April 2nd Current Affairs Persons in News 1. Aamir Khan – Election Commission’s National Icon for Lok Sabha Elections 2014 and recorded video and audio campaigns showing him urging people to vote ethically. The arrangement was finalized after minor issues, which threatened to delay ECs negotiations with the actor beyond the current elections, were papered over. • After Aamir confirmed his association with the EC as its national icon - joining the likes of former President A P J Abdul Kalam, cricketer M S Dhoni, badminton star Saina Nehwal and boxer Mary Kom - a couple of days ago, the commission rushed a team from Doordarshan, its official partner, to Mumbai to record the video spot. • The final cut of the video campaign, which lasts 1 minute 22 seconds, was handed over to the commission. The EC has already uploaded it on its website and will forward it to all leading news channels and state chief electoral officers for broadcast. 1. The Indian cricket team toppled Sri Lanka to clinch the top spot in the ICC rankings issued on 2 April. • The ICC said India have moved ahead of Sri Lanka into the number-one position on the Reliance ICC T20I Team Rankings Table. Seminars – Meetings 1. Iran and six world powers will begin an expert-level meeting about Tehrans nuclear programme on April 4, part of efforts to reach an agreement by late July on how to resolve a decade-old dispute that has stirred fears of a Middle East war. • The meeting in Vienna of nuclear and other experts from Iran and the United States, France, Germany, Russia, China and Britain was to prepare for a new round of higher-level negotiations next week, also in the Austrian capital. • The April 8-9 meeting of chief negotiators - including Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif - will be the third round of talks at that level since February. • The aim is to hammer out a long-term deal by July 20 that would define the permissible scope of Irans nuclear programme in return for a lifting of sanctions that are severely battering its oil-dependent economy. International 1. Ukraines ousted President Viktor Yanukovych called Russias annexation of Crimea a tragedy and hoped it will become part of Ukraine again. • He also said that he had not given any order to open fire on the Kiev protesters. Mr Yanukovych fled Kiev after protests in which more than 100 people died. • Meanwhile, a top Nato commander says Russian forces could seize swathes of Ukraine in three to five days. • Moscow is believed to have massed tens of thousands of troops on Ukraines eastern border in recent days, causing alarm in Kiev and the West. • Russia annexed Crimea, a Russian- majority region in southern Ukraine, last month following a controversial referendum branded illegal by Kiev and the West. 2. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reported that Cypruss economy is recovering from the 2013 recession, which was not as severe as anticipated. • The IMF said Signs of stabilisation are emerging in the banking sector. Cyprus agreed to a 10bn-euro ($13.8bn; £8.3bn) bailout with the European Union and the IMF last year. Cypruss second-largest lender - Laiki Bank - was closed down. • Although the recession was not as severe as expected, there may be more pain to come, warned the IMF. • At Cypruss banks, non-performing loans - ones where payments have been missed - reached 50% of all loans, worth 22bn euros. 3. Turkeys top court has ruled that the government’s ban on the social media site Twitter was violative of freedom of expression and individual rights. • The constitutional court also sent a statement to Turkeys media regulator and the government asking them to lift the ban. • Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had vowed to wipe out Twitter after users spread allegations of corruption. 4. Chile has declared two northern regions of Chile, ravaged an earthquake that recorded a magnitude 8.2 to, to be disaster areas. At least six people are known to have died and tens of thousands of people have been evacuated. • Waves of up to 2.1m (about 6ft) have hit some areas and there have been power cuts, fires and landslides. Dozens of aftershocks have been reported throughout the night, including a 6.2 tremor. 5. Argentina has launched a new 50-peso currency note featuring a map of the Falkland Islands to commemorate the 32nd anniversary of the invasion of the British archipelago. • Argentina claims the islands which are known as Las Malvinas in the country. • President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said the Falklands were Natos military base in the region. • British troops regained control of the archipelago after a 74-day war in which more than 900 people died. Argentina claims sovereignty of the islands it calls Las Malvinas. • The new note is worth just under $7 (£4). On one side, it displays a map of the islands in the white and blue colours of the Argentine flag. 6. Russia has recalled its top military representative to NATO for consultations, Russian news agencies reported on Thursday, worsening the tussle between Moscow and the Western alliance over Moscows annexation of Ukraines Crimea region. • Russias action last month has caused the deepest crisis in East-West relations since the Cold War, leading the West to impose sanctions and stirring fears that President Vladimir Putin has territorial designs beyond Crimea, a Black Sea peninsula with its Russian-majority population. • The recall to Moscow of General Valery Yevnevich, a typical form of diplomatic protest, follows a decision by NATO this week to suspend cooperation with Russia in response to its occupation of Ukraines Crimea Peninsula. Economy 1. A new rule proposed by the Tax department and Election Commission will subject to scrutiny candidates with assets of over Rs 5 crore without a PAN card . The rule is intended to weed out suspected tax-evaders from the poll fray. • This is part of a joint charter prepared by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the Election Commission (EC) for scrutinising the poll affidavits of candidates contesting 2014 Lok Sabha elections. • Candidates declaring a jump of Rs 2 crore in value of their immovable assets since last polls would also come under the scanner. • The two authorities have formulated five core parameters which will be used by the tax department to check affidavits of candidates from a suspected tax evasion angle. These would include checking veracity of the PAN cards of candidates. • The Permanent Account Number (PAN) will be important when it comes to investigating a candidates asset and income declarations in the poll affidavit. 2. International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has called for more public and private investment to close infrastructure gaps in countries like India. • IMF chief told Public investment has taken a hit over the years in many countries; higher, well-prioritised investment would increase potential output and jobs. • She said In Brazil, India, South Africa, and across the ASEAN countries, more public and private investment is essential to close infrastructure gaps. Investment to upgrade existing infrastructure networks is also needed in a number of the advanced economies, for instance, in Germany and the US. • As the world is still recovering from the Great Recession and geopolitical tensions are rising, how we can strengthen the international cooperation that is key to addressing these challenges, she questioned. Banking 1. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has switched over to the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) (combined) as the key measure of inflation. • Till date, RBI had given more weightage to Wholesale Price Index (WPI) than CPI as the key measure of inflation for all policy purposes. • The announcement regarding this was made by the Governor of the central bank, Raghuram Rajan who said that RBI was all set to implement some recommendations of the Urjit Patel Committee. 2. The Reserve Bank of India granted in-principle approval for banking licences to infrastructure financing firm IDFC and Bandhan from among 25 applicants. • This will make Bandhan Financial Services the first microfinance institution in the country to win a bank licence. • Bandhan was the only microfinance institution that applied for a banking licence. • Set up in 2001 by Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, Kolkata-based Bandhan began with a focus on working with socially disadvantaged and economically exploited women, according to its website. • With 2,016 branches across 22 states and Union territories, Bandhan had over 52.33 lakh borrowers as of February. It disbursed Rs 963 crore of loans in February and has total loans outstanding of Rs 5,704 crore. 3. Taking note of instances of fraud, the Reserve Bank of India has issued additional guidelines for banks giving gold metal loans or GMLs to jewellers. • The central bank has asked the lenders to check the track record and credit worthiness of borrowers, collateral securities against the loan as well as the trade cycle of the manufacturing activity before sanctioning GMLs. • The central bank has clarified that such loans can be availed of only by those who manufacture gold jewellery themselves. The jewellers cannot sell the gold borrowed under GML scheme to any other party for manufacture of jewellery. Science & Technology 1. In a major study, scientists of the United Nations Scientific Committee on Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) said that they did not expect the Fukushima disaster to cause too many cases of cancer in the future. There were speculations that the meltdown of the nuclear plant in Japan would trigger a rise in cases of cancer like the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 did. Places in News 1. A major earthquake of magnitude 8.2 struck off the coast of in Santiago in Chile, leading to five deaths and triggering a tsunami that devastated the countrys northern coast with 2-meter-tall waves. • The quake was shallow at 12.5 miles (20.1 km) below the seabed and struck about 100 km northwest of the mining port of Iquique near the Peruvian border. National 1. Ina bid to encourage online ticket sale, the Indian railways is planning to levy a ‘special fee’ on the physical sale of tickets. Other proposals the railways is considering are offering sale of tickets for special trains run of festival days exclusively through online.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Apr 2014 14:52:54 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015