Today's GK

Himachal Pradesh was declared as being the first “smoke-free” state in the country for achieving 85.42 per cent compliance with the relevant parameters.Health minister Kaul Singh Thakur declared the state a “smoke-free” state at a function in Shimla organised jointly by Himachal Pradesh Voluntary Health Association (HPVHA), International Union for Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (New Delhi) and Department of Health and Family Welfare.

President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the National Youth Awards for the year 2011-12 at Rashtrapati Bhavan.A total of 27 individuals and one organisation received he award this year.The award consists of a silver medal, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs.40,000 for individuals and Rs.2 lakh for voluntary organisations.

In a world first, Japanese scientists have grown human liver tissue from stem cells, paving way for alleviating the critical shortage of donor organs.Takanori Takebe and Hideki Taniguchi at Yokohama City University showed the generation of vascularised and functional human liver from human induce

Dr P Raghu Ram, director and consultant oncoplastic breast surgeon at KIMS-Ushalakshmi Centre for Breast Diseases and CEO of Ushalakshmi Breast Cancer Foundation, Hyderabad has received the International Gold Medal from Dr Ian Ritchie, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd).

According to the world bank ,s doing business report 2013,Rwanda is the world,s second most important nation since 2005 and the most improved in sub saharan Africa

Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka was the first president of the Natal Organisation of Women, an affiliate of the United Democratic Front. The aim of the organisation, founded in 1983, is to increase women’s empowerment and promote women’s rights. In 2008, she established the Umlambo Foundation to support schools in poor areas of South Africa through mentoring and coaching for teachers.

She is expected to take up her position at U.N. Women in August

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Veerappa Moily, on Thursday, said Iraq had offered three discovered oil fields to India on nomination basis. The Middle-Eastern country, according to Mr. Moily, also expressed its willingness to fill up the shortfall in crude oil supplies to India created by U.S. and EU-sponsored sanctions against Iran. Mr. Moily, during his last week trip to Iraq, had met Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki and Deputy Prime Minister Saleh Al Motlaq.

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Thursday banned “with immediate effect” caste-based rallies in Uttar Pradesh and issued notices to the Central and State governments, the Election Commission, the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party

The Supreme Court has held that persons in lawful custody — whether convicted in a criminal case or otherwise — cannot contest elections. The ruling, however, does not apply to those on bail.

A Bench of Justices A.K. Patnaik and S.J. Mukhopadhaya dismissed appeals filed by the Chief Election Commissioner and others against a Patna High Court judgment that in 2004 had held that when a person in custody is disqualified from voting he or she must be disqualified from contesting in elections too.

In a major relief to authorities of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has given its nod for controlled fission process or “first approach to criticality” (FAC) for the first unit of the plant.