GK Updates - 5 August | Banking Quiz

RBI keeps key interest rates unchanged, Cur SLR by 0.5%
i. Reserve Bank of India today maintained the status quo with regard to the key interest rates in its third bi-monthly monetary policy review for 2014-15.
ii. In its monetary policy statement released in Mumbai, RBI stated that on the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation, it has been decided to keep the policy repo rate, the rate at which the RBI lends money to commercial banks , unchanged at 8 per cent.
iii. The reverse repo rate, the rate at which the RBI borrows money from commercial banks, will also remain unchanged at 7 per cent. The cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks, the amount of funds that the banks have to keep with the RBI, has been kept unchanged at 4 per cent. The bank rate would remain at 9 per cent.
iv. The fourth bi-monthly monetary policy statement is scheduled on 30th September, 2014.

Note: RBI has, however, reduced the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) of scheduled commercial banks by 50 basis points from 22.5 per cent to 22.0 per cent with effect from the fortnight beginning 9th August, 2014.

Current Rates are as follows”
1. Repo Rate – 8% (unchanged)
2. Reverse Repo Rate – 7% (unchanged)
3. CRR – 4% (unchanged)
4. SLR – 22% (changed from 22.5 per cent to 22.0)
5. Bank Rate – 9% (unchanged)
6. MSF – 9% (unchanged)

India has major share of BRIC capital coming into UAE
I.India has a major share of BRIC countries’ capital coming into the UAE, a leading investment firm operating in West Asia has said.
II.The Dubai-based Fortress Investments said the UAE is a net importer of capital mainly from emerging and regional markets.
III.There is a significant increase in capital inflows into the UAE from emerging markets, particularly the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), surpassing inflows from MENA (West Asia & North Africa) region, said Hamed Mokhtar, Managing Director at Fortress Investments said.
IV.“The UAE is becoming more important on a global scale, in addition to emerging as an unparalleled investment hotspot,” said Mokhtar.
V.“The capital invested in the UAE from MENA region is more in the form of individual property assets, whereas UAE’s role in attracting capital flow from BRIC countries is the result of progressive Government measures and global partnerships,” Mokhtar said.
VI.He also said that India commands the lion’s share of BRIC capital flowing into the UAE.
VII.The Gulf Cooperation Council received $1.6 billion in total foreign direct investment from India in 2012 — a figure that is only expected to rise over time due to increasing trade relations and the complementary strength of their economies, according to the Institute of International Finance.

GDP growth expected to go up to 5.5% this fiscal: RBI
i. With improvement in economic activity and revival of sentiments, the Reserve Bank of India today said that the GDP growth in the current fiscal is expected to go up to 5.5 per cent from 4.7 per cent in the last financial year.
II. “The implementation of government policy actions that have been announced should create a congenial setting for a steady improvement in domestic demand and supply conditions,” the RBI said in its bi-monthly policy statement.
III. “Prospects of re-invigoration of growth have improved modestly... the central estimate of real GDP growth of 5.5 per cent within a likely range of 5 to 6 per cent for 2014-15 can be sustained,” it said.

Gaza crisis: 72-hour fragile ceasefire begins
I.An uneasy 72-hour ceasefire brokered by Egypt between Israel and the Palestinian militant groups began this morning after a month of fighting, with Hamas firing a salvo of long-range rockets minutes before the truce, calling them revenge for Israel’s “massacres’’.
II.Minutes before the ceasefire took hold at 8 a.m. (local time), Hamas fired a barrage of long-range rockets, calling them revenge for Israel’s “massacres”, referring to the killing of nearly 1,900 Palestinians, mostly civilians.
III.Sirens went off in Ashdod, Ashkelon, Sdot HaNegev, Kiryat Malachi, Rehovot, Rishon Lezion, Gedera, Lod, Ramle, and in Ma’ale Adumim which is in east of Jerusalem.
IV.Six of the 17 rockets fired from Gaza were intercepted by the anti-missile Iron Dome defence system, the army said.
V.The rockets caused minor damages but no injuries.
VI.Shrapnel landed in the greater Jerusalem area indicating an Iron Dome interception over the area, security sources said.
VII.The Israeli forces responded with artillery fire, but the guns fell silent just before the truce came into effect.
VIII.Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that troops operating in Gaza were being pulled out completely but reserves have not been released from service.

Arvind Gupta appointed as Deputy National Security Advisor
I. The government has appointed Indian Foreign Service officer Dr. Arvind Gupta as Deputy National Security Advisor and Secretary, National Security Council Secretariat for a period of three years.
II. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet yesterday approved his name for the post. Mr Gupta, a 1979 batch IFS , is currently serving as the Director General in the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis.

D. Khandelwal appointed MD of SAP Labs
I.SAP has appointed Dilipkumar Khandelwal as Managing Director for SAP Labs India. Effective immediately, he will be based in Bangalore and will be responsible for driving customer-led innovations and operations across SAP Labs India’s facilities in Bangalore, Gurgaon and Pune.
II.His role as Managing Director is in addition to his current global role as Senior Vice-President and Head of Suite Engineering at SAP, a release said.
III.In a statement, Clas Neumann, senior VP and global head, SAP Labs Network said, “The team in India has contributed significantly to SAP’s products and technologies and plays a key role in the SAP ecosystem.”
IV.Dilipkumar has been with SAP for over 13 years in various roles. He began his career as a technology consultant and handled roles in consulting, development, quality and partner enablement. He was conferred the SAP Leader of the Year award.

Lt Gen Philip Campose takes over as Army Vice Chief
I. Lt Gen Philip Campose- a veteran mechanised infantry officer, has taken over as the new Vice Chief of Army Staff succeeding Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, who is now heading the 1.3 million strong force.
II. 59-year-old Lt Gen Campose, who was till now the Western Army Commander, took over as the Vice Chief on August 1, an Army release said in New Delhi.
III. An alumnus of St Xavier's School, Delhi, the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun, he was commissioned into the Infantry in 1974 and later sidestepped into the newly constituted Mechanised Infantry Regiment in 1982.

India, Nepal to build pipeline for petroleum products' supply to Himalayan nation
I. India and Nepal have agreed to build a pipeline for supply of petroleum products to the Himalayan nation.
II. According to a joint statement, issued at the end of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Nepal, the request was made from the Nepalese side to which the Indian side agreed to take up the project for construction of the pipeline from Raxual in Bihar to Amlekhganj in Nepal in the first phase and extend it to Kathmandu in the next phase.
III. Nepal is dependent on India for its all fuel requirements. Currently, petrol, diesel, LPG and jet fuel are transported to Nepal through trucks from India.

HDFC Life launches Click2Protect Plus
I.Private sector life insurer, HDFC Life, has launched Click2Protect Plus, a traditional, non-participating pure term insurance plan, the company said in a release issued today.
II.The plan is an extension of HDFC Life’s flagship plan Click2Protect and comes with additional benefits and multiple options to choose from, it said.
III.The policy will be available through all sales channels.
IV.Sanjay Tripathy, Senior EVP – Marketing, Product, Digital & E-Commerce, HDFC Life, said that HDFC Life Click2Protect has insured over 1.6 lakh lives during a period of over two years and the plan will reach out to a much larger population that is seeking life insurance protection.
V.The company said the plan offers many unique features such as option to the customer to increase his life cover at key milestones during his lifetime.

World Bank pledges 200 mln to fight Ebola
I. The World Bank has pledged USD 200 million in emergency funding to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to help the West African countries contain spread of deadly Ebola infections and improve public health systems.
II. World Bank President Dr Jim Yong Kim, who is experienced in treatment of infectious diseases, said the new financing commitment was in response to a call from both the three African countries hardest-hit by Ebola and the World Health Organisation for immediate assistance to contain the outbreak.
III. In a statement, he said the World Bank Group would step up social safety net assistance for affected communities and families and help to build up public health systems in West Africa to strengthen the region's disease control capacity.
IV. With the Ebola virus now directly and indirectly impacting economies in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and neighboring countries, the new WB Group emergency response will also help countries and communities cope with financial hardship caused by the outbreak, a media statement said.

Syndicate Bank CMD suspended
The Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, has placed Sudhir Kumar Jain, Chairman and Managing Director, Syndicate Bank, under suspension with effect from August 2, 2014, the bank said in a notice to the BSE. This action comes in the wake of the Central Bureau of Investigation registering a case against Jain for allegedly receiving a bribe of ₹50 lakh to grant credit extension to two private firms.

CIBIL to start Risk Index for corporate sector
I. The Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd (CIBIL) on Tuesday said it will come up with a risk index which will help banks and financial institutions in the process of granting loans and advances to corporates.
II. It is basically a risk management tool which will help banks and financial institutions while sanctioning any loan to the corporate sector,” CIBIL Senior Vice President-Consumer Relations and Communications Harshala Chandorkar said.

Note:I. CIBIL provides credit information about individual customer and business entities that helps banks in taking decision on sanctioning credit to any customer. It maintains account credit information of 350 million accounts of individual consumers and 19 million accounts of businesses.
II. CIBIL has also recently launched new product for banks called ‘Alert’ wherein it will send an alert to the bank whenever there is a change in the profile of a customer.

HDFC Bank opens branch in Dubai
I. HDFC Bank Ltd has opened its branch in Dubai at the International Financial Centre, and will provide wealth management services to non-resident Indians based in the UAE.
II. A bank statement said after Bahrain and Hong Kong, this is HDFC Bank’s third branch overseas. It also operates two more representative offices in the UAE at Dubai and Abu Dhabi which will continue to function.
III. As of June 30, the bank had a network of 3,488 branches and 11,426 ATMs in 2,231 cities and towns.

Manipur tops in employment growth
I. Manipur at 83.29 per cent tops the list of percentage of growth in employment followed by Assam, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
II. As per the provisional results of the Sixth Economic Census released by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on July 30, Assam was placed at the second position in terms of percentage of growth in employment at 78.84 per cent as against the national average of 34.35 per cent.

Justice Dr. Chellur sworn in as CJ of Calcutta HC
I. Justice Dr. Manjula Chellur was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court today.
II. The West Bengal Governor Mr. Keshari Nath Tripathi administered the oath of office and secrecy to Justice Dr. Chellur. She will be the first Lady Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court.
III. Prior to this she was the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court. The West Bengal Chief Minister Miss Mamata Banerjee, State Law Minister Mrs. Chandrima Bhattacharjee, Senior Judges of the High Court and other distinguished persons were present.

UP Governor Ram Naik given additional charge of Rajasthan
I. Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik has been given additional charge of Rajasthan in place of Margaret Alva, who completes her tenure today.
II. A Rashtrapati Bhawan press communiqué said Governor of Gujarat Om Prakash Kohli has also been given additional charge of Goa.

Tagore’s Gitanjali part of WWI commemorative event at UN
I. A poem from Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s masterpiece The Gitanjaliwas recited by Indian Ambassador to the U.N. Asoke Kumar Mukerji as part of a commemorative ceremony held here marking 100 years of the outbreak of the World War I.
II. Mr. Mukerji was among the 15 UN envoys who chose, recited and recorded poems related to the war by authors from their respective countries.
III. The poems and their recordings were displayed at an interactive exhibition organised by the U.K.’s mission to the U.N. on Monday as it took over the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of August.

Sayeeda Warsi resigned from British government over Gaza conflict
I. Sayeeda Warsi, the Foreign Office minister of Britain resigned from the government on 5 August 2014 in protest of Britain’s policy on Gaza.
II. She described the British policy on the crisis in Gaza as morally indefensible. She tendered her resignation to the British Prime Minister David Cameron.
III. She was the fir st female Muslim cabinet minister to serve United Kingdom during David Cameron led government. She, although, has never won an election.