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DAILY GK UPDATE - 30Th NOV

1. Punching PIN must for debit card transactions from tomorrow i. Debit card holders will from tomorrow be required to punch in their PIN numbers every time they use the card, a move aimed at minimising frauds. ii. In June, the Reserve Bank had extended the deadline for implementation of mandatory PIN punching at Point-ofSales (PoS) and merchant outlets till November 30 following representation of banks. iii. Our back-end system is in place and we have made changes in all our PoS and merchant outlets to accept PIN (basically ATM PIN) from tomorrow, said Parag Rao, HDFC Banks head card payment products and merchant acquiring service. iv. To deal with this the Reserve Bank asked banks to comply with all security features such as EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) chip on cards, real time fraud monitoring system, use of PIN, limit on transactions and the like by November 30. Note: i. First, merchants will swipe the cards at a PIN enabled PoS terminal and punch in the transaction amount. That will be followed by customers entering their PINs to complete the transaction. ii. As for credit cards, this requirement has been made mandatory for international transactions, including on the Internet. In such cases, users will have to replace their existing credit cards with the EMV Chip card and get a PIN. 2. Satyananda Mishra appointed as Chairman of Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) i. Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd on 27 November 2013 appointed Satyananda Mishra as the chairman of MCXs board. ii. Market Regulatory authority, the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) also approved the appointment of Satyananda Mishra as the independent Director of MCX's board for a period up to 31 March 2016. iii. Earlier, the exchange had appointed R M Premkumar, a former bureaucrat as its interim chairman. Mr Premkumar will continue to remain independent director on the board. iv. On October 31, Jignesh Shah had resigned as non-executive vice-chairman of MCX after sector regulator FMC issued a notice to him and FTIL questioning the 'fit and proper' status. v. Earlier, MCX MD Shreekant Javalgekar had also resigned from company. vi. This appointment will also be subject to FMC approval and the term will be of three years, which can be extended. 3. Michelle Yeoh to be chief guest at IFFI closing ceremony i. Hollywood actress Michelle Yeoh will attend the closing ceremony of the 44th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to be held on November 30. ii. The 50-year-old Malaysian actress's documentary film 'Pad Yatra: A Green Odyssey' on which she served as an executive producer, will also be screened at the on-going festival. iii. Michelle Yeoh will be the chief guest at the closing ceremony. She would be here with her film called 'Pad Yatra'. She will be here with his holiness, who has conducted the whole pad yatra. The film would be screened on 29," IFFI director Shankar Mohan told. iv. Yeoh, known for her roles in 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', Bond film 'Tomorrow Never Dies', 'Memoirs of a Geisha' has previously attended the festival in 2011, when her film 'The Lady', based on the life of Burmese Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, was the concluding movie. 4. Belgium opened Consulate General in Chennai i. Princess Astrid of Belgium on 28 November 2013 inaugurated the Consulate General of Belgium in Chennai for expansion of the bilateral ties with India. ii. This is the second Consulate General and the third diplomatic mission in India. iii. Princess Astrid is the representative of the King of Belgium, who is on a visit to India from 23-30 November, 2013. iv. At present is leading a high power trade delegation to India. As per the Belgian Ambassador to India, Pierre Vaessen the initiative was part of his countrys efforts to strengthen presence in India, mainly in South India. v. At present about 160 Belgian companies are operational in India, which of maximum are in South India. India and Belgium generally do trade of 15 billion, which mainly includes diamond business.

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5. India emerges most attractive investment destination: EY i. With relaxation in FDI norms to boost investor sentiments, India has emerged as the most attractive investment destination surpassing neighbouring China and the US, says a report. ii. The global survey of leading consultancy firm EY has ranked India as the most attractive investment destination followed by Brazil and China at second and third positions, respectively. iii. While Canada has cornered fourth spot, the US is placed at fifth position. Other nations in the top ten are South Africa (6), Vietnam (7), Myanmar (8), Mexico (9) and Indonesia (10). iv. According to the global consultancy firm, due to the present macro-economic pressures and heavy debt pile, several Indian companies are looking to divest non-core businesses. v. When it comes to investments, the US, France and Japan have emerged as "top three investors likely to invest in India". vi. On the other hand, the report said that Indian corporate entities have started looking at developed markets for making acquisitions. 6. Dot doubles penalty for radiation rule violation to Rs 10 lakh i. The Department of Telecom has doubled penalty provision to Rs 10 lakh on companies whose mobile towers will be found violating radiation emission levels. ii. "In case of non-compliance of actual EMF (electromagnetic field) radiation norms, a penalty of Rs 10 lakh per base transceiver stations (BTS) per incidence shall be imposed," a DoT circular issued on 20th November said. iii. Earlier the maximum penalty for any violation related to radiation rules was Rs 5 lakh. iv. Under the new penalty slabs, a maximum of Rs 50,000 fine will be imposed for delays in submission of the 'selfcertified' documents on norms, especially those pertaining to radiation emission. v. Even in paper related issues, DoT had earlier imposed a maximum penalty of Rs 5 lakh even for minor issues. vi. In case a company fails to abide by the deadline, it will have to pay Rs 5,000, Rs 20,000 for 15-30 days and Rs 50,000 for delay up to 60 days. Note: i. In case of failure to adhere to deadline, a penalty of Rs 5,000 may be imposed on telecom companies if the delay is up to 30 days, Rs 20,000 for delay between 30 to 60 days and Rs 50,000 for delay up to 90 days. ii. The companies will have to shut down their mobile tower if they fail to submit self-certificate of compliance within 90 days. 7. Malala topped Power List 101 at GG2 Leadership awards i. Malala Yousafzai, Kainat Riaz and Shazia Ramzan on 27 November 2013 were chosen for the GG2 Hammer Award, for their bravery at the GG2 (Garavi Gujarat 2) Leadership Awards 2013 a London. ii. The activist Malala Yousafzai won the number one spot in the GG2 Power List 101 for her work in raising awareness for female empowerment. iii. The GG2 Power 101 has been compiled by The Asian Media and Marketing Group (AMG) and features the top 101 most influential Asians in the UK, ranging from all walks of life. Now in its third year, the list honours some notable British Asians who hold power and influence not just in Britain, but also globally. 8. Indias 1st Synthetic Rubber Plant inaugurated in Panipat, Haryana i. Union Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily on 29 November 2013 inaugurated the first "Synthetic Rubber Plant" of the country at Panipat in Haryana. ii. The countrys first e-SBR (styrene butadiene rubber) unit was set up by Indian Synthetic Rubber Ltd (ISRL), a joint venture promoted by Indian Oil, TSRC Corporation, Taiwan, and Marubeni Corporation, Japan. iii. The plant will produce 120 kilo tonnes synthetic rubber annually, which would be used in industrial units for manufacturing automobile and daily need products. It is planned to increase the capacity of the plant to 220 KT in next two years. iv. The project, which is estimated to cost 958 crore rupees, has been funded through debt raised from Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Mizuho Corporation Bank. Technology for the manufacturing unit is being provided by TSRC Corporation. 9. Sports Ministry signs MOU with Department of AIDS Control i. The Sports Ministry on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Department of AIDS Control with the objective to "reach a large number of youth engaged in sports activities" at village, district and state level with information on STI/HIV/AIDS prevention and related services.

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ii. The MoU was signed between Secretary, Department of Sports Ajit M Saran, and Secretary, Department of AIDS Control, Lov Verma, in New Delhi on Friday. iii. The Department of AIDS Control provide technical support in capacity building on HIV/AIDS for sportspersons, trainees and staff of sports organisations and federations, by sharing of IEC materials for awareness generation activities. 10. Zol to captain India U-19s in ACC Asia Cup i. Maharashtra batsman Vijay Zol has been named captain of the India Under-19 squad for the ACC Asia Cup in the UAE, which will begin on December 28. ii. Kerala wicketkeeper Sanju Vishwanadh, who was part of the Under-19 team for the Asia Cup in 2012, has been appointed Zol's deputy. iii, "The All-India Junior Selection Committee met in Delhi on 27th November to pick the Indian team for the ACC U-19 Asia Cup to be played in the UAE in December 2013January 2014," said a statement from Anurag Thakur, Joint Secreatry, BCCI. iv. Zol shot into limelight when he scored an unbeaten 451 during a domestic U-19 match in 2011. v. During the U-19 World Cup last year, he scored 151 runs in six matches at an average of 25.16. vi. The tournament will also feature teams from India, Pakistan, UAE, Nepal (Group A) and Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Malaysia (Group B). 11. Indian lifters finish with 117 medals at Commonwealth C'ships i. Indian weightlifters ended their Commonwealth Youth, Junior & Senior Championships in style, bagging six medals on Saturday to take their overall tally to a staggering 117, including 57 gold, on the final day of the event in Penang, Malaysia. ii. The biggest contributors to the tally were the youth boys, who notched up 24 medals, including 16 gold and eight silver. iii. The youth girls were not too far behind with 21 medals, inclusive of a dozen gold. iv. The junior men and women's teams also bagged 21 medals each, while senior men won 12 and senior women accounted for a total of 18 medals. v. Youth boys and girls, Junior men and women, and senior men -- all pocketed the Winners Team Trophy -- while the Senior women had to be satisfied with the runners-up team title. 12. China to launch its first moon rover mission next week i. China will launch its first ever mission to land an unmanned spacecraft on the lunar surface next week, as it moves forward in its ambitious plan to become the worlds pre-eminent space power. ii. The Change-3 moon rover will be launched at 1:30 a.m. on Monday from Xichang Satellite Launch Center, the missions launching headquarters said today. iii. This will be the first time for China to send an unmanned spacecraft to soft land on the surface of an extraterrestrial body and conduct surveys on the moon. iv. China has already sent two moon missions which hovered around the lunar orbit. v. The Change-3 mission is the second phase of Chinas lunar pr ogramme, which includes orbiting, landing and returning to Earth. China had launched its Change -1 orbiter in 2007 and Change-2 in 2010. 13. Indian-origin doctor gets professional excellence award in UK i. Indian-origin doctor Jaswinder S. Bamrah, consultant psychiatrist in Manchester, has bagged Asian Lite Professional Excellence Award for his contribution to the medical field in the UK. ii. Peter W. Mount, Chairman of the Central Manchester Foundation Trust, presented the award to Dr Bamrah at a ceremony in Manchester last night. iii. Bamrah took his medical degree from Government Medical College, Patiala, Punjab University, in 1978. He was enrolled at Royal College of Psychiatrists, London in 1985. 14. Choreographer Raghuram passes away i. Veteran choreographer for several Tamil and South Indian films R. Raghuram died at his residence in Chennai on Saturday afternoon. He was 64. ii. One of the most respected choreographers in Tamil film industry, Raghuram 'Master' had celebrated his golden jubilee (50 years) in film industry last year.

DAILY GK UPDATE - 29Th NOV

1. Sachin Tendulkar appointed as UNICEF's first brand ambassador for South Asia i. Indian Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar on 28 November 2013 appointed as UNICEF's first brand ambassador for South Asia. ii. Sachin Tendulkar will work for promoting hygiene and sanitation in the South Asian region for two years. iii. Sachin Tendulkar was already involving with the UNICEF campaigns for polio and global hand washing. iv. According to UNICEF, almost half the population in India defecates in the open and 681 million people practice open defecation in South Asia. v. Children under five years of age are the most vulnerable to the effects of poor sanitation and annually more than half a million children in South Asia die of diarrhoea caused by unsafe drinking water, poor hygiene and lack of sanitation. 2. RBI relaxed the norms for participation of NBFCs in Insurance Joint Ventures i. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 28 November 2013 relaxed norms for participation of Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) in the insurance joint ventures by allowing them to hold more than 50 percent in such companies. ii. The notification of Reserve Bank of India has stated that - it has been decided that in cases where IRDA issues calls for capital infusion into the Insurance joint venture company, the RBI may, on a case to case basis, consider need based relaxation of the 50 percent group limit. iii. In the operation of Insurance Company, the IRDA often requires an insurance company to expand its capital taking into account the stipulations of the Insurance Act and the solvency requirements of the insurance company. 3. Assam Pavilion receives Gold award at IITF-2013 i. The Assam Pavilion was adjudged First for Excellence in display amongst State Governments and Union Territory Pavilions and was given the award of Gold Medal in the India International Trade Fair 2013 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. ii. This is the first time in the 33 years of history of the IITF that a State Government has consecutively received the prestigious Gold Award in succession after the Gold Awards in 2012. iii. The theme of this year was Inclusive Growth and the theme Pavilion set up reflected the growth of various sectors in the State. iv. The stall set up by the Directorate of Tea where various types of Tea were shown and testing procedure of teas were demonstrated was another highlight. v. This year 57 organisations participated in Assam Pavilion, of which 40 are Micro Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and the remaining 17 are Govt. departments, public sector undertaking (PSU). 4. Law intern names Justice Ganguly i. The woman law intern has informed the three-judge panel that it was former Supreme Court Judge A.K. Ganguly who had allegedly sexually harassed her in December last. ii. According to highly placed sources, following the naming of the judge, the probe committee comprising Justices R.M. Lodha, H.L. Dattu and Ranjana Desai had recorded the statement of Justice Ganguly. The panel submitted its report to the Chief Justice of India P. Sathasivam on Thursday. iii. The Committee was set up by the CJI as a fact finding panel to find out the veracity of the contents of a blog in which the law intern had highlighted the alleged sexual harassment incident involving the judge concerned. iv. The woman intern had alleged that the retired judge had misbehaved with her in a hotel room last December when the nation was protesting against the gang rape of a 23-year-old woman in the capital. v. The contents of her blog were published in a newspaper and the committee was asked to probe into the correctness of her statement and the alleged incident. 5. Noted Dalit Writer Omprakash Valmiki Passed away i. Noted Dalit writer Omprakash Valmiki passed away on 17 November 2013 at Dehradun, Uttarakhand. He died at the age of 63 after prolonged illness due to cancer. ii. Omprakash Valmiki is one of the most famous Dalit litterateurs in Hindi and he portrayed the life of Dalits with an authentically Dalit voice. iii. He was born in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh in 1950. He worked with Government Ordnance Factory Dehradun.

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iv. Valmiki's autobiography Joothan is one of his famous works. In his autobiography Joothan (1997) he spoke in detail about the caste discrimination, persecution and humiliation that he faced, when he is growing up. Joothan is regarded as a milestone in Hindi literature. 6. Google has set up election portal in India i. Google on 28 November 2013 setup an election portal in India, the largest democracy of the world. ii. The portal will provide polls and politics related news to users in India. The launched search engine will also provide information on the political parties. iii. This portal will help the voters of India to get the answers on elections and voting-related queries to make an informed decision. Initially, during the first phase of the launch will cover the videos and information related to state elections in Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram. iv. It will cover news from leading publications and broadcasters both in English and Hindi. 7. Silvio Berlusconi expelled from Italian Parliament i. The Italian Senate on 27 November 2013 expelled ex- Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from Parliament over his tax fraud conviction. ii. The Senate declared Berlusconi ineligible for parliament after he was convicted of masterminding a complex system of illegally inflated invoices to cut the tax bill for his Mediaset television empire. About Silvio Berlusconi He was born on 29 September 1936. Berlusconi, 77, is an entrepreneur, media tycoon and politician. In 1993, Berlusconi founded his own political party, Forza Italia - Go Italy - named after a chant used by Italian football fans. Berlusconi as Italian politician dominated for two decades and he served three times as Prime Minister (In between 1994-2011). He was the member of Italian senate.

DAILY GK UPDATE - 28Th NOV

1. New insider trading norms within ten days: SEBI i. To curb the growing menace of insider trading activities in the stock market, regulator SEBI will come up with a new set of norms within next ten days, Chairman U K Sinha said. ii. The capital markets watchdog had set up an expert panel in March this year to suggest new measures to regulate insider trading. The panel has submitted its recommendations to Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India), based on which a final report is being prepared. iii. The new insider trading regulations would replace nearly two-decade old set of norms. iv. The expert committee set up in March was headed by N K Sodhi, retired Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court and former presiding officer of the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT). The members comprised Sebi officials, executives from companies, legal experts and journalists. 2. India's GDP to grow at 5.4% in Q2 of FY'14: Assocham i. A day ahead of the announcement of GDP figure for the July-September quarter of the current fiscal, industry body Assocham has pegged the country's growth at 5.4 per cent for the period on improved agricultural output. ii. "Growth would touch 5.4 per cent in the second quarter owing to a good monsoon and resultant better performance of farm sector, thereby propelling the industry and services performance in the current fiscal," Assocham said. iii. According to a study by Assocham, the agriculture sector is likely to grow at 4.25 per cent, whereas the industry and services sectors are expected to register 3 per cent and 7 per cent growth, respectively, during the period under review. Note: i. The Reserve Bank of India expects GDP to expand 5 per cent in the current financial year, while the government estimates growth at between 5 and 5.5 per cent. ii. Both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have lowered their growth forecasts for India in 201314. iii. The IMF projected an average growth rate of about 3.75 per cent at market prices. The World Bank slashed its growth forecast to 4.7 per cent from an earlier projection of 6.1 per cent.

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3. Dubai to host World Expo 2020 i. Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) on 27 November 2013 voted in favour of Dubai to be the host city for the World Trade Fair or EXPO 2020. ii. This was decided after the third and the final round of voting in Paris on 27 November 2013. Four cities including Dubai in UAE, Yekaterinbergh in Russia, Sao Paulo in Brazil and Izmir in Turkey were competing to host the prestigious event. iii. The theme of Dubai for the EXPO 2020 is Connecting Minds, Creating the Future. Note: i. A World Expo in Dubai in 2020 would be the first to be held in the MENASA (Middle East, North Africa and South Asia) region, which takes place every five years. ii. The yearlong event is considered a major event since the award of the EXPO brings home more number of visitors and adds to the trade, economy, tourism and hospitality sectors in the host city. About World Expo World Expos is a meeting point for the global community to share innovations and make progress on issues of international importance such as the global economy, sustainable development and improved quality of life for the worlds population. The first world expo was held in London in 1851. About Bureau International des Expositions The Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) is the international body responsible for overseeing the calendar, bidding, selection and organisation of World Expos. It has a total of 167 member countries. 4. IMF chief to pay first visit to Myanmar i. IMF chief Christine Lagarde will next month pay her first visit to Myanmar as the once authoritarian government pursues reforms that have fueled growth, the global lender said. ii. Lagarde will visit Myanmar's showcase capital Naypyidaw and its largest city Yangon during the December 6-7 visit, which will come after stops in South Korea and Cambodia. iii. I will visit three countries in different stages of transition -- Korea, the world's 13th largest economy; Cambodia, a frontier economy on the rise; and Myanmar, undergoing a great awakening to countless possibilities," Lagarde said iv. In May, the IMF estimated that Myanmar's economy would expand 6.75 percent in 2013-14, a notch up from the previous year, driven by gas production and investment in the resource-rich Southeast Asian nation. 5. Michelle Yeoh to be chief guest at IFFI closing ceremony i. Hollywood actress Michelle Yeoh will attend the closing ceremony of the 44th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to be held on November 30. ii. The 50-year-old Malaysian actress's documentary film 'Pad Yatra: A Green Odyssey' on which she served as an executive producer, will also be screened at the on-going festival. iii. "Michelle Yeoh will be the chief guest at the closing ceremony. She would be here with her film called 'Pad Yatra'. She will be here with his holiness, who has conducted the whole pad yatra. The film would be screened on 29," IFFI director Shankar Mohan told. iv. Yeoh, known for her roles in 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', Bond film 'Tomorrow Never Dies', 'Memoirs of a Geisha' has previously attended the festival in 2011, when her film 'The Lady', based on the life of Burmese Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, was the concluding movie. 6. Neeraj Sahai appointed as President of Standard & Poor's Ratings Services i. Standard & Poor's, the world's largest credit rater, named Citigroup's Neeraj Sahai as president, succeeding Douglas Peterson. ii. Sahai, who is currently head of Citigroup's Securities and Fund Services business, will assume charge on January 6, according to a statement from S&P parent McGraw Hill Financial Inc. iii. He's the second Citigroup executive to be called on to lead the credit grader after Peterson, a former Citibank NA chief operating officer, was hired in 2011 to replace Deven Sharma. About Standard & Poor's Ratings Services Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, part of McGraw Hill Financial, is the world's leading provider of independent credit risk research. It publishes more than a million credit ratings on debt issued by sovereign, municipal, corporate and financial sector entities. About McGraw Hill Financial McGraw Hill Financial is a financial intelligence company providing the global capital and commodity markets with independent benchmarks, credit ratings, portfolio and enterprise risk solutions, and analytics. The Company's iconic brands include: Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts, CRISIL, J.D. Power, and McGraw Hill Construction.

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7. SBT, SBI General Insurance ties up for affordable health plan i. State Bank of Travancore (SBT) and SBI General Insurance today jointly launched an affordable health insurance plan for SBT customers. ii. SBI General Insurance and SBT today jointly announced the launch of SBI Generals Group Health Insurance Policy exclusively for SBT account holders and their families, SBI General said iii. In terms of affordability, for a 35-year-old adult the policy will cost Rs 1,300 per year to have an Rs 100,000 cover which means Rs 3.56 per day. iv. The policy has benefits such as multiple coverage options, no pre policy medical test up to age of 65 years for people with no medical history, 142 day care procedures covered, guaranteed renewal upon option. v. Besides, it also offers coverage of pre and posthospitalisation expenses transparent claim process and cashless treatment across over 3,000 hospitals in the network. 8. President to address special session of Arunachal Pradesh Assembly i. President Pranab Mukherjee will address the Arunachal Pradesh assembly on Friday during his maiden two-day visit to the state. ii. President Pranab Mukherjee will address a special session of the Arunachal Pradesh assembly on Friday during his maiden two-day visit to the state, official sources said. iii. On Saturday, Mr. Mukherjee will deliver the Convocation Address at the 12th Convocation of the Rajiv Gandhi University at Rono Hills, Doimukh, the sources said. iv. The convocation would confer bachelors, masters, diploma, M. Phil and PhD degree to qualified candidates for the 2011-2012 and 2012-13 academic sessions respectively. v. The President addressing the state assembly would be a historic event. Make it a memorable occasion for the state, Chief Minister Nabam Tuki told Deputy Speaker Jomde Kena and other officials of the Assembly Secretariat. Note: i. President Pranab Mukherjee will embark on a three-day visit to Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland from Friday. ii. It will be his first visit to Arunachal Pradesh after becoming the President. 9. Mars missions D-day in three days i. On the night of November 30-December 1, the spacecraft will be finally thrust away from the Earth, and all the way towards the Red Planet, after gathering a total escape speed of around 11.4 kms a second. ii. Indian Space Research Organisations Scientific Secretary V. Koteswara Rao told a pre-event briefing at the control centre at the Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) on Wednesday, We are planning for the Mars spacecraft to depart the Earth in the early hours of December 1. iii. The spacecraft carrying five instruments to study Mars was launched on November 5 from Sriharikota. 10. Assam Pavilion receives Gold award at IITF-2013 i. The Assam Pavilion was adjudged First for Excellence in display amongst State Governments and Union Territory Pavilions and was given the award of Gold Medal in the India International Trade Fair 2013 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. ii. This is the first time in the 33 years of history of the IITF that a State Government has consecutively received the prestigious Gold Award in succession after the Gold Awards in 2012. iii. The theme of this year was Inclusive Growth and the theme Pavilion set up reflected the g rowth of various sectors in the State. iv. This year 57 organisations participated in Assam Pavilion, of which 40 are Micro Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and the remaining 17 are Govt. departments, public sector undertaking (PSU). 11. Latvian Prime Minister resigned over supermarket collapse i. The Latvian Prime Minister, Valdis Dombrovskis announced his resignation and thereby the fall of the Government on 27 November 2013. ii. He resigned due to the deadly collapse of Maxima supermarket of Riga on 21 November 2013. iii. His announcement came during the meeting with Andris Berzins, the President of Latvia. Dombrovskis is the longest serving prime minister in Latvia's history. About Valdis Dombrovskis He came to power in 2009. He was reappointed twice as prime minister since then and is widely credited to prevent the small Baltic nation from going bankrupt. Books: V.Dombrovskis, A.Aslund "How Latvia Came Through the Financial Crisis", Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington DC, May 2011 He has been the Author of many publications on economics and politics in various periodicals, journals and electronic media

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Awards: July 2012 - The Vaek and Anna Maria Polk visiting lecturers award for contribution to regions democracy and economic reforms December 2011 international award from Friedrich August von Hayek Foundation (Friedrich August von Hayek Stiftung) for essential contribution to restoring financial and economic stability in Latvia. 12. Shoma Chaudhury resigns from Tehelka i. Managing Editor of Tehelka Shoma Chaudhury resigned on Thursday a week after its Editor Tarun Tejpal was exposed as having allegedly sexually assaulting a woman journalist colleague. ii. She announced her decision to sign out from the weekly magazine through an email to her colleagues sent at 5:52 a.m. iii. Though no statement has been put out by Tehelka on its website regarding the resignation, her email was widely in circulation on various social networking sites within hours. 13. TRAI finalizes tariff for mobile banking services i. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), on Wednesday, released the tariff structure and guidelines for mobile banking services, a step that would help rural customers who do not have access to banks and financial services. ii. The TRAI has prescribed a ceiling tariff for an outgoing unstructured supplementary service data (USSD)-based mobile banking service at Rs.1.50 per USSD session. iii. We have come out with a framework to help bank agents to interface with service providers for the use of SMS, USSD and IVR (interactive voice response) channels to provide mobile banking services. iv. The authority wants to utilise the benefits of mobile banking for financial inclusion. A large section of the population, especially in rural areas, do not have an easy access to banks. v. This facility will help to tide over that shortcoming, TRAI Chairman Rahul Khullar told journalists here on Wednesday. vi. The Mobile Banking (Quality of Service) (Amendment) Regulations, 20s13 have come into immediate effect, and the Telecommunication Tariff (56th Amendment) Order, 2013 shall come into force on January 1, 2014, TRAI said in a note. vii. USSD technology is used by telecom operators to send alerts to their users. viii. It can be used for pre-paid call-back service, location-based content services, and menu-based information services. Note: i. The TRAI note said telecom service providers should collect charges from their subscribers for providing the USSD to deliver mobile banking services. ii. All service providers should facilitate not only the banks, but also the agents of banks to use SMS, USSD and IVR to provide banking services to bank customers. 14. Nepal & UAE qualify for ICC T-20 World Cup 2014 i. Nepal and the UAE have qualified for the ICC T20 World cup which will be held in Bangladesh next year. ii. Nepal defeated Hong Kong by five wickets in a cliffhanger in Abu Dhabi yesterday. Nepal survived a last-over scare to score the required 13 runs, with 10 runs coming from the first two deliveries and a last-ball misfield producing the winning runs. iii. The UAE has also qualified for the tournament as they defeated the Netherlands by 10 runs. Note: i. This will be the first time since the ICC Cricket World Cup 1996 that the UAE and Nepal will make an appearance on the global stage. ii. Four teams have now qualified for the ICC T20 in Bangladesh next year. These include Afghanistan, Ireland, Nepal and UAE. 15. Nadal voted greatest ever Spanish sports personality i. Rafael Nadal was named the greatest Spanish sports star in history by readers of Spanish sports daily. ii. The winner of 13 Grand Slams and the current number 1 in the ATP world ranking, received the award at the Gala for the 75th anniversary of the Spanish sports paper Diario Marca, reported Xinhua. iii. The Spanish player was voted for by readers of the paper ahead of five times Tour de France winner, Miguel Indurain and basketball star, Pau Gasol, who is without doubt the greatest Spanish basketball player of all time. iv. The tennis ace has enjoyed a fantastic 2013, coming back from a career threatening knee injury to win events such as the French Open, as well as claiming his 25th and 26th ATP Masters 1000 titles in Montreal and Cincinnati, before then winning the US Open, beating Novak Djokovic in the final.

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16. Indian lifters bag 87 medals at C'wealth Championships i. Youth Asian Games champion Ragala Venkat Rahul (77kg) stole the show with half a dozen gold medals as India signed off with a whopping 87 medals at the Commonwealth Youth and Junior Championships which concluded in Penang, Malaysia on Thursday. ii. In the senior men's division, Sivalingam Sathish Kumar (77kg) won three gold medals. iii. India signed off with a overall tally of 47 gold, 28 silver and 12 bronze medals at the event. iv. The youth boys were the stars of the show with a combined tally for 13 gold medals. In fact, they were the biggest contributors to the tally with 21 medals in all. v. The youth girls contributed 18 medals. vi. On Wednesday, K Shireesha and Joti Mal swept all the three gold on offer in the junior women 58kg and youth girl 58kg categories respectively. vii. The youth, junior and senior category competitions are being held simultaneously. India are being represented by 15 lifters in the senior section, 15 in junior section and 11 in youth section.

17. Ronaldo goals lift Portugal to No. 5 in FIFA rankings i. Cristiano Ronaldo's match-winning goals for Portugal in World Cup playoff matches against Sweden lifted his country to No. 5 in the monthly FIFA rankings. ii. Portugal's 1-0 and 3-2 wins fueled a nine-place jump in the standings published Thursday as rivals played only friendly matches which score fewer points in the calculations. iii. Uruguay are sixth, and No. 7 Italy swap with No. 8 Switzerland which were seventh for one month to clinch seeded status. Netherlands are ninth and host Brazil rise one to No. 10. iv. Seeded Belgium fall six places to No. 11, and are now the lowest-ranked of the eight seeds. v. The United States drop one to No. 14, and CONCACAF rival Mexico used its home-and-away playoff wins against New Zealand to rise four places to No. 20.

18. Indian Team Announced For Junior Men Hockey World Cup 2013 i. Hockey India on 27 November 2013 announced its Junior Men National Team for the Hero Hockey Junior Men World Cup 2013. ii. The 18 member team will be captained by midfielder Manpreet Singh while defender Amit Rohidas will be the Vice-Captain. iii. The Junior Hockey world Cup is scheduled from 6-15 December in New Delhi, India. A total of 16 teams are participating in this tournament. iv. India will open its campaign against The Netherlands on 6 December 2013 followed by Canada on 7 December 2013 and Korea on 10 December 2013.

DAILY GK UPDATE - 27Th NOV

1. First Islamic Bank in Eurozone to come up in Luxembourg i. A host of private investors from GCC countries, including a royal family from the UAE have planned to set up the first full-fledged Islamic bank in the euro zone. ii. The Eurisbank will come up in Luxembourg during the last quarter of 2014. An announcement to this effect was made on the sidelines of Global Islamic Economy Summit in Dubai. iii. The Excellencia Investment Management group said that with an initial capital of $80m, the bank would offer retail, corporate and private banking services, and would open branches in Paris, Brussels, the Netherlands and Frankfurt. iv. In addition to the royal family from the UAE, Eurisbank will be owned by a bank from a GCC country and other private investor. v. Islamic finance has been slow to develop in Europe, but Luxembourg has successfully marketed itself as a center for issuing and trading Islamic bonds.

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2. RBI to grant self-regulatory status to microfinance associations i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has confirmed its decision to grant self-regulatory status to associations of nonbanking financial firms that deal in microfinance. ii. Announcing the decision, the RBI said that the move would ensure effective monitoring of non-banking financial companies and microfinance institutions (NBFC-MFIs), and their compliance with set of laws and code of conduct. iii. The central bank added that the membership of NBFC-MFIs in the self-regulatory organisations (SRO) would be seen as a mark of confidence. iv. The apex lender said in a statement, "The membership of NBFC-MFIs in the SRO will be seen by the trade, borrowers and lenders as a mark of confidence and removal from membership will be seen as having an adverse impact on the reputation of such removed NBFC-MFIs." Note: i. The move is based on a suggestion made by RBI-appointed sub-committee of its central board of directors, which was headed by Y H Malegam, to study issues in the sector of microfinance. ii. The sub-committee had recommended that the central bank should take steps to ensure microfinance companies' compliance with regulations. 3. Adopt Aadhaar or move to EMV chip/PIN tech for card-based transactions: RBI i. Banks might adopt Aadhaar as additional authentication or move to EMV (Euro pay MasterCard Visa) chip and pin technology to ensure security in card-based payment transactions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) suggested. ii. The central bank also said that all new card present infrastructures must be enabled with EMV chip and Pin technology as well as Aadhaar acceptance. iii. In a notification to the banks, the RBI said, "In respect of cards . banks may take a decision whether they should adopt Aadhaar as additional factor of authentication or move to EMV chip and Pin technology for securing the card present payment infrastructure." iv. Banks are now thus free to decide on whether they should adopt Aadhaar for making additional confirmation or make use of EMV Chip and PIN technology to ensure security of card payment infrastructure. Note: i. EMV chip and PIN authentication involves card-information stored in a chip that is accessible through a PIN (personal identification number) that replaces the signature of a cardholder. ii. The notification is based on Gowri Mukherjee-headed working group's recommendation. Mukherjee is the global head of digital marketing at Standard Chartered Bank. 4. Raheel Sharif to be new Pak Army chief i. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday appointed Lt Gen Raheel Sharif as Pakistans new Army Chief and Lt Gen Rashid Mehmood as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. ii. Lt Gen Sharif will replace 61-year-old Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani who would hang his boots on Friday after being at the helm of the Army for six years. iii. The army chief is arguably the most powerful person in Pakistan, with the military having ruled the country for more than half its 66-year history since independence from Britain. iv. Sharif, 57, received his military commission in 1976 and studied military leadership in Germany, Canada and Britain. He commanded several infantry units, including the Sixth Frontier Force Regiment along the disputed Line Of Control in Kashmir. 5. President Pranab Mukherjee to inaugurate Hornbill festival i. President Pranab Mukherjee will arrive in Nagaland on November 30 to inaugurate the 10-day Hornbill Festival and take part in the 50th anniversary celebration of statehood of Nagaland. ii. The President will inaugurate the 10-day Hornbill Festival and launch the year-long golden jubilee celebration of Nagaland statehood." iii. The ten-day festivities will not only showcase the rich tradition and culture of the Naga tribes, but also various other events for the young and old alike. iv. The Hornbill Festival of Nagaland is one of the biggest cultural extravaganzas in the North East. It seeks to revive, protect, sustain, and promote the richness of the Naga heritage and traditions. v. During the Hornbill Festival, all the Naga tribes come together for celebration of their cultural and traditional plight.It is a time where all these tribes gather up to showcase their age-old traditions and come closer to knowing each other.

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6. RBI to banks: Charge customers on actual usage of SMS alerts i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 26 November 2013 directed the banks to charge customers for the transaction SMS alerts on the basis of usage, instead of imposing a fixed fee. ii. The RBI in its notification issued to all banks has asked the banks to charge customers based on actual usage of SMS alerts, considering the technology available with banks to considering the technology available with banks and the telecom service providers. iii. The notification has been done to ensure reasonableness and equity in the charges levied by banks for sending SMS alerts to customers. In its second quarter review of monetary policy 2013-14, the RBI had advised banks to charge for SMS alerts on usage basis. Note: Earlier, the Reserve Bank of India had set the guidelines for banks to send online alerts to the customers for all types of transactions, irrespective of the amount in March 2011. 7. Tata Sons withdraws application for banking licence i. Tata Sons Ltd has withdrawn its application for a new bank licence, according to the Reserve Bank of India. ii. The company has indicated that its current financial services operating model best supports the needs of the Tata Groups domestic and overseas strategy, and provides adequate operating flexibility to its companies, while securing the interests of the groups diverse stakeholder base, RBI said in a statement today. Note: i. A total of 26 companies, including big private corporates such as Tata Sons, Aditya Birla Nuvo, Reliance Capital and L&T Finance Holdings had applied for banking licences on July 1 this year. ii. The licences are likely to be announced by January by the central bank. iii. A panel chaired by former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan has been entrusted with scrutinising applications for new bank licences. iv. The RBI had issued guidelines for licensing of new banks in the private sector on February 22 and issued clarifications in the first week of June. v. In the past 20 years, the RBI has licensed 12 banks in the private sector in two phases. Ten banks were licensed on the basis of guidelines issued in January 1993. 8. BSE to launch currency derivatives trading on Friday i. The Bombay Stock Exchange will launch its platform for trading in currency derivatives from Friday, making it the fourth bourse in the country to offer such trades. ii. Other stock exchanges present in the currency futures segment are National Stock Exchange, MCX-SX and United Stock Exchange. Currency derivative contracts: i. Currency derivative contracts allow investors to take position on change in foreign exchange rates between pairs of two currencies, such as rupee and dollar. ii. According to BSE, the currency futures trading would be commenced on the contracts on US Dollar-Indian Rupee, Euro-Indian Rupee, British Pound-Indian Rupee and Japanese Yen-Indian Rupee. iii. However, trading members in the currency derivatives segment would have to make a one-time contribution of Rs 250 towards the Investor Protection Fund, it said. iv. As per the guidelines, trading on the segment would take place between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. v. At present, NSE has the largest share in currency futures market, followed by MCX-SX.

9. NALCO Received EEPC Export Award for 2011-12 i. National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) on 22 November 2013 received the EEPC (Engineering Export Promotion Council, Eastern Region)s Gold Trophy. ii. NALCO has bagged the EEPC Gold Trophy, as Top Exporter in the Large Enterprise Category, for its outstanding export performance during the year 2011-12. iii. National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) is a Navratna PSU and Indias leading manufacturer -exporter of alumina and aluminium. iv. During the financial year 2011-12, NALCO has achieved sales turnover of 6927 crore Rupees, including the export earnings of 2569 crore Rupees. v. NALCO also have the Premier Trading House status, and it is the first Indian aluminium company to be registered with London Metal Exchange, for its high quality products.

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10. Punjab to roll out Atta Dal scheme i. Following the Centres Food Security Programme (FSP) meant for poor and needy and allegedly moulding a part of it for its own benefit by subsidising wheat price, Punjab is starting its newly amended Atta-Dal Scheme from coming December in the state. ii. Under the scheme wheat has been further subsidised and will be given to the beneficiary at 1 rupee per kilogram instead of 2 rupees given under FSP. 2.5 kilogram Dal would be given at 20 rupees per kg. iii. Enrolment for making Blue Cards to avail the benefit has already been started and would continue till December 16. 11. Pakistan Launched Construction of Country's Largest Nuclear Power Project i. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on 26 November 2013 launched the construction of the country's biggest Nuclear power project. ii. The 2200-MegaWatt- Karachi Coastal Power Project, comprising the K-2 and K-3 nuclear plants, is being built at Paradise Beach, located 40 km from the Karachi. iii. The nuclear power plant is to be built with Chinese technical assistance on the Arabian Sea coast. iv. Pakistan already has three operational nuclear plants generating a total of around 740 MW of power. The World Nuclear Association has estimated the cost of the new project at nearly 10 billion Dollars. 12. Priti Patel won the Asian Trader Editors Award i. Priti Patel, an Indian Origin British MP on 22 November 2013 has been honoured with the prestigious Asian Trader Editors Award. She was awarded for her tireless campaigning to support small shops and convenience stores. She was awarded at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in a ceremony held. ii. Priti has supported the sector by campaigning for tougher punishments for offenders, who commit retail crime, reforms to business rates and cuts to red tape. iii. She has also warned the Government of the impact on small shops of new tobacco controls being proposed by Europe. iv. Priti Patel was elected as the first Member of Parliament for the Witham Constituency in May 2010. v. She was born in London and educated at a comprehensive school in Watford before studying economics at Keele University and completing her postgraduate studies at the University of Essex. 13. World champion water-skier Sarah Teelow died i. Sarah Teelow, the world champion water skier of Australia died on 25 November 2013 after a fall during a highspeed endurance race on Australias Hawkesbury River. ii. The 21 year old, Teelow fell from her skis after the start of the 75 mile Bridge to Bridge Water Ski Classic near Sydney. iii. She was airlifted to the hospital in critical condition, with spinal and head injuries and later she died in the hospital. She is the seventh water-skier to die in an accident in Australia in last five years. iv. Teelow had won the Formula 2 category at the World Waterski Racing Championships in Spain in September. Teelow was the daughter of two-time world waterski champion, Tania Teelow. 14. Amar Chitra Katha unveils comics on Kurien i. Amar Chitra Katha (ACK), well-known publishers of childrens graphic comics is planning to i mmortalise sports legends Dhyan Chand and K D Jadhav, too, in its series on Indias Visionaries. ii. The popular publication has sold the maximum numbers on legends like Mother Teresa, Jim Corbett, Salim Ali and JRD Tata, Reena Puri, Editor of the Group, told Business Line here on sidelines of a function where ACK unveiled an illustrated graphic comics on life and times of the late Dr Verghese Kurien, Father of White Revolution, on his 92nd birth anniversary on Tuesday. 15. India beat West Indies by 5 wickets to clinch series 2-1 i. India clinched the ODI series against West Indies 2-1 with a comfortable five-wicket victory in the third and final match, riding on Shikhar Dhawan's sparkling century. ii. The Indians first restricted West Indies to 263 for five and then overhauled the target with 23 balls to spare to lift yet another ODI trophy at home. iii. Dhawan stole the limelight with an attacking 119 that came off 95 balls, his fifth ODI hundred, while Yuvraj Singh notched up a 74-ball 55 to seal the issue for the home side at the Green Park Stadium which was hosting an international game after a gap of nearly four years.

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iv. It was a welcome return to form for Yuvraj, who cautiously put together 129 runs for the third wicket with Dhawan to set the platform for the easy win. 16. Punjab to host World Cup Kabaddi next week i. The 4th World Cup Kabaddi, circle style, will be held in Punjab from Saturday next week to 14th of of next month. ii. This was announced yesterday by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, chairman of the organising committee. iii.The world cup, is organised by the Punjab government, and it will witness 12 teams in the men section and eight in the women section, vying for the top position.

DAILY GK UPDATE - 26Th NOV

1. Today is Constitution Day i. Constitution Day was observed across India on 26 November 2013 to honour the Constitution of India. The Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, which came into force on 26 January 1950. ii. Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is regarded as the father of the Indian Constitution. iii. The Constitution of India is a supreme law of India, which lays down the framework that defines the political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers and duties of Government institution. 2. Iran and world powers reach interim deal on nuclear program i. An interim agreement has been reached between six world powers and Iran that calls on Tehran to limit its nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief from international trade and financial sanctions. ii. The goal for these negotiations is to reach a mutually-agreed long-term comprehensive solution that would ensure Iran's nuclear program will be exclusively peaceful. iii. The Geneva deal releases just over $4bn in Iranian oil sales revenue from frozen accounts, and suspends restrictions on the country's trade in gold, petrochemicals, car and plane parts. In return, Iran undertakes to restrict its nuclear activities. Over the next six months it has agreed to: i. stop enriching uranium above 5%, reactor-grade, and dilute its stock of 20%-enriched ii. not to increase its stockpile of low-enrichment uranium. iii. freeze its enrichment capacity by not installing any more centrifuges, leaving more than half of its existing 16,000 centrifuges inoperable. iv. accept more intrusive nuclear inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, including daily visits to some facilities. 3. RBI widens infrastructure sector lending sub-category i. Reserve Bank today widened the definition of infrastructure lending including hotels with project costing more thanRs. 200 crore as well as convention centres with project worth Rs. 300 crore. ii. "The government has further updated the harmonized master list...the new sub-sectors have been added in the list. Hotels with project cost of more than Rs. 200 crore each in any place in India and of any star rating. Convention centres with project cost of more than Rs. 300 crore each," RBI said in a notification. iii. RBI said that the new sub-sectors will get classified as 'infrastructure' for the purpose of lending by banks and select All India Term-Lending and Refinancing Institutions from the date of this circular. iv. Various sub-sectors under the categories such as Transport, Energy, Water & Sanitation, Communication, Social and Commercial Infrastructure come under infrastructure lending. 4. YES Bank signs multi-year deal with Hockey India League i. YES BANK, Indias fourth largest private sector bank, today signed a multi-year deal with the Hockey India League (HIL) commencing with the 2014 season. ii. YES BANK to mobilise sports innovation and infuse positive energy into hockey.

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iii. Rana Kapoor, Managing Director & CEO, YES BANK, said, We are extremely pleased to associate with HIL. iv. S ix franchise teams will feature in the second season of the HIL to be held from January 25 to February 23. v. The League will be an opportunity for 144 leading players to showcase their skills in 34 matches at six different venues. 5. New India launches combination product for lower income groups i. Largest general insurer New India Assurance today said it has come up with a combination product for lower income groups that will have life, medical and accident covers among others. ii. We are launching a product for the lower income population, like domestic helps, with an annual premium of Rs 800. iii. This plan will offer life cover of Rs 1 lakh to the family in case of death, critical illness and other hospitalisation costs under Rs 20,000-30,000. iv. The plan also offers accident cover, New India Assurance Company chairman and managing director G Srinivasan told an industry summit organised by the IMC here. vi. India is the 10th largest life insurance market globally and 19th in the general insurance space. 6. India ahead of US, China as best investment destination: Ernst Young i. India has spurted ahead of China and the US as the most attractive investment destination, a survey by global professional services firm Ernst & Young (EY) says. ii. The top three investing countries into India are the US, France and Japan. iii. Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) from the US, France and Japan during the period April 2000 to August 2013 amounted to Rs. 53,673 crore, Rs. 17,718 crore and Rs. 71,870 crore, respectively. iv. According to EY, global executives sentiments have improved, specifically regarding plans for acquisitions and deals, and are at a two-year high with credit and cash available for deals. v. With sharp currency depreciation and opening up of FDI in various sectors, India has become an attractive destination for foreign investors, the EY report said. 7. Talwar gets life imprisonment in Aarushi murder case i. CBI on Tuesday pressed for maximum punishment of death for dentist couple Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, a day after they were convicted of killing their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj five-and-a-half years ago. ii. Arguing before Additional Session Judge Shyam Lal on quantum of punishment for Talwars, CBI counsel R K Saini submitted that the killing was a cold-blooded murder and fell in the "rarest of rare" category, defence counsel Satyaketu Singh told reporters. iii. Rajesh and Nupur Talwar were yesterday convicted in the sensational double murder of their 14-year-old daughter Aarushi and Hemraj by the court. iv. After a 15-month trial, Judge Shyam Lal held the Talwar couple guilty of destruction of evidence in the murder on the intervening night of May 15 and 16, 2008, days before the birthday of the class nine student in their residence in Noida. 8. India and Malaysia Signed MoU to boost co-operation in Public Administration i. India and Malaysia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 25 November 2013 to strengthen cooperation in public administration and governance as part of the efforts to enhance their strategic partnership. ii. The MoU covers eight areas of co-operation including human resource management, e-governance, public delivery system, accountability and transparency, skills and capacity building and quality results. iii. The MoU envisages cooperation via tours, workshops and conferences, sharing of public administration and governance information and expertise, common project implementation mechanisms and exchange of publications, state. 9. Narendra Modi in Time magazines Person of the Year shortlist i. BJPs Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is among Time magazines shortlisted candidates for its Person of the Year title and has emerged as an early favourite among the readers in an online poll. ii. Time has shortlisted 42 global leaders, entrepreneurs and celebrities for its Person of the Year 2013 and will announce the winner next month. iii. Other candidates in fray are Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, US President Barack Obama, Pakistani teenage education activist Malala Yousafzai, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and even the new heir to the British throne Prince George. iv. Modi is the only Indian in the shortlist.

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10. Rahul lays foundation for new railway line in Amethi i. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday laid the foundation stone of a new railway line in his Parliamentary constituency Amethi. ii. The 67 kilometer Uchahar-Salon-Amethi line was approved in the union budget in 2010-11. Rahul also flagged off the new Lucknow- Prtapgarh DMU service and Lucknow- Sultanpur EMU service. iii. He said that the rail line will give a boost to the food processing industry in the area. iv. Present on the occasion Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said that the new rail services will boost the employment opportunities in the area. 11. Meghalaya seeks Rs 50,000 cr award from 14th Finance Commission i. The Meghalaya government has sought 50 thousand crore Rupees as award from the 14th Finance Commission. ii. This is to meet non-plan expenditure and give a thrust to developmental projects in the state. iii. After a meeting with the Finance Commission headed by former RBI Governor, Y V Reddy, Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said the demand includes a 35,000 crores to cover basic needs of the state like upgradation of infrastructure.He said the award will enable the state to complete various projects which have been delayed due to cost and time over run. 12. C'wealth Weightlifting Ch'ships: Lathore bags Gold and Silver i. India's Deepak Lathore won a Gold and two Silver medals in the Boys' 50 kilogramme category of the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships today. ii. On the opening day of the event at Penang, Malaysia, Lathore took the Gold in Snatch with a lift of 83 kg. In Clean and Jerk, he lifted 102 kg to claim the Silver. With a total lift of 185 kg, he won another Silver in the event. 14. Geneva II Syria peace conference set for 22 January 2014: Ban Ki Moon i. Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary General on 25 November 2013 announced the Geneva-II peace conference is to be held on 22 January 2014. ii. The international conference is aimed at a democratic political transition in Syria, which will bring the Government and the opposition to a negotiating table for the first time, since the conflict that started in March 2011. iii. The decision was taken at a meeting of the UN special envoy on Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi with the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov and Gennady Gatilov along with the US under Secretary for political Affairs, Wendy Sherman in Geneva on 25 November 2013. iv. The Geneva-II conference was termed as the mission of hope by Ban Ki Moon in which, the fighting has killed more than 100000 and driven almost nine million from their homes, left countless missing and detained and terrible violations of human rights. v. The goal of Geneva II would be to achieve a political solution to the conflict through a comprehensive agreement between the Government and the opposition for the full implementation of the Geneva communiqu, adopted after the first international meeting on the issue on 30 June 2012.

DAILY GK UPDATE - 24-25Th NOV

1. Global Islamic Economic Summit in Dubai today i. A two day long Global Islamic Economic Summit, GIES gets underway in Dubai today. ii. The summit will be inaugurated by the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and the Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. iii. More than 3000 business leaders, decision makers and Islkamic economy experts will attend the meet. iv. The event is aimed at making Dubai the capital of Islamic economy. v. The Global Islamic Economy Summit 2013 will be the first forum for Islamic Finance sectors and the Halal industries including food, travel and lifestyle to engage in discussions, tackle the challenges, and devise the road map for the future of the Islamic Economy vi. The Global Islamic Economy Summit 2013 will be the first forum for Islamic Finance sectors and the Halal industries including food, travel and lifestyle to engage in discussions, tackle the challenges, and devise the road map for the future of the Islamic Economys. vii. According to estimates, the Islamic economies of the world represent more than $8 trillion in GDP, a 1.6 billion population growing at twice the rate of the global population.

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2. International day for elimination of violence against women i. The United Nations General Assembly has designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. ii. The premise of the day is to raise awareness of the fact that women around the world are subject to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence; furthermore, one of the aims of the day is to highlight that the scale and true nature of the issue is often hidden. iii. For 2013, the official theme framed by the UN Secretary-Generals campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women, is Orange the World in 16 Days. iv. The UN and the Inter-Parliamentary Union have encouraged governments, international organizations and NGOs to organize activities to support the day as an international observance. v. In 1981, activists marked November 25 as a day to combat and raise awareness of violence against women more broadly; on December 17, 1999, the date received its official United Nations (UN) resolution. 4. RBI to launch CPI-indexed bonds soon i. The Reserve Bank of India today said that it will launch CPI-indexed bonds aimed at protecting the savings of retail investors from the impact of price rise by the end of next month. ii. RBI Deputy Governor H.R. Khan said : Guidelines will be out soon...We are likely to launch the first tranche before end of December. We will co me out with details (quantum), iii. This year it should be between Rs 10,000-15,000 crore (wholesale price and consumer price indexed bonds) but exact amount will come out. This is part of overall borrowing programme, he said. iv. RBI in its policy statement last month had said that inflation-indexed securities for retail investors of 10-year tenor would be linked to the new (combined) consumer price index. v. Interest would be compounded half-yearly and paid cumulatively on redemption, according to the statement. 5. Worlds First Green Helicopter Tested in Germany i. Germanys aviation company e- Volo on 17 November 2013 successfully tested the first helicopter which is noiseless and emission-free named- Volocopter. ii. The Volocopter is an environmentally friendly and emission-free private helicopter. About the Green Helicopter i. The helicopter, named Volocopter, developed by the German company e-volo, two seat prototype made it earlier voage in kalsruhe, Germany. ii. The volocopter uses eighteen electrically driven rotos propel instead of one combustion engine which is environmentally friendly and emission-free. iii. The emission free Volocopter is a vertical take-off and landing manned aircraft, with rich features and incredibly quiet sound, absolutely no noticeable vibrations, new spring strut landing gear and extremely calm rotor plane that replace conventional aircraft . 6. Mexico to give equality prize to Pakistan's Malala i. Mexico will award its 2013 International Prize for Equality and Non-Discrimination to Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager shot by the Taliban for championing girls' rights to education. ii. The award seeks to recognize Malala's efforts for "the protection of human rights" and especially her fight to protect the right to education without discrimination on "grounds of age, gender, sex and religion," Mexico's official National Council to Prevent Discrimination said in a statement on Sunday. iii. The award ceremony is planned for early 2014. The 16-year-old, who survived a gunshot wound to the head in 2012, has become a global ambassador for the rights of children. iv. She is currently living in Britain, where she underwent surgery after the attack. v. Malala, who since age 11 has written a blog about girls' right to education, has written an autobiography, addressed the United Nations and set up a fund to help girls around the world go to school and promote universal access to education. 7. Ireland and Afghanistan qualified for ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2014 i. Ireland and Afghanistan on 24 November 2013 qualified for ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2014 after winning their respective matches in the qualifiers at Dubai. ii. Ireland defeated Hongkong by 85 runs while Afghanistan beat Kenya by 34 runs to qualify as the top teams from the two groups.

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iii. The remaining four teams will be decided after a series of matches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The contestants include Nepal, UAE, Hongkong, Namibia, Scotland, Netherlands, Italy and Papua New Guinea. iv. The 2014 ICC World Twenty20 to be held in Bangladesh from 16 March 2014 to 6 April 2014 and a total of 16 teams are participating in this tournament. 8. Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar sworn in as Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court i. Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar was sworn in as the 22nd Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh by Governor Ram Naresh Yadav at Raj Bhavan, Bhopal on 24 November 2013. ii. He was appointed by President of India, under the Article 217 of the Constitution of India. iii. Justice Khanwilkar was earlier the Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh and has also been a judge in the Bombay High Court. 9. India donates 2,500 tonnes of wheat as food aid to Yemen i. India has donated 2,500 metric tonnes of wheat worth USD 2 million as food assistance to the troubled Gulf state of Yemen. ii. In response to an appeal by the United Nations for humanitarian assistance, the Indian government has extended food assistance in the form of around 2,500 metric tonnes of wheat valued at around USD 2 million to the people of Yemen, a statement issued by the Indian embassy in Yemeni capital of Sana'a said. iii. The assistance is channelised through the World Food Programme (WFP) and the first consignment has arrived at the Hodeidah Port. iv. Yemeni first Deputy Minister said that "this donation marks yet another milestone in the long and historic relationship between Yemen and India." 10. Sebastian Vettel won F1 Brazilian Grand Prix 2013 i. Formula one racing driver Sebastian Vettel won the F1 Brazilian Grand Prix 2013 on 24 November 2013. With this victory vettel matched Michael Schumachers record of 13 victories in a year and equalled the nine consecutive wins of Alberto Ascari. ii. Vettels Red Bull teammate Mark Webber was second in his final F1 race. Fernando Alonso of Ferrari was third. The formula one season ending Brazilian GP is Vettels second victory in Brazil, and 39th of his career. iii. Recently, Sebastian Vettel also won the Formula One Indian Grand Prix 2013 at Buddha International Circuit on 27 October 2013. 11. Jason Day won 2013 Golf World Cup and Australia won Team Championships i. Jason Day, Australian Golfer won the Golf world cup at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Melbourne on 24 November 2013. Australia team (Jason Day and Adam Scott) also won the team Championships by beating the American team of Matt Kuchar and Kevin Streelman. ii, With this victory Jason Day collected 1.2 million Dollars for sealing individual Title and will share another 600000 Dollars with Adam Scott for winning the team trophy. iii. Indian Golfer Anirban Lahiri finished with 25th place and picked up 56000 Dollars for his effort at the tournament. India finished 26th and last in the team Championships.

General Awareness for IBPS Clerk III: 2013

1. Jayprakash Narayna is the author of which among the following book? (1) Why Socialism (2) Indian Leaders (3) India Divided (4) True Nation (5) None of these 2. The Year 2013 marks the 50th Years of Establishment of Diplomatic Ties between India and Peru. Which among the following is the capital of Peru? (1) Bogota (2) Lima (3) La Paz (4) Caracas (5) None of these

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3. Recently NASAs space craft has detected chemical propylene on ___? (1) Moon (2) Saturn (3) Titan (4) Mars (5) None of these 4. Name the book which has won the 2013 US National Book Award in fiction? (1) The Good Lord Bird (2) The Lowland (3) Bleeding Edge (4) Garden of the Mist (5) None of these 5. Each depositor of the bank is insured upto a maximum of ___ by Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC)? (1) Rs 5 lakh (2) Rs 3 lakh (3) Rs 2 lakh (4) Rs 1 lakh (5) None of these 6. Hand in Hand is a joint military exercise b/w India and ___? (1) China (2) USA (3) Sri Lanka (4) Singapore (5) France 7. Banks usually collect penal rate of interest on ____ for the premature withdrawal of fixed deposits? (1) Principal (2) Rate of interest (3) Minimum Deposit account (4) Maturity Amount (5) All of the above 8. Which among the following accounts fetch the highest rate of interest? (1) Savings Deposit (2) Recurring deposit (3) Fixed deposit (4) Current account deposit (5) Both 1 & 4 9. Direct Taxes Code (DTC) is intended to be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament. DTC seeks to replace? 1) Indian Contract Act 2) Indirect Tax Act 3) Income-Tax Act 5) Banking Regulation Act 6) None of the above 10. As per the new rule of New Pension Scheme (NPS), if a subscriber exists after age of 60 years, how much portion of the pension he/she must invest to purchase an annuity policy? (1) 40 (2) 20 (3) 18 (4) 100 (5) 75
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DAILY GK UPDATE - 23RD NOV

1. Magnus Carlsen becomes Youngest World Chess Championship 2013 i. Five-time title holder Viswanathan Anands reign as the world champion came to a heart -breaking end today with Norways Magnus Carlsen taking the crown after a hard -fought draw in the 10th game of the World Chess Championship match, which ended today. ii. Magnus Carlsen defeated the previous world champion Viswanathan Anand of India by 6.5-3.5 in the match that was held from 7th November in Chennai, India. iii. The last 10th game (out of 12 possible) finished in a draw after 65 moves of play and Carlsen accumulated the necessary 6.5 points to claim the title. iv. The victory was worth 8.4 crore Rupees for Magnus Carlsen. Anand settled for 5.6 crore Rupees. The match was sponsored by the Tamil Nadu state and organized by FIDE and AICF. About 2013 FIDE World Chess Championship The 2013 FIDE World Chess Championship match which took place from 7 to 22 November in Chennai, India. It is a match for the highest crown in chess between the Defending Champion Viswanathan Anand (India) and the Challenger Magnus Carlsen (Norway). 2. Dollar swap window will be closed on Nov. 30: RBI i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday declared that the dollar swap window would be closed on November 30; however, banks which will get firm commitment from international financial institutions will be able to continue availing the special incentive till December 31, 2013. ii. The dollar swap window was introduced provide a boost to the country's forex (foreign exchange) buffer and strengthen the rupee. iii. Giving some breathing space to banks, the RBI said that to be able to get the benefit after November 30 if they get solid commitment from global financial institutions on or before that date. iv. Announcing its decision, the central bank said in a statement, "It has been decided that if any bank . is receiving a firm commitment in this regard on or before November 30, it will be allowed to enter into a forward-forward swap ." v. The central bank also announced its decision to sell Rs 1,000 crore worth of inflation-indexed bonds through price-based auction route on November 26. 3. ADB to set up Asia-Pacific Infrastructure Fund i. Asian Development Bank (ADB) plans to set up an Asia Pacific Infrastructure Fund to cater to the infrastructure financing needs of countries in the region. ii. India has expressed its keenness to be part of this fund that would have contributions from various Asia Pacific nations, besides the ADB, Rajat M. Nag, Managing Director-General of ADB, said. iii: Over the next decade, the infrastructure financing needs of the Asia-Pacific region are estimated at about $8 trillion, he said iv. If the bonds are able to get AA rating, then funds (reserves) of various central banks could also be channelised into the Asia Pacific Infrastructure Fund. v. A number of countries have been using part of their forex reserves for infrastructure financing. Several models have been adopted for this purpose. vi. If the proposed Asia Pacific Infrastructure Fund becomes a reality, then India could also benefit from such an initiative, said Nag. 4. India successfully test-fires nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile i. India successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile from a naval ship off Odisha coast today. ii. K V Prasad, Director of the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur near Odisha coast said, the surface-to-surface Dhanush, a naval variant of India's indigenously developed 'Prithvi' missile, was test fired at around 11.10 am from a location at Bay of Bengal by the Srategic Force Command of the defence force. iii. Dhanush missile is capable of carrying conventional as well as nuclear payload of 500 to 1,000 kg and hit both land and sea-based targets. 5. 9th North East Business Summit Began in Assam i. The North East Business summit began on 22 November 2013 at Dibrugarh in Assam. The summit is being jointly organized by the Indian Chambers of Commerce and the DoNER Ministry in Dibrugarh from 22 to 24 November 2013.

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ii. Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Pawan Singh Ghatowar has inaugurated the two day summit. Two Myanmar Province Chief Ministers and Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh also attended the summit. iii. The other issues on focus include Energy, Power, Horticulture, Food Processing, Infrastructure and Connectivity, Tourism and Hospitality, Healthcare and Financial Services in sync with Look East Policy of India. 6. Cyclone Helen Struck Andhra Pradesh Coast i. The Cyclonic storm Helen on 22 November 2013 struck Andhra Pradesh coast near Machilipatnam, triggering heavy rains and strong gales, killing eleven people and causing massive damage to the crops in the coastal region. ii. Visakhapatnam, East and West Godavari and Guntur districts and part of Krishna district were the worst affected due to the cyclone. The cyclone also brought heavy to very heavy rains in the Krishna district and its nearby districts. 7. Serena Williams named WTA Player of the Year i. World No. 1 womens tennis player Serena Williams was named WTA Player of the Year. ii. The 32-year-old won 78 out of her 82 matches, procuring 11 titles including the U.S. Open and the French Open in the 2013 season, reports Xinhua. iii. She had earlier become the oldest world No.1 in WTA history. iv. She had earlier become the oldest world No.1 in WTA history.

General Awareness for IBPS Clerk III

1. Recently RBI (Reserve Bank of India) directed Public Sector Banks (PSBs) to give loans to women self Help Groups (SHGs) at a rate of _____? (1) 5% (2) 6.5% (3) 7% (4) 7.5% (5) 8%

2. In a bid to ease liquidity to Micro and Small Enterprises (MSME) sector, the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) has extended how much amount _____ to refinance window for a period of one year for the sector? (1) Rs1,000 crore (2) Rs 5,000 crore (3) Rs 10,000 crore (4) Rs 15,000 Crore (5) None of these 3. As per the SEBI regulation, the level of risk will on mutual funds be depicted by the colour code boxes. Which of the following colour denotes the Principal at high risk? (1) Blue (2) Yellow (3) Brown (4) Red (5) None of these 4. Which among the following banks has assigned No. 1 rank in loans to small units, under the National Awards for Excellence in MSE (micro and small enterprises) Lending for 2012 -13? (1) Bank of Baroda (2) Canara Bank (3) PNB (4) Corporation Bank (5) None of these 5. Which among the following state has became the second state after Haryana to introduce Union National Vocational Qualitative Framework (NVQF) Scheme? (1) Rajasthan (2) Punjab (3) Himachal Pradesh (4) Gujarat (5) None of these

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6. Rapid Metro-India's First Private Metro service started operation in ____? (1) Bangalore (2) Gurgaon (3) Chennai (4) Jaipur (5) Kolkata 7. Recently Anup Wadhawan appointed as the new Chairman of ____? (1) Law Commission (2) LIC Housing Finance Ltd (3) Public Health Foundation of India (4) Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (5) Central Electricity Regulatory Commission 8. Recently Shreekant Javalgekar is in news. He is associated with ____? (1) Sports (2) Cinema (3) Stock Market (4) Judiciary (5) Politician 9. Robert J. Shiller is one of the winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics 2013. He is a professor of which among the following University? (1) Strasbourg University (2) Stanford University (3) Yale University (4) Oxford University (5) None of these 10. What is the name of book which is based on Former Brazil star Pele, number of goals? (1) 1293 (2) 1383 (3) 1283 (4) 1273 (5) None of these

DAILY GK UPDATE - 22ND NOV

1. Justice Ajit Prakash Shah becomes new Chairman of Law Commission of India i. Justice Ajit Prakash Shah today took over as the new Chairman of the 20th Law Commission of India. Justice Shah succeeds Justice D. K. Jain who resigned last month to take over as the President of National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. ii. Justice Shah started his career as a lawyer at Solapur district Court in Maharashtra and in Bombay High Court. He was Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. About 20th Law Commission of India The 20th Law Commission of India was constituted with the Order of the Government of India with effect from 1 September 2012. It has a three-year term ending on 31st August, 2015. 2. Virat Kohli became Fastest Batsman to Score 5000 Runs in ODIs i. Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli became the fastest batsman to score 5000 runs in one-day internationals when he scored 86 against the West Indies in the first ODI in Kochi on 21 November 2013. ii. Virat Kohli achieved the feat in just 120 matches and 114 innings. He has so far scored 5005 runs, which included 17 centuries and 27 fifties in his short career. iii. In terms of innings, Virat Kohli has equalled the record of Sir Viv Richards of West Indies, who also achieved the feat in 114 innings way back in 1987 but it was Viv's 126th match. iv. Before Kohli, former captain Sourav Ganguly was the fastest to achieve the feat among Indian batsmen in 131 matches and 126 innings.

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3. FIR against Tarun Tejpal in sexual assault case i. Goa Police on Friday filed an FIR against Tehelka Editor Tarun Tejpal, who has been accused by a woman journalist colleague of sexual assault during an event here about 10 days ago. ii. Deputy Inspector General of Police O P Mishra said the FIR has been filed while DGP Kishan Kumar said the crime branch could send a team of officials to Delhi for further investigation. iii. Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had ordered a preliminary inquiry into the allegations by the girl that she was sexually abused by Tejpal during an vent in Goa. iv. The alleged incident happened in a lift in a five star hotel in Goa about 10 days ago. v. Tejpal had written to Tehelka's Managing Editor, saying he was "recusing" from work for 6 months admitting to "bad lapse of judgement". 4. Singapore think tank signs MoU with Brookings India i. The Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) has signed an MoU with Brookings India, one of South Asias leading think tanks. ii. The MoU, signed at the South Asian Diaspora Convention, would have ISAS and Brookings India work collaboratively on areas such as international trade and economics, India-China comparative studies, international relations and Indias energy security options. iii. These initiatives would include faculty exchanges in various fields, said ISAS, a Singapore think tank in the National University of Singapore. iv. The two organisations would also work together on bilateral seminars, symposiums and panel discussions on regional and global issues of mutual interest. v. The MoU follows swiftly on the heels of ISAS recent partnership with the South Asian Archive, which provides access to culturally and historically significant literary materials produced in and around the South Asia region. 5. Three Indian writers shortlisted for $50,000 DSC Lit Prize i. Three Indians are among the six authors who have been shortlisted for the $50,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2014. ii. The shortlisted works include "The Book of Destruction" by Anand and "Goat Days" by Benyamin both fiction translated from Malayalam by Chetana Sachidanandan and Joseph Koyippalli respectively. The third is "Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer" by Cyrus Mistry. iii. Pakistani authors Mohsin Hamid and Nadeem Aslam have been shortlisted for How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia and The Blind Mans Garden respectively. Nayomi Munaweera from Island of a Thousand Mirrors is the sole writer from Sri Lanka who is in the running for the Prize. This is her first book. iv. Currently in its 4th edition, the Prize, is open to any author belonging to any part of the world as long as the work is based on the South Asian region and its people. v. The final winner of the Prize is scheduled to be announced at the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2014. 6. Vodafone's T.V. Ramachandran awarded IET honorary fellowship i. In recognition of his contribution to mobile telephony in India, T.V. Ramachandran, Resident Director Regulatory Affairs at Vodafone India has been bestowed an honorary fellowship of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). ii. An MSc in Physics with specialisation in wireless and electronics, Ramachandran is also the present Chairman of the National Telecom Council of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India and Co-Chairman of the Telecom Committee of the European Business Group in India. iii. Ramachandran was the first CEO of Essar Cellphone (now part of Vodafone India), one of Indias earliest cellular service providers. He spearheaded the establishment and commercial launch of the countrys largest capacity cellular network in 1995. 7. CNR Rao is first Indian scientist elected to Chinese academy i. Eminent Scientist and Bharat Ratna awardee Prof CNR Rao has become the first Indian scientist to be elected as honorary foreign member of Chinese Academy of Science (CAS). ii. Prof Rao is the first Indian Scientist to be elected to this prestigious academy, which consists of several Nobel laureates and eminent scientists of the world, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, of which Rao is a founder and honorary President, said.

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iii. It said Rao has been elected to almost all scientific academies of the world including The Royal Society -London, National Academy of Science - USA, Pontifical Academy of Science, Japan Academy and Royal Spanish Academy of Sciences, among others. 8. India, EU sign pact to facilitate competition law i. India and the European Union have inked an agreement to facilitate development and non-discriminatory enforcement of competition laws. ii. The MoU was signed by Ashok Chawla, Chairman of Competition Commission of India, and Joaquin Almunia, Vice-President for Competition, European Union, on the sidelines of the ongoing BRICS International Competition Conference here. iii. The MoU also provides for meetings between two sides to discuss current issues, experiences and new developments of mutual interest with respect to competition policy development, legislation and enforcement or the operation of the present MoU, exchange non-confidential information on the competition environment in economic sectors of common interest; exchange views with respect to multilateral competition initiatives. 9. India, France to lead 10-nation study on melting of polar ice caps i. India and France will lead a 10- nation global project to study the impact of melting of polar ice caps on climatic conditions of these countries. ii. The ten member countries include the US, UK, Japan, Brazil, South Africa and Germany. iii. Study of the polar caps climate is vital as it effects ocean temperature, which in turn has an impact on monsoons, Shailesh Nayak, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, told media persons on the sidelines of a function at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services. iv. India recently got the status of an observer in the eight-nation Artic Council, which will enable it to study the changes in climatic conditions in the polar regions, apart from providing the possibility of exploring the mineral-rich North Pole. 10. Death toll from Typhoon Haiyan rises over 5,000 i. The death toll from Typhoon Haiyan has risen above 5,000. ii. The country's National Disaster Agency says that 5,209 people are now known to have lost their lives, with many more still missing. iii. Haiyan, known as Yolanda in the Philippines, was one among the deadliest natural disaster in the country's history. Floods in the Ormoc region in 1991 killed 5,101 people.

DAILY GK UPDATE - 21ST NOV

1. RBI plans to reduce banks' requirement of investing in g-secs in calibrated manner i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is planning to reduce banks' requirement of investing in government securities (G-Secs) in a calibrated way. This will help to ensure the flow of credit to productive sectors of the economy. ii. One of the mandates for the Reserve Bank in the RBI Act is ensuring the flow of credit to productive sectors of the economy. In this context, it is necessary to reduce banks' requirements of investing in g-secs in a calibrated way, to what is strictly needed from a prudential perspective. iii. It is recognised that the scope for such reduction will increase as government finances improve. Further, as the penetration of other financial institutions, such as pension funds and insurance companies increases, it will be possible to reduce the need for commercial banks to invest in g-secs, said RBI in the Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2012-13. iv. The Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR), the portion of total deposits banks are required to park in g-secs is currently at 24.5%. v. Current regulations require banks to bring down their SLR securities in Held To Maturity (HTM) category from 25% to 23% of their Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL) in a progressive manner in a prescribed time frame.

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vi. The requirement stood at 24.5% as at end June 2013. It has now been decided to relax this requirement by allowing banks to retain SLR holdings in HTM category at 24.5% until further instructions, RBI said in August. vii. Experts see the reduction in banks' requirement of investing in g-secs gradually so that the government borrowing programme is not hampered. The only way to do this is to do it in a calibrated manner over a period of time. viii. According to few experts the further reduction of banks' requirement in g-secs seems more likely when the Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) limit for investing in g-secs is enhanced. To be Basel III compliant RBI would want to reduce the SLR portion. 2. India Vietnam ink pact to expand oil exploration in South China Sea i. India and Vietnam signed eight agreements on 20 November 2013 in areas of defence and security, oil exploration, civil aviation and scientific research. India will also assist Vietnam in the modernization and training of the defence and security forces of Vietnam and agreed to give a 100 million dollar line of credit to Vietnam for defence purchases. ii. The agreements were signed by Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong in New Delhi after delegation level talks. iii. Under the MoU, the PetroVietnam, Vietnam state company, was also invited to participate in open blocks in India and in third countries. OVL is already in joint venture with PetroVietnam in three oil blocks close to the disputed Spratly Islands known as Nansha Islands in China. iv. Despite China's objections to Indian oil exploration in South China Sea, Vietnam has been asserting that India has the right to pursue oil exploration there as they were within Vietnamese "exclusive economic zone". v. "India will continue to assist Vietnam in modernization and training of its defence and security forces, including through a USD 100 million line of credit for defence purchases," he said. 3. Japan Emperor, wife to visit India from Nov 30 i. Fifty-three years after their trip to India as Crown Prince and Crown Princess, Japanese Emperor Akihito and his wife Empress Michiko will arrive here on a six-day visit beginning November 30 with an aim to further strengthening bilateral ties. ii. This will be the first time of an Emperor and Empress of Japan to India. iii. The visit will immeasurably expand and strengthen the India-Japan strategic and global partnership, the Ministry of External Affairs said. iv. The Royal couple will be in India at the invitation of President Pranab Mukherjee. v. They will meet the countrys top leadership including the President and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and are likely to discuss bilateral, regional and international issues. They will also visit Chennai. vi. The two sides had also decided to accelerate talks on a civil nuclear deal to allow Japan to export nuclear reactors to India and to bolster maritime security cooperation. vii. In the financial year 2011-12, India-Japan bilateral trade reached USD 18.43 billion. 4. Uruguay become the last team to qualify for 2014 World Cup i. Uruguay became Wednesday the last team to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, with a goal-less draw against Jordan in the return leg of their play-off in Montevideo. ii. The Uruguayan side made the most of their 5-0 win last week in Amman and just went through the motions to seal their qualification before a full-capacity crowd of 55,000 at the Centenario stadium. iii. Uruguay, who came fourth in South Africa 2010 and went on to win the Copa America a year later, struggled through the South American qualifiers and failed to get one of the regions four direct World Cup berths. iv. However, the team with Edinson Cavani, Suarez and Diego Lugano, among other world-class players, were quick to make amends in the first leg of the play-off. v, This was Uruguays fourth consecutive World Cup play-off. They won three and lost one, against Australia ahead of Germany 2006. vi. Uruguay will have the benefit of being seed in next months World Cup draw. Brazil 2014 is set to mark the first time Uruguay, the 1930 and 1950 world champions, play back-to-back World Cups since 1986-90. 5. Malala receives EU's Sakharov human rights prize i. Malala Yousafzai on Wednesday received the EU's prestigious Sakharov human rights prize for her brave crusade for the right of the children to education. ii. The European Parliament President Martin Schulz presented the award to the 16-year-old at a ceremony in Strasbourg, France.

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iii. Malala, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this year, dedicated the award to "the unsung heroes of Pakistan" and to human rights campaigners worldwide. iv. The 50,000-euro (USD 65,000) prize is considered Europe's top human rights award. Malala joins a distinguished list of winners of the prize that includes South Africa's Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar. v. She became internationally known after the Pakistan Army pushed the Taliban out of the area in 2009. 6. Kauwboy won the Golden Elephant Award in International Children's Film Festival i. The 18th International Children's Film Festival concluded on 20 November 2013 in Hyderabad. A Dutch Film named Kauwboy, directed by Boudewijn Koole won the Golden Elephant Award for best film in the 'International Live Action' category. The film is about a 10 year old boy and a bird. ii. The Golden Plaque for second-best film in the same section was won by a German film Das Pferd Auf Dem Balkon or A horse on the Balcony. The Jury Prize for the best artwork was won by a Hindi film Goopi Gawaiya Bagha Bajaiya directed by Shilpa Ranade. iii. Ernest Et Celestine won the award for the Best Animation Feature and Zarafa won the Golden Plaque for the second best animation film in the International Animation Competition section that has been added in 2013. iv. During the film festival, Batul Mukthiar received the best director award for his film Kaphal in the International Live Action. The best screenplay award went to Nono-The Zigzag Kid. 7. V. Baskaran appointed as Coach of the Senior Men Hockey Team i. Hockey India on 20 November 2013 appointed the former Olympic gold-medallist V Baskaran as Coach of the Senior Men Hockey Team. Baskaran will work under the recently appointed Chief Coach Terence Walsh. ii. Hockey India on 15 October 2013 appointed the Terence Walsh as Chief Coach of the Senior Men National Hockey Team. About V Baskaran Vasudevan Baskaran who was the captain of the team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow has 287 internationals caps and has represented India in the Olympic Games in 1976 Montreal, two World Cups in 1973 Amsterdam (Silver) and in 1978 Buenos Aires, two Asian Games in 1974 Tehran (Silver) and in 1978 Bangkok (Silver) and Champions Trophy in 1978 Pakistan (Bronze). 8. Indian Senior Women Hockey Team Coach Inderjit Singh Gill Died i. India's senior women's hockey team coach Inderjit Singh Gill passed away in a fatal road accident near Sangrur in Punjab on 20 November 2013. Gill died at the age of 59. He was a Sports Authority of India (SAI) coach. About Inderjit Singh Gill i. Inderjit Singh Gill, Coach of Sports Authority of India who did his NIS Diploma of Coaching in 1979 started his coaching career in 1986 and was working with the Junior & Senior Women hockey teams since 1999. ii. He was also part of the Coaching staff of the Senior Women Team that won Silver medal at the 3rd Womens Asian Champions Trophy 2013 in Japan. 9. Frederick Sanger the two time Chemistry Nobel Prize winner died i. Frederick Sanger, a British biochemist who is the only person to win Nobel Prize two times for Chemistry died on 19 November 2013 in Cambridge, eastern England. He was aged 95. ii. For the first time, he won the Nobel Prize in 1958 for development of the methods, which helped to unravel the chemical structure of Protein, mainly insulin. Second Nobel Prize was given to him in 1980, jointly with Walter Gilbert and Paul Berg for the development of the techniques to read the sequences of DNA, which carries the basic code for life. About Frederick Sanger Frederick Sanger was born on 13 August 1918 at Rendcombe in Gloucestershire He worked with Dr. A. Neuberger on the metabolism of the amino acid lysine and obtained a Ph.D. degree in 1943 - See more at: http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/frederick-sanger-the-two-time-chemistry-nobel-prizewinner-died-1385023719-1#sthash.ZntZtsPr.dpuf 10. Kushal Das becomes AIFF Gen Secy for a second term i. The All India Football Federation on Wednesday re-appointed its General Secretary Kushal Das for a second term of another three years in its Executive Committee meeting in New Delhi. ii. Das, who had served as Chief Financial Officer of the ICC and International Management Group (IMG) India, was appointed as AIFF General Secretary in November 2010. iii. The Executive Committee also approved the recommendations of AIFF Technical Committee, headed by former captain Bhaichung Bhutia, to extend the contract of national team coach Wim Koevermans and Technical Director Rob Baan by one year. iv. "The Executive Committee re-appointed Kushal Das as the General Secretary of AIFF for another three years.

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11. Sandhu named chief boxing coach till 2016 Olympics i. The long-serving Gurbax Singh Sandhu was on Wednesday retained as the national coach of the men's Indian boxing team till the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. ii. This decision was taken in consultation with the Sports Authority of India at New Delhi recently," the IBF, which is currently suspended, said in a statement. iii. Sandhu, under whose guidance India won its first Olympic and World Championships medal through Vijender Singh (75kg), has been with the team for two decades. iv. Sandhu, who was first appointed as the chief coach in 1993, was picked for a fresh term by a committee under the IBF President Abhishek Matoria. v. Sandhu has been with the team in four Olympics so far, including the 2008 Beijing Games where Vijender got India its first medal in boxing -- a bronze. 12. 14th Year-old Prithvi slams superb 546 in Harris Shield match i. 14-year-old Mumbai teenager Prithvi Shaw created a national record on Wednesday, hitting an astonishing 546 playing for Rizvi Springfield against St Francis D'Assisi Borivali in an inter-school match for the prestigious Harris Shield in Mumbai. ii. Touted as one of the bright young prospects emerging out of Mumbai school of batsmanship, the state U-16 captain Prithvi hit 85 boundaries and five sixes in the match played at the Azad Maidan. iii. In the process, Shaw became the first schoolboy cricketer to hit a 500 plus score in an official inter-school match. iv. Prithvi eclipsed his senior schoolmate and former India opener Wasim Jaffer's nephew Arman's score of 498, which he scored a few years back. v. His personal coach is Raju Pathak and father Pankaj Shaw has been everything for the boy, who lost his mother when he was only four years old. vi. From the age of eight, he used to travel around 70 kms from suburban Virar to be in time for his coaching camp and matches in Mumbai Maidans. vii. With performances like these, there is a possibility that the junior selection committee under the chairmanship of Connor Williams will be seriously thinking about Shaw with the Under-19 World Cup in mind next year. 13. Darvis Patton, the US sprinter and two time Olympic Medalist retired i. Darvis Patton, the US sprinter on 18 November 2013 announced his retirement after 13 years career. He won the Olympic silver medal as part of the 4x100 relay teams in the 2004 Athens Olympics and in London Olympics in 2012. ii. He was a part of the team of US that won the sprint relay gold at the Paris world championship and Osaka in 2003 and 2007, respectively. About Darvis Patton He became the sixth fastest man to run 100 meters at the 2013 Texas Relays He was elected to the USATF Board of Directors as the Athletes Advisory Committee representative in 2012 He was born in 4 December 1977 14. Ashes series begins at the Gabba, Brisbane i. The opening Test match of the Ashes Series began at Gabba, Brisbane this morning.Australia won the toss and chose to bat to begin their defence of an unbeaten Test record at the Gabba since 1988-89. ii. The hosts are bidding to stop England completing their best Ashes run in 123 years.George Bailey is debuting for Australia and has become Australia's 436th Test cap and England's Matt Prior has been called fit for the wicket keeping role.

General Awareness for IBPS Clerk III exam

1. Recently the Govt. of India has decided to confer upon Bharat Ratna to C.N. Rao, for his contribution in science field. He is the Indian scientist to get this award? (1) First (2) Second (3) Third (4) Fourth (5) Fifth

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2. Who among the following has been appointed as the next Chief Economic Advisor after Raghuram Rajan? (1) Sidharth Birla (2) Viviek Murthy (3) S Jaishankar (4) Ravi Kanoria (5) Sidharth Tiwari 3. Who among the following has been appointed as the new Indian envoy to China? (1) Ashok Kanthaa (2) Lokesh Kumar (3) Sushil Muhnot (4) Udit Bajpaye (5) None of these

4. In yet another step to attract foreign money, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed non-resident investors (NRIs) to acquire shares of listed Indian companies through stock exchanges? (1) under the foreign direct investment (FDI) scheme (2) in compliance with FEMA regulations (3) as a foreign institutional investor (FII) (4) as a qualified foreign investor (QFI) (5) None of these
5. In a year to how many persons ( maximum ) Bharat Ratna can be given ? (1) One (2) Two (3) Thee (4) More than three (5) None of these 6. Which among the following city will host 12th Edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2014? (1) Bangalore (2) New Delhi (3) Mmbai (4) Chandigarh (5) Kolkata

7. The NEERI has developed a technology which can be implemented for the treatment of chemical industry wastewater. Expand the term NEERI. (1) National Ecological Engineering Research Institute (2) National Experimental Engineering Research Institute (3) National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (4) National Enterprise Engineering Research Institute (5) None of these 8. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reviews its credit and monetary policy at regular intervals. What is the purpose of these revisions? (A) To ensure that inflation does not cross the limit. (B) To ensure that banks have enough liquidity. (C) To ensure that cost of the fund does not reach too high. Select the right answer:
(1) Only A (2) Only B (3) All A, B & C (4) Only B & C (5) None of these 9. Which among the following can raise interest rates in the market? (1) Reverse Repo Rate (2) Cash Reverse Ratio (3) Statutory Liquidity Ratio (4) Bank Rate (5) All of the above

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10. Which among the following has become the last country to qualify for FIFA World Cup 2014? (1) Uruguay (2) Poland (3) South Africa (4) Italy (5) None of these

DAILY GK UPDATE - 20TH NOV

1. Obama nominates Vivek Murthy for Surgeon General i. US President Barack Obama has nominated Indian-American Vivek Murthy for the post of Surgeon General, which a top American lawmaker described as a historic moment for the community across the country. ii. While Obama had announced his intent to nominate Boston-based Dr Murthy for Surgeon General last week, he has now sent in his formal notification to the US Senate, the White House said on Monday. iii. If confirmed, Murthy would not only be the first-ever Indian-American to occupy this post but also the youngest ever Surgeon General of the country. iv. The surgeon general serves a four-year term and is the administration's top official on public health issues. v. " The surgeon general serves a four-year term and is the administration's top official on public health issues. vi. "Indian-Americans have made many important contributions to American society, including in the medical field, and it is great to see another well-qualified leader rise in government," Crowley said in a statement. 2. Reserve Bank of India extended a refinance window of 5000 crore for the MSME i. The Reserve Bank of India on 18 November 2013 opened a 5000 crore rupees refinance window for MSME sector, for a period of one year to ease the liquidity. ii. The view of easing the liquidity stress to the Micro and Small Enterprises sector was taken by the RBI to provide refinance to the small Industrial Development Bank of India. iii. Basically the Micro and Small Enterprises sector is employment intensive and contributes significantly to exports. At present, the slowdown in the economy has resulted in the liquidity tightness in the MSEs in the manufacturing and services sector raising the need of liquidity support. iv. The availability of the refinance facility will be till 13 November 2014 3. RBI Directed Public Sector Banks to give loans to women SHGs at 7 percent i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 19 November 2013 directed Public Sector Banks (PSBs) to provide loans to women self-help groups (SHGs) at 7 per cent per annum to avail the benefit of interest rate subvention scheme under the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana-Aajeevika (SGSY) scheme. Salient features of RBI Notification 1.All women SHGs will be eligible for interest subvention to avail the credit upto 3 lakh Rupees at 7 per cent per annum. 2.PSBs will be subvented to the extent of difference between the Weighted Average Interest charged and 7 per cent subject to the maximum limit of 5.5 per cent, for the FY-2014. 3.This subvention will be available to all the PSBs on the condition that they make SHG credit available at 7 per cent in the 150 districts. 4.The Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) will be subvented to the extent of difference between the lending rates and 7 per cent for the FY-2014 on the condition they make SHG credit available at 7 per cent. 5.SHGs will be given an additional 3 per cent subvention on prompt repayment of loan. Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana-Aajeevika (SGSY) is an initiative by the government to provide sustainable income to poor people living in rural areas of the country. About Interest Rate subvention concept Interest Rate subvention is a subsidy of interest given by Government to certain sectors like Textiles, Agriculture etc. For eg. Textile Company borrows from Bank at 10 percent and Government gives subvention of 2 percent. Hence net bank takes interest from textiles companies 8 percent. Other sectors have to pay 10 percent to the bank.

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4. IFC launches Rs 1,000 cr global rupee bond issue i. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, on Wednesday issued a Rs 1,000 crore (approximately $160 million) global Indian rupee bond of three years maturity. ii. The bond is IFCs first rupee issuance, and the first bond issued under its $1 billion offshore rupee bond programme. iii. The issuance is to strengthen Indias capital markets and attract greater foreign investment in a time of renewed economic uncertainty across the world, IFC said in a statement. iv. The maturity date of the bond is December 3, 2016, and it carries a coupon of 7.75 per cent. v. The three-year benchmark bond is offered and settled in US dollars. The initial subscription and principal and coupon payments are in US dollars, with all amounts tied to the US dollar-rupee exchange rate. vi. IFC will convert bond proceeds from dollars into rupees on the domestic spot exchange market, and use the rupees to finance private sector investment in the country. 5. UN to Myanmar: Make Rohingya Muslims citizens i. The General Assembly's human rights committee passed a resolution on Tuesday urging Myanmar to give the stateless Rohingya minority equal access to citizenship and to crack down on Buddhist violence against them and other Muslims in the Southeast Asian nation. ii. The resolution passed the committee by consensus, meaning under General Assembly rules the body will unanimously pass it later this year. iii. Myanmar emerged from a half-century of military rule in 2011, but its transition to democracy has been marred by sectarian violence that has left more than 240 people dead and sent another 240,000 fleeing their homes, most of them Rohingya. iv. In 1982, Myanmar passed a citizenship law recognizing eight races and 130 minority groups but omitted the nation's 800,000 Rohingya, among Myanmar's 60 million people. v. Many Myanmar Buddhists view the Rohingya as interlopers brought in by British colonialists from modern-day Bangladesh, but many Rohingya say they have lived in the country once known as Burma for hundreds of years. 6. Anjolie Ela Menon awarded with Dayawati Modi Award i. Anjolie Ela Menon, a contemporary artist was awarded with Dayawati Modi Award for Art and Culture and Education by Dayawati Foundation on 19 November 2013. ii. The award comprised of a cash price of 2.51 lakh rupees, a silver shield and a scroll of hounour. It was presented to her by the Minister of state for Prime Minister Office, Department of personnel and Training, Government of India. About Anjolie Ela Menon Anjolie Ela Menon was born in 1940 in India She is one the leading contemporary female artist and well known muralist She held a solo exhibition with fifty-three variety style at age of 18 She was awarded Padma Shree in 2000 Most recently a major work yatra was acquired by the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Cali fornia. 7. MCX, Dalian Commodity Exchange tie up i. Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) and the Peoples Republic of China -based Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) have signed a memorandum of understanding to boost co-operation. ii. The agreement is designed to facilitate potential collaboration in areas such as knowledge-sharing, research and price risk management. iii. The move will also foster the development of communication channels for the sharing of information between the exchanges, MCX said in a press statement. iv. P.K. Singhal, Deputy Managing Director of MCX, said: As China and India are among the top commodity consuming and producing countries, this alliance will help in bringing more mutually beneficial opportunities that would eventually result in creating more efficient markets. 8. Indonesia halts military cooperation with Australia i. Indonesia has temporarily halted its military and intelligence cooperation with Australia over the latter's wiretapping of Indonesian leaders.

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ii. Besides notifying people that Indonesia has submitted its official query to Australia about the wiretapping issue, President Yudhoyono ordered a stop to several forms of joint military drills with Australia in all forces that include the navy, the army and the air force, Xinhua reported. iii. Indonesia previously lodged a strong protest against Australia and the US following reports by Australian and German media that the two countries have been using their embassies in Jakarta to extract intelligence information with enhanced wiretapping facilities set up in their embassies 9. IFFI kicks off in Goa tomorrow i. The 44th edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) that kicks off tomorrow here will screen 15 Oscarnominated films from across the world. ii. The film festival director Shankar Mohan said that since 2011, the films that have won award in IFFI competition section go on to win the Academy award and mentioned the example of Life of Pi. iii. Veteran actress Waheeda Rehman will be conferred the inaugural Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year at the festival. iv. The lifetime achievement award will be given to Czech filmmaker Jiri Menzel during the inauguration tomorrow. v. Hollywood actress Susan Sarandon will be the chief guest at the inaugural function, which will be attended by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari, veteran actors, including Kamal Haasan and Rekha, singer Asha Bhonsle and Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi. 10. India and Russia decided to held a Joint Air Force Exercise in 2014 i. India and Russia on 18 November 2013 agreed to expand the range of strategic partnership in a significant manner in Moscow. ii. The two countries will also hold a Joint Air Force Level exercise for the first time in 2014. iii. This decision was taken by the two countries within two days after commissioning of INS Vikramadatya into Indian Navy. iv. This decision was taken by the two countries within two days after commissioning of INS Vikramadatya into Indian Navy. 12. SPMCIL conferred with Engineering Excellence Award 2013 i. Engineering Excellence Award 2013 was conferred on the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL), a Public Sector Unit under the Ministry of Finance, and Government of India on 19 November 2013. ii. The award was given by Engineering Watch at SCOPE Convention Centre in Delhi. iii. The second Best Engineering Marvel for Project Innovativeness was conferred on Modernisation of Ink Factory Project at Bank Note Press, Dewas. Indigenisation of Bank Note Paper production at Security Paper Mill, Hoshangabad and Modernisation of Bank Note Press, Dewas have been awarded under the Special Mention Category. About Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited i. Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL) was formed after corporatization of nine units including four mints, four presses and one paper mill, which were earlier functioning under the Ministry of Finance. ii. The Company was incorporated on 13 January 2006 under the Companies Act, 1956 with its headquarters at New Delhi. SPMCIL is a Miniratna Category-I CPSE, and wholly owned Schedule A Company of Government of India. iii. It is engaged in the manufacture of security paper, minting of coins, printing of currency and bank notes, nonjudicial stamp papers, postage stamps, travel documents and others.

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DAILY GK UPDATE - 19TH NOV

1. Integration Day: 96th birth anniversary of Indira Gandhi i. National Integration Day is observed every year on 19th of November all over India. It is celebrated as the birthday anniversary of the first woman prime minister of the India, Indira Gandhi. ii. National Integration Day is celebrated every year in India by conducting variety of programmes and activities like Inter State Youth Exchange Programme (ISYEP), National Integration Camp (NIC), National Youth Festival, National Youth Award and etc. iii. Indira Gandhi, the first woman prime minister of India, was born at 19th of November in the year 1917 in Allahabad. iv. She was the daughter of the first Indian prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. She got her higher education from the Vishwa Bharati University and Oxford. She was very interested to the political life from her childhood. v. She played a major role in strengthening the Indian democratic structure and tradition. She handled the war of 1971 against Pakistan and won it. Signing of the Shimla Pact with Pakistani Premier Z.A. Bhutto, Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation was done under her leadership. 2. World Toilet Day observed on 19 November i. The World Toilet Day (WTD) was observed across the world on 19 November 2013. In the world about a third of the worlds people dont have an access to a decent toilet. ii. As per the United Nations about 2.5 billion people do not have an access to adequate sanitation and about 1 billion people practice open defecation, which contributes many diseases. Each year, more than 800000 children under 5 die from diarrhea, many due to poor sanitation. iii. The World Toilet Organization created World Toilet Day to raise global awareness of the struggle 2.5 billion face every day without access to proper, clean sanitation. About the World Toilet Day In 2001 WTO declared 19 November World Toilet Day (WTD). It is celebrated in over 19 countries with over 51 events being hosted by various water and sanitation advocates on this day. 3. PM inaugurates First Bharatiya Mahila Bank in Mumbaia i. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the first branch of Bharatiya Mahila Bank today in the iconic Air India building at Nariman Point in Mumbai with an area of 5,000 sq ft space on the ground floor. ii. Bhartiya Mahila Bank, an all-womens bank, will have a network of 25 branches by March 2014, according to Finance Minister P Chidambaram. iii. The all-womens bank will predominantly serve women, though deposits will be taken from men too. The credit growth is expected to be at a compounded annual growth rate of 16.5 per cent during the 2010-2030, while the deposit growth is expected to stay at 14.6 per cent for the 20 years period, Chidamabarm said at the inauguration of the Bhartiya Mahila Bank on the eve of former and Indias first woman Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's bi rth anniversary. iv. The all-womens bank will be initiated with a capital of Rs 1,000 crore and this was first announced in the Budget this year. v. Usha Ananthasubramanian, who was the Executive Director of Punjab National bank, will be the Chairperson of the bank. vi. Headquartered in Delhi, Bhartiya Mahila Banks seven branches would become operational across the country, including Kolkata, Chennai, Ahemdabad and Guwahati from today. In due course, overseas branches will be opened, Chidambaram said. 4. Angela Merkel to get 2013 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace i. German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel has been nominated for Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for the year 2013 ii. The International Jury for the Prize was chaired by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, which made this announcement today. iii. Dr. Merkel has been nominated for her exemplary leadership in Europe and the world during the financial crises, her commitment to universal peace and disarmament and her leadership role in strengthening productive and mutually beneficial relations with India and other developing countries. iv. Dr. Merkel rose to become in 2005, the first woman to be elected as Chancellor of Germany.

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5. Ratan Tata elected to board of US think tank i. Top Indian industrialist Ratan Tata has returned as a board member of East West Centre, a prominent American think tank. ii. Tata, 75, is returning to the board and has worked with the organisation several times between 1993 and 2004. iii. East West Centre also elected Takeshi Niinami, the CEO of Japans Lawson Inc. iv. The Honolulu-based think tanks board consists of 18 members, including five appointed by the US Secretary of State, five appointed by the Governor of Hawaii, five from Asia or the Pacific Islands and three ex-officio members, including the Governor of Hawaii, the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, and the President of the University of Hawaii. v. He chairs two of the largest private sector philanthropic trusts in India and is a member of the Indian Prime Ministers Council on Trade and Industry. vi. East West Centre is an education and research organisation established by the US Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific and the US. 6. Australia to support Indias membership of Nuclear Supplier Group i. Australia will support Indias membership of the Nuclear Supplier Group, the newly appointed Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said here on Monday. ii. NSG is a multinational body concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the export and retransfer of materials that may be applicable to nuclear weapon development and by improving safeguards and protection on existing materials. iii. Earlier, former French President Nicholas Sarkozy also expressed his countrys backing for Indias inclusion in Nuclear Suppliers Group. iv. The UK has for a long time been a supporter of Indias membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. 7. Nirupama Rao named visiting fellow at Brown University i. Nirupama Rao, the former Indian Ambassador to the US, has been named as the Meera and Vikram Gandhi Fellow with the Brown-India initiative at the Watson Institute for International Studies. ii. Rao, who till early this month was Indias top envoy in the US, would use her one -year term at Brown University to write a book, the university said in a statement today. iii. It said Rao has been named as the Meera and Vikram Gandhi Fellow with the Brown-India Initiative at the Watson Institute for International Studies. iv. She was also the first woman spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs. 8. Birth of Cinema authored by N. Gopal Krishna Released i. The book entitled Birth of Cinema written by N. Gopal Krishna was released at ICFFI media centre by a Journalist T. Udayawarluon 18 November 2013. ii. The book comprises of details related to the advanced cinematic technologies like the 3D shootings and Voice enhancements and others, which were popularized by the Hollywood directors. iii. He is a film maker of Andhra Pradesh. During the launch, he said that the Government patronization of the children films, which should be in the form of providing cinema halls, publicity and lower entertainment tax.

DAILY GK UPDATE - 17-18TH NOV

1. Volkswagen, Samsung top EU list of worlds top R&D investors i. German carmaker Volkswagen is the worlds top private-sector investor in research and development (R&D), followed by South Korean electronics giant Samsung, according to EU data released on Monday. ii. Volkswagen topped the list with 9.5 billion euros ($ 12.8 billion) of R&D investments in 2012, while Samsung stood at 8.3 billion euros. iii. But the figures showed that European companies have to do more to keep up with competitors in China and the United States, as the bloc seeks to overcome its economic crisis.

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iv. Volkswagen was the only European firm to reach the top 10, which also comprised US-based companies Microsoft, Intel, Merck, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, Swiss companies Roche and Novartis and Japans Toyota. v. The ranking includes 2,000 global companies, of which just over a quarter are EU-based. vi. The EU still lags behind its main competitors in business investment in R&D, said EU Research and Innovation Commissioner Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, adding that there were some worrying signs for the 28 -member bloc. vii. Despite the positive results of top EU companies in important industrial sectors such as automobiles, we are still too weak in high tech sectors such as biotechnology and software, Geoghegan -Quinn added. 2. Global Entrepreneurship event begins i. Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is set to hit India this week. ii. GEW, along with Centre for Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneurship (CIIE) run by IIM Ahmedabad be held from November 18 - 24, across 29 cities with 150 events and over 10,000 participants. iii. GEW INDIA 2013 allows CIIE to create a platform to celebrate entrepreneurship across the country and help lower the societal barriers towards entrepreneurship, said Ashwin Joshi, VP Ecosystem Development, Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship. iv. There are events ranging from simple business plan competitions to policy level discussions between academia and policy makers for the event and thus the GEW is bringing entrepreneurship in focus for the society, as well as creating an opportunity for the ecosystem to assess its successes and failures and create a better environment for entrepreneurship in the country. 3. Worlds largest cancer database launched i. The worlds largest cancer database containing 1.7 billion experimental results has been launched, with an aim to discover future treatments for the deadly disease. ii. The system, called CanSAR, is the biggest disease database of its kind anywhere in the world and condenses more data than would be generated by one million years of use of the Hubble space telescope. iii. It contains more than eight million experimentally derived measurements, nearly one million biologically active chemical compounds and data from over a thousand cancer cell lines. iv. The database will utilise artificial intelligence similar to the technology used to predict the weather to predict which potential drugs are likely to work in which circumstances. v. The new CanSAR database developed by researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, is more than double the size of a previous version and has been designed to cope with a huge expansion of data on cancer brought about by advances in DNA sequencing and other technologies. 4. Birla Science centre chief gets award i. Burra Gautham Sidharth, Director, B.M. Birla Science Centre, here has been chosen for the 2013 award given by the Institute for Theoretical Physics and Advanced Mathematics Einstein-Galilei (IFM), Italy. ii. The award recognises Sidharths contributions and discovery that the universe is expanding, which he theoretically predicted one year ahead of the scientific confirmation. iii. The award consists of an IFM Diploma and a gold medal. The announcement was made by Christian Corda, Chairman of the IFM. The other awardees for the year are Douglas D. Osheroff and Franco Pettini (posthmous), a former Secretary of IFM. 5. Abdulla Yameen sworn in as the President of Maldives i. Abdulla Yameen has been sworn in as the 6th President of the Maldives on 17 November 2013. ii. The Chief Justice of Maldives, Ahmad Faiz at a special session of the Parliament in Male administered the oath of office to Abdulla Yameen. Mohammad Jameel was sworn in as vice-President. iii. Yameen (54) a candidate of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) secured 51.39 percent of votes, whereas the opposition leader and the former President Mohamed Nasheed received 48.61. iv. Election Commission of Maldives, declared the results of the election on 16 November 2013 in which it declared Yameen, the half-brother of former autocratic ruler Maumoon Abdul Gayoom as the President elect. 6. Malta to Host Next Commonwealth Summit in 2015 i. Malta, a Southern European country was on 17 November 2013 unanimously chosen as the host of the next Commonwealth summit in 2015. ii. The decision was made at the retreat session of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo, Sri Lanka after Mauritius withdrew as host of the 2015 Commonwealth summit as a result of its prime minister's boycott of the Colombo summit over Sri Lanka's human rights concerns.

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Note: i. This is second time for Malta to host the Commonwealth summit. Before this, Malta hosted a Commonwealth Summit in 2005. About Malta Malta is a southern European country in the Mediterranean Sea. The country covers just over 316 km2 (122 sq mi), making it one of the world's smallest and most densely populated countries. The capital of Malta is Valletta which is also the smallest capital in the EU. Malta has two official languages: Maltese and English. About CHOGM 2013 The 22nd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 15-17 November 2013 on the theme Growth with Equity: Inclusive Development. The event concluded with the adoption of the independent declarations - on Youth, International Trade and Inclusive Development and the release of Summit Communiqu. 7. India successfully Test Fired Advanced Version of BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile i. India on 18 November 2013 successfully test-fired the advanced version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the Pokhran test firing range in Rajasthan. ii. The block III variant of BrahMos with deep penetration capability was test launched from a Mobile Autonomous Launcher (MAL). iii. The missile after launch followed the predetermined trajectory and successfully pierced the designated concrete structure. iv. The 290-km BrahMos flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach and carries a conventional warhead of up to 300 kg. The missile can be launched from multiple platforms including land, sea, sub-sea and air. 8. Waheeda Rehman to receive first Centenary film award at IFFI i. Waheeda Rehman, the veteran actress of Bollywood will be conferred with the inaugural Centenary Award for the Indian Film Personality of the Year 2013 at the 44th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa on 20 November 2013. ii. The award will be given to her in recognition of her contributions to the film industry. She has been selected unanimously by the team of five member jury. iii. The award has been instituted by the Government of India to mark the 100 years of Indian Cinema. It includes a prize amount of 10 lakh rupees and a citation. 9. Bolt and Fraser-Pryce were crowned World Athletes of 2013 i. The Jamaican sprinters, Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce were crowned the male and female World Athletes of the Year, 2013 on 16 November 2013. They were selected as the world athletes of the year by the sport's governing IAAF at a ceremony in Monaco. ii. Gold in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4x100 relay at the Moscow Worlds in August helped Bolt to take his alltime tally to eight golds and two silvers at the championship. iii. Usain Bolt had been the World Athlete of the Year in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012, previously. Bolt won 10 out of his 11 100m races (including heats), and was unbeaten in his five races over 200m. 10. Rapid Metro-India's First Private Metro service started operation from Gurgaon, Haryana i. Rapid Metro-India's First Private Metro service started operation from Gurgaon, Haryana on 14 November 2013. Rapid Metro is India's first fully privately financed Metro system connecting NH-8 to Delhi Metro via Cyber City, Gurgaon. ii. Rapid Metro, with an elevated route and six stations with a frequency of every four minutes, can carry 800 passengers in each trip. iii. The 5.1 km long route covers six stations-Sikanderpur, Phase-2, Belvedere Towers, Cyber City, Moulsari Avenue and Phase 3. T iv. The Rapid Metro is using a common ticketing system with Delhi Metro. About Rapid Metro Rail System Rapid Metro is a metro rail system in the Indian city of Gurgaon, Haryana, linked with the Delhi Metro system's Yellow Line. Built and operated by Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon Limited (RMGL), the system is India's first fully privately financed metro. 11. India moved to second position in ICC test ranking i. In the latest ICC test ranking, India moved to the second position, following the 2-0 victory over West Indies on 16 November 2013. South Africa stood at the top position with 131 points, which is followed by India with 119 ratings point. England stands at third position with 116 points.

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ii. India in the two match test series made a clean sweep of West Indies. India defeated the West Indies in the second match with an innings and 126 runs in Mumbai. iii. The second match of the series was also the last match of Sachin Tendulkar, as he hung his bat and gave an end to his 24 years long cricketing career 12. Sebastian Vettel won the United States Grand Prix for record 8th successive victory i. Sebastian Vettel of Red Bulls team on 17 November 2013 won United States Grand Prix. France's Romain Grosjean in Lotus was second with Red Bull's Mark Webber took the third place. ii. This was his eighth successive race of Vettel in a season. With this win he succeeded ahead of Michael Schumachers previous record of winning seven races in a row in the same season, which was set in 2004. iii. This was also vettels 12th win of the season and if he wins the year -ender in Brazil than he will tie with Michael Schumacher Formulae one record of 13 victories in a single season. 13. Sachin ends Test career in 18th position in ICC rankings i. Legendary Sachin Tendulkar has ended his record-breaking 200-Test career by finishing 18th in the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen as he jumped five places in the latest chart, released on Sunday. ii. Tendulkar had entered the series in 24th position, which was his lowest since 1992. He scored 74 runs in his final innings in the Mumbai Test against the West Indies. iii. Cheteshwar Pujara is the highest-placed Indian in the batting chart. Pujara has moved up two places to a careerbest sixth with a best-ever 801 ratings points, following his knock of 113 in the Mumbai Test. iii. The batting chart continues to be headed by AB de Villiers of South Africa, with teammate Hashim Amla in second place and West Indies' Shivnarine Chanderpaul in third place. 14. Doris Lessing, Nobel Prize-Winning Author, Died at 94 i. British Nobel Prize-winning author Doris Lessing was died on 17 November 2013 at London.She was 94 years old. ii. Her best-known works are The Golden Notebook, Memoirs of a Survivor and The Summer Before the Dark. iii. In her life time she wrote more than 80 books, including poetry, two operas, short stories, plays and non-fiction. In 2007, the 88-year-old Doris Lessing became the oldest recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. and only the 11th woman to win the award. About Doris Lessing Doris Lessing was born on 22 October 1919, in Kermanshah, Iran. When she was 3, the family settled in southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). 15. Bengal topped the medal list of the 23rd G V Mavalankar Shooting Championship i. West Bengal, the host of the 23rd All India G V Mavalankar Shooting Championship topped the medals tally on 16 November 2013. The championship concluded at the Chandmari Range in West Bengal. This is the first time that West Bengal topped the medal table of national level of shooting championship. ii. West Bengal, shooters won five gold, five silver and a bronze to top the 10 day long championship. Maharashtra stood at the second position in the championship with four gold, five silver and three bronze medals. Whereas, Chandigarh was third in the list as it won three gold, one silver and one bronze medal. 16. Redek Stepanek clinched Davis Cup for Czech Republic i. he Czech Republic on 17 November 2013 defended the Davis Cup title 2013 after Redek Stepanek defeated the Serbian Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 in the fifth rubber of the final by BNP Paribas Final in Belgrade. ii. With the win Stepanek handed the win too Czech Republic 3-2. iii. With this win, Stepanek became the third player in the history to win Two Davis Cup Finals live fifth singles rubbers. He is also the first man to do so on consecutive occasions after bypassing Serbian youngster Dusan Lajovic for the loss of just five games. Note: In 2012, he defeated Nicolas Almagro in the fifth rubber of the 100th Final in Prague. Only Frances Henri Cochet (1927, 1929 and 1931) and Britains Fred Perry (1933, 1936) have won two Davis Cup Final live fifth singles rubbers before - Radek Stepanek.

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DAILY GK UPDATE - 16TH NOV

1. Sachin & CN Rao to be honoured with Bharat Ratna Award Sachin first sportsperson to win countrys highest civilian honour with Bharat Ratna i. In a befitting tribute to a stellar career, especially on the day he was given a tearful farewell, Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Saturday announced the country's highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna, for Sachin Tendulkar. ii. The cricketing legend became the first sportsperson to get the award, whose past recipients have been such dignitaries as Jawharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Sir CV Raman, Satyajit Ray, Rajendra Prasad, Mother Teresa and Indira Gandhi. iii. The award will also be conferred on eminent scientist Prof CNR Rao, a statement issued by the PMO said. iv. "Sachin Tendulkar is undoubtedly an outstanding cricketer - a living legend who has inspired millions across the globe. During the last 24 years, since the young age of 16 years, Tendulkar has played cricket across the world and won laurels for our country," the statement said. v. He has been a true ambassador of India in the world of sports. His achievements in cricket are unparalleled, the records set by him unmatched, and the spirit of sportsmanship displayed by him exemplary. That he has been honoured with several awards is testimony to his extraordinary brilliance as a sportsman," the statement added. vi. Announcing the award for Prof CNR Rao, the statement said, "Prof Rao is an eminent scientist and a well recognised international authority on solid state and materials chemistry. He has published over 1,400 research papers and 45 books." 4. International Day for Tolerance observed on 16 November i. International Day for Tolerance was observed on 16 November 2013 across the world to educate people about the need for tolerance in society and to aware them about the dangers of intolerance. About International Day for Tolerance International Day for Tolerance is celebrated worldwide every year on 16 November to promote the Tolerance among the public. The day was first observed in 1995. 5. 22nd Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting (CHOGM) began in Colombo, Sri Lanka i. The 22nd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, CHOGM began in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 15 November 2013. The Summit was inaugurated by Prince Charles of England, who is representing Queen Elizabeth at the Commonwealth Summit. ii. The theme for CHOGM 2013 is Growth with Equity; Inclusive Development. iii. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid is represented the India in the 22nd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). iv. This year, CHOGM in Sri Lanka, the first time an Asian country is hosting the summit in 24 years. The last CHOGM Summit (in 2011) was held at Perth, Australia. Note: i. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is held every two years to enable leaders of Commonwealth countries to come together to discuss global and Commonwealth issues, and to decide on collective policies and initiatives. ii. Every CHOGM is jointly organized by the host country and the Commonwealth Secretariat. These biennial meetings serve as the principal policy and decision-making forum to guide the strategic direction of the association. 6. India retain second spot in T20 team rankings i. India continued to enjoy the second position in the recently released Reliance ICC T20I Team Rankings. ii. With 123 rating points in its kitty, India are five points behind leaders Sri Lanka (128). iii. South Africa, meanwhile, has moved into the third position in the T20I team rankings after winning both the matches against Pakistan in Dubai, an ICC statement said. 7. Former Cyprus president Glafkos Clerides dies at 94 i. Former Cyprus president Glafkos Clerides has died in a hospital here, his doctor announced. He was 94. ii. His death was announced by his personal physician and long time friend Iossif Kassios, Xinhua reported. iii. Clerides served two presidential terms between 1993 and 2003, which culminated in the successful conclusion of European Union accession negotiations, although the accession treaty was signed by his successor, Tassos Papadopoulos in 2004.

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8. Lord Swraj Paul presented with International Indian of the Decade Award i. Lord Swraj Paul, a leading NRI industrialist and educationist was presented with the International Indian of the Decade award on 15 November 2013. Swraj Paul was presented the award for his outstanding achievements in the fields of industry, education and philanthropy. ii. Virender Paul, the acting High Commissioner of India to the UK presented the award to Lord Swraj Paul at the 20th anniversary of the publication of India Link International (a monthly magazine). About Lord Swraj Paul Lord Swraj Paul is the founder of the UK -based steel and engineering multinational company Caparo, which at present employs about 10000 people worldwide from UK, USA and India. He was made the Life Peer is a member of the House of Lords in 1996 and donated 1 million pounds to prevent the London Zoo closure in 1994. 10. Ram Kripalu Tripathi, Popularly Known as Jagadguru Kripaluji Maharaj, Died i. Ram Kripalu Tripathi, popularly known as Jagadguru Kripaluji Maharaj passed away on 15 November 2013 at New Delhi. He was 91 years old. He was given the title of Jagadguru (the world teacher) at the age of 34 years, in 1957.

DAILY GK UPDATE - 15th NOV

1. Sachin Tendulkar is Time magazines Person of the Moment i. Accolades continued to pour in for the retiring Sachin Tendulkar with the Time magaz ine naming the legendary Indian batsman its Person of the Moment while as he plays his last Test in Mumbai. ii. The worlds greatest cricketer plays his last match...much to the disappointment of throngs of adoring fans, The magazine said of the 40-year-old, who will bid adieu to cricket after playing his 200th test currently being played against the West Indies in Mumbai. iii. Indias top cricket player, Sachin Tendulkar, is regarded one of the greatest batsman of all time. The only player to score 100 international centuries, Tendulkar leaves the sport as the greatest player of his generation, Time said. iv. Tendulkars stellar 24-year cricketing career boasts of innumerable records and milestones which would be hard to surpass. v. He has been showered with adulation not only in India but across the world with leading US dailies paying rich tributes to the master blaster for his supreme batsmanship and unwavering modesty. 2. Maldives President Waheed steps down i. Maldives President Mohamed Waheed on Friday stepped down as President as the country prepared to hold the second round of the Presidential election. ii. In a farewell speech, Mr. Waheed said one of the priorities during his tenure was to enhance the area of foreign relations, adding that the long standing non-aligned, independent foreign policy with an Islamic character was changed by the then (Nasheed) government, Xinhua reported. iii. The country was under a position where it could be forced, by changing the Constitution, to do things that its legal framework didnt allow. The government and senior leadership were being asked to resign within few hours, to flout the orders of court, and to stand against those orders, the outgoing President said. iv. However, he said the government refused to bow down to foreign pressure, but instead upheld the legal framework and the orders of the constitutional institutions of the country. v. The second round of the Presidential election will take place on Saturday with the Maldives Democratic Party candidate and former President Mohamed Nasheed being the frontrunner. 3. Google, KKR to invest $400 m on solar projects i. Internet giant Google and investment firm KKR will invest $400 million in six solar plants in California and Arizona, the companies announced on Thursday. ii. The plants are currently being developed and are expected to be operational by January 2014. They will be managed by Recurrent Energy, a California solar developer. iii. The companies plan to sell the electricity to municipal users and local utilities, including Southern California Edison. Five of the plants are in southern California and the sixth is in Arizona.

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iv. A Google spokeswoman said the total investment in the projects is $400 million, but the exact breakdown between the companies was not disclosed. v. The three firms in December 2011 announced a separate plan to build four solar plants near Sacramento, California. 4. Siddhartha Birla to be next FICCI President i. Siddhartha Birla, founder and Chairman of Xpro India Ltd, and Chairman Digjam Ltd, will be the next President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. ii. Birla will head the chamber in 2014. iii. An alumnus of Harvard Business School, he is a trustee on some family-owned educational and philanthropic bodies, and a member of the Board of Governors of the Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS), Pilani. Note: Presently Ms. Naina Lal Kidwai is the President of FICCI. 5. RINL setting up 120-MW plant on waste gas from blast furnace i. The Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (Visakhapatnam steel plant) is taking all steps to enhance its captive power capacity and is also using waste gas heat to generate power, according to sources. ii. The steel plant is currently having five turbo generators, three each of 60 MW capacity and two each of 67.5 MW capacity, taking the total captive power generation capacity to 315 MW. iii. Almost 45 to 50 per cent of the fuel requirement for the above installed capacity is met through by-product waste fuels such as coke oven gas and blast furnace gas. iv. Additionally, the RINL is establishing a 120 MW power plant, which would be operational exclusively on waste blast furnace gas. This plant is nearing completion and is scheduled to become operational by the end of the current financial year. v. Apart from the above, around 35 to 40 MWs of power is being generated through recovery of waste heat and waste pressure, installed at the main production units such as coke ovens and blast furnaces. 6. Lenovo launches Yoga Tablet i. Aiming at a higher market share, leading personal computer maker Lenovo on Friday announced the launch of its new Yoga Tablet priced between Rs 22,999 to Rs 28,999. ii. Yoga Tablet has been ergonomically designed to aid a longer and comfortable Tablet viewing experience. It is priced at Rs 22,999 and Rs 28,999, for the 20.3 cm and 25.4 cm models, respectively, the company officials said. iii. .....according to IDC report in the tablet space we assumed 3 per cent market share in the last quarter and we have moved to 14.3 per cent, a very strong number two position just in a span of 2 3 months, Lenovo India Director (Consumer Business) Shailendra Katyal told reporters on the sidelines of launch event. 7. India is No. 2 in seeking user info from Google i. India ranks second in the list of countries that approached Google with requests, seeking information on users. ii. While the US topped the list with 10,918 requests, India followed with 2,691 during the January-June period this year. iii. The Government requests for user information have doubled over three years. It began sharing the information publicly three years ago. iv. It, however, said that the numbers included the requests that it was allowed to publish, indicating that the number could still be bigger. The firm has updated the report for the eighth time. v. The other top rankers in the list includes Germany with 2,311 requests, France (2,011), the UK (1,274), Brazil (1,239) and Italy (901), Richard Salgado, Legal Director (Law Enforcement and Information Security) of the firm, said. 8. Max Bupa, Deutsche Bank enter into bancassurance tie-up i. Max Bupa Health Insurance has entered into a bancassurance tie-up with Deutsche Bank. ii. With this alliance, Max Bupa will offer its comprehensive health insurance plans to Deutsche Bank customers. iii. This tie-up follows the insurance regulator IRDAs guidelines allowing banks to act as corporate agents of one standalone health insurance company in addition to their existing one life and one non-life insurance companies. iv. With this partnership, we aim to provide an umbrella of innovative solutions to our customers health insurance needs, said Prashant Joshi, Retail Banking India, Deutsche Bank. v. Manasije Mishra, CEO, Max Bupa, said the alliance is an important milestone as bancassurance is an important part of the company's growth strategy.

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9. SBI to raise Rs 5,000 cr via tier II bonds i. The countrys largest bank State Bank of India plans to raise tier -II capital in the range of about Rs 5,000 crore before March. ii. It should be in the range of about Rs 5,000 crore. There is no time frame but definitely before March, said SBI chief, Arundhati Bhattacharya. She was speaking at the annual Bancon summit here. iii. Besides, the Government has also promised to infuse Rs 2,000 crore through a preferential allotment of shares. iv. Bhattacharya, who took over as the head of the state-run lender in October, said the bank will lend to all the sectors where it sees viability but added that it will focus more on growing the retail book. 10. Google wins book scanning case i. A federal judge rejected a lawsuit on Thursday by authors aimed at stopping Googles book scanning project, ruling that Googles plan to scan and digitise 20 million books constitutes fair use under US copyright laws. ii. The long-running dispute centred on Googles Library Project in which the search giant reached agreements with several large libraries to scan their collections to provide information about the books and online excerpts. iii. Author and publisher groups argued that the practice was a violation of copyright, but Google reached a settlement with the publishers last year. iv. Not only does the Google project provide a new and efficient way for readers and researchers to find books, he added, but it has become an essential research tool, as it helps librarians identify and find research sources, it makes the process of interlibrary lending more efficient, and it facilitates finding and checking citations. 11. Reliance Life backs Sachins big fan Sudhir Chaudhary i. Reliance Life Insurance Company has signed up to support Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary, one of the greatest fans of master blaster Sachin Tendulkar. ii. As part of its corporate social responsibility, Reliance Life will offer financial aid to Sudhir to help him continue his passion of loving the sport. New campaign i. This private life insurer has also launched a new campaign with Sudhir with a view to supporting this big fan. ii. The campaign is also aimed to give out a larger message that retirement is definitive and needs to be properly planned, Anup Rau, Chief Executive Officer, Reliance Life Insurance, said. iii. Sudhir, who hails from Muzaffarpur in Bihar, continues his passion for the game on public support without any permanent job. iv. He sometimes pedals his way to cricket playing venues, as he did to Bangladesh to witness a cricket match in 2007. v. He has also cycled to Lahore, Pakistan, in 2006 to watch a match. Sudhir often stays with friends and makes ends meet only to get to the next match. 12. Indias 1st ever mountain biking race on Nov 17 i. Cycling enthusiasts of the country will get to witness their own version of Tour the Himalayas with Indias firstever mountain biking race all set to be held here on November 17. ii. Being organised jointly by the Mountain Track Biking Association (MTBA) of Uttarakhand, Cycling Federation of India (CFI) and Artsmith Concepts and Visions with support from the state government and the Indian Army, the event will have races in three categories for the elite riders (20kms), the amateurs (15kms) and the teens (10kms), MTBA, Uttarakhand president Rahul Jain told reporters here today. iii. Over 100 top riders of the country have agreed to participate in the event to be held on a scenic track in the Himalayan foothills, Jain said. iv. The tournament offers a total prize purse of Rs 2.5 lakh (in the professional category) with the top 10 cyclists getting a share of the prize money, he said. 13. India, UK have resilient trade ties i. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and British Prime Minister David Cameron, on Thursday, expressed satisfaction that trade ties between the two countries had been resilient despite the continuing global economic slowdown and difficulties in the Euro Zone. ii. The two Prime Ministers discussed the Bangalore-Mumbai Economic Corridor (BMEC) and were happy at the progress that had been made, sources said.

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iii. The terms of reference for the feasibility study of BMEC have been finalised as also the request for proposals. The importance of the India-EU Broad Based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) also came up in the discussions, sources indicated. iv. Cameron also met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and discussed infrastructure and business opportunities for British firms. A group of businessmen are said to have accompanied the British Prime Minister at this meeting. 14. Shiraz Naval Minwalla won New Horizons in Physics Prize 2014 i. Shiraz Naval Minwalla, Professor of Physics in TIFR, Mumbai selected for the 2014 New Horizons in Physics Prize on 5 November 2013. ii. He was awarded "for his pioneering contributions to the study of string theory and quantum field theory; and in particular his work on the connection between the equations of fluid dynamics and Albert Einsteins equations of general relativity". iii. The New Horizons for Physics Prize awarded to promising junior researchers by Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation. The award carries prize money of 100000 US Dollars. About Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation The Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation established by the Milner Foundation, Russia in 2012 and dedicated to advancing our knowledge of the Universe at the deepest level by awarding annual prizes for scientific breakthroughs, as well as communicating the excitement of fundamental physics to the public. 15. Mushirul Hasan was conferred with Nehru Fellowship i. Professor Mushirul Hasan, the former Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia on 14 November 2013 was conferred with the Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship by the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund. ii. The title of the Hasans fellowship project is Roads to Freedom Prison, Prisoners and the Raj. iii. The project of professor Hasan will see how the jails were used during the time of Raj to bring down the body and soul of those resting or revolting against the British. About Professor Mushirul Hasan He is an internationally known historian and has written extensively on the partition. He did his MA from Aligarh Muslim University and the PhD from Cambridge in 1977. He was awarded Padma Shri and the Ordre des Palmes Academiques by the French Government in 2010. He was also the Director-General of the National Archives from May 2010 to May 2013. 16. Veteran Journalist R.K. Mukker Passed Away at 88 i. Veteran journalist R.K. Mukker passed away on 13 November 2013 after prolonged illness. He was 88 years old. ii. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. He died at Sahibabad in Uttar Pradeshs Ghaziabad district.

DAILY GK UPDATE - 14th NOV

1. World Diabetes Day observed on 14 November i. World Diabetes Day was observed on 14 November 2013 across the world to raise awareness of diabetes. ii. The theme for 2009-13 is Education and Prevention. iii. World Diabetes Day is an annual campaign, led by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and its member associations. It engages millions of people worldwide in diabetes advocacy and awareness. iv. The world Diabetes day is celebrated every year on 14 November. The date was chosen because it marks the birthday of Frederick Banting, who, along with Charles Best, is credited with the discovery of insulin in 1921. 2. Children's Day Observed Across India on 14 November i. Children's Day was celebrated in India on 14 November 2013 in order to commemorate the birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru the first Prime Minister of India after Independence. ii. The day is celebrated to commemorate the affection of Jawaharlal Nehru towards children.

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3. WB, ADB assure Odisha of USD 313m aid for cyclone i. International funding agencies, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, have assured a financial assistance of USD 313 million to Odisha government for restoration and rehabilitation activities in cyclone Phailin hit areas. ii. Accepting Odisha's proposal of constructing an additional 162 cyclone shelter houses as they helped in providing safe stay for people after evacuation from the coast, WB team agreed to provide assistance of USD 55 million for the purpose, the sources said. iii. The WB also agreed to finance USD 153 million for construction of pucca houses within five kilometer from the coast in Ganjam and Puri districts and in the bank of Chilika lake, besides slum development proposals of Berhampur town. iv. Narahari Rao, Deputy Country Director ADB, and Harish Verma Senior Project Officer, ADB, on their part assured the state government that they would be providing USD 105 million for installing cyclone-proof power infrastructure (at the expenditure of 70 million USD) and strengthening of embankments (35 million USD) in cyclone prone areas in Odisha. 6. President to open N-waste management unit in Kalpakkam i. President Pranab Mukherjee will Friday inaugurate the nuclear waste immobilisation plant (WIP) of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) at Kalpakkam near here through video conferencing from Mumbai, the research agency said. ii. The president will participate at the graduation function of BARC training school Friday and give the Homi Bhabha Award to the toppers in each discipline iii. The facility, apart from vitrification - transforming a liquid into glass - will also handle intermediate nuclear waste, separation of residual uranium from high level liquid waste. 7. NASA Cassini Spacecraft provided New View of Saturn and Earth i. NASA in November 2013 released a natural-color image of Saturn from space, the first in which Saturn, its moons and rings, and Earth, Venus and Mars, all are visible. ii. The panoramic mosaic of the majestic Saturn system was taken by Cassini Spacecraft of the NASA. About the Cassini Spacecraft Cassini Spacecraft was launched in 1997 and explored the Saturn system for more than nine years. NASA has planned to continue the mission through 2017 with the anticipation of many more images of Saturn, its rings and moons, along with scientific data. 8. Wholesale inflation rises to 7% in Oct i. The headline inflation number, the wholesale price index or WPI, has increased to 7 per cent in October from 6.46 per cent in September. ii. However, it has come down from the October 2012 number of 7.32 per cent. iii. Food inflation has almost tripled since last October to over 18 per cent. Vegetable prices played a key role. Overall, vegetable prices jumped over 78 per cent, while onion prices saw a whopping 278 per cent increase. 9. SBI not to merge any associate bank this fiscal i. State Bank of India has gone back on its plan to bring one of its associate banks under its fold in the current fiscal. ii. For the time being, the associate bank merger is on the backburner. Nothing is going to happen till March 31, 2014, said S. Vishvanathan, Managing Director, Associates and Subsidiaries. iii. Arundhati Bhattacharya, the incumbent SBI chief, said, We need to do a little more consolidation on our side before we take that (another bank) on. It is not off the table, but at this point we need to pay attention to what we are doing in a better manner. 10. INS Vikramaditya set to join Indian Navy on Nov. 16 i. Defence Minister A.K. Antony will induct the long-delayed aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, designed to boost Indias maritime capabilities, at a shipyard in Russia on Saturday. ii. Contracted for in 2004, during the NDA regime, the vessel has been delayed by over five years and has seen several time and cost-overruns in the last nine years. iii. The ship is powered by eight boilers and can achieve top speeds of 30 knots per hour. Note: INS Vikramaditya is a Kiev class aircraft carrier which was commissioned by Russian Navy in 1987 under the name Baku.

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11. Paras Ajmera resigned from MCX Board i. Paras Ajmera, Director of Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX) resigned from the board on 12 November 2013. ii. Paras Ajmera is a nominee of promoter Financial Technologies India Ltd (FTIL) to the board of directors of Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX). iii. MCX on 13 November 2013 informed the BSE that FTIL had withdrawn the nomination of Paras Ajmera, a shareholder director, from the board with effect from 12 November 2013, consequent to his resignation from the MCX Board. 12. Yogesh Agarwal, the Chairman of PFRDA Resigned; Anup Wadhawan Took Over i. The Chairman of Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), Yogesh Agarwal resigned from the post of Chairman on 13 November 2013. ii. He resigned because of the Governments decision to not allow him to be a part of the selection panel for members of the regulator. Note: Anup Wadhawan was appointed as the new Chairman of PFRDA by the Finance Ministry. It is important to note that Yogesh Agarwal had one and half years more as his tenure of the Chairman. 13. Malayalam film actor-producer Augustine dies in Kozhikode at 56 i. In Kerala, Malayalam film actor- producer Augustine died at a private hospital in Kozhikode this morning. ii. He was 56. Augustine, who acted in over 100 films, portrayed several characters that remain etched in the memory of film buffs. iii. His major films include Devasuram, Sadayam, Aaram Thampuran, Nandanam, Indian Rupee, Shutter among others.

DAILY GK UPDATE - 13TH NOV

1. Usha Ananthasubramanian appointed as CMD of Bharatiya Mahila Bank i. The Union Government on 12 November 2013 appointed Usha Ananthasubramanian as the chairperson and managing director of public sector Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB), the first womens bank. ii. Before joining BMB, she was an Executive Director with Punjab National Bank (PNB). iii. Usha Ananthasubramanian started her career in the actuarial department with LIC and banking career in February 1982 with Bank of Baroda. iv. She holds a masters degree in statistics from the University of Madras and a masters degree in ancie nt Indian culture from University of Mumbai. v. During her tenure at Punjab National Bank, she was part of the panel formed for examination of the blueprint and other issues for setting up of the womens bank. The panels report paved the way for Indias f irst public sector womens bank. 2. RBI pegs CAD at USD 56 bn this year, says no reason for Re decline i. Seeking to calm currency markets, the Reserve Bank has said the current account deficit in 2013-14 will be USD 56 billion-- much lower than the quantum projected earlier-- and there is no fundamental reason for rupee depreciation. ii. Our estimates now is that CAD this year will be USD 56 billion, less than 3 per cent of GDP and USD 32 billion less than last year RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said at a hurriedly called press conference in Mumbai on Wednesday. iii. The current account deficit (CAD), which is the difference between outflow and inflow of foreign exchange, touched an all-time high of USD 88.2 billion or 4.8 percent of the GDP in 2012-13. iv. Rajan also said the central bank would undertake open market operations (OMO) on Monday to inject Rs 8,000 crore into the system to ease the liquidity situation. v. As per the official data, retail inflation measured by movement in the consumer price index (CPI), rose to 10.09 percent, entering double digits after seven months. 3. Prasar Bharti signed MoU with Slovenia Radio & TV for Cooperation in Broadcasting i. India's public broadcaster Prasar Bharati and Radio-Television of Slovenia (RTV-SLO) on 13 November 2013 signed an MoU to develop and strengthen mutual friendly relations through an increased cooperation in the field of broadcasting.

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ii. The agreement was signed by head of international department of RTV SLO, Suzana Vidas Karoli and Member Personnel of Prasar Bharati, VAM Hussain iii. The MoU allows to explore further opportunities in potential projects of production of programmes. 4. India develops new tactical missile 'Pragati' i. India has developed a new tactical surface-to-surface missile 'Pragati' with a range between 60-170 km and will offer it to friendly countries. ii. The new missile, now on display at a defence exhibition in South Korea, is based on the Prahaar missile developed by the DRDO for the Army and can be termed as its export variant with minor differences, a DRDO official said today. iii. The government has approved that it may be offered to friendly countries if anyone shows interest in it, he said. iv. The missile is the main exhibit of the DRDO which is showcasing an array of indigenous weapons at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX 2013). 5. Russia Successfully Launched Proton-M Rocket Carrying a Military Satellite i. Russia on 12 November 2013 successfully launched the Proton-M rocket carrying a defense satellite, Raduga-1M from its Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Note: It is important to note that Russia restarted the launch of Proton rockets in September 2013 after a small gap in order to check why a Proton rocket launched on 2 July 2013 exploded while taking off. ii. The Proton-M rocket is the most popular rocket of Russia for the commercial satellite launches. 6. Krishna Mohan Sahni Appointed Chairman of the National Multi-Commodity Exchange of India i. Retired bureaucrat Krishna Mohan Sahni was appointed Chairman of the National Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (NMCE) on 12 November 2013. ii. His appointment was approved by the Forward Markets Commission, the commission which is responsible for regulating the commodities markets in India. 7. MTNL signed MoU with US Firm to impart Security Training in India i. MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited) signed a MoU with Los Alamos Technical Associates, Inc. (LATA) of USA on 12 November 2013. ii. The MoU has been signed to launch the state of the of the art training programs on Cyber Security, Risk and Crisis Management, Public Safety and Disaster Management, Homeland Security/ Critical Infrastructure Protection, Security Operations Management, Industrial Security, Fire & Safety Management etc. iii. The MoU will bring to India the practices followed in US for security, which has been developed over a period of time. 8. R. Banumathi Appointed Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court i. Justice R. Banumathi, Judge of the Madras High Court was on 12 November 2013 appointed as the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court. She was appointed by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee. 9. India tops Junior SAF games, Ranchi with medal haul i. India with 20 gold 20 silver and 12 bronze medals has topped the medals tally position in the 2nd Junior SAF Games that concluded today in Ranchi. ii. Sri Lanka with 10 gold, 10 silver and 14 bronze medals have secured 2nd position while Bangladesh with 3 bronze has come at the third position. iii. Pakistan with one bronze is at the fourth position. iv. The participating players have praised the hospitality and world class sports infrastructure of the Hotwar Sports Complex of Ranchi. The three-day junior SAF had started on 10th of this month

DAILY GK UPDATE - 12th NOV

1. World Pneumonia Day observed on 12 November i. World Pneumonia Day was observed on 12 November 2013 across the world to raise awareness of pneumonia. ii. The United Nations (UN) first celebrated the day on 12 November 2009. iii. This year, the theme for World Pneumonia Day will focus on innovation highlighting innovative solutions to end childhood pneumonia, while at the same time emphasizing that there are existing simple interventions that need to reach the most vulnerable children.

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2. India Signed Financing and Project Agreements with World Bank for Disaster Management i. The Union Government of India, the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Government of Puducherry signed the Financing and Project Agreements for World Bank assistance (IDA assistance) of 236 million US Dollar with the World Bank on 11 November 2013. ii. The agreements were signed for Tamil Nadu-Puducherry Coastal Disaster Risk Reduction Project (CDRRP). iii. The objective of the Project is to increase the resilience of coastal communities in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, to a range of hydro-meteorological and geophysical hazards along with improving project implementation entities capacity to respond promptly and effectively to an eligible crisis or emergency. iv. The Project will have five components, which are- (i) Vulnerability Reduction; (ii) Sustainable Fisheries; (iii) Capacity building in Disaster Risk Management; (iv) Implementation Support; and (v) Contingency Emergency Response. 3. October CPI rises to 10.09%, food price inflation at 12.56% i. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month of October rose to 10.09% versus 9.84% in September. The consumer food price inflation was reported at 12.56% versus 11.44% in September. ii. The urban inflation for the month of October came in at 10.2% versus 9.93% in September. Commenting on the higher-than-expected CPI number, C Rangarajan of PMEAC said, "CPI at over 10% is a disturbing sign. Growth in CPI is due to a rise in food inflation." 4. Japan pledges $150 mn for Uttarakhand flood relief i. Japan Tuesday pledged to provide $150 million towards reconstruction efforts in Uttarakhand in the wake of devastating floods that hit the Himalayan state in June this year. ii. This was announced at a meeting between External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting. iii. The money is in addition to the $200,000 Japan had provided earlier through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to support the distribution of relief items and relief operations to help the flood victims. 5. Japan grants $130 m for TN infra projects i. To help increase foreign direct investment in Tamil Nadu, Japanese overseas development assistance of $130 million has been granted. This is to help quick implementation of infrastructure projects such as roads, power, water and sewer in the State. ii. In addition, $177-million ODA has been given to IIT, Hyderabad to improve education and research environment. iii. Both the agreements were signed on Tuesday between Japanese Ambassador to India and Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance. 6. T.P. Seetharam appointed new envoy to UAE i. T.P. Seetharam, currently India's High Commissioner to Mauritius, has been appointed as the next ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. ii. An Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of 1980 batch, Seetharam is expected to take up his assignment shortly. 7. Ratan Watal appointed as the new Expenditure Secretary i. Ratan P Watal, a senior IAS officer was appointed as the Secretary of Department of Expenditure in the Union Ministry of Finance on 11 November 2013. ii. He will be a successor of RS Gujral, an officer of the 1979 of Haryana cadre, who will retire from the post on 30 November 2013. iii. Ratan P Watal is an IAS officer of 1978 batch of Andhra Pradesh Cadre. At present he is serving as the Secretary in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Meanwhile. 8. The Vice President of India Released a Book Entitled Momentous Times i. The Vice President of India, M. Hamid Ansari released a book entitled Momentous Times on the 175 years of Times of India at a function in New Delhi on 11 November 2013. ii. The Momentous Times is the fine collection and is the quick glimpse of a selective history. The book is an effort of the Times of India Group. iii. The book brings together 175 landmark events, from 1838 to 2013, as seen through the eyes of Times of India.

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9. Mann Deshi Bank founder gets Schwab Foundation award i. Chetna Vijay Sinha, Director, Mann Deshi Mahila Bank and Mann Deshi Foundation, on Monday bagged the 2013 India Social Entrepreneur of the Year award by The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, a sister organisation of the World Economic Forum, in partnership with Jubilant Bhartia Foundation. ii. Sinha, who was conferred the award by Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, was selected from over 200 participants by a jury that included Sudha Pillai, Member Secretary, Planning Commission, and Harish Hande, Managing Director, SELCO Solar Light, India. iii. Mann Deshi Mahila Bank and Mann Deshi Foundation, headquartered in Mhaswad, Maharashtra, aim to create one million rural women entrepreneurs in India by 2020, said a Schwab Foundation release. 10. Haryana joins hands with Cargill to launch food bank i. Haryana launched its first food bank to support various feeding programmes in Gurgaon and nearby areas on Monday. ii. The food bank is being supported by global food major Cargill and India Food Banking Network (IFBN), initiated by Sam Pitroda, Advisor to Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations. iii. Announcing the launch in Gurgaon, Haryana Industries Minister, Randeep Singh Surjewala, said that the State had recently adopted The National Food Security Ordinance to ensure that people get access to adequate quantity and quality of food at affordable prices. iv. Siraj Chaudhry, Chairman, Cargill India, said: The Gurgaon Food Bank targets sustained daily feeding of around 10,000 beneficiaries in a years time in the Gurgaon region. 11. Mohammed Siddikur won Indian Open Golf Tournament 2013 i. Mohammed Siddikur of Bangladesh won the 50th edition of Indian Open golf tournament on 10 November 2013 at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC), New Delhi. ii. It was his second Asian Tour title after Brunei Open victory in 2010. The tournament carries a cash prize of 1.25 million US dollars. This win catapulted him from ninth to third on the Order of Merit. iii. Siddikur scored a total of 274 to edge past his Indian friends Anirban Lahiri and SSP Chowrasia to win the tournament. 12. Navy commissions Advanced Light Helicopter squadron i. The first Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) squadron was commissioned Tuesday by Western Naval Command chief Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha in kochi. ii. The ALH, named Dhruv, is the first indigenously designed and manufactured helicopter built by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. iii. It has proven its multi-role capabilities and its mettle in all the three services of India's armed forces, besides in the Indian Coast Guard, the Border Security Force, and in the inventory of foreign countries. iv. The newly commissioned squadron would be known as the Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 322. 13. Novak Djokovic won Barclays ATP World Tour Final after defeating Rafael Nadal i. Novak Djokovic on 11 November 2013 retained the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals title after defeating the number one, Rafael Nadal. ii. The world number two Djokovic, won 6-3, 6-4 at the O2 Arena in London. The ATP world tour took place from 4 to 11 November 2013. iii. Earlier, Djokovic won the same title in the year 2008 and 2012. This is the fifth time, when number 1 versus number 2 in the final in 44 years.

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DAILY GK UPDATE - 11TH NOV

1. India, Korea discuss ways to boost bilateral ties i. India and South Korea on Saturday discussed ways to add strategic and economic content to bilateral ties in the key area s including security, trade and investments. ii. During the 7th India-Republic of Korea Joint Commission Meeting (JCM), co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and his Korean counterpart Yun Byung-se, the two sides conducted a comprehensive review of bilateral relations, which have been upgraded to a Strategic Partnership and have acquired range and depth over the past few years. iii. The Indian delegation included representatives of the ministries of External Affairs, Defence, Civil Aviation, Shipping, Commerce & Industry and the government of Odisha. iv. The JCM deliberated on ways to add strategic and economic content to bilateral ties including in the political, security, trade, investment, consular, scientific and cultural spheres apart from discussing regional and international issues of mutual interest, it said. 2. 3 astronauts return to Earth bringing Olympic torch back from ISS i. Three astronauts returned to Earth today, following a 166-day mission, bringing the Olympic torch back from the International Space Station after a historic space walk. ii. The trip completes the most ambitious leg of Russia's unparallelled torch relay in the run-up to the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi next February. iii. Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, NASA US astronaut Karen Nyberg and Italian colleague Luca Parmitano, descended in the Soyuz capsule to touch down at 2:49 GMT on the frosty steppes of Kazakhstan. iv. The torch, kept unlit throughout its space journey due to safety precautions, was securely wrapped during the descent, and an employee of Russia's space agency Roscosmos took it out of the packaging. v. The space-travelling torch will be the one which lights the Olympic cauldron in the Black Sea resort Sochi marking the start of the Winter Games on February 7. 3. 'Malala's book banned as she represents West, not Pakistan' i. The memoir written by Teen Pakistani activist Malala Yousufzai was banned from all private schools in Pakistan as she represented the West and not her native country, said the head of schools' association. ii. Adeeb Javedani, the president of the All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association, said he got Malala's book banned from the libraries of its 40,000 affiliated schools as Malala was a tool of the West, she was representing the West, not Pakistan, reported the al Jazeera. iii. Malala's book - "I am Malala" which was co-authored by her and British journalist Christina Lamb, was published in October this year and it recounts Malala's tale of her being shot at by Taliban, her life in Swat under Taliban and her new life in Britain where she now lives and studies. iv. Malala's book - "I am Malala" which was co-authored by her and British journalist Christina Lamb, was published in October this year and it recounts Malala's tale of her being shot at by Taliban, her life in Swat under Taliban and her new life in Britain where she now lives and studies. v. The Taliban has already threatened to attack bookshops if they stocked the book. 4. Regional Pravasi Bhartiya Divas 2013 launched in Sydney, Australia i. The Regional Pravasi Bhartiya Divas was officially launched on 11 November 2013 in Sydney, Australia by New South Wales, Premier Barry O'Farrell and Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi. ii. The 2013 convention is the first to be held in Australia, marking the contribution the overseas Indian community makes to the development of India. iii. The convention's objective is to link the vast Indian diaspora and other parts of the Asia-Pacific region with India. The 2013 Convention will be the seventh such conference held outside India. About Regional Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (Overseas Indians Day) i. Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas are organised by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs with the collaboration of the host Government, the Indian Mission, Prominent Overseas Indians and Organisations catering to the needs of the Indian Diaspora. ii. The objective is to reach out to those members of the community who have been unable to participate in the annual PBD in India and to provide a platform for the Indian community in Australia and the Pacific to contribute to the relationship between countries of the region and India.

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5. Indian Angel Network launches cross-border business plan contest i. In a bid to draw a mix of investors and mentors from India and Pakistan and promote the development of crossborder businesses, Indian Angel Network has called for applications under its unique Indo-Pak initiative called Startup Dosti The Cross-Border Business Plan Competition. ii. The programme is aimed at entrepreneurs and has been developed in partnership with the Karachi-London based SEED Ventures and the Washington DC-based Atlantic Council. iii. The programme would give participants the opportunity to learn about incubation, mentorship, and investment from investors associated with the programme. iv. The top five teams from India and Pakistan will be flown to Thailand where they will spend a week together and pitch to a cross-border panel of investors for the finals, with a chance to enter into on-the-spot negotiations and walk away with financing. v. Padmaja Ruparel, President, Indian Angel Network said: Startup Dosti will interconnect the entrepreneurial communities in India and Pakistan, creating a platform for exchange of ideas and mentoring. Note: i. Startup Dosti is IANs second international initiative following the launch of Venture Engine in Sri Lanka last year to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation in the country. ii. Indian Angel Network has close to 250 members and has funded nearly 60 start-ups across sectors including IT, mobile, healthcare and education, gaming, hospitality, semi-conductors across India and overseas. 6. Bhagat Puran Singh Sehat Beema Yojna (BPSSBY) Health care scheme for BPL families launched in Punjab i. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today launched a cashless health care scheme for BPL families, which would provide free medical services of up to Rs 30,000 per annum. ii. Under the Bhagat Puran Singh Sehat Beema Yojna (BPSSBY), the beneficiaries will be issued smart cards which will enable them to avail free medical services, the Chief Minister said, adding that his government has roped in leading insurance firms to implement the scheme in the state. iii. Underscoring the need to provide quality health care to people, Badal, addressing a gathering here, said his government was committed to make Punjab a disease-free state. iv. The government has spent Rs 350 crore to upgrade health infrastructure in the state and priority has been laid on cancer treatment, he said. 7. Iran, IAEA sign agreement i. Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday signed a roadmap agreement to allow inspectors broader access to nuclear sites. ii. The IAEA however would not be allowed to inspect the Parchin military site near Tehran, where the West suspects Iran carried out tests linked to nuclear weapons, a source close to the talks said. iii. The deal also does not permit the IAEA to investigate other research activities linked to an alleged nuclear weapons programme, the source said. iv. The agreement came a day after Iran and six world powers failed at nuclear talks in Geneva at the weekend to reach a deal on curbing Tehrans controversial uranium enrichment in exchange for easing economic sanctions. v. IAEA chief Yukiya Amano signed the agreement with Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Irans nuclear programme, in Tehran. 8. V.C. Padmanabhan Memorial Award for ecologist Madhav Gadgil i. The V.C. Padmanabhan Memorial Award 2013 for Ecology and Environment Conservation was presented to eminent ecologist and environmental scientist Madhav Gadgil in Thrissur. ii. The award carries a cash prize of Rs1 lakh, a bronze plaque and a citation. iii. In his acceptance speech, Gadgil spoke on the theme of Science, Democracy and Environment. He questioned the identification of GDP growth with progress and pointed out that economists too agree that GDP is not the final word. iv. According to Gadgil, human progress depends on improvement in four categories of capital human, natural, man-made, and social capital. Sustainable progress, he said, would come by increasing all four and not just the manmade component which is measured by GDP growth. 9. Heena Sidhu wins pistol gold in World Cup shooting i. Woman shooter Heena Sidhu created history by becoming the first pistol exponent from India to win a gold medal at the ISSF World Cup finals in Munich, Germany. ii. Heena won the gold medal on Sunday by beating double Olympic Champion Guo Wenjun from China, world champion Arunovic Zorana from Serbia and multiple Olympic medallist Olena Kostevych of Ukraine in a stiff competition.

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iii. The earlier gold medallists in this competition were Anjali Bhagwat [2002} and Gagan Narang [2008] in small bore rifle shooting, said a media release from Maharashtra Rifle Association. iv. The ISSF World Cup is held once a year and features only top 10 shooters of the world. v. Heena shot 384 points in the qualification stage and was in third position behind Ukraine's Olena but ahead of China's Guo, who was placed ninth, and Serb Zorana, who was placed sixth after the qualification stage, the release said. vi. The Indian shooter mad a shaky start in the final. She shot a 9.3 followed by another 9.3 and slipped to eighth position after the first two shots. vii. But Heens picked up the gauntlet in right earnest and proceeded to execute 15 consecutive bulls eye to end the competition with a huge lead of 5.2 points. 10.World Science Day for Peace and Development observed on 10 November i. The World Science Day for Peace and Development was observed on 10 November 2013 across the world to raise awareness on the role of science in the development of sustainable societies. ii. The Theme for the year 2013 is Science for Water Cooperation: Sharing Data, Knowledge and Innovations. iii. The World Science Day for Peace and Development is also known as World Science Day. It was established by UNESCO in 2001 to raise awareness of the benefits of science worldwide. iv. The World Science Day for Peace and Development is also an annual event celebrated all over the world to recall the commitment made at the UNESCO-ICSU World Conference on Science (Budapest 1999). v. The purpose of the World Science Day for Peace and Development is to renew the national, as well as the international commitment to science for peace and development and to stress the responsible use of science for the benefit of society.

DAILY GK UPDATE - 9-10TH NOV

1. Gabriela Isler Won Miss Universe 2013 i. Gabriela Isler from Venezuela won Miss Universe 2013 contest on 9 November 2013 held at Crocus City Hall in Moscow, Russia. Patricia Yurena Rodriguez from Spain finished as the first runner-up, whereas Constanza Baez from Ecuador was the second runner up. ii. Manasi Moghe from India had been shortlisted for the top 10 finalists of Miss Universe 2013 but failed to win the crown. Miss Universe is the oldest International beauty pageant. iii. The top 10 finalists comprised India, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Ukraine, Ecuador, USA, Brazil, Great Britain, Spain and Philippines. Top 5 finalists included Ecuador, Spain, Brazil, Philippines, Venezuela. iv. Mara Gabriela Isler was born on 21 April 1988 in Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela. She is a Venezuelan fashion model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Venezuela 2012. She is the third Miss Universe from Venezuela in 6 years. 3. RBI allowed third-party payment for Export and Import Transactions i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 8 November 2013 has allowed third party payment for the export and import transactions. ii. The procedure relating to payments for exports or imports was liberalized taking into account the evolving international trade procedure. Banks are allowed to receive the payments for export of goods/software from the third party. iii. The order of RBI also permits the banks to make payments to the third party for imports of goods. iv. The third party refers to an entity other than the buyer or the seller. The procedure was liberalised taking into account the evolving international trade practices. v. The amount of an import transaction eligible for third party payment should not exceed USD 100,000. This limit will be revised as and when considered expedient vi. Third party payment should be made to a Financial Action Task Force (FATF) compliant country and through the banking channel only .

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However, banks would have to follow certain conditions in case of export transaction: i. Firm irrevocable order backed by a tripartite agreement should be in place ii. Third party payment should come from a Financial Action Task Force (FATF) compliant country and through the banking channel only. iii. The exporter should declare the third party remittance in the Export Declaration Form. iv. In case of shipments being made to a country in Group II of Restricted Cover Countries, (e.g. Sudan, Somalia, etc.), payments for the same may be received from an Open Cover Country. 6. Parvinder Sohi Behuria appointed new Secretary General of NHRC i. Parvinder Sohi Behuria, a Senior IRS officer was appointed as the Secretary General of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on 8 November 2013. ii. Behuria was appointed in the rank and pay of the secretary. She is the successor of Ashok Sahu, a 1975 batch officer of Indian Economic Service, following his retirement. iii. She is a 1977 batch IRS (Income Tax) officer. At present, she is the Member (Revenue) in Central Board of Direct Taxes under the Department of Revenue. 7. India and Japan decided to strengthen their Cooperation in the Maritime Sector i. India and Japan on 9 November 2013 decided to further strengthen their cooperation in the maritime sector as a part of the overall robust bilateral relations. ii. The two countries agreed to enhance their interaction through the existing forums and through port-to-port exchanges. This was decided during the visit of Union Minister of Shipping G.K. Vasan, to Japan. iii. India explained the developments that were taking place in its Ports sector and assured Japan that concerns regarding infrastructure and connectivity of ports are being addressed expeditiously. iv. Japan acknowledged the existing cordial relationship between the two nations, assured that it will carry forward the momentum. Japan expressed its interest in shipbuilding and recycling industries in India. 8. 7th India-Republic of Korea Joint Commission Meeting held in New Delhi i. The 7th India-Republic of Korea Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was held here on 8 November 2013. ii. The 7th India-Republic of Korea Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was held in New Delhi on 8 November 2013. iii. The two nations conducted a comprehensive review of bilateral relations, which have been upgraded to a Strategic Partnership and have acquired range and depth over the past few years. iv. Noting that high level political exchanges had imparted momentum to the relationship, they discussed the possibility of a visit to India by Korean President Madame Park Geun-hye in early 2014. 9. Delhi to celebrate 150th birth aniv of Assam's literature icon i. A year-long celebration to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Assamese literature pioneer Lakshminath Bezbaruah will kick-start in the Capital next month with a sarod recital by Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan and a performance by Bollywood singer Angaraag Papon Mahanta. ii. Assam Association, Delhi (AAD) is taking the initiative of bringing under one platform non-resident Assamese on the occasion. iii. Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Minister Paban Singh Ghatowar, sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, actress Sharmila Tagore and filmmaker Jahnu Barua will be among the patrons of the celebrations. iv. The anniversary celebrations will begin with a cultural evening of songs and music on December 22 in which Papon, the voice behind 'Kyon' ("Barfi") and 'Sun le re' ("Madras Cafe"), and the Khan brothers. v. The event will aim to inspire all non-resident Assamese to get connected to the root and contribute to developing their mother tongue and own heritage by recognising Bezbaruah as their true icon," says Sarat Barkakati, general secretary of AAD. vi. The event will also flag off projects on Learning of Assamese language, on web-based social-cultural forum for exchange of ideas and Web-based comprehensive history of Assam. 10. Focus on S-E Asia at Kolkata film festival i. The 19th edition of the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) was inaugurated on Sunday. The eight-day festival will screen 189 films from 63 countries. ii. KIFF, an accredited film festival of the International Federation of Film Producers Association, Paris (FIAPF), screened renowned director Rituparno Ghoshs Taak Jhaank (Sunglass) as the inaugural film. Eight of Ghoshs

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films, including Unishe April, Dahan, The Last Lear and Chitrangada, would be screened as a special tribute during the festival. iii. Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan inaugurated the festival along with Shah Rukh Khan, Kamal Haasan and other eminent actors. Bachchan recalled Bengals contribution to Indian cinema and described how Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyays novel Devdas fired the imagination of Indian filmmakers time and again. iv. This years festival will focus on South-East Asian movies, she said. v. In memory of legendary singer Manna Dey, who passed away last month, the festivals theme song featured lyrics from his popular Bengali film Jibone Ki Paabo Na. 12. India finish fifth at Men's Asian Champions hockey tourney i. Akashdeep Singh scored three goals as India thrashed Oman 6-1 to finish fifth in the third Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament at Kakamigahara, Japan on Sunday. ii. In a fifth-sixth place match, India dominated from the word go, scoring three goals in each half. iii. Kothajit Singh converted a penalty corner in the sixth minute of the match to give India an early advantage. Five minutes later, Gurjinder Singh doubled the team's lead by converting another penalty corner. iv. In the 24th minute, Akashdeep Singh gently tapped in Mandeep's pass from a difficult angle to place India in a comfortable position at half time. v. In the 66th minute, Malak Singh scored with a fierce hit from top of the circle before Akashdeep scored his third goal of the day just two minutes minutes from the hooter to hand India comprehensive victory. 13. Ashwin becomes number-one ranked Test all-rounder i. India's Ravichandran Ashwin has jumped to the numero uno position in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders by virtue of his stellar show in the first cricket Test against the West Indies at Kolkata. ii. Ashwin scored 124, his second Test century, and also recorded match figures of 40-11-98-5 to help India register an emphatic innings and 51-run victory over West Indies with more than two days to spare. iii. The performance at Kolkata not only improved Ashwin's batting and bowling rankings, but also helped him to leapfrog Shakib Al Hasan and Jacques Kallis into the number-one spot in the all-rounders' list. iv. In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, Ashwin has moved up 18 places to the 45th position, while in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, the 27-year-old off-spinner has gained two places and is now sitting in sixth position. v. Sharma, who became the 14th Indian batsman to score a century on debut when he struck 177, lies in the 63rd spot in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, while Shami's figures of nine for 118 the most by an Indian fast bowler on debut has helped him enter in the 53rd place in Test bowlers chart. 14. Rlys to get mobile communication system for passenger safety i. To ensure safety of passengers in view of ongoing efforts to increase speed of trains, Railways has decided to install sophisticated communication system in place of existing walkie talkie system for unhindered contact between the driver and ground staff. ii. We are implementing Mobile Train Radio Communication (MTRC) system which would provide better communication between the control room and the driver in speeding trains," said a senior Railway Ministry official involved with the project. iii. The system will provide control rooms with emergency brake for trains which can be used in case of signal violation by drivers. iv. While the MRTC system is currently being installed in the 2264-km route including Delhi-Ludhiana, HowrahMughalsarai and Kolkata Metro sections, 2235-km-long route including the New Delhi-Howrah and New DelhiJammu will be equipped with the modern communication system by March next year v. The 1465 km long JN Port Trust-Dadri route in the Western DFC and 626 km long Ludhiana-Mughalsarai in the Eastern DFC will have the system in the first phase, the official said, adding, "freight trains are expected to run at higher speed in the corridor."

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DAILY GK UPDATE - 8th NOV

1. US, Israel lose UNESCO voting right i. U.S. automatically lost voting rights at UNESCO, after missing a crucial deadline to repay its debt to the worlds cultural agency. ii. The U.S. hasnt paid its dues to the Paris-based U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in protest over the decision by world governments to make Palestine a UNESCO member in 2011. Israel suspended its dues at the same time. iii. Under UNESCO rules, the U.S. had until Friday morning to resume funding or explain itself, or it automatically loses its vote. iv. A UNESCO official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the issue, said nothing was received from either the U.S. or Israel. v. The suspension of U.S. contributions, which account for $80 million a year 22 percent of UNESCOs overall budget brought the agency to the brink of a financial crisis and forced it to cut or scale back American-led initiatives such as Holocaust education and tsunami research over the past two years. vi. The UNESCO tension has prompted new criticism of U.S. laws that force an automatic funding cutoff for any U.N. agency with Palestine as a member. vii. The official list of countries that lose their votes was expected to be read aloud on Saturday before the entire UNESCO general conference. Note: UNESCO may be best known for its programme to protect the cultures of the world via its Heritage sites, which include the Statue of Liberty and Malis Timbuktu. 2. Polio worker from India honoured with UN award i. A polio worker from Bihar has been honoured with a prestigious UN Foundation award for her work in protecting children from the disease. ii. Martha Dodray, a front-line polio worker who is "performing heroic work in protecting children from this crippling disease" was honoured at the GlobalLeadership Awards Dinner 2013 in New York on Thursday hosted by the UN Foundation and the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA). iii. Besides Dodray,those honoured for advancing UN causes are Pakistan girls' education activist Malala Yousafzai, US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Powerfor her fierce commitment to human rights, front-line polio workers like Dodray, GE Africa, which is a leader in improving health care for women and children. iv. Dodray, who hails from Darbhanga, said she was delighted and felt honoured to receive the award at such a global stage. v. Dodray was joined on stage by Ambassadors to the UN from Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan and senior BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha. vi. Leading Indian actress Priyanka Chopra also attended the event and presented the award to the Documentary Group and filmmakers '10x10' for creating'GirlRising', a feature film for girls' education. 3. Theme of 33rd edition of India International Trade Fair is inclusive growth i. The Theme of 33rd edition of the India International Trade Fair is inclusive growth. The fair will begin from 14th of this month and continue till 27th at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. ii. India Trade Promotion Organisation said that Japan is a partner country and the focus country is South Africa, while partner state is Bihar and the focus state is Odisha. iii. This year 250 exhibitors from 25 countries are participating out of 6000 exhibitors from India and overseas. iv. 31 Indian states and union territories and 30 central government ministries and departments are also participating. The fair will be inaugurated by the President, Pranab Mukherjee. v. ITPO is also inaugurating facilities like mobile app, live broadcasting and audio-video visuals on website. Through mobile app visitors can access relevant information relating to trade fair. 4. Agni-I successfully test-fired i. India on Friday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Agni-I ballistic missile with a strike range of 700 km from a test range off Odisha coast as part of a user trial by the Army. ii. The surface-to-surface, single-stage missile, powered by solid propellants, was test-fired from a mobile launcher at 0933 hrs from launch pad-4 of the Integrated Test Range at Wheeler Island, about 100 km from Balasore. iii. "Agni-I missile was launched by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC)," he said, adding the DRDO developed medium-range ballistic missile from the production lot was launched as part of regular training exercise by the armed forces.

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iv. The Agni-I missile has a specialised navigation system which ensures it reaches the target with a high degree of accuracy and precision, he said. 5. Central Bank opens liaison office in Hong Kong i. The third largest public sector lender by branches Central Bank of India today said it has opened a representative office in Hong Kong. ii. The representative office will facilitate the bank to tap the huge business potential in the thriving island city by providing marketing and liaisoning, its chairman and managing director Rajeev Rishi said in a statement. iii. He said the office will not engage in core banking but will use its local presence to explore business opportunities with the aim of establishing a longterm presence and penetrate the markets. 6. Jordan to replace Saudis on UN council i. Jordan will replace Saudi Arabia on the Security Council for a two-year term starting in January after the Saudis' unprecedented rejection of the seat hours after they were elected, a UN diplomat has said. ii. The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because the deal was made privately, said Jordan's UN Ambassador Prince Zeid al Hussein was flying to Amman yesterday night to discuss Jordan's new role on the UN's most powerful body. iii. Earlier this week, Jordan dropped its bid for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, leaving Saudi Arabia a clear path in the now uncontested election next Tuesday. iv. The UN General Assembly, which voted on Oct. 17 to give Saudi Arabia the seat traditionally reserved for an Arab nation on the council, will have to formally approve Jordan as a replacement. Since Jordan is almost certain to be the only candidate, its election is virtually assured. v. Jordan, which shares a border with Israel, has been a key behind-the-scenes player in efforts to end the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. vi. Jordan also shares a border with Syria and has become a major destination for refugees fleeing the 2 1/2-year civil war. 7. India to open first integrated check post along Bangladesh border i. India's second international-standard multi-use Integrated Check Post (ICP) and the first along the Bangladesh border will be opened to people at Akhaurah in Tripura on November 17, officials said here on Friday. ii. The first such ICP was inaugurated in Attari in Punjab along the Pakistan border by then Union Home Minister P Chidambaram in April last year. iii. Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde will on November 17 inaugurate the Akhaurah ICP, built at a cost of Rs 73.5 crore, a Tripura government official said. iv. It is the second biggest land port along the Bangladesh border after the Petrapole-Benapole check post in West Bengal. v. Akhaurah is one of the most important international trading land ports in eastern India, with an average of 200 Bangladeshi trucks loaded with goods entering Tripura every day. 8. India win Kolkata Test by an innings and 51 runs i. India handed out an innings and 51 run defeat to the West Indies in the first test match at Kolkata on day 3. ii. India are now 1-0 ahead in the Two test match series. iii. A discplined bowling from Mohammad Shami as he took 5 for 47 in the second innings bowled the West Indian for 168 runs only. iv. The west Indies team was trailing behind 219 runs as India went onto pile 453 runs in their first Innings before they were bowled out today. v. This match was the penultimate test match for Sachin Tendulkar. 9. Mexico to take on Nigeria in FIFA U17 World Cup final i. In the ongoing the FIFA Under -17 World football championship, the defending champions Mexico will take on Nigeria in the final in Abu Dhabi tonight. ii. Mexico has been consistent throughout the tournament barring its humiliating 6-1 defeat in the opening match against Nigeria. iii. They have defeated strong teams like Brazil and Argentina on the way to final. Backed by strong local support, Nigeria has been quite impressive throughout the tournament scoring quite a few goals and is a strong contender for the title fourth time.

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iv. They have beaten Uruguay and Sweden on their way to the final. An exciting final at the FIFA Under -17 World football championship is on the cards for the soccer fans across the globe. 10. India to host 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup i. The International Hockey Federation, FIH has selected India to host the men's World Cup, which is planned for December 2018. ii. England has been selected as hosts of the 2018 women's World Cup. iii. FIH President Leandro Negre announced this at a special ceremony in Lausanne on Thursday. iv. He said that the two nations fought off competition from Malaysia and New Zealand, and Negre admitted the decision had not been easy given the quality of all of the bids. Note: Hockey's World Cup is held every four years and is second only to the Olympics in significance. 11. Super Typhoon Haiyan batters central Philippines i. Typhoon Haiyan is battering the central Philippines with sustained winds of 314 kilometres an hour. ii. Meteorologists say that if initial estimates based on satellite images are borne out, it could be the most powerful storm ever to make landfall. Officials say the storm has forced millions to seek shelter in 20 provinces and at least three people have died. iii. The region was already struggling to recover from a powerful earthquake last month. The authorities have warned that more than 12 million people are at risk from the storm.

DAILY GK UPDATE - 7TH NOV

1. S&P warns of downgrade post 2014 elections i. Global rating agency Standard & Poors has warned of lowering the countrys sovereign rating to speculative grade post general elections next year if the new government fails to arrest the falling growth. ii. Currently, the rating is BBB (-) which was affirmed on Thursday but with negative outlook. iii. This rating is the last investment grade and a notch below can hurt foreign investment flow, while Indian corporate will have to pay more for borrowing abroad. iv. The negative outlook indicates that we may lower the rating to speculative grade next year if the government that takes office after the general elections does not appear capable of reversing India's low economic growth, the agency said in a statement. v. It also informed that it is expected to review the rating after the elections when the new government will announce its policy agenda. vi. However, it may review the rating before the elections if there is unexpected deterioration of the fiscal or external accounts before that. 2. RBI permitted foreign banks subsidiaries to acquire domestic private sector banks i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 6 November 2013 permitted the Wholly Owned Subsidiaries (WOS) of the foreign banks to acquire the domestic private sector banks. RBI also permitted the banks to set up branches anywhere in the country. ii. As per the permission given by RBI, the foreign banks will have to seek permission of RBI to open branches in certain sensitive locations. iii. The foreign bank subsidiaries have also been allowed to list on the local stock exchanges. Although, they will not be allowed to hold more than 74 percent in the private banks they may acquire. iv. The order of the RBI also stated that the foreign banks that commenced banking business in India before August 2010 will be given an opportunity to convert into a wholly owned subsidiary. v. Currently, foreign banks as a group are entitled to open 12 branches in India every year, according to WTO commitments. India has usually allowed a higher number. vi. The new dispensation will probably help foreign bank branches proliferate provided, of course, their countries have reciprocal arrangements for Indian banks in their territories.

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vii. Old foreign banks that set up shop prior to August 2010 (such as Citibank, HSBC, Standard Chartered and DBS) will have the option to continue operating as a branch of their foreign parent, but they will be incentivised to convert into WoS. viii. The initial minimum capital for a WoS will be Rs 500 crore, which foreign banks would need to bring upfront; this applies to even existing foreign banks which wish to convert. ix. Further, the RBI said that the WoS will be required to meet Basel-III requirements (9 per cent Tier-I capital) right from Day One. x. For the first three years, the WoS will have to maintain Tier-I capital at 10 per cent. BRANCH OPERATIONS i. On opening of new branches, the RBI has sought to bring the WOSs on a par with domestic banks. ii. They will be allowed to open branches in Tier 1- centres without taking prior permission from the RBI provided at least 25 per cent of their branches are opened in un-banked rural centres (Tier 5 and Tier 6). BOARD OF DIRECTORS The RBI also mandated that at least a third of the directors should be independent of the management of the subsidiary in India, its parent or associates. It also wants at least a third of the directors to be Indian nationals resident in India. 3. Imomali Rakhmon Reelected as the President of Tajikistan i. Central Election Commission (CEC) of Tajikistan on 6 November 2013 declared that Imomali Rakhmon was reelected as the President of Tajikistan. ii. Imomali Rakhmon belongs to People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan (PDPT). iii. The President of Tajikistan is elected by popular vote. The term of the office is 7 years. 4. India home to 103 billionaires; 6th largest globally i. India has more number of billionaires than France, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and Hong Kong and is home to the sixth largest group of super rich population in the world, says a report. ii. Moreover, the country's financial capital Mumbai with 30 billionaire, is among the top 5 'billionaire cities' globally, which was topped by New York that is home to 96 billionaires. iii. This list was topped by United States with 515 ultra-rich people, three times more than in China, which ranks second with 157 billionaires. iv. Germany, United Kingdom and Russia make the top five countries with a billionaire population of 148, 135 and 108 respectively. v. Globally, there are 2,170 billionaires as of 2013, with a combined net worth of USD 6.5 trillion, more than the GDP of every country except the United States and China. vi. The report further noted that industrial conglomerates and pharmaceuticals are the first and second most significant industries for Indian billionaires. 5. India, US launch agri training programme with Africa i. The US and India have launched the third India-US-Africa triangular agricultural training programme at the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE). ii. This partnership, supported by the US Governments global hunger and food security initiative Feed the Future, aims to improve agricultural productivity and support market institutions in Kenya, Liberia, and Malawi. iii. A total of 180 African agricultural professionals will be trained over the next two years at MANAGE in Hyderabad and Chaudhury Charan Singh National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM) in Jaipur. 6. HUDCO Signed MoU with School of Planning and Architecture i. Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO) on 29 October 2013 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi. Objective of MoU i. The MoU helps to undertake joint research activities, training and capacity building programmes, consultancy assignments, access to documentation centre of each other, development of new academic and training programmes and enable students to have practical exposure through internship programmes etc. ii. The Human Settlement Management Institute (HSMI), the Research & Training Institute of HUDCO will be the Nodal Department to operationalize this MoU on behalf of HUDCO.

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iii. HSMI will closely work with School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi to bring about coordination between various departments and Regional Offices of HUDCO as well as different departments and Centres at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. About HUDCO i. The Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO) is a Public Sector Company, under the Union Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation (MoHUPA). ii. HUDCO is a key partner with the Government in building assets for the Nation. In its operations, HUDCO lays a considerable emphasis on the housing need of the 'deprived' i.e Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and LowIncome Groups (LIG). 7. Olympic torch blasts into space ahead of Games i. Russia launched the Olympic torch into space on Thursday, as part of the flames journey ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics. ii. Live television pictures showed a Soyuz spacecraft taking off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying three astronauts who will deliver the torch to the International Space Station (ISS). iii. The flight to the ISS is expected to take about six hours. iv. On Saturday, two astronauts are due to take the torch on a space walk for the first time in Olympic history. v. The Sochi Winter Olympics are due to begin on February 7 next year. 8. Prem Narain appointed as Secretary of Ministry of Overseas Affairs i. The government today appointed Prem Narain as the Secretary of Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry in place of Rajiv Mehrishi, who is now new Fertilisers Secretary. ii. According to an official release, Mehrishi, a 1978 batch IAS officer, was shifted from the Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry to the Department of Fertilisers as Secretary in place of Sudhir Mital who retires this month end. iii. Narain, a 1978 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, was on a compulsory wait in Women and Child Development ministry. iv. Snehlata Kumar, a 1979 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, was appointed as Secretary (Border Management) in Union Home Ministry. 9. International film festival to be held in Goa this month i. Minister for Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari has announced the launch of the 44th International Film Festival of India to he held in Goa later this month. ii. The film festival is set to take off on November 20 and will end on 30th of this month. iii. Alongside the festival, the NDFC Film Bazaar 2013 will also kick off in Goa on the same day. Further, the International Children's Film Festival of India (ICFFI) will also take off on Children's Day, November 14, in Hyderabad. iv. Around 200 films from 48 countries will be showcased at the childrens film festival, also known as The Golden Elephant. 10. Tarla Dalal, the Celebrity Cook of India, Passed Away at 77 i. Tarla Dalal, one of the first celebrity chefs of India as well as prolific cookbook writer died on 6 November 2013 due to heart attack in Mumbai. She was 77 years old and is survived by three children. ii. She authored more than 100 cookbooks which sold three million copies. Her website tarladalal.com is the largest food website of Asia. Life History of Tarla Dalal Tarla Dalal was born in the year 1936 in Pune, India. She was a renowned Indian chef, food writer, host of various cooking shows as well as best -selling cookbook author. Her first cookbook was entitled The Pleasures of Vegetarian Cooking, which was published in the year 1974. 11. Gross Direct Tax Collections during April-October in 2013-14 up by 11.58 Percent i. The Gross Direct Tax of India during the April to October 2013-14 financial year in the same period in 2012-13 financial year the gross direct tax was 302844 crore rupees. ii. Whereas, the Gross Collection of Corporate taxes from April to October 2013-2014 financial year has increased by 8.23 percent and stood at 209622 crore rupees. iii. But the Gross Collection of Corporate taxes was 193679 crore rupees in the same period of financial year 201213.

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12. Hawk 132 inducted into the Indian Navy i. Indian Navy on 6 November 2013 inducted the fourth generation advanced jet trainer aircraft Hawk 132 at a ceremony held at the Naval Air Station INS Dega at Visakhapatnam. ii. Hawk 132 is an aircraft operating with over 24 countries around the world. iii. The aircraft was built by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) with Transfer of Technology from M/s British Aerospace, UK. Hawk 132 is equipped with advanced and reliable navigation systems and it is able to deploy an impressive array of weaponry including air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground rockets, bombs and guns. 13. Yogesh Malik Resigned as CEO of Uninor i. Yogesh Malik resigned as the Chief Executive Officer of Uninor, Norwegian telecom giant Telenors India unit on 7 November 2013. ii. Sigve Brekke, Executive Vice President and Head of the Telenor Asia operations appointed as the acting CEO of Uninor. About Yogesh Malik He has almost 20 years of extensive telecom experience. He was previously held executive positions at Telenor Group headquarter in Norway, He was served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Telenor Group companies in Ukraine and Bangladesh.

DAILY GK UPDATE - 6TH NOV

1. Swedish Embassy celebrates 100 years of Tagores Nobel Prize i. Rabindranath Tagore, the first Indian to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature will be at the centre of celebrations of the Sweden India Nobel Memorial Week in the country. ii. Organised by the Swedish Embassy, the seventh edition of the week is dedicated to Rabindranath Tagore to mark the centenary of his Nobel Prize in Literature. iii. Tagore was not only the first Indian to bring home the prestigious award but also the non-European to get one in Literature, according to an official statement from the Embassy. iv. The Embassy would display a statue of Tagore along with the English tran slation of the original text Tagores Nobel Prize Nomination, procured from the Swedish Academy. v. The Delhi Metro Corporation is putting up a Nobel Memorial Wall to commemorate Nobel Laureates from India with a weeklong display at the Rajiv Chowk Metro station. 2. J&K Bank reappoints Mushtaq Ahmed as Chairman & CEO i. Jammu and Kashmir Bank has reappointed Mushtaq Ahmad as its Chairman and CEO for a period of another three years. ii. Ahmeds term with the private sector bank ended on October 6 this year. He has been the Chairman and CEO of the bank since October 2010. iii. The Reserve Bank of India conveyed its approval to the reappointment of Mushtaq Ahmad as Chairman and CEO of the bank for a period of three years with effect from expiry of his present term on October 6, 2013, the bank has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange. 3. LIC Housing appoints new MD & CEO i. LIC Housing Finance Ltd has appointed Sunita Sharma as Managing Director and CEO with effect from November 5, 2013. ii. Prior to this, Sunita was Executive Director of Investments at Life Insurance Corporation and was looking after the areas of equity research and risk management. iii. She takes over from the incumbent MD & CEO, V.K. Sharma.

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4. Nirupama Rao bids farewell to her diplomatic career i. Nirupama Rao, Indian envoy to the US, bid farewell to her career of diplomacy, as members of the American diplomatic corps and her counterparts from countries like China and Brazil gathered at a reception hosted in her honour by the State Department. ii. Rao, 62, served as India's Foreign Secretary, External Affairs Ministry's spokesperson and envoy to important countries like China and Sri Lanka in four decades as a diplomat. iii. US Secretary of State John Kerry sent a special message to Rao which was read on the occasion. He appreciated Rao's role in strengthening the important partnership between India and the US. iv. Rao is one of the few diplomats who has over 190,000 followers on the microblogging site. v. At the reception, she was described as "tireless champion" of Indo-US Strategic Partnership and that during her two-year tenure, the bilateral relationship has reached new heights. Note: Rao will be succeeded by S Jaishankar, currently India's Ambassador to China. 5. Mahatma Gandhi's Charkha was sold for 110000 at UK Auction i. Charkha of Mahatma Gandhi that he used in Yerwada Jail during the Quit India Movement was auctioned in UK on 5 November 2013 for 110000 (1.1 crore rupees approximately) at England. ii. The charkha of Mahatma Gandhi is about eight decades old. iii. His last/final will was also auctioned over 20000 (19 lakh rupees approximately) for historical documents and artefacts by the Mullocks Auction house in Shropshire, England. iv. The Charkha made by Indian teak was gifted by Mahatma Gandhi to Revd Floyd A Puffer, an American Free Methodist missionary in 1935. Whereas. v. His will was written at Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarati. The will succeeded the will dated 1921 that was sold at an earlier auction by Mullock's. vi. The name of the buyer was kept secret by the buyer. 6. Pakistan Successfully Test Fired Surface-to-Surface Missile Hatf IX (Nasr) i. Pakistan on 5 November 2013 successfully test-fired Hatf IX (Nasr) missile, a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 60 km. ii. The test fire was conducted with successive launches of 4 x missiles (Salvo) from a state of the art multi tube launcher. iii. Nasr, with a range of 60 Kilometer and in-flight maneuver capability is a quick response system, with shoot and scoot attributes. It contributes to the full spectrum deterrence against threats in view of evolving scenarios. Facts related to Hatf IX (Nasr) Nasr is designed specifically to defeat Anti -Tactical Missile Defence Systems of all kinds. The test firing of short range surface -to-surface missile Hatf IX (Nasr) was a part of medium-range ballistic missiles [MRBM] and short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile [SRBMs]. The missile has the capability to carry nuclear weapons. 7. Mark Schwarzer, Australia Goalkeeper Retired from International Football i. Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer on 6 November 2013 announced his retirement from international football. ii. Mark Schwarzer (41 years old) represented Australia at international level on 109 occasions since his debut in 1993, and one of the key players in qualifying for three consecutive World Cups. iii. Mark Schwarzer is the key player in Socceroos team (Australia National football team) for twenty years. Mark played in Australia's 6-0 loss to Brazil in his last match for the national team in September 2013 8. Ali Jawad won Gold at the Asian Open Championships i. British Paralympic powerlifter Ali Jawad on 5 November 2013 won gold at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Asian Open Championships with a world-record lift. ii. Ali lifted 185.5kg in the 59kg class in Malaysia to better his record by 10.5kg. The championship was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Ali Jawad is 24 years old. iii. Jawad had won gold at the 2007 Powerlifting European Championships in Greece and became World Junior Champion at the 2008 championships in the USA. iv. Jawad is one of five British athletes competing in Kuala Lumpur which includes fellow Paralympian Natalie Blake and ex-serviceman Micky Yule.

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10. Bii de Blasio is elected mayor of New York i. Bill de Blasio was elected New York City's first Democratic mayor in two decades on Tuesday, running on an unabashedly liberal, tax-the-rich platform that contrasted sharply with billionaire Michael Bloomberg's record during 12 years in office. ii. With 13 percent of precincts reporting, De Blasio, the city's public advocate, had 73 percent of the vote compared with 25 percent for Republican Joe Lhota, former chief of the metropolitan area's transit agency. iii. De Blasio, 52, will take office on January 1 as the 109th mayor of the nation's largest city. He had been heavily favored, holding an overwhelming lead in the polls for weeks. 11. Amitabh Bachchan to deliver this year's Penguin Lecture i. Megastar Amitabh Bachchan will deliver this year's Penguin Lecture, which has featured some of the world's most respected leaders, thinkers and writers over the years. ii. Amitabh Bachchan - one of the country's most loved and admired personalities, the leading figure in India's entertainment industry, and a great ambassador for the country on the global stage," says Hemali Sodhi, vice president (Marketing and Promotion) of Penguin Books India. iii. "The Penguin Annual Lecture has always endeavored to be a platform for bringing globally respected leaders and luminaries in their respective fields in direct contact with audiences," she says. iv. The six previous Penguin Annual Lectures have been delivered by journalist and writer Thomas Friedman in 2007, diplomat and writer Chris Patten in 2008, Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen in 2009, historian Ramachandra Guha in 2010, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in 2011, and former President A P J Abdul Kalam last year. 12. Assamese Music Director Sher Choudhury Passed away i. Assamese music director Sher Choudhury passed away on 6 November 2013 at B. Baruah Cancer Institute in Guwahati, Assam. He was 69. 13. Jayalalithaa flags off test run of metro rail i. Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday flagged off the test run of the rolling stock of the Chennai Metro Rail system, marking an important milestone in the execution of the Metro Rail project. ii. Chennai Metro Rail Limited Managing Director K. Rajaraman explained to her features of the train car. iii. The Chief Minister went to the driver's cabin of the train car and spent some time there. She also switched on the flow of traction power to the 800-metre-long test track.

DAILY GK UPDATE - 4-5TH NOV

1. Indian mission to Mars blasts off i. India's first mission to Mars blasted off successfully on Tuesday, completing the first stage of an 11-month journey that could see New Delhi's low-cost space programme win Asia's race to the Red Planet. ii. The Mars Orbiter Mission, known as "Mangalyaan" in India, was revealed only 15 months ago by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, shortly after China's attempt flopped. iii. A 350-tonne rocket carrying an unmanned probe soared into a slightly overcast sky on schedule at 2:38 pm (0908 GMT), monitored by dozens of scientists at the southern spaceport of Sriharikota. iv. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K. Radhakrishnan allowed himself a smile, slapped a colleague on the back and announced he was "extremely happy" that the first objective had been reached. v. At the end of this month, once enough velocity has been built up to break free from Earth's gravitational pull, "the great, long, difficult voyage will start" to Mars, he announced. vi. The satellite is scheduled to reach the Mars orbit in September 2014 and is designed to circle the Red Planet in an elliptical orbit of 366 km X 80000 km. Note: i. The country has never before attempted inter-planetary travel, and more than half of all missions to Mars have ended in failure, including China's in 2011 and Japan's in 2003. ii. Only the United States, Russia and the European Space Agency have been successful. iii. The United States is the only nation that has successfully sent robotic explorers to land on Mars, the most recent being Curiosity which touched down in August 2012.

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The main objectives of the Mars mission are as following: i. Primary objectives of the Mars mission are to demonstrate Indias technological capability to send a satellite to orbit around Mars and conduct meaningful experiments such as looking for signs of life, take pictures of the red planet and study Martian environment. ii. The main aim of MOM to be to seek whether there is methane, considered a precursor chemical for life, on the red planet. Methane sensor, one of the five payloads (scientific instruments) on board the spacecraft, would look to detect the presence of methane. iii. The main objective of the mission is to develop the technologies required for design, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission. iv. The satellite carries instruments such as Lyman Alpha Photometer, a methane sensor, a composition analyser, a camera and an imaging spectrometer for studying the atmosphere, particle environment and surface imaging. 2. HAL chips in with structural help for Mars mission i. The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has contributed to the successful launch of India's maiden mission to Mars Tuesday by making the heavy rocket's structural assemblies and propellant (liquid fuel) tanks. ii. We delivered seven types of riveted structural assemblies and four types of welded propellant tanks for the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25)," HAL chairman R. K. Tyagi said in a statement here. iii. We delivered seven types of riveted structural assemblies and four types of welded propellant tanks for the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25)," HAL chairman R. K. Tyagi said in a statement here. iv. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) integrated the payload (five scientific instruments), propellant systems and solar panels into the 320-tonne rocket, which blasted off from the spaceport at Sriharikota, about 80 km from Chennai, Tuesday afternoon. 3. Women bank to be launched on Indira's birthday i. Plans are afoot to launch the country's first all women bank Bharatiya Mahila Bank on November 19, the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. ii. The government is seeking Election Commission's nod for launch of the bank, proposed in the Union Budget, as the process of assembly elections in five states, including Delhi, is on. iii. The public sector Bharatiya Mahila Bank proposes to have 25 branches by March 31, 2014. iv. The government has already approved Rs 1,000 crore seed capital for the women focused public sector bank, announced by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in his budget speech. v. The proposed bank, to be headquartered at Delhi, is likely to be operational by November this year. vi. Reserve Bank of India gave its in-principal approval for the Bharatiya Mahila Bank in June and the banking company is being set up, the official added. vii. One of the key objective of the Bank is focus on the banking needs of women and promote economic empowerment. 4. New Delhi to host 12th Edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2014 i. The 12th edition of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas will be held in New Delhi from 7th to 9th of January 2014. ii. This was announced by Vayalar Ravi, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs on 5 Novemeber 2013 in New Delhi. iii. The theme of the convention is -Engaging Diaspora - Connecting across Generations- with a special focus on the younger generation. iv. The PBD Convention provides a unique platform for overseas Indians to interact among themselves and with the Government of India and the Governments of various Indian States. Note: The 11th edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) was held at Kochi, Kerala from 7th to 9th of January 2013. About Pravasi Bharatiya Divas i. Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is celebrated on 9th January every yearto mark the contribution of Overseas Indian community in the development of India. ii. January 9 was chosen as the day to celebrate this occasion since it was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi the greatest Pravasi, returned to India from South Africa, led Indias freedom struggle and changed the lives of Indians forever. iii. During the event, individuals of exceptional merit are honoured with the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award to appreciate their role in Indias growth.

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5. IIMC Signed International Cooperation Agreement with Queensland University of Technology i. Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi and Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Australia signed the International Cooperation Agreement to collaborate in academic programmes and in frontier areas of research in Media and Communication on 4 November 2013. Highlights of the Agreement i. The agreement was signed by Bimal Julka, IIMC Chairman and Secretary I&B Ministry and Prof. Peter Coaldrake, Vice Chancellor, Queensland University of Technology. ii. The agreement envisages bringing ICT in academic programmes in a significant way. iii. Both the institutes agreed for the development of joint venture projects and also for opening avenues for developing a collaborative doctoral programme to benefit students and faculty. iv. The cooperation agreement shall be valid for five (5) years from the date of signing. It was decided that the agreement shall be reviewed six (6) months prior to expiry and may be renewed for a further term by mutual agreement. v. This is the first agreement signed by IIMC seeking international collaboration and partnership with a foreign university. vi. The objective is to ensure skill development of IIS officers in critical areas of the changing media landscape. 6. SBI hikes base rate, benchmark prime lending rate by 20 bps i. State Bank of India (SBI) has hiked its base rate by 20 basis points to 10 per cent from 9.8 per cent. ii. The country's largest commercial bank has also increased its benchmark prime lending rate by 20 basis points from 14.55 per cent to 14.75 per cent. iii. These changes will come into effect from November 7 (Thursday), SBI said in a filing with the stock exchanges. 8. Bangladesh became the First South Asian Country to Approve Commercial Cultivation of Bt Brinjal i. Bangladesh approved the commercial cultivation of transgenic Bt brinjal. With this decision Bangladesh became the first country in South Asia to cultivate the genetically modified food crop. ii. National Committee on Biosafety (NCB), the highest regulatory body for GM crops in Bangladesh, officially approved the Bt brinjal varieties. iii. With this step, Bangladesh becomes the 29th country in the world to grow GM crop. In South Asia, India, Pakistan and Myanmar grow GM crop cotton. With the NCB nod, Bangladesh becomes the first in the region to grow a GM food crop. iv. Four Bt brinjal varieties (Bt brinjal-1, 2, 3 and 4) have been approved by the Bangladesh Government for limited scale cultivation with some conditions. About Bt brinjal i. In GM crops, the genetic material (DNA) is altered for improvements in its qualities. Bt Brinjal, for instance, has been inserted with a natural bacterial protein which makes it resist pests. ii. Bt brinjal contains a foreign Cry1Ac gene derived from a soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt. This gene synthesises a protein toxic to the fruit and shoot borer (FSB), a destructive pest. iii. The gene gives the crop abuilt-in resistance to FSB, reducing reliance on spraying pesticides. 10. SiKkim named top region to visit in 2014 i. Scenic Sikkim has been named as the best region to visit in 2014 by a leading global travel guide, with Brazil emerging as the top destination in terms of countries. ii. Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2014 has come out with a list of top 10 destinations in different categories such as best countries to visit, best regions to visit, best cities to visit and many more such guiding lists for travel next year. iii. Sikkim was chosen as the best region to go to, with Paris the top city in a list that also included Cape Town, Shanghai and Chicago, while the Greek Islands were seen as the best-value destination. iv. Praising the food in the region, the guide notes that organic farming is the new mantra in Sikkim and is being promoted in a big way. v. In terms of countries, Brazil topped the list of best destinations to visit in 2014. Antarctica and Scotland were also named in the top three. vi. Published this week, Lonely Planet's ninth annual roundup of best destinations around the world for the upcoming year was based on "scores for topicality, excitement and that special x-factor," as determined by their in house experts and outside writers.

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11. Bharti Airtel signed an Agreement with the Warid Group i. Bharti Airtel on 5 November 2013 entered into an agreement with the Warid Group to acquire its Congo operations with the objective of strengthening its stronghold in the African market. ii. The acquisition will make Airtel the largest mobile operator in the Republic of Congo with around 2.6 million customers. iii. At present, Airtel is the second largest operator in that country with over 1.6 million customers, while Warid is the third largest with around one million customers. iv. This is the second acquisition by Airtel in African continent. It had acquired Warids Uganda operations earlier in 2013. v. The agreement will bring together the strengths of Airtel and Warid in Congo Brazzaville. It will benefit customers in the form of affordable tariffs, superior 2G/ 3G network and affordable voice and data services. 12. Microsoft Developed New Sign Language Translator-KINECT i. US software company Microsoft recently developed a new cost-effective sign language translator that converts signs into spoken and written language - and vice versa. ii. In collaboration with researchers in China, Microsoft created the Kinect Sign Language Translator, a prototype system that understands the gestures of sign language and converts them to spoken and written language and vice versa. iii. The translator uses a computer and a Kinect camera that recognises signing gestures, then gives a spoken and written translation of languages for people who can hear. iv. The system captures a conversation both sides: the deaf person is shown signing, with a written and spoken translation being rendered in real-time, while the system takes the hearing person's spoken words and turns them into accurate, understandable signs. v. The project was collaboration between the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Union University, and Microsoft Research Asia. 13. Abraham appointed international referee i. Indian Weightlifting Federation Joint Secretary Abraham K Techi has been appointed as an international referee. ii. Abraham, President of the Arunachal Weightlifting Association (AWA), is the first international referee from Arunachal and fourth from the North East, the AWA said on Monday. iii. Besides being the Eastern Indian Body Building Association vice president, he was member of the organising committee, in charge of sports presentation and medal ceremony (weightlifting) during the 2010 Commonwealth Games and manager of the Indian weightlifting teams that went to Cyprus, Uzbekistan and Malaysia. 15. Yuki Bhambri won the Traralgon title i. Yuki Bhambri on 4 November 2013 won the ATP mens singles title of Traralgon event in Australia. ii. He defeated Bradely Klahn of America in the summit clash that was hit by rain. This is the second win of his career. iii. Yuki, the 21 years old Indian defeated higher ranking Bradely by 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 in the finals in a match played on two days due to rain. iv. This is the third straight win of Yuki over a higher ranked opponent in this tournament. v. The 277 ranked Yuki earlier defeated, Tatsuma of Japan ranked 191 and the James Duckworth of Australia ranked 147 in the tournament to reach the finals.

DAILY GK UPDATE - 2 - 3RD NOV

1. Kannur Declared First Zero Landless District in the Country i. Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh on 1 November 2013 declared Kannur in Kerala as the first zero-landless district in the country. ii. Kannur District Authorities provided land to as many as 11118 beneficiaries, including 85 families belonging to the Scheduled Tribes category.

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The Zero Landless programme in Kerala i. The prestigious Zero Landless programme of the United Democratic Front was flagged off by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in October 2013. The Zero Landless programme envisages distribution of three cents of land each to 243928 families identified across the State. About Kannur District i. Kannur District is one of the 14 districts in the state of Kerala, India. The town of Kannur is the district headquarters. Its total area is 2966 km2. ii. Kannur district is bound by the Western Ghats in the East (Coorg district of Karnataka State), Kozhikkode and Wayanad districts, in the South, Lakshadeep sea in the West and Kasaragod, the northern most district of Kerala, in the North. 2. Indian Men's Hockey Team qualified for Hockey World Cup 2014 i. Indian men's hockey team on 3 November 2013 officially qualified for the Rabobank Hockey World Cup 2014. ii. The Rabobank Hockey World Cup will be held from 31 May to 15 June 2014 at The Hague, Netherland. iii. The India men's team finished sixth at the Rabobank HWL Semi Final in Rotterdam and that was enough to confirm their participation in the tournament. iii. A total of 22 teams (11 men/11 women) have now qualified for the Rabobank Hockey World Cup, with just two more places left to fill. 3. India, Cuba ink MoU in broadcasting i. India and Cuba signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation between Prasar Bharati (PB) and Cuban Radio and Television Institute (ICRT) as part of strengthening the friendly relations between the two countries. ii. They will also explore co-production opportunities in broadcasting on issues of mutual interest. iii. The exchange will be on gratis basis, taking into account any existing commercial agreement. In case of exchange on commercial basis, conditions will be determined through mutual agreement on a case-by-case basis. iv. The aim of such discussions shall be to ensure that no alteration or distortions to the original meaning of the programmes occur, the MoU states. 4. Brazil approaches India for global summit to discuss U.S. surveillance i. Global outrage against recent revelations of mass surveillance by the U.S. government, which sparked discussions for a review of global surveillance guidelines, has led the Brazilian government to reach out to the Indian government for support for its proposal to host a one-off global summit, scheduled for early May 2014. ii. The move follows President Dilma Rouseffs angry speech on U.S. surveillance at the U.N. General Assembly in September. iii. Apart from India, Brazil is also reportedly in touch with other countries such as South Korea, Australia and now more likely, Germany, after it recently came to light that the U.S. may have monitored Chancellor Angela Merkels phone for over a decade . iv. The External Affairs Ministry did not confirm if India has decided to support the Brazilian effort. However, if it does, it will be at the risk of defending criticism against CMS-related surveillance, while agreeing to attack the Americans on PRISM. v. The Indian government has been either defensive of, or silent on, the PRISM program since it has benefitted from the program. 6. Tunisia suspended from the 2014 Davis Cup i. Tunisia has been suspended from next years Davis Cup after it ordered one of its national players to withdraw from a tournament rather than face an Israeli player. ii. The International Tennis Federation made the announcement on Saturday, saying in a statement that the Tunisian National team would be banned from the 2014 Davis Cup competition after ITF Board of Directors found that the Tunisian Tennis Federation was in breach of the ITF Constitution by interfering with international sporting practice and ordering Tunisian player Malek Jaziri not to compete against Israeli player Amir Weintraub at the 2013 Tashkent Challenger in October. iii. The Board was not satisfied with the case put forward by the Tunisian Tennis Federation and voted to suspend Tunisia from the 2014 Davis Cup competition, according to the statement, Jaziri withdrew from the tournament a day before his quarterfinals match against Weintraub, citing a knee injury. iv. It is believed to be the first time that a player has refused to play against an Israeli in international tennis play, according to reports.

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7. Niger to ban woman and children from Sahara i. The government of Niger says it wants to ban women and children from travelling north across the country following the horrifying discovery in the Sahara desert of 92 migrants who died of thirst. ii. The group of mainly women and children perished after days without food or water when the vehicle carrying them broke down then drove off, leaving them stranded. iii. The countrys large, ungoverned desert spaces have made it a major route for migrants from other poor sub Saharan Africans seeking a better life in north Africa and Europe, while many people from Niger which has suffered repeated food crises in recent years are believed to attempt the treacherous journey across the desert. iv. Rescue workers found the 92 bodies including 33 women and 52 children over a period of five days. They were gathered in small clusters, but some lay alone. v. Niger has declared three days of mourning for the victims, who are all believed to come from southern Niger, near the border with Nigeria. 8. 7th Edition of Indian Pharmacopoeia 2014 A Book of Drug Standards, Released By Ghulam Nabi Azad i. The Union Health and Family Welfare Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad released the 7th edition of Indian Pharmacopoeia 2014 a book of Drug Standards at the Nirman Bhawan on 4 November 2013. ii. The book entitled Indian Pharmacopoeia 2014 includes the standards of drug all over the world. iii. These standards given in this pharmacopoeia are authoritative, legally enforceable and intended to help in the inspection and licensing of manufacturing units and distribution of drugs and pharmaceuticals. iv. The seventh edition of the Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP 2014) has been published by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) in fulfillment of the requirements of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules there under. Objective of Indian Pharmacopoeia 2014 The Indian Pharmacopoeia 2014 will be able to fulfill the mission of the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission to promote public health, both in India and other countries using drugs manufactured in India. 9. Tillotama Shome wins best actress award at Abu Dhabi Film Festival i. Indian actress Tillotama Shome's performance as a girl who is raised as a boy in Qissa on Thursday won her the best actress title in the New Horizons Competition of the seventh Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF). She shares the title with Norwegian actress Julia Wildschutt. ii. The Bengali actress was here for the film's screening earlier this week, however, she had left for India much before the awards ceremony. The film's director Anup Singh received the honour on her behalf Note: Qissa is a Punjabi film, which stars Irrfan as a Sikh man, who plays father to Tillotama's character. ii. The film, which was welcomed warmly at ADFF, dwells on the gender crisis that Tillotama's character has to experience due to her father's obsession with having a male child. 10. Nitish Sengupta, the former Member of Parliament Died i. Nitish Sengupta, the former Lok Sabha and Revenue Secretary died on 3 November 2013 due to the cardiac arrest. He was of 80 years. Now he is survived by two daughters. About Nitish Sengupta i. He joined politics in the year 1996 and was elected as the Member of Parliament to the 13th Lok Sabha from 1999 to 2004 ii. Sengupta was selected as the member of the Public Accounts Committee, Petitions Committee and the standing committee for Ministry of Railways and Consultative committee for the Ministry of Finance 11. IRCON for its performance won two top Infrastructure Awards i. IRCON International Limited on 29 October 2013 was selected as the top infrastructure company under the category construction infrastructure development - mid at the Dun and Bradstreet Infra Awards 2013 for delivering exemplary performance by Dun & Bradstreet (D&B). ii. The worlds leading provider of global business information, knowledge and insight, announced and presented the third edition of Infra awards. IRCON is a Public Sector Undertaking in construction sector under the Ministry of Railways. iii. The award was received by Mohan Tiwari, the Chairman and Managing Director of IRCON at ITC Maratha Mumbai. iv. During the award ceremony, the Dun & Bradstreet also released the sixth edition of its premier publication named Indias Leading Infrastructure Companies 2013.

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About IRCON International Limited i. IRCON International Limited is a government company incorporated by the Ministry of Railways under the Companies Act, 1956 on 28 April 1976. ii. Originally, it was established under the name Indian Railway Construction Company Limited. It is the leading turnkey construction company in the public sector and is known for its quality, commitment and consistency in terms of Performance. 12. Gaurav Gill First Indian Driver To Win FIA Asia-Pacific Rally i. Gaurav Gill on Saturday created history by becoming the first Indian to win the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship title on day one of the Rally of China. ii. Gill, with Australian co-driver Glenn Macneall, only had to finish the rally on day one to secure his first APRC title. iii. Gill, who drives for Team MRF, said, "This is definitely the high-light of my career so far, we've come close on several other occasions and this year wasn't easy either. I have to thank the team, my co-driver Glenn, Skoda and a big thank you to MRF tyres too as they've stuck with me all these years and so it's nice to reward them and my country 13. Sebastian Vettel won Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix 2013 i. Formula 1 racing driver, Sebastian Vettel on 3 November 2013 won the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Yas Marina circuit, Abu Dhabi. ii. Sebastian Vettel clocked 1 minute 43.893 seconds to finish at the top of the table. Vettel's team-mate Aussie Mark Webber finished with second position, with Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany finishing third. iii. Sebastian Vettel won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for the second time in his career. (First time is in 2009). iv. This victory has drawn Vettel level with compatriot Michael Schumacher's mark of seven successive wins. v. Earlier, Sebastian Vettel (26 years old) had clinched the title at the Indian Grand Prix on 27 October 2013. 14. Novak Djokovic won BNP Paribas Masters Tennis Tournament 2013 i. Novak Djokovic of Serbia on 3 November 2013 won the BNP Paribas Masters Tennis tournament at Paris, France. In the title clash, Novak Djokovic defeated defending champion David Ferrer of Spain in straight sets, 7-5, 7-5. ii. This Paris Master title was Novak Djokovic's 40th career title and sixth title in 2013. BNP Paribas Masters Tennis tournament The BNP Paribas Masters (also called Paris masters) is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Paris, France. It is played indoors at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. 15. Rohit Sharma's double-ton helps India beat Australia by 57 runs in 7th ODI i. Rohit Sharma smashed his way into the record books with a stunning 209 as the Indian cricket team provided the perfect Diwali gift to the nation with a 57-run victory in the the series-deciding final ODI against Australia to clinch the rubber 3-2 on Saturday. ii. The 26-year-old Sharma gave a breathtaking display to power India to an imposing 383 for six before the hosts bowled out Australia for 326 in 45.1 overs at the jam-packed Chinnaswamy Stadium. iii. The immensely talented Sharma thus became only the third batsman in the history of ODI cricket after Virender Sehwag (219) and Sachin Tendulkar (200 no) to reach the coveted double ton. iv. Chasing a mammoth total, Australia made a spirited effort with all-rounder James Faulkner blasting a 73-ball 116, the fastest century by an Australian in ODIs. While Faulkner hit 11 fours and six over-boundaries, Glenn Maxwell pulverized the Indian bowlers on his way to a 22-ball 60 that contained seven sixes. v. This is the first instance when India have won a seven-match ODI series against the Aussies. 16. Kannada filmmaker Rajendra Babu dead 17. Pakistani folk singer Reshma is dead

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DAILY GK UPDATE - 1st NOV

1. All Syria chemical weapons placed under seal: Watchdog i. Syria's entire declared stock of chemical weapons has been placed under seal, inspectors said on Thursday, as international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi wrapped up a visit to muster support for peace talks. ii. All stocks of chemical weapons and agents have been placed under seals that are impossible to break," Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons spokesman Christian Chartier said, adding that the seals were "tamper proof." iii. "These are 1,000 tonnes of chemical agents (which can be used to make weapons) and 290 tonnes of chemical weapons," Chartier said in The Hague. iv. The OPCW said earlier that Syria's declared chemical arms production equipment had been completely destroyed. v. The west blamed those attacks, which killed hundreds of people, on President Bashar al-Assad's regime, which denied all responsibility, instead blaming the attack on rebels. 2. Foreign banks wholly owned subsidiaries will get near-national treatment: RBI i. Foreign lenders' wholly owned subsidiaries in India will receive near-national treatment, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) assured on Tuesday. ii. In its recently published policy, the central bank said that foreign banks would be incentivized to convert into wholly owned subsidiaries (WOS) by providing them with near-national treatment. iii. The central bank said foreign lenders would be free to choose if they wanted to convert into wholly owned subsidiaries; however, it would not be compulsory for existing foreign lenders to convert into wholly owned subsidiaries. iv. In the policy, the RBI said, "Taking into account the feedback received from stakeholders, a scheme of subsidiarisation of foreign banks in India is being finalised. The wholly owned subsidiaries (WOS) would be given near-national treatment, including in the opening of branches." v. The RBI aims to systemically turn foreign banks into wholly-owned subsidiaries. 3. India, Vietnam sign pact on transfer of sentenced prisoners i. India and Vietnam on Friday signed a treaty for transfer of sentenced prisoners languishing in jails in the two countries. ii. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Vietnam Minister of Public Security Tran Dai Quang signed the agreement on transfer of sentenced prisoners at a function here. iii. The pact will help Indian prisoners imprisoned in Vietnam or vice-versa to be near their families for serving remaining part of their sentence. iv. India has so far signed such agreements with United Kingdom, Mauritius, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Egypt, France, Bangladesh, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sri Lanka, UAE, Maldives, Thailand, Turkey, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel and Russia. 4. Six Major Central Banks Permanently Made Currency Swap Accords i. Six major central banks in the world made currency swap arrangements permanent on 31 October 2013 as a prudent liquidity backstop in case of future global financial strains. ii. Previously these banks had temporary bilateral currency swap arrangements. Names of Six major central banks 1. The Bank of Japan 2. U.S. Federal Reserve 3. European Central Bank 4. Bank of England 5. central bank of Canada 6. central bank of Switzerland About Central bank liquidity swap Central bank liquidity swap/Currency is a type of currency swap used by a country's central bank to provide liquidity of its currency to another country's central bank.

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About Currency Swap A currency swap is a foreign-exchange agreement between two institutions /Countries to exchange aspects (namely the principal an interest payments) of a loan in one currency for equivalent aspects of an equal in net present value loan in another currency. 5. Google grants Rs 21 crore to 10 Indian non-profit organisations i. Google Inc, the world's most-popular search engine, on Thursday announced Indian winners of its Global Impact Challenge funding. ii. The Internet search giant announced that 10 Indian non-profit organisations had been selected for a funding of Rs 21 crore under its Global Impact Challenge. Agastya, Indian Digital Green Trust, Janaagraha and Social AwarenessNewer Alternatives (SANA) will receive grants of Rs 3 crore each. iii. The remaining six non-profit groups will receive Rs 1.5 crore each. iv. Jacqueline Fuller, who leads Google Giving, "The organisations were short-listed after due diligence by us with use of technology as well as speaking to their funders, peer groups, beneficiaries etc." v. The jury that selected winners of the Google Impact Challenge was comprised of Thermax Ltd Chairperson Anu Aga, Google Inc's Senior Vice-President Nikesh Arora, and Jacqueline Fuller of Google Giving that invests more than $50 million per year in tech innovators, among others. 6. Gopal Krishna Pillai is MCX-SX new Chairman i. MCX Stock Exchange (MCX-SX) has appointed Gopal Krishna Pillai IAS (Retd.) as Chairman and Thomas Mathew T., as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. ii. SEBI has approved Pillais election as Chairman. Last month, SEBI had granted renewal to the exchange. iii. Pillai was in the Indian Administrative Service and retired as Home Secretary to the Government of India. He belongs to the Kerala cadre of the 1972 batch of IAS. iv. Mathew retired as current-in-charge Chairman of Life Insurance Corporation of India and has 36 years of experience in life insurance industry in India. He is currently on the boards of Tata Power, Voltas and Management Development Institute as Director. 7. India, Australia to hold 3rd round of talks on nuclear deal i. India and Australia are to hold the third round of negotiations to finalise a civil nuclear agreement that could enable the sale of Australian uranium to India, in Delhi during the week beginning November 25, it was announced on Friday. ii. A statement issued by the Australian Foreign Ministry after talks between the Foreign Ministers of the two countries, Salman Khurshid and Julie Bishop in Perth, states that they have agreed that the conclusion of a highquality Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement would underpin a further significant expansion of the trade and investment relationship to mutual benefit. iii. The Ministers also confirmed that the inaugural cyber security dialogue would be held in the first half of 2014, and reiterated the two countries commitment to work together to address threats such as terrorism and transnational crime. 8. India developed Surface-to-Surface Missile Pragati i. India developed a new tactical surface-to-surface missile Pragati which has a range between 60-170 km. ii. The missile is on offer to Indias friendly countries. iii. It was put on display at a defence exhibition at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defence Exhibition (ADEX 2013). Note: The Pragati missile is based on the Prahaar missile and it has been developed by the DRDO for the Army. 9. Gurdeep Singh Pall Appointed as the Corporate VP of Skype i. Microsoft appointed on 30 October 2013 Gurdeep Singh Pall as the corporate vice president of Skype, a popular and free international voiceover and messaging service and Lync communications product. He will replace the Mark Gillett. ii. Gurdeep Singh Pall, 46, born in Chandigarh. iii. He joined in Microsoft Company in January 1990 as a software design engineer. iv. He worked on many breakthrough products in his tenure, starting with LAN Manager Remote Access Service. v. He was part of the Windows NT development team and led design and implementation of core networking technologies.

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10. Scientists discovered a New Planet called Kepler 78b i. Scientists discovered a new planet called Kepler 78b which has a similar mass and density to that of Earth. ii. It orbits a star 400 light years away. Kepler78b is composed mostly of rock and iron, very similar to our own planet. It is extremely close to its host star which is a hundredth of the distance between the Earth and the Sun. iii. The newly discovered planet belongs to a new class of ultrashort period planets. These planets complete one circuit of their host star in less than 12 hours. 11. India won Gold in 18th Asian Archery Competition at Chinese Taipei i. India's men's compound Archery team on 31 October 2013 won a gold medal in the 18th Asian Archery competition held at Chinese Taipei. ii. Abhishek Verma, Ratan Singh, Sandeep Kumar forming the compound team defeated the Korean trio of Lihong Min, Yong Hee Choi and Jongho Kim 233-231 to win the gold. iii. The Indian compound trio showed their consistency right through the qualification round, in which they totalled 2086 points, to be ranked No.1 after they got a bye in the pre-quarters. iv. 18th Asian Archery Championships 2013 was organized by Asian Archery Federation (AAF) in Taipei (TPE) from 29 October to 2 November 2013.

DAILY GK UPDATE - 31 ST OCT !

1. Vancouver Gets World's First Bitcoin ATM i. The worlds first Bitcoin ATM machine which can exchange digital currency - Bitcoins -for any official currency has launched in Vancouver, Canada on 29 October 2013. ii. The ATM machine, named Robocoin, installed at Waves Coffee Shop at Howe and Smithe, allows users to buy or sell the digital currency known as bitcoins. iii. The ATM in Vancouver is operated by Las Vegas-basedRobocoin and Vancouver-based Bitcoiniacs. About Bitcoins i. Bitcoin is a virtual currency that is unregulated by any central bank or government, but still works for purchasing goods and services from retailers willing to accept it. ii. Bitcoins, which are created when they are "mined" or generated by a super computer, also trade on an open market that fluctuates much like a stock market. How Bitcoin ATM works? i. Customers will need to have their palms scanned in order to exchange up to 3000 US dollars worth of bitcoins per day. ii. The bitcoins will then be transferred to and from the customer's on-line bitcoin wallet. iii. Users will have the option to receive a paper voucher representing the transaction. Note: i. Bitcoin, which came into existence in 2009, is not controlled by any authority such as a central bank. ii. The concept was introduced in 2008 by a pseudonymous developer known only as "Satoshi Nakamoto." iii. The currency has reportedly gained notoriety for its use to buy illicit goods such as drugs on websites. However, bitcoins are increasingly being accepted by legitimate businesses around the world. 2. Srishti Rana of India Was Crowned Miss Asia Pacific World 2013 i. Srishti Rana of India on 30 October 2013 was crowned Miss Asia Pacific World 2013 in Busan, South Korea. ii. Srishti Rana, 21, is the second Indian in a row to win the oldest Miss Asia Pacific World 2013. Note: Earlier, Zeenat Aman (1970), Tara Anne Fonseca (1973), Dia Mirza(2000) and Himangini Singh Yadu(2012) won Miss Asia Pacific World titles. About Srishti Rana Srishti Rana is born in Haryana. Srishti Rana also won the National Costume Award in an outfit depicting the national Bird of India Peacock. She was among the winners of Indian Diva Delhi 2013 along with Yashna Khurana. She was Finalist of Femina Miss India 2013 on 24 March 2013. She was also crowned Femina Miss Fashion Icon.

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3. India gives 100 crore rupee aid to Bhutan for stimulus plan i. India has given Bhutan one hundred crore rupees as assistance for the new government s stimulus plan. ii. Indias Ambassador to Bhutan V. P Haran handed over the cheque to Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay in Thimhpu. iii. This is part of the commitment of the union government to provide five hundred crore rupees, apart from the 11th plan assistance. Note: According to a press release from the gross national happiness commission through the Economic Stimulus plan and injection of funds, the Bhutanese government seeks to ease the current financial crunch in the banking sector, as well as expand the financial sectors capacity to extend credit for productive economic activities, and priority sectors that can create jobs and provide revenue to the exchequer 4. Bharat Joshi is new British Dy High Commissioner i. Bharat Joshi is the new British Deputy High Commissioner to be based in Chennai, replacing Mike Nithavrianakis. ii. Born in Croydon in the UK in 1969, Joshi joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1995 and has had diplomatic postings to Gambia, Dhaka, Qatar and Cameroon, it said. iii. Based in Chennai since September 2013, Joshis portfolio focuses on enhancing the trade and investment partnership between the UK and Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, in specific, it added. 5. Masood Ahmed wins K.K. Menon Award for 2013. i. S. Masood Ahmed, chief scientist at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), here has won the K.K. Menon Award for 2013. ii. The award instituted by the Geological Society of India recognised his contributions in sedimentary geology. iii. Ahmed has carried out extensive studies on marine sediment cores from the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea to understand and interpret the paleoclimatic evolution of these basins. iv. Earlier, Ahmed also won the National Geoscience Award for the year 2009. v. He is Indian leader of the International Geoscience Programme on Evolution of Asian River Systems. He has published more than 50 research papers in international and national journals. 6. Utpal Bhadra gets Radhakrishnan Gold Medal i. Utpal Bhadra, senior scientist and group leader, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), has been selected for the Radhakrishnan Gold Medal for the year 2013 by the Global Economic Progress & Research Association (GEPRA), a Chennai-based research organisation engaged in academic research in economics and finance. ii. Bhadra has received the gold medal at a function held in Chennai for his outstanding contribution in education and national science development as part of his research in the field of biotechnology and its related areas. iii. His group has pioneered the Gene silencing and RNA interference technology. It was also the first group to identify RNAi (ribonucleac acid interface) and Gene silencing in animals, which have profound implications in understanding the development of characteristics and diseases in humans and animals. 7. Subhas Goswami Appointed as the Director General of ITBP i. Subhas Goswami, director of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy appointed as the Director General (DG) of Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) on 30 October 2013. He will succeed Ajay Chadha, IPS. ii. Subhas Goswami is an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre. iii. He was decorated with the Indian Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 2001 and the Presid ents Police Medal for Distinguished Services in 2007. 9. Airtel Bangladesh signs managed VAS agreement with Mahindra Comviva i. Bharti Airtel has signed a managed Value Added Services (VAS) agreement with Mahindra Comviva for its Bangladesh operations. ii. Under the three-year deal, Mahindra Comviva will manage Bharti Airtels service delivery platform inclusive of Mahindra Comvivas deployed products like Messaging Service Delivery Platform (MSDP), Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), Bulk Messaging Gateway (BMG) and dBILL VAS Charging solution. iii. With this extended partnership, Mahindra Comviva will provide greater operational simplicity and enhance efficiencies, whilst enabling improved service performance to our customers in Bangladesh, Airtel Bangladesh Chief Information Officer Lutfor Rahman said. Note: A t present, Mahindra Comviva is managing over 4,000 VAS nodes for Airtel Africa in 17 countries, Airtel India and Airtel Sri Lanka from various partners to meet defined service-level agreements.

11. Pankaj Razdan Appointed as the CEO and MD of the Birla Sun Life Insurance i. Pankaj Razdan was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Birla Sun Life Insurance (BSLI), life insurance arm of Aditya Birla Group on 30 October 2013.

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About Pankaj Razdan i. He has 20 years of financial services industry experience across various functions and multiple lines of business. ii. He acted as the managing director of ICICI Prudential. iii. He joined in Aditya Birla Financial Services Group in 2007. 12. Bhubaneswar and Imphal airports were Declared as International Airports i. The Union Cabinet of India on 30 October 2013 gave its approval for declaring the Bhubaneswar and Imphal airports as international airports to fulfill the long pending demand of people as well as the State Governments of Odisha and Manipur. ii. Declaration of these airports as international airports will offer improved connectivity, wider choice of services at competitive cost to the air travelers resulting in boosting international tourism and economic development of the region and the country. 13. India and Cuba signed MoU for cooperation in broadcasting between Prasar Bharati and ICRT i. India and Cuba on 30 October 2013 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in broadcasting between Prasar Bharati and Cuban Radio and Television Institute (ICRT). ii. The MoU was signed by India's ambassador to Cuba Chinthapalli Rajasekhar and vice-president of the ICRT Emillio Moises Garcia Borroto. iii. Under the agreement both countries will explore co-production opportunites on matters of mutual interest. iv. The pact would facilitate exchange programmes in fields of cultural entertainment, education, science, sports and news. It also opens up avenues for co-production of broadcast content for creative ventures including films and coverage of events. v. The MoU was signed during the official visit of Indias vice President Hamid Ansari to Cuba. 14. Vladimir Putin topples Barack Obama in Forbes power ranking i. Russian President Vladimir Putin was ranked as the world's most powerful leader by Forbes after Russia managed to put US threat of an attack on Syria at bay. Russia also gave asylum to former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who spilled the bins on US intelligence for the first time. ii. It was the first time in three years that the US president has dropped to second place on the magazine's list and came as US-Russia relations slid to a new low. iii. US President Barack Obama was ranked second after an embarrassing 16-day US government shutdown caused by a budget and debt crisis in Washington. iv. Third prize went to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is expected to rule for a decade in which China is set to eclipse the US as the world's largest economy. v. There were 17 heads of state who run nations with a combined GDP of $48 trillion and 27 CEOs and chairs who control over $3 trillion in annual revenues. vi. Only nine women made the cut despite representing half the world's population. 15. Sonia Gandhi is world's third most powerful woman i. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has been listed the third most powerful woman as Russian President Vladimir Putin beat President Barack Obama to the top spot on Forbes' list of "The World's Most Powerful People". ii. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, 81, takes the 28th spot with two other Indians, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, 56, ranked 38th, and ArcelorMittal chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal, 63, in the 51st position. iii. While Putin climbs to the top spot as he "continues to solidify control over Russia and the international stage", Obama drops to second spot with his "lame duck period (has) seemingly set in earlier than usual for a two-term president". iv. Obama is followed by Communist Party of China general secretary Xi Jinping (No. 3), Pope Francis (No.4) and Merkel (No. 5). 16. Sardar Patel remembered on his 137th birth anniversary i. Nation pays tribute to the veteran freedom fighter and first Home Minister of Independent India, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel on his137th birth anniversary. ii. Born on 31st October, 1875 in Gujarat, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel is also known as the Iron Man Of India. He followed the path of righteousness from his childhood only. iii. In the year 1908, he became a barrister. The time when Mahatama Gandhi decided to commence the Quit India Movement with full force, Patel elucidated the framework of the movement to a gathering of around 1 lakh people in Ahmedabad. iv. Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel was awarded Bharat Ratna in the year 1999. He expired on 15th december, 1950 at the age of 76. His ideology continues to guide the nation.

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17. Saina Nehwal slips to 7th spot in BWF ranking i. The second-round exit from French Open Super Series proved costly for Saina Nehwal as the Indian badminton ace continued her downward slide, slipping one more spot to be placed at world number seven in the latest BWF ranking released today. ii. The Olympic bronze medallist shuttler had slipped to world number six last week after failing to defend her title at Denmark Open. iii. The 23-year-old had lost to World No. 6 Ji Hyun Sung in the quarterfinals of the Premier tournament after she slipped and hurt her ankle in the third game. iv. Among others, P.V Sindhu has improved one place to be back at her 10th spot with 52352 ranking points, while mens singles player Parupalli Kashyap lost one place to slip to world number 12.

DAILY GK UPDATE - 30 TH OCT !

1. India Ranked 134th Spot in the Ease of Doing Business List: WB i. India ranked to the 134th spot in the ease of doing business list according to the annual Doing Business report released on 29 October 2013 by World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC). ii. In the Ease of Doing Business ranking of 189 countries India has dropped from 131 spot in 2013 to 134th spot in 2014. Highlights of the report i. The top ten nations in the Ease of Doing Business ranking are Singapore (1), Hong Kong (2), New Zealand (3), United States (4), Denmark (5), Malaysia (6), Korea (7), Georgia (8), Norway (9) and the United Kingdom (10). ii. Among BRICS grouping, Russia is placed at 92nd spot, Brazil is ranked 116, South Africa is ranked the 41st rank and China ranked at 96th position. iii. India is also ranked lowest among the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). iv. Other neighbouring nations of India Nepal (105), Pakistan (110) and Bangladesh (130) are also ranked above India. About the Ease of Doing Business ranking Countries are ranked on their ease of doing business from 1 to 189. A high ranking on the ease of doing business index means the regulatory environment is more favourable to the starting and operation of a local firm. This index averages the country's percentile rankings on 10 topics, made up of a variety of indicators, giving equal weight to each topic. The 10 topics includes starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. The employing workers indicators are not included in this years aggregate ease of doing business ranking. 2. United Nations General Assembly Voted against US Embargo on Cuba i. For the 22nd consecutive year at the United Nations, the United Nations General Assembly on 29 October 2013 adopted a resolution calling for an end to the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba. ii. One hundred and eighty-eight countries voted for the non-binding resolution and only the United States and Israel voted against the resolution. iii. Three countries abstained (Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau). iv. The US imposed the embargo on Cuba in 1960, shortly after Fidel Castro took power and seized US-owned assets on the island. About the United Nations General Assembly i. It the deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations. ii. It has all 193 Members of the United Nations. iii It provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter. 3. Union Cabinet approved the Amendments in Food Security Bill i. The Union Cabinet on 30 October 2013 approved certain amendments to the Food Security Bill that includes extension of the deadline to implement the law from six months to one year.

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ii. The Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh on 28 August 2013 approved about nine amendments to the bill without the final nod of the cabinet. This was done because the Union Food Ministry sought the ex-post facto approval. Note: i. In September 2013, the Parliament of India passed the food law for 67 percent of the population to have the right to subsidized food grains. ii. As per the law, the eligible people has the right to get 5 kilogram food grain every month at 3 rupees per kilogram of rice, 2 rupees kilogram of wheat and 1 rupee kilogram of coarse cereals as per the law. 4. Australia announced to end its Military Mission in Afghanistan i. Australia on 29 October 2013 announced the winding down of its military mission in Afghanistan with the withdrawal of most of its troops by the end of 2014. ii. Approximately, 1000Australian troops are posted at the International Force base in Tarin Kot, the capital of southern Afghan province Uruzgan. iii. In 2001, the US-led war in Afghanistan started and 40 Australian soldiers killed and 260 were injured since that time. iv. USA and other foreign combat troops from Afghanistan chalked out a plan to transfer security responsibilities to local forces by the end of 2014 and will go back to their countries. v. As of early June 2013 there were about 100000 Nato troops serving in Afghanistan from 50 contributing nations. Australia is one among the leading nations who have contributed units of 550 or more. 5. FinMin opposes Parikh panels call for petro, LPG price hike i. The Finance Ministry has opposed the Kirit Parikh panels proposal to hiking the price of diesel, domestic LPG and PDS kerosene. ii. The panel has suggested that diesel prices be increased by Rs 5/litre, subsidised domestic LPG by Rs 250/cylinder, and kerosene being sold under the public distribution system by Rs 4/litre immediately, as well as subsequent phase-out of subsidy on all these products. iii. It also suggested bringing down the cap on subsidised domestic LPG cylinders available to every household annually to six from nine. iv. The expert group, which submitted its report on Wednesday to M. Veerappa Moily, Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas, said the balance loss on diesel should be met through a fixed subsidy of Rs 6/litre to public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs). v. This would mean freeing the price of diesel beyond this cap. Currently, these OMCs are incurring a loss of Rs 10.24/ litre for selling diesel at a controlled price. 6. Bollywood Actress Kareena Kapoor honoured in the House of Commons i. Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor on 29 October 2013 was honoured in the House of Commons, London for her contribution to the global entertainment industry. ii. The 33-year old actress was presented a framed golden coloured plaque by NRI MP Keith Vaz, Chairman of Britains Home Affairs Committee. Kareena was also honoured by the Asian Sunday Newspaper. iii. Besides Kareena, singer Kimberley Walsh and magician Dynamo (Aka Steven Frayne) were honoured by the Asian Sunday Newspaper for their contributions to the global entertainment-industry. iv. Kareena is the only Bollywood artist to be honoured at British Parliament after Amitabh Bachchan and she is the first Bollywood actress to be honoured by UK Parliament. 7. CCEA approved the launch of the IPDS for Textiles Industry i. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 30 October 2013 approved the launch of the new Integrated Processing Development Scheme (IPDS) during the 12th five year plan with an investment of 500 crore rupees. ii. The IPDS was approved for establishment of four to six brown field projects and three to five green field projects that addresses the environmental issues that is faced by the Textile Processing Units. iii. The scheme would make possible for the textiles industry to become the globally competitive by using the processing standards and technology, which are environment friendly and by creating the new processing parks. iv. The scheme will also encourage the research and development work in the textiles processing sector. 8. PM of India inaugurated Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Museum in Ahmedabad i. Prime minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh on 29 october 2013 inaugurated the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Museum at Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

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ii. Sarda Vallabhbhai Patel National Museum was established in the memory of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who was an Indian freedom fighter. iii. Sardar Vallabhai Patel was an Indian freedom fighter and one of the great social leaders of India. Vallabhbhai Patel was born on 31 October 1875 in Nadiad, a small village in Gujarat. 9. Railways Minister Launched the High Speed Rail Corporation of India Ltd i. Railways Minister Mallikarjun Kharge on 29 October 2013 launched the High Speed Rail Corporation of India Ltd (HSRC), a subsidiary of Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (RVNL). ii. The main obejective of the HSRC is to develop High Speed Rail (HSR) Corridors in India to run passenger trains at speeds up to 350 Kilo Meter per hour. iii. While inaugurating the HSRC, Railways Minister told that most countries consider high speed capability to be in the range of 250 to 300 kmph which requires a dedicated track with fencing and can be prohibitively costly. 10. Geeta Chandran, Bharatnatyam exponent honoured with Guru Debaprasad Award i. Renowned Bharatnatyam exponent Geeta Chandran was on 29 October 2013 honoured with the prestigious Guru Debaprasad Award for outstanding contribution in the field of dance. ii. The award was presented to Geeta Chandran and three others by Odisha Governor S C Jamir at in Bhubaneswar. iii. The others Awardees are:Dr. Anita Ratnam (Contemporary Dance), Guru Shashadhar Acharya (Chhau Dance), Guru Sudhakar Sahu (Odissi). 11. Aamir Khan honoured in US for Satyameva Jayate i. Bollywood actor and talk show host Aamir Khan was among a select group of film personalities honoured here for making a major impact on social issues through cinema. ii. In glittering event held at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium in Washington the America Abroad Media (AAM) group feted Aamir Khan along with Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow and 2013 Nobel Prize nominee the International Centre on Nonviolent Conflict. iii. All three winners of AAMs inaugural awards were commended for work that exemplified the power of media to inform, educate and empower citizens about the critical, social, and public policy issues of our time. iv. The event was followed by a panel discussion with the honourees, co-chaired by the Indian Ambassador to the U.S., Nirupama Rao, on the potential of movies to influence social issues. 12. Vodafone launches M-Pesa service in Maharashtra i. Telecom services provider Vodafone India in association with ICICI Bank has launched M-Pesa, its trademarked mobile money transfer and payment service in Maharashtra. ii. The service, which provides customers who register for it access to financial services through their cell phones, is extended in 286 tehsils in the State through 4,080 trained authorised agents across Vodafones 387 exclusive retail stores. iii. Nearly half of these will be in rural areas where banking facilities are not easily available. iv. Vodafone, which already operates M-Pesa in seven African countries, and introduced it in the Indian market late last year, plans to roll it out across the country over the next 18 months, Suresh Sethi, Business Head, M-Pesa, said. Note: i. Through M-Pesa, customers first convert physical cash into digital money, and the mobile wallet can enable them to deposit or withdraw money, transfer it to another mobile phone or a bank account as well as for bill payments for a transaction fee. 13. All India Football Federation signed Agreement with Australia for its Grass-root Programme i. All India Football Federation (AIFF) on 30 October 2013 signed an agreement under Australian Sports Outreach Program (ASOP) with Football Federation of Australia (FFA) to support AIFF's Grassroots Programme. ii. The agreement includes financial, administrative and technical support (from FFA) in the form of capacity building within the State Associations who at present are involved in the Grassroots Programme, Grassroots Courses and Grassroots Festivals. iii. The ASOP India is an Australian government initiative implemented by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) with a commitment of 5 million Australian dollars over five years (2009-14).