8th August Current Affairs: Persons in News 1. Didier Drogba has announced his retirement from international football after 12 years playing for the Ivory Coast. • The 36-year-old striker made more than 100 appearances for the Ivorians and played in three World Cups, most recently in Brazil this summer. He also played in two editions of the African Cup of Nations. • Drogba says he is proud ... to have contributed to placing my country on the world stage of football. • The two-time African Footballer of the Year returned to Chelsea for a second spell at the London club this summer. Banking 1. The RBI sought comments from public on Draft Guidelines for Implementation of BBPS. • Bharat Bill Payment System (BPPS) is an anytime anywhere bill payment system. The proposed guidelines describe the basic requirements of operating the BBPS. • Bharat Bill Payment System is intended for the implementation of a unified bill payment system across the country. • It would enable the customers to pay the bills with the help of agents and getting instant confirmation of the payment made. School fees, municipal taxes and utility bills payments would become easier now. • The centralised bill payments infrastructure will consist of two types of entities: (i) Bharat Bill Payment System (BPPS), which will be the standard setting body (ii) Bharat Bill Payment Operating Units (BBPOUs), which will be the authorised operational units. Background: • Committee under the chairmanship of Shri G. Padmanabhan, Executive Director, RBI was set up to study the feasibility of implementation of an electronic GIRO payment system in the country. Based on the recommendations of the Committee, a Giro Advisory Group (GAG) under the Chairmanship of Professor Umesh Bellur, IIT Bombay, was constituted with the objective of defining a framework that enables the creation of pan-India touch points for bill payments by customers in the country irrespective of the geographical location of the billers. • In its report, the GAG (Umesh Bellur) has recommended a tiered structure for bill payments system in the country, where the proposed Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) will be the authorised standard setting body and the proposed Bharat Bill Payment Operating Units (BBPOUs) will be the authorised operational units, working in adherence to the standards set by the BBPS. GIRO (or) General Interbank Recurring Order: • The word giro is borrowed from Dutch giro and/or German Giro, which are both from Italian giro meaning circulation of money”. • Giro transfer, is a payment transfer from one bank account to another bank account and instigated by the payer, not the payee. Deaths 1. Sir Peter Geoffrey Hall, the Urban Town Planner died at 82 • Sir Peter Hall, United Kingdom’s planning academician and professor died at University College Hospital, London. He was 82. • His death was confirmed by University College London where he taught as a professor of planning. • Sir Peter Geoffrey Hall was a member of British Academy. • In 1998, he was given the post of president to the Town and Country Planning Association. Economy 1. India Ratings ups FY15 GDP forecast to 5.7% from its April 2014 forecast of 5.6 per cent by India Ratings & Research About India Ratings: • India Ratings & Research (India Ratings) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Fitch Group. • India Ratings currently maintains coverage of corporate issuers, financial institutions, which includes banks and insurance companies. Finance & leasing companies and managed funds, Urban Local Bodies and Project Finance. 2. India overtook Indonesia as the most optimistic consumer market • while Portugal and Slovenia were the most pessimistic. • Japan and Hong Kong saw the biggest declines in confidence from the previous quarter. • The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index rose 1 point in the second quarter to 97, according to the survey, conducted between May 12 and 30. The reading headed closer to the 100 mark that signals optimism among consumers. • The Nielsen survey covered more than 30,000 online consumers across 60 markets. 3. The SEBI has filed two more complaints against the founder of erstwhile Satyam Computer Services Ramalingam Raju, his brother Rama Raju and others in connection with the account fraud which sounded the death-knell of the IT firm. • The market regulator on filed two complaints in the special Economic Offences Court against Raju brothers, former CFO Vadlamani Srinivas and two former auditors of international auditing firm PWC, among others. • While one complaint deals with unfair trade practises allegedly adopted by Raju, the other highlights violations of the Insider Trading Regulations committed by Raju and his kin. • Prasad said both the offences fall under section 24 (a) of SEBI Act and carry punishment of up to 10 years in prison. The first complaint named eight accused while the second names 14. • Sebi had earlier slapped a penalty of Rs 1,849 crore on the company, and banned it from market for 14 years. • According to Sebi, Raju brothers made unlawful gains to the tune of Rs 543.93 crore from sale of shares and Rs 1,258.88 crore by pledging some shares. International 1. Ebola Declared International Public Health Emergency • The worst Ebola outbreak on record is a public health emergency that threatens nations outside the four in West Africa where the virus is spreading, the World Health Organization said. • The Geneva-based United Nations health agency stopped short of recommending a general travel and trade ban, saying only that infected people shouldn’t cross borders except as part of an official medical evacuation. National 1. National rural scheme on PPP model launched • Rural Development Minister Nitin Gadkari today launched the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee National Rural Mission on PPP model with an allocation of 100 crore rupees. • The scheme will be initially available in three districts of the country on pilot basis. The districts are Warangal in Andhra Pradesh and two districts in Maharashtra. • The scheme is intended to stop migration from rural areas to cities. He said that the government wants to create infrastructure in villages so that people can get employment there and do not migrate to cities. 2. Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Independent Charge) Prakash Javadekar addressed the 18th BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) ministerial meeting on climate change held here today. • Javadekar said, We are very firm on our views. On each consultative process that is on, even the small differences will be solved and we will put up a united view on the bodies. Places in News 1. Iraq suffers mobile artillery near Erbil in northern Iraq. • Two F/A-18 aircraft of US dropped 500-pound laser-guided bombs on mobile artillery near Erbil in northern Iraq. This artillery was being used by the militants against Kurdish forces of Iraq who were defending the city of Erbil. • The US action of bombing started after the militants’ conquered Qaraqosh town of Iraq and forced-out more than 50000 minority people out of the city. About: • With these strikes, the US forces directly got themselves involved in the military operation in Iraq for the first time, since American troops withdrew from the country in 2011. • The US action started after US President Barack Obama authorized the strikes to protect American military personnel Science & Technology 1. The World Health Organisation declared the killer Ebola epidemic ravaging parts of West Africa an international health emergency and appealed for global aid to help afflicted countries. • The decision after a two-day emergency session behind closed doors in Geneva means global travel restrictions may be put in place to halt its spread as the overall death toll nears 1,000. • Note: First discovered in 1976 and named after a river in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ebola has killed around two-thirds of those infected, with two outbreaks registering fatality rates approaching 90 per cent. The latest outbreak has a fatality rate of around 55 per cent. • WHO (Director-General) : Dr Margaret Chan State 1. Telangana had sought loan rescheduling in all the 415 rural mandals in 9 districts • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday gave its nod for rescheduling of crop loans in some selected mandals of Adilabad, Medak and Ranga Reddy districts after satisfying with the details on crop loss furnished by the Government of Telangana. • The development came to light at the State Level Bankers’ Committee meeting held here on Friday, when a senior officer of the Andhra Bank brought it to the notice of the meeting. When contacted after the meeting, Principal Secretary (Finance) V. Nagi Reddy confirmed the development. 2. The Reserve Bank of India has formally given its approval for rescheduling of crop loans in four districts affected by heavy rains and Phailin cyclone in 2013 thus only partly conceding the request of Andhra Pradesh government. • As against the State government’s request for rescheduling of short term agricultural loans including loans against pledge of gold ornaments in the notified 575 mandals in 12 districts affected by drought and cyclone, RBI, it is understood, gave its approval to reschedule the loans only in four affected districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaam, Nellore and Krishna districts. The quantum of crop loans availed by farmers in these districts is about Rs.5, 000 crore.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 04:31:00 +0000
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