DAILY GK UPDATE - 6th May

1.    SC upheld constitutional validity of Right to Education Act

i. The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the constitutional validity of the Right to Education Act, which mandates that 25 per cent seats in all schools be reserved for the economically disadvantaged. 

ii. A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice R M Lodha said that the Act will not apply to aided or unaided minority institutions. 
iii. The bench also said Article 21 (A) does not alter the basis structure of the Constitution.
iv. On August 23, 2013, a three-judge bench had referred the issue to a five-judge bench because it involved a vital constitutional question of law relating to the rights of unaided private educational institutions.
v. Federation of Public Schools, a conglomerate of over 350 private unaided schools, had contended that the law violates their right to run their schools without government interference.

2.    Government approval not required to probe senior bureaucrats on corruption charges: SC

i. The Constitutional Bench Supreme Court of India held that prior sanction is not required from the government to probe the senior bureaucrats on corruption charges.

ii. The decision also included officers above the rank of Joint Secretary. In its direction the apex court said that there cannot be any discrimination at times when it comes to prosecuting a Criminal Act.

iii. The apex court in its observation termed that there can be no protection to corrupt public servants by terming Section 6A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act (DSPEA) as invalid and unconstitutional.

iv. The Section 6A provides prior sanction for the CBI to prosecute senior bureaucrats in corruption cases. 
v. The decision of the Supreme Court came on the petition of the BJP leader Subramanian Swamy against the section 6A of the Delhi Police Act and argued that it discriminates while investigating a senior or junior officer. 

3.    SC strikes down Karnataka govt order making Kannada medium of teaching in schools

i. The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a decision of the Karnataka government making it mandatory for all primary schools in the state to teach in Kannada language.

ii. �The government can't impose mother tongue on linguistic minority for imparting primary education,� the SC said.

iii. The schools had moved the apex court challenging the state government's decision.

iv. The government, schools alleged, had even threatened to withdraw their recognition if they failed to follow its order on making Kannada the medium of teaching.

v. The battle between the Karnataka government and schools over the medium of teaching had been going on for the past 20 years.

4.    Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra faces 5-yr ban from politics if proven guilty

i. Thailand PM Yingluck Shinawatra who is facing allegations of power abuse to transfer a top official, could be removed from office and banned from politics for five years if proven guilty.

ii. Ms Shinawatra is due for a crucial ruling by the Constitutional Court on Wednesday in wake ofaccusations that her Pheu Thai party fetched benefits when she transferred Thawil Pliensri in 2011.

iii. The Court will on Wednesday decide if the transfer was unconstitutional and if proven guilty, the PM risks being removed from office and may face a five year ban from politics.

iv. Denying the allegations against her by anti-government senators, Yingluck today appeared before the Constitutional Court and said, that Mr Thawil's transfer was for the nation's benefit and it didn't violate any laws.

5.    Sunil Mittal to co-chair World Economic Forum on Africa

i. Bharti Enterprises founder and Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal will co-chair this year�s edition of the World Economic Forum on Africa.

ii. The group�s flagship company Bharti Airtel is the largest mobile operator in Africa in terms of geographical footprint and provides services in 17 African countries with close to 70 million customers, the company said in a statement.

iii. The event, will be held in Abuja (Nigeria) from May 7-9, 2014 under the theme �Forging Inclusive Growth, Creating Jobs� and is expected to be attended by over 900 leaders from business, government, civil society and academia.

iv. Mr. Mittal was also appointed as the co-chair of India-Africa Business Council (IABC) by the Prime Minister of India.

6.    Lalit Modi elected president of Rajasthan Cricket Association

i. Former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has been formally declared president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA). The results of the December 19 elections were declared by a court observer in Jaipur today. 

ii. According to a Supreme Court order , the votes, in a sealed envelope, were opened under court observation. Modi won by a landslide margin, polling in 24 out of 33 votes, while his opponent Rampal Sharma earned just five.

iii. In September 2013, the BCCI imposed a life-ban was on Modi accusing him of causing financial irregularities during his tenure as the IPL commissioner. 

7.    Dipika Pallikal ranked 10 Women Squash Association (WSA)

i. Dipika Pallikal was ranked No 10 in Women�s Squash Association (WSA) rankings released on 1 May 2014. She entered the top 10 ranks after winning the Texas Open 2014. Her previous rank was 12.  

ii. Dipika won Texas Open 2014 against Rachel Grinham of Australia and it is her seventh Women's Squash Association title. Pallikal is the highest ranked Indian in squash history to reach no 10 in the world.

8.    Martin Klizan won Munich ATP title

i. Martin Kilzan on the Munich ATP tournament to claim second title of his career. In the final match, he defeated Fabio Fognini 2-6, 6-1, 6-2. 

ii. Martin Kilzan of Slovakia ranked 111th in the world after winning the tournament was presented with a white BMW 420d Convertible car and winner�s cheque of 77315 Euros by the tournament organisers.

9.    Waqar Younis back as Pakistan coach

i. The Pakistan Cricket Board has given cricket great Waqar Younis a second shot as coach of the national team.

ii. Younis was the coach for 18 months until after leading the team to the 2011 World Cup semi-finals. He resigned for personal reasons.