Daily GK Update 29th - December - 2014

Banking System Vulnerable to Financial Contagion: RBI

(i) India's close ties between lenders would leave the banking system especially vulnerable to contagion in case of trouble at a single institution, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) warned in a report on Monday.

(ii) That means trouble at a single bank among the top five most connected lenders in the country could lead to contagion that wipes out nearly 50 per cent of Tier I capital in the banking system under a severe stress scenario, the RBI said in its semi-annual Financial Stability report.

Vrinda Sarup appointed School Education and Literacy Secretary

(i) Senior IAS officer Vrinda Sarup was on Monday appointed as Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy.

(ii) Vrinda Sarup, a 1981 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, is presently working as Special Secretary within the same department under the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

(iii) She has been appointed in place of R Bhattacharya, a 1978 batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre, who superannuates on Wednesday, said an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training.  

PM Modi's smart cities plan, one Chicago to be added every year

(i) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a high-level meeting on the Smart City Initiative and called for identifying parameters for these cities.

(ii) A PMO release said that the PM has asked the Ministry of Urban Development to convene a workshop of all central and state urban development authorities at the earliest. 

(iii) It said that one of the aims of the Smart City Initiative should be to improve the quality of urban governance, thereby lending greater strength to the overall governance processes of the country.

Gmail blocked in China

(i) Connections to Google’s email service Gmail have been blocked in China amid efforts by the government to limit access to the company’s services.

(ii) Records from Google’s Transparency Report show online traffic from China to Gmail dropped to nearly zero on Saturday, although there was a tiny pickup on Monday.

(iii) Calls to the regulator, the China Internet Information Office, were unanswered on Monday. 

ISRO's Chairman Dr. K. Radhakrishnan features in Nature journal's top ten list

(i) Dr. K. Radhakrishnan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is one of the 2014 top ten scientists chosen by the prestigious journal Nature. 

(ii) It is for the first time that the Nature journal has chosen an Indian working in India. Dr. K. Radhakrishnan is listed along with other people like Andrea Accomazzo, the Rosetta flight operations director, European Space Agency.

(iii) He reasons for choosing Dr. Radhakrishnan lies all into the successfully launch of Mangalyaan into Mars orbit on September 24, 2014.

(iv) India is actually the first country to  do this in its first attempt and also the first Asian country to reach Mars.

FDI in India jumps 25% in Apr-Oct FY’14: Nirmala

(i) Inflows of foreign direct investment into India rose by about 25 per cent to USD 17.35 billion in the April-October period of the current fiscal, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday.

(ii) Improvement in the macroeconomic situation and investor sentiment on account of a series of steps taken by the new government helped attract higher FDI, she said.

In April-October 2013, the country had received USD 13.82 billion foreign inflows.

Congress marks 130th Foundation Day

(i) A subdued Congress celebrated its 130th Foundation Day, in the backdrop of the series of electoral losses in the States and its lowest ever tally in the Lok Sabha, on Sunday.

(ii) While Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who had been hospitalised earlier this month, unfurled the party flag at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi, vice-president Rahul Gandhi was conspicuous by his absence.

Idea of ‘homogeneous’ nation problematic: Hamid Ansari

(i) Amid the raging controversy over the Sangh Parivar’s Hindutva agenda, Vice-President Hamid Ansari on Sunday cautioned against connecting faith with history and propagating a “homogeneous” national identity when there were over 4,600 communities in the country.

(ii) “Our 4,635 communities, according to the Anthropological Survey of India, is a terse reminder of the care that needs to be taken while putting together the profile of a national identity,” Mr. Ansari said while inaugurating the 75th session of the Indian History Congress here.

Indian culture helped me win title, says Miss America

(i) “The fact that I am rooted in Indian culture helped me win Miss America pageant,” said Miss

America 2014 Nina Davuluri.

(ii) Ms. Davuluri had floored her judges and the audience at the pageant by performing a Bollywood classical fusion dance on a peppy Hindi film song.

(iii) Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings and Ms. Davuluri is a shining example of it.

For information and broadcasting ministry, new initiatives and a little 'Mann Ki Baat'

(i) From controversies over Doordarshan telecasts to new initiatives like Prime Minister's 'Mann ki Baat' on All India Radio (AIR) or 'Kisan' channel, 2014 was a mixed bag for information and broadcasting ministry which saw changes at the helm. 

(ii) The charge of the ministry passed from Congress leader Manish Tewari to BJP's Prakash Javadekar as the NDA scored a resounding victory in the Lok Sabha elections and then, after a reshuffle, to finance minister Arun Jaitley along with minister of state Rajyavardhan Rathore. 

Sebi to revamp initial public offer process

(i) Aimed at completely overhauling the current initial public offering (IPO) process, Sebi is working on a proposal that can reduce the time to complete an offer — from opening of bids to public to listing of the shares — in just six days, and also cut costs to go public substantially by eliminating paperwork. 

(ii) At present, it takes about 15-21 days to complete an IPO after it is opened to public.

(iii) As the time to complete an IPO is reduced under this process, being referred to as e-IPO by the regulator, risks for investors will also come down substantially, sources said.

Ponting backs Gurinder Sandhu for World Cup appearance

(i) Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has named three potential bowlers to be included in the final-15 of the World Cup squad, which includes Indian-origin medium-pacer Gurinder Singh Sandhu.

(ii) Ponting is impressed with the domestic form of pace pair Jason Behrendorff and Sandhu, while the triple World Cup winner believes that the 20-year-old Aston Agar could also be included as a specialist spinner.