Daily G.K. Buzz - 18th April 2015

Nation

PM Narendra Modi concluded his three-nation visit to France, Germany and Canada

i. During his nine-day visit, which took place from 9 April to 17 April 2015, he met leaders of the three nations namely French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
ii. Some major agreements include purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets with France, agreement for supply of uranium with Canada for nuclear power plants in India and Airbus plan to come to India and be a part of Make in India initiative.
iii. The other major highlights of the visit were the gifts presented by PM Modi -
• A miniature painting titled Guru Nanak Dev to Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper
• A painting titled Tree of Life was gifted to French President Francois Hollande.
• Some reproductions of Sir CV Raman’s manuscripts and papers were gifted to the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
• Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper presented ancient Indian sculpture Parrot Lady to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

TERI, FNI, INTASAVE-CARIBSAVE signed MOU to further Climate & Development Agenda

i. TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) on 16 April 2015 signed an agreement with two global research institutes, namely Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI) and INTASAVE-CARIBSAVE Group.
ii. As part of MoU, the three institutes will work together to promote research and development, including policy analysis in the areas of green growth, climate change, sustainable energy, natural resource management, capacity building and knowledge exchange.

Union Government decided to transfer training and apprentice divisions to Skill Development Ministry

i. Union Government on 17 April 2015 decided to transfer training and apprentice divisions of the Directorate General of Employment and Training (DGET) from the Union Labour Ministry to Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
ii. This transfer has given a mandate to bring everything under the National Skills Qualification Framework, a national standard for all institutions, for all skill training across the country.

Vankadarath Saritha joined as first woman bus driver of the DTC

i. She is a 30-year-old driver from Nalgonda in Telangana. She has been posted in day-time duty at the Sarojini Nagar depot and will start working officially from 20 April 2015.
ii. Saritha started her career as an autorickshaw driver and has worked as a bus driver earlier in Hyderabad too. Before getting selected for the DTC, she was working as a taxi driver in Delhi.

Appointments

Vishal Sikka appointed as University Advisory Professor at ECNU

i. The East China Normal University (ECNU), one of the prestigious universities in China, announced the appointment of Dr. Vishal Sikka, Chief Executive Officer of Infosys, as Advisory Professor.
ii. According to a release from the company, Professor Shijun Tong, CCP Secretary of ECNU, formally conferred the Advisory Professorship to Mr Sikka.

World

Russia lifted ban on delivery of S-300 Missile System to Iran

i. The S-300 Missile System is a surface-to-air missile defense system that can be used against multiple targets including jets and enemy missiles.
ii. Russia lifted the ban in the back drop of an informal agreement reached on 2 April 2015 between P5+1, the EU and Iran to prepare the final draft of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by 30 June 2015.

India, Canada issued Joint Statement titled New Vigour, New Steps

i. India and Canada issued Joint Statement title New Vigour, New Steps (नया उत्साह, नए कदम) to elevate their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership.
ii. The joint statement was issued on 15 April 2015 during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Canada from 14 April to 16 April 2015. Modi’s visit to Canada is the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 42 years.

Stanislav Gross, Former Czech Republic Prime Minister, died

i. He was the youngest Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 2004 to 2005 at the age of 34.
ii. A member of the Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD), he served as Minister of the Interior from 2000 to 2004.

Time Magazine released list of 100 most influential people in the world

i. The list was topped by American rapper and singer Kanye Omari West.
ii. The oldest person on the list is Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, who at 88 finds himself the steward of the Arab world's youngest democracy.
iii. For the third straight year, Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai, 17, is the youngest person on the list.
iv. The list includes four Indian-origin persons namely Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Vikram Patel, co-founder of the NGO Sangath.

Important Day

World Hemophilia Day 2015 observed globally

Theme - "Building a family of support"
i. The day provides an opportunity to talk to your extended family and friends, colleagues, and caregivers to raise awareness and increase support for those living with an inherited bleeding disorder.
ii. Hemophilia day was established in 1989 with the support of the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH). The date of 17 April was chosen to honor Frank Schnabel the founder of WFH, whose birthday falls on the same date.
iii. It is the oldest known genetic bleeding disorder and is caused by a deficiency in the genes and impairs the body’s ability to control blood clotting, which is used to stop bleeding when a blood vessel is broken.

Economy

Indian economy to grow at 7.5 per cent in 2015: Moody's

i. Global Rating Agency Moody's on 17 April 2015 forecasted that Indian economy will grow at 7.5 percent in 2015. This growth rate is marginally higher compared with 7.2 percent in 2014.
ii. The growth projections come soon after Moody’s on 9 April 2015 had revised India’s sovereign ratings outlook to positive (Baa3) from stable.


SEBI allows time to entities of exited stock exchanges to list on nation-wide bourses

i. The Securities and Exchange Board of India on Friday decided to allow a timeline of 18 months, to exclusively listed companies of de-recognised / non operational / exited stock exchanges to obtain listing on nation-wide stock exchanges.
ii. SEBI stated that exclusively listed companies shall not undergo any material changes in their shareholding pattern, which suggests change of control, at the time of listing on nationwide stock exchanges.

Sports

Anderson becomes England's leading test wicket-taker

i. England bowler James Anderson has taken his 384th test wicket to break the national record held by Ian Botham.
ii. The 32-year-old Anderson surpassed Botham’s haul of 383 wickets by removing West Indies batsman Denesh Ramdin

Paralympic Committee of India suspended

i. The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) received a double blow with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) handing it a suspension for an internal squabble
ii. The Union Sports Ministry issuing a show cause notice over the alleged ‘poor conduct’ of the 15th National para athletics championship in Ghaziabad last month.

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