Current Affairs Update – 8 Nov, 2014

• ·        
  China UnionPay (CUP), the payments company which was created to rival
  Visa and MasterCard in the Middle Kingdom, is setting up shop in India. The
  Reserve Bank of India is also considering a bilateral arrangement whereby CUP
  cards are accepted in the country and India’s RuPay cards are accepted in
  China.
• ·        
  Bankers said that the fact that the company is seeking to fill positions
  in India could only mean that it has some inprinciple approval from the central
  bank.
• ·        
  CUP cards are accepted in over 140 countries across the world and the
  payments giant is keen on enabling acceptance in India. At present, both CUP
  and RuPay have an agreement with US card company Discover to use the latter’s
  global network for facilitating international payments. Through the Discover
  network, RuPay cards can be used in China and CUP cards can be used in India. A
  direct agreement will enable both cardholders to make payments in each other’s
  country without going through an international network.
• ·        
  In its posting for a country manager in Mumbai, CUP has included in the
  job description: developing UnionPay business by cooperating with financial
  institutions on ATM and point-of-sales network and assisting partners in
  building a successful business model.
• ·        
  India’s domestic card system RuPay , although just twoand-a-half years
  old, has made great progress on all fronts: it is accepted by most retailers
  and online establishments and across ATMs in the country .

• ·        
  Private sector lender Axis Bank has signed a pact with NongHyup Bank (NH
  Bank) to enhance cooperation in treasury, trade and other business between
  India and South Korea.
• ·        
  “The MoU, will serve to strengthen existing ties between the two
  banks and will help facilitate and enhance cooperation in the areas of
  treasury, srade and other business,” Axis Bank said in a release.
• ·        
  The MoU aims to reinforce trade and economic relationship between South
  Korea and India, and will promote mutual development through business
  cooperation.

• ·        
  Private sector lender ING Vysya Bank today said Shailendra Bhandari, its
  managing director and chief executive of five years, has decided to step down
  to pursue “new challenges”.
• ·        
  The board of the bank has announced Uday Sareen, currently serving as
  the deputy chief executive and wholesale bank head, as the successor, the bank
  said in a statement.
• ·        
  Bhandari will, however, will continue to serve the bank till January 31,
  2015.
• ·        
  Bhandari has over three decades of experience in the financial services
  industry and had joined the Bangalore-based bank from Tata Capital, where he
  headed the private equity vertical. Prior to that, he headed the then Centurion
  Bank and Prudential ICICI Asset Management Company.
• ·        
  He was associated with HDFC Bank since its inception in 1994 and was its
  treasurer and executive director.

• ·        
  The Telugu Desam MP and industrialist Y.S. Choudhary and senior BJP
  leader and MP, Bandaru Dattatreya, the latter from Telangana, are likely to be
  inducted in the Union Cabinet.
• ·        
  They are set to join the Narendra Modi Cabinet, which is being expanded.
• ·        
  While Choudhary is the founder of the diversified Sujana Group, Bandaru
  Dattatreya had earlier served as Union Railway Minister.
• ·        
  It is learnt that they have been asked to join the swearing-in ceremony
  on Sunday.

• ·        
  Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao has launched the pension
  scheme ‘Aasara’ for the old people, widows and the handicapped. While widows
  and the old people get a monthly pension of Rs. 1,000, the handicapped will get
  Rs. 1,500.
• ·        
  “We will spend Rs. 4,000 crore on the scheme annually,” the Chief Minister,
  addressing the gathering after launching the scheme at Kothur in Mahaboobnagar
  district on Saturday.
• ·        
  He said the Telugu Desam and Congress Governments had allocated Rs. 72
  crore and Rs. 730 crore respectively for the scheme, hardly sufficient for
  reaching out to all the beneficiaries.
• ·        
  However, the State Government was facing criticism for denying pension
  eligibility for scores of people. Those who were getting pensions earlier were
  kept out of the list this time, triggering protests in different parts of the
  State.
• ·        
  The Government, however, argues that it is in the process of weeding out
  only ineligible persons and that no one eligible person will be denied pension.

• ·        
  India will extend visa-on-arrival facility to Russian businessmen at 18
  airports in the country, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said. The Minister
  expressed India’s commitment to removing red tape and provide single window
  clearance to investors.
• ·        
  “Speaking at the India-Russia Forum on trade and investments here on
  Wednesday, Ms. Sitharaman said “India and Russia need to further strengthen the
  economic relation which is presently below potential.”
• ·        
  She also spoke about positive investment climate in India and also the
  huge investment opportunities in infrastructure, manufacturingand other
  sectors.

• ·        
  Laxmikant Parsekar was on saturday sworn-in as the new Chief Minister of
  Goa, soon after Manohar Parrikar resigned. Parsekar was elected leader of the
  BJP Legislature Party, paving the way for his elevation as the new Chief
  Minister, snuffing out any challenge from Deputy CM Francis D’Souza.
• ·        
  Parsekar, who was unanimously elected the leader at a meeting of the BJP
  Legislature Party, will succeed Manohar Parrikar after he resigned earlier in
  the day and is set to join the Union Cabinet.
• ·        
  His name was proposed by Parrikar and seconded by the Deputy Chief
  Minister D’Souza, who had earlier staked claim to the post on ground of
  seniority.
• ·        
  However, he backed Parsekar after being mollified by the party
  leadership.

• ·        
  India and Bhutan on 7 November 2014 signed a Memorandum of Understanding
  (MoU) to develop Nalanda University in Bihar as an international centre of
  excellence.

• ·        
  The MoU states that the objectives and functions of Nalanda University
  includes the establishment of an international institution of learning that
  will bring together the brightest and the most dedicated students from all
  countries irrespective of gender, caste, creed, disability, ethnicity or
  socioeconomic background.
• ·        
  According to the MoU, the Nalanda University will be located at Rajgir
  in Bihar and will have the power to confer degrees, diplomas and certificates.
• ·        
  It focuses on building an Asian community of learning where the
  intellectual potential of every student can be developed to the fullest extent
  possible.
• ·        
  As per the MoU, India will provide appropriate visa to students, faculty
  and staff for travelling to India to study or work in the University. The funding
  for the establishment and operations of the University will be on a voluntary
  basis.

• ·        
  The largest wind turbine manufacturer Suzlon Energy on 6 November 2014
  installed the world’s tallest hybrid wind generator turbine in Kutch, Gujarat.
  The turbine will generate 12-15 percent more energy.
• ·        
  The 120-metre hybrid turbine is taller than conventional wind turbine
  towers by 40 metres. With this new turbine, the installed wind energy capacity
  at the Kutch region of Gujarat has gone up to 1100 MW. It makes it the Asia’s
  biggest wind energy park at one location.
• ·        
  This tower is ideal for low wind areas and the potential is huge. In the
  next three years, this region will have 2000 MW of wind energy capacity.
• ·        
  In 2008, the Suzlon Energy signed a memorandum of understanding with the
  Gujarat Government to set up 2000 MW of wind energy capacity in the state.

• ·        
  A US judge on Friday confirmed Detroit’s plan to adjust $18 billion of
  debt and exit the biggest-ever municipal bankruptcy.
• ·        
  The ruling by US Bankruptcy Court Judge Steven Rhodes, who is overseeing
  the historic case, came more than two months after the start of a hearing to
  determine whether the 1,165-page plan was fair to creditors and feasible for
  the city to implement.
• ·        
  Speaking from the bench, Rhodes said the city acted in good faith when
  it proposed its plan to shed about $7 billion of debt and invest $1.7 billion
  over the next several years to improve services and attract residents and
  business.
• ·        
  Once a symbol of US industrial strength, Detroit fell on hard times due
  to population loss, rampant debt and financial mismanagement that left it
  unable to provide basic services to residents. During the 15-1/2-month
  bankruptcy process, the city even considered selling its historic collection at
  the Detroit Institute of Arts in order to pay off creditors.
• ·        
  Detroit’s odyssey through Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy began on July
  18, 2013, with major creditors girding for battle and has wound down in a
  flurry of settlements. A so-called Grand Bargain taps into $816 million from
  foundations, the Detroit Institute of Arts and the state of Michigan to ease
  pension cuts and protect city-owned art work from sale.
• ·        
  Two companies that guaranteed payments on Detroit bonds, Syncora
  Guarantee Inc and Financial Guaranty Insurance Co, received options to develop
  parcels of land.

• ·        
  The UN rights chief has accused Sri Lanka of sabotaging a UN-mandated
  war crimes probe into the country’s nearly three decades-long brutal civil,
  saying the refusal to cooperate with the investigation raises concerns about
  the integrity of the government.
• ·        
  “This continuing campaign of distortion and disinformation about the
  investigation, as well as the insidious attempts to prevent possible bona fide
  witnesses from submitting information to the investigating team, is an affront
  to the United Nations Human Rights Council which mandated the investigation,”
  said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.
• ·        
  He criticised the continuing attacks by the government on the integrity
  of the UN Human Rights Office’s ongoing investigation into the alleged grave
  human rights violations and abuses in Sri Lanka and condemned the intimidation
  of human rights defenders and individuals who may wish to cooperate with the
  investigation.
• ·        
  “The Government of Sri Lanka has refused point blank to cooperate with
  the investigation despite being explicitly requested by the Human Rights
  Council to do so,” Zeid said.

• ·        
  US President Barack Obama has decided to nominate Loretta Lynch as his
  new Attorney General, the White House press secretary has said, adding that a
  formal announcement would be made today.
• ·        
  If confirmed by the Senate, Lynch would succeed Eric Holder, whose
  tenure has been marked by historic gains in the areas of criminal justice
  reform and civil rights enforcement, Josh Earnest said yesterday.
• ·        
  “Ms Lynch is a strong, independent prosecutor who has twice led one of
  the most important US Attorney’s offices in the country,” Earnest said.
• ·        
  She is the current United States Attorney for the Eastern District of
  New York.
• ·        
  Her name was considered among several top contenders including,
  Indian-American Preet Bharara, the high profile US Attorney in New York.

• ·        
  Badminton’s world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei has failed a doping test, a top
  Malaysian sports official said on Saturday.
• ·        
  Lee, who has been temporarily suspended pending a hearing by the
  Badminton World Federation’s doping panel, faces a potential two-year ban from
  competition.
• ·        
  Badminton Association of Malaysia deputy chairman Mohamad Norza Zakaria
  confirmed on Saturday that a test carried out on November 5 in Oslo on the B
  sample had backed up the positive finding of the A sample from a doping control
  at this year’s World Championships.
• ·        
  Mr. Zakaria declined to identify the player, however a senior Malaysian
  sports official confirmed to The Associated Press that it was Lee.
• ·        
  The Badminton World Federation would hear an expected challenge to the
  finding by the BMA and Lee.
• ·        
  Mr. Zakaria said the player tested positive for the banned substance
  dexamethasone, but the association believed he was innocent.