GK Updates - 11 August | Banking Quiz

Army chief in Siachen ahead of Modi’s visit

I.Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to Ladakh on August 12, Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Dalbir Singh on Sunday visited Siachen, the world’s highest battlefield, in Jammu and Kashmir.

II.On his first visit to Siachen after taking over as Army Chief on July 31, Gen. Singh had an extensive interaction with the jawans and officers of 14 Corps, first at Leh and later at the glacier. He was accompanied by General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda.

III.Mr. Modi is scheduled to conduct an inspection of the forward posts before addressing a gathering of the jawans and officers in Siachen. He is also scheduled to inaugurate two power projects in Leh and Kargil besides laying the foundation stone of a power transmission line linking the two Ladakh districts headquarters to the State capital of Srinagar. This will be Mr. Modi’s first visit to Ladakh and Siachen glacier after becoming Prime Minister in May this year.

China wants India to play key role in ‘Silk Road’ plan

I.With China firming up in the coming two or three months a “masterplan” for its ambitious land and maritime “new Silk Road” project, a top official has said that Beijing wants India to play a key role in the initiative.

II.Beijing envisages an economic corridor linking its south-western Yunnan province through Myanmar to Kolkata as a key segment of a land-based “Silk Road economic belt”, and is also planning to boost ties with

III.port cities, such as Chennai, through a “Maritime Silk Road” starting out from south-eastern Fujian province and linking littoral countries in the region.

IV.Outlining the plan, Gao Zhenting, Counsellor, Department of International Economic Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said the masterplan, which envisages renewing the old Silk Road linkages connecting China to South Asia, Central Asia and Europe, would be unveiled in two or three months.

V.The plan is expected to emphasise infrastructure projects aimed at boosting regional connectivity, as well as a range of initiatives such as maritime connectivity and ecological cooperation.

RBI to transfer Rs 52,679-cr surplus profit to Govt

I.The Reserve Bank will transfer to the Centre its surplus profit of Rs 52,679 crore, about 60 per cent more than the amount given last year.

II.“The Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India...approved the transfer of surplus amounting to Rs 526.79 billion for the year ended June 30, 2014 to the Government of India,” the central bank said in a statement, adding that the transfer will take place today.

III.Last year, the RBI had transferred its Rs 33,010-crore surplus profit to the Centre.

IV.The amount will provide some help to the government, which proposes to bring down the fiscal deficit to 4.1 per cent of GDP this fiscal from 4.5 per cent last year.

V.The Reserve Bank follows the July-June accounting year.

Govt approves compassionate appointments in public sector banks

I.The Government has accorded approval for a scheme of compassionate appointment in public sector banks.

II.The Department of Financial Services in the Union Ministry of Finance has conveyed this in a communication to the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) dated August 7.

III.The scheme is effective from August 5.

Munger through the Ages written by late DP Yadav released

I.A book entitled Munger through the Ages authored by late Devendra Prasad Yadav was released on 7 August 2014 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. The first copy of the book was received by President of India Pranab Mukherjee.

II.The President received the book by Dr. Karan Singh, the Chairman of ICCR, who formally released the book.

III.Munger through the Ages depicts the rich history and heritage of Munger district along with its geographical and demographic features. The book also says about the administration in Munger during the early days of independent India and many aspects of its modern day challenges.

AIMA Managing India Awards 2014 awards announced

I.AIMA Managing India Awards 2014 were announced on 6 August 2014 in a function held at Hotel Taj Palace in New Delhi. The awards were given by Union Home Affairs Minister Rajnath Singh to distinguished and eminent organization / personality who have made outstanding contributions.

Recipient of awards in different category

• AIMA Corporate Citizen Award 2014 – Shiv Nadar, Founder & Chairman, HCL and Shiv Nadar Foundation

• AIMA Business Leader of the Year’ Award 2014 – Adi Godrej, Godrej group Chairman

• AIMA Lifetime Contribution Award 2014 – Deepak Parek, the HDFC Chairman

• AIMA Outstanding Institution Builder’ Award 2014 – Sengamedu Srinivasa Badrinath, the Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Sankara Nethralaya

• AIMA Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 – Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, Chairman and Managing Director, Bandhan Financial Services

• AIMA Emerging Business Leader of the Year 2014 - M G George Muthoot, Chairman, Muthoot Group

• AIMA Outstanding Contribution to Media 2014 – Mammen Mathew, Chief Editor and Managing Director, Malayala Manorama Group

• AIMA Director of the Year 2014 – Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Film Writer, Producer, Director

• AIMA Transformational Business Leader of the Year 2014 – Uday Kotak, Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd

Organisations awarded and honoured were

• Indian Multinational of the Year – TCS Ltd. (N Chandrsekaran, CEO & MD TCS Ltd. to receive the award)

• Outstanding PSU of the Year – NTPC Ltd

• Emerging Business Leader of the Year – Mr M. G. George Muthoot, Chairman, the Muthoot Group

• MNC in India of the Year – Samsung India Electronics Ltd

About All India Management Association (AIMA)

The All India Management Association is a national apex body of professional management in India set up in 1957 with active support of the Government of India and Industry.

SBT opens exclusive branch for processing direct benefits

I.State Bank of Travancore (SBT) opened an exclusive branch for processing direct benefit transfers at Thycaud here on Saturday.

II.This will facilitate faster transfer of social benefits to the accounts of the beneficiaries of direct benefits, according to a bank spokesman.

EXCLUSIVE PORTAL

I.Jawahar Thakur, Controller-General of Accounts, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, inaugurated the branch.

II.Thakur was here for a review meeting with public sector banks on implementation of direct benefit transfer to beneficiaries through the Public Financial Management Systems (PFMS) portal, formerly called the Central Plan Scheme Monitoring System.

III.PFMS helps establish a web-based online transaction system for fund management and e-payment to implementing agencies and beneficiaries.

IV.It is a portal maintained by the office of the Controller General of Accounts in the Union Ministry of Finance.

UPDATE ON TRANSFERS

I.It ensures efficient fund flow systems and expenditure network. It also provides stakeholders with a reliable and meaningful management information system and an effective decision support system.

II.Citizens can find out the status of Aadhaar-based benefits transferred through PFMS by using the ‘Know Your Payments’ link on the left side panel of the portal (www.cpsms.nic.in).

III.Meanwhile, the SBT spokesman said the bank has been in the forefront in implementation of the Centre’s financial inclusion initiatives.

SLR cut will not boost credit to industry for now: Rajan

I.Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan on Sunday said the recent move by the central bank to cut the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) will not help in expanding credit to firms in the private sector, at least for now.

II.This is because the demand for credit from the private sector is yet to pick up, Rajan told a press conference addressed jointly by him and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the capital.

III.The RBI Governor said there was no natural connect between the SLR cut and increased lending to the private sector by banks.

RBI to study impact of cut

I.He however promised that the RBI would, in the coming days, analyse the effect of the SLR cut and ensure that financing for the Government (borrowing) is not disrupted.

II.Rajan noted that overall credit growth is yet to pick up in a strong way, although credit to retail is quite robust.

III.This could be partly because industry is resorting to raising money from markets and going in for external borrowing.

IV.In its third bi-monthly policy statement, on August 5, the Reserve Bank cut the SLR — the slice of deposits that banks have to compulsorily invest in government securities — from 22.5 per cent to 22 per cent.

V.The fact that banks will have to trim their SLR contribution does not mean they will transfer the funds from government bonds, Rajan noted.

Sachin granted leave for budget session amid protests in Rajya Sabha

I.Sachin Tendulkar’s prolonged absence from the Rajya Sabha became a subject of discussion in the House once again on Monday as the Chair sought the permission of the House to grant him leave for the budget session.

II.The cricket icon had applied for leave for the entire budget session owing to “professional and personal commitments and family exigencies”.

III.Protesting his prolonged absence as “disrespect to the House and the nation”, members, cutting across party lines, said that an explanation should be sought from him particularly as he had come to Delhi last week to attend a programme near Parliament House but did not come to the Rajya Sabha.

Secure websites to get priority in Google search

I.Secure website connections will now get a priority in Google search results.

II.In a blog post, the search engine has explained that websites that use secure connections (like https over http) will get a boost in rank.

III.“For now it is only a very lightweight signal” affecting fewer than 1 percent of global queries and carrying less weight than other signals such as high—quality content “while we give webmasters time to switch to https”, Google said.

IV.But over time, “we may decide to strengthen it because we would like to encourage all website owners to switch from http to https to keep everyone safe on the web”, it posted.

V.Google uses indicators to decide ranking of websites.

VI.Being useful and informative, credible, engaging, high quality and finally more useful than other sites are some of the signals Google uses to rank pages.

Karnataka Bank launches toll-free facility for temple donations

I.Karnataka Bank Ltd has launched a facility to send donations to designated temples by calling up toll-free numbers.

II.Named as ‘i-Hundi’ facility, this works through interactive voice response (IVR) channel.

III.A press release by the bank said here on Monday that the customers of the bank can donate funds to temples/trusts, which are registered with the bank, by calling the bank from their registered mobile numbers through IVR channel.

IV.Customers can make a call from their registered mobile numbers with the bank to the designated toll-free IVR numbers – 1800-425-1444 and 08022021500 for donating funds.

Two-step process

I.It is a two-step process. That means the customer has to make two toll-free calls to the IVR number.

II.In the first step, the customer has to select the beneficiary temple of his/her choice and the amount of donation. Following this, a one-time password (OTP) is generated and delivered to the registered mobile of the customer through SMS.

III.In the second step, the customer has to enter the OTP and donate the amount to the temple selected. The release said that the OTP is introduced as a preventive measure against any cyber related frauds.

World Bank to fund ecologically safe power projects

I.A World Bank economist has said that the lender will fund only those hydro-power projects where safeguards are in place to prevent any adverse impact on the environment.

II.“We are prepared to support only those good hydro-power projects in India which make economic sense as well as take socio-environment safeguards very seriously,” Michael Toman, lead economist on climate change in World Bank told PTI here during a visit to the city.

III.“The impact in terms of environment, relocation of people, availability of water to farmers should be minimum. We want all these environment and social factors to be taken care of,” he said when asked to comment on protests against power projects in states like Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh.

IV.World Bank lends money to a number of development projects in India, including power projects.

V.Speaking on the sidelines of a seminar on energy security organised by research body CUTS International, he said large grid-connected power projects have the advantage of being cheaper through the economies of scale.

VI.“You also have the benefit of large storage capacity so that electricity is made available throughout the year,” Toman, who is also the manager of the Energy and Environment Team of World Bank, said.

VII.Various environmental groups in India have raised concerns over safety of large power projects. Last year’s catastrophic flood in Uttarakhand was also blamed on hydro-projects for intensifying the magnitude.

VIII.Hydropower projects are generally made to generate electricity by making dams and reservoirs to provide hydraulic head and release water through turbines on a schedule that matches energy demands.

IX.It is estimated that there are 79 million households in India that have no access to electricity and the country imports 28 per cent of its net energy consumption.

Bill introduced to repeal 36 obsolete laws

I.Seeking to clear the statute books of antiquated laws, a Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha today to repeal 36 Acts, including one which amends the marriage laws.

II.Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad introduced The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2014, which seeks to remove certain Amendment Acts and Principal Acts from the statute books as they have outlived their utility.

III.This is the first time since 2001 that such an exercise is being undertaken by the Law Ministry.

IV.Through the Bill, the Government also seeks to amend a ‘patent error’ committed by the Law Ministry during the passage of the Whistleblowers Bill.

V.While the Bill became an Act in May this year, it is called the ‘Whistleblowers Protection Act, 2011’ instead of ’2014’.

VI.The Bill makes it clear that once the measure becomes an Act, it will not affect any other law in force.

VII.The Amendment Acts which are sought to be repealed include amendments to the Representation of the People Act, Marriage Act, Election Laws, Divorce Laws and Anand Marriage Act and the Evidence Act.

First govt bio-incubator plant in Gujarat to aid small enterprises

I.The first government-run ‘bio-incubator plant’ in Gujarat is all set to be established at Savli in Vadodara city with an initial cost of around Rs 16 crore.

II.The Biotechnology Savli Park Incubator for Research, Innovation and Technopreneurship (BT—SPIRIT) will be supported by the Centre as well the state government.

III.“Gujarat will get the first government-run bio-incubator in Savli area in Vadodara. It is being set up with an aim to encourage small enterprises in the sector of biotechnology which will be supported by the state and central government through their various agencies,” Akshay Kumar Saxena, Mission Director of Gujarat State Bio technology Mission (GSBTM), said.

IV.The incubator will cater to Bio-Business Incubation for the start ups and growth of small enterprises and also provide mentoring and venture support, he said.

V.According to Saxena, this will also benefit would-be entrepreneurs through various outreach programmes and provide support to those existing and future entrepreneurs through the techno-preneurship promotions and the business acceleration centre.

VI.Earlier a bio-incubator plant by a private enterprise was established in Ahmedabad city but this would be the first government-run plant to encourage commercialisation in the start-ups and small enterprises in biotechnology sector, Saxena said.

VII.The Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council [BIRAC], which is a part of Centre Government’s Department of Biotechnology, has given its nod to develop a Bio-Incubator at Savli Biotech Park in Vadodara, the official said.

SEBI approves single registration for stock brokers

I.Stock brokers have cause for cheer as they can now go in for a simple one-time process of registration for operating as a broker or a clearing member in any stock exchange or clearing corporation.

II.They also henceforth do not need to obtain multiple certificates from SEBI for operating in the different segments of equity, equity derivatives, currency derivative and debt.

III.The latest SEBI move will also obviate the need for separate certificate for each category of operations – trading member, trading-cum-self clearing member and professional clearing member.

IV.With a view to further simplifying the registration requirements for stock brokers/clearing members, the SEBI Board has approved single registration for operating in all stock exchanges/clearing corporations, Chairman UK Sinha told reporters after the Board meeting here.

V.Under the proposed regime, initial certificate of registration as stock broker/clearing member will be granted by SEBI and subsequent permissions to act as stock brokers/clearing member of other stock exchanges/clearing corporations will be granted by respective stock exchange/clearing corporation after following the prescribed procedure.

VI.Indications are that even existing stock brokers will get to migrate to the new regime of single registration.

Aircel launches ‘Aircel Music Mornings’ in tie-up with Saavn

I.GSM operator Aircel, together with Saavn, a digital streaming provider of Indian music, has launched ‘Aircel Music Mornings’, a music-based promotion scheme.

II.Under the scheme, which will run for three months, Aircel will offer its users free data access to Saavn’s comprehensive music catalogue for one month. The access will be provided between 6 am and 9 am throughout the week, the company said in a statement.

III.The data usage on Saavn during those hours is free for Aircel’s pre-paid users. It will not be billed nor will it drain users’ data packages.

Maharashtra resident being treated for Ebola symptoms

I.A resident of Vasai in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, who recently arrived here from Lagos in Nigeria, is being treated for symptoms of Ebola at an isolated ward of a government hospital.

II.Maharashtra Health Minister Suresh Shetty said Lalit Kumar was suffering from vomiting after returning from Lagos.

III.He is being treated in the isolation ward of a government hospital by doctors, he said.

IV.His samples have been sent to National Institute of Virology, Pune, for confirmation.

V.Shetty said there is no need to panic as Ebola infection can happen only if there is a close contact with those infected.

VI.The World Health Organisation had last week issued a global health emergency due to Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak. WHO declared the current EVD outbreak as the “most complex outbreak leading to public health emergency,” calling for global health alert in all countries.

VII.The four countries affected with EVD are all in western Africa— Guinea (393 deaths), Sierra Leone (286 deaths), Liberia (282 deaths) and Nigeria (1 death).

Bangladesh issues Ebola alert for 3 months

I.Bangladesh has issued an alert against deadly Ebola virus for three months, days after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the epidemic an international health emergency.

II.“Medical teams would monitor the international airports in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet and also the seaport in Chittagong during the next 90 days as part of precautions,” said a health ministry statement published here today said.

III.Health officials said the medical teams would advise the people coming from the West African countries to contact a designated army-run hospital on the outskirts of the capital where a 20-bed special ward would be set up.

IV.The state-run Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), however, said the earlier issued travel restrictions on Ebola patients and the absence of direct air links with the affected West African countries made the deadly virus making its way to Bangladesh a remote possibility.

V.IEDCR Director Prof Mahmudur Rahman said the countries where the virus has spread are already screening the people going to other countries as per the WHO guidelines, but Bangladesh took the steps as additional cautionary measures.

VI.The WHO recently declared the spread of Ebola virus as an international health emergency, saying the epidemic was an “extraordinary event” and now constituted an international health risk.

Kapil Dev to head Arjuna Awards Selection Committee

I.Former Indian cricketer Kapil Dev Nikhanj was selected as the Chairperson of the Arjuna Awards Selection Committee on 7 August 2014. This Committee will choose outstanding sportspersons for 2014 of the Country. This Committees will have 15 members which includes12 sportspersons and 3 officials.

II.Apart from this, the three-time Olympian and former Hockey Captain Ajitpal Singh was selected as the Chairman for Dronacharya Committee.

III.The awards are scheduled to be presented on 29 August 2014 (National Sports Day). The Committee will recommend the deserving sportspersons for the prestigious awards and a final decision vests with Union Sports Minister Sarbanand Sonowal.

Indian Women’s Recurve team won Gold medal at Archery World Cup Stage IV

I.Indian Women’s Recurve team on 10 August 2014 won gold medal at the Archery World Cup Stage IV in Wroclaw, Poland. The second seeded Indian team led by Deepika Kumari and included Bombayala Devi Lashram and Lakshmi Rani Manji defeated the Mexican team 6-0.

II.Overall, India bagged a total of five medals on the last day of Archery World Cup Stage IV in Wroclaw, Poland.

Medals won by Deepika and team were

• Gold Medal which came in through the defeat of Mexico in the final archery event of Recurve Women's Team

• Bronze Medal in the Recurve Women’s individual event where Deepika defeated Tatiana Segina of Russia with 6-2 scores

• Bronze Medal in the Recurve Mixed team pair event, in which Jayanta Talukdar was her partner and they both thrashed Belarus opponents with 6-0 scores