29th December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

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National Affairs

• The Union Cabinet today approved amendment to the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, stating that the owners of land acquired via laws exempted under the Act will now be eligible for a similar compensation.
• The government today granted its approval to the Airports Authority of India (AAI)'s proposal to lease some of its land spread over four airports, including the one at Porbandar in Gujarat, to the Navy and the Coast Guard for various projects.
• The leasing of the requisite land at proposed airports will facilitate the coast guard/navy to establish various facilities for better surveillance of coast line.
• The Government of India today held a day-long National Workshop on 'Make in India' to formulate short term (1 year) and medium term (3-year) sectoral action plans in consultation with Indian industry and improve the ease of doing business in consultation with Chief Secretaries of States.
• Inaugurated by Union Finance Minister - Arun Jaitley
• Taking cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pitch for SMART Policing, the Home Ministry has decided to establish one such model police station in each state and has asked the state governments to submit their proposal by January 31, 2015.
• The Prime Minister had said at a meeting of the country’s top police brass in Guwahati last month that he wanted a force which takes care of the country’s law and order in an efficient and SMART manner. 
• SMART Policing
• S for Strict but Sensitive
• M for Modern and Mobile
• A for Alert and Accountable
• R for Reliable and Responsive and
• T for Techno-savvy and Trained
• Kerala‬ Chief Minister ‎Oommen Chandy‬ today laid the foundation stone for a Global Artists Village at a function held at Sreekantapuram in Kannur district.
• The village, promoted by the Kerala Lalitha Kala Akademi, is touted as the first of its kind in the country to be established with state support.
• The government has sanctioned 75 lakh rupees for the project. 
• The Global Artists Village will have studios and residential complexes, where artists from across the globe can stay and work together.
• Lieutenant Governor ‎Najeeb Jung‬ today allocated additional seven crore rupees to ‎Delhi‬ Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) to shelter the homeless in the bone-chilling cold in the city.
• This is in addition to the five crore rupees allocated to DUSIB recently. 
• Mr Jung has made an exception and instructed DUSIB to set up tents under flyovers and bridges till first week of February 2015.
• One killed and three injured in an explosion at Church Street in Bengaluru.
• To strengthen the State intelligence division, the Karnataka Government will create a separate intelligence information cadre that will coordinate with the intelligence inputs from various other agencies, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said after this incident.

Bilateral Issues

• Eighth Meeting of the India – Republic of Korea Joint Commission in Seoul
• In boost to their strategic ties, India and South Korea today decided to enhance cooperation in sectors like shipbuilding, electronics, defence production, infrastructure and energy besides outlining mutual interest in areas of nuclear energy and cyber security.
• Indian External Affairs Minister - Sushma Swaraj
• South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs - Yun Byung-se 

Business & Economy

• Delhi has become the First City to achieve 100 per cent enrolment under Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY).
• Bank accounts of more than 31.63 lakh families have been opened under the scheme in the national capital. 
• Employee unions of ING Vysya Bank today demanded safeguarding of their interests post-merger with Uday Kotak-led Kotak Mahindra Bank and threatened to go on strike on January 7 — the day on which the Bengaluru-headquartered lender will seek shareholders’ nod to approve the Rs 15,000-crore merger deal.

People in News

• Mumbai attack key planner Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi is likely to be released from jail with Islamabad High Court (IHC) today suspending the notification detaining him under a public security order after he was granted bail by a court in the 26/11 case.
• IIT Delhi Director Raghunath K S Shevgaonkar has resigned with more than two years of his tenure left amid a controversy over the circumstances under which he quit including alleged pressure put on him by the Human Resources Development(HRD) Ministry.

Science & Technology 

• The Yahoo Directory, the core part of how Yahoo itself began in 1994, officially closed today, five days ahead of when Yahoo had said the end would come.

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