Daily GK Updates - 18th January 2015

1. Aero India 2015

i. The Air Force Station at Yelahanka in the IT city hosts the 10th edition of the biennial five-day international edition of the aerospace and aviation exhibition.

ii. the exhibition will also see participation of over 600 companies, including 295 Indian and 328 foreign companies. The US with 64 companies will have the biggest presence at the event.

iii. France will be the second biggest participant with 58 companies, followed by the UK with 48, Russia with 41, Israel with 25 and Germany with 17.

iv. foreign military aircraft on display will be – two F-15C Eagles, two F-16C Fighting Falcons, one Boeing KC-135 tanker, one C-17 Globemaster III and a P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft. Three Rafale fighters of French giant Dassault.

2. Black money probe in Geneva

i. Geneva’s public prosecutor searched the premises of HSBC Holdings PLC in Geneva and opened a criminal inquiry into allegations of aggravated money laundering.

ii. Swiss private bank allegedly helped hundreds of clients dodge taxes.

iii. The disclosures have sparked a political row in Britain over practices at HSBC and whether tax authorities had done enough to pursue possible wrongdoers.

3. Snapdeal acquires Exclusively to create ‘India’s first online luxury mall’

i. Snapdeal.com today announced the acquisition of Exclusively.com (formerly Exclusively.in), the definitive online destination for premium and luxury fashion.

ii. Exclusively will complement Snapdeal’s existing ecosystem and will provide a consolidated offering for the luxury and lifestyle shopper, making it India’s first online luxury mall.

iii. Luxury products and services is a $14 bn market in India and it is growing at 30 per cent YoY, according to a recent KPMG-ASSOCHAM report.

4. China proposes triangular partnership with India, Sri Lanka

i. Beijing has proposed at triangular partnership with India and Sri Lanka, ahead of a month-end visit to Beijing of the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera.

ii. China’s new strategic construct of inclusive ties with India and Sri Lanka follows its advocacy of the 21st century Maritime Silk Road (MSR), where India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan are visualized as partner countries in South Asia.

iii.  India is connected to the MSR through the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor.

5. Mashable partners India.com for local website

i. US news portal Mashable and India.com have partnered to launch Mashable India, which will have a local editorial team to generate original domestic content.

ii. Mashable claims to have 42 million unique visitors a month and 21 million social media followers. 

iii. India.com is a joint venture of Penske Media Corp. (PMC) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.

6. Croatia’s first female president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic sworn-in

i. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic sworn in as the President of Croatia. She is Croatia’s first female President and overall fourth President since Croatia gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

ii. Kitarovic had secured 50.5% of the votes while her predecessor Ivo Josipovic had secured 49.5% votes.

About Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic

• Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic is member of Croatia’s politically conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, which had played in the country’s independence.
• She was also the first woman appointed as Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy at NATO and was in office from 2011 until 2014.
• Prior to this Kitarovic was also the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia from 2005 to 2008 and Croatia’s Ambassador to the United States from 2008 to 2011.