DAILY GK UPDATE 2ND MARCH

1.    A new Sangma rises in the east !

Mukul Sangma to be CM again in Meghalaya…..

i. Mukul Sangma (47-year-old ) who steered the Congress to retain power in Meghalaya, , is set to become chief minister for a second straight term and will be sworn as the 23rd CM of the state on 5th March.

ii. Sangma won from Ampati seat for the fifth time in a row defeating his NPP rival Clement G Momin.

iii. Earlier in the day, Sangma was elected the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party.

iv. Mukul Manda Sangma won its largest victory ever in Meghalaya this time bagging 29 seats in an assembly of 60, his former mentor-turned-arch-rival Purno A'gitok Sangma's National People's Party just stopped short of drawing an embarrassing blank by managing to flag up only a couple of victories.

v. Sangma, 47, is not only one of the youngest chief ministers in the country today, but, perhaps, one of the most influential at 10 Janpath too.

2.    Two day BJP National Council Meet begins in New Delhi

i. The BJP National Council meeting began in New Delhi on Saturday with Singh exhorting the delegates to give a standing ovation to Modi and garlanding him.

ii. Narendra Modi today won singular praise from BJP President Rajnath Singh for being the most popular CM having registered never before three consecutive electoral wins for the party.

iii. "We have never seen the BJP winning three elections under one leadership," Singh said as Modi stepped forward on the dais to accept plaudits from the delegates.

iv. The BJP chief also lauded Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Raman Singh respectively for leading successful governments.

3.    Panel invites suggestions related to Prasar Bharati

i. An expert committee headed by technocrat Sam Pitroda which was appointed by the government to review the functioning of Prasar Bharati, has sought suggestions from the public on issues related to the national broadcaster.

ii. The panel's terms of reference include sustaining, strengthening and amplification of Prasar Bharati's role as a public broadcaster with a special reference to its relationship with the government.

iii. The committee is also making a review of the status of implementation of recommendations made by various committees that have undertaken the study of Prasar Bharati earlier, and suggesting a roadmap for enhancing its reach and potential.

NOTE: All interested persons can mail their suggestions through the online feedback form at www.prasarbharaticommittee.in/feedbackor via post to Prasar Bharati Committee Secretariat by 14th April in the capital.

4.    UP Science Congress begins in Gorakhpur

i. In Uttar Pradesh, the first ever state Science Congress was inaugurated by the Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in Gorakhpur on Saturday. 

ii. Three-day congress will discuss the role of Science in shaping the future of the state.

iii. The Chief Minister also inaugurated Science Expo-2013 along with Women and Children Science Congress.

iv. Three-day congress will discuss the role of Science in shaping the future of the state.

5.    IRCTC books record over 5 lakh rail e- tickets

i. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation has set a new record in e - ticket bookings.

ii. It booked more than 5 lakh rail e-tickets on Friday, surpassing the earlier one-day sales record set in July last year. The earlier record was 4.96 lakh e-tickets.

6.    Mukesh Gadhvi, the Congress MP Passed Away

i. Mukesh Gadhvi, the Congress MP from Banaskantha passed away on 1 March 2013 in Ahmadabad because of multiple organ failure. Mukesh Gadhvi was 50 years of age.

ii. He was born in Rajasthan on 1 January 1963. It is important to note that his father, BK Gadhvi was the Union Minister of State for Finance during the Government of Rajiv Gandhi and was also the party president of Gujarat unit.

7.    Vijitha Bandara of Sri Lanka Won Eighth NCR Cup Golf Tournament

i. Vijitha Bandara of Sri Lanka won Eighth NCR Cup Golf Tournament at Delhi Golf Club on 1 March 2013.

ii. Vijitha Bandara shot four-over 76 for a total of 293 in order to win the tournament.

iii. With the victory of this tournament, Bandara became the second Sri Lankan to clinch this title. The first one to win this title was N Thangaraja in 2012.

8.    Australia declare first innings at 237/9

i. Electing to bat, Australia declared its first innings at 237 for nine on the opening day of the second cricket Test against India on Saturday.

ii. James Pattinson (1) and Xavier Doherty (0) were at the crease when Australian skipper Michael Clarke took the interesting decision of declaring the innings.

iii. Brief Scores:

Australia 1st Innings: 237/9 in 85 overs (Michael Clarke 91, Matthew Wade 62; Ravindra Jadeja 3/33, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3/53, Harbhajan Singh 2/52). 

iv. At stumps, India were 5/0 with openers Virender Sehwag and Murali Vijay batting on four and zero respectively as they survived the brief period.