Daily Current Affairs Updates: 3 February 2015

1) Usha Thorat, Nachiket Mor to head RBI panels for differentiated bank licenses:

--> Usha Thorat, former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will chair the External Advisory Committee (EAC) to evaluate applications received for small finance banks.

--> Dr. Nachiket Mor, Director, Central Board of the Reserve Bank will chair the EAC for payment banks.

--> RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said that 72 applications for Small Finance Banks and 41 applications for Payments Banks were received up to the deadline for submission.

--> Two External Advisory Committees (EACs) will evaluate the applications received for setting up of small finance and payments banks and thereafter make their recommendations to the Reserve Bank.

2) Saloni Dalal became youngest medal winner in National Games 2015:

--> Saloni Dalal, a school girl of Karnataka became the youngest medal winner in the ongoing 35th National Games in Kerala on 3 February 2015.

--> The 12-year-old, Saloni won a Bronze medal in the 200 meter breast stroke swimming event.

--> Beside her bronze in breast stroke swimming event, Dalal also won silver in women’s 4x100 meter Relay Medley by teaming up with Anisha Gaonkar, Malika A Honagekar and Rutuja Pawar.

3) Bihar to provide free education till PG to SC/ST and girl students:

--> Bihar government on 3 February 2015 decided to provide free education to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and girl students till Post Graduation (PG) level in the state.

--> The decision, taken at a meeting of the state cabinet, said no fee would be taken from the SC/ST and girl students at the time of admission in government universities and colleges in Bihar.

--> The government would reimburse the financial loss to such universities/colleges after gathering the actual information about it. 

4) RBI released its 6th Bi-monthly Monetary Review:

--> Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 3 February 2014 released its 6th Bi-monthly Monetary Review.

--> It decided to keep the most important Repo Rate unchanged at 7.75%.

--> RBI reduced the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) of scheduled commercial banks by 50 basis points from 22.0% to 21.5% of their net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) with effect from the fortnight beginning 7 February 2015.

--> The reduction in SLR is expected to release more funds in the economy.

5) Indian in Hayek Prize shortlist:

--> Journalist-writer Hindol Sengupta's book on entrepreneurial ventures in India has been shortlisted for the US' prestigious Hayek Prize this year.

--> "Recasting India: How Entrepreneurship is Revolutionizing the World's Largest Democracy" is among the six books in race for the USD 50,000 prize awarded by the Manhattan Institute each year to writers whose work best celebrates the principles of Austro-Hungarian Nobel laureate in economics, Friedrich von Hayek.

6) UK becomes the first country to legalize creation of babies from three people:

--> UK is set to become the first country to introduce laws to allow the creation of babies from three people.

--> In an historic move, MPs have voted in favour of the creation of babies with DNA from two women and one man.

--> The technique is currently illegal across the world and was pioneered by researchers in Newcastle, where the first of the procedures will be carried out.

7) Sculptor and artist Mrinalini Mukherjee died:

--> Noted sculptor Mrinalini Mukherjee passed away in New Delhi on 2 February 2015 after a brief illness.

--> She was 65. Mukherjee, the only daughter of acclaimed artists from Santiniketan, Benode Behari and Leela Mukherjee, was best known for her sculptures using knotted hemp fibre and cast bronzes.

8) India replaced Russia as number 3 on Hurun Rich list:

--> India has scaled 27 places to replace Russia and is now Number 3 in the Hurun Global Rich List 2015, a ranking of the dollar billionaires across the world.

--> The US and China make up half of the world’s billionaires. It is the first time that India has broken into the top three, the report said.

9) Government's low cost generic drugs from July 1:

--> Government set to launch its own brand to sell low cost generic medicines from July 1.

--> The Centre will procure medicines in bulk from public as well as private drug manufacturing firms and rebrand them under 'Jan Aushadhi'.

10) RBI increased limit for foreign spending:

--> The central bank on 3 February 2015 doubled the amount of foreign exchange that an individual can remit in a year under a scheme that allows asset purchase outside India.

--> An individual can now remit up to $250,000 a year under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, which was started in 2004 with a view to simplify foreign exchange avenues available to Indians.

--> This is the second time the limit has been raised since a drastic 62.5 per cent cut in the limit to $75,000 in August 2013, when the RBI was fighting hard to stem the free fall in rupee against the dollar.

11) Petrol, diesel prices cut by over Rs 2:

--> State-run fuel retailers on 3 February 2015 reduced petrol price by Rs 2.42 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.25.

--> Revision marks the tenth straight cut in petrol since last August and sixth in diesel rates since October.

--> The petrol price is lowest since September 2010, while diesel is cheapest since March 2013.