DAILY GK UPDATE 22ND JUNE

1.    James Comey next FBI director

i. Barack Obama, the US President on 21 June 2013 nominated James Comey as the next FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) Director.

ii. James Comey is a registered Republican and former Justice Department official under President George W. Bush. He will succeed Robert Mueller. 

iii. Robert Mueller held the post of FBI Director since 2001 and will retire after completing 12 years of his service to FBI as its Director. 

iv. Comey is best known for his actions against White House officials over the legality of the warrantless-wiretapping program of the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2004.

More About James Comey

i. Comey is credited as the main protagonist in Martha Stewart's 2004 conviction for obstruction of justice, stating "This criminal case is about lying - lying to the FBI, lying to the SEC, lying to investors.

ii. He was the United States Deputy Attorney General, serving in President George W. Bush's administration from December 2003 to August 2005

2.    Six Rajasthan Forts in World Heritage list

i. Six Forts of Rajasthan included in the list of World Heritage Site of UNESCO and won international recognition on 21 June 2013 in the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

ii. The six majestic forts include Amber (Jaipur), Kumbhalgarh, Chittorgarh, Jaisalmer, Ranthambhore (Sawai Madhopur) and Gagaron (Jhalawar).

iii. "With their selection, the six forts will receive enhanced international recognition the way Jantar Mantar in Jaipur did after being named in the World Heritage List in 2010.

iv. Built between 18th and 19th centuries, the forts are excellent examples of Rajput military hill architecture, which are found in palaces, temples, memorials and even in villages.

v. Several missions of the International Council of Monuments and Forts (ICOMOS) visited Rajasthan, since 2011 to discuss for the nominations of the Forts. vi. The ICOMOS discussed the nominations in great details, with the Indian Advisory Committee on World Heritage under the Ministry of Culture, ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) and State Archeological Department. ICOMOS is advisory body to the UNESCO. 

The World Heritage Committee
i. The World Heritage Committee meets once a year, and consists of representatives from 21 of the States Parties to the Convention elected by their General Assembly. At its first session, the Committee adopted its Rules of Procedure of the World Heritage Committee.

ii. The Committee is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties.

iii. It examines reports on the state of conservation of inscribed properties and asks States Parties to take action when properties are not being properly managed.

iv. It also decides on the inscription or deletion of properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

3.    India's forex reserves up $982 million

i. India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves increased by $982.3 million to $290.65 billion for the week ended June 14, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India.

ii. The reserves had risen by $1.77 billion to $289.67 billion for the week ended June 7.

iii. The foreign currency assets (FCA) - the biggest component of the forex reserves - grew by $962.5 million at $261.08 billion, the weekly statistical supplement of the central bank shows

iv. The special drawing rights (SDRs) rose by $13 million to $4.40 billion during the week under review, while reserves with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) went up by $6.8 million to $2.33 billion.

v. The SDRs had gained by $61 million to $4.38 billion during the previous week, while reserves with the IMF went up by $10 million to $2.32 billion

4.    PepsiCo India President Manu Anand quits

i. PepsiCo India Region President Manu Anand has quit the company with immediate effect after working with the company for 19 years

ii. "PepsiCo India Region President Manu Anand has decided to join another company and is leaving PepsiCo. His successor will be announced in due course," a PepsiCo India spokesperson said in a statement.

iii. The leadership change in PepsiCo India comes a day after rival Coca Cola announced that its India and West Asia CEO and President, Atul Singh was promoted as Deputy President of the company's Pacific Group with effect from 1st July.

iv. Anand became chairman of PepsiCo's India Region in January 2011.

v. In this role, he was responsible for the company's beverage and foods businesses in India and neighbouring South Asian countries except Pakistan.

vi. He had joined PepsiCo in 1994 as CFO, Frito-Lay India, and in 1998 assumed the role of Managing Director of Frito-Lay Business of PepsiCo India Holdings Ltd,

vii. More recently, he served as General Manager, South East Asia Business Unit of PepsiCo from 2007 to 2010, prior to assuming his current role

viii. In 2011, Anand had succeded Sanjeev Chadha who moved to PepsiCo's Middle East and Africa operations.

5.    VK Duggal appointed as Nodal Officer for Relief and Rescue operations in Uttrakhand

i. VK Duggal, the former Union Home Secretary on 21 June 2013 was appointed as the nodal officer for relief and rescue operations in the rain-ravaged Uttrakhand by the Union Government of India. Duggal will operate from Dehradun.

ii. VK Duggal, the former Union Home Secretary on 21 June 2013 was appointed as the nodal officer for relief and rescue operations in the rain-ravaged Uttrakhand by the Union Government of India. Duggal will operate from Dehradun.

iii. The decision of VK Duggal’s appointment as nodal officer was taken after a review meet conducted by the Union Home Minister, Sushilkumar Shinde at New Delhi.

6.    President inaugurates Gas-based Power Plant in Tripura

i. The President Mr. Pranab Mukherjee has inaugurated first Gas based Power Plant at Palatana in Tripura.

ii. The Palatana Gas Based Power Project is the first such Power Company in India to be awarded with the Clean Development Mechanism by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

iii. He congratulated the ONGC and Tripura Power Corporation for making Pollution Free Electricity from this plant.

iv. The Rs 9000 crore project set up by ONGC—Tripura Power Corporation (OTPC) would produce 363.3 MW in the first phase.

7.    Former CAG Vinod Rai to receive Manappuram award

i. Former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai has been selected for the Manappuram award under the category of civil servant achieving excellence in public administration. 

ii. Vinod Rai was also Thrissur district collector. 

iii. Announcing the awards at a press conference here on Saturday, VP Nandakumar, CEO and managing director of the Manappuram Finance Limited (MFL), said noted Malayalam film actor Madhu has been named for the award under the Arts and Literature category. 

iv. Madhav Gadgil, Jose Dominic and V D Satheesan, MLA, will receive the awards under the sections of Ecology and Environment Conservation, Business Excellence and the elected representative with Excellence in Good Governance

v. Each award consists of Rs 1 lakh, testimonial and sculpture.

vi. MFL was founded by VC Padmanabhan in 1949 in a remote village at Valapad. It now has 3,300 branches in the country providing employment to over 20,000 persons

vii. The company was listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange in 1995. 

8.    ICC to dedicate CT final to HIV awareness campaign

i. The final of the ICC Champions Trophy will be dedicated to the highly successful HIV awareness campaign, THINK WISE, a partnership created in 2009 between the ICC, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

ii. UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Ms Jan Beagle will attend the final at Edgbaston tomorrow. 

iii.  She will join ICC President Alan Isaac, Chairman of England and Wales Cricket Board Giles Clarke, and two representatives of people living with HIV, and will walk out with the teams, for the national anthems, in solidarity with HIV-affected people around the globe.

iv. The campaign has been profiled throughout 2013 through dedicated matches, site visits and coaching clinics with international players and other promotional activities.

v. During the final, both finalists, along with match officials, ICC and ECB staff, will wear red ribbons to raise awareness about the stigma surrounding people living with HIV.

vi. India will take on hosts England in the summit showdown of the ICC Champions Trophy on Sunday.

9.    Bolt wins Jamaican 100 title to reach World Championships

i. Two-time Olympic reigning sprint double champion Usain Bolt won the 100-metre title at the Jamaican Athletics Championships on Friday to qualify for August's World Championships.

ii. Bolt, who broke free from the pack after 60 metres, shut it down as he crossed the line in 9.94 seconds, with rising star and training partner Kemar Bailey-Cole second in 9.98 and Nickel Ashmeade third in 9.99.

iii. Ashmeade is the training partner of Tyson Gay, who ran 9.75 to win at the US Track and Field Championships on Friday

iv. Gay and Bolt figure to have a showdown in the 100 at the World Championships in August at Moscow along with defending champion Yohan Blake of Jamaica.

10.  India vs England in final of Champions Trophy on Sunday

i. India will take on England in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy cricket tournament at Edgbaston on Sunday. 

ii. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has it all – ICC WT20 title, ICC Cricket World Cup (50-over) – but one.

iii. He is yet to win the ICC Champions Trophy. On the other hand, England have won only one premier ICC tournament till date – the WT20 title. They have never won a major ICC 50-over competition

iv. India, the current world champions and top-ranked ODI side, also came close to winning the title twice – in Kenya (2000) and Sri Lanka (2002).

v. Indian batting, led by Shikhar Dhawan, has been the most consistent while their only concern remains the yet-to-be-tested middle order.

vi. Alastair Cook, leading England in a major ICC tournament for the first time, will be eager to continue the good run and become the first skipper from his country to lift an ICC trophy in a 50-over competition. 

vii. In the semi-finals, while India defeated Sri Lanka by eight wickets, England beat South Africa by seven wickets.

11.  Saina drops to World No.4

i. Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has dropped two places to fourth in the latest women's singles chart after a prolonged lean patch.

ii. Saina on Friday lost the quarter-finals of the Singapore Open Super Series and had also failed to defend her title in Indonesia recently.

iii. Rising star P.V. Sindhu, who pulled out of the Singapore event Open due to an injury, also dropped a place to 12th.

iv. In the men's singles, Parupalli Kashyap also lost a spot to be 11th while R.M.V. Gurusaidutt and Ajay Jayaram maintained their 23rd and 25th places respectively.

v. B Sai Praneeth, who beat legendary Indonesian Taufik Hidayat in his swansong tournament, was closely chasing Srikkanth as he is just three placed behind his compatriot after zooming up 16 places.