Current Affairs Update – 29th April, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs for 29th April, 2015.

Finance/Banking/Insurance
IRDA launches motor
insurance awareness campaign

  • The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India
    (IRDAI) has launched an awareness campaign on motor third-party insurance
    jointly with Cyberabad Police.
  • Speaking at the launch of the campaign here on Wednesday, R
    Raghavan, Chief Executive Officer, Insurance Information Bureau (IIB), an arm
    of the insurance regulator, said 55 per cent of the vehicles plying on the
    roads in the country did not have the mandatory motor third-party insurance.
  • In number terms, this would translate into seven crore
    vehicles! “India ranks among the top five countries in the world in the number
    of accidents which makes insurance vital. Today is just a beginning. We will
    roll out a national campaign soon,’’ he added.
  • Lack of the third-party insurance will not only lead to
    severe social security perils for the victims but also losses to the insurers,
    he added.
  • Lack of third-party insurance will attract a Rs. 1,000 fine
    or three months’ imprisonment or both in line with the Motor Vehicles Act.

Govt approves Rs.
1,000 minimum monthly pension through EPFO
  • Government on Wednesday decided to continue its Rs 1,000 per
    minimum monthly pension scheme in perpetuity, a move which would benefit over
    20 lakh pensioners under social security scheme run by EPFO. The scheme was
    initially effective only till last month.
  • “The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
    today gave its approval for continuation of the minimum pension of Rs 1,000 per
    month to the pensioners of Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995 (EPS) beyond 2014-15
    on perpetual basis.
  • Currently, it is effective only up to March, 2015,” an
    official press release said.
  • Retirement fund body EPFO had suspended the Rs 1,000 minimum
    monthly pension scheme from April 1.
  • The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) had to
    suspend the scheme in the absence of any direction from the government to
    continue with this benefit beyond March 31.
  • The scheme was launched with effect from September 2014,
    hiking the pension amount to a flat Rs 1,000 per month for those who were
    getting lower amount earlier.
  • The Cabinet also approved corresponding grant of continuous
    annual budgetary support for implementing the minimum pension, which will be to
    the tune of Rs 850 crore per year on a tapering basis.

Bajaj Allianz Eases
Insurance Claim Norms for Quake Victims
  • Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance today said it has simplified
    its claim settlement norms for the victims of devastating earthquake in Nepal
    and northern and eastern parts of India.
  • “In the massive earthquake in Nepal, Indian states of
    Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Sikkim, Delhi, NCR, Uttarakhand,
    Rajasthan and Jharkhand many lost their near and dear ones and some are still
    missing,” a company release said.
  • Considering the situation, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has
    reduced the documentation for claim applications for the earthquake victims.
  • While the requirement for documents has been already
    minimised, procedure for investigation conducted by the insurer may be waived
    if prima-facie documents establish the life assured’s death is due to earthquake,
    it added.
  • The company would make the best efforts to settle a majority
    of the claims coming out of this natural disaster within 72 hours.

KYC norms breach: RBI
imposes fine on three banks

  • Bank of Maharashtra, Dena Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce
    have been imposed with a monetary penalty of Rs. 15 crore each by the Reserve
    Bank of India (RBI) for violation of Know Your Customer (KYC)/ Anti Money
    Laundering (AML) norms.
  • “Failure on the part of these banks to take timely remedial
    measures had aggravated the seriousness of the contraventions and its impact,”
    RBI said in a release.
  • The RBI also cautioned eight other banks — Central Bank of
    India, Bank of India, Punjab and Sind Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of
    Bikaner & Jaipur, UCO Bank, Union Bank of India and Vijaya Bank – “to put
    in place appropriate measures and review them from time to time to ensure
    strict compliance of KYC requirements in future.
  • RBI said it received a complaint from a private
    organisation, on the basis of which a scrutiny of fixed accounts opened in its
    name in Mumbai based branches of certain public sector banks was undertaken in
    July 2014.

ED freezes over Rs.
9,000 cr worth property in 2014-15

  • In a major action against black money hoarders and money
    launderers, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets to the tune of
    Rs. 9,003 crore and filed 173 chargesheets in the financial year 2014-15.
  • The agency, as part of its efforts to crack down on illicit
    funds in India and abroad, in the last year registered a mammoth 400 per cent
    rise in the numbers of assets attached, over 500 per cent increase in the
    number of criminal FIRs lodged, over 600 per cent more numbers of arrests made
    of people suspected to be involved in laundering crimes and more than 200 per
    cent jump in the filing of prosecution complaints or charge sheets as compared
    to the 2013-14 fiscal.
  • The agency which probes financial crimes under two prime
    laws of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Foreign Exchange
    Management Act (FEMA) along with some old cases pending under the repealed
    Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) has broken all records of lodging
    complaints and prosecuting the accused of financial frauds, hawala and money
    laundering.

India
Cabinet paves way for
moving amendments in Prevention of Corruption Act
  • The Union Cabinet has approved official amendments in the
    Prevention of Corruption Act to help the bureaucracy take faster decisions
    besides making more stringent provisions against corrupt persons. The bill to
    amend the act is currently pending in the Rajya Sabha.
  • The amendments, as approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday,
    prescribe extending the protection of prior sanction for prosecution to public
    servants who cease to hold office due to retirement, resignation, etc. Further,
    prior sanction for inquiry and investigation shall be required from the Lokpal
    or Lokayukta, as the case may be, for investigation of offences relatable to recommendations
    made or decisions taken by a public servant in the discharge of official
    functions or duties, a Government statement said.
  • However, intentional enriching by public servants will be
    construed as criminal misconduct and possession of disproportionate assets as
    proof of such illicit enrichment. Besides this, non-monetary gratification has
    been covered within the definition of the word gratification.
  • Meanwhile, the amendments have provided more stringent
    punishment for the offence of bribery, both for the bribe giver and the bribe
    taker. “Penal provisions being enhanced from minimum 6 months to 3 years and
    from maximum 5 years to 7 years (The seven-year imprisonment brings corruption
    to the heinous crime category),” the statement said.

Govt Approves 10 New
Sites for Nuke Projects
  • Government has accorded ‘in principle’ approval to 10 sites
    for setting up nuclear power projects, Lok Sabha was informed today. The ten sites
    are located in nine states.
  • In reply to a question, Minister of State in the Prime
    Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh said indigenous reactors would be established
    at Gorakhpur in Haryana, Chutka and Bhimpur in Madhya Pradesh, Kaiga at
    Karnataka and Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan.
  • Reactors with foreign cooperation would be set up in
    Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, Jaitapur at Maharashtra, Chhaya Mithi Virdhi in
    Gujarat, Kovvada at Andhra Pradesh and Haripur in West Bengal.
  • Singh also said that BHAVINI, a Public Sector Undertaking of
    Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is presently constructing a Prototype Fast
    Breeder Reaction (PFBR) of 500 MWe capacity at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu. In
    addition, two Fast Breeder Reactors of 600 MW are also proposed to be constructed
    at Kalpakkam, he added.
  • Responding to another question, he said that PFBR is under
    advanced stage of commissioning. The physical progress achieved as on
    31-03-2014 is 97.64 per cent.

Cabinet nod for Smart
City Project, Atal rejuvenation mission
  • Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod to NDA government’s
    flagship 100 smart cities project and the new urban renewal mission with a
    total outlay of about Rs one lakh crore.
  • A meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved
    Smart Cities Mission for development of 100 smart cities and Atal Mission for
    Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) of 500 cities with outlays of Rs
    48,000 crore and Rs 50,000 crore respectively, according to a statement issued
    by the Urban Development Ministry.
  • Smart City is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project
    aimed at recasting the urban landscape of the country by making cities more
    livable and inclusive besides driving the economic growth. Each selected city
    under the ambitious scheme would get central assistance of Rs 100 crore per
    year for five years.
  • AMRUT is the new avatar of the Jawaharlal Nehru National
    Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and has been named after former Prime Minister
    Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
  • The Cabinet also approved central funding under AMRUT to the
    projects sanctioned under JNNURM and not completed. JNNURM projects sanctioned
    during 2005-2012 and which have achieved physical progress of 50 per cent
    availing 50 per cent of central assistance released and those sanctioned during
    2012-2014 will be supported till March 2017.

ISRO successfully
tested indigenous cryogenic engine CE-20 with four-tonne capacity
  • The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on 28 April
    2015 successfully tested an indigenous cryogenic engine CE-20 at Mahendragiri,
    Tamil Nadu. This engine will enable scientists to put satellites of up to the
    capacity of four tonnes in geostationary orbit.
  • The engine will also give boost to India’s interplanetary
    probes and manned space missions. So far India’s GSLVs were being powered by
    cryogenic engines given by Russia. But this development marks a milestone in
    the country’s effort to develop a big cryogenic engine to fly satellites of up
    to five tonnes.

Delhi government
approved farmer compensation scheme named after Gajender Singh
  • Government of Delhi on 28 April 2015 gave its approval for
    setting up of a farmer compensation scheme named after Gajendra Singh. Gajendra
    Singh is the person who allegedly committed suicide during an AAP (Aam Aadmi
    Party) rally on 22 April 2015 by hanging himself with a tree.
  • The decision on name of the scheme was taken during a
    Cabinet meet chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. As per reports, the
    state government will distribute compensation to rain-hit farmers from first
    week of May 2015.
  • Besides, the government also decided to give job to a member
    of Gajendra’s family and martyr status for him, as demanded by the farmer’s
    kin.

Days
Logo for
International Day of Yoga Launched

  • The logo for International Day of Yoga was launched here
    today by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minister of State for
    AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik.
  • The United Nations General Assembly had on December 11
    adopted an India-led resolution declaring June 21 as the ‘International Day of
    Yoga’. This came less than three months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi
    proposed the idea.
  • The theme for 2015 International Yoga Day is “Yoga for
    Harmony and Peace”.
  • Folding of both hands in the logo symbolises Yoga, which
    reflects the union of individual consciousness with that of universal
    consciousness, a perfect harmony between mind and body, man and nature, the
    holistic approach to health and well being, a senior government official said.
  • The brown leaves in the logo symbolise the earth element,
    the green leaves the nature, blue the fire element while the sun symbolises the
    source of energy and inspiration, the official said.

World Dance Day
observed globally
  • World Dance Day or International Dance Day was observed
    globally on 29 April 2015. It is observed with an aim to attract the attention
    of the wider public to the art of dance.
  • As part of celebrations, the President of the CID annually
    sends the official message for Dance Day which circulates in every country
    around the world.
  • International Dance Day was introduced in 1982 by the
    International Dance Council (CID) at United Nations Educational, Scientific and
    Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris, France. CID is the
    official organization for all forms of dance in all countries of the world.

Awards
& Honors –
Margarita, with a
Straw won Best Feature Film Award at Washington Film festival

  • Margarita, with a Straw directed by Shonali Bose of India in
    the fourth week of April 2015 won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at
    the Washington DC International Film festival.
  • Kalki Koechlin-starrer film is a disability drama. In the
    film, Kalki has played the role of a cerebral palsy patient named Laila. The
    film also stars Revathi and Sayani Gupta in prominent roles.
  • The film, through layers of discovery and revelation has
    explored and challenged Indian culture and society in so many ways. The director
    Bose through the film has tried to weave a story in form of a specific culture along
    with simply human story.
  • The film, before its release on 17 April 2015 made its world
    premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Later, it was
    screened at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia, BFI London Film
    Festival, Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) and the Santa Barbara
    International Film Festival.

Business
MoU & Deals –
Flipkart acquires
Appiterate to strengthen mobile tech presence

  • Flipkart, India’s largest online marketplace, has acquired
    New Delhi-based mobile engagement and marketing automation company Appiterate,
    to strengthen its mobile technology presence. The financial terms of the deal
    were not disclosed.
  • Appiterate started out testing products for mobile apps,
    which later on expanded into a full-fledged mobile marketing automation
    platform. The company, in the past, has helped leading e-commerce companies
    combine the power of mobile apps and big data to allow them to do one-on-one targeting
    of their users through push notifications and in-app messages.

Sports
Harika bags silver,
Humpy wins bronze in World Chess Team Championship

  • D Harika and Koneru Humpy came up with fine individual
    performances to win a silver and a bronze, respectively, even as the Indian
    eves finished fourth in the women’s world team chess championship here.
  • Harika’s silver and Humpy’s bronze though were a big
    consolation for the team, overall it was a disappointing show by the Indian
    girls given the missed opportunities. The medal for the team was always within
    reach, but it failed to finish off well.
  • Considering that the Indian team entered the tournament as a
    wild card, a fourth-place finish can be justified as a pretty decent show.
    However, the medal was within the grasp as the team finished just one point shy
    of China, which bagged the bronze.

Railways won 5th
Senior Men’s National Hockey championship
  • Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) on 28 April 2015 won
    5th Senior Men’s National Hockey championship 2015. In the final match played
    in Pune, Maharashtra, Railways defeated Uttar Pradesh Hockey (UPH) by 5-3.
  • In the Position match, Air India Sports Promotion Board
    (AISPB) defeated Hockey Gangpur-Odisha by 5-3 to finish at 3rd position in the
    tournament.

Narine banned from
bowling off-spinners

  • In another setback for Sunil Narine, the West Indies player
    has been barred from bowling off-spinners in all matches organised by the BCCI,
    including the ongoing IPL.
  • Kolkata Knight Riders’ ace spinner Narine underwent a
    biomechanical analysis in Chennai after being reported for a suspected illegal
    action again during the IPL tie against SunRisers Hyderabad in Visakhapatnam on
    April 22.
  • After reviewing the footage of the game and analysis in
    Chennai, the BCCI has decided to ban his off-spinners.

China won the World
Team Chess Championship in Tsaghkadzor
  • China won the World Team Chess Championship which was held
    at Tsaghkadzor, Armenia from 18 April 2015 to 29 April 2015.
  • China emerged champion, with 15 points. Ukraine finished
    runner-up with 12 points, while host Armenia was third with 11.
  • India finished the championship at ninth position with seven
    points, losing the final round match 3-1 to China.

Georgia won Women’s
World Team Chess Championship held at Chengdu
  • Georgia on 29 April 2015 won the Women’s World Team Chess
    Championship. The championship was held at Chengdu, China from 18 April 2015 to
    29 April 2015 under the aegis of FIDE.
  • Georgia won the gold with 17 match points by defeating
    China. Russia won the silver medal, with 15 match points while China was placed
    third with 11 match points, claiming the bronze.
  • Mariya Muzychuk was declared as the 2015 Women’s World
    Champion.

Appointments
Mukesh Khanna
Appointed Chairperson of CFSI

  • Veteran actor Mukesh Khanna, who made his way into the
    hearts of children with his popular superhero TV series “Shaktimaan”,
    has been appointed as the new chairperson of the Children Film Society of India
    (CFSI).
  • The 56-year-old actor has taken over the charge from
    actor-director Amole Gupte, who resigned in June 2014.
  • Khanna made his debut on the small screen with B R Chopra’s
    “Mahabharat” where he gained much fame after he played Bhisham
    Pitamah in the epic. He was last seen in daily soap “Pyaar Ka Dard Hai
    Meetha Meetha Pyaara Pyaara”.
  • Kumar said the organisation expects Khanna to give his
    creative leadership in making good content for children’s programmes and bring
    in his experience and expertise.
  • With a catalogue of 250 films in 10 different languages,
    CFSI remains the prime producer of children’s films in South Asia.

Obituaries
Oscar-winning
cinematographer Andrew Lesnie passed away
  • The Oscar-winning cinematographer Andrew Lesnie passed away
    on 27 April 2015 following a fatal heart attack. He was 59.
  • Lesnie was famously known for his cinematography in movies
    Lord of the Rings series and The Hobbit. He also shot the remake of King Kong
    (2005), The Lovely Bones (2009) and Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
    during his career.
  • Lesnie won the Oscar (Academy Award) as a cinematographer in
    2002 for the first part of Lord of the Rings film- The Fellowship of the Ring.
    He was also inducted into the Australian Cinematographers Society Hall of Fame
    in 2002.


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This post was last modified on July 20, 2019 10:24 am