DAILY GK UPDATE - 30 TH OCT ! 1. India Ranked 134th Spot in the Ease of Doing Business List: WB i. India ranked to the 134th spot in the ease of doing business list according to the annual Doing Business report released on 29 October 2013 by World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC). ii. In the Ease of Doing Business ranking of 189 countries India has dropped from 131 spot in 2013 to 134th spot in 2014. Highlights of the report i. The top ten nations in the Ease of Doing Business ranking are Singapore (1), Hong Kong (2), New Zealand (3), United States (4), Denmark (5), Malaysia (6), Korea (7), Georgia (8), Norway (9) and the United Kingdom (10). ii. Among BRICS grouping, Russia is placed at 92nd spot, Brazil is ranked 116, South Africa is ranked the 41st rank and China ranked at 96th position. iii. India is also ranked lowest among the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). iv. Other neighbouring nations of India Nepal (105), Pakistan (110) and Bangladesh (130) are also ranked above India. About the Ease of Doing Business ranking • Countries are ranked on their ease of doing business from 1 to 189. • A high ranking on the ease of doing business index means the regulatory environment is more favourable to the starting and operation of a local firm. • This index averages the countrys percentile rankings on 10 topics, made up of a variety of indicators, giving equal weight to each topic. • The 10 topics includes starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. The employing workers indicators are not included in this year’s aggregate ease of doing business ranking. 2. United Nations General Assembly Voted against US Embargo on Cuba i. For the 22nd consecutive year at the United Nations, the United Nations General Assembly on 29 October 2013 adopted a resolution calling for an end to the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba. ii. One hundred and eighty-eight countries voted for the non-binding resolution and only the United States and Israel voted against the resolution. iii. Three countries abstained (Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau). iv. The US imposed the embargo on Cuba in 1960, shortly after Fidel Castro took power and seized US-owned assets on the island. About the United Nations General Assembly i. It the deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations. ii. It has all 193 Members of the United Nations. iii It provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter. 3. Union Cabinet approved the Amendments in Food Security Bill i. The Union Cabinet on 30 October 2013 approved certain amendments to the Food Security Bill that includes extension of the deadline to implement the law from six months to one year. ii. The Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh on 28 August 2013 approved about nine amendments to the bill without the final nod of the cabinet. This was done because the Union Food Ministry sought the ex-post facto approval. Note: i. In September 2013, the Parliament of India passed the food law for 67 percent of the population to have the right to subsidized food grains. ii. As per the law, the eligible people has the right to get 5 kilogram food grain every month at 3 rupees per kilogram of rice, 2 rupees kilogram of wheat and 1 rupee kilogram of coarse cereals as per the law. 4. Australia announced to end its Military Mission in Afghanistan i. Australia on 29 October 2013 announced the winding down of its military mission in Afghanistan with the withdrawal of most of its troops by the end of 2014. ii. Approximately, 1000Australian troops are posted at the International Force base in Tarin Kot, the capital of southern Afghan province Uruzgan. iii. In 2001, the US-led war in Afghanistan started and 40 Australian soldiers killed and 260 were injured since that time. iv. USA and other foreign combat troops from Afghanistan chalked out a plan to transfer security responsibilities to local forces by the end of 2014 and will go back to their countries. v. As of early June 2013 there were about 100000 Nato troops serving in Afghanistan from 50 contributing nations. Australia is one among the leading nations who have contributed units of 550 or more. 5. FinMin opposes Parikh panel’s call for petro, LPG price hike i. The Finance Ministry has opposed the Kirit Parikh panel’s proposal to hiking the price of diesel, domestic LPG and PDS kerosene. ii. The panel has suggested that diesel prices be increased by Rs 5/litre, subsidised domestic LPG by Rs 250/cylinder, and kerosene being sold under the public distribution system by Rs 4/litre immediately, as well as subsequent phase-out of subsidy on all these products. iii. It also suggested bringing down the cap on subsidised domestic LPG cylinders available to every household annually to six from nine. iv. The expert group, which submitted its report on Wednesday to M. Veerappa Moily, Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas, said the balance loss on diesel should be met through a fixed subsidy of Rs 6/litre to public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs). v. This would mean freeing the price of diesel beyond this cap. Currently, these OMCs are incurring a loss of Rs 10.24/ litre for selling diesel at a controlled price. 6. Bollywood Actress Kareena Kapoor honoured in the House of Commons i. Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor on 29 October 2013 was honoured in the House of Commons, London for her contribution to the global entertainment industry. ii. The 33-year old actress was presented a framed golden coloured plaque by NRI MP Keith Vaz, Chairman of Britain’s Home Affairs Committee. Kareena was also honoured by the Asian Sunday Newspaper. iii. Besides Kareena, singer Kimberley Walsh and magician Dynamo (Aka Steven Frayne) were honoured by the Asian Sunday Newspaper for their contributions to the global entertainment-industry. iv. Kareena is the only Bollywood artist to be honoured at British Parliament after Amitabh Bachchan and she is the first Bollywood actress to be honoured by UK Parliament. 7. CCEA approved the launch of the IPDS for Textiles Industry i. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 30 October 2013 approved the launch of the new Integrated Processing Development Scheme (IPDS) during the 12th five year plan with an investment of 500 crore rupees. ii. The IPDS was approved for establishment of four to six brown field projects and three to five green field projects that addresses the environmental issues that is faced by the Textile Processing Units. iii. The scheme would make possible for the textiles industry to become the globally competitive by using the processing standards and technology, which are environment friendly and by creating the new processing parks. iv. The scheme will also encourage the research and development work in the textiles processing sector. 8. PM of India inaugurated Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Museum in Ahmedabad i. Prime minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh on 29 october 2013 inaugurated the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Museum at Ahmedabad, Gujarat. ii. Sarda Vallabhbhai Patel National Museum was established in the memory of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who was an Indian freedom fighter. iii. Sardar Vallabhai Patel was an Indian freedom fighter and one of the great social leaders of India. Vallabhbhai Patel was born on 31 October 1875 in Nadiad, a small village in Gujarat. 9. Railways Minister Launched the High Speed Rail Corporation of India Ltd i. Railways Minister Mallikarjun Kharge on 29 October 2013 launched the High Speed Rail Corporation of India Ltd (HSRC), a subsidiary of Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (RVNL). ii. The main obejective of the HSRC is to develop High Speed Rail (HSR) Corridors in India to run passenger trains at speeds up to 350 Kilo Meter per hour. iii. While inaugurating the HSRC, Railways Minister told that most countries consider high speed capability to be in the range of 250 to 300 kmph which requires a dedicated track with fencing and can be prohibitively costly. 10. Geeta Chandran, Bharatnatyam exponent honoured with Guru Debaprasad Award i. Renowned Bharatnatyam exponent Geeta Chandran was on 29 October 2013 honoured with the prestigious Guru Debaprasad Award for outstanding contribution in the field of dance. ii. The award was presented to Geeta Chandran and three others by Odisha Governor S C Jamir at in Bhubaneswar. iii. The others Awardees are:Dr. Anita Ratnam (Contemporary Dance), Guru Shashadhar Acharya (Chhau Dance), Guru Sudhakar Sahu (Odissi). 11. Aamir Khan honoured in US for Satyameva Jayate i. Bollywood actor and talk show host Aamir Khan was among a select group of film personalities honoured here for making a major impact on social issues through cinema. ii. In glittering event held at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium in Washington the America Abroad Media (AAM) group feted Aamir Khan along with Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow and 2013 Nobel Prize nominee the International Centre on Nonviolent Conflict. iii. All three winners of AAM’s inaugural awards were commended for work that exemplified “the power of media to inform, educate and empower citizens about the critical, social, and public policy issues of our time.” iv. The event was followed by a panel discussion with the honourees, co-chaired by the Indian Ambassador to the U.S., Nirupama Rao, on the potential of movies to influence social issues. 12. Vodafone launches M-Pesa service in Maharashtra i. Telecom services provider Vodafone India in association with ICICI Bank has launched M-Pesa, its trademarked mobile money transfer and payment service in Maharashtra. ii. The service, which provides customers who register for it access to financial services through their cell phones, is extended in 286 tehsils in the State through 4,080 trained authorised agents across Vodafone’s 387 exclusive retail stores. iii. Nearly half of these will be in rural areas where banking facilities are not easily available. iv. Vodafone, which already operates M-Pesa in seven African countries, and introduced it in the Indian market late last year, plans to roll it out across the country over the next 18 months, Suresh Sethi, Business Head, M-Pesa, said. Note: i. Through M-Pesa, customers first convert physical cash into digital money, and the mobile wallet can enable them to deposit or withdraw money, transfer it to another mobile phone or a bank account as well as for bill payments for a transaction fee. 13. All India Football Federation signed Agreement with Australia for its Grass-root Programme i. All India Football Federation (AIFF) on 30 October 2013 signed an agreement under Australian Sports Outreach Program (ASOP) with Football Federation of Australia (FFA) to support AIFFs Grassroots Programme. ii. The agreement includes financial, administrative and technical support (from FFA) in the form of capacity building within the State Associations who at present are involved in the Grassroots Programme, Grassroots Courses and Grassroots Festivals. iii. The ASOP India is an Australian government initiative implemented by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) with a commitment of 5 million Australian dollars over five years (2009-14). 14. Kohli, Dhawan centuries help India to another stunning chase i. India pulled off a sensational six-wicket victory over Australia in the do-or-die sixth cricket one-dayer, riding on Virat Kohlis brutal unbeaten 115 and Shikhar Dhawans blistering century to level the seven-match series 2-2 here today. ii. Chasing a mammoth 351, the Indians gave ample display of their batting firepower on a belter of a track at the VCA Stadium at Jamtha to overhaul the target with three balls to spare in what turned out to be a thrilling floodlit contest which went down the wire. iii. The incredible run chase brought back memories of Indias awesome victory in Jaipur on October 16 when they overhauled a stiff target of 360, achieving the second highest successful run chase ever in ODI history. iv. Dhawan (100), Rohit Sharma (79) and Kohli -- who hit the third fastest ODI hundred by an Indian from just 61 balls, were the main architects of Indias victory in the high-scoring tussle which has restored the balance of the series after the Ranchi and Cuttack ODIs were washed out. v. Earlier, George Bailey (156) and Shane Watson (102) smashed scintillating centuries as Australia put the listless Indian bowling attack to the sword to post an imposing 350 for six after being in to bat.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 05:19:54 +0000
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