GK Updates - 30 April | Banking Quiz

RBI may have a 5th deputy governor

i.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to have one more deputy governor in addition to the existing four. Since the existing laws will have to be amended for the appointment of an additional deputy governor, it has been proposed that an officer-on-special duty will be appointed with the rank of a deputy governor. “Candidates who are specialists in specific fields will be considered for the post,” RBI sources said.

ii.RBI is also proposing three more executive directors (EDs) as a part of its move for an overall restructuring of the top-level positions in order to strengthen coordination among various departments.

iii.At present, RBI has provision for four deputy governors. Two deputy governors are promoted from within the ranks of the central bank, while the third is an economist and the fourth a commercial banker. To be considered for the post of deputy governor, a candidate needs to be below 60 years. A deputy governor could be appointed for up to five years or till the age of 62, whichever is earlier.

Vodafone, Airtel, Idea get major relief from TDSAT

i.In a major relief to incumbent telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) on Tuesday overturned a ban imposed in 2011 on intra-circle roaming (ICR) pacts among operators, which allows them to offer 3G services even in circles where they do not have 2,100-MHz spectrum.

ii.The move is expected to give the much-needed push to the expansion of 3G services, which have been languishing due to an uncertainty among consumers on whether operators can offer seamless services across the country.

iii.TDSAT also quashed the cumulative penalty of Rs 1,200 crore imposed by the department of telecommunications (DoT) on the three incumbent operators, which together offer services to about 30 million of the country’s 40 million 3G subscribers. DoT officials said it would not be possible to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court, as it was the apex court that had earlier referred the case to TDSAT.

PM’s farewell speech today at Plan panel

i.In his last address on a formal forum, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to make a farewell “speech from the heart” on Wednesday at a meeting of the Planning Commission, recounting the achievements of the United Progressive Alliance government.

ii.The meeting has been planned as a low-key affair, highly placed sources told The Hindu

iii.“Normally, the PM’s reviews and meetings at Yojana Bhawan tend to last at least for two hours. But, as Dr. Singh has other engagements, the farewell meeting of the UPA government’s Planning Commission has been planned for an hour only,” the sources said.

U.K. bid to end row over EU ban on mango import from India

i.The decision of the European Union to ban mango import from India, especially the Alphonso, an exotic and highly sought-after summer visitor from India, and four other varieties of vegetables, is only temporary, says the United Kingdom’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The ban, to be imposed from May 1, has been strongly opposed by retailers and the import lobby.

ii.A Defra spokesperson said mangoes constituted only a small percentage in value of the total commodity import basket.

Fiscal deficit control makes higher growth challenging: Crisil

i.The government’s efforts to narrow fiscal deficit since last two years by expenditure cuts has resulted in lower productive spending, and the new government would find it challenging to give it a boost, says a report by Crisil.

ii.A reduced fiscal deficit-to-GDP ratio in FY14, for the second year in a row, has come at the cost of lower productive spending. In his interim budget, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had said that the FY14 fiscal deficit would be at 4.6 per cent, below the red line of 4.8 per cent he had set in the beginning of the year.

iii.In FY13, fiscal deficit was contained at 5.2 per cent as against 5.3 per cent.

Wal-Mart spent $334 mn in severing ties with Bharti

i.US retail giant Wal-Mart, whichended 6-year-old joint venture with Bharti Enterprises last year, spent $ 334 million to break ties with the Indian firm.

ii.The Bentonville-based firm said it "paid and forgave" debt of approximately $ 234 million in connection with the agreements related to the Bharti retail business. Another $ 100 million was spent in buying out the Indian partner's stake from the erstwhile 50:50 cash-and-carry joint venture -- Bharti Walmart Pvt Ltd.

iii."During fiscal 2014, the company acquired, for $ 100 million, the remaining ownership interest in Bharti Walmart Pvt Ltd," the company said in its annual report.

S Korea ferry disaster: death toll hits 212

i.Two weeks after a ferry sank off South Korea's southern cost, divers have recovered 212 bodies from the wreckage, but they fought strong currents and floating debris inside the ship Wednesday as they searched for 90 passengers still missing.

ii.Meanwhile, family members of high students killed in the sinking dismissed as insincere President Park Geun-hye's apology for the government's handling of the disaster. They called for the quick retrieval of the missing. The ship carried 476 people, mostly from a single high school. Only 174 people survived, including 22 of the 29 crew members.

High Court puts Sun Pharma and Ranbaxy merger on hold

i.In a setback to Sun Pharma-Ranbaxy merger process, the Andhra Pradesh High Court has issued orders to BSE and NSE to maintain interim status quo on the matter.

ii.Based on a writ petition filed by some individual investors, the High Court, while ordering the status quo on Friday, issued notices to Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), BSE, NSE, Sun Pharma, Ranbaxy, Daichii Sankyo and Silver Street Developers. “There shall be interim status quo, as prayed for,” Justice P. Naveen Rao said in his order.

iii.The petitioners alleged that there was heavy trading of Ranbaxy stock before the merger with Sun Pharma was announced on April 6, and requested the court to direct the SEBI to investigate the insider trading of Ranbaxy shares and take appropriate action against Sun Pharma and Silver Street.

India displaces Japan to become third-largest world economy in terms of PPP: World Bank

i.India has displaced Japan to become the world's third-biggest economy in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), according to a World Bank report released early on Wednesday. The 2011 round of the bank's International Comparison Program (ICP) ranked India after the US and China.

ii.The survey covered 199 economies. "The United States remained the world's largest economy, but it was closely followed by China when measured using PPPs. India was now the world's thirdlargest economy, moving ahead of Japan," the report said. Despite high inflation in India in recent years, prices in the country are still well below those in advanced economies, explaining the higher raking for India on the PPP measure. But according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India's economy is 12th largest and only about a third of Japan's in terms of absolute unadjusted dollars.

'India became 3rd-largest economy in 2011 in PPP terms'

In a matter of six years, India emerged as the world's third-largest economy in 2011 from being the 10th largest in 2005, moving ahead of Japan, while the US remained the largest economy closely followed by China, latest figures have revealed.

Dilip Shanghvi among Asia's richest self-made billionaires

i.Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries' Dilip Shanghvi has been named in the list of Asia's top ten wealthiest self-made billionaires, topped by Hong Kong business tycoon Li Ka-Shing, according to Wealth-X.

ii.Shanghvi, ranked seventh, is the only Indian on the list with a net worth of $13.5 billion, while Li Ka-Shing topped the chart with a fortune of $29.4 billion, ultra high net worth (UHNW) intelligence and prospecting firm Wealth-X said.

iii.Shanghvi founded Sun Pharmaceuticals in 1983 with five psychiatry products and a marketing team of just two persons.

iv.Over the years, the company grew manifold and made many acquisitions, the latest being the $4 billion Ranbaxy deal .

European Union announces new support worth $505 million for Ukraine

i.To facilitate the stablisation and development of Ukraine, the European Commission has adopted a special support package worth 365 million euros ($505 million).

ii.The special measures for Ukraine are part of the support package announced by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on March 5.

iii."The EU is not only closely watching events in Ukraine and expressing its readiness to support it, but is also delivering in deeds," Xinhua quoted Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule as saying in a statement. "With today's assistance package we are encouraging and supporting the Ukrainian authorities to continue with reforms and in the process of inclusive national development," Fule added.

Sharath Gayakwad won 2 Bronze, 1 silver at IDM Berlin 2014

i.Paralympic swimmer Sharath Gayakwad won two Bronze and one Silver at the IDM Berlin 2014.
ii.He won Bronze Medals in the 200m Individual Medley (2:44.06 seconds) and the 100m Butterfly (1:09.67 seconds) and won the Silver Medal in the 100m Breaststroke.
iii.Niels Korfitz Mortensen of Denmark won the Gold Medal and Oliver Hynd of Britain won the Silver Medal respectively in the 100m Butterfly, S8 category.