The Competition Master

RAPID GK SERIES 44

RAPID GK SERIES 44

1. This Personality has named the Pacific Ocean 2. Between these two countries the Pyrenees lie 3. This Scientist discovered the Electron ...

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Biodiversity sector to have regulatory mechanism soon

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Government says a regulatory mechanism  in Biodiversity sector will be in place after the recommendations are  firmed up to safeguard public health and protect environment. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad  informed this during the inauguration of Bangalore India Bio-2012  conference in Bangalore. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>He also disclosed that the Quality Control lab in Delhi has been  asked to bring wider range of bio-technology products under its ambit to  ensure that they are safe and meet the prescribed standards. He called  upon private sector to increase their presence in the research sector.  He expressed happiness over country’s capabilities in manufacturing  diagnostic kits for testing bird flu. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Speaking on the occasion, the Bio-technology Secretary MK Bhan  informed that Central Government has approved Bio-Connect Centre for  Bangalore.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>He explained that the Centre, which is one of its kinds in the  country, will help mould young scientists as leaders in their specific  fields of specialization. He added that forty such centres will come up  all over the country gradually.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Chief Minister of Karnataka Sadanand Gowda expressed happiness over  functioning of 12 Biotechnology finishing schools in the state and said  Central Government is planning to adopt this modal in other states too.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Over 400 delegates from 250 top global biotech companies are taking  part in the Bangalore India Bio conference and Exhibition in Bangalore.</li>
</ul></div>

Biodiversity sector to have regulatory mechanism soon

Government says a regulatory mechanism in Biodiversity sector will be in place after the recommendations are firmed up to safeguard public...

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Armed forces to administer vaccines for two diseases

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="5913" style="display: block; text-align: justify;">                                          <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Indian Armed Forces will start a vaccination programme among their  new recruits to prevent spread of two diseases, including one affecting  the brain.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Immunisation shots against meningococal meningitis and chicken pox  will be administered to the recruits as a preventive measure, Lieutenant  General Mandeep Singh, Director General Hospital Services of the Armed  Forces said.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>"Meningococal Meningistis can be fatal as this disease affects the  brain. Military recruits are known to be a high risk population for this  disease as it is known to occur more commonly among crowded living  conditions.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>"These immunisation shots will prevent the outbreak of this  disease...Though till date we had no major outbreaks, but caution is  being taken as the disease strikes a large number of people at a time,"  Singh said.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Nearly one lakh recruits are inducted into the Indian armed forces every year.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Lt Gen Singh also said vaccinations will be also introduced for chicken pox because this disease too has serious complications.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>"It is not a part of the immunisation schedule for children till  date. Recruits come from all parts of the country and if any individual  case is reported then the recruit and all his contacts has to be  isolated. It not only weakens the immune system but also adversely  affects the training," he said. </li>
</ul></div></div>

Armed forces to administer vaccines for two diseases

Indian Armed Forces will start a vaccination programme among their new recruits to prevent spread...

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'Devas deal cancelled for national security'

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="5914" style="display: block;">                                          <ul><li style="text-align: justify;">The central government cancelled the  Antrix Corporation-Devas Multimedia deal for reasons of national  security and not for purported loss of revenue in sale of spectrum,  Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy has  said. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>He also said the government was not discriminating between space  scientists and Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officials and, based  on their culpability, punitive action would be taken against the latter  too.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>A committee comprising BK Chaturvedi and Roddam Narasimha that went  into the controversial deal has ruled out cheap selling of spectrum by  Antrix to Bangalore-based Devas.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>"Concerns of cheap selling of spectrum to Devas have no basis  whatsoever. Space spectrum is not comparable to terrestrial spectrum.  Devas was also required to obtain licences from Department of  Telecommunications, Department of Information Broadcasting for providing  services to customers and would have to pay, apart from transponder  leasing charges, other charges which would be determined by the Telecom  Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) based on consultation mechanism,"  the committee declared.  </li>
</ul></div></div>

'Devas deal cancelled for national security'

The central government cancelled the Antrix Corporation-Devas Multimedia deal for reasons of nati...

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DRDO develops affordable cochlear implant

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">The Defence Research and Development  Organisation (DRDO) has developed an affordable cochlear implant, which  will cost around 1 lakh rupees. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>According to a DRDO release, this is much cheaper than similar imported device which costs about 8 lakh rupees. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), based at  Visakhapatnam, a unit of DRDO has developed cochlear implant which is  also known as bionic ear. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>It is reported that, this device is a surgically implanted  electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is  profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing due to loss of sensory hair  cells in their cochlea. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>There are nearly one million people in the country who need cochlear  implants. Every year nearly 10,000 children are born with this  impairment. The indigenously developed device will bring great relief as  it is much cheaper as compared to the imported device. </li>
</ul></div>

DRDO develops affordable cochlear implant

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an affordable cochlear implant, which will cost around 1 lakh rupee...

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Power Finance Corp to raise Rs 40,000 cr in FY 2012-13

Power Finance Corp to raise Rs 40,000 cr in FY 2012-13

State-run Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has said that it would raise the fund raising target to Rs 40,000 crore in the next financial ye...

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Headline inflation to continue around 7% till March: FM

Headline inflation to continue around 7% till March: FM

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said headline inflation would continue around seven percen...

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Iran issues ultimatum to India over gas field

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Iran has given a one-month ultimatum to  an Indian consortium over the development of a gas field whose delay by  India has been attributed to western pressure, the semi-official Fars  news agency reported on Feb 5. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>"Iran has given a one-month ultimatum to India over its decision on  participating in the development of Farzad-B gas field," Fars quoted an  unnamed oil official as saying. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>"Possibly foreign pressures played a role in influencing Indian's delays to develop the field," he said. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Iran said the field's in-place gas reserves have been estimated at  21.7 trillion cubic feet (tcf), of which 12.5 tcf are recoverable. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The report said Iran was in talks with state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited for about three years. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>In October 2010, Iran said it would soon sign a USD 5 billion  contract with a foreign company to develop its offshore Farzad-B gas  field, without naming the company. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>ONGC has exclusive exploration rights for the offshore Farsi block, of which the Farzad-B gas field is a part. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The EU's ban on Iranian oil came after US President Barack Obama  signed new sanctions into law on New Year's Eve that would block any  institution dealing with Iran's central bank from the US financial  system. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The measures are aimed at shutting off the second-biggest OPEC oil exporters' sales of crude. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>However, India which relies on Iran for about 12 percent of its oil  needs or around 350,000-400,000 barrels per day (bpd), said it would not  cut its oil imports from Iran. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>If fully implemented, the measures will make it impossible for countries to buy Iranian oil. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Iran has previously excluded some foreign oil and gas companies, accusing them of dragging their feet over its projects.</li>
</ul></div>

Iran issues ultimatum to India over gas field

Iran has given a one-month ultimatum to an Indian consortium over the development of a gas field whose delay by India has been attributed ...

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6.8 scale earthquake shakes Philippines

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="5919" style="display: block;">                                          <ul><li style="text-align: justify;">An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the  Richter scale hit the central Philippines on Feb 6, killing at least one  person and causing panic in cities where buildings shook. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The US Geological Survey said the quake hit 70 kilometres north of  the city of Dumaguete on Negros Island at 11:49 am, Local Time at a  depth of 46 kilometres. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology measured the  quake at 6.9 at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometres, centred  off the heavily populated central island province of Negros and Cebu.  </li>
</ul><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Civil Defence chief said one child was  crushed to death by a collapsed wall in Negros. He said the violent  shaking of buildings in the cities of Cebu and San Carlos led to broken  windows and cracks on the walls, but no high rises are believed to have  sustained major damage.</li>
</ul></div></div>

6.8 scale earthquake shakes Philippines

An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale hit the central Philippines on Feb 6, killing at...

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Court raps Google, FB; gives 15 more days to remove 'objectionable' content

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Admonishing internet firms like Google  and Facebook, a Delhi court on Monday gave 15 more days to 22 social  networking sites to remove 'objectionable' contents from their websites.  According to media reports, a judge presiding over the matter said that  these sites did not deserve any more time. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>These firms have been asked to file a written reply in the matter in 15 more days. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Earlier today on Feb 6, Facebook India filed its compliance report  before the court. Google India also told the court that it has removed  certain web pages from the Internet on which objections were raised by  the petitioners in the matter. Meanwhile, Facebook, Yahoo and Microsoft  told the court that they have no role to play in the case and there is  no cause of action against them in the matter. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The court also asked Google Inc as to why it was not coming up  "properly" with a reply and brushed aside its contention that it had  received the copy of the judgment and other documents related to the  case. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The court also asked the petitioner to supply the copies of all the  documents relied upon, to all the opposite parties. The court had on  December 20 last year, in a ex-parte order issued summons to 22 social  networking websites asking them to remove "anti-religious" or  "anti-social" content in the form of photographs, videos or text which  might hurt religious sentiments. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>It had on December 24 set February 6 as deadline for the websites for the same.</li>
</ul></div>

Court raps Google, FB; gives 15 more days to remove 'objectionable' content

Admonishing internet firms like Google and Facebook, a Delhi court on Monday gave 15 more days to 22 social networking sites to remove ...

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India’s rating may tilt towards negative, warns S&P

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Global rating agency Standard and  Poor’s on Monday warned that “the balance of risk factors” for India’s  sovereign credit rating could tilt towards “negative” this year, given  the headwinds being faced by the country on domestic and global fronts. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>However, S&P maintained that it does not expect to downgrade or  revise its “stable” outlook on the investment grade ‘BBB −’ long-term  sovereign credit rating on India in the near future. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>At the same time, S&P said, India is battling with high  inflation, a weak government fiscal position, and slower economic growth  on domestic front, while European sovereign debt problems could add to  the pressures for the country. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>“Like many countries, India is facing some challenges on a few  fronts, and the balance of risk factors for the sovereign credit rating  may be shifting slightly toward the negative,” S&P said in a report. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>“India has been grappling with a political gridlock and the  government’s ability to implement measures to improve economic growth  and fiscal prudence will be vital to boosting confidence,” <span>S&P credit analyst Takahira Ogawa said.</span> </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span><span>“Our stable outlook on the ‘BBB −’ long-term rating on  India currently reflects our expectation of strong economic growth in  the medium term and gradually improving fiscal performances,” Mr. Ogawa  said.</span></span></li>
</ul></div>

India’s rating may tilt towards negative, warns S&P

Global rating agency Standard and Poor’s on Monday warned that “the balance of risk factors” for India’s sovereign credit rating could til...

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Norway wants to take up 2G issue at govt. level

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Concerned over the impact of the recent  Supreme Court verdict cancelling 122 2G licences, Norwegian IT Minister  Rigmor Aasrud has sought an appointment with her Indian counterpart to  discuss the issue as the government braces itself up for diplomatic  parleys. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Ms. Aasrud, Norwegian Minister of government administration, IT and  church reforms, arrived in the national capital on a “pre-scheduled  visit”. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>“The visit had been planned for more than a month. She is going to  Bangalore to visit some of our e-governance institutes there, technology  institutions among others,” a senior government official said.</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Why is Norway interested?</em></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Uninor, a joint venture between Telenor of Norway and Unitech, is one of the companies which has its license cancelled. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Uninor claims to have invested over Rs. 14,000 crore in Indian  operations and has a subscriber base of nearly 40 million as of now. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The senior official said the government is yet to hear from other affected countries through diplomatic channels over the issue. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>However, the government is ready to discuss with its foreign friends  how it is taking this (auction) process forward, the official said. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>“We hope that our Norwegian friends would appreciate that this is an outcome of a legal process,” the source said.</li>
</ul></div>

Norway wants to take up 2G issue at govt. level

Concerned over the impact of the recent Supreme Court verdict cancelling 122 2G licences, Norwegian IT Minister Rigmor Aasrud has sought a...

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NABARD offers incentive to banks for warehouse loans

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">National Bank for Agriculture and Rural  Development (NABARD) announced a refinance scheme which offers an  incentive to the banks to give loans for setting up warehouses for  agricultural commodities. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>“Under the scheme, NABARD will extend financial assistance by way of  refinance to banks against the loans disbursed by them for construction  of warehouse infrastructure for the agricultural commodities,” NABARD  Ahmedabad CGM, H R Dave, said. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>“NABARD will charge interest of 8 per cent p.a., while interest rate  on loans to the borrowers would be decided by the banks,” he said,  speaking at a gathering of bankers. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>“We will also extend an interest rebate of 1.5 per cent to borrowers who repay loans on schedule,” Dave said. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The scheme has been conceptualised out of a Rs 2,000 cr dedicated fund in the Union Budget 2011-12. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Authorities hope it will help create 9 million tonnes of additional storage capacity for the agricultural produce. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The scheme is open to all kinds of banks. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>As per the recently announced central scheme, all Kisan Credit Card  holding farmers can now avail loans at 7 per cent interest rate for  maximum six months for storage of produce post-harvest. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Mr. Dave stressed the need for good warehouses to meet the  requirements of the growing agriculture sector. He put a special  emphasis on the need to encourage accredited warehouses - as stipulated  by the Warehousing Development Regulatory Authority (WDRA) - so as to  make farmers eligible for benefits of the loan scheme.</li>
</ul></div>

NABARD offers incentive to banks for warehouse loans

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) announced a refinance scheme which offers an incentive to the banks to give l...

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Indorama to invest Rs. 1,000 crore in India

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Singapore-based Indorama Corporation  has unveiled plans to invest around Rs. 1,000 crore within three years  in India to set up three manufacturing facilities to produce spandex  fibre, used in various applications like stretch denims and sportswear. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The company, which is present in India through its wholly-owned  subsidiary, Indorama Industries Ltd., has already invested Rs. 400 crore  for its first plant at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh. Two new units will  come up at the same location shortly. The company also announced the  launch of new freedom fibre ‘Inviya’ on the occasion. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The Baddi plant, which will be commissioned, next month, has a  capacity of 5,000 tonnes per annum to produce its branded spandex  product 'Inviya'. "With the commercialisation of three plants, our total  capacity to produce ‘Inviya’ will treble to 15,000 tonnes per annum  over the next three years,’’ Mr. Amit Lohia said. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The company, which exports polyester yarn to India, is looking to  cash in on the high growth of spandex utilisation in the country.  According to the company estimates, the consumption of spandex in India  is nearly 6,000-7000 tonnes per annum, all of which is imported. “Indian  market for spandex is currently just around one per cent of the total  global market, which is around 6-7 lakh tonnes per annum. Due to such a  low base, we expect a high growth in this segment,’’ Mr. Lohia said. The  demand for spandex in India is growing at 15-20 per cent year on year. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Indorama Industries, which employs around 270 people in India, is  also looking to more than double the workforce in the next three years.  It has already appointed dealers in South and North India and is  planning to appoint dealers in Surat and Kolkata to cater to Eastern and  Western parts of the country. Indorama Corporation, which has presence  in sectors like textiles and petrochemicals, posted revenues of $8  billion in 2011.</li>
</ul></div>

Indorama to invest Rs. 1,000 crore in India

Singapore-based Indorama Corporation has unveiled plans to invest around Rs. 1,000 crore within three years in India to set up three manuf...

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Thousands evacuated from flood hit areas in Australia

Thousands evacuated from flood hit areas in Australia

Floods continue to threaten Queensland in eastern Australia, with the town of St George expected t...

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