GK and Current Affairs Updates

The legendary Canadian ice hockey player Gordie Howe was died on 10 June 2016 after a lengthy illness. He was 88.
He was nicknamed as Mr. Hockey and is considered to be one of the greatest ice hockey players of all time.
• He was born in 1928 in Floral, Saskatchewan.
• He played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA).
• He led the Detroit Red Wings to four Stanley Cup titles.
• He was the all-time leader in career goals and points.
• He retired in 1971 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto in 1972.
• He was the inaugural recipient of the NHL Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.
• He continues to hold NHL records for most games and seasons played.

A new U.S. spy satellite roared into orbit Saturday (June 11) atop the most powerful rocket currently in operation.
•    The National Reconnaissance Office's (NRO) NROL-37 satellite launched Saturday at 1:51 p.m. EDT (1751 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida riding a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket to space. 
•    The NRO is responsible for designing, building and operating the United States' fleet of spy satellites. 
•    As is the case with most NRO payloads, NROL-37's activities are classified; a brief description on ULA's website states that the mission is "in support of national defense." 
•    At launch, the Delta IV Heavy generates about 2.1 million lbs. (950,000 kilograms) of thrust, making it the most powerful rocket in use today. 
•    That's a lot, but far shy of the all-time record; NASA's Saturn V rocket, which blasted the Apollo astronauts toward the moon in the late 1960s and early 1970s, produced 7.5 million lbs. (3.4 million kg) of thrust at liftoff. 

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal on 12 June 2016 won the women’s title of the Australian Open Super Series Badminton tournament. In the final match played at Sydney, Saina defeated Chinese Sun Yu 11-21, 21-14, 21-19.
•    With this win, she also pocketed a cheque of 56250 US dollars.
•    This was first title of year 2016 for 29-year-old Saina and second Australian Open title of her career. She won her first Australian Open title in 2014.
•    Besides, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) announced a reward of 10 lakh rupees for Saina Nehwal for winning the Australian Open Super Series badminton tournament.
•    On the other hand, Denmark’s Hans-Kristian Vittinghus won the men’s Australian Open Badminton Super series titles. 
•    Vittinghus defeated South Korean Jeon Hyeok-Jin to win his first Super series title.

Opener Lokesh Rahul created history when he became the first Indian to score a hundred on One-Day International debut. 
•    Overall, he became the 11th player to achieve the feat on debut.
•    Karnataka batsman Rahul took 115 balls to reach the landmark as he steadily carried India beyond the finish line, chasing 169 for a win in the first ODI against Zimbabwe in Harare. 
•    His knock was studded with seven fours and a mighty six that was also the winning runs for the visiting side.
•    India began their chase with two debutant openers in Rahul and Karun Nair. 
•    The visitors were jolted early as Nair threw away his wicket playing a rash shot in the fifth over.
•    Ambati Rayudu joined Rahul and the two slowly but steadily carried forward as the pair put on an unbeaten 162-run partnership to see India home. Rahul remained not out on 100 while Rayudu scored an unbeaten 62.

International Master Visakh NR of Tamil Nadu broke a nine-year jinx to lead an Indian sweep in the Ninth Mumbai Mayor International Open chess tournament at Mount Litera School International, BKC.
•    The 17-year-old drew his final round match with GM Diptayan Ghosh, and was tied for the top place on eight points with Ghosh and Chandigarh’s Gusain Himal.
•    The arbiters declared Visakh champion on a better tie-break as he drew with GM Diptayan Ghosh, the mutual decision coming after 16 moves. 
•    Visakh is the first Indian to win this prestigious event in its nine-year history.
•    The game between Visakh and Ghosh started with a Queen's Indian and turned into a Dutch Defence. 
•    On the 9th move Ghosh sacrificed a pawn on d5 for better play but both players did not take any risk and agreed for a draw in just 16 moves. 

NASA's satellites also function as an observatory for climate change and weather behavior on Earth. 
•    These satellites were proven to be helpful in the recent findings by NASA scientists in partnership with the Environment and Climate Change Canada, who discovered that there are 39 unreported sources of toxic air pollution on Earth.
•    The findings of the recent study were published in the journal of in Nature Geosciences. 
•    The 39 unreported sources were found guilty of emitting toxic sulfur dioxide. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is one of the six air pollutants regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 
•    Agencies concerned with monitoring these air pollutants need to locate the sources first  in order to measure and moderate them. 
•    The recent study managed to identify the "hotspots" where unreported toxic air pollutants are coming from. 
•    Experts are now hoping that they can alleviate the toxic air pollutants emitted by the newly identified sources.
•    To help scientists identify the sources, a new satellite-based process was developed to allow the scientist to pinpoint the exact location of the man-made toxic emissions, which is vital in regulating them. 
•    The newly identifies man-made sources of toxic air pollutants accounts for 12 percent of the total man-made sulfur dioxide emissions according to a report by Engadget. 

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members and partners have launched Anaconda-16 Exercise, the biggest ever joint military exercise in Poland.The drill is part of NATO's exercise program and is being held just weeks before NATO's summit in Warsaw that is expected to decide that significant numbers of NATO troops and equipment will be based in Poland and in the Baltic states.
The exercise was launched at the crucial time when central and eastern European nations are seeking strong security guarantees amid concerns about Russia.
• The exercise is organized and coordinated by Poland's military Operational Command.
• It will involve some 31000 troops from Poland, the US and 17 other NATO member nations and from five partner nations.
• Some 12000 of the troops are from Poland, almost 14000 from the US and some 1000 from Britain.
• Anaconda-16 will run on test ranges across Poland and will be formally closed by officials at a ceremony in Warsaw on June 17. 
• It will train, exercise and integrate Polish command and troops with those of other allied nations in responding to military, chemical and cyber threats on land, sea and in the air.
• Involved will be some 3000 vehicles, 105 airplanes and helicopters, along with 12 Navy ships.
• It includes manoeuvres such as a night-time helicopter assault and the dropping of US paratroopers to build a temporary bridge over the Vistula river.
The Anaconda exercise was first initiated by Poland in 2006 and has gradually grown to include many other NATO members till date.

Distinguished scientist G Kalyanakrishnan took over as Chief Executive of Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), Hyderabad.
Kalyanakrishnan succeeds N Saibaba, who has retired on completion of two years of extended period of service.
Kalyanakrishnan will also be the Chairman of the NFC Board.
• Prior to being appointed as Chief Executive of NFC, Kalyanakrishnan served as the Deputy Chief Executive.
• He has vast experience in erection and commissioning as well as operation of Heavy Water Plants.
• He has also contributed in the successful commissioning of Zirconium Complex (ZC – a Unit of NFC) at Pazhayakayal, Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu and in achieving its nameplate capacity of 250 MT in the shortest time.
• He obtained his degree in chemical engineering from the Regional Engineering College, Warangal in 1980.
• He had joined the 24th batch of 1980-1981 Training School of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai.
• The Nuclear Fuel Complex was established in 1971.
• It was established as a major industrial unit of India's Department of Atomic Energy for the supply of nuclear fuel bundles and reactor core components.
• It is a unique facility where natural and enriched uranium fuel, zirconium alloy cladding and reactor core components are manufactured under one roof.
• NFC supplies zircaloy clad uranium oxide fuel assemblies and zirconium alloy structural components for all 14 operating atomic power reactors in India.
• The Hyderabad plant has a capacity to produce 250 tons of UO2 per year and is expected to expanded to a 600 tons per year capacity.
• NFC products are supplied to the Department of Atomic Energy, the Indian Navy, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and other defence organisations.

National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) on 9 June 2016 inked a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the AP Food Processing Society of Andhra Pradesh Government to establish Smart Agribusiness Platform Networks of Andhra Pradesh (SAPNAP).
These networks will strengthen the agribusiness and food processing sector by focusing on creation of enabling ecosystem for accelerated growth of agribusiness by involving all the stakeholders.
• It is an initiative to increase food production and food processing units under AP Food Processing Policy 2015-20.
• It will have two key development platforms, they are:
(i) Smart Agribusiness Value-chains:
•These chains focus on intelligence, analytics, big data, innovations and partnerships.
•Farm-to-Fork value chains will be mapped and developed for existing and potential crops, commodities and products
(ii) Smart Agribusiness Incubators and Accelerators:
•These focuses on establishing 13 district level incubators which will enable infrastructure and ecosystem for start ups, enterprise development and FPO mentoring.
•They will have Office or lab spaces, trial fields, common facilities, pilot equipment and start up ecosystem to help new enterprises take off.
• It is an enterprise of the department of Scientific & Industrial Research under Union Ministry of Science and Technology.
• It shall be the knowledge partner in the programme and would provide the required technologies, know-how, IPRs and other value added techno-commercial services to the start-ups of SAPNAP and linkages to the stakeholders of national and international level.

India Post launched a logo and tagline design contest for the soon to be set up India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) on the MyGov website.
Union Cabinet gave its approval 1 June 2016 to set up the IPPB under the Department of Posts to further financial inclusion in India.
India Post wants to involve the people of India in designing the DNA of the India Post Payments Bank. So, it is conducting a contest for the design.
It has also initiated a nationwide survey to understand the needs of different segments of customers.
• IPPB will offer digitally enabled payments, banking and remittance services of all kinds between entities and individuals.
• It also provides access to insurance, mutual funds, pension and credit products in partnership with third party financial service providers and Banks.
• Cocreating value propositions and products with its customers and other stakeholders is one of the guiding principles of IPPB.
• It is poised to emerge as the main vehicle of financial inclusion in the country by bringing the physical reach of 1.55 lakh post offices.
• It will be a modern payments platform powered by ubiquitous information and communication technologies together to create a national payments architecture that can be accessed by all users like never before.
• The roll out of the IPPB is to be completed by September 2017.
contest is open to all Indian citizens, institutions, agencies and entities for a period of one month, until 9 July 2016.
• The best entry will be awarded 50000 rupees.
• A panel of eminent designers/ experts will help shortlist 20 best entries which will thereafter be put up for voting on the MyGov platform for the final selection of the winner.