Current Affairs For SSC CGL Exam - 09 September, 2014

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams

R. Kamal Bawa, president, the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), India, and Distinguished Professor, University of Massachusetts, Boston, is among the three winners of the MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity, 2014.
The winners were announced in Tokyo and Montreal.
The other two who bagged the prize are Alfred Oteng-Yeboah, Chair, Ghana National Biodiversity Committee, and Bibiana Vila, principal researcher, National Research Council and Director, Vicunas, Camelids and Environment (VICAM), Argentina.
The MIDORI prize is a biennial international prize given by the AEON Environmental Foundation and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to honour individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity at global, regional or local levels.
According to a press release, each recipient will be given a wooden plaque, a commemorative gift and $100,000 to support their work in safeguarding biodiversity.
They will be honoured at an award ceremony in Pyeongchang in South Korea on October 15

Micromax , launched its latest handset Canvas Nitro powered by an octa-core processor, targeted mainly at young professionals and college students, priced at Rs.12,990.
The dual-SIM device, launched exclusively through online marketplace Snapdeal, runs on Android KitKat operating system, and comes with 2GB RAM, 5-inch HD IPS display, leather finish back, 13MP rear and 5MP front camera, 8GB memory (expandable up to 32GB), and 2500 mAh battery.
Microsoft unveils new look for MSN in India
Aiming to offer a comprehensive and seamless experience to users to access content via its website and apps across screens (PCs as well as mobiles) and operating platforms, software giant Microsoft unveiled the new look of its MSN website in India.
The preview in India had been made live for users starting Monday and Microsoft was inviting people to try out the new web experience, he said, adding they could also leave feedback on the site.

State Bank of India (SBI) and MasterCard, announced the launch of Multi-Currency Foreign Travel Card through 100 selected branches of Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore circles.
The card, which is available in retail and corporate variants, will help consumers pay in dollar, pound settling, euro and Singapore dollar initially and eventually be made available in all major currencies.

The National Waqf Development Corporation (NAWADCO) and the National Building Construction Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop Waqf properties in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.
Union Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptullah said NAWADCO had identified two properties in Rajasthan, six in Madhya Pradesh and seven in Karnataka and one piece of land in Delhi for development as institutional and commercial projects.
The public-sector NAWADCO was established last December with an authorised share capital of Rs. 500 crore to mobilise resources for developing Waqf properties in a Shariah-compliant way.
The resources generated by such development of Waqf properties will be used for the welfare of Muslims.
NAWADCO was set up on the recommendations of the Sachar committee report, which estimated that Waqf properties, if properly developed, could fetch an annual income of Rs. 1.2 lakh crore.

India has formally signed a free trade agreement for services and investments with ASEAN. Philippines, now the only ASEAN country yet to sign the pact, is also expected to do so soon.
All ASEAN members — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam — are expected to get the agreement ratified by their Parliaments after which it will be formally adopted during the next India–ASEAN summit later this year.
The services agreement will open up opportunities of movement of both manpower and investments.
The pact will allow India to leverage its competitive edge in the areas of finance, education, health, IT, telecommunications and transport.
This will be especially helpful for balancing India’s deficit with ASEAN countries in trade of goods.
The India–ASEAN Agreement on trade in goods was operationalised in 2010.
Key to India’s interests is a brief annex in the agreement on the movement of natural persons that defines business visitors, intra corporate transferees (managers, executives and specialists) and contractual service suppliers.