Daily GK updates 14th – 15th June 2015
1. Nasscom, IESA sign pact to push IT, electronics manufacturing’s share to 25% of GDP
i. The government has approved 21 electronic clusters, telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Monday. 
ii. Through this partnership, the two industry groups are aiming for IT and electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM) to contribute 25% to the country’s GDP by 2025 that propel India into the world’s top five economies.
iii. Prasad said the government has so far received investment proposals worth Rs 65,000 crore while it has approved proposals worth Rs 9,000 crore under the modified special incentive package scheme or MSIPS programme.
iv. In the past one year, telecom sector has emerged as the largest contributor to foreign direct investment in India, Prasad said, adding that the government has taken many initiatives to spur growth.
v. Manufacturing, he said, is crucial as it drives economic growth and revenue for the country. India’s mobile penetration is expected to cross the one billion mark, but it is unfortunate that the country depends largely on imported devices, according to him.
2. Ameising Luikham takes charge as department of public enterprises secretary
i. Senior IAS officer Ameising Luikham today took over as Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises (DPE). He has succeeded Kapil Dev Tripathi who has been appointed as Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
ii. vPrior to this, Luikham, a 1981 bath IAS officer, was working as Secretary, North Eastern Council, Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region.
iii. There are 277 central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) under the administrative control of various Min ..
iv. CPSEs employed 14.04 lakh people (including contractual workers) in 2012-13 compared to 14.5 lakh in 2011-12.
v. The total turnover or gross revenue from operation of all CPSEs during 2012-13 stood at Rs 19,45,777 crore as compared to Rs 18,22,049 crore in the previous year, showing a rise of 6.79 per cent.
3. Wholesale price index dips in May
i. Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation was -2.36 per cent in May, marking the seventh consecutive month in which it has been negative, compared to -2.65 per cent in April.
ii. Food inflation remained positive, at 3.8 per cent compared to what it was in May 2014. However, the consensus among analysts is that this will not induce the Reserve Bank of India to cut rates further.
iii. The continued contraction in WPI was due to broad-based factors, with the three main components of the index-primary articles (-0.77 per cent), fuel and power (-10.5 per cent), and manufactured products (-0.64 per cent) — all trending negative.
iv. We expect the headline CPI inflation to reach a low of around 4.2 per cent by August 2015 aided by a favourable base effect, before picking up in the second half of FY 2016 towards around 6.0 per cent by March 2016.
v. The WPI inflation trajectory will move into the positive from November onwards to register around 3.3 per cent by March 2016.
vi. This uncertainty, along with volatility surrounding the Fed’s rate hike, should keep the RBI cautious and stop it from easing rates further in CY 2015,” Kotak Securities said in a report
4. Snapdeal acquires mobility solutions company Letsgomo Labs
i. Domestic e-commerce giant Snapdeal has acquired Gurgaon based mobility solutions company Letsgomo Labs. With this acquisition Letsgomo team will become part of Snapdeal.
ii. It will help to strengthen Snapdeal position in the m-commerce domain by further strengthen it mobile technology capabilities.
iii. It should be noted that 75% of the orders on Snapdeal already come via mobile-based transactions. This takeover comes in lines of Snapdeal’s acquisitions of Martmobi and Freecharge to further strengthening its mobile platform.
iv. Letsgomo Labs was founded by Manav Kamboj and Vikas Banga. Presently it has 76 members team that work across various mobile technologies including design strategy and consults in businesses right from building mobile strategies.
v. It also helps in conceptualization of applications and mobile sites to implementation and hosting.
5. IDFC appoints Ajay Mahajan to head Commercial, Wholesale Banking
i. IDFC, soon-to-be-turned bank, announced the appointment of Ajay Mahajan as their Head Commercial and Wholesale Banking in the bank structure to be launched later this year.
ii. Mahajan will oversee coverage of SME (small and medium enterprise), Mid Cap and Large Corporates, Financial Institutions, Government Business and Transaction Banking, Treasury and Markets and Investment Banking, IDFC said in a statement.
iii. With over 23 years of experience in the banking industry, starting with 14 years in Bank of America, Mahajan has previously worked with Yes Bank and UBS. Mahajan has been heading the Financial Markets Group at IDFC.
6. FDI in services sector grows by 46% in 2014-15 fiscal
i. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows into the services sector grew by over 46 per cent to 3.25 billion dollars in 2014-15 fiscal. It was revealed by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
ii. The services sector includes banking, outsourcing, insurance, Research & Development (R&D), courier and technology testing. Earlier in 2013-14, FDI in this sector was worth 2.22 billion dollar.
iii. However, the total foreign inflow in 2014-15 in the services sector was low as compared to 2012-13 when it was 4.83 billion dollars. Apart from services sector, overall foreign inflows in the country too have rose by 27 per cent to 30.93 billion dollars during 2014-15 fiscal.
iv. In 2013-14, the foreign inflow was 24.29 billion dollars. It should be noted that services contribute about 60% to India’s GDP.
v. The other sectors where FDI inflows have recorded growth are telecommunications ($2.89 billion), automobiles ($2.57 billion) and computer software and hardware ($2.20 billion).
7. South African judge orders Sudan President Omar al-Bashir detained
i. A South African judge on Sunday ordered authorities to prevent Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is in South Africa for an African Union summit, from leaving the country because of an international order for his arrest, human rights activists said.
ii. Mr. al-Bashir appeared for a group photo with other African leaders at the summit in Johannesburg on Sunday, wearing a blue three-piece suit, a tie and a smile as cameras flashed.
iii. Earlier Sunday, a South African judge ordered authorities to prevent Mr. al-Bashir from leaving South Africa because he is wanted by the International Criminal Court, human rights activists said on Sunday.
iv. The African National Congress, which is South Africa’s ruling party, said the South African government granted immunity “for all (summit) participants as part of the international norms for countries hosting such gathering of the A.U. or even the United Nations.”
8. Overall stockpile of nuclear weapon diminishes: Stockholm Peace Institute
i. As per recently published Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Yearbook 2015, the number of nuclear weapons in the world decreased in 2015.
ii. The overall stockpile of nuclear weapons has declined to 15,850 in early 2015 from 16,350 in early 2014.
iii. Currently Russia has 7,500 number of nuclear warheads compared to 8,000 in 2014. While, US had 7,260 nuclear warheads compared to 7,300 in 2014.
iv. Till date nine countries possesses approximately around 15, 850 nuclear weapons. They are United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. Of these all nuclear weapons around 1800 weapons are kept in a state of high operational alert.
9. RTA of UAE included four Indian languages into its driving tests
i. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the second week of June 2015 decided to include four Indian languages to offer knowledge tests and lectures to aspirants who appear for driving test in the country.
ii. The four Indian languages included along with three other languages are Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Bengali. The other three are Chinese, Russian and Persian.
iii. At present, RTA of UAE conducts tests in three languages – English, Urdu and Arabic.
While appearing for driving tests, an aspiring driver will be allowed to opt for any one of these languages for both theory tests as well as eight mandatory lectures from September 2015.
iv. The mandatory lectures and knowledge test are required to obtain a driving licence in UAE. To move to the practical driving classes, an aspirant also needs to pass a computer-based knowledge test.
10. 14 June: World Blood Donor day
i. World Blood Donor Day is being observed across the world on 14 June to raise the public awareness about the need for safe blood donation.
ii. The theme of this year’s campaign is Thank you for saving my life. This year’s campaign encourages donors all over the world to donate blood voluntarily and regularly
iii. To spread awareness about the need for safe and secure blood supplies. Provide an opportunity to draw public attention to the importance of blood donation for saving lives.
iv. It should be noted that World Blood Donor Day is one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the WHO.
v. The event was established in 2004. It was established in order to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank blood donors for their voluntary donations.
11. Supreme Court cancels 2015 All India Pre-Medical Test
i. Supreme Court has cancelled the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIMPT) 2015 and directed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to re-conduct the test within one month.
ii. This verdict was given by a SC bench of Justice RK Agarwal and Justice Amitava Roy on a complaint filed by candidates. In the complaint students had alleged large-scale irregularities in AIMPT 2015, including leakage of answer keys.
iii. Earlier on 8 June 2015, SC bench had extended the stay on the declaration of results which were to be declared on June 5. The examination was taken by over six lakh students.
iv. Large-scale irregularities had come to the light earlier including leakage of answer keys. The investigators also had informed the court that the answer keys of 123 questions were transmitted through 75 mobile phones in states like Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Bihar and Haryana.
12. Telangana government unveils New Industrial Policy
i. Telangana government has unveiled New Industrial Policy 2015 to boost industrial activity and employment opportunities in the state. It was unveiled by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in Hyderabad.
ii. Establishment of a single window clearance system and give clearances in 2 weeks for mega projects. Penal action against officials for delaying the process of applications.
iii. Prescribes norms for giving permissions to Mega project proposals with investments of Rs. 200 crore and above, large project proposals with investment of Rs 10 crore-Rs 200 crore and small and medium project proposals.
iv. 14 identified core areas for a focused approach are Life Sciences, Information Technology, Aerospace, Pharma, textiles, minerals automobiles and transportation and logistics.
13. Israeli government approved bill to force feed prisoners
i. The Israeli government approved a bill that will allow the force-feeding of prisoners that are on hunger strike, if their lives are in danger. The Bill is called as Law to Prevent Harm Caused by Hunger Strikes.
ii. The bill is scheduled to be presented before Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, for first and second readings before it becomes law.
iii. However, Israel’s Medical Association opposed the bill and urged local doctors not to participate in force-feedings if the law comes into force. The association considers force-feeding as a form of torture.
iv. Under current Israeli law, it is impossible to treat a patient against his or her own will, but an ethics committee can get involved.
14. BSNL launches free pan India roaming scheme
i. State owned telecommunications giant Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has launched free pan India roaming scheme.
ii. BSNL has announced this scheme with the consent of Union Minister of Communications & IT Ravi Shankar Prasad who had earlier announced this scheme in order to achieve dream of ‘One Nation One Number’.
iii. BSNL is also planning to install 5,000 Base Transceiver Station (BTS) towers across the country in order to provide better services to its customers.
iv. Out of the 5,000 towers, 1,250 will be established in Bihar to improve the communications network in the state, especially in the interior areas.
15. Govt launches website to connect employers, job seekers
i. Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Kalraj Mishra on 15 June 2015 launched a digital Employment Exchange for Industries (EEX) portal eex.dcmsme.gov.in which will connect employers and job seekers. The portal will help in linking Make in India initiative with Skilled India one.
ii. The employers and job seekers can now register at www.eex.dcmsme.gov.in. Nearly, two lakh job seekers have already registered themselves with the EEX.
iii. There are large units in the country which are dependent on MSMEs, but the absence of skilled manpower results in non-competitiveness of MSMEs and Indian industry as a whole.
iv. Until and unless, the skilled hands do not find the appropriate jobs and the appropriate employer, it will lead to frustration and skepticism to the entire skilling program of this country.
v. Therefore, it is utmost important that these skilled hands get a platform where they can find livelihoods for themselves. This online portal will enable industrial units in finding suitable manpower and will help job seekers in finding suitable jobs.
16. Former Union Minister Sheila Kaul passes away
i. Former Himachal Pradesh governor and ex-union minister Sheila Kaul passed away in New Delhi. She was 101. She was a sister-in-law of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi’s maternal aunt.
ii. Lok Sabha five times in 1971, 1980 and 1984 (from Lucknow ) and in 1989, 1991 (from Rae Bareli).
iii. She had served as Minister of State (MoS) for Culture, Education and Social Welfare (Independent Charge) from1980–84 in Indira Gandhi Government. It should be noted that during this period she was union Cabinet Minister.
iv. Later she had served as Union Minister for Housing and Urban Development from 1991 to 1995. Governor: She had served as Governor of Himachal Pradesh from 1995 to 1996.
17. Rohan Bopanna- Florin Mergea pair win Stuttgart Men’s Double Open title 2015
i. India’s tennis player Rohan Bopanna along with his Romanian partner Florin Mergea has won the ATP’s Stuttgart Open final doubles trophy in Germany.
ii. The Indo-Romanian pair defeated Austrian-Brazilian pair of Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares by score of 5-7, 6-2 and 10-7 to lift the title. It is Bopanna’s fourth title of 2015.
iii. It should be noted that it was Bopanna- Mergea pair’s second ATP World Tour team title in this season. Earlier they had won the Mutua Madrid Open crown in May 2015. They also had finished runners up at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Casablanca.
The post Daily GK updates 14th – 15th June 2015 appeared first on Bankers Adda.