Daily Current Affairs Updates: 12 May 2015

1) Government appointed four new Governors:

--> The BJP-led NDA government on 12 May 2015 appointed four Governors and transferred two others, who had been appointed during the tenure of the previous UPA government.

--> Droupadi Murmu, former Odisha Minister, has been appointed Governor of Jharkhand, whereas J.P. Rajkhowa has been given the governor post of Arunachal Pradesh.

--> Tathagata Roy, former president of the BJP’s West Bengal unit from 2002 to 2006 and member of the party’s national executive, has been made the Governor of Tripura; whereas V. Shanmuganathan has been appointed Governor of Meghalaya.

--> Lieutenant General (Retd.) Nirbhay Sharma, Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, has been transferred and appointed Governor of Mizoram for the remainder of his term.

--> Jharkhand Governor Syed Ahmed has been transferred and appointed Governor of Manipur for the remainder of his term. 

2) Neel Mukherjee won £10000 UK literary award:

--> Kolkata-born writer Neel Mukherjee's "The Lives of Others" has won the UK's Encore Award for the best second novel.

--> The novel The Lives of Others reflects the political and social convulsions of an entire society and based upon story of one family living in Calcutta in 1960s.

3) Deepak Iyer appointed as MD & CEO of Bharti AXA General:

--> Bharti AXA General Insurance has announced the appointment of Deepak Iyer (currently managing director — Indian subcontinent at Wrigley India Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Mars Inc) as its new chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD).

4) International Nurses Day 2015 observed:

--> International Nurses Day was observed across the world on 12 May 2015.

--> The day is observed every year on the 12 May on anniversary of birth of Florence Nightingale’s birth.

--> The day is observed to mark contributions of nurses towards  people’s health.

5) Fresh earthquake of 7.3 magnitude struck Nepal :

--> An earthquake of 7.3 magnitude struck Nepal on 12 May 2015 with significant impact on India.

--> At least 60 people were injured and over 1,500 injured in Nepal while 16 people died across the border in Bihar.

--> According to data disclosed by USGS, the epicenter of this earthquake was 18 km south-east of Kodari or approximately 80 km north-east of Nepali capital Kathmandu.

6) Indian-origin Priti Patel gets British cabinet rank:

--> Indian-origin Tory MP Priti Patel has been appointed minister of state for employment in British Prime Minister David Cameron's new cabinet.

7) GST Bill referred to Select Committee:

--> The Constitution amendment bill providing for the roll-out of the long-pending Goods and Services Tax (GST) was 12 May 2015 referred to a Select Committee.

--> The 21-member panel will give its report by the last day of the first week of the Monsoon Session.

--> Finance Minister Arun Jaitley moved the motion for referring the Bill (The Constitution One Hundred and Twenty-second Amendment Bill, 2014) to the Select Committee.