today's gk

Tarla Dalal dead

Noted food writer and celebrity chef Tarla Dalal passed away here on Wednesday after a brief illness. She was 77.

Ms. Dalal has been on the culinary landscape for the last 40 years and was a famous face on televised cookery shows. She wrote more than 100 cook-books and was awarded the Padma Shri in 2007.

ISRO raises Mars spacecraft’s orbit

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully boosted the orbit of its Mars spacecraft by firing the 440 Newton engine aboard it at 1.17 a.m. on Thursday. The engine sizzled with life for seven minutes from 1.17 a.m. and this raised the Mars orbiter’s apogee from 23,566 km to 28,825 km from the earth and its perigee from 247 km to 252 km. ISRO scientists sent the command for firing the engine from the state-of-the-art ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) situated in Bangalore.

This is the first of the six tricky orbit-raising manoeuvres that ISRO will perform as its Mars spacecraft circumambulate the earth during the next 25 days. The second orbit-raising manoeuvre will take place Friday early morning. The sixth and last orbit-raising operation will be done on December 1 when the Mars orbiter will be shot out of its earth-orbit into a sun-centric orbit. From then on, the spacecraft will coast around the sun for 300 days before the ISRO tries to capture it in the Martian orbit on September 24, 2014.

The ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25) on Tuesday put the Mars orbit into an earth-bound orbit with a perigee of 247 km and an apogee of 23,566 km.

K. Radhakrishnan, ISRO Chairman, told The Hindu on Thursday that the ISRO fired the liquid engine on board the Mars orbiter for seven minutes starting from 1.17 a.m. and this firing boosted the spacecraft apogee from 23,566 km to 28,825 km.

“At 2.15 a.m. tomorrow (Friday), we will fire the engine again for about 582 seconds, for almost ten minutes, and we will raise the apogee to about 40,000 km from the earth,” said Dr. Radhakrishan.

The ISRO had earlier calibrated the 440 Newton engine before starting to fire it on Thursday early morning.

Yogesh Malik Resigned as CEO of Uninor

Yogesh Malik resigned as the Chief Executive Officer of Uninor, Norwegian telecom giant Telenor’s India unit on 7 November 2013.

Sigve Brekke, Executive Vice President and Head of the Telenor Asia operations appointed as the acting CEO of Uninor.

About Yogesh Malik
• He has almost 20 years of extensive telecom experience.
• He was previously held executive positions at Telenor Group headquarter in Norway,
• He was served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Telenor Group companies in Ukraine and Bangladesh.
• His extensive career in the telecom industry also includes experience from AT&T, Tata and Ericsson in India and Sweden and for the international mobile operator TIW (today known as Vodafone) in Canada, China, Brazil and the Czech Republic.
• He is responsible for developing a highly efficient operating model that has made Uninor a preferred choice for customers in the hypercompetitive Indian market.

Gross Direct Tax Collections during April-October in 2013-14 up by 11.58 Percent

Paralympic Powerlifter Ali Jawad won Gold at the Asian Open Championships

Ishwar Das Rohani, the Speaker of Madhya Pradesh Assembly, died

Assamese Music Director Sher Choudhury Passed away

Imomali Rakhmon Reelected as the President of Tajikistan

Today's GK (6-11-2013)

Axis Bank ties up with FICO

Axis Bank has tied up with FICO to use FICO Falcon Fraud Manager solution to enable detection and prevention of fraud in its consumer banking portfolio, including credit and debit cards, ATM transactions and the merchant acquiring business. This follows hacking of debit card data from ATMs in Mumbai by fraudsters and this data being used to make duplicate cards to withdraw cash abroad. — Special Correspondent

New GTA chief to be elected today

The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) will elect a new Chief Executive of the regional autonomous body on Wednesday.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), which has control over all the 45 seats of the GTA, had elected party’s assistant general-secretary Benoy Tamang as the Chief Executive after party president Bimal Gurung resigned from the post in the last week of July to devote his time to the Gorkhaland movement

Gandhiji’s charkha sold for £1,10,000 at London auction

A portable teak charkha belonging to Mahatma Gandhi that he used while in Yerwada prison, and in 1935 gifted to the American Free Methodist missionary Reverend Dr. Floyd A. Puffer (1888-1965) was auctioned for £1,10,00 at the Mullocks auction house here on Tuesday. Its guide price was £60,000-£80,000.

The charkha was part of a cache of several lots of Gandhiji-related memorabilia including a draft Will that he signed on September 23, 1926, which was auctioned for £20,000, several postcards, photographs, posters, stamps, books on Gandhi, and even a bust of his.

According to the catalogue, the origins and operation of the Yerwada charkha are described in American monthly Popular Science in December 1031 as “a portable spinning wheel that folds into a bundle about the size of a portable typewriter and has a handle for carrying. When unfolded for use, it is operated by turning a small crank, which runs the two wheels and spindle of the device.”

After he was released from prison in 1933, he presented the charkha to Rev Puffer and his wife who worked as missionaries close to Wardha. He visited them several times from 1934 onwards, and established his own ashram in Wardha in 1936.

Dawn to dusk

For a man who consistently declares himself an agnostic, Khushwant Singh dwells a lot on prayers. Meet him and the conversation often turns to life after life — or whether there is such a thing. And then, not long back, he came out with “The Freethinker’s Prayer Book” (Aleph Book Company - 2012), and a few years earlier he had translated “Japji - The Immortal Prayer-Chant” (Abhinav Publications). But then, if a declared aspirant of God is a searcher, so too is one who turns away from the beaten path. The best searcher is often one who won’t swallow ‘received wisdom’ wholesale. And with Singh, it is always a pleasure to hear or read his lucid explanations that refer — without pomposity — to his vast reading and researches that have taken him through cultures and religious scriptures from near and far. His latest offering to the thinking world is another book of translated prayers, “The Japji and The Rehras: The Morning and Evening Prayers of the Sikhs”, published by Rupa.

These are translations into lyrical English of the Japji, the prayer (never sung but recited) composed by Guru Nanak and found at the beginning of the Guru Granth Sahib — the holy book of Sikhism — and of the Rehras, which is a compilation of verses by five of the ten Gurus of Sikhism.

In his introduction, Singh explains his position in a nutshell — “I am not a religious man, but I call myself a Sikh and am proud to be one.” — and puts Sikhism in its historical and philosophical context, as influenced by Hinduism and Islam, the two major religions of Punjab. But if it was the bigotry that over time polluted all organised religions and pushed Singh into his own search, it is easy to see how the essence of Sikhism appeals to him, as teaching “all that I value: tolerance, simplicity, equality, service to the community and to all humanity.” He also points out that if it has, like other creeds, “been misinterpreted by bigoted and cynical people” that is the fault of such people, not of the faith.

Singh quotes a verse that praises Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, as “the King of Fakirs” who is a guru to the Hindu and a pir to the Muslim. It was not just Guru Nanak who had this quality. The Granth Sahib, or Adi Granth, rather than being a series of injunctions or strictures, offers hymns composed by the Gurus as well as other saint poets such as Baba Farid, Meera and Kabir, and this eclectic quality is attractive.

Eclectic too is Khushwant Singh’s oeuvre. From significant works of history like “A History of the Sikhs” to thinly veiled memoirs and his own obituary, from path breaking novels like “Train to Pakistan”, to, well, the less literary stuff, the nonagenarian author and columnist continues to put his views across cogently and with blissful indifference to what anyone may think of him.

SBI raises lending rates by 0.20 per cent

Home, auto and consumer loans are expected to become costlier with the country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) raising its lending rates by 0.20 per cent with effect from Thursday.

The bank has revised the base rate or the minimum lending rate to 10 per cent from 9.80 per cent, SBI said in a statement.

At the same time, the Benchmark Prime Lending Rate (BPLR) was also raised by 0.20 per cent from 14.55 per cent to 14.75 per cent.

Upward revision in the lending rate by SBI may prompt others public and private sector banks to follow suit.

The decision came a day after HDFC Bank raised the base rate by 0.20 per cent to 10 per cent.

Earlier this month, SBI raised fixed deposit rate by 0.2 per cent on select maturity.

Today's GK(5-11-2013)

India’s orbiter begins long voyage to Mars

India’s prestigious mission to send a spacecraft to Mars got off to a flying start on Tuesday when the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV C-25) lifted off at 2.38 p.m. from the spaceport at Sriharikota and put the Mars Orbiter into a precise elliptical orbit around the earth.

The precision achieved was such that the spacecraft went into an orbit with the perigee of 246.9 km and an apogee of 23,560 km against the predicted perigee of 250 km and an apogee of 23,500 km.

This signalled the long voyage of the Mars Orbiter for the next 300 days before the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) would attempt to put the spacecraft into mars orbit on September 24, 2014.

K. Radhakrishnan, ISRO chairman, said the PSLV in its 25th launch, has precisely put the Mars Orbiter into an elliptical orbit around the earth. He called it a new and complex mission, which has been so far successfully achieved.

PTI adds

Dr. Radhakrishnan said: “I am extremely happy to announce PSLV-C25 placed Mars orbiter space craft very precisely in elliptical orbit around earth.

“This is 25th PSLV flight. Now it will be a complex mission to take the Mars orbiter from earth’s orbit to Mars orbit.

“I salute the ISRO team.”

India on Tuesday embarked on its maiden Mars odyssey with its polar rocket carrying Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) successfully lifting off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here in its first-ever inter-planetary expedition in a bid to join a select band of nations.

The textbook lift-off of ISRO’s workhorse launch vehicle PSLV C25 was witnessed among others by Minister of State in PMO, V. Narayanasamy, U.S. Ambassador to India Nancy Powell, Mr. Radhakrishnan and a host of other officials.

The XL version of PSLV C 25 had carried Chandrayaan 1, the country’s maiden moon mission, in 2008.

After going around Earth for 20-25 days in an elliptical orbit (perigee of 250 km and apogee of 23,500 km), the Rs. 450-crore orbiter would begin a nine-month long voyage to Mars around 12.42 am on December 1.

It is expected to reach the red planet’s orbit by September 24, 2014 and go around in an elliptical orbit (periapsis of 366 km and apo-apsis of 80,000 km).

The Mars mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is aimed at establishing the country’s capability to reach the red planet and focus on looking for the presence of methane, an indicator of life in Mars.

The Mars Orbiter has five scientific instruments — Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP), Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM), Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA), Mars Colour Camera (MCC) and Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (TIS).

European Space Agency (ESA) of the European consortium, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the US and Roscosmos of Russia are the three agencies which have successfully sent their missions to the Red Planet.

Vettel makes it seven-in-a-row

Sebastian Vettel eased to victory in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday for his seventh successive victory and 11th of the season. The 26-year-old German led home a Red Bull 1-2 for the 15th time in Formula One, giving the team its 100th podium finish, as Australian Mark Webber’s second-place finish saw him crossing 1,000 points in his Formula One career, which comes to an end at the end of the season.

German Nico Rosberg was third for Mercedes.

Vettel's win drew him level with Michael Schumacher’s mark of seven successive wins (in 2004), and should he win the last two races of the season he will equal the overall record of nine held by Alberto Ascari (1952-53).

Bharti Airtel signed an Agreement with the Warid Group

Bharti Airtel on 5 November 2013 entered into an agreement with the Warid Group to acquire its Congo operations with the objective of strengthening its stronghold in the African market. The acquisition will make Airtel the largest mobile operator in the Republic of Congo with around 2.6 million customers. At present, Airtel is the second largest operator in that country with over 1.6 million customers, while Warid is the third largest with around one million customers.

This is the second acquisition by Airtel in African continent. It had acquired Warid’s Uganda operations earlier in 2013. The agreement will bring together the strengths of Airtel and Warid in Congo Brazzaville. It will benefit customers in the form of affordable tariffs, superior 2G/ 3G network and affordable voice and data services.

Airtel had over 66 million customers at the end of September 2013 in the region with its presence across 17 African countries. Bharti Airtel is ranked fourth largest mobile operator at world level with operation in 20 countries and had over 280 million customers at the end of September 2013

Microsoft Developed New Sign Language Translator-KINECT

US software company Microsoft recently developed a new cost-effective sign language translator that converts signs into spoken and written language - and vice versa.

In collaboration with researchers in China, Microsoft created the Kinect Sign Language Translator, a prototype system that understands the gestures of sign language and converts them to spoken and written languageand vice versa.

The translator uses a computer and a Kinect camera that recognises signing gestures, then gives a spoken and written translation of languages for people who can hear.

The system captures a conversation both sides: the deaf person is shown signing, with a written and spoken translation being rendered in real-time, while the system takes the hearing person's spoken words and turns them into accurate, understandable signs. The system takes a person's spoken words and translate them into accurate signs carried out by an on-screen avatar.

The Kinect's sensors read a user's body position and movements and, with the help of a computer, translate them into commands. The project was collaboration between the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Union University, and Microsoft Research Asia

New Delhi to host 12th Edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2014

The 12th edition of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas will be held in New Delhi from 7th to 9th of January 2014. This was announced by Vayalar Ravi, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs on 5 Novemeber 2013 in New Delhi.

The theme of the convention is -Engaging Diaspora - Connecting across Generations- with a special focus on the younger generation.

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the convention and President Pranab Mukherjee will give his valedictory address. Pravasi Bharatiya Samman will also be bestowed on 15 persons during the convention.

The PBD Convention provides a unique platform for overseas Indians to interact among themselves and with the Government of India and the Governments of various Indian States. It is a forum where the Government of India showcases investment opportunities in India and its potential in various sectors. The 11th edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) was held at Kochi, Kerala from 7th to 9th of January 2013.

About Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is celebrated on 9th January every year to mark the contribution of Overseas Indian community in the development of India. January 9 was chosen as the day to celebrate this occasion since it was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi the greatest Pravasi, returned to India from South Africa, led India’s freedom struggle and changed the lives of Indians forever.

PBD conventions are being held every year since 2003. These conventions provide a platform to the overseas Indian community to engage with the government and people of the land of their ancestors for mutually beneficial activities. These conventions are also very useful in networking among the overseas Indian community residing in various parts of the world and enable them to share their experiences in various fields.

During the event, individuals of exceptional merit are honoured with the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award to appreciate their role in India’s growth. The event also provides a forum for discussing key issues concerning the Indian Diaspora.

Abraham K Techi Appointed International Weightlifting Referee

Indian Weightlifting Federation Joint Secretary Abraham K Techi on 4 November 2013 appointed as an international Weightlifting referee. Budapest–based International Weightlifting Federation issued the honour to Abraham, making him the fourth international referee from North East India.

Yuki Bhambri won the Traralgon title

Yuki Bhambri on 4 November 2013 won the ATP men’s singles title of Traralgon event in Australia. He defeated Bradely Klahn of America in the summit clash that was hit by rain. This is the second win of his career.

Yuki, the 21 years old Indian defeated higher ranking Bradely by 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 in the finals in a match played on two days due to rain. This is the third straight win of Yuki over a higher ranked opponent in this tournament. The 277 ranked Yuki earlier defeated, Tatsuma of Japan ranked 191 and the James Duckworth of Australia ranked 147 in the tournament to reach the finals.

IICT, Hyderabad received samples for detection of Chemical Weapons from OPCW

The Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad, recently received over 50 samples for detection of chemical weapons from the Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

The samples in the form of soil, water and organic solvents were sent twice a year since 2008 when IICT attained the status of designated laboratory for off-site analysis of weapons.

OPCW had been sending to IICT for analysis only blank samples collected from different parts of the world. Six samples which were coded to hide the identity of the substance and the originating country were sent by courier every six months as part of continuous evaluation of the lab. The report of the institute should be cent per cent accurate to be eligible to get three ‘A’ grades in succession and pass the proficiency test every year.

The institute has already got the proficiency certificate for this year (2013), but it was yet to enter into a technical agreement with OPCW to get authentic on-site samples.It had the technique to identify chemicals at parts per million (PPM) levels. A dedicated centre for analysis of chemical toxins was set up at the institute to attend to OPCW.

Today's GK (4-11-2013)

Legendary Pakistani folk singer Reshma passed away

Legendary Pakistani folk singer Reshma passed away in Lahore, Pakistan on 3 November 2013 after a long battle with throat cancer. She was 66 years old. She is known for her popular songs such as Lambi Judai and Dama Dam Mast Kalandar. She is survived by a son and a daughter.

Life History of Reshma

• Reshma was born in 1947 in Bikaner, Rajasthan, in a Banjara family.
• She has no formal education in music, but at the age of just 12 years, she was seen singing at the Shahbaz Qalander's shrine. Thereafter, her iconic song Laal Meri was recorded on the state-run Pakistan Radio. With this, she became the most popular folk singer of Pakistan.
• She appeared on the television in the year 1960 and recorded songs for not just Pakistani film industry, but also the Indian cinema.
• Some of her most popular songs also include Hai O Rabba nahion lagda dil mera and Ankhiyan no rehen de ankhyan de kol kol.
• She won various national awards such as Sitara-i-Imtiaz as well as Legends of Pakistan, by the President of Pakistan.
• She performed in India during 1980s when exchange of artists was allowed between India and Pakistan.
• Indian filmmaker Subhash Ghai used her voice in Hero which also featured her most famous song Lambi Judai.

Sebastian Vettel won Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix 2013

Formula 1 racing driver, Sebastian Vettel on 3 November 2013 won  the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Yas Marina circuit, Abu Dhabi.

Sebastian Vettel clocked 1 minute 43.893 seconds to finish at the top of the table. Vettel's team-mate Aussie Mark Webber finished with second position, with Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany finishing third.

Sebastian Vettel won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for the second time in his career. (First time is in 2009). This victory has drawn Vettel level with compatriot Michael Schumacher's mark of seven successive wins.

Earlier, Sebastian Vettel (26 years old) had clinched the title at the Indian Grand Prix on 27 October 2013.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race that was held at the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi on 3 November 2013

Indian Men's Hockey Team qualified for Hockey World Cup 2014

Indian men's hockey team on 3 November 2013 officially qualified for the Rabobank Hockey World Cup 2014. International Hockey Federation (FIH) confirmed the India’s berth in a official press release at Switzerland. Australia success at Oceania Cup on 3 November 2013 confirmed latest teams for world cup 2014.

The Rabobank Hockey World Cup will be held from 31 May to 15 June 2014 at The Hague, Netherland.

The India men's team finished sixth at the Rabobank HWL Semi Final in Rotterdam and that was enough to confirm their participation in the tournament.

A total of 22 teams (11 men/11 women) have now qualified for the Rabobank Hockey World Cup, with just two more places left to fill. The remaining berths will be taken by the winners of the rescheduled Men's and Women's Africa Cup of Nations, which takes place from 18-24 November 2013 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Rohit Sharma Became Third Cricketer in the World to Score a Double Hundred in ODI

Rohit Sharma, the Indian batsman on 2 November 2013 became the third cricketer in the world to score a double hundred in an ODI match. He scored 209 runs off 158 balls against Australia in seventh and final ODI (One-Day International) match at Bangalore's M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.

His runs included 12 fours and 16 sixes, which also means that he re-wrote the record of highest number of sixes in an ODI match. He out-beat Shane Watson’s record of 15 sixes in the ODI which he hit in the match against Bangladesh.  It is worth noticing that all the three batsmen who scored double hundred in one day match are Indians. The milestone was at first achieved by Sachin Tendulkar who scored 200 runs against South Africa in the year 2010. The second one to do so was Virendra Sehwag who scored 219 against West Indies in the year 2011 and the third one is Rohit Sharma to score 209 runs against Australia in 2013.

Yet another record was that of the partnership between Rohit Sharma and Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni, who collectively added 167 runs for the fifth wicket, a record against Australia. It is also important to note that India’s score of 383 for six is the highest ever total against Australia.

Records broken by Rohit Sharma

• The highest scorer against Australia
• Highest number of sixes in the ODI innings
• Second highest ODI score (209) after Virendra Sehwag (219)

MOM