Daily GK Update - 30th April and 1st May 2015

1. Non-subsidised LPG rate cut by Rs. 5; ATF to cost more

(i) Price of non-subsidised LPG was on Friday cut by Rs. 5 per cylinder even as jet fuel (ATF) rates were marginally raised in step with global trend.

(ii) The price of non-subsidised or market-priced domestic cooking gas (LPG) was cut by Rs. 5 to Rs. 616 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi, state-owned fuel retailers said.

(iii) The reduction comes on the back of two successive hikes – Rs. 5 on March 1 and Rs 11 on April 1. Households are entitled to 12 cylinders of 14.2-kg each at subsidised rate of Rs. 417 in Delhi. 

(iv) Any requirement beyond this has to be bought at the market price, which is now Rs. 616 in Delhi.

(v) State-owned fuel retailers, Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) revise jet fuel and non-subsidised LPG prices on the first of every month based on average imported cost and rupee-dollar exchange rate.

2. 125th birth anniversary fete of freedom fighter

(i) Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee vice-president N. Peethambara Kurup on Thursday said freedom fighter T.R. Krishnaswamy Iyer was an eminent political activist who built up the Congress movement in Malabar despite heavy odds.

(ii) Inaugurating the year-long 125th birth anniversary celebrations of Krishnaswamy Iyer at a function here, Mr. Kurup said fond memories of him would help the party overcome its present crisis and win back the clout it once enjoyed in Palakkad.

3. Goodbye Internet Explorer; Hello Edge

(i) Wrapped under secretive ‘Project Spartan’ so far, Microsoft has unveiled future looking Edge as its new web browser, which would eventually replace the existing Internet Explorer.

(ii) Edge, Microsoft officials argued, is lighter and faster than Internet Explorer and comes with new features like a built—in notation tool, a distraction—free reading mode, and website information from Cortana, a personal voice—assistant app for Windows.

(iii) “Microsoft Edge is the browser built for Windows 10, and it will be available on the widest range of Windows 10 devices,” Joe Belfiore, Corporate vice president, operating systems group at Microsoft yesterday said at Build 2015, a conference of developers.

4. New India targets a premium of Rs.18,000 cr

(i) New India Assurance on Thursday reported a net profit of Rs.1,431 crore for 2014-15 against Rs.1,089 crore in the previous fiscal, an increase of 31 per cent.

(ii) The global business touched Rs 16,050 crore growing at 12.20 per cent, while its Indian business at Rs 13,209 crore, showed a growth rate of 14.46 per cent.

(iii) “In India, New India outgrew the market by touching a growth rate of 14.5 per cent, while the market grew at 10.65 per cent,” said G. Srinivasan, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, said at a press conference.

(iv) New India increased its footprints in global business, by opening a representative office in Myanmar.

5. Online medicines sale: FDA orders FIR against Snapdeal CEO

(i) Maharashtra’s Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) on Friday said it has ordered filing of FIR against e-commerce major Snapdeal.com’s CEO Kunal Bahl and directors of the company in a case related to alleged online sale of medicines, including prescription drugs.

(ii) FDA Commissioner Harshadeep Kamble told reporters here that filing of an FIR has been ordered against Mr. Bahl as well as directors of Snapdeal.

(iii) A licensed retailer can sell drugs, and that too on the basis of prescription of a doctor, Mr. Kamble said, adding such type of online sale of drugs is not allowed as self medication can be harmful.

6. PNB first bank to roll out Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme

(i) The Punjab National Bank has started opening Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme accounts, the first bank to do so after the scheme was formally launched in January this year. 

(ii) According to a statement from the bank, the scheme is available at 1,604 PNBBSE -0.19 % branches across India.

(iii) Almost seven weeks ago, on 11 March, the RBI had sent a circular to the heads of 28 commercial banks spelling out the operational guidelines of the Sukanya scheme. But except for PNB, no other bank has rolled out the scheme till now.

(iv) Meanwhile, the Sukanya scheme has emerged as the hottest selling investment in post offices. More than two lakh Sukanya accounts have been opened in Post Offices since the scheme was launched. 

(v) According to India Post, some 8,000-9,000 new accounts are opened every week in Mumbai alone. 

(vi) Given that the scheme offers 9.2 per cent returns and the maturity amount is tax free, the Sukanya scheme is a better alternative to the all-time favourite PPF.

7. 20 IAF jets crashed in last 3 fiscals year

(i) Indian Air Force has lost 20 fighter aircraft in crashes in the last three financial years, resulting in an estimated loss of Rs. 574.42 crore to the exchequer, Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

(ii) The maximum number of crashes took place during the just-concluded 2014-15 fiscal, when IAF lost eight aircraft, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said in a written reply.

(iii) Every accident/incident is thoroughly investigated by a court of inquiry to ascertain the cause and the recommendations are implemented. The main reasons for these accidents were human error and technical defects,” the Minister said.

8. FDI jumped about 63 per cent to USD 3.28 billion in February

(i) Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India jumped about 63 per cent to USD 3.28 billion (about Rs. 20,820 crore) in February, 2015.

(i) In February 2014, the country had received FDI of USD 2.01 billion.

(iii) During the April-February period of 2014-15, the foreign fund inflows have grown by 39 per cent, year-on-year, to USD 28.81 billion, according to the data of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

(iv) The inflows were at USD 20.76 billion during the same period a year ago.

(v) Healthy inflow of foreign investments into the country helped India’s balance of payments (BoP) situation.

(vi) India is estimated to require around USD 1 trillion investment over five years to overhaul its infrastructure sector, including ports, airports and highways to boost growth.

(vii) Government has relaxed FDI norms in various sectors, including insurance, railways and medical devices, to boost FDI in the country.

9. Black money: 121 cases against HSBC account holders

(i) The Income Tax department has slapped 121 cases for prosecution of those entities whose names have appeared in the HSBC Geneva bank list even as undisclosed income to the tune of Rs. 4,800 crore has been brought under tax net in these cases at the end of the last fiscal.

(i) Sources said the cases have been filed in courts in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Goa before the closure of the just concluded financial year 2014-15 on March 31. 

(iii) A report in this regard has also been sent to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money which is now compiling all the figures and data to present an action taken report before the Supreme Court on or before May 12.

(iv) Sources said the complaints were filed under I-T laws for tax evasion after investigations into these cases found that these individuals or entities were ‘wilful’ defaulters and had allegedly hidden their incomes by illegally keeping in the Swiss bank, from the taxman.

10. Nadia first 'open defecation-free' district in India

(i) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday declared Nadia as the first Open Defecation Free (ODF) district in the country.

(ii) “I feel proud to declare Nadia to be the first ODF district in the country. I congratulate Nadia district for achieving this feat and convey my thanks to World Bank and the UNICEF,” Ms. Banerjee said while speaking at the programme here.

(iii) Thanking UNICEF and the World Bank for helping the district achieve this feat, Ms. Banerjee declared April 30 as the “Nirmal Bangla Diwas” to be observed in the years to come.

(iv) UNICEF India representative David Mcloughlin congratulated the people of the district for achieving the goal and said, “It’s a commendable job done by you people. 

(v) It shows that ODF is absolutely achievable. Your achievement will inspire others to make their places ODF.”

11. AP may raise retirement age of medical college faculty to 65: Minister

(i) In an effort to reduce the shortage of faculty in medical colleges, Andhra Pradesh Government, taking a cue from its Gujarat counterpart, proposes to increase the retirement age of professors in government medical colleges to 65 years, State Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas said on Thursday.

(ii) The Gujarat model of medical education is worth emulating. The proposal, is in the interest of medical students and patients, will be put before the State Cabinet soon'', said the Minister who slept in the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences(RIMS) here on Wednesday night and interacted with patients to know first-hand their woes.

12. Uber’s SOS button to alert local police control room

(i) Taxi hailing app Uber on Thursday said it has upgraded its ‘SOS button’, which when pressed will now send a real-time alert to the local police control room directly to respond to the emergency.

(ii) The US-based firm had introduced the SOS button in February 2015, following concerns of safety after a woman was allegedly raped in New Delhi by a driver working for the firm.

(iii) Earlier, using the SOS button, users could dial 100 as well as share their trip details and real-time location with up to five friends and family members.

(iv) Now, the police will also receive details like GPS location, rider and driver information like name, photo and vehicle number.

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Daily GK Update - 29th April 2015

India to launch heavy satellite by December 2016

(i) With the successful testing of indigenous cryogenic engine, India has attained the capability of putting heavy satellites in orbit and the first one is expected to be launched by December 2016, government told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

(ii) Minister of State for Space Jitendra Singh the indigenous cyrogenic engine, which uses liquid oxygen and hydrogen as fuel, was tested successfully by ISRO on Tuesday.

(iii) The testing of indigenous cryogenic engine will enable India to put heavy satellites weighing up to four tonnes in the geostationary orbit, he said, amid thumping of desks.

(iv) He said the first such satellite may be launched by December, 2016

(v) He said 65 government departments were in consultation with ISRO for developing applications and services to support implementation of their schemes.

Cabinet nod for Smart City Project, Atal rejuvenation mission

(i) Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod to NDA government’s flagship 100 smart cities project and the new urban renewal mission with a total outlay of about Rs one lakh crore.

(ii) A meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved Smart Cities Mission for development of 100 smart cities and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) of 500 cities with outlays of Rs 48,000 crore and Rs 50,000 crore respectively, according to a statement issued by the Urban Development Ministry.

(iii) Smart City is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project aimed at recasting the urban landscape of the country by making cities more livable and inclusive besides driving the economic growth. 

(iv) Each selected city under the ambitious scheme would get central assistance of Rs 100 crore per year for five years.

(v) AMRUT is the new avatar of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and has been named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Narine banned from bowling off-spinners

(i) In another setback for Sunil Narine, the West Indies player has been barred from bowling off-spinners in all matches organised by the BCCI, including the ongoing IPL.

(ii) Kolkata Knight Riders’ ace spinner Narine underwent a biomechanical analysis in Chennai after being reported for a suspected illegal action again during the IPL tie against SunRisers Hyderabad in Visakhapatnam on April 22.

(iii) After reviewing the footage of the game and analysis in Chennai, the BCCI has decided to ban his off-spinners.

(iv) The BCCI had earlier banned Narine, whose ‘doosra’ was under the scanner, during the 2014 Champions League T20 where he was not allowed to represent Knight Riders in the final after being reported twice in as many games for a suspect action.

Sri Lanka adopts 19th Amendment

(i) Marking the beginning of a new chapter in the contemporary political history of Sri Lanka, the Parliament on Tuesday night adopted the 19th Constitutional Amendment with an overwhelming majority. 

(ii) The legislation envisages the dilution of many powers of Executive Presidency, which had been in force since 1978.

(iii) Earlier in the day, two issues cropped up — objections to the composition of Constitutional Council and the provision regarding the appointment of Ministers.

(iv) Eventually, the government agreed to include seven MPs in the Constitutional Council as against the original proposal of having only non-political members.

World Women Chess: Harika wins silver, bronze for Humpy

(i) D Harika and Koneru Humpy came up with fine individual performances to win silver and a bronze, respectively, even as the Indian eves finished fourth in the women’s world team chess championship here.

(ii) Harika’s silver and Humpy’s bronze though were a big consolation for the team, overall it was a disappointing show by the Indian girls given the missed opportunities. The medal for the team was always within reach, but it failed to finish off well.

(iii) Considering that the Indian team entered the tournament as a wild card, a fourth-place finish can be justified as a pretty decent show. 

(iv) However, the medal was within the grasp as the team finished just one point shy of China, which bagged the bronze.

I-T Dept creates ‘Tatkal’ system aid to Nepal quake victims

(i) The Income Tax department has launched a ‘Tatkal’ approval mechanism for those charitable and self-help organisations who desire to help the victims of the earthquake in Nepal.

(ii) A number of voluntary organisations are either wanting to or are in the process of pooling and channelling money for the victims of the Himalayan tragedy which has claimed over 5,000 lives and injured thousands others.

(iii) Charitable organisations under IT Act can render help to earthquake victims in Nepal. Applications to CBDT will be processed in two days,” his tweet had said.

Saudi king appoints nephew as new crown prince

(i) Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz on Wednesday sacked his younger half brother as crown prince and appointed his nephew, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, as the new heir apparent, state television said.

(ii) He also appointed his son, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as deputy crown prince, and replaced veteran Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal with the kingdom's Washington ambassador Adel al-Jubeir.

(iii) He also appointed Khalid al-Falih as the country's Health Minister and chairman of Saudi Aramco, state television said.

(iv) Mr. Falih was the chief executive of state oil giant Saudi Aramco. A replacement for him as head of the company was not immediately named.

Sugar import duty hiked to 40 per cent

(i) The Union Cabinet on Wednesday decided to hike the import duty on sugar to 40 per cent from the current 25 per cent to check the slide in domestic prices of the sweetener and enable the industry to clear cane arrears to the tune of Rs. 20,099 crore. 

(ii) This is in line with the demand raised by the industry, cane growers and state governments with whom the government recently held a series of meetings. 

(iii) However, no decision was announced on the demand to create a buffer stock of sugar on government account and industry body ISMA urged the government to quickly decide on its request to buy out 10 per cent of current year's sugar production amounting to 3.5 million tonnes "to help the industry come out of the crisis in the short run and ensure that a major portion of cane price arrears of farmers are cleared before the start of the next sugar season."

B. Dayananda takes charge as Commissioner of Mysuru City Police

(i) IPS officer B. Dayananda took charge as the new Commissioner of Mysuru City Police on Wednesday from M.A. Saleem, who has been transferred to Bengaluru as the Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic).

(ii) Speaking to reporters after taking charge, Mr. Dayanand said visible policing was his priority area. 

(iii) However, all the measures taken by his predecessor to improve law and order and traffic in Mysuru will continue.

(iv) Mr. Dayananda strongly denied that he was reluctant to take charge as the Commissioner of Mysuru City Police. “Whenever Government has posted me anywhere, I have never hesitated,” he said.

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Daily GK Update : 28th April 2015

Chennai-born Raja Rajeswari is New York’s first Indian-American woman judge

(i) Chennai-born Raja Rajeswari has been sworn-in as a criminal court judge in New York by Mayor Bill de Blasio, becoming the first India-born woman to be appointed a judge in New York City.

(ii) Ms. Rajeswari, 43, who had migrated to the U.S. from Chennai as a teenager, previously worked with the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office for her entire career in several bureaus including Criminal Court, Narcotics, Supreme Court, and the Sex Crimes Special Victims Bureau, where she last served as Deputy Chief.

(iii) Ms. Rajeswari took the oath of office at a ceremony in New York City on Monday along with 27 other judges appointed earlier this month to the Family Court, Criminal Court, and Civil Court, which are part of the New York State Unified Court System.

Dance director Vijay dies in accident, in Nepal

(i) Even as the members of the unit filming ‘Etakaaram.com’ were heaving a sigh of relief on their providential escape from the earthquake that devastated Nepal, a road accident claimed the life of Vijay, the choreographer for the movie, on Monday. who used to run a dance academy in Bapatla.

(ii) After wrapping up four days of shooting in a place called Kokra in Nepal, the unit was said to be returning to Kathmandu when the Tata Safari van in which the unit was travelling met with an accident.

(iii) Vijay was a native of Bapatla in Guntur District and his family has been in the street living behind the Shadi Khana near marketyard. 

(iv) Vijay was part of the 20-member crew of "Etakaaram.com’’, which left for Nepal on Friday.

Former Coca-Cola veteran joins Snapdeal as Senior VP-Marketing

(i) Snapdeal, an online marketplace, today announced that it has appointed Idi Srinivas Murthy as Senior Vice President – Marketing. 

(ii) Mr. Murthy joins Snapdeal after a string of successes in Marketing at The Coca-Cola Company and GlaxoSmithKline.

(iii) An electrical engineer from Vivekanand Engineering College, Mumbai and an MBA from Indian Institute of Management (IIM) – Calcutta, Mr. Murthy was Regional Director, Marketing at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), South Africa where he spearheaded GSK’s portfolio expansion, innovation, and consumer and medical marketing across 44 countries. 

(iv) At The Coca-Cola Company, he worked across different roles in Marketing and operations.

(v) Kunal Bahl, co-Founder and CEO, Snapdeal.

Rajya Sabha passed Payments and Settlement Systems (Amendment) Bill, 2014

(i) The Rajya Sabha on 27 April 2015 passed Payments and Settlement Systems (Amendment) Bill, 2014 with voice vote. With this the bill has been passed by both the houses of Parliament. It was passed by the Lok Sabha on 9 December 2014.

(ii) The bill seeks to amend the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 so as to address the problem of insolvency in the payment and settlement system by increasing transparency. 

(iii) It is also aimed at bringing India's banking payment system in sync with international practices.

The Annual Credit Plan 2015-16 launched in Kalaburagi district

(i) Deputy Commissioner Vipul Bansal said that the Annual Credit Plans of banks should not become a mere ritual and bankers should make honest efforts to achieve financial targets and also help the farming sector get all the benefits due to them.

(ii) Launching the Distrct Annual Credit Plan 2015-16 here on Monday, Mr Bansal said that banks, which deduct the premiums for crop insurance in crop loans, seldom made any effort to ensure that the farmers got back their insurance amount in the event of the failure of the crop.

(iii) State Bank of India, which is the lead bank of Kalaburagi, had prepared an ambitious credit plan of Rs. 5,111 crore which included Rs. 4,275 crore priority sector lending and Rs. 836 crore non-priority sector lending.

Union Government cancelled licenses of nearly 9000 NGOs

(i) Union Government on 27 April 2015 cancelled the licences of around 9000 NGOs for violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010. 

(ii) These foreign funded NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) failed to file annual returns for the years 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12.

(iii) Union Ministry of Home Affairs in an order said that the registration of the NGOs that had neither filed their annual returns for three years nor given any explanation for the delay, stood cancelled with immediate effect.

(iv) The Ministry also directed the district magistrate concerned to manage the assets of these NGOs in any manner considered necessary and in public interest.

Wimbledon announces 7 per cent increase in prize money

(i) Prize money is increasing by 7 per cent at Wimbledon this year, with 1.88 million pounds ($2.85 million) going to the men’s and women’s singles champions.

(ii) The All England Club announced that prize money for the grass-court Grand Slam will total 26.75 million pounds ($40.60 million). Organisers say the prize fund will be “the highest ever in professional tennis,” surpassing last year’s U.S. Open purse of $38.25 million. The total prize money for singles is going up by 8 per cent. 

(iii) Last year’s champions Novak Djokovic and Petra Kvitova each received 1.76 million pounds.

(iv) The tournament will run from June 29 to July 12. The break between the French Open and Wimbledon (normally two weeks) has been extended to three weeks for the first time this year.

Two-bedroom scheme launch in May: KCR

(i) Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday announced that his election promise of constructing two-bedroom houses for poor will take off in May.

(ii) He also announced that orders regularising the services of contract employees will be issued shortly and that the unemployed who are opposing jobs for contract staff will also be accommodated in government service. 

(iii) The process will commence the day after the committee headed by C.R. Kamalanathan finalised the bifurcation of State-level posts between the two States, he said. 

(iv) In the power sector itself, youth will get about 25,000 jobs as the government was headed for a huge expansion of the sector.

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Daily GK Update - 27th April 2015

BCCI nominates Rohit Sharma for Arjuna award

(i) Indian batsman Rohit Sharma on Monday expressed delight about the BCCI’s decision to recommend his name for the government’s prestigious Arjuna Award and said that he felt “honoured“.

(ii) BCCI took the decision to put forth Roihit’s name to the government for the Arjuna Award at its working committee meeting in Kolkata on Sunday.

(iii) The 27-year-old Mumbaikar scored a brilliant 264 against Sri Lanka last season — the highest score by anyone in the world in ODI cricket — at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. 

(iv) He is the only batsman to have scored two ODI double hundreds — his first one coming against Australia in 2013.

Indian-origin scientist wins Heinz Award

(i) An Indian-origin scientist at MIT, who has developed artificial human microlivers for drug testing, has won a prestigious $2,50,000 Heinz award for her work in tissue engineering and disease detection.

(ii) Sangeeta Bhatia at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been named the recipient of the 2015 Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy, and Employment. 

(iii) The award includes an unrestricted prize of $ 2,50,000.

Note:- The Heinz Awards annually recognise individuals for their extraordinary contributions to arts and humanities; environment; human condition; public policy; and technology, the economy, and employment.

Pashupatinath temple unharmed in Nepal quake

(i) The famous 5th century Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu survived the massive 7.9 magnitude earthquake that flattened several World Heritages like iconic Dharhara tower and Darbar Square in Nepal. 

(ii) The Pashupatinath Temple is safe, we have checked the shrine many times and it has developed no cracks,” a devotee at the temple said.

(iii) The temple, one of the seven monument groups in UNESCO’s designation of Kathmandu Valley as a cultural heritage site, is the oldest Hindu temple in Kathmandu dating back to 400 AD.

(iv) The sacred Hindu temple is dedicated to Pashupatinath (Lord Shiva) and is located on the banks of the Bagmati River. 

(v) It suffered minor cracks on its boundary wall when the quake jolted Nepal, killing over 3,600 people.

World Chess: India loses to Georgia

(i) India went down 1.5-2.5 to Georgia in the seventh round of the women’s world team chess championship at Chengdu, China, on Sunday. 

(ii) India has six points and is placed sixth.

(iii) Georgia is top of the table with 13 points, followed by Russia (11), China (nine) and Ukraine (eight), with two rounds remaining.

(iv) Padmini Rout’s loss to Meri Arabidze, rated 72 points below, proved costly for India. Koneru Humpy, Dronavalli Harika and Soumya Swaminathan drew their games with Bela Khotenashvili, Lela Javakhishvili and Melia Salome.

Sudan's al-Bashir re-elected with 94 % of vote

(i) Sudan’s Election Commission says President Omar al-Bashir has won re-election with 94 per cent of the vote, extending his 25-year rule despite war crimes charges and multiple insurgencies.

(ii) The Election Commission puts turnout at 46.4 per cent and denies widespread reports of low participation. 

(iii) Al-Bashir, who took power in a bloodless Islamist coup in 1989, is the only sitting head of state facing genocide charges at the International Criminal Court. The charges stem from the conflict in Darfur.

DK Police launch helplines for women, children and elderly

(i) The Dakshina Kannada District Police on Monday launched the services of helplines for women, children and senior citizens (1091, 1090 and 1098) in its jurisdiction.

(ii) Speaking to presspersons after the launch, Superintendent of Police S.D. Sharanappa said 1098 is linked to missing child bureau too. 

(iii) The help lines have been launched in coordination with several government departments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), he said.

(iv) While volunteers of NGOs would attend to calls between 10 am and 5.30 pm every day, department personnel would attend to calls during the rest of the period. 

(v) The help lines thus would be functional round-the-clock throughout the year.

Supreme Court strikes down Bhavani Singh's appointment

(i) The Supreme Court on Monday struck down the appoint

ment of Special Public Prosecutor Bhavani Singh and declared that the interference of the Tamil Nadu government in his appointment was a manifestation of the government's "anxiety" about the future. 

(ii) The court held that Karnataka is the sole prosecuting agency in the pending appeals filed by the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, and three others against their conviction in the Rs. 66 crore disproportionate assets case.

(iii) A three-judge Bench, led by Justice Dipak Misra, directed the Karnataka government to file its written submissions by April 28 in the Karnataka High Court where the appeals are pending.

(iv) The Bench further directed the High Court judge to take no heed of the arguments made by Mr. Singh.

Waive farm loans, open farmers’ bank: Opposition

(i) Government should waive farm loans and open exclusive banks for farmers on lines of the women’s bank, to help tide over the agrarian crisis facing the country, Opposition parties demanded in Rajya Sabha on Friday.

(ii) A JD(U) member also wanted the two major parties -- BJP and Congress, to join hands to implement the recommendations of the M S Swaminathan Committee to provide much-needed succour to farmers, if they can do so on allowing FDI in insurance and corporate globalisation.

(iii) Crop insurance, he said, should be a responsibility of the Centre and state governments and Food Corporation of India (FCI) should procure all foodgrain, irrespective of quality, brought by farmers.

(iv) K C Tyagi (JD-U) said Gajender’s suicide was “a sacrifice for the cause of farmers of the entire nation” and held various ministries responsible for their current plight.

Shamini qualifies for main draw at World TT Championships

(i) India enjoyed a profitable opening day as Shamini Kumaresan qualified for the main draw of the women’s singles event at the World Table Tennis Championships here on Monday.

(ii) Shamini qualified by topping her group which included Gillian Edwards of Scotland and Nino Neridee of Venezuela.

(iii) She defeated Gillian Edwards 11—7, 9—11, 11—3, 13—11, 8—11, 11—8. She then scored a 11—7, 11—3, 8—11, 11—3, 7—11, 11—8 win over Nino Neridee.

(iv) The other two women players Mouma Das and Manika Batra are already in the main draw based on the world ranking.

South Korea's prime minister steps down over bribery scandal

(i) South Korea’s president has accepted the resignation of her prime minister on account of a bribery scandal.

(ii) Prime Minster Lee Wan Koo offered to quit last week, two months after taking the country’s second highest post. 

(iii) He was at the heart of a corruption scandal involving a dead businessman and other high-profile figures

(iv) Businessman Sung Wan-jong said before committing suicide this month that he gave 30 million won ($27,390) to Lee in 2013. Lee has denied the allegation.

(v) President Park Geun-hye’s office said on Monday she accepted Lee’s resignation but gave no further details.

South Asia has world’s most skewed gender wage gap: UN report

(i) South Asia has the world’s most skewed gender wage gap and is among the few regions where the gender labour force participation gap is both large and growing, a new report from UN Women has found.

(ii) Globally, only half of women participate in the labour force, compared to three quarters of men; in India only a third of women are in the labour force. “In developing regions, up to 95 per cent of women’s employment is informal, in jobs that are unprotected by labour laws and lack social protection,” the report says.

(iii) Simultaneously, women shoulder the bulk of the burden of unpaid care work; in India, for instance, women do nearly six hours of unpaid care and housework every day as compared to half an hour for men, UN Women found. 

(iv) While on average globally, women are paid 24 percent less than men, the gaps for women with children are even wider. 

(v) In South Asia, the gender pay gap is 35 per cent for women with children compared to 14 per cent for those without.

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Daily GK Update - 26th and 25th April

Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly to find new India coach

(i) Former stalwarts Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid will be part of the Committee which will find Indian cricket team’s new coach and the support staff.

(ii) The trio, according to sources, will provide input to BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya and Secretary General Anurag Thakur, who were on Sunday entrusted with the job of finding the new coach at the Working Committee meeting of the Board.

(iii) “The process to identify the coach and support staff for the Senior National team will be undertaken by the Hon. President and the Hon. Secretary,” a BCCI release said.

EMC launches big data analytics solution

(i) EMC Corporation, on Thursday, rolled out ‘Federation Business Data Lake’, a solution that would help enterprises manage and analyse big data in an efficient, scalable and cost-effective manner to make informed strategic decisions.

(ii) The company also launched its Hadoop Innovation Centre. Besides providing enterprises solutions, it will also allow software vendors to test real-use cases and create new solutions. 

(iii) Hadoop is an open-source software framework that enables analysis of big data.

(iv) EMC also announced the launch of a 4-week free, open, online and interactive course on data lakes. It is targeted at students and decision-makers who want to learn how to make better sense of big data.

Tata Projects in tie-up with Australian firm for social infrastructure projects

(i) Tata Projects has entered into a strategic partnership with Australian construction company, Brookfield Multiplex, to deliver a range of commercial and retail, healthcare and tourism and leisure projects in India.

(ii) “The memorandum of understanding (MoU) promises ‘on-time delivery’ of projects and will offer state-of-the-art construction technology and world-class design capability,” Vinayak Deshpande, Managing Director, Tata Projects, told at a press conference.

(iii) The MoU is project-specific with no equity participation by either partner. Both companies will enter partnerships in an integrated joint venture manner and the stake will vary project-wise.

Russia, Argentina signed agreements on economic & energy co-operation

(i) Russia and Argentina on 23 April 2015 signed a series of framework agreements on economic and energy co-operation.

(ii) The agreements were inked during the two-day visit of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to Moscow.

(iii) Russia agreed to finance the hydroelectric plant in Argentina’s Neuquen River

Russia’s Rosatom nuclear corporation agreed to build a new reactor at Argentina’s Atucha 3 nuclear power plant

(iv) A Memorandum of Co-operation (MoC) was signed on defence

9-month pregnant woman runs 5 k.m. in Karimnagar

(i) In a courageous move, a 42-year-old woman Kamarapu Laxmi, who is nine months pregnant, set a new record by running for a distance of 5 kilometers to enter the record books at Ambedkar Stadium in here on Sunday.

(ii) During her first delivery also, she ran a distance of 5 kilometres for safe and normal delivery. For her second delivery, she decided to enter the record books and also for the cause of protection of girl child and extending her solidarity with the Mission Kakatiya programme of the State Government.

(iii) Kamarapu Laxmi, a resident of Bhagathnagar, clocked the record in the presence of two gynaecologists, district sports development officer and other dignitaries of the town. 

(iv) The organisers also deployed an ambulance and para-medical staff to meet any eventuality for this feat.

World Malaria Day observed with theme Invest in the Future. Defeat Malaria

(i) World Malaria Day (WMD) was observed on 25 April 2015. The theme for the 2013-2015 campaign is Invest in the Future. Defeat Malaria.

(ii) The day is observed to recognise the global efforts to control malaria. It is an occasion to highlight the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment for malaria control and elimination

(iii) World Malaria Day was instituted by World Health Organization (WHO) Member States during the 2007 World Health Assembly.

Italy marks 70th anniversary of anti-Nazi uprising

(i) Italy is celebrating the 70th anniversary of a partisan uprising against the Nazis and their Fascist allies at the end of World War II.

(ii) President Sergio Mattarella marked Liberation Day on Saturday by laying a wreath on the tomb of the unknown soldier in Rome.

(iii) The anniversary marks the day in 1945 when the Italian resistance movement proclaimed an insurgency as the Allies were pushing German forces out of the peninsula.

Earthquake of magnitude 7.9 on the Richter scale struck Nepal

(i) A high-intensity earthquake of magnitude 7.9 on the Richter scale struck Nepal on 25 April 2015. The epicenter of the quake was 80km east of Pokhra near Kathmandu, Nepal at a shallow depth of 11 kilometers (7 miles).

(ii) The powerful quake that rocked Nepal killed at least 449 people and several were injured. It also led to collapse of houses and centuries-old temples. 

(iii) The landmark Dharahara tower built in the 19th century in Kathmandu was reduced to rubble.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s Healthcare Portal

(i) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24 April 2015 inaugurated India’s Healthcare Portal at the SAAARC Trade Mart in the Global Exhibition on Services, in ITPO, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

(ii) The portal is an authentic and dynamic information source which can effectively be used by any treatment seeker/potential medical tourist from across the globe.

(iii) At present, the portal covers 124 accredited medical facilities which include 93 medical centres, 30 Ayurveda and Wellness centres and 1 special category centre. 

(iv) 74 facilities are located in Tier I cites and the rest are in Tier II cities. The Healthcare Portal can be seen at www.indiahealthcaretourism.com

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Daily GK Update | 24th April 2015

Pakistan and Bangladesh happier than India: UN report

(i) Indians are less happy than their counterparts in Pakistan and Bangladesh, according to a report published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), which is a global initiative for the United Nations.

(ii) India comes in at the 117th spot out of 158 countries in the 2015 World Happiness Report. The report takes into account GDP per capita, life expectancy, social support and freedom to make life choices as indicators of happiness. 

(iii) India’s rank dropped six notches from the 2013 report, when it was on the 111th spot.

Pakistan is ranked 81 and Bangladesh, 109. Places like Ukraine (111), Palestine (108) and Iraq (112) too come up higher than India on the index.

(iv) Switzerland has been named the happiest country in the world. The other countries in the top five are Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Canada.

Govt allows investing 5% of EPFO corpus in stock markets

(i) Government has allowed retirement fund body EPFO to invest 5 per cent of its corpus in exchange traded funds which will result into an inflow of around Rs. 5,000 crore into the stock markets during this fiscal.

(ii) “We will invest 5 per cent of the investible funds of EPFO into the ETF. The new investment pattern has been notified about two-three days ago,” Labour Secretary Shankar Aggarwal told reporters here.

(iii) The Ministry will bring two notifications. One for the unexempted firm which are managed by the EPFO and another for exempted firms which run their PF trusts for managing their workers funds and PF accounts.”

(iv) He added: “As per the new investment norms notified for exempted firms, they can invest minimum of 5 per cent into equity and equity-related instruments which can be up to 15 per cent of their corpus.”

Vasan elected chief of Tamil Maanila Congress

(i) Former Union Minister G.K. Vasan was on Friday formally elected as the chief of Tamil Maanila Congress at the party’s first general council meeting here.

(ii) Mr. Vasan, who had quit the Congress in November last year along with his supporters, was unanimously elected as party president at the meeting in which TMC functionaries from across the state participated.

(iii) A demand seeking total prohibition of liquor in Tamil Nadu was among the 23 resolutions adopted at the meet.

KCR re-elected TRS chief unopposed

(i) Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who is also the president of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), was formally elected as the party chief again on Friday at the party's plenary that began here on Friday.

(ii) Party electoral Returning Officer Nayini Narsimha Reddy, who is also the Home Minister, announced Mr. Rao's election amidst bursting of crackers. 

Sunitha Krishnan to get Yudhvir Foundation award

(i) Sunitha Krishnan, co-founder of anti-trafficking organisation `Prajwala' has been named the recipient of the 24th Yudhvir Foundation Memorial Award. 

(ii) Ms. Sunitha gets the award for her extraordinary achievement in the rescue, restoration and rehabilitation of victims of trafficking and her exemplary care and support of persons with HIV.

(iii) She is the recipient of numerous national and international awards including Stree Shakti Award by Centre in 2003, Perdita Houston International Human Rights Award by United Nation (2006) and Outstanding Woman Award by National Commission for Women, India (2013).

(iv) She is member of Andhra Pradesh State Women’s Commission and honorary Director, Social Justice Department, Kerala Government for Nirbhaya State Policy, which she drafted in 2011 to combat trafficking.

(v) The Yudhvir Foundation was established in 1991 to further the work of late Yudhvir, who started Daily Hindi Milap in 1949 in Urdu and in Hindi in 1966. 

(vi) The ambition of the Foundation is to honour those, who contribute to national integration, social service and those whose endeavours, in any field have triumphed in the face of adversity.

Vellore ranks second in family planning

(i) The numbers says it all. Efforts to promote family planning are paying off, with Vellore district improving its achievements in performing sterilisation procedures.

(ii) The district has been doing well in family planning activities. A total of 21,203 persons underwent sterilisation in the district during 2012-2013 taking it to the third rank in the State with Kanyakumari and Ariyalur districts in the first and second places respectively.

(iii) It bettered its performance during 2013-2014 bagging the second rank in the State with 22,381 cases. Kancheepuram came first, while Nagapattinam stood third, K.G. Srithar, deputy director, medical services and family welfare, Vellore said.

National Institute of Electronics signs pact with Snapdeal

(i) National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), on Thursday, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with e-commerce giant Snapdeal to roll out digital marketing courses, aimed at helping small and medium business and artisans wanting to take the online route to become entrepreneurs.

(ii) The digital marketing courses will help the trainees understand the fundamentals of digital marketing and effectively utilise the online sales channel. 

(iii) As a knowledge partner, Snapdeal will provide inputs on the course and will facilitate industry interactions for the participants.

(iv) We want to create one million successful online entrepreneurs in India because in the success of these small businesses lies our success,” Snapdeal Co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl said.

(v) To begin with, the course will be launched in six centres — Srinagar, New Delhi, Aurangabad, Kolkata, Calicut and Chennai.

Maharashtra govt plans to formulate own Transport Act

(i) Maharashtra government is planning to formulate a separate law for the state on the lines of the Centre’s Motor Vehicles Act, which will allow it to take action against those who flout transport rules.

(ii) If Maharashtra succeeds in enacting such a law, it would become the first state in the country to have its own Transport Act.

(iii) The law will give powers to the state government to take action against school buses ferrying more than the stipulated number of children at a time, and trucks carrying excessive load of goods.

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