General Awareness :In the News December, 2015

General Awareness For Bank's Exams) In The News

January - 2015

V. Gowarikar passes away

Vasant Ranchhod Gowarikar, a stalwart who played a key role in India’s space programme, passed away in Pune after catching dengue. He was 81.
A chemical engineer with a doctorate from Birmingham University, Dr. Gowarikar joined the Indian Space Research Organisation in 1967, settling down in Thiruvananthapuram.
Dr. Gowarikar was director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, the lead agency for the rocket programme, before leaving ISRO in 1986 to become Secretary for the Department of Science & Technology. He is survived by his wife, three daughters and two grandchildren.

Kiran Vadodaria elected as INS president for 2014-15

Kiran B. Vadodaria of Sambhaav Metro was elected president of Indian Newspaper Society (INS) for 2014-15 at its 75th annual general meeting.
P.V. Chandran ( Grihalakshmi ) will be the deputy president, Somesh Sharma ( Rashtradoot Saptahik ) the vice-president, Mohit Jain ( Economic Times ) the honorary treasurer and V. Shankaran the secretary-general of INS.

Atul Khare is new U.N. Under-Secretary-General

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced the appointment of Atul Khare of India as Under-Secretary-General, Department of Field Support (DFS). He succeeds Ameerah Haq of Bangladesh.
Dr. Khare, a former Indian Foreign Service officer and AIIMS graduate, brings to the position strategic management and innovative reform expertise in both headquarters and field perspective, a U.N. statement said.
Currently providing charitable medical advice in India, Dr. Khare has a long senior career with the U.N., most recently as Assistant Secretary-General leading the Change Management Team (2011-2012) and Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations and Deputy Head of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in New York (2010-2011).
He was previously Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Timor-Leste and Head of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) at the level of Under-Secretary-General (2006-2009).

New Secretary of department of space and ISRO chief

A.S. Kiran Kumar is the new Secretary of the Department of Space as also Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Space Commission.
Currently Director of the Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad, Mr. Kiran Kumar will head the organisation for three years from the date he assumes charge, according to the order issued by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, Department of Personnel & Training under the Ministry of Personnel & Public Grievances.

Raghuram Rajan wins ‘Governor of the Year’ award

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has been named ‘Governor of the Year’ by Central Banking Publications. In a statement, the publication said that the award recognises, “Raghuram Rajan’s disciplined and focussed approach leading the Reserve Bank of India during his first year as Governor was remarkably impressive.
Accepting the award, Raghuram Rajan said: “Of course, no central bank works alone. The important role played by the government in maintaining fiscal discipline, in initiating growth-friendly structural reforms and in launching ambitious new financial sector programmes, such as rolling out bank accounts for all, has been critical to any success the economy has had, and is likely to have.
“Moreover, all our collective efforts should be seen as work-in-progress — inflation has to be fully tamed, growth has to be brought back to potential and the banking system cleaned of distressed assets, even while we build the platform for the financial sector to support strong and sustainable growth.

H.S. Brahma to be new CEC

H.S. Brahma, the seniormost Election Commissioner, will succeed V.S. Sampath as the next Chief Election Commissioner of India. Mr. Sampath will demit office after turning 65.
Mr. Sampath paid a farewell visit to President Pranab Mukherjee. In just under six years in the Election Commission, first as EC then as CEC, he helped conduct two Lok Sabha elections and at least one round of Assembly elections in every State.

Shrivastava is new BSNL chairman and managing director

Anupam Shrivastava has been appointed the chairman and managing director (CMD) of state-run BSNL from January 15, a company statement said.
Mr. Shrivastava has been appointed CMD of BSNL for a period of five years or till the time of superannuation at the age of 60 years, it said.
Prior to this posting, Mr. Shrivastava has served as director (consumer mobility) BSNL. He has also worked as senior general manager at Jodhpur, Ajmer and Jaipur in Rajasthan Telecom Circle.

R K Laxman Passes Away

The messy business of the democracy that was India was unforgettably captured in the iconic creation, labelled simply The Common Man , of R.K. Laxman, died .
Mr. Laxman, who was awarded the Padma Vibhushan and the Magsaysay Award, was a complex man, who defined his métier with an ingenious lightness of touch as evinced in his autobiography, Tunnel of Time.

Shekhar Sen is Sangeet Natak Akademi chairman

Eminent singer and theatre director Shekhar Sen has been appointed the new chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the country’s premier institution for performing arts.
Mr. Sen was awarded the Padma Shri on Republic Day.
According to an order issued by the Culture Ministry , Mr. Sen has been appointed for a five-year term with immediate effect.
The Akademi has been without a head after earlier chairperson Leela Samson, who was appointed by the UPA government, quit on September 30 last year.
Gorkhaland movement leader Subhash Ghisingh dead
Subhash Ghisingh, the founder-leader of the movement for a separate homeland for the Gorkhas in northern Bengal, passed away at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi. He was 80 and is survived by two sons and a daughter.
For almost 20 years — from 1988 to 2007 — Mr. Ghisingh headed the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC). However, in 2007, his political disciples led by Bimal Gurung formed a separate outfit, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). Eventually, it became difficult for the legendary Gorkha leader to operate from the hills and he was forced to shift to Siliguri in the plains of north Bengal.

Colombia’s Paulina is Miss Universe

Colombia’s Paulina Vega was crowned Miss Universe , beating out contenders from the United States, Ukraine, Jamaica and the Netherlands among the top-five at the world’s top beauty pageant in Florida.
The 22-year-old model and business student triumphed over 87 other women from around the world, becoming only the second beauty queen from her nation to take home the prize.
The last time Colombia won the crown was in 1958, when Luz Marina Zuluaga took the title.
A beaming and tearful Vega, wearing a long silver-sequinned gown, accepted her sash and crown from the reigning Miss Universe, Gabriela Isler, from Venezuela.
She hugged first runner-up, Nia Sanchez, from the United States as the win was announced.
London-born Vega dedicated her title to Colombia and to all her supporters.

Ajmer, Allahabad can turn into religious tourism hubs

The decision to set up task forces to push plans for the three smart cities was taken at a meeting between Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu and visiting U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.

India and the U.S. had signed three memoranda of understanding (MoUs) for developing Ajmer, Allahabad and Visakhapatnam.
Mr. Naidu said Ajmer and Allahabad were chosen because they were centres of religious significance and drew tourists in large numbers.
Visakhapatnam was picked because being a coastal city it had the potential to develop into a tourist destination.
The Minister said Andhra Pradesh (after the bifurcation) was trying to develop itself, and the government was keen to offer aid and logistical support to it.
Each of the three task forces would formulate concrete action plans in the next three months.
Each team would have three representatives each from the Centre and respective State governments and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). These task forces would discuss city-specific features, requirements of the project and how to raise funds.