Daily GK Update: 14th December, 2016

Indo-Russian Bilateral Naval Exercise Indra Navy- 2016 begins

i. The 9th edition of Indra Navy exercise between Indian Navy and Russian Navy began on 14 December 2016 in the Bay of Bengal. 

ii. This annual bilateral maritime exercise will continue till 21 December 2016. 

iii. The main aim of this exercise is to enhance the interoperability between the two navies and develop the common understanding of maritime security operations. 

iv. The first edition of this maritime exercise between India and Russia was first held in 2003.

Cyrus Mistry Removed as Director From Tata Consultancy Services

i.Ousted Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry was on 13th December removed as the Director of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) after 93.11% shareholders voted in favour of Mistry's removal. 

ii. However, 43% of institutional investors and 78% of retail investors voted against Mistry's removal.

iii. As Tata Sons has a 73% stake in TCS, these minority investor votes could not impact Mistry's removal.

Andy Murray, Angelique Kerber named ITF players of the year

i. Briton Andy Murray and Germany's Angelique Kerber were named ITF World Champions on 13th December 2016.

ii. Murray won Wimbledon in July and retained his crown in Rio de Janeiro in August. Kerber won the Australian and U.S. Open titles as well as an Olympic silver medal in Rio.

Madonna’s biopic voted as best unproduced script of 2016

i. A biopic of Madonna titled Blond Ambition has been named the most admired unproduced film script currently in the Hollywood system. ii. Written by Elyse Hollander, Blond Ambition has topped the newly published Black List, which invites film executives to vote on their favourite scripts that will not have started shooting before the end of 2016.

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan Inaugurated 3rd edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale

i. Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has inaugurated the third edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) at an inaugural event in Parade Ground, Fort Kochi on 13 December 2016.

ii. Titled ‘Forming in the pupil of an eye’, the three-month long festival will witness participation from 97 artists from thirty-one countries across the world.

Sushma Swaraj, Vineet Nayar in FP's Global Thinkers 2016 list

i. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and philanthropist couple Anupama and Vineet Nayar are among the Indians who have been named in the Global Thinkers of 2016 List compiled by the Foreign Policy magazine. 

ii. Swaraj was named in the 'Decision-makers' category along with the Democratic nominee for US President Hillary Clinton, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US Attorney General Loretta Lynch among others. 

Gujarat to have Wagah-like border viewing point

i. The ever-popular ‘border viewing point’ of the Wagah border will soon be recreated in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district.

ii. The announcement was made by the state’s Chief Minister Vijay Rupani at the inaugural event of the annual ‘Rann-Utsav’ at Dhordo in the Rann of Kutch on 13 December 2016.

iii. The new viewing point will be opened at Nadabet near Suigam, a village near the India-Pakistan border. iv. The main purpose of the development is to promote tourism and all tourists visiting the centre will be provided with the same facilities that are made available at the Wagah Border.

PV Sindhu wins Most Improved Player award

i. Rio Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu has won the Badminton World Federation (BWF) 2016 Most Improved Player of the Year award at the Players’ in Dubai.

ii. Pusarla Venkata Sindhu is an Indian professional badminton player. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, she became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal.

Ravindra Kumar, First IAS Officer To Scale Mt Everest Pens Motivational Book

i. The book titled "Many Everest" An Inspiring Journey of Transforming Dream into Reality’ is penned by Ravindra Kumar.

ii. Ravindra Kumar 2011 batch IAS officer as well as the first Seafarer of India, to climb the Mount Everest has written a motivational book for students, which was released by the Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha on December 12, 2016 in New Delhi. 

Google’s Pulkit Trivedi joins Facebook India as new Industry Director

i. Google’s former Head of Industry, e-commerce Pulkit Trivedi was appointed as Industry Director for e-commerce, retail, travel and financial services verticals of Facebook on December 12, 2016.

ii. Pulkit has 18 years of extensive industry experience covering sales, business development and partnerships. He has worked in Google, Intel, Microsoft, IBM and HCL. 

Malaysia enthrones new King Sultan Muhammad V

i. Malaysia has installed its 15th king, Sultan Muhammad V, in a ceremony marked by honour guards and Islamic prayers in the national palace in Kuala Lumpur.

India signs Grant Agreement with IBRD for additional financing of MSMEs Project

i. India has signed a Grant Agreement of USD 5.19 million with International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) for Additional Financing for Financing Energy Efficiency at MSMEs Project- Programmatic Framework for Energy Efficiency on 13 December 2016 .

ii. The agreement was signed by Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary at Department of Economic Affairs on behalf of the Union Government and Junaid Ali Ahmad, Country Director of World Bank (India) on behalf of IBRD.

iii. IBRD acts as an Implementing Agency of the Global Environment Facility. 

Walter Swinburn: Legendary jockey and Shergar Derby winner dead at 55
i. Walter Swinburn, one of the most renowned jockeys of his generation and rider of the Shergar, passed away on 12 December 2016 following a prolonged illness.ii. He was 55. He was famously known for winning the Epsom Derby horse race three times in his career as a jockey.