DAILY GK UPDATE 7TH FEB.

1.    India's GDP estimated to grow at 5% this fiscal

i. India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is estimated to grow at an annual five percent in the 2012-13 fiscal year.

ii. The provisional data issued by the Central Statistics Office shows that agriculture output is expected to grow 1.8 percent, while manufacturing sector is seen growing an estimated 1.9 percent in the current fiscal year that ends on March 31, 2013.

iii. Revised data from the government showed that India's economy grew at 6.2 percent each in the last fiscal years.

NOTE: i. Last month, the RBI had pared the GDP growth estimate for the fiscal year ending in March to 5.5 percent, the worst since 2002-03.
ii. The latest estimate of 5 per cent for the entire fiscal means that the pace of economic expansion has slowed sharply in the second half of 2012-13, given that GDP growth in the April-September period stood at 5.4 per cent.

2.    Govt increases NABARD’s authorised capital to Rs 20,000 cr

i. Government on Thursday approved enhancing the authorised capital of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development to Rs 20,000 crore, from Rs 5,000 crore thus expanding its scope of operations.

ii. The proposal for enhancing the capital base of NABARD to Rs 20,000 crore has been approved by the Cabinet, said Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari.

iii. The increase in authorised capital is aimed at helping the financial institution expand operations and broaden its activities.

iv. The government also approved the merging the posts of the Chairman and the Managing Director in NABARD.

3.    Net Direct Tax Collection Grew 12 Percent in April-January in FY 2012-2013

i. Gross Direct Tax collection from the period of April to January in fiscal year 2012-2013 increased by 7.02 percent at 455125 crore Rupees against 425274 crore Rupees in same period in 2011-2012 fiscal year.

ii. Net Direct Tax collections registered a growth of 12.49 percent, i.e., 390310 crore Rupees in 2012-2013 fiscal year against 346959 crore Rupees in 2011-2012 fiscal year.

4.    Govt. approved DRDO for developing AWACS for IAF

i. The Union Cabinet of India on 6 February 2013 gave approval to Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for developing an indigenous Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) for IAF.

ii. AWACS allows IAF to keep a close watch on the enemy territory.

NOTE: DRDO officials announced that DRDO would work for finalisation of further details of the programmes as well as the number of aircrafts that IAF would need for giving overall coverage to India’s boundaries. At present, India has a fleet of three AWACS aircraft.

5.    29 th Mountain International film festival held in France:

i. Ladakhi film maker Stanzin Dorje has won the jury award in the 29th mountain international film festival recently held in France at Autrance .s

ii. Stanzin Dorje won the jury award for his documentary film entitled JUNGWA- “The Broken Balance” on the theme of link between environment, global warming and Buddhist philosophy.

NOTE: Stanzin Dorje belongs to nomadic community of Gya village. His documentary film entitled “living with change,” on the theme of effect of global warming in Ladakh has also got international appreciation for him.

6.    Barack Obama Nominated Sally Jewell as the U.S. Interior Secretary

US President Barack Obama nominated Sally Jewell, a retail executive and outdoor enthusiast on 6 February 2013 as the U.S. interior secretary for looking after the huge energy reserves as well as the national parks.

      NOTE: It is important to note that Jewell is the first woman who is nominated to join second term of Obama.

7.    Mukund Govind Rajan Appointed As Group Spokesperson and Brand Custodian of Tata

i. Mukund Govind Rajan was appointed as the group spokesperson and brand custodian of TATA Group on 6 February 2013.

ii. Rajan will have the responsibility of looking after the corporate communications as well as the branding activities of the group in India and abroad.

iii. Rajan would report directly to Cyrus Mistry, the Chairman of the Tata group.

NOTE: i. Rajan has remained in Tata group for more than 18 years.

ii. He started his career in Tata as the Tata Administrative Service (TAS) Officer.

iii. In the recent past, he was the head of private equity advisory at the Tata Capital and also the Managing Partner of advisory team of Tata Opportunities Fund.

iv. Previously, Rajan also served as the Managing Director of Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra). He was also the vice president, Chairman’s Office, at Tata Sons.