22 January 2014 – Current Affairs

by Ravindra Agnihotri

1) In a major overhaul of foreign investment regime, the government is considering splitting overseas inflows into two categories - Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) - with a minimum composite cap of 49%. The proposal envisages an aggregate automatic limit of 24% of FPI, which may be raised up to the extent of FDI permitted under the automatic route. Constituting two categories for foreign investments is considered by which panel? – Mayaram Panel (The government had set up a four-member committee headed by Economic Affairs Secretary Mayaram to define FDI and FII and remove the ambiguity between them. The Committee is expected to finalise its report by end of January 2014)

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2) The Supreme Court on 21 January 2014 commuted the death sentence of four aides of forest brigand Veerappan to life term on ground of delay in deciding their mercy plea by the Government. The four convicts - Simon, Gnanaprakash, Madaiah and Bilavendran - were convicted for killing 22 people in a landmine blast in Palar, Tamil Nadu. In which year this crime was committed by them? - 1993

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3) Who was chosen as the new Director of National Police Academy (NPA), Hyderabad and with this she becomes the first woman head of the country’s premier training institute for IPS officers? – Aruna Bahuguna (She will be the first woman to head the country’s premier training institute for IPS officers selected by the Union Public Service Commission since its inception in 1948. Ms. Bahuguna, who belongs to the 1979 batch of IPS, is an officer of the rank of Director General of Police from Andhra Pradesh cadre. She is presently the Special Director General of Central Reserve Police Force, the country’s largest para-military force with a strength of three lakh)

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4) Who retired as Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 20 January 2014? – Anand Sinha (With Anand Sinha relinquishing his charge as Deputy Governor, the RBI re-allocated his portfolios among the remaining three Deputy Governors — K.C. Chakrabarty, H.R. Khan and Urjit Patel. Sinha was in-charge of eight departments, including Departments of Banking Operations and Development, Risk Management, Information Technology and Expenditure and Budgetary Control)

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5) The Union Government on 20 January 2014 allowed the establishment of an ad hoc authority to recommend the pricing of the passenger and cargo segments. What is the name of this authority? – Rail Tariff Authority (Rail Tariff Authority will have a Chairman and four members. The decision to have an ad hoc arrangement through a government resolution was taken because establishing it through an executive order, as had been desired by the Cabinet, was not feasible given that under the Railway Act only the Railway Board can decide on the prices of rail services. For constitution of the RTA, an amendment to the Railway Act, 1989, is also necessary)

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6) The pilot project of Amul’s first “Any Time Milk” (ATM) vending machine to dispense milk on 24X7 basis was on 19 January 2014 installed at – Anand, Gujarat (The pilot project of this 24x7 ATM began with the installation of a vending machine at the gate of Amul Dairy in Anand town of Gujarat. For a Rs 10-currency note, which this machine will read through a sensor, the ATM would dispense a 300 ml pouch of Amul Taaza milk. The ATM, fitted with refrigeration facility, has a capacity to hold 150 pouches at a time. To start with, Amul plans to set up these ATMs at each of the 1,100 ‘mandalis’ (village-level milk collection centres) in Kheda and Anand districts of Gujarat)