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INDIAN AFFAIRS
Alstom delivers ‘Made in India’ coaches to Kochi Metro
Alstom the French transportation equipment maker rolled out the first set of railway coaches for the Kochi Metro project. The Kochi coach order is the second rolling stock contract for Alstom in the country, with Chennai metro the first.
Venue : Sri City in Andhra Pradesh.
Highlights :
- The three indigenously-designed and manufactured coaches were flagged off by Union Minister for Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs, M. Venkaiah Naidu.
- The Metropolis coaches, which were handed over to Kerala Minister for Power and Railways Aryadan Mohammed, will take at least 10 days to reach Kochi where they will be received by Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.
PM Modi inaugurated Indian Science Congress in Mysuru
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 103rd Indian Science Congress in Mysore, Karnataka. The event is being held at the University of Mysore from January 3 to 7.
- Theme – Science & Technology for Indigenous Development in India
- The Indian Science Congress is being hosted in Karnataka after 13 years and in Mysuru after 34 years.
As part of Indian Science Congress, the Children Science Congress inaugurated by Nobel Laureate John B Gurdon (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012) at the amphitheatre, Manasagangothri inside the Mysore university campus.
- Besides this, the 5th Women’s Science Congress also inaugurated.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
“Two Indian Capitals” in World’s top-30 “Super Cities”
According to the study conducted by international real estate consultancy JLL, two Indian capitals have made it to a top-30 list of the World’s most powerful, productive and connected cities.
- India’s national capital Delhi ranked at 24th.
- India’s financial capital Mumbai is placed at 22nd.
- The list is topped by Tokyo which is followed by New York, London and Paris in the top four “super cities”.
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Iran
Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir announced that Saudi Arabia was severing diplomatic ties with Iran after demonstrators stormed its Tehran embassy to protest against Riyadh’s execution of a Shiite cleric. Jubeir also said that all Iranian diplomats must leave Saudi Arabia within 48 hours
- The 56-year-old, a force behind 2011 anti-government protests in eastern Saudi Arabia, was among 47 convicted men put to death on Saturday in the kingdom.
- Both countries are also divided over a raft of issues, namely the nearly five-year war in Syria, where Iran is allied with the regime of embattled President Bashar al-Assad, and Yemen where a Saudi-led coalition is battling Iran-backed rebels.
Key points :
- Saudi Arabia Capital : Riyadh
- Saudi Arabia Currency : Riyal
- Saudi Arabia King: Salman bin Abdulaziz
China creates three new Army units to modernise military
China has created three new military bodies as part of reforms to modernise its military and improve its fighting capacity. Mr. Xi said the three new units had been created as part of a modernisation reform and “to realise the Chinese dream of a strong military”.
Three new Army units are
1.Army 2.Missile force 3.Strategic support force.
- China’s military is currently 2.3 million strong but there are plans to cut it by 300,000.Mr. Xi has promulgated the idea of a “Chinese dream” involving “the great renewal of the Chinese nation” and sees a strong military as key to this.
- Other reform plans include phasing out old equipment, developing new weapons systems and reducing troop numbers.
Key points :
- China Capital : Beijing
- China Currency :Renminbi (Yuan)
- China President : Xi Jinping
BANKING & FINANCE
Indian “₹” among best of Asian currencies 2015
Among all Asian and BRICS currencies, “Rupee” turned out to be one of the best performers in 2015 excluding yen.
- Indian currency’s depreciation of 5% against the dollar was less than the losses of most of its other Asian peers. It fared better in 2014, when it weakened by only 2%.
- Its Asian counterparts like the Indonesian rupiah weakened by 11.30 % and the Thai baht depreciated 9.5% against the dollar. Only Chinese currency fared marginally better, losing only 6%.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
3 NPCI Awards conferred upon Corporation Bank
Corporation Bank has bagged three awards at the “National Payments Excellence Awards 2015” event recently. The function was organised by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
- The award was presented by R Gandhi, Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India.
- Corporation Bank received the winner award jointly with Indian Bank for “Cheque Truncation System” under the mid-sized category. The bank also received two runner-up awards for National Financial Switch for its performance in acquirer transactions and Immediate Payment Service (IMPS).
Flipkart wins ‘Website of the Year India 2015
Flipkart has been named the overall winner of the ‘Website of the Year India 2015’ in an online poll which was conducted by marketing analytics company MetrixLab.
- The winner was decided among over 185,000 votes on parameters of the “content, navigation, designs and recommendation intention”. The polling took place among 252 websites for 21 categories.
- Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has won the Most Popular Website of the Year India 2015 Award for a second time in a row in the leisure and travel category.
APPOINTMENTS
Javed Ahmed appointed DG of Police of Uttar Pradesh
The Uttar Pradesh Government appointed Javed Ahmed as the new Director General of Police(DGP). He will replace vacant Jagmohan Yadav who retired recently.
- Ahmed, a 1984 batch Indian Police Service officer, had earlier served as the joint director of theCentral Bureau of Investigation during central deputation, was serving as the director general (railways).He will retire in 2020 .
D K Hota is BEML new HR director
The Public Enterprises Selection Board has recommended D.K.Hota to be the new CMD of defence PSU BEML Ltd .
About D K Hota :
- Dr. Hota is currently Director (HR) of the Bengaluru-based BEML. He has been on deputation at BEML from oil marketing major HPCL for the past two years.
- Incumbent P.Dwarakanth superannuates on June 30 after helming the nearly Rs. 3,000-crore mining equipment and rail coaches company for around three years.
About BEML : Bharat Earth Movers Limited now known as BEML is an Indian Public Sector Undertaking, with headquarters in Bengaluru. It manufactures a variety of heavy equipment, such as that used for earth moving, transport and mining.
ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS
SBI to buy 4 Air India flats for Rs 90 crore
SBI is announced to buy four premium flats in the city’s tony Peddar Road area from the loss-making Air India
Outlay : Rs 90 crore.
- The legal team of Air India is preparing a draft sale agreement which will then be given to the counterparts from the State Bank of India.The government recently gave go-ahead to state-owned Air India to sell the flats to SBI for about Rs 90 crore as part the airline’s asset monetisation plan.
- The asset monetisation plan was approved along with the carrier’s turnaround plan by the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs in April 2012 when it also doled out a Rs 30,000 crore bailout.
Key points :
- SBI HQ : Mumbai
- SBI Chairperson : Arundhati Bhattacharya
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
BSE launches web-based RTA portals for filing of disclosures
Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd launched a web-based portal for registrars and share transfer agents (RTAs) to enable depositories as well as file disclosures.
- The move follows the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) decision to initiate a system involving stock exchanges, depositories and RTAs for generating system-based disclosures required under takeover regulations and insider trading norms.
- The disclosures are related to acquisition and disposal of shares by promoters and promoter group and pledge of equity shares by them.
SPORTS
2015 SAFF football championship clinched by India
The 2015 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) championship has been clinched by India for the record seventh time. The 2015 SAFF Championship was the 11th edition of men’s football championship of South Asia organized by SAFF.
- It was held in India from 23 December 2015 to 3 January 2016.
- Participated teams – India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka
- Title Sponsor – Suzuki
- Indian Team Captain – Sunil Chhetri
- Afghanistan Team Captain – Faysal Shayesteh
