Current Affairs Update – 27th October, 2016

• India has allowed start-ups to
  raise up to $3 million each in a fiscal year via the external commercial
  borrowings (ECB) route, the country’s central bank said in a statement on
  Thursday.
• Overseas branches or subsidiaries
  of Indian banks will not be allowed to lend to start-ups via the ECB framework,
  the Reserve Bank of India statement (RBI) said.
• The RBI did not specify the
  maximum cost at which start-ups can raise money via ECB and said it will be
  mutually agreed between the borrower and the lender.
• Typically, the central bank
  specifies the maximum cost for financial institutions to raise money via ECB.

• India and New Zealand on 26
  October 2016 signed three agreements in the areas of double taxation avoidance,
  food security and sports.
• The agreements were inked in New
  Delhi in presence of New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and Prime Minister
  Narendra Modi. John Key was on a three-day (25 October to 27 October 2016)
  visit to India.

1. Arrangement regarding Food Safety Cooperation: It was inked between the
   Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and the Ministry for Primary
   Industries of New Zealand.
2. MoU for cooperation in the field of Youth Affairs and Sports: It was
   inked between Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Sport New Zealand
   of the Government of New Zealand.
3. Third Protocol to the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation
   and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income: It was
   inked between the Union Government and the Government of New Zealand.

• Apart from this, the two nations
  also agreed to establish a Bilateral Ministerial Dialogue between two Foreign
  Ministries. They also agreed for establishment of Annual Foreign Ministry
  Consultations at Senior Officials Level and cooperation and Dialogue on Cyber
  Issues.

• Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
  India on Thursday joined hands with Intel to launch a Centre of Excellence
  (CoE) that would help demonstrate High Performance Computing (HPC) as a service
  for customers.
• The centre will also enable
  research institutions and academia to test their applications on the latest HPC
  platform innovations, enabled by Intel technologies, and accelerate HPC
  adoption in India.
• Customers can also access the
  infrastructure remotely through a cloud-driven model that can be replicated in
  their data centers, HPE said in a statement here.
• In India, research institutions
  and academia are increasingly using HPC to accelerate adoption of big data
  analytics, simulations of complex processes and large-scale research projects,
  it noted.

• Global computer services major
  IBM on Thursday it has signed a deal to acquire Bengaluru-based cloud recovery
  and migration software company Sanovi for an undisclosed sum.
• IBM said that the acquisition
  will help to assure it’s clients of business continuity and disaster recovery,
  when they shift their applications to cloud.
• IBM did not disclose the
  financial costs for the acquisition of the Bengaluru firm, which was started in
  2003. Chandra Sekhar Pulamarasetti and his co-founder Vinod K began offering
  such services before cloud was a norm. IBM plans to also license the Sanovi
  disaster recovery management software as a stand alone platform to customers.

• State-run trading firm MMTC has
  tied up with seven banks, including ICICI and HDFC Bank, to sell government
  minted ‘Indian Gold Coin’ in order to cash in on the Dhanteras buying rush.
• The coins are currently available
  at all MMTC outlets across India along with select branches of seven banks –
  Indian Overseas Bank, Vijaya Bank, Federal Bank, Yes Bank, Andhra Bank, ICICI
  Bank and HDFC Bank, a finance ministry statement said.
• The Indian Gold Coin is available
  in denominations of 5 gm and 10 gm coin and 20 gm bar and is available at about
  383 MMTC outlets across India now.
• Indian Gold Coin was launched by
  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 5, 2015. It is India’s first ever
  sovereign gold offering and only gold coin hallmarked by Bureau of Indian
  Standards (BIS) for purity.
• Indian Gold Coin has the National
  Emblem Ashoka Chakra engraved on one side and Mahatma Gandhi on the reverse
  side. Its other unique features include 24 Karat 999 fineness purity, positive
  tolerance both in weight and purity, tamper proof packaging and advanced
  anti-counterfeit features.

• OCARE, India’s first independent
  Insurance Process as a Service (IPAAS) platform, launched its dental insurance
  product on Thursday in India. A group insurance product, it offers a sum
  assured of Rs 25,000.
• Neeraj Sheth, Founder & CEO,
  OCARE said that this is the first time dental insurance is being offered as an
  exclusive product in India.
• Under the general plan, costs of
  hospitalisation and medicines are covered only in the case of dental
  emergencies.

• The one-man judicial committee on
  One Rank One Pension (OROP) submitted its report to the Defence Minister
  Manohar Parrikar, on 26 October 2016.
• The committee was appointed under
  the Chairmanship of Justice L Narasimha Reddy, retired Chief Justice of Patna
  High Court to look into the anomalies, if any, arising out of implementation of
  OROP.

• The judicial committee had held
  hearings at around 20 cities/towns across the country and interacted with cross
  sections of Ex-Servicemen as well as their associations.
• The committee also received 704
  representations from individuals and various Ex-Servicemen associations and had
  held extensive interactions with all stakeholders before submitting its report.

• India and South Korea on 26
  October 2016 signed a revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) for
  the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with
  respect to taxes on income.
• The Provisions of the new DTAA
  will have effect in India in respect of income derived in fiscal years
  beginning on or after 1 April 2017.
• The earlier Double Taxation
  Avoidance Convention between India and Korea was signed on 19 July 1985 and was
  notified on 26 September 1986.

• It provides for source based
  taxation of capital gains arising from alienation of shares comprising more
  than 5 percent of share capital.
• In order to promote cross border
  flow of investments and technology, the revised DTAA provides for reduction in
  withholding tax rates from 15 percent to 10 percent on fees for technical
  services and from 15 percent to 10 percent on interest income.
• It expands the scope of dependent
  agent Permanent Establishment provisions in line with India’s policy of source
  based taxation.
• It provides for exclusive
  residence based taxation of shipping income from international traffic under
  Article 8 of revised DTAA.
• It provides recourse to the
  taxpayers of both countries to apply for Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) in
  transfer pricing disputes as well as apply for bilateral Advance Pricing
  Agreements (APA).

• The capital investment is
  estimated for this financial year, with 80 per cent focus for development of
  the Raageshwari Deep Gas (RDG) project and completion activities of the Mangala
  field’s enhanced oil production, a company spokesperson said.
• A contract for augmentation of
  the existing facility will be awarded shortly. That for enhancement of the
  existing pipeline capacity should be awarded in the current quarter, he said.
• Completion of Phase-1 is expected
  to increase the gas production to 40-45 mscfd by the end of the first half of
  2017. For Phase-2, tendering activity for a new gas processing terminal and
  drilling rig is on. Completion of Phase-2 will increase production upwards of
  100 mscfd and condensate production to about 5,000 boepd (barrels of oil
  equivalent per day).

• Pharmaceutical giant Dr Reddy’s
  Laboratories Ltd on 26 October 2016 announced that it entered into a strategic
  collaboration with Gland Pharma. The companies entered into the deal to market
  and distribute a diverse portfolio of eight injectable Abbreviated New Drug
  Applications (ANDAs).
• The portfolio is a mix of filed
  ANDAs pending approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) and ANDAs
  that will be filed imminently. The portfolio comprised of generic injectables
  administered in hospitals and clinics in the US.

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• The Union Agricultural Ministry
  on 26 October 2016 constituted a High-Level Committee to monitor the bird flu
  situation and help state governments take steps to contain the disease.
• The Committee will be headed by
  Munialappa, Joint Commissioner in the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairy and
  Fisheries (DADF).

• Munialappa will be the nodal
  officer and will be available to provide advice and help round the clock.
• A control room, with telephone
  numbers 011-23384190 and 09448324121, will provide advice and help round the clock.
• Besides monitoring the situation,
  the committee will assist the state governments in taking steps to contain the
  spread of avian influenza.
• The committee will have
  representatives from Ministry of Health, Ministry of Environment, Forests and
  Climate Change, Department of Agriculture Research and Extension (DARE) and the
  Delhi government.

• Haryana Government has decided to
  observe 2017 as the “Garib Kalyan Varsh”. The announcement was made by Chief
  Minister Manohar Lal on 26 October 2016.
• During the observation period of
  Garib Kalyan Varsh, the government would lay emphasis on welfare of poor people
  and generating employment opportunities for the youth.
• Khattar, who completed two years
  in office, also said that the outgoing year (2016) was dedicated to Pt.
  Deendayal Upadhyaya, which coincided with the Golden Jubilee of the state.
  Haryana was carved out of Punjab on 1 November 1966 on a linguistic basis.

• Senior IPS officer Karnal Singh
  on 26 October 2016 was appointed the Director of Enforcement Directorate (ED).
• The Appointments Committee of
  Cabinet approved the appointment of Singh till 31 August 2017, which is the
  date of his superannuation.
• Singh was already holding the
  post as additional charge for over a year. His regular posting was Special
  Director, ED, for the northern region.

• Doordarshan DG Supriya Sahu has
  been appointed as the new Vice President of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting
  Union.
• An official statement released by
  the public broadcaster said that it participated in the53rd annual Asia-Pacific
  Broadcasting Union General Assembly, hosted by the Indonesian public
  broadcaster RRI, which concluded in Bali, Indonesia on 25th October.
• Ko Dae-young, President and CEO
  of Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) was elected as as new President and Sahu
  joins the other two Vice Presidents of ABU, Hikaru Doumoto, Executive Vice
  President of NHK-Japan and Senol Goka, Director General of TRT- Turkey, the
  statement said.

• Borje Ekholm was on 26 October
  2016 appointed as the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of  Ericsson, Swedish communication technology
  firm, with effect from 16 January 2017. Until then, Jan Frykhammar will remain
  interim CEO.
• Ekholm will also remain a member
  of the Board of Directors of Ericsson. Presently, Ekholm is working as CEO of
  Patricia Industries.

• World Economic Forum (WEF) on 25
  October 2016 released the Global Gender Gap Report 2016. The 2016 report
  provides Gender Gap scores for 144 countries compared to 145 countries included
  in 2015 report.
• More than a decade of data has
  revealed that progress is still too slow for realizing the full potential of
  one half of humanity within our lifetimes. Out of the 144 countries surveyed,
  while Iceland topped the Gender Gap Index for the eighth consecutive year in a
  row, India stood at 87th position, from the 108th position in 2015.
• As per the report, the global
  gender gap across health, education, economic opportunity and politics will
  take another 83 years across the 107 countries covered since the inception of
  the Report to close this gap completely.

• India which was ranked at 87th
  position had succeeded in closing the gender gap with regard to wage equality
  and across all indicators of the Educational Attainment sub-index, fully
  closing its primary and secondary education enrolment gender gaps.
• However, it also sees some
  regression on women’s estimated earned income and continues to rank
  third-lowest in the world on Health and Survival, remaining the world’s
  least-improved country on this sub-index over the past decade.
• Economic Participation and
  Opportunity: India was ranked at 136th position with 0.408 score. In this
  segment, India’s performance was one of the lowest among the surveyed
  countries. In 2015, India was placed at 139th position.
• Educational attainment: India was
  ranked at 113rd position with 0.950 score.
• Health and survival: India was
  ranked at 142nd position with 0.942 score.
• Political empowerment: India was
  placed at 9th position with 0.433 score.

• World Day for Audiovisual
  Heritage was observed across the world on 27 October 2016. The theme for the
  day was It’s Your Story – Don’t Lose It.
• The World Day for Audiovisual
  Heritage aims to raise general awareness of the need for urgent measures to be
  taken to safeguard audiovisual document. It also focuses on acknowledging the
  importance of audiovisual documents as an integral part of national identity.

• Punjab Directorate on 27 October
  2016 won the 2016 National Cadet Corp (NCC) National Games. Subhash Bhamre,
  Minister of State for Defence, presented trophies to the winners at the closing
  ceremony at Delhi Cantonment.
• The NCC Games aim to provide the
  talented sportsmen among the cadet exposure of a major sporting event while
  preparing them with the requisite matching temperament towards furthering their
  sporting careers.

• Celebrated Kashmiri singer Raj
  Begum passed away on 26 October 2016 in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. She was
  89.
• Begum was one of the most
  recognized female singers in the Kashmir Valley. She had rendered thousands of
  songs from Radio Kashmir in Srinagar and in live concerts at other places in
  India and abroad.