DAILY GK UPDATE 14TH FEB.

1.    Mohan Parasaran new Solicitor General of India

i. Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran was appointed as the country's new Solicitor General following the resignation of senior advocate Rohinton Nariman from the post.

ii. His tenure will be for three years. His name was cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) and a formal notification was issued on Wednesday.

iii. Parasaran, a senior advocate of the Supreme Court and son of former Attorney General K Parasaran, was appointed as ASG by the first UPA government in July 2004.

Solicitor General of India

The Solicitor General of India is the second highest law officer of India and a subordinate to the Attorney General for India, who is the Indian government's chief legal advisor.

2.    India, France sign deal on Surface to Air Missile

i. India and France concluded negotiations on the Short Range Surface to Air Missile nearly worth USD 6 billion during the talks between French President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday.

ii. The Rs 30,000 crore worth of SR-SAM project is a co- development joint venture between India and France and would be developed by MBDA of France and DRDOfrom the Indian side.

iii. The surface to air missile defence system would be deployed by the IAF and the Navy.

iv. They also decided to promote an ambitious and balanced Free Trade Agreement between India and the EU based on reciprocity and mutual benefit which will boost bilateral economic relationship and to establish an annual bilateral dialogue between the two Finance Ministries on economic and financial issues.

NOTE: i. The two sides also inked four pacts, including one in the field of railways.

ii. Long-term space cooperation and cultural exchanges are among the four documents inked between India and France.

iii. “France has been a longstanding partner in our space programme. Later this month, ISRO will launch the integrated SARAL satellite carrying the ALTIKA and ARGOS payloads from the French National Space Agency,”

3.    Cabinet approves bill on Indo-Bangla land boundary pact

i. Government has approved a Constitutional Amendment Bill which will facilitate the implementation of the India-Bangladesh boundary agreement signed in 2011.

ii. The Union Cabinet, in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, gave its nod to the draft of the Constitutional Bill to amend the India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement, 1974, official sources said in New Delhi on Wednesday.

iii. The Bill is expected to be tabled in the coming Budget session of Parliament for Parliamentary approval.

iv. Indian enclaves in Bangladesh are spread over 17,149 acres, while Bangladesh enclaves in India are located in 7,110 acres of land.

4.    Iran test fired surface-to-surface cruise missile Ghader

i. Iran test fired Ghadera surface-to-surface cruise missile in the international waters near the Strait of Hormuz.

Ghader Missile

i. Ghader that means Capable in Farshi is a ground to ship cruise missile and can hit a target within a range of 200 kilometers.

ii. The missile is based on the latest technology like, radar system, satellite communication, target destruction precision, and is fitted with radar-evading system.

iii. It is capable of striking the naval vessels like frigates as well as warships.

5.    Justice Y Bhaskar Rao sworn in as new Lokayukta of K'taka

i. Justice Yarabati Bhaskar Rao was sworn in as the new Lokayukta of Karnataka.

ii. Governor HR Bharadwaj administered the oath of office to the anti-corruption ombudsman in Bangalore today.

NOTE: i. The post of Lokayuktha was lying vacant since September 2011, after Justice Shivaraj Patil, resigned following allegations of false declaration while obtaining a housing site.

ii. The 74-year-old former Chief Justice Bhaskar Rao was acting Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court for three months in 1999 and later served as Chief Justice for four months.

iii. After retirement, he was appointed Chairman of Andhra Pradesh Human Rights Commission and later became a member of the National Human Rights Commission.

6.    SEBI ordered freezing of accounts of Sahara

i. Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) the stock market regulator of India on 13 February 2013 ordered freezing of bank accounts and attachment of properties of two Sahara group firms.

ii. Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd., and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Ltd. and its Chairman Subrata Roy as well as top executives Vandana Bhargava, Ravi Shanker Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudhary after it failed to refund more than 24,000 crore rupees to investors.

iii. The decision from the market regulator came after the Supreme Court of India granted it the freedom to freeze the accounts of the two companies and attach the properties of the defaulting groups.  

iv. SEBI’s orders restricts the Sahara India Estate Corporation from operating its demat accounts and redeeming the mutual fund units held by it as well as from transferring the shares controlled by it to any other body or company.            

NOTE: The market regulator gave 21 days time to Sahara Firms to submit the details of the investments done and not listed in an order.

7.    Inflation declines to 6.62 p.c. in January

i. Declining for the fourth straight month, WPI inflation fell to 6.62 per cent in Januarydespite rise in prices of food items like vegetables, onions and rice.

ii. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) had stood at 7.18 per cent in December and 7.24 per cent in November. It was at 7.23 per cent in January, 2012.

8.    India becomes number one exporting nation to Kenya

i. India has overtaken UAEto become the number one exporting nation to Kenya.

ii. According to the latest data, India’s exports to Kenya went up by 27.1 per cent to $ 2 billion in the first 11 months of last year which amounts to 15 per cent of Kenya’s total imports.

iii. It is followed by China and UAE. India’s rise has been backed by big-ticket contracts in healthcare and energy sectors over the past 12 months.

NOTE: The main imports are textiles, pharmaceuticals, industrial machinery, vehicles, electronic and semi-processed goods from India.

ii. The two countries have set a target to increase the bilateral trade to $2.5 billion by this year.

iii. India’s exports to Africa accounted for 6.6 per cent of its total exports last year, up from 4.7 per cent in 2003.

9.    Windies book final date with Aussies

 i.Australia and the West Indies have stormed into the finals of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup.

ii. In a super-six match at Mumbai, opting to bat first, the West Indies were bundled out for 164 in 47 overs.

iii. Chasing 165 for victory, Australia were all out for 156, with 10 balls to spare.

iv. Even though the Windies defeated Australia by 8 runs, both the teams finished with 8 pointsat the top of the points table, booking the final two berths.

10.  Mathews named Sri Lanka’s Test, ODI captain

i. All-rounder Angelo Mathews has been appointed Sri Lanka’s Test and ODI captain, replacing Mahela Jayawardene, for a period of one year.

ii. The 25-year-old Mathews was Jayawardene’s deputy and was the heir apparent to the captaincy since the latter announced that he would be quitting captaincy after Sri Lanka’s tour of Australia.

iii. Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Chandimal will be Mathews’ deputy, but will lead the national side in the Twenty20 format.

iv. Lasith Malinga will be the team’s vice-captain for T20.