DAILY GK UPDATE 6TH July

1.    R. Chandrasekhar appointed President of Nasscom

i. Nasscom, the IT software services industry body  appointed R. Chandrasekhar, the former Secretary Department of Telecommunications (DoT), as its president. 

ii. R. Chandrashekhar will be succeeding current Nasscom President Som Mittal, whose tenure expires in January 2014.

iii. He will have the responsibility to take forward Nasscom’s ambitious target of grossing $300 billion (Rs 18 lakh crore) revenue for the IT sector by 2020.

iv. He has been the chairman of telecom commission and secretary, department of telecommunication till March 2013.

2.    India to meet poverty reduction goal by 2015: UN

i. According UN report India is on track to meet the United Nations' Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of poverty reduction by 2015.

ii. According Report: In India, the poverty rate fell from 49 per cent in 1994 to 42 per cent in 2005 and to 33 per cent in 2010. If the current pace continues, India will meet the poverty reduction target by 2015

iii. The report said extreme poverty rates have been halved for Eastern Asia, South-Eastern Asia and Southern Asia, five years ahead of the deadline, though with the exception of India. 

iv. The report has been compiled by an Inter Agency and Expert group led by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat.

3.    Venezuela, Nicaragua offer asylum to Snowden

i. In defiance of the United States, two Latin American countries - Venezuela and Nicaragua – on Saturday offered asylum to Edward Snowden, leaker of the US secretive surveillance programme.

ii. Currently, stranded at the Moscow airport for more than a week now, CIA whistleblower Snowden had sought asylum in more than two dozen countries, including India.

iii. The US had warned countries not to give asylum to Snowden arguing that he is wanted on charges of espionage and leaking classified information.

iv. India and majority of the countries where Snowden had sought asylum had refused his application.

v. Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega also made a similar offer, but did not elaborate further. "It's clear that if the circumstances permit it we will gladly receive Snowden and will grant him asylum here in Nicaragua

vi. Since his passport has been cancelled, Snowden can't buy a plane ticket to fly to his destination. As a result of which he has been desperately seeking asylum requests.

4.    Congress-JMM to form coalition govt in Jharkhand

i. In Jharkhand, efforts of forming a new government are on after the Congress agreed to support the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, JMM. 

ii. After getting support from the Congress party in New Delhi yesterday, JMM Legislative Party leader Hemant Soren is returning Ranchi today, after which the various details of government formation will emerge. 

iii. The JMM has 18 and Congress 13 MLAs in Jharkhand Assembly. It has support of 5 RJD members and 4 of the six Independents. 

iv. However, since two JMM MLAs are absconding to evade arrest, and one Congress MLA expelled, it would be interesting to see how the magic figure of 42 is achieved by Hemant Soren to prove the majority . 

v. On the other hand the JMM and Congress have reached a formula of seat sharing for the next Lok Sabha poll of 2014 in which Congress will contest on 10 while the JMM would fight on the remaining 4.

     

5.    UAE Exchange applies for banking license in India

i. UAE Exchange, one of the largest foreign exchange firms in the United Arab Emirates, has applied to RBI for a banking license in India. 

ii. UAE Exchange Managing director and Chief executive Dr BR Shetty said that the group has been present in India since 1999 and has strong presence in other countries, from where Indian expatriates send money to their families in India. 

iii. If RBI given license to UAE Exchange, it will be able to start its operations within the stipulated 18 months. UAE Exchange has 328 branches and 44,000 agents in India. 

iv. The forex house sold its 40 percent stake to Centurion Investment last year in a deal said to be worth $2billion.

v. It is one of the oldest exchange houses in the UAE with 99 branches and 560 branches in 29 other countries.

6.     India's first infrastructure debt fund assigned 'AAA' rating

i. Ratings agency Crisil Friday assigned 'AAA' ratings to India Infradebt Limited, the country's first infrastructure debt fund under the non-banking finance company structure.

ii. The fund, jointly promoted by ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and Citicorp Finance (India), awarded its first sanction letter to a road project.

iii. Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram said a high ratings would make infrastructure debt funds competitive in the refinancing market.

iv. The first sanction letter was given to a project by Jaiprakash group for refinancing of NHAI-bid road-project of Zirakpur-Parwanoo section of NH-22 built by Himalayan Expressway Limited.

v. India targets to invest nearly $1 trillion in infrastructure between 2012-17. Half of this money is expected to come from private sector.

7.   India beat West Indies by 102 runs

i. A brilliant century knock by skipper Virat Kohli helped India earn a bonus point with a comprehensive 102 run win over the West Indies in the Tri nation Cricket series at Port of Spain last night. 

ii. Kohli anchored India to a challenging 311 for seven in the rain hit match. 

iii. Openers Shikhar Dhawan 69 and Rohit Sharma 46 had laid a strong foundation with their 123-run stand and Kohli with 102 ensured that their hard work did not go waste as he made his gritty 14th One-Day century.

iv. The target for the West Indies was revised to 274 from 39 overs after a two-hour rain delay. 

v. With this win India remains in the race for the final.

8.    Djokovic, Murray reach Wimbledon final

i. Andy Murray will have to beat world number one Novak Djokovic if he is to win his first Wimbledon title and end Britain's 77-year-wait for a men's champion on Sunday.

ii. The top two seeds will meet on Centre Court at 14:00 BST, and Murray will hope to go one better than losing to Roger Federer in last year's final.

iii. Murray, 26, joins Fred Perry and Bunny Austin as the only British men to reach multiple Wimbledon finals since the knockout format was introduced in 1922 - but it is Perry's 1936 victory he is desperate to emulate.

iv. Sunday's final will be the third in the last four Grand Slams involving Murray and Djokovic, with the Briton winning his first major title at last year's US Open and the Serb winning his sixth at the Australian Open in January.

9.    Parvez Rasool first from J&K team in Indian cricket squad

i. On Friday, the 24-year-old son of a humble shopkeeper became the first cricketer from the strife-torn state to be selected for the Indian cricket team.

ii. "I wanted to prove I am a cricketer, not a terrorist," he told TOI on phone after being named for the Zimbabwe tour later this month.

iii. Spin legend Bishan Singh Bedi, a mentor to the J&K cricket team, put Rasool's achievement in perspective.

iv. The middle-order batsman, who also bowls classical off-spin, has been a trailblazer right through his career. Earlier this year, he became the first Kashmiri to play in the IPL (Pune Warriors). He was also the first player from the Valley to play for India A.

NOTE: i. In 2009, he was detained and questioned by the Bangalore police for alleged links to a terror plot outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium. But in the end, Parvez Rasool's talent and resolve proved to be stronger than any hurdle that circumstance could throw his way.

ii. India will play five ODI matches during the series to be held in Harare and Bulawayo.

Indian team for Zimbabwe:

Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Parveez Rasool, Mohammed Shami, Vinay Kumar, Jaidev Unadkat, Mohit Sharma.