GK and Current Affairs Updates

The Tamil Nadu Assembly on 1 August 2016 unanimously passed a resolution to rename the Madras High Court as the Tamil Nadu High Court. The resolution on the matter was moved by Chief Minister J Jayalalitha as most of the High Courts established after the formation of new states based on linguistic lines have been named after the states only.
•    The resolution was presented in light of the High Courts (Alteration of Names) Bill, 2016, which was introduced in Lok Sabha on 19 July 2016.
•    She said the Madras High Court has jurisdiction over the entire state and therefore it is necessary to change the name as the Tamil Nadu High Court.
•    Chief Minister Jayalalithaa also recalled the fact that the renaming of Madras as Chennai was made in 1996, but averred that the name refers only to the specific city whereas the High Court is meant for the whole state.
•    The demand of renaming the High Court remained dormant since the state got the name Tamil Nadu in 1967. The demand came active in the state after the introduction of the Bill in the Lok Sabha that wants to change the names of Madras, Bombay and Culcatta High Courts.
•    The Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Law and Justice, Ravi Shanker Prasad with an aim to modify the names of the High Court’s (HCs) of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras.

A book titled India Rising: Fresh Hope, New Fears by Ravi Velloor chronicles India's journey in the decade before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rise. The book was released in April 2016 by Singapore Emeritus Senior Minister (ESM) Goh Chok Tong.
•    The book captures the significant events of the years under former India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and examines how the country dealt with those issues.
•    Ravi Velloor is an associate editor of Singapore newspaper The Straits Times.
•    Highlights of the Book
•    It describes key aspects of the country’s development in the last 10 years, expressing fresh hopes but also new fears under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 
•    Each chapter cuts a different slice into the complex reality which is India. Like a CT scan, the slices combine to give the reader a composite sense of the unfolding Indian drama. 
•    Importantly for Asia, it also looks closely at the strategic sweet spot India has found itself in, wooed by every major power. 
•    It assesses India's potential to become the world's fifth largest economic power by the end of this decade.
•    It discusses issues such as the unease that minorities feel under Modi, a leader backed by Hindu nationalist forces.
•    The book includes insider accounts of events such as the removal of National Security Adviser MK Narayanan, the resignation of navy chief DK Joshi, how India handled the crisis in Sri Lanka and the Mumbai attack, etc.

Senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Rani Singh Nair on 1 August 2016 took over as the Chairperson of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).Nair’s predecessor Atulesh Jindal, who was appointed CBDT chief in February 2016, retired on 31 July 2016.
•    Nair is a 1979-batch IRS officer of the Income Tax cadre.
•    She worked as member (Legislation and Computerisation) at CBDT.
•    She has been instrumental in framing the procedures and protocols that led to the roll-out of the Income Declaration Scheme (IDS) on June 1 2016. The scheme aims at bringing undisclosed income and assets into the tax net.
•    The Central Board of Direct Taxes provides essential inputs for policy and planning of direct taxes in India.
•    It is the policy-making body of the Income Tax Department under the Union Finance Ministry.
•    It is a statutory authority functioning under the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963.
•    The Chairperson of the CBDT is the senior-most IRS civil servant in the Government of India.
•    The Chairperson of Central Board of Direct Taxes is the ex officio Special Secretary to the Government of India and also cadre controlling authority of the Indian Revenue Service.
•    The CBDT Chairperson is placed above the officers of the rank of Lieutenant-General, Vice-Admiral or Air Marshal, CBI Director and Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General in the Order of Precedence.

Shri. Venkaiah Naidu Minister for Information & Broadcasting and Urban Development and Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation has said that in order to integrate the celebration/joy of independence with the spirit of a vibrant and young India, the Government proposed to organize a 15 Day event commencing from 9th August to 23rd August, 2016 based on the theme “Aazadi 70 Yaad Karo Qurbani”. 
•    Central Ministers and important leaders would visit birth places of national icons and places of historical importance related to India’s independence movement such as Jallianwala Bagh, Chauri Chaura, Cellular Jail, Sabarmati Ashram, Dandi etc. 
•    Around 150 such places had been identified such that each state would be visited by at least two Central Ministers. In addition, women Ministers would be visiting border areas and tie Rakhi to soldiers on Raksha Bandhan Day i.e., 18th August.
•    Kith and kin of martyrs, freedom fighters, INA heroes and ex-soldiers who had been conferred with gallantry/bravery awards shall also be felicitated. 
•    Special programming would be mounted by AIR and DD based on patriotic songs, video and audio clips of National Icons. Social Media would be used extensively to promote the spirit of participation and position interactive campaigns.

With a rich sports heritage, Indian Railways’ sports persons are again set to bring more laurels to the nation. Continuing its run of glory in country’s sports arena, around 35 sports persons from Indian Railways will represent the nation in forthcoming XXXI Olympic Games being held at Rio, Brazil from 5-21 August, 2016. Indian railways’ contingent comprises of 1/3rd of the entire Indian Olympic contingent thus becoming the biggest contributor amongst all sports organizations in the country. In fact almost the entire Indian women hockey team comprises of Railway players, as is the weightlifting team. 
 
Sportspersons participating in Rio Olympics-2016 from Indian Railways are: 
•  Archery:
1.      Ms. Laxmirani Majhi,
2.      Ms. L. Bombayla Devi,
•  Athletics:
3.      Ms. Manpreet Kaur (Shot Put) [DMW], 
4.      Ms. Lalita Babar (3000m Steeplechase) [CR],
5.      Ms. Tintu Luka (800m) [SR],
6.      Ms. Sudha Singh (Marathon) [CR],
7.      Ms. OP Jaisha (Marathon) [ER],
8.      Ms. Khushbir Kaur (Walk) [NR],
9.      Ms. Dutee Chand (100m) [CR],
10.  Shri Lalit Mathur (4x400m Relay)
11.  Shri Renjit Maheswari (Triple Jump)
•  Boxing :
12.  Shri Manoj Kumar (Boxing Men-64 Kg),
•         Shooting:
13.  Ms. Ayonika Paul (10m Air Rifle)
•  Wrestling:
14.  Shri Hardeep Singh (Greeko-Roman),
15.  Ms. Vinesh Phogat and
16.  Ms. Sakshi Malik (Free-Style).
17.  Shri Praveen Rana
•  Swimming:
18.  Shri Sajan Prakash
•  Weight Lifting:
19.  Ms. Saikom Mirabhai Chanu
20.  Shri Satish Kumar
•  Hockey Women:
21.  Ms. Rajani,
22.  Ms. Sunita Lakra,
23.  Ms. Deepika, 
24.  Ms. Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam,
25.  Ms. Namita Toppo,
26.  Ms. Deep Grace Ekka,
27.  Ms. Renuka Yadav
28.   Ms. Lilima Minz,
29.  Ms. Navjot Kaur,
30.  Ms. Monika,
31.  Ms. Poonam Rani,
32.  Ms. Vandana Kataria,
33.  Ms. Anuradha Devi Thokchom,
34.  Ms. Nikki Pradhan
•  Hockey Men:
35.  Shri Chinglensana Singh
• Coaches:
1.      Shri C R Kumar (Hockey Women)
2.      Ms. Helen Mary (Hockey Women)
3.      Ms. PT Usha (Athletics)
4.      Shri Kuldeep Malik (Wrestling)
5.      Shri Vijay Sharma (Weightlifting)
6.      Shri Jagdip Hooda (Boxing)

Hon’ble Minister of Communications Shri. Manoj Sinha today launched “Twitter Sewa” for addressing the complaints and concerns of common man and other stake-holders in the telecom and postal sectors. The twitter handle of the Minister will be @manojsinhabjp. Launching the Sewa here, Shri Sinha said that this is in tune with Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of “minimum government, maximum governance” as from the Prime Minister himself to his ministers and their ministries are connecting with Indian citizens through live communications platform to provide a transparent, clean and responsive and accountable administration. 
•    The Minister said that the telecom ministry and Department of Post will henceforth compile a list of complaints from this Twitter Sewa and categorize them into immediate, mid-term and long-term complaints, while adding that he has complete faith in his officers and staff, but since both the telecom and posts are service sectors, customer is the king here and this is all the more relevant for BSNL and MTNL. The TSPs (telecom service providers) are expected to resolve the complaints forwarded to them under this arrangement. 
•    Shri Sinha said that the challenge is gigantic as India has the biggest postal network in the world and the number of mobile-phone subscribers had already crossed 1 billion in January this year. Therefore, we are aware that complaints are going to pour in from across the country and in great numbers. But I would like to assure you that Ministry will rise up to this challenge. 
•    The Minister also underlined that there are chances that this twitter seva may be misused by some rogue elements but he expressed the hope that Twitter authorities will take care of the same. 
•    Shri Sinha expressed hope that the Telecom operators from Government as well as private and the Department of Posts shall use the utility of “Twitter sewa” to the fullest to address the grievances of the public. 
•    Secretary Telecom Sh. J.S.Deepak, Secretary Posts, Sh. B.V.Sudhakar, CMD Sh. Anupam Srivastava and CMD MTNL Sh. P.K.Purwar were also present during the function.

The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation is organizing a month-long Swachh Bharat special campaign around the theme ‘Freedom from Open Defecation’ in August 2016, the month in which the nation’s Independence Day falls. The following events are being organized by the Ministry during the month:
•    August 1st:  Ministry has kicked off the campaign with the launch of its newsletter “Swachhta Samachar” and an ‘Ask Me Anything’ (AMA) campaign on social media (twitter.com/swachhbharat).
•    August 5th: National Media Interaction on Swachh Bharat Mission to sensitize Media on SBM content and the countrywide efforts being made to make it a success. Also aimed at seeking their feedback on SBM programmes, especially in IEC.
•    August 11th: Launch of 5 SBM movies by the Minister, MDWS, that highlight the impact of SBM on the ground through the stories of grass roots citizen champions
•    August 11th: A ‘Chai Pe Charcha’ between the Minister, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, and selected Champion Collectors for Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin)
•    August 14th or 16th:
•    States and Districts to hold mass mobilization events – rallies, runs, human chains, candle march – in favour of ‘Freedom from Open Defecation’, involving ODF champions, opinion leaders, youth, women, children, etc.
•    Special Independence Day events and special events to be organized at district-levels, and Taluka/Block levels to honour local Sanitation Champions
•    August 20th: Mass event in Allahabad with 1651 Gram Pradhans and associated Pramukhs to motivate them for making villages along the banks of the river Ganga ODF. Heads of 52 Zilla Parishads, District Collectors, all other stakeholders from Centre and the States also expected to attend.
•    August 24th: Release of ‘Swachh Survekshan’, a Survey commissioned by the Ministry through Quality Council of India to rank the top performing districts of the country based on the NSSO survey and the States.
•    August 28h: MDWS will launch a series on Swachh Bharat nationwide that will run as a weekly show on prime time on Doordarshan.
•    Constant Social Media buzz: A buzz will be created throughout the month through continuous activity around the themes ‘Freedom from Open Defecation’ on social media. Success stories will be shared from the field through videos of beneficiaries, write-ups, photographs and info graphics.

International Kabaddi Federation on 31 July 2016 selected India to host The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup. The World Cup featuring 12 countries is scheduled to be held in October 2016, the dates for the event will be announced later.
•    Participants of the tournament include India, USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Iran, Poland, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Korea, Japan and Kenya.
•    Kabaddi became a part of Asian Games in the year 1990 and India has won all the gold medals since.
•    Official broadcaster Star Sports was selected to broadcast the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup
•    President of International Kabaddi Federation  Janardan Singh Gehlot
•    Kabaddi originated from India and is the one of the most popular games of Asia.
•    It is probably the only game which requires ground and a whistle only.
•    It came on international Map during SAF Games Dhaka in 1985.
•    Kabaddi saw its major breakthrough in 1990 when it was included in the Asian Games during 11th Asian Games at Beijing-China in 1990, since then Kabaddi is a regular discipline in Asian Games.
•    Kabaddi was included in Asian Indoor Games during 2nd Asian Indoor Games at Macau-SAR China in 1997.
•    Kabaddi achieved one more success when it was included in Asian Beach Games during 1st Asian Beach Games at Bali-Indonesia in 1998 and that too for Men & Women both.
•    It is the only game being played in all the 3 versions of Asian Games i.e. Asian Games, Asian Indoor Games and Asian Beach Games
•    Women Kabaddi was included in Asian Games during 16th Asian Games at Guangzhou in 2010.

Justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari was on 29 July 2016 sworn in as the Chief Justice of Patna High Court. His oath of office was administered by Bihar Governor Ramnath Kovind at Raj Bhawan in Patna.
•    Justice Ansari had worked twice as Acting Chief Justice of Patna High Court since December 2014 before being sworn in as its 39th Chief Justice. Justice Ansari retires on 29 October 2016.
•    Born on 29th October 1954, at Tezpur, Assam, Justice Ansari did his his B.Sc. from Darrang College, Tezpur.
•    He did his graduation in law from Tezpur Law College, where his father, a Bar-at-Law himself, was founder Principal.
•    He handled both civil as well as criminal matters.
•    He remained deeply involved with the activities of All Assam Lawyers' Association and many other socio-cultural and educational bodies.
•    He was the President of Tezpur Lions' Club.
•    He is a life member of Indian Institute of Public Administration.
•    He joined Grade-I of Assam Judicial Service in April 1991.
•    He has worked as District & Sessions Judge.
•    He joined Gauhati High Court Registry in June 1999.
•    At the time of his elevation, he was Registrar General of Gauhati High Court and President of Assam Judicial Service Association.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 31 July 2016 flagged off maiden broad-gauge train service between Agartala and Delhi, ‘Tripura Sundari Express’.
•    The ‘Tripura Sundari Express’ will run weekly between Agartala and Anand Vihar in Delhi. 
•    It will have commercial stoppages at 16 stations and cover a distance of 2461 kms in 46 hours and 50 minutes.
•    The train will reach Delhi via Guwahati and New Jappaiguri. The rail link was developed at an expense of 968 crore rupees.
•    The laying the 15.054 rail track will be completed by 2017. Of the total track, only five km will be on the Indian side and the rest in Bangladesh.
•    Haque announced that Bangladesh has decided to launch a new train between Khulna and Kolkata in addition to the Maitri Express train that plies between Dhaka and Kolkata.