Current Affairs 04 January - 2016

1. India successfully test-fired indigenously developed MBRL Pinaka II at Pokhran

Pinaka II multi barrel rocket launcher (MBRL) System

Pinaka is an unguided rocket system and capable of neutralising large areas with rapid salvos. Range of Pinaka II is 20 km more than the Pinaka I version, which has a 40 km range and has already been inducted into the forces.

Pokhran (Rajasthan)

The Pinaka MBRL System has been indigenously developed by the ARDE, Pune.

2. 15 states have joined UDAY scheme: Piyush Goyal

Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY)

Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy Minister said on Monday that within two months of getting Cabinet approval, more than half the states have voluntarily agreed to join the scheme called the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY).

15 states-Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Maharashtra.

3. Lodha panel proposes drastic reforms for BCCI, IPL CEO given clean chit

The Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Committee today recommended sweeping reforms for the controversy-ridden BCCI, suggesting a bar on ministers from occupying positions, putting a cap on the age and tenure of the office-bearers and legalising betting.

4. Paytm acquires Shifu for $8mn to enrich customer experience

Paytm has acquired Shifu for $8 million (about Rs 53.2 crore), a move that will enable the digital payments company to offer more personalised user experience. Shifu, a context-aware personal assistant application, mines the smartphone usage patterns of users and makes personalised and highly relevant recommendations to them.

While the app will continue to be available in its original form after the acquisition, the technology behind it will be used by Paytm.

Paytm has a user base of more than 100 million people.

5.India won the 2015 SAFF championships 

SAFF-South Asian Football Federation Cup (SAFF) championships.

In the title clash played at Trivandrum International Stadium of Kerala, India defeated defending champions Afghanistan 2-1.

India has been the most successful side in the tournaments history by winning the title in seven of the 11 editions. Afghans won their first title in 2013.

6. Arunima Sinha scaled Mount Aconcagua in Argentina

Arunima Sinha, the mountaineer who set a record by climbing the Mount Everest on 25 December 2015, conquered Mount Aconcagua in Argentina. Arunima started her mission hoisted the Indian tricolour on 25 December 2015.

Aconcagua is the highest mountain outside Asia, at 6960.8 metres and by extension, the highest point in both the Western Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.

She was awarded the Padmashree for her achievement.

7.NABARD, NRSC signed MoU for monitoring Watershed Project

NABARD-National Bank For Agriculture Research and Development

NRSC-National Remote Sensing Centre

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on 1 January 2016 signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) for web-based monitoring of Indo-German Watershed Development projects.

It will happen in three states- Gujarat, Rajasthan and Telangana.

Under the MoU, NRSC will create a separate page for NABARD on Bhuvan web-portal.

8.Wipro management changes, T K Kurien elevated as Vice Chairman, COO becomes CEO

India’s third largest IT services exporter – Wipro has announced major management changes with the elevation of the chief executive officer (CEO) T K Kurien as the executive vice-chairman and chief operating officer Abidali Neemuchwala as the new CEO and member of the board.

9.Atul Sobti took charge as CMD of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited

Atul Sobti on 1 January 2016 took charge as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of state-owned power equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) for a period of five years.

His appointment as CMD of BHEL was approved by the Union Government in September 2015. Prior to this appointment, Sobti was the Director on the board of BHEL, where he headed two crucial portfolios of Power and Finance.

10.LIC offers longer cover under ‘Jeevan Labh’

 LIC is offering a ‘New Year gift’ to the public in the form of a limited-premium, non-linked and with-profit endowment assurance plan ‘Jeevan Labh’ from Monday. The highlight of the plan is that premium is payable for a limited period while risk is covered for the whole policy term.

The plan is available from ages 8 to 59 years with a choice of policy term of 16, 21 and 25 years and premium-paying terms of 10,15 and 16 years respectively. The maximum age at maturity is 75 years, said Shaji M Shankar, Senior Divisional Manager, LIC, Thiruvananthapuram Division.

The plan is suitable for those who want premium commitment for a short duration while life coverage and benefits are assured for a longer period. Minimum basic sum assured is ₹2 lakh with maximum basic sum assured having no limit, Shankar added.

LIC’s accidental death and disability benefit rider is available as an optional rider by payment of additional premium. New term assurance rider is also available at the inception of the policy on payment of additional premium.

11. President Pranab Mukherjee gives assent to 5 key bills

• Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015: Facilitates an arbitrator will have to settle a case within 18 months. After the completion of 1 year, certain restrictions will be put in place to ensure that the arbitration case does not linger on.
• Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015: It aims to prohibit the commission of offences against members of the SCs and STs and adds provisions for establishing special courts for the trial cases of such offences and the rehabilitation of victims.
• The Atomic Energy (Amendment) Act, 2015: It will allow state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) to have joint venture (JV) collaboration with other public sector undertakings in the nuclear field.
• The Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Act, 2015: Enhances monthly bonus calculation ceiling to Rs. 7,000 per month from the existing Rs. 3,500. It also enhances the eligibility limit for payment of bonus from existing Rs. 10,000 per month to Rs. 21,000 per month.
• Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Act, 2015: This law enables setting up commercial benches in select high courts.

12.Government to roll out DBT scheme for kerosene from April 1, 2016

Scheme in the initial phase will be implemented in selected 26 districts of eight states. These states are Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan.