Daily G.K Bits:- 02-09-2015

1. Who among the following has been awarded by Poland with Human rights prize? (1)

1. Zhanna Nemtsova
2. Zaband dek
3. Njama skoko
4. Sdumat mkoko
5. None

Expl:- Poland has awarded the journalist daughter of slain Russian democracy advocate and opposition leader Boris Nemtsov a 1.1 million dollars human rights prize in recognition of the duo’s advocacy.  Zhanna Nemtsova accepted the Solidarity award in Warsaw, in ceremonies presided over by President Bronislaw Komorowski and Polish human rights icon Lech Walesa. Nemtsova, who left Russia after her father’s assassination, now works for German broadcaster Deutsche Welle in Berlin

2. Niloy neel, an atheist was killed recently. He belongs to ____ (5)

1. Iraq
2. Syria
3. Srilanka
4. Israel
5. Bangladesh

Expl:- A Bangladeshi blogger known for his atheist views has been hacked to death by a gang armed with machetes in the capital Dhaka, police say. Niloy Neel was attacked at his home in the city’s Goran area. He is the fourth secularist blogger to have been killed this year by suspected Islamist militants in Bangladesh

3. Ramnath Kovind is the new Governor of ____ (3)

1. Uttar Pradesh
2. Himachal Pradesh
3. Bihar
4. Maharashtra
5. Asom

Expl:- President appoints Ram Nath Kovind as Governor of Bihar and Acharya Dev Vrat as Governor of Himachal Pradesh. Kovind, who had been a two-time Rajya Sabha member between 1994 and 2006, hails from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.  His appointment comes barely a few months ahead of the Assembly elections due in Bihar. Educationist Acharya Dev Vrat was appointed as Governors of Himachal Pradesh. Vrat imparts modern and traditional education through a ‘gurukul’ in Haryana’s Kurukshetra

4. This year, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award was given to? (4)

1. Saina Sehwal
2. Rohit Sharma
3. Kadambari Srikanth
4. Sania Mirza
5. None

Expl:- The prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award for the 2015 will be given to Tennis star Sania Mirza. The announcement was made by Ministry of Sports in New Delhi on 14^th August. The Ministry also announced the Arjuna Award for 17 sports persons.  The awardees are Naib Subedar Sandeep Kumar for Archery, M.R. Poovamma(Athletics), Kidambi Srikanth (Badminton), Mandeep Jangra (Boxing), Rohit Sharma (Cricket), Dipa Karmakar(Gymnastics), Sreejesh P.R. (Hockey), Manjeet Chhillar and Abhilasha Shashikant Mhatre (Kabaddi), Sawarn Singh (Rowing), Anup Kumar Yama (Roller Skating), Jitu Rai (Shooting), S. Sathish Kumar (Weightlifting), Bajrang and Babita Kumari (Wrestling), Yumnam Sanathoi Devi for
Wushu and Sharath M. Gayakwad for Para-Swimming.  Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee will receive medal, certificate and an award money of Rs 7.5 lakh. Arjuna Awardees will receive statuettes, certificates and award money of Rs 5 lakh each

5. Who got first APJ Abdul Kalam Award? (2)

1. Kasturu Rangan
2. Valarmathi
3. Satish Reddy
4. Radha Krishnan
5. Arvind suri

Expl:- Tamilnadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, on presented the first APJ Abdul Kalam award to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist N. Valarmathi, who led the team that successfully launched Radar Imaging Satellite RISAT-1 in 2012. Daughter of a government employee from Ariyalur, Ms. Valarmathi was presented a certificate, a cheque for Rs. 5 lakh and an eight-gram gold coin atthe Independence Day function at Fort St. George. The award was announced by Ms. Jayalalithaa in memory of former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who passed away last month.  The RISAT-1 was the pinnacle of her career which has spanned over 30 years. A technologically superior imaging satellite, RISAT-1 had instruments such as the Synthetic Aperture Radar that could look through clouds and take images even during the night.  The Kalpana Chawla award for courage and daring enterprise was awarded to Jothimani from Erode, a lorry driver.  A vocation dominated by men, Ms. Jothimani, hailing from Kallipatti village in Gobichettipalayam, said her work involved driving heavy 10-wheeler lorries for long hours

6. OP Rawat has been appointed as new ____ (3)

1. Member of Finance Commission
2. Judge of Supreme court
3. Election Commissioner
4. Chief Election Commissioner
5. Chairman of Human Rights Commission

Expl:- Om Prakash Rawat was 13^th August appointed as the new Election Commissioner. Om Prakash Rawat, a 1977 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer appointed as new Election Commissioner. With Rawat’s appointment, the sole vacancy in the three-member poll body has been filled. His appointment comes days before the poll watchdog takes a call on announcing the schedule for Bihar assembly polls.  Rawat will have a tenure of more than three years which will end in December, 2018. He had retired from government service in December last year. An EC or a CEC has a tenure of six years in office or till he or she attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

7. OP Munjal is associated with ____ (1)

1. Hero cycles
2. Godrej Refrigerators
3. Computers
4. TVs
5. None

Expl:- Om Prakash Munjal, the founder of hero cycles passed away on 13^th August.  He was the world’s largest cycle maker, and almost every second cycle sold in the country sported the Hero badge. He also sold components to BMW for its bikes , and had plans to expand abroad.  Munjal dabbled in two-wheelers also, first in 1988 with the Hero Puch rage of mini-motorcycles and then in the 1990s with BMW superbikes. While fuel efficient bikes, including those made by Hero MotoCorp (then called Hero Honda), clobbered Hero Puch, regulatory hassles ruined the BMW gamble. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board had ruled that Hero Motors would have to offset the foreign exchange spent on the import of the BMW superbikes with equivalent exports, and Hero Motors found it difficult to do those exports. The BMW superbikes were perhaps ahead of their time. Sales were abysmal and the partnership was called off. But the relationship survived, as evidenced in Hero Motors’ deal to supply components to BMW more than a decade later.

8. Who is the new Chairman of Public Enterprises Selection Board? (4)

1. Mrunal sinha
2. Satyander kohs
3. Ram dingra
4. Ajit Kumar seth
5. Praveen mukku

Expl:- Former Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth was on 14^th August appointed as the chairman of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), the government’s head-hunter. The PESB is entrusted with the selection and placement of chairman, managing director or chairman-cum-managing director and functional director in Central public sector enterprises, among others. He has been appointed for a period of three years or till he attains 65 years of age, said the order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training. Seth, a 1974-batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been appointed in place of Atul Chaturvedi, who has completed his tenure. Also, IAS officers Gauri Kumar and Anshuman Das, former CMD of NALCO, have been appointed as members in the PESB. Ms. Kumar, will be replacing K.M. Acharya, a 1974-batch former IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, who has completed his tenure. Mr. Das has been appointed in place of Ashwani Kumar Datt.

9. According to Women and Child Development Ministry, in which of the following places, 100% Anganwadi Centres have toilets? (5)

1. Delhi
2. Chandigarh, Nagaland
3. Uttarkhand
4. Lakshadweep
5. All the above

Expl:- According to Women and Child Development Ministry, less than fifty per cent of the Anganwadi Centers in the country have toilets. The data provided by the Ministry shows that out of around 12 lakh 74 thousand Anganwadi Centers only around 6 lakh 29 thousand Centers have toilets. The Ministry said more than 20,000 were built under Swachh Bharat Mission over the past one year.  Delhi, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep, Uttrakhand and Nagaland have Anganwadi Centers with hundred percent toilets facilities. According to state-wise data, there are 12 states where less than 50 per cent of Anganwadi Centers have toilets. These include Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Odhisha, Rajasthan and West Bengal.

10. Recently Union government, has signed a peace agreement with NSCN (I-M). It belongs to which of the following states? (4)

1. Tripura
2. Mizoram
3. Manipur
4. Nagaland
5. Arunachal Pradesh

Expl:- Centre on 3^rd August signed a landmark peace accord with National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) at the residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.  The group, in India’s north-east, have been fighting for more than 60 years. The details of the accord were not released by the government, and there is no clarity on the “sovereignty clause,” being demanded by the insurgent group. Besides the IM faction, there are two more groups — Khole-Kitovi (KK) and Reformation (R) — which were not part of the accord.They have signed a ceasefire agreement with the government till April 27, 2016. R.N. Ravi, the Naga interlocutor, signed the accord with the NSCN-IM at a much publicised ceremony at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence. Besides Mr. Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval were present. The deal involves creating a mechanism which would create institutions allowing autonomy to Naga tribes living across the border in Manipur. Negotiators had agreed to set up a mechanism to discuss decommissioning of arms now held by the NSCN (IM), the National Socialist Council of Nagaland’s Thuingaleng Muviah and Isak Chisi Swu-led faction, the largest of the Naga insurgent groups. The group had been arguing in talks that it needed to retain its weapons to ward off attacks from rival NSCN factions led by Myanmar-based SS Khaplang and Khole Konyak . The agreement was the culmination of over 80 rounds of negotiations spanning 16 years, with the first breakthrough coming in 1997 when a ceasefire agreement was sealed.