Ratan Tata Invests in Services Market-place Urban Clap
In Banking and Finance
Industrialist Ratan Tata has invested an
undisclosed amount in India’s services marketplace UrbanClap. Operational in
six cities – Delhi-NCR, Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad – Urban
Clap allows users to book over 80 services, including plumbing, electrical
work, beauty, wellness, tutorials and wedding photography. The company has a
network of more than 25,000 service professionals.
The Tata Sons’ Chairman Emeritus had been
aggressively investing in start-ups, ranging from e-commerce firms to cab
aggregators. He has invested in firms like Snapdeal, Kaaryah, Urban Ladder,
Bluestone, Car Dekho, Sabse Technologies, Xiaomi and Ola. Tata, who served as
the Chairman of Tata Sons for over two decades until his retirement in 2012,
has also joined some venture capital funds as advisor, including Kalaari Capital
and Jungle Ventures, in the past year.
Conservative Mauricio Macri
sworn in as Argentine president
In International Affairs
Mauricio MacriBusiness-friendly conservative
Mauricio Macri was sworn in as Argentina’s new president, turning the page on
12 years under left-wing power couple Nestor and Cristina Kirchner. The oath of
office was administered by incoming Senate speaker Federico Pinedo, who had
served as provisional president. Kirchner, irate over the spat, boycotted the inauguration
along with her allies in Congress.
“This government will know how to defend
freedom, which is essential for democracy,” Macri vowed in an inaugural address
that laid out a sweeping agenda for change. He also promised to fight
“untiringly for those who need it most,” a nod to his campaign pledges to keep
the Kirchners’ popular social programs. Macri, 56, won a November 22 run-off
election against Kirchner’s chosen successor, Daniel Scioli.
The son of a wealthy businessman, he rose to
fame as the president of Argentina’s most popular football club, Boca Juniors,
during a storied string of trophy wins. The mayor of Buenos Aires since 2007,
he won election at the head of a coalition called “Let’s Change.” He has vowed
to reboot Latin America’s third-largest economy, which is slumping toward
recession, by ending protectionist import restrictions, cutting heavy taxes on
agricultural exports and scrapping the official exchange rate puffing up the
Argentine peso.
Virat
Kohli becomes co-owner of PWL franchise Bengaluru Yodhas
In Sports
Bengaluru
Yodhas, the JSW Group owned franchise in the Pro Wrestling League, has
announced India’s Test captain Virat Kohli as the co-owner of the team. Kohli
who led the Indian team to a 3-0 Test series victory over South Africa
recently, is all set to take it with this association with the Bengaluru
franchise. The Pro Wrestling League, whose inaugural edition kicks off on
the 10th of December in New Delhi’s KD Jadhav stadium, pits six city-based
franchises against one another in one of the richest freestyle wrestling
tournaments in the world. Kohli’s Bengaluru Yodhas will face Rohit Sharma’s UP
Warriors in their opening fixture.
The
Pro Wrestling League believes Kohli will give the sport the kind of fillip it
requires. The Bengaluru Yodhas are captained by 74 kg wrestler Narsingh Yadav,
India’s sole medallist at the 2015 World Wrestling Championship. Giving
Narsingh company are Sandeep Tomar, Bajrang Punia, Ukraine’s Pavlo Oliiynik and
Georgia’s Davit Modzmanashvili in the men’s section. Five-time World
Championship medallist Yuliya Ratkevich of Azerbaijan is the Yodhas’ star in
the women’s draw. She is joined by USA’s Alyssa Lampe, India’s Lalita Sehrawat
and Navjot Kaur.
Rohit
Sharma became co-owner of UP Warriors in Pro Wrestling League
In Sports
Cricketer Rohit Sharma has been named a co-owner of the Pro
Wrestling League team UP Warriors. Sharma is the big celebrity to co-own a team
in the much-hyped league, after Bollywood veteran Dharmendra. Speaking about
the association, Sharma said he is proud to come on board as one of the
co-owners of the UP Warriors team at the Pro Wrestling League.
Mahela
Jayawardene awarded honorary lifetime membership of MCC
In Awards and Honors
Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has been awarded
honorary life membership of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in recognition of
his “stellar career”. Jayawardene’s invitation recognises a stellar career in
which he played 149 Test matches and scored 11,814 runs at an average of 49.84.
He appears on the famous Lord’s Honors Boards twice, having scored 107 and 119
against England in 2002 and 2006 respectively.
Jayawardene becomes the 14th Sri Lankan to be awarded MCC Honorary
Life Membership, joining former teammates Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah
Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas on the list. Honorary Life Membership is awarded
by the MCC Committee to individuals in recognition of the service they have
given to the cricket and projects surrounding the game, often over a very long
period. There are now more than 300 Honorary Life Members of MCC out of a total
Full Membership of 18,000.
Jayawardene said: “It is an honour to be awarded Honorary Life
Membership of MCC. It is a great Club and I’m privileged to now be a part of
it. I’ve always enjoyed playing at Lord’s, and the MCC Members have always
given me a great reception, so to be given this accolade is extra special. The
Club does brilliant work both in the UK and overseas and I’m delighted to now
be a part of it.”
Microsoft
Cortana Launched for Android and iOS in Select Regions
In Science and Technology
Microsoft’s voice-based virtual assistant Cortana, which ships
with every Windows 10 computer, is now available as a general release Android
and iOS users in select region. After months of testing, the company announced
that Cortana is out of beta ready to be used on rival mobile platforms. It will
serve as a companion app to Windows 10 PCs.
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that it will be bringing
Cortana to devices running Android and iOS. The Android public beta of it
kicked off in August, and a limited beta rollout on iOS began last month. While
both the versions have left testing phase, they are still only available to
users in the United States and China for now.
Cortana on these platforms isn’t as powerful as it is on Windows
Phone. It is because Android and iOS don’t offer as much integration to
third-party apps, which limits the things Cortana could do on your device.
RBI
announces timetable reduction in SLR
In Banking and Finance
The RBI has announced a reduction in the share of government
securities that banks have to mandatorily hold in their books in four equal
phases starting from next fiscal year. The RBI has said that the bank’s
investment in government securities also known as statutory liquidity ratio
(SLR) would be lowered to 20.5% by January 2017. As of now, banks are mandated
to invest 21.5% of their deposits in government securities.
According to the new time table SLR would be reduced to by 25
basis points to 21.25% as on April 2, 2016. It would fall to 21% by July 9,
2016. It would further be lowered from October 1, 2016 to 20.75%. The RBI said
that the last round of reduction in the SLR would be one 20.50% by January 1,
2017.
As of now, most banks have excess SLR in their books than mandated
by RBI. As per the RBI data, the banking system has 29.33% of SLR as on October
30, 2015. The excess investment in government securities is primarily due to
absence of credit demand.
Ganga
rejuvenation: NGT bans plastic from Gomukh to Haridwar
In Indian Affairs
The National Green Tribunal has directed that there will be a
complete ban on use of plastic of any kind from Gomukh to Haridwar along Ganga
with effect from February 1. The NGT is also slapping a penalty of Rs 5,000 per
day on erring hotels, dharamshalas and ashrams spewing waste into the river.
The Tribunal passed a slew of directions to keep the river pollution free.
The green panel divided the cleaning work of Ganga into different
segments. ie Gomukh to Haridwar, Haridwar to Kanpur, Kanpur to border of Uttar
Pradesh, border of Uttar Pradesh to border of Jharkhand and border of Jharkhand
to Bay of Bengal.
Besides the plastic ban, the Tribunal also prohibited throwing of
any municipal waste, construction and demolition wastes into Ganga and its
tributaries while announcing that violators will have to pay an environmental
compensation at the rate of Rs 5,000 per incident.
The Tribunal, which did not pass any order with regard to nine
hydro-power projects in Uttarakhand as the matter is pending in the Supreme
Court, said that all the projects would build their own sewage treatment plants
(STPs) and make them operational within three months.
The green bench further held that all the seriously polluting
industries which are operating without consent from Uttarakhand Environment
Protection and Pollution Control Board shall be closed with immediate effect.
Lok
Sabha passed Industries (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill
In Indian Affairs
Lok Sabha has passed a bill that provides for transferring from
the central government to the states the control over industries engaged in the
production of potable alcohol. The Industries (Development and Regulation)
Amendment Bill, was passed by a voice vote in the absence of Congress and
Trinamool Congress which were boycotting the House over some “objectionable”
remarks by a BJP member against Rahul Gandhi and Nehru-Gandhi family.
Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the amendment would
bring potable alcohol under the jurisdiction of states and help address the
issue of litigations which have been filed. The Bill proposes to amend the
first schedule of the Act so that it would be “in conformity with the judgement
of the Supreme Court (of 1997) and also ensure that the industries engaged in
the manufacture of alcohol meant for potable purposes shall be under the total
and exclusive control of states in all aspects”.
According to the Minister, the Bill is to implement the Supreme
Court ruling in 1997 whereby potable alcohol is to come under the control of
states. Sitharaman expressed hope that alcohol and ethanol would be used more
for purposes that would improve energy and fuel efficiencies rather than going
towards production of potable alcohol which is detrimental to the health of
people.
Govt
clears Japan’s bid for first bullet train ahead of Shinzo Abe trip
In Foreign Relations
Bullet trainIndia’s cabinet has cleared a $14.7 billion Japanese
proposal to build its first bullet train line, one of India’s biggest foreign
investments in its infrastructure sector. The decision ahead of Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit gives Japan an early lead over China, which is also
bidding to build high-speed rail lines across large parts of India’s congested
and largely British-era system.
Japan had offered to finance 80% of the cost of the train linking
financial capital Mumbai with Ahmedabad, the commercial centre of Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat, at an interest rate of less
than 1%. Modi and Abe have forged a strong relationship, seeking to expand
commercial and defence ties and push back against the rising influence of China
across Asia.
Japan’s International Cooperation Agency completed a feasibility
study in July on the 505-km (315-mile) Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor offering to
cut travel time to two hours from the current seven to eight hours.
China was in September given the right to assess the feasibility
of a high-speed train link between Delhi and Chennai, in the south, after
getting clearances from India’s security agencies wary of Chinese involvement
in infrastructure areas such as telecoms and railways. French and Spanish firms
are also conducting studies into building two of the routes in a quadrilateral
of high-speed train lines criss-crossing the country that would drastically
reduce travel times.
ICC
announces OPPO as Global Partner
In Sports
OPPO The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced an
exciting new global partnership with Oppo, a leading mobile telephone device
companies, on a four-year deal which runs from 2016 until 2020. Launched in
China in 2004, Oppo has a strong presence in more than 20 countries, including
Australia, China, USA and right across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, South
Asia and Southeast Asia.
Commenting on the new partnership, ICC Chief Executive David
Richardson said: “The ICC is delighted to welcome Oppo on board as a Global
Partner. Oppo is one of the market leaders in its field with an impressive
worldwide presence, especially in territories where the game of cricket
continues to grow and, in a lot of cases, flourish.“
India,
Switzerland improve cooperation on tax
In Foreign Relations
With India stepping up efforts to bring back illicit funds stashed
abroad, Switzerland has said both sides have improved their cooperation on tax
matters following several high-level meetings. Over the past few months, both
countries have been working closely on mutual administrative assistance,
according to the Swiss government. In recent months, Switzerland has disclosed
names of more than a dozen Indians about whom information has been sought by
the Indian government amid suspicion that their accounts in Swiss banks were
being used for stashing illicit money.
Based on several high-level meetings, Switzerland and India have
been able to improve their cooperation based on their DTA (Double Taxation
Agreement). Swiss banks, known for their banking secrecy practices, have come
under global pressure as countries, including India, are ramping up efforts to
crack down on the black money menace.
Under bilateral treaty for administrative assistance and exchange
of information on tax matters with Switzerland, India has sought details on
individuals and companies that are suspected to have illegal funds in banks
there. Many requests are pending with the Swiss authorities who conduct their
own due diligence before sharing information.
Afghanistan
board signs MoU with NOIDA stadium
In Foreign Relations
Afghanistan cricket team has shifted its home base from Sharjah to
the UPCA stadium in NOIDA where they will play their matches and practice after
a MoU was signed. According to the MoU with BCCI and Greater Noida Industrial
Development Authority, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) will be able to
utilise the facilities of the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex, which
has successfully hosted a Ranji Trophy game between Uttar Pradesh and Baroda.
BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur, who also signed the MoU papers in
presence of UPCA Secretary Rajeev Shukla, not only gave the new ground big
thumbs up but also complimented the Afghanistan team for its recent success.
Thakur also insisted that rubbing shoulders with the greats of Indian cricket
will certainly open a new world for the young Afghan players. Thakur also
talked about the strengthening of Indo-Afghan ties through this MoU.
Afghanistan Cricket Board generally plays its matches outside its
country. And the way Indo-Afghan ties are good politically, they are also good
on the cricket field. And Afghanistan board has always wanted that it should
have a home venue in India, where they can give its cricket a boost.
Fifth
Heart of Asia conference begins in Pakistan
In International Affairs
A regional conference hosted by Pakistan with focus on Afghanistan
has started where External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will represent India
at the ministerial-level meeting. The fifth ‘Heart of Asia’ conference, an
annual gathering of Asian and other countries, is aimed at enhancing
cooperation for countering security threats and promoting connectivity in the
region. The high-ranking delegations from 14 participating states, 17
supporting countries and 12 international and regional organisations are
participating in the two-day conference, according to the Foreign Office.
The Theme
of the conference is ‘Heart of Asia -Istanbul Process: Enhanced cooperation for
countering security threats and promoting connectivity in the Heart of Asia
region.
The major event will take place tomorrow when Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will jointly inaugurate the meeting of
foreign ministers. Foreign ministers from 10 countries, including Ms Swaraj,
will attend the meeting.
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and the UAE
are part of the initiative launched in 2011 for encouraging economic and
security cooperation between Afghanistan and its neighbours for dealing with
the common problems of terrorism, extremism and poverty.
Key Areas
of Discussion
·
Disaster management
·
Counter-terrorism
·
Counter-narcotics
·
Trade and investment
·
Regional infrastructure
·
Education
China
launches new communication satellite
In International Affairs
China-1China has put a new communication satellite into orbit from
the southwestern Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The “ChinaSat 1C” satellite
was carried by the Long March-3B carrier rocket. It will provide high-quality
voice, data and radio and TV transmission services. A new US report released
last month said China has the most rapidly growing space programme in the
world. Since October 2014, China had launched 16 spacecraft that had expanded
its satellite communications and surveillance capabilities, including the first
satellite that provided very high resolution imagery.
The satellite was developed by the China Academy of Space
Technology and is owned by China Satellite Communications Co. Ltd. This is the
220th mission of the Long March carrier rocket series developed by China
Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
China is preparing for the first launch of its Long March-9 rocket
in 2028. This will be the country’s first manned lunar mission. Its payload
will be 130 tons, which coincides with the lift capability of the Space Launch
System being developed by NASA.
US
English Access programme launched in Bihar
In Foreign Relations
US English Access programmeAs part of US-India collaboration in
the areas of development and education, an American english language skill
course has been launched in Patna for students hailing from economically
disadvantaged section of the society.
The US Consul General in Kolkata Craig Hall inaugurated the first ever
English Access Microscholarship Programme (Access) programme in Bihar which is
supported by the US Department of State.
New
shorter draft of climate deal released by negotiators
In International Affairs
The negotiators have unveiled a new shorter draft incorporating
major progress as well as the differences, two days ahead of the deadline for
the United Nations (UN) accord to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The first
draft of the Paris Outcome, prepared after two days of high-level ministerial
deliberations, was released by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, which
will be discussed by 196 nations further to reach a final agreement to tackle
the challenge of climate change.
Fabius, who is the chair of the current round of climate
negotiations, said the aim of the text is to enable nations to have an overall
view of the progress that has been made so far. The French foreign minister
pointed out that the document revealed some compromises by the nations to
achieve an ambitious and comprehensive agreement. Negotiators raced against
time to clinch a key accord at the climate talks that has been marked by a
divide between developed and developing countries.
The developed countries are willing to help but reluctant to make
firm commitments as negotiators from over 196 nations look to negotiate a
post-2020 deal to curb emissions and limit global temperature rise. India along
with other BASIC nations questioned a recent OECD report which claimed that
significant progress has been made on $100 billion fund for developing nations
to mitigate climate change and sought a transparent mechanism for better
accounting of financial flows.
The BASIC
is a bloc of four large newly industrialised countries – China, India, Brazil
and South Africa.
PM
Modi to visit Pakistan next year for SAARC Meet
In Foreign Relations
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Pakistan to attend the
SAARC Summit likely to be held in September 2016, in what will be the first
prime ministerial visit here from India in 12 years. The disclosure of Modi’s
visit was made by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj here in yet another
indicator of a positive turn in bilateral ties after recent chill. Atal Bihari
Vajpayee was the last Indian Prime Minister to visit Pakistan who had come here
in January 2004 and attended the SAARC summit besides holding talks with then
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. Vajpayee’s successor Manmohan Singh did
not undertake any visit to Pakistan despite his desire to do so.
Earlier, Indian officials said Prime Minister Modi’s commitment to
attend the SAARC Summit was reflected in the Ufa joint statement. Pakistan
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had invited Modi for the SAARC Summit when they had
met for a bilateral meeting in the Russian city of Ufa in July. The meeting of
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is slated to be held
in Pakistan in September next year.
Sharif had attended Modi’s swearing-in ceremony in May 2014 which
had generated lot of goodwill. However, ties were strained between the two
neighbours over border firing and a series of ceasefire violations in the last
few months. Talks between India-Pakistan National Security Advisors were
cancelled recently because of a dispute over the agenda as India wanted to
discuss terror attacks and Pakistan insisted on raising Kashmir.
Arjun
Bahadur Thapa is the current Secretary General of SAARC
IISC
bags solar panel R&D contract from US military
In Foreign Relations
The Indian Institute of Science has bagged a US military contract
for research and development on solar powered micro-grid. The federal contract
worth USD 52,900 has been awarded by the US Pacific Air Forces, Yokota Air Base
in Japan to develop solar powered micro-grid with battery and super capacitor
energy storage system. This is one of the rare instances that an Indian
scientific institute known for its high-end cutting edge research has been
awarded a federal contract by the US military.
The announcement of the contract comes on the eve of the meeting
between defense minister Manohar Parrikar and US defense secretary Ashton
Carter at the Pentagon. Parrikar is on his maiden visit to the US to discuss
ways to deepen the long term strategic partnership between the two countries.
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