DAILY GK UPDATE 1ST APRIL

1.    Dubai World Conference on Consumer Rights starts from today

i. Dubai World Conference on Consumer Rights (DWCCR) gets underway at the World Trade Center in Dubai today. 

ii. The three day event will focus on strengthening consumer protection, creating awareness on consumer rights, examining existing laws and policies, as well as discussing the role of Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection

iii. The event has been organized by the Dubai government’s Economic Development department.

2.    Kuwait is the fattest country in the world 

i. Kuwait is the fattest country in the world with the highest average body mass index or the BMI. 

ii. The Men in Kuwait have BMI of 27.5 while the women have a BMI of 31.4.

iii. United States comes next followed by Trinidad and Tobago. People from Bangladesh have the lowest BMI - with men at 20.5 and women at 19.8.

iv. The average Indian Body Mass Index is 21.7 with the men having a BMI of 22 and the women with the BMI of 21.4. These are some of the observations from the latest report published by London based Daily Mail. 

NOTE: i. The latest data is almost along the similar lines as estimated by the World Health Organization in its 2012 report which estimates that more than 1.6 billion people in the world are either overweight or obese. 

ii. According to the study over 74.2 percent people in Kuwait are obese while it comes to around 74 .1 percent in USA. The WHO says a person is overweight if his Body Mass Index is 25 or higher and will be considered obese if his BMI is 30 or higher.

3.    Train tickets, freight tariff becomes costlier

i. Travelling in trains has become costlier from today as the hike in reservation fee and superfast charges announced in the Rail Budget come into effect from Monday.

ii. Besides hike in passenger fares, freight rate for all commodities will also go up by about 5.7 per cent.

iii. The Railways expect to earn Rs. 42,210-crore from passengers traffic and Rs 93,554 crore from goods transportation in 2013-14.

iv. As per a Railway notification, while reservation fee for second and sleeper class has not been revised, AC classes will be dearer by Rs. 15 to Rs. 25 per ticket.

Hike in Fares:

i. Superfast charges have been increased by Rs. 10 for sleeper and second class fare.

ii. For AC classes, the hike is between Rs. 15 and Rs. 25.

iii. Tatkal fee has been increased by 10 per cent of the basic fare for second class and 30 per cent for all other AC classes.

iv. While cancellation charges have been increased by Rs. 10 to Rs. 50 per ticket for confirmed tickets, clerkage charge for cancellation of waiting list and RAC tickets have increased by Rs. 5 for sleeper class and Rs. 10 for AC class.

4.    Odisha celebrating its 77th foundation day today

i. Odisha is celebrating its 77th foundation day today with much fanfare. 

ii. Capital city Bhubaneswar glitters on the occasion of Odisha Divas or Utkal Divas as the state celebrated the anniversary of its formation.

iii. The state government has organized a cultural extravaganza including a laser show at the Exhibition Ground at Bhubaneswar to remember the contributions and sacrifices made by eminent leaders of Odisha . 

5.    MP Govt. launches Mukhyamantri Yuva Swarozgar Yojana

i. In Madhya Pradesh, the state government today launched Mukhyamantri Yuva Swarozgar Yojana. 

ii. The scheme aims to provide loans through banks to youths to set up their own industries or business.

iii. Under the Mukhyamantri Yuva Swarozgar Yojana, the state government will give bank guarantee for setting up of industries or business worth up to 25 lakh rupees and 5 percent loan subsidy for 5 years. 

iv. Tenth class passed youths up to the age of 35 years could avail the benefit of the scheme.

v. Exemption of five years in the age will be given to certain categories. An important feature of the scheme is that there is no income bar. 

vi. The scheme will be implemented by Panchayat and Rural Development Department in rural areas and Commerce, Industries and Employment Department in urban areas.

vii. Under the scheme, time-limit of one month has been fixed for disposal of loan cases by banks.

6.    Farooqui takes charge as DoT Secretary

i. Senior IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre M.F. Farooqui on Monday took charge as Telecom Secretary

ii. Prior to his new posting, Mr. Farooqui was Secretary in the Department of Heavy Industry.

iii. He replaces R. Chandrashekhar who retired last Thursday.

NOTE: i. Mr. Farooqui will have to deal with important issues such as rising tariffs, industry’s opposition to implementing free roaming services, litigations including the matter of 3G inter-circle roaming pacts and levy of one-time spectrum fee on operators.

ii. A post-graduate in Physics and Business Administration, Farooqui will have a 15-month tenure at the helm of the Department of Telecom before he attains superannuation age of 60 years in June 2014.

7.    Justice Ujjal Bhuyan sworn in as a new Judge of the Gauhati High Court

i. Justice Ujjal Bhuyan sworn in as a new Judge of the Gauhati High Court on Monday.

ii. Chief Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel administered the oath to Justice Bhuyan, who was serving as an Additional Judge in the High Court, in a simple ceremony in Guwahati.

About Justice Ujjal Bhuyan

i. Born in August 2, 1964 at Guwahati, Justice Bhuyan has been in legal profession since 1991. He had obtained his Bachelor of Law degree from Government Law College, Guwahati, and Masters of Law degree from Gauhati University

ii. Prior to being elevated as judge, he was appointed as an Additional Judge of Gauhati High Court on October 17, 2011.

8.    Sukhvinder appointed as Congress Party President of Himachal

i. Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has been appointed as the full fledged congress state president of Himachal Pradesh.

ii. Congress President, Sonia Gandhi today cleared his appointment.

iii. Earlier, Mr. Sukhu was nominated as the officiating President after the resignation of then PCC Chief Virbhadra Singh who later became chief Minister of the state.

9.    Vijender took heroin 12 times: Punjab Police

i. In fresh trouble for international boxer and Olympic medalist Vijender Singh, Punjab Police said he had consumed heroin 12-times after procuring it from alleged drug smugglers including NRI Anoop Singh Kahlon.

ii. "As per investigation conducted so far, Vijender Singh consumed the drug about 12-times and Ram Singh (his sparring partner) about five times," a Punjab Police statement said.

iii. Olympic medalist Vijender Singh had spoken to alleged narcotics dealer Anoop Singh Kahlon on phone about 80-times and they knew each other well, according to his call records scanned by Punjab police which appeared to have tightened its noose around the star boxer in the heroin haul case.

10.  Andy Murray is Master of Miami 

i. Britain’s Andy Murray defeated Spain’s David Ferrer 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(1) in a tough Miami Masters final on Sunday to move above Roger Federer to second in the world rankings.

ii. It was Andy Murray’s 26th career tour title, and second of the year after having wining the Brisbane International in a tough two hours and 45 minutes.

iii. David Ferrer collapsed with a cramp two points from the finish and Murray took a stagger earlier in the final set.

Some Facts about Andy Murray

i. It was his second Miami title. He had also won the same title in 2009.
ii. Andy Murray will rise to World No. 2, ahead of Roger Federer, while Ferrer will move past Rafael Nadal to become fourth in the rankings.
iii. Andy Murray defeated David Ferrer for the seventh time in 12 career meetings.
iv. The victory was Andy Murray's ninth victory in a Masters 1000 series event.