GK Updates - 7 May | Banking Quiz

10-year-olds can open and operate bank a/c alone: RBI

i.Children older than 10 years will no longer need the help of their parents or guardians to open and operate a savings bank account.

ii.RBI also allowed banks to offer additional facilities like internet banking, ATM, debit card and chequebook to a minor.

NBA joins hands with Jabong for online store

i.The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Jabong today launched the first official NBA online store in India, NBAStore.in.

ii.NBAStore.in will be an NBA-branded destination within the online fashion portal Jabong.com showcasing over 200 NBA products such as shorts, jerseys and t-shirts for men and women priced between Rs 1400– 14,000.

Nigel Poole appointed ICRISAT ambassador

i.Dr Nigel Poole has been appointed Goodwill Ambassador of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

ii.“He has been appointed ambassador for his vision and leadership in championing the Institute’s mission to develop sustainable and science-based solutions for better livelihoods for the poor in the drylands..

iii.He was on ICRISAT’s Governing Board for six years with five years as Board Chair.

HUL launches Prabhat initiative for community development

i.Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has launched a rural initiative called 'Prabhat' for community development in villages around its manufacturing units in the country. The initiative is a part of its parent company Unilever's Sustainable Living Plan, which entered its third year.

ii.Sanjiv Mehta, MD & CEO, HUL said, “Our Sustainable Living Plan is what makes our business model different from others because sustainability is integral to how we do business and how we build growth. The success of brands like Lifebuoy clearly demonstrates that there is no contradiction between sustainability and profitable growth. We are happy with the progress we have made on our Plan in India in 2013. We have further built on our plan with the launch of ‘Prabhat’, which is a part of our long term effort to engage with and contribute to the development of local communities around our manufacturing sites."

iii.Prabhat focuses on health and hygiene, livelihoods and water conservation initiatives and is aligned to the Anglo-Dutch firm's Sustainable Living Plan, priorities.

Rajiv C. Lochan to take over as MD and CEO, Kasturi & Sons Ltd

The Board of Directors of Kasturi and Sons Limited (KSL), publishers of The Hindu and Group newspapers, has unanimously appointed Rajiv C. Lochan, 43, as Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer effective June 1, 2014. He will lead all non-editorial operations of the company and will join the Board of Directors of KSL.

IDBI Federal launches 7 new plans

i.IDBI Federal Life Insurance has launched four new individual products catering to various life-stage needs of the customers. The company has also launched three new group solutions.

ii.Vighnesh Shahane, CEO, IDBI Federal Life Insurance, said, “The latest offerings from the company focus on the consumer needs of financial security, savings and growth of investments. At IDBI Federal, the new product guidelines were viewed as an opportunity to revamp the entire product portfolio and align it to the changing needs of the consumers. The new range of products offers customers a mix of savings, growth of investments and financial protection. We have also built guarantees into all our traditional products to go in line with the customer need for assured returns.”

Sanjay Hasija appointed Quantum Storage country head

i.Quantum Storage India has appointed Sanjay Hasija as the country head for India & SAARC.

ii.In his role, Sanjay will be responsible for expanding Quantum's customer base, market share and partnerships, thereby strengthening the company's foothold across the regions.

iii.Further, scale-out storage being a key focus area for Quantum, Hasija will focus on the recently announced scale-out storage solutions and further expand its market presence and compete aggressively with other market players.

RBI hikes FII holding in City Union Bank

i.The Reserve Bank of India has said that it is removing the restrictions placed on the purchase of shares by Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) in City Union Bank with immediate effect.

ii."FIIs can now purchase up to 35 per cent of the paid-up capital of City Union Bank through primary market under the Portfolio Investment Scheme,'' the notification said.

iii.The fall-out of this notification saw an immediate surge in the stock price of the bank on the NSE, when it touched Rs 62.20 at the start of trading this morning. On the BSE, the scrip opened slightly down at Rs 61.90.

BCCI to Suspend Rajasthan Cricket Association, Appoint Ad-hoc Body: Sources

i.Within hours of Lalit Modi being declared as the president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association in Jaipur on Tuesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has decided to suspend RCA and appoint an ad-hoc body to run its cricket affairs, according to well-placed BCCI sources. This is likely to trigger a new round of legal battle between the Board and the banned former Indian Premier League chairman, Modi.

ii.The BCCI and former RCA chief Kishore Rungta are vehemently opposing Modi's return. Although Modi was formally declared RCA president by a court-appointed observer on Tuesday, the Board has been allowed to challenge the controversial Rajasthan Sports Act that enabled Modi to contest for the president's post for a second time. Modi first became president of RCA in 2005.

iii.Ahead of the December 19 elections in Jaipur, the BCCI had threatened to suspend RCA for letting the banned Modi contest the polls. But after the Supreme Court allowed Modi to contest, the BCCI had to beat a hasty retreat. The BCCI even conceded 'defeat' in court after the votes were submitted to the top court in a sealed envelope.

iv.Bimal Soni, a deputy president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, feels the BCCI's fight with Modi is an "individual" one. While BCCI can take on Modi in the court of law, the Board has no right to ban RCA, feels Soni. "As far as RCA is concerned, Modi is a democratically elected president and enjoys three-fourth majority," said Soni.

Mark Selby's world snooker win attracts peak of more than 5 million viewers

i.Mark Selby's thrilling 18-14 win over Ronnie O'Sullivan in the world snooker final was watched by a peak of more than 5 million viewers, delivering the tournament's biggest audience on BBC2 for years.

ii.The snooker, in which Selby had appeared down and out when he trailed "Rocket" Ronnie by 10 frames to 5, had an average audience of 3.5 million viewers (15.2%) for its final session between 7pm and 10.30pm on Sunday and a 15-minute peak of 5.3 million at its climax between 10pm and 10.15pm.

iii.Widely regarded as one of the most exciting finals for years, it was up on the 2.7 million average audience (12.6%) who watched O'Sullivan's second successive win in last year's final, and the 2.1 million who watched him triumph in 2012.

iv.It was the highest average audience for the final since at least 2009, but in terms of peak audience it could not match the 6.4 million who saw John Higgins's win in 2011 (which averaged 3.4 million).

SC upholds constitutional validity of RTE Act

i.The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the constitutional validity of Articles 15(5) and 21-A of the Constitution in so far as it relates to unaided educational institutions to provide compulsory education for children in the age group of 6 to 14 years.

ii.A five-judge Constitution Bench comprising Chief Justice R.M. Lodha and Justices A.K. Patnaik, Dipak Misra, S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Ibrahim Kalifulla also upheld the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2010.

iii.The Constitution 93rd Amendment Act, 2005, inserting clause (5) in Article 15 enables the State to make special provisions for members of the SCs, STs and socially and educationally backward classes, for admission to all educational institutions, including private unaided institutions, but except minority institutions. The right to education law was enacted by Parliament in 2009 by inserting Article 21A to provide free and compulsory education to children between 6 and 14 years.

iv.It imposed obligations on the schools, which included privately-managed unaided educational institutions to admit at least 25% students from weaker sections. A three-judge Bench upheld the constitutional validity of this Act by a majority of 2:1. On a reference that the matter ought to have been decided by a Constitution Bench, it was heard by a five-judge Bench.

India sets new aircraft tracking rules after MH370 disappearance

i.India's civil aviation regulator said on Wednesday it has set new rules for local airlines to ensure real time tracking of aircraft, a decision it said was prompted by the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.

ii.The new rules will apply to both passenger and cargo planes, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a statement.

iii.It said carriers have been asked to use onboard Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) or Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) for real time tracking

INS Vikramaditya operationally deployed: Navy chief

i.India’s largest warship, aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, is “operationally deployed” along with its fleet of MiG 29K combat aircraft, Navy chief Admiral Robin Dhowan said in Kochi on Wednesday

ii.“The Navy has inducted aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya which is now operationally deployed with MiG— 29K aircraft embarked and being flown by Indian naval pilots,” he told reporters.

iii.The 44,500—tonne Admiral Robin Dhowan procured from Russia at a cost of USD 2.33 billion had arrived in India in January this year and is stationed at its home—base in Karwar in Karnataka.

iv.Navy sources said the aircraft carrier has already taken part in one of the war games conducted recently by the Western Navy.

Thai caretaker Cabinet appoints new acting PM

i.Thailand’s caretaker Cabinet has appointed a new acting Prime Minister after a court removed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from office.

ii.Ms. Yingluck and nine Cabinet members were forced from power on Wednesday by the Constitutional Court, which found her guilty of abuse of power.

iii.Shortly after the ruling, her remaining Cabinet announced that Deputy Prime Minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan would become the interim leader.

iv.The judgment marks the latest twist in Thailand’s long-running political crisis.

RBI asks banks not to levy penalty on pre-payment of loans

i.Providing relief to borrowers, the Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday directed banks not to levy any penalty on individual borrowers for pre-paying floating loans.

ii.It is advised that banks will not be permitted to charge foreclosure charges or pre-payment penalties on all floating rate term loans sanctioned to individual borrowers, with immediate effect,” RBI said in a notification.

iii.Floating loan products include housing, corporate, vehicle and personal loans.

iv.In the first bi-monthly monetary policy statement for 2014-15 released last month, the RBI had said banks should consider allowing their borrowers the facility of prepaying floating rate term loans without any penalty in the interest of their customers.

Kohli is most searched IPL player this season

i.Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli takes the top spot as the most searched IPL player this season, closely followed by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

ii.Yuvraj Singh from Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captured the third position.

iii.With one of the most stunning catches taken in cricket history against Royal Challengers Bangalore to his credit, IPL debutant Chris Lynn (KKR) takes the fourth spot as the most searched player.

iv.Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) lead batsman Virendra Sehwag may not have scored big runs on the ground yet, but continues to attract a lot of queries from his fans on Google Search, thus puttting him up at the fifth spot.

Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra faces 5-yr ban from politics if proven guilty

i.Thailand PM Yingluck Shinawatra who is facing allegations of power abuse to transfer a top official, could be removed from office and banned from politics for five years if proven guilty.
ii.Ms Shinawatra is due for a crucial ruling by the Constitutional Court on Wednesday in wake of accusations that her Pheu Thai party fetched benefits when she transferred Thawil Pliensri in 2011.The Court will on Wednesday decide if the transfer was unconstitutional and if proven guilty, the PM risks being removed from office and may face a five year ban from politics.

Story Samsung Evolution Kit 2014 to be launched in June in India

i.Samsung is likely to launch the 2014 Evolution kit for Samsung Smart TVs in India in June this year. Designed for Samsung Smart TVs (2013 select models) for Series 7, 8 and 9, the kit will bring all the new features to the older televisions as well.

ii.The 2014 Evolution kits were announced at the Consumer Electronics Show, Las Vegas in January this year. Samsung had announced two versions: for full HD TVs and for UHD TVs.

iii.The one for full HD TVs can be mounted at the back of the TV whereas the one for UHDTV is called OneConnect. The latter is an external media box that holds all the connections, and connects to the TV with one cable.

iv.Although there isn't any confirmation about Samsung launching both the models, the new evolution kit for Full HD TVs is expected to be priced between Rs 16,000 to Rs 18,000 and is likely to be available from June.

Internet to have 3 billion users by end of 2014: ITU report

United Nations International Telecommunications Union (ITU) on 5 May 2014 released the new statistics ICT [Information and Communications Technology]. The statistics claimed that by the end of 2014 the world will have about 3 billion internet users – two-thirds of them will be from the developing world – with mobile-broadband penetration approaching 32 percent. The 3 billion people accounts for about 40 percent of world’s population.

Prime Minister of Slovenia resigned

i.Prime Minister of Slovenia, Alenka Bratusek resigned on 5 May 2014 and urged for early elections in the country. Alenka Bratusek handed her resignation to the speaker of Parliament and announced her resignation.

ii.She resigned as Prime Minister after losing the leadership of her Positive Slovenia party to Mayor Zoran Jankovic of Ljublijana.

iii.Bratusek was the first women Prime Minister of Slovenia and occupied the post of PM on 23 March 2013. Slovenia is member of European Union (EU) and she steered the country through EU debt crisis.

Microlender trumps Amil Ambani in race to change banking.

i.Chandra Shekhar Ghosh is a man in a hurry since he beat India's financial titans to win a prized banking licence for his microfinance firm that lends to poor borrowers.

ii.The founder of Bandhan Financial Services, Bandhan means "bonding", must transform his microfinance company into a bank in just 18 months to serve India's millions of "unbanked poor" under the licence terms.

iii."For a microfinance company, getting a banking licence is like achieving the Holy Grail," Ghosh told AFP in an interview.

ICICI launches two special accounts for NRIs

i.The largest private sector lender ICICI Bank on Tuesday introduced two more products under its savings accounts for NRIs with additional benefits thrown in.

ii.The two new categories, christened NRI Pro and NRI Premia, will offer premium benefits like reservation assistance for hotels, flight booking and golf courses, and also preferential rates for and waiver of charges for currency conversion, the bank said in a release.

iii.It, however, did not mention any charges or minimum balance which will have to be maintained in the accounts.

Aadhaar-linked cards put on hold

i.In a move that will bring relief to banks and credit card issuing companies, the Reserve Bank of India has put on hold an order requiring all future credit card swipe machines and ATMs to be capable of biometric authentication. The central bank has instead decided to launch a pilot project where issuers of prepaid cards are allowed cash withdrawals on the basis of biometric authentication.

ii.The move comes on the wake of banks complaining that implementing biometric authentication across all point of sales terminals (credit card swipe machines) was proving to be a challenge. The first issue was that there were not many suppliers in the market. Secondly, their tests showed that the authorization using fingerprints took up to 20 seconds on a 3G connection as against less than five seconds earlier.

Waqar Younis back as Pakistan coach

The Pakistan Cricket Board has given cricket great Waqar Younis a second shot as coach of the national team. Younis was the coach for 18 months until after leading the team to the 2011 World Cup semi-finals. He resigned for personal reasons.