GK and Current Affairs Updates

Reliance Defence, subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Limited, the company last week received 15 industrial licenses for making a wide array of high technology equipment ranging from heavy weapons, armored vehicles, ammunition, electronic warfare systems, UAVs and directed energy weapon systems.
•    10 pertain to land systems, three for the naval systems and remaining two covering niche technologies across the defense spectrum.
•    Reliance will be competing with a host of established companies like the TATA, L&T, Baba Kalyani Group, Mahindras among others, to get orders.
•    Reliance is focusing on defence deals including Army’s plans to spend an additional Rs. 50,000 crore over next ten to fifteen years 
•    This investment has to be done in different combat vehicles, air defence missile systems among others.
•    Reliance Defence also intends to address a large potential international market for combat vehicles in the Middle East, Africa and South America.\

On 2 May 2016 The Supreme Court of India appointed a three-member panel headed by former Chief Justice of India (CJI) RM Lodha to oversee the functions of the Medical Council of India. 
The panel consists of former CAG Vinod Rai and Dr SK Sareen.
•    The court appointed the panel after MCI has been accused of corrupt. 
•    A parliamentary committee report said that the MCI was repeatedly found short of fulfilling its mandated responsibilities, 
•    Medical graduates lacked competence in performing basic healthcare tasks. Instances of unethical practices continued to grow. The MCI was not able to spearhead any serious reforms in medical education.
•    Earlier, RM Lodha headed a three-member panel appointed by the top court to look into the 2013 betting scandal in the Indian Premier league (IPL) and the functioning of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) 
•    He also headed the committee appointed to sell assets of Pearls Agrotech Corporation Ltd (PACL) and refund 49 thousand crore rupees to the investors.

On 3 May 2016 Sameer Chadha was appointed as the partner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KPMG's offshore arm in India.
Chadha joined KPMG Global Services (KGS) from Barclays Shared Services,
Chadha has 25 years of experience with leading organisations across the financial services and consumer goods sectors. 
•    He began his career with Nestle India.
•    Prior to working with Barclays, he held strategic leadership roles at firms such as Bank of America, First Source Solutions and Lehman Brothers.
•    He is a chartered accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University.
•    KPMG was established in India in September 1993 
•    KPMG India Pvt Ltd offers financial advisory services, business advisory services, tax and regulatory services and risk advisory services.
•    The firm operates from its offices in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kochi, Chandigarh and Ahmadabad in India.
 

Australian entrepreneur Craig Steven Wright on 2 May 2016 publicly identified himself as the creator of Bitcoin, digital cryptocurrency. He claimed to be the real person behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, a claim that is disputed within the Bitcoin community.
•    Wright graduated from high school in 1987 from Padua College in Brisbane.
•    He completed 18 SANS Institute courses and was the world's first person to receive GIAC certification in Compliance and Audits, and was a SANS Institute Mentor.
•    He worked in information technology for various companies, including OzEmail, K-Mart and the Australian Securities Exchange, as well as working as a security consultant for Mahindra & Mahindra.
•    He was the CEO of the technology firm Hotwire Preemptive Intelligence Group (Hotwire PE). Hotwire planned to launch Denariuz Bank, the world's first Bitcoin-based bank, though it encountered regulatory difficulties with the Australian Tax Office and failed in 2014.
•    Since the system works without a central repository or single administrator, the U.S. Treasury categorizes bitcoin as a decentralized virtual currency.

National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), under the Union Ministry of Science & Technology inked licence agreements with M/s Nabagram Resham Shilpa Unnayan Cooperative Society Ltd and M/s Dariapur Rural Development Society, Kalia Chak of West Bengal for the commercialization of Ghar Sodhon.
•    It is a user friendly and non-corrosive room disinfectant, devoid of the requirement of labour, water, electricity and spraying machines.
•    It has been developed at the Central Silk Research & Training Institute (CSRTI), Berhampore, West Bengal, a constituent Research Institute under Central Silk Board, Bengaluru, under the Union Ministry of Textiles.
•    It is gaining popularity among the silk farmers of the States of West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand.
With this agreement both organizations will put efforts to bring the fruits of research for awareness and betterment of the society.

On 2 May 2016 Mark Selby won World Championship title of Snooker. In the final match played in Sheffield. With this win, Selby also ended Ding’s chance of being the first Asian player to win the world title.
•    This was Selby’s second trophy of the year, earlier he had won minor Gdynia Open event in Poland.
•    This was Selby’s second World Snooker title, 
•    First was won against Ronnie O'Sullivan in 2014. 
•    He entered the list of Steve Davis, Hendry, John Higgins, Mark Williams and Ronnie O’Sullivan, the stars who have won at least two world titles since the event rocked up in Sheffield in 1977.
     • 2008: Beats Ronnie O'Sullivan 9-8 to win Welsh Open
•    2011: Beats Mark Williams 10-9 in Shanghai Masters final
•    2012: Wins UK Championship with 10-6 win over Shaun Murphy
•    2014: Wins World Championship 18-14 against Ronnie O'Sullivan
•    2015: Wins German Masters and China Open
•    2016: Clinches second World Championship
•    He also won the Masters, an invitation event, in 2008, 2010 and 2013

President Pranab Mukherjee on 3 May 2016 conferred National film awards for the year 2015 in various categories at the 63rd National Film Awards Function held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
•    The President also conferred 2015 Dada Saheb Phalke Award to Manoj Kumar.
•    Amitabh Bachchan received the Best Actor honour for his role of a hypochondriac father in Piku. While Kangana Ranaut received the Best Actress Award for Tanu Weds Manu Returns.
•    Best Feature Film - Baahubali: The Beginning
•    Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film Of A Director -Neeraj Ghaywan for Masaan
•    Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment - Bajrangi Bhaijaan
•    Best Children's Film - Duronto
•    Best Direction - Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Bajirao Mastani
•    Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration - Nanak Shah Fakir
•    Best Film on Environment / Conservation / Preservation - Valiya Chirakulla Pakshikal
•    Best Film on Social Issue - Niranayakam
•    Best Actor - Amitabh Bachchan for Piku
•    Best Actress - Kangana Ranaut for Tanu Weds Manu Returns
•    Best Supporting Actor -  Samuthirakani for Visaranai
•    Best Supporting Actress - Tanvi Azmi for Bajirao Mastani
•    Best Child Artist - Gaurav Menon for Ben
•    Best Male Playback Singer - Mahesh Kale for Katyar Kaljat Ghusali
•    Best Female Playback Singer - Monali Thakur for Moh Moh Ke Dhaag (Dum Laga Ke Haisha)

On 1 May 2016 Indian shooters bagged three gold medals and a bronze in the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany.
•    The Indians won gold each in the men's 25m standard pistol and women's 50m rifle prone competitions. 
•    India’s Rituraj Singh won an individual gold medal in the men's 25m standard pistol competition 
•    Gaayathri Nithyanadam bagged a bronze in the women's 50m rifle prone competition.
•    Rituraj Singh, Shivam Shukla and Arjun Das walked away with the gold medal in the team event of the men's 25m standard pistol competition, shooting a total of 1661. 
•    France won the silver medal with 1659 points while Australia won the bronze with 1648 points.
•    Indian women won gold medal in the team event of the 50m rifle prone competition. 
•    Gaayathri Nithyanadam, Sonika and Ayushi Podder shot a total of 1846.6 to emerge winners. 
•    They were followed by France (1841.7) and Poland (1836.3) respectively.

On 2 May 2016 Indian Railways signed a MoU with forest departments of Haryana and Punjab to plant trees alongside Railway Track on Railway Land Boundary.
The MoU was signed by Pankaj Saxena, Chief Engineer /P&D, Northern Railway on behalf of Railways whereas it was by Dr Amrinder Kaur, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) from forest departments.
•    Railway can contribute substantially towards the Green India Mission.
•    Forest department is involved in the plantation as well as maintenance and disposal of trees, thus bringing in the much needed expertise in afforestation.
•    Plantation along the railway track on railway land boundary by Forest department 
•    It will be done without declaring such land as protected forest with the provision for resumption of such land at any time by railways .
•    It will thus ensure no hindrance to railway works / developmental projects.
•    Railway land will be protected from encroachment.
•    All Zonal railways have been asked to execute similar agreement between their zones and concerned State Forest departments as early as possible.

An Indian American Sikh woman from California, Harmeet Kaur Dhillon, got elected in the Republican Party at the US national level.
She was elected as the newest national committee woman of the Republican National Committee on 1 May 2016.
Earlier she was the vice chairman of the California GOP. She is the first woman elected to this position in California Republican Party.
•    She was born in India, but raised in rural North Carolina after her Sikh parents moved to the US.
•    She is a nationally recognized trial lawyer, boardroom advisor and advocate for individual, corporate and institutional clients across numerous industries and walks of life.
•    She has been awarded the prestigious designation of Northern California Super Lawyer in business litigation by Thomson/West Publishing, an accolade reserved for the top 5% of lawyers in the jurisdiction.
•    Dhillon’s practice in New York, London, and the San Francisco Bay Area has focused on federal and state commercial litigation and arbitration, with a particular emphasis on unfair competition/trade secret misappropriation, intellectual.