passed away in Mumbai. 

ii. Chatwal, who made his debut with the 1969 film 'Rakhi Rakhi', worked in several Bollywood films including 'Karan Arjun', 'Munna Bhai MBBS' and 'Om Shanti Om'. He was last seen on the big screen in "Nakshatra" in 2010.

iii. The veteran actor also worked in television and is known for playing the role of Dhukhiya in Doordarshan's "Nukkad." Suresh was last working on the popular comedy show "F.I.R.," which airs on SAB TV. He played the role of a commissioner on the show. 

13. SRH defeat RCB to win their maiden Indian Premier League title

i. Sunrisers Hyderabad has defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 8 runs to clinch the IPL title for the first time at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore. 

ii. Batting first, the Sunrisers posted 208/7, courtesy skipper David Warner's 69(38) and Ben Cutting's brisk 39(15). In reply, RCB openers Chris Gayle's 76(38) and captain Virat Kohli's 54(35) was insufficient for the team to win their first-ever IPL title.

iii. List of Awards and winner: Best Batsman Award (Orange Cap) - Virat Kohli (973 runs with 4 centuries), Best Bowler Award (Purple Cap)- Bhuvneswar Kumar (Total 23 wickets ), Man of the Match in Final - Ben Cutting (39 runs and 2 wickets), Vitara Brezza Glam- David Warner, Emerging Player -  Mustafizur Rahman, Most Valuable Player-  Virat Kohli, Orange Cap (most runs scored in the season)  -  Virat Kohli (RCB, 973 runs) and Purple Cap (most wickets in the season) -  Bhuvneshwar Kumar (SRH, 23 wickets).

14. Lewis Hamilton wins Monaco F1 Grand Prix

i. Three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes celebrated his first win of the Formula One season Monaco Grand Prix. 

ii. Australian Daniel Ricciardo finished second for Red Bull, with Mexican Sergio Perez third for Force India. 

iii. Championship leader, Nico Rosberg finished seventh and his lead at the top was cut to 24 points.

15. Real Madrid win its 11th Champions League title

i. Real Madrid defeated Atletico Madrid 5-3 in the penalty shoot-out to win their eleventh Champions League title. 

ii. The Los Blancos have won the Champions League the most number of times. 

iii. Real manager Zinedine Zidane became only the 7th person in history to win the Champions League or the European Cup, as it was called earlier, as both player and manager.