DAILY GK UPDATE - 14th March !

1.    Thomas Mathew elected as MCX Chairman

i. Former Home Secretary G.K. Pillai today resigned as Chairman of MCX Stock Exchange.

ii. The resignation came hours ahead of a scheduled board meeting of MCX-SX, where former LIC Chairman Thomas Mathew T has taken over as new Chairman.

iii. SEBI is looking at ways to assuage the concerns of investors, trading members and other stakeholders in MCX-SX, according to senior officials.

iv. Meanwhile, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said he hopes that directors of MCX-SX would act in public interest and that there was an orderly resolution of the crisis.

2.    Exim Bank extends $90 mn line of credit to Republic of Congo

i. Export-Import Bank of India has, at the behest of the Government of India, extended a Line of Credit of $89.90 million to the Government of Republic of Congo, for development of transportation system in the Republic of Congo.

ii. Under the line of credit, Exim Bank will reimburse 100 per cent of contract value to the Indian exporters, upfront upon the shipment of equipment and goods/ provision of services.

iii. The Agreement was signed in New Delhi, India by Yaduvendra Mathur, Chairman & Managing Director, Exim Bank and F�lix NGOMA, Ambassador of the Republic of Congo in India. This is the second line of credit to the Government of the Republic of Congo.

iv. With the signing of this Agreement, Exim Bank has now in place 188 Lines of Credit, covering 75 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, Oceania and the CIS, with credit commitments of over $10.30 billion, available for financing exports from India.

Note: i. Exim Bank had earlier extended $70 million LOC to the Government of Republic of Congo, for financing a rural electrification project.

ii. The Republic of Congo is located in Central Africa bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angolan exclave of Cabinda.

3.    Economy will grow at 5.5% in Q4: Rangarajan

i. Country�s economy is likely to grow at 5.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal on higher agriculture output and pick up in the manufacturing activities, Prime Minister�s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) chairman C Rangarajan said on Friday.

ii. �I see some greenshoots in Indian economy...In order to achieve growth rate of 4.9 per cent for year as a whole, the fourth quarter growth rate will have to be at 5.5 per cent. 

iii. The Indian economy grew 4.7 per cent in the third quarter of this financial year on improved performance in the agriculture and services sectors.

iv. Given the performance in the first nine months and GDP growth of 4.9 per cent projected by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in its advance estimates for this financial year, the economy must expand 5.5 per cent in the fourth quarter ending March 2014.

4.    Pawan Kalyan to launch �Jana Sena� party today

i. Politics in Andhra Pradesh will take a crucial turn today as popular film star Pawan Kalyan launches his political party �Jana Sena� this evening.

ii. Pawan Kalyan, brother of film star and Union Tourism Minister Konidela Chiranjeevi, will unveil the party flag and objectives to an invited crowd of 6,000 at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) in Madhapur at 6 p.m.

iii. The �Power Star', who shares No. 1 slot in the Telugu film industry with Mahesh Babu, is riding on the crest of a wave of popularity with two back to back blockbuster hits of Gabbarsingh and Attaarintiki Daaredi.

iv. Pawan Kalyan, a recluse person, headed the youth wing of Praja Rajyam founded by his actor brother Chiranjeevi five years ago.

5.    Wholesale Inflation falls to 9-month low of 4.68 per cent in Feb

i. Wholesale price based inflation dropped to a nine-month low of 4.68 per cent in February this year, from 5.05 per cent in January, as prices of kitchen staples like onions and potatoes eased.
ii. According to official data released on Friday, food inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index, fell to 8.12 per cent in February, from 8.8 per cent in January, as the rate of price rise slowed in almost all items.
iii. Overall inflation in the vegetable basket dropped to 3.99 per cent in February, from 16.6 per cent in January.
iv. Retail inflation, reported earlier this week, had dropped to a 25-month low of 8.1 per cent in February.

6.    Team India leave for Bangladesh to play ICC World T20 Ch�ship

i. Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Indian cricket team left for Bangladesh today to compete in the ICC World Twenty20 Championship scheduled from March 16.
ii. The former champions would open their campaign against Pakistan on the 21st March at Mirpur in a Super 10 game and then take on the West Indies on the 23rd March at the same venue.

iii. The 15-member squad would warm up for the championship by playing practice games against Sri Lanka and England.
iv. The squad includes Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Stuart Binny, Amit Mishra, Mohit Sharma and Varun Aaron.

7.    US lifts contract ban on BP

i. The United States has lifted a ban that prevented the oil giant BP from winning new government contracts.

ii. The ban was imposed as a penalty for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the worst in US history.
iii. The ban has been lifted after the firm agreed to a set of safety, operations and compliance requirements.
iv. As part of the agreement, BP will also drop its lawsuit against the US Environmental Protection Agency.

8.    India, Bangladesh to conduct joint assessment of stocks of hilsa fish

i. India and Bangladesh will conduct a joint assessment of stocks of hilsa fish in Bay of Bengal.
ii. The two countries will also exchange varieties of fish for commercial cultivation in their countries.
iii. The decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Joint Working Group on Fisheries that ended in Dhaka last evening.

9.    British socialist stalwart Tony Benn dies

i. Tony Benn, the totem of the British left who spearheaded the movement against the Iraq war, died Friday at the age of 88, his family said.

ii. A Labour cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s, Benn was a widely respected orator who clashed with his party's leadership over its drift away from the radical socialism he espoused.

iii. His father served as Britain's India secretary -- allowing the young Tony Benn to meet Mahatma Gandhi in 1931 -- and was later given a hereditary seat in the Lords.