"ExamGuruAdda: Daily Current Affairs Quiz: Stay Ahead in Bank Exam Preparation": Current Affairs of 21 December

Current Affairs of 21 December

1. Amitabh Bachchan chosen for ANR national award
 Amitabh Bachchan has been chosen for the Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) National Award 2014, instituted by the Akkineni International Foundation. It will be given away in the presence of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu here on December 27, said actor and ANR’s son Nagarjuna.
At a press conference here on Saturday, Mr. Nagarjuna said that the programmes at the awards function would include a specially-choreographed dance recital by actor and danseuse Sobhana and a performance by 60 children dancing to a song from ‘Manam,’ ANR’s last film. Also, 19 youngsters who are passing out of the Annapurna International School of Film & Media will get their degrees from the Big B himself.
Rajya Sabha Member and industrialist T. Subbarami Reddy, who is chairman of the selection committee, recalled that in the year 2004, when ANR got the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award, he got the idea of instituting a recognition to honour those who had devoted their lives for the development of Indian cinema. A bank account was opened with Rs. 2 lakh, a sum that grew to Rs. 1 crore soon.

2. Flipkart raises $700 million in fresh funding
 Online marketplace Flipkart, on Saturday, said it had raised $700 million in
fresh round of funding. The fresh round of funding brought five new investors such as Baillie Gifford, Greenoaks Capital, Steadview Capital, T. Rowe Price Associates and Qatar Investment Authority on board.
According to a company statement, apart from the five new investors, existing investors, including DST Global, GIC, ICONIQ Capital and Tiger Global, also participated in this latest financing round.
“As with previous funds raised, these funds will be used towards long-term strategic investments in India and to build a world-class technology company, delivering superior customer experiences,” the statement said.
According to reports, the city headquartered company has so far raised around $1.2 billion in this year. Recently, Delhi-based player Snapdeal raised around $627 million from Japanese internet and telecom major SoftBank. Flipkart, which is incorporated in Singapore, has also filed with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore for conversion to a public company, a mandatory procedure for all companies where the number of shareholders exceeds 50.
“This filing ensures we are in compliance with the laws of Singapore, and is in no way indicative of any upcoming IPO or of any corporate activity that the company is engaged in either in Singapore or any other part of the world,” the company added.

3. Instagram worth $35 bn, surpasses Twitter
 Photo sharing website Instagram has been valued at $35 billion by Citigroup, surpassing Twitter.
This beats Twitter’s market cap of $23 billion by a wide margin, wired.com reported
In April 2012, Instagram was acquired by Facebook for $1 billion and had about 30 million users.
The app was downloaded over a million times on the day the android version hit the market and has continued to grow.
In the last nine months, Instagram’s user base grew 50 per cent, while Twitter could only boost its active user base by 4.8 per cent in the last quarter.
Also, Instagram wants real people and accounts. Two days ago, it cleaned up spam and deleted millions of fake accounts.

4. Adani, Downer in $2 billion deal
 Australian Engineering Group Downer EDI has won a $2-billion contract from Adani group’s Carmichael Coal Mine project in Queensland in one of the largest deals of its type signed in the country in recent years.
Under the five-year contract, with two additional one-year options, Downer will be responsible for statutory management and mine operations, drilling and blasting and load and haul of waste as well as coal.
The Downer group said it has received two letters of award from Adani Mining, advising of its intention to enter into contracts for the provision of mining services and construction of mine infrastructure at the Carmichael Coal Mine in the Galilee Basin in Central Queensland.
Welcoming the new development, Adani Australia Country Head and CEO Jeyakumar Janakaraj said it was the latest milestone in Adani’s prompt transition from the approvals to the building phase of the company’s mine, rail and port projects.
“The Carmichael mine lies at the heart of these projects, which will deliver vital export opportunities for Queensland, 10,000 jobs, 22 billion dollar in taxes and royalties to be invested right back into frontline services across our State, and crucial work opportunities for small and medium sized businesses.

5. Hotelier Jyotsna Suri is new Ficci president
Jyotsna Suri, chairperson of Bharat Hotels Ltd, on Saturday took over as the president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci).
Suri succeeded Sidharth Birla.
Meanwhile, Alok B Shriram, deputy managing director of DCM Shriram Industries Ltd, assumed the charge of the president of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

6. Saina Nehwal loses in Super Series semifinals
 Indian ace Saina Nehwal’s invincible run came to a shocking halt after Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying handed her a heart-breaking three-game loss in the semifinals of the BWF World Super Series Final badminton tournament in Dubai on Saturday.
After topping the group with three victories in as many matches, Saina’s dreams of reaching the finals came crashing down as she suffered a 21-11 13-21 9-21 loss to World No. 9 Tai in a 55-minute women’s singles match.
A 2011 finalist, Saina was on course for a final appearance when she walked away with the opening game but she crumbled under pressure in the second and third game to let the opportunity slip. 

7. Deadline to exchange pre-2005 currency notes ends on Jan 1
 People have only 11 days left to exchange currency notes of various denominations, including 500 and 1,000, which were printed before 2005.
The deadline for exchanging the pre-2005 notes is January 1, 2015.
The Reserve Bank has so far shredded 144.66 crore such notes valued at Rs. 52,855 crore since the launch of the drive to take out the pre-2005 notes from the circulation.
Post-2005 notes have added security features and help in curbing the menace of fake currency.
The central bank had also said these notes will retain their legal tender status and the public can continue to use these for any transaction/payment.
On January 22, the RBI had announced it would withdraw from circulation all such notes from April 1 and the public was advised to approach banks to exchange such notes.
Currency notes issued before 2005 do not have the year of printing on the reverse side. In notes issued after 2005, the year of printing is visible at the bottom on the reverse.
The Finance Ministry recently said the withdrawal exercise was in conformity with the standard international practice of not having multiple series of notes in circulation at the same time.
As per the latest data, 73.2 crore pieces notes of Rs. 100 (Rs 7,320 crore), 51.85 crore pieces of Rs. 500 (Rs 25,925 crore) and 19.61 crore notes of Rs. 1,000 (Rs 19,610 crore) have been shredded in the regional offices of RBI from January to October this year.

8. Aquasub Engineering wins award for energy conservation
 Coimbatore-based pump manufacturer Aquasub Engineering has won the first prize for energy conservation in the manufacture of BEE Star labelled appliances (pumpset) sector for 2014.
It is for the second consecutive year that the company has won the award given by the Ministry of Power, Government of India.
In a release, the company said that the National Energy Conservation Awards were given to the manufacturers of electrical appliances such as air conditioners, pumpsets, and fans and also to user industries such as hotels, and hospitals to promote energy saving.
The Minister of State for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy (independent charge), Piyush Goyal, was the chief guest at the award function held in New Delhi on December 14 when V Krishna Kumar, V-P (Sales & Marketing), Aquasub, received the award on behalf of the company.

9. DuPont joins hands with Reliance, Vipul for ‘green’ sarees
 Giving Indian sarees a ‘green’ touch, US-based technology giant Dupont has joined hands with Reliance Industries and Vipul Sarees for use of its renewable fibre product Sorona to make an ‘environment-friendly’ version of this ethnic ladieswear.
Dupont, which sees agriculture and food, advanced materials and industrial biosciences as key drivers in India, is expecting up to 13 per cent growth in the next year.
“India is a very strategic market for overall growth of Dupont and is about the 8th largest country globally from a revenue perspective,” DuPont President, South Asia and ASEAN, Balvinder Singh Kalsi told PTI.
Commenting on the company’s growth expectations for the coming year, he said: “We expect around 12 to 13 per cent growth in sales in 2015.”
1. Amitabh Bachchan chosen for ANR national award
 Amitabh Bachchan has been chosen for the Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) National Award 2014, instituted by the Akkineni International Foundation. It will be given away in the presence of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu here on December 27, said actor and ANR’s son Nagarjuna.
At a press conference here on Saturday, Mr. Nagarjuna said that the programmes at the awards function would include a specially-choreographed dance recital by actor and danseuse Sobhana and a performance by 60 children dancing to a song from ‘Manam,’ ANR’s last film. Also, 19 youngsters who are passing out of the Annapurna International School of Film & Media will get their degrees from the Big B himself.
Rajya Sabha Member and industrialist T. Subbarami Reddy, who is chairman of the selection committee, recalled that in the year 2004, when ANR got the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award, he got the idea of instituting a recognition to honour those who had devoted their lives for the development of Indian cinema. A bank account was opened with Rs. 2 lakh, a sum that grew to Rs. 1 crore soon.

2. Flipkart raises $700 million in fresh funding
 Online marketplace Flipkart, on Saturday, said it had raised $700 million in
fresh round of funding. The fresh round of funding brought five new investors such as Baillie Gifford, Greenoaks Capital, Steadview Capital, T. Rowe Price Associates and Qatar Investment Authority on board.
According to a company statement, apart from the five new investors, existing investors, including DST Global, GIC, ICONIQ Capital and Tiger Global, also participated in this latest financing round.
“As with previous funds raised, these funds will be used towards long-term strategic investments in India and to build a world-class technology company, delivering superior customer experiences,” the statement said.
According to reports, the city headquartered company has so far raised around $1.2 billion in this year. Recently, Delhi-based player Snapdeal raised around $627 million from Japanese internet and telecom major SoftBank. Flipkart, which is incorporated in Singapore, has also filed with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore for conversion to a public company, a mandatory procedure for all companies where the number of shareholders exceeds 50.
“This filing ensures we are in compliance with the laws of Singapore, and is in no way indicative of any upcoming IPO or of any corporate activity that the company is engaged in either in Singapore or any other part of the world,” the company added.

3. Instagram worth $35 bn, surpasses Twitter
 Photo sharing website Instagram has been valued at $35 billion by Citigroup, surpassing Twitter.
This beats Twitter’s market cap of $23 billion by a wide margin, wired.com reported
In April 2012, Instagram was acquired by Facebook for $1 billion and had about 30 million users.
The app was downloaded over a million times on the day the android version hit the market and has continued to grow.
In the last nine months, Instagram’s user base grew 50 per cent, while Twitter could only boost its active user base by 4.8 per cent in the last quarter.
Also, Instagram wants real people and accounts. Two days ago, it cleaned up spam and deleted millions of fake accounts.

4. Adani, Downer in $2 billion deal
 Australian Engineering Group Downer EDI has won a $2-billion contract from Adani group’s Carmichael Coal Mine project in Queensland in one of the largest deals of its type signed in the country in recent years.
Under the five-year contract, with two additional one-year options, Downer will be responsible for statutory management and mine operations, drilling and blasting and load and haul of waste as well as coal.
The Downer group said it has received two letters of award from Adani Mining, advising of its intention to enter into contracts for the provision of mining services and construction of mine infrastructure at the Carmichael Coal Mine in the Galilee Basin in Central Queensland.
Welcoming the new development, Adani Australia Country Head and CEO Jeyakumar Janakaraj said it was the latest milestone in Adani’s prompt transition from the approvals to the building phase of the company’s mine, rail and port projects.
“The Carmichael mine lies at the heart of these projects, which will deliver vital export opportunities for Queensland, 10,000 jobs, 22 billion dollar in taxes and royalties to be invested right back into frontline services across our State, and crucial work opportunities for small and medium sized businesses.

5. Hotelier Jyotsna Suri is new Ficci president
Jyotsna Suri, chairperson of Bharat Hotels Ltd, on Saturday took over as the president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci).
Suri succeeded Sidharth Birla.
Meanwhile, Alok B Shriram, deputy managing director of DCM Shriram Industries Ltd, assumed the charge of the president of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

6. Saina Nehwal loses in Super Series semifinals
 Indian ace Saina Nehwal’s invincible run came to a shocking halt after Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying handed her a heart-breaking three-game loss in the semifinals of the BWF World Super Series Final badminton tournament in Dubai on Saturday.
After topping the group with three victories in as many matches, Saina’s dreams of reaching the finals came crashing down as she suffered a 21-11 13-21 9-21 loss to World No. 9 Tai in a 55-minute women’s singles match.
A 2011 finalist, Saina was on course for a final appearance when she walked away with the opening game but she crumbled under pressure in the second and third game to let the opportunity slip. 

7. Deadline to exchange pre-2005 currency notes ends on Jan 1
 People have only 11 days left to exchange currency notes of various denominations, including 500 and 1,000, which were printed before 2005.
The deadline for exchanging the pre-2005 notes is January 1, 2015.
The Reserve Bank has so far shredded 144.66 crore such notes valued at Rs. 52,855 crore since the launch of the drive to take out the pre-2005 notes from the circulation.
Post-2005 notes have added security features and help in curbing the menace of fake currency.
The central bank had also said these notes will retain their legal tender status and the public can continue to use these for any transaction/payment.
On January 22, the RBI had announced it would withdraw from circulation all such notes from April 1 and the public was advised to approach banks to exchange such notes.
Currency notes issued before 2005 do not have the year of printing on the reverse side. In notes issued after 2005, the year of printing is visible at the bottom on the reverse.
The Finance Ministry recently said the withdrawal exercise was in conformity with the standard international practice of not having multiple series of notes in circulation at the same time.
As per the latest data, 73.2 crore pieces notes of Rs. 100 (Rs 7,320 crore), 51.85 crore pieces of Rs. 500 (Rs 25,925 crore) and 19.61 crore notes of Rs. 1,000 (Rs 19,610 crore) have been shredded in the regional offices of RBI from January to October this year.

8. Aquasub Engineering wins award for energy conservation
 Coimbatore-based pump manufacturer Aquasub Engineering has won the first prize for energy conservation in the manufacture of BEE Star labelled appliances (pumpset) sector for 2014.
It is for the second consecutive year that the company has won the award given by the Ministry of Power, Government of India.
In a release, the company said that the National Energy Conservation Awards were given to the manufacturers of electrical appliances such as air conditioners, pumpsets, and fans and also to user industries such as hotels, and hospitals to promote energy saving.
The Minister of State for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy (independent charge), Piyush Goyal, was the chief guest at the award function held in New Delhi on December 14 when V Krishna Kumar, V-P (Sales & Marketing), Aquasub, received the award on behalf of the company.

9. DuPont joins hands with Reliance, Vipul for ‘green’ sarees
 Giving Indian sarees a ‘green’ touch, US-based technology giant Dupont has joined hands with Reliance Industries and Vipul Sarees for use of its renewable fibre product Sorona to make an ‘environment-friendly’ version of this ethnic ladieswear.
Dupont, which sees agriculture and food, advanced materials and industrial biosciences as key drivers in India, is expecting up to 13 per cent growth in the next year.
“India is a very strategic market for overall growth of Dupont and is about the 8th largest country globally from a revenue perspective,” DuPont President, South Asia and ASEAN, Balvinder Singh Kalsi told PTI.
Commenting on the company’s growth expectations for the coming year, he said: “We expect around 12 to 13 per cent growth in sales in 2015.”

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