1. Maharashtra Government constituted a task force
for setting up an IFSC in Mumbai
i. The Maharashtra government on 11 December 2015 constituted a task
force for setting up an International Financial Service Centre (IFSC) in
Mumbai. The task force will be headed by Union Minister of State for Finance
Jayant Sinha.
ii. The task force includes, Union Minister of State for Finance Jayant
Sinha (chairman), Lok Sabha MP from Mumbai North Central Poonam Mahajan (deputy
chairman), Maharashtra Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshtriya, MMRDA Commissioner
UPS Madan, Principal Secretary Urban development Nitin Kareer, A representative
from the Department of Economic Affairs, Union Government, OSD in the Chief
Ministers Office (CMO) Kaustubh Dhavse will be Member Convenor.
iii. The task force will be required to plan and oversee the development
of designated areas at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). They will also review the
process of all stakeholders, take various decisions and issue directives to
departments of the state and the Union Government.
iv. Apart from this, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development
Authority (MMRDA) will also assist the task force in arranging meetings with
various groups and site visits. Logistics shall be provided by MMRDA as
required by the committee.
v. As per plan, the IFSC will be developed within the BKC in suburban
Bandra. Developing a designated area in BKC is one of the most ambitious
projects of the Maharashtra Government.
Earlier in the first week of December 2015, the state government issued
a Government Resolution (GR) to make sure that the initiative is completed
within time.
2. United Nations Human Development Report 2015
released
i. The United Nations Human Development Report 2015 was released on 14
December 2015 with the title Work for Human Development in Ethiopia. As per the
report, 2 billion people lifted out of low human development in last 25 years.
ii. The report urges governments to act to ensure no one is left behind
in the fast-changing world of work. It calls for equitable and decent work for
all.
iii. In the 2015 report, India with a score of 0.609 has been ranked 130
out of 188 countries in terms of Human Development Index (HDI). In the 2014
report, India was ranked 135 out of 187 countries.
iv. The report proposes a three-pronged action agenda for creating work
opportunities and ensuring workers’ well-being. The agenda A New Social
Contract between governments, society, and the private sector, to ensure that all
members of society, especially those working outside the formal sector, have
their needs taken into account in policy formulation.
v. It encourages governments to look beyond jobs to consider the many
kinds of work, such as unpaid care, voluntary, or creative work that are
important for human development. It calls to reduce the inequality between men
and women, societies need new policies, including better access to paid care
services.
3. Mahindra Group acquired Italian auto design firm
Pininfarina
i. Tech Mahindra and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, part of the Mahindra
Group, on 14 December 2015 acquired Italian car designer Pininfarina SpA for
165 million US dollars in an all-cash deal. Pininfarina is well-known for
designing cars for Ferrari, Maserati, Rolls-Royce and Cadillac.
ii. For the acquisition of Milan-listed Pininfarina, Tech Mahindra and
Mahindra and Mahindra have formed a 60:40 joint venture. The joint venture will
acquire 76.06 percent in Pininfarina from its controlling shareholder Pincar
Srl at a price of 25.3 million euros.
iii. The joint venture will buy out the remaining 23.94 percent ordinary
shares of Pininfarina through an open offer. The JV will also infuse 20 million
euros into Pininfarina by way of a rights issue, which would be executed before
the end of 2016.
iv. Tech Mahindra and Mahindra and Mahindra have also signed definitive
agreements with the lenders and creditors of Pininfarina to restructure the
existing debt. It will also provide a corporate guarantee not exceeding 114.5 million
euros to the lenders, creditors and lessors of Pininfarina.
4. West Bengal Government honoured Bappi Lahiri and
Kumar Sanu with Lifetime Achievement Awards
i. The West Bengal Government on 14 December 2015 honoured music
composer Bappi Lahiri and singer Kumar Sanu with Lifetime Achievement Awards.
State Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee handed over the awards at the inauguration
of the annual Bangla Sangeet Mela.
ii. Besides, Bollywood musician Shantanu Moitra was awarded with the
Sangeet Mahasamman Award. The Bishesh Sangeet Samman was awarded to Dwijen
Mukhyopadhyay, Ajoy Chakraborty and Sandhya Mukherjee.
iii. Vocalists Nachiketa, Sriradha Bandyopadhyay, Dileep Kumar Bose and
Fakir Alamgir were honoured with Special Sangeet Samman.
iv. In addition, it was announced at the function that Sangeet Mela will
be held for the next 10 days at different venues where 5000 artists will
participate. A monthly honorarium of 1000 will be given to 50000 folk artists.
5. Union Government appointed L Narasimha Reddy to
head Judicial Committee on OROP
i. The Union Government on 14 December 2015 appointed Justice L
Narasimha Reddy, retired Chief Justice of Patna High Court, to head the
Judicial Committee which will look into the implementation of One Rank One
Pension (OROP) scheme for the ex-servicemen.
ii. The Committee has been given a six-month deadline for submission of
its recommendations. It may give interim reports to the Government on any of
the matters related to its terms of reference.
iii. In making its recommendations, the Committee shall take into
account the financial impact of its recommendations. The Committee will devise
its own procedure and may call for such information and take such evidence, as
may be considered necessary. Ministries and Departments of Government of India
will furnish such information and documents and other assistance as may be
required by the Committee.
iv. The Committee will have its headquarters in Delhi. All
administrative support to the committee will be provided by Department of
Ex-Servicemen Welfare, Ministry of Defence.
6. Operation Smile-II to start from 1 January 2016
i. Union Government on 14 December 2015 requested the states and Union
Territories (UT) to start Operation Smile-II from 1 January 2016. The operation
will end on 31 January 2016.
ii. In this regard, the Union Home Secretary, Rajiv Mehrishi has written
a letter to the Chief Secretaries of all states and Union Territories for
participation in Operation Smile-II in their respective State/UT.
iii. Operation Smile-II is a campaign to rescue/rehabilitate the missing
children. It is a follow up of the exercise Operation Smile that helped in
rescuing and rehabilitating 9146 missing children.
iv. All children residing in shelter homes, platforms, bus stands,
roads, religious places and others will be screened by trained police
personnel. Before 1 January 2016, the Police Personnel from each state will be
properly trained in methodology to extract information from such children
tactfully without their getting intimidated.
v. The police personnel will also be trained about various provisions
like Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Juvenile Justice
(Care and Protection of Children) JJ Act, Protection of Child Right Act and
others.
7. Indian-origin politician Pravin Gordhan becomes
South Africa’s Finance Minister
i. An Indian-origin politician, Pravin Gordhan has been appointed as
South Africa’s new Finance Minister. With this he becomes country’s third
Finance Minister in a week. He replaces David van Rooyen who was appointed on
10 November 2015. Earlier President Jacob Zuma had sacked incumbent Nhlanhla
Nene from Finance Ministry.
ii. Born 12 April 1949 in Durban. He is trained and worked as a
pharmacist in Durban He was one of the main negotiators in the drafting of
South Africa’s democratic constitution from 1991-1994.
iii. He had served as a commissioner in South Africa’s revenue service
(SARS) from 1999-2009 Gordhan had served as Finance Minister from 2009-2014 and
was widely respected for his work.
iv. Prior to this appointment he was serving as Minister of Cooperative
Governance and Traditional Affairs.
8. GIFT City Phase-2 work launched
i. Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) on Monday
announced the launch of the Phase-2 development, which will be focused on
International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) to be set up in GIFT SEZ.
ii. With the launch of Phase-2 development, GIFT City has invited
proposals from developers to build office towers in SEZ and non-SEZ areas, an
official statement said here.
iii. GIFT City’s Phase 1 has received overwhelming response from realty
developers as well as leading BFSI and IT players. So far, allotments of over
14 million square feet of built up area (BUA) has been made in the SEZ and
Non-SEZ area for development of office towers, residential apartments and
social facilities to be developed at an estimated investment of around Rs.
9,600 crore.
iv. GIFT IFSC has already made allotment to around 20 institutions,
including leading names such as SBI, IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank
and YES Bank. GIFT has also signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
various leading Capital Market players namely, BSE, NSE, MCX and DMCC.
v. India’s first IFSC is already operational with the commencement of
IFSC banking units by Yes Bank & Federal Bank in November 2015.
9. Anirban Lahiri wins Order of Merit crown of
Asian Tour
i. India’s star golfer Anirban Lahiri (28) has won the coveted Order of
Merit crown of Asian Tour for year 2015. In the 2015 season world No. 41,
Lahiri has earned $1,139,084 a way ahead of second-placed Scott Hend of
Australia who has earned $491,631.
ii. With this he became only the fourth Indian golfer to win this
coveted award after Jeev Milkha Singh (2006, 2008), Arjun Atwal (2003) and
Jyoti Randhawa (2002). Anirban Lahiri has won twice on the Asia’s premier Tour
to be ranked into the world’s top-50 golfers.
iii. He has posted a top-five finish in a Major (PGA Championship) that
helped him to mak his maiden appearance at the Presidents Cup and earning his
PGA Tour card. Earlier in 2015 Season, Lahiri had won the Malaysian Open and
the Indian Open within a span of three weeks in February 2015. He recorded five
other top-10 finishes around the world in the season.
0 comments:
Post a Comment