IBM to cut 15,000 jobs globally, layoffs start from Bangalore
1.Technology giant IBM has started a restructuring process, which would see as many as 15,000 jobs being cut globally, including India, Brazil and the European region.
2.“The estimate of jobs cut globally is 15,000,” International Coordinator at Alliance@IBM (official IBM employees union) Lee Conrad told PTI.
3.Last month, the US-based firm had said its top executives will forego their bonuses and the company will initiate a one billion dollar restructuring programme, in Q1 2014, as it grapples with declining sales of servers and storage systems.
4.Though the exact number of job cuts in each of the geographies is not clear, the impact could be huge in India as IBM has over one lakh employees in the country. Globally, IBM employs over 4 lakh people.
5.“(There are) no numbers yet on India job cuts. We do not have a clear number of employees by location because IBM does not disclose that data,” Mr. Conrad said adding that the IBM Global Union Alliance will be meeting soon to discuss its response.
Kejriwal hints at resignation
1.Kejriwal hints at resignation Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday gave enough indications that his government may quit after the BJP and Congress combined to defeat introduction of the Jan Lokpal Bill which he tabled in the Assembly defying Lt Governor’s advice.
2.“This appears to be our last session. I will consider myself fortunate if I have to sacrifice the chief minister’s post 1,000 times and my life to eradicate corruption,” he said in a brief speech in the Assembly after his government suffered defeat on its pet anti-graft legislation.
3.On a day of dramatic developments in the Assembly lasting over four hours, the 45-year-old Chief Minister, who has had a roller coaster ride ever since he took over reins of power on December 28, last year, accused the Congress and BJP of “colluding” with each other against the Bill after his government ordered filing an FIR against RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani.
4.Uproarious scenes were earlier witnessed in the House on the issue of introduction of the Bill with BJP and Congress forcing the Speaker to read out the Lt Governor Najeeb Jung’s advice to the Assembly against tabling the measure since it was not in accordance with procedures laid down under the law.
5.After an adjournment with opposition notably BJP leader Harshavardhan and Congress leader Arvinder Singh Lovely demanding voting on the Lt Governor’s advice and government opposing it, Kejriwal dramatically rose to table the Jan Lokpal Bill.
Odisha Lokayukta Bill passed in Assembly
1.Meeting the three-month deadline set by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the State Assembly on Friday passed the Odisha Lokayukta Bill, 2014, with provision of keeping Chief Minister, ex-Chief Ministers, other ministers and public servants under the purview of a six-member anti-corruption panel.
2.The Bill, introduced in the Assembly on February 12, was unanimously passed after a two-day discussion. The Bill has provisions similar to that of the Central Act which was passed in Parliament in December, 2013.
3.“With the passage of the Bill, Odisha became the first State to enact the law after the Central Act was passed in Parliament,” said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kalpataru Das, who piloted the Bill on behalf of Chief Minister.
4.Mr.Patnaik had earlier announced that the State government will ensure passage of the Bill within 90 days of the Central Act. With passage of the Bill, Odisha Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 1995 stood repealed.
5.Speaker Pradip Kumar Amat had on Thursday extended the ongoing session of the Assembly by one day for passing of the Bill. Of the total 60 clauses, only five amendments were accepted by the government before it was passed. “I am not sure whether this Bill can completely eradicate corruption from the State. But, it will certainly help to curb corrupt practices to a large extent,” the Minister said.
Bharatiya Mahila Bank signs pact with CA institute
1.The all women’s government-owned Bharatiya Mahila Bank signed an MoU with Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) for financing students pursuing Chartered Accountancy.
2.The bank will offer concession on interest rate on loans to practising Chartered Accountants for setting up offices, the bank said in a statement.
3.It further plans to offer a 1 per cent concession in the rate of interest to girl students pursuing CA. “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,” the bank said.
4.The Delhi headquartered bank was started in November last year.
Airtel launches 4G on iPhone at Rs. 1,000 for 10 GB plan
1.Bharti Airtel along with Apple today launched India’s first 4G on mobile.
2.Now Airtel customers in Bangalore on Apple iPhone 5s or 5c will be able to experience 4G on their mobile at the current 3G prices. Customers have to just change their existing SIM to a 4G SIM to start enjoying 4G on mobile without any need to migrate from their existing data plan.
3.4G technology allows download of 10 movies in less than 30 minutes, uploading full holiday albums in less than 5 minutes by uploading two high quality photos per second and connect multiple devices without any experience constraint.
4.3G customers in Bangalore on iPhone 5s or 5c can start enjoying 4G speed at same price points as their existing 3G plan/pack. Customers on 2G/GPRS data plans/packs can also opt for any of the 3G plans/packs available and enjoy 4G speeds.
4G plan for heavy data users
1.In addition to these plans, for heavy data users, Airtel also announced the launch of a new 4G plan giving customers 10 GB 4G data for Rs. 1,000. While data browsing will be on 4G network, voice calls will be routed on 2G/3G seamlessly with the CSFB (circuit switched fall back) technology.
2.Announcing the launch, Srini Gopalan, Director – Consumer Business, Bharti Airtel India, said, “Airtel has always set the technology trends in India and was the first operator to introduce 4G to the country. The information technology capital of India saw the advent of 4G in 2012 and today we are proud to announce the launch of the much awaited Airtel 4G services on mobile in partnership with Apple. We will together give customers in Bangalore the power to upgrade to cutting edge 4G LTE technology at no additional cost.’’
Ishant puts India on top with career-best six for 51
1.Ishant Sharma exploited the seaming conditions to return with a career—best six for 51 as India took early control of the second and final cricket Test by skittling out New Zealand for a paltry 192 in the first innings, in Wellington on Friday.
2.Sharma (6/51) justified captain MS Dhoni’s decision to bowl first on a greentop as the lanky pacer kept the host batsmen on their toes with his testing line and length.
3.Rising pacer Mohammad Shami (4/70) also contributed in India’s dominating performance show on day one as he picked up key wickets of Kane Williamson (47) and debutant James Neesham (33) at crucial junctures.
4.Opener Shikhar Dhawan then hit an attacking unbeaten half—century as India reached 100 for two at close, still trailing by 92 runs at the Basin Reserve.
5.Dhawan (71) and Sharma (3) were at the crease after the visitors lost the wickets of opener Murali Vijay (2) and Cheteshwar Pujara (19).
6.Sharma continued with his splendid show from the first Test as he claimed his second five—wicket haul of the series and fifth overall in his 55th Test.
28,000 get probationary officer jobs in banks
1.In what comes as a great relief for those eyeing bank jobs, 28,118 candidates were allotted jobs in 21 participating banks by the Institute for Banking Personal Selection (IBPS).
2.In the list hosted by the IBPS, which conducted the Common Written Examination for Probationary Officers and Management Trainees (PO/MT-II), 13,442 unreserved posts, 4,415 vacancies for scheduled castes, 2,135 for scheduled tribes, and 7,608 for other backward communities, among others, were allotted to various banks according to their requirements.
3.For most of the aspirants this is good news because the validity of their scores would have expired next month. If they had not been allotted the jobs, they would have had to write the exam again.
4.With the announcement of a consolidated list, the PO–II allotment is deemed to have been completed.
5.Among the most competitive exams held in the country, this time about 7.50 lakh candidates appeared for the written test. Of these, 61,339 candidates qualified for the interview and 45,000 were declared successful/eligible for jobs in line with the vacancies. And, of these, 28,118 candidates were allotment jobs.
6.The IBPS has already conducted PO–III written examination and completed interviews. The resultes are expected to be announced soon.
AP polls: AAP to announce 1st batch of candidates in a week
1.The Aam Admi Party (AAP) will announce the first batch of its candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh in a week.
2.“We have received 200 applications so far seeking tickets for Lok Sabha polls. We are in the process of scrutinising them,’’ B Ramakrishna Raju, who has been picked by AAP national leadership to lead the party in Andhra Pradesh, said.
3.Addressing a press conference here on Friday, he said the party would call for applications from people to select candidates for the Assembly polls.
4.On the contentious issue of Telangana, he said his party always favoured smaller states. “But the issues of other regions must be addressed before going for bifurcation,’’ he said.
AP launches portal to offer G2B service
1.After successfully implementing the Government-to-Citizen (G2C) services under Mee Seva brand, the Andhra Pradesh Government has launched a portal to provide Government-to-Business (G2B) services.
2.The beta version of eBiz portal, launched here on Friday, promises single-window services to businesses and industries that seek licences and permissions from the State Government.
3.To begin with, as many as 13 services will be offered through the portal, Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary PK Mohanty said.
Fiat India sets up Valentine’s Day check-up camp
1.Fiat Group Automobiles India has set up its Valentine’s Day check-up camp at its exclusive dealerships from February 14-15. The move is in continuation with the company’s strategy to reach out to a wide base of Fiat customers located across India.
2.Speaking about the initiative, Nagesh Basavanhalli, Managing Director, Fiat Chrysler India operations, said that the camps are an effective way to connect with the existing customer base, with customers gaining attractive discounts on their vehicle repair jobs.
3.The two-day check-up camp has been set up at all the 94 Fiat workshops across the country, with the company providing an extensive 80 point check-up with free top wash and 14 per cent discount on labour charges.
Sebi clears new corporate governance norms, mutual fund policy
1.To exhort listed companies and their top executives to follow 'good business practices', regulator Sebi today cleared new corporate governance norms that require them to justify CEO salaries, put in place whistle-blower policies and have orderly succession plans.
2.The new norms were cleared by the Sebi board here today and the relevant provisions would be incorporated in the listing agreement soon, Sebi chairman U K Sinha said.
3.Speaking to the reporters after meeting of the board, which also cleared a long-term policy for mutual funds, Sinha also said that any decision on the lapsed ordinance that granted greater powers to Sebi needs to be taken by the government.
Inflation eases to 8-month low of 5.05%; vegetables cheaper
1.Providing relief to the common man, inflation in January eased to an eight-month low of 5.05 percent, helped by a moderation in food prices.
2.The second straight month of deceleration in inflation as measured by the wholesale price index also gives a breather to the Reserve Bank, which has been trying to tame rising prices.
3.WPI inflation was at 6.16 percent in December compared with 7.52 percent in November.
4.January's inflation rate is the slowest since May 2013, when wholesale prices increased 4.58 percent.
5.Inflation in food articles in January came down to 8.8 percent as against 13.68 percent in the preceding month, according to data released Friday.
Dial 1093 against racism: Delhi Police helpline for people from north east
1.Having faced flak from multiple quarters over their poor handling of the latest crimes against northeastern people in Delhi, the Delhi police are now starting a new helpline number '1093' exclusively for northeast populace. The new helpline number will allow northeastern people to register all sorts of complaints, including that of racism and harassment, directly to the police.
2.Thedecision to start the new helpline number for northeastern people has been taken by the Delhi Police Commissioner Bhim Sain Bassi in the wake of the mysterious death of Arunachal Pradesh MLA's son Nido Tania and other recent crimes in which northeastern people living in Delhi were victimized. The p
rime objective behind the step is to curb the rising cases of racism and crime against people of northeast residing in different parts of Delhi.
3.TN Mohan, special commissioner of police (operations), said the new helpline number is expected to be functional from Friday afternoon. According to Mohan, initially the helpline number will have 5 direct lines and all calls will be received at the central police control room (CPCR) situated at Delhi Police headquarters.
4."The decision has been taken to ensure better protection for the northeastern populace living in the city. Apart from '100' number, they can call us directly on '1093' to register their complaints. We will take swift actions on the calls received on the helpline number and requisite help will be provided to the complainants," said Mohan adding the helpline number will be handled and monitored by the CPCR department.
Posts
Comment Policy : We invite you to comment on our posts, as long as they are respectful, to the point and approving. We do not perform pre-moderation of comments. However, in order to keep this site clean and useful, we reserve the right to remove any comment that is not in accordance with our Comment Policy.