Current Affairs Update - 17 Dec, 2014

• Amdocs, a provider of customer experience solutions, Wednesday said that its Mobile Financial Services solution along with Triotech's solution will enable State Bank of IndiaBSE 2.08 % (SBI) to offer mobile financial services to India's unbanked and under-banked population, using the mobile network of BharatSancharNigam (BSNL).
• The Amdocs Mobile Financial Services solution will be delivered under a five-year services contract. The solution includes a dedicated set of services, spanning consulting, implementation, systems integration, software and hardware operation, and maintenance, , the company said in a joint statement.
• The Amdocs Mobile Financial Services solution will enable SBI and BSNL to offer customers of any mobile operator in India the option of owning a mobile wallet account, allowing customers to take advantage of highly secure mobile banking services, such as money transfer and bill payment, as well as pay for airtime recharges.
• The solution will allow SBI and BSNL to support an extended ecosystem of multiple merchants and business correspondents such as credit card companies and utility providers on the mobile network, enabling easy payment and top-up transfers to third parties, the company said.

• The Chinese industrial city and business hub Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, and Kolkata have come closer to sharing trade and commerce-related information.
• The city-based Bharat Chamber of Commerce and Wuhan Municipal Bureau of Commerce on Wednesday signed an MoU for having separate desk at each other’s offices in the two cities.
• Li Zuo Qing, Vice-Secretary-General of Wuhan Commerce Bureau, told that there were outsourcing and investment opportunities for Kolkata’s ITES software, pharmaceutical firms in Wuhan and Hubei.
• The Chinese official invited West Bengal and Eastern India’s business community to set up offices in Wuhan, which is located some 800 km west of Shanghai.
• The Bharat Chamber of Commerce would shortly send a delegation to Hubei, called 'Manchester of China', and Wuhan, nicknamed as 'Chicago of China', to study the opportunities.

• Tata Steel has been chosen as one of the 100 Most Valuable Brands 2014 by World Consulting & Research Corporation (WCRC), Asia's No 1 Brand Rating & Ranking company.
• The Most Valuable Brands of the year 2014 (India edition) is a research endeavour to showcase and recognise brands that have established their presence and authority in the Indian market by virtue of their credibility and enormous customer loyalty.

• After hitting its largest success through Chinese giant Alibaba, Japanese technology major SoftBank is all set to gain similar success stories in India, by becoming the largest investor in Indian e-Commerce space.
• The e-Commerce industry in India, growing at a CAGR of 37%, has been witnessing the largest deals by SoftBank in last few months.
• With the latest $90-mn investment in Housing. Com, SoftBank has become the largest investor in Indian E com space with signing deals worth more than $1 billion.
• In October, it invested $627 million in Indian marketplace Snapdeal.com.
• About $210 million was deployed into ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd.’s Ola Cabs, the taxi-booking service. In November, Bharti SoftBank, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and SoftBank Corp., had acquired a 36.5% stake in ScoopWhoop, an Indian-focused media startup, for an undisclosed amount. Though details of stake owned by SoftBank in India is not disclosed, it is believed that SoftBank owns 30% stake each in Snapdeal and Housing.com.
• The Japanese giant recently said that it intends to invest about $10 billion in India over the next few years.

• The total illicit financial outflows from India between 2003 and 2012 were $439 billion —$94.8 billion of that in 2012 alone — shows a study by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington DC-based research and advisory organisation.
• On the list of the world’s biggest exporters of illicit financial flows from 2003 to 2012, India currently ranks fourth — after China, Russia and Mexico, in that order.
• Compared with the previous rankings, India and Malaysia have switched positions in terms of cumulative illicit financial outflows, with India moving to the fourth spot and Malaysia to fifth.
• This was due to a continuation of India’s upward move, which began in 2009, and Malaysia’s downward move, which began the next year. To put the figures in perspective, the $439 billion of outflows come to about 23 per cent of India’s gross domestic product in 2013 ($1.87 trillion).

• Vijay Diwas was observed across the country on 16 December 2014. On this day, nation remembers martyrs, who laid down their lives during Indo-Pak War of 1971.
• Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Army Chief D S Suhag, Navy Chief R K Dhowan and Air Chief Arup Raha remembered martyrs and paid tributes at Amar Jawan Jyoti in New Delhi.
• Vijay Diwas day was celebrated by organising special programmes at the headquarters of the Eastern Command at the Fort William in Kolkata.

• On 16 December 1971, General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, Chief of Pakistan forces along with 93000 troops had surrendered unconditionally to the allied forces consisting of Indian Army and Mukti Bahini, led by General Jagjit Singh Aurora in Dhaka after the defeat of Pakistan in the India- Pakistan war 1971.
• The end of the India- Pakistan war 1971 also resulted in subsequent secession of East Pakistan into Bangladesh. The day is being celebrated as Victory Day in Bangladesh and Vijay Diwas in India.

• Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez and former Supreme Court judge KS Radhakrishnan have been given PETA India’s People of the Year award for their contribution towards the protection of animals.
• The animal rights organisation named Ms. Fernandez as ‘Woman of the Year’ and justice (retd) Radhakrishnan as ‘Man of the Year’.
• “Justice (Retd) Radhakrishnan and Fernandez are role models who uphold this mandate for kindness to animals through the actions they take, as we all should,” PETA U.K. director Mimi Bekhechi, said.
• PETA India, in a statement, said the actress was named for using her massive star power to advocate for the protection of all animals — from horses used to pull carriages known in India as Victoria's to rabbits used in painful cosmetics tests.
• Justice Radhakrishnan headed a bench that passed a landmark judgement in favour of PETA India and the Animal Welfare Board of India, clarifying that bulls must not be used in jallikattu, bull races, bullfights or any other type of performance and called for animals to be respected in many other ways, it said.
• In 2013, Ms. Fernandez took to Twitter to call for the release of a formerly abused elephant Sunder, who was finally moved from his life of misery to a forested park where he has room to roam and the companionship of other elephants.

• Telugu music director Chakradhar or Chakri died on 15 December 2014 due to heart attack in Hyderabad. He was 60.
• His career spanned for about 15 years. He composed music for about 85 films out of which huge hits are: Idiot, Amma Nanna O Tamil Ammayi, Chakram, Simha and Desamuduru.
• He debuted with Puri Jagannadh's directorial Bachi in 2000 and went on to compose music for over 85 films. He received State government's Nandi Award for his tunes in Simha.
• His combination with director Puri Jagannadh was considered as the most successful combination.
• Chakri last scored music for Erra Bus which was directed by Dasari Narayana Rao.
• He was born on 15 June 1974 and was a native of Mahabubabad in Warangal district. Chakri's father Gilla Venkata Narayana, singer and actor, too died of heart attack two years ago in 2012.

• The Survey of India on 16 December 2014 released a revised geographical map of Hyderabad. The new map showed an expansion from all the sides compared to the last revised map released in 2002.
• The Centre made use of satellite imagery from Cartosat, a series of indigenous observation satellites, to draw up the maps of the extended city. They also carried out the physical verification to finalise the map.
• The Survey of India is also ready with a new map of India showing Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as separate states after the bifurcation on 2 June 2014. The Map will be released after being verified from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

• The new Hyderabad maps show 625 sq km of area falling under Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits, thereby being a part of the city.
• Eights kinds of the map have been brought out including one in Telugu.
• The entire set of eight part maps of Hyderabad is being made available to the public for 495 rupees.

• Survey of India is the National Survey and Mapping Organization of India under the Department of Science & Technology. It is the oldest scientific department of the Government of India.
• Established in 1767, Survey of India bears a special responsibility to ensure that the country's domain is explored and mapped suitably.

• The Lok Sabha on 16 December 2014 passed the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Amendment Bill, 2014. The bill was presented in Lok Sabha by the Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu.
• The Bill seeks to amend the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second Act, 2011 as the deadlines provided under the 2011 Act expires on 31 December 2014.
• Thus, the bill seeks to extend the deadlines under the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second Act, 2011 up to 31 December 2017.

• The 2011 Act provided that no action will be taken till 31 December 2014 with respect to (i) Encroachment or unauthorized development as of 1 January 2006; and (ii) Unauthorized colonies, village abadi areas that existed on 31 March 2002 and where construction took place up till 8 February 2007 and other areas as of 8 February 2007. 
• Relocate slum dwellers and Jhuggi-Jhompri clusters in accordance with the provisions of the Delhi Shelter Improvement Board Act, 2010 and the Master Plan for Delhi, 2021.
• Regulate street vendors in accordance with the policy for street vendors outlined in the Master Plan for Delhi, 2021.
• Regularize unauthorised colonies, village abadi areas (and their extensions).
• Create a policy for farm houses constructed beyond permissible limits.
• Create a policy or plan for all other areas of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in keeping with the Master Plan for Delhi, 2021.

• The historic Geeta Press on 16 December 2014 announced its lockout for an indefinite period after talks between its management and employees over wage issues failed.

• The workers at the press had been demanding higher wages and medical benefits from the management. The situation went out of control in the last one month when the employees protested against the management.
• The employees of the Press have resorted to dharna since 3 December 2014 and  were not allowing others to work which affected the work.
• Presently 185 permanent and 300 contractual employees are working at the Geeta Press, a 90-year-old publication.

• Geeta press was founded in 1923 by Jaya Dayal Goyandka for promoting the principles of Sanatana Dharma by propagating the Holy Scripture Bhagavath Gita.
• Geeta press is a unit of Kolkata-based Gobind Bhawan Karyalaya registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (presently governed by the West Bengal Societies Act, 1961).
• Over the years, the press has made available more than 370 million copies of the Gita, Ramayan, Bhagvat, Durga Saptashati, Puranas, Upanishads and Bhakta-Gathas in more than ten languages including Sanskrit, Hindi and English.

• Union Government on 16 December 2014 announced that members of the minority communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh will be given five years visa as part of government's effort to address their grievances and accord citizenship in future. Earlier, they were granted one-year visa.

• The long-term visa for five years will be issued initially by the Home Ministry on the specific recommendation of the state government or union territory administration.
• The government also delegated powers to Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) and Foreigners Registration Officer (FRO) concerned to grant extension for a period up to six months on the short-term visa of the minority nationals from neighboring countries applying for long-term visa. Earlier, they had power to extend the visa for maximum three months.
• Also, for processing such applications, a time-line of one month for FRRO and FRO and 21 days for the state government and union territory administration has been fixed.

• Tehreek-e-Taliban on 16 December 2014 carried out a massacre in the Army-run school in Peshawar, Pakistan. In the terror attack, at least 141 people including 132 students and 9 staff members of the school were killed. Several others were injured. 
• The militant outfit claimed the responsibility for the attack and said that it was a revenge for the military's operation against militants in the North Waziristan tribal area close to Peshawar. Presently, Pakistan’s military is carrying out Operation Zarb-e-Azb and Operation Khyber-I against militants of the nation.
• Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who visited the site of incident described the attack as national tragedy and said that the military operation 'Zarb-e-azab' to flush out terrorists from the country's tribal belt will continue. Pakistan government also announced three-day nationwide mourning of the massacre.

• The United States strongly condemned the Taliban assault on the school and said the US strongly condemns senseless and inhumane attacks on innocent students and educators, and stands in solidarity with the people of Pakistan.
• UN Secretary General BanKi-moon led the world body in condemning the Taliban attack said that no cause can justify such brutality and horror. He said no grievance can excuse such horror and it is an act of horror and rank cowardice to attack defenceless children.
• British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande also strongly condemned the terrorist attack.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif over telephone and strongly condemned the brutal terrorist attack. India has offered all possible help to Pakistan and in the wake of dastardly attack in Pakistan, the Prime Minister appealed to schools across India to observe two minutes of silence on 17 December 2014 as a mark of solidarity.

• 10 November 2014: Suicide Bombing of a Potiskum Government School by Boko Haram, Nigeria - at least 47 fatalities reported
• 6 Jul 2013: Yobe State School shooting by Boko Haram, Nigeria - at least 42 fatalities reported
• 3 September 2004: Beslan School hostage crisis, Russia – at least 385 fatalities reported
• 26 March 2001: Arson in Kyanguli Secondary School-Machakos, Kenya - at least 57 fatalities reported
• 15 May 1974: Netin Meir Elementary Schoool hostage crisis, Israel - at least 34 fatalities reported
• 18 May 1927: Bombing in School-Bath, United States - at least 44 fatalities reported
• Between 2009 and 2013: 1073 attacks in Afghanistan
• In 2013, 54 and 35 attacks were carried out in schools of Somalia and Yemen, respectively

• Indian-origin Shriti Vadera was on 12 December 2014 appointed as the Chairman of Santander UK, a major British bank. She will be the first woman to head a major British Bank.
• Vadera will join the board of Santander UK Bank as Joint Deputy Chairman in January 2015 and later in March 2015 she will succeed Lord Burns as Chairman of the Bank.
• Vadera also known as Baroness Vadera was born in 1962 in Uganda into a family of Indian origin.
• She has served 14 years at the investment bank UBS Warburg where she advised governments of developing countries on debt relief and restructuring.
• In 2007, Shriti Vadera was appointed as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for International Development by former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown during the height of the Eurozone financial crisis.

• The World Health Organisation (WHO) on 10 December 2014 released the Global status report on violence prevention 2014 to describe the state of the problem of interpersonal violence worldwide.
• The report was jointly published by WHO, the United Nations Development Programme, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
• The report reveals that 475000 people were murdered in 2012 and homicide is the third leading cause of death globally for males aged 15–44 years. The report highlights the urgent need for more decisive action to prevent violence.

• Only one third of the 133 countries surveyed are implementing large-scale initiatives to prevent violence such as bullying prevention programmes, visits by nurses to families at risk and support to those who care for older people.
• About half the countries are fully enforcing a set of 12 laws generally acknowledged to prevent violence, however 80 percent of countries have enacted them.
• Violence also contributes to leading causes of death such as cancer, heart disease and HIV/AIDS as victims are at an increased risk of adopting behaviours like smoking, alcohol and unsafe sex.
• One half of countries are implementing school-based programmes to teach children and adolescents life-skills such as non-violent conflict resolution.
• One half of countries are promoting efforts to change gender norms supportive of violence against women.
• Less than one quarter of countries are developing public information campaigns to prevent elder abuse.
• About 98 percent of countries have laws against rape; 87 percent of countries have laws against domestic violence; 84 percent of countries have laws against carrying weapons in schools and 40 percent of countries have laws against abuse in institutions for older people.

• Allah Rakha Rahman on 12 December 2014 was nominated for Oscar Awards for the year 2015 in the Music Original Score Category for three films.
• He was nominated for the films Million Dollar Arm, The Hundred-Foot Journey and Indian film Kochadaiiyaan.
• The nomination list of 118 names was released by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on its website. The final nominations shortlist for the prestigious awards will be announced on 15 January 2015, while the presentation ceremony will be held on 22 February 2015.
• Earlier in 2009, Rahman had won the award for Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire for his best original scores and best original song Jai ho from the same film.
• In 2011, he had received two nominations for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards for his original score in Boyle's 127 Hours as well as original song If I Rise for the same movie.
• Besides this, his impressive list of awards include two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, four National Film Awards, fifteen Filmfare Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards South.

• Pro-democracy activist of China Xu Youyu won the Olof Palme Human Rights Prize for the year 2014. The award given annually by the Stockholm-based Olof Palme Memorial Fund of Sweden was announced on 16 December 2014.
• He received the award for his strong-principled work for democracy, social justice, human rights and freedom of speech which has universal meaning. Through his research and dialogue-oriented debate articles, he made a great contribution to the peaceful and democratic development in China.
• As a political philosopher and a committed Chinese citizen, he advocates respect for the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution. In 2008, he was one of the most evident signatories of Charta 08 manifesto that urged a series of reforms in China.

• The Olof Palme Prize is an annual prize worth 75000 US dollars granted by the Olof Palme Memorial Fund established by the Social Democratic Party of Sweden and Olof Palme family.
• It commemorates the spirit of Olof Palme, Social Democratic Prime Minister of Nordic country. He was an outspoken international human rights advocate, who was assassinated in the Swedish capital in 1986.
• In 2013, it was given to Rosa Taikon of Sweden and the first prize was won by Cyril Ramaphosa in 1987, the Secretary General of National Union of Mineworkers of South Africa.
• The other awardees include Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

• The late Hollywood star Robin Williams, Brazil’s World Cup soccer championship, and the Ebola virus have been the top searches on Google this year, according to the tech company.
• The smartphone game “Flappy Birds”, cross-dressing Austrian singer and Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst, the animated game of the feature film “Frozen”, the Sochi Olympic Games, and Ukraine also made it to the 11 most popular searches.
• The list released Tuesday also included Malaysia Airlines, the ice bucket challenge, and the Islamic State (IS) jihadi group.
• The US company also released the search trends in the news section which was led by Ebola, followed by the IS, Malaysia Airlines, Crimea and Ukraine, and Ferguson, the US city where a white policeman shot dead a young African-American.
• Among other top news searches were Scotland’s independence referendum, Gaza and Israel, and athlete Oscar Pistorius’s trial for killing his girlfriend.
• The most Googled personalities in 2014 were actress Jennifer Lawrence, Kim Kardashian, French actress Julie Gayet, American actor-comedian Tracy Morgan and actress Renee Zellwegger.
• Singer-composer Jared Leto, singer Lorde, American actor Matthew McConaughey, and lawyer and George Clooney’s bride Amal Alamuddin, followed them in the list.
• Donald Sterling, the former owner of Los Angeles Clippers basketball team, was the tenth most searched personality. He was banned for life from the NBA for making racial comments.
• According to Google’s list of popular electronic product searches, the iPhone 6 was first, followed by Samsung Galaxy S5, Nexus 6 and Moto G.

• A European Union court on Wednesday ordered the Palestinian group Hamas removed from the EU terrorist list for procedural reasons, but says the bloc can maintain asset freezes against Hamas members for now.
• The Islamic militant group, which calls for the destruction of Israel, hailed the decision. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the EU to reverse it.
• The EU court ruled Wednesday that the listing was based on press and Internet reports and not on “acts examined and confirmed in decisions of competent authorities.”
• The court insisted that its ruling did not “imply any substantive assessment of the question of the classification of Hamas as a terrorist group.” It therefore ruled that the asset freezes should stay in place for three months pending further EU actions.
• The EU is considering its next steps. It has two months to appeal.
• The terrorist list designation bars EU officials from dealing with the group, and requires that any of the group’s funds in EU countries be frozen.
• The decision comes amid growing pressure from European legislators to recognize a Palestinian state, after years of stalemate in peace talks. There was also growing frustration in Europe with Israel’s government after the Gaza war earlier this year.

• U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed a $1.1 trillion spending bill passed by Congress last week that lifted the threat of a government shutdown.
• The legislation funds most government agencies through September 2015. The Department of Homeland Security will be treated differently, getting a funding extension only through Feb. 27, by which time Republicans will control both chambers of Congress.
• Passage of the 1,603-page bill was a long struggle in the Senate and the House of Representatives marked by bitter disputes over changes to banking regulations and Obama's recent executive order on immigration.

• Microsoft on Tuesday launched its first 4G device, the Nokia Lumia 638 with Windows Phone 8.1 at a price of Rs 8,299.
• This will be India’s second 4G device under Rs 10,000, after Xiaomi announced the launch of the Redmi Note.
• However, Xiaomi Note’s 4G version has not gone on sale yet due to a court ban, and was supposed to be available at Airtel stores. With the partial ban on the company’s sale of products, it is less likely for a while that Xiaomi 4G device will be available in the country.
• The device has a ClearBlack 4.5-inch LCD screen with TrueColor and capacitive multi-point touch.
• The Lumia 638 showcases a new matte polycarbonate design with changeable shells available in matte black and white.
• The Lumia 638 will be available on the newly launched Microsoft Brand Store, which offers customers outstanding choice, value and service on a wide range of Microsoft products and services.
• Also, pre-booking from December 17 will start for the device on Amazon.

• The Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics Games mascot have been named as Vinicius and Tom, respectively. The names were declared on 14 December 2014 after they were chosen by a public vote that was conducted over the past three weeks, since the mascots were unveiled.
• Mascot Vinicius is a yellow feline animal similar to cat and represents Brazil’s rich fauna and wildlife. Tom is a blue and green figure with leaves that covers it head and presents country’s diverse and rich flora.
• Vinicius and Tom were chosen ahead of the other two shortlisted pairs of names: Oba and Eba, and Tiba Tuque and Esquindim.
• The names are in honour of Brazilian musicians and partners Vinicius de Moraes and Tom Jobim. They were exponents of Bossa Nova music, the musical movement that got the whole world singing about the beauty of Rio de Janeiro. They were also the creators of the famous song, The Girl from Ipanema.
• 2016 Olympics scheduled to be held from 5 August to 21 August 2016 will be the first one to be held in the continent of South America.

• The International Boxing Association (AIBA) on 17 December 2014 banned the Indian boxer Laishram Sarita Devi for one year for not accepting her bronze medal at Asian Games 2014 medal ceremony.
• Laishram Sarita Devi was also fined one thousand Swiss Franc for the act. India's foreign coach Blas Iglesias Fernandes was also banned for two-year for standing by Sarita during her protest.
• Both of them were banned with effect from 1 October 2014, the day of medal ceremony of the games.
• Moreover, AIBA's disciplinary committee also banned Sarita's personal coach Lenin Meitei for a year and suspended her husband Thoiba Singh from the ringside for two years.
• Citing wrong judgment from referees, Sarita at the podium ceremony of Asian Games 2014 tried to give her medal to her opponent as a mark of protest.
• Thereafter, AIBA had suspended Laishram Sarita Devi from all competitions after she refused to wear her bronze medal following her semifinal loss to South Korea's Ji Na Park at Incheon in October 2014.

• Opener Murali Vijay cracked a fluent 144 as India put up a solid batting display to take the honours on the opening day of the second cricket Test against Australia by reaching a comfortable 311 for four in Brisbane on Wednesday.
• The 30-year-old Vijay, who missed a century by one run in the second innings in Adelaide, notched up his fifth Test ton to guide India to a good position on a hot day at the Gabba.
• Vijay was dropped by Shaun Marsh on 36 off paceman Mitchell Johnson but he capitalised on the reprieve by punishing the Australians, scoring 144 off 213 balls.
• The right-handed opener got good support from Rahane (batting 75) as the duo shared a 124-run stand for the fourth wicket with the Australian pacers struggling to find any rhythm in the hot and humid conditions.