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Thursday, March 12, 2015

Daily GK Update - 11th March 2015

1. LIC to invest Rs 1.5-L cr in Indian Railways over next 5 years

i. State-run insurance major LIC committed Rs 1.5 lakh crore to the Indian Railways for development of various commercially viable projects.

ii. The investment would be done in bonds issued by various railway entities such Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC), beginning next fiscal.

iii. Indian Railways are one of the largest railway networks in the world.

2. Obama names David Hale as ambassador to Pak

i. U.S. President Barack Obama has nominated veteran diplomat David Hale as the next ambassador to Pakistan.

ii. Mr. Hale previously served as the Special Envoy for Middle East Peace from 2011 to 2013, and as Deputy Special Envoy for Middle East Peace from 2009 to 2011.

iii. Hale has also served as Director of the Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs, Executive Assistant to the Secretary of State, and in other positions overseas in Bahrain, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia.

3. Manmohan summoned in coal scam case

i. A Delhi court on Wednesday summoned former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Coal Secretary P.C. Parakh and industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and others as accused in a coal block allocation scam case.

ii. The CBI had sought closure of the case, in which Mr. Birla, former Coal Secretary P.C. Parakh and others were named as accused.

iii. Dr. Singh held the charge of the Coal Ministry for almost five years from the time the United Progressive Alliance came to power in 2004.

4. SBI sells 4% stake in Cibil to IIFL for around Rs 72 crore

i. State Bank of India has sold 4 per cent stake in the largest credit information company Credit Information Bureau India Ltd (Cibil) for an estimated Rs 72 crore.

ii. Cibil is the largest and the oldest credit bureau in the country having entered the market in 2000.

iii. It claims to enjoy almost 90 per cent of the credit information market in India which has three other players - Experian, Equifax and HighMark.

iv. IIFL India Alternatives is a leading mid-growth PE fund, founded by Shivani Bhasin Sachdeva and sponsored by IIFL Private Wealth.

5. Gadkari launches portal to help source cement for concrete roads

i. In line with the plan to construct cement concrete highways, instead of bitumen ones, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday launched a web portal , www.inampro.nic.in.

ii. INAM-PRO, which stands for platform for infrastructure and materials providers, will monitor the supply of cement and hasten the process of orders by prospective users and agencies with the respective cement manufacturers.

iii. As of now, 36 participating cement manufacturers will quote rates from 103 factories across India, along with the cement stock available, on the web portal.

iv. The procurer/road developer can view the asking price as well as the closest factory price.

6. First Kisan Call Centre of North-East opened in Agartala, Tripura

i. First Kisan Call Centre (KCC) of North-East was opened in Agartala, Tripura. The KCC was launched by the Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar.

ii. KCC was financed by the Tripura government. It will be run by a private enterprise with experts of agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and animal husbandry.

iii. The Kisan Call Centre will give immediate solution and real time advisory to farmers if they need expert consultation regarding seed procurement, agro-metric, fertilizer, soil health, pesticides usage and marketing of the produces.

iv. Apart from that the farmers' portal will issue advisory for farm production under direct supervision of the experts.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Daily GK Update - 10th March 2015

1. US dollar hits 12-year peak, emerging markets spooked

i. The US dollar climbed to multi-year peaks against the euro and yen in Asia amid starkly diverging outlooks for interest rates globally.

ii. Currencies from emerging markets came under mounting pressure from risk aversion.

iii. The skittish mood spread to Asian stocks as MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.6 per cent.

iv. Federal Reserve would start lifting interest rates from mid-year, while central banks in the European Union and Japan were busy easing policy by buying billions in government bonds.

v. Oil managed minor gains, with Brent crude oil up 13 cents to $58.66 a barrel, while U.S crude added 26 cents to $50.26.

2. India slips to second place in hiring outlook for April-June quarter

i. India has slipped to the second place, after Taiwan, in terms of the companies' employment outlook for the next quarter.

ii. As per the latest quarterly Employment Outlook Survey of global giant ManpowerGroup released on Tuesday, Taiwan has topped the charts in terms of hiring plans for the April-June 2015 quarter, followed by India and Japan.

iii. The net employment outlook for India stood at 38 per cent, indicating that job seekers may benefit from a robust hiring pace in the months ahead.

3. Infosys opens new 250-seater BPO in Puerto Rico

i. Country's second largest software services firm Infosys has set up a 250-seater BPO arm centre at Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, aimed at serving the aviation sector.

ii. The 12,000-square feet centre, developed in collaboration with the Commonwealth administration and state-owned PRIDCO, will initially deliver order-to-cash business processes for clients in the aviation sector.

4. Jharkhand CM announces Rs 1 lakh for alcohol-free villages

i. The Jharkhand government will grant Rs one lakh to villages which will become alcohol-free.

ii. Chief Minister Raghubar Das said those villages becoming alcohol-free would be given the grant and women groups would take the initiative.

iii. Chief Minister proposed to open 57 more Kasturba Gandhi Girl Schools in the state

5. Pakistan conducts successful test launch of Shaheen-III missile

i. Pakistan conducted a successful test launch of the Shaheen-III Surface to Surface Ballistic Missile .

ii. The Missile is capable of carrying nuclear and conventional warheads to a range of 2,750 km.

ii. The test launch was aimed at validating various design and technical parameters of the weapon system at a maximum range.

iii. The launch came within a week of the visit of Indian foriegn Secretary S Jaishankar to Islamabad.

6. DLF Ties Up With Snapdeal to Sell Flats Online

i. Realty major DLF has tied-up with online market place Snapdeal to sell its apartments and would offer 1 per cent discount to potential home buyers.

ii. DLF will offer on Snapdeal about 50 flats in eight housing projects across the country in a price range of Rs. 34 lakh to Rs. 3 crore.

iii. The offer is likely to start this week. These flats are in projects located at New Chandigarh, Panchkula, Lucknow, Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi and Kolkata.

6. India thrash Ireland to register record 9th successive World Cup victory

i. Shikhar Dhawan cracked a scintillating century as a rampaging India on Tuesday created a record winning their ninth consecutive ICC Cricket World Cup match by demolishing Ireland by eight wickets to seal the top spot in the Group B table.

ii. It turned out to be an extended batting practice session for the 'Men In Blue' as they toppled the previous eight-match winning streak record of Sourav Ganguly-led team in 2003. India's nine-match record started from their group league game against West Indies at Chennai back in 2011.

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Daily GK Update - 5th March 2015

1. RBI adopted Inflation Targeting as a policy tool for monetary regulation

i. Inflation targeting was in news recently as Union Government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 20 February 2015 signed an agreement on Monetary Policy Framework. As per the agreement, RBI accepted to focus on flexible inflation targeting.

ii. Inflation targeting is defined as an economic policy in which a central bank estimates or decides for a medium-term target inflation rate. In Indian context, as per the agreement, inflation targeting means that the RBI will have to maintain

iii. Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation targets below six per cent by January 2016 and four per cent from 2016-17, with a band of plus/minus two per cent.

iv. The transition from monetary targeting suggested by Chakravarty Committee (1988) to Inflation targeting suggested by Urijit Patel Committee is similar to the practice adopted by central banks in developed countries.

Benefits of Inflation Targeting

The benefits of inflation targeting are many. Two of the prominent benefits of inflation targeting are enhancement of transparency and reduction of price variability.
The most important benefit of inflation targeting is that it helps the central banks to maintain low inflation and low inflation eventually promotes long term growth.
Other most important benefits of using inflation targeting include enhanced public understanding of monetary policy, increased central bank accountability, and an improved state for economic growth.

2. Shanghvi is richest Indian: Forbes

i. Dilip Shanghvi of Sun Pharmaceuticals, with a net worth of $21.5 billion, surpassed Mukesh Ambani as the world’s richest Indian on Wednesday, two days after the Reliance Industries Ltd. chief was ranked India’s wealthiest for the eighth consecutive year.

ii. A real-time update by the business magazine Forbes reworked the rankings. On the global rich list, Mr. Shanghvi moved up to the 37th position, while Mr. Ambani slipped to the 43rd.

iii. Earlier on Monday, Forbes released its annual rich list for 2015, ranking Mr. Ambani at the 39th position and Mr. Shanghvi at the 44th. Azim Premji of Wipro was ranked 48th, from which he has moved up one place now. Mr. Shanghvi’s net worth stood at $ 21.5 billion, following a sharp rally in the share prices of his group companies.

3. Union Minister Dadarao Danve resigns

i. Union Minister Raosaheb Dadarao Danve, who was made Maharasthra BJP president a few months back, on Thursday resigned from the Council of Ministers over the principle of ‘one-man, one-post’

ii. Mr. Danve submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who accepted it and forwarded it to President Pranab Mukherjee, sources said.

iii. Mr. Danve, who held the portfolio of Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, quit the Council of Ministers over the principle of ‘one-man, one-post’, the sources said.

iv. Mr. Danve had taken over as the Maharashtra BJP president after Devendra Fadnavis, under whose leadership the party came to power in the October 15 Assembly polls last year in the state, became the Chief Minister.

4. BBC released a documentary film India's Daughter

i. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on 4 March 2015 released a documentary film India's Daughter. The documentary film has been directed by Leslee Udwin.

ii. The film is based on the Delhi gang rape and murder of the 23-year-old female named Nirbhaya that took place on 16 December 2012. The film was simultaneously released in Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway and Canada.

iii. The documentary includes an interview conducted by British filmmaker Leslee Udwin and BBC of Mukesh Singh, the driver of the bus. Mukesh has made derogatory statements against women.

iv. A Delhi court has restrained the media from publishing, broadcasting, telecasting or uploading the interview on the internet. Also, Indian Parliament witnessed outrage over the interview and demanded to ban the screening of the documentary to which Union Government heeded.

v. The makers of the documentary had earlier decided to release the film on the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8 March 2015. However, they decided it to launch it earlier following the decision by the Indian authorities to ban the film.

5. Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar completed his SAARC Yatra

i. Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar completed his SAARC Yatra of four nations on 4 March 2015. His SAARC Yatra started on 1 March 2015 and ended on 4 March 2015. He undertook the SAARC Yatra with an aim to firm up India’s ties with members of the grouping while reviewing regional and bilateral cooperation.

ii. During the Yatra, he visited four countries namely Afghanistan on 4 March 2015, Pakistan on 3 March 2015, Bangladesh on 2 March 2014 and Bhutan on 1 March 2015.

Jaishankar visit to Afghanistan: During the visit, he called on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and CEO Abdullah Abdullah and held extensive talks focusing on India's development projects and the security situation in the war-torn country. Afghan leaders welcomed India being partner of choice for Afghanistan and briefed the Foreign Secretary Jaishankar about their views on India's involvement in furthering the cause of stability and security in the country.

Jaishankar visit to Pakistan: During the visit, he held Foreign Secretary level talks with his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Chaudhary, which was cancelled in July 2015. He also met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Advisor on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz. He handed over a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif.

Jaishankar visit to Bangladesh: During the visit, Jaishankar met with Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka. He also met with Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali and Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque. He held foreign secretary level talks in Dhaka.

Jaishankar visit to Bhutan: During the visit, he met with Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and held discussions on SAARC co-operation and bilateral ties. He also met with the 4th King of Bhutan Jigme Singye Wangchuck.

6. Three South Asian women selected for International Women of Courage Award

i. Three South Asian women, namely Niloofar Rahmani, Nadia Sharmeen and Tabassum Adnan on 3 March 2015 were selected for the prestigious International Women of Courage Award for the year 2015 given by the US Secretary of State.

ii. They were among the 10 extraordinary women selected from 10 countries for the award for demonstrating exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights and gender equality.

International Women of Courage Award

Established in 2007, the annual Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award honours women around the globe who have exemplified exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for human rights, women’s equality, and social progress, often at great personal risk. This is the only Department of State award that pays tribute to emerging women leaders worldwide.
Since the inception of this award in 2007, the Department of State has honoured 86 women from more than 50 different countries including India

Daily GK Update - 4th March 2015

1. RBI cuts repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.5 per cent

i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cut down repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.5 percent from 7.75 percent, with immediate effect citing that the fiscal consolidation was better than what numbers show and that the combined fiscal deficit is much lower due to the government transferring more funds to the states.

However, RBI has kept the cash reserve ratio (CRR) unchanged at 4 percent.

ii. It is the second change in rates by 25 basis points since January 2015. With this change, RBI is signaling that it was convinced by the fiscal consolidation measures announced in the Budget.

iii. This is the first time that the Reserve Bank of India has announced a monetary policy action ahead of markets opening.

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

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

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

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

3. World’s largest and tallest Indian flag unfurled in Faridabad

i. World’s largest and tallest Indian national flag was unfurled at Town Park in Faridabad, Haryana. The flag was unfurled by BJP president Amit Shah, Haryana CM ML Khattar and Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor.

ii. The flag has dimension of 96 feet by 64 feet and weighs 48 kilograms. Flag was hoisted at the height of 250 feet (75 meters). Thus, making it the world’s largest and the highest hoisted Indian flag in the world.

iii. Another such flag is located at the Central Park in Connaught Place, New Delhi. This flag is 60 feet in width and 90 feet in length and is hoisted at the height of 207 feet.

4. World Wildlife Day observed globally

i. The World Wildlife Day was observed on 3 March 2015. The 2015 theme of the day is Wildlife crime is serious, let’s get serious about wildlife crime.

ii. The day is celebrated as an opportunity to celebrate the varied forms of wild fauna and flora and to raise awareness of the multitude of benefits that conservation provides to people.

iii. The day also reminds us of the urgent need to step up the fight against wildlife crime, which has wide-ranging economic, environmental and social impacts.

5. Rani Mukerji awarded by National Institute of Gender Justice for representing the cause of women

i. Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji was on 3 March 2015 awarded with the National Award for the Best Representation of the Cause of Safety, Security and Protection of Women and Girl Child by National Institute of Gender Justice (NIGJ).

ii. Rani is the first ever film personality to be felicitated with this prestigious award. She was awarded for creating awareness about child trafficking in New Delhi.

iii. Rani was honoured not only for her incredible work in cinema but also for the kind of work she has been doing to create awareness about child trafficking.

6. Indian-American physician Rahul Jindal selected for Fulbright Nehru Distinguished Chair

i. Indian-American physician Rahul Jindal was on 3 March 2015 selected for the prestigious Fulbright-Nehru Distinguished Chair.

ii. The Ahmedabad-based HL Trivedi Institute of Transplantation Sciences will host Rahul Jindal for the duration of the chair. The Institute performs about 400 kidney transplants in a year and has developed innovative transplant tolerance models.

iii. Rahul Jindal is a Professor of Surgery and Global Health at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. Jindal was also presented with a prestigious immigrant award of the US government in 2013, in recognition of his outstanding achievements.

7. President gives assent to Maharashtra Animal Preservation Amendment Bill, 1995

i. President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, 1995. It received assent nearly after 19 years it was passed by State Assembly in 1995.

ii. This bill amends Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act 1976 and bans slaughter of bulls and bullocks in the state. As per the provisions of new Act, anyone found to be selling beef or in possession of it can be jailed for 5 years and fined Rs 10,000.

iii. However, this Act allows slaughter of water buffaloes, which provides carabeef that is generally considered as an inferior quality meat.

Daily GK Update - 3rd March 2015

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1. Insurance Bill introduced in Lok Sabha

i. The long-pending Insurance Bill – that seeks to increase the Foreign Direct Investment cap in the sector to 49 per cent — was introduced in the Lok Sabha.

ii. Union Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha sought permission of the Lok Sabha to introduce the The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015.

iii. The Opposition contention was that the Government was trying to set a new precedent that violated the very structure of the bicameral system of Parliament that India has adopted.

2. INCOIS launches app for fishermen

i. The app, developed in-house by the Hyderabad-based Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) Marine Fishery Advisory Services team is for the benefit of fishermen.

ii. There are plans to make available the app on Google Play store and on INCOIS website.

iii. For those using basic phones the Centre unveiled an SMS service in local languages. The text messages will provide potential fishing zone advisory on a real time basis.

3. Baldev Sharma appointed as chairman of National Book Trust

i. The government on Monday appointed former Panchajanya editor Baldev Sharma as the new chairman of the National Book Trust, cutting short the term of incumbent A. Sethumadhavan.

ii. Panchajanya is an Indian weekly newspaper published by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Hindi. It was launched by RSS pracharak Deendayal Upadhyaya in 1948 in Lucknow.

4. Infosys signs outsourcing deal with TNT

i. Infosys had signed a five-year agreement with Dutch company TNT to help it simplify and transform its technology applications.

ii. The company did not disclose the financial details of the deals. As part of its turnaround and transformation strategy called ‘Outlook’, TNT is overhauling its IT capability to reduce complexity and cost and increase flexibility.

iii. Under the partnership, the current IT applications of TNT will be consolidated and standardised for higher quality of service and lower cost of operations.

5. Savitri Jindal among five Indian women on Forbes billionaires list

i. Five Indian women have made it to the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires that saw a record number of women this year, although they still account for just about 11 per cent of the total.

ii. Among Indian women, Savitri Jindal and family was ranked 283 on the list with a net worth of $5.3 billion in 2015, up from $4.9 billion in 2014.

iii. Indu Jain who chairs media conglomerate Bennett, Coleman & Co, was placed at the 603 rank globally. Her net worth stands at $3.1 billion.

iv. Christy Walton, who inherited a stake in retailer Wal-Mart, retained the title of world’s richest woman at $41.7 billion, followed by Liliane Bettencourt, the principal heiress to the L’Oreal cosmetics fortune in the second place with $40.7 billion.

6. IAS officer Kewal K Sharma appointed as Delhi Chief Secretary

i. IAS officer Kewal K Sharma is appointed as Chief Secretary of Delhi. His appointment was approved by Union Home Ministry.

ii. At present, Sharma is the chief secretary of Goa. Sharma was appointed as the Goa chief secretary on 1 January 2015.

iii. Besides serving the Governments of Delhi, Goa and Arunachal Pradesh, Sharma served in the United Nations (UN) Mission in Kosovo from 1999 to 2005 as a Civil Affairs Officer.

Daily GK Updates - 1st - 2nd March 2015

1. Dalmiya becomes BCCI president

i. Jagmohan Dalmiya was on Monday unanimously elected president of the BCCI.

ii. The N. Srinivasan camp suffered a huge setback with rival faction’s Anurag Thakur beating Sanjay Patel for the post of Secretary at the Board’s Annual General Meeting.

iii. Jharkhand Cricket Association’s Amitabha Chodhary was elected the Joint Secretary beating Goa’s Chetan Desai, belonging to the anti-Srinivasan faction.

2. Wipro partners World Economic Forum for quantifying cyber risk

i. Country’s third largest software services firm Wipro has partnered with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to develop a cyber value-at-risk (VAR) framework.

ii. This will allow organisations to assess threat landscape, the nature of assets needed protection and quality of defences.

iii. As per the Forum’s estimates, the resultant new cyber regulations and restrictive policies could hurt innovation by about $3 trillion by 2020.

3. Govt gets 107 applications for allotment of 43 mines to PSUs

i. The Coal Ministry received 107 applications from PSUs like NTPC, SAIL, DVC and NLC for allocation of 43 coal blocks to be given to state-run firms.

ii. The Palma II mine in Chhattisgarh got nine applications, the highest for a single block.

iii. The companies which have applied for Gare Palma II mine in Chhattisgarh, include NTPC, Singareni Collieries Company Ltd, Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation and Gujarat State Electricity Corporation.

4. Ficci appoints Arvind Virmani as Economic Mentor

i. Noted economist, will now mentor Ficci’s public policy & economic work.

ii. Arvind Virmani, served as the country’s Chief Economic Advisor and Principal Advisor in the Planning Commission.

iii. Virmani’s association as Economic Mentor to Ficci will spur the growth agenda for the Indian economy.

5. Arun Singh Named New Indian Ambassador to United States

i. India has named Arun Singh, currently its Ambassador to France, as its next top envoy to the US and has informed the American government in this regard.

ii. A 1979-batch IFS officer, Mr Singh will be replacing S Jaishankar, who was appointed as Foreign Secretary on January 28 this year.

iii. Earlier, Singh had served as ambassador to Israel (2005-2008) and later was served as deputy chief of mission in Washington (2008-2013.). Singh was appointed as ambassador to France in 2013.

6. Kannan Ramesh appointed as Judicial Commissioner to Supreme Court Bench of Singapore

i. Indian-origin lawyer Kannan Ramesh was appointed as Judicial Commissioner to Singapore's Supreme Court bench.

ii. 49-year-old Senior Counsel Kannan Ramesh has been appointed to the bench for two years. He will acquire the position on May 22.

iii. He will quit from other positions including being a member of Singapore Academy of Law's Law Reform Committee and a local telecommunications company M1 Board.

iv. Ramesh's appointment in the Supreme Court will now include 13 judges, 10 judicial commissioners and five senior judges.

7. Government may declare additional 101 routes as national waterways

i. Government is considering a proposal to declare an additional 101 routes as national waterways.

ii. The proposal covers waterways across the country, which have potential for year-round commercial navigation.

iii. Infrastructure development is poised to take a giant leap as the Budget promises rapid construction of highways, ports, ultra mega power plants, airports and renewable energy projects with the help of massive public funding made possible by delaying fiscal belt-tightening.