Daily Current Affairs - 8th December 2015, Tuesday

1. Singapore surpasses Mauritius to become India's top source of FDI

(i) Singapore recently replaced Mauritius as the top source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India during the first half of 2015. 

(ii) As per data received from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), during April-September 2015, India has attracted $6.69 billion (Rs 43,096 crore) FDI from Singapore while from Mauritius it received $3.66 billion (Rs 23,490 crore). 

(iii) Mauritius and Netherlands are the second and third source of FDI into India. Experts believe the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Singapore has made it comfortable for investors to conduct business in India.

2. Democratic Unity roundtable wins parliamentary elections in Venezuela

(i) The Venezuelan opposition coalition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) won the recently held National Assembly elections. 

(ii) This victory dealt a blow to the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (founded by late president Hugo Chavez), as it has been defeated for the first time in 16 years. 

(iii) In total, the MUD won 99 of the 167 seats while PSUV garnered only 46 votes.

3. Turkish military forces asked ti withdraw fight against ISIS in IRAQ

(i) Turkish forces that are helping Iraq fight jihadist group ISIS have been asked to withdraw as the Iraqi government asserted that the troops entered the country without its permission. 

(ii) Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said, "In the absence of the withdrawal of these forces within 48 hours, Iraq has the right to use all available options," including recourse to the UN Security Council. 

(iii) Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu downplayed the engagement of troops as "routine rotation activity" associated with that effort, and as "reinforcement against security risks".

4. EY Report ranks India 3rd in corruption practice 

(i) As per the recently released Ernst and Young (E&Y) report, India ranks third in corruption practices, after Croatia and Kenya. India has lost around Rs.13,000 crore in top five scams. 

(ii)This research was carried out in 1,067 cities and 66% of the respondents in India found it reasonable to offer gist/cash payments or spend on entertainment to win or sustain the business. 

(iii) In many cases middle or senior management was directly involved in corrupt practices. 

(iv) Many companies have now established internal whistle blowing policies to unearth frauds.    However, many feel lower corruption could hamper the company's chances of winning or retaining contracts.

5. Storm Desmond ravages parts of UK

(i) Storm Desmond devastated parts of the UK, including Northern Ireland,North Wales, southern Scotland. 

(ii) North-western part of England was majorly hit as homes flooded and the whole region suffered massive power outage. While 5,200 homes were flooded, over 60,000 bore the brunt of power cuts in Cumbria and Lancashire. 

(iii) Honister Pass in Cumbria recorded 341.4 mm rainfall, the highest in a 24-hour time frame. For north-west England, 16 severe flood warnings were issued.

6. IDFC Bank chooses TCS BaNCS for its core banking 

(i) IDFC Bank recently chose TCS BaNCS for core banking in order to provide next generation banking services, which are more individualised, quick and convenient. 

(ii) IDFC Bank started using TCS BaNCS' solution from October 1, 2015 at 23 of its branches. N Ganapathy Subramaniam, president of TCS Financial Solutions, said, "We are pleased to report the going live of TCS BaNCS at IDFC Bank within a year, laying the foundation for customer-centricity, business resiliency, and operational efficiency."

7. Andhra Pradesh becomes the first state to join UDAY Scheme

(i) Andhra Pradesh government gave its in-principle decision to join the UDAY (Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana) scheme, which was launched to enhance the financial and operational efficacy of power distribution companies. 

(ii) Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal congratulated Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu for joining UDAY.

8. Parliamentary Panel suggests integration of CBI and CVC under Lokpal 

(i) The panel headed by Congress MP EM Sudarsana Natchiappan suggested that the anti corruption wings of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) be brought under the ambit of Lokpal. 

(ii) Natchiappan added that the present overlap in the jurisdiction and certain functions of the CVC, Lokpal and the CBI can create serious problems. 

(iii) Presently, a corruption complaint against a government official is dealt by multiple agencies, which may result in confusion. The panel recommended that CVC and CBI be fully integrated with Lokpal to avoid the same.

9. Tommy Sugiarto wins the men's singles title at the Indonesia Masters Grand Prix Gold

(i) The Indonesian shuttler Tommy Sugiarto defeated Indian player Kidambi Srikanth to win the men's singles title at the Indonesia Masters Grand Prix Gold. 

(ii) Sugiatro prevailed over Srikanth 17-21, 21-13, 24-22. Thus far in 2015, Srikanth has entered four final series and won two events, namely the Indian Open Superseries and Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold.

10. IPL gets two new teams - Pune and Rajkot 

(i) Two new teams from Pune and Rajkot became part of the Indian Premier League (IPL), replacing the suspended teams Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for the next two years. 

(ii) The Pune franchise was bought by Kolkata-based business tycoon Sanjiv Goenka and the Rajkot bid was won by Intex Mobiles. While Goenka will shell out Rs.10 crore annually to the BCCI, Intex Mobiles will pay Rs.16 crore for the two-year deal.