Gk update 5 & 6 June 2016

1. Suresh Prabhu launches Tiger Express train on the World Environment Day 

i. Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu has flagged off the inaugural run of the Tiger Trail Circuit Train from Delhi Safdarjung Station. Shri Suresh Prabhu who was on tour to Mumbai, flagged off this train through video conferencing between Mumbai and Delhi.
ii. The launch of this Tiger Express on World Environment Day is to highlight the significance of environment in our lives. 
iii. This tourist train will be operated by Indian Railway PSU namely Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).

2. PM Modi, Ghani inaugurates Afghan-India Friendship Dam

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghanistan President Dr. Ashraf Ghani jointly inaugurated the Afghan-India Friendship Dam with in Herat province in Western Afghanistan. 
ii. The Dam was earlier known as Salma Dam on the river Chist-e-Sharif in western Herat neighboring Iran. It will irrigate 75000 hectares of land and generate 42 Mega Watts of power.
iii.At the inaugural function, Afghan President conferred the highest civilian honour of Afghanistan, the Amir Amanullah Khan Award on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

3. ADB, India ink $200 million loan agreement for Jharkhand roads

i. The Indian government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed an agreement for a $200 million loan to upgrade 176-km roads in Jharkhand. 
ii. The agreement will help upgrade the existing sections of four state roads and also support improvements in the design, safety and maintenance of the road network. 
iii. The new assistance will continue the ongoing physical upgrades as well as increasing the institutional capacity of the State Highways Authority of Jharkhand (SHAJ) as an autonomous road development agency. The project features includes 60 bus stop shelters, 50-km raised sidewalks in urban areas, four-km dedicated bicycle lanes and solar-powered street lights.

4. India, Qatar sign seven agreements to boost bilateral ties

i. India and Qatar have signed seven agreement in various fields to boost bilateral ties which includes investment on tourism and trading enhancement. 
ii. These agreements were signed in the presence the of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Qatar Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani with Qatar Prime Minister Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al Thani in Doha.
iii. The signed MoU includes- 1. MoU for investment in National investment & infrastructure fund (NIIF), 2. MoU on cooperation in tourism, 3. Agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance in custom matters, 4. MoU on Finance Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) and Qatar Financial Information Unit (QFIU), 5. MoU in the field of youth and sports, 6. MoU on cooperation in skill development & recognition of qualifications, 7.  MoU on cooperation in the field of health. 

5. India ranks 70th on 2015 Good Country Index, and 2nd in GRD index

i. In recently released 2015 Good Country Index (GCI), India has been placed at 70th position in the list of 163 countries. 
ii. The list has been topped by Sweden as the best country in the world when it comes to serving the interests of its people and contributing to the common good of humanity. 
iii. Besides as per GRD Index, India has jumped 13 positions from last year to rank second among 30 developing countries this year on ease of doing business. 

6. V Narayanasamy sworn in as Puducherry CM

i. Congress Legislature Party leader V Narayanasamy has sworn in as Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Puducherry. 
ii. Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi administered the oath of office and secrecy at a function held at the historic Gandhi Thidal in Beach Road. Narayanasamy represented Puducherry in Rajya Sabha for three terms. He was elected to Lok Sabha in 2009 and served as Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office in UPA II.
iii. While, Congress legislators A Namassivayam, Shah Jahan, M Kandasamy, R Kamalkannan and Malladi Krishna Rao were sworn in as ministers. 

7. Haryana Government launches Asia’s first Gyps Vulture Reintroduction Programme

i. Haryana Government has launched Asia’s first ‘Gyps Vulture Reintroduction Programme’ at the Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre at Pinjore. 
ii. It was launched by state Chief Minister Manohar Lal by releasing 2 captive bred Himalayan Griffons vultures in the pre-release aviaries close to the breeding centre at Pinjore. 
iii. The vultures were released as part of the soft release or reintroduction programme, in a pre-release aviary where they would have an unobstructive view of the surrounding. This would help them in getting used to the habitat in which they would be released in the wild in future. These birds have been wing-tagged and were leg-ringed for identification.

8. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar launches Right to Public Grievance Redressal Act

i. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has launched Right to Public Grievance Redressal Act. 
ii. The act seeks disposal of peoples' complaints or redressal of grievances from Government officials within 60-days.
iii. The law has strict provisions in non-compliance of applications. Officials not adhering to provisions of the law could be dismissed from service or face a penalty of from 500 rupees to 5000 rupees. All the 42 Departments of the State government will be covered under the new Act. The Government has one Grievance Redressal Officer in each department as well as first and second Appellate authorities.

9. World Environment Day observed with theme Zero tolerance for the illegal trade in wildlife

i. World Environment Day (WED) was observed globally on 5 June 2016 with theme Zero tolerance for the illegal trade in wildlife. 
ii. The day aims at inspiring more people to take action to prevent the growing strain on Earth’s natural systems from reaching the breaking point.
iii. The host country for the WED 2016 is Angola. The day was established by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on the day when Stockholm’s United Nations Conference on the Human Environment 1972 began. The first World Environment Day was hosted in 1973 and since then it is being held every year with a different theme in different cities.

10. Asia’s largest annual security forum Shangri-La Dialogue opens in Singapore

i. Asia’s largest annual security forum Shangri-La Dialogue was inaugurated in Singapore to talk about security issues in the Asia-Pacific region. 
ii. The forum has been organised by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The three day event will be attended by at least 20 Defence Ministers from Asia-Pacific countries including India represented by Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.
iii. Territorial disputes in the South China Sea, North Korea’s military provocations and Islamist extremism, migration, cyber security, counter terrorism and military competition are expected to dominate discussions this year. The dialogue gathers military representatives from world’s most powerful countries to discuss pressing and significant defence and security issues. This annual dialogue got its name from the location of the meeting, the Shangri-La hotel in Singapore.

11. Sudarsan Pattnaik wins gold in People's Choice Prize

i. Renowned Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has won the gold medal in people's choice prize at world championship festival of sand sculpting Russe, 2016, which was held in Bulgaria. 
ii. Pattnaik's sand art highlights the issue of drugs in the sporting field 'Titled Drugs Kill Sports'. He has got the highest vote from visitors. Recently, he has also won gold medal in Moscow for creating sand sculpture on Peace and Nonviolence.
iii. Total 10 artists participated from around the world in this championship. The topic of the competition was 'Sport World and Olympic Symbols' and the height of the sculpture was 2 metre. 

12. P Dhanapal re-elected as Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Speaker

i. P Dhanapal and Pollachi V Jayaraman  were unanimously re-elected as Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively for the 15th Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. The two AIADMK leaders held the respective offices in the previous assembly also.
ii. His name was proposed by AIADMK Chief and TN CM J Jayalalithaa and Finance Minister and Leader of the House O Panneerselvam.
iii. Newly elected Speaker announced V Jayaraman as the Deputy Speaker as there was no other nomination filed for the post. He was re-elected as Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Avinashi (Reserved) constituency for the sixth term while Jayaraman was re-elected from Pollachi constituency  for fourth term.

13. Navin Agarwal appointed DG of National Anti-Doping Agency

i. Senior IPS officer Navin Agarwal was appointed as Director General (DG)/ Chief Executive Officer (CEP) of National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).
ii. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved his appointment as Chief of NADA. He is appointed to the post for five years term.
iii. Navin Agarwal is a 1986 batch IPS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre.

14. Veteran actress Sulabha Deshpande passed away

i. Eminent actress and theatre personality Sulabha Deshpande has passed away in Mumbai. She was 79 years old. 
ii. She was considered to be one of the pioneers of the experimental theatre movement that swept Mumbai in the 1970s. She started her career as a teacher at Chhabildas Boy's High School in Dadar, Mumbai.
iii. She was well known as theatre and television actress and theatre director. Sulabha, who had acted in over 73 movies, mainstream Bollywood as well as art house cinema, and also featured in several Marathi and TV serials. Her last movie was English Vinglish.

15. India's first Mr Universe Manohar Aich passes away

i. India's first Mr. Universe Manohar Aich has passed away in Kolkata. He was 104 year old. 
ii. He was a bodybuilder by profession and became very famous in Bengal after becoming India's first Mr. Universe when he won the 1952 National Amateur Body-Builders' Association Universe Championships.
iii. Mr. Aich, born in the district of Comilla (now in Bangladesh). He was just 4 feet and 11 inches but took up bodybuilding and made this passion during his stint at the Royal Air Force under British colonial rulers. Aich's first moment of reckoning came in 1950 when he won the Mr. Hercules title and went on to be known as 'Hercules of India' and 'Pocket Hercules' for his pint-size.

16. Novak Djokovic Wins French Open 2016

i. World number one Novak Djokovic beat Britain's Andy Murray 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 to win his first French Open title and complete the career Grand Slam.
ii. Djokovic won his 12th major title and became the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slams at once. He becomes only the eighth man in history to have won all four of the sport's major singles prizes - and could yet match Laver's achievement of winning all four in a calendar year
iii. Other category winners Women’s singles Garbine Muguruza (Spain) won the Women’s singles title of 2016 French Open. In the final she defeated Serena Williams (United States). 
iv. Men’s doubles Spanish pair of Feliciano López and Marc López won the Men’s doubles title of 2016 French Open. In the final, they defeated Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan pair from the US. Women’s doubles French pair of Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic won the Women’s doubles title of 2016 French Open. In the final, they defeated Russian pair of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina. 
v. Mixed doubles Leander Paes (India) and Martina Hingis (Switzerland) pair won the Mixed doubles title of 2016 French Open. In the final, they defeated Sania Mirza (India) and Ivan Dodig (Croatia) pair.