8 JANUARY 2014

Ø  A committee appointed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday recommended a Universal Electronic Bank Account (UEBA) for every Indian resident above 18 years of age by January 1, 2016. The account would provide citizens with access to credit and investment options.

Ø  The first shipment of chemical material has been removed from Syria under a deal to rid the country of its chemical arsenal. A first quantity of priority chemical materials was moved from two sites to the port of Latakia for verification and was then loaded onto a Danish commercial vessel.

Ø  Internet giant Google on Tuesday made a formal presentation to the Election Commission proposing a tie-up with it for voter facilitation services ahead of the Lok Sabha election. Google proposed providing its search engines free of cost to voters during the general election. It also proposed free online voter registration.

Ø  Construction of the 2,800-MWe nuclear power project at Gorakhpur in Haryana will begin soon, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laying the foundation stone on January 13. The plant would have four indigenously developed pressurised heavy water reactors with a capacity of 700 MWe each.

Ø  Jains could soon become the sixth designated minority community of the country. An indication to this effect was given by Union Minister for Minority Affairs K. Rehman Khan in an interview.

Ø  BOOK: ‘India at Turning Point: A Road to Good Governance' by Former Cabinet Secretary T.S.R.Subramanian

Ø  India says it is ready for the international conference on Syria, which begins in Geneva on January 22, even as Iran’s participation hangs in the balance following remarks by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. India has already offered $1 million for use in destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons and related facilities by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). It has also offered the services of its experts in the destruction and verification activities and training for personnel participating in the destruction. As opposed to the U.S. and Russia, India has completed destruction of its chemical weapons. The first meeting had produced the Geneva Communiqué that backed a political transition without seeking the ouster of President Bashar-al Assad.