Daily GK Updates – 20th February 2015
1. Rs 50k-cr naval project gets Cabinet nod
i. The Cabinet Committee on Security on February 17 sanctioned the country’s biggest naval project, the construction
of seven stealth frigates for Rs 45,381 crore. Mazagon Dock Ltd (MDL), Mumbai , will build four of these, while Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata (GRSE), simultaneously builds the other three.
ii. This project, dubbed Project 17A, follows on from the earlier Project 17, in which MDL built three 5,600-tonne frigates: INS Shivalik, Satpura and Sahyadri. The first of these, the Shivalik, entered service in 2009.
iii. The timeline for Project 17A allows each shipyard a preparatory period of two years, in which they will prepare for construction and place orders for long-lead items like engines and transmission.
iv. Then they will actually build the warship over five years.
2. Sun Pharma’s Dilip Shanghvi overtakes Mukesh Ambani as the richest Indian
i. Dilip Shanghvi, the 59-year-old promoter of Sun Pharma, appears to have overtaken Mukesh Ambani, 57, of 
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) as the richest Indian if one goes by the promoter holdings in the listed companies of the two groups.
ii. At Thursday’s close of trading on BSE, the Gujarat-born and Kolkata-educated Shanghvi, by virtue of his over 63% holding in three group companies — Sun Pharma, Sun Pharma Advanced Research and Ranbaxy Labs — is worth about Rs 1.46 lakh crore ($23.42 billion at an exchange rate of 62.34 to the dollar).
iii. In comparison, Ambani, through his 45% holdings in two group companies — RIL and Reliance Industrial Infrastructure — was worth Rs 1.32 lakh crore ($21.2 billion), according to data compiled by TOI from the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
iv. Adding the 23% stake in wind energy major Suzlon, that Shanghvi and his family is in the process of acquiring, his wealth would be nearly Rs 1.48 lakh crore ($23.7 billion).
3. RIL appoints ex-IAS officer Maheshwar Sahu as independent director on board
i. Former top IAS officer from Gujarat, Maheshwar Sahu has been appointed as an independent director on the 
board of Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).
ii. Sahu, 60, spearheaded industrial development in Gujarat for over a decade and played a pivotal role in formulating policies for the state government.
iii. He also played a lead role in popularising the state government-sponsored Vibrant Gujarat investors summit on a global scale.
iv. He joins RIL as one of the eight independent directors on its 14-member board. RIL informed the BSE about this appointment on Thursday.
4. Jitan Ram Manjhi quits as CM, blames Nitish Kumar for Bihar political chaos
i. Embattled Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi dramatically resigned on Friday just ahead of a floor test, the move coming despite the BJP extending support to him.
ii. Manjhi, while announcing the decision to quit, said that he did not get respect as chief minister.
iii. “I have submitted my resignation letter to the State’s Governor. I should have quit before,” said Manjhi soon after he met Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi this morning.
iv. Manjhi claimed that he as well as some legislators had received threats to their lives.
5. Nitish Kumar to be sworn in as Bihar CM on Feb 22
i. Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar was on Friday invited by governor Keshari Nath Tripathi to form the government in Bihar after Jitan Ram Manjhi resigned as the chief minister.
ii. Kumar, who held half an-hour long meeting with Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi at the Raj Bhavan here, told reporters that he will take oath as chief minister of Bihar on February 22 at 5 PM.
iii. He said the Governor had asked him to prove majority on the floor of the house in three weeks time before March 16.
iv. He was accompanied by the MLAs of JD(U), Congress, RJD, CPI and an independent legislator.
v. Kumar said his government would take a decision to call the new budget session of Bihar Assembly and fix a date for speech of Governor in the joint session.
6. Telangana woos aerospace majors to invest in SEZ near Hyderabad
i. A day after Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu made a strong pitch for investment from aerospace and defence majors at Aero India, the neighbouring stateTelangana also used the same platform to attract investors at Aero India.
ii. “The Hyderabad Aerospace SEZ is the first exclusive park for aerospace companies in the country. We have identified 1,000 acres additional land to accommodate new industries,” Industries minister J Krishna Rao told reporters.
iii. Telangana government last November had announced its new industrial policy, which provides entrepreneurs right to time-bound clearance of business proposals, promising zero graft and proposing six industrial corridors and other initiatives
iv. Under the new policy all mega projects (with investment of Rs 200 crore) will get clearance in 15 days. The government has promised that it would punish concerned departments if they fail to clear the proposals in the stipulated time, Rao said.
7. PM Modi launches Soil Health Card scheme targeting 14 crore farmers
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a Soil Health Card scheme, under which the Centre plans to target over 14 crore farmers in the next three years to check the excess use of fertilisers.
ii. Pointing out that soil health has deteriorated due to high usage of fertilisers, Modi asked farmers to take care of soil. The card, to be issued after testing soil, would help them save up to Rs 50,000 in 3 acres of land, he added.
iii. Modi also said that the newly set up Niti Aayog and the states have been asked to constitute high-powered expert committees on agriculture to boost farm growth.
iv. Referring to the song “Vande Mataram,” Modi said that in order to achieve land that is truly “Sujalam, Sufalam,” (well- irrigated and fertile), it is necessary to nurture soil and the soil health card scheme is a step towards fulfilling this dream.
8. Vistara launches maiden flight service to Goa
i. Tata’s full service passenger carrier Vistara Friday launched its maiden flight between New Delhi and Goa and said that it will expand its fleet to six aircraft by April.
ii. The airline had earlier announced the launch of new services to Goa and Hyderabad from Feb 20 and March 1, respectively.
iii. The company, which initially started operations with 68 flights weekly in January, is expected to operate 164 flights a week by March, 2015.
iv. The airline currently has five Airbus A-320 aircraft.
9. Indian guest workers awarded $14.1 million in Mobile labor trafficking case
i. A federal jury has awarded $14.1 million to five Indian guest workers who claimed they were defrauded and made to live in squalid conditions after being lured to work for an Alabama-based marine and fabrication company following Hurricane Katrina.
ii. The jury handed up its verdict Wednesday against Mobile, Alabama-based Signal International LLC. and its associates in a trial overseen by U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan. More than 200 other workers’ claims are pending against the company.
iii. The suit alleged Signal falsely promised to help the workers apply for and receive greens cards. But the plaintiffs claimed they were the victims of a labor trafficking scheme by Signal, an immigration lawyer and an Indian labor recruiter.
iv. The plaintiffs were represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama civil rights group.
10. Competition Commission approves Kotak Mahindra-ING Vysya merger
i. India’s antitrust regulator has approved Kotak Mahindra Bank (KTKM.NS)’s record $2.4 billion purchase of ING Vysya (VYSA.NS), it said in an order published on Friday.
ii. Kotak had announced its plan to buy ING Vysaya in November last year, in what analysts predicted was the beginning of a long-awaited consolidation in a crowded banking sector.
iii. In a three-page order, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said the proposed merger was not likely to have an adverse impact on competition in banking and allied services.
iv. The deal is the first major bank takeover since top privately held lender ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS) bought Bank of Rajasthan more than four years ago.
11. Amartya Sen’s exit on a sour note from Nalanda University does him no credit
i. Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on Thursday withdrew his candidature for a second term as Chancellor of Nalanda University in Bihar, since the Narendra Modi government had not given its approval to his nomination.
ii. It is hard for me not to conclude that the government wants me to cease being the Chancellor of Nalanda University after this July,” Dr. Sen said.
iii. Dr. Sen said academic governance in the country remained “deeply vulnerable to the opinions of the ruling government,” where it chose to make political use of special provisions in a university’s statute.
12. Prime Minister presented Krishi Karman Awards 2013-14 to State Government functionaries
i. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 19 February 2015 presented Krishi Karman Awards 2013-14 to State Government functionaries. The awards were presented during the launch of the Soil Health Card scheme nationwide at Suratgarh, Rajasthan.
ii. The Prime Minister presented the Krishi Karman Awards to State Government functionaries led by Chief Ministers of States and progressive farmers belonging to the states of Punjab, Odisha, Meghalaya, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Gujarat.
iii. The Commendation Awards were also presented to the State Government functionaries led by Agriculture Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Karnataka.
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