Daily GK Update : 27th February, 2016 For LIC AAO And Other Exams

1. ISRO to set up Satellite Centre for in ASEAN countries in Vietnam

i. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is working to establishment of a Satellite Tracking & Data Reception Station and Data Processing Facility for ASEAN Member countries in Vietnam.

ii. ISRO will set up this satellite centre at the behest of Union Government as part of Space Cooperation between India and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). This information was provided by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in a reply to an unstarred question in Lok Sabha.

iii. This facility is intended to acquire and process Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRSS) data pertaining to ASEAN region and disseminate to ASEAN Member countries.

iv. Under this initiative, all 10 ASEAN member countries including Vietnam will be allowed to access processed remote sensing data pertaining to their country.

v. Ground facility is designed in such a way that it will not allow Indian data to be accessed and processed by the system

2. E-Tourist Visa Scheme extended to 37 more countries

i. The Union Government has extended e-Tourist Visa Scheme to 37 more countries. With this, the total count of countries under the scheme will become 150.

ii. The new countries included in e-Tourist Visa scheme are Austria, Albania, Botswana, Brunei, Bulgaria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Comoros, Cote d’lvoire, Cape Verde,  Czech Republic, Croatia, Eritrea, Denmark, Gabon, Greece, Guinea, Gambia, Ghana,  Madagascar, Malawi, Iceland, Lesotho, Liberia, San Marino, Moldova, Namibia, Romania, South Africa, Swaziland, Switzerland, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, Trinidad & Tobago, Tajikistan, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

iii. Union Government had launched e-Tourist Visa Scheme (as Tourist Visa on Arrival scheme) in November 2014. The e-Tourist Visa Scheme facilitates pre-authorization of Visa i.e. electronic travel authorisation given to foreigners prior to travel.

iv. Under this scheme, an applicant registers for visa online and receives an email authorising him/her to travel to India after it is approved. On arrival, the visitor has to present the authorisation to the immigration authorities who will in turn allow them to enter into the country.

v. The scheme seeks to tap the vast tourism potential of India which still remains untapped and explored.

3. Ex-DRDO Chairman Dr Avinash Chander received Aryabhata Award 2013

i. Former Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and ex-DRDO chief Dr Avinash Chander on 25 February 2016 received the prestigious Astronautical Society of India’s Aryabhata Award 2013.

ii. He received the award from Dr R Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Adviser to Union Government and Dr A S Kiran Kumar, Chairman ISRO, at ASI-ISRO Awards function held at Space Applications Centre (SAC) in Ahmedabad.

iii. Besides, Dr.Ranganath R Navalgund, Vikram Sarabhai Distinguished Professor, received the Aryabhata Award for the year 2012.

iv. Aryabhata Award was named after the fifth century Indian astronomer and mathematician and also in commemoration of the first Indian Satellite launched on 19 April 1975, Aryabhata. It is presented every year to an individual for outstanding lifetime contribution to the promotion of astronautics in India.

4. Gianni Infantino elected FIFA President

i. Gianni Infantino was elected as the President of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) after winning a second-round vote at Extraordinary FIFA Congress held in Zurich on 26 February 2016.

ii. He was elected as the ninth FIFA President after the second ballot in which he secured 115 of 207 total votes. He will serve FIFA for the remainder of current term of office (until 2019).

iii. Infantino, the 45-year-old general secretary of European governing body UEFA, succeeded the 79-year-old Sepp Blatter, who held the position since 1998.

iv. Sheikh Salman of Bahrain got 88 votes after being the front-runner during the four-month campaign. Prince Ali of Jordan had four, and Jerome Champagne of France got zero votes.

5. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ranveer Singh To Get Dinanath Mangeshkar prize

i. Actor Ranveer Singh was on 26 February 2016 selected for Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar award. The award will be bestowed upon Ranveer by Lata Mangeshkar at a function to be held in Pune.

ii. The award is annually conferred on artists on 24 April to commemorate Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar’s death anniversary.

iii. Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar award was instituted in 1999 in the memory of Dinanath Mangeshkar, father of Lata Mangeshkar. Since then it is awarded annually to persons for their outstanding contributions to music and movies.

iv. The award carries monetary award of 101001 rupees, a memento and a citation.

6. Mumbai won Ranji Trophy for the 41st time

i. Mumbai on 26 February 2016 won the Ranji Trophy with an innings and 21 run victory over Saurashtra. It won the trophy for the first time in three seasons.

ii. With this, they have 41 titles in 45 finals with 10 of them being an innings victory. Karnataka stands second in the overall Ranji standings with eight titles. It was a repeat of the 2012-13 final where Mumbai had made short work of Saurashtra with an innings and 125-run victory.

iii. Mumbai made 371 runs in 82.2 overs in their first innings and in reply Saurashtra managed 235 and 115 runs in first and second innings respectively. Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur shackled opposition batting in the second innings and claimed five wickets for 26 runs in 13.2 overs to took his match tally to eight.

iv. Shreyas Iyer was named man of the match for his 117 runs in Mumbai’s only innings of the match. He ended the season as the leading run-getter with 1321 runs at 73.38 including four centuries and seven fifties.

vi. In 2015, the trophy was Karnataka which was their eighth title. In the final, Karnataka defeated Tamil Nadu.