Daily GK Update - 12th February 2015

1. ICC World Cup 2015 launched with quirky opening ceremony

i. The 11th edition of the ICC World Cup was officially declared open after a two-act opening ceremony in Christchurch and Melbourne. The event was a wonderful mix of culture and traditions of the host nations Australia and New Zealand.

ii. The first match of the tournament will take place at the Hagley Oval between New Zealand and Sri Lanka on February 14.

iii. International Cricket Council chief executive David Richardson unveiled the Cricket World Cup trophy, saying it was a symbol of the ICC's values of excellence, integrity and inclusion.

2. ICICI ties up with UAE Exchange for instant money transfer

i. ICICI bank has tied up with UAE Exchange to offer an instant bank transfer service to the Indians residing in the Gulf nation.

ii. ‘FLASHremit’ service started by the bank enables customers to conveniently send money instantly to their beneficiaries in India in Indian Rupees.

iii. Customers of ICICI Bank will be able to avail this service by visiting any of the over 135 branches of UAE Exchange in UAE including over 15 branches across the Dubai Metro network.

3. Himachal Pradesh Government launched Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System Project

i. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on 11 February 2015 launched the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS) project in the state.

ii. This 19 crore rupees project will be completely funded by the Union Government. It will help in connecting 177 sites and 114 police stations in the state besides 13 district headquarters, 26 sub-divisional police officers and three police ranges along with state crime records bureau. 

iii. It will also connect CID crime branch, 14 control rooms, finger print bureau, forensic science laboratory and 16 CCTNS training centers in the state.

4. Indian Navy conducted HADR Exercise in Lakshadweep Islands

i. Indian Navy had conducted Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster relief (HADR) exercise in Lakshadweep Islands (Kavaratti, Aggatti, Kalpeni and Androth).

ii. HADR was Indian Navy’s large scale exercise to test its readiness for handling a tsunami like disasters in order to provide immediate succour and relief to the affected people.

iii. It involved participation of more than 20 Indian Naval Ships from the Western and Eastern Fleet along with various aircraft of the Indian Navy.

5. Aditya Birla Chemicals to merge with Grasim Industries

i. The Board of Directors of Grasim Industries Limited on 11 February 2015 approved the proposed merger of Aditya Birla Chemicals (India) Limited (ABCIL) with Grasim. 

ii. The proposed scheme is subject to approval of the high court and regulatory authorities.

• Grasim is a leading manufacturer of caustic soda in India, with an installed capacity of 452500 tonnes per annum. Its plants are located at Nagda in Madhya Pradesh and at Vilayat in Gujarat.
• Aditya Birla Chemicals (India) Limited (ABCIL) is a leading manufacturer of bulk and specialty chemicals and viscose filament yarn. The business is spread across multiple manufacturing locations in four countries namely India, Thailand, Germany and China.

6. Apple Inc. becomes first company worth over $700 bn in global corporate history

i. US technology giant Apple Inc. became the first company to reach a market value of $700 billion.

ii. Earlier in January 2015, Apple Inc had recorded highest quarterly profit of 18 billion US dollar in corporate history worldwide after the company sold 74.5 million iPhones in quarter ending December 2014.

iii. With its $710 billion market value Apple is far ahead from the number two company, oil giant Exxon Mobil, which is worth around $382 billion in terms of market value.

7. CSK Ltd. to be owned by one lakh shareholders

i. The Board of India Cements Ltd. (ICL) has cleared the decks for transfer of IPL franchise rights of Chennai Super Kings to its wholly owned subsidiary, Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd.

ii. For the first time in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), a cricket franchise will be owned by the shareholders of a company.

iii. The move will help shareholders of India Cements exercise their choice — to own only the cement business or the cricket franchise or both. 

8. SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched from Florida

i. Unmanned SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has been successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida on its third attempt.

ii. It was carrying unmanned Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite. This satellite will be used by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to monitor the Sun.

iii. It will particularly monitor changes in solar wind and provide warnings on hazardous outbursts from our star to warn forecasters. In turn it will help forecasters to predict changes which affect satellites, power grids and communication systems.