DAILY GK UPDATE 2ND FEBRUARY

1.    BHEL & GAIL get Maharatna Status by Govt. of India:

i. The Union Government of India gave the Maharatna status to two PSUs- BHEL and GAIL on 1 February 2013.

ii. Granting Maharatna status to BHEL and GAIL will provide them with better functional and financial freedom and will also guarantee them with better valuation of the shares. 

NOTE:  i. Ideally any Maharatna firm has a capacity to take investment decision of around 5000 crore Rupees without taking assistance from the government.

ii. On the other hand, forms with Navratna status have the capability of 1000 crore Rupees.

iii. However, both BHEL and GAIL do not have enough non-official directors on the board, which is why they cannot exercise their Maharatna powers.

iv. While GAIL is short of 4 independent directors, BHEL, on the other hand is short of 6 non-official directors. 

v. In terms of turnover, networth as well as net profit, both these companies meet all the eligibility criterions. 

Eligibility of a company to get a Maharatna status:

i. For any company to qualify for Maharatna status, the annual turnover should be over 25000 crore Rupees in past three years, as per the guidelines issued by Department of Public Enterprises.

ii. The net worth of the PSU should be more than 15000 crore Rupees in past three years.

iii. The net profit should be over 5000 crore Rupees during past three years.

2.    ADB gave 100 Million US Dollar Loan to Uttarakhand

i. The Union Government of India on 31 January 2013 signed an agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for 100 million US dollar loan as second tranche of urban sector development investment programme of Uttarakhand. 

ii. The loan will provide support in terms of rehabilitation as well as expansion of the basic urban infrastructure in five main urban towns of Uttarakhand. The loan will also guarantee sustainable municipal service delivery.

iii. The loan will help the urban infrastructure programme which was already started under first tranche in Nanital, Haridwar and Dehra Dun. Apart from this, the loan will also be extended to include the towns like Ramnagar, Roorkee and Haldwani.

iv. The agreement was signed by Department of Economic Affairs Joint Secretary Anup Wadhawan who acted on behalf of the Union Government, as well as Uttarakhand’s Urban Development Secretary M.H. Khan.

NOTE: i. In the second tranche of loan from ADB, there is a 25 year term which also includes the grace period of 5 years along with the commitment charges of 0.15 per cent.

ii.It also additionally carries interest rate which will be determined along with the Manila-based multilateral agency’s LIBOR-based lending facility.

iii. Apart from this, the complementary funds of 42.86 million US dollar will be provided by the Centre for the total second tranche project investment cost amounting to 142.86 million US dollar.

3.    Close to 6% growth on mfg picking up in Jan-Mar: PMEAC

i. PMEAC Chairman C Rangarajan said that:

“Economy is likely to grow by close to 6 pcthis financial year on manufacturing picking up in Jan-March period as a result of recent govt decisions”.
ii. On projections for the next financial year, he said: "I expect 2013-14 to be better than 2012-13 for several reasons, plus the change in investment sentiment.

iii. The full impact (of recent government decisions) will only be seen in the course of next year which can result in private investment activities picking up."

NOTE: i. According index of industrial production (IIP) data, manufacturing sector grew just 0.3 percent in November 2012.

ii. Rangarajan's forecast on growth follows Reserve Bank trimming its projection for the current fiscal to 5.5 percent from 5.8 percent estimated earlier in the monetary policy review on 29^th January.

iii. Rangarajan was speaking at the Chamber Day celebrations of Hindustan Chamber of Commerce in Chennai on Friday.

4.    SEBI to introduce product labelling for MFs soon

i. Capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) will soon introduce product labelling for mutual funds to make the investors aware of any risks associated with it.

ii. S V Muralidhar Rao, executive director of SEBI said that: "Product labelling is an important investor education agenda for Sebi. The scheme profile will be given very shortly and finally it will be with colour codes.

iii. "Sebi will shortly bring out a long-term policy on mutual funds. That will be basically a taxation issue. The board of Sebi had approved idea of a long-term policy last year.

NOTE: Sebi is also working with Association of Mutual Funds of India to make Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Schemes popular among the investing community.

5.    Commerce Ministry launched portal providing information about Export & Imports:

i.  The Commerce Ministry has launched a portal which will provide detailed information about the country's exports and imports.

ii. The portal aimed at expanding trade, offers exporters and importers a comprehensive guidance for concluding international trade transactions successfully with a specific focus on SAARC, ASEAN and top 25 trade destinations. 

iii. The link to the portal has been provided through department of commerce website under 'What is New' and 'Useful Links'.

6.    Scientists Created World’s First Digital Atlas of Brain

i. Scientists at the Berkeley Lab in their first major breakthrough made possible to get the close view of how a brain develops as well as functions.

ii. The scientists would also be able to find out which part of brain is an absentee during the neurological disorders such as epilepsy, autism and schizophrenia.

iii. In their major breakthrough, the scientists created the first of its kind genome-wide digital atlas of gene enhancers that are found in the brain.

iv. This atlas enabled the scientists to get a detailed study about how the individual genes can be regulated during the development of a brain and also how the genetic mutations can create an impact on the human neurological disorders.

NOTE: Every cell type of human body composes of different sets of enhancers which are switched on or off. Together, these can help in coordination of activities of 20000 genes in every single cell.

7.    Haryana CM Launched DBT Scheme:

i. Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda on 1 February 2013 launched the Direct Benefits Transfer scheme in Sonepat and Ambala districts.

ii. The DBT scheme allows transferring the cash subsidies to beneficiary accounts for seven Central schemes. 

iii. Scheme was launched by sending the e-mail to Deputy Commissioners of Sonepat and Ambala districts, which was followed by disbursing the cash subsidies to bank accounts of Aadhar-based 3338 beneficiaries. 

iv. CM announced that the scheme would launch all over Haryana from 1 April 2013 after it is successfully implemented in Sonepat and Ambala and after the performance is reviewed.

NOTE: i. With the launch of DirectBenefits Transfer scheme, Haryana became one of the leading states which account for maximum of 25 per cent out of the total beneficiaries of India to whom cash subsidies were transferred directly in bank accounts. A total of 323.33 lakh Rupees was transferred on 1 February 2013. 

ii. Hooda described the DBT scheme as people-friendly and transparent scheme of Indian Government. With this scheme, there would be a greater sense of security among the poor. 

iii. The social security scheme of the state was already in implementation in Durana village where 219 people were benefited already.

8.    MS Dhoni Named As the Vice-President of India Cements

i. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the captain of the Indian cricket team was appointed as the vice-president of India Cements on 1 February 2013. India Cements is headed by BCCI President N Srinivasan. 
NOTE: i. It is important to note that Dhoni resigned from Air India team recently and now is expected to play for India Cements in the BCCI Corporate Trophy which started on 1 February 2013.

ii. India Cements owns IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings, the captaincy of which lies in the hands of Dhoni since 2008. The Managing Director-cum-vice-chairman of India Cements is Srinivasan. 

iii. Earlier, Dhoni played in the Corporate Trophy for the team of Air India, but later he resigned. The Corporate Trophy will be taking place in four main cities- Nagpur, Raipur, Indore and Pune.

9.    Former Puducherry CM P.Shanmugam. Passes away:

i. Veteran Congress leader and former Puducherry Chief Minister P Shanmugham died in his Karaikal residence today. He was 85 and a bachelor.

ii. According to party sources, Mr Shanmugham suffered a stroke and fell down under the impact. He suffered injuries in head as he hit against a wall that resulted in the death. 

iii. The Chief Minister Rangasamy said, Shanumugam was a honest, simple and dedicated party worker whose prime concern was always be the poor and the needy. 

iv. The funeral of Shanmugam will be held in his hometown Karaikal tomorrow with full State honours.

10.  New Delhi World Book Fair starts on 4th Feb

i. New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF) 2013 will be held from 4th-10th February at Pragati Maidan exhibition ground, New Delhi.

ii. The theme of this year will be ‘Indigenous Voices: Mapping India's Folk and Tribal Literature’.

iii. The fair will celebrate indigenous literature and commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda with a special pavilion exhibiting photographs and books from the spiritualist's life.

iv.France will be the Guest of Honor Country for this year.

NOTE:The fair is organised by National Book Trust (NBT) and co-organised by India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO).