Daily GK Updates – 30th – 31st May 2015
1. President Pranab Mukherjee Arrives in Sweden
i. President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday embarked on a five-day state visit to Sweden and Belarus, the first ever by 
any Indian head of state, during which a number of key agreements are likely to be signed.
ii. He was given a ceremonial send-off at Rashtrapati Bhavan by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the three Service Chiefs.
iii. Mukherjee’s visit to Sweden, where he is headed first, comes on the back of a controversy that broke out over reported remarks made by him to a Swedish daily. But the External Affairs Ministry had firmly shot down speculation that the issue could have an adverse impact on the tour of the Scandinavian nation.
iv. After arrival at Swedish capital Stockholm, the President will meet the King and Queen?as well as Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, the Speaker of the Swedish Parliament, and the Leader of Opposition, Anna Kinberg Batra.
v. During the three-day visit to the country, Mukherjee would be visiting the renowned Karolinska Institute and?Uppsala University, the oldest university in Europe which was?started in 1477.
2. Magnitude-7.8 quake strikes off Japan’s southern coast
i. The US Geological Survey said the 7.8-magnitude earthquake was centred 874km (543 miles) from the Japanese capital, at a depth of more than 660km.
ii. The earthquake struck at 20:30 local time (11:30 GMT). Buildings in the capital swayed for almost a minute as the quake built in intensity. There are no reports of serious damage. No tsunami alert was issued.
iii. Tokyo Electric Power Company said there were no abnormalities at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant following the quake. The runways at Tokyo’s Narita airport were operating normally but the high-speed bullet train service between Tokyo and Osaka was halted due to a power outage.
iv. In March 2011, a massive 9.0 magnitude quake started a tsunami that left nearly 20,000 people dead in north-eastern Japan and caused nuclear meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant.
3. HDFC Bank among top 100 most valuable global brands in 2015
i. Private sector lender HDFC Bank is the only Indian entity to find a place among the top 100 most valuable brands globally, along with Apple, Google, Microsoft, IBM and Facebook.
ii. HDFC Bank is ranked at 74th position in the BrandZ list compiled by Millward Brown, a global research agency, in association with WPP. As per the report, the bank is the India’s most valuable brand with a value of $ 14 billion.
iii. Apple tops the chart with a brand value of $ 246.9 billion, followed by Google with $ 173.6 billion and Microsoft with $ 115.5 billion.
iv. At the fourth position is IBM with brand value of $ 93.9 billion while Visa is at fifth position with value of $ 91.9 billion. Among the banking sector, Wells Fargo is at the top at the 16th position having a brand value of $ 59.3 billion followed by ICBC brand at 22nd position valued at $ 38.8 billion.
v. Among others are HSBC at 35th position with $ 24 billion, RBC Royal Bank at 36th position valued at $ 23.9 billion and China Construction Bank valued at $ 22 billion.
4. 31 May: World No-Tobacco Day
i. World No-Tobacco Day (WNTD) is observed every year across the world on 31 May.
ii. This day highlights the health risks associated with consumption all forms of tobacco and advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption.
iii. WNTD 2015, calls on countries to work together to end the illicit trade of tobacco products which is a major global concern including for health, legal and economic, governance and corruption.
iv. In 1988, WHO’s World Health Assembly had passed a resolution calling for the celebration of World No Tobacco Day, every year on May 31. Since then, the WHO has supported World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) every year, linking each year to a different tobacco-related theme.
5. Indian-origin teacher Gurnimrat Nimmy Sidhu receives Oxford University teacher award
i. Gurnimrat ‘Nimmy’ Sidhu, an Indian-origin teacher has been honoured with ‘University of Oxford Inspirational Teacher Award’.
ii. She received her trophy in Oxford along with 11 other teachers for helping their students get into the world-famous varsity.
iii. Sidhu who is head of science at Oaks Park High School in north-east London, was nominated for this award by one of her students who admitted into the University of Oxford with her help.
iv. The award scheme was set up to encourage more state-funded schools to connect with the prestigious Oxford University.
v. The scheme was set up by the university to counter criticism of elitism with largely wealthy and privately educated students being able to gain admission.
6. Sepp Blatter re-elected as FIFA President for a fifth term
i. Sepp Blatter has been re-elected as the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) President for a fifth term.
ii. He was declared victorious after rival candidate Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan conceded defeat before final voting went into a second round.
iii. In the first round, out of the 206 valid votes of member nations, Blatter got 133 while Ali obtained 73 votes. In the first round as neither candidate was able to obtain the two-thirds majority for an outright win second round was called. The defeated prince Ali was a FIFA Vice President for the past four years.
iv. Blatter is a Swiss football administrator. For first time he was elected as President of FIFA in 1998. He had succeeded Joao Havelange who had held the presidency since 1974. He was again re-elected as president in 2002, 2007 and 2011.
v. Prior to his presidency, Blatter was a public relations executive at various organizations and had served as the general secretary of FIFA since 1981.
7. First facial recognition ATM developed in China
i. Chinese researchers have successfully developed the first automated teller machine (ATM) with facial recognition technology to reduce the risk of theft, media reports said.
ii. The developers include Tsinghua University and Tzekwan Technology, a Hangzhou firm in eastern China’s Zhejiang province that provides securityprotection for financial transactions, South China Morning Post quoted Chinese official media as saying.
iii. Tzekwan chairman Gu Zikun, an anti-counterfeit technology expert, believes the technology will curb ATM-related crimes.
iv. China currently relied mostly on imported ATM technology, the report said, but the new machine, which combines high-speed banknote handling, improved counterfeit-bill recognition and facial recognition, was wholly Chinese.
8. G R Aloria named chief secretary of Gujarat
i. Gujarat government on Saturday appointed 1981-batch IAS, G R Aloria as the new chief secretary to the state. Aloria, who is currently serving as the additional chief secretary of Urban Development Department, succeeded the incumbent chief secretary D J Pandian, who retires from the service on May 31.
ii. In a notification issued on Saturday, the general administration department of the state government announced appointment of Aloria as the chief secretary to Government of Gujarat with effect from May 31, 2015.
iii. Aloria is the senior most bureaucrat in the state administration and had served in several key positions including heading the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited during the land acquisition for the for canal network. He was also secretary in the revenue department, which fell under ChiefMinister Anandiben Patel.
9. Web-based universal ID cards for disabled from Dec
i. The Government will roll out for persons with disabilities universal identity cards having a unique number with which their details can be accessed by the click of a button.
ii. The initiative will help in a big way in ensuring the authenticity of disability certificates and eliminate hassle of having to carry the certificates for different purposes, as various details, including the type of disabilities would be made available online.
iii. “We are aiming at issuing the first universal disability ID card on December 3. We have almost zeroed in on the software provider, who would also be tasked with the responsibility of uploading disability certificates,” Joint Secretary of Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Awanish Kumar Awasthi, told PTI.
iv. The department functioning under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has decided to issue web-based cards instead of smart cards, proposed initially.
v. “Since most of the details of persons with disabilities would be available online, we have decided to go ahead with plastic cards, comprising a unique number,” an official said, adding that details of a differently-abled person can be accessed using their respective number.
10. Veena Jain appointed as Director General (news) of Doordarshan
i. Union Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry has appointed Veena Jain as director general (news) in Doordarshan (DD). She succeeds senior Indian Information Service (IIS) officer Akshay Rout.
ii. Along with this appointment Jain will also hold the charge as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) and will oversee the ministry’s new media wing and social media cell and report to the ministry for all purposes.
iii. At present, she is posted as Additional Director General (ADG) in the News Services Division of All India Radio (AIR). Earlier, she had served as director of Publications Division of AIR. Doordarshan DG (news) is one of the most influential positions in the public broadcaster in India.
iv. Both AIR and DD are media wings function under Prasar Bharati which directly works under the aegis of Union I&B ministry.
11. VA Prasanth appointed as the CFO of Indian Bank
i. VA Prasanth was appointed as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Indian Bank with immediate effect.
ii. Before this appointment, he was serving as the General Manager of the Indian Bank. Prasanth succeeded K Srinivasa Raghavan.
iii. Indian Bank, established in 1907, is an Indian state-owned financial services company, headquartered in Chennai, India.
iv. It has 20000 employees, 2412 branches in India and is one of the big public sector banks of India.
12. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurates New Bank Note Paper Line unit in Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh
i. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated the New Bank Note Paper Line unit of 6000 metric ton capacity at Security Paper Mill in Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh.
ii. He also flagged off the first consignment of one thousand rupee bank notes made indigenously from this paper mill to the Currency Note Press Nasik.
Key Facts about New Bank Note Paper Line unit
State-of-the- art continuous pulp manufacturing plant integrated with paper machine.
The bank note paper manufactured here is incorporated with advanced security features.
Capable of manufacturing all denominations of bank note paper, including in the higher denomination of 1000 rupees with 3-dimentional toned water mark.
Plant project has been completed at a cost of 495 crore rupees.
Incorporated with latest technology that uses less power and minimum water consumption.
The plant is environment friendly with zero liquid discharge.
It will generate both direct and indirect employment.
13. RBI released Draft Guidelines on Net Stable Funding Ratio for Banks
i. The Reserve Bank of India released the Draft Guidelines on Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) under Basel III Framework on Liquidity Standards for banks.
ii. The Reserve Bank proposed to make NSFR applicable to all banks in India from 1 January 2018.
iii. The objective of NSFR is to ensure that banks maintain a stable funding profile in relation to their assets and off-balance sheet activities.
iv. A sustainable funding structure can reduce the probability of erosion of a bank’s liquidity position due to disruptions in its regular sources of funding that would increase the risk of its failure and potentially lead to broader systemic stress.
14. Govt’s ‘khoyapaya’ website to help trace missing children
i. With 11 children disappearing every hour in the country, the government will on June 2 roll out a web platform for people to directly report, track and upload information on missing children.
ii. The web portal will be launched by the Women and Child Development Ministry. It will serve as a platform for people to not only report a missing child but also track the efforts towards his or her recovery.
iii. The website, www.khoyapaya.gov.in, will answer all queries as to what action is to be taken when a child goes missing.
iv. A joint initiative of the WCD Ministry and the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, the website will have three sections – ‘My child is missing’, ‘I have sighted a child’ and ‘Search a missing child’.
v. The website will also provide links to court orders wherein police have been mandated to register an FIR in the matter of a child gone missing and treat it as either abduction or trafficking unless it is proved otherwise in the investigation.
15. Pinaka Mark-II rockets successfully tested at Pokhran
i. Advanced version of indigenous Pinaka mark-II rockets were successfully tested on 30 May 2015 in Pokhran field firing ranges in Rajasthan.
ii. They were test-fired using a multi-barrel rocket launcher (MBRL). In the test six rounds were successfully tested which had hit the target situated 53 kms from the firing point.
iii. The MBRL version of Pinaka has high operational mobility, flexibility and accuracy which is capable of acting as a force multiplier and has been developed to supplement artillery guns.
Facts about Pinaka II rockets
The Pinaka II rocket is also known as the Weapon Area System (WAS).
Jointly and indigenously developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Army.
It has battery of six launchers which can fire rockets with a range of 40-65 kms.
WAS can fire a salvo of 12 rockets in 44 seconds with 1.2 tonne of high explosives.
Can neutralise a target area of 3.9 square km and supplement existing artillery system at a range beyond 30 km.
Can be fitted with wide range of warheads including blast-cum-pre-fragmented high explosives to anti-tank mines.
16. RBI proposed to introduce PPI for Mass Transit Systems
i. The Reserve Bank of India proposed to introduce Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) for Mass Transit System (PPI-MTS).
ii. These PPI-MTS will be semi-closed instruments that will be used facilitate the migration to electronic payments in line with the country’s vision of moving to a less-cash society.
iii. Further, it can also be used within the mass transit systems and will have a minimum validity of six months from date of issue. Such PPIs will be reloadable instruments subjected to an outstanding limit of 2000 rupees at any point of time.
17. Kolkata’s Mohun Bagan FC wins I-League title
i. Kolkata’s Mohun Bagan Football Club (FC) has won the I-League title by defeating Bengaluru Football Club.
ii .Mohun Bagan won the title after a 1-1 draw score against Bengaluru FC in their final game of the 2014-15 season played at the Kanteerva Stadium, Bengaluru.
iii. John Johnson of Bengaluru FC had scored a goal in the 41st minute and later Mohun Bagan’s Bello Rasaq scored the equaliser in the 86th minute. With this win, Mohun Bagan FC ended the season with 39 points at top, while Bengaluru FC finished second on the ladder with 37.
iv. It should be noted that it is the fourth national title for Mohun Bagan FC after having won the last in 2002 when the I-League tournament was named the National Football League (NFL).
18. Higher service tax rate of 14% to be applicable from 1 June
i. The new service tax rate of 14% will come into effect from 1 June, the government on Tuesday said, in a move that will make eating out in restaurants, insurance and phone bills expensive, among many other things.
ii. The service tax is currently levied at the rate 12.36% including education cess. Top official sources said that the new rate of 14% announced by finance minister Arun Jaitley in his budget for 2015-16 would come into effect from 1 June.
iii. In his budget speech, Jaitley had said that to facilitate a smooth transition to levy of tax on services by both the centre and the states, “it is proposed to increase the present rate” of service tax plus education cess from 12.36% to a consolidated rate of 14%.
iv. Service tax is levied on all services, expect a small negative list. Advertising, air travel, services of architect, certain type of constructions, credit card, even management, and tour operator are some of the important services which attract tax.
19. AR Rahman documentary ‘Jai Ho’ screened at White House
i. ‘Jai Ho’, a documentary based on music maestro AR Rahman’s life, was screened at the White House.
ii. The film, directed by Umesh Aggarwal, traces the journey of the Oscar and Grammy winning music composer’s professional and personal life.
iii. It explores the evolution of his style of music-a fusion of Eastern sensibilities and Western technology.
20. Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman inducted in BCCI’s advisory panel
i. Former greats Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman were on Monday inducted into the BCCI’s newly-constituted cricket advisory committee to guide the Board and the national team on various “progressive steps” needed for future challenges.
ii. “The president of the BCCI, Mr. Jagmohan Dalmiya, has nominated Mr. Sachin Tendulkar, Mr. Sourav Ganguly and Mr. VVS Laxman as esteemed members of the Cricket Advisory Committee of the BCCI, with immediate effect,” BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said in a statement.
iii. “These legendary cricketers have accepted the invitation to be part of this Committee, which will advise the BCCI on various progressive steps which are needed to be taken, that will enable Indian Cricket to be better prepared for the challenges of the future,” the board statement added.
iv. Spelling out their role in the committee, the BCCI said the three legends’ guidance will be sought in preparing the national team for gruelling overseas assignments besides strengthening the domestic structure.
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