Daily GK: 12th November 2014

1. Anand hits back in style to level scores

As the popular phrase goes, “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” But in a match for the World chess title, the sooner you get even, the better it gets.

i. On Tuesday, how much better Viswanathan Anand was feeling on avenging Sunday’s defeat to World champion Magnus Carlsen could be gauged by the return of his customary, disarming smile.

ii. By hitting back with white pieces in Game 3 of the 12-game World championship match in Sochi, Russia, Anand has levelled the score to 1.5-1.5.

iii. This was also the third time that Anand had levelled the match-score in a world title clash after trailing. Against Veselin Topalov in 2010 and Boris Gelfand in 2012, Anand bounced back from deficit to keep the crown.

2. Kerala became first state with bank accounts for all families

i. Kerala became the first state in the country to have bank accounts for all families under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY).

ii. A formal declaration to this effect was made by Kerala Finance Minister KM Mani at the State-Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on 11 November 2014.

iii. Under the PMJDY, Kerala has opened about 13 lakh new accounts and has mobilised 326 crore rupees through intensive financial literacy campaigns launched under the aegis of the State Level Banker’s Committee (SLBC).

NOTE: Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna is a mega financial inclusion plan aimed at bringing poor financially excluded people into the banking system by providing them bank accounts and debit cards.It was launched on 15 August 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

3. Public sector bank employees go on strike

i. Employee unions of public sector banks went on a nation-wide strike on Wednesday to press for wage revision, affecting banking services like cheque clearance and withdrawal from branches across the country.

ii. However, branches of private sector banks like ICICI and HDFC remained open. At the same time, most of the ATMs of all banks were functioning normally, as per initial reports.

iii. "Strike is complete and total. This strike has been forced upon us as bank management did not yield to our scaled down demands,” United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) Convener M V Murali told PTI.

4. Sixth World Ayurveda Congress held in New Delhi

i. Sixth World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) was held in New Delhi from 6 to 9 November 2014. 

ii. Aim of WAC is to develop a vision and strategy for public action to realize the potential of Ayurveda and improve health care in India and serve as a model for public health globally.

iii. The events at sixth WAC included Seminar on Medicinal Plants, business meets coordinated by Pharmexil, an Editors Conclave, and international Delegates Assembly and a Guru shishya meet.

 Theme of the sixth WAC was "Health Challenges and Ayurveda"  

5. RBI tightens norms for NBFCs

i. Tightening norms for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), the Reserve Bank of India on Monday raised the capital adequacy requirement and the net owned fund limit, among others, with an objective to mitigate risks in the sector.

ii. At present, the NOF requirement is at Rs.25 lakh. In a phased manner, the NBFCs would be required to raise it to Rs.1 crore by March, 2016, and to further double it to Rs.2 crore by 2017.

iii. "NBFCs failing to achieve the prescribed ceiling within the stipulated time period shall not be eligible to hold the CoR (Certificate of Registration) as NBFCs. The bank will initiate the process for cancellation of CoR against such NBFCs,” it said in a notification.

NOTE: NBFCs cannot offer interest rates higher than the ceiling rate prescribed by RBI from time to time. The present ceiling is 12.5 per cent per annum.

6. BJP wins trust vote in Maharashtra Assembly

i. BJP government headed by Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday won the confidence motion in Maharashtra assembly by a voice vote, amid protests by former ally Shiv Sena.

ii. BJP's Haribhau Bagde to be Maharashtra legislature's new Speaker.

iii. Raj Thackeray's MNS offers support to BJP govt in Maharashtra.

7. Indian Film Personality of the Year award for Rajinikanth

i. The Centre has named actor Rajinikanth as winner of the Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year.

ii. This was announced by Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Minister of State, Information and Broadcasting, on Tuesday.

iii. The Chennai-based actor would be receiving the honour at the 45th International Film Festival of India to be held in Goa from November 20 to 30.

8. PM Narendra Modi joins Instagram, gets thousands of followers

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made his Instagram debut with a picture of the venue of the 25th ASEAN Summit - and notched up followers at a blistering pace.

ii. He was welcomed on the site by his followers. There were a staggering 43,000 followers by 2 pm which kept on increasing by the second.

iii. The tech-savvy prime minister has 7.79 million followers on his Twitter account @narendramodi, and 3.43 million so far on the Prime Minister's Office account of @PMOIndia.