Daily GK Updates: 10th Oct 2014

1.    Malala, Kailash Satyarthi win Nobel Peace Prize 2014

i. Kailash Satyarthi, the child rights activist from India, and Malala Yousufzai, the activist for girls education in Pakistan, were announced as the joint winners of this year's Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday.

ii. It is an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and extremism", said the Committee in a press release.

iii. Satyarthi, who runs NGO Bachpan Bachao Aandolan (Save Childhood Movement), has maintained the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi and headed various forms of peaceful protests, “focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain,” the Nobel committee said.

iv. At the age of just 17, Malala is the youngest recipient of the prize.

v. The teenager was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen in October 2012 for campaigning for girls' education. She now lives in Birmingham in the UK

vi. The Nobel committee praised the pair's "struggle against the suppression of children and young people".

vii. Reacting to the news, Mr Satyarthi told: "It's a great honour for all the Indians, it's an honour for all those children who have been still living in slavery despite of all the advancement in technology, market and economy."And I dedicate this award to all those children in the world."

viii. This year there were 278 nominees for the prize, more than any other year till now. The major contenders for the prize this year were Pope Francis, the first non-European Pope in modern times; Denis Mukwege, a Congolese leader who worked with rape victims; and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

2.    India’s first national policy on mental health launched

i. The union health ministry on Friday launched the country’s first ever mental health policy to provide access to good quality treatment to mentally ill people with the focus on those living in poverty.

ii. The policy, launched by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, is backed up by the “Mental Health Action Plan 365” which spells out the specific roles to be played by the Centre, the state governments, local bodies and civil society organisations.

iii. The new mental health policy’s objective is to provide universal access to mental health care by enhancing understanding of mental health and strengthening leadership in the mental health sector at all levels.

iv. The World Health Organization has predicted that about 20 percent of India’s population would suffer from some form of mental illness by 2020.

v. The country has only about 3,500 psychiatrists. Therefore, the government is confronted with the problem of lowering this gap significantly over the next decade,” he added.

3.    Anoop Jain wins prestigious global citizen award

i. A young Indian has won a prestigious global citizen award and USD 100,000 cash prize for his work to build community sanitation facilities, an area that aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment to ending open defecation, organisers of the award said.

ii. Anoop Jain was named recipient of the 2014 Waislitz Global Citizen Award for his "exemplified values of a Global Citizen" through his work in founding Humanure Power (HP) in Bihar in 2011 that builds community sanitation facilities in rural India.
iii. The award carries a USD 100,000 cash prize in recognition to the winner's work in making the "world a better place." 
iv. The announcement of the award co-incided with Modi's recent visit here when he addressed thousands of people at the Global Citizen Festival last week in Central Park.
v. The organisation said Jain's work through Humanure Power aligns with Modi's commitment to put a toilet in every household and school in India by 2019 - a commitment he reiterated in his remarks on stage at the citizen festival. 

4.    Book titled A Man and a Motorcycle, How Hamid Karzai Came to Power: written by Bette Dam

i. A book titled A Man and A Motorcycle, How Hamid Karzai Came to Power written by Bette Dam was launched in September 2014. Bette Dam is a Dutch journalist based in Afghanistan.

ii. The book reveals about the life of former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and his journey towards the highest office of the land and the situation in Afghanistan.

iii. In the book, Dam writes that Karzai was under a lot of pressure from the west as well as key domestic players; however, he was more in touch with the internal figures than the west. 

5.    Cipla Medpro signed collaboration pact with Teva for selling drugs in South Africa

i. Cipla Medpro on 9 October 2014 announced that it has inked a collaboration pact with Teva Pharmaceuticals of Israel for sales and distribution of the latter's drugs in South Africa.

ii. Medpro Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Cipla Medpro and Teva Pharmaceuticals pty of Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries signed a sales and distribution agreement. The collaboration is a subject to the approval by the Competition Commission of South Africa.

6. Bombay High Court ruled in favour of Vodafone in 3200 crore rupees tax case

Who: Vodafone tax case
Where: Mumbai
What: Bombay High Court ruled in favour of Vodafone
When: 10 October 2014
 

Bombay High Court on 10 October 2014 ruled in favour of Vodafone in 3200 crore rupees tax dispute case. The ruling was given by the division bench of the Bombay High Court, headed by Chief Justice Mohit Shah.

In its ruling the court held that there was no question of imposing tax to the tune of 3200 crore rupees on Vodafone India Services Pvt. Ltd. (VISPL) as the case does not relate to transfer pricing.

The court further ruled that there is no taxable income arising out of the issue of shares. Share premium received on the issue of shares is not taxable. Hence, VISPL was not liable to pay the additional tax amount of over 3200 crore rupees.
 

7.    Cyclonic storm Hudhud

i. Hudhud is in news because is expected to cross north Andhra Pradesh and adjoining Odisha coast between Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur.

ii. Cyclonic storm named Hudhud is the deep depression over north Andaman Sea crossed the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is expected to reach east cost of India.

iii. Hudhud name derives from the Hoopoe bird, a colorful bird found across Afro-Eurasia suggested by Oman.

iv. The Wind speed range of Hudhud is expected to be 130-140 kmph and may reach up to 155 kmph.

8.    UN owe India $110 mn for peacekeeping operations

i. The United Nations owes India USD 110 million, the second highest outstanding payment to any country, for costs relating to peacekeeping operations and troops, a top UN official said.

ii. India, one of the largest troop contributing countries to UN peacekeeping missions, owed the money for troops/formed police, contingent-owned equipment and consumables letters of assist, deaths and disability.

iii. Apart from India, Ethiopia was owed the largest amount at USD 137 million, Pakistan at USD 109 million and Bangladesh at USD 108 million.

9.    Gujarat govt to promote Vadodara as state's cultural capita

i. Gujarat government has set up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to promote Vadodara as the state's cultural capital and encourage tourism in the city.

ii. The SPV, known as Vadodara International Art and Culture Festival Authority, is headed by state Tourism and Finance Minister Saurabh Patel. 

iii. After promoting Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad as business destinations through Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit since 2003, the state government has decided to promote Vadodara as its cultural capital," Patel told mediapersons on Thursday. 
iv. The state government is the first in the country to create such an authority for promoting tourism in Vadodara, which has the potential of becoming cultural capital of India, he claimed. 
v. Vadodara is famous for several palaces, world heritage sites like Champaner, Pavagadh hills among others, he said. 

vi. The upcoming world's tallest Statue of Unity, to be built in the memory of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel near Sardar Sarovar dam, about 100 kms from Vadodara, will add to the tourist circuit of Vadodara, he said.

10. International edition of Encyclopedia of Hinduism by India Heritage Research Foundation released

Who: International edition of Encyclopedia of Hinduism
What: Released by India Heritage Research Foundation
When: 10 October 2014
 

International edition of Encyclopedia of Hinduism by India Heritage Research Foundation was released in New Delhi on 10 October 2014. The encyclopedia was released by Vice-President of India Hamid Ansari. It consists of 11-volumes and approximately 7000 entries.

The aim of Encyclopedia is to show the richness of ancient India and timelessness of Hindu culture and heritage to the entire world, in a way that is authentic, academic, comprehensive and illuminating.