1.
Adopt Aadhaar or move to EMV chip/PIN tech for card-based transactions: RBI
i. Banks might adopt Aadhaar as additional authentication or move to EMV (Euro pay MasterCard Visa) chip and pin technology to ensure security in card-based payment transactions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) suggested.
ii. The central bank also said that all new card present infrastructures must be enabled with EMV chip and Pin technology as well as Aadhaar acceptance.
iii. In a notification to the banks, the RBI said, "In respect of cards . banks may take a decision whether they should adopt Aadhaar as additional factor of authentication or move to EMV chip and Pin technology for securing the card present payment infrastructure."
iv. Banks are now thus free to decide on whether they should adopt Aadhaar for making additional confirmation or make use of EMV Chip and PIN technology to ensure security of card payment infrastructure.
Note: i. The notification is based on Gowri Mukherjee-headed working group's recommendation. Mukherjee is the global head of digital marketing at Standard Chartered Bank.
ii. EMV chip and PIN authentication involves card-information stored in a chip that is accessible through a PIN (personal identification number) that replaces the signature of a cardholder.
2.
Pope Francis is Time magazine’s 'Person of the Year
i. Time magazine selected Pope Francis as its Person of the Year on Wednesday, saying the Catholic Church's new leader has changed the perception of the 2,000-year-old institution in an extraordinary way in a short time.
ii. The pope beat out NSA leaker Edward Snowden for the distinction, which the newsmagazine has been giving each year since 1927.
iii. The former Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected in March as the first pope from Latin America and the first Jesuit. Since taking over at the Vatican, he has urged the Catholic Church not to be obsessed with "small-minded rules" and to emphasize compassion over condemnation in dealing with touchy topics like abortion, gays and contraception.
iv. It is a positive signal that one of the international media’s most prestigious awards is given to someone who announces to the world spiritual, religious and moral values and speaks forcefully for peace and greater justice," Lombardi added.
3.
Doha Bank grants license to start its banking operations in India
i. Doha Bank has been granted the license to start its banking operations in India. The bank has been permitted to open a branch in Mumbai to provide full-scale banking services.
ii. This was announced by the Chairman of Doha Bank Board of Directors Sheikh Fahad Bin Mohammad Bin Jabor Al-Thani in Doha. He said that the move comes in the wake of the expansion strategy of Doha Bank at the local, regional and international levels.
iii. Doha Bank now becomes the first Qatari bank to get the license from the Reserve Bank of India to start operations in India.
iv. The bank plans to start its operations soon as a Foreign Bank branch in the city of Mumbai. It will offer wholesale banking, retail banking, treasury and trade finance services.
v. Doha Bank is the largest private commercial bank in Qatar with 11 representative offices across the globe including Dubai.
vi. CEO of Doha Bank, R.Seetharaman said that stated that there is a large Diaspora of Indian population in Qatar and GCC and there are many Indian companies are active in infrastructure projects.
4.
Raman Singh sworn in as CM of Chhattisgarh for 3rd term
i. Ayurvedic doctor-turned-politician Raman Singh was today sworn in as the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh for the third consecutive term.
ii. Governor Shekhar Dutt administered him the oath of office in Raipur on Thursday.
iii. Raman Singh took oath alone and his council of ministers will be sworn in at a later date. 61 year old Singh led BJP to victory for the third time in assembly polls.
iv. Raman Singh has become the fourth chief minister of Chhattisgarh that came into existence in November 2000.
v. With this, Raman Singh has become BJP’s second chief minister to be sworn in for the third consecutive term.
5.
Thanhawla to be sworn in as Mizoram CM on 14th Dec
i. After a landslide victory in Mizoram Assembly polls, Lal Thanhawla will be sworn in for a second consecutive term as the Chief Minister on Saturday.
ii. Lal Thanhawla (71) and members of his council of ministers will be administered the oath of office by Governor Vakkom B Purushothaman at a ceremony which would begin at 11 am at the Raj Bhavan in Aizawl, a communique said on Thursday.
iii. The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) had elected Thanhawla as its leader on Wednesday paving way for his becoming Chief Minister of the state for the fifth time and a second consecutive term.
iv. Congress has won 34 of the 40 seats of Mizoram Assembly, elections to which were held on 25th November.
6.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai to arrived today in New Delhi
i. Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in New Delhi Thursday afternoon on a four day official visit to India.
ii. A press release issued by the President's office in Kabul last evening said he will meet Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid and hold talks on various aspects of bilateral cooperation under the long term strategic partnership treaty between the two countries.
iii. Afghan President is also scheduled to meet the Indian business and industry leaders in Pune.
iv. On the last day of his tour, Karzai will deliver keynote address at the Symbioses International University in Pune and interact with the foreign students there.
7.
Samsung loses Apple iPhone ban case in S Korea
i. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd lost its case to have certain products by Apple Inc banned in South Korea Thursday when a Seoul court ruled the US manufacturer had not violated Samsung patents.
ii. Samsung in March 2012 filed for damages and a sales ban on some iPhone and iPad models, saying Apple had breached three patents on technology for handling and displaying text and messages from its flagship Galaxy product range.
iii. The Seoul Central District Court said the relevant technology could easily be developed in parallel by another manufacturer, and there was no infringement of intellectual property.
iv. We are disappointed by the court’s decision,” Samsung said. “As Apple has continued to infringe our patented mobile technologies, we will continue to take the measures necessary to protect our intellectual property rights.”
v. The two smartphone giants have also faced off in the US courts, which have awarded Apple around 930 million dollars, and courts in Germany, Britain and the Netherlands, which have found in favour of Samsung.
8.
230 mn children under 5 yrs never registered: UN
i. Nearly 230 million children under the age of five around the world have never had their birth registered, which often means they will be barred from education, health care and social security, the UN children's agency said.
ii. A report by UNICEF to mark its 67th birthday on December 11 said that globally it amounts to one in three children under five.
iii. Last year, it said, only around 60 percent of all babies born were registered at birth, with the lowest levels of registration in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
iv. UNICEF called for programs to address the reasons families don't register children, including high fees and lack of awareness of laws and procedures.
v. The 10 countries with the lowest birth registration levels, according to UNICEF, are: Somalia (3 percent), Liberia (4 percent), Ethiopia (7 percent), Zambia (14 percent), Chad and Tanzania (16 percent), Yemen (17 percent), Guinea-Bissau (24 percent), Pakistan (27 percent) and Congo (28 percent).
9.
India, UAE to sign pact for protection of investments
i. India and the UAE are set to sign an agreement for promotion and protection of bilateral investments.
ii. Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement (BIPA), to be signed next week in New Delhi, will provide a comprehensive framework to investors from both the countries, the outgoing Ambassador of India to the UAE M K Lokesh said on Sunday.
iii. A delegation from the UAE, headed by the Foreign Minister, will visit New Delhi next week to sign the agreement," Lokesh was quoted as saying by the Gulf News. "India and UAE have historic ties.
iv. The UAE has investment interests in India mainly through Emaar and Etisalat while India has varied investment in the UAE, surpassing 200 billion dirhams, figures released by IBPC said.
v. Bilateral trade between the two sides goes back to centuries, with India now among the UAE's biggest trading partners.
10.
Wipro wins award for disability-inclusive HR policy
i. Wipro has received the ‘2013 ESCAP-Sasakawa Award for Disability-Inclusive Business in Asia and the Pacific’, in the category ‘Disability-Inclusive Multinational Enterprise’.
ii. The award for Disability-Inclusive Business was established by ESCAP in cooperation with The Nippon Foundation (TNF) and the Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD) to recognise and honour companies that have made a significant breakthrough in engaging and hiring people with disabilities in their daily operations.
iii. The award is an initiative that views persons with disabilities as an untapped workforce.
iv. Wipro was identified amongst nominations from across 62 countries for its initiatives in including employees with disabilities in its business model, enabling mainstream careers for them and for supporting them through accessible software applications, according to a company statement.
11.
De Villiers dethrones Kohli from top in ICC ODI rankings
i. Star batsman Virat Kohli lost his top position to AB de Villiers while most of his teammates, barring skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, also slipped in the latest ICC one-day rankings issued on Thursday after the 0-2 series loss to South Africa.
ii. India, in fact, dropped two ratings points but held on to the top spot with 120 ratings points despite the 0-2 loss in the three-match series, while South Africa continued to be in fifth place with 110 ratings points, with a gain of three points.
iii. Dhoni remained static at sixth but Shikhar Dhawan was down a rung to 10th, while Rohit Sharma found himself 18th after losing three spots. Suresh Raina, who was 19th in the previous list, is now out of top 20 and is currenly placed at 23rd.
iv. De Villiers, who was named in both the ICC Test and ODI Teams of the Year in 2013, now heads both the Test and ODI batting tables. De Villiers had also been shortlisted for the LG People's Choice Award this year.
v. Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal continues to be number-one ranked on the rankings for ODI bowlers.
Note: De Villiers is the third batsman from South Africa after Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla to head the Test and ODI batting tables at the same time, and the ninth player overall. Amla achieved the distinction in February this year when he topped the charts after the Johannesburg Test against Pakistan.
12.
Super Series finals: Saina Nehwal loses to Li Xuerui
i. Saina Nehwal has lost to the World No.1 and Olympic Champion Li Xuerui of China in the Group-B match of BWF World Super Series finals Badminton Tournament. Li defeated Saina 21-9 and 21-14 in a match today.
ii. Yesterday in the opening match, Saina lost to Japan's Minatsu Mitani 21-19, 22-24 and 19-21. With the second defeat in the tournament, her chances for getting into semi-finals have turned bleak.
13.
Kabbadi World Cup: Indian teams both in Men & Women enter final
i. Indian Kabaddi teams both in Men and Women sections have stormed into the final of 4th World Cup Kabaddi Tournament at Bhatinda last night.
ii. Now in the final in the Men Section, Indian team will clash with Pakistanwhile Women team will face New Zealand.
iii. In the semifinals, Indian Men team defeated England by 62-32 while Pakistan team beat USA by 51-33 to reach the final.
iv. In women section, New Zealand defeated denmark by 45-25 while India beat Pakistan by 46-16 to reach in the final.
14.
SA win series 2-0
i. The final one-dayer of the 3-match cricket series between India and hosts South Africa was abandoned last night, due to rain at Centurion.
Rain started at the innings break, after South Africa posted 301 for 8 in the stipulated 50 overs.
ii. Opener Quinton de Kock scored his third consecutive century. He made a superb 101, while Skipper AB de Villiers hit a brilliant 109.
iii. The hosts had won the toss and opted to bat first.
iv. South Africa had already won the series, with victories in the first two ODIs.
Note: India and South Africa will now play a 2-match Test series, which will begin at Johannesburg from the 18th of this month