Daily Gk Updates April

7/30/2019 Daily Gk Updates April

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DAILY GK UPDATE 30TH APRIL1. Birth anniversary of Dadasaheb Phalke todayi. The 143rd birth anniversary celebration of the father of Indian Cinema, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke,

popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke will mark the end of the six day long Centenary Film Festival

which was held in Siri Fort Anniversary, New Delhi from 25th April.

ii.A Play on the life and times of Dadasaheb Phalke by Aamir Raza Hussain will stage on 30th

April.

iii. Dhundiraj Govind Phalke was born on 30th

April 1870. Phalke was a visionary gifted enough to

foresee the awesome potential of the film medium almost a century ago.

iv. Starting with his debut film, Raja Harishchandra in 1913, now known as India's first full-length feature,

he made 95 movies and 26 short films in his career spanning 19 years, till 1937, including his most noted

works: Mohini Bhasmasur (1913), Satyavan Savitri (1914), Lanka Dahan (1917), Shri Krishna Janma

(1918) and Kaliya Mardan (1919).

v. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award, for lifetime contribution to cinema, was instituted in his honor by the

Government of India in 1969.

vi. The award one of the most prestigious awards in Indian cinema and is the highest official recognition

for film personalities in the country.

vii. Dadasaheb Phalke was expired on 16th

February 1944.

viii. For the year, the prestigious award will be given to Pran Krishan Sikand, popularly known as, Pran.

2. Indian economy to grow at 6.1 per cent FY14: World Banki. World Bank on Tuesday scaled down Indias growth forecast to 6.1 per cent for the current fiscal from 7

per cent projected six months ago.

ii. The decline in the growth forecast is largely due to the decline in agriculture sector which is expected

to grow at 2 per cent during 2013-14 against the previous estimate of 2.7 per cent despite normal

monsoon projection.

iii. As per the latest India Development Update of the World Bank, Indian economy would grow by 6.1 per

cent in 2013-14 on account of robust domestic demand, strong savings and investment rate.

iv. According to the Update, a twice yearly report on the Indian economy and its prospects, GDP growth

during 2012-13 would be around 5 per cent, lowest in the decade.

v.Last week, Prime Ministers Economic Advisory panel had pegged the growth rate for the current fiscal

at 6.4 per cent.

vi. The current Update also focused on Indias march towards universal health coverage and its fiscal

implications.

3. Netherlands gets its first King in more than 100 years i. King Willem-Alexander became the first Dutch male monarch in more than a century as his mother,

Queen Beatrix, abdicated to end a 33-year reign.

ii. With her abdication, she becomes Princess Beatrix and her son ascends the throne as King Willem-

Alexander. He is the first Dutch king since Willem III died in 1890.

4. Gulzar appointed chancellor of Assam University


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i. Eminent poet, lyricist and director Sampooran Singh Kalra, popularly known by his pen name Gulzar,

has taken over as the new chancellor of Assam University, Silchar.

ii. Gulzar (79) replaced Prof M S Swaminathan, an Indian geneticist and chairman of MS

Swaminathan Research Foundation, after his five-year tenure ended last week.

iii.Assam University vice chancellor Somnath Dasgupta on Monday said President Pranab Mukherje has

been pleased to appoint Gulzar for the top job of the central varsity for a term of 5 years on April 25.

iv. Established in 1994, the Assam University campus is situated in Dargakona, about 20 km from

Silchar.

5. Haryana Govt. raises cooking cost under Mid Day Meal Scheme i. The Haryana government on 29 April 2013 raised the cooking cost given under Mid Day Meal Scheme

to all primary and upper primary schools in Haryana by 7.5 per cent.

ii. Now the cooking gas cost would now be 3.34 rupees per day per student in all primary schools and

5rupees per day per student in all upper primary schools

iii. If we compare it with earlier cooking cost it was 3.11 per day per student in all primary schools and

4.65 Rupees per day per student in all upper primary schools.

Note: i. It is important here to note that over 20.88 lakh students were being covered under the Scheme

in the state which includes over 13.72 lakh of primary schools, over 7.08 lakh of upper primary schools

and 7453 students under National Child Labour Project.

ii. Also, a sum of352 crore rupees has been allotted for Mid Day Meal Scheme for the current financial

year 2013-14.

iii. Cooking cost basically include cost of items like fuel, vegetables and ghee being used for cooking Mid

Day Meal.

6. Goa Government launched Krishi Card for Farmersi. Goa Government on 29 April 2013 launched a digital Krishi Card which is supposed to help farmers in

making use of benefits such as subsidies and loans given by the State Government.

ii. The Digiltal Krishi card was officially launched by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar which is based on

the database created by the State Agriculture Department at Porvorim.

iii. The introduction of the digitally coded card is a landmark and is going to spare farmers from the need

of repeatedly producing documents to gain subsidies.

Note: i. It is important here to note that around 10000-15000 farmers with clear land holdings would

benefit from the card during the first phase, followed by landless agriculturists.

ii. The next major initiative of the Government of Goa will be introduction of similar cards for fishermenand dairy farmers; the cards have been conceptualized by the State-run Goa Electronic Ltd.

Benefits of the Digital Krishi Card

i.A loan of up to 30000 rupees per annum for farmers owning a minimum of one hectare would be made

available through various financial institutions to be empanelled by the Government.

ii. The card would also make farmers eligible for loans depending on their land holding.


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iii. Earlier framers had to go through the confusion of submitting documents such as affidavits every time

they applied for agro subsidies.With the launch of Digital Krishi Card they will have to quote the Unique

Identity Number to get access to the subsidy.

iv. The card would not be a legal document if the farmer or tenant wants to stake his claim over the land.

7. Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka emerged Volleyball Championsi. Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka emerged volleyball champions at the 18th National Games for the Deaf

at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bangalore on 28 April 2013.

ii. Andhra Pradesh defeated Tamil Nadu 25-22, 25-19, 25-19 in the mens final

iii.While in womens category Karnataka defeated Andhra Pradesh 25-10, 19-25, 15-7 to win the title.

iv. The 18th National Games for the deaf took place after a 17-year gap. It was participated by 21 Indian

states.

8. MIs 4-run victory over Kings XI Punjabi. Captain Rohit Sharma's scintillating batting made all the difference in the end as Mumbai Indians beat

Kings XI Punjab by a narrow four runs in a nail-biting Pepsi IPL clash in Mumbai on Monday.

ii. Opting to bat, Sharma led from the front with a blistering unbeaten 79 off just 39 balls as Mumbai

posted a challenging 174 for three before Punjab were bowled out for 170 in the match that went down

the wire.

iii. David Miller (56 off 34 balls) and later Praveen Kumar (24 off 15 balls) kept Punjab in the hunt till the

end before the latter was out in the last ball of the innings in the match which kept the full-house crowd at

the Wankhede Stadium on the edge of their seats throughout.

iv. For Mumbai, Harbhajan was the pick of the bowlers as he grabbed three wickets for 14 runs while

Mitchell Johnson, Dhawal Kulkarni and Pragyan Ojha took two wickets each.

v. With their third straight victory and second at home, Mumbai remained firmly in the hunt for a berth in

knock-out phase as they jumped to fourth place with 12 points from nine matches. Punjab are now onsixth spot with eight points from nine matches.

DAILY GK UPDATE 28-29TH APRIL1. International Dance Day celebrations todayi. International Dance Day is being celebrated across the world today.

ii. It was introduced in 1982 by the International Dance Committee (CID) of the International TheatreInstitute (ITI), a UNESCO partner NGO.

iii. The day was introduced in 1982 and is celebrated on 29thApril every year.

iv. The date commemorates the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810), creator of modern ballet

and author of the famous Lettres sur la danse, published in 1760 in Lyon.sv.The aim of the International Dance Day Message is to revel in the universality of this art form thatcrosses all political, cultural and ethnic barriers.

2. Major Anup Joseph awarded Kirti Chakrai. Major Anup Joseph Manjali was on Saturday awarded the second-highest peacetime gallantry awardKirti Chakra by President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi for killing three foreign militants in Jammu andKashmir.


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ii. 12 defence personnel were awarded the Shaurya Charkra for their acts of bravery including Captain ARahul Ramesh and Naik Krishna Kumar who were given the honour posthumously.

iii. Manjali, who was deployed in Jammu and Kashmir with the 24 Rashtriya Rifles battalion, hadestablished a close cordon around five foreign terrorists while leading a counter- terrorist operation thereon October 1 last year.

3. Anil Goswami to be New Union Home Secretaryi. Union Ministry of Home Affairs on 26 April 2013 appointed Anil Goswami, a Jammu and Kashmir cadreIAS officer as Union Home Secretary.

ii. Government on 26 April 20134 appointed him as the officer on special duty in the ministry withimmediate effect till 30 June 2013.

iii. He will take charge from incumbent R.K Singh.

iv. His appointment to the office was made by Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) headed byPrime Minister Manmohan Singh. His tenure is fixed for a period of two years, till June 2015.

About Anil Goswami

i.Anil Goswami (58) is an IAS officer of 1978 batch, Jammu and Kashmir cadreii. He is the first bureaucrat from Jammu and Kashmirto be appointed as Home Secretary

iii.At present, he is the Secretary in Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment was cleared by theAppointments Committee.

iv. He was the first chief executive of the Vaishno Devi Shrine Board after it was taken over by thegovernment in the early 1990s

4. Maharashtra Government was directed to release Water into the Jayakwadi Dam i. Maharashtra government was directed by the Bombay High Court on 24 April 2013 to release water intothe Jayakwadi dam from the reservoirs upstream.

ii. The dam is built to address the irrigation and drinking water woes of Marathwada.

iii. The court gave the direction on a writ petition filed by the Marathwada Janata Vikas Parishad in 2012.

iv. In the petition, the citizens of Jalna and Aurangabad districts had demanded the immediate release of27. 5 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) into the Jayakwadi dam to fulfill the agriculture, drinking andindustrial needs of Jalna and Aurangabad townships and more than 400 villages in the districts.

v. However, the quantum of water and the number of days the water will take to reach the Jayakwadi damremain unclear.

5. Kerala to host country's first meet on travel technologyi. India's first international event on travel technologies will be held in Kerala with the objective of helpingtourism industry to leverage the massive marketing potential of the internet and social media.

ii. The International Conference on Travel Technology (ICTT) India from 7th -9th June at Kovalam, will

bring together subject experts from India and abroad, tour operators, hotel and resort owners, tourismmarketing professionals, academicians, researchers and think tanks to discuss evolving technologies andthe opportunities they present for the tourism industry

iii. ICTT India is being organised by the Association of Travel Trade Organizations, India (ATTOI) - a not-for-profit body working to promote responsible travel and sustainable tourism - a with the support ofKerala's Department of Tourism.

6. Indian Railways Reduced the Advanced Booking Period of the Tickets to 60 Days


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i. The Indian Railways reduced the advanced booking period of the tickets from four months duration totwo months, with effect from 1 May 2013.

ii. This has been done to prevent the enormous amount of cancellations after the booking process.

iii. The Railway notification issued on 25 April 2013 declared that the advance reservation period (ARP)in order to book the reserved train tickets was being reduced from 120 days to 60 days from 1 May 2013.

iv. It was also declared that the bookings which were done up to 30 April 2013 under already-existing

ARP of120 days will not be changed.

v. Railway officials believed that this action would help the genuine travellers and reduced touts thatbooked bulk tickets in advance.

7. Nadal beats Almagro for eighth Barcelona Open titlei. Rafael Nadal extended his record number of Barcelona titles to eight as he brushed off a slow start tobeat Spanish compatriot Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday.

ii. Last weekend's Monte Carlo runner-up regained his accustomed position on an ATP winner's podiumwith his fourth title of 2013 and his third on clay for the year.

iii. The win was the second of the season for Nadal over Almagro after beating his countryman in the

Acapulco semifinal.iv. Nadal will now prepare for another home event, the Madrid Masters, beginning next weekend.

8. Sharapova beat Li Na to win Stuttgart titlei. Maria Sharapova won a tussle of the top seeds and the last two French Open champions against Li Na,6-4, 6-3, on Sunday for back-to-back titles at the Porsche Grand Prix.

ii. Sharapova got her ninth victory in the 14th meeting with world number five Li in 1 hour 32 minuteswhen Li double-faulted on first match point.

iii. Sharapova picked up a winners cheque of 100,000 euros and a flashy blue convertible sports carfrom the tournament sponsor for her second title of the year.

iv. Li, who won the previous meeting with Sharapova in the Australian Open semifinals, earned 55,000

euros.

9. German duo Sabine and Mona won WTA Porsche Grand Prixi.German duo Sabine Lisicki and Mona Barthel won the womens doubles title at the WTA PorscheGrand Prix in Stuttgart on 28 April 2013.

ii. The Germans defeated the in-form pair ofBethanie Mattek-Sands and Sania Mirza 6-4, 7-5 in oneand a half hours to claim their first title as a team.

iii. Mirza and Mattek-Sands have already won 2 titles in 2013 but couldnt repeat the winningperformance against the Germans who were playing in front of the home crowd.

DAILY GK UPDATE 26TH APRIL1. World Intellectual Property Day is being observed today i. World Intellectual Property Day is being observed on Friday. It is held annually on 26 April under the

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) since 2000, to raise awareness of how patents,

copyright, trademarks and designs impact on daily life.

ii.It is also observed to celebrate creativity, and the contribution made by creators and innovators to the

development of societies across the globe.


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iii. The theme for this year is Creativity - The Next Generation

iv. 26th

April was chosen as the date for World Intellectual Property Day because it coincides with the

date on which the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization entered into force

in 1970.

2. Ex-Japan Finance exec elected new ADB chiefi.Takehiko Nakao has been unanimously elected president of the Asian Development Bank by its

Board pf Governors,

ii. Nakao, 57, Japan's former Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, will assume office as

ADB's ninth president on April 28 and will succeed Haruhiko Kuroda, who resigned in March

iii. Nakao will finish the unexpired term of his predecessor, which ends Novermber 23, 2016.

iv. Nakao, whose career spans more than three decades, has held senior positions in the Ministry of

Finance of Japan.

v. He also served as Visiting Professor at the University of Tokyo in 2010 and 2011, teaching

international finance. Nakao holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Tokyo and a Master of

Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley.

vi. The ADB, which has 67 member countries and territories including Japan and the United States, helps

its developing members tackle poverty by providing loans, technical assistance and grants for a broad

range of development activities.

3. India to host 6th IBSA summit in Junei. After a gap of over 20 months, India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) -- three large democracies from

three different continents will meet at the summit level here on June 6.

ii. The summit will also commemorate the Tenth anniversary of its founding. It will be held a decade after

the Indian Prime Minister and Presidents of the other two countries felt marginalised at the Evian G-8

summit in 2003.iii. This will be the sixth IBSA Summit with the first one held in Brasilia in 2006. Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh alone has the distinction of attending all IBSA summits since.

iv. IBSA cooperates on three fronts -- first, as a forum seeking reforms in global institutions of political

and economic governance;second, trilateral collaboration through working groups and

third People-to-People Forums for the common benefit of three countries; and, third, assisting other

developing countries by taking up projects through the IBSA Fund.

4. Asha Bhosle, Mala Sinha to get Phalke Academy awards i. The Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Awards will be bestowed on singer Asha Bhosle, actress Mala Sinha,late filmmaker Yash Chopra, and late superstar Rajesh Khanna among several others at a ceremony

here April 30.

ii.Asha, who has regaled music lovers with her melodious voice in her over six decades old career, will

receive the Phalke Ratna Award from the academy, while Mala Sinha, who has acted in "Pyaasa",

"Maryada" and "Hariyali Aur Rasta" will get the Golden Era Award.


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iii. A special award has been reserved for the late Yash Chopra, who, in his dynamic career, emerged as

one of the most iconic filmmakers of the country, offering the best in romance, action and even social

dramas.

5. Trinamool Congress MP Ambica Banerjee Passed Away Trinamool Congress MP Ambica Banerjee passed away in Kolkata on 25 April 2013. He was 86 years of

age.

About Ambica Banerjee

i.Ambica Banerjee was a known and respected member among all the sections as the social activist as

well as the politician.

ii. He was a mechanical engineer and started the political career with Congress.

iii. He later became a part of the Trinamool.

iv. He remained a member of Bengal Legislative Assembly from 1982 to 2006.

v. He remained associated with sports organisations as well, such as Cricket Association of Bengal as

well as Indian Football Association.

6. Chennai Super Kings beat Hyderabad Sunrisers by 5 wickets i. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashed a superb half-century under pressure as Chennai Super

Kings recorded a close six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Pepsi IPL match on Thursday.

ii. Chasing a tricky 160-run target, Chennai were in a spot of bother after a good start but Dhoni lifted the

side to its sixth win out of eight matches with an unbeaten 67.

iii. Riding on Shikhar Dhawan's scintillating knock of 63, Sunrisers Hyderabad recovered from early jolts

to post a competitive 159 for six after electing to bat.

DAILY GK UPDATE 25TH APRIL1. World Malaria Day being observed todayi. World Malaria Day is being observed today. Malaria cure and prevention is focused upon, annually on25th April

ii. The global campaign theme for 2013 and the coming years is Invest in the future. Defeat malaria. asgiven by the World Health Organization.

iii. This day was instituted by the WHO Member States during the 2007 World Health Assembly.

iv. According to WHO, 219 million cases are estimated to occur globally each year while 660000 deathsof children under the age of five years occurs every year.

v. The day also serves as an opportunity for new donors to join the global malaria partnership, researchand academic institutions to showcase their scientific work.

2. India and UAE signed an MoU on Air Services i. The Union Government of India and the Government of UAE on 24 April 2013 signed an MoU on AirServices as a follow up of the two day bilateral negotiation at Abu Dhabi.

ii. A bilateral agreement was signed by both sides to increase the number of weekly airline seats by fourtimes that is available at present, between India and Abu Dhabi


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iii. With this agreement the number of seats between India and Abu Dhabi has been increased to 50000passengers per week from existing capacity of 13300 + 2% flexibility (total 13,600) Seats per week witheleven points of call available to UAE.

iv. The arrangements in the agreement will extend over a period of three years.

Important Points about the agreement

i. UAE made a demand from India to allocate additional 40000 seats every week grant for Goa, Amritsar,Pune and Lucknow as additional points of calls and removal of maximum cap that is prescribed from eachpoint of call in terms of seats/frequency per week.

ii. India made a request to UAE to grant the change of gauge facility at Abu Dhabi for Indian Carriers withan assurance of fifth freedom rights from the UAE.

iii. The agreement on availability of seats came up with the exhaustion of the entire capacity of 13300 andfollowing the demands of the Indian carriers like Jet Airways, Air India, Spice Jet and Indigo for increasein the number of seats.

3. Researchers Developed New Keyboard Called KALQi. Researchers at St Andrews, the Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Germany and Montana Tech in

the US created a keyboard layout, said to be great for the touchscreen devices like smartphones andtablets.

ii. The new keyboard, researchers claimed, can make thumb-typing faster and easier

iii. New design of the keyboard is called KALQ, in order of its keys on one line.

iv. This keyboard would be accessible to the users free of cost for the Android-based devices.

v. In the new keyboard, all vowels were placed in area which was assigned to right thumb, while the leftthumb had more keys.

vi.With error-correction algorithm, the users who were trained could reach 37 words in a minute.

v. KALQ provided better performance to users. The new keyword work of the researchers will now bepresented at CHI 2013 conference (the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems)in Paris on 1 May 2013.

4. Ajay Devgn, Runa Laila named SAARC ambassadors for HIV/AIDSi. Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn,Bangladeshi singer Runa Lailaand Oscar-winningPakistanifilmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy have been named as SAARC Goodwill Ambassadors for HIV/AIDS.

ii.A meeting of the selection committee was held recently at the SAARC Secretariat and of the 10nominations received from the member states, the three celebrities were nominated.

iii. The selections were based on criteria of regional stature and eminence; appeal to the target audience;relevance in delivery of message; likely commitment of the candidate and innovative ways that could beutilised in promoting advocacy and awareness in combating HIV/AIDS.

iv. "SAARC Goodwill Ambassador programmes have been very effective for generating advocacy andawareness relating to HIV/AIDS in the region. Shabana Azmi during her tenure did tremendous jobs onadvocacy and awareness in Nepal and Bhutan.

v. The SAARC goodwill ambassador for HIV/ AIDS programme commenced in January 2009 withactress Shabana Azmi as its first mascot.

5. Largest Biogas Plant of the World Inaugurated in Finland i. The largest biogas plant of the world was inaugurated in Finland

ii. The plant is built near the already-present coal-fired power plant in Vaasa in Central Finland.

iii. The 140 MW biomass gasification factory would help the country in cutting down the use of coal by upto 40 percent.


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iv. It will also help in facilitating electricity as well as heating for the Vaasa to approximately 61000residents.

v. The operator of the plant is Vaskiluodon Voima. Vaskiluodon Voima declared that this plant will helpin creating various jobs in this region.

6. UP CM Akhilesh to address Harvard on Mahakumbh success story i. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav will leave for Harvard, first official foreign visit, on 23rdApril to share his views about successful planning of Allahabad' Mahakumbh', the biggest religious fair ofthe world.

ii. The oldest American private Ivy League research the university in United States, has invited Mr Yadavalong with other senior UP officials who had conducted the successful Mahakumbh where over 200million pilgrims had taken a dip in Sangam during the 55-days-long fair.

iii. Mahakumbh takes place at the banks of Sangam, the confluence of holy river Ganga, Yamuna andmythical Saraswati in Allahabad, every twelve year.

iv. Yadav will leave for US along with his team of officers who were involved in the planning of the fairwhich, in fact, had started two years in advance.

v. This year it was held from 15th January to 10th March and had evoked great response from thespritual, religious and academic fraternity from across the world with crores of devotees including foreign

tourists having visited the fair.

7. Kashyap becomes world No.6i. London Olympics quarterfinalist Parupalli Kashyap on Thursday moved up a place to career-best sixthin the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings.

ii. Kashyap scaled his career-best singles ranking a day after losing his first round match at the IndiaOpen Super Series to former world number 1 Taufiq Hidayat of Indonesia.

iii. P.V. Sindhu also reached her career-best ranking of number 15 in the womens singles while SainaNehwal retained the number two spot.

8. Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 5 wicketsi. Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets in Pepsi Indian Premier League matchwhich was held in Kolkata on Wednesday.

ii. Batting first, KKR scored 159 for six but MI surpassed the total with a ball to spare as Dwayne Smith hit62.

iii. For defending champions KKR, this was their fifth defeat and their campaign is slowly turning from badto worse as they stay on four points from seven games compared to MI's eight points.

DAILY GK UPDATE 24TH APRIL1. Mahavir Jayanti is being celebrated across the countryi. Mahavir Jayanti is being celebrated across the country with religious fervour and gaiety today.

ii. In some parts of the country, Mahavir Jayanti was celebrated yesterday also.

iii. President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice- President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

greeted the nation on Mahavir Jayanti and hoped that his life and teachings will inspire everyone to tread

the path of non-violence and compassion.

iv. President Pranab Mukherjee said : "May the life and noble teachings of Lord Mahavira inspire us to

abjure violence in thought, word and deed and to always adhere to the path of ahimsa,"


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2. Narasimhan Ravi Elected As the President of Editors Guild of Indiai. Narasimhan Ravi, the director of Kasturi and Sons Limited as well as the former Editor of The Hindu

was unanimously elected as the president of Editors Guild of India on 23 April 2013 at the annual general

meeting of the Guild in New Delhi.

ii. He succeeded T.N. Ninan, the chairman and editorial director of Business Standard.

iii. He will be serving two-year term as the President of the Guild.

About Narasimhan Ravi

i. Narasimhan Ravi was born on 1 January 1948.

ii. He is a veteran Indian journalist.

iii. He served as Editor-in-chief of The Hindu from 1991 to 2003.

iv. In 2003, he was taken over by N. Ram, the Managing Director.

Editors Guild of India is the organisation of the editors of various magazines and newspapers of India.

Apart from the election of the President of the Guild, the annual general meeting took certain issues suchas consultation paper on the cross-media ownership which was issued by Telecom Regulatory Authority

of India (TRAI).

3. Legendary Singer Shamshad Begum Diedi. Legendary singerShamshad Begum died on 23 April 2013 in Mumbai due to illness. She was 94

years of age.

ii. She was one of the first few playback singers of the Hindi film industry. She is survived by her daughter

and son-in-law.

About Shamshad Begumi. Shamshad Begum was born on 14 April 1919 in Amritsar, Punjab.

ii. Her debut was in Lahore on the Peshawar Radio on 16 December 1947.

iii. Some of her popular Hindi songs include Kabhi Aar Kabhi Paar, Kajra Mohabbat Wala and Mere Piya

Gaye Rangoon.

iv. Before she made her debut in Hindi films, she sang in Punjabi film of Dalsukh Pancholi called Yamla

Jat with the music given by Ghulam Haider.

v. The first Hindi film of Dalsukh Pancholi was Khazanchi in which there were nine songs, all of which

were recorded in Shamshad Begums voice.

4. Govt. launches medi claim facility for farmers holding kisan Credit cardsi. The Government today launched medi claim facility for farmers holding Kisan Credit Cards, KCC,

issued by Dena Bank.

ii. Launching the scheme in New Delhi, Finance minister P Chidambaram handed over medi claim

policies and ID cards to six farmers of different states holding KCC of the bank. He said it is an innovative

and noble scheme for the benefit of farmers at large.


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iii. Chidambaram mentioned though it is a small step, in terms of coverage of farmers to provide hassle

free cashless medi claim facility, yet it is a welcome step. He said on successful implementation of the

scheme, it can be considered for implementation on a large scale.

iv. The Finance Minister stressed the need to take immediate action by the non life insurance sector to

increase penetration and coverage.

5. The Woodstock Singer, Richie Havens Died i. Richie Havens, the folk musician who commenced the 1969 Woodstock musical festival died because

of cardiac arrest on 22 April 2013 in Jersey City. He was 72 years of age. He is survived by 3 children, 5

grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.

ii. He also sang for President Bill Clinton and Dalai Lama. He sang at the 1993 inauguration of Clinton.

iii. He was known for the acoustic guitar as well as covers of the songs by The Who, Bob Dylan and The

Beatles.

iv. Other hits of Haven include Beatles classics Here Comes the Sun and Strawberry Fields Forever.

Other work includes The Whos Wont Get Fooled Again.

6. HP launches world's fastest desktop printeri. Hewlett-Packard on Wednesday launched for business in India its latest range ofOfficejet Pro X 500

series printers that are recognised as world's fastest desktop printer by Guinness Book of Records.

ii. It is powered by HP PageWide Technology and can deliver professional documents at up to 70 pages

per minute.

iii. The series includes four devices and HP claims that they deliver high-quality documents at up to twice

the speed and half the cost of colour lasers.

iv. The HP Officejet Pro X Series is priced in the range of Rs 31,499-50,499.

v. The company also introduced its Officejet Pro Black & White series on Wednesday, priced in the range

of Rs 7,999-11,999.

7. Chris Gayle Hit Fastest-Ever Century in the History of Cricket during IPLi.Chris Gayle, the West Indies opener, hit the fastest ever century in the history of cricket by reaching

100 in merely 30 balls during Royal Challengers Bangalore-Pune Warriors IPL match on 23 April 2013.

ii. Gayle scored a total run of 175 runs in merely 66 balls, which included 17 sixes and 13 boundaries. It

is important to note that this is the most number of runs scored in any T20 innings. This was also his

fourth century in the IPL career.

The previous record holders of fastest centuries are as follows:

i.30 balls: Chris Gayle, Royal Challengers Bangalore vs. Pune Warriors, IPL, 23 April 2013

ii.34 balls: Andrew Symonds, Kent vs. Middlesex, Twenty20 Cup, 2 July 2004

iii.35 balls: Louis van der Westhuizen, Namibia v Kenya, unofficial T20 international, 7 November 2011

iv. 37 balls: Shahid Afridi, Pakistan vs. Sri Lanka, ODI, 4 October 1996

v.37 balls: Scott Styris, Sussex vs. Gloucs, Twenty20 Cup, 24 July 2012

vi.37 balls: Yusuf Pathan, Rajasthan Royals vs. Mumbai Indians, IPL, 13 March 2010


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8. Tendulkar turns 40, thanks fans for 'unconditional lovei. Sachin Tendulkar was a picture of humility as he celebrated his 40th birthday with a brief cake-cutting

ceremony in Kolkata, thanking his legions of fans for their "unconditional love" in a cricket career

spanning over two decades.

ii. Sachin said: "Let me take this opportunity to thank all the people in Indiaand well wishers all over the

world who have supported me and showered me with unconditional love,". "It has been really special and

it is because of their good wishes that I am standing here,

iii. In a career spanning 24 years, Tendulkar has got almost all the batting record to his name other than

Brian Lara's Test highest of 400 not out.

iv. Tendulkar, who has called it quits from the ODI format to prolong his Test career, has a colossal

18426 runs from 463 matches with 49 hundreds at an average of 44.83.

v. Tendulkar has played only one T20 for India as he has limited his Twenty20 ambition to his franchise

Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

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