DAILY GK UPDATE 26TH OCTOBER

1.    Global Gender Gap Report 2013: India Ranked at 101 Place

i. Global Gender Gap Report 2013, which was published on 25 October 2013 by World Economic Forum- India was ranked 101 out of 136 countries on Gender Gap index. 

ii. In 2012 Report, India secured 105th position in the Gender Gap Index of 135 countries.

iii. The Global Gender Gap Report 2013 Report revealed that world’s gender gaps narrowed slightly in 2013 on the back of “definite if not universal improvements” in economic equality and political participation between the sexes.

iv. The worst performing countries are Yemen (136), Pakisthan (135) and Chad (134).

Top 5 country:

1. Iceland

2. Finland

3. Norway

4. Sweden

5. Philippines

2.    India Signed Pact with World Bank for Uttar Pradesh Water Sector Restructuring Project

i. Government of India on 25 October 2013 signed an agreement with World Bank for credit of 360 million US Dollar for the second phase of Uttar Pradesh Water Sector Restructuring Project. 

ii. The agreement was signed by Nilaya Mitash, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India and Country Director of the World Bank, Onno Ruhl. Similarly the Project Agreement was signed by Deepak Singhal, Principal Secretary, Department of Irrigation on behalf of the Government of Uttar Pradesh.

iii. The objective of the project is to support the State on capacity building of Water Users Association, rehabilitation and modernization of irrigation, development of Basin River planning strategies and flood management systems.

The project has six main components:

1.Strengthening of State Level Water Institutions and Inter Sector Coordination 
2.Modernization and Rehabilitation of Irrigation and Drainage Systems 
3.Consolidation and Enhancement of Irrigation Institution Reforms 
4.Enhancing Agriculture Productivity and On-Farm Water Management 
5.Feasibility studies and Preparation Activities for the Next Phase 
6.Project Coordination and Monitoring. 

3.    World Bank approves $250-m aid for Uttarakhand

i. The World Bank has approved $250-million assistance for Uttarakhand, which was hit hard by rains and landslides in June that killed 580 people, to help the State undertake rehabilitation work and strengthen its capacity for disaster management.

ii. “In order to respond in a timely manner, the project was fast-tracked under the World Bank’s emergency procedures and was prepared within a three-month period,” said a release.

iii. India had sought assistance from multilateral agencies like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for undertaking rehabilitation work in Uttarakhand. ADB too is expected to finalise its assistance package soon.

iv. Earlier, a joint World Bank and ADB team conducted a Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (JRDNA) at the request of the Indian Government to rebuild the state’s infrastructure and assets lost in the June disaster.

v. JRDNA has estimated the physical damages across a range of sectors and calculated the cost of reconstruction at about $661 million.

4.    Corporation Bank tops in loans to small units

i. The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has assigned Corporation Bank No. 1 rank under the ‘National Awards for Excellence in MSE (micro and small enterprises) Lending’ for 2012-13.

ii. According to a press statement by the bank, the ranking was acknowledged at the 18th meeting of the Standing Committee for National Awards to Public Sector Banks recently. Corporation Bank has been ranked based on its performance in contributing to the MSE lending for 2012-13, it said.

5.    Himachal Pradesh became Second State after Haryana to introduce NVQF

i. Himachal Pradesh on 26 October 2013 became the second state after Haryana to introduce Union National Vocational Qualitative Framework (NVQF) Scheme.

ii. The scheme has been implemented by the All India Technical Education Council and the National Skill Development Council.

Note: i. As per the scheme, 70 skill development councils will be established and each council will be given specific trades.

ii. The scheme was being implemented for students of Class IX to Class XI and every student has to clear four levels to get the certificate.

iii. The programme is being introduced in one hundred schools and each school will have to adopt two trades out of five - Information Technology, Education, Retail Security, Automobile and Health Care.

6.    Ethiopia banned its Citizens from Travelling Abroad for Work

i. Ethiopia's government on 24 October 2013 temporarily banned its citizens from travelling abroad to look for work.

ii. The government took this decision because many Ethiopians had lost their lives or undergone untold physical and psychological trauma due to illegal human trafficking. The Ethiopian government had taken various steps to limit the suffering of its citizens, including setting up a national council and a taskforce to educate them.

iii. The scarcity of work opportunities contributes mainly fuelling emigration from Ethiopia, which has Africa's second largest population. According to the official figures, Youth unemployment was estimated at more than 50 percent.

iv. Many Ethiopians migrate to Saudi Arabia, travelling via Yemen by sea and entering the country illegally. Thousands of others go to Israel, South Africa and Europe. Most of the migrants end up being smuggled, trafficked or subjected to mental and physical torture.

7.    4 day WAF to be organized at Hyderabad from Nov 4

i. A four-day World Agricultural Forum Congress (WAF) will be organized at Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh from 4th of November this year.

ii. The theme is re-shaping agriculture for sustainable future focus on small farm holders.

iii. Talking to reporters in New Delhi today, Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Minister Kanna Lakshmi Narayana said the conference will aim at focussing on creating prosperity through attention to establishing food security and investment in agriculture.

iv. Lakshmi Narayana also said an Agri-Tech Trade fair will also be organized parallel to WAF Congress-2013. He said arrangements are being made for mobilization of around two thousand farmers on each day for Agri-Tech Trade Fair. 

Note: 2011 World Congress was held in Brussels with the objective, the role of Latin America in feeding the world in 2050.

8.    Tarun Chatarjee appointed Chairman of the Uttar Pradesh State Human Rights Commission

i. The Uttar Pradesh Government on 25 October 2013 appointed retired Justice Tarun Chaterjee as the new chairman of the state Human Rights Commission.

ii. State government also nominated Justice UK Dhawan and Asha Tiwari as the members of the Commission.

iii. Tarun Chaterjee (68-year-old) was the chief justice at the Allahabad high court in 2003 and retired as a Supreme Court judge in 2010.

9.    Government sanctioned a new Plastic Park for Odisha

i. Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers on 25 October 2013 sanctioned setting up of a Plastic Park at Siju Village, Kujanga Tehsil of Jagatsinghpur District in Odisha.

ii. A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) called Paradeep Plastic Park Limited would set up the Plastic Park. 

iii. The project will receive a grant of 40 crore rupees by the Government of India of which 8 crore rupees will be released sooner.

iv. The Plastic Park is being established near IOLC. The infrastructure related the micro, small, medium and large units in the Plastic Park will be facilitated by the Paradeep Refinery and it has the necessary state-of-the art infrastructure

v. The park will open opportunities to the entrepreneurs in and around districts like Balasore, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Paradeep, and other districts of Odisha to set up new venture.

10.  BCCI terminates contract of IPL team Pune Warriors for non-payment of franchise fee

i. The working committee of the Board of Cricket Control of India has terminated the contract of the Indian Premier League team Pune Warriors for non-payment of franchise fee. The team did not pay a bank guarantee of 174 crore rupees. 

ii. The owner of the Pune Warriors - The Sahara Group - have been on collision course with the BCCI after the board encashed its bank guarantee due to non-payment of franchise fee. Pune Warriors was bought by Sahara for 1702 crore rupees in 2010 and is the most expensive franchise on the IPL roster.

11.  English Football Association marking 150th anniversary today

i. The world's oldest national football body, the English Football Association, or FA is marking its 150th anniversary today. It was established at a meeting in a London Tavern on the 26th of October, 1863 as eleven football clubs and schools associations agreed to a set of common rules for the sport.

ii. A special gala dinner is taking place later today where on display will be a book containing the handwritten 13 original laws of football.

12.  Alok claims silver at World Billiards

i. Indian cueist Alok Kumar could not add the World Billiards trophy to his cabinet as he lost in the final to local favourite David Causier to settle for the silver medal at the mega-event here.

ii. Alok, a former Asian champion, lost 6-1 -- 150 (123)-06, 150 (114)-11, 150 (64)-81, 150 (85)-13, 150 (109)-92, 51-150 (53), 150 (124)-124 (93).

iii. On the other hand, two-time runner-up Causier lifted his first ever world title here at the Northern Snooker Centre. In the final he defeated Alok in a one-sided affair.

iv. Alok is the only player in the country, who has won titles in every discipline.