Daily GK Updates – 16th – 17th May 2015
1. PM Narendra Modi Announces $1 Billion Credit Line to Mongolia
i. India, today, announced a credit line of $1 billion to Mongolia to expand its economic capacity and infrastructure, as they decided to upgrade their relationship from Comprehensive to “Strategic Partnership”.
ii. Narendra Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Mongolia, held wide ranging talks with his Mongolian counterpart Chimed Saikhanbileg in Ulan Bator following which the two sides inked 14 agreements covering defence, cyber security, agriculture, renewable energy and health sector.
iii. “I am pleased to announce that India will provide a Line of Credit of $1 billion to support expansion of Mongolia’s economic capacity and infrastructure,” Mr Modi said at a joint press interaction with Mr Saikhanbileg at State Palace.
iv. Asserting that Mongolia is an integral part of India’sc Act East Policy, he said the destinies of the two countries are closely linked with the future of Asia Pacific Region.
2. Airtel clinches $2.5-billion financing deals from China Development Bank, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China
i. Bharti Airtel today said it has received financing commitments of up to $2.5 billion from China Development Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, with an average maturity of about nine years.
ii. The company signed the term sheets for the financing options in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently on an official visit to China.
iii. Airtel said the funds will help the company further diversify its global financing pool and invest in growth of data networks.
iv. “China Development Bank has committed financing of up to $2 billion with an average maturity of about nine years,” Airtel said.
3. ICICI Bank launched its first branch in China
i. India’s largest private sector bank, ICICI bank has launched its first branch in Shanghai, China, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
ii. With this branch, the Bank aims to provide greater support to Chinese and Indian corporate in their cross-border business interests.
iii. Ms. Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank said, “Our branch in Shanghai will allow us to play a greater role in the growing trade and investment opportunity between India and China.
iv. ICICI Bank has received regulatory approval, to commence operations of Shanghai Branch in March 2015. It will begin with 17 banking professionals spread across different functions including corporate banking, operations, finance and treasury.
v. ICICI Bank’s international footprint consists of subsidiaries in United Kingdom and Canada, branches in the US, China, Singapore, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Qatar and Dubai, international Finance Centre; and representative offices in United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia.
4. Union Government appoints M J Joseph as Controller General of Accounts
i. Union Ministry of Finance has appointed M J Joseph as the Controller General of Accounts (CGA). He will succeed Jawahar Thakur, who was recently appointed as OSD (Accounting Reforms) in the office of CGA.
ii. Joseph is a 1979 batch Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) officer. Prior to this appointment he was Director General (DG) of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
iii. He also had served in various administrative capacities in Union Government including Additional Secretary in Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor in the President Secretariat and Director in Defence Ministry.
iv. Joseph also had worked with the International Monitory Fund (IMF) as a Public Financial Management Adviser in Tanzania.
5. Infosys to open first overseas campus in China
i. As India pressed China to open its markets for Indian IT firms, technology major Infosys today announced establishing its first overseas centre outside India in China with an investment of about $120 million to tap in the burgeoning Chinese market.
ii. An MOU in this regard was signed between Infosys and the local Chinese provincial government at the India-China Business Forum.
iii. The development centre, to be established in China’s Guizhou province, with a staff capacity of about 4,500 will help to focus on Chinese and global markets, Rangarajan Vellamore, CEO, Infosys China, told.
iv. The centre, first to be established by Infosys outside India will be ready by next year, he said.
v. This will help to capture the growth trends of Chinese markets for Infosys China, whose annual turnover is around $120 million.
vi. The new Infosys centre is taking shape as India is pressing China to open its markets for Indian IT firms to address the $48 billion trade deficit in the bilateral trade, which stood at $70.6 billion last year.
6. Vice President Hamid Ansari confers Pt. Haridutt Sharma Award to Anurradha Prasad
i. Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari conferred the Pt. Haridutt Sharma Award to senior journalist Anurradha Prasad in New Delhi.
ii. She was bestowed with this award for her contribution in the field of Journalism, Writing and Social Services.
iii. Presently, Anurradha Prasad is the editor-in-chief of News-24 Channel and is Managing Director of the entertainment company BAG Films & Media ltd. She is wife of former Minister of State (MoS) for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla.
7. Canada target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 % by 2030
i. Canada has announced its plans to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.
ii. The government has formally submitted its target to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
iii. Canada international efforts to create a new frame work for addressing climate change, ahead of the Climate Change Conference is scheduled to be held in December in Paris this year.
8. 6th edition of National Conference on Nuclear Energy held in New Delhi
i. Sixth edition of National Conference on Nuclear Energy held in New Delhi. The theme of this edition was Nuclear Energy: a Clean Energy option.
ii. It was organized by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), one of the apex trade associations of India.
iii. The conference discussed the issue related to the status of Nuclear Energy in India.
iv. Apart from it various issues were also discussed including on nuclear energy to the decarbonisation of power sector, Climate change & the future of nuclear energy, nuclear energy expansion & Make in India.
9. Ravishankar Prasad Inaugurates First Postal ATM in Bihar
i. Expanding utilities of Post offices, the Centre is planning to open 1,000 ATMs (Automated Teller Machines) all over the country to provide facility of cash withdrawal round the clock, Union Information and Technology Minister Ravishankar Prasad said today.
ii. Inaugurating the fist postal ATM in Bihar at the GPO (General Post Office) in Patna, Prasad said the facility was part of efforts to increase the point of presence for customers, particularly in the rural areas.
iii. Bihar Finance Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav and senior state BJP leaders Sushil Kumar Modi and Nand Kishore Yadav were present at the function.
iv. “There are around 98 crore mobile phones in the country at present and 30 crore masses availing Internet facility. We want 1.54 lakh post offices in the country to be part of the government’s digital India mission,” he said.
10. Shakuntala Gamlin takes charge as Delhi chief secretary despite CM Arvind Kejriwal’s directive
i. Senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Shakuntala Gamlin on Saturday took charge as acting Chief Secretary of Delhi Government despite being asked by the Chief Minister not to do so.
ii. A senior Delhi government official said that in his letter to Gamlin, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that her appointment is against the set rule.
iii. Lt Governor Najeeb Jung gave the additional charge of Chief Secretary to Gamlin, a 1984-batch IAS officer, hours after she wrote a scathing letter to Jung claiming that she was pressurised by a senior bureaucrat in Chief Minister’s office not to be in race for the post due to her alleged proximity to BSES discoms.
11. Deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi Sentenced to Death
i. An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced ousted President Mohammed Morsi to death for breaking out of prison during the height of the nation’s uprising in 2011, the latest blow against Islamist critics of the government.
ii. The decision is the harshest of multiple sentences given to Mr. Morsi and underscores the breadth of current President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi’s crackdown on his chief political opponents, the Muslim Brotherhood.
iii. The court’s preliminary verdict Saturday is subject to review by the Grand Mufti, Egypt’s highest religious authority, whose opinion isn’t legally binding but is traditionally adopted by the court.
iv. A final verdict based his opinion will be delivered June 2 but will be open to appeals, which can take years in Egypt’s clogged judicial system.
12. Gagan Narang wins World Cup bronze, earns India quota for Rio Olympics
i. Star Indian shooter and Olympic bronze medalist Gagan Narang has earned the Olympic quota in men’s 50m Rifle Prone event at ISSF World Cup in Fort Benning in U.S.A. Narang, who had finished at third place in the 10m Air Rifle event at London Olympics three years ago, also grabbed the bronze medal by scoring 185.8 points in the final round.
ii. Narang’s start was not that good in the qualification round as he shot only 102.3 in the first relay but with each passing shot he became more and more confident.
iii. He scored a superb 105.0 and 105.6 in the next two rounds. He then faltered a bit in the next relay as he scored 104.3. He finished off in style by scoring 105.1 and 104.1 in the last two shot sequences. With a total of 626.3 Narang was the 8th and last shooter to qualify for the final stage.
iv. America’s Michael McPhail was the top scorer in the qualification round with a total of 631.9 points followed by Matthew Emons and Bojan Durkovic.
13. Australia’s Brad Haddin announces retirement from one-day cricket
i. Australia’s wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has decided to make March’s World Cup final his last one-day international and announced his retirement from the format on Sunday.
ii. The 37-year-old, who will leave Australia for the two-test tour of West Indies and Ashes campaign in England on Monday, played every match in the triumphant World Cup campaign earlier this year to take his tally to 126 ODIs for his country.
iii. He took 170 catches, 11 stumpings and scored 3,122 runs at an average of 31.53 with a top score of 110 against New Zealand in Hamilton in 2010.
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