23rd Current Affairs: Sports 1. The 2014 Commonwealth Games got off to a colourful start with some enthralling performances by singers Rod Stewart, Susan Boyle and violinist Nicola Benedetti at the Celtic Park. 20th Commonwealth Games will begin at Glasgow, Scotland. • The British Queen Elizabeth II declared the Games open after more than two hours of colourful ceremony that was participated by some 2,000 cast members and 4,500 athletes from 71 nations and territories. • The players parade was led by India, by the virtue of being the previous hosts. London Olympics silver medallist Vijay Kumar proudly carried the tri-colour. • Motto: Humanity – Equality – Destiny • Headquarters: London, England, United Kingdom • President: HRH Prince Tunku Imran • The 2018 Commonwealth Games will be held in Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia between 4 to 15 April 2018. Books – Writers 1. “Reliving the work of pioneers in archaeology” – k. PADDAYYA • Elegantly produced by the Archaeological Survey of India, this is the fourth in the series of books by renowned authors brought out as part of the project to celebrate its 150 years of eventful existence. 2. “A rebel’s manifesto” – P. Kesavadev • He was a true rebel. Right from changing his name from P. Kesava Pillai to Kesavadev because he felt that it was indicative of his higher caste, he was a rebel in life and literature. His 110th birthday was celebrated on July 20. • When he died in 1983, Kesavadev left behind a rich oeuvre of novels, plays, short stories, essays, autobiography, political writings and a prose poem. Bold, radical in thought and words Kesavadev was also a brilliant orator. 3. “Guide to a better life” - S.P. Chockalingam • An ex-bank manager, yoga practitioner and author of many Tamil books, S.P. Chockalingam has tried to study many curious questions people would have asked about the mysterious environment that surrounds us all. • In the process of writing the book, The Life: Is It Mystical or Real & Painful or Magical? Chockalingam has extensively reproduced pearls of wisdom of philosophers and eminent persons to explore this perplexing question: What is the purpose of life? 4. “A tale of two families” - Aruna Nambiar • Mango Cheeks, Metal Teeth revolves around two families of contrasting stature at the small town of Ambalakunnu, Kerala. • Madhavan Nair runs a successful business in the small town, owning a huge mansion where his large family stays with a dog, a cat, two servants et al. His grand-children from Mumbai and Delhi come visiting every summer, livening up the quaint house. Banking 1. RBI relaxed the Rs one lakh ceiling on loans for non-agriculture against gold jewellery. • Borrowers can now pledge their gold and get a higher value of loans, provided that the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio does not exceed 75% of the cost of the gold. • Prior to this in January 2014, loans extended against pledge of gold ornaments and jewellery, for other than agricultural purpose was not permitted. Now gold jewellery loans for non- agriculture is subject to the following conditions: a) The tenor of the loans shall not exceed 12 months from the date of sanction b) Banks, as per their Board approved policy, may decide upon the ceiling with regard to the quantum of loans that may be granted against the pledge of gold jewellery and ornaments for non-agricultural end uses. c) Interest will be charged to the account at monthly rests and may be recognised on accrual basis provided the account is classified as ‘standard’ account. This will also apply to existing loans d) Such loans shall be governed by extant norms pertaining to income recognition, asset classification and provisioning which shall be applicable once the principal and interest become overdue. 2. The central bank to framework to tightly regulate large financial institutions in India, whose failure can seriously impact the functioning of the financial system • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will start announcing the names of Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) by August 2015. The central bank is expected to use a multiple indicator approach to for this classification. • This is similar to the category of too-big-to-fail banks in other countries based on the banks size and systemic interconnectedness. • The RBI said it would start disclosing the names of banks deemed as domestic systematically important banks, adding that as per data it had compiled as of March 31, 2013, four to six domestic lenders would qualify under the category. • The central bank said it would create four sub-categories of D-SIB lenders, each with different requirements for additional common equity Tier 1 capital requirements that would range from 0.20% to 0.80% of risk weighted assets. • The banks identified as D-SIBs would be plotted in four different buckets depending upon their systemic importance scores in ascending order and they would be required to maintain additional capital in the range of 1% to 2.5% of their risk weighted assets. Background: • The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) came out with a framework in November 2011 for identifying the Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs) and the magnitude of additional loss absorbency capital requirements applicable to these G-SIBs. BCBS further required all member countries to have a regulatory framework to deal with Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs). Deaths 1. Naval Marine Commando commits suicide • A 25 year old Marine Commando Marcos of the Indian Navy, allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with a semi automatic 9 mm pistol onjuly22 night at about 10.30 p.m. in his duty room at INS Kalinga. • The deceased Marcos has been identified as Virendra, son of Jaipal, and a native of Jhajjar village in Haryana. According to the police, the commando who was unmarried shot himself through his head at point blank range. He was not in his uniform and had joined service about five years ago. Economy 1. The World Bank has committed 15 to 18 billion dollars line of credit to India by 2017 to help the country return to a higher growth path which is critical for boosting jobs and reducing poverty. • It will step up its lending to India to 5 to 6 billion dollars annually over the next three years from the earlier commitment of 3 to 5 billion dollars a year. Line of Credit: • It is an amount of credit extended to a borrower. • It establishes a maximum loan balance that the bank will permit the borrower to maintain. The borrower can draw down on the line of credit at any time, as long as he or she does not exceed the maximum set in the agreement. World Bank: • Headquarters : Washington D.C • President : Jim Yong Kim 2. Exim Banks Line of Credit of USD 41.96 million to the Government of the Republic of Senegal • For financing eligible goods, machinery, equipment and services including consultancy services from India for the purpose of financing purchase of setting up of Modern Abattoir, Meat processing, Cold Storage, Rendering and Tannery Plant and Market Place in Senegal. • The goods, machinery, equipment and services including consultancy services from India for exports under this Agreement are those which are eligible for export under the Foreign Trade Policy of the Government of India and whose purchase may be agreed to be financed by the Exim Bank under this Agreement. • Out of the total credit by Exim Bank under this Agreement, the goods and services including consultancy services of the value of at least 75 per cent of the contract price shall be supplied by the seller from India and the remaining 25 percent goods and services may be procured by the seller for the purpose of Eligible Contract from outside India. • The Directions contained in this circular have been issued under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999 (42 of 1999) and are without prejudice to permissions / approvals, if any, required under any other law. International 1. Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo won Indonesian presidential election • Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo won the Indonesian presidential elections . He won the election with 53 percent of the vote casted in favour of him. • The election result were released after his opponent, former general Prabowo Subianto withdrew from the presidential election citing massive fraud which was unfair and undemocratic. Subianto was on his third bid for the presidency. • Widodo, a former furniture maker, is known widely as Jokowi. National 1. HP selected for pilot Central programme to train heads of govt schools • Himachal Pradesh has been selected for a pilot project under a Central sponsored programme to train Principals and Headmasters of government schools. Gujarat, Tamilnadu and Rajasthan are the other states selected for this unique programme in the country. • According to Ghanshyam Chandra, the State Project Director of the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan this training would be helpful in improving education quality. • The programme has been prepared by the National University of Education, Planning and administration (NUEPA). 2. CMSA scheme launched in Meghalaya for widows and pensioners • In Meghalaya, Chief Minister, Dr Mukul Sangma launched a Mass Enrolment drive under the Chief Ministers Social Assistance (CMSA) Scheme for widows and persons with disabilities at Patharkhmah in Ri Bhoi District. • Under the scheme, financial assistance of Rs 500 per month will be given to each beneficiary. • There is no age bar for persons with disabilities, but for widow, she has to be 58 years of age and a man 60 years old. 3. Union Government decided to intensify war against Japanese Encephalitis • Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare decided to intensify major war against Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in the fourth week of July 2014. • This decision was taken in light of outbreak of JE and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) across 17 States of India with more Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam in the month of June and July 2014. The outbreak of the disease in these States have claimed hundreds of lives mostly children. • Priority would be to ensure 100 per cent immunisation against the JE and AES in the affected areas. The immunization would be carried out on the lines of Pulse Polio Campaign. 4. CBI asks for Saradha files • The Central Bureau of Investigation has sought all Saradha chit-fund scam related documents from the West Bengal and Odisha Police by July 31. • “Full-fledged investigations into the Saradha scam cases would begin once we receive all relevant papers by the end of this month. We are yet to receive several documents from the Kolkata Police,” said a senior official. 5. Tainted IAS couple dismissed • Two Indian Administrative Service officers belonging to the Madhya Pradesh cadre, Arvind Joshi and his wife Tinoo, have been dismissed from service on july23, four years after an Income Tax raid in their house led to the detection of disproportionate assets. The couple were found to have amassed properties worth Rs. 350 crore, disproportionate to their known sources of income. • According to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the dismissal orders have been served on the accused 1979-batch IAS officials following an approval from the Union Public Service Commission. • While Mr. Joshi was to retire next month, his wife was to superannuate in October. 6. CBI can file charge sheet against Maran • Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi informed the CBI that there was enough prosecutable evidence to file a charge sheet against former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran for alleged acts of wrongdoing, including quid pro quo in the Aircel-Maxis deal. • According to informed sources, the A-G was of the opinion that there were material circumstances for the involvement of Mr. Maran in the deal and said he was in agreement with the Director of Prosecution in the CBI for filing the charge sheet. • The CBI had investigated whether Mr. Sivasankaran was forced by Mr. Maran to sell his entire stake in Aircel to Malaysia-based Maxis owned by Mr. Ananda Krishnan and the allegations of quid pro quo to make a big investment in the Maran-family-owned Sun Direct channel. 7. Tamil Nadu Govt To Issue Industrail Licences Online • Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on 23 July announced that the process of issuing licences for new industries would be done through a web portal. • The step was taken in order to simplify the process involved for registration of new industries in the state. • The new portal, apart from issuing the industrial licenses, will also help the general public and industrialists in finding out about new government schemes. Persons in News 1. Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar is set to play a special part in opening ceremony of the 20th Commonwealth Games, which will herald the beginning of what promises to be a star-studded event. • Tendulkar, who retired from international cricket after a glorious career spanning 24 years, will make his presence felt during the ceremony in his capacity as the Global Goodwill Ambassador of the UNICEF, which has partnered with the Glasgow CWG organisers and Commonwealth Games Federation in a first-of-its-kind initiative to spread awareness about the childrens` problems facing all over the world. 2. SC rejects Subrata Roy’s bail plea • The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to grant bail to Sahara chief, Subrata Roy, for 40 days to negotiate with prospective buyers for the three hotels his company owns abroad. • Mr. Roy has been in Tihar Jail since March 4 and this is the fourth time his bail has been rejected. The court had earlier rejected a plea for keeping Mr. Roy under house arrest to facilitate negotiations with buyers. • The court saidIf the Sahara group came up with a “concrete proposal” it would allow Mr. Roy to negotiate his business deals through video-conferencing from a guest house in New Delhi. Science & Technology 1. A reality show based on classical music aired by Doordarshan will feature in the Limca Book of Records. • Naad Bhed-The Mystery of Sound, the first ever reality show on classical music, has been selected by the Limca Book of Records, to be featured in its next edition under Television chapter: for being the First ever National- level Reality show on Classical Music. Surveys 1. Your toilet cleaner could cause asthma • It may also cause upper respiratory tract infections and other ailments. Exposure to acid fumes, even for 10-15 minutes a day, has the potential to cause respiratory problems like asthma, bronchitis, nasal ulceration and even kidney damage in some. • A multi-city study conducted by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) claims that acids used to clean toilets in houses could trigger asthma, upper respiratory tract infections and other ailments. • According to this study, which was also conducted in Hyderabad, families are unknowingly putting themselves at risk by using locally available acids to clean toilets.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 05:00:49 +0000
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