Daily GK Update - 13th January 2015

Raghuram Rajan conferred central banker of the year award

(i) RBI chief Raghuram Rajan has been named as the “governor of the year” in the Central Banking Awards for 2015 by a British magazine.

(ii) The British magazine Central Banking, announcing the name of Mr. Rajan as the ‘Governor Of The Year’ said, “Mr. Rajan’s disciplined and focussed approach in leading the Reserve Bank during his first year as Governor was remarkably impressive.

(iii) This is the second award by the London-based magazine and will be presented in the British capital on March 12.

Pepsi to launch Lay’s campaign ahead of World Cup 2015

(i) Beverage and snacks major PepsiCo India will launch Lay’s campaign featuring Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

(ii) The campaign called ‘Yeh Game Hi Hai... Taste Ka’ captures the frenzy which grips India when the ICC Cricket World Cup is on and how mismatched timings of the matches this year will create a dilemma for viewers, PepsiCo said.

Karnataka shines at Gujarat summit

(i) Karnataka and send a strong signal to investors of the conducive atmosphere here, the State has signed memorandums of understanding with several companies, including foreign entities, to the tune of Rs. 50,100 crore, at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2015.

(ii) According to a statement received here on Monday, a high-level delegation, led by Additional Chief Secretary, Commerce and Industry, K. Ratna Prabha, and Commissioner for Industrial Development Gaurav Gupta, held successful meetings with potential investors from across the globe at the summit being held at Gandhinagar, and signed a slew of MoUs.

(iii) The investors showed an unprecedented interest in Karnataka across sectors.

A.S. Kiran Kumar  New Space Secretary and ISRO chief

(i) A.S. Kiran Kumar is the new Secretary of the Department of Space as also Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Space Commission.

(ii) Currently Director of the Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad, Mr. Kiran Kumar will head the organisation for three years from the date he assumes charge, according to the order issued by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, Department of Personnel & Training under the Ministry of Personnel & Public Grievances. 

(iii) He is being re-employed on contract basis, it said.

World Bank signs pact for Smart Cities

(i) The Government of Gujarat, the Government of India and the World Bank have entered into a tripartite agreement in support of Gujarat’s ‘swachhta abhiyaan’ and smart city initiatives, Chief Minister Anandiben Patel announced at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit here on Monday.

(ii) Around 2,100 MoUs to the tune of Rs. 25 lakh crore and 1,225 strategic partnership agreements were signed at the Summit in the areas of skill development, defence, renewable energy and biodiversity.

Arvind Panagariya takes charge as the Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog

(i) Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier on January 5 appointed him as the vice-chairman of NITI Aayog.

(ii) Panagariya was the professor of Economics at New York's Columbia University till recently.

(iii) A Rajasthan University alumnus, Panagariya holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics from Princeton University. 

ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission Team won the 2015 Space Pioneer Award

(i) The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) Team of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on 12 January 2015 won the 2015 Space Pioneer Award in the Science and Engineering category.

(ii) The award will be presented to an ISRO representative during the National Space Society's 2015 International Space Development Conference (ISDC) that is scheduled to be held in Toronto, Canada from 20 May 2015 to 24 May 2015.

(iii) Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)

India’s Mars Orbiter Mission was launched on 5 November 2013 and it reached the Mars orbit on 24 September 2014. The Indian spacecraft has gone into orbit around Mars on the very first attempt and no other country has been able to do this till now.

U.S. military Twitter account allegedly hacked by Islamic State

(i) A group claiming links to Islamic State (IS), the terror outfit that controls parts of Syria and Iraq, has apparently hacked into the Twitter accounts of the U.S. military’s Central Command, with the @CENTCOM handle, and subsequently posted a series of tweets including threats against U.S. soldiers and their families.

(ii) At approximately 12:30 p.m. EST an unknown group of hackers appeared to post on the @CENTCOM account the contact details of numerous U.S. soldiers including top brass, under the hashtag #CyberCaliphate.