DAILY GK UPDATE - 24th July . Spectacular ceremony marks 20th CWG opening in Glasgow i. The 20th Commonwealth Games began in Glasgow. Scotland rolled out a spectacular opening ceremony with a dazzling and colourful display of their unique culture and heritage, which also had some Indian flavour. ii. A surprisingly subdued Glasgow suddenly sprang to life and exuberance with a three-hour mesmerising show of light and sound and colourful hues which the organisers claimed was watched by more than one billion people. iii. As per convention, the head of Commonwealth countries Queen Elizabeth II declared the Games Open last night. iv. Britains all time most successful Olympian cyclist and a Scot himself, Sir Chris Hoy was given the honour of presenting the Queens Baton to Her Majesty who read out her message to the Commonwealth before declaring the games open. The 11 day event will witness 4,929 athletes from 71 nations and territories competing for medals. v. India had their slice of attention with cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar turning up in a brief video clip, urging people to donate for the improvement of the living condition of children throughout the world in his role as the Global Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF. vi. The Indian contingent headed by flag bearer and Olympic silver medalist shooter Vijay Kumar led the Parade of Nations, by virtue of being hosts in 2010 Delhi edition. 2. India votes in support of UNHRC resolution on Gaza i. India along with BRICS countries on Wednesday voted in support of a UN Human Rights Council resolution to launch a probe into Israel’s offensive on Gaza. ii. India joined Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa to vote for a Palestinian-drafted resolution on “Ensuring Respect for international law in The Occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jersusalem”. iii. In the 47-member council, 29 countries voted in support of the resolution while 17 nations abstained. iv. The U.S. was the only nation to vote against the resolution. European countries abstained. v. The voting came as bloodbath in the Gaza Strip continued unabated today with Israel and Hamas refusing to back down in the 16-day conflict that has killed over 680 Palestinians and 31 Israelis. vi. Earlier, India asked Israel and Palestine to demonstrate political will to agree to a ceasefire and return to the negotiating table. 3. World Bank commits $15-18 bn to India in next 3 years i. The World Bank has committed 15 to 18 billion dollars to India by 2017 to help the country return to a higher growth path which is critical for boosting jobs and reducing poverty. ii. It will step up its lending to India to 5 to 6 billion dollars annually over the next three years from the earlier commitment of 3 to 5 billion dollars a year. iii. The World Bank President Jim Yong Kim endorsed the governments committment on reforms and said the multilateral agency will support the development initiatives with financing as well as knowledge and capacity building. He said, the new government would like to return to a growth rate of 9 percent. 4. India unchanged at 135th spot in UNs HDI report i. India is ranked 135 in Human Development Index, HDI report which was released by the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP in Tokyo today. ii. Accoding to the report, the countrys ranking in the HDI remained unchanged at 135 out of 187 countries in 2013, reflecting little improvement in the living standard of its people. iii. The report also mentioned that Indias HDI value for 2013 is 0.586 which falls in the medium human development category. iv. Between 1980 to 2013, Indias HDI value increased from 0.369 to 0.586. v. The report further said that India is the lowest performing country among the BRICS nations in all categories of the HDI with the exception of life expectancy, which is lower in South Africa as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. 5. Caninet clears 49% FDI in insurance with Indian control i. The Cabinet on Thursday approved 49 percent foreign investment in insurance companies through the FIPB route ensuring management control in the hands of Indian promoters. ii. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved raising of FDI cap in insurance sector to 49 percent from 26 percent, sources said after a meeting of the CCEA, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. iii. With the Cabinet approving the amendments to the long pending Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, it will now be taken up by Parliament. iv. The proposal to raise FDI cap has been pending since 2008 when the previous UPA government introduced the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill to hike foreign holding in insurance joint ventures to 49 percent from the existing 26 percent. 6. KN Tripathy sworn in as Govenor of West Bengal i. Former Speaker of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Mr. Keshari Nath Tripathy was sworn in as the Govenor of West Bengal on Thursday. ii. The Acting Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court Mr. Asim Kumar Banerjee administered the oath of office to Mr. Tripathy at a function in Raj Bhavan in Kolkata Thursday afternoon. iii. The State Chief Minister Miss Mamata Banerjee, her Cabinet colleagues, members of the diplomatic corps and other distinguished guests were present at the swearing-in-ceremony. 7. Doordarshans Naad Bhed-The Mystery of Sound to be featured in Limca Book of Records i. The classical music reality show of Doordarshan Naad Bhed-The Mystery of Sound will be featured in Limca Book of Records. This was revealed through a statement issued by Doordarshan on 21 July 2014. ii. The reality show will be featured under Television Chapter in Limca Book of Records for being the first ever National level reality show on Classical Music. About Naad Bhed - the Mystery of Sound i. Naad Bhed – the Mystery of Sound, a national-level classical music reality show, aims at promoting and popularising Indian classical music and rewarding the best young practitioners of classical music. ii. The central idea of the show was to earn respect for the rich Indian heritage of classical music. iii. Naad Bhed was produced by the Doordarshan and an NGO,the Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY). 8. UK Deputy PM to visit India in August i. Britains Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will lead a large business delegation on a three-city tour of India next month, focusing on aerospace, retail and education sectors. ii. The Liberal Democrat leader and coalition partner in the UK government said he will lead the large business delegation to Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. iii. It will be the first and the largest delegation of its kind since Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi was elected in that extraordinary democratic extravaganza...the greatest act of democratic volition that the world knows, Clegg said while addressing a gathering of politicians and business leaders at a special reception hosted at Whitehall in London. 9. CWG: India blow away Ghana 5-0 in mixed team badminton i. The Indian its Commonwealth Games campaign with a dominating 5-0 win over minnows Ghana in a Group badminton team launched B match of the mixed team event at the 20th edition of the multi-sport event in Glasgow on Thursday. ii. India hardly broke any sweat as Parupalli Kashyap started the proceeding, spanking Daniel Sam 21-6 21-16 in a 27-minute mens singles match to put his team in the drivers seat right from the start. iii. World Championship bronze medallist P V Sindhu then taught Stella Amasah a lesson or two in badminton with a 21-7 21-5 victory in the womens singles competition to give India a 2-0 lead. iv. Mens doubles pair of Akshay Dewalkar and Pranaav Chopra thrashed Emmanuel Donkor and Abraham Ayittey 21-7 21-11 in just 22 minutes to make it 3-0 in Indias favour. v. India will next take on Uganda. 10. Mayer stuns Ferrer to win maiden ATP title i. Argentina’s world No. 46 Leonardo Mayer captured his first ATP title on Sunday when he fought back to defeat top-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer, 6-7(3), 6-1, 7-6(4) in the bet-at-home Open final. ii. Mayer becomes the lowest-ranked winner of an ATP World Tour 500 tournament since number 54 Radek Stepanek clinched the Washington title in 2011. iii. The 27-year-old Mayer is enjoying one of the best spells of his career. Last month, the right-hander advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon and made his first ATP World Tour final in Vina del Mar earlier this year.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 02:06:47 +0000
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