Current Affairs Update – 9-10th May, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the current affairs of 9th and 10th May, 2015.

• Mortgage lender HDFC has emerged the only Indian company among the world’s 10 biggest consumer financial services firms, after giants like American Express, Visa and Mastercard.
• HDFC is ranked 7th on the list, compiled by business magazine Forbes, where American Express is placed on the top followed by Capital One Financial, Visa, Discover Financial Services and Orix in the top-five. Mastercard is ranked sixth.
• HDFC is followed by CIT Group of the US at eighth position, Taiwan’s Hua Nan Financial at 9th and China’s Franshion Properties is at the 10th place.
• Others ranked lower include Samsung Card, Kaisa Group, Orient, Nelnet, Jabal Omar Development and KWG Property.
• The list is part of Forbes’ annual compilation of 2,000 biggest and most powerful companies globally, which includes a total of 56 companies from India across various sectors.
• In the overall list, HDFC is ranked 485th, while Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries leads the pack of the Indian companies at 142nd overall position.
• Among other sector-specific lists, there is no Indian entity on the list of biggest major banks topped by China’s ICBC.
• For the regional banks, China Construction Bank tops the chart, while India’s SBI is ranked 22nd, ICICI Bank is at 29th place and HDFC Bank is at 40th position.
• For oil and gas sector, Reliance Industries is ranked 15th globally, while ExxonMobil is on the top.
• In Computer Services, Google tops the list and India’s TCS is at 7th place, followed by Coginzant at 9th and Infosys at 10th position.

• State-run SIDBI and the Maharashtra Government have set up a Rs. 200-crore venture capital fund with a view to providing easy financing options to micro, small and medium entrepreneurs (MSMEs), which traditionally face hurdles in formal sources of funding.
• While the state has committed to contributing Rs. 75 crore towards the fund, the rest will be raised from banks and other financial institutions.
• The investment will be in the form of equity and we will have a share in the firm and also take risk along with the entrepreneur.
• Meanwhile, Maharashtra has also decided to come up with a dedicated industrial policy for MSMEs to provide them all the necessary incentives and facilities in setting up their businesses in the state.

• A strategically important new Naval base — INS Sardar Patel — was on Saturday commissioned in Porbandar, which Navy chief R.K. Dhowan said will help boost security of Gujarat’s 1600-km coastline.
• The base was commissioned by Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, who used the occasion to mount an attack on the earlier UPA government, accusing it of ignoring the security concerns on the state coastline.
• Ms. Patel unveiled the plaque and read the commissioning warrant of the new base which is second in the state for the Indian Navy after INS Dwarka near Okha.
• Speaking at the event, Mr. Dhowan said the new base will help Gujarat strengthen security on its coastline.

• Ramkumar Ramanathan and Vijay Sundar Prashanth won the prestigious T.K. Ramanathan award at the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association annual day function held at SDAT-Nungambakkam Stadium here on Friday. Both received Rs. 15,000 each.
• While Ramkumar — with good performances on the ATP and ITF circuits — reached a world ranking of 226, Vijay’s good display in the 2015 Aircel Chennai Open — he qualified for the main draw — and two back-to-back ITF titles in Tiruchi and Chennai, improved his rankings to 397.
• Vijay, however, couldn’t make it to the function due to prior commitments. Speaking to The Hindu, Ramkumar said his focus will now be more on the Challengers.

• The International Advertising Association has recognised two champions from India for the 2015 IAA Inspire Awards.
• The IAA award winners are Srinivasan Swamy, Chairman, RK Swamy BBDO and President, India Chapter IAA, and Ramesh Narayan, an industry veteran and Hall of Fame awardee at the IAA Leadership Award in 2014, according to a press release.
• They will be honoured in London at the 2015 IAA Awards Gala Dinner, immediately following the Leadership Forum on May 18 at the InterContinental Hotel, Park Lane, London.
• The Awards were created to celebrate IAA members who have contributed their professional expertise and inspired the marketing communications industry locally, regionally and globally, the release said.

• Yuki Bhambri partnering Adrian Menendez-Maceiras of Spain clinched the doubles title with a 5-7, 6-3, 10-8 victory over second seeds Sergey Betov of Belarus and Mikhail Elgin of Russia in the $50,000 Challenger tennis tournament in Karshi, Uzbekistan, on Saturday.
• It was the fifth Challenger doubles title for the 22-year-old Yuki, who has also won three Challenger singles titles.
• The title was worth $3100 and 90 ATP points, and the runners-up collected $1800 and 55 ATP points.
• After having played on indoor carpet and hard court over the last fortnight, Yuki moved to the $50,000 Samarkhand Challenger, to compete on red clay from Monday, in preparation for the French Open.
• Dhruthi Venugopal won her maiden ITF women’s doubles title as she partnering Britt Geukens of Belgium beat top seeds Ola Abou Zekry of Egypt and Anastasia Kharchenko of Ukraine 6-2, 7-6(7) in the final of the $10,000 ITF women’s tournament in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

• State Government of Haryana on 9 May 2015 included Deaflympics in its Sports Policy. It was included to enable Deaflympian medalists to get cash rewards, jobs and other benefits.
• Decision to this effect to include Deaflympics in sports policy was taken during a state cabinet meet chaired by Chief Minister Manohar Lal at Chandigarh.
• Deaflympics, previously known as World Games for the Deaf and International Games for the Deaf, is an event sanctioned by International Olympic Committee (IOC). Its participants are deaf athletes and they compete at an elite level.

• Book titled Unbelievable – Delhi to Islamabad authored by senior Advocate Prof. Bhim Singh was released on 8 May 2015 by Vice President M Hamid Ansari in New Delhi.
• The book, a travelogue is an effort initiated by the lawyers of India and Pakistan to work jointly to ensure that Pakistani prisoners languishing in Indian jails are treated in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution of India. Similarly, the same treatment should be mended for the Indian prisoners on Pakistan and they should be given fair trials.

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