Current Affairs of 27 October 2015

1. New panel set up to simplify Income-Tax Act
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley  announced that the Government has set up a new committee to simplify the Income-Tax Act,1961.
The 10-member committee will be led by Justice RV Easwar, former Judge of the Delhi High Court and former President ITAT.


2. HRIDAY plans worth ₹450 cr approved for 8 cities
ction plans under Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) for eight mission cities have been approved at approximately ₹450 crore.
Comprehensive plans for Varanasi, Mathura, Ajmer, Dwaraka (Gujarat), Badami (Karnataka), Warangal (Telangana), Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) and Vellankanni (Tamil Nadu) seek to conserve and develop core heritage assets of these cities, apart from improving sanitation through solid waste management, easy access through signages and better mobility, interpretation centres, landscaping, provision of green spaces etc.
Heritage development in Varanasi will be taken up at a cost of ₹130 crore by undertaking different projects in 4 zones of the city, the statement said. It aims to develop pedestrian pathways from Maidagin to Gondolia Chowk to Dasashwamedh Ghat, façade improvement, multilevel parking and solid waste management, and as many as 30 roads in different heritage zones. The proposed investment will include ₹89.31 crore allocated for Varanasi under HRIDAY, besides under other schemes.
In Mathura, infrastructure development will be taken up in 6 different zones at a cost of ₹41.37 crore while for Ajmer and adjoining Pushkar, ₹60.98 crore will be spent in 5 zones on various projects.
Badami in Karnataka will witness a significant facelift at a cost of ₹61.86 crore while for Dwaraka in Gujarat it will be done at ₹19.56 crore, the statement added.
Vellankanni in Tamil Nadu will see an investment of ₹42.26 crore and Warangal in Telangana will get various infrastructure facilities and amenities at a cost of ₹72.97 crore including ₹40.54 crore allocated to the city under HRIDAY. Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh will be improved at a cost of ₹20.33 crore

3. Jimmy Morales Is Elected New President in Guatemala
 A political neophyte best known for playing dimwitted characters on his television comedy show won Guatemala’s presidential election  as voters overwhelmingly turned their backs on the status quo.
The former comedian, Jimmy Morales, led with 67.4 percent of the 

 vote against Sandra Torres, a former first lady known for her social programs, with almost 96 percent of the vote counted. But almost half of eligible voters did not cast ballots, an even stronger message of disgust with the country’s politics as usual. The election capped six tumultuous months in which a rising anticorruption citizens’ movement helped bring down a president.

Running on the slogan “Not corrupt, nor a thief,” Mr. Morales capitalized on his image as a political outsider, setting himself apart from an establishment tainted by corruption.

4. SC appointed Upamanyu Hazarika Commission submitted report on illegal migrants from Bangladesh
A one-man Commission headed by Upamanyu Hazarika  submitted its report on illegal migrants from Bangladesh into Assam.
The fact-finding commission was appointed by the Supreme Court in May 2015 while hearing the public interest litigation (PIL)-Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha Vs Union of India & Gov. of Assam.
The commission was appointed by the Supreme Court (SC) to find out and report on the ground situation along the India-Bangladesh border running through Assam.
Highlights of the report
• Migrants from Bangladesh are threatening to reduce the indigenous population of Assam to a minority by the year 2047.
• Foreigners acquired land through all means and the favourite mode being to pose as flood and erosion affected persons from other districts with the aid and assistance of a complicit and corrupt administration.
• The big influx over the years has created a huge immigration population which competes for jobs, in government institutions with Indian citizens, without verification of the antecedents of such non-Indians.
• A high-power inquiry on illegal migration should be constituted by the SC to inquire into issues concerning illegal migration from Bangladesh.
• A Sterile Zone should be created by demarcating or identifying a particular stretch from the international boundary in the riverine area and identity cards should be issued to villagers there.
• Since the primary reason for illegal migration is hunger for land, there should be a restriction in the transfer of land - whether by way of sale, purchase, gift or any other such transaction, or by way of allotment from any agency only to those who have been citizens of India in the year 1951 and their descendants.
• Statutory restrictions on transfer of land to non-tribals in existing tribal belts in Assam now be extended to non-tribal areas.

5. Angry Indian Goddesses bagged People’s Choice Award at Rome Film Festival
Director Pan Nalin’s film, Angry Indian Goddesses,  was awarded with BNL People’s Choice Award at the 10th Rome Film Festival held in Rome, Italy.
The award was presented by the BNL Gruppo BNP Paribas. The winner was selected through an online voting system by the audience.
The movie also received an eight-minute-long standing ovation at the festival.
Earlier, the movie was also screened in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, where it came second to Lenny Abrahamson’s Room in the voting for the People's Choice Award.
Angry Indian Goddesses is a 2015 Hindi drama film, which stars Sandhya Mridul, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Sarah-Jane Dias, Anushka Manchanda, Amrit Maghera, Rajshri Deshpande and Pavleen Gujral playing lead roles with Adil Hussain.
The movie narrates the tale of a girl who invited her closest girlfriends to Goa to announce her wedding, and how it all turned into a wild bachelorette party.

6. Law and Justice Party won Poland’s Parliamentary Elections 2015
Conservative Right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party won the Polish parliamentary elections 2015 that were held on 25 October 2015 in Poland.
As per the preliminary results announced by Polish election body, the euroskeptic and opposition PiS party secured decisive 39.1 percent of the vote against the governing Civic Platform party which fetched 23.4 percent shares of vote.
Following the preliminary result, PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski claimed victory, and the incumbent Prime Minister, Ewa Kopacz of the Civic Platform, admitted defeat.

7. World Bank released a report on Arab Spring Revolution
World Bank  released a report entitled Inequality, Uprisings, and Conflict in the Arab World as part of the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA) Economic Monitor series.
The report explains widespread inequality in the society despite overall growth and development of the nations as a whole as the possible answer to Arab inequality puzzle-what drove people to the streets in the MENA despite the region making steady progress?
Findings of the Report
Judging by economic data alone, the revolutions of the 2011 Arab Spring should have never happened.
There are ample evidences showing progress toward eliminating extreme poverty, boosting shared prosperity, increasing school enrollment, etc. in the decades prior to the Arab Spring.
Still, in late 2010 and early 2011, millions of people poured onto the streets of major cities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), calling for change.

8. China launches Tianhui-1C mapping satellite of Tianhui-1 series
China has successfully launched Tianhui-1C, a third mapping satellite of the Tianhui-1 series into its designated orbit. The mapping satellite was launched by Long March 2D carrier rocket from the Jiuquan launching base located in the country’s northwestern Gansu province. It was overall Long March rockets series 215th successful launch. The satellite was developed and produced under the auspices of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASTC) which is China’s primary launch vehicle and satellite contractor.

9. Tsunami early Warning system successfully tested in Mumbai
A newly-installed Tsunami Early Warning System Siren was successfully tested near INS Angre, off Reserve Bank of India (RBI) head office in south Mumbai. It was tested nearly 11 years after the Boxing Day tsunami which had hit the east coast of India and had killed more than 10,000 people. 
Key facts 
The siren system has been installed at the Meteorology Office of Western Naval Command by Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS). It has a digital electronic board fitted in the system which gives out data about the approaching tsunami. The system has a radical range of 3 kms in all directions and gives continuous hoot for 60 seconds during emergency. The siren will be remotely controlled by Hyderabad based INCOIS and will operate in case of a possible Tsunami threat in the local region. 7 tsunami buoys with sensors will record the speed and height of waves. It will further alert the monitoring centre in Hyderabad. The warning siren will provide precise tsunami alert to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), disaster management authorities and Indian Navy to prevent the possible damage.

10. FIIs/RFPIs can now invest up to 74 percent in DEN Networks Limited: RBI
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 26 October 2015 notified that the Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs) can now invest up to 74 percent of the paid up capital of DEN Networks Limited under the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS).
DEN Networks Limited has passed resolutions at its Board of Directors’ level and a special resolution by the shareholders, agreeing for enhancing the limit for the purchase of its equity shares and convertible debentures by FIIs/RFPIs. 
The purchases could be made through primary market and stock exchanges. The purchases would be subject to Regulation 5(2) of FEMA Notification and other terms and conditions stipulated by the Reserve Bank.
The Reserve Bank notified this under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999. 

11. Citi India appoints Samiran Chakraborty as chief economist
Citi India has appointed Samiran Chakraborty as its Chief Economist for India.
Before joining Citi, Samiran Chakraborty was Managing Director and Head of Macro Research for South Asia at Standard Chartered Bank.
He has also held prior employments with ICICI Bank as Chief Economist and Delhi School of Economics as faculty for mathematical Economics and open-economy macroeconomics.
1. New panel set up to simplify Income-Tax Act
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley  announced that the Government has set up a new committee to simplify the Income-Tax Act,1961.
The 10-member committee will be led by Justice RV Easwar, former Judge of the Delhi High Court and former President ITAT.


2. HRIDAY plans worth ₹450 cr approved for 8 cities
ction plans under Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) for eight mission cities have been approved at approximately ₹450 crore.
Comprehensive plans for Varanasi, Mathura, Ajmer, Dwaraka (Gujarat), Badami (Karnataka), Warangal (Telangana), Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) and Vellankanni (Tamil Nadu) seek to conserve and develop core heritage assets of these cities, apart from improving sanitation through solid waste management, easy access through signages and better mobility, interpretation centres, landscaping, provision of green spaces etc.
Heritage development in Varanasi will be taken up at a cost of ₹130 crore by undertaking different projects in 4 zones of the city, the statement said. It aims to develop pedestrian pathways from Maidagin to Gondolia Chowk to Dasashwamedh Ghat, façade improvement, multilevel parking and solid waste management, and as many as 30 roads in different heritage zones. The proposed investment will include ₹89.31 crore allocated for Varanasi under HRIDAY, besides under other schemes.
In Mathura, infrastructure development will be taken up in 6 different zones at a cost of ₹41.37 crore while for Ajmer and adjoining Pushkar, ₹60.98 crore will be spent in 5 zones on various projects.
Badami in Karnataka will witness a significant facelift at a cost of ₹61.86 crore while for Dwaraka in Gujarat it will be done at ₹19.56 crore, the statement added.
Vellankanni in Tamil Nadu will see an investment of ₹42.26 crore and Warangal in Telangana will get various infrastructure facilities and amenities at a cost of ₹72.97 crore including ₹40.54 crore allocated to the city under HRIDAY. Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh will be improved at a cost of ₹20.33 crore

3. Jimmy Morales Is Elected New President in Guatemala
 A political neophyte best known for playing dimwitted characters on his television comedy show won Guatemala’s presidential election  as voters overwhelmingly turned their backs on the status quo.
The former comedian, Jimmy Morales, led with 67.4 percent of the 

 vote against Sandra Torres, a former first lady known for her social programs, with almost 96 percent of the vote counted. But almost half of eligible voters did not cast ballots, an even stronger message of disgust with the country’s politics as usual. The election capped six tumultuous months in which a rising anticorruption citizens’ movement helped bring down a president.

Running on the slogan “Not corrupt, nor a thief,” Mr. Morales capitalized on his image as a political outsider, setting himself apart from an establishment tainted by corruption.

4. SC appointed Upamanyu Hazarika Commission submitted report on illegal migrants from Bangladesh
A one-man Commission headed by Upamanyu Hazarika  submitted its report on illegal migrants from Bangladesh into Assam.
The fact-finding commission was appointed by the Supreme Court in May 2015 while hearing the public interest litigation (PIL)-Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha Vs Union of India & Gov. of Assam.
The commission was appointed by the Supreme Court (SC) to find out and report on the ground situation along the India-Bangladesh border running through Assam.
Highlights of the report
• Migrants from Bangladesh are threatening to reduce the indigenous population of Assam to a minority by the year 2047.
• Foreigners acquired land through all means and the favourite mode being to pose as flood and erosion affected persons from other districts with the aid and assistance of a complicit and corrupt administration.
• The big influx over the years has created a huge immigration population which competes for jobs, in government institutions with Indian citizens, without verification of the antecedents of such non-Indians.
• A high-power inquiry on illegal migration should be constituted by the SC to inquire into issues concerning illegal migration from Bangladesh.
• A Sterile Zone should be created by demarcating or identifying a particular stretch from the international boundary in the riverine area and identity cards should be issued to villagers there.
• Since the primary reason for illegal migration is hunger for land, there should be a restriction in the transfer of land - whether by way of sale, purchase, gift or any other such transaction, or by way of allotment from any agency only to those who have been citizens of India in the year 1951 and their descendants.
• Statutory restrictions on transfer of land to non-tribals in existing tribal belts in Assam now be extended to non-tribal areas.

5. Angry Indian Goddesses bagged People’s Choice Award at Rome Film Festival
Director Pan Nalin’s film, Angry Indian Goddesses,  was awarded with BNL People’s Choice Award at the 10th Rome Film Festival held in Rome, Italy.
The award was presented by the BNL Gruppo BNP Paribas. The winner was selected through an online voting system by the audience.
The movie also received an eight-minute-long standing ovation at the festival.
Earlier, the movie was also screened in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, where it came second to Lenny Abrahamson’s Room in the voting for the People's Choice Award.
Angry Indian Goddesses is a 2015 Hindi drama film, which stars Sandhya Mridul, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Sarah-Jane Dias, Anushka Manchanda, Amrit Maghera, Rajshri Deshpande and Pavleen Gujral playing lead roles with Adil Hussain.
The movie narrates the tale of a girl who invited her closest girlfriends to Goa to announce her wedding, and how it all turned into a wild bachelorette party.

6. Law and Justice Party won Poland’s Parliamentary Elections 2015
Conservative Right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party won the Polish parliamentary elections 2015 that were held on 25 October 2015 in Poland.
As per the preliminary results announced by Polish election body, the euroskeptic and opposition PiS party secured decisive 39.1 percent of the vote against the governing Civic Platform party which fetched 23.4 percent shares of vote.
Following the preliminary result, PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski claimed victory, and the incumbent Prime Minister, Ewa Kopacz of the Civic Platform, admitted defeat.

7. World Bank released a report on Arab Spring Revolution
World Bank  released a report entitled Inequality, Uprisings, and Conflict in the Arab World as part of the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA) Economic Monitor series.
The report explains widespread inequality in the society despite overall growth and development of the nations as a whole as the possible answer to Arab inequality puzzle-what drove people to the streets in the MENA despite the region making steady progress?
Findings of the Report
Judging by economic data alone, the revolutions of the 2011 Arab Spring should have never happened.
There are ample evidences showing progress toward eliminating extreme poverty, boosting shared prosperity, increasing school enrollment, etc. in the decades prior to the Arab Spring.
Still, in late 2010 and early 2011, millions of people poured onto the streets of major cities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), calling for change.

8. China launches Tianhui-1C mapping satellite of Tianhui-1 series
China has successfully launched Tianhui-1C, a third mapping satellite of the Tianhui-1 series into its designated orbit. The mapping satellite was launched by Long March 2D carrier rocket from the Jiuquan launching base located in the country’s northwestern Gansu province. It was overall Long March rockets series 215th successful launch. The satellite was developed and produced under the auspices of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASTC) which is China’s primary launch vehicle and satellite contractor.

9. Tsunami early Warning system successfully tested in Mumbai
A newly-installed Tsunami Early Warning System Siren was successfully tested near INS Angre, off Reserve Bank of India (RBI) head office in south Mumbai. It was tested nearly 11 years after the Boxing Day tsunami which had hit the east coast of India and had killed more than 10,000 people. 
Key facts 
The siren system has been installed at the Meteorology Office of Western Naval Command by Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS). It has a digital electronic board fitted in the system which gives out data about the approaching tsunami. The system has a radical range of 3 kms in all directions and gives continuous hoot for 60 seconds during emergency. The siren will be remotely controlled by Hyderabad based INCOIS and will operate in case of a possible Tsunami threat in the local region. 7 tsunami buoys with sensors will record the speed and height of waves. It will further alert the monitoring centre in Hyderabad. The warning siren will provide precise tsunami alert to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), disaster management authorities and Indian Navy to prevent the possible damage.

10. FIIs/RFPIs can now invest up to 74 percent in DEN Networks Limited: RBI
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 26 October 2015 notified that the Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs) can now invest up to 74 percent of the paid up capital of DEN Networks Limited under the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS).
DEN Networks Limited has passed resolutions at its Board of Directors’ level and a special resolution by the shareholders, agreeing for enhancing the limit for the purchase of its equity shares and convertible debentures by FIIs/RFPIs. 
The purchases could be made through primary market and stock exchanges. The purchases would be subject to Regulation 5(2) of FEMA Notification and other terms and conditions stipulated by the Reserve Bank.
The Reserve Bank notified this under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999. 

11. Citi India appoints Samiran Chakraborty as chief economist
Citi India has appointed Samiran Chakraborty as its Chief Economist for India.
Before joining Citi, Samiran Chakraborty was Managing Director and Head of Macro Research for South Asia at Standard Chartered Bank.
He has also held prior employments with ICICI Bank as Chief Economist and Delhi School of Economics as faculty for mathematical Economics and open-economy macroeconomics.

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