Current Affairs Update – 20 Nov, 2014

Finance / Business

1. Kotak Mahindra Bank to acquire ING Vysya
Bank in an all stock deal

  • ·        
    Kotak Mahindra Bank today decided to acquire mid-sized lender ING Vysya
    Bank in an all-share transaction to strengthen its position ahead of entry of
    new players.
  • ·        
    The Uday Kotak run bank said the consolidation was founded on leveraging
    “significant complementaries that exist between the two banks.”
  • ·        
    The merger would be done through a share swap in which 725 equity shares
    of Rs 5 each of Kotak Mahindra will be issued for every 1,000 shares of Rs 10
    each held in ING Vysya Bank.
  • ·        
    Netherlands-based ING holds 42.73 per cent stake in ING Vysya Bank
    through two investment vehicles routed through Mauritius.
  • ·        
    ING Vysya Bank shares closed 7.15 per cent at Rs 814.20 per on the BSE
    ahead of the announcement which came after trading hours.

2. RBI allows FIIs to buy equity in Yes Bank

  • ·        
    The Reserve Bank today said FIIs can buy equity shares in private lender
    Yes Bank as shareholding by foreign investors has gone below the prescribed
    limit.
  • ·        
    The RBI has removed Yes Bank from its caution list of monitoring foreign
    investment following the dip in shareholding by foreign investors below the
    prescribed limit.
  • ·        
    As per the data available on the BSE, FIIs held 46.30 per cent in Yes
    Bank as of quarter ended September 2014.
  • ·        
    RBI monitors ceilings on FII/NRI/PIO investments in Indian companies on
    a daily basis. The RBI has fixed cut-off points two percentage points lower
    than the actual ceiling.

3. India’s online shopper base to touch 100
mn by 2016
  • ·        
    India will have nearly 100 million online shopper base by 2016 as
    consumer confidence to shop online continues to be on the rise. According to
    Google’s annual online shopping growth trends report, in collaboration with
    Forrester Consulting, India’s e-tailing market is at an inflection point and
    will see rapid growth to become a $15 billion market by 2016.
  • ·        
    The report said that the nearly 71 per cent of non-buyers from Tier 1
    and Tier 2 cities said that they plan to shop online in next 12 months. Also
    women buyers in Teir 1 cities were found to be more engaged in online shopping
    and outspend men. Categories like apparels, beauty and skincare, home
    furnishing, baby products and jewellery, were driven by women buyers.
  • ·        
    About 6,859 respondents covering both online buyers and non-buyers were
    interviewed across 50 cities and towns for this research.

4. Zomato raised 60 million dollars of Fund
from Info Edge, Vy Capital & Sequoia

  • ·        
    Online restaurant guide Zomato raised 60 million US dollars of fund from
    Info Edge, Vy Capital & Sequoia. The fund will be used to accelerate the
    company’s global expansion and new product development.
  • ·        
    Zomato has raised a total of 113 million US dollars (about 700 crore
    rupees) till date.
  • ·        
    Zomato claimed to see over 30 million visits across its web and mobile
    platforms every month and planned to expand to 14 more countries across Europe,
    South-East Asia, Australia, and the America.
  • ·        
    The current valuation of Zomato is more than four times its 150-million
    US dollars valuation when it raised 37 million US dollars in November 2013 led
    by Sequoia Capital.

5. Tech Mahindra acquires US based LCC for
$240 million

  • ·        
    Tech Mahindra Ltd., India’s fifth largest software services exporter,
    has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire US-based Lightbridge
    Communications Corporation (LCC) for $240 million.
  • ·        
    LCC is a global network services leader. The transaction is expected to
    close by fourth quarter of Tech Mahindra’s fiscal year 2015.
  • ·        
    Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, LCC is one-of-the world’s largest
    independent global providers of network engineering services to the
    telecommunications industry, with more than 5,000 employees in over 50
    countries, said a statement by Tech Mahindra in Hyderabad on Thursday.
  • ·        
    With annual revenues of more than $400 million, LCC has built 350
    networks and designed more than 350,000 cell sites for over 400 customers
    worldwide. The acquisition positions Tech Mahindra, a specialist in digital
    transformation, consulting and business re-engineering, as the pre-eminent
    partner for network services globally.
  • ·        
    With this acquisition, Tech Mahindra will also be addressing a rapidly
    growing market opportunity as telecommunications companies and enterprises
    accelerate the network upgrade cycle.

6. Govt to set up Rs 1,500-cr fund for
shipbuilding
  • ·        
    Government is in “advanced stages” to have a dedicated fund
    for shipbuilding industry to be handled by Exim Bank which will help the ailing
    sector with at least Rs 15,000 crore of funds, a top official said.
  • ·        
    “We are planning to open a dedicated shipping fund within Exim
    Bank. It is a proposal at an advanced stage,” Exim Bank chairman and
    managing director Yaduvendra Mathur told reporters.
  • ·        
    The fund will be for financing the construction, and refitting and
    repair of ships, Mathur said on the sidelines of the Asian Exim Banks Forum in
    Jodhpur.
  • ·        
    He said the government has decided to set aside Rs 1,500 crore for the
    purpose, which will serve as the equity and when combined with Exim Bank’s
    capability to leverage ten times, can result in the availability of Rs 15,000
    crore in fresh liquidity to the sector.
  • ·        
    Initially, there was talk of creating a corporation to handle this but
    given past experience of an unsatisfactory outcome after formation of such a body,
    the government may come to Exim Bank, Mathur said.

7. Yahoo to replace Google as default US
Firefox search engine

  • ·        
    Yahoo will supplant Google’s search engine on Firefox’s Web browser in
    the US, signaling Yahoo’s resolve to regain some of the ground that it has lost
    in the most lucrative part of the Internet’s ad market.
  • ·        
    The five-year alliance announced Wednesday will end a decade-old
    partnership in the US between Google Inc. and the Mozilla Foundation, which
    oversees the Firefox browser. The tensions between Google and Mozilla had been
    rising since Google’s introduction of the Chrome browser in 2008 began to
    undercut Firefox. Google’s current contract with Mozilla expires at the end of
    this month, opening an opportunity for Yahoo to pounce.
  • ·        
    Even though Chrome is now more widely used, Firefox still has a loyal
    audience that makes more than 100 billion worldwide search requests annually.
  • ·        
    Yahoo is hoping to impress Firefox users as the Sunnyvale, California,
    company sets out to prove that it’s still adept at Internet search after
    leaning on Microsoft’s technology for most of the results on Yahoo’s own
    website for the past four years.

8. Inform customers about fall in minimum
balance: RBI to banks
  • ·        
    The Reserve Bank on Thursday asked banks to inform their customers about
    fall in minimum balance well in advance and said that penal charges should be
    levied only to the extent of shortfall in such balances.
  • ·        
    The guidelines with respect to levying of penal charges for
    non-maintenance of minimum balance will come into effect from April 1, 2015.
  • ·        
    “… it has been decided that while levying charges for non-maintenance
    of minimum balance in savings bank account, banks shall adhere to the
    additional guidelines,” RBI said in a notification addressed to banks.
  • ·        
    As per detailed guidelines, RBI said the penal charges should be
    directly proportionate to the extent of shortfall observed.
  • ·        
    “Charges should be a fixed percentage levied on the amount of difference
    between the actual balance maintained and the minimum balance as agreed upon at
    the time of opening of account. A suitable slab structure for recovery of charges
    may be finalised,” RBI said.
  • ·        
    Further, in the event of a default in maintenance of minimum balance,
    the bank should notify the customer clearly by SMS/email/letter, giving them
    time period of one month to restore the balance so as to avoid penal charges.
  • ·        
    RBI said banks should not take undue advantage of customer difficulty or
    inattention.
  • ·        
    Instead of levying penal charges for non-maintenance of minimum balance
    in ordinary savings bank accounts, banks should limit services available on
    such accounts to those available to basic savings bank deposit accounts and
    restore the services when the balances improve to the minimum required level.

India
9. Assam Zoo set to become the first zoo in
world to have the critically endangered Pygmy Hog

  • ·        
    Assam State Zoo in Guwahati in the third week of November 2014 decided
    to have the critically endangered pig Pygmy Hog (Porcula salvania). Pygmy Hog
    is the rarest and smallest wild pig in the world.
  • ·        
    With this decision, Assam State Zoo is set to become the first and only
    zoo of the world to have this critically endangered species of pigs.
  • ·        
    The Zoo took the decision to have the Pigmy Hogs as they are on the
    brink of extinction, and they want to make the zoo a captive breeding centre
    for the critically endangered mammals.
  • ·        
    The Pygmy Hog Research and Breeding Centre at Basistha, Assam will provide
    the pigs to the Assam zoo.
  • ·        
    In order to conserve the Pygmy Hog, a simulated habitat has been created
    in an enclosure in the Zoo by growing Barenga grass. The grass was collected
    from Orang National Park.
  • ·        
    Assam Zoo, earlier, between 1970 and 1990 had some pigmy hogs for public
    viewing and have planned to have them again for public view after a gap of
    almost two decades
  • ·        
    Pygmy hog is the smallest and rarest of wild pigs available in Assam. At
    present number of this critically endangered mammal are around 200 only. The
    species measures about 65 cm in length and 25 cm in height. It weighs around 8
    to 9 kilograms.
  • ·        
    The species is at the brink of extinction as it has been exterminated
    from most of its original range in India and Nepal. Earlier, the species were
    found in a narrow strip of tall and wet grassland plains in the area south of
    the Himalayan foothills from Uttar Pradesh to Assam, through Nepal terai and
    Bengal duars.
  • ·        
    At present, the species is restricted only in northwestern Assam in
    places like Manas Tiger Reserve, Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary and Orang
    National Park.

10. Neel Mukherjee, the author of Lives of
Others, shortlisted for Costa Book Awards

  • ·        
    Neel Mukherjee was in news because his book Lives of Others was
    shortlisted for Costa Book Awards on 19 November 2014.
  • ·        
    His book was shortlisted under the Novel Award category. The award will
    be announced on 5 January 2015 while the overall Costa Book of the Year will be
    announced on 27 January 2015.
  • ·        
    The book is based upon the Naxalite movement of the 1960s and unfolds a
    family history.
  • ·        
    Earlier in 2014, the same novel was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize
    but narrowly lost to Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North.
  • ·        
    Along with, Neel Mukherjee, 10 male and 10 female authors are selected
    for this year award out of total 640 entries. This year the authority received
    the highest number of entries ever.
  • ·        
    Awards will be given five categories – first novel, novel, biography,
    poetry and children’s book. Winners in the five categories will receive 5000
    pounds each while the overall winner of the Costa Book of the Year 2014 will
    receive 30000 pounds.

11. Rampal Singh Jatin arrested by Haryana
Police from his ashram in Hisar

  • ·        
    Rampal Singh Jatin was in news because he was arrested by Haryana Police
    on 19 November 2014 from his fortified Satlok Ashram in Hisar of Haryana. He is
    famous as Sant Rampal and is a self-styled Godman.
  • ·        
    He was arrested after two weeks of intense attempts by police to arrest
    him that involved rioting in which scores of persons were injured and around 5
    persons were killed.
  • ·        
    He was arrested under fresh cases of sedition, criminal conspiracy and
    rioting. Rampal will be produced in the Haryana and Punjab High Court on 20
    November 2014.
  • ·        
    He was booked after the Haryana and Punjab High Court directed the
    Haryana Government and Police to arrest Rampal without fail after he defied
    court orders thrice in contempt case citing bad health. His non-appearances
    forced the court to issue non-bailable warrants against him.

Problem that led to Court order and his
arrest

·        
Rampal in 2006 criticised Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of Arya Samaj
his criticism led to violent clashes at Karontha ashram between the followers
of two sects, in which an Arya Samaj follower was killed.
·        
Following the death of the follower of Arya Samaj, Rampal was charged
with murder, and was arrested but was released in 2008 after spending several
months in jail.
12. PESB recommended Sutirtha Bhattacharya as
CMD of Coal India Limited
  • ·        
    Sutirtha Bhattacharya will be the new Chairman and Managing Director
    (CMD) of Coal India Limited (CIL). His name was recommended by the Public
    Enterprises Services Board (PESB) on 19 November 2014.
  • ·        
    Bhattacharya is a 1985-batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre.
    Currently, he is on superannuation and serving as the CMD of Singareni
    Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL), Hyderabad – the second largest coal mining
    company after CIL.
  • ·        
    Earlier he has served in urban development, power, agriculture and land
    revenue departments of the Andhra Pradesh government.
  • ·        
    Bhattacharya was selected from the list of 12 candidates who applied for
    the post the head of Coal India.
  • ·        
    CIL, the national miner and Maharatna of India, has been without a
    full-time CMD since May 2014. The last CMD S Narsing Rao resigned from the post
    in May 2014.

13. Union Civil Aviation Ministry approved
the sale of Mahindra Gipps airplanes in India
  • ·        
    Union Ministry of Civil Aviation on 19 November 2014 approved the
    proposal of Indian conglomerate Mahindra Group’s proposal to sell its
    Australia-made airplanes named Mahindra Gipps in India.
  • ·        
    Mahindra Gipps airplanes are utility planes having seating capacities
    ranging from 5 to 10 seats. 
  • ·        
    The proposal of Mahindra Group was approved after Indian regulator
    Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) accepted the type certification
    issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the single piston engine
    aircraft Mahindra Gipps.
  • ·        
    The approval for the airplane was stuck due to problems relating to
    certification for an aircraft to fly nine passengers excluding crew, instead of
    four according to regulations of India.
  • ·        
    Earlier in 2009, Mahindra group had announced to acquire 75.1 percent
    stake each in two Australian aerospace firms for 175 crore rupees as part of
    its plan to manufacture aircraft and allied components to service global
    market.
  • ·        
    Since then Mahindra group started selling its aircraft in California,
    the Middle-East and Australia but unable to do in India due to regulatory
    issues.

14. Union Ministry for Food Processing
Industries reconstituted NFDPC
  • ·        
    Union Ministry for Food Processing Industries on 18 November 2014
    reconstituted the National Food Processing Development Council (NFDPC).
  • ·        
    The Ministry appointed ITC Chairman Y Deveshwar and FieldFresh Foods
    Vice Chairman Rakesh Bharti Mittal as its members.
  • ·        
    For the first time, the committee has appointed individual business
    leaders as its members. Earlier, the industry was represented in this committee
    by the industry bodies.
  • ·        
    The committee comprised of 29 members. Food Processing Minister
    Harsimrat Kaur Badal is the Chairman of the council and Minister of State
    Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti is its Vice Chairperson.
  • ·        
    The committee also comprises of Food Processing Minister from Andhra
    Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Punjab and Tamil Nadu. Secretaries
    in the Food Processing Ministry, Agriculture Ministry, Department of
    Agricultural Research and Education and Ministry of Development of North
    Eastern Region are also its members.
  • ·        
    The NFDPC is the governing body for implementation of National Food
    Processing Mission (NFPM). The committee aims to promote facilities for
    post-harvest operations including setting up of food processing industries and
    augmenting farm gate infrastructure, supply chain logistics, storage and
    processing capacity.

15. SC directed CBI Director Ranjit Sinha to
withdraw himself from 2G case
  • ·        
    Supreme Court on 20 November 2014 directed CBI Director Ranjit Sinha to
    withdraw himself from 2G case and asked CBI chief not to interfere in the
    ongoing 2G probe.
  • ·        
    It further ruled that three senior-most officers in the investigating
    team of the 2G scam will take over the role of CBI Director in the case.
  • ·        
    A bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu said that prima facie it
    appears that allegations levelled against Sinha were credible and acceptable.
  • ·        
    The Supreme Court directed him to do so in light of allegations made
    against him by the NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation. The NGO had
    alleged that he might have tried to save accused in 2G spectrum scam.
  • ·        
    Ranjit Sinha was set to retire from office on 2 December 2014 but the
    court’s directives are going to leave a scar on the CBI chief’s credibility.

16. Modi among Time magazine’s ‘Person of the
Year’ contenders

  • ·        
    Prime Minister Narendra Modi is among 50 global leaders, business chiefs
    and pop icons named as contenders by Time magazine for its annual ‘Person of
    the Year’ honour.
  • ·        
    The Time ‘Person of the Year 2014’ will be announced next month and the
    publication said the title will be “bestowed to those who have, for good or for
    ill, most influenced the news and our lives in the past year.”
  • ·        
    Describing Modi as “once a controversial regional leader”, Time said he
    became India’s Prime Minister after leading his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to
    a “landslide electoral victory on a platform of economic development.“
  • ·        
    Time has asked its readers to vote for the individual who they think
    should get the title of Person of the Year and the winner of the reader’s
    choice poll will be announced next month before Time’s editors choose the
    individual from the 50 candidates as the honouree.
  • ·        
    Modi has so far got 3.8 per cent of the votes, the fourth highest after
    Russian President Vladimir Putin, teenage Pakistani Nobel Peace Prize laureate
    Malala Yousafzai and Ebola doctors and nurses “who are risking their lives to
    treat and contain the outbreak in the hot zone.”
  • ·        
    In a separate “Face-off” poll, Modi has been pitted against Indonesia’s
    new President Joko Widodo.
  • ·        
    The other candidates in the fray for the ‘Person of the Year’ title are
    US President Barack Obama, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, Israeli
    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, IS chief Abu Bakr al—Baghdadi, Chinese
    President Xi Jinping, US Secretary of State John Kerry and former US Secretary
    of State Hillary Clinton.

International
17. China and Australia signed a MoU on
bilateral Antarctic cooperation
  • ·        
    China and Australia on 18 November 2014 signed a memorandum of
    understanding (MoU) on bilateral Antarctic cooperation. The MoU was signed in
    the presence of the President of China Xi Jinping and Prime Minister of
    Australia Tony Abbott in Hobart, Australia’s gateway to Antarctica.
  • ·        
    President of China Xi Jinping is on three nation tour to Australia, New
    Zealand and Fiji with Australia being the first leg of his visit.


Details of the MoU

  • ·        
    Both the countries will exchange data and personnel which will further
    enhance cooperation in scientific research activities.
  • ·        
    Both the countries will be supportive to each other in logistics and
    emergency and rescue. It also raises the hope on conservation and food security
    in Antarctica region.
  • ·        
    A platform for Antarctic official and academic exchanges will be
    established, under which Australia will be a gateway to Antarctica.
  • ·        
    A joint committee to be established by both the countries will meet
    every two years once and will oversee the cooperation and a mechanism for
    environmental, policy, scientific and operational collaboration in Antarctica.
  • China at
    present has four research stations in Antarctica region including the last
    research station Taishan that was opened in 2014. It is planning to open the
    fifth one also. On the other hand Australia has three research stations.
  • Approximately
    30 nations operate permanent research stations in Antarctica, including the US,
    China, Russia, Australia, Britain, France and Argentina.

18. Foreign Policy Magazine released list of
100 Global Thinkers
  • ·        
    Foreign Policy Magazine of America on 17 November 2014 released a list
    of 100 Global Thinkers. The list includes top ten decision makers, agitators,
    naturals, heelers’ innovators and Moguls among others.
  • ·        
    Out of top ten decision makers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been
    ranked first followed by Angela Merkel of Germany and Amit Shah of India.
  • ·        
    The magazine has described 64-year-old Modi as charismatic and
    business-friendly leader. It has also referred to the US visa ban on Modi
    following 2002 Gujarat riots when he was the Chief Minister of the state.


Some Indian’s in the list include names of

  • ·        
    State Bank of India Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya named in the list
    Moguls for telling hard truths about India’s debt
  • ·        
    CGNet Swara founder Shubhranshu Choudhary in the list of Chroniclers for
    giving rural Indians a megaphone
  • ·        
    News anchor Padmini Prakash named in the list of Chroniclers for
    bringing third gender to prime time
  • ·        
    India National PolioPlus Committee Chairman Deepak Kapur named in list
    of Healers for crushing fear to defeat polio in India
  • ·        
    Sangeeta Bhatia, an engineer and physician from Cambridge named in list
    of Healers for creating a kinder alternative to the colonoscopy
  • ·        
    Atmospheric scientist Veerabhadran Ramanathan and Economist Partha
    Dasgupta named in list of Naturals for keeping the faith in the fight in the
    flight against climate change

Sports
19. India continues to top ODI team rankings

  • ·        
    India retained the number one spot in the latest Reliance ODI team
    rankings while batsman Virat Kohli maintained his number two position in the
    batting rankings.
  • ·        
    Following the victory in third ODI against South Africa, Australia
    leapfrogged into second place on the Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings and is just
    two points adrift of leader and 2011 World Cup champion India.
  • ·        
    Kohli is at second place in batting list with 862 points, behind South
    Africa’s A.B. de Villiers (888), and ahead of Hashim Amla (845), who is placed
    third. Dhoni remains at seventh with 738 points.
  • ·        
    Seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the best-placed Indian at eighth with 641
    points in the bowling chart. No Indian features among the top 3 all-rounders in
    world cricket at the moment.
  • ·        
    Meanwhile, in the team rankings, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have the
    opportunity to gain vital rankings points as they go head to head in five ODIs
    starting Friday in Chittagong.
  • ·        
    Ninth-placed Bangladesh currently holds an 11-point lead over Elton
    Chigumbura’s charges, and can further increase their lead while also reducing
    the gap with New Zealand and West Indies.

20. Srikanth breaks into top 10 in badminton
ranking

  • ·        
    Owing to his recent title victory at the China Open in Fuzhou, K.
    Srikanth climbed up six places to achieve a career-best 10th in the men’s
    singles category of the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings
    released on Thursday.
  • ·        
    Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal also jumped up a place to move up the
    ladder to number 4 in the women’s singles rankings, even as P.V. Sindhu managed
    to maintain her 10th position in the list.
  • ·        
    21-year-old Srikanth had defeated the two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan
    in the China Open final and that helped him to break into top-10 rankings for
    the first time in his career.
  • ·        
    Meanwhile, Commonwealth Games gold medallist P. Kashyap was the second
    best Indian male shuttler after he maintained his 17th spot in the rankings,
    while H.S. Prannoy’s consistent performances helped him moved up three places
    to be at No. 24.
  • ·        
    India’s most celebrated women’s doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini
    Ponnappa also rose up a place to number 19.