DAILY GK UPDATE 18TH JULY

1.  SC quashes common entrance test for admission in medical colleges

i. The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission in medical colleges.

ii. The NEET is a single entrance-cum-eligibility-test for admission in all medical colleges in India.

iii. By a two to one majority, the apex court held that the Medical Council of India had no powers to conduct single entrance examination and force it on government and private medical colleges.

iv. The admission already made through NEET this year will not be disturbed, said Chief Justice Altamash Kabir and justice Vikramjit Sen, who formed majority in a 3-judge bench.

v. The court's decision came on 115 petitions challenging the MCI notification on NEET for admission to MBBS and post-graduate medical courses conducted in colleges across the country.

2.    National Tobacco Control Campaign Called Tears You Apart Launched

i. Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India launched the nation-wide National Tobacco Control Campaign known as- Tears you apart.

ii. The aim of the campaign is to raise the public awareness regarding dangers of smokeless tobacco which is consumed by millions of Indians every day. 

iii. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) revealed that around 21 crore Indians make use of the smokeless tobacco.

iv.  In India, 26 percent of adults consume smokeless tobacco. 33 percent of males as well as 18.4 percent of females consume smokeless tobacco.
 v. National Tobacco Control Campaign has been developed with the technical assistance from World Lung Foundation. 

vi. This campaign will provide support to the ongoing efforts of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare for Implementation of the Food Safety and Standard Authority (FSSAI) regulation that prohibits use of tobacco or nicotine in any food product.

vii. Around 33 states as well as union territories have already issued the instructions for the implementation of this regulation.

viii. According to this regulation, the production, sale as well as storage of the pan masala and gutkha which contain tobacco is strictly prohibited.

3.    Book An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions by Amartya Sen & Jean Dreze 

i. An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions authored by Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen was released

ii. The book includes achievements of India since independence and the successful maintenance of the world’s largest democracy. 

iii. Jean Drèze, the development economist and Amratya Sen, an economist, a philosopher and a Nobel Prize winner together have presented a far reaching analysis of the conditions of contemporary India with a compilation of the wealth of illuminating data.

About the Authors

i. Jean Drèzebecame an Indian citizen in 2002 and has lived in India since. 
ii.  Dreze has taught at the London School of Economics and the Delhi School of Economics,

iii. At present he is a Visiting Professor at Allahabad University. 

iv. He has co-authored Amartya Sen in books named Hunger and Public Action and India: Development and Participation 

v. He has also been a co-author of the Public Report on Basic Education in India

Amaryta Sen

i. Amaryta Sen is an Indian economist and philosopher, who won Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences in 1998 for making contribution to welfare economics and social choice theory.

ii. He is a professor at Thomas W. Lamont University

iii. He also is a Professor of Philosophy and Economics, at Harvard University. 

Some of the books authored by Amaryta Sen

The Argumentative Indian

Development as Freedom

The Idea of Justice

Rationality and Freedom

4.    Bono Honoured With Highest Cultural Award of France- the Commander of the Order

i. Paul Hewson, popularly known as Bono, the frontman of the rock band U2 as well as the anti-poverty activist was awarded with the Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, the highest cultural award of France on 17 July 2013 for the contribution to music. 

ii. He was also praised for utilizing his popularity for the sake of humanitarian causes.

iii. The Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters was awarded to Bono by the French Culture Minister Aurelie Filippetti in Paris. 

iv. The Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters Award started for the first time in the year 1957. 

About Paul Hewson (Bono)

i. It is important to note that Bono, 53, had also received the award earlier for the music as well as campaigning since the band U2 was formed around 37 years ago. 

ii. Bono has also been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize several times. 

iii. The Times Magazine had awarded him with Time Magazine's Person of the Year award in the year 2005. 

iv. In the year 2007, he was conferred with the honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth.

NOTE: i. The Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters is also known as Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

ii. It is the Order of France, the highest cultural award of France.

iii. The award recognises people who make significant contributions to the fields of literature, arts or help in spreading the motives of these fields. 

5.    Lyricist Vaali passes away

i. Veteran Tamil lyricist Vaali passes away at the age of 82 in Chennai.

ii. Vaali, who dominated the film world for over five decades and wrote songs for many a protagonist played by actors from MGR to Dhanush, was not well for quite some time. 

iii. Born S. Rangarajan in Thiruparaithurai near Tiruchi in 1931, he assumed the pen name Vaali, as he was an ardent fan of famed artist Mali working with Ananda Vikatan, now a Tamil bi-weekly.

iv. Vaali also wrote some of the fine songs for Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth.

6.    British Indian actor Paul Bhattacharjee found dead

i. British Indian actor Paul Bhattacharjee, who played the role of a doctor in James Bond film 'Casino Royale', has been found dead in London. He was 53. 

ii. The actor had starred in films like 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel', 'White Teeth' and 'Dirty Pretty Things'.

iii. Bhattacharjee was last seen leaving the theatre in London's Sloane Square after rehearsels on 10 July.

iv. Bhattacharjee grew up living between India and England and in 1979 helped set up Tara Arts, Britain's first all-Asian theatre company. 

7.    Communist leader Samar Mukherjee passes away in Kolkata

i. Veteran Communist leader Samar Mukherjee died in Kolkata this morning. 

ii. Samar Mukherjee was suffering from old age diseases.

iii. He was elected in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and state assembly number of times. He joined in the CPI(M) after the division of Communist party in 1967. 

iv. Samar Mukherjee was member of Party's highest policy making body Polit Buro, served as General Secretary of CITU and also hold the post of the Chairman of the Central Control Commission of CPIM. He has donated his body for medical education.