GK 18th MAY 2012 : DAILY GK UPDATES

1. Union Govt. today reconstituted the Standing Committee on the Inter-State Council with Home Minister P Chidambaram as its chairman and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and nine Chief Ministers as members.
2. Parliament today passed the Railway Property Unlawful Possession Amendment Bill 2011 with majority.
NOTE:- The Act seeks to protect railway property and give punishment to offenders.
3. Government today set up the Financial Sector Legislation Reforms Committee to review the financial sector laws including the banking sector laws.
4. Reserve Bank of India today issued draft guidelines to permit non-banks to set up Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in smaller centres and to increase the outreach of banking facilities to such centres.
NOTE:- Such White Label ATMs will be owned and operated by Non-bank entities and would require authorisation from RBI under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act 2007.
5. Japan today launched an H-2A rocket carrying satellites including a South Korean one into the space from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tanegashima Space Center on Tanegashima Island in southwestern Kagoshima Prefecture.
6. United States today announced relaxation of investment restrictions on Myanmar to support democratic and economic reforms there.
7. U.S. today named senior American diplomat Derek J Mitchell as its first ambassador to Myanmar in 22 years.
8. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports today released an amount of more than Rs. 17 lakh to Goa for development and maintenance of playfields in village panchayats and block panchayats.
NOTE:- The Central assistance was sanctioned under the scheme “Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan” (PYKKA).
9. Govt. today said that the literacy rate in the country has gone up to 74 per cent. According to the 2011 census, the literacy rate increased to 74.04 per cent from 64.83 per cent in 2001.
10. The dropout rate at the elementary level which was little over 55 per cent during 1999-2000, has come down to 42 per cent in 2009-10.
11. Indian-American Himesh Gandhi has been elected to Sugar Land City Council in Houston in the US state of Texas.
12. 7 young Indian scientists are being awarded Inter World High School Science Research Competition Award today in the United States. The Award carries a cash prize of 75,000 US dollars.
13. The first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant located in Tamil Nadu, with a capacity to produce 1,000 MW in Tamilnadu is expected to start commercial operations in August.
14. Government today announced that it has set up a National Fund for Basic Strategic and Frontier Application Research in Agriculture to address critical constraints in agriculture.
15. Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad announced today that it will be made compulsory for MBBS degree holders to work for one year in rural areas.
16. The number of beneficiaries under the Janani Surakha Yojana (JSY) has gone up to over 108 lakhs in 2011-12. It was 7.39 lakh in 2005-06. The Neo Natal Morality Rate has also declined from 37 per 1000 live births in 2006 to 33 per 1000 live births in 2010 according to a report by Health Ministry.
17. Facebook announced a price of USD 38 per share for its record-setting initial public offering, which gives the leading social network a market value of USD 104 billion.
18. 5-time World Champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) today added another feather to her cap by becoming the only Indian woman boxer to qualify for the London Olympics, despite being on the sidelines after losing in the quarterfinals of the World Championships.
19. Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) today impose a ban of 5 years on actor Shahrukh Khan from entering Wankhede stadium for his alleged misbehavior at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
20. Mylan Pharma today launched generic anti-stroke tablet “Clopidogrel tablets, 300 mg”.
NOTE:- The drug is useful in acute coronary syndrome and for patients with a recent history of myocardial infarction, stroke or established peripheral arterial disease.




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