DAILY GK UPDATE - 25th April

1.    Nokia to name India-born Rajeev Suri as CEO: Report

i. Nokia, which is set to close the sale of its phone business to Microsoft, will name Rajeev Suri as its next CEO and outline its new strategy with a focus on its networks equipment business, a newspaper said. 

ii. Investors have been looking forward to hearing about Nokia's next steps since it announced the 5.4 billion euro ($7.5 billion) Microsoft deal in September. 
iii. Nokia said earlier this week it expected the deal to close on Friday after the companies had agreed to modify certain deal conditions. 
iv. 46-year-old Suri, born in India, has been widely considered the leading candidate for the CEO post as in recent years he has helped the network division Nokia Solutions and Networks (NSN) turn profitable with a drastic restructuring plan and by ditching unprofitable businesses. 

2.    India down to 83rd spot in leveraging ICT for growth: WEF report

i. A World Economic Forum report says that India has slid down to 83rd spot among 148 economies in terms of leveraging information and communications technologies for growth and well being.

ii. In 2013, it ranked 68th out of 144 countries. According to the 13th edition of the Global Information Technology Report 2014, little progress has been made in bridging the gap between the world's most networked economies and the rest of the world.
iii. Among emerging market economies, China was placed on the 62nd position, Brazil (69th), Mexico (79th) and India (83rd).

iv. WEF is an International Institution committed to improving the state of the world through public-private cooperation. It was founded in 1971.

v. The WEF will publish reports such as the Global Competitiveness Report, the Global Risks Report and the Global Gender Gap Report. And also produces landmark titles covering the environment, education, individual industries and technologies.

3.    Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag's name forwarded for new Army chief

i. Notwithstanding objections by BJP, the Defence Ministry is going ahead with the process of appointing the new Army Chief and has recommended the name of Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag to the Prime Minister's Office

ii. The recommendation of the Defence Ministry will have to be approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, official sources said today.

iii. As per tradition, the government announces the name of services chiefs-designate two months before the retirement of the incumbent.

4.    Indian-born Google+ chief Vivek Gundotra quits

i. Vivek Gundotra, chief of Google�s social networking venture Google+, is leaving the Internet company after nearly eight years.

ii. Mr. Gundotra, who was serving as the Senior Vice President (Social) at Google, announced his departure in a post on Google+, a social network that was created about three years ago.

iii. Google CEO Larry Page also praised Mr. Gundotra in his own Plus post. �Vic � thank you for a tremendous almost eight years at Google. 

iv. An Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras graduate, Mr. Gundotra has also worked with Microsoft for 15 years. His duties there included promoting Microsoft�s APIs and platforms to independent developers and helping to develop a strategy for Windows Live online services.

About Google Plus
i. Google+ is a social networking and identity service that is owned and operated by Google Inc. 
ii. It is the second-largest social networking site in the world after Facebook. 540 million monthly active users are part of the Identity service site, by interacting socially with Google+'s enhanced properties, like Gmail, +1 button, and YouTube comments.

5.    IMF projects Nepal�s growth rate to touch 4.5%

i. The International Monetary Fund has projected Nepal�s growth rate to pick up from 3.5 per cent in 2012-2013 to 4.5 per cent in 2013-14, attributing it to the recovery in agriculture, strong services, and rising public spending underpinned by timely budget approval.

ii. Output growth is expected to pick up to around 4� per cent in 2013-14, driven by recovery in agriculture, strong services, and rising public spending underpinned by timely budget approval,� .

iii. Inflation is projected to moderate further from recent levels but remain high, at eight per cent year-on-year.

6.    US President Barack Obama nominated three Indian-Americans to AAPI

i. US President Barack Obama nominated three Indian-Americans to the 14-member advisory commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). It was nominated on 24 April 2014.

ii. The Indian-Americans include
� US Air Force officer Lieutenant Colonel, Ravi Chaudhary
� Prominent community leader Shekar Narasimhan 
� Popular film and television actor Maulik Pancholy

iv. Ravi Chaudhary is an Air Force officer, currently serving as Executive Officer to the Commander, Air Force District of Washington, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.

v. Narasimhan is also a co-founder of the Emergent Institute in Bangalore, a nonprofit institution training entrepreneurs to build social ventures.

vi. Stage actor, Pancholy is widely known for playing the role of Jonathan for six seasons on NBC's award-winning series 30 Rock. Pancholy is active with a number of non-profit and social policy organisations such as Asian-Americans Advancing Justice and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.

7.    Sunil Lamba likely to be Vice Chief of Navy

i. Vice Admiral Sunil Lamba, commandant of National Defence College, is expected to be appointed as Vice Chief of Naval Staff as part of a major rejig being undertaken at the top level in the maritime force.

ii. Lamba, who is in line to be the Navy chief in 2016, will be taking the position of Admiral Robin Dhowan who took over as the head of the force a week back.

iii. As part of the reshuffle, Eastern Command chief Vice Admiral Anil Chopra is expected to be moved to Mumbai-based Western Command, defence sources said.

iv. Chopra will be succeeded by Vice Admiral Satish Soni, who is heading the Southern Command, the sources.

v. The Southern Command based in Kochi is now expected to be headed by Strategic Forces Commander Vice Admiral SPS Cheema, they said.

vi. Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Pradeep Chatterjee is expected to head the tri-services Andaman and Nicobar Command in Port Blair.

vii. The reshuffle at the top level was neccessiated by the sudden exit of former chief Admiral DK Joshi and Western commander Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha.

viii. As per seniority, Lamba is in line for being appointed as the next Navy chief in May 2016 after Dhowan's retirement.