Current Affairs - 15th April 2014

Bank of India extends bridge loan to Air India

Bank of India has become the first Indian bank to extend a bridge loan of $200 million to Air India. This amount is being provided for the purchase of two 787 Dream liner aircrafts. These will become the 13th and 14th B-787 aircrafts.

ISSF Shotgun World Cup, 2014

Manavjit Singh Sandhu won the men’s trap event gold by defeating Australian gold medalist Michael Diamond at the ISSF shotgun world cup held in USA.

RBI to constitute new committee

Reserve Bank of India has decided to constitute a new committee to manage the loan sanction process of banks in India. The decision to form such a committee came after the situation of rising NPAs of the banks. The idea to form a committee which will monitor the loan sanctions and frame essential guidelines came from new Financial Services Secretary G.S. Sandhu.

Samsung Electronics becomes the most popular Asian company

In the list of 100 most influential companies, the Korean giant Samsung Electronics has been placed at the top position. It was followed by Hyundai (second) Toyota (third), Hitachi (fourth) and Sony (fifth). Three Indian companies Reliance Industries secured 77th rank while Tata motors and SBI were at 79th and 80th repectively.

India and Russia signed the Kundukulam agreement

India and Russia signed the agreement for the 3rd and 4th unit of Kundankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu. The agreement was a General Framework Agreement (GFA) between NPCIL and its Russian partner. The plant’s first reactor (Unit 1) is the first Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) belonging to the Light Water Reactor (LWR) category in India, and the 21st nuclear power reactor in the country.

Ofek - 10, new spy satellite by Israel

Israel launched its new spy satellite Ofek-10 which will be used to observe Iran and actions by militants of Middle East. Ofek is a Hebrew word and it means “horizon”. The new spy satellite is launched into orbit because Israel believes that Iran is building a nuclear reactor to damage Israel. Israel is the smallest country in the world with indigenous satellite launch ability. Ofek-1, its first spy satellite was launched in 1988.

Google to acquire Titan Aerospace

Google is set to acquire Titan Aerospace, the company famous for making solar powered drones. This will boost its internet access in remote areas.