Daily GK Updates: 10 - 11th August 2014

1.    Indian economy expected to grow by 5.5% in current fiscal: UN

i. India's economy is expected to record stronger growth momentum of 5.5 percent in the current fiscal, underpinned by "solid expansion" in industrial and services sectors, and impetus to economic reforms by the new government, according to a UN report.

ii. In its report, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) said a fragile global economy has "weighed" on Indian economy in recent years, but "delays" in tackling "structural impediments", such as rising inequality, high inflation and infrastructure shortages have also affected the growth rate.
iii. "Indian economy expanded by 4.7 per cent in the fiscal year 2013, up from 4.5 per cent in the previous year. This rate is, however, far below the 9.5 per cent pace registered in the years prior to the global financial crisis," said the report, released at a meeting of UNESCAP. 

2.    Recep Tayyip Erdogan wins Turkish presidential election

i. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won his country's first direct presidential election.

ii. With almost all the votes counted, Mr Erdogan had won about 52%, against 38% for main rival Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.

iii. The huge margin of victory means there is no need for a run-off.

iv. Mr Erdogan, who has vowed to bolster the power of the president, promised supporters a "social reconciliation period", saying: "Let's leave the old discussions in the old Turkey."

v. The veteran leader, who has spent three terms as prime minister, is revered by supporters for boosting the economy and giving a voice to conservatives.

3.    World Bank to fund ecologically safe power projects

i. A World Bank economist has said that the lender will fund only those hydro-power projects where safeguards are in place to prevent any adverse impact on the environment.

ii. "We are prepared to support only those good hydro-power projects in India which make economic sense as well as take socio-environment safeguards very seriously," Michael Toman, lead economist on climate change in World Bank said here during a visit to the city.

iii. "The impact in terms of environment, relocation of people, availability of water to farmers should be minimum. We want all these environment and social factors to be taken care of," he said when asked to comment on protests against power projects in states like Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh.

iv. World Bank lends money to a number of development projects in India, including power projects. Speaking on the sidelines of a seminar on energy security organised by research body CUTS International, he said large grid-connected power projects have the advantage of being cheaper through the economies of scale. "

4.    ASEAN to boost cooperation with India in various fields

i. The ASEAN, considered one of the world's fastest growing regions, today resolved to significantly enhance cooperation with India in combating growing challenges of maritime security, terrorism, drug trafficking and cyber crime besides expanding trade ties.

ii. The 10-nation grouping, particularly emphasised on close engagement with India to deal with issues relating to maritime security, freedom of navigation and maritime security in the seas of the region.

iii. The comments by ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) came on a day when the dispute relating to China's territorial claims over the South China Sea was dominating the meeting of foreign ministers of the powerful bloc here.

iv. Addressing the 12th India-ASEAN meeting here, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had yesterday said India supported freedom of navigation and access to resources in the South China Sea in accordance with principles of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

5.    Sikkim gets highest number of foreign tourists among NE states

i. Sikkim has become the most favoured destination of foreign tourists in the north-eastern states of the country.

ii. While the state received 23602 tourists in 2011, the figures were 26489 in 2012 and 31698 in 2013 respectively, a press release issued by the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front quoting the latest figures of the Tourism Ministry issued by the Centre said. 
iii. Sikkim is followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura respectively, the release said. 
iv. Tourism development has been the priority of the SDF government and the state government has been working for tourism development for a long time creating "world class tourism infrastructure in the state", the SDF release said. 
v. The release said the state has already been recognised as the best place to visit, in the world famous travel guidebook 'Lonely Planet'. 

6.    Tsonga beats Federer in Toronto final

i. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won the Rogers Cup, beating second-seeded Roger Federer 7-5 7-6 (3) for his fourth straight victory over a higher-seeded opponent.

ii. The 13th-seeded Frenchman won his first ATP Tour title of the season and 11th overall. 
iii. He beat top-ranked Novak Djokovic on Thursday, eighth-seeded Andy Murray on Friday and seventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov on Saturday. 
iv. Tsonga improved to 5-11 against Federer. Federer dropped to 2-5 in finals this season, with his victories coming in Dubai and Halle. 
v. The Swiss star made several uncharacteristic errors and had a hard time with Tsonga's powerful serve and ground strokes. The first set was a rather choppy affair. 

7.    Archery World Cup: Deepika Kumari-led women's archery recurve team wins gold

i. World number two Deepika Kumari bagged a Gold and two Bronze medals yesterday, as India finished the Archery World Cup Stage IV in Wroclaw, Poland with a total of 5 medals.

ii. The Gold came in the Recurve Women's Team event which saw Deepika, Bombayala Devi Lashram and Lakshmi Rani Manji beat Mexico, 6-0 in the final. Deepika, however, settled for a Bronze in the Recurve Individual event and the Recurve Mixed team pair event in which she partnered with Jayanta Talukdar.

8.    England win 4th cricket test match against India

i. England have won the fourth Cricket Test against India at Old Trafford, Manchester, by an innings and 54 runs.

ii. After taking a massive first innings lead of 215 runs on the third day yesterday, the hosts dismissed the visitors for a paltry score of 161 in their second innings. England made 367 runs in reply to India's first innings score of 152.
iii. England now lead the five-match series Two-One. India had won the second Test while England emerged winner in both the third and fourth Test matches. The first match had ended in a draw.

9.    India complete clean sweep in hockey series

i. India have made a clean sweep of the three-match hockey series against Bangladesh. Continuing their dominating performance, the men's hockey team defeated Bangladesh 3-1 in the third and final match in Dhaka yesterday. 
ii. India had taken a winning lead by clinching the second encounter played on Friday by a 5-1 margin