20 November 2013 – Daily Current Affairs (Hindi and English)

20 November 2013 – Daily Current Affairs

Bharatiya-Mahila-bank-BMB

1) The first all-women Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) was launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 19 November, 2013 with the inauguration of the first branch of the bank. This first branch of BMB was inaugurated at – Air India building at Nariman Point in Mumbai (The bank is being started with seven branches (Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, and Lucknow) initially. This will soon be followed by two other branches at Delhi and Indore – the delay is in deference to the elections being held there. The bank plans to reach a branch size of 25 in the next four months and thereafter add about 75 banks every year. The capital base for this bank is Rs. 1,000 crore)

2) What is a special fact associated with the Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB), which was launched on 19 November, 2013 on the occasion of the 96th birthday of late Indira Gandhi? – BMB is the first bank started in the public sector space by an Act of Parliament (Other banks in public sector were nationalised in two tranches in 1969 and 1980)

3) Who will be awarded the coveted Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2013 as announced by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust on 19 November, 2013? – German Chancellor Angela Merkel (Merkel is being conferred this award for her exemplary leadership in Europe and the world during the financial crisis and her stewardship of German economic growth. Merkel, who became the first woman to be elected as Chancellor of Germany, has been a strong supporter of close relations with India)

4) What was the reason for the rise of diplomatic tensions between Indonesia and Australia on 18 November, 2013 due to which Indonesia recalled its Ambassador from Canberra to Jakarta? – Due to revealing of the fact that Australia was spying on Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife (This stinging revelation was made in the documents leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. The documents disclosed that Australia attempted to intercept Indonesian president phone on at least one occasion and monitored his calls for 15 days in 2009 and other spying targets included the phones of First Lady Ani Yudhoyono and key government figures. Due to this development Ambassador to Australia Nadjib Riphat Kesoema was recalled by the Indonesian Govt.)

5) Assam Government recently decided in principle to accord the status of official State Anthem to the song “O Mor Aponar Desh” (O’ my beloved land). Who is the composer of this song, who composed this very-popular song way back in 1910? – Sahityarathi Lakshminath Bezbaroa(Bezbaroa is known as the doyen of modern Assamese literature. Unofficially, this song has been the State anthem for the people of Assam for over eight decades. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on 18 November, 2013 asked Chief Secretary Jitesh Khosla to take steps for an approval of the decision by the State Cabinet in its next sitting)

6) The GoM, set up to look into the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, has completed the process of discussions with various stake holders and will submit its report to the Union Cabinet as early as possible to pave way for tabling Telangana Bill in Winter Session of Parliament. Who headed this GoM? – Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde

7) The erstwhile Great Eastern Hotel at Kolkata was unveiled on 19 November, 2013 in its new avatar by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Which company is the present owner of this 172-year old heritage hotel formerly owned by the West Bengal government? – Lalit Suri Hospitality Group (This group acquired 90% of the equity in 2005 and was mandated to refurbish the hotel while keeping its heritage façade intact. Great Eastern Hotel is known as one of the Asia’s oldest luxury hotels)

8) “Sabaro”, the first-ever branded apple by an Indian company will be launched during November, 2013. Which company is launching this brand, which is expected to position and promote apples from India? – Mahindra Shublabh (Mahindra Shublabh is the agri-business division of Mahindra Group. Saboro, which means tasty in Spanish, is claimed to be the first national brand of apples, both in the domestic and export markets. At two million tonnes per annum, India ranks fourth globally in apple production, but is still way below China, which tops at 34 million tonnes. While imported apple brands sell Rs 200 a kg, Saboro will be priced lower, at Rs 170/kg. The Heritage Food chain of stores in Hyderabad will be the first to sell Saboro apples)

9) US President Barack Obama has nominated Indian-American Vivek Murthy for the post of Surgeon General, which a top American lawmaker described as a historic moment for the community across the country. If

confirmed, Murthy would not only be the first-ever Indian-American to occupy this post but also the youngest ever Surgeon General of the country. The surgeon general serves a four-year term and is the administration's top official on public health issues.

10) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 19 November 2013 directed Public Sector Banks (PSBs) to provide loans to women self-help groups (SHGs) at 7 per cent per annum to avail the benefit of interest rate subvention scheme under the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana-Aajeevika (SGSY) scheme.

Salient features of RBI Notification:

All women SHGs will be eligible for interest subvention to avail the credit upto 3 lakh Rupees at 7 per cent per annum.

PSBs will be subvented to the extent of difference between the Weighted Average Interest charged and 7 per cent subject to the maximum limit of 5.5 per cent, for the FY-2014. 

This subvention will be available to all the PSBs on the condition that they make SHG credit available at 7 per cent in the 150 districts.

The Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) will be subvented to the extent of difference between the lending rates and 7 per cent for the FY-2014 on the condition they make SHG credit available at 7 per cent.

SHGs will be given an additional 3 per cent subvention on prompt repayment of loan.

Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana-Aajeevika (SGSY) is an initiative by the government to provide sustainable income to poor people living in rural areas of the country.

Interest Rate subvention concept : Interest Rate subvention is a subsidy of interest given by Government to certain sectors like Textiles, Agriculture etc. For eg. Textile Company borrows from Bank at 10 percent and Government gives subvention of 2 percent. Hence net bank takes interest from textiles companies 8 percent. Other sectors have to pay 10 percent to the bank.

11) IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, on Wednesday issued a Rs 1,000 crore (approximately $160 million) global Indian rupee bond of three years maturity. The bond is IFC’s first rupee issuance, and the first bond issued under its $1 billion offshore rupee bond programme. The issuance is to strengthen India’s capital markets and attract greater foreign investment in a time of renewed economic uncertainty across the world, IFC said in a statement. The maturity date of the bond is December 3, 2016, and it carries a coupon of 7.75 per cent.

12) The 44th edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) that kicks off tomorrow here will screen 15 Oscar-nominated films from across the world. Veteran actress Waheeda Rehman will be conferred the inaugural Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year at the festival. The lifetime achievement award will be given to Czech filmmaker Jiri Menzel during the inauguration tomorrow. Hollywood actress Ausan Sarandon will be the chief guest at the inaugural function, which will be attended by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari, veteran actors, including Kamal Haasan and Rekha, singer Asha Bhonsle and Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi.

13) Anjolie Ela Menon, a contemporary artist was awarded with Dayawati Modi Award for Art and Culture and Education by Dayawati Foundation on 19 November 2013. The award comprised of a cash price of 2.51 lakh rupees, a silver shield and a scroll of hounour. It was presented to her by the Minister of state for Prime Minister Office, Department of personnel and Training, Government of India.

14) Engineering Excellence Award 2013 was conferred on the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL), a Public Sector Unit under the Ministry of Finance, and Government of India on 19 November 2013. The award was given by Engineering Watch at SCOPE Convention Centre in Delhi. The second Best Engineering Marvel for Project Innovativeness was conferred on Modernisation of Ink Factory Project at Bank Note Press, Dewas.

15) Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) and the People’s Republic of China-based Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) have signed a memorandum of understanding to boost co-operation. The agreement is designed to facilitate potential collaboration in areas such as knowledge-sharing, research and price risk management.

16) India and Russia on 18 November 2013 agreed to expand the range of strategic partnership in a significant manner in Moscow. The two countries will also hold a Joint Air Force Level exercise for the first time in 2014. The decision was taken during the 13th Meeting of the India–Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRITC-MTC) and it was co chaired by AK Antony, the Defence Minister of India and His counterpart of Russia, Sergey Shoigu.

17) Indonesia has temporarily halted its military and intelligence cooperation with Australia over the latter's wiretapping of Indonesian leaders. Besides notifying people that Indonesia has submitted its official query to Australia about the wiretapping issue, President Yudhoyono ordered a stop to several forms of joint military drills with Australia in all forces that include the navy, the army and the air force, Xinhua reported.

18) The General Assembly's human rights committee passed a resolution on Tuesday urging Myanmar to give the stateless Rohingya minority equal access to citizenship and to crack down on Buddhist violence against them and other Muslims in the Southeast Asian nation. In 1982, Myanmar passed a citizenship law recognizing eight races and 130 minority groups but omitted the nation's 800,000 Rohingya, among Myanmar's 60 million people.

1) भारत के पहले पूर्णतया महिलाओं के सार्वजनिक क्षेत्र के बैंक - भारतीय महिला बैंक (BMB) की शुरुआत इसकी पहली शाखा का उद्घाटन कर प्रधानमंत्री मनमोहन सिंह ने 19 नवम्बर, 2013 को की। इस पहली शाखा का उद्घाटन प्रधानमंत्री द्वारा कहाँ किया गया? - मुम्बई के नरीमन प्वाइंट में स्थित एयर इण्डिया टावर्स में (उल्लेखनीय है कि इस बैंक की शुरुआत 7 स्थानों पर स्थित शाखाओं से की जा रही है। ये सात शाखाएं - मुम्बई, चेन्नई, कोलकाता, गुवाहाटी, बैंगलौर, अहमदाबाद और लखनऊ में स्थित हैं। इसके बाद दिल्ली और इंदौर में भी बैंक की शाखाएं स्थापित की जायेंगी, जहां विधानसभा चुनावों के चलते लागू चुनाव आचार-संहिता के चलते ये शाखाएं अभी नहीं खोली जा सकती हैं। योजना है कि आगामी 4 माह के भीतर इस बैंक की शाखाओं की संख्या 25 तक पहुँचाई जाय तथा इसके बाद प्रत्येक वर्ष 75 शाखाएं जोड़ी जाएं। बैंक की प्रारंभिक पूँजी 1,000 करोड़ रुपए है)

2) 19 नवम्बर, 2013 को प्रारंभ किए गए भारतीय महिला बैंक (BMB) से जुड़ा एक प्रमुख तथ्य क्या है? - यह सार्वजनिक क्षेत्र का पहला बैंक है जिसे एक संसदीय कानून द्वारा स्थापित किया गया है (उल्लेखनीय है कि देश के सार्वजनिक क्षेत्र के अन्य बैंकों को दो चरणों के राष्ट्रीयकरण (nationalisation) द्वारा सार्वजनिक क्षेत्र के बैंक का स्वरूप प्रदान किया गया था)

3) वर्ष 2013 का इंदिरा गांधी शांति, नि:शस्त्रीकरण एवं विकास पुरस्कार (Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2013) किसे प्रदान करने की घोषणा इस पुरस्कार को प्रदान करने वाली संस्था इंदिरा गांधी स्मृति ट्रस्ट ने 19 नवम्बर, 2013 को की? - एंजेला मर्केल - Angela Merkel, जर्मनी की चांसलर (उन्हें यह पुरस्कार संकट के समय में यूरोपीय महाद्वीप का नेतृत्व पूरी दृढ़ता से करने तथा अपने देश जर्मनी को आर्थिक विकास पथ पर ले जाने में भूमिका निभाने के लिए दिया जा रहा है। मर्केल, जोकि जर्मनी की पहली महिला चांसलर हैं, भारत के साथ मजबूत सम्बंधों की पक्षधर रही हैं)

4) इण्डोनेशिया तथा ऑस्ट्रेलिया के बीच 18 नवम्बर 2013 को राजनयिक संकट शुरू होने का क्या कारण था, जिसके कारण इण्डोनेशिया ने ऑस्ट्रेलिया में अपने राजदूत को स्वदेश वापस बुलाने का आदेश दे दिया? - ऑस्ट्रेलियाई सरकार द्वारा इण्डोनेशिया के राष्ट्रपति सुशीलो बाम्बांग युद्धोयुनो (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) तथा उनकी पत्नी की जासूसी किए जाने का रहस्योद्घाटन होना (यह रहस्योद्घाटन अमेरिकी सुरक्षा एजेंसी NSA के व्हिसलब्लोअर एडवर्ड स्नोडेन द्वारा लीक किए गए दस्तावेज में हुआ। इसमें यह बताया गया कि इण्डोनेशिया के राष्ट्रपति युद्धोयुनो के फोन को कम से कम एक बार ऑस्ट्रेलिया ने अपने खुफिया निगरानी में रखा तथा 2009 के दौरान उनके फोन काल्स पर 15 दिन निगरानी रखी गई। इसके अलावा उनकी पत्नी प्रथम महिला अनी युद्धोयुनो (Ani Yudhoyono) तथा कई वरिष्ठ अधिकारियों के फोन काल्स पर भी निगरानी रखी गई थी। इस रहस्योद्घाटन के बाद इण्डोनेशिया ने ऑस्ट्रेलिया में अपने राजदूत नद्जीब रिफत केसोइमा (Nadjib Riphat Kesoema) को वापस बुला लिया)

5) असम की सरकार ने सिद्धांतरूप में "ओ मोर आपोनार देश" नामक सुप्रसिद्ध गीत को राज्य का आधिकारिक गीत स्वीकार किए जाने को अपनी मंजूरी प्रदान कर दी है। 1910 में इस गीत को किसने लिखा था? - साहित्यार्थी लक्ष्मीनाथ बेज़बरुआ ने (बेज़बरुआ को प्राय: आधुनिक असमिया साहित्य का पुरोधा माना जाता है। वैसे अनाधिकारिक रूप से यह गीत पिछले आठ दशक से राजकीय गीत का दर्जा हासिल किए हुए है। 18 नवम्बर, 2013 को असम के मुख्यमंत्री तरुण गोगोई ने राज्य के मुख्य सचिव जितेश खोसला को इस गीत को राज्य कैबिनेट की अगली बैठक में स्वीकृत कराने का आदेश जारी कर दिया)

6) आन्ध्र प्रदेश का बंटवारा कर इससे नए राज्य तेलंगाना का निर्माण किए जाने के मुद्दे पर गठित मंत्रियों के समूह (GoM) ने इस विषय से जुड़े तमाम पक्षों की राय लेकर मुद्दे पर अपनी रिपोर्ट तैयार कर ली है। आशा की जा रही है कि यह रिपोर्ट आगामी शीतकालीन सत्र में संसद में नए तेलंगाना राज्य को बनाने के विधेयक के रूप में सामने आयेगी। इस GoM का अध्यक्ष कौन है? - केन्द्रीय गृह मंत्री सुशील कुमार शिंदे

7) गुजरे जमाने के मशहूर कोलकाता स्थित ग्रेट ईस्टर्न होटल (Great Eastern Hotel) का नई साज-सज्जा के साथ एक बार फिर 19 नवम्बर, 2013 को उद्घाटन किया गया। किसी समय पश्चिम बंगाल सरकार के अधिकार में रहा यह होटल आजकल किस समूह का हिस्सा है? - ललित सूरी हास्पिटेलिटी ग्रुप - Lalit Suri Hospitality Group (इस समूह ने इस होटल की 90% हिस्सेदारी इस शर्त पर खरीदी थी कि होटल की पुरानी विरासत को अपने पुराने कलेवर में ही संजो कर रखा जायेगा। ग्रेट ईस्टर्न होटल 172 साल पुराना है तथा एशिया महाद्वीप के कुछ सबसे पहले लक्ज़री होटलों में से एक माना जाता है)

8) "सबारो" (“Sabaro”) किसी भारतीय कम्पनी द्वारा बाजार में उतारे जाने वाले पहले ब्राण्डेड सेब का नाम है, जिसे नवम्बर 2013 के दौरान भारतीय बाजार में उतारा जायेगा। सेब के इस ब्राण्ड पर किस कम्पनी का स्वामित्व है? - महिन्द्रा शुभलाभ - Mahindra Shublabh, जोकि महिन्द्रा समूह की कृषि-व्यवसाय कम्पनी है ("सबारो" स्पेनिश भाषा का शब्द है जिसका अर्थ होता है स्वादिष्ट। महिन्द्रा शुभलाभ ने दावा किया है कि "सबारो" भारत का पहला ब्राण्डेड सेब होगा जिसे भारतीय तथा विदेशी दोनों बाजार में उतारा जायेगा। उल्लेखनीय है कि भारत का विश्व सेब उत्पादन में चौथा स्थान है हालांकि 20 लाख टन के उत्पादन के साथ भारत सेब के विश्व के सबसे बड़े उत्पादक चीन से बहुत पीछे है जिसका वार्षिक सेब उत्पादन 340 लाख टन है। भारत में चीन तथा अमेरिका से आयातित ब्राण्डेड सेब की कीमत 200 रुपए प्रति किलो तक होती है जबकि "साबारो" को 170 रुपए प्रति किलो के मूल्य पर उतारे जाने की संभावना है)