Daily GK Update - 30th June 2015

Sudhir Kamath to head MTRDC

(i) Sudhir Kamath has been appointed the new Director of DRDO laboratory Microwave Tube Research & Development Centre (MTRDC), Bengaluru, with effect from July 1.

(ii) Dr. Kamath, Scientist G, succeeds Lalith Kumar, who superannuated on Tuesday, said an official release.

(iii) Dr. Kamath holds and M.Tech in electronics and Ph. D. specialising in microwave tubes, both from the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University. 

(iv) At MTRDC, he has contributed to projects and technologies for developing microwave tubes, modules and systems that are used in radars, electronic warfare and communication equipment, the release said.

Worldwide IT spending to decline 5.5% in 2015: Gartner

(i) With the growing currency fluctuation global IT spending is likely to witness a steep drop in 2015 as against the previous year said a latest forecast by technology advisory firm Gartner.

(ii) The technology research firm also said, IT spending will decline than anticipated earlier this year.

(iii) According to a latest report from Gartner, worldwide information technology spending will decline by 5.5 per cent decline as against 2014 and total spending is expected to be around $3.5 trillion in 2015. 

(iv) In constant-currency terms, the market is projected to grow 2.5 per cent. Gartner attributed the decline to the rising US dollar.

Kotak launches debit card themed on Scion of Ikshvaku book

(i) Partnering with popular author Amish, who made waves with his Shiva's Trilogy, Kotak Mahindra Bank has come up with a debit card themed around his latest work.

(ii) Featuring the cover of Amish's 'Scion of Ikshvaku', a book released a week ago, the card, apart from being like any other such instrument, will fetch customers discount on books purchased at Crossword stores.

Bombay HC allows Nestle to export Maggi noodles

(i) The Bombay High Court on Tuesday allowed Nestle India to export Maggi noodles, currently banned in Maharashtra and Many States. 

(ii) The company is "at liberty to export," a division bench of Justices V.M. Kanade and B.P. Colabawalla ruled.

(iii) The company told the court that it was in the process of recalling and incinerating product packages.

(iv) Senior advocate Mehmood Pracha, appearing on behalf of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India argued, "If the products are so safe why don't they export. Why put the blame on us?"

The next hearing will be on July 14.

(v) After samples of noodles manufactured in March 2014 were reportedly found to contain high lead content and Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), the brand is under scrutiny of various State governments and Union Consumer Affairs Ministry.

Infosys launches biz management solution for banks’ SME customers

(i) Software major Infosys on Monday launched mobile-based financial and business management solution ‘Finacle SME Enable’ to help banks enhance support and service for their Small and Medium business Enterprise (SME) customers.

(ii) The solution is exclusively designed to help SMEs not only experience banking services on the move, but also manage their business operations efficiently, the company said.

(iii) It will also provide bank’s SME customers real-time access to their account information and relevant financial management tools to manage their day-to-day business operations in a self-service mode, it said.

Infrastructure sector grew at 4.4 per cent in May 2015

(i) The output of eight infrastructure sectors expanded by 4.4 per cent in May, the highest growth rate in past six months, on the back of upsurge in production of coal and refinery products.

(ii) The output of eight core sectors had declined in the previous two months of March and April. The core sectors had expanded at a rate of 3.8 per cent in May 2014. 

(iii) The growth in May 2015 was driven by healthy output of coal (7.8 per cent), refinery products (7.9 per cent) and electricity generation (5.5 per cent).

(iv) Crude oil production increased by 0.8 per cent while steel and cement grew by 2.6 per cent. Fertiliser output grew by 1.3 per cent. 

(iv) Natural gas, however, recorded a negative growth of 3.1 per cent in May 2015.

Williams sisters pull out of doubles at Wimbledon

(i) Serena and Venus Williams have pulled out of women’s doubles at Wimbledon. The tournament referee’s office announced the withdrawal on Tuesday, but did not give a reason.

(ii) The Williams sisters have won 13 Grand Slam doubles titles as a pair, most recently at Wimbledon in 2012.

(iii) Both won first-round singles matches Monday.

(iv) Dominika Cibulkova and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova also pulled out of doubles on Tuesday.