Current Affairs Update – 16th April, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the important Current Affairs of 16th Apri, 2015.

• Banks may
  soon pay you more interest if you deposit above ₹15 lakh in a fixed deposit without
  premature withdrawal.
• The Reserve
  Bank of India on Thursday said banks will have the discretion to offer
  differential interest rates based on whether the term deposits are with or
  without premature-withdrawal facility.
• While all
  term deposits of individuals (held singly or jointly) of ₹15 lakh and below should necessarily
  have premature withdrawal facility, the RBI said for all term deposits above
  this amount banks can now offer ‘the
  without premature withdrawal’
  option.
• So far, banks
  could quote differential rates of interest for deposits of the same maturity on
  bulk deposits of ₹1 crore and above. In its latest notification on interest rate on
  deposits, the RBI said banks should disclose in advance the schedule of
  interest rates payable on deposits —
  all deposits mobilised by banks should be strictly in conformity with the
  published schedule.
• Banks should
  have a board-approved policy with regard to interest rates on deposits,
  including those with differential rates of interest. And, they should ensure
  that the interest rates offered are reasonable, consistent, transparent and
  available for supervisory review/scrutiny as and when required.

• RBL Bank
  (formerly Ratnakar Bank) has launched India’s first golf-centric credit card.
  The card — based on the premium MasterCard World platform — has been launched
  in association with the Indian Golf Union (IGU).
• Targeted at
  golf enthusiasts, the RBL IGU NHS Golf World card automatically enrols clients
  to the National Handicap Service (NHS) of the IGU with the additional benefit
  of earning a cash-back amount equivalent to the NHS yearly membership fee.
• The card will
  be free for life for customers and offers a host of golfing privileges such as
  discounted golf accessories, complimentary golf access and hole-in-one celebration
  bonuses, among others.
• Customers
  will have access to 11 premier golf courses across the country, a 50 per cent
  discount on green fees and free golf lessons.

• The Reserve
  Bank will launch Rs. 10 coins to commemorate the centenary of return of Mahatma
  Gandhi to India from South Africa.
• “The
  Government of India has minted the coins which the Reserve Bank of India will
  shortly put into circulation,” it said in a notification.
• The existing
  coins in this denomination shall also continue to be legal tender, it added.

• National
  Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) on Thursday announced a tie up with
  Gujarat International Finance Tec City (GIFT City) here for setting up an
  International Commodity and Derivatives Exchange
• NCDEX said it
  intends to establish this exchange in GIFT SEZ area, a multi-services Special
  Economic Zone (SEZ) being developed as India’s first International Financial
  Services Centre (IFSC) by GIFT SEZ Ltd. a wholly-owned subsidiary of GIFT
  Company Ltd (GIFTCL).
• On Thursday,
  GIFT SEZ and NCDEX signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) here for
  developing the exchange to provide electronic platform for facilitating
  trading, clearing and settlement of securities, commodities, interest rates,
  currencies, other classes of assets and derivatives by international investors,
  subject to necessary approvals and operating guidelines for IFSC.

• The
  Surface-to-Surface Agni III ballistic missile was successfully test-fired on 16
  April 2015 from the Wheelar Isalnd off the Odisha coast in the Bay of Bengal.
• Although the
  missile has a strike range of more than 3000 km, in the present test-fire, it
  was tested for a lesser range.
• The test-fire
  was conducted from a mobile launcher by the Strategic Force Command (SFC) with
  the logistic support from the Defence Research and Development Organisation
  (DRDO).
• SFC is a part
  of India’s Nuclear Command Authority (NCA) which is responsible for the
  management and administration of the country’s tactical and strategic nuclear
  weapons stockpile.
• The
  Surface-to-Surface nuclear capable intermediate-range ballistic missile can hit
  targets in the range of 3000 km.

• The first,
  mostly indigenously built ship of a follow-up project of the Kolkata class
  warships is ready to be put to the sea, officials said on Thursday.
• The ship,
  named Visakhapatnam (Project 15 B), a stealth destroyer, is 65 per cent
  indigenous and has a number of weapon systems which have been made at home.
• This is the
  first time virtual designing and 3D modelling have been used largely to design
  a warship. This ship will be a stepping stone for handling larger warships in
  future.
• Vishakhapatnam,
  a 7,300-tonne destroyer is the first of four ships that India is making under
  Project 15 B, a follow-up of Kolkata class of warships.
• Navy
  officials said the ship is likely to be inducted in the Indian Navy by 2018.

• India and
  Belarus on 15 April 2015 agreed to enhance their bilateral ties especially in the
  field of trade and economy.
• The agreement
  was reached during the meeting of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus
  Vladimir Makei with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi. He
  also met with President Pranab Mukherjee.
• Makei was on
  a three-day official visit to India from 14 April to 16 April 2015 on the
  invitation of Swaraj.
• The two
  nations discussed regional and international issues of mutual interests
• Discussion on
  bilateral issues including high level political engagement, trade and
  investment, science and technology, defence, energy and culture were held
• The two
  Ministers agreed to work together to further enhance these relations

• United
  Nations (UN) peace envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar resigned on 16 April 2015. He
  was serving as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s special envoy for Yemen since
  2012.
• He joined UN
  in 1994, serving various UN entities, including the United Nations Development
  Programme (UNDP), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
  (OHCHR) and the UN Department of Political Affairs (DPA).
• His
  resignation comes at a time when the fighting in the region has escalated after
  a Saudi-led coalition launched an air war on 26 March 2015 to stop the advance
  by the Shiite Houthis.

• NASA’s New
  Horizons spacecraft has sent back its first colour image of the dwarf planet
  Pluto and its largest moon Charon, after more than nine years of travelling
  through the solar system.
• The new
  photo, taken on April 9 from a distance of about 115 million kilometres, is
  already providing insights about Pluto and Charon, as well as suggestions of
  the science to come when New Horizons flies by the Pluto system on July 14,
  NASA said.
• New Horizons,
  which launched in January 2006, will be one of five spacecraft to visit the
  outer edges of the solar system, following in the footsteps of NASA’s Pioneer
  10 and 11 and Voyager 1 and 2 probes.

• In a sign of
  warm personal friendship, US President Barack Obama has written a profile for
  Prime Minister Narendra Modi for TIME Magazine as it named the Indian leader
  among the 100 most influential people in the world.
• In the
  profile titled ‘India’s reformer-in-chief’, Obama has described Modi’s life
  story “from poverty to Prime Minister” as one that reflects the
  dynamism and potential of India’s rise.
• “Like India, he transcends the
  ancient and the modern—a devotee of yoga who connects with Indian citizens on
  Twitter and imagines a ‘digital India’,” the US President wrote.
• Obama
  recalled Modi’s visit to Washington last year when both the leaders visited the
  memorial to Dr Martin Luther King Junior, an American civil rights activist.

• Pakistan and
  Russia have agreed to hold first-ever joint military exercises as part of their
  enhanced defence cooperation, in a sign of increasing bonhomie between the Cold
  War-era adversaries.
• The agreement
  was reached during a meeting in Moscow between Pakistan Defence Minister
  Khawaja Asif and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu, Express Tribune reported.
• Pakistan and
  Russia last year signed a military cooperation agreement to deepen their
  defence ties and vowed to translate their relationship in “tangible”
  terms during the first-ever visit of a Russian defence minister in 45 years.
• Russian
  Defence Minister Shoigu’s visit last November to Pakistan came at a very
  critical juncture as US-led NATO forces drawdown from Afghanistan.

• Professors
  Susanta Lahiri and Kattesh V. Katti received Hevesy Medal Award 2015 for their
  outstanding contributions in the fields of radio and nuclear chemistry.
• The awards
  were presented to them on 12 April 2015 at the Tenth International Conference
  on Methods and Applications of Radio-analytical Chemistry held in USA.
• Susanta
  Lahiri is a Professor at Chemical Sciences Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear
  Physics in Kolkata. He won the award for his contributions to heavy ion induced
  radioisotope production, converter targets, green chemistry and tracer packet
  technique. He is also credited with co-creating Ununseptium chemical element
  (atomic number 117) in collaboration with other national and international
  scientists.
• Kattesh V.
  Katti is a professor at the Cedntre for Radiological Research, University of
  Missouri in Columbia, the US. His research interests in the domain of Nano
  Science and Technology include exploring chemical, biophysical, magnetic and
  photo physical properties, which are unique to specific nanoparticulates,
  toward the design and development of sophisticated diagnostic and therapeutic
  agents.
• The Hevesy
  Medal Award 2014 was presented to Heino Nitsche of University of California in
  recognition of his international contributions to heavy element chemistry and
  actinide environmental chemistry.

• Asia Cup 2016
  is set to undergo a radical change and will be a Twenty20 competition instead
  of the 50-over game, outgoing Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief executive Syed
  Ashraful Haq revealed on Thursday.
• Ashraful said
  that not only would the tournament continue every two years, it would be
  revamped to include more Associate nations and mirror the World Cup format.
• He added the
  2016 edition would be held early next year as a prelude to the World Twenty20,
  which will be held in India from March 11 to April 3, according to an exclusive
  report cricket.com.au.
• The
  tournament would then revert to a 50-over tournament in 2018 ahead of the 2019
  World Cup in England and be played as a T20 competition again in 2020.

• Indian
  batting legend Sachin Tendulkar on 15 April 2015 was elected as member of
  prestigious Laureus Sports Academy. He was named as member at the 16th Laureus
  World Sports Awards ceremony in Shanghai, China.
• He was
  elected along with retired Chinese professional basketball player Yao Ming.
  With this, the total number of members of Laureus Sports Academy reached 52.
• Kapil Dev and
  Rahul Dravid are the other Indian cricketers to have received this recognition.
• Besides,
  former FC Barcelona and Spain star Carles Puyol was named as the Laureus Ambassador.
• The Laureus
  World Sports Academy is a unique association of 52 of the greatest living
  sporting legends, under the chairmanship of Edwin Moses. The Academy Members
  act as global ambassadors for Laureus, volunteering their time to support the
  work of the Foundation.

• The Laureus
  World Sports Awards for the year 2015 were given in seven categories on 15
  April 2015 at Shanghai in China. Ace tennis star Novak Djokovic of Serbia and
  sprinter Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia were named as the Laureus World Sportsman
  and Sportswoman of the 2015 respectively.

1. Laureus World Sportsman of the Year: Novak Djokovic, the Serbian tennis
   star
2. Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year: Genzebe Dibaba, the Ethiopian
   sprinter
3. Laureus World Team of the Year: Germany Men’s Football Team
4. Laureus World Comeback of the Year: Schalk Burger of South Africa, who
   fought through life-threatening meningitis to win back his place in the
   Springboks rugby team
5. Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year
   with a Disability:
   Tatyana McFadden, the wheelchair racer 
6. Laureus World Action Sportsperson of
   the Year: Alan
   Eustace, he holds the world record for the highest-altitude free fall jump

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