GK Updates - 3 June | Banking Quiz

Monetary policy review: RBI keeps rates unchanged

I.The RBI Governor Dr Raghuram Rajan kept key policy rates on hold today in his second bi-monthly monetary policy review, the first under the Modi regime.

II.The Sensex slipped into the red briefly before making a recovery. At 11.35 am, it is trading flat at 24,726.54, up 41.69 points or 0.17 per cent.

III.Consequently repo rate, the rate at which RBI lends money to banks for the short term, remains at 8 per cent. The reverse repo rate, the rate at which RBI borrows money from banks, remains at 7%.

IV.Inflation remains the main concern, a point often articulated by the Governor even earlier. With consumer price index inflation (CPI) at 8.59%, the RBI is not in a mood to relax its grip on rates just yet.

SLR cut by 50 bps

I.The RBI has decided to reduce the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) of scheduled commercial banks by 50 basis points from 23.0 per cent to 22.5 per cent of their net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) with effect from the fortnight beginning June 14, 2014.

II.Statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) refers amount that the commercial banks require to maintain with the RBI in the form of gold or government approved securities (G-Secs or bonds) before lending. Such securities could be bond and shares of different companies. Statutory Liquidity Ratio is determined and maintained by the RBI in order to control the expansion of bank credit.

RK Malhotra is Chairman, IOC

I.R K Malhotra, Director (R&D) at Indian Oil Corp (IOC), has been given additional charge as Chairman of the nation's largest company as appointment of a regular head has been delayed.

II.R S Butola retired as Chairman of IOC on Saturday but the appointment of his successor B Ashok, who was selected by government head-hunters Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) in October 2013, is yet to be formalised.

III.Malhotra has been entrusted additional charge as Chairman, IOC. He continues to head IOC's Research and Development Division as Director," the company said in a statement New Delhi.

IV.Ashok, who currently is Executive Director (Retail Sales) at IOC, was cleared by anti corruption watchdogs CVC and CBI and the then Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily had last month moved the file for his appointment to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).

V.After being cleared by the then Home Minister Sushilkumar Sahinde, the file was put to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who decided not to sign it and leave the appointment to the next government.

Bharti Airtel may sell tower assets in Africa

I.Telecom giant Bharti Airtel is expected to sell over 15,000 towers in Africa for about $2-3 billion, which will help it reduce debt, bankers familiar with the development said.

II.The world’s fourth largest operator is believed to have shortlisted four companies for the sale which include Helios Towers Africa, American Tower Corporation and Eaton Towers.

III.When contacted a Bharti spokesperson declined to comment.

IV.Queries sent to Helios Towers Africa, Eaton Towers and American Tower Corporation remain unanswered.

V.The net debt of the company at the end of March 31, 2014 stood at ₹60,541.6 crore.

Exporters split on RBI move to curb export credit refinance

I.Exporters are divided over the impact of the Reserve Bank’s move to reduce availability of funds under the export credit refinance (ECR) window.

II.Liquidity provided under the ECR facility will be cut from 50 per cent of eligible export credit outstanding to 32 per cent with immediate effect, the RBI said today, adding that it will introduce a special term repo facility to compensate for the reduction.

III.“It will affect both the availability and cost of credit, which will be detrimental to the competitiveness of Indian exports at a time when the global economy is gathering momentum,” the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President M Rafeeque Ahmed said.

IV.“Banks would be reluctant to lend to the export sector, which is already facing a liquidity crunch, as the share of export credit in net bank credit has come down drastically from close to 9 per cent to 3.5 per cent in the last 10 years,” he added.

IndiaFirst Life plans to ramp up presence in Maharashtra

I.Private life insurer IndiaFirst Life has said that it plans to ramp up its presence in Maharashtra as part of its long-term growth strategy. The company aims at 20 per cent growth in FY 2014-15.

II.“India’s second most populous state, Maharashtra has been a crucial market for us since inception. Inspite of being considered an industrial hub, Maharashtra still has a large population dependent on agriculture. This mix provides us with challenging opportunities,” said Kamalakar Sai, Director-Sales, IndiaFirst Life.

III.The company has covered 9.42 lakh lives and garnered approximately Rs 881 crore of business in Maharashtra since inception.

IV.IndiaFirst Life registered 28 per cent growth in FY 2013-14. It has covered over 2.70 million lives and has Rs 6,500 crore of Assets Under Management (AUM) at the end of the financial year 2013-2014.

Rural development minister Gopinath Munde dies in road accident

I.Union Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde passed away at 8 a.m. today after he met with a road accident in the national capital.

II.He met with the accident on his way to the Indira Gandhi International Airport, where he was scheduled to take a flight to Mumbai and from there to Aurangabad.

III.The accident happened at around 6.30 a.m. when a vehicle rammed into his car at Moti Bagh area. Later, he was admitted at AIIMS Trauma Centre, where he died.

IV.According to reports, though there were no external injuries, Munde suffered internal injuries, which led to his death.

V.BJP leaders said that the senior politician died following a cardiac arrest at around 8 a.m. Delhi Police said that the driver of the car that colluded with Munde’s vehicle has been arrested and an investigation is on.

Canara Bank opens 42nd circle office at Varanasi

I.Canara Bank has opened its 42nd circle office in the country at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

II.Chairman and Managing Director of Canara Bank R K Dubey inaugurated the circle office at Varanasi. Through this circle office, the bank plans to provide better customer service in 60 of its branches spread over 24 districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Sensex surges 174 points to new closing peak of 24,859; Nifty crosses 7,400 level

I.The BSE benchmark Sensex surged 173.74 points to end at a fresh closing peak of 24,858.59 and the NSE index Nifty rose 53.35 points to end at a fresh high of 7,415.85

II.The rally was led by metal, realty and oil & gas sector stocks amid weak European cues.

III.The 30-share BSE index Sensex ended at 24,858.59, up 173.74 points and the 50-share NSE index Nifty ended at 7,414.45, up 51.95 points.

IV.Among BSE sectoral indices, metal index gained the most by 5.06 per cent, followed by realty 3.15 per cent and oil & gas 1.76 per cent. On the other hand, FMCG, healthcare, banking and IT indices succumbed to selling pressure and were down 0.75 per cent, 0.5 per cent, 0.18 per cent and 0.04 per cent, respectively.

V.Among 30-share Sensex constituents, Tata Steel, SSLT, Coal India, ONGC and BHEL were the top five gainers, while the top five losers were Dr Reddy's, GAIL, HUL, ITC and Bharti Airtel.

VI.Indian markets opened in the green and rallied firm but later turned flat as the RBI monetary policy announced a status quo on rates but a cut in SLR by 50bps.

VII.RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan in the bi-monthly monetary policy review, has kept the repo rate unchanged at 8 per cent and the reverse repo at 7 per cent.

Ronaldo most searched soccer star on Google in India

I.As the World Cup fever grips fans across the globe, Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has emerged the most searched player on Google in India, with Brazil topping the list country-wise.

II.Real Madrid striker Ronaldo remained the most sought-after with a distinctive lead over Argentinian star Lionel Messi and Brazil’s Neymar.

III.English footballer Wayne Rooney and Spanish star Fernando Torres take the fourth and fifth spot on Google search.

IV.Online support by Indian fans for their favourite teams and players is creating a lot of buzz even before the kick-off.

Monstrous planet ‘Godzilla of Earths’ discovered

I.Astronomers have discovered the “Godzilla” of all Earths – a new type of rocky planet that weighs 17 times as much as our planet and is more than twice as large in size, a surprising find that could change scientists’ understanding of the origins of the universe.

II.The newly found mega-Earth, Kepler-10c, circles a Sun-like star once every 45 days. It is located about 560 light-years from Earth in the constellation Draco.

III.Theorists believed such a world could not form because anything so hefty would grab hydrogen gas as it grew and become a Jupiter-like gas giant.

IV.This planet, though, is all solid and much bigger than previously discovered “super-Earths,” making it a “mega-Earth.”

V.“We were very surprised when we realised what we had found,” said astronomer Xavier Dumusque of the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics (CfA), who led the data analysis and made the discovery.

Mutharika inaugurated as Malawi’s president

I.Peter Mutharika, brother of a former president and leader of an opposition party, was inaugurated as Malawi’s president Monday after being declared the winner of the southern African nation’s contested elections.

II.More than 30,000 jubilant supporters attended the ceremony at Kamuzu Stadium in the commercial capital, Blantyre, which included military exercises, traditional dances and a 21-gun salute.

US Vice-President to attend Ukraine President’s inauguration

I.US Vice-President, Joe Biden, would travel to Kiev to attend the inauguration of the Ukrainian President-elect Petro Poroshenko on June 7, the White House has said.

II.Biden will lead a US delegation to Kiev for Saturday’s event and meet Ukrainian leaders to discuss the volatile situation in eastern Ukraine.

Modi's GIFT City achieves Phase I financial closure for Rs 1,157 cr

I.Within a week of Narendra Modi taking oath as the Prime Minister, his mega-dream project, Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), on Tuesday, announced having achieved financial closure for its Phase I infrastructure development.

II.Being developed as India’s only International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), GIFT City has been conceptualised as a global financial and IT services hub, designed to be at or above par with globally-benchmarked financial centres like those at Shinjuku (Tokyo), Lujiazui (Shanghai), La Defense (Paris) and London Dockyards.

III.It will also have a specialised university to offer world-class education and training in financial services. For this, the University of Liverpool, UK, is developing curricula in association with some American universities. “We hope to launch this university in 2015-16,” said an official.

IV.“The estimated cost of core infrastructure development in Phase I is Rs 1,818 crore. A consortium of banks has agreed to provide us a loan of Rs 1,157 crore. The balance Rs 661 crore would come through equity and our internal accruals over the next three years,” Ramakant Jha, Managing Director and Group CEO, GIFT City Company Ltd, told Business Line on Tuesday.

Udupi tech co’s healthcare product wins award

The Udupi-based Robosoft Technologies Pvt Ltd’s ‘RoboLife’, the proprietary hospital management and information system, has won ‘Healthcare Excellence’ award 2014 at an event organised by Goa unit of Indian Medical Association, according to a company statement.

Anil Nair appointed CEO & MD of AGC Networks

Essar group company AGC Networks has appointed Anil Nair as Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director.

RBI allows up to 100% FII investment in Zee Entertainment

I.Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) can now invest up to 100 per cent of the paid up capital in Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, an RBI notification said.

II.Earlier investment limit for FIIs in the company was 49 per cent.

III. FIIs can now invest up to 100 per cent (revised from earlier limit 49 per cent) of the paid up capital of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd under the portfolio investment scheme,” the notification said.

IV.As on March 2014, promoter shareholding in the company was 43.07 per cent while FIIs held 47.94 per cent shares, as per BSE data.

V.RBI said that decision came after the company passed resolutions at its Board of Directors’ level and shareholders agreeing for enhancing the limit for the purchase of its equity shares and convertible debentures by FIIs.

BSNL users can now access Facebook on all mobile without internet

I.State-run BSNL today launched a service wherein its mobile customers will be able to access Facebook without any Internet or data connectivity.

II.BSNL users will be charged Rs 4, Rs 10 and Rs 20 for 3 days, weekly and monthly plans, respectively, the company said in a statement.

III.The public sector telecom firm has tied up with U2opia Mobile to provide Facebook access through USSD in East and South zones immediately and shortly the service will be launched in West and North zones.

IV.Unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) technology is used by telecom operators to send alerts to their users. It can be used for pre-paid call-back service, location-based content services and menu-based information services.

V.BSNL said Facebook for USSD enables users to access their accounts, view/post status messages, respond to friend requests, write on friends’ walls, view birthday reminders and send messages without any Internet or data connection.

VI.Companies today are looking at enhancing the portfolio of offerings to voice and SMS customers and we are really excited to offer Facebook on USSD, given the rising popularity of social media,” BSNL Director Anupam Shrivastava said.

Wipro, SAP tie up for mobility services

I.Wipro has partnered with SAP to deliver managed mobility services for SAP’s mobile solutions.

II.Through this offering, it intends to help customers improve business outcomes, increase agility and help reduce costs, India’s third largest software exporter said in a statement. The company’s managed mobility services offering will bring together its industry-domain expertise and systems-integration experience with SAP’s mobile solutions, the statement added.

III.Wipro’s cloud-based, managed mobility services offering for SAP mobile solutions will span its portfolio of solutions including the mobile platform, the SAP Work Manager mobile app and the SAP Mobile Secure solution used by enterprises for mobile device and application management functions.

Pranav Kumar named new CEO of Startup Village, Kochi

I.Pranav Kumar Suresh has been appointed the new Chief Operating Officer of Startup Village, Kochi, taking over from Sijo Kuruvilla George who will be moving to the board of directors.

II.Pranav will take over as the CEO of India’s first mobile-Internet business incubator from July this year.

RBI hikes forex remittance limit to $1,25,000

I.The RBI has relaxed the eligibility limit for foreign exchange remittances. It was earlier possible to remit up to $2 00,000 under the liberalised remittance scheme. This was reduced to $75,000 last year, as a prudential measure when the country was going through a sudden depreciation of its currency.

II.The RBI has decided to hike the eligible limit to $125,000. Guidelines will be issued shortly, the central bank said.

III.The recent stability in the foreign exchange market has prompted the central bank to relax this limit under the liberalised remittance scheme (LRS), RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said in the RBI's second bi-monthlymonetary policy statement for 2014-15 issued today.

Wrestlers Yogeshwar Dutt and Sushil Kumar won Gold and Silver

I.Wrestlers Yogeshwar Dutt and Sushil Kumar on 1 June 2014 won Gold and Silver respectively at the International wrestling tournament held in Sassari city of Italy.

II.London Olympics Bronze medalist Yogeshwar won the Gold medal in his new weight category of 65kg. On the other hand, two-time Olympic medalist Sushil won the Silver in his new weight category of 74kg.

III.Besides, World Championship bronze medalist Bajrang and Satywart Kadian won Silver medal in the 61kg category and 97kg category respectively. Krishan Kumar won bronze in the 120 category in men's freestyle.