Current Affairs Update – 5th January, 2016

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs Update of 5th January, 2016. These are Important for the upcoming LIC AAO 2016, SIDBI Assistant Manager, Syndicate Bank Manipal PO Exams.
Current Affairs At a Glance – 5th January, 2016
  1. Andhra Bank has
    announced it is launching Immediate
    Payment Service (IMPS)
    across branches to provide inter-bank electronic
    transfer service, capable of processing person to account remittances.
  2. Internet and Mobile
    Association of India (IAMAI)
    has named Kunal
    Shah, co-founder and chief executive
    officer of FreeCharge as the new chairman of the association.
  3. Professional networking platform LinkedIn today appointed Akshay
    Kothari as Country Manager for India, with immediate effect.
  4. Pranav Dhanawade became the first batsman to score 1000-plus runs
    in an innings in any form of cricket
  5. Mary Barra
    elected as first Woman Chairman of
    General Motors
    Board of Directors.
  6. Ex-Chief Justice of
    India Sarosh Homi Kapadia
    passed away on 4 January 2016 in Mumbai.
  7. Department of Posts on 1 January 2016 formed a one-man
    committee headed by Kamlesh Chandra to study issues related to Gramin Dak Sevaks including wage
    structure and service conditions.
  8. India-Nepal Bus
    Service
    on 4 January 2016 resumed after
    a gap of 27 years
    . The service was suspended 27 years ago in the wake of
    the Indo-Nepal Trade and Transit Treaty.
  9. State election commissioner (SEC) Ashok Kumar Chauhan on 4 January 2016 announced
    that toilets will be mandatory requirement for eligibility to contest panchayat
    elections.
  10. Bharat Heavy
    Electricals Ltd
    has announced it has commissioned the first 600 MW coal-based Kakatiya Thermal Power Plant in Telangana.

Finance/Economy/Banking

Andhra Bank launches
Immediate Payment Service

  • Andhra Bank has announced it is launching Immediate Payment
    Service (IMPS) across branches to provide inter-bank electronic transfer
    service, capable of processing person to account remittances.
  • IMPS is a multi-channel and multi-dimensional platform that
    makes payments possible within fraction of seconds with all the standards and
    integrity maintained for security, the bank said.
  • Each transaction will have a maximum cap of Rs 2 lakh and
    charged at the rate of Rs 5 per transaction, according to a press release.

Volvo Buses India
merged with Volvo India Pvt Ltd
  • Leading automobile manufacturer Volvo Group on 5 January
    2016 announced the merger of its bus manufacturing arm Volvo Buses India and joint
    company Volvo India Pvt Ltd (VIPL).
  • The consolidation has come into effect from 31 December
    2015.
  • Volvo Group in India includes multiple business areas and
    brands such as Volvo Buses, Volvo Penta Engines, Volvo Construction Equipment,
    UD Buses, Volvo Trucks, Eicher Trucks and Buses.
  • VRV Sriprasad will continue to lead the Volvo Bus business
    in India. He will report to Akash Passey, Senior Vice President at the Volvo
    Bus Corporation.

IRB Infra bagged
10050 crore rupees project to build Zozila Pass tunnel project
  • IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd, a Mumbai-based road
    developer, on 4 January 2016 bagged the 10050 crore Zojila Pass tunnel road
    project in Jammu and Kashmir.  This
    tunnel project is the country’s biggest road project by cost
  • The Zojila Pass tunnel will be the longest in South Asia
    once completed. Presently, Chenani-Nashri tunnel at 9 km is the country’s
    longest road tunnel.

Highlights of the
Project
  • The 14.08 km tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity
    between the Jammu and Kashmir regions with Leh Ladakh, which remain cut off
    during winters due to heavy snowfall.
  • The project’s construction period is seven years and the
    concession period is 22 years.

Nokia completed
acquisition of Alca-Lucent for 15.6 billion euro
  • Nokia Corporation on 5 January 2015 announced that it
    completed the regulatory formalities for acquiring the French telecom equipment
    company Alca-Lucent.
  • The deal, worth 15.6 billion euro, was signed in 2014 and
    later approved by the European Commission.
  • With this acquisition, Nokia holds 79.32 percent of
    outstanding Alcatel-Lucent shares and at least 78.97 percent of the French
    company’s voting rights.
  • Further, the deal is expected to help the company in
    competing globally with the likes of Ericsson and Huawei in the
    telecommunications field.

Jharkhand Government
inaugurated land bank web portal jharbhoom.nic.in
  • Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das on 4 January 2016
    inaugurated the state’s land bank web portal, jharbhoom.nic.in, that will help
    investors know land-related information.
  • With this, one would be able to get information about the
    land which is available at the district and the circle area level with a click
    of a mouse. This land bank will help investors get information through
    district-wise nodal officers.
  • For this purpose, district wise nodal officers have been
    appointed whose mobile numbers and email ids will also be available on the
    website.

India
Department of Posts
formed Kamlesh Chandra Panel on Gramin Dak Sevaks

  • Department of Posts on 1 January 2016 formed a one-man
    committee to study issues related to Gramin Dak Sevaks including wage structure
    and service conditions.
  • The panel will be headed by Kamlesh Chandra, a retired
    member of the Postal Services Board, which will be assisted by T Q Mohammad, a
    senior administrative grade officer, as the secretary.

Terms of reference
of the panel
  • It will examine the system of branch post offices,
    engagement conditions and the existing structure of wage and emoluments paid to
    gramin sevaks and recommend necessary changes.
  • It will review the existing facilities for 2.6 lakh
    employees spread across the country, the service discharge benefit scheme and
    other social security benefits.

Sterlite Grid
commissioned first power project under TBCB incentive regime
  • Sterlite Grid on 2 January 2016 set a new benchmark by
    commissioning the Transmission Project to Rajasthan Atomic Power Project (RAPP)
    ahead of schedule under the Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) incentive
    regime.
  • RAPP is the first power transmission line to be been
    commissioned ahead of schedule since the implementation of TBCB scheme.
  • As per Sterlite Grid, the construction work on transmission
    project to RAPP, which was awarded to the company in 2013, was completed within
    12 months from the start of construction.

India-Nepal Bus
Service resumed after 27 years

  • India-Nepal Bus Service on 4 January 2016 resumed after a
    gap of 27 years. The service was suspended 27 years ago in the wake of the
    Indo-Nepal Trade and Transit Treaty.
  • The service runs between Kanchanpur in Nepal, which is close
    to Banbasa border in Champavat district of Uttarakhand, and Anand Vihar ISBT in
    Delhi.
  • To travel in these buses, no special documents are required
    as both the countries share open border.
  • The service is expected to benefit people living along the
    border areas as they have family as well as trade relations with each other.

Union Government to
launch River Information System for Inland Waterways
  • The term River Information System (RIS) was in news in the
    first week of January 2016 as the Union Ministry of Shipping is set to launch
    the system for Inland Waterways in the country.
  • The system is expected to improve navigation in Indland
    Waterways as the government is set to expand the network across the country
    through the National Waterways Bill, 2015.
  • The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on 21 December 2015 and
    is pending with the Rajya Sabha.

Toilets made
mandatory to contest Panchayat polls in Bihar

  • State election commissioner (SEC) Ashok Kumar Chauhan on 4
    January 2016 announced that toilets will be mandatory requirement for
    eligibility to contest panchayat elections.
  • This declaration means that no one can contest the Bihar
    panchayat elections scheduled in 2016 without having a toilet at their home.
  • SEC said that candidates have to give an undertaking
    regarding status of toilet by 1 January 2016 in their home. He also said to
    ensure free and fair polling the elections will be held in 10 phases. The
    notification of the elections and dates will be issued on 15 February 2016.
  • Election will be held for the posts of 8397 Mukhiyas
    (Village head), 8397 Kutcheri Sarpanchs besides Panchayat Samiti members,
    Kutchehri panchs, and Zila Parishad members.

BHEL commissions 600
MW thermal unit in Telangana
  • Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd has announced it has
    commissioned the first 600 MW coal-based thermal power plant in Telangana, a
    state where it has an order book of 6,000 mw.
  • Significantly, the unit commissioned at Kakatiya Thermal
    Power Project in Warangal, is the highest rating unit in the State. One
    coal-based unit of 500 MW rating, commissioned by BHEL in 2010, is already
    operational at Kakatiya thermal plant.
  • BHEL–built 600 MW rating sets comprise a 4-cylinder turbine
    designed in-house. So far, the company has contracted 21 sets of 600 MW each,
    of which 14 have been commissioned. BHEL has a major contribution in the
    Telangana power sector with 84 per cent of the coal-based power stations
    amounting to 4,580 MW having been commissioned by BHEL.
  • Reposing confidence in BHEL’s ability to set up power
    plants, TS Genco has placed orders with it for executing around 6,000 MW of
    thermal power projects in the State on equipment procurement construction (EPC)
    basis.

Appointments
Radha Krishna Mathur
took oath as Chief Information Commissioner of India
  • Former Defence Secretary Radha Krishna Mathur was on 4
    January 2016 sworn in as the eight Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) of
    India by President Pranab Mukherjee.
  • Mathur succeeded Vijai Sharma, who completed his tenure on 1
    December 2015.
  • As the CIC, the former Defence Secretary will have tenure of
    about three years, until he attains the age of 65 years.

Mary Barra elected as
Chairman of General Motors Board of Directors

  • Mary Barra was on 4 January 2016 elected as Chairman of
    General Motors (GM) Board of Directors with immediate effect. Barra succeeds
    Theodore Solso, who will continue serving as the  Lead Independent Director of the Board.
  • Earlier, Barra was serving as Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
    of GM since January 2014.

IAMAI appoints
FreeCharge CEO Kunal Shah as Chairman

  • Industry body the Internet and Mobile Association of India
    (IAMAI) has named Kunal Shah, co-founder and chief executive officer of
    FreeCharge as the new chairman of the association. Shah would replace current
    chairman Nishant Rao, who recently moved to Chennai from Gurgaon to join a
    startup called Freshdesk as its global Chief Operating Officer. Rao was earlier
    country head of LinkedIn.
  • Shah co-founded FreeCharge in August 2010. In April last
    year the company was acquired by Snapdeal. Post acquisition, FreeCharge
    continues to be an independent entity under Snapdeal. Vinodh Bhat, president
    and chief strategy officer at online music streaming service provider Saavn
    remains the vice chairman of the association.
  • IAMAI also announced Vishwas Patel, who is chief executive
    officer of CCAvenue as the new treasurer. CCAvenue provides payment gateway
    services to several thousand of online merchants across the world.

LinkedIn names Akshay
Kothari as India Country Manager

  • Professional networking platform LinkedIn today appointed
    Akshay Kothari as Country Manager for India, with immediate effect.
  • India has one of the largest userbase for LinkedIn, which
    has more than 400 million members globally.
  • Kothari replaces Nishant Rao, who quit the company in
    October last year to join cloud-based customer support software firm Freshdesk as
    its Chief Operating Officer.
  • Kothari will report to Olivier Legrand, LinkedIn’s Managing
    Director for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, and join the company’s APAC senior
    management team, LinkedIn said in a statement.
  • He joined LinkedIn in 2013 when Pulse, the company he
    co-founded and was CEO for almost 3 years, was acquired by LinkedIn.
  • Since then, based out of LinkedIn’s global headquarters in
    Mountain View, California, he has led several major product and content
    initiatives, including Pulse.

Vishal Suri is new MD
of Kuoni India

  • Vishal Suri has been appointed as managing director of Kuoni
    India. He replaces Rajeev Wagle who resigned from the post.
  • The changes in top management at Kuoni India take place a
    month after Thomas Cook acquired the company. Suri held the position of CEO –
    Tour Operating in Kuoni India. Prior to joining Kuoni he was chief operating
    officer (leisure travel) in Thomas Cook.
  • Thomas Cook concluded the acquisition of Swiss tour major
    Kuoni’s business in India last month. The acquisition of Kuoni Hong Kong, which
    was a part of the same Rs 535 crore transaction, had been completed a month
    earlier.

Sports
Pranav Dhanawade
became the first batsman to score 1000-plus runs in an innings in any form of
cricket

  • Mumbai teenager Pranav Dhanawade today scripted history by
    becoming the first batsman ever to notch up a four-figure score by smashing an
    unbeaten knock of 1009 in an inter-school tournament here.
  • The 15-year-old, playing for KC Gandhi Higher Secondary
    School, reached the gigantic score in just 323 deliveries with a jaw-dropping
    strike rate of 312.38 in the game against Arya Gurukul in the Bhandari Cup
    inter—school tournament organised by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA).
  • In the course of his awe—inspiring innings, which lasted 395
    minutes, Dhanawade smashed a whopping 129 fours and 59 sixes.
  • The epic knock ended when his school declared at 1,465,
    which is also a world record. His school went past Victoria’s 1,107 against New
    South Wales made way back in 1926.
  • Pranav now holds the record for the highest individual score
    in any form of cricket, bettering AEJ Collins’ 628 not out for Clark’s House
    against North Town in 1899 in the UK.

ONGC won 26th Lal
Bahadur Shastri Hockey tournament
  • Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on 3 January 2015 won
    the 26th Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey tournament.
  • To win the title, the ONGC defeated Indian Railways 3-0 on
    penalties in the final match held at the Shivaji Stadium in New Delhi.
  • At the end of the stipulated time both the teams stood at 2
    points each. In the shootout, Sumit Kumar, Gurjant Singh and Vikramjit Singh
    scored for ONGC while the Railways players could not score a single goal.

Awards
& Honors –
Kate Atkinson won
2015 Costa Novel Prize for A God in Ruins

  • British writer Kate Atkinson on 4 January 2016 won the
    novel-of-the-year prize at Britain’s Costa Book Awards 2015 for the second time
    in three years. She fetched the award for A God in Ruins, a story of war and
    its aftermath.
  • With this, Atkinson became the first author to receive the
    Costa novel prize three times: for A God in Ruins in 2016, Life After Life in
    2013 and Behind the Scenes at the Museum in 1995.

World
IUPAC announced
addition of Four Elements to complete Seventh row of Periodic Table

  • The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
    (IUPAC) on 30 December 2015 announced discovery and assignment of elements with
    atomic numbers 113, 115, 117 and 118.
  • The decision was taken by the IUPAC as the four elements met
    the discovery of elements of the IUPAP/IUPAC Transfermium Working Group (TWG)
    1991 Discovery Criteria.
  • Naming of elements: After officially recognizing the
    elements, the IUPAC also invited suggestions related to permanent names and
    symbols from the scientists who discovered them.
  • New elements can be named after a mythological concept, a
    mineral, a place or country, a property or a scientist.

Details of four
elements

Element 113
  • Temporary working name and symbol are ununtrium and Uut
    respectively.
  • It was discovered by the scientists belonging to RIKEN
    research laboratory in Japan.

Elements 115 & 117
  • 115: ununpentium, Uup are the temporary working name and
    symbol respectively.
  • 117: ununseptium, Uus are the temporary working name and
    symbol respectively.
  • In discovering the element 117 Indian scientist Susanta
    Lahiri played an important role.
  • They were discovered by scientists belonging to Russia and
    the USA in collaboration

Element 118
  • It has ununoctium and Uuo as the temporary working name and
    symbol respectively.
  • It was jointly discovered by scientists belonging to the
    Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,
    California, USA.

Obituaries
Former Chief Justice
of India Sarosh Homi Kapadia died

  • Ex-Chief Justice of India Sarosh Homi Kapadia passed away on
    4 January 2016 in Mumbai. He was 68.
  • Kapadia is survived by wife and a son and a daughter.
  • On 12 May 2010, he was sworn in as the 38th Chief Justice of
    India by the President Pratibha Patil.
  • During his tenure as CJI, he served as the Chairman of the
    General Council of the Gujarat National Law University and the Visitor of the
    National Law School of India University.

Former Wigan Athletic
defender Steve Gohouri passed away

  • Former Wigan Athletic defender Steve Gohouri passed away.
    His body was recovered from the River Rhine in the western city of Krefeld on 2
    January 2015. He was 34.
  • Gohouri went missing on 12 December 2015 after attending the
    party of his German club TSV Steinbach. He was meant to visit his family in
    Paris but never arrived.

:: DOWNLOAD TODAY’S PDF ::

Regards

Team ExamPundit

Sponsored

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Books For 2015 Banking/Insurance Exams

This post was last modified on July 20, 2019 10:16 am