DAILY GK UPDATE - 13th January

1.    Polio in India officially eradicated: Government

i. India on Monday marked three years since its last case of polio was reported, a major public health success for a country that until recently accounted for most of the world’s cases.

ii. “Proud day for all of us as Indians,” Junior Home Minister RPN Singh wrote on Twitter. “India is polio-free for three years.” That is the official time period without a case for a country to be considered free of a disease by the World Health Organization (WHO).

iii. The achievement was due to a massive immunisation programme, Health Ministry spokeswoman Manisha Verma said, adding that the WHO was to formally certify India polio-free on 11 February after checking the data.

iv. The last polio case was recorded on January 13, 2011 in West Bengal state. In 2012, the WHO removed India from the list of polio-endemic countries. The disease remains officially endemic in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

Note: Polio is a highly infectious viral disease, mainly affecting children younger than 5. It can cause permanent paralysis and death, but can be prevented through immunization. The virus is spread through contaminated food and water.

2.    Andhra Pradesh bags conservation award !

i. The Petroleum Conservation Research Association under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has selected Andhra Pradesh for the award of best performing State amongst the big states for the oil and gas conservation programmes.

ii. The award will be presented by M.Veerappa Moily, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas in New Delhi on January 16, according to a statement from State Energy Conservation Mission.

iii. The fifth high-level meet of State Energy Conservation Mission, to be chaired by the State Chief Secretary P.K.Mohanty, will be held on January 16.

3.    ICRA assigns ‘AAA(hyb)’ rating to SBI’s Rs 2,000-cr Basel III bonds

i. ICRA has assigned a ‘AAA(hyb)’ rating with stable outlook to State Bank of India’s Basel III compliant Tier II Bonds aggregating Rs 2,000 crore.

ii. This is the first Tier II capital instrument, compliant with the Basel III Capital Regulations, to be issued by SBI, the largest bank in India.

iii. The Basel III Tier II bonds issued by banks are expected to provide their depositors and senior creditors an additional layer of protection, the credit rating agency said.

Note: i. The RBI guidelines on Basel III Capital Regulations in May 2012 introduced stringent clauses for the debt capital instruments so that loss absorption kicks in before the “public injection of funds”.

4.    RTI applicants need not provide their address: Centre

i.  In order to protect an RTI applicant from any adverse consequence, the Centre has directed the government departments not to insist on seeking their address if a post box number is being provided to them for communication.

ii. So now if an RTI plea is filed with a post box number, the authorities cannot deny providing the information. The Centre has also directed the authorities not to disclose any personal details of the RTI applicants on the website.

iii. The order had come following a writ petition by Avishek Goenka who sought court's direction that the authority should not insist upon the detailed address of the applicant as and when any application is made under the Right to Information Act.

iv. The interested parties could cause a threat to the activist and there have been past incidents of unnatural deaths of activists in the field, presumably by persons having vested interest to conceal the information that is asked for by the activist, the petitioner had said.

5.    EPFO approves raising Provident Fund interest rate to 8.75%

i. Retirement fund body EPFO decided to increase the rate of interest on Provident Fund deposits to 8.75 percent for 2013-14, a move that will benefit about 5 crore subscribers.

ii. "We have decided to recommend to the government 8.75 per cent rate of interest for 2013-14 to its subscribers," Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes told reporters after a meeting of the EPFO trustees in New Delhi on Monday. 

iii. According to sources, the body had surplus funds, which enabled the interest rate to be increased from 8.5 percent in the previous financial year (2012-13). 

iv. Payment of interest at the rate of 8.5 percent to subscribers would have required Rs 20,740 crore and left a surplus of Rs 56.96 crore, according to earlier projections. 

v. The Central Board of Trustees, which is the apex decision-making body of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), met on Monday and approved the interest rate. 

6.    '12 Years a Slave' wins Golden Globe for best dramatic film

i. '12 Years a Slave' won the Golden Globe award for the best dramatic film, the annual Hollywood award show's top prize.

ii. '12 Years a Slave,' directed by British filmmaker Steve McQueen, is the true life story of a free black man who is kidnapped and sold into slavery in pre-Civil War America.

iii. The Golden Globes, handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, were awarded at a star-studded dinner in Beverly Hills, California this morning.

iv. 'American Hustle' won the Golden Globe award for the best comedy or musical film. 'American Hustle,' directed by David O Russell and starring Christian Baleand Amy Adams, tells the story of 1970s scam artists turned FBI informants who help the bureau ensnare politicians in a corruption sting.

7.    American Hustle' wins big at Golden Globes 2014 

i. Director David O Russell's con-artist caper 'American Hustle' took home the award for best comedy or musical at the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards, alongwith stars Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence, who walked away with prizes in the lead and supporting actress categories, respectively.

ii. Adams won for her role as an accent-swapping con artist while Lawrence took home the evening's first award for her work as a bitter, unintentionally funny housewife.

iii. It was Russell, who also directed Lawrence in her Globe and Oscar-winning role last year in 'Silver Linings Playbook'.

Leonardo DiCaprio wins Best Actor 

i. Leonardo DiCaprio has won the Golden Globe for best actor in a comedy or musical for 'The Wolf of Wall Street.
ii. ' Best actress in a motion picture, drama went to Cate Blanchett for 'Blue Jasmine'.

8.    Veteran South Indian film actress Anjali Devi dies at 85

i. Veteran South Indian film actress Anjali Devi died in Chennai today.

ii. The 85 year old actress was under treatment at a city hospital for a long time. Anjali Devi had starred in Telugu, Tamil and Kannada movies.

iii. She was best known for playing mythological characters like Sita in Lava Kusha, the first Telugu film in colour. Anjali Devi was married to music director P Adinarayana Rao and the couple has two sons. Her granddaughter Saila Rao is also an actress

9.    Tennis: Australian Open begins in Melbourne

i. The first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open Tennis tournament, kicked off at Melbourne today. The Singles first round matches are underway. 
ii. India's Somdev Devvarman is the only Indian in the Singles and will play his opening match later in the tournament. iii. The Doubles section is featuring Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohan Bopanna, Divij Sharan, Yuki Bhambri and Sania Mirza with their respective team-mates.

10.  Australian Open: Venus Williams knocked out in first round

i. Venus Williams lost in the first round at the Australian Open for only the second time, with her serve and concentration letting her down when it counted most in a 6-2, 4-6, 4-6 defeat to Ekaterina Makarova on Monday. 

ii. The seven—time Grand Slam winner breezed through the first set against the No. 22-seeded Makarova, who had an upset win over Serena Williams in the fourth round at the 2012 Australian Open. 

iii. She had chances in the second, missing a breakpoint opportunity to go up 4-2, and then serving three consecutive double-faults after leading the ninth game 40-30 to surrender a crucial break. 

iv. Williams led 3-0 in the third set but Makarova rallied strongly to advance to the second round. Williams was playing the Australian Open for the 14th time and the highlight remains a run to the final in 2003. 

11.  Sachin Pilot appointed Rajasthan Congress chief

i. The Congress has appointed Union Minister Sachin Pilot as the new Chief of Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee. ii. The annoucement was made by party General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi in New Delhi today. Mr Pilot is the Minister of Corporate Affairs in Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's Cabinet.

12.  Pune to host International Pet Trade Fair

i. Pune will host the India International Pet Trade Fair, South Asia’s only pet trade fair and India’s largest pet event, from January 17-19.

ii. The exhibition-cum-trade show dedicated to the pet vertical in India will showcase a wide range of products and services ranging from health and nutrition products to vacation and exclusive styling studios.

iii. Over 70 companies from India and overseas are expected to participate in the event.

iv. IIPTF is organised by Creature Companion, a pet care magazine published by L.B. Associates Pvt Ltd.

13.  Lohri being celebrated with traditional fervour & enthusiasm today

i. The festival of harvest, Lohri is being celebrated with traditional fervour and enthusiasm today.

ii. People, especially in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, exchange gifts, sweets and enjoy bonfire at night.