Daily GK Update [9th April 2015]

1. Moody's raises India outlook to 'positive', edges toward ratings upgrade

i. Global ratings agency Moody’s reaffirmed India’s rating at Baa3 but raised the rating outlook to ‘Positive’ from "Stable", a step closer to an upgrade of the credit rating, as it expects actions by policymakers to lift the country's economic growth.

ii. According to Moody's the policymakers are establishing a framework that will allow the country's growth to continue to outperform that of its peers over the medium-term and improve India's macro-economic, infrastructure and institutional profile.

iii. Moody's not only expects India's economic strength to be enhanced over time, but also says that the recent measures taken by government will reduce some of India's sovereign credit constraints. 

2. PM Narendra Modi departs on a nine-day visit to three nations

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flies out today for his visit to France, Germany and Canada, in which he plans to take his "Make in India" push to Eurozone's two biggest economies.

ii. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nine days abroad will be the longest overseas visit that he will be undertaking after becoming Prime Minister eleven months ago.

iii. The focus of the visit is to shore up as much foreign direct investment (FDI) and technological expertise as he can for the BJP-led NDA Government's pet projects: Make in India, Smart Cities, Clean India, Skill Development, Defense, Energy Security, Railways, Roads and Ports Management.

3. RBI notifies hike in FDI cap in insurance sector to 49% 

i. The Reserve Bank notified government's decision to raise foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the insurance sector to 49 per cent from the present 26 percent.

ii. As per the notification, FDI up to 26 percent will be under automatic route and beyond 26 percent and up to 49 percent will be allowed with the approval of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

iii. The RBI notification is in tune with March 2015 decision of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) regarding operationalisation of increased FDI limit in the insurance sector.

4. President appoints Dr Nasim Zaidi as chief election commissioner

i. President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed the senior-most Election Commissioner, Dr Nasim Zaidi, as the next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).

ii. Zaidi will assume the charge of office of the chief election commissioner with effect from April 19, after the incumbent Harishankar Brahma will retire on April 18.

iii. A 1976 batch IAS officer, Dr Zaidi has worked in the Civil Aviation Ministry for a long time.

5. China's Olympic hurdles gold medallist Liu Xiang retires

i. China's Olympic gold medal-winning hurdler Liu Xiang, one of the country's biggest sports stars, has retired.

ii. The 31-year-old won the country's first Olympic men's athletics gold in the 110m hurdles in Athens in 2004 and added a world title in 2007.

iii. He also held the world record in 2006 with a time of 12.88 seconds.

iv. Liu has been affected by an Achilles problem ever since it caused him to pull out of his first heat at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

6. Sumit Mazumder is the new president of CII

i. Sumit Mazumder, Chairman & Managing Director, TIL Limited, has been elected as the President of CII for the year 2015-16.  He succeeds Mr Ajay Shriram as the new President.

ii. TIL is the manufacturer of India’s largest range of material handling equipment in technical collaboration with world leaders – Manitowoc Crane Group, USA; Hyster (a part of NACCO Materials Handling Group, USA) etc.

iii. Mazumder is also the Executive Chairman of TIPL (Tractors India Pvt. Ltd.).  The company is a distributor for Caterpillar, USA, in India, Nepal and Bhutan for earthmoving, construction, mining equipment and power systems.

7.  Gopaldas Neeraj, Uday Pratap Singh conferred with Sahitya Shiromani Samman of Uttar Pradesh

i. Uttar Pradesh Government conferred Sahitya Shiromani Samman on noted Hindi poet Gopaldas Neeraj and veteran Hindi litterateur Uday Pratap Singh. 

ii. Along with the award, the duo was given a cash prize of 21 lakh rupees. 

iii. Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav conferred the award on Neeraj and Singh. Yadav also announced that Neeraj will be given Rashtra Ratn-Sitara-e Hind award for his lifelong service to Hindi literature.

iv. Beside this, Yadav also unveiled the poetry book of Gopal Das Neeraj named Geetsri in Lucknow.

8.  Indian-origin Sim Bhullar makes NBA history

i. Gursimran 'Sim' Bhullar became the first player of Indian descent to play in the high-profile National Basketball Association (NBA) league as he made his debut for Sacramento Kings.

ii. The 22-year-old came on with 16 seconds remaining in the Kings' 116-111 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Sleep Train Arena. 

iii. The 7-foot-5-inch Canada-born had signed a 10-day contract to join the Kings' roster.