Current Affairs 27th Jan 2014

Bangalore became the first city in India to offer free wi-fi spots

Karnataka Government’s Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology, Science & Technology launched the ‘Namma Wi-Fi’ hotspots across six spots in the city. Usage will be limited to three hours per day or up to 50 MB data. The total number of access points would be 23 in the coverage area which will accommodate 2,000 users at the same time. To use this service, users should have an authentication password which would be sent to their mobile after they register on the network.

Australian open men’s final

Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka claimed his first Grand Slam title in dramatic fashion on 26 January 2014 when he upset injury-troubled world number one Rafael Nadal of Spain in the Australian Open men’s singles final. He defeated Nadal by 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to win his maiden Grand Slam tennis title. Stanislas Wawrinka has earlier in January 2014 won which ATP title in India? – Chennai Open (Wawarinka had won the men’s singles title of Chennai Open on 5 January 2014).

Rs 500 notes can be freely swapped at banks, says RBI

RBI said its move to withdraw currency notes printed before 2005 is to check counterfeit notes and these notes will continue to be legal tender even after the July deadline. It said that after July 1, 2014, public can exchange any number of these old series notes from the bank branches where they have their accounts. Non-customers of a bank will have to furnish proof of identity and residence to the bank branch in which they want to exchange more than 10 pieces of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 no . The RBI clarified that the rationale behind its move to withdraw banknotes printed prior to 2005 is to remove these banknotes from the market because they have fewer security features compared to banknotes printed after 2005.

Now, identity proof needed to get PAN

Starting February 3, anyone applying for allotment of PAN will now have to submit a proof of identity, in addition to the earlier requirements of documents, showing your address and date of birth. The requirement for an identity proof has been included as PAN is used for other crucial documents such as a passport. Documents like voter ID card, driving licence can be used as identity proof.