25th February 2014 Current Affairs Updates

1) Bimal Jalan panel on bank licences submitted recommendations to RBI: A committee headed by former Reserve Bank of India governor Bimal Jalan on new bank licences submitted a compilation of positive and negative aspects of granting licences to all 25 applicants. The ball is now in the court of RBI governor Raghuram Rajan who has to decide on the number of licences and the identity of the licence recipients. The board of the central bank may meet on March 7 and is likely to discuss the issue with finance minister P Chidambaram who was keen on speeding up the process of new licences. The group comprising former RBI deputy governor Usha Thorat, former Securities & Exchange Board of India chairman CB Bhave and former ICICI Bank executive director Nachiket Mor examined details submitted by the various regulatory agencies about these applicants. Kotak Mahindra Bank and Yes Bank were the last two Private Banks to get banking licences from the RBI in 2003—04. India has 27 public sector banks, 22 private sector banks and 56 regional rural banks.

2) ISRO to launch Astrosat in 2015: The Indian Space Research Organisation intends launching Astrosat, an astronomical satellite, in 2015, Chairman K. Radhakrishnan said on Monday. To be launched aboard a PSLV rocket, the satellite would have six pieces of equipment built by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, he said addressing the 32nd convocation of Mangalore University on the Mangalagangotri campus.

3) India to put Makkah-Medina high speed railway on track: Two of Islam’s holiest cities, Makkah and Medina will now have an Indian connection. According to government sources, the Indian labour force will be roped in for the Haramain High Speed Railway project — Saudi Arabia’s plan to connect the two cities by high speed trains. The rails for the tracks will also be supplied by Indian companies.

4) Ugandan president signs anti-gay law: Uganda's president has signed a controversial anti-gay bill that allows harsh penalties for "homosexual offences", calling them "mercenaries" and "prostitutes". Yoweri Museveni on Monday signed the bill, which holds that homosexuals be jailed for long terms, outlaws the promotion of homosexuality and requires people to denounce gays.

5) Honda appoints first woman to its board: Honda has appointed a woman to its board for the first time and given a major promotion to a foreigner, in a sign that the automaker wants to change perceptions of a hidebound corporate culture. Technology expert Hideko Kunii, 66, will join the carmaker's board, while Issao Mizoguchi, a Brazilian of Japanese ancestry who has worked with Honda's South American operations for nearly 30 years has been appointed operating officer, Honda said on Monday.

6) Oldest Holocaust survivor died at 110: The oldest known survivor of the Holocaust died on Sunday in London, at the age of 110, reports said. Alice Herz-Sommer, who was originally from Prague, had been in the Nazi concentration camp in Terezin, or Theresienstadt, in what is now the Czech Republic, during World War II, the Press Association news agency reported.

Know about Holocaust?- The Holocaust  was the mass murder or genocide of approximately six million Jews during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, throughout the German Reich and German-occupied territories.

7)  Commemorative Posatage Stamp in Honour of Maulana Hasrat Mohani released: The Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari released a commemorative postage stamp in honour of Maulana Hasrat Mohani, a freedom fighter. Addressing on the occasion, he said that Maulana Hasrat Mohani was an eminent poet and freedom fighter and an incomparable person. He was the first person, who raised the issue of ‘complete independence’ in Indian National Congress Meeting in Ahmedabad in 1921. We should always remember his contributions and should try to fulfil his dreams.

8) Indira Paryavaran Bhawan inaugurated by Prime Minister: Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India on 25 February 2014 inaugurated Indira Paryavaran Bhawan on Jorbagh Road, New Delhi. This Bhawan will house the Ministry of Environment and Forest and has a provision to accommodate its 600 officials.

9) IOC to buy 10% stake in Petronas’ LNG project for $900 mn: Indian Oil Corp, the nation’s largest oil firm, will buy Malaysian firm Petronas’ 10 per cent stake in a shale-gas assets and liquefied-natural-gas (LNG) project in British Columbia for $900 million. The acquisition of stake in Progress Energy Resources Corp for 1 billion Canadian dollars ($900 million) mark IOC’s maiden entry into North America.

10) Asia Cup 2014 started: Asia Cup 2014 started at Bangladesh with Srilanka beating Pakistan by 12 runs in the opener.

11) Former RAW chief Sanjeev Tripathi joined BJP:   Former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief Sanjeev Tripathi on Monday joined the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.