Daily GK Update - 6th January 2015

1. World Cup 2015 squad announced: Yuvraj out, Jadeja in

i. The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Tuesday released its 15-member squad for the World Cup 2015.

ii. The noticeable exclusion was that of Yuvraj Singh who has been dropped from the squad.

iii. The players are as follows:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli,Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja , Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Stuart Binny and Umesh Yadav.

iv. India will start it's World Cup campaign against Pakistan on 15th of February.

2. Five-day coal strike begins

i. Trade unions on Tuesday began a five-day coal industry strike, terming it as the biggest industrial action for any sector since 1977.

ii. The unions have gone on strike to protest against ’disinvestment and restructuring of State-run Coal India’ and to press for their other demands including the roll-back of what they call as “process of denationalising of coal sector”.

iii. The strike can affect coal production of up to 1.5 million tonnes a day and may also hit supplies to power plants which are already grappling with fuel shortages.

iv. All five major trade unions of the coal PSU had boycotted a meeting called by Coal Minister Piyush Goyal last week.

3. ISRO gears up to launch IRNSS 1D

i. After completing an eventful year, ISRO is gearing up for some satellite launches this year, with the IRNSS 1D being the first, which would put in place India's own navigation system on par with the Global Positioning System of the US.

ii. "The launch campaign for IRNSS 1D has come, which starts on January 16. Within two months, all components from other ISRO labs have to reach Sriharikota. The launch is likely after March 15.

iii. IRNSS 1D is the fourth in the series of seven satellites, the national space agency is planning to launch to put in place the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS).

iv. While four satellites would be sufficient to start operations of the system, the remaining three satellites would make it more accurate and efficient.

4. P Krishnamurthy appointed as Private Secretary of Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar

i. IAS officer P Krishnamurthy was on 5 January 2015 appointed as Private Secretary of Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

ii. He is appointed for a five-year period or on co-terminus basis with the minister's tenure.

iii. Krishnamurthy is a 1997 batch IAS officer of Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram Union territories (AGMU) cadre.

iv. He served as the Director of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) from 2011 to 2014.

5. Union Cabinet approved to set up India-based Neutrino Observatory in TN

i. Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 5 January 2015 approved to set up the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) in Tamil Nadu.

ii. The INO laboratory will host experiments such as the neutrino-less double beta decay and the search for dark matter.

iii. The INO project will be set up near Pottipuram village in the Bodi West Hills of Theni district in Tamil Nadu. The project is at an estimated cost of 1500 crore rupees.

iv. The project also includes Inter-Institutional Centre for High Energy Physics (IICHEP) and Iron Calorimeter Detector (ICAL).

6. Former Minister of State for PWD Ram Prasad Kamal died
i. Former Minister of State for Public Works Department (PWD) Ram Prasad Kamal passed away on 4 January 2015 after a brief illness in Allahabad. He was 84.
ii. Kamal was inducted into the BJP by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1980 following which he was elected for two consecutive terms as member of the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Parishad from 1992.
iii. Ram Prasad Kamal served as the Minister of State for PWD for BJP government from 1997-2004.