Daily GK Update 14th March 2015

Bhaiyyaji Joshi re-elected RSS general secretary

(i) The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha on Saturday re-elected Bhaiyyaji Joshi as the Sarkaryavah (general secretary) of the organisation for a second consecutive term till 2018.

(ii) Former RSS spokesperson-turned-BJP leader Ram Madhav tweeted the development a few minutes ago. “Bhayyaji Joshi re-elected Sarkaryavah — Gen. 

(iii) Secretary of RSS for next 3 years. Abhinandan n respects,” he said. An official declaration would be made at a press conference in Nagpur in a short while.

(iv) Speculation was rife that Mr. Joshi, who was completing his three year term, could be replaced by Sah-Sarkaryavah (joint- general secretary) Dattatrey Hosabale.

India makes a perfect 'six' with Dhoni's six

(i) Indian captain M.S. Dhoni finished the match in grand style with a big six and along with Raina (110 not out), made a perfect six wins for the team against Zimbabwe in a Pool B encounter in Auckland on Saturday.

(ii) Dhoni and Raina came together when India were in a precarious situation 92 for 4.

(iii) Dhoni was unbeaten on 85. Kohli and Rahane chipped in with 38 and 19 respectively.

(iv) The total was highest by any country against India in the current edition surpassing Ireland’s 259 in the previous game.

World’s engagement with India at ‘new level’: Modi

(i) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said global confidence in India has been restored and the world’s engagement with the country is at a “new level” even as he assured Sri Lanka that steps would be taken to address its concerns over the huge bilateral trade imbalance.

(ii) Mr. Modi said this while asserting that India and Sri Lanka should move “boldly” to conclude a long pending Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

(iii) The bilateral trade between India and Sri Lanka in 2013-14 was $5.23 billion with Indian exports amounting to USD 3.98 billion and Sri Lankan exports amounting to $678 million.

(iv) The Prime Minister said India is opening up to the world and have Free Trade Agreements with ASEAN and others.

“World Cup Heroes” released by Kiran More

(i) “World Cup Heroes”, written by Chandresh Narayanan was released by former India stumper Kiran More at the Jai Hind College in Mumbai on Friday.

(ii) An independent sports journalist who was employed with the International Cricket Council (ICC) as Media & Communications officer and Media Rights and Digital officer, Narayanan, has chosen a hero from each of the previous ten world cups; they are: Clive Lloyd. 

(iii) Gordon Greenidge, Kapil Dev, Allan Border, Wasim Akram, Aravinda de Silva, Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting, Glenn McGrath and Sachin Tendulkar. “This has been an open world cup and from the quarterfinals onwards it would be a mental game altogether,” More said.

Mary Kom to be brand ambassador of Northeast

(i) Olympic medal winning boxer MC Mary Kom is being appointed as the brand ambassador of the Northeast to showcase the potential of the region which offers Rs. 2.4 trillion business opportunities across various sectors.

(ii) An official announcement in this regard would me made soon, Minister of State in the Ministry of Development of North East Region (DoNER) Jitendra Singh said.

(iii) “We are going to have a brand ambassador for Northeast. So, after a lot of deliberations we have zeroed in on the name of MC Mary Kom as the brand ambassador. 

(iv) We will make a formal announcement in a couple of days from now when she is in Delhi,” Singh said while addressing the 10th North East Business Summit in New delhi.

(v) The two—day Summit “Development through partnership with ASEAN and BIMSTEC Countries” was organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here.

India’s GDP growth will be 7.5 per cent this year: Jaitley

(i) Noting that India is emerging as one of the fastest growing economies, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that this year the GDP growth rate will be 7.5 per cent and next year hopefully it would be higher.

(ii) Launching the Union Bank of India (UK), a subsidiary of the Union Bank of India, Jaitley last night said that since the new government came to power the economy has regained.

(iii) he noted that elimination of poverty is a major challenge and government is working hard to tackle this great challenge.

Gandhi statue unveiled at Britain’s Parliament Square

(i) A historic bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled at the Parliament Square in London on Saturday, standing adjacent to iconic leaders such as Britain’s war—time Prime Minister Winston Churchill and anti—apartheid icon Nelson Mandela.

(ii) A galaxy of political leaders led by British Prime Minister David Cameron and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley were joined by Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan and the Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi at the ceremony to unveil the 9—foot statue of the Father of the Nation.

(iii) Gandhi is the first Indian and the only person never to have been in a public office to be honoured with a statue at the Square.