DAILY GK UPDATE 30TH JANUARY

1.    Nation remembers Mahatama Gandhi on Martyrs Day

i. The nation is observing Martyrs' day today. The day marks the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, who was assassinated on 30th January in 1948.

      ii. The President, Prime Minister lead the nation in paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi and other martyrs .

iii. A two-minute silence was observed in memory of the Father of the Nation and other martyrs throughout the country at 11 am.

2.    World anti Leprosy Day being observed today

i. World anti Leprosy Day is also being observed today to focus attention and create awareness about the air-borne disease.

ii. The day is chosen in remembrance of Mahatma Gandhi, who took keen interest in leprosy and the plight of people affected by leprosy.

NOTE: i. Latest data by the National Leprosy Eradication Programme says that there has been a marginal reduction of 1.24 per cent in Annual New Case Detection Rate. In 2011-12, it stood at 10.35 per lakh population as against 10.48 in 2010-11.

ii. In order to contain spread of the disease, ASHA workers under the National Rural Health Mission are being involved in the anti-Leprosy programme. Treatment of leprosy is available free of cost in all government health facilities.

3.    Women's World Cup kicks off in India:

i. India's women cricketers are all set to start their World Cup campaign when they take on the WestIndies in a Group A match in Mumbai on Thursday. 

ii. The day-night clash would set the ball rolling for the event, which will also be held in Cuttack where the Pakistan team (placed in Group B) is based due to security concerns in Mumbai.

NOTE: i. Group A matchesare to be held in Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium, MIG Club at Bandra and the Bandra-Kurla Complex ground of the Mumbai Cricket Association.

ii.Group B matches, involving strong contenders Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Pakistan, would be held in two grounds in Cuttack.

iii. Earlier England defeated New Zealand and won the Women’s ICC cricket world cup in 2009 held in Australia.

4.    Mithali Raj enters World Cup as No.1 player

i. Indian captain Mithali Raj will enter the Women’s World Cup, beginning on Thursday, as the number-one ranked player on the Reliance ICC Women’s Player Rankings for ODI batswomen.

ii. Raj currently tops the batting table with 767 ratings points. West Indies’ Stafanie Taylor is ranked second, 22 ratings points behind.

iii. The England duo of Sarah Taylor and Lydia Greenway are third and fourth, while New Zealand’s Amy Satterthwaite in fifth spot completes the top five.

NOTE: The player rankings will be updated on February 18 at the conclusion of the World Cup tournament.

5.    India and Australia agreed to Concentrate on Energy and Food Security

i. India and Australia on 28 January 2013 agreed to concentrate on priority areas like energy and food security for mutual benefit of the two countries.

ii. At the 14th Session of the India - Australia Joint Ministerial Commission held in New Delhi, the two sides underlined the importance of a solid institutional framework to facilitate future growth in bilateral trade and investment.

iii. The Commission was co-chaired by Minister of Commerce, Industry and Textiles Anand Sharma and his Australian counterpart, Craig Emerson.

Other areas of mutual interests are:

i. The nations welcomed the launch of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations towards a modern, comprehensive, high quality, and mutually beneficial regional economic partnership agreement.

ii. The nations discussed Australia and India`s mutual interests in the effectiveness of global and regional economic institutions.

iii. The nations discussed the importance of consolidating the G20 as the pre-eminent global economic forum.

NOTE: i. India and Australia welcomed the growth in the bilateral investment relationship and agreed on the importance of strong bilateral investment flows particularly in priority areas such as mining, advanced manufacturing, infrastructure, clean technology and tourism.

ii. The nations welcomed the third meeting of the Forum to be held in Australia in March 2013.

6.    Veteran US Senator John Kerry to be new US Secy of State

i. Veteran US Senator John Kerry, will be the new US Secretary of State.

ii. The nomination of Kerry, a Vietnam war veteran, was confirmed by 94-3, with all three negative votes coming from Republican Senators James Inhofe, Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, who is Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus .Mr. Kerry, Known for his relationship-building skills, will replace Hillary Clinton.

NOTE: 69-year-old Kerry, currently the chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been a close confidant of President Barack Obama on foreign policy issues especially on the volatile Af-Pak region.

7.    Aircel launched Free Roaming Service for Voice, SMS and Data:

i. Aircel on 28 January 2013 launched a product called One Nation, One Rate which offers users one rate for voice, SMS and data in home circles and on roaming.

ii.  Incoming calls while on roaming on Aircel network will be free. Aircel users in Delhi can get the service for 39 rupees, while Mumbai subscribers will have to pay 32 rupees.

8.    China to construct three more dams on Brahmaputra river

i. China has approved construction of three more dams on Brahmaputra river in Tibetinaddition to the one being built, and much to the disquiet of India, it has not been informed about the plans so far.

ii. A document approved by the Chinese cabinet recently mentioned three dams to be built at Dagu, Jiacha and Jiexu on Brahmaputra, Indian officials here said.

NOTE: Brahmaputrariver is known as as Yarlung Zangbo in China.

China has already been building a 510 MW dam at Zangmu and one of the three dams were reportedly bigger than this.

9.    S Korea launches rocket in third attempt:

i. South Korea has launched a rocket in its third attempt to place a satellite into space.

ii. South Korea's 140-tonne rocket, known as Naro, was partly built domestically and partly in Russia.

iii. The launch comes weeks after North Korea used its own three-stage rocket to place a satellite into orbit.

NOTE: i. South Korea's first attempt, in 2009, launched successfully but the satellite failed to detach while in orbit.

ii. In 2010, the rocket exploded seconds after take-off. South Korea already has satellites in space, but they were launched from other countries.