Daily GK Updates: 16th Oct 2014

1.    Arvind Subramanian appointed new Chief Economic Advisor

i. Arvind Subramanian became chief economic advisor to the Indian government on Thursday.

ii. Mr. Subramanian, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, attended a news conference in New Delhi at which his appointment was announced.

iii. He is a development economist who worked closely with Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan when both were at the International Monetary Fund.

iv. Mr. Subramanian, said he was hopeful on the economy and that macro-economic stability and creating the conditions for investment would be priorities.

v. Kaushik Basu (World Bank Chief Economist) and Raghuram Rajan (current RBI Governor and former IMF chief economist) were the other two internationally renowned economists who recently served as CEA.

2.    Rajiv Mehrishi appointed new finance secretary

i. Rajiv Mehrishi, the top bureaucrat from Rajasthan, replace Arvind Mayaram as a new finance secretary.

ii. He holds Masters Degree in history and a degree in management from UK.

iii. Mehrishi is said to be the brains behind key labour reforms in Rajasthan.

iv. Arvind Mayaram transferred to tourism ministry.

v. Arvind Mayaram's transfer was part of the first major shuffle of top civil servants since Modi took office in May.

3.    Raghuram Rajan conferred Euromoney's Central Bank Governor of Year Award

i. Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan, has been conferred Euromoney’s Central Bank Governor of the Year Award 2014.

ii. Rajan received the award in Washington on October 10, 2014.

iii. According to a RBI statement, Euromoney said, “Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan’s tough monetary medicine combated the storm ravaging the deficit-ridden economy in the recent emerging market crisis.

4.    PM launches Pt Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate programme to ensure labour reforms

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate programme at a function in New Delhi to implement new initiatives on labour reforms.

ii. Mr Modi also dedicated Shram Suvidha portal to create a conducive environment for development of manufacturing industry in the country. Under the initiative, a Unique Labour Identification Number,LIN, will be allotted to around seven lakh industrial units to facilitate online registration.

iii. The portal will help such units to file a single consolidated returns online in lieu of 16 returns. Mr Modi also dedicated a portability facility through Universal Account Number for Employees Provident Fund under which will ensure portability of social security benefits to the labour of organised sector across the jobs. 

iv. The Prime Minister said , there is need to impart skill training to the youths to meet the requirement global workforce demand in the coming years.The Prime Minister also honoured brand ambassadors selected for vocational training to instill pride and confidence among ITI students.

Note: Launching another initiative called Labour Inspection Scheme to abolish inspector raj, the Prime Minister said, a computerized list of inspections will be generated randomly for labour inspectors. It will be mandatory for them to upload inspection reports within 72 hours. He said, the process will do away the cases of harassment.

5.    ISRO successfully launched third navigation satellite IRNSS 1C

i. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on 16 October 2014 successfully launched third navigation satellite Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) 1C. 

ii. Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C26 injected IRNSS 1C into the designated orbit from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. This was the 27th consecutive successful flight of PSLV.
iii. Initially, the satellite was injected into a sub-geosynchronous transfer orbit with a 282.56 km perigee (nearest point to Earth) and 20670 km apogee (farthest point from Earth). Later, it was lifted to a geo-stationary orbit.

Note: i. IRNSS 1C is the third member of the seven satellite constellation of the IRNSS. The first two satellites in the series were IRNSS 1A and IRNSS 1B.
ii. The fourth navigational satellite of the IRNSS segment will be launched in December 2014 and the project will be fully operational in 2015.

6.    India and UK signed MoU on Cultural Cooperation

i. India and United Kingdom (UK) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Culture Cooperation over next five years on 15 October 2014.

ii.  The MoU was signed by the Minister of State for Culture Shripad Naik and Sajid Javed, Secretary, Department of Culture, Media and Sport of United Kingdom.

iii. The MoU was signed on Cultural Cooperation which will form the bulwark of the India-UK cultural relations for the period 2014 to 2019.

iv. The agreement envisages collaboration in the field of museums, libraries, archaeology, performing arts, capacity building programs, skill development, joint publications, archives, cinematography and literature.

7.    IndiGo signed a MoU to buy 250 A320neo planes from Airbus Group

i. India's low-cost carrier IndiGo on 15 October 2014 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to buy 250 A320neo Family aircraft worth 25.5 billion US dollars from Airbus Group. This agreement is Airbus single largest order by number of aircraft.

ii. While Airbus did not provide the value of the IndiGo order, but its website shows the list price per A-320 neo aircraft as 102.8 million US dollars. 
iii. The deal will reaffirm IndiGo’s commitment to the long-term development of affordable air transportation in India and overseas.
iv. IndiGo has previously placed orders for 280 Airbus aircraft (100 A320ceo and 180 A320neo) worth about 11 billion US dollars in 2011.

8.    India-Norway signed 13 agreements to promote bilateral relations

i. India and Norway on 14 October 2014 signed 13 agreements to promote bilateral relations. These include agreement between Defence sector of two countries and an agreement on exemption of visa requirement for holders of diplomatic and official passports. 

ii. The agreements were signed in Oslo in the presence of President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg. 

iii. President Mukherjee was on a three day, from 12 to 14 October 2014, visit to the Scandinavian nation, Norway on the invitation of King Harald V. Mukherjee is the first Indian head to pay an official visit to Norway.

9.    Kotak Mahindra Bank launched Facebook-based funds transfer platform KayPay

i. Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) on 14 October 2014 launched Facebook-based funds transfer platform KayPay.
ii. KayPay is a bank agnostic payment product for Facebook users to send money to each other. 
iii. KayPay is built on top of the mobile based Immediate Payment System (IMPS) that was launched by the National Payment Corporation of India. Users have to register their bank accounts once to start using the service.
iv. At present, a sender can initiate fund transfer to any person through mobile phone, courtesy the IMPS infrastructure.

v. The IMPS platform has 28 banks under it and account holders of any of these banks can use the newly launched service.

10.  10-year-old becomes Hyderabad’s Police Commissioner for a day

i. Ten-year-old Sadiq always wanted to catch thieves and uphold the rule of law. He dreamt of sitting on the Police Commissioner’s chair at his desk, sign important files, and give instructions to the orderlies. On Wednesday, all his dreams came true.

ii. Clad in a well-ironed police uniform, replete with medals, honorary badges, shiny shoes, and belt embossed with the insignia of Telangana police, Sadiq assumed Hyderabad Commissioner’s office.

iii. Files were brought and kept on his desk for signatures. It was a day to remember for Sadiq who hails from Peddapalli, Karimnagar, and is terminally ill.

iv. Hyderabad Commissioner, M. Mahender Reddy, sportingly asked the child to sit on his desk and work as a Commissioner, albeit for a few hours. When asked what would be his priorities, in jest, Sadiq replied, “I will catch the rowdies.”

11.  Harbin Ice Festival celebrated in Hong Kong

i. The Harbin Ice Festival was celebrated in Hong Kong. The festival will be held from 1 November 2014 to 10 November 2014. In the Harbin Ice Festival India will showcase her culture, art, food and fashion.
ii. The aim of the festival is to bring awareness about Indian culture to the people of Hong Kong and China.
iii. There will be special focus on creating trade relations between the people of the two countries. This is to further the endeavour to celebrate 2014 as a Year of Friendship and Exchange between India and China.

12.  Telugu writer Turaga Janaki Rani died

i. Well-known Telugu writer and former radio artiste Turaga Janaki Rani died on 15 October 2014 in Hyderabad after a prolonged illness. She was 80
ii. Turaga Janaki Rani was survived by her two daughters Usha Ramani and Vasantha Shobha.

iii. Janaki Rani was popularly known as Radio Akkayya. She had worked as an assistant station director of AIR (All India Radio).

13.  American actress Elizabeth Pena passed away

i. American actress Elizabeth Pena died on 14 October 2014 in Los Angeles following a brief illness. She was 55.

ii.  Born in New Jersey, Elizabeth Pena graduated from the High School of Performing Arts in New York City.

iii. Pena began her career in 1978 with Leon Ichaso's film El Super. She has appeared in films such as La Bamba, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Jacob's Ladder, Lone Star and Rush Hour.