Daily GK Update [30th June 2015]

1. Indian Railways, Indian Army among world’s biggest employers:  WEF Study

i. Two Indian organizations, India Army and Indian Railways are among the world’s biggest employers. It was revealed in a research published by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Both organisations employ around 2.7 million people together.

ii. Indian Railways was placed at 8th position with 1.4 million staff, while Indian Army was placed at 9th position with 1.3 million employees in the list of world’s biggest employers.

iii. US department of Defense: It is the world’s biggest employer with over 3.2 million employees.

iv. People’s Liberation Army (PLA): Chinese military is 2nd biggest employer with 2.3 million employees.

2. Bharti Airtel becomes 3rd largest mobile operator in world

i. Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel has become the world’s third largest mobile operator with 303 million subscriber.

ii. With operations in 20 countries, Bharti Airtel, which is present in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Africa, has “become the third largest mobile operator in the world in terms of subscribers”, the company said in a statement.

iii. Quoting latest data published by World Cellular Information Service (WCIS), it said Airtel has over 303 million mobile subscribers across its operations and has moved up one position in the global rankings.

iv. China Mobile, according to WCIS, is the top mobile operator in the world with 626.27 million subscribers. Vodafone Group of UK ranks second with 403.08 million subscribers.

3. IDFC appoints former CAG Vinod Rai as independent director

i. Infrastructure financing firm IDFC today appointed former Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) as independent director.

ii. The appointment has been made with immediate effect.

iii. Rai also worked as Financial Services Secretary. He was director on several boards including the State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, and Life Insurance Corporation of India.

4. Afghan prez Ghani nominates first female judge to Supreme Court

i. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani nominated a female judge to the Supreme Court on Tuesday in an unprecedented move that has angered some Islamic conservatives.

ii. Anisa Rasouli, the head of the Afghan Women Judges Association and a former juvenile court judge, was the only female nominated to the nine-member bench after the announcement was delayed due to opposition by a group of Islamic conservatives earlier this month.

iii. President Ghani's wife Rula stepped into the limelight during the presidential election last year and has been actively campaigning for women's rights since then.

5. Nadia district in West Bengal wins UN Public Service Award 2015

i. Nadia district in West Bengal has won the United Nations Public Service Award 2015 in the category of improving delivery of public services for or eliminating open defecation in the district.

ii. The award was presented by the acting Secretary General of the UN Lenni Montiel to District Magistrate of Nadia and Sabhapati of Nadia Zilla Parishad in Medellin, Colombia.

iii. It was a collaborative effort with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Bank along with state government and local governments.

iv. The programme was initiated in 2013. In one-and-half-years, toilets were built in 5 lakh households and over 200 cluster toilets in public places.

6. HDFC Bank launches '30-min auto', '15-min 2-wheeler' loans

i. Country's second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank   on Monday launched '30-min auto' and '15-min 2-wheeler' loan schemes, for which customers have to provide only their biometric details.

ii. The 30-minute auto loan is available for HDFC Bank customers, as well as others. With this technology-enabled solution, loans for two-wheelers can also be approved within 15 minutes

iii. Any person willing to avail a loan can walk into an auto dealership or any other touch points of the bank and provide the Aadhaar card number and fingerprint, it said.

7. Rahul Agarwal is Lenovo India MD

i. Technology major Lenovo on Monday said it has appointed Rahul Agarwal as the Managing Director of its India operations with immediate effect.

ii. Agarwal succeeds Amar Babu, who will now take on a regional mandate as Chief Operating Officer, Asia Pacific and Chairman, Lenovo India.

iii. Rahul Agarwal takes charge at a time when Lenovo is gearing up for its next phase of growth, diversifying beyond PCs into the smart connected devices while maintaining a strong PC focus

8. Adelaide Oval to host cricket's first ever day-night Test

i. Australia and New Zealand will play cricket's first day-night Test in Adelaide from late November.

ii. The Test, running November 27-December 1, will feature pink balls that Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland believes will hold up to Test match play.

iii. The Test is one of six at home for the Australians - three each against New Zealand and West Indies - from November 5 until January 7.