Daily Current Affairs – 24th December, 2015, Thursday

Manaswini Panda

9 years ago

1. Indian-American Rakesh Jain chosen for America’s highest science award

Dr. Rakesh Jain, an alumnus of IIT – Kanpur, will receive the National Medal of Science from US President Barack Obama. Currently, the 65-year-old is professor of tumour biology at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Harvard Medical School.
He is among the nine recipients chosen for the National Medal of Science while eight others have been shortlisted for the National Medal of Technology and Inovation.
Deemed to be a pioneer in the field of tumour micro-environment, Dr Jain has extensively contributed in the areas of tumour biology, drug delivery and bioengineering, among others.
The National Medal of Science was instituted in 1959 and is administered for the White House by the National Science Foundation. It annually honours individuals for their significant contributions in science and engineering.

2. Wipro to buy Viteos Group for $130 million

Indian IT giant Wipro is set to acquire US outsourcing firm Viteos Group for $130 million in an all-cash deal, which will be finalised in March 2016.
Founded in 2003, Viteos also has presence in India, Europe, Singapore and Cayman Islands.
With over 400 employees, the company will help Wipro enhance presence in the banking and financial services sector.

3. Gautam H Bambawale is India’s High Commissioner to Pakistan

Gautam H Bambawale, who is currently India’s ambassador to Bhutan, has been appointed as India’s High Commissioner to Pakistan replacing TCA Raghavan, who is set to retire by December-end.
Bambawale is a 1984 Indian Foreign Service officer and was India’s first Consul General in Guangzhou, China in 2007.
He has worked in the US, China and Germany and has been responsible for strategic ties with Japan, China and Korea, among others.

4. Government launches two mobile applications for farmers

The Union Agriculture Ministry has launched two mobile apps for farmers, namely Crop Insurance and AgriMarket Mobile.
The apps have been launched to mark the birth anniversary of former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Choudhary Charan Singh.
The applications are available on the mKisan portal and Google Store and are currently available in English and Hindi.
Crop Insurance will help the farmers to know about insurance cover, calculate the premium for notified crops based on the area, coverage and loan amount.
AgriMarket will provide farmers with the correct market price of crops that are being sold within a 50 km-radius with the aim of discouraging distress sale. The app can be used with or without mobile GPS facility.

5. Start-up Pandorum Technologies develops India’s first artificial liver tissue

Bengaluru-based biotechnology start-up Pandorum Technologies has developed India’s first artificial liver tissue using 3D printing.
The tissue can perform vital functions of a human liver tissue, including metabolism, detoxification and secretion of biochemicals.
The company has stated that the 3D bio-printed mini-livers resembling the human liver will act as test platforms for the research and development of drugs that are more efficient, inexpensive, have less side effects.
This innovation will also help to reduce dependence on animal and human trials, thereby bringing down costs incurred in research. It will eventually be used for full-scale liver transplants.

6. Amit Agarwal is the new CFO of Jet Airways

Amit Agarwal, 47-year-old CA, has been appointed as the Chief Financial Officer of Jet Airways. He has 24 years of experience and finance knowledge in Indian and international markets.
Earlier, Agarwal was the CFO of Suzlon Energy and has also worked with Essar Steel and Arcelor Mittal – Europe.
Jet Airways did not appoint a full time CFO after March 2014, when Ravishankar Gopalakrishnan (who was also acting as the CEO) quit.

7. UN declares November 5 as World Tsunami Awareness Day

The United Nations has declared the November 5th as World Tsunami Awareness Day.
The aim is to create awareness across the globe on threats posed by natural disasters like Tsunami and the importance of early warning systems that will reduce loss of lives and property.
As the country has suffered immense losses due to tsunamis, the Japanese government had first proposed establishment of this day after the Third UN Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai, Japan in March 2015.

8. OPEC World Oil Outlook 2015 released

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) released the 2015 OPEC World Oil Outlook, which provides an extensive review of scenarios related to medium and long-term development of the oil industry.
As per the report, by 2040, OPEC has predicted the overall demand to be close to 110 million barrels a day, with price per barrel being around $95.
The global demand for energy is likely to increase by 50%.
Long-term demand is dominated by developing Asian countries, which accounts for 70% for the increase by 2040.

9. Thomas Cook India elevates Madhavan Menon to CMD post

Thomas Cook India has elevated current MD Madhavan Menon to Chairman and MD with effect from January 1, 2016. Menon was MD of the firm since 2006.
Thomas Cook (India) is promoted by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Fairbridge Capital (Mauritius) Limited and its controlled affiliates.

10. Fortune 500 India: IOC and RIL seize top 2 spots

As per the recently released list of Fortune 500 Indian Companies 2015, state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Mukesh Ambani’s RIL have retained first and second spots respectively for the sixth consecutive year. The list ranks companies across sectors.
The list ranks firms based on annual revenue. While IOC tops with an annual revenue of Rs.4,51,911 crore, RIL comes second with a revenue of Rs.3,82,565 crore. Tata Motors secured the third spot followed by, SBI, BPCL, Hindustan Petroleum, ONGC, Tata Steel, Hindalco Industries and TCS.
The international magazine’s Indian edition stated that the total revenue of firms has grown only 2.7% and profits have reduced by 5.9% as compared to 2014. However, individual companies are beating all odds to deliver value to customers and shareholders.
While the ranking is based on total revenues, other parameters like profits, net operating income, assets, etc are also considered.

11. Lok Sabha passes Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill, 2015

The Lok Sabha has passed the Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill, 2015, which enables the doubling of wage ceiling for calculating bonus to Rs.7,000 per month for factory workers with 20 or more workers. The current wage ceiling is Rs.3,500 per month.
The bill will increase eligibility limit for payment of bonus from a salary of Rs.10000 to Rs.21000 per month.
The bill seeks to amend the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965. The benefits of this bill will come to effect beginning April 1st, 2016.

12. 30th National Consumers Rights Day observed

National Consumers Rights Day is annually observed on December 24th ever since the enactment of Consumer Protection Act on 24th of December, 1986.
This year’s theme was Safe & Healthy Food: Combating Food Adulteration.
The day marks the solidarity in the national consumer movement and is also an opportunity to promote the basic rights of consumers across India.

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