GK Updates - 16 May | Banking Quiz

India has won! Good days ahead: Modi

I.“India has won! Good days are ahead,” BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi said on Friday in his first reaction to the poll trends that indicate an impending BJP victory in the Lok Sabha polls.

II.“India has won! Bharat ki Vijay. Ache din ane wale hai (good days are ahead),” Mr. Modi, who is all set to become prime minister, tweeted.Mr. Modi later met his mother to seek her blessings.In initial trends, BJP alone was leading in 275 seats -- its best ever tally in Lok Sabha polls, while the NDA is set to cross the 300-mark. The earlier best by BJP was 182 seats in the 1999 Lok Sabha polls when the party formed its government led by Atal Behari Vajpayee.

2014 Lok Sabha Elections Results: Sonia & Rahul Gandhi accept defeat; congratulate Modi-led NDA

I.Taking 'full responsibility' for Congress' poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls 2014, both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi congratulated the opposition for the win.

II."The new government has been given a mandate by the people. As Congress Vice President I hold myself responsible," Rahul Gandhi said. "The Congress party has done badly," Rahul added.

III.Congress President Sonia Gandhi said, "We did not get the support that we anticipated. We hope that the next government will ma ..

Ravi Dhariwal, CEO of BCCL, awarded with Silver Shovel Award of INMA

I.Ravi Dhariwal, the CEO of Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited (BCCL) on 13 May 2014 was awarded with the Silver Shovel Award. The Silver Shovel Award is the International News Media Association's (INMA) highest honour given for volunteer service and lifetime achievement in the media industry.

II.The Award was given at the 84th Annual INMA World Congress at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, USA. The award was given by Michael Phelps, former CEO of the Washington Examiner and the 2013 Silver Shovel Award recipient.

Sundaram BNP Paribas received ISAE recognition

I.Sundaram BNP Paribas Fund Services in third week of May 2014 was awarded with International Standards for Assurance Engagements (ISAE) Type II certification for maintaining high quality operating model and having effective control systems.

II.With this Sundaram BNP Paribas became the only RTA (Registrar and Transfer Agent) of the country to be awarded with the ISAE Type II certification.

MTS announced to provide free Wi-Fi in Gurgaon Rapid Metro Rail

I.MTS announced on 14 May 2014 that it will provide free Wi-Fi in Gurgaon Rapid Metro Rail for six months. The service will be experienced by 30000 daily commuters.

II.Apart from the Rapid Metro trains, MTS will also provide free Wi-Fi access on four stations including Sikanderpur, IndusInd Bank Cyber City, Phase 2 and Micromax Moulsari Avenue.

III.Sistema Shyam Teleservices, which operates under MTS brand name, has partnered with Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon Ltd. for providing this service.

A.B. Pandya appointed as the Chairman of Central Water Commission

Ashwin B. Pandya on 15 May 2014 was appointed as the Chairman of the Central Water Commission & ex-officio Secretary of the Government of India. He was holding the additional charge of the post since November 2013.

About Ashwin B. Pandya

• Pandya joined the Central Water Engineering Service in CWC in October, 1977 as Assistant Director

• In his professional career of 36 year, Pandya has heed held various positions in the Department and organisations under the Ministry of Water Resources like WAPCOS, NWDA and NPCC

Union Government extended Ban on LTTE for five years

I.The Union Home Ministry on 14 May 2014 extended the ban imposed on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in India for five years. The five year ban extension came into effect from the day of notification.

II.Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been proscribed as an Unlawful Association under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention Act 1967). LTTE was decimated by Sri Lankan military in 2009.

III.India banned the terror outfit, LTTE after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India in 1991. Last time a ban was imposed on LTTE in May 2012.

Sajai Singh appointed as President of International Technology Law Association

I.The International Technology Law Association on 14 May 2014 appointed Sajai singh as the President. Sajai Singh is the first President from the Asia-Pacific region of the world.

II.Bangalore based Sajai Singh is a Partner in J. Sagar Associates, a leading national law firm. He heads the firm’s Technology, Media & Telecommunication Practice, and his focus is on representing emerging technology companies in a range of industries.

III.He has also assisted many international businesses and funds with investing in India. In addition to his practice of law, Singh conducts two professional skills development courses at the National Law School of India University.

India set to record highest ever foodgrain production

I.India is set to record highest ever foodgrain production. The government on Friday revised its estimate, saying the country would collectively produce 264.28 million tonnes (MT) of foodgrain as compared to 257.13 million tones last year.

II.Releasing its third estimates of crop production, the agriculture ministry said the country was expected to set the records for both rice and wheat.

III."Rice production is expected at record 106.29MT and wheat production is expected to reach 95.85MT, again a record," said the ministry.

Elections 2014: RBI prepares contingency plan ahead of poll results

I. While expectations of a new government coming to power has propelled a boom in the market resulting into a volatility, a day before the announcement of election results, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has prepared a contingency plan to save the market from any untoward development.

II.Addressing mediapersons in Shimla on Thursday, RBI Governor Raghuram G Rajan said that a contingency plan has been discussed with the ministry of finance and the market regulators to deal with volatile market situation especially after announcement of results. He said that RBI is also ready to deal with any volatility in the rupee.

April inflation eases to 5.2 per cent

I.Overall food inflation slowed to 8.64 per cent in April from 9.9 per cent in March.

II.Moderating onion prices eased wholesale inflation in April ahead of new government formation.

III.The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) in April rose at the rate of 5.2 per cent, according to official data released here on Thursday.

IV.The rate of WPI inflation in March was 5.7 per cent. Consumers are unlikely to be able to notice the price changes as the latest available official figures on retail inflation show the rate of price rise was at a three-month high of nearly 8.6 per cent in April against 8.3 per cent in March.

V.Onion prices fell nearly 18 per cent since March. Inflation in potato prices, however, rose from 27.8 per cent in March to 31.6 per cent in April. Inflation in milk and eggs and meat remained elevated at close to 10 per cent against 11.2 per cent in the previous month.

Mudgal committee to probe against N. Srinivasan, others: SC

I.Supreme Courty on Friday asked Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee to conduct probe against N Srinivasan, top cricketers in IPL betting and spot-fixing scandal.

II.The Apex Court asked the committee to submit its report in a sealed envelop by the end of August.

III.Supreme Court also says a group of investigators headed by senior IPS officer B B Mishra will assist the Mudgal Committee in the probe. The probe panel will have all the powers to probe, search and seize relevant documents and record evidence.

IV.The committee will have all the powers except the power to arrest.

V.The Supreme Court also said that Sunil Gavaskar and Shivlal Yadav will continue to do their job as interim BCCI presidents until further orders.

VI.Keywords: BCCI, IPL betting, Spot-fixing charges, Justice Mudgal Committee, Supreme Court, N. Srinivasan, Sunil Gavaskar.

Provisional AIBA approval for Boxing India

I.The decision was officially conveyed by AIBA president Ching-Kuo Wu in a letter to Indian Olympic Association president N. Ramachandran.

II.The International Boxing Association (AIBA) on Wednesday approved a new body, Boxing India, as the provisional National federation to represent the country.

III.According to an AIBA release, the new body would be provisional member of AIBA until ratification by the AIBA Congress, following recommendations by an evaluation committee.

IV.The decision was officially conveyed by AIBA president Ching-Kuo Wu in a letter to Indian Olympic Association president N. Ramachandran.

V.“The new vision and the initiatives proposed by this organisation to revive the sport of boxing in the country in a professional and ethical manner have convinced AIBA that there would be no better organization than Boxing India to represent our sport in India,” said Wu.

VI.AIBA had decided to exclude the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation citing serious violations of statutes and bylaws. It had decided to establish a new National federation “with the right group of people who would support the principles of AIBA”.

Grant Flower named as Pakistan batting coach

Grant Flower, the former Zimbabwe batsman on 15 May 2014 was named as the batting coach of Pakistan cricket team for two years. He will join the Pakistan side on 1 August 2014 just before the Sri Lanka series of the team.

Grant Flower name was finalised on the recommendation of the coaching committee comprised of
• Moin Khan - Chief Selector
• Intikhab Alam - director domestic cricket operations
• Haroon Rashid - director game development

Plastic currency notes to be launched in 2015: Raghuram Ranjan

I.Raghuram Rajan, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 15 May 2014 announced that plastic currency notes will be launched in 2015 after field trials. He said it after the Central Board of Directors of the RBI Meet in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.

II.Earlier in February 2013, Union Government had informed Parliament that it will introduce one billion plastic currency notes in five cities in later half of 2014 on a pilot basis. The five selected cities for pilot testing are Shimla, Kochi, Mysore, Jaipur, and Bhubaneswar.

Union Government extended Ban on LTTE for five years

I.The Union Home Ministry on 14 May 2014 extended the ban imposed on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in India for five more years. The five year ban extension came into effect from the day of notification. Earlier the ban was imposed on LTTE in May 2012.

II.India banned the terror outfit, LTTE after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India in 1991. It declared LTTE an unlawful association under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The terror outfit LTTE was banned because India fears that the objective of LTTE for a separate homeland (Tamil Eelam) for all Tamils threatened the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India as it has supporters and sympathizers in India also.

RBI panel recommends one-licence policy for all banks
i. The RBI’s vision of a uniform licence regime for the banking sector was proposed in a panel report on Tuesday that recommended a one-licence policy for all banks , irrespective of the ownership pattern.
ii. This will include all public sector, private sector (old and new) and foreign banks operating in India.
iii. Such a licensing regime would also involve uniform investment limits across investor categories, irrespective of ownership. Other than the Government’s own controlling stake, all other investment limits recommended for private sector banks should also thereby be applicable to public sector banks,” RBI said in its committee report.
iv. This was first suggested by the banking regulator in a discussion paper in 2013.
v. This will facilitate larger pools of capital coming into the nationalised banks and assist in improving market valuations. “For distressed public sector banks, it provides the Government with another financing option through the induction of private equity with board representation, a partnership which could also help improve board governance,” the RBI said.

UN Envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi resigned
i. UN Envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi on submitted his resignation to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York. He will relinquish the office on 31 May 2014.
ii. He was also the League of Arab States Special Representative on the Syrian crisis.
iii. He was appointed as the peace-facilitator in Syria on 17 August 2012 to replace the former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
iv. He was also a long-time Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General and was the Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) from October 2001 to December 2004.

Justice B S Chauhan appointed as the Chairman of CWDT
i. Justice BS Chauhan, the Judge of the Supreme Court of India on was appointed as the Chairman of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT). Justice Chauhan will succeed Justice NP Singh.
ii. Justice Chauhan, who is due to retire on 1 July 2014, was appointed as the Chairman of the Tribunal on the recommendation of the former Chief Justice of India, Justice P Sathasivam.