Daily Current Affairs – 19 & 20th May 2015


1. 
Laszlo Krasznahorkai wins Man Booker International Prize 2015

i. “Visionary” Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai has been announced as the winner of the sixth Man Booker International Prize.

ii. He was born in 1954 and gained recognition in 1985 when he published Satantango, which he adapted for the big screen in 1994.

iii. The prize, worth £60,000, is awarded every two years for “an achievement in fiction on the world stage”.

iv. Krasznahorkai’s win was announced at an award ceremony at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London on Tuesday night.

2. Economist Mrinal Datta Chaudhuri passes away at 81

i. Eminent economist, noted academic and policy advisor Mrinal Datta Chaudhuri, passed away in Pune. He was 81.

ii. He was suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

iii. ‘MDC’ as Professor Chaudhuri was popularly and affectionately called, studied with Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen in Shantiniketan and furthered his education at Kolkata’s Presidency College before completing his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

3. IDBI Bank to launch e-huts for services in rural areas

i. IDBI Bank is set to expand its branch network to 2,000 by the end of the current year from 1,740 now, besides rolling out e-huts to provide services to people in rural areas.

ii. E-hut is a western concept and is set up at relatively populated areas, such as malls.

4. HP to host Paragliding World Cup 2015

i. India will host the Paragliding World Cup in Himachal Pradesh for the first time, which will see participation from over 50 countries.

ii. It will be held under the aegis of Para-gliding World Cup Association, France, in October 2015, at Bir Billing in Kangra valley.

iii. The state was chosen to host the World Cup after it successfully conducted the paragliding pre-World Cup-2013.

5. India, China account for 54% of total gold demand during Q1

i. According to a the Gold Demands Trends report prepared by the World Gold Council, India and China accounted for 54 percent of the total global gold consumer demand in the first quarter of this year.

ii. As per the report, demand for jewellery, still the most significant component of overall demand, totalled over 600 tonnes in the first quarter of 2015, three per cent lower than the last year. The report said, conditions differed from market to market, but at an aggregate level these differences broadly balanced each other out.

6. Meghalaya achieves 100% inclusion in Jan Dhan Yojana

i. Meghalaya has achieved 100 percent success in implementing the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna.

ii. All households in the state have been successfully covered under the scheme. More than 5.53 lakh households have been covered with 1.55 lakh new bank accounts.

Note: The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, a nationwide scheme was launched by the Modi government for financial inclusion of every household that does not have a bank account.

According to the scheme, every family must have at least a Bank Account and head of the family will get life insurance coverage of Rs 1 lakh in case of accident. All eleven districts have been able to open at least one bank account of every household under the ambitious scheme.

7. Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, serial actress Sudha Shivpuri passes away

i. Veteran TV actress Sudha Shivpuri passed away in Mumbai today due to multiple organ failure. She was 77. ii. Sudha Shivpuri, became a household name after essaying the role of ‘Baa’ in TV show Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.

8. India assumed Presidency of the 68th World Health Assembly

i. After 19 years, India on 18 May 2015 assumed Presidency of the 68th World Health Assembly (WHA.

ii. The session was presided by the Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda at Geneva and it will be held from 18 May 2015 to 27 May 2015.

ii. The Assembly will deliberate on key issues of global interest including anti-microbial resistance, air pollution and health, global health emergency, preparedness and surveillance, global strategy and plan of action on public health, innovation and intellectual property, and research and development in neglected tropical diseases.

9. SS Ahluwalia committee JPC on Land Acquisition Amendment Bill, 2015

i. SS Ahluwalia appointed as the chairman of Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) (Amendment) Bill, 2015.

ii. The committee has 20 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 members from the Rajya Sabha. The formation of the panel became necessary in the backdrop of disagreement among the political parties on the provisions of the bill which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 11 May 2015.

iii. SS Ahluwalia is a BJP Lok Sabha member representing Darjeeling constituency in West Bengal.

10. Draupadi Murmu became first woman Governor of Jharkhand

i. Draupadi Murmu was sworn in as the first woman Governor of Jharkhand. With this, Murmu became the ninth Governor of Jharkhand.

ii. She succeeded Syed Ahmed who was recently appointed as Governor of Manipur.

iii. She is a two-time Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Odisha Assembly and had represented Rairangpur constituency. She had served as Cabinet Minister in the Naveen Patnaik led coalition government of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and BJP.

11. Tathagata Roy takes oath as Tripura Governor

i. Tathagata Roy took oath as the Governor of Tripura in Agartala.

ii. He has replaced Padmanabh Balkrishna Acharya, the Governor of Nagaland, who held the additional charge of Tripura.

iii. He is the 16th Governor of the North-eastern State.

12. V Shanmuganathan sworn in as Meghalaya governor

i. Mr. V Shanmuganthan was sworn in as the 15th Governor of Meghalaya.

ii. Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court, justice Uma Nath Singh administered the oath of office to the newly appointed Governor. iii. He is born on November 21, 1949, and completed M. Phil in political science. He joined the RSS in 1962 and later joined Bharatiya Janata Party and served in many party positions.

13. Joe Root & Charlotte Edwards named England cricketers of the year

i. Joe Root and Charlotte Edwards were named as England men’s and women’s cricketers of the year 2014-15 respectively.

ii. Root who was recently appointed vice-captain of England’s Test team was named as the cricketer of the year for scoring 1135 test runs at an average of 95 including four scores of 149 and above. His top test score of the season was of 200 not out against Sri Lanka at Lord’s.

iii. Charlotte Edwards, the women’s captain won the award for consecutive second year. She was chosen for averaging above 75 in ODIs and nearly 60 in Twenty20 internationals in the season. Under her leadership, England secured ODI series victories against India and New Zealand, alongside T20 series wins against South Africa and New Zealand.

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