Current Affairs -31/05/2016

• Senior IAS officer (1980-batch) Haryana cadre  Ashok Lavasa has been designated as the Finance Secretary by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) headed by PM Narendra Modi
• Lavasa, at present serving as the Expenditure Secretary.
• The post has been lying vacant since his predecessor Ratan Watal retired inApril.
• As per the convention, the senior-most among the five secretaries in Finance Ministry is designated as the Finance Secretary.
• Das is senior to Lavasa in age by eight months, but Lavasa ranked higher in the merit list of the 1980 batch.

Know about Finance Secretary:

• The Ministry of Finance is composed of five departments the Department ofEconomic Affairs, the Department of Revenue, the Department ofExpenditure, the Department of Financial Services and Department ofDisinvestment.
• Each of the departments is headed by a secretary.
• Each of the five secretaries directly reports to the finance minister.
• The Finance Secretary tends to be the senior most of the five, where seniority is defined by the year of entry into the civil service and not age.
• One Rs note is signed by Finance Secretary of India and it does not have the word i promise to pay the bearer.
• The Coinage act 2011 which took over Coinage act 1940 says “necessary provisions for inclusion of Government of India one rupee note within the meaning of ‘Coin’ have been consciously incorporated in the Coinage Act, 2011.
• Further, the RBI as per Section 24(1) of the RBI Act, 1934, is not empowered to issue bank note of denomination of value of one rupee.

Quick Review:

Q:-  Who has been designated as the Finance Secretary by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet?- Ashok Lavasa

2. Govt. notifies panel for Delhi Metro fare revision

• Union Government has notified a panel, headed by a former Delhi High Court judge, for revision of fares for Delhi Metro which will submit its reportwithin three months.
• The Ministry of Urban Development has notified the Fare Fixation Committee(FFC) Headed by Justice (retd) M L Mehta for recommending passenger fares for Delhi Metro network.
• The other members of the 4th FFC are Urban Development Ministry Additional Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra and Delhi Chief Secretary K K Sharma.
• The committee has been been given three months time for submission of its report.
• DMRC has demanded that fares be hiked in view of increase in electricity tariff, which is a major component of the operational cost.
• New fares can only be implemented on the recommendation of a committee on fare revision, set up by the Ministry of Urban Development.
• Delhi Metro fares were last revised in 2009.

Quick Review:

Q:- Name of the committee who will recommend passenger fares for Delhi Metronetwork?-Fare Fixation Committee

3. Govt doctors’ retirement age extended to 65 years

• Government today approved extending retirement age of doctors of Central Health Services to 65 years.
• Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made an announcement to increase the retirement age from 62 to 65 years at a rally in Saharanpur.
• The decision has been taken in view of shortage of doctors.

Quick Review:

Q:- Govt. has extended retirement age of doctors of Central Health Services 62 years to ___.- 65 years

4. Former Delhi Police chief B S Bassi appointed UPSC member

• Former Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi has been appointed as a member of UPSC.
• It is a Constitutional post with five year tenure.
• Bassi retired as Delhi Police chief in February this year after completing 60 years.
• He had a controversial tenure as Police Commissioner with frequent run-ins with the Aam Aadmi Party government.
• Mr. Bassi had also come for criticism after the arrest of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union President Kanhaiya Kumar over sedition row.

Quick Review:

Q:- Name of the former Delhi Police chief who has been appointed as UPSC member?- B S Bassi

5. Kannada writer D Javare Gowda passes away

• Prominent Kannada writer, poet, D Javare Gowda popularly known as ‘De Ja Go‘(101-years) passed away due to cardiac arrest at a hospital in Mysuru.
• He was the winner of the Padma Shri and the Karnataka Ratna and Nadoja awards.
• De Ja Go was Professor of Literature and Director of the Institute of Kannada Studies in the University and  also Vice Chancellor of Mysore University from1969 to 1975.

Note:- 

• In October 2015, Gowda and five others returned the Aralu Sahitya prize, awarded to them by the Kannada Sahitya Parishat and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation in 2011, to protest the perceived delays into the investigation of writer M.M. Kalaburgi’s death.

6. Govt. expands ndradhanush: Four new vaccines added

• The government’s ambitious Mission Indradhanush programme, which provides immunisation against seven life threatening diseases is all set to be re-christened as four new vaccines have been added into it.
• The programme depicting seven colours of the rainbow provides vaccination to seven vaccine preventable diseases which include diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and Hepatitis B.
• The new vaccines are rotavirus, measles rubella, inactivated polio vaccineand Japanese Encephalitis for adults.
• With this, now 11 vaccines have been covered under the programme.
• In one year time, 1.62 crore children have been additionally brought under the ambit of immunisation and about 45 lakh have been totally immunized additionally.
• Mission Indradhanush aims at covering all children by 2020 who are either un-vaccinated, or are partially vaccinated against these vaccine preventable diseases.

7. Surajit Kar Purkayastha appointed Director General of West Bengal Police

• Former Kolkata Police Commissioner  Surajit Kar Purkayastha (IPS-1985 batch) has appointed the Director General of West Bengal Police.
• He will replace G.M.P Reddy, who retired on 31 May 2016.
• He is one of the few IPS officers who have worked for Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Iran.
• Director General of Police, Intelligence Branch, Raj Kanojia, three years senior to Purkayastha in the service, has been shifted to the post of Commandant General and DG Home Guards.

Quick Review:

Q:- Who has been appointed as the Director General of West Bengal Police?- Surajit Kar Purkayastha

8. Indian-American scientist Arnab De wins Springer theses award

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

Quick Review:

Q:- Name of the Indian-American scientist who wins Springer theses award – Arnab De

9. Madhavan becomes goodwill ambassador for LEPRA India

• Bollywood Actor R Madhavan has become the goodwill ambassador of LEPRA India organization.
• LEPRA India is a non-government organisation working in the fields ofleprosy, tuberculosis, malaria, HIV or AIDS and community health.
• It is also known as the Lepra Society.
• 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.

Quick Review:

Q:-Name of the Bollywood actor who becomes goodwill ambassador for LEPRA India?- R Madhavan

10. A. R Rahman conferred with Japan’s Fukuoka prize 2016

• Renowned Indian music composer A. R. Rahman has been awarded with the Japan’s Fukuoka prize 2016 for his outstanding contribution towards towards creating, preserving and showcasing South Asian traditional fusion music.
• Earlier, he has also received the Mauritius National Award and the Malaysian Award for his contributions to music.
• For the year 2015, noted Indian Historian Ramchandra Guha was conferred with Fukuoka Prize in academic category.
• The Fukuoka Prize is an award established by the city of Fukuoka and the Yokatopia Foundation to honor the outstanding work of individuals or organizations in preserving or creating Asian culture.
• There are three prize categories : Grand Prize, Academic Prize, and Arts & Culture Prize.

Know about AR RAhman:

• Allah-Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, musician and philanthropist.
• A.R. Rahman’s works are noted for integrating Eastern classical music with electronic music, world music and traditional orchestral arrangements.
• Among his awards are two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, four National Film Awards, fifteen Filmfare Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards South.
• Rahman’s body of work for film and stage has given him the nickname of “the Mozart of Madras”, and Tamil commentators and fans call him Isai Puyal.

Quick Review:

Q:- Who has been awarded with the Japan’s Fukuoka prize 2016 for his outstanding contribution in music?-AR RAhman

11. China to launch world’s 1st quantum satellite

• According to a scientist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China will launch the world’s first quantum communication satellite in July.
• It aims to improving the security of data transmission.
• The satellite, which took five years to develop and it will use quantum photons, which cannot be separated or duplicated, making the communication immune to wiretapping or interceptions.

Quick Review:

Q:- Name of country who will launch world’s 1st quantum satellite?- China

12. Alastair Cook becomes youngest cricketer to score 10000 Test runs

• England cricket captain Alastair Cook (31-years) has became youngest Cricketer to score 10000 test runs.
• Cook achieved the fete on the fourth day of the second test against Sri Lankaat Chester-le-Street by flicking Nuwan Pradeep to the deep mid wicket fence for a boundary.
• It was his 128th Test.
• Cook went on to make 47 not out as England won the Test by nine wickets.
• The previous record was held by Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar who reached the landmark score against Pakistan at Eden Gardens in 2005.
• Alastair Cook (England) achieved the fete on 30 May 2016 at the age of 31 years, 5 months and 5 days
• Sachin Tendulkar (India) achieved the fete on 16 March 2005 at the age of 31 years, 10 months and 20 days.

Quick Review:

Q:-Name of the youngest cricketer to score 10000 Test runs?-  Alastair Cook

13. Real Madrid win its 11th Champions League title

• Real Madrid defeated Atletico Madrid 5-3 in the penalty shoot-out to win their eleventh Champions League title.
• The Los Blancos have won the Champions League the most number of times.
• 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.

Quick Review:

Q:- Who is the winner of 1th Champions League title?- Real Madrid

14. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu first Indian to play in European Top League

• National football team goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (24-year )has achieved a historic feat as he became the first Indian to feature in a top-tier league match in Europe by turning out for his Norwegian side Stabaek FC.
• Sandhu signed for Stabaek FC in 2014, has not played in the Tippeligaen though, he has already featured in five matches in the Norwegian Cup.
• Indian kept a clean sheet in his first Tippeligaen (Norwegian Premier League) start for Stabaek FC, helping them claim a dominant 5-0 triumph over IK Start in an away league match.

Quick Review:

Q: Name of the first Indian player who will play in Tippeligaen?- Gurpreet Singh Sandhu