Current Affairs Update – 13th October, 2015

• National Executive Council (NEC)  of the National Mission for a Green India
  (GIM) on 9 October 2015 approved the Perspective Plans & Annual Plan of
  Operations (APOs) submitted by four States, namely Mizoram, Manipur, Jharkhand
  and Kerala.
• The plans were approved during the second
  meeting of NEC of GIM.
• Approval was granted for alternative energy
  devices such as biogas, solar devices, LPG, biomass-based systems and improved
  stoves for 27032 households for the financial year 2015-16 and 81233 households
  for the total plan period. This will help in reducing pressure on forests,
  gaining carbon benefits, along with health and other associated benefits.

•  The
  plans have been approved with a total financial outlay of 90202.68 lakh rupees
  for a period of 5 to 10 years.
•  APOs
  of 11195.32 lakh rupees have been also approved for financial year 2015-16.
•  The
  total forest and non-forest area taken up in the four states under GIM during
  the total plan period will be 108335 hectares.
•  Out
  of the total forest and non-forest area, 81939 hectares will be improving the
  density of existing forests and 16396 hectares will be new areas.

• The Gujarat Government on 12 October 2015
  proposed a 15375 crore rupees comprehensive action plan to ensure basic
  infrastructure in 31 cities under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban
  Transformation (AMRUT) in the next five years.
• Out of this proposed amount, 42 percent
  will be spent on providing water supply connections to all urban households in
  31 AMRUT cities, 30 percent will be spent on providing sewerage connections to
  all households and 12 percent will be spent on ensuring drainage services and
  the rest on urban transport and provision of green spaces and parks.
• Keeping in mind the low availability of
  sewerage network services in the Mission states, the state government also
  intends to set up 19 STPs(Sewerage Treatment Plants) at a total cost of 4721.57
  crore rupees to create a total treatment capacity of 869 million litres per
  day.

• India on 12 October 2015 granted a cheque
  of 5 million US dollars to the Palestinian government as a budgetary support.
  The grant was handed over by Indian President Pranab Mukherjee  during his visit to Palestine.
• Both countries also announced five projects
  worth 17.79 million US dollars aimed at capacity building in the Palestinian
  territories. The projects include a 12 million US dollars techno park, a 4.5
  million US dollars Palestine Institute for Diplomacy and a 1 million US dollars
  India-Palestine Centre for Excellence in Gaza.
• Mukherjee also reiterated India’s support
  to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis based on negotiations with UN Security
  Council resolutions.

• India on 12 October 2015 signed a deal,
  worth 105.5 crore rupees, with Pipistrel, a Slovenian firm, for 194 micro-light
  aircraft to be used by Indian Air Force, the Navy and the National Cadet Corps
  (NCC).
• The contract has been signed with the firm
  for Virus SW 80/100. However, the Indian version of the aircraft will be
  renamed as Garud.
• The deal is signed after four years of
  protracted negotiations with the Slovenian firm meeting all the requirements
  put forth by India.
• As per the deal, the entire quantity of 194
  aircrafts must be delivered within 30 months from the day of the first
  delivery.
• The contract incorporates an option for an
  additional 100 aircrafts within the third year if the buyer requests them.
• It was in 2011 that India issued a Request
  for Proposal (RfP) for the micro-light aircrafts.

• India has drafted guidelines to regulate
  ride-hailing companies, including U.S.-based Uber and its domestic rival Ola,
  for the first time laying down federal rules that could end months of
  uncertainty on how they operate in the country.
• The federal transportation ministry has
  asked states to ensure companies operate with call centres and their taxis
  follow emission norms, according to a six-page advisory issued last week and
  reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday.
• The guidelines also call for extensive
  background checks of drivers to ensure passenger safety. Any person who has in
  the past been convicted of any “cognizable offence” under India’s
  criminal laws should not be allowed to become a driver.
• Although it is not yet clear whether the
  guidelines will be binding on the states and much uncertainty still remains,
  Uber and Ola both welcomed the move as a step in the right direction.
• Ola, backed by Japan’s Softbank, called the
  advisory a “progressive directive” that will help it work closely
  with different states. Uber said the guidelines were a “big leap” in
  recognising regulations for such companies.

• Indian IT giant, Infosys, on 12 October
  2015 appointed Ranganath Dwarakanath Mavinakere as its Chief Financial Officer
  (CFO). The appointment came after the resignation of Rajiv Bansal from the
  post.
• However, Bansal will continue as an advisor
  to the CEO and the Board through 31 December 2015 to provide a smooth
  transition.
• Mavinakere has about 18 years of experience
  in banking and IT services industries.
• Before the appointment, he held the
  positions of Executive Vice President and the Head of Strategic Operations, and
  looked over the functions of Strategy Planning, Risk Management, Corporate
  Marketing, and M&A. He also led the cost optimization initiative of the
  company as part of the Chairman’s Office.

• P S Jayakumar, the former chief executive
  of VBHC Value Homes, today took charge as the new MD and CEO of the state-owned
  Bank of Baroda for three years.
• “Bank of Baroda has said P S Jayakumar
  has assumed the charge of the office of Managing Director and CEO, Bank of
  Baroda, on October 13, 2015,” it said in a filing on BSE.
• Jayakumar, 53, has taken over as the chief
  of BoB at a time when the bank is under the investigation glare for an alleged
  fraud and black money transactions worth over Rs 6,000 crore.
• Last week, it was alleged that a whopping
  Rs 6,172 crore was remitted from Bank of Baroda to Hong Kong camouflaged as
  payments for non-existent imports like cashew, pulses and rice. The amount was
  allegedly deposited in 59 accounts in cash as advance for imports that never
  existed.
• However, the bank’s Executive director B B
  Joshi yesterday clarified that the amount being mentioned was
  “exaggerated” and the actual amount involved was only half of it.

• Reliance Group company Reliance Power has
  appointed N Venugopala Rao as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Rao, an MBA in
  Finance & Marketing, is a power sector professional with over 34 years of
  experience in project development, project finance, project  planning, contracts management and Finance
  & Accounts.
• Before his appointment as the Reliance
  Power CEO, Rao was CEO of Sasan Power Limited, a 100% subsidiary of the
  company, which has developed Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project.

• Renowned Malayalam filmmaker I.V. Sasi on
  12 October 2015 was awarded with the prestigious J.C. Daniel Award for the year
  2014 for his contributions towards the Malayalam entertainment industry.
• Sasi has made over 150 Indian films in
  various languages and genres. However, he is mostly known for his South Indian
  films.
• He started his directorial career
  officially with his first film Ulsavam. He has directed more than 170 films
  over a span of 34 years. Most of his movies came out as super hits and some of
  them are even classified as classics or good cinema.
• In 1982, his film Aaroodam won the Nargis
  Dutt Award for the best feature film on National Integration.

Regards

Team ExamPundit

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