Daily GK Update - 22nd January 2015

Microsoft shows off Windows 10 and ‘HoloLens’

(i) Microsoft has taken the wraps off a new version of Windows and a new wearable 3D gadget it calls the HoloLens.

(ii) The company showed the new headset, which lets users view and interact with three-dimensional images, at an event where it also revealed new features coming to the company’s flagship operating software.

(iii) Executives said Windows 10 is designed to embrace the way people use computers today, offering a familiar experience as they switch back and forth from personal computers to tablets, smartphones and other gadgets such as gaming consoles or even holographic projectors .

Budget session to begin on Feb. 23

(i) The budget session of Parliament will begin on February 23 and the Modi Government will present its first full year Budget on February 28.

(ii) The session, as is customary, will be held in two parts: the recess will start on March 20 and Parliament will re-convene on April 20. The session will end on May 8.

(iii) General Budget to be presented on Feb. 28, Economic Survey on Feb. 27 and Railway Budget on Feb. 26.

SEBI vetting plan to allow banks convert corporate debt into equity

(i) The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairman U.K. Sinha, on Wednesday, said that the regulator was working with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a formula allowing banks to convert their debt into equity in corporates.

(ii) “This will take some more time. But we are in dialogue with RBI and Finance Ministry too. We will come out with a discussion paper shortly before final implementation,” said Mr. Sinha on the sidelines of the MF Utility launch meeting here.

Narendra Modi launches 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao'

(i) Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to launch the national programme of “Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao” (Save girl child-Educate girl child) campaign in Panipat, Haryana. 

(ii) In Haryana, the sex ratio in districts ranges between 875 and 837 which means the female foeticide rate is high: Maneka.

(iii) Madhuri addresses Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign as brand ambassador.

(iv) Union Ministers Maneka Gandhi, Smriti Irani, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Inderjit Singh, J.P. Nadda and Haryana CM also on dais

Rajnath to launch website on security apps    

(i) With an objective to promote innovation in developing security related web applications, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will soon launch web portal ‘MySecurity.in’, providing a platform to enterprising individuals, companies and non-government organisations. 

(ii) The web applications would be made available for public use.

(iii) Only those applications that pass security audit will be allowed to be hosted on the website. 

(iv) The MHA will give priority to the applications aimed at providing security in emergency situations to women, children, senior citizens and other vulnerable sections of society.

Obama to join Modi on 'Mann ki Baat'

(i) U. S. President Barack Obama will join Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his monthly radio interaction Mann Ki Baat on All India Radio on January 27.

(ii) That there would be a special programme where the two would share their thoughts and respond to questions was announced by Mr. Modi himself via Twitter on Thursday morning.

(iii) Since October, Mr. Modi has been going on air once a month to address the nation and take questions on issues that are pre-determined. He has spoken on the use of khaadi and against drug abuse from this platform in the past.

ICC World Cup warm up matches start from Feb 8

(i) A series of warm-up matches starting Feb 8 will provide insight into the form of some of the teams taking part in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, and also give a chance to fans, who are from the tournament venues, to see some of the stars in action.

(ii) A total of 14 warm-up matches will be played from Feb 8 to 13 in Adelaide, Christchurch, Melbourne and Sydney.

(iii) The venues include Adelaide Oval, Hagley Oval in Christchurch, the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) and the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), all of which are hosting matches in the tournament proper.

Schedule of warm-up matches:

Feb 8: Australia vs India, Adelaide Oval.

Feb 9: South Africa vs Sri Lanka, Hagley Oval.

Feb 9: New Zealand vs Zimbabwe, Lincoln Oval.

Feb 9: England vs West Indies, Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

Feb 9: Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Blacktown.

Feb 10: India vs Afghanistan, Adelaide Oval.

Feb 10: Ireland vs Scotland, Blacktown.

Feb 11: South Africa vs New Zealand, Hagley Oval.

Feb 11: Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe, Lincoln Oval.

Feb 11: Australia vs United Arab Emirates, MCG.

Feb 11: England vs Pakistan, SCG.

Feb 12: West Indies vs Scotland, SCG.

Feb 12: Bangladesh vs Ireland, Blacktown.

Feb 13: Afghanistan vs United Arab Emirates, Junction Oval.

Read more »

Daily GK Update - 21st January 2015

Shubham, 13, Silicon Valley’s youngest entrepreneur, develops Braille printer

(i) In Silicon Valley, it’s never too early to become an entrepreneur. Just ask 13-year-old Shubham Banerjee.

(ii) The California eighth-grader has launched a company to develop low-cost machines to print Braille. Tech giant Intel Corp. recently invested in his start-up, Braigo Labs.

(iii) Mr. Shubham built a Braille printer with a Lego robotics kit as a school science fair project in 2014 after he asked his parents a simple question - How do blind people read? “Google it,” they told him.

Facebook's impact on Indian economy pegged at $4 billion

(i) Facebook enabled $4 billion economic impact on the Indian economy and contributed to 3,35,000 jobs in some or the other way during last year, according to a study.

(ii) The study titled Facebook’s Global Economic Impact, by Deloitte, analyses how the social networking site has facilitated growth and jobs around the world.

(iii) Commissioned by Facebook, the study estimates that the company, with an approximately $8 billion cost base, enabled global economic impact of $227 billion and 4.5 million jobs around the world in 2014.

Obama’s India visit: Richard Verma exudes hope

(i) U.S. President Obama’s visit will usher in a “new era in the India-U.S. partnership”, says the newly appointed American Ambassador to India Richard Verma. 

(ii) In his first public statement after presenting his credentials last Friday, Mr. Verma, said he was very proud to be the first American of Indian origin to represent the U.S. in India, and his appointment came at a “defining time” in relations.

(iii) Mr. Verma fills the post of Ambassador eight months after the former Ambassador Nancy Powell left in a cloud over the arrest of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade. 

Government to allocate 36 coal blocks to PSUs

(i) The government on Wednesday kick-started the process of allocating cancelled coal mines to state-owned firms, saying that it will initially allot 36 blocks.

(ii) Of these 36 coal blocks, one mine will be given to the steel sector while the rest will be given to the power sector.

(iii) “Except one block which will be going for steel sector, rest will be for power sector,” Coal Secretary Anil Swarup told reporters.

11.50 cr. bank accounts opened under Jan Dhan Yojana

(i) Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday that the Guinness Book of World Records had recognised the achievements made under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), the biggest financial inclusion initiative in the world.

(ii) The records book gave a certificate on Tuesday stating that the “Most bank accounts opened in one week as part of the Financial Inclusion Campaign is 1,80,96,130 and was achieved by the Department of Financial Services, Government of India, from 23rd to 29th August, 2014.”

Uttarakhand becomes No. 2 in tiger population

(i) Tiger population in Uttarakhand has risen from 227 to 340 since the last census, becoming the second State in the country after Karnataka with the highest number of tigers.

(ii) “There has been an encouraging rise in tiger population in Uttarakhand. It has risen from 227 to 340 since the last census. This is all the more creditable given the fact that the hill State has just one tiger reserve,” Corbett Tiger Reserve Director Samir Sinha told PTI.

(iii) There was a time when Madhya Pradesh had the highest tiger population in the country but then it had six tiger reserves, he said.

Amazon to take JLF closer to book lovers

(i) Amazon.in, India’s largest online store, has partnered with Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) to bring the festival closer to book lovers across India.

(ii) As official book partner of the JLF this year, it will create a special JLF Store on its marketplace.

(iii) The store that goes live with the inauguration of the festival will be a one-stop destination for customers across India to access books of their favourite authors from the festival as well as purchase new releases such as Arise, Awake by Rashmi Bansal, Restart by Mihir Sharma, India Shastra by Shashi Tharoor and In Other Words by Javed Akhtar.

(iv) “The festival has emerged as one of the biggest events in India which sees the confluence of readers and writers and the publishing industry,” according to Samir Kumar, Director Catefory Management, Amazon India. 

Australian Open: Sania, Paes make it all-win day for India

(i) India enjoyed an all-win day at the Australian Open tennis Grand Slam after Leander Paes and Sania Mirza sailed into the second round of their respective men’s and women’s doubles events in Melbourne on Wednesday.

(ii) Sania and her Chinese Taipei partner Su-Wei Hsieh, who are seeded second, defeated the Argentine-Swiss combine of Maria Irigoyen and Romina Oprandi 6-2 6-0 in just 48 minutes to advance.

(iii) The Indo-Taipei team will now be up against the Canadian-Polish pair of Gabriela Dabrowski and Alicja Rosolska.

(iv) In the men’s doubles event, 10th seeded Paes and his South African partner Raven Klaasen edged past the American duo of Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram 6-4 7-6 (6) to enter the second round.

Read more »

Daily GK Update - 20th January 2015

India to overtake China next year: IMF

(i) In its latest World Economic Outlook report released on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected that India will grow 6.5 per cent in 2016, overtaking China which, it projected, will slowdown to 6.3 per cent.

(ii) For 2015, the IMF forecast India will grow at 6.3 per cent, up from 5.8 per cent in 2014. China’s 2014 growth rate was 7.4 per cent.

RCom gets Rs 650 cr from promoter group TIFPL

(i) Reliance Communications on Monday said its group entity Telecom Infrastructure Finance Pvt Ltd has paid Rs 650 crore to it, thereby increasing promoter's holding to 59.7 per cent in the company.

(ii) The committeeof directors at their meeting held today have allotted 8,66,66,667 equityshares to TIFPL, against Warrants issued to them. As a result, the promoter Group's holding has gone up to 59.70 per cent from existing 58.25 per cent," RCom said in a filing to Bombay Stock Exchange.

Strides Arcolab, Gilead join hands for marketing HIV drugs

(i) Strides Arcolab Limited has entered into a licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences, Inc for marketing HIV drugs. 

(ii) Under the agreement, Gilead has extended non-exclusive rights to Strides to manufacture and distribute Tenofovir Alafenamide (TAF) - used for treatment of AIDS.

(iii) The license being granted to Strides extends to 112 countries, which together account for more than 30 million people living with HIV, Strides said in a statement.

Kerala's 'Run Kerala Run' sets history; thousands participate

(i) Heralding the arrival of the 35th National Games to the state after a gap of 28 years, thousands of people from all sections of society took part in the historic marathon 'Run Kerala Run' across the state.

(ii) Giving a boost to the spirit of the run, cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar, goodwill ambassador of the Games, took part and ran for about 200 metres in the state capital as part of the event.

(iii) Which was officially flagged off by Governor P Sathasivam. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and his cabinet collegues Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, V S Shivakumar, P K Kunhalikutty accompanied Sachin in track suits.

Rajni Kothari, founder of CSDS and prominent political scientist passes away

(i) Eminent scholar, political scientist and a former Planning Commission member Rajni Kothari passed away on Monday at the age of 86. Kothari was suffering from urinary tract disease for some time and died at around 9:45 am at his residence at Patparganj in East Delhi. 

(ii) He was born on 16th August, 1928.

(iii) A well known political thinker, Kothari was also the founder of Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in 1963, a social sciences and humanities research institute based in Delhi.

(iv) "He was not keeping well for the last two years. He died of old-age," a family member said. He is survived by his two sons Miloon and Ashish. His last rites will take place tomorrow.

Germany eager to join ‘Make in India’ initiative

(i) Germany views Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative as a big opportunity for its industrial firms, visiting German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said on Monday.

(ii) Dr. Schäuble expressed interest in working with India in the manufacturing sector, especially in the auto and solar energy industries, at a meeting with business lobby Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here on Monday.

Gurpreet Sandhu becomes first Indian in 79 years to play for 1st division European club

(i) Former East Bengal goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has entered Indian football's hall

of fame by becoming the first Indian footballer in 79 years to take the field for an European club and playing in the first tier of the country’s football league structure.

(ii) According to India Today, Sandhu had been signed by Norwegian Tippeligaen club Stabaek FC in August 2014, and was handed the first appearance of his European career in this weekend’s 4-1 victory over Follo Fotballklubb.

(iii) Gurpreet is only the fifth Indian player to play professionally in Europe after Mohammed Salim, Bhaichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri and Subrata Pal.

Read more »

Daily GK Update 18th and 19th January 2015

Canadian actor-writer Don Harron dies at 90

(i) Don Harron, who entertained TV audiences in Canada and the U.S. with his comic alter ego Charlie Farquharson and helped bring the Canadian classic novel “Anne of Green Gables” to the stage, has died. He was 90.

(ii) Harron’s eldest daughter Martha said her father died on Saturday morning surrounded by family at his Toronto home after choosing not to seek treatment for cancer.

(iii) The wit and humour that landed him roles on CBC radio and television programs continued to define her father to the very end, Martha Harron said.

Mali declared Ebola-free

(i) Mali’s health minister said the West African country is Ebola-free after recording no new cases for 42 days, the period required for the World Health Organization to declare an outbreak officially over.

(ii) Mali recorded its first Ebola case in October. The country nearly eradicated the disease before a new wave of cases occurred in November. In total, the disease infected eight people, killing six of them, according to the WHO.

(iii) Ebola has killed more than 8,400 people in West Africa, with the overwhelming majority of those deaths occurring in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

NITI Aayog to monitor, evaluate govt policies, says Planning Minister Rao Inderjit Singh

(i) As lakhs of crores of rupees earmarked annually towards central Plan Expenditure, NITI Aayog will actively monitor and evaluate implementation of government programmes and initiatives, Planning Minister Rao Inderjit Singh said in New Delhi on Monday.

(ii) A major task before the NITI Aayog is to actively monitor and evaluate implementation of programmes and initiatives,” Mr. Singh said.

(iii) It is being jointly organised by National Institute for Labour Economics Research and Development (NILRD) and Programme Evaluation Organisation of the NITI Aayog.

SpiceJet promoters will suffer huge loss: CFO

(i) Exiting the cash-strapped SpiceJet will cause “a substantial capital loss” to its existing promoters Sun TV group, says the group CFO, SL Narayanan.

(ii) Mr. Maran will invest about Rs 80 crore more into the company ahead of the new investors, to make the warrants that he holds fully paid up. 

(iii) These warrants will convert into 18 crore shares by 2016, which represents about 23 per cent of the fully diluted equity.

Pakistan takes up PIA property, visa issue with India

(i) Pakistan took up the issue of the troubles the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) office in Delhi is facing with the government officially on Sunday, the foreign affairs spokesperson in Islamabad said.

(ii) According to an official release, Pakistan had “raised the issue of extension of visas” and “the Indian authorities have been informed about the notice received by the PIA office in New Delhi regarding its property.”

Senior Congress leader Paladugu passes away

(i) Senior Congress leader and MLC Paladugu Venkata Rao (75) passed away here in the early hours of Monday.

(ii) Mr. Rao, who was ailing for some time was admitted into a city hospital, breathed his last today. He is survived by wife Susheela.

(iii) Born on November 11, 1940 in Krishna district, Mr. Rao joined active politics as Youth Congress leader in 1968 and made his electoral debut as a Member of Legislative Assembly from Nuzvid constituency in 1978. 

(iv) He went on to serve as Minister for Rural Water Supply (1980-82), Agriculture Minister (1982) and Marketing Minister (1982-83).

V.N. Vasavan to head CPI(M) in Kottayam

(i) The district meeting of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] held in the run-up to the 21st party Congress has elected V.N. Vasavan, former MLA and present district secretary of CITU, as the new district secretary.

(ii) He was elected unanimously. Mr. Vasavan’s election comes in the wake of the stepping down of K.J. Thomas, who has completed his third term as district secretary.

C.K. Sasidharan re-elected CPI district secretary

(i) C.K. Sasidharan has been re-elected district unit secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) for the third time.

(ii) He was re-elected at the two-day district meet of the party that concluded at Kaduthuruthy on Sunday. 

(iii) The meeting also elected a 44-member district committee and a 41-member delegation to the State conference to be held here next month.

Maria Sharapova wins 1st-round match at Australian Open

(i) Second-seeded Maria Sharapova concluded an opening day of matches on Rod Laver Arena with a 6-4, 6-1 win Monday over Czech player Petra Martic at the Australian Open.

(ii) Sharapova, who began the season by winning the Brisbane International title, broke Martic’s service in the last game of the opening set and then dominated the second. 

(iii) She’ll play fellow Russian Alexandra Panova, a qualifier, in the second round.

Federer wins opening match at Australian Open over Lu

(i) Second-seeded and 17-time major champion Roger Federer defeated Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 on Monday in a first-round match at the Australian Open.

(ii) Federer, wearing a neon yellow shirt which matched his shoes, won his 74th match in 85 starts at Melbourne Park, a record that has seen him win four Australian Open titles.

(iii) Federer broke Lu’s service in the 11th game of the final set and held in the next to advance to the second round.

Read more »

Daily GK Update - 17th January 2015

Google in talks to buy mobile-payments company Softcard

(i) Google Inc is in talks to buy mobile-payments company Softcard, TechCrunch reported on Friday.

The deal could help pair Google with the largest U.S. wireless carriers to battle Apple Inc and its new 

(ii) Apple Pay service, TechCrunch said.

(iii) The deal may be valued below $100 million, the report said citing sources.

(iv) Softcard is jointly owned by AT&T Inc, Verizon Communication Inc's Verizon Wireless Inc and T-Mobile US Inc.

Odisha accepts Railway Ministry's proposal of SPV for projects

(i) Odisha's Rail Coordination Commissioner Sanjay Mohapatra said, the state would be the first in the country to accept the Railway ministry proposal. 

(ii) Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had in a letter to the state governments asked them to come forward for setting up SPVs for jointly developing railway projects. 

(iii) As per the proposal of the Railway ministry, the state government would have 51 per cent share in the SPV whereas the Centre would invest for the rest in it. 

IAF gets first light combat aircraft

(i) Thirty—two years after the project was sanctioned, the first indigenously—built Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) was handed over by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to the IAF on Saturday, a red letter day for the Indian defence and aerospace sector.

(ii) The handover signals the start of a process of induction of the fighters being built at home under a project which has already cost the exchequer nearly Rs. 8,000 crore.

(iii) The entire project by the DRDO and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is estimated to cost over Rs. 30,000 crore.

Sania Mirza wins Sydney Open title with Bethanie

(i) India's Sania Mirza won her first title of the season and 23rd of her career when she and Bethanie Mattek-Sands shocked top-seeded Americans Abigail Spears and Raquel Kops-Jones in the summit clash of the Sydney International.

(ii) The unseeded Indo-American combine humbled the top seeds 6-3, 6-3 in just 69 minutes.

(iii) Sania and Bethanie earned 470 ranking points each and split $39,000 as prize money.

Tamilmani likely to be interim DRDO chief

(i) K. Tamilmani, Chief Controller of Aeronautics Cluster in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is likely to become the interim head of the organisation, succeeding Avinash Chander, who was asked to step down after the government suddenly ended his contractual term.

(ii) Dr. Tamilmani, the senior-most of the seven cluster heads in the DRDO, is the Director of the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC), Bangalore.

Read more »

Daily GK Update 16th January 2015

VPT to issue Letter of Award to Essar Group for 3 berths

(i) After sorting out of the teething problems, Visakhapatnam Port Trust is all set to issue Letter of Award to Vadinar Oil Terminals, part of Essar Group, to launch work on development and operation of three iron ore berths.

(ii) This will be the second facility being developed on the East Coast by Essar Group, one of the largest private sector port companies in India. It has already developed four berths at Paradip. 

(iii) By adding 23 million tonne in three years at Vizag, the Essar Group, a BSE and NSE-listed company, will have a total iron ore handling capacity of 39 million tonne per annum on the East Coast. It has terminals at Vadinar and Hazira on the West Coast.

HAL chief gets ‘best CEO’ award

(i) R.K. Tyagi, Chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, was on Friday conferred the JGBS Top Rankers Excellence Award for the CEO of the year, according to a release issued by the company.

(ii) The award is instituted by JGBS or Jindal Global Business School and executive search firm Top Rankers’ Management Consultants, both based in Delhi.

(iii) Dr. Tyagi was recognised for playing a key role in 2014 in launching a series of HR, R&D and other initiatives in HAL.

(iv) The company said HAL was among top six public sector companies among 180 PSEs assessed by the Department of Public Enterprises.

Anupam Shrivastava is new BSNL chairman and managing director

(i) Anupam Shrivastava has been appointed the chairman and managing director (CMD) of state-run BSNL from January 15, a company statement said here Friday.

(ii) Mr. Shrivastava has been appointed CMD of BSNL for a period of five years or till the time of superannuation at the age of 60 years, it said.

(iii) “Government is focusing on connecting unconnected people with telecom services including high-speed broadband.

CAIT opposes Prof. Bhagwati's remarks on FDI

(i) Columbia University Jagdish Bhagwati’s statement on the likelihood of Prime Minister Narendra Modi opening up foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail in about a year’s time has stirred up a controversy. 

(ii) The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has issued a statement taking ‘strong exception’ to Prof. Bhagwati’s remarks.

(iii) The CAIT will oppose ‘tooth and nail’ any attempt to open Indian retail sector to FDI, statement said.

Japanese companies keen on investing in India

(i) The government Friday said Japanese companies have ranked India as the top most preferred destinations for further investments.

(ii) According to the Commerce and Industry Ministry, the business sentiments of Japanese companies were revealed in a survey conducted by Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) in July 2014.

(iii) The survey of 1,000 Japanese manufacturing companies ranked India as the No.1 destination for future investments followed by Indonesia and China.

Censor Board chief Leela Samson decides to quit

(i) Citing "interference, coercion and corruption of panel members and officers" appointed in the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) by the Union Information & Broadcasting Ministry, Bharatnatyam danseuse Leela Samson has quit as Censor Board chief.

(ii) She put in her papers on Thursday amid reports that the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) had cleared the release of the film MSG.

(iii) The Messenger of God featuring Dera Saccha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the lead role. The filmmakers had scheduled it for release on Friday.

(iv) Despite reports suggesting FCAT had cleared it, movie listings in newspapers and online bookings did not offer it this morning.

Former CBI chief resigns as UPSC Member

(i) Former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director A.P. Singh, whose name had cropped up during an Income-Tax probe against his friend and meat exporter Moin Qureshi, has resigned as Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Member.

(ii) Mr. Singh told the media that he put in his papers about a week ago, after a Mumbai court on December 30, dismissed charges against the BJP president Amit Shah in the Sohrabuddin and Tulsiram Prajapati encounter cases observing that the allegations made in the CBI chargesheet had a political overtone.

Ranji Trophy: Odisha crashes to an innings and 150 runs defeat

(i) Manan Sharma of Delhi took eight wickets on the third day of the series to send Odisha crashing to an innings and 150 runs defeat in the Ranji Trophy encounter at the Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium.

(ii) No less than 19 wickets fell on Thursday as the visiting side's batsmen gladly submitted to the forces of a slow and turning track.

(iii) Manan was the greatest beneficiary of Odisha's ineptness. The left-arm spinner made the batsmen play often and a wicket was never too far away.

Read more »

Daily GK Update - 15th January 2015

World’s newest airliner Airbus A350 begins first commercial flight

(i) The world’s newest jetliner, the Airbus A350, took to the skies on Thursday carrying its first paying passengers from the Gulf Arab nation of Qatar.

(ii) The Qatar Airways flight departed the Qatari capital Doha bound for Frankfurt, Germany. 

(iii) It marks the debut of the relatively lightweight, twin-aisle, long-range plane, which promises to connect smaller cities with major aviation hubs nonstop at a cheaper cost for airlines.

(iv) The new plane offers wider panoramic windows and larger overhead storage space plus the ability to limit connections.

United Bank cuts lending rate by 0.25%

(i) Taking a cue from RBI easing of policy rate, state-owned United Bank of India today slashed its base rate or the minimum lending rate by 0.25 per cent to 10 per cent.

(ii) “It has been decided by the asset liability management committee on January 15, that the base rate of the bank will be reduced from 10.25 per cent to 10 per cent effective February 1,” United Bank of India said in a statement.

(iii) Many other banks may also follow suit in the days to come.

Former CBI chief resigns as UPSC Member

(i) Former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director A.P. Singh, whose name had cropped up during an Income-Tax probe against his friend and meat exporter Moin Qureshi, has resigned as Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Member.

(ii) Mr. Singh told the media that he put in his papers about a week ago, after a Mumbai court on December 30, dismissed charges against the BJP president Amit Shah in the Sohrabuddin and Tulsiram Prajapati encounter cases observing that the allegations made in the CBI chargesheet had a political overtone.

Brahma to be new CEC

(i) H.S. Brahma, the seniormost Election Commissioner, will succeed V.S. Sampath as the next Chief Election Commissioner of India.

(ii) Mr. Sampath will demit office on Thursday after turning 65.

(iii) Mr. Sampath paid a farewell visit to President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday. 

(iv) In just under six years in the Election Commission, first as EC then as CEC, he helped conduct two Lok Sabha elections and at least one round of Assembly elections in every State.

Elite National boxing: Haryana pugilists reign

(i) Haryana emerged the champion in the inaugural Elite National boxing championship for men, organised by Boxing India, with four gold and 40 points here. 

(ii) Services Sports Control Board finished runner-up with 28 points and Railway Sports Promotion Board was third, also with 28 points.

(iii) Sunil Sangwan of Haryana was adjudged ‘best boxer’, M. Thomas of Manipur ‘the best challenger boxer’ and P. L. Prasad of Karnataka ‘most promising boxer’.

Security reviewed for Obama visit

(i) Home Ministry officials on Wednesday reviewed security arrangements for U.S. President Barack Obama, the chief guest at the coming Republic Day celebrations.

(ii) “The arrangements would be finalised on Friday in coordination with the Delhi Police, para-security and intelligence agencies,” said an official. The U.S. administration officials are in constant touch with their Indian counterparts.

(iii) ITC Maurya, where arrangements for Mr. Obama’s stay has been made, has already been booked and anti-sabotage operations initiated there by the U.S. intelligence sleuths.

Modi congratulates swimmer Bhakti for new world record

(i) Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday congratulated open water swimming champion Bhakti Sharma for setting a world record by swimming 1.4 miles in the one degree temperature in the Antarctic Ocean in 52 minutes.

(ii) "We are all very very proud of Bhakti Sharma for her accomplishments! My best wishes to her", Modi said in a statement.

(iii) She is the youngest and the first Asian girl to have achieved this feat and has now conquered all the five oceans of the world.

When Ban Ki-moon became an 'international yogi'

(i) U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had his first yoga lesson in New Delhi on Thursday. The international body's senior advisor Vijay Nambiar helped Mr. Ban with a demonstration of an asana.

(ii) The U.N. General Assembly adopted an India-led resolution declaring June 21 as ‘International Day of Yoga’, recognising that “Yoga provides a holistic approach to health and well-being.”

(iii) The resolution on ‘International Day of Yoga’ had 177 nations joining as co-sponsors, the highest number ever for any General Assembly resolution.

Read more »

Daily GK Update 14th January 2015

DRDO chief was removed to bring in younger generation: Parrikar

(i) Avinash Chander as chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday said that he had recommended that the top position should be held by someone from a "slightly younger generation" and not by someone who was on contract.

(ii) Such senior positions should not be on contract. There are so many eligible persons, we will find someone good from the DRDO, senior most person of a cluster head will head the organisation," Mr. Parrikar told journalists here.

Sanskrit scholar Prabhu Nath Dwivedi wins Sahitya Akademi Award

(i) Eminent Sanskrit scholar Prabhu Nath Dwivedi has been conferred the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award for 2014 for his “Kanakalochanaha” collection of short stories, a statement said on Wednesday.

(ii) The collection comprises of 16 short-stories that touch upon various social issues eroding the system.

(iii) Other winners, announced in December 2014 include poet and critic Adil Jussawalla, who won the award for his poetry book “Trying to Say Goodbye”.

(iv) The winners will be given the award in March during the Festival of Letters being organised here by the Sahitya Akademi.

Infosys CEO meets Modi; dedicates $250 million to innovate in India

(i) Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and disclosed that his company will spend USD 250 million (over Rs 1,500 crore) to fund innovations in software and services in India.

(ii) The chief of India’s second largest IT services firm also discussed with Mr. Modi ways in which the company can participate in the Prime Minister’s vision of smart and digitally empowered India.

(iii) Infosys will develop software for managing the kumbh mela scheduled in Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) in 2016, he told PTI in an interview.

WPI inflation almost flat at 0.11 per cent in December MoM

(i) Reversing a six month declining trend, inflation moved up marginally to 0.11 per cent in December mainly due to increase in prices of food items.

(ii) Inflation measured on wholesale price index (WPI) was at zero in November.

(iii) The food inflation in December moved to a five month high of 5.2 per cent, as per the government data released on Wednesday.

(iv) Inflation in pulses, vegetables and fruits was higher in December over the previous month.

Italy's President Napolitano resigns

(i) Italian President Giorgio Napolitano handed in his resignation as head of state on Wednesday, leaving Prime Minister Matteo Renzi with the politically delicate task of finding a successor.

(ii) The 89-year-old Napolitano, widely respected outside Italy as a guarantor of stability during the euro zone crisis, had always been expected to step down before the end of his second term in office because of his advanced age.

India will catch up with China’s growth rate in 2016-17: World Bank

(i) India will catch up with China's growth at 7% in the year 2016-17, the World Bank has forecast, saying India's economy has recovered in the wake of the economic reform measures taken by the new Indian government, falling oil prices and lower interest rates.

(ii) "India will catch up with China's growth in the year 2016 and 2017," World Bank Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President Kaushik Basu told reporters here.

(iii) "China's growth will remain high, but will begin to taper very gently, reaching 6.9 per cent in 2017," he said as the world Bank released the 'Global Outlook: Disappointments, Divergences, and Expectations Global Economic Prospects'.

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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.

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