Daily GK: 01 November 2014

1. Bangalore becomes 'Bengaluru'; 11 other cities renamed

i. Shedding the colonial name, Bangalore today became Bengaluru synchronising with the state formation day "Karnataka Rajyotsava".
ii. In tandem, 11 other cities across Karnataka were also rechristened by the state government, casting away the anglicised names.

iii. Now Bangalore will be called Bengaluru, Mangalore (Mangaluru), Mysore (Mysuru), Bellary (Ballari), Belgaum (Belagavi), Hubli (Hubballi), Tumkur (Tumakuru), Bijapur (Vijayapura), Chikmagalur (Chikkamagaluru), Gulbarga (Kalaburagi), Hospet (Hosapete) and Shimoga (Shivamogga).


2. India re-elected to UN Economic and Social Council

i. India has overwhelmingly won its re-election to the UN body on economic and social issues, garnering the highest number of votes in the Asia-Pacific group.
ii. The 193-member UN General Assembly elected 18 members of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to serve a three-year term beginning January 1, 2015.
iii. India's term at ECOSOC was scheduled to end this year and it was re-elected after getting 183 votes, the highest in the Asia Pacific group, followed by Japan and Pakistan with 181 votes each.
iv. The other 17 members to be elected to ECOSOC apart from India were Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Estonia, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Honduras, Japan, Mauritania, Pakistan, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

3. Restriction of 5 times usage of ATM 

i. Using ATMs (automated teller machines) to withdraw money or for other purposes such as balance enquiry beyond five times in a month will attract a levy of Rs.20 a transaction from Saturday.
ii.  bank customers in six metros —Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore — are allowed to withdraw money and/or carry out non-financial transactions like mini-statements at ATMs of banks, where they hold saving/current accounts, free of charge only five times a month.
iii. The RBI, however, clarified that nothing precludes a bank from offering more than three free transactions at other bank ATMs to its account holders if it so desires.

4. Blackout hits Bangladesh as line from India fails

i. Bangladesh was hit by a nationwide blackout on Saturday after a transmission line bringing electricity from neighbouring India failed, but power was restored to many parts of the country within a few hours.
ii. Bangladesh began importing electricity from India in October 2013 through a 400-kilovolt transmission line that runs from Baharampur in the Indian state of West Bengal to the town of Bheramara in southwestern Bangladesh.

5. Lieutenant colonel assumes power in Burkina Faso, President flees

i. The second in command of Burkina Faso's presidential guard, Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Zida, said on Saturday he had taken power after deposed President Blaise Compaore reportedly fled the capital.
ii. The tussle for power comes after an extraordinary week of violent protest against Compaore's 27-year rule that saw parliament stormed and set ablaze.

6. McKinsey study predicts 15 more metros by 2025

i. Rapid urbanisation is expected to create another 15 metropolitan cities over the next decade.
ii. The report titled ‘India’s Economic Geography in 2025: States, Clusters and Cities’.
iii.  The emerging cities include Jamnagar, Dehradun, Cuttak, Bhavnagar, Kolhapur, Vellore, Amaravati, Ajmer, Udaipur, Sangli, Nanded and Mangalore.
iv. The McKinsey report has also classified the states into four-broad groups for future growth potential. Chandigarh, Delhi, Goa and Puducherry have been termed as ‘Very High Performing’ states.
v. Eight states such as Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand have been rated as the ‘High Performing’ states, which are likely to account for 52 per cent of India’s incremental GDP growth from 2012 to 2015.
vi. The report estimates that India would be 38 per cent urbanised by 2025, up from 31 per cent in 2011.

7. Union Cabinet approved proposal to amend FDI policy in construction and real estate sector

i. Union Cabinet approved the proposal to amend Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy in construction and real estate sectors. 
ii. The proposal is the minimum capital requirement is brought down from 10 million US dollar to 5 million US dollar.
iii. In case of development of serviced plots, the condition of minimum land of 10 hectares has been completely removed.
iv. In case of development of trunk infrastructure, though the lock in period has not reduced from 3-year lock-in period but permitted foreign investors to investors to exit on project completion or 3 years from the date of final investment.

8. BCCI imposes claim worth 250 cr on WICB

i. The BCCI has slammed a damage claim worth 250 crore on WICB (West Indies Cricket Board) following their team's withdrawal midway through the India tour and threatened to take legal action if the board didn't respond within 15 days.
ii. The BCCI had apparently suffered a loss close to 400 crore due to the cancellation.