26th September Current Affairs: Special Days 1. CSIR Foundation Day • Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Govt.Of India, and the laboratory also celebrates every year September 26, the foundation day of CSIR. • The CSIR-North East Institute of Science & Technology, Jorhat celebrated the 72nd Foundation Day, its apex body the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on 26 September. • Distribution of awards to the children of employees who have secured admissions in IITs, IIMs, AIIMS etc., and securing highest marks in science subjects in 12th standard examinations. • Foundation Day lecture delivered by renowned experts in Indian science is also arranged during the occasion. Awards 1. Hinduja brothers presented Lifetime Achievement Award in UK • Leading NRI businessmen G P Hinduja and S P Hinduja have been honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Business at a ceremony in the House of Lords. • The award, constituted by the Indo-European Business Forum (IEBF), was presented to the Hinduja brothers at the event which was hosted by Baroness Sandip Verma, an Indian- origin minister in the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change. • IEBF was founded back in 2007 by Indian-origin lawyer Vijay Goel as a non-profit platform to promote business ties between India and the EU. 2. Edward Snowden and Alan Rusbridger won Right Livelihood Award 2014 • Edward Snowden has been selected among the winners of the Right Livelihood Award, also known as the “alternative Nobel,” for his disclosures of top secret surveillance programs. • Former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden and Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian on Won Right Livelihood Award. • The Right Livelihood Award is also known as Alternative Nobel prize of Sweden. • Edward Snowden was awarded for his courage and skill in revealing the unprecedented extent of state surveillance violating basic democratic processes and constitutional rights. 3. Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) Technology Award 2014 • CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad, awarded the CSIR Technology Award 2014 in the category of Physical Sciences including Engineering for developing an innovative manufacturing technology of an important prostaglandin based drug named as Misoprostol. • The award given by Prime Minister of India and President of CSIR Narendra Modi at New Delhi on CSIR Foundation Day on September 26, 2014. • The award carries a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh along with a plaque and a citation. Banking 1. South Canara District Central Cooperative (SCDCC) has recently launched Bank cum ATM for the people. To make banking more comfortable for the people bank has introduced “Bank cum ATM on Wheels” with the help of NABARD. • In the office area of the Bank NABARD launched a cheque/cash drop kiosk. Chief general manager of the bank stated that cooperatives banks are no less than the commercial they also introduce latest technology to keep their customers happy. 2. ICICI bank unveiled 4 new banking apps. Bank has introduced new mobile applications to offer basic banking transactions to the customer over the mobile phone. • The new apps are: ICICI Store app, Insta Banking app, Video Banking app and mPassbook app. The customer can easily download these apps from the Google play store and use them. The app will allow the customer to initiate a transaction before visiting a branch view their transactions over the last 30 days on their mobile phones. The data has also displayed that by the June end ICICI bank earned Rs 1000 crore through mobile banking. • With the help of the apps the transactions like cash deposit, cash withdrawal, request for demand draft, updation of personal information can be made easily. The Video banking app will enable the customer to do video calling with customer care and m-passbook will assist the customer to view and track their latest account, credit card transactions. Punjab National Bank has recently signed an agreement to work with Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI). • Through this partnership bank will be offering more attractive offers on Honda two wheelers purchase. Foe the auto loan bank will be offering attractive interest rate along with the amount stands at 90 per cent of two wheeler value with an extended repayment tenure of up to 5 years. Usually the bank offers loan up to Rs 50,000 for the period of 3 years. • This partnership will benefit the Honda as well to expand its retail business. The PNB and HSNI have introduced the offer of zero processing and no documentation charges but the customers can avail this offer til the end of the festive season. 3. Easy to open account under PMJDY • Mr Modi stated that there is nothing to worry about if the people do not have any valid identity proof, they can still open their savings account under this scheme. • To open account the person will simply require two copies of signed photographs. • This account will be declared as a small account and will be valid for the period of 1 year; with in that period of time the person can submit the valid document and can subject to continue the account. • These account will have certain restrictions like balance at any point of time should not exceed Rs. 50,000, total credit in one year should not exceed Rs. 1 lakh. So far already 4.18 crore accounts have been opened under this scheme. • At places people are facing shortage of account opening forms due huge rush at the places. The people can visit the nearest bank branch and can avail this form from there. 4. ICICI bank has introduced new products for NRIs. • The new product named NRI advantage is basically for the NRI Pro, NRI premia and NRI savings account customers. • This product will help the customers to avail several special offers and discounts. The Executive director of the bank also informed that bank is having a huge network across several countries and bank is serving 1.5 million NRI customers. • The bank has launched this new product with purpose to serve and cater the non- financial needs of the NRI customers. • With the help of this new product the bank will competently serve the NRI customers with better schemes and value in the market. The customers will be provided with exclusive offers on healthcare, Gifting family and friends, shopping and much more. 5. Public Sector Banks require 26–37 billion US dollars to meet Basel-III norms: Moody • Global rating agency Moody 2014 released a report titled Indian Banks Could Need 26-37 billion US dollar in External Capital for Basel III Compliance. • In the report it revealed that 11 Indian public sector banks (PSBs) need to raise 26 to 37 billion US dollar in external capital in the financial year 2015 in order to meet the Basel-III capital adequacy norms by financial year 2019. Main highlights of the report: • In rupee terms these banks will require additional 1.5 to 2.2 trillion rupees to fully comply with the Basel-III norms. • A significant part of the required capital, around 800 - 900 billion rupees (or 13-15 billion US dollars) could be in the form of Additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital. • Moodys notes that these PSBs constitute 62 percent of the net loans in the Indian banking system but barely meet the current minimum capital requirements. As a result PSBs will find it difficult to raise capital quickly in the current environment. Basel-III Norms • Basel III raises the minimum required capital levels for both Tier 1 capital to 7.0 percent and Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital to 5.5 percent. Besides, the banks will also need to meet a Capital Conservation Buffer in order to pay dividends. These will be pressurizing the Indian public-sector banks due to low capital levels remain a key credit weakness. Books - Writers 1. Artist Anpu Varkey’s self-published comic book “Jaba” is an extension of the DIY philosophy she subscribes to every time you try to slot Anpu Varkey, she breaks its confines. So she paints on canvas, she paints on city’s walls and for the first time she has brought out a self-published comic book “Jaba” which she describes as an extension of her work. • She doesn’t like being called a street artist but Anpu is best known for the colossal mural of Mahatma Gandhi, daily commuters get a clear view of on ITO. One of the largest life-size murals of Gandhi was jointly done by Anpu and famous German artist Hendrik Beikirch as part of St. Art Delhi, a street art festival held earlier this year. 2. The book was “As Far as The Human Eye Could See” written by Isaac Asimov. “It depends on what we are looking for. If we are seeing human history, we can’t see very far because human history is a chaotic thing. • Small changes have big results, unpredictable in any direction. But if we were looking at something simple such as the stars, then it is possible to look far, far ahead. We may be wrong, but it is possible to make a case for something that might happen, one in a hundred years from now..,” says Asimov adding that he has taken the title of the book from Tennyson’s poem “Locksley Hall”. Economy 1. Swedish furniture maker IKEA to build suppliers park in Telangana • The Swedish giant, that sourced $450 million(Rs 2,700 crore) worth of goods from India last year, is looking at building one of Indias largest suppliers park to boost local sourcing. • Ikea has asked Telangana, where it will set up its first store in the country, to help find suitable land at a key location for building the suppliers park. It plans to accommodate its global and domestic supply chain partners there. • The Telangana government has positively responded to the proposal of Ikea for building a suppliers park spread over 500 acres of land near Hyderabad 2. Adani gets Australian approval for rail project • Adani Mining took a step closer to the development of Australian $2.2 billion ($1.94 billion) coal mining project in Australia after the federal government approved construction of a rail haulage line. • The Australian unit of Adani Enterprises needed the approval of Environment Minister Greg Hunt to proceed with the 300-km (186-mile) line, after last month gaining clearance from the state of Queensland. • Known as the North Galilee Basin Rail project, it is being designed to connect collieries owned by Adani and potentially other developers in the largely unpopulated Galilee Basin to the east coast port of Abbot Point. • Despite analyst views that Adani’s project would be unprofitable at current coal prices, the company remains committed to pushing ahead with it to supply power stations in India. • Note: India is home to the world’s fifth-largest coal reserves but still needs to resort to imports as state-owned Coal India , which accounts for about 80 per cent of the country’s output, frequently falls short of its output target. 3. Onus on civil aviation ministry panel to decide on airport privatisation • The civil aviation ministry has decided to take an inter-ministerial groups (IMG) approval before proceeding on a proposal to privatise operations and management at six airports. • The IMG is headed by civil aviation secretary V Somasundaran and has representations from the Planning Commission as well as the law and finance ministries. It has been set up to consider aviation-related matters. • The six airports that are to be privatised are Kolkata, Chennai, Jaipur, Guwahati, Ahmedabad and Lucknow. 4. Emami biotech acquired Vanaspati brand Rasoi • Emami biotech acquired Vanaspati brand Rasoi. Emami biotech is the edible oil and bio-diesel arm of the Emami Group of Companies. • The deal is estimated to be worth around 20 crore rupees. This is Emamis second acquisition in three months and with this deal Emami makes entry into vanaspati segment. • The acquisition will be an addition to the Company’s existing portfolio of edible oil brands such as Emami Healthy & Tasty and Himani Best Choice. International 1. Bound to raise a strong reaction from India, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif spoke at length about the Kashmir issue during his address to the United Nations General Assembly. • Calling on the U.N. to implement a “plebiscite” on Kashmir, Mr. Sharif said Pakistan could not “draw away” from the Kashmir dispute until it was resolved. He referred to what he called “the suffering of people, especially women” in the State. • Mr. Sharif’s remarks mirror statements made by Pakistan more than a decade ago, and leaves little ambiguity that the talks process between India and Pakistan is stalled for the moment. 2. UK Parliament approved Airstrikes in Iraq against ISIS. • The UK Parliament backed the resolution that seeks British participation in the US-led air strikes against militants of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Iraq. • The resolution of providing military assistance in the fight saw 543 votes in support against 43 that voted no, during a special Parliamentary session. National 1. The President of India, ShriPranab Mukherjee and the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare,Dr Harsh Vardhan graced the Golden Jubilee Celebration of JIPMER at Pondicherry. • The President of India was the keynote speaker at the event .Dr Harsh Vardhan, urged the faculty, students and research scientists of Pondicherry’s Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) to develop models for future health strategies both in India as well as internationally. • JIPMER is India’s oldest medical school, originally founded by the French East India Company in 1823. In 1956, work began on its expansion as a central medical college and hospital. In 1964, the hospital and outpatient buildings were inaugurated by President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. In July 2008, it was given the status of an institution of national importance by an Act of Parliament. 2. In a major function organized at Urban Haat, Chowkaghat, and Varanasi. Minister of State for Textiles (Independent Charge), Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar launched number of programmes for development of Handicrafts in Varanasi. • Skill Development of 5000 carpet weavers , 5 Months Integrated Design Development for wooden toys , Design Development workshop on soft stone and Souvenir Development project were among the few programmes inaugurated by Hon`ble Minister. • Shri Gangwar informed that the artisan’s pension has been increased from Rs 1000/- to Rs 2000/- per month. Further Artisans who have received Shilp Guru, National Awards and National Merit Certificate will get Rs 20000/- towards Rail fair annually. 3. The Government announced an overarching scheme “Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyadaya Yojana” for uplift of urban and rural poor through enhancement of livelihood opportunities through skill development and other means. • The announcement was made by M.Venkaiah Naidu, Minister of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation and Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Rural Development at a National Convention on Skills for Rural and Urban Poor. • Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana has two components one for urban India and other for rural India.Under the Yojana, the Union Ministry of Rural Development will launch skill development training centres on a large scale to address the problem of unemployment particularly in rural India. Main Highlights of the Rural Scheme: • The Yojana aims at training 10 lakh (1 million) rural youths for jobs in three years, that is, by 2017. Main Highlights of the Urban Scheme: • Skills with an expenditure of 15000 rupees to 18000 rupees on each urban poor and Promotion of self-employment through setting up individual micro-enterprises and group enterprises with interest subsidy for individual projects costing 2lakhs rupees and 10 lakhs rupees for group enterprises. Subsidized interest rate will be 7 percent. Seminars – Meetings 1. Sushma Swaraj discusses U.N. Security Council reform with counterparts. • External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj raised the issue of early reform of the UN Security Council during her meetings with counterparts from China and the IBSA and G4 blocs, saying that concerted efforts should be made to complete the reform process by 2015, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. • She participated in multilateral meetings with the foreign ministers of Brazil, Germany and Japan in the G4 bloc, Commonwealth foreign ministers, SAARC, IBSA (India, Brazil, and South Africa), BRICS and Latin American countries in the CELAC quartet. • Ms. Swaraj said that in all her meetings, apart from discussing bilateral issues, she stressed that reforms of the U.N. body should happen by 2015, which will coincide with the 70th anniversary of the U.N. Sports 1. Uzbek Gymnast Oksana Chusovitina Wins Silver • Uzbek gymnast Oksana Chusovitina was winning gold medals at international meets before many of her rivals at the Asian Games were even born. At 39 years of age. • Shes won Olympic gold and silver, three World Championship golds, two Asian Games titles and scores of other medals. Surveys 1. Forbes Magazine released this year’s list of top 100 richest Indians and to everybody’s surprise, everyone in the list is a billionaire. This has happened for the first time in the history. In 2013, only 70 Indians out of all 100 were the part of billionaires group and rest were millionaires. • But, there’s one thing that hasn’t changed, which is Mukesh Ambani topping the list once again for the eighth consecutive year with a net worth of $23.6 billion, $2.6 billion more from last year. • As a matter of fact, the combined net worth of India’s 100 wealthiest is US $346 billion, up more than a third from $259 billion in 2013. Now, here is the list of top 10 richest Indians in 2014 along with their net worth. 1. Mukesh Ambani Net Worth $23.6 Billion As of Sept 2014 2. Dilip Shanghvi: Net Worth $18 Billion As of Sept 2014 3. Azim Premji Net Worth $16.4 Billion As of Sept 2014 4. Pallonji Mistry Net Worth $15.9 Billion As of Sept 2014 5. Lakshmi Mittal Net Worth $15.8 Billion As of Sept 2014 6. Hinduja Brothers Net Worth $13.3 Billion As of Sept 2014 7. Shiv Nadar Net Worth $12.5 Billion As of Sept 2014 8. Godrej Family Net Worth $11.6 Billion As of Sept 2014 9. Kumar Birla Net Worth $9.2 Billion As of Sept 2014 10. Sunil Mittal Net Worth $7.8 Billion As of Sept 2014
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 15:24:04 +0000