1. RBI extends deadline for exchanging pre-2005
currency notes till December 2015
i. The Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) has extended the date to exchange pre-2005 bank notes till
December 31, 2015 for third time.
ii. RBI had set the
last date for public to exchange these notes as June 30, 2015. RBI has urged
people to deposit the old design notes in the bank accounts or exchange them at
a bank branch.
iii. pre-2005 notes
have fewer security features as compared to 2005 and post-2005 currency notes.
It will also remove fake currency notes in circulation which were being pumped
in Indian economy were copies of pre-2005 notes.
iv. The spillover
effect of the RBI’s decision will be to flush out black money. Money has value
only as long as it is a medium of exchange and store of value.
v. A disincentive
for cash hoarders – With the RBI’s announcement, currency hoarders will be left
with no option but to liquidate their unaccounted holdings by spending or
exchanging them.
2. Exim Bank lends $268 million to Tanzania to
extend water pipeline
i. Export-Import
(Exim) Bank has extended a line of credit of $268.35 million to Tanzania for
financing extension of Lake Victoria pipeline.
ii. With this
agreement, Exim Bank has now in place 198 LOCs, covering 63 countries in
Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, Oceania and the CIS, with credit
commitments of over $12.10 billion, available for financing exports from
India.
iii. Till date, the
bank has sanctioned an aggregate amount of $2.33 billion for 19 projects valued
$3.75 billion under the BC-NEIA.
3. India, US ink pacts to enhance cooperation in
health sector
i. India and United
States have signed a series of agreements on health in order to enhance
cooperation in health sector. The multiple areas covered under such agreement
include cancer research, medical infrastructure development and application of
new diagnostic technologies.
ii. MoU on cancer
research, control, prevention and management: To develop collaborative research
projects on population-based cancer control and implementation science.
iii. MoU on
collaboration in Environmental, occupational Health and Injury Prevention and
Control: Further enhance cooperation in the fields of environmental and
occupational health along with injury prevention and control research.
iv. Set up
mechanism of antimicrobial resistance which also include the applications of
systems biology.
4. Ericsson appoints Paolo Colella as new head of
region India
i. Ericsson has
announced the appointment of Paolo Colella as new Head of Region India. In this
new role, Paolo will also take a seat on Ericsson’s Global Leadership Team,
reporting to the Chairman of Region India and Senior Vice President
Asia-Pacific, Mats H Olsson.
ii. Chris has
successfully managed Ericsson’s operations in India during his two year stint
in the country and enabled the India operations to grow into the largest
employee base for Ericsson in the world.
iii. Paolo Colella,
who assumes his new role effective September 1, 2015, has been responsible for
Ericsson’s Consulting and Systems Integration practice globally for around six
years.
5. Union Government exempts educational institutions
from prior green nod
i. Union Government
has exempted builders from obtaining prior green nod for construction of
Universities, School, College and Hostel facilities.
ii. In this regard
Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has issued a
circular to exempt green nod for educational institutions provided they should
follow sustainable environment practises of construction.
iii. Besides,
educational institutes MoEFCC has exempted builders from obtaining prior green
nod for construction of industrial sheds. It also exempts godowns and buildings
which are connected with production related and other associated activities of
the unit in the same premise.
iv. in this
circular MoEFCC had clarified that prior environment clearance is mandatorily
required for construction of Medical Universities and institutes having
hospital facilities.
6. Mobile tower set up at 16,000 feet in Ladakh
i. State-run BSNL,
with the Army's assistance, today operationalised a mobile tower at an altitude
of 16,000 feet in Eastern Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.
ii. The mobile
tower at Chongtash has been established with assistance from the Indian Army's
Trishul Signallers in terms of transportation, setting up and rearward
connectivity.
7. NCR to have a second airport; Aviation ministry
makes Jewar as first choice
i. The civil
aviation ministry on Thursday took an in-principle decision to have a second
airport in the National Capital Region (NCR). Among the probable sites for the
airport, the ministry zeroed in on Jewar, keeping in view the fact that
availability of land is a big problem.
ii. On the UP
government’s choice of having an airport in Firozabad, the minister said the
purpose of a second airport near Delhi would be defeated if an airport comes up
in Firozabad.
iii. With the
population of NCR (National Capital Region) 8 crore, covering Delhi, Gurgaon,
Faridabad and Meerut in western Uttar Pradesh, using only one airport, there is
an urgent need for a second airport.
8. Satnam Singh Bhamara: All about India's first NBA
player
i. Satnam Singh
Bhamara, the first Indian-born player to be drafted in the NBA League, was
introduced to basketball by his father, who is a farmer.
ii. Picked by the
Dallas Mavericks in the 2015 NBA Draft, Singh has made history. But, there's a
long way to go.
iii. Born in Ballo
Ke, a village in Punjab where there are no basketball courts and no cable
television, he started playing the game at an early age. At the age of 12, he
was sent to the government-funded Ludhiana Basketball Academy, where he spent
two years away from home studying and training and honing his basketball
skills.
iv. In 2010, at age
14, Singh was one of 29 Indian athletes in three sports who moved to the United
States to get trained at the renowned IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, as
part of a new scholarship programme to promote, develop, and manage sports and
entertainment in India.