DAILY GK UPDATE - 20th March

    1.    Khushwant Singh passes 
        away.

(i)Famous writer and journalist Khushwant Singh passed away he was 99.
(ii)Singh was best known for his trenchant secularism, his humour, and an abiding love for poetry.
(iii)He was fine and passed away peacefully at home his daughter Mala Singh said. His cremation will take place at Lodhi Crematorium at 4pm today.

About the Khushwant Singh

(i)Born on February 2, 1915 at Hadali, now in Pakistan, Singh wrote classics like "Train to Pakistan", "I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale" and "Delhi".
(ii)He was a lawyer-turned-diplomat-turned-writer. His autobiography, "Truth, Love and a Little Malice", was published by Penguin Books in 2002.

(iii)He was editor of several literary and news magazines, including the Illustrated Weekly of India as well as two newspapers, the Hindustan Times and the National Herald, through the 1970s and 1980s.

2.    Malaysia stops visa on arrival for Indian visitors

(i)Malaysia is not providing visa-on-arrival to Indian visitors although Indian visitors with a visa for a third country like Singapore or Thailand are allowed entry into Malaysia,

(ii) the Director-General, Malaysia Tourism, Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, said here today.

(iii)Visa on arrival (for Indian visitors) will be an ideal situation. But due to own security consideration it is not there now.

3.    Ibibo buys 51% stake in YourBus.com.

(i)online travel company Ibibo Group, that owns portals such as Goibibo.com, redBus.in and Travelboutique has acquired 51 per cent stake in online bus tracking and analytics platform YourBus.com for an undisclosed amount.

(ii)With this Ibibo is all set to achieve a leadership position in the online travel space that has players such as Makemytrip.com, Yatra.com, Cleartrip, Ixigo and Akbar Travels.

(iii)Ibibo, which is owned by South Africa based Naspers, had acquired RedBus for Rs 780 crore last year.

4.    Jagdambika Pal, comedian Raju Srivastava join BJP, endorse Narendra Modi

(i)Former Congress leader Jagdambika Pal and popular stand-up comedian Raju Srivastava joined the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of crucial Lok Sabha polls.
(ii)Describing Pal as a leader of high political standing, BJP chief Rajnath Singh said that his decision to join the BJP would go a long way in strengthening the party on the national stage. 

5.    MI-17 V5 helicopters inducted at IAF's Jamnagar airbase.

(i)The Indian Air Force formally inducted Russia-made MI-17 V5 series helicopters, known for their manoeuvring and weight-carrying capacity, at its Jamnagar base in Gujarat. 
(ii)Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, South Western Air Command (SWAC) Air Marshal Daljit Singh handed over the helicopters to the helicopter unit of the Jamnagar air base.

(iii)MI-17 will increase the capabilities of the unit in undertaking multifarious missions, especially in Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat," Air Marshal Daljit singh said. 
(iv)This helicopter unit was raised on March 3, 1972 in Guwahati. It was later shifted to Jamnagar in 1990

6.    UAE exits World T20 after 21-run defeat by Ireland

(i)United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been sent crashing out of the World Twenty20 tournament UAE is 21-run defeat by Ireland, who won the Group B match in Sylhet by the Duckworth-Lewis method.
(ii)The Irish restricted their opponents to 123-6 in 20 overs before reaching 103-3 in 14.2 overs when two power failures and then rain stopped play and they were declared the winners by 21 runs using the D-L formula.

7.    SEBI inaugurated its local office at Ranchi, Jharkhand

(i)SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) inaugurated its local office at Ranchi, Jharkhand. The office was inaugurated by R.S. Sharma, Chief Secretary of Jharkhand Government in presence of UK Sinha, the Chairman of SEBI.
(ii)The local offices of SEBI would involve in spreading financial literacy and redressing of the grievance of the investors in the region.
(iii)Till date SEBI has 14 Zonal offices apart from its head office in Mumbai and four regional offices

8.    UAE will host first phase of IPL matches.

(i)The seventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will start on April 16, with Abu Dhabi hosting the opening match between defending champions Mumbai Indians and 2012 winners Kolkata Knight Riders.

(ii)This season starts with a foreign location since the dates clash with the general elections. In 2009, IPL-2 was held in South Africa for the same reason.

(iii)The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will host the first leg of IPL 2014, while the playoffs and the final-leg will be played in India.

9.    Parupalli Kashyap jumps to 24 in world rankings

(i)India�s ace men�s shuttler Parupalli Kashyap has jumped a rung to the 24th spot in the latest Badminton World Federation rankings issued on Thursday.

(ii)Kashyap had reached a career high of World No.6 last year but had been witnessing slump in form for quite sometime now, resulting in his slide in the world rankings.

(iii)Kashyap�s compatriot, Kidambi Srikanth, however, has slipped two places to the 2nd spot because of his first round exit at the All England Championships and Swiss Open.