DAILY GK UPDATE 27TH JULY

1. UN Declared 19 November as World Toilet Day

i. In a bid to make sanitation for all a global development priority, the United Nations General Assembly designated 19 November as World Toilet Day, urging changes in both behaviour and policy on issues ranging from enhancing water management to ending open-air defecation.

ii. Adopting a new resolution, the Assembly urged UN Member States and relevant stakeholders to encourage behavioural change and the implementation of policies to increase access to sanitation among the poor, along with a call to end the practice of open-air defecation, which it deemed “extremely harmful” to public health.

iii. Of the world’s 7 billion people, six billion have mobile phones. However, only 4.5 billion have access to toilets or latrines – meaning that 2.5 billion people, mostly in rural areas, do not have proper sanitation. In addition, 1.1 billion people still defecate in the open.

iv. World Toilet Day has previously been marked by international and civil society organizations all over the world. However, it was not formally recognized as an official UN day until today.

2.    Rampur first in N-India to get ATM facility in co-op banks

i. Rampur today become the first city of North India where ATM facility will be available for people maintaining accounts in co-operative banks. 

ii. UP Minister and local MLA Mohammad Azam Khan inaugurated five co-operative bank ATMs in the city today. 

iii. The minister said lakhs of account-holders in co-operative banks will now be able to withdraw money round-the-clock. 

iv. Mohammad Anjum Khan, Secretary-cum-CEO of the District Co-operative Bank, said Rampur has now become the first city of North India where co-operative bank account holders can also avail ATM facility.

3.    Delhi Government to launch Food Security Scheme

i. Delhi government is all set to launch food security programme from 20 August 2013. Delhi will be the first state in India to launch Union government’s food security programme.

ii. The state government has completed all preparations in this regard.

iii. Over 32 lakh identified families will start getting benefit under the scheme from the 1 September 2013.In the first phase, BPL and APL families, Jhugi Jhopadi ration card holders and those under Antodaya ration yojana will be covered.

iv. Rickshaw pullers, porters and rag-pickers would also be included in the scheme to make Delhi hunger free.

4.    TIFR scientist Professor Obaid Siddiqi dies

i. National Research Professor at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) Obaid Siddiqi, died in a Bangalore hospital

ii. He was 81. Siddiqi, met with a road accident which caused him severe brain injuries.

iii. Siddiqi was honoured with several awards, including Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, BC Roy Award for Biomedical Research and Firodia Award for Basic Sciences.

iv. He was born in 1932 in Uttar Pradesh and was educated at Aligarh Muslim University and the University of Glasgow.

v. He carried out post doctoral research at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, University of Pennsylvania, and the MRC Laboratory in Cambridge. 

5.    Singapore FM Shanmugam to visit India

i. Foreign Minister K Shanmugam will embark on a three-day trip to India tomorrow to meet the top leadership and visit the Nalanda University archaeological complex in Bihar. 

ii. Shanmugam, also the Law Minister, will visit New Delhi and Bihar during July 28-30, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. 

iii. Shanmugam will also deliver the inaugural speech of the newly-launched ASEAN-India Centre on "ASEAN and India - The Challenge Ahead" on July 30. 

6.    Vince Girdhari Chhabria is District Judge in USA

i. US President Barack Obama has nominated an Indian-American legal luminary, Vince Girdhari Chhabria to a key judiciary post in California.

ii. The next step is a confirmation hearing in front of the Senate judiciary committee.

iii. Chhabria, nominated to be US District Judge for the Northern District of California, is currently Deputy City Attorney for Government Litigation and as the Co-Chief of Appellate Litigation at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, where he has worked since 2005.

7.    T.S. Narasimhan,producer of Malgudi Days passed away

i. Noted producer T.S. Narasimhan, who filled life to the fictional Malgudi created by novelist R.K. Narayan through “MalgudiDays”, directed by Shankar Nag, died here on Saturday. He was ailing for some time. He was 86 and is survived by three children.

ii. Besides producing Malgudi Days, Narasimhan produced few children’s films and feature films and was also instrumental in taking Kannada film to national and international level.

iii. Narasimhan who worked for some time in Department of Telecommunication left and entered the film industry. 

iv. He produced Kesarina Kamala, directed by R.N. Jayagopal, which delineates on the plight of a sex worker back in 1973.

v. Shrungar Nagaraj (producer of Pushpaka Vimana, who died recently) was in the lead role along with Kalpana in the film.

NOTE: i. R.K. Narayan’s illustrated brother R.K. Lakshman sketched the characters for titles.

ii. Thirty-nine episodes of Malgudi Days were telecast on Doordarshan. Subsequently, it was re-telecast on Doordarshan and various entertainment channels. This television series was shot entirely near Agumbe in Shimoga District.

8.    India, Zimbabwe to play third ODI in Harare tomorrow

i. India will meet Zimbabwe in the third one-day international of the 5-match cricket series at Harare on Sunday.

ii. The match will be played at 12:30 PM (Indian Time). India is currently leading the series, 2-0.

iii. They had defeated the hosts by 6 wickets in the first ODI on Wednesday, followed by a victory in the second one-dayer by 58 runs on Friday. Both the matches were played at Harare.

iv. The last two matches of the series will be played on the 1st and 3rd of August at Bulawayo.

9.    IBL announces STAR Sports channels as host broadcaster

i. The Indian Badminton League today announced STAR Sports channels as the host broadcaster for the upcoming League, scheduled to be held from August 14 to 31.

ii. All the 90 matches, including 75 league matches, 10 games in the semi-finals and five ties in the final will be shown live on STAR Sports 2 and ESPN channels.

iii. The $ 1 million IBL features six franchisee-based city teams in the inaugural edition of the richest prize-money badminton tournament.

iv. The teams are — Mumbai Masters, Delhi Smashers, Awadhe Warriors, Hyderabad Hotshots, Banga Beats and Pune Pistons.

v. Badminton Association of India (BAI) President, Akhilesh Das Gupta said live telecast of IBL will boost the game of badminton.

vi. IBL’s inaugural match will be between Krrish Delhi Smashers and Pune Pistons.

10.  India take on Australia in Women's Junior Hockey World Cup

i. India will clash with Australia in their opening Group match of the Women's Junior Hockey World Cup in Monchengladbach, Germany today.

ii. The 18-member Indian team is being led by defender Sushila Chanu.

iii. Indian team will start the match, at the Warsteiner Hockey Park, as underdogs, and have to dish out something extra-ordinary to upset the mighty Aussies.

iv. India are placed in Pool-C along side New Zealand, Australia and Russia in the 16-team tournament. 

v. Top two teams from each pool will enter the quarterfinals. The semi-finals will be played on August 2, with the final scheduled for August 4.

11.  SAFF U16 Football Ch’ship: Hosts Nepal vs Bangladesh in SF tomorrow

i. In the ongoing South Asian Football Federation(SAFF) under 16 Football Championship being held in Kathmandu, hosts Nepal take on Bangladesh in the first semi-final tomorrow.

ii. India which tops in group B with six points, will take on Afghanistan in the second semi-final on Sunday . The final will be played on Tuesday.