Current Affairs Update - 17 Sept, 2014

• ·         IndiGo has signed a $2.6 billion deal with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) for the lender to finance more than 30 new aircraft, the carrier said in a statement on Wednesday.
• ·         The announcement comes on the day Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in India, where the two countries are expected to sign trade and investment deals worth billions of dollars.
• ·         Under the memorandum of understanding, ICBC will provide IndiGo with financing for the planes through either a sale and leaseback, financial lease or commercial lending deal, IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh said in the statement.
• ·         Privately owned IndiGo said it will use the deal to add Airbus A320 planes to its fleet.
• ·         The majority of IndiGo's fleet is financed through sale and leaseback agreements -- under which a third party owns the planes and then rents them to the airline -- and is one factor analysts say has helped keep the airline profitable while India's other big carriers lose money in a highly competitive market.
• ·         IndiGo, owned by InterGlobe Enterprises, is planning on listing on the Mumbai stock exchange next year, people involved in the deal previously told Reuters.

• ·         The Export-Import Bank of India [Exim Bank] on Wednesday said at the behest of Government of India it has extended an additional Line of Credit (LoC) of $100 million to the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for financing the purchase of equipment/supplies in Vietnam.
• ·         With the signing of the LoC Agreement, Exim Bank, till date has extended four Lines of Credit to Vietnam, taking the total value of LoCs extended to Vietnam to $191.50 million.
• ·         The LoCs have supported export of items like equipment for hydro power project, cold rolling steel, carding and spinning machines, hydraulic power equipment, and tea processing machinery and the Nam Chien Hydropower Project in Vietnam.
• ·         Under the LoC, Exim Bank will reimburse 100 per cent of contract value to the Indian exporters, upfront upon shipment of goods. The LoC will be used for sourcing of goods and services from India.
• ·         Exim Bank has now in place 195 Lines of Credit, covering over 75 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and the CIS, with credit commitments of over $10.71 billion, available for financing exports from India.

• ·         India is likely to become the world’s fastest growing exporter and UAE’s top export and import destination by 2030, according to a study.
• ·         The latest HSBC Trade Forecast yesterday said India has the potential to become the world’s fifth largest exporter of goods by value from the 14th spot from 2014 to 2030.
• ·         Besides India, the UAE’s fastest growing export markets will be China, Malaysia, Turkey — each of which will see the fastest growth rates between 2017 and 2030.
• ·         Import growth for the UAE will be fastest for goods originating from China, India, Turkey and Vietnam.

• ·         On the first day of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Gujarat, three Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between China and the state, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• ·         The first MoU was signed between the government of Gujarat and Guangdong Province in South China.
• ·         The second MoU is for a twin-city project between of Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong and the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.
• ·         The third one was signed between the China Development Bank and iNDEXTb (Industrial Extension Bureau) – a State government body for facilitating investments.
• ·         The MoUs are aimed at sharing governance experiences, building industrial park and other initiatives in the area of trade and co-operation.

• ·         Following a tradition he commenced in 1967, when he left home to join the society full-time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who turned 64 on Wednesday, met his nonagenarian mother, Hiraben, here to seek her blessings.
• ·         The affectionate mother, 94, blessed her illustrious son in an emotional reunion. Sitting on a plastic chair, she also fed “laddoo” to Modi and gifted Rs. 5,001 which would be donated towards the PM’s Relief Fund for the flood victims of Jammu and Kashmir. Modi spent about 15 minutes with his mother and other family members.
• ·         When Modi took her blessings on September 17, 2013, she had gifted him Rs. 11 while on May 22, before he left for New Delhi to take oath as PM, she had gifted Rs. 501.
• ·         Although the Gujarat Government launched a series of welfare programmes to mark Modi’s birthday during his presence here, the PM had urged the people not to celebrate the occasion with pomp and donate liberally for providing relief to the flood victims of Jammu and Kashmir.

• ·         Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan appointed BJP veteran L.K. Advani as the chairman of the prestigious Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha.
• ·         Manikrao Gavit of Congress was heading the Committee in the last Lok Sabha.
• ·         Other members of the Committee are A Arunmozhithevan, Ninong Ering, Sher Singh Ghubaya, Hemant Tukaram Godse, Pralhad Joshi, Bhagatsingh Koshyari, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Bhartruhari Mahtab, Kariya Munda, Jayshreeben Patel, Malla Reddy, Sumedhanand Saraswati and Bhola Singh.
• ·         The 86-year-old Advani is a member of the Committee on Public Undertakings headed by Shanta Kumar (BJP) and Committee on Information Technology headed by young BJP MP Anurag Thakur.
• ·         Another BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi is heading the Committee on Estimates. Party senior Maj Gen B C Khanduri is heading the Committee on Defence.
• ·         The Ethics Committee examines every complaint relating to unethical conduct of a member referred to it.

• ·         The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has appointed BJP national executive member Lalitha Kumaramangalam as the new chief of the National Commission for Women (NCW).
• ·         Ms. Kumaramanglam is an alumnus of St. Stephen's College and has Delhi and has an MBA from Madras University. She runs Prakriti, an NGO and contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2004 and 2009.

• ·         India and the US today kickstarted their joint military exercise at Chaubattia in Uttarakhand where they will practice counter-terrorist operations.
• ·         "The focus of the ongoing exercise is to carryout counter- insurgency and counter-terrorist operations in mountainous terrain under the United Nations (UN) Charter where the troops of an American infantry division will hold drills with the Garud division of the Indian Army," an Army release said.
• ·         Army's Central Command officer Maj Gen Ashwani Kumar urged both the contingents to achieve optimum cohesion and interoperability to achieve objectives of the exercise.

• ·         Academy Award-nominated actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio has been designated the United Nations Messenger of Peace by UN chief Ban Ki-moon, with a special focus on climate change.
• ·         “DiCaprio is a credible voice in the environmental movement, and has a considerable platform to amplify its message. I am pleased he has chosen to add his voice to UN efforts to raise awareness of the urgency and benefits of acting now to combat climate change,” Ban said yesterday.
• ·         The UN chief said that DiCaprio’s “first act” in his new role as Messenger of Peace will be to address the opening of the Climate Change Summit on September 23 in New York that has been convened by the Secretary General.
• ·         The day-long Summit will see participation from about 120 heads of state and governments as well as leaders from government, business, finance and civil society to promote climate action for a healthy planet, sustainable economic growth and better standards of living for all.
• ·         Ban praised DiCaprio’s longstanding commitment to fighting for environmental causes, particularly the substantial funds raised and generous grants provided to environmental protection and conservation projects through his foundation.
• ·         DiCaprio, 39, said he is honoured to accept his new role of UN Messenger of Peace on Climate Change and to support the Secretary General “in his efforts to address one of the most important issues we face as a global community.

• ·         Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday inaugurated a $1.4 billion port city being built on an artificial island near Colombo.
• ·         The Colombo Port City, funded largely by Chinese loans, is designed to become a key link in a maritime route China hopes will boost trade with Europe.
• ·         Mr. Xi and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa cut a ribbon to officially launch the project during a ceremony.
• ·         Aside from offering a base to international shippers, the port city is expected to ease traffic and congestion in Colombo’s busy business district

• ·         Forced to take the legal route after being denied the honour initially, Indian boxer Manoj Kumar will be bestowed the Arjuna Award as the Sports Ministry has finally accepted his nomination.
• ·         Manoj, a 2010 Commonwealth Games gold-medallist, told PTI that he was informed of the Ministry’s decision this morning.
• ·         “Mr. Onkar Kedia, Joint Secretary (sports), informed my brother Rajesh of the development last evening. But the information reached me only this morning,” Manoj, who would be competing in the upcoming Asian Games in Incheon, said.
• ·         The controversial recommendation of boxer Jai Bhagwan for the Arjuna Awards had led to Manoj approaching the Sports Ministry officials, who, he said, had assured him that his name would be added to a list of 15 athletes in a review meeting.
• ·         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.

• ·         Indonesia is poised to be selected as the host of the next Asian Games in 2018 after Vietnam withdrew because of financial concerns, the president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) told Reuters on Wednesday.
• ·         The decision will be formally ratified at an OCA General Assembly in South Korea on Saturday but OCA President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah told Reuters that there was an agreement in place to give the multi-sports event to Jakarta.
• ·         Jakarta has only ever hosted the Games once before, in 1962. The decision to award the Games to Indonesia was widely expected after India decided not to step in to replace Hanoi and other countries balked at the finances involved.
• ·         Hanoi was awarded the Games in November 2012 ahead of the Indonesian city of Surabaya but Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung pulled the plug, saying Vietnam was suffering from the effects of global recession and the state was unable to foot the bill for facilities and venues.

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