Current Affairs Update – 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 Nov, 2014

• ·        
  The United Bank of India (UBI) on Wednesday decided to continue with
  five free ATM transactions per month (including non-financial ones) at other
  bank ATMs for all savings account holders in both metros and non-metros.
• ·        
  According to a release issued by the bank, it has also decided to
  continue with free transactions at its own ATM network without levying any cap.
• ·        
  As per the new guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), banks in
  six metros – New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore – are
  free to charge other bank customers beyond 3 ATM transactions per month. Banks
  have also been allowed to restrict free transactions to 5 for customers at its
  own ATM network.
• ·        
  According to Sanjay Arya, Executive Director, UBI, by putting a further
  cap on ATM transactions may lead to increased footfall at branches thereby
  resulting in higher operating costs.

• ·        
  Senior IRS officer Anita Kapur was on 5 November 2014 appointed as the
  new chairperson of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex authority
  of the Income-Tax Department. She succeeded K V Chowdary who retired on 31
  October 2014.
• ·        
  Anita Kapur will be serving as the Chairperson of CBDT till November
  2015. Till now she was serving as Member 
  of Legislation and Computerisation and Income-Tax in CBDT.

• ·        
  At a meeting of insurance officials organised by the Insurance Ombudsman
  for Kerala and Lakshadweep here on Thursday, insurance companies agreed to put
  in place a system to address the grievances of policyholders.
• ·        
  Representatives of 34 insurance companies, including the LIC, attended
  the meeting. Ombudsman PK Vijayakumar discussed policyholders’ complaints.
• ·        
  Mis-selling of policies by agents, lapse or foreclosure of policies
  without proper notice to policyholders, high surrender charges levied for
  foreclosure, denial of claim on account of pre-existing illness, non-payment of
  interest for delay in settling claims, fabrication of evidence to reject
  claims, high-handedness of third-party administrators appointed by the
  companies and over-dependence on surveyor’s report to reject claims were some
  of the common complaints made by policyholders.
• ·        
  The meeting decided to set up a grievance redressal machinery for all
  insurance companies.

• ·        
  SEBI plans to allow foreign venture capital investors (FVCI) to invest
  in core investment companies (CIC) which fund the infrastructure sector.
• ·        
  CICs are companies which have their assets predominantly as investments
  in shares for holding stake in group companies which is neither for trading nor
  for carrying on any other financial activity.
• ·        
  Currently, venture capital investors are not allowed to invest in
  non-banking financial services (with certain exceptions). CICs are classified
  by the RBI as non-banking financial companies.
• ·        
  The proposal has been endorsed by the Government and the RBI and is one
  of the recommendations of High Level Committee on Financing of Infrastructure,
  said SEBI.
• ·        
  A consultative paper for amending the SEBI venture capital regulations
  has been put out for this purpose. The proposal is expected to infuse funds
  into the infrastructure sector and FVCI funds had already invested over ₹20,000
  crore or more than half their cumulative net investment in India’s
  infrastructure sector such as power, telecom, roads, bridges and urban
  infrastructure, said SEBI. According to 12th Five Year Plan, India requires an
  investment of about Rs 65 lakh crore in the infrastructure sector between 2012
  and 2017.
• ·        
  SEBI said the proposal was based on the fact that CICs were essentially
  holding companies and did not engage in financing activity similar to other
  NBFCs and, therefore, do not go against the intent of the FVCI regulations of
  not allowing FVCI investment in non-banking financial services.

• ·        
  Hasmukh Adhia was appointed as the Union Financial Services Secretary
  (FSS) on 3 November 2014. He is the 1981-batch IAS officer of Gujarat-cadre.
• ·        
  At the time of being appointed as FSS, Adhia was working as Additional
  Chief Secretary in the Finance Department of Gujarat government.
• ·        
  He succeeded GS Sandhu who was made the Chairman of the National
  Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention. Sandhu is a 1980-batch Rajasthan
  cadre IAS officer.
• ·        
  Adhia replaced Sandhu in a major bureaucratic reshuffle made by Union
  Government. In this reshuffling, government made over 60 Special and Joint
  Secretary-level appointments.

• ·        
  The mortgage financier HDFC became the first listed Indian company among
  the 30 SENSEX firms to have more than 75 percent shareholding by Foreign
  Institutional Investors (FIIs).
• ·        
  It happened after the FIIs raised their stake in the company to a
  record-high of nearly 78 percent during the July-September 2014 quarter.
• ·        
  Cumulative FII holdings in the company rose from 73.09 percent in
  July-September 2013 to 77.85 percent in the July-September 2014. In the
  April-June 2014 quarter, FIIs’ holding in HDFC stood at 77.36 percent.
• ·        
  Moreover, shareholding of FIIs in HDFC has been steadily rising since
  September 2013. The rise in the shareholding of the FIIs in the company is the
  result of smart returns given by the company.
• ·        
  The rise of overseas shareholding in the mortgage lender coincides with
  overall bullishness shown by foreign entities in the Indian stock market.
• ·        
  In the period July-September 2014, FIIs have invested more than 23000
  crore rupees in the Indian equities. This has happened on the back of ongoing
  reform initiatives taken by the Union government.
• ·        
  Further, the overall holding FIIs also rose to 88.17 percent during
  July-September 2014 from 88.01 percent at the end of 30 June 2014. The increase
  happened mostly on account of additional share purchases by FIIs.
• ·        
  The domestic institutional holdings stood at 10.32 percent as on 30
  September 2014 which is down from 10.65 percent in April-June 2014.

• ·        
  To clamp down on cheque-related fraud cases, the Reserve Bank today
  asked banks to alert account holders by a phone call and contact the base
  branch in case of non-home cheques before clearing high value payments.
• ·        
  The RBI also asked banks to send an SMS alert to payer/drawer when
  cheques are received for clearing and examine cheques under UV lamp for
  clearance beyond Rs 2 lakh. The central bank further said multi-level checking
  should be done before clearing cheques above Rs 5 lakh.
• ·        
  “Banks may consider the following preventive measures for dealing
  with suspicious or large value cheques: Alerting the customer by a phone call
  and getting the confirmation from the payer/drawer and contacting base branch
  in case of non-home cheques,” RBI said in a communication to banks.
• ·        
  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said directions have been issued in the
  wake of a rise in the number of cheque-related fraud cases. It said cases have
  been reported where even though original cheques were in the custody of account
  holders cheques in the same series were presented and encashed by fraudsters.

• ·        
  India and Russia on 5 November 2014 agreed to constitute a Joint Study
  Group (JSG) for Free Trade Zone with Eurasian Custom Union. The Eurasian Custom
  Union comprises of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
• ·        
  Both the sides agreed to constitute the JSG during the 20th India-Russia
  Inter-Governmental Commission meeting in New Delhi on 5 November 2014. The meet
  was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Russian Deputy
  Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.
• ·        
  During the meet, the two sides also decided to increase bilateral trade
  through the International North South Corridor Project (INSTC) that runs
  through Iran particularly in agriculture and food processing industry.
• ·        
  The two sides also signed a protocol to deepen bilateral cooperation in
  trade and economic spheres.
• ·        
  India and Russia also discussed the prospects of launching the joint
  production of Sukhoi Superjet-100 medium-haul airliners on Indian soil.
• ·        
  The interactions during the meet also served to review the preparations
  for the forthcoming visit of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir
  Putin to India for the 15th India-Russia Annual Summit. Putin will visit India
  in second week of December 2014.

• ·        
  Chinese PC maker Lenovo completed the acquisition of Motorola Mobility
  from Google on 30 October 2014. The deal, valued at 2.91 billion US dollars,
  was announced in February 2014.
• ·        
  Google had acquired Motorola Mobility a couple of years ago.
• ·        
  Following the acquisition, the Motorola will become a wholly owned
  subsidiary of Lenovo but will remain headquartered in Chicago’s Merchandise
  Mart.
• ·        
  The completion of acquisition by Lenovo will bring global scale, a
  diverse product portfolio and a track record of seizing strategic opportunities
  for the Motorola.
• ·        
  Further the acquisition will bring new boundaries of choice and value
  and new experiences to the consumers as both the companies have an impressive
  portfolio of smartphones, wearable and PCs.

• ·        
  Sanjay Baweja was on 5 November 2014 appointed as the Chief Financial
  Officer (CFO) of e-retailer Flipkart. The post of CFO was vacant in the company
  since 2013.
• ·        
  He will be part of the leadership team at Flipkart and will contribute
  to the overall organisational development along with defining the strategic
  roadmap for profitable revenue growth for Flipkart.
• ·        
  Earlier, he was Global CFO of Tata Communications.

• ·        
  Mallikarjun Kharge, a leader of Congress in Lok Sabha on 3 October 2014
  was inducted into the three-member CIC selection committee. The committee will
  select the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC).
• ·        
  The other two members of the committee are Prime Minister Narendra Modi
  (as head) and Union Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitely.
• ·        
  Kharge was inducted in the selection committee by virtue of being the
  leader of the single largest party in the opposition in Lok Sabha as there as
  there was a lack of clarity on the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha.
• ·        
  Till now, appointment of the CIC was on hold since 22 August 2014,
  because there was no clarity on the status of leader of opposition in Lok
  Sabha. For this purpose the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had
  sought a clarification from the Lok Sabha secretariat as early as June 2014.
• ·        
  In October 2014, the PMO directed the DoPT to issue an advertisement for
  the position. This fact was made public in response to an RTI application by
  Lokesh Batra.
• ·        
  The Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 says that CIC selection can be
  done by a three-member panel comprising the Prime Minister, who shall be the
  Chairperson of the committee, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and a cabinet
  minister nominated by the Prime Minister.
• ·        
  For removal of doubts, the Act has declared that where the Leader of
  Opposition in the House of the People has not been recognised as such, the
  Leader of the single largest group in opposition of the Government in the House
  of the People shall be deemed to be the Leader of Opposition.

• ·        
  Mithra Shakthi exercise: three week mock war drill between Special
  Forces of Indian and Sri Lankan Army
• ·        
  The special forces of Indian and Sri Lankan armies on 3 November 2014
  began a three-week long mock war drill at the Uva-Kudaoya Commando Regiment
  Training School near Colombo in the island nation. The exercise will continue till
  23 November 2014.
• ·        
  This exercise is a part of counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency in
  the island nation.
• Participants
  of the Mithra Shakti exercise
• •      
  India – more than 42 Indian Army personnel are taking part in the
  exercise 
• •      
  Sri Lanka – a contingent of 168 officers and other ranks from Sri Lanka
  Army Special Forces and Commando Regiment, accompanied by 16 officers and other
  ranks from Sri Lanka Navy and 16 officers and other ranks from Sri Lanka Air
  Force
• •      
  The exercise is seen as New Delhi’s attempts to advance a dialogue,
  which began with Colombo in 2012 to counter China’s growing influence in the
  region and is indicative of strengthening bilateral military relations.

• •      
  India is working on the inclusion of Mauritius in the group of countries
  to be listed in its Visa on Arrival scheme, External Affairs Minister Sushma
  Swaraj said today describing the bilateral ties as truly unique and
  extraordinary.
• •      
  “Mauritius was the first and largest recipient of indentured labour
  from India, and is home to the Aapravasi Ghat, a spiritual and emotional shrine
  to the memory of these brave souls,” Swaraj said at the inauguration of
  the International Conference on Indentured Labour Route Project here.
• •      
  “India’s relationship with Mauritius is truly unique and
  extraordinary, and is anchored in the footsteps imprinted on the sixteen steps
  of the Aapravasi Ghat by the first Indians that landed there 180 years
  back,” she said.

• •      
  Veteran Bollywood actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar who is known for his stellar
  performances in villainous roles in movies like Sadak, Ishq and Ardh Satya,
  died on Monday morning at the Kokilaben Dhirbubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai.
• •      
  Reema Amrapurkar, Sadashiv’s daughter, had earlier said that the actor
  was on life support ventilator, in a critical condition. Reema is a director
  and her short film Janani was screened at Cannes Film festival, 2010.  Based on female foeticide and sex
  determination, Janani was adjudged the best short film at International Film
  Festival of India, 2009, which was held in Goa.
• •      
  Born as Ganesh Kumar Narwode, the actor adopted the stage name Sadashiv
  Amrapurkar in 1974 and made a mark on theatre as well as the silver screen with
  his spine-chilling performances in negative roles. The 64-year-old actor is
  best known for his performances in Sadak and Ardh Satya. His performance in
  Ardh Satya (1983) as don Rama Shetty won him the Filmfare award for Best
  Supporting Actor. Sadashiv was also the first actor to receive the Filmfare
  award for ‘Best Performance in a Negative Role’ for his portrayal of Maharani,
  an evil eunuch running a brothel, in the Sanjay Dutt-starrer Sadak in 1991.
• •      
  Amrapurkar began his acting career in theatre where directed and acted
  in nearly fifty plays. Sadashiv got his first onscreen break in Marathi film 22
  June 1897 in which he played Bal Gangadhar Tilak. It was Govind Nihlani’s Ardh
  Satya that gave Amrapurkar his first Hindi onscreen appearance. He left a
  remarkable impression with his acting prowess. The actor moved on to comic
  roles in the 90s and worked in Aankhen, Aunty No 1 and several other films. His
  last onscreen appearance was in Bombay Talkies where he did a cameo in the
  short film by Dibakar Banerjee.

• •      
  Shedding the colonial name, Bangalore today became Bengaluru
  synchronising with the state formation day “Karnataka Rajyotsava”.
• •      
  In tandem, 11 other cities across Karnataka were also rechristened by
  the state government, casting away the anglicised names.
• •      
  The new names have come into force after the state government issued a
  special gazette notification to effect the changes, giving them the distinct
  local flavour.
• •      
  Now Bangalore will be called Bengaluru, Mangalore (Mangaluru), Mysore
  (Mysuru), Bellary (Ballari), Belgaum (Belagavi), Hubli (Hubballi), Tumkur
  (Tumakuru), Bijapur (Vijayapura), Chikmagalur (Chikkamagaluru), Gulbarga (Kalaburagi),
  Hospet (Hosapete) and Shimoga (Shivamogga).
• •      
  In the ninth century, Bangalore was called Bengaval-uru (city of
  guards). In the 12th century, according to another legend, it became Benda-kaalu-ooru
  (town of boiled beans).
• •      
  According to an apocryphal, 12th century Hoysala king Veera Ballala II
  lost his way during a hunting expedition in a forest. A poor old woman offered
  him boiled beans to the tired king, who with a sense of gratitude called the
  place “benda-kaalu-uru”.
• •      
  Kempegowda, a feudatory ruler under the erstwhile Vijayanagara Empire,
  was considered the founder of Bangalore. He chose Bendakaluru for his capital
  in early 16th century, which transformed into Bengaluru and in colonial times,
  and during British rule became Bangalore.
• •      
  The city has in recent decades metamorphosed into the country’s IT
  capital, earning it the tag the Silicon Valley of India, as also as Biotech
  capital, after its earlier forms as a Pensioner’s Paradise and Garden City.
• •      
  With explosive growth and cracking infrastructure, the city has now
  earned the notorious distinction as “Garbage City”. Bengaluru is also
  evolving as a “StartUp City”, incubating the new ventures.

• •      
  Prime Minister Narendra Modi charmed the residents of Jayapur, a village
  he has adopted under the Sansad Adarsh gram Yojana scheme for MPs. While making
  connecting with the cheering crowd, Mr. Modi said that he had come there with a
  request to adopt him.
• •      
  “It’s a privilege to be associated with Jayapur village. I am not
  adopting Jayapur but I request you to adopt your MP,” said Mr. Modi who flew to
  Jayapur after stopping in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency, where he
  urged residents to think of him as their “sevak”.
• •      
  Mr. Modi is on a visit to Varanasi which is also the first visit of the
  Prime Minister to his parliamentary constituency since it voted him in the May
  General Election.
• •      
  “We have introduced Sansad Adarsh gram Yojana scheme for MPs, even I had
  to take responsibility as part of this. Jayapur took special place in my heart
  long time ago. An MP does not adopt a village. A village adopts an MP,” the
  Prime Minister further added.
• •      
  The Prime Minister also explained why he chose Jayapur, a village about
  25 kilometers from the ancient temple town of Varanasi.

• •      
  Telangana Finance Minister Rajinder on 5 November 2014 speared the first
  budget of the state in the Assembly. The state government proposed an
  expenditure of 100637 crore rupees for the financial year 2014-15.
• •      
  Out of the proposed expenditure, the total plan expenditure is of 48648
  crore rupees and non-plan expenditure is of 51989 crore rupees.
• •      
  The amount of 100 crore rupees was allocated towards financial
  assistance for the families of 459 martyrs who laid down their lives for the
  separate state.

• •      
  The Twentieth Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission
  on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation
  (IRIGC-TEC) was held in New Delhi on 5 November 2014.
• •      
  The chairwoman from the Indian side was Minister of External Affairs,
  Sushma Swaraj and the chairman from the Russian side was Dmitry Rogozin, Deputy
  Prime Minister of Russian Federation.
• •      
  The Commission reviewed the progress on a broad spectrum of bilateral
  issues including trade, economic, scientific, technological and cultural
  cooperation and suggested actions for realizing the full potential of this
  important relationship.
• •      
  The next session of the IRIGC-TEC will be held in Moscow in 2015.

• •      
  A Joint Study Group for the proposed agreement between India and the
  Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation for trade in
  goods and services.
• •      
  Enhancement of bilateral trade through the International North South
  Corridor Project (INSTC) by freight forwarders and exporters particularly to
  bolster trade in agriculture and food processing industry.
• •      
  Maintain the momentum of cooperation in some priority areas such as
  hydrocarbons, coking coal, fertilizers, mining, civil aviation, infrastructure
  and trade in rough diamonds;
• •      
  Joint cooperation between the Indian company National Mineral
  Development Corporation (NMDC) and the Russian company ACRON for development of
  potassium and magnesium deposits in Talitsky mine in Perm region of Russia and
  Partomchorr apatite-nepheline ore deposit (Murmansk region);
• •      
  Proposals for establishment of a Smart City in India by the Russian
  company manufacture of lighting equipment for general and special purpose in
  Karnataka, India.
• •      
  It also proposed to include group of telecommunication satellites NextStar
  on geostationary orbit of the Earth on the basis of low budget platform.

• •      
  The Union Cabinet on 6 October 2014 gave its approval for signing a
  treaty on transfer of sentenced persons between India and Nigeria. The treaty
  for the transfer of prisoners was approved under the Repatriation of Prisoners
  Act, 2003 passed by the Union government for this purpose in 2003.
• •      
  The treaty will facilitate Indian prisoners imprisoned in Nigeria or
  vice-versa to be near their families, for serving the remaining part of their
  sentence and shall facilitate their social rehabilitation.
• •      
  The same kind of negotiations has also been concluded with the
  Governments of Canada, Hong Kong, Australia and Spain.
• •      
  So far India has singed such Agreements with the United Kingdom,
  Mauritius, Bulgaria, Brazil, Cambodia, Egypt, France, Bangladesh, South Korea,
  Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, the UAE, Maldives, Thailand, Turkey,
  Italy, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Israel, Russia and Vietnam.

• •      
  The Commemorative Postage stamp on Liver Transplantation in India was
  released on 4 November 2014 by the Department of Posts and Union Ministry of Communications
  & IT in New Delhi.
• •      
  The patient who had undergone first successful liver transplantation in
  India in 1998 Sanjay Kandaswamy was also present on the occasion.
• •      
  The release of a commemorative postage stamp acknowledges the progress
  and milestones achieved by the Indian medical fraternity in the field of Liver
  transplantation in the span of the last 15 years.

• •      
  Mumbai recorded the largest number of internet users in India in 2014.
  This was revealed by a study conducted by the Internet & Mobile Association
  of India (IAMAI) and released on 4 November 2014.
• •      
  According to the study, Mumbai recorded 16.4 million internet users
  surpassing Delhi and Kolkata. Delhi recorded 12.15 million internet users and
  Kolkata recorded 6.27 million internet users.
• •      
  Bangalore with 5.99 million internet users and Chennai with 5.58 million
  internet users are fourth and fifth respectively.

• •      
  The United States (US) on 3 November 2014 became the partner country for
  Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit 2015.
• •      
  US will be the eighth country to partner the event. Other partner
  countries include UK, Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Singapore, South Africa
  and Japan. The members of US India Business Counsil (USBIC) and CEOs of Fortune
  500 companies will also be taking part.

• •      
  The Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and the
  International Labour Organization (ILO) on 3 November 2014 signed a Memorandum
  of Understanding (MoU) to support the Make in India Initiative of Union
  Government.

• •      
  The MoU is initially signed for a 5-year period to support the Make in
  India programme of Union Government.
• •      
  The MoU will form the basis for a technical partnership with the primary
  objective of creating more and better quality employment in India.
• •      
  The activities will be focused around three priority areas-
  entrepreneurship development, good workplace practices for improving
  productivity and enhancing integration into global supply chains
• •      
  The MoU will also focus on research and knowledge-building related to
  sustainable enterprises and formalization strategies.

• •      
  Rapid urbanisation is expected to create another 15 metropolitan cities
  over the next decade. By 2025, India’s 69 metropolitan cities, combined with
  their hinterlands, will generate over half its incremental GDP between 2012 and
  2025, and just over half of its incremental consuming class households,
  according to a report by Global Consultancy firm McKinsey & Company.
• •      
  The report titled ‘India’s Economic Geography in 2025: States, Clusters
  and Cities’, which asserts that a granular understanding of India’s market
  potential and strategies tailored for the same will help companies emerge
  winners, has identified key economic and business growth hotspots for the
  period up to 2025 after analysing 29 Indian States and 7 Union Territories in
  the country. The emerging cities include Jamnagar, Dehradun, Cuttak, Bhavnagar,
  Kolhapur, Vellore, Amaravati, Ajmer, Udaipur, Sangli, Nanded and Mangalore.
• •      
  The report has also defined metropolitan clusters as groups of districts
  that have high economic potential are contiguous such that each cluster
  represents a serviceable market, and have a metropolitan district as the
  nucleus. Example: The Nagpur cluster and Kolkata cluster, for example extend
  beyond the metropolitan districts that they stretch across and include the
  adjacent five and six districts respectively.
• •      
  With those parameters, it has identified 49 metropolitan clusters spread
  across the country.
• •      
  These clusters are expected to account for about 77 per cent of
  incremental GDP by 2025.

• •      
  US Navy SEAL commando who shot Osama bin Laden at his Pakistan hideout
  in Abbottobad on 2 May 2011 revealed his identity. He is Robert O’Neill who
  shot three bullets into the head of al Qaeda’s kingpin.
• •      
  O’Neill, 38, revealed his identity in an interview to the Washington
  Post and informed that he fired the fatal shot.
• •      
  He revealed his identity ahead of a two-part Fox News series dubbed as
  The Man Who Killed Osama bin Laden. The series was supposed to be launched by
  the end of November 2014.
• •      
  His decision to come out and speak as the shooter of Laden has angered SEAL
  headquarters and Pentagon.
• •      
  O’Neill has completed more than 400 combat missions and has killed more
  than 30 targets in 16 years of service. He is one of the most-decorated SEALs
  ever. His heroic actions have been featured in three movies namely Zero Dark
  Thirty, Captain Phillips and Lone Survivor.
• •      
  Before O’Neill, another Navy SEAL Matt Bissonnette made some details of
  Osama raid and in 2012 he published a book titled No Easy Day authored under
  the name Mark Owen.

• •      
  World Trade Center of the United States on 3 November 2014 re-opened its
  new tower for business. The tower was reopened for business thirteen years
  after the original twin towers were destroyed in the 9/11 terrorist attack.
• •      
  It took eight long years to build New York’s World Trade Center at an
  expense of 3.8 4 billion US dollar. It is now the tallest building in the US.
• •      
  The 104-storey building is the centrepiece of the 16-acre site where the
  twin towers once stood, before they came crashing down on 11 September 2001,
  killing about 3000 people.
• •      
  At present, almost 60 percent of the building is leased and employees of
  the publishing giant Conde Nast have started moving in. Executive Director of
  the Port Authority, which owns the restored site, said that the building is the
  most secure office building in America.

• •      
  The International Textile Fair begins in Dubai today. More than 200
  exhibitors from all over the world including India will showcase their latest
  fashion designs, fabrics and clothing at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The
  first dedicated international textile show in the Gulf region has brought
  together textile manufacturers and designers from India, China, Pakistan,
  Turkey, Indonesia, Italy and other countries at one platform. The ITF The
  textile fair provides a platform for buyers and designers to view the showcased
  latest trims and accessories, from current ranges to pre-collections of the
  2015 edition.
• •      
  The founder President of Dubai Textile City and the Textile Merchants
  Association of India Ashok Sawlani told AIR in Dubai that the textile trade in
  Dubai amounts to around 400 million Dirhams per month which is equal to around
  850 crores rupees per month and around 10,000 crore rupees per annum. 10
  percent of the textile material is used in Dubai and UAE while the rest is
  meant for exports and or re-exports. Indian textile mills account for nearly 85
  percent of the Indian traders in Dubai account for nearly 20 percent of the
  business. He said there is a lot of potential for Indian textiles in Dubai with
  a large expatriate community from Indian sub-continent and a growing demand
  from the local population in the gulf region.
• •      
  Dubai aims to be one of the premier platform for fashion, fabrics and
  clothing. It offers buyers, distributors and designers the opportunity to view
  a huge range of textiles from the most prestigious textile mills all over the
  world, all under one roof. The organizers of the event said it has attracted
  designers, buyers and product developers to source and develop new and exciting
  products with inspirational, relevant and directional collections. ITF Dubai
  also has dedicated segments for digital prints, machine embroidery, haute
  couture fabrics and new innovations.

• •      
  Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will be awarded ‘The Grand
  Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers’, after becoming the first Indian
  to receive the rare honour.
• •      
  He has been chosen for one of Japan’s top national awards for his
  significant contribution to the enhancement of relations and promotion of friendship
  between Japan and India for about 35 years.
• •      
  Acknowledging the award, Singh said he is truly honoured and feels
  humbled by the love and affection showered upon him by the people and
  government of Japan.
• •      
  He said it had been his dream to see India-Japan relationship grow and
  prosper.

• •      
  India on 29 October 2014 was re-elected to United Nations Economic and
  Social Council (ECOSOC). India’s term at ECOSOC was scheduled to end in 2014.
• •      
  Apart from India, the other countries which were re-elected are Austria,
  Burkina Faso, France, Germany, Greece, Japan and Portugal.
• •      
  India was re-elected after getting 183 votes, the highest in the Asia
  Pacific group, followed by Japan and Pakistan with 181 votes each.
• •      
  India had competed in the Asia-Pacific group in which four seats were up
  for election and it received 162 votes, the highest number in the Asia-Pacific
  group.
• •      
  Besides, the General Assembly also elected 10 other members in addition
  to the re-elected members. The countries which were elected are Argentina,
  Austria, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Estonia, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece,
  Honduras, Japan, Mauritania, Pakistan, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda
  and Zimbabwe.
• •      
  These 18 countries were elected to replace the 18 outgoing members. They
  are Austria, Belarus, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El
  Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lesotho,
  Libya, Nigeria and Portugal. These 18 elected members will serve three-year
  terms. The term will begin from 1 January 2015.

• •      
  Indian-origin British politician Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz known
  as Keith Vaz was on 6 November 2014 named as the Labour MP of the year 2014.
• •      
  He was choosen for this award for his valuable work for
  underrepresented, deprived and minority sections of the country.
• •      
  Speaker of the house John Bercow announced the Patchwork Foundation MPs
  of the Year 2014 at Speakers House.  The
  awards were announced for those who have represented and worked with
  underrepresented, deprived and minority communities across the country.

• •      
  Scientists from the University of Texas on 4 November 2014 confirmed
  that the World’s first inhalable Ebola vaccine passed animal tests.
• •      
  Professor Maria Croyle along with Dr Gary Kobinger at the National
  Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg confirmed the tests.
• •      
  The vaccine has shown a long-term protection for non-human primates
  against the deadly Ebola virus. Results from a recent pre-clinical study
  represent the only proof to date that a single dose of a non-injectable vaccine
  platform for Ebola is long lasting, which could have significant global implications
  in controlling future outbreaks.

• •      
  The Forbes list of the World’s Most Powerful People 2014 was released on
  5 November 2014. The list gives the annual ranking of the World’s 72 Most Powerful
  People on the basis of their financial resources, scope and use of power and
  the number of people they impact.
• •      
  The list features 17 heads who run nations with a combined GDP of around
  48 trillion US dollars.
• •      
  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his debut in the world’s most
  powerful people list. He ranked 15th on the Forbes list. Modi was credited for
  the massive reconstruction projects in his home state of Gujarat. His
  administration promises to bring economic rejuvenation to other beleaguered
  parts of India.
• •      
  The next Indian on the list is Mukesh Ambani at 36th rank. Ambani has
  business ventures in petrochemicals, manufacturing, oil and gas production, and
  now wireless sectors.

• 1.    
  Vladimir Putin – Russia
• 2.    
  Barack Obama United – States
• 3.    
  Xi Jinping – China
• 4.    
  Pope Francis – Roman Catholic Church
• 5.    
  Angela Merkel – Germany

• •      
  Indonesia on 3 November 2014 announced to support the establishment of
  Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The decision to
  support was announced after the meeting of Indonesian President Joko Widodo
  with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Presidential Palace in
  Jakarta.
• •      
  This was the first trip of Chinese FM Wang Yi to Indonesia since the
  inauguration of President Joko Jokowi Widodo.
• •      
  Moreover, both the countries are also looking ahead to develop
  China-Indonesia relation, as the two countries are strategic partners.
• •      
  The decision to enter and contribute to the bank was taken because
  Indonesia believes that infrastructure financing in Asia and Indonesia cannot
  be achieved through existing multilateral institutions, such as the Asian
  Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank.
• •      
  By joining AIIB, Jokowi will be able to brighten his chances of
  fulfilling his campaign promises. During the campaign, Jokowi had promised to
  construct 2000 kilometres of new roads, 10 airports, 10 new ports and establish
  10 new economic zones.

• •      
  Indian-American Niraj Antani on 5 November 2014 was elected to the Ohio
  House of Representatives. With this, he became one of the youngest state
  lawmakers in the US. He is 23.
• •      
  A law student at the University of Dayton, he is the youngest Ohio State
  legislature so far. He defeated 62-year-old Patrick Morris of the Democratic
  Party.
• •      
  He is the second Indian American — after Jay Goyal who served 3 terms
  from 2006 from the 73rd District — in the Ohio House.
• •      
  Meanwhile, Saira Blair at 18 is America’s youngest elected lawmaker as a
  delegate in the West Virginia House. She defeated a 44-year-old attorney for
  the spot in the House of Delegates.
• •      
  Blair won her election with 63 per cent of the votes and will represent
  a small district in West Virginia’s eastern panhandle.
• •      
  There are more than 7300 state legislators in the US, and fewer than
  five per cent are under the age of 30, according to Morgan Cullen, a policy
  analyst at the National Conference of State Legislatures.
• •      
  The average age in Congress is 57, and the average age in the United
  States Senate is 62.

• •      
  Fourth International Counter-Piracy Conference was held in Dubai from 29
  – 30 October 2014. The theme of the Conference was Securing State Recovery:
  Sustaining Momentum at Sea, Confronting Instability Land. It sought to address
  the challenges, and current concerns regarding maritime piracy.
• •      
  The Conference was hosted by UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs in
  partnership with global marine terminal operator DP World. The Conference
  addressed the challenges, and current concerns regarding maritime piracy.
• •      
  It was attended by more than 600 delegates including attendees from over
  50 Government and non-governmental organisations.

• •      
  Central Zone won the 2014-15 Duleep Trophy title of cricket on 2
  November 2014 by defeating South Zone in the finals played at Feroz Shah Kotla
  Ground, Delhi with 9 runs. This was the first Duleep title for Central zone in
  ten seasons and the narrowest win in the tournament’s history, in terms of
  runs.
• •      
  South Zone, while chasing a victory target of 301 in the second innings
  of the final match were all out for 291 in 88.4 over.

• •      
  Central Zone: Piyush Chawla
• •      
  South Zone: Vinay Kumar
•  
• •      
  K Rahul was adjudged as the Man-of-the-match for his knocks of 185 and
  130 in the final.

• •      
  Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on 5 November 2014 was named
  as the captain of ICC ODI Team of the Year 2014. He has been selected in the
  ICC ODI team of the year for the eight time (seventh year in a row), while
  fifth year as a captain of the team.

• •      
  Mohammad Hafeez (Pakistan)
• •      
  Quinton de Kock (South Africa)
• •      
  Virat Kohli (India)
• •      
  George Bailey (Australia)
• •      
  AB de Villiers (South Africa)
• •      
  MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper) (captain)
• •      
  Dwayne Bravo (West Indies)
• •      
  James Faulkner (Australia)
• •      
  Dale Steyn (South Africa)
• •      
  Mohammad Shami (India)
• •      
  Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka)
• •      
  Rohit Sharma (India) (12th man)

• •      
  The selected ICC ODI team was chosen by a specially appointed selection
  panel chaired by the ICC’s Cricket Committee chairman and former India captain
  Anil Kumble. Other members of the committee were Jonathan Agnew, a former
  England international and now a respected broadcaster/journalist, ex-Sri Lanka
  opener Russel Arnold, former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming, and Betty
  Timmer, former Chair of the ICC Women’s Committee.

• •      
  Sachin Tendulkar’s autobiography Playing It My Way was launched on 5
  November 2014 in Mumbai. The book was unveiled by Sachin himself in the
  presence of some of his former teammates, celebrities and family members.
• •      
  Earlier, Sachin gave first copy of the book to his mother Rajni, while
  at the launch he presented a copy to his mentor and childhood coach Ramakant
  Achrekar in the presence of his daughter Sara.
• •      
  Before the launch of the book, cricket analyst and host of the launch
  occasion, Harsha Bhogle had three panel discussion sessions with Sachin’s
  former teammates and family, who feature in the book. The first panel
  discussion was attended by former Indian captains Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar,
  Ravi Shastri and former Mumbai cricketer Vasu Paranjape. Others who joined him
  on stage were Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman.

• •      
  Sri Lankan cricket captain Angelo Mathews on 5 November 2014 was named
  as captain of the ICC Test Team of the Year 2014.

• •      
  David Warner (Australia)
• •      
  Kane Williamson (New Zealand)
• •      
  Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
• •      
  AB de Villiers (South Africa)
• •      
  Joe Root (England)
• •      
  Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka) (captain)
• •      
  Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
• •      
  Stuart Broad (England)
• •      
  Dale Steyn (South Africa)
• •      
  Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka)
• •      
  Tim Southee (New Zealand)
• •      
  Ross Taylor (New Zealand) (12th man)

• •      
  The ICC Test team of the Year was chosen by a specially appointed
  selection panel chaired by the ICC’s Cricket Committee chairman and former
  India captain Anil Kumble. The selection panel also included Jonathan Agnew, a
  former England international and now a respected broadcaster/journalist, ex-Sri
  Lanka opener Russel Arnold, former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming, and
  Betty Timmer, former Chair of the ICC Women’s Committee.

• •      
  India fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar on 5 November 2014 won LG People’s
  Choice Award 2014. He is the third Indian player to win the coveted prize and
  overall fourth cricketer to win this prize.
• •      
  Earlier the award has been won by Sachin Tendulkar (first-ever recipient
  in 2010), Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara (in 2011 and 2012), and Indian captain
  Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2013).

• •      
  England women’s captain Charlotte Edwards
• •      
  Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson
• •      
  Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews
• •      
  South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn