DAILY GK UPDATE - 19th June
1. Sanjaya Rajaram wins World Food Prizei. India-born plant scientist
Sanjaya Rajaram has been named the winner of the 250,000 US dollars
World Food Prize for his breakthrough achievement in increasing global
wheat production by more than 200 million tonnes following the Green
Revolution.
ii. Rajaram's breakthrough achievement in successfully cross-breeding
winter and spring wheat varieties, which were distinct gene pools and
had been isolated from one another for hundreds of years, led to him
developing plants that have higher yields and a broad genetic base.
iii. Rajaram followed Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman E Borlaug at
the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, CIMMYT, leading
its Wheat Program from 1976 to 2001.iv. The World Food Prize
Foundation President and the former US Ambassador to Cambodia, Kenneth
M Quinn, said the 2014 World Food Prize Laureate is an individual who
worked closely with Dr Borlaug in Mexico and who then carried forward
and extended his work, breaking new ground with his own achievements.
Note: i. The World Food Prize was established in 1986 by Borlaug in
order to focus the world's attention on hunger and on those whose work
has significantly helped efforts to end it.ii. This year marks the
28th anniversary of the prize, which recognises individuals who have
advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or
availability of food in the world.
2. Militants captured Iraq's largest oil refinery Baiji refineryi.
Militants captured Iraq's largest oil refinery Baiji refinery. The
Baiji refinery is located in Salaheddin province, north of Baghdad in
Iraq. Militants attacked refinery with machine gun fire and mortars.
ii. Baiji is one of three oil refineries in Iraq and only processes
oil from the north. The other two are located in Baghdad and the
Southern Iraq which are firmly under government control and are
operational.iii. While most of Iraq's oil and gas fields are in the
centre and the south of the country, militants have seized territory
in Iraq's oil-producing Kirkuk province.
Note: i. After the withdrawal of US troops in 2011, Iraq has again
plunged into sectarian-fuelled violence and chaos.
ii. Terrorist group ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) has routed
the Iraqi army in the north of the country and seized the country's
second largest city, Mosul.
iii. The country, which was invaded by a coalition led by the US in
2003, has been driven along religious and ethnic lines for the past
decade and faces an uncertain future.
iv. At the heart of the conflict is distrust between the two branches
of Islam in the country - Sunni and Shia - a divide replicated
throughout the Middle East.
3. Indian money in Swiss banks rise to over Rs 14,000 cri. Indians'
money in Swiss banks has risen to over two billion Swiss francs
(nearly Rs 14,000 crore), despite a global clampdown against the famed
secrecy wall of Switzerland banking system.ii. The funds held by
Indians with banks in Switzerland rose by over 40 percent during 2013,
from about 1.42 billion Swiss francs at the end of previous year, as
per the latest data released on Thursday by the country's central
banking authority Swiss National Bank (SNB). iii. In contrast, the
money held in Swiss banks by their foreign clients from across the
world continued to decline and stood at a record low of 1.32 trillion
Swiss francs (about USD 1.56 trillion or over Rs 90 lakh crore) at the
end of 2013.
iv. During 2012, the Indians' money in Swiss banks had fallen by over
one-third to a record low level.
v. The total Indian money held in Swiss banks included 1.95 billion
Swiss francs held directly by Indian individuals and entities, and
another 77.3 million Swiss francs through 'fiduciaries' or wealth
managers at the end of 2013. vi. India has also constituted a Special
Investigation Team (SIT) to probe cases of alleged black money of
Indians, including funds stashed abroad in places like Switzerland.
vii. The funds, described by SNB as 'liabilities' of Swiss banks or
'amounts due to' their clients, are the official figures disclosed by
the Swiss authorities and do not indicate towards the quantum of the
much-debated alleged black money held by Indians in the safe havens of
Switzerland.
4. PMO secretary Ramanujam gets three-month extensioni. R. Ramanujam,
secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, has got a three-month
extension till September 2014.ii. The extension to Mr. Ramanujam has
been approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on
contract basis for a period of three months beyond the date of his
superannuation, i.e. up to September 30, 2014, an official release
said on Thursday.iii. Mr. Ramanujam, a 1979-batch IAS officer of
Madhya Pradesh cadre, had joined as additional secretary in the PMO on
September 1, 2011. He became Secretary in the PMO on November 1, 2013.
He worked in the PMO between 1997 and 2000, under I.K. Gujral and Atal
Bihari Vajpayee. <!--[if !supportLists]-->5. <!--[endif]-->RBI
asked banks to disclose sector-wise advances in financial statementsi.
Reserve Bank of India on 18 June 2014 asked banks to disclose
sector-wise advances in the Notes to Accounts to the financial
statements from financial year 2014-15 onwards. ii. RBI in its
direction asked the banks for disclosure on priority sector such as
agriculture and allied activities, advances to industries sector
eligible as priority sector lending, services and personal loans and
non-priority sector advances such as agriculture and allied
activities, industry, services and personal loans.iii. It also said
that the banks may also make disclosure on sub sectors where the
outstanding advances exceed 10 percent of the outstanding total
advances to that sector.iv. This step has been taken on the
recommendations of the Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services
for Small Businesses and Low Income Households headed by Nachiket Mor.
It will encourage banks to actively manage their exposures to various
sectors, including priority sector.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->6. <!--[endif]-->Supersonic Akash Missile
test-fired by Army in very low Altitude in ITR Balasorei. Indian Army
on 18 June 2014 test-fired surface-to-air Akash missile from an
Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Balasore, Odisha. ii. This test was
last among the validation trials being carried out by the Army on the
first off production models of Akash Supersonic missile. Now it is
ready for being induction in Indian army.iii. The missile intercepted
fast-moving, small unmanned aerial vehicle named Banshee at an
altitude of 30 meters above the sea level. This test-fire at a low
altitude has proved its capability against subsonic cruise missile.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->7. <!--[endif]-->GMR wins arbitration
award against Maldivian govti. Indian infrastructure giant GMR has won
the arbitration award against Maldivian government for wrongful
termination of Airport project contract.ii. According to the media
reports, the amount of compensation to be awarded to the company will
be decided at a later stage of proceedings.
iii. GMR has sued Maldives for 1.6 billion dollar compensation under
the contract. Maldivian government has so far refused to respond to
the news.
iv. Former President Mohamed Nasheed's government had signed a lease
with Indian infrastructure giant GMR to develop and operate Male
International airport. But President Dr. Mohamed Waheed had terminated
the agreement in 2012 immediately on coming to power after
overthrowing Nasheed.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->8. <!--[endif]-->Former Captain of
Bangladesh Mohammad Ashraful banned for eight yearsi. Former Captain
of Bangladesh Mohammad Ashraful on 18 June 2014 was banned for eight
years by the disciplinary panel set up by the Bangladesh Cricket
Board. ii. He was found guilty on four charges of fixing matches in
Bangladesh Premier League of 2013. Ashraful has also been ordered to
pay a fine of one million taka (12280 US dollar).iii. The 29-year-old
was under suspension since June 2013 after he admitted to the ICC's
Anti-Corruption and Security Unit that he had indulged in fixing BPL
matches.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->9. <!--[endif]-->Magnus Carlsen bags FIDE
World Rapid Chess Ch'shipi. World Number One Magnus Carlsen has bagged
the FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship title in Dubai.
ii. The World Champion scored 11 out of 15 points to win the Gold
medal. Aremian Fabiani Caruana came second while India's Vishwanathan
Anand won the bronze medal at the third place in the tournament.iii.
In his last game against Anand had to settle for a draw yesterday
against Teimour Radjabov. The Blitz version of the Chess Championship
follows next.
iv. It will be for 21 rounds with superfast 5-minute game of chess for
a result with quick and agile moves The Winner from each category
takes away prize money worth $200,000. 113 Grandmasters from 46
countries are participating in the championship.
--
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