DAILY GK UPDATE 2ND APRIL

1.   World Autism Awareness Day Observed Across the World

i. World Autism Awareness Day is observed across the world on 2 April. 

ii. The United Nations General Assembly had declared 2 April as the World Autism Awareness Day unanimously. 

iii. The day is observed to highlight the needs of autistic children as well as adults so that they get a better quality of life. 

What is autism?

Autism is the developmental disability which remains with a person for the lifetime.

Autism affects the functioning of the brain.

First signs of autism are observed when the child is three years old.

People suffering from autism:

 i. Find difficulty in social interaction
ii. Have issues with verbal or non-verbal communication
iii. Demonstrate the repetitive or restrictive behaviour
iv. Have restricted activities and interests

2.    Jammu and Kashmir won FE India’s Best Bank Award 2012-13

i. J&K Bank won the prestigious FE India’s Best Banks Award-2012-13 in recognition of its strong fundamentals and dynamic growth model. 

ii. The Bank has been ranked as No. 1 in Best Old Private Sector Bank category in the survey conducted across the banking industry.

iii. In terms of Profitability, the Bank stands 3rd in the overall banking industry while as 1ST in the category of Old private sector banks. 

iv. Jammu and Kashmir Bank is about to achieve a milestone business turnover in its platinum jubilee year.

NOTE: i. Remarkably, the survey differentiates between the various categories of banks - public sector, private sector: old and new and foreign banks - in recognition of their differing operating environments and awards those institutions that have maximized stakeholder value.

ii. The methodology adopted by the survey is rigorous and is based on extensive crunching of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data by the Express Group’s knowledge partner, Ernst & Young. 

iii. It is important here to note that the Bank has won the prestigious award in 2011 also.

3.    GAIL Signed deal with US firm for LNG liquefaction terminal

i. State-run GAIL (India) Ltd on 1 April 2013 signed a deal of 2.3-million-tonne (mt) capacity in the Cove Point LNG liquefaction terminal project at Lusby in Maryland, US.

ii. The US-based firm is marketing 4.6 mmtpa, out of which GAIL has booked 50% of such capacity for the period of 20 years.

iii. As per the agreement GAIL will secure its own natural gas and deliver it to the Cove Point pipeline for liquefaction at the terminal and loading into ships brought to the facility on the Chesapeake Bay.

NOTE: Earlier, GAIL had signed an agreement with Sabine Pass Liquefaction, a subsidiary of Cheniere Energy Partners of the US, for a supply of 3.5 mt a year LNG.

4.    Meshaal re-elceted Hamas Chief

i. Khaled Meshaal has been re-elected as the political leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. 

ii. A decision to this effect was taken by the Hamas Shura Council at its meeting in Cairo yesterday.

iii. Khaled Meshaal has been leading Hamas, the group that rules over the Gaza Strip, since the assassination of its founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 2004. 

iv. After spending decades in exile, Meshall returned to Gaza for the first time in December last year. 

v. Hamas has been declared as a terrorist outfit by the Israel, the European Union and United States.

5.    UN to vote today on first arms regulation treaty

i. The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly is tentatively planning to vote on Tuesday on a draft treaty to regulate the $70 billion global trade in conventional arms.

ii. The vote comes a week after Iran, North Korea and Syria blocked the treaty's adoption by consensus

iii. Supporters of the treaty say it is needed to keep weapons out of the hands of terrorists and organised crime. 

iv. The treaty would prohibit states from exporting conventional weapons in violation of arms embargoes, or weapons that would be used for acts of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or terrorism.

v. It would also require states to prevent conventional weapons reaching the black market. Diplomats have worked for nearly a decade to agree on a set of principles to control the flow of such arms

WHAT IS THE ARMS TRADE TREATY?

i. The point of an arms trade treaty is to set standards for all cross-border transfers of any type of conventional weapon - light and heavy.

ii. It would also create binding requirements for nations to review all cross-border arms contracts to ensure the weapons  will not be used in human rights abuses, terrorism or violations of humanitarian law; do not breach U.N. arms embargoes; and are not illegally diverted.

iii. It would require governments to refuse to export weapons to countries that would likely use them to violate human rights and humanitarian law or commit genocide or other war crimes.

iv. It would also require governments to regulate arms brokering.

WHICH WEAPONS WOULD BE COVERED?

i. The draft treaty says the following weapon types will be covered: battle tanks; armored combat vehicles; large-caliber artillery systems; combat aircraft; attack helicopters; warships; missiles and missile launchers; small arms and light weapons, ranging from assault rifles to handguns.

ii. Some rights groups have complained that the scope of weapons covered in the treaty is too narrow.

iii. It would not cover unconventional weapons like nuclear, chemical and biological arms. \

WHO WANTS SUCH A TREATY?
i. Human rights groups, arms control advocates and a majority of the U.N.'s 193 member states want a strong treaty that imposes tough new standards on the largely unregulated arms trade. Many of the treaty's most ardent supporters come from Europe, Latin America and Africa, though it has supporters from all over the world.

ii. The United States has said it will vote in favor of the draft treaty, which Washington has stated will do nothing to undermine domestic gun ownership rights in the United States.

WHEN WOULD IT COME INTO FORCE?

If approved by the General Assembly, countries will need to sign and ratify it. The treaty will enter into force 90 days after the 50th signatory ratifies it.

6.    Kalam launches Atal Jyoti scheme in MP

i. Former president Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam today launched Madhya Pradesh government’s Atal Jyoti scheme in Bhopal district. 

ii. Under the scheme 24 hourpower is supplied in the rural areas.

iii. On this occasion Dr. Kalam advocated a development based mission PURA for Madhya Pradesh to achieve higher per capita income and a quality life for its people. He said that this mission will make available urban facilities in the rural areas. It would help in eliminating poverty.

NOTE: i. Bhopal has become the seventh district after Jabalpur, Mandla, Burhapur, Umaria, Shahdol and Anuppur in the state to get 24 hour power supply. 

ii. The scheme will benefit 499 villages in the district. The state government has announced that all the villages of the state would get 24 hour power supply by the first week of June this year. For this it will purchase power from different sources.

7.    RAPID programme implemented  in Haryana

i. In Haryana, to ensure that all the health facilities and services provided by Health Department are accessible to the people, a programme called “ Rapid Appraisal of Programme Implementation in District” (RAPID) is being conducted in the entire state in a phased manner.

ii. Stating this at Chandigarh today, a spokesman of Health Department said that Sirsa is the fourth district after Panipat, Mewat and Bhiwani where this programme has been successfully conducted. 

iii. As many as 34 teams comprised of state health officers, consultants and external monitors from PGIMS, Rohtak visited the health facilities at Sirsa and conducted detailed review of all health care services.

8.    sixth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) starts from tomorrow

i. The sixth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) starts from tomorrow. 

ii. The first of the 72 league matches will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata when defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders take on Delhi Dare Devils tomorrow.

iii. The tournament continuing upto 26th of next month, will feature nine teams. No Pakistani players have been included in the current IPL auction and the IPL governing council has ruled that Sri Lankan cricketers and match officials will not participate in any matches to be held in Chennai.

iv. Ahead of the start of the league matches, a spectacular opening ceremony is being held at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata this evening.