Daily GA Update 9 - 10 Nov - 20104

1. Rosberg holds off Hamilton to win Brazilian GP

i.) This time, Nico Rosberg wasn’t going to let victory slip away. A week after seeing Lewis

Hamilton overtake him to win the United States Grand Prix, Rosberg fended off another strong challenge by his Mercedes teammate to secure the victory at the Brazilian GP and close in on his rival in the Formula One title race.

ii.) It was a great weekend all in all,” Rosberg said. “Just didn’t do a good enough job in the race in Austin, I managed to do that. I learned from Austin and did better, so that’s a big step in the right direction. One race too late, (but) there’s still all to play for.”

iii.) The German cut his points-deficit to 17 but Hamilton will keep the upper hand going into the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi, where the Briton can clinch his second title with another second-place finish. If Rosberg misses out on a podium spot, Hamilton can finish eighth or better and still lift the trophy.

2. Jayant Sinha, son of BJP leader Yashwant Sinha and Harvard-IIT alumni, inducted into Council

i.) The son of senior BJP leader and former minister Yashwant Sinha, Jayant Sinha, 51, was elected to the Lok Sabha this year from Hazaribagh in Jharkhand.Prior to joining the union council of ministers on Sunday,

ii.) Jayant was a member of two key parliamentary committees, on public accounts and on finance. He was part of the team that worked with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to help frame national economic policy.

iii.) Jayant Sinha holds Master's degrees in business administration from the Harvard Business School and in energy management and policy from the University of Pennsylvania after graduating from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi.

iv.) After spending nearly 25 years in Boston and Philadelphia, Jayant Sinha returned to fight his maiden elections from Hazaribagh parliamentary constituency that includes the Chhota Nagpur area, which is home to mines and industrial towns and the Santhal tribes.

3. India Successfully Test Launches Nuclear Capable Agni-II Rocket

i.) November 9 (RIA Novosti) - The Indian military successfully conducted a test launch of a medium-range nuclear capable Agni-II ballistic missile from a rocket pad in Orissa.

ii.) The rocket was launched from Wheeler’s Island in Bhadrak district as part of a routine user test exercise, according to the Times of India."The trial of the surface-to-surface missile was conducted from a mobile launcher from the Launch Complex-4 of Integrated Test Range at around 9.40 am," India’s defense officials said.

iii.) The Agni-II missile has two solid fuel stages; its range is 2,000 km. The first test of a nuclear-capable Agni-II occurred in 2010, and has been operated by India’s military ever since.

iv.) Agni-II also carries an elaborate highly accurate navigation system and is directed during its flight from the ground command as well. The rocket weighs 17 tons and it is capable of delivery of a one-ton nuclear warhead.

4. 21 new Ministers inducted into Modi Cabinet

i.) President Pranab Mukherjee administered the oath of office to 21 Ministers, including four Cabinet Ministers, three Ministers of State (Independent Charge) and 14 Ministers of State on Sunday afternoon.

ii.) The Cabinet Ministers sworn in include former Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, former Union Minister Suresh Prabhu, Haryana leader Birendra Singh and BJP General Secretary J.P. Nadda. Mr. Prabhu, a Shiv Sainik, joined the BJP after he was sworn in.

iii.) The new inductees are an eclectic mix. Mr. Parrikar and Jayant Sinha graduated from the Indian Institutes of Technology. Mr. Sinha who also studied at Harvard has more than a decade's experience at management consulting giant McKinsey and Company. Newly inducted Minister of State Hansraj iv.) Ahir was one of the people who exposed the coal block allocation scam. Besides Mr. Prabhu, the new Ministers of State Bandaru Dattatreya, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Rajiv Pratap Rudy have held portfolios in the Vajpayee government in the late 90s.Rajyavardhan Rathore, who is now a Minister of State, is an Olympian and an army veteran. 

5. Women representation in Modi ministry goes upto 8

i.) Uttar Pradesh MP Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti is the lone woman face in Sunday’s expansion of the Union Cabinet, which took the total representation of the fairer sex to eight.

ii.) Ms. Jyoti is a religious preacher and won the Lok Sabha polls from Fatehpur constituency. She has been inducted as Minister of State.Seven women ministers, including six with Cabinet rank were included in the Council of Ministers in May.

iii.) The Women Cabinet Ministers are Sushma Swaraj, Uma Bharti, Najma Heptulla, Maneka Gandhi, Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Smriti Irani. Nirmala Sitharaman is a Minister of State with Independent Charge. Incidentally, both the youngest and the oldest members in the Modi Cabinet also happens to be women —Ms. Smriti and Ms. Najma.

6. Groups seeks ban on SL cricket team

i.) The Tamil Youths and Students Federation and three other groups have demanded that the Sri Lankan cricket team not be allowed to play in India. This is in protest against the recent death sentence on five Indian fishermen on charges of smuggling.

ii.) The organisations will submit a petition to Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials in Mumbai on Sunday. “We approached the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association officials and explained the issue to them,” said V. Prabhakaran, chief coordinator of the federation.

iii.) He said the third one-day match between India and Sri Lanka was scheduled to happen in Hyderabad on Sunday and the remaining matches should be stopped.

iv.) In their petition the groups have demanded that the Sri Lankan team be barred until the Tamils get justice. “The death sentence awarded to the fishermen, who have been framed, has hurt the Indian fishermen. All Sri Lankan sports teams should be banned from playing India,” said T. Subi, president of Future India Party.

7. Adani Power posts Rs 799 crore loss for July-September

i.) Adani Power’s consolidated net loss narrowed to Rs 799 crore in the second quarter of 2014-15, against a loss of Rs 1,072 crore in the same period last financial year, due to higher power generation and improved operational efficiencies.

ii.) Total consolidated income rose by 36 per cent to Rs 4,148 crore during the July-September quarter of FY15 as against Rs 3,045 crore in the same period last fiscal, Adani Power said in a regulatory filing to BSE stock exchange.

iii.) Power sector revival is the top priority of the new government and this has been demonstrated through the various announcements made to implement radical measures, which are heartening for the power sector at large,” Adani Power Chairman Gautam Adani said.

8. Virat Kohli quickest to reach 6,000 runs in ODIs

i.) Star batsman Virat Kohli on Sunday became the quickest cricketer to reach 6,000 runs in ODIs,

bettering legendary West Indian Vivian Richards’ record during his 53-run knock in India’s third ODI against Sri Lanka.

ii.) Playing in his 144th match and 136th innings, Kohli reached the milestone with a single off left-arm spinner Chaturanga de Silva in the 39th over at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Vivian Richards took 156 matches and 141 innings to reach the milestone in 1989.

iii.) Kohli registered his ninth fifty (53 off 61 balls) vs. Sri Lanka - his 32nd in ODIs. The 26-year-old is the top run-scorer in ODIs in 2014 - his tally being 849 runs at an average of 49.94 in 19 matches. He also became the eighth Indian batsman to complete 6,000 runs or more in ODIs - his aggregate being 6003 (average 51.30) in 144 matches.