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FDI
cap in insurance sector to rise to 49%
Economy
> India > Dec 24
The FDI cap in the insurance
sector will increase, following the government’s approval of an
Ordinance to hike Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in the
insurance sector to 49 percent from 26 percent .This hike is believed
to attract up to USD 7 8 billion (about Rs 50,000 crore) from
overseas investors, giving a major boost to the segment. The
Insurance Bill was awaiting the approval since 2008 in the Rajya
Sabha.
Ration
Card set to become obsolete to get free education and medical
treatment for the poor
India
> Food
Security > Dec 28
A year after the food
security bill was passed, the food supplies and consumer affairs
department has notified the government that ration cards and BPL
(below poverty line) cards will not be valid for people under the
economically weaker section (EWS) to avail food and health benefits.
EWS beneficiaries are entitled to free education, health care and
food supplies at certain government and private organisations.
However, some of the people who have exchanged their BPL cards in
return for food security cards are still not able to avail the
facilities.
Raghubar
Das sworn-in as Jharkhand's first non-tribal CM
Politics
& Government >
Raghubar Das > Dec 28
BJP-leader Raghubar Das
became the first non-tribal CM of Jharkhand at the head of a
five-member BJP-AJSU coalition government after the swearing-in
ceremony. Governor Syed Ahmed administered the oath of office and
secrecy to 59-year-old Das at the Birsa Munda Football Stadium in
Ranchi.
Cabinet ministers who were
also sworn in, include Nilkanth Singh Munda, Chandreswar Prasad
Singh, Louis Marandi (all BJP) and Chandraprakash Choudhary (AJSU
party).
An absolute majority in the
81-member state Assembly was gained by BJP along with its pre-poll
ally AJSU for the first time.
Others
Gujarat
to host the 13th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas in January
India
> Others > Dec 24
The Ministry of External
Affairs (MEA) has announced that Gujarat will host the 13th edition
of the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) from 7th to 9th January, 2015.
The event will mark the 100th year of Mahatma Gandhi's return to
India from South Africa. It is celebrated every year to honour the
achievements of Indians living abroad. The president of Guyana Mr.
Donald Ramotar will be present as the chief guest for the event.
India
wins gold at the World Youth under 16 Chess Olympiad
World
> Sports > Dec 24
India beat Turkey 3.0 –
1.0 to win the World Youth Under-16 Chess Olympiad title at Gyor in
Hungary. India were initially 0-1 down after International Master
Diptayan Ghosh lost to Vahap Sanal, but came back strongly with the
other three contestants IM Murali Karthikeyan, IM Aravindh
Chithambaram and IM Kumaran Balaji winning their respective matches.
A total of 54 countries participated in the event.
Pre-2005
notes exchange deadline extended till June 30
Economy
> India > Dec 24
The Reserve Bank of India
has announced the new deadline, for exchanging pre-2005 currency of
various denominations, including Rs.500 and Rs.1, 000. The deadline
has been extended from January 1 2015 to June 30 2015. The central
bank clarified that all such notes will continue to remain a legal
tender. It also said that these notes can be exchanged for their full
value. Post-2005 notes have security features to avoid fake currency
threats.
December
25th observed as good governance day by the union government
India
>
Important Days > Dec 25
25th December was observed
as 'good governance day' by the central government in order to
commemorate former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's 90th birth anniversary.
An exhibition was organised by the information and broadcasting
ministry at the IGNCA complex, where three films were screened on the
life of the former PM to highlight his achievements.
SMS-based
cyclone warning system launched
Science
& Technology >
India > Dec 25
An SMS-based alert system
was launched by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on the
birthday of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Individuals
can register themselves at the weather forecaster's official website
– www.imd.gov.in. After registration, they will receive an SMS from
the IMD working under round-the-clock web-based operational system.
The purpose behind launching the system is to communicate weather and
disaster-related alerts or warnings to disaster managers, fishermen
and farmers in the affected areas.
AirAsia
flight QZ8501 travelling from Indonesia to Singapore missing
World
> Aviation > Dec 28
An AirAsia plane has been
missing with 162 people on board since Saturday, 28 December. The
airliner, an Airbus A320 200 travelling from Indonesia to Singapore
lost contact with the air traffic control at 06:24 local time, the
flight left Indonesia at 05:35 local time and was scheduled to arrive
at Changi airport, Singapore at 08.30 local time. Bad weather was
earlier reported in the area and the flight had requested a deviation
citing thick storm clouds. In a recent development, dead bodies of
the passengers and debris of the plane have been found near the area
of the Java sea, where the plane was last seen. 2014 has been a
difficult year for the aviation industry, in March a Malaysian
Airlines' carrier MH370 went missing with 239 passengers on board,
which has still not been found. Another Malaysian Airlines flight,
MH17 was shot down over Ukraine in July, killing all 298 people on
board.
ISRO
chairman features in Nature journal's top ten scientists of the world
India
> ISRO > Dec 29
The chairman of ISRO (Indian
Space Research Organisation) Dr. K Radhakrishnan has been included in
the list of top ten scientists of 2014, by the prestigious journal
'Nature'. It is the first time that an Indian working in India has
been bestowed with the honour. The move comes on the back of ISRO's
launch of 'Mangalyaan' into the Mars orbit, where Dr. Radhakrishnan
played a key role. ISRO's other achievements in the current year
include ingeniously developing a cryogenic engine and launching the
GSLV Mark III.
India successfully launched
the orbiter 'Mangalyaan' into the Mars orbit on 24th September, 2014
becoming the first Asian country to do so, and the first country in
the world to achieve it in the first attempt.
Sebi
approves RNIL's proposed IPO
Corporate
> India > Dec 29
Market regulator Sebi
approved the proposal of state-run Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL)
to raise funds through an initial public offer (IPO).
RNIL had filed its draft
papers for the proposal with Sebi in September. Sebi issued its final
'observations' on the draft red-herring prospectus (DRHP) documents
on December 22, indicating a clearance to the issuer to go ahead with
the share issues through routes like IPOs, FPOs and rights issue.
Mahendra
Singh Dhoni retires from Test Cricket
Sports
> Cricket > Dec 30
Indian cricket captain,
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has retired from Test Cricket with immediate
effect. The decision comes after India drew the third test against
Australia today in Melbourne. Out of the 90 Tests he played, Dhoni
led India in 60 matches. Dhoni finished with most Test wins as India
captain (27), beating the previous best of 21 wins held by Sourav
Ganguly. The BCCI thanked Dhoni for his enormous contribution to
Indian cricket and said that Dhoni was retiring in order to relieve
himself from the pressure of playing all formats of the game and in
order to concentrate more on ODIs and T20s.
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