SBI celebrated 150 years of its operations in Sri Lanka

State Bank of India (SBI) on 13 September 2014 celebrated 150 years of its operations in Sri Lanka. 
SBI Managing Director Krishna Kumar reaffirmed the bank's commitment to partner in Sri Lanka’s efforts in developing its economy. 
India has committed large resources for the progress of Sri Lanka. Indian assistance to Sri Lanka is in tune of 1.6 billion US dollars and one fourth of this is in form of direct grant assistance while the rest is soft long-term loans for development projects.

About State Bank of India, Colombo
State Bank of India, Colombo is operational since 1864. It was earlier a branch of Bank of Hindustan, which was taken over by Bank of Madras in 1867. In 1921, Bank of Madras was merged with the Imperial Bank of India. Subsequently in 1955, Imperial Bank of India became State Bank of India.

The branch was mainly opened to handle the business of export of coffee and the Government business. The branch is the oldest bank in the country.  
The branch is located in a heritage building in the Fort area of Colombo, which is the financial hub of Sri Lanka. 
The branch is fully equipped with modern technology and with modern communication facilities such as SWIFT etc. All the Branches are networked with each other. 
It's catering mainly to the Corporate and Retail clients and the product range from all types of deposit accounts, financing working capital, term loans, vehicle loans, housing loans and trade finance.

WHO honoured Bangladesh and Timor-Leste for Excellence in Public Health

The World Health Organisation (WHO) honoured Bangladesh and Timor-Leste with South East Asia Regional Award for Excellence in Public Health. The newly instituted awards were presented to Saima Hossain of Bangladesh and National Malaria Control Programme of Timor-Leste in Dhaka on 10 September 2014.

Saima Hossain was conferred the Award in the individual category for leadership in advancing the cause of Autism in South East Asia and worldwide. She is a chairperson of National Advisory Committee on Neuro development and Autism in the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare of Bangladesh.

The National Malaria Control Programme of Timor-Leste was conferred the Award in the region category for its aggressive anti-malaria effort which has drastically reduced malaria cases in Timor-Leste.

Solar power technology Electrodialysis unveiled in India to desalinate water

A new solar power technology Electrodialysis unveiled in India in second week of September 2014 that can turn undrinkable salty water into clean and filtered drinking water. 
The technology was unveiled by the researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The same technology can also be used for disaster relief and for military use in remote locations.

About Electrodialysis
•    Electrodialysis works by passing a stream of water between two electrodes with opposite charges.
•    The electrodes pull the ions out of the water as the salt dissolved in water consists of positive and negative ions. It leaves fresher water at the center of the flow. 
•    A series of membranes separate the freshwater stream from salty ones.
•    Unlike reverse-osmosis technology, the use of membranes in Electrodialysis is exposed to lower pressures and can be cleared of salt by simply reversing the electrical polarity.

Reasons behind the need for desalinating drinking water 
•    Approximately 60 percent of India contains salty water. Much of that area is not served by an electric grid that could help run conventional reverse-osmosis desalination plants.
•    Though moderately salty water is not directly toxic, but it can have long-term effects on health. Its unpleasant taste can make people turn to other dirtier water sources.
•    Many homes in India currently use home-based filtration systems to treat water. But, the village-scale system will be more effective as it will become easy for people to access filtered water.
•    By blending village-scale Electrodialysis systems with a simple set of solar panels, enough water can be supplied to meet the needs of a village comprising 2000 to 5000 people.

Report titled Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion 2014 released by UNEP and WMO

A report titled Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion 2014 was released on 10 September 2014. The report has been prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The report revealed that the ozone layer is well on track to recovery in the next few decades.

Highlights of the Report
• Actions taken under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in 1986 are enabling the return of the ozone layer to benchmark 1980 levels.
• The Montreal Protocol and associated agreements have led to decreases in the atmospheric abundance of gases, such as CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) and halons, once used in products such as refrigerators, spray cans, insulation foam and fire suppression.
• Total column ozone declined over most of the globe during the 1980s and early 1990s. Since 2000, it has remained relatively unchanged, but there are recent indications of its future recovery.
• The Antarctic ozone hole continues to occur each spring and it is expected to continue occurring for the better part of this century given that ozone depleting substances persist in the atmosphere, even though their emissions have ceased.
• The Arctic stratosphere in winter or spring 2011 was particularly cold that led to large ozone depletion as expected under these conditions.
• The Montreal Protocol has made large contributions toward reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. 
• In 1987, ozone-depleting substances contributed about 10 gigatonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions per year. The Montreal Protocol has now reduced these emissions by more than 90 percent. 
• The decrease in ozone-depleting substances is about five times larger than the annual emissions reduction target for the first commitment period (2008-2012) of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.
• Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) currently contribute about 0.5 gigatonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions per year. These emissions are growing at a rate of about 7 percent per year. Though HFCS do not harm the ozone layer but many of them are potent greenhouse gases.
• The annual Antarctic ozone hole has caused significant changes in Southern Hemisphere surface climate in the summer due to cooling of the lower stratosphere there is associated impacts on surface temperature, precipitation, and the oceans.
• In the Northern Hemisphere, where the ozone depletion is smaller, there is no strong link between stratospheric ozone depletion and tropospheric climate.
• The concentrations of CO2, methane and nitrous oxide are the three main long-lived greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which will tend to increase global ozone levels.

Narendra Ambwani elected as chairman of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)

Narendra Ambwani on 12 September 2014 elected as Chairman of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). 
He succeeded Partha Rakshit. Narendra Ambwani is the Director of Agro Tech Foods Ltd. 
He has been a member of the board of governors for seven years and provided active support to self-regulation in the advertising market. 
Moreover, Benoy Roy Chawdhuri was elected as Vice-Chairman and Shashidhar Sinha was appointed Honorary Treasurer. 

About Advertising Standards Council of India 

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) was established in 1985. ASCI has been committed to the cause of Self-Regulation in Advertising, ensuring the protection of the interests of consumers. 
ASCI was formed with the support of all four sectors connected with Advertising -- Advertisers, Advertising Agencies, Media (including Broadcasters and the Press) and others like PR Agencies and Market Research Companies.The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) is the agency of ASCI.

Achievements of ASCI

In a noteworthy achievement, ASCI issued guidelines on skin lightening & fairness products which ensured that these advertisements do not depict people with dark skin as somehow inferior to those who are fairer. 
Also recently, the Government took notice of ASCI’s efforts to curb teleshopping ads that violate ASCI Code and ensured a strict compliance of the advertising code in the Cable Television Networks Act (CTN).

U.C. Nahta has appointed member of Competition Commission of India (CCI)

The government has appointed U.C. Nahta as member of Competition Commission of India (CCI) for five years. He was a Director in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

'Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana' (PMJDY) Related practice Questions

1. 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana' (PMJDY) launched by Prime Minister of India on 28 August 2014. The theme of the scheme is ....
1) Bringing more people under financial inclusion
2) Providing cash subsidy to farmers
3) Creating awareness about the value of money encouraging people to buy gold
4) Providing cash to people to participate in Mutual Funds market
5) None of above

2. What is the tag line of 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana'?
1) Hamara Khatha Hamara Swabhiman
2) Khatha Kholo, Paisa Bachao
3) Mera Khatha Bhagya Vidhata
4) Hamara Khatha Bhagya Vidhata
5) Sab ka Khata Sab ka Vikas

3. 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana' (PMJDY) is the dream project of the central Government provides ......
1) At least one bank account to every house hold
2) Bank account with locker facility to keep the valuables of people
3) One bank account to every house hold and ask the bank to enroll the minor names to open the account in future
4) None of above
5) All of above

4. How many crore people cover under Jan Dhan Yojana by January 26, 2015?
1) 1.5 crore
2) 4.5 crore
3) 7.5 crore
4) 90 lakh
5) 10.50 crore

5. How many no frill accounts opened under PMJDY on the day of launch?
1) 2.5 crore
2) 4.5 crore
3) 1.5 crore
4) 3.5 crore
5) None

6. Under PMJDY, every account holder will get a .......
1) RuPay debit card
2) Visa International debit card
3) Master Card debit card
4) EVM debit card
5) All of above

7. Issuing of KCC as RuPay Kisan Card also proposed under PMJDY. KCC stands for ......
1) Kisan Core Card
2) Kisan Call Card
3) Kisan Combo Card
4) Kisan Credit Card
5) None

8. The account holder under Jan Dhan Yojana, get how much life insurance cover, if the account open before 26 January, 2015?
1) Rs.5,000
2) Rs.10,000
3) Rs.80,000
4) Rs.70,000
5) Rs.30,000

9. After six months of satisfactory operations, the account holder would be eligible ...... overdraft facility under PMJDY.
1) Rs.5,000
2) Rs.15,000
3) Rs.25,000
4) Rs.35,000
5) None

10. While speaking on the occasion of launching of Jan Dhan Yojana, PM said .......
1) To eradicate poverty we have to get rid of financial untouchability.
2) Financial stability break the vicious cycle of poverty.
3) Once bank accounts open, the people connected with the economic system.
4) None of the above
5) All of above

11. Account given under Jan Dhan Yojana, also cover accidental insurance of up to ........
1) Rs.1 lakh
2) Rs.2 lakhs
3) Rs.5 lakhs
4) Rs.3 lakhs
5) None

12. In order to make the programme PMJDY successful, at least 50000 Business Correspondents, more than 7000 branches and more than how many new ATMs will be established?
1) 10000
2) 200000
3) 45000
4) 20000
5) 75000

13. The earlier schemes of financial inclusion focussed on villages. The present PMJDY focus on .......
1) Employees
2) House wives
3) Rural youth
4) Urban slum dwellers
5) House holds

14. Under Phase I under PMJDY Universal access to banking, cover all house holds with at least one Basic Banking Account with RuPay debit card, providing insurance cover, linking DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) Scheme provided. Phase I runs between .......
1) 15 August, 2014 to 14 August, 2015
2) 15 August, 2014 to 31 March, 2015
3) 15 August, 2014 to 31 August, 2015
4) 1 August, 2014 to 1 August, 2015
5) None

15. The Phase II of PMJDY (15th August, 2015 to 14th August, 2018) covers .......
1) Providing micro-insurance.
2) Unorganised sector Pension schemes like Swavalambana through the Business Correspondents.
3) All basic savings accounts opened will be shifted to PMJDY accounts.
4) Facility to buy immovable property through PMJDY accounts.
5) 1 & 2 only


ANSWERS:
1-1, 2-3, 3-1, 4-3, 5-3, 6-1, 7-4, 8-5, 9-1, 10-5
11-1,  12-4, 13-5, 14-1, 15-5, 

CURRENT AFFAIRS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana

Unit 5 of RAPS became second longest running nuclear reactor of World

Unit 5 of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station on 6 September 2014 became the second longest running reactor in the world.
The Unit 5 of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) is a 220 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR). The power station is in uninterrupted operation from 2 August 2012 and it has been operating at full power with a capacity factor of 105 per cent. 
The unit 5 has been in operation for 765 days continuously. It has since then generated around 4258 million units of electricity.

World’s first
Unit 7 of Canada's Pickering nuclear plant holds the world record of running the largest operating plant that ran continuously for 894 days. There are only 10 reactors in the world that have crossed 500 days of uninterrupted operation. 

About the plant
The plant was commissioned in February 2010. It has been running at the capacity of 98.5 per cent and until now generated 8663 million units of electricity.
RAPS Unit 1 was commissioned in August 1965 with a gross capacity of 100 MW.
RAPS have 6 units of which five are in operation. 
Work on units 7 and 8 are expected to be in operation by 2017-2018.

19th Livestock Census -2012’ Data Released

Radha Mohan Singh, Union Minister of Agriculture released the ‘19th Livestock Census -2012’ published by the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture. Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, Minister of State for Ministry of Agriculture and Food Processing Industries was also present on this occasion. 

The 19th Livestock Census shows an overall decline of 3.33% in the total livestock population as compared to the previous census of 2007. However, some states such as Gujarat (15.36%), Uttar Pradesh (14.01%), Assam (10.77%), Punjab (9.57%) Bihar (8.56%), Sikkim (7.96%), Meghalaya (7.41%), and Chhattisgarh (4.34%) have shown an increase in their total livestock population. 

The number of milch animals (in-milk and dry), cows and buffaloes, has increased from 111.09 million to 118.59 million, an increase of 6.75%. The number of ‘animals in–milk’ has increased from 77.04 million to 80.52 million showing an increase of 4.51%. 

The Female Cattle (Cows) Population has increased by 6.52% over the previous census (2007) and the total number of female cattle in 2012 is 122.9 million numbers. The Female Buffalo population has also increased by 7.99% over the previous census and the total number of female buffalo is 92.5 million numbers in 2012. 

Further, the exotic/crossbred milch cattle increased from 14.4 million to 19.42 million, showing an increase of 34.78% whereas the indigenous milch cattle increased from 48.04 million to 48.12 million, an increase of 0.17%. The milch buffaloes increased from 48.64 million to 51.05 million with an increase of 4.95% over previous census. 

Poultry sector has also shown a healthy increase by 12.39% over the previous census and the total poultry in the country was 729.2 million numbers in 2012. 

Livestock Census in the country started in the year 1919 and since then the exercise has been continuing every five year. The data are being used for policy formulation and has wide utility in the field of planning and research activities. The 19th Livestock Census was conducted in the year 2012 with the participation of all States and Union Territories. The census covered all villages and towns/ wards in the country. The data of 19th Livestock Census was compiled at the Central level by setting up data entry centers at selected States considering the volume of work. The data validation processes were also carried out extensively with the help of State Governments and the error free data are made available for its use in the current year. 

Salient Features of 19th Livestock Census

v  The total livestock population consisting of Cattle, Buffalo, Sheep, Goat, pig, Horses & Ponies, Mules, Donkeys, Camels, Mithun and Yak in the country is 512.05 million numbers in 2012. The total livestock population has decreased by about 3.33%over the previous census. v  Livestock population has increased substantially in Gujarat (15.36%), Uttar Pradesh (14.01%), Assam (10.77%), Punjab (9.57%) Bihar (8.56%);    Sikkim (7.96%), Meghalaya (7.41%), and Chhattisgarh (4.34%). v  The number of milch animals (in-milk and dry), cows and buffaloes, has increased from 111.09 million to 118.59 million, an increase of 6.75%. v  The number of animals in milk, cows and buffaloes, has increased from 77.04 million to 80.52 million showing a growth of 4.51%. v  The Female Cattle (Cows) Population has increased by 6.52% over the previous census (2007) and the total number of female cattle in 2012 is 122.9 million numbers. v  The Female Buffalo population has increased by 7.99% over the previous census and the total number of female buffalo is 92.5 million numbers in 2012. v  The exotic/crossbred milch cattle increased from 14.4 million to 19.42 million, an increase of 34.78%. v  Indigenous milch cattle increased from 48.04 million to 48.12 million, an increase of 0.17%. v  The milch buffaloes  increased from 48.64 million to 51.05 million with an increase of 4.95% over previous census. v  The total sheep in the country is 65.06 million numbers in 2012, declined by about 9.07% over census 2007. v  The Goat population has declined by 3.82% over the previous census and the total Goat in the country is 135.17 million numbers in 2012. v  The total pigs in the country have decreased by 7.54% over the previous census and the total pigs in the country are 10.29 million numbers in 2012. v  Horses & Ponies population has increased by 2.08% over the previous census and the total Horses & Ponies in the country is 0.62 million numbers in 2012. v  The total Mules in the country have increased by 43.34% over the previous census and the total Mules in the country are 0.19 million numbers in 2012. v  Camel population has decreased by 22.48% over the previous census and the total Camels in the country is 0.4 million numbers in 2012. v  The total Donkey population in the country have decreased by 27.22% over the previous census and the total donkeys in the country are 0.32 million numbers in 2012. v  The total poultry population in the country has increased by 12.39% over the previous census and the total poultry in the country is 729.2 million numbers in 2012. v  The total Mithun and Yak in the country has registered a growth rates of 12.98% and -7.64% respectively over the previous census and the Mithuns and Yaks in the country is 0.29 million and 0.07 million in numbers respectively. ALL INDIA LIVESTOCK CENSUS (in thousands) CATEGORY 2007 2012 % Change Cattle   Exotic/Crossbred          Male 6,844 5,971 -12.75          Female 26,216 33,760 28.78   Total Exotic/Crossbred 33,060 39,732 20.18   Indigenous          Male 76,779 61,949 -19.32          Female 89,236 89,224 -0.01   Total Indigenous 1,66,015 1,51,172 -8.94 Total Cattle# 1,99,075 1,90,904 -4.10 Buffalo          Male 19,597 16,103 -17.83          Female 85,745 92,599 7.99 Total Buffalo 1,05,342 1,08,702 3.19 Yaks          Male 38 35 -7.62          Female 45 42 -7.65 Total Yaks 83 77 -7.64 Mithuns          Male 127 129 1.57          Female 137 169 23.36 Total Mithuns 264 298 12.88 Bovine          Male 1,03,385 84,187 -18.57          Female 2,01,379 2,15,794 7.16 Total Bovines 3,04,764 2,99,981 -1.57 Sheep   Exotic/Crossbred          Male 1,144 1,207 5.51          Female 2,586 2,574 -0.46   Total Exotic/Crossbred 3,730 3,781 1.37   Indigenous          Male 16,730 13,916 -16.82          Female 51,098 47,372 -7.29   Total Indigenous 67,828 61,288 -9.64 Total Sheep 71,558 65,069 -9.07 Goat          Male 40,793 37,617 -7.79          Female 99,744 97,556 -2.19 Total Goat 1,40,537 1,35,173 -3.82 Horses & Ponies          Male 336 350 4.17          Female 276 275 -0.36 Total Horses & Ponies 612 625 2.12 Mules Total Mules 137 196 43.07 Donkey          Male 227 186 -18.06          Female 211 133 -36.97 Total Donkeys 438 319 -27.17 Camels          Male 243 191 -21.40          Female 274 210 -23.36 Total Camels 517 400 -22.63 Pigs   Exotic/Crossbred          Male 1,209 1,283 6.12          Female 1,180 1,174 -0.51   Total Exotic/Crossbred 2,389 2,456 2.80   Indigenous          Male 4,134 3,681 -10.96          Female 4,610 4,156 -9.85   Total Indigenous 8,744 7,837 -10.37 Total Pigs 11,133 10,294 -7.54 TOTAL LIVESTOCK 5,29,696 5,12,057 -3.33 GG:SS:CP: (salient livestock) 03-09-2014