News-at-a-Glance-for-all-Competitive-Exams-01-04-2016
Appointment
- Bosch announced appointment of Vijay Pandey as Regional President of theAutomotive Aftermarket division of Bosch India, withadditional responsibility of SAARC region as well. Prior to this, Pandey was responsible for the businessof Power Tools in India and the SAARC region.
- Buckling under pressure over the repeated leakage of the II PU chemistry question papers, the State government on Friday night removed Pallavi Akurathi and posted Rame Gowda as Director of the Department of Pre-University Education (DPUE) ahead of the re-examination on April 12.
- The Madras High Court on Friday placed under suspension Melur Judicial Magistrate K.V. Mahendra Boopathy after a single judge of the court last week “smelt a rat” in the way he was handling cases related to the multi-crore granite scam and proposed either contempt or disciplinary proceedings against him. The judicial magistrate acted in favour of the granite barons. Mr. Mahendra Boopathy has been replaced by R. Barathi Raja who was serving as the presiding officer of the Fast Track Court-II.
Business
- Showcasing significant investment opportunities in manufacturing and infrastructure sector, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has invited Australian businesses to come and invest in India as he wraps up his four-day visit to the Asia Pacific country. During his visit, Mr. Jaitley met Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg, Treasurer Scott Morrison, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann and several other top dignitaries and business leaders of Australia. In Sydney, Mr. Jaitley inaugurated ‘Make in India’ conference where he strongly pitched for foreign investments in India, specially in the area of manufacturing and infrastructure.
- In view of the liquidity crunch that banks have been facing for the last few months, particularly in March, the State Bank of India (SBI) – the country’s largest lender – had demanded that the government’s cash balances to be kept with the lenders and not with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). With government curtailing its spending towards the end of the last financial year, its cash balances with RBI had gone up. Bankers estimate the liquidity deficit in the system in March was over Rs. two lakh crore, mainly on account of lack of government spending, and the deficit was higher than the comfort level of RBI which is around Rs.75,000 crore.
- For speedier clearance of inbound shipments, CBEC has launched Customs SWIFT which enables importers to file a common electronic ‘integrated declaration’ on ICEGATE portal. Earlier, importers or customs brokers had to file nine forms required by six different agencies and customs for clearances of consignments from different government agencies. Data will be confidential and shared with right agencies only, says CBEC chairperson Najib Shah. As of now Customs SWIFT (Single Window Interface for Facilitating Trade) is primarily for importers, the CBEC Chairperson said, adding the department will build similar platforms for exporters as well.
- The Silicon-valley based electric car maker Tesla Motors Model 3, which has seen people queue up in huge numbers to pre-order in the U.S., has attracted interest from big names in the Indian start-up ecosystem. This model is seen as the key to Tesla’s future success as it attempts to become a mass market player. Tesla founder Elon Musk had tweeted that the firm would be taking orders from India and a few other emerging markets, marking its entry into India and being the first global electric vehicle to do so.
Death
- Pratyusha Banerjee aka Anandi, who won hearts with the popular show Balika Vadhu hung herself to death in her Kandivili home. She was taken to Kokilaben Hospital in Andheri, and was joined by her mother and friends and co-actors, Kamya Punjabi and Priya Malik. It was reported that Pratyusha was going through a turbulent relationship with her boyfriend Rahul and had approached the police too a few days ago on the grounds of domestic violence.Pratyusha had also made an appearance on Big Boss 7. Pratyusha also participated in jhalak dikhhla jaa and in the last few years, made several blink and miss appearances. Along with Rahul, she had participated in the Sony TV show, Power Couple.
- The Iraqi-born British architect was the first woman and Muslim recipient to win the Pritzker Prize, known as the Nobel for architecture.
- Duke won a best supporting actress Academy Award and a Golden Globe in 1963 for The Miracle Worker.
- Corbett achieved prominence in David Frost's 1960s satirical comedy programme The Frost Report and subsequently starred in sitcoms such as No – That's Me Over Here!, Now Look Here and Sorry!
Science
- The new species, named Idmonarachne brasieri in honor of Professor Martin Brasier, University of Oxford, who passed away in December 2014, was found in Montceau-les-Mines, France, and researchers from The University of Manchester, Berlin’s Museum für Naturkunde, the University of Kansas and Imperial College London have worked with the Natural History Museum and the UK’s Diamond Light Source to scan and examine the fossil in detail. Details of the origins of spiders remain limited, with little knowledge of their predecessors and no insights into character acquisition early in their evolution. This fossil was preserved in 3D, which enabled the researchers to investigate its minute anatomical details.
- The mystery is starting to untangle. It has long been known that twisted fibres of a protein called tau collect in the brain cells of people with Alzheimer’s, but their exact role in the disease is unclear. Now a study in mice has shown how tau interferes with the strengthening of connections between neurons – the key mechanism by which we form memories.
Sports
- Former Australian MP and ultra-long distance runner Patrick Farmer today expressed the hope that he would raise 1,00,000 Australian dollars for educating the girl child in India after he completed a marathon run from Kanyakumari to Srinagar in 64 days.Mr. Farmer, who has run from the North Pole to the South Pole and across Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, the Middle East and North America, has raised millions of dollars for various causes during his 20-year running career.
