Daily G.K. Buzz- 17th March 2015

NATION

SC quashes Centre's decision to include Jats in OBC quota

i. The Supreme Court, on 17th March, 2015, scrapped the reservation for the Jat community, which was provided by the UPA Government in nine states of India, in March, 2014.

ii. The Apex Court highlighted that the backwardness of a social group should be decided according to its economic and social status and not only on the basis of caste.

Raj Babbar, two others take oath in Rajya Sabha

i. Congress leader Raj Babbar and BJP's Amar Shankar Sable were among three newly-elected members who took oath in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
ii. Babbar, who was elected to the Upper House from Uttarakhand, took oath in Hindi. Sable, who was elected from Maharashtra, took oath in Marathi while Dola Sen (TMC), elected from West Bengal, took oath in Bengali.

APPOINTMENTS

Crisil announces Ashu Suyash as MD & CEO

CRISIL - Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited

HQ - Mumbai

i. Ashu Suyash has been appointed as Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL).

ii. She will succeed Roopa Kudva, who had been the MD & CEO at Crisil since 2007. Suyash’s appointment was confirmed by the Board of Directors of the Company and will assume charge from 1st June 2015.

iii. Prior to this appointment, she was CEO at L&T Investment Management. She was appointed to this post after the L&T Investment Management had acquired Fidelity Worldwide Investment’s India Asset Management business.

ECONOMY

FDI doubles to $4.48 billion in January, highest in 29 months

i. In January 2014, the country had received USD 2.18 billion in FDI. It was in September 2012 that India had attracted FDI that was worth USD 4.67 billion.

ii. During the April-January period of the current fiscal, the foreign inflows have grown by 36 per cent, year-on-year, to USD 25.52 billion, according to data from Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

HDFC Bank launches new mobile app

i. Private sector lender HDFC bank on Tuesday launched a mobile application which allows its customers to instantly transfer money to any contact in their phone book. The transaction can be done 24 hours a day with a maximum transaction limit of Rs. 5,000 or ten transactions a day and Rs. 50,000 a month.

ii. Chillr is a first-of-its kind application that is linked directly to customers’ bank accounts. With Chillr, the bank’s customers can transfer money to any person in India once they download the app and register.

AWARDS

Delhi's IGIA bags two international awards in Paris

i. The two awards - The Best Airport in Central Asia/India and Best Airport Staff in Central Asia/India 

ii. Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) which operates the IGIA airport here, is a joint venture between the Airports Authority of India and GMR-group led consortium.

Indian researcher Minoti Apate named as woman of the year 2015 in New South Wales

i. Indian researcher Minoti Apate has been named as New South Wales (NSW) Woman of the year 2015.

ii. Apate was named for the award for her contributions to the field of medical research, Indian community and the tertiary education.

iii. Apate was the first researcher in the world to develop a method to isolate pancreatic stellate cells, a technique which provided a research tool for studying the path that pancreatic fibrosis (scarring of the pancreas) takes.

iv. At present, Apate is director of the Pancreatic Research Group based Based at Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Australia.

SPORTS

Dimitri Mascarenhas appointed New Zealand bowling coach

i. Former England international Dimitri Mascarenhas has been appointed bowling coach of the New Zealand cricket team, replacing Shane Bond who will leave the role after the current World Cup.

ii. The 37-year-old Mascarenhas, who played 20 one-day internationals for England.