Current Affairs: August 9, 2011

Term of RBI Governor D Subbarao extended by 2 years

• Government extended the term of RBI Governor D Subbarao by 2 more years
• Mr. Subbarao was first appointed as the RBI Governor in September 2008
• His term was to expire in September this year
• Under Subbarao’s leadership, the RBI recently doubled the frequency of monetary policy reviews from quarterly to eight times in a year. The move helped tame inflation and spur growth of Indian economy

“mchip”: $1 tiny chip tests blood, detects HIV in 15 min

• Scientists at the Columbia University developed a $1 plastic chip that     can diagnose HIV and syphilis in 15 minutes
  
• The chip named the “mChip”, a credit-card-sized piece of plastic that     is made applying a plastic injection molding process
  
• Examines multiple diseases with just one pinprick of blood
  
• Nothing moves inside the chip, and the microfluidics-based chip can     be examined with assist from a cheap visual sensor
  
• The chip detects 100% of cases when utilized to test HIV or syphilis     and human immunodeficiency virus together, with a 4% to 6% false     positive rate.That’s same to what is ascertained with common     laboratory exams in the developed world
  
• ‘mChip’ can diagnose prostatic adenocarcinoma
• It has already been authorized for use in Europe

DD Direct Plus, Doordarshan’s DTH Service

DD Direct Plus: Doordarshan’ DTH Service

• DD Direct Plus to have 150 channels
• Prasar Bharati Board approved its expansion 
• There are no frequent changes in the frequencies of channels being     shown through DD Direct Plus
  

SEBI issues Show Cause Notice to NSE over Client Code Modifications by Brokers

• The capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a show-cause notice to the country’s leading stock exchange, National Stock Exchange, following a probe into alleged client code modifications by its broker members
• NSE was asked to explain the large number of client code modifications
• NSE also to justify why action should not be taken against it for not exercising caution over such transactions
• SEBI was alerted about the dealings by the CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes), which noticed that a large number of trades were reversed by changing client codes for tax evasion
• The tax department came across several instances where brokers transferred gains or losses from one individual to another by modifying client codes in the guise of rectifying an error
• SEBI independently verified the information given by the income-tax authorities and found it to be true

  A show-cause notice is not an indictment; it however contains allegations of violation. A show-cause notice requires the entity to which it is served to explain its side of the story.

  National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID)
  

• The Government to set up a National Intelligence Grid or NATGRID to access all intelligence data
• National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) is Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s ambitious project
  
• The NATGRID will pool information from 21 categories of database such as railway and air travel, income tax, bank account details, credit card transactions and visa and immigration records
• As per the initial plan, access to the combined data will be given to 11 agencies, including the Research and Analysis Wing, the Intelligence Bureau, the Enforcement Directorate, the National Investigation Agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and the Narcotics Control Bureau
• CEO of NATGRID: Captain Raghu Raman
  
• Government extended the services of NATGRID Chief Executive Officer Raghu Raman for 6 months from June 1, 2011
  
• Functions of NATGRID:
  

1. To function as a tool for strengthening the capability of the existing Intelligence and Law         enforcement agencies
   
2. Improving access to information and it’s sharing
   
3. To link databases for Inputs to combat terrorism
   
4. To improve India’s capability to counter threats to its internal security by flagging potential Terrorist threats
   

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Month: Current Affairs - August, 2011