Current Affairs For Bank, IBPS Exams - 20 May, 2014

Current Affairs For Bank, IBPS Exams

The high import duty and supply curbs on gold had a telling effect on demand for the yellow metal gold in the first quarter of calendar 2014 when demand slid 26 per cent to 190.3 tonnes. Figures released by World Gold Council’s (WGC) India demand statistics showed that in value terms, it slid 33 per cent to Rs. 48,853 crore and 41 per cent in dollar terms to $7.9 billion.
Of this, jewellery demand declined 9 per cent to 159.5 tonnes and 18 per cent in value terms to Rs. 37,377.8 crore while investment demand declined 54 per cent in volume terms to 44.7 tonnes and 59 per cent in value terms to Rs. 11,475.2 crore.
With the election of the BJP and its declared pro-business approach, there is an expectation that the short-term curbs on gold will be removed. Another factor is the hope that there will be relaxation of the curbs which will lead to a reduction in the prevailing premium.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said it had suspended a radioactive water treatment system at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant recently.
The operator halted the Advanced Liquid Processing System after it found higher calcium levels than normal in water in one of the system’s three lines.
The system is a key component in the effort to deal with the massive amounts of toxic water at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, as the operator keep injecting water into three of its six reactors to keep them cool.
The plant suffered meltdowns at the three units after it was hit by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.

Russia is intensifying its shift towards China as Russia’s relations with the West have sunk to their post-Cold War low over the Ukraine crisis.
China has refused to condemn Russia’s takeover of Ukraine’s Crimea and has adopted what experts called “positive neutrality” over the conflict.
The two countries are expected to sign a “fantastic package” of more than 40 agreements when President Vladimir Putin travelled to Shanghai recently for a two-day state visit and participation in a regional security summit.
Mr. Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, will oversee the start of joint war games in a sign of closer defence ties between the two countries. At least 16 Russian and Chinese warships will train together in the East China Sea, where China is locked in a bitter territorial dispute with Japan.
Russia and China will undertake eight “strategic projects” in space, rocket engines, aviation and infrastructure.

A U.S government website that is currently inviting public comments on whether to allow the spouses of H-1B visa-holders to work has provided a glimpse at the trials and tribulations of Indians who go abroad to work ‘onsite’ at various IT firms.
The Department of Homeland Security, a U.S government body, had, a few months ago, decided to allow spouses of H-1B visa-holders, who are seeking green cards, to get work authorisation.
The U.S government is, therefore, interested in collecting comments through its ‘Regulations.gov’ comment board, which allows feedback to rise and fall on its own merit.