Current Affairs For Bank, IBPS Exams - 05 June, 2014

Current Affairs For Bank, IBPS Exams

A.B. de Villiers dominated the Cricket South Africa Awards banquet by bagging four awards, including Cricketer of the Year 2014, in Johannesburg .
De Villiers was also named Test Cricketer of the Year, was recognised by his peers as SA Players’ Player of the Year and by popular vote of the public, SA Fans’ Cricketer of the Year.
The only award for which De Villiers was nominated but did not win was the ODI Player of the Year which went to Quinton de Kock, who scored four centuries in the period under review including three in consecutive innings.
Imran Tahir was named T20 International Player of the Year, paceman Dale Steyn won the Delivery of the Year and veteran Jacques Kallis won the KFC ‘So Good’ Award for his century in his final Test match appearance against India.
Marizanne Kapp was named Momentum Women’s Cricketer of the Year for the second successive year.

With Iran complying with its commitment on a controversial nuclear weapons programme, US President Barack Obama has suspended his action on Iranian oil sanctions for the next six months.
Even though there is enough oil in the international market for countries like India and China to reduce their dependence on Iranian oil, so as to avoid US sanctions as per Congressional Act, Mr. Obama determined that there is no need to do so for the next six months as Tehran is fully co-operating with the US-led international community to address their concerns about its nuclear weapons program
The International Atomic Energy Agency has verified that Iran is complying with these commitments.
The analysis contained in the Energy Information Administration’s report of April 24, indicates that global oil consumption has exceeded production in recent months.

May 11, 2014 was a red letter day for renewable power in Germany. The biggest clean energy market reached an enviable record of almost 75 per cent renewable market share for several hours that day. Germany faces its own travails over its chosen path.
Germany is indeed avoiding blackouts-by opening new coal and gas fired plants. Renewable electricity is proving so unreliable and chaotic that it is starting to undermine the stability of the European grid and provoke international incidents.
The spiraling cost of the renewables surge has sparked a backlash, including government proposals to slash subsidies and deployment rates.
For all modes of power generation, capacity factor — CF (the amount of electricity, a generator produces in a year divided by the amount it will produce if it ran at full capacity for all 8,760 hrs a year) — is important. Typically during 2012, CFs (per cent) in Germany were, for solar: 11; wind: 17; fossil fuel: 80 and for nuclear: 94.
Since India has in place an ambitious renewable energy programme, we must learn from the experiences of other countries particularly Germany; Germany's tryst with renewable power is often taken as a model.
India must promote all modes of power generation including solar and wind. Copious sunshine and abundant wind may lead to over production in the grid. Balancing the grid may be a challenge. Central Government must organise a systematic review of the challenges to arrive at India- centric solutions.

India could allow global online retailers such as Amazon.com to sell their own products as early as next month, removing restrictions that have held back competition in one of the world’s biggest, and most price-sensitive, retail markets.
The decision, which is likely to be announced in or alongside the budget, is one of the first tangible signs of economic reform by the business-friendly government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The move could allow the government to circumvent political opposition to opening up India’s $500 billion retail sector to global retail giants such as Wal-Mart Store.