Daily Current Affairs Updates For Bank and SSC Exams Dt: 01-03-2014

1 March 2014 Current Affairs Updates For Bank and SSC Examinations

1. Subrata custody in guest house

Sahara India Group chief, Subrata Roy was arrested in Lucknow Friday morning after evading arrest following the Supreme Court warrant against him for not appearing in court in a case regarding his alleged failure to return investors’ money.

Mr Roy was arrested at Sahara Shaher at 10.40 am after he called the police and said he was willing to surrender. Mr Roy was kept at Sahara Shaher for almost seven hours before being produced in court at 5.30 pm.
The police took Mr Roy to a well-furnished guest house on the picnic spot road, and sources said he will stay here till he is taken to New Delhi by the UP police on March 4.

2. Oil Marketing Companies delink LPG, Aadhaar

Oil Marketing Companies issued instructions to all LPG gas dealers to delink Aadhaar-LPG to supply domestic cylinders. The circular has come as a big relief to consumers who were waiting for it ever since the Centre took a decision on January 30.

However, according to dealers, the delinking will come into force by March 8 due to some ‘technicalities’ with regard to issuance of bills at the dealer level. “We got the circular delinking Aadhaar-LPG. It will take a week for it to come into force,” said D. Ashok Kumar, president, Greater Hyderabad LPG Dealers’ Association.

3. Petrol and diesel prices hiked

Petrol price was hiked by 80 paise a litre in the city on Friday, the second increase this year, and diesel by 62 paise per litre, the 14th hike since January 2013. The hikes, effective from midnight, are including local sales tax or VAT. The actual increase in the price will be higher and will vary from city to city.

Petrol price, which was last hiked on January 4, will cost Rs 79.91 a litre in Hyderabad from midnight, up 80 paise from Rs 79.11 at present. The price of diesel will be hiked by 62 paise, including tax, to Rs 60.45 per litre in city.

4. Airport: HC refuses to extend interim injunction from proceeding over RFQ

Madras High Court today said it would not extend the interim injunction granted from proceeding any further over Request for Qualification (RFQ) invited from private parties for management of Chennai Airport.

5. Government approves Rs 1,000 minimum monthly pension

Government on Friday approved the proposal to ensure Rs 1,000 minimum monthly pension under a scheme of retirement fund body EPFO that would immediately benefit 28 lakh pensioners.

6. Mission document on National Mission for sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem approved

Union Cabinet of India on 28 February 2014 approved the Mission document on the National Mission for sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE). This mission has been launched under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and the budget for implementation of the mission will be 550 crore rupees during 12th Five Year Plan period.

7. PK Mohanty stays as Chief Secretary, IYR goes on leave

The Centre has extended the tenure of chief secretary P.K. Mohanty, who was due to retire on Friday, by four months.

The decision came after Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan recommended that it was essential to retain Dr Mohanty to complete the formalities of the state’s division. After repeatedly announcing that he would not stay in office after attaining superannuation age, the CS changed his mind.

The extension created ripples in state bureaucratic circles with chief commissioner of land administration I.Y.R. Krishna Rao, the next in line to be the CS, going on leave to convey his protest.

8. Union Ministry of Environment & Forest approved field trials for GM crops

Union Ministry of Environment & Forest approved field trials for Genetically Modified (GM) crops rice, wheat, cotton and maize on 26 February 2014. Ministry of Environment & Forest cleared Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee’s (GEAC) decision to allow gene modification field trials for food crops.

9. Chandi Prasad Bhatt selected for Gandhi Peace Prize 2013

Chandi Prasad Bhatt, the noted Gandhian environmentalist and social activist was selected for the Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2013 on 28 February 2014.

10. Tirupati laddu wins Geographical Indications battle

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams is all set to successfully enforce its Geographical Indications Rights for the Tirupati laddu, which is the prasadam of the Lord. So popular are the Tirupati laddus among the devotees, that small sweet shops across South India try to cash in on the sentiments by selling laddus with names similar to the Tirupati laddu.

The temple administration had been trying to enforce its rights under the Geographical Indications, which was facilitated by CII’s AP Technology Development and Promotion Centre and was accorded in September 2009. However, in 2013, when the TTD came to know that Ganga Sweets in Chennai was making laddus similar to the Tirupati laddu and advertising for the same through its website, the TTD filed a civil suit in the Madras HC, seeking to restrain the Ganga Sweets and others from using the name ‘Tirupati Laddu’. TTD maintained that it was the original manufacturer of the Tirupati laddu for which it was granted GI protection. On February 25, 2014, the Madras HC passed an order decreeing the suit, confirming the rights of a registered GI.

11. India Russia to conclude deal on two Kudankulum reactors

India and Russia on Wednesday agreed to conclude at an early date the general framework agreement on reactors 3 and 4 of the Kudankulam nuclear power project in Tamil Nadu, official sources said.

The "general agreement" concerning the reactors was reached during the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission meeting chaired by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin in Delhi.

The meeting also focused on nuclear, space, energy and economic cooperation.

The two sides discussed the possibility of Russia being the partner in the India International Trade Fair in 2015 and agreed that the India Trade Show to be held in Moscow in September this year would be an appropriate opportunity for major tie-ups for businesses of both sides.

The possibility of export of Indian bovine meat to Russia was also an item of discussion, the sources said.

12. Ferrer retires in Mexico, Murray into semis

Top-seeded David Ferrer withdrew from his Mexican Open quarterfinal against South Africa's Kevin Anderson in the second set on Thursday due to a left thigh strain. Ferrer's exit leaves Andy Murray as the big favorite to win the Mexican Open 500.