Current Affairs, News & Facts of 06 Jan 2016

Pranav Dhanawade, a 15-year-old cricketer from Mumbai, created a world record by scoring 1009 runs (not out) in HT Bhandari Cup, an under-16 inter-school tournament held in Mumbai (Maharashtra). With this broke the previous highest record of individual score 628 not out set by  the 13-year-old AEJ Collins in a house match at Clifton College in June 1899.

Facts to know :-

• Pranav Dhanawade made this world record during HT Bhandari Cup organised by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) mainly for suburban schools. 
• He was representing KC Gandhi High School against Arya Gurukul and played for 395 minutes. He smashed 59 sixes and 127 fours in 395 minutes before his KC Gandhi School declared the innings at 1,465 against Arya Gurukul School
• His 1009 score also helped his school to score 1465/3 in the innings which broke the past record of 1107 runs of Victoria against New South Wales made in 1926.

Pranav Dhanawade's father is an auto-rickshaw driver, who had pushed him to play and was partly responsible for his success.

Andhra Bank has launched Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) at all its branches in association with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). IMPS has been enabled across all branches to provide inter-bank electronic fund transfer service.

Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) :

• IMPS makes payments possible within fraction of seconds with all the standards and integrity maintained for security. IMPS offers an instant, 24X7, interbank electronic fund transfer service through mobile phones.
• IMPS is an emphatic tool to transfer money instantly within banks across India through mobile,internet and ATM which is not only safe but also economical both in financial and non financial perspectives.

Launched on :  22 November 2010 by Smt. Shyamala Gopinath, DG RBI at Mumbai.

Banks with IMPS :  State Bank of India, Bank of India, Union Bank of India, ICICI Bank, . Yes Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC bank and Andhra Bank.

IMPS, unlike NEFT, will be available round the clock. Under IMPS, a real time instant fund transfer system for inter-bank remittances, the maximum cap of transaction will Rs. 2 lakh.

Sarosh Homi Kapadia, the 38th Chief Justice of India, passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was He was 68. A strict disciplinarian with interests ranging from Theoretical Physics to Buddhist Philosophy, Justice Kapadia was best known for his statistical acumen.

Facts to know about SH Kapadia :

Sarosh Homi Kapadia was born on 29 September 1947. He graduated from Government Law College, Mumbai which is the oldest law college in Asia.

Legal career :

• Kapadia started his career as a class IV employee. He later became a law clerk in a lawyer's office in Mumbai. He  joined as an advocate in the Bombay High Court on 10 September 1974.
• Kapadia was appointed as an additional judge of the Bombay High Court in 1991 and in 1993 he was appointed as a permanent judge. On 5 August 2003 he became the Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court.
• In December 2003 he was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court. On 12 May 2010 he was sworn in as the Chief Justice of India by the then President Pratibha Patil.
• Kapadia has also served as the Chairman of the General Council of the Gujarat National Law University during his tenure as CJI. He was also the Visitor of the National Law School of India University.

Famous Rulings : Having authored over 250 judgments, Justice Kapadia is most remembered for his verdict in the Vodafone tax verdict.  

With a view to enhancing representation of women in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), Union Home Ministry  has approved the 33% posts at Constable level for being filled up by women. The proposal in this regard was approved by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and shall come into effect with immediate effect.

Key facts to know :

• 33% of posts of Constables will be reserved for women in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
• 14-15 % posts in the Border Security Force (BSF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Indo Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) will be reserved for women.

The Committee on Empowerment of Women in its Sixth Report (Recommendation No.84) of the (2010-11) had recommended urgent need to provide due representation to women in paramilitary forces. 

Jharkhand, the mineral-rich but energy-deficit state, has became the first state to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre on Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) for improving financial and operational efficiencies of its power distribution company (DISCOMs). 

The MoU in this regard was signed between the state government, Union Ministry of Power and state power distributor Jharkhand Bijli Vitaran Nigam Ltd (JBVNL) in the presence of Chief Minister Raghubar Das.

About the MoU :

• Corporation would be repaid by the State Government and is expected to save `115 crore on interest cost and reduction in debt. Consequently, DISCOM would become sustainable to supply adequate and reliable power enabling 24x7 power supply. The scheme provides that the States would take over 75 per cent debt of Discoms.
• With this, the total number of states that would be joining UDAY will become 15. The other states that are on board UDAY are Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. 

Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) :

Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) is the financial revival package for electricity distribution companies of India (DISCOMs) launched on 20th November 2015. Under the scheme, states have been asked to take over 75 per cent of the discom debt over the next two years against which they can issue bonds. 

Union government has reduced export duty on iron ore pellets to zero from 5 per cent to make the commodity more competitive amid weakening prices due to subdued demand. A notification in this regard was  issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). Iron ore pellets are value-added products of leftover material or low-grade iron ore and are used in steel-making. 

Economical cause of abolishing export duty :

In current scenario of global economic slowdown there has been decrease in demand followed by increase in supply (production) which has resulted in decrease of global commodity prices especially minerals and oil. Besides fall in demand in China, which is the world’s largest metal consumer also has attributed to falling in commodity prices.

Steel and its related raw material market is facing a tough time on account of subdued demand and high production, adversely impacting the prices. Iron ore pellet makers as well as some miners had earlier sought a reduction in the export duty on iron ore to make it more competitive. 

Sri Lanka and Pakistan have agreed on the inclusion of services and investment in the bilateral free trade agreement. This would help companies of the two nations to form joint ventures for exports to other nations.

The statement in this regard was made by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his official trip  to Sri Lanka which comes after eight months of President Sirisena’s visit to Pakistan in April 2015.Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif  and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena signed several memoranda of understanding and deals .

Trade relation between Sri Lanka and Pakistan :

• When the FTA came into effect in June 2005, Since the Pakistan’s exports to Sri Lanka were to the tune of 150 million dollars.
• Sri Lanka’s exports to Pakistan were valued at about $52 million, accounting for around 70 per cent of the country’s total exports to Pakistan.

MoUs signed between Sri Lanka and Pakistan :

Both the countries signed several MoUs. The MoUs covered a number of areas, including trade promotion and curbing money laundering and terrorism financing. Pakistan would help  Sri Lanka to set up sugar and cement plants in Sri Lanka and promote dairy industry.

Defence Deal signed :

Pakistan also sealed a landmark defence deal to sell JF-17 Thunder fighter jets to Sri Lanka. Under this deal Pakistan will sell 8 JF-17 Thunder fighter jets which are already part of Pakistan Air Force (PAF).