Current Affair 15 December 2015

INDIAN AFFAIRS

Rajasthan becomes the first state to submit smart city plan
Rajasthan has become the first state to submit smart city plans for three selected cities.
Selected cities – Udaipur, Kota and Ajmer

• Smart city Proposals were submitted by Manjit Singh, (Rajasthan’s princial secretary of urban development) to Samir Sharma (Additional secretary of urban development).

Goa govt green signal to Panaji Smart City proposal
The Goa government has approved the Rs 981.11 crore proposal for Panaji Smart City which was submitted to the Union Urban Development Ministry.The proposal has major thrust on eco-mobility, public transport system and improvement of conservation zones.
Approval given by

• The High Powered Coordination Committee (HPCC) on Smart City headed by Chief Secretary R K Srivastava granted its final approval to proposal and it was submitted to the Centre today.Panaji in the list of first 19 cities which will receive funds this year.

Fund Information :

• Rs 304.22 crores share by Central and State government respectively over next five years. Another Rs 299.98 crore is expected to be funded through public private partnership (PPP).
• Of the total 304.22 crore state share, the entire amount would be contributed by the Goa government, as the financial position of the CCP (Corporation of the City of Panaji) does not allow it to take up such huge proposal.

Key points :

• Goa Capital : Panaji
• Goa CM : Laxmikant Parsekar
• Goa Governor : Mridula Sinha

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

For non-market factors – 4 indices launched by Asia Index
The Asia Index Private Ltd, a JV between S&P Dow Jones Indices and BSE has launched 4 new indices as part of its attempt to enable investors to invest based on parameters like valuation and volatility.
The four new indices launched under the umbrella of S&P BSE Factor Indices are:

• S&P BSE Enhanced Value Index
• S&P BSE Low Volatility Index
• S&P BSE Momentum Index
• S&P BSE Quality Index

Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty report
World Bank released a report “Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty”. The report examines the relation between climate change and poverty and concludes that climate change is one of the primary contributing factors for growing poverty scenario across the world.

• As a remedy to situation, the report provides guidance on how to create a win-win situation so that climate change policies contribute to poverty reduction and poverty-reduction policies contribute to climate change mitigation and resilience building.

India up 5 spots, ranks 130th in Human Development Index: UNDP
As per United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report on account of rise in life expectancy and per capita income, India has been ranked among 130 among 188 countries in 2014 in Human Development Report 2015 comparing to 135 in 2014 report.

• The 2015 Human Development Report (2015 HDR) was on “Rethinking Work for Human Development”.
• Between 1980 and 2014, India’s HDI value increased from 326 to 0.609 showing an increase of 68.1% or an average annual increase of about 1.54%.

Toppers – Norway topped followed by Australia and Switzerland.
FICCI and UN Women sign MoU to advance gender equality and women empowerment
FICCI and UN Women Multi Country Office for India, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in New Delhi to strengthen collaboration on advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in the business sector.

• Dr. Rebecca Tavares, Country Representative, UN WomenIndia MCO and Dr. Jyotsna Suri, President FICCI who is also the Chairperson and Managing Director of Bharat Hotels signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organizations.

Objective : To achieving the common goal of realizing the rights of women and girls as critical preconditions for effective and sustainable development.
Highlights of MoU :

• This MoU will enable us to identify, facilitate and influence business practices that promote gender equality and women empowerment.
• The MoU will provide a framework to both the organizations, to promote research and advocacy on gender responsive policies in select sectorsand with the provisions of the recent Companies Act 2013.
• UN Women will be collaborating with FICCI for the first ever FICCI-FLO Film Festival on women’s empowerment along with a Global Symposium on ‘Gender in Media’ presented by the Geena Davis Institute of Gender Studies in Mumbai in February next year.
• Through this partnership UN Women and FICCI will also work towards furthering UN Women’s global solidarity movement on Gender Equality, “HeForShe“.

BANKING & FINANCE

DCB Bank cuts base rate by 15 bps to 10.7 pc
Maharashtra headquartered Development Credit Bank (DCB) has announced a cut in its base rate by 15 basis points from 10.85% to 10.7%.

• The private sector bank also trimmed its former benchmark lending rate by 15 basis points from 18.10% to 95%.
• Both the rate cuts are effective December 14.

Keys:
DCB Tagline – We value you
DCB CEO – Mr. Murali M. Natrajan
World Bank Group, FIRST Initiative launched Principles for Public Credit Guarantee Schemes
The World Bank Group and the FIRST Initiative announced the launch of a new tool to help governments implement public credit guarantee schemes (CGS).
Aim : To unlock finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
The World Bank Group estimates that up to 68 percent of formal SMEs in emerging markets are either unserved or underserved by financial institutions, with a resulting credit gap estimated to be close to $1 trillion.
Credit guarantee schemes :
The CGS was launched in 2008 with the aim of making it easier for financial institutions to borrow money. The Scheme was closed in 2012.
About FIRST(Financial Sector Reform and Strengthening Initiative):

• These schemes are gaining popularity because they usually combine a subsidy element with market-based arrangements for credit allocation, thereby leaving less room for distortions in credit markets.
• It can serve as a global reference for the design, execution, and evaluation of public CGSs around the world.
• It promotes robust and diverse financial sectors in developing countries by providing rapid, targeted support.
• It leverages the technical expertise of the World Bank Group and IMF to encourage financial sector development through technical assistance projects.

SEBI links commodity trade data with its surveillance systems
For better surveillance of commodities derivatives market, regulator SEBI has integrated trading data flow from various commodity exchanges to its own integrated surveillance and intelligence systems. After merging FMC, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has become the unified regulator for the entire securities market.

• Data acquisition equipment have been installed and connectivity was established with major national commodity derivatives exchanges — NCDEX and MCX — thereby integrating trading data with IMSS (Integrated Market Surveillance System) and DWBIS (Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence System) surveillance systems of SEBI.

Data integration has been facilitated in generation of commodity market reports and alerts in DWBIS and IMSS systems. Data from NMCE (National Multi-Commodity Exchange of India) and regional exchanges are also being received in electronic form through e-mails on a daily basis.

BUSINESS

Natco Pharma gets DCGI nod to sell hepatitis C treatment drug
Natco Pharma Ltd. has received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to launch in the country the generic version of Ledipasvir + Sofosbuvir combination for treatment of chronic Hepatitis C.

• The combination drug is to be launched under its brand name Hepcinat LP and through strategic partners in India.
• Cost – 25,000 (for a bottle of 28 tablets)

A two-drug fixed-dose combination product, containing 90 mg of Ledipasvir and 400 mg of Sofosbuvir in a single tablet, Ledipasvir + Sofosbuvir is sold globally by Gilead Sciences Inc. under its brand Harvoni. The drug is indicated for the treatment of chronic Hepatitis C (CHC) genotype 1 infection in adults.

• Earlier this year, company had signed a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences to manufacture and sell generic versions of the chronic Hepatitis C medicines including generic version of Harvoni.
• Natco became the first licensed company to launch the generic version of the combination drug in Nepal.

Besides in India, this agreement is for 100 other developing countries.
Infosys invests USD 3 mn in sports startup WHOOP
IT major Infosys has invested USD 3 million (Rs 20 crore) in U.S. based wearable device startup firm WHOOP to pick up a minority shareholding in the company.

• WHOOP’s system includes a device worn by athletes on their wrist that continuously measures key strain and recovery variables and actionable analytics powered by proprietary algorithms that generate intensity and recovery scores.

This enables athletes and coaches to gain visibility into the drivers of high performance, guide training and make optimal game day decisions.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

2016 Genesis Prize conferred upon Violinist Itzhak Perlman
The legendary 16 Grammys award winner Israeli-US violinist Itzhak Perlman has been awarded the 2016 Genesis prize for his accomplishments as a musician, teacher and advocate for people with disabilities.

• The $1m (£660,000) prize aka Jewish Nobel is given annually to an individual who has achieved professional success, contributed to humanity and shown a strong commitment to Jewish causes and the state of Israel.

Bappi Lahiri and Kumar Sanu with Lifetime Achievement Awards
West Bengal government honoured veteran music composer Bappi Lahiri and singer Kumar Sanu with the Lifetime Achievement awards.

• The award was presented by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Sangeet Samman award function in Kolkata.

Other Awards:

• Bollywood musician Shantanu Moitra was felicitated with the Sangeet Mahasamman award along with Mohammad Aziz, Kumar Bose and Shibaji Chattopadhyay.
• Vocalists Nachiketa and Ajoy Chakrobarty were given special Sangeet Samman.
• Bishesh Sangeet Samman was awarded to Dwijen Mukhyopadhyay, Ajoy Chakraborty and Sandhya Mukherjee.

Sangeet Mela will be held for the next 10 days at different venues where 5,000 artists will participate. Folk culture festival would be organised at Lal Dighi from December 23.