GK Update 2nd May, 2017

Ganga Cleanliness Pledge Day to be observed on May 2

i. The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) will observe ‘Ganga Cleanliness Pledge Day’ on 02nd May 2017 at various places in the river’s basin states to spread awareness and ensure public participation in the program.
ii. The events will be organized in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Hardoi, Bithoor and Vidhur Kuti; Uttarakhand’s Srinagar and Devprayag; Patna and Bhagalpur in Bihar; Sahibganj (Jharkhand) and Kolkata (West Bengal).

India to give Rs 35 cr to Bangladesh under ‘Muktijodha scholarship’ scheme

i. India will give Rs 35 crore to children of freedom fighters in Bangladesh in the next five years under the new ‘Muktijodha scholarship’ scheme.
ii. India initiated the Muktijodha Scholarship Scheme in 2006 for descendants of the 1971 Freedom Fighters. Until now, more than 10,000 scholarships worth Tk150 million have been disbursed.

Former minister Ashwani Kumar to get Japan Imperial Decoration

i. Former Union minister Ashwani Kumar has been selected by Japan for this year’s Spring Imperial Decorations, for his contribution to the strengthening of bilateral ties and promotion of friendship between the two countries.
ii. The Presentation Ceremony for the Investiture of the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun will be held at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on May 9.

International Labour Day: 01st May

i. International Labour Day, also known as International Worker’s Day or May Day is observed on 01st of May every year to promote and encourage the international labour associations.
ii. The day marks the victory of workers’ movement for eight hours of work. It also aims to pay tribute to workers sacrifices in achieving economic and social rights all over the world.
iii. In India, Labour and Employment Minister Bandaru Dattatreya will chair International Labour Day function in New Delhi.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip on visit to India

i. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was given the ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi. The visiting dignitary will hold delegation level talks with PM Modi.
ii. A number of agreements will be signed in several areas after the talks. The Turkish President is accompanied by senior cabinet ministers and a 150-member business delegation that will take part in a meeting of the India-Turkey Business Forum.

Kerala’s Aymanam Becomes Country’s First Digitised Panchayat ward

i. Aymanam ward in the Kerala district on became India’s first digitalised panchayat ward. Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment Krishan Pal Gurjar inaugurated the website of the first digitalised panchayat ward number 15 of Aymanam gram panchayat.
ii. The minister launched the website www.digitalaymanam.com at the function.

Maharashtra CM inaugurated state’s 1st automatic weather station

i. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has inaugurated the State’s first automatic weather station at Dongargaon in Vidarbha region.
ii. With the installation of this station information from the stations would help farmers plan and manage the sowing process better.
ii. In the first phase, information will be shared using SMS, and in the second, all gram panchayats will get half-hourly information on weather conditions.

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2017 (RERA) comes into effect from today (01st May 2017)

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2017 (RERA) has come into force today, aimed to protect the interests of homebuyers across the country and bring transparency.
Here are some key features of the Act-

• It aims to protect the interests of homebuyers across the country and bring transparency.
• The real estate developers will not be allowed to take advances and booking amounts from customers in yet to be launched projects till they are registered with RERA.
• According to the current guidelines, developers have to register their under-construction projects along with all the relevant details with RERA by July 31.
• In case a customer makes three consecutive defaults in payments, the developer will have to give three weeks’ notice to the customer, and if no response is received, the developer can cancel the agreement.
• So far around 13 states and Union Territories (UTs) have reportedly notified their rules. These include Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Delhi.

Google introduces ‘Solve for India’ campaign

i. Google has announced the new “Solve for India” initiative, especially for tier-2 cities such as Pune, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kochi, Indore, Nagpur, Nashik, Madurai, Kanpur, and Chennai.
ii. This program will aim to support entrepreneurs and developers of the country. Entrepreneurs will now have the opportunity to learn directly from Google engineers. Some of the areas will include agri-tech, healthcare, transportation, education, sanitation and more.

Yusra Mardini appointed UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador

i. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has appointed Syrian refugee and Olympic athlete Yusra Mardini as a Goodwill Ambassador.
ii. Ms. Mardini, who has settled in Germany, participated in the first ever Olympic refugee team at the Rio de Janeiro games in 2016.

iii. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people.

Russian Grand Prix 2017: Valtteri Bottas wins his first F1 race

i. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) claimed his first Formula One victory, taking the flag at the Russian Grand Prix after a tense final few laps as he was chased down by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
ii. In the race, Sebastian Vettel finished in second and Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton stood fourth.

Rafael Nadal Clinches his 10th Barcelona Open Title

i. Rafael Nadal won a record-extending 10th Barcelona Open title by defeating Dominic Thiem of Austria. He collected his second claycourt title in a row.
ii. Nadal, who won the Monte Carlo Masters for a 10th time last week, romped to the title without dropping a set on the newly renamed Rafa Nadal court at the Real Tennis Club in Barcelona.

Pankaj Advani wins silver at Asian Snooker Championship

i. India’s top cueist Pankaj Advani lost to China’s Lv Haotian in the summit clash of Asian Snooker Championship held in Doha, Qatar.
ii. This is the first silver Advani has won this season, the rest all gold medals at the National Championships of Billiards, 6-red Snooker and 15-red Snooker, as well as the Asian Billiards Championship.

Joshna Chinappa becomes first Indian to win Asian Squash title

i. Joshna Chinappa scripted history by becoming the first Indian to clinch the Asian Squash title with a thrilling win over compatriot Dipika Pallikal Karthik in the women’s final.
ii. The event was organized in Chennai.
iii. In the men’s final, top-seeded Max Lee of Hong Kong kept his tryst with glory, winning his maiden title beating India’s Saurav Ghosal.

Sufi legend Begum Yaman passes away at 52

i. Famous Sufi singer and daughter of legendary Sitar Maestro (late) Ustad Vilayat Ali Khan, Begum Yaman K. Khan has passed away after multiple organ failures.
ii. She was 52 years old.
iii. She was the recipient of ‘Hasrat Amir Khusrao Award’ by Urdu Press Club International.

Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows-

• Ganga Cleanliness Pledge Day to be observed on May 2, 2017
• Uma Bharti is present Union Water Resources Minister
• NMCG stands for  National Mission for Clean Ganga
• India to give Rs 35 crore to Bangladesh
• India to give Rs 35 crore to Bangladesh under ‘Muktijodha scholarship’ scheme.
• Muktijodha Scholarship Scheme in 2006 for descendants of the 1971 Freedom Fighters.
• Dhaka is the capital city of Bangladesh.
• Taka is the currency of Bangladesh.
• Sheikh Hasina Wazed is the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
• Md. Abdul Hamid is President of Bangladesh.
• Former Union minister Ashwani Kumar has been selected by Japan for this year’s Spring Imperial Decorations.
• Shinzo Abe is the Prime Minister of Japan.
• Tokyo is the capital of Japan.
• International Labour Day is celebrated globally on 01st May
• It is celebrated to promote and encourage the international labor associations across the world
• Labour and Employment Minister of India is Mr. Bandaru Dattatreya
• Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip is on visit to India
• The Capital of Turkey is Ankara
• Currency of Turkey is Turkish lira
• Kerala’s Aymanam has become Country’s First Digitised Panchayat ward
• Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment is Krishan Pal Gurjar
• He has launched the website www.digitalaymanam.com
• CM of Kerala is Mr. Pinarayi Vijayan and its governor is Mr. P Sathasivam
• Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has inaugurated the State’s first automatic weather station at Dongargaon in Vidarbha region
• The move will help farmers plan and manage the sowing process better
• Google introduced ‘Solve for India’ campaign
• The initiative is aimed to support entrepreneurs and developers
• The campaign is for Tier-2 cities
• CEO of Google is Mr. Sundar Pichai and is headquartered in California, USA
• Alphabet Inc. is the parent organization of Google.
• UNHCR has appointed Syrian Yusra Mardini as a Goodwill Ambassador
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is the full form of UNHCR
• UNHCR was created in 1950
• Filippo Grandi is the 11th United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
• UNHCR is Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Valtteri Bottas wins Russian Grand Prix 2017
• It was his first F1 win
• Sebastian Vettel finished in second in the event
• Valtteri Bottas is from Finland
• Rafael Nadal Clinched his 10th Barcelona Open Title
• He defeated Dominic Thiem of Austria
• Rafael Nadal is from Spain.
• Pankaj Advani wins silver at Asian Snooker Championship
• He was defeated by China’s Lv Haotian
• Asian Snooker Championship held in Doha, Qatar
• Joshna Chinappa becomes first Indian to win Asian Squash title
• She defeated Dipika Pallikal Karthik
• Max Lee won in men’s category by defeating Saurav Ghoshal.
• The event was held in Chennai, India.
• Sufi legend Begum Yaman passed away at 52
• She was the recipient of ‘Hasrat Amir Khusrao Award