Current Affairs Update – 9 Dec, 2014

• ·        
  The Reserve Bank of India on 8 December 2014 notified revised Foreign
  Direct Investment (FDI) policy in Railways Infrastructure and Defence sectors.
• ·        
  As per the revised norms notified by the Department of Industrial Policy
  and Promotion (DIPP) in August 2014, foreign investment ceiling in defence
  sector was increased to 49 percent and in rail infrastructure it was permitted
  100 percent.

• ·        
  Government permitted 100 percent FDI in railway infrastructure sector
  under the automatic route subject to conditions.
• ·        
  100 percent cap is allowed in railways sectors such as construction,
  operation & maintenance of suburban corridor projects through PPP, high
  speed train projects and dedicated freight lines and Mass Rapid Transport
  Systems.
• ·        
  FDI also allowed in rolling stock including train sets, and locomotives
  or coaches manufacturing and maintenance facilities, railway electrification,
  signaling systems, freight terminals and passenger terminals, among others.
• ·        
  FDI beyond 49 of the equity of the investee company in sensitive areas
  from security point of view will be under the Cabinet Committee on Security
  (CCS) for consideration on a case to case basis.

• ·        
  The foreign investment in defence sector (FDI, FIIs, RFPIs, NRIs, FVCIs
  and QFIs) up to 49 percent has been permitted under government route (FIPB).
  The earlier cap was 26 percent.
• ·        
  Foreign Portfolio investment and FVCI investment will be under automatic
  route. The both will not exceed 24 of the total equity of the investee company.

• ·        
  The Lok Sabha today passed the Payment and Settlement Systems
  (Amendment) Bill, 2014. The Bill proposes to increase transparency and
  stability of Indian Financial markets in line with globally accepted norms.
• ·        
  Replying to a debate on the Bill in the House, Finance Minister Arun
  Jaitley said that it will provide better settlement and regulation for the
  payment system. He said, the bill also provides a statutory mechanism for
  settlements of payments in case the payments are wrongly credited in other account.
• ·        
  Mr Jaitley said that with these amendments, the insecure creditors will
  get their share if the service provider becomes insolvent or bankrupt. Under
  the proposed amendment new sections have been inserted including protection of
  funds collected from the customers by the payment system providers.

• ·        
  President Pranab Mukherjee on 8 December 2014 launched the Karnataka
  Mobile One App (M One app) in Bengaluru. The app will provide a platform for
  m-governance in the State and is first such initiative of India.
• ·        
  The M One app has been developed by Karnataka government’s Centre for
  E-Governance and mobile VAS provider IMIMobile. It has been developed under the
  ICARE program of Karnataka government.
• ·        
  The app is currently available for Android and iOS devices. However,
  feature phone users can access the Mobile One services through Interactive
  Voice Response (IVR) or SMS by dialling 161 or through Unstructured
  Supplementary Service Data (USSD) by dialling *161#.
• ·        
  The M One app is expected to provide more than 4000 services, including
  637 government services & 3644 private services to the citizens.
• ·        
  Citizens through the M One app will be able to pay electricity bills,
  book train & bus tickets, recharge their mobile phones, receive traffic
  updates, track income tax refund status, book cabs, and much more.
• ·        
  Citizens can also keep a track of all transactions processed through
  this platform, complete with bill date, payment mode, bill number and many more
  services.

• ·        
  Rajya Sabha on 8 December 2014 passed the Textile Undertakings
  (Nationalisation) Laws (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2014 during the
  parliamentary session.
• ·        
  The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Union Minister of
  Textiles Santosh Kumar Gangwar on 1 December 
  2014.
• ·        
  The Bill seeks to amend the Sick Textile Undertaking (Nationalisation)
  Act, 1974 and the Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Act, 1995 in order to
  revive sick Textile Mills.
• ·        
  The amendments are made to protect assets of sick textile undertakings
  and ensure lease-hold right of such units remain with the central government.

• ·        
  According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill, the Bills
  seeks to clarify the vesting of lease-hold land with the central government in
  order to prevent the vacating of this land by National Textile Corporation
  (NTC) at the expiry of the lease.
• ·        
  Court proceedings directing lease-hold land that are meant to be
  divested from NTC will not be maintained or continued.  
• ·        
  Lease-hold rights over land will continue to be exercised by NTC on
  behalf of the central government.    

• ·        
  Subramanian Committee on Leveraging the Post Office Network on 4
  December 2014 submitted its report to the Union Ministry of Communications and
  Information Technology. The objective of the Committee was to transform the
  Post Office Network in keeping with changing market trends and competition.
• ·        
  The committee has made around 181 recommendations to make the post
  office competitive and efficient. These recommendations ranges from formulation
  of a New Postal Law to New Organisational design of India Post to Extension of
  Post Office network in Rural areas.

• ·        
  Committee has suggested creation of a Postal Bank of India (PBI), which
  would work independently within the postal department with banking
  professionals.
• ·        
  It has also suggested setting up of three subsidiaries as a part of a
  holding company under the postal department for extending services in the
  fields of banking, e-commerce and insurance.
• ·        
  The task force has also recommended to launch the proposed postal bank
  through an Act of the Parliament and not by approaching the Reserve Bank of
  India (RBI) which would make it easier for the government to take a decision in
  this regard even if the RBI has objections to it.

• ·        
  Andhra Pradesh Government on 8 December 2014 signed a Memorandum of
  Understanding (MoU) with Singapore for the development of its new capital that
  is set to come up near Vijawayada region.
• ·        
  The MoU was signed by International Enterprise Singapore CEO Teo Eng
  Cheong and the Infrastructure Corporation of the Andhra Pradesh representative
  Sambasiva Rao.

• ·        
  Under the MoU, Singapore will prepare a master plan for building the new
  capital of Andhra Pradesh.
• ·        
  The master plan will be designed for the capital region that is likely
  to come up in an area of approximately 7300 square kilometres and also for the
  capital city that will be spread in an area of 125 square kilometres.
• ·        
  A joint High Level Committee will be set up to monitor the progress of
  the project.
• ·        
  The first phase of the development of the capital will be completed by
  2019 and some Singapore companies might also be involved in capital construction.
• ·        
  The Centre for Liveable Cities and Singapore Cooperation Enterprise will
  also help Andhra Pradesh by providing training programmes for state government
  officials who will be involved in the development of the capital city.

• ·        
  The Andhra Pradesh government on 8 December 2014 unveiled a Land Pooling
  Policy to build new state capital near Vijayawada-Guntur region.
• ·        
  Under the policy, the state will secure about 30000 acres of land in
  order to construct a riverfront capital city on the southern side of the
  Krishna river.
• ·        
  Pooling of land for the capital will begin on 9 December 2014 as a
  majority of 22405 farmers in 29 villages are ready to part with their lands.

• ·        
  The state government will immediately release a sum of 200 crore rupees
  to provide debt relief of up to 1.5 lakh rupees to each farmer as a one-time
  settlement.
• ·        
  Under the package, farmers owning dry land will be given 1000 square
  yards of residential plot and 200 square yards of commercial plot as
  compensation for every acre given to the Andhra Pradesh government.
• ·        
  Owners of wet land will be given 1000 square yards of residential land
  and 300 square yards of commercial plots in the proposed zone closer to their
  existing lands.
• ·        
  The assigned land owners will be given 800 square yards of residential
  and 100 square yards of commercial plot against one acre of land.

• ·        
  India ordered state governments to halt the operations of all
  unregistered, web-based taxi companies on Tuesday after a female passenger
  reported she was raped in New Delhi by a driver contracted to U.S. cab company
  Uber.
• ·        
  The case has caused uproar in India after it emerged that the suspect
  had previously been charged for rape but had obtained a character reference
  signed by a police officer that was forged.
• ·        
  It has also revealed a failure to regulate the booming market for
  app-based taxi services in India. The Delhi transport department said it
  ordered Uber to cease operations on Monday by post.
• ·        
  Taxi booking apps have irked drivers at traditional taxi firms across
  the globe. Consumers are increasingly using the smartphone software to find
  people willing to drive them, rather than booking a cab by phone.
• ·        
  Uber was blacklisted in New Delhi on Monday after police said it had
  failed to run background checks on the driver, who was held three years ago on
  suspicion of rape but later acquitted.

• ·        
  India and Israel are set to conclude a broader agreement on cooperation
  in the renewable energy sector between the two countries. This follows earlier
  agreements between the two countries to work on the renewable energy sector.
• ·        
  And the bilateral talks on Free Trade Agreement are likely to be back on
  track early next year, according to Daniel Carmon, Israeli ambassador to India.
• ·        
  He said the FTA talks slated to be held during November 2014 could not
  be held due to other engagements. But they are poised to be taken up gain as
  both the Governments are committed to reaching a consensus on the agreement.
• ·        
  Speaking here after an interactive session on boosting ilateral trade,
  he said that the India-Israel trade which had humble beginnings at $2,00,000, a
  little over 20 years ago, has now topped the $6-billion mark and this is poised
  to get a lot bigger as both countries get into more areas of mutual interest.
• ·        
  The $6 billion bilateral trade is without the defence business, which is
  another big area.
• ·        
  Israel has developed strong and sound relationships in the defence
  sector and work is underway to identify a few other clusters of common
  interest.
• ·        
  During his two-day visit to Hyderabad, and interactions with
  representatives of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments, the Amabassador
  sees potential to work in the areas of improving agriculture and horticulture, irrigation
  and water supply management and homeland security.
• ·        
  There have been several rounds of discussions with Andhra Pradesh in
  particular and soon this will be narrowed down to some areas.

• ·        
  Chairman of Wipro Azim Premji was awarded Swiss Ambassador’s Award in
  Mumbai on 3 December 2014. He was awarded for inspirational and socially
  responsible leadership.
• ·        
  Switzerland ambassador Linus von Castelmur praised Azim Premji as a
  beacon of the corporate world who has maintained values such as tolerance,
  honesty and modesty.
• ·        
  Swiss Ambassador’s Award was constituted in 2010. The award recognises
  individuals who have contributed to the promotion of Indo-Swiss relations or
  have stood out for their exceptional role in society and industry.
• ·        
  In past, the award has been conferred on Yash Chopra director – producer
  of Bollywood; Ratan Tata Chairman-Emeritus of Tata Sons; Glenn Saldanha CMD of
  Glenmark Generics Limited and RV Kanoria, Chief Managing Director of Kanoria
  Chemicals & Industries Ltd.

• ·        
  The United States (US) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)
  ended their combat mission in Afghanistan on 8 December 2014.
• ·        
  The mission ended with lowering of flags by the NATO’s International
  Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Joint Command in a ceremony held in Kabul, the
  capital of Afghanistan.
• ·        
  This ceremony was the first of two that will draw a formal close to
  NATO’s combat mission by 28 December 2014.
• ·        
  The mission came to an end 13 years after the 9/11 terror attack in the
  US that sparked the invasion of the country in 2001 to topple the Taliban-led
  government.
• ·        
  Now onwards, the NATO and the US forces would make a transition to a
  training and support role for Afghanistan’s own security forces, which have led
  the fight against the Taliban insurgents since mid-2013.
• ·        
  From 1 January 2015, coalition will maintain a force of 13000 troops in
  Afghanistan as compared to one lakh forty thousand in 2011. At present, there
  are around 15000 troops in the country.
• ·        
  On the other hand, by end of December 2015, the total number of US troop
  will come down to 5500 and will reach to net zero by end of 2016.
• ·        
  However, in light of the recent announcement of launching of Operation
  Resolute Support by the US President Barack Obama, the mission of the US forces
  that remain in Afghanistan after 2014 will get broadened.

• ·        
  The world’s first handcrafted herbal Holy Quran was unveiled on 8
  December 2014 in Dubai. It is made from about 200 medicinal plants.
• ·        
  The Quran has been made by the Islamic arts and calligraphy company
  Heddem Arts and has been crafted over 23 years from 1957 to 1979 by Turkish
  Unani Doctor Hamdi Taher.
• ·        
  The Quran is made of high potency herbal mixtures prepared as per Unani
  medical system.
• ·        
  Herbal sheets of the Holy Quran have many therapeutic properties when
  the reader moves his fingers on the letters or in and around the pages, the
  herbal mixture seeps through the pores in the fingers, providing health
  benefits.

• ·        
  Gwladys Nocera of France on 6 December 2014 won the Hero Women’s Indian
  Golf Open 2014 at the Delhi Golf Club. She received the prize money of 300000
  US dollars.
• ·        
  She won her first title of the 2014 season with a score 11 under par
  total of 208.
• ·        
  Hannah Burke of England, Fabienne In-Albon of Switzerland and Hyeon Seo
  Kang of South Korea tied for second position while Vaishavi Sinha of India
  finished at fifth position.
• ·        
  The Hero Women’s Indian Golf Open began in 2007 with prize money of
  100000 US dollars. The Tournament is sanctioned by three organisations namely
  the Ladies European Tour, the Ladies Asian Golf Tour and the Women’s Golf
  Association of India.
• ·        
  The Winner of Hero Women’s Indian Open 2013 was Thidapa Suwannapura of
  Thailand.

• ·        
  Hockey Olympian Grihanandan Singh died on 7 December 2014 in New Delhi.
  He was 88.
• ·        
  Nick named Nandy Singh was an Indian field hockey player who won two
  Olympic gold medals, at the 1948 London Olympics and later in 1952 Helsinki
  Olympics with the Indian team.
• ·        
  Singh was born on 18 February 1926, in Lyallpur district of undivided
  Punjab (now Faisalabad in Pakistan)
• ·        
  He was a prolific centre-forward and a contemporary of the legendary
  Balbir Singh
• ·        
  Before independence, he played for the Undivided Punjab University from
  1943-46 before moving to Kolkata after Independence
• ·        
  He joined the Indian Navy in 1949 and achieved the rare distinction of
  leading both the Navy team and the combined Services team at the time
• ·        
  He was awarded with the Dhyan Chand award for Lifetime Achievement in
  Sports in 2006
• ·        
  He retired as commander from the Indian Navy and was decorated with the
  Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM)
• ·        
  He served as the general secretary of the Jawaharlal Nehru Hockey
  Tournament Society