Current Affairs 15th April 2017

Current Affairs 15th April 2017 - Important Points

• Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal buys- 11.4% of miner Anglo American
• Cab safety measures for women included in - New Taxi Policy Guidelines

Current Affairs 15th April 2017 - Details

 Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal buys- 11.4% of miner Anglo American

Anil Agarwal, an Indian billionaire became the second largest shareholder (11.44 per cent) in a British mining group, Anglo American in the second week of April 2017. He is now the second largest shareholder behind South Africa's Public Investment Corporation, which owns more than 13 percent. Agarwal's investment is believed to be worth 1.9 billion pounds (USD 2.4 billion, 2.2 billion euros).The company's market capitalisation is around 16.4 billion pounds. Volcan also owns mining competitor Vedanta Resources,that specialises in zinc.

Detailed Information

• The company was founded by Sir Ernest Oppenheimer in 1917 with financial backing from the American bank J.P. Morgan & Co. and £1 million raised from UK and US sources to start the gold mining company.
• It is a multinational mining company based in Johannesburg, South Africa and London.
• Anglo American plc is the world's largest producer of platinum, with around 40% of world output.
• Anglo American plc is also a well-known producer of diamonds,iron ore  copper, nickel, metallurgical and thermal coal.
• The company operates in Asia, Africa, Australasia, North America, Europe and South America.

 Cab safety measures for women included in - New Taxi Policy Guidelines

The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD)has recommended the safety measures concerning safety of women commuters availing of cab services. The recommended measures were included in the new Taxi Policy Guidelines on 12th April 2017. The recommendations have been highlighted in the background of numerous cases of sexual harassment of women in cabs.

The Union WCD Minister has launched a hashtag, #HelpMeWCD, where any woman or child facing harassment can directly report these cases by tweeting.

Key recommendations:

• The taxis need to be mandatorily fitted with GPS panic devices.
• For the women safety and child passengers, the central locking system in the taxis should not be allowed.
• The driver's identification along with the photo and registration number of the vehicle should also be displayed in boold in the taxi.
• Stipulated rules violation by the taxi drivers should be strictly dealt in accordance with law.
• Seat sharing should be subject to willingness of passengers.