Current Affairs : 25th September 2013

1. Former South Africa president Nelson Mandela was honoured with the Humanitarian Achievement Award this year.



2. The government on Wednesday announced constitution of the Seventh Pay Commission, which will go into the salaries, allowances and pensions of about 80 lakh of its employees and pensioners. The government constitutes Pay Commission almost every ten years to revise the pay scales of its employees and often these are adopted by states after some modification. The sixth Pay Commission was implemented from 1st January, 2006, fifth from 1st January, 1996 and fourth from 1st January, 1986.


3. The RBI on Wednesday banned zero per cent interest rate scheme for purchase of consumer goods; a move intended to protect customers, which may however dampen the festive spirit.

4. The Reserve Bank of India has set up a committee on comprehensive financial services for small businesses and low-income households. The committee will be headed by Nachiket Mor, member on the Central Board of Directors, Reserve Bank of India. The committee has been asked to come out with a set of design principles that will guide the development of institutional frameworks, and regulation for achieving financial inclusion and financial deepening.

5. The Reserve Bank of India set the cut-off price at Rs. 82 on inflation-indexed bonds (yield-to maturity 3.6624 per cent) for a notified amount of Rs. 1,000 crore at the bond auction held on Tuesday.

6. Tata Communications Payment Solutions Ltd (TCPSL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Communications Ltd, today inaugurated Indicash ATMs in Mysore. The company’s first white-label ATM was launched at Chandrapada village in Thane district on June 27. This is in keeping with the Reserve Bank of India’s vision to accelerate growth and improve ATM penetration across the country.

7. Reliance Life Insurance has launched life insurance policies in electronic demat form across all its products. Reliance Life Insurance is among the first few private insurers to offer policy holders the option to hold their insurance policies in electronic demat form.

8. The Bombay Bullion Association, the apex body of all bullion and jewellery associations in India, would host the first-ever India International Bullion Summit, IIBS in Mumbai on October 5th. The IIBS would serve as a platform for industry experts, suppliers and buyers to converge and address concerns of the industry.

9. Vijay Keshav Gokhale has been appointed as India’s next Ambassador to Germany. Gokhale, a 1981- batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service, has been India’s High Commissioner to Malaysia since 2009. He was previously Joint Secretary ( China and East Asia).

10. Ruchira Kamboj, currently the Chief of Protocol, has been appointed as the next Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO, Paris, with the rank of Ambassador. The 1987-batch IFS officer, Kamboj will succeed V S Oberoi.

11. A.J. Tharakan has been elected national president of the Seafood Exporters Association of India. Elias Sait will continue as the secretary general. Other functionaries are: V. Padmnanabham and Kenny Thomas, vice-presidents; and Norbert Karikkassery, treasurer.

12. Mobile telephony and data services provider Aircel has tied up with handset maker Micromax for integrated device sales and activation. As part of the tie-up, customers who purchase Micromax handsets in the retail networks of both the companies would be eligible for a host of bundled offers including Rs 10,000 worth entertainment content free for over three months on 3G phones.

13. Retired IAS officer Ramlubhaya has been appointed Commissioner of Rajasthan State Election Commission. Ramlubhaya, who will succeed incumbent A K Pandey, will take over the post from October 1 for a five-year tenure.

14. ONGC is to explore shale gas in the Cambay Basin. It will spend nearly Rs 150-Rs 200 crore to drill the first set of wells starting next month, N. K. Verma, Director (Exploration) of India’s largest explorer, said on Wednesday.

15. 4G Identity Solutions Private Ltd (4Gid) has won the Red Herring 2013 top 100 Asia Award, one of the industry’s prestigious awards recognising the year’s most promising private technology ventures from the Asian business region.

16. Australia’s most powerful super computer, Raijin, was today unveiled in Canberra. Raijin, named after the Japanese God of thunder and rain, has cost $45.2 million to build and will cost USD 10.85 million a year to run, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported.

17. The Finance Ministry, on Friday, clarified that ‘auxiliary educational services’ such as hostels, canteen and school buses will not attract 12 per cent service tax.

18. India defeated hosts Malaysia 2-0 to qualify for the semi-finals of the eighth women’s Asia Cup hockey tournament on Tuesday.

19. The Board of Cricket Control of India, BCCI, today imposed a life ban on former IPL Comissioner Lalit Modi from any of its activities. The decision to this effect was taken at the special general meeting under the chairmanship of BCCI President N.Srinivasan at Chennai.

20. India BEAT Pakistan 4-0 at Sultan of Johor Cup Under-21 hockey tournament in Malaysia.

21. India have suffered a 0-3 defeat at the hands of top seeded Russia in their opening tie of the junior Davis Cup finals.

22. Chinese paddler Liu Shiwen clinched her third women’s table tennis World Cup after beating team-mate Wu Yang in four sets.

Draft Policy for Early Childhood Care and Education

Union Cabinet approved the draft policy of the National Early Childhood Care and Education (NECCE) which envisages for establishing guidelines for the standardisation of teaching and learning aids, trained manpower, sanitation and hygiene norms etc. in play schools and day care centres.

How would National Early Childhood Care and Education (NECCE) benefit?

The new National Early Childhood Care and Education (NECCE) policy will benefit children in playschools and crèches as it provides for establishing a national council to establish guidelines for the standardisation of teaching and learning aids, trained manpower, sanitation and hygiene norms etc. in these institutions.

 It will lead to better regulation and monitoring the quality of care and education provided to children at play schools and crèches across the country. The move is expected to directly benefit 158.7 million children who are under the age of 6.

The new policy provides for setting standards for the care givers and also set a curriculum framework. It also stipulates the minimum qualification required to be teachers at such centres, which will now have to be registered with the Government under this policy. The policy would be implemented through National and state ECCE Councils but the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development will have the authority to make necessary amendments in it.

Current Affairs : 24th September 2013

1. Rising shuttler P V Sindhu was conferred with the prestigious Arjuna Award by Sports Minister Jitendra Singh in New Delhi on Tuesday. Sindhu had missed the opportunity to receive the award from President Pranab Mukhejee at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on August 31 as she was busy playing in the final of the Indian Badminton league (IBL). Jitendra Singh today presented the shuttler with a statuette, citation and a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh during the governing body meeting of Sports Authority of India.


2. A high-level panel, headed by Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram, on Monday submitted to Finance Minister P. Chidambaram its report on the alleged irregularities at the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL). NSEL, part of Jignesh Shah-led Financial Technologies group, is facing a crisis in settling dues worth Rs 5,600 crore.

3. ICICI Bank has launched a new Facebook app that will enable its customers to transact directly from the social networking site. Primarily targeted at young customers, the new app ‘Pockets’ will enable customers of the bank to transfer money, recharge mobile phones and book movie tickets from their Facebook pages. There will be no additional charge for using the application.

4. Moody’s has lowered its outlook for India’s GDP growth to 4.5 per cent for 2013-14 from 5.5 per cent.

5. New HIV infections drop by a third since 2001 and more than halved among children :UNAIDS. In its annual report on the state of the global pandemic, the UNAIDS said globally, 2.3 million people contracted the AIDS virus last year, which is down 33% from 2001. Last year, 1.6 million people died of AIDS-related deaths, down from 1.8 million in 2011.

6. Joint military exercises in general combat and mountain warfare between India and Nepal began in Pithoragarh today in Uttrakhand . The exercise includes anti-insurgency operations in hilly terrains and relief and rescue operations at the time of natural disasters.

7. India Navy is conducting 3-day joint military exercises ‘Naseem Al Bahr” or the Breeze from the Sea, with the royal Oman Navy from September 23-26. The joint military exercise is part of ongoing collaboration between the navies of the two countries to enhance maritime capabilities.

8. Paper Arabia 2013, a 3-day long exhibition and conference of the leading manufacturers and exporters of paper and pulp industry gets underway at Dubai World trade center today. 132 exhibitors from 22 countries including India are taking part in the conference. India is a leading exporter and currently produces 12 tonnes of paper and paper products out of which 10 percent is exported.

9. Hun Sen, 61, who has been in power for 28 years, was sworn in Tuesday as Cambodian Prime Minister for another five-year term. Hun Sen took office after parliament re-elected him as the prime minister amid a boycott by the opposition party.

10. India environmentalist Bunker Roy and Pakistan’s teenage education activist Malala Yousafzai were declared winners of this year’s of the prestigious ‘Clinton Global Citizens Awards’. Roy is the founder of the Barefoot College, which has been providing solutions to problems in rural communities for more than 40 years.

11. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in partnership with GE and Saudi Aramco Tuesday launched first all-female business process outsourcing (BPO) centre in Saudi Arabia that will create nearly 3,000 jobs in the Gulf kingdom.

12. Bo Xilai, China’s disgraced former Communist Party leader, has appealed against his life sentence conviction. The move came after a court in eastern China sentenced Bo to life in prison on Sunday for bribe-taking, embezzlement and abuse of power.

Current Affairs : 22 & 23 September 2013

1. Deepika Kumari wins Silver at Archery World Cup in Paris. In the finals, the 19-year-old Deepika lost to the Korean Olympic champion Ok-Hee Yun.

2. Angela Merkel is heading for a third term as Germany’s Chancellor, as exit polls showed she could even be on course for the historic achievement of an absolute majority in the country’s Parliament.

3. Deutsche Bank has become the first bank in India to use the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s window to swap fresh foreign currency non-resident (bank), or FCNR (B), dollar funds. Deutsche Bank has raised about $450 million FCNR (B) deposits from about 10 non-resident Indians and swapped it with the Central Bank.

4. Tata and EESL have signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) to carry out collaborative activities and partnerships in the field of Energy Efficiency and Demand Side Management ( DSM), Tata Power said in a statement. EESL ( Energy Efficiency Services Ltd) is a joint venture of public sector units of the Ministry of Power.

5. Indian cricketer Virat Kohli was appointed as the brand ambassador of the Border Security Force (BSF) on 22 September 2013. It is important to note that any central force in India has appointed its brand ambassador. BSF is the second largest paramilitary force of India that guards two crucial Indian borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

6. Beverage and snacks maker PepsiCo on Monday named company veteran Sanjeev Chadha as its CEO, Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) region, effective immediately. Chadha will report to chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi and oversee all aspects of PepsiCo’s business in the AMEA region, the company announced from its headquarters in New York.

7. All new credit card swipe machines and automated teller machines (ATMs) will be required to have a mechanism for Aadhaar authentication using biometrics. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is understood to be preparing such a directive to improve security and promote financial inclusion.

8. 7th India Russia meeting on trade and investment was held at St. Petersburg , Russia on 20 September 2013. A high level delegation of 120 Indian business leaders led by Union Minister of Commerce and Industry participated in the meeting. It discussed various business opportunities with their Russian counterparts. The special focus was on Pharmaceutical and Medical Industry, Tourism and Medical Tourism and Trade in goods, services and innovative products.

9. Seekho Aur Kamao (Learn and Earn) Progrmme Launched by Union Government of India. Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India on 23 September 2013 launched a central sector scheme for Skill Development of Minorities.

10. Bharat Nirman- a Public Information Campaign launched at Viramgam block of Ahmedabad District in Gujarat on 23 September 2013 to spread the information of Government flagship programmes like MGNREGA, NRHM etc.

11. Justice Darmar Murugesan, the former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court on 21 September 2013 appointed as member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for a five-year term.

12. Durga Sakthi Nagpal reinstated. A day after she met Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, the Uttar Pradesh government today revoked the suspension of woman IAS officer Durga Sakhti Nagpal.

13. South Africa and India will jointly hold an inter-ministerial conference as well as a business meet later this month to enhance bilateral trade relations, officials said.

14. Australia is keen to collaborate with ISRO for scientific space data to guard its 59,736-km-long coastline against tsunami and storms.Australia has shown interest in getting data from Indian satellite Oceansat-2, which can measure ocean colour.

15. Disgraced top Communist Party leader Bo Xilai sentenced to life imprisonment by a Chinese court for bribery, embezzlement of power.

16. The AITA has appointed former Davis Cupper Anand Amritraj as the new non-playing captain of the Davis Cup team, which will take on Chinese Taipei in the Asia/Oceania Group I tie next year.

17. Russia would hand over 1,000 Megawatt Bushehr nuclear reactor to Iran today. The project under IAEA Control, began 35 years ago with Germany’s help and was finished by Russia. Iran’s Atomic agency chief Ali Akbar Salehi said he expected work to start soon on a second plant upon completion of talks with Moscow.

18. Sandeep Tulsi Yadav has created history by winning India’s first-ever medal in the 66kg Greco-Roman category at the Senior World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

19. Remembering ‘Dinkar’ on his 105th birth anniversary on 23rd September. Ramdhari Singh ‘Dinkar’ was an Indian Hindi poet, essayist and academic. He is considered as one of the most important modern Hindi poets. Dinkar was awarded the Jnanpith Award in 1972 for Urvashi. He also became a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha, in 1952.

20. Alvaro Mutis, an award-winning Colombian poet, essayist and novelist influential throughout the Spanish-speaking world, died on Monday in Mexico City, officials said. Mutis, who was 90, won the prestigious Principe de Asturias award in 1997 and the Cervantes award in 2001, two of the top Spanish language literature prizes.

21. Samajwadi Party general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Mohan Singh, who was recently removed from the post of party national spokesman over differences with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, passed away at AIIMS on Sunday after a prolonged battle with Cancer.

22. Nepalese Army Chief General Gaurav Shamsher J B Rana will undertake a week-long visit to India from 29th September to strengthen military-to-military ties, including supply of hardware to Nepal Army. This is Rana’s third visit to India after assuming charge as Army Chief and second official visit to the country this year.

23. A powerful typhoon Usagi hit Hong Kong and the southern China coast on Monday, killing at least 20 people on the mainland, crippling power lines and causing flooding and gale force winds.

Current Affairs : 20th & 21st September 2013

1. Gyan Correa’s National award-winning Gujarati film ‘The Good Road’, a lost-and-found story of a small boy, nominated to represent India in the Best Foreign Film category at next year’s Oscars. Produced by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), ‘The Good Road’ marks 42-year-old Correa’s debut.

2. RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Friday surprised the industry and shocked the stock markets by hiking the short-term policy rate by 0.25 percent to keep worrisome inflation under check, a move that may increase EMIs for home and auto loans in the medium term.
New Policy Rates are as Follows:
1. Repo Rate – 7.50%
2. Reverse Repo Rate – 6.50%
3. CRR – 4%
4. MSF – 9.50%
5. Bank Rate – 9.50%
6. SLR – 23%

3. Govt approves 10% DA hike, to benefit 80 lakh employees, pensioners. DA and dearness relief are revised twice a year, first in January 1 and second from July 1. The revisions are based on the change in the consumer price index for industrial workers (CPI-IW).

4. The Heavy Industries Ministry is planning to set up an ‘Ultra Mega Green Solar Power Project’ in Rajasthan. It will be developed on 23,000 acres of land belonging to Sambhar Salts Ltd. The total capacity of this project will be 4,000 MW, making it the largest solar-based power project in the world. The first phase of the project, which will be 1,000 MW, is likely to be commissioned in three years – end of 2016.

5. The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) for setting up 9-million-tonne-per-annum (mmtpa) Greenfield refinery-cum-petrochemical complex in Barmer District in Rajasthan.This will be a joint venture with the Rajasthan State Government and will be named HPCL-Rajasthan Refinery Ltd (HRRL). HPCL will own 74 per cent stake while the balance will be with the State Government.

6. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated Phase 1 of the Jaipur Metro Rail on Saturday after he laid the foundation stone of the first airport in Rajasthan’s Ajmer district, while informing that small destinations in the country will have air connectivity with a network of more than 100 airports, planned to meet the expected passenger load capacity of 30 crore, by 2020.

7. Jawaid Akhtar, the Chairman of Coffee Board of India, was elected as the Chairperson of the International Coffee Council at the meetings of the International Coffee Organization which took place on 9 September 2013 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The 111th session of the Council and the meetings took place from 9 September 2013- 12 September 2013.

8. Banks have been given conditional freedom to open branches in tier-I cities without seeking the Reserve Bank of India’s prior approval in each case.

9. Gurgaon’s Rapid Metro likely to be inaugurated on 2nd October. Rapid Metro would be the country’s first metro rail system developed in the public-private partnership mode, at a cost of about Rs 1,100 crore. The first phase of the Rapid Metro covers 5.1 km long track, with six stations: DLF phase-II, Belvedere Towers, Gateway Towers, Moulsari Avenue, DLF Phase-III and Sikanderpur. A major part of the line is single-track.

10. Assam government launched ‘Swavalamban Pension Scheme’. As per the scheme named ‘Swavalamban Pension Scheme’, a person with a minimum contribution of Rs 1,000 per year will get an equal amount of contribution from the govt. The aggregator for the scheme in the state will be Assam Gramin Vikash Bank and Alankit Assignment, while the fund managers are SBI Pension Fund, LIC and UTI.

11. TV Narendran appointed new Tata Steel MD for India, South East Asia. Narendran will succeed incumbent H M Nerurkar, who is retiring on October 31 upon attaining the age of superannuation. The appointment of Narendran, who is in his late 40s, has surprised many as current group CFO Koushik Chatterjee’s name was doing the rounds for the top post.

12. Former secretary of the Indian Cricket Board, Jaywant Yeshwant Lele passed away at his residence in Vadodara following a massive heart attack. Lele breathed his last late Thursday night. He was 75 and is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

13. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly and tennis ace Leander Paes will be conferred Lifetime Achievement Awards, while successful football coach Subhas Bhowmick will be given ‘Guru Ratna’ by the state government at a function on September 28.

14. Actor Aamir Khan has been selected for a U.S. award for his television show ‘Satyamev Jayate’ along with eminent American director Kathryn Bigelow and the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC). They will be honoured at the inaugural awards dinner by the America Abroad Media (AAM) in Washington DC on October 28.

15. Kolkata giants Mohammedan Sporting created history by winning the prestigious Durand Cup Football tournament after a gap of 73 years, defeating ONGC 2-1 in the final in New Delhi. The last time Mohd Sporting won Durand Cup was before Independence in 1940 by defeating Warwickshire Regiment.

16. Indian men earned a maiden World Cup berth on the back of its best-ever sixth-place finish in men’s free-style at the World Championships in Budapest on Friday. India finished the tournament in the men’s freestyle category with 23 points, which catapulted the country to sixth in rankings behind Iran, Russia, Georgia, Ukraine and USA. As per the FILA rules, the top eight teams in the World Championship automatically qualify for the World Cup and Amit Kumar Dahiya’s silver medal in the 55-kg and Bajrang’s bronze in the 60-kg freestyle category ensured India its maiden World Cup appearance next year.

Present RBI Rates

S. No	Rates / Reserve Ratios	%	W.e.f
1	Bank Rate	9.50 %	20th September 2013
2	Repo Rate	7.5 %	20th September 2013
3	Reverse Repo Rate	6.50%	20th September 2013
4	Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)	4.00%	9th February 2013
5	Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)	23%	11th August 2012
6	Marginal Standing Facility (MSF)	9.50%	20th September 2013

Bank Rate

Bank rate, also referred to as the discount rate, is the rate of interest which a central bank charges on the loans and advances that it extends to commercial banks and other financial intermediaries. Changes in the bank rate are often used by central banks to control the money supply.

Repo Rate

Repo rate is the rate at which our banks borrow rupees from RBI. Whenever the banks have any shortage of funds they can borrow it from RBI. A reduction in the repo rate will help banks to get money at a cheaper rate. When the repo rate increases, borrowing from RBI becomes more expensive.

Reverse Repo Rate

This is exact opposite of Repo rate. Reverse Repo rate is the rate at which Reserve Bank of India (RBI) borrows money from banks. RBI uses this tool when it feels there is too much money floating in the banking system. Banks are always happy to lend money to RBI since their money is in safe hands with a good interest. An increase in Reverse repo rate can cause the banks to transfer more funds to RBI due to this attractive interest rates.

CRR

Cash reserve Ratio (CRR) is the amount of funds that the banks have to keep with RBI. If RBI decides to increase the percent of this, the available amount with the banks comes down. RBI is using this method (increase of CRR rate), to drain out the excessive money from the banks.

SLR

SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) is the amount a commercial bank needs to maintain in the form of cash, or gold or govt. approved securities (Bonds) before providing credit to its customers. SLR rate is determined and maintained by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) in order to control the expansion of bank credit. SLR is determined as the percentage of total demand and percentage of time liabilities. Time Liabilities are the liabilities a commercial bank liable to pay to the customers on their anytime demand. SLR is used to control inflation and propel growth. Through SLR rate tuning the money supply in the system can be controlled efficiently.

Marginal Standing Facility (MSF)

Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) is the rate at which scheduled banks could borrow funds overnight from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) against approved government securities. The basic difference between Repo and MSF scheme is that in MSF banks can use the securities under SLR to get loans from RBI and hence MSF rate is 1% more than repo rate.

Current Affairs : 19th September 2013

1. Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola (21) of Nigeria becomes World Muslimah 2013 during the third Annual Award of World Muslimah in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Wednesday.


2. Government bans new appointments as a part of series of austerity measures; asks all departments to cut down non plan expenditure by 10 per cent.


 3. A Haryana student has been selected for a three-year astronaut training programme of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the US. Ashish Kumar, who belongs to Dhaulera village of Mahendergarh district, was today honoured with ‘Pratibha Samman’ by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda for his achievement.

4. WTO lowers growth projection for world trade in 2013 to 2.5% against 3.3 per cent projected in April and 4.3 per cent earlier in the year.

5. The Government will infuse Rs 14,000 crore in public sector banks within next few days, Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Takru said here today.

6. Tata Sons have signed an agreement with Singapore Airlines and applied for necessary regulatory approval to set up a new airline in India, the two companies said in a joint statement. Tata Sons will control the majority 51 percent stake, while Singapore Airlines will own 49 percent in the proposed carrier.

7. US launches unmanned Cygnus cargo ship to ISS. Orbital Sciences Corp launched the first flight of its unmanned Cygnus cargo ship on Wednesday to the International Space Station, as NASA forges ahead with its plan to privatise US space missions.

8. Justice Prafulla Chandra Pant, Judge of the High Court of Uttarakhand was on 19 September 2013 appointed as the new Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court. He was appointed by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee.

9. Former Nintendo Company Limited President Hiroshi Yamauchi, who built the company into a video game giant from a maker of playing cards during more than half a century at the helm, died on Thursday of pneumonia, the company said. He was 85.

10. Veteran CPI leader Veliyam Bhargavan, who led the party in Kerala for long, died in Kerala.

11. Bajrang Kumar bags bronze in 60 Kg freestyle at World wrestling Championships in Budapest.

12. Former US heavyweight boxing champion Ken Norton, who beat Muhammad Ali has died at the age of 70.