Daily GK Updates – 18th May 2015
1. India, South Korea sign 7 agreements towards ‘strategic partnership’
i. India and South Korea on Monday agreed to upgrade their ties to ‘Special Strategic Partnership’ and deepen 
cooperation in defence sector as the two sides signed seven agreements including on avoidance of double taxation.
ii. “We have agreed to upgrade the bilateral relationship to ‘Special Strategic Partnership’,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a joint press interaction with President Park after their “excellent” talks.
iii. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) signs a guestbook with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye after his arrival at the presidential Blue House on May 18, 2015 in Seoul, South Korea.
Seven Agreements Signed By The Two Nations:
Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Republic of Korea for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income;
Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Republic of Korea on Cooperation in Audio-Visual Co-production;
MOU for Cooperation between the National Security Council Secretariat of the Republic of India and the Office of National Security of the Republic of Korea;
MOU between the Ministry of Power of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea concerning Cooperation in the field of Electric Power Development and New Energy Industries;
MOU between the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family of the Republic of Korea on Cooperation in Youth Matters;
Framework of Cooperation in the Field of Road Transport and Highways between the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of the Republic of Korea; and
MOU between the Ministry of Shipping of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea on Cooperation in the Fields of Maritime Transport and Logistics.
2. Google gives $500,000 to promote child safety in India
i. Global search engine Google on Monday announced $500,000 (Rs.3.2 crore) in grants to promote child safety campaigns in India.
ii. “The grants will support non-profit organisations (NGOs) with smart applications and promote child safety programmes and campaigns in India,” the company’s Indian subsidiary said in a statement here.
iii. The three non-profit NGOs are Childline India Foundation, Bachpan Bachao Andolan and Tulir.
iv. The three NGOs provide free counselling to children in need of help, rescuing them from slavery, trafficking, sexual abuse and forced labour.
v. “As technology plays a key role in transforming lives, we offer support to the three NGOs, which provide safety and protection to the children,” Anandan asserted. Similarly, Google will fund Andolan to create a programme for fighting child sexual abuse and develop an online information site for its mission.
vi. Globally, the US-based Google has donated over $100 million in grants, $1 billion in technology resources and 80,000 hours of its volunteering to non-profits in 2014.
vii. Childline India Foundation executive director Anjaiah Pandiri said 39 percent of the 1.2-billion people were children below 18 years and 40 percent of them were marginalized for various reasons.
3. Centre allocates Rs 5000 crore for development of AYUSH department
i. The government has not only created the new portfolio AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) but has also allocated Rs 5,000 crore for the same, Union Minister of State for AYUSH Sripad Naik said at a function organised by Sandu Pharmaceuticals here.
ii. For creating awareness about Ayurveda, the Ministry is considering to observe Ayurveda Day,” Naik said, adding, “We have launched independent National AYUSH Mission aiming capacity building for the sector. The mission will ensure creation of a centre of excellence for Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy independently,” he said.
iii. India and China use largest number of medicinal plants in the world.
iv. Traditional Chinese medicines have seen easy acceptance across the globe, but the Indian Ayurvedic medicines, which have seen a 25 percent rise in its sales in the last ten years, the highest such increase in the world, are yet to gain global acceptance. Our government will attempt to find out reasons for this and address the issues, he said.
4. Official website of 10th World Hindi Conference launched
i. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on 16 May 2015 launched the official website of 10th World Hindi Conference at Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan in New Delhi. It can be visited at www.vishwahindisammelan.gov.in.
ii. The logo for the Conference was also chosen by the Logo Selection Committee after a logo design competition was organized by the Ministry of External Affairs. Khyati Gupta from Banglore was awarded the prize money of 50000 rupees by the External Affairs Minister.
iii. The 10th World Hindi Conference (WHC) will be held from 10 September to 12 September 2015 at Lal Parade Ground in Bhopal. The conference will be hosted by the Ministry of External Affairs in partnership with state government of Madhya Pradesh.
iv. The decision to organize the 10th edition of the Conference in India was taken at the 9th World Hindi Conference held in Johannesburg, South Africa in September 2012.
v. The first World Hindi Conference was held in 1975 in Nagpur, India and since then, nine such Conferences have been held all over the globe.
5. HDFC Bank launches medical prepaid card
i. HDFC Bank, the country’s second largest private lender, launched medical benefits prepaid card for corporates to disburse medical benefits to their employees.
ii. HDFC Bank has partnered with Apollo Hospitals for this prepaid product that allows corporates to load the specified allowance onto the card each month, which can be used by employees for medical expenditure at pan-India VISA/ MasterCard outlets, the bank said in a statement.
iii. The card also offers employees access to a wide range of additional benefits such as free accidental insurance of Rs. 3 lakh, complimentary ambulance services at select hospitals and offers and discounts at Apollo Network.
iv. “This card offers an easy and convenient way for corporates to save costs and eliminate administrative issues while disbursing medical allowances,” said Parag Rao, Senior Executive Vice President & Business Head, Cards Payment Products.
6. Former Army Brigadier David Granger sworn-in as eighth President of Guyana
i. Former Army Brigadier David Granger was sworn in as the eighth President of Guyana. He was sworn-in as the President after his A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) party-led coalition won the national elections.
ii. In the national elections held on 11 May 2015, his coalition APNU – Alliance for Change (AFC) defeated the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP). With this, it ended the 23 year old grip on power of Indo-Guyanese PPP.
iii. The APNU-AFC coalition riding high on the campaign to reduce high youth unemployment and violent crime as well as crack down on piracy won 207200 votes. The PPP, on the other hand, got 202674 votes.
iv. Further, Granger’s coalition is expected to have three-four seat majority in the 65-member Parliament.
7. India to assume presidency of World Health Assembly in Geneva after 19 years
i. India on 18 May 2015 assumed Presidency of the 68th World Health Assembly (WHA) after 19 years. The session was presided by the Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda at Geneva.
ii. The 68th World Health Assembly will be held from 18 May 2015 to 27 May 2015.
iii. The 68th World Health 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.
iv. The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the forum through which the World Health Organization (WHO) is governed by its 194 member states. It is the world’s highest health policy setting body and is composed of health ministers from member states.
v. Dr Roberto Morales Ojeda, Minister of Public Health of Cuba, was the President of the 67th World Health Assembly held in Geneva from 19 May -24 May 2014.
8. Ethiopian runners win both Men’s & Women’s titles in TCS World 10000m run
i. Ethiopian runners won both the Men’s and Women’s titles in the eighth edition of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) World 10 Thousand metre run in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
ii. In Men’s category, Mosinet Geremew bagged the title by clocking 28 minutes and 16 seconds, while his teammate Fikadu settled at second place clocking 28 minutes and 14 seconds.
iii. In the women’s section, Mamitu Daska bagged the title by clocking 31 minutes and 57 seconds.
iv. In Indian Men’s category Suresh Kumar bagged the title by clocking 29 minutes 49 seconds. In women’s category Tamil Nadu’s Suriya Loganathan won the title with a time of 35 minutes and 58 seconds.
9. Australia wicket-keeper Brad Haddin quits one-day game
i. Haddin made the announcement ahead of his departure for Australia`s Test tours of the West Indies and the United Kingdom on Monday.
ii. Haddin, 37, has played in 126-match one-day internationals in a career that began against Zimbabwe at Hobart in January 2001 and ended in Australia`s ICC Cricket World Cup final victory over New Zealand in Melbourne in March this year.
iii. Throughout his one-day international career Haddin claimed 170 catches and 11 stumpings, leaving him with the third most dismissals for a wicketkeeper in Australia behind Adam Gilchrist and Ian Healy.
iv. Haddin scored 3,122 runs at an average of 31.53 with a top score of 110.
10. Vikas Gowda wins bronze medal in Shanghai IAAF Diamond League
i. Ace India discus thrower Vikas Gowda won a bronze medal in the second leg of the prestigious IAAF Diamond League series on Sunday.
ii. The 31-year-old Gowda hurled the disc to a distance of 63.90m, which he achieved in his fifth and penultimate attempt to finish third behind 2013 World Championships silver medallist Piotr Malachowski (64.65m) of Poland and Robert Urbanek (64.47m), also of Poland.
iii. National record holder Gowda, the 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist and Asian Games silver medal winner, will pocket $4000 for the third-place finish, besides earning one Diamond League point.
11. World’s oldest comatose patient Aruna Shanbaug dead
i. Nurse Aruna Shanbaug, the world’s oldest comatose patient, died on Monday in Mumbai’s KEM hospital. She was in a vegetative state ever since she was raped and choked with a dog leash by a contract sweeper Sohanlal who is now a free man living in Delhi.
ii. KEM Hospital Dean Dr Avinash Supe said Aruna was recently diagnosed with a pneumatic patch and put on ventilator support. She was diagnosed with the lung infection after a series of diagnostic tests. She was fed through tubes.
iii. Aruna has been described by her friends and relatives as a bright student who was very helpful in nature.
12. Novak Djokovic won 4th Rome Masters Tennis title
i. Novak Djokovic of Serbia won his fourth Rome Masters Tennis title. In the summit clash, Djokovic defeated Roger Federer of Switzerland 6-4, 6-3.
ii. With this win, Djokovic earned prize money of 628100 US dollar and 1000 Emirates ATP Rankings points.
iii. This was the fifth title of the season for Djokovic, the other titles are the Australian Open (defeated Andy Murray), the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells (defeated Roger Federer), the Miami Open (defeated Andy Murray) and the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters (defeated Tomas Berdych).
iv. Besides, Maria Sharapova of Russia defeated Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 to win the women’s title. It was the 35th WTA Tour title of Sharapova’s career.
13. World’s oldest comatose patient Aruna Shanbaug dead
i. Nurse Aruna Shanbaug, the world’s oldest comatose patient, died on Monday in Mumbai’s KEM hospital. She was in a vegetative state ever since she was raped and choked with a dog leash by a contract sweeper Sohanlal who is now a free man living in Delhi.
ii. KEM Hospital Dean Dr Avinash Supe said Aruna was recently diagnosed with a pneumatic patch and put on ventilator support. She was diagnosed with the lung infection after a series of diagnostic tests. She was fed through tubes.
iii. Aruna has been described by her friends and relatives as a bright student who was very helpful in nature.
A look at ten facts about the brave Aruna Shaunbaug:
Aruna was deserted by her relatives during her lifetime. She was looked after by nurses of the KEM Hospital where she laid in Ward No 4a.
Aruna hailed from Haldipur, North Kanara in Karnataka.
Aruna was brutally raped by contract sweeper Sohanlal B Walmiki on November 27, 1973 when she was changing.
While raping Aruna, Sohanlal choked her with a dog leash that snapped oxygen supply to her brain, resulting in severe injuries to the brain stem and cervical chord that left her in the vegetative state.
Aruna who was in her 20s was planning to get married to a doctor from the same hospital.
The police registered a case of robbery and attempt to murder as the hospital authorities allegedly suppressed the anal rape perpetrated on her to avoid social ostracism of the victim and the fact that she was planning to get married soon.
Walmiki was subsequently arrested and convicted to serve two concurrent seven-year sentences. He was later set free and is believed to be settled in Delhi since.
Shanbaug’s former teacher, Anant Gaitonde, remembers her as “a very intelligent nursing student” in the early 1970s at the KEM Nursing College.
In January 2011, the Supreme Court took up a euthanasia petition filed on Shanbaug’s behalf by celebrity author and journalist Pinki Virani in December 2010.
Though the apex court turned down Virani’s petition in March 2011, in a landmark decision, it permitted ‘passive euthanisia’ in India. Virani had narrated the harrowing experience of Aruna in her 1998 non-fiction book called ‘Aruna’s Story’, while Duttakumar Desai wrote the Marathi play, ‘Katha Arunachi’ in 1994-95, which was staged under director Vinay Apte in 2002.
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