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PETA
to create India's first elephant sanctuary in Karnataka
India
> India’s
first elephant sanctuary > 30 Jan
The
People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) will create India's
first caged elephant sanctuary within the Bannerghatta Biological
Park in Karnataka. A model of the sanctuary is designed by PETA and
elephant expert Carol Buckley. The sanctuary is set to come up in an
area of 49.5 hectares within the biological park, which is a part of
the Bannerghatta National Park. The sanctuary will allow elephants to
roam freely without human interaction, and allow them to live a
natural life. PETA will provide training to local trainers and
mahouts to ensure protection and care for the elephants.
Anti-leprosy
day celebrated on 30th January
Days
> Anti-leprosy
day > 30 Jan
India
celebrated anti-leprosy day on 30th January 2015 to bring the
disease, also known as the Hansen’s disease, into the spotlight.
The day is celebrated to pay tribute to the selfless efforts made by
Mahatma Gandhi in order to take care of those people who were
affected by leprosy. The objectives of celebrating the day include
offering regular and free of cost treatment to the affected persons,
supporting the diseased persons psychologically and helping them to
cope up with physical impairments of skin sores and nerve damage,
ascertaining that all affected persons are getting the necessary
treatment, rehabilitation and care and estimating the marked decrease
or increase in the rate of disease spread.
India
constitutes 55 percent of the leprosy cases of the world with
Chhattisgarh having the highest prevalence rate of leprosy followed
by Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Djokovic
and Serena win Australian Open titles, Leander Paes – Martina
Hingis win mixed doubles
Sports
>Australian
Open > 02 Feb
The
Australian Open saw many veterans as well as newcomers securing the
Grand Slam title in Melbourne. Serena Williams won her sixth
Australian Open women's singles title and 19th career Grand Slam
beating her close rival Maria Sharapova. The men's singles title was
won by Novak Djokovic, who beat Andy Murray to claim his fifth
Australian Open title. Among the first-timers were the pairs
Fognini-Bolelli and Sands-Safarova, who won the men's doubles and
women's doubles titles respectively. The Indo-Swiss pair of Leander
Paes and Martina Hingis, who came together for the first time, won
the Australian Open mixed doubles title.
First
canister-based nuclear-capable ballistic missile Agni-5 test-fired
India's
first ever inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Agni-V,
successfully test-fired, taking the country’s strategic strikes
capability to a new level. It has a strike range of more than 5,000
km and can deliver a nuclear warhead of over one-tonne-deep inside
China. The trial took place in the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast,
where a three-stage missile was launched from a canister mounted on a
truck. Congratulating scientists from the Defence Research &
Development Organisation (DRDO) for the success, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said the missile was an asset for the country's
forces. The most powerful missile of India can travel faster than a
bullet despite weighing nearly 50 tonnes and will increase the
operational flexibility of armed forces.
Others
Airtel
applies for payment banks license through Kotak Mahindra
Corporate
> Airtel > 30 Jan
In
a first of its deal with a banking entity, AMSL (Airtel M Commerce
Services Ltd), the wholly-owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, is set
to convert its existing prepaid payment instrument licence into a
payments bank licence with Kotak Mahindra as partner. AMSL has been
offering mobile money services under the brand name Airtel Money. The
licence will be issued by the Reserve bank of India as per its
prescribed guidelines. Following this, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. will
procure 19.90% from the deal, subject to regulatory approvals.
Bharti
Airtel along with Kotak's banking expertise is looking forward to
deliver financial services to millions of unbanked citizens across
the country in a bid to drive India's financial inclusion agenda.
Shekhar
Sen named as the new chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi
India
> Sangeet
Natak Academy > 30 Jan
Prominent
theatre director, actor and singer Shekhar Sen was appointed as the
chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's premier institution of
performing arts. He was also awarded with the prestigious Padma Shri
on the 26th of January this year for his contribution to performing
arts. Sen was appointed for a term of five years by the culture
ministry, after the previous chairman Leela Samson quit.
Country's
first financial centre set to be formed in Gujarat
India
> Finance > 30 Jan
At
a meeting between financial regulators RBI, SEBI and IRDA, the
proposal to start India's first finance centre was laid down. The
finance body tentatively named as the International Finance Centre
(IFC) is set to come up in the special economic zone in Gujrat's
International Finance Tech-City and will handle dealings and
settlement in foreign currency. It aims to win back some of the
finance related businesses that have settled in Dubai and Singapore.
The IFC was originally envisaged for Mumbai, but the plan failed to
materialise after the 2008 crisis.
Central
government set to hire more than 62000 constables for various
parliamentary and police forces
India
> Security > 02 Feb
The
central government, in one of its biggest recruitment drives has said
it will hire 62,000 young men and women as constables for various
organisations like CRPF, BSF, ITBP, SSB, CISF, NIA and SSF. The Staff
Selection Committee (SSC) will do the hiring under guidelines
provided by the centre. Out of the total 62,390 posts, 16 % will be
reserved for women candidates. The Central Reserve Police Force
(CRPF) has the most number of vacancies 24,588, followed by 22,517
for the Border Security Force (BSF). The selection procedure will be
a three stage affair, consisting of a physical examination, written
test and medical test. Candidates who have passed the 10th standard
and are between 18 – 23 years of age are eligible for the
vacancies. Age relaxation is applicable for SC/ST and OBC candidates
and the kin of those killed in the Gujarat riots of 2002 and the 1984
anti-Sikh riots.
Government
allocates 1700 crore to Swachh Bharat Mission
Politics
and government > Swachh
Bharat Mission > 02 Feb
The
government has allocated Rs. 1700 crore to the Swachh Bharat Mission
for complete sanitation in urban and rural areas. The budget for the
programme has been allocated in the supplementary budget as the
programme was launched only in October, 2014. However, states are yet
to submit their final proposals and with only 2 months left of this
financial year, there is little chance that all of the allocation
will be utilized.
RBI
resets the upper limit of Liberalised Remittance Scheme to $250,000
India
> Economy > 03 Feb
In
a monetary policy review, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) enhanced
the limit under Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) to $250,000 per
person per year. RBI had reduced the eligibility limit for foreign
exchange remittances under LRS to $75,000 in 2013 as a safety
measure. As the foreign exchange market gained stability, the
remittance was increased to $125,000 in June 2014 and the present
increase comes in the light of the current scenario being more
favourable.
RBI
cuts SLR by 50bps but leaves the repo rates and CRR untouched
Bank
specific > RBI
rates > 03 Feb
RBI
Governor, Raghuram Rajan, recently announced decline in the SLR by 50
basis points falling from 22% to 21.2%. While the repo rates and CRR
remained unchanged, the SLR was cut down to create space for banks to
expand credit. The RBI said that the decline in SLR will encourage
the banks to increase their lending to productive sectors on
competitive terms so as to support investment and growth. As there
was no decrease in the rate of inflation and the fiscal outlook saw
no growth since January 15, the RBI has decided to move ahead with
current interest rates stance. However, the GDP growth estimates in
2015-16 are expected to rise to 6.5 per cent, owing to the
improvement in domestic growth. RBI estimated the current account
deficit (CAD) for 2014- 15 at 1.3 per cent of the GDP, significantly
lower than the earlier projection.
Information
to help:
Statutory
liquidity ratio (SLR) is the reserve requirement that the commercial
banks in India require maintaining in the form of gold, cash or
government approved securities before providing credit to the
customers. Statutory Liquidity Ratio is determined and maintained by
Reserve Bank of India in order to control the expansion of bank
credit.
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