Thursday, August 21, 2014

Daily GK Updates: 21st August 2014




1. Chief Prayuth Chan-ocha elected new PM of Thailand

i. Thailand coup leader, Army Chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, has been elected Prime Minister of Thailand.
ii. He was backed by 191 members of the 197-strong junta-picked national assembly, with three abstentions and three voters absent. No assembly member opposed the selection of the army chief, who was the sole candidate for the post.

iii. Prayuth seized power from an elected government in a bloodless coup on May 22nd, shortly after Yingluck Shinawatra was dismissed as Prime Minister in a controversial court ruling.



Note: Prayuth seized power from an elected government in a bloodless coup on May 22nd, shortly after Yingluck Shinawatra was dismissed as Prime Minister in a controversial court ruling.


2. Bangladesh to join BRICS Bank

i. Bangladesh has decided to join the newly formed BRICS Bank, an initiative of the world's five emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
ii. This was informed to news reporters by Finance Minister A.M.A. Muhith last evening. Talking to our correspondent, the Finance Minister said the Ministry had sent letters to Bangladesh Missions in the five countries to know about the details of joining the bank.
iii. The Finance Minister also said that he had earlier expressed willingness of Bangladesh to join the BRICS Bank to Indian High Commissioner, Pankaj Saran.


Note: Named as 'New Development Bank', BRICS Bank was formed after an agreement was signed by BRICS countries during July, 2014 Summit in Brazil, with the aim at easing financing constraints faced by BRICS and other developing countries to address infrastructure gaps and sustainable development needs.


3. RBI issues guidelines for NBFCs on lending against shares
i. To reduce volatility in the capital market arising from non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) offloading shares pledged by borrowers who have defaulted on loans, the Reserve Bank of India on Thursday introduced a minimum set of guidelines on lending against shares.
ii. According to the guidelines applicable to NBFCs with asset size of Rs. 100 crore and above, the NBFCs have to maintain a loan-to-value (of shares pledged) of 50 per cent and accept only Group 1 securities as collateral for loans of a value more than Rs. 5 lakh.
iii. All NBFCs with asset size of Rs. 100 crore and above should report online to stock exchanges information on the shares pledged in their favour by borrowers to avail themselves of loans.
iv. RBI said the NBFCs also have to ensure that these do not in any way come in the way of meeting the requirements of genuine borrowers. The guidelines come into effect immediately.


4. PM dedicates Ranchi-Dharamjaygarh-Sipat transmission line to the nation
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today dedicated to the nation the Ranchi-Dharamjaygarh-Sipat 765kv inter-regional power transmission line in Jharkhand.
ii. This line is the first inter-regional link between eastern region and western region, an official statement said.
The Prime Minister also inaugurated the commencement of work at state-run NTPC’s thermal power plant (3x660 MW) at North Karanpura at Chatra in Jharkhand.
iii. Central transmission utility Power Grid Corporation has implemented the Ranchi-Dharamjaygarh-Sipat inter-regional transmission line at a total cost of Rs. 1,600 crore.
iv. Two new sub-stations have been built at Ranchi in Jharkhand and Dharamjaygarh in Chhattisgarh, the statement added.


5. Squash Legend of Pakistan Hashim Khan died
i. Squash Legend of Pakistan Hashim Khan died. He died due to congestive heart failure. He was believed to be 100. He died at his home in Aurora, Colorado.
ii. He was born in Nawakille near Peshawar in Pakistan in 1916.
iii. In 1942, Khan became a squash coach at a British Air Force officers' mess. In 1944, he won the first All-of-India squash championship in Bombay, and successfully defended this title for the next two years.
iv. When Pakistan became an independent state, he was appointed a squash professional at the Pakistan Air Force, and won the first Pakistani squash championship in 1949.


6. Australian Cyril Baldock is oldest to swim English Channel
i. Australian Cyril Baldock has set the world record for the oldest person to swim the English Channel.
ii. The 70 year old Bondi Surf Life Saving Club member completed the swim between England and France in 12 hours and 45 minutes yesterday.
iii. It was his second Channel swim, after first completing the test considered the Everest of swimming in 1985, when he became the fifth Australian to do so



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