Current Affairs Update - 20 Jan, 2015

• The Reserve Bank of India, on Monday, asked banks to notify the Base Rate, or the minimum lending rate, at least once in every three months based on the cost of funds, a move seen as a nudge to lenders to pass on the changes in the policy rate to borrowers.
• The direction comes soon after the RBI cut the repo rate by 0.25 percentage point, the first reduction in 20 months, to boost credit and economic growth.
• Banks have in the past shown reluctance to pass on the benefits of rate cut, but have been proactive in raising the benchmark lending rate soon after the repo rate (the rate at which the RBI lends to banks) is hiked.
• At present, the review of the Base Rate does not have a fixed schedule.
• Banks’ internal pricing policy, it said, must spell out the rationale for, and range of, the spread in the case of a given category of borrower, as also, the delegation of powers in respect of loan pricing. The rationale of the policy should be available for supervisory review.

• The Reserve Bank of India has on Monday allowed non-banking finance companies to refinance fresh infrastructure project loans in five-seven year intervals to improve project viability and debt-servicing capacity of their borrowers. Earlier, RBI allowed banks such freedom as the economy is still a fair distance away from a complete revival. NBFCs wanted the RBI to extend the flexibility to them, too.
• For new long-term projects, RBI came up with a structure -popularly referred as 525 rule -allowing banks to lend to a project for about 25 years, with an option of rewriting the terms of the loan or transferring it to another bank or financial institution after five years.
• A large number of projects in the core sector such as power and road are into trouble due to the sluggish economy impacting cash flows. The new rule is expected to bring these projects back on track as loan repayment would be co-terminus with cash flows.
• The flexibility would also help lenders to bridge asset liability gaps.

• A public sector enterprise under the Union Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC) on 19 January 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of Cooperation with the Black Business Council (BBC) of South Africa.
• The MoU was signed during the Conference on Cooperation in MSME Sector organized by NSIC and the High Commission of India in cooperation with Black Business Council.

• The agreement was signed for developing youth owned enterprises in South Africa.
• The MoU, besides cooperation in MSME sector, also focuses on BBC's efforts to economically empower the marginalized group in South Africa through NSIC's Rapid Incubation Programme.  
• BBC plans to establish 5 Rapid Incubation Centres in South Africa in cooperation with NSIC.

• Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on 19 January 2015 inked a Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) with Pan-IIT (Indian Institutes of Technology) to work towards a collective R&D Programme for Developing Indigenous Technologies to enhance Exploration and Exploitation of Hydrocarbons and Alternate Sources of Energy.
• Pan IIT is a consortium of seven premier Indian Institutes of Technology namely, IIT-Kharagpur, IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Madras, IIT-Mumbai, IIT-Delhi, IIT-Guwahati and IIT-Roorkee.
• The agreement was signed in Delhi in presence of Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smriti Irani and the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan. The MoC is a response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India initiative.

• Marking its first acquisition in India, Twitter on Tuesday announced acquisition of Bangalore-based mobile marketing start-up ZipDial.
• ZipDial offers services like missed calls for user verification, alerts and other use cases. While the deal size was not disclosed, according to reports is it pegged at about $30 million.
• It has about 50 employs in India, all of whom will be now part of Twitter. This acquisition will also bring Twitter a new engineering office in Bangalore.
• ZipDial engages nearly 60 million users through its platform with hundreds of marketer clients, including leading brands and media companies, including Procter & Gamble, Cadbury, Unilever, Colgate, Disney, MakeMyTrip, and Amazon.

• India is expected to grow at 6.3 per cent this year and 6.5 per cent in 2016 by when it is likely to cross China’s projected growth rate, the IMF said today while terming the new government’s reforms as “promising” but insisted that their implementation is key.
• In 2014, India’s growth rate was 5.8 per cent against China’s 7.4 per cent, said the World Economic Report update released by the International Monetary Fund. India’s growth rate in 2013 was five per cent as against China’s 7.8 per cent.
• India is projected to grow at 6.3 per cent in 2015 and 6.5 per cent in 2016, when it is likely to cross China’s projected growth rate of 6.3 per cent, the IMF said.

• Filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani on 19 January 2015 was appointed as the Chairman of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
• Nihalani, known for the 1990s blockbusters Shola aur Shabnam and Aankhen will succeed Leela Samson who resigned from her office on 16 January 2015.
• Nihalani is also known for producing a fan-song for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 titled Har Ghar Modi-The Power House of India.
• Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry who reconstituted the complete Board also appointed nine new members in it. The tenure of the Chairperson and the members of the CBFC will be of three years.
• The Chairman and the members were appointed in accordance with the sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 and Rule 3 of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983.

• Union Government on 19 January 2015 prohibited imports of all kind of mobile handsets with fake or duplicate Unique Identity Numbers. The decision will help the security agencies to track callers using different SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards.
• Director General of Foreign Trade in its notification added GSM mobile handsets with duplicate or fake IMEI and CDMA mobile handsets with duplicate or fake ESN (Electronic Serial Number)/MEID (mobile equipment identifier) to the list of Prohibited items for import.
• Earlier, import of mobile phones with or without 00…00 IMEI numbers were banned but this order places bans on duplicate handsets as well.

• Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on 19 January 2015 commissioned four Indian Coast Guard (ICG) vessels at Mormugao Port of Vasco in Goa. The launched vessels include two fast patrol vessels namely ICG Amogh and ICG Ameya and two interceptor boats Charlie 413 (C-413) and Charlie 414 (C-414).
• These boats will be mainly used for patrolling and interception and will also be used for the purpose of research and rescue by the agency.
• The two fast patrolling vessels have been built by Cochin Shipyard Ltd and have a displacement of 290 tons and can hit maximum speed of 33 knots. On the other hand, the smaller interceptor boats have been built by Larsen & Turbo shipyard Ltd. Hazira and have a displacement of 106 tons and can hit a maximum sped of 45 knots.

• Haitian President Michel Martelly on 18 January 2015 announced the formation of new government that will be led by newly elected Prime Minister Evans Paul.
• Martelly appointed 18 ministers and 16 secretaries of state to the new cabinet of Haiti. Carel Alexandre was appointed as the head of public security. The new planning minister is Yves Germain Joseph.
• Despite promising a new government, Martelly kept several current cabinet members in their posts including the Ministers of Defence, Foreign Affairs, Health, Tourism, Education and Public Works and appointed his allies to the key positions of Planning Minister and Secretary of State for Public Security.

• England thrashed India by nine wickets with more than 22 overs to spare on Tuesday to record their first win in the tri-series tournament in Australia and boost their confidence ahead of next month's World Cup.
• Fast bowler Steven Finn claimed his first five-wicket haul in a one-day international as England destroyed India's batting lineup at the Gabba in Brisbane.
• Finn took 5-33 from eight overs while Jimmy Anderson picked up four wickets as the pair skittled the reigning world champions for 153 in less than 40 overs.
• Ian Bell and James Taylor both posted unbeaten half-centuries as England cruised to victory in 27.3 overs, earning a bonus point for their lopsided win.