DAILY GK UPDATE 8 OCTOBER

1.    Peter Higgs & Francois Englert win Nobel Physics Prize

i. Peter Higgs of Britain and Francois Englert of Belgium won the Nobel Physics Prize today for the discovery of the "God particle". 

ii. The pair were honoured for "the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles. This was recently confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle," the jury said.

iii. The pair were honoured for "the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles. This was recently confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle," the jury said

2.    Mulatu Teshome new president of Ethiopia

i. Ethiopia's parliament elected Mulatu Teshome to be the country's new president on Monday, for a six-year term in a largely symbolic and ceremonial post.

ii. Following the opening of the new parliament, a joint session of the House of Representatives and House of Federation elected Ambassador Dr Mulatu Teshome as the President of Ethiopia," the foreign ministry said in a statement. 

iii. Mulatu, 57, who was Ethiopia's ambassador to Turkey until his appointment, replaces 88-year old Girma Wolde Giorgis, who first took the post in 2001 and was reelected in 2007. 

iv. Mulatu, who like all Ethiopia is known by his first name, comes from the Oromo people, the country's largest ethnic group. He has also served as Ethiopia's ambassador to China and Japan as well as Ethiopia's Minister of Agriculture. 

3.    Cabinet approves Bill to give statutory status to UIDAI

i. The Union Cabinet today approved official amendments to the UIDAI Bill. This will give statutory status to UIDAI which is responsible for issuing the Aadhar number.

ii. Besides giving statutory status to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the Bill seeks to provide legal backing to Aadhaar, which is used to disburse subsidies.

iii. The UIDAI, which issues 12-digit Aadhaar numbers to residents, currently operates through an executive order.

iv. The new law seeks to create a National Identification Authority of India, which will oversee the implementation of the Aadhaar project. It also seeks to define the penalties in case of misuse of data collected under the project.

4.    The Indian Air Force Day Celebrated Across India

The Indian Air Force Day is celebrated on 8 October 2013. It is the 81st anniversary of the Indian Air Force. On this day, various celebrations are organised across the country along with parades at the airbases all over India. 

5.    Turkey extends support for India's full membership in NSG

i. Turkey has assured India of backing its bid for full membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and would take up the issue with other members of the 47-nation grouping, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday. 

ii. Returning from his two nation visit of Belgium and Turkey, Mukherjee, who had flagged the issue during his talks with leaders of both countries.

iii. In the recent past, Turkey has made it clear that it does not object to India's quest for membership in the NSG but would like to see it joining the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a prerequisite for being part of the NSG. 

iv. In the first leg of his visit, the President had acknowledged Belgium's "upfront support" for creating an exception for India in NSG and had suggested that a clear public stand favouring India's effort for becoming permanent member of four Arms Control regimes 

Note: The NSG has 47 members, MTCR has 34 countries as its members, Wassenaar Arrangement, an order which is for the promotion of regional security, international security and stability by offering transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms, dual-use goods and technologies, has 41 members. 

ii. The Australia Group, an informal forum of countries which seeks to ensure that exports do not contribute to the development of chemical and biological weapons, has 42 members.

iii. Belgium and Turkey are members of all the groups. 

6.    SC directs 3% reservation for disabled in all govt institutions

i. Supreme Court has directed Central and the state governments to provide three percent jobs to the disabled. 

ii. In its landmark order the apex court has asked the centre and states to implement reservation for disabled within three months ina ll government departments, companies and institutions

iii. The apex court directed the authorities to compile the number of vacancies in all their departments to give jobs to disabled persons under three percent reserved quota within three months. 

iv. A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam also clarified that the principle of not exceeding more than 50 per cent reservation would not be applicable while granting quota for disabled persons. 

7.    SC allows Srinivasan to take charge as BCCI President

i. The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed N Srinivasan to take charge as BCCI President. 

ii. SC sets up probe panel headed by former CJ of Punjab and Haryana HC Mukul Mudgal to inquire into allegation of betting and spot fixing in IPL. 

iii. Supreme Court has asked the probe panel to complete its inquiry preferably within four months.

iv. Supreme Court has also said that the committee will investigate G Meiyappan and owners of Rajasthan Royals and file report on erring IPL franchisees. 

8.    AIAI enters into pact with Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce & Industry

i. Industry lobby All-India Association of Industries, AIAI today said it has entered into an agreement with the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry to promote trade between the two countries.

ii. The memorandum of understanding signed in Mumbai today aims to enhance trade and investments between the two nations.

iii. It also seeks to increase joint ventures, collaborations and technology transfers through an exchange of business proposals.

9.    P Chidambaram to attend IMF-World Bank meet today

i. Finance Minister P Chidambaram will leave for the US on Tuesday to attend the annual meeting of the IMF and the World Bank. The world leaders will deliberate on prevailing uncertainty in global economy. 

ii. Discussions will also focus on the much-awaited quota reforms that will benefit emerging economies including India. 

iii. Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan and Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram, among others, will also be attending the annual meetings.

iv. The visit comes against the backdrop of external sector pressure with the country's foreign exchange reserves dipping by over 15 billion dollars since March 2013 to 276 billion dollars as on September 27.

10.  Tata Power buys 39 MW wind energy farm in Gujarat

i. Tata Power has inked a deal to acquire AES Saurashtra Windfarms, a subsidiary of US-based AES Corp, which owns a 39.2 MW wind energy farm in Gujarat, Tata Power said Tuesday.

ii. The purchase was made through the Tata Power subsidiary, Tata Power Renewable Energy, for an undisclosed amount.

iii. "The project (wind energy farm) which is fully operational since January 2012 has executed a power purchase agreement with GUVNL (Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd) for sale of the electricity at a tariff of Rs. 3.56/kWh for the duration of the project,"

iv. With this acquisition, Tata Power's total generation capacity now stands at 8,560 MW of which 437 MW capacity is from wind energy.

v. Tata Power is committed to generating 20-25 percent of its total generation capacity from clean energy sources and is proud to have signed this share purchase agreement to acquire 39.2 MW operational wind farm.

11.  Canara Bank, Apollo Munich in bancassurance tie-up

i. Canara Bank and Apollo Munich Health Insurance (AMHI) have entered into a bancassurance tie-up. This is the first such tie-up for the insurance company in its six years of existence.

ii. Bancassurance is distribution of insurance products through a bank’s network.

iii. With this tie-up, AMHI products will be distributed in over 4,200 branches of Canara Bank, which will act as a corporate agent for selling these products.

iv. Canara Bank will also utilise it business correspondents’ network to take health insurance to unbanked areas, R.K.Dubey, Chairman and Managing Director of the bank, said.

v.  Antony Jacob, Chief Executive Officer, AMHI, had in July this year said that the company was looking seriously at a bancassurance tie-up to improve distribution.

12.  National Bank of Abu Dhabi gets Indian IT solution

i. The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), one of the largest banks in United Arab Emirates, has put in place an Indian IT solution that would enable real-time analysis and enrichment of revenue streams, its developer said Tuesday.

ii. The enterprise IT solution by Kerala capital headquartered SunTec, a leading provider of revenue management and business assurance solutions, is the first to be implemented in the Middle East market.

iii. The solution will enable "financial services companies and digital and communications services create personalised offerings and achieve superior customer experience management".

iv. SunTec is a partner of the world's leading service providers like VISA, HSBC, ING and Standard Bank

13.  Tata Power to set up coal-fired plant in Myanmar

i. Tata Power has forayed into Myanmar and has begun feasibility studies to set up a coal-fired power station there.

ii. The project is expected to be commissioned in 2019-20. This would be the first project by the Tata Group Company in the South-East Asian nation.

iii. Tata Power has executed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Myanmar for setting up an imported coal-based power plant.

iv. The Rs 19,399-crore Tata Power is aggressively looking to expand its portfolio overseas. At present, it is building hydro electric projects in Bhutan, Georgia and Zambia. The firm is also developing two wind power projects in South Africa.

v. In Myanmar, the power plant is proposed to be located in Ngayok Kaung, Ayeyarwaddy region, and would have captive coal berthing arrangements.

14.  Karan Thapar Chosen for IPI-India Award

i. Karan Thapar, television journalist chosen for the International Press Institute (IPI) – India award for excellence in journalism 2013 on 8 October 2013 for his interviews on the Devil's Advocate programme on CNN IBN.

ii. He was selected by a distinguished jury of editors and publishers headed by the former Chief Justice of India, A. S. Anand. The members of the jury included IPI-India Chairman and The Hindu Editor N Ravi, PTI Editor-in-Chief M K Razdan, Business Standard Chairman and Chief Editor T N Ninan and Malyala Manorama Senior Assistant Editor Riyad Mathew.

iii. Previous winners of the International Press Institute award include The Indian Express, NDTV, Outlook, Tehelka, Tribune and The Week

iv. The International Press Institute is a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists. 

About Karan Thapar

i. Karan Thapar is an Indian television commentator and interviewer.
ii. He is conducting programmes like Devil's Advocate, The Last Word on CNN-IBN and India Tonight on CNBC TV 18.
iii, He also wrote books like Face To Face India - Conversations With Karan Thapar, Sunday Sentiments, Wisdom Tree, More Salt Than iv. Pepper - Dropping Anchor With Karan Thapar, Harper Collins,

15.  ICC World T-20 qualifier 2013 to be held in Abu Dhabi

i. The International Cricket Council has announced that the final stages of the ICC World Twenty 20 Qualifier 2013 will be held at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

ii. The double-header qualifying finals on the last two days of the tournament on 29th and 30th November will be played at 2 pm and 6 pm respectively. 

iii. The ICC World Cup T-20 has 16 teams, split into two groups of eight who will compete for six available spots in the ICC World Twenty 2014 in Bangladesh. 

16.  Indian Cyclist Deborah Won Two Gold Medals at ACC Track Asia Cup

i. Indian cyclist Deborah on 7 October 2013 won a gold medal in the women’s junior individual sprint at Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC) Track Asia Cup in Thailand.

ii. Teen cyclist Deborah from Andaman Nicobar Island had earlier grabbed gold in 500m Time Trial event.

17.  Pallam Raju skips Union Cabinet meeting

i. Union HRD Minister M.M. Pallam Raju, who has tendered his resignation over the Telangana issue, on Tuesday skipped the Union Cabinet meeting.

ii. Mr. Raju along with three other Union Ministers from the Seemandhra region had on Monday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting him to accept their resignations, but got no assurance from the latter.