GK Updates - 15 May | Banking Quiz

World Migratory Bird Day observed across the world

I.World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) was observed across the world on 10 – 11 May 2014. The Theme of the WMBD 2014 was Destination Flyways: Migratory Birds and Tourism.

New York Times names new executive editor

I.Managing editor Dean Baquet named as the new executive editor after Jill Abramson stepped down from the top position unexpectedly, the paper said.

II.The New York Times has named the paper’s current managing editor Dean Baquet as the new executive editor after Jill Abramson stepped down from the top position unexpectedly, the paper said on Wednesday.

III.Ms. Abramson, who took over as executive editor in 2011, was the first woman to hold the paper’s top position. The reason for her resignation is unknown.

Afghan presidential election goes to second round

I.The race will likely be tight between the two contenders, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and ex-Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai.

II.Afghanistan’s election commission announced on Thursday that the country’s presidential election is going into second round, with the two top vote getters to face off on June 14, 2014.

III.The race will likely be tight between the two contenders, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and ex-Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai.

IV.The second round will coincide with the height of the Taliban spring offensive that was launched earlier this week. The insurgency has renewed its campaign of attacks on the Afghan police and military increasing fears over security when voters head to the polls.

Turkey mining disaster: death toll rises to 282

I.The death toll in the coal mine explosion and fire in western Turkey — the worst mine disaster to have occurred in the country — has increased to 282 on Wednesday, said a Turkish Minister.

II.Anti-government protests broke out in the mining town of Soma, as well as Istanbul and the capital, Ankara, with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan being heckled as he tried to show concern.

III.The display of anger could have significant repercussions for the Turkish leader, who is widely expected to run for president in the August election, although he is yet to announce his candidacy.

Delhi L-G Najeeb Jung constituted High Powered Committee to look into Delhi-NCR pollution

Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Najeeb Jung on 13 May 2014 constituted a High Powered Committee to look into the pollution levels in national Capital and suggest the steps to reduce its levels in the city. The committee will be headed by Delhi Chief Secretary. The report will be submitted within four weeks.

The committee will specifically examine the pollution caused by

• Growing number of vehicles on the roads of Delhi

• The level of pollution in Yamuna, a river where industrial and sewer waste are outpoured

Member of the high powered committee will include

• Chief Secretary of Delhi as its Chairperson

• Special CP (Traffic), Delhi Police

• Secretary (Environment)

• Commissioner (Transport)

• Additional Secretary (DPCC)

Oscar winning Swedish Film Director Malik Bendjelloul died

I.Oscar winning Swedish film director, Malik Bendjelloul died in Stockholm on 13 May 2014. He was 36.

II.He was most famous for his 2012 documentary Searching for Sugar Man for which he won an Oscar and BAFTA in 2013 in the best documentary category. The documentary also won the Swedish Guldbagge award.

III.The documentary Searching for Sugar Man detailed the life and career of the American singer Sixto Rodriguez. Rodriguez was a US singer who disappeared from the music scene while unwittingly becoming a massive cult hit in Africa.

Save the Children, an international NGO released State of the World Mother Report

Save the Children an international Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) released its 15th annual report on State of the World’s Mother on 5 May 2014 to commemorate the International Mother’s Day. In the Report, India has been ranked 105 out of 178 countries.

Highlights of the report

• Finland tops the index while Somalia is at the bottom of the list. The United States is ranked 31 among 178 countries. US had been continuously ranked in the top 5 in past 15 years.

• Developed countries like Spain, New Zealand and Denmark had seen an increase in lifetime risk of maternal death. The poorest people suffer most from natural disasters and 95 percent of disaster fatalities occur in developing countries.

• Greatest challenges for mothers were armed conflicts especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Meghalaya Government banned rat-hole coal mining & coal transportation in the State

I.State Government of Meghalaya on 14 May 2014 banned rat-hole mining and transportation of coal throughout the State. The order was issued by the State government to comply with an order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

II.The Director General Police (DGP) of Meghalaya PJP Hanaman directed the Superintendents of Police and the Deputy Commissioners to implement the order of NGT in letter and spirit. Violators of the ban (if any) would be booked under Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Chinese airline to buy 50 Boeing aircraft for $6 billion

I.A new low cost Chinese carrier has signed an agreement with Boeing to purchase 50 aircraft worth over $6 billion, the largest ever deal made by a private airline in China.

II.Jiuyuan Airlines, based in Guangzhou City, China's southern business hub, got approval from the Civil Aviation Administration in February and is expected to begin flights in the second half of this year.

The deal was signed yesterday. The aircraft, including Boeing's 737-800 and 737 MAX, are expected to be in operation by 2020, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

BBM coming to Windows phones later this year

I.After the debut of BBM on Apple and Android phones, Canadian firm BlackBerry is all set to extend the instant messaging service to Windows phones later this year as it seeks newer avenues for monetisation.

II.Once exclusive to BlackBerry devices, the company last year made BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) available on rival platforms of Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS.

III.BBM, which competes with other popular messaging services like WhatsApp, Line and WeChat, has about 85 million monthly users and around 113 million global registered users as of March 2014.

The strategic move by BlackBerry will enable it to provide an open and flexible mobile environment to its customers, analysts say.

Syndicate Bank to cut gross NPA to below 2 %

I.These were about Rs.1,800 crore in recoveries for 2013-14 and the bank seeks to improve this further this fiscal.

II.Syndicate Bank, on Wednesday, indicated that it was confident of curtailing slippages during the current fiscal and targets to reduce its gross non-performing assets (NPAs) below 2 per cent by next year.

III.Slippages in the fourth quarter of 2013-14 increased to about Rs.1,200 crore from Rs.690 crore in the preceding quarter. The overall slippages for the whole of 2013-14 were about Rs.3,600 crore plus as against Rs.2,142 crore in the previous year. “Two big accounts worth Rs.400 crore slipped on the last day of the fiscal and hence the slippages were higher. Otherwise slippages will mostly be in Rs.10 lakh and below accounts and we are having a close watch,” said Anjaneya Prasad, Executive Director, Syndicate Bank, here.

Centre, RBI to ensure rupee holds steady

I.The Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India are taking steps to ensure that the rupee does not lose or gain sharply against the dollar on May 16, when election results are declared.

II.If the rupee tanks, a perception problem about India’s economy will arise, a highly placed Finance Ministry official said, explaining the rationale behind the move.

III.A sharp rise in its value, on the other hand, could potentially hurt corporate balance sheets in case of contracts due to be settled during the day, he added.

IV.The rupee surged 37 paise to close at a nine-month high of 59.68 against the dollar on robust foreign capital inflows into equities after exit polls projected that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance would form the next government.

Nadal wins in Madrid as Nishikori pulls out

I.Rafael Nadal won his fourth title at the Madrid Mutual Open on Sunday as he defeated Japan’s Kei Nishikori 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 in a match his opponent was forced to abandon due to an injury in the final set.

It was tough on the number 10 seed, who took the game to the home favourite and despite a partisan crowd cheering in Nadal’s favor and blitzed his way to the first set with some wonderful aggressive tennis.

II.He was also a service break up in the second set but it was clear that he was suffering physically and Nadal was able to fight back to level the game, Xinhua reported.

Madrid Open: Nadal reaches final

I.Rafael Nadal reached the final of the Madrid Mutua Open tennis tournament Saturday with a 6—4, 6-3 win over fellow Spaniard Robert Bautista Agut.

II.Nadal’s win in one hour and 43 minutes means that he has progressed to the final without dropping a set, Xinhua reported.

III.The unseeded Bautista Agut made Nadal work hard for his final place, but was unable to put enough pressure on the top seed’s serve to ever look like causing an upset.

IV.He will play Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the final after the No. 10 seed prevented an all-Spanish final by defeating David Ferrer 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-3 in one of the longest matches of the tournament.

UN Envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi resigned

I.UN Envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi on 13 May 2014 submitted his resignation to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York. He will relinquish the office on 31 May 2014.

II.He was also the League of Arab States Special Representative on the Syrian crisis.

III.He was appointed as the peace-facilitator in Syria on 17 August 2012 to replace the former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Justice Chauhan is Chairman of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal

I.The Centre will soon appoint Justice B.S. Chauhan, a Judge of the Supreme Court, as Chairman of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal to take up pending applications.

II.The tribunal has been without Chairman since April 2012, when Justice N.P. Singh resigned on health grounds. Justice Singh was appointed a few days before his superannuation as a Supreme Court judge in December 1996.

Final award

The tribunal gave its final award on February 5, 2007. Thereafter, the Tamil Nadu government filed applications for certain clarification on the award and sought some directions. Petitions filed by the party States and the Centre under Section 5(3) of the Inter State River Water Disputes Act, seeking an explanation or guidance, have been pending before the tribunal since 2007.

Sriprasad appointed MD of Volvo Buses India

I.Volvo Bus Corporation has appointed VRV Sriprasad as the new MD of Volvo Buses India, a weeks after he left Daimler India Commercial Vehicles. Sriprasad takes over from Manish Sahi, who has been appointed as director, international business, Volvo Buses India.

II."Sriprasad is a highly recognized professional in the Indian automotive industry with 28 years in various positions, including direct and retail sales, setting up of green field projects, new brand & product introductions and manufacturing," the company said in a statement.

III.His recent assignment for six years was with Daimler India Commercial Vehicles. He has also worked for Eicher Group.

Kamal Haasan to lead Indian delegation at 67th Cannes Film Festival

Kamal Haasan will lead the Indian delegation to the 67th Cannes International Film Festival.

The actor, who is also chairman of FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee-South, Apex business chamber in India, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), will co-ordinate on behalf of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting at the Indian Pavilion this year.

Honour for Technopark-TBI

I.Technopark Technology Business Incubator (T-TBI) has been chosen for the ‘Special ommendation’ for ‘Golden Peacock National Training Award’ for 2014. The award instituted by the Institute of Directors (IOD), India, has chosen T-TBI for its successful conduct of various training activities in the areas of entrepreneurship development, software engineering, software certification and students’ technical skill enhancement.

II.T-TBI is the first business incubator in India to receive the prestigious Golden Peacock Award.

KIMS Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, and Terumo PenPol will be presented with the Golden Peacock award for quality while the lifetime achievement award for Business Leadership will be presented to P.N.C. Menon, Chairman Emeritus, Shobha Developers.