Daily GK Update - 4th March 2015

Apple regains No.1 slot in smartphone sales

(i) Worldwide sales of smartphones had a record growth in fourth quarter of 2014 with an

increase of 29.9 percent as against the same period last year to reach 367.5 million units, said IT research and advisory company Gartner.

(ii) In 2014, sales of smartphones totaled 1.2 billion units, up 28.4 percent from 2013 and represented two-thirds of global mobile phone sales.

(iii) "The availability of smartphones at lower prices has accelerated the migration of feature phone users to smartphones, pushing the smartphone market to double-digit growth in countries like India, Russia and Mexico," added Gartner.

BCCI’s image will change

(i) Asserting that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will no longer be perceived as being run by one person, the board's secretary Anurag Thakur assured cricket fans that “total transparency and credibility” in the BCCI's functioning are high on his agenda.

(ii) Mr. Thakur was elected secretary of the Board, defeating incumbent Sanjay Patel, who was backed by the former BCCI president N. Srinivasan, in the elections held in Chennai on Monday.

(iii) Mr. Thakur, who rose to become president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association at 25, has had 15 years of experience with the Board.

RBI cuts interest rate by 25 basis points

(i) In a surprise move, the Reserve Bank of India has cut the key policy rate by 25 basis points, setting the tone for a reduction in lending rates by banks. This will prod banks to drop interest rates on home and car loans.

(ii) The policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) is cut by 25 basis points to 7.5 per cent from 7.75 per cent. The reduction will come into effect immediately.

(iii) The RBI has, however, kept the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks unchanged at 4 per cent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL). 

(iv) It has said that it will continue to provide liquidity under overnight repos at 0.25 per cent of bank-wise NDTL at the LAF repo rate and liquidity under seven-day and 14-day term repos of up to 0.75 per cent.

(v) It has also decided to continue with daily variable rate repos and reverse repos to smooth liquidity. Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 6.5 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the bank rate to 8.5 per cent.

SAARC yatra: Foreign Secretary Jaishankar meets Afghan CEO Abdullah

(i) Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar arrived in Kabul on Wednesday to hold talks with the Afghan leadership as part of his “SAARC Yatra” aimed at firming up India’s ties with members of the grouping while reviewing regional and bilateral cooperation.

(ii) Mr. Jaishankar, who flew into Kabul from Islamabad amid light snow in Kabul, was received by senior Afghan officials and Indian High Commissioner Amar Sinha at the airport.

(iii) Mr. Jaishankar began his meetings soon after his arrival.

(iv) He first called on Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah.

(v) He will also hold talks with his Afghan counterpart and discuss regional and bilateral issues and later call on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

(vi) Mr. Jaishankar, who started his trip on Sunday with Bhutan and visited Bangladesh and Pakistan, will round off the first leg of his “SAARC Yatra” with Afghanistan.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen finds sunken warship Musashi

(i) Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul Allen said he’s found a massive Japanese World War II battleship off the Philippines near where it sank over 70 years ago.

(ii) The apparent discovery of the wreckage of the Musashi, one of the largest battleships in history, comes as the world marks the 70th anniversary of the war’s end.

(iii) Mr. Allen’s publicity agency Edelman said in a statement on Wednesday that Mr. Allen and his research team aboard his superyacht M/Y Octopus found the ship over the weekend, more than eight years after their search began.

(iv) Mr. Allen called the Musashi an “engineering marvel,” saying that as an engineer at heart he appreciated its technology and construction.

(v) The Musashi sank in October 1944 in the Sibuyan Sea during the battle of Leyte, losing half its 2,400 crew members.

World’s oldest person celebrates her 117th birthday

(i) The world’s oldest person says 117 years doesn’t seem like such a long time.

(ii) Ms. Okawa, born in Osaka on March 5, 1898, was recognized as the world’s oldest person by Guinness World Records in 2013. 

(iii) She’s slowed down in recent months and is having trouble hearing, but she still eats well and remains in good health, according to her Osaka nursing home.

(iv) Ms. Okawa married her husband, Yukio, in 1919, and they had three children two daughters and a son. She now has four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Her husband died in 1931.

Spectrum auction begins; govt eyes over Rs. 80,000 crore revenue

(i) The much awaited spectrum auction, wherein 8 companies are bidding to acquire airwaves in four bands, started on Wednesday.

(ii) The auction is the biggest ever sale of 2G and 3G airwaves which may fetch the government over Rs. 82,000 crore.

(iii) A total of 380.75 MHz of spectrum in three bands — the premium 900 MHz band, 1,800 MHz and 800 MHz — is put on sale besides 5 MHz in the 2,100 MHz band across 17 out of 22 telecom areas in the country.

(iv) Based on the reserve price, the government is estimated to garner over Rs. 82,000 crore. Most of the spectrum put up for auction is presently held by Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Reliance Telecom. Their licences are expiring in 2015-16.

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