Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag's name forwarded for new Army chief

1.    Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag's name forwarded for new Army chief

i. Notwithstanding objections by BJP, the Defence Ministry is going ahead with the process of appointing the new Army Chief and has recommended the name of Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag to the Prime Minister's Office

ii. The recommendation of the Defence Ministry will have to be approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, official sources said today.

iii. As per tradition, the government announces the name of services chiefs-designate two months before the retirement of the incumbent.

2.    Indian-born Google+ chief Vivek Gundotra quits

i. Vivek Gundotra, chief of Google’s social networking venture Google+, is leaving the Internet company after nearly eight years.

ii. Mr. Gundotra, who was serving as the Senior Vice President (Social) at Google, announced his departure in a post on Google+, a social network that was created about three years ago.

iii. Google CEO Larry Page also praised Mr. Gundotra in his own Plus post. “Vic — thank you for a tremendous almost eight years at Google. 

iv. An Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras graduate, Mr. Gundotra has also worked with Microsoft for 15 years. His duties there included promoting Microsoft’s APIs and platforms to independent developers and helping to develop a strategy for Windows Live online services.

About Google Plus
i. Google+ is a social networking and identity service that is owned and operated by Google Inc. 

ii. It is the second-largest social networking site in the world after Facebook. 540 million monthly active users are part of the Identity service site, by interacting socially with Google+'s enhanced properties, like Gmail, +1 button, and YouTube comments.

3.    IMF projects Nepal’s growth rate to touch 4.5%

i. The International Monetary Fund has projected Nepal’s growth rate to pick up from 3.5 per cent in 2012-2013 to 4.5 per cent in 2013-14, attributing it to the recovery in agriculture, strong services, and rising public spending underpinned by timely budget approval.

ii. Output growth is expected to pick up to around 4½ per cent in 2013-14, driven by recovery in agriculture, strong services, and rising public spending underpinned by timely budget approval,” .

iii. Inflation is projected to moderate further from recent levels but remain high, at eight per cent year-on-year.