DAILY GK UPDATE - 22nd March

1.    Today is World Water Day

i. World Water Day was observed on 22 March 2014 with the theme Water and Energy to raise awareness of the inter-linkages between water and energy. 

ii. World Water Day is observed to preserve and ration consumption of water. 

iii. The United Nation is observed annually on 22 March to draw attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of fresh water resources. 

iv. In 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) recommended to celebrate an international day of freshwater. The UN General Assembly accepted the recommendation of UNCED and celebrated first World Water Day on 22 March 1993.

2.    Three officers honoured with Kirti Chakra 

i. Three officers, including an IAF officer who died while saving Uttarakhand flood victims, a naval officer who non-stop sailed around the world and an Army Major who killed three terrorists, were on Saturday awarded the Kirti Chakra, the second highest peacetime gallantry award. 

ii. A Civil Engineer of the Border Roads Organisation who lost his life while saving his three colleagues in an accident in Assam and a young IAF jawan who saved a village from burning were among the 10 personnel who were awarded the Shaurya Chakra by President Pranab Mukherjee.

iii. Wg Cdr Darryl Castelino received the award posthumously for his role in Op Rahat in Uttarakhand where his Mi-17V5 chopper crashed with 20 personnel on board after he had helped in rescuing lives of more than 80 people.
iv. Maj Mahesh Kumar of Punjab Regiment got the award for his gallant acts in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir where he eliminated four terrorists in three separate incidents. 
v. In one of the operations, he killed one of the two terrorists who were trying to run away on a cycle and tried to attack him with a grenade. 
vi. Cdr Abhilash Tomy received the Kirti Chakra for completing world voyage on his sail ship non-stop and without any external support in 151 days.

3.    Rajesh Gopakumar selected for G D Birla Award 2013

i. Physicist Rajesh Gopakumar was selected for the 23rd G D Birla Award for scientific research for the year 2013.

ii. It was announced by the K K Birla Foundation and the award carries a cash prize of 1.5 lakh rupees and a citation.

iii. Gopakumar has been awarded for his important contributions on topics in Quantum Field Theory and String Theory. At present he is working as a theoretical physicist at Harish Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad.

iv. Gopakumar, 46 has won many other awards including B M Birla Science prize in 2004 andThird World Academy of Sciences Award in 2013.

Note: For 2012, G D Birla Award was given to Prof. Nibir Mandal of Jadavpur University for his work in area of structural geology

About the G D Birla award
The G D Birla award for scientific research was instituted in 1991 to recognise significant scientific research undertaken by Indian scientists below the age of 50, working in India.

4.    RBI to utilise unclaimed bank deposits of 3650 crore rupees for education and awareness among depositors

i. The RBI has decided to utilise unclaimed bank deposits, which are estimated at 3,650 crore rupees for education and awareness of depositors. The apex bank has announced the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund Scheme for the purpose. 
ii. In a notification issued in Mumbai, RBI said the fund would be utilised for promotion of depositors� interest by imparting necessary education and awareness about the banking sector.

5.    RBI notifies final guidelines on bad loans for NBFCs

i. The Reserve Bank came out with final guidelines for the non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) with regard to the early detection and recovery of bad loans. 

ii. The guidelines will be effective from 1st April. 

iii. "Before a loan account turns into an NPA, NBFCs will be required to identify incipient stress in the account by creating a sub-asset category 'special mention accounts' (SMA)," the RBI said in a notification on Friday. 

iv. The RBI has set up three categories of SMAs:

1. SMA-0 - principal or interest payment not overdue for more than 30 days but account showing signs of incipient stress;

2. SMA-1 - principal or interest payment overdue between 31-60 days; and

3. SMA-2 - principal/ interest payment overdue for 61-180 days. 

v. It said that all systemically important NBFCs shall be required to report the relevant credit information on a quarterly basis to CRILC. 
vi. The data includes credit information on all the borrowers having aggregate fund-based and non-fund based exposure of Rs 50 million and above. 

vii. However, the non-performing financial asset should be held by the purchasing bank, FI, NBFC in its books at least for a period of 12 months before it is sold to other banks or financial institutions or NBFCs.

6.    RBI issued notice to banks concerning discontinuation of Windows XP

i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued notice to banks to take measures to counter the threat expected to arise from discontinuation of Windows XP from 8 April 2014.

ii. Microsoft the maker of the Windows XP operating system will be withdrawing support for the operating system from 8 April 2014.  Microsoft introduced Windows XP in October 2001.

iii. The withdrawal of Windows XP means that no updates and patches for bugs will be issued by the Microsoft. As a result, the banking system of India largely running on Windows XP may become vulnerable to viruses and other cyber attacks. 

iv. However, Indian Banks Association (IBA) has said that banks are well prepared to tackle the threat arising from the discontinuation of Windows XP. Thus, neither branches nor cash vending machines will be shut down once Microsoft stops support to the system from April 8.

7.    Aamir Khan as national icon for Lok Sabha polls

i. The Election Commission is likely to sign up film star and now host of popular TV show 'Satyamev Jayate', Aamir Khan, as its national icon next week.

ii. He will be part of EC's voter awareness initiatives for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, and is expected to feature in print and audio-visual campaigns aimed at educating people about the importance of choosing the right candidate. 

iii. Though EC had approached Khan earlier this year, it is only now that the terms of his association as a brand ambassador could be finalized . The arrangement will be purely voluntary and non-commercial.
iv. The cine star, known for his methodical approach to acting, will join the likes of former President A P J Abdul Kalam, ace cricketer M S Dhoni, tennis star Saina Nehwal and boxer Mary Kom, the existing national icons who have been helping EC enthuse voters to participate in elections. 

8.    First aircraft of AirAsia India lands in Chennai

i. AirAsia India on Saturday took delivery of its first Airbus A-320 as it landed in Chennai after flying in from Toulouse headquarters of the European aircraft manufacturer.

ii. �Great news! India�s latest airline, AirAsia India, has taken delivery of its first A-320 equipped with Sharklets,� Airbus tweeted with a picture of the jet painted red and the name of the airline written in white.

iii. In April last year, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board had approved the USD 30 million deal to launch AirAsia India, which received a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Civil Aviation Ministry a few months later.

iv. AirAsia India, which is using the training facilities of its parent airline AirAsia in Malaysia, plans to set up similar facilities in India in the coming years.

9.    m-Pesa starts inter-bank money transfer service

i. Mobile Commerce Solutions Ltd (MCSL), a pre-paid/remittance provider with the m-Pesa platform, has started a pan-India inter-bank money transfer service by joining hands with the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) of NPCI.

ii. With this tie-up, an MCSL (m-Pesa) user can send money to customers of any IMPS-enabled bank using NPCI�s remittance platform, NPCI said in a statement.

iii. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is the umbrella organisation of all retail payment systems in India, set up with the support of the Reserve Bank of India and Indian Banks� Association.

iv. �Currently there are 60 banks and five pre-paid service providers as members of IMPS and many more are in the testing stage,� the statement said.

Note: Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) is a remittance processing platform offered by NPCI that offers instant, 24X7, electronic funds transfer through mobile, Internet or ATM between banks and pre-paid providers. IMPS is considered one of the latest technologies in account-to-account remittance and mobile payment space, which is enabled across almost all public and private sector banks.

10.  Government of India divested its 9 percent stake in Axis Bank

i. The Government of India divested its 9 percent stake in Axis Bank on 21 March 2014. The divestment resulted into generation of 5500 crore rupees. 

ii. Through a trust fund called Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI), Government of India disposed 42.26 million shares or 9 percent of Axis Bank�s share capital.

iii. Axis Bank is the third largest private sector bank of India in which Government of India holds 20.7 percent share by assets. 

iv. The share sale is part of the government's campaign to raise revenues and meet its revised fiscal deficit target of 4.6 percent of gross domestic product in the financial year ending on 31 March 2014.

v. Now, SUUTI will remain the largest shareholder with 11.72 percent stake followed by LIC.

11.  Journalist M.J. Akbar joins BJP

i. Author and senior journalist M J Akbar on Saturday joined the BJP in the presence of party president Rajnath Singh.

ii. Mr Akbar said he had come back to politics with the BJP for its policies and work to bring the nation back into a �recovery mission�.

iii. Welcoming the senior journalist in the party fold, BJP president Rajnath Singh said people working in different areas like sports, politics, films and literature have joined the party.

12.  Former Brazilian international footballer Hilderaldo Luiz Bellini died

i. Former Brazilian international footballer Hilderaldo Luiz Bellini died on 21 March 2014 after a heart attack.

ii. He was 83. He was suffering from Alzheimer�s disease for many years. 

iii. He was the captain of the team when Brazil won the first World Cup in 1958 in Sweden. Also, he became the first captain who set the tradition to hold the trophy above his head in celebration.

13.  TCS ranked No 1 employer in Europe

i. IT major Tata Consultancy Services on Friday said it has been named as the top employer in Europe for the second consecutive year by the Top Employers Institute.

ii. The company was recognised as an exceptional performer across six core human resources areas-primary conditions, secondary benefits, working conditions, training, career development and company culture.

iii. Previously known as the CRF Institute, The Top Employers Institute is an independent organisation that identifies top performers in the field of Human Resources worldwide.

iv. The Top Employer certification is based on independent research conducted by the institute and audited by Grant Thornton.