Daily GK Updates - 4th February 2015

1. Cisco Systems picks Visakhapatnam as first ‘smart city'

i. Visakhapatnam will be the first city to be taken up for development as a ‘smart city’ by Cisco Systems, the global IT networking major and the implementing company. 

ii. Cisco has also evinced interest in working on disaster management technologies as the state is hit by at least two cyclones every year.

iii. Cisco would focus on setting up a skill development centre and providing training through its global talent tracker. The company is also keen on working with the state government to digitise education and healthcare.

2. RBI extends range of collateral for interbank transactions

i. The Reserve Bank of India extended the range of collateral that can be used for repo transactions on the country's interbank market to include bonds issued by multilateral financial institutions such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

ii. Currently, such collateral is limited to commercial papers, certificate of deposits, non-convertible debentures, and listed corporate debt securities of more than one year maturity and rated AA or above.

iii. The move will help develop the corporate debt market.

3. China overtakes US as top investment destination

i. China has overtaken the United States as the top destination for foreign direct investment for the first time since 2003. 

ii. According to the United Nations Conference of Trade and Development, foreign firms invested 128 billion dollars in China and 86 billion in the US last year. 

iii. The growth in China's foreign investment benefited the services sector as manufacturing slowed.

4. Bihar to provide free education 

i. The Bihar government decided to provide free education to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and girl students till Post Graduation (PG) level in the state.

ii. The government would reimburse the financial loss to such universities/colleges after gathering the actual information about it. 

iii. According to latest government data, there were 4.05 lakh SC, ST and girl students studying undergraduate courses in the state, but the figure declines sharply to just 10,870 students belonging to these categories at the PG level.

5. Govt panel to suggest ways to monitor CSR works

i. The government has set up a high level panel to suggest a framework to assess CSR activities done by corporates under the companies law. 

ii. Certain class of profitable companies are required to shell out at least 2 per cent of their three-year average annual net profit towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.

iii. The panel, headed by former Home Secretary Anil Baijal, would have members from industry and academia, among others. 

6. Vijay Kumar shines in National Games

i. The Army shooter struck gold with a total of 583 points through the two rounds of competition — precision and duel. 

ii. Vijay had a score of 291 in precision before he returned to post 292 in the duelling round and to finish with a clear seven-point lead over second-placed Samresh Jung (Himachal Pradesh). Pemba Tamang (Services) was involved in a shoot-off with team-mate Gurpreet Singh before winning bronze.

iii. Chain Singh won a second gold medal for Services as he finished on top with a total of 205.8.