DAILY GK UPDATE 7 OCTOBER

1.    2 Americans, German win Nobel Medicine Prize

i. US scientists James Rothman and Randy Schekman and Thomas Suedhof of Germany have won the Nobel prize in medicine for their discoveries of the "machinery regulating vesicle traffic", a major cellular transport system.

ii. The Nobel committee said their research on “vesicle traffic” the transport system of our cells helped scientists understand how “cargo is delivered to the right place at the right time” inside cells.

iii. Disturbances to the system can contribute to diabetes and neurological and immunological disorders, the committee said.

iv. The Nobel committee said Dr. Schekman discovered a set of genes that were required for vesicle transport, while Dr. Rothman revealed how proteins dock with their target membranes like two sides of a zipper. Dr. Suedhof found out how vesicles release their cargo with precision.

v. The awards in physics, chemistry, literature, peace and economics will be announced by other prize juries this week and next. Each prize is worth 8 million Swedish kronor ($1.2 million).

Note: Dr. Rothman, 62, is a professor at Yale University while Dr. Schekman, 64, is at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Suedhof, 57, joined Stanford University in 2008.

ii. Dr. Rothman and Dr. Schekman won the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for their research in 2002: an award often seen as a precursor of a Nobel Prize.

iii. Established by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, the Nobel Prizes have been handed out by award committees in Stockholm and Oslo since 1901. The winners always receive their awards on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death in 1896.

iv. Last year’s medicine award went to Britain’s John Gurdon and Japan’s Shinya Yamanaka for their contributions to stem cell science.

2.    RBI eases borrowing for banks, cuts MSF

i.  In another move to ease liquidity for banks, the Reserve Bank of India on Monday eased interest rate on borrowings under the marginal standing facility (MSF) by 50 basis points to 9 per cent.

ii. One bps is one hundredth of a percentage point.

iii. Under the MSF facility, all scheduled commercial banks can borrow overnight from the RBI up to 1 per cent of their net demand and time liabilities (NDTL). The facility is available for banks on all working days, except Saturdays.

iv.  Open market operations are the buying and selling of government securities in the open market in order to expand or contract the amount of money in the banking system. Purchases infuse money into the banking system.

Note: The MSF facility was introduced in 2011 by the RBI in order to contain volatility in the inter-bank overnight market. The interest rate was fixed at 100 bps above the repo rate. Repo rate is the rate at which scheduled commercial banks borrow from RBI for the short term.

                  

3.    Arundhati Bhattacharya takes charge as SBI chief

i. Arundhati Bhattacharya on Monday assumed charge as Chairperson of State Bank of India (SBI).

ii. Immediately prior to taking over as Chairperson, Bhattacharya was the Managing Director & CFO, State Bank of India. Last month, the Government of India appointed her as the successor of Pratip Chaudhuri.

iii. Bhattacharya joined SBI as a Probationary Officer in the year 1977 spending 36 years in the state-owned bank.

4.    World Habitat Day Observed Across the World on 7 October 2013

i. World Habitat day is observed across the world on 7 October 2013.

ii. The purpose of this day is creation of the global awareness regarding the State of the towns and cities and the basic human right to adequate shelter. First Monday of October every year is designated as the World Habitat Day by the United Nation. 

iii. The theme of the World Habitat Day 2013 is Urban Mobility to encourage people to shift towards more sustainable modes of transportation. In the year 2012, the theme was Changing Cities, Building Opportunities

5.    Bihar to get double food subsidy and foodgrain allocation under National Food Security Act

i. The Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on 6 October 2013 announced that the food subsidy and foodgrain allocation would be doubled for the state of Bihar under the National Food Security Act.

ii. Jairam Ramesh announced that Bihar's food subsidy will increase from 5500 crore Rupees to 11500 crore Rupees, under the National Food Security Act. This means that the allocation of foodgrain will increase from 28 lakh tonnes to 56 lakh tonnes. 

iii. Under the National Food Security Act, Bihar will benefit the most. This was done in order to improve the public distribution system (PDS) in the state, which was in a bad shape.

Note: Apart from Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh would be other three major beneficiaries under the new Act. Uttar Pradesh will get 96 lakh tones of foodgrains per annum under the National Food Security Act in comparison to the current allotment of 65 lakh tonnes. Gujarat, in the meanwhile, will get 24 lakh tonnes from the current allocation of 13.5 lakh tonnes per annum at present.

6.    Wigneswaran takes oath as Northern Province CM of Sri Lanka

i. Former Supreme Court judge C.V. Wigneswaran was on Monday sworn in the first chief minister of Sri Lanka’s northern province, most of which was under LTTE's control for nearly 30 years.

ii. Justice Wigneswaran took oath before President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the chief minister after his party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), won the provincial council elections held Sep 21.

iii. TNA leader R. Sampanthan said the decision for Justice Wigneswaran to take oath before the President was made in consonance with the commitment of the TNA to ensure that the Tamil people are able to live in security, safeguard their self respect and dignity.

iv. At the northern provincial council elections, Justice Wigneswaran secured 132,255 votes in Jaffna to come first in the TNA list followed by the wife of a former rebel, Anandi Sasithran, who got 87,870 votes.

7.    Nadal tops ATP rankings

i. Spain’s Rafael Nadal returned to the top of the ATP rankings for the first time in more than two years on Monday, overtaking Serbian Novak Djokovic, who dropped to second.

ii. Nadal moved into the top spot of the rankings with 11,160 points to 11,120 for Djokovic. It is the first time Nadal has headed the table since July 2011. Djokovic had kept the ranking for 101 weeks.

iii. Former world number one Roger Federer dropped another spot in the standings. A week after falling to number six, the Swiss landed at number seven this week.

8.    BAI Panel Recommended Life Ban for Badminton Player Jwala Gutta

i. The Disciplinary Committee of the Badminton Association of India (BAI) on 5 October 2013 recommended a life-ban onJwala Gutta for her role in delaying the Indian Badminton League (IBL) fixture between Delhi Smashers and Banga Beats in Bangalore on 25 August 2013.

ii. Jwala Gutta was served a show-cause notice on 4 September 2013 after the matter was discussed in the Badminton Association of India’s general body meeting in Mumbai on 31 August 2013. 

Note: The Badminton Association of India (BAI) went by tournament referee Girish Natu’s report in which he held Jwala Gutta responsible for coercing her team members for uncalled for indiscipline, for causing  harm to the spirit and interest of the tournament, for failing to maintain the stature of the tournament, for imposing unwarranted hardship to the TV viewers, spectators and all other concerned, besides preventing and compelling teammate B. Sai Praneeth from playing the opening match of the tie.

About Jwala Gutta

i. J wala Gutta was born on 7 September 1983 in Wardha, Maharashtra and brought up in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh to a Telugu Indian father and a Chinese mother.

ii. Jwala Gutta is a left-handed Indian badminton player who has won the National Badminton Championships thirteen times. She is a doubles badminton player who has partnered with Shruti Kurien and later Ashwini Ponnappa.

iii. Jwala Gutta won the gold medal at the Commonwealth games in 2010, in the women's doubles badminton event partnering with Ashwini Ponnappa.

iv. Jwala Gutta selected for Arjuna Award for the year 2011.

9.    President reaches Turkey; to hold bilateral talks today 

i. President Pranab Mukherjee, who is in turkey as part of his two-nation tours will hold talks with the top leadership of Turkish capital Ankara on Monday.

ii. Five inter-document agreements and six MOU's will be signed on Monday.

iii. The President was received by the Governor of Ankara at the airport as he arrived on the last leg of his two-nation tour. 

iv. The President will be in Turkey till tomorrow and will attend a host of events. He is in the country on an invitation by the President of Turkey. This is the third visit by an Indian President to Turkey after the visits by the President of India in 1993 and 1998. 

v. India and Turkey share common interest in ensuring peace and political stability in Afghanistan and Central Asia. 

vi. Earlier, Mukherjee had visited Belgium where he attended a series of state events including the 'Europalia-India 2013-14', a cultural extravaganza showcasing India. 

10.  Mukul Mudgal  member panel to probe IPL spot-fixing 

i. In a setback to N Srinivasan, Supreme Court proposes 3-member panel headed by Former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana HC Mukul Mudgal to independently probe into IPL spot-fixing scandal.

ii. The Supreme Court rejected BCCI's suggestion for setting up a special committee to probe the IPL spot-fixing scandal and proposed a three-member panel headed by former Punjab and Haryana Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal to examine the issue. 

iii. It asked the counsel of BCCI and Cricket Association of Bihar(CAB), which are at loggerheads on the issue of fresh probe in the scandal, to seek instructions on the proposed panel and posted the case for hearing for tomorrow when a formal order would be passed on it. 

iv. The court was hearing cross appeals filed by BCCI and CAB challenging Bombay High Court's order which had declared BCCI's probe panel in the scandal as illegal.

v. The apex court had on August 30 heard the petition filed by Aditya Verma, Secretary, CAB, challenging the high court's order refusing to appoint a fresh committee to probe the scam. 

11.  Justice A.P. Shah to head panel on road safety

i. The Supreme Court on Monday decided to appoint former Delhi High Court Chief Justice A.P. Shah to head a committee which has been deliberating on broad guidelines for protection of good Samaritans rendering assistance to accident victims.

ii. The apex court also decided to include two retired IPS officers — D.R. Karthikeyan and B.L. Vohra — in the panel which will also suggest measures to provide timely help to road mishap victims in view of growing number of such causalities on the highways also.

iii. A bench, comprising chief justice P. Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi, said Justice Shah will replace retired judge of the Delhi High Court V.S. Agrawal who has expressed his inability due to personal reasons to continue with the panel.

iv. The committee will also take into consideration various reports filed by state-owned expert departments on road safety, it said.

v. The petitioners said the identity of the person helping to bring the victim to hospital should not be revealed and he/she should not be compelled to visit the police station or appear as a witness in the court.

12.  World Bank lowers 2013 growth forecast for East Asian developing countries to 7.1%

i. The World Bank today lowered its 2013 growth forecast for East Asian developing countries to 7.1 per cent. It also warned that a prolonged US fiscal crisis could be damaging to the region.

ii. The estimate for this year's gross domestic product or GDP growth is down from a forecast of 7.8 per cent in April, and lower than the 7.5 per cent growth recorded in 2012 and 8.3 per cent in 2011.

iii. Regional GDP growth in 2014 and 2015 was forecast at 7.2 per cent for both years with middle-income economies like Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand also softening. Excluding China, the region is expected to grow 5.2 percent in 2013 and 5.3 per cent in 2014.

iv. Bert Hofman, the World Bank's East Asia and Pacific chief economist, told journalists that for every percentage point growth lost in the United States, about half a percentage point growth will be lost in East Asia.

13.  Rahul lays foundation of Mega Food Park in Amethi 

i. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday reached his constituency Amethi and laid the foundation stone of Mega Food Park in Jagdishpur.

ii. The project is aimed to create 2,500 jobs and generate Rs 450 crore revenue. 

14.  India test-fires N-capable Prithvi-II missile

i. India on Monday test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile with a strike range of 350 km from a test range at Chandipur, about 15 kms from Odisha.

ii. The surface-to-surface missile was test fired from a mobile launcher in salvo mode from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range at about 9.14 AM.

iii. "The missile trajectory will be tracked by the DRDO radars, electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry stations located along the coast of Odisha.

Note: i. Inducted into India's Strategic Forces Command in 2003, the Prithvi II missile, the first missile to be developed by DRDO under India's prestigious IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Program) is now a proven technology.

15.  Actor Madhu to be presented Pravasi Doha Basheer award

i. Veteran Malayalam film actor Madhu, who essayed memorable roles in various films, including the National award winner 'Chemmeen', will be presented the Pravsi Doha Basheer award at a function in Kochi on Friday. 

ii. The award, in memory of Vaikom Muhammed Basheer, Malayalam novelist and short story writer, will be presented by eminent novelist M T Vasudevan Nair. 

iii. Widow of Basheer, Faby Basheer will present the cash prize of Rs 50,000 to the actor, a press release here said. 

iv. Rasana Begum of Thiruvananthapuram would be presented a scholarship of Rs 15,000 by Pravasi Doha in memory of Prof M N Vijayan, writer, thinker and activist. 

16.  Cambodia's Panh awarded Asian Filmmaker of the Year at Busan

i. Acclaimed Cambodian director Rithy Panh, whose family died in the Khmer Rouge genocide, received the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award at the Busan International Film Festival on Friday for his efforts to save his country's cinematic heritage.

ii. The 49-year-old Panh has dedicated his life to seeking out and finding ways to save his country's film history, left mostly destroyed under the brutal 1975-1979 reign of the Khmer Rouge that claimed around two million lives. 

iii. The award comes after his documentary "The Missing Picture", which focuses on the loss of his parents and siblings during the genocide, won the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival in May. 

Note: Cambodia King: Norodom Sihamoni

Cambodia PM: Hun Sen

Cambodia capital: Phnom Penh

Currency: Riel

17.  Kochi to host “Reel Earth” Environmental film festival

i. Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) is organising a five-day environmental film festival in Kochi from October 7. 

ii. The Department of Youth Welfare of CUSAT is organising the festival titled 'Reel Earth: Environmental Film Fest', a press release said. 

iii. This is the third edition of the festival, which aims to increase awareness on key environmental issues by promoting and screening short and medium length films and videos, focusing on environmental issues produced in different parts of the world. 

iv. Joshi Mathew, Director of the film 'Black Forest', which bagged the best film on environment in National Film awards 2012 and vice chairman of Kerala Chalachitra Academy will inaugurate the function on Oct 7 at CUSAT. 

18.  World's highest civilian airport opens in China

i. The world's highest-altitude civilian airport has started operating in Sichuan provinve neighbouring Tibet, dramatically cutting travel time in the remote region in southwestern China.

ii. Daocheng Yading Airport, located 4,411 meters above sea level in Daocheng county in Garzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province, began operations on Monday. 

iii. The airport will reduce the traffic time between the county and provincial capital Chengdu from two days by bus to 65 minutes by plane, state-run news agency Xinhua reported. 

iv. The aerodrome became the world's highest civilian airport, replacing Bangda Airport in Qamdo in the Tibet Autonomous Region, which is 4,334 meters above sea level.

v. Situated 159 km from the Yading Nature Reserve in the eastern part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, the airport came in two years time costing 1.58 billion yuan (USD 255 million) after it was approved in April 2011. 

19.  Russian Embassy in Libya evacuated after attack

i. Russia evacuated all of its diplomats and their families from Libya, the day after a mob attack on the Russian Embassy, and issued a warning to its citizens against visiting the country. 

ii. An armed mob broke into the embassy compound in the Libyan capital Tripoli, climbing over walls, breaking down a metal gate and shooting in the air. 

iii. A Libyan official said on Wednesday's attackers took down the Russian flag that was hanging from the balcony of one of the buildings. 

iv. Moscow decided to evacuate the embassy after Libya's Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdelaziz visited its grounds and told the Russian ambassador that Libya was unable to protect the personnel.

20.  Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal for fourth China Open win

i. Novak Djokovic won his fourth China Open title in five years on Sunday, prevailing 6-3 6-4 in the final against Rafael Nadal who will replace him as the men's new world number one on Monday

21.  Serena Williams beats Jelena Jankovic to win China Open

i. Serena Williams continued her excellent form in 2013 as she beat Jelena Jankovic 6-2 6-2 to win the China Open.

ii. The eighth-seed then lost the next five games as 32-year-old American Williams captured her 10th title of the season.

22.  Del Potro Defeated Raonic to Win Japan Open Tennis Championship 2013

i. Top seeded Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentine defeated third seeded Milos Raonic of Canada, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 to win the ATP Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo on 6 October 2013. 

ii. This is the Del potro’s third ATP 500 Tournament of the year(2013). With this win Del Potro also received 312000 US Dollars prize money and earned 500 Emirates ATP Rankings points.

iii. Del Potro was a late addition to the tournament after Andy Murray withdrew due to a back injury.

23.  Mumbai Indians clinch Champions League T20 title 

i. In Cricket, Mumbai Indians clinched the Champions League Twenty-20 title by defeating Rajasthan Royals by 33 runs in New Delhi.

ii. Chasing the target of 203 runs set by Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals were all out at 169 runs in 18.5 overs. 

iii. Harbhajan Singh was adjudged Man of the match as he bagged 4 wickets by giving 32 runs.

iv. While Dwayne Smith was declared Champion of the series.

v. This was the last T-20 match of Sachin Tendulkar and Royals skipper Rahul Dravid as both players announced their retirement from T-20 format.

24.  Iran wins 17th Asia Senior Men’s Volleyball C’ship

i. Iran has won the 17th Asia Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship.

ii. The defending champions beat a spirited South Korean team in three straight sets 25-19,25-22, 25-19 in Dubai yesterday.

iii. China came third beating Japan while Australia came fifth in the ranking after defeating Chinese Taipei.

iv. Indian spikers finished seventh in the overall ranking as they beat Lebanon in a gruelling five setter. India lost the first two sets in a close finish .

25.  Pakistan won Under-19 Asian Rugby Championship 2013

i. Pakistan on 5 October 2013 defeated India in the final of the Under-19 Asian Rugby Championship 2013 in Lahore.

ii. Pakistan won the final match with the margin of 13-11 points. At the end of the first half, both teams' scores were on par at 8- 8. However, in the second half, Pakistani team played more confidently and aggressively and won five more points for them while Indians could get only three more points.

iii. Suraj Veer Sharma was the captain of Indian team while Daud Gull was the captain of Pakistan team.

26.  Kalpana Devi won Bronze Medal at the Judo Tournament in Tashkent

i. Kalapana Devi on 5 October 2013 won bronze medal at the Judo tournament in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

ii. It was India’s first IJF Grand Prix medal. Competing in 52kg weight category, Kalpana defeated Zarifa Sultonova of Uzbekistan but lost to Gili Cohen of Israel.

iii. However, Kalpana jumped back to medal contention through repechage round, where she got the better of Brazilian Raquel Silva.

iv. Kalpana, who is with Indo-Tibetan Border Police, had also won a bronze medal in the Women's World Cup Judo Championships held in September 2010 in Uzbekistan.

27.  Indian women team in final of World Team snooker

i. Vidya Pillai and Arantxa Sanchis played superbly as India-1 edged past England 2-1 to breeze into the final of the 2013 IBSF World Team (Women) Snooker Championship in Carlow, Ireland.

ii. Arantxa began well for India as he beat Hannah Jones comfortably 62-25 but Vidya struggled in second frame where Maria Catalano exhibited some excellent shots to pull the frame 70-50 to level the match again.

28.  Visharoopam- 2 ready for release

i. South Super star Kamal Hassan announced that Vishwaroopam-2 is ready for release and this film is a sequel to the his most controversial film Vishwaroopam - which stirred political controversy in Tamil Nadu.

ii. But Kamal Hassan also added that if intolerance against his films are continued he will not hesitate to renew his threat to leave the country.

iii. When vishwaroopam was released last year, there was controversy against the film as it was alleged that it hurt a community sentiments and Tamil Nadu government had banned the film, after which Kamal Hassan threatened to leave the country.