Daily GK: 30th November 2014

1.    Institution to replace Planning Commission likely to be unveiled in Dec

i. Work has moved into top gear for finalising the name and structure of the new institution that will replace the 64-year-old Planning Commission and the same may be unveiled this December.
ii. “The Prime Minister has convened a meeting of the Chief Ministers on December 7 to seek their view points on the structure of the institution which would ultimately replace the Planning Commission,” an official source said.

iii. The Commission has received many suggestions regarding the name and role of the new body. Some of the suggested names are Sustainable Development Commission, National Development Agency, SocialEconomic Development Commission or Bharat Pragati Lakshya. Besides, there have been reports about the new body being named Niti Aayog or Policy Commission.

iv. The new institution, which is likely to be headed by the Prime Minister as was the case with the Planning Commission, may have four divisions — an Inter-State council, plan evaluation office, UIDAI and DBT. All the divisions would have experts from the Centre and State governments as also experts from the industry.

2.    Modi slips to second spot in TIME's 'Person of the Year' poll

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has slipped to the second place in the Time magazine's 'Person of the Year' poll with the Ferguson protesters surging ahead of him in a vote by the readers.

ii. As per latest reports, Modi is leading second with 9.8 per cent of the total votes polled so far while the Ferguson protesters are leading with 10.8 per cent of the votes. Joshua Wong, face of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement, is placed third. iii. Nobel Peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai (5.3 per cent) and Russian President Vladimir Putin are placed fourth and fifth respectively. 
iv. US President Barack Obama is placed at a distant 11th position with just 2.4 per cent of the total votes. The annual poll, which is currently underway, is scheduled to end on December 6 and the poll's winner will be announced on December 8. 
v. However, it is the TIME's editors who will choose the Person of the Year, which is scheduled to be announced on December 10. 

3.    Theatre personality Veenapani Chawla passes away

i. Veenapani Chawla, acclaimed theatre personality and founder of the Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Arts and Research near Auroville, passed away on Sunday, following a sudden heart attack. She was 67.

ii. Her funeral is expected to be conducted on Monday at Karuvadikuppam in Puducherry.

iii. Winner of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Puruskar for her contribution to Indian theatre as a director, Chawla was considered a pioneer of experimental theatre in India.

iv. She established Adishakti in 1981 and was also its Managing Trustee and Artistic Director. Having directed most of Adishakti’s performances and scripted half of them, her work has toured India and abroad.

4.    Leviatha wons best film at IFF, Goa

i. Russian film “Leviathan” by Andrey Zvyagintsev won the best film award comprising Golden Peacock and Rs.40 lakh at the 45th International film Festival of India, which ended in Goa on Sunday.

ii. Mr. Alexey Serebryakov from the “Leviathan” also shared the best male actor award in the Cimena of the World competition.

5.    Book titled Letters for a Nation written by Jawaharlal Nehru & Madhav Khosla

i. Book titled Letters for a Nation written by Jawaharlal Nehru & Madhav Khosla was published by Allen Lane an imprint of Penguin Books on 15 October 2014.

ii. The book contains Jawaharlal Nehru letters as Prime Minister of India to the heads of the country’s provincial governments which he kept a tradition till 1963.

6.    Mumbai, Kolkata most vulnerable to loss of life, properties due to coastal flood: un

i. India's populous coastal cities Mumbai and Kolkata are most vulnerable to loss of life and properties due to coastal flooding in the second half of the century.

ii. Quoting a UN report, the government has said India is among the top 20 countries and regions most at risk based on analysis of climate risk and coping ability. 

iii. The statement assumes significance at a time when representatives of governments are scheduled to meet in Lima from tomorrow for the Climate Change Conference to lay the foundation for an effective, new and universal climate change agreement in Paris in 2015.

iv. With climate change impacts worsening and affecting the poor and most vulnerable, governments urgently need to scale up adaptation to climate change, says the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

7.    IOC to set up greenfield refinery on West coast

i. Country's biggest oil company Indian Oil Corporation is looking at setting up a greenfield refinery on the West coast as part of its expansion plans. ii. Talking to reporters in Mumbai, Indian Oil Corporation Chairman B Ashok said, with the growth in the economy, there is a need for green field refinery by 2021-22. iii. After setting up of Paradip Refinery in East coast, focus is now on setting up of a refinery in West coast region, for which suitable state and place is being looked into.

8.    Dubai to invest $32-billion to build world’s largest airport

i. To further secure its position as the world’s aviation hub, Dubai Airports is building a whopping USD 32—billion greenfield airport at the upcoming Dubai World Central, 30 km off the present international airport which already is the second busiest in the world.

ii. The proposed new airport will become the world’s largest aviation facility on completion and will have five runways which all will be simultaneously operational, all A380-compatible with a length of 4.5 km each.

iii. On completion, the new airport will be the world’s largest airport, with each concourse the size of seven football fields and have five runways which all will be simultaneously operational, all A380-compatible,” Mr. Baumann said.

iv. The other features include 200 aircraft stands for wide bodied aircraft, four concourses connected via six airport trains to two terminals, which in turn will be linked to the city’s metro network.

Note: The Dubai International Airport is the world’s second busiest airport after the London Heathrow and is on course to become the global aviation hub, thanks to its geographical location and the availability of cheap fuel.

9.    Gas price in India to dip to $5 in 3 years: Goldman Sachs

i. The new natural gas price of USD 5.61, which is already among the lowest in Asia Pacific, is likely to drop to around USD 5 per unit in three years due to the variables included in the formula, Goldman Sachs has said.

ii. “While the Indian government introduced a new gas price regime in October, we believe clear direction is needed on gas pricing for higher—cost projects, such as deepwater, to induce more E&P capex,” the global financial major said in a report.

iii. Stating that Indian prices for new projects are among the lowest in Asia Pacific, Goldman said China pays explorers USD 11.9 per mmBtu (million British Thermal Unit) rate for new projects while Indonesia and the Philippines price the fuel at USD 11 and USD 10.5 respectively.

iv. Gas from offshore fields in Myanmar, where Indian firms ONGC and GAIL have stake, are sold to China for USD 7.72.

v. Thailand prices gas from new projects at USD 8.2 per mmBtu.

vi. The only nations with lower rates are Vietnam (USD 5.2) and Malaysia (USD 5), it said.

10.  Sindhu bags Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton Title 

i. PV Sindhu today bagged the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton title for the second consecutive time.

ii. In the final, second seed Sindhu defeated Korean Kim Hyo Min, 21-12, 21-17. This was Sindhu's first title this season.

iii. In the semi-finals yesterday, second seed Sindhu had defeated Busanan Ongbumrungpan of Thailand 21-14, 21-15. iv. In the Men's Singles, HS Prannoy had lost the semi-final. He went down fighting against Hong Kong's Wong Wing Ki Vincent, 16-21, 21-16, 12-21.

11.  Israeli cricket umpire dies after being struck by ball

i. In Israel, Hillel Oscar, 55, an umpire and former captain of Israel's national cricket team died yesterday after being hit in the jaw by a ball in the southern port city of Ashdod, the country's cricket association said. 
ii. His death comes just two days after Australian batsman Phillip Hughes died of a severe head injury after being hit by a bouncer in a New South Wales match in Sydney.
iii. Israeli police ruled out foul play in the incident that led to the death of the umpire. He was an international umpire.

12.  Abhishek wins 76th Junior National & Youth TT boys’ singles title

i. Petroleum Sports Promotion Board, PSPB's Abhishek Yadav has won the boys' singles title in the 76th Junior National and Youth Table Tennis Championships.

ii. In the final of the event at Alappuzha, Kerala, today, he beat his team mate Sudhanshu Grover by Four games to One. 
iii. In the youth girls singles, Manika Batra of the PSPB retained the crown. Manav Thakkar of the PSPB Academy emerged champion in the Junior Boys' section. Thus, it was a rare hat-trick of titles for the PSPB.