Feb 12

Daily GK Updates:1st Feb, 2012
1. Polish poet Wisawa Szymborska, former winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, passed away of lung cancer at 88.
2. Haryanas Ajay Mittal won the gold medal at the 55th National Shooting Championships for shotgun
today by defeating stalwarts like Sodhi and Athens Olympics silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in the final. Delhis Sangram Dahiya finished second, followed by Rathore and Sodhi. 3. Presentation of Economic Survey will be little delayed this year due to the assembly elections in five different states. Economic survey 2011-12 states that Indian economy is growing at the rate of 7 to 7.5% which is quite lower than what was estimated earlier. The low figure is attributed to the gloomy global economic scenario and domestic policy constraints. 4. The Rail Budget and the Union Budget 2012-13 is likely to be presented between March 9th and March 15th in the Parliament. The delay is attributed to the assembly polls in five states. However, the formal date of Budget will be decided by the Cabinet Committee on Parliament Affairs which will convey its meeting in the first week of February. The customary Presidents address to the Budget Session of Parliament will take place after March 9 due to the model code of conduct being in force till that day when the election process would conclude. Railway Budget is usually presented in the Parliament in the last week of February ahead of Union Budget. There is mounting pressure on the government to increase the Railway fair to compensate the losses suffered by Indian Railway. 5. In the non- Olympic womens double trap competition, Bihars Shreyasi Singh won the gold with a score of 92 out of 120, breaking her own national record of 90. Army shooters Seema and Varsha Tomar won the silver and bronze medals respectively. 6. Shreyasi also pocketed the juniors gold ahead of Madhya Pradeshs Varsha Varman and Uttar Pradeshs Malika Wig. 7. A headline index named as HSBC Purchasing Managers Index designed to measure the overall health of the manufacturing sector registered a reading of 57.5 in January 2012 up from 54.2 in December 2011. As per survey released today Indias manufacturing sector expanded at its fastest pace in eight months in January on the back of a sharp increase in new orders. 8. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shifted its policy stance to promoting growth from battling inflation. The central bank in january 2012 cut the cash reserve ratio (CRR) - the proportion of deposits that banks have to hold with the central bank - by 50 basis points. Inflation in India however continues to be a concern. Input prices for manufacturers was found to rise 63.4 in January from 62.7 in December 2011. 9. Committee of secretaries, led by the prime ministers principal secretary Pulok Chatterji today recommended that state-run Coal India should step up supplies and face penalties if it fails to provide 80% of coal allocated to a power plant. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had set up the committee in January 2012 after leading industrialists, including Ratan Tata and Anil Ambani, sought his intervention to help the power sector. Power producers are currently facing several problems such as an acute fuel shortage, delays in environmental clearances, inefficient state utilities and reluctance of banks to lend to the sector. 10. State-run Coal India (CIL) announced today its decision to increase wages by 25%, which would put an additional burden of Rs 6,500 crore on the public sector unit. The hike is to benefit over 3.7 lakh workers of the world's largest coal producer. An agreement was signed between its trade unions and CIL management for increase in the wages under which minimum guaranteed benefit
would be 25% of gross as on 30 June 2011. The National Coal Wage Agreement was signed and will be of five years tenure with effect from 1 July 2011. 11. Union Government of India today gave the approval for setting up a National Council for Senior Citizens. It will be headed by the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment. It will advice the Central and State Governments on issues related to welfare of senior citizens. The Council will suggest special policies and programmes for the physical and financial security of the senior citizens in the country. The Council will comprise of 20 members including the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment along with the oldest members from both the Houses of Parliament and distinguished personalities from different fields. 12. India, Japan and China entered into a pact to share data to achieve the most efficient use of Naval Forces present in the Indian Ocean Region. The initiative is known as the Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE). The initiative began functioning from today. China, India, and Japan also agreed to carry out more effective coordination by establishing a convoy coordination working group as part of the Shared Awareness and Deconfliction Mechanism. China, India, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Yemen deployed ships and aircraft to combat piracy in the Indian Ocean region. They were working as independent forces in absence of shared information. Other issues included a lack of convoy coordination by countries outside the SHADE mechanism that led to inefficient use of ships and aircrafts deployed for the purpose. This was improved with expanded interaction through the SHADE mechanism and improved information sharing. 13. The Sample Registration System (SRS), initiated by the Office of the Registrar General of India, estimates birth rate, death rate and fertility and mortality indicators at the national and sub-national levels through field investigation and enumeration on an yearly basis. 14. As per the latest Sample Registration System (SRS) bulletin, December 2011 released by the Registrar General of India (RGI) today, Indias Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) dropped further by 3 points from 50 to 47 infants deaths per 1000 live births during 2010. The IMR for rural areas dropped by 4 points from 55 to 51 infant deaths per 1000 live births while the Urban rate was found to stand at 31 from the previous 34/1000. 15. State of Goa recorded the lowest IMR of 10 infant deaths followed by Kerala with 13 infant deaths per 1000 live births (as against 12/1000 in January 2011 figures). The Urban IMR in Kerala however reduced to 10 against 11 of previous figures. 16. Madhya Pradesh registered highest IMR of 62/1000 followed by UP and Odisha with 61/1000 IMR. States/UTs of Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Meghalaya were found to have IMRs more than the national average of 47.
Daily GK Updates- 2nd Feb, 2012

The Union government revised the economic growth rate for 2010-2011 financial year to 8.4 percent in comparison to the previous estimate of 8.5 percent. The Indian economy grew 8.4% in 2010-11, lower than the previous estimate of 8.5%, on the back of strong farm sector and services sector growth. The Indian economy which is Asias third-largest economy is slowed in recent quarters due to the impact of the global slowdown, high inflation and high interest rates. Policymakers estimated growth in 2011-12 to be close to 7%.
8.4% expansion in the gross domestic product (GDP) during 2010-11 was achieved due to high growth in transport, storage and communication (14.7%), financing, insurance, real estate and business services (10.4%), trade, hotels and restaurants (9%) and construction (8%). Launching a book Nepal-India Relation; A Journalists Perspective in Kathmandu, Indian ambassador to Nepal Jayant Prasad said the relationship between India and Nepal is multi-layered and historical. Green Globe Foundation award was conferred to Amul company in the manufacturing category. Narain Karthikeyan will be the only Indian driver in the Formula One for 2012 season after he signed to continue with Hispania Racing (HRT). C Basavegowda, President, Mysore and Chamarajanagar District Co-operative Central Bank Ltd. has been selected for the Bharat Vikas Rathna award by the All India Business Development Association, New Delhi. Enforcement Directorate today filed a complaint against former Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi for alleged financial irregularities in the conduct of the Queens Baton Relay (QBR) of the Commonwealth Games.The ED also named him for violations under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema). The ED named five other officials, including former secretary general Lalit Bhanot, director general V K Verma, deputy director general Sanjay Mahindroo, joint director general (accounts and finance) M Jaychandran and A K Mattoo. The agency alleged that Kalmadi and his associates were responsible for foreign exchange contraventions to the tune of about Rs 4.8 crore in the conduct of the Queens Baton Relay (QBR) held in 2009 in London. Visiting union minister for labour and employment Mallikarjun Kharge was presented with Pride of India award by the Indian-American community in Washington today. He was honoured with the award for his over four decades of public service. The award was presented jointly by the Indian American Friendship Council (IAFC) and India Association of North Texas (IANT) at a reception hosted in honour of the visiting union minister, Kharge in Dallas. In his address, Kharge provided an update on various bilateral memoranda on items of mutual interest, such as mining safety, employment, social security and said that India's GDP is poised to grow at a faster pace than most of the nations. Indian IT-BPO sector revenue is set to cross the $100-billion mark in 2011-12 even as concern over global economic situation and domestic government policies cloud over future growth of the industry. Industry body Nasscom said export revenue would grow by 11-14 per cent in the financial year starting April. Four-member committee on integration of thousands of employees after the merger of two State-owned carriers Air India and Indian Airlines submitted his report to the Civil Aviation Minister, Ajit Singh on 31 January 2012. The committee was headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice D. M. Dharmadhikari. The Committee also included Prof Ravindra H Dholakia of IIM Ahmedabad, Rajeshwar Dayal, expert on public sector employees service matters and senior Civil Aviation Ministry official Syed Nasir Ali, as its members. The Committee tried to bring the wage structure of the merged organisation strictly under legal parameters, so that it conformed with the guidelines of the Department of Public Enterprises, which caters to other public sector undertakings.The panel prepared the report after interacting with all stakeholders, including various unions and associations of both former companies and their management.
Daily GK Updates: 3rd Feb, 2012

1. India and the United States of America today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Washington to co-operate on Labour and employment issues during the visit of labour and employment minister Mallikarjun Khagre. It establishes a framework for dialogue and bilateral cooperative activities, which include skill development, youth employment, occupational and mine safety and health. 2. Veteran environmental filmmaker Mike Pandey was honoured with the prestigious V. Shantaram Life Time Achievement Award at the Mumbai International Film Festival 2012 today. The award
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was presented by Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan. He received the award for his documentaries on wildlife conservation and environment. Mike Pandey is one of Indias foremost wildlife and environmental filmmakers. He hasd won over 300 national and international awards. His list of films includes Shores of Silence, The Last Migration, Broken Wings and The Timeless Traveller. Iran today successfully launched an observation satellite called Navid satellite into orbit above Earth. It will be placed into an orbit at an altitude between 250 and 370 kilometres. The weight of the satellite is 50-kilogram and it is meant to stay in orbit for 18 months. Western nations are worried about Irans space programme because they fear that it could be used to develop ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Bollywood producer-director Raj Kanwar passed away in Singapore today following kidney transplant complications. Raj Kanwar directed Bollywood films like Deewana, Laadla, Daag: The Fire, Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega, Andaaz and many other films.The director had launched actors Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta. India signed Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with Guernsey in the third week of December 2011. This is the 13th bilateral TIEA for Guernsey with a G20 nation. The TIEA will help Indian tax authorities get information on tax evasion cases. NOTE:- The Island of Guernsey is located in the English Channel, 70 miles from the South coast of London. Guernsey is a British crown dependency. Its defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom, but Guernsey is not part of the UK. India, Japan and China signed a pact to share data to achieve the most efficient use of Naval Forces present in the Indian Ocean Region. This initiative is called the Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE). The initiative began functioning from 1 January 2012. The SHADE mechanism is likely to check sea piracy in Indian Ocean. International Cricket Council's independent review, conducted by Lord Woolf in its report called for sweeping changes in the administration of cricket. The review recommended the restructuring of the ICC's executive board in order to make it more independent. It also stated that influence of the bigger countries and the full-members must be reduced. The review mentioned that the bigger nations in the ICC look after their own interest rather than that of the game. Woolf report recommendations A culture should be established where all potential conflicts of interest are declared,assessed and addressed. ICC Directors should neither seek to place undue influence on other Members, nor allow themselves to be influenced inappropriately by other Members to support the interests of individual Members. Any side agreements between Members that may affect the interests of the ICC and global cricket should be disclosed so that there is due transparency and their effects are understood. Government interference is inappropriate and is not acceptable. A level of government patronage and support of cricket is permissible. There should be clear and enforced limits on the value of Gifts and Hospitality (individually and aggregate) that ICC Directors and staff can give or receive. It should be mandatory to log all gifts and hospitality that are given or received. The Supreme Court observed that the allocation of 2G spectrum under former telecom minister A. Raja was wholly arbitrary, capricious and contrary to public interest apart from being violative of the doctrine of equality favour some companies at the cost of the public exchequer. The Supreme Court cancelled all the 122 2G licenses. According to the verdict, telecom regulator TRAI is to make fresh recommendations on the grant of licenses. The cancellation came on two writ petitions one by Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy and the other filed jointly by Prashant Bhushans CPIL and several other NGOs and individuals, who stressed that the process of allotment was arbitrary and unconstitutional.
15. Scientists recently transformed skin cells directly into brain cells. This scientific finding could bypass the need for stem cells. Stem cells can be turned into any other specialist type of cell ranging from brain to bone. Therefore, these cells are used in a range of treatments. 16. Alternatively, skin cells can be reprogrammed into induced stem cells. These could be made from a patients own cells and transformed into the required cell type. However, the process can activate cancer-causing genes. Therefore, the scientists are trying to convert a persons own skin cells into specialist cells. 17. The Fifth edition of the World Future Energy Summit was held in Abu Dhabi, capital of UAE from 16 to 19 January 2012. The theme of this years World Future Energy Summit was - Sustainable Energy for All. 18. The summit discussed the need to harness the alternative sources like solar, wind, small hydro energy, tidal energy etc. 19. Scientists developed a vaccine to treat breast cancer, using a patients own cells. To achieve this, Scientists enrolled 27 patients and separated specialised white cells using standard techniques similar to blood donation. The cells were modified in the laboratory in such a way that the immune
Daily GK Updates: 4 Feb, 2012

1. Russia and China today vetoed the UN Security Council resolution for the second time in four months. The resolution condemns the Syrian regimes crackdown on public uprising and calls upon President Bashar Al Assad to abide by the Arab League time-frame for political reforms in the country. 13 members of the 15-member Security Council, including India voted in favour of the resolution. The draft resolution was prepared by European Union and Arab nations and revised amidst stiff opposition by Russia. From the original draft several major demands were dropped. The time-frame for implementation of the resolution by Syria was increased from 15 days to 21 days. 2. Bangladesh High Commissioner Tariq Ahmed Karim and the president of Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Dr. Karan Singh, released Dhaka-based author Anisul Hoque's latest book, Freedoms Mother in New Delhi today. Hoque is also the Deputy Editor of Dhaka's leading newspaper, Prothom Alo. The release of Freedom's Mother came soon after activists launched controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen's latest work despite protests by certain religious extremist groups in Kolkata. 3. The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) set up by the Supreme Court to investigate illegal mining in Karnataka submitted its final report today. The committee recommended the cancellation of leases of 49 mines that have violated the terms of their license. It also recommended the auction of these leases. 4. The report is likely to radically change the manner in which mining is done in the country and jeopardise planned investments in steel plants in the southern state. 5. 45 mines cleared of any wrong doing is to bebe allowed to mine as soon as the ban is lifted while 72 other mines will resume only after they have paid penalties. The collected fines will be used to establish a Sustainable Mining Development Fund and set up dedicated mining infrastructure for the area. 6. A sanskrit grammar manuscript of grammarian, lexicographer and philologist Arnos Padre, which had been lost for over two centuries, was found in an Italian monastery. The manuscript, Grammatica Grandonica was written by the Jesuit missionary Fr. Johann Ernst Hanxleden, popularly known as Arnos Padre three centuries ago. It is considered as one of the earliest missionary grammars in Sanskrit. Toon Van Hal, a Belgian scholar and professor at the Centre for the History of Linguistics, Leuven University, traced the lost manuscript to the Convento di San Silvestro, a Carmelite monastery in Monte Compatri in the Province of Rome. 7. The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping costs for dry bulk goods plunged to its lowest level after it touched 647 points. The lowest level was nearly 20 points lower than the previous low of 663 points recorded during the 2008 global financial meltdown. In the past 26 years since the Baltic index came into being, the index had never slipped below 650 points.
8. The Reserve Bank of India partially lifted the curbs on banks foreign exchange transactions which it had imposed in December 2011. Several banks, including large lenders such as State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank and some public sector institutions were allowed to run higher net overnight open positions (NOP) in foreign exchange. The revised NOP caps are however still way below the earlier limits banks enjoyed before the restrictions were imposed in December 2011. Banks use the open position limits to carry out proprietary trades or buy and sell dollars to meet requirements of corporate clients. The open position limits differ from lender to lender depending on the size and level of treasury activity. Open positions also help banks meet customer needs. 9. Astronomers found the fourth habitable planet outside our solar system called GJ667Cc. The planet is 22 light years from Earth. The newly found planet is rocky in nature. It orbits its star every 28.15 days. It has a mass at least 4.5 times that of earth. The team of astronomers analysed data from the European Southern Observatory. 10. Filmmakers Mike de Gruy of Santa Barbara, California and Andrew Wight of Victoria die in a helicopter crash in the Australian town of Berry, New South Wales. 11. Florence Green, the last known veteran from World War I, dies at the age of 110 in the United Kingdom. 12. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan estimates that civilian deaths in the war in Afghanistan rose to a record level in 2011 of 3021 with insurgents responsible for most of the deaths.
Daily GK Updates: 5th Feb, 2012

1. Renowned historian and author of several books on the history and culture of Mumbai Sharada Dwivedi passed away in Mumbai today. Her name was synonymous with the city's old-world charm. 2. Egypt defeated India 2-1 in the final of the SDAT-WSF Under-21 Squash World Cup today. Marwan El Shorbagy defeated Ravi Dixit 11-4, 11-7, 7-11, 11-7 while Karim Abdel Gawad defeated Ramit Tandon 12-10, 11-4, 6-11, 11-8. However Dipika Pallikal manged to score a point by defeating Nour El Sherbini 11-7, 4-11, 8-11, 14-12, 11-5. 3. Maintaining its leading position, India is estimated to get $58 billion remittance from its diaspora in 2011, followed closely by China at $57 billion, World Bank data showed today.Developing countries are estimated to get $351 billion of the total estimated remittance flow of $406 billion during the current calendar year. Remittance to developing countries has increased by 8 per cent in 2011.For the first time since the global financial crisis, remittance flows to all six developing regions rose in 2011. Remittance to developing countries is likely to increase to $441 billion by 2014 from the estimated $351 billion this year. 4. The ruling Mexican National Action Party (PAN) endorses Josefina Vazquez Mota as its candidate for the Presidential election, the first time that a major Mexican party has endorsed a woman to run for President of Mexico. 5. Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah resigns as the Prime Minister of Kuwait following a strong performance by the Opposition in a recent parliamentary election. 6. Voters in Finland go to the polls for the second round of the Finnish Presidential election with conservative candidate Sauli Niinisto winning in a landslide. 7. In American football, Super Bowl XLVI is played in Indianapolis with the New York Giants defeating the New England Patriots 21-17. Quarterback Eli Manning of the Giants wins his second Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award. 8. In darts, England wins the 2012 PDC World Cup of Darts defeating Australia 4- 3 in the final. 9. China remains the focus at world's biggest mining conference that is being held in Cape Town. Experts have projected China to remain as the largest importer of iron ore import not because it does not want to exhaust its resource but because the domestic raw ore is of poor quality. At
present, the Asian dragon has over 50% share of the world's total iron import and India is the third biggest exporter of iron ore to its neighbor. Industry insiders projected China will continue to look outwards for the next few decades to meet its increasing demand of steel. 10. Market regulator SEBI has decided to share with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs the names of over 500 companies, which have garnered money from investors in violation of its Collective Investment Scheme (CIS) rules. SEBI would also give the names of the directors of such entities to the MCA, so that necessary actions can be taken to prevent these companies and persons from being associated with any new company. The Collective Investment Schemes, where an entity pools in money from investors for certain pre-specified purposes and later distributes the profits or income, come under the ambit of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

1. Indonesia became the 157th country to adopt the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Indonesia formalized ratification of the nuclear test ban treaty today at the United Nations. 2. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) completed its talks on the regional weapons free zone in 2011 and the 10 member states are now completing ratification of CTBT.The Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone treaty commits ASEAN's 10 member states not to develop, manufacture or otherwise acquire, possess or have control over atomic weapons. 3. The Union government decided to operationalise the ambitious National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) from 1 March 2012. A pet project of Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, the NCTC got approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in January 2012. The operations division of the counter-terrorism body was powers to arrest and carry out searches under Section 43A of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. 4. NCTC is to be located in the Intelligence Bureau and headed by a Director who will be an officer in the rank of Additional Director, IB. It will have three units gathering intelligence, analysis of intelligence and carrying out operations. Each of these divisions will be headed by a joint director of the IB. 5. Delhi became the first State in the country to issue e-stamp papers in all denominations after the Cabinet decided to bring non-judicial stamp papers of Rs.500 denomination and below under the ambit of e-stamp mode today. The complete switchover to e-stamp mode is expected to prevent all fraudulent practices in this field. 6. A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of the central Philippines in the narrow strait between the heavily populated islands of Negros and Cebu today. Soil and rocks buried homes in a neighborhood in Guihulngan City near the quake's epicenter. 7. In cycling, the Court of Arbitration for Sport bans Spanish rider Alberto Contador for two years for doping and strips him of championships including the 2010 Tour de France. 8. Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc and his entire cabinet resign after major social and political unrest in the country 9. Myanmar's Election Commission clears National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to run in a by-election in the seat of Kawhmu. 10. Queen Elizabeth II marks the 60th anniversary of her becoming the monarch of the United Kingdom and seven other sovereign states in the Commonwealth of Nations with events to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee set for later in the year.
11. Spanish artist Antoni Tapies, a pioneer of abstract art, died in Barcelona at the age of 88. 12. The Managing Director of Kolkata-headquartered Hindustan Motors, Mr Manoj Jha, has stepped down from the post. His resignation has also been accepted by the Board of Directors. 13. Sonu Nigam launched author Priya Kumars book The Perfect World at the Big FM studios in Mumbai. 14. In a step to increase the capital adequacy and improve the asset quality, the government has decided to subscribe to preferential equity shares issued by State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank (PNB). State Bank of India (SBI), India's premier public sector bank, said that it would receive around Rs.7,900 crore from the government through a preferential allotment of equity shares, including premium. Punjab National Bank (PNB) would receive around Rs.1,285 crore from the government against issue of preferential equity shares of Rs.10 at a premium.

1. Mohammed Waheed Hassan is sworn in as New President of the Maldives following the resignation of Mohamed Nasheed. 2. Railway Ministry today extended the time period for the advance booking of Railway tickets from 90 days to 120 days. This new reservation policy will come into effect from March 10, 2012.No change has been proposed for daytime trains such as the Taj Express and Gomti Express. The advance reservation periods for these trains are 15 days and it will remain unchanged. There will also be no change in case of the limit of 360 days for foreign tourists. 3. The Indian Railways carry approximately 30 million passengers everyday and the move of increasing the advance reservation period will help the commuters to plan their journey better. 4. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Chief Nandan Nilekani today said Aadhaar numbers will be used for streamlining the Public Distribution System (PDS) and plugging leakages in it. The draft food security bill clearly says that Aadhaar will be used for the enrolment into PDS because that is a very important way of eliminating ghosts and duplicates from the system. 5. Exports grew by 10.1 percent year-on-year to USD 25.4 billion, while imports increased by 20.3 percent in January according to Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar. Imports stood at USD 40.1 billion in January 2012, resulting in a trade deficit of USD 14.7 billion. During April-January 2011-12, the country's exports increased by 23.5 percent to USD 242.8 billion. Imports grew by 29.4 percent to USD 391.5 billion during the 10 months period. The trade deficit stood at USD 148.7 billion for the period. 6. 35 people in a remote village of Jharkhand became the first Indians to access their Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme bank accounts on their doorstep, having had their identities authenticated through their Aadhaar numbers. 7. The United States Congress votes to pass legislation allowing for greater use of drone aircraft in the United States. 8. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the President of Argentina, states that Argentina will lodge a complaint with the United Nations Security Council and the United Nations General Assembly about the alleged "militarization" of the area around the Falkland Islands by the United Kingdom. 9. Private companies will now be allowed to produce alkaloids from opium. This is part of the National Policy on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, which was unveiled by the Finance Minister, Mr. Pranab Mukharjee. Mr. Mukharjee hoped that the new policy would help curb drug trafficking. He had said while presenting the Union Budget for 2011-12 that trafficking in narcotic drugs was also generating black money in India. 10. A month after the southern Chinese village of Wukan rose up in open rebellion against the local Communist Party leadership over land grabs, Premier Wen Jiabao has assured farmers their rights would be protected as Beijing looks to address rising rural unrest ahead of a crucial leadership transition.
11. Global rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) cautioned India that its sovereign credit rating could tilt slightly towards negative' if effective action was not taken to counter the balance of risk factors emanating from economic uncertainties at home and abroad. In its report titled Several factors could weigh on India's current stable sovereign rating in 2012', S&P Ratings Services pointed out that even though it did not expect to downgrade or revise the stable' outlook on India's investment grade ('BBB-') long-term sovereign credit rating in the near future, there were some concerns as the country is battling with high inflation, weak government fiscal position, slow domestic economic growth and the euro zone sovereign debt crisis, which could impact the economy. 12. The Oman Tourism team launched its promotional programme, Opulence of Oman. 13. Participating in the pre-budget discussions with Finance Minister Pranab Mukharjee, economists pointed out that rather than a mere annual statement of accounts, the primary policy focus of the Budget for the new fiscal should be to convey a serious policy message on fiscal consolidation along with steps to expedite tax reforms to mop up higher revenue and bring the economy back to a higher growth trajectory. 14. Concern was also expressed over the widening fiscal deficit, which crossed 92 per cent of the Budget target by December. Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) member M. Govinda Rao, who also attended the meeting, said the fiscal deficit in 2011-12, targeted at 4.6 per cent, could overshoot to around 5.6 per cent of the GDP (gross domestic product). 15. Laureus World Sports Awards were unveiled in London today . Serbian tennis giant Novak Djokovic and Kenyan distance runner Vivian Cheruiyot were named as the best Sportsman and Sportswoman of the year, while the glory of best Team went to reigning Champions League football holders FC Barcelona. 16. Argentina retained the FIH Champions Trophy for women at Rosario (Argentina), defeating Great Britain by a solitary goal. The Netherlands claimed the bronze after a 5-4 win over Germany.

1. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Corporation is planning to put up a 1,000-MW solar park in the country for the newly set up Solar Energy Corporation. Mr Tarun Kapur, Joint Secretary in the Ministry, said that developing such a park would be one of the Corporation's activities. 2. The cement industry has asked for the simplification and rationalisation of excise, duty-free import of fuel and raw materials and correction of skewed import policies relating to cement, according to Mr M.A.M.R. Muthiah, President and Cement Manufacturers Association. Rising cost of imported coal, and raw materials such as gypsum are impacting the industry, which is a key component in infrastructure development. The prevailing policies tax import of fuel and raw materials, but allow duty-free import of the final product cement. The cement industry body is hoping that the Government corrects this imbalance in the 2012-13 Union Budget. 3. Thomas cook, the travel company announced that it will sell its stake in its Indian subsidiary Thomas Cook (India) Ltd (TCIL). Thomas Cook holds 77.1% stake in its Indian subsidiary. The gross monetary value of 77% stake that the Thomas Cook holds in its Indian arm is Rs.879 cr. Thomas Cook (India), which came into existence in 1881, is the largest travel firm in the country, with major market positions in foreign exchange and travel. It has its operation scattered across 70 Indian cities. Its forex business contributes 60% of its entire revenue. 4. The new President of the Maldives Mohammed Waheed Hassan calls for the formation of a national unity government while supporters of former President Mohamed Nasheed riot. The Maldives today reaffirmed its special and close ties with India. Following India's assurance of continued support and cooperation by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh 5. Vincent Van Gogh, Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro artworks, from the personal collection of Elizabeth Taylor, sell for 13.7 million at Christie's in London.
6. U.S. President Barack Obama becomes the first president in history to shoot a marshmallow across the State Dining Room. 7. Three Bharatiya Janata Party Ministers in the Indian state of Karnataka Laxman Savadi, C C Patil and J. Krishna Palemar are forced to resign after footage is shown of them watching a pornographic video in the Legislative Assembly. Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker K.G. Boppaiah has constituted a House Committee to probe the matter. 8. Bahrain Telecommunications Co (Batelco) today announced to sell its 43 percent stake in Indian joint venture S Tel for $175 million, in the first foreign exit since the Supreme Court of India nullified 122 telecoms licences on 2 February 2012 as part of a 2G scam probe. Batelco will sell the stake to India partner Sky City Foundation Ltd and will receive the same price it paid to acquire its holding in S Tel in 2009. The deal would be materialized by the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2011-12. 9. Gujarat High Court orders compensation for religious structures destroyed during Godhra riots; Criticises Gujarat government for inaction in preventing the same. 10. In Uttar Pradesh, over 62 per cent of voters cast their votes on the 55 seats spread over 10 districts of Awadh and eastern regions, during the first phase of incident-free Assembly polls today. 62 per cent polling reported in the first phase of Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. 11. Judicial inquiry ordered into the Hooch Tragedy that claimed 29 lives in some villages of Cuttack and Khurda districts of Odisha. 12. India defeat Sri Lanka by four wickets in the second ODI of the ongoing Tri-Series at Perth. 13. In Odisha, at least 29 persons have died of drinking spurious liquor. As many as 51 more persons are still struggling for life at the SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack. Deaths have taken place in several villages spread over Mahidharpada and Balianta areas of Cuttack and adjoining Khurda districts of Odisha. The Odisha Government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident. 14. While addressing the two day conference of Food and Agriculture Ministers of States and Union Territories that began in New Delhi today, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukharjee said that massive investments are needed in the agriculture sector to meet the requirements for implementation of the Food Security Bill and challenge of providing food to all can be achieved through investments in agriculture, enhancement of production and application of technology. 15. The Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public distribution, K.V Thomas called for speedy modernization of the PDS to check pilferage and to ensure payment to farmers through cheque or account transfer. 16. Rick Santorum, the former Senator from Pennsylvania, on Wednesday won the Republican caucuses in three states, reshaping the party's primary race and staking out his claim to be the main alternative to front-runner Mitt Romney.

1. Reserve Bank today said companies incorporated in China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Iran and Afghanistan will have to seek its permission to set up branch or liaison offices in India as general permission granted to entities of other nations will not apply to them. 2. Government approves National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy to facilitate access to central government owned sharable data and information. 3. Government today approved setting up of a National Centre for Cold Chain Development under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 as a society and allocated a one-time grant of Rs 25 crore for its corpus fund. The decision comes in the wake of post harvest losses to the tune of Rs 50,000 crore annually in absence of proper storage facilities. The NCCD will be having a Governing Council under the Chairmanship of Secretary with 22 members, covering government officials, Confederation of Indian Industry, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, FICCI and other stake holders. 4. India, the world's second largest producer of horticulture products after China , accounts for 71.5 million tonnes of fruits, 133.7 million tonnes of vegetables and 17.8 million tonnes of other
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commodities like flowers, spices, coconut, cashew, mushroom, honey among others. A significant portion of the produce like fruits, vegetables, flowers go waste due to post harvest losses in absence of proper cold storage facilities. A Parliamentary panel has also pointed out that post harvest losses of fruits and vegetables are as high as 35 per cent, valuing more than 50,000 crore rupees annually. Earlier the government had constituted a Task Force in 2008 on cold chain development to assess the situation. The Task Force had recommended formation of a dedicated institution for promoting cold chain development. A robust cold chain infrastructure will go a long way in reducing the losses of perishables. Uttar Pradesh's Secondary Education Director Sanjay Mohan has been arrested in connection with alleged irregularities in the Teachers Eligibility Test. India's exports registered a marginal increase of 10.1 per cent in January over the previous month standing at $25.4 billion with warnings that 2012-13 could be a difficult period for the exporting community. With the traditional Western markets continuing to register a slow growth and Euro zone debt crisis refusing to go away, the situation on the export front was something to cheer about. But the story was not the same for imports as pushed by expensive crude oils and vegetable oils, imports grew at a faster rate of 20.3 per cent to $40.1 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $14.7 billion. Union Cabinet today approved the guidelines for establishing joint venture companies by Defense Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs). The guidelines contain provisions for matters critical from a national security perspective. Retention of the affirmative right of DPSU for prior approval to key joint venture decisions such as amendments to the Articles of Association of the joint venture company, declaration of dividend, sale of substantial assets, and formation of further joint ventures/ subsidiaries is one of the features of the guidelines. Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai today met Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and held a series of meetings at the State Department and the White House on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues. On his first bilateral visit to the U.S. as the Foreign Secretary, Mr. Mathai is understood to have presented Indias perspective on a wide range of regional and global issues including Iran, the peace talks with Taliban and situation in the region. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Laxman Das has asked his taxmen all over the country to take up the challenge and mop up the budgeted revenue in the remaining months of this fiscal to bridge the gap. In a communication to top IT officials after taking over charge on February 1, Mr. Das termed the Rs.5.32 lakh crore direct tax target as non-negotiable' and spurred taxmen to mop up as much revenue as possible this fiscal with a promise of good appraisals' and choice transfers'. Alongside, the CBDT chief also directed all the chief commissioners of income-tax to furnish the latest data on of revenue collection in their respective regions by February 15 as a compulsory measure. Union Overseas Minister Vayalar Ravi today urged the state governments to propagate the effectiveness of ayurveda treatment in curing non communicable diseases. He said this while inaugurating the international Ayurveda festival - 2012 in Thiruvananthapuram. President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil today released a special commemorative stamp to mark the Golden Jubilee of the India International Centre (IIC) in New Delhi. Speaking at the function at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology, Sachin Pilot said, the IIC plays a major role in promoting awareness and creating public opinion. He said, the Stamp priced at five rupees promotes the nations image and depicts the rich diverse culture of the country. Mr. Pilot recalled the IIC's contribution in promoting intellectual discourses, art and culture. Speaking on the occasion, former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee said the IIC through its valuable contribution to society, has left its footprints on the sands of time. He said the stamp will be a delight for stamp collectors across the world. The Pakistan Supreme Court today said that the contempt of court proceedings against Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani would automatically end if the Chief Executive writes a letter to Swiss authorities to re-open graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry made the remarks while hearing Gilani's appeal against an order summoning him on February the
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13th for the framing of charges in a contempt of court case for refusing to open corruption cases against President Zardari. The Arab League has called upon the UN to send a Joint UN-Arab league monitoring team to Syria. The League Chief Nabil Al Arabi spoke to UN secretary General Ban Ki Moon and sought the nomination of a special envoy to head the Joint monitoring mission. In Egypt, the Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri has made it clear that the military rulers will not leave office before the end of June as scheduled. He warned against calls for the speedy transfer of power to a civilian administration, recalling the fall of the Iraqi army after the U.S. invasion in 2003. Ganzouri urged Egyptians to unite in the hour of crisis. He said the conditions in Egypt are worse than after the countrys crushing military defeat in 1967 against Israel. Ganzouri also warned that Egypt was the backbone of the Middle East, a region in flux at the moment, and if Egypt falls, the whole region will follow. In South Korea, the parliamentary speaker Park Hee-tae announced his exit today amid allegations that he attempted to bribe his way to the chairmanship of the ruling party in 2008. Park said in a statement read by parliamentary spokesman Han Jong-tae that he feels responsible for the problems and intend to resign. Park has been under pressure to resign after Koh Seung-duk of the ruling Saenuri Party, formerly the Grand National Party, claimed Park's aide offered him an envelope containing over 2,680 U.S. dollars in an attempt to buy his vote before the party leadership contest. Park, has denied his involvement in the alleged vote-buying scandal. In a period of mega dam and hydro electric projects, a villager of Assam has developed a unique method to generate electricity. Nripen Kalita, a resident of Jiakur village in Kamrup district developed the Zero -Head Water turbine which generates electric energy from moving water and concurrently pumps the water for irrigation and other purposes. It cost around 12 thousand rupees to set up the turbine and produce electricity. In Madhya Pradesh, a two day International Conference on Cooperatives for Social and Economic Change began in Bhopal today. States Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated the conference. The conference is being organized by Sahkar Bharti jointly with Madhya Pradesh government. United Nations Organization has decided to observe the year 2012 as International Cooperatives Year. Representatives of several countries, cooperative ministers of various states, and officebearers of national-level cooperative societies are attending the International Conference on Cooperatives for Social and Economic Change. Issues like universal guidelines for cooperative sector, taxation on cooperative bodies, and inclusion of cooperative bodies in public private partnership are being discussed in the conference. Allahabad High Court today asked the central government to exercise caution before releasing proposed funds for Japanese encephalitis eradication programmes in eastern UP districts. Hearing a petition related to quacks in the state, the court took sue motto of the case of Japanese encephalitis in Gorakhpur and many other districts of eastern UP.
Daily GK Updates: 10 Feb 2012

1. Angelo Dundee, the man behind the success of Muhammad Ali died in Tampa, Florida at the age of 90. The amiable trainer worked on Alis corner in almost all his fights. 2. India-born music conductor Zubin Mehta has been honoured with Israel's first Presidential Awards of Distinction, the country's version of the French Legion of Honour or the Order of Canada. NOTE: - French Legion of Honour or the Order of Canada Award is being bestowed upon those "who have made an outstanding contribution to the state of Israel or to humanity, through their talents, services, or in any other form. 3. India today successfully conducted trial of a indigenous advanced air defence interceptor missile from Odisha coast, off Bay of Bengal. The trial was conducted as part of the country's plan to
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deploy a reliable two-layer ballistic missile Defence, system. India's indigenously developed surface-to-surface ballistic missile Prithvi was engaged as hostile vehicle from the Integrated Test Range in Chandipore in Odisha at 10.13 this morning for the endo-atmospheric test of the interceptor. The interceptor was fired at 10.16, only three minutes after the 'Prithvi' firing. The interceptor successfully hit Prithvi in mid-air over the Bay of Bengal. Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the post-Godhra 2002 riots in Gujarat filed its final report before a local court today. Empowered Group of Ministers meeting headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukharjee that was scheduled for 14th February to consider changes in the natural gas allocation policy has been postponed. Finance Minister Pranab Mukharjee described the 1.8 per cent industrial output growth in December as "disappointing" and expressed hope that the figures would show some improvement in the coming months. Indian cricket was hit by a major sponsorship crisis after Sahara India ended its 11-year-old financial ties with the BCCI and also pulled out of the IPL by withdrawing from Pune Warriors' ownership just hours before the players auction for the fifth edition. The Supreme Court today said it was not in favour of entertaining Army Chief General V K Singh's petition on the age controversy and gave him option to withdraw it. India and European Union today signed two agreements in the field of Research and Innovation Cooperation and Statistical Cooperation. The agreements were signed following one on one talks between the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and the visiting European Council President, Mr. Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President, Mr. Jose Manuel Varroso in New Delhi. The head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Amman, Arafat Jamal said, the number of Syrians taking refuge in Jordan, had risen sharply over the last three days. He put the number of Syrian refugees at the UN agency at 3,500. National Human Right Commission, NHRC today said that it is strongly in the favour of having Rights of Patients Act in the country as it is in other countries. The Act will enable the patients to know not only about their ailments but also about diagnosis and treatment by the doctors. Veteran writer-director O P Dutta passed away following a bout of pneumonia at a local hospital in Mumbai last night. He had taken ill and was admitted to Kokilaben Hospital in suburban Mumbai. Industrial production grew by just 1.8 per cent year-on-year in December due to contraction in mining and capital goods sectors and a lower manufacturing sector growth. Factory output growth, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production was at 8.1 per cent in December 2010. Output of the manufacturing sector, which constitutes over 75 per cent of the index, rose at a lower rate of 1.8 per cent in December, compared to a growth of 8.7 per cent in the same month of 2010, according to official data released today. India today sent its special envoy to Male to assess the situation in the island where ex-president has been insisting that he was ousted in a coup. The ousted president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, has demanded fresh elections and says he will organise street protests in the Indian Ocean archipelago. Amidst differences on some of the issues, the Standing Committee on Finance has postponed adoption of its final report on the Direct Tax code. The Committee is expected to give its nod by March 2 after three more meetings.The Committees report may help the Government to introduce some of the provisions of the proposed Code in the Budget for 2012-13. Dr Narottam Puri, Chairman of National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare (NABH) said the board would soon begin surprise checks in accredited hospitals to ensure that they maintained the prescribed standards through the tenure of accreditation. This decision to conduct surprise checks in accredited hospitals was taken at a recent board meeting in December.
Daily GK Updates: 11 Feb, 2012

1. Greece's Cabinet has approved fresh austerity measures demanded by the Eurozone and IMF in return for a 130 billion-euro bailout. The draft bill must now be passed by the Greek Parliament and approved by European Finance Ministers. Five Ministers have resigned from the government over the issue, with one junior party in the coalition, saying the demands were humiliating. 2. World Radio Day will be observed for the first time on 13 th Feb. by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO. The role of radio as a facilitator of education, freedom of expression and public debate, will be highlighted. Director General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova in her message marking the Day, said that we must make the most of radio's ability to connect people and societies to share knowledge and information and to strengthen understanding. 3. New Maldives President Mohammed Waheed Manik has rejected calls by his predecessor for snap elections as a way of resolving a political stand-off. 4. Orissa High Court has directed the state government to immediately file a status report on the hooch tragedy that claimed 33 lives in Cuttack and Khurda districts. 5. Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh has said that the Centre has decided to bring all rural development schemes under CAG Audit to ensure greater transparency and accountability. Inaugurating the All India Editors Conference on Social Sector issues in Puducherry last evening, he said, the government was concerned over large scale pilferage and siphoning of funds earmarked for rural development programmes. 6. Corporate Affairs Minister M Veerappa Moily has said that the National Competition Policy would be in place by next month-end. Speaking at 'India Corporate and Investor Meet', organised by his Ministry and CII in Bangalore Mr. Moily said, he would soon move the Cabinet and will have the National Competition Policy by March 31. 7. Sudan and South Sudan signed a Non Aggression Pact on their disputed border in Addis Ababa. The African Union Chief negotiator Thabo Mbeki said the two countries agree to non-aggression and cooperation. The deal calls for setting up of a monitoring mechanism where either side can lodge complaints in case of border disputes. 8. In Assam, 20 new Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya are being opened under Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, SSA in the current fiscal. It is a scheme to provide elementary level quality and life skilled education to girl children of the age group 10 to 14 years belonging to SC, ST, OBC and Minority communities in a residential mode. Official sources said that 2000 girls have already been enrolled in 37 such schools in 17 districts of the state. 9. Government has approved 20 foreign direct investment proposals amounting to around 1034 crore rupees. The proposals were cleared following recommendations of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board. 10. A draft resolution is circulated by Saudi Arabia at the United Nations General Assembly calling for an end to the violence. 11. Activists in Egypt mark the first anniversary of the overthrow of former President Hosni Mubarak in the 2011 Egyptian revolution with a strike and a day of civil disobedience. 12. According to an international Poll of happiness scale Indians among world's happiest people. More than three-quarters of people around the globe who were questioned said they were happy with their lives and nearly a quarter described themselves as very happy. Regionally Latin America had the highest number of happy people, followed by North America, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and Africa. Only 15% of Europeans said they were very happy. 13. Reliance Holdings USA Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RIL, sold 5.4% senior, unsecured notes maturing in February 2022 at 345 basis points more than similar-maturity Treasuries. The Notes have been priced at 345 basis points over the 10-year US Treasury Note.
14. Electrical equipment major Numeric Power Systems has decided to sell its UPS (uninterrupted power system) business to Legrand Group of France for a total consideration of Rs.806.44 crore. Numeric Power has initialled a definitive agreement to this effect with the French Group.
Daily GK Updates, 12th Feb 2012

1. The 54th Annual Grammy Awards were held today at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The death of pop diva Total of 78 awards were presented following the Academy's decision to restructure the Grammy Award categories.
List of Important Winners Album of the Year: 21 - Adele Record of the Year: Rolling in the Deep, Adele Song of the Year:Rolling in the Deep, Adele Best New Artist: Bon Iver
2. Whitney Houston, the most awarded female act of all time and a heart throb of the 80's with soulful songs like 'I Will Always Love You', was found dead at a hotel in Los Angeles on the eve of music industry's 54th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony. 3. The sixty-fifth annual British Academy Film awards, the BAFTAs was held at the Royal Opera House in London today. List of Winners in different categories at the BAFTA Best Picture: The Artist Best Actor: Jean Dujardin The Artist Best Actress: Meryl Streep The Iron Lady Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius The Artist Best Supporting actress: Octavia Spencer The Help Best Supporting actor: Christopher Plummer Beginners Best Animated film: Rango directed by Gore Verbinski Best Documentary: Senna Outstanding British film: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Best Film not in the English language: The Skin I Live In (Spanish thriller film written and directed by Pedro Almodvar) Outstanding debut: Tyrannosaur Adapted screenplay: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Bridget OConnor and Peter Straughan Best Original screenplay: The Artist Michel Hazanavicius Best Original score: The Artist Ludovic Bource Rising star award: Adam Deacon Academy fellowship: Martin Scorsese Short animation: A Morning Stroll Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
Short film: Pitch Black Heist John Maclean and Geraldine
4. Share Market Regulator, SEBI [Security and Exchange Board of India] gave its approval to the listing of 64.27 lakh shares of MCX [Multi Commodity Exchange of India] in the capital market. The approval would remain effective for the next one year. The IPO [Initial Public Offering] will first be listed with BSE [Bombay Stock Exchange] followed by NSE [National Stock Exchange]. Price of IPO is expected to be around Rs. 1200 per share. MCX is the sixth largest commodity exchange in the world which occupies number one ranking in silver and number two in gold. With SEBIs approval MCX would become the first exchange in India to have got listed in Capital market. 5. Numeric Power Systems Limited, the Indian power electronics major sold its UPS [Uninterrupted Power Supply] business to Legrand in a deal worth Rs. 829 cr. The announcement about the top notched deal was made by Numeric Power Systems Limited. 6. According to a poll conducted by global research company IPSOS, the happiest people of the world reside in Indonesia, India and Mexico. The survey measured comparative depth and intensity of happiness among country citizens and the world. The poll of 18687 adults was conducted from November 1 to 15 2011. 7. According to the survey, world was a happier place than in 2007 as 22% (up 2 points) of global citizens were found to be in a happy state of mind. Indians were among the happiest on this planet. While eight in 10 (77%) citizens in 24 countries surveyed stated they were happy in their lives, one quarter (22%) mentioned they were very happy. On a national level, Indonesia had the highest proportion of happiest people with 51% reporting they are very happy followed by India and Mexico (43%) each. Brazil and Turkey shared the third position, where 30% of citizens expressed their contentment, followed by Australia and the United States each at 28%. 8. The White House named India's Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen the recipient of the 2011 US National Humanities Medal. Amartya Sen, who retains his Indian citizenship, is the first Indian to be honored with the medal that is typically awarded to US nationals. While Indian scholars and experts of Indian-origin had previously won White House recognition in science and engineering in the form of National Medals, this is a first in humanities. 9. The number of foreigners availing Visa on Arrival (VoA) scheme registered 72 per cent increase in January 2012 as against January 2011. There were as many as 1359 foreigners, who availed themselves of the scheme in January compared with 790 in January 2011, registering a growth of 72 per cent. As a facilitative measure to attract more foreign tourists, the Government had launched Visa on Arrival scheme in January 2010 for citizens of five countries Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore. The Government had extended the scheme to four more countries Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines from January 2011. 10. Veteran Hindi film music composer Rajesh Roshan was honoured with the Lata Manageshkar award by the Madhya Pradesh government. The Lata Manageshkar award for 2010-11 contained Rs two lakh in cash and a scroll of honour. The award was presented to Roshan by the State Culture Minister Laxmikant Sharma. During his career spanning 36 years, he had never before accepted an award from any state government. The award was instituted by the state government in 1984 and since its inception it has been given away to 27 personalities including legends like late Jagjit Singh, Asha Bhonsle and Naushad.
11. Pakistani archaeologists discovered a rare Indus Valley civilization-era seal in steatite dating back to 2,500-2,000 BC from the Cholistan area of Punjab province. The discovery is expected to open new dimensions for scholars. The seal was discovered during the Sui-Vihar Excavations and Archaeological Reconnaissance of Southern Punjab a project funded by UNESCO to explore sites along the Hakra river. The UNESCO project aimed at learning more about Buddhist influence in this region which has its own distinctive features as opposed to the Gandhara School of art further north. The team also conducted excavations at Sui-Vihar which is billed as the only existing example of Sankhya doctrines in Pakistan. 12. India's indigenously developed micro-light pilot-less target aircraft Lakshya-1 was successfully test flown from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur near Balasore. Usually, the flight duration of the micro light aircraft is 30 to 35 minutes. But test is conducted for enhancement of the flight duration and to check other parameters.
Daily GK Updates 13th Feb 2012

1. India and Saudi Arabia today agreed to set up a Joint Working Group on Defence Co-operation during the visit of Defence Minister A.K Antony to the latter. The focus was on strengthening bilateral co-operation in the defence sector. The two sides held wide ranging talks including those on combating terrorism and piracy and co-operation in regional affairs. India opined that the situation in the Gulf region is a cause of great concern for India. It hoped the crisis will be resolved through peaceful dialogue. 2. Gati,the Supply-chain solutions Provider Company entered into a Joint venture with Japanese company Kintetsu World Express today. As per the term of the agreement both the companies will merge up their express distribution supply-chain business. Gati and Kintetsu World Express would hold 70% and 30% stake respectively in the new joint venture. Under the joint venture Gati's entire express distribution and supply-chain (EDSC) business will transfer into the joint venture through a business transfer agreement. The entire process will take another two months to get materialized. 3. In Gujarat, Indias first highly sophisticated Vessel Traffic Service was dedicated to the nation in Kandla. Sixteen thousand square kilometres of Gulf of Kutch are now under strict vigilance by this ultra modern radar system which is the first and the largest radar surveillance system on Indian coast. 4. BCCI decided to sack Indian Teams bowling Coach Eric Simons toady. The ongoing One day tri-series in Australia will be his last assignment as the bowling coach of Indian Cricket Team. Joe Daves of Queensland will take the charge of new bowling coach. 5. Vodafone India, countrys third largest telecom company, appointed Analjeet Singh as its non executive Chairman. Analjeet Singh will take the charge from 16 February 2012. Analjeet Singh a telecom industry veteran holds 3% stake in Vodafone India. Singh is the founder and Chairman of Max India and its subsidiaries like Max New York Life Insurance Company, Max Healthcare Institute and Max Bupa Health Insurance Company. 6. Syria today rejected the Arab League proposal for deployment of a Joint UN-Arab Peacekeeping mission by the UN Security Council to monitor the situation in the country, describing it as a hostile act that targets Syria's stability and security. Arab League suspended Syrias membership in November 2011. 7. Gujarat topped the list of most preferred business destination in India in year 2011. According to Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India [ASSOCHAM] report, released today, Gujarat at the end of 2011 got the total investment proposal worth Rs. 16.28 lakh crore. 8. Cognizant Technology Solutions inked a five-year deal with Future Group today. Cognizant, the technology solution company will provide technological assistance to all the companies of Future Group. The US IT major will provide technological support to over 1,000 Future Group stores, including Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Central, Home Town, and eZone, across 85 towns and cities in India. The deal
will also cover new stores the company opens in the future. 9. Noted Hindi writer Professor Ramdarash Mishra was selected for the 21st Vyas Samman for his poetry collection Aam Ke Patte published in 2004. The selection committee headed by Suryaprasad Dixit selected the collection for the award. The award, instituted by the K.K. Birla Foundation, is given annually for an outstanding literary work in Hindi published during the past 10 years. The award carries a cash purse of Rs. 2.5 lakh. 10.The Delhi government today announced medical benefits, financial support and higher compensation packages for various other categories of workers, including those working in industries and covered by the Industrial Workers Act. The benefits are to cover the workers who contribute to the Delhi Labour Welfare Board. 11.Renowned Urdu poet and noted lyricist of Umrao Jaan, Akhlaq Mohammad Khan passed away in Aligarh today fter battling lung cancer. Khan who wrote under the pen name Shahryar had received the Jnanpith Award for 2008 in September 2011. He is best known for songs like Dil cheez kya hai aap meri jaan lijiye, In aakhon ki masti ke mastaane hazaron hain from Umrao Jaan. 12.Assam Government prepared a draft proposal to revise minimum wages for workers and employees engaged under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. The wages are to be revised under the relevant provisions of Minimum Wages Act, 1948. The minimum rates of wages fixed for different categories included- 208 rupees per day for skilled work and 150 rupees per day for semi-skilled and unskilled supervisory work. A minimum rate of 130 rupees per day has been proposed for unskilled workers who are engaged in agriculture, construction or maintenance of roads, building operation, stone breaking, flood control, irrigation and public health engineering.

1. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today issued the Draft Circular for Deployment of White Label Automated Teller Machines (WLAs) from non-bank entities. The central banks issuance of the draft reflected the banks intention to accelerate the growth and penetration of ATMs in the country. ATMs rolled out by non-banks will be like White Label ATMs (WLA) and will provide ATM services to customers of all banks. 2. WLA means ATM owned, run and maintained by third parties on a contract basis from a financial institution. The WLA operator can choose the location of the WLA. However, it will have to adhere to annual targets and the ratio of WLA between Tier I &II and Tier III-VI centres that may be stipulated by the RBI. 3.Non-bank entities proposing to set up WLAs have to apply to the RBI seeking authorisation under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act 2007. The non-banking entities should have a minimum net worth of Rs. 100 crore at the time of making the application and on a continuing basis after issue of the requisite authorisation. The WLA operator will have to declare one Sponsor Bank, which will serve as the Settlement Bank for the settlement of all the service transactions at the WLAs. The Sponsor Bank should be a member of one of the ATM networks authorised by the RBI and also be a member of the RTGS. The primary responsibility to redress grievance of customers relating to failed ATM transactions will vest with the Card Issuing Bank. The Sponsor Bank will provide necessary support in this regard. At present only banks are permitted to set up Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in India. Banks have played a major role in encouraging ATM adoption and modifying behavioral strategies in the domain of personal banking. The banking space witnessed considerable growth through the ATMs, which currently stands 87000 nos. and has been restricted principally to the urban/metro areas. 4. According to a report of Tea Board of India, Assam contributed more than 50 percent of the countrys total tea production in 2011. Assam produced around 509 million kg tea which also led the Indias total tea output to 988.32 million kg in this period. It is for the third time that the state has crossed the 500 million kg mark in terms of tea production. Assam has around one lakh small tea gardens. The annual turnover of this industry is Rs five thousand crore and it employs over 10 lakh people.
5. The 44th Session of Indian Labour Conference under the chairmanship of Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Union Minister of Labour & Employment was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today. The conference was attended by senior representatives of Workers and Employers Organisations and State Labour Ministers and Senior Officers from Central Ministries/Departments and State Governments. The Conference deliberated upon very topical and critical issues viz., (i) Minimum Wages, (ii) Social Security and (iii) Employability and Employment. 6. A new study claimed that the theory proposed by Charles Darwin on life's origin was right. Darwin proposed that the life originated on land in a pond and not in the oceans. The study by researchers at the Osnabruck university in Germany found that the first primitive cells might have originated in pools of condensed vapour. This was caused by underground hot water. 7. As per official data released today, Inflation eased to a 26-month low at 6.55 per cent in January 2012 from 7.47 per cent in December 2011 on the back of further fall in vegetable prices. The overall inflation, as measured by the wholesale price index (WPI), witnessed a sharp-sharp fall in January, 2012, from 9.47 per cent in January 2011. 8. India signed six agreements with Thailand during the visit of latters Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on 24-26 January 2012. These agreements are as following: 1)The MoU on Defence Cooperation between India and Thailand The MoU would help further streamline and facilitate the ongoing defence cooperation between the two countries. 2)Treaty between India and Thailand on the transfer of sentenced prisoners The treaty will enable Indians, convicted and sentenced in Thailand, to be brought to India to serve the remaining part of their sentence. Similarly, Thai prisoners serving sentence in India can be transferred to their home country. 3)Second Protocol to amend the Framework agreement between India and Thailand Under this protocol, third country invoicing would be allowed for gear boxes made in India and two-door refrigerators would be added to the list of products traded under the Early Harvest Scheme launched under bilateral FTA. This would help boost Indian exports to Thailand as well as our bilateral trade. 4)Programme of Cooperation in the fields of Science & Technology for the year 2012-14 This document is under the framework bilateral agreement on S and T cooperation and covers scientific cooperation in a number of areas for the period 2012-14. 5)Cultural Exchange Programme between India and Thailand for the year 2012-14 This document will further deepen age-old cultural and historical ties between the two countries by promoting diverse cultural exchanges. 6)MoU between ICCR and Chulallongkorn University for setting up a Chair at the India Studies Centre This document will enable setting up a Chair at the India Studies Centre at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.

1.Haryana government today suspended the scheme of distribution of social benefits under Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) in the State till the infrastructure of banks is stabilized in the rural areas. The network of private sector banks in the state was found to increase considerably. However the partici[pation of the private sector banks in the social lending require improvement. On the occassion of 119th meeting of State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC), Haryana, the Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary (Finance) Ajit M Sharan mentioned the service area allocation in terms of the guidelines issued by the Department of Financial Services, Union Ministry of Finance need to be reexamined. Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs) have been established in nine districts in Haryana up to December 2011 and opening of RSETIs in rest of the districts is currently under process in the state. 2. Mr S. Narsing Rao has been shortlisted by The Public Enterprises Selection Board to head the Coal India Ltd. Mr S. Narsing Rao, an Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS officer is currently the CMD of the state-controlled Singareni Collieries Company (SCCL). He has been holding this position since 2006. 3. Novak Djokovic was awarded with the highest Serbian award, the Gold Star of Karadjordje today. The award was conferred upon him by the Serbian President Boris Tadic. Novak Djokovic currently holds the number one seed in the world tennis ranking. He has five grand slam titles in his name including two
Australian Open title, one Wimbeldon and US open title each. Award to Djokovic, also marks the resumption of the highest award which was discontinued by the leadership of Yugoslavia after World War II. 4. The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today approved the auction route for selling 5 per cent stake in state-run oil major ONGC before the end of the current fiscal 2011-12. Government holds a 74.14% stake in ONGC and a 67.72% stake in BHEL. A 5% stake auction in BHEL could fetch Rs 5,000 crore. The proposed disinvestment of government stake in BHEL was however postponed to the fiscal 2012-13. 5. The New Telecom Policy was announced by communications minister Kapil Sibal today. The key policy measures are aimed at reassuring incumbent operators who had been seeking clarity in rules at a time when the government is making every possible effort to put the scam-tainted telecom sector back on track. 6. Key Points of New Telecom Policy: The government also decided to allow sharing of bandwidth and eased rules for mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the telecom sector. The maximum airwaves that companies can hold, also known as the prescribed limit, was enhanced to 8 MHz in all regions except Delhi and Mumbai, where the cap is at 10 MHz. The new policy favours a unified licence regime and a uniform licence fee of 8% of an operators adjusted gross revenue (AGR) across all telecom service areas. telcos currently pay 6-10% of their AGR as license fees. The policy defined the exit policy permitting mergers between operators, which do not exceed 35% of the market share and 25% of the spectrum available in the sector. The policy allows spectrum sharing, too, though the government has refused to allow leasing and left a decision on spectrum trading for a later date. The sharing will initially be allowed for five years and could be renewed for another five on terms to be prescribed. Currently, mergers are allowed only if the combined market share of the entities does not exceed 30 per cent. That has been raised to 35 per cent. Under the new rules on merger the combined entity can hold 25 per cent of the total spectrum in a circle.
Telecom regulkator TRAI had recommended that telecom companies could merge their operations if the combined market share of the new entity is less than 60%. 7. Supreme Court of India today directed closure of all unauthorized sandalwood oil factories in the country and asked the Centre to formulate a suitable policy for conservation of sandalwood, particularly red sanders, which is said to be endangered and available only in India. 8. Today Iran launched three nuclear projects including a fourth generation Ultra Centrifuge, which is capable of enriching the Uranium faster than its earlier models. The first one was at the Iranian Atomic Organization Research Center in Tehran where Iran's first home-made nuclear fuel rods were loaded into a medical reactor. This would be used for production of isotopes used in treatment of cancer patients. Iran unveiled two other projects in the Natanz plant in central Iran. These include a facility which will enable the plant to enrich uranium to 20 per cent. The fourth generation Ultracentrifuge will enable far higher enrichment speed than previous models. Enriched uranium is a critical component for both civil nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons. 9. In New Delhi, the biggest coordinated mock drills were carried out today to check the alertness and preparedness of various public agencies, if an earthquake of high magnitude rocks the national capital. The drills were conducted in several places, including six Metro stations.
DAILY GK UPDATES: 16th FEB 2012

1. The Centre has approved the setting up of a new Rail Coach Manufacturing unit at Palakkad in Kerala to manufacture 400 coaches per annum. It will be a Joint Venture in which the Railways shall contribute 26 percent of the equity. The estimated cost of the project is 550 crore rupees excluding the cost of land. The decision was taken by the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister today. 2. The Karnataka legislative Assembly Speaker K.G. Boppaiah has announced the formation of a House Committee to probe the incident of three former BJP ministers watching porn video in the House. A seven member Committee headed by BJP MLA Srisaila Bidaruru has been constituted for the purpose.The Committee has been asked to submit its findings by March 13th. Lakshman Savadi, C.C. Patil and Krishna Palemar resigned as ministers, after electronic channels showed them watching porn video in the Assembly
on seventh of this month. 3. President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil will send the report of the Committee of Governors by the end of this month to the government and the Planning commission for action. The report contains recommendations to enhance productivity, profitability and sustainability to revitalise the Agriculture sector. 4. India lost to Malaysia in the quarter finals of the Thomas Cup Men's Badminton tournament in Macau today. Malaysia has taken a 3-0 lead winning two singles and one doubles match. 5. The Board of Control for Cricket in India, BCCI and Sahara Group today reached a compromise after a series of hectic negotiations. Sahara will continue sponsorship of the Indian team. In a joint statement issued in New Delhi, the BCCI and Sahara confirmed that the auction purse for Pune Warriors will be reactivated which means the Pune team can take several players subject to the squad composition regulations. The agreement also paved the way for the Pune team's participation in the fifth edition of the IPL. 6. To further strengthen their relations, India and Pakistan have released today 22 prisoners from their jails, through the Attari-Wagah joint Check Post, today. Indiahas repatriated three Pakistan prisoners who were arrested for illegally crossing intoIndian territory some years back. Whereas, Pakistan has reciprocated by repatriating 19 Indian prisoners including 16 fishermen who had inadvertently crossed over into Pakistan waters while fishing in Gujarat. This is the first time this year when both the neighbouring countries have released prisoners on the same day. 7. In Tamil Nadu, the four member expert committee constituted by the state government to look into the safety aspects of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project and address the fears of the local population, is to meet in Chennai tomorrow. 8. The Tourism Ministry has joined hands with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry for promotion of Incredible India Campaign and indian Cinema at various International film festivals and markets abroad. A Memorandum of Understanding, MoU to this effect was signed today in New Delhi in the presence of Information and Broadcasting Minister Mrs Ambika Soni and Tourism Minsiter Subodh Kant Sahay. 9. India today summoned the Italian Ambassador in New Delhi and lodged a strong protest over the killing of its two fishermen allegedly by security guards of an Italian ship off the Kollam coast on suspicion of being pirates. It is alleged that no warning was given before firing. Mr M Ganapathi, Secretary (West) in the External Affairs Ministry, asked the Italian Ambassador to ensure that the vessel's captain cooperated with the police in the investigations. 10.The Muslim Brotherhood suggested Thursday that Cairo might reconsider its commitment to a peace treaty with Israel if the U.S. cuts $1.3 billion in military aid in retaliation for a deepening diplomatic crisis over American-funded pro-democracy groups working in Egypt. 11.In a major initiative to promote the Incredible India Campaign and Cinemas of India as a sub brand of Incredible India at various international film festivals and markets abroad, the Min of Information & Broadcasting and Min of Tourism signed a MoU. 12.Planning Commission today assured Chhattisgarh that the panel will support the proposal to build three rail corridors in the state under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, which will be primarily used for moving coal. 13.After its over a year of intensive probe, the Central Vigilance Commission has decided to make an exclusive report citing corruption and other grave irregularities allegedly done by government officials in executing Commonwealth Games related projects. The report, which is in its final stage, will be completed within a month's time and carry minute details of thousands of works done by civic and construction government departments in the run up to the mega sporting event held in the national capital in October 2010.
DAILY GK UPDATES:17 FEB 2012

1. India was among 137 members of the UN General Assembly that voted to approve a resolution, which "strongly" condemns all violence and human rights violations in Syria and supports Arab League efforts to resolve the nearly year long crisis in the country. The resolution, adopted by a vote of 137 in favour to 12 against with 17 abstentions, also called on Syria "to immediately put an end to all human rights violations and attacks against civilians." 2. A global survey has named two Indian cities -- the financial hub Mumbai and the national capital New
Delhi -- among the four least expensive places across the world. As per the worldwide 'cost of living' survey by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Mumbai is the second least expensive city globally, while New Delhi is ranked fourth. Karachi in Pakistan has been named as the cheapest destination globally, while Zurich in Switzerland is the most expensive place across the world, as per the survey. 3. In the summit which comes on the first anniversary of the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, Britain and France are to sign a landmark agreement to co-operate on civil nuclear energy, paving the way for the construction of a new generation of power plants in the UK. David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy will sign a deal on civilian nuclear co-operation and discuss defence and military ties. Deals worth more than 500m between British and French companies will allow work to start on new facilities, creating more than 1,500 jobs across the country. 4. The Agriculture Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, today said that wheat production is expected to be a record 88.31 million tonnes in the 2011-12 crop year (July-June) against 86.87 mt in the previous year. 5. Airtel Nigeria, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, is partnering First Bank to promote mobile banking services. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has started a campaign to discourage the movement of large amount of the currencies which has been the norm in the country. Bearing this in mind, Airtel and First Bank signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Lagos in which they promised to combine their strengths to provide secure, convenient and user-friendly mobile banking services to unbanked people via mobile phones. 6. Faulting the world for not doing enough to fight climate change, the United States has announced the formation of a coalition to cut short-lived pollutants that speed up warming and harm health. 7. The US Secretary of State, Ms Hillary Clinton, said the coalition of the United States, Bangladesh, Canada, Mexico, Sweden and Ghana will launch a global drive to curb black carbon (soot), methane and hydro-fluorocarbons (HFCs). 8. The Union Ministry of Environment has initiated a study on the impact of mobile phone towers on avian population, said Ms Jayanthi Natarajan, Union Minister for Environment & Forests. 9. Air Australia goes under; 4000 passengers stranded. Thousands of travellers from Hawaii to Thailand were stranded on Friday after budget airline Air Australia ran out of money and went into voluntary administration, immediately grounding its five-jet fleet. The Brisbane-based international and domestic airline, formerly known as Strategic Airlines, said all flights had been cancelled and the airline would not be accepting new bookings because it could no longer pay its bills. Voluntary administration in Australia is similar to bankruptcy protection in the U.S., and can buy a company time to trade out of its financial problems. 10. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) board met in Bhubaneswar on Thursday and examined the various issues including interest rate cut in the light of easing inflation. 11. Central Board of Directors meeting, chaired by RBI governor D Subbarao, discussed the present financial situation in the country and the impact of global economy on India, RBI sources said. The issue relating to non-performing assets (NPA) with the banks was also discussed, besides the question of interest rate revision was also examined in the backdrop of declining inflation, they said. In its last monetary policy review on 24th January, RBI announced 0.5 percentage point reduction in Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) to 5.5 per cent. RBI's central board meets at least once every quarter. 12. The Indian Government will have to lend duty-free support to the countrys upcoming but fledgling aerospace industry, which has the worlds highest growth potential over the next 10 years. 13. Whitney Houston, the most awarded female act of all time and a heart throb of the 80's with soulful songs like 'I Will Always Love You', was found dead at a hotel in Los Angeles on the eve of music industry's biggest night. 14. Delhi has earned the distinction of having the highest monthly per capita income and per capita expenditure in the country. The Asian Age writes that a report to this effect by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Delhi, was released by Sheila Dixit on Wednesday.
15. Running against time to raise Rs 40,000 crore from disinvestment by March-end, the government is planning to move ahead with 5 per cent stake sale in the oil major ONGC through the auction route in the current fiscal. BHEL disinvestment, however, has been pushed to the next fiscal as the stock market conditions are not appropriate, sources said after a meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) which was chaired by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
DAILY GK UPDATES: 18th FEB, 2012

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 12:20 AM PST 1. The Reserve Bank of India has increased the bank rate by 3.5 percentage points to 9.5 per cent with immediate effect from 13th February,2012 after a gap of nearly nine years. This increase should be viewed and understood as one-time technical adjustment to align the bank rate with the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate rather than a change in the monetary policy stance. The bank rate has lost its significance as a monetary policy tool as the central bank signals stance through changes in repo, the rate at which banks borrow short-term funds from RBI. 2. PANEL RATE: The bank rate, which is the standard rate at which the RBI buys or re-discounts bills of exchange or other commercial paper, is now used as a penal rate which the banks have to pay for their failure to meet the mandatory cash reserve ratio (CRR) and statutory liquidity ratio (SLR). The bank rate, which has been increased by 350 basis points or 9.50 per cent was kept unchanged since April 2003. 3. The central government today filed a review petition before the Supreme Court in the highest courts landmark verdict which had held that the telecom giant Vodafone is not liable to be taxed on its $11.2-billion acquisition of Hutchisons Indian telecom assets. 4. New York Times foreign correspondent and a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Anthony Shadid died in eastern Syria on 16 February 2012 after having suffered a severe asthma attack. Anthony Shadid had worked for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and The Associated Press and covered nearly two decades of Middle East conflict and turmoil. 5. Shivsena-BJP alliance won the civic polls of Mumbai and Thane. Result of the polls came today. The Shivsena-BJP Alliance with total 107 seats in the 227-member Brihanmumbai civic body emerged triumphant for the fourth consecutive term. 6. Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries Limited on today requested to the Department of Telecom to give extension to tenure of its broadband spectrum. The company in a letter written to the Department of Telecom asked for an extended tenure so that it could have a level playing field with Qualcomm. Reliance Industries Limited had bought the spectrum through an auction in 2010 for a period of 20 years. Qualcomm had won the airwaves during the auction held in 2010 but it has not been given the spectrum as yet given some issues with its application. 7. Former Indian tennis player Malhotra conferred upon a top International Olympic Committee Award for her contribution in promoting sport among women. The award was presented by IOC President Jacques Rogge at the fifth World Conference on Women and Sport. Manisha received the World Trophy for helping disadvantaged girls. She has travelled length and breadth of India to encourage women to participate in different sports. 8. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that Dow Chemicals will remain a sponsor of the London Olympics.The Indian Olympic Association had appealed to the IOC and London Games Organizing Committee to withdraw the Dows chemical sponsorship from the London Olympics.The International Olympic Committee turned down the appeal of IOA maintaining that Dow Chemicals, the parent company of Union Carbide had no role in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy in 1984. It insisted Dow Chemicals did not have any
ownership stake in Union Carbide until 16 years after the disaster and 12 years after the USD 470 million compensation agreement was approved by the Supreme Court of India. 9. Sahara Group today, agreed to reverse its decision of quashing all the commercial ties with Board for Cricket Control in India. The decision was taken after series of meetings held between The BCCI and the Sahara Group to resolve the contentious issues, Sahara had cited as reasons behind voiding the deal. 10. Telecom major Reliance Communications got the approval of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the redemption of its outstanding foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) worth $1.182 billion (Rs.5,825 cr.at $49.3). The redemption, being provided by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the China Development Bank (CDB) and the Export Import Bank of China (EXIM), will take place on the due date of 1 March 2012. This is the largest refinancing in the history of FCCBs by any Indian corporate and it is to be benefited from loan maturity of seven years and attractive interest cost of around 5 per cent.Anil Dheerubhai Ambani led ADAG company was running under a heavy debt of Rs.36763 cr. at the end of the December quarter of fiscal year 2011-2012, up from Rs.31904 cr. year ago. 11. Indian FMCG [Fast Moving Consumer Goods] major Marico Industries on 15 February 2012 bought the Paras Pharmaceuticals personal care arm from British consumer care giant Reckitt Benckiser. Total value of the deal is estimated to be around Rs.600 to 650 cr. Though, the Reckitt Benckiser had demanded Rs. 900 cr. for the deal. Reckitt Benckiser had acquired Paras Pharma in December 2010 for Rs.3, 260 cr. in one of the biggest acquisitions in the Indian consumer goods sector.
DAILY GK UPDATES: 19th FEB, 2012

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 12:19 AM PST 1. The worlds largest annual food and hospitality show Gulf food 2012 began in Dubai today. More than 3,800 exhibitors from 88 countries are participating in the four day event. The India Pavillion at Gulf Food 2012 was inaugurated by the Indian Ambassador to UAE, M.K.Lokesh. 2. A nationwide Immunization campaign for polio was launched today in which 17 crore children were administered polio drops. More than 23 lakh volunteers participated in this massive national effort. The campaign was formally started yesterday when President Pratibha Devisingh Patil administered Polio vaccine drops to eight children at Rashtrapati Bhawan. 3. Two Italian naval personnel on board the Enrica Lexie, suspected to be involved in the killing of two fishermen off the Kerala coast last Wednesday, have been taken into custody by the state Police. 4. The Railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi said India is forming a joint working group with Japan to carry forward the high-speed train proposal. A Japanese delegation recently met Mr Trivedi and made a presentation of the operation of high speed trains in the country. Mr Trivedi said safety record of high-speed trains in Japan is excellent as there has been no accident to date. 5. While the railways have identified six routes for conducting a study for running train at 300 km per hour speed on elevated tracks, it has selected the Delhi-Mumbai route to operate train at 200 km on the existing track.The West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamta Banerjee flagged off six new trains at Howrah station in Kolkata today. 6. Union Finance Minister Mr Pranab Mukherji today said that the Government is serious about the Right to Food Security Act after implementing the Right to Information and Right to Education Act. At the moment, the Act is under discussion before the standing committee of Parliament. He was addressing the gathering after inaugurating the new corporate office of the Oriental Bank of Commerce at Gurgaon on the 70th raising day of the bank. He said that the banking services have played a major role in the economic development of the country and our banking system emerged strong during the global economic crisis. 7. Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal today said foreign investors have not lost confidence in the sector and will participate in the auction of the airwaves freed by the court judgement. He also ruled out the possibility of foreign telecom investors quitting India in the wake of the judgement. The Supreme Court had earlier this month cancelled 122 licenses that were issued during the tenure of the then Telecom Minister A Raja in 2008. 8. In Chhattisgarh, the first ever commercial solar power plant set up under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission has started production. Our correspondent reports that it has been linked to the National Grid for distribution. 9. The Indian women's hockey team beat Canada 4-1 in their second match of the 2012 London Olympics qualifiers at Major Dhyan ChandNational-Stadium in New Delhi today. World No. 13 India were in the attacking mode right from the start and led 3-0 by half-time against Canada, who are 20th in the FIH rankings.
10. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) on Friday said the Centre had appointed Sushobhan Sarkar as Managing Director with immediate effect. Prior to his elevation, he was Executive Director (International Operations) handling LIC's global business in Fiji, Mauritius, Kenya, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain (covering GCC counties), the U.K., Sri Lanka and Singapore. He had also served as Director and CEO of LIC MF AMC. 11. Dinesh K Patnaik presently Deputy Chief of Mission in Embassy of India, Vienna has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Cambodia. 12. Madhya Pradesh-Land, People and Place the 25th book written by noted journalist of Central India Shiv Anurag Pateriya has hit the stands. 13. Prasar Bharati is finally set to get a permanent Chief Executive Officer, with a search panel recommending the name of Jawhar Sircar whi is currently Secretary to the Culture Ministry for the top spot which has been empty for over a year, ever since B.S. Lalli was suspended due to a CBI probe into the alleged financial irregularities. Since then, Information and Broadcasting Ministry Additional Secretary Rajiv Takru has been acting as CEO. 14. The President, in the presence of Shri Kapil Sibal, Minister of Human Resource Development and Smt. (Dr.) D.Purandeswari, Minister of State (HRD) flagged off the Saakshar Bharat Yatra at Rashtrapati Bhavan today. The Saakshar Bharat Mission launched by the Prime Minister on International Literacy Day on 8th September, 2009, has completed nearly two and a half years. The Mission is primarily focussing on women, SCs, STs, Minorities and other disadvantaged groups in rural areas. The programme is being implemented in 1.6 lakh Gram Panchayats in 372 districts, including some of the Left Wing Extremism affected Districts. Nearly 13.5 million learners are already enrolled in the programme. 15. Lenders of cash-strapped Air India on Friday approved its corporate debt restructuring plan worth Rs 18,000 crore and decided to provide a fresh cash credit of Rs 2,200 crore. Of the Rs 18,000 crore debt restructuring plan, Rs 7,400 crore worth of non-convertible debentures, guaranteed by the government, would be issued. 13-bank consortium, led by State Bank of India, has also agreed to give Rs 2,200 crore worth of fresh working capital loan to the ailing national carrier. The approval by the banks came ten days after a Group of Ministers, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukharjee, decided to allow Air India to raise Rs 7,400 crore by issuing sovereign guaranteed non-convertible debentures. The debentures are likely to carry a coupon rate of 8.5-9 per cent and financial institutions may subscribe to these bonds. This would be part of the national carrier's financial restructuring plan that was also approved by the GoM on February 7.
DAILY GK UPDATES: 20th FEB 2012

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 12:19 AM PST 1. Maha Shivratri festival is being celebrated today with religious fervour and gaiety in different parts of the country. Kashivishwanath temple in Varanasi and Nageshwarnath temple in Ayodhya are also witnessing a huge rush of pilgrims.In Nepal, thousand of devotees are worshipping at the world famous Pashupatinath temple located on the banks of the Bagmati River in Kathmandu. The 5th century shrine is regarded as the most sacred temple of Lord Shiva and the oldest Hindu shrine in Nepal. 2. In Gujarat, six people were killed and 15 injured in a stampede during Bhavnath temple's annual Mahashivratri fair in the foothills of Mount Girnar in Junagadh district last night. 3. The Kerala government is all set to launch an innovative health care programme to benefit lakhs of patients suffering from cancer, kidney ailments and cardiac problems. 4. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has favoured Joachim Gauck, a pastor and former East German rights activist, to be the country's next president. Mr Gauck was proposed by the opposition Social Democrats and Greens after Christian Wulff quit as President on Friday over corruption charges.She had opposed Gauck for the Presidency in 2010 and supported her ally Wulff. With the backing of all the major parties, Mr Gauck's election as German President next month appears to be a formality. 5. Iran has stopped all oil sales to France and Britain immediately. Iranian Oil Ministry said it has found new customers and will sell and export its crude oil to them. The move has come in retaliation for European Union ban on Iranian oil exports. 6. Retirement fund body EPFO may take a final decision on fixing the minimum pension for its subscribers at Rs 1,000 per month, during a meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) scheduled on 22nd February. 7. The eurozone finance ministers will take a final decision on the second bailout package for Greece at their meeting in Brussels today, Chairman of the euro group Jean-Claude Juncker has said. 8. Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukharjee has said the government is committed to provide adequate capital to public sector banks to meet global risk norms. The draft guidelines on the Basel III capital regulations were released on 30th December, for implementation from 1stJanuary 2013 and will be completed in phases by 1st January 2019.
9. To strengthen risk management mechanism, RBI has issued draft guidelines, envisaging that the equity capital of a bank should not be less than 5.5 percent of risk-weighted loans. 10. Ahead of the Budget, some members of a Parliamentary panel scrutinizing the Direct Taxes Code (DTC) Bill on Friday pressed for raising the income tax exemption limit to Rs 5 lakh per annum.The Standing Committee on Finance, which met under the chairmanship of senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, has decided to finalise its report by 2nd March, enabling Parliament to consider the ambitious reforms in direct tax regime. 11. More than 57 percent voting was recorded in the fourth phase of Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. 56 constituencies spread over 11 districts of central UP went to the polls yesterday. 12. 3500 languages which are on the verge of extinction may get a lease of life with the unveiling of 8 talking dictionaries which feature 32000 written words and 24000 audio recordings from native speakers from remote corners of the world. 13. Skipper MS Dhoni has been slapped a one match ban and team India was fined for the slow over rate in the One Day Cricket International against Australia at Brisbane yesterday. Dhoni will not be able to play in the ODI against Sri Lanka on Tuesday. The ICC match referee Andy Pycroft imposed a 40 per cent fine on Dhoni's match fee, while each of the Indian players received a 20-per-cent fine. Australia defeated India by 110 runs in the Brisbane ODI triangular series yesterday. 14. India beat minnows Italy 8-1 in the Men's Hockey Qualifying round for the London Olympics, at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi last night. The home team pumped six goals in the first half as against one by the visitor's.

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