DAILY GK UPDATE 21st JUNE

1.    World Music Day observed on 21 June

i. World Music Day also called Fête de la Musique was observed on 21 June 2013 across the world.

ii. The World Music Day celebrated on June 21 has become a worldwide phenomenon as countries across the world rejoice in their own unique way to celebrate the day.

iii. This day is celebrated to promote peace and spread goodwill through music. The main idea behind the day is to bring music out onto the streets.

iii. For the first time, this day was observed in 1982 in Paris as the Fête de la Musique and since then has become an international phenomenon holding the same set of principles for being celebrated.

iv. On this day, musicians perform for free in parks, museums, train stations, castles etc. This helps in making all sorts of music accessible to the public. It gives an opportunity to commune and share a special bond through music.

v. Since India is a land of diversity with varied cultures, every region which has its own unique musical form celebrate the day to continue the eternal tradition of music.

2.    India and Iraq agree to renew bilateral ties

i. India and Iraq agreed to revive bilateral ties and intensify cooperation by moving beyond buyer-seller relation, with Baghdad inviting New Delhi to invest more in the oil-rich Arab country, scarred by years of conflict.

ii. Allaying India's concern on the security situation in the country, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said, "There are many places in the country which are peaceful and stable. We invite Indian companies to invest in such areas, like Southern Iraq."

iii. Khurshid, who is the first External Affairs Minister to visit Iraq in 23 years, said, "It is my highest priority to participate in rebuilding the infrastructure of Iraq. The priority we are giving to Iraq will become more intense and stronger."

iv. The two leaders discussed economy, trade and cooperation in various areas like Information Technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, infrastructure and security.

v. In recent years, India's import of oil from Iraq has seen a significant rise. Iraq has the world's third largest proven oil reserves and it's trying to increase its oil production which was disrupted due to years of war and violence in the country.

vi. Currently Iraq supplies 50 percent of its oil to Asian countries and it plans to take the figure to 80 percent by 2030, according to officials.

vii. Till recently, Iran was India's second-biggest crude oil supplier after Saudi Arabia, meeting about 12 percent of the country's needs.

viii. But India has reduced its dependence on Iranian oil in the wake of US and European sanctions on the import of oil from the Islamic Republic.

ix. India imported about 13.3 million tonnes of crude oil from Iran in 2012-13 fiscal, down from 18.1 million tonnes shipped in the previous financial year.

x. Iraq, which currently exports around 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil, is looking to boost its energy output, with target of overall production capacity of 9 million bpd by 2017.

3.    SEBI issues guide for investment advisers to operate in stock markets

i. Market regulator SEBI has notified guidelines for investment advisers and their 'associated persons' making it compulsory for them to get requisite certifications to operate in stock markets.

ii. The notification released by SEBI ordered the investment advisers and their associates which includes representatives and partners offering investment advice to get a certification from the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) after passing the relevant examinations.

iii. The notification also mentioned that the associated person, who has received certification by passing the NISM Certified Personal Finance Advisor (CPFA) examination before or on the day of the notification, need not apply for any such certification.

NISM (National Institute of Securities Markets)

i. National Institute of Securities Markets is a public trust, established by the SEBI, the regulator for securities markets in India. It is located in Navi Mumbai, India.

ii. NISM seeks to add to market quality through educational initiatives. It is an autonomous body governed by its Board of Governors. iii.In pursuance of the announcement made by the Finance Minister in his Budget Speech in February 2005, SEBI established the NISM in Mumbai.

4.    Rail link to Kashmir to be launched on June 26

i. The much-awaited railway section, providing all-weather surface link to Kashmir valley, will be launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on June 26. 

ii. Singh and Gandhi will jointly flag off the first train on the 18-km-long section between Banihal in Jammu and Qazigund in Kashmir, marking start of the service. 

iii. The Banihal-Qazigund section, which includes an 11-km-long tunnel, will reduce the distance from 35 km (by road) to 18 km. It has been constructed at a cost of Rs 1,691 crore. 

iv. This rail section is very significant as it will provide an all-weather link to Kashmir valley which often gets cut off from the rest of the country due to snowfall during winters.

v. Passengers travelling by train from Kashmir valley to Banihal can avail bus service from there till Udhampur where train service is available for rest of the country. 

vi. "The bus service will be available from Udhampur to facilitate passengers availing train from Banihal next month," 

vii. Train service is already operational within Kashmir valley in the 118-km-long route between Qazigund and Baramulla in north Kashmir.

viii. "The mandatory inspection of the track by Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) is being done and the clearance is awaited. The line is expected to open on June 26," the official said. 

ix. Trial run on this section was successfully done on December 28 last year and since then trains carrying stones are running on regular basis. 

5.    Reliance Capital becomes first company to suspend gold sales

i. Amid growing concerns over huge gold imports hurting the country's economic strength, financial services major Reliance Capital on Friday became the first company to suspend gold sales across all its businesses.

ii. The decision includes suspension of sale of gold coins and other physical forms of the yellow metal, as also as an investment product across all its businesses and subsidiaries, Reliance Capital said in a statement.

iii. The company said the decision has been taken in view of the government's "publicly stated objective of minimizing gold imports that are seriously hurting the country's economic interests".

iv. Besides suspension of gold sales, Reliance Capital's Commercial Finance Division has also decided to suspend financing against gold as a security.

v. The fund is estimated to have a total Asset Under Management of over Rs 2,200 crore.

vi. The suspension would also apply to supply of gold coins by Reliance Capital for sale through India Post

NOTE: i. India is estimated to have imported 860 tonnes of gold in 2012 and the figure is expected to cross 900 tonnes this year. 

ii. According to industry watchers, more companies are expected to follow suit with similar measures, as rising gold imports continue to burden the country's current account deficit.

iii. The government has been consistently asking for measures to curb flow of household savings into idle assets like gold and channelise these funds towards financial market assets.

6.    Exim Bank approves $300 million loan to Ethiopia for Railway Link

i. The Export-Import Bank of India has approved a $300 million worth of line of credit to Ethiopia, paving the way for construction of a railway line linking this landlocked country in the Horn of Africa to a port city in neighbouring Djibouti.

ii. An agreement in this regard was signed between T. C. A. Ranganathan, chairman and managing director of Exim Bank, and Ahmed Shide Mehamed, Ethiopian State Minister of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED), in New Delhi Thursday.

iii. "Ethiopia being a landlocked nation, the railway link to a port city will provide impetus to its growth, particularly in the northern region of the country," the minister said.

iv. The railway line is the first part of a larger regional project to improve railway connectivity in Ethiopia and other east African countries

v. The proposed railway link will connect the city of Asaita, some 670 km of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, to the port city of Tajourah in neighbouring Djibouti.

vi. The link is expected to improve regional connectivity and boost growth in the east African country

vii. "The new line will be very important for Ethiopia because it will give us an access to a second port and boost economic activities in the country,

viii. The credit line would entail concessional funds at an interest rate of 1.75 percent

NOTE: i. Founded in 1982 under the Export-Import Bank of India Act 1981, Exim Bank is the first export finance institution of the country.

ii. The bank provides other credit lines to the Ethiopian government in the sugar and rural development sectors.

7.    Sonia asks Cong MPs, MLAs to donate 1 month salary

i. Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday directed all party MPs and MLAs to donate their one month salary for relief work in the flood-ravaged Uttarakhand as the magnitude of the flash flood tragedy continued to unfold taking the death toll in the rain fury to 207.

ii. Gandhi also directed all party MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to give Rs 10 lakh each from their MPLAD fund for carrying out relief work there," party's communication department in-charge Ajay Maken said.

iii. Terming it as the "worst tragedy of the millennium", Agriculture Minister of Uttarakhand government Harak Singh Rawat said, "It will take us at least five years to recover from the extensive damages caused to the entire infrastructure network in the Kedarnath area which is the worst affected."

iv. Operations to rescue over 9000 stranded in Kedarnath and Badrinath were stepped up with deployment of 40 helicopters

v. Congress has currently 203 members in the Lok Sabha and 72 in Rajya Sabha. The party has also set up a PCC control room at Dehradun to accelerate the relief work. 

8.    Delhi to host South Asian Junior Table Tennis

i. The Capital will host the South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships next month instead of Ranchi after the organisers in Jharkhand expressed their inability to the stage the event.

ii. The 20th-22nd July event will take place at Indira Gandhi Sports Complex. The Table Tennis Federation of India Secretary General Dhanraj Choudhary said that the Jharkhand unit secretary has expressed his inability to be involved in the tournament because if his illness.

iii. "The venue has been shifted to Delhi and we took this decision around 15 days ago. The secretary of Jharkhand unit is not keeping good health and so he has expressed his inability to host the tournament,

iv. "This is an important tournament and the winner and runner-up country will get direct qualification in the Asian Junior Championships,

v. India are the defending champions of the tournament.

9.    Champions Trophy: India enters final

i. India enter into final of ICC Champioins trophy after beating Sri lanka in Semi-final-2 and will meet England in Final on Sunday i.e., on June 23, 2013, with consistain performance of Shikar Dawan and wounderful fifty of Virat kohli.

ii. The Indians put in a disciplined bowling show to restrict Sri Lanka to 181 for eight and then overhauled the target with as many as 15 overs to spare to set up a summit showdown with hosts England on Sunday.

iii. Chasing a paltry target, Rohit and Shikhar began cautiously, although they played beautiful (Rohit's cover drives) and enterprising (Shikhar’s innovative upper cut for six) shots when the ball was in their slot.

 iv. At the end of it, India notched up another comfortable eight-wicket win and advanced to the final against hosts England.

10.  Saina crashes out of Singapore Open

i. Saina Nehwal crashed out of the women’s singles quarterfinals at the Singapore Open Super Series in Singapore on Friday, losing to Indonesia’s Lindaweni Fanetri.

ii. The second seed lost to unseeded Lindaweni 21-17, 13-21, 13-21 in 58 minutes at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The World No.13 avenged her first round loss last week at the Indonesia Open by beating the Hyderabadi in their second career meeting.

iii. The World No.13 was clearly the better athlete on court with her smashes and drop shots proving too difficult for Saina to retrieve.

iv. The Indonesian is now the only non-Chinese in the last four of the Super Series tournament and will face the winner of the match between seventh seed Shixian Wang and fourth seed Yihan Wang Saturday.

11.  Four Indian boxers in semis of China Open: bronze assured

i. Four Indians assured themselves of a bronze medal each after reaching semifinals in their respective categories in the 3rd China Open boxing tournament at Guiyang on Thursday.

ii. Sunil Kumar in 52kg , Ajay Kumar in 56kg, Jaideep in 75kg and Manjeet Singh in 91 kgplus categories made it to the last four of the tournament played under the new 'Ten-Point must scoring system'.

iii. But the Indian contingent suffered early setbacks in the women's division. Pinki Jangra in 51kg, Preeti Beniwal in 60kg and Neetu Chahal in 75kg categories all failed to make it past the quarterfinals.