DAILY GK UPDATE 15th JUNE

1.    World Elder Abuse Awareness Day observed today

i. World Elder Abuse Awareness Day was celebrated on 15 June 2013.

ii. The day aims to focus global attention on the problem of physical, emotional and financial abuse of elders. It seeks to understand the challenges and opportunities presented by an ageing population.

iii. The day also provides an opportunity to bring together senior citizens, national and local government and private sector to exchange ideas about how best to reduce incidents of violence towards elders and to develop elder friendly policies.

2.    Rahul to launch scheme for poor women in J&K 

i. In a bid to boost the Congress's electoral prospects ahead of the Lok Sabha election due next year, Rahul Gandhi will launch Umeed, a central social welfare scheme for poor rural women in Jammu and Kashmir, on Saturday.

ii. Umeed, designed specifically for J&K and implemented by the rural development ministry, aims to help the women organise into Self Help Groups and then form federations of such groups. 

iii. The programme plans to include nine lakh women and cover about two-third of the state's rural households. It has a budget of Rs 755 crore that will be shared 90:10 by the Centre and the state government.

iv. Rahul will launch Umeed in Budgam in central Kashmir, along with Ganderbal, Udhampur and Kathua, where it is being run as a pilot project. 

v. The pilot project was initially run by SHG members from Andhra Pradesh who had been brought in for the purpose.

3.    SK Roy to be New Chairman of Life Insurance Corporation

i. The Government of India decided to appoint SK Roy as the new Chairman of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

ii. SK Roy, on 31 May 2013 was appointed as the Managing Director of LIC after retirement of the then MD, D K Mehrotra. On 31 May 2013, Thomas Mathew was appointed as the interim chairman. 

About SK Roy

i. SK Roy joined LIC in the year 1981 as the direct recruit officer of eleventh batch. 

ii. He maintained crucial positions in LIC and these included area manager, LIC HFL, secretary (legal), chief (SBU-estate), regional manager (P&IR) and executive director (marketing bancassurance & alternate channels).

iii. He remained the Zonal Manager of North Central Zone from 2009 to 2011. He remained the in-charge of Eastern Zone from 2011 to 2013. 

NOTE: It is worth noticing that LIC is the largest life insurer of India. In terms of the policies, it has 83 percent market share as well as 71 percent regarding premiums. For 2012-13 financial year, LIC accumulated a total business premium of 76246 crore Rupees.

4.    New US Ambassador to Libya Deborah Jones Sworn In

i. In Washington, Deborah K. Jones has just been sworn in as the next Ambassador to Libya at a ceremony in the presence of US Secretary of State, John F. Kerry, the Ambassador of Libya, Ali Aujali and the Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman, Hunaina al-Mughairi. 

ii. Pointing out the Libyan Ambassador Aujali, he told him: “We are sending you one of our very best ambassador. We’re very excited about it. We really are embracing a spectacular ambassador.”

iii. Jones, who is married to the current US Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olsen, has served much of her career in embassies around the Arab world, including in Iraq, Jordan and Syria.

iv. From 2008 to 2011, she was ambassador to Kuwait.

vi. Jones was the right person to take on the job in a “tough part of the world at this critical moment in history,” Kerry said.

5.    Moderate ahead in race for Iran presidency

i. Moderate cleric Hassan Rowhani, bolstered by a late surge in support from suppressed Iranian reformists, was leading the race on Saturday to succeed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president, initial election results showed.

ii. With 36.6 per cent of ballots counted, Rowhani had 50 per cent of the vote, more than three times as many as his nearest rival, conservative Tehran mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf on 15 per cent, said the interior ministry.

iii. Under Iranian law, any candidate must clear a threshold of 50 per cent plus one vote to avoid having to face the second-placed candidate in a run-off, which would be held on June 21.

iv. More than 50.5 million Iranians were eligible to vote to find a successor to Ahmadinejad, who after serving two consecutive terms was constitutionally barred from standing for office again.

v. Iran has been at loggerheads with world powers over its nuclear ambitions, which the West suspects is aimed at developing atomic weapons.

6.    G-8 summit to discuss tax avoidance by companies

i. A summit meeting of G-8 countries in Northern Ireland next week would discuss the issue of "tax avoidance" by companies in this increasingly globalised economy, a White House official has said.

ii. "We expect the G-8 to make important progress on the issues both of illegal tax evasion and the kind of legal tax avoidance that companies, when they use countries' loopholes, manage to shift their profits to no or low-tax jurisdictions," said Caroline Atkinson, Senior Director for International Economic Issues at the White House

iii. Leaders of G-8 countries - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Britain and the US - would meet for their 39th summit in Northern Ireland on June 17 and 18.

iv. "Tax avoidance is as much about countries and country rules as it is about companies, because the loopholes that the companies use are the result of the rules that countries set," Atkinson said.

v. The White House expects that G-8 leaders will express a consensus that growth and jobs are a top priority.

7.    Champions Trophy: Rain spoils Indian party, Pak 70/3 in 19 ovrs

i. Disciplined bowling from the Indian pace attack made sure that the first mandatory powerplay (overs one to 10) went in India's favour. A tight line and length, with a hint of movement off the Edgbaston pitch made things rather tough for Pakistan in the rain interupted match. 

ii. Bhuvaneswar Kumar was the pick of the bowlers, scalping Nasir Jamshed in his second over with a brilliant delivery that swung away from the left hander, leading him to edge one to Suresh Raina in the slip cordon.

iii. However, since then, Mohammad Hafeez joined the fray and, moving around the crease a little to disturb the pacers' line, hit a few big shots to stabilise the innings.

iv. Play stopped ast the end of the 12th over due to rain, with Pakistan at 50/1 after 12 overs.

v. However, as soon at the covers came off, Kumar struck in the very first ball, taking advantage of the renewed moisture to get rid of Hafeez, who edged one to Dhoni behind the stumps.

vi. He recieved ample support from Umesh Yadav (21/0 in 5 overs) and Ravichandran Ashwin (10/1 in 3 overs) as Pakistan were suffocated to 70/3 after 19 overs.

vii. Rain played spoilsport again, stopping play since the end of the 19th over. Covers are yet to come off.