Current Affairs Today – December 28 2015

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• Current Affairs December 2015
• Current Affairs December Quiz 2015

INDIAN AFFAIRS

Microsoft’s Nadella inked pacts with Andhra Pradesh

Microsoft India signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Andhra Pradesh Government as a part of which former will provide technical knowledge to A.P. Government.
(Andhra Pradesh CM – N. Chandrababu Naidu)

• It was signed during the Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, visit to T-Hub, an incubation facility promoted by the Telangana government to support technology-enabled start-ups.

Gujarat govt planning to launch e-voting in panchayat polls

Gujarat government is planning to extend the e-voting facility to panchayat polls. At present, the e-voting facility is available only for voters of all the eight municipal corporations in the state.

• Voters of District, Taluka and Gram Panchayats are not given this facility yet.
• E-voting was introduced by Gujarat State Election Commission (SEC) for polling in six municipal corporations.
• Gujarat SEC has been the first in the country to allow online voting facility for voters of municipal corporation areas of the state.

This facility was first offered to voters in the year 2010. The recently concluded local body polls were the second election where voters were given the facility to vote online without coming to the polling booth by registering themselves with the SEC on their website and follow procedures.

Make in India Week’ to start from Feb 13

The manufacturing push ‘Make in India’ given by the Modi government will start in February next year in Mumbai.

• First flagship event of ‘Make in India’ to be held in India’s financial capital will feature sector-wise, state-wise pavilions, exhibitions of products and manufacturing processes, besides conference rooms and meeting lounges for B2B, G2B, G2G meetings.
• Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and trade body, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) are involved in the planning of the event that will see representations from global investors, states, export promotion councils, local trade bodies, buyers and union ministries.

Sectors covered under this programme:Automobile, auto components, aviation, defence manufacturing, leather, food processing, mining, oil and gas, ports and shipping, textiles and tourism and hospitality.

Prime Minister NarendraModi will inaugurate the event on 13 February.

• 14 February– CNN Asia Business Forum meeting
• 15 February-“Make in Mumbai” session and “Maharashtra Investor Summit”.
• 16 February– Gujarat Investor Summit, Andhra Pradesh Investor Summit
• 17 February– Make in India magazine will be launched

*What is MAKE IN INDIA Project?

Make in India is an initiative of the Government of Indialaunched by Prime Minister NarendraModi on 25 September 2014, to encourage companies to manufacture their products in India. The main objective of this campaign is to make country a manufacturing hub for domestic as well as foreign companies.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

China officially abandons its One Child Policy by passing law

China has passed a bill ending one-child policy.

Objective:To tackle an ageing population.

Newly-amended Law on Population and Family Planning:The state advocates that one couple shall be allowed to have two children.

• The move effectively ends the infamous one-child rule, which has been in force since 1971 when the Asian giant sought to curb population explosion.
• Couples have been limited to having a single child since 1979, an often brutally enforced rule intended to slow population growth and boost the economy.

Another Reason:The change in China’s family planning policy also comes against the backdrop of a shrinking workforce.

*Key points: China

• President& PM:   Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang
• Capital: Beijing
• Currency: Renminbi
• Largest city:Shanghai

BANKING & FINANCE

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu lead states pack in insurance penetration

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have retained their top two positions in terms of general insurance premium collection and penetration.

According to the data from General Insurance Council

*Key point:

Insurance penetration: Insurance penetration, measured as a percentage of premiums to a country’s gross domestic product(GDP)

ICICI Bank to sell rail tickets on website

ICICI Bank tied up with railway’s e-ticketing platform IRCTC to sell rail tickets through its website and will soon introduce the facility to book rail tickets on its mobile banking application and prepaid digital wallet.

Procedure:Users will have to first register on the website of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), where it primarily sells rail tickets, and then do a one-time registration on the bank’s website to avail of the facility.

• Facility is not limited to ICICI customers as any other bank’s customer can also use the facility.
• Payments for the purchases can be made using the online banking facility, debit or credit card of any bank.
• First time any bank is offering the tickets for sale on its website.
• Users can search for trains, book an e-ticket, cancel a reservation as well as check their PNR status among others.

*Key points:

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation(IRCTC) CEO, HQ:A.K. Manocha, Delhi

BUSINESS

Flipkart to sell cars and bikes online

Flipkart has started to sell cars and motorcycles online.

Signed with: Two local dealers

• KhivrajMotors for Bajaj motorcycles
• Kalyani Motors for Maruti Suzuki cars

Objective: To offer a higher range of products to customers and retain them within the platform.

This trend was started by Snapdealalso launched Snapdeal Motors, a platform for automobiles enabling online booking and loan approvals within two minutes of a vehicle purchase on the site.

Tied up with: Hero Motors and Piaggio to sell motorcycles and mini trucks on its platform.

Mahindra and Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki and Datsun to sell their vehicles on the site.

*Key Points:Flipkart

• CEO:SachinBansal
• Vice-president, business:Anil Goteti

Sandhar Technologies gets Sebi nod for IPO

SandharTechnologies(Automotive components firm) has got market regulator SEBI’s approval to raise Rs. 300 crore from an initial public offering.

The initial public offer (IPO) consists of

• Fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs. 300 crore
• Offer for sale of up to 51.15 lakh shares by GTI Capital Beta at a face value of Rs. 10 each.

Usage of funds from IPO: For setting up a new manufacturing facility at Hosur in Tamil Nadu, repayment/pre-payment in full or part of certain borrowings and general corporate purposes.

Book running lead managers:ICICI Securities, IDFC Securities, IIFL Holdings and Jefferies India. Shares are to be listed on the BSE and the National Stock Exchange (NSE)

*Key point:

• Sandhar Technologies Automotive is an OEM component supplier with manufacturing plants in India, Spain, Poland and Mexico.
• Chairman:Mr. D. N. Davar
• Co-Chairman & Managing Director:Mr. JayantDavar

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Messi, Barcelona wins big at Globe Soccer Awards 2015

Barcelona and star player Lionel Messi conferred with the best team and best playerrespectively during the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai.

• Barcelona won five titles in 2015 – the Spanish league title, the Copa del Rey, Champions League, European Super Cup and the World Club Cup.
• The award candidates chosen by a jury, which includes the organiser of the Globe Soccer Awards as well as international footballing coaches and director

PwC’s Berera 1st woman COO at Big 4 in India

SatyavatiBerera of PwC India is the first woman to become the COO of a Big Four accounting firm in India which is a sector known to be largely male-dominated at the topstages, replacing Neil Wilson, who is moving to London as global operations partner with PwC.

• Currently she is regional managing partner for north at PwC India, will take charge as COO in January,2016.
• At PwC India, the gender diversity in leadership levels is around 30 per cent. At the partner level, it’s 11 per cent (global average for PwC is 18 per cent).

About PwC :

• PricewaterhouseCoopers is the largest professional services firm in the world, and is one of the Big Four auditors, along with Deloitte, EY and KPMG.
• Vault Accounting 50 has ranked PwC as the most prestigious accounting firm in the world and the top firm to work for in North America.
• Formed in: 1998 by a merger between Coopers &Lybrand and Price Waterhouse.
• PwC United States is the 5^thlargest privately owned organization in the United States.

Amateur Indian cricketer creates Guinness world record for longest net session

Virag Mare (24), a Pune-based amateur cricketer broke the Guinness World record of the longest individual net session of 48 hours set byEnglish duo, Dave Newman and Richard Wells.

• Mare established a two-hour lead & batted for 50 hours at the Mahalaxmi Lawns in Karve Nagar, Pune.
• He faced 2,447 overs i.e. 14,682 balls, in exactly 50 hours, 5 minutes and 51 seconds.

At the age of 16, Mare had joined Sachin Tendulkar’s coach Ramakant Achrekar’s academy but had to drop out due to his inability to pay the fees. He then shifted to Pune and began to run a vada pav stall.

CRI Pumps bags export quality excellence award

Pump manufacturing major CRI Pumps has bagged ‘Export Quality Excellence’ award for the 11th time in a row.

• Governor of Karnataka Vajubhai Vala  present the EEPC award to the Joint Managing Director of CRI Pumps G Selvaraj in Bengaluru .
• The company’s has emerged as a turnkey solution provider across segments, including residential, industrial, agricultural, mining, and water treatment.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

RP-Sanjeev Goenka Group to name Chief Executive for sports business

The RP-Sanjiv Goenka Groupwhich acquired the franchise-rights of Pune cricket team earlier this month will appoint a CEO for spearheading its sports business.

• The appointment is aimed at leveraging sports to promote the company’s brands nationally and internationally.
• The global sports sector is estimated to be worth between $480 and $620 billion. However, in India, sport is yet to be recognised as a sector and there is no comprehensive study on the industry’s estimated size in the country.

Premier Badminton League signs up Akshay Kumar as brand ambassador

Premier Badminton League announced Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar as the brand ambassador for the much-awaited badminton League (PBL).

• During the league the actor will actively post his comments and updates on the social media via his official Twitter handle blogs and podcasts talking on PBL and how players fared each day.
• The Premier Badminton League will start from 2nd January 2016 where six franchisees – Delhi Acers, Hyderabad Hunters, Bengaluru Top Guns, Chennai Smashers, Mumbai Rockets and Awadhe Warriors will compete for the top honour.

Gautam Adani’s son Karan Adani takes over as CEO of APSEZ

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) has appointed Karan Adani as its chief executive officer and  accepted the resignation of its erstwhile CEO Sudipta Bhattacharya. 

About Karan Adani :

• Karan Adani is the eldest son of the Adani Group’s founder chairman Gautam Adani.
• An economics graduade from Purdue University, US, he has been associated with the the group’s ports business since 2009.

SPORTS

Mumbai Garuda wins the Pro Wrestling League 2015

Mumbai Garuda outclassed Haryana Hammers with 7-2 to clinch the inaugural Pro Wrestling League title at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi. The Pro Wrestling League (PWL) was held in between 10–27 December 2015.

• The League was the initiative of ProSportify owned by Kartikeya Sharma and Wrestling Federation of India.
• This was first season of the league which was held among 6 city-based teams with66 wrestlers from different countries of the world.
• Dabur Chawanprash is the title sponsor of the first edition.

OBITUARY

Oscar-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler dies

The Oscar winner and Legendary cinematographer Haskell Wexler, best known for his work in films like “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “American Graffiti”, has died. He was 93.

About Haskell Wexlerm : 

• Haskell was known for his work on films like Jane Fonda’s anti-war classic “Coming Home” and Sidney Poitier’s race drama “In the Heat of the Night”.
• Haskell was recognised for his documentary work on the Emmy-winning Paul Jacobs and the Nuclear Gang and 1970’s “Interviews with My Lai Veterans“, for which he won an Academy Award.
• He also wrote,produced and directed 1969’s “Medium Cool“.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Nagi Day Celebrated by the Army

The 44^th Nagi Day was celebrated at Sriganganagar Military Station and Nagi (a small village located in Sri Karanpur close to International Boundary).

Purpose : To remember the  memory of gallant soldiers of the Indian Army who laid down their lives for the Nation during the famous Battle of Nagi on 27-28 Dec 1971.

How Nagi day  Celebrated :

• To celebrate the occasion, a number of events were held at Sriganganagar Military Station, Karanpur and Nagi Memorial on 27-28 Dec 15 that included a presentation on Battle of Nagi by the martyrs of 4 PARA (SF)and 9 PARA Fd Regt of Indian Army.
• The events were witnessed by Maj Gen Bipin Bakshi, General Officer Commanding Amogh Division, Veterans and serving Officers, Junior Commissioned Officers, Jawans & prominent civil officials of Sriganganagar, Sri Karanpur and Nagi.