Gk Updates for 5th March 2013

Published for http://www.jobentra.blogspot.com

1.    US to give 'women of courage award' to Nirbhaya posthumously

i. The US State Department awarded one of the 2013 International Women of Courage Awards to 23-year-old paramedical student who was gangraped in a moving bus in New Delhi on 16 December 2012.

ii. She died after just two weeks in Singapore after being raped in the capital.

iii. The award would be given away posthumously on 8 March 2013. 

iv. The award to 'Nirbhaya' would be presented posthumously by the First Lady Michelle Obama and the Secretary of State John Kerry.

NOTE: i. "For millions of Indian women, her personal trial, perseverance to fight for justice, and her family's continued bravery is helping to lift the stigma and vulnerability that drive violence against women," the State Department said about her as it announced the awards to be given to 10 women from across the world.

ii. Since inception of the award in 2007, the Department of State has honoured 67 women from 45 different countries.

iii. After the award ceremony, the honorees will travel separately to cities across the United States to engage with the American people through an International Visitor Leadership Program.

2.    Aussies fall in Spin trap, India take 2-0 lead

i. India crushed a clueless Australia by an innings and 135 runs in less than three and half days to win the second cricket Test and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series in Hyderabad.

ii. Ashwin grabbed five for 63 while Ravindra Jadeja took three for 33 as Australia displayed surprising lack of fighting spirit to be skittled out for a meagre 131 in 67 overs in their second innings.

iii. The match lasted only two hours on the fourth day as it was an abject surrender by the Australian batsmen who had no answer to the questions posed by Ashwin and Jadeja on a turning track at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium.

iv. The visitors needed 192 runs to avoid an innings defeat but they lost the final eight wickets in 35 overs with an addition of only 57 runs to their overnight total.

v. Cheteshwar Pujara was deservingly awarded the man-of-the-match award for his double hundred.

NOTE: i. Besides, MS Dhoni had another reason to cheer today, as he became the Indian Skipper with a maximum number of Test victories to his name.

ii. The third test will be played at Mohali from 14th March.

3.    India & Bhutan signs DTAA agreement

i. India and Bhutan today signed a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) for the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.

ii. The Agreement was signed between the Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram and Bhutanese Finance Minister, Mr. Lyonpo Wangdi Norbu in New Delhi. 

iii. The DTAA provides that business profits will be taxable in the source state if the activities of an enterprise constitute a permanent establishment in the source state.

iv. The Agreement further incorporates provisions for effective exchange of information and assistance in collection of taxes between tax authorities of the two countries including exchange of banking information. You are reading current affairs on http://jobentra.blogspot.com

v. The agreement will provide tax stability to the residents of both the countries and facilitate mutual economic cooperation. 

4.    Hariram Meena Selected For the Bihari Puraskar For 2012

i. Rajasthani author Hariram Meena was selected for the Bihari Puraskar for 2012 for Hindi novel Dhooni Tape Teer. The novel was published in 2008. 

ii. Dhooni Tape Teer is a novel based on the deaths of tribal people in Banswara in Rajasthan on 17 November 1913. 

iii. The Bihari Puraskar is selected annually by a panel, which at present is headed by Nand Kishore Acharya. 

About the Bihari Puraskar

i. Bihari Puraskar was instituted by K K Birla Foundation in 1991. 

ii. It is given on a yearly basis to the Rajasthani writers for their literary works in Rajasthani or Hindi published in last 10 years. 

iii. The award includes a citation along with a cash prize of 1 lakh Rupees. 

About Hariram Meena

i. Hariram Meena was born on 1 May 1952 in Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan.

ii. Various publications have been credited to his name and these include one novel, two anthologies and one travelogue.     

      

5.    Pranab, Hasina jointly inaugurate locomotives & wagons

i. President Pranab Mukherjee and Bangladesh Prime Minister Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday jointly inaugurated the locomotives and wagons supplied under a USD 800 million line of credit extended by India, reflecting growing bilateral ties in infrastructure sector.

ii. The freight train flagged off at the Dhaka cantonment railway station comprised two locomotives, 20 broad gauge tank wagons and one brake van.

iii. Later in the afternoon, the President is scheduled to visit poet Rabindrantah Tagore’s house at Shilaidaha before wrapping up his three-day state visit to Bangladesh, his first foreign trip since becoming the President in August last year.

6.    Maldives ex-President Nasheed arrested

i. Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed has been arrested, to face charges of abuse of power during his tenure, after he failed to appear for a hearing and evaded two arrest warrants,.

ii. The spokesman added, Mr. Nasheed was arrested on Tuesday at his home in Male, and will be produced in court on Wednesday.

NOTE: i. Mr. Nasheed was the first democratically elected President of this Indian Ocean archipelago.

ii. He is charged with illegally ordering the arrest of a senior judge, a move that led to his fall from power last year.

iii. He claims charges against him are politically motivated. He avoided two arrest warrants last month by taking refuge at the Indian Embassy for 10 days.

7.    CAG finds irregularities in farm debt waiver scheme

i. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of the government of India has said that it has recorded irregularities in the Rs. 52,000 crore farm debt waiver scheme.

ii. The government auditor said on Tuesday that several ineligible farmers were given benefit under the scheme while other eligible farmers were excluded unfairly. 

iii. The report is related to Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme (ADWDRS) 2008. 

iv. The government had announced ADWDRS in 2008 to offer debt relief of upto Rs 52,516 crore to 3.69 crore small and marginal farmers and 60 lakh other farmers. 

NOTE: i. The report said that several farmers who had taken loans for non-agricultural purposes and whose loans did not meet the criteria for the scheme, received benefits under the scheme.

ii. It was also found that the micro finance institutions (MFIs) were given benefit under the scheme, which is a violation of the guidelines included in the scheme.

8.    Microsoft Launched New Version of Office 365 for Businesses in India

i. Microsoft, the Software giant launched new version of Office 365 for the businesses running in India, on 4 March 2013. 

ii. Office 365 will facilitate sharing the data seamlessly across the computers and mobiles with the help of cloud computing technology. 

iii. Because the solutions offered are cloud-based, therefore the users can also get accessibility to the files and mails through various devices such as mobiles, laptops and desktops.

iv. With a group of solutions, the companies can make use of the Office 365 for 330-1200 Rupees per month, per user. It is possible to install Office 365 on up to 5 different devices for one user under the licensing of Office 365.

v. This group of solutions includes PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, Excel, Access and OneNote. 

NOTE: Cloud computing is the technology that helps in sharing the technological resources, digital information as well as software. Because the cloud-computing is Internet-based, therefore the solutions and data are accessible from anywhere with the help of a browser.

9.    Mukesh Ambani Richest Person of India for 6th Consecutive Year

i. Mukesh Ambani retained his title as the richest person of India for the sixth consecutive year with the net worth of 21.5 billion US Dollars, according to the annual rankings published by Forbes on 4 March 2013. 

ii. The richest man in the world for fourth time in a row was Mexican business tycoon Carlos Slim with the net worth of 73 billion US Dollars. 

iii. In the overall list of the billionaires of the world, Mukesh Ambani was ranked at number 22. Lakshmi Mittal, on the other hand was ranked at 41st position with the net worth of 16.5 billion US Dollars. 

iv. The first in the list was Carlos Slim, followed by Bill Gates with the net worth of 67 billion US Dollars, Spain's Amancio Ortega with net worth of 57 billion US Dollars, Warren Buffett with the net worth of 53.5 billion US Dollars and Larry Ellison with the net worth of 43 billion US Dollars. 

10.  Videocon signs deal with Nokia Siemens to roll out 4G network in India

i. Videocon Mobile Services said in a Monday announcement that it has inked an in-principle deal with Nokia Siemens for rolling out its 4G LTE network in India.

ii. The announcement, about Videocon's partnership with Nokia Siemens Network for 4G services in India, comes within days of Videocon's statement - at the last-week-concluded 2013 Mobile World Congress - about the tie-up between the companies for the roll out of advanced 4G LTE network in the country.

iii. With its 4G services network, Videocon will essentially be offering data service (Internet) experience including Video Chat, High Definition (HD) TV content, Mobile TV, and digital video broadcasting.