Current Affairs : 02/09/2014 1. Central Government plans to bring changes in National Education Policy The central government is planning to bring amendments to the existing National Educational policy, for which it requires the involvement of various stakeholders -- states, parents, students and educationists. The education policy was formulated in the year 1986 and amended in 1992 once. The new education policy will take a fresh look at the range of issues, including the curriculum issue, which the NDA-I government had pursued vigorously during its last term. On Monday, Union Minister for Human Resource Development Smriti Irani said that the ministry is working on a schedule to hold consultations with the stakeholders, including state education secretaries in order to address the concerns of new India and its aspirations. She said that new policies will prepare India to take on new challenges. She added that during her last meeting with the directors of IIMs and IITs, 10 goalposts had been identified. The new goalposts will be the foundation for future curriculum as well. Within 20 days, the IITs have marked 10 goalposts. She informed that the new goalposts have been shared with IIMs, as well. Experts are being set up to put together a time-bound action plan, government sources said. These themes include areas of healthcare, energy, sustainable urban design, nano technology, electronic hardware, defence, affordable housing, water resources and advance material. She also said that her ministry would soon initiate an innovative scheme to reach out to parents of the students studying in the government schools. Under the scheme titled-- Shala Darpan-- parents of students would get daily updates on progress made by their wards through SMSes. The HRD ministry also plans to make the campuses across the nation Wi-Fi enabled. 2. Telangana Government to accelerate Hyderabad IT as a Wi-Fi enabled city How would it be if you could use a Wi-Fi while buying your vegetables or walking on the street? Well, this is what the Telangana Government has proposed recently. In a bid to make Hyderabad Indias major IT hub, a Wi-Fi enabled city, the government is holding talks with various telecom service providers. With a population of around 12 million, the service will enhance their growth and provide a full time access to the digital world. According to newspaper reports, Harpreet Singh, secretary of the information technology and communications department, has informed Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao that 90 per cent of the turnover of the IT sector was coming from Hyderabad, with a total turnover of 62,293 crore. The Telangana government confirmed a few weeks later that several firms were coming forward to provide 4G technology for making entire Hyderabad a Wi-Fi enabled city. The officials have been asked to draft strategies involving international consultants and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority, Hyderabad Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation, revenue, electricity, Hyderabad Metro Rail and sports departments, as quoted by a government statement. While plans to make Hyderabad a Wi-Fi enabled city are still on, concerns regarding the access and identification of users is being discussed as an issue. Free Wi-Fi hotspots can be a risk to the use of data online and risks accessing. Interpols cyber-crime centre has warned that data theft over Wi-Fi networks is a major issue and has taken a toll in the recent times. Since, there will be no official registration or tracking, identification of users will be a big concern during the period. The security apparatus and logs of users who accessed the Internet will also be an important issue since the IT Act says anyone who provides Internet access to another person or group is mandated to maintain logs. However it is to be seen, how the government maintains its niche over IT development and maintain the threats arising. 3. Micromax beats Apple with 14 per cent share in Indian tablet market: IDC Apple may have been selling the worlds best tablet but in the Indian market it is losing to Micromax. At least, this is what a report prepared by IDC notes. According to the report that tracked tablet market in the second quarter of 2014, Micromax was ahead of Apple in India. It had 14 per cent share in the tablet market compared to Apples 9 per cent. Samsung, however, leads the list of top tablet manufacturers with a market share of 19 per cent. The report notes, strong performance in Q2, 2014 allowed Micromax to tip Apple to the second spot. The report further shows that over 60 per cent of iPads shipped in India during this quarter were iPad Mini. The report suggests that the Indian tablet market has been showing early signs of recovery in the second quarter. In the first quarter the shipment of tablets had gone down compared to the previous quarter; But in the second quarter, shipment of the tablets increased by 9 per cent compared to the first quarter to reach 0.86 Million. Karan Thakkar, senior market analyst at IDC, noted, This recovery was fueled by multiple factors. Business sentiments have shown improvement post elections and near term prospects are anticipated to remain better too. Further, traditional PC OEMs have started making big inroads in the tablet market and most of this success is led by leveraging their vast expanded reach through multiple distribution points. Kiran Kumar, research manager (client devices) at IDC, said, Improved discretionary spends by end-users and festive buying is expected to drive growth in the tablet market in the coming quarters. IDC anticipates this to be well supported by the optimism witnessed around enterprise IT spending in the recent past. According to the report Android continues to be the top OS with 89.6 per cent market share, while Windows OS is also gaining popularity. Android is likely to hold more than 80 per cent share for next 5 years, the report predicted. 4. IIM-C offers distance learning course in global economics Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C) is offering an executive programme for global economics in association with Ivory Education. The programme is designed to help participants gain an insight into economic analysis and policy in the global context. IIMC is credited with a global reputation, imparting high quality management education. It has been playing a pioneering role in professionalizing Indian management through a world renowned faculty and distinguished courses. The classes will be held online and the students will be taught through an e-learning process. The participants will be introduced to basic economic principles, theories and tools. After the successful completion of the programme, they will have a better understanding of the economic happenings. The programme directors are Prof Anindya Sen, a global icon in the field of economics, and Prof Parthaprathim Pal, assistant professor at IIM Calcutta. Recently, the business environment has changed radically in India. IIMC faculty members continuously have to relate their teaching to the real world in classroom lectures. The potential candidates are those who are working and require knowledge of economics, as quoted by Prof Sen on the official website of the institute. It is a global programme that will cover topics such as introduction, microeconomics, macroeconomics, global context and capital flow. Kapil Rampal, Director, Ivory Education, said, The programme is designed in close collaboration of a professional e-learning company and one of the leading management institutes. It is designed to create a strong foundation in management for working executives. Any candidate who is a working professionals/self- employed, graduate and a post graduate from any recognized university with 50% marks and a maximum of one year of work experience (full-time) is eligible to apply. 5. IIFT placements see 15 per cent rise in average salaries IIFT final placement conducted at its Delhi and Kolkata campus recently for the MBA in International Business program saw a rise of 15 per cent in its average CTC from last year. In all 85 recruiters including 46 first time recruiters made offers for 200 students of the graduating class of 2014 maintaining the record of 100 per cent placements reported a news website. The highest domestic CTC stood at Rs. 24 lacs p.a. The institute witnesses 32 Pre Placement Offers and another 09 offers through corporate competitions across B?Schools.A number of top trading firms (two of the top four) offered commodity trading profiles exclusively to students of IIFT. A few highlights from IIFT placements 2014 Compared to the summer placements, consulting had a fair share this time. Finance, which during summers, saw hiring across MNC banks as well as Indian financial services companies, this time sees hiring mainly from MNC banks. The hiring is across profiles, showing IIFTs maturing as a campus). Google, Amazon, Flipkart ruled the domain of E-commerce recruiting from this campus. Google started recruiting from the summer placements (2013), and they have continued recruiting from IIFT. Two of the Global Top 4 trading firms, called the ABCD of Trade, namely, Bunge and Louis Dreyfus offered commodity trading profiles exclusively to IIFTians Mid & Senior Management roles were offered to laterals candidate like Senior Manager, Strategy(TATA NYK), and Regional Sales Manager(Sproxil) were offered at IIFT Russell Reynolds, among the worlds Top 5 Executive Search Firms hired exclusively from IIFT HCL(14), Flipkart(11), Cognizant Business Consulting(9), Goldman Sachs(8), Google(6), Nomura(6), ITC(5) recruited big numbers from the Class of 2014 The number of International Offers(12) at IIFT increased significantly over the last year. Roles offered were across The Middle East, Africa, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia A variety of roles across domains were offered by Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals(the sunrise sector) giants including 4 Fortune 200 majors. Technology & E-commerce majors viz. Amazon, Google, Nokia, SAP, Flipkart, offered prominent roles across domains. 6. Xiaomi Redmi 1S review: Cheap and the best In late July, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi entered India with a bang. It announced its flagship phone the Mi 3 with a price of relatively affordable Rs 13,999 and then sold out six lots of it in a matter of seconds. In total, Xiaomi sold around 95,000 units of the Mi 3. But now the phone is gone from the market. Xiaomi has stopped selling it! Reason: The company wants to focus on the RedMi 1S, an entry-level phone that will go on sale from today. At least this is the official version of the story. But then this piece is not about the Mi 3. It is about the RedMi 1S. Despite the tag of entry-level, Xiaomi has high hopes from it. Are they grounded in some reality? We will give you a detailed answer in a while. The short answer is a resounding yes. Everything that you have heard about RedMi 1S is accurate. It is one hell of a phone. And an incredible value. As for why, read on. Design The Redmi 1S is an unassuming phone in terms of looks. Its a rectangular block, built out of thick plastic, with subtle curves on the back. Its on the chubbier side of things at 9.9mm and weighs 158 grams, which also is a tad heavy. However, it is built well and its tough plastic feels reassuring sturdy. The back cover of the phone is removable so one can replace the battery, if required. Under the back cover you can find the 2,000mAh battery, dual-SIM slots and the microSD card slot. There is an 8-megapixel rear camera accompanied by a flash. The device has a 4.7-inch screen. Above the screen, there is a 1.6-megapixel camera, a suite of sensors and a three capacitive backlit buttons. The power and volume rockers are on the right, the 3.5mm jack is on the top and a microUSB port is on the bottom. Most of this is basic stuff, but the way it has been put together is incredibly impressive. The fit and finish of the phone is astounding considering its price of Rs 5,999. Its worth noting that the phone comes with two microSIM to mini SIM converters as the dual-SIM slots are meant for miniSIMs. Additionally, like the Mi 3 there are no earphones in the retail package. Screen The 4.7-inch IPS screen on the RedMi 1S has a 720P resolution. Usually, budget phones have low-resolution screens. A 720P screen at this price is nothing sort of magical. And that reflects in the experience a user gets with the Redmi 1S. With a pixel density of 312 pixels per inch, the screen shows sharp text. We found the colour temperature of the screen to be a tad warm for our tastes, but nonetheless it is impressive. It has good viewing angles, good levels of brightness and is legible under sunlight. All of this is a rarity in a low-cost phone. However, the Moto E, which has a lower resolution screen shows deeper blacks and slightly better viewing angles. Camera The real star of the RedMi 1S is its camera. In most cases it clicks better images than phones that cost more than Rs 20,000. Yes, it is that good. In good light, the rear camera locks focus quickly and captures images that have lots of details. The macros are captured well. Its HDR mode is superb and helps in low-light conditions. When it comes to the camera, similarly-priced phones like the Moto E, which has a fixed focus camera, are not even close. The stock camera app allows for a number nifty features like a sweep panorama mode. How many phones at this price can click a great panorama? Not many, but the Redmi 1S does it easily without any fuss. Even for videos, the Redmi 1S is very good. It can shoot video at 1080P full-HD which is a first for a low-priced phone. In videos shot with the device we found that focus was well maintained and footage was stable. Unfortunately, the low internal storage -- 8GB means you cannot shoot long videos in FullHD resolution with the 1S. Software Running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, the Redmi 1S runs MiUI V5. It is Xiaomis unique take on Android, which, according to us, is simpler to use than stock Android because it presents a springboard of apps on the home-screen like iOS, where apps and widgets share space. It is also very customisable. Using the theme store one can change the entire look of the user interface including icons, ring tones, wallpapers, system UI elements and the lock screen. Its a tinkerers dream. Other features include an easy mode, which presents a grid of tiles like Windows Phone offering a simpler experience to people used to feature phones. Subjectively, the stock browser feels faster than Google Chrome and the stock music player is easier to use and more useful than Google Play music app. The only drawback is that Android updates dont come as quickly on the Redmi 1S compared to a device like Moto E, which runs Android 4.4. Xiaomi is yet to clarify whether the Redmi 1S will be updated to Android 4.4.2 KitKat or not. This means, the device may also not get updated to MiUI V6. Hardware and Performance The Redmi 1S is powered by the quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 CPU clocked at 1.6GHz. It has 1GB RAM. On paper, the Redmi 1S has slightly faster core hardware compared to the Moto G. In some synthetic benchmarks, the RedMi fares well against the Moto G and comes out ahead. But it loses out to Intel Atom-powered Asus ZenFone 4. Fortunately, in actual use the Redmi 1S is as fast as mid-range Android phones like Zenfone 5 that cost around Rs 10,000. It is also a good multitasker as we managed to open 15-20 apps simultaneously without any problem. Occasionally, there are a few hiccups and the phone shows the low memory warnings but it doesn t slow down or lag significantly. In gaming, the phone handles games like RipTide GP with ease and renders graphics effects like water splashes accurately. Battery life and network performance The 2,000mAh battery on the Redmi 1S lasts a day. On a single charge, we clocked on an average of 14 to 15 hours of usage. This was with two email accounts and two social media accounts configured with push mail functionality. We made around 2 hours of calls, streamed music for around 45 minutes, clicked around 15-20 photos browsed the web and watched the odd YouTube video. In terms of battery performance, the Redmi 1S is comparable to the Moto e and is much better than the Zenfone 4 and the Zenfone 5. The quality of sound during calls is good. Using two Vodafone SIM cards we faced zero dropped calls. Xiaomis customisations for the dual-SIM functionality made switching between numbers a seamless experience. Should you buy it? Like the Mi 3, the Redmi 1S is another freak of nature from the house of Xiaomi. It reinvents the wheel for the entry-level smartphone. It offers good hardware with software that is well optimised and is useful. If you are looking for a phone for less than Rs 10,000, we can wholeheartedly recommend the Redmi 1S. That is if you can find it on sale because we think Xiaomi is going to have a hard time meeting the demand for this phone. Design- 8/10 Display- 7/10 Camera -9/10 Software- 8/10 Hardware-8/10 Battery life- 8/10 Call quality- 8/10 Value- 9/10 Price - Rs 5,999 7. RBI asks banks to set time line to process loans The Reserve Bank of India on Monday asked banks to set a time line to process loans. However, the RBI did not set any particular time frame for it. The central bank also asked banks to make suitable disclosures about time lines by conveying credit decisions through their websites and notice boards. The move came after RBI noticed that there have been inordinate delays by banks in conveying credit decisions, leading to delays in project implementation. 8. RBI clarifies rules for declaring bank accounts inoperative The Reserve Bank of India on Monday said bank accounts will not become inoperative if a dividend cheque has been credited in it in the previous two years. Since dividend on shares is credited to Savings Bank accounts as per the mandate of the customer, the same should be treated as a customer induced transaction. As such, the account should be treated as operative account as long as the dividend is credited to the Savings Bank account, the central bank said in a notification. A bank account becomes inoperative or dormant if no credit or debit transaction has been conducted for a period of two years. RBI further said that the account should be treated as operative account as long as the dividend is credited to the Savings Bank account. This clarification has been issued in view of the doubts raised by some bankers whether an account in which only dividend has been credited can be treated as inoperative after two years. 9. United Bank of India declares Vijay Mallya, Kingfisher Airlines wilful defaulter United Bank of India has declared Kingfisher Airlines and its promoter Vijay Mallya a wilful defaulter in a move that will choke fresh fund flow to companies promoted by the flamboyant businessmen or those on which he is a director. Several others lenders to whom Kingfisher owes over Rs 4,000 crore, including State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and IDBI Bank, are expected to follow suit. Apart from Mallya and his debt-laden airline, Directors Ravi Nedungadi, Anil Kumar Ganguly and Subash Gupte have also been declared wilful defaulters. United Bank of India executive director Deepak Narang said yesterday that the decision was taken by the Grievance Redressal Committee of the bank. He said that the bank, which has dues of around 350 crore rupees, will pursue recovery proceedings which are being led by SBI, the lead lender to Kingfisher. In a statement, Kingfisher said it will seek legal remedies, including pursuing the special leave petition filed in Supreme Court. 10. RBI revises Basel III capital norms, halves maturity to 5 years The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued revised and final guidelines for raising non-equity regulatory capital instruments by banks under the stringent Basel III framework. Banks can now issue tier II capital instruments with a minimum maturity of at least 5 years compared to 10 years at present, the central bank said late Monday evening. It further said banks can issue tier II debt capital instruments to retail investors, subject to the board approval. Banks may now additional tier 1 capital instrument with the principal loss absorption through either conversion into common shares or write-down mechanism (temporary or permanent) which allocates losses to the instruments, the regualtor said in a notification. RBI, however, said the terms and conditions of all non-equity capital instruments (both additional tier I & II) issued by banks must have a provision that requires such instruments to either be permanently written off or converted into common shares upon the occurrence of the point of non-viability (PONV) trigger event. The RBI said banks shall ensure the non-common equity capital instruments issued by them meet all the eligibility criteria such as legal, accounting and operational, to qualify for recognition as regulatory capital instruments. The guidelines said the call option on additional tier I instruments- perpetual non-cumulative preference shares (PNCPS) and perpetual debt instruments (PDIs) will be permissible at the initiative of the issuer after the instrument has run for at least five years. The loss absorbency features of the instrument should be clearly explained, and the investors sign-off for having understood these features and other terms and conditions of the instrument should be obtained, RBI said, adding the new norms will be applicable with immediate effect. 11. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif talks tough, says will neither resign nor go on leave Embattled Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said he will neither resign nor go on leave, even as anti-government protesters led by Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri continue to mount pressure on him to step down. Addressing a meeting of leaders of political parties here, Nawaz said he would not allow to set a precedent under which a few people make hostage mandate of millions of people, reported PTI. We have rule of Constitution here and we will not allow any one to abrogate it, The Express Tribune quoted Nawaz as saying. Following the meeting a joint declaration pointed out that future of Pakistan is linked with democracy and any deviation can be dangerous for federation of Pakistan. The leaders expressed their firm resolve that they stand by the Prime Minister in the struggle to defend the democracy. All parliamentary parties decided to become party to the petition filed in the Supreme Court for supremacy of the Parliament, Radio Pakistan reported. The leaders strongly condemned attacks on the Parliament, Prime Ministers House and PTV. These attacks are attacks on democracy and state, they said. Leader of the Opposition in the Senate declared that if someone tried to besiege the Prime Minister House then political leadership would stay with the Prime Minister in the PM House. The meeting condemned irresponsible role played by a section of media trying to create misunderstanding between institutions. The meeting was attended by Syed Khursheed Shah, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Ijazul Haq, Babar Khan Ghauri, Dr Farooq Sattar, Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, Mir Hasil Bizenjo, Haji Adeel, Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Abbas Khan Afridi and Ghazi Gulab Jamal. Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Tahirul Qadri and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan are agitating since August 14 against alleged rigging during the last years general elections. The political crisis has triggered violent clashes in Islamabad, leaving three persons dead and over 550 injured. 12. Fire breaks out at the highest building in Kolkata A fire has broken out at the Chatterjee International building in Kolkata on Tuesday morning. Five fire tenders were rushed to control the situation. The fire is said to have broken out at the 15th and 16th floor of the highest building in Kolkata. Since the fire broke out before the office hours, the police said the possibility of any person being trapped in the building is less. The area has been cordoned off to conduct the firefighting operations in the busy area. There are no reports of any casualties so far. The cause of fire or extent of damage was yet to be ascertained, police said. 13. Britain announces plans to strip suspected Islamist militants of passports Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday announced plans to strip suspected Islamist militants of their passports temporarily, to combat the threat posed by radicalised Britons returning from Syria and Iraq. The proposals come days after Cameron raised Britains terrorism alert to its second-highest level, saying Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq posed the countrys greatest-ever security risk. An ISIS video released last month, purporting to show a man with a London accent man beheading a US journalist, led to concern that Britons fighting in the region could return and launch attacks on British soil. We have all been shocked and sickened by the barbarism we have witnessed in Iraq this summer, Cameron told parliament. There are two key areas where we need to strengthen our powers to fill specific gaps in our armoury. These are around preventing suspects from travelling and dealing decisively with those already here who pose a risk. Cameron said he would bring in new specific and targeted legislation to give the police powers to temporarily seize a suspects passport at the border to give authorities time to investigate them. Currently only Britains interior minister has the power to withdraw a passport. He also said the government would consult on a discretionary power to prevent Britons from returning home if they have pledged allegiance to extremist causes. This would extend existing powers which can only be applied to foreign nationals, naturalised citizens and those with dual nationalities. Asked by an opposition Labour lawmaker whether he was open to the idea of joining the United States in direct military action, Cameron said he would not rule anything out. National interest A British government should act in the national interest ... to help keep our people safe and we should consider everything in the light of that, he said, adding that if it became necessary to act quickly he would do so without first seeking authorisation from parliament. Last week Obama administration officials said the United States wanted to recruit partners for potential joint military action but Camerons spokesman said on Monday he was not aware any such proposals had been put to Britain. Britain has so far carried out aid drops and surveillance and transported military supplies to Kurdish regional forces allied with the Baghdad central government against Islamist insurgents. The package of security measures announced by Cameron on Monday has been subject to protracted negotiations in the two-party coalition government, with the junior partner Liberal Democrats wary of bringing in laws that could limit civil liberties. Lawmakers immediately questioned the legality of some of the proposals. The governments former top lawyer, Dominic Grieve, said he was concerned that British nationals could be prevented from returning to the country. Not only does it offend principles of international law, it actually would offend basic principles of our own common law as well, Grieve said. In response Cameron said the current system of prosecuting returning extremists worked, but that it was important to address any weaknesses in it. Officials estimate at least 500 Britons have travelled to Syria or Iraq, where ISIS has seized large swathes of territory, and Londons police chief Bernard Hogan-Howe said last week it was believed some 250 had since returned. The government also said it intended to give police the ability to restrict where people based in Britain who are under investigation can live. Airlines would be legally bound to provide details of passenger lists to authorities, strengthening existing border procedures, he said.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 08:55:37 +0000
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