Current Affairs 2011 - Part 1

1)Banks asked to reimburse failed ATM transactions within 7 days Banks have to reimburse customers for amounts wrongfully debited from their accounts in failed ATM transactions within seven working days of an account holder's complaint (as against 12 working days earlier) or else pay Rs.100 a day compensation. The RBI further said that all customers are entitled to receive such compensation for delays only if a claim is lodged with the issuing bank within 30 days of the date of transaction. The directive shall be came into effect from July 1 2) Norms for overseas direct investment eased further Only 50 % of performance guarantees to be reckoned for financial commitment Prior RBI approval must for overseas exposure beyond new limit 3) Cairn-Vedanta deal awaits CCEA nod..(FDI deal) 4) Ariane 5 launches GSAT-8 from French Guiana PERFECT TWO: Ariane 5 rocket, carrying two telecommunication satellites ST-2 and GSAT8, takes off from its launch site in Kourou . .( India's GSAT-8 satellite has been lofted into space aboard an Ariane 5 rocket that lifted off from the European launch facility in French Guiana in equatorial South America. It is the 20th satellite designed and built indigenously by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to meet this country's requirements for space capacity in communications and broadcasting. The 3,100-kg spacecraft's 24 transponders will relay signals in radio frequencies known as the Ku-band. These transponders will be used for Direct-To-Home television broadcasts as well as to support communications using small satellite dishes known as Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs). Other Indian communication satellites that are currently operational have about 150 transponders working in various frequency bands. That capacity needs to be augmented, given that a power glitch on the INSAT-4B knocked out half its transponders last July. ) India conducted a successful ballistic flight test of indigenously developed Astra beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur . The missile is envisaged to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft at supersonic speeds in the head-on mode at a range of 80 km and in tail-chase mode at 20 km. 5) JAYALALITA, MAMATA BANERJEE, OOMMEN CHANDY, JARBOM GAMLIN (ARUNACHAL PRADESH POWER MINISTER AS CM ) AND TARUN GOGOI (3rd TIME)(ASSAM) 6) Infosys gets a new name

The Infosys board decided to rechristen Infosys Technologies Ltd. as Infosys Ltd. 7) Kamath to take over as Chairman of InfosysThe board of directors of Infosys decided to appoint K. V. Kamath as the Chairman of Infosys after its founder N. R. Narayana Murthy steps down from his position as Chairman on August 20 when he turns 65. The board also decided to appoint the company's CEO and Managing Director S. Gopalakrishnan as Co-chairman of the board. Chief Operating Officer S. D. Shibulal will take over Mr. Gopalakrishnan's duties. All the appointments are to take effect from August 21. Mr. Murthy has been appointed Chairman Emeritus. 8) Rajendra Pawar new Nasscom Chairman He succeeds Harsh Manglik. Mr. Pawar is now the Chairman and Co-founder of NIIT Technologies. 9) 2010 Dadasaheb Phalke Award for K. Balachander 10)58th National Film Awards Malayalam film Adaminte Makan Abu chosen as the best feature film, and Vetrimaran selected as best director for Tamil film Aadukulam. The two best actors Salim Kumar and Dhanush were selected from these two films as well. Two women selected for the Best Actress Award Tamil actor Saranya Ponvannan for Thenmerkku Paruvakkatru and Marathi actor Mitalee Jagtap Paradhar-- for her performance in Baboo Band Baaja and four children chosen for the Best Child Artist Award. 11) No Indian entry for Cannes fete Paris: The 64th edition of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, which opens on May 11, will screen 49 features from 33 countries, but there is no Indian entry to compete for the event's most coveted prize. After a fair showing last year with Vikramaditya Motwane's Udaan, India has again failed to mark its presence at the festival. In a disappointment yet again, there is no Indian entry among the 19 films that will compete for the Palm d'Or, festival's most coveted prize
Cannes Reclusive U.S. director Terrence Malick clinched the Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival for The Tree of Life

Kirsten Dunst won acting honours

12) Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Sierra Leone novelist

British-born Sierra Leonean novelist Aminatta Forna has won the 2011 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for her novel, The Memory of Love.

13) India in Africa The second India-Africa summit at Addis Ababa. 14) Germany to shut nuclear reactors by 2022 Merkel's nuclear U-turn driven by Fukushima disaster BERLIN: Germany wants to shut all nuclear reactors by 2022, Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition declared , in a policy reversal drawn up in a rush after the Fukushima disaster in Japan. The coalition, sensitive to accusations it may increase dependence on highly polluting brown coal, said it planned to cut power use by 10 per cent by 2020. 15) U.S. hits $14.3-trillion debt ceiling The extent of U.S. borrowing was under fresh scrutiny in April 2011, when Standard & Poor's cut its outlook on the country's AAA-rating from stable to negative. 16) Afghanistan may join SCO Afghanistan may join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as an observer at the group's 10th jubilee summit in Astana, Kazakhstan The SCO will also consider the applications of India and Pakistan to join as full members. India and Pakistan have observer status in the SCO along with Iran and Mongolia. The regional security group has six permanent members China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. SCO will be asking three of its four Observers India, Pakistan and Mongolia to join as Members; Iran, like the other three, is an Observer. But highly placed sources said its full membership is in doubt because one criteria for upgradation is that no member should have United Nations sanctions standing against it. 17) Singapore poll set for May 7 Singapore's unicameral Parliament was dissolved and the follow-up general election was set for May 7. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, seeking a popular mandate to constitute the next A-Team for Singapore, had earlier advised the President, S. R. Nathan, to dissolve the House which was formed after the 2006 general election 18) Singapore's ruling party triumphs again

Singapore's long-governing People's Action Party (PAP) won an absolute parliamentary majority in the May 2011 elections following Saturday's general election. 19) U.K. referendum faces defeat British voters were set to reject the controversial referendum, proposing a switch from the current first-past-the-post voting system to Alternative Vote (AV) in which voters rank candidates in order of preference. It is practised only in three countries Australia, Fiju and Papua New Guinea. 20) Canada's Harper back with majority 21) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal The leaders of two main Palestinian-factions, Fatah and Hamas have signed a reconciliation agreement paving the way for the formation of transitional national unity government followed by elections. The accord ending a four year feud between Fatah and Hamas, will be followed by preparations for the formation of an interim government. 22) China enforces first-of-its-kind law to ban smoking in public 23) Japan slashes development aid Japan decided to cut its Official Development Assistance (ODA) during the current financial year. As one of the measures designed to mobilise resources for the massive reconstruction of areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the ODA cut-back was announced with regret. India is among the largest recipients of the Japanese ODA. In February, said the Japanese Government, in a background statement, that Japan became India's largest aid-donor in 1986 and remains so. Authenticated data showed that Japan's economic assistance to India in the fiscal year of 2008 was of the order 236 billion as loans, over 4 billion as grants and nearly 12 billion in technical cooperation. 24) Thailand-Cambodia clashes continue Cambodia's Ministry of National Defence said the apparent goal of Thailand's military aggression is to take control over Tamone and Ta Krabei temples of Cambodia. These two temples, located deep inside the Cambodian territory, are distinct from the border-temple of Preah Vihear.

The internationally-adjudicated status of Preah Vihear as a Cambodian asset and its subsequent designation as a world heritage site are widely believed to be at the heart of hostilities. 25) Iran-Saudi Arabia rift widens over Bahrain The war of words between oil-rich Iran and Saudi Arabia is escalating dangerously following Riyadh's military intervention in Bahrain, where a security crackdown against pro-democracy dissidents shows no signs of abating. 26) France wins migrants row with Italy Paris crowed victory in its month-long immigration row with Italy when the European Union's Home Affairs Commissioner declared France had a right to temporarily halt a rail link between the two countries. Several trains carrying human rights activists and Tunisian migrants holding three-month residence permits issued by Italy were stopped at the border by French police on the grounds there was concern for public order. French authorities said the trains entering France from Italy carried hundreds of illegal Tunisian migrants without valid papers or the ability to support themselves. The Schengen zone that includes countries like Spain, France, Italy, Austria Germany and several others allows immigrants with valid Schengen visas or resident permits to circulate freely in the Schengen zone. Since January, Italy has seen a steady influx of Tunisian and Libyan refugees fleeing instability in their homelands, landing on the tiny Mediterranean island of Lampedusa. 27) Winning at that age is a beauty Los Angeles: Pop diva Jennifer Lopez has beaten off competition from younger beauties such as Beyonce Knowles and Anne Hathaway to be named the World's Most Beautiful Woman by People magazine. 28) Bharti Airtel signs pact with Comviva Bharti Airtel said it had entered into a five-year deal with mobile software-maker Comviva for providing value-added services across Airtel's operations in 16 African countries. 29) Global economy to grow 4.2 %: OECD The global economy is projected to expand by 4.2 per cent in 2011 and 4.6 % in 2012, according to Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The expected growth of the world economy is much lower than the 4.9 per cent rate achieved in 2010.

The OECD is a grouping of 34 developed and developing nations that account for over 60 per cent of global economic output. 30) Stagflation generally refers to high inflation in times of weak growth. 31) India's growth at 8.5 % The OECD pegged India's growth at 8.5 per cent for the current fiscal, indicating that economic expansion would be slower. 32) Tighter reporting norms for derivatives mooted In order to improving transparency and avoid build-up of a financial crisis, a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) panel, under the chairmanship of P. Krishnamurthy, the then Chief General Manager, suggested tighter norms for reporting and monitoring of interest rate and foreign exchange derivatives. The report of the Working Group set up by the RBI suggested that Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL) should be made the repository of all interest rate and foreign exchange derivative transactions 33) FIIs, MFs allowed to hedge risk in corporate bonds RBI came out with a credit default swap (CDS) guidelines that would allow corporate entities, including insurers, FIIs and mutual funds, to hedge risk against default in corporate bonds to which they subscribe, w.e.f.Oct 24. The CDS is a risk management product which helps entities guard against possibility of defaults in repayment of corporate bonds. According to the guidelines, foreign institutional investors (FIIs), banks, insurers, NBFCs, listed companies, housing finance companies, provident funds and primary dealers can buy credit protection under the scheme. 34) Facing up to financial risks--Derivatives Derivatives, a chief culprit behind the financial meltdown that threatened economies, continue to account for a sum that is 10 times the world's gross domestic product (GDP). A major $8.5 billion takeover has analysts speculating about a new Internet bubble. Some emerging economies are showing classic signs of overheating, with property prices, consumer credit and bank profits hitting an all-time high.
35) Joint celebration of Tagore's 150th birth anniversary begins in Dhaka

36)Senior citizen benefit for women from June 1

From June 1, women of 58 years can travel in train with concessions given to senior citizens and men in this category can enjoy a higher concession of 40 percent in their fare.

The Railway budget announced a reduction in the age of women from 60 years to 58 years to avail themselves of the concession of 50 per cent allowed to them. Higher concession for men In the case of men, the Railways have retained the minimum age at 60 years but raised their concession limit from 30 per cent to 40 per cent.

37) NMDC

has set in motion the process for acquiring a stake in a coal mine in Alabama in the U.S. and buying a gold mine in Tanzania. It is also working on securing 50 per cent stake in a rock phosphate asset in Australia. The company is also planning to buy-out iron ore assets overseas. Due diligence is on for acquiring a stake in a running mine at Alabama, which has reserves of about 70 million tonnes of coal. In addition, there is about 161 million tonnes of coal within the natural zone of access of the project, NMDC Chairman Rana Som said here.

38) Poverty : Planning Commission says that a daily expenditure of Rs. 20 on essential requirements for those living in urban areas and Rs.15 for those in the rural India was enough to keep them out of poverty.
The Commission has also prescribed a minimum intake of 2,400 calories daily to sustain oneself. This required an expenditure of at least Rs. 44 per day not including any expenditure on shelter, clothing, education, and transportation. The Commission put the poverty ratio at 33 per cent of our population while the National Advisory Council suggested 46 per cent. Both estimations, however, are woefully short in view of the late Arjun Sengupta's estimation that 77 per cent of India's population was currently surviving on less than Rs. 20 a day. 39) India for concluding package for LDCs by December under Doha round India called for addressing specific concerns of the least-developed countries (LDCs) in the Doha round of talks and conclude negotiations on the package of deliverables for them by December, leaving the rest of the agenda to be taken up later. During his interaction with the various Ministers during the informal Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Ministerial hosted by Australia on World Trade Organisation (WTO) at Paris, Union Commerce and Industry Minister [Anand Sharma] pitched for addressing the concerns of the LDCs on priority. 40) Centre may offer subsidised loans for post-harvest activities Till now, the interest for such activities was 11%; now it is to be reduced to 4% Proposal to enable small farmers to command a premium on their commodities

4 per cent same as the benefit extended for pre-crop loans to buy their inputs. 41) China retains Sudirman Cup Qingdao: China blanked Denmark 3-0 to capture its fourth Sudirman Cup on the trot in front of a raucous sell-out home crowd here on Sunday. 42) Oxford chair in memory of Sanjaya Lall A visiting professorship in memory of Sanjaya Lall, regarded as one of India's pioneering development economists, will be launched at Oxford University with a lecture by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen. 43) According to the official figures released , the fiscal deficit in monetary terms stood at Rs. 3,69,043 crore for the year ended March 2011 which works out to 4.69 per cent of the GDP of Rs. 78,75,627 crore. Six core industries cement, steel, crude oil, petroleum refining, coal and electricity together account for a weight of 26.68 per cent in the IIP (Index of Industrial Production). 44) In a sign of growing interest in the study of Indian culture in European universities, the Jagiellonian University at Krakow in Poland will soon establish a Tamil Chair. 45) Blatter re-elected FIFA chief; vows clean up Zurich: FIFA president Sepp Blatter was re-elected head of world football's governing body FIFA Trade and Economic Relations Committee (TERC) free trade agreement (FTA) Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) World Trade Organization (WTO). Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). 46) recent entry of women into Kolhapur's Mahalakshmi temple 47) Outgoing Chairman of Infosys Technologies -N. R. Narayana Murthy his successor- K. V. Kamath The board of directors of Infosys decided to appoint K. V. Kamath as the Chairman of Infosys after its founder N. R. Narayana Murthy steps down from his position as Chairman on August 20 when he turns 65. The top leadership of the company addressed a crowded media conference and stressed that the company has opted for change, while seeking to maintain a degree of continuity. The board also decided to appoint the company's CEO and Managing Director S. Gopalakrishnan as Co-chairman of the board. Chief Operating Officer S. D. Shibulal will take over Mr. Gopalakrishnan's duties. All the appointments are to take effect from August 21. Mr. Murthy has been appointed Chairman Emeritus.

48) Infosys born again The Infosys board decided to rechristen Infosys Technologies Ltd. as Infosys Ltd. 49) Maldivians protest currency devaluation Maldivian currency, the Rifiya, to float in a 20 per cent band which, in effect, devalued it by 20 per cent. Maldives imports all its essentials and fuels and the move has hit citizens hard. Salim Durrani became the 18th cricketer to be named for the C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award by the BCCI. 50) EPF Interest rate for 2010-11 = 9.5 %
51) India abstained from voting in UN resolution. Without consulting each other intimately, India and China adopted largely similar stands while abstaining from the United Nations Security Council resolution on approving a no-fly-zone over Libya. 52) India and other members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) had
unanimously slapped tough sanctions on the Moammar Gaddafi regime in Libya.

53) Stung by the misery tax remark by the health care industry and in deference to widespread criticism in and outside Parliament, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee withdrew the five per cent service tax on hospitals and diagnostic centres. He also gave excise duty relief on branded garments to small-scale industries . 54) The State of Orissa will now be called Odisha and the Oriya language Odia 55) Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) constituted under the chairmanship of former Justice B. N. Srikrishna to rewrite and harmonise financial sector legislations, rules and regulations.

56)

Pollution trade and cap scheme launched

Initially, it will cover 1,000 industries in 3 States

With the World Bank loosening its purse strings to the tune of $0.5 million, India launched its first pollution cap and trade scheme . The pilot scheme will cover air pollution caused by 1,000 industries in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat, and could have a significant impact on public health. The scheme involves capping the total pollution by these industries, issuing permits to each industry on how much pollution it can individually emit in the air, and then allowing them to buy and sell those permits. This means cleaner units will make a profit by selling permits, while polluting ones will have to shell out money to meet the standard. Essentially, the scheme allows the market to regulate pollution rather than sending out an army of government regulators to do the job.

This scheme covers only particulate matter tiny particles of smoke, dust and industrial emissions that hang in the air, causing air pollution and health woes. But the same technical details could later be expanded to include greenhouse gas emissions that impact climate change. A programme to monitor pollution on a real-time online basis is the first step that could be rolled out by year-end, and will be complete in the next 18 months. Trading could begin in early 2012.
57) The tiger census counts 1,706; finds 12 per cent growth India's wild tiger population has grown 12 per cent in the last four years. According to the 2010 tiger census, there are approximately 1,706 of the big cats in the country, The largest number of tigers lives in Karnataka about 280 58) National Health Research Policy finalised To overcome the weaknesses of the publicly funded health structures that restricted research in priority health areas, the Union Health and Family Planning Ministry has finalised the National Health Research Policy. It would maximise the returns on investments in health research through creation of a health research system to prioritise, coordinate and facilitate conduct of effective and ethical research and its translation into products, policies and programmes aimed at improving health especially of the vulnerable population. It proposes to ensure at least two per cent of the national health funding is utilised for research. The Policy envisages creation of an overarching National Health Research Management Forum 59)

Cambodia and Thailand are fighting over Tamone and Ta Krabei temples of Cambodia.

The internationally-adjudicated status of Preah Vihear as a Cambodian asset and its subsequent designation as a world heritage site are widely believed to be at the heart of hostilities.
60) Illinois became the 16th State of the United States to abolish the death penalty .

61)

Yemeni President Mr. Ali Abdullah Saleh sacks his government.

62) Kazakhstans president Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev is relected for another 5 year term