Daily GK: 6th November 2014

1.    Sachin Tendulkar unveils his autobiography 'Playing it My Way'

i. Sachin Tendulkar's much-awaited autobiography 'Playing It My Way' was on Wednesday launched in the presence of some of his former teammates, celebrities and family members at an engrossing ceremony in Mumbai.

ii. The book, the first copy of which he gave to his mother Rajni earlier in the day, was unveiled by Tendulkar himself amid thundering applause by the gathering. 

ii. At the launch, Tendulkar presented a copy to his mentor and childhood coach Ramakant Achrekar in the presence of his daughter Sara. 
iii. "I would like to present the first copy after launch to somebody very special in my life, Tendulkar said before handing over a copy of the book to a wheelchair-bound Achrekar. 
iv. Before the launch of the book, cricket analyst and host for the evening Harsha Bhogle had three panel discussion sessions with Tendulkar's former teammates and family, who significantly feature in the book. 
v. The first panel discussion was attended by former India captains Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri and former Mumbai cricketer Vasu Paranjape, who played a crucial role in shaping Tendulkar's career. 
vi. Gavaskar remembered how he met Tendulkar for the first time and was impressed by his talent at the first look. 

2.    Guru Nanak Jayanti being celebrated today

i. The birth anniversary of the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev ji is being celebrated across the country today with traditional fervour and gaiety. 

ii. The day, which falls on Kartik Poornima, is celebrated as Prakash Utsav. Several functions are being held across the country to mark the occasion.  iii. Devotees in larger numbers are thronging Gurudwaras across the country to pay their obeisance to the great spiritual leader. Akhand Path is also performed at Gurudwaras. 
iv. The President, Vice President and Prime Minister have greeted the people on the occasion. 
v. The President Pranab Mukherjee said that Guru Nanak's message of compassion and equality of all human beings is of timeless relevance. Let us on this day recall his sublime teachings and strive for the upliftment of the weak and downtrodden in order to create a society devoid of all social distinctions. 
vi. The Vice President Hamid Ansari said that Guru Nanak's divine message of truth, compassion and tolerance has eternal relevance for liberation of humanity from violence, bigotry and injustice. 

3.    RBI asks banks to alert customers before clearing suspicious or high value cheques

i. To prevent rising cheque-related fraud cases, the Reserve Bank of India has asked banks to alert the account holders by a phone call and contact the base branch in case of non-home cheques before clearing suspicious or high value payments. 
ii. The RBI also asked banks to send an SMS alert to payer or drawer when cheques are received for clearing and examine cheques under UV lamp for clearance beyond 2 lakh rupees. The apex bank, further, said multi-level checking should be done before clearing cheques above 5 lakh rupees.

iii. It also advised banks to review and strengthen the controls in the cheque presenting or passing and account monitoring processes. The central bank maintained that due diligence should be observed at the time of handling or processing of the cheques

4.    Mumbai recorded the largest number of Internet users in India in 2014

i. Mumbai recorded the largest number of internet users in India in 2014. This was revealed by a study conducted by the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).

ii. According to the study, Mumbai recorded 16.4 million internet users surpassing Delhi and Kolkata. Delhi recorded 12.15 million internet users and Kolkata recorded 6.27 million internet users.

iii. Delhi was second with a user base of 12.1 million. The National Capital recorded the fastest year-on-year growth rate of 50 per cent in Internet user base among top eight cities of the country.

iv. India had about 243 million Internet users as of June 2014, according to IAMAI.

v. Top eight cities -- Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune -- accounted for over 58 million Internet users, the study said. Kolkata ranked third in the list with 6.27 million users, followed by Bangalore (5.99 million) and Chennai (5.58 million).

vi. "Overall, the top four metros have a 23 per cent penetration of Internet users users in India. The other four metros have 11 per cent penetration," it said

5.    India ranks 7th in world list for peer citations in research journals

i. If citations by peers of research work done by scholars is a good benchmarking index, then Indian scholars rank second to China in the Asiatic region but is pushed to seventh place in the world rankings.

ii. China had almost 36,000 citable documents in the business, management and accounting areas, while India had nearly 14,000 citations. However, in the world map, the US was far ahead with 1.6 lakh citations in the top rank.

iii. Kulbhushan Balooni, Director-incharge, IIM Kozhikode, delivering the keynote address at the inaugural session of the Pan IIM World Management conference at the institute campus, gave out these figures to stress the importance of research.

6.    Forbes list of World's Most Powerful People 2014 released

i. The Forbes list of the World's Most Powerful People 2014 was released in which Russian President Vladimir Putin is on the top followed by Barack Obama and XI Jinping.  

ii. The list gives the annual ranking of the World’s 72 Most Powerful People on the basis of their financial resources, scope and use of power and the number of people they impact.  iii. The list features 17 heads who run nations with a combined GDP of around 48 trillion US dollars. 

Indians in the List i. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his debut in the world's most powerful people list. He ranked 15th on the Forbes list. Modi was credited for the massive reconstruction projects in his home state of Gujarat. His administration promises to bring economic rejuvenation to other beleaguered parts of India.

ii. The next Indian on the list is Mukesh Ambani at 36th rank. Ambani has business ventures in petrochemicals, manufacturing, oil and gas production, and now wireless sectors.

Top 5 on the list –

1. Vladimir Putin             2. Barack Obama      3. Xi Jinping

4. Pope Francis               5. Angela Markel

7.    MS Dhoni named as captain of ICC ODI Team of the Year 2014

i. Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on 5 November 2014 was named as the captain of ICC ODI Team of the Year 2014.

ii. He has been selected in the ICC ODI team of the year for the eight time (seventh year in a row), while fifth year as a captain of the team.

iii. The selected ICC ODI team was chosen by a specially appointed selection panel chaired by the ICC’s Cricket Committee chairman and former India captain Anil Kumble. 

8.    Angelo Mathews named as captain of the ICC Test Team of the Year 2014

i. The ICC on Wednesday announced its Test and ODI Teams of the Year, as chosen by a specially appointed selection panel, chaired by the ICC's Cricket Committee chairman, and former India captain Anil Kumble.

ii. Sri Lanka skipper, Angelo Mathews, has been named as captain of the ICC Test Team of the Year 2014, that also includes two more Sri Lankans in Kumar Sangakkara and Rangana Herath.

iii. This is the seventh time since 2006 that Sangakkara has been selected in the squad. He missed out on selection in 2009 and 2013.

iv. India skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has been selected in the ICC ODI Team of the Year, for the eight time (seventh year in a row), while it is the fifth year that he has been appointed captain.

v. Anil Kumble announced the team at a media conference, at the ICC Headquarters in Dubai, where ICC Chief Executive David Richardson, also announced the short-lists for the LG ICC Awards 2014.

9.    Mark Ramprakash hired as England batting coach

i. Former England international Mark Ramprakash has been hired as batting coach for the national team with immediate effect.

ii. The 45-year-old Ramprakash, who played in 52 tests in an 11-year international career, will coach across all formats starting in the one-day series against Sri Lanka this month.

10.  Djokovic retains Paris Masters title

i. Top—ranked Novak Djokovic easily defended his Paris Masters title with a 6—2, 6—3 victory over Milos Raonic on Sunday.

ii. Djokovic, who did not drop a set during the whole week, won the indoor tournament for the third time and claimed the 20th Masters title of his career.

iii. The Serb also made a big step in his bid to finish the year at the No. 1 spot for a third time, extending his lead over Roger Federer before the ATP Finals in London.

iv. The 23—year—old Raonic, who has never beaten Djokovic in their four meetings, appeared apprehensive and could not convert his few openings.

11.  Mathews, Sangakkara propel Sri Lanka to 274

i. Skipper Angelo Mathews struck a fighting fifty to lift a struggling Sri Lanka to 274 for eight against India in the second one—day International at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

ii. Electing to bat, the visitors lost early wickets but Mathews’ unbeaten 92 -- his innings laced with 10 fours and a six -- and Kumar Sangakkara’s valiant 61 took the side to respectability. The duo stitched a crucial 90—run fourth—wicket partnership after Lanka were struggling at 64 for three.

iii. With the visitors being reduced to 220 for eight in the 44th over, Mathews got support from number—ten batsman Dhammika Prasad and the duo stitched a valuable 54—run unbeaten partnership to give the islanders the necessary push in the end.

iv. Indian pace spearhead Umesh Yadav (2—54) struck with two important wickets before spinners Ravichandran Ashwin (2—49) and young Axar Patel (2—39) took charge to hurt the Sri Lankan batting