DAILY GK UPDATE 24TH JULY

1.    India ranked 3rd in Global Consumer Confidence Index

i. India has been ranked third in the Global Consumer Confidence Index.

ii. The latest survey by the Nielsen reveals that in the second quarter of the current financial year, India slipped one point behind Indonesia and Philippines in the overall consumer confidence levels. 

iii. Indonesia emerged as the most optimistic country with 124 points followed by Philippineswith 121 points and India came third with 121 points. 

iv. According to the survey, 72 percent Indians are optimistic about their job prospects in the next 12 months. 

v. The job security is the major concern followed by the state of Indian economy.

vi. Analysts say that the pattern is a reflection of the concerns of the devaluation of the rupee and the continuing inflation for urban Indians over the past six months. 

vii. The Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions measures is based on consumer confidence, major concerns, and spending intentions among more than 29,000 respondents with Internet access in 58 countries.

2.    First Afghan woman governor wins Magsaysay

i. Afghanistan's first and only female governor and a humanitarian worker from the Kachin minority in Myanmar, Habiba Sarabi, is among this year's recipients of the Ramon Magsaysay Award.

ii. Sarabi was honoured for helping build a functioning local government and pushing for education and women's rights in Afghanistan's Bamyan province despite discrimination and poverty.

iii. Lahpai Seng Raw helps rehabilitate damaged communities amid armed conflict.

iv. The awards announced on Wednesday, will honour three individuals and two organisations for changing their societies for the better.

v. The Philippine leadership prize is named after the popular Philippine president who died in a plane crash in 1957.

3.    Ford Became First Automaker to Participate in Greenhouse Gas Reporting Programme

i. Ford Motor Company joined the Voluntary India Greenhouse Gas Reporting Programme in India on 23 July 2013. Voluntary reporting enables a complete transparency in terms of the carbon dioxide emissions. 

ii. It is important to note that Ford has the objective of bringing down the carbon dioxide emissions at all the global facilities, two of which are in Chennai. The objective is to bring down these emissions by 30 percent per vehicle by the year 2025.

iii. Ford Motor Company also participates in such kinds of programmes in other countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, China and US.

iv. With this, Ford has become the first automaker to participate in the Voluntary India Greenhouse Gas Reporting Programme. 

About the Voluntary India Greenhouse Gas Reporting Programme

i. The Voluntary India Greenhouse Gas Reporting Programme is the joint effort between the World Resources Institute, The Energy and Resources Institute and the Confederation of Indian Industry.

ii. The India manufacturing plant of Ford produces Ford EcoSport, Ford Endeavour, Ford Classic, Ford Fiesta and Ford Figo. 

iii. The facilities have considerably reduced the water use 30 percent per vehicle produced since 2010. Ford also reduced the energy consumption 10 percent per vehicle.

4.    Former Nepal PM Madhav Kumar on 5-day visit to India

i. Former Prime Minister and senior leader of CPN-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal is scheduled to arrive for a five-day official visit to India on Wednesday, at the invitation of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

ii. Nepal is scheduled to hold meetings with senior political leaders of India, according to Bishnu Rijal, a member of the UML Publicity Department.

iii. The leader will hold a series of meetings with the Indian dignitaries during his five-day visit.

iv. Nepal is also scheduled to address a special programme at Nalanda University.

v.  He will be accompanied by UML General Secretary Ishwor Pokharel and his former foreign affairs adviser Rajan Bhattarai.

5.    Isinbayeva to retire after World Championships

i. Russian pole vault queen and double Olympic champion Yelena Isinbayeva has announced that she would be retiring after her home World Athletics Championships, which would take place in Moscow in August.

ii. "My career will come to its end at the world championships," Isinbayeva told reporters on Tuesday after winning the national title at Moscow's Luzhniki arena.

iii. Isinbayeva, who won gold at both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, has set 28 world records in women's pole vault including the current world's best mark of 5.06 metres.

6.    Hit-and-run case: Charges framed against Salman 

i. A Mumbai court framed charges against actor Salman Khan on Wednesday, for culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the 2002 hit-and-run case, for which he may face a jail term upto 10 years.

ii. Apart from section 304(2) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), the Bollywood superstar was also charged under sections 279 (causing death by negligence), 337 (causing hurt by an act), 338 (causing grievous hurt), 427 (causing damage or mischief to property) of IPC, and provisions of Motor Vehicles Act and Bombay Prohibition Act.

iii. At the beginning of the proceedings, the judge expressed his inability to take up the case for framing the charges as he has been transferred.

iv. However, prosecutor Shankar Erande pleaded that charges should be framed on Wednesday itself as the actor was going abroad for two months which could further delay the trial.

v. Salman's lawyer Srikant Shivade urged the court to direct the media to observe restraint as too much publicity was being given to the case and the proceedings were not correctly reported. The Judge asked the media to observe restraint in coverage and report correctly the proceedings of the case.

vi. One person was killed and four others were injured when a Land Cruiser, allegedly driven by Salman Khan, crushed a group of people sleeping on the pavement outside a bakery in suburban Bandra on 28th September, 2002.

7.    5 kg LPG cylinders to be sold through Oil Marketing Companies retail outlets

i. Government has approved Free Trade LPG Scheme for selling five Kilogram LPG cylinders through Company Owned Retail Outlets of Oil Marketing Companies.

ii. The scheme will be launched on pilot basis in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore. 

iii. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister M. Veerappa Moily has approved a proposal in this regard.

iv. The decision has been taken in view of the fact that over the years, a new category of consumers have emerged especially in big cities who are mobile and do not want a permanent LPG connection but still require LPG for their needs.

8.    National Fair on Aid & Assistive Devices for Persons With Disabilities to start tomorrow

i. A four-day National Fair on Aid and Assistive Devices for Persons With Disabilities will begin tomorrow in New Delhi. 

ii. Department of Disability Affairs under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is organizing the event, titled Swavlamban, which is the first of its kind in the country. 

iii. It is incumbent on all organizations and the government to create a Barrier Free Environment for the Persons with Disabilities under the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

iv. Fair, Disability Affairs Secretary Stuti Kacker said, two per cent of the country's population is disabled and there is an urgent need to address their problems in line with technological advancement and global practices. 

9.    Jennitha wins World Chess Ch’ship title for disabled

i. India's K Jennitha Anto has won the 13th IPCA World Women's Individual Chess Championship title for the disabled players. 

ii. At Velke Losiny in the Czech Republic, she competed in a combined group with men and became the highest scorer among the women players with four and a half points. 

iii. For Jennitha, who hails from Tamil Nadu, the win came along with the Woman International Master title. 

iv. The new WIM title would allow her direct entry to many of the National events for women except the premier.

v. Jennitha being a wheel chair player participated in Fide A category and almost all the players are international rated players.

10.  1st ODI: Zimbabwe sets victory target 229 runs for India

i. In the first ODI cricket match at Harare, Zimbabwe have set a victory target 229 runs for India. Put in to bat, the hosts made 228 for 7 in their 50 overs. Sikandar Raza was the top scorer with 82.