Daily GK Update - 14th and 15th December 2014

Wholesale inflation hits zero, lowest in over 5 years

(i). Wholesale price inflation hit a zero level in November, the lowest in about five and half years, on account of decline in prices of food, fuel and manufactured items.

(iii). The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation was at 1.77 per cent in October and 7.52 per cent in November 2013.

(iii). As per data released by the government on Monday, the food inflation fell to nearly three year low of 0.63 per cent. Food inflation is on decline since May.

Australian police say contact made with Sydney siege gunman

(i). Australian police said on Monday that negotiators have been in contact with the gunman holding hostages in a Sydney cafe siege but refused to speculate on his possible motivation.

(ii). Television footage earlier showed three of the hostages running from the building. New South Wales Deputy Police Commissioner Catherine Burn declined to say how many were still being held in the cafe but said it "is not as high as 30". 

(iii). Ms. Burn told reporters there was no indication that any of the remaining hostages had been harmed.

Abbott convenes National Security Committee after hostage crisis

(i). Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he has convened the National Security Committee for emergency briefings after hostages were reportedly taken in a Sydney cafe earlier on Monday.

(ii). "This is obviously a deeply concerning incident but all Australians should be reassured that our law enforcement and security agencies are well trained and equipped and are responding in a thorough and professional manner," the Pime Minister's office said in a statement.

U.S. Congress approves $1.1 trillion spending bill

(i). A $1.1 trillion spending bill is on its way to U.S. President Barack Obama for his signature.

The Senate voted 56-40 on Saturday for the long-term funding bill, the main item left on Congress’ year-end agenda. 

(ii). The measure provides money for nearly the entire government through the Sept. 30 end of the current budget year.

(iii). Mr. Obama has said he will sign the bill. He already signed a short-term spending bill on Saturday that will keep the federal government operating through Wednesday, easing concerns of a shutdown during the holiday season.

Modi pays tributes to Patel on his death anniversary

(i). I pay my respects to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel,” Mr. Modi tweeted.

(i). “India will forever be indebted to Sardar Patel for his tireless efforts to unite the Nation,” he added.

(i). Known as the ‘Iron Man’ of India, Sardar Patel was instrumental in uniting the country through merger of small princely states. He died of cardiac arrest on this day in 1950.

India can save 10,000 crore units of power: Goyal

(i). Energy conservation techniques could save the nation about Rs. 50,000 crore, Union Minister of State for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal said here on Sunday.

(ii). From the current generation of one lakh crore units of power, if 10,000 crore units, or 10 per cent, were to be saved, the monetary benefit was Rs. 50,000 crore, Mr. Goyal said at the National Energy Conservation Day function.

Join hands for a ‘drugs-free India:’ Modi

(i). Describing drug abuse as a “national pain” that caused darkness, destruction and devastation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the people on Sunday to come together for a “drugs-free India.”

(ii). In the third edition of “Mann Ki Baat,” his now-popular radio address to the nation, the Prime Minister said drug abuse was a “psycho-social-medical” problem and needed to be addressed as such.

(iii). “When I was Gujarat Chief Minister, several officers would come to me for leave and share the pain about their children mired in the world of drugs … once when I was in Punjab, I saw the anger and pain of mothers there,” Mr. Modi said.

Smriti Irani denies report of school remaining open on Christmas

(i). Amid an uproar within and outside Parliament over reports that the Christmas holiday in schools

may be done away with to observe the day as ‘Good Governance Day’ to celebrate former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s birthday, the government on Monday clarified that all schools would remain closed on December 25.

(ii). While Union Minister for Human Resource Development Smriti Irani took to Twitter to clear the air, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley informed Rajya Sabha that media reports suggesting cancellation of the Christmas holiday were factually false. 

(iii). “Only an online essay competition on Good Governance Day is being organised,” Mr. Jaitley said, quoting the HRD Minister.

More tourists visited India between May - October 2014: Government 

(i). More foreign tourists visited India between May and October this year, a rise of 10 per cent as compared to the same period last year, the government today said. 

(ii). In a written response to a question in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Tourism Mahesh Sharma said around 32.05 lakh foreign tourists visited India during May to October this year. 

Navy operational demo draws huge crowds

(i). The entire spectrum of Naval operations at sea unfolded before thousands of people who assembled along the Marine Drive coastline at Kochi on Sunday.

(ii). The two-hour-long demonstration of Indian Navy’s prowess included special operations by marine commandos from air and water, simulation of VBSS (visit, board, search and seizure) operation, helobatics by Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) and a warship formation led by INS Kolkata, the largest indigenously built warship of the Navy. 

(iii). There was also landing of a Seaking helicopter on a moving warship and firing of weapons.

Miss South Africa Rolene Strauss crowned Miss World 2014

(i). Miss South Africa, 22-year-old Rolene Strauss, was crowned Miss World 2014 at the pageant's final in London on Sunday, with an estimated billion viewers watching on television around the globe.

(ii). Miss Hungary, Edina Kulcsar, was the runner-up and Miss United States, Elizabeth Safrit, came third in the 64th annual competition, contested by women from 121 countries.

Dubai keen to develop Hyderabad as smart city

(i). Telangana Minister for Information Technology K.T. Rama Rao visited Smart City and interacted

with the investors in Dubai on Sunday inviting investments in Telangana State.

(ii). The Minister accompanied by a delegation comprising Special Chief Secretary (Industries) K. Pradeep Chandra, Managing Director of Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) Jayesh Ranjan, who is also Commissioner of Industries, and representatives of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) interacted with Chief Executive Officer of Smart City Abdul Latif Al-Mulla and Managing Director Baju George.

Vivo targets 5-6 per cent market share by 2017 in India 

(i). Chinese smartphone maker vivoBSE 4.82 % Mobile is aiming for a 5-6 per cent market share in the next 3 years in India, a market which it entered Monday with the launch of five smartphones, including its flagship X5Max. 

(ii). The company has priced its new smartphones in the range of Rs 7,000- Rs 33,000 and plans to launch more smartphones next year, Jacky Liao, CEO, vivo Mobile India, told ET. "As a part of global expansion strategy, we are entering the Indian smartphone market, which is developing very fast."

Online retail spending to touch $16 bn by 2018: Report 

(i). The online retail spending in the country is expected to reach $16 billion (around Rs 1 lakh crore) by 2018 with the number of people buying online touching 128 million, a report said today. 

(ii). Billions of devices will be connectable with an ability to drastically enhance the quality of living and change the way products are experienced, the report by industry body CII and KPMG said. 

Supreme Court allows new CBI Director Anil Kumar Sinha to take charge of probe in 2G cases 

(i). The Supreme Court today allowed new CBI Director Anil Kumar Sinha to take charge of the investigation and prosecution in the 2G scam cases, over three weeks after it had removed his predecessor from the probe following allegations of trying to protect some accused. 

(ii). A bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu allowed the submission of senior advocate K K Venugopal, appearing for the probe agency, that the new CBI chief be allowed to oversee the 2G cases. 

Anand beats Adams to win London Classic
(i). Five-time chess world champion Viswanathan Anand won his maiden London Classic title after

defeating British Grandmaster Michael Adams in the fifth and final round on Monday.
(ii). Having drawn the first four games of the six-player, round-robin tournament, Anand had to win to stay in contention for a podium finish. He was duly assisted by Adams who fought it out instead of going for a dull draw with white pieces.