Daily GK Update - 28th January 2015

1. Kalyan Singh sworn in as Himachal Pradesh Governor

i. Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh was today sworn in as the Himachal Pradesh Governor 

ii. He was administered oath of office by Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmed Mir 

iii. Singh has been given an additional charge of Himachal Pradesh after Urmila Singh, who completed the full five year term as HP Governor on January 24.

2. Hockey Olympian Jaswant Singh Rajput passes away

i. Two-time gold medal winning hockey Olympian Jaswant Singh Rajput passed away on 28th January 2015 following a prolonged illness

ii. The former India centre-half was part of the gold medal winning teams in 1948 London and 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

iii. With the likes of Leslie Claudius, Keshav Dutt and Meldric Daluz, Jaswant had formed a lethal foursome and was part of a golden era in Bengal hockey with as many as seven players in the Helsinki-bound side.

3. Arundhathi Subramaniam won Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for Poetry

i. Poet Arundhathi Subramaniam won the inaugural Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for Poetry for her work When God is a Traveller.

ii. The winner was announced at a prize ceremony at the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival, attended by over 2,500 poetry lovers.

iii. The award, carrying a cash prize of Rs. 2 lakh, was established earlier this year by Suhel Seth in memory of the late Khushwant Singh and is open to Indian poets writing in English or Indian language translation. 

4. RBI signs an information sharing agreement with Brazil’s Central Bank

i. This MoU was signed by Anthero de Moraes Meirelles, Deputy Governor for Supervision, BCB and S.S. Mundra, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India.

ii. This MoU was signed by Anthero de Moraes Meirelles, Deputy Governor for Supervision, BCB and S.S. Mundra, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India.

iii. In this regard, RBI in total has signed 23 such MoUs, one Letter for Supervisory Co-operation and one Statement of Co-operation (SoC), with different Central Banks of other countries and overseas regulators/supervisors.

5. Gujarat Technological University launches e-Raksha centre to fight cybercrime

i. Gujarat Technological University (GTU) has launched e-Raksha Research Centre to curb rising menace of cybercrimes.

ii. This research Centre will provide solution for issues related to cyber security by encouraging research and enhance capability in this field.

Key facts e-Raksha Research Centre

• This centre is established by GTU in collaboration with Cyber Peace Foundation (CPF).
• Its goal is to establish a peaceful and harmonious cyber space through research in this area.
• It will also support Union government’s Make in India campaign by manufacturing routers, switches, firewalls, UTMs (Unified Threat Management) and other network appliances.
• This centre will also train students in areas of cyber security and enhance their capability to provide solution for issues related to it.

6. Ancient star with five Earth size planets discovered

i. After analysing over four years of data from NASA’s Kepler spacecraft, a team of astronomers has discovered a star that is 11.2 billion years old and has at least five Earth-size planets.

ii. The findings show that Earth-size planets have formed throughout most of the universe’s 13.8-billion-year history, leaving open the possibility for the existence of ancient life in the galaxy.

Key findings

• This star is named as Kepler-444. It is 25 percent smaller than our Sun and is 117 light years from Earth.
• It belongs to the first generation of stars and considered as part of one of the oldest systems in the galaxy.
• This star has five known planets which have sizes that fall between Mercury and Venus.
• These 5 planets are so close to their star that they complete their orbits in fewer than 10 days.
• This discovery is going to help astronomers learn more about the history of our solar system- Milky Way.

7. K Durga Prasad appointed as the Special DG of CRPF

i. K Durga Prasad hte new appointed Special Director General (DG) of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is an IPS officer of 1981 batch from Andhra Pradesh cadre will be in office for next three years or till further orders are given. 

ii. Earlier, Prasad served as the director of the Special Protection Group (SPG). SPG provides security to the Prime Minister, former Prime Ministers and their family members.

8. Bradman young cricketer of the year award

i. Australian cricketer Sean Abbott has won Bradman young cricketer of the year award 2015.

ii. Sean Abbott is the bowler, who was unwittingly at the centre of the tragic death of Phillip Hughes. iii. In November 2014, he had delivered bouncer to Hughes that hit him in head during a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG against South Australia.

Bradman young cricketer of the year award: It was instituted in 1990. It is bestowed annually by Cricket Australia to best player under the age of 24. The recipient is presented with a bat personally signed by Sir Donald Bradman (He had signed 100 bats in 1989 for this award)