DAILY GK UPDATE 8TH AUGUST

1.    RBI to set up forum to check Ponzi schemes

i. In view of a series of chit fund frauds, the Reserve Bank of India has decided to set up a separate forum for coordination and sharing information to rein in such investment schemes. 

ii. The RBI, at its Financial Stability and Development Council meeting in Mumbai yesterday, also stressed the need for a nation-wide awareness campaign about such schemes. 

iii. The move follows many recent scams, notably Saradha chit fund scheme in West Bengal, where investors are said to have lost thousands of crores.

iv. The meeting, held amid concerns over macro economic situation and a sharp slide in rupee against the US dollar, reviewed the potential risks to stability of the domestic financial system.

v. The meeting, chaired by RBI Governor D Subbarao, was attended by chiefs of capital markets regulator SEBI, insurance watchdog IRDA and the pension fund regulator PFRDA.

vi. RBI Governor-designate Raghuram Rajan and Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram were also present at the meeting

2.    Rakesh Sethi took Charge as Executive Director of Union Bank of India

i. Rakesh Sethi took charge as the Executive Director of the Union Bank of India.

ii. Before being appointed as the executive director of the Union Bank of India, Rakesh Sethi was the General Manager with Bank of India and headed the National Banking position in Southern India.

iii. He also headed the Retail Banking Division as well as the Marketing Department at its head office.

3.    India Successfully Test-fired Pinaka Rockets from Chandipur

i. India on 7 August 2013 successfully test-fired two rounds of indigenously developed Pinaka rockets from a multi-barrel rocket launcher (MBRL) from a base at Chandipur-on-sea near Balasore, off the Odisha coast.

ii. The tests were conducted by personnel from Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune unit at Proof and Experimental Establishment (PXE) firing point-2.

iii. Earlier IN 2013, ten rounds of Pinaka rockets were tested from the same base.

iv. More advanced and second generation Pinaka Mark II Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher System had undergone successful firing trials at Chandhan area in Pokhran field firing ranges in western Rajasthan during July 2013.

The Main Features of Pinaka

i. Pinaka is an area weapon system with a range of 40 km.
ii.The quick reaction time and high rate of fire of Pinaka will give an edge to the Army during a minor conflict situation.
iii.Pinaka system can fire a salvo of 12 rockets in 44 seconds. The battery of six launchers can neutralise at a time a target area of 3.9 sq km.
iv.Pinaka is capable to incorporate several types of warheads which makes the weapon deadly for the enemy as it can even destroy solid structures and bunkers.

4.    Maria Sharapova topped the Forbes List of Female Athletes

i. Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova topped the Forbes list of highest-paid female athletes for the ninth straight year.

ii. According to Forbes, Sharapova earned 29 million US dollars between June 2012 and June 2013. The 26-year-old's earnings came from prize money and endorsement deals. The Forbes list was released on 6 August 2013.

iii. American Serena Williams is second on the list with earnings of 20.5 million US dollars, followed by Chinese tennis player Li Na on 18.2 million US dollars and Belarusian Victoria Azarenka on 15.7 million US dollars.

iv. Besides being a successful athlete, Sharapova also launched a candy business in 2012 and looks forward to expand into fashion, accessories and make-up.

v. She has also launched her own brand of sweets, Sugarpova. Sharapova, number 22 in the top 100 list, earned more than the current men's number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia (26.9 million US dollars) and Spain's Rafael Nadal (26.4 million US dollars).

5.    Star Sports appoint Dhoni as brand ambassador

i. Star Sports on Thursday appointed Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as brand ambassador to promote Premier League football in India.

ii. A Manchester United fan, Dhoni will invite fans to ‘Join the Game’ in a new campaign which will be launched early next week.

iii. This news comes on the back of the sports broadcaster announcing the launch of Hindi commentary for the first time on Premier League. The Hindi commentary will be in addition to the English commentary and will be available for over 100 live matches across the season.

iv. Speaking on the occasion, ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd. chief operating officer Vijay Rajput said: “We are delighted to have M.S. Dhoni come on board as the brand ambassador for Premier League in the country.

6.    National Urban Livelihoods Mission

i. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has proposed to launch a “National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM)” in 12th Five Year Plan, which will replace the existing Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY).

ii. The NULM would focus on organizing urban poor in self help groups, creatingopportunities for skill development leading to market-based employment and helping them to set up self-employment ventures by ensuring easy access to credit.

iii. The Mission would aim at providing shelter equipped with essential services to the urban homeless in a phased manner.

iv. In addition, the Mission would also address livelihood concerns of the urban street vendors.

The guiding principles of NULM are:

i. The urban poor have a strong desire to improve their quality of life and come out of the clutches of poverty. They have an innate capacity to do so. However,the key enablers empowering them to take positive action in this direction are missing;

ii. Social mobilisation and building strong institutions of the poor in urban areas are critical for unleashing their innate capabilities. For this, an external, dedicated and sensitive support structure is essential so as to catalyse social mobilization, institution-building and empowerment process of the urban poor, inpartnership with Non-Government Organisations (NGOs)/Community-based Organisations (CBOs)/the private sector 

iii. NULM would aim at universalisation of coverage of the urban poor in access to skill development and credit facilities. It will strive for skills training of the urban poor for market-based jobs and self-employment, facilitating easy access credit through measures such as a credit guarantee fund, etc.