Daily GK Updates: 25th Sept 2014

1.    Prime Minister launches 'Make in India' campaign

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched his pet “Make in India” campaign to put India prominently on the global manufacturing map and, in turn, facilitate the inflow of new technology and capital, while creating millions of jobs

ii. The ambitious scheme, that also puts in place the logistics and systems to address in a timely manner queries of potential investors, was unveiled along with a logo, a portal and brochures on 25 identified growth sectors before Who’s Who of the corporate world from India and abroad at the Vigyan Bhavan conference complex in New Delhi. 

iii. Pointing to campaign logo, he said: “This is the step of a Lion… Make in India.” 

iv. Make in India is not a slogan but a mission to be accomplished with a single-minded commitment.

2.    PM asks India Inc to develop India first, then go abroad

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked India Inc to first focus on developing the country and then look abroad.

ii. "FDI also means First Develop India and not just Foreign Direct Investment. Both the FDIs should move on parallel tracks," the PM said, while launching the 'Make in India' campaign here on Thursday.

iii. Modi stressed on effective and easy governance, besides employment generation. "Investors have to understand that the purchasing power of India has to go up for expanding," he said.

iv. Kicking off the ‘Make in India’ campaign, he said his government’s focus will be on physical infrastructure creation as well as creating a digital network for making India a hub for global manufacturing of goods ranging from cars to software, satellites to submarines and paper to power.

3.    Modi to be conferred with honorary doctorate degree by US varsity

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the international community, the Southern University System of Louisiana in United States has decided to confer an honorary doctorate degree for his work in the field of inclusive growth.

ii. The announcement could add a new dimension to the India-US relationship especially in the context of Modi’s imminent visit to the Washington and other US cities.

iii. Baton Rogue is the capital of Louisiana State and about 150 km from New Orleans. Governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, who has Indian roots, was born in Baton Rogue.

v. If Modi accepts the invitation of the University, then the honorary doctorate would be awarded on December 11, 2015 by the Dr Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy of the university. He would also be the Commencement Speaker for Fall 2015 session of the university.

vi. He will also be requested to inaugurate the global headquarters of the Centre for ICT Enabled Social Transformation.

4.    Hinduja brothers presented Lifetime Achievement Award in UK

i. Leading NRI businessmen G P Hinduja and S P Hinduja have been honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Business at a ceremony in the House of Lords.

ii. The award, constituted by the Indo-European Business Forum (IEBF), was presented to the Hinduja brothers at the event which was hosted by Baroness Sandip Verma, an Indian- origin minister in the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change.

iii. IEBF was founded back in 2007 by Indian-origin lawyer Vijay Goel as a non-profit platform to promote business ties between India and the EU.

5.    India to contribute USD 12 million to UN to tackle Ebola

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved 12 million dollars assistance to United Nations to fight Ebola virus in Africa. 
ii. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said, 10 million dollars will be contributed to UN Secretary General's Fund and an additional 2 million dollars will be given for purchase of protective gear to tackle Ebola.
iii. Ebola virus hit the African continent earlier this year and has killed nearly 2,200 people in several countries there. The UN Security Council has declared the outbreak of the virus in West Africa a threat to international peace and security.

6.    Adani gets Australian approval for rail project

i. Adani Mining on Thursday took a step closer to the development of Australian $2.2 billion ($1.94 billion) coal mining project in Australia after the federal government approved construction of a rail haulage line.

ii. The Australian unit of Adani Enterprises needed the approval of Environment Minister Greg Hunt to proceed with the 300-km (186-mile) line, after last month gaining clearance from the state of Queensland.

iii. Known as the North Galilee Basin Rail project, it is being designed to connect collieries owned by Adani and potentially other developers in the largely unpopulated Galilee Basin to the east coast port of Abbot Point.

iv. Despite analyst views that Adani’s project would be unprofitable at current coal prices, the company remains committed to pushing ahead with it to supply power stations in India.

Note: India is home to the world’s fifth-largest coal reserves but still needs to resort to imports as state-owned Coal India , which accounts for about 80 per cent of the country’s output, frequently falls short of its output target.

7.    Indian economy showing turnaround; ADB ups 2015 growth to 6.3%

i. Revising India’s GDP upwards by 0.3 per cent to 6.3 per cent in 2015, Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said the economy shows a new promise of turnaround after the election brought a stable government in May.

ii. “India shows new promise of a turnaround. After winning a decisive parliamentary election victory, the new (Modi-led) government is better positioned than the old to pursue the reform necessary to unlock the economy’s growth potential.

iii. “This Update maintains the 5.5 per cent growth forecast for 2014 but upgrades....to 6.3 per cent, the forecast for 2015, when reform can begin to bear fruit,” ADB said in its Outlook 2014 Update released today.

8.    Amul jumps to rank 15th in IFCN listing

i. Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which sells Amul brand of milk products ranked 15th among the top dairy organisations in the world in the International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN) – a global dairy knowledge organisation.

ii. Amul has been emerged as the fastest growing dairy organisation as it jumped from the rank of 20 in 2012 to the current slot of 15th in terms of milk procurement and turnover per kg milk.

iii. Among the other top-ranked dairy organisations in the IFCN list included multi-national majors like Dairy Farmers of America - USA, Fonterra Cooperative Group - New Zealand, Nestle – Switzerland, Danone – France among others.

Note: In spite of India being largest producer of milk in the world, its largest dairy brand, Amul figures much lower in the IFCN list as compared to other international players. “This is mainly because of Amul being primarily present in India and its operations mainly focused in Gujarat,” 

9.    Govind Mishra gets Saraswati Samman 2013 for novel 'Dhool Paudhon Par'

i. Renowned Hindi author Govind Mishra was conferred the 'Saraswati Samman' for his novel "Dhool Paudhon Par" published in 2008 at a function in New Delhi on Monday. 

ii. Giving away the award, constituted by the K K Birla Foundation, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that it has been recognised as the highest literary award in India. 

Note: Govind Mishra is the second Hindi author who was conferred this honour after it was given to Harivansh Rai Bachchan in 1991. Born on August 1, 1939, in Atarra (Banda, Uttar Pradesh), Mishra completed his BA and MA (English) at the University of Allahabad. 

10.  Atapattu appointed SL head coach

i. Marvan Atapattu's appointment as Sri Lanka's first full-time local coach in 15 years has been confirmed by Sri Lanka Cricket, following a six-week vetting process, and his three-month tenure as interim coach.

ii. SLC's coach-selection committee interviewed Atapattu and one other remaining candidate on Tuesday, and then recommended Atapattu as their preferred candidate to the executive committee

iii. The executive committee then "unanimously approved and appointed Mr. Marvan Attapattu to the position of National Head Coach of Sri Lanka Cricket with immediate effect," an SLC release said.

11.  Rowers sign off with 2 more bronze, India 15th at Asiad

i. Indian rowers were the star performers, bagging two bronze medals, while the unheralded women shooters added another bronze as India maintained their 15th position in the overall standings with a tally of 15 in the 17th Asian Games in Incheon on Thursday.

ii. Armyman Swaran Singh Virk rowed his way through exhaustion to the third spot in single sculls before the men’s squad added the eights title on yet another mixed day for the Indian contingent.

iii. The double trap women’s team of Shagun Chowdhary, Shreyasi Singh and Varsha Varman, brought some cheer for the largely off the mark shooters with their bronze medal on the sixth day of competitions.