GK Updates - 29 April | Banking Quiz

Nokia names India-born Rajeev Suri as new CEO

i.Nokia appointed India-born Rajeev Suri as its President and CEO.

ii.Earlier, the 46-year old was leading Nokia Solutions and Networks, the smaller network equipment unit of Nokia before the company sold its handset business to software giant Microsoft in a $7.2 billion deal.

iii.He replaces Stephen Elop, who has returned to Microsoft as the executive vice president of its devices group.

Infosys Executive Chairman NR Narayana Murthy presented 'Global Indian Award' in Canada

i.Infosys Executive Chairman N R Narayana Murthy was today presented with the 2014 "Canada India Foundation Chanchalani Global Indian Award" here for his remarkable vision and leadership in the IT sector.

ii.The award, which carries a trophy and a cash prize worth USD 50,000, was presented to Murthy by Canadian Finance Minister Joe Oliver at the Canada India Foundation (CIF) annual award gala dinner.

EU Imposes Ban On Indian Mangoes, Sparks Protests

i.The decision was made on the basis of a report prepared by the grouping’s Standing Committee on Plant Health. In its report, the Committee said that 207 consignments of fruits and vegetables from India imported into the EU in 2013 were found to be contaminated by pests, like fruit flies and other quarantine pests. Meanwhile, the European Commission (EC) also backed the EU’s move, saying that EU countries should not import mangoes, eggplant, the taro plant, bitter gourd and snake gourd from India temporarily.

ii. The EU’s decision has triggered protests from the Indian community, lawmakers and traders. Even, the UK – one of the EU member states – is against the move. London imports around 16 million mangoes (worth nearly GBP 6 million) from the South Asian country every year. Indian-origin British MP Keith Vaz has written a letter to the EC president, asking him to reconsider the decision.

Australian company says it may have found MH370 wreckage

i.An Australian marine exploration company has claimed that it has found the wreckage of the crashed Malaysian plane in the Bay of Bengal, 5,000 km away from the current search location in the Indian Ocean.

ii.Adelaide-based GeoResonance on Tuesday said it had begun its own search for the missing flight MH370 on March 10 and that it has detected possible wreckage in the Bay of Bengal, 5000 km away from the current search location, the Star newspaper reported.

Asia shares fall on worries over Ukraine crisis

i.Shares fell on Monday in Asia as investors remained wary of mounting violence in Ukraine, while awaiting a raft of financial indicators due later in the week.

ii.Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index fell 1.2 percent to 14,257.37, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was 0.4 percent lower at 22,142.16.

ii.Shares in New Zealand, Taiwan, China, India and Singapore also fell, though South Korea’s Kospi added 0.2 percent to 1,975.68 and Australia’s S&P ASX 200 gained 0.1 percent to 5,534.30.

India to log in 5.5 per cent growth in FY’15: D&B

i.India is likely to clock a GDP growth of 5.5 per cent during the current financial year, provided there is normal monsoon and stable government at the centre, says a Dun & Bradstreet report.

ii.“Assuming a normal monsoon and a stable Government at the Centre, D&B expects GDP to record an average growth of 5.5 per cent during FY15 as against estimated 4.7 per cent growth in FY14,” D&B India senior economist Arun Singh said.

iii.However, if risk to agriculture output from the possible El Nino phenomena materialises, the forecast to the GDP would have to be revised downwards, he added.

New Foreign Trade Policy to focus on ways to boost exports

i.The new Foreign Trade Policy will focus on ways to boost India’s exports and reduce dependence on imports, a government official said on Monday.

ii.“India — being part of WTO — cannot only think in terms its export promotion without equally supporting import substitution.

iii.“Therefore, the focus of the new policy would be to vigorously promote both exports and imports with significantly substantial focus on exports,” industry body PHDCCI said, quoting Additional Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Sumeet Jerath.

SEBI’s consent settlements dip with tightening of norms

i.The number of cases being settled in the capital market through consent settlement mechanism seem to have come down significantly, with regulator SEBI agreeing to settle only 36 such cases last fiscal.

ii.The Securities and Exchange Board of India collected about Rs. 4.15 crore as charges and fees through the consent settlement in 36 cases during the 2013-14 fiscal.

iii.This marks a significant decline from Rs. 12.62 crore collected by the capital markets watchdog through consent settlement in as many as 52 cases during the preceding financial year 2012-13, shows an analysis of such cases.

iv.The decline in settlement cases comes amid stricter norms imposed by SEBI, which has expanded the list of violations that can’t be settled through this mechanism.

IPL scam: Supreme Court reserves order on constituting panel to probe Srinivasan

i.The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its order on constituting a probe panel to investigate allegations against N. Srinivasan and 12 cricketers in the IPL betting and spot-fixing scandal.

ii.A bench headed by Justice A.K. Patnaik, which had suggested that the probe be conducted by the Justice Mudgal Committee, reserved the order after BCCI and Mr. Srinivasan opposed further investigation by the committee and pleaded for setting up a fresh panel.

Poonam Rani, Chanchan Devi complete 100 international caps

i.Members of the Indian women’s hockey team, Poonam Rani and Chanchan Devi have achieved the rare feat of featuring in 100 international games for the country.

ii.The two forwards now have to their credit 100 international caps. While Poonam completed her 100 international match during the Indian eves European Tour against Ireland last week, Chanchan achieved the feat during India’s opening match of the Champions Challenge 1 in Scotland against Korea on Sunday.

EU should be 'ashamed' of itself, Russia says after new sanctions over Ukraine

i.Russia on Tuesday criticized new European Union sanctions imposed on Russian officials over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis, saying the EU was under following Washington's lead and should be ashamed of itself.

ii.Instead of forcing the Kiev clique to sit at the table with southeastern Ukraine to negotiate the future structure of the country, our partners are doing Washington's bidding with new unfriendly gestures aimed at Russia," the foreign ministry said.

United Nations, IOC sign historic accord on sport for peace

i.The United Nations (U.N.) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has signed a historic agreement to use the power of sports to promote peace and economic development, a move that strengthens collaboration between two of the world’s major organizations.

ii.IOC President Thomas Bach on Monday told a U.N. event celebrating the strengthened relationship that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was right when he said “Olympic principles are United Nations principles”.

Goldman Prize for environmental activist Ramesh Agrawal

i.Indian environment activist Ramesh Agrawal has been announced as the winner of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, and will accept the award at a lavish ceremony at the San Francisco Opera House.

ii.The award is given in recognition of grass-roots environmental movements organized by individuals around the world. Founded in 1990 by Richard N. Goldman and his wife, Rhoda H. Goldman, the recognition comes with a cash prize of $175,000, to be used however the recipient chooses, and winners also participate in a ten day-long media tour through San Francisco and Washington, DC.