GK Updates - 12 June | Banking Quiz

Facebook, Twitter brace for World Cup fever

I.This year’s World Cup will play out on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and messaging apps like WhatsApp just as it progresses in stadiums from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro.

II.Nearly 40 per cent of Facebook’s 1.28 billion users are football fans.

III.Yesterday, the world’s biggest online social network added new features to help fans follow the World Cup, the world’s most widely viewed sporting event, which takes place in Brazil from June 12 to July 13.

IV.Facebook users will be able to keep track of their favourite teams and players throughout the tournament in a special World Cup section, called “Trending World Cup.”

V.Available on the Web as well as mobile devices, the hub will include the latest scores, game highlights, as well as a feed with tournament-related posts from friends, players and teams.

VI.In addition, an interactive map will show where the fans of top players are located around the world. The company is also launching a page called FacebookRef, where fans can see commentary about the matches from “The Ref,” Facebook’s official tournament commentator.

VII.Social media activity during big sporting events such as the Olympics has soared in recent years and should continue as user numbers grow.

VIII.In 2010, when the last World Cup took place in South Africa, Facebook had just 500 million users. Now there are just that many football fans (people who have “liked” a team or a player) on the site, the company says.

RBI may not raise FII limit in govt bonds for now: Deputy Governor

I.The RBI is not considering raising the foreign investment limit in government bonds immediately, Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor H.R. Khan said on Thursday.

II.Speaking at a BFSI conference organised by SBI Capial Markets, Khan said: “Right now there is no such discussion.” He said this when asked if the FII limit in government bonds would be raised.

III.At present, India allows FII investment of up to $30 billion in government bonds, including $20 billion for all and $10 billion for specific investors like foreign central banks, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and insurance funds.

IV.As per agency reports, the limit under $20 billion has been fully exhausted following an auction of the residual Rs 7,152 crore on Wednesday.

V.The central bank is also in discussions with the government to improve the product features of inflation-indexed bonds that had failed last year, possibly due to wrong timing, and may now consider quarterly interest payouts, Khan said.

Infosys appoints Vishal Sikka as CEO, MD

I.Infosys board has appointed Vishal Sikka as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the company.

II.Sikka, the first outsider as well as not part of the co-founder’s club to lead the Bangalore-based firm, will be inducted as a whole-time director of the board and CEO & MD (Designate) on June 14, 2014. He will take over as CEO & MD from S D Shibulal on August 1, 2014.

III.The board has also elevated U B Pravin Rao, President and whole-time director, as Chief Operating Officer, with effect from June 14, 2014.

IV.Sikka was considered as the brain behind SAP’s Hana platform. He studied computer engineering at MS University Baroda and holds a Phd in Computer Science from Stanford University.

V.Sikka was previously an executive board member of German tech giant SAP, and was responsible for all products — from traditional and cloud-based applications to technology and platform products, including HANA, analytics, mobile and middleware.

Deep-sea fishing ban in Karnataka from June 15

I.The Karnataka Government has imposed a 57-day monsoon fishing ban along the coast.

II.A press statement by the Fisheries Department in Mangalore said here on Thursday that the 57-day deep-sea fishing ban along Dakshina Kannada and Udupi coast will commence from June 15, and will be in force till August 10.

III.Mechanised boats and traditional boats with in-board or out-board engines of 10 hp and above are banned from deep-sea fishing during the period.

IV.Those who violate the ban and venture for deep-sea fishing will be penalised, and they will not be eligible for any compensation in case of accidents during the period. Such boat owners will not be eligible for the benefits extended by the Government such as subsidised diesel facility.

V.The department said that the decision to ban fishing during monsoon has been taken keeping in mind the interests of fishermen in the region.

EU court backs record €1 bn fine on Intel

I.A record €1 billion ($1.35 billion) fine imposed on Intel for hampering competition in the European Union was appropriate, a court found on Thursday, rejecting an appeal by the US computer chip maker.

II.Intel had filed an appeal with the EU’s General Court, arguing that the European Commission had not appropriately made its case for the 2009 penalty. But the Luxembourg-based judges dismissed the appeal in its entirety, finding the fine to be “appropriate”. The commission, the EU’s executive, had begun probing Intel in 2001, acting on complaints filed by rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). At issue was the market for x86 central processing units, a key component in computers.

III.The investigation revealed that Intel had worked to exclude AMD by offering manufacturers such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo and NEC generous rebates, on condition that they only use its products.

IV.The commission had also found that Intel had bribed major retailers, such as Germany’s Media Markt, to stop selling rival computers.

V.Intel attempted to conceal the anti-competitive nature of its practices and implemented a long-term comprehensive strategy to foreclose AMD from the strategically most important sales channels,” the court noted in a statement.

Tata Sons appoints Sunil Sinha as Resident Director, MENA region

I.Tata Sons, the investment holding company of the Tata group, has appointed Sunil Sinha as Resident Director, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It will also set up an office in Dubai for the MENA region in collaboration with Tata International.

II.The objective of setting up the office is to further enhance and strengthen Tata Sons’ engagement with all stakeholders in the region, facilitating business growth for Tata group companies, especially in focus sectors that are crucial to development in MENA region and are of strategic interest to the group.

III.The MENA office will report into Madhu Kannan, Member, Group Executive Council, Tata Sons.

IV.Sinha has been with the Tata group for more than 31 years, most recently as the Chief Executive Officer of Tata Quality Management Services.

Centrum Direct launches visa services

I.Centrum Direct Ltd, a retail forex business service provider for travel, tours and financial services, has launched 'Centrum Global Visa Services (CGVS)’.

II.As a subsidiary of Centrum Direct, CGVS will offer visa application and procurement services to 180 countries across the world.

III.T C Guruprasad, Managing Director, Centrum Direct, said: “About 15 million Indians travel abroad each year and India is one of the leading countries for online travel bookings.”

Padmanabhan appointed as Executive Chairman of Tata Quality Management Services

I.Tata Sons, the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate Tata group, has appointed S. Padmanabhan as Executive Chairman of Tata Quality Management Services (TQMS). The appointment is effective July 1, 2014.

II.Padmanabhan, who will report to Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus P Mistry, will be responsible for driving the business excellence journey across the Tata group of companies globally.

III.This role will be integral to the group's initiatives in enhancing the performance of Tata companies through diagnostics, benchmarking and sharing best practices, the company said in a statement.

IV.Padmanabhan, who started his career with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has been with the group for more than 32 years.

Gujarat gets approval to raise height of Narmada dam

I.In a major boost to Gujarat which has been regularly facing water woes due to deficient rains, Chief Minister Anandiben Patel on Thursday announced that they have got approval to raise the height of Narmada dam to 138.72 metres (455 feet).

II.The Narmada Control Authority (NCA) has given the approval to raise the height of the dam to 138 metres," Patel said in Junagadh while she was there to attend a function.

III.The decision of the NCA comes just a few days after Narendra Modi took over as the Prime Minister of the country.

IV.The decision to raise the height of the dam comes after eight years. The foundation stone of the dam was laid by country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on April 5, 1961.

V.The project, however, got embroiled in controversy over issues of displacement of project-affected people. However, the Supreme Court had earlier given the approval for the project to raise the height of the dam to 138.72 metres.

Dhoni ranked 22nd in Forbes' world’s highest paid athletes list

I.Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the lone Indian sportsman to figure in Forbes’ list of world’s 100 highest paid athletes.

II.The list is being been topped by American boxer Floyd Mayweather and includes golfer Tiger Woods and tennis stars Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

III.Dhoni is ranked 22nd in the list with total earnings of $30 million and endorsements worth $26 million.

IV.Nadal is ranked ninth on the list with earnings of $44.5 million.

V.The list also includes tennis player Novak Djokovic on the 17th rank with earnings of $33.1 million, tennis star Maria Sharapova (34), Jamaican runner Usain Bolt (45), tennis player Serena Williams (55) and German Formula One racing driver Sebastian Vettel (83).

Kolkata Airport bagged Service Quality Award

I.Kolkata Airport won the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Award by Airport Council International (ACI) in the category of the best improved airport in Asia Pacific Region. The category includes airports that have experienced the biggest improvement in ASQ rating between 2012 and 2013 in their region.

II.Apart from this, the Airport Council International conducted airport service quality survey at 11 major airports of AAI including Ahmedabad, Calicut, Chennai, Goa, Guwahati, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Pune, Srinagar and Trivandrum. On average ASQ rating, it rated airports managed by AAI 4.14 which is above world average of 4.04 between 1 January and 31 March 2014.

Biography of Dilip Kumar entitled The Substance and the Shadow released

I.The Substance and the Shadow, the biography of 91-year-old-thespian Dilip Kumar was released on 10 June 2014 in Mumbai by Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra and Aamir Khan.

II.The biography in form of memoir has been penned by Uday Tara Nayar, a former journalist.

III.The book has detailed the ups and downs of the legend of Bollywood who was born as Mohammad Yusuf Khan and adopted the screen name of Dilip Kumar

Milestone Brandcom launches ‘Milestone Optimizer

I.Milestone Brandcom, the OOH advertising agency in India, has launched an audience measurement eco-system ‘Milestone Optimizer’.

II.It will cover 35 cities to provide opportunities and scope for planning in the outdoor advertising space. The optimiser introduces a new measurement matrix Gross Impression Points (GIP) for the OOH Medium. GIP Or Gross Impression Points measures the reach and frequency of an OOH campaign giving it a holistic planning solution.

Tata Power Solar commisions 3 MW projects in Gujarat

I.Bangalore-based Tata Power Solar has commissioned 3 MW solar rooftop projects in Gujarat.

II.The project spread across 62 sites, was executed primarily for Gujarat state bodies – 1.2 MW plant for Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA), a 750 kW plant for Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) and 1.1 MW projects across various smaller industries.

III.“Tata Power Solar’s work with GEDA, SMC and the smaller industries is a result of our expertise in handling projects of varied scale, over a range of roofings. All these projects were challenging and we are proud to have executed them in record time,” said Arul Shanmugasundram, EVP Projects & CTO, Tata Power Solar.