DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS UPDATE – 24th December, 2014
Finance/Business/Economy News
1. RBI extended deadline for withdrawal of pre-2005 currency notes to 30 June 2015
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 23 December 2014 extended the deadline for exchanging pre-2005 of various denominations by another six months till 30 June 2015.
RBI in a statement said that all such notes will continue to remain legal tender and can be exchanged for their full value. It has urged public to deposit the old design notes in their bank accounts or exchange them at a bank branch convenient to them.
Earlier, in March 2014, RBI had set the last date for public to exchange these notes was 1 January 2015.
How to identify the pre-2005 currency notes?
As per RBI, the currency notes which were issued before 2005 do not have the year of printing on the reverse side, whereas, notes issued post 2005 have the year of printing at the bottom of the reverse side.
Why this exchange is essential?
According to RBI, the post-2005 notes have added security features and will help in curbing the menace of fake currency.
2. S Bhattacharya appointed CMD of Coal India
Senior IAS officer S Bhattacharya on 23 December 2014 was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Coal India Ltd (CIL).
He succeeded Additional Secretary (Coal) A K Dubey. Dubey was given the additional charge as CMD of CIL on 26 June 2014.
The CIL was without a full time chief from May 2014 when S Narsing Rao had resigned from the post.
Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) had recommended his name in November 2014. His appointment was confirmed by Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
S Bhattacharya is a 1985 batch IAS officer. Currently, he is the CMD of Singareni Collieries Company (SCCL).
3. Govt nod for 100% FDI in medical devices via the automatic route
The Government has eased investment rules for the medical devices industry by allowing 100 per cent foreign direct investments (FDI) under the direct route for both new and existing projects, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced on Wednesday.
While 100 per cent FDI was already allowed in the sector, foreign investors had to seek permission of the FIPB for investing in or taking over existing companies. By allowing both greenfield and brown field investments under the direct route, FIPB scrutiny will now not be required even for investment in existing projects.
Foreign investors will, however, continue to go through the FIPB route for investing in existing pharmaceutical companies.
The medical devices industry is governed by the same rules as the pharma sector, where 100 per cent FDI in new projects is allowed under the automatic route but Government approval is needed for acquiring an existing company.
4. Govt approves Ordinance to hike FDI in insurance to 49%
Government on Wednesday approved promulgation of an Ordinance to hike Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in the insurance sector to 49 per cent from 26 per cent, as the legislation could not be passed in the Parliament session that ended on Tuesday.
The Insurance Bill, which has been pending since 2008 in the Rajya Sabha, seeks to increase the composite foreign investment limit in insurance companies to 49 per cent from current level of 26 per cent.
The 49 per cent cap would include both FDI and foreign portfolio investments.
The proposed hike in foreign investment limit to 49 per cent in the insurance sector has potential to attract up to USD 7-8 billion (about Rs 50,000 crore) from overseas investors, giving a major boost to the segment.
The total capital deployed in the private life insurance sector is close to Rs 35,000 crore. At FDI at 26 per cent, foreign equity is close to Rs 8,700 crore.
The Insurance Laws Amendment Bill, 2008 could not be taken up for discussion despite being approved by the Select Committee of the Upper House because of the uproar by opposition parties over the conversion and other issues.
There are 52 insurance companies operating in India, of which 24 are in the life insurance business and 28 in general insurance business. In addition, GIC is the sole national reinsurer.
News Related to India and Indian Polity
5. Atal Bihari Vajpee and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya to receive Bharat Ratna
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpee and freedom fighter Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (posthumously) will receive the Bharat Ratna. The decision to confer the highest civilian award of the country was announced by the Union Government on 24 December 2014.
Till now 43 people have been honoured with the Bharat Ratna. In 2013, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and scientist C N R Rao were awarded Bharat Ratna for their contribution in their respective fields.
About Madan Mohan Malaviya
He was a freedom fighter and educationist who was part of the Indian National Movement
He was popularly known as Mahamana.
He was president of Indian National Congress (INC) for two terms in 1909 and1918. He was one of the founders of the Hindu Mahasabha.
About Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Vajpayee is a three time Prime Minister of India who served the first term in 1996 for just 13 days. During his second term in 1998-1999 he served for 13 months.
In his final and third term he completed the full five-year from 1999-2004. Thus, he became the first Prime Minister from outside the Indian National Congress party to serve a full five-year term.
When Janata government collapsed, Vajpayee restarted the Jana Sangh as the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980.
6. Filmmaker Kailasam Balachander passed away
South Indian filmmaker Kailasam Balachander died on 23 December 2014 following a heart attack. He was 84.
Born in Thanjavur in 1930, Balachander developed an interest for films when he was just nine years old.
Balachander debuted with his Tamil film Neerkumizhi in 1965. He has directed films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi and has produced more than 100 films.
It was in his film Apoorva Ragangal, Balachander shaped superstar Rajinikanth out of a Bangalore bus conductor Shivaji Rao Gaekwad.
His films like Bama Vijayam, Sindhubhairavi, Varumayin Niram Sivappu and Thanneer Thanneer are some of notable films in the history of Tamil cinema.
He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1987and is a recipient of the ANR National Award and Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest award in cinema in 2010.
7. Charan Singh's statue unveiled in Ghaziabad
Former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh’s statue was unveiled at Kisan Chowk of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh on 23 December 2014. The statue was unveiled by activists of Rashtriya Lok Dal and Jat Sabha to mark Charan Singh’s 112nd birth anniversary.
On this day, rich tributes were paid to Charan Singh by the Union government and different political parties.
Chaudhary Charan Singh
Charan Singh was born on 23 December 1902 in a Jat family in village Noorpur of Hapur District in Uttar Pradesh
He was the sixth Prime Minister of India. He served as the Prime Minister of India from 28 July 1979 to 14 January 1980
Charan Singh holds the record of being the sole Prime Minister of India who did not faced the Lok Sabha even for a single day during his short tenure of just a month
He entered politics as part of the Independence Movement of India
Kisan Diwas is also celebrtated on the occasion of his birthday.
8. 29th National Consumers Right Day observed across India
29th National Consumers Right Day was observed across India on 24 December 2014. The day provides an opportunity to highlight the importance of the consumer movement and the need to make every consumer more aware of their rights and responsibilities.
The Consumer Protection and Action Committee (CPAC) celebrated the day by distributing complaints forms, information brochures and other consumer rights literature freely to the public.
The CPAC rewarded the 5000 applicant with a sum of Ten rupees who with their names, addresses provide the names and addresses of the consumer courts in the particular region.
The CPAC also rewarded with 101 rupees to the aware citizen who raises voice against unfair trade practice and also fifty rupees cash reward will be for each of the LPG cylinder consumer who will point out malpractice rampant in cylinder under filling.
The day is being observed annually on 24 December, since the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was enacted on 24 December1986.
9. Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil appointed as LoP in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
Congressman Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil was on 23 December 2014 appointed as Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, the lower house.
His appointment was announced by the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagde in the Lower House.
Vikhe Patil's appointment came a day after the Nationalist Congress Party member Dhanjay Munde was appointed as Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra legislative council, the upper house.
10. ISRO's Radhakrishnan in Nature journal's top ten list
R. K. Radhakrishnan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is one of the 2014 top ten scientists chosen by the prestigious journal Nature. This is the first time in the recent past that the journal has chosen an Indian working in India. He is listed along with other people like Andrea Accomazzo, the Rosetta flight operations director, European Space Agency.
The reasons for choosing Dr. Radhakrishnan are pretty simple and straightforward.
When India’s Mangalyaan successfully settled into Mars orbit on September 24, 2014, the country became the first and only nation to have done so on its maiden attempt. India also became the first Asian country to reach Mars.
The space organisation crossed two other major milestones this year. In January, the space organisation achieved spectacular success with the spaceflight of an Indian cryogenic engine and stage. India has been striving hard for some years to indigenously develop a cryogenic engine to improve the reliability of GSLV rockets and to take the rocket to greater heights.
The recent launch of the heaviest and tallest GSLV Mark III and the successful re-entry of the unmanned crew module were the other landmark achievements.
11. Union Government set up Mathur committee to examine constitution of SIT on 1984 anti-Sikh riots
Union Ministry of Home Affairs on 23 December 2014 set up Mathur committee to examine the possibility of constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for reinvestigation of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases.
The Committee will be headed by former Supreme Court Judge Justice (retired) G.P. Mathur. It will submit its report till April 2015.
The committee will also look into the issue of implementation of the payment of enhanced compensation of 5 lakh rupees per person killed during the riots. The compensation was approved by the Union Cabinet on 10 December 2014.
The committee will also look into various grievances relating to the anti-Sikh riots.
Home Ministry decided to set up the committee after it received huge number of complaints from individual entities and associations in the matter of anti-Sikh riots.
Earlier, the Justice Nanavati Commission had recommended reopening of only four of 241 cases closed by police but BJP wanted the reinvestigation of all the other 237 cases.
The move assumes significance as 2733 victims of the total 3325 victims of anti-Sikh riots belonged to the national capital Delhi.
Anti-Sikh riots of 1984 had broken out after the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 31 October 1984 by her Sikh body guards.
International News
12. NASA developing gecko grippers to grab space debris
Researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California are developing gecko grippers to grab space debris which includes the objects like orbital debris or defunct satellites. Gecko gripper is basically an adhesive gripping tool.
The news related to this was published on the website of Jet Propulsion Laboratory on 19 December 2014.
The gripping system has been developed by Aaron Parness who is a JPL robotics researcher and the principal investigator for the grippers.
The system is inspired by geckos, type of lizards belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, found in warm climates throughout the world.
How it works
The Gecko grippers being developed have synthetic hairs like tiny hairs in Geckos' feet. These synthetic hairs also called stalks are wedge-shaped and have a slanted, mushroom-shaped cap.
When the gripping pad lightly touches part of an object, only the very tips of the hairs make contact with that surface. The stickiness of the grippers can be turned on and off, by changing the direction in which you pull the hairs.
13. Taiwan launched its largest Missile Warship Tuo Chiang
Taiwan on 23 December 2014 launched its largest ever missile warship named Tuo Chiang. The 500-tonne corvette missile is the first of its kind ever produced by Taiwan.
The ship is scheduled to be deployed in Taiwan waters after further tests in March 2015. The Tuo Chiang’s first captain is Lt. Commander Wang Te-chien.
The ship will boost Taiwan's defence capabilities against China that considers Taiwan as a part of its territory.
The Tuo Chiang’s launch came shortly after US Congress passed a bill authorizing the transfer and sale of up to four Perry-class frigates to Taiwan that were decommissioned by the US Navy.
Highlights of the warship
Taiwan's Lung Teh Shipbuilding Company started construction of the warship in November 2012 and officially handed it over to the Taiwan Navy in December 2014.
The warship costs about 66.2 million US dollars and measures about 198 feet long and 46 feet wide. It can carry a crew of 41.
The ship is armed with 16 missiles including eight supersonic Hsiung-feng III (Brave Wind) anti-ship missiles.
The sleek twin-hulled ship uses stealth technology to reduce the reflection of radar waves, making it harder to detect.
14. Global Arms Trade Treaty came into force
The global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) that lays down international rules for the 85 billion US dollars global arms trade came into effect on 24 December 2014. The treaty is a new chapter in collective efforts to bring responsibility, accountability and transparency to the global arms trade.
It aims to regulate the industry and keep weapons out of the hands of human rights violators worldwide.
Features of Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) that was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 2 April 2013 are:
It is the first legally-binding multilateral agreement that prohibits States from exporting conventional weapons to countries when they know those weapons will be used for genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes.
The treaty established the highest possible common international standards for regulating the international trade in conventional arms.
The ATT is a tool for States to prevent the violence and insecurity resulting from the flow of arms, and in so doing to fulfill their human rights obligations
It will assist States in regulating non-State entities such as private military and security companies –which often carry and use arms in their line of work– and ensuring compliance with international law
ATT is the first major arms accord since the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1996.
India and ATT
India has not signed the treaty as it was among the 23 nations that had abstained from voting on the treaty in 2013. According to India, draft treaty annexed to the resolution is weak on terrorism and non-state actors and these concerns find no mention in the specific prohibitions of the Treaty.
15. China and Nepal signed agreement to expand the use of local currencies for border trade
China and Nepal on 23 December 2014 signed an agreement to expand the use of their currencies for border trade.
The agreement was signed between the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). The agreement will boost bilateral trade and investment ties between the China and Nepal.
According to the agreement, the two countries will use local currencies (Yuan and Nepal rupee) for settlement in both cross-border trade and ordinary trade activities.
Both the countries also signed memorandum of understanding on anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism cooperation.
16. Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to coordinate military operations across the borders
The military chiefs of Afghanistan and Pakistan on 23 December 2014 agreed to co-ordinate on military operations along border of two countries.
Army chief General of Afghanistan Sher Mohammad Karimi and General of Pakistan Raheel Sharif agreed to co-operate in the presence of US General John Campbell, who heads NATO coalition forces in Afghanistan.
The two countries also agreed to jointly take effective actions against terrorism and extremism.
Both the countries agreed to meet subordinates immediately to discuss operations targeting Pakistani Taliban (TTP) bases along the border.
The decision came in the wake of Taliban militants burst into Army Public School in Peshawar shooted the children and staff members on 16 December 2014.
17. Nicaragua launched construction of an inter-oceanic canal
Nicaragua on 22 December 2014 launched the construction of an inter-oceanic canal linking Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean.
The project aims to rival Panama's waterway and revitalize the economy of Nicaragua, the second poorest country in the Americas after Haiti. The 50 billion US dollar project is backed by China.
Canal will be 278-km long and will be operational by around 2020. It would raise annual economic growth to more than 10 percent.
Construction of the new waterway will be run by Hong Kong-based HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co Ltd (HKND Group), which is controlled by Wang Jing, a little-known Chinese telecom mogul well connected to China's political elite.
Sports News
18. Apurvi Chandela wins gold in National Shooting Championships
Reigning Commonwealth Games gold medallist Apurvi Chandela did an encore in the women's 10m Air Rifle event on the concluding day of the 58th National Shooting Championships at the city's Balewadi Shooting Range.
Having qualified for the eight woman Final in pole position with a score of 1168, Apurvi comfortably won gold over second-placed Lajja Gauswami of Gujarat, finishing with a final round score of 207.2. Lajja could only manage 205.1 while Hema K.C. of Rajasthan won the bronze with an effort of 184.4.
Army marksman Gurpreet Singh also rounded of a successful tournament when he bagged his second gold medal of the Championships after winning the 25M Centre Fire Pistol event with a final round score of 586.
Gurpreet had earlier won the Team Gold in the 25M Rapid Fire Pistol event. Colleague Pemba Tamang won the Silver shooting a total of 584 while veteran Samaresh Jung of the CISF came in third with 583.
In the men's 50M Rifle 3 Positions event, Satyendra Singh of the Army won the Gold with a final round score of 454, while Sanjeev Rajput of Haryana won Silver shooting 445.8. Imran Hasan Khan, also of the Army marksmanship unit, won the bronze finishing with a score of 435.4.
In other individual recognitions Sanjeev Rajput was crowned Champion of Champions Rifle and was presented with a cash prize of Rupees 50,000 for his efforts by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).