The Daily Brief – 29th July, 2016

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  • T. Nanda Kumar has resigned as the Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board based in Gujarat. He was the third Chairman after Verghese Kurien and Amrita Patel.
  • The Rajya Sabha has unanimously passed the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Bill, 2016. The Bill allows States to access about Rs. 42,000 crore and channel it into afforestation projects.
Mahasweta Devi
Mahasweta Devi (Source: The Hindu)
  • Mahasweta Devi, eminent Bengali author and social activist, has passed away. She was a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi, Jnanpith and the Magsaysay awards.
  • Tabla maestro Pandit Lacchu Maharaj has passed away. He belonged to the Banaras Gharana and was world renowned.
  • The Union Cabinet has approved the establishment of a All India Institute Of Medical Science (AIIMS) at Bhatinda in Punjab under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).
  • The Union Government has formed the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DDCMC) that will be known as ‘Disha’. Disha will monitor the implementation of 28 schemes and programmes of Ministry of Rural Development and other Ministries.
  • The central government has reappointed A.K. Mital as chairman of Railway Board for two years with effect from August 1, 2016. This is for the first time that an incumbent has gotten a two-year extension to continue as the highest official of the railway.
  • External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will visit the Vatican in September. This follows the release of the Italian marines being charged for a violation of territorial sovereignty of India, and will bolster India’s diplomatic ties with Italy.
  • American author James Alan McPherson has passed away. He was the first African-American author to receive the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, in 1978. He won the Pulitzer for his short story collection, Elbow Room.
  • International Tiger Day was observed on 29 July 2016. The day is held annually on 29th July to give worldwide attention to the preservation of tigers.
  • Forbes has announced that Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos has become the the third richest person, replacing Warren BuffetBill Gates remains the richest in the world, while Zara’s Amancio Ortega is the second-richest in the world.
  • India’s first Humboldt Penguins have been housed at Mumbai’s Byculla Zoo. The birds have been brought from Soul, South Korea, and will be placed for public viewing soon.

 

Today’s Quiz

  1. Who has recently resigned as the Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board?





2. Where is the National Dairy Development Board based?





3. Name the eminent Bengali author and winner of the Sahitya Akademi, Jnanpith and Magsaysay Awards, who recently passed away.





4. Where in Punjab is the new AIIMS supposed to be set up under the PMSSY?





5. Whose term has been extended for the first time, as chairman of the Railway Board?





6. Who was the first African American author to win the Pulitzer Prize?





7. When is International Tiger Day observed?





8. Who recently replaced Warren Buffet as the world's third richest person?









4 COMMENTS

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