CURRENT UPDATE : WORLD'S OLDEST MAN DIES IN ITALY AT AGE 111

WORLD'S OLDEST MAN DIES IN ITALY AT AGE 111

The world's oldest man has died in Italy at the age of one hundred and eleven (111), just days before celebrating his 112th birthday. Guinness World Records said that Arturo Licata passed away on 24th April aged 111 years and 357 days. Licata was awarded the title of oldest living man by Guinness World Records on 28th February this year.

Currently 115-year-old female, Misao Okawa of Japan, is recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest living person.

CURRENT UPDATE :41ST CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA

JUSTICE LODHA SWORN IN AS 41^ST  CJI

Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha, the seniormost judge of the Supreme Court, was on Sunday sworn in as the 41st Chief Justice of India by President Pranab Mukherjee.

64-year-old Justice Lodha took over from Justice (retd) P Sathasivam who demitted office on Saturday after nine months as the head of the judiciary. 

The brief ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan's Durbar Hall attended by Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, some Union ministers, retired and serving judges, members of the Bar, besides Justice Sathasivam. No opposition leader was present at the function. 

Justice Lodha, who took oath in the name of god, will have a brief tenure of five months as CJI and is due to retire on 27th September, this year. 

He is heading the bench which is monitoring CBI's probe into coal blocks allocation scam. 

He was also instrumental in passing orders making CBI free from any political interference. 

A bench headed by him had said that CBI does not require sanction from the government to prosecute senior officials in cases being monitored by courts. 

It was Justice Lodha's bench which had ordered that CBI will not share information with the political executive on coalgate probe. 

The judgement had led to the resignation of Ashwani Kumar as the Law Minister in May last year. 

He also is part of a Constitution Bench looking into the mode of education of minority schools. 

Last month, a bench headed by him had allowed defence personnel in "peace stations" to vote in constituencies where they are posted, saying "compulsions of their job" shouldn't come in the way of a basic right.

Another bench headed by him had stopped clinical trials in the country, saying the interests of the people were more important than those of pharmaceutical companies. 

Later, the government framed rules for monitoring of clinical trials and for paying compensation to people affected in the process. 

CURRENT UPDATE : NEW INTERCEPTOR MISSILE

INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRES NEW INTERCEPTOR MISSILE

India on Sunday (27-04-2014) successfully test-fired a new interceptor missile capable of neutralising any incoming long-range missile at higher altitude. 

The interceptor, positioned at launch padIV of Integrated Test Range at Wheeler Island, about 100 km from Balasore, roared into the sky at about 9.10 AM to hit its target. 

The target, mimicking an incoming enemy missile, was first test fired from a naval ship at 9.06 AM and after getting signals from the radars, the interceptor went into action. 

"The trial was conducted successfully and all the mission objectives were met," DRDO Spokesman Ravi Kumar Gupta told over phone. 

The details of the 'kill effect' of the interceptor missile were analysed after retrieving all the data from various radars and telemetry stations, an official said. 

Earlier Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which is the premier agency to develop such a sophisticated interceptor, had successfully tested six interceptor missiles developed by it, both in endo-atmosphere (within 30 km altitude above sea level and exo-atmosphere stage (above 30 km altitude). 

The Prithvi Air Defence interceptor missile has already demonstrated its killing capability at an altitude of 50 km and 80 km while the Advanced Air Defence interceptor missile has smashed the target missile at an altitude of 15 km to 30 km.

Now the target is to achieve the interception at an altitude of above 100 km of a long range missile, defence sources said.

CURRENT UPDATE : INDIA SLIPS TO 83RD SPOT IN TERMS OF LEVERAGING ICT FOR GROWTH

WEF REPORT: INDIA SLIPS TO 83RD SPOT 

IN TERMS OF LEVERAGING ICT FOR GROWTH

A World Economic Forum report says that India has slid down to 83rd spot among 148 economies in terms of leveraging information and communications technologies for growth and well being. In 2013, it ranked 68th out of 144 countries. According to the 13th edition of the Global Information Technology Report 2014, little progress has been made in bridging the gap between the world's most networked economies and the rest of the world.

Among emerging market economies, China was placed on the 62nd position, Brazil (69th), Mexico (79th) and India (83rd).

CURRENTUPDATE : CURRENT AFFAIRS & GK QUIZ - 152

CURRENT AFFAIRS & GK  QUIZ 

1. Which among the following drugmaker companies has launched anti-cancer drug CANMab, recently?

[A]Dr. Reddy Laboratories   

[B]Biocon Limited

[C]Roche Group                    

[D]Ranbaxy Laboratories

2. Park Geun-hye, who visited India recently, is a president of which country?

[A]South Korea                      

[B]South Africa

[C]North Korea                       

[D]Singapore

3. Who among the following has become the first woman director of “National Police Academy”? 

[A]Aruna Bahuguna                    

[B]Shwetha Bhandari

[C]Chandrika Kumari             

[D]Niveditha Singh

4. Which one of the following statements is true about “RoboEarth”?

[A]It is a worldwide web for Robots

[B]A robotic satellite launched to study earth

[C]Military robot mission developed by USA 

[D]India’s first robotic mission to study earth

5. Which among the following has become the first tea plantation in the country to bag Trusttea logo?

[A]Wentworth Estate of Harrison Malayalam Limited 

[B]Moongalar Estate

[C]Wallardie Estate

[D]Pattumalay Estate

6. The Union government has recently granted minority status to Jain community. The top three states with largest Jain population in the country are ___? 

[A]Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh 

[B]Maharashtra, Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh

[C]Karnataka, Rajasthan, Maharashtra

[D]Rajasthan, Maharashtra,Karnataka

7. The “Lupus” is a medical condition arising from deficiency of which among the following ?

[A]Protein                   

[B]Vitamins

[C]Immunity               

[D]Mineral

8. Recently, in which of the following states remains of an ancient university have been discovered? 

[A]Bihar                             

[B]Odisha

[C]West Bengal                    

[D]Andhra Pradesh

9. Who among the following have won Best Actor and Actress award at 20th Screen Award?

[A]Farhan Akhtar, Kareena Kapur

[B]Amir Khan, Deepika Padukone

[C]Farhan Akhtar, Deepika Padukone

[D]Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif

10. The National Museum of India Cinema (NMIC) is to come up in_____?

[A]Bangalore                        

[B]New Delhi

[C]Mumbai                             

[D]Kolkata

          ANSWER

1	B	6	B
2	A	7	C
3	A	8	A
4	A	9	C
5	A	10	C

CURRENT UPDATE : EARTH DAY 2014

EARTH DAY 2014 WITH GREEN CITIES THEME CELEBRATED

More than a billion people around the world celebrated Earth Day on Tuesday with the theme 'Green Cities' calling for transformation in the public transportation systems to make them more accessible, convenient, and clean fuel-run. 

The celebrations of the 44^th edition of Earth Day also called for switching over to electric, hybrid, and other eco-friendly vehicles, the Earth Day Network reported.

Earth Day was first mooted by US Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970 after an oil spill incident in Santa Barbara, California.

Twenty million people across the US rallied then for the protection of the environment.

By the end of 1970, the US Environmental Protection Agency was established, and efforts to improve air and water quality gained political traction.

Earth Day is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network, and is celebrated in more than 192 countries each year.

The Earth Day Network's India Programme has its headquarters in West Bengal state's capital Kolkata.

The network in India organises workshops to provide environmental education and training for sustainable livelihood development among the youth.

The Earth Day Network also works very closely with the municipal corporations of major metropolitan cities in India to ensure that public parks and gardens are well maintained.

The network, in partnership with Rotary International, has launched 'Green Magic' which aims to plant 10 million trees across India. 

CURRENT UPDATE : GOVT TO FORM NUCLEAR INSURANCE POOL

GOVT TO FORM NUCLEAR INSURANCE POOL TO ADDRESS LIABILITY ISSUE

Moving to address the liability issue that has held up deals with various countries, the government has decided to form a Nuclear Insurance Pool which will have a number of stakeholders to meet the requirement of huge financial cover in case of a mishap.

The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is pursuing the matter with the Ministry of Finance for creation of the pool after no single insurance company, including the General Insurance Company, expressed its ability to provide financial cover to the nuclear plants considering the huge monetary requirement. 

Under the Liability Law, compensation of upto ` 1500 crore will have to be paid in case of a mishap involving a nuclear plant. 

At present, India has 20 nuclear plants and their number is expected to grow as the industry expands. 

The move indicates the urgency to insure reactors, especially units 3 and 4 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP), under the Civil Liability Nuclear Damage Act (CLND), 2010. 

An agreement with Russia for setting up units 3 and 4 was signed only a week back. 

This will also pave way for insuring big-ticket projects like Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project (JNPP) where French firm Areva is constructing 6 EPR reactors of 1650 MW each as also future atomic energy programmes. 

In a letter written last week to the Ministry of Finance, DAE has said the formation of Nuclear Insurance Pool should be "expedited" on "priority basis" as suggested by GIC. 

The volume of the pool will depend on how the government contributes to it for every project. 

Interestingly, in Canada, the nuclear liability law caps liability to an extent after which the government takes the responsibility of the remaining liability. 

DAE and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) had approached GIC for insurance. 

However, the public sector undertaking has said it does not have the capacity to insure the reactors in view of the high cost and also the number of reactors involved. 

In response to an RTI filed by Greenpeace, an organisation working in the field of environment, GIC had said that it was not offering any insurance to KKNPP units 3 and 4. 

Sources claimed the reason for this was that the insurance company did not have the resources to insure such big-ticket projects. 

DAE has an option of bringing in foreign insurance companies. 

The atomic agency is, however, strongly opposed to foreign insurance companies because with them came foreign inspectors whom the department does not welcome. 

"We are not very keen to have foreign insurance companies as this will attract inspectors of those companies, something which the department is not comfortable with. More importantly, why should a hefty premium be given to foreign companies when something could be worked out internally," said a government official. 

This has led to the government to decide on forming the Nuclear Insurance Pool along with GIC in which several insurance companies or other entities could come together to build resources to insure reactors. 

With countries like Canada and the United States having a sizable number of reactors, they also have nuclear insurance pool to deal with liability clause and also premium involved. 

Interestingly, the concept has been in practice in several western countries that have strict liability clause. The US has Association of Nuclear Insurers while China too has this concept. 

CURRENT AFFAIRS & GK QUIZ - 151

CURRENT AFFAIRS & GK  QUIZ 

1. Which of the following states is hosting the 2014 Lusophony games?

[A]Karnataka                          

[B]Goa

[C]Gujarat                              

[D]Madhya Pradesh

2. Which of the following districts of Assam has been declared tobacco-free district, recently?

[A]Karimganj                          

[B]Golaghat

[C]Jorhat                                 

[D]Lakhimpur

3. In which one of following states the per capita availability of Milk is highest in the country? 

[A]Andhra Pradesh                         

[B]Punjab

[C]Haryana                             

[D]Tamil Nadu

4. Anjali Devi, who passed away recently, was a famous _____?

[A]Actress                               

[B]Dancer

[C]Writer                                 

[D]Artist

5. The Spice Route Project which is aimed at sharing the heritage among the foreign countries along the ancient route is a tourism promoting initiative taken by which state?

[A]Kerala                               

[B]Goa

[C]Manipur                            

[D]Maharashtra

6. Which among the following organisations has launched “No Lost Generation” project for Syrian children, recently?

[A]United Nations                 

[B]European Union

[C]ASEAN                             

[D]SAARC

7. Recently, which among the following states has rolled out “Jeevan Amrut Yojana (blood-on-call scheme) which is said to be first of its kind in the country?

[A]Maharashtra                       

[B]Haryana

[C]Rajasthan                           

[D]Gujarat

8. The General assembly of the United Nations has declared the year 2016 as _____?

[A]International Year of Pulses

[B]International Year of Cereals

[C]International Year of Fruits

[D]International Year of Vegetables

9. Who among the following has been named the Confederation of African Football (CAF) footballer of the year?

[A]Yaya Toure                        

[B]Samuel Eto’o

[C]Didier Drogba                    

[D]Abedi Pele

10. Consider the following states:

1. West Bengal                     2. Assam                  3. Sikkim                   4. Meghalaya               5. Mizoram

Which of the above states share borders with Bangladesh?

[A]Only 1, 2, 3 & 4                 

[B]Only 1, 2, 4 & 5

[C]Only 2, 3, 4 & 5                 

[D]1, 2, 3, 4 &5

         ANSWER

1	B	6	A
2	C	7	A
3	B	8	A
4	A	9	A
5	A	10	B

CURRENT UPDATE : SEBI ISSUES DETAILED CORPORATE GOVERNANCE NORMS

SEBI ISSUES DETAILED CORPORATE GOVERNANCE NORMS

SEBI came out with detailed corporate governance norms for listed companies providing for stricter disclosures and protection of investor rights, including equitable treatment for minority and foreign shareholders.

The new rules, which would be effective from 1^st October, 2014 require companies to get shareholders' approval for related party transactions, establish whistle blower mechanism, elaborate disclosures on pay packages and have at least a woman director on their boards. 

Sebi's norms issued on Thursday are aligned with the new Companies Act and are aimed to encourage companies to "adopt best practices on corporate governance".

The capital market regulator has amended clauses -- 35B and 49 -- of the listing agreement. 

Now, under changed 35B norms, listed companies are required to provide the option of facility of e-voting to shareholders on all resolutions proposed to be passed at general meetings. 

Under clause 49, pertaining to corporate governance, listed entities have to get shareholders' nod for related party transactions. It would be effective prospectively from 1^st  October onwards. 

"All existing material related party contracts or arrangements as on the date of this circular which are likely to continue beyond March 31, 2015 shall be placed for approval of the shareholders in the first general meeting subsequent to October 1, 2014," SEBI said in the circular on Thursday. 

Besides the market watchdog has come out with norms to ensure "equitable treatment of all shareholders including minority and foreign shareholders". 

Apart from providing adequate and timely information to all shareholders, listed companies should also facilitate the exercise of voting rights by foreign shareholders. 

"The company should devise an effective whistle blower mechanism enabling stakeholders, including individual employees and their representative bodies, to freely communicate their concerns about illegal or unethical practices," the circular said. 

The new norms, which have been finalised after detailed consultations over draft regulations released in January 2013, excludes 'nominee directors' from the definition of independent directors. 

Besides, there would be expanded role of audit committee and enhanced disclosure of remuneration policies. Separate meetings of independent directors, and constitution of 'stakeholders relationship committee' are also a part of the proposals. 

The watchdog has decided that the maximum number of boards an independent director can serve on listed companies be restricted to 7, while the directorship would be capped at three if the person is serving as a whole time director in any listed company. 

The board of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had approved the new set of norms during its meeting held in February. 

The monitoring cell formed by the stock exchanges would monitor the compliance with the provisions of the Clause 49 on corporate governance for all listed companies. 

"The cell shall ascertain the adequacy and accuracy of disclosures in the quarterly compliance reports received from the companies and shall submit a consolidated compliance report to Sebi within 60 days from the end of each quarter," the regulator noted. 

Sebi asked listed companies to set up a nomination and remuneration committee which comprises of at least three directors, all of whom should be non-executive directors and at least half should be independent. It also said that chairman of the committee should be an independent director. 

It further said that all fees/compensation, if any paid to non-executive directors, including independent directors, shall be fixed by the board of directors and shall require previous approval of shareholders in general meeting." 

Also, Sebi said that a company's board would have an optimum combination of executive as well as non-executive directors, with at least one woman director and not less than 50 percent of the members comprising non-executive directors. 

In case the chairman of the board is a non-executive director, Sebi said that at least one-third of the board should comprise independent directors and if the company does not have a regular non-executive chairman, at least half of the board should comprise independent directors. 

The new norms also restrict the total tenure of an independent director to two terms of five years. 

If a person has already served as an independent director for five years or more in a listed company till the date new norms come into effect, he would be eligible for appointment for one more term of five years only. 

Sebi has made stricter disclosure norms and asked board members and key executives to disclose the board whether directly, indirectly or on behalf of third parties have a material interest in any transaction or matter directly affecting the company. 

Also, the regulator said that board of a listed company is required to meet at least four times a year, with a maximum time gap of 120 days between any two meetings.