Current Affairs Update – 20 Sept, 2014

Finance

1. DIPP sets up panel to
help investors on ‘Make in India’
  • ·
    Gearing up for the mega launch of ‘Make in
    India’ campaign on September 25, the DIPP has set up an 8-member expert panel
    for quick redressal of grievances and queries of global and domestic investors.
  • ·
    The team, which has members from private
    sector, is attached to ‘Invest India’, a joint venture between the Department
    of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and industry body Ficci.
  • ·
    “The team would try to resolve issues
    within 48 hours. And in case they are unable to resolve within the time frame,
    it would go to the nodal officer of the respective department who would try to
    fix that within 72 hours and in the extreme cases, the query would go to the
    Secretary,” a senior official said.
  • ·
    The initiative is one of the several steps
    which the government has announced in order to improve ease of doing business
    in India and attract investments to boost manufacturing in the country.
  • ·
    The official said that there is an urgent
    need to boost manufacturing sector on a sustainable basis for long time in
    order to create jobs and boost economic growth.

2. RBI cancels licence
of Ajmer Urban Cooperative Bank

  • ·
    The Reserve Bank has cancelled the licence of
    Ajmer Urban Cooperative Bank following financial irregularities and heavy
    debts.
  • ·
    The licence of the bank was cancelled
    yesterday.
  • ·
    “There are over 20,000 accounts with
    around Rs 85 crore in savings from the customers,” the bank’s Special Auditor
    Vinod Sharma said today.
  • ·
    He said the bank has the arrangement of Rs 65
    crore and is falling short of more than Rs 20 crore to pay to the account
    holders.
  • ·
    The RBI had restricted transition by the bank
    in 2011 after several financial irregularities came to light and gave it time
    for recovery of loans.
  • ·
    Sharma informed that a liquidator will be
    appointed by the Registrar of Cooperatives department, state government for
    settlement with the depositors.

India
3. Doordarshan plans to
broadcast 20 free channels on mobile phones from next year
  • ·
    Public broadcaster Doordarshan plans to start
    broadcasting directly a bouquet of 20 free-to-air channels in partnership with
    private media houses on mobile phones from next year.
  • ·
    Doordarshan will use DVB-T2 Lite technology
    which can be accessed through a dongle at present.
  • ·
    DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcast-Terrestrial)
    will transmit signal from TV towers and will not consume mobile Internet for TV
    viewing. The transmission will be facilitated through an application which will
    act as a switch to on TV service on mobile phones.

4. India-China agreed
for Joint Working group on films meet in Goa
  • ·
    India and China on 18 September 2014 agreed
    to establish a Joint Working Group to promote facilitation in the film sector.
    The group will meet for the first time in November 2014 on the sidelines of the
    International Film Festival India 2014 at Goa.
  • ·
    The decision of formation of the Joint
    Working Group was taken in New Delhi at the meet between the Union Information
    and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar and his Chinese counterpart,
    Minister for State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television
    (SAPPRFT) Cai Fuchao.
  • ·
    As per the plan, the proposed meet will
    involve the stakeholders from both the countries to concretize cooperation in
    the film sector with specific proposals and projects. The meet will be an
    important step towards identifying key deliverables and a common road-map to
    strengthen bilateral cooperation in the areas of films and audio-visual
    production.

5. Indian architect Alok
Shetty named ‘leader of tomorrow’ by Time magazine

  • ·
    A 28-year-old Indian architect has been named
    ‘young leader of tomorrow’ by Time magazine for his pioneering work in
    designing affordable flood-proof houses for slum-dwellers.
  • ·
    Alok Shetty is among “leaders of tomorrow”
    who are “working hard to change their worlds today’’, Time said as it named six
    inspirational young persons in its first class of “next generation leaders’’.
  • ·
    Time said Shetty is “building hope in India”
    as an architect who is “finding simple solutions to complex problems’’.
  • ·
    Shetty, working with the Bangalore-based
    non-profit Parinaam Foundation, is designing homes for hundreds of
    slum-dwellers whose makeshift houses flood during the heavy rains and become
    breeding grounds for diseases like malaria.
  • ·
    He has been working in Bangalore’s LRDE slum,
    which lies next to one of the southern Indian city’s sprawling technology parks
    and is home to some 2,000 people.

6. Coca-Cola launches
Coke Zero

  • ·
    Coca-Cola on Friday expanded its product
    portfolio in India with the launch of sugar-free soft drink Coca-Cola Zero. It
    is being sold exclusively on Amazon.in for two weeks. The product got 1,700
    online bookings in four hours on Friday.
  • ·
    The brand is now available in all the top six
    markets of the company, the others being the US, Mexico, China, Brazil and
    Japan.
  • ·
    Venkatesh Kini, president, Coca-Cola India
    and South West Asia, said, “As we move towards the halfway mark of the
    decade, it is important we add offerings to our portfolio even as we nurture
    the existing brands.” After October 5, Coca-Cola Zero will be available across
    the top 100 towns in India in 180,000 outlets.
  • ·
    Initially, the new product will be available
    in modern retail outlets, starting with Reliance Retail chain. Besides, it
    would be first made available to various partners like low cost carrier IndiGo,
    quick service restaurant chain Subway and INOX Leisure.

International
7. US Senate passed
resolution declaring September 30 as US-India Partnership Day
  • ·
    US Senate on 19 September 2014 passed a
    bipartisan resolution declaring 30 September 2014 as US-India Partnership Day.
    The resolution recognizes the importance of India and the US to one another and
    their relationship in defining the 21st century.
  • ·
    The resolution was introduced by senators
    Mark Warner of Democratic Party and John Cornyn from Republican on 17 September
    2014. Warner and Cornyn are co-chairmen of the 42-member Senate India Caucus
    which is the only country specific caucus in the Senate.
  • ·
    The resolution said that the relationship
    between India and the US is a special and permanent bond. It further praised
    the way General Elections 2014 were conducted which was the largest in the
    Indian history and reflected that democracy in India is as strong as it is
    encompassing of its religious, ethnic, socioeconomic and cultural diversity.
  • ·
    Besides, it also recognized that the US and
    India are the two largest democracies in the world and both countries share
    multi-faceted relationship.
  • ·
    The declaration came few days before the
    Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled visit to the US on 29 September and 30
    September 2014 where he will have talks with President of US Barack Obama.

8. New Zealand PM John
Key wins third term in office

  • ·
    Prime Minister John Key has won an emphatic
    victory in New Zealand’s general election to return for a third term in office.
  • ·
    Labour Party leader David Cunliffe said in a
    concession speech on Saturday night that he called Mr. Key to congratulate him
    on his victory.
  • ·
    The result will be seen as an endorsement of
    the way Mr. Key’s National Party has handed the economy.
  • ·
    With most votes counted, Mr. Key’s party had
    48 per cent of the vote. The Labour Party, its closest rival, had just 25 per
    cent.
  • ·
    The result showed a swing to conservative
    parties, with liberal parties Labour and the Green Party losing ground.

Sports
9. Sania-Cara win
doubles title in Tokyo

  • ·
    Maintaining her rich vein of form in the
    current season, Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her Zimbabwean partner Cara
    Black on Saturday bagged the women’s doubles title at the WTA Toray Pacific
    Open with a 6-2 7-5 victory over Spain’s Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suarez
    Navarro.
  • ·
    With the win, Sania and Cara have
    successfully defended their Tokyo Open title, which is a USD 1 million event.
  • ·
    For Sania, it will be icing on the cake after
    her US Open mixed doubles triumph with Brazilian partner Bruno Soares.
  • ·
    She would now spearhead the nation’s
    challenge at the Incheon Asian Games in what will be a depleted tennis
    contingent in the absence of Leander Paes, Rohan Bopanna and Somdev Devvarman.
  • ·
    Sania, will either pair with left-handed
    Divij Sharan or big-serving Saketh Myneni in the mixed doubles event, where
    India have a genuine chance of winning a medal.

10. North Korean
weightlifter sets world record

  • ·
    North Korea’s Om Yun Chol has set a world
    record in the clean and jerk, lifting 170 kilograms in the men’s 56-kilogram
    class at the Asian Games.
  • ·
    Om, the 2012 Olympic champion and 2013 world
    champion, beat his own world record on Saturday by one kilogram to win North
    Korea’s first gold medal at the games, a regional version of the Olympics.
  • ·
    Om also had a combined total of 298 kilograms
    to mark an Asian Games record after lifting 128 kilograms in the snatch.

11. Hockey India
inducted Hockey Village India as an academy member
  • ·
    Hockey India (HI) on 19 September 2014
    inducted Hockey Village India (HVI) as an Academy Member to reach out to
    underprivileged children who are keen to make a career in the sport.
  • ·
    At present, Hockey India has 26 permanent
    Members, 23 associate Members, one Member through State Olympic Associations,
    eight Academy Members and one Hoc-Key Member.
  • ·
    Hockey India has always strived to reach the
    underprivileged children those who in spite of having the talent cannot reach
    the big platform. Now the HVI on board will strengthen work towards reaching
    out and identifying the talent.

12. Sardar Singh became
India’s flag bearer at 17th Asian Games opening

  • ·
    Sardar Singh on 19 September 2014 became
    India’s flag bearer at 17th Asian Games opening. Sardar Singh is the captain of
    Indian Hockey team.
  • ·
    Sardar singh lead the Indian Contingent of
    130 Indian athletes as the organizers had put the limitations of 130 persons
    from any country to be participated in the opening ceremony.
  • ·
    The strength of Indian contingent was 679,
    which included 516 athletes.
  • ·
    Sardar Singh is an Indian professional field
    hockey player. He is the current captain of the Indian national team.
  • ·
    He usually played the center half position.
    He became the youngest player to captain the Indian team when he led the side
    at the 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.

13. Pistol shooter Shweta
wins first medal for India
  • ·
    Pistol shooter Shweta Chaudhry defied odds, a
    travel-weary schedule and absence of her regular weapon to provide India with
    their first medal, a bronze, in the 17th Asian Games here today.
  • ·
    The Faridabad-born Shweta had to eliminate a
    rival through a shoot-off to ensure the bronze in the women’s 10M Air Pistol
    event with a total tally of 176.4 at the Ongnyeon shooting range here.
  • ·
    China’s Zhang Mengyan won the gold with
    202.2, while host country South Korea’s Jung Jee-Hae secured the silver with
    201.3.
  • ·
    Having qualified for the 8-woman finals with
    a total score of 383 even as her more fancied teammate Heena Sidhu got
    eliminated after notching up 378, Shweta, 28, showed exemplary poise to fight
    her way back in the finals.

14. Jitu Rai wins gold
in 50m Pistol event

  • ·
    Ace Indian shooter Jitu Rai clinched a
    historic gold in the 50m Pistol event on the opening day of the 17th Asian
    Games at the Ongnyeon International Shooting Range here today.
  • ·
    Fresh from his 50m Pistol silver in the World
    Championships, the Lucknow-based shooter completed a grand double as he had won
    a gold in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow earlier this year.
  • ·
    The shooter, who serves the Gurkha regiment,
    was on target from the word go after moving into the finals even as compatriot
    Omkar Singh failed to cross the qualification hurdle.
  • ·
    In the finals though, Rai was tested by
    Vietnam’s Nguyen Hoang Phuong, who had to settle for silver and bronze
    medallist Wang Zhiwei of China.

Here is the PDF Link: Download PDF

This post was last modified on November 27, 2017 9:04 am