Sanjaya Rajaram wins World Food Prize

1.    Sanjaya Rajaram wins World Food Prize

i. India-born plant scientist Sanjaya Rajaram has been named the winner of the 250,000 US dollars World Food Prize for his breakthrough achievement in increasing global wheat production by more than 200 million tonnes following the Green Revolution.

ii. Rajaram's breakthrough achievement in successfully cross-breeding winter and spring wheat varieties, which were distinct gene pools and had been isolated from one another for hundreds of years, led to him developing plants that have higher yields and a broad genetic base.

iii. Rajaram followed Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman E Borlaug at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, CIMMYT, leading its Wheat Program from 1976 to 2001.

iv. The World Food Prize Foundation President and the former US Ambassador to Cambodia, Kenneth M Quinn, said the 2014 World Food Prize Laureate is an individual who worked closely with Dr Borlaug in Mexico and who then carried forward and extended his work, breaking new ground with his own achievements.

Note: i. The World Food Prize was established in 1986 by Borlaug in order to focus the world's attention on hunger and on those whose work has significantly helped efforts to end it.

ii. This year marks the 28th anniversary of the prize, which recognises individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.

2.    Militants captured Iraq's largest oil refinery Baiji refinery

i. Militants captured Iraq's largest oil refinery Baiji refinery. The Baiji refinery is located in Salaheddin province, north of Baghdad in Iraq. Militants attacked refinery with machine gun fire and mortars. 
ii. Baiji is one of three oil refineries in Iraq and only processes oil from the north. The other two are located in Baghdad and the Southern Iraq which are firmly under government control and are operational.

iii. While most of Iraq's oil and gas fields are in the centre and the south of the country, militants have seized territory in Iraq's oil-producing Kirkuk province.

Note: i. After the withdrawal of US troops in 2011, Iraq has again plunged into sectarian-fuelled violence and chaos.
ii. Terrorist group ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) has routed the Iraqi army in the north of the country and seized the country's second largest city, Mosul.
iii. The country, which was invaded by a coalition led by the US in 2003, has been driven along religious and ethnic lines for the past decade and faces an uncertain future.
iv. At the heart of the conflict is distrust between the two branches of Islam in the country - Sunni and Shia - a divide replicated throughout the Middle East.

3.    Indian money in Swiss banks rise to over Rs 14,000 cr

i. Indians' money in Swiss banks has risen to over two billion Swiss francs (nearly Rs 14,000 crore), despite a global clampdown against the famed secrecy wall of Switzerland banking system.

ii. The funds held by Indians with banks in Switzerland rose by over 40 percent during 2013, from about 1.42 billion Swiss francs at the end of previous year, as per the latest data released on Thursday by the country's central banking authority Swiss National Bank (SNB). 

iii. In contrast, the money held in Swiss banks by their foreign clients from across the world continued to decline and stood at a record low of 1.32 trillion Swiss francs (about USD 1.56 trillion or over Rs 90 lakh crore) at the end of 2013. 
iv. During 2012, the Indians' money in Swiss banks had fallen by over one-third to a record low level. 
v. The total Indian money held in Swiss banks included 1.95 billion Swiss francs held directly by Indian individuals and entities, and another 77.3 million Swiss francs through 'fiduciaries' or wealth managers at the end of 2013. 

vi. India has also constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe cases of alleged black money of Indians, including funds stashed abroad in places like Switzerland. 
vii. The funds, described by SNB as 'liabilities' of Swiss banks or 'amounts due to' their clients, are the official figures disclosed by the Swiss authorities and do not indicate towards the quantum of the much-debated alleged black money held by Indians in the safe havens of Switzerland. 

4.    PMO secretary Ramanujam gets three-month extension

i. R. Ramanujam, secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, has got a three-month extension till September 2014.

ii. The extension to Mr. Ramanujam has been approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on contract basis for a period of three months beyond the date of his superannuation, i.e. up to September 30, 2014, an official release said on Thursday.

iii. Mr. Ramanujam, a 1979-batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, had joined as additional secretary in the PMO on September 1, 2011. He became Secretary in the PMO on November 1, 2013. He worked in the PMO between 1997 and 2000, under I.K. Gujral and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

     

5.    RBI asked banks to disclose sector-wise advances in financial statements

i. Reserve Bank of India on 18 June 2014 asked banks to disclose sector-wise advances in the Notes to Accounts to the financial statements from financial year 2014-15 onwards. 

ii. RBI in its direction asked the banks for disclosure on priority sector such as agriculture and allied activities, advances to industries sector eligible as priority sector lending, services and personal loans and non-priority sector advances such as agriculture and allied activities, industry, services and personal loans.

iii. It also said that the banks may also make disclosure on sub sectors where the outstanding advances exceed 10 percent of the outstanding total advances to that sector.

iv. This step has been taken on the recommendations of the Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low Income Households headed by Nachiket Mor. It will encourage banks to actively manage their exposures to various sectors, including priority sector.