Daily GK Updates – 18th July 2015
1. India and Myanmar to strengthen Defence ties
i. India and Myanmar have announced plans to strengthen their defence cooperation during a joint consultative commission (JCC) meeting held in New Delhi.
ii. JCC meeting was chaired by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin. The meeting had released joint statement on various aspects.
iii. They are Both countries to work together on effective border management especially on the issue of cross-border insurgency and terrorism.
iv. India has reaffirmed to provide defence assistance program as part of its Goodwill Diplomacy to Myanmar in order to modernise their Armed Forces.
2. CCI imposes Rs 671 crore penalty on four state-run insurance companies
i. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 671 crore on four public sector insurance companies-National Insurance Co, New India Insurance Co, Oriental Insurance Co and United India insurance company for indulging in anti-competitive practices.
ii. Companies would have to deposit the penalty amount within 60 days of receipt of this order.The competition regulator these insurance companies guilty of rigging a tender floated by the Government of Kerala in 2009 for selecting insurance service provider for implementation of the ‘Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna’.
iii. CCI has imposed the highest penalty of Rs 250 crore on New India Assurance Company. United India Insurance Company faces Rs 156.62 crore penalty.
iv. National Insurance Company would have to pay Rs 162.80 crore as penalty whereas Oriental Insurance Company would pay Rs 100.56 crore as fine for its involvement in anti-competitive practices.
3. Prashant Pathrabe appointed as Interim Director of Film and Television Institute of India
i. Prashant Pathrabe was appointed as Interim Director of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). His appointment was approved by Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry. However, he will also continue to serve as the Director of Press Information Bureau (PIB) unit in Pune.
ii. Pathrabe succeeded incumbent Director DJ Narain who superannuated the office on 4 July 2015. Pathrabe is Maharashtra-based senior Indian Information Service (IIS) officer of 1992 batch.
iii. Pathrabe had been associated with the media field for nearly two decades. Previously he had served as director of the National Film Archive of India (NFAI). He had also worked in Doordarshan News and AIR News in Mumbai.
4. EU approves 7 Billion Euro Short-Term Loan to Greece
i. European Union (EU) has approved a short-term loan of 7.16 billion euros to Greece after it was backed by the 28 member states.
ii. This loan will allow Greece to pay its debt to European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) till new bailout plan is ratified.
iii. The loan will be given through the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM) which is a rescue fund set up during the first time bailout of Greece in 2010.
iv. But presently it covers the whole of the 28 EU member nations and not just the 19 eurozone members. This loan fund will be officially for three months, but looking at present debt crisis of Greece it can be sustained until 20 August 2015.
5. India’s first private air freight station all set to open in Chennai
i. India’s first air freight station in the private sector has come up at Irungattukottai near Chennai. The first AFS in the country was set up in 2007 inside Central Warehousing Corporation in the city.
ii. Set up by the city-based Indev Logistics at a cost of ₹50 crore, the AFS will reduce congestion at the gateway airports and the carrier operators can choose the AFS as a final destination for cargo delivery.
iii. The major advantages of the AFS include faster evacuation of cargo from the major gateway airports; an integrated supply chain, minimised transaction logistics cost; and tracking of the mobility and movement of the cargo.
6. Uruguay’s soccer legend Alcides Ghiggia passes away
i. Uruguayan soccer legend Alcides Ghiggia has passed away due to heart attack in Montevideo, Uruguay. He was 88.
ii. He had scored the winning goal against Brazil in the final match of World Cup 1950 which had helped Uruguay to win World Cup for the second time.
iii. He had scored the deciding goal 10 minutes from time when the final match had tied at 1-1 goals. It was historic win for Uruguay and Brazil’s greatest defeat, which is still known in Brazil at the Maracanazo.
iv. Uruguay for the first time had won the FIFA World Cup in 1930 which was the inaugural Football World Cup. Ghiggia was born on 22 December 1926.
7. Veteran Telugu playback singer V Ramakrishna passes away
i. Veteran Telugu playback singer Vissamraju Ramakrishna passed away due to cancer. He was 68. He had sung many memorable songs for legendary south Indian actor turned politician N T Rama Rao and other top stars.
ii. He had sung about 5,000 songs in his nearly 4 decades long career. His debut movie song as playback singer was “Vayase Oka Poolathota” in Vichitra Bandham (1972).
iii. He was also has sang number of popular devotional songs. His famous songs are in Andala Ramudu, Mutyala Muggu and Alluri Sitarama Raju films.
iv. His songs in N T Rama Rao’s film, Pothuluri Veerabrahmendra Swamy Charitra were a runaway success.
8. Jules Bianchi, 25, dies nine months after F1 driver crashed at Japanese Grand Prix
i. Formula One driver Jules Bianchi has died in hospital nine months after crashing at the Japanese Grand Prix.
ii. The 25-year-old Marussia driver had been in a coma since October 2014 after suffering a diffuse axonal injury following a collision with a crane on the side of the Suzuka circuit.
iii. Bianchi had been receiving treatment at a hospital in Nice, France but his family announced his passing in the early hours of Saturday morning.
9. Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez suspended from Bowling in International Cricket for 1 Year
i. International Cricket Council (ICC) has banned Pakistan’s all-rounder cricketer Mohammad Hafeez from bowling in international cricket for a period of one year.
ii. He was banned after he failed in ICC’s independent assessment on his suspected bowling action which violated permitted 15-degree limit.
iii. He will be able to reassess his bowling action only after the completion of this 1 year period. Hafeez had tested his bowling action in Sri Ramachandra University in Chennai after his actions violated the limit during the second Test match against Sri Lanka.
iv. For first time his bowling actions were reported earlier in November 2014 during Pakistan’s match against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi.
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