Current Affairs Update - 11 Nov, 2014

• ·         Union Government on 10 November 2014 raised 10000 crore rupees from the market through cash management bills (CMBs).
• ·         On behalf of the government, RBI conducted the 42 day CMB auction and saved 1.75 percentage points on interest for the exchequer.
• ·         CMB is a rarely used instrument that was resorted to only when the exchequer faced a short-term liquidity mismatch.
• ·         Under the Ways and Means Advance (WMA) facility of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the government can borrow up to 20000 crore rupees till March 2015 to meet such short-term frictional cash shortfall at the repo rate.
• ·         If the government borrows anything above that limit, it will have to pay an interest of two percentage points above the repo rate i.e 10% given the current repo rate. However, if the government mobilizes funds through CMB, it usually pays a lower rate of interest.
• ·         The Government of India, in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India, decided to issue a new short-term instrument, known as Cash Management Bills, to meet the temporary cash flow mismatches of the Government.
• ·         The Cash Management Bills will be non-standard, discounted instruments issued for maturities less than 91 days.
• ·         The Cash Management Bills will have the generic character of Treasury Bills.

• ·         Times Internet Ltd acquired Cricbuzz com on 11 November 2014. Cricbuzz.com is a leading cricket news and information destination on web and mobile.
• ·         Now Cricbuzz and GoCricket, news portal of Times Internet, will be merged to create the largest cricket news destination on digital platforms.

• ·         The Union Government on 10 November 2014 imposed fresh restrictions on foreign tours by bureaucrats. The government restricted their official overseas visits to four in a year.
• ·         Restrictions imposed on overseas travels by bureaucrats
• ·         If the officer exceeds four visits, he will need to furnish detailed justification and such visits will be allowed only in exceptional cases depending on functional need.
• ·         The order further stipulated that travel expenses for officials for participating in conferences, study tours and presentation of papers will be borne by the sponsors.
• ·         Foreign travel by the officers at the expense of Public  Sector Units (PSUs) shall be discouraged, unless the journey is undertaken specifically in connection with the affairs of the concerned PSU.
• ·         The size of the delegation and the duration of the visit shall be kept at absolute minimum.
• ·         Secretary-level officers shall not go abroad unless their presence is essential and the officers of the level of additional secretary or joint secretary cannot be substituted for them.

• ·         Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRT&H) on 10 November 2014 signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Policy Related to Constructions of Road Over Bridges/Road Under Bridges (Robs/Rubs) on National Highway corridors.

• ·         Online tracking of various proposals under approval will be possible.
• ·         Authorized representatives of Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Road Transport & highways can track the status of new proposals under approval, the proposals which have already been approved, the stage of approval of the proposal, delay in approval of proposals and reasons thereof.
• ·         Through this MoU, there will be speedy clearances of various design & drawings for construction of ROB/RUB on National Highway Corridors.
• ·         Clear cut defined responsibility for construction of ROB/RUB on National Highway Corridors
• ·         This MoU will improve safety of road users on National Highway and improve train operations.
• ·         This will also give a big boost towards infrastructural development in the country and will generate lot of employment.

• ·         Mannan Kumar Mishra and S. Prabakaran were on 10 November 2014 re-elected to the Bar Council of India (BCI). Mannan Kumar Mishra was appointed as Chairman and S. Prabakaran as Co-Chairman of Bar Council of India.
• ·         The BCI also elected Bhoje Gowda SL as vice-chairman, T.S. Ajith as chairman of the executive committee, and Nilesh Kumar as the vice-chairman of the executive committee. The office-bearers will hold office till April 2016.

• ·         Sixth World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) was held in New Delhi from 6 to 9 November 2014.  Theme of the sixth WAC was Health Challenges and Ayurveda. 
• ·         Aim of WAC is to develop a vision and strategy for public action to realize the potential of Ayurveda and improve health care in India and serve as a model for public health globally.
• ·         The events at sixth WAC included Seminar on Medicinal Plants, business meets coordinated by Pharmexil, an Editors Conclave, and international Delegates Assembly and a Guru shishya meet.
• ·         The WAC showcased how Ayurveda can provide safe, cost-efficient and effective health-care for all, especially in the important areas such as Food and Nutrition, Self-Reliance in Primary Health Care, Mother and Child Care, Prevention, Ayurvedic Management of Chronic Lifestyle Diseases, Veterinary and Plant Medicine, Ageing, Ethics and Moral values.

• ·         Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM), the missile co-developed by India and Israel, was successfully test-fired on 10 November 2014 from a range in Israel. LRSAM is called Barak 8 missile in Israel.
• ·         The missile successfully intercepted a manoeuvring air-breathing target mimicking an attacking combat aircraft. The test also validated all the elements related to the naval and land-based variants of the missile including the phased array radar, battle management system, communications and the interceptor.
• ·         The test fire was carried by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in the presence of DRDO scientists and officials of the Indian Armed Forces. DRDO chief and Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister Dr Avinash Chander witnessed the test along with IAI President Joseph Weiss and other top officials of the Israel Defence Forces.
• ·         The successful test marked a milestone in bilateral cooperation of the two countries in developing advanced weapon systems.
• ·         According to the DRDO sources, LRSAM will be deployed on the newly commissioned INS Kolkata, which had to be inducted without the weapon system due to delays in testing. It would also be deployed on other naval ships including recently commissioned INS Kamrota.

• ·         Union Home Minister and Lucknow MP Rajnath Singh has adopted Beti village in the district under the Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojna.
• ·         Though in Lucknow district, Beti village is not part of the Lucknow parliamentary constituency. It falls in the Mohanlalganj parliamentary constituency.
• ·         Under the scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, MPs of urban areas can adopt villages in other places as well.
• ·         Mr. Tiwari said there is an atmosphere of jubilation in the village following the news of its adoption by Mr. Singh.
• ·         Recently, during a visit to his parliamentary constituency Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Narendra Modi had adopted Jayapur village.

• ·         China on 6 November 2014 lifted ban on social networking websites like Face book, Twitter for reporters. This is the first time China has loosened its internet restrictions for a major international event.
• ·         China announced to lift the ban on the social networking sites at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Beijing.
• ·         The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum media centre allowed reporters to access social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and video-sharing website YouTube.
• ·         It allowed even web search of the Dalai Lama at the conference venue of APEC summit which otherwise is totally banned on the internet.  The journalists were also provided with high- speed internet.
• ·         The access to such sites is available to only in Beijing and in rest of the places access is essentially restricted by the Government of China.
• ·         Scribes can easily log into Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Google which cannot be accessed in China without the help of VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection to be procured from outside.

• ·         The US and China agreed to grant visas valid for up to ten years to visitors between the two countries. The decision was announced by US President Barack Obama on 10 November 2014 at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Beijing.
• ·         The new visa rules will come into effect from 12 November 2014.  At present, visas between the US and China were valid for only one year.
• ·         Under the new visa rules, student visas will be valid for five years whereas business and tourist visas will be valid for ten years.
• ·         However, the new visa rule will not change how long a traveler will be allowed to stay in the US or China and how long the visas are valid for entry. The US will also continue to require an in-person interview as part of the application for a visa.
• ·         The visa extension will facilitate people-to-people exchanges and benefit cooperation in all areas between the two countries.

• ·         Operation Neptune Spear was in news recently after the US Navy SEAL commando Robert O'Neill claimed that he is the one who shot Osama bin Laden at his Pakistan hideout in Abbottobad on 2 May 2011.
• ·         Revealing his identity he claimed that he shot three bullets into the head of al Qaeda's kingpin.
• ·         Operation Neptune Spear was led by the Navy SEALs of the US Naval Special Warfare Development Group also known as DEVGRU or SEAL Team Six. The operation was carried out in a Central Intelligence Agency-led operation. In addition to DEVGRU, participating units included the U.S. Army Special Operations Command's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) and CIA operatives.
• ·         The raid on bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, was launched from Afghanistan and after the raid Laden's body was taken to Afghanistan for identification by the US forces. The body was then buried at sea within 24 hours of his death.

• ·         Google has signed a long-term lease for part of a historic Navy air base, where it plans to renovate three massive hangars and use them for projects involving aviation, space exploration and robotics.
• ·         The giant Internet company will pay $1.16 billion in rent over 60 years for the property, which also includes a working air field, golf course and other buildings. The 1,000-acre (400-hectare) site is part of the former Moffett Field Naval Air Station on the San Francisco Peninsula.
• ·         Google plans to invest more than $200 million to refurbish the hangars and add other improvements, including a museum or educational facility that will showcase the history of Moffett and Silicon Valley, according to a NASA statement.
• ·         The agency said a Google subsidiary called Planetary Ventures LLC will use the hangars for “research, development, assembly and testing in the areas of space exploration, aviation, rover/robotics and other emerging technologies.”
• ·         Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have a well-known interest in aviation and space. The company recently acquired several smaller firms that are working on satellite technology and robotics. But a Google spokesperson declined yesterday to discuss specific plans for the property, which is located just a few miles (km) from the company’s main campus in Mountain View.
• ·         NASA plans to continue operating its Ames Research Center on the former Navy site. Google will take over operations at the runways and hangars, including a massive structure that was built to house dirigible-style Navy airships in the 1930s.

• ·         K. C. Reddy, a former UN security advisor for Syria, has been named on a UN inquiry panel set up by UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki—moon to probe the presence of arms on UN premises in the Gaza strip and the damage to its facilities during the conflict between Israel and Palestinian factions.
• ·         Mr. Reddy has been named to the internal and independent United Nations Headquarters Board of Inquiry that will be chaired by Patrick Cammaert of The Netherlands.
• ·         The formation of the inquiry board by Mr. Ban is aimed at reviewing “certain incidents that occurred in the Gaza Strip between July 8 and August 26,” Mr. Ban’s deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters.
• ·         The board would include Maria Vicien—Milburn of Argentina, Lee O’Brien of the United States and Pierre Lemelin of Canada. The board would review and investigate a number of specific incidents in which death or injuries occurred at and damage was done to United Nations premises.

• ·         China unveiled a sophisticated new stealth fighter jet at an air show on Tuesday, a show of muscle during a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama for an Asia-Pacific summit.
• ·         China hopes the much-anticipated J-31 stealth aircraft, developed by the Aviation Industry Corp of China (Avic), the country's top aircraft maker, will compete with U.S.-made hardware in export markets.
• ·         The twin-engine fighter jet was unveiled at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in the southern city of Zhuhai, an annual event at which China shows off its military technology, a Reuters witness said.
• ·         The J-31 conducted a demonstration but was not put on display afterwards although a mock-up version was on show.
• ·         An Avic spokesman declined to comment on any orders for the aircraft.
• ·         Stealth aircraft are key for China's air force to evolve from a mostly territorial air force to developing the ability to carry out both offensive and defensive operations, the Pentagon said in the report about developments in China's military.
• ·         The J-31 is China's second domestically produced stealth fighter. Analysts say development of stealth aircraft enable China to better project its power as it takes on a more assertive stance in the East China and South China seas.
• ·         President Xi Jinping has been pushing to strengthen China's 2.3 million-strong armed forces.
• ·         Obama, attending an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meeting in Beijing, is due to meet Xi on Wednesday.

• ·         Salgaocar FC won Durand Cup on 8 November 2014 and emerged as Durand Cup champion for the third time. It defeated Pune FC by 1-0.
• ·         127th Durand Cup played at the Raia Sports Complex, Goa.
• ·         Salgaocar scored the all-important goal in the 21st minute through Thangjam Saran Singh. Earlier, the Salgaocar won the title in 1999 and 2003.
• ·         The winner got 25 lakh rupees while Pune FC got 15 lakh rupees.
• ·         The 2013 Durand Cup won by Mohammedan Sporting Club. It defeated ONGC by 2-1 to win the cup after 40 years.
• ·         The Durand Cup is a football competition in India. It is co-hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) and Osians.
• ·         It was first held in 1888, making it the third oldest football tournament in the world.

• ·         Due to enormous demand, the publishers of Sachin Tendulkar’s record-breaking autobiography, Playing It My Way has decided to translate the book in Indian regional languages.
• ·         Hachette India will be co-publishing Tendulkar’s autobiography after being flooded with interest from several publishers.
• ·         Poulomi Chatterjee, Publisher, Hachette India, said, “We have had an overwhelming response to the launch of this bestseller and are in talks with several Indian language publishers. We look forward to co-publishing this bestseller in Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati, Malayalam, Assamese, Telugu and Bengali. We will be finalising our publishing partnerships over the next few weeks for a summer 2015 release of these Indian language editions.”
• ·         The book, which was released on November 6, has broken all records for an adult hardback on order subscriptions across both fiction and non-fiction categories.
• ·         “The book has topped 200,000 copies in orders, already pulling ahead of both pre-order and lifetime sales of the top hardbacks — Dan Brown’s Inferno, Walter Issacson’s Steve Jobs and J K Rowling’s Casual Vacancy,” Hachette India in a release.