Current Affairs Update – 14th January, 2016

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 14th January, 2016. These are important for the upcoming LIC AAO 2016 and Syndicate Manipal PO 2016 Exam.

• Reserve Bank of India has allowed banks to offer the whole
  array of services even at off-site Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).
• Off-site ATMs are the ones that are set up on a standalone
  basis and are not on the premises of a bank branch.
• “With a view to providing operational freedom to banks,
  it is advised that banks are now free to offer all their products and services
  through the ATM channels provided the technology permits the same, and adequate
  checks are put in place to prevent the channel from being misused to perpetuate
  frauds on the banks/other genuine customers,” it said in a notification.
• Earlier, the banking regulator had allowed all services to
  be offered only at on-site ATMs or the ones that are on the premises of a bank
  branch.

• The country’s largest public sector bank, State Bank of
  India (SBI), has opened its first branch dedicated to serving startup companies
  in Bengaluru. The announcement comes ahead of the Prime Minister’s ‘Start-up
  India Stand Up India’ event that will be held on January 16, where the
  government will roll out its new startup policy.
• The bank envisions that its InCube branches will be a
  one-stop shop for the financial service requirements of startups in the
  country.
• While SBI isn’t focusing on helping startups with loans and
  other forms of capital assistance, it will service their banking needs such as
  employee account maintenance and will assist them on matters from setting up a
  company itself to the procedure for bringing in funds from foreign investors.
• The bank has opened its first InCube branch in Bengaluru
  since the city is the hub for startups in the country. It also plans to open
  centers in Pune and Delhi-NCR in the coming months, but will limit opening them
  only in cities that have a large presence of startups.
• Apart from serving a startup’s financial services
  requirements, SBI will also provide mentorship through technology experts. It
  has also tied up with third parties to provide taxation and legal consultation,
  etc. The InCube model has been built taking advice and feedback from senior
  technology experts such as Mohandas Pai, Nandan Nilekani and iSPIRT, added
  Bhattacharya.

• The Union government today approved Rs 791 crore for
  Telangana as central assistance to help the state cope with the drought
  situation which it is facing.
• The decision was taken at the meeting of the High-Level
  Committee (HLC), chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, for Central Assistance
  to the drought-affected Telangana.
• The committee examined the proposal based on the report of
  the central team which visited the drought-affected districts of Telangana.

• Bureaucrats can go on a maximum four overseas trips in a year,
  according to a Finance Ministry guideline which says that Secretaries should
  undertake foreign travels only when no one else can be deputed.
• Secretaries to Government departments have also been barred
  from travelling abroad during Parliament session unless absolutely unavoidable.
  Also, Secretary and the Minister of a department cannot be abroad at the same
  time.
• Prime Minister’s approval would be needed for any Secretary
  requiring travel beyond the mandated four trips in a year, according to the
  revised comprehensive guidelines on foreign visit by officers of Government of
  India issued by the Finance Ministry.

• Union Government on 11 January 2016 formed a five-member
  high level committee to monitor the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Corridor
  (bullet train project). The committee will be headed by NITI Aayog Vice
  Chairman Arvind Panagariya.
• The mandate of the committee is to look into the overall
  operations and technical issues, Make in India component and financial outlay
  of the 90000 crore rupees worth project.
• Further, the committee will also overview the project’s
  strategic importance for India-Japan bilateral relation. Earlier, in December
  2015, both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation
  and assistance in the execution of the project.

• AK Mittal, Railway Board Chairman
• S Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary
• Shantikanta Das, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs
  Secretary
• Amitabh Kant, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and
  Promotion

• A sub-committee of a panel set up by Department of
  Pharmaceuticals (DoP) wants restrictions on online pharmacies.
• It has asked for a ban on such outlets being used for buying
  high-risk drugs and mandatory licensing of the physical premises where such
  orders are processed. The task force’s sub-group which proposed these
  regulations did not have any representation from online pharmacies.
• The task force’s sub-group had 23 members. These included
  senior executives of major pharmaceutical companies such as Lupin, Glenmark,
  Abbott and Sun Pharma, beside representatives from business chambers.
• The task force had three sub-groups and was established
  under the chairmanship of the DoP secretary Dr. V. K. Subburaj on October 31
  last year, to recommend measures for the development of manufacturing
  capabilities in the main lines of pharmacy production.

• Sikkim has become India’s first fully organic state by
  implementing organic practices on around 75,000 hectares of agricultural land.
• It was 12 years ago in 2003 when the Pawan Chamling-led
  government decided to make Sikkim an organic farming state through a declaration
  in the legislative assembly.
• Later the entry of chemical inputs for farmland was
  restricted and their sale banned. Farmers therefore had no option but to go
  organic.
• Organic cultivation is free of chemical pesticides and
  chemical fertilisers as it tries to strike a harmonious balance with a complex
  series of ecosystems.

• Jharkhand government on 12 January 2016 decided to add the
  ongoing crisis of drinking water in the list of special local disasters of the
  State.
• The decision was taken in a Cabinet meeting and will cover
  those districts where the rainfalls have been less than 75 percent of the
  normal or where the groundwater level has gone below by four meters or more.
• As per the decision, the state will spend 10 percent of the
  state disaster relief funds in those areas to fight the crisis of drinking
  water.

• Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari on 13 January 2016
  inaugurated Mumbai Port Trust’s second liquid chemical berth at Pir Pau, Mumbai.
• With commissioning of this berth, the cargo handling
  capacity of the Port will increase by 2.5 MMT (Million Metric Tonnes) per
  annum.

• For speedy trial of cases relating to witchcraft incidents,
  the Jharkhand Government on 13 January 2016 decided to set up fast track courts
  in five districts.
• As per an official release, the courts will be formed in
  Ranchi, Chaibasa, Khunti, Palamau and Simdega districts.
• The decision was taken during a cabinet meet chaired by
  Chief Minister Raghubar Das. The decision is based on the reports of
  witchcraft-related attacks in some rural areas of the state. 

• Bengaluru-based activist Subhashini Vasanth on 13 January
  2016 was honoured with Neerja Bhanot Award. She was presented the award for her
  endeavour to help people in distress and for empowering widows of martyrs and
  their families across the country.
• She started the Vasantharatna Foundation in memory of her
  husband. The foundation provides education scholarships, conducted empowerment
  programmes and outbound learning programmes for women and children.
• Bollywood actor Sonam Kapoor presented the award to Vasanth
  at a ceremony held in Chandigarh.
• The annual Neerja Bhanot Award was instituted in 1990 and
  named in honour of Senior Flight Purser, Neerja Bhanot, who saved hundreds of
  lives while sacrificing her own, during a Pan Am Flight 73 hijack at Karachi
  Airport in September 1986.

• David Beckham on 12 January 2016 was presented with the
  Danny Kaye Humanitarian Leadership Award at the sixth biennial UNICEF Ball in
  Los Angeles.
• Sir Elton John and David Furnish presented the award to
  Beckham at the event, honouring him for his tireless work to save and improve
  the lives of children around the world.
• Beckham has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2005. In
  2015, the footballer launched 7: The David Beckham UNICEF Fund, making a
  personal commitment to use his voice, influence and connections to raise vital
  funds and rally for lasting change for children.
• The Danny Kaye Humanitarian Leadership Award is named after
  Danny Kaye, star of Hans Christian Andersen and White Christmas. Kaye was one
  of the world’s most beloved entertainers. He was the first ever celebrity
  representative for UNICEF, and was a Goodwill Ambassador from 1954 until his
  death in 1987.

• Bhaskar Bhat, manaing director of Titan, has taken over as
  Chairman of Tata SIA Airlines Ltd (Vistara), succeeding Prasad Menon who
  retired from the airline on January 13. Bhat had joined the company’s board
  with effect from January 14.
• As the managing director of Titan since 2002 and founding
  member of Titan Industries, Bhat has led it to become the largest watch
  manufacturer in India and the fifth largest in the world.

• R Shivakumar, Chairman of Kumar Group of companies,
  Bengaluru, has been appointed as the Chairman of Assocham Karnataka Regional
  Council, the new regional outfit of Assocham, New Delhi.
• S Babu, Chairman of Ashwin Precision Products, has been
  appointed as Co-Chairman of Assocham Karnataka Regional Council.
• The new revamped regional council of Assocham in Karnataka
  is expected to play a significant role in the development of industry and trade
  in the state.

• India’s Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis
  today broke a 22-year-old world record by winning their 29th women’s doubles
  match in a row en route to their entry into the women’s doubles final of the
  WTA Sydney International, here today.
• The World No 1 pair came from behind to beat the pair of
  Romanian Raluca Olaru and Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova 4-6 6-3 10-8 in a
  closely-fought semi-final.
• They now surpassed the pair of Puerto Rican Gigi Fernandez
  and Belarus’ Natasha Zvereva, who won 28 matches on the trot during their successful
  pairing back in 1994.
• The Indo-Swiss pair have continued their good show from 2015
  when they won 9 titles which included the Wimbledon, US Open and the
  year-ending WTA finals.

• The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on 12
  January 2016 notified revised petition fees for H-1B and L-1 visas. The
  increase in the fees is in tune with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016
  that was signed into law by Barack Obama, the President of the USA, on 18
  December 2015.
• As per the revision, the petitioners must submit an
  additional fee of 4000 US dollars for certain H-1B visas and 4500 US dollars for
  certain L-1A and L-1B visas.
• The increased fees are applicable to petitioners who applied
  on or after 18 December 2015 and will be in force till 30 September 2025.

• India continued its trend of being the top country of birth
  from Asia for immigrant scientists and engineers in US, with 950,000 out of the
  continent’s total 2.96 million, according to a new report.
• From 2003 to 2013, the number of scientists and engineers
  residing in the US rose from 21.6 million to 29 million. This 10-year increase
  included significant growth in the number of immigrant scientists and
  engineers, from 3.4 million to 5.2 million, the researchers said.
• Of the immigrant scientists and engineers in the US in 2013,
  57% were born in Asia, 16% were born in Europe, 6% were born in Africa, 20%
  were born in North America (excluding the US), Central America, the Caribbean,
  or South America, and less than 1% were born in Oceania.

• The Population Division of the United Nations Department of
  Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) on 12 January 2016 released the dataset
  titled Trends in International Migrant Stock: The 2015 Revision. The
  compilation was released at the UN DESA headquarters in New York, the USA.
• The dataset analysed trends in migration flows across the
  world, even country as well as region wise, between 2000 and 2015.
• As per it, the number of international migrants, persons
  living in a country other than where they were born, reached 244 million in
  2015 for the world as a whole, a 41 per cent increase compared to 2000.
• Out of the 244 international migrants, there are 20 million
  refugees across the world.

• Renowned British actor Alan Rickman, best known for playing
  Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series and ruthless terrorist Hans
  Gruber in “Die Hard”, died here on Thursday, media reports said. He
  was 69.
• Born February 21, 1946 in a working class family, Alan
  Sidney Patrick Rickman became interested in drama while attending upper school
  and trained in art and graphic design before securing a place at the Royal
  Academy of Dramatic Art in 1972 where he honed his talent.
• His first major role was as the impetuous Tybalt in a BBC TV
  adapation of “Romeo and Juliet” (1978) but came to viewers’ attention
  with his brief appearance in the BBC adaptation of John le Carre’s
  “Smiley’s People” (1982) with Alec Guinness and then as the odious,
  smarmy Reverend Obadiah Slope in the channel adaptation of Anthony Trollope’s
  ecclesiastical series “Barchesters Towers” (1982).
• What actually cemented his screen presence was his
  villainous part as the German terrorist in the high octane-action thriller
  “Die Hard” (1988) opposite Bruce Willis (a role he reprised in a
  flashback as “Die Hard with a Vengeance”, 1995), as the Sheriff of
  Nottingham in Kevin Costner-starrer “Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves”
  (1991), and then finally as the apparently malevolent Prof Snape, the potions
  master of Hogwarts, ceaselessly targeting the boy wizard and his friends in all
  seven films of the series from “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s
  Stone” (2001) to “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part
  II” (2011).
• A recipient of the BAFTA, Golden Globe, Emmy and Screen
  Actors Guild Awards, he is survived by his spouse Rima Horton with whom he had
  been living together since 1977 and married in 2012.

Regards

Team ExamPundit

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