Daily GK Updates – 21st April 2015
1. China and Pakistan launch economic corridor plan worth $46 billion
i. China and Pakistan launched a plan on Monday for energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan worth $46 billion, linking their economies and underscoring China’s economic ambitions in Asia and beyond. 
ii. China’s President Xi Jinping arrived in Pakistan to oversee the signing of agreements aimed at establishing a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor between Pakistan’s southern Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea and China’s western Xinjiang region.
iii. The plan, which would eclipse U.S. spending in Pakistan over the last decade or so, is part of China’s aim to forge “Silk Road” land and sea ties to markets in the Middle East and Europe.
iv. Xi, whose visit to Pakistan winds up on Tuesday, said it cemented an “all-weather strategic cooperative partnership” between the neighbors
2. Former Odisha Chief Minister J.B Patnaik passes away
i. Former Governor of Assam and three-time Chief Minister of Odisha Janaki Ballav Patnaik is no more.
ii. He passed away in a private hospital at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh at 3 am on Tuesday, family sources said.
iii. Mr. Patnaik, a veteran Congress leader, was 89 years old and is survived by his wife Jayanti Patnaik, son Pruthvi Ballav Patnaik and two daughters – Sudatta Patnaik and Supriya Patnaik.
iv. According to his son-in-law Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, Mr. Patnaik had gone to Tirupati from Bhubaneswar on Monday to attend the convocation ceremony of Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha there on Tuesday. Mr. Patnaik was Chancellor of the university.
3. Bharatiya Mahila Bank inks MoUs with LIC, New India Assurance
i. Bharatiya Mahila Bank Ltd has entered into MoUs with New India Assurance Company Ltd and Life Insurance Corporation of India to provide insurance cover to its account holders.
ii. The insurance covers are being provided under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Suraksha Bima Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Jeevanjyoti Bima Yojana schemes respectively.
iii. The insurance option is voluntary and comes at a premium of Rs. 12 for the PM Jan Suraksha Bima Yojana and Rs. 330 for the PM Jeevanjyoti Bima Yojana.
iv. The age eligibility under the former is 18-70 years and under the latter 18-50 years. The enrolment period under the schemes will be from June 1, 2015, to August 31, 2015.
4. Railways to launch App for paperless ticketing in unreserved segment
i. From 22 April 2015, rail commuters can use a mobile phone App to obtain tickets in the unreserved category as the Indian railways takes forward its initiative for paperless ticketing. “We are launching a mobile-based paperless unreserved ticketing application tomorrow,” said a senior Railway Ministry official.
ii. Having booked a ticket using the App, a commuter need not take a print-out of the same and can show its soft copy on the mobile phone to the TTE.As per the plan, one may download the App from the Google App store for Android-based mobile phones.
iii. After the download, the user will get a registration ID number for creation of a railway e-wallet. Money for buying tickets will have to be loaded through the e-wallet mobile payment system either online or at a ticket counter at any station.
5. Maharashtra Government announced the target of 14400 MW power generation by 2019
i. Maharashtra Government announced the target of 14400 MW power generation by 2019.The state government will produce 14400 MW electricity by 2019 by way of non- conventional methods to cut down cost and reduce carbon footprint.
ii. The non conventional source of energy is cheaper and far better as compared to conventional sources. Out of the 14400 MW electricity target, the state government has proposed that 75000 MW of electricity will be generated from solar energy while wind mills will generate 5000 MW of power.
iii. Sugar industries will help in creating 1000 MW, cogeneration will generate 200 MW, biogas will generate 300 MW and industrial waste will generate 400 MW.
6. Egypt’s former president Mohamed Morsi sentenced to 20 years in prison
i. An Egyptian criminal court sentenced ousted President Mohammed Morsy to 20 years in prison over the killing of protesters in 2012.
ii. The case stems from violence outside the presidential palace in December 2012. Morsy’s supporters attacked opposition protesters, sparking clashes that killed at least 10 people.
iii. 12 Brotherhood leaders and supporters, including Mohammed el-Beltagy and Essam el-Erian, also were sentenced to 20 years in prison.
7. Nasim Zaidi assumed charge as Chief Election Commissioner of India
i. Nasim Zaidi on 19 April 2015 assumed the charge as Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India. He succeeded Hari Shankar Brahma, who had retired on 18 April 2015.
ii. With this, Zaidi became India’s 20th CEC. He will be the sole member of the three-member Election Commission till the government fills up the two vacant posts of election commissioners.
iii. He will have tenure of two years as he will attain the age of 65 in July 2017.
iv. Nasim Zaidi is a 1976 batch IAS officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre. He had served as the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
8. Sulekha.com raises Rs 175 crore from Singapore’s sovereign fund GIC, Norwest Venture Partners
i. Sulekha.com, a digital platform for local services, has raised Rs 175 crore from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and global investment firm Norwest Venture Partners.
ii. The Chennai-based company will use the proceeds for expanding its platform that connects users and local service providers, apart from investing in technology and branding, the company said in a statement.
iii. “Sulekha has been enjoying significant organic growth while being quite capital efficient, making it one of only a few digital companies in India that have been profitable,” said Param Parameswaran, Chairman of Sulekha.com.
iv. Sulekha sends more than 16 million user needs a year to over 2 million active businesses on its platform. Mitsui & Co. (Tokyo) and Indigo Monsoon Group are also
investors in Sulekha.
9. At 603 kmph, Japan’s maglev train breaks its own speed record
i. A Japanese maglev, which is the fastest passenger train in the world, has broken its own speed record.
ii. Operator JR Central said the train reached 603 kmph in a test run on Tuesday, surpassing its previous record of 581 kmph set in 2003. The train travelled for about 2 km at a speed exceeding 600 kmph.
iii. Japan’s high-speed rail services are among the most advanced in the world, with hundreds of trains running each day with minimal delays.
iv. The Maglev Test Line, near Mount Fuji about 80 km west of Tokyo, is developing technology for use on a future link between Tokyo and Osaka.
10. Neeraj Kumar appointed as Chief Adviser of Anti-Corruption & Security Unit of BCCI
i. Former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar was on 20 April 2015 appointed as chief adviser of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Anti-Corruption & Security Unit (ACSU).
ii. He will have a term of one year, that is, till 2016. Kumar succeeded Ravi Sawant.
iii. His appointment was made during Governing Council Meeting of the Indian Premier League (IPL) chaired by IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla in New Delhi.
iv. Neeraj Kumar is a 1976 batch IPS officer of the AGMU cadre. Earlier, he has served as the Delhi Police commissioner for 13 months i.e. from June 2012 to July 2013.
11. Ninth Civil Services Day was observed across India on 21 April
i. Ninth Civil Services Day was observed across India on 21 April 2015. The day is observed by all Civil Services to re-dedicate and re-commit themselves to the cause of the people.
ii. A series of Panel Discussions was organised at the Vigyan Bhawan. The Ninth Civil Services Day focuses on Minimum Government, Maximum Governance with specific sectoral emphasis on Social Sector, Housing, Employment & Skill Development and Agriculture.
iii. The Prime Minister will confer the Awards to winners of outstanding initiatives in PublicAdministration for the years 2012–13 and 2013-14.
iv. The award will be present in three categories. Under this scheme of awards instituted in 2006, all the officers individually or as group or as organization are eligible. During the event, a book on Best Practices – Tomorrow is Here was also released by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
12. Axis Bank, Suvidha Infoserve tie-up to launch pre-paid card
i. Axis bank, India’s third largest private bank, launched a prepaid card to enable instant on-boarding, cash deposit and withdrawal for the customer.
ii. The card has a limit of loading up to Rs. 50,000 as balance. The card is issued at a price of Rs. 100 and the charges per transaction range from 1-2 per cent of the amount being transacted.
iii. In tie-up with banking correspondent Suvidha Infoserve, the card intends to serve the migrant population and is built on components of its business correspondent network, instant Aadhaar-based e-KYC and interoperability of the prepaid card, the bank statement said.
13. New York Times wins Pulitzer for Ebola coverage
i. The New York Times won two prestigious Pulitzer prizes on Monday for coverage of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, described by the Pulitzer board as courageous and vivid journalism that engaged the public and held authorities accountable.
ii. The Pulitzer for Public Service, announced at Columbia University, went to Charleston, South Carolina’s Post and Courier for its series on domestic violence.
iii. The Pulitzers honour extraordinary work in U.S. journalism, literature, drama and other areas and bring welcome attention and recognition to newspapers and websites.
14. E-Samiksha launched to monitor rail projects online
i. With an aim of monitoring implementation of various ongoing projects including Rail Budget proposals, railways today launched E-Samiksha, an online monitoring mechanism.
ii. Now each and every project implementation can be monitored on real-time basis, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said here after launching the system.
iii. Designed by NIC, the software is currently being used by Cabinet Secretariat, PMO and other Ministries for monitoring progress implementation of various programmes and follow-up of meetings.
iv. Apart from budget-related projects, the E-Samiksha can also be used for monitoring the infrastructure target and board meeting follow-up.
15. Supreme Court to decide on five judges who will hear the validity of NJAC Act
i. The issue of conflict of interest and doctrine of bias has once again cropped up before a constitution bench of the Supreme Court set up to hear the constitutional validity of the law replacing the appointment of judges by the collegium system.
ii. After some of the parties in the matter raised the issue of heading the five-judge bench headed by Justice JS Khehar, it decided that before going into merits of the impugned law it will settle the issue as to which judges of the Supreme Court can hear it.
16. Amazon launches website for businesses to buy supplies online
i. In line with vision to be India’s most customer centric company online market place Amazon has launched Amazonbusiness.in, a members-only B2B ecommerce website in India.
ii. The website, at present, is serving businesses in Bengaluru.
iii. According to the company, the website allows businesses to purchase their frequently needed business supplies and products for retail in bulk quantities at wholesale prices.
iv. The registration is currently open for businesses in Bengaluru including small office and home offices, kirana stores, drugstores, hospitals, hotels, and restaurants. Businesses in Bengaluru can register for free and place an order as low as Rs. 1000.
v. “With Amazonbusiness.in, businesses now have an opportunity to unblock their working capital as they no longer need to face issues like inconsistent stock availability and long vendor lead times.
vi. They can order any day of the week and get 1 to 2 day delivery from Amazon’s reliable delivery service.
vii. They also get competitive and transparent prices and invoices with their VAT and CST identification numbers,” the company said in a statement.
17. 13th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice held in Doha
i. The 13th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice was held from 12 April 2015 to 19 April 2015 at Qatar National Convention Centre in Doha, Qatar.
ii. The Summit concluded with the adoption of Doha Declaration.The Doha Declaration aims at integrating crime prevention and criminal justice into the wider United Nations (UN) agenda to address social and economic challenges and to promote the rule of law at the national and international levels, and public participation.
iii. During the conference, delegates pledged action to promote justice for all, underline link between rule of law, sustainable development and by adopting a statement to that effect participants committed themselves to integrating crime prevention and criminal justice into the wider UN agenda.
18. Former Bengal U-19 Cricket captain Ankit Keshri died
i. Ankit Keshri, an East Bengal Club cricketer died due to an injury sustained during a Cricket Association of Bengal’s senior one-day knock-out match. He was 20.
ii. Keshri was hurt on 17 April 2015 during Bengal Division 1’s match between East Bengal Club and Bhawanipore Club at Salt Lake ground. In the 44th over, he bumped into bowler Sourabh Mondal while taking a high catch and fell and lost consciousness.
iii. As a cricketer, Keshri captained the Bengal U-19 team in Cooch Behar Trophy and was in the 30-member India U-19 probables list for the 2014 Colts World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. He was also playing for Bengal A (U-23 side) in CK Nayudu national Championship.
19. Archana, Anezka won cadet girls’ doubles title at the French Junior and Cadet Open
i. Archana Girish Kamath and Anezka Ilcikova, the Indo-Czech Republic pair won the cadet girls’ doubles table tennis title at the French junior and cadet open in Metz, France.
ii. In the title clash, Archana and Anezka defeated the French pair of Lucie Gauthier and Leili Mostafavi 10-12, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5 and clinched the gold medal.
iii. 2015 French Junior & Cadet Open, ITTF Premium Junior Circuit was held at Metz, France from 15 April to 19 April 2015.
iv. The Bengaluru player Archana, who is the reigning sub-junior national table tennis champion, also claimed a bronze medal in the team event after a loss in the semi finals.
20. Virat Kohli announced to set up chain of gyms with the investment of 90 crore rupees
i. Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli announced to set up his chain of gyms and fitness centres with the investment of 90 crore rupees.The gyms will be launched under the brand name Chisel. The brand is jointly owned by Kohli, Chisel Fitness and CSE, the sister concern of Cornerstone Sport & Entertainment.
ii. It is to be known that India’s ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni already has his fitness chain across the country. Also, Kohli co-owns Indian Super League football franchise FC Goa and also has his clothing line for youths Wrogn.
iii. The country’s fitness industry comprising branded fitness chains and standalone gyms is pegged at around 1300 crore rupees. Other Indian cricketers to have invested in business ventures include Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa.
iv. While Yuvraj has floated a venture fund YouWeCan Ventures that aims to support young entrepreneurs, Robin Uthappa has co-founded a food startup iTiffin.
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