WBCS Current Affairs 31/01/2015 to 07/02/2015

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1.United Nation’s Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Nickolay Mladenov of Bulgaria as new Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority.
He will replace Robert Serry of the Netherlands and oversee the ongoing UN-backed reconstruction efforts in Gaza.

2.Dr M.O. Garg has taken charge as Director General (DG) of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR).He will replace PS Ahuja who had held this post since May 2014.

3.Greek Parliament has elected Zoe Konstantopoulou, a member of the left wing party Syriza as its new President.
She was elected after receiving a record number of 235 of 300 deputies’ votes in the Parliament. With this win, she has the record of more votes a President of parliament received after the restoration of democracy in Greece in 1974.
She is second woman from Greek to be President of country after Anna Psarouda-Benaki who was elected in 2004. Zoe Konstantopoulou is also the youngest ever elected as President of the Greek Parliament.

4.India’s largest mobile vendor, Micromax has appointed Shubhajit Sen as its chief marketing officer (CMO).

5.A symposium, Towards Zero Poaching in Asia concluded in Kathmandu, Nepal on 6th February 2015.
Symposium: Towards Zero Poaching in Asia
This five-day anti-poaching symposium started on 2 February 2015, was hosted by the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation of Nepal.
It was co-hosted by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Global Tiger Forum (GTF), National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) and South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN)
This event had brought together global anti-poaching experts and delegates from countries like Bangaladesh, Bhutan, China, Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam.
In this event, experts shared best anti-poaching practices, tools and technologies with the aim of launching a coordinated Asia-wide push to stop poaching.
Among the Tiger Range Countries that participated in this Zero Poaching in Asia symposium, Nepal is the only country to achieve zero poaching.
Nepal had celebrated two zero poaching years i.e. in 2011 and 2014.

6.Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has signed a Rs. 1,090-crore contract for supplying 14 Dornier-228 (Do-228) aircraft’s to the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The contract also includes supplying six reserve engines, a flight simulator and associated equipment to IAF.
These 14 aircraft’s will be manufactured by the HAL’s Transport Aircraft Division at Kanpur.
Key facts about Dornier Do-228 aircraft
The Dornier Do-228 was designed and developed by Dornier GmbH in the late 1970s.
The aircraft cockpit allows for two-person operation and can carry 19 passengers in the commuter version.
It is reliable, multipurpose and fuel efficient aircraft.
It has special feature to operate from smaller airfields because of its light weight design and a retractable tricycle landing gear.

7.Eminent Marathi writer Bhalchandra Nemade has been selected for Jnanpith Award 2014.
He is the 4th Marathi writer to receive the honour and is the 50th recipient of Jnanpith award.
With this award he joined the league of noted Marathi writers who have won Jnanpith award. They are
Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar (1974) for his work Yayati.
Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar (1987). He is famously known as Kusumagraj.
Vinda Karandikar (2003).
About Jnanpith Award
Jnanpith award is one of the prestigious literary awards in India. The name of award is taken from Sanskrit words Jnana and Pitha (knowledge-seat).
It was instituted in 1961 and presented by Bharatiya Jnanpith, a trust founded by the Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain family.
The award is given to any Indian citizen who writes in any 22 official languages of India mentioned in VIII Schedule of Constitution of India. The award includes 11 lakh rupees and a citation plaque and a bronze replica of Saraswati.
Prior to 1982, the award was only given for a single work by a writer. But since 1982, the award is given for lifetime contribution to Indian literature.

8.Tunisia Parliament has approved the first historic coalition government after the Arab spring.
In this regard, 166 out of 204 Members of Parliament (MPs) voted in favor of the new cabinet proposed by the Prime Minister Habib Essid. The new coalition Government comprised of liberal Nida Tounes party, moderate Islamist Ennahda party and the Free Patriotic party.
In the coalition government, Nidaa Tounes party holds 6 portfolios, including the foreign ministry. While, the interior, defence and justice portfolios have been given to independents. Ennahda party holds labour ministry and three secretary of state posts.

9. United States (US) President Barack Obama has appointed Indian CEO Ajay Banga as member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN).
ACTPN is the US president’s private-sector advisory panel on international trade and helps him to coordinate trade related policies and resolve disagreements.
This appointment came along with several other appointments to key US administration posts.

10. Kolkata has become India’s first Wi-Fi-enabled metro city as the service was launched from Park Street in city.
This 4th Generation (4G) free Wi-fi service was launched by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Free Wi-fi service will be will be rolled out in phased manner in all the wards under Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) as well as adjacent areas of Kolkata. The whole city is expected to come under Wi-Fi coverage by mid-April in 2015.
Private telecom operator, Reliance Jio is providing the 4G enabled service Wi-fi s in the city.

11.LC Goyal has taken charge as the Union Home Secretary.
He replaced Anil Goswami who had resigned following a controversy over the arrest of former Union Minister Matang Sinh in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam.
Goyal was appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for two year term.

12.Former US judge Mary McGowan Davis was appointed as the new head of United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC’s) Independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict.

13. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) has released its third annual international intellectual property (IP) index list.
In this list India is placed at 29th rank among the 30 countries. While, US has been placed at the top in the list and Thailand at last position.
Key facts
In this edition of IP Index, India has scored a low 7.23 out of maximum 30 points. While, US topped with score of 28.53 among the 30 countries surveyed, making it the global leader in protecting IP.
It should be noted that in 2012 and 2014 GIPC Index, India was ranked last in the list, due to deterioration of IP climate in country.
But in 2015 GIPC Index, India has moved up by 1 position to 29th rank because of steps taken by the Union Government to address the concerns of international community related to the IP rights.
About GIPC’s Intellectual property (IP) index
It was started in 2012 and the first edition compared national IP environment in 11 economies. Now, this index is represented by 30 countries around the world which represents 80 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP).
It is based upon 30 measurable criteria which includes patent, copyright and trademark protections, enforcement, and engagement in international treaties.

14.Ajay Shukla has taken additional charge as the Member (Traffic) in the Railway Board. He will replace D P Pande who had retired from this post on 31 January 2015.
Currently, Ajay Shukla is an Additional Member (Commercial) Railway Board.

15. India’s second largest software services firm, Infosys has appointed Roopa Kudva as an independent member on its board of directors.

16.According to market research firm Canalys report, India’s Micromax Mobile has overtaken Korean tech giant Samsung as the largest seller of smartphones in India for the first time.
As per Canalys report, Micromax accounted for 22% of India’s smartphone market share in the October-December 2014 quarter (Q4, 2014). While, Samsung’s market share has fallen down to 20%. Micromax’s smartphone market share in India is 4.7% and Samsung’s 4.4 in Q4, 2014.

17.Bihar government has decided to provide free education to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and girl students till Post Graduation (PG) level in the state.
This decision was taken at the state cabinet meeting headed by Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi.
Now no fee will be taken from the SC/ST and girl students at the time of admission in government universities and colleges in state.
State government will reimburse the financial loss to such universities/colleges after admitting students as per this decision.
The move will cost the State exchequer Rs. 29 crore annually and benefit over four lakh students belonging to the three categories in the State.

18. India’s Dr. Zakir A. Naik has won the prestigious 2015 King Faisal International Prize (KFIP) in category of Service to Islam.
It was announced by Makkah Governor Prince Khaled Al-Faisal and KFIP Secretary-General Abdullah Al-Othaimeen.

19. Indian Journalist-writer Hindol Sengupta’s book Recasting India: How Entrepreneurship is Revolutionizing the World’s Largest Democracy, has been shortlisted for the U.S.’ prestigious Hayek Prize, 2015.

20.Members of Parliament (MPs) in United Kingdom (UK) have voted to legalise law for creation of three-parent IVF designer babies using Mitochondrial Donation Technique.
In this regard, MPs in House of Commons during free vote, voted in favour of amendment bill to amend Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, 1990 by 382 to 128 votes.
With this historic move, UK is now set to become the first country to introduce law to allow the creation of babies from three people. Now this amendment bill needs to be passed in House of Lords.
What is Mitochondrial Donation Technique?
It uses a modified version of In vitro fertilisation (IVF) to combine the DNA of the two parents with the healthy mitochondria of a donor woman. This technique was first pioneered by scientists at Newcastle University, UK.
This technique involves addition of healthy mitochondria from donor women to an egg from other women with defective mitochondria. Then it is fertilized with man’s sperm.
In this process, healthy mitochondria is passed to a child from the mother.
Advantage: It does not allow passage of defective mitochondria from mother to babies. Thus, preventing new born babies from brain damage, muscle wasting, heart failure and blindness due to defective mitochondria.
Mitochondria: It is a tiny compartment inside cell within the body that converts food in usable energy. It is also called as the powerhouse of the cell.

21.As per United Nations Conference of Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report, China has overtaken the United States (US) as the top destination for foreign direct investment (FDI).
US was on top as foreign investment destination for past 11 years i.e. since 2003.

22. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its monetary policy review has enhanced the limit for foreign exchange (FOREX) remittances under Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) to $250,000 (Rs. 1.5 crore) per person per year.
This limit was doubled compared to earlier limit of $125,000 per person per year.

23. Acclaimed Indian sculptor and artist Mrinalini Mukherjee has passed away in New Delhi. She was 65.
She was best known for her sculptures, crafted using knotted hemp ropes and cast bronzes.

24.Dr.Nandita Chatterjee has taken charge as the new Secretary in the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA).
She will succeed Anita Agnihotri who was transferred to the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment in recent secretary-level bureaucratic reshuffle.
Prior to this appointment Dr.Nandita Chatterjee was a Member-Secretary of National Commission for Women (NCW).

25. Madhya Pradesh has been awarded the 10th national award for excellent work in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA).
Union Rural Development Minister Virendra Singh presented the award to state’s Panchayats and Rural Development Minister Gopal Bhargava at the MGNREGA summit held on the occasion of MNREGA Divas (observed on 2 February) in New Delhi.
Madhya Pradesh was chosen for this award for convergence of MGNREGA scheme and other schemes, which led to permanent construction of assets and providing opportunities for earning permanent income.
About Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
MGNREGA is social security measure that aims to guarantee the right to work and create durable assets (such as roads, canals, ponds, wells).
Objective: To ensure livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
Initially, it was started in 200 districts on 2 February 2006, since then it has covered all the districts of India from April 2008.

26. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced sixth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement.
In its bi-monthly monetary policy statement, RBI has not changed its main lending rate i.e.Repo Rate and cash reserve ratio (CRR). But changed statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) of scheduled commercial banks.
On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation, RBI has been decided to:
Repo rate- kept the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 7.75 per cent.
Cash reserve ratio (CRR) - kept the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks unchanged at 4.0 per cent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL).
Statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) - reduced the SLR of scheduled commercial banks by 50 basis points from 22.0 per cent to 21.5 per cent of their NDTL.
Reverse repo rate under the LAF – remains unchanged at 6.75 per cent.
Marginal standing facility (MSF) rate- remains unchanged at 8.75 per cent.
Bank Rate – remains unchanged at 8.75 per cent.
Earlier on 15 January 2015, RBI had changed repo rate by 25 basis points from 8.0 percent to 7.75 percent.
Statutory Liquidity Ratio: SLR refers to the proportion of its total NDTL that the bank has to maintain in form of liquid assets. These liquid assets can either be cash or gold or unencumbered government securities. This directly affects the proportion of funds that the bank can lend.

27.Russia, India and China have called for an early conclusion of negotiations on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the RIC Forum held in Beijing.
In this regard, a joint communiqué was issued by 3 nations in the 13th trilateral meeting of foreign ministers, under this forum.
India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Chinese foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian foreign Minister Sergey Levrov had participated in the meeting.
Key highlights of RIC Forum
Condemned terrorism- Participating countries strongly condemned terrorism in all forms. They even mentioned that there can be no ideological, political, racial, ethnic or any other justification for acts of terrorism.
Join efforts to combat terrorism- Ministers affirmed the need for all countries to join efforts in combating terrorism under the auspices of United Nations.
Support to India- Russia and China supported India’s aspiration to play a greater role in the United Nations. They also welcomed India’s application for full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
Economic front- All members expressed their support for the forthcoming WTO 10th Ministerial conference in December 2015, to expand their cooperation in several areas including agriculture, medical services and disaster relief.
Other Issues- They also discussed various issues including efforts to counter the threat of use of information and communication technologies for military and terrorism purposes, preventing arms race in outer space, solution to Iranian nuclear issue, latest developments in Syria, Israel- Palestine conflict and current crisis in Ukraine.
The next trilateral meeting of the RIC Forum will be held in Russia later in 2015.

28.Every year World wetland day (WWD) is observed on 2 February.
The theme for the world wetland day 2015 is Wetlands for our future.
Significance of Day
This day marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands also called as Ramsar Convention on 2 February 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar.
Each year on this day government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGO’s), and groups of citizens at all levels of the community raise public awareness of wetland values and their benefits. They also spread awareness about Ramsar Convention in particular.
Background
For first time, WWD was celebrated in year 1997 and since then it is observed every year. The theme for the world wetland day 2014 was Wetlands and Agriculture.
Some facts
Currently there are 2,186 wetlands of international importance sites under the Ramsar Convention known as Ramsar Sites covering around 208,449,277 hectares km².
The maximum Ramsar sites are located in UK i.e. 168.
The largest area covered by the Ramsar sites is in Canada.
The number of parties to the Ramsar Convention is 168.
Ramsar Sites in India are 26 (as of September 2012).

29. Pakistan has conducted a successful flight test of the indigenously developed Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) Ra’ad.

30. Anish Aggarwal has taken charge as Director (Pipelines) at nation’s largest oil refining and marketing company, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
Previously, he was Executive Director (Operations) at the IOC’s Pipelines Division.

31. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has launched Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite to observe soil moisture.
It was launched from the Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

32. Wildlife SOS in collaboration with Uttar Pradesh (UP) Forest Department and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is launching Jackal Research & Translocation Project in UP. Under this project, study and translocation of 30-35 wild jackals from Akbar’s Tomb in Sikandra, Agra to safe natural habitat will be undertaken

33.India’s 1st solar fenced elephant sanctuary will come up near Bengaluru, Karnataka.
It was announced by an international animal rights and conservation group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
In this regard, PETA and the Bannerghatta Biological Park, Karnataka have joined hands.
Key facts about solar fenced elephant sanctuary
Its main objective is to allow elephants in this park to move around freely within the secure area to curb man- animal conflicts in this area.
It will cover 49.5 hectare area within the Biological Park which is an extension of the Bannerghatta National Park.
Designed by the PETA consultant and elephant expert Carol Buckley and basically includes solar electric fence and a state-of-the-art emergency corral made of steel pipes.
Local caregivers will be also trained on the principles of protected contact. It will allow safe interaction between human beings and elephants by keeping them separated by a barrier.
It will also replace age-old routine of physical punishment techniques to manage the elephants, by positive reinforcement techniques.

34. Germany’s former President Richard von Weizsaecker has passed away on 31 January 2015. He was 94.

35. Renowned chemist Carl Djerassi has passed away in San Francisco, United States (US). He was 91.
He was famously known as the father of the birth control pills for his contribution to the development of oral contraceptive birth pills.In 1951, he had led a research team in Mexico City that developed a synthetic molecule norethindrone- a key component of the first birth control pill.

36. Leander Peas and his Swiss teammate Martina Hingis have won 2015 Australian Open mixed doubles title.
In the final they defeated Canadian-French team of Daniel Nestor and Kristina Mladenovic, in straight sets, 6-4 and 6-3.
This is their first Grand Slam of the season. With this win Leander Paes clinched his 15th Grand Slam title.

37. T Suvarna Raju has taken charge as chairman of state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

38. Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena has appointed Kanagasabapathy J Sripavan as Chief Justice.
K Sripavan an ethnic-Tamil took oath as the 44th Chief Justice and replaces Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, who had resigned a day after she was reinstated.
He is second Tamil to hold be Chief Justice. The last Tamil chief justice was Herbert Thambiah, who left the position in 1991.

39. Italy’s parliament has elected constitutional court judge Sergio Mattarella as the country’s president.
He will Italy’s 12th president and succeed Giorgio Napolitano who had resigned earlier in January 2015 citing reason of poor health before his 2020 expiry term.

40. Union Government has released set of three Commemorative Postage Stamps on Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission).
This set of 3 stamps was released by Union Ministry for Communications & Information Technology and issued by Department of Posts.
These stamps were released to in order to achieve the vision of Clean and Healthy India.
Department of Posts has selected the design for the stamps through a competition among the children on the theme of Swachh Bharat Mission.
Swachh Bharat Mission
It was launched by the Prime Minister on the 2nd October, 2014 on the occasion of Birth Anniversary of Father of the Nation- Mahatma Gandhi.
This mission seeks to achieve Clean India and aims to provide access to toilets to all households in the country.
It also seeks to provide adequate arrangements for Solid and Liquid Waste Management.

41. Serena Williams of United States has won Australian Open 2015 Women’s Singles title.
In the finals she defeated Russia’s Maria Sharapova by score of 6-3, 7-6, 7-5.
With this win Serena Williams has won 6th Australian Open title and 19th Grand Slam title.
Serena Williams
Currently she is ranked No. 1 in women’s singles tennis.
She also has won 4 Olympic gold medals, 1 in women’s singles and 3 in women’s doubles.

42. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted a high-powered panel on urban cooperative banks (UCB).
It will be headed by RBI Deputy Governor R Gandhi and comprise of eight member who will be experienced bankers. They will submit its report within three months from the date of its first meeting.
This high-powered panel will re-examine and recommend appropriate set of businesses, size, conversion and licensing terms for the UCB sector.

43. Senior IPS officer Krishna Chaudhary has been appointed the new Director General (DG) of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

44. Gujarat government has launched Taluka Planning Atlas (TPA) project.
It was launched by Chief Minister Anandiben Patel at a function held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

45. Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has been appointed as Chairman of African Union (AU).
He will be 13th Chairman of African Union (AU) and succeed Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz for a one-year term. The position of chairman of the AU is a rotating one on yearly basis and largely ceremonial.
Robert Mugabe: He has ruled Zimbabwe since independence. He is Zimbabwe’s longest serving President and had assumed office in December 1987. Currently, he is also chairman of the 15-nation Southern African Development Community.
African Union (AU)
It is the successor of Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and came into existence in 2002 at Durban summit in South Africa.
Headquarters: It is located at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Motto: A United and Strong Africa.
Objective: As pan-African organization, AU aims at promoting unity and cooperation among African nations. It also strives to spread democracy and good governance in the continent.
Members: At present the African Union has a total of 54 members. Morocco is the only African country which is not the part of the Union.

46.Former DRDO chief Vijay Kumar Saraswat has taken charge as full time-member of National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog.

47. India’s online restaurant search and discovery service provider Zomato has announced the acquisition of Turkey’s restaurant search company Mekanist.