Current Affairs for MBA exams (19th February - 25th February)

Starred Articles

Rs 1,500 crore nuclear liability pool gets approval from IRDA

Politics & Government > Nuclear liability pool > 23 Feb

The Insurance sector regulator IRDA has approved the Rs 1,500 crore nuclear liability pool that will provide risk cover to nuclear reactors. The rising demands for covering the reactors prompted the insurance companies to create a separate pool within India. Although the insurance companies have not yet come up with ways to raise the money for the set-up, the IRDA is looking forward to deal with it in a favorable manner. GIC, the domestic re-insurer, would be the nodal agency for creating a nuclear liability pool with a corpus of Rs 1,500 crore. It is in the process of pricing and underwriting the policies.

Oscar 2015 winners announced, American black comedy Birdman wins best picture

Awards > Oscars > 23 Feb

The 87th Academy Awards presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was held on 22nd February at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The Best Picture award went to “Birdman”, the Best Actor award went to Eddie Redmayne for “The Theory of Everything” and Julianne Moore was adjudged Best Actress for her role in “Still Alice”. Best Supporting Actor and Actress went to J.K. Simmons and Patricia Arquette for their roles in “Whiplash” and “Boyhood”. Achievement in Costume Design went to Milena Canonero for “The Grand Budapest Hotel”. Polish film “Ida” won the Best Foreign Language Film and became the first Polish film to win the award. Best Visual Effects went to “Interstellar”, Best Cinematography to Emmanuel Lubezki for “Birdman”, Best Original Score to Alexandre Desplat for "The Grand Budapest Hotel", Best Original Song to "Glory" from "Selma" and Best Documentary Feature to "CitizenFour".

Ajay Singh takes over from Marans as SpiceJet promoter

Corporate > SpiceJet > 23 Feb

SpiceJet declared Ajay Singh as its new promoter, following an ownership transfer between Marans and Singh. Singh established his position as a crucial member of the revival plan of SpiceJet, after acquiring a whole of 58.46 per cent stake from Kalanithi Maran and Kal Airways Private Limited. The company is set to raise Rs 1,500 crore through issuance of fresh securities under this revival plan. The deal boosted the shares of the airline as they rose over one per cent to Rs 24.35 on the BSE in early morning trade. The deal has already received clearance from the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
As per the revival plan, SpiceJet would see a capital infusion of Rs 1,500 crore from Singh in installments by April.

UN climate head Rajendra Pachauri quits

World > Rajendra Pachauri > 24 Feb

After maintaining his position as the head of the UN climate change panel (IPCC) for 13 years, Rajendra Pachauri resigned, succumbing to sexual harassment allegations. A 29-year old women working in his office in Delhi had registered a complaint against him saying the harassment included unwanted emails as well as text and phone messages . He had however denied the allegations, saying his email account and mobile phone were hacked. In a letter drafted to the UN secretary general, Mr. Pachauri wrote that under such circumstances, he wouldn't be able to provide "strong leadership and dedication" to the panel and thus he has decided to step down as chair of the IPCC.

Others

PDP-BJP tie-up done long ago, says Omar Abdullah

Politics & Government > Kashmir > 22 Feb

According to the statement of Jammu & Kashmir former chief minister Omar Abdullah, PDP-BJP coalition, which emerged as a breaking news, was done long ago. He added that the friction between PDP and BJP was a pretentious affair put up by PDP patron Mufti Sayeed to undo the damage in Valley. Hakeem Yasin, President of the Peoples Democratic Front agreed with the claim calling BJP an anti-Kashmir and non-secular party. The alliance has been facing criticisms and is causing a stir among various political leaders. It remains to be seen if the coalition meets the economic, social and political aspirations of the people of the state.

Nitish Kumar sworn-in as Bihar Chief Minister

Politics & Government > Bihar > 22 Feb

JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar took oath as Bihar Chief Minister, resuming his position after a nine-month long political drama. Kumar had quit after JD(U)’s debacle in the general elections and given his power to Jitan Ram Manjhi. Howerver, Manjhi refused to step down in order to make way for Kumar when he decided to take over the position after eight months. Manjhi had decided to prove his majority in Bihar assembly by taking a floor test in order to maintain his position. But, he quit as Chief Minister just before the test saying his ministers had received threats messages. BJP who was believed to support Manjhi has sharply criticized swearing-in of Nitish Kumar.

HSBC Chief kept millions in Swiss account

World > HSBC > 23 Feb

The Guardian newspaper has claimed that the HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver held about USD 7.6 million in a Swiss account in the name of Worcester Equities Inc, a Panama-registered company. A representative for Gulliver responded to the claim saying that the chief executive had used a Swiss account to hold his bonus payments prior to 2003, when he moved from Hong Kong to London. This new information adds to the stream of so-called allegations of “Swissleaks” doing the rounds. Gulliver who had earlier promised to reform the scandal-hit bank has now come under the radar himself.

Arab countries should fight against ISIS, says Egyptian President

World > ISIS > 23 Feb

The Egyptian President has said in a statement that it is time for Arab countries to form a joint coalition force against ISIS. As Egypt gears up for a major battle against ISIS in Libya, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have offered military help. The U.S. President Barack Obama had called other countries to participate in the fight against ISIS, following which, El-Sisi made the statement. Presently the U.S. Is leading a coalition to fight ISIS by launching series of airstrikes over Syria and Iraq, of which 80% are by the U.S and 20% by other coalition countries. However, it is uncertain if the airstrikes alone is capable of eliminating ISIS.

Conversion was Mother Teresa’s real aim, says RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

Politics & Government > Conversion > 24 Feb

Addressing an audience at a function, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat made a controversial statement, saying that the prime motive behind Mother Teresa's service to the destitute was converting them to Christianity. At the function, former DGP of Border Security Force Prakash Singh, too, criticized Mother Teresa. Following this incident, the Shiv Sena supported RSS chief Bhagwat's remark on Mother Teresa and said that all missionaries came to India only with the objective of converting people to Christianity. The opposition has condemned Bhagwat's statement, demanding an apology from him.

Rail Budget to have number of environment-friendly initiatives

Politics & Government > Rail Budget > 24 Feb

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu is gearing up for the announcement of Rail Budget including number of green initiatives like setting up of recycling plants and solar energy generation plants to name a few. The Minister is intending to introduce maximum usage of alternative fuel in rail operations in the upcoming rail budget. Besides proposals for building water treatment plants and recycling plants, plans to set up a plant for producing energy from waste, a first of its kind exercise in the public transporter, is also expected from the budget. A new integrated management system certification of all major workshops and production units covering quality, occupational health and safety will also be announced. There will be a separate chapter in the Rail Budget listing a series of environment initiatives.

Greek government drafts summary of reforms

World > Greece > 24 Feb

The Greek government led by Alexis Tsipras, has reached a settlement with the eurozone leaders by laying down a set of reforms in exchange for agreeing to a bailout extension. The outline summary of reforms consists of plans to combat tax evasion, trim the civil service and overcome the issue of fuel and tobacco smuggling. Additionally, it included a commitment to address what Syriza has called Greece's "humanitarian crisis". The creditors' verdict on the reforms is awaited before taking the proposals further to a Eurogroup discussion. The reforms are aimed at fulfilling pre-election pledges to help those hit by years of economic crisis. The agreement was made taking into account the demands of the creditors and the needs of austerity-weary voters.

Commotion in Parliament over NDA's Land Acquisition Bill

Politics & Government > Land Acquisition Bill > 24 Feb

The land acquisition bill is facing issues in the Parliament, owing to the differences between BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and the opposition parties. While the opposition parties protested aginst the land acquisition amendment bill 2015, finance minister Arun Jaitley defended NDA's ordinance route. He said that government is within its rights to take the ordinance route. However, the BJP-led NDA will require the support of opposition parties in order to pass the bill in Rajya Sabha. The Opposition has remained firm that the ordinance, along with five more, would not be allowed to go through Parliament. These ordinances would expire on March 20, if not passed during this budget session. Things got worse when Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) also raised objection to the ordinance. Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare and Delhi Chief Minister AAP's Arvind Kejriwal have also sat in protest against the Land Acquisition Bill.

Spouses of H-1B visa holder will now get US permits

World > US Visa > 24 Feb

In a move that brings a big relief to Indians, spouses of certain high-tech foreign workers will now be allowed to apply for work permits in the US. This will simplify the ordeal faced by families to obtain the green card. The rising concerns of tech-companies forced the US government to lift the cap on H-1B visas and helped accelerate the processing of green cards. The regulation for spouses of H-1B visas was first proposed last year and declared as part of President Barack Obama's package of executive actions on immigration. Given the prolonged waiting period for green cards, Australia and Canada are also making similar offers to spouses of H-1B visa holders.