DAILY GK UPDATE 9TH AUGUST

1.    Eid-ul-Fitr being celebrated today

i. Eid-ul-Fitr is being celebrated across the country on Friday with religious fervour and gaiety which marks the culmination of the holy month of Ramzan.

ii. Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the culmination of the fasting month of Ramzan, is celebrated across the country today.

iii. Special prayers were held in Jama Masjid at Delhi, Bhopal, Patna, Lucknow and other states.

iv. In Jammu and Kashmir, the biggest congregational Eid prayers are being held at Eidgah and Hazratbal mosques.

v. President Pranab Mukherjee also greeted citizens and said that the festival will instill a sense of unity among all faiths and pride in the composite culture of the country.

2.    Today is 71st anni of the Quit India Movement 

i. August 9 is the 71st anniversary of the Quit India Movement, which Mahatma Gandhi called the biggest struggle of his life.

ii. In August 1942, Gandhiji launched the Quit India Movement (“Bharat Chhodo Andolan”).

iii. The Quit India Movement was India's final nationwide campaign for independence.

iv. Gandhiji’s slogan of ‘Do or Die’ (‘Karo ya Maro’) inspired the nation. Every man, women and child began dreaming of a free India.

v. There were hartals and demonstrations all over the country. The people attacked all symbols of the British government such as railway stations, law courts and police stations. Railway lines were damaged and telegraph lines were cut.

vi. Even old men and children were shot dead while taking part in processions. Protestors were arrested and tortured and their homes raided and destroyed. By December 1942, over sixty thousand people had been jailed.

vii. President Pranab Mukherjee will host a reception and felicitate freedom fighters here on Friday on the occasion of the 71st anniversary of the Quit India Movement. 121 freedom fighters from across the country would be felicitated at the 'At Home' to be held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

3.    Nagasaki marks 68th anniversary of atomic bombing

i. Nagasaki’s mayor criticized Japan’s government for a lack of effort on international nuclear disarmament as the country marked the 68th anniversary on Friday of the atomic bombing on the city.

ii. The two atomic bombs the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 prompted Japan’s surrender in World War II. The Hiroshima blast killed 140,000 people, and another 70,000 died in Nagasaki.

iii. Hiroshima held an observance of the first bombing on Tuesday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a crowd of about 50,000 that Japan has a unique responsibility to push for the end of nuclear weapons.

iv. Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue criticized the Japanese government at a ceremony Friday for refusing to sign a statement rejecting the use of nuclear weapons. 

v. Despite the public’s safety concerns about nuclear energy since the Fukushima crisis, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been aggressively pushing to export nuclear plants and technology to emerging countries, including Turkey and Vietnam, and trying to step up cooperation with France and India.

4.    Govt approves setting up of all-women bank  

i. Paving the way for setting up of all-women bank, the government on Thursday approved Rs 1,000-crore seed capital for Bhartiya Mahila Bank Ltd.

ii. The Cabinet cleared setting up of all-women bank, sources said.

iii. Earlier this week, Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena had said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha that "it is proposed to solicit the approval of the Cabinet to include the allocation of Rs 1,000 crore to the Women's Bank in the first Supplementary to be approved in the current Monsoon Session of Parliament".

iv. The proposed bank will be headquartered in New Delhi. It will start with 6 branches in North, South, West, Central and North Eastern part of the country.

v. The bank is expected to become profitable in five years of its operation. The initial capital of Rs 1,000 crore for the bank has been so decided that the bank is not capital constrained for expansion of normal business, 

vi. The move to set up Bhartiya Mahila Bank is aimed at encouraging women in general and women self-help groups (SHGs)’

vii. The announcement to set up all Women's bank was made by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the Budget speech this year. The proposed bank is likely to be operational by November this year.

5.    RBI to sell Rs 22,000 cr bonds every Monday to check Rupee slide

i. Faced with a weakening rupee, the Reserve Bank on Thursday announced it will sell government bonds worth Rs 22,000 crore every Monday to check volatility in the forex market.

ii. The measure is a part of a continuing effort to arrest the slide in the rupee, which hit a record intra-day low of Rs 61.80 against the dollar on Tuesday.

iii. "Over the last two months, the RBI has instituted several measures to contain the volatility in the foreign exchange market," the central bank said in a statement.

iv. "On a review of the impact of these measures and for effective liquidity management, it has been decided that the RBI will auction Government of India Cash Management Bills for a notified amount of Rs 22,000 crore once every week on Mondays," 

v. The duration of the auction will be announced one day prior to the date of auction, it added.

vi. The rupee on Thursday recovered from an all-time closing low, adding 42 paise to end at 60.88 against the dollar.

NOTE: i. On 15^th July, the Reserve Bank put in place measures to restore stability in the foreign exchange market, including raising the Marginal Standing Facility and bank rates to 10.25 per cent and restricting access by way of repo window to Rs 75,000 crore.

ii. On 22^nd July, the RBI rationalised gold imports by making it mandatory on all nominated banks to ensure that at least one-fifth of the imported metal is exclusively made available for exports.

iii. A day later, the RBI directed banks to draw only 50 per cent of their total deposits in overnight borrowings and maintain a 99 per cent average cash reserve ratio every day.

6.    LIC Housing launches ‘Sanchay’

i. LIC Housing Finance Ltd has launched a public deposit scheme ‘Sanchay’ whereby it will offer the highest interest rate of 9.5 per cent on five-year deposits.

ii. The term period for deposits ranges from one to five years with the minimum amount of deposit being Rs 10,000 and thereafter in multiples of Rs 1,000.

iii. The rate of interest (for deposits up to Rs 5 crore) ranges from 8.75 per cent to 9.5 per cent for general public for a period ranging from one to five years.

iv. For senior citizens, the company is offering additional 0.1 per cent for deposits up to Rs 50,000 and 0.25 per cent for deposits of Rs 51,000 and above.

v. In the cumulative scheme, the interest accumulated with half-yearly interest will be paid on maturity and in the non-cumulative scheme, the interest will be paid on a half-yearly basis i.e. 31st March and 30th September.

vi. The housing finance company said that it will accept deposits from individuals, Hindu Undivided Families, Companies, Non-Resident Indians, Cooperative Societies and Association of persons.

vii. LICHFL’s public deposit scheme has a ‘FAAA Stable’ rating from Crisil, the company said in a statement. As of June-end 2013, the company had a deposit portfolio of Rs 839 crore.

7.    The Moonballer book by Nirupama Vaidyanathan launched

i. Nirupama Sanjeev (Vaidyanathan), the former Tennis Player from India on 5 August 2013 released her book, The Moonballer. The book was launched by the tennis ace Vijay Amritraj in Chennai.

About Nirupama Vaidyanathan

i. At present she is based on US and runs a Tennis Academy in Bay Area, California

ii. Nirupama Vaidyanathan (36) represented the country in SAF Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and the Sydney Olympics apart from the Fed Cup

iii. She has also won the Bronze Medal at the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games in Mixed Doubles, partnering Mahesh Bhupathi –

8.    Marathi singer-actor Jaimala Shiledar no more  

i. Noted Marathi singer-actor Jaimala Shiledar passed away in Pune on Thursday following a brief illness, her family said. She was 88.

ii. Jaimala, who belonged to the Shiledar family which revived the declining tradition of musical plays on the Marathi stage over the last three decades, had left her mark as singer-artiste.

iii. She was honoured with the Lata Mangeshkar award in 2006.

iv. The musical plays in which she played memorable roles, including 'Sangeet Shakuntala', 'Saubhadra', 'Ekach Pyala', 'Swayamvar' and 'Sharada'.

v. A large number of Marathi theatre artistes paid tribute to Shiledar here, recalling her contribution in keeping alive the tradition of Marathi musical plays.

9.    DRDO developing chilli-spray for women's self-defence

i. In view of increasing instances of physical attacks on women, the DRDO has developed a chilli-spray for protection using the world's hottest chilli grown in Assam, Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

ii. "Yes, Defence Research laboratory in Tezpur has developed a chilli-spray called CAPSISPRAY. It is a non-lethal spray for personal protection and self-defence," Defence Minister A K Antony said in reply to a written query.

iii. "It contains Oleoresin Capsicum extracted from world's hottest chilli Bhut Jolokia, largely cultivated in Assam and other parts of northeast," he said.

iv. The Minister was asked if the spray was developed in view of growing instances of attacks on women.

v. "The prototype of the chilli spray is ready and the product is required to be tested for several toxicology parameters. DRDO will take further steps to popularise once trials are over," Antony said.

10.  Bhumi Sena Scheme launched in UP for transformation of Barren Land

i. Bhumi Sena Scheme was launched in Uttar Pradesh on 8 August 2013 by the Chief Minister of the State, Akhilesh Yadav.

ii. The scheme was launched in a function held at 5, Kalidas Marg, Lucknow for reclamation of the barren, usar (alkaline soils) and ravenous land. The scheme would help in increasing cultivation area in the state.

iii. The scheme was launched for the 2013-14 fiscal with an aim of recovering about 44000 hectares of barren, usar and ravenous land for being fit for use by making a cluster approach in 10 selected districts.

About Bhumi Sena Yojna
Uttar Pradesh Bhumi Sudhar Nigam (UPBSN) a body that is a U.P. Government Undertaking is executing the scheme in 17 districts of the state. Under this, banjar land development, rehabilitation of ponds and treatment of water logged area through proper drainage development is being undertaken. For the first time it was launched in 1990 by the former Chief Minister of the state, Mulayam Singh Yadav