Current Affairs Update – 27th May, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 27th May, 2015

Finance/Insurance
IRDA slaps Rs. 65
lakh fine on India First Life Insurance
  • The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India
    (IRDAI) has imposed Rs. 65 lakh penalty on India First Life insurance company
    for a number violations.
  • According to an order issued by IRDAI Chairman T S Vijayan,
    the life insurer had violated norms related to payment of commissions and
    reporting of expenses pertaining to corporate agents.
  • The Authority had listed 48 charges on the insurer for a
    wide range of irregularities and identified some of them as serious in nature.
    They included wrongful involvement of business development managers on behalf
    of corporate agents, running sales campaigns for the employees of corporate
    agents, offering incentives such as foreign trips, gift cards and online
    redemption points and faulty reporting of expenses and file and use procedures,
    among others.
  • The company has also been warned against any future
    violations on many other counts, as per the order.

Union Ministry of
Finance constituted Committee on Revisiting & Revitalizing PPP Model
  • Union Ministry of Finance on 26 May 2015 constituted a
    Committee on Revisiting and Revitalizing the Public Private Partnership (PPP)
    Model of Infrastructure Development under the Chairmanship of Vijay Kelkar.
  • Vijay Kelkar is a former Finance Secretary and Chairman,
    National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), New Delhi.
  • The decision is in tune with the announcement made on 28
    February 2015 by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while presenting the
    2015-16 budget.

The Terms of
Reference of the Committee
  • Review of the experience of PPP Policy, including the
    variations in contents of contracts and difficulties experienced with
    particular variations or conditions, if any.
  • Analysis of risks involved in PPP projects in different
    sectors and existing framework of sharing of such risks between the project
    developer and the Government, thereby suggesting optimal risk sharing
    mechanism.

India
GPS Aided Geo
Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) System fully operationalised

  • The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on 25 May 2015
    announced the complete operationalisation of the GPS Aided Geo Augmented
    Navigation (GAGAN).
  • The final operational phase of the system commenced on 19
    May 2015 as it began broadcasting APV1 Certified signals.
  • With this, India has become the fourth nation after the US,
    Europe and Japan to have inter-operable Satellite Based Augmentation System
    (SBAS). Also, GAGAN is the first SBAS system in the world to serve the equatorial
    region.
  • Earlier on 30 December 2013, Director General of Civil
    Aviation (DGCA) gave its nod for GAGAN for enroute operations (RNP 0.1) and
    subsequently on 21 April 2015 for precision approach services (APV 1).
  • While the GAGAN Payload is already operational through
    GSAT-8 and GSAT-10 satellites, the third payload will be carried onboard
    GSAT-15 satellite scheduled for launch in October 2015.

Haryana to Include
‘Swachhta’ Lesson in School Curriculum
  • Haryana government intends to include a lesson regarding
    Swachhta (cleanliness) in the course curriculum of school students and has
    invited views of all stakeholders and general public in this connection.
  • Haryana School Education Department plans to earmark a
    period for the students to take up cleaning of school as being done in Japan.
  • The step will be taken under the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’, an
    official release said here today.
  • The department is in the process of preparation of
    instructions for implementation of this proposal, it said.

India and Vietnam
signed Joint Vision Statement on Defence Cooperation 2015-2020
  • India and Vietnam on 25 May 2015 signed a Joint Vision
    Statement on Defence Cooperation for the period 2015-2020 in New Delhi.
  • It was signed by the Indian Defence Minister Manohar
    Parrikar and the Vietnamese Minister for National Defence General Phung Quang
    Thanh.
  • The statement is an outcome of delegation level talks held
    in New Delhi to discuss cooperation on maritime security.
  • Besides the Joint statement, a Memorandum of Understanding
    (MoU) on cooperation between the Coast Guards of the two countries was also
    signed in the presence of the two Defence Ministers.
  • Earlier, in October 2014, India announced 100 million US
    dollar line of credit to Vietnam during the Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen
    Tan Dung visit to the country to enable Vietnam acquire new naval vessels from
    India.

NASSCOM launches
cybersecurity task force
  • National Association of Software and Services Companies
    (NASSCOM) and Data Security Council of India have launched NASSCOM Cyber
    Security Task Force.
  • According to a statement from the trade body, the task force
    aims to build India as a global hub for providing cyber security solutions,
    developing cyber security R&D plan and develop a skilled workforce of cyber
    security experts.
  • The task force members will include industry leaders across
    IT, BPM and internet, heads of user organizations like banks and telcos as well
    as representatives from the government and academia.
  • Rajendra Pawar, Chairman, NIIT will chair this task force.
    The task force over a 12 week period will identify the key priorities and build
    the detailed action plan for the sector.
  • NASSCOM says the vision of the task force is to build the
    cyber security industry in India from the 1% market share to 10% by 2025; a
    trained base of 1 million certified and skilled cyber security professionals
    and build 100+ successful security product companies from India.

Appointments
Manabi Bandopadhyay
became first transgender principal of an Indian College

  • Manabi Bandopadhyay on 26 May 2015 became the first
    transgender principal of Krishnagar Women’s College in Nadia district, West
    Bengal. She will join her new job from 9 June 2015. Currently, she is working
    as an associate professor in Bengali at the Vivekananda Satobarshiki
    Mahavidyalaya.
  • She holds a Master of Arts (MA) in Bengali degree and
    started her journey with  the Vivekananda
    Centenary College in Jhargram sub-division as a lecturer in the late 1990s.
  • In 1995, she published the country’s first transgender
    magazine, Ob-Manab (sub-human). The magazine, despite a very low circulation,
    continues to be published.

Anindo Majumdar as
CMD of Delhi Finance Corporation
  • Armed with a Delhi High Court order over its jurisdiction,
    AAP government today appointed senior IAS officer Anindo Majumdar as the CMD of
    Delhi Finance Corporation, days after he was removed from the post of Principal
    Secretary of the Services Department.
  • The AAP dispensation also appointed IAS officer Parimal Rai
    as Principal Secretary of Social Welfare and Women and Child Development
    Department.
  • Majumdar was removed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as
    Principal Secretary of the Services Department on May 16 after he issued a
    notification appointing senior bureaucrat Shakuntla Gamlin as the acting Chief
    Secretary following instruction of Lt Governor Najeeb Jung.
  • The Lt Governor, on the same evening, had declared the order
    to transfer Majumdar “void” but AAP government did not allow him to
    resume his duties and had appointed Rajendra Kumar as Principal Secretary of
    the Services Department.

Awards
& Honors –
Indian-Origin Teacher
Bags Oxford University Award
  • An Indian-origin teacher has been honoured by Oxford
    University for helping one of her students get into the world-famous varsity.
  • Gurnimrat ‘Nimmy’ Sidhu, head of science at Oaks Park High
    School in north-east London, is among 12 teachers to win the ‘University of
    Oxford Inspirational Teacher Award’ set up to encourage more state-funded
    schools to connect with the university.
  • Sidhu feared a marking error and forced her student Esther
    Odejimi to get her exams remarked enabling her to gain admission Pembroke College,
    Oxford, to study theology.
  • The 19-year-old returned the favour by nominating her
    teacher for the award.

Two Indians
posthumously named for UN’s Dag Hammarskjold Medal
  • Two Indians Lance Naik Nand Ram and Raju Joseph on 23 May
    2015 were posthumously named for prestigious United Nations (UN) Dag
    Hammarskjold Medal.
  • Lance Naik Nand Ram served the UN Organization Stabilization
    Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and Raju Joseph
    served in a civilian capacity with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
  • They will be awarded on the International Day of United
    Nations Peacekeepers observed annually on 29 May 2015.
  • India is among the largest contributors of military and
    police personnel to UN peacekeeping. It currently deploys 8112 military and
    police personnel to the UN peacekeeping operations in Cote d’Ivoire, Cyprus,
    the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, Liberia, the Middle East,
    Sudan, South Sudan and Western Sahara.

Thiruvananthapuram
City Police mobile app safety feature wins award
  • iSafe, the safety feature of the Thiruvananthapuram City
    Police mobile app, has won the award for ‘best use of mobile technology’ at the
    Elets Knowledge Exchange Awards 2015, Goa.
  • The award was conferred in the governance category at a
    ceremony co-hosted by Elets Technomedia and the Information Technology Department,
    Government of Goa.
  • Mridula Sinha, Governor of Goa, handed over the award to
    Manoj M Mani, head, PR, marketing and communications- India, UST Global, during
    the Elets Knowledge Exchange-Goa 2015 Summit.
  • iSafe was recognised for improving overall police governance
    and public safety by empowering citizens using digital technology, a UST Global
    spokesman said.
  • Developed UST Global’s mobile app for Thiruvananthapuram
    City Police, the safety feature enables citizens to maintain direct contact
    with police personnel during emergencies.

World
NRI scientist Latha
Venkataraman created first single-molecule device
  • NRI scientist Latha Venkataraman on 25 May 2015 created
    first single-molecule device.  The
    electronic device has a potential of real-world technological applications for
    nanoscale devices. The report was published in the journal Nature
    Nanotechnology.
  • Under the direction of Venkataraman, researchers created a
    single-molecule diode which performs 50 times better than all prior designs.
  • A team of Columbia Engineering researchers has constructed a
    device where the active element is only a single molecule, has long been a
    tantalising dream in nanoscience.
  • With electronic devices becoming smaller every day, the
    field of molecular electronics has become more critical in solving the problem
    of further miniaturisation. Single molecule represents the limit of
    miniaturisation.

Abraj Kudai, world’s
biggest hotel, set to open in Mecca in 2017

  • The world’s biggest hotel project “Abraj Kudai”
    which is under construction in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
  • Once completed, it will be the world’s largest hotel
    featuring 10000 bedrooms. At present, the Venetian Macao situated in Macau,
    China is the world’s largest hotel having 3000 rooms.
  • It is located 2.2 km south of the Holy Haram (Grand Mosque)
    at the Manafia area in Makkah’s central zone in Saudi Arabia.
  • The 45 stories tall, the desert fortress-style hotel is
    being built at a cost of 3.6 billion US dollars.
  • The project is funded by the Saudi Ministry of Finance and
    designed by the Dar al-Handasah group.

Forbes released the
World’s 100 Most Powerful Women 2015 list
  • Forbes on 26 May 2015 released the list of World’s 100 Most
    Powerful Women of 2015 showing women who impacted businesses, media, philanthropy,
    politics and more.
  • The world’s most powerful woman in the list is German
    Chancellor Angela Merkel who fetched the first spot.
  • Hillary Clinton ranked at 2nd position, she has been
    appearing on this FORBES ranking every year as a senator, secretary of state
    and influential personality.
  • The most powerful women in politics, philanthropy, business
    and tech are Angela Merkel, Melinda Gates, Barra and Sandberg.
  • The top ranking billionaire in the list is Oprah Winfrey who
    stood at 12th spot, having personal net worth of 3 billion US dollars.
  • Four Indians have been named in Forbes list including
    Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson of State Bank of India (SBI), who stood at
    30th position.
  • Chanda Kochhar, MD and CEO of ICICI Bank, was placed at 35th
    position; Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD of Biocon Limited, was placed at 85th
    position and Shobhana Bhartia, Editorial Director of the Hindustan Times Group,
    was placed at 93rd position.


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This post was last modified on July 20, 2019 10:23 am