DAILY GK UPDATE - 24th May 1. Zuma sworn in as South Africas President for second term i. Jacob Zuma was on Saturday sworn in as South African President for a second term in the presence of thousands of guests in Pretoria. ii. Mr. Zuma, whose African National Congress won the May 7 elections with 62 per cent of the vote, was sworn in by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng at the government complex Union Buildings. iii. More than 40 foreign leaders in attendance included the Presidents of Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritius, Madagascar and the Vice-Presidents of Gambia, Angola, Sudan and Gabon. iv. The ceremony began with a gun salute and inter-faith prayers, followed by a recital of the preamble of the Constitution. 2. Project Mobile Seva under DeitY won the 2014 United Nations Public Service Award i. The project Mobile Seva under Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) won second rank in the 2014 United Nations Public Service Award. Department of Electronics and Information Technology comes under Ministry of Information and Technology. ii. Mobile Seva has won the Second place in the Asian and Pacific Region in the Category 3: PROMOTING WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT APPROACHES IN THE INFORMATION AGE. It is the only project from India selected as the winner in 2014. iii. This award is very unique and first of its kind to have been received by C-DAC Mumbai. The Mobile Seva initiative is lead by Dr. Rajendra Kumar, joint secretary (e-Governance), DeitY. About United Nations Public Service Awards The United Nations Public Service Awards is the most prestigious international recognition of excellence in public service. It rewards the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions that lead to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide. Through an annual competition, the UN Public Service Awards promotes the role, professionalism and visibility of public service. About Mobile Seva Mobile Seva aimed to provide government services to the people through mobile phones and tablets. It was developed as the core infrastructure for enabling the availability of public services through mobile devices. It was launched in December 2013. 3. FICCI, IDBI sign pact for cheaper credit to MSMEs i. FICCI and IDBI on Friday signed an MoU for easy access to organised finance facility at competitive interest rates for micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME).\ ii. The FICCI-CMSME and IDBI partnership will grant best pricing offered at the relevant time by IDBI including concession of 100 bps and charging of processing fee as low as 0.10 per cent to the proposals referred by FICCI-CMSME, the industry chamber said in a statement. iii. According to study by IFC in November 2012 titled “MSME Finance in India”, despite the increase in financing to MSMEs in recent years, there is still a considerable institutional formal finance gap of Rs 20.9 trillion. 4. Sharif to attend Modi’s swearing-in ceremony i. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will travel to India on Monday to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi, ending the suspense over his visit amid reports that there was stiff opposition from hardliners in the establishment here. ii. An official of the Prime Minister’s Office told PTI that Sharif accepted the invitation and will visit India on Monday to attend Modi’s oath-taking ceremony. iii. Sharif’s delegation will include Advisor Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi and Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry. iv. Sharif and Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi will have a bilateral meeting on May 27 before his return to Pakistan. v. Sharif took time before making a decision as he wanted to create consensus before travelling to Delhi. 5. CPI(M) veteran Umanath passes away i. Veteran CPI(M) leader R.Umanath passed away in Tiruchi on Wednesday. ii. His political activity began from his student days. He was the youngest accused in Madras Conspiracy case(1940-41). iii. From an active trade union leader he became a Parliamentarian, thereafter legislator and rose to become a member of Polit Bureau of CPI(M). A pictorial tribute. Photos: 6. Krishna Rao named Andhra Pradeshs Chief Secretary designate i. Mr. I.Y.R. Krishna Rao, Senior IAS Officer (Andhra Pradesh cadre, 1979 batch) and presently serving as the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration, has been named the Chief Secretary designate for the successor State of Andhra Pradesh. ii. Mr.Krishna Rao also called on the Governor E.S.L.Narasimhan at Raj Bhavan on Saturday. iii. Mr.Krishna Rao — who held key posts in Revenue, Finance, Industries, Agriculture and served as Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam Board Executive Officer — was one of the senior officers in the reckoning for the post of Chief Secretary of united Andhra Pradesh. 7. Shazia Ilmi, Capt Gopinath quit AAP i. In a major setback to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a key founder member Shazia Ilmi quit the party on Saturday citing ‘lack of inner party democracy”. ii. Capt. G.R Gopinath, who launched the first Indian low-cost carrier, also made an announcement to quit the Aam Aadmi Party. iii. Addressing a crowded press conference here to announce her resignation, Ilmi, who contested and lost the Delhi Assembly election as well as the recent Lok Sabha election from Ghaziabad, blamed a ‘clique that had encircled Kejriwal’ for her decision to quit. 8. Indian-American student Akhil Rekulapelli won National Geographic Bee Championship i. Indian-American student Akhil Rekulapelli on 21 May 2014 won the National Geographic Bee championship in Washington, USA. ii. Ameya Mujumdar from Florida stood second, while Californias Tuvya Bergson-Michelson finished third. Ameya Mujumdar is also an Indian American student. iii. Akhil won the 50000 US dollar college scholarship given to the winner of the National Geographic Bee Championship. Akhil also received a trip to the Galapagos Islands with National Geographics Lindblad Expeditions iv. The National Geographic Bee is an annual geography contest sponsored by the National Geographic Society. The bee, held every year since 1989, is open to students in the fourth through eighth grade in participating American schools.
Posted on: Sun, 25 May 2014 14:51:57 +0000
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