DAILY GK UPDATE - 9-10TH NOV 1. Gabriela Isler Won Miss Universe 2013 i. Gabriela Isler from Venezuela won Miss Universe 2013 contest on 9 November 2013 held at Crocus City Hall in Moscow, Russia. Patricia Yurena Rodriguez from Spain finished as the first runner-up, whereas Constanza Baez from Ecuador was the second runner up. ii. Manasi Moghe from India had been shortlisted for the top 10 finalists of Miss Universe 2013 but failed to win the crown. Miss Universe is the oldest International beauty pageant. iii. The top 10 finalists comprised India, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Ukraine, Ecuador, USA, Brazil, Great Britain, Spain and Philippines. Top 5 finalists included Ecuador, Spain, Brazil, Philippines, Venezuela. iv. María Gabriela Isler was born on 21 April 1988 in Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela. She is a Venezuelan fashion model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Venezuela 2012. She is the third Miss Universe from Venezuela in 6 years. 2. SC Stays Gauhati HC verdict terming CBI as unconstitutional i. In a huge relief to the Centre and the CBI, the Supreme Court on Saturday stayed the Gauhati High court verdict declaring the agency as unconstitutional, saying accused in sensational cases have sought halting of the criminal proceedings based on that judgement. ii. The apex court relief came on an urgent petition filed by the Department of Personnel and Training, the nodal ministry for CBI, from a bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam, which heard the appeal at an extraordinary hearing in his residence. iii. In the meantime, there shall be a stay of operation of the final judgement and the impugned order dated November 6, 2013 passed by the Gauhati High Court, said the bench also comprising Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai. iv. It rejected the objections raised by the counsel for Navendra Kumar, on whose petition the High Court had passed the verdict, that DoPT was not authorised to file the Special Leave Petition as it was not a party in the High Court. 3. RBI allowed third-party payment for Export and Import Transactions – i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 8 November 2013 has allowed third party payment for the export and import transactions. ii. The procedure relating to payments for exports or imports was liberalized taking into account the evolving international trade procedure. Banks are allowed to receive the payments for export of goods/software from the third party. iii. The order of RBI also permits the banks to make payments to the third party for imports of goods. iv. The third party refers to an entity other than the buyer or the seller. The procedure was liberalised taking into account the evolving international trade practices. v. The amount of an import transaction eligible for third party payment should not exceed USD 100,000. This limit will be revised as and when considered expedient vi. Third party payment should be made to a Financial Action Task Force (FATF) compliant country and through the banking channel only . However, banks would have to follow certain conditions in case of export transaction: i. Firm irrevocable order backed by a tripartite agreement should be in place – ii. Third party payment should come from a Financial Action Task Force (FATF) compliant country and through the banking channel only. iii. The exporter should declare the third party remittance in the Export Declaration Form. iv. In case of shipments being made to a country in Group II of Restricted Cover Countries, (e.g. Sudan, Somalia, etc.), payments for the same may be received from an Open Cover Country. 4. Prince Charles, wife on 4-day visit to Kerala from tomorrow i. A visit to the Jewish Synagogue at nearby Mattancherry, the oldest synagogue in the Commonwealth, and a trip to the elephant corridor at Vazhachal will be the highlights of the four-day visit of Prince Charles and his wife Camilla Parker Bowles to Kerala, starting tomorrow. ii. The royal couple, on their maiden visit to the State, will be reaching Kochi after completing their visits to Dehradun, New Delhi, Mumbai and Pune. iii. Some 1,000 additional police personnel have been deployed in various places in and around the city to strengthen security in view of the visit. iv. On November 11, the royal couple will be visiting the private Kerala Folklore Museum and Theatre at Thevara, which showcases the rich heritage that the State exudes through its numerous dance forms. v. On November 14, the royal couple would visit the Jewish Synagogue and meet members of the community and receive a traditional Jewish prayer of blessing. 5. Exit Polls banned till 4th December i. The Election Commission has banned the publication and dissemination of exit polls of any kind in the five poll bound states from 11th November till 4th December, when the Assembly elections are over. ii. The Commission issued these orders and sent them to Chief Electoral Officers of all the five poll-bound states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Delhi. iii. The exit polls will be banned from 7 AM on 11th November when polling in the first phase of Chhattisgarh starts till 5:30 PM on 4th December when the Delhi Assembly polls end. iv. The Commission has also banned the publication of results of any opinion polls 48 hours before polling in a state. v. 14 parties respond on opinion polls, EC for more consultations vi. The grounds on which the ECI is considering restriction do not get covered by the postulates prescribed in Art 19(2) of the Constitution, BJP said in a letter to the Commission. 6. Parvinder Sohi Behuria appointed new Secretary General of NHRC i. Parvinder Sohi Behuria, a Senior IRS officer was appointed as the Secretary General of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on 8 November 2013. ii. Behuria was appointed in the rank and pay of the secretary. She is the successor of Ashok Sahu, a 1975 batch officer of Indian Economic Service, following his retirement. iii. She is a 1977 batch IRS (Income Tax) officer. At present, she is the Member (Revenue) in Central Board of Direct Taxes under the Department of Revenue. 7. India and Japan decided to strengthen their Cooperation in the Maritime Sector i. India and Japan on 9 November 2013 decided to further strengthen their cooperation in the maritime sector as a part of the overall robust bilateral relations. ii. The two countries agreed to enhance their interaction through the existing forums and through port-to-port exchanges. This was decided during the visit of Union Minister of Shipping G.K. Vasan, to Japan. iii. India explained the developments that were taking place in its Ports sector and assured Japan that concerns regarding infrastructure and connectivity of ports are being addressed expeditiously. iv. Japan acknowledged the existing cordial relationship between the two nations, assured that it will carry forward the momentum. Japan expressed its interest in shipbuilding and recycling industries in India. 8. 7th India-Republic of Korea Joint Commission Meeting held in New Delhi i. The 7th India-Republic of Korea Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was held here on 8 November 2013. ii. The 7th India-Republic of Korea Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was held in New Delhi on 8 November 2013. iii. The two nations conducted a comprehensive review of bilateral relations, which have been upgraded to a Strategic Partnership and have acquired range and depth over the past few years. iv. Noting that high level political exchanges had imparted momentum to the relationship, they discussed the possibility of a visit to India by Korean President Madame Park Geun-hye in early 2014. 9. Delhi to celebrate 150th birth aniv of Assams literature icon i. A year-long celebration to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Assamese literature pioneer Lakshminath Bezbaruah will kick-start in the Capital next month with a sarod recital by Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan and a performance by Bollywood singer Angaraag Papon Mahanta. ii. Assam Association, Delhi (AAD) is taking the initiative of bringing under one platform non-resident Assamese on the occasion. iii. Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Minister Paban Singh Ghatowar, sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, actress Sharmila Tagore and filmmaker Jahnu Barua will be among the patrons of the celebrations. iv. The anniversary celebrations will begin with a cultural evening of songs and music on December 22 in which Papon, the voice behind Kyon (Barfi) and Sun le re (Madras Cafe), and the Khan brothers. v. The event will aim to inspire all non-resident Assamese to get connected to the root and contribute to developing their mother tongue and own heritage by recognising Bezbaruah as their true icon, says Sarat Barkakati, general secretary of AAD. vi. The event will also flag off projects on Learning of Assamese language, on web-based social-cultural forum for exchange of ideas and Web-based comprehensive history of Assam. 10. Focus on S-E Asia at Kolkata film festival i. The 19th edition of the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) was inaugurated on Sunday. The eight-day festival will screen 189 films from 63 countries. ii. KIFF, an accredited film festival of the International Federation of Film Producers Association, Paris (FIAPF), screened renowned director Rituparno Ghosh’s Taak Jhaank (Sunglass) as the inaugural film. Eight of Ghosh’s films, including Unishe April, Dahan, The Last Lear and Chitrangada, would be screened as a special tribute during the festival. iii. Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan inaugurated the festival along with Shah Rukh Khan, Kamal Haasan and other eminent actors. Bachchan recalled Bengal’s contribution to Indian cinema and described how Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Devdas “fired the imagination” of Indian filmmakers “time and again”. iv. This year’s festival will focus on South-East Asian movies, she said. v. In memory of legendary singer Manna Dey, who passed away last month, the festival’s theme song featured lyrics from his popular Bengali film Jibone Ki Paabo Na. 11. Anand plays out tame draw with white pieces against Carlsen i. Defending champion Viswanathan Anand was caught off guard by a surprise opening from Magnus Carlsen of Norway as he played out a tame draw against his challenger with white pieces in the second game of the World Chess Championship in Chennai on Sunday. ii. World number one Carlsen showed that he was made of sterner stuff and pulled back the attention on himself with an easiest of draws against Anand, who played with his first white in the match. iii. The first game, in which Anand played with black pieces, was also a drawn affair on Saturday. iv. The scores are now tied 1-1 after two games and there are 10 more games to go under Classical time control in this Rs 14 crore prize money championship. v. The local hero agreed that the opening was a surprise for him and even more the variation chosen by Carlsen. 12. India finish fifth at Mens Asian Champions hockey tourney i. Akashdeep Singh scored three goals as India thrashed Oman 6-1 to finish fifth in the third Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament at Kakamigahara, Japan on Sunday. ii. In a fifth-sixth place match, India dominated from the word go, scoring three goals in each half. iii. Kothajit Singh converted a penalty corner in the sixth minute of the match to give India an early advantage. Five minutes later, Gurjinder Singh doubled the teams lead by converting another penalty corner. iv. In the 24th minute, Akashdeep Singh gently tapped in Mandeeps pass from a difficult angle to place India in a comfortable position at half time. v. In the 66th minute, Malak Singh scored with a fierce hit from top of the circle before Akashdeep scored his third goal of the day just two minutes minutes from the hooter to hand India comprehensive victory. 13. Ashwin becomes number-one ranked Test all-rounder i. Indias Ravichandran Ashwin has jumped to the numero uno position in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders by virtue of his stellar show in the first cricket Test against the West Indies at Kolkata. ii. Ashwin scored 124, his second Test century, and also recorded match figures of 40-11-98-5 to help India register an emphatic innings and 51-run victory over West Indies with more than two days to spare. iii. The performance at Kolkata not only improved Ashwins batting and bowling rankings, but also helped him to leapfrog Shakib Al Hasan and Jacques Kallis into the number-one spot in the all-rounders list. iv. In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, Ashwin has moved up 18 places to the 45th position, while in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, the 27-year-old off-spinner has gained two places and is now sitting in sixth position. v. Sharma, who became the 14th Indian batsman to score a century on debut when he struck 177, lies in the 63rd spot in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, while Shamis figures of nine for 118 the most by an Indian fast bowler on debut has helped him enter in the 53rd place in Test bowlers chart. 14. Rlys to get mobile communication system for passenger safety i. To ensure safety of passengers in view of ongoing efforts to increase speed of trains, Railways has decided to install sophisticated communication system in place of existing walkie talkie system for unhindered contact between the driver and ground staff. ii. We are implementing Mobile Train Radio Communication (MTRC) system which would provide better communication between the control room and the driver in speeding trains, said a senior Railway Ministry official involved with the project. iii. The system will provide control rooms with emergency brake for trains which can be used in case of signal violation by drivers. iv. While the MRTC system is currently being installed in the 2264-km route including Delhi-Ludhiana, Howrah-Mughalsarai and Kolkata Metro sections, 2235-km-long route including the New Delhi-Howrah and New Delhi-Jammu will be equipped with the modern communication system by March next year v. The 1465 km long JN Port Trust-Dadri route in the Western DFC and 626 km long Ludhiana-Mughalsarai in the Eastern DFC will have the system in the first phase, the official said, adding, freight trains are expected to run at higher speed in the corridor.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 13:28:44 +0000
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