GK and Current Affairs Updates

On 8 May 2016 American actor William Schallert passed away in California, U.S. 
He was 93.The actor was best known for his work as Martin Lane on the hit series The Patty Duke Show, 
This show was aired on ABC from 1963 until 1966.
•    He was Born on 6 July 1922, 
•    He began acting in University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
•    In 1946, he helped found the Circle Theatre with Sydney Chaplin and several fellow students.
•    In 1948, he was directed by Sydney's father, Charlie Chaplin, in a staging of Somerset Maugham's Rain.
•    He starred in Philbert, an innovative 1964 TV pilot for ABC
•    He appeared in many films and television series as Perry Mason, The Smurfs, Jefferson Drum among others.
•    His portrayal of Martin Lane on The Patty Duke Show was recognized  as No. 39 on its list of 50 Greatest TV Dads.

On 9 May 2016 The Reserve Bank of India announced that it will shortly issue 1000 rupees denomination banknotes with the inset letter 'R' in both the number panels.
•    It will be done in the Mahatma Gandhi Series – 2005
•    It will carry the signature of Dr. Raghuram G. Rajan, Governor, Reserve Bank of India on the obverse.
•    The banknotes of 1000 rupees banknotes will have six angular bleed lines in four sets of 1-2-2-1 lines on the obverse in both, the upper left and right hand edge of the banknotes. 
•    These will facilitate identification of these notes by visually impaired persons.
•    All the banknotes in the denomination of 1000 rupees issued by the Reserve Bank in the past, including 1000 rupees denomination banknotes with ascending size of numerals in the number panels but without bleed lines and enlarged identification mark, will continue to be legal tender.

On 11 May 2016 in the legislative assembly, the Harish Rawat-led government got the majority.
•    Harish Rawat got 33 votes against 28 votes out of 61 qualified members who voted in the assembly.
•    SC said that Harish Rawat can take charge as the Chief Minister of the.
•    President Rule under Article 356 was imposed in Uttarakhand on 27 March 2016 
•    It was done on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet.
•    Conduct of ‘composite floor test’ in the Uttarakhand legislative assembly was ordered by the Supreme Court on 5 May 2016.
•    On 9 March 2005 Apex court passed the order for Jharkhand Assembly.
•    It was done on the line of earlier order for a composite floor test in Uttar Pradesh in 1998.
•    "President's rule" refers to the imposition of Article 356 of the Constitution of India on a State whose constitutional machinery has failed. 
•    In the event that a State government is not able to function as per the Constitution, the State comes under the direct control of the central government

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has constituted a three member committee to prepare a policy framework for taxi and other transport operators. 
•    The committee will be headed by Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and have Joint Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and Delhi Transport Commissioner as its members. 
•    A group of taxi and other transport operators had met Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Shipping.
•    Supreme Court’s order dated 15th December 2015 and directions of EPCA dated 29^th April 2016 banned diesel taxis in the NCR
•    People are facing various problems as a result of the ban. 
•    The Ministry has decided to set up the three member committee to look into these issues and come up with appropriate policy recommendations to address the same in a time bound manner. 

On 10th May 2016 President Pranab Mukherjee presented the Gallantry Awards and the Distinguished Service Decorations to defence personnel and martyrs posthumously at a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here.
•    Sepoy Jagdish was awarded Kirti Chakra posthumously. He made the supreme sacrifice during terror attack at Pathankot Air Base
•    Subedar Mahendra Singh was awarded Kirti Chakra. 
•    Jammu and Kashmir Police Head Constable Mohammed Shafi Sheikh and Constable Reyaz Ahmed Lone were awarded Shaurya Chakra.
•    Second in Command of CRPF 7th Batallion Hira Kumar Jha who was awarded Shaurya Chakra.
•    Commander Milind Mokashi who saved more than 16 hundred persons from war torn Yemen was also presented with Shaurya Chakra.
•    Sixteen personnel were awarded Param Vishisht Seva Medal and Twenty Four Personnel were awarded Ati Vishisht Seva Medal.

•    Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, and the three services Chiefs were present in the ceremony.

Bharat Darshan Tourist train for pilgrims to visit Shirdi, Tirupati, Jagannath Puri, Gangasagar, Baidyanath Dham and Jyotirlingams among others has been launched by Indian Railways.
•    The tourist train comprises 10 coaches and bookings are being done by IRCTC wesbite. 
•    The service offers budget-friendly package for pilgrims. The package includes train journey, road transportation, accommodation, sightseeing at tourist locations and onboard and off-board meals.
•    Bharat Darshan will cover pilgrimages destinations like Jagannath Puri, Gangasagar, Baidyanath Dham, Gaya, Banaras and Ayodhya. 
•    It will also cover 7 Jyotirlinga package and also offers “Dakshin Darshan with Shirdi” tour package that will cover Shirdi, Tirupati, Kanchipuram, Rameshwaram, Madurai, Kanyakumari, Mysore and Bangalore.
•    Indian Railways is an Indian state-owned enterprise, owned and operated by the Government of India through the Ministry of Railways. 
•    It is one of the world's largest railway networks comprising 115,000 km (71,000 mi) of track over a route of 65,808 km (40,891 mi) and 7,112 stations. 

The Saraswat Bank has donated of Rs one crore towards drought relief work.
•    The Bank has donated Rs 50 lakh each to the Maharashtra Chief Ministers Drought Relief Fund, and to the NAAM Foundation, an NGO started by actors Nana Patekar and Makarand Anaspure, specifically aimed at alleviating the impact of drought, a release issued here said.
•    Gautam E Thakur, Vice Chairman of the bank handed over a cheque of Rs 50 lakh to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
•    Kishore Rangnekar, Director, handed over another cheque of Rs 50 lakh to Nana Patekar, Founder, NAAM Foundation. 
•    Saraswat Bank is an urban co-operative banking institution based in Maharashtra, India and operating as a co-operative bank since 1918.
•    In 1988, the Bank was conferred with "Scheduled" status by Reserve Bank of India. 
•    The Bank is the first co-operative bank to provide Merchant Banking services. 
•    The Bank got a permanent license to deal in foreign exchange in 1978. 
•    Presently the Bank is having correspondent relationship in 45 countries covering 9 currencies with over 125 banks. In 1992, the Bank completed 75 years. 
•    Platinum Jubilee Celebrations were inaugurated on 14 September 1992 and the Bank also crossed the business level of Rs. 700 Crores. 

Telangana government on 10th may issued orders for setting up a 'Monkey Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre' in Adilabad district.
•    It will be made with an investment of Rs 2.21 crore.
•    There was serious man-animal conflict in both rural and urban areas due to increased pressure on forest habitats, coupled with increased population of monkeys.
•    The religious beliefs and value attached to monkeys also resist villagers either from killing or from other measures.
•    All these factors have contributed to the increasing conflict between the monkeys and the human beings.
•    After careful examination of the proposal of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (HoFF), Telangana State government ordered establishment of Monkey Rescue & Rehabilitation Centre at Chincholi near Nirmal in Adilabad district, as pilot project.
•    Telangana is one of the 29 states in India, in the South of the country. It was formed on 2 June 2014 with the city of Hyderabadas its capital. 
•    Telangana is bordered by the states ofMaharashtra to the north and North west,Chhattisgarh to the North, Odisha to the north east (adjoining khammam district), Karnataka to the west, and Andhra Pradesh to the east and south.
•    Telangana has an area of 114,840 square kilometres (44,340 sq mi), and a population of 35,193,978 (2011 census).  

Atomic Oxygen was detected in the upper layers of the Martian atmosphere known as Mesosphere. 
Atomic oxygen affects how other gases escape Mars .It therefore has a significant impact on the planet’s atmosphere.
The research was published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
•    These more recent observations were possible due to SOFIA’s airborne location, flying between 37000-45000 feet, above most of the infrared-blocking moisture in Earth’s atmosphere.
•    The last measurement of the atomic oxygen in Martian atmosphere was diagnosed by Viking and Mariner missions of the 1970s.
•    Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)
•    SOFIA is a Boeing 747SP jetliner modified to carry a 100-inch diameter telescope.
•    It is a joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center.
•    SOFIA program is managed by NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California.
•    The aircraft is based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center's hangar 

On 6 May 2016 United Nations announced the establishment of the UN Zika Response Multi-Partner Trust Fund to finance critical unfunded priorities in the response to the Zika outbreak.
It fund was announced by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
•    The Fund aims to provide a rapid, flexible and accountable platform to support a coordinated response from the UN system and partners.
•    It will directly support the Zika Strategic Response Framework, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO
•    Under the programme, the donors will contribute to a central point and an Advisory Committee will direct funds to the highest-priority activities in the affected countries.
•    Zika virus (ZIKV) is transmitted by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes, such as A. aegypti.
•    In case of humans, the virus causes mild illness known as Zika fever (Zika or Zika disease).
•    Since January 2015, 61 countries and territories have reported local transmission of Zika.
•    The recent rise in the spread of the virus in some countries has been accompanied by an unprecedented rise in the number of children being born with unusually small heads 
•    On 1 February 2016, WHO announced that the cluster of cases of microcephaly and other neurological disorders.