GK & Current Affairs March 2016

 On 29th February 2016 the seventh Indo-Seychelles Joint Training Exercises, Lamitye – 2016 was concluded.
•    It was concluded at Victoria, Mahe Island in Seychelles. 
•    It was conducted with an aim to improve interoperability between both Armies in jointly fighting Counter Insurgency and Terrorism.
•    Event took place from 15 February to 28 February 2016.
•    In Creole, Exercise Lamitye means Friendship and it has been a bridge between the Armed Forces of India and SPDF since 2001.
•    The infantry platoon and representatives from the Special Forces were comprised in Indian contingent.
•    Special Forces Unit Tazar and Seychelles Infantry represented Seychelles People’s Defence Forces (SPDF).
•    A total of 52 personnel from the SPDF took part in the exercise, including 20 Tazar personnel.
•    Exercise Sea Hunt and Search operations were embedded with hostage rescue operations in an Anti-Piracy setting.

On 28th Feb UltraTech announced acquisition of JP Group’s cement plants for Rs 16,500 crore, 
•    It was the biggest deal in this sector. 
•    The buyer will pay an additional amount of Rs 470 crore to complete the grinding unit.
•    In a transaction that will take its cement portfolio to nearly 91 million tonne, 
•    UltraTech Cement will acquire 22.4 mt of assets from Jaiprakash Associates. 
•    The deal includes two units in Madhya Pradesh.
•    Earlier UltraTech called off a Rs 5,400-crore transaction with JAL for cement plants in Madhya Pradesh. 
•    UltraTech Cement Limited and its subsidiaries have an annual capacity of 68.3 million tonnes, making it among the top manufacturers of cement globally. 
•    UltraTech is also the largest manufacturer of White Cement in India. 
•    UltraTech has 11 composite plants, 1 white cement plant, 1 WallCare putty plant, 1 clinkerisation plant in UAE, 15 grinding units; 11 in India, 2 in UAE, 1 in Bahrain and Bangladesh each, 6 bulk terminals; 5 in India and 1 in Sri Lanka and 101 concrete plants.
 

US actor George Kennedy, who starred in movies including Cool Hand Luke and the Naked Gun series, has died at the age of 91.
•    George Harris Kennedy, was an American actor who appeared in more than two hundred film and television productions. 
•    He is best remembered for portraying "Dragline" opposite Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture.
•    After a brief appearance in the 1960 film Spartacus, his film career began in 1961 in The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come. 
•    He appeared in several Hollywood movies, including Charade (1963), Strait-Jacket (1964), Sweet Charlotte (1964), The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) and in Harm's Way (1965).
•    He made numerous television appearances on such shows as The Asphalt Jungle, The Andy Griffith Show, Peter Gunn, The Untouchables, Bonanza, Maverick, McHale's Navy, Gunsmoke and Route 66. 
•    For his contributions to motion pictures, Kennedy has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6352 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
 

Delhi has become the first state in the country to launch the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine as a public health programme for school children in school.
•    HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI). 
•    HPV is a different virus than HIV and HSV (herpes). HPV is so common that nearly all sexually active men and women get it at some point in their lives. 
•    There are many different types of HPV. Some types can cause health problems including genital warts and cancers. 
•    Health Minister Satyendar Jain said girls studying in Class VI in government schools will be targeted in the first year. 
•    This will be completed in the current academic year over two phases.
•    The HPV vaccine protects people against the group of 150-odd HPVs, some of which can cause cervical cancer.
•    Children will be given two doses of the vaccine. The first and the second doses will be given within a gap of 30 days.
•    Third booster dose will be given within 240 days of the first vaccine, which will be covered in the next phase.
 

Ben Ainslie, the most decorated Olympic sailor in history, led his Land Rover BAR team to victory at the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series in Oman on 28th Feb 2016.
•    Ainslie beat his Jimmy Spithill and ORACLE TEAM USA, by two points.
•    For ORACLE TEAM USA the second place result was a fourth consecutive podium finish in a Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series regatta. 
•    With a third place result in Oman, Emirates Team New Zealand retains its place atop the overall Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series leader board. 
•    The America's Cup, known as the "Auld Mug", is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two sailing yachts. 
•    One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging for the cup. 
•    The trophy was originally awarded in 1851 by the Royal Yacht Squadron for a race around the Isle of Wight in England, which was won by the schooner America. 
•    The trophy was renamed the America's Cup after the yacht and was donated to the New York Yacht Club (NYYC).
•    In 2013 America’s Cup took place in San Francisco Bay, from September 7 to 21, with holders Oracle Team USA facing the best of three challengers: Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Luna Rossa (ITA) and Artemis (SWE).

•    In 2010 Challenger BMW Oracle Racing (USA) beat Alinghi (SUI) 2-0. 
•    In 2007 Defender Alinghi (SUI) beated Team New Zealand 5-2. 
 

Former Indian captain, Rahul Dravid has been named as the new mentor of Indian Premier League (IPL) team Delhi Daredevils. 
•    Dravid was the mentor of the suspended franchise, Rajasthan Royals. Paddy Upton will be the head coach of the Delhi franchise.
•    Dravid was in charge of the India Under-19 team during the ICC Under-19 World Cup that finished runners-up last month. 
•    He guided the Indian colts to the final of the tournament, where they lost to the West Indies Under-19s.
•    Virender Sehwag will be Kings XI Punjab Mentor for IPL 2016.
•    The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in India contested annually by franchise teams representing Indian cities. 
•    The league, founded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) member Lalit Modi in 2007, is scheduled over April and May of every year.
•    The brand value of IPL was estimated to be US$2.2 billion in 2014.
 

The Visa on Arrival for Japanese nationals is being launched from 1st March, 2016. 
•    This facility will be available at six airports - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad. 
•    This facility can be availed for the purposes of business, tourism, conference and medical. 
•    Validity of this visa after entry will be for a period of 30 days. 
•    About 1.80 lakh Japanese nationals visit India every year on various kinds of visas. 
•    Other countries like Cambodia, Finland, Indonesia, Laos, Luxembourg, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam etc. already have this facility
•    In October 2013, India decided to initiate the process of extending visa-on-arrival access to 40 more nations.
•    In January 2014, plans were confirmed by Planning Minister of India.
•    The sixteen different types of visa would also be reduced to three: work, business and tourism.
•    In January 2016 it was announced that the multiple entries will become available and that eTourist Visa holders will receive a gift pack on arrival.
 

On 1st March 2016Veteran playwright and director RatanThiyam was awarded Lifetime Achievement Award in 11th Mahindra Excellence Theatre Awards (META).
•    He was selected for the award for creating a new language in theatre and enriching the art form in various roles as writer, director, designer, composer and choreographer. 
•    He is the current chairman of the National School of Drama.
•    In the past, this award has been given to great theatre artists such as Zohra Sehgal, Badal Sarkar, Khaled Chowdhary, EbrahimAlkazi, Girish Karnad and HeisnamKanhailal.
•    META, instituted by the Mahindra Group, is one of the Indian theatre industry’s premier awards. 
•    The awards consist of a trophy and a cheque of 100000 rupees for the best production, 75000 rupees for best original playwright and 45000 rupees for all other award categories.
•    With META,The Mahindra Group, aims to increase awareness and appreciation of Indian theatre,
•    It is the only national platform for recognising and rewarding theatre.
 

On 28 February 2016Car racer Armaan Ebrahim got awarded the Motorsports Man-of-the-Year Trophy
•    This award ceremony was organised by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI).
•    Armaan Ebrahim was presented with the Raymond GautamSinghania Rolling Trophy.
•    He was awarded with cash prize of 2 lakh rupees for his performance in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Asia Series.
•    B.I. Chandhok received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to motorsports in the country.
•    ArmaanEbrahim started his career in karting and became Formula LGB Champion in 2004.
•    ArmaanEbrahim then moved to Formula BMW Asia for the 2005 season.
•    He represented A1 Team India in the A1 Grand Prix Championship, in 2005.
•    On 12 December 2008, he was announced as the first Asian driver to sign up for the rebirth of FIA Formula Two in 2009.
•    The FMSCI was founded in 1971.
• The FMSCI is the only national motor sport federation recognised by the Indian Governmen

Twitter on 26 February 2016 launched Position of Strength campaign to empower women.
•    The movement aims at bridging the gender equality gap online in India 
•    It inspires the next generation of women leaders to have an influential voice in society.
•    Previously this campaign was run in Australia and Ireland.
•    Twitter has partnered with FICCI Ladies Organisation and Observer Research Foundation 
•    This is aimed at engaging more women to raise their voices online.
•    In 2015, Indian twitter population was 22.2 million users. In India, growth in 2015 is expected to be more than twice as fast at 30.4 per cent. While it shows signs of slowing, it will still climb by 16.5 per cent in 2018.