Daily GK Updates: 22nd Oct 2014

1.    India wins UNHRC re-election; PM expresses joy 

i. In a significant victory, India was re-elected to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)from 2015-17, receiving the highest number of votes in the Asia-Pacific group. 

ii. India is currently a member of the 47-nation UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and its first term is due to end on December 31, 2014. 

iii. India was seeking re-election to the UN body, the elections for which were held on Wednesday in the UN General Assembly. 
iv. India was competing in the Asia-Pacific group in which four seats were up for election. The other countries competing in the group were Indonesia, Bangladesh, Qatar, Thailand, Kuwait, Cambodia, Philippines and Bahrain. 
v. Out of them, India, Bangladesh, Qatar and Indonesia made it to the UNHRC. India received 162 votes, the highest number in the Asia-Pacific group. 

vi. Apart from India, the other 14 member states elected to the Human Rights Council for a three-year term of office beginning January 1, 2015, are Albania, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Botswana, the Congo, El Salvador, Ghana, Indonesia, Latvia, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Paraguay, Portugal and Qatar. 

2.    India, Nepal sign power trade agreement

i. India and Nepal have inked the Power Trade Agreement (PTA), allowing exchange of electricity and opening up new vistas of cooperation in the hydro-power sector. 

ii. Energy Secretary of India Pradeep Kumar Sinha and his Nepalese counterpart Rajendra Kishore Kshatra signed the agreement at a function held at the Prime Minister's Office in Kathmandu yesterday. The two sides had agreed to sign the agreement during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Nepal in August.

3.    Anita M Singh appointed as Chief of Staff of NSD in US Justice Department

i. Indian-American Anita M Singh on 21 October 2014 was appointed as Chief of Staff and Counselor in the National Security Division (NSD) of the US Justice Department.

ii. Her appointment is part of the restructuring of the NSD. Her appointment was announced by John Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

4.    Indian-American student wins innovation award

i. An Indian-American student has won ‘America’s Top Young Scientist’ award for his innovative design of an eco-friendly device that seeks to reduce carbon footprint, while offering power for household usage.

ii. Sahil Doshi, a ninth grader from Pittsburg, competed alongside nine other finalists to be declared winner of 2014 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge.

iii. The award includes $25,000 and a student adventure trip to a destination such as Costa Rica.

5.    Switzerland top destination for expats

i.  Switzerland is the world’s favourite destination among expats, followed by Singapore and China, a poll on quality of life for HSBC found today.

ii. “Many Switzerland-based expats mentioned the better work-life balance, availability of outdoor activities and the family-centric culture as the reasons they enjoy the Swiss lifestyle,” the British bank said.

iii. Switzerland emerged the winner, with a trusted economy, good quality of life and comfortable salaries: a quarter of expats said they earned more than $200,000 (157,000 euros) a year.

iv. Asia was a strong region for salaries, with an average annual expat wage of $120,000, compared with a global average of $92,000.

v. Meanwhile, China was a top country for high-earners, with one in four of respondents there earning more than $300,000 a year, and having more disposable income to spend on their social lives.

vi. Other top-ranked countries were Germany, seen as stable and safe, followed by Bahrain, New Zealand, Thailand, Taiwan, India and Hong Kong.

vii. The lowest-ranked of the 34 countries was Egypt, followed by the UK and Brazil.

6.    AIBA suspends boxer Sarita Devi for protesting at Asiad

i. Taking a strict action, AIBA has provisionally suspended India's woman boxer Laishram Sarita Devi for refusing to accept the bronze medal at the Asian Games podium ceremony.

ii. Protesting against a controversial verdict, Sarita in an unprecedented move had refused to wear the medal around her neck as she broke down on the podium during the ceremony for the 57-60 kg category. 
iii. "The AIBA also provisionally suspended Sarita's coaches (Messrs Gurbakhsh Singh Sandhu, Blas Iglesias Fernandez and Sagar Mal Dhayal) as well as Indian chef-de-mission in the Incheon Asiad, Adille J. Sumariwalla and will not allow any of them to participate at all levels of competitions, events and meetings until further notice," an AIBA statement said. 

iv. The 29-year-old boxer accepted the medal in her hand and wiped her tears holding it, before handing it to South Korean silver medallist Ji-Na Park, who had defeated Sarita after what seemed to be a "bad" referee decision. 

7.    Malala Yousafzai conferred 2014 Liberty Medal

i. Pakistani teenager and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai has been conferred the 2014 Liberty Medal for her continued demonstration of courage and resilience in the face of adversity and for serving as a powerful voice for those who have been denied their basic human rights and liberties.

ii. She is the youngest recipient of the American award, which was established in 1988 to commemorate the 200 years of the US Constitution.

iii. The annual Liberty Medal, is given to honour men and women of courage and conviction who strive to secure the blessings of liberty to people around the globe.

iv. Malala has pledged to donate the award money of 100,000 US Dollars towards education in Pakistan. Malala, 17, called for spending money on books, not guns in her speech.

8.    Union Government constituted Vishwanathan committee to provide Bankruptcy code for SMEs

i. Union Government on 20 October 2014 constituted Vishwanathan committee to provide Bankruptcy code for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).  The committee was formed under the Union Finance Ministry.

ii. The committee will be headed by former Lok Sabha secretary-general and former law secretary T K Vishwanathan. The committee will prepare a report on corporate bankruptcy framework for SMEs by February 2015.
iii. The formation of the committee is the first step to provide small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with an exit option in case of bankruptcy. The announcement is in tune with a budget promise made by Union finance minister Arun Jaitley to introduce an entrepreneur-friendly legal bankruptcy framework.

9.    Mayank Ashar appointed as MD and CEO of Cairn India

i. Mayank Ashar on 21 October 2014 was appointed as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Cairn India with effect from 17 November 2014. 

ii. Cairn India Limited was without a full-time CEO after the resignation of Rahul Dhir in August 2012.

iii. The company first appointed P Elango as Interim CEO who resigned in May 2014. After his resignation, Sudhir Mathur, the Chief Financial Officer of the company was given additional charge of interim CEO.

Cairn India Limited
i. On 9 January 2007, Cairn India Limited was listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India.
ii. Cairn India is now part of the Vedanta Group, a globally diversified natural resources group.

10.  Walsh stays as India coach with a fresh contract

i. A day after his dramatic announcement to quit, India's chief hockey coach Terry Walsh decided on Wednesday to continue in his post after a meeting with top sports officials, who have assured the Australian that his concerns will be addressed in a fresh contract.

ii. After a hectic meeting with the Sports Ministry and SAI officials, the 60-year-old Walsh decided not to go for his resignation. This decision gives much relief to the country's hockey fraternity. 

iii. Walsh's decision was announced by the Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who tweeted, "I am happy that after SAI's efforts #TerryWalsh is back. Looking ahead for a bright future for hockey in India." 
iv. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) issued a statement, giving details of the meeting and making it clear that Walsh, who guided the Indian team to a historic gold at Incheon Asian Games, had no financial issues with them.