CURRENT AFFAIRS 1-2nd Dec., 2014

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CURRENT AFFAIRS 2nd Dec., 2014

1. Reserve Bank kept the key rate unchanged at its fifth bi-monthly monetary policy review - the repo rate continues to be at 8 per cent, the cash reserve ratio at 4 per cent. RBI governor said that a shift in stance is 'premature' but hinted that a cut may come early next year if inflation continues to ease and government acts on the fiscal side.

2. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) might introduce a gold quota system for individual importers for distribution among jewellers. The quota system will take the place of 80:20 scheme under which at least 20 per cent of imported gold should mandatorily be supplied to jewellery exporters. The 80:20 scheme was withdrawn by RBI recently.

3. Punjab would become the first state in the country to have the status of e-Sarkar covering all the 47 departments and its 143 branches with Integrated Workflow and Document Management System (IWDMS) to process common tasks online. This e governance initiative will bring efficiency and transparency in public functioning.

4. Government has sought suggestions from the general public on various parameters including bad assets in order to improve performance of public sector banks. Public sector banks accounted for over 90 per cent of total non-performing assets (NPAs) that the banking sector registered in 2013-14.

5. Agni-IV India’s strategic missile, will be launched by Strategic Forces Command’s (SFC) from the Wheeler Island on the Odisha coast. The missile has a range of more than 4,000 km.

CURRENT AFFAIRS 1st Dec., 2014

1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said steps will be taken to stop inflow of illegal migrants from Bangladesh and would operationalise land swapping deal for a permanent solution to deal with the problem of infiltration. The deal relates to demarcation of boundary under the Land Boundary Agreement between the two countries.

2. Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is launching a public consultation for framing rules to allow reclassification of promoters at listed firms looking to become public shareholders. The new norms will have impact on the way some merger and acquisition deals are structured and in cases involving corporate restructuring.

3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has slipped to the second place in the Time magazine's Person of the Year poll with the Ferguson protesters ahead of him. US President Barack Obama is placed at 11th position with just 2.4% of the total votes.

4. Prime Minister Modi has called for the creation of a 'SMART' police force. By SMART policing, He meant S for strict but sensitive, M for modern and mobile, A for alert and accountable, R for reliable and responsive and T for techno-savvy and trained police force.

5. In a recent directive, the government has asked ministries and departments that all proposals for providing relief in times of natural disasters should flow from a single source. It is aimed to stop the practice of ministries unilaterally declaring relief packages in times of natural calamities such as droughts and floods.

6. In yet another setback for Vijay Mallya, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has rejected a proposal for his re-appointment as Managing Director of Kingfisher Airlines, which has remained grounded since October, 2012.