Daily GK Updates: 7th Oct 2014

1.    FinMin may amend RBI Act for appointing 5th Deputy Gov, COO

i. The Finance Ministry is considering amendments to the RBI Act 1934 to enable the central bank appoint a fifth Deputy Governor and a Chief Operating Officer (COO).

ii. Finance Ministry sources confirmed that both the sides had reached an informal agreement to appoint a COO and create the post of a fifth Deputy Governor in the RBI, but with a condition.

iii. The condition is that COO would be from among the two Deputy Governors from the RBI’s quota, while the key criteria for appointment of fifth Deputy Governor would be a person with at least 25 years of experience in public administration and governance,” a senior Finance Ministry official said.

iv. The COO’s appointment is part of the RBI’s human resources (HR) restructuring exercise. The proposal envisages grouping various departments into five clusters to be headed be a Deputy Governor.

v. The proposal also talks about creation of an additional position of a COO in the rank of Deputy Governor to head one of the five functional clusters.

2.    India ranks 18th on list of most desirable places to work: BCG

i. India has been ranked 18th globally on the list of most desirable destinations to work, even as 70-80 per cent of Indians are willing to work in an overseas location, says a new report.

ii. The US has been ranked on the top, followed by the UK, Canada, Germany and Switzerland, making them the five most desirable countries to work on the list compiled by the Boston Consulting Group, total jobs.com, and The Network.

iii. The other countries in the top 10, where foreigners said they would like to work include – France (6th), Australia (7th), Spain (8th), Italy (9th) and Sweden (10th).

iv. As a desirable work destination, India was ranked 18th among G20 nations.

v. The Asia Pacific region does not generate as much interest as a possible work destination as the US or Europe, largely because of the perceived difficulty of learning Asian Language, the report said, but noted “some fast growing Asian countries are starting to reclaim workers they have lost.”

vi. Globally, one in every five participants already has international work experience and almost 64 per cent said they would be willing to go to another country for work.

3.    Indian economy to grow 6.4% in 2015-16: World Bank

i.  Indian economy, which accounts for 80 per cent of South Asia’s output, is set to grow by 6.4 per cent in 2015-16 as against 5.6 per cent in 2014-15, the World Bank has said.

ii. With economic activity buoyed by expectations from the new elected government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “India is benefiting from a “Modi dividend“,” the Bank said in its twice-a-year South Asia Economic Focus report yesterday.

iii. Over the next year or so economic growth should be supported by the recovering US economy that would provide a market for Indian merchandise and service exports, it said.

iv. “The outlook over the next years for South Asia indicates broad economic stability and a pick-up in growth with potential risks concentrated on the fiscal and structural reform side,” said Martin Rama, Chief Economist for South Asia at the World Bank.

4.    Cognizant acquires digital marketing firm Cadient

i. Nasdaq-listed IT company Cognizant has acquired digital marketing company Cadient Group, that serves a broad spectrum of life sciences companies, for an estimated $30 million.

ii. Cadient clients are spread across pharmaceutical, biotechnology, consumer health and medical device industries.

iii. Cognizant has large presence in India. Its Healthcare and Life Sciences Practice group will manage the acquired company.

iv. Cognizant serves 28 of the top 30 global pharmaceutical companies, 16 of the top 20 health plans in the US, four of the top five pharmacy benefit management companies in the US, nine of the top 10 biotech companies, and 12 of the top 15 medical device companies.

v. The company’s has reported $8.843 billion full year revenue for 2013. Annual revenue of its Healthcare and Life Sciences Practice group is about $2.5 billion.

5.    Phelps banned for six months, no 2015 worlds

i. Michael Phelps, the 18-time Olympic swim champion arrested last week for drink driving, was banned for six months by USA Swimming and dropped from the 2015 World Championships. 

ii. Monday's punishments came six days after Phelps was apprehended by police in his hometown of Baltimore and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, excessive speed and crossing the center line while driving inside a tunnel.

iii. The discipline meted out, which includes forfeiture of Phelps' funding from the federation for six months, is based on USA Swimming rules that prohibit conduct "detrimental to the image or reputation" of USA Swimming or the sport.
iv. Phelps will still be allowed to train with his club, but cannot compete in USA Swimming-sanctioned competitions through March 6, 2015.

6.    Nokia to shut down its Chennai factory from Nov. 1

i. Telecom gear maker Nokia on Tuesday said that it will shut down its Chennai plant from November 1 as Microsoft has terminated mobile purchase agreement from the factory and it is left with no business.

ii. “Microsoft has informed Nokia that it will be terminating the manufacturing services defined in the agreement with effect from November 1, 2014. In absence of further orders from Microsoft, Nokia will suspend handset production at the Sriperumbudur facility from 1st November,” Nokia said in a statement.

iii. In September 2013, Nokia announced it would sell its devices and services (D&S) business, including assets in India, to Microsoft for $ 7.2 billion by March 2014.

iv. The deal was completed on April 25 but Chennai facility could not be transferred to Microsoft because of legal issues related to tax demand by the government.

v. Nokia started manufacturing in Chennai from January 2006 and exported to markets including the Middle East and Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand from there.

7.    UK and Ireland inked single visa deal

i. Britain and Ireland inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on new joint Visa cooperation. The agreement was signed at the Irish Embassy in London by UK home secretary Theresa May and Irish Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald.
ii. According to the MoU that was ratified by the British and Irish governments, the non-European travelers to these nations will be provided with a common short-stay visa. With this short-stay visa, travelers from outside the European Union will be allowed to move freely between the two jurisdictions on a single permit.

iii. This visa deal will help the two countries in sharing data and exchange information to inform and determine immigration decisions, which will also ease the visitors of the two nations 

iv. India and China will be the first two non-EU countries that will be benefited from the new regime. The British-Irish Visa Scheme would start in China by the end of October 2014 and in India soon afterwards.