TIMES OF INDIA TECH INTERESTING POINTS FOR INTERVIEW

TCS ends RIL's 23-year run as most profitable firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) posted a net profit of Rs 5,328 crore for the quarter ended December, overtaking long-standing champion Reliance Industries Ltd.        Indian IT companies: Middle managers in firing line Many of these mid-managers have 6-12 years of experience, and have grown into roles involving allocating engineers for projects, managing software quality and training fresh hires.        5 interesting phones launched recently The year 2015 has opened on a high note for the smartphone market in the country.        Microsoft to unveil phone-laptop hybrid on January 21: Report Microsoft is expected to introduce a phone-laptop hybrid that could appeal to enterprise customers.        Samsung Galaxy S6 to come with 4GB RAM: Report It's being reported that Samsung's next Galaxy S flagship will come with 4GB RAM.    WHAT'S HOT   5 interesting phones launched recently The year 2015 has opened on a high note for the smartphone market in the country. The very first few weeks have seen some big-ticket launches. While Samsung launched its very first Tizen phone in India, Lenovo uneiled country's cheapest 4G phone.

Daily GK Update - 20th January 2015

1. Jaipur Literature Festival all set to begin

i. The eighth edition of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival is all set to open on 21st January 2015. The event, which is now the world’s largest free literary festival, will see a galaxy of literary and musical stars come together for a vibrant celebration of creative expression.

ii. To be inaugurated by the Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, the event is seen as an agenda-setter on key issues from the global economic crisis to the rise of e-books, the current state of politics in the Middle East to the increasing importance of Indian language publishing. 

iii. This year the Festival will look at gender equity in India in a series titled `Women Uninterrupted', supported by UN Women to mark the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Conference on Gender, leading up to the world summit at the UN this September, as well as `The Seven Deadly Sins' that polarize society.

2. Hyderabad to host World Congress on Information Technology in 2018

i. Hyderabad will host the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) in 2018. This will be the first WCIT to be held in India and the theme of the 2018 WCIT will be Future of enterprises.

ii. As part of this, the Chief Minister of Telangana K Chandrasekhar Rao would visit the US, the UK and other countries to invite the bigwigs of the IT industry to the 2018 event.

iii. WCIT 2016 is to be held in Brazil.

In 2014, the 19th WCIT was held in Guadalajara in Mexico. The theme was Building the Digital Age Together.

The first WCIT was held in 1978 and it is held since then every two years.

3. India’s growth to reach 6.3 per cent in 2016: UN WESP report

i. According to the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2015 report, India’s growth in terms of GDP is expected to reach 5.9 per cent in 2015 and 6.3 per cent in 2016.

ii. India's growth recovery is partly the result of improved market sentiment after the new government took office in the second quarter of 2014 and had announced plans to reform the bureaucracy, labour laws and public subsidies.

About United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) report

This report is published at the beginning of each year by the combined efforts of

• UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
• UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
• 5 UN regional commissions.
• World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

4. Singapore's GIC to invest Rs 1,020 crore in Bandhan Financial Services 

i. Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC is investing 10.2 billion rupees ($165.5 million) in India's Bandhan Financial Services, which is setting up one of the country's two newest banks 

ii. The company will get a total equity investment of 16 billion rupees, including 5.8 billion rupees from existing investor IFC 

iii. IFC, part of the World Bank Group, owns 10.8 percent of Bandhan and its stake will increase after the latest investment. 

iv. Bandhan and IDFC were the only two companies which won bank permits from the central bank last year in what was the first bank licensing process in a decade. 

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

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

i. 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.

ii. Mr. Shubham wants to develop a desktop Braille printer that costs around $350 and weighs just a few kilograms, compared with current models that can weigh more than nine kilograms. 

iii. The machine could be used to print Braille reading materials on paper, using raised dots instead of ink, from a personal computer or electronic device.

6. Twitter buys Indian mobile marketing start-up ZipDial 

i. Twitter Inc said it will buy Indian mobile phone marketing start-up ZipDial, reportedly for $30 million to $40 million, as the U.S. microblogging service looks to expand in the world's second-biggest mobile market. 

ii. Bengaluru-based ZipDial gives clients phone numbers for use in marketing campaigns. The start-up's clients include International Business Machines Corp, Yum! Brands Inc's KFC and Procter & Gamble Co 's Gillette. 

This acquisition significantly increases our investment in India, one of the countries where we're seeing great growth,' Twitter said

iii. The service capitalises on a local tradition of communicating through so-called missed calls. 

7. Filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani appointed as chairperson of CBFC

i. Union Government has reconstituted Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). In this regard, government has appointed 1 chairperson and 9 board members.

ii. Pahlaj Nihalani was appointed chairperson. He will be office in for a period of three years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

iii. 9 Members are: BJP leader Vani Tripathi Tikoo, filmmakers Ashoke Pandit and Chandra Prakash Dwivedi, film writer Mihir Bhuta, Syed Abdul Bari, Ramesh Patange, actor George Baker, actor-filmmaker Jeevitha and actor- playwright S Ve Shekhar.

8. Former PM Manmohan Singh adopted Pachim Bekeli Gaon Panchyat

i. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh adopted Pachim Bekeli Gaon Panchyat under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna (SAGY). Pachim Bekeli Gaon Panchyat is located in Kamrup district of Assam.

ii. Manmohan Singh represents Assam in the Rajya Sabha.

Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana aims to cover 2500 villages by 2019. Under the project, each Member of Parliament (MP) will take up the responsibility of providing infrastructure and developing three villages by 2019.

iii. The objective of the project is to create a holistic development of all adopted villages by the MPs in all aspects —human, personal, social, economic and environmental development, including provision of basic amenities, services, security and good governance.

9. TCS ends RIL's 23-year run as most profitable firm

After 23 years, India has a new numero uno when it comes to net profit

i. Information technology major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) posted a net profit of Rs 5,328 crore for the quarter ended December, overtaking long-standing champion Reliance Industries Ltd. 

ii. In Indian business history it's the first time that an IT company has topped the profit charts.

iii. TCS has also become the world's third largest employer of people in the technology sector, with over 3 lakh employees. And given the pace at which it is growing, it could become the second largest employer this year, crossing Hewlett-Packard, and would be fast closing in on leader IBM.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/01/daily-gk-update-20th-january-2015.html#ixzz3PTK55NcH

Daily GK Update - 18th - 19th January 2015

Daily GK Update - 18th - 19th January 2015

1. Mukherjee launches Pulse Polio Immunization Programme

i. President Pranab Mukherjee launched the Pulse Polio Immunization Programme by administering polio drops to children at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

ii. The National Immunization Day was held on 18th Jannuary when children under 5 years age were  given polio drops as part of the Government's drive to sustain polio eradication from the region. 

iii. India has been implementing the Pulse Polio Programme since 1995.

iv. In India, the last case of wild polio was reported on January 13, 2011. The South-East Asia region of WHO has been certified on March 27, 2014 as "polio free", meaning that transmission of wild poliovirus has been interrupted in this block of 11 countries including India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste for the last three years.

2. Manjul Bhargava to lead Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s teach in India programme 

i. Fields medallist Manjul Bhargava will be the face and facilitator of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet education project to rope in eminent scholars and scientists abroad to teach students at IITs and central universities.

ii. Bhargava, who is the first person of Indian origin to win the coveted international prize for his work in mathematics agreed to 'recruit' scientists in the US and across the world to participate in the Global Initiative of Academic network (GIAN), a shortterm teaching programme under which scholars abroad will be invited to teach in India.

iii. GIAN is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's brainchild. The project is expected to figure once again on the Indian agenda when Obama arrives here.

3. Twitter ropes in Taranjeet Singh to head business in India 

i. Microblogging site Twitter has hired Taranjeet Singh as business head for its operations in India. 

ii. Singh will responsible for increasing commercial opportunities for Twitter and work closely with brands and agencies to maximise the value of real-time marketing for live public conversations.

iii. Taranjeet has more than 19 years of sales and business development experience. He was previously sales director of South Asia for BBC Advertising. 

4. 24 Children, including 8 girls selected for National Bravery Awards

i. Four of the awards have been given posthumously. The children will receive their awards from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the 24th of January, and will also participate in the Republic Day parade.

ii. 16 year old Resham Fatma of Uttar Pradesh, a victim of Acid attack, will be conferred the Bharat Award for showing exemplary courage while fighting off her tormentor, whose marriage proposal she had turned down.

iii. The prestigious Geeta Chopra Award has been conferred on 13 year old Gunjan Sharma of Assam who displayed exemplary valor in saving her friends from the clutches of the abductor.

iv. The Sanjay Chopra Award has been given to 16 year old Master Devesh Kumar of Uttar Pradesh who displayed outstanding courage while confronting two chain-snatchers.

5. PSU bank employees to hold 4-day strike from Jan 21 on wage revision issue

i. Public sector bank (PSB) employees have decided to go on a 4-day strike from January 21 to protest against the "rigid and callous attitude" of Central Government in resolving the long pending wage revision issue.

ii. The decision is in response to the strike call given by United Forum Of Bank Unions, which has more than ten lakh employees and officers of banking Industry under its umbrella.

iii. The wage revision for bank employees is due from November one, 2012

6. Indian-American Frank Islam receives Martin Luther award

i. An eminent Indian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist Frank Islam has been presented with the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr. Award.

ii. He is awarded in recognition of his contribution to the legacy of the great leader through his efforts in international service and civil engagement.

iii. The award, which carries the name of Martin Luther King Jr., an apostle of peace, is about building bridges between humanity.

iv. The award was presented to Islam by Harry Johnson, president of the Memorial Foundation Inc. and one of the honorary vice chairs of the event, which was held at Willard Intercontinental.

7. Telecom Commission clears Rs 3700-cr base price for 2,100-MHz

i. The Telecom Commission (TC) approved a base price of Rs 3,700 crore for each MHz of 2,100-MHz spectrum to be auctioned on February 25. 

ii. The final reserve price is 36 per cent higher than the Rs 2,720 crore recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

iii. The previous Telecom auction was cancelled amid the speculation of bad and crony practices in the bandwidth allocation.

8. Kudankulam Nuclear Plant Restarts Power Generation

i. Power generation at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) has restarted after the first unit's reactor and turbine tripped on January 14, said Power System Operation Corporation Ltd. (POSCO).

ii. India's atomic power plant operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) is setting up two 1,000 MW Russian reactors at Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district, 650 km from Chennai.

iii. Ever since the first unit at KNPP started commercial generation December 31, 2014 it has been producing around 940 MW per day or around 2.25 crore units per day.

9. AB de Villiers: South Africa batsman smashes century record

i. South Africa batsman AB de Villiers hit a century off 31 balls to record the fastest ever one-day international ton.

ii. De Villiers, 30, set the new landmark during an innings of 149 against the West Indies in Johannesburg.

iii. He smashed nine fours and 16 sixes in beating the previous ODI record of 36 balls by New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson against West Indies last year.

iv.South Africa scored 439-2 as they registered their highest ever ODI score, beating the 438-9 in a win against Australia in March 2006.

10. Sydney Open 2015 Winners

i. Czech Petra Kvitova beats compatriot Karolina Pliskova to win the Women's Sydney International. 

Viktor Troicki

ii. The world No.4 and second seed needed to win two tie-breakers to clinch victory over her team mate in a big hitting contest at the Ken Rosewell Arena.

iii. While in the Men's section, Viktor Troicki crushed fellow qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin 6-2, 6-3 in the final of the Sydney International.

iv. In the first ATP final in history featuring two qualifiers, Troicki dispatched Kukushkin in 64 minutes after breaking the Kazakh twice in each set.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/01/daily-gk-update-18th-19th-january-2015.html#ixzz3PMBupgWB

Top 10 Qualities That Make A Great Leader

Honesty
Ability to Delegate
Communication
Sense of Humor
Confidence
Commitment
.Positive Attitude
creativity
.Intuition
.Ability to Inspire

http://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyaprive/2012/12/19/top-10-qualities-that-make-a-great-leader/

Daily GK Update - 15th January 2015

1. PM Narendra Modi to launch 'Beti Bachao' scheme 

i. the Modi government's big bang flagship scheme will be `Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' (BBBP), which will help address the country's low child sex ratio. 

ii. The scheme will be launched by PM Narendra Modi on January 22 and will focus on a multi-sectoral approach to tackling the problem of the vanishing girl child. 

iii. The Rs 100-crore scheme is expected to be monitored by the Maneka Gandhi-headed ministry of women and child development (WCD) in coordination with the ministries of health and HRD.

iv. The Objectives - 

• To prevent genderbiased sex selection by stringent enforcement of laws, especially by strengthening the implementation of PreConception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Pro hibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 (PC&PNDT Act) with strict punishments for violations. 
• BBBP will also ensure access and availability of essential requirements related to nutrition, healthcare, education and protection and elimination of discrimination against a girl child which can lead to low self-esteem, lifelong deprivation and exclusion from the mainstream. 
• Initiatives will be taken to encourage girls to express their views and to be heard, to help them participate actively , effectively and equally at all levels of social, economic, and political leadership. 

v. Targets of the Scheme - 

• A toilet in every girls' school in 100 vulnerable districts.
• An innovation fund at state-level to encourage best practices in improving child sex ratio (CSR) and gender inequities.
• District-level awards to schools strengthening girl child education.

2. RBI Changed Key Rates 

i. In a move that brought huge cheer to the markets, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the reverse repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.75%. 

ii. The central bank kept the Cash Reserve Ratio ( CRR) unchanged at 4.0%.

iii. Reasons for the Repo Cut :

• Plunging Oil prices in the Global arena and hence in India keeping the Inflation levels in the check.
• WPI increased at the rate of a mere 0.11% as against the expected increase of 0.6%.
• Retail inflation is at 5% as against an expected 5.4%.
• Fiscal deficit target is well in reach at 4.1%. 

3. Pakistan to ban JuD and Haqqani network

i.  Pakistan plans to ban 10 terror outfits, including 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and the dreaded Afghan-based Haqqani Network, a move seen by experts as a "paradigm shift" in the country's security policy in the wake of Peshawar school massacre. 

ii. The move came a day after the US declared the fugitive chief of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Mullah Fazlullah as a 'Specially Designated Global Terrorist'.

iii. The UN security council designated the JuD a front for the LeT after the Mumbai attacks. Since then, the UN and US have sanctioned several JuD leaders. 

4. Naqvi gets 1-year jail term

i. Union Minister of State for Parliamentary and Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was sentenced to a one-year jail term.

ii. Naqvi and 19 others were convicted by a Rampur court for breaching prohibitory orders in the run-up to the 2009 Lok Sabha election.

iii. Judicial magistrate Manish Kumar pronounced Mr. Naqvi guilty under Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 342 (wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code, Section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act and Section 144 of the Cr.PC.

iv. In 2009, Section 144 was imposed in Rampur when local BJP workers staged a protest after the arrest of the BJP district president. Over 200 people were named in the charge sheet. 

5. Centre to implement biometric attendance system soon 

i. The Centre is set to implement Aadhaar-based biometric system for attendance in all government departments and state-owned entities spread across Delhi.

ii. Department of electronics & information technology (DeitY) has so far implemented Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) in 54 government locations in Delhi that requires fingerprint-based attendance for employees entering into the office premise. 

iii. We are rolling out biometrics attendance system in 394 government organizations and agencies within the Delhi region while 300 of them have actually started working on implementing it.

6. Army Day celebrated on 15 January 

i. India on 15 January 2015 observed the 67th Army Day. The day is celebrated to commemorate the day, when Lieutenant General (later Field Marshal) K M Cariappa on 15 January 1949 became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army post Independence. He had succeeded General Sir Francis Butcher, the last British Commander-in-Chief of India.

ii. To mark the day, all three service chiefs, Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Robin K Dhowan and Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha paid tributes at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate by laying floral wreath and remembering the martyred soldiers.

7. Anupam Shrivastava appointed as CMD of BSNL

i. Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved appointment of Anupam Shrivastava as CMD of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited.

ii. BSNL's Director Enterprises A N Rai is currently handling the additional charge of CMD.

iii. As Zonal Director for North Zone he is responsible for monitoring growth and maintenance of Telecom Network in 8 Circles.

8. Brett Lee retires from all forms of cricket

i. Australian pace bowler Brett Lee on Thursday announced he is to retire from all forms of cricket after a 20-year career.

ii. The 38-year-old called time on his international commitments in July 2012, but continued to play Twenty20 in both the Australian Big Bash League and the Indian Premier League.

iii. Lee played 76 Tests for Australia, taking 310 wickets, and 221 one-dayers with 380 dismissals.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/01/daily-gk-update-15th-january-2015.html#ixzz3PGxEvOtE

Daily GK Update - 16th January 2015

1. Haryana picks Ramdev as brand ambassador

i. The Haryana government plans to promote yoga and ayurveda in a big way, and has appointed yoga guru Ramdev as its brand ambassador. 

ii.  Haryana's minister of sports and health Anil Vij said a herbal forest would be developed over thousands of acres of land in the state where plants of 25 thousand species of ayurvedic herbs would be grown under the supervision of the yoga guru and his close aide Balkrishna.

iii. An ayush wing was being established in all the hospitals of Haryana for which 550 doctors would have to do a refresher course under the supervision of the yoga guru.

iv. Haryana would be developed into an Ayurvedic University whereas a yogic centre of international standards would be built in Panchkula.

2. 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 – The Messenger of God featuring Dera Saccha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the lead role. 

3. Siddhartha Chatterjee appointed as CTO of Persistent Systems Ltd 

 i. Siddhartha Chatterjee was appointed as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Persistent Systems Ltd with effect will be based at the United States branch of the company.

 ii. Chatterjee is a graduate in Electronics and Electrical Communications Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. 

iii. Chatterjee has served as an Assistant and Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill from 1994 to 2001.

iv. He had also served as a post-doctoral scientist at the Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science (RIACS) at Moffett Field, California from 1991 to 1994.

4. Noted RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal conferred with Giraffe Hero award 2015

i. Renowned Indian RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal was conferred with the Giraffe Hero award 2015 by a US-based NGO The Giraffe Heroes Project. ii. The award will be presented to him on 22 January 2015.

iii. Agrawal was awarded for his bravery in utilising the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 for public good despite innumerable challenges. Agrawal also holds the Guinness record of filing highest number of published letters to the editors.

5. China Food and Drug Administration approved new vaccine to treat Poliomyelitis

i.  Chinese drug regulator China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) approved a new vaccine S-IPV to treat the Poliomyelitis.

ii.  The vaccine S-IPV is known as Ai Bi Wei in China. It is manufactured by the Institute of Medical Biology of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences located in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan province.

iii. The vaccine will be given to Chinese children as part of routine disease prevention and will help the global fight against the polio virus. The World Health Organization is also considering use of this new vaccine in its global polio treatment program.

6.  RBI issued final guidelines for banks to act as Insurance brokers

i . Reserve Bank of India issued final guidelines for banks to act as insurance brokers.  Earlier, the banks were allowed to undertake insurance business as agents of insurance companies on fee basis with an aim to increase insurance penetration in the country. 

ii. The banks were allowed to look forward for participation in insurance business in accordance to Union Government’s notification in which it allowed banks to do business of insurance under Section 6(1)(o) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

7. Trade deficit of India declined to ten month low in December 2014

i. Trade deficit of India declined to ten month low of 9.43 billion US dollars in December 2014. The data was released by the Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

ii. The trade deficit in December 2014 was narrowed by 44 percent from November 2014 due to fall down of global oil prices and fall of demand for gold.

iii. Imports of India declined by 4.8 percent to 34.8 billion US dollars in December 2014 as compared to 36.6 billion US dollars in December 2013.

iii. Exports of India fell by 3.8 percent to 25.4 billion US dollars and outbound shipments were valued at 26.4 billion US dollars in December 2014.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/01/daily-gk-update-16th-january-2015.html#ixzz3PGwW58TX

GK Update - 17th January 2015

1. LCA Tejas Ready for Crucial Handover

i. The first of the indigenously-built Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas is likely to be handed over to the Indian Air Force. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar is expected to hand over the aircraft to Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha.

ii. This will start the process of induction of fighters being built at home under a project that was commenced in 1983 and has already cost the exchequer over Rs.17,000 crores.

iii. 20 aircraft will be built by 2017-2018, to make the first squadron of the aircraft.

iv. The LCA programme was initiated in 1983 to replace the ageing MiG-21s in Indian Air force's combat fleet but has missed several deadlines due to several reasons.

2. 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.

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.

iii. The government on Tuesday terminated the 18-month contract of Dr. Chander and asked him to step down on January 31, ahead of his term that would have ended in May 2016.

iv. A proposal to de-link the position of Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister from the Director-General, DRDO, was under consideration as part of a major overhaul of the organisation.

3. Filmmaker Shaji N Karun quits Censor Board

i.  Another 12 members of the Board followed Leela Samson suggestion of quitting “en masse” and tendered their resignations.

ii. CBFC members including Ira Bhaskar, M.K. Raina, Pankaj Sharma, T.G. Thyagarajan, Shaji Karun, Anjum Rajabali, Shubra Gupta, Nikhil Alva, Rajeev Masand, Mamang Dai, K.C Sekhar Babu and L.K. Prabhu tendered their resignations on Saturday in a joint email to I&B Minister of State Rajyavardhan Rathore.

iii. The award-winning filmmaker Shaji N Karun said the board members were not happy about the approach of not just the present NDA Government but also about the approach of the previous Congress-led UPA regime towards the Board. 

4. Beagle 2 spacecraft found intact on surface of Mars after 11 years

i. Beagle 2 was launched in 2003 onboard the European Space Agency’s Mars Express spacecraft. It was designed to land on the planet’s surface on Christmas Day that year but following ejection from Mars Express it was never heard from again. 

ii. UK’s Beagle 2 successfully landed on the surface of Mars in 2003 but failed to fully deploy its solar panels. Without these, it could not communicate with Earth and scientists lost contact.

iii. The discovery images come from the HiRISE camera on Nasa’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

iv. Beagle 2 cost around £50m. It was comparatively cheap for a space mission, with some industrial work being performed on a cost-only basis. 

5.  S.K. Sinha - first non-Muslim to lead the Bangladesh’s top judiciary, 

i. Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha has been appointed the 21st Chief Justice of Bangladesh. 

ii. Justice Sinha is the first Chief Justice from the country’s ethnic minority Hindu community.

iii. He was the senior-most judge of Appellate Division of the Supreme Court who was made the next Chief Justice. 

iv. Justice Sinha will serve just over three years as the Chief Justice with his retirement due in early 2018.

v. Born in 1951, Justice Sinha hails from Tilokpur village of north-eastern Moulvibazar district. 

vi. A law graduate, he was enrolled as an advocate of the district court, Sylhet in 1974 and practised there for several year.

6. Book on Sonia Gandhi titled The Red Sari written by Javier Moro released in India

i. The Red Sari, an unauthorized biography of Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi, was released by Roli Books in India. The book has been written by Spanish author Javier Moro.

ii. The book describes about how Sonia Gandhi’s courage, honesty, and dedication have made her a leader in the eyes of one-sixth of humanity that is from her idyllic childhood to her passionate love affair, and from her days as a docile daughter-in-law to her current status of being the only Indian politician to have refused Prime Ministership.

iii. This book also examines the lives of the famous Nehru-Gandhi family set against the backdrop of the Bangladesh War, the Emergency, Operation Blue Star, and other events that have shaped modern Indian history.

iv. Originally, the book was written in Spanish language and was titled El Sari Rojo. It was first published in 2008.

v. The English version of the book was not allowed to release in India in 2010 because it was argued by the Congress Party and Sonia Gandhi's lawyers that the book is full of untruths, half-truths, falsehoods, defamatory statements, completely imaginary and invented conversations

7. HAL Chairman R K Tyagi conferred with JGBS-Top Rankers’ Excellence Award

i. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chairman R.K. Tyagi was on 16 January 2015 conferred with the JGBS-Top Rankers' Excellence Award for CEO of the year 2014.

ii. Tyagi played a key role in 2014 being a successful year for HAL through series of initiatives. The year was dedicated for Integrity, Customer Focus and Quality (ICQ).  

iii. The award has been instituted by Jindal Global Business School (JGBS) and Top Rankers’ Management Consultants.

iv. HAL recently contributed to the success of Mars Orbiter Mission and GSLV Mk III launch in 2014.

8. 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.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/01/gk-update-17th-january-2015.html#ixzz3PGuXcumu