Bank accounts for all by 2016
The target of having a bank account for all adults in India by 2016 is not too ambitious and can be achieved with progress made in Aadhaar number rollout, said Nachiket Mor, who headed the RBI panel on financial inclusion.
"We are saying right now there is a process (Aadhaar rollout) going on, open the bank account .... That's why 2016 is not a heroic goal, because we think the process will terminate by 2015," Mor told reporters.
The Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low-Income Households, headed by Mor, an ex-ICICI Bank executive, had recommended setting a target of having a bank account for every adult in the country by January 2016.
It had said there should be a point of presence of banking system for withdrawals, payments, deposits within a 15 -minute walk by 2016.
Mor said the Nandan Nilekani-headed Aadhaar project has already rolled out 530 million numbers and is reaching out to 30 million people every month, which makes the committee believe that by end of 2015 they would complete the project
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Mahila Bank signs MoUs with ICAI to finance CA students
Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB), the first all-women bank, today signed an agreement with Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) for financing students pursuing chartered accountancy.
It has also signed another MoU with ICAI for financing members of ICAI, practicing chartered accountants for setting up offices, BMB said in a statement.
Girl students pursuing CA will be offered a 1 per cent concession in the rate of interest, it said.
To encourage more women professionals to take up practice, a concession of 1 per cent in the rate of interest is being offered on loans to set up practice, it said.
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World Bank to provide $500 m loan for rural water supply
Multi-lateral funding agency, the World Bank will provide $500 million loan for water supply and sanitation projects in the rural areas of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.
“The World Bank has approved a $ 500 million credit for the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) Project for Low Income States to improve piped water supply and sanitation services through decentralised delivery systems in the Indian states of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh,” World Bank said in a release.
The project will be implemented over a six-year period.
It will support the design and implementation of a dedicated RWSS program for low income states under the ongoing National Rural Drinking Water Program in the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MoDWS), it said.
The phase 1 of the project will cover 33 districts in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.
These states have the lowest coverage of tap water with Bihar at 2.6 per cent, Jharkhand at 3.7 per cent, Assam with 6.8 per cent and Uttar Pradesh at 20.2 per cent, it added.
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RBI panel suggests banks for low-income households
The RBI-appointed committee on financial inclusion has recommended that the central bank should set up specialised banks called Payments Bank to provide payment services and deposit products to small businesses and low-income households.
The committee, headed by Nachiket Mor, said that since the new bank will be dealing with poor customers, such a bank must be allowed to accept a maximum deposit of not more than Rs 50,000.
Such a bank will earn from the payment services it offers, such as money transfers and online payments, as well as by deploying the deposits in secure government securities (G-secs).
In order to protect the money of the poor customer, such a bank will not be allowed to lend in the market.
“(The bank) will not be permitted to assume any kind of credit risks,” the report said.
The bank will have to set aside a slice (the same as any other bank) of its total deposit with the RBI in the form of cash reserve ratio.
Also, the bank will be required to deposit the balance money in approved G-Secs within a period of three months, the report said.
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Dhoni, Raina to launch 7 Premier League in Dubai tomorrow
Corporate sports in the Dubai, which enjoys a very existence, is set to go the next level; at least in terms of cricket.
India cricket captain MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina will officially launch the 7 Premier League in Dubai tomorrow.
The 7 Premier League (The 7PL) aims to be a “mini- recognized” premier league, but will focus on corporates, sources told Emirates 24|7.
The league, which starts in Dubai, will be rolled out to Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, the UK and Australia, making it seven countries in total.
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Awami League set to form govt with three-fourths majority
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League is set to form the next government after securing over three-fourth majority in the controversial polls marred by deadly clashes, a low turnout and a boycott by opposition parties.
According the unofficial results, the Awami League candidates won in 107 seats and its ally Jatiya Party so far bagged 16 as counting for votes in 147 out of 300 constituencies in 59 districts were still underway.
Having won 127 seats uncontested, the party has now more than 230 seats in the house, which gives it a clear three- fourth majority in the 10th parliament - much like it was in the 9th parliament.
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Nagpur to host Krishi Vasant 2014
Nagpur will play host to Krishi Vasant 2014, being organised by the Union Government and the Government of Maharashtra in partnership with CII between February 9 and 13.
The event, which will be inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee, will be the biggest ever congregation of farmers from the entire country, agro-industries, research organisations, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, State Governments, Financial Institutions and all other stakeholders.
It will have over 300 live demonstration plots of cereals, pulses, fodder, oilseeds, vegetables and fibre-crops, while best quality animals, poultry and fish will also be on display.
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Google makes presentation to EC for controversial tie-up
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 Lok Sabha elections, a move questioned by several quarters citing security concerns.
The Election Commission has said it has "not" signed any agreement with the US-based internet company so far on voter facilitation initiatives ahead of polls.
In its presentation before the EC on Tuesday, in which Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath, election commissioners HS Brahma and SNA Zaidi and other top officials were present, Google proposed providing its search engines free of cost to Indian voters during the 2014 general elections.
Google also proposed free online voter registration besides making available vital details of voter EPIC card numbers and polling station location.
Congress and BJP besides some cyberspace experts have voiced concers over the proposed tie-up of Election Commission with Google for voter facilitation services, saying stakeholders should have been consulted before a decision.
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Hockey World League trophy unveiled
It was an incident hard to miss.
While the organisers unveiled a glittering trophy for the Hockey World League Final — to be played at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here from January 10 — inside a five-star hotel on Wednesday, 500-odd children waved banners outside demanding the Bharat Ratna for the hockey legend.
The two events were unrelated but highlighted the contrast in Indian hockey – a glorious but long-forgotten past, a hopeful present and an uncertain future, all struggling for recognition.
The upcoming competition, Hockey India hoped, would help in get some recognition.
“We have worked hard for the event. This is a young team and we have also suffered a few injuries to key players.
It will be very tough but we are looking at finishing among the top-five, which will be a commendable result given the field,” said India captain Sardar Singh during the unveiling in the presence of captains from all participating teams.
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2022 World Cup won’t be in June or July: Valcke
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will not be played in the hot summer months of June and July, but most likely between November and January, Jerome Valcke, secretary general of the ruling football body FIFA, said Wednesday.
“The dates of the World Cup will not be from June to July. I think it will be between November 15 and January 15, at the latest,” Valcke told France Info radio.
Valcke said it was still to be determined whether the showcase event would take place during the 2021-22 or 2022-23 season but that the expected dates would not collide with the Winter Olympics in February 2022.
Qatar pledged air-conditioned stadiums to avoid the intense summer heat when it was awarded the World Cup. But the football community soon agreed it would be better to move the tournament to autumn/winter, with a final decision to be made by the FIFA executive committee in December 2014.
“If you play between 15 November and the end of December the weather is most favourable, where you play at a temperature which is equivalent of spring in Europe, at an average temperature of 25 degrees. So it’s perfect for football,” Valcke said.
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