Current Affairs : 24th January 2014

Chandrababu Naidu troubled by Rajya Sabha candidates’ selection:

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Selecting two Rajya Sabha candidates is proving to be a big headache for Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu.Absence of senior party MLA and ticket aspirant, M. Narasimhulu in the Assembly on Friday created a flutter in party circles. Though Balakrishna’s name figured from the NTR clan, he is reportedly eyeing an Assembly ticket.Party MLAs like A. Revanth Reddy and P. Mahender Reddy are eyeing the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha seat, while seniors like P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju too are apparently seeking Lok Sabha tickets.

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RBI Governor allays currency note fears : Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan on Thursday sought to quell fears over the decision to withdraw all pre-2005 currency notes from April 1, 2014, saying the RBI notification was not aimed at demonetisation.

-Assuring the people that such currency notes would continue to be legal tender, Dr. Rajan said there was no cause for panic. The public would be required to approach banks for exchanging their pre-2005 notes.
-The RBI on Wednesday said that after March 31 it would withdraw from circulation all currency notes issued prior to 2005.

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BSNL, MNTL likely to offer free roaming plans from Jan 26 : State-owned telecom firms MTNL and BSNL are likely to launch new roaming plans from January 26 that will offer their subscribers free calls, sources said.”MTNL has plans to make roaming free for its customers on its network in Delhi and Mumbai without any additional charge,” said an official source.He added, however, that BSNL will also have a roaming plan for free calls, but its customers may have to shell out Re 1 a day to avail of the facility.The schemes are likely to be in place from January 26.

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Govt plans Rs 5,000 crore green energy push : With traditional power sector hamstrung by fuel shortage andclimate change getting top billing at World Economic Forum summit in Davos, the government has lined up a Rs 5,000-crore, or $800 million, push to promote green energy capacity. The ministry of new and renewable energy proposes to raise the authorized share capital ofIreda ( Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency) from Rs 1,000 crore at present to Rs 6,000 crore through this infusion.

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Lenovo to buy IBM’s low-end server business for $2.3bn : Chinese computer giant Lenovo will buy IBM’s low-end server business for $2.3 billion.IBM will receive $2.07 billion in cash and the rest in shares for the x86 business, Lenovo said, in a deal seen as helping the Chinese firm diversify away from the slumping PC-sales sector. IBM will still provide maintenance on behalf of Lenovo, while some 7,500 members of staff worldwide will be offered employment by the Chinese company, according to Dow Jones.