Daily GK Updates: 12 - 13th Oct 2014

1.    Frenchman Tirole wins Nobel economics prize 

i. French economist Jean Tirole won the Nobel prize for economics on Monday for research on market power and regulation.

ii. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences cited Tirole for clarifying "how to understand and regulate industries with a few powerful firms." 

iii. Tirole, 61, works at the Toulouse School of Economics in France. 

iv. "From the mid-1980s and onwards, Jean Tirole has breathed new life into research on such market failures," the academy said, adding his work has strong bearing on how governments deal with mergers or cartels and how they should regulate monopolies. 
v. "In a series of articles and books, JeanTirole has presented a general framework for designing such policies and applied it to a number of industries, ranging from telecommunications to banking," the academy said. 

2.    India, Finland to ink pacts in energy, education & other areas

i. India and Finland are expected to sign a slew of agreements to bolster cooperation in energy, fishing and education, besides exploring tie-ups in science and technology during President Pranab Mukherjee's three-day state visit to this key Nordic nation beginning on Tuesday.

ii. The two sides are also likely to firm up pacts for enhanced cooperation at the government-to-government, business -to-business level as well as among institutions. 

iii. India is also seeking to benefit from Finland's expertise in knowledge-based economy and clean technology, official sources said. 

3.    India signed the Minamata Convention on Mercury

i. India on 30 September 2014 signed the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The convention is named after the Japanese city Minamata that has become synonymous with deadly mercury contamination since 1950. 

ii. The Minamata Convention gives five years time to India to control and reduce emissions from new power plants and 10 years time for the already existing power plants.

Minamata Convention 
The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury. It was agreed at the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee in Geneva, Switzerland on 19 January 2013.

4.    Retail inflation drops to 6.46 % in Sept this year

i. Bringing some relief to the common man, retail inflation dropped to 6.46 percent in September this year--its lowest level since the government started releasing the data in January 2012--due to falling prices of fruits and vegetables. 
ii. As per official data released today, overall food inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index fell to 7.67 per cent in September, from 9.35 per cent in August. Consumer price based inflation in the vegetable basket fell sharply to 8.59 per cent in September, from 15.15 percent in August. 

5.    India promises $4 million aid for rebuilding Gaza

i. India has promised $4 million in the total $5.4 billion aid that the global donors have pledged to raise funds for rebuilding the Gaza Strip destroyed by the conflict with Israel. 

ii. Announcing India's aid at the UN-sponsored International Donor's Conference in Cairo yesterday, Joint Secretary of West Asia and North Africa, Ministry of External Affairs Sandeep Kumar said that the early realization of the objectives of the Cairo Conference will be an important element in the consolidation of the current ceasefire understanding between Palestine and Israel. 

6.    India to host first leg of Asia Cup Archery Tournament in Delhi in January 2015

i. India will host first leg of Asia Cup Archery Tournament in Delhi in January 2015. The announcement was made on 12 October 2014 by Archery Association India (AAI).
ii. The Asia Cup will be held on the format of the annual World Cups. Asia Cup will replace the Asian GP.
iii. The first leg will be conducted in Delhi in January 2015 while the second and third legs was allotted to Bangkok and Tehran. 

7.    SEBI bars DLF, chairman KP Singh, 5 others from markets for 3 years

i.  Regulator SEBI has barred realty major DLF, as also six top executives including Chairman K.P Singh, from securities markets for three years, after finding the company guilty of “active and deliberate suppression” of material information at the time of its public offer.

ii. Those prohibited from the markets include Singh’s son Rajiv Singh (Vice Chairman) and daughter Pia Singh (Whole Time Director), SEBI said in its order.

iii. “I find that the case of active and deliberate suppression of any material information so as to mislead and defraud the investors in the securities market in connection with the issue of shares of DLF in its IPO is clearly made out in this case,” SEBI’s Whole-Time Member Rajeev Agarwal said in his 43-page order.

iv. The company and its top executives are found to have violated various regulations including SEBI’s Disclosure and Investor Protection (DIP) Guidelines and the PFUTP (Prevention of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) norms.

8.    Asia Index launches new indices

i.  Asia Index Pvt Ltd (AIPL), a joint venture between S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and BSE Ltd, on Monday announced the launch of two more indices for investors in Indian market.

ii. The S&P BSE Sensex Futures Index will help investors track the returns generated from investment in the near-month (one month) futures contract on S&P BSE Sensex traded on the BSE.

iii. The index includes a provision for replacement of the index futures contract as it approaches maturity (also referred to as “rolling” or “the roll”).

iv. This replacement occurs over a one-day rolling period every month, which is one business day prior to the expiration of the futures contract.

v. AIPL alsso launched the S&P BSE CPSE Index. CPSE refers to Central Public Sector Enterprises and does not include the public sector banks.

vi. “The launch of the S&P BSE Sensex Futures Index and the S&P BSE CPSE Index is a reflection of Indian investor appetite for transparent and innovative benchmarks measuring the Indian market,” said Alka Banerjee, CEO, Asia Index Pvt Ltd.

9.    Amazon and Future Groups signed deal to jointly sell goods online

i. US Online store Amazon and retailer Future Group signed a deal to jointly sell goods over the internet.
ii. According to deal, Future group's portfolio of over 40 brands will be retailed exclusively through Amazon.in platform.

iii. The partnership will initially focus on Future Group's fashion brands and will subsequently cover all other categories.

iv. Besides, Amazon and Future will also jointly develop discounting strategy and price tags on their products won't be very different from rates at stores so that both channels don't end up cannibalizing each other.

10.  Fortune released the list of powerful people titled 40 under 40

i. Fortune released the list of powerful people titled 40 under 40. The list included most powerful, influential, important people in business under 40.

ii. The list was topped by ridesharing service company Uber's 38-year-old co-founder Travis Kalanick and community-driven hospitality company Airbnb's 33-year-old CEO Brian Chesky. 

iii. Followed by, Founder and CEO of Facebook, 30-year-old Mark Zuckerberg, at the number two spot and Italy's youngest Prime Minister Matteo Renzi (39) at the third position. 

iv. The list also included 38-year-old co-founder and CEO of texting company WhatsApp, Jan Koum on rank 5, Yahoo's 38-year old CEO Marissa Mayer (ranked 6), New York Stock Exchange President 38-year-old Tom Farley (ranked 7) and Twitter co-founder and CEO 37-year-old Jack Dorsey (ranked 11).

11.  Australia top ICC ODI rankings; India slips to 3rd place

i. Australia has move to the top of ICC ODI rankings following a 3-0 clean sweep of the series against Pakistan in UAE. In the latest ICC ODI ranking released in Dubai, Australia has 114 points followed by South Africa with 113 points. 

ii. India has slipped to third place with 113 points.

iii. Among the batsmen, AB Deviiliers is at the top followed by Hashim Amla. India’s Virat Kohli is at number three, Dhoni at number six and Shikhar Dhawan at number eight respectively.

iv. Saeed Ajmal and Sunil Narain lead the pack of bowlers followed by Dale Steyn. India’s Ravindra Jadeja is placed sixth in the ranking list.

12.  Roger Federer wins Shanghai Masters

i. In Tennis, world number three Roger Federer has lifted his maiden ATP Shanghai Masters trophy.

ii. In the title clash yesterday, 17-time Grand Slam winner Federer defeated Frenchman Gilles Simon, 7-6, 7-6.

13.  Powerful typhoon Vongfong struck Japan

i. Powerful typhoon Vongfong struck Japan on 13 October 2014. The typhoon made its landfall in Makurazaki on Kyushu Island with winds of up to 180 kilometers per hour.

ii. Typhoon Vongfong that is the strongest storm to hit Japan in 2014 had injured more than 30 people and led to cancellation of more than 300 flights, while hundreds of thousands had to evacuate their homes. It brought heavy rain and fierce winds to the southern island of Okinawa with it.