Daily GK Update - 20th March 2015

1. Union Government launches BIRAC AcE Fund to accelerate growth of entrepreneurs in Biotechnology

i. Union Government launched Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) AcE Fund to accelerate growth of entrepreneurs in Biotechnology.

ii. It was announced by Minister of State (MoS) for Science and Technology (S&T) and Earth Sciences Y.S. Chowdary on the occasion of the third foundation day of BIRAC in New Delhi.

iii. The BIRAC AcE Fund aims to address the pressing needs of accelerating the growth of entrepreneurs, in the field of Biotechnology.

iv. This equity fund will be operated by BIRAC a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the aegis Department of Biotechnology (DBT) of Union Ministry of Science and Technology.

2. Meira Kumar’s book released

i. Former Lok Sabha Meira Kumar’s book entitled “Indian Parliamentary Diplomacy – Speaker’s Perspective” was released.

ii. The book was released by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and its first copy was presented to the President Pranab Mukherjee at a function held in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.

iii. The book features an account of the parliamentary diplomacy and its role in furthering foreign policy and strengthening international relations.

iv. It is also a collection of select speeches and reports by Kumar during her stint as Lok Sabha speaker and as leader of Indian parliamentary delegations at several international fora.

3. Former Australian PM dies 

i. Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser has died aged 84.

ii. Mr Fraser, who led the nation between 1975 and 1983, died after a short illness.

iii.  He became its leader in controversial circumstances, after the unprecedented dismissal of PM Gough Whitlam.

iv. He championed the rights of Indigenous Australians and refugees, a stance that put him on a collision course with his own party in later life.

4. Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan named as President of Britain’s Royal Society

i. Nobel Laureate Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan has been confirmed as President Elect of the Royal Society.

ii.  His appointment was confirmed by the society’s council meet and will assume the charge on 1 December 2015.

iii. He will succeed eminent geneticist Sir Paul Nurse who had taken on the role in 2010 and will step down after the customary 5-year term.

iv. In 2009, Ramakrishnan was awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering the precise structure of ribosomes.

5. NCP’s Ramraje Nimbalkar unanimously elected Maharashtra Legislative Council Chairman

i. NCP nominee Ramraje Nimbalkar was unanimously elected as the Legislative Council Chairman, even as the Congress and Shiv Sena withdrew their candidates from the fray.

ii. The Congress had fielded party loyalist Sharad Ranpise while the Sena had nominated its spokesperson Neelam Gorhe.

6. Wipro, HCL in race for Sebi's fraud detection system upgrade 

i. Tata Consultancy Services, HP, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and five other companies have evinced interest in assisting the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in upgradation of its fraud detection systems. 

ii. The markets watchdog is planning to expand the capacity of its Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence System (DWBIS) installed at data centres in Mumbai and Chennai.

iii. DWIBS is used for speedy analysis of trade data to identify possible violations such as insider trading, share price manipulation, front running and pump-and-dump scams.

7. Maharashtra Government announced to rename Girgaum Chowpatty as Swaraj Bhoomi

i. Maharashtra Government announced to rename Girgaum Chowpatty as Swaraj Bhoomi to honour veteran freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

ii. The demand was raised by the Lokmanya Tilak Gaurav Samiti. They demanded that the spot at Chowpatty where Lokmanya Tilak was cremated, and where a garden stands now, should be called Swaraj Bhoomi.

iii. Girgaum Chowpatty is the oldest and most famous beach of Mumbai, Maharashtra. The Girgaum beach was called Chau-pati because of four channels of water that existed there. 

8. National Air Quality Index to debut in April 

i. The environment ministry will be launching the National Air Quality Index, a simple, composite, and easy to understand measure of air quality, on April 6. 

ii. The index will measure the eight major pollutants that impact health - particulate matter (PM 10 and PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, ammonia and lead - and disseminate information on associated health risks through a colour-coded easy to identify format. 

iii. Each colour will indicate a level of the index. There are six levels: Good, Satisfactory, Moderately polluted, Poor, Very Poor and Severe. 

9. Australia beats Pakistan; to meet India in semi-final

i. Australia defeated Pakistan by six wickets to enter the semi-finals of the cricket World Cup at the Adelaide Ova.

ii. Shane Watson made the most of an early reprieve to guide Australia to a six-wicket win over Pakistan with an unbeaten 64 in the Cricket World Cup quarterfinals.

ii. Pakistan won the toss and batted but was all out for 213 in the last over, with recalled paceman Josh Hazlewood taking 4/35 for Australia.

iii. Australia will play defending champion India in a semifinal at Sydney on 26th March 2015.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/03/daily-gk-update-20th-march-2015.html#ixzz3UzDQcx7y

Daily GK Update - 19th March 2015

Daily GK Update - 19th March 2015

1. China-backed AIIB to be joined by France, Germany, Italy

i. Three nations from European Union (EU) France, Germany and Italy have agreed to join the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) after the United Kingdom (UK) decided to join the bank.

ii. If these western nations join the bank, the total number of the bank’s member states including India will go up to 30.

iii. It should be noted that UK was the first Western country to join the bank and also first nation to disregard the reservations expressed by the United States (US) which had raised concerns over banks transparency.

Note: AIIB is an international financial institution proposed by China which seeks to provide support to infrastructure projects in Asia. It is expected to be operational by the end 2015 and its headquarters will be located at Beijing.

2. Railways rope in Ratan Tata to lead Kaya Kalp panel

i. Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu has roped in noted industrialist Ratan Tata to head a new innovation council called “Kaya Kalp” he proposes to set up to turn around the ailing state-run rail network.

ii. Former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai is likely to be a member of the innovation council, which will also include the general secretaries of the two major railway unions.

3. India to host seventh Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction

i. India will host the seventh Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) in 2016. 

ii. This was announced by Home Minister of India Rajnath Singh at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai, Japan.

iii. The conference in 2016 will be held in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).

4. EVMs to carry photos of candidates from May 1, 2015: EC

i. Election Commission has announced that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and ballot papers will carry photographs of candidates from 1 May 2015.

ii. This move of EC seeks to avoid voters being misled by several namesakes in the election fray. 

iii. In this regard EC has issued an order to all political parties and State Chief Electoral Officers for implementation.

5. Kerala to host its first global conference on gender equality 

i. The Gender Park, an institution under the state department of Social Justice, is organising the three-day International Conference on Gender Equality (ICGE -I) here with the support of UN Women from November 12-14.

ii. It is envisaged to be the country's first such large-scale exercise in creating a space to share knowledge and global experiences in reducing gender inequalities.

iii. "Gender, Governance and Inclusion" is the core theme of the conference that will discuss issues ranging from citizenship, globalisation, work, governance, health and education to masculinities, disability and the role of media 

6. India Successfully Test Fires Air-to-Air Astra Missile

i. India’s indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile Astra was successfully tested from a Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft.  

ii. The test was undertaken at the Integrated Test Range located at Chandipur in Odisha.

iii. Missile’s all subsystems like propulsion, navigation, guidance and separation from the aircraft were also successfully tested.

iv. The Missile is indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

v. It is a Surface to Surface BVR all-weather missile and can be launched from different altitudes.

7. Kavinder Gupta elected as J&K assembly Speaker

i. Kavinder Gupta was unanimously elected as Speaker of the 12th Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

ii. The motion to elect the speaker of assembly was moved by State Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Basharat Bukari and seconded by Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Kumar Singh.

iii. Gupta was elected with voice vote as there was no one from the Opposition going against the motion. He will replace the Protem Speaker Muhammad Shafi of National Conference.

iv. Kavinder Gupta is Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Gandhinagar constituency in Jammu district.  He is the first time MLA to state assembly.

8. India storm into semi-finals by thrashing B'desh by 109 runs

i. Rohit Sharma blasted a strokeful century as defending champions India stormed into the semi-finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup by thrashing a hapless Bangladesh by 109 runs in a lop-sided contest here today. 

ii. Riding on Rohit's spectacular 137 off 126 balls and his rollicking 122-run fourth wicket stand in only 15.5 overs with the belligerent Suresh Raina (65), India were able to post a commendable 302 for six after opting to bat at the MCG. 

iii. India will now meet the winner of the third quarter-final between Australia and Pakistan at Sydney on March 26. 

iv. The victory took the tally of India's successive World Cup victories to 11, including four in the last edition, as it was yet another easy outing for the title contenders. 

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/03/daily-gk-update-19th-march-2015.html#ixzz3Ut9Fd86w

Daily GK Update - 18th March 2015

Daily GK Update - 18th March 2015

1. India, Kyrgyzstan ink MoU for cooperation on textile, clothing

i. India and Kyrgyzstan signed MoU to strengthen bilateral cooperation on textile and clothing.

ii. The MoU was signed by Minister of State (MoS) for Textiles Santosh Kumar Gangwar and his counterpart Minister of Energy and Industry of Kyrgyzstan Kubanychbek Turdubaev in New Delhi.

iii.  The MoU seeks to strengthen bilateral cooperation between both nations in the three fields including Textiles and Clothing, Silk and Sericulture and Fashion.

2. WEF names Smriti Irani as Young Global Leader from India

i. Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani was today named Young Global Leader from India by the World Economic Forum (WEF)

ii. Others who have been named Young Global Leader (YGL) in the past include British Prime Minister David Cameron, Alibaba Group chief Jack Ma, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, Google chief Larry Page, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

iii.  In the list of 187 YGLs for 2015 from across the world, Irani is accompanied by 10 other Indians, including Gaurav Gogoi, an MP and son of Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

3. Sohail Aman new Pakistan Air Force chief

i.   Air Marshal Sohail Aman, an accomplished fighter pilot, was appointed as the chief of Pakistan Air Force.

ii. The Pakistan Air Force announced that the new air chief will take over after his predecessor Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt retires.

iii.  Air Marshal Sohail Aman was commissioned in the GD (P) Branch of Pakistan Air Force in November, 1980.

4.  Israeli prime minister Netanyahu defies the polls to seal election win 

i.  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling Likud Party scored a resounding victory in the country's election, a stunning turnaround after a tight race that had put his lengthy rule in jeopardy.

ii. The election was widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu, who has governed the country for the past six years.

iii. Netanyahu focused his campaign on security issues, while his opponents instead pledged to address the country's high cost of living and accused the leader of being out of touch with everyday people.

5. South Africa ease into semi-finals

i.  South Africa cruised into the World Cup semi-finals with a one-sided thrashing of a sorry Sri Lanka in Sydney.

ii.  Off-spinner JP Duminy took a hat-trick and leg-spinner Imran Tahir 4-26 as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 133.

iii. The Proteas then eased to their target for the loss of only one wicket in 18 overs, with Quinton de Kock making an unbeaten 78.

iv.  They go on to a last-four meeting with New Zealand or West Indies in Auckland on Tuesday.

6. Sangakkara, Jayawardene bid adieu to ODI cricket

i. Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara might not have got a fairytale ending to their final ODI match of their glorious careers.

ii.  The duo had already called time on their respective ODI careers before the 50-over showpiece event and it all ended on a bitterly disappointing note as Sri Lanka bowed out with a nine-wicket loss to South Africa in the quarterfinal.

iii. The 37-year-old Sangakkara, scored 14,234 runs in 404 ODIs.

iv. Jayawardene, who had already quit the longest format, now bows out of the international scene after a career that started in 1997. He leaves with 17,838 first-class runs to his name, 11,814 of them in 149 Test matches. He played 448 ODIs, accumulating 12,650 runs.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/03/daily-gk-update-18th-march-2015.html#ixzz3UknnRttd

Daily GK Update - 17th March 2015

1. Supreme Court sets aside Jat quota

i. The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside the notification issued by the erstwhile UPA government to include Jats in the Central list of Other Backward Classes (OBC) for according benefits of reservation to them.

ii. a bench of Justice Tarun Gogoi and Justice R.F. Nariman found fault with the Centre’s decision to overlook the findings of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) stating that Jats do not deserve to be included in the Central list of OBC as they don’t form socio-economic backward class.

iii. The Narendra Modi government had supported UPA regime's decision to include the Jat community in the central OBC list for providing reservation.

2. Centre includes compensation in GST Const Amendment Bill

i. The Centre has included in the GST Constitutional Amendment Bill the compensation which will be paid to states for revenue loss on account of rolling out the new indirect tax regime.

ii. As part of the proposed GST regime, the CST is being phased out and its rate has been reduced to two percent from four percent.

iii. The Centre collects CST and distributes it among states. The Centre has agreed to compensate states for losses they have incurred due to CST phase out.

3. Snapdeal buys stake in logistics firm GoJavas

i. Online marketplace major Snapdeal today picked up minority stake in logistics firm GoJavas as it looks to further strengthen its delivery operations in the country. 

ii. Snapdeal co-founder Rohit Bansal said this is the first ever investment by Snapdeal in the logistics segment and that the company is looking to invest $150-200 million in logistics this year.

iii. Snapdeal, which has more than 60,000 sellers on board and more than 40 million registered users, has been dependent on third party services such as Blue Dart, GoJavas, Ecom Express for handling deliveries in the country. 

4. Hitachi India, Siemens sign MoU with CII for smart cities

i. Hitachi India Ltd and Siemens Ltd on Tuesday signed an MoU with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to form a consortium that would create pilots and replicate them throughout the country for setting up 100 smart cities.

ii. The MoU aims to establish a national mission for such cities as a platform comprising industry leaders and experts and provide policy advocacy and thought leadership to Government and other stakeholders. 

iii. It would also manage a knowledge repository to provide inputs to the Ministry of Urban Development on best practices.

5. Mirach to file $400 million defamation suit against Sahara 

i. US-based Mirach Capital today said it is initiating a $400 million defamation lawsuit against the Sahara group.

ii. The crisis-hit group had alleged that Mirach and its CEO Saransh Sharma's criminal conduct and lack of financial capabilities to honour such huge commitments led to the breaking down of the deal, 

iii. Mirach accused Sahara's representatives of making unfounded allegations against it while the group scrambled for more time for its jailed CEO.

6. HDFC Bank launches instant money transfer app

i. HDFC Bank has launched Chillr, a mobile app that allows users to instantly transfer money to any contact in their phonebook 24 hours a day and seven days a week. 

ii. HDFC Bank has partnered with MobME, a Kochi-based technology firm, to launch this app. 

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/03/daily-gk-update-17th-march-2015.html#ixzz3Uf8f3O4V

Daily GK Update - 15th & 16th March 2015

1. Wipro appoints Abid Neemuchwala as COO

i. India's third largest IT services exporter Wipro Ltd. announced the appointment of appointment of former TCS top executive Mr. Abid Ali Neemuchwala as the Group President and Chief Operating Officer of the company. 

ii. Mr Neemuchwala was heading the Business Process Services globally. 

iii. Apart from this he was also involved in several leadership roles during his 23-year-long career with TCS.

2. Facebook acquires The Find e-commerce search engine

i. Facebook has acquired The Find, a nine-year-old company with a search engine that indexes products across thousands of e-commerce sites.

ii. That probably means the ads Facebook users see will be more relevant to products they’ve been browsing and buying online, perhaps highlighting local retailers. One of The Find’s features is that it attempts to mix online and local stores and says its results are based on “your social profile.”

iii. For Facebook, the technology might make the social network a more valuable platform for merchants. While The Find’s own website won’t survive the acquisition.

3. IMF supports tight stance of Reserve Bank

i. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), chief Christine Lagarde’s has supported the tight monetary stance of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and says 5-per cent inflation in the country was still high.

ii. Lagarde is on a two-day India visit that began from today.

iii. Ms. Lagarde’s itinerary during her two-day visit includes meetings Prime Minister Narendra Modi and key leaders including Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan.

iv. IMF has previously expected a 6 percent growth for India.

4. Assam rolls out scheme to promote double cropping

i. Assam government has launched an ambitious scheme to increase agricultural production by providing facilities and assistance to farmers for double cropping in their lands. 

ii. Under the programme 'Momai Tamuli Barbaruah Krishak Bondhu Scheme', facilities and assistance will be provided for double cropping in all the crop areas which have so far been utilised for single cropping only. 

iii. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi launched the scheme at Timtimia village in Jorhat.

5. Indian women win World Hockey League Round 2

i. India won the final of the Hero women’s Hockey World League Round 2  with a margin of 3-1 against Poland at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.

ii. Vandana Katariya broke the deadlock in the 15th minute after several close chances were missed. 

ii. Poland struck back immediately on resumption in the second quarter, Oriana Walasek deflecting home off the team’s first penalty corner.  

iv. The  Final result: India 3 (Vandana Katariya, Rani, Ritu Rani) bt Poland 1 (Oriana Walasek).

6. Services win fourth Santosh Trophy title

i. Services lifted the Santosh Trophy after edging out hosts Punjab 5-4 via tie-breaker in a nail-biting summit clash at Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana .

ii. During the tie–breaker all the five players including captain Anthony, Vibin, Francis Zonuntulnga, Arun Tudu and Rakesh Singh scored goal for the winners.

iii. Services have won the title for the fourth time besides finishing runners up on five occasions.

7. Srikanth wins Swiss Grand Prix Gold championship

i. Young Indian shuttler K. Srikanth clinched the Swiss Grand Prix Gold championship title after overcoming a strong challenge from Viktor Axelson in a hard-fought men’s singles final.

ii. World No. 4 Srikanth showed nerves of steel to prevail over his Danish opponent, ranked sixth in the world, 21-15, 12-21, 21-14 in the thrilling summit clash of the $120,000 event .

iii. Srikanth previously created a major upset in the final of the 2014 China Open Super Series Premier by beating five-time world champion and two-time Olympic gold medallist Lin Dan.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/03/daily-gk-update-15th-16th-march-2015.html#ixzz3UcJ6y2qq

Daily GK Update - 14th March 2015

1. Former Maldives President Nasheed jailed for 13 years

i. Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed was convicted and sentenced to 13 years in prison after a quick and disputed trial for allegedly ordering a senior judge arrested while in office.

ii. Nasheed has denied ordering the arrest. His supporters said the charges are aimed at eliminating him as a challenger against incumbent President Yameen Abdul Gayoom in the 2018 presidential election.

iii. Nasheed was the country’s first democratically elected President.

2. Harvard University retains top position in Times’ World Reputation Rankings 2015

i. Harvard University of United States (US) has again topped in World Reputation Rankings 2015 published by Times Higher Education.

ii. Times Higher Education in the rankings revealed the top 100 universities across the world.

iii. The top ten universities are all located in the US and United Kingdom (UK). US alone has 8 universities in the top ten rankings. While, UK has 2 universities in the top 10 ranking.

iv. 2015 reputation rankings shows that US alone has 43 higher education institutions in the top 100. While, United has 12 universities in the top 100.

Top 3 Universities in World Reputation Rankings 2015 are:

• Harvard University (US).
• University of Cambridge (UK).
• University of Oxford (UK).

3. India's GDP growth will be 7.5 percent this year

i. Finance minister Arun Jaitley has said that this year the GDP growth rate will be 7.5 percent.

ii. Arun Jaitley was in London for Launching the Union Bank of India (UK), a subsidiary of the Union Bank of India.

4. Government cuts import tariff on gold and silver

i. The government has slashed import tariff value on gold to $375 per 10 grams and silver to $512 per kg following weak global price trends.

ii. The tariff value on imported gold was fixed at $393 per 10 grams and on silver at $549 per kg. 

iii. Gold is the second-largest import item for India after petroleum. Higher gold import bill adversely affects the country's current account deficit (CAD). 

iv. The government has been repeatedly asking people to desist from buying gold and instead invest in other saving instruments. 

5. NASA launches 4 spacecraft to solve magnetic mystery

i. NASA has launched four identical spacecraft on a billion-dollar mission to study the explosive give-and-take of the Earth and sun’s magnetic fields.

ii. The unmanned Atlas rocket, and NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft, took flight right on time. Within two hours, all four observatories were flying free.

iii. Each observatory resembles a giant octagonal wheel, stretching more than 11 feet (3.35 meters) across and 4 feet (1.22 meters) high, and weighing 3,000 pounds (1,360.79 kilogrammes) apiece.

6. Pakistan tests 1st indigenous armed drone Burraq and laser guided missile Barq
i. Pakistan successfully tested its first indigenously built all-weather armed drone named Burraq and a laser guided missile named Barq.
ii. By successfully testing of Burraq, Pakistan became the 9th country in the World to develop an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) domestically.

iii. It is developed by a venture of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and the National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM).
iv. With Barq laser-guided missile mounted on it can hit moving targets as well as stationary targets with pinpoint accuracy.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/03/daily-gk-update-14th-march-2015.html#ixzz3UVwRHEVb

Daily GK Update - 12th March 2015

1. India, Mauritius to work to avoid 'abuse' of DTAT

i. India and Mauritius will work together to avoid the "abuse" of double taxation avoidance convention.

ii. the two countries agreed to push negotiations for a long pending revision of the treaty. 

iii. Modi is on a two day visit to the island nation of Mauritius addressed the National assembly of Mauritius.

iv. Often corporates have been accused of laundering money through the "Mauritius route" for channelling FDI in India and the two governments have been in negotiations to curb this practice. 

v. This is why Prime Minister Modi and Sir Anerood Jugnauth agreed to push forward their negotiations for a long pending revision of Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAT).

2. New city 'NAINA' to come up over 600 square km near Navi Mumbai airport 

i. Maharashtra government would be developing a new city - 'NAINA' - over an area of 600 sq km around the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport.

ii. As a part of the smart city mission of the Centre, the state government will develop 30 towns, focusing on "themes" such as education, medical, entertainment, industry, etc. 

iii. The State also announced that for the prohibition of slaughter of cows, bulls and bullocks, the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, 1995 had been passed by the state legislature, and with the President's recent assent, it had now come into force. 

3. Govt asks PSU banks increase lending to minorities

i. The Union government has advised PSU banks to step up lending to minorities with a view to ensuring that they get loans in proportion to their population.

ii. It was decided to increase the percentage share of lending to each minority community in proportion to their respective share in minority population.

iii. In term of population, Muslims constitute the largest community, followed by Christians. Third largest minority group is that of the Sikhs.

iv. As per the RBI directive, banks have set up a special cell to ensure smooth flow of credit to minority communities.

v. The cell is headed by an officer holding the rank of Deputy General Manager or Assistant General Manager (AGM) or any other similar rank who should function as a ‘Nodal Officer’.

4. IPS officer M Akhaya appointed as Chief Vigilance Officer in telecom department 

i. IPS officer M Akhaya has been appointed as the Chief Vigilance Officer in the Department of Telecommunications.

ii. The appointment of the CVO, who acts as distant arm of the Central Vigilance Commission to check corruption, comes at a time when bidding for spectrum by telecom companies is underway.

iii. Akhaya, a 1988-batch IPS officer of Odisha cadre, has been appointed for an initial period of three years. 

5. EPFO trustees okay raising age limit under pension scheme to 60

i. Retirement fund body EPFO 's trustees decided to raise the age limit from 58 to 60 years for vesting of pension.

ii. The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's apex decision making body, the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), which is headed by the Labour Minister, took the decisions.

iii. After the amendment to the pension scheme, a formal sector worker can choose to contribute towards it till 60 years of age. This will provide him a benefit of 4 per cent enhanced pension per year.

iv. The CBT also decided to appoint SBI as it new fund manager for a three year term beginning April 1.

6. Rs.3,168 crore for compensation in new capital of A.P.

i. The Andhra Pradesh Budget for 2015-16 has set aside Rs.3,168 crore towards the compensation for taking the consent of farmers, to part with their land for the new capital project.

ii. As per the plan, 50 per cent of the total land is to be used for common infrastructure for the capital city. 

iii. About 25 per cent of the land is to be returned to the land owners in the form of developed reconstituted plots.

iv. This would leave about 7,000 acres with the State for constructing the capital complex as well as bringing investments to provide sustainable jobs for the residents of the capital city.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/03/daily-gk-update-12th-march-2015.html#ixzz3UGqM8UAR