FIFA World Cup 2014 to begin today

1.    FIFA World Cup 2014 to begin today

i. The wait for the Football World Cup 2014 is almost over. The much-awaited grand kick-off in Sao Paulo is just a couple of hours away. The opening Pool-A encounter between hosts Brazil and Croatia which will begin at 1:30 AM Indian Time. 

ii. It will be preceded by a grand opening ceremony at the Arena Corinthians featuring live performances from some of the biggest stars of the world. The ceremony will take place around a glowing spherical centerpiece symbolizing a soccer ball. 

iii. Made of 90,000 light clusters, the ball will have a total luminance of 7,000 Lux. Around 600 artists, including acrobatic gymnasts, martial arts-style performers and stilt walkers will also take part in the event.
iv. Thirty two teams have been divided into 8 groups. The opening or the group stage will be a round-robin competition, and top two teams of each group will advance to the knock-out stage.
v. So, this is it! The FIFA World Cup is here! 32 teams, having world's top players, are all set to battle it out for that prestigious Gold Cup, the dream of every football player. 
vi. With the opener slated between hosts Brazil and Croatia, what better one could have asked for. This is a match between the South American hot favourites and an emerging European nation, the second best team in Pool-A. 

2.    Vishal Sikka to be Infosys CEO

i. Infosys on Thursday named former SAP executive board member Vishal Sikka as its new chief executive officer, the first time the nation's second-largest software services exporter will have a non-founder as CEO.

ii. Sikka, 47, will replace S D Shibulal, one of the seven engineers who founded Infosys in 1981, from August 1, Infosys said in a statement. 
iii. Also, the firm's Executive Chairman N R Narayana Murthy and Executive Vice Chairman S Gopalakrishnan will step down on June 14. 
iv. Murthy will be designated as chairman emeritus from October 11. 
v. Sikka, who will also be the company's MD, quit SAP in May.  He comes in at a time when Infosys has had four straight years of narrowing margins. 
vi. Besides, almost a dozen senior executives have left since last year when co-founder Murthy returned as chairman. 

3.    Gujarat gets approval to raise height of Narmada dam

i. In a major boost to Gujarat which has been regularly facing water woes due to deficient rains, Chief Minister Anandiben Patel on Thursday announced that they have got approval to raise the height of Narmada dam to 138.72 metres (455 feet). 

ii. The Narmada Control Authority (NCA) has given the approval to raise the height of the dam to 138 metres," Patel said in Junagadh while she was there to attend a function.
iii. The decision of the NCA comes just a few days after Narendra Modi took over as the Prime Minister of the country.

iv. The decision to raise the height of the dam comes after eight years. The foundation stone of the dam was laid by country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on April 5, 1961. 
v. The project, however, got embroiled in controversy over issues of displacement of project-affected people. However, the Supreme Court had earlier given the approval for the project to raise the height of the dam to 138.72 metres.