Daily NEWS Update - 4th July 2015

1. Guinness Book Recognises Madhya Pradesh’s World Record in Washing Hands

i. The Guinness Book of World Records has recognised a record created in Madhya Pradesh on ‘World Hand washing Day’ in 2014.

ii. The mega hand washing event was held on 15 October 2014 to create awareness about hygiene by washing hands with soap.

iii. It was organised in all the 51 districts of Madhya Pradesh in over 13 thousand places. In it more than 12 lakh 78 thousand students had washed their hand simultaneously.

iv. This record broke the earlier the world record which was jointly held by Argentina, Peru and Mexico. The joint record in three countries was created on October 14, 2011 in which 7,40,870 people had washed their hands simultaneously at different locations.

2. President of India receives first copy of book 'Uniki'

i. The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee received the first copy of the book 'Uniki' in Hyderabad today (July 3, 2015). The book has been written by Shri Ch Vidyasagar Rao, Governor of Maharashtra. The President received the book from Shri K Chandrashekar Rao, Chief Minister of Telangana who formally released it.

ii. Speaking on the occasion, the President appealed to the people of both the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to work in close harmony, so as to ensure sustainable development and betterment of the people of the country and help it earn its rightful place in the comity of nations. He said that we all belong to India.

iii. He stated that we need to remember that we can choose our friends but cannot choose our neighbours. Therefore, it is us for decide whether we should live in harmony and peace with our neighbours. 

iv. He stated that the title, 'Uniki', which means Existence, evokes a philosophical view of the issues and events that have been written about in this book.

3. C D Balaji took charge as Director of the Aeronautical Development Agency

i. Commodore C D Balaji (Retd) on 3 July 2015 took charge as the Director of the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Programme Director of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

ii. He succeeded P S Subramanyam, Distinguished Scientist, who superannuated on 30 June 2015.

iii. Prior to this appointment, Balaji, an outsatnding scientists, was Project Director of the LCA’s naval version. He was commissioned into the Indian Navy's engineering branch in September 1978 and since then, he has specialised in the Naval Aviation Arm.

iv. He served as an Air Engineer Officer of INAS 310 (Alize aircraft) for about 3 years embarking the Aircraft Carrier Vikrant. He joined ADA on deputation in 2002 to work on the development of a naval version of the light fighter. In December 2006, he left the Navy and fully moved to ADA.

v. Based in Bengaluru, ADA is the premier multi-agency body spearheading the development of combat aircraft for the Air Force and the Navy- among them is the LCA and the proposed Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft AMCA.

4. BSNL rolls out pre-paid card linked mobile wallet

i. BSNL launched a pre-paid card linked mobile wallet service on Friday which allows customers to transfer cash, pay for services as well as withdraw cash of up to Rs 1 lakh.

ii. The wallet service, Speed Pay, allows a customer to load money even if he does not have a bank account. The money loaded in the wallet can be transferred to an account and even withdrawn at branches or at BSNL outlets.

iii. Loading money into a mobile wallet from a bank account is an option. BSNL customers who don't have bank accounts can also load money at any BSNL retail outlet and ask the retailer to recharge their mobile wallet account and pay for various services.

iv. There will be one-per cent transaction charge if money from the wallet is transferred to other bank accounts or a there is cash withdrawal.

5. 4 Indian-Americans honoured with Great Immigrants award 2015 in United States

i. Four Indian-Americans have been honoured withprestigious Great Immigrants, The Pride of America award 2015. They are among 38 distinguished personalities from more than 30 countries around the world who have been honoured with this year’s award.

ii. The award is given by New York-based Carnegie Corporation on the occasion of Independence Day of United States i.e. 4th July.

Preet Bharara: US Attorney, Southern District of New York.

Rakesh Khurana: Dean of Harvard College and Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership and Development.

Madhulika Sikka: Vice President and Executive Editor of .Mic.

Abraham Verghese: Physician, Professor and Author.

6. Solar Impulse completes epic flight to Hawaii

i. Solar Impulse, the aeroplane that is powered only by the sun, has landed in Hawaii after making a historic 7,200km flight across the Pacific from Japan.

ii. The distance covered and the time spent in the air - 118 hours - are records for manned, solar-powered flight. The duration is also an absolute record for a solo, un-refuelled journey.
iii. Mr Borschberg's time betters that of the American adventurer Steve Fossett who spent 76 hours aloft in a single-seater jet in 2006.
iv. Solar Impulse's slow speed, light weight and 72m wingspan put significant constraints on the type of weather the vehicle can handle, and that first sortie was aborted after just one day in the air because of a fast developing cold front ahead of it.

7. Former CJI Y K Sabharwal passes away

i. Former Chief Justice of India Y K Sabharwal passed away here last evening. 73-year-old Justice Sabharwal is survived by two sons Chetan and Nitin. The cremation will take place today.

ii. Justice Sabharwal was CJI from November 1, 2005 to January 13, 2007.

iii. He was elevated as an additional judge of the Delhi High Court in 1986 and became its permanent judge in April 1987.

iv. From Delhi High Court, he went to Bombay High Court as chief justice before being appointed as a judge of the SC on January 28, 2001.

v. Justice Sabharwal delivered several important judgements including the verdict in January 2006, that held the dissolution of Bihar Assembly as illegal and unconstitutional.