Daily G.K. Buzz - 12th,13th & 14th April 2015

Nation

India’s first IFSC became operational at GIFT City, Gandhinagar in Gujarat

i. It became operational after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley unveiled the rules and regulations for this global financial hub at a special ceremony organized at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar.

ii. It allows companies incorporated outside India to raise money in foreign currencies by issuance and listing of their equity on stock exchanges within the IFSC

BHEL commissioned 600 MW thermal unit at Dhabra in Chhattisgarh

i. State-owned power equipment-maker Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) on 13 April 2015 commissioned a 600 MW thermal unit at Dhabra in Janjgir Champa District of Chhattisgarh for the Dainik Bhaskar Power Limited.

ii. As per BHEL, its cumulative installed capacity now stands at 11400 MW in the state and its share of the total installed capacity in the state stands at 68 percent.

Ambedkar's 124th birth anniversary today

i. A noted jurist, economist and social reformer, Dr. Ambedkar campaigned against discrimination of Dalits, caste discrimination, and 'untouchability.'

ii. As the free India's first Law Minister and Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee, Dr. Ambedkar drafted the nation's constitution. He was posthumously conferred with the Bharat Ratna in 1990.

In a first, DPRK Foreign Minister on India visit

i. In a significant diplomatic engagement between India and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong met his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj on Monday. 

ii. This is the first ever visit at the Foreign Minister level from North Korea to India. Mr. Yong is here on a three day visit beginning Sunday on the invitation of Ms. Swaraj.

Demise

1971 War Hero Lt General Hanut Singh Died

i. Lt General (retd) Hanut Singh, the recipient of the Mahavir Chakra and hero of 1971 Indo-Pak war, died on 11 April 2015 in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. He was 82. 

ii. He led the 17 Poona Horse regiment during the 1971 war in the Basantar battle, leading to heavy losses on the Pakistan Army by destroying a number of Pakistani tanks. He commanded the regiment in the 1971 war in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Nobel laureate German Novelist Gunter Grass died

i. Nobel laureate German novelist Gunter Grass died on 13 April 2015 in Luebeck, Germany. He was 87. 

ii. He was a novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. His writings mainly focused on the Nazi era, the horrors of the war and the destruction and guilt that remained after defeat of Germany.

International

India and France signed 20 MoUs and Agreements to give new impetus to bilateral co-operation

i. The two nations signed agreements covering the fields of Defence and Nuclear Energy, Space, Economic relations, Railways, Energy, Tourism, Science and Technology, Skill Development and Ayurveda.

ii. 20 MoUs are as follows :-

Defence and Nuclear Energy

• MoU between L&T and AREVA

• Pre-engineering agreements (PEA) between NPCIL and Areva

Space

• MoU between on Megha Tropiques

• MOU for Ka-band propagation experiment over Indian tropical region

• Programme between ISRO and French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES)

Sports

• MoU on Cooperation in Sports

Economic Relations

• MoU on cooperation in the field of renewable energy

Railways

• Railway protocol between Indian Ministry of Railways and French National Railways (SNCF)

Energy

• Guarantee Agreement with AFD Financing of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL)

Culture, Heritage Conservation, Tourism, People-To-People Contacts

• Administrative Arrangement in the field of Cultural Heritage

• Letter of Intent (LoI)on Tourism

• Letter of Intent (LoI) between the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP)

• MoU between School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi and National Architecture Institute in Paris, France

• MoU between Indian Heritage Cities Network Foundation (IHCN) and Association Nationale des Villes

• Volontariat International en Entreprise (VIE) scheme

• Letter of Intent on Ayurveda between Ministry of Ayush and University of Strasbourg

Skill Development

• MoU between National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), India and the National Commission for Vocational Qualifications 

Science and Technology

• MoU on cooperation in the field of Science & Technology

• MoU on Collaboration for establishment of a National Institute of Marine Biology and Biotechnology in India

Modi inaugurates German industrial fair

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened on Sunday the Hanover Messe, the world’s largest industrial fair, alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

ii. India is the partner country of this year's trade fair, which brings together about 6,500 exhibitors from 70 nations.

iii. Mr. Modi is promoting his "Make In India" campaign, which he launched in September 2014 to encourage foreign companies to manufacture their products in India. The campaign identified 25 key sectors - including automotive, pharmaceuticals, information technology and tourism and hospitality - as having the maximum potential for growth.

iv. Germany is India’s largest trading partner in Europe and total bilateral trade between the two countries was valued at 16.08 billion euro (17 billion dollars) in 2013. There are currently more than 1,600 Indo-German business collaborations and 600 Indo-German joint ventures in operation.

NASA named Asteroid 316201 after Malala Yousafzai, the winner of 2014 Nobel Peace Prize

i. The asteroid is situated in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid orbits the sun every five-and-a-half years.

ii. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on 12 April 2015 named Asteroid 316201 after Malala Yousafzai, the winner of 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.

Appointment

Brijbushan Sharan Singh re-elected as President of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI)

i. As the president of the WFI he will guide the General Council of the federation and set the policy tone in order to achieve the objectives enshrined in the WFI Constitution. 

ii. In the recent elections held in New Delhi, all the office bearers and members of the executive committee in the previous term were elected unopposed including ID Nanavati, VN Prasood who were elected as senior Vice President and Secretary General respectively.

Economy

Godrej Nature’s Basket joined hands with Amazon for selling its products

i. The food retail arm of the diversified Godrej Group, Godrej Nature's Basket on 13 April 2015 joined hands with Amazon for selling its products through the e-commerce giant's platform in India.

ii. The partnership of both the companies will give a new boost to gourmet retail industry.  This will provide customers across India a convenient and easy access to a wide and unique selection of gourmet products.

SEBI issues norms for settlement of shares via stock exchanges

i. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), on Monday, issued procedures for tendering and settlement of shares through stock exchanges for takeovers, buy back and delisting of entities.

ii. Once the basis of acceptance, the clearing corporation would facilitate execution and settlement of trades by transferring the required number of shares from the special account to the escrow account of the acquirer/ company.

iii. The trades would be carried out in the manner similar to settlement of trades in the secondary market process including providing an option for direct payout to the shareholders. 

Sports

Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won WTA Family Circle Cup

i. Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis, the top-seeded Indo-Swiss pair of Tennis on 12 April 2015 won the 731000 US dollar WTA Family Circle Cup doubles title.

ii. With this win, Sania Mirza also became the first female tennis player from India to achieve the world number one rank in doubles. Sania is also first female player from the country to win Grand Slam tournaments.

iii. This was third consecutive team title for the Indo-Swiss pair. Earlier, they won the Miami Open Tennis women's doubles title on 5 April 2015 and Indian Wells Open title 

Jitu Rai & Apurvi Chandela won Bronze in 10-m Air Pistol Men event at ISSF Rifle/Pistol World Cup in Changwon

i. It was the fourth world cup medal for Jitu. Earlier in 2014, he had won three medals at the ISSF Rifle/Pistol World Cup and ISSF Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun World Cup held in Maribor (Slovenia) and Munich (Germany) respectively.

ii. With the present win, she has become the second Indian shooter to be qualified to represent India in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain won Chinese Grand Prix of Formula 1

i. With the present victory, the reigning world champion Hamilton registered his second victory of the season and his fourth in China having won the titles in 2008, 2011 and 2014.

ii. Hamilton has won more races compared to any other British driver in the history of Formula One and is currently 5th on the all-time list, with 35 wins.

New Zealand won Sultan Azlan Shah Cup men’s hockey tournament by defeating Australia

i. New Zealand won the title for only the second time since the inception of Sultan Azlan Shah Cup competition in 1983. New Zealand’s first victory came in 2012 against Argentina.

ii. India defeated South Korea 4-1 in a penalty shootout to clinch the Broze medal (third position). This is the first major win for India in Hockey since it won the Gold medal of Hockey at the Incheon Asian Games 2014 defeating Pakistan in the final.