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Articles
Jan
Dhan Yojana makes it to the Guinness Book of World Records
India
> Politics > 27 Jan
India's
effort of opening 15.45 crore bank accounts to transfer subsidies in
a short span of five months is now a world record and will feature in
the Guinness Book of World Records. The Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan
Yojana (PMJDY), launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August,
has set a world record for 'The most bank accounts opened in one
week' – about 1.80 crore. The government plans to transfer annual
subsidies of around Rs. 51,029 crores directly to bank accounts of
15.45 crore beneficiaries in the next year as a part of the financial
inclusion campaign. The government has rolled out 34 direct transfer
benefit welfare schemes including the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and the direct benefits
transfer for LPG scheme.
India-US
reach breakthrough on civil nuclear deal, Obama pledges investment of
$4 billion
India
> Obama
visit > 28 Jan
The
Civil Nuclear deal, between India and the United States of America,
which was signed in the year 2006, gained momentum after a hiatus of
eight years. The deadlock pertaining to the deal existed due to the
latter's concern in case of a nuclear casualty. The two countries
have now decided to transfer the financial risk to insurers in case
of an accident. The last step for India now would be to rope in
American suppliers selling reactor technology. President Barack Obama
also promised $4 billion in loans and investment to boost trade,
business and employment opportunities in India. US Export-Import Bank
will finance $1-billion worth of exports, Overseas Private Investment
Corporation will lend $1 billion to small, medium-sized enterprises
in rural areas of India and the US Trade and Development Agency would
finance $2 billion for renewable energy in India.
Renowned
cartoonist RK Laxman dies
India
> Others > 28 Jan
Noted
cartoonist RK Laxman died at a Pune hospital on the evening of 26th
January, 2015. The 93 year-old was admitted for urinary infection and
chest related problems, he did not respond to medication, which led
to a multi-organ failure and eventually his death. The cartoonist was
famous for his 'you said it' cartoons, which featured every day in
the Times of India, and depicted the common man's everyday problems.
He received prestigious awards like the Padma Vibhushan and the Ramon
Magasaysay award for his contribution to arts.
Anti-austerity
leader Alexis Tsipras elected Greece Prime Minister, Eurozone leaders
speculate Greece exit
Politics
> World > 28 Jan
Syriza
leader Alexis Tsipras is set to swear-in as the Prime Minister of
Greece following his historic win in the Greek elections. The new
coalition government, formed by the anti-austerity party Syriza and
the small right-wing Independent Greeks (ANEL) party, is being
anticipated by analysts as short-lived, given the volatility of ANEL.
The troika of lenders that bailed out Greece - the European Union,
European Central Bank, and International Monetary Fund - imposed big
budgetary cuts and restructuring in return for the money. While
Tsipras is about to renegotiate the terms of the 240-billion-euro
($269 billion) bailout, chief economics spokesman of Syriza , Euclid
Tsakalotos says that Greece cannot be expected to pay all its debts.
He said, if Greece falls, it will take down the Eurozone and the euro
with it, owing to the policies of austerity. As Tsipras is looking
forward for negotiations with EU, the EU leaders speculate Greece's
exit from the Eurozone resulting from the defaults on debt repayments
and reduction of debt commitments on Greece's part. An exit from the
Eurozone is likely to be disastrous for Greece as living standards
would fall, banks would face chances of collapse, businesses could go
bankrupt and the cost of imports could multiple. In such a scenario,
investors would also become nervous about lending to other struggling
countries. European Banks might be forced to stop lending and the
country might be forced into another recession. Greece won’t be
able to borrow from anyone and the government will eventually run out
of Euros.
Others
King
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia passes away, half-brother Salman becomes new
ruler
World
> Saudi
Arabia > 23 Jan
Saudi
Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz died on Friday leaving the
throne to his half-brother, Salman. Before becoming the king of Saudi
Arabia in 2006, he had run the country as de facto regent for a
decade until the demise of predecessor King Fahd. Abdullah introduced
cautious changes in the conservative Islamic kingdom including
increased women's rights and economic deregulation, but made no moves
towards democracy and was a hawk on policy towards rival Iran.
Abdullah also played a crucial role in backing Egypt's military when
it ousted its President Bashar al-Assad.
US
President Barack Obama cut short his three-day visit to India and led
a high-level delegation to Saudi Arabia to pay respects to King
Abdullah. Saudi Arabia is among the most prominent allies of the US
in the Arab world and is among the US-led coalition of Western and
Arab nations conducting air strikes against IS in Syria and Iraq. But
relations between the US and Saudi Arabia have been strained in
recent years by differences over US policy on the Syrian conflict and
its nuclear diplomacy with Shia-ruled Iran - a regional rival of
Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia. Also the US dependence on Saudi Arabia is
likely to decrease following shale oil and new Arctic oilfields that
might see US production double. Also there is increased pressure on
the United States following Saudi Arabia’s stance on human rights
and extremism.
Recipients
of Padma Awards announced
Awards
> India > 25 Jan
The
Padma Awards recipients were announced by the NDA government
recently. Notable personalities like BJP stalwart LK Advani, actors
Amitabh Bachan and Dilip Kumar, Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh
Badal and Nuclear scientist M R Srinivasan are among the nine
awardees to receive Padma Vibhushan, the highest in the series of
Padma Awards, for exceptional and distinguished service. Padma Awards
is one of the highest civilian Awards of the country. It is conferred
in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma
Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines – art, social
work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry,
medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.
Wipro
lands Rs 900-crore deal with Irish bank
Corporate
> World > 25 Jan
Wipro
won a $150 million (Rs 900 crore) IT outsourcing deal from the Allied
Irish Banks (AIB) defeating incumbent IT vendor IBM to bag the IMS
portion of the contract. According to the deal, Wipro will provide
infrastructure management services (IMS), data centre and hosting
services to AIB over five years. The deal will provide opportunity
for Wipro to participate in other IT deals including the Bank of
Ireland contract that is soon to be renewed later this year. Bank of
Ireland had signed a five-year infrastructure contract with IBM in
2010. Following this deal, Wipro will set up a Dublin based
ServiceNXT operations centre and the mainframe COE, creating
employment opportunities for locals of Ireland. Over 130 AIB
employees will be relocated to this new set up. Wipro's Shannon
development centre in Ireland has been providing services to banks
and financial services company across Ireland and the UK .
India
celebrated its 66th Republic day with Barack Obama as the chief guest
India
> 66th
Republic Day > 26 Jan
India
celebrated its 66th Republic Day on Monday, 26th of January, 2015
before its chief guest US president, Barack Obama at Rajpath, New
Delhi. This is the first time that an American President would be the
chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations. Arrangements were
made to ensure an incident-free Republic Day celebration and
fool-proof security to the American President was provided. The event
saw a splendid display of India's military might and cultural
diversity. The highlights of the events were – the BSF daredevils'
formation of a human pyramid on moving motorbikes, a march-past of
all-female units of the army, navy and air-force, tribal and folk
dances of different states of the country showcasing unity in
diversity and the display of long-range maritime surveillance and
anti-submarine P-8I aircraft and the long-range advanced MIG-29K
fighter plane. The parade was concluded by a spectacular fly-past by
the Indian Air-force that left a smoke-trail of the saffron, white
and green representing the Indian national flag.
Arvind
Kejriwal issued notice by the Election Commission for alleged “bribe”
remark
India
> Politics > 27 Jan
Former
Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal
was issued a notice by the Election Commission (EC) over his
controversial 'bribe' remark while campaigning for the Delhi
elections. In his rallies Kejriwal had appealed to the people of
Delhi to accept money and other goods if offered in exchange of votes
from parties like the Congress and BJP, but only vote for AAP in the
polls. The EC notice states that the AAP leader's comments amount to
'abetting and promotion of the electoral offence of bribery'.
Kejriwal had initially ignored the notice and chose to repeat his
controversial comments in many of his rallies, but later acknowledged
the notice and replied.
Barack
Obama says India and US can become best partners, also holds a joint
radio address with PM Modi
India
> Politics > 27 Jan
As he
concluded his landmark three day visit to India, US president Barack
Obama said that the US can become India's best partners in all
aspects, while addressing a crowd of students at Delhi's Siri Fort
auditorium. He also highlighted issues like a stronger economic
relationship, climate change, women safety in India and religious
tolerance. President Obama also co-hosted Narendra Modi’s monthly
radio address to the nation titled “Maan ki Baat”, where they
highlighted various issues like the plethora of opportunities in both
their countries and the power of youth amongst others and also their
own personal experiences and view-points that have inspired them in
their personal life.
9
people killed in Tripoli hotel attack by IS
World
< Tripoli
Hotel Attack > 27 Jan
Islamic
State (IS) militants attacked the Corinthia hotel in Tripoli, Libya,
which is quite popular with Libyan diplomats and government
officials. The gunmen set-off a car bomb before entering the hotel,
which killed three security guards. They later killed five foreigners
on the 24th floor of the hotel before blowing themselves up after
being surrounded by security officials. The final suicide bombing
claimed one more life, that of a hostage. The Tripoli branch of the
Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for the
attack on their Twitter handle, and said that the attack was in
response to the death of an Al Qaeda suspect, Abu Anas al-Libi, who
died before facing trial for bombing US embassies.
