GK and Current Affairs Updates

Kerala became the first digital state in the country.

•    State got this status after linking all villages in the state with broadband connectivity under the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) project.
•    President Pranab Mukherjee declared Kerala as the first digital state by launching a digital empowerment campaign in Kozhikode.
•    Kerala is also the first state to complete the NOFN project—initiated in 2011—in the country.
•    Idukki in Kerala in January 2015 achieved the status of being the first district in India which got connected by high-speed broadband.
•    NOFN uses Gigabit Passive Optical Network technology to enable a single optical fibre to serve multiple premises.
•    This achievement of kerla has been prime focus of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious ‘Digital India’ project.
•    In order to create participative, transparent and responsive government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the much ambitious 'Digital India' programme on July 1, 2015.
•    With the launch of Digital India programme, the government took a big step forward to transform the country into a digitally empowered knowledge economy.
•    It Includes various schemes worth over Rs 1 lakh crore like Digital Locker, e-eduction, e-health, e-sign and national scholarship portal.
•    BharatNet in 11 states and Next Generation Network (NGN), are also a part of Digital India campaign.

Olympian Basanta Bahadur Singh Rana clinched the gold medal in men's 50km race walk event on the second and final day of the National Championships.
•    Delhi walker Rana took 4 hours seven minutes 24 seconds to finish first walk.
•    32-year-old Rana has a personal best of 3:56:48 which he recorded at the 2012 London Olympics, 
•    It  was a national record then.
•    Uttarakhand's Chandan Singh, finished second with a time of 4:09:50 while Jitender Singh Rathore of Rajasthan took the bronze medal in 4:12:10.
•    Chandan singh has already achieved Rio qualification mark in men's 20km event
•    Neena K T of Kerala won the gold in junior women's 10km race walk competition. She took 53:12.49 to cross the finish line. 
•    Bhawna Jat of Rajasthan finished second in 53:27:79.
•    Priyanka Patel of Uttar Pradesh took 53:32:95 to win the bronze medal.
•    In junior men's 10km race walk competition, Vikash Singh of Bihar won the gold by taking 44:32:50. 
•    Naveen of Delhi took 4:37:76 for the silver.
•    Eknath Turamberker took 44:55:67 for the bronze medal.

BK Garudachar, India's oldest living first-class cricketer, died in Bangalore 26th Feb at an age of 99.
•    A right-hand batsman and a leg-break bowler, Garudachar scored 1126 runs at an average of 29.63 in 27 matches in first-class cricket between 1935 and 1946. 
•    As a bowler, Garudachar finished his career with exactly 100 wickets, which included seven five-fors and three ten-wicket match hauls. 
•    Garudachar was a potent all-rounder and captained the Mysore side for a long span. It was during his peak period when Mysore registered their first Ranji Trophy victory, winning it against Hyderabad in 1941-42.
•    Garudachar made his First Class debut in the year 1935 against Madras for Mysore.
•    He enjoyed the peak of his career during 1941-42 as he became the highest wicket-taker of the season with 34 wickets in hand. 
•    His career best 164 came in the match against Holkar team in 1946 which is the only century in his entire career and the same match was his last First Class match as well.

Filmmaker Rajesh Pillai breathed his last at a private hospital on 27th Feb. He was 41. 

•    Rajesh had shot to fame with his second movie “Traffic’ released in 2011, which went on to become a blockbuster in Kerala and was remade into other South Indian languages too. 
•    Its Hindi remake was also directed by him. His movie “Traffic” was considered a path-breaker in Malayalam cinema paving the way for a different genre of next generationmovies. ‬
•    His first movie “Hridayathil Sookshikyaan” somehow went unnoticed and it was only with his second directorial venture “Traffic” that he shot into the limelight.
•    He also directed ‘Mili’ in 2015.
•    For his film “Traffic” He won 1st South Indian International Movie Awards for Best Direction, Jaihind Film Awards 2012 for Best Direction, Reporter TV Film Awards 2012 for Best Direction,Nana Film Awards for Best Direction, Asianet Film Awards 2012 for Best 

Direction and ,Surya Film Awards for Best Direction.
•    Apart from these awards he also won 
1.    Amritha Film Award - Trend Setting Film Director, 
2.    Aimfill Inspire Film Award - Best Innovative Film,
3.    National Film Promotion Council 2011 - Pratheeksha Puraskaram,
4.    Mathrubhumi Film Awards 2011 - Path Breaking Movie of the Year,
5.    Minnalai Film TV Awards-Best Director – 2011,
6.    Audi-Ritz Icon Award 2012 - Iconic Film of the Year Malayalam,
7.    Santhosham South Indian Film Award 2011, 
8.    Southspin Fashion Award-2012

•    The makers of Neerja have a reason to rejoice as the biopic has been made tax-free in 5 states including Delhi and UP. 
•    Neerja (7 September 1963 – 5 September 1986), was a purser for Pan Am, based in Mumbai, India.
•    She was shot and killed while saving passengers from terrorists on board the hijacked Pan Am Flight 73 on 5 September 1986. 
•    She became the youngest recipient of India's highest peacetime military award for bravery, the Ashok Chakra.
•    Bhanot's brother Aneesh went to Washington, D.C. in 2005 to receive the 'Justice for Crimes Award' awarded posthumously to her as part of the 'Annual Crime Rights Week' at a ceremony held at the United States Attorney's office for the District of Columbia.
•    In 2006, she and the other Pan Am Flight 73 flight attendants and Pan Am's flight director for Pakistan were awarded the Special Courage award by the United States Department of Justice.

The Economic Survey, which sets the scene for Jaitley's third annual budget on Monday, forecast that the Indian economy would grow by between 7.0 per cent and 7.75 per cent in the 2016-17 fiscal year that starts on April 1.
•    The survey was prepared by the finance ministry's chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian.
•    2016-17 expected to be challenging from fiscal point of view; time is right for a review of medium-term fiscal framework
•    2015-16 fiscal deficit, seen at 3.9 per cent of GDP, seems achievable
•    Credibility and optimality argue for adhering to 3.5 per cent of GDP fiscal deficit target 
•    CPI inflation seen around 4.5 to 5 per cent in 2016-17
•    Low inflation has taken hold, confidence in price stability has improved
•    Expect RBI to meet 5 per cent inflation target by March 2017
•    Prospect of lower oil prices over medium term likely to dampen inflationary expectations
•    current account deficit: 2016/17 current account deficit seen around 1-1.5 per cent of GDP

 On 26 February 2016 Ranveer Singh got selected for Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar award. 
•    The award will be given to him by Lata Mangeshkar at a function to be held in Pune.
•    The award is annually given to the artists on 24 April to commemorate Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar’s death anniversary.
•    Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar award was started in 1999 in the memory of Dinanath Mangeshkar, father of Lata Mangeshkar. 
•    Since then it is awarded annually to persons for their outstanding contributions to music and movies.
•    The award carries monetary award of Rs.1,01,001, a memento and a citation.
•    Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar award will be given to filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and actor Ranveer.

 On 26 February 2016 Gianni Infantino got elected as the President of FIFA.
•    He won after a second-round vote at Extraordinary FIFA Congress held in Zurich.
•    He is the ninth FIFA President.
•    In voting he secured 115 of 207 total votes. 
•    He will serve FIFA until 2019.
•    Infantino, the 45-year-old general secretary of European governing body UEFA, succeeded the 79-year-old Sepp Blatter, who held the position since 1998.
•    Sheikh Salman of Bahrain got 88 votes.
•    Prince Ali of Jordan got 4 votes.
•    Jerome Champagne of France got zero votes.
•    Greg Dyke, the Football Association chairman who had backed Infantino, hailed him as a “straightforward guy” whose victory was a new start for Fifa. 
•    Dyke said that England would now consider bidding for the 2030 World Cup.
•    Infantino, spent €500,000 of Uefa funds touring the globe in the run-up to the election.

 United Spirits Limited has announced MK Sharma as its new chairman.
•    This was announced a day after Vijay Mallya resigned from the post. 
•    Mallya’s exit from the board of United Spirits ended a long-drawn tussle between him and the majority owner.
•    USL is now controlled by the world’s largest spirits maker Diageo
•    It has acquired an additional 26 per cent stake in USL for Rs 11,448.91 crore in July.
•    United Spirits Limited, is an Indian alcoholic beverages company, and the world’s second-largest spirits company by volume.
•    USL exports its products to over 37 countries
•    Diageo is a British multinational United States.company.
•    It is the world’s largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine.
•    Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Baileys, and Guinness are all Diageo’s brands.
•    Diageo has a market-share of 25% in the United States.