Current Affairs Update - 8 Nov, 2014

• ·         China UnionPay (CUP), the payments company which was created to rival Visa and MasterCard in the Middle Kingdom, is setting up shop in India. The Reserve Bank of India is also considering a bilateral arrangement whereby CUP cards are accepted in the country and India's RuPay cards are accepted in China.
• ·         Bankers said that the fact that the company is seeking to fill positions in India could only mean that it has some inprinciple approval from the central bank.
• ·         CUP cards are accepted in over 140 countries across the world and the payments giant is keen on enabling acceptance in India. At present, both CUP and RuPay have an agreement with US card company Discover to use the latter's global network for facilitating international payments. Through the Discover network, RuPay cards can be used in China and CUP cards can be used in India. A direct agreement will enable both cardholders to make payments in each other's country without going through an international network.
• ·         In its posting for a country manager in Mumbai, CUP has included in the job description: developing UnionPay business by cooperating with financial institutions on ATM and point-of-sales network and assisting partners in building a successful business model.
• ·         India's domestic card system RuPay , although just twoand-a-half years old, has made great progress on all fronts: it is accepted by most retailers and online establishments and across ATMs in the country .

• ·         Private sector lender Axis Bank has signed a pact with NongHyup Bank (NH Bank) to enhance cooperation in treasury, trade and other business between India and South Korea.
• ·         "The MoU, will serve to strengthen existing ties between the two banks and will help facilitate and enhance cooperation in the areas of treasury, srade and other business," Axis Bank said in a release.
• ·         The MoU aims to reinforce trade and economic relationship between South Korea and India, and will promote mutual development through business cooperation.

• ·         Private sector lender ING Vysya Bank today said Shailendra Bhandari, its managing director and chief executive of five years, has decided to step down to pursue "new challenges".
• ·         The board of the bank has announced Uday Sareen, currently serving as the deputy chief executive and wholesale bank head, as the successor, the bank said in a statement.
• ·         Bhandari will, however, will continue to serve the bank till January 31, 2015.
• ·         Bhandari has over three decades of experience in the financial services industry and had joined the Bangalore-based bank from Tata Capital, where he headed the private equity vertical. Prior to that, he headed the then Centurion Bank and Prudential ICICI Asset Management Company.
• ·         He was associated with HDFC Bank since its inception in 1994 and was its treasurer and executive director.

• ·         The Telugu Desam MP and industrialist Y.S. Choudhary and senior BJP leader and MP, Bandaru Dattatreya, the latter from Telangana, are likely to be inducted in the Union Cabinet.
• ·         They are set to join the Narendra Modi Cabinet, which is being expanded.
• ·         While Choudhary is the founder of the diversified Sujana Group, Bandaru Dattatreya had earlier served as Union Railway Minister.
• ·         It is learnt that they have been asked to join the swearing-in ceremony on Sunday.

• ·         Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao has launched the pension scheme ‘Aasara’ for the old people, widows and the handicapped. While widows and the old people get a monthly pension of Rs. 1,000, the handicapped will get Rs. 1,500.
• ·         “We will spend Rs. 4,000 crore on the scheme annually,” the Chief Minister, addressing the gathering after launching the scheme at Kothur in Mahaboobnagar district on Saturday.
• ·         He said the Telugu Desam and Congress Governments had allocated Rs. 72 crore and Rs. 730 crore respectively for the scheme, hardly sufficient for reaching out to all the beneficiaries.
• ·         However, the State Government was facing criticism for denying pension eligibility for scores of people. Those who were getting pensions earlier were kept out of the list this time, triggering protests in different parts of the State.
• ·         The Government, however, argues that it is in the process of weeding out only ineligible persons and that no one eligible person will be denied pension.

• ·         India will extend visa-on-arrival facility to Russian businessmen at 18 airports in the country, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said. The Minister expressed India’s commitment to removing red tape and provide single window clearance to investors.
• ·         “Speaking at the India-Russia Forum on trade and investments here on Wednesday, Ms. Sitharaman said “India and Russia need to further strengthen the economic relation which is presently below potential.”
• ·         She also spoke about positive investment climate in India and also the huge investment opportunities in infrastructure, manufacturingand other sectors.

• ·         Laxmikant Parsekar was on saturday sworn-in as the new Chief Minister of Goa, soon after Manohar Parrikar resigned. Parsekar was elected leader of the BJP Legislature Party, paving the way for his elevation as the new Chief Minister, snuffing out any challenge from Deputy CM Francis D'Souza.
• ·         Parsekar, who was unanimously elected the leader at a meeting of the BJP Legislature Party, will succeed Manohar Parrikar after he resigned earlier in the day and is set to join the Union Cabinet.
• ·         His name was proposed by Parrikar and seconded by the Deputy Chief Minister D'Souza, who had earlier staked claim to the post on ground of seniority.
• ·         However, he backed Parsekar after being mollified by the party leadership.

• ·         India and Bhutan on 7 November 2014 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop Nalanda University in Bihar as an international centre of excellence.

• ·         The MoU states that the objectives and functions of Nalanda University includes the establishment of an international institution of learning that will bring together the brightest and the most dedicated students from all countries irrespective of gender, caste, creed, disability, ethnicity or socioeconomic background.
• ·         According to the MoU, the Nalanda University will be located at Rajgir in Bihar and will have the power to confer degrees, diplomas and certificates.
• ·         It focuses on building an Asian community of learning where the intellectual potential of every student can be developed to the fullest extent possible.
• ·         As per the MoU, India will provide appropriate visa to students, faculty and staff for travelling to India to study or work in the University. The funding for the establishment and operations of the University will be on a voluntary basis.

• ·         The largest wind turbine manufacturer Suzlon Energy on 6 November 2014 installed the world’s tallest hybrid wind generator turbine in Kutch, Gujarat. The turbine will generate 12-15 percent more energy.
• ·         The 120-metre hybrid turbine is taller than conventional wind turbine towers by 40 metres. With this new turbine, the installed wind energy capacity at the Kutch region of Gujarat has gone up to 1100 MW. It makes it the Asia’s biggest wind energy park at one location.
• ·         This tower is ideal for low wind areas and the potential is huge. In the next three years, this region will have 2000 MW of wind energy capacity.
• ·         In 2008, the Suzlon Energy signed a memorandum of understanding with the Gujarat Government to set up 2000 MW of wind energy capacity in the state.

• ·         A US judge on Friday confirmed Detroit's plan to adjust $18 billion of debt and exit the biggest-ever municipal bankruptcy.
• ·         The ruling by US Bankruptcy Court Judge Steven Rhodes, who is overseeing the historic case, came more than two months after the start of a hearing to determine whether the 1,165-page plan was fair to creditors and feasible for the city to implement.
• ·         Speaking from the bench, Rhodes said the city acted in good faith when it proposed its plan to shed about $7 billion of debt and invest $1.7 billion over the next several years to improve services and attract residents and business.
• ·         Once a symbol of US industrial strength, Detroit fell on hard times due to population loss, rampant debt and financial mismanagement that left it unable to provide basic services to residents. During the 15-1/2-month bankruptcy process, the city even considered selling its historic collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts in order to pay off creditors.
• ·         Detroit's odyssey through Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy began on July 18, 2013, with major creditors girding for battle and has wound down in a flurry of settlements. A so-called Grand Bargain taps into $816 million from foundations, the Detroit Institute of Arts and the state of Michigan to ease pension cuts and protect city-owned art work from sale.
• ·         Two companies that guaranteed payments on Detroit bonds, Syncora Guarantee Inc and Financial Guaranty Insurance Co, received options to develop parcels of land.

• ·         The UN rights chief has accused Sri Lanka of sabotaging a UN-mandated war crimes probe into the country’s nearly three decades-long brutal civil, saying the refusal to cooperate with the investigation raises concerns about the integrity of the government.
• ·         “This continuing campaign of distortion and disinformation about the investigation, as well as the insidious attempts to prevent possible bona fide witnesses from submitting information to the investigating team, is an affront to the United Nations Human Rights Council which mandated the investigation,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.
• ·         He criticised the continuing attacks by the government on the integrity of the UN Human Rights Office’s ongoing investigation into the alleged grave human rights violations and abuses in Sri Lanka and condemned the intimidation of human rights defenders and individuals who may wish to cooperate with the investigation.
• ·         “The Government of Sri Lanka has refused point blank to cooperate with the investigation despite being explicitly requested by the Human Rights Council to do so,” Zeid said.

• ·         US President Barack Obama has decided to nominate Loretta Lynch as his new Attorney General, the White House press secretary has said, adding that a formal announcement would be made today.
• ·         If confirmed by the Senate, Lynch would succeed Eric Holder, whose tenure has been marked by historic gains in the areas of criminal justice reform and civil rights enforcement, Josh Earnest said yesterday.
• ·         “Ms Lynch is a strong, independent prosecutor who has twice led one of the most important US Attorney’s offices in the country,” Earnest said.
• ·         She is the current United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
• ·         Her name was considered among several top contenders including, Indian-American Preet Bharara, the high profile US Attorney in New York.

• ·         Badminton’s world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei has failed a doping test, a top Malaysian sports official said on Saturday.
• ·         Lee, who has been temporarily suspended pending a hearing by the Badminton World Federation’s doping panel, faces a potential two-year ban from competition.
• ·         Badminton Association of Malaysia deputy chairman Mohamad Norza Zakaria confirmed on Saturday that a test carried out on November 5 in Oslo on the B sample had backed up the positive finding of the A sample from a doping control at this year’s World Championships.
• ·         Mr. Zakaria declined to identify the player, however a senior Malaysian sports official confirmed to The Associated Press that it was Lee.
• ·         The Badminton World Federation would hear an expected challenge to the finding by the BMA and Lee.
• ·         Mr. Zakaria said the player tested positive for the banned substance dexamethasone, but the association believed he was innocent.