26 December 2014 Current Affairs Article Updated on 26 Dec, 2014 1988 Times Read. One-Rupee-Note-Relaunched-2015 1) The Union Government has notified ‘Printing of One Rupee Currency Notes Rules, 2015’, which will come into effect from 1 January 2015. This means that the 1 rupee paper note, which was discontinued due to high cost, would make its comeback. When the Re. 1 paper note discontinued? – November 1994 Explanation: Due to higher cost and for freeing capacity to print higher denomination notes, printing Re. 1 note was discontinued in November 1994, followed by Rs. 2 in February 1995, and Rs. 5 in November 1995. Since then, only coins have been issued for these denominations. However, old notes are still in circulation and remain legal tender. The new Re. 1 note will be different in terms of colour, too. It will be predominantly pink and green. Earlier, the Re. 1 currency note had a predominantly indigo colour. Also, the new note will have ‘Bharat Sarkar’ on its masthead, with ‘Government of India’ printed below that. As before, the new one rupee note will have the signature of the Finance Secretary. Apart from the one rupee note, all other paper currency (Rs. 2, Rs. 5, Rs. 10, Rs. 20, Rs. 50, Rs. 100, Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000) will have the signature of the RBI Governor, as these are issued by the Reserve Bank of India, whereas Re. 1 is issued by the Government of India. 2) Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s birthday (25 December) was observed as which national day for the first time, as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 2 December 2014? – ‘Good Governance Day’ Explanation: First ‘Good Governance Day’ was observed on 25 December 2014 and on this occasion all government officials vowed to provide good governance through improvement in their services. However, some controversy was also created as a circular pertaining to this had stated that December 25 will be a working day (for the government) as ‘Good Governance Day’ will be observed. The principal opposition party, the Congress, criticized the BJP government for setting ‘Good Governance Day’ on the same date as Christmas, and for declaring this date as a government working day. 3) Health & Family Welfare Ministry launched “Mission Indradhanush” on 25 December 2014. What is the objective of this initiative? – To achieve full immunization coverage for all children by 2020 Explanation: The Mission Indradhanush, depicting seven colours of the rainbow, aims to cover all those children by 2020 who are either unvaccinated, or are partially vaccinated against seven vaccine preventable diseases which include diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B. The ministry has identified 201 high focus districts in the country in the first phase which has nearly 50% of all unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children. These districts will be targeted by intensive efforts to improve the routine immunization coverage. Of the 201 districts, 82 districts are in just four states of UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and nearly 25% of the unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children of India are in these 82 districts of 4 states. WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International and other donor partners will provide technical support in implementing “Mission Indradhanush”. 4) The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour that looked into the changes proposed in the Factories Amendment Bill, 2014 tabled its report in the Parliament during December 2014. One of the most important suggestions of this committee is that labour courts be set up within the factory complex for on-the-spot disposal of complaints/grievances. Who headed this committee? – Virendra Kumar, BJP MP Explanation: The Committee also suggested that all factory workers be controlled by the Labour Commissioner concerned and a periodical audit by an independent agency should be conducted to certify compliance. The Committee did not accept the amendment to raise the threshold limit of employment (for falling under the purview of the Factories Act) from 10 to 20 workers (in case of factories using power) and from 20 to 40 workers (in case of factories not using power). The Factories Amendment Bill, 2014 one of the key labour reforms being pushed by the Narendra Modi Government, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 7 August 2014. It was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee by the Speaker for examination. 5) Anil Ambani-led Reliance Capital recently entered into a long-term strategic alliance with which Japanese banking group to make its foray into the banking sector? – Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Explanation: As part of the agreement, the Reliance Capital will allot a 2.77% stake valued at Rs. 371 crore through a preferential allotment with a one year lock-in period to Sumitomo. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group is the fourth-largest bank in Japan by market capitalisation and corporate loans, and Japan’s largest financial institution managing assets of $682 billion with assets under custody of $1.8 trillion as of September 2014. 6) Which airline introduced world’s first-of-its-kind three-room suite service on its planes during December 2014? – Etihad Explanation: Etihad’s three-room suite service has been named “Residence by Etihad” and it is the only three-room suite in the sky at present. “Residence by Etihah” features a living room, separate ensuite shower room, and bedroom, and as another first in the industry, a dedicated Butler. Measuring 125 square feet in total, “Residence by Etihad” is located on the forward upper deck of the A380 and is for single or double occupancy. Etihad’s A380 will start its daily operations to London Heathrow from 27 December 2014.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 02:59:05 +0000
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