Current Affairs - January 08 2014

Current Affairs

January 08, 2014

National Affairs

1. Delhi Government has launched an anti-corruption helpline to deal with complaints of graft related cases in the national capital. Launching the Helpline 011-27357169, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the number will be functional from 8 in the morning to 10 in the night on all days. He also said, the sting operation will be used by the Anti-Corruption department of Delhi Government as an evidence to initiate actions against the corrupt official.

2. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) office at Kaushambi in Ghaziabad was attacked by some unidentified miscreants today. They were protesting against AAP leader Prashant Bhushan’s remarks on Jammu and Kashmir as he had recently advocated for the lifting of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Jammu and Kashmir. As per Party sources, a group of 50 to 60 people, believed to be members of a right-wing group, vandalized the office around 11 AM.

3. The Telenor Group has nominated Morten Karlsen Sorby as the new Chief Executive Officer of Uninor with immediate effect. He replaces Sigve Brekke who has served as interim CEO of Uninor since early November last year. Morten Karlsen Søoby joined Telenor in 1993 and has been a member of the Group’s executive management team since 2003.

4. GSAT orbit raised again

Ground controllers of the Indian Space Research Organisation raised the elliptical orbit of the GSAT-14 again on Tuesday to make it more circular. They sent out commands from the Master Control Facility at Hassan, Karnataka, to the satellite’s propulsion system or Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM). The LAM engine crackled for 44 minutes, raising the orbit to a perigee of 32,160 km and an apogee of 35,745 km. The inclination achieved was 0.6 degree. When it was first fired on Monday, the LAM helped the 1,982-kg satellite realise an orbit of 8,966 km (perigee) by 35,744 km (apogee).

5. MGNREGS to include rural sanitation

India is the world's largest open air lavatory with over 620 million people practising open defecation in the country.

Seeking to address this persisting problem, the UPA government has widened the scope of its flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to include works relating to rural sanitation in collaboration with the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan (NBA).

This interlinking is aimed at strengthening the base of rural livelihood and creating durable assets in rural areas and infrastructure at a village level. More specifically, it shall accelerate sanitation coverage in rural areas to provide privacy and dignity particularly to women.

6. India ready for Geneva meet on Syria

India says it is ready for the international conference on Syria, which begins in Geneva on January 22, even as Iran’s participation hangs in the balance following remarks by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

In preparation for the Geneva II Conference, India sent its point man for West Asia, Sandeep Kumar, to Syria late last month. The aim was to get a firsthand assessment of the developments, official sources said.

7. RBI panel moots bank accounts for all by 2016

A committee appointed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday recommended a Universal Electronic Bank Account (UEBA) for every Indian resident above 18 years of age by January 1, 2016. The account would provide citizens with access to credit and investment options.

8. RBI panel moots credit access to all by January 1, 2016

A committee on comprehensive financial services for small businesses and low-income households, set up by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has suggested that each low-income household and small business should be provided with convenient access to formally regulated lenders who have the ability to assess and meet their credit needs and offer a full-range of suitable credit products at an affordable price.

The committee, headed by Nachiket Mor, Central Board Member of the RBI, submitted its report on Tuesday.

The committee has set January 1, 2016, as the deadline for achieving this.

By that date, each district and every significant sector (and sub-sector) of the economy would have a credit to GDP ratio of at least 10 per cent. This ratio would increase every year by 10 per cent, the report said.

The committee was hopeful that by January 1, 2016, each district would have a total deposits and investments to GDP ratio of at least 15 per cent.

International Affairs

9. Global investment bank and largest US bank by assets, JPMorgan Chase will pay a USD 1.7-billion fine for failing to report suspicious activities by Bernard Madoff, a jailed investor whose financial scheme eventually cost his clients billions of dollars. Under the terms of the deal, the US bank will pay the fine to victims of Madoff’s fraud and admit to its conduct, according to a statement by federal prosecutors. In addition, the bank separately agreed to pay USD 543 million to deal with private claims.

10. The euro zone’s unemployment rate remained stable at 12.1% in November. With this, the euro zone jobless rate has now been unchanged at its current record level for eight consecutive months now. Greece has the highest unemployment rate of 27.4% followed by Spain at 26.7%. Austria has the lowest unemployment rate of 4.8% followed by 5.2% in Germany.

11. Mahila Bank signs MoUs with ICAI to finance CA students

i. Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB), the first all-women bank, today signed an agreement with Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) for financing students pursuing chartered accountancy.

ii. It has also signed another MoU with ICAI for financing members of ICAI, practicing chartered accountants for setting up offices, BMB said in a statement.

iii. Girl students pursuing CA will be offered a 1 per cent concession in the rate of interest, it said.

iv. To encourage more women professionals to take up practice, a concession of 1 per cent in the rate of interest is being offered on loans to set up practice, it said.

12. World Bank to provide $500 m loan for rural water supply

i. World Bank will provide $500 million loan for water supply and sanitation projects in the rural areas of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

ii. The project will be implemented over a six-year period.

iii. It will support the design and implementation of a dedicated RWSS program for low income states under the ongoing National Rural Drinking Water Program in the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MoDWS), it said.

iv. The phase 1 of the project will cover 33 districts in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

v. The project will be financed by a credit from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm which provides interest-free loans with 25 years to maturity and a grace period of five years.

13. RBI panel suggests banks for low-income households

i. The RBI-appointed committee on financial inclusion has recommended that the central bank should set up specialised banks called Payments Bank to provide payment services and deposit products to small businesses and low-income households.

ii. The committee, headed by Nachiket Mor, said that since the new bank will be dealing with poor customers, such a bank must be allowed to accept a maximum deposit of not more than Rs 50,000.

iii. Such a bank will earn from the payment services it offers, such as money transfers and online payments, as well as by deploying the deposits in secure government securities (G-secs).

iv. In order to protect the money of the poor customer, such a bank will not be allowed to lend in the market.

v. The bank will have to set aside a slice (the same as any other bank) of its total deposit with the RBI in the form of cash reserve ratio.

14. Dhoni, Raina to launch 7 Premier League in Dubai tomorrow

i. Indian Skipper MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina will launch the 7 Premier League in Dubai tomorrow.

ii. The 7 Premier League or the 7 PL will feature teams from Seven Countries India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, England and Australia.

iii. The league will be played between seven teams, each representing the seven UAE emirates.

iv. The tournament will be kicked off in March this year. The venues will be both outdoors as well as indoor in Dubai.

v. The quarterfinals, semifinals and the final will be played outdoors. The league will be a collaboration between a leading corporate from the Gulf and a Sports Management Company which also manages international cricketers.

Note: i. India captain MS Dhoni is the chief brand ambassador of the league and the official announcement is expected in Dubai this week.

ii. 7PL, it is learnt, has the blessings of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India ( BCCI) However, it will not be an ICC recognized tournament, sources said.

15. Awami League set to form govt with three-fourths majority !

i. Bangladesh’s Awami League is set to form the next government, bagging a three-fourths majority in the controversial polls, marred by deadly clashes, a low turnout and a boycott by opposition parties.

ii. Premier Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League emerged as the strongest party, bagging 232 seats in the 300-seat Parliament, according to the Election Commission, which compiled the result sheets last night.

iii. The party’s key-ally Jatiya Party won 33 seats, giving birth to speculations that it might appear as the main opposition in Parliament amid reports of internal dispute in the party whether it should join the new government or prefer the opposition bench.

iv. Twelve seats were bagged by three other ruling alliance partners – Workers Party, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal and Jatiya Party (Manju), 13 by independent candidates and three by other minor parties.

v. The EC officials said they were expecting to issue the official gazette notification in the next few days to officially announce the results and the turnout figures, though a senior commission official last night said they calculated the turnout to be nearly 40 per cent.

16. Nagpur to host Krishi Vasant 2014

i. Nagpur will play host to Krishi Vasant 2014, being organised by the Union Government and the Government of Maharashtra in partnership with CII between February 9 and 13.

ii. The event, which will be inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee, will be the biggest ever congregation of farmers from the entire country, agro-industries, research organisations, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, State Governments, Financial Institutions and all other stakeholders.

iii. It will have over 300 live demonstration plots of cereals, pulses, fodder, oilseeds, vegetables and fibre-crops, while best quality animals, poultry and fish will also be on display.

17. Google makes presentation to EC for controversial tie-up

i. Internet giant Google made a formal presentation to the Election Commission on Tuesday, proposing a tie-up with it for voter facilitation services ahead of Lok Sabha elections, a move questioned by several quarters citing security concerns.

ii. The Election Commission has said it has “not” signed any agreement with the US-based internet company so far on voter facilitation initiatives ahead of polls.

iii. In its presentation before the EC, in which Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath, Election Commissioners H S Brahma and S N A Zaidi and other top officials were present, Google proposed providing its search engines free of cost to Indian voters during the 2014 general elections.

iv. Google also proposed free online voter registration besides making available vital details of Voter EPIC card numbers and polling station location.

v. Congress and BJP besides some cyberspace experts have voiced concers over the proposed tie-up of Election Commission with Google for voter facilitation services, saying stakeholders should have been consulted before a decision.

18. AAP office attacked on Bhushan’s J&K remark

i. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) office at Kaushambi in Ghaziabad was today attacked by some unidentified miscreants.

ii. They were protesting against AAP leader Prashant Bhushan’s remarks on Jammu and Kashmir. Bhusan, in an interview to a private news channel had advocated for the lifting of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Jammu and Kashmir.

iii. However, later he had said that his statement was misquoted. The AAP had also distanced itself from
the remarks.

iv. Party sources said a group of 50 to 60 people, who are believed to be members of a right-wing group, vandalized the office around 11 AM. Police said no one was injured in the incident.

v. Meanwhile, AAP spokesperson Dilip Pandey while talking to reporters in New Delhi termed the incident as condemnable and demanded action against the miscreants.

19. Hockey World League trophy unveiled

i. The two-year-long journey of the new Hockey World League culminates with the eight-team World League Final which gets underway at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in Delhi on Friday.

ii. The trophy to be awarded to the Hockey World League winner was unveiled in the presence of all the captains of the participating teams.

iii. The tournament is the first hockey event of 2014, a year that will also feature the World Cup and Champions Trophy.

iv. The Hockey World League is composed of four rounds and is played over two years. The schedule alternately coincides with the build-up to the World Cup and Olympics, providing more than half of the entry tickets for both.

20. Cricket: Ranji QFs begin today

i. The quarterfinal matches of the Ranji Trophy Cricket tournament will be played today.

ii. Defending champions Mumbai will face Maharashtra at Mumbai, Bengal will take on Railways at Kolkata, Karnataka will meet Uttar Pradesh at Bangalore, and Punjab will play Jammu and Kashmir at Vadodara.

iii. The semi-finals will take place on the 18th of this month. The finals will be held on 2nd of next month.

21. 2022 World Cup won’t be in June or July: Valcke

i. FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will not be held in June or July because of the Gulf country’s summer heat.

ii. Valcke told France-Inter radio that he expects the tournament to be held “between November 15 and January 15 at the latest.”

iii. Valcke is leading FIFA’s consultation to suggest which months to play after president Sepp Blatter rejected the traditional June-July World Cup period because of the heat.

22. Nine people charred to death in Mumbai-Dehradun Express fire

i. Nine people were charred to death when a fire broke out in three coaches of Mumbai-Dehradun Express train near Dahanu road in neighbouring Thane district in the wee hours today.

ii. Among the nine dead, one is a woman and four are men while the rest were yet to be identified, said Western Railway PRO Sharat Chandra.

iii. The fire erupted in one of the three coaches and soon spread to other two coaches when the passengers were sleeping at about 2.50 am, Chandra said, adding the cause of the blaze is not yet known.

iv. The train was halted at Gholvad railway station near Dahanu road where the fire was brought under control.