Saradha scam: CBI arrests West Bengal Minister Madan Mitra
(i) In a major development concerning the ongoing investigation in the multi-crore Saradha scam the Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday arrested West Bengal Transport Minster and senior Trinamool Congress leader Madan Mitra.(ii) Mr. Mitra, perceived to be close to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is an important Minister in her cabinet. He is the first Minister in West Bengal to be arrested by the CBI in the Saradha case
(iii) “CBI has arrested Madan Mitra, a Cabinet Minister in the Government of West Bengal on prima facie evidence of criminal conspiracy, cheating and misappropriation as well as deriving undue financial benefits from the Saradha Scam,” a senior official of the CBI told The Hindu.
Google News to shut down in Spain over 'Google Tax'
(i) Google said Thursday it will shut down its Google News service in Spain to prevent publishers’ content from appearing on it ahead of a new law requiring the Internet search company to pay Spanish news organizations for linked content or snippets of news.
(ii) The move marks the first time globally that Google Inc. will shutter Google News and comes ahead of a new Spanish intellectual property law going into effect Jan. 1 nicknamed the “Google Tax.”
U.S. Congress approves $1.1 trillion spending bill
(i) The Obama White House and House Republicans joined forces on Thursday to pass a $1.1 trillion U.S. government-wide spending bill over clamorous protests from Democrats objecting that it would roll back bank regulations imposed in the wake of the economic near-meltdown of 2008.
(ii) The 219-206 vote cleared the way for a final showdown in the Senate on the bill the last major measure of a two-year Congress far better known for gridlock than for bipartisan achievement.
For all the maneuvering, there was no threat of a government shutdown and the House passed a measure providing a 48-hour extension in existing funding to give the Senate time to act on the larger bill.
Indian team shares Modi’s book on Green Gujarat
(i) The 226-page book published before the Cancun climate summit, has quotes from the Vedas, Swami Vivekanand and Mahatma Gandhi and even a poem by Mr. Modi, titled ‘Grateful’ which is about how grateful his eyes are that the earth is lovely.
(ii) He says he drew his knowledge from the Atharva Veda which has 63 couplets composed thousands of years ago, that contain a whole spectrum of knowledge which is now being propounded as climate change.
(iii) The underlying spirit is that of a mother-son relationship between man and earth, Mr. Modi writes.
Crimean PM meets Indian business group in New Delhi during Putin visit
(i) Prime Minister of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov met a Mumbai businessman to discuss
(ii) The Prime Minister of Crimea, the former Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia, arrived for unofficial talks in New Delhi on Thursday as President Vladimir Putin met Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a summit.
(iii) Sergey Aksyonov met a Mumbai businessman to discuss boosting trade with the Black Sea region. India does not support Western sanctions against Russia, but the meeting may prove an irritant before President Barack Obama visits India in January.
Cabinet approves Insurance Bill
(i) Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Select Committee Chandan Mitra on Wednesday tabled the report on the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008, recommending a hike in FDI in insurance sector from 26 to 49 per cent. The report, carrying dissent notes from four of the 15 members, incorporated Congress party’s demand for a composite cap on such investments.
(ii) The dissenting parties include the Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Janata Dal (United). These parties are opposed to further opening of the insurance sector to foreign investment.
OPEC cuts 2015 global demand growth forecast
(i) Global demand for OPEC crude in 2015 will be less than expected and far below its current output, the group said on Wednesday, pointing to a hefty supply surplus without OPEC output cuts or a slowdown in the U.S. shale boom.
(ii) In a monthly report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) forecast demand for the group’s oil will drop to 28.92 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2015, down 280,000 bpd from its previous expectation and over one million bpd less than it is now producing.
(iii) The report follows OPEC’s decision last month not to prop up prices by cutting output. Top exporter Saudi Arabia urged fellow members to combat the growth in U.S. shale, which needs relatively high prices to be economic and has been eroding OPEC’s market share.
India to grow 5-6 per cent in 2015: Moody’s
(i) Indian economy is expected to pick up pace in 2015, and grow in the range of 5-6 per
(ii) “India will have stronger GDP growth in 2015, which we forecast at 5-6 per cent, up from around 5 per cent in 2014,” Moody’s said in a report titled ‘2015 Outlook: Global Credit Conditions’.
(iii) The country, it said, had benefited from a strong domestic demand base and diversified export markets that gave protection from the effects of a slowing Chinese economy and muted growth in the euro zone and Japan.
Jaitley promises ‘civilised’ tax regime to attract investment
(i) India will soon raise the foreign investment cap in insurance sector and work for making the tax regime “civilised” to attract overseas investments, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said while exuding confidence of achieving 6 per cent growth next fiscal.
(ii) Underlining that growth would depend on the States, he talked about cooperative federalism and announced release of Rs 11,000 crore to states in the current fiscal as part payment towards CST compensation to facilitate roll-out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Lok Sabha passes coal mines bill
(i) The Lok Sabha on Friday passed a bill which provides for fresh auction of 204 coal blocks de-allocated by the Supreme Court in September with the government allaying apprehensions of some parties that the legislation would lead to privatisation of the sector.
(ii) Supreme Court quashes allocation of 214 coal blocks. The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, which replaces and Ordinance promulgated in October, was passed by voice vote overcoming demands by some opposition parties it be sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee for closer scrutiny.
Socio-educational, economic survey likely to begin next month
(i) Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission is expected to conduct proposed socio-educational and economic survey of communities in the state next month.
(ii) Interacting with media representatives at the office of Deputy Commissioner here on Friday, Commission’s Chairman, H. Kantharaj said that the dates for survey would be finalised soon after the completion of on-going winter session of State legislature underway in Belagavi.
(iii) “Total population of the state is around 6.20 crore with around 1.25 crore households. We require 1.25 lakh staff including district level officers, trainers, supervisors and grassroots surveyors for the gigantic task. Around 75 percent of deputations have already been made across the state,” he said.
Call for ‘mission mode’ to tackle arsenic contamination
(i) Expressing serious concern over the extent of arsenic contamination in groundwater that has affected nearly 70 million people in 86 districts across 10 States, a Parliamentary panel led by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi has favoured “mission mode’’ approach by the Centre to deal with the problem.(ii) Dr. Joshi tabled the first report of the Committee on Estimates on ‘Occurrence of High Arsenic Content in Ground Water’ in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
US passes bill to use force against ISIS
(i) A key US Congressional committee has passed a bill authorising use of military force against the dreaded Islamist State militant group that has seized swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.
(ii) The Authorisation for Use of Military Force (AUMF) bill allows the President to use military force against ISIS for up to three years.
(iii) “But (it) limits the activities of US Armed Forces from participating in ground combat operations except in defined circumstances,” said Senator Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
ICC releases provisional squads of 12 teams
(i) The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday released the provisional squads of 12
(ii) However co-hosts Australia and minnows Ireland have decided against releasing the names of the players in the provisional list although they have submitted the list of 30-members to the parent body within the stipulated deadline.
(iii) Since its inception in 1975 with the Prudential Cup, it will be the first edition which won’t feature either among Javed Miandad (’75, ‘79, ‘83, ‘87, ‘92, ‘96) or Sachin Tendulkar (’92, ‘96, ‘99, ‘03, ‘07, ‘11), who have played six editions each.
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