Current Affairs 20/12/2013 to 01/01/2014

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1.The Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government declared 50% subsidy on the power tariff to benefit approximately 28 lakh households, after announcing 667 litres of water free of charge to all households in the capital who have metered connections.

2.The French Constitutional Council approved the government’s controversial “millionaire tax” proposal for companies to pay 75% tax on annual salaries exceeding €1 million ($1.375 million USD), in line with President Francois Hollande’s drive to limit executive pay at a time of economic hardship. To reduce France’s budget deficit, the increase in tax raised discontent among the business leaders and the football clubs.

3.As per a survey conducted by the IT security firm Trend Micro, Bitcoin mining malware is infecting millions of computers globally and extending the threat of cyber security risks for users of the cyber currency. Thousands of computers, including in India, are being infected with malwares related to the virtual currency. Bitcoin mining is resource-intensive and can slow down the system due to the increased CPU load. The infected computers will become very slow on system operation, also appears heavy CPU and power consumption.

4.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cautioned that any political instability after the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 will drag the besieged economy further down, except there is a stable new government at the centre. On the release of the 8th edition of the RBI’s Financial Stability Report 2013, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan stated that any political instability after general elections will lead to erode investor’s confidence in the economy. A stable new government would be positive for the economy.
Excerpts of the 8th edition of the RBI’s Financial Stability Report 2013
The gross Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) in the system will rise to Rs. 2.29 lakh crore by September 2014 from Rs. 1.67 lakh crore in September 2013.
External sector risks have been considerably reduced and the effect of the tapering on the economy is expected to be limited and short-lived.
The delay in the tapering of the $85 billion-a-month bond buyback programme by the US Fed till January 2014, has given the country time to replenish the forex reserves and rein in the high current account gap.
Realignment of global growth as well as high inflation differential between advanced economies (AEs) and Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs) is a potential source of exchange rate volatility and may result in volatile cross-border flows with every reprising of risk.
Corporate performance continues to be weighed down by boom period expansions and excess capacities, amid shifting asset composition towards financial investments.
Five sectors – infrastructure, iron and steel, textiles, aviation and mining together contribute 24 per cent of total advances of Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) and account approx 53 % of their total stressed advances.
House prices and outstanding loans for housing by housing finance companies have grown relatively faster during the last few years.
Inadequate social security coverage in India against a backdrop of changing demographics will pose challenges for expanding the pension system given the fiscal constraints. The National Pension System (NPS) created to serve Government employees and private sector workers.
Note: RBI publishes Financial Stability Report (FSR) in every six months. Its’ purpose is to create awareness about the vulnerabilities in the financial system and to inform about the resilience to stress of the financial institutions and to generally serve as a health check on the financial system.

5.The Country’s biggest lender, State Bank of India (SBI) appointed Mr. P.Pradeep Kumar as its Managing Director and group executive in charge of corporate banking. The seat was lying vacant as of Ms. Arundhati Bhattarcharya became the Chairman of SBI in October 2013.

6.Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal delivered on the AAP’s promise of its poll manifesto by announcing 20 kilo litres of free water a month to all metered households. The decision was questioned by Congress, saying every citizen of Delhi must be provided 700 litres of free water per day.

7.In a bid to promote power saving, Tamil Nadu government began the first phase of distributing free Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs to over 14 lakh hut-dwellers in the state. The scheme is aimed at saving 40 mw of electricity.

8.PSU (Public Sector Unit) Oil India Ltd. has inked an agreement with Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA) to conduct a feasibility study for the company for its plan to set up dairy production facility in Assam. The project which has been named ‘Kamdhenu’ aims to set up big milk production centre in Upper Assam.
Why OIL intends to enter dairy sector?
OIL wants to set up dairy production facility under its project ‘Kamdhenu’ as part of a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. The project would seek to boost milk production in Upper Assam by providing employment opportunity to the people of the state. In future, the project aims to enhance the production to supply milk and dairy products in the whole North-East region. The project derives inspiration from the ‘Amul’ model which has been very successful in Gujarat.
What is the role of IRMA in this project?
As per the agreement with Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA) in Gujarat, the institute has the task of conducting feasibility study and prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) after the study in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts of Assam where Oil India Ltd (OIL) has significant presence. The DPR will help the company to devise a roadmap and a long-term broad vision plan for the project.
What is CSR?
As mentioned in the new Companies Act 2009, CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility is the obligation of the companies to spend 2% of their net profit in philanthropic activities every year.
The law was meant to be applicable for all companies with
a net worth of Rs 500 crore or more, or
a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or more, or
a net profit of Rs 5 crore or more
Responding to the objections raised by corporate sector against this mandatory provision, the government has recently diluted it. Now, if a company is unable to do so, it will have to explain in its report as to why it could not fulfill its CSR obligations.

9.The Union Cabinet approved constitutional status to a proposed Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC), for the appointment and transfer of judges to the higher judiciary. In other words, the cabinet approved a constitution amendment bill to make the appointment /transfer of judges more transparent. The status ensures that the composition of the commission cannot be altered through an ordinary legislation and it would require an amendment in the Constitution to do so.

Presently, the composition of the proposed panel is defined in the JAC Bill, 2013 which was introduced along with a separate constitutional amendment bill in Rajya Sabha during the monsoon session. There were demands that the composition as well as the functions of the proposed JAC must be mentioned in the Constitution as a precaution against future changes.

The JAC Bill defines the establishment of the proposed body to recommend appointment and transfer of judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts. Excerpts of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) Bill, 2013 –

The new Article 124 A of the Constitution will define the composition of the JAC and Article 124 B will define its functions.
The JAC will be headed by the CJI and have five other members, including the Law Minister and two eminent persons.
To appoint the two eminent persons for the appointments commission would be done by the collegium that will include the Prime Minister of India, the Leader of Opposition and the Chief Justice of India.
Functions viz. recommending names for appointment as judges of the Supreme Court, Chief Justices of High Courts and judges of High Courts; recommending transfer of Chief Justices of High Courts and judges of High Courts, etc.
Note: A parliamentary standing committee which examined the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) Bill, 2013 also made a similar recommendation.

10.The Himachal Pradesh High Court banned on the sale of potato chips, wafers and all junk food items packaged in plastic and non-biodegradable material from January 26, 2014. It directed the government to strictly enforce the ban on non-essential food items. The ban will not cover plastic drinking water bottles.

11.Mr. Jayanta Narayan Chaudhary appointed as new chief of National Security Guard (NSG). Mr. Chaudhary is the 1978 batch IPS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre and is due to retire in May 2015. He succeeded Arvind Ranjan.

12.The technology giant Microsoft launched a new application (app) ‘Guardian’ with safety features, exclusively for Windows phone users in India. It builds up this app, chiefly to protect women from incidents such as ‘Nirbhaya’.
About the app ‘Guardian’
Uses Microsoft Windows Azure cloud solution and the Bing Maps API and allow anyone we wish to track our movements. This can be done by switching on the “track me” feature.
Users will be able to place a call for help through an ‘SOS’ alert button and also connect to security agencies, police and hospitals easily via this app in times of crisis.

13.Noted veteran actor Farooq Sheikh (65) passed away in Dubai.

14.India and the US have signed another mega defence deal worth $1.01 billion in which the US will supply six additional C-130J “Super Hercules” aircraft. The “letter of offer and acceptance” for the six new four-engine C-130Js, which will be delivered within 3 years, was inked under the US government’s “Foreign Military Sales” (FMS) programme. The Indian Air Force already has six C-130Js tactical airlift aircraft, which are based at the Hindon airbase on the outskirts of Delhi. The upcoming six new C-130Js will be stationed at Panagarh in West Bengal.

India’s first Mountain Strike Force: XVII Corps
India’s new mountain strike corps which has been named XVII Corps will also have its headquarters in Panagarh. The XVII Corps with a total of over 80,000 soldiers, is being brought up by the Army in a project worth around Rs 90,000 crore. This new corps will fill operational voids along the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) as well as add to the Indian Army’s ground offensive capabilities against China for the first time.

15.The top-most leader of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Arvind Kejriwal, sworn-in as the new Chief Minister of Delhi. He was administered the oath by the Lieutenant Governor of the capital Najeeb Jung.

16.In a strategic move, China is ready to offer its neighbouring nations use of its indigenously developed Beidou Satellite Navigation System (BDS) free of charge. The offer has generated interest from a number of nations including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Thailand.
What is Beidou Satellite Navigation System (BDS)?
Beidou Satellite Navigation System (BDS) is a Chinese satellite navigation system. It consists of two separate satellite constellations:
Beidou-1: A limited test system that has been operating since 2000
Beidou-2 : A full-scale global navigation system which is also known as COMPASS and is currently under construction as of January 2013 . Beidou-2 will have 35 satellites in its network.

17.Ace archer Deepika Kumari created history by clinching her sixth consecutive title at the 34th National Archery Championships held at JRD Tata Stadium, Jamshedpur. With this achievement, Deepika now holds more individual titles at the national meet than Dola Banerjee, who won 5 national titles. However, the record of winning most individual titles is still held by Bengal archer Krishna Ghatak, with seven consecutive titles between 1975 and 1982.

18.The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given nod to the proposal of Axis Bank for hiking foreign investment from 49% to 62% entailing an inflow of about Rs 7,250 crore. It will be subject to the aggregate foreign institutional investors holding not exceeding 49% of the paid up equity share capital of the bank.

19.The ‘National Scheme for Welfare of Fishermen’ will continue during the 12th Plan Period as the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved for the same.
National Scheme for Welfare of Fishermen (NSWF):
Devised by: The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture.
Objectives: Provision of basic amenities like drinking water and sanitation in fishing villages, better living standards for fishermen and their families. It also envisages social security for active fishermen and their dependants, and strives to ensure their economic security.

20.As part of a novel experiment, Mont Albert Primary School in Australia has launched the world’s first standing classroom which aims to combat the menace of childhood obesity. In this experiment being conducted by the researchers of Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, a grade six class at this school has been fitted with height-adjustable desks to allow the student to sit or stand.

21.Finance Ministry is focusing on service tax revenue which has grown significantly by over 300 times in past about two decades. As per official data, the finance ministry has earned revenue of about Rs 1.32 lakh crore in 2012-13 (provisional figures) compared to Rs 407 crore in 1994-95Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme (VCES)
The Finance Ministry is implementing VCES which allows a service tax defaulter to pay dues without any penalty or late payment charges. Under VCES, an individual may make a declaration to the designated authority on or before December 31, 2013.

22.The current Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Marpadi Veerappa Moily, has been assigned an additional charge of the Environment and Forests Ministry after the exit of Jayanthi Natarajan.

23.The road transport and highways ministry sanctioned “Quadricycle” as a new category of vehicle on Indian roads. These vehicles are safer than three-wheelers as they have four wheels with fully enclosed body structure with hard top and doors. After integrating suggestions and objections, transport minister Oscar Fernandes approved the proposal that under this category, battery-powered or electric four-wheelers will also be considered.

24.The Andhra Pradesh High Court directed to Telugu actors Mohan Babu and Brahmanandam Kanneganti to surrender Padam Shri to the President of India, as they allegedly misused it. The HC gave its decision on the petition filed by the BJP senior leader N Indraseena Reddy.The petitioner argued that as per the Article 18(1) of the Constitution, the national awards does not amount to a title and cannot be used as suffixes or prefixes.

25.Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar became the Ambassador of United States of America (USA) in December 2013. He succeeded Ms. Nirupama Rao and his position in Beijing was taken by Ashok K. Kantha.

26.Mr. Vinod Kumar Duggal, the former Home Secretary has been appointed the new Governor of Manipur.

27.Mr. Sidharth Birla, Chairman of Xpro India Limited took the charge as the President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on December 21, 2013. He succeeded the HSBC India Country Head Naina Lal Kidwai.

28.The Government of India launched e-inclusion project to make people e-literate. On this occasion, Minister of Communication & IT, Mr. Kabil Sibal released the handbook titled ‘e-Literacy: Towards Empowering Rural India’ bearing profiles of 50 beneficiaries who have successfully undertaken the basic IT training programme under the E-Inclusion project.
About e-Inclusion project
It’s the initiative under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) for creating a transparent and accountable governance model for enabling service delivery at the doorstep of citizens.
Initially around 45 thousand people will be trained under the program.
Beneath the project, economically weaker sections of the society including rural SC, ST and women will receive IT training.
It will make at least one individual in every household e-literate.
The project will improve the quality of life of people, especially those living in rural India and will allow them to actively participate in knowledge based activities and also access financial, social and government services by using Internet.

29.Dr. Michiaki Takahashi (85), a Japanese virologist, who developed a vaccine for the chicken pox virus passed away. Dr. Takahashi developed his vaccine by growing live but weakened versions of the virus in animal and human cells. The disease was not sourced by the vaccine, but the vaccine encouraged immune system to create antibodies. Thus, it fools the immune system into thinking that it has seen this disease before.

30.Soon, SMSs will be acceptable as “documentary proof” for a variety of citizen-services ranging from making payments to registrations.
The Department of electronics and information technologY (DeitY), a part of the ministry of Communication and Information Technology, is all set to flag off a new online authentication project.

31.Mikhail Kalashnikov (94), the Russian gun designer whose AK-47 rifle became the weapon of choice for many national armies and guerrillas around the world, passed away.[AK- 47 ( ”Avtomat Kalashnikova 1947″)]

32.BCIM Trade Corridor
The Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor is a test case for cooperation between India and China in regional development as well as addressing common challenges. It aims to connect Kolkata with China’s Kunming city with a highway running through Bangladesh and Myanmar.India, China, Bangladesh and Myanmar held the first ever official-level discussions on the ambitious BCIM economic corridor to link India and China with Bangladesh and Myanmar.The economic advantages of the BCIM trade corridor are:-Approach to numerous markets in Southeast Asia,Improvement of transportation infrastructure and
Creation of industrial zones .

33.The Cabinet approved a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in trade and services with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Objective: To promote the movement of Indian professionals in the 10-nation ASEAN. The Agreement on Investment would protect, promote and increase foreign investment flows into the country and also removes and barriers.
Note: The Comprehensive Economic Cooperation (CECA) between India and ASEAN was signed in 2003. The Cabinet approved the Agreement on Trade Goods under the CECA with the ASEAN in July 2009.

34.The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) allowed state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) to pump methane gas trapped in coal beds of its existing mines. This move will open a new revenue stream for the world’s largest coal miner and help unlock several mines that have remained out of bounds because of the presence of the explosive gas that make mining unsafe.
Presently, rules and regulations prohibit mining firms from extracting Coal Bed Methane (CBM) during mining as the policy does not allow for simultaneous extraction of methane (CBM) and coal. Only those companies that successfully bid for mines with CBM are allowed to explore and produce such gas. The government auctioned 33 CBM blocks since 2001.
CIL holds at least 20% of the estimated 60 billion tones of coal resources in India. It has many coal mines in eight States that are estimated to have CBM reserves of 3.5-4 trillion cubic feet.

35.India and Venezuela signed a programme on cultural exchanges in the fields of publication, film and media, image and space arts, stage and music arts. The programme will last for three years and will be renewed automatically thereafter.

36.To expand its global presence, the Canara Bank received a license from the US regulators to open a branch in New York. As stated by the Chairman and Managing Director of Canara Bank, R. K. Dubey, the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve approved the proposal of the bank to open a branch in New York. This is the first time that an Indian bank has secured an approval of the US regulators.
About Canara Bank
An Indian state-owned bank.
Headquarters: Bangalore, Karnataka.
Founded: 1906

37.The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved Rs 6,600 Crore interest-free loans to cash-starved sugar mills in order to make payments to cane farmers. The interest subvention will be 12%, which will be borne by the Sugar Development Fund.

38.The Government of India appointed Ms Usha Sangwan as the first woman managing director of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and Vijay Kumar Sharma as an MD and chief executive officer of LIC Housing Finance. With these appointments, LIC is set to function at its full strength of four MDs. These are S B Mainak, Sushobhan Sarkar, Usha Sangwan and V K Sharma.

39.An artificial heart that can give patients up to five years of extra life has been successfully implanted for the first time, at Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris, France. The equipment designed to overcome the worldwide shortage of transplant donors was produce by French Biomedical firm Carmat, a start-up funded by the Dutch-based European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS).
About Artificial Heart
Powered by external, wearable Lithium-ion batteries.
Inside the heart, surfaces that come into contact with human blood are made partly from bovine tissue instead of synthetic materials such as plastic that can cause blood clots.
Uses a range of “biomaterials”, including bovine tissue, to reduce the likelihood of the body rejecting it.
Weighs about 900g (around 2 lb) – nearly three times more than an average healthy human heart. It is expected to cost 140,000 to 180,000 euros in Europe.
It mimics heart muscle contractions and contains sensors that adapt the blood flow to the patient’s moves.
Intended to replace a real heart for as many as five years, unlike previous artificial hearts that were created mainly for temporary use.

40.Kirobo, the world’s first robot astronaut talks about Christmas in its first chat with the Japanese commander of the International Space Station.
About the world’s first robot astronaut Kirobo
Kirobo is Japan’s first humanoid robot astronaut, developed by Tomotaka Takahashi, to accompany Koichi Wakata, the first Japanese commander of the International Space Station.

41.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will issue Inflation Indexed National Savings Securities Cumulative (IINSS-C) bonds (or inflation linked bonds) for retail investors by opening the subscription on December 23, 2013 and close it on December 31, 2013.
Objective: The move will help to protect retail investors from price rise.
The IINSS-C bonds will offer investors a return i.e. 1.5% more than inflation based on the consumer price index. Interest will be compounded half yearly, enhancing effective yield on investments.

42.Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an oil tycoon and political opponent of Vladimir Putin, released from prison after being pardoned by the Russian President. He left for Germany where his mother is being treated for cancer He spent ten years in jail for tax fraud, embezzlements and money laundering.

43.The Environment Ministry, following the ‘in principle’ acceptance of the Kasturirangan panel report, issued a fresh order on easing norms on activities related to plantations and agriculture in Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA).

44.Indian scientists have discovered a pill form of insulin treatment, so now diabetes patients would be spared from the pain of jabbing themselves with a needle every day.
The process to transform delivery of this therapy from a shot to a pill was a challenge because body’s digestive enzymes that are so good at breaking down food also break down insulin before it can get to work. Besides, insulin doesn’t get easily absorbed through the intestine into the bloodstream.
To overcome these hurdles, scientists combined two approaches to shield insulin from the digestive enzymes and then get it into the blood.
They packaged insulin in tiny sacs made of lipids, or fats, called liposomes, which are already used in some treatments. Then, they wrapped the liposomes in layers of protective molecules called polyelectrolytes.
To help these “layersomes” get absorbed into the bloodstream, they attached folic acid, a kind of vitamin B that has been shown to help transport liposomes across the intestinal wall into the blood.
About Diabetes
Diabetes suppresses the production or use of insulin, which is a hormone that helps blood glucose or blood sugar become absorbed into cells and gives them energy.
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body doesn’t make enough insulin, and type 2 diabetes occurs when the body doesn’t make or use insulin very well, causing glucose to remain in the blood, which can lead to serious problems.

45.The Ministry of External Affairs transferred diplomat Ms Devyani Khobragade to India’s Permanent Mission in the United Nations, giving her full diplomatic immunity.
Why Ms Devyani Khobragade has been transferred to India’s Permanent Mission in the United Nations?
Ms. Devyani Khobragade, India’s deputy consul general in New York, arrested in the 2nd week of December 2013 for an alleged case of visa fraud and to make false statements in connection with the visa application for an Indian national employee who was domestic helper in her home.