DAILY GK UPDATE 13TH MARCH

1.   Japan Became First Country in the World to Extract Natural Gas from Methane Hydrate

i. Japan on 12 March 2013 announced that it had extracted the natural gas from frozen methane hydrate successfully off the central coast.

ii. With this, Japan became the first country to do so in the world.

iii. A Japan official from Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry announced that this was the first offshore experiment of producing natural gas from methane hydrate in the world. 

iv. Also, apart from Japan, certain other countries such as China, US and Canada have been searching for the ways to exploit the methane hydrate deposits.

NOTE: i. Methane Hydrate, also known as clathrates are a kind of frozen confinements of molecules of water and methane.

ii. The gas field where the natural gas was extracted from methane hydrate is situated 50 km away from the main island of Japan in Nankai Trough.

How this is beneficial for Japan

i. According to the researchers, this extraction can prove to be very beneficial because it could facilitate as an alternative source of energy for Japan. It is important to note that Japan as of now imports all the energy needs. 

ii. It was estimated that around 1.1tn cubic metres of methane hydrate existed in the offshore deposits. This is equal to the gas consumption of Japan in more than 10 years. 

iii. The extraction of natural gas from methane hydrate will therefore help Japan in reducing the pressure on natural resources as well as bringing down the cost of import of fuel.

2.    Union Government to launch 10 Rupees Plastic Notes in 5 Cities

i. The Union Government and RBI on 12 March 2013 decided to introduce one billion pieces of 10 Rupees bank notes made of plastic on a field trial basis in five cities.

ii. A 10 Rupees note in polymer/plastic on a field trial basis will be introduced first.

iii. The field trail is supposed to be conducted in five cities of Kochi, Mysore, Jaipur, Bhubhaneswar and Shimla with varied geographical locations and climatic conditions.

iv. As per the RBI, the primary objective of introduction of polymer notes is to increase its life, it could also help in combating counterfeiting. 

3.    Govt. granted an aid of 41 Crore Rs. to protect Pashmina Goats

i. The Union Government on 12 March 2013 decided to provide a financial assistance of 41.21 crore rupees to protect Pashminagoat which produces world-famous fine luxury fibre. 

ii. The idea of providing assistance came in light of concern over the recent deaths of thousands of Pashmina goats in the Ladakh region.

iii. As per the assistance, there is plan which ideates a new Pashmina Wool Development Scheme with a special package and a financial allocation of 41.21 crore rupees.

4.    Legendary Painter Ganesh Pyne Passed Away in Kolkata

i. 76 years old legendary painter Ganesh Pyne on 12 March 2013 died after a heart attack at a city hospital in Kolkata.

About Ganesh Pyne

i. In his long career of five decades his paintings were exhibited round the world - Paris, London, Washington and Germany.

ii. He was described as an artist's artist, a philosopher's philosopher and master fantasist of them all.

iii. In the year 2012 Ganesh Pyne was conferred the lifetime achievement award by Indian Chamber of Commerce.

5.    Jagat Singh Negi Elected As the Deputy Speaker of Legislative Assembly of Himachal

i. Jagat Singh Negi, the Congress legislator from Kinnaur was elected as the Deputy speaker of Legislative Assembly of Himachal on 12 March 2013. 

ii. The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Virbhadra Singh announced Negi’s name for the post of Deputy Speaker of Legislative Assembly.

6.    Laureus World Sports Awards 2013: 

Laureus World Sports Awards 2013 were organised in Rio de Janeiro on 11 March 2013.

The list of the awardees :

i. Laureus World Sportsman of the Year- Usain Bolt
ii. Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year- Jessica Ennis

iii. Laureus World Team of the Year- European Ryder Cup Team
iv. Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year- Andy Murray
v. Laureus World Comeback of the Year- Feliz Sanchez
vi. Laureus World ActionSportsperson of the Year- Felix Baumgartner
vii. Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability- Daniel Dias

7.    India Clinched a Gold And A Bronze Medal In Asian Archery Grand Prix

i. In the Asian Archery Grand Prix, the men’s compound team of India won a gold medal while men’s recurve trio won a bronze in Bangkok on 12 March 2013. 

ii. The men’s compound team comprised of Jignas Chittibomma, Sandeep Kumar and Abhishek Verma. It defeated Vietnam team 226-218 to clinch gold. 

iii. The recurve trio men’s team comprised of Binod Swansi, Rahul Banerjee and Atanu Das. It defeated Russia 217-201 to win the bronze medal. India won 55-51, 53-47, 55-53, 54-50. 

8.    Hockey: India beat Pakistan

i. India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan 3-1 in the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey tournament at Ipoh, Malaysia, yesterday. 

ii. In their remaining two fixtures in the round-robin competition, India will meet New Zealand on Thursday and hosts Malaysia on Saturday.

9.    India & Aus. to play third test tomorrow

i. The third cricket test of the 4-match series between India and Australia will be played at the Punjab Cricket Stadium in Mohalifrom tomorrow.

ii. Hosts India are currently leading the series, 2-0.After defeating the Aussies by 8 wickets in the first test at Chennai, Team India had registered a superb, an innings and 135 runs victory in the second test at Hyderabad.

iii. The final test between the two teams will be played at Delhi from 22nd March.