Current Affairs 27/6/13 to 3/7/13
Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 12:29 pm
1.Election Commission directs all State district collectors to set up district level panels to monitor paid news.
In the wake of increasing incidence of paid news and upcoming Rajasthan Assembly polls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed all State district collectors to set up district-level Media Certification and Monitoring Committee. ECI has also recommended an amendment to the Representation of People’s Act, 1951, to include paid news as a corrupt practice.
What will be the role of the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee?
The Media Certification and Monitoring Committee is part of a three-tier apparatus — at the District, State and Central level. The Committee will be engaged in suo motu as well as complaint-based monitoring of paid news. If it is established that a candidate has paid for news, the amount paid will be included in his/her election expenditure and he/she will have to furnish this expenditure to the returning officer within 30 days of the elections.
2.India-Russia talks cut no ice on nuclear liability:
No progress could be made b/w India and Russia on the issue of nuclear liability. The talks were held b/w Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chief R.K. Sinha and Russia’s nuclear corporation Rosatom head, Sergei Kiriyenko.
3.India to host 2016 World T20 and 2023 ODI World Cup
As per the announcement made by the International Cricket Council (ICC), India will host the World T20 in 2016 and the 50-over World Cup in 2023.
The Champions Trophy, the last edition of which was won by India recently has been replaced with World Test Championship,the first edition of which will be held in England and Wales in June-July 2017. India will host its 2nd edition in February-March 2021.
4.Najeeb Jung appointed as new Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi
President Pranab Mukherjee appointed Najeeb Jung (62), former Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, as the new Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi. He will replace Tejendra Khanna.
Mr. Jung had joined the Indian Administrative Services in 1973 and served at various positions at the Centre and Madhya Pradesh. He had quit IAS after serving as Joint Secretary (Exploration) in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Other Key Appointments:
Former Delhi Police commissioner K K Paul appointed as Meghalaya governor replacing Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary.
Punjab Congress chief Virendra Kataria has been appointed as LG of Puducherry succeeding Iqbal Singh.
Lt Gen (retired) A K Singh replaced Lt Gen (retired) Bhopinder Singh as LG of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
5. Supreme Court: If a cheque from joint a/c bounces, liability is on person signing cheque
The Supreme Court has held that in case of issuance of cheque from joint accounts, only the person who signs the cheque can be prosecuted in a cheque bouncing case under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.
6.ISRO successfully launches IRNSS-1A: India’s first navigation satellite
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully launched IRNSS-1A on PSLV C 22 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. It was for the first time ISRO has launched an India satellite at almost midnight taking into account the orbit and inclination at which the satellite will be injected into the space and the season of launch. Total seven satellites of the IRNSS constellation will be launched and the full constellation will be up during 2014 timeframe. The entire IRNSS satellite constellation will compromise of three satellites geostationary orbits and four in inclined geosynchronous orbits, of which IRNSS-1A is the first one.
Factbox: IRNSS-1A
IRNSS expands to Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System.
India’s first dedicated Indian Navigation Satellite System and has a life span of around 10 years.
Placed in an inclined geosynchronous orbit at 55 degree East longitude with an inclined orbit of 29 degrees with respect to the equator.
Positioned at 36,000 Kms altitude.
It is intended to provide terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation services and help in disaster and fleet management.
To provide accurate position information service for terrestrial (cars, goods transport, buses) aerial (flights) and maritime (shipping) navigation for users in India as well as neighbouring regions extending up to 1,500 km from India’s borders/boundaries, which will be its primary service area.
It will provide two types of services:
Standard Positioning Service (SPS) for all users
Restricted Service (RS), an encrypted service provided only to authorized users.
Applications of IRNSS:
Terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation, disaster management, vehicle tracking and fleet management, integration with mobile phones, precise timing, mapping and geodetic data capture, terrestrial navigation aid for hikers and travelers, and visual and voice navigation for drivers.
7.Indian Navy inducts INS Trikand (F51)
Indian Navy has further expanded it arsenal by inducting Russian built guided-missile stealth frigate INS Trikand. It is the last of the six stealth frigates ordered from Russia. The Navy had earlier inducted three 4,000-tonne Talwar-class stealth frigates ( Talwar, Trishul and Tabar) from Russia in 2003-2004. India went on to buy another three (Teg, Tarkash and Trikand) under a $1.15 billion contract inked in 2006.
8.In a remarkable decision intended to prevent cruelty to animals, India has decided to ban the testing of cosmetics and its ingredients on animals. This has made India the first country in South Asia to impose such a ban.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Cosmetics Sectional Committee, chaired by the Drugs Controller General of India and is in line with the European Union’s stand. The step follows appeals from various quarters, including that from the National Advisory Council Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and campaigner for animal rights Maneka Gandhi and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), to prevent cruelty to animals.
9.Government to set up 51 low-cost airports
The Union government has decided to construct 51 new low-cost airports to provide fillip to civil aviation sector and enhance air connectivity to Tier-II and Tier-III cities. Apart from the low-cost airports, the government has decided grant new international airport status to Bhubaneswar and Imphal at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore.
The 51 cities which have been chosen for the project are:
Andhra Pradesh: Vijayawada, Nellore, Kurnool, Kadapa, Nizamabad, Tirupati, Anantapur and Karimnagar
Jharkhand: Dhanbad, Bokaro and Hazaribagh
Bihar: Muzaffarpur, Chapra and Sasaram
Punjab: Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Firozpur
Uttar Pradesh: Agra, Allahabad, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Meerut, Aligarh, Bijnor, Muzaffarnagar and Azamgarh
Arunachal Pradesh: Tezu, Bomdila and Along
Assam: Silchar, Jorhat and Tezpur
Madhya Pradesh: Gwalior, Singrauli, Burhanpur, Khandwa, Jabalpur, Sidhi and Shahdol
Rajasthan: Ajmer, Kota, Bhilwada and Alwar
Maharashtra: Kolhapur, Nasik, Jalgaon, Solapur and Amarawati
Odisha: Brahmpur, Rourkela and Kendujhar
10.The U.S. space agency NASA launched a satellite to uncover the secrets of the Sun’s lower atmosphere. NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) was launched aboard an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket off the California coast.
11.The leaders of the European Union have agreed to open membership negotiations with Serbia by January at the latest, in acknowledgment of its efforts to improve ties with seceded Kosovo. The step indicates EU inclination toward embracing once-troubled countries in the Balkans.
Presidents and Prime Ministers from the 27 EU nations also welcomed Croatia’s upcoming accession as the bloc’s 28th member. In the two-day summit held in Brussels the EU agreed on seven-year, €960-billion budget. The EU leaders also announced negotiations for closer relations with Kosovo, a possible step on the way to membership talks.
12.India and United Kingdom have decided to collaborate to develop the Bangalore-Mumbai Economic Corridor (BMEC)project in close association with private companies from Britain.
13.RBI gives nod to Muthoot Finance to set up White Label ATMs
Indian gold loan company Muthoot Finance Ltd has obtained the RBI’s in-principle approval to set up the white label ATMs,as the government seeks to take financial services to the remote regions of the country.
What are White Label ATMs?
ATMs set up and run by non-banking entities are called White Label ATMs (WLAs). Earlier, only banks were allowed to establish and operate ATMs. RBI had allowed the company under the guidelines it released in June 2012 which set certain minimum net worth and obligation for permitting independent non-banking firms to operate such ATMs, as per three different schemes.
14.Train service linking Banihal in Jammu to Qazigund in Kashmir launched
PM Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi flagged off the first train connecting Banihal in Jammu region with Qazigund in Kashmir Valley.
It was the first train to pass through 11 km tunnel through Pir Panchal Range.
About Banihal-Qazigund Rail Service:
The 18-km Banihal-Qazigund section, which includes an 11-km long Pir Panchal Range tunnel, the country’s longest, reduces the 35 km distance to 18 km. It has been constructed at a cost of Rs 1,691 crore. The Udhampur-Banihal section is expected to be completed by 2017 connecting the Valley to the rest of the country round-the-year without any hindrance. The Banihal-Baramulla -Banihal train will make five trips daily beginning from June 27, 2013.
Train service is already operational within Kashmir Valley on the 118-km-long route b/w Qazigund and Baramulla in north Kashmir.
Pir Panchal Tunnel:
It is 11-km tunnel b/w tunnel Banihal-Qazigund section. It is the longest tunnel in the country and has been constructed using New Austrian Tunnelling Method, which has been used for the first time on such a large scale in India.
15.US secretary of state John Kerry reached out to India over the Uttarakhand disaster on Sunday as the US announced $150,000 through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to non-governmental organizations working in the most-affected areas.
16.As per the World Investment Report 2013 by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), India is world’s third most attractive destination for investment by Transnational Corporations (TNCs) during 2013-15. In the survey based on responses of 159 companies, India has been positioned after China and United States. Thus India has retained its previous ranking. As per UNCTAD the top five countries in attracting FDI are:
China
United States
India
Indonesia
Brazil
17.The Indian rupee today ranked by a massive 105 points to close at a historic low of 60.71 against the dollar. The Indian Rupee declined below the 60 mark breaking the previous record low of 59.98 hit.
18.The former PM of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani has been excluded from the government and has been replaced with the former minister of state for internal affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani as announced by country’s new Emir who recently ascended to the throne after the previous Emir transferred the power to his son Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim.
19.Tata Motors’ small car Nano has entered into the Guinness World Records for driving on a longest journey by circumnavigatingthe entire country. The expedition was complete in 10 days driving 10,218 km in a Tata Nano from Kanyakumari in southern Tamil Nadu to circumnavigate the country and return to Bangalore. The car broke the previous record of 8,046 km.
The expedition was accomplished by motoring enthusiast Srikarunya Subrahmanyam and his team.
20.The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has banned the sale of three widely popular medicines - painkiller Analgin, anti-diabetes drug Pioglitazone and anti-depressant Deanxit in the wake of health adversities associated with these drugs.
What is the reason behind the ban?
Under the Drugs and Cosmetic Act 30-B, sale of any drug, the use of which is prohibited in the country of origin, is banned in India until clinical data substantiate that it is risk free.
21.Kevin Rudd has been sworn in as Prime Minister of Australia. He ousted the incumbent Julia Gillard as leader of the Labor Party. The leadership change comes ahead of an election scheduled in September 2013.
22.Ramnik Narsey has been appointed as the interim head of U.S.-based retail giant Wal-Mart for its India operations as its head of Indian business Raj Jain has left the company.
23.“Kirobo” : World’s first talking robot-astronaut ready to take off
Japanese have developed the world’s first robot-astronaut that can communicate with humans. It will be launched to International Space Station (ISS) from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Tanegashima Space Center atop H-IIB rocket on August 4, 2013.
24.The proposal of IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) to take over NYSE-Euronext for $8.2 billion has been approved by the European Commission which said that the two were not direct competitors in most markets and would continue to face strong competition from other exchanges.
ICE, based in Atlanta, Georgia, is best known as a commodities marketplace.
25.The US based chipmaker Intel has launched its fourth generation core processor which the company claims will reinvent personal computing with longer battery life, more advanced graphics and new usages in devices like tablets and ultra-books. PC makers such as Acer, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo are in the process of launching products with the latest Intel processor.
Special features:
Provide foundation for computing in two-in-one devices, which work as a PC and can also serve as a tablet.
Can deliver upto 15% better performance than the previous generation, while consuming lower amounts of power.
Make every day computing to be about two times faster, helps systems wake up around eight times faster and allows users to edit and share HD video about 20 times faster, than a similar 4-year-old computer.
PC makers such as Acer, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo are in the process of launching products with the latest Intel processor.
26.Following the MoU signed during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit-2013, for a gas monitoring system b/w Gujarat Info Petro Ltd, a subsidiary of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation and Cason Engineering Plc, Hungary, both have inked a pact in pursuant to the same.Cason brings with it experience in developing, manufacturing and implementing systems for gas distribution network monitoring. It will share its expertise with the Indian company to provide automation services for gas and oil companies in India. The joint technical solutions generate easy and fast accessibility to the latest leading technologies for the rapidly developing city gas distributor industry.
27. 4th generation core processors launched by Intel
The US based chipmaker Intel has launched its fourth generation core processor which the company claims will reinvent personal computing with longer battery life, more advanced graphics and new usages in devices like tablets and ultra-books. PC makers such as Acer, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo are in the process of launching products with the latest Intel processor.
Special features:
Provide foundation for computing in two-in-one devices, which work as a PC and can also serve as a tablet.
Can deliver upto 15% better performance than the previous generation, while consuming lower amounts of power.
Make every day computing to be about two times faster, helps systems wake up around eight times faster and allows users to edit and share HD video about 20 times faster, than a similar 4-year-old computer.
PC makers such as Acer, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo are in the process of launching products with the latest Intel processor.
28.SEBI tightens buyback rules:
SEBI has released new buyback norms and a number of other market friendly measures.
Under the new rules:
It is mandatory for companies selling shares to purchase at least 50% of the offer size. If they fail to do so, the amount in the escrow account will be forfeited, subject to a maximum of 2.5% of the total amount earmarked.
Companies will have to create an escrow account towards security for performance equivalent to at least 25% of the amount earmarked for buyback.
Companies are prohibited to come out with another buyback offer within one year from the date of closure of the preceding offer, and the promoters of the company are not allowed to execute any transaction, either on-market or off-market, during the buyback period.
Maximum buyback period has been reduced to 6 months from current 12 months.
Start-ups and SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) can be listed in Institutional Trading Platform (ITP) without making an Initial Public Offering (IPO). However, these companies in ITP will be able to raise capital only from investors such as Angel Investors, VCFs (Venture Capital Funds) and PEs (Private Equities). They will not be permitted to raise capital. However, they can continue to make private placements.
Incorporating the recommendations of the K. M. Chandrasekhar Committee on ‘Rationalisation of investment routes and monitoring of foreign portfolio investments’ to simplify the norms for foreign institutional investors, SEBI has relaxed entry rules for offshore portfolio investors to attract more foreign capital into the country at a time of currency weakness and worries over a record high current account deficit.
Foreign investors will now be permitted to trade in Indian stocks without any prior registration with SEBI.
Foreign Portfolio Investors: Different categories of investors like Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), sub-accounts (or an investment vehicle) and Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs) have been clubbed under a new category called Foreign Portfolio Investor (or FPI).
29.India, Hungary sign pact for ‘Gas Monitoring System’
Following the MoU signed during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit-2013, for a gas monitoring system b/w Gujarat Info Petro Ltd, a subsidiary of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation and Cason Engineering Plc, Hungary, both have inked a pact in pursuant to the same.
How would this pact help?
Cason brings with it experience in developing, manufacturing and implementing systems for gas distribution network monitoring. It will share its expertise with the Indian company to provide automation services for gas and oil companies in India. The joint technical solutions generate easy and fast accessibility to the latest leading technologies for the rapidly developing city gas distributor industry.
What are the advantages of Gas Monitoring System?
The key benefits are:
To provide tool to control the procurement and sales procedures of daily purchased gas volume and to provide access for stakeholders to the relevant daily business data with technology reports and alarms via Web-based applications.
It will also provide a pipeline monitoring system and leak detection to leading oil pipeline operators to reduce the number of accidents and incidences such as thefts and pilferages caused by third parties in the pipelines.
To provide solutions for disaster management and security issues of cross-country pipelines.
30.Oprah Winfrey leads the list of Forbes Most Powerful Celebrities
World famous talk show host Oprah Winfrey has been assigned the top spot in the Forbes’ annual Celebrity 100 ranking of the most powerful celebrities. She leads a female-dominated top 10 that includes Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Madonna, Taylor Swift and Ellen DeGeneres.
As per the rankings of Most Powerful Celebrities:
Oprah Winfrey
Lady Gaga
Steven Spielberg
Beyonce Knowles
Madonna
Taylor Swift
Bon Jovi
Roger Federer
Justin Bieber
Ellen DeGeneres
31.In a bid to attract a larger number of foreign investors to Indian capital markets, SEBI approved a slew of changes. Among the major changes are simplification of registration and compliance requirements for foreign investors.
As per new measures:
A new category Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) has been approved; it blends various classes of investors such as FIIs, their Sub Accounts and Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs) to set up a simplified and uniform set of entry norms for them.
Recommendations of K M Chandrasekhar Committee on Rationalisation of Investment Routes and Monitoring of Foreign Portfolio Investments’.
32.The Shenzhou 10 spacecraft (China’s 5th manned space mission since 2003) with its three astronauts touched down safely in north China’s Inner Mongolia after a successful 15-day mission in which they completed the final trial docking with the Tiangong (Heavenly Palace) 1 (an experimental manned laboratory in space), critical in Beijing’s quest to build a working space station by 2020.
33.The government has announced the sale of 1.44% ‘Inflation-Indexed government stock 2023’ for a notified amount of Rs.1,000 crore through price-based auction on June 25, 2013. The results of the auction, to be conducted using the uniform price method by the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai, will be announced on the same day.
34.Both competitive and non-competitive bids for the auction are to be submitted in electronic format on RBI’s Core Banking Solution (e-Kuber) system.
What are IIBs?
Inflation-Indexed Bonds or IIBs are are bonds where the principal is indexed to inflation. They are thus designed to cut out the inflation risk of an investment. These bonds will be linked to the inflation index of the country (Wholesale Price Index or WPI) and serve as a better investment option as compared to physical assets like real estate and gold. Higher the inflation, higher the returns.
In the wake of increasing incidence of paid news and upcoming Rajasthan Assembly polls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed all State district collectors to set up district-level Media Certification and Monitoring Committee. ECI has also recommended an amendment to the Representation of People’s Act, 1951, to include paid news as a corrupt practice.
What will be the role of the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee?
The Media Certification and Monitoring Committee is part of a three-tier apparatus — at the District, State and Central level. The Committee will be engaged in suo motu as well as complaint-based monitoring of paid news. If it is established that a candidate has paid for news, the amount paid will be included in his/her election expenditure and he/she will have to furnish this expenditure to the returning officer within 30 days of the elections.
2.India-Russia talks cut no ice on nuclear liability:
No progress could be made b/w India and Russia on the issue of nuclear liability. The talks were held b/w Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chief R.K. Sinha and Russia’s nuclear corporation Rosatom head, Sergei Kiriyenko.
3.India to host 2016 World T20 and 2023 ODI World Cup
As per the announcement made by the International Cricket Council (ICC), India will host the World T20 in 2016 and the 50-over World Cup in 2023.
The Champions Trophy, the last edition of which was won by India recently has been replaced with World Test Championship,the first edition of which will be held in England and Wales in June-July 2017. India will host its 2nd edition in February-March 2021.
4.Najeeb Jung appointed as new Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi
President Pranab Mukherjee appointed Najeeb Jung (62), former Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, as the new Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi. He will replace Tejendra Khanna.
Mr. Jung had joined the Indian Administrative Services in 1973 and served at various positions at the Centre and Madhya Pradesh. He had quit IAS after serving as Joint Secretary (Exploration) in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Other Key Appointments:
Former Delhi Police commissioner K K Paul appointed as Meghalaya governor replacing Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary.
Punjab Congress chief Virendra Kataria has been appointed as LG of Puducherry succeeding Iqbal Singh.
Lt Gen (retired) A K Singh replaced Lt Gen (retired) Bhopinder Singh as LG of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
5. Supreme Court: If a cheque from joint a/c bounces, liability is on person signing cheque
The Supreme Court has held that in case of issuance of cheque from joint accounts, only the person who signs the cheque can be prosecuted in a cheque bouncing case under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.
6.ISRO successfully launches IRNSS-1A: India’s first navigation satellite
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully launched IRNSS-1A on PSLV C 22 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. It was for the first time ISRO has launched an India satellite at almost midnight taking into account the orbit and inclination at which the satellite will be injected into the space and the season of launch. Total seven satellites of the IRNSS constellation will be launched and the full constellation will be up during 2014 timeframe. The entire IRNSS satellite constellation will compromise of three satellites geostationary orbits and four in inclined geosynchronous orbits, of which IRNSS-1A is the first one.
Factbox: IRNSS-1A
IRNSS expands to Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System.
India’s first dedicated Indian Navigation Satellite System and has a life span of around 10 years.
Placed in an inclined geosynchronous orbit at 55 degree East longitude with an inclined orbit of 29 degrees with respect to the equator.
Positioned at 36,000 Kms altitude.
It is intended to provide terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation services and help in disaster and fleet management.
To provide accurate position information service for terrestrial (cars, goods transport, buses) aerial (flights) and maritime (shipping) navigation for users in India as well as neighbouring regions extending up to 1,500 km from India’s borders/boundaries, which will be its primary service area.
It will provide two types of services:
Standard Positioning Service (SPS) for all users
Restricted Service (RS), an encrypted service provided only to authorized users.
Applications of IRNSS:
Terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation, disaster management, vehicle tracking and fleet management, integration with mobile phones, precise timing, mapping and geodetic data capture, terrestrial navigation aid for hikers and travelers, and visual and voice navigation for drivers.
7.Indian Navy inducts INS Trikand (F51)
Indian Navy has further expanded it arsenal by inducting Russian built guided-missile stealth frigate INS Trikand. It is the last of the six stealth frigates ordered from Russia. The Navy had earlier inducted three 4,000-tonne Talwar-class stealth frigates ( Talwar, Trishul and Tabar) from Russia in 2003-2004. India went on to buy another three (Teg, Tarkash and Trikand) under a $1.15 billion contract inked in 2006.
8.In a remarkable decision intended to prevent cruelty to animals, India has decided to ban the testing of cosmetics and its ingredients on animals. This has made India the first country in South Asia to impose such a ban.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Cosmetics Sectional Committee, chaired by the Drugs Controller General of India and is in line with the European Union’s stand. The step follows appeals from various quarters, including that from the National Advisory Council Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and campaigner for animal rights Maneka Gandhi and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), to prevent cruelty to animals.
9.Government to set up 51 low-cost airports
The Union government has decided to construct 51 new low-cost airports to provide fillip to civil aviation sector and enhance air connectivity to Tier-II and Tier-III cities. Apart from the low-cost airports, the government has decided grant new international airport status to Bhubaneswar and Imphal at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore.
The 51 cities which have been chosen for the project are:
Andhra Pradesh: Vijayawada, Nellore, Kurnool, Kadapa, Nizamabad, Tirupati, Anantapur and Karimnagar
Jharkhand: Dhanbad, Bokaro and Hazaribagh
Bihar: Muzaffarpur, Chapra and Sasaram
Punjab: Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Firozpur
Uttar Pradesh: Agra, Allahabad, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Meerut, Aligarh, Bijnor, Muzaffarnagar and Azamgarh
Arunachal Pradesh: Tezu, Bomdila and Along
Assam: Silchar, Jorhat and Tezpur
Madhya Pradesh: Gwalior, Singrauli, Burhanpur, Khandwa, Jabalpur, Sidhi and Shahdol
Rajasthan: Ajmer, Kota, Bhilwada and Alwar
Maharashtra: Kolhapur, Nasik, Jalgaon, Solapur and Amarawati
Odisha: Brahmpur, Rourkela and Kendujhar
10.The U.S. space agency NASA launched a satellite to uncover the secrets of the Sun’s lower atmosphere. NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) was launched aboard an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket off the California coast.
11.The leaders of the European Union have agreed to open membership negotiations with Serbia by January at the latest, in acknowledgment of its efforts to improve ties with seceded Kosovo. The step indicates EU inclination toward embracing once-troubled countries in the Balkans.
Presidents and Prime Ministers from the 27 EU nations also welcomed Croatia’s upcoming accession as the bloc’s 28th member. In the two-day summit held in Brussels the EU agreed on seven-year, €960-billion budget. The EU leaders also announced negotiations for closer relations with Kosovo, a possible step on the way to membership talks.
12.India and United Kingdom have decided to collaborate to develop the Bangalore-Mumbai Economic Corridor (BMEC)project in close association with private companies from Britain.
13.RBI gives nod to Muthoot Finance to set up White Label ATMs
Indian gold loan company Muthoot Finance Ltd has obtained the RBI’s in-principle approval to set up the white label ATMs,as the government seeks to take financial services to the remote regions of the country.
What are White Label ATMs?
ATMs set up and run by non-banking entities are called White Label ATMs (WLAs). Earlier, only banks were allowed to establish and operate ATMs. RBI had allowed the company under the guidelines it released in June 2012 which set certain minimum net worth and obligation for permitting independent non-banking firms to operate such ATMs, as per three different schemes.
14.Train service linking Banihal in Jammu to Qazigund in Kashmir launched
PM Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi flagged off the first train connecting Banihal in Jammu region with Qazigund in Kashmir Valley.
It was the first train to pass through 11 km tunnel through Pir Panchal Range.
About Banihal-Qazigund Rail Service:
The 18-km Banihal-Qazigund section, which includes an 11-km long Pir Panchal Range tunnel, the country’s longest, reduces the 35 km distance to 18 km. It has been constructed at a cost of Rs 1,691 crore. The Udhampur-Banihal section is expected to be completed by 2017 connecting the Valley to the rest of the country round-the-year without any hindrance. The Banihal-Baramulla -Banihal train will make five trips daily beginning from June 27, 2013.
Train service is already operational within Kashmir Valley on the 118-km-long route b/w Qazigund and Baramulla in north Kashmir.
Pir Panchal Tunnel:
It is 11-km tunnel b/w tunnel Banihal-Qazigund section. It is the longest tunnel in the country and has been constructed using New Austrian Tunnelling Method, which has been used for the first time on such a large scale in India.
15.US secretary of state John Kerry reached out to India over the Uttarakhand disaster on Sunday as the US announced $150,000 through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to non-governmental organizations working in the most-affected areas.
16.As per the World Investment Report 2013 by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), India is world’s third most attractive destination for investment by Transnational Corporations (TNCs) during 2013-15. In the survey based on responses of 159 companies, India has been positioned after China and United States. Thus India has retained its previous ranking. As per UNCTAD the top five countries in attracting FDI are:
China
United States
India
Indonesia
Brazil
17.The Indian rupee today ranked by a massive 105 points to close at a historic low of 60.71 against the dollar. The Indian Rupee declined below the 60 mark breaking the previous record low of 59.98 hit.
18.The former PM of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani has been excluded from the government and has been replaced with the former minister of state for internal affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani as announced by country’s new Emir who recently ascended to the throne after the previous Emir transferred the power to his son Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim.
19.Tata Motors’ small car Nano has entered into the Guinness World Records for driving on a longest journey by circumnavigatingthe entire country. The expedition was complete in 10 days driving 10,218 km in a Tata Nano from Kanyakumari in southern Tamil Nadu to circumnavigate the country and return to Bangalore. The car broke the previous record of 8,046 km.
The expedition was accomplished by motoring enthusiast Srikarunya Subrahmanyam and his team.
20.The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has banned the sale of three widely popular medicines - painkiller Analgin, anti-diabetes drug Pioglitazone and anti-depressant Deanxit in the wake of health adversities associated with these drugs.
What is the reason behind the ban?
Under the Drugs and Cosmetic Act 30-B, sale of any drug, the use of which is prohibited in the country of origin, is banned in India until clinical data substantiate that it is risk free.
21.Kevin Rudd has been sworn in as Prime Minister of Australia. He ousted the incumbent Julia Gillard as leader of the Labor Party. The leadership change comes ahead of an election scheduled in September 2013.
22.Ramnik Narsey has been appointed as the interim head of U.S.-based retail giant Wal-Mart for its India operations as its head of Indian business Raj Jain has left the company.
23.“Kirobo” : World’s first talking robot-astronaut ready to take off
Japanese have developed the world’s first robot-astronaut that can communicate with humans. It will be launched to International Space Station (ISS) from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Tanegashima Space Center atop H-IIB rocket on August 4, 2013.
24.The proposal of IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) to take over NYSE-Euronext for $8.2 billion has been approved by the European Commission which said that the two were not direct competitors in most markets and would continue to face strong competition from other exchanges.
ICE, based in Atlanta, Georgia, is best known as a commodities marketplace.
25.The US based chipmaker Intel has launched its fourth generation core processor which the company claims will reinvent personal computing with longer battery life, more advanced graphics and new usages in devices like tablets and ultra-books. PC makers such as Acer, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo are in the process of launching products with the latest Intel processor.
Special features:
Provide foundation for computing in two-in-one devices, which work as a PC and can also serve as a tablet.
Can deliver upto 15% better performance than the previous generation, while consuming lower amounts of power.
Make every day computing to be about two times faster, helps systems wake up around eight times faster and allows users to edit and share HD video about 20 times faster, than a similar 4-year-old computer.
PC makers such as Acer, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo are in the process of launching products with the latest Intel processor.
26.Following the MoU signed during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit-2013, for a gas monitoring system b/w Gujarat Info Petro Ltd, a subsidiary of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation and Cason Engineering Plc, Hungary, both have inked a pact in pursuant to the same.Cason brings with it experience in developing, manufacturing and implementing systems for gas distribution network monitoring. It will share its expertise with the Indian company to provide automation services for gas and oil companies in India. The joint technical solutions generate easy and fast accessibility to the latest leading technologies for the rapidly developing city gas distributor industry.
27. 4th generation core processors launched by Intel
The US based chipmaker Intel has launched its fourth generation core processor which the company claims will reinvent personal computing with longer battery life, more advanced graphics and new usages in devices like tablets and ultra-books. PC makers such as Acer, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo are in the process of launching products with the latest Intel processor.
Special features:
Provide foundation for computing in two-in-one devices, which work as a PC and can also serve as a tablet.
Can deliver upto 15% better performance than the previous generation, while consuming lower amounts of power.
Make every day computing to be about two times faster, helps systems wake up around eight times faster and allows users to edit and share HD video about 20 times faster, than a similar 4-year-old computer.
PC makers such as Acer, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo are in the process of launching products with the latest Intel processor.
28.SEBI tightens buyback rules:
SEBI has released new buyback norms and a number of other market friendly measures.
Under the new rules:
It is mandatory for companies selling shares to purchase at least 50% of the offer size. If they fail to do so, the amount in the escrow account will be forfeited, subject to a maximum of 2.5% of the total amount earmarked.
Companies will have to create an escrow account towards security for performance equivalent to at least 25% of the amount earmarked for buyback.
Companies are prohibited to come out with another buyback offer within one year from the date of closure of the preceding offer, and the promoters of the company are not allowed to execute any transaction, either on-market or off-market, during the buyback period.
Maximum buyback period has been reduced to 6 months from current 12 months.
Start-ups and SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) can be listed in Institutional Trading Platform (ITP) without making an Initial Public Offering (IPO). However, these companies in ITP will be able to raise capital only from investors such as Angel Investors, VCFs (Venture Capital Funds) and PEs (Private Equities). They will not be permitted to raise capital. However, they can continue to make private placements.
Incorporating the recommendations of the K. M. Chandrasekhar Committee on ‘Rationalisation of investment routes and monitoring of foreign portfolio investments’ to simplify the norms for foreign institutional investors, SEBI has relaxed entry rules for offshore portfolio investors to attract more foreign capital into the country at a time of currency weakness and worries over a record high current account deficit.
Foreign investors will now be permitted to trade in Indian stocks without any prior registration with SEBI.
Foreign Portfolio Investors: Different categories of investors like Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), sub-accounts (or an investment vehicle) and Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs) have been clubbed under a new category called Foreign Portfolio Investor (or FPI).
29.India, Hungary sign pact for ‘Gas Monitoring System’
Following the MoU signed during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit-2013, for a gas monitoring system b/w Gujarat Info Petro Ltd, a subsidiary of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation and Cason Engineering Plc, Hungary, both have inked a pact in pursuant to the same.
How would this pact help?
Cason brings with it experience in developing, manufacturing and implementing systems for gas distribution network monitoring. It will share its expertise with the Indian company to provide automation services for gas and oil companies in India. The joint technical solutions generate easy and fast accessibility to the latest leading technologies for the rapidly developing city gas distributor industry.
What are the advantages of Gas Monitoring System?
The key benefits are:
To provide tool to control the procurement and sales procedures of daily purchased gas volume and to provide access for stakeholders to the relevant daily business data with technology reports and alarms via Web-based applications.
It will also provide a pipeline monitoring system and leak detection to leading oil pipeline operators to reduce the number of accidents and incidences such as thefts and pilferages caused by third parties in the pipelines.
To provide solutions for disaster management and security issues of cross-country pipelines.
30.Oprah Winfrey leads the list of Forbes Most Powerful Celebrities
World famous talk show host Oprah Winfrey has been assigned the top spot in the Forbes’ annual Celebrity 100 ranking of the most powerful celebrities. She leads a female-dominated top 10 that includes Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Madonna, Taylor Swift and Ellen DeGeneres.
As per the rankings of Most Powerful Celebrities:
Oprah Winfrey
Lady Gaga
Steven Spielberg
Beyonce Knowles
Madonna
Taylor Swift
Bon Jovi
Roger Federer
Justin Bieber
Ellen DeGeneres
31.In a bid to attract a larger number of foreign investors to Indian capital markets, SEBI approved a slew of changes. Among the major changes are simplification of registration and compliance requirements for foreign investors.
As per new measures:
A new category Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) has been approved; it blends various classes of investors such as FIIs, their Sub Accounts and Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs) to set up a simplified and uniform set of entry norms for them.
Recommendations of K M Chandrasekhar Committee on Rationalisation of Investment Routes and Monitoring of Foreign Portfolio Investments’.
32.The Shenzhou 10 spacecraft (China’s 5th manned space mission since 2003) with its three astronauts touched down safely in north China’s Inner Mongolia after a successful 15-day mission in which they completed the final trial docking with the Tiangong (Heavenly Palace) 1 (an experimental manned laboratory in space), critical in Beijing’s quest to build a working space station by 2020.
33.The government has announced the sale of 1.44% ‘Inflation-Indexed government stock 2023’ for a notified amount of Rs.1,000 crore through price-based auction on June 25, 2013. The results of the auction, to be conducted using the uniform price method by the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai, will be announced on the same day.
34.Both competitive and non-competitive bids for the auction are to be submitted in electronic format on RBI’s Core Banking Solution (e-Kuber) system.
What are IIBs?
Inflation-Indexed Bonds or IIBs are are bonds where the principal is indexed to inflation. They are thus designed to cut out the inflation risk of an investment. These bonds will be linked to the inflation index of the country (Wholesale Price Index or WPI) and serve as a better investment option as compared to physical assets like real estate and gold. Higher the inflation, higher the returns.