DAILY GK UPDATE 9TH FEB.

1.    RBI asks co-op banks not to give loans for gold purchase

i. The Reserve Bank has directed state and central co-operative banksnot to grant loans for purchase of gold in any form in order to check the significant rise in import of the precious metal in recent years.

ii. RBI said in a notification that: "In view of the concerns...,it is reiterated that state and central co-operative banks should not grant any advance for purchase of gold in any form, including primary gold, gold bullion, gold jewellery, gold coins, units of gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) and units of gold Mutual Funds,"

NOTE: i. Presently, these banks are permitted to grant loans against pledge of gold ornaments, but not permitted to grant any advance for purchase of gold in any form.

ii. They grant loans for various purposes against the security of gold/gold ornaments as part of their lending policy.

2.    Afzal Guru hanged in Tihar Jail

i. Mohamammed Afzal Guru, the convict of 2001 Parliament attack was hanged todayat 8 AM in Tihar Jail, New Delhi.

ii. The Supreme Court of India pronounced the death Sentence for Afzal Guru in 2004 for masterminding the terrorist attack on Indian Parliament on 13 December 2001.

NOTE: The terrorist of Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad managed to attack on the Parliament of India, leading to the death of about a dozen of people including the security persons as well as civilians.

3.     Union Government of India approved setting up of NPCA

i. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 7 February 2013 approved the proposal for the merger of National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP) and National Wetlands Conservation Programme (NWCP) to develop a new scheme named National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems (NPCA).

ii. The estimated cost to bring this plan into operations during the 12th Plan Period is 900 crore rupees.

iii. The Government of India and the State Governments would be sharing the costs in a ratio of 70:30 and in case of the North-Eastern states the ratio is 90:10.

NOTE: The formation of the NPCA was done with the objective of conserving aquatic ecosystems (lakes and wetlands) by implementing sustainable conservation plans. 

4.    F.M. launches the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme 

i. Finance Minister P Chidambaram launches the much-awaited Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme in Mumbai .

ii. The scheme will modify Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme in the upcoming budget to make it more attractive.

iii. The scheme is aimed at encouraging new investors to put their money in the stock market.

iv. Under the scheme, an individual with an income of less than 10 lakh rupees would get tax incentives for investing up to 50,000 rupees in the stock market.

v. The scheme, was announced in the Budget for 2012-13, seeks to provide tax benefits to first-time investors in stock market.

5.    CCI slapped a penalty of 52.24 crore on BCCI

i. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on 8 February 2013 was slapped a penalty of 52.24 crore rupees by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for being indulged in anti-competitive practices.

ii. The CCI ordered BCCI to deposit the penalty within 90 days from the date of issue of orders.

iii. The CCI in its verdict claimed that BCCI abused its dominant position and directed it to cease its all practices of denying market access to the potential competitors.

iv. The regulator also stated that the stance of BCCI was of serious concern and quantum of penalty which should be levied that is proportional to the seriousness of violation.

NOTE: i. A complaint was filed by Surinder Singh Barmi in November 2010 against BCCI and his allegations were based on issues related to a Professional League Tournament and Indian Premier League (IPL) conducted by the BCCI.

ii. This complaint against BCCI was sent to the CCI’s Director General in December 2010 for hearing.

6.    Anindya Kumar Mitra resigned as the Advocate-General of West Bengal

i. The Advocate-General of West Bengal, Anindya Kumar Mitra resigned from his office on 8 February 2013.

ii. Following his resignation, Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal appointed Bimal Chatterjee as the new Advocate General of the state.

7.    20th All India Forest Sports Meet starts in Haryana

i. In Haryana, 20th All India Forest Sports Meet began at Panchkula today.

ii. Inaugurating the meet Haryana Governor Jagannath Pahadia said that the sports policy of the state government has encouraged the players a lot by securing jobs for those who won medals in national and international events.