GK Updates - 25 June | Banking Quiz

Excise duty cut for auto, capital goods, consumer durables extended till Dec 31

I.The Government on Wednesday extended by six months the validity of concessional excise duty regime provided for the capital goods, automobiles and consumer durables sectors in interim budget in February.

II.The concessional excise duties which were to expire for these sectors on June 30 will now be available till December 31, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters outside North Block here.

III.This could come as a booster dose for the capital goods and auto sectors, which were affected by sagging demand in the economy.

IV.In the interim Budget, the UPA Government had brought down the excise duty on small cars, scooters, motorcycles and commercial vehicles from 12 per cent to 8 per cent.

V.Excise duty was cut for SUVs and large cars from 30 per cent to 24 per cent and for mid-sized cars from 24 per cent to 20 per cent.

Bharatiya Mahila Bank inks pact with GCCI to encourage women entrepreneurs

I. Bharatiya Mahila Bank Ltd (BMB) and trade body Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) will jointly facilitate women entrepreneurs by addressing their finance requirements for technological up-gradation, marketing, diversification in their businesses.

II. BMB and the Business Women Wing (BWW) of GCCI have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the cause of women entrepreneurs by utilising the services of each other.

III. As per the terms of MoU, BMB and GCCI-BWW would jointly conduct training workshops for GCCI-BWW members on the procedure for availing financial assistance. BMB will set up a simplified application process for loans of less than Rs 5 lakh by the GCCI-BWW members.

IV. The MoU was signed in Ahmedabad by Usha Ananthasubramanian, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharatiya Mahila Bank Ltd and Veena Parikh, Chairperson, GCCI-BWW.

ICICI Bank launches co-branded card with DMRC

I. Your credit and debit card can be your smart card for Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) too.

II. ICICI Bank has launched co-branded card with DMRC. It can be your credit/debit card, and offers the benefit of 10 per cent discount that the DMRC smart card offers.

III. The card is backed by MasterCard, which has similar products, in cities such as London, Singapore and Taiwan.

RBI relaxes norms for Business Correspondents

I. To accelerate the flow of credit to those at the bottom of the pyramid, the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday permitted banks to engage non-deposit taking non-banking finance companies (NBFC-ND) as Business Correspondents (BCs).

II. Further, to enlarge the catchment area of BCs, the central bank has done away with the stipulation regarding the distance criteria between the place of business of a retail outlet/sub-agent of BC and the bank’s base branch.

III. BCs usually offer services such as disbursal of small value credit; recovery of principal/collection of interest; collection of small-value deposits; sale of micro insurance/mutual fund products; pension products; other third-party products; receipt and delivery of small-value remittances; and other payment instruments.

IV. The RBI said banks can engage NBFC-ND as BCs only if they fulfil certain criteria, including ensuring that there is no co-mingling of bank funds and those of the NBFC-ND.

National Insurance launches 'insurance on wheels' in Kolkata

I.Kolkata-based general insurer National Insurance Company Ltd has introduced a "insurance on wheels" concept for faster renewal of policies.

II.Under the scheme, a vehicle will be parked at appropriate locations in a city. People can renew their polices from there instead of going to the company office, AV Girija Kumar, CMD, National Insurance, said here on Wednesday.

III.Kumar was speaking at an interactive session organised by the MCCI.

IV.Currently, the service has been introduced in 15-odd cities.

Two big banks have 2/3rd of all Swiss money of Indians

I. It is just two big banks -- UBS and Credit Suisse -- which appear to be accounting for almost two-third of the total money held by Indians in Swiss banking system, known for their famed secrecy walls.

II. According to the latest official data disclosed by Switzerland's central banking authority SNB (Swiss National Bank), Indians' money in Swiss banks rose by 43 per cent last year to 2.03 billion Swiss francs (nearly Rs 14,000 crore), despite growing global pressure on Switzerland to share client details of their banks.

III. A further analysis of SNB data shows that the 'big banks' account for 68.2 per cent or about 1.4 billion Swiss francs (close to Rs 10,000 crore) of the total money belonging to the Indian clients of Swiss banks.

IV. There are a total of 283 banks in Switzerland, out of which only two -- UBS and Credit Suisse -- have been classified as 'big banks' by Zurich-based SNB. There are also 93 foreign-controlled banks operating in the country.

Bhojegowda elected Bar Council of India Vice-Chairman

I. S L Bhojegowda, an advocate from Karnataka, has been elected as the Vice-Chairman of Bar Council of India, New Delhi.

II. Bhojegowda, hailing from Chikmagalur, has been practicing law for the last two decades.

III. He was elected to Karnataka State Bar Council earlier and then in 2013 into Bar Council of India, New Delhi, thus creating history of being the first-ever advocate from Karnataka to be elected as the Vice-Chairman of Bar Council of India.

TMI ties up with German firm for talent acquisition

I.TMI Network, a Hyderabad-based recruitment and HR services company, today announced a tie-up with Heads In Motion GmbH, a Berlin-based recruitment firm, to offer joint services in the talent acquisition segment in India.

II.The two companies will also be extending the tie-up to work with clients across the European Union. “The strategic partnership will enable TMI to set foot in the recruitment space in Germany,” T Sreedhar, managing director of TMI, said.

III.Under the agreement, TMI would source, select and recruit professionals, while HIM would provide post-recruitment services, including handhold select candidates through the EU Blue Card process.

Indian men's team ninth in latest word hockey rankings

I. Eight-time Olympic champions India find itself in a lowly ninth position among men’s teams in the recently-released FIH World Hockey Rankings.

II. The Indians, with 1458 rating points, occupy the ninth spot by virtue of their disappointing ninth place finish in the World Cup held at The Hague, Netherlands earlier this month.

III. Even though the Sardar Singh-led side defeated Asian champions South Korea 3-0 in the ninth-10th place play-off match in the World Cup, the Koreans (8th spot) are a rung ahead of India in the latest rankings with 1490 points.

IV. World champion Australia’s dominant 6-1 victory in the final of the quadrennial event keeps them in the top three of the men’s rankings for the 11th consecutive year.

V. The Netherlands, who finished runners-up in the World Cup, are in the second position while Argentina’s men’s team, who claimed third place in the World Cup after beating England 2-0, climb up four places to the seventh spot.

VI. Both Germany (3rd) and England (5th) have dropped one place. Belgium is in the fourth spot, while New Zealand is sixth.

VII. Spain complete the top 10 rankings in the men’s category.

Maybelline ties up with Infosys for mobile Web site

I.Cosmetics brand Maybelline, a part of beauty major L’Oreal Paris, has partnered IT major Infosys to develop a Web site that will deliver the latest promotions for new products, tutorial videos and make up tips to Maybelline users.

II.The Web site, to be developed for various mobile platforms, will also allow easy browsing of products from the company.

III.The brand’s aim is to reach out to the rising number of mobile Internet consumers in Asia. A recent data shows the percentage of internet traffic in this region has risen from 23 per cent to 37 per cent on mobile devices last year, well above the global average of 25 per cent.

Book titled Blood Feud written by Edward Klein released

I. A book Blood Feud: The Clintons vs. the Obamas written by Edward Klein was released. The book was published by the publishing house Regnery.

II. Edward Klein is the former editor-in-chief of New York Times Magazine.

About the book

Blood Feud is about the animosity, jealousy, and competition between America’s two most powerful political couples.

SAIL's Bhilai plant resumes operation after 12-day shutdown

I.Steel Authority of India Ltd’s flagship plant at Bhilai has restored more than half of its hot metal production after 12-day shutdown following an accident early this month.

II.On Tuesday, the plant had achieved hot metal production of 7,557 tonnes against normal daily production of 13,000 to 13,500 tonnes, plant sources told Business Line.

III.“This was possible as the blast furnace No. 5 resumed operation (for a shift). One more blast furnace is likely to come on stream on Thursday. Another, which is under capital repair since April, will however resume production later,” said the official.

IV.A rupture in a water pipe, which carries water to the blast furnaces, killed six and forced the shutdown of five blast furnaces on June 12.

A Bad Character authored by Deepti Kapoor

I. Novel A Bad Character was authored by Deepti Kapoor. It will be published in August 2014.

II. It is the story of a desire of young woman named Idha who escapes from the arranged marriage and security that her middle-class world has to offer.

III. Subsequently she goes through a chance encounter with a charismatic, dangerous young man. Consequently, she is quickly exposed to the thrilling, often illicit pleasures that both the city, Delhi, and her body can hold.

Nico Rosberg win Austrian GP

I. Nico Rosberg held off a challenge from teammate Lewis Hamilton to win the Austrian GP on Sunday for the sixth 1—2 finish by Mercedes this season.

II. It was Rosberg’s third win of the year and sixth overall as he extended his lead in the drivers’ championship over Hamilton to 29 points.

III. Valtteri Bottas came third for his first career Formula One podium while Williams teammate Felipe Massa, who started from pole Position, took fourth.

IV. Four-time Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel had an engine problem in the second lap and was doubled by the field before quitting the race in the 36th on Red Bull’s home circuit.

Andhra Pradesh court issues arrest warrant against MS Dhoni

I. A court in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant against Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus.

II. A local court in Anantapur issued the arrest warrant as Dhoni did not appear in the court despite three summons served in the past. It directed police to present Dhoni in the court on July 16.

III. The case relates to a picture on the cover of a magazine.