General Knowledge BUZZ - 7th September 2014

1.  Dalai Lama Denied South African Visa

  I.      The Tibetan spiritual leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been denied a visa by the South African government.

II.      He was going to attend a Nobel peace conference in Cape Town next month.

III.      This is the third denial of a visa to the Dalai Lama by South Africa in five years.

IV.      South Africa believed that the Tibetan spiritual leader's trip would jeopardize relations with China.

2.  Chandrakala Padia appointed as first women chairperson of IIAS

  I.      Chandrakala Padia appointed as first women chairperson of Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS).

II.      She succeeded the former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi. 

III.      Professor Padia’s areas of specialisation include political theory, Indian and Western political thought, women’s studies, Gandhian studies and human rights.

Financial Coverage

3.  EPFO may launch portable PF A/c number this month

  I.      Retirement fund manager EPFO's ambitious project to provide portable universal PF account numbers (UAN) to its subscribers is likely to be launched this month.

II.      UAN will give the facility of collation of accounts, viewing of updated accounts as well as downloading the same and collation of pensionable service.

4.  SBI launches personal savings accounts for children

  I.      State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest bank, introduced personalised savings accounts for anyone below 18 years of age.

II.      'Pehli Udaan' is a singly operated savings bank account for a minor aged 10 years and above and who can sign uniformly.

III.      'Pehla Kadam' is a savings bank account for minors of any age operated jointly with his/her parent or guardian.

IV.      Features include internet banking with limited transaction facilities like bill payment, opening of fixed deposit, recurring deposits, etc. with per day transaction limit of Rs 5,000.

5.  Indian Government all set to print rupee 1 currency note, permits Law ministry

  I.      the Law Ministry has opined that the Government of India has all the powers to print currency notes of this denomination.

II.      since the RBI was of the view that with the repeal of Section 2 of the Currency Ordinance, the Government of India is not empowered to issue note of denominational value of one rupee, the law ministry opinion was taken.

III.      Section 4 of the Act provides that the central government may authorise minting of coin of denomination not higher than Rs 1,000.

Sports Corner

6.  Lewis Hamilton won Italian grand prix

  I.      Hamilton slashed teammate Nico Rosberg’s Formula One championship lead to 22 points.

II.      Rosberg finished second as dominant Mercedes celebrated its first one-two since Austria in June and seventh in 13 races.

7.  New finalists in US open, it’s Nishikori Vs Cilic.

  I.      Roger Federer could not pull off another big escape at the U.S. Open, losing 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals against Croatia’s Marin Cilic.

II.      Japan’s Kei Nishikori became the first man from Asia to reach a Grand Slam final, stunning top-ranked Novak Djokovic  6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the U.S. Open.