Daily GK Update: 17th December 2015

1. ISRO’ PSLV-C29 successfully launched 6 Singapore satellites into space

i. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on 16 December 2015 successfully launched 6 satellites of Singapore into Space. The satellites were launched using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C29 from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikotta in Andhra Pradesh.

ii. For the PSLV, it was the 32nd flight overall, and 31st consecutive successful launch. It was also the 50th launch of a big rocket from the SDSC since the launch of SLV-3 on 10 August 1979.

iii. On the technical front, the PSLV-C29 is significant for the ISRO. In this launch, the rocket engine was switched off for some time and then switched on successfully in the space. This mid-space switch on & off facility is very crucial for a launch vehicle to place on-board satellites into different orbits.

iv. With the present launch, ISRO has put into orbits 57 foreign satellites belonging to 20 countries successfully. Significantly, the list of countries includes scientifically advacned countries like the USA, the UK, France and Germany among others.

2. Union Cabinet approved MoU with BRICS for energy conservation

i. The Union Cabinet on 16 December 2015 gave its ex-post facto approval to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa) for strengthening energy efficiency cooperation.

ii. The MoU provides for Joint scientific and technological research and Conferencing and holding of lectures and seminars. Capacity building and technology transfer and Technology development, sharing policies and best practices was also included in the MoU. It also included Encouragement of use of energy efficient and energy saving approaches and instruments in the work of the business entities of the BRICS countries, carried out within the BRICS countries in Consultation with the host country.

iii. Under the present MoU, the BRICS countries intend to examine the practicability of development of the comprehensive programme of cooperation in energy saving and energy efficiency promotion that includes specific common projects, applicable methods and instruments of energy saving and energy efficiency increase in their economies.

3. Justice Reva Khetrapal took oath as Delhi's Lokayukta

i. Former Delhi High Court judge Reva Khetrapal on 17 December 2015 took oath as Delhi's new Lokayukta. The post of the anti-corruption ombudsman was vacant since November 2013, when retired Justice Manmohan Sarin renounced the office.

ii. A four-member panel comprising Lt Governor Najeeb Jung, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Justice of Delhi High Court G Rohini and Leader of Opposition leader in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta had unanimously chosen Justice Khetrapal in October 2015 for the post. Her name was officially recommended by Lt Governor Najeeb Jung to the President of India Pranab Mukherjee in October 2015.

iii. The Delhi Government recommended Khetrapal’s name along with retired Chief Justice of Orissa High Court Bilal Nazki and retired Chief Justice of Haryana and Punjab High Court Jasbir Singh to the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court in July 2015.

iv. Reva Khetrapal was born in Shimla and studied at Miranda House College and the Law Faculty of the Delhi University. She worked as the additional judge in the Delhi High Court between 28 February 2006 and 22 September 2014. She also acted as the Additional District and Sessions Judge in 1991 and was posted as Special Judge (Narcotics) in 1994.

4. RBI liable to disclose information about banks under RTI Act: Supreme Court

i. The Supreme Court on 16 December 2015 held that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is liable to disclose information about the banks and financial institutions for their action against the loan defaulters including industrialists under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.

ii. The Court further ruled that RBI has statutory duty to uphold public interest and not the interest of individual banks. It has no legal duty to maximise the benefit of any public sector or private sector bank, and thus there is no relationship of trust between them.

iii. It also added that RBI does not place itself in a fiduciary relationship with the financial institutions as the reports of inspections, statements of bank and information related to business obtained by the RBI are not under pretext of confidence or trust.

iv. The bench made the remark while dismissing pleas filed by RBI and other private and nationalised banks against the Central Information Commission's (CIC) order to SBI and other banks for disclosure of information under the RTI Act.

v. The Bench gave the ruling against the petition filed by PP Kapoor, who had asked about the details of the loans taken by the industrialists that have not been repaid and he had asked about the names of the top defaulters who have not repaid their loans to public sector banks.

5. Union Cabinet approved revised Model Text for Indian Bilateral Investment Treaty

i. The Union Cabinet, presided by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 16 December 2015 gave its approval for the revised Model Text for the Indian Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT).

ii. The revised Indian model text for BIT will replace the existing Indian Model BIT.  The revised model BIT will be used for re-negotiation of existing BITs and negotiation of future BITs and investment chapters in Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreements (CECAs)/ Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPAs) / Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

iii. The new Indian Model BIT text will provide appropriate protection to foreign investors in India and Indian investors in the foreign country, in the light of relevant international precedents and practices. Besides, it will maintain a balance between the investor's rights and the Government obligations.

iv. A BIT increases the comfort level and boosts the confidence of investors by assuring a level playing field and non-discrimination in all matters while providing for an independent forum for dispute settlement by arbitration. In turn, BITs help project India as a preferred Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) destination as well as protect outbound Indian FDI.

6. The Bose Brothers and Indian Independence – An Insider’s Account authored by Madhuri Bose

i. The Bose Brothers and Indian Independence – An Insider’s Account: Madhuri Bose, the grand-niece of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. The book titled The Bose Brothers and Indian Independence – An Insider’s Account authored by Madhuri Bose was released on 1 November 2015.

ii. The book came in news after grand-niece of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and author of the book, Madhuri Bose presented a copy of her book to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 17 December 2015. 

iii. Through the book, the author has tried to present a never-before account into the life of the iconic Bose Brother, Sarat and Subash Chandra Bose.

iv. It chronicles the role of the Bose Brothers in the Indian freedom struggle, drawing from first-hand accounts of Amiya Nath Bose who was close to them as a family, political ally, confidant and trusted envoy.

v. The book takes the readers through the turbulent political arena of India in the 1920s and unravels the politics of the Indian Nationalist Movement as experienced by Sarat and Subhash Chandra Bose. It reveals their interactions with contemporary leaders like Chittaranjan Das, Jinnah, Motilal and Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and Mahatma Gandhi down the years till Partition in 1947, an event which Sarat Bose relentlessly opposed.

7. IRCTC ties up with Paytm for e-catering payments

i. Train passengers will now find it easier to make online payments for the food ordered through e-catering with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) entering into a tie-up with Paytm, a leading payment and e-commerce shopping website.

ii. “Our tie-up with Paytm will provide an additional payment gateway for food of their choice. In the new age, we have to offer passengers not only novel food options but also more convenient payment methods. The arrangement with Paytm is an effort in that direction,” he pointed out.

iii. In order to popularise our operations, IRCTC has created a user-friendly website and has been sending SMS, E-mail to all e-ticket passengers. For e-catering facility, known as “Food on Track”, IRCTC has already tied up with online delivery firm Food Panda, enabling consumers to order from a variety of cuisine options. “We are in talks with several other reputed catering companies and fast food giants like McDonald’s, Bikanerwala, Nirula’s, Sagar Ratna, Wangs Kitchen, Sarvana Bhavan and Bittu Tikki Wala,” he informed.

iv. Currently, IRCTC provides e-catering facility in 1516 trains without pantry cars. In addition, it provides station- based “Food On Track” facility at 45 stations including Howrah, New Delhi, Chennai Central, Mumbai Central, Delhi, Bangalore City, Patna, Lucknow, Bhubaneswar, Madurai and Amritsar among others.

v. The e-catering facility allows passengers to order meals while travelling, either online on www.ecatering.irctc.co.in or by making a phone call to 0120-2383892-99 or the toll-free number at 1800-1034-139. They can also choose to do so through an SMS to 139 by giving details of their PNR and seat number.

8. Lalit Modi back as Rajasthan Cricket Association president

i. After being ousted as president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) for 14 months, former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi was, on Wednesday, reinstated.

ii. On Tuesday, Amin Pathan withdrew the ‘no confidence’ motion against Modi, following which retired Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra reinstated Modi. Justice Mishra said 15 RCA member-districts had withdrawn their ‘no confidence’ motion “in the interests of the game.”

iii. Modi had been ousted in October 2014. In March, this year, Pathan had brought the ‘no confidence’ motion, after which the court intervened and RCA was temporarily barred from functioning for the past nine months.

iv. In 2013, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had banned Modi for life after it found him “guilty of committing acts of serious misconduct and indiscipline”. The BCCI later suspended RCA after Modi was made its president.

v. However, Team Rajasthan is participating in tournaments under the court’s permission even though there is no funding from the BCCI.

9. Rohit Sharma to launch cricket comic series 'Hyper Tygers’

i. Cricketer Rohit Sharma along with Graphic India, UK-based ISM Komix and Cornerstone Sport are set to launch a new environmental superhero team called 'Hyper Tygers’. The digital comic will be free to read on all devices from February 1 through Sharma’s Facebook page and the Graphic POP! Mobile app.

ii. “I’ve been a big fan of the work Graphic India has been doing in the country to create new Indian superheroes. The idea to collaborate with them to launch India’s first cricket-based superhero comic made perfect sense,” said Sharma.

iii. “Hyper Tygers is an action-packed adventure around a futuristic game of cricket unlike anything we have today. The story also serves as a larger allegory to protect our planet and its endangered wildlife, which is one of the great global challenges of our time,” he added.

iv. Hyper Tygers is set in a futuristic India in the year 2077, charting the meteoric rise of a small Indian rural community and their cricket team, including their mysterious hero the Green Tyger.

v. “Rohit Sharma is the perfect partner to help us bring this futuristic cricket world to India and the hundreds of millions of cricket fans in the country,”added Graphic’s Co-Founder & CEO, Sharad Devarajan.