CURRENT AFFAIRS 27-28th Oct., 2014

DOWNLOAD PDF

CURRENT AFFAIRS 28th Oct., 2014

1. Centre scrapped the selection of six chiefs of public sector banks, recommended under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime. The decision follows a high-level panel finding irregularities in the process followed. At present, eight CMD posts and 14 posts of EDs will have to be filled due to the cancellation.

2. According to a World Bank report, India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to expand by 5.6 per cent this financial year as reforms gain momentum. The growth is expected to accelerate as proposed measures such as the goods and services tax (GST) will give a boost to manufacturing. In the following years, GDP growth is likely to rise further to 6.4 per cent and 7 per cent in FY16 and FY17 respectively.

3. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is implementing a project by which India's steel re-rolling mills can use advanced energy-efficient technologies called second generation (SG) technologies for energy conservation. The project is a part of the programme, 'Upscaling energy-efficient production in the small-scale steel industry in India', being implemented with support from Australian Aid and the Union ministry of steel.

4. Japanese telecom and Internet giant SoftBank will invest around Rs. 60,000 crore ($10 billion) in India in the communications and information technology space, over the next few years.

5. Government has named three black account holders in an affidavit to Supreme Court. It has said that confidentiality had to be maintained under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement and names of persons should be used only for tax purposes. The court needed to consider whether international standards had been violated in its directing the disclosure of names.

CURRENT AFFAIRS 27th Oct., 2014

1. Labour Ministry has proposed the Small Factories (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Services) Bill to govern wages and conditions of work in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The Bill envisages rules for wages, overtime hours, social security and appointment of factory inspectors in units employing fewer than 40 workers.

2. International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) India Mission Chief has said that among emerging markets and BRICS countries, India stands out for accomplishing the sharpest turnaround in its macro economy since the U.S. Federal Reserve started reversing its zero-interest rates monetary policy. As a result, of all these economies, India is best prepared to deal with the Fed’s monetary policy actions.

3. Manohar Lal Khattar, Haryana's first chief minister from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took oath at a high-profile event attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Panchkula. Khattar is the 10th chief minister of the state.

4. Sainath, Al Jazeera English, USA Today and Global Post were among the winners of the World Media Summit (WMS) Global Awards for Excellence, 2014. These are the first comprehensive news awards covering multiple media formats, including press, photo, video and integrated media to honour “truth, objectivity and excellence” in journalism.

5. The book titled Tulsi Smriti Granth on Acharya Tulsi was received by the President Pranab Mukhejee from Dr. Karan Singh who formally released it.