GK Updates - 20 August | Banking Quiz

World Humanitarian Day observed across the world on 19 August
I.World Humanitarian Day was observed across the world on 19 August 2014. The day is observed to recognise humanitarian personnel and those who have lost their lives working for humanitarian causes. The theme for the year 2014 is The World Needs More Humanitarian Heroes.
II.World Humanitarian Day is also an opportunity to celebrate the spirit that inspires humanitarian work around the globe. The events of the day included wreath-laying ceremony at UN Headquarters in New York to honour aid workers killed in the line of duty.

ICICI Bank became the first bank in India to launch EMI facility on Debit Card
I.Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) Bank on 19 August 2014 launched EMI (equated monthly installments) facility on debit cards.
II.With this, ICICI bank became the first bank in India to provide such facility on debit card. This was so far available only for credit cardholders.

Benefit to customers
I.The facility will enable the customers to convert their high value transactions into easy instalments.
II.This facility will offer a three-pronged advantage to customers as they can leverage on their fixed deposits and earn interest, while they shop and pay in EMI as well as earn reward points on transactions.
III.ICICI Bank debit cardholders having fixed deposits of minimum 10000 rupees in the savings bank account can avail themselves of this facility to buy products on EMIs of 3, 6, 9 or 12 months.
Across India
I.The ICICI has tied up with Samsung India to offer this facility across 9000 stores including large format retailers, multi-brand outlets and standalone stores, for purchase of Samsung products like mobile phones, tablets and consumer electronics, among others

K V Thomas takes over as new PAC Chairman
I. Senior Congress leader K V Thomas today took over as the new Chairman of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.
II. The key committee, which examines CAG reports after they are tabled in Parliament, will hold its first meeting next week.
III. The post of the PAC Chairman is held by a senior member of the Opposition party. Murli Manohar Joshi (BJP) was the Chairman of the PAC in the last Lok Sabha.

Note: I. The PAC, constituted every year, consists of not more than 22 members — 15 members elected by the Lok Sabha and not more than seven members from the Rajya Sabha.
II. The PAC’s controversial 2011 draft report on the 2G scam, which had strongly indicted former Telecom Minister A Raja and come down heavily on the PMO and the Cabinet Secretariat for not taking “corrective action”, continued to be on its ‘unfinished agenda’ for three years.

IFC launches $2.5-bn rupee financing programme
I.IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, on Wednesday launched a $2.5-billion onshore Indian rupee bond programme to strengthen the capital market and support infrastructure development in India.
II.Under the programme, IFC will use a combination of rupee-denominated bonds and swaps to raise local currency financing of up to $2.5 billion or Rs. 15,000 crore over the next five years.
III.Proceeds from the programme will be used for infrastructure investments in India.
IV."Vibrant capital markets provide critical access to finance for the private sector," said the IFC Executive Director and CEO, Jim-Yong Cai, who is currently visiting India.
V."Bonds offered under IFC's rupee financing programme offer a safe investment alternative for domestic pension funds and other investors, while mobilising capital to address India's infrastructure needs.''

Yoga guru BKS Iyengar passes away
I. World-renowned yoga guru and founder of the Iyengar School of Yoga BKS Iyengar passed away here early this morning following illness.
II. 96-year-old Iyengar had been ailing since some time and was admitted to a private hospital here a week back. He was put on dialysis after his condition worsened two days back.He breathed his last at 3.15 am.
III. Iyengar, honoured with Padma Vibhushan, is survived by a son and daughter.

Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi authored by Faraz Ahmad released
I.A book titled Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi: An Inside Job? authored by Faraz Ahmad was released on 19 August 2014. The book was released by a senior journalist Vinod Mehta.
II.The author on the occasion of release of the book termed the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi a contract job which had nothing to do with the ideology or the larger cause of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (accused of the crime).

HDFC Bank accorded most valued brand
I. HDFC Bank with a brand value of $ 9.4bn is India’s most valuable brand according to the first edition of the BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands ranking that was announced in Mumbai today.
II. At pole position, HDFC Bank’s valuation was much higher than telecom major Airtel at $ 8.2 bn that occupied the second spot.
III. Other banking sector leaders like State Bank of India (SBI) at $ 6.8 bn were placed at number three with ICICI Bank ($ 3.53 billion) at fourth position.
IV. The combined brand value of all the 50 top brands in the ranking was about $70bn.

Note: The study, undertaken by marketing and brand consultancy Millward Brown in conjunction with the WPP Group, claims to be the only one in India that takes into account consumer opinions of brands to calculate the contribution that product brands make to business success.

India and Czech Republic signed MoU on technical cooperation in Railway
I.India and Czech Republic on 19 August 2014 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on technical cooperation in railway sector. This MoU was signed between the Union Ministry of Railways and Czech Railways (Ceske Drahy) of the Czech Republic and Association of Czech Railway Industry (ACRI) of the Czech Republic.
II.The MoU was signed at Rail Bhawan in New Delhi by Chairman of Railway Board, Arunendra Kumar and Ambassador of Czech Republic, Miloslav Stasek.

IDBI donates Rs9 cr to build toilets in rural schools
I. The IDBI Bank has donated Rs 9 crore towards the building of 300 gender-segragated toilets in schools close to the bank’s branches in rural and semi-urban areas.
II. IDBI CMD M.S. Raghavan said this was the Bank’s contribution to the Swachh Bharat Mission announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day.
III. This was part of its CSR initative, he said, lauding the national mission which was sure to go a long way to improve health and sanitation facilities for rural India and encourage the girl child’s education.

2015-16 to be observed as Water Conservation Year: Uma Bharti
I. Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti has stressed the need for interlinking of rivers to save excess water from floods.
II. Speaking at an International Seminar in New Delhi today, Ms Bharti said that her Ministry has finalized 30 river interlinking projects which will be implemented in the next 10 years.
III.The Union Cabinet has recently approved the Ken-Betwa link.
IV. She said that interlinking is being done keeping in view the aqua life and ecological balance.

Prime Minister dedicated indigenously built largest warship INS Kolkata to the nation
I.Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi on 16 August 2014 dedicated India’s indigenously designed warship INS Kolkata (D63) to the nation. With this, INS Kolkata was commissioned in Indian Navy at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
II.It has all-round capabilities against enemy submarines, surface warships, anti-ship missiles and fighter aircraft. The warship has been commissioned without its main air defence weapon which protects the vessel from aerial attacks.
III.However, as per Rear Admiral AB Singh, by September 2014, a Long Range-Surface to Air Missile (LR-SAM) would be deployed on the board of the warship. At present the LR-SAM is under development in a joint venture between India and Israel. The LR-SAM is the main air defence weapon of the naval warships.

TCS and Bharti Foundation announced to spend 200 crore rupees for Clean India Campaign
I. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Bharti Foundation announce to spend 200 crore rupees for Clean India Campaign.
II. TCS has decided to provide hygienic sanitation facilities in 10000 schools for girl students. On the other hand, Bharti Foundation (development arm of Bharti Enterprises) decided to build toilets in Ludhiana in next three years covering every rural household.
III. This initiative of Bharti Foundation is part of Satya Bharti Abhiyan where in it will invest in improving sanitation facilities in government schools in rural Ludhiana by building new toilets for girls where no such facilities exist.

Iranian Poet Simin Behbahani died
I.Poet Simin Behbahani, the Lioness of Iran, died on 19 August 2014 in Tehran, Iran. She died of heart and respiratory complications and had been in coma for two weeks. She was 87.
II.She was a champion of women’s rights and captured the hopes and disappointments of Iranians since 1979 Iran Revolution through her poetry.

Poet Simin Behbahani
• Born in Tehran on 19 July 1927, she began writing poetry at the age of twelve.
• She produced some of the most important works of the Persian literature in the 20th century.
• She was the President of The Iranian Writers' Association and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1999 and 2002.
• She earned the title of the "Lioness of Iran" from the people of Iran for her courage in facing the official censorship of her poems as her verses opposed the dictatorship.

Indian neuroscientist Partha Mitra awarded research grant to map the human brain
I. Partha Mitra, an Indian neuroscientist in the United States, was awarded Early Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) to map the human brain on 19 August 2014 under President Barack Obama’s multi-year BRAIN Initiative.
II. Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) is an Initiative by the US government to identify brain structures.
III. Partha Mitra was awarded this grant along with Florin Albeanu, a researcher at the National Science Foundation. With this grant, they would develop a virtual neuroanatomist, an artificial-intelligence system that can recognize neural structures and cell types in tiny images of brain slices. They would also be developing conceptual and physical tools that may help to promote neuroscience.

Hindu eco-temple opens in London
I. A Hindu temple, claiming to be the world's first 'eco-temple' featuring solar panels and a rainwater harvesting system, has been opened in northwest London in the UK.
II. The ornate Shree Swaminarayan Mandir in Kingsbury combines traditional Indian architecture, intricate carvings and masterful artistry with green technology.The temple opened yesterday.
III. Mayor of London Boris Johnson described the new temple and facilities as stunning and impressive during his recent visit to the temple.

India and Czech Republic signed MoU on technical cooperation in Railway
I. India and Czech Republic on 19 August 2014 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on technical cooperation in railway sector. This MoU was signed between the Union Ministry of Railways and Czech Railways (Ceske Drahy) of the Czech Republic and Association of Czech Railway Industry (ACRI) of the Czech Republic.
II. The MoU was signed at Rail Bhawan in New Delhi by Chairman of Railway Board, Arunendra Kumar and Ambassador of Czech Republic, Miloslav Stasek.

Jammu and Kashmir to host Football Federation Cup in August 2015
I. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced on 18 August 2014 that Jammu and Kashmir will host Football Federation Cup in August 2015.

About Federation Cup
I. The Federation Cup is an annual club level football tournament of India. It was started in 1977.
II. Presently it is the most important club tournament after the I-League to which it has become a de facto League Cup. The winning club of the Federation Cup gets a chance to compete in the continental level in AFC Cup.
III. The current holders of the Federation Cup are Churchill Brothers which defeated Sporting Clube de Goa by 3–1 in the 2014 final held in Kochi.

Dutch teenager Max Verstappen to become youngest Formula One driver
I. Max Verstappen of Netherlands will become the youngest Formula One (F1) driver in the F1 history when he will compete for the 2015 season. For the 2015 season he will make the F1 debut with Scuderia Toro Rosso
II. Verstappen currently racing in Formula Three is the son of former Formula 1 driver Jos Verstappen, who had contested for 106 Grands Prix for teams such as Benetton and Tyrrell between 1994 and 2003.
III. The youngest driver to earn a Championship point is Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat, who was 19 when he finished ninth in this season's opening race in Australia. The Russian will be Verstappen's team-mate in 2015.

Shanta Kumar to head panel on FCI revamp
I.The Government on Wednesday set up a high-level committee to recommend restructuring of Food Corporation of India (FCI). The committee will submit its report to the Government within three months, a Food Processing Ministry release said.
II.The committee, to be headed by former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Shanta Kumar, 80, now a Lok Sabha MP, will study various models of restructuring or unbundling of FCI “to improve its operational efficiency and financial management” as well as measures for overall improvement in management of foodgrains by FCI, among others.
III.“It is commonly perceived that FCI is plagued with several functional and cost inefficiencies, which need to be removed for efficient management of foodgrains and saving costs,” the Ministry said.
IV.The other members of the committee are Chief Secretary, Punjab Government or his representative, Chief Secretary, Chhattisgarh Government or his representative, G. Raghuram, Dean, IIM, Ahmedabad, Ashok Gulati, Former Chairman, Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices, Gunmadi Nancharaiah, Dean, School of Economics, University of Hyderabad , Chairman-cum-Managing Director, FCI, who will be Member & Convener and Ram Sewak Sharma, Secretary (Electronics & IT), who will be a special invitee to give inputs on use of technology, said the press statement.