GK Updates - 2 July | Banking Quiz

Rajasthan Government declared Camel as the State animal

I.State Government of Rajasthan on 30 June 2014 declared Camel as the State animal. The step has been taken to check the diminishing number of camels in the State.

II.The decision to declare Camel as State Animal was taken during a State Cabinet meet held in Bikaner on the last day of Sarkar Aapke Dwar campaign. The Cabinet meet was chaired by Vasundhara Raje, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan.

Govt hikes onion MEP to $500 per tonne

I.The Government has increased the minimum export price on onions to $500 per tonne as the prices of onions in the domestic market continue to rise.

II.This means that onions, which are priced below Rs 30 per kg, will not be allowed to be exported from the country.

III.On June 17, an MEP of $300 per tonne was imposed on onions, but it had not helped to arrest the prices.

IV."The Inter-Ministerial Committee, at their meeting on June 30, observed that the wholesale and retail prices of onion are going up in producing and consuming mandies, and despite MEP at $300 per tonne, there is no appreciable decline in the exports of onion," the Commerce Ministry said in a press statement issued today.

V.Keeping in view the rising retail and wholesale prices and delayed monsoon, the committee has unanimously decided to fix the MEP at $500 per tonne, it added.

Shah Rukh Khan Conferred with Knight of the Legion of Honor

I.Shah Rukh Khan was conferred with top French civilian award Knight of the Legion of Honor on 1 July 2014. The Knight of the Legion of Honor was presented to him by the French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in Mumbai. The award was presented for his outstanding contribution to cultural diversity across the world.

II.Shahrukh Khan is the second Bollywood actor after Amitabh Bachchan to be honoured with Knight of the Legion of Honour. Amitabh Bachchan received the honour in 2007.

IBM launches new big data services on cloud marketplace

I.IBM has introduced a new Big Data service available on its Cloud marketplace.

II.Through this service, organizations can now easily secure, access and manage content from anywhere and on any device, according to IBM officials.

III.Using this new service will allow knowledge workers to do their jobs more effectively and collaboratively by synchronizing and making the content they need available on any browser, desktop and mobile device they use everyday, and to apply it in the context of key business processes, according to a company statement.

IV.According to research estimates, 2.5 billion gigabytes of data are created every day, and 80 per cent of that data is comprised of unstructured content such as contracts, claims forms, and permit applications.

SBI to add 5,000 ATMs this fiscal

State Bank of India plans to open 5,000 ATMs this fiscal to bridge the vast gap in the ATM network. “The bank will open 3,000 to 5,000 ATMs in the current fiscal,” said A Krishnakumar, Managing Director of the bank, on the sidelines of the digital branch launch event.

Infosys new CEO to get $5.1 mn annual salary

I.Infosys Ltd will pay its new chief executive officer Vishal Sikka up to $5.08 million in annual salary besides a stock option of $2 million, a package considered lower than global peers.

II.Sikka, 47, will replace SD Shibulal and take charge on August 1.

III.India’s second-largest software services exporter has sent out a circular calling for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of the company shareholders on July 30 at Bangalore to approve the appointment of Sikka as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

IV.According to the circular, Sikka will be paid an annual base salary of $9,00,000 and annual variable pay of $4.18 million.

V.The former SAP executive will also be eligible to receive an annual stock option equal to $2 million in value.

VI.Sikka’s total compensation package of $7.08 million, including stock options, compares with $18 million Microsoft pays to its chief executive, $16.2 million IBM CEO gets and $14.4 million Citibank CEO receives.

Indian pistol shooter Jitu Rai ranked No. 1 in the world

I.Jitu Rai became World Number 1 pistol shooter in the men's 10m air pistol category. This was revealed by the latest rankings released by the International Shooting Federation (ISSF) on 1 July 2014.

II.Earlier, Rai was ranked 26th in the World but his recent performance in Maribor and Munich Shooting World Cup made him number 1 pistol shooter in the World. At the Maribor Shooting World Cup in June 2014, he won a Gold and a Silver and at the Munich Shooting World Cup in June 2014, he won the Silver medal in 10-meter air pistol.

IndusInd Bank launches online store for customers

I.As banks compete with each other to retain customer loyalty, they come out with innovative reward schemes, including exchange of reward points for purchase of merchandise of the customer’s choice from partner outlets.

II.The private sector IndusInd Bank Ltd has gone a step further by launching an online store — www.themorestore.in — from where its customers can redeem their reward points for purchase of merchandise from an online catalogue. It has tied up with Onemi — a catalogue-based retailer and retail E-commerce company — for this purpose.

III.In a filing with the stock exchanges, IndusInd Bank said as part of an “overall rewards enhancement strategy and with a view to further drive online purchasing convenience for its customers” the bank had launched the online store. The bank’s customers could redeem their reward points for purchase of items from an online catalogue from the site. The bank claimed that it was “India’s first rewards redemption platform integrated into an online market place”.

IV.The release said the online store offered three options — redemption, shopping and redemption+shopping. Customers could redeem their reward points across both debit and credit cards against more than 200 products listed in the catalogue. They could also shop for products across categories such as lifestyle, health & beauty and gadgets. With `redemption+ shopping’, they could purchase products using their reward points and by paying the differential amount on their debit/credit cards issued by the bank.

President conferred National, Shilp Guru and Sant Kabir Awards for 2011

Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India on 1 July 2014 presented the National Awards for Handicrafts and Handlooms, Shilp Guru Awards and Sant Kabir Awards for the year 2011. The awards were given to weavers and artisans at a function at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.

Caterpillar ties up with Tata Capital arm

I.Caterpillar’s Financial Products Division and Tata Capital’s wholly-owned subsidiary Tata Capital Financial Services Ltd (TCFSL) have tied up to offer customers finance options for purchasing Cat equipment at all its dealerships.

II.Through this, Caterpillar customers will be offered beneficial quotes and credit approval turnaround. This arrangement aims to tap eight dealer territories of Caterpillar India and benefit from the over 100 TCFSL branch locations across the country.

III.Praveen Kadle, MD & CEO, Tata Capital Ltd, said: “We are pleased to have this arrangement with Caterpillar in India to finance their wide range of products and believe that the arrangement is beneficial for all.”

IV.Kent Adams, President and CEO of Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation, said: “The combination of Caterpillar financial brand with Tata Capital creates a powerful competitive advantage for our dealer networks to enable them to obtain financing for their customers and enhance the sale of equipment.”

World Bank released a report titled Student Learning in South Asia

I.World Bank released a report titled Student learning in South Asia: challenges, opportunities, and policy priorities on 30 June 2014. According to the report, the poor quality of education is hampering the development of South Asia including India.

II.The poor quality is reflected in learning levels, traps many of its young people in poverty and prevents faster economic growth and more broadly shared prosperity.

Tanveer Mohammad appointed Uninor COO

I.Telecom services operator Uninor today appointed Tanveer Mohammad as its Chief Operating Officer, replacing Ruza Sabanovic.

II.Mohammad was Chief Technology Officer at Bangladesh-based telecom service provider Grameenphone, a subsidiary of Telenor Group.

III.“With his proven competence in leading bold and transformative initiatives in network and technology in Bangladesh’s largest mobile operator, Tanveer joins us at Uninor, as we are setting the stage for some bold growth and expansion in India,” Uninor CEO Morten Karlsen Sorby said in a statement.

IV.Mohammad replaces Uninor’s present COO Ruza Sabanovic, who has moved to the headquarters of its parent company Telenor in Oslo to take up the position of the Head of Group Technology.

V.In this position, Ruza will drive the network and IT transformation agenda across Telenor Group companies in Europe and Asia.

Vijaya Bank reduces term deposit interest rates

I.With a view to bring down cost of deposits, Vijaya Bank, the Bangalore-headquartered public sector bank has reduced the interest rates on its domestic term deposits.

II.The reduction is by 5 basis points to 50 basis points in six slabs of different maturity periods starting from 46 days to 1 year in respect of deposits of Rs 1 crore and above with effect from 3{+r}{+d} July 2014, the Bank said in a statement.

III.Vijaya Bank scrip gained 2.57 per cent to close higher at Rs 55.85 on the BSE.

Jajodia set to be elected Boxing India chief

I.Business house Monnet Ispat head Sandeep Jajodia is all set to become the president of AIBA-approved Boxing India in its election to be held in Mumbai on July 9, according to a senior official of the group.

II.An “unanimous” view has emerged that Jajodia “is the right candidate” to occupy the president’s post, Neetal Naarang, Assistant Vice-President (Corporate Communications) of Monnet Ispat told PTI on Tuesday.

III.“Jajodia is being looked upon as the right candidate for the position of president. It’s going to be a unanimous choice (in the July 9 elections),” she said.

IV.Boxing India was handed provisional recognition by the International Boxing Federation (AIBA) in May after Indian Boxing Federation was suspended in December 2012 before being terminated earlier this year for failing to adhere to AIBA’s diktat of holding fresh elections and adopting a revamped constitution.

Kochi: Mohammed Hanish is Nodal Officer for FIFA in 2017

I.Kerala Government has appointed senior IAS officer A P M Mohammed Hanish as Nodal Officer for the matches likely to beld in Kochi during the 2017 FIFA under-17 world cup football. The appointment is as per FIFA’s direction, a Kerala Football Association press release said.

II.The official has also been entrusted with overseeing the infrastructure and development of soccer in the run up to hosting the event. Hanish is the Kerala Roads and Bridges Managing Director.

NASA to launch satellite to track carbon pollution

I.The US space agency is to launch today a satellite that tracks atmospheric carbon dioxide, a leading greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.

II.The launch of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 is expected at 2:56 am Pacific time from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

III.“Now that humans are acknowledging the environmental effects of our dependence on fossil fuels and other carbon dioxide-emitting activities, our goal is to analyse the sources and sinks of this carbon dioxide and to find better ways to manage it,” said Gregg Marland, a professor in the Geology Department of Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina.

IV.The satellite will take 24 measurements every second, about a million per day, but clouds are a major obstacle.

V.Its field of view is about one square mile (three square kilometres), so even wispy clouds can obscure its measurements.

VI.NASA expects about 100,000 of the satellite’s data snapshots from around the world daily will be sufficiently cloud-free to be useful.

World Bank Group sanctions $150,000 grant to GNRC

I.The World Bank Group (WBG) has granted GNRC, which was formerly known as Guwahati Neurological Research Centre a grant of $150,000.

II.WBG, through its India Development Marketplace (IDM) initiative, chose to present this grant during a conference and workshop on development marketplace in Guwahati, according to a statement by the WBG. Through its India Development Marketplace initiative, the World Bank Group (World Bank and the International Finance Corporation) identifies and supports scalable, replicable and financially sustainable projects that offer solutions to the most pressing social, environmental and economic problems.

III.Further, the grant was announced by Onno Ruhl, Country Director, India, World Bank and Anil Sinha, Regional Head, South Asia Inclusive Business Models, International Finance Corporation (IFC) IFC, a member of World Bank Group, and is one of the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector.

IV."IDM 2014 has surfaced some innovative solutions for delivering crucial services - in healthcare, finance, education, water and sanitation - to the poor living in Assam, Mizoram and Meghalaya", said Ruhl. "From scaling up access to low cost healthcare, tapping unbanked populations through technology, to providing energy efficient solutions for water and sanitation issues, and their work with the communities helps us, and the government, understand what really works on the ground," he added.

Using ATMs outside the home branch network may cost you

I.The Reserve Bank of India is in the process of deciding if banks can charge a fee for using automated teller machines (ATMs) to withdraw money outside the home bank ATM network.

II.Home bank network means ATMs of the bank in which you have an account.

III.The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) has suggested to the RBI that customers who withdraw money from other banks ATMs should be charged.

IV.A Krishnakumar, Managing Director, State Bank of India, said, “The IBA has made a request to the RBI to rationalise ATM charges in urban and metro areas.”

V.If accepted, this would mean that customers will have to pay a fee for using ATMs other than the home branch ATM for withdrawing money from the very first transaction (against five free transactions allowed in a month now at other bank ATMs). According to estimates, this charge could be as high as ₹20 per transaction.

VI.This issue took centre-stage late last year after the law enforcement authorities directed banks to provide security at their ATMs, after a woman was attacked in Bangalore.

AP Govt to release notification for 10,000 teacher posts

I.The Andhra Pradesh Government will soon release D.S.C. notification for selection of 10,000 teachers in the state.

II.According to G Srinivas, Minister for Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh, the recruitment process for the Government jobs would be streamlined and a white paper on the state of human resources development would also be released shortly.

III.The plan to release D.S.C. notification would be a big relief for the job-seekers in Andhra Pradesh as the Government recruitments have been stopped for almost last two years in view of the state bifurcation. This would be the first notification to be released after the state bifurcation.

World Bank officials to make field trip to Bandhan Financial Services

I.Onno Ruhl, Country Director, World Bank, along with other senior officials of the organisation will visit the Kolkata-based Bandhan Financial Services Pvt Ltd on July 10.

II.Bandhan, a micro-finance company, was recently given banking licences by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

III.Ruhl along with other officials are expected to take an early morning field trip to South 24 Parganas to witness the micro-finance and development activities of Bandhan.

IV.Apart from interacting with women borrowers, the World Bank officials might visit some of the projects or enterprises set-up by the borrowers.

V.They will also visit one of Bandhan’s non-formal primary schools as part of observing the company’s education programme.