LATEST CURRENT AFFAIRS QUESTIONS

This blog is all about latest current affairs on various fields, which will help to keep yourself updated for the upcoming government banking jobs

India and Qatar sign six agreements recently

Posted by Aditya Dey
Thursday, 24 May 2012
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                India and Qatar, signed six agreements recently in diverse areas, including a pact on co-operation in oil and gas exploration. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held talks with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani on a range of issues, including boosting trade and investment as well as energy ties between the two countries. Issues relating to the welfare of Indian workers in the Gulf country were also discussed.


                After the talks, India’s Petroleum Minister S Jaipal Reddy and Qatar’s Energy Minister Mohammed Bin Saleh al-Sada signed a pact on establishing a cooperative framework to enhance the bilateral cooperation in oil and gas.

                 The pact envisages cooperation in the areas of upstream and downstream oil and gas activities. It is expected to encourage and promote investment and cooperation between two ministers of oil and gas and through affiliated companies.

                 Qatar, which holds the world’s third largest natural gas reserves after Russia and Iran, has an LNG (liquefied natural gas) export capacity of 77 million tons per year.

                 India buys 7.5 million tons of LNG from Qatar under a long term contract. India imported 5.6 million tons of oil from Qatar in 2010-11 and is willing to increase the imports. Three agreements were signed in the fields of educational exchange, cultural contacts and promoting tourism.

                A memorandum of agreement was signed between the Reserve Bank of India and Qatar Central Bank. The pact will establish an arrangement for sharing of supervisory information and enhancing cooperation in the area of banking supervision. Another pact on exchange of experiences, information and expertise in the field of legal affairs was also signed.

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Latest World Bank Approvals

Posted by Aditya Dey
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
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World Bank approves $ 1.09 billion for Pakistan Power Sector

              The World Bank has approved about $ 1.09 billion financial aid to Pakistan for funding its two projects that would surely improve the country’s power supply in the crucial agricultural sector.

             While the Tarbela IV Extension Hydropower Project will add power generation capacity of 1,410 MW, the Punjab Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Improvement Project is geared toward maximizing water use efficiency for increased yield per unit of water.

              The $ 840 million Tarbela IV Extension Hydropower Project will use the existing dam, tunnel, roads and transmission line for generating additional electricity in summer months when demand for electricity and river flows are high. Meanwhile, the $ 250 million Punjab Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Improvement Programme Project is aimed at getting maximum productivity out of every drop of irrigation water.


World Bank approves $ 500 million education project for India

                  In a bid to make quality education accessible to young people at the secondary level, the World Bank approved a USD 500 million credit to support India’s secondary education project.

                The project will support all activities as envisioned in the USD 12.9 billion Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) programme, a flagship Government of India programme for gradual universalisation of secondary education.

                The project would be financed by a credit from the International Development Association (IDA) - the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm- which provides interest free loans with 25 years to maturity and a grace period of five years.

               According to the Roberto Zagha, World Bank Country Director for India, RMSA is a young programme which is expected to grow rapidly and hence it is an opportunity for the World Bank to support the Government of India in building effective systems as the Programme expands while improving quality.

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China becomes the largest arts, antiques market of the World

Posted by Aditya Dey
Friday, 18 May 2012
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              China has overtaken the US as the world’s largest market for the field of arts and antiques, according to a report.


            The historic turning point was also an important indicator of seismic shifts in the wider global economy, said the report, which is titled as “The International Art Market in 2011”.

            The study was released by the European Fine Art Foundation, who are also the organizers of the prestigious European Fine Art Fair.

            China’s share of the global art market rose from 23 percent in 2010 to 30 percent last year, pushing the US to second place with a share of 29 percent.

           The British Art Market, which was overtaken by China in 2010, was third with a 22 percent of market share France was a distant fourth with a share of six percent only.

           Sales of art and antiques at auctions in China saw a dramatic rise of 177 percent in 2010 and a further 64 percent increase in 2011. The modern and contemporary sectors accounted for nearly 70 percent of the whole market.


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Indian Government allocates Rs 23K Crore for Disaster Management

Posted by Aditya Dey
Tuesday, 15 May 2012
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               With an aim to effectively manage disasters, the government has allocated huge money, which is Rs 23K Crore. An official said it’s for developing disaster management infrastructure at the state, district and panchayet level across the whole country.


                 The 13th Finance Commission has allocated the amount for developing infrastructure across the country to help manage disasters in a better way. It is a indeed a great decision taken by our government. Some disasters hit us quite badly and they are unavoidable too, like the natural disasters like Tsunami, earth-quake, flood etc etc.

                  Out of the Rs 23K Crore, Rs 15K Crore will be given to the states and local bodies as direct grant and Rs 8K Crore will be performance grant.

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Latest steps taken by Indian Government

Posted by Aditya Dey
Saturday, 12 May 2012
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Maiden Test Flight of Second Indigenous AWACS Aircraft



 


              Achieving a major milestone, India has successfully carried out the maiden test flight of its second indigenous Airborne Early Warning and Control System aircraft in Brazil.

             The successful flight is seen as a major boost as the aircraft are scheduled to be delivered in June to the IAF.

             The necessary mission systems and components including the dummy Active Antenna Array Unit is successfully fitted on board Embraer EMB 1451 aircraft and the flight was held on April 4, 2012 at the San Jose dos Campos in Brazil.

             India is working on an indigenous programme to develop ‘eyes in the sky’ using the Brazil aircraft as the platform for the radar.

             India has already inducted three AWACS system from Israel and is planning to place orders for two more.



Government to set up 10 spice parks in 2012




               The government would set up 10 spice parks across the country this year, to promote exports of spices from India.

               Spice Board of India will establish 10 spice parks across the most strategic locations in the country by the end of 2012.

                It has also earmarked an investment of Rs 167 crore in these spices parks. Out of which Rs 75 crore have already been invested in three such parks in Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh (MP), Puttady in Kerala and Jodhpur in Rajasthan.

               The other parks will be completed during the year in states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, MP and Kota in Rajasthan. A spice park consists of units like processing, packaging and certification.



5300 MW more nuclear power in 12th Plan



             India plans to add 5,300 MW nuclear power capacities during the 12th Plan period, taking the total contribution of atomic power to 9980 MW to the country’s energy basket.

             This planned capacity addition includes power from two 1,000 MW units at Kundankulam being built by the Nuclear Power Corporation with Russian collaboration. “The proposed capacity addition target during the 12th plan is envisaged as 5300 MW,” the budget documents of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) state under the head “Deliverables of 12th Plan”.

             The capacity addition is planned through two 1000 MW units at Kundankulam, one 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam, two 700 MW indigenously developed Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) each at Kakrapar and Rawat Bhata respectively.

             While the two units at Kundankulam are expected to be commissioned by August this year, the ambitious sodium-cooled PFBR is expected to start generating power by 2015-16.


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