Events of National & International Importance
LS passes amendment bill on appointment of CBI Chief
1.
The Lok Sabha today passed the Delhi Special Police Establishment
(Amendment) Bill, 2014 by voice vote.
2.
As per the new provisions, CBI director will be selected by a panel which
will comprise of Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha or the
leader of the Single largest party in the House and Chief Justice of India or
any Supreme Court Judge.
3.
Earlier, there was no provision of the leader of the single largest party
in the panel.
4.
The Bill also makes a provision that no appointment will be invalid
merely because of vacancy or absence of a member of the panel.
U.S concerns over Indian IPR regime
1.
At the first round in four years of joint trade talks, India and the United
States agreed to explore the possibility of enhanced market access to
identified agricultural products.
2.
At the talks, the U.S. raised concern over the level of protection India
affords to its companies and the intellectual property rights (IPR) regime in
India.
3.
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman made a pitch for lower
tariffs for import of off-patent drugs to India.
4.
He also pitches for access US companies to India’s public solar energy
and health insurance programmes.
5.
They also raised the issue of whether the ‘Make in India’
policy would be one of encouraging globally competitive manufacturing or a less
competitive industry behind a wall of protection.
6.
According to the joint India-US statement issued after the
eighth ministerial-level meeting of the India-United States Trade Policy Forum
(TPF).
7.
The two countries agreed to establish a new technical
dialogue for cooperation on plant health, animal health, and food safety issues
in a manner that facilitates movement of agricultural goods between the two
countries.
Recent
development at 18th SAARC summit
1. PM
pushes for a South Asian University, immediate medical visas for patients from
SAARC countries
2. India
will now give business visa for 3-5 years for SAARC Countries.
3. Agricultural
growth has helped eradicate abject hunger and poverty.Bangladesh target being
middle income country by 2021.
4. This
is the third time Nepal is organising the summit - first in 1987 and then again
in 2002.
5. Ahead
of the summit, three meetings at foreign ministers’, foreign secretaries’ and
joint secretaries’ levels decided to scrap three SAARC regional centres and
merge four others into one.
Sulawesi bird named after Indian-origin scientist
1. A new bird species
discovered more than 15 years after it was first seen on the Indonesian island
of Sulawesi has been named after late ecologist and ornithologist Navjot Sodhi.
2. A mottled throat and short
wings distinguish Muscicapa sodhii, the newly named Sulawesi
streaked flycatcher.
3. Despite being a globally
important avian hotspot, Sulawesi has largely gone unstudied by ornithologists.
4. The Latin name the team gave the bird pays homage to the late Mr. Sodhi,
who was Mr. Harris’ former mentor and professor at the National University of
Singapore.
Boxer Manoj Kumar finally receives Arjuna Award
1. Boxer Manoj Kumar today received the prestigious Arjuna Award from
Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
2. The 2010 Commonwealth Games gold-medalist, was bestowed with the honour
in a function organised in the National capital.
3. Manoj was earlier denied the award by the Kapil Dev-led selection
committee
Environment & Ecology
Rs.
800-crore plan to save flamingo habitat
1. Amid concerns by environmentalists and bird
lovers, the Maharashtra government will spend around Rs 800 crore to minimise
the damage caused to Sewri mudflats in Central Mumbai.
2. These are better known for
housing flamingos during their annual migration in Mumbai.
3.
Every winter, flamingos fly to
the Sewri-Mahul mudflats, filled with chemicals and sewage, in search of food.
4.
The long-pending Mumbai Trans
Harbour Link (MTHL) project, which involved in building a 22-km bridge from
Sewri to Nhava in Navi Mumbai, is posing a threat to the birds’ habitat.
5.
The Bombay Natural History
Society (BNHS) has been demanding shifting of its starting point in Sewri to
500 meters south to minimise the destruction of mudflats.
Economic Development
Modi proposes Saarc business traveller card
1.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed a Saarc business
traveller card for making it easier for traders and merchants in the region to
travel and access one another’s markets.
2.
Intra-regional relations become stronger as connectivity is
increased and people-to-people contacts encouraged.
3.
Those coming to India for medical treatment, India will
provide immediate medical visa for the patient and an attendant.
RBI tightens screws on foreign fund raising
1.
Tightening screws on foreign fund raising, the Reserve Bank
has banned domestic firms from raising such funds above the permitted levels
and from extending guarantees for them to meet domestic funding needs.
2.
The RBI in a notification also made it clear that those not
following the norms will face penal action under the Foreign Exchange
Management Act -FEMA.
3.
Forex funds are cheaper than the rupee funds and it was
noticed by the apex bank that in recent years.
4.
Some Indian companies have been tapping up forex debt market
to repay rupee loans or to meet other capex needs.
5.
As per official data, India Inc's foreign borrowing soared
44 per cent to 2.78 billion US Dollar in October.
6.
Of this only 69.43 million US dollar came through approval
route and the rest 2.71 billion US dollar through automatic route.
Editorial
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