Daily GK Updates: 16th Sept 2014

1.    International Day for preservation of Ozone Layer observed today

i. The International Day for the preservation of the Ozone Layer was observed on 16 September 2014. The day marks the commemoration of the date of signing of the Montreal Protocol in 1987 on substances that deplete the Ozone layer.

ii. The theme for 2014 is Ozone Layer Protection: The Mission Goes On.

iii. On the occasion of the day, countries were invited by UN to devote a Day to promote activities in accordance with the objectives of the Protocol and its amendments. 

About Ozone Layer
The ozone layer is fragile shield of gas that protects the Earth from the harmful portion of the rays of the sun. The layer helps in preserving life on the planet. It protects human health and ecosystems by limiting the harmful ultraviolet radiation from reaching to earth.

2.    G-20 Labour and Employment Ministerial meet held in Melbourne

i. The G-20 Labour and Employment Ministerial meet was held at Melbourne, Australia on 10 September 2014 to 11 September 2014.

ii. The meet was called to put forward recommendations to G20 Leaders. During the meet, discussions were held on how to increase job growth across the G20 to help address disadvantage, improve productivity and drive growth.

iii. At the completion of the meeting, the ministers released a Declaration outlining their commitments to address the labour, employment and social challenges faced, nationally and globally.

iv. The International Labour Organization, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Bank prepared a series of reports to inform the ministers’ discussions and declaration.

v. G20 members will finalise their Employment Plans and contributions to the Growth Strategies ahead of the G20 Leaders Summit in Brisbane. The summit is scheduled to be held in November 2014.

3.    President of India presented Indira Gandhi Rajbhasa Awards

i. The President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 14 September 2014 presented Indira Gandhi Rajbhasa awards on the occasion of National Hindi Divas at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.

ii. Indira Gandhi Rajbhasa awards also known as Indira Gandhi Official Language Awards are celebrated every year on 14 September.

iii. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) CMD Madhusudan was one of the awardees who was honoured with the prestigious Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Shield for the Best Hindi Implementation in the organisation.

Indira Gandhi Official Language Awards Scheme
Indira Gandhi Official Language Awards scheme was instituted by the Rajbhasha Vibhag or Department of Official Language under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. The award recognizes the excellent contribution of Ministries, Departments and Nationalized Banks in promoting the Official Language Hindi. 

4.    India's export growth slips to 2.35 % at 26.95 billion dollars in Aug

i. India's export growth slipped to 2.35 percent at 26.95 billion dollars in August, pushing up trade deficit to 10.83 billion dollars. 
ii. Gold imports jumped to 2.03 billion dollars in August compared to 738.7 million dollars in the same month last year. 
iii. According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's data, overall imports grew 2.08 percent to 37.79 billion dollars.

5.    Meghalaya's Edward Mawthoh bags bronze at World Championships

i. Meghalaya's Edward Mawthoh has bagged a bronze medal at the World Kickboxing Championships 2014 held in Italy. 
ii. Mawthoh competed in the 48kg category of the Under-16 full contact sports, which was held from September 6 to 14 at Rimini. 

iii. Meghalaya Association of Kickboxing Organisations (MAKO) secretary Larry P Warjri said, Mawthoh was one of the six cadets sent from the state to compete in the world stage.

6.    USA won FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014

i. USA on 14 September 2014 won FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014 by defeating Serbia. The World Cup was held at Madrid, Spain.
ii. The United States became the third country to win consecutive world titles and extended its winning streak in international play to 63 games.
iii. The win margin of 33 points through nine games with total score of 129-92 made the team of USA world Leader.
iv. With this, the American team became the first national team to win by more than 20 points in any previous FIBA championship event.

7.    Educationist Kireet Joshi died

i. Educationist Kireet Joshi died on 14 September 2014. He was 83. He was a former education adviser to the Union government in 1976.

ii. Joshi played an important role in developing and spreading the message of Integral education both in India and abroad.

8.    Boxing India earned Official Recognition from AIBA

i. AIBA Executive Committee Bureau on 15 September 2014 formally recognised Boxing India as the provisional AIBA National Federation to represent the sport of boxing in India. 
ii. The recognition of Boxing India was confirmed through an official letter of the President of the International Boxing Association (AIBA), Dr Ching-Kuo Wu to the President of Boxing India Sandeep Jajodia. 
iii. After AIBA Executive Committee unanimous approval of the Provisional Membership, Boxing India waits final ratification by the 2014 AIBA Congress, which will be held in Jeju Islands, Korea in November 2014

9.    Hero MotoCorp signs up for Greenfield plant in AP; to invest Rs. 1,600 cr

i. Hero MotoCorp Limited has entered into an agreement with the Andhra Pradesh Government for setting up a greenfield two-wheeler manufacturing plant in Chittoor district. The company has been allotted 600 acres located adjacent to Sri City multi-use project.

ii. Hero is expected to invest about Rs. 1,600 crore on the project which will have a capacity to produce up to 1.8 million units in a phased manner. Ancillary units will invest another Rs. 1,500 crore close to the plant, which will employ about 3,000 people.

iii. The memorandum of understanding was signed between the representatives of Hero MotoCorp and the State Government in the presence of State Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal and Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju.

10.  NTPC to invest Rs 7,000 cr in large solar parks in AP

i. NTPC Limited, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited and Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited are set to enter into separate agreements with Andhra Pradesh for setting up of large solar power generation parks of about 1000 MW each.

ii. NTPC is set to enter into an agreement with the State for its long pending 4000 MW thermal power project proposed at Pudimadaka, located close to Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh. The project has been pending for years as there was no fuel linkage, which is key to implementing the project.

11.  Ambani tops India Rich List again, Adani makes it to big league

i. Mukesh Ambani held on to his position as the richest man in India with a fortune of ₹1.65 lakh crore, up 37 per cent from last year.

ii. Ambani tops the list of 230 individuals for the third year running. Reliance last year sought approval for a ₹78,000-crore expansion to its existing refinery business. He also bought out one of the largest media houses, Network 18, for ₹4,200 crore.

iii. Dilip Shangvi of Sun Pharmaceuticals shot into the second position, overtaking LN Mittal for the first time, after seeing his wealth grow 43 per cent to ₹1.29 lakh crore.

iv. This year Sun Pharmaceuticals acquired Japanese-owned Ranbaxy, making Sun the largest drug maker in India and the fifth largest in the world. The deal values Ranbaxy at 2.2 times its revenue of ₹10,800 crore.

13. Kaushik Basu Appointed As President-Elect of IEA

The International Economic Association (IEA) has appointed Kaushik Basu, who is Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank, as its president-elect. Meanwhile, Basu will continue serving as Senior Vice President and World Bank Chief Economist.  A World Bank Chief Economist is appointed for a 4 year term and Basu started his Job as Senior Vice President and World Bank Chief Economist on October 1, 2012.  IEA is one of the most important associations of professional economists, and has been influential in shaping global economic policy and research.