Railway Budget 2014: No fare hike, 17 new premium trains
1.Diverting from the interim railway budget presented by Lalu Prasad in 2009, Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge today presented what could be termed as the shortest vote-on-account. While he refrained from making any announcements, he did spell out the achievements of the Railways during the five year stint.
2.The Minister started off with a Ghalib quote which meant that he will seek to present a truthful picture. Mallikarjun Kharge is the second Railway Minister from Congress Party in the 10-year UPA regime to be presenting a Railway Budget, although interim. Earlier, under UPA-I regime Lalu Prasad from RJD had presented vote-on-account (interim budget) in 2009.
India ranks 140 in World Press Freedom Index
1.India has been ranked 140th in the list of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index 2014, whereas China and Pakistan were placed at 175th and 158th position respectively.
2.“India experienced an unprecedented wave of violence against journalists, with eight killed in 2013. They are targeted by both state and non-state actors,” Reporters Without Border said in its latest annual report yesterday.
3.“Almost no region is spared but Kashmir and Chhattisgarh continue to be the only two where violence and censorship are endemic,” it said.
4.“Those responsible for threats and physical violence against journalists, who are often abandoned by the judicial system and forced to censor themselves, include police and security forces as well as criminal groups, demonstrators and political party supporters,” said the report.
5.Finland has been ranked first in the list followed by the Netherlands and Norway.
6.The ranking of the US has dropped to 46th position from last year’s 32nd, while China has been ranked at the 175th position and Pakistan at 158th.
Mad rush at bank branches
1.The Internet and technology-related banking operations seems not to have made much of a change, considering that customers both – young and old were seen queueing up at counters. It was a mad-mad rush at most branches of public sector and old generation private banks.
2.This was visible particularly after banking operations took a hit the last two days due to bank strike.
3.Staff at the service counter of a nationalised bank said that the rush was there since morning and the queues growing longer with passage of time.
4.The counter staff, who sometimes indulge in friendly chat with customers of the said branch, had to be content with a mere cursory nod, lest the waiting persons at the counter become restless.
5.What more... the customer relations manager, who normally waits for customers to come to his desk to seek guidance, was busy at the entrance of the branch guiding every customer who walked in.
6.Bank officials told this correspondent that customers dropped in to remit money, for taking a demand draft, for updation of pass book, for remittance in the PPF account, to seek clarification on their loan account, for renewing the fixed deposit, to remit money in Government treasury and so on.
TN Budget to be presented tomorrow
1.The ruling AIADMK will present its fourth budget tomorrow, with Finance Minister O Panneerselvam scheduled to spell out the government’s initiatives for the year 2014-15.
2.Being the election year, the government is expected to spare the common man of new taxes, even as it had already expressed hope of a good growth rate despite global economic slowdown and failure of monsoon.
3.In fact, the government had presented a tax-free budget last year.
4.Incidentally, this will be the fourth budget to be presented by Panneerselvam after Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa led her party to a resounding win in the 2011 Assembly elections.
Yahoo India appoints Gurmit Singh as MD
1.Yahoo India has appointed Gurmit Singh as Managing Director, overseeing the Internet major’s business in the country. He will report to Yvonne Chang, Vice-President & Head of India and South-East Asia at Yahoo.
2.Most recently, Singh was the Chief Executive Officer of Forbes India at Network 18.
3.“An Internet industry pioneer, Yahoo is now at a very exciting point in its journey. It truly reflects the energy and spirit of the world’s largest start-up. Working together with an extraordinary team in India and colleagues across the world, I am looking forward to unlocking the full potential of Yahoo products and services in India,” Singh, who starts his assignment with Yahoo today, said.
4.During his career Gurmit has held leadership roles across consumer products, music & entertainment and media, working for companies such as Sony Music, Hindustan Times, India Today Group, Rajshri Media, Marico Industries and most recently at Network 18.
Nokia chief meets Commerce Minister to discuss India plans
1.Finnish telecom company Nokia's Chairman and Interim CEO, Risto Siilasmaa, met Commerce & Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Wednesday to discuss the company’s future plans in India following the sale of its handset business to Microsoft late last year.
2.The two also discussed the pending Rs. 21,000 crore tax dispute between the company and the Income Tax Department, a Commerce Ministry official said.
3.Nokia, together with Microsoft, which will be handed over the handset operations later this year, plans to strengthen its retail and distribution channels in the country.
4.The Finnish company is also working on a Windows 8 powered tablet, but has not yet announced when it plans to launch it in the Indian market.
5.The Income Tax Department had slapped a notice on Nokia's Indian subsidiary for violating withholding tax norms since 2006 while making royalty payments to the parent company in Finland.
6.There was tension between Nokia and the Indian Government late last year when the Chennai plant of the company was frozen as the IT department feared that the company would wrap up its operations in the country without paying the tax dues.
ACB files FIR in Reliance issue; names Moily, Ambani, Deora
1.Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily, RIL Chief Mukesh Ambani, former Union Minister Murli Deora and retired Director General of Hydrocarbons V.K. Sibal were on Wednesday named in an FIR by Anti-Corruption Branch of Delhi Government in the Reliance gas issue.
2.The FIR by the ACB was registered a day after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the agency has been told to probe their alleged collusion over hike in prices of natural gas from KG basin.
3.Names of Mr. Moily, Mr. Ambani, Mr. Deora and Mr. Sibal figured in the FIR, sources told PTI.
4.Mr. Kejriwal on Wednesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting him to keep in abeyance decision to hike gas price from April 1 till the probe in the case is completed.
5.The Delhi Chief Minister on Tuesday said ACB was directed to probe the case based on a “common complaint” filed by former Cabinet Secretary T.S.R. Subrmanian, former Navy Chief Admiral R.H. Tahiliani, eminent lawyer Kamini Jaiswal and former Union Secretary E.A.S. Sarma.
ATMs to give cash without bank account too
1.People without a bank account in India would soon be able to withdraw cash from an automated teller machine (ATM) with the use of mobile technology, Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan announced on Wednesday.
2.At present, only bank account holders can withdraw cash from an ATM.
3."We have recently approved the in-principle setting up of a payment system which will facilitate the funds transfer from bank account holders to those without accounts through ATMs," Rajan said while speaking at the NASSCOM India Leadership Forum on financial inclusion and technology.
4."Essentially, the sender can have the money withdrawn from his account through an ATM transaction. The intermediary processes the payment, and sends a code to the recipient on his mobile that allows him to withdraw the money from any nearby bank's ATM. The system will take care of necessary safeguards of customer identification, transaction validation, velocity checks etc.," Rajan said.
5."We need more such innovative products," he added.
6.The RBI governor said cashing out is important for remittances, because the country has a large recipient population, most of whom do not have access to formal banking services.
South Africa issues Nelson Mandela souvenir stamp
1.SOUTH Africa issued a black-and-white commemorative stamp on Tuesday to celebrate the life and legacy of anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela who died at the age of 95 last year.
2.The souvenir stamp, which captures a greying and smiling Mandela, was launched on the 24th anniversary of his release from nearly three decades in apartheid prisons.
3.The portrait of the father of South African democracy was taken a few years before his death on Dec 5 and the stamp commemorates his “life and legacy”, according to the South African Post Office.
4.“It’s just a picture of Mr Mandela and it shows him in advanced years ... but it shows him as a wise person, which he was,” said Johan van Wyk, a manager with the post office.
5.Five million stamps have been produced by a printing company in the Netherlands.
6.They can be ordered online or bought over the counter from all post offices in South Africa for 50 rand (about RM15) each of the purchase price, two rand (RM6.60) will be donated to his foundation, the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory.
Vinod Sawhny is new CEO of Reliance Communications
Reliance Communications (RCom) has appointed Vinod Sawhny as its CEO, making him responsible for the Anil Ambani-led company’s entire operations spread across wireless, enterprise and Reliance Globalcom.
Previous role
Prior to this, Sawhny was the executive director and CEO of the enterprise business Airtel Mobility and the COO of Bharti Retail. Reliance Globalcom is the holding arm of RCom’s foreign operations, including the submarine business. Bharti Retail is the multi-brand retail venture of Bharti Enterprises.
Gurdeep Singh, CEO (Wireless), has been given responsibilities of CEO, Consumer Business. The business comprises wireless, DTH and consumer broadband, representing more than 70 per cent of RCom’s revenue and operating profit. Punit Garg will continue as CEO of its Indian enterprise and data centre businesses. Gurdeep Singh, Punit Garg and Bill Barney (CEO of Reliance Globalcom, comprising Flag Telecom, Vanco and Yipes) will report to Sawhny.
Management board
An RCom management board, comprising senior management of the company, has been set up. The members are Vinod Sawhny, Gurdeep Singh, Punit Garg, Bill Barney, Suresh Rangachar (President IT and Services), Manikantan Iyer (CFO) and Amit Das (President, HR).
Irani Cup: Gopal, Vinay bowl Karnataka to innings win
1.Karnataka defeated Rest of India by an innings and 222 runs to win the Irani Cup at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Wednesday.
2.Shreyas Gopal performed a hat-trick, dismissing the last three Rest of India batsmen, while skipper R. Vinay Kumar returned a match haul of 10 wickets, as Karnataka registered its fifth Irani Cup triumph.
3.Stuart Binny and the wicket-keeper C. M. Gautam also played key roles in the win, scoring hundreds in the first innings.
IANS adds:
1.Earlier, resuming the day at 114 for three, Rest of India offered tepid resistance against rookie leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal, who picked up four wickets, including a hat-trick for a match haul of 5 for 35. Karnataka skipper and seamer Vinay Kumar came away with 4 for 70 that gave him match figures of 10 for 117.
2.Barring Baba Aparajith, who made 66 off 162 balls, hitting eight fours, the other Rest of India batsmen fell in a heap as Gopal and Vinay Kumar sliced through the line-up.
3.Vinay Kumar started the rout when he dismissed Dinesh Karthik (27) and Mandeep Singh (2) in the space of three deliveries as Rest of India slipped to 142 for five. The exit of Amit Mishra who was run out by Gopal’s direct hit while attempting a non-existent single, all but signalled the end of Rest of India’s challenge.
Yuvraj, Dinesh Karthik big draws at IPL-VII auction
1.All-rounder Yuvraj Singh drew the biggest bid after the first four rounds of the Indian Premier League players’ auction with Royal Challengers Bangalore clinching his services for a whopping Rs. 14 crore in Bangalore on Wednesday.
2.Tamil Nadu wicket-keeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik emerged as a surprise big draw going for Rs. 12.5 crore to Delhi Daredevils, who had decided not to retain a single player before the auctions.
3.Batsman Kevin Pietersen, whose England career came to an abrupt end after a disastrous Ashes campaign, fetched a huge Rs. 9 crore purse, bought by Delhi Daredevils, the franchise he played for last season.
4.Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson (Rs. 6.5 crore, Kings XI Punjab), Indian opener Murali Vijay (Rs. 5 crore, Delhi Daredevils), South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis (Rs. 5.5 crore, Kolkata Knight Riders), Robin Uthappa (Rs. 5 crore, KKR), West Indian batsman Dwayne Smith (Rs. 4.5 crore, Chennai Super Kings), Amit Mishra (Rs. 4.25 crore, Sunrisers Hyderabad) and Aaron Finch (Rs. 4 crore, SRH) were some of the players who triggered intense bidding wars in first three rounds of the auction.
5.As many as 514 players are going under the hammer over two days, 318 of whom are Indians, including uncapped players, who are being auctioned for the first time.
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