Current Affairs Updates 23.01.2015

1. India observes 118th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

• India today observed the 118th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose by paying glowing tribute to his memory at functions held throughout the country.
• PM Modi took to his official Twitter account to express his gratitude to the phenomenal freedom fighter.
• Mr. Modi tweeted, His bravery, courage & patriotic zeal inspire us. On his birth anniversary, I bow to the proud son of India, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
• It has been maintained that Bose died in an air crash in Taiwan in 1945. However, the Mukherjee Commission had rejected the opinion that he had died in a plane crash at Taihoku airport in Taiwan on August 18, 1945.

2. RBI directs banks to display all loan costs

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) made it compulsory for banks to set out every possible cost in respect of the loan in a fact sheet at the processing stage.
• Banks will also have to publish the 'annual percentage rate' representing the total cost of credit to an individual borrower. 
• Besides, they will have to display on their website the interest rate range for various contracted loans for the past quarter for different categories of advances.
• The fact sheet drafted by the central bank requires lenders to spell out the interest rate, the spread above the benchmark rate, date of reset of floating rates, mode of communication of interest rate changes, all fees payable, refundable fees, charges for conversion from floating to fixed rate loan and penalty for delayed payments.
• The significance of this fact sheet is that it will make it possible for borrowers to compare loans from two lenders. 

3. Supreme Court's decision on IPL Spot fixing

• The Supreme Court pronounced its much-awaited verdict on N Srinivasan's conflict of interest case, saying that BCCI functions are amenable to judicial review.
• Supreme Court gave verdict that N Srinivasan can't contest BCCI polls till he gives up commercial interest in CSK.
• The Apex court said No BCCI administrator can have commercial interests.Srinivasan held miniscule share in India Cements misleading since his family directly or indirectly holds much more.
• The court-appointed Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee, also comprising senior advocates L Nageswar Rao and Nilay Dutta, had found Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan guilty of indulging in betting during IPL 2013 despite being a CSK team official.

4. Saudi King Abdullah passes away

• Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, the powerful U.S. ally who joined Washington’s fight against al-Qaeda, has died, He was 90.
• He also sought to modernise the ultra conservative Muslim kingdom with incremental but significant reforms, including nudging open greater opportunities for women
• Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz became king and Prince Muqrin was declared Crown Prince, another Royal Court statement said.

5. Kerala to get first International Institute of Music

• Kerala Culture Minister K C Joseph on 22 January 2015 announced setting up of the International Institute of Music in Kerala. It will be the first international institute in India that is dedicated to music.
• A Trust headed by Sarod Maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan has been entrusted with the responsibility to set up the Institute. 
• The government will provide only land and all other infrastructure facilities will be built by a trust managed by Khan's family.
• Kerala Government also identified the land for setting up the school in Thiruvananthapuram or Kochi or Kozhikode.