Today's GK

It was excitement galore. Best of the iron horses were lined up at NAB-PNM Rehabilitation Centre for the Blind in Mount Abu on Wednesday for the second car rally, where drivers were sighted, but the navigators were visually challenged. The cars had begun whirring as their respective drivers kept testing the accelerator.

Born into a wealthy family in Delhi Feb 12, 1920, Pran lived and was educated in Lahore, Kapurthala, Meerut, Dehradun, Rampur, Unnao and finally Mumbai as his father, Lala Kewal Krishan Sikand, was a government contractor building bridges and roads, including the Kalsi Bridge near Dehradun.Though he seemed interested in and pursued a course in photography in Lahore, a chance meeting with a movie producer got Pran a role in "Yamla Jat" in 1940 when he was 20.Pran, who had married Shukla in 1945 (the couple later had two sons, Arvind, Sunil, and daughter, Pinky)His contribution was finally recognized with the award of the Indian film industry's highest award - the Dadasahab Phalke Award - for 2012.

JMM leader Hemant Soren, son of party chief Shibu Soren, was on Saturday sworn in as the new chief minister of Jharkhand.Hemant Soren, who heads the ninth ministry in less than 13 years, became the fifth tribal CM after Babulal Marandi (once), Arjun Munda (thrice), Shibu Soren (thrice) and Madhu Koda (once) since the state was created on November 15, 2000.

Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party can now be allotted a common symbol anytime after July 15. The Election Commission on Friday decided to facilitate allotment of a common symbol to a registered unrecognized party that contests at least 10% of the seats in a state, six months in advance.

Himachal Pradesh government is considering to introduce a fish known as Gambujiya fish in the state to control the vectors which cause various diseases to the human beings. Gambujiya fish is a larvicidal and a project was being prepared to introduce it in the state to kill the larva of vectors in the stagnant water where vector breed.

People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won the National Assembly elections by having secured a majority of thirty two seats.  The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) won fifteen seats and was elected as the opposition party.  Over 66 per cent turnout was recorded in the elections. The foremost election issues were rising fuel prices and credit crunch.

The Supreme Court of India on 14 July 2013 ruled that the ownership of minerals should be vested with the owner of the land and not with the government. A three-judge bench headed by Justice R M Lodha noted that there is no law in the country which declares that State is the owner of sub-soil or mineral wealth. Referring to various acts regulating extraction of underground natural resources, the bench said that the laws do not anywhere declare the proprietary right of the State. It ruled that the assertion of government to collect duty or tax is in the realm of the sovereign authority, but not a proprietary right.

The Union Cabinet of India on 11 July 2013 approved the proposal for setting up of a National Aviation University (NAU) in the name of Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University at the District of Rae Bareli in the State of UP as a Central University for providing aviation training.

Controversial Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, who was a key figure in the Bofors payoffs scandal, on 13 July 2013 died in Milan, Italy following a stroke. He was 74 years old.Ottavio Quattrocchi was an Italian businessman who was being sought until early 2009 in India for criminal charges for acting as a conduit for bribes in the Bofors scandal.The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had named Quattrocchi in a chargesheet as the conduit for the Bofors bribe. The case against him was strengthened in June 2003.

China on 13 July 2013 cancelled the construction of a six billion dollar nuclear processing plant in Guangdong province apparently due to public concerns over its safety. The planned industrial park, with a designed capacity of 1000 tonnes of uranium in 2020, was to feature facilities for uranium conversion, enrichment and manufacturing of nuclear fuel equipment. This is the first nuclear project cancelled by China, which is embarking on a massive expansion of nuclear power projects. Chinese government also stopped the construction of a copper alloy plant in Sichuan province following violent protests by local residents.