Daily GK Updates – 7th February 2016
1. We are ready to set up IT Park in Sri Lanka, says Sushma Swaraj
i. India on Saturday offered to set up an Information Technology Park in Sri Lanka that could attract investments in 
this growing sector.
ii. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, while inaugurating the ‘Rise of Digital India Exhibition’ here as part of the first Festival of India in Sri Lanka, which is aptly titled —— ‘Sangam: a confluence of cultures’, said India was ready to set up an IT park in the country.
iii. We are ready to set up an Information Technology Park in Sri Lanka that could attract investments in this important sector, and both sides agreed to explore this issue further,” Swaraj said.
iv. I am aware that Sri Lanka too, has been focusing on promoting information and communication technologies for socio-economic development, and has achieved notable success in various fields,” she told the gathering.
2. Union Government to set up National Organic Farming Research Institute in Sikkim
i. The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on 5 February 2016 decided to set up the National Organic Farming Research Institute in Sikkim.
ii. The decision to this effect was taken by the Union Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh and Sikkim Agriculture Minister Som Nath Paudyal in New Delhi.
iii. The institute will be established by upgrading the existing Regional Centre of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in Gangtok.
iv. The setting up of the institute is of primary importance for Sikkim as it was declared as the first organic farming State in the country in January 2016 by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
3. GI tag for Basmati rice of 7 states approved
i. The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) has directed the assistant registrar of the Geographical Indications Registry, Chennai.
ii. To proceed with registration of a geographical indication (GI) tag for Basmati rice according to the geographical demarcation conducted by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).
iii. This means seven north Indian Basmati rice-producing states like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and parts of Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir will get the GI tag.
4. Project Sunrise launched for prevention of AIDS in NE states
i. Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda has launched Project Sunrise on for prevention of AIDS specially among people injecting drugs in the 8 North-Eastern states.
ii. The AIDS prevention special project aims to diagnose 90 per cent of such drug addicts with HIV and put them under treatment by 2020.
iii. Project Sunrise aims at bringing the people living with HIV/AIDS into the national mainstream and create more awareness about the disease in these N-E states..
iv. It will be implemented in the North East in addition to the existing projects of the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO).
5. Modi visits Siachen avalanche survivor
i. No words can describe the “indomitable spirit” of soldier Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad, who was found alive after being buried under snow in the Siachen for six days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday.
ii. Mr. Modi and Army chief General Dalbir Singh visited the Army Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi where the soldier was flown in after being rescued from the world’s highest battlefield.
iii. Both were given an update on the health of the soldier, who was one of 10 soldiers who got buried when tonnes of snow swept them away in the glacier.
6. Surrounded by Diamonds, Villagers Go Hungry in Drought-Hit Zimbabwe
i. Zimbabwe, Feb 8 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – S hylet Mutsago, a 63-year-old who lives near the diamond fields of Marange, cannot hide her anger over how mining in this gem-rich part of eastern Zimbabwe has failed to improve the lives of local people.
ii. From a distance she watches as companies turn the ground over in search of the alluvial diamonds, releasing clouds of red dust into the sky.
iii. Our hopes of benefiting from the diamonds are gone,” she said. “And with this severe drought we are now placing our lives in the hands of God. We are living close to these diamond mines, yet we are starving.
iv. As crops fail due to a lack of rain, some villagers can no longer afford even one proper meal a day, and are surviving on wild fruits like baobab, Mutsago said.
7. International Fleet Review 2016 kick starts in Visakhapatnam
i. The International Fleet Review (IFR) 2016, an international military exercise hosted and conducted by Indian Navy was inaugurated in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
ii. Theme of this edition on IFR is United through Oceans” and its objective is to enhance mutual trust and confidence with neighbouring navies by inviting their ships to participate in the event.
iii. Total 11,000 guests are expected to attend the mega naval exercise including members of foreign delegations. It is perceived to be the biggest exercise conducted in India so far.
iv. Naval ships from 50 countries and various dignitaries will also participate in the event and close to 4000 sailors have participated in the fleet review.
8. Noted Political Cartoonist Sudhir Tailang passes away
i. Famous political cartoonist Sudhir Tailang, passed away in Gurgaon, Haryana after battling with brain cancer for a long time.
ii. He was 56. He was known for his political cartoons that chronicled contemporary Indian politics with wit and humour.
iii. Tailang was born in Rajasthan’s Bikaner on Febnruary 26, 1960. His first cartoon published in a newspaper at the age of 10 in 1970. He got his first major break in Mumbai based Illustrated Weekly of India in 1982.
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