Current Affairs Update – 28th to 31st October, 2016

• With several high-ticket alleged
  frauds like Vijay Mallya loan default case coming to fore, Central Vigilance
  Commission has now made it mandatory for the public sector banks to report to
  it all such matters involving funds over Rs one crore.
• Based on the reports, the
  anti-corruption watchdog, which has hired four General Manager ranked officers
  from bank as advisors, will recommend whether or not a CBI probe can be ordered.
• According to CBI data, in 2015,
  the agency had probed 171 cases of bank frauds involving funds of Rs 20,646
  crore. In addition, CBI is also investigating the Ponzi schemes involving funds
  of over Rs 1.20 lakh crore.
• The Commission will also call
  regular monthly meetings of senior officials of Reserve Bank of India (RBI),
  CBI and banks to monitor probe in suspected bank frauds of Rs 50 crore and
  above.
• The banks have been asked to
  share their reports of Fraud Monitoring and Reporting (FMR) mechanism with the
  CVC in the suspected fraud cases of Rs one crore and above.
• Till now this report was shared
  with the RBI only, Vigilance Commissioner T M Bhasin said.
• The banks will also now have to
  report the modus operandi of all the alleged frauds to the CVC which will share
  these details with other banks to ensure that systemic changes can be brought
  in to prevent such cases being repeated, he said.

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is
  any indication, home prices have gone up during the first quarter ended June
  2016 when compared to the same period of last year. Analysts and bankers are
  attributing the rise to the fall in interest rates and the retail push by
  lenders.
• The RBI’s all-India home price
  index (base 2010-11=100) has sequentially increased by 5.5 per cent to 231.1 in
  Q1 of 2016-17 from 219.1 in Q4 of 2015-16. All major cities in the country
  witnessed an increase in HPI in the first quarter of 2016-17.
• The All-India HPI recorded annual
  increase of 7.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2016-17 after moderation over
  four consecutive quarters from 17.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2014-15
  to 3.3 per cent in Q4 of 2015-16.
• According to the RBI, on an
  annual basis, Chennai witnessed the maximum increase of 23.9 in the first
  quarter whereas Jaipur witnessed maximum contraction (-4.4 per cent). On a
  sequential basis (first quarter of 2016-17 over fourth quarter of 2015-16),
  Kochi recorded highest home price index increase of 17.6 per cent whereas
  Jaipur recorded the lowest increase of 0.6 per cent.
• According to the RBI data,
  housing loans have shot up to Rs 786,900 crore as of August 2016 as against Rs
  674,500 crore in August 2015, a rise of 16.7 per cent. Public sector banks have
  started focussing on home loans in a big way as the sector has witnessed very
  low level of non-performing assets.

• India and Palestine signed the
  Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for setting up of Palestine-India Techo Park
  in Ramallah on 31 October, 2016.
• During the visit of Hon’ble
  President of India to Palestine in October, 2015, the announcement for setting
  up of park was made. Government of India has announced grant of US$ 12 million
  for setting up the Park with payment of US$ 3 million each on half-yearly basis
  for 2 years.
• Palestinian side has made the
  land available for the project. Once completed, the Technopark will serve as an
  IT hub in Palestine with complete IT facilties offering a one-stop solution to
  all IT-related service requirements, providing state-of-the-art technology,
  hosting IT companies and foreign companies benefitting local business,Universities
  and other institutions.
• The assistance is part of
  Government of India’s strong commitment to support Palestinian cause. The
  project will help job creation, business and other opportunities for young
  Palestinians.

• The finance ministry on Monday
  released first instalment of special assistance of Rs 1,093.34 crore for repair
  and permanent restoration of damaged public buildings in Jammu and Kashmir in
  pursuance of the announcement made by the Prime Minister last November.
• A total sum of Rs 2,000 crore has
  been provided for permanent restoration of damaged Infrastructure such as
  schools, colleges, hospitals, bus stations and other critical public
  infrastructure under Prime Minister Reconstruction Plan for J&K, the finance
  ministry said in a statement.
• The central government gave its
  approval on October 27 to one-time relaxation of Mission for Integrated
  Development of Horticulture (MIDH) cost norms for restoration of damaged
  horticulture areas and development of horticulture in the state.
• A total sum of Rs 500 crore has
  been provided under this head as part of PM Reconstruction Plan for J&K.

• The Union Cabinet on 27 October
  2016 approved the New Productivity Linked Reward (PLR) Scheme for all Major
  Port Trusts and Dock Labour Board employees and workers for the years 2015-16
  to 2017-18.
• This PLR scheme will benefit
  about 38 thousand Port and Dock workers in all the Major Port Trusts and the
  yearly outgo will be over 49 crore rupees.

• The PLR will be calculated on the
  enhanced wage ceiling for calculation of Bonus at seven thousand rupees per
  month.
• PLR shall be paid annually on the
  basis of 50 per cent weightage given to all India Performance and 50 per cent
  weightage given to the individual Port Performance.
• The arrear payments of PLR for
  the year 2014-15 to the employees will be calculated on the enhanced wage
  ceiling of seven thousand rupees per month for calculation of Bonus instead of
  3500 rupees per month on the existing methodology of combined All India Port
  Performance.
• The new PLR Scheme will foster
  better industrial relationship and congenial work atmosphere in the Port
  Sector, apart from stimulating better productivity.

• Union Cabinet on 27 October 2016
  gave its in-principle approval to NITI Aayog’s proposal for strategic sale of
  over a dozen public sector undertakings (PSUs).
• Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
  said the names of PSUs that are up for strategic stake sale would be made
  public once they are going to be put up for the auction. This list does not
  include PSUs for closure.
• The recommendations of the NITI
  Aayog on disinvestment and strategic sale came up for consideration and the Cabinet
  in principle approved the recommendations with regard to some of the units.
• Highlights of the Decision
• Each case would be considered
  separately after it has been examined by the Department of Disinvestment and
  the Ministries concerned.
• The strategic sale will involve a
  management control transfer as the shareholding of the government would come
  down to below 50 per cent.

• The Union Cabinet on 27 October
  2016 approved the first Cadre Review of Indian Posts & Telecommunications
  Accounts and Finance Service (IP&TAFS).

• Reduction of the total strength
  of the cadre from 420 to 376.
• Creation of one Apex level post
  of Controller General of Communication Accounts (CGCA).
• Creation of one additional HAG+
  level post taking the grade strength to 2.
• Creation of two additional HAG
  level posts taking the grade strength from 6 to 8.
• Creation of 18 additional SAG
  level posts taking the grade strength from 37 to 55.
• Reduction in JAG level posts from
  111 to 90.
• Reduction in STS level posts from
  198 to 86.
• Creation of 21 JTS level posts
  taking the grade strength from 67 to 88.
• Creation of 46 Posts to be
  operated as Reserves.

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by the
  Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 27 October 2016 approved the agreement on Trade,
  Commerce and Transit between India and Bhutan.
• The agreement was renewed on 29
  July 2006 for a period of ten years. The validity of this agreement was later
  extended with effect from 29 July 2016, for a period of one year or till the
  new agreement comes into force through exchange of Diplomatic notes.
• The agreement provides for a free
  trade regime between two countries. It also provides for duty free transit of
  Bhutanese merchandise for trade with third countries.

• The Union Cabinet on 27 October
  2016 gave its green signal for establishment and operationalisation of a
  National Academic Depository (NAD).
• The National Academic Depository
  aims at bringing another dimension and enhancement of the vision of Digital
  India.
• The Budget Speech of 2016-17 of
  the Finance Benefit, Arun Jaitley, incorporated the commitment to establish a
  Digital Depository for school learning certificates, degrees and other academic
  awards of Higher Education Institutions, on the pattern of a Securities
  Depository.
• The NAD will be established and
  operationalised within the next three months.
• It will be rolled out throughout
  the country in 2017-2018.
• It will be operationalised by
  NSDL Database Management Limited (NDML) and CDSL Ventures, Limited (CVL) – two
  of the wholly owned subsidiaries of the Depositories registered under
  Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Act, 1992.

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• South Indian Bank on Monday said
  Salim Gangadharan will be its new non-executive/ part-time Chairman for three
  years with effect from November 2, 2016.
• Gangadharan is currently an
  Independent Director on the board of the private sector bank headquartered in
  Thrissur (Kerala).
• In a stock exchange notice, the
  bank said Amitabha Guha would demit the office of non-executive/ part-time
  Chairman on November 1, 2016, on completion of his tenure.

• Former finance secretary and
  Competition Commission of India chairman Ashok Chawla has taken charge as
  Non-Executive Chairman of YES Bank from today.
• Chawla took over after
  non-executive part-time Chairperson Radha Singh completed her tenure as the
  bank’s director yesterday, YES Bank informed the stock exchanges.
• A former IAS officer, Singh was
  non—independent director on the bank’s board since April 2008 and was appointed
  chairperson in 2014.
• In March this year, Chawla was
  appointed additional non executive director on the bank’s board. He was to be
  appointed as non executive chairman of the bank after the end of Singh’s term,
  the bank had then informed the bourses.

• Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and
  Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, was on 27 October 2016 appointed as Chairman of
  GSMA. As GSMA Chairman, Mittal will oversee the strategic direction of the
  organisation.
• Mittal will succeed Jon Fredrik
  Baksaas, who will step down from the GSMA board at the end of 2016.
• On the other hand, the company
  re-elected Mari-Noëlle Jego-Laveissiere, Executive Vice President, Innovation,
  Orange Group as Deputy Chairman. It also elected the new members of the
  26-member Board of the company.

• Andhra Pradesh and Telengana have
  jointly topped the 2016 all-India State/Union Territory-wise Ease of Doing
  Business rankings, while last-year’s topper Gujarat slipped to the third spot.
• The rankings, announced on Monday
  by Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, are on the basis of a
  340-point business reform action plan and their implementation by the States.
  This covers the period from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016.
• Meanwhile, the World Bank said
  what was interesting this year was that four of the seven states with the
  lowest income levels in India have found a place in the top ten ranks, while
  all the seven such states had an implementation rate of over 75 per cent.
• These low-income states included
  Chhattisgarh (97.32 per cent implementation rate regarding the 340 reform
  measures, and fourth rank), Madhya Pradesh (97.01 per cent and fifth),
  Jharkhand (96.57 per cent and seventh), Rajasthan (96.43 per cent and eighth),
  Odisha (92.73 and 11th), Uttar Pradesh (84.52 per cent and 14th), Bihar (75.82
  per cent and 16th rank).
• The Bank, along with the Centre’s
  Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) was involved in the
  process of reviewing the evidence submitted by states/UTs regarding
  implementation of reforms for the rankings.
• The World Bank said it was
  looking into India’s suggestion that the World Bank Group’s global Doing
  Business rankings need to consider reforms undertaken across the country and
  not just in Mumbai and Delhi as is being done currently.
• India’s rank in the recently
  released global Doing Business rankings was a lowly 130th, just one rank up
  from the previous year’s ‘revised’ ranking of 131st. Prime Minister Modi is
  keen to ensure that India finds a place in the top 50 countries within a year
  or two.

• Team India’s limited-overs
  cricket skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni remains the most valued Indian athlete in
  2016, despite a drop in his brand value when compared with last year, shows the
  Forbes Fab 40 list released recently.
• The annual Forbes Fab 40 list,
  which estimates the brand value of top sports labels, athletes, teams and
  events, reveals that Dhoni’s brand value reduced from $21 million in 2015 to
  $11 million this year, and his rank slipped from fifth to 10th during the same
  period. However, he remains the only Indian among the top 10 athletes globally.
• Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer
  toppled golf great Tiger Woods as the most valued athlete globally. With a
  brand value of $36 million, Federer gained two notches from third last year,
  while Woods dropped four spots to stand fifth on the latest edition of the
  list. Among other top athletes on the list is Argentine football star Lionel
  Messi, ranked eighth. He was not among the top 10 last year.
• In the sports business category,
  Nike, ESPN and Adidas continued to hold the top three spots, even as the
  individual brand values of Nike and Adidas — $27 billion and $7 billion,
  respectively — improved from last year, and ESPN’s declined marginally from
  $17 billion to $16.5 billion.

• With 100 days to go for the ICC
  Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2017, Colombo was today unveiled as the host of the
  10-team event, which will be staged from February 7 to 21 next year.
• The tournament will see the
  bottom four sides from the ICC Women’s Championship along with Bangladesh,
  Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Scotland and Zimbabwe go head to head for
  the four remaining spots in the ICC Women’s World Cup in the United Kingdom
  from 26 June to 23 July.
• While hosts Sri Lanka are certain
  to feature in the qualifier, the remaining three sides will be confirmed
  following the final round of matches to be played in November.
• World champion Australia have
  already won the ICC Women’s Championship and with it became the first side to
  book a ticket for next year’s World Cup, while England, West Indies, New
  Zealand, South Africa, India and Pakistan are fighting for the remaining three
  automatic spots in the pinnacle women’s 50-over event.
• The 10 sides in Colombo will be
  divided into two groups of five with the top three from each progressing to the
  Super Six stage, thus securing One-Day International (ODI) status until the
  next ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier.

• India’s hockey team gifted the
  country on Diwali its second Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament title
  after defeating arch foes Pakistan 3-2 in the final at the Wisma Belia Hockey
  Stadium here on Sunday.
• India’s two second-half goals
  from Rupinder Pal Singh (18th minute) and Affan Yousuf (23rd) were cancelled
  out by Aleem Bilal (26th) and Ali Shan (38th) but Nikkin Thimmaiah (51st)
  scored the winner for the reigning Asian Games champions.
• In the third-place match, hosts
  Malaysia got their fourth bronze medal as they edged out South Korea via
  penalty shootout.

• The Goa cabinet has approved the
  signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the government of Goa
  and the government of Jharkhand for the implementation of ‘Ek Bharat –
  Shreshtha Bharat’, an initiative that will permit a cultural exchange and other
  exchange programs between Goa and Jharkhand.
• The signing of the MoU is
  expected to promote and spread traditional cultural forms and practices as well
  as artistic manifestations including folklore, indigenous crafts and allied
  cultural expressions of both the states, including helping in the promotion of
  tourism.
• One of the highlights of the
  cultural exchange will be an ‘Ekta Carnival’ in each state where people from
  other states will participate and understand its culture.

• The Union Cabinet on 27 October
  2016 approved the signing and ratification of agreement between India and
  Estonia on the transfer of sentenced persons.
• The Agreement will facilitate the
  Indian prisoners imprisoned in Estonia or vice-versa to be near to their
  families, for serving remaining part of their sentence and shall facilitate
  their social rehabilitation.

• Diwali was commemorated for the
  first time at the United Nations, with the world body’s imposing headquarters
  here lit up especially on the occasion of the Indian festival of lights.
• The facade of the UN headquarters
  was lit in bright hues and the words ‘Happy Diwali’, along with the image of a
  traditional ‘diya’, projected onto the building.
• It is for the first time that the
  Indian festival of lights is celebrated at the world body after the UN General
  Assembly adopted a resolution in December, 2014 that acknowledged the
  “significance of Diwali”.
• Noting that the festival is
  observed in many UN member states, the resolution had called on UN bodies to
  avoid holding meetings on Diwali, declaring it a no-meeting day.
• From 2016 onwards, Diwali was
  made an optional holiday for the UN, India’s Permanent Mission to the world
  body said in a special video message.

• Russia, facing allegations of war
  crimes in relation to its policies in Syria, lost its seat on the UN Human
  Rights Council as the UN General Assembly voted to elect 14 members to the
  Geneva-based organ.
• The 193-member General Assembly
  on Friday elected 14 nations by secret ballot to serve on the Human Rights
  Council, the United Nations body responsible for the promotion and protection
  of all human rights around the globe.
• Brazil, China, Croatia, Cuba,
  Egypt, Hungary, Iraq, Japan, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tunisia,
  United Kingdom and the United States were elected for three-year terms
  beginning January 1,2017. India is a member of the 47-member human rights body
  and its term will expire in 2017.
• Russia was seeking re-election to
  the human rights body, competing with Hungary, Croatia and Bulgaria for two
  seats in the Eastern European bloc. Russia was edged out in a close vote,
  getting 112 votes, just two shy of the 114 that Croatia polled, Hungary got 144
  votes.

• The United Nation (UN) General
  Assembly elected China, the United States, the United Kingdom among other
  countries to the UN Human Rights Council for a three-year term of office
  starting from January 1, 2017.
• The other elected members are
  Tunisia, South Africa, Rwanda, Japan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, Croatia,
  Cuba, Brazil, Xinhua news agency reported.
• The Human Rights Council is the
  main UN intergovernmental body responsible for promoting and protecting all
  human rights and fundamental freedom.
• It was established by the General
  Assembly in 2006 to replace the 60-year-old UN Commission on Human Rights.
• The UN council addresses human
  rights violations and makes corresponding recommendations. It responds to human
  rights emergencies, works to prevent abuses.

• The Ross Sea, a deep bay of the
  Southern Ocean in Antarctica, was declared as world’s largest Marine Protected
  Area (MPA) on 28 October 2016. With this, there will be a blanket ban on
  commercial fishing across about three quarters of that area for 35 years.
• It will be the world’s largest
  marine protected area and covers 1.6 million square kilometers.
• The deal was clinched after the
  meeting of Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
  (CCAMLR) consisting of 24 countries and European Union in Hobart, Australia.
  All the participant nations including the European Union unanimously agreed to
  create the world’s largest Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the ocean next to
  Antarctica.
• The agreement comes after years
  of negotiations brokered by the UN’s Commission for the Conservation of
  Antarctic Marine Living Resources. It also saw high-level talks between the US
  and Russia, which was rejected in the past. Environmentalists have welcomed the
  move to protect the Earth’s most pristine marine ecosystem.

• Indian National Award winning
  documentary ‘Daughters of Mother India’ won the first prize in the Documentary
  Film category at the sixth CAM International Film Festival in Cairo, Egypt.
• The CAM International Film
  Festival was organised by Arabic Egyptian Society for Culture, Media and Arts
  (CMA). The fest was held from 8 October to 13 October 2016.
• The fest is organised annually to
  promote cinema as a means of combating ignorance, poverty and terrorism. The
  2016 edition featured around 92 films from 33 countries in three categories:
  Short Fiction, Documentary and Animation.
• India was the Guest of Honour in
  the film gala with 12 entries.

• Two Yazidi women, Nadia Murad
  Basee and Lamiya Aji Bashar, who escaped sexual enslavement by Islamic State of
  Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Iraq, have won Europe’s top human rights award, the
  Sakharov prize.
• The announcement of the year’s
  joint laureates was made following a decision by European Parliament on 27
  October 2016.
• The Sakharov award ceremony will
  be held in Strasbourg on 14 December.

• World Cities Day was observed on
  31 October 2016 with theme Inclusive Cities, Shared Development. The year’s
  theme highlights the important role of urbanization as a source of global
  development and social inclusion.
• Recognizing the significance of
  urban basic services as a foundation for the overall social and economic
  development, the UN General Assembly by resolution 68/239 designated 31 October
  as World Cities Day.