Daily GK Potion – 10th to 12th August 2015

1. Goa Tourism Minister to be honoured with PATWA award
   • Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar has been awarded with the PATWA – Safari India South Asia Travel Award for the year 2015.
   • This award under the category of Best Tourism Minister will be presented to him at a ceremony in New Delhi on August 7, 2015
   • Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) is an  affiliate of United  Nations WTO.
• Parulekar is the first tourism minister of Goa to  receive this prestigious  award.
2. India Signs Financing Agreement with World Bank for US$ 308.40 Million for National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project-II
   • The Financing Agreement for World Bank (IDA) assistance of US$ 308.40 million for National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project-II (NCRMP-II) was signed between Government of India and the World Bank.
   • The objective of NCRMP-II is to reduce vulnerability to cyclone and other hydro-meteorological hazards of coastal communities in the States of Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and West Bengal; and increase the capacity of the State entities to effectively plan for and respond to disasters.
   • The project will also finance technical assistance for strengthening of multi-hazard risk management at the national level and improving the quality of available information on multi-hazard risks for decision making across the country.
• NCRMP-II has four components which are: (i) Early Warning Dissemination Systems; (ii) Cyclone Risk Mitigation Infrastructure; (iii) Technical Assistance for Multi-Hazard Risk Management; and (iv) Project Management and Implementation Support.
3. President presents 24th Saraswati Samman to Veerappa Moily
   • President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday presented the 24th Saraswati Samman for 2014 to Congress leader M.Veerappa Moily for his epic “Sri Ramayana Mahanveshanam” written in Kannada.
   • The Saraswati Samman is an annual award for outstanding proose or poetry literary works in any of the Indian languages listed in Schedule VIII of the Constitution. It was instituted in 1991 by the K K Birla Foundation.
4. Kochi became first Indian city to join World Tourism Cities Federation Council
   • Kochi will soon become a member of Beijing-headquartered World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) Council
   • The Kerala government has accepted the invitation extended by WTCF to Kochi to be a member of the Council
   • The council is aimed at creating a global platform for cooperation and development of tourism.
• WTCF is a non-profit, non-governmental international organisation voluntarily formed by tourism cities and organisations of various countries and regions from around the world.
5. International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples observed on 9^th August
   • International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples was observed on 9 August 2015 with the theme Post 2015 Agenda: Ensuring indigenous peoples’ health and well-being.
6. Union government launched a new central sector scheme – Nai Manzil in Patna
   • Dr. Najma Heptulla, the Union Minister for Minority Affairs launched a new Central Sector Scheme – Nai Manzil in Patna
   • The scheme will address educational and livelihood needs of minority communities in general and muslims in particular as it lags behind other minority communities in terms of educational attainments.
   • The scheme aims at providing educational intervention by giving the bridge courses to the trainees and getting them Certificates for Class XII and X from distance medium educational system and at the same time also provide them trade basis skill training in 4 courses : Manufacturing , Engineering , Services and Soft skills
• The scheme is intended to cover people in between 17 to 35 age group from all minority communities as well as Madrasa students.
7. World Bio-Fuel Day observed globally on 10 August
8. Amitabh Bachchan to become Maharashtra’s ‘Tiger Ambassador’
   • Actor Amitabh Bachchan has agreed to become the state ambassador for the ‘Save the Tiger’ campaign and promote tiger tourism.
   • Maharashtra, with six tiger reserves, has 190 tigers as per the 2014 census. The state has recorded a steady rise in tiger population from 103 in 2006 to 169 in 2010 and 190 in 2014, as reported in the Tiger Estimation conducted every four years.
9. Government Launches Suraksha Bandhan Drive in a Mission Mode
   • In order to build on the very encouraging response to the two very affordable and convenient to subscribe insurance schemes, namely the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) for accident and disability cover of up to Rs.2 Lakh at an annual premium of Rs.12 and the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) for a term life cover of Rs.2 Lakh at an annual premium of Rs.330, launched by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 9th May 2015, a special enrolment drive is being launched by participating Banks and Insurance Companies in the months of August-September, in the backdrop of the forthcoming festival of Raksha Bandhan.
   • This “Suraksha Bandhan” drive aims to take forward the Government’s objective of creating a universal social security system in the country, targeted especially at the poor and the under-privileged.
   • Participating Banks supported by the participating Insurance Companies will work towards local outreach, awareness building and enrolment facilitation during this drive. All eligible citizens are requested to contact their Bank branches for enrolment.
• The last date for enrolling under the PMSBY and PMJJBY schemes has been extended till 30th September, 2015,
10. Union Government launched School Nursery Yojana to bring students closer to nature
    • The Yojana seeks to engage class VI to IX in raising of saplings in nurseries created in schools.
    • The underlying theme of the Yojana is to plant a tree for sustainable future and to make the nation clean and green.
    • he Yojana in its first phase would cover 1000 schools and would be extended to 5000 schools in 2016 and 10000 schools the following year
• Under the Yojana, students will grow saplings as part of practical exercise for biology classes and extra-curriculum activities
• Each school will initially receive first time financial grant of 25000 rupees for creation of the nursery with essential facilities.
11. Michael Clarke announces retirement from international cricket
    • Australia captain Michael Clarke has announced his retirement from international cricket and will be playing his last Test match at The Oval
    • Clarke announced his decision after Australia lost the fourth Test at Trent Bridge to England by an innings and 78 runs, also conceding the Ashes series 3-1 with a Test to go.
    • Clarke having already retired from one-day cricket after leading Australia to World Cup victory earlier this year, the 34-year-old will be last seen playing international cricket in the last Test match of the Ashes.

Read next : Daily GK Potion – 13th August 2015 ››

Read previous: « Daily GK Potion – 8th and 9th August 2015

« Back to current affairs