Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Starred Articles

Justice HL Dattu to be next Chief Justice of India
Politics and Government > CJI > Sep 3, 2014
Justice Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu is likely to be the next Chief Justice of India. Justice Dattu will replace CJI RM Lodha who will retire on the 27th of September. Dattu is currently a judge in the Supreme Court. Justice Dattu will take office as the CJI at a time when the BJP government has brought in the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill which has scrapped the collegium system of appointing judges.
Justice Dattu also served as Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh high court for a few months in 2007 before he was transferred to Kerala HC. After two CJIs retiring in one year, Justice Dattu's will be a relatively extended tenure.

India, Australia sign civilian nuclear energy deal
World > India, Australia nuclear energy deal > September 6, 2014
To address India’s growing need for power, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed a civil nuclear agreement with Australia. The deal, signed in the presence of Modi and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, officially marked an end to the ban imposed by Australia on selling uranium to India. The ban was lifted in 2012, when talks for the nuclear deal began.
Both sides also signed a parallel nuclear safeguards agreement, as India isn’t a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. This was also the case when India had signed a civil nuclear deal with Canada.
Australia has about 40 per cent of global uranium reserves, of which it exports about 20 per cent, making it one of the largest exporters of the commodity. It doesn’t have any nuclear power plants of its own.
Under the nuclear power generation programme, India hopes to increase its nuclear capacity to 63,000 Mw by 2032 by adding about 30 reactors, at an estimated cost of $85 billion.

India Signs FTA in Services, Investments with ASEAN
India > Free Trade Agreement > September 9, 2014
India has signed the free trade agreement (FTA) in services and investments with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), two years after the discussions on the pact concluded. The agreement will ease the movement of professionals and increase investment with the 10 nations in the bloc for IT and other professional sectors. India had implemented FTA in goods with 10-member ASEAN in 2011.
Some of the important Articles contained in the agreement are ones on transparency, domestic regulations, recognition, market access, national treatment, increasing participation of developing countries, joint committee on services, review, dispute settlement and denial of benefits.
ASEAN members include Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia and Laos. Philippines, which did not sign the deal is expected to do so once it completes domestic procedures.

Others

NetApp to partner with NABARD for data and disaster recovery centres in cooperative banks
Banks specific > NetApp-NABARD >September 3, 2014
Data storage solutions firm NetApp has entered into a partnership with National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for data and disaster recovery centres to help cooperative banks move on to core banking solution (CBS) platform. This is a major shift from a manual or partially computerized standalone environment in which the banks had been operating previously. With CBS, banks will be able to increase financial inclusion with the help of cost effective and efficient technology. The move will also enable the government to transfer subsidy and other payments to account holders based on their Aadhaar numbers. Of the 201 banks with 6,818 branches under the Nabard Project, 199 banks and 6,795 branches are fully on CBS as on March 31, 2014. Another 87 branches opened in these banks during the process of implementation, have also been put on CBS. TCS and Wipro are implementing the project.

Government approves 7 percent hike in dearness allowance
Politics and government > Dearness Allowance>September 4, 2014
The central government has approved 7 per cent hike in dearness allowance (DA), taking it to 107 per cent of basic pay. Around 30 lakh central employees and 50 lakh pensioners including dependents will be benefitted by this. The increase is in accordance with the recommendations of the 6th Central Pay Commission.

NATO summit 2014 held in Wales, UK
World > NATO Summit 2014 > September 4, 2014
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Summit 2014 was held in Wales, UK from 4 to 5 September 2014. This was the first summit held in the United Kingdom since Margaret Thatcher welcomed NATO leaders to London in 1990. More than 60 world leaders attended the NATO Summit. The Ukraine crisis and Afghanistan were the top agendas for this year’s NATO summit. 

Unit 5 of RAPS becomes world’s 2nd longest running reactor
India > Nuclear reactor > September 6, 2014
India’s nuclear power programme today reached a new milestone after Unit 5 of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) become the second longest running reactor in the world by being in operation for 765 days continuously. The 220 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), in RAPS has been in uninterrupted operation since August 2, 2012 and it has been operating at full power with a capacity factor of 105 percent. The plant, commissioned in February 2010, has been running at the capacity of 98.5 percent and until now generated 8,663 million units of electricity. Unit 7 of Canada’s Pickering nuclear plant holds the world record of running continuously for 894 days.

US Open 2014: The Champions
Sports > Tennis >September 7, 2014
Sania Mirza clinched the mixed doubles crown at the US Open 2014 with her male partner Bruno Soares of Brazil. The duo beat the pair of Abigail Spears (US) and Santiago Gonzalez (Mexico) by 6-1 2-6 11-9.
It was her 3rd mixed-doubles titles, after the two with Mahesh Bhupathi at the Australian Open in 2009 and then at French Open in 2012.
Men's Singles
In the Men's Singles category, US Open witnessed a new unheralded champion. Croatia’s Marin Cilic conquered his first grand slam having dashed the hope of Kei Nishikori - the first man from Asia (and Japan) to reach a Gand Slam final - with an emphatic scoreline of 6-3, 6-3 and 6-3.
Women's Singles
Serena Williams defeated Caroline Wozniacki to bag her 3rd consecutive US Open crown. It's her sixth US Open and 18th Grand Slam title overall.
Men's Doubles
Bob and Mike Bryan lifted their fifth US Open and 16th Grand Slam doubles title. It was also their 100th tournament title overall. They defeated Spaniards Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez 6-3, 6-4.
Women's Doubles
Russian pair of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina won their second Grand Slam women's doubles title
They disappointed the duo of Martina Hingis and Flavia Pennetta with a come-from-behind win.

State Bank of India and MasterCard launch multi-currency travel card
Bank specific > State Bank of India > September 8, 2014
State Bank of India and MasterCard have announced the launch of a multi- currency foreign travel card that will be available through 100 selected branches of State Bank in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore Circles. The card is available in both retail and corporate variants and will allow the consumers to pay conveniently in multiple currencies. It will initially be available in four currencies—USD, GBP, Euro and SGD and eventually be made available in all major currencies. It's a prepaid and reloadable card with 24/7 access to balance and transaction history online or via the dedicated customer service centre. Cardholders can gain free access to exclusive benefits and offers around the world including cash delivery, medical and lawyer assistance services.

Aditya Birla Chemicals to acquire Jayshree Chemicals’ unit for Rs 212 crore
Corporate > Aditya Birla > September 8, 2014
Aditya Birla Chemicals (India), a subsidiary of the $40 billion Aditya Birla Group, on Monday said it will acquire the chlor-alkali division (CAD) of Jayshree Chemicals for a cash consideration of Rs 212 crore. Jayshree Chemicals' chlor-alkali facility with a capacity of 50,000 tonnes is located at Ganjam, Odisha. It has around 1600 acres of salt works in Andhra Pradesh. Chlor-alkali is used extensively in aluminium and several other industries. Jayshree’s chlor-alkali manufacturing facility is situated in close proximity to several aluminium manufacturing facilities, which provides significant growth opportunities.

World Literacy Day observed across the world
World > World Literacy Day > September 8, 2014
World Literacy Day was observed across the world on 8 September 2014. The theme of International Literacy Day 2014 is Literacy and Sustainable Development. The aim is to highlight the importance of literacy to individual, communities and societies.
For over 40 years now, UNESCO has been celebrating International Literacy Day by reminding the international community that literacy is a human right and the foundation of all learning. The importance of observing International Literacy Day is the need to mobilize public opinion in favour of the struggle against illiteracy. According to Human Development Report-2003-UNDP it is estimated that there are 879 million illiterate adults in the world, of which two-third are women.

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