Daily GK Update 22-23 June 2014

1.    FinMin mulls fixed 5-year term for PSB chief

i. The Union finance ministry is considering a proposal to provide a fixed tenure of five years to heads of public sector banks (PSBs). The aim is more operational stability and accountability.

ii. It is also considering changes in the appointment procedure of wholetime directors and revising the criteria for selection of non-official directors on PSB boards.

iii. We have proposed a fixed tenure of five years for chairmen & managing directors of PSBs,” said a ministry official. The department of financial services has discussed its proposals with minister Arun Jaitley, who will decide.

iv. The department has argued that a fixed tenure would give CMDs enough scope to strategise and take action, beside increasing their level of commitment and accountability.

v. The problem, though, is that heads of public sector undertakings (PSUs) in other sectors would also ask for a fixed tenure. The retirement age for all PSU executives is 60 years. So, generally, the term of a CMD varies between one year and five years.

Note: The P J Nayak committee on governance changes in PSBs had also recommended a minimum five-year tenure for CMDs and a minimum three-year tenure for EDs.

2.    Swiss Money: India moves up to 58th rank; UK remains on top 

i. India has moved up to 58th rank in terms of foreign money lying with Swiss banks, but it accounts for a meagre 0.15 per cent of an estimated USD 1.6 trillion total global wealth held in Switzerland's banking system.

ii. The UK has retained its top position with highest share of close to 20 per cent of global wealth in Swiss banking system, followed by the US, West Indies, Germany and Guernsey in the top-five in terms of exposure to banks in Switzerland. 

iii. Amid much hue and cry over huge amounts of illicit wealth stashed by Indians in Swiss banks, the latest official data released by Switzerland's central banking authority SNB shows that Indian money in Swiss banks rose by 43 per cent during 2013 to close to Rs 14,000 crore (2.03 billion Swiss francs), pushing its global ranking up from 70th at the end of 2012. 
iv. The rankings are based on the direct client exposure as also the funds held through 'fiduciaries' or wealth managers with a total of 283 banks in Switzerland. 
v. India now ranks higher than Pakistan, whose position has slipped from 69th earlier to 74th now, as its total exposure to Swiss banks declined from 1.44 billion Swiss francs at the end of 2012 to 1.23 billion Swiss francs in 2013. 

3.    President releases first Encyclopedia on Hinduism 

i. The basic tenet of Hinduism is happiness, health and enlightenment for everyone, and suffering, pain and agony for none, President Pranab Mukherjee said as he received the first copy of the Encyclopedia of Hinduism on Monday.

ii. Speaking at a function at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President complimented Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji of the Parmarth Niketan Rishikesh, the founder-chairman of India Heritage Research Foundation (IHRF) for undertaking the effort to bring out the encyclopedia.
iii. Hindu philosophy identifies 'Dharma', 'Artha', 'Kama' and 'Moksh' as the foremost objectives of a human being, and striking a balance in human behaviour in working towards these objectives has been prescribed as a key aim of human existence, the President said according to a statement from Shamima Siddiqui, Deputy Press Secretary to the President. 
iv. Quoting former President Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, Mukherjee said Hinduism is not just a faith, but a union of reason and intuition that cannot be defined, but is only to be experienced. 

4.    Nivea to set up first plant in India at Sanand

i. Global skin care giant Nivea today announced to set up its first ever manufacturing plant in India at Sanand near Gujarat.

ii. Apart from the manufacturing facility, Nivea India, an affiliate of Germany-based Beiersdorf AG, will also set up its R&D center at the Sanand-based factory, which will focus on innovations for Indian consumers as well as other markets, said Managing Director of Nivea India, Rakshit Hargave,

5.    Gro Harlem Brundtland awarded Tang Prize in sustainable development

i. Gro Harlem Brundtland was awarded with the first Tang Prize in sustainable development. The Tang Prize was given to her by the Tang Prize Foundation.

ii. She is a former Prime Minister of Norway and was awarded the prize for her innovation, leadership and implementation of sustainable development.  She is known as the Godmother of sustainable development.

6.    Ramanarayanan, Tamil film director and producer, died at 65

i. Ramanarayanan, Tamil film director and producer died on 22 June 2014 in Singapore at the age of 65. 

ii. He has directed 125 films and holds the world record of directing the maximum number of movies by a director.

7.    Magnus Carlsen wins FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship in Dubai

i. Norway’s Magnus Carlsen has won the FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship in Dubai.

ii. He bagged Gold medal with 17 points from the 21 rounds to emerge the winner in the super fast 5 minutes rounds of chess. Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi won the Silver followed Carlsen and Hiraki Nakamura of US got the Bronze medal. 

iii. India’s Grandmaster Vishwanathan Ananad ended up at the seventh place in the blitz round with 13 points. Norwegian Magnus Carlsen has also won the Rapid Chess Championship followed by Armenia’s Fabiani Caruana in second and India’s Vishwanathan Anand in the third place. 

8.    Virat Kohli loses top spot in ODI rankings to ABDevilliers

i. South Africa’s ABDevilliers has eclipsed Virat Kohli as the number One batsman in the latest ICC ODI team rankings. Devilliers has also maintained his top billing in the ICC Test rankings. 

ii. After a string of poor performances, Shikhar Dhawan has been pushed down to the tenth place. Ravindra Jadeja is placed seventh in the ICC ODI bowler’s rankings while he is at number four in the Allrounders list. India maintains its third position in the latest ODI rankings after Australia and Sri Lanka.