GK Updates - 7 June | Banking Quiz

Chandrababu Naidu to be sworn in as CM of new Andhra Pradesh

I.Nara Chandrababu Naidu will be sworn in as the first Chief Minister of the newly-created state of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday evening at 7.27 p.m. at a grand event hosted in Guntur district.

II.The 64-year-old TDP leader will assume office as the Chief Minister for the third time. The first time he came to power in 1995 and again in 1999 and served as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

III.Later, he was the leader of Opposition for 10 years during the Congress regime. Following the success in the recent elections, he will now become the first CM of the new state, post the division of AP into Telangana (with 10 districts) and 13 districts of AP.

IV.TDP sources said elaborate arrangements were made to accommodate about five lakh people expected to take part in the swearing-in ceremony to be held in a 70-acre site at Nagarjuna Nagar, located between Vijayawada and Guntur.

Mumbai Metro to begin operations from Sunday

I.The Mumbai Metro will finally start commercial operations from tomorrow after a delay of three years, providing the much-needed relief to the commuters in the bustling metropolis, where the overburdened suburban railways ferries seventy lakh people every day.

II.Services on the 11.4 km Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar stretch, Phase 1 of the project, will commence tomorrow and trains will be available every four minutes, Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd chief executive Abhay Mishra today said.

III.The announcement by the operator came after local BJP MP Krit Somaiya had yesterday threatened to start metro services by “force’’.

IV.For the city, where the sight of harried passengers clinging precariously to the doors and windows of overcrowded coaches of suburban trains is common, the metro will give a new travel experience.

V.The company said it will operate 200-250 services a day, carrying around 11 lakh passengers. Every coach can carry 375 passengers, while the entire train can transport 1,500 commuters.

VI.The metro service comes four months after the city got the country’s first monorail between suburban Chembur and Wadala on February 1 this year.

American media hails Modi as a ‘fashion icon’

I.Narendra Modi, who was unwelcome here only a few years ago, is now a “fashion icon” to the American media.

II.After his stunning electoral triumph, three major US publications — Time, New York Times and the Washington Post — have lauded the new Indian Prime Minister’s dressing style from his “trademark Modi Kurta” to his tunic.

III.The New York Times in an article titled ‘A Leader Who Is What He Wears’ says that “even by the standards of a world that has seen blogs devoted to Michelle Obama’s dress sense, the pre-election makeovers of Francois Hollande and Dilma Rousseff, and the canonisation of Nelson Mandela’s shirts, the image-craft of India’s new prime minister, Narendra Modi — and its fashion fallout — has been something of a case study.”

IV.Its says that even by “India’s standards where leaders have perhaps understood the use of clothing as a communication device better and longer than any of their international peers...Modi stands out. Literally and strategically’’.

Vice-Admiral Chopra takes charge

Vice-Admiral Anil Chopra, the second senior most officer of the Indian Navy, took over as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command (WNC), the Navy said in a statement. His appointment comes at a time when the WNC is battling with a spate of accidents, which led the former Navy chief DK.Joshi to resign on moral grounds. WNC has lost 21 men in three different accidents over the past year. The previous incumbent of the WNC Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha took voluntary retirement from the Navy after he was superseded by Admiral RK Dhowan to head the Navy.

DSK Developers launches ₹8,000-crore township project

I.Pune-based real-estate developer D S Kulkarni Developers Ltd has launched DSK Dream City, a township project under the Maharashtra Special Townships Act at Loni on the Pune-Solapur highway.

II.The ₹8,000-crore project involves building a total of 12,000 residential units in seven phases with a target to complete it in eight years.

III.It will be spread over 300 acres of land, of which 256 acres has already been acquired. The first phase of 1,044 homes has just been announced, and is expected to be ready for handing over by the end of 2017.

Football connection

The township, which will have clearly demarcated areas for sports, IT parks, malls and markets, schools and an entertainment zone away from the residential areas, is also where DSK has just launched a residential football academy in association with premier league team Liverpool Football Club.

Eco-friendly

“There will be an IT park on 20 lakh sq ft, a seven-star hotel, 15 academies for sports, 26 cricket pitches, 14 gardens including a botanical garden and a total of 250 amenities,” said DS Kulkarni, Chairman and Managing Director.

The project will have an artificial river running through it which will also provide a transportation system, as well as a 57,000-sq m lagoon. Surface transport through the city will be provided by a tram system, he said, adding that eco-friendly initiatives such as rain water harvesting, sewage treatment and water recycling will help provide water for the township.

Power Minister plans to roll out Gujarat’s Jyoti Gram scheme at the national level

I.Amazed by the progress Gujarat has made in the power sector, the union power minister, Piyush Goyal on Friday announced to replicate Gujarat’s flagship scheme of Jyoti Gram Yojana (JGY), which is aimed at providing 24-hour electricity to non-agriculture consumers in the state.

II.“We have interacted with the state energy minister, Saurabhbhai Patel and his team and observed how Gujarat has progressed on power front under the Jyoti Gram Yojana. My ministry’s first work will be to replicate the Jyoti Gram Yojana of Gujarat in other states with necessary modifications,” said Goyal after a detailed meeting with the state energy minister and officials in Gandhinagar.

III.Interestingly, in 2011 the Planning Commission of India, then under the UPA government, had issued a draft accepting the Jyoti Gram Yojana as a flagship scheme for the 12{+t}{+h} five year plan (2012-17) for the power sector in the country.

IV.JGY, announced in 2003, was aimed at making available 3-phase quality power supply for 24-hours to all the villages and their Hamlets for non-agricultural activities. The scheme provides for a separate electric feeder for domestic use. It also provides limited but quality supply of power to agriculture for about eight hours a day.

V.Over the years, JGY became the backbone of electricity penetration in the state. Under the scheme, a parallel fresh rural distribution network of 78,454 kilometres (HT and LT lines) was laid covering entire state. This separated agricultural consumers to facilitate load management and regulate agricultural consumption without affecting power supply to other consumers. The scheme involved total expenditure of Rs 1290 crore, of which Rs 1110 crore was provided by the state government, the rest was born by the four discoms of the state.

VI.Goyal, who was accompanied by Neerja Mathur, Chairperson, Central Electricity Authority (CEA), along with Devendra Chaudhary, additional secretary, Ministry of Power, also mentioned that the promises made in the BJP’s election manifesto for 2014 stating that the party’s major thrust area for rural development would be to improve village-level infrastructure in terms of roads, potable water, education, health, supply chain, electricity broadband, job creation, security in rural areas and linkage to markets.

China plans to build artificial island in disputed South China Sea

I.China plans to expand its installation at a disputed island in the South China Sea to establish an artificial island with an airstrip and sea port, rejecting the jurisdiction of the international court over the festering dispute in the region.

II.“The proposal to build an artificial island there had been submitted to the Chinese government,” said Jin Canrong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University.

III.The artificial island would have an airstrip and sea port and be at least double the size of the US military base of Diego Garcia, a remote coral atoll occupying an area of 44 square kilometres in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Jin said.

IV.“We had the ability to build artificial islands years ago, but we had refrained because we didn’t want to cause too much controversy,” said Zhang Jie, an expert on regional security with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

UN General Assembly establishes award in honour of Nelson Mandela

I.The UN General Assembly has established an award in the honour of anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela to pay tribute to his achievements and contributions.

II.“Our best tribute to Nelson Mandela is not found in words or ceremonies — but in actions that take up the torch he passed to us,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in remarks to the Assembly, following the adoption by consensus of the resolution establishing the ‘United Nations Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize’.

III.The General Assembly has a proud record of acting against apartheid — and for Mandela, Ban said.

IV.Nelson Mandela International Day

V.“From the early days of sanctions to the more recent declaration of July 18 as Nelson Mandela International Day, the Assembly has placed itself on the right side of history — with the people who need us most,” he said.

ANZ India gets RBI nod to open two branches

I.Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) on Thursday said that it has received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank to open two new branches.

II.The new branches will come up Gurgaon, NCR, and outer Bangalore, the bank said in a statement.

III.The in-principle approval is for 12 months and the bank will finalise its plans within that time and seek final approval then and decided on the branch openings, ANZ India spokesperson said when sought the opening date.

IV.Commenting on the development, ANZ chief executive for international and institutional banking Andrew G'czy said, "the approval to open two branches will strengthen our super-regional strategy, expand our ability to support clients and build on our position as a leading bank in Asia.

India in world's top five nations in solar power capacity

I.India is among the world's top five nations in concentrated solar power (CSP) technology capacity rankings topped by the US, according to a new report.

II.India is placed fourth, ahead of China, in the rankings recently released in a report by the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21 Century (Ren21), an international multi-policy stakeholder network that promotes rapid global transition to renewable energy.

III.The report said although the US and Spain were the market leaders in CSP, investment in the technology was growing most rapidly in regions that receive high amounts of daily sunshine.

IV.Global CSP capacity has increased 10-fold World-wide since 2004 and surged 36 per cent last year to a total of 3.4 gigawatts generated.

V.The number of emerging economy nations with policies in place to support expansion of renewable energy has surged more than six-fold in just eight years, from 15 developing countries in 2005 to 95 earlier this year, report said.

VI.vi. The 100 megawatt CSP plant in Abu Dhabi, ranked third in the list, is one reason why CSP's growth in emerging markets almost tripled during 2013, it said.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won Presidential election for third time

I.President Bashar al-Assad of Syria won the Presidential election for the third time. The Presidential Election result was announced by the Parliament Speaker Jihad Laham on 4 June 2014.

II.Basher winning the elections means that he will stay as the President of Syria for seven more years.

III.Bashar belonging to Ba’ath Party won the election with 88.7 percent of the vote casted in favour of him. The other two contesting candidates Hassan al-Nouri (National Initiative for Administration and Change in Syria Party) and Maher Hajjar (People's Will Party) won 4.3 percent and won 3.2 percent of casted votes respectively.

Jordan diplomat to replace Navi Pillay as UN high commissioner for human rights

I.UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has nominated Jordan’s envoy to the world body as the new High Commissioner for Human Rights, replacing Indian-origin Navi Pillay.

II.Following consultations with the Chairmen of the regional groups of member states, Ban informed the General Assembly of his intention to appoint Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein as the chief of the human rights body.

III.Al-Hussein, 50, graduated from Johns Hopkins University and received a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. He is currently Jordan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, a post he held previously for six-and-a-half years, from 2000 to 2007.

IV.From 2007 to 2010, he served as Jordan’s Ambassador to the United States and non-resident Ambassador to Mexico. He has also served as Jordan’s Deputy Permanent Representative at the UN, with the rank of Ambassador, from 1996 to 2000.

V.Al-Hussein will replace Pillay, who was appointed High Commissioner for Human Rights in July 2008, and her mandate was renewed for two years beginning September 2012.

VI.A South African national, Pillay was the first woman to start a law practice in her home province of Natal in 1967.

Nine children die of 'litchi syndrome' in W. Bengal

I.At least nine children are feared to have died of “litchi syndrome” in the Malda district of West Bengal over the last 36 hours. Some twenty others are said to be suffering from the disease.

II.According to officials of the Malda district hospital, “litchi syndrome”, a viral infection that induces high fever with convulsions leading to sudden death.

III.Those dead are said to be between the age of four and seven.

NMPT celebrates Environment Day

New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) celebrated World Environment Day on Thursday. Speaking on the occasion, TSN Murthy, Deputy Chairman of NMPT, highlighted the green initiatives taken by the port in the last four years to mitigate air and water pollution. PC Parida, Chairman of NMPT, said that the port is complying with all the environmental requirements. He said that the pollution within the vicinity of the port has come down due to various measures initiated by the port. A press statement by NMPT said here that Thulasi Maddineni, CEO of Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, who was present on the occasion, applauded the commitment shown by NMPT towards the development of green belt.

India wins 5 medals at Junior Asian Wrestling Championship

I.Young Indian grapplers reaped rich dividends at the Junior Asian Wrestling Championship, winning a gold, three silvers and one bronze medal in the tournament at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, here on Friday.

II.Female wrestler, Vinesh (51 Kg) won the gold in Greco Roman Style, while male grapplers Ravinder (60Kg), Sandeep (84 Kg) and Anil (50 Kg) clinched silvers in Greco Roman Style, President of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said. Female wrestler Pooja Dhanda (58 Kg) won the bronze.

III.The competition in all weight categories of Greco Roman Style for four weight categories of female wrestling have been concluded, while the bouts in four weight categories of female wrestling and four weight categories in free style will be held tomorrow.

Golf: Shankar, Jaini in top-10 in Queens Cup

I.Anirban Lahiri fought his way back in the second round with a three-under 68 even as Manav Jaini (68-72) and Shankar Das (70-70) advanced to the top-10 at the half-way mark of the Queen’s Cup golf tournament at the Santiburi Country Club here on Friday.

II.Lahiri, who seemed to have put himself in a spot with a first round 75, carded 68 to move to tied 24th alongside Rahil Gangjee (73-70).

III.Making a fine comeback after a disastrous 78 in first round was Rashid Khan, the SBI-SAIL Open winner, whose second round 66 was the joint best round of the day. Rashid is tied 34th, alongside Jyoti Randhawa (71-73).

Tata Sky enters Limca Book of Records

I.Tata Sky, the direct-to-home (DTH) service provider, has bagged the Limca Book of Records post for airing the longest TV commercial in Indian advertising history. Titled 'Prison Break', the ad had a run time of 3 minutes 30 seconds.

II.When airtime is being used sparsely by brands and creative agencies crib about the tight time frames to deliver the desired message, Tata Sky decided to air the the longest ever television commercial (TVC), to retain the creative impact and messaging of the story.

III.The unique and long advertisement has made Tata Sky the first ever DTH brand to enter the Limca Book of Records.

IV.The TVC was conceived by Ogilvy and Mather, who worked with Vivek Kakkad, Director, Curious Films to shoot the commercial with an international cast and crew in an actual prison in Hungary.