GK and Current Affairs Updates

An Indian-American woman has made it to the list of the top 30 female business leaders in Austin Business Journal's "2015 Profiles in Power & Women of Influence" . Rina Patel, area president for Wells Fargo in Austin, was recognised as a "female powerhouse on the Austin business scene" during the 21st annual Profiles in Power awards last month, according to the business magazine."Rina Patel has shown tremendous flexibility in her career, as illustrated by her career path. She has been willing to take on new roles and to relocate to new communities to develop her leadership skills and knowledge -- and it's paid off," the Austin Business Journal reported On her career progression, it said that Patel has grown over the past 11 years by jumping from teller, to banker, to service manager, to store manager in various stores, to district manager overseeing 15 stores, to her current role as an area president. At Wells Fargo, she manages more than 375 team members.Patel also serves on the boards of the Girl Scouts of Central Texas.

Music director Aadesh Shrivastava, who was in critical condition and undergoing treatment for cancer, passed away in Mumbai on Saturday at 12:30 am, a day after he turned 49.Aadesh Shrivastava was being treated at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital for the past 42 days and had been putting up a fierce fight against the disease. He had reportedly shown signs of improvement, impressing the doctors and medial specialists.Aadesh, who rose to fame with his musical compositions for films like ‘Chalte Chalte’, ‘Baabul’, ‘Baghban’, ‘Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham…’ and ‘Rajneeti’ among others, also sang a number of songs including ‘Sona sona’, ‘Shava shava’, ‘Gustakhiyaan’ and ‘Gur nalon ishq mitha’.

Ace golfer Anirban Lahiri added another feather to his cap by becoming the first Indian to qualify for the prestigious President’s Cup.Lahiri, World No.40, came through as one of the automatic qualifications for the International Team, which will take on United States in the biennial Presidents Cup in Korea.Also becoming the first from his country to make the team was Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee, who was ninth.At one stage, Lahiri fell out of the Top-10, but his fifth place finish at the PGA Championships hauled him back into the zone.Lahiri has a good record at Matchplay, having been part of the Asian Team in EurAsia Cup and he also performed well at the WGC-Matchplay.Thongchai, currently ranked 44th in the world, has come close to making the International Team previously and was delighted to add another career highlight to his glowing resume.

Some of the biggest names in the sporting world Frank Lampard, Jose Mourinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lewis Hamilton, Novak Djokovic and many more have been included in the new Guinness World Records book and were honoured with certificates.English football champions Chelsea's manager Mourinho was given four different awards, which included prizes for the most points in a Premier League season (95), most Champions League's won at different clubs (two), youngest manager to reach 100 Champions League games (49 years 12 days) and most games unbeaten at home in the Premier League (77).

Manchester United defender Chris Smalling also bagged two records after scoring the fastest goal in the Premier League by a substitute from kick-off, when he netted against Burnley in just five minutes nine seconds last season.

He scored again to earn himself a second record, for the most goals in the Premier League scored by a substitute in the first half.French club Real Madrid's star Ronaldo received the award for scoring his 27th hat-trick in La Liga - overtaking club legend Alfredo Di Stefano, and is also the most followed athlete and person on both Facebook (over 100 million likes) and Twitter (over 27 million followers).English cricketers Joe Root and Jimmy Anderson also picked up a Guinness World Record.Their 198-run 10th wicket partnership against India last summer broke the previous record held by Australia's Ashton Agar and the late Phil Hughes.

Men's world No.1 tennis player Novak Djokovic continues to dominate on the tennis court and the Serb was presented with his award for his record of the most Australian Open titles (five) and was also a competitor alongside Rafael Nadal as they were both part of the longest Grand Slam final (five hours and 33 minutes).

Women officers made history by leading the military contingent in the Republic Day parade this year, but many of them are still not allowed on board warships.

But that could soon change.The Delhi High Court said today that women can now have full term service in the Indian Navy and enjoy retirement benefits. Allowing women to get permanent commission in the navy, the court said it would "frown upon any endeavor to block progress of women."The navy may have to review its rules banning women on ships. Women officers serve in the administrative, medical and education branches. They are also taken on aircraft as "observers", to monitor censors."Since women aren't allowed on ships, under the existing rules it will be difficult to promote them to the rank of Captain - tenure in the sea is a must for that. We will have a relook at these rules," a senior naval officer told NDTV.

The Indian Navy (IN) and the Royal Navy (RN) have an unparalleled history of interactions due to our shared heritage. Recent operational interactions between the IN and the RN started in 2004 with the institutionalisation of Exercise KONKAN, named after the Western coastal region of India. Since then, the two navies have been meeting regularly at sea and the exercise has grown in complexity, scale and intensity after more than a decade of exercising together. These exercises, hosted in rotation by both the Navies, also provide opportunities for professional and cultural interaction between personnel. The bonds developed through such events further strengthen the established mechanisms of maritime cooperation between the two navies, while pursuing common goals of keeping the seas around us safe and secure. 

Both the Navies share many common concerns such as protection of Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ), threats to maritime trade and commerce from piracy, illegal immigration and maritime terrorism. Maritime interactions under the aegis of KONKAN series of exercises have promoted synergy and inter-operability between the two Navies. The exercise also provides valuable opportunity to practice a wide range of maritime operations in realistic conditions. 

KONKAN aims to promote mutual understanding and provide exposure to each others’ operating procedures, communication procedures and best practices. This allows the Navies to develop greater confidence to operate together, if required, during complex maritime missions. Periodic conduct of this exercise has helped to build on past experiences and further advance professional as well as operational engagements between the two navies. Such engagements between the two navies symbolize the growing friendship of two major powers in the world, with an aim to maintain peace and stability especially in the Indian Ocean Region. 

This year, the IN will be represented in the exercise by a guided missile frigate, INS Trikand with integral helicopter and a team of marine commandos. The RN would be represented by HMS Iron Duke, an auxiliary vessel, a nuclear submarine and other shore based assets. 

KONKAN 2015, the 10th edition in KONKAN series, will be conducted from 05 - 11 Sep 15, in two phases. The harbour phase at Devonport will involve professional exchanges, exercise planning conferences, sporting fixtures and socio-cultural events. The elaborate sea phase to be held off the South Coast of UK, will involve surface, sub-surface and air exercises of varying complexities. Explosive Ordinance Teams of both navies will also participate in the exercise. 

The benefits of our operational interaction are clearly visible as both the Navies today have an improved and steadfast understanding. KONKAN 15 will further enhance our capability to work together at sea in complex situations and also contribute towards maritime security in the global commons.

U.S. President Barack Obama will award Indian-American author Jhumpa Lahiri the 2014 National Humanities Medal, which honors those who have widened the public’s engagement with literature and “deepened the nation’s understanding of the human experience.”Ms. Lahiri, a Pulitzer-prize winner and author of “The Lowland,” will receive the prize in Washington next week.

Previous winners include Hollywood director Steven Spielberg and Indian economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen who won it “for his insights into the causes of poverty, famine, and injustice.”In a statement, the National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent national agency that awards grants for cultural research, said that Ms. Lahiri had “illuminated the Indian-American experience in beautifully wrought narratives of estrangement and belonging.”

In January, Ms. Lahiri was awarded the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature for her most-recent book “The Lowland,” set in both New England and West Bengal in the east of India during the 1960s when the Naxalite movement, a separatist uprising, began. The book was previously longlisted for the Man Booker Prize for fiction in 2013 but did not win.Her book “Interpreter of Maladies” won the Pulitzer prize for fiction in 2000. Ms. Lahiri, whose parents originate from West Bengal, was born in London but moved to the U.S. as a child making frequent trips to Kolkata, then known as Calcutta, the capital of West Bengal.

U.S. President Barack Obama will award Indian-American author Jhumpa Lahiri the 2014 National Humanities Medal, which honors those who have widened the public’s engagement with literature and “deepened the nation’s understanding of the human experience.”Ms. Lahiri, a Pulitzer-prize winner and author of “The Lowland,” will receive the prize in Washington next week.

Previous winners include Hollywood director Steven Spielberg and Indian economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen who won it “for his insights into the causes of poverty, famine, and injustice.”In a statement, the National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent national agency that awards grants for cultural research, said that Ms. Lahiri had “illuminated the Indian-American experience in beautifully wrought narratives of estrangement and belonging.”

In January, Ms. Lahiri was awarded the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature for her most-recent book “The Lowland,” set in both New England and West Bengal in the east of India during the 1960s when the Naxalite movement, a separatist uprising, began. The book was previously longlisted for the Man Booker Prize for fiction in 2013 but did not win.Her book “Interpreter of Maladies” won the Pulitzer prize for fiction in 2000. Ms. Lahiri, whose parents originate from West Bengal, was born in London but moved to the U.S. as a child making frequent trips to Kolkata, then known as Calcutta, the capital of West Bengal.

Having rediscovered his old form, Olympic medallist Gagan Narang of India has achieved the number one spot in men's 50m rifle prone shooting category in Asia.The 32-year-old Narang has 971 points to his credit while China's Shengbo Zhao is placed second with 896 points.The Indian shooting ace has already booked a quota for next year's Rio Olympic Games by bagging the bronze medal in the 50m rifle prone event of the ISSF World Cup at Fort Benning, USA, in May.

Mutiple time World Cup winners Narang had won a bronze medal at the London Olympics in 2012.

The 16-year-old Maharashtra player claimed the title by winning the Mauritius Open ITF junior championships, a Grade 5 event, played at the National Tennis Center Petit Camp - Phoenix Phoenix in Mauritius. \It was the second title in a row for the girl, who is a member of Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association's Vision Programme, in two weeks, said a media release issued by MSLTA's secretary Sunder Iyer. 

Snehal, the fifth seed, bagged the crown by defeating sixth-seeded local girl Amelie Boy 6-3, 6-0 in just over an hour in the final. Snehal had won the singles title in the Petit Camp Cup Under 18 Grade 4 ITF championships last week in the same country. Currently ranked 648, Snehal had a rich outing in Mauritius by garnering 70 points in two weeks that would see her ranking move up by 161 places and making it to the top 500 ranking list, according to Iyer.