Daily GK Update - 30th January 2015

http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/01/daily-gk-update-30th-january-2015.html

1. 30th January observed as Martyrs' Day

i. The government today observed Martyrs' Day on the 67th death anniversary of the Father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi and those who sacrificed their lives in the struggle for the country's freedom. 

ii. The MHA has told all states and UTs to see that “speeches and talks connected with the significance of the day, particularly mentioning the role of freedom fighters in the freedom of India may be made”. 

iii. The day is remembered in the living memory of all the freedom fighters who lost their lives for handing our the much needed independence. 

iv. Mahatma Gandhi was assasinated by Nathuram Godse on this day.

2. IIT Bombay launches mass open online courses

i. Prof Devang Khakhar, Director of IIT Bombay, launched three Mass Open Online Courses (MOOC) in computer programming, thermodynamics, and signals and systems from the institute’s IITBombayX platform developed in collaboration with edX.

ii. edX is a not-for-profit initiative by MIT and Harvard.

iii. About this course - The Introduction to Computer Programming will be 16-week course in two parts aimed at computer programming students. The course on Thermodynamics, designed for mechanical engineering students, will last 12 weeks. Signals and Systems will be a 16-week course in two parts designed for electrical engineering students. The students will get an honour certificate of achievement certifying successful completion of the course after they have qualified in the tests.

3. Send money 24x7 using only your phone's address book

i.  HDFC Bank, India’s second-largest private bank, is set to introduce a new app, Chillr, which will allow users to send money to any contact in their phone books, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

ii. Chillr is a third-party app, which will be available exclusively for the customers. It will allow them to transfer money using a contact’s mobile number alone.

iii. Through the app, one can send Rs 1-5,000 a day. While the bank will not levy any charges, users will have to pay a fee for using the IMPS platform.

4. Charles Townes died

i. Townes shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in physics with Russian physicists Aleksandr M. Prokhorov and Nicolai G. Basov for the invention of the Laser.

ii. On  April 26, 1951, Townes scribbled a theory on scrap paper that would lead to the laser, the invention he’s known for and which transformed everyday life and led to other scientific discoveries.

iii. The laser paved the way for other scientific discoveries that revolutionize everything from medicine to manufacturing, including DVD players, gun sights, printers, computer networks, metal cutters, tattoo removal and vision correction.

5. Jaipal Singh appointed PS to MoS Home

i. Jaipal Singh, a Gujarat-cadre IFS officer, has been appointed Private Secretary to Minister of State for Home Affairs Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary.

ii. Singh, a 1991-batch Indian Forest Service officer is presently working as Director in Department of Higher Education.

iii. He has been appointed for a period of upto September 26, 2018, which is maximum period of seven years of stay outside the cadre in a single stint, or on a co-terminus basis with the minister's tenure.

6. India overtakes China as world’s leading gold consumer

i. India overtook China as the world’s biggest gold consumer in 2014 as global physical demand fell.

ii. Chinese gold demand slid by more than a third last year to a four-year low of 866 tonnes.

iii. Indian jewellery demand rose 14 percent last year to a record 690 tonnes, putting it back ahead of China as the world’s number one jewellery manufacturer.

7. RK Mathur to hold additional charge of DDR&D

i. Defence Secretary RK Mathur is given additional charge of Department of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D).

ii. Mathur, a 1977-batch IAS officer of Manipur Tripura cadre, will hold the additional charge for a period of three months.

iii.  He will take over the additional charge from incumbent Avinash Chander.

iv. Another IAS officer Reena Ray has been appointed as Additional Secretary in Department of School Education and Literacy.

8. Shekhar Sen appointed as Chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi

i. Renowned music composer and actor Shekhar Sen is appointed as the Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA).

ii. Shekhar Sen will succeed Leela Samson who resigned from the position on 5 September 2014. The post was lying vacant since October 2014.

Shekhar Sen: 

• He is famous for his mono act musical plays Tulsi, Kabeer, Vivekananda, and Soordas.

• Shekhar Sen has received prestigious awards including Padam Shri Award in 2015, Safdar Hashmi Puraskar in 2001 for his contribution in field of theatre and V. Shantaram Lalit Kala Puraskaar in 2008.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/01/daily-gk-update-30th-january-2015.html#ixzz3QK21f2gH

CIL mega share sale sails through; Govt to get Rs 22,600 crore

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/CIL-mega-share-sale-sails-through-Govt-to-get-Rs-22600-crore/articleshow/46068721.cms

NEW DELHI: In the biggest-ever disinvestment, the 10 per cent stake sale in Coal India was on Friday over-subscribed fetching the government about Rs 22,600 crore largely helped by domestic financial institutions. 

Over-subscribed by 1.07 times, the share sale got bids worth Rs 24,210 crore. This is the biggest share sale by any private or public sector company here and exceeds the previous record of over Rs 15,000 crore made by CIL itself in 2010. 

However, the retail investor portion remained under-subscribed at 44 per cent. 12.63 crore shares reserved for these investors could get bids only for less than half the size (5.56 crore). In value terms, they bid for shares worth Rs 1,929 crore, which is still the largest for any divestment so far, disinvestment secretary Aradhana Johri said. 

General category investors, which include FIIs, mutual funds, banks and insurance companies, bid for 1.2 times the shares reserved for them. Of the 50.53 crore shares on block for non-retail segment, bids for nearly 62 crore shares came in. FIIs alone bid for Rs 5,919 crore shares in this category, she added. 

The identity of the domestic institutional investors could not be ascertained immediately.

 

The average bid price was, however, higher at Rs 360.11 for the retail category as against floor price of Rs 358. Retail investors would get a price discount of five per cent. 

The total issue of 63.16 crore shares got bids for 67.52 crore shares, as per stock exchanges data. The issue got over-subscribed before the close of market hours. 

NSE's share in the bids stood at 63 per cent. The government had offered to sell 31.58 crore shares, or five per cent stake, in CIL through a public offer, with an option to sell another 5 per cent. 

At the floor price of Rs 358 apiece, the offering is estimated to fetch Rs 22,600 crore to the exchequer. This will make up for over half of the budgeted disinvestment target. 

Coal India was the second PSU to hit the market under the government's disinvestment programme in the current fiscal, the first being SAIL in which shares worth about Rs 1,700 crore were sold. 

This was the first disinvestment in which the shares reserved for retail investors were doubled to 20 per cent. A minimum of 25 per cent of the issue size were reserved for mutual funds and insurance companies. 

Shares of Coal India closed at Rs 360.85, down 3.81 per cent over previous close on the BSE. 

Daily GK Updates - 29th January 2015

1. Nation remembers Lala Lajpat Rai on his 150th birth anniversary

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has saluted Punjab Kesari Lala Lajpat Rai, on his birth anniversary. In his message, the Prime Minister said that Punjab Kesari Lala Lajpat Rai was a unique personality who was ahead of his time. 

ii. Journey of Lalaji - 

• Popularly known as Punjab Kesari, Lala Lajpat Rai was born on 28 January 1865 in Jagraon town of Ludhiana district. 
• The session of the Indian National Congress at Allahabad in December 1888 marked the beginning of his political career. 
• The year 1905 was important for the emergence of a new leadership in the Indian National Congress of Lal-Bal-Pal, as they were popularly known. The partition of Bengal in 1905 aroused their stout nationalism. 
• Lalaji presided over the first session of the All India Trade Union Congress in 1920. 
• Lalaji also went to Geneva to attend the eighth International Labour Conference in 1926 as a representative of Indian labour community. 
• His journal Arya Gazette concentrated mainly on the subjects related to the Arya Samaj. 
• For the sake of India's independence movement, Lalaji led a procession to demonstrate against the Simon Commission. 
• Lalaji was made the target of a brutal lathi charge in which he was injured badly. 
• A meeting was held the same evening at which Lalaji, wounded and aching, spoke with such vigour that his words, 'Every blow aimed at me is a nail in the coffin of British imperialism', became historic. 
• on 17 November 1928, Lalaji succumbing to his injuries passed away. 

2. BrahMos to be integrated with Sukhoi  

i. HAL has completed integration of BrahMos thermonuclear cruise missile with Sukhoi-30MKI after over two years of work, modifying the Russian-made aircraft. 

ii. HAL director S Subrahmanyan, who led the project, said the first test flight of the modified Su-30MKI with the BrahMos missile will be conducted in March. 

3. Governor nominates Anglo-Indian in Jharkhand Assembly 

i. Glen Joseph Galstaun was today nominated as the representative of the Anglo-Indian community in the Jharkhand Assembly. 

ii. Governor Syed Ahmed nominated Galstaun to the House as there is a need for a representative from the community.

iii. With his nomination, the strength of the House has gone up to 82 from 81. 

4. Centre to dilute stake in CIL 

i. The government is planning to dilute its stake further in Maharatna public sector Coal India Ltd (CIL) with the company putting up on the stock exchanges a notice for an offer for sale of up to 10 per cent of the government stake in CIL.

ii.  CIL had gone public in October 2010 with a 10 per cent dilution of the government holding, the trade unions had blocked a follow-on offer proposed by the UPA-II government in late 2013.

iii. In this fresh move, the allocation shall be on a price priority method at multiple clearing prices in accordance with the SEBI OFS circular.

iv. CIL had helped generate over Rs 23,000 crore through its initial public offer and expectations are that a similar amount would be garnered this time too. CIL shares have averaged at Rs.383.

5.  S Jaishankar takes charge as Foreign Secretary 

i. S Jaishankar took charge as Foreign Secretary, replacing Sujatha Singh whose tenure was abruptly curtailed.

ii. S Jaishankar is a 1977-batch IFS officer .

iii. He will have a two-year tenure as per rules. The 60-year-old diplomat was India's Ambassador to the US. 

iv. The decision to appoint Jaishankar, who played a key role during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US in September and US President Barack Obama's just concluded visit here, was taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet chaired by Modi. 

6. ICC ends Amir’s ban

i. In a major breakthrough, the ICC has allowed Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir to return to domestic cricket early from his five-year ban for involvement in spot-fixing.

ii. Amir (22) was jailed for six months and banned for his part in a spot-fixing scam during Pakistan’s tour of England in 2010.

iii. Amir, then 17, delivered pre-arranged no balls at Lord’s in a plot that also led to the banning of Mohammad Asif and then captain Salman Butt.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/01/daily-gk-updates-29th-january-2015.html#ixzz3QGspBhcu

THE ECONOMIC TIMES---Daily Newsletter

THE ECONOMIC TIMES Wed, Jan 28, 2015 | 07:01 PM IST Daily Newsletter

Base year revision to up Indian economy to Rs 111 trillion in FY14 A base year change is a regular & methodological issue not limited to India. Almost all countries revise the base yea...

Xiaomi Mi 4 launched in India for Rs 19,999 MiUi 6 comes with a revamped interface with new animations, motion graphics, flatter icons, smarter notifications and...

Apple profit soars to record $18 billion on rocketing iPhone sales According to S&P analyst Howard Silverblatt. Apple's cash pile is now $178 billion, enough to buy IBM or the equivale...

Indian employees may get 11.3% salary hike this year: Report The lowest increments are expected in the industrial goods (automotive) & transportation sectors with average increme...

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Market Watch 28 Jan | 07:01PM SENSEX 29559.18↓-11.86 NIFTY 8914.30↑3.80 USD/INR 60.16↓-0.18 GOLD (Rs/10g.) 27910.00↑8.00

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Daily GK Update - 25th - 27th January 2015

1. India celebrates 66th Republic Day; Barack Obama witnesses military might

i. India today celebrates its 66th Republic Day and showcased before the chief guest US President Barack Obama and the world its military might and cultural diversity with a splendid display of land and naval weaponry, fighter and reconnaissance aircraft.

ii. Obama was the first ever US President to attend the parade as Chief Guest on the second day of his three-day visit.

iii. For the first time in the history of India’s Republic Day, all-women contingent from the three forces Army, Air Force and Navy marched down in the parade.

• Army contingent was led by Capt Divya Ajith.
• Navy contingent was led by Lt Commander Sandhya Chauhan.
• Air Force contingent was led by Squadron Leader Sneha. 

2. The uncommon man: RK Laxman (1921-2015)

“Since childhood I do not remember wanting to do anything else except draw,” R.K. Laxman says in his autobiography, The Tunnel of Time.

i. Eminent cartoonist, illustrator and humorist Rasipuram Laxman passed away in Pune. He was 94.

ii. He is best known for creation of iconic character The Common Man, for his daily cartoon strip, You Said It in The Times of India(TOI). It was started in 1951. This character held a mirror to the society and targeted politicians for more than five decades.

iii. His creations also include the sketches drawn for the television adaptation of Malgudi Days.

iv. He is recipient of Padma Vibhushan (2005) and Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts (1984).

3. Libby Lane, first female bishop of England consecrated

i. Church of England has consecrated Reverend Libby Lane as its first female bishop in a ceremony held at York Minster (a Gothic cathedral) in northern England.

With this consecration, Church of England ended its 500 year old male dominated tradition and considered as a historic move towards widening female participation in the Church.

ii. In this regard General Synod- the law-making body of the Church of England had given nod to this legislation in November 2014 which was passed by UK Parliament in October 2014.

4. Miss Colombia crowned Miss Universe 2015 in Miami

i. Miss Colombia Paulina Vega, has been crowned Miss Universe, beating out first runner-up Miss USA Nia Sanchez and contestants from more than 80 other countries.

ii. With this, Vega became the second beauty queen from Colombia to win the title. Luz Marina Zuluaga was the first Colombian to win the crown in 1956.

iii. The 22-year-old is the granddaughter of a legendary tenor, Gastun Vega.

iv. Three of the last six Miss Universe titles have gone to Venezuela, where beauty pageants are big business.

5. Modi to hold first meeting of NITI Aayog on February 6

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will spell out the functional roadmap of the newly created NITI Aayog at its first meeting being scheduled on February 6, 2015.

ii. The members of the Aayog would have first hand experience of Mr. Modi’s expectation from the new body and also help them in finalising the plan of action of the new body which was formed on January 1.

iii. The ex-officio members of the Aayog are Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh.

iv. The Aayog’s special invitees are Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot and Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani.

6. Major Mukund Varadarajan, Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh posthumously awarded with Ashok Chakra

i. Major Mukund Varadarajan and Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh were on 26 January 2015 posthumously awarded with the highest peacetime military honour the Ashok Chakra by President Pranab Mukherjee. 

ii. In April 2014, Major Mukund Varadarajan had killed three terrorists in an encounter in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir. He was an officer in the 44th Battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles (22 Rajput) of the Indian Army. However, he died after being severely hurt in the operation.

iii. In August 2014, Naik Neeraj Singh died after heavy fire from terrorists. He was leading a search operation in general area Gurdaji of Kupwara district. He was serving in  the 57th Battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles.

About Ashok Chakra

• Ashok Chakra is India’s highest peacetime military decoration awarded for valor, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield.
• The decoration is awarded either to military or civilian personnel and can be awarded posthumously.
• The Ashok Chakra medal is circular gold gilt with the chakra (wheel) of Ashoka in the center surrounded by a lotus wreath and with an ornate edge.

7. Anti-austerity Syriza party wins Greece’s general elections

i. In Greece, anti-austerity Syriza party has won general election. In this election Syriza party has won about half the seats in Parliament.

ii. While the earlier ruling government led by outgoing Prime Minister Antonis Samaras of centre-right New Democracy party has been placed second.

Something about Syriza party:

• It was formed in 2004 as an umbrella group. Syriza- an acronym means the Radical Coalition of the Left.
• It is led by Alexis Tsipras and first came to prominence following the 2008 Greek riots.
• In this general election, Syriza Party has promised to end Greece’s painful austerity measures and wants to renegotiate its debt.

8. Argentine playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme retired from Football

i. 36-year-old Argentine player Juan Roman Riquelme retired from football on 26 January 2015. Legendary Argentine represented his country in 2006 World Cup in Germany.

ii. He debuted for Argentina’s national team in 1996 against Colombia and went on to represent Argentina 51 times and scored 17 goals.

iii. He also was the Captain of Argentina’s football team that won the Gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

iv. He was named as South American Player of the Year and Argentine Player of the Year four times.

9. Obama wraps up three-day India visit, departs for Saudi Arabia

Barack Obama and Michelle Obama do a 'Namaste' before boarding Air Force One

i. US President Barack Obama left India for Saudi Arabia on Tuesday after a three-day visit focused on improving relations between the world's largest democracies.

ii. The US president had been due to visit the Taj Mahal while in India, but cut short his visit to offer his condolences to the royal family following the death of King Abdullah and to pay his respects to the new Saudi king.

iii. Obama addressed a gathering of about 2,000 students at the Siri Fort auditorium on the last day of his visit.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/01/daily-gk-update-25th-27th-january-2015.html#ixzz3Q6dgveIb

IBPS PO INTERVIEW -- KOLKATA CANDIDATE --

I reached the venue around 8 am. They opened the main door exactly at 8.30 am. I was 18th in my panel thats why my interview started around 12.30 pm. My interview duration was 15 minutes.

There were 5 persons M1, M2, M3, M4, L5 (4 male, 1 female). I asked for permission and wished them good afternoon(first mam then sir). They welcomed me with smile. They asked me to put my file on the table.

M1 - So, Ankita what are ur qualifications?

Me - Replied that I have done Btech in CSE.

M1 - How can ur Btech will be helpful for bank?

Me - Replied.

M2 - What is Artificial Intelligence?

Me - explained a little only  :(

M3 - What is mobile banking?

Me - replied

M3 - Which technology is used in mobile technology is used in it? What are the risks involved?

Me - replied

M1 - What is CASA?

Me - replied

M1 - If a bank has high CASA percentage tehn it is good for bank or bad and why?

Me - First I misunderstood the question and replied something else then M4 asked me to listen once again the question and repeated the question once again.

Then I replied and M4 was really happy with my answer. 

M4 - Have u read newspaper?

Me - yes sir

M4 - Who have received Ashoka Chakra and why this award is given?

Me - I forgot the names but I told them how they were killed and what is this award for. M4 was very supportive.

L5 - Who have received Bharata Ratna?

Me - replied

L5 - tell me something about Madan Mohan Malviya

Me  - replied

L5 - Who is ur role model and why?

Me - replied

M3 - What is GPRS?

Me - I forgot its full for but replied what is it.

M1 - What is intangible asset?

Me - Gave definition but I was not able to give example.

M2 - What other news you have read?

Me - Told about the nuclear deal.

M2 - He told me the other fact except the insurance in nuclear deal for which it was not done in 2006.

Me - Told about US demand. He then asked me another reason. I said sorry sir I dont know. Then M2 told M1 that only first reason is in news thats why she know only that. M1 asked me to read the other reason at home with smile.

L5 - Best moments in ur life?

Me - Replied

M2 - Do you have a certificate for Best Employee Award?(I told them that I was awarded as the Best Girl Of my school, also Best Employee Award)

Me - Told that they gave me incetive and he was satisfied.

Then they offered me a candy and wished me Best of Luck for my future. :))

Obama wraps up three-day India visit, departs for Saudi Arabia

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Obama-wraps-up-three-day-India-visit-departs-for-Saudi-Arabia/articleshow/46028444.cms

NEW DELHI: US President Barack Obama left India for Saudi Arabia on Tuesday after a three-day visit focused on improving relations between the world's largest democracies.

PM Narendra Modi was not at the Delhi Palam airport. Earlier reports indicated that he may be present.

Obama, accompanied by wife Michelle, folded his hands to say 'namaste' before boarding Air Force One at the Palam airport.

At the airport was power minister Piyush Goyal, who was minister-in-waiting for the Obama visit, and foreign secretary Sujatha Singh.

READ ALSO: Obama's Siri Fort address: Highlights

Obama along with his wife Michelle left India at 1.55pm in his Air Force One plane from Delhi Palam airport.

The US president had been due to visit the Taj Mahal while in India, but cut short his visit to pay his respects to the new Saudi king.

US President Barack Obama also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a "memorable visit" and the people of India for their warm welcome here.

"Thank you @NarendraModi for a memorable visit, and to the Indian people for their warm welcome. #India -bo," said a tweet by the White House.


US President Obama shakes hands with the crowd after delivering a speech at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi. (Reuters Photo)

US President Barack Obama is leading a bipartisan delegation of lawmakers, senior US officials and two former secretaries of state to Saudi Arabia to pay respects to the royal family following King Abdullah's death.

Obama's four-hour stop in Saudi Arabia was to include a meeting with new monarch King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud and a dinner with other Saudi officials.

In his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, both the leaders managed to remove the hurdles to operationalize the civil nuclear deal besides deciding to jointly produce military hardware and stepping up economic engagement.

In what Obama called a "breakthrough", the two sides resolved key hurdles pertaining to the liability of suppliers of nuclear reactors in the event of an accident and the tracking of fuel supplied by the US.

Obama also became the first US president to grace the Republic Day celebrations. He is also the first American president to visit India twice.

The US president earlier on Tuesdau addressed an event at Siri Fort Auditorium here during which he spoke on a range of issues and made a strong pitch for religious tolerance.

(Inputs from PTI)