Current Affairs Update – 15th April, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the important current affairs of 15th April, 2015.

• Wholesale prices declined at a faster-than-expected annual
  rate of 2.33 per cent in March, their fifth straight fall, on the back of
  tumbling oil and manufacturing prices, Government data showed on Wednesday.
• The data compared with a 1.95 per cent year-on-year fall
  forecast by economists in a Reuters poll and a provisional 2.06 per cent
  decline in February.
• The reading for January wholesale price inflation was
  revised to -0.95 per cent from -0.39 per cent earlier.

• Public sector firms, including BHEL, Instrumentation Ltd and
  HMT, have firmed up six MoUs with companies from Germany, Switzerland, Russia
  and Bulgaria for scaling up Indian manufacturing in high-tech areas.
• The Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) were signed yesterday
  at an event organised by engineering exporters’ body EEPC India at the ongoing Hannover
  Messe fair in Germany.
• Power equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) inked
  a pact with Russian Joint stock company INTMA for upcoming projects in Russia
  and Kazakhstan.
• While Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Ltd and
  Bulgaria-based Milkotronics Ltd signed an MoU to manufacture milk analyzers in
  India, Instrumentations Ltd and German firm KE Kauer Engineering inked an
  agreement for production of control valves.
• Three MoUs were signed by Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT), the
  release said. HMT inked pact with Switzerland-based Num Controls for
  manufacturing of CNC controls, systems and drives.
• It also signed pacts with FT Machine Tools, Germany, for
  collaborating on flow forming machines and Enit GmbH for total engineering
  solutions.
• India is a partner country at the Hannover Messe 2015 fair,
  which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor
  Angela Merkel.

• ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank tied up with
  Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation to launch ICICI Bank Unifare Bangalore Metro
  card to offer debit and credit card benefits to commuters.
• Co-branded with MasterCard, the smart card uses Near Field
  Communication (NFC) technology and offers the commuters dual benefits of an
  ICICI Bank credit or debit card and BMRCL’s smart card, called Namma Metro
  Smart Card. “It has a unique auto recharge facility of loading Rs. 200 when the
  balance drops below Rs. 100. This auto recharge facility eliminates the need to
  wait in queues at ticket counters and vending machines,” ICICI bank said in a
  statement.
• Commuters can redeem reward points accumulated on their card
  for free metro rides, get 15 per cent discount on metro fare, 2.5 per cent fuel
  surcharge waiver across HPCL pumps with transaction swiped on an ICICI Merchant
  Services’ machine discounts on dining bills at select restaurants among others.
• Both existing and new credit or debit card customers can
  apply for this card, the bank said.

• ATMs and service provider NCR Corporation introduced a
  self-service banking channel, Android operating system – Kalpana software – an
  enterprise and cloud-based software platform that moves ATM software and
  operations to the cloud.
• The software has been designed to eliminate malware, to
  enable deployment of new devices and ATM services and reduce operating costs up
  to 40 per cent. “It is more secure than traditional ATM software because all
  software updates are originated and controlled at the server level,” the
  company said after launching it globally.
• At present, the US-based ATM provider has 47 per cent market
  share in India and 28 per cent share globally.
• NCR Corp expects the India ATM industry to grow over 200 per
  cent in the next five years. Dastur expects the number of ATMs to increase to
  4.40 lakh by 2019 as against 1.93 lakh at present.

• With a pay package of USD 84.3 million (Rs 525 crore) a
  year, technology giant Microsoft’s Indian-origin chief Satya Nadella has
  emerged as the top-paid CEO in the US, as per a new list.
• The Equilar 100 CEO Pay Study, an analysis of CEO salaries
  at the 100 largest public US companies as measured by revenue, was last year
  topped by Oracle’s Larry Ellison, who has been now pushed by Nadella to the
  second position.
• Another Indian-origin CEO, Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo, is ranked
  19th with USD 19.08 million. Legendary investor Warren Buffett of Berkshire
  Hathaway is ranked last at 100th position with a total compensation of USD
  464,011 million.

• Singapore-based investment firm Temasek on 14 April 2015
  acquired InnoVen Capital India, formerly known as SVB India Finance, for 300
  crore rupees.
• With this acquisition, Temasek announced its entry into the
  venture debt segment.
• InnoVen Capital India will be independently managed with a
  reconstituted board of 5 members, comprising Madhabi Puri Buch, former chief
  executive officer of ICICI Securities, as chairperson.
• Temasek has assets under management to the tune of 177
  billion US dollar as on 31 March 2014, and has actively invested across sectors
  like financial services, telecom, media, technology, life sciences, consumer
  and real estate.

• Restaurant search app Zomato has announced acquiring
  MaplePOS, a cloud-based point of sale product for restaurants.
• Renamed as Zomato Base, it has a functional Android-based
  POS system that uses custom hardware for better reliability and customization.
• It offers restaurants features such as menu and inventory
  management, and has a built-in payment solution to accept debit and credit card
  payments. With this acquisition, Zomato claimed it will be better placed to
  provide business-focused solutions for restaurants, which in turn, will help
  the company offer highly differentiated services to the end consumer.

• Online hotel bookings in the country will touch USD 1.8
  billion by 2016, as more and more Indians turn to the Internet for finalising
  travel plans, according to Google.
• Consumer confidence to do online hotel bookings is on the
  rise in India, with an estimated 8.4 million Indians likely to book hotels
  online by 2016. The online hotel booking Industry will be worth USD 1.8 billion
  from the current USD 0.8 billion.
• One of the biggest factors for this sizzling growth is the
  convenience the Internet offers while carrying out the transaction.

• International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 14 April 2015 released
  World Economic Outlook (WEO) April 2015 Report. The report is titled Uneven
  Growth: Short-term and Long-term Factors.
• Global growth is forecasted at 3.5 percent in 2015 and 3.8
  percent in 2016 which is in line with forecasts made in the January 2015 WEO
  Update. Also the global growth rate in 2015 is broadly same as it was in 2014.

• Global growth in 2015 will be driven by a rebound in
  advanced economies supported by the decline in oil prices.
• In advanced economies, growth is projected to strengthen in
  2015 relative to 2014, but in emerging market and developing economies it is
  expected to be weaker.

• India’s growth is projected to strengthen from 7.2% in 2014
  to 7.5 % in 2015 and 2016.
• For the first time since 1999, India’s growth rate may
  eclipse China’s and there is increasing divergence in the growth paths of the
  two countries.
• India is trying to shift from consumption to investment led
  growth at a time when China is going opposite way.

• India has slipped six places to rank 89th on a global
  Networked Readiness Index, showing a “widespread” weakness in its
  potential to leverage information and communications technologies for social
  and economic gains.
• While Singapore has replaced Finland on the top of the
  143-nation list, prepared by World Economic Forum (WEF), it has called for
  improvement in India’s business and innovation environment, infrastructure and
  skills availability.
• However, India has been ranked on the top globally on a
  sub-index for competition and affordability.
• Overall, India was ranked 83rd last year, and even better at
  68th position in 2013.
• WEF said India’s weakness is widespread, falling in the
  bottom half of seven of the 10 pillars of the index.
• In the top 10, Singapore is followed by Finland, Sweden, the
  Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, the US, the UK, Luxembourg and Japan, which
  has climbed an impressive six places year-on-year to 10th position.

• India and the European Union (EU) today forged a new digital
  partnership and discussed potential for collaboration in the fields of
  technology and innovation besides cooperation to create smart cities.
• The first India-EU Strategic Dialogue Series, organised by
  UK-based policy platform India Inc. Alongside key players like Microsoft and
  McKinsey, focussed on ‘Delivering Smart Communities’ as part of the Narendra
  Modi government’s Digital India drive.
• The Digital India Roundtable, supported by Tata Consultancy
  Services (TCS) and Germany-based IT solutions entity SAP, focussed on the
  potential of India-EU collaboration in the field of technology and innovation
  as well as in creating smart cities.

• Canada today agreed to supply 3,000 metric tonnes of uranium
  to energy-hungry India from this year under a USD 254 million five-year deal to
  power Indian reactors as the two countries decided to set in motion a new
  strategic partnership.
• The agreement for uranium supply, which came two years after
  protracted negotiations following the 2013 civil nuclear deal between India and
  Canada, was signed after comprehensive talks Prime Minister Narendra Modi had
  with his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper.
• Cameco Corporation will supply 3,000 metric tonnes of
  uranium over five years to India at an estimated cost of USD 254 million and
  the supply will start from this year, a top official said.
• Canada is the third country to supply uranium to India after
  Russia and Kazakhstan. The supplies will be under the International Atomic
  Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.

• The 5th meeting of SAARC Health Ministers was held on 8
  April 2015 in New Delhi. The meet ended with the adoption of Delhi Declaration
  on Public Health Challenges.
• The declaration focuses on issues common to member nations
  of South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). These issues
  include universal health coverage, improving health regulatory systems,
  preparedness for emerging and re-emerging diseases and the challenges posed by
  antimicrobial resistance and non-communicable diseases.

• Agreed to strengthen cooperation on mutually agreed
  agreements for prevention and control of infectious diseases and for sharing of
  information in accordance with international health regulations
• Agreed to strengthen capacities for surveillance and
  monitoring of disease, rapid response and expanding diagnostic facilities
• Resolved to strengthen cooperation to promote availability
  and effective coverage of affordable vaccines including pentavalent vaccine and
  to also strengthen our response to make SAARC region polio free
• Agreed to take appropriate coordinated action which may be
  required to be adopted by the Member States for prevention and control of
  Hepatitis which is a major public health issue in the region;

• The term Normandy Group was in news because the fifth
  meeting of the foreign ministers of the group members was held on 13 April 2015
  in Berlin, the capital of Germany.
• Normandy Group or Normandy Quartet is a group of four
  countries including Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine.
• The group was formed to facilitate a diplomatic resolution
  to the ongoing conflict between the Ukraine Army and pro-Russia forces in the
  Donbass region of Ukraine.
• It was formed on 6 June 2014 after an informal meeting of
  the four heads of state on the sidelines of commemoration of the seventieth
  anniversary of D Day in Normandy, France.
• From time to time, the group reviews the progress in
  implementing the truce pact, which came into force on 15 February 2015. The
  pact was reached in the Belarusian city of Minsk between pro-Russia forces and
  Ukraine to end the conflict.

• Researchers at Stanford University created a smartphone
  battery that charges in only one minute. The project was published on 6 April
  2015. Stanford University chemistry professor Hongjie Dai is the lead
  researcher of the project.
• The battery invented is the first high-performance aluminum
  battery which is fast-charging, long-lasting and inexpensive.
• The researchers placed the aluminum anode, a graphite
  cathode and an ionic liquid electrolyte inside of a polymer-coated pouch. The
  electrolyte is essentially a salt that is liquid at room temperature so it is
  safe.

• Senior diplomat Mohan Kumar, currently India’s top envoy to
  Bahrain, has been appointed the next Ambassador to France to succeed Arun
  Kumar.
• A 1981-batch IFS officer, Mohan Kumar is expected to take up
  his assignment shortly, External Affairs Ministry said today.
• The official announcement for Mohan Kumar’s appointment
  comes six days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France.
• Arun Kumar has been appointed the country’s Ambassador to the
  US, replacing S Jaishankar.
• Incidentally, before becoming Ambassador to Bahrain in 2010,
  Mohan Kumar served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian Embassy in Paris
  for three years.

• Meenakshi Madan Rai on 15 April 2015 was sworn in as the
  first lady judge of the Sikkim High Court. Her oath of the office was
  administered by the Governor Srinivas Patil at Ashirwad Hall at Raj Bhavan in
  Gangtok.
• Rai is also the third High Court judge who hails from the
  small border state.
• This appointment of Rai as the judge of the Sikkim High
  Court has helped the state to get its full strength of three judges after a gap
  of about one year.

• Vice President Hamid Ansari today released a book which is a
  collection of thoughts and ideas of 33 Indian diplomats during their years in
  foreign service.
• India and the World – Through the eyes of Indian Diplomats
  has been edited by diplomat Surendra Kumar-founded Indo-American Friendship
  Association in 2010.
• “The book has been very rightly described as a bouquet
  of 33 Flowers as it is a fair description of experiences of 33 distinguished
  diplomats and what has happened over the years since the foreign service
  began,” the Vice President said.
• Commending the editor of the book, he hoped it will be read
  by young entrants in this service and the public at large.
• The work representing three generations, those who joined in
  1950s, 1960s and in 1970s.

• Renowned Assamese filmmaker and actor Bidyut Chakraborty
  breathed his last today in a private nursing home in Guwahati after brief
  illness.
• He directed several Assamese movies including Raag-Biraag,
  Goon Goon Gaane Gaane, Dwaar. Chakraborty even won Indira Gandhi national award
  for Raag Biraag.
• Apart from direction, Chakraborty acted in several Assamese
  movies and serials.
• Assam film fraternity and civil society organizations has
  condoled the demise of Chakraborty. Last tributes are being paid to the
  departed soul by people from all walks of life.

Regards

Team ExamPundit

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