Daily GK Potion – 29th January 2016

SC appoints Justice Sanjay Mishra appointed as new UP Lokayukta

The Supreme Court on Thursday appointed Justice Sanjay Mishra, a former judge of the Allahabnad High Court, as the Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh.
The apex court bench comprising Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Prafulla C. Pant appointed Mishra as the Lokayukta, while recalling their December 16, 2015 order appointing Justice Virendra Singh for the post.
Recalling the sequence of events leading to the appointment of Singh as the Lokayukta on December 16, 2015, the court regretted that constitutional authorities — the chief minister, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) and the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court — despite prolonged meetings could not decide on a simple issue of the appointment of Lokayukta.

Govt. announces list of first 20 smart cities under ‘Smart Cities Mission’

The list of 20 smart cities out of the 98 shortlisted for the ‘Smart Cities Mission’ was released on Thursday.
These 20 cities will be the first to receive funds, thus kickstarting the process of developing them into ‘smart cities’.
The next two years will see the inclusion of 40 and 38 cities, respectively.
A ‘smart city’ is an urban region that is highly advanced in terms of overall infrastructure, sustainable real estate, communications and market viability. It is a city where information technology is the principal infrastructure and the basis for providing essential services to residents.

Gurdeep Singh appointed as CMD of NTPC

Gurdeep Singh, managing director of Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited (GSEC), has been appointed as chairman and managing director of central PSU National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).
Mr. Singh was instrumental in GSEC’s turnaround, the power generation entity of the Gujarat government.
According to sources, there were more than 100 candidates in the fray for the top job in NTPC. “PM Modi himself picked up Gurdeep Singh because he wants to put the power sector on track as part of his ambitious plan to electrify all villages,”

Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis win Australian Open women’s doubles title

Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis beat seventh seeded Czech combination of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka to win Australian Open women’s doubles title
Top seeds Sania and Martina, who are on a record winning streak, continued to rule the roost as they defeated the Czech pair 7-6, 6-3 at the Rod Laver Arena.
This is the third successive Grand Slam doubles title victory for Sania and Martina and their maiden Australian Open title as a pair adding to their Wimbledon and US Open title victories in 2015.
Continuing their superb form this year, Sania and Martina extended their unbeaten run to 36 with this title triumph.

Health Ministry sets up team to monitor Zika

After a WTO warning that the mosquito-borne Zika virus is “spreading explosively” in the Americas, Union Health Minister JP Nadda on Friday held a high-level meeting and set up a Central monitoring team.
Nadda has directed the Ministry to constitute a technical group immediately to monitor the Zika situation
The Zika virus, carried by the Aedes mosquito that also transmits dengue and chikunguniya, has been linked to a rare neurological birth defect microcephaly in Brazil, though scientists have called for a deeper study to establish the link.
The outbreak of Zika began in Brazil last year and has now spread to 24 countries in the Americas, according to WHO.

India gets more voting rights in IMF reforms

In long-pending reforms that came into effect on Wednesday, emerging and developing economies gained more influence in the governance architecture of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
India’s voting rights increase to 2.6 per cent from the current 2.3 per cent, and China’s, to six per cent from 3.8, as per the new division.
Russia and Brazil are the other two countries that gain from the reforms.
More than six per cent of the quota shares will shift to emerging and developing countries from the U.S. and European countries.
The combined quotas — or the capital countries contribute — doubles to about $659 billion from about $329 billion.

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