Daily GK Update - 30th January 2015

1. 30th January observed as Martyrs' Day

i. The government today observed Martyrs' Day on the 67th death anniversary of the Father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi and those who sacrificed their lives in the struggle for the country's freedom. 

ii. The MHA has told all states and UTs to see that “speeches and talks connected with the significance of the day, particularly mentioning the role of freedom fighters in the freedom of India may be made”. 

iii. The day is remembered in the living memory of all the freedom fighters who lost their lives for handing our the much needed independence. 

iv. Mahatma Gandhi was assasinated by Nathuram Godse on this day.

2. IIT Bombay launches mass open online courses

i. Prof Devang Khakhar, Director of IIT Bombay, launched three Mass Open Online Courses (MOOC) in computer programming, thermodynamics, and signals and systems from the institute’s IITBombayX platform developed in collaboration with edX.

ii. edX is a not-for-profit initiative by MIT and Harvard.

iii. About this course - The Introduction to Computer Programming will be 16-week course in two parts aimed at computer programming students. The course on Thermodynamics, designed for mechanical engineering students, will last 12 weeks. Signals and Systems will be a 16-week course in two parts designed for electrical engineering students. The students will get an honour certificate of achievement certifying successful completion of the course after they have qualified in the tests.

3. Send money 24x7 using only your phone's address book

i.  HDFC Bank, India’s second-largest private bank, is set to introduce a new app, Chillr, which will allow users to send money to any contact in their phone books, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

ii. Chillr is a third-party app, which will be available exclusively for the customers. It will allow them to transfer money using a contact’s mobile number alone.

iii. Through the app, one can send Rs 1-5,000 a day. While the bank will not levy any charges, users will have to pay a fee for using the IMPS platform.

4. Charles Townes died

i. Townes shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in physics with Russian physicists Aleksandr M. Prokhorov and Nicolai G. Basov for the invention of the Laser.

ii. On  April 26, 1951, Townes scribbled a theory on scrap paper that would lead to the laser, the invention he’s known for and which transformed everyday life and led to other scientific discoveries.

iii. The laser paved the way for other scientific discoveries that revolutionize everything from medicine to manufacturing, including DVD players, gun sights, printers, computer networks, metal cutters, tattoo removal and vision correction.

5. Jaipal Singh appointed PS to MoS Home

i. Jaipal Singh, a Gujarat-cadre IFS officer, has been appointed Private Secretary to Minister of State for Home Affairs Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary.

ii. Singh, a 1991-batch Indian Forest Service officer is presently working as Director in Department of Higher Education.

iii. He has been appointed for a period of upto September 26, 2018, which is maximum period of seven years of stay outside the cadre in a single stint, or on a co-terminus basis with the minister's tenure.

6. India overtakes China as world’s leading gold consumer

i. India overtook China as the world’s biggest gold consumer in 2014 as global physical demand fell.

ii. Chinese gold demand slid by more than a third last year to a four-year low of 866 tonnes.

iii. Indian jewellery demand rose 14 percent last year to a record 690 tonnes, putting it back ahead of China as the world’s number one jewellery manufacturer.

7. RK Mathur to hold additional charge of DDR&D

i. Defence Secretary RK Mathur is given additional charge of Department of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D).

ii. Mathur, a 1977-batch IAS officer of Manipur Tripura cadre, will hold the additional charge for a period of three months.

iii.  He will take over the additional charge from incumbent Avinash Chander.

iv. Another IAS officer Reena Ray has been appointed as Additional Secretary in Department of School Education and Literacy.

8. Shekhar Sen appointed as Chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi

i. Renowned music composer and actor Shekhar Sen is appointed as the Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA).

ii. Shekhar Sen will succeed Leela Samson who resigned from the position on 5 September 2014. The post was lying vacant since October 2014.

Shekhar Sen: 

• He is famous for his mono act musical plays Tulsi, Kabeer, Vivekananda, and Soordas.

• Shekhar Sen has received prestigious awards including Padam Shri Award in 2015, Safdar Hashmi Puraskar in 2001 for his contribution in field of theatre and V. Shantaram Lalit Kala Puraskaar in 2008.

                                              *****29 janu. 2015******

1. Nation remembers Lala Lajpat Rai on his 150th birth anniversary

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has saluted Punjab Kesari Lala Lajpat Rai, on his birth anniversary. In his message, the Prime Minister said that Punjab Kesari Lala Lajpat Rai was a unique personality who was ahead of his time. 

ii. Journey of Lalaji - 

• Popularly known as Punjab Kesari, Lala Lajpat Rai was born on 28 January 1865 in Jagraon town of Ludhiana district. 
• The session of the Indian National Congress at Allahabad in December 1888 marked the beginning of his political career. 
• The year 1905 was important for the emergence of a new leadership in the Indian National Congress of Lal-Bal-Pal, as they were popularly known. The partition of Bengal in 1905 aroused their stout nationalism. 
• Lalaji presided over the first session of the All India Trade Union Congress in 1920. 
• Lalaji also went to Geneva to attend the eighth International Labour Conference in 1926 as a representative of Indian labour community. 
• His journal Arya Gazette concentrated mainly on the subjects related to the Arya Samaj. 
• For the sake of India's independence movement, Lalaji led a procession to demonstrate against the Simon Commission. 
• Lalaji was made the target of a brutal lathi charge in which he was injured badly. 
• A meeting was held the same evening at which Lalaji, wounded and aching, spoke with such vigour that his words, 'Every blow aimed at me is a nail in the coffin of British imperialism', became historic. 
• on 17 November 1928, Lalaji succumbing to his injuries passed away. 

2. BrahMos to be integrated with Sukhoi  

i. HAL has completed integration of BrahMos thermonuclear cruise missile with Sukhoi-30MKI after over two years of work, modifying the Russian-made aircraft. 

ii. HAL director S Subrahmanyan, who led the project, said the first test flight of the modified Su-30MKI with the BrahMos missile will be conducted in March. 

3. Governor nominates Anglo-Indian in Jharkhand Assembly 

i. Glen Joseph Galstaun was today nominated as the representative of the Anglo-Indian community in the Jharkhand Assembly. 

ii. Governor Syed Ahmed nominated Galstaun to the House as there is a need for a representative from the community.

iii. With his nomination, the strength of the House has gone up to 82 from 81. 

4. Centre to dilute stake in CIL 

i. The government is planning to dilute its stake further in Maharatna public sector Coal India Ltd (CIL) with the company putting up on the stock exchanges a notice for an offer for sale of up to 10 per cent of the government stake in CIL.

ii.  CIL had gone public in October 2010 with a 10 per cent dilution of the government holding, the trade unions had blocked a follow-on offer proposed by the UPA-II government in late 2013.

iii. In this fresh move, the allocation shall be on a price priority method at multiple clearing prices in accordance with the SEBI OFS circular.

iv. CIL had helped generate over Rs 23,000 crore through its initial public offer and expectations are that a similar amount would be garnered this time too. CIL shares have averaged at Rs.383.

5.  S Jaishankar takes charge as Foreign Secretary 

i. S Jaishankar took charge as Foreign Secretary, replacing Sujatha Singh whose tenure was abruptly curtailed.

ii. S Jaishankar is a 1977-batch IFS officer .

iii. He will have a two-year tenure as per rules. The 60-year-old diplomat was India's Ambassador to the US. 

iv. The decision to appoint Jaishankar, who played a key role during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US in September and US President Barack Obama's just concluded visit here, was taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet chaired by Modi. 

6. ICC ends Amir’s ban

i. In a major breakthrough, the ICC has allowed Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir to return to domestic cricket early from his five-year ban for involvement in spot-fixing.

ii. Amir (22) was jailed for six months and banned for his part in a spot-fixing scam during Pakistan’s tour of England in 2010.

iii. Amir, then 17, delivered pre-arranged no balls at Lord’s in a plot that also led to the banning of Mohammad Asif and then captain Salman Butt.