Current Affairs Update - 7 Oct, 2014

• ·         Indian economy, which accounts for 80 per cent of South Asia’s output, is set to grow by 6.4 per cent in 2015-16 as against 5.6 per cent in 2014-15, the World Bank has said.
• ·         With economic activity buoyed by expectations from the new elected government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “India is benefiting from a “Modi dividend“,” the Bank said in its twice-a-year South Asia Economic Focus report yesterday.
• ·         Over the next year or so economic growth should be supported by the recovering US economy that would provide a market for Indian merchandise and service exports, it said.
• ·         “The outlook over the next years for South Asia indicates broad economic stability and a pick-up in growth with potential risks concentrated on the fiscal and structural reform side,” said Martin Rama, Chief Economist for South Asia at the World Bank.
• ·         “Future growth will increasingly depend on strong investment and export performance,” he added.
• ·         Private investment is expected to pick up thanks to the government’s business orientation, and declining oil prices should boost private sector competitiveness.
• ·         But economic reforms will be needed for India to achieve its full long-term growth potential, the report argued.
• ·         The report said the region’s economy will expand by a real 6 per cent in 2015 and by 6.4 per cent in 2016 compared to 5.4 per cent this year, potentially making it the second fastest growing region in the world after East Asia and the Pacific.

• ·         India has been ranked 18th globally on the list of most desirable destinations to work, even as 70-80 per cent of Indians are willing to work in an overseas location, says a new report.
• ·         The US has been ranked on the top, followed by the UK, Canada, Germany and Switzerland, making them the five most desirable countries to work on the list compiled by the Boston Consulting Group, total jobs.com, and The Network.
• ·         The other countries in the top 10, where foreigners said they would like to work include – France (6th), Australia (7th), Spain (8th), Italy (9th) and Sweden (10th).
• ·         As a desirable work destination, India was ranked 18th among G20 nations.
• ·         The Asia Pacific region does not generate as much interest as a possible work destination as the US or Europe, largely because of the perceived difficulty of learning Asian Language, the report said, but noted “some fast growing Asian countries are starting to reclaim workers they have lost.”
• ·         Globally, one in every five participants already has international work experience and almost 64 per cent said they would be willing to go to another country for work.
• ·         According to the survey, around 70-80 per cent of Indians are already living abroad or are willing to move to a foreign country for work.

• ·         The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday slightly lowered its outlook for global economic growth this year and next, mostly because of weaker expansions in Japan, Latin America and Europe.
• ·         The global economy will grow 3.3 per cent this year, one-tenth of a point below what it forecast in July. World growth should then pick up to 3.8 per cent in 2015, two-tenths of a point lower than its previous estimate, the IMF says in the latest instalment of its World Economic Outlook.
• ·         The global lending organization has a more optimistic view of the U.S. economy, which it expects will grow 2.2 per cent this year, up from an earlier forecast of 1.7 per cent. Its forecast for 3.1 per cent growth in the U.S. next year was unchanged.
• ·         Still, the global lending organization warned that the U.S., Europe and Japan could face years of sluggish growth unless governments take steps to accelerate activity. It acknowledged that it has frequently cut its forecasts in the past several years, and said that was partly because of slower long-run growth in advanced economies.

• ·         State-owned Canara Bank and Deutsche Bank on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the use of FX4Cash - a cross-currency payments solution offered by the foreign bank. FX4Cash provides fast and reliable execution of cross-currency payments made through leading client access channels including SWIFT, on-line and host-to-host channels, in over 125 currencies via wire transfer, cheque and ACH transfers - across more than 160 countries.
• ·         By using Deutsche Bank's FX4Cash, Canara Bank will have access to a full suite of solutions to support its global cross-currency payable and receivable flows, said the press release issued on the matter.
• ·         As of June, 2014; Canara Bank has 5,217 branches located across India and a large correspondent banking network overseas.

• ·         Union Government launched Swachhta Udyami Yojana – Swachhta Se Sampannta ki Aur of National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation. The scheme was launched by the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Sudarshan Bhagat on 2 October 2014.
• ·         The Scheme has twin objective of cleanliness and providing livelihood to Safai Karamcharis and liberated Manual Scavengers to achieve the overall goal of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
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• The Scheme:
• •       The Scheme provides financial assistance to Safai Karamcharis and identified Manual Scavengers for Construction, Operation and Maintenance of community toilets in Public Private Partnership (PPP) Mode and for Purchase of Sanitation related Vehicles.
• •       The entrepreneurs of the target group may also avail assistance for purchase of vehicles such as Jetting and Suction machines, Vacuum Loaders, Garbage collection and disposal vehicles etc.
• •       Beneficiaries can also take contracts from the Municipalities to operate these vehicles in areas under their jurisdiction.
• •       Beneficiaries will be provided loan at a very concessional rate of interest of 3-4 percent per annum. The maximum amount allowed for construction toilets and for procurement of sanitation related vehicles will be 25 lakhs rupees and 15 lakhs rupees respectively.
• •       Each identified Manual Scavenger will be provided capital subsidy upto 3.25 lakhs rupees.

• •       Renowned defence technologist and father of ‘BrahMos’ cruise missile, Apathukatha Sivathanu Pillai, was conferred the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award by President Pranab Mukherjee here today.
• •       The award, which carries cash of Rs. 5 lakh, citation and a plaque, was given to Pillai for his outstanding contribution in the field of aerospace and missile technology.
• •       During a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan auditorium, the President said conferment of this award on Pillai is recognition for the outstanding work done by our space and defence research scientists.
• •       Mukherjee also congratulated the entire scientific community and ISRO in particular for the remarkable feat of having successfully executed the Mars Orbiter Mission in its very first attempt, a press release issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.
• •       “I, on my behalf and that of all our countrymen, pay tribute to the scientists and technical staff who have toiled tirelessly to create history,” the President said.
• •       67-year-old Pillai has been credited with development of critical missile technologies through realisation of ‘Agni’, ’Prithvi’, ‘Nag’ and ‘Akash’ missiles.
• •       Pillai, who is also a recipient of civilian honours Padma Shree in 2002 and Padma Bhushan in 2013, has worked as Chief Controller (Research and Development), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of ‘BrahMos Aerospace’, a joint venture between India and Russia.

• •       Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano of Japan and U.S. scientist Shuji Nakamura won the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for the invention of blue light-emitting diodes a new energy efficient and environment-friendly light source.
• •       The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the invention is just 20 years old, “but it has already contributed to create white light in an entirely new manner to the benefit of us all".
• •       Prof. Akasaki, 85, is a professor at Meijo University and distinguished professor at Nagoya University. Prof. Amano, 54, is also a professor at Nagoya University, while the 60-year-old Prof. Nakamura is a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
• •       The laureates triggered a transformation of lighting technology when they produced bright blue light from semiconductors in the 1990s, something scientist had struggled with for decades, the Nobel committee said.
• •       Using the blue light, LED lamps emitting white light could be created in a new way.

• •       Spain’s Health Minister Ana Mato said a nurse, who treated a missionary from Sierra Leone for Ebola at a Madrid hospital has tested positive for the disease, in what is the first reported incident of transmission outside Africa.
• •       The woman went to the Alcorcon hospital in the Madrid suburbs with a fever and was placed in isolation. Mato said the infection was confirmed by two tests.

• •       A Texas-based company has developed an Ebola killing robot that can clean a hospital room in five minutes and destroy the virus by fusing its DNA.
• •       The germ-killing robot, called “Little Moe” developed by Xenex, uses ultraviolet light to sterilise a room.
• •       A spokeswoman for Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas said the germ-zapping robot works by flashing surfaces with ultraviolet light which in turn damages viral DNA.
• •       It can rid a hospital room of germs in 5 minutes and destroy Ebola on any surface in 2 minutes.
• •       The robot blasts 1.5 pulses per second in every direction, in-effect killing the virus.
• •       Though, the robot works on ultraviolet light rays, the company claims it is safe for humans as it does not use any form of chemicals or other substances.
• •       The machine is being used in 250 hospitals across the US, including the Dallas hospital where doctors are treating the first man diagnosed with Ebola in U.S.
• •       Thomas Duncan, 42, became ill after arriving in Texas from Liberia two weeks ago, heightening concerns that the worst Ebola epidemic on record could spread to U.S. from West Africa, where it began in March.

• •       Britain and Ireland on 6 October 2014 inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on new joint Visa cooperation. The agreement was signed at the Irish Embassy in London by UK home secretary Theresa May and Irish Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald.
• •       According to the MoU that was ratified by the British and Irish governments, the non-European travelers to these nations will be provided with a common short-stay visa. With this short-stay visa, travelers from outside the European Union will be allowed to move freely between the two jurisdictions on a single permit.
• •       This visa deal will help the two countries in sharing data and exchange information to inform and determine immigration decisions, which will also ease the visitors of the two nations
• •       India and China will be the first two non-EU countries that will be benefited from the new regime. The British-Irish Visa Scheme would start in China by the end of October 2014 and in India soon afterwards.

• •       Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on 6 October 2014 became the co-owner of the Indian Super League franchise Chennaiyin FC. The high-profile Indian Super League (ISL) is scheduled to start on 12 October 2014 and the final will be played on 20 December 2014.
• •       Dhoni inked the deal to be a co-owner of Chennaiyin FC along with Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan who is the owner of the team. The announcement was made by Chennaiyin FC co-owner Vita Dan.
• •       Dhoni is the fourth cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli to own a football team of the Indian Super League. Sachin is a co-owner of Kerala Blasters, while former captain Ganguly is a co-owner of Atletico de Kolkata. Vice-Captain of Indian cricket team, Kohli is the co-owner of ISL team FC Goa.

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