-*
http://www.pagalguy.com/discussions/exclusive-thread-for-static-gk-39628289
The Govt has appointed P Harish as India’s next Ambassador to
- thailand
- malesiya
- srilanka
- vietnam
- taiwan
0 voters
Which of the following countries topped the global confidence index for the fourth quarter of 2015 in a row as per research agency Nielsen?
- iceland
- USA
- UK
- australia
- india
0 voters
Haryana and Ontario signed an MoU recently aimed at enhancing commercial and cultural ties. Ontario is a province of
- usa
- malesiya
- singapore
- canada
- japan
0 voters
Who became India's first civil servant to scale Mount Vinson Massif, the highest peak in the Antarctica?
who won the men's singles title of the brisbane international 2016
- stan wawrinka
- roger federal
- milos raonic
- novak djokovic
- rafael nadal
0 voters
who among the following was named FIFA women's player of the year
- hope solo
- megan rapinoe
- alex morgan
- carli liod
- tobin heath
0 voters
. Name the Cartoonist who was suffering from a brain tumour, passed away at a private city hospital.
. India with which country have started talks on exchanging prisoners that are of mutual interest?
Daily Current Affairs - 9th February 2016, Tuesday
1. Indian Navy's International fleet review 2016 concludes in Vizag
(i)Recently, the Indian Navy's International Fleet Review (IFR) 2016 was concluded in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The five-day event witnessed participation of navy personnel from 50 nations and was also attended by President Pranab Mukherjee and PM Narendra Modi.
(ii) The Fleet Review is a ceremonial inspection of the Naval warships by the President, who this year reviewed the international fleet comprising 75 frontline ships and submarines besides 24 ships that had sailed in from across the globe.
(iii) The latest acquisition from Russia INS Vikramaditya and INS Viraat, the oldest aircraft carrier in the world were also reviewed. Apart from the ships of the Indian Navy, contingents from Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, France, Indonesia, Iran, Maldives, UK and USA also participated.
2. Nepal's Arjun Thapa becomes 12th Secretary General of SAARC
(i) Recently, Nepal's Arjun Thapa was appointed as the 12th Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), succeeding Ahmed Saleem of Maldives.
(ii) He will hold the office for three years starting from March 1.
(iii) Earlier, the 58-year-old diplomat had served as the Foreign Secretary of Nepal as well as charge de' affairs of the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations.This is the second time a citizen of Nepal has taken the top position in the regional body; former Foreign Secretary Yadav Kanta Silwal held the post from January 1994-December 1995.
3. Sundar Pichai becomes highest paid CEO in US
(i) Google head Sundar Pichai was awarded $199 million worth of shares making him the highest paid CEO in the US.
(ii) He has been handed 273, 328 shares that will vest in quarterly increments through 2019 if he continues on the job.The shares make Pichai's holdings in parent company Alphabet to around $650 million.
(iii) However, it still less than the net worth of Google's founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin who, as per Forbes, are worth $34.6 billion and $33.9 billion respectively. Pichai was appointed as the CEO of Google in October 2015 post its re-organisation into Alphabet.
4. Maharashtra tops the Index of the Internet Readiness of Indian States
(i) As per the Internet and Mobile Association of India's (IAMAI) recent report titled "Index of Internet Readiness of Indian States", Maharashtra tops the list in terms of overall internet readiness in India.
(ii) Though other states like Karnataka, Gujarat, Telangana and Tamil Nadu have scored well on theindex, eastern states have fared poorly. The index considered parameters like e-infrastructure, e-participation, IT services and e-governance.
(iii) A major differentiating aspect of the report is that it has not only focussed on digitisation of services but also their usage by people. For example, Madhya Pradesh scored very high in terms of citizen participation, but ranked low in other aspects, thereby securing an overall 14th rank.
(iv) Among smaller states, Delhi tops the list followed by Puducherry and Goa. Among Union Territories, Chandigarh ranks first in terms of Internet readiness.
5. Safer Internet day observed on 9th February
(i) Every year February 9 is observed as Safer Internet Day and this year's theme was 'Play Your Part for a Better Internet.'
(ii) Coinciding with this day social media site Facebook shared tips to help young netizens take more control over their security and privacy in the virtual world. Some tips were for parents to ascertain their children's safety online.
(iii) Facebook's Head of Global Safety Antigone Davis stated that Facebook is dedicated to providing users with tools for their safety and urged users to act responsibly.
6. Joshna Chinappa clicnhes gold at women's individual squash
(i) India's Joshna Chinappa recently bagged a gold medal in the women's individual squash at the South Asian Games, defeating Pakistan's Maria Toorpakai Wazir.
(ii) At the match held in Guwahati, Chinappa, ranked 14th in the world, scored 10-12, 11-7, 11-9, 11-7 against Wazir, who holds the 50th rank.
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TRAI upholds Net neutrality, says NO to differential pricing
On February 8th, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued the 'Prohibition of Discriminatory Tariffs for Data Services Regulations, 2016' thereby disallowing service providers to charge discriminatory tariffs for data services based on content being accessed by consumers. The key points of this regulation can be important for your upcoming competitive exams.
Therefore, in this article we will take a look at some of the important takeaways from TRAI's recent report.
Background:
In December 2015, the TRAI had issued a consultation paper on 'Differential Pricing for Data Services' seeking views of all the stakeholders on whether service providers should be permitted to charge differential tariffs based on the websites/applications/platforms being accessed on the Internet. Taking into consideration several insightful responses, the TRAI has issued regulations to ensure that users in India have open and non-discriminatory access to the Internet.
Highlights of the TRAI regulation:
1. No service provider shall offer or charge discriminatory tariffs for data services on the basis of content, source, destination or application.
2. In order to evade the prohibition in this regulation, no service provider shall enter into any arrangement, agreement or contract, by whatever name called, with any person, natural or legal, that has the effect of discriminatory tariffs for data services being offered or charged by the service provider.
3. However, service providers are permitted to reduce tariff to provide services during emergency situations and this has to be reported to TRAI within seven working days.
4. Financial disincentives - Companies will have to pay ₹50,000-a-day penalty to a maximum of ₹50 lakh on violation of the stipulated norms.
5. For the time being, intranet has been excluded from the purview of these regulations.
6. TRAI will closely monitor implementation of the rules and may review the same after two years or even earlier as may be deemed fit.
Conclusion:
* The telecom regulator's decision is a big victory for those in favour of Internet neutrality, which essentially means that all websites and data on the Internet should be treated as equal.
*However, telecom companies and tech giants such as Facebook have contested it. Rajan Mathews, Director-General, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), said, "By opting to turn away from this opportunity, TRAI has ignored all the benefits of price differentiation that we had submitted as a part of the industry's response to its consulting paper, including improving economic efficiency, increase in broadband penetration, reduction in customer costs and provision of essential services among other things."
*A Facebook spokesperson expressed disappointment asserting, "Our goal with Free Basics is to bring more people online with an open, non-exclusive and free platform. While disappointed with the outcome, we will continue our efforts to eliminate barriers and give the unconnected an easier path to the internet and the opportunities it brings."
*People in support of Net neutrality have wholeheartedly backed this development. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Member of Parliament, said, "This is a big win for Indian consumers. The days of telcos controlling regulatory policy are over."Arpita Pal Agrawal, Leader - Telecom, PwC India has said that TRAI regulation adheres to the notion of non-discriminatory access to Internet. "What remains to be done is to find innovative ways to actually get all citizens access to this Internet as India's ranking in universal broadband access is abysmally poor and the digital divide continues to widen," she added.
*Further, TRAI contested the idea that differential pricing will allow telecom service providers to provide innovative packages to consumers. It added, "Given that a majority of the population are yet to be connected to the Internet, allowing service providers to define the nature of access would be equivalent of letting TSPs shape the users' internet experience."
*As a majority of the Indian population still lack access to the Internet, it can be concluded that it is not viable to allow service providers to charge differently for the content.
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Daily Current Affairs -10th February 2016, Wednesday
1. India tops the list of major milk producing countries
(i) As per recent data, India has topped the list of major milk-producing countries in the world, recorded a milk production figure of 146.31 million tonnes in 2014-15 as compared to 137.7 million tonnes a year ago.
(ii) However, Union Minister of Agriculture Radha Mohan Singh has pointed that though India has recorded considerable increase in milk production in 2014-15 as compared to 2013-14 (up by nearly 6.3% as compared to global average of 2.2% increase during the year), the milk productivity (production per animal) in the country was far less vis-à-vis developed dairy nations.
(iii) India is followed by USA, China, Pakistan and Brazil.
2. Former PM of Nepal Sushil Koirala passes away
(i) Recently, former Prime Minister of Nepal Sushil Koirala passed away, aged 78, at his residence in Maharajgunj on the outskirt of Nepal's capital Kathmandu.
(ii) Koirala had been instrumental is promulgating Nepal's new constitution in September 2015. He was the president of country's largest political party the Nepali Congress and had been the nation's Prime Minister from February 2014 to October 2015.
3.Thailand kicks-off largest multilateral military exercise in Asia-Pacific
(i) Cobra Gold 2016, which is the largest multilateral exercise in Asia-Pacific kicked off at the Royal Thai Marine corps headquarter in Chonburi, east of Bangkok, Thailand.
(ii) Around 8,500 soldiers from seven nations- Thailand, the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia- are set to take part in several activities throughout the 11-day exercise.
(iii)Though Thailand and the US had co-hosted the drill for 35 years, this year the US maintained a scaled down presence due to a 2014 coup in Bangkok.
4. US and India considering joint naval patrols in South China Sea
(i) As per recent devlopments the United States and India held discussions about carrying out joint naval patrols in the disputed South China Sea.
(ii) The countries are hopeful of launching the joint exercise within a year. The US aims to take a more united stand by cooperating with its allies and other Asian nations on the issue as tensions have increased after Beijing constructed seven man-made islands in the Spratly archipelago.
(iii) Though India and the US have strengthened their military ties, India has never carried out joint patrols with another country.
5. Obama unviels new cyber security national action plan
(i) Recently, US President Barack Obama unveiled new cyber security national action plan in order to change old government networks and institute a high-level commission to improve security awareness.
(ii) This announcement comes after several incidents of data breaches and cyber attacks on government and private networks in the US over the past few years and the passage of a cyber-security bill aimed at facilitating better threat-sharing.
(iii) As per reports, President Obama has asked for $19 billion for cyber-security efforts in his budget request, a 35% increase from present levels.
6. India to export 120 LBH railway coaches to Bangladesh
(i) In its biggest consignment so far, India Railways will export 120 modern Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches to Bangladesh at an estimated cost of Rs.367 crore by March 2016.
(ii) The first consignment of 40 sets will be shipped in March and eventually the rest. The manufacturing of these stainless steel LHB broad gauge coaches for Bangladesh Railways is ongoing at the Rail Coach Factory (RCF) in Kapurthala.
(iii) The export order of 120 LHB coaches includes 17 AC first class, 17 AC chair car, 34 non-AC chair car with pantry, 33 Non-AC chair car with prayer room and 19 power car coaches.
7. Maharashtra set to be India's first silicon chip-manufacturing hub
(i) In a first, Maharashtra is set to become India's first silicon chip-manufacturing hub and the fourth country in the world after China, South Korea, and Japan to try its hand in the development of touchscreen technology.
(ii) Recently, the state cabinet also announced a new policy to bring silicon chip-manufacturing firms to set up shop in Maharashtra, offering subsidised land, tax incentives, etc.
(iii) The government will thus likely sign an MoU with major electronic chip makers in the industry during the Make In India Week starting February 13, 2016.
8. Karnataka records failure of winter crop yield
(i) Karnataka became the first state to record failure of winter yield this year.
(ii) The state has requested for Central financial aid of Rs.1,417 crore after rabi crops worth Rs.7,209 crore were ruined. Crops in more than 70% of the sown area have been lost.
(iii) This year India has been through an unusually dry and warm winter that has not only affected sowing across the nation but has also increased fears of crop failure in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
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# INSURANCE ABBREVIOMETER:
1.ACV: Actual Cash Value
2.ADR: Alternative Dispute Resolution
3.AEIA: American Express Insurance Association.
4.AIC: Associate in Claims.5.AICP: Association of Insurance Compliance Professionals.6.AIMA: As Interest May Appear.7.AIME: Average Indexed Monthly Earnings.8.AIP: Annual Implementation Plan.9.AL: Automobile Liability.10.ALOP: Advanced Loss of Profit.
__________ has been officially named as the best-selling artist worldwide in 2015.
- Beyonce Knowles
- Shakira
- Taylor Swift
- Jennifer Lopez
- Adele
0 voters
_____________ has been appointed as the president of the South Asian Wrestling Federation.
- rajmohan ansari
- un nevila padmasri
- Chawdhury Mohd. Ajgar
- Brijbhushan Sharan Singh
- tabiun rehman
0 voters
The combined military exercise, named Surya Kiran IX, was held recently at Pithoragarh between India and
- bangladesh
- maldiv
- pakistan
- nepal
- bhutan
0 voters
The telecom regulator TRAI ruled in favour of Net neutrality recently. It will levy a penalty of __________ a day for discriminatory tariffs charged by service providers.
- rs10,000
- rs25,000
- rs50,000
- rs20,000
- rs40,000
0 voters
Dear Readers,
The First Revised Estimates of National Income were recently in the news and could be important for your exams.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, released the First Revised Estimates of National Income, Consumption Expenditure, Saving and Capital Formation for the financial year 2014-15 (with 2011-12 as the base year). In this article, we will look at the key findings of the different sections of the estimates.
Key Findings - National Income
· Nominal GDP (at current prices) for 2014-15 has been estimated at Rs.124.88 lakh crore, which is a 10.8% growth from Rs.112.73 lakh crore in 2013-14.
· Real GDP (at constant 2011-12 prices) is Rs.105.52 lakh crore for 2014-15 and Rs. 98.39 lakh crore for 2013-14, thereby exhibiting a growth of 7.2 % during 2014-15 and 6.6% during 2013-14.
· Nominal Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices at the aggregate level saw an increase of 10.5% during 2014-15. In terms of real GVA at constant prices, a growth of 7.1 % has been registered in 2014-15.
· For the year 2014-15, nominal Net National Income (NNI) at current prices was Rs.110.08 lakh crore, showing an increase of 10.8 % from Rs.99.34 lakh in 2013-14.
· Gross National Disposable Income (GNDI) at current prices for 2014-15 is stands at Rs.127.46 lakh crore- a 10.6 % growth from Rs.115.29 lakh crore in 2013-14.
· An estimated Rs.41.17 lakh crore is the Gross Saving during 2014-15, compared to Rs.37.25 lakh crore during 2013-14.
· Though the household sector emerged as the highest contributor to the Gross Saving with a share of 57.8%, it declined from 63.4 % in 2013-14. The drop can be attributed to the decline in household savings in physical assets, which has decreased from Rs.14.61 lakh crore (2013-14) to Rs.13.79 lakh crore (2014-15).
· The share of Non-Financial Corporations in Household Savings has increased from 32.7% (2013-14) to 37.2% (2014-15). The share of Financial Corporations, on the other hand, has seen a marginal increase to 8.2% in 2014-15 from 7.9% in 2013-14.
Key Findings - Capital Formation
· The estimation of Gross Capital Formation (GCF) at current and constant prices is done by two approaches: (i) through flow of funds, derived as Gross Savings plus net capital inflow from abroad; and (ii) by the commodity flow approach, derived by the type of assets. Estimates done by the first method are considered more accurate.
· GCF at current prices is estimated at Rs.42.76 lakh crore for 2014-15, a rise from Rs.39.12 lakh crore during 2013-14.
· The highest contributor to GCF is Non-Financial Corporations, increasing from 45.7% in 2011-12 to 52.0 % in 2014-15. The share of household sector is significant but has seen a decline from 43.4 % in 2011-12 to 33.9 % in 2014-15.
· The share of General Government in GCF has risen to 12.9% in 2014-15 from 9.6% in 2011-12.
· Within the GCF at current prices, the Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) summed up to Rs.38.44 lakh crore in 2014-15, compared to Rs.35.64 lakh crore in 2013-14.
Key Findings - Consumption Expenditure
· The Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) at current prices is estimated at Rs.71.93 lakh crore in 2014-15, compared to Rs.65.08 lakh crore in 2013-14.
· At constant (2011-12) prices, the PFCE is estimated as Rs.55.2 lakh crore for 2013-14 and Rs.58.64 lakh crore for 2014-15.
· Government Final Consumption Expenditure at current prices is estimated at Rs.13.6 lakh crore for 2014-15, increasing from Rs.11.53 lakh crore during 2013-14. At constant prices, the GFCE estimates for 2013-14 and 2014-14 are Rs.9.77 lakh crore and Rs.11.03 lakh crore respectively.
Key Findings - Per Capita Level
· At current prices, the Per Capita Net National Income is estimated at Rs.86,879 for 2014-15 as against Rs.79,412 for 2013-14.
· The corresponding Per Capita PFCE figures at current prices are Rs. 52,022 in 2013-14 and Rs. 56,772 in 2014-15.
These are the main points to be remembered for the First Revised Estimates of National Income. If you can understand these well, you can attempt questions on it with greater ease.
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Dear Readers,
The Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana was recently in the news and could be important for your exams. It was launched on September 25, 2014, (the 98th anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya) during the National Convention on Skills for Rural and Urban Poor. It is a placement-related skill development programme for poor youths in rural areas and is part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission. In this article, we will look at the background and the key features of this scheme.
Background
· The programme comes under the Ministry of Rural Development and is a revamped version of Aajeevika Skills, a placement-linked skill development scheme.
· It aims to build the capacity of the rural youth in order to address the needs of global skill requirements.
Objectives
· To counter the problem of unemployment which persists among rural youths in spite of their merits.
· To create skilled workers by 2020 when developed countries will face a shortage of over 57 million semi-skilled workers. This way, India will easily be able to cater to market demand for workers in developed nations.
· Training differently-abled persons will be a major goal. In order to impart proper skills to rural youths, private players as well as international players will be involved.
Funding
· The scheme will provide financial support for placement-related skilling (skill training) initiatives that address the market demand. The funding support ranges from Rs.25,696 to more than Rs.1 lakh per person depending on the project duration and whether it is residential or non-residential.
· The training duration of projects funded by DDUGKY will vary from between 3 months-12 months.
· The components under funding will include support for boarding and lodging (in case of residential project), training costs, transportation costs, post-placement support costs, career progression and retention support costs.
Key Features
· The programme will provide assured placement to 75% of the trained candidates.
· The focus will be on rural youth from poor families in the age group of 15-35 years.
· The minimum age for entry in DDUGKY is 15 years as against 18 years in the Aajeevika Skills Programme.
· It aims to train 10 lakh rural youth by 2017.
· Skill development training centres will be set up in rural areas to tackle unemployment.
· DDUGKY has a 3-tier implementation structure. At the national level, the Ministry of Rural Development will function as the policy-making, technical support and facilitation agency. The DDUGKY State Missions will provide implementation support, and Project Implementing Agencies further the implementation process by skilling and placement projects.
· The skills imparted will adhere to international standards and will provide substantial support to the Make in India campaign.
· The scheme will fund a multitude of skill-training programmes and cover over 250 trades across domains, including retail, hospitality, health, construction, automotive, leather, electrical, plumbing and jewellery, among others.
· The scheme stipulates that skills specific to a certain trade should follow the norms prescribed by respective national agencies - National Council for Vocational Training and Sector Skills Councils.
· Additionally, special training will be provided in employability and soft skills, functional English and Information Technology knowledge.
· Disbursements would be made through digital vouchers directly into the student's bank account.
· DDUGKY is applicable to the entire country and is currently under implementation in 33 states and UTs, across 610 districts. Over 202 Project Implementing Agencies cover more than 250 trades in over 50 sectors.
These are the major points to be remembered in the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana. If you can understand these well, you can easily attempt questions pertaining to it.
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Who among these personalities was NOT awarded the 2016 Padma Bhushan?
- Udit Narayan
- Sania Mirza
- Rajinikanth
- Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry
0 voters