CURRENT AFFAIRS:- 1-Planning Commission approves Rs. 2,400 crore for Puducherry. Lieutenant Governor A. K. Singh on Monday announced that the Planning Commission approved Rs. 2,400 crore as plan size for 2014-15 financial year. The budget session of Puducherry Legislative Assembly began with Lieutenant Governor Mr. Singh delivering the customary address to the MLAs. At the beginning of address, AIADMK MLAs led Deputy Leader A. Anbalagan staged a walk-out protesting against the alleged failure of ruling All India NR Congress Government in implementation of schemes which were announced earlier. 2- Supreme Court directs Centre to absorb Rajeshwar Dayal in ED. ED stands for- Enforcement Directorate. The Supreme Court on Monday directed the government to absorb Rajeshwar Dayal as deputy director in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) within three days following a CAT order. Mr. Dayal is the main investigator in ED probing Aircel-Maxis deal. The apex court bench headed by Justice H.L. Dattu directed the absorption of Mr. Dayal on his petition seeking enforcement of the CAT order on which the government was dilly-dallying. 3-Airtel sells 3,500 towers in Africa to Eaton Towers. Bharti Airtel on Monday said it has sold over 3,500 telecom towers in Africa to Eaton Towers. As part of the deal, Airtel will sell and lease back over 3,500 towers to Eaton in 6 countries across its African operations under a 10-year contract. 4-‘Five States contributed half of PSU investments between 2008 and 2013’. According to a study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (Assocham), 50 per cent of the major investments – amounting to Rs.5.5 lakh crore ($91 billion) - between 2008-09 and 2012-13 in Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) came from five States. Topping the list, Maharashtra alone claimed 20 per cent in the total, followed by Andhra Pradesh (8.4 per cent), Tamil Nadu (8.1 percent), Odisha (6.7 per cent) and Uttar Pradesh (6.2 per cent), the study said. 5-Harvard University receives record $350 million for public health. Harvard University has received the largest donation in its history, the school announced on Monday, $350 million from the Morningside Foundation to the School of Public Health. 6- India signs civil nuclear agreement with Australia. 7-Sushma Swaraj inaugurates India Investment meet in Bahrain capital Manama today i. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj inaugurated the first ever India Investment meet in Bahrain capital Manama today. ii. The meeting is aimed at attracting investments from Bahrain and the Gulf region into India and give a boost to bilateral trade and investment relations. 8-Chandrakala Padia appointed as first women chairperson of IIAS. IIAS stands for-- of Indian Institute of Advanced Study Chandrakala Padia was appointed as first women chairperson of Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS). She succeeded the former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi. 9- Health Minister (Harsh Vardhan )launches Indias first National Anti-Tuberculosis Drug Resistance Survey in New Delhi. 10- Singapore firms offer green buildings for Vijayawada. With the Andhra Pradesh government announcing its capital city, all eyes are now on the Vijayawada, Guntur, Tenali and Mangalagiri (VGTM) region. Singapore builders are thronging the area to forge tie-ups with local firms to erect pre-cast green buildings for fast-paced development. Some firms have given presentations to a select group of builders on Sunday. 11- Govt sets target of achieving 80 per cent literacy rate by 2017: President 12- Narendra Modi is world`s 2nd most-popular leader on Twitter, Facebook after Obama 13-LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) has decided to establish an advanced eye research and education centre in the city. The premier eye institute will approach the Andhra Pradesh Government for allotment of 10 acres in the Health City. LVPEI was the first to set up its campus in the Health City after it was allotted five acres near Hanumanthawaka junction. 14-CCEA clears 10 percent stake sale in CIL. CCA stands for - Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs OFS stands for- Offer For Sale. The government today gave a go-ahead to the much-awaited 10 per cent stake sale in Coal India Ltd, which could fetch over Rs. 23,000 crore to the exchequer. Sources said the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the disinvestment department’s proposal to offload 10 per cent stake through Offer For Sale (OFS) route. 15- Govt. clears 11.36 p.c. stake sale in NHPC. NHPC stands for - National Hydroelectric Power Corporation . The Centre on Wednesday cleared 11.36 per cent stake sale in NHPC, that could fetch over Rs. 2,800 crore to the exchequer. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has cleared sale of government’s 11.36 per cent in NHPC through an Offer For Sale (OFS), sources said. 16-SEBI drops charges against Zee Entertenment in investor complaint case. Capital market regulator SEBI on Wednesday dropped charges of non-redressal of investor complaints and failure to register with the regulator’s online complaint redressal system against Zee Entertainment. The regulator said violations could not be established against the company. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd or Zee is formerly known as ETC Networks Ltd. 17-NSE to auction government bonds worth Rs. 3,117 cr. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) will auction on Thursday government debt securities worth Rs. 3,117 crore for overseas investors, whose total investment has crossed 97 per cent of permitted limit. The auction would be conducted for overseas investors at ’nse-ebid’ platform for government debt securities, as per information provided by the bourse. 18-ICICI Bank offers Cardless Cash Withdrawal at ATMs. ICICI Bank on Wednesday launched a facility under which an account holder with it can transfer money to a mobile phone user in the country even without the latter having an account with any bank. A customer having a savings account with the country’s largest private lender can initiate a fund transfer using online banking by giving only the mobile number and address of the beneficiary, ICICI Bank said in a statement in Mumbai. For availing of funds under the ‘Cardless Cash Withdrawal’ scheme, the beneficiary need not have an account with any bank, it said. 19- India slips to 62nd spot in effective stock market regulation ranking Indian capital markets may be riding high on positive investor sentiments, but the latest report by World Economic Forum (WEF) shows that the country has plunged 35 places to 62nd rank in terms of effective regulation of the stock exchanges. 20- India & Germany to cooperate in skill dev, river cleaning. 21- India, Bahrain express commitment to enhance bilateral trade, investment. 22-SBI launches multi-currency international debit card. i. State Bank of India (SBI) in tie-up with MasterCard on Monday launched its first multi-currency international debit card to allow consumers to use a single card to pay in multiple currencies. ii. “To begin with, the prepaid debit card will enable customers to load four currencies – US dollar, euro, Great Britain pound and Singapore dollar. 23-China awarded China Book Award to JNU professor Priyadarsi Mukherji. i-China 2014 awarded China Book Award to JNU professor Priyadarsi Mukherji. ii. Priyadarsi Mukherji was honoured in recognition of his long-term contribution to the translation and publication of Chinese works. 24- WTI and TCL signed MoU to setup India’s first Coral Garden in Gujarat Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL) in first week of September 2014 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up India’s first of its kind Coral Garden in Gujarat. This Coral Garden will be set up at Mithapur coastal region of Devbhoomi-Swarka district of Gujarat. 25-Reserve Bank to pick talent via UPSC-like test. The Reserve Bank of India will adopt a common recruitment system from next year to tap talent for its core functions. The larger objective is to strengthen itself in the changing economic scenario. ii. “Starting from 2015, there shall be common recruitment for all core functions of the bank,” the RBI said in an internal report on HR initiatives. 26-RBI sets 70 years as upper age limit for MD, CEO of pvt banks i. The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday decided to fix the maximum age for Managing Directors and Chief Executive Officers in private sector banks at 70. 27-Former NASA Scientist Dr. Noel W. Hinners died A former NASA chief scientist Dr. Noel W. Hinners died on 5 September 2014 due to brain tumor. He was 78. 28-Indian movie Court won best debut award at Venice Film Festival “Court”,- an Indian movie written and directed by Indian writer Chaitanya Tamhane, on 7 September 2014 won the Lion of the Future – Luigi De Laurentiis award for a Debut Feature at the 71st Venice Film Festival. The film that is a multilingual courtroom drama, won the award for its striking narrative style. 29-Global business leaders gather at WEF, China. WEF stands for - World Economic Forum. Global business leaders and politicians have gathered in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin for a meeting of the World Economic Forum. 30-India signs 2 MoUs in WHO regional Health Ministers Meet India has signed 2 MoUs during the WHO South East Asia Health Ministers Meet in Dhaka yesterday. 31- First kisan mandi outside APMC coming up in Delhi. APMC stands for – Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee. i. The countrys first wholesale centre (mandi) for trading in fruit and vegetables outside the jurisdiction of an Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) is coming up at Alipur in north Delhi. The aim is to begin operations by the end of November. ii. The Delhi government had earlier notified the removal of fruit and vegetables from the list of APMC products. This allows legal trade in these outside an APMC, under the law. iii. This first such mandi, termed a kisan mandi, is being set up by the Small Farmers Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC), a body under the Union ministry of agriculture. 32- Fiat’s Marchionne is appointed as the new chairman of Ferrari . 33-Union Health Minister Launched First National Anti-TB Drug Resistance Survey of India i. Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on 6 September 2014 launched the first anti-Tuberculosis Drug Resistance Survey of India for the year 2014-15. ii. This is the first of its kind of survey in India and is supported by the World Health Organization (WHO). 34-H Devaraj Committee reported most deemed universities not fit for being a university i. H Devaraj Committee on 8 September 2014 reported that most of the deemed universities are not fit for being a university. ii. It said that out of 41 C category deemed universities only 10 universities are found to be fit for being a university. Rest of the university does not fulfil the criteria to become the university. 35-IOC and Interpol meet to combat match fixing & illegal betting International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Interpol (International Police agency) have increased their collaboration to combat match-fixing and illegal betting. 36-Madras High Court appoints IAS officer Sagayam to probe illegal mining. 37-Subhash Chandra Garg appointed as World Bank ED Senior IAS officer Subhash Chandra Garg was today appointed as Executive Director (ED) in World Bank. 38-Govt sets up panel to review environment laws under T S R Subramanian committee. The Government has constituted a high-level committee to review various environment laws in order to bring them in line with current requirements. The four-member panel, headed by former Cabinet Secretary T S R Subramanian, has been asked to review five key green laws concerning protection and conservation of environment, forest, wildlife, water and air among others. 39- Cabinet approves over Rs 5,000 crore Telecom Development Plan for NE.( North-Eastern Region.) The Union Cabinet today gave its approval for implementing a comprehensive Telecom Development Plan for the North-Eastern Region. The proposal entails an estimated cost of over Rs 5,336 crore. 40- Gates Foundation pledges $50 million to fight Ebola epidemic The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged 50 million US dollars to support emergency efforts to contain West Africas Ebola epidemic, which has already killed almost 2,300 people in the worst outbreak of the virus in history The US based philanthropic foundation said it would release funds immediately to UN agencies and international organisations to help them buy supplies and scale up the emergency response in affected countries. 41- Meghalaya Governor to take additional charge of Manipur, Mizoram President Pranab Mukherjee today accepted the resignation of Vinod Kumar Duggal, as the Governor of Manipur and Mizoram. A Rashtrapati Bhawan communique said, Meghalaya Governor Dr. Krishan Kant Paul has been asked to discharge the the functions of the Governor of Manipur and Mizoram, in addition to his own duties. 42- Gujarst FSL (Gujarat Forensic Science Laboratory )to tie-up with US-based firm for ballistic testing Gujarat Forensic Science Laboratory, which provides services to various companies for testing of armour panels and bullet-proof jackets, is likely to soon tie-up with a US-based firm to share best practices in the field of ballistic testing. 43- India, Bangladesh sign MoU on traditional medicine. 44- India successfully test-fires nuclear-capable Agni-I missile India today successfully test-fired indigenously developed nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Agni-I missile from Wheeler Island off Odisha coast. The ballistic missile has a striking range of 700 to 1250 km. It can carry a one-tonne nuclear warhead. Agni-I was developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) missile technologists. 45-SBI takes lead in opening bank accounts under Jan Dhan Yojana. As of September 8, State Bank has opened about 21.16 lakh accounts in rural areas and 8.8 lakh accounts in urban areas, Financial Services Secretary G S Sandhu said. Punjab National Bank (PNB) opened about 20.24 lakh accounts, Canara Bank with 16.21 lakh, Central Bank of India 15.98 lakh and Bank of Baroda 14.22 lakh accounts. 46-Govt asks UIDAI to generate 100 cr Aadhaar numbers by 2015. 47-Rajasthan Cabinet clears Land Acquisition Bill. The Rajasthan Cabinet has cleared the Land Acquisition Bill, 2014 for passing in the State Assembly in the session, beginning on Monday. Land owners will be entitled to 25 per cent of developed land in lieu of monetary compensation. 48- Rohan Bopanna to receive Davis Cup Commitment Award Indian tennis star Rohan Bopanna will be awarded the Davis Cup Commitment Award in Bangalore on Saturday on the sidelines of the ongoing World Group play-off tie against Serbia, it was announced by International Tennis Federation (ITF) on Thursday. 49- Narendra Ambwani elected ASCI Chairman Narendra Ambwani, Director, Agro Tech Foods Ltd, has been elected as Chairman of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). 50- Chitresh Tatha is the youngest sailor at the Asian Games 2014. 51- Govt launches RVC service for smooth transportation of perishable goods. RVC STANDS FOR- Reefer Vehicle Call-In Centre Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh today launched Reefer Vehicle Call-In Centre (RVC) for smooth transportation of perishable goods. 52- ADB will provide $150-m loan for building transmission lines in Rajasthan. 53- Union Cabinet approves sale of shares in ONGC, Coal India, NHPC The CCEA (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs) headed by Prime Minister, approved the sale of shares in Coal India, ONGC and NHPC to garner a combined Rs 43,000 crore. 54- Freedom Fighter and Journalist Jitendra Chandra Paul died 55- Bihar government recognised transgender as third gender. 56- Union Ministry of Science & Technology announces “KIRAN” scheme for Women Scientists. KIRAN Stands for- , Involvement, Research, Advancement through Nurturing The Union Ministry of Science & Technology also announced KIRAN (Knowledge, Involvement, Research, Advancement through Nurturing) for women scientists – A unique advertising scheme to bring about, as far as possible, gender equality in the field of science and technology. Objectives:- i. To increase the number of women researchers in India. ii. Provide Research grants particularly to those female researchers and technologists who had to take a break in career owing to household reasons. iii. Bring about, as far as achievable, gender parity in the field of science and technology. 57-SC ruled 3 percent quota for disabled persons in all government jobs. 58-WHO honoured Bangladesh and Timor-Leste for Excellence in Public Health The World Health Organisation (WHO) honoured Bangladesh and Timor-Leste with South East Asia Regional Award for Excellence in Public Health. 59-Raya Power to set up 50 MW solar park in Andhra Pradesh i. Rays Power Experts announced to set up 50 mw Solar Power Generation Park in Andhra Pradesh. The total cost of the project is 300 crore ruppes and it will be completed by January 2015. ii. The project includes the complete infrastructure designing of the project, its technical and engineering ground work, installation and commissioning. About Rays Power Experts Rays Power Experts is a third largest company in solar power executed in India. It was started in 2009 and since 2011, it is catering the nationwide demand for clean, sustainable energy. It has built its presence pan India with solar parks across 6 states. 60-SBI celebrated 150 years of its operations in Sri Lanka. 61-Peru to sign free trade pact with India. 62- Food inflation remains flat at 9.4 % i. Retail inflation moderated slightly to 7.8 per cent in August from 7.96 per cent in July on the softening of the prices of vegetables and fuels. Food inflation finally showed signs of coming under control, remaining flat at 9.4 per cent. 63- TCS opens Saudi Arabia’s first all-women BPO centre. 64- Educationist Kireet Joshi passes away. Kireet Joshi Eminent educationist and former education adviser to the Union government Kireet Joshi passed away here on Sunday after battling cancer. He was 83.65- HDFC Bank will now send debit card PINs via SMS instead of sending it by post. 65- India,& Vietnam to sign key oil search pact. 66-SBI to revise interest rates on retail term deposits below Rs.1 crore. The State Bank of India (SBI) is revising interest rates on retail term deposits below Rs.1 crore with effect from September 18 As per the revision, there will be a reduction of 25 basis points on the rate on deposits in the maturity bucket of 1 year to less than three years. The new interest rate will be 8.75 per cent. 67- “And Then One Day”:- The autobiography of Naseeruddin Shah. 68-Kerala to host Global Agro meet in November Government of Kerala will host a Global Agro meet and an exhibition on hi-tech agriculture and food processing at Kochi on 6th and 7th of November. 69-Mashelkar to chair expert panel on Modis Swachh Bharat CSIR --- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. Scientist Raghunath Anant Mashelkar, former director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, has been named the chair of an expert panel to recommend best technologies for Prime Minister Narendra Modis Swachh Bharat national sanitation campaign. 70-KK Paul sworn in as Manipur Governor. 71- Clean Goa Beautiful Goa campaign launched. 72-Doordarshan celebrates 55 years of existence. 73- India welcomes renegotiation of Tata Housing project in Maldives. 74-Union Government announced to fund Swachh Vidyalaya campaign. 75-August WPI Inflation shrinks to five-year low of 3.74%. 76- Comic legend Joan Rivers dies at 81. 77-Turing biopic wins Toronto film festival audience prize. 78-Ethan Hawke, Richard Gere to receive honours at NY(New York) Film Festival. 79-Arnold Schwarzenegger in Chennai for ‘I’ audio launch. 80- H S Prannoy clinches Indonesian masters title. 81-Sabine Lisicki wins Hong Kong Open. 82-International Day for preservation of Ozone Layer observed today. The International Day for the preservation of the Ozone Layer was observed on 16 September 2014. 83-IndiGo inks $2.6 bn aircraft finance deal with ICBC. ICBC -- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. IndiGo has signed a $2.6 billion deal with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) for the lender to finance more than 30 new aircraft, the carrier said in a statement on Wednesday. The announcement comes on the day Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in India, where the two countries are expected to sign trade and investment deals worth billions of dollars. 84- P.Nagaraj to be next chairman of KMF. P.Nagaraj, one of the directors of the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), is all set to become the next chairman of the KMF for a period of two years. Mr Nagaraj will succeed G.Somashekara Reddy, former BJP MLA and brother of former Minster G.Janardhana Reddy. 85-Rs. 15,000 cr. sought from Centre for PFA. The ambitious Power For All (PFA), aimed at providing uninterrupted power supply to domestic, commercial and industrial consumers, would require a huge capital expenditure. 86-Dubai-Singapore flight makes emergency landing in Hyderabad. 87- Supreme Court seeks Centre’s response on CVC appointment. CVC Stands For- Central Vigilance Commissioner . The Supreme Court on Thursday sought the Centre’s response to a plea seeking to broaden the zone of consideration for the appointment of the Central Vigilance Commissioner and making the entire process transparent. 88-Rajasthan became the first state to ratify National Judicial Appointments Bill. Rajasthan on Wednesday became the first State to ratify the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2014 which was passed by Parliament last month. The Bill needs to be endorsed by at least 15 States before it can be sent for Presidential assent and brought into effect. The 121st Constitutional Amendment was also adopted by the House simultaneously. 89- India, China sign 3 MoUs including setting up Industrial Park in Gujarat. 90- L.K. Advani becomes chairman of Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan appointed BJP veteran L.K. Advani as the chairman of the prestigious Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha. 91-Lalitha Kumaramangalam is appointed as the new chief of the National Commission for Women (NCW). Note:- She runs Prakriti, an NGO and contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2004 and 2009. 92- India may become fifth largest exporter by 2030:- HSBC report. 93- World Bank approves $105 million grant for Ebola-hit countries. 94- Chinese President launches construction of $1.4 billion Colombo Port City. Chinese President Xi Jinping today launched the construction of the 1.4 billion dollar Colombo Port City. 95- $63.3-million ADB loan for North Karnataka. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has provided $63.3-million loan for improving urban services and strengthening municipal and project management capacity in North Karnataka towns. 96-Mumbai Indians fail to qualify for Champions League T-20. 97-Boxer Manoj wins court battle against govt, to get Arjuna. Some Banking Points:- Commercial paper -5lakh T-bills min deposit- 25k G-Securities -10k CD- 1 LAKH. 98- China fines GlaxoSmithKline $490 million. 99- GMR will build Nepals largest hydro power plant. GMR Stands For - Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao. 100- Moulali RPF Training Centre to be upgraded as a Centre of Excellence.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 07:26:14 +0000