Daily GK Update - 23rd June 20151. Maharashtra topped the list
of States and UTs in IPR filing in 2013-14: IBEF reporti. India
Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) in the third week of June 2015
released a report on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) filing in
India during 2013-14.ii. While Maharashtra topped the list of
states and Union Territories (UTs), Bengaluru was the top city in
IPR filing.
iii. Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Siddaganga Institute of
Technology, Tumakuru and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
figured in the top 10 scientific bodies and institutions with 32,
24 and 12 filings respectively.iv. India Brand Equity Foundation
(IBEF), is a trust established by the Department of Commerce, Union
Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
2. SoftBank Corp, Bharti Enterprises Limited and Foxconn formed
a JV named SBG Cleantech Ltdi. Japan headquartered
telecommunications and Internet major SoftBank Corp, Bharti
Enterprises Limited and Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group on 22
June 2015 formed a Joint Venture (JV) named SBG Cleantech Limited.
This JV is aimed at promoting the adoption of clean and safe energy
in India.ii. SBG Cleantech will be a harbinger of solar and wind
energy. The venture will invest in developing renewable energy
plants across India. SBG Cleantech will be committed to contribute
to Union Government's mission of 24x7 power for all and achieving
100GW solar and 60GW wind target by 2022.iii. SBG Cleantech will
have Manoj Kohli, a Bharti Enterprises Limited veteran, as its
executive chairman and Raman Nanda will be the Chief Executive
Officer of the company. The company will be headquartered in
Delhi.
3. Rajasthan topped the list of States commissioning grid
connected Solar Power projectsi. Rajasthan topped the list of
states commissioning grid connected solar power projects in the
country with an installed capacity of 1147 megawatt. The list was
released by the Union ministry of New and Renewable Energy on 4
June 2015.ii. Gujarat, which remained the undisputed leader in
solar energy generation till 2014, came second with an installed
capacity of 1000MW.iii. The state has also signed MoUs with power
developers like SunEdison, Adani Enterprises, Reliance Power and
Azure Power that will generate 14000 MW solar power. National
Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is already in the process of
commissioning 680 MW in the state.
4. Sister Nirmala Joshi, successor of Mother Teresa passes
awayi. Sister Nirmala Joshi, former Superior General of
Missionaries of Charity passed away in Kolkata after brief illness
at the age of 81.ii. She had taken over as Superior General in
March 1997 after the death of Mother Teresa.iii. Sister Nirmala was
elected as Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity six
months before Mother Teresas death (September 5, 1997).iv. She was
bestowed with the Padma Vibhushan, Indias second highest civilian
award in 2009 for her services to the nation.
5. Kerala Government declares June 22 as Snake Bird Dayi. Kerala
Government has declared June 22 as Snake Bird Day in a bid to
protect the endangered species which is also known as Indian
darter. The formal announcement was made by State minister for
forest Thiruvanchur Radhakrishnan at a function organised by Snake
Bird Foundation in Thiruvananthapuram.ii. It is water bird which is
also known as Indian darter (Anhinga melanogaster). It has large
slender long-necked water bird and is mostly black with silver wing
markings.iii. As per IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Snake
Bird is classified as Near Threatened species. Threat: Its
population is moderately declining owing anthropogenic reasons like
pollution, drainage, hunting and the collection of eggs and
nestlings.iv. It inhabits in shallow inland wetlands including
rivers, lakes, swamps and reservoirs. In case of India there are
over 1500 snake birds in which majority are found in Kerala. These
species usually nests atop tall trees near wetlands.
6. Maharashtra declares Blue Mormon as State butterflyi.
Maharashtra has officially declared Blue Mormon species as State
butterfly as part of state symbols. Decision in this regard was
taken in State Wildlife Board meeting presided by Chief Minister
Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai.ii. With this, Maharashtra became the
first State in the country to have a State butterfly.iii. Blue
Mormon (Papilio polymnestor) is the second largest butterfly
species in terms of size, after the southern birdwing (Troides
minos).iv. Blue Mormon has black, velvet wings with bright blue
spots. The lower ends of its wings are black. Its body has some red
spots on one side. Distribution: It is only found (endemic to) in
Sri Lanka, Western Ghats of Maharashtra, South India and coastal
belts of the country.
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Daily GK Update - 21st and 22nd June 20151. India sets two
Guinness world records on International Yoga Dayi. India has set
two Guinness world records (GWR) in Rajpath yoga event held on the
eve of first International Yoga Day led by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi.ii. First record is the largest number of participants- 35,985
people had participated in largest yoga demonstration at a single
venue i.e. Rajpath yoga event.
iii. Second is the most number of nationalities at a single
event People of 84 nationalities performed yoga at one place. iv.
The awards were received by Union AYUSH Minister Shripad Yesso Naik
from representatives of Guinness World Records.v. In this event all
participants of all ages had performed various yoga exercises on
the entire two-km stretch from Rafi Marg crossing near Vijay Chowk
to India Gate. This mass yoga event has broken previous world
record on mass yoga exercise which was set by 29,973 students from
362 schools on November 19, 2005 led by Vivekananda Kendra at
Jiwaji University Gwalior.
2. Vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyam selected for Sangita Kalanidhi
award 2015i. One of the foremost south Indian classical vocalists,
Sanjay Subrahmanyam has been selected for the Sangita Kalanidhi
award 2015. It will be bestowed upon him when he will preside over
the 89th annual conference of the Academy which will be held
between December 15, 2015 and January 1, 2016.ii. With this, he is
seventh artistes to be conferred with the award before completing
50 years of age. Others are Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar,
Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Musiri Subramania Iyer, G.N.
Balasubramaniam, Semmangudi R. Srinivasa Iyer, M.L. Vasanthakumari
and M. Balamuralikrishnaiii. Sangita Kalanidhi is a prestigious
award bestowed annually upon an expert of Carnatic Music by the
Madras Music Academy. The awards name has been derived from
Sanskrit which means treasure of Music and art in English. This
honour is considered one of the highest awards in Carnatic
music.
3. International Yoga Day: Stamps, coins and commercei. The
government of India has released stamp s and coins of the
denomination of Rs.10 and Rs.100 on International Yoga Day (IYD) on
June 21.ii.The Department of Posts is bringing out stamp and the
finance ministry coins.iii. Also, on IYD, the Discovery Channel has
telecasted a short film 'The Story of Yoga' to take viewers through
a journey of rediscovering the Indian ancient practice.
4. HAL delivers Orbiter Craft Module Structure of Chandrayaan-2
to ISROi. HAL has delivered Orbiter Craft Module Structure of
Chandrayaan-2 to ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC).ii. The Orbiter Craft
Module structure is a 3 tonne category bus structure made out of a
central composite cylinder, shear webs and deck panelsiii. The
Chandrayaan-2 mission is aimed at placing an Orbiter around the
moon and sending a Lander and Rover to the surface of the moon. It
will be launched by a Geo-Stationary Satellite Launch Vehicle
(GSLV-MKII).iv. HAL has partnered and supported ISRO throughout its
journey by providing hardware for satellites, SLV, ASLV, PSLV,
GSLVMKII and GSLV MKIII (LVM3).
5. National vendor development programme in Bengalurui. Peenya
Industrial Assocation (PIA) will hold PIA: Expo 2015 - National
Vendor Development Programme at Bengaluru from June 25-27.ii.
Peenya Industrial Complex is one of the biggest industrial
complexes housing about 8,500 MSMEs and spread over an area of 45
sq. km. It is surrounded by a dozen peripheral industrial estates,
employing about 8.5 lakh people, out of which about four lakh are
women employees.iii. This years PIA Expo:2015 is being held held at
Dr Prabhakar Kore Convention Center, Yeshwanthpur, Bengaluru.
6. Overnight Liquid Transaction facility on NSEs Web-based
Mutual Fund platform began functioningi. National Stock Exchange
(NSE) on 22 June 2015 operationalised the Overnight Liquid
Transaction facility on its web-based Mutual Fund Service System
(MFSS) platform. The platform was launched on 19 June 2015.ii. The
facility allows the participants to place purchase and redemption
orders simultaneously in liquid schemes. This facility will only be
available on MFSS Web based platform and in Physical mode only.iii.
Earlier in May 2015, a similar product was introduced by Bombay
Stock Exchange (BSE) which has so far seen daily transactions of
worth 400-500 crore rupees.
7. Federer Wins Weber Title for Eighth Timei. Roger Federer
showed he was ready for Wimbledon by defeating Andreas Seppi of
Italy, 7-6 (1), 6-4, on Sunday in Halle, Germany, to claim his
record-setting eighth Gerry Weber Open title.ii. It was Federers
fourth title of the season, after wins at Brisbane, Dubai and
Istanbul, and a timely boost for Wimbledon eight days before the
tournament begins.iii. Andy Murray claimed his 34th career title
and third title of the season with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over unseeded
Kevin Anderson in the final of the grass-court Queens Club
tournament in London. Murray joined John McEnroe, Boris Becker,
Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt as four-time winners of the
event.
8. Nico Rossberg of Mercedes wins Austrian Grand Prix of F1i.
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg from Germany has won the Austrian
Grand Prix Formula One (F1) World Championship title. It is
Rosbergs eleventh overall championship title and the third win in
the 2015 season.ii. First was the Spanish Formula 1 World
Championship title won on May 10, 2015 and second was Monaco Grand
Prix on May 24, 2015. Nico Rosberg had also won the Austrian Grand
Prix of 2014 season which was maiden win for Mercedes on this
track.iii. Lewis Hamiltion (Mercedes) from United Kingdom was
placed at the second position. Felipe Massa (Williams) from Brazil
was placed at the third position. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) from
Germany stood at the fourth position.
9. Former Indian women hockey captain Shashi Bala passes awayi.
Former Indian women hockey team captain Shashi Bala passed away on
21 June 2015. Shashi was killed in a car accident along with her
son in Kahma village of Punjab. ii. She was a former hockey player
and had made international debut in 1987.iii. She had captained
Indian hockey team for women in Women Hockey World Cup Qualifier
held in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1997. She was also team member of the
Indian hockey team for women in 1998 World Cup played at
Netherlands.
Daily GK Update -20 June 2015Sushma Swaraj leaves for New York
for International Yoga Day event
i)External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today left for New
York where she is going to participate in the International Yoga
Day event being organised by the Indian Mission at the United
Nations.ii)She will represent India next week in Nepal at a global
donors' conference aimed at raising funds for the earthquake-hit
country(Nominated by PM Shri Narendra Modi).
Haryana launches Village Mentoring Project(VMP) to uplift
villagers.
i)The Haryana Government today launched a Village Mentoring
Project (VMP) to improve healthcare and education of the villagers
with a special emphasis on girl child.
ii) The project would create awareness among the villagers about
various issues including educating girl child, health, financial
matters etc
China launched worlds first electric passenger aircraft
BX1E.i)China launched the worlds first electric passenger aircraft
named BX1E that could be used in pilot training, tourism,
meteorology and rescue operations.ii)The aircraft was designed
together by Shenyang Aerospace University and Liaoning General
Aviation Academy located in the northeastern Liaoning Province of
China.
Serbia edge Brazil in final to clinch Fifa U-20 World Cup
title.i) Serbia pulled off a historic 2-1 win in extra time to beat
heavily favoured Brazil in the final of the Fifa Under-20 World Cup
in Auckland on Saturday.
ii) Serbia, playing in the FIFA U-20 World Cup for the first
time as an independent nation, will leave as its
champions.Auckland's North Harbour Stadium. Nemanja Maksimovic's
decisive, 118th-minute goal settled the final 2-1 in favour of the
delirious Serbians, and left five-time champions Brazil to settle
for silver.
Brightest Galaxy in Early Universe named after Cristiano Ronaldo
as CR7i)Scientists in third week of June 2015 named a newly
discovered galaxy after Portuguese football player Cristiano
Ronaldo. The galaxy was labeled as CR7 (COSMOS Redshift 7).ii)CR7
is three times brighter than the brightest distant galaxy known
till now, called Himiko. This brightest galaxy was discovered in
the early universe that contains the first generation of stars. For
this discovery, they used ESOs Very Large Telescope (VLT).
PM to launch 3 flagship schemes for urban revamp on June 25.i)
The three big ticket projects Smart Cities Mission, Atal Mission
for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and the Housing
for All, now named as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), are worth
Rs. four lakh crore.ii)It marks a red-letter day in the history of
urban development in the country with the simultaneous launch of
AMRUT, PMAY and Smart Cities Mission.iii) The Prime Minister will
also release operational guidelines for the three urban missions
besides unveiling logos and tag lines, according to a senior Urban
Development Ministry official.
Nikesh Arora appointed SoftBank Presidenti)India-born former
Google executive Nikesh Arora has been appointed the President of
Japans telecommunications giant SoftBank Corp that paid the rising
star a whopping US$135 million for the financial year
2014.ii)Arora, 47, who earlier held the vice presidents post, was
appointed company president and chief operating officer at a
general meeting of shareholders here yesterday.
India Unlimited to boost synergies between Indian and Swedish
entrepreneurs.
i)India Unlimited - a platform for connecting India and Sweden
in every field where both stand to gain.ii)Seeking synergies
between Swedish and Indian entrepreneurship, Indian mission in
Sweden has launched India Unlimited platform.iii)The aim of the
platform India Unlimited is promoting Brand India in Sweden and
Brand Sweden in India.
State Government initiative to make Arunachal an organic
state.i) In a bid to make Arunachal Pradesh a hundred per cent
organic state, the State government decided to launch State Soil
Health Mission.The programme aims at proper documentation of soil
health and preparation of soil map.ii)Arunachal Pradesh government
which is among the top five states for devolution of powers to
Panchayati Raj, has initiated steps to strengthen the urban local
self-governance to enhance revenue base of urban local bodies.
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Daily GK update: 19 June 2015SBI launches online forex
platformi)State Bank of India (SBI), the countrys largest bank, has
launched SBI eforex, an Internet-based platform that enables
customers to book their foreign exchange transactions online.ii)
This smart platform facilitates the customers of the bank to obtain
forex rates without having to physically visit the branch.
iii) SBI eforex is an innovative platform incorporating robust
security features and is designed to be user-friendly, fast and
convenient. It is a highly flexible product offering the facility
to the customers to customise and set their own limits for deal
size, daily transaction limits etc. Details of all deals done are
made available to the users on a real-time basis.iv) Under the
forex segment, SBI had recently launched 'Fx Out' which enables
sending of foreign currency remittances from any its branches in
India.
Gandhi medals to mark his 33 years of freedom strugglei) Now
among the various Gandhi souvenirs and memorabilia that has been
sold and collected for over the past half a century, will be added
a set of limited-edition medallions highlighting milestones in his
33 years (1914-1947) of freedom struggle.ii) Alok Goyal, a
Kolkata-based numismatic dealer, has created a series of medals on
Father of the Nation. So far, he has marketed five such medals
beginning with Gandhis return to India from South Africa in
1914.
iii) The sixth in the series to will hit the market on June 20
to commemorate 75 years of Netaji's last meeting with Gandhiji
before leaving India in early 1941. Each of the series will have
just 500 medals and are being sold at Rs. 1,000 a piece.The next
two in the series would be on Gandhi-led civil disobedience
movement and the movement against untouchablility.iv)Goyal-designed
Gandhi medals were being manufactured a private German mint. He
earlier had marketed commemorative coins with divine icon of Lord
Venkateswara, in association with a Lichenstein company Coin Invest
Trust and under a license from the Republic of Palau.
China and Australia formally sign free trade agreementi)China
and Australia have signed a trade agreement that is set to increase
market access for Australian beef and wine exporters while boosting
Chinese carmakers and electronics producers who wish to sell their
goods to Australians.ii) One flashpoint is the inclusion of an
investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clause, which grants
foreign companies the right to sue governments for breaching
commitments in such agreements.
The Australian union movement has also raised concerns about the
access to be granted to Chinese citizens under labour market
provisions.iii) The Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, said
the agreement would give each nation unprecedented access to each
others markets and pointed to the reduction in tariffs imposed on
trade.It removes barriers to Australian agricultural exports across
a range of products, including beef, dairy, lamb, wine,
horticulture and seafood,
India offers Tanzania expertise in natural gas sectori) India on
Friday offered its expertise to Tanzania in development of its
potentially rich natural gas sector and decided to extend e-tourist
visa to people of the African nation even as the two countries
signed eight MoUs to expand engagements in diverse areas.During
extensive talks Prime Minister Narendra Modi had with Tanzanian
President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, both the countries also decided to
establish a Joint Working Group to strengthen cooperation in
counter terrorism.
ii)The MoUs signed included a loan agreement between Exim Bank
and Tanzanian government on a line of credit for $ 268.35 million
for extension of a pipeline project and cooperation in the field of
hydrology, tourism and agriculture.India is the largest trading
partner of Tanzania in Africa with bilateral trade in 2013-14 being
more than $4 billion.
Union Government launched weather alert service NOWCASTi) Union
Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh launched a weather alert
service named NOWCAST.NOWCAST will be used to send SMS alerts on
extreme weather data like hailstorm, thunderstorm and squall
originated by India Meteorological Department (IMD) to over one
crore farmers whose mobile numbers are registered on governments
mKisan portal.Further, the mKisan portal will send warning SMSs to
farmers located in affected district/blocks. These warnings will
help the farmers to take precautionary measures as needed and
feasible.ii)The SMS will be sent in English, Hindi and regional
languages as per farmers request.This technological break-through
is a collaborative effort between mKisan Portal developed by DAC,
weather technologies adopted by IMD and GIS Portal of NIC.
iii)Radha Mohan Singh also launched Insurance Web-Portals for
Farmers (www.farmer.gov.in/insurance) that will enable farmers to
insure their crops under three schemes.iv)Prevailing provisions
under which farmers can insure their crops are National Agriculture
Insurance Scheme (NAIS) Modified National Insurance Scheme (MNAIS)
Weather based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS)Besides, Coconut Palm
Insurance Scheme (CPIS) also is applicable in some parts of the
country.
Aakar Patel appointed as Executive Director of Amnesty
International Indiai) Journalist and writer Aakar Patel appointed
as Executive Director of Amnesty International (AI) India. He will
head AI Indias operations and its efforts to end human rights
abuses in India and worldwide.Patel as the organizations chief
political advisor, strategist and spokesperson will give direction
to its goal of being an independent, effective, and deep-rooted
organization in India.
ii) Patels previous work includes India: Low Trust Society
(2015) Rights and Wrongs, a report on the 2002 Gujarat riots which
he co-authored Worked as a columnist with publications in India and
Pakistan Television and radio work as an independent expert
India set for World Yoga Day on 21 June 2015.i) International
day of yoga is also called as the world yoga day. United Nations
General Assembly has declared 21st of June as an International Yoga
Day on 11th of December in 2014.Launching a particular date of
practicing yoga all across the world and celebrating as yoga day
was initiated by the Indian Prime Minister to the United Nations
General Assembly.ii) Official name of this day is UN International
Yoga Day and also called as Yoga Day. It is a worldwide event
celebrated by the people of all countries through practicing yoga,
meditation, debates, meetings, discussions, variety of cultural
performances, etc.World Yoga Day or International Day of Yoga would
be celebrated by the people throughout the world first time on 21st
of June in 2015, at Sunday.
iii) In a country-wide campaign, the Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) is organising yoga sessions for India Inc on Sunday
(June 21), the International Day of Yoga. Thousands of
representatives of industry, including CEOs, employees and family
members, are rolling out their yoga mats to participate in the
event.
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Daily GK Update - 18th June 20151. Union Cabinet gives nod to
introduction of Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015i. Union
Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has
approved introduction of Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015 in
coming session of Parliament.ii. The Bureau will perform its
functions through a Governing Council consisting of President and
other members.
iii. Mandatory certification regime: Empower government to bring
mandatory certification regime for articles, processes or services
which it considers necessary.iv. Simplified conformity assessment
schemes: In order to allow ease of doing business, the bill allows
multiple types of simplified assessment schemes. It includes Self
Declaration of Conformity (SDOC) against any standard which will
give multiple simplified options to manufacturers.v. Mandatory
hallmarking: provisions related to compulsory hallmarking of
precious metal articles. Strengthening penal provisions: It will
help for better and effective compliance of law and enable
compounding of offences for violations.
2. Odisha State Co-op Bank launches Bank on Wheelsi. Intervening
directly the Odisha State Co-operative Bank is going to launch the
Bank on Wheels to help farmers get loans on their doorstep. Twenty
vans with ATM facility will move around 20 remote and tribal
pockets in Keonjhar, Koraput, Kalahandi, Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh and
Sambalpur districts for the purpose.ii. The Centre has provided Rs
6 crore, at the rate of Rs 30 lakh for each vehicle, to agriculture
department for the scheme under Rashtriya Krishi Bikas Yojana.iii.
Anyone can withdraw money from the mobile ATMs though the scheme is
meant for farmers
3. Union Cabinet approves Solar Power capacity target to 1 lakh
MW under JNNSM by 2022i. Union Cabinet approved increasing Indias
solar power capacity target under the Jawaharlal Nehru National
Solar Mission (JNNSM) to 1 Lakh Mega Watt (MW) by 2022.ii. 1 Lakh
Mega Watt (MW) target principally will comprise of 40,000 MW from
Rooftop and 60,000 MW through Large and Medium Scale Grid Connected
Solar Power Projects.iii. After meeting this ambitious target,
India will become one of the largest Green Energy producers in the
world by surpassing several developed countries.iv. These projects
will help in generation of additional 2000 MW capacity of
Grid-connected solar power projects and create employment of about
12,000 people in rural and urban areas. It will also help to reduce
about 3.41 Million Tonnes (MT) of carbon emissions into the open
environment every year.
4. Union Government decided to increase number of work days
under MGNREGA in drought hit areasi. The Union Government on 17
June 2015 decided to increase the number of workdays under Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) from 100
days to 150 days in drought-affected areas of the country.ii. The
decision to increase the wage days in drought-affected areas was
taken as Government is expecting an increase in demand for
wage-based employment due to drought affecting regular agricultural
activities in some places.iii. Earlier in February 2014, previous
government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the number of
workdays under MNREGA was increased from 100 days to 150 days for
tribal areas who have received land rights under the Forest Rights
Act, 2006.
5. CEA-led committee to suggest GST rates, report likely in two
monthsi. A committee headed by the Chief Economic Adviser (CEA)
will recommend the possible rates of Goods & Services Tax
(GST), slated to be introduced from April 1 next year.ii. The
setting up of two committees to facilitate implementation of the
new indirect tax regime. The other will be a Steering Committee
under the co-chairmanship of the Additional Secretary in the
Revenue Department and Member Secretary, Empowered Committee of
State Finance Ministers.iii. The CEA-led committee will recommend
possible tax rates under GST that would be consistent with the
present level of revenue collection of the Centre and States.iv.
While making recommendations, this Committee would take into
account expected levels of growth of economy, different levels of
compliance and broadening of tax base under GST. The Committee
would also analyse the sector-wise and State-wise impact of GST on
the economy.
6. Op DOGA to secure Yoga Day eventi. Foolproof security
arrangements made at the venue of the International Yoga Day event
on Rajpath this weekend have been dubbed Operation DOGA a
combination of the words, dog and Yoga - in line with the magnitude
of the deployment of security dogs for the purpose.ii. As the venue
around India Gate-Rajpath will be visited by close to 40,000
people, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi this Sunday, its
peripheries and core areas have already been handed over for
security checks to an undisclosed number of canine troops.iii. The
ITBP, nominated as the national centre for excellence for sniffer
and police dogs training, has put on job a special breed of Belgian
Shepherd, Malinois, who gained prominence across the world after
they reportedly participated in the strike of the U.S. Navy SEAL
commandos on Al-Qaida chief Osama Bin Laden.
7. Beno Zephine becomes first 100% blind officer in IFSi. The
25-year-old from Chennai was informed by the external affairs
ministry on Friday that she has been inducted into the Indian
Foreign Service, the first 100 per cent visually-challenged person
to gain entry into the 69-year-old service.ii. Former diplomats
have hailed the decision to allow 100 per cent visually challenged
people into the service.iii. She was working as a probationary
officer for state bank of India.
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Daily GK Update - 17th June 20151. Govt okays 16 FDI proposals
worth Rs. 6,751 cr.i. The government on Wednesday approved 16
foreign investment proposals, including those of Torrent
Pharmaceuticals and Star India Private Limited, amounting to Rs.
6,750.86 crore.
ii. The proposals were cleared during the FIPB meeting held on
May 28iii. Broadcaster Star India Private Limited has been given
approval for further issuance and transfer of shares to its foreign
collaborator and acquisition of another Indian company engaged in
broadcasting sector on a slump sale basis.iv. Syngene International
has been allowed to raise foreign investment to 44 per cent from 10
per cent by initial public offering of equity shares to FIIs, FPIs
and NRIs.
2. Book titled Modi - Incredible emergence of a star in Chinese
language written by Tarun Vijayi. A book on Prime Minister Narendra
Modi titled Modi Incredible emergence of a star written in Chinese
language by Tarun Vijayii. The book was published in July 2014 by
Sichuan Universitys South Asia Study Centre.iii. The book is a
biography based on the life and economic vision of Narendra
Modi.
3. ASCI launches mobile app to curb misleading advertisementsi.
In a bid to address misleading advertisements, the Advertising
Standard Council of India (ASCI) launched its consumer complaint
mobile application ASCIonline, to provide consumer complaint
services on a mobile app besides providing the facility online.
ii. Talking about the initiative, Narendra Ambwani, ASCI
chairman said, One of the goals of ASCI is to provide convenient
access for lodging complaint and hence this launch of mobile
app."iii. Lodge complaints by simply providing advertisement
details and objection. Users can also attach the files like image
or video or YouTube link of that advertisement.iv. Status of
complaints and complaint tracking also made simple and
user-friendly.
4. Archana Ramasundaram out of CBI, appointed Director of NCRBi.
Senior IPS officer Archana Ramasundaram has been moved out of the
CBI and appointed as Director, National Crime Records Bureau
(NCRB).ii. Ramasundaram, a 1980 batch Indian Police Service (IPS)
officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, was appointed as Additional Director
in CBI in February last year amid controversy.She was not assigned
any work on the direction of the Supreme Court, which is hearing a
writ petition against her appointment.iii. The Appointments
Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has approved lateral shift of
Ramasundaram from the post of Additional Director, CBI to hold
Director General or equivalent level post at the Centre.iv.
Ramasundaram's appointment last year had generated quite a
controversy as the CBI locked horns with Central Vigilance
Commission (CVC) and Home Ministry over the choice.
5. Charles Correa, face of contemporary architecture in India
passes awayi. Indias greatest contemporary architect Charles Correa
passed away in Mumbai following a brief illness. He was 84.ii. He
was Chief Architect for Navi Mumbai along with Shirish Patel and
Pravina Mehta from 197075.iii. He also had served as first Chairman
of the National Commission on Urbanization and was appointed by
then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1985.He is founder of Mumbais
Urban Design Research Institute (established in 1984) dedicated to
protect the environment and improve lives of urban communities.iv.
He had been awarded the Padma Shri (1972), Padma Vibhushan (2006)
by Government of India. He was also awarded Royal Gold Medal for
Architecture (1984) by the Royal Institute of British Architects,
7th Aga Khan Award for Architecture (1998), Praemium Imperiale of
Japan.
6. Election Commission suspends recognition of PA Sangma-led
National Peoples Partyi. Election Commission of India (ECI) has
suspended recognition of the PA Sangma-led National Peoples Party
(NPP) which was a recognized state party in Meghalaya.ii. The
recognition of NPP was suspended under para 16A of the Election
Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 after the party
failed to file the election expenditure statement incurred in 2014
Lok Sabha elections.iii. At present NPP has one Lok Sabha member-
PA Sangma from Tura constituency from Meghalaya. It also has 4
members in Rajasthan Legislative assembly and 2 in Meghalaya
Legislative assembly.
7. BSNL to set up 40,000 wi-fi hot spots Indiai. State owned
telecommunications giant Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has
announced to set up 40,000 Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) hot spots
across the country.ii. This project will come in lines with new
digital architecture which is part of Union Governments flagship
Digital India Programme. The 40,000 wi-fi hot spots project will be
entailed with an investment of about 6,000 crore rupees. The
project is likely to be completed by 2018.iii. It was announced by
Union Minister of Communications & IT Ravi Shankar Prasad after
launching the Wi-Fi facility at Taj Mahal in Agra, Uttar
Pradesh.iv. BSNL has installed the Wi-Fi facility at the premises
of Taj Mahal as part of the Union Governments plan to provide free
internet services at major tourist places across country.
Read more:
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Daily GK Update - 16th June 20151. Union Government launched
Augmented Reality Application named Sakaari. The Union Minister of
State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region
(DoNER) Jitendra Singh on 15 June 2015 launched an Augmented
Reality (AR) application named Sakaar to highlight the achievements
of the Department of Space.
ii. The application has been developed by Development and
Educational Communication Unit (DECU) of ISRO for Android devices.
iii. Sakaar consists of 3D models of MOM, RISAT, rockets (PSLV,
GSLV Mk-III); videos of INSAT 3D-predicting cyclones, GSLV D5/Cryo,
Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) orbit insertion, launch video of MOM,
360 degree animated view of MOM; Anaglyph of Mars surface.iv.
Augmentation is in real time and the information is overlaid on the
live view of the devices camera. Essentially, AR requires three
elements:
Android device with back camera AR application AR Markers.
2. PM Narendra Modi launched book titled Education of Muslims by
Professor JS Rajputi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15 June 2015
launched a book titled Education of Muslims: An Islamic Perspective
of Knowledge and Education Indian Context edited by Professor JS
Rajput.ii. The book is aimed at informing and educating
policy-makers, scholars and readers about role of Islam in pursuit
of education and knowledge.iii. The book contains 16 articles
written by various scholars and historians including JS Rajput on
wide ranging issues related to understanding of Islam religion,
role of Islam and its educational institutions (madrasas) in
dissemination of knowledge and educational status of Muslim
children in India among others.iv. JS Rajput is an accomplished
educationist and historian. He is a former director of National
Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and Chairman,
National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).
3. UN elected Denmark's Mogens Lykketoft to head General
Assemblyi. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 15 June
2015 elected Denmark's Mogens Lykketoft as its President for its
upcoming 70th session in September 2015. ii. He will have tenure of
one year and succeeds Uganda's Sam Kutesa to preside over the
193-member body.iii. Lykketoft presently is the speaker of Danish
Parliament since 2011 and is a member of the Social Democrats
party.iv. Earlier from 1993 to 2001, Lykketoft served Denmark as
its Foreign and Finance Ministers.
4. LIC Nomura Mutual Fund CEO Nilesh Sathe appointed member,
life at IRDAIi. The government has appointed Nilesh Sathe, Chief
Executive Officer of LIC Nomura Mutual Fund Asset Management
Company, as the member-life of insurance regulator IRDAI.ii. The
post was lying vacant since the retirement of S Roy Chowdhury in
February 2014. iii. Sathe will be joining the Insurance Regulatory
and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) on July 1 and have a
four-year long tenure at the Hyderabad-headquartered insurance
sector watchdog.iv. Sathe held various positions in LIC, which
include Executive Director (marketing) and Senior Divisional
Manager in Mumbai.
5. Indian Railways names Haridwar Mail as Yoga Expressi. Indian
Railways has named Haridwar Mail as Yoga Express with an immediate
effect.ii. In this regard the train No 19031/19032
Ahmedabad-Haridwar-Ahmedabad famously known as Haridwar Mail has
been christened as Yoga Express.iii. This decision was taken by
Indian Railways before celebration of first International Yoga Day
on 21st June which will be observed as global event.
6. Sunil Chhetri becomes first Indian to score 50 international
goalsi. Prolific striker Sunil Chhetri on Tuesday became the first
Indian footballer to score 50 international goals during his team's
2018 World Cup qualifying match against Guam.ii. Chhetri's feat,
though, came in a losing cause, as India suffered their second
successive defeat in the preliminary joint qualification second
round.iii. Former captain Bhaichung Bhutia stays at the second spot
with 42 goals in 107 matches while IM Vijayan has 40 goals from 79
games. This meanwhile, was Chhetri's 87th match.iv. For the record,
it was Chhetri who scored India's all the goals in the team's four
joint preliminary round 2018 World Cup qualifying games so far.
Read more:
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Daily GK Update - 14th June 2015RBI issued final guidelines for
6-year and 13-year Interest Rate Futures
i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued the final guidelines
for the 6-year and 13-year cash settled Interest Rate Futures (IRF)
on government securities with residual maturity of 4-8 years and
11-15 years respectively under the Interest Rate Futures (Reserve
Bank) (Amendment) Directions, 2015. For this purpose, RBI amended
the Interest Rate Futures (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2013 dated 5
December 2013.
ii. For the 6-year cash settled IRF contracts, the underlying
shall be a coupon bearing government security of face value of 100
rupees and the residual maturity of 6-year IRF is between 4 and 8
years on the expiry of futures contract.iii. For the 13-year cash
settled IRF contracts, the underlying can be a coupon bearing
government security of face value of 100 rupees and residual
maturity will be between 11 and 15 years on the expiry of futures
contract.iv. Moreover, the RBI also expanded the residual maturity
for the existing 10-year cash settled IRF from 9-11 years to 8-11
years to provide market participants a greater choice and
flexibility to hedge their interest rate risk across different
tenors.
US becomes world's largest oil producer, says BP Report
i. As per recently released report by British Petroleum (BP)
Energy Company, United States (US) became the worlds largest oil
producer in 2014 surpassing Saudi Arabia. ii. Production: US had
produced 11.6 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) i.e. 15.9% more
oil in 2014. While, Saudi Arabia was placed second position as it
had produced 11.5 million bpd in 2014. Russia was placed at third
position with 10.8 million bpd oil production. iii. Natural Gas
Production: US also has surpassed Russia as the worlds largest
producer of natural gas. iv. Consumption: China had remained the
worlds largest growth market for energy in 2014 v. Facts related to
India: Indias oil production gad declined by 1.3% at 895,000 bpd,
while the consumption had increased by 3% to 3.8 million bpd. India
has shown 7.1% rise in energy consumption.
Government sacks Dr. Bimal Roy, Director of Indian Statistical
Institutei. Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation (MOSPI) has sacked Dr Bimal K Roy as the Director of
Indian Statistical Institute (ISI). He was removed from the office
on charges of indiscipline one-and-a-half months before the end of
his term. ii. Professor Sanghmitra Bandyopadhayay now will replace
Dr Bimal K Roy as the Director of ISI. With this appointment she
has become the first woman to lead the institute.iii. Roy who is a
renowned cryptologist was appointed Director of ISI in August 2010.
In April 2015, he was conferred with Indias fourth highest civilian
honour Padma Shri for his contribution in the discipline of
literature and education.
VK Singh inaugurates first India-China Yoga College at Yunnan
Minzu University, Chinai. Minister of State (MoS) for External
Affairs V K Singh inaugurated first India-China Yoga College at
Yunnan Minzu University in Kunming, China.ii. This is first Indian
government institution related Indian spiritual art form i.e. Yoga
in China inaugurated ahead of the first UN Yoga Day to be observed
on June 21.iii. The Yoga College was established in lines with the
MoU for establishing the Yoga College signed during the Prime
Minister Narendra Modis visit to China in May 2015.iv. This college
seeks to provide certification courses in the Indian spiritual art
with them Indian teachers who are going to help in curriculum
development and training.
Government launches Migrant Resource Centre in Chennaii. Migrant
Resource Centre (MRC) was set up in Chennai by the Union Ministry
of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) and Tamil Nadu state
government.ii. The MRC will provide migrants and overseas Indian
workers with information, advice, counseling and guidance on all
aspects of overseas employment.iii. Following are support functions
of MRCs Dissemination of information on safe and legal migration.
Dissemination of information regarding status of recruiting agents
along with other service providers. Registration and response to
complaints and grievances within the redressal forum of MOIA. To
offer counseling support in form of walk in or telephone and email
support.
iv. Note: It is the fourth such MRC in India set up by MOIA. The
first MRC was established in 2008 in Kochi, Kerala by MOIA. Later,
fully functional MRCs in Hyderabad (Telengana & Andhra
Pradesh), Gurgaon (Haryana) were established.
14th June: World Blood Donor Dayi. World Blood Donor Day is
being observed across the world on 14 June to raise the public
awareness about the need for safe blood donation. ii. The theme of
this years campaign is Thank you for saving my life. This years
campaign encourages donors all over the world to donate blood
voluntarily and regularly with the slogan Give freely, give often.
Blood donation matters. iii. Objective To spread awareness about
the need for safe and secure blood supplies. Provide an opportunity
to draw public attention to the importance of blood donation for
saving lives.
Recommendations of Bibek Debroy Committee on restructuring of
Indian Railwaysi. The committee has suggested measures for
restructuring the Railway Board and its departments so that policy
making is separated from day-to-day operations. ii. Recommendations
of Bibek Debroy committee Establishment of an independent regulator
Railway Regulatory Authority of India (RRAI) with a separate budget
and to be independent of the Ministry. RRAI will decide on tariffs
to revamp the cash-strapped railways. Railway Budget should be
phased out with gross budgetary support to Indian Railways. No
privatisation of Indian Railway but allowed participation of
private sector in the railway projects. State governments should be
asked to entirely fund the Government Railway Police (GRP). The
recommended changes should be implemented only by Union Railways
ministry in the first five years including the resolution of the
social cost issue. iii. Background: Union government had
constituted the high-level committee in September 2014 to
restructure the Railways and suggest ways for resource
mobilisation. It was seven-member panel headed by eminent economist
and NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy. The other 6 members are former
cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar, Gusharan Das, Ravi Narain,
Partha Mukhopadhyay, Rajendra Kashyap, Ajay Tyagi and Ajay Narayan
Jha.
Read more:
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Daily GK Update - 13th June 20151. AP launches Mee Bhoomi
digital depository of land records
i. The Andhra Pradesh government has launched `Mee Bhoomi', a
digital depository of land records.The portal,
http://meebhoomi.ap.gov.in/, makes all land details along with
Adangal/Pahani and 1-B details, available to the people.
ii. It also lists details of land owners, area, assessment,
water source, soil type, nature of possession of the land,
liabilities, tenancy, and crops grown. One can also view
individual/ village adangal and 1B details on the website.iii.
Besides the survey number or pattadar number, it also gives the
option of entering the Aadhaar card number to view land details.
Users can also search for their field measurement book (F.M.B) on
the website. The details of any transactions will also be updated
on the website.iv. With respect to grievances related to land,
people can register a complaint at the closest Mee-Seva centre,
which will process the same within 15 days.Making the portal
mobile-friendly, the government has also launched an Android
app.
2. RBI allows FII buying in Kaveri Seedi. The stock of Kaveri
Seed Company will see some buying interest on Monday, as the
Reserve Bank of India on Friday said foreign portfolio investors
could now invest up to 49 per cent of the companys equity base.ii.
The RBI decision follows foreign investor shareholding falling
below the revised threshold limit. According to exchange data, at
the end of March 2015, FIIs held 22.26 per cent stake in the seed
major.
3. Dick Costolo resigned as CEO of Twitter Inci. Dick Costolo on
11 June 2015 resigned as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of
Twitter Inc after serving the company for five years. Costolo will
demit the office of CEO on 1 July 2015.ii. Twitter co-founder and
Square Inc's CEO Jack Dorsey will take over as the Interim CEO of
the company on 1 July 2015 and will stay until a replacement is
found.iii. Costolo joined the company in 2009 as its Chief
Operating Officer. In 2013, he helped the company to go public and
recently he struggled to attract new users to the service.
4. 50-lakh penalty on Future Generalii. The Insurance Regulatory
and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has imposed a penalty of
50 lakh on Future Generali Life Insurance Company. ii. The
regulator, which had examined 34 charges on a variety of aspects
related to business, said the company had violated many norms,
including not settling huge number of claims in respect of the
group insurance schemes, continuation of corporate agency even
after expiry of licence, use of unlicensed entities for procuring
business and distribution of gift vouchers procured from Big Bazar,
one of the group companies.iii. It has been asked to pay the
penalty within 15 days, according to an order issued by IRDAI
Chairman TS Vijayan.
5. Wes Hall inducted into ICC Hall of Famei. Former West Indies
fast bowler Wes Hall was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame
during the lunch break on the opening day of the Sabina Park Test
between West Indies and Australia.
ii. He became the fourth cricketer to receive the honour this
year after Betty Wilson, Anil Kumble and Martin Crowe.Hall, 77,
received his commemorative cap from fellow Hall of Famer Courtney
Walsh, and is now the 18th cricketer from the Caribbean to be
bestowed with the award.iii. Hall, who played 48 Tests for West
Indies between 1958 and 1969, said he was "privileged" and
"honoured" to receive the award which put him in the company of the
"many greats of the game"
6. China launches freight train service connecting Europei.
China today launched a freight train service between its
northeastern city of Harbin and Europe, opening a new trade route
to Europe covering a distance of nearly 10,000 kms.ii. The train
left Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, carrying 49
containers of domestic goods such as electronic products and auto
parts worth US$ three million from northeast and north China,
state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
7. In Haryana village, contest of selfies with daughter to save
girl childi. Haryana's Bibipur village, which wants The Women's
World' added to its name, has now come out
with a unique idea to continue its efforts to create
gender-neutral atmosphere in the state. ii. The village panchyat
has decided to organize a best selfie with daughters' contest to
honour the winning family with a trophy, certificate and Rs 2,100
as cash prize.iii. The panchayat has invited parents to send their
selfies to the village sarpanch on WhatsApp by June 17 while the
winner family would be announced after two days. iv. Village
sarpnach Sunil Jaglan said they that had already received more than
120 entries in past four days after they announced the contest.
8. Utility bills valid proof of address to open account: RBIi.
Bills for postpaid mobile service, piped gas and water supply can
now be submitted as proof of address for opening account with banks
or other financial institutions, the Reserve Bank said today.ii.
Utility bill which is not more than two months old of any service
provider (electricity, telephone, postpaid mobile phone, piped gas,
water bill) for the limited purpose of proof of address are deemed
to be Officially Valid Documents (OVDs) under 'simplified
measures.
Read more:
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Daily GK Update - 12th June 20151. Second border haat opens in
Sipahijala district of Tripura
i. The second border haat (rural market) was opened for common
people at Kamalasagar in Sipahijala district of Tripura bordering
Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh.ii. The haat was jointly
inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh
counterpart Sheikh Hasina by video-conferencing from Dhaka on June
6, 2015. This market is set up at the zero line of the
international border with one part on the Indian side and the other
in Bangladesh.iii. Initially it will facilitate bilateral trade of
16 shortlisted locally produced goods. These goods include
agricultural and horticultural crops, spices, minor forest products
excluding timber, fish and dry fish, dairy and poultry products,
cottage industry items, wooden furniture, handloom and handicraft
items.iv. People residing within a distance of 5 km from along the
border are entitled to do business at the haat which will take
place once in a week initially. No local taxes would be levied on
the goods sold in the haats and currencies of both the countries
would prevail.v. First border haat was inaugurated on Srinagar-
Purba border area in January 2015 by Union Commerce and Industries
Minister Nirmala along with her Bangladeshi counterpart Tofail
ahmed.
2. Renewable energy targets quadruple globally in 10 years:
IRENAi. IRENA is an intergovernmental organization to promote
adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. It is a global
hub for renewable energy cooperation and information exchange
within its member nations.ii. The International Renewable Energy
Agency (IRENA) has announced that in past one decade renewable
energy targets have quadruple globally.
iii. It was mentioned IRENA Renewable Energy Target Setting
report which was released by IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin
on the side lines of IRENAs 9th Council meeting in Dubai.
iv. As per report, 164 countries have adopted at least one type
of renewable energy target compared to 43 countries in 2005. All
nations are adopting renewable energy targets to meet multiple
objectives including energy security, environmental sustainability
and socio-economic benefits. v. The majority of 150 countries have
focused committed renewable energy targets on the electricity
sector The numbers of countries setting renewable targets for the
heating and cooling sector have increased to 47 from 2 countries in
2005.
3. RBI allows NRIs to subscribe chit fundsi. Reserve Bank of
Indian has allowed non-resident Indians (NRIs) to invest in chit
fund to encourage flow of capital into the country. Decision in
this regard was taken after RBI had revised the extant guidelines
for subscription to the chit funds in consultation with the
government.ii. Henceforth, NRIs on non-repatriation basis will be
allowed to invest in chit fund without any ceiling. However, the
subscription to the chit funds by NRIs will be mandatorily brought
in through normal banking channel, including through an account
maintained with a bank in India.iii. The state government may
permit any chit fund to accept subscription from NRIs on
non-repatriation basis. It will be permitted by the registrar of
chits or an officer authorized by the state government in
accordance with the provisions of the Chit Fund Act, 1982.iv.
Earlier in May 2000, RBI had barred NRIs from investing in a
company or firms engaged in the business of chit fund. Apart from
this decision, RBI also extended the scheme allowing airline
companies to raise external commercial borrowings (ECB) for working
capital as a permissible end-use under the approval route. Now, the
ECB scheme will continue till March 31, 2016.
4. Legendary actor Sir Christopher Lee passes awayi. Legendary
English actor, singer and writer Sir Christopher Lee passed away in
London, United Kingdom. He was 93. The veteran actor was famously
known as the master of horror for his famous villainy acting roles
in numerous movies such as Dracula, The Wicker Man, James Bond,
Lord of the Rings trilogy etc.
ii. Christopher Lee was born in London in 1922 Film career: His
on screen acting career began in 1947 after he had the Rank
Organisation where he was trained as an actor. His career spanned
more than 7 decades. His famous acting roles include Francisco
Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Saruman in The
Lord of the Rings film trilogy (20012003), The Hobbit film trilogy
(20122014), Count Dooku Star Wars trilogy (2002 and 2005) and Star
Wars: The Clone Wars (2008).iii. He also is known for his best
performance portraying of Pakistans founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah in
the biopic Jinnah (1998). Music career: Lee was also known for his
singing ability. He had recorded various opera and musical pieces
between 1986 and 1998.iv. He also had recorded symphonic metal
album Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross in 2010 after he had
worked with several metal bands since 2005. Awards and Honours: He
was knighted in 2009 for services to drama and charity and was
awarded the Bafta fellowship in 2011 and Spirit of Metal award
(2010)
5. Union Government scraps import duties on AIDS drugs and test
kitsi. Union Government has scrapped customs import duties for
drugs and test kits used to treat Human immunodeficiency virus
infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS).ii. In
this regard Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has issued a
notice that will remain in effect till March 2016. This decision
will help to cut prices of AIDS drugs across the country and thus
help directly in Governments national program to fight the
disease.iii. It will also make import raw materials that are used
to make antiretrovirals under the national program cheaper. This
tax exemption will be applicable to certain first-line and
second-line antiretroviral drugs which are used to treat adults and
children.iv. Apart from drugs certain diagnostic kits and equipment
are also exempted from tax. In India more than 2.1 million HIV/AIDS
patients are provided with daily antiretrovirals for free from
state-run distribution centres which are operated by National AIDS
Control Organisation (NACO).
6. C.S Verma steps down as SAIL CMDi. State-owned SAIL on
Thursday said C. S. Verma had relinquished the charge as Chairman
and Managing Director on completion of his tenure and Steel
Secretary Rakesh Singh has assumed the charge till a regular
incumbent is appointed.ii. Mr. Verma was appointed CMD of the
countrys largest steel producer for a 5-year term in June 2010 by
the previous UPA government, and was eligible for an extension till
he attained the superannuation age of 60 years in September
2019.iii. The governments not extending his tenure to the top job
makes him the first Maharatna PSU head to be denied an extension
during the current NDA regime.
7. TCS, Infosys face US probe for H-1B visa violationsi. The US
government has opened an investigation against two of the biggest
Indian outsourcing companies for possible violations of H1-B visa
rules, according to a media report.ii. The Department of Labour has
opened the investigation against Tata Consultancy Services and
Infosys for possible violations of rules for visas for foreign
technology workers under contracts they held with an electric
utility Southern California Edisoniii. The power company had
recently laid off more than 500 technology workers amid claims that
many of those laid off were made to train their replacements who
were immigrants on the temporary work visas brought in by the
Indian firmsiv. The move by the Labour Department comes days after
the NYT had reported that hundreds of employees at entertainment
giant Walt Disney were laid off and replaced with Indians holding
H1-B visas.
Read more:
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Daily GK Update - 11th June 20151. Union Cabinet gives nod to
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicle
Agreementi. Union Cabinet meet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi has approved the signing of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and
Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicle Agreement.
ii. The agreement which is similar to the SAARC Motor Vehicle
Agreement (MVA) seeks to regulate the vehicular traffic of
passenger, personal and cargo amongst BBIN countries.The agreement
will be signed on 15th June 2015 at the Transport Ministers meeting
in Thimpu, Bhutan.iii. BBIN agreement aims to promote safe,
environmentally sound and economical efficient road transport in
the sub-region of BBIN. It also seeks to help each member country
to create an institutional mechanism for regional integration.iv.
BBIN agreement will benefit member nations for mutual cross border
movement of passenger and goods for overall economic development of
the region. For implementation of this agreement each signatory
member will bear its own costs.
2. Senior scientist Dr. Srivari Chandrasekhar appointed as
Director of CSIR-IICTi. Dr. Srivari Chandrasekhar was appointed
Director of CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) a
premier research institute of Union Government based in Hyderabad,
Telangana.ii. He was named appointed to the top post by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi who is ex-officio Chairman of Council of
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) functioning under Union
Ministry of Science and Technology.iii. He has made significant
contributions in diverse areas of organic chemistry with a special
emphasis total synthesis of biologically active natural products,
on chiral chemistry and pharmaceutical products.iv. He also has
developed technologies for synthesis of latest anti-tumor and
abortive drug mesoprostol, anti-tuberculosis drug bedaquiline and
drug for treatment of schizophrenia asenapine etc. Apart from above
contributions, he also has more than 250 publications with 5,000
citations to his credit.
3. 26 African countries create TFTA: Cape Town to Cairo
free-trade zonei. African countries have signed a historic The
Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) that facilitates creation of
Africas largest free-trade zone.ii. This free-trade zone will cover
26 countries in an area from southernmost tip of African continent
i.e. Cape Town (South Africa) to Cairo (Egypt) in the north.iii.
The pact was signed in Egypt will intent to ease the movement of
goods across 26 member countries which represent more than half the
continents GDP. TFTA pact combines existing three trade blocs among
the African nations viz Southern African Development Community
(SADC), East African Community (EAC), Common Market for Eastern and
Southern Africa (COMESA).iv. It will remove trade barriers on most
goods, making them cheaper and stimulating $ 1 trillion worth of
economic activity across the region of more than 600 million
people.
4. Indian-Origin Surgeon General Vivek Murthy Presented With
Pride of Community Awardi. Indian-origin US Surgeon General Vivek
Murthy has been presented with the Pride of the Community Award by
a prominent Hindu advocacy group.ii. Receiving the award by the
Hindu American Foundation at its 12th Annual Day reception at
Capitol Hill, Mr Murthy said that he draws inspiration from the
life of Swami Vivekananda.iii. HAF also awarded Anantanand
Rambachan, Professor of Religion at St Olaf College, Dharma Seva
award; Harpreet Singh Mokha of the Department of Justice, the
Mahatma Gandhi Award for the Advancement of Pluralism; and Senator
Mark Kirk and Rep Joe Crowley, HAF's Friend of the Community
awards.
5. Stanford scientist Manu Prakash makes water based computeri.
Manu Prakash, who amazed the world last year by building a paper
microscope, has now come up with a computer that works by moving
water droplets. Pii. rakash is an assistant professor of
bioengineering at Stanford University and he has developed the
water computer with the help of two of his students. He was born in
Meerut, India.iii. What Prakash did was devise a system in which
tiny water droplets are trapped in a magnetic field. When the field
is rotated or flipped, the droplets move in precise direction and
distance. This became the basis of the computer clock, which is an
essential component of any computer.iv. Computer clocks are
responsible for nearly every modern convenience. Smartphones, DVRs,
airplanes, internet - without a clock, none of these could operate
without frequent and serious complications.
6. Reliance Capital names Gopkumar as CEO of broking,
distribution business i. Reliance Capital, part of Anil Ambani-led
Reliance Group, today said it has appointed B Gopkumar chief
executive of its broking and distribution business. ii. Gopkumar,
who succeeds Vikrant Gugnani, has over 20 years of industry
experience. He has handled various assignments across varied
functions, including direct sales, priority banking, marketing,
product development, broking and distribution. iii. Reliance
Capital's broking business -- Reliance Securities -- provides a
varied customer base with access to equities, equity options,
wealth management solutions and mutual funds.
9. CAD shrinks massively to 0.2 per cent in Q4i. The countrys
current account deficit (CAD) narrowed sharply to USD 1.3 billion,
or 0.2 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in the fourth
quarter of the last financial year on a sequential basis mainly on
account of a lower trade gap.ii. The CAD shrank to 1.3 per cent of
GDP for full financial year 2014-15.iii. On a quarter-on-quarter
basis, CAD narrowed sharply to USD 1.3 billion (0.2 per cent of
GDP) in fourth quarter of financial year 2014-15 from USD 8.3
billion (1.6 per cent of GDP) in the third quarter
8. Forbes list: Dhoni only Indian among world's richest
athletesi. Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the only Indian
sportsman in Forbes magazine's 100 highest-paid athletes in the
world.ii. Dhoni has been ranked 23rd on the Forbes list of The
World's Highest-Paid Athletes 2015 dropping a notch from his
ranking of 22 last year.iii. Dhoni's total earnings stood at $31
million, including amount from salary/winnings at $4 million and
endorsements worth $27 million.iv. The earnings figures include
salaries, prize money and bonuses paid out between June 2014 and
June 2015.
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Daily GK Update - 10th June 20151. RBI issues draft norms on
rupee-linked bonds overseas
i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday said that Indian
corporates, eligible to raise external commercial borrowings
(ECBs), are permitted to issue rupee- linked bonds overseas.ii.
Corporates which are, at present, permitted to access ECB, under
the approval route, will require prior permission of the RBI to
issue such bonds and those coming under the automatic route can do
so without prior permission of the RBI.iii. The RBI proposed that
the subscription, coupon payments and redemption might be settled
in foreign currency. iv. It also stipulated the coupon on the bonds
should not be more than 500 basis points above the sovereign yield
of the Government of India security of corresponding maturity as
per the FIMMDA yield curve prevailing on the date of issue.
2. Government to Give Rs 6,000 Crore Interest-Free Loans to
Sugar Millsi. The government has approved interest-free loans for
cash-strapped sugar mills to help them pay nearly 30 per cent of
the record Rs 21,000 crore they owe to cane farmers, many of whom
are struggling with huge debts as the first country-wide drought in
six years looms.ii. Sugar cane prices, meanwhile, have jumped over
the years due to the populist policies of state governments to
raise minimum support prices for farmers.iii. Mills in India, the
world's biggest sugar producer after Brazil, have been lobbying the
government for months seeking relief as prices of the sweetener
have fallen below the cost of production due to ample supplies.iv.
The federal government earlier this year approved a subsidy to
export raw sugar, although that failed to boost shipments amid a
global glut.
3. Small traders' body CAIT to launch ecommerce platform i.
After fighting tooth and nail with online retailers, the apex body
of small traders, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), has
decided to launch its own ecommerce portal in the next three
months. ii. Named 'e-Lala', the proposed portal will provide a
direct interface between sellers and consumers and there will be no
third agency which will be involved in any transaction, thereby
eliminating the commission component which the sellers need to
pay.iii. The proposal was recently discussed at the national
governing council meeting of CAIT. The body has constituted a
committee under the chairmanship of its national president BC
Bhartia to implement the plan. iv. It will be the first ecommerce
portal in the country by the traders for the traders. It will be a
location-based portal wherein traders from different cities will be
registered under their respective category of items.v. Consumers
will have the option to buy either online or from the physical
store of the chosen seller
4. Microsoft begins rebranding of Nokia Priority Storesi. In
order to increase its presence in emerging markets like India,
Microsoft on Wednesday kick-started rebranding of Nokia Priority
Stores as Microsoft Priority Resellers.ii. India is the first
country among Microsoft's global markets to roll out the new look
for its retail outlets.
iii. This is perhaps one of the biggest rebranding exercises
undertaken by a mobile manufacturer and we wanted India to lead the
way being a priority market for us. For many consumers, the
rebranded shops will be their first experience of Microsoft as a
consumer hardware manufacturer.iv. While existing Nokia stores
would transform into Microsoft Priority Resellers, housing only
Microsoft products, the multi-branded retail stores will be
rechristened as Microsoft Mobile Resellers.
5. Kapil Mishra to Succeed Jitender Tomar as Delhi's Law
Ministeri. Delhi Jal Board vice chairman Kapil Mishra will succeed
Jitender Tomar as Delhi's law minister. A letter has been sent to
the president in this regard.ii. Mr Tomar had stepped down on
Tuesday after being arrested over allegations that he had faked his
law degree.iii. Mr Mishra, the legislator from northeast Delhi's
Karawal Nagar, was placed in the crucial Jal Board to help realise
the Aam Aadmi Party's election promise of providing cheap water to
Delhiites.
6. SEBI cracks down on 200 illicit fund-raising activities in 1
yeari. Stepping up action against illicit fund-raising in a big
way, SEBI has cracked down on nearly 200 such activities in last
one year relating to fraud against gullible investors and recovered
Rs. 25 crore.ii. SEBI has passed close to 200 orders in last one
year against illegal fund-raising activities and barred individuals
and companies from mobilising money from public.iii. The Securities
Laws Amendment Act, which was notified by the government in August
2014, empowers SEBI to pass orders for attachment of properties,
arrest of defaulters and to access call data records.iv. A majority
of orders against deemed public issues were in West Bengal, Uttar
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha. The same for CIS activities are
in Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West
Bengal.
Daily GK Update - 9th June 20151. NCR gets bigger; Jind, Karnal
and Muzaffarnagar districts added
i. The sprawl of the National Capital Region (NCR) just got
bigger as the nod has been given for the inclusion of Muzaffarnagar
district of Uttar Pradesh and the Jind and Karnal districts of
Haryana as part of the conurbation. ii. Urban Development Minister
M Venkaiah Naidu announced the decision for including the three
districts in NCR after chairing a meeting today of the National
Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) here. iii. Naidu said that a
committee has been appointed to look into the demands for the
inclusion of more areas in NCR. iv. The Union minister said that
before including any area, the view of the particular state
government will also have to be taken. v. Haryana Chief Minister
Khattar said that with the inclusion of Jind and Karnal in NCR, 57
per cent of the state's area had become part of the entity.
2. Indias first State-of-the-Art Tier-I Oil Spill Response
Centre inagurated by Gadkarii. Tackling pollution and oil spills in
and around Mumbai will now become much easier, as Union Minister of
Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari
inaugurated the Indias first of its kind State-of-the-Art Tier-I
Oil Spill Response Centre for Mumbai & JNPT Harbourii. The OSRC
which is equipped with State-of-the-Art equipment in operational
readiness for combating Tier-I oil spill upto 700 tones, ensures
adequate protection to the public health and welfare and to the
marine environment.iii. The facility which is funded by
Participating Oil Companies (POCs) and MbPT has taken the
responsibility of tendering and monitoring of Tier -I OSR
facility.iv. The area of operation includes the water limits of the
Mumbai Port Trust MbPT, JNPT and ONGCs facilities at Nhava and
Uran.v. The OSRC will be monitored on 24/7 basis and is also
equipped with skilled and trained personnel and wireless
communication facilities for immediately responding to any oil
spill.
3. 7th International junior shotgun: Anantjeet wins skeet goldi.
Anantjeet Singh Naruka beat Lari Pesonen of Finland 12-11 in the
skeet match for gold in the 7th International junior shotgun cup
that concluded in Orimattila, Finland
ii. After having qualified at the bottom with a modest score of
110, following rounds of 21, 22, 21, 25 and 21, Anantjeet kept
getting better, as he wriggled his way through to the gold medal
match by winning a three-way tie in the shoot-off to challenge the
Finn.iii. Compatriot Angadvir Singh Bajwa, who had topped the
qualification with 119 following a series of 23, 24, 24, 24 and 24,
won the shoot-off for the bronze medal 6-5 against Matteo Chiti of
Italy.iv. Angadvir and the Italian had shot three each in losing
the shoot-off for the gold medal match with Anantjeet who shot 4,
after the three were tied on 13 in the semifinals.
4. Government extends Bank of Baroda interim chief Ranjan
Dhawan's term for 3 months i. The government has further extended
the term of Bank of Baroda's (BoB) interim MD & CEO Ranjan
Dhawan for three months while Bank of India will be headed by its
Executive Director B P Sharma for the same duration. ii. Dhawan,
the senior-most Executive Director of BoB, was given this
additional charge in February.iii. The post of a full-time MD &
CEO at BoB has been lying vacant since July 2014 when the then
Chairman and Managing Director S S Mundra was appointed RBI Deputy
Governor.iv. Sharma's appointment comes into force from June 8,
2015, and will be till the appointment of a regular MD & CEO or
further orders, whichever is earlier, it added.
5. R C Tayal appointed as new Director General of National
Security Guard i. Senior IPS officer R C Tayal has been appointed
as the new chief of the elite counter-terror force National
Security Guard (NSG).
ii. The 1980-batch Assam-Meghalaya cadre officer is at present
serving as the Special Director General in paramilitary CRPF and is
heading its formation in Jammu and Kashmir. iii. He is expected to
serve as NSG DG till August next year when he is scheduled for
superannuation. iv. NSG was raised in 1984 as a federal contingency
force with a specific aim to undertake counter-terror and
counter-hijack operations and it was later tasked to protect
high-risk VVIPs.
6. EPFO to invest 5% of funds in equity marketi. In a major
policy shift, the Central Board of Trustees of the Employees
Provident Fund Organisation has decided to park 5 per cent of its
funds in the equity market.ii. Union Labour Minister Bandaru
Dattatreya said the decision was in line with the suggestions made
by Finance Minister Arun Jaitely that the EPFO invest up to 15 per
cent of its funds in the equity market.iii. In another major
announcement, the Minister said the Central Board of Trustees of
the Employees State Insurance Corporation, at its latest meeting,
decided to invest funds available with it from the contribution of
employees through portfolio managers on the lines of the EPFO.iv.
Employees interests would be the priority of the EPFO and care
would be taken in the equity investments, the Labour Minister
added.
7. Isro Bags Space Pioneer Award for Mangalyaan Mars Orbiter
Missioni. The country's low-cost Mangalyaan Mars orbiter mission
which is in rendezvous with the Red Planet for an extended period
has been presented with the Space Pioneer award for the year 2015
by
the US' National Space Society.ii. Space Pioneer award for the
year 2015 was presented to Indian Space Research Organisation
(Isro) in the Science and Engineering category during the 34th
Annual International Space Development Conference held at Toronto
in Canada during May 20-24, 2015, Bengaluru-headquartered Isro said
on its website.iii. The Isro spacecraft was launched on its
nine-month-long odyssey on a homegrown PSLV rocket from Sriharikota
in Andhra Pradesh on November 5, 2013 and had escaped the earth's
gravitational field on December 1.iv. The spacecraft is under
'solar conjunction' at Mars, which means the spacecraft, which is
orbiting Mars, is behind the sun as viewed from the Earth.
8. RBI debt recast norms: Banks will be left holding the bag if
no buyers for firms turn upi. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
permitted banks to take control of 51 percent of stake in a company
that has failed to recover financial health even after a period of
financial restructuring, typically due to management inefficiency
or other factors.ii. This provision, part of the strategic debt
restructuring exercise (SDR), is aimed at ensuring promoters of
defaulted companies have more skin in the game.iii. The RBIs move
is part of a coordinated action plan with markets regulator,
Securities and exchange board of India (Sebi), which in March had
allowed banks to convert part or full debt of listed defaulter
companies into equity.iv. Both the RBI and Sebi have made the
process easier for banks and become aggressive in taking control of
defaulter companies.v. For companies too, this will offer relief
since they will be free from interest payments once the debt is
converted into equity. However, such a relief might come at the
cost of losing management control.
9. ICICI Bank Appoints MK Sharma As Non-Executive Chairmani.
ICICI Bank on Tuesday said that its board has approved the
appointment of MK Sharma as non-executive chairman for a period of
five years.
ii. Mr Sharma will replace KV Kamath who would shortly step down
from the board consequent to his nomination as the first president
of the BRICS New Development Bank.iii. Mr Sharma was formerly the
vice chairman of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL).iv. e is an
independent director of several companies and has been a member of
government committees relating to corporate law and corporate
governance, ICICI Bank said in a statement.v. He is currently an
independent director of two subsidiaries of the Bank, ICICI Lombard
General Insurance Company and ICICI Prudential Asset Management
Company.
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GK Update - 7th and 8th June 20151. K.V. Chowdary is new CVC; Vijai
Sharma new CICi. Former Chairman of the Central Board of Direct
Taxes, K.V. Chowdary, was on Monday, appointed as the new Central
Vigilance Commissioner, while the senior-most Information
Commissioner, Vijai Sharma, is the new Chief Information
Commissioner.ii. A selection panel headed by the Prime Minister,
which includes leader of the principal opposition party, and senior
cabinet ministers selects the CVC, CIC, vigilance commissioners and
information commissioners.
iii. The Central Vigilance Commission is headed by a CVC and
comprises two vigilance commissioners and todays appointment
constitutes the full Commission.iv. In the CIC, there are vacancies
of four Information Commissioners. The incumbents are Basant Seth,
Yashovardhan Azad, Sharat Sabharwal, Manjula Prasher, M A Khan
Yusufi and Madabhushanam Sridhar Acharyulu.
2. Yes Bank reappoints Rana Kapoor as MDi. Yes Banks
shareholders have approved 12 resolutions which included the
re-appointment of Rana Kapoor as MD & CEO of the bank with a
majority vote of 99.97%, sans the vote of the Madhu Kapur
family.ii. In the banks annual general meeting on Saturday, the
shareholders also approved through a special resolution the
issuance of non-convertible debentures and bonds up to Rs 10,000
crore and also increased the borrowing limit of the bank to Rs
50,000 crore from Rs 30,000 crore currently. iii. The bank got a
majority vote to increase the combined foreign portfolio investors
(FPI) and foreign institutional investors investment (FII) limits
to 74% of the paid-up capital of the bank.iv. Shareholders also
re-appointed M R Srinivasan as non-executive non-independent
director (previously the chairman of Yes Bank) with a majority
vote. Also, Diwan Arun Nanda and Ajay Vohra have been appointed as
independent directors.
3. Federal Bank slashes base rate by 25 bps to 9.95%i. Federal
Bank today cut the base rate, or the minimum lending rate, by 0.25
per cent to 9.95 per cent.ii. The new rates will be effective from
June 18, 2015.iii. Soon after RBI's second bi-monthly policy review
for 2015-16 on June 2, a number of banks, including largest public
sector lender SBI, have cut the minimum lending rates.iv. Among
others, Allahabad Bank, Dena Bank, Punjab National Bank, Central
Bank of India and Syndicate Bank have announced cut in base
rates.
4. IOC to invest Rs 15,000 crore to raise Panipat refinery
capacityi. Indian Oil Corp, nation's largest oil firm, plans to
invest about Rs 15,000 crore in raising capacity at its Panipat
refinery in Haryana by 34% to 20.2 million tonnes (MT) by 2020.ii.
IOC owns and operates eight refineries and has only a few weeks
back added ninth refinery at Paradip in Odisha.iii. Its eight
refineries have a cumulative refining capacity of 54.2 MT of crude
oil and addition of 15 MT at Paradip refinery has helped it regain
the top refiner slot in the country.iv. Essar Oil is the only other
private refiner having a 20 MT a year unit at Vadinar in Gujarat.v.
Panipat Refinery was commissioned in 1998 with a capacity of six MT
per annum. The refining capacity was doubled to 12 MT in 2006 and
then raised by a further three MT to 15 MT in 2010.
5. Deutsche Bank makes John Cryan CEO after co-CEOs Anshu Jain,
Juergen Fitschen quiti. Deutsche Bank appointed John Cryan as its
new CEO on Sunday after co-chief executives Anshu Jain and Juergen
Fitschen resigned following criticism from investors.ii. John
Cryan, 54, has been on the banks supervisory board since 2013 and
was a former chief financial officer of UBS. He will replace Anshu
Jain from July 1 and become the sole CEO when Juergen Fitschen
steps down next year, the bank said.iii. Making Anshu Jain directly
responsible for cutting Deutsche Banks costs by 4.7 billion euros
($5.2 billion), selling its Postbank retail business and paring
back its investment bank put huge pressure on the former
trader.
6. SpiceJet signs deal to sell tickets to waitlisted railway
travellersi. IRCTC's public relations officer Sandip Dutta
explained that the Railways have entered the tie-up with SpiceJet
and Go Air.
ii. It enables a train traveller whose ticket is wait-listed to
cancel the train ticket and instead get on to a flight of either
airline by paying some incremental fee.iii. There are no fixed
sectors to which the scheme applies, no fixed number of tickets
either airline must make available to IRCTC and no fixed rates. iv.
This scheme only applies to tickets booked at least three days
prior to the date of the journey, these train tickets can only be
cancelled on a specific website and flight tickets are available
only for the day of the train journey or a day prior to it.v.
SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh pointed out that this tie-up is
promising for the airline and he expects "significant" passenger
volumes to be generated through this scheme.
7. Stan Wawrinka stuns Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams wins
French Open after beating Lucie Safarova in final
i. Williams emerged with a 20th grand slam title thanks to a
6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2 victory over the Czech Lucie Safarova.ii. The
American is now two short of Steffi Graf, the open era leader, and
four off Margaret Court, the all-time leaderiii. Her win over
Safarova was her fifth three-set victory of a tournament that was a
struggle almost from day one.iv. Stan Wawrinka played magnificently
in a 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 victory at Roland Garros.v. Wawrinka, 30,
brought an end to Djokovic's 28-match winning streak as he claimed
his second Grand Slam title.vi. The victory makes him only the
second Swiss to win at Roland Garros after Roger Federer, the man
he beat in the quarter-finals.
8. Tintu Luka finally strikes gold as India finishes 3rd at
Asian Athletics Championshipsi. Tintu Luka bagged her maiden gold
in a major international event by winning the women's 800m finals
as India finished with five medals on the final day of competitions
to sign off third in the 21st Asian Athletics Championships here
today.ii. India secured a medal haul of 4 gold, 5 silver and 4
bronze in the championships to finish third behind China (15, 13,
13) and Qatar (7, 2, 1). Japan (4, 3, 11) and Bahrain (3, 3, 2)
finished fourth and fifth respectively.iii. This was India's best
finish after 2007 in Amman, Jordan where the country was placed
second.National record holder Luka clocked her season's best timing
of 2:01.53 to clinch the gold at Wuhan Sports Center.iv. This was
26-year-old Luka's first individual title in a major international
event after breaking into the scene in 2008-09 with a lot of
promise under the tutelage of the legendary P T Usha.Daily GK
Update - 6th June 20151. India, Bangladesh make history with land
swapi. India and Bangladesh on Saturday sealed a historic agreement
that will settle a 41-year-old land boundary dispute through
exchange of territories, removing a major irritant in bilateral
ties.ii. The two sides exchanged documents regarding the Land
Boundary Agreement (LBA) that was passed unanimously by the
Parliament last month in the presence of Mr. Modi and his
Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina.
iii. The exchange of documents paves way for the
operationalisation of the 1974 India-Bangladesh LBA that provides
for exchange of 161 enclaves between the two countries. A total 111
border enclaves will be transferred to Bangladesh in exchange for
51 that will become part of India.iv. Under the agreement, India
will have an advantage of 500 acres and 10,000 acres will go to
Bangladesh.
2. Naidu performs bhoomi pooja for AP capitali. Chief Minister
N. Chandrababu Naidu and his wife Bhuvaneswari performed bhoomi
pooja at around 8.49 a.m. for the new capital Amaravati at Mandadam
village in Guntur district.
ii. Chief Minister's son and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) workers
welfare committee convener Nara Lokesh; Union Ministers Nirmala
Sitaraman and Sujana Chowdary were among those present for the
ceremony.iii. The ancient city of Amaravathi is being developed
separately from the new capital zone as a heritage town with funds
from the Centre.
3. RPower to invest $3 bn in Bangladesh power planti. Anil
Ambani-led Reliance Power on Saturday signed an agreement to invest
$ 3 billion in setting up a mega power plant and a floating LNG
import terminal in Bangladesh which faces acute power shortages.ii.
Reliance Power will set up a 2 million tonnes a year floating LNG
import terminal as well as 3,000 megawatt power plant, according to
a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Sameer Gupta,
Executive vice-president of Reliance Power.iii. The company will
invest in an integrated facility comprising of 3,000 MW of LNG
based combined cycle power plant and LNG Terminal with a Floating
Storage and Re-gasification Unit (FSRU).
4. Govt picks new DRDO chief, scientific advisor to defence
ministeri. The government Thursday appointed S Christopher, 59, as
Secretary, Department of Defence Research and
Development-cum-Director Ge-neral, Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO).ii. G S Reddy, 51, has been appointed as
scientific advisor to the Defence Minister. iii. DRDO has been
functioning without a full-time head since January 31, when Avinash
Chander resigned.
5. South Korea Tests New Ballistic Missilei. South Korea
successfully test fired a ballistic missile capable of hitting
targets anywhere in North Korea.ii. The test demonstrated improved
ballistic missile capability that can strike all parts of North
Korea swiftly, and with precision, in the event of armed aggression
or provocation.iii. The Hyunmoo-2B is an upgraded version of the
Hyunmoo-2A, both of which were developed by the state-run Agency
for Defense Development (ADD).
6. Dravid for India Under-19 coachi. BCCI has announced Rahul
Dravid as the coach of India A team and Indian U 19 cricket
team.ii. Working with the under-19 and 'A' teams might be the
perfect solution as Dravid can make a tangible contribution without
placing too much demand on his time.
iii. Dravid had a short stint as mentor of the Indian team
before the series in England last year and several players spoke
highly of their interactions with the former India captain.
Daily GK Update - 5th June 20151. Infy appoints Seshasayee as
Chairmani. Infosys Limited announced that the Companys Board have
approved the appointment of R. Seshasayee as Non-Executive Chairman
of the Board with immediate effect.ii. K.V. Kamath will be stepping
down from his position as Chairman of the Board and as an
Independent Director of the Company, consequent to his nomination
as President of the BRICS New Development Bank.
iii. Mr. Seshasayee has been an Independent Director on the
Companys Board since January 2011 and is the chairperson of the
Audit Committee. Mr. Seshasayees other board positions include
Non-Executive Vice Chairman of Ashok Leyland Ltd. and Chairman of
IndusInd Bank Ltd.
2. Essel, Rajasthan government ink Rs 4k crore pact for solar
parksi. Essel Group formed a 50:50 joint venture (JV) with the
Rajasthan government to set up solar parks in the state. ii. The
solar parks will be set up in Bikaner and Jaisalmer regions with an
investment of Rs 4,000 crore.iii. Solar Park Project in Rajasthan
will be India's turnkey project in the renewable energy space which
will aid the clean energy initiatives of the Government of
Rajasthan.
3. Mahindra business city to be carbon-positivei. A 'green'
integrated business city pioneered by the Mahindra Group has drawn
a road map of becoming climate positive in 10 years, a distinction
which places India on the world map. ii. Mahindra World City Jaipur
(MWCJ), spread across 3,000 acres on the Delhi-