Current Affairs - 13 September 2014

2G scam: Ashwani Kumar orchestrated the demand to keep PM’s name out, Vinod Rai says

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  A day after former CAG Vinod Rai targeted Manmohan Singh for having full knowledge of the 2G and coal scams, he tells TOI his isn't a personal battle against the former PM and he has written his book only because he cares about transparency and exposing wrongdoing.
  
  You've named Manmohan Singh as complicit in the 2G and coal scams. Are you targeting him, is this a personal battle?
  
  There is no question of targeting him. For 2G and the coal case, he was the PM and the issue reached him. He was certainly in the know of things. In the 2G case all the letters written by A Raja indicated what he was planning to do and the PM, unfortunately, gave very routine replies to them.
  
  On the coal issue, it goes to his credit that the moment the then coal secretary Parakh made it known that the screening committee procedure was leading to windfall gains, pressures and lobbying, he understood. In November 2004, he decided that coal ministry would go for market- discovery process or the auction process.
  
  There's no question of any personal battle. We are at two very different levels. He's been PM for 10 years. He's a dignitary, a statesman, a globally-known personality. There's no way I can take him on. Our reports are based on facts and the issues did go up to his level. He chose to take the course of action that he has taken.

J&K floods may trigger higher motor claims than Uttarakhand

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  HENNAI: With the valley battling one of the worst floods in recent decades, general insurers are anticipating claims mostly from motor vehicles, shops and establishments and home inundated with water.
  
  Bajaj Allianz which has a bancassurance partnership with the Jammu and Kashmir Bank is also monitoring the situation closely and expects auto loans to exceed losses on account of last year's floods in Uttarakhand. "We have a large number of insured assets that include motor as well as non motor. We anticipate the motor loss to be higher in J&K because the number of vehicles in the region is more as Srinagar is a big city when compared to Uttarakhand," Vijay Kumar, chief technical officer, motor insurance, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance said. The company recently set up a dedicated helpline to assist customer register claims.
  
  "Going by reports of damage there will be an additional loss on the motor front during this quarter," G Srinivasan, chairman and managing director, New India Assurance said. He added that as the flood waters have not receded and communication facilities are yet claims have not yet been registered so far."

Doing business in India difficult, Honda Motor chief says

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  NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi government may be talking of economic reforms, but the confidence of global investors in the Indian economy still seems jittery. Honda's global chairman Fumihiko Ike has said that doing business in India remains difficult and processes in the country are "complicated" and "burdensome". 
  
  Ike, who also heads the crucial Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), said the new government should take steps to improve the investment in the country as poor infrastructure and uncertain tax regime makes it tough to do business in India. 
  
  Ike's statement comes a day after British telecom giant Vodafone echoed similar sentiments and European oil major BP also expressed "frustration" over the delay in gas price hike, which was delaying the proposed investment by the company. Vodafone, which battles a Rs 20,000 crore claim by the government over a capital gains tax issue, said foreign companies find it "difficult" to do business in India because of slower government clearances. 
  
  Speaking at the 54th annual convention of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) here, Ike said the Indian government needs to take steps to make the country an attractive destination for foreign investors and "improve the business environment for investments".

China to invest $100 billion in India over 5 years

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  MUMBAI: Chinese president Xi Jinping will bring along with him $100 billion or Rs 6 lakh crore of investment commitments over five years during his upcoming India visit next week. This is nearly thrice the $35 billion secured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Japan trip. 
  
  Jinping will land in Modi's home state Gujarat on September 17 — the Prime Minister's birthday — following his visit of Tajikistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka. 
  
  Confirming this, Liu Youfa, China's consul-general in Mumbai, told TOI, "On a conservative estimate, I can say that we will commit investments of over $100 billion or thrice the investments committed by Japan during our President Xi Jinping's visit next week. These will be made in setting up of industrial parks, modernization of railways, highways, ports, power generation, distribution and transmission, automobiles, manufacturing, food processing and textile industries." 
  
  The consul-general's statements coincide with Modi's call for world class infrastructure projects after his review of major infrastructure sectors on Friday. The government also announced new projects worth Rs 9 lakh crore in energy, power, and roads. 
  
  China will initially invest $7 billion in industrial parks in Pune and Gandhinagar. "The Pune industrial park — spread across 5 square kilometres with an investment of $5 billion — will be for automobiles that will employ one lakh people and manufacture 1.5 lakh speciality vehicles. The Gujarat industrial park will be for manufacturing power equipment. China is also working on setting up an industrial park in Tamil Nadu for the textile sector and another one for the food processing sector," said Liu. 

Narendra Modi pulls up minister for gifts to journalists

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  NEW DELHI: He is supposed to be among those who enjoy the trust of Prime Minister Narendra Modi because of his familiarity with complex policy matters and the ways of big business. That the PM likes this young minister is borne out by the importance of the portfolio he handles. 
  
  However, that could not buffer him against Modi's displeasure for having deviated from the policy discouraging distribution of freebies. The minister has handed over gifts to journalists covering his ministry. Although the gifts were rather inexpensive and would have been politically kosher in earlier times, they failed to pass muster with the PM who recently acknowledged being a "hard task master". 
  
  Sources said the PM confronted the minister at the meeting of the Cabinet, rejected the explanation and made his displeasure known. "This is unacceptable," Modi is learnt to have said as he frowned upon the infringement of the "zero tolerance" policy he has laid down. 
  
  While others present felt awkward and wondered whether the minister should have been spared the embarrassment of being publicly confronted, sources surmised that this could be meant to send out the message that people's perceived proximity would not serve as immunity should they breach the red line. 

Longest and Largest

• 1. Which is longest river of India

  Ganges

• 2. Which is the longest River in the World ?

  Nile

• 3. Which is longest tributary river of India ?

  Yamuna

• 4. Which is longest river of South India ?

  Godavari

• 5. Which is the Highest mountain peak ?

  Mount Everest (8,850 m)

• 6. Which is the Largest lake of the world ?

  Caspian Sea (371,000 sq km)

• 7. Which is the deepest lake of the world ?

  Lake Baikal

• 8. Which is highest dam in world ?

  "Nurek" dam on river Vakhsh in Tajikistan

• 9. Which is the highest dam in India ?

  Tehri Dam on Bhagirathi River in Uttarakhand (Height of 260 metres)

• 10. Which is largest Dam in World ?

  Three Gorges (China)

• 11. Which is the largest Mosque in World ?

  Masjid al Haram (Saudi Arabia)

• 12. Which is the largest Mosque in India ?

  Jama Masjid (Delhi)

• 13. Which is the longest road in India ?

  Grand Trunk Road (2500 Km)

• 14. Which Indian state is having longest coastline ?

  Gujrat

• 15. Which is Largest railway route in India ?

  Dibrugarh in Assam to Kannyakumari in Tamil Nadu.

• 16. Which is Longest road tunnel in the World ?

  Lrdal Tunnel (Norway - 24.51 kilometre)

• 17. Longest rail tunnel in the world ?

  Seikan Tunnel (Japan - 53.9 Km)

• 18. Which is the longest rail tunnel in India ?

  Pir Panjal (J&k, 11215 metre)

• 19. Which is Longest national highway of India ?

  NH-7 ( Varanasi to Kanyakumari - 2,369 km)

• 20. Which is Longest Dam in India ?

  Hirakod Dam (Orissa)

• 21. Which is largest Delta of India ?

  Sundarban (W. Bengal)

• 22. Which is Largest Dome in World ?

  St. Peter's Basilica (Rome)

• 23. Which is largest Dome in India ?

  Gol Gumbaz (Karnataka)

• 24. Which is the largest Zoo in the World ?

  Berlin Zoological Garden (Germany)

• 25. Which is the largest Zoo in India ?

  Zoological Gardens, Alipur, Kolkata

• 26. Which is the largest desert in India ?

  Thar (Rajasthan)

• 27. Which is smallest state by area of India ?

  Goa

• 28. Which is the smallest state of India by Population ?

  Sikkim

• 30. Which is the Densest populated State of India ?

  West Bengal

• 31. Which is the state largest by area in India ?

  Rajasthan

• 33. Which state is largest by Population ?

  Uttar Pradesh

• 34. Which is Place of heaviest rainfall ?

  Mausinram (Meghalaya)

• 35. Which is Largest forest state of India ?

  M.P.

• 36. Which is Highest Battle field ?

  Siachin Glacier.

• 37. Which is Highest Award in India ?

  Bharat Ratna

• 38. Which is Highest Gallantry Award in India ?

  Paramveer Chakra

• 39. What is the name of tallest Animal ?

  Giraffe