DAILY GK UPDATE 22nd May

1.    International Day for Biological Diversity observed today

i. The International Day for Biological Diversity was observed on 22 May 2013.

ii. The day is observed on the 22 May every year, to increase the understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.

iii. The theme this year is Water and Biodiversity.  A number of programmes were organised across the globe to mark the day.

iv. The theme, Water and Biodiversity, was chosen to coincide with the UN designation of 2013 as the International year of water cooperation.

v. The theme speaks of the important role of biodiversity and ecosystems for water security, and therefore for sustainable development.

vi. Water underpins human well being and is absolutely necessary for food security, drinking and sanitation, economic activities, as well as securing eco-system services. 

vii. The day also reminds us of the need to balance the needs of biodiversity conservation with those of protesting the livelihoods of millions of people across the globe.

2.    Shashi Kant Sharma Appointed as the New CAG of India

i. The President of Indian Union, Pranab Mukherjee on 21 May 2013 appointed Shashi Kant Sharma as the new Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.

ii. Shashi Kant Sharma will succeed Vinod Rai who superannuates on 21 May 2013 after completing tenure of five and a half years as the Head of the Constitutional Financial body. 

iii. His appointment to the post of CAG by the President was made on basis of Article 148 (1) of the Constitution of India. 
iv. He will assume the charge to the office of CAG on 23 May 2013 after administering the oath of the office by the President of India.

About Shashi Kant Sharma

i. He is the IAS officer of 1976 Bihar Cadre and at present was holding the post of Defence Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. 

ii. He holds a Masters degree in Political Science from the University of York

iii. He has served as the Secretary in the Department of Financial Services’

NOTE: i. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India is appointed for a maximum term of six years or till he attends the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. 

ii. Earlier, during the tenure of Vinod Rai, CAG came under sharp attacks from the Union Government of India for its assessment reports of 1.76 lakh crore rupees loss in Allocation of 2G Spectrum and Public Exchequer’s Loss at 1.86 Lakh Crore in Coal Blocks Allocation. 

iii. Tenure of Vinod Rai to the office of CAG was accused for going beyond its ambit of auditing and analyzing the policy decisions.

3.    Arunima Sinha became the First Indian Amputee to Scale Mt Everest

i. Arunima Sinha, became the first Indian amputee to conquer Mount Everest on 21 may 2013. 

ii. She scaled the 8848 metre-high summit of the world’s highest peak at 10.55 a.m. as IST on 21 May 2013.

NOTE: i. 25-year-old  Arunima Sinha is former national level volleyball player and had lost one of her legs after being thrown off a moving train of Padmawati Express for resisting a chain-snatching attempt by some criminals, when she was travelling from Lucknow to Delhi on 12 April 2011. 

ii. Arunima started training at the Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF) camp in Uttarkashi last year under the guidance of Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to conquer Mt Everest.

4.    Chandy bags UN award for 'mass contact prog'

i. Kerala CM Oommen Chandy has won the United Nation's Public Service Award for his Mass Contact Programme, which saw him directly engaging with people in the state to address their grievances.

ii. Chandy bagged the first prize from the Asia Pacific region with awardees chosen every year from five zones around the world, a release from the CM's office said on Wednesday.

iii. Chandy's mass contact programme has been widely lauded as a unique democratic experiment in which the CM of an Indian state met thousands of people directly without any intermediaries.

iv. He received upto 5.5 lakh petitions, of which around 3 lakh were resolved, and distributed financial assistance of Rs 22.68 crore as part of the programme.

v. Evaluation criteria for the awards include transparency, mechanisms to increase public's ability to seek and receive information in a timely manner and monitoring and analysing government decision-making and processes.

NOTE: i. This year, UN Public Service Day ceremonies will be held from 24^th to 27^th June in Bahrain where UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon will distribute the awards on 27^th June. Chandy would be attending the meet to receive his award on that day.

ii. Since 2003, UN has been giving the award as part of its programme for Public Service Day, which is observed on 23^rdJune.

5.    Malala Yousafzai, UNA-USA's Champion for Global Change Award

i. The Pakistani activist, Malala Yousafzai (15) was selected for UNA-USA's Global Leadership Award called Champion for Global Change Award for 2013, in the month of May 2013.

ii. Malala Yousafzai was shot in 2012 by Taliban for promotion of girl education. 

iii. She will receive the Champion for Global Change Award for 2013 at Gotham Hall on 6 November 2013 in the event which will be hosted by UN Foundation and benefits UN Foundation and the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA)'s Global Classrooms Model UN programme. 

iv. UN Foundation as well as UNA-USA, together represents a single largest network of American supporters of UN. 

NOTE: In 2012, the UN Secretary, General Ban Ki-moon had declared 10 November as the Malala Day. She was also given the title of daughter of the United Nations. 

6.    Election Commission Signed MoU on Electoral Literacy

i. The Election Commission of India and the National Literacy Mission Authority, Ministry of Human Resource Development, on 21 May 2013 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Electoral Literacy and Greater Participation for a Stronger and Inclusive Democracy in New Delhi

ii. The MOU is the first ever by the Election Commission of India with a Government Department.

iii. Under the MoU, ECI and NLMA will work jointly to sensitize citizens, especially the vulnerable and disadvantaged including women, SCs, STs, Minorities, in NLMA covered districts, about their electoral rights and about exercise of franchise.

iv. NLMA will spread electoral literacy during its environment Building and mass mobilization campaigns, with specific focus on electoral registration and informed and ethical voting in co-ordination with the Election Commission.

v. The MOU will help bridge the deficit in enrolment, particularly among women and the youth.  It can be described as a historic beginning and innovative collaboration based on common objectives.

7.    New Delhi Ranked First on List of Top 10 Favourite Indian Destinations for Foreigners: Report

i. Hotel Price Index (HPI) report of 2012 by Hotels.com revealed that the metro cities of India remain at the top most positions in the list of top 10 favourite Indian destinations for the international travelers.

ii. The national capital of India, New Delhi ranked first followed by Mumbai. 

iii. The third most favourite destination for the international travellers was the beach capital of India, Goa.

iv. Other favourite destinations included south Indian cities of Bengaluru and Chennai which ranked fourth and fifth respectively. At the sixth position was Pink City of Jaipur. 

v. Hotels.com is the leading online accommodation booking portal which features 1.5 lakh properties across the world that range from international chains to all-inclusive resorts. 

The Hotel Price Index (HPI) report

i. The Hotel Price Index (HPI) report is the regular survey about the prices of the hotels in some of the major tourist destinations across the world.  ii.Hotel Price Index (HPI) report by Hotels.com is treated as one of the definitive reports on the prices of the hotels. It is referred by the hoteliers, tourism bodies, academics, financial analysts, investors as well as media.

8.    BrahMos missile successfully test fired from ship

i. India on Wednesday successfully test fired the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the Navy's latest guided missile frigate INS Tarkash off the coast of Goa.

ii. The missile performed the high-level 'C' manoeuvre in the pre-determined flight path and successfully hit the target.

iii. INS Tarkash, which is an advanced Talwar Class frigate, was commissioned on 9^th November, last year.

iv. The warship, along with two other frigates of the class - INS Teg and INS Trikand, have been built as part of an over Rs 8,000-crore contract signed between India and Russia in July 2006.

v. Jointly developed by India and Russia, the BrahMos is capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 300 kg.

9.    Former International Sprinter Anand Shetty Passed Away

i. Former international sprinter Anand Shetty passed away on 21 May 2013 in Mangalore

ii. He is survived by his wife, daughter and son. He met with a car accident and was rushed to KMC Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

iii. He was 49 years old.  He was an excellent athlete and earned a name for himself in the 100m and 200m sprints with his running.

iv. Anand came to limelight after winning silver in the 200m at the World Junior Games in Seoul in 1982.

v. He was also the 100 and 200m National champion from 1981 to 1989, a period marked by his inter-State and Open National records.

10.  Chennai Super Kings enter final of IPL 6 

i. Chennai Super Kings progressed to the final of the sixth season of the Indian Premier League after defeating Mumbai Indians by 48 runs in the first Qualifier which was held in New Delhi on Tuesday.

ii. Riding on pyrotechnics of Mike Hussey (86) and Suresh Raina (82), CSK posted a massive 192 for one and then did well to bowl out Mumbai Indians for 144 in 18.4 overs.

iii. Mumbai Indians' last nine wickets fell for 57 runs.

iv. Mumbai will however get another chance to qualify for the final when they meet winner of the second qualifier between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals.

11.  Pune Warriors withdraw from the IPL

i. The reputation of the Indian Premier League suffered another dent on Tuesday when Pune Warriors India withdrew from the league over financial differences with the BCCI.

ii. PWI had failed to pay the full franchise fee for the current year. With the Board encashing the bank guarantee, the Sahara group, which owns the franchise, decided to pull out of the league, which was rocked recently by the spot-fixing scandal.

iii. PWI, one of the nine IPL teams, is learnt to have paid only 20 per cent of the franchise fee for the year.

iv. The franchise fee of Rs. 170 crore was to be paid by May 19 and the Board moved when Sahara failed to meet the deadline.

v. This was the third case of the Board encashing the bank guarantee for recovering its dues. It had earlier done so with Kochi Tuskers and Nimbus.

12.  Sanjay Dutt shifted to Pune's high security Yervada jail from Mumbai

i. Actor Sanjay Dutt was today shifted to high security Yervada jail in Pune from Mumbai. 

ii. A jail official said, he was secretly shifted to the Pune jail early in the morning due to security reasons and to avoid media glare. 

iii. The 53-year-old actor was lodged in the 'anda' cell of Arthur Road jail following his surrender on the 16th of this month. 

iv. He has to serve his remaining sentence of 42 months in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.