DAILY GK UPDATE 21 -22ND JULY

1. IBPS eases eligibility norms for Probationary Officers’ Exam 

i. The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) has relaxed the eligibility requirements for candidates looking at appearing for the common written examination for the appointment of probationary officers and management trainees.

ii. The eligibility criteria of age and educational qualification have been relaxed for candidates who wish to appear for the written exam to be held in October.

iii. Under the changed rules, IBPS has finally removed 60% marks criteria in graduation in IBPS PO III and age criteria also extended  to maximum 30 years  for application to IBPS PO III.

iv. In addition, the dates for registration and paying application fees have also been extended. The candidates can now register online and pay the fees online by August 17 instead of August 12 earlier, while the deadline for payment of fees (offline) has been extended to August 22 (from August 17, earlier).

NOTE: IBPS has introduced these two changes in the recruitment process of Probationary Officer & Management Trainees in 21 PSU Banks from current year (Earlier to apply for IBPS PO III, candidates were required to have minimum 60 % marks in graduation and maximum permissible age was 28 years).

2.    SEBI gets more powers

i. In a major upgrade of powers given to Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the government has allowed it to pass orders like search and seizure, attachment of properties, arrest and detention of defaulters and pass disgorgement directions to recover the wrongful gains made in contravention of laws.

ii. At the same time, the government has also allowed SEBI to seek information from other regulators within India and abroad with retrospective effect, paving way for collection of details pertaining to cases pending for over 15 years now.

iii. SEBI has been given powers to crack down on illegal investment schemes floated by individuals as well, as against companies only as of now.

iv. SEBI has also been given powers to pass disgorgement orders for amount equivalent to wrongful gains or to losses averted by contravention of regulations.

3.    Satish Babu Elected to ICANN

i. Satish Babu, Director, International Centre for Free and Open Source Software (ICFOSS), has been elected to the 2014 Nominating Committee of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Numbers and Names (ICANN).

ii. The NomCom of ICANN identifies individuals for specific leadership positionswithin the organisation.

iii. Satish Babu has been elected to the 2014 NomCom as a Voting Member representing the user communities in the Asia-Pacific region.

NOTE: ICANN is a U.S.-based not-for-profit corporation that oversees the governance and management of several critical aspects of the Internet, including top level domain names (TLDs), IP addresses (including the emerging standard, IPv6),registries and registrars, Internet protocols, root domain servers, and internationalized domain names (IDNs).

4.    Abdul Rahim Rather is new chief of GST panel

i. Jammu & Kashmir Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather has been elected as the new Chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on GST.

ii. Mr. Rather, also a senior National Conference leader, was chosen to head the panel at a meeting of state Finance Ministers here.

iii. The post of Chairman of the Finance Ministry’s committee on Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been lying vacant since June 17 when Bihar Finance Minister Sushil Kumar Modi resigned following the JD(U)—BJP split in the eastern state.

iv. The new chief will have a formidable task of pursuing the proposed new indirect tax regime (GST) which will subsume excise, service tax and local levies.

v. In 2011, Mr. Modi had replaced Asim Dasgupta, who had resigned following the defeat of Left-front government in West Bengal.

vi. The GST rollout had missed several deadlines due to differences between the states and the Centre over contentious issue of central sales tax compensation to states and design of the GST structure.

5.    Incheon Declared World Book Capital for 2015

i. The city of Incheon in South Korea has been named World Book Capital for the year 2015 by an international committee of experts representing the book industryand the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

ii. Incheon was chosen “on account of the quality of its programme and the impact it will have on improving good integration of all stakeholders in the promotion of books and reading, access to books and writing in all formats to the citizens of Incheon and the Korean Peninsula,” according to the selection committee, which met at UNESCO’s Paris headquarters on 16 July.

iii. UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, endorsed the committee’s decision and welcomed the number and quality of applications received for the title of World Book Capital 2015.

NOTE: Each year, UNESCO and the international organizations representing the three major sectors of the book industry – the International Publishers Association(IPA), the International Booksellers Federation (IBF) and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) – select the World Book Capital for a one-year period, effective 23 April.

Incheon is the 15th city to be designated World Book Capital following:

1. Madrid (2001),                          2. Alexandria (2002),

3. New Delhi (2003),                     4. Antwerp (2004),

5. Montreal (2005),                       6. Turin (2006),

7. Bogota (2007),                          8. Amsterdam (2008)

9. Beirut (2009),                            10. Ljubljana (2010),

11. Buenos Aires (2011),              12. Yerevan (2012),

13. Bangkok (2013), and              14. Port Harcourt (2014).

6.    Youth breaks Guinness world record for applying henna

i. Deeshit Salat, a 24-year-old youth succeeded in applying henna (mehndi) on 420 hands in 27 hours, breaking the existing Guinness world record. 

ii. Salat applied henna on 234 people from Saturday morning at 8 am until 11 am on Sunday, beating current world record holder Dipti Desai of Ahmedabad, who had applied henna on 140 hands (70 people) in 24 hours and 45 minutes, in 2011. 

iii. Young women had queued up at Kalyan Prasad Hall near Mandi gate of the walled city area of Vododara from 7.30 am on Saturday to get their hands decorated with the henna due to the religious occasion of Gauri vrat. 

iv. He prepared the paste using three kgs of henna powder, one litre nilgiri oil, 200 grams of clove oil, two litres of water and 500 gram of lemon juice to apply henna on 420 hands in the Indo-Arabic style. 

v. Salat, who is a diploma holder in sculpture from the Vallabh Vidyanagar-based Santram Ipcowala Fine Arts College, said, "I did it continuously for 27 hours without taking any break, consuming juice and fruits during this period.

7.    Prince Philippe becomes new Belgian king 

i. Crown Prince Philippe has been sworn in as the new Belgian king after the emotional abdication of his father Albert II.

ii. The Oxford- and Stanford-educated, trained air force pilot took the oath as the country's seventh king in a ceremony in parliament.

iii. 53 Years old Philippe took his oath in Belgium's three official languages - Dutch, French and German.

iv. The sworn in ceremony came after two-and-a-half weeks of abdication of 79 years old King Albert after being 20 years on the throne.

v. It is important here to note that Philippe is the seventh king of the 183-year-old country which is split across the middle. Belgium has a constitutional monarchy in which the king plays a mostly ceremonial role.

8.    Delhi HC launches online payment of court fee

i. The Delhi High Court on Monday introduced online payment of court fee, the first such facility in the country which will save litigants from standing in long queues at the counter.

ii. "A user will be able to purchase court fee to any extent and hold it in credit in his or her own account from which the user will be able to utilise the exact amount of court fee needed per transaction,

iii. The 'e-court fee' facility, which can be availed either through debit card or net banking, is a joint effort of the Delhi High Court and the Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd.

iv. "Court fee to the extent of Rs 20,000 could be purchased at one time for which the charges will be Rs six for payment by net banking or Rs 20 plus tax for payment by debit card...," the release said.

v. The print out of the e-court fee receipts containing a bar code for precise amount required for a transaction will be produced at the time of filing of any petition or application.

9.    US Vice Prez arrives in New Delhi

i. US Vice President, Joe Biden has arrived New Delhi, this evening .Biden, accompanied by his wife Jill, was received at the airport by Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai and Indian envoy to the US Nirupama Rao.

ii. Trade and economic ties, defence cooperation, energy and climate will be focus of his engagements with Indian leaders. 

iii. During his four-day stay in India/ Mr Biden will meet the President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, tomorrow.

iv. On Wednesday, Mr. Biden is set to fly to Mumbai, where he is expected to hold meetings with business leaders.

10.  “Che” Guevara Works Included in UNESCO World Register

i. UNESCO included the writings of Cuban Revolution leader Ernesto “Che” Guevara in its Memory of the World Register.

ii. Born in Rosario, Argentina, on June 14, 1928, Ernesto Guevara studied medicine before traveling around South America, observing conditions that spurred his Marxist beliefs.

iii. He aided Fidel Castro in overturning the Cuban government and then worked in a political post. Guevara later engaged in guerrilla action in Bolivia, where he was killed. He’s revered by many as a cultural hero.

iv. The documents include original manuscripts from “Che’s” youthful “Motorcycle Diaries” days, to his diary from the mountains of Bolivia where he was executed by that nation’s military in 1967.

v. They are now recognized as world heritage and will be protected and cared for with the help of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

11.  Jhajharia wins first-ever gold for India in Para Athletics World Championships

i. Devendra Jhajharia became the first differently-abled Indian to win a gold at the IPC Athletics World Championships by winning the javelin throw at the sixth edition of the event in Lyon, France.

ii. The 32-year-old Rajasthan athlete, whose world record stands at 62.15m, led the eleven-athlete field from the very beginning as he opened with a throw of 54.71m

iii. With Jhajharia’s effort, India opened their medal account in the Championships organised by the International Paralympics Committee and now stands at 19th in the medal tally.

iv. The 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships, featuring over 1,000 athletes from nearly 100 countries, is the biggest gathering of international differently-abled athletes since the 2012 London Olympics.

12.  Divij Sharan and Purav Raja won maiden ATP title at Bogota, Colombia

i. Purav Raja and Divij Sharan of India on 20 July 2013 clinched their first ever ATP tour doubles title by defeating Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France and Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands in the final match of Claro Open in Bogota, Colombia.

ii. The fourth seeded Indian pair defeated the second seeded French-Dutch pair by 7-6(4), 7-6(3) in the final of the 638085 US Dollars, hard court event.

iii. This was the first ever ATP tour level tournament for the duo Divij and Purav together. The victory bought them 250 ranking points. 

13.  Serena Williams won Swedish Open title

i. Serena Williams on 21 July 2013 won Swedish Open title by defeating Johanna Larsson in the final of the Swedish Open at Bastad in Sweden. 

ii. The win is her 53rd WTA title and 51st match win of the year. She defeated Johanna Larsson with a 6-4, 6-1 success. 

iii. The 24-year-old Johanna Larsson broke to lead 3-1 in the first set before Williams bounced back to 3-3.

iv. Larsson proceeded to 4-3 before losing to the American's strong serve and losing the next three games.

NOTE: Serena Williams is 16-time Grand Slam winner, and was knocked out in the fourth round of Wimbledon by Germany’s Sabine Lisicki, who went on to lose to Marion Bartoli of France in the final. Williams dominated the second set, breaking Larsson's serve twice.

14.  L Brojeshori Devi, the Olympian Judo Player Passed Away

i. L Brojeshori Devi, the Olympian judo player passed away at Coimbatore on 22 July 2013. She was 32 years of age. 

ii. L Brojeshori Devi belonged to CRPF Training Centre in Coimbatore since May 2013 on Departmental Promotion Training Programme.

iii. She took part in 2000 Sydney Olympic Games apart from 2002 Asian and Commonwealth Games. 

iv.  She secured gold medals in South Asian Games held in 2006 and 2010.

v. She also won various medals at the national as well as international levels.

15.  India finished at fourth Position in the Archery World Cup 

i. India finished at fourth Position in the Archery World Cup Stage 3 on 21 July 2013 with Deepika Kumari winning gold and bronze medal on the concluding day, of Archery World Cup Stage 3 in Medellin, Colombia.

ii. Deepika Kumari who is world number three recurve archer shot four perfect 10s in breezy conditions to lead India to a 201-186 beating of China for the team gold medal. 

iii. Bombayla Devi Laishram and Rimil Buriuly gave good support to Deepika as India beat China 201-186 to claim their second medal of this World Cup and their first World Cup Women’s team gold since Shanghai 2011.

iv. It is important here to note that it was India's first World Cup team gold since Shanghai 2011.

v. Overall, India finished fourth with one gold and two bronze, while the US topped the standings with nine medals (2-5-2), while China (2-1-2) and Colombia (1-1-0) were second and third respectively.

16.  Eng thrash Aus to win second Ashes Test

i. England thrashed Australia by 347 runs to win the second Ashes Test at Lord's on Sunday with more than a day to spare; victory saw Ashes-holders England go 2-0 up in the five-match series

ii. Only once in Ashes history have a side come from 2-0 down to win a series when Australia, inspired by Don Bradman, cricket's greatest batsman, triumphed 3-2 on home soil in 1936/37.

iii. Australia, set a mammoth 583 to win on Sunday, were bowled out for 235 on the fourth day after Joe Root, who earlier made 180 in England's second innings 349 for seven declared, sparked a collapse with his occasional off-spin.

iv. The third Test at Old Trafford starts on 1^st August.