Daily GK Potion – 7th April 2015

1. Dronavalli Harika wins bronze in World Women’s chess championship
   • Indian Grandmaster Dronavalli Harika won the bronze medal along with Swedish Grandmaster Pia Cramling by virtue of making it to the semifinals of World Women’s chess championship.
   • Harika lost to the eventual winner Mariya Muzychuk of Ukraine in the semifinals.
   • Winner Muzychuk won USD 60000, while Pogonina bagged USD 30000. Harika, who decided to stay back here to receive her medal, got USD 20000.
     
     
2. Adonis bags Kumaran Asan World Prize for poetry
   • Paris- based Syrian-Lebanese Arab poet Adonis has been chosen for this year’s Kumaran Asan World Prize for poetry, instituted by the Kumaran Asan Memorial Association to honour poets of international stature and introduce them to Indian readers.
   • Adonis, author of more than twenty volumes of poetry in Arabic and widely translated into almost all languages is a perennial contender for the Nobel Prize for many years.
   • The award consisting of a cash prize of Rs 3 lakh, a memento and citation will be presented to him on Sunday, May 3, at a function at Kayikara, birthplace of Kumaran Asan, in Thiruvananthapuram district.
3. Indian-Origin Schoolboy Wins Institute of Physics Prize in UK
   • A 15-year-old Indian-origin schoolboy in the UK has been awarded the Institute of Physics Prize for conducting an experiment that verified an effect of Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity.
   • Pratap Singh, a student at The Perse School, Cambridge, has won the 500 pounds Institute of Physics (IOP) prize at the  Big Bang Fair held at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham in March.
4. Steel Companies Sign Agreement with Ministry of Steel for Setting Up of Steel Research & Technology Mission of India SRTMI
   • Major Indian Steel Companies, signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Ministry of Steel in the presence of Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister for Steel & Mines for setting up of Steel Research & Technology Mission of India (SRTMI) in New Delhi.
   • The SRTMI is an industry-led initiative in association with the Steel Ministry to promote collaborative research programmes in steel sector, which aims at increasing investment on Research & Development in the steel sector from present level of 0.2-0.3% of turnover progressively towards the international benchmark of 1-2% of turnover.
   • SRTMI will carry out R&D in priority areas of national importance covering best usage of available raw materials & conservation of natural resources, optimum energy conservation & minimum emissions, innovations and in-house development of design, engineering & manufacturing facilities of key steel plant equipments.
5. Rajeev Shukla appointed Chairman of IPL Governing Council
   • Rajeev Shukla was on Monday re-appointed chairman of the powerful IPL Governing Council.
   • Former Union minister and Congress leader Shukla was the IPL chairman till 2013 when he resigned from the post in the aftermath of the IPL ‘spot-fixing’ scandal.
   • Sourav Ganguly was a new entrant to the IPL Governing Council while the senior national selection committee led by Sandeep Patil was retained for another season. Team India Director Ravi Shastri also remained in the IPL Governing Council.
   • Another former captain Anil Kumble has been retained as chairman of the Technical committee.
6. Dena Bank, LIC sign MoU to provide life cover under PMJBY
   • Dena Bank, the state-run lender, on Monday signed agreement with LIC (Life Insurance Corporation) to provide insurance cover to its savings account holders under the Prime Minister’s Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJBY) scheme.
   • Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), LIC will give a life cover of Rs 2 lakh in case of death of the insured person at a nominal premium of Rs 330 per annum.
   • Account holders in the age group of 18 to 50 years can avail of the product.
   • People who join the scheme before completing 50 years can continue to have the risk of life cover up to the age of 55 years subject to payment of premium.
   • The scheme will come into effect from June 1, 2015.
   • The bank customers can join the scheme between June 1, 2015 to May 31, 2016.
7. World Health Day observed on April 7
   • Every year on April 7, World Health Day is celebrated under the spo
   • nsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO).
   • World Health Organization (WHO) declared ‘food safety’ as this year’s theme for World Health Day.
8. NGT bans all diesel vehicles over 10 yrs old in Delhi and adjoining cities
   • The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday banned all diesel vehicles over ten years old in Delhi and adjoining cities.
   • All vehicles entering Delhi will be checked at borders for pollution, weight and age from Wednesday.
   • The NGT had, on November 26, ordered all vehicles more than 15 years old, off Delhi streets to clean up the capital’s air, found the world’s most toxic by the WHO.
   • The NGT has now sought from Delhi, Haryana and UP, lists of diesel vehicles over 10 years old and petrol ones over 15 yrs old in Delhi.
9. RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at 7.5%; CRR maintained at 4%
   • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept the repo rate unchanged at 7.5% in n the first bimonthly monetary policy review of 2015-16.
   • “Transmission of policy rates to lending rates has not taken place so far despite weak credit off take and the front loading of two rate cuts. With little transmission, and the possibility that incoming data will provide more clarity on the balance of risks on inflation, the Reserve Bank will maintain status quo in its monetary policy stance in this review,” RBI said in a statement.
     
10. Yuvraj Singh starts new innings as businessman with YouWeCan Ventures
    • Yuvraj Singh, the Indian Premier League’s costliest player this season, is starting a new innings as a businessman.
    • He is floating a venture fund that aims to support young entrepreneurs by investing in startups across sectors.
    • The 34-year-old cricketer will put about Rs 50 crore – mostly his own money – over a period of three to five years in the fund, YouWeCan Ventures.
    • The fund is expected to raise around Rs 300 crore from other investors during the period.
      

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