Current Affairs Update – 14-15-16 Feb, 2015

Categories:

1. RBI/GDP/Banking
News –
SC directed CBI to
probe RBI and SEBI in multi-crore chit-fund scam

  • The Supreme Court of India on 13 February 2015 directed CBI
    to probe the role of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Securities and Exchange
    Board of India (SEBI) in the multi-crore chit-fund scam. It has directed the
    CBI to investigate their role for effecting a mechanism.
  • The Supreme Court bench of Justice TS Thakur and Justice
    Adarsh Kumar Goel in its order said that these regulatory bodies cannot turn a
    blind eye to the multi-crore chit-fund scam spread across several states. The
    bench observed that it needs to be investigated and there is nothing which
    remains outside the scope of the investigation.
  • The bench in its ordered referred 9 May 2014 order in which
    it directed the investigating agency to probe the duping of over 10000 crore
    rupees through several ponzi schemes in West Bengal, Odisha and Assam.
RBI decided to bring
back one rupee notes

  • The Reserve Bank of India on 13 February 2015 announced that
    soon the currency notes of one rupees denomination will be in circulation. The
    notes will be printed by the Government of India.
  • RBI in its release informed that these currency notes are
    legal tender as provided in The Coinage Act 2011. It said that the existing
    currency notes in this denomination in circulation will also continue to be
    legal tender.
  • Hidden Word Bharat (भारत)
    vertically arranged on right hand side will be present.
SBI starts tech
learning centres to help customers use alternate banking channels

  • To get customers to use alternate banking channels such as
    ATMs, Internet and mobile banking, State Bank of India has started technology
    learning centres at 385 regional business offices across the country.
  • India’s largest bank is conducting free interactive learning
    sessions for customers on the third Friday of every month at these offices.
  • Bank officials take customers through all the new products
    and handhold them on all the machines so that they can actually do
    transactions. So far the bank has covered about 30,000 customers through TLCs,
    she added.
  • The interactive learning session take customers through the
    how’s and why’s of the bank’s alternate banking channels, including Net
    banking, mobile banking, green channel, ATMs, Cash Deposit Machines, plastic
    banking (cards), pass book digital printing, and more.
  • Elaborating on these technology initiatives, the SBI chief
    said, it has started a quick – missed call – banking service.
Government to infuse `
870 crore in Punjab National Bank

  • State-owned Punjab National Bank(PNB) today said government
    will infuse `
    870 crore into the lender by way of equity capital for the current fiscal.
  • The bank will seek approval of the shareholders on March 19
    for the same, PNB said in a filing to the BSE.
  • The bank would issue over 4.42 crore shares at a price of ` 196.80 apiece to the
    government, raising `
    870 crore in the form of equity capital.

2. Business
News –
Infosys announced to
acquire automation technology firm Panaya Inc for 1200 crore rupees

  • Software services exporter Infosys Limited on 16 February
    2015 announced to acquire US-based automation technology firm Panaya Inc. for
    1200 crore rupees in cash. Panaya was originally founded in 2005 in Israel.
  • The deal is a part of Infosys Renew and New strategy to
    enhance the competitiveness and productivity of current service lines by
    leveraging automation, innovation and artificial intelligence.
Muthoot Group tied-up
with WWF for its Friends for Life project

  • Kerala-based business conglomerate Muthoot Group on 14
    February 2015 tied-up with World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature-India for its
    Friends for Life project.
  • This project was launched in Kochi as part of the Muthoot’s
    Haathi Mera Saathi Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.
BCCI, IPL get `
425 cr notice for alleged forex violations

  • The Enforcement Directorate has slapped ` 425 crore show cause
    notice against BCCI, IPL, their officials and private multimedia firms for
    alleged contravention of forex laws in awarding a cricketing media rights
    contract in 2009.
  • The notices have been issued to close to ten individuals and
    entities which include former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) boss
    N Srinivasan, the then IPL Chairman Lalit Modi, Chief Operating Officer (COO)
    Sunder Raman, and the officials of World Sports Group (WSG) and Multi Screen
    Media (MSM) for allegedly and fraudulently “manipulating” the contract and
    hence making illegal payments.
  • The development comes at a time when the latest edition of
    Indian Premier League (IPL) players auction is underway in Bangalore today.
China launches $40 bn
Silk Road fund

  • China today officially launched its ambitious USD 40 billion
    Silk Road infrastructure fund which will be managed by three of its major
    financial institutions.
  • The Silk Road Fund designed to finance China-proposed “Belt
    and Road” initiatives has began operation, the country’s central bank, People’s
    Bank of China said.
  • The Silk Road Fund Co Ltd was established in December last
    year in Beijing, after President Xi Jinping announced the creation of the USD
    40 billion fund in November.
3. India
–
Parle Products
launched nationwide Litter Free Campaign

  • Parle Products on 12 February 2015 launched its nationwide
    Litter Free Campaign to urge consumers to show garbage its place.
  • Parle Products has launched the first phase of the Litter
    Free campaign. The campaign aimed at setting the course for community and raise
    awareness with its positive messaging, across the country through a series of
    Television Commercials.
  • The commercials are set in a series of everyday scenarios
    that viewers can identify with and encourage them to Show Garbage Its Place.
BrahMos missile
successfully test-fired from INS Kolkata

  • India on 14 February 2015 successfully test-fired a BrahMos
    supersonic cruise missile from Indian Navy’s latest destroyer INS Kolkata.
  • The launch off the Goa coast was flawless as the missile met
    all its designed parameters.
  • BrahMos is a missile with a range of 290 kilometers and can
    carry a conventional warhead of up to 300 kilograms. It has a top speed of Mach
    2.8, which is three times faster than the US subsonic Tomahawk cruise missile.
    This speed makes BrahMos one of the fastest cruise missiles in the world. It
    can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft and land.
Vanaj 2015, the first
National Tribal Festival

  • Vanaj 2015 is a weeklong National Tribal Festival. It was in
    news as it was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Jual Oram on
    13 February 2015 at the the Indira Gandhi National Center for Arts (IGNCA), New
    Delhi.
  • The weeklong festival will showcase the culture of the
    tribal people from across the country and will see several events and
    activities like screening of documentary films like Lodha – A Sylvan Community
    and Prakriti Ki Santan – Mising Tribe.
  • It will also showcase case the rich diversity of Tribal
    culture, art, painting, music, dance, tribal medicine, tribal food, and a
    special attraction- tribal cuisine.
Third National Lok
Adalat disposed 56000 cases, disbursed 265 crore rupees for final settlement

  • The third National Lok Adalat on 14 February 2015 disposed
    of 56000 cases in a single day. It also disbursed of 265 crore rupees as claims
    towards final settlement in bank recovery and cheques bounce cases.
  • The third National Lok Adalat sought the cases that were
    pending in the Supreme Court, high courts, districts courts and taluka-level
    courts except in Assam and Uttar Pradesh. Several banks, financial institutions
    and others participated in it.
  • It was organised under the patronage of Chief Justice of
    India (CJI) HL Dattu and the leadership of Supreme Court Judge Justice TS
    Thakur.


4. Appointments
–

Arvind Kejriwal
sworn-in as Chief Minister of Delhi

  • Arvind Kejriwal on 14 February 2015 was sworn-in as Chief
    Minister of Delhi.
  • The oath of office and secrecy was administered by
    Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung at Ramlila Ground, Delhi.
  • Other than Arvind Kejriwal, six other party members Manish
    Sisodia, Satyendra Jain, Jitendra Tomar, Gopal Rai, Sandeep Kumar and Asim
    Ahmed Khan were administered oath as Cabinet Ministers.
Balasubramaniam
Venkataramani appointed as MD & CEO of Multi Commodity Exchange

  • Balasubramaniam Venkataramani was on 13 February 2015
    appointed as Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Multi
    Commodity Exchange (MCX) Limited. He succeeded Manoj Vaish.
  • Prior to this appointment, Venkataramani was Chief Business
    Officer of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
  • The post of MD & CEO of MCX was lying vacant since May
    2014 when the then MD & CEO Manoj Vaish resigned. Since then, Joint
    Managing Director of MCX PK Singhal was looking after the day-to-day operations
    of the exchange.
Deloitte appoints
India-born Punit Renjen as global CEO

  • India-born Punit Renjen was appointed the next CEO of
    U.S.-based accounting giant Deloitte’s global operations, becoming the first
    Indian-origin person to head a ‘Big-Four’ audit firm.
  • Mr. Renjen joins a growing list of persons of Indian origin
    like Indira Nooyi, Satya Nadela and Anshu Jain, who have made to the top posts
    at multi-billion dollar global corporations such as PepsiCo, Microsoft and
    Deutsche Bank, respectively.
  • Deloitte, which is present across 150 countries, including
    India, and employs over two lakh people, is one of the four largest audit firms
    in the world, and competes with PwC, KPMG and EY.
5. Awards
& Honors –
Dr. Tessy Thomas,
Geeta Varadan jointly named for Nayudamma Award 2014

  • Women scientists Dr. Tessy Thomas and Geeta Varadan on 15
    February 2015 were jointly named for Dr. Y Nayudamma Memorial Award 2014. They
    have been chosen for the award for their outstanding performance in the field
    of science and technology.
  • Ramon Magsaysay award recipient Prof. Shanta Sinha will
    present the award to Dr. Tessy Thomas and Geeta Varadan at a special function
    to be held at Tenali in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh on 1 March 2015.
  • This is the first time in the history of the trust that two
    eminent women scientists are being concurrently honoured.
Indian-origin
scientist Professor Srikanth Jagabathula received CAREER Award

  • Indian-origin scientist Professor Srikanth Jagabathula on 11
    February 2015 received Faculty Early Career Development Award (CAREER) given by
    the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United States (US). Professor
    Srikanth Jagabathula is from the New York University Stern School of Business.
  • He received the award for developing data-driven modelling
    and learning techniques to improve the accuracy of operational decision making.
Nagesh Kukunoor’s
film Dhanak won two awards at 65th Berlin International Film Festival

  • Film Dhanak directed by Nagesh Kukunoor on 14 February 2015
    won two awards at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival. The 65th annual
    Berlin International Film Festival was held from 5 February 2015 to 15 February
    2015.
The awards won by
the film are:

  • Special Mention for the Best Feature Film by the Children’s
    Jury for Generation Kplus
  • The Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International Jury
    for the Best Feature-length film for which the film received 7500 euro as prize
    money
Chhattisgarh
Government awarded for Renewable Power Development in the State

  • Chhattisgarh Government was on 15 February 2015 awarded by
    Prime Minister Narendra Modi for being one of the best-performing states in the
    Renewable Energy Sector in India.
  • The Principal Secretary of Chhattisgarh Energy Department,
    Aman Singh was presented with the award during the first Renewable Energy
    Global Investors Meet (RE-Invest) 2015 that was held in New Delhi.
6. Visits
–
President of
Singapore Tony Tan Keng Yam visited India

  • President of Singapore Dr. Tony Tan Keng Yam was on a State
    visit of India between 8 and 11 February 2015. He visited India at the
    invitation of the President Pranab Mukherjee.
  • His visit highlighted the celebrations on the occasion of
    the 50th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and
    Singapore.
Maldivian Foreign
Minister Dunya Maumoon visited India

  • Maldivian Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon on 15 February 2015
    met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi.
  • Maumoon was in India to boost ties between the two
    countries.
  • During the meet, the two leaders reviewed the developmental
    projects in Maldives and also the possible agenda for visit of Prime Minister
    Narendra Modi to Maldives.
7. Sports
–
Virat Kohli became
first Indian cricketer to score century against Pakistan in World Cup

  • Virat Kohli on 15 February 2015 became the first Indian
    cricketer to score a century against Pakistan in the ICC World Cup.
  • India scored 300 for seven after electing to bat first in
    the 2015 World Cup opener defeated Pakistan by 76 runs.
  • The highest score by an Indian batsman before this match was
    Sachin Tendulkar’s 98 in Centurion, South Africa in 2003.
Yuvraj bags whopping `
16 crore in IPL 8 Auctions

  • After tucking into its available purse of ` 39.75 crore, Delhi
    Daredevils picked Yuvraj Singh at a huge `
    16 crore in the IPL player auction that got underway at the ITC Gardenia here
    on Monday.
The list of
players sold at the IPL auction at noon:

  • The teams: Chennai Super Kings: Michael Hussey (Aus), ` 1.50 crore; Rahul
    Sharma, 30 lakh; Kyle Abbott (SA), 30 lakh.
  • Delhi Daredevils: Yuvraj Singh, 16 crore; Angelo Mathews
    (SL), 7.50 crore; Amit Mishra, 3.50 crore; Gurinder Sandhu (Aus), 1.70 crore;
    Jaydev Unadkat, 1.10 crore.
  • Kolkata Knight Riders: James Neesham (NZ), 50 lakh; Brad
    Hogg (Aus), 50 lakh.
  • Kings XI Punjab: Murali Vijay, 3 crore.
  • Mumbai Indians: Aaron Finch (Aus), 3.20 crore; Pragyan Ojha,
    50 lakh; Mitchell McClenaghan (NZ), 30 lakh.
  • Rajasthan Royals: Christopher Morris (SA), 1.40 crore.
  • Royal Challengers Bangalore: Dinesh Karthik, 10.50 crore;
    Darren Sammy (WI), 2.80 crore; David Wiese (SA), 2.80 crore; Sean Abbott (Aus),
    1 crore; Adam Milne (NZ), 70 lakh; S. Badrinath, 30 lakh.
  • Sunrisers Hyderabad: Trent Boult (NZ), 3.80 crore; Praveen
    Kumar, 2.20 crore; Kevin Pietersen (Eng), 2 crore; Eoin Morgan (Eng), 1.50
    crore; Ravi Bopara (Eng), 1 crore; Kane Williamson (NZ), 60 lakh; Laxmi Ratan
    Shukla, 30 lakh.
Usain Bolt to retire
after 2017 World Championships in London

  • Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt on 14 February 2015 announced
    that he will retire from athletics after the 2017 World Championships in
    London.
  • The 28-year-old six-time Olympic gold medalist also said
    that he will focus on the 100metres in 2017.
  • He has won Six Olympic Gold medals from 2008-2012 Olympics.

8. Schemes –
Union Government
approved revised Guidelines for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

  • Union Government on 12 February 2015 approved revised
    Guidelines for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).
  • The guidelines were revised to accord priority in the
    selection of roads for new connectivity as well as upgradation, leading to the
    eligible habitations in the Gram Panchayats identified by the Members of
    Parliament (MP) under Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).

9. Obituaries
–
Former Maharashtra
Home Minister RR Patil passes away

  • Senior NCP leader R R Patil, who was Maharashtra’s Home
    Minister during the 26/11 terror attacks, died here today from cancer at the
    age of 57.
  • Patil breathed his last at Lilavati Hospital where he was on
    life support, hospital sources said.
  • The NCP leader, a six-term MLA from Tasgaon in Sangli
    district, is survived by his mother, wife, and two daughters.