Current Affairs 31 august

1.Mridula Sinha sworn-in as Goa Governor
 Noted writer and senior BJP leader Mridula Sinha was today sworn-in as Governor of Goa, following the resignation of B V Wanchoo.
Bombay High Court Chief Justice Mohit Shah administered the oath of office to Sinha.
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and other dignitaries were present at Raj Bhawan here on the occasion.

2. Rona Fairhead set to be BBC Trust chairwoman
 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Trust, the body overseeing the world famous news corporation, is set to get its first female head.
Rona Fairhead, 53, a high-flying executive who sits on the boards of a number of blue-chip companies, was yesterday announced as the prospective new chairperson of the BBC Trust.
Sajid Javid, UK secretary of state for culture, is expected to officially announce Fairhead as government’s preferred candidate to fill the slot later today, replacing Lord Patten, who stepped down in May on health grounds.

3. SEBI nod for real estate, infrastructure trusts
 The Securities and Exchange Board of India has decided give its nod to
 set up Real Estate Investment Trusts and Infrastructure Investment trust to give a new lease of life to the construction industry.
The move is expected to go a long way in reviving the core sector of the economy including the vital cement and steel sectors, Ananta Barua, Executive Director, SEBI said.
Addressing a conference organized by CII here, he said the Real Estate Investment Trust is a concept that has been prevailing around the world in different forms. The entity should have minimum capitalisation of Rs500 crore.
“Initially, we were planning to put the minimum capital base of Rs1,000 crore. However, after a serious of discussions, we have decided to bring it down to Rs500 core”, he said.
The Trust could invest in multiple properties and function on the lines of mutual funds. Investors could pick up units with a minimum face value of Rs2 lakh. These units would be listed on the stock exchanges and could be traded like stocks or mutual funds. These units would be highly liquid and investors could benefit from capital appreciation, he said adding that the trusts could invest in a single property or multiple properties.

4. PM Modi discusses sickle cell anaemia cure with Nobel winner, seeks Japan's help
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday discussed cooperation with Japan to combat sickle cell anaemia that is prevalent in India's tribal regions, an official said.
Modi met Shinya Yamanaka, Japan's stem cell pioneer and 2012 Nobel Prize winner, at Kyoto University and discussed treatment of the disease.

5. Ex-CJI Sathasivam tipped to be new Kerala governor
Former Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam is tipped to be the Kerala governor, after the state Raj Bhavan fell vacant following the resignation of Sheila Dikshit earlier this week.
Palanisamy Sathasivam had served as Chief Justice of India between August 2013 and April this year. He was a judge of the Madras high court and Punjab & Haryana high court before being appointed as a Supreme Court judge in 2007. The All India Bar Association had in July opposed a gubernatorial appointment for Sathasivam for allegedly providing relief to BJP chief Amit Shah in an alleged encounter case.

6. Sindhu settles for second bronze in World Championship
 P.V. Sindhu on Saturday suffered a heartbreak at the World Badminton Championship as the Indian shuttler had to settle for a second consecutive bronze medal after succumbing to Carolina Marin of Spain in straight games at the semifinals, in Copenhagen on Saturday.
Sindhu, seeded 11th, failed in her bid to become the first Indian women shuttler to reach the finals of the World Championship as her battle against ninth seeded opponent ended with a 17-21 15-21 loss at the Ballerup Super Arena here.

7. Essar pulls out of telecom business in Kenya
 Essar Global Fund Ltd. (EGFL), part of the $39 billion Essar Group, has exited its investment in Essar Telecom Kenya Ltd. (ETKL) by signing binding agreements with Safaricom and Airtel to sell its telecom business in Kenya for $120 million (Rs.720 crore). With this the Essar Group has completely exited the telecom business.
The telecom business in Kenya is operated under the brand name yuMobile. As per the agreements, Safaricom will take over ETKL’s Network, IT and Office infrastructure while Airtel will acquire the company’s subscribers.

8. Govt to increase dearness allowance to 107 p.c
 The Government is likely to approve a hike in dearness allowance (DA) to 107 per cent from the existing 100 per cent, benefiting around 30 lakh Centre’s employees and its 50 lakh pensioners including dependents.
“The average rate of retail inflation for industrial workers from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014 works out to be 7.25 per cent. Thus the Central government will hike dearness allowance for it employees by 7 per cent,” an official said.

9. Azure solar plant gets $14.3 m IFC loan
 International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector investment arm of the World Bank, will lend $14.3 million to Azure Power India’s subsidiary for building a 40-MW solar power plant in Rajasthan.
IFC is planning to provide ‘A’ loan of up to $14.3 million equivalent for the project, the firm said on its website.
The greenfield project is coming up near Hardhani and Nandia Kalan villages in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan. The project is set up through Azure Power’s subsidiary Azure Clean Energy Private Ltd.
“The company has been set up for the sole purpose of construction, operation, and maintenance of the 40-MW project, and will not have any other operations,” IFC said.

10. U.S. Postal Service to issue Akkineni Nageswara Rao stamp
 The US Post Service (USPS) will honour legendary actor
Vibhushan Akkineni Nageswarara Rao by issuing a postage stamp on the late star’s birthday, Akkineni Foundation of America (AFA) announced.
It is the first time that an Indian actor has been given this honour. The Foundation will host a special postal stamp release ceremony in Dallas, Texas on September 20, on ANR’s birthday to mark this tribute.
“I am deeply touched and so are other members of the Akkineni family by the issuance of this postage stamp, and I am deeply grateful to USPS for conferring one of America’s highest honours to my father Akkineni Nageswara Rao,” the legendary actor’s son Nagarjuna Akkineni said in a statement.