Current Affairs Update – 15-16 Oct, 2014

• ·        
  Union Government on 16 October 2014 appointed US-based economist Arvind
  Subramanian as Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) in the Union Finance Ministry. He
  has been appointed as the CEA for a period of three years on contract basis.
• ·        
  Subramanian is the third economist of international rapport to be
  appointed to the key post of CEA in the recent years. Other two internationally
  renowned economists who recently have served as CEA are Kaushik Basu (World
  Bank Chief Economist) and Raghuram Rajan (current RBI Governor and former IMF
  chief economist)
• ·        
  Subramanian is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for
  International Economics and at Center for Global Development. Both institutes
  are based in Washington.
• ·        
  Last CEA was Raghuram Rajan.

• ·        
  IndiGo, India’s largest domestic airline, on Wednesday ordered 250
  Airbus A320neos worth $25.5 billion (almost Rs 1.5 lakh crore), making it the
  largest-ever purchase of single-aisle planes in one go. The low-cost carrier
  (LCC) also got purchase rights for another 100 A320neos with this order, which
  it can choose to exercise in coming years.
• ·        
  The order of these fuel-efficient planes comes on top of the 100 A320s
  and 180 A320neos IndiGo had ordered in 2005 and 2011 respectively. Each of the
  order was a record-breaker in its time. In all, the eight-year-old profitable
  LCC has placed orders for 530 A320s worth $48 billion with an option for 100 more
  planes worth $10.2 billion.
• ·        
  The mega aircraft order comes on the back of months of preparations to
  have funding options and now makes it almost certain that the airline will come
  out with an IPO. Merchant bankers are working on the impending IPO that is
  expected early next year.

• ·        
  Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan has been conferred with
  the Best Central Bank Governor award for 2014 by Euromoney magazine.
• ·        
  Euromoney said Raghuram Rajan’s tough monetary medicine combatted the
  storm ravaging the deficit-ridden economy in the recent emerging market crisis.
• ·        
  “Now, he is battling vested interests to arouse a sleepy financial
  system for over one billion people… Remarkably, the internationally-renowned
  economist, who earned acclaim for his warnings in 2005 of an upcoming global
  crisis of sorts, has, for the past year been true to his word,” Euromoney said.
• ·        
  Mr. Rajan received Euromoney’s Central Bank Governor of the Year Award
  2014 in Washington on October 10, the RBI said in a release on Wednesday.
• ·        
  “As he confronted capital outflows, the rupee at record lows, and
  over-blown but palpable fears India was marching towards an Asia-crisis style
  abyss, Mr. Rajan duly administered tough monetary medicine to ailing bond and
  currency markets,” Euromoney added.
• ·        
  In January 2003, the American Finance Association awarded Mr. Rajan the
  inaugural Fischer Black Prize for the best finance researcher under the age of
  40.
• ·        
  The other awards he has received include the global Indian of the year
  award from NASSCOM in 2011, the Infosys prize for the Economic Sciences in
  2012, and the Center for Financial Studies-Deutsche Bank Prize for financial
  economics in 2013.

• ·        
  The government on Thursday removed Arvind Mayaram as finance secretary
  and appointed Rajasthan chief secretary Rajiv Mehrishi as the new economic
  affairs secretary.
• ·        
  While talk of Mayaram’s departure from North Block has been doing the
  rounds for several months his exit comes days before the finance ministry
  starts preparing for the next budget.
• ·        
  Mayaram is the second secretary-rank officer to be shifted out of the
  finance ministry since BJP took charge in May. Rajeev Takru was earlier removed
  as revenue secretary.
• ·        
  Mehrishi’s colleague RP Wattal, who is the expenditure secretary may be
  appointed the new finance secretary – the first among equals in the finance
  ministry and the secretary in charge of budget preparation.
• ·        
  As joint secretary, Mehrishi had worked with finance minister Arun
  Jaitley in what was then the department of company affairs. He is seen to be
  pro-reforms and helped push through crucial amendments to labour laws during
  his stint as Rajasthan chief secretary.
• ·        
  While Mayaram heads to the tourism ministry, drinking water and Ganga
  rejuvenation will have a new secretary in Anuj Bishnoi. He replaces Alok Rawat,
  who will be in charge of administrative reforms.

• ·        
  Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) on 14 October 2014 launched Facebook-based funds
  transfer platform KayPay.
• ·        
  KayPay is a bank agnostic payment product for Facebook users to send
  money to each other.
• ·        
  KayPay is built on top of the mobile based Immediate Payment System
  (IMPS) that was launched by the National Payment Corporation of India. Users
  have to register their bank accounts once to start using the service.
• ·        
  At present, a sender can initiate fund transfer to any person through
  mobile phone, courtesy the IMPS infrastructure.
• ·        
  The IMPS platform has 28 banks under it and account holders of any of
  these banks can use the newly launched service.
• ·        
  The sender will have to register on a dedicated website for the
  initiative called ‘KayPay’ wherein he will have to give bank account details
  and the bank’s MMID, apart from personal credentials.
• ·        
  Once registered, the sender can initiate transactions and if the
  beneficiary is not registered on KayPay, he will be directed to a page to
  register for completed a transaction.
• ·        
  If the beneficiary is registered on KayPay, the transaction will be
  executed faster.
• ·        
  Users won’t have to depend on net banking or have to know the details of
  the payee.
• ·        
  Users can transfer funds by choosing recipients from their Facebook
  friends list.
• ·        
  There will be no charges for either sending or receiving the money.

• ·        
  Union government on 16 October 2014 launched Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev
  Jayate Karyakram. The scheme is aimed at creating conducive environment for
  industrial development and doing business with ease.
• ·        
  Besides, it will also herald towards good governance, welfare and skill
  development of labour sector.
• ·        
  It was launched during a daylong Conference of Labour & Employment
  Ministers, Health Ministers and Vocational Training Ministers of State
  Governments on 16 October 2014 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

• • Labours
  will be provided Unique Labour Identification number, Local Interconnect
  Network, to facilitate their online registration.
• • Unified
  Labour Portal (Shram Suvidha) and a Transparent & Accountable Labour
  Inspection Scheme to facilitate ease of compliance
  to facilitate ease of compliance especially for
  four Central Government Organizations i.e. ESIC, EPFO, DGMS and CLC.
• • Demand
  Responsive Vocational Training
• • Apprentice
  Protsahan Yojana
• •
  Portability through Universal Account Number for Employees’ Provident Fund
  Account Holders
• •
  Implementation of Revamped Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) for the
  workers in the unorganized sector

• ·        
  Union Ministry of S&T launched a Joint Indo-Canadian Science
  Programme Focusing on Clean Water Technologies on 15 October 2014. India and
  Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the joint
  cooperation in areas of science and technologies between the two countries.
• ·        
  The MoU was signed during the visit of International Trade Minister of
  Canada, Ed Fast and Minister for National Revenue of Canada, Kerry Findlay to
  India.

• • Under the
  new programme, a joint collaboration is formed between the Department of
  Science & Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology of India and the
  National Science and Engineering Council of Canada to focus on clean water
  technologies.
• • The joint
  venture will be enabled in building up of Safe and Sustainable Infrastructure
  and Integrated Water Management which will address the vital aspects related to
  related to effective water management and clean water supply.

• ·        
  Union Petroleum Ministry on 3 October 2014 set up a Panel headed by
  B.N.Talukar to inquire into the reasons for delay in developing gas discoveries
  in ONGC’s Krishna Godavari basin KG-D5 block.
• ·        
  The three-member committee will be headed by B N Talukar, Directorate
  General of Hydrocarbons, and will have the financial advisor and a director
  from the ministry.
• ·        
  The committee will submit its report by end of October 2014.
• ·        
  ONGC’s KG-D5 is next to Reliance Industries (RIL) eastern offshore KG-D6
  block in Bay of Bengal. Both blocks were awarded in the first round of auction
  under New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) in 2000.
• ·        
  While RIL began oil production from its KG-D6 block in September 2008
  and gas output in April 2009, ONGC has made 11 oil and gas discoveries in KG-D5
  block and planned to begin production from the block in 2018 and the oil output
  in 2019.

• ·        
  A book titled Final Test: Exit Sachin Tendulkar authored by
  writer-journalist Dilip D’Souza was released on 15 October 2014. The book has
  been published by Random House India and books forward has been written by
  Harsha Bhogle. 
• ·        
  Final Test: Exit Sachin Tendulkar is a close scrutiny of Tendulkar’s
  last Test played at the Wankhede in November 2013 in which he scored 74 in the
  only innings that he played in the match. India won the match against West
  Indies by an innings and 126 runs against West Indies.
• ·        
  The book has tried to revisit Sachin Tendulkar’s final Test appearance
  and captured all the excitement and emotion during the two and a half days of
  the match. The book elaborates the deafening noise in the Wankhede and how it
  turns into a silence so that one can hear Tendulkar’s footsteps as he begins
  the walk back to pavilion.

• ·        
  The Vice President of India M Hamid Ansari on 14 October 2014 released a
  book entitled Untold Story of the Indian Public Sector authored by Dr UD
  Choubey, the Director General of SCOPE (Standing Conference of Public
  Enterprises).
• ·        
  About the book Untold Story of the Indian Public Sector: UD Choubey
• ·        
  Today, millions of young men and women aspire to join the esteemed ranks
  in Indian Public Sector to contribute to the creation of a new nation.
  Unfortunately, over the years the Public Sector has witnessed tremendous
  defamation.
• ·        
  The book throws light on various aspects of working in Public Sectors.
  The book provides a clear presentation of the overall environment and workings
  of the Public Sector that the author Dr UD Choubey had experienced.

• ·        
  India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C26) lifted off with aplomb
  from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota at 1.32 a.m. on
  Thursday and precisely put the Indian navigation satellite, IRNSS-1C into its
  perfect, pre-designated orbit. This was the 28th successful launch of the Indian
  Space Research Organisation.
• ·        
  After a long 67-hour countdown, which began at 6.32 a.m. on October 13,
  the PSLV lifted off from the first launch pad at 1.32 a.m. In the backdrop of a
  bright half moon, the rocket soared against a dark sky, presenting a celestial
  spectacle. In the darkness of the night, the first stage separation came across
  with a blinding flash of light. For several minutes, the rocket travelled
  across the sky like a dot of light. All the four stages of the vehicle ignited
  on time and separated on the dot. 
• ·        
  K.P. Kunhikrishnan, Mission Director, said the satellite went into a
  very precise orbit, with an perigee of 282 km and an apogee of 20,670 km.
• ·        
  M.Y.S. Prasad, Director, SDSC, said the sub-orbital flight of ISRO’s
  Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV MarkIII) will take place from
  Sriharikota in the next 30 to 45 days. The GSLV MkIII is the heaviest and
  biggest launch vehicle built by ISRO. It is 42.4 metres tall and weighs 630 tonnes.
  It will carry a crew module, which is a forerunner to India sending its
  astronauts into space.
• ·        
  The crew module, however, will not carry any Indian astronauts in the
  coming GSLV-Mark III flight. The crew module will return to the earth. It will
  splash down in the sea near Port Blair and recovered.
• ·        
  S. Ramakrishnan, former Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, said the
  launch had to take place at night because the IRNSS-1C had to be put into a
  special sub-geosynchronous transfer orbit, with a specific inclination.

• ·        
  Sadiq, aged 10, from Karimnagar in Telangana had a fervent wish to
  become a Commissioner of Police, as he silently suffered the terminal stage of
  a life threatening disease (leukaemia). However, the suave and soft-spoken M.
  Mahender Reddy, the Commissioner of Police, had his wish happen in Hyderabad on
  Wednesday. The young boy dressed up in full uniform and gear came to the
  Commissionerate, as Mr Reddy led him to his seat and put up a file for him to
  “sign”
• ·        
  Facilitated by ‘Make A Wish Foundation’ Sadiq fulfilled his dream as the
  Commissioner wished him all the best as the mood turned poignant with even the
  hard nosed scribe ( covering the event) seen wiping their moist eyes.

• ·        
  Malala Yousafzai, the youngest Nobel Peace Prize recipient and an icon
  of education rights, will soon come closer home.
• ·        
  Her memoir I am Malala: the girl who stood up for education and was shot
  by the Taliban, is being translated into four Indian languages — Kannada,
  Tamil, Malayalam and Marathi.
• ·        
  While the Kannada version published by Akruthi Books will be released on
  Sunday, the book in the other three languages will hit the stands soon.
• ·        
  The memoir recounts her fight for education in the SWAT valley of
  Pakistan and the Taliban attack on her for championing the cause of education
  for the girl child.
• ·        
  It created a stir when Malala sealed a deal of $3 million for the rights
  of her memoir in 2013.
• ·        
  The book later turned into a bestseller, fuelled by Malala’s address at
  the United Nations, dubbed as ‘Malala Day’.

• ·        
  Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced on the social networking site
  that he and his wife, Priscilla, have donated $25 million to the US Centres for
  Disease Control and Prevention for the fight against the Ebola virus disease.
• ·        
  Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced on the social networking site
  that he and his wife, Priscilla, have donated $25 million to the US Centres for
  Disease Control and Prevention for the fight against the Ebola virus disease.
• ·        
  The founder of the popular social networking site believes that making a
  donation of this kind is the “quickest way to empower the CDC and the experts
  in this field to prevent this outcome”.
• ·        
  Since the Ebola epidemic broke out last March, more than 4,000 people,
  most of them in West Africa, have died from the disease, according to the World
  Health Organisation.
• ·        
  Mr. Zuckerberg said that Ebola so far has infected more than 8,400
  people and is spreading rapidly with projections being that one million people
  or more will become infected in the coming months if they do not receive
  treatment.
• ·        
  He emphasised that donations like his directly help the “heroes” who are
  on the “front line” working to build health centres, train local personnel and
  identify Ebola cases.
• ·        
  He said he and his wife hoped that their donation would save lives and
  keep the epidemic under control.

• ·        
  Vanita Gupta (39), an Indian-American attorney described as a “unifier
  and consensus builder,” who has “done trailblazing work as a civil rights
  lawyer,” has been appointed by the administration of U.S. President Barack
  Obama to a senior role in the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights division.
• ·        
  On Wednesday, the Department of Justice (DoJ) announced that from
  October 20, Ms. Gupta would serve as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney
  General and Acting Assistant Attorney General at the division, and in doing so
  would succeed Molly Moran, who will become Principal Deputy Associate Attorney
  General.
• ·        
  Ms. Gupta was born in the Philadelphia area to immigrant parents, and
  her career in law has been marked by a firm commitment to civil rights work,
  including on prison reform.
• ·        
  In her article on “How to Really End Mass Incarceration,” she wrote
  about one of the most notable cases she had been involved in which she
  successfully defended 46 African-Americans in Tulia, Texas — convicted by an
  all-white jury on drug dealing charges.

• ·        
  Australian author Richard Flanagan on 14 October 2014 won the 50000
  pounds Man Booker Prize for his wartime novel The Narrow Road to the Deep
  North. His name was announced as the winner at London’s Guildhall and was
  presented the prize by The Duchess of Cornwall.
• ·        
  Flanagan is the third Australian to win the prize after Thomas Keneally
  and Peter Carey. Thomas Keneally’s Schindler’s Ark won in 1982 while Peter
  Carey won for Oscar and Lucinda (1988) and The True History of the Kelly Gang
  (2001).
• ·        
  He has worked as one of the screenwriters on Baz Luhrmann’s film
  Australia
• ·        
  The Narrow Road to the Deep North is the sixth novel for Flanagan. His
  previous novels were Death of a River Guide, The Sound of One Hand Clapping,
  Gould’s Book of Fish, The Unknown Terrorist and Wanting
• ·        
  The Narrow Road to the Deep North is a novel of Australian author
  Richard Flanagan. The book was in news after it won the 2014 Man Booker Prize.
• ·        
  The novel narrates story of a love and war during the construction of
  the Thailand Burma Death Railway in World War II. The story revolves around a
  Japanese prisoner-of-war camp and centres upon the experiences of surgeon
  Dorrigo Evans (an Australian doctor) who was haunted by his wartime love affair
  with his uncle’s young wife two years earlier. Post war, he finds his growing
  celebrity as a war hero at odds with his sense of his own failings and guilt.
• ·        
  It is a book that depicts the disturbing stories of prisoners and
  captors on the Burma railway. It has tried to bridge East and West past and
  present, with a story of guilt and heroism.

• ·        
  India on 12 October 2014 pledged 4 million US dollar aid for
  reconstruction of Gaza Strip that was destroyed during the Palestine and Israel
  conflict which started in June 2014. The decision was announced by Sandeep
  Kumar, Joint Secretary of West Asia and North Africa, Ministry of External
  Affairs of India.
• ·        
  The decision was a part of National Early Recovery and Reconstruction
  Plan for Gaza presented by the Palestinian Authority at Cairo International
  conference. The Conference was co-organised by Egypt and Norway.
• ·        
  Besides, India also committed to assist Palestine under the
  India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Fund in Palestine.
• ·        
  As part of the Plan, global donors pledged an aid of 5.4 billion US
  dollar to rebuild Gaza Strip. Aid announced by other countries for
  reconstruction of Gaza strip during the conference is as follows

• ·        
  Astronomers have discovered a new planet that resembles our own Uranus
  in a binary star system 25,000 light-years away.
• ·        
  This is the first time anyone has spotted a twin for our so-called “ice
  giant” planets, Uranus and Neptune.
• ·        
  While Uranus and Neptune are mostly composed of hydrogen and helium,
  they both contain significant amounts of methane ice, which gives them their bluish
  appearance.
• ·        
  Given that the newly discovered planet is so far away, astronomers can’t
  actually tell anything about its composition.
• ·        
  But its distance from its star suggests that it’s an ice giant — and
  since the planet’s orbit resembles that of Uranus, the astronomers are considering
  it to be a Uranus analog.
• ·        
  The newly discovered planet leads a turbulent existence: it orbits one
  star in a binary star system, with the other star close enough to disturb the
  planet’s orbit.
• ·        
  The find may help solve a mystery about the origins of the ice giants in
  our solar system, said Andrew Gould, professor of astronomy at Ohio State
  University.

• ·        
  India and Norway on 14 October 2014 signed 13 agreements to promote
  bilateral relations. These include agreement between Defence sector of two
  countries and an agreement on exemption of visa requirement for holders of diplomatic
  and official passports.
• ·        
  The agreements were signed in Oslo in the presence of President Pranab
  Mukherjee and Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg.

• ·        
  European Union (EU) judges struck down anti-terrorism sanctions against
  the Tamil Tigers that were imposed by the EU but said on Thursday that the
  assets of the Sri Lankan group should remain frozen for the time being.
• ·        
  The court said a decision by EU leaders in 2006 to place the Liberation
  Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on a list of terrorist organisations had been
  based on “imputations derived from the press and the Internet” rather than on
  direct investigation of the group’s actions, as required by law.
• ·        
  It said in a statement that the EU had also failed, when following
  Indian sanctions against the Tigers, to ensure that India gave sufficient
  judicial protection to those it accused.
• ·        
  However, the court rejected the LTTE’s contention that it was exempt
  from EU anti-terrorism legislation because it was engaged in an “armed
  conflict” with the Sri Lankan government and bound by the laws of war.
• ·        
  The court, which stressed it was taking no view on whether the LTTE was
  a terrorist organisation, said EU laws on terrorism also applied to armed
  conflicts.
• ·        
  Saying that sanctions might be applied in future against the Tigers, who
  were defeated militarily in 2009, the court said assets that were frozen should
  remain so “temporarily”.

• ·        
  Google on Wednesday ramped up its mobile arsenal, upgrading its Nexus
  line with a new tablet and smartphone, and unveiling its revamped Android software,
  to be dubbed “Lollipop”.
• ·        
  The US tech giant also announced the launch of a streaming media player
  for music, movies and videos, which can also allow users to play games via the
  Android TV device.
• ·        
  “Lollipop” or Android 5.0, the upgraded operating system for mobile, “is
  designed to be flexible, to work on all your devices and to be customized for
  you the way you see fit,” said Google vice president Sundar Pichai, who heads
  the Android operations.
• ·        
  With the new operating system, according to the Android Website, “The
  songs, photos, apps, and even recent searches from one of your Android devices
  can be immediately enjoyed across all of your Android devices.”
• ·        
  The new devices give Google and its Android partners a broader portfolio
  to compete against Apple, which launched two upgraded large-screen iPhones last
  month and is expected to unveil new iPads on Thursday.
• ·        
  The Nexus 6 smartphone becomes the newest and largest of the
  Google-branded handsets, and is produced by Motorola, which Google bought in
  2012 and is in the process of selling to China’s Lenovo.

• ·        
  Barcelona’s Luis Suarez received the Golden
  Boot award as Europe’s top scorer last season from Kenny Dalglish, who signed
  him for Liverpool in 2011, on Wednesday.
• ·        
  The Uruguayan scored 31 times to help
  Liverpool into second in the Premier League.
• ·        
  Now with Barcelona, the 27-year-old shared
  the award with Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who ended the campaign with the
  same tally. 

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