Current Affairs Update – 16th October, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs Update of 16th October, 2015. These are important for the upcoming IBPS PO Mains and IBPS Clerk.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 15 October 2015 formed a
  single Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF) with a corpus of 2000 crore rupees. The
  fund was formed by merging the Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF) and Financial
  Inclusion Technology Fund (FITF).
• The RBI also finalised the new scope of activities and
  guidelines for utilisation of the new FIF in consultation with the Union
  Government. The new FIF will be administered by the reconstituted Advisory
  Board constituted by Union Government and will be maintained by NABARD.

• The overall corpus of the new FIF will be 2000 crore rupees.
• Contribution to FIF would be from the interest differential
  in excess of 0.5 percent on RIDF and STCRC deposits on account of shortfall in priority
  sector lending kept with NABARD by banks.
• All the assets and liabilities of the erstwhile FITF as well
  as prior commitments from FITF for projects already sanctioned will be
  transferred to/reimbursed from FIF.
• The Fund will be in operation for another three years or
  till such period as may be decided by RBI and Union Government in consultation
  with other stake holders.

• To support developmental and promotional activities with a
  view to securing greater financial inclusion
• The development and promotional activities include creation
  of FI infrastructure across the country, capacity building of stakeholders,
  creation of awareness to address demand side issues, enhanced investment in
  Green Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solution and increased
  technological absorption capacity of financial service providers/users.
• The fund shall not be utilized for normal business/banking
  activities.
• To help create an eco-system that would support banks
  investment for future business expansion.
• To mobilise significant investment required for further
  facilitating investments from banks and other financial institutions in
  addition to ICT-BC (Information Communication Technology – Business
  Correspondent) model as a mode for expanding banking operations in the unbanked
  areas

• Telecom Regulatory Authority of Indian (TRAI) on 16 October
  2015 made it mandatory for mobile service providers (MSPs) to compensate
  consumers call drops with effect from 1 January 2016.
• The notification was issued by the TRAI as ninth amendment
  to the Telecom Consumer Protection Regulations, 2012.

• Credit the account of the calling consumer by one rupee.
  However, such credit in the account of the calling consumer will be limited to
  three dropped calls in a day.
• Send a message through SMS/USSD to the calling consumer
  within four hours of the occurrence of call drop and details of the amount
  credited into his account.
• In case of post-paid consumers provide the detail of the
  credit in the next bill.

• The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) of
  Malaysia on 15 October 2015 proposed to invest 30 billion US dollars in urban
  development and housing projects in India.
• The redevelopment of New Delhi Railway Station adjoining
  area as a mini-smart city is proposed to be taken up with an investment of
  about 24 billion US dollars. CIDB also proposed to take up a Green City Project
  at Garhmukhteshwar in Uttar Pradesh involving housing and Ganga cleaning
  projects with an investment of about 4 billion US dollars.
• The National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) of
  the Union Ministry of Urban Development will be associated with these projects.

• The Government of Jharkhand and GAIL (India) Limited on 15
  October 2015 inked a Gas Cooperation Agreement (GCA) for creation of Natural
  Gas and City Gas Distribution infrastructure. The infrastructure will assist
  the construction of Urja Ganga Jagdishpur-Haldia Pipeline project in the state.
• The project aims at connecting eastern India to the national
  natural gas grid.
• As per the terms of agreement, GAIL will set up a 174
  kilometres main line and 166 kilometres spurlines in Jharkhand as part of the
  2050 kilometres Jagdishpur-Haldia gas pipeline project linking Uttar Pradesh,
  Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
• The pipeline will pass through six districts, Bokaro,
  Giridih, Hazaribagh, Dhanbad, East Singbhum and Ranchi.

• The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on 14 October 2015
  introduced a scheme called Central Victim Compensation Fund (CVCF) with an
  initial amount of 200 crore rupees. The scheme aims at enabling support to
  victims of various attacks, such as rape, acid attacks, human trafficking and
  women killed or injured in the cross border firing.
• States were asked to accordingly modify the State Victim
  Compensation Schemes to reduce inconsistency in quantum of compensation amount
  notified by them and claim financial support from the CVCF.

• To support and supplement the existing Victim Compensation
  Schemes (VCS) notified by states/UT administrations.
• To reduce disparity in quantum of compensation amount
  notified by different states / UTs for victims of similar crimes.
• To encourage states / UTs to effectively implement the
  Victim Compensation Scheme notified by them under the provisions of Section
  357A of Cr. P.C.

• Union Minister of Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu on 15
  October 2015 declared that former President Dr. Abdul Kalam’s birth place
  Rameswaram has been included in Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban
  Transformation (AMRUT) for providing basic urban infrastructure.
• The announcement was made on the occasion of 84th birth
  anniversary of Dr. Kalam at a programme organised at DRDO.
• Rameswaram is the 498th to be included in the Mission. With
  the addition of Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu would have 32 cities and towns under
  Atal Mission.

• The five-judge Constitutional Bench of Supreme Court (SC) in
  a collective order on 16 October 2015 ruled that 99th Constitutional Amendment
  Act and the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, 2014 is
  unconstitutional and void.
• It also upheld the Collegium system that existed before the
  NJAC as operative. Collegium System was established by the SC in 1993 for the
  appointment of judges to the higher judiciary.

• India and Israel on 15 October 2015 inked ten Memoranda of
  Understandings (MoUs) in various fields. The MoUs were signed as part of the
  President Pranab Mukherjee’s state visit to Israel.
• Mukherjee was on a three-day visit to Israel from 13 to 15
  October 2015. He visited the country at the invitation of Reuven Rivlin,
  President of State of Israel. He is the first ever President of India to visit
  Israel.
• During the tour to Israel, President Mukherjee was
  accompanied by a high level delegation including Thaawar Chand Gehlot, Union
  Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Members of parliament, senior
  officials, senior representatives of our educational and academic institution
  and media representatives.

1. Protocol amending the Convention and the Protocol for the
   Avoidance of Double Taxation and for the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with
   respect to taxes on income and on capital.
2. Cultural Exchange Programme for the years 2015-2018.
3. MoU between Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and
   Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
4. Agreement of Cooperation between the Hebrew University of
   Jerusalem and Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.
5. MoU for Institutional Collaboration between Indian Institute
   of Technology, Kharagpur (IITKGP) and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, (BGU).
6. MoU between Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and
   Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
7. Framework for Academic Collaboration between the Indian Institute
   of Technology Kharagpur and the University of Haifa Haifa, Israel.
8. MoU between the University of Delhi, Delhi and Ben-Gurion
   University of the Negev, (BGU), Beer Sheva, Israel.
9. Agreement of Cooperation between the Hebrew University of
   Jerusalem, Israel and the University of Delhi, India.
10. MOU between the University of Delhi, India and IDC,
    Herzilya, Israel.

• The International Religious Freedom Report 2014 was released
  on 14 October 2015 by the US State Department. The Report attempts to give
  voice to those oppressed people and to document when and where the universal
  human right to religious freedom was violated.
• The report comprises almost 200 distinct reports on
  countries and territories. It details the actions of Non-State Actors who
  committed some of the most egregious human rights abuses and caused significant
  damage to the global status of respect for religious freedom.
• While the constitution guarantees freedom of religion,
  mandates a secular state, it also stipulates that citizens practice their faith
  in a way that does not adversely affect public order, morality, and health. Six
  out of 29 state governments of India enforced existing anti-conversion laws.
• There are operative anti-conversion laws in six of the 29
  states: Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and
  Madhya Pradesh.
• Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Karnataka top the list of
  states in which Christians faced incidents of targeted communal violence in
  2013. There were as many as 151 incidents of anti-Christian violence, with
  Andhra Pradesh registering 41 cases, Chhattisgarh 28, and Karnataka 27.

• M K Surana will be the new Chairman and Managing Director of
  Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL), India’s third largest oil marketing
  company.
• Government headhunter Public Enterprise Selection Board
  (PESB) selected Surana for the top job at HPCL after interviewing a dozen candidates
  yesterday.
• Surana, 53, is currently the CEO of Prize Petroleum Co Ltd,
  the upstream oil exploration arm of HPCL.
• He will replace Nishi Vasudeva on her retirement at the end
  of March 2016.
• PESB in a notification said it interviewed 12 candidates
  including HPCL Director (HR) P K Joshi and STC Chairman Khaleel Rahim.

• World Food Day (WFD) was observed across the world on 16
  October 2015 with the theme Social Protection and Agriculture. The day is
  observed with an aim to raise public awareness about hunger challenges and
  encourage people worldwide to take action in the fight against hunger. 
• The theme aims to underline the role social protection plays
  in reducing chronic food insecurity and poverty by ensuring direct access to
  food or the means to buy food. Social protection is, moreover, a viable
  alternative for stimulating agricultural production and local economic
  activity.
• The theme particularly reflects WFOs (World Farmers
  Organisation) intention to highlight important agriculture-related issues,
  drawing attention to achievements in rural development and encouraging
  agricultural food production.

• Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has received an honorary
  degree from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
• Shah Rukh received the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa from
  the University Chancellor HRH The Princess Royal in Edinburgh.
• The 49-year-old “Chennai Express” star, who has appeared in
  more than 80 films, was presented with the degree in recognition of his
  outstanding record of philanthropy, altruism and humanitarianism and his global
  reach as an actor.
• His charitable work includes bringing solar power to rural
  villages in India, creating a children’s ward at a Mumbai hospital and
  supporting relief funds to assist areas devastated by tsunamis.

• The Indian team ended its campaign in the 2015 Commonwealth
  Youth, Junior & Senior weightlifting championships on a high after emerging
  triumphant in as many as five categories out of six here.
• India bagged the top honours in senior men, senior women,
  junior men, junior women and youth girls categories, while finishing runners-up
  in the youth boys division.
• In the youth boys section, the trophy went to the Sri Lankan
  team.
• S Sathish Kumar (77kg) was adjudged best lifter in senior
  men’s category, while S Mirabai Chanu (48kg) emerged as best lifter in senior
  women’s section.
• R V Rahul (85kg, junior men), Pramila Krisani (53kg, junior
  women), Mohini Chavan (48kg, youth girls) and Lalu Taku (69kg, youth boys) won
  the best lifters’ awards in their respective weight categories at the
  conclusion of the tournament last night.

Regards

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