Daily GK Update - 16th April 2015

1. Indian Prime Minister Modi inks uranium deal, talks trade with Stephen Harper

i. Canada and India have signed with a series of agreements and promises that will send Canadian uranium to the South Asian nation, liberalize visas for Canadian travellers, “soon” ratify a long-awaited foreign investment deal and lay a road map to complete stalled trade talks.

ii. Under an agreement signed between Modi had Harper, Cameco Corporation will supply 3,000 metric tonnes of uranium over five years to India for $254 million. 

iii. The two countries also decided to strengthen defence and security cooperation and decided to cooperate to stabilise the Asia Pacific region. Modi also announced Electronic Visa Authorisation for tourist visa for Canadian nationals. 

iv. Canada's Stephen Harper returns 900-year-old Khajuraho temple sculpture to PM Narendra Modi 

v. The sculpture, known as 'Parrot Lady', was handed over by Harper to Modi yesterday in accordance with 1970 UNESCO Convention. 

2. RBI allows differential interest rate on deposits

i. The Reserve Bank of India said banks will have the discretion to offer differential interest rates based on whether the term deposits are with or without-premature-withdrawal-facility, subject to conditions.

ii. All term deposits of individuals (held singly or jointly) of Rs. 15 lakh and below should, necessarily, have premature withdrawal facility.

iii.  For all term deposits above Rs. 15 lakh banks can offer deposits without the option of premature withdrawal as well.

3. Agni-III missile test-fired successfully by SFC

i. India on Thursday successfully test-fired nuclear weapons-capable Agni-III ballistic missile from the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast. Although the missile has a strike range of more than 3,000 k.m.

ii. it was tested for a lesser range, in today's mission.

iii. Agni-III is one of the sophisticated and accurate missiles of its class and has already been inducted into armed forces.

iv. It is capable of carrying a payload weighing 1.5 tonnes to a distance of more than 3,000 k.m.

4. Janata Parivar announces merger

i. Leaders of six Janata Parivar parties announced their decision to merge into one larger entity.  Mulayam Singh Yadav will the head new party

ii. The new party will have a strength of 15 members in the Lok Sabha and 30 in the Rajya Sabha.

iii. With 30 MPs, the new party will be the third largest bloc behind the Congress (68) and the BJP (47) in the Rajya Sabha, where the Modi government continues to be in a minority. 

iv. In the Lok Sabha, the party will have 15 MPs, making it the eighth largest party in the House.

5. MoU to set power plant in Kazakhstan between BHEL and Russian firm INTMA inked 

i. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), an engineering and manufacturing company announced that it has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Russian company named INTMA with an aim to set up a gas-based power project in Kazakhstan as well as further boost its presence in the CIS countries. 

ii. BHEL, currently executing 23 major projects in 16 countries has set its footprint in over 75 countries. 

iii. INTMA is one of the leading general Engineering Procurement and Construction contractors (EPC) in Russia and Kazakhstan.

6. Asia Cup 2016 to be played in T20 format

i. Asia Cup 2016 is set to undergo a radical change and will be a Twenty20 competition instead of the 50-over game.

ii. It would be revamped to include more Associate nations and to give some practice prior to the T 20 World Cup .

iii. The tournament would then revert to a 50-over tournament in 2018 ahead of the 2019 World Cup in England and be played as a T20 competition again in 2020.

7. Sachin Tendulkar elected as member of Laureus Sports Academy

i.  Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar was inducted as one of the five new members into the prestigious Laureus Sports Academy in a glittering annual award ceremony at the Shanghai Grand theatre.

ii. Besides Tendulkar, retired Chinese professional basketball player Yao Ming, Kenyan long-distance runner Tegla Loroupe, Chinese gymnast Li Xiaopeng and former Chinese short track speed skater Yang Yang were the other athletes to be inducted into the Laureus academy.

iii. Tendulkar, who made his ODI debut against Pakistan way back in 1989, retired from the format after the Asia Cup in 2013 after completing a century of international hundreds.