Daily Current Affairs Update 1st December 2014

1.    UN climate summit begins in Peru

i. Officials from over 190 nations, including India, on Monday converged in Lima at the UN climate summit to negotiate on a new ambitious and binding deal to cut global carbon emissions, in the last chance to reach on a historic deal to be signed next year in Paris.
ii. Negotiations have been ongoing for 20 years, as the UN continues to bring its member countries together to help curb the damaging effects of coal burning and gasoline use, among other sources of pollution.
iii. During the 12-day summit in the Peruvian capital, countries will put forward what they plan to contribute to the 2015 pact in the form of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) by the first quarter of 2015, well in advance of the Paris conference in December.
iv. The Lima conference needs to provide final clarity on what the INDCs need to contain, including fordeveloping countries who are likely to have a range of options from, for example, sector-wide emission curbs to energy intensity goals.
v. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar leads India's 17- member delegation to negotiate terms for the final agreement to be signed in Paris, which will take effect in 2020.

2.    Tabare Ramon Vazquez Rosas won Uruguay Presidential Election 2014

i. Tabare Ramon Vazquez Rosas on 30 November 2014 won the 2014 presidential elections of Uruguay extending the decade-long rule of a leftist coalition. Vazquez belongs to the leftist Broad Front coalition party of Uruguay.
ii. Vazquez won comfortably with 52.8 percent votes support while his centre-right challenger Luis Lacalle Pou of the National Party trailed on 40.5 percent votes.
iii. He will succeed President Jose Mujica who was barred by law from running for a second consecutive term.

3.    Modi dedicates Tripura power plant to nation

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday dedicated to the nation the second unit of the 726 MW gas-based power plant at Palatana in Tripura. A host of dignitaries from India and Bangladesh, which facilitated transportation of heavy machineries to the plant, were present on the occasion.
ii. Senior advisor to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Minister of State for power, energy and mineral resources, Nasrul Hamid, as well Indian Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan graced the inauguration of the plant owned by ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC). ONGC CMD D.K. Sarraf and the Union Petroleum Secretary were also present.
iii. Mr. Modi commissioned the second unit by pushing a button in the plant control room at 2.40 p.m. He also addressed the gathering at the site.

4.    PM announces Rs 28,000 cr for new rail projs in Northeast

i. Focusing on improving connectivity to the Northeast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the Centre would provide Rs 28,000 crore for laying new railway lines in the region and develop the untapped tourism potential of the area.
ii. The Prime Minister also said that the Centre has sanctioned Rs 5000 crore to provide 2G mobile coverage in this area for comprehensive telecom development plan of the northeast region.
iii. As energy is a lifeline for development, Rs 5000 crore has been sanctioned for the northeastern region power system improvement project for six states, including Nagaland, the Prime Minister said.
iv. The Prime Minister said his government has decided to set up a National Sports University in Manipur and the people of the region will be great beneficiaries.
v. The NE region could be the organic capital of the country, Modi said, adding that the Centre has decided to set up six new agriculture colleges in this area.

5.    The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence announced

i. The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence was announced on 30 November 2014.

The awards were announced in the following category:
ü  Business Leader of the Year – Dilip Shanghvi
ü  Company of the Year – Tata Consultancy Services
ü  Emerging Company of the Year – Adani Ports & SEZ
ü  Global Indian of the Year – Satya Nadella
ü  Startup of the Year – Zomato
ü  Business Reformer of the Year – UK Sinha
ü  Corporate Citizen of the Year – Tata Steel
ü  Lifetime Achievement – Yusuf Hamied
ü  Entrepreneur of the Year - Dhiraj Rajaram and Chandra Shekhar Ghosh

About ET Awards: i.  ET awards are the awards conferred by The Economic Times in the field of business, corporate and government policies, economies in India.
ii.  It is an annual award. The award was sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank. Since 2012, Standard Chartered Bank has been the presenting sponsor of The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence.

6.    Egypt court declared Islamic State of Iraq and Syria a terrorist group

i. An Egyptian court on 30 November 2014 declared the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group as a terrorist organization and banned it in the country.
ii. The court in its ruling added that it considers all of the Islamic State's affiliates to be terrorist organizations as well.
iii. This jihadi group regularly attacks Egyptian security forces and has declared responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks.

7.    Former Arunachal Pradesh CM Jarbom Gamlin passes away

i. Former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jarbom Gamlin has died.
ii. He was 53. Gamlin was suffering from liver thrombosis. His family said he passed away last night at a hospital at Gurgaon in Haryana.
iii.  His body will be flown to Aalo in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday. Gamlin is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son.

8.    ICC names SAP as analytics and cloud partner for 2015 World Cup

i. The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced an innovative new partnership with SAP SE, a worldwide leader in enterprise application software services, as its exclusive Analytics and Cloud Partner for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
ii. In addition, SAP will provision cloud-based services to host the ICC’s historical ICC Cricket World Cup statistics database, incorporating match data for its flagship ODI event.
iii. Our partnership with the ICC will allow SAP to continuously develop technology that can be adapted for infinite use cases. In this instance, our technology provides the ICC the ability to engage fans with insightful and user-friendly solutions, bring them closer to the action on the field and keep them informed about their favourite matches.”

9.    UAE captain Khurram Khan became the oldest player to score a century in ODI

i. United Arab Emirates (UAE) captain Khurram Khan became the oldest player to score a century in the One-Day International (ODI).  He scored the winning century against Afghanistan in Dubai on 30 November 2014.
ii. He achieved the feat at an age of 43 years and 162 days thus breaking the record held in the name of Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka. Jayasuriya scored 107 against India in 2009 when he was 39 years old.
 iii. Khan smashed 17 fours to score unbeaten 132 run and he also put on a 160 run third wicket partnership with Mohammad Shadzad.

10.  Mascot for the 2016 European football championship named Super Victor

i. The mascot for the 2016 European football championship has been named Super Victor.
ii. The announcement was made on 30 November 2014.The name for the cartoon character boy dressed as a footballer in blue and white with a red cape and number 16 jersey was preferred to Driblou and Goalix.
iii. The mascot made its first appearance on the pitch of Marseille`s new Velodrome stadium before kickoff of France`s 1-0 friendly victory over Sweden. In 1984, the mascot for the European Championships organised in France was Peno, and the 1998 World Cup mascot was called Footix.
iv. Euro 2016 will take place in France from 10 June 2016 to 10 July 2016.

11.  Baichung Bhutia conferred with AFC 'Hall of Fame' Award

i. Former Indian football captain Baichung Bhutia has been conferred with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Hall of Fame Award.
ii. He received the award in Manila, Philippines yesterday on the occasion of afc's 60th anniversary. FIFA President Sepp Blatter presented the award to Baichung, the only Indian in the AFC's Hall of Fame.
iii. All India Football Federation President Praful Patel and a host of dignitaries from all over the football world were present on the occasion.
iv. After receiving the award, Baichung said the award was not solely for him, but for football, for India and for all Indian footballers who have to struggle against all odds to prove themselves every single day.

12.  Adelaide to host 1st India-Australia Test

i. The first cricket Test between India and Australia will be held here from December 9 after the four-match series’ schedule was revised on Monday in the wake of young player Phillip Hughes’ tragic death which left the home team distraught.
ii. “Revised Schedule: 1st Test (Dec 9-13), 2nd Test (Dec 17-21), 3rd Test (Dec 26-30) and 4th Test (Jan 6-10). Venues: 1st Test (Adelaide), 2nd Test (Brisbane), 3rd Test (Melbourne) and 4th Test (Sydney) #AUSvsIND,” the BCCI said on its official twitter handle.
iii. Hughes’ funeral would be held in Macksville on Wednesday.

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Daily Current Affairs Update 30th November 2014

1.    Institution to replace Planning Commission likely to be unveiled in Dec.

• Work has moved into top gear for finalising the name and structure of the new institution that will replace the 64-year-old Planning Commission and the same may be unveiled this December.
•  The Prime Minister has convened a meeting of the Chief Ministers on December 7 to seek their view points on the structure of the institution which would ultimately replace the Planning Commission,” an official source said.
•  The Commission has received many suggestions regarding the name and role of the new body. Some of the suggested names are Sustainable Development Commission, National Development Agency, Social Economic Development Commission or Bharat Pragati Lakshya. Besides, there have been reports about the new body being named Niti Aayog or Policy Commission.
•  The new institution, which is likely to be headed by the Prime Minister as was the case with the Planning Commission, may have four divisions — an Inter-State council, plan evaluation office, UIDAI and DBT. All the divisions would have experts from the Centre and State governments as also experts from the industry.

2.    Modi slips to second spot in TIME's 'Person of the Year' poll.

•  Prime Minister Narendra Modi has slipped to the second place in the Time magazine's 'Person of the Year' poll with the Ferguson protesters surging ahead of him in a vote by the readers.
•  As per latest reports, Modi is leading second with 9.8 per cent of the total votes polled so far while the Ferguson protesters are leading with 10.8 per cent of the votes. Joshua Wong, face of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement, is placed third.
•  Nobel Peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai (5.3 per cent) and Russian President Vladimir Putin are placed fourth and fifth respectively.
•  US President Barack Obama is placed at a distant 11th position with just 2.4 per cent of the total votes. The annual poll, which is currently underway, is scheduled to end on December 6 and the poll's winner will be announced on December 8.
•  However, it is the TIME's editors who will choose the Person of the Year, which is scheduled to be announced on December 10.

3.    Theatre personality Veenapani Chawla passes away.

•  Veenapani Chawla, acclaimed theatre personality and founder of the Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Arts and Research near Auroville, passed away on Sunday, following a sudden heart attack. She was 67.
•  Her funeral is expected to be conducted on Monday at Karuvadikuppam in Puducherry.
•  Winner of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Puruskar for her contribution to Indian theatre as a director, Chawla was considered a pioneer of experimental theatre in India.
•  She established Adishakti in 1981 and was also its Managing Trustee and Artistic Director. Having directed most of Adishakti’s performances and scripted half of them, her work has toured India and abroad.

4.    Leviatha wons best film at IFF, Goa.

•  Russian film “Leviathan” by Andrey Zvyagintsev won the best film award comprising Golden Peacock and Rs.40 lakh at the 45th International film Festival of India, which ended in Goa on Sunday.
•  Mr. Alexey Serebryakov from the “Leviathan” also shared the best male actor award in the Cimena of the World competition.

5.    Book titled Letters for a Nation written by Jawaharlal Nehru & Madhav Khosla.

•  Book titled Letters for a Nation written by Jawaharlal Nehru & Madhav Khosla was published by Allen Lane an imprint of Penguin Books on 15 October 2014.
•  The book contains Jawaharlal Nehru letters as Prime Minister of India to the heads of the country’s provincial governments which he kept a tradition till 1963.

6.    Mumbai, Kolkata most vulnerable to loss of life, properties due to coastal flood: UN

•  India's populous coastal cities Mumbai and Kolkata are most vulnerable to loss of life and properties due to coastal flooding in the second half of the century.
•  Quoting a UN report, the government has said India is among the top 20 countries and regions most at risk based on analysis of climate risk and coping ability.
•  The statement assumes significance at a time when representatives of governments are scheduled to meet in Lima from tomorrow for the Climate Change Conference to lay the foundation for an effective, new and universal climate change agreement in Paris in 2015.
•  With climate change impacts worsening and affecting the poor and most vulnerable, governments urgently need to scale up adaptation to climate change, says the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

7.    IOC to set up greenfield refinery on West coast.

•  Country's biggest oil company Indian Oil Corporation is looking at setting up a greenfield refinery on the West coast as part of its expansion plans.
•  Talking to reporters in Mumbai, Indian Oil Corporation Chairman B Ashok said, with the growth in the economy, there is a need for greenfield refinery by 2021-22.
•  After setting up of Paradip Refinery in East coast, focus is now on setting up of a refinery in West coast region, for which suitable state and place is being looked into.

8.    Dubai to invest $32-billion to build world’s largest airport

•  To further secure its position as the world’s aviation hub, Dubai Airports is building a whopping USD 32—billion greenfield airport at the upcoming Dubai World Central, 30 km off the present international airport which already is the second busiest in the world.
•  The proposed new airport will become the world’s largest aviation facility on completion and will have five runways which all will be simultaneously operational, all A380-compatible with a length of 4.5 km each.
•  On completion, the new airport will be the world’s largest airport, with each concourse the size of seven football fields and have five runways which all will be simultaneously operational, all A380-compatible,” Mr. Baumann said.
•  The other features include 200 aircraft stands for wide bodied aircraft, four concourses connected via six airport trains to two terminals, which in turn will be linked to the city’s metro network.

 Note: The Dubai International Airport is the world’s second busiest airport after the London                           Heathrow and is on course to become the global aviation hub, thanks to its geographical                       location and the availability of cheap fuel.

9.     Gas price in India to dip to $5 in 3 years: Goldman Sachs.

•  The new natural gas price of USD 5.61, which is already among the lowest in Asia Pacific, is likely to drop to around USD 5 per unit in three years due to the variables included in the formula, Goldman Sachs has said.
•  “While the Indian government introduced a new gas price regime in October, we believe clear direction is needed on gas pricing for higher—cost projects, such as deepwater, to induce more E&P capex,” the global financial major said in a report.
•  Stating that Indian prices for new projects are among the lowest in Asia Pacific, Goldman said China pays explorers USD 11.9 per mmBtu (million British Thermal Unit) rate for new projects while Indonesia and the Philippines price the fuel at USD 11 and USD 10.5 respectively.
•  Gas from offshore fields in Myanmar, where Indian firms ONGC and GAIL have stake, are sold to China for USD 7.72.
•  Thailand prices gas from new projects at USD 8.2 per mmBtu.
•  The only nations with lower rates are Vietnam (USD 5.2) and Malaysia (USD 5), it said.

10.    Sindhu bags Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton Title

•  PV Sindhu today bagged the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton title for the second consecutive time.
•  In the final, second seed Sindhu defeated Korean Kim Hyo Min, 21-12, 21-17. This was Sindhu's first title this season.
•  In the semi-finals yesterday, second seed Sindhu had defeated Busanan Ongbumrungpan of Thailand 21-14, 21-15.
•  In the Men's Singles, HS Prannoy had lost the semi-final. He went down fighting against Hong Kong's Wong Wing Ki Vincent, 16-21, 21-16, 12-21.

11.     Israeli cricket umpire dies after being struck by ball.

•  In Israel, Hillel Oscar, 55, an umpire and former captain of Israel's national cricket team died yesterday after being hit in the jaw by a ball in the southern port city of Ashdod, the country's cricket association said.
•  His death comes just two days after Australian batsman Phillip Hughes died of a severe head injury after being hit by a bouncer in a New South Wales match in Sydney.
•  Israeli police ruled out foul play in the incident that led to the death of the umpire. He was an international umpire.

12.    Abhishek wins 76th Junior National & Youth TT boys’ singles title

•  Petroleum Sports Promotion Board, PSPB's Abhishek Yadav has won the boys' singles title in the 76th Junior National and Youth Table Tennis Championships.
•  In the final of the event at Alappuzha, Kerala, today, he beat his team mate Sudhanshu Grover by Four games to One.
•  In the youth girls singles, Manika Batra of the PSPB retained the crown. Manav Thakkar of the PSPB Academy emerged champion in the Junior Boys' section. Thus, it was a rare hat- trick of titles for the PSPB.

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Daily Current Affairs Update 29th November 2014

1.    RBI eased gold imports & scrapped 80: 20 scheme

i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) eased gold imports and scrapped 20:80 scheme. The decision to withdraw the 20:80 scheme will cut smuggling of gold and raise legal shipments into India.

ii. In 2013, the 20:80 scheme was introduced to bring down inbound shipments, sliding rupee and to combat a huge current account deficit (CAD) along with a hike in import duty to 10 percent.

iii. Under the scheme, 20 percent of the imported gold had to be mandatorily exported as finished products like jewellery. Initially only public sector firms and banks were allowed to import gold and later in May 2014 these rules were slightly eased to star and premier export houses.

2.    Beijing banned smoking in all indoor public spaces

i. Capital of China, Beijing banned smoking in all indoor public spaces like workplaces and public transport vehicles.

ii. Beijing adopted an anti-smoking bill that prohibits smoking in public places and it will be effective from 1 June 2015. The bill will initially only cover Beijing, later it will cover rest of China.

iii. Already, a dozen Chinese cities, such as Shanghai, Hangzhou and Guangzhou, have launched local legislation on tobacco control.

Background

i. China is the world’s largest cigarette manufacturer and consumer. The country has more than 300 million smokers, and smoking is responsible for more than one million deaths in every year.

ii. According to Chinese health officials, some 740 million people, including 180 million children, are exposed to second-hand smoke annually.

iii. In 2011, Ministry of Health of China published guidelines banned smoking in public spaces such as hotels and restaurants.

3.    Next China-India War authored by General S. Padmanabhan released

i. Book titled Next China-India War - World's First Water War – 2029 authored by former Army chief General Sundarajan Padmanabhan was released in October 2014.
 ii. 74-year-old former General, who is known for mobilizing the Army during Operation Parakram in response to the 2001 terror attack on the Parliament, in the book has predicted that the two countries will conflict over the Brahmaputra.

4.    NASA celebrated 50th Anniversary of First Mars Mission, Mariner 4

i. NASA celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first mission to Mars, Mariner 4 mission on 28 November 2014. Mariner 4 mission launched on 28 November 1964 was the NASA’s first successful journey to Mars.

ii. The Mission was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

iii. Mariner 4 remained operational long after its planned eight-month mission life.

iv. It lasted about three years in solar orbit, continuing long-term studies of the solar wind and making coordinated measurements with the Mariner 5 spacecraft. NASA last communicated with the craft on 21 December 1967.

5.    First India-Nepal bus service launched

i. India and Nepal launched the first ever bus service between the two countries on Tuesday afternoon.

ii. To begin with daily buses will ply between Delhi and Kathmandu. Later, there will be similar buses which will ply on two other routes - Delhi-Pokhara and Varanasi- Kathmandu.

ii. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sushil Koirala flagged off the Kathmandu-Delhi bus service called Pashupatinath Express from Kathmandu, road transport minister Nitin Gadkari and tourism minister Mahesh Sharma launched the first bus from Delhi.

6.    GK Vasan, revives Tamil Maanila Congress

i. Former Union Minister GK Vasan, who split from the Congress, has revived the Tamil Maanila Congress. Speaking at a public function in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu yesterday, Vasan said that they have requested the Election Commission to give Cycle as their party symbol.
ii. Vasan along with former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President BS Gnanadesikan, former Trichy mayor Sarubala Thondaiman and many others parted ways with Congress earlier this month.
iii. Vasan had unveiled his party flag with pictures of his father GK Moopanar and veteran leader Kamaraj.

7.    PM Modi flags off first train from Mendipathar in Meghalaya to Guwahati

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first train from Mendipathar in Meghalaya to Guwahati.

ii. Speaking at the function, the Prime Minister said that four Railway Universities will be set up in the country to teach different aspects of Railways. Mr. Modi also stressed on privatization of railway stations

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Daily Current Affairs Update 28th November 2014

1.    RBI issues final norms for payment, small banks; Floor capital set at Rs 100 crore

i. The Reserve Bank of India has issued final norms for payment banks and small finance banks that would allow mobile firms and supermarket chains, among others, to enter the banking arena to cater to individuals and small businesses. The move aims at deepening financial inclusion and boost saving habits. 

       ii. The RBI aims to push financial inclusion by setting up these niche outfits — small finance banks that can have all-          India operations and payments banks, which can accept more deposits.
       iii. The guidelines open up an window of opportunity for entities which did not bag new bank licences in April.
       iv. Shriram Capital, Janalakshmi Financial Services, Magma Fincorp and Muthoot Finance, among others, are                     expected to throw their hats into the ring to set up small banks.

v. The Department of Posts, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Tata Teleservices, Western Union and online digital payment players such as Paytm, Oxigen and MobiKwik have expressed interest in floating payment banks.

vi. Companies will have to apply by January 16, 2015, for licences in both categories, and the central bank said it would consider more applications at a later stage. 

Note: The minimum paid-up equity capital for both small and payment banks has been pegged at Rs 100 crore.

Who are eligible?

i. Eligible promoters for a small bank include resident individuals/professionals with experience in banking and finance; and companies and societies.

ii. Existing non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), microfinance institutions and local area banks can also opt to convert into a small bank.

iii. The RBI said proposals from large public sector entities and industrial and business houses, including NBFCs promoted by them, will not be entertained to set up small banks.

iv. A promoter/promoter group can have a joint venture with an existing scheduled commercial bank to set up a payment bank, subject to the stake holding complying with the Banking Regulation Act.

Key activities
i. The small bank will primarily undertake basic banking activities of acceptance of deposits and lending to un-served and under-served sections, including small business units, small and marginal farmers, micro and small industries and unorganised sector entities.

ii. Small banks will be required to maintain a minimum capital adequacy ratio of 15 per cent of the loans on a continuous basis.

iii. In the draft guidelines, the RBI had suggested that small banks would have a restricted area of operations (possibly contiguous districts in a homogenous States). However, in the final guidelines, these restrictions have been removed. The small bank will be required to extend 75 per cent of its credit to the priority sector

Payment Banks:

i. Payments banks can accept deposits — current and savings bank — from individuals, small businesses and other entities but cannot provide loans.. However, they cannot accept non-resident Indian deposits.

ii. The payment bank will initially be restricted to holding a maximum balance of Rs1 lakh per individual customer.

iii. While the bank can issue ATM/debit cards, it cannot issue credit cards.

iv. It can contract outside liabilities (deposits) but not exceeding 33.33 times (against 20 times in the draft guidelines) its net worth.

2.    Economic growth declines to 5.3% in July-Sept quarter

i. Country's economic growth has declined to 5.3 per cent during July to September, from the previous quarter's 5.7 per cent.

ii. According to an official release, the manufacturing sector, which accounts for about 15 per cent of India's gross domestic product rose by 0.1 per cent during the quarter from the previous period's 3.5 per cent. Agriculture sector growth declined to 3.2 percent against 3.8 percent.

3.    India, Mozambique ink MoU for cooperation in oil, gas sector

i. India today signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with Mozambique for cooperation in the field of oil and gas. The MoU was signed in the presence of Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi. 
ii. It seeks cooperation in the areas of upstream and downstream oil and gas sector. Participation of Indian energy companies in the project will facilitate access to Liquefied Natural Gas, LNG for the growing Indian gas market. 
iii. Mozambique has emerged as a significant hydrocarbon rich nation following offshore gas discoveries in two adjacent offshore blocks. The country is strategically located near India and is ideally suited for bringing natural gas at market determined price.

4.    Anoop Mishra appointed as new Secretary General of Lok Sabha

i. Former Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Anoop Mishra was on 26 November 2014 appointed as new Secretary General of the Lok Sabha. He was appointed by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. 
ii. He will hold the rank and status of Cabinet Secretary with effect from 1 December 2014 up to 30 November 2016 or until further orders.

iii. As an accomplished civil servant of 1978 cadre, Mishra has held several important positions at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh.
iv. He was the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh for a year with the overall responsibility of the state administration, superintendence of law and order and developmental and infrastructure schemes in Uttar Pradesh.

5.    Historian Tapan Raychaudhuri died

i. Tapan Raychaudhuri, a distinguished historian of modern India’s economic and social history, died on 26 November 2014 at his home in Oxford, England. He was 88. 
ii. Raychaudhuri died of a series of strokes. He was bedridden for a year before his death. He is survived by his wife Pratima Raychaudhuri and daughter Sukanya Wignaraja.

iii. He was an Indian historian specialising in British Indian history, Indian economic history and the History of Bengal

6.    Namsai became the 18th district of Arunachal Pradesh

i. Namsai on 25 November 2014 officially became the 18th district of Arunachal Pradesh. The Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Nabam Tuki made the declaration.

ii. The Chief Minister exhorted the officials to prepare a master plan for the new district and the state government would extend all possible help.

iii. The State Legislative Assembly passed the District re-organisation Bill on 20 March 2013 for creation of Namsai district and notification was issued on 15 July 2013. The formal announcement was made during the 68th Independence Day celebration on 15th August 2014.

7.    EU parliament votes to break up Google

i. European Union lawmakers overwhelmingly backed a motion on Thursday urging anti-trust regulators to break up Google, the latest setback for the world's most popular internet search engine.

ii. Google has been in the EU's regulatory sights since 2010, and is also grappling with privacy issues, requests to scrub search results to comply with a court ruling, copyright concerns and tax controversies.

iii. The non-binding resolution in the European Parliament is the strongest public signal yet of Europe's concern with the growing power of US tech giants. It was passed with 384 votes for and 174 against.

iv. Google declined to comment. European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has said she will review the case and talk to complainants before deciding on the next step.

v. Her predecessor rejected three attempts by the company to settle complaints that it unfairly demoted rival services and stave off a possible fine of up to $5 billion.

vi. The resolution did not mention Google or any specific search engine, though Google is by far the dominant provider of such services in Europe with an estimated 90 per cent market share.

vii. The lawmakers called on the Commission to consider proposals to unbundle search engines from other commercial services.

8.    Book titled Your Dreams Are Mine Now: She Showed him What Love was released

i. The book titled Your Dreams Are Mine Now: She Showed him What Love was authored by Ravinder Singh was released on 20 November 2014. 
ii. The novel Your Dreams are Mine Now is a powerful and poignant love story that explores the romantic relationship between Rupali and Arun. They are complete opposites and have nothing in common when it comes to their interests and priorities in life. 

iii. Rupali is a small town girl and an idealist, whereas Arun is a Delhi guy with keen interest in youth politics. A major scandal on the college campus brings them together and somewhere along the line they fall in love with each other. But their fight against evil comes at a heavy price which becomes the ultimate test of their lives.

9.    Book titled Black Tornado: The Three Sieges of Mumbai 26/11 released

i. The book titled Black Tornado: The Three Sieges of Mumbai 26/11 authored by Sandeep Unnithan was released on 23 November 2014.
ii. Sandeep Unnithan in his book puts together a blow-by-blow account of the 26 November 2011 terrorist attack in Mumbai and how the siege of Mumbai was thwarted by India's security forces.
iii. The 26/11 attack is widely regarded as the world's first hybrid terrorist attack. The attackers achieved through this long-drawn siege what Al Qaeda did through the high-visibility mass-casualty attack on the World Trade Centre of USA on 11 September 2001. 

10.  Crime novelist PD James died at the age of 94

i. Crime novelist Phyllis Dorothy James on 27 November 2014 died at the age of 94 in Oxford, UK.

ii. She was best known for her series of detective novels starring the policeman and poet Adam Dalgliesh.

iii. Her novels include The Children of Men, The Murder Room and Pride, and Prejudice spin-off Death Comes to Pemberley.

Read more ...

Daily Current Affairs Update 27th November 2014

1.    18th SAARC Summit concluded, Next Summit will be held in Islamabad in 2016

i. With the issuing of Kathamandu Declaration, the 18th SAARC Summit concludes at Kathamandu, this evening. Chairperson of the Summit and Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala declared the Summit closed.

ii. The SAARC Framework Agreement on Energy (Electricity) Cooperation was signed among the SAARC member countries. Chairperson Sushil Koirala also announced that the 19th SAARC Summit will be held at Islamabad in 2016

iii. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other SAARC members held informal talks at the Retreat Session of 18th South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation Summit (SAARC) at picturesque Dhulikhel under foolproof security arrangements. Mr. Modi planted sapling of banyan tree at the venue.

2.    SAARC nations sign seamless electricity grid deal

i. In a face saver, SAARC countries today signed a framework agreement on cooperation in power sector but failed to finalise the much-awaited motor vehicle and railway pacts for greater people-to-people contact and movement of goods due to opposition from Pakistan.

ii. There were hectic efforts to pursue the Pakistani side, which stalled the inking of the pacts on the pretext that internal processes were not completed following which three months' time was set for getting approval.

iii. The framework energy pact will enable cooperation in the power sector among the eight member countries and facilitate integrated operation of the regional power grid.

iv. "A time period of three months have been set for approval to the Motor Vehicle and Railway pacts," Nepal's Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, who is also the SAARC chair, said in his address at the concluding session of the 18th summit of the regional grouping.

3.    Australian cricketer Phil Hughes dies of injuries

i. Once compared to the great Donald Bradman, Australia Test cricketer Phillip Hughes passed away today in Sydney following a fatal injury he had incurred in a Sheffield Shield match on Tuesday. Hughes would have turned 26 on Sunday.

ii. During this game for South Australia against New South Wales, Hughes was batting on 63 when he was struck on neck by a bouncer from pace bowler Sean Abbott.

iii. Hughes stood dazed for a few moments before falling face first to the pitch. He did not gain consciousness again.

iv. "It is my sad duty to inform you that a short time ago Phillip Hughes passed away," Australian team doctor Peter Brukner said in a statement.

v. "He never regained consciousness following his injury on Tuesday," added Brukner. "He was not in pain before he passed and was surrounded by his family and close friends.

vi. As a cricket community we mourn his loss and extend our deepest sympathies to Phillip's family and friends at this incredibly sad time."

vii. "Phillip took the blow at the side of the neck and as a result of that blow his vertebral artery, one of the main arteries leading to the brain, was compressed by the ball," Brukner said on Thursday. "That caused the artery to split and for bleeding to go up into the brain. He had a massive bleed into his brain. This is frequently fatal at the time.

Hughes was wearing old, lighter helmet: manufacturer

i. With questions being raised over the degree of safety provided by protective gears in cricket in the wake of the Phil Hughes incident, the manufacturer of the injured cricketer’s helmet, Masuri, has said that the Australian batsman was wearing an older and lighter headgear.

ii. A spokesman for the UK-based company said that Hughes was wearing an old helmet instead of their their latest model, in the Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and South Australia at the SCG on Tuesday.

iii. “From the footage and pictures currently available to Masuri, it appears that Phil Hughes was struck by the ball to the rear of the grille and below the back of the shell, missing his Masuri Original Test model helmet,” the spokesman was quoted as saying by Australian press.

iv. Hughes continued to fight for life as he remained in a critical condition after being struck on the head in a freak accident on Tuesday.

4.    Justice CK Prasad assumes charge as new PCI chief

i. Retired Supreme Court judge, Justice CK Prasad, Thursday assumed charge as the chairman of the Press Council of India (PCI), an official statement said.

ii. "Justice C.K. Prasad who retired as the judge of the Supreme Court of India July 14, 2014 assumed charge today (Thursday) as chairman, Press Council of India," said the PCI statement.

iii. Justice Prasad succeeds Justice Markandey Katju who was appointed as PCI chairman Oct 5, 2011.

5.    Sanskrit to be 3rd language in Classes 6-8 in KV: Centre to SC

i. Centre on Thursday submitted before the Supreme Court that Sanskrit will be the third language in classes 6 to 8 in Kendriya Vidyalayas.

ii. Appearing before the bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi sought its permission to file an affidavit on the controversy arising out of Centre's decision to drop German as an alternative to Sanskrit as third language in Kendriya Vidyalayas

6.    President penned a book titled The Dramatic Decade on 1970s era

i. President of India Pranab Mukherjee penned a book titled The Dramatic Decade: The Indira Gandhi Years.

ii. The book has been published by Rupa and will be released on 11 December 2014.

iii. The Dramatic Decade is the first of a three-part volume; the second one will be on the years from 1981–88 and the third volume will be from 1988 to 2012.

iv. The book presents an exceptional portrait of a complex nation and draws from Pranab Mukherjee’s personal diary extracts, conversations with key players of the 1970s, and vital secondary literature.

7.    Biography My Name is Abu Salem released

i. Biography titled My Name is Abu Salem was released on 16 November 2014.

ii. Biography on underworld gangster Abu Salem has been written by S Hussain Zaidi and published by Penguin.  

iii. The author of the book, Zaidi who knows the Mumbai underworld better than anyone else has tried to tell, the life of Salem.

iv. In My Name is Abu Salem, the author has tried to present complete unknown details and first accounts of the gangster.

8.    PNB announces free ATM usage for customers

i. Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Wednesday said it will continue giving free transactions to all saving bank account cardholders using PNB ATMs, irrespective of the number of transactions.

ii. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had advised that atleast five free transactions (inclusive of financial and non-financial transaction) per month should be permitted to the savings bank account holders for use of own bank ATMs.

iii. PNB has gone beyond this norm to provide value added services to its own customers, according to a release. .  

9.    RBI eases rules for low-cost home loans

i. To provide liquidity to retail investors investing in long-term bonds issued by banks for financing infrastructure and affordable housing, the Reserve Bank of India said banks can extend loans to individuals against these bonds.

ii. The central bank said boards of the banks should lay down a policy in this regard prescribing suitable margins, purpose of the loan and other safeguards.

iii. Further, such loans should be subject to a ceiling, say, Rs. 10 lakh per borrower, and tenure of loan should be within the maturity period of the bonds.

iv. The RBI also stated that banks are not permitted to lend against such bonds issued by other banks.​

10.  Bharat Asmita award for IIMB’s Trilochan Sastry

i. Trilochan Sastry, Professor in Quantitative Methods and Information Systems, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), has been awarded the ‘Bharat Asmita’, an honor instituted by the Pune-based MIT group of institutions.

ii. Professor Trilochan Sastry teaches a wide variety of courses in the post graduate programme, doctoral programme and executive education programmes, including operations management, quantitative methods, data structures, algorithms and discrete mathematics, at IIMB.

iii. Professor Sastry has, to his credit, a number of management cases on operations management, ethics, change management and electoral reforms.

iv. Announcing the awards for 2014, ‘Bharat Asmita’ Executive Director Rahul Karad said: “This is the eleventh year of the awards, which aim at recognizing the contribution of prominent figures from the field of teaching, people’s representation, public awareness and science and technology.”

11.  Pakistani actress Veena Malik sentenced to 26 years in jail for blasphemy

i. Pakistani actress Veena Malik was sentenced to 26 years in jail on 26 November 2014 by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) of the Gilgit region of Pakistan. 
ii. She was sentenced for blasphemy for appearing in mock Geo TV wedding scene in which religious song about the wedding of the Prophet Muhammad's daughter was played in background. 

iii. Apart from Veena Malik, the court’s Judge Shahbaz Khan also sentenced Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, owner of Geo TV and Jang group, Malik’s husband Asad Bashir Khan and TV host Shaista Wahidi for 26 years each.

iv. The ATC also imposed a 1.3 million Pakistani rupees fine on the convicts and ordered that their properties should be sold to raise the fine, if they failed to pay it. 

12.  Chennai Super Kings should be terminated: SC

i. The Supreme Court today observed that IPL team Chennai Super Kings, CSK, owned by BCCI President in exile N Srinivasan should be terminated without further enquiry as one of its officials Gurunath Meiyappan has been indicted for betting by an inquiry committee.

ii. Meiyappan is the son-in-law of Srinivasan who is himself facing questions on conflict of interest. The court asked Srinivasan to give details about who controls Chennai Super Kings owned by India Cements. Srinivasan is the Managing Director of India Cements. 

iii. In further setback for Srinivasan, the Supreme Court proposed fresh elections in the BCCI. The apex court, which was hearing the Justice Mudgal Committee report into IPL betting and spot-fixing scandal, said election can be held but persons, including Srinivasan, named in the report will not contest and new board will take decision on the scam. 

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Daily Current Affairs Update 26th November 2014

1.    China beats India in November FII inflows: HSBC

i. Foreign institutional investors warmed up to Asian equities in November as the region recorded net inflows of $5.3 billion, out of which India attracted $1.4 billion, says a report by HSBC.

ii. According to the global financial services major, after two consecutive months of sell-offs, FIIs have warmed up to Asian equities and all markets have received positive flows in November.

iii. Among Asian economies, China regained the top position as the ‘most loved’ market, pushing India down to second position in the region, while Thailand was placed at the third spot, it said.

iv. Till November 24, the region recorded a net inflow of $5.3 million and though all markets received positive flows, Taiwan and India received the major chunk of funds with inflows of $2.3 billion and $1.4 billion, respectively.

2.    Modi proposes Saarc business traveller card

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday proposed a Saarc business traveller card for making it easier for traders and merchants in the region to travel and access one another’s markets.

ii. “India will now give business visa for 3-5 years for Saarc. Let’s make it even easier for our businesses through a Saarc business traveller card,” the prime minister said as the two-day, 18th Saarc Summit began at Kathmandu.

iii. According to Modi, intra-regional relations become stronger as connectivity is increased and people-to-people contacts encouraged. He said this will also provide for boosting opportunity for tourism in the region.

3.    State Bank of India to launch Islamic equity fund

i. State-owned bank will launch an Islamic equity fund next month aimed primarily at the country's 170 million Muslims.

ii. The Securities and Exchange Board of India recently allowed the government-owned State Bank of IndiaBSE 0.41 % and three mutual funds to launch Sharia funds.

Note: i. India's stock exchanges have between 600 and 700 companies that are Sharia-compliant.

ii. India is only the second country outside the Islamic world where a state-owned bank is offering a Sharia-compliant fund. The U.K. issued sovereign Islamic bonds in June.

4.    Kotak Mahindra Bank is the first bank to fully own an insurance business

i. Kotak Mahindra BankBSE 0.07 % on Tuesday became the first bank to get the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) permission to set up a wholly-owned non-life insurance company.

ii. The bank is already the promoter of a life insurance company in partnership with Old Mutual of South Africa.

Note: i. RBI guidelines allow a bank to hold max 50 per cent in insurance joint venture. However, RBI allowed some exceptions, like SBI and ICICI Bank. In both these partnerships, the banks hold 74 per cent.

ii. Kotak General Insurance will be the 29th non-life company in the country. The last non-life insurer to get permission from the regulator was Cigna TTK — a health insurance company.

ii. The last company to set up a full-fledged general insurance business was Liberty Videocon General Insurance.

5.    Canara Bank partners Micro Energy

i. Canara Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with Micro Energy Credits Corporation to finance bank customers buying energy efficient ‘green’ products such as cook stoves, solar home systems, biogas digestors and water purifiers.

ii. The partnership has identified Chitradurga district in Karnataka to promote such green products on a pilot basis.

6.    ‘LS passes amendment bill on appointment of CBI Chief

i. The Lok Sabha today passed the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2014 by voice vote.

ii. As per the new provisions, CBI director will be selected by a panel which will comprise of Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha or the leader of the Single largest party in the House and Chief Justice of India or any Supreme Court Judge.

ii. Earlier, there was no provision of the leader of the single largest party in the panel. The Bill also makes a provision that no appointment will be invalid merely because of vacancy or absence of a member of the panel. 

7.    Assam NGO Aaranyak won UN Lighthouse Activities award

i. Aaranyak, an Assam-based NGO working for the conservation of nature and a Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) on 25 November 2014 won United Nations Lighthouse Activities award for the year 2014. 

ii. They won the award under the focus area of information and communication technology (ICT) solutions.
iii. They won the award for its community-based flood early warning system that has benefited 40 villages in flood-prone Dhemaji and Lakhimpur districts. Since 2010-11, the system has directly or indirectly benefitted more than 20000 people living in the catchment areas of two rivers, Jiadhal in Dhemaji and Singora in Lakhimpur districts. 

8.    Haryana government reduced retirement age of government employees from 60 to 58

i. Haryana government reversed the retirement age of government employees from 60 to 58 years. It also reversed the retirement age of Class IV, visually impaired and handicapped employees from 62 to 60 years.
ii. Government notification will come in effect from 30 November 2014. While, the upper age limit for fresh recruitment would remain 42 years.
iii. The decision was made during a Cabinet meet chaired by Chief Minister Mahohar Lal Khattar at Chandigarh.

9.    Sania Mirza appointed as UN Women Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia

i. United Nations (UN) Women on 25 November 2014 announced the appointment of Indian tennis superstar and youth icon, Sania Mirza, as its Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia. The organisation is dedicated to gender equality and women’s empowerment.

ii. She became the first South Asian woman to be appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador.

iii. The other Goodwill Ambassadors include British actor Emma Watson, Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman, HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha  Mahidol of Thailand, and Indian actor-filmmaker-singer Farhan Akhtar.

10.  Boxer Manoj Kumar finally receives Arjuna Award

i. Boxer Manoj Kumar today received the prestigious Arjuna Award from Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

ii. The 2010 Commonwealth Games gold-medalist, was bestowed with the honour in a function organised in the National capital. 
ii.i Manoj was earlier denied the award by the Kapil Dev-led selection committee after which he approached the Sports Ministry but after being snubbed for a second time in the review meeting, Manoj took the legal route and filed a case in the Delhi High Court.

iii. He won the case and that led to the Ministry accepting his nomination for the award.

11.  Michael Phelps named Male Athlete of the Year at the 2014

i. Michael Phelps was crowned Male Athlete of the Year at the 2014 USA Swimming Golden Goggle Awards on 24 November 2014. He was crowned with the title for a fifth time.

ii. Earlier, he won the title in 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2012. He was awarded with the title despite being suspended from competition for six months after a drunken driving arrest in September 2014.

12.  Indian cyclist Deborah creates history; Wins 4 golds in Track Asia Cup

i. Ms Deborah, a tribal girl from Andaman and Nicobar Islands has created history in National Level by winning four Gold Medals in the Track Asia Cup Cycling Championship 2014 which concluded at Indira Gandhi Stadium, New Delhi.

ii. Deborah won both the two gold medals - in the women's elite keirin and sprint finals - yesterday on the concluding day of the championship for an overall individual tally of four gold.

iii. India also grabbed four silver, including the two they won yesterday and added three more bronze medals to their tally to finish with a total of 18 medals, 5 gold, 4 silver and 9 bronze.

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