DAILY GK UPDATE - 30th May
1. Naidu to be sworn as Seemandhra CM
i. The Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu is expected to assume office as Chief Minister of
Seemandhra (Andhra Pradesh) on June 8 near Vijayawada.
ii. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited by Naidu for the event slated to be a gala fair spread
over a 70-acre site between Vijayawada and Guntur, where he is also considering developing a new capital
for the new state.
iii. Naidu is also expected to take major decisions immediately after being sworn in as the Chief Minister.
Among important decisions which are likely to be taken, the loan waiver for the farm sector and also \
DWACRA women self-help groups is top on his agenda.
2. Telangana's new logo ready
i. The logo of Telangana, India's 29th State to formally come into existence from June 2, is all ready.
ii. It is designed by the 50-year-old, native artist Laxman Aelay, who captures the essence of India,
Telangana culture and Hyderabadi tehzeeb with local ethos in pleasing colours.
iii. At the top of the logo is the Lion Capitol of Ashoka with the four lions back to back representing the
national spirit. It is perched atop the richly decorated Gateway from the 11-12th Century Kakatiya dynasty
that ruled the Telangana region.
iv. The logo like the birth of the State itself triggered a bit of controversy, with the MIM demanding the
Charminar to be part of it and the BJP opposing it. The new logo will be unveiled on June 2, when KCR
is sworn in.
v. Laxman has made a mark with his work which brings out the life of rural people of Telangana in incisive
figurative style. A graduate in fine arts from JNTU, he has worked in the film industry, illustrated books,
organised solo shows in the best of art galleries across the country and abroad.
3. Vishwanath Tripathi received Vyas Samman 2013
i. Vishwanath Tripathi, eminent Hindi writer on 29 May 2014 was awarded with the prestigious Vyas Samman
for the year 2013.
ii. The literary prize carries a citation and a cash amount of 2.5 lakh rupees and memento. He received the
award for his work Vyomkesh Darvesh at 23rd edition of the annual ceremony.
About the Vyas Samman
i. The award was instituted in 1991 by the K K Birla Foundation.
It is presented for an outstanding literary work in Hindi published during
the last 10 years.
ii. Ram Vilas Sharma was the first person to receive the award for his
Bharat ke Pracheen bhasha parivar aur Hindi in 1991.
iii. Narendra Kohli received for his novel Na Bhooto Na Bhavishyati in
2012 and Ramdarash Misra for his collection of poems Aam K Patte
in 2011.
4. Hiroshi Naka appointed as Vice President and Auditor General of World Bank
i. Japanese national, Hiroshi Naka was appointed as the Vice President and Auditor General of World Bank.
The appointment was announced by the World Bank President Jim Yong Kim. He will take the charge as the
Vice President in July 2014.
ii. He will be responsible for providing leadership on evaluating and improving the effectiveness of the bank's
risk management, control and governance processes.
iii. Naka has worked for more than 25 years with the Japanese Ministry of Finance and multilateral
organisations. He is specialised in issues such as economic sanctions, anti-money laundering and
supervision of financial institutions.
5. World Bank gives $1,006 mn loan for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
i. World Bank has signed an agreement with the government to provide a loan assistance of USD 1,006.20
million for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan III, which is the largest ongoing "Education for All" programme in the world.
ii. "The loan agreement for World Bank (IDA) assistance of USD 1,006.20 million for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan III
has been signed between the government of India and the World Bank here today," an official statement said.
iii. The agreement was signed by Nilaya Mitash, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and Michael
Haney, World Bank's Operation's Advisor in India.
iv. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is the flagship programme for universalising elementary education.
v. The overall goals of the programme include universal access and retention, reducing gender and social
category gaps in elementary education and enhancement of learning levels of children.
vi. The World Bank assistance to Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan-III will primarily focus on qualitative improvement
in the learning process of the children, said Mitash.
vii. In association with the World Bank, the objective of the project is to improve education outcomes of
elementary school children in the country.
viii. The project would be implemented in three years. Ministry of Human Resource Development is the
programme implementing agency.
6. Indologist and Sanskrit Scholar Sukumari Bhattacharji died
i. Indologist and Sanskrit scholar Sukumari Bhattacharji who had equal grasp over English and Sanskrit
language died on 24 May 2014. She was 92.
ii. Born on 12 July 1921, she began her career as a lecturer in English at Lady Brabourne College in Kolkata.
She joined Jadavpur University's Comparative Literature department and later shifted to the Sanskrit department.
iii. She wrote some 34 books such as The Gita — Its Why and How, Human & Society in Ancient India,
Fatalism in Ancient India
7. Raghav Bahl exits Network18
i. Network18 founder-promoter Raghav Bahl and his wife Ritu Kapur have exited their shareholding in
Network18 and TV18.
ii. Mr. Bahl ended his role as an entrepreneur in the media companies as Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance
Industries has taken control of them.
8. 8 Indian soldiers among 106 peacekeepers honoured by UN
i. The United Nations honoured 106 peacekeepers, including eight Indian soldiers, who lost their lives in
peacekeeping operations.
ii. The International Day of UN Peacekeepers was commemorated in United Nations on Thursday with UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon laying a wreath at a newly-created memorial for the peacekeepers.
iii. The ceremony was attended by India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Asoke Kumar
Mukerji and other envoys and military attaches of member states.
iv. Ban then presided over a solemn ceremony where the prestigious Dag Hammarskjold Medal, named after
the second UN chief, was posthumously awarded to the 106 fallen peacekeepers for their courage and
sacrifice in the line of duty.
v. Mukerji accepted the medal on behalf of the eight Indian soldiers who lost their lives while stationed at UN
missions.
9. Govt to raise FDI in Defence to 100%
i. The government has proposed to raise Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in defence sector to 100 per cent.
ii. According to sources, the Commerce and Industry Ministry has circulated a Cabinet note for
inter-ministerial consulatation.
iii. The proposal to raise FDI cap from 26 to 100 per cent is aimed at giving a boost to manufacuring activities.
However, portfolio investors including Foreign Institutional Investors will be allowed to invest only
upto 49 per cent.
iv. A foreign company can even take over a domestic firm if it brings in state-of-the-art technology.
India opened up defence equipment industry to private sector in early 2001 but had restricted foreign
participation to 26 per cent.
10. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany won Monaco Grand Prix of Formula One
i. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany on 25 May 2014 won Monaco Grand Prix of Formula One.
This was his second victory of the season and fifth of his career.
ii. The Mercedes, with this win, finished at first and second position for the fifth straight time and has swept
all six races this season.
iii. Rosberg finished 9.2 seconds ahead of Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain who came second.
The third place was taken by Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo of Australia. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso of Spain
finished at fourth.
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