GK and Current Affairs Updates

Former IAS officer and Padma Vibhushan awardee Dr. Mahesh Neelkanth Buch who was widely regarded as the architect of modern Bhopal, passed away following a brain stroke in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

UK Author Ali Smith won the 2015 Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction for her novel ‘How to be Both’. Ali Smith, a Scottish author, has also won the 2014 Goldsmiths Prize and the Novel Award in the 2014 Costa Book Awards for the same book. Earlier, the book was shortlisted for the 2014 Man Booker Prize and the 2015 Folio Prize.

UK Author Ali Smith won the 2015 Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction for her novel ‘How to be Both’. Ali Smith, a Scottish author, has also won the 2014 Goldsmiths Prize and the Novel Award in the 2014 Costa Book Awards for the same book. Earlier, the book was shortlisted for the 2014 Man Booker Prize and the 2015 Folio Prize.

Walmart Stores Inc announced to appoint Greg Penner as company board’s chairman, succeeding his father-in-law, Rob Walton. Rob Walton has been Walmart's chairman since 1992 and will retain a seat on the board.

11 Indo-Canadians have been honoured in Canada with 'I.C.C.C. Annual Awards 2015' for strengthening bilateral ties and their business achievements besides contributions to the economy. Avinash Mehra, vice president of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was among 11 winners. Frank Scarpitti, mayor of Markham received the 'President's award 2015' for his outstanding contributions in promoting bilateral trade and investment between India and Canada.

World's ninth seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland won French Open Tennis Grand Slam men's singles title. In the final clash played at Roland Garros in Paris, Wawrinka defeated first seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. This is the second grand slam title for Wawrinka after Australian Open 2014. This is his first French Open win.

America's Serena Williams won her 20^th Grand Slam title and third French Open Tennis Grand Slam women’s singles title at Roland Garros in Paris. In the finals she defeated Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic. 13^th seeded Lucie Safarova had made into her first ever Grand Slam singles final at the age of 28. But she was defeated by Serena Williams by 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 6-2 in a tough final.

During the maiden visit of P.M. Mr. Narendra Modi to Bangladesh both the countries inked as many as 22 agreements, including on curbing human trafficking, smuggling of fake currency and setting up an Indian Economic Zone, to boost bilateral ties. Bangladesh and India share a 4,096-km international border, the fifth-longest land border in the world. Under the agreement, India will have an advantage of 500 acres and 10,000 acres will go to Bangladesh.

Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti launched nationwide Jal Kranti Abhiyan (campaign) from Jaipur, Rajasthan. The aim is to consolidate water conservation and management in the country through a holistic and integrated approach involving all stakeholders, making it a mass movement.

Fortune released the 61^st edition of list of top 500 companies. These Fortune 500 companies account for 12.5 trillion US dollar in revenues, 945 billion US dollar in profits, 17 trillion US dollar in market value and employ 26.8 million people worldwide. The list was topped by retail behemoth Walmart with revenue of 485.6 billion US dollar. It was followed by Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Berkshire Hathaway and Apple at the 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th position respectively. The top five of 2015 list remains unchanged as compared to the 2014 list.