DAILY GK UPDATE 25TH OCTOBER

1.    HSBC lowers India’s CAD forecast for FY’14 to 3.4%

i. Global financial services major HSBC today lowered India’s current account deficit (CAD) forecast for this financial year to 3.4 per cent of GDP from 4.1 per cent earlier.

ii. HSBC said the country’s CAD is at an unsustainable level, and expected to gradually decline in the coming years and in 2014-15, it is likely to be at 3.2 per cent of GDP.

iii. HSBC’s CAD projections factored the increase in imports during the festive season and rise in coal imports to help meet demand from power plants in the coming months.

iv. In the next fiscal year, FY15, we expect the deficit to hold broadly steady in nominal terms and decline to 3.2 per cent of GDP.

v. CAD, the difference between inflow and outflow of foreign exchange, had declined to 3.6 per cent in the January-March quarter after touching a record high of 6.5 per cent in the October-December quarter.

2.    Now, open an Axis Bank account using Aadhaar card

i. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is going ahead and launching new services even as the decision on whether the Aadhaar card is mandatory for getting government subsidies is pending before the Supreme Court.

ii. In a new initiative, Axis Bank entered into a tie up with the UIDAI that will enable the bank to open accounts by using the 12-digit Aadhaar number of the customer.

iii. The bank will fulfill the Reserve Bank of India’s norms on know-your-customer verification electronically (e-KYC) by using the biometric data of the customer.

iv. The fingerprints, once scanned at the bank’s biometric device, will enable the bank to collect data such as name, address and telephone number of the customer electronically from the UIDAI.

3.    SC-appointed probe panel invites information on Meiyappan

i. The committee probing the Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing episode sought information from the public regarding allegations of betting against Gurunath Meiyappan and the other accused in the scandal on Thursday.

ii. The Supreme Court appointed committee, headed by former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and including Additional Solicitor General L. Nageshwar Rao and senior advocate Nilay Dutta, had its first meeting on Thursday after being appointed early this month.

iii. The committee decided on the schedule of meetings after “perusal” of the Supreme Court order.

iv. The committee is investigating charges of betting and spot-fixing in the IPL matches against Meiyappan, son-in-law of Board president N. Srinivasan and allegedly the team principal of Chennai Super Kings, the accused players and the team owner of Rajasthan Royals.

4.    Oltmans to be named High Performance Director

i. The Government of India will appoint Hockey India’s Director High Performance Roelant Oltmans as Chief Coordinator and High Performance Director for Indian Hockey.

ii. He is all set to be appointed till Rio Olympics 2016 keeping in view all the major events taking place in the next three years.

iii. Oltmans was firstly hired by Hockey India (HI) as Director High Performance in January this year as part of its plan to further professionalise the sport of hockey.

iv. The former Dutch coach, who worked with the Dutch Olympic Committee as its Performance Manager for Elite Sports, is also an International Hockey Federation (FIH) Master Coach. Oltmans is also the chief coach with the Uttar Pradesh Wizards for the Hero Hockey India League.

5.    Simona Halep won Kremlin Tennis Cup 2013

i. Simona Halep of Romania defeated Samantha Stosur of Australia 7-6 (1), 6-2 to win the Kremlin Cup on 20 October 2013 at Moscow, Russia. It was the fifth WTA singles championship for Simona Halep.

ii. Simona Halep of Romania defeated Samantha Stosur of Australia 7-6 (1), 6-2 to win the Kremlin Cup on 20 October 2013 at Moscow, Russia. It was the fifth WTA singles championship for Simona Halep.

iii. Simona Halep (born on 27 September 1991) is Romanian professional tennis player and the currently ranked no. 14 in the WTA singles Rankings.

Note: In men’s singles, top-seeded Richard Gasquet of France defeated Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the Kremlin Cup. It was the 10th WTA singles championship for Richard Gasquet.

6.    Shah Rukh Khan Appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador for South Korea

i. Shah Rukh Khan, the Bollywood actor, was on 23 October 2013 appointed as the goodwill ambassador for South Korea. He was appointed as the public diplomat as well as an ambassador of India’s soft power. 

ii. Shah Rukh Khan will visit South Korea before the maiden visit to The President of South Korea- Park Geun-hye.

iii. Shah Rukh Khan was also invited by the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on his first visit to India at the formal dinner with the prime minister.

Note: It is important to note that India and South Korea have signed a civil nuclear agreement already but it is still not operational. 

ii. In the year 2008, Shah Rukh Khan was given the title of Datuk, which is equivalent to the British Knighthood. This title was given to him by the Governor of Malaysia’s southern Malacca state, Mohamad Khalil Yaacob

7.    Mukesh Ambani remains richest Indian with assets of USD 18.9 billion

i. According to the China-based Hurun India Rich List, Ambani retained the top position for the second year even after a wealth decrease of 2 percent. Ambani is followed by London-based steel baron LN Mittal with assets of USD 15.9 billion.

ii. Mittal's wealth declined 6 percent from in 2012.

iii. Sun Pharmaceuticals' founder Dilip Shanghvi broke into the top three for the first time with a 66 percent surge in his wealth.

iv. "This rise in stock price was supported by the expected sales of the cancer drug Doxil, following Janssen Pharma Inc's admission of shortage of the drug supply," the report said.

v. Among others in the top 10 are: Wipro's Azim Premji (4th) with assets of USD 12 billion, HCL Technology's Shiv Nadar (5th, USD 8.6 billion), Grasim Industries' Kumar Mangalam Birla (6th, USD 8.4 billion), Godrej Group's Adi Godrej (7th, USD 8.1 billion).

8.    British Sculptor Sir Anthony Caro Passed Away at 89

i. British sculptor Sir Anthony Caro passed away on 23 October 2013. He was 89 years old. He died after a heart attack.

ii. He was the renowned British sculptor of his generation and also worked as the assistant to Henry Moore in the 1950s.

iii. He studied engineering at Christ's College Cambridge. Thereafter, she specialised in sculpture at the Royal Academy Schools in London until 1952.

iv. In May 2000, he was given the Order of Merit which recognises great achievement in the fields of the arts, learning, literature and science. On 9 March 2004, he was elected as the Senior Member of the Royal Academy.