Daily GK Update [10th April 2015]

1. EPFO suspends Rs 1,000 minimum monthly pension scheme

i. Retirement fund body EPFO has suspended the Rs 1,000 minimum monthly pension scheme from this month, a decision which will hit about 32 lakh pensioners.

ii. The scheme was launched with effect from September 2014, hiking the pension amount to a flat Rs 1,000 per month for those who were getting lower amount earlier.

iii. With the suspension of the scheme, the beneficiaries will get pension at earlier rates.

iv. In a circular to its field offices, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) said it has decided to suspend the scheme in the absence of any direction from the government to continue this benefit beyond March 31.

v. According to the government notification issued on August 19 last year, the benefit of minimum pension was made effective from September 1 to March, 2015.

2. Seoul succeeds in WWF’s Earth Hour City Challenge 2015

i. Seoul city, the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea was awarded the title of Global Earth hour Capital 2015 after it won the Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) of World Wildlife Fund (WWF). 

ii. The challenge saw the participation of 163 cities from 16 countries. The award ceremony was held in Seoul, South Korea.

iii. The city of Balikpapan, Indonesia was recognized as the Most Loveable City for 2015 and Thane city was named as the National Earth Hour Capital 2015 of India.

3. IndusInd Bank to buy RBS India's bullion financing biz

i. IndusInd Bank entered into an agreement to acquire Royal Bank of Scotland's Diamond & Jewellery Financing business in India and related deposit portfolio.

ii. This is part of ABN AMRO Bank NV’s diamond & jewellery clients [unit] that is housed in Royal Bank of Scotland NV acting through its Mumbai branch in India.

iii. ABN AMRO was acquired by RBS in 2007. Until ownership of the loans transfer to IndusInd Bank, day-to-day management of the loan portfolio will remain with Royal Bank of Scotland NV. Employees within diamond and jewellery clients in India will also move to IndusInd Bank and will ensure seamless transition of the customer base.

4. Former Air Chief Marshal Hrushikesh Moolgaonkar passes away

i. Retired Air Chief Marshal Hrushikesh Moolgaonkar passed away in Pune, Maharashtra. He was 95.

ii. Hrushikesh Moolgaonkar had joined Indian Air Force (then Royal Indian Air Force) in November 1940 as the rank of an acting Pilot Officer. He was appointed Chief of Air Staff in February 1976. He had succeeded then Air Chief Marshal Om Prakash Mehra. 

iii. He had led the fly-past of IAF on Independence Day in August 15, 1947 and also on the Republic Day in January 26, 1951 when he was a Squadron Leader.

5. Arun Kumar Jha appointed CEO, KVIC

i. Arun Kumar Jha was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Mumbai.

ii. He has been appointed to the post of CEO (Joint Secretary level post) for the balance period of his overall five year tenure up to September 13, 2016

iii. Jha, a 1985-batch officer of Indian Economics Service, is presently working as Director General, National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

6. Marvelous Maven completes 1000 orbits around Mars

i. Nasa's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) probe - the first mission ever devoted to understanding the Martian upper atmosphere - has completed 1,000 orbits around the Red Planet, four-and-a-half months into its one-year primary mission.

ii. Maven started its venture on November 18, 2013 and successfully entered the martian orbit on September 5, 2014. Since then its has been orbiting elliptically in the Mars’s upper atmosphere with 6,500 kilometers being the farthest point while 130 kilometers being the closest point to the Martian surface.

iii. The prime objective of Maven is to observe the Mars atmosphere and give an insight into how the transition from moist and warm planet to dry and cold planet took place on Mars.

7. Nuclear-capable Dhanush missile successfully test-fired

i. India on Thursday successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile with a strike range of 350 km from a naval ship off the Odisha coast.

ii. The surface-to-surface Dhanush, a naval variant of India's indigenously-developed Prithvi missile, was test fired from a ship in the Bay of Bengal off Odisha coast by the Strategic Force Command (SFC) of the defence force. 

iii. The single-stage, liquid-propelled Dhanush having 350 km range has already been inducted into the armed forces and is one of the five missiles developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).