Daily GK Update [23rd April 2015]

1. Railway launches mobile app for paperless unreserved tickets 

i. Moving ahead in line with digital India, railways launched mobile application for paperless unreserved tickets.

ii. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu introduced from here the mobile app for paperless unreserved ticketing for commuters in Egmore and Tambram suburban sections in Chennai under Southern Railway zone.

iii. Developed by Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) "utsonmobile" - the paperless unreserved ticketing feature in mobile application aims to eliminate the need.

iv. The application provides necessary on-screen alerts to guide the passenger during the booking process. 

2. Shah Rukh Khan honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation Award

i. Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation Award 2015 for his performance in the movie Happy New Year. The award ceremony was held in Mumbai.

ii. Actor Rajkummar Rao won the prestigious award for his performance in the critically acclaimed film Citylights, which was released in 2014.

ii. Actress Huma Qureshi bagged an award for her memorable performance in the movie Dedh Ishiqya.

iii. Bollywood actors Shreyas Talpade, Tiger Shroff, actress Jaya Prada, singer Udit Narayan and Pankaj Udhas were also felicitated with the award.

3. JBM Group enters solar power sector

i. Auto component-maker JBM Group announced its entry into the solar energy sector with plans to invest Rs 1,600 crore in the next three years. 

ii. The group plans to invest Rs 1,600 crore over three years and have a combined capacity of 300 MW under the newly formed entity - JBM Solar (P) Ltd, the company said in a statement. 

iii. JBM Solar plans to be an independent power producer (IPP) with focus on both, ground mounted and solar rooftop projects.

4. Union Cabinet approves lowering of age of Juveniles from 18 to 16 years for heinous crimes

i. Union Cabinet has approved lowering of age of juveniles from eighteen to sixteen years for heinous crimes. Decision in this regard was taken by Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

ii. The cabinet also approved to introduce Amendment to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014. This amendment will propose and add special provisions to tackle heinous offences like murder and rape committed by juveniles in the age group of 16-18 years. 

iii.  The proposed bill will amend the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000. The parent Act clearly defines and classifies offences as serious, petty and heinous and defines differentiated processes for each classified category.

iv. While the amendments in the bill adds provisions that in case a heinous crime committed by a person between 16 and 18 years, will be examined by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) to assess if the crime was committed as a child or as an adult.

5. World Bank established Pollution Management and Environmental Health program

i. World Bank established Pollution Management and Environmental Health (PHEM) program. The program was officially launched on Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day in Washington, D.C.

ii. The 45 million US Dollar PMEH program will initially run from 2015 to 2020 and focus primarily on air quality management in countries facing rapid urbanization and strong needs for pollution abatement measures, but also tackle water and land pollution.

iii. In particular, the program will focus on air quality management in five major urban areas in India, China, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa.

6. Djokovic wins Monte Carlo Masters

i. The top-ranked Serb won the first big clay-court tournament of the season with a 7—5, 4—6, 6—3 win over Tomas Berdych in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters.

ii. Djokovic broke again for a 4—0 lead, but the eight-time Grand Slam champion failed to hold his serve in the next game.

iii. Djokovic, became the first player in tennis history to win the first three Masters tournament of the year after completing the Indian Wells-Miami sweep this spring.