1. India set to launch India business Card for business community of SAARC member countries
(i) India recently announced that it will launch an ‘India Business Card’ for the business community in all the eight SAARC nations.
(ii) The card will be launched to ensure ease of business and concur with the government’s Make in India policy. Pakistan had till date hindered the issuance of the card, however, it was resolved when India renewed ties with Pakistan.
2. UNDP releases Human Development Report 2015
(i) As per the United Nations Development Programme’s latest Human Development Report (HDR) 2015, India ranks 130 among 155 countries on the Gender Inequality Index (GII).
(ii) Among South Asian nations, India fares better than only Afghanistan, ranked at 152 and lags behind Bangladesh and Pakistan, which have been ranked 111 and 121 respectively.
(iii) The index considers inequalities in gender specific indicators such as reproductive health measured by maternal mortality ratio and adolescent birth rates, empowerment quantified by share of parliamentary seats and attainment in education, and economic activity measured by labour market participation rate.
3. Saudi Arabia establishes a coalition of 34 countries to fight IS
(i) Recently, Saudi Arabia announced the establishment of a 34-state Islamic military coalition to combat terrorism.
(ii) The coalition includes Arab countries such as Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, along with Islamic countries like Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan, among others. A joint operations centre will be based in Riyadh to coordinate and support military operations.
(iii) The announcement cited “a duty to protect the Islamic nation from the evils of all terrorist groups and organisations whatever their sect and name which wreak death and corruption on earth and aim to terrorise the innocent.”
4. Justice L N Reddy committee to look into implementation of OROP
(i) It was recently announced that Justice (Retd) L Narasimha Reddy, former Chief Justice of Patna High Court, will head the Judicial Committee, which has been formed for the implementation of the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme.
(ii) The committee aims to examine and make recommendations on various issues concerning the scheme based on the Union government’s references. The committee has to submit its recommendation within six months.
5.Study finds 76% of Indian adults not well-versed with basic financial concepts
(i) As per findings of Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services’ recent survey, 76 % of Indian adults do not understand basic financial concepts.
(ii) The survey was based on understanding of four basic concepts, including numeracy, risk diversification, inflation, compound interest (saving and debt).
(iii) The survey states that financial literacy among Indians is lower than the worldwide average, almost in lines with BRICS and South Asian nations.
(iv) In Asia, Singapore shows highest financial literacy at 59%, followed by Hong Kong and Japan at 43%. In the UK and US, 67% and 57% of adults are financially literate respectively.
6. NCML signs MoU with SBI to provide financing services to farmers
(i) In a recent development, National Collateral Management Services Ltd (NCML) a collateral service provider signed a memorandum of understanding with State Bank of India for providing finance facility to farmers against warehouse receipts of their produce.
(ii) As per the bank, The tie-up with SBI will help farmers to have maximum reach with the bank to avail short-term finance against the warehouse receipts.
(iii) The arrangement with SBI is expected to provide opportunity to finance against warehouse receipts issued by small-sized godowns of private licensed warehouses built under ‘Gramin Bhandaran Yojana’ of NABARD across the country.
7. Japan’s SoftBank wins India’s first solar power project
(i) Japan’s SoftBank recently won its first 350 MW solar power project in Andhra Pradesh through its joint venture firm – SBG Cleantech, which bid the lowest tariff of Rs.4.63 per unit to win the project.
(ii) In November 2015, US-based SunEdison Inc. won 500 MW solar power park in Andhra Pradesh at the same tariff rate.
(iii) In June 2015, SoftBank tied up with Foxconn and Bharti Enterprises in order to invest in India’s solar energy sector, committing $20 billion.
8.India’s Mahindra Group acquires Italian car-designing firm Pininfarina
(i) India’s Mahindra group is set to acquire Italian car-designing firm Pininfarina in an all-cash deal for about 33 million euros ($36 million).
(ii) The Italian auto company is known for designing cars for Ferrari, Maserati, Rolls-Royce and Cadillac, among others.
(iii) As per the statement issued by the company, Mahindra will do the deal via a new unit in which automaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd will hold 40% and its IT arm Tech Mahindra Ltd will own the remaining 60%.
9. Snapdeal launches mobile website in Hindi and Telugu
(i) With a view to attract wider customer base, E-Commerce marketplace snapdeal.com recently launched its mobile website in Hindi and Telugu and further added that the mobile platform will be available in all 11 regional languages by January 2016.
(ii) The objective of the company is to reach to an additional 130 million smartphone users in India with regional languages such as Hindi, Telugu, Gujarati, Tamil, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Assamese and Punjabi.
(iii) As pre the co-founder of Snapdeal, Rohit Bansal, “Everyone is right now targeting the 140 million users in the country. Over 90% of the users in India speak languages other than English. With this announcement we will cater to 270 million users in the country.”
10. Noted violinist Itzhak Perlman awarded the 2016 Genesis Prize
(i) Noted Israeli-American violinist Itzhak Perlman has been awarded the 2016 Genesis Prize, which is also known as the “Jewish Nobel”. Perlman was honoured with the prize for his accomplishments as a musician, teacher and advocate for the disabled.
(ii) The Genesis Prize is annually conferred on an individual, who has achieved professional success, benefitted mankind and shown commitment towards Israel and Jewish causes.
11.Jamaludeen Sali wins the Southeast Asian Write award 2015
(i) Indian-origin writer Jamaludeen Mohamed Sali was declared the winner of the 2015 Southeast Asian Write award.
(ii) Sali, 76, who has been writing for over 50 years, has penned 57 books, 80 plays and over 400 short stories, including Vellai Kodugal (White Lines), Alaigal Pesuginrana (The Sound of the Waves), etc.
(iii) Some of his works are studied by Tamil literature students in Indian and Singapore universities.
12. Typhoon Melor strikes Philippines
(i) Philippines was recently struck by Typhoon Melor, locally known as Typhoon Nona, which resulted in heavy rains and strong winds that left close to seven provinces of the nation without power.
(ii) People from coastal regions could not reach evacuation centres due to the weather, which also resulted in cancellation of flights.
13.Rory Mcllroy lifted the the European Tour Golfer of the Year award
(i) Rory Mcllroy, the 26-year-old golfer from Northern Ireland, recently lifted the European Tour Golfer of the Year award.
(ii) In 2015, the world number three secured three victories, including the Dubai Desert Classic, WGC-Cadillac Match Play in May and the World Tour Championship in November.
(iii) With his victory in the latter, McIlroy won the Race to Dubai title for a third time in four years.
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