UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS APRIL/2/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS APRIL/2/2015

1. RUSSIAN FREEZER TRAWLER WITH 132 INTERNATIONL CREW SANK OFF THE KAMCHATKA PENINSULA 54 CONFIRMED DEAD,15 MISSING

Dalniy Vostok a Russian freezer trawler with an international crew of 132 sank in the Sea of Okhotsk off the Kamchatka peninsula

Seventy-eight of the crew were Russian, with the remainder coming from countries including Latvia, Ukraine, Myanmar and Vanuatu

54 people are Confirmed are to be Dead, and 15 people are still missing

The concrete cause of the incident is not known however drifting ice may have torn a hole in the vessel, according to BBC , citing Russian emergency services

2. ARKANSAS GOVERNOR ASA HUTCHINSON REJECTS RELIGIOUS FREEDOM BILL

Asa Hutchinson Governor of Arkansas (state of US federation) Refused to sign the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) unless some serious changes are made in the bill such that it reflects federal version that President Bill Clinton signed into law in 1993.

HOW IS THIS BILL DIFFERENT FROM FEDERAL LAW OF US:-

Indiana's RFRA is different from federal act and most state RFRA’s because it allow lawsuits between private parties Which means it raises the possibility that businesses such as florists or photographers could use the law as a defence if they are sued for refusing to provide services for same-sex weddings. Asa Hutchinson told the law makers to change the bill such that it reflects federal one, which does not include the lawsuits between private parties.

3. TATA SONS APPOINTS RONEN SEN, FARIDA KHAMBATA AS DIRECTORS- FARIDA KHAMBATA IS TATA SON'S FIRST WOMAN DIRECTOR

Tata Sons, promoter of the major operating Tata companies of over USD 100 billion anounced the appointments of Farida Khambata, former member of IFC’s Management Group and former Ambassador of India to the U.S., Ronen Sen as an Independent Director on its Board along.Both Mr. Sen and Ms. Khambata will be Non-Executive Independent Directors of Tata Sons Limited

MS. KHAMBATA:-

Ms. Khambata is the Global Strategist of Cartica and a member of its Investment Committee

Before joining Cartica, she was a member of IFC’s ( International Finance Corporation )Management Group, the senior leadership team of IFC.

In her last position at IFC, she served as Regional Vice President in charge of all operations in East Asia and the Pacific, South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean as well as the Global Manufacturing Cluster

RONEN SEN:-

Mr. Sen was India’s Ambassador to the United States from 2004 to 2009

SERENA BEATS LISICKI IN THREE,REACHED MIAMI OPEN SEMIFINAL

The seven-time Key Biscayne champion Serena williams reached the semifinals of the Miami open after beatingg Sabine Lisicki 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-3 

CURRENT AFFAIRS APRIL/2/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS APRIL/2/2015

1. MUSTAFA KAMAL RESIGNED FROM ICC:

Mustafa Kamal resigned from the post of president of International Cricket Council

Mustafa Kamal succeeded Alan Isaac as ICC President

Mustafa Kamal was not allowed to present the World Cup trophy to the winning team after his controversial statements on umpiring at the quarterfinal match of the World Cup between India and Bangladesh.

2. GENERAL MUHAMMADU BUHARI BECOMES PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA:

General Muhammadu Buhari won the presidential elections of Nigeria.

General Muhammadu Buhari defeated Goodluck Jonathan by more than 2.5 million votes to be the president of Nigeria for fourth time.

General Muhammadu Buhari – All Progressives Congress (APC)

Goodluck Jonathan – People’s Democratic Party (PDP)

ABOUT NITERIA: Nigeria is located in West Africa with largest city Lagos and Capital

Abuja. Currency of Nigeria is Naira.

3. INDIA LAUNCHED OPERATION RAAHAT:

India has launched operation Raahat to evacuate 4000 Indians from Yemen.

Operation Raahat was launched to ensure that Indian nationals are not harmed in the military operation started in Yemen by Saudi Arabia and 10 other countries.

Operation Raahat is a massive air and sea operation which involves total of five ships and four aircrafts.

4. GUJARAT CONTROL OF TERRORISM AND ORGANISED CRIME BILL, 2015 PASSED:

The Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organized Crime Bill (GUJCOC) ,2015 passed by the Gujarat Assembly.

The bill is a re-worked version of the Gujarat control of organized crime bill (GUJCOC) , 2003

This bill was earlier rejected twice by the president in 2004 and 2008 by then presidents APJ Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil respectively.

5. ING VYSYA BANK AMALGAMATED WITH KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK:

India’s Central Bank Reserve Bank of India has approved the amalgamation of ING Vysya Bank with Kotak Mahindra Bank.

RBI launched a scheme for this amalgamation and with this, all the branches of ING Vysya Bank Ltd will function as the branches of Kotak Mahindra Bank.

After this merges, Kotak Mahindra Bank becomes 4^th largest private sector lender after HDFC Bank ,ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.

6. RBI IMPOSED FINE ON 16 CO-OPERATIVE BANKS:

RBI has imposed 5 lakh rupees fine on 16 central co-operative banks.

The penalty was imposed for non-adherence of the Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-money Laundering Guidelines.

RBI imposed the penalty under the provision of 47 (A) read with section 46 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.