Current Affairs Daily Updates: 17 February 2014

1) Interim budget 2014-15/Vote on Account 2014 presented: Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s interim budget 2014-15 presented on Monday targeted key middle-class constituencies ahead of the elections with offerings to armed forces pensioners, nine lakh young education loan borrowers, and aspiring car and two-wheeler buyers. This being an interim budget, the Finance Minister kept untouched personal and corporate income tax rates and surcharges on them. It was Chidambaram’s eighth budget and the 82nd for India, including interim and special-situation budgetary proposals, since the first one of independent India was presented by then Finance Minister R K Shanmukham Chetty on November 6, 1947.

2) India enter U-19 Cricket World Cup quarter finals: Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav became the first Indian bowler to grab a hat-trick in the Under-19 World Cup before the defending champions entered the quarter-finals with a patchy five-wicket win over Scotland in their low-scoring Group A match in Dubai on Monday. The Indians are on top in their group with two wins out of two and just one match to go.

3) President's rule imposed in Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee has imposed President's rule in Delhi and accepted the Arvind Kejriwal government's resignation, authorities said on Monday. "The President, on the advice of Union Cabinet, has imposed President's rule in Delhi. The resignation of Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of Delhi, along with his council of ministers, has been accepted by the President with immediate effect," said the press release issued by lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung's office on Monday. Official sources said the assembly will be kept in suspended animation.

4) Tarun Tejpal charged with rape, sexual harassment: Tehelka founder and former editor Tarun Tejpal was on Monday charged by Goa police with rape, sexual harassment and outraging modesty of a woman journalist in a lift of a five-star hotel in November last year. If proven guilty, Tejpal can be sentenced for more than seven years of imprisonment on these charges.

5) Govt announces one rank, one pension for military personnel in budget: In an attempt to woo more than 25 lakh ex-servicemen barely two months before the general elections, the Congress-led UPA government on Monday announced that it has accepted the "one rank, one pension"(OROP) principle for the forces. The mega announcement comes three days after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi endorsed OROP after meeting a delegation of more than 1,000 ex-servicemen last Friday.

6) Government gears to push T-Bill on Tuesday: As a determined UPA government gears up to push through the Telangana Bill in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, two Union Ministers met top BJP leaders on Monday to get it on board. Among the BJP leaders whom Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh met were L.K. Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and M. Venkaiah Naidu.

7) Matteo Renzi Sets Out to Form New Italy Government: The mayor of Florence, Matteo Renzi, accepted the task of trying to form a new coalition government on Monday and promised rapid and ambitious action meant to win over potential partners and shake up the country. If successful, Mr. Renzi, 39 years old, would become the youngest premier in Italy's history. He led the revolt against his center-left Democratic Party colleague Enrico Letta and forced him to resign as prime minister on Friday.

8) Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation sets Guinness record by conducting largest blood donation camp: A blood donation camp organized by the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation as part of chief minister J Jayalalithaa's 66th birthday celebrations has set the Guinness World Record for being the largest such event conducted at multiple venues. As many as 53,129 people donated blood in Chennai, Villupuram, Vellore, Salem, Coimbatore, Karur, Trichy, Kumbakonam, Madurai and Tirunelveli on February 14 and 18,439.28 litres of blood were collected.

9) Pakistan appoints Abdul Basit as its High Commissioner to India: Pakistan on Monday named Abdul Basit as it's High Commissioner to India. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan formally announced his appointment as Pakistan's High Commissioner to India on Monday in the afternoon. However, it was unknown when would he replace Salman Bashir, pakistan's current High Commissioner to India. According to a press note issued from Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abdul Basit is serving Pakistan's Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany currently. 

10) Rakesh Maria is new Mumbai Police chief: Rakesh Maria, head of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, was named Mumbai’s new Police Commissioner on Saturday, two weeks after his predecessor Satyapal Singh resigned to join the BJP. A 1981-batch officer, Mr. Maria was selected over his immediate seniors Vijay Kamble and Satish Mathur for the most coveted position in the Maharashtra Police.

11) Lok Sabha passed interim Rail Budget: The Interim Railway Budget for the next fiscal was passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday with practically no discussion as members from Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal picketed the Well of the House with their respective demands.

12) Nirbhaya Fund gets additional Rs 1,000 crore in budget: Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday allocated Rs 1,000 crore to the Nirbhaya Fund for the safety and empowerment of women. "In order to make it clear that the Nirbhaya Fund will be a prominent fund, I intend to declare the grant of Rs 1,000 crore as non-lapsable and in order to support more proposals, I propose to contribute to the fund another Rs 1,000 crore next year," Chidambaram said while presenting the interim budget in Parliament. The Rs 1,000-crore Nirbhaya Fund was announced in last year's Union Budget as a tribute to a gang-rape victim who died of her injuries.