GK Updates - 7 April | Banking Quiz

India test-fires BrahMos missile successfully

1.The Indian Army today successfully test fired an advanced version of 290 km range supersonic cruise missile BrahMos as part of a user trial at Pokhran test range in Rajasthan.

2.The missile was launched by a mobile autonomous launcher deployed in full configuration with mobile command post at the ranges.

3.“The launch was successful and the missile hit the designated target,” Defence Spokesperson Col S.D. Goswami told PTI.

4.Senior Army officials witnessed the launch and congratulated the operational team for its successful launch.

Indian Staffing Federation President

1.The Indian Staffing Federation, an apex body of flexi staffing industry, has appointed Rituparna Chakraborty as its President and Raja Sekhar Reddy as the Vice–President for a period of two years.

2.ISF also appointed Suchita Dutta as Executive Director, who will be be the face while lobbying with various government bodies, an ISF

Nine Kingfisher trademarks put up for sale

1.Kingfisher lenders today put on block nine trademarks of the grounded carrier to recover dues running into crores of rupees.

2.The trademarks put on the block include Fly Kingfisher and Fly Kingfisher (Label), both registered with KFA and each having a validity of up to January 10, 2017. Flying Models registered with United Breweries (airline promoter) and valid up to August 6, 2014 is also put up on sale.

3.The others are Fly the Good Times and the Funliner (registered with KFA and valid up to August 6, 2014); the Kingfisher (Label) registered with UB and valid up to November 1, 2014; and the Flying Bird Device, registered with UB and valid up to November 5, 2014, SBI Caps Trustees said in a public notice.

4.SBI Caps has been tasked by a 17-member consortium of lenders, led by SBI, to recover their dues running into over Rs 7,500 crore in principal alone from Kingfisher Airlines, promoted by Vjay Mallya.

East Asia to grow 7.1% this year: World Bank

1.East Asia will remain the world’s fastest-growing region in 2014, with a collective expansion of 7.1 per cent, the World Bank said on Monday.

2.Myanmar’s fast-reforming economy is expected to grow 7.8 per cent, the fastest in the region, with China achieving 7.6 per cent growth, down slightly from 7.7 per cent in 2013, according to the bank’s East Asia Pacific Economic Update.

3.“East Asia Pacific has served as the world’s main growth engine since the global financial crisis,” said Axel van Trotsenburg, World Bank East Asia and Pacific regional vice president.

4.The region notched up an average economic growth rate of 8 per cent per annum from 2009 to 2013.

5.“Stronger global growth this year will help the region expand at a relatively steady pace while adjusting to tighter global financial conditions,” van Trotsenburg said.

Urdu daily’s editor quits TDP

1.Popular Urdu daily Siasat’s Editor Zahed Ali Khan today formally quit the Telugu Desam Party, protesting its tie-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

2.Khan resigned from the TDP membership and also its politburo of which he was a member, party sources said.

3.He faxed his resignation letter to the TDP headquarters.

4.He had been staying away from the party for the past few months ever since the TDP got ready to realign with the BJP.

TDP releases first list of candidates

1.A day after announcing a tie-up with BJP, the Telugu Desam Party on Monday announced its first list of candidates for three Lok Sabha and 27 Assembly segments in Telangana.

2.With the time ticking by for the filing of nominations and the last date being April 9 for the phase one in the State, the focus is on Telangana which goes to the polls on April 30.

3.Addressing a press conference, TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu announced the names of the candidates chosen for these constituencies and stated that for the rest of the constituencies, the process of selection of candidates is now underway.

4.While Ramesh Rathod, sitting Member of Parliament from Adilabad constituency was re-nominated, K Madan Mohan Rao has been named from Zaheerabad and Bhanoth Mohan Lal has been chosen to contest from Mahbubabad (ST) constituencies.

Dhoni named captain of ICC World T20 team

1.His side may have lost in the final but Mahendra Singh Dhoni was today named captain of the 2014 ICC World Team of the Tournament that figures four Indians, including star batsman Virat Kohli.

2.Opener Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin are the other two Indian players who feature in the team that was announced by the ICC.

3.Kohli was adjudged Player of the Tournament for amassing 319 runs with the help of four half centuries, including knocks of 72 and 77 in the semifinal and final of the showpiece event.

4.Besides Indians, the team has two players from both South Africa and West Indies, and one representative each from Australia, the Netherlands and champions Sri Lanka.

5.Chosen by a select group of experts, the team was aimed at being suited for Bangladesh conditions, on the basis of performances in the tournament only. Statistics were used but were not the sole basis for selections.

India drop to 2nd but Kohli, Ashwin rise in ICC rankings

1.India lost their number one status to Sri Lanka after being defeated in the World Twenty20 final but star batsman Virat Kohli and spinner R Ashwin today attained career—high positions of second and third respectively in the latest ICC rankings issued here.

2.“India pair of Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin has attained career-best rankings, at the end of the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014, in the latest Reliance ICC Player Rankings for T20I batsmen and Reliance ICC Player Ranking for T20I bowlers respectively,” the ICC said in a statement.

3.“Sri Lanka reclaimed the number—one position on the Reliance ICC T20I Team Rankings Table, after it beat India in the final to win the tournament for the first-time ever. Sri Lanka gained three ratings points to finish on 133, three ahead of India, to move into the top position,” the ICC stated.

4.“Before the semi-finals began, India had gone past Sri Lanka to become the number-one ranked side. The final therefore was also a contest for either side to reclaim or retain the top spot.”

Mahindra Group appoints Ruzbeh Irani as Chief Group Communications & Ethics Officer

1.The $16.7 billion Mahindra Group has appointed Ruzbeh Irani as its Chief Group Communications and Ethics Officer with effect from April 1 this year. Ruzbeh is also a member of the Mahindra Group Executive Board.

2.Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group, said, “Communication plays a vital role in building the Mahindra brand on the global stage, and in strengthening our internal culture. It is especially crucial, given the Mahindra Group’s aspiration of joining the ranks of the Top 50 most admired global brands by 2021.”

3.Ruzbeh's will work with all Mahindra Group businesses to develop and strengthen their communications strategy and execution on a global scale. In addition, as the Chief Ethics Officer of the Group, he is also responsible for infusing and maintaining the highest standards of ethics and corporate governance across Mahindra.

Amara Raja Batteries inducts new CFO

1.Amara Raja Batteries Ltd has informed the BSE that the audit committee and the board at their respective meetings held on Monday approved the appointment of S.V. Raghavendra as Chief Financial Officer of the company effective from April 8, 2014.

2.Further, the board noted that K. Suresh, relinquished his office as Chief Financial Officer of the company and shall assume responsibilities as President-Finance of the company in the areas of strategic planning, project financing and future business opportunities effective from April 8, 2014.

LafargeHolcim to be largest cement, concrete firm

1.Global cement market leader Holcim and second-placed Lafarge plan to merge by next year, the Swiss and French companies announced on Monday.

2.The new LafargeHolcim company would be the biggest company in the cement, concrete and gravel sectors, they said.

3.The firms plan to swap shares at a ratio of one Holcim share for one Lafarge share, forming a new company that is to be based in Switzerland.

4.The merger is expected to create “enhanced performance through incremental synergies totalling more than CHF 1.7billion/ Euro 1.4 billion ($1.9 billion) on a full run-rate basis phased in over three years with one-third in year one,” Holcim said online.

5.In order to streamline the new company, Lafarge and Holcim plan to shed some of their operations in what they called a “pro-active divestment process.”

World Health Day 2014 observed across the world

1.World Health Day 2014 was observed across the world on 7 April 2014. The day provides an opportunity for individuals to get involved in activities that can lead to better health.

2.The theme for World Health Day 2014 is vector-borne diseases. World Health Organisation (WHO) is highlighting the serious and increasing threat of vector-borne diseases with the slogan Small bite, big threat.

3.WHO want to create awareness about the vector spread diseases which include malaria, dengue, leishmaniasis and yellow fever. The Campaign aims to raise awareness about the threat posed by vectors and vector-borne diseases. The awareness also includes simples precaution that the families and communities to take action to protect themselves.

Lee Chong Wei & Shixian Wang won India Super Series Badminton titles

1.Defending champion, Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia on 6 March 2014 won the men’s singles title of 250000 US dollar India Super Series Badminton in New Delhi. To retain the men’s singles title, he defeated Chen Long of China in straight-game by 21-13, 21-17. This was the third title for World Number one badminton player Chong Wei, of the season.

2.On the other hand, second seed Shixian Wang won the women’s singles title by defeating top seed Li Xuerui 22-20, 21-19.

Australian cricket team won Women's T20 World Cup 2014

Australian women cricket team on 6 April 2014 won the Women’s World Twenty20 Cup 2014 cup defeating England in the final match in Mirpur, Dhaka. It defeated England by six wickets with 29 balls left to be bowled. This was the third successive Women’s World Twenty20 title won by Australian women’s cricket team.

Iwao Hakamada awarded with the Boxing Belt by WBC

1.Iwao Hakamada, the Japanese boxer on 6 April 2014 was awarded with an honorary championship belt by World Boxing Council (WBC). Hakamada was freed from death row on 27 March 2014 after 48 years in prison following a murder conviction.

2.On behalf of him, the belt was received by his elder sister Hideko from the WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman. At present, Hakamada is receiving hospital treatment since being released from the Tokyo prison. The green belt has been sewn by a portrait of Kahamada.

Punjab won Junior National Hockey Title 2014

1.Punjab on 6 April 2014 won the 4th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2014 (Division A) by defeating Hockey Odisha 6-2 in the finals at Chennai, Tamil Nadu. With this win, Punjab had retained the championship title.

2.To gain the third place in the tournament, Haryana defeated the Sports Authority of India (7-3).

Koyal Rana won the Miss India 2014 title

1.Koyal Rana on 5 April 2014 won the 51st edition of the fbb Femina Miss India 2014 crown after defeating 24 other contestants from across the country. With this win, Rana will represent India at the Miss World International beauty pageant 2014.

2.Rana, who was born in Jaipur but raised in Delhi, was crowned at Yash Raj Studio in Mumbai. She was crowned by Navneer Kaur Dhillion, the 2013 winner of Femina Miss India title and Megan Young, the Miss World 2013.

3.Earlier, Koyal Rana was crowned as the title of Miss Teen India 2008 at the age of 15 years.

Sri Lanka won its maiden ICC Twenty20 World Cup title

1.Sri Lankan cricket team on 6 April 2014 won the ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2014 title after defeating Indian cricket team by six wickets in the final match at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) in Mirpur, Dhaka.

2.In the final, India batting first scored 130 runs. In response Sri Lanka achieved the target of 131 runs by losing only 4 wickets in 17.5 overs. From Indian side, once again, Virat Kohli led the scorecard of Indian team. He made a valiant 77 runs of 58 balls. From the Sri Lankan side, it was Kumar Sangakkara who led his team to victory by making an unbeaten 52 runs of 38 balls.

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Anja Niedringhaus shot dead in Afghanistan

1.Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Anja Niedringhaus on 4 April 2014 shot dead by a policeman in Afghanistan. She was 48. She was killed while covering the 2014 presidential election in Afghanistan.

2.An Afghan policeman opened fire in their car as they waited to pass through a checkpoint near Khost as they were covering the electioneering for the upcoming presidential vote. In the open fire, her long-time colleague, and the respected Canadian reporter Kathy Gannon also got wounded.

President Obama nominated PIO Sunil Sabharwal as US Alternate Executive Director of IMF

President Barack Obama on 4 April 2014 nominated Sunil Sabharwal as the next US Alternate Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He is currently working as independent investor in the payments sector.