0 GK Monthly Special - July 2014

GK Monthly Special  - August 2014 Power Pack

APPOINTMENTS

• DD Misra to be ONGC's Director (Human Resource Department). Misra, 56, will be in charge of employee relations for over 33,000 employees of ONGC from August 1.


• D Nageswara Rao assumed charge as new Director (Operations) of RINL-Visakhapatnam steel plant on Friday following the superannuation of Umesh Chandra.


• Mondelez appoints Chandramouli Venkatesan as MD of India operations.


• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has a new Chairman in senior IRS officer K V Chowdary.


• Citi India announced the appointment of Kartik Kaushik as Consumer Business Manager effective from August 1, 2014.


• Bharti Realty has appointed S.K. Sayal as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.


• The government has appointed Indian Foreign Service officer Dr. Arvind Gupta as Deputy National Security Advisor and Secretary, National Security Council Secretariat for a period of three years.


• SAP has appointed Dilipkumar Khandelwal as Managing Director for SAP Labs India.


• Lt Gen Philip Campose- a veteran mechanised infantry officer, has taken over as the new Vice Chief of Army Staff succeeding Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, who is now heading the 1.3 million strong force.


• Justice Dr. Manjula Chellur was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court .


• Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik has been given additional charge of Rajasthan in place of Margaret Alva, who completes her tenure .


• Aditya Vardhan Agarwal, Director, Emami Group, has been nominated and appointed as the Vice-President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce.


• Arijit Basu has taken over as Managing Director and CEO of SBI Life Insurance, from Atanu Sen, who retired on July 31, 2014.


• Ravi Shankar joined infrastructure finance company IDFC as the head of Bharat Banking with effect from August 8, 2014.


• Former India cricket captain Kapil Dev will head the Arjuna Awards selection committee for choosing this year's outstanding sportspersons of the country while former hockey skipper Ajitpal Singh is likely to be in charge of selecting the Dronacharya awardees.


• Three-time Olympian and former Hockey Captain Ajitpal Singh was selected as the Chairman of the Dronacharya Award Selection Committee on 7 August 2014.


• J Ranganayakulu joined capital market regulator SEBI on Tuesday as Executive Director (Legal) for a period of three years.


• Ajay Bakshi has been appointed as managing director and CEO of Manipal Health Enterprises (MHE).


• Iraqi President Mohammed Fuad Masum named Haider al-Abadi as the new Iraqi Prime Minister.


• Senior IRS officer K V Chowdary appointed as new Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).


• Supreme Court gets four new Judges.Four new judges was sworn-in by the Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha . The new judges are-Senior advocate Uday Umesh Lalit, Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre, Justice R. Banumathi, Justice Prafull Chandra Pant.


• The Government has appointed R. Amalorpavanathan and H.R.Dave as Deputy Managing Directors of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard).


• RP Sanjiv Goenka Group has announced the appointment of Vikram Mehra as Managing Director of its company Saregama India Ltd.


• H Kumar, who was appointed as the Managing Director of Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL), by the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on August 7, took charge in Mangalore on August 14.


• Online furniture store Urban Ladder has Avinash Shekhar as its Chief Financial Officer with effect from August 1, 2014.


• Harish Badami assumed office as CEO and Managing Director of ACC.


• The Union Government decided to appoint former RBI governor Bimal Jalan as the head of the Expenditure Management Commission.


• FMCG major Colgate Palmolive India today appointed Issam Bachaalani as the Managing Director (MD) of the company for a period of five years with effect from October 1.


• Rajni Razdan on 16 August 2014 became the new Chairperson of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). She was appointed as Chairperson of UPSC by the President Pranab Mukherjee on 14 August 2014.


• Athletics Federation of India President Adille Sumariwala has been appointed the Chef-de-Mission of the Indian contingent for next month’s Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.


• AIADMK General Secretary and Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa named P Venugopal as Parliamentary Party leader following the election of M Thambidurai as Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker.


• The Board of Cricket Control India (BCCI) appointed Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri as the Director of Indian Cricket Team on 19 August 2014. The decision came after seeing defeat of Indian Cricket Team in Test series against England.


• Senior Congress leader K V Thomas today took over as the new Chairman of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.


• Thailand coup leader, Army Chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, has been elected Prime Minister of Thailand.


• T M Bhasin was elected as Chairman of Indian Banks Association (IBA) . He will be the Chairman of IBA for 2014-15.T M Bhasin is the chairman and managing director of Indian Bank. He replace KR Kamath.


• Turkey's ruling party named Finance Minister Ahmet Davutoglu as New Prime Minister of Turkey on 10 August 2014.   He will replace Recep Tayyip Erdogan.  He will resume office from 28 August 2014.


• Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd has elevated TVS Krishna Kumar, General Manager (Finance), to the position of Director (Finance).


• RN Ravi appointed new chief of Joint Intelligence Committee.


• Kalyan Singh has been appointed Governor of Rajasthan


• Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala appointed Governor of Karnataka


• Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao has been appointed Governor of Maharashtra.


• Mridula Sinha appointed Governor of Goa.


• Indian – Origin Seema Malhotra was appointed as Shadow Minister in U.K. on 25 August 2014. Seema Malhotra became the first MP from any party to be shadow Minister.


• Luggage firm Samsonite International on Wednesday announced elevation of Ramesh Tainwala as its new Chief Executive Officer effective from October 1, 2014.


• C.S.Verma was elected as First President of Indian Steel Association (ISA). Other members of the ISA were Sajjan Jindal, Chairman & Managing Director, JSW, Mr. TV Narendran, MD, Tata Steel, , P Madhusudan, CMD, RINL.


• Ch Srinivasa Rao has been appointed as Director of Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) in Hyderabad.


• Noted writer and senior BJP leader Mridula Sinha was today sworn-in as Governor of Goa, following the resignation of B V Wanchoo.

RESIGNATIONS/RETIREMENTS

• Deputy National Security Adviser Nehchal Sandhu resigned. His resignation was accepted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 31 July 2014.


• Sayeeda Warsi, the Foreign Office minister of Britain resigned from the government on 5 August 2014 in protest of Britain’s policy on Gaza.


• Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India removed Kamla Beniwal the Governor of Mizoram on 6 August 2014. She was removed two months before her tenure was supposed to end.


• Miroslav Klose of Germany announced retirement from International Football. He was the part of Germany team that won the FIFA World Cup 2014 held in Brazil. He also is the all-time top scorer for Germany with 71 goals in 137 appearances.


• Bhushan Steel in a communication to the stock exchange said that VK Mehrotra, non-executive director, has resigned from its board due to health reasons.


• Maharashtra governor K Sankaranarayanan resigned from his office on 24 August 2014. He tendered his resignation in the backdrop of being transferred to Mizoram. He refused to take charge of his new assignment. His tenure would have ended in 2017.


• Kerala Governor Sheila Dikshit tendered her resignation , a day after she met President Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister Rajnath Singh.


• IOC removes four independent directors appointed by UPA. After Governors, the Narendra Modi government is removing independent directors appointed by the previous UPA regime on PSU boards, beginning with sacking of four directors on the board of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). IOC, the nation’s largest oil company, in a filing to the stock exchanges said, “K Jairaj, Nesar Ahmad, Sunil Krishna and Sayan Chatterjee have ceased to be Independent Directors on the Board of the company on August 27, 2014.


• Vinod Kumar Duggal resigned as Manipur Governor. He was appointed as governor of Manipur by President Pranab Mukherjee on 23 December 2013.

OBITUARIES

• Dick Wagner, the famous rock guitarist of Alice Cooper died due to respiratory failure at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Centre in Arizona. He was 71.


• Eminent cartoonist Pran Kumar Sharma, popularly known as Pran, who gave life to lovable comic characters Chacha Chaudhury and his friend Sabu, is no more.


• Angela Nemeth, the 1968 Olympic Javelin champion of Hungary died in 5 August 2014 after a long illness. She was 68.


• Oscar-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams was found dead at his home in Tiburon, California on 11 August 2014. He was 63.


• US actress Lauren Bacall, 89, died of a stroke at her home in New York, according to multiple reports.


• Legendary actress Lauren Bacall, an icon of Hollywood's golden age who lit up the silver screen in a series of classic movies opposite her husband Humphrey Bogart, has died at the age of 89, her family said.


• Dilbagh Singh, the noted club cricketer and founder of Delhi Gymkhana Club, died on 18 August 2104. He was 81. He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.


• World-renowned yoga guru and founder of the Iyengar School of Yoga BKS Iyengar passed away here early this morning following illness.


• 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.


• Squash Legend of Pakistan Hashim Khan died. He died due to congestive heart failure. He was believed to be 100. He died at his home in Aurora, Colorado.


• Eminent Kannada writer and Jnanpith Award winner UR Anantha Murthy, 82, passed away.


• Veteran Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Amitava Nandy died in Kolkata. He was 71 and was suffering from cancer in pancreas.


• Oscar-winning British filmmaker Richard Attenborough, renowned for his critically-acclaimed biopic on Mahatma Gandhi, has died at the age of 90.


• Noted historian Bipin Chandra died today at his residence after prolonged illness. He was 86.

AWARDS/HONOUR/PRIZES

• Kirloskar Brothers Limited’s all-women plant in Coimbatore has bagged the Assocham Innovation Excellence Award. The Gold award, for advancement in Science and Technology, was received by Divisional Head of the plant R V Rajkuumar.


• Indian wrestler Babita Kumari put on a stunning show to win the gold medal beating Canada's Brittanee Laverdure in the final of the women's 55kg freestyle category in the 2014 Commonwealth Games


• Vikas Gowda gave India its first athletics gold medal of the 20th Commonwealth Games by winning the men's discuss throw event.


• Pinki Rani bags first medal in Boxing.


• Muzaffar Ali, a noted filmmaker of India was selected for Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award. Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award (Rajiv Gandhi National Communal Harmony Award) is an award of India that is given for outstanding contribution towards promotion of communal harmony, national integration, peace and fight against violence. It was constituted in 1992. The award carries a citation and cash award of 5 lakh rupees.


• Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman mountaineer to scale Mount Everest was conferred with Bharat Gaurav, the highest honour of merit of East Bengal Club.


• Dipa Karmakar became the first Indian woman gymnast and second person of the country to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games. She bagged a bronze in the vault event and scripted history for and in India.


• India's S. Khatun won a Bronze medal in the light weight category of women power lifting. The Gold went to Nigeria in this event .


• Dipika Pallikal and Joshana Chinappa created history by winning the first-ever gold medal in squash but disappointment was in store for the four Indian boxers, including Olympic bronze winner Vijender Singh, who had to be content with a silver each in the 20th Commonwealth Games.


• Arpinder Singh gave India its third medal in athletics as he won a bronze in the men’s triple jump event of the 20th Commonwealth Games.


• The prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Awards for year 2014 was announced. The list of awardees included six winners among five individuals and one organization from Pakistan.(1) Saur Marlina Manurung (2) Hu Shuli: She is a Chinese investigative journalist.(3) Omara Khan Masoudi from Afghanistan. (4) The Citizens Foundation from Pakistan: It is a non-profit organisation (NGO) in Pakistan founded by six business leaders.(5) Wang Canfa from China: Wang Canfa founded the Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims.(6) Randy Halasan for Emergent Leadership from the Philippines. The award was established in 1957. The Ramon Magsaysay Award is Asia’s highest honor and is widely regarded as the region’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize.


• Parupalli Kashyap etched his name firmly in the history books by becoming the first Indian male shuttler in 32 years to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.


• Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, CMD of Bandhan, has received the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award from the All India Management Association (AIMA).


• Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus, Tata Sons Ltd, will be conferred the 18th MMA Amalgamations Business Leadership Award at a function in Chennai.


• Major mathematics awards to two Indian origin scientists. Two mathematicians of Indian origin, Manjul Bhargava and Subhash Khot, are among the eight winners of the prestigious awards of the International Mathematical Union (IMU) that were announced at the inaugural of the 9-day International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) which began today at Seoul, Republic of Korea. The President of Korea, Park Geun-hye, gave away the awards.


• Offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been nominated for the 2014 Arjuna Award for his performances as India's leading spinner.


• Delhi University professor Dr. Sunil Kumar received Global South Award given by International Political Science Association (IPSA). The award was given at the 23rd world congress of political science held in Montreal, Canada.


• Maryam Mirzakhani, an Iranian born mathematician, became the first woman to win coveted Fields Medal on 13 August 2014 in Seoul, South Korea.


• 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.


• Weightlifter Ragala Venkat Rahul bagged India's first medal of the second Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China.


• Guru Hanuman Akhara, a Delhi-based wrestling academy was chosen for the 2014 Rashtritya Khel Protsahan Puraskar (RKPP) . The Akhara was chosen in the category of establishment and management of sports academies of excellence.


• Carnatic vocalist T. M. Krishna has been chosen for the fifth Indira Sivasailam Endowment Medal and Concert.


• Gandhinagar-based Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI) Director, Prof T Harinarayana has been conferred with “Energy and Environment Foundation Global Excellence Award-2014 in Renewable Energy Sector” on August 21.


• Katie Ledecky, an American distance swimmer on 23 August 2014 created a World Record in Women’s 1500 Meter Freestyle at the 2014 Pan Pac Championships on the Gold Coast, Australia. To create the new record Ledecky swam the distance in 15 minutes 28.36 seconds.


• Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) has bestowed the ICSI Life Time Achievement Award 2013 for Excellence in Corporate Governance to HCL Founder and Chairman Shiv Nadar.


• GVK Mumbai International Airport Limited awards first realty development contract to Oasis Realty. This is the first commercial property development deal awarded for development of about 1.1 million sq ft out of 22 msft commercially developable built up area.


• An Iranian-born mathematician has become the first woman to win a prestigious global prize known as the Field Medal, the International Congress of Mathematicians has announced.


• Cristiano Ronaldo was named the UEFA Best Player in Europe, defeating Bayern Munich duo Manuel Neuer and Arjen Robben for the prestigious award.


• President Pranab Mukherjee presented the National Sports Awards to eminent sportspersons on the occasion of National Sports Day at Rashtrapati Bhavan yesterday. Boxer Jai Bhagwan, shuttler V. Diju and shooter Heena Sidhu are among 14 sports persons who received the Arjuna Award - 2014 for their outstanding performance in the field of sports. Dronacharya award: Mahabir Prasad (wrestling); Lifetime achievement: N. Lingappa (athletics), G. Manoharan (boxing), Gurcharan Singh Gogi (judo), Jose Jacob (rowing).Dhyan Chand award: Gurmail Singh (hockey), K.P. Thakkar (swimming-diving), Zeeshan Ali (tennis). Tenzing Norgay Awards: Land adventure: Subedar Jagat Singh, Passang Tenzing Sherpa; Air adventure: MWO Surender Singh; Lifetime achievement: Wg. Cdr. (retd) Amit Chowdhury. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy: Punjabi University, Patiala. Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (employment of sports persons and sports welfare measures); Jindal Steel Works (community sports–identification and nurturing of budding/young talent); Guru Hanuman akhara (establishment and management of sports academies of excellence); Child Link Foundation of India–Magic Bus (other forms of sports activities not covered in the categories mentioned in the schemes).


• US actor and singer Harry Belafonte was named for  honorary Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Oscar Award on 29 August 2014. Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Oscar Award is one of the three Governor's Award given by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for lifetime achievement.

SPORTS

• In a huge jolt to Indian men hockey team’s chances in the Commonwealth Games, Sardar Singh has been suspended for the semi-final match against New Zealand following his second dangerous offence of the tournament.


• Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa, who won the squash doubles gold at the Commonwealth Games, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa announced a cash award of Rs. 50 lakh each to the winners.


• 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games concluded; India finished 5th with 64 medals(15 Gold, 30 silver and 19 Bronze). 20th Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2014 concluded at Hampden Park stadium in Glasgow, Scotland on 3 August 2014 at. The game that saw 17 sports in a competition of 11 days was held from 23 July to 3 August 2014. The Glasgow 2014 CWG was declared closed in presence of British Prime Minister David Cameron, Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex and vice patron of Commonwealth Games Federation. The 21st Commonwealth Games will be held in Gold Coast in Australia. Note: England topped the medals tally while Australia got the second position. Canada was third followed by Scotland.For More Detail – Read our 4 August GK updates (logon to www.bankingquiz.in).


• England on the concluding day 3 August 2014 topped the medal table at 20th Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. It won a total of 174 medals comprising of 58 Gold, 59 Silver and 57 Bronze medals. While, Australia was ranked second with total 137 medals and Canada ranked third with 82 medals.


• Miihier Singh, who won the Mr India title this year, will represent the country in the 48th Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championship.


• R Ashwin ranked no. 1 Test all-rounder; India slipped to 4th position: ICC Test Ranking.


• Roger Federer became the first man to win 300 matches at the ATP Masters 1000 level, beating Vasek Pospisil 7-6 (7/4), 5-7, 6-2 on Wednesday in Cincinnati.


• Real Madrid won UEFA Super Cup in Cardiff.


• Kush Kumar on became the first Indian player to reach the semi-final of World Junior Squash Championship. The championship is being held in Windhoek, Namibia.


• World number three tennis player, Roger Federer of Switzerland won Cincinnati Tennis Open, also called Western & Southern Open.


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


• 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. 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.


• Hockey India added its 23rd associate member by welcoming on board Hockey Madhya Pradesh under its wings.


• India captain Mithali Raj has retained the top spot in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) women's rankings for batters.

RELEASED BOOKS

• One Life is Not Enough: An Autobiography written by Kunwar Natwar Singh was published on 1 August 2014. The book is an autobiography of the former External Affairs Minister and senior Congress Party leader Natwar Singh.


• 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.


• 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.


• Delhi-based 13 year old school boy Yashwardhan Shukla authored a novel, Gods of Antarctica. The book is fictional tale of gods and monsters. It was put into print by the Readers Paradise publishers.

RBI/BANKING

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cancelled the licence of The Vasai Co-operative Urban Bank Ltd., Hyderabad (Telangana). The order came into effect with the notification.


• Corporate leaders expect a small relief in interest rates in the upcoming RBI credit policy as inflationary expectations and continuing geopolitical tension are likely to prevent the central bank from effecting a bigger cut, according to an Assocham survey. As many as 73 per cent of the corporate leaders comprising CEOs, CFOs and senior functionaries said the RBI would not be ambitious enough to go in for a big cut in the benchmark interest rates.


• British lender Royal Bank of Scotland has posted a 58 per cent jump in pre-tax profit from its India franchise at Rs 662.11 crore in FY14, helped by wholesale banking business.


• RBI keeps key interest rates unchanged, Cur SLR by 0.5%.RBI has, however, reduced the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) of scheduled commercial banks by 50 basis points from 22.5 per cent to 22.0 per cent with effect from the fortnight beginning 9th August, 2014. Current Rates are as follows”
  1. Repo Rate – 8% (unchanged)
  2. Reverse Repo Rate – 7% (unchanged)
  3. CRR – 4% (unchanged)
  4. SLR – 22%  (changed from 22.5 per cent to 22.0)
  5. Bank Rate – 9% (unchanged)
  6. MSF – 9% (unchanged)


• GDP growth expected to go up to 5.5% this fiscal: RBI. With improvement in economic activity and revival of sentiments, the Reserve Bank of India today said that the GDP growth in the current fiscal is expected to go up to 5.5 per cent from 4.7 per cent in the last financial year.


• HDFC Life, has launched Click2Protect Plus, a traditional, non-participating pure term insurance plan. The plan is an extension of HDFC Life’s flagship plan Click2Protect and comes with additional benefits and multiple options.


• The World Bank has pledged USD 200 million in emergency funding to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to help the West African countries contain spread of deadly Ebola infections and improve public health systems.( World Bank President Dr Jim Yong Kim)


• Syndicate Bank CMD suspended. The Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, has placed Sudhir Kumar Jain, Chairman and Managing Director, Syndicate Bank, under suspension with effect from August 2, 2014, the bank said in a notice to the BSE.


• The Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd (CIBIL) said it will come up with a risk index which will help banks and financial institutions in the process of granting loans and advances to corporates. Note:I. CIBIL provides credit information about individual customer and business entities that helps banks in taking decision on sanctioning credit to any customer. It maintains account credit information of 350 million accounts of individual consumers and 19 million accounts of businesses. CIBIL has also recently launched new product for banks called ‘Alert’ wherein it will send an alert to the bank whenever there is a change in the profile of a customer.


• HDFC Bank Ltd has opened its branch in Dubai at the International Financial Centre, and will provide wealth management services to non-resident Indians based in the UAE.


• Banks’ Tier-I capital need for 5 years surges to Rs.20,000 cr: ICRA. With the capital requirement of Indian banks likely to go up gradually till 2018-19 (FY2019), Tier I issuances are likely to increase significantly till that year, according to an ICRA report. Tier I issuances include common Equity and additional Tier I or AT1. While the AT1 requirement for this fiscal year 2015 would be around Rs. 20,000 crore, in subsequent years, the annual requirement could be as high as Rs. 40,000 crore – 50,000 crore, the rating agency said in a statement.


• ICICI Bank, the country’s largest private sector bank, has announced the launch of the ‘ICICI Bank Student Travel Card’, which enables students going abroad for higher studies to take care of their expenses.


• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has tightened norms for  asset reconstruction  companies to improve discipline and bring about transparency in the sale and purchase of bad loans. Now, asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) will have to pay upfront 15 per cent of the bid value of non-performing loans, against five per cent earlier. Also, those planning to buy bad loans will get more time (at least two weeks) to carry out due diligence before bidding for stressed assets. So far, banks have enjoyed complete discretion in deciding the timeframe for due diligence. RBI said ARCs would get up to six months to plan recoveries from the non-performing assets acquired. Currently, ARCs get about a year for this.


• SEBI gets powers to clamp down on fraudulent deposit schemes. The Securities Laws (amendment) Bill, 2014, which was approved unanimously by the Lok Sabha , allows SEBI to issue disgorgement orders. SEBI, in its little over two decades of existence, has issued disgorgement orders only on two occasions; once, in 2006, during the IPO irregularities issue, and for the second time in the Satyam Computer scandal. The money collected will now be parked in SEBI’s Investor Protection and Education Fund. This fund should not be confused with the Investor Education and Protection Fund that has been set up under the company law, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley clarified during a parliamentary discussion on the Bill. They are two separate funds. The IEPF under SEBI will have disgorged monies from the regulator’s directions. The other investor protection fund maintained under the company law is mainly unclaimed dividends.


• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 7 August 2014 issued draft guidelines for implementation of Bharat Bill Payment System (BPPS), an anytime anywhere bill payment system. The proposed guidelines describe the basic requirements of operating the BBPS. Bharat Bill Payment System is intended for the implementation of a unified bill payment system across the country. It would enable the customers to pay the bills with the help of agents and getting instant confirmation of the payment made. School fees, municipal taxes and utility bills payments would become easier now.


• The Securities and Exchange Board of India, SEBI has imposed a penalty of 13 crore rupees on Reliance Industries Limited for alleged irregularities in issuance of warrants by the company to its promoters. The case related to 2007 earnings and the company's repeatedly failed to disclose the key earnings ratio.


• The Reserve Bank on Saturday revised guidelines for mortgage guarantee companies and said that guarantees provided by them may be treated as contingent liabilities, for which credit conversion factor would be 50 percent. While calculating capital adequacy of MGCs, mortgage guarantees provided may be treated as contingent liabilities and the credit conversion factor applicable to these contingent liabilities will be 50 percent as against the present 100 percent," RBI said in a notification.


• 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.


• Government approves compassionate appointments in public sector banks. 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.


• State Bank of Travancore (SBT) opened an exclusive branch for processing direct benefit transfers at Thycaud. This will facilitate faster transfer of social benefits to the accounts of the beneficiaries of direct benefits, according to a bank spokesman.


• SEBI approves single registration for stock brokers. 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.


• Nabard cuts refinance rates to banks by 20-50 basis points. To give a boost to investments in the agriculture sector, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has reduced the rate of interest on their refinance facilities to banks by 20-50 basis points. The new rates of interest on refinance will now be 9.30 per cent (9.50 per cent earlier) for 5 years and 9.50 per cent (9.70 per cent) for 3-5 years period and 9.50 per cent (10 per cent) for 18 months to 3 years period.


• RBI cuts number of free cross-bank ATM transactions to 3 per month. Frequent withdrawal of money from ATMs will become expensive from November, with the RBI imposing a limit of 3 transactions per month from ATMs of other banks and 5 from the same bank in six metropolitan cities. A customer will be required to pay a fee of up to Rs 20 for using Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) beyond the permitted numbers of transactions in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Hyderabad. The new guidelines, which were issued in pursuance of a representation made to the central bank by Indian Banks' Association, will come into effect from November 1, 2014.


• HDFC Bank has opened a branch in Dubai to provide wealth management services to large Indian diaspora in the Gulf city.


• A strong 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck the province of Ilam in western Iran , causing injuries and damage, Iranian state television said, but there were no immediate reports of fatalities.


• ICICI Bank, the country’s largest private sector bank, has launched EMI (equated monthly instalments) facility on debit cards to enable its customers to convert their high value transactions into easy instalments.


• IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, launched a $2.5-billion onshore Indian rupee bond programme to strengthen the capital market and support infrastructure development in India. 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.


• 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.


• 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. 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.


• Bangladesh has decided to join the newly formed BRICS Bank, an initiative of the world's five emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. This was informed to news reporters by Finance Minister A.M.A. Muhith last evening. Talking to our correspondent, the Finance Minister said the Ministry had sent letters to Bangladesh Missions in the five countries to know about the details of joining the bank.


• RBI issues guidelines for NBFCs on lending against shares. To reduce volatility in the capital market arising from non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) offloading shares pledged by borrowers who have defaulted on loans, the Reserve Bank of India introduced a minimum set of guidelines on lending against shares. According to the guidelines applicable to NBFCs with asset size of Rs. 100 crore and above, the NBFCs have to maintain a loan-to-value (of shares pledged) of 50 per cent and accept only Group 1 securities as collateral for loans of a value more than Rs. 5 lakh. All NBFCs with asset size of Rs. 100 crore and above should report online to stock exchanges information on the shares pledged in their favour by borrowers to avail themselves of loans.


• RBI projects 5.5 % GDP growth during current fiscal. The Reserve Bank has said the economy is likely to grow at 5.5 per cent in the current fiscal as it sees pick-up in manufacturing and investment. The RBI also said that its surplus for the Financial Year 2014 fiscal declined 14.75 per cent to 52,679 crore rupees as its interest income from investments in foreign sovereign bonds declined during the year even as its investments increased.


• RBI has notified the increase in deposit money under Public Provident Fund, PPF to 1.5 lakh rupees from 1 lakh rupees. This is in pursuance to an announcement made by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley earlier this month. After the new ruling, people can now deposit up to 1.5 lakh rupees annually in their PPF account.


• Deutsche Bank launched two new transaction banking apps in India on the Autobahn App Market. Leveraging a global payment processing engine, the Cash Manager app facilitates straight-through processing of payments and collections for corporates in India, including e-Tax payments. The app also has an innovative dashboard feature that consolidates information, enabling clients to gain quick visibility into their account balance positions, payment statuses and key reports,” the bank said in a statement.


• ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector lender, announced the launch of two new mobile banking applications; ‘iLoans’ and ‘iTrack’, for accessing loan account details and tracking status of dispatches, respectively.


• Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has decided to retain interest rate on provident fund at 8.75 percent for the current fiscal.


• Dairy products major Mother Dairy and the State Bank of India announced the launch of the 'SmartChange Card' for Mother Dairy booths in the National Capital Region. The card, introduced to facilitate convenience of payment has been rolled out 76 booths already and the company plans to expand coverage to 150 booths over the next three months. The card, priced at Rs. 25 at the time of issuance, will have a top up limit of Rs. 1,000 while the limit per transaction has been set at Rs. 500.


• Indian Bank to revise FCNR (B) term deposits. For FCNR (B) deposits, in USD, the revised interest rate has been revised to 2.34 per cent (from 2.36 per cent) for deposits of one year and above but less than two years,” the Chennai-based bank said in a statement. For deposits of two years and above but less than three years, it has been revised to 2.71 per cent from the existing 2.76 per cent. Interest rates have been revised to 3.64 per cent for deposits of three years and above but less than four years from the existing 3.71 per cent, it said.

IMPORTANT DAYS

•    August 3 - Independence Day of Niger


•    August 5 - Independence Day of Upper Volta


•    August 9 - International day of the World's Indigenous People


•    August 12 - International Youth Day


•    August 15 - Independence Day (India )


•    August 23 - Internatinal Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition


•   August 29 - National Sports Day ( Birthday of Dhyan Chand )

Download August GK Power Pack

Don't Forget to Like Us On Facebook

Published By:
Banking Quiz
on 08:39

Read More -->

0 GK Monthly Special - July 2014

GK Monthly Special  - July 2014 Power Pack

APPOINTMENTS

• Munesh Makhija has been appointed Managing Director, GE India Technology Center and Chief Technology Officer, GE India. Effective immediately, he takes over this role from Dr. Gopichand Katragadda who is leaving GE.


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


• 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.


• Michelle Howard became the first female four-star admiral in US Navy. She is the first women admiral in 236 year old history of US Navy.


• Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M) has appointed Anish Shah as President of Group Special Projects effective August 1. He will also be inducted into the Group Executive Board.


• NYSE-listed Lowe’s Companies has appointed Narayan Ram as managing director for India. He will report to Lowe’s Chief Financial Officer Robert F. Hull.


• KB Nagendra Murthy, who took charge of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TNMB) in July 2012, demits office today. He is being succeeded by HS Upendra Kamath, who had served as the Chairman and Managing Director of Vijaya Bank.


• Ram Naresh Yadav was sworn-in as Governor of Chhattisgarh at Raj Bhawan, Raipur on 2 July 2014. Ram Naresh Yadav, Governor of Madhya Pradesh, has been given the additional charge of Chhattisgarh.


• President Pranab Mukherjee on 6 July 2014 appointed Governor for Mizoram and Nagaland. Governor of Gujarat, Kamla Beniwal was transferred and appointed as Governor of Mizoram for the remainder of her term. Vakkom Purushothaman, the Mizoram Governor, transferred and appointed as Governor of Nagaland for the remainder of his term. Vakkom will continue to hold the additional charge of the office of the Governor of Tripura.


• M S Mehta was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Reliance Infrastructure on 7 July 2014. He took charge as CEO for a period of five years.


• The Wadhwani Foundation today announced the appointment of Bhasker Sharma and Clark Quinn to key positions of Chief Technology Officer and Chief eLearning & eContent Officer respectively.


• Reliance Infrastructure Ltd (RInfra), a part of the Reliance (Anil Ambani) Group, has appointed M S Mehta as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company with effect from July 7, 2014.


• Raju Venkatraman, a serial entrepreneur running diagnostics company Medall Healthcare, has been elected President of Madras Management Association for the year 2014-15.


• BJP leader Amit Shah and close aide of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the party's new President.


• Emma Watson, the British Actress was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women.


• Justice Arun Mishra, Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Rohington F Nariman were appointed as Supreme Court judges on 7 July 2014. The three judges were administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of India, R M Lodha. Justice Mishra and Justice Goel were the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court and the Orissa High Court, respectively. Justice Nariman was a senior advocate at the Supreme Court and has been elevated from the advocates bar.


• The Telangana Government has appointed B Sreedhar, IAS, as the Director of e-Seva, the government-to-citizen services. J Shyamala Rao, IAS, as State Project Director of Rajiv Vidya Mission and Chief Executive Officer of the State Literacy Mission.


• The Government appointed 1980 batch IAS officer Shankar Aggarwal Secretary in the Ministry of Urban Development.


• New governors have been appointed in Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Gujarat and Nagaland.-

1. Ram Naik will be the new Governor of Uttar Pradesh
   2. Balramji Dass Tandon, the Governor of Chhattisgarh.
   3. Keshari Nath Tripathi, former UP Assembly speaker, has been appointed as the Governor of West Bengal
   4. Om Prakash Kohli, former Delhi BJP chief, will be the new Governor of Gujarat.
   5. Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya has been appointed as Nagaland Governor.


2. Note: The President has accepted the resignation of Vakkom Purushothaman, as Governor of Tripura and given additional charge to Mr. Acharya.

• Emirates NBD has appointed Sharad Agarwal as the Chief Representative and Country Head for India.


• Google Glass creator Babak Parviz joins Amazon. The developer behind Google Glass and other technologies has left Google to work for the online retailer Amazon, according to multiple media reports. Babak Parviz confirmed the move to Cnet.com. Over the week-end, he posted on his Google Plus account: “status: super excited! :)” — along with the Amazon logo.


• Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has appointed Pradeep Hejmadi as Business Head-Zee TV.


• Om Prakash Kohli took oath as the successor of State Governor Kamla Beniwal who has been transferred to Mizoram recently.


• State Bank of India (SBI) said it has appointed B Sriram and V G Kannan as Managing Directors and Group executives. Both come to SBI from group associates, where they held senior positions.


• Sunil Gavaskar as the interim president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in charge of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2014 and said that he was free to take up any assignment.


• IFS officer Sanjeev Kumar Singla has been appointed as Private Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, succeeding Vikram Misri, who is going to Spain as Ambassador.


• Britain’s largest retailer Tesco plc announced appointment of Unilever executive and turnaround specialist Dave Lewis as the new CEO in place of incumbent Philip Clarke from October 1 as it warns of ‘challenging’ market sentiments.


• The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE) Hubli chapter’s governing body has appointed Vinay Pawar as the Executive Director of TiE Hubli.


• Yellapragada Sudharshan Rao on 25 June 2014 was appointed as Chairman of Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). He replaced Basudev Chatterjee. He would serve the council for a term of three years.


• Royal Bank of Scotland has announced the appointment of Brijesh Mehra as Country Executive for India with immediate effect.


• Arijit Basu, currently the Deputy Managing Director of State Bank of India, will take over as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of SBI Life Insurance in August.


• Ram Naik on 22 July 2014 was sworn in as 27th Governor of Uttar Pradesh in Lucknow. He is a former Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Maharashtra.


• The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Hubli Chapter has appointed Vinay Pawar as its Executive Director. Pawar, an entrepreneur, has been an active member of TiE for the last three years and is currently a director of Cool Canopy Ltd.


• Santanu Mukherjee has been appointed the Managing Director of State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH).


• Keshari Nath Tripathi was sworn in as 22nd Governor of West Bengal on 24 July 2014. The Acting Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court Asim Kumar Banerjee administered the oath of office to KN Tripathi in Raj Bhavan, Kolkata.


• The Supreme Court on 25 July 2014 appointed R S Cheema as Special Public Prosecutor for trial in coal blocks allocation scam.


• Senior BJP leader Balram Das Tandon was sworn-in as the fifth Governor of Chhattisgarh at a ceremony held at Raj Bhawan in Raipur.


• Bollywood star Salman Khan has been appointed brand ambassador for plumbing pipe major Astral Poly Technik Ltd.


• Sania Mirza: Brand Ambassador of Telangana. The Chief Minister of Telangana K. Chandrasekhara Rao bestowed the Brand Ambassadorship of the new State on India's tennis star Sania Mirza in Hyderabad.


• Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul was today sworn in as Chief Justice of the Madras High Court by Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah at the Raj Bhavan.


• Veteran BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Kaptan Singh Solanki was appointed the Governor of Haryana in place of Jagannath Pahadia.


• The Comptroller & Auditor General of India, Shashi Kant Sharma assumed office as Member of the United Nations Board of Auditors for a term of six year upto June 2020. Shashi Kant Sharma took over the charge from Liu Jiayi, the Auditor General of the People’s Republic of China at the United Nations Headquarters at New York. He was elected to this position defeating Philippines by a margin of 62 votes in November 2013.


• Amitabh Bachchan, the Indian Megastar was appointed as the horticulture ambassador of Maharashtra. With this appointment, he will start promoting the horticulture sector in Maharashtra.


• Mahindra CIE Automotive in a communication to the stock exchange said that the Board of Directors of the company at its meeting on July 29 appointed Zhooben Bhiwandiwala as an Additional Director.


• IAF chief, Arup Raha, today took over as the Chairman, Chiefs of Staffs Committee, from incumbent Gen Bikram Singh.


• The Government has appointed SS Mundra, currently Chairman & Managing Director of Bank of Baroda, as Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India.


• Lieutenant General Dalbir Singh Suhag has taken over as the new Army chief. He succeeded the incumbent General Bikram Singh.


• V Narsi Reddy, Deputy General Manager, State Bank of India has been appointed Chairman of Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank (APGVB), Warangal.

RESIGNATIONS/RETIREMENTS

• MK Narayanan, the Governor of West Bengal on 30 June 2014 tendered his resignation to the President of India.


• B V Wanchoo on Friday resigned as Governor of Goa as government went about finalizing its plans for replacing the Governors appointed during the previous UPA regime.


• Nagaland Governor Vakkom B Purushothaman resigned from the post.


• Amul to sponsor Indian contingent for Commonwealth, Asian Games. Amul has inked an agreement with the Indian Olympic Association to sponsor the Indian contingent for the upcoming Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games to be held later this year in South Korea. R S Sodhi, Managing Director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul), said that the company is leveraging on the synergies of milk and sports through this partnership.


• Former Sri Lanka Skipper Mahela Jayawardene has announced his retirement from Test Cricket following the home series against South Africa and Pakistan this year.


• Mahela Jayawardene, the former skipper of Sri Lankan cricket team, announced his retirement from Test cricket on 14 July 2014. He will retire from Test Cricket after the home series against Pakistan in August 2014.


• Luiz Felipe Scolari, the football coach of Brazil on 14 July 2014 resigned after Brazil failed to win the 2014 FIFA World Cup. His resignation was confirmed by the Country’s Football Federation Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF).


• Google’s Chief Business Officer India-born Nikesh Arora, regarded as among the top lieutenants at the Internet search giant, is leaving the company after almost 10 years. Mr. Arora is moving to Japan’s SoftBank Corp as vice chairman, according to a post by Google CEO Larry Page on his social network site.


• Philipp Lahm, the captain of Germany’s football team announced his retirement from international game on 18 July 2014.


• Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has resigned after his governing coalition collapsed, plunging the former Soviet state into political limbo as it struggles to quell a deadly rebellion in the east.


• N Ravi Shanker has quit as the Administrator of Universal Services Obligation (USO) fund to take over as Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms. Shanker was also the Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Broadband Network Ltd, the entity rolling out the National Optical Fibre Network.


• Jacques Kallis, considered one of the greatest all-rounders of all times, announced his retirement from all formats of international cricket.

OBITUARIES

• Former Haitian president Leslie Francois Manigat on 27 June 2014 died at the age of 83. He was elected as the President of Haiti in January 1988 but was overthrown by General Henri Namphy in June 1988.


• Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner and American World War II veteran who survived two years as a prisoner of war, has died at the age of 97.


• Eduard Shevardnadze, the former President of Georgia died on 7 July 2014. He died after prolong illness at the age of 86.


• Alfredo Di Stefano, the legend of Real Madrid Football Club, died on 7 July 2014 at the General Universatario Gregorio Maranon Hospital in Madrid. He was 88. He died after suffering a heart attack.


• Granville Austin, an eminent biographer of India’s Constitution and a Padma Shri awardee, has passed away in Washington at the age of 87.


• Grand old lady of Bollywood Zohra Sehgal passes away at 102.


• Senior journalist Jehangir Pocha passed away in Gurgaon following a cardiac arrest. Pocha was Editor-in-Chief when ‘News X’ channel was launched and was currently a senior editorial member of the ITV Group, which controls the channel.


• Lorin Varencove Maazel, the American conductor of classical music, violinist and composer died on 13 July 2014 at his home in Castleton, Virginia. He died due to complications following pneumonia. He was 84 and is survived by four daughters, three sons and four grandchildren.


• South African Nobel Prize-winning writer and anti-apartheid activist Nadine Gordimer, who became an icon through her unique insights into the country’s social agonies, has died at the age of 90.


• Renowned Malayalam filmmaker J. Sasikumar (86), who holds the record of making 141 films in his career spanning over three decades, died.


• American actor James Garner died at the age of 86 in Los Angeles on 19 July 2014. He was best known for playing a detective Jim Rockford in crime series Rockford Files and also famous for his role in western drama, Maverick.


• Veteran Journalist Sundaram Sankaran died. He passed away at his residence in Kensington, Maryland in the US. He was 87.


• Bir Bikrom UK Ching Marma, the well known Bangladeshi freedom fighter died on 25 July 2014. He was 76. He died at Chittagong Medical College Hospital due to brain stroke.


• Sushilarani Patel, the renowned classical singer of India died at her Bandra home on 24 July 2014 due to heart attack. She was 96. She in 2002 became a Sangeet Natak Academy laureate.


• Madhukar Singh, an eminent Hindi litterateur died at his residence in village Dharahara of Bhojpur district on 21 July 2014. He was 87.

AWARDS

• Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani education advocate, on 30 June 2014 won the 2014 Liberty Medal given by the National Constitution Centre in Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, US.


• 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. 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.


• 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.


• The classical music reality show of Doordarshan Naad Bhed-The Mystery of Sound will be featured in Limca Book of Records. This was revealed through a statement issued by Doordarshan on 21 July 2014.


• Sanjita Khumukcham bags India's first gold in Glasgow. Sanjita Khumukcham and Mirabai Chanu Saikhom bagged a gold and silver, respectively, in women's 48kg weightlifting in a display of overwhelming domination to open India's medal account on the opening day of the competition in the 20th Commonwealth Games. Sanjita won with a total lift of 173kg (77+96) while Mirabai grabbed the silver with a cumulative effort of 170 (75+95) in the absence of other strong competitors.
  III. Nigerai's Nkechi Opara was a distant third with 162 (70+92).


• The Chennai-based Prince Jewellery won the ‘Best Campaign of the Year’ award at The Retail Jeweller Award 2014 for its ‘Antique Jewellery’ print campaign. The annual Gemfields & Nazraana Retail Jeweller India Awards has established itself as one of the coveted awards for the Indian retail jewellery industry. A press release from the jeweller, quoting its Chairman and Managing Director, Princeson Jose, attributed the victory to craftsmen and the creative agency responsible for the strategy.


• Star marksman Abhinav Bindra stole the limelight by clinching a gold medal while unheralded teenager Malaika Goel bagged silver as shooters added two more medals to India’s kitty on the second day of competitions in the 20th Commonwealth Games.


• Jitu Rai wins Gold in 50m Pistol event in CWG; Gurpal Singh bags Silver. Shooting brings two early medals on 5th day of Glasgow Commonwealth Games. In the 50m Pistol event, Jitu rai have secured Gold whereas his compatriot Gurpal Singh won the silver.


• Rajwinder Kaur bagged a bronze in women's +78kg judo competition to add to the three medals the country won in the sport at the 20th Commonwealth Games.


• Italian Vincenzo Nibali won the 101st edition of the Tour de France in cycling as he finished the final stage on the Champs Elysees in Paris safely in the peloton. Nibali is the sixth man to win all three Grand Tours, the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana.


• RN Galla, Chairman, Amara Raja Batteries, was honoured with the “Lifetime Achievement Award” for his contribution to the Indian lead acid battery industry at the International Conference & Exhibition on Lead & Lead Batteries organised by the India Lead Zinc Development Association. He was awarded at a meeting held at Hotel Lalit, New Delhi.


• Rai wins gold, silver for Narang; lifter Thakur bags silver. Pistol King’ Jitu Rai kept his reputation intact by clinching the gold medal before Gagan Narang and Gurpal Singh claimed a silver each to continue the shooters’ heroics while young Vikas Thakur overcame pain to bag silver in weightlifting on the fifth day of competitions in the 20th Commonwealth Games. The 26-year-old Rai, world number 4 in the event, gave ample display of his class by taking the honour in the men’s 50 m pistol event as the Indian shooters continued to dominate the ranges.

SPORTS

• Sub-junior wrestling championship in Srinagar. As many as 900 wrestlers from 28 states is all set to be seen in action at the four-day 33rd boys and 17th girls sub-junior national wrestling championship. The championship, organised by J&K Wrestling Association in collaboration with State Sports Council, was inaugurated by Youth Services and Sports Minister Raman Bhalla at Indoor Stadium, an official spokesman said. The spokesman informed that besides 900 wrestlers, 250 officials are also taking part in the event.


• 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.


• Petra Kvitova of Czechslovakia on 5 July 2014 won the women’s single of Wimbledon Tennis Open of 2014. To win her second title, she defeated the Canadian Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-0.


• Serena Williams of the United States has retained top spot in the latest world rankings released by the WTA, while Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova moved up to fourth.


• Two great players nudged each other to even greater heights to produce a Wimbledon final that will go down as one of the finest in its history. One of them, Novak Djokovic, would eventually lift the trophy having beaten his opponent Roger Federer in five close sets 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4.


• Novak Djokovic’s Wimbledon victory returned him to the top of the latest world rankings, released by the ATP .


• Sania Mirza, the Indian tennis ace, along with her Zimbabwean doubles partner Cara Black on 7 July 2014 were ranked career-best fifth in the latest WTA Doubles rankings.


• FIFA suspended Nigeria’s team from International football competitions. FIFA suspended Nigeria from all international football competitions with immediate effect. Nigeria was suspended on account of government interference in running Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). The Statement released by FIFA includes that during the period of suspension, the NFF may not be represented in any regional, continental or international competitions, including at club level, or in friendly matches. Nigeria reached the second round of the World Cup 2014 in Brazil and this is the third time to reach second round of World Cup in their history (earlier in 1994 and 1998).


• Sim Bhullar has become the first player of Indian origin to be a part of the National Basketball Association (NBA) after he signed a summer contract with the Sacramento Kings, a professional basketball team in the US.


• Germany Win FIFA World Cup 2014 title. Germany's Mario Götze kicks in second half of extra time to win 1-0 against Argentina in final of the FIFA World Cup 2014. Germany is the first side from Europe to win a World Cup in the Americas, determined that a golden generation will finally get its reward after a string of near-misses. Messi was declared as the Player of the tournament and awarded Golden Ball. Germany won their fourth World Cup after a 24-year wait. Incidentally, this is the first World Cup for unified Germany, the previous three having been won by West Germany in 1954, 1974 and 1990.


• India’s boxing coaches at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games have been barred from occupying ringside seats during bouts due to the country’s termination from the International Boxing Association (AIBA).


• Indian cricket legend captain Rahul Dravid on 16 July 2014 was elected as the member of Laureus World Sports Academy. He is the 47th member of the Academy.


• World Cup winners Germany have been named number one in the latest rankings released by football governing body FIFA. Joachim Loew’s side, fresh from their triumph in Rio de Janeiro, now top the standings on 1,724 points with Argentina, World Cup runners-up, second on 1,606. The Netherlands leapt 12 places to third as a result of their third-place finish in Brazil while Colombia and Belgium also benefited, moving up four and six spots to fourth and fifth respectively. World Cup hosts Brazil dropped to seventh and former number-one Spain sank to eighth. Uruguay are sixth while Switzerland and France complete the top 10. Despite a disappointing World Cup, Japan move up a spot to become the best team in Asia at 45.


• Hero MotoCorp named title sponsor of ISL. Renowned two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp Ltd was on Friday named as the title sponsor of the much-anticipated Indian Super League -- the first-of-its-kind franchise-based football league in the country.


• 14 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow,Scotland. The 20th edition of the Games, to be held in Glasgow, Scotland , will witness more than 4,000 athletes competing in 17 sports and 261 medal events. A record 22 para-sport events will be contested in five different sports, with para-track cycling set to be held for the first time. India is fielding their second largest ever contingent of 215 athletes. The biggest squad of 41 will be in Athletics, while there will be no Indians in three disciplines -- netball, rugby sevens and triathlon.


• Irishman Rory McIlroy won the British Golf Open Championship 2014 held at Royal Liverpool Golf course in Holyake, United Kingdom on 20 July 2014. Spain's Sergio Garcia (L) and US golfer Rickie Fowler finished two strokes behind McIlory to finish at second position. Rory McIlory has so far not won the US Masters Tournament, the only Major that eludes him in completing a Career Grand Slam. The Majors won by him are: US Open in 2011, USPGA Championship in 2012 and the British Open in 2014.


• The Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy clinched his first Open Championship in Golf and third major title with a two shot victory over Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler on a thrilling final day at Hoylake.


• India wins Lord's Test against England by 95 runs. India beat England by 95 runs in the second cricket test at Lord's to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Ishant Sharma claimed 7 wickets to bowl India to their first overseas win since 2011. It was also India's second victory and the first since 1986 at Lord's. Ishant Sharma, who finished with career-best figures of 7 for 74, was declared Man of the Match.


• South African Tim Clark clinched his second PGA Tour title when he sank a six-foot par putt to beat American Jim Furyk by one stroke at the Canadian Open.


• German Sabine Lisicki created a record of fastest serve in the women’s tennis. The world No 29 Lisicki set the record by serving at 131 miles per hour during the first-round loss in the Bank of the West Classic Stanford, USA. However, she lost the game played against Ana Ivanovic 7-6 (7-2) 6-1.

RELEASED BOOKS

• A coffee-table book titled First Citizen: Pranab Mukherjee in Rashtrapati Bhavan was released on 2 July 2014 at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. The book’s first copy was received by Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India.


• The Vijay Mallya Story written by K Giriprakash was published by Penguin Books Limited in 2014. K. Giriprakash is the Chief of Bureau, The Hindu Business Line.


• The Lives of Others authored by Neel Mukherjee was shortlisted for Man Booker Prize 2014 in the fourth week of July 2014. Neel Mukherjee is a Kolkata-born British Indian writer and this is his second novel.

IMPORTANT DAYS

•    Canada Day - July 1


•    World UFO Day - July 2


•    Independence Day (United States) - July 4


•    World Population Day - July 11


•    Bastille Day - July 14


•    Pi Approximation Day - July 22


•    International Tiger Day - July 29

Download July GK Power Pack (Landscape Style)

Don't Forget to Like Us On Facebook

Please Note - When you open this file,The default view is landscape.If you want to change view in Portrait Style then follow this steps -

First Option -

1. Open File in Adobe Reader


2. Go to View Option


3. Click on Clock wise Rotate .. That it..

Second Option -

1. Open File in Adobe Reader


2. Short Key - Cantrol + Shift + Plus(+) .. Thats it .. :)

Print - Landscape Mode Only.

Published By:
Banking Quiz
on 08:08

Read More -->

0 GK Monthly Special - June 2014

GK Monthly Special  - June 2014 Power Pack

APPOINTMENTS

• K Chandrasekhara Rao, popularly known as KCR, was sworn in as the first Chief Minister of Telangana, the 29th State of the Indian Union.


• Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has been appointed as India's Governor on the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank.


• Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan was sworn in as the Governor of Telangana, the country’s 29th state.


• 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.


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


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


• 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.


• Hashim Amla was appointed as new test captain of South African cricket team on 3 June 2014. Amla is the successor of Graeme Smith who retired in March 2014 after serving the test side of South African cricket for more than a decade.


• Kavery Banerjee appointed as Secretary, Department of Posts.


• The Palestinian National Unity Government of Hamas and Fatah was sworn-in on 2 June 2014 by the Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas in West Bank City of Ramallah. With the formation of new government, the Hamas government in Gaza strip resigned.


• Sumitra Mahajan to be New Lok Sabha Speaker.


• Congress appoints Capt. Amrinder Singh as its deputy leader in Lok Sabha.


• President Bashar al-Assad of Syria won the Presidential election for the third time. The Presidential Election result was announced by the Parliament Speaker Jihad Laham on 4 June 2014.


• Union Transport Minister Nitin Jairam Gadkari was given additional charge of the Ministries of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water and Sanitation on 4 June 2014.


• Nara Chandrababu Naidu will be sworn in as the first Chief Minister of the newly-created state of Andhra Pradesh at a grand event hosted in Guntur district.


• Vice-Admiral Anil Chopra, the second senior most officer of the Indian Navy.


• Abdel Fattah el-Sisi sworn in as President of Egypt.


• Former India captain Sourav Ganguly joined the Supreme Court—appointed Mudgal committee, which is probing the IPL betting and spot—fixing scandal, as an expert on cricketing affairs.


• B Sriram, Managing Director of State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), and V G Kannan, Managing Director of SBI Capital Markets Ltd, are contenders for the post of two Managing Directors of the SBI.


• Vice Admiral Anil Chopra took over the charge of Western Naval Command (WNC) as Commander-in-Chief on 6 June 2014. He was appointed two months after Vice Admiral Shekar Sinha took voluntary retirement.


• Madhuri Dixit appointed as brand ambassador of health campaign, Mamta Abhiyan.


• Pawan Goenka, Executive Director & President, Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors at Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M), has been appointed chairman of the board of governors at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.


• Naidu sworn in first CM of new AP, inducts 19 Ministers.


• Petro Poroshenko was sworn-in as the President of Ukraine in Kiev on 7 June 2014. He was elected as President on 25 May 2014 with more than 54 percent of the vote.


• I.Nara Chandrababu Naidu was sworn-in as the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh after bifurcation.


• Kathleen Stephens on 6 June 2014 took charge as US interim Ambassador to India.


• Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar assumed charge as the Solicitor General (SG) of India.


• Telangana Rashtra Samiti MLA S Madhusudanachari today assumed charge as the Speaker of Telangana Legislative Assembly.


• PK Mishra on 9 June 2014 was appointed as the additional Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. He is a retired IAS officer of 1972 batch of the Gujarat cadre.


• Former Managing Director of BlackBerry Sunil Dutt has joined Reliance Jio as President.


• Infosys board has appointed Vishal Sikka as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the company.


• Tata Sons appoints Sunil Sinha as Resident Director, MENA region.


• Padmanabhan appointed as Executive Chairman of Tata Quality Management Services.


• DHL eCommerce, part of the newly re-named global division Post - eCommerce - Parcel (PeP), formerly known as Deutsche Post MAIL division, has named Malcolm Monteiro as CEO, Asia-Pacific.


• ACC has appointed Harish Badami as CEO and Managing Director designate with effect from August 1. Badami will replace Kuldip Kaura who will demit office on August 13 before his term expires on December 31.


• Lt Gen Amit Sharma was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of Strategic Forces Command on 13 June 2014. He replaced Vice Admiral SPS Cheema.


• Shaktikanta Das, a 1980 batch Tamil Nadu Cadre IAS officer, assumed charge as Revenue Secretary in the Finance Ministry.


• BSE-listed AGC Networks has appointed Amal Thakore as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).


• Subhalakshmi Panse, former CMD of Allahabad Bank, has joined the board of Federal Bank as an Independent Director.


• Rajeev Topno was appointed as Private Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Appointment Committee of Cabinet (ACC) approved the name of Topno on 18 June 2014.


• BJP leader and Lok Sabha MP Meenakshi Lekhi took over as the chairperson of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).


• In first oil PSU appointment by the new NDA government, Ashok Varma has been appointed Director (Onshore) of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC).


• Manmohan Handa has taken charge as Director - Bangalore Complex of Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited.


• Infosys has appointed Adfactors PR as its new PR partner.


• AHM Mustafa Kamal has become the first from Bangladesh to be president of International Cricket Council (ICC).


• N Srinivasan appointed as 1st ICC Chairman. BCCI President-in-exile N Srinivasan was formally appointed the first Chairman of the ICC after its 52-member council approved a controversial revamp of the body’s administrative structure.


• A.K. Dubey on 25 June 2014 was appointed as Chairman of Coal India Limited with immediate effect. He will serve his post as an additional charge till a full-time chairman is appointed.


• Indian-origin judge V K Rajah on 25 June 2014 was appointed as 8th Attorney-General of Singapore. President of Singapore Tony Tan Keng Yam presided at the swearing-in of Justice V K Rajah.


• Kim Jong-Un, the North Korean leader on 25 June 2014 replaced his defence minister Jang Jong-Nam. General Hyon Yong-Chol replaced Jang Jong-Nam as Minister of the People’s Armed Forces.


• Chung Hung Won was retained as Prime Minster of South Korea on 25 June 2014. The President of South Korea, Park Geun-Hye announced the decision to retain the Chung Hung Won who had resigned over ferry disaster in April 2014.


• Gerdau Steel India Ltd has appointed Sridhar Krishnamoorthy as Managing Director with immediate effect.


• Jean-Claude Juncker has been named as the next president of the European Commission.

RESIGNATIONS/RETIREMENTS

• T. S. Vishwanath, Director and Chairman, Alstom T & D India Ltd has quit from the company’s Board with effect from July 1, 2014.


• Anirban Dey, Managing Director of SAP Labs India, has quit the company.


• Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Dinesh Singh tendered his resignation afternoon, according to news reports.


• West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan today resigned from his post. Official sources confirmed his resignation. Earlier, the Governors of Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Nagaland had resigned following new government at the Centre. Sources said some other state governors may also resign in the coming days.

OBITUARIES

• Former Union Minister of State and BJP leader Tapan Sikdar passed away at AIIMS this morning. He was 70.


• Rural development minister Gopinath Munde dies in road accident. 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.


• Gary Gilmour, a former all-round cricketer of Australia died on 10 June 2014 in Sydney. He died at the age of 62.


• Jain philanthropist, educationist and businessman, Shrenik Kasturbhai Lalbhai of the Lalbhai family, passed away after a prolonged illness. Shrenikbhai, 89, breathed his last in the morning at his residence on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.


• Ramanarayanan, Tamil film director and producer died on 22 June 2014 in Singapore at the age of 65.

AWARDS/PRIZES/HONOUR

• 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.


• 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.


• A.B. de Villiers dominated the Cricket South Africa Awards banquet by bagging four awards, including Cricketer of the Year 2014, in Johannesburg.


• Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), Hyderabad won the Roll of Excellence award. The award was given by Airport Council International (ACI) in Seoul, South Korea on 27 May 2014.


• The UN General Assembly has established an award in the honour of anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela to pay tribute to his achievements and contributions.


• India wins 5 medals at Junior Asian Wrestling Championship. Young Indian grapplers reaped rich dividends at the Junior Asian Wrestling Championship, winning a gold, three silvers and one bronze medal in the tournament at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Female wrestler, Vinesh (51 Kg) won the gold in Greco Roman Style, while male grapplers Ravinder (60Kg), Sandeep (84 Kg) and Anil (50 Kg) clinched silvers in Greco Roman Style, President of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said. Female wrestler Pooja Dhanda (58 Kg) won the bronze.


• Tata Sky, the direct-to-home (DTH) service provider, has bagged the Limca Book of Records post for airing the longest TV commercial in Indian advertising history. Titled 'Prison Break', the ad had a run time of 3 minutes 30 seconds.


• Uday Kotak, Executive Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, has won the ‘EY World Entrepreneur of The Year 2014’ award at a ceremony held in Monaco.


• Irish author Eimear McBride won the 2014 Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction on 4 June 2014 for her first novel A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing.


• EU court backs record €1 bn fine on Intel.A record €1 billion ($1.35 billion) fine imposed on Intel for hampering competition in the European Union was appropriate, a court found, rejecting an appeal by the US computer chip maker.


• Kolkata Airport won the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Award by Airport Council International (ACI) in the category of the best improved airport in Asia Pacific Region.


• Sachin Aggarwal receives 'Student Honour' in the Home of Adelaide Oval. Sachin Aggarwal has been named as one of seven International Student Ambassadors for South Australia.


• C Radhakrishnan selected for Moortidevi Award.C Radhakrishnan, the eminent Malayalam scientist-turned-writer was selected for the prestigious Moortidevi Award for 2013 on 13 June 2014. He has been selected for his novel Theekkadal Katanhu Thirumadhuram.


• Indian origin physicist Tejinder Virdee was honoured knighthood Bachelor by Queen Elizabeth II. He was awarded for his work on the Higgs Boson theory.


• Erosion: Karnataka awards ₹223-cr tender for construction of sea wall. To find a permanent solution to the problem of sea erosion in many parts of the Karnataka coast, the State Government has awarded tenders to two companies to carry out the first phase of work on constructing a sea wall, according to B Ramanath Rai, Dakshina Kannada District in-charge Minister.


• India won 12 medals overall to finish 5th in final medal tally at the 16th Asian Junior Athletics Championship held in Taipei City, China from 12 June to 15 June 2014. India’s medal tally of 12 medals included 2 Gold, 5 Silver and 5 Bronze. China topped the list with 24 medals comprising of 12 Gold, 10 Silver and 2 Bronze. Japan won 21 medals (11 Gold, 5 Silver and 5 Bronze) to finish second. Qatar was in the third place with total of 10 medals (6 Gold, 2 Silver and Bronze).


• The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets the Amul brand of milk and dairy products, has won the World Dairy Innovation Awards-2014 for best marketing campaign ‘Eat Milk with Every Meal’.


• India-born plant scientist Sanjaya Rajaram has been named the winner of the $250,000 World Food Prize for his breakthrough achievement in increasing global wheat production by more than 200 million tonnes following the Green Revolution.


• Indian-born Booker Prize winning author Salman Rushdie was named the winner of this year's prestigious Pen Pinter prize for his outstanding literary output and support for freedom of expression.


• India bagged its second title at the Tri-Nation squash doubles tournament in Kuala Lumpur when Dipika Pallikal and Joshana Chinappa emerged winners in the women's doubles final.


• Hindi poet Kedarnath Singh on 20 June 2014 was chosen for the prestigious Jnanpith award for 2013. He is the 10th Hindi writer to receive the honour and is the 49th recipient of Jnanpith award.


• Tang Prize Foundation announced the inaugural Tang Prizes on 18 June 2014. The Prize will be given in four categories of Sustainable Development, Sinology, Biopharmaceutical Science and The Rule of Law.(1) Sustainable Development - Gro Harlem Brundtland former Premier of Norway.(2) Sinology – Chinese American, Historian Yu Ying-shih.(3) Biopharmaceutical Science - James P Allison of US and Tasuku Honjo of Japan.(4) The Rule of Law - Albie Sachs, former justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.


• Gro Harlem Brundtland was awarded with the first Tang Prize in sustainable development. The Tang Prize was given to her by the Tang Prize Foundation on 18 June 2014.


• Norway’s Magnus Carlsen has won the FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship in Dubai.


• Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank (APGVB) has won the Platinum Award for 'excellence'’ in banking awarded by Skoch Group, New Delhi.


• UN award for govt’s Mobile Seva initiative. An initiative conceptualised by Indian government’s Department of Electronics and Information Technology to enable delivery of public services electronically through the mobile platform has been awarded a United Nations public service award.


• TM Forum, a global trade association representing the digital economy, has announced one of its Catalyst awards to Thiruvanathapuram-based SunTec Business Solutions.


• Former TATA Group Chairman Ratan Tata on 21 June 2014 received an honorary doctor of laws degree from York University in Toronto, Canada. The award was given for his achievements in promoting innovations, exemplary leadership and corporate social responsibility


• Jitu Rai on 19 June 2014 became the first Indian to win three medals in successive ISSF Shooting World Cup.


• The Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) has awarded Diya Systems (Mangalore) Pvt Ltd, an IT/ITeS company, with export excellence award for 2014, according to a company press release.


• UST Global has won the Golden Stevie Award 2014 for ‘Human Resources Team of the Year’ at the 12th American Business Awards held in Chicago.


• Kolkata-based UCO Bank has been awarded the “Platinum SKOCH Inclusion & Deepening Award 2014” for “excellence in banking”. The award was presented by MP Minakshi Lekhi to Arun Kaul, CMD, UCO Bank.


• France announced to honour Shahrukh Khan with Officer of the Legion of Honour for his contribution to Cinema.


• Amitabh Bachchan received the honour in 2007.Union Government granted Navratna Status to EIL and NBCC. The Union Government granted Navratna status to Engineers India Ltd (EIL) and National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC). Department of Public Enterprises under the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises granted the navratna status to enhance the greater financial and operational autonomy.


• Kochi has won this year’s ‘best city award’ from news channel CNBC Awaaz.


• Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik on 27 June 2014 won the People's Choice prize at the World Cup of Sand Sculpting-2014 held in the Atlantic City of the US. He won prize for his work Save Tree, Save the Future. This is first sand art world cup at USA 2014.


• K Srinivasan, Managing Director of Emerald Jewel Industry India Ltd, Coimbatore, has been awarded the 'EO- Entrepreneur of the year 2014’ by the Entrepreneurs’ Organisation (EO), Coimbatore.


• Malala Yousafzai has won the Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Centre in Philadelphia.


• Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik on 27 June 2014 won the People's Choice prize at the World Cup of Sand Sculpting-2014 held in the Atlantic City of the US. He won prize for his work Save Tree, Save the Future. This is first sand art world cup at USA 2014.

SPORTS

• Gambhir the best IPL captain this season: Akram. Attributing Kolkata Knight Riders’ second Indian Premier League title triumph to Gautam Gambhir’s leadership skills, the team’s bowling coach Wasim Akram said he is the best among all the IPL captains this season.


• The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on 1 June 2014 won the seventh edition of Indian Premier League 2014 by defeating Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) by three wickets in the final played at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. This is the second title triumph for KKR after their maiden win back in 2012.


• Ronaldo most searched soccer star on Google in India. 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.


• India has slipped to the third position in the latest ICC ODI team rankings after Australia and Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan team eclipsed India with its 3-2 win over England in the latest ODI series. Virat Kohli has retained his position as number one ODI batsman while Saeed Ajmal is the top bowler. Latest ICC ODI rankings were released in Dubai. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is placed sixth while Shikhar Dhawan is ranked eighth.


• India slipped to third position in the ICC ODI team rankings released on 4 June 2014 in Dubai. India is ranked after Australia (No. 1) and Sri Lanka (No. 2). Sri Lankan cricket team eclipsed India with its 3-2 win over England in the latest ODI series.


• Golf: Shankar, Jaini in top-10 in Queens Cup. Anirban Lahiri fought his way back in the second round with a three-under 68 even as Manav Jaini (68-72) and Shankar Das (70-70) advanced to the top-10 at the half-way mark of the Queen’s Cup golf tournament at the Santiburi Country Club.


• Maria Sharapova admits she is stunned to have won her fifth grand slam title in a decade and sometimes cannot believe what she has accomplished.


• India’s tennis ace Sania Mirza became world number six in doubles, her career-best ranking, as the new chart was released following the conclusion of the French Open.


• Rafael Nadal became the first man in history to win the French Open nine times as he swept to a record fifth straight title with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 defeat of Novak Djokovic.


• Wimbledon champion Andy Murray shocked the tennis world when he hired Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo as his new coach at the weekend.


• Rising Spanish star Jesé Rodriguez has emerged as the most popular young football star on Google among those who would make their debut in the FIFA World Cup which gets under way in Brazil.


• Japan’s Yuichi Nishimura is to referee for opening match of the World Cup between hosts Brazil and Croatia in Sao Paulo.


• Facebook, Twitter brace for World Cup fever. This year’s World Cup will play out on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and messaging apps like WhatsApp just as it progresses in stadiums from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro. Nearly 40 per cent of Facebook’s 1.28 billion users are football fans.


• Dhoni ranked 22nd in Forbes' world’s highest paid athletes list. Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the lone Indian sportsman to figure in Forbes’ list of world’s 100 highest paid athletes. The list is being been topped by American boxer Floyd Mayweather and includes golfer Tiger Woods and tennis stars Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.


• Jitu Rai of India on 11 June 2014 won Silver Medal in men’s 10-meter air pistol event at the ISSF World Cup Shooting in Munich. In the finals, Jitu scored 199.4 after aggregating 583 in the qualification stage.


• Neymar’s brace, some help from the Japanese referee, and big support from the local fans have given hosts Brazil the perfect start to the World Cup.


• Former Captain of Bangladesh Mohammad Ashraful on 18 June 2014 was banned for eight years by the disciplinary panel set up by the Bangladesh Cricket Board.


• FIFA has suspended Colombian assistant referee Humberto Clavijo for making incorrect decisions during the World Cup’s Mexico-Cameroon clash on June 13 at the Arena das Dunas, Natal.


• Jitu Rai on 19 June 2014 became the first Indian to win three medals in successive ISSF Shooting World Cup.


• Britain's premium luxury goods brand East India Company has issued an exclusive legal tender gold coin worth 12,000 pound sterling in honour of Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. The rare coin has been issued in honour of Tendulkar's remarkable career spanning 24 years.


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


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


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


• FIFA banned Uruguay striker Luis Suarez from all football activities for four months for biting an opponent at the World Cup, a punishment that rules him out of the rest of the tournament and the start of the upcoming English Premier League season.


• 35th National Games will be held in different venues of Kerala from 31st of January to 14th February,next year.


• Indian cueist Pankaj Advani won his maiden IBSF 6-Red World snooker title at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt.


• Saina Nehwal wins Australian Open Super Series title. Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has won her second title of the year after beating Carolina Marin of Spain 21-18, 21-11 in the Australian Open Super Series final in Sydney .

RELEASED BOOKS

• Indian cinema thespian Dilip Kumar’s autobiography ‘The Substance and the Shadow’ that chronicles his life since birth was released on Monday amidst big fanfare at a star-studded event in Mumbai.


• The book titled Warrior State: Pakistan in the Contemporary World written by T V Paul was presented to the Vice President Hamid Ansari on 13 June 2014. The book published by Oxford University Press, New York was launched in January 2014.


• A book Blood Feud: The Clintons vs. the Obamas written by Edward Klein was released. The book was published by the publishing house Regnery. Edward Klein is the former editor-in-chief of New York Times Magazine.


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

BANKING/RBI/FINANCE

• RBI may keep key interest rate unchanged - 1 June. Mr. Rajan kept the policy rate unchanged at 8 per cent at the previous review on April 1 as inflation, especially of food items, hovered at over 8 per cent. Food inflation in April stood at 9.66 per cent and retail inflation at 8.59 per cent. India’s economic growth remained below the 5 per cent mark for the second year in a row at 4.7 per cent in 2013-14, although industry is hopeful of a rebound with a stable government headed by Mr. Modi.


• RBI may cut interest rate by 25 bps: Assocham survey. The RBI may cut rates by 25 basis points at its first credit policy review after the Narendra Modi-led government assumed charge as governor Raghuram Rajan tries to strike a balance between fighting inflation and reviving growth, says an Assocham poll. A small, though symbolic cut in interest rates of say, 25 basis points, looks on cards," the survey of economists and CEOs said.


• FICCI-CMSME, an affiliated body under the umbrella of FICCI, and IDBI Bank, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to make organised finance facility available for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across the country at competitive interest rates. The MoU was signed by A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI and FICCI-MSME, and by B K Batra, Deputy Managing Director, IDBI Bank.


• 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.


• Exporters split on RBI move to curb export credit refinance. Exporters are divided over the impact of the Reserve Bank’s move to reduce availability of funds under the export credit refinance (ECR) window. 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 , adding that it will introduce a special term repo facility to compensate for the reduction. 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.


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


• RBI allows up to 100% FII investment in Zee Entertainment. 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. Earlier investment limit for FIIs in the company was 49 per cent. 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. 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.


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


• Axis Bank has launched a teaser advertising campaign featuring its recently signed brand ambassador Deepika Padukone. Created by Lowe Lintas, the campaign looks to extend the brand philosophy of 'Badhti ka naam zindagi' (progress is on). Axis Bank’s previous campaigns have showed the brand philosophy through different television commercials. The new one highlights the holistic nature of progress and highlights Axis Bank’s journey as a customer centric bank.


• Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) said that it has received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank to open two new branches. The new branches will come up Gurgaon, NCR, and outer Bangalore, the bank said in a statement.


• ICICI Bank overtakes HDFC Bank as top private bank employer. With the addition of over 10,000 jobs last fiscal, ICICI Bank has overtaken rival HDFC Bank as the biggest employer in the private banking space with more than 72,000 employees. Incidentally, HDFC Bank saw its employee headcount decline by 900 during the fiscal ended March 31, 2014, while at least five other major private sector banks saw their workforces grow during the year.


• Foreign direct investment in the services sector declined by about 54 per cent year-on-year to $2.22 billion last fiscal, according to data from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. The services sector, which includes banking, insurance, outsourcing, R&D, courier and technology testing, had received FDI worth $4.83 billion during 2012-13. The services sector accounts for over 60 per cent of India’s GDP. Foreign investments are considered crucial for India, which needs about $1 trillion in the 5-year Plan period ending March 2017 to overhaul infrastructure such as ports, airports and highways and boost growth.


• Lithuania will become the 19th country to adopt Euro as a Single currency from 1 January 2015. This was revealed by the European Union Commission's Convergence Report released on 4 June 2014. Convergence Report examined whether Member States satisfy the conditions for adopting the single currency Euro.


• RBI eases address proof rules for bank A/c. Now, citizens without having permanent address proof can open a bank account by submitting only one document as current proof of address, according to the Reserve Bank of India. Taking note of citizens who are migrant workers and transferred employees who do not possess permanent address documents, the central bank eased the Know Your customer (KYC) documentation rules. In a notification, RBI said, “Henceforth, customers may submit only one documentary proof of address (either current or permanent) while opening a bank account or while undergoing periodic updation. In case the address mentioned as per ‘proof of address’ undergoes a change, fresh proof of address may be submitted to the branch within a period of six months.” No proof is required to be submitted for such address for correspondence/local address. This address may be verified by the bank through ‘positive confirmation’ such as acknowledgment of receipt of (i) letter, cheque books, ATM cards; (ii) telephonic conversation; (iii) visits; etc,” it said.


• Now, submit single proof of address to open bank account. Migrant workers and transferred employees need to submit only one documentary proof of address (either current or permanent) while opening a bank account, according to the Reserve Bank of India. In a notification, RBI said, “Henceforth, customers may submit only one documentary proof of address (either current or permanent) while opening a bank account or while undergoing periodic updation.”


• World Bank lowers growth forecast for developing countries to 4.8%.Developing countries are headed for a year of disappointing growth, the World Bank said in its Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report, which has lowered its forecasts for developing countries to 4.8 per cent growth rate this year from the January estimate of 5.3 percent. In its latest report, the Bank has lowered its forecasts for developing countries, now eying growth at 4.8 per cent this year, down from its January estimate of 5.3 per cent. Signs point to strengthening in 2015 and 2016 to 5.4 and 5.5 per cent, respectively.


• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is all set to launch a pilot on life insurance repository (IR) system. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is all set to launch a pilot on life insurance repository (IR) system. The two-month pilot would be started with effect from July 1, 2014 and it shall be mandatory of all life-insurers and existing five insurance repositories (IR) to participate in the programme, IRDA said in a circular issued.


• India may achieve 5.5% growth rate this year: World Bank. With the new Indian government showing signs of economic reforms and brings in transparency in governance, the World Bank feels that the world’s third-largest economy could achieve a growth rate of 5.5 per cent this year compared with 4.7 per cent last year.


• Canara Bank has achieved a milestone by opening its branch in New York.


• ICICI Academy for Skills, an institute set up by ICICI Foundation, is looking to train more than 6,000 youth at nine training centres across the country by the end of financial year 2014-2015. ICICI Academy has signed three agreements with Spencers Retail Ltd, Bluechip Corporate Investment Centre Ltd and AkzoNobel India Ltd.


• Union Bank of India (UBI) has set up its central processing cell (Saral) in Bangalore to process and clear all proposals with limits of Rs. 1 crore and above.


• RBI allows FIIs to buy up to 49% stake in Idea Cellular. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) can now purchase up to 49 per cent stake in telecom operator Idea Cellular Ltd. The FII limit in the company was 24 per cent earlier. “... FIIs, through primary market and stock exchanges, can now purchase up to 49 per cent of the paid up capital of Idea Cellular Limited under the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS),” the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in release .


• State Bank of India has partnered with payments service provider, Ezetap Mobile Solutions, to deploy mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) solution. SBI plans to deploy 5,00,000 point-of-sale terminals within the next five years, it said in a release. "Mobile POS has the power to transform payments and commerce. It can be deployed easily and at low cost in every corner of the country," SBI's deputy managing director S K Mishra said.


• The wholesale price index-based inflation for May came in at 6.01 per cent, higher than 5.2 per cent in the previous month. This is also higher than the WPI-based inflation of 4.58 per cent recorded in May 2013.


• Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Kalraj Mishra on 16 June 2014 launched Online Finance Facilitation Centre (OFFC) for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). OFFC is an initiative of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The Centre was launched with an objective to facilitate access to finance and credit for SMEs.


• Foreign direct investment into China fell 6.7 per cent year-on-year to $8.6 billion in May amid a steady drop in inflows from the US, European Union and Japan.


• The Reserve Bank of India is improving the regulatory framework for non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) as the law is inadequate to deal with several issues, according to R Gandhi, Deputy Governor, RBI. Delivering the Frank Moraes Oration lecture on the ‘Role of Non-Banks in the Indian Financial Sector: Regulatory challenges,’ organised here by the United Writers’ Association and Frank Moraes Foundation, he said it was the constant endeavour of the RBI to enable prudential growth of the sector for financial stability, and consumer and depositor protection. The need for regulating NBFCs arises primarily because of the high leverage with which they operate. The asset-liability mismatch, if any, can pose serious risks to the investors and depositors, and their capacity to engender havoc to the real sectors of the economy. In India, there are a number of companies that are registered as finance companies, but are not regulated by the RBI. There are a number of unincorporated entities, which are illegally accepting deposits.


• Market regulator SEBI has issued new norms for public issuance of debt securities under which such offers have to be of minimum Rs 100 crore, while issuers would need to make additional disclosures and attain atleast 75 per cent subscription. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said that the entities coming out with public issue of NCDs would have to provide granular disclosures in their offer document, with regards to the "object of the issue".Also, an entity has to make additional disclosures in the offer document about details of money utilised from the previous issues of the issuer as well as the group companies. The new norms would be applicable for the draft offer document for issuance of debt securities filed with the stock exchanges on or after July 16.


• SEBI board has decided to fix the minimum dilution of stake to public in an initial public offer at 25 per cent or ₹ 400 crore whichever is lower.


• Indians’ money in Swiss banks has risen to over two billion Swiss francs (nearly ₹14,000 crore), despite a global clampdown against the famed secrecy wall of Switzerland banking system. The funds held by Indians with banks in Switzerland rose by over 40 per cent during 2013, from about 1.42 billion Swiss francs at the end of the previous year, as per the latest data released today by the country’s central banking authority Swiss National Bank. In contrast, the money held in Swiss banks by their foreign clients from across the world continued to decline and stood at a record low of 1.32 trillion Swiss francs (about $1.56 trillion or over ₹90 lakh crore) at the end of 2013.


• The World Bank Group will give $1.4 million to 12 social enterprises in the North-East, working on access to affordable healthcare services, education, water and sanitation services.


• State Bank of Travancore (SBT) has launched a special loan campaign for pensioners by revising all its existing loan schemes. The campaign addresses the loan needs of retirees of State and Central Governments; all public sector undertakings; banks; and defence services, drawing their pension through SBT branches. The campaign will extend up to June 30, an official spokesman said, adding that the bank offered full waiver of processing charges for loans sanctioned during this period. Under the scheme, service pensioners drawing pension from SBT branches are entitled to loans of up to ₹7.5 lakh, depending on eligibility.


• SEBI revamps pricing norms for preferential issues. Market regulator SEBI has tweaked the pricing formula for ‘preferential issues’ with the intent of using a more representative price in such share sales. Henceforth, ‘volume weighted average price’ (VWAP) would be used as a parameter for pricing the preferential issues as against the current requirement of using the ‘closing price’, SEBI decided at a Board meeting.


• State-owned Bank of Maharashtra launched MahaSecure, a digital banking app, to enable secure access to Internet banking facilities for both retail and corporate customers of the bank.


• Kolkata-based United Bank of India (UBI) rolled out its merchant payment service on mobile phones using the IMPS (immediate payment service) merchant payment service offered by the National Payment Corporation of India.


• Syndicate Bank is targeting a business of ₹10 lakh crore by 2020, according to SK Jain, Chairman and Managing Director.


• The South Canara District Central Cooperative (SCDCC) Bank Ltd is targeting a business of ₹12,000 crore in the next five years.


• India can grow at 6% without overheating: World Bank. The Indian economy has the potential to grow at only around 6 per cent without showing some effects of overheating, given current levels of workforce, total factor productivity and investments, a World Bank economist has posited.


• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), allowed foreign investors to access the currency futures market for hedging their currency risks while also partially reversing the restrictions put last year on banks proprietary trading in the exchange traded currency futures. The RBI said foreign portfolio investors could participate in the currency futures market by taking long or short position to the extent of $10 million without having to establish any underlying exposure. A foreign portfolio investor cannot take a short position beyond $10 million at any time and to take a long position beyond $10 million in any exchange, it will be required to have an underlying exposure,’’ the central bank said in the release.


• RBI directs banks, FIs to give information to SIT on black money. The Reserve Bank of India today directed all banks and financial institutions to provide information and documents sought by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to unearth black money. All the banks and financial institutions (FIs) are advised to ensure that information/documents required by the SIT are made available as and when required,” the Reserve Bank said in a notification. The SIT under the chairmanship of former Justice M B Shah was constituted by the Narendra Modi—led government on its first day in office, in pursuance of a July 2011 Supreme Court judgement. The panel has jurisdiction in cases where investigations have commenced or are waiting to be initiated or have been completed. The SIT held its first meeting on June 2. Earlier, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government will write to Switzerland seeking details of Indians with unaccounted money in Swiss banks.


• Swiss Money: India moves up to 58th rank; UK remains on top. India has moved up to 58th rank in terms of foreign money lying with Swiss banks, but it accounts for a meagre 0.15 per cent of an estimated USD 1.6 trillion total global wealth held in Switzerland's banking system. The UK has retained its top position with highest share of close to 20 per cent of global wealth in Swiss banking system, followed by the US, West Indies, Germany and Guernsey in the top-five in terms of exposure to banks in Switzerland. Amid much hue and cry over huge amounts of illicit wealth stashed by Indians in Swiss banks, the latest official data released by Switzerland's central banking authority SNB shows that Indian money in Swiss banks rose by 43 per cent during 2013 to close to Rs 14,000 crore (2.03 billion Swiss francs), pushing its global ranking up from 70th at the end of 2012. India now ranks higher than Pakistan, whose position has slipped from 69th earlier to 74th now, as its total exposure to Swiss banks declined from 1.44 billion Swiss francs at the end of 2012 to 1.23 billion Swiss francs in 2013.


• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released timelines for regulatory approvals. It said it will revert to the applicant if the deadline is likely to be exceeded. Among other deadlines, few included an in-principle approval to private bank licensing must be given within 90 days, ‘in principle’ approval to banks for IPO, preferential issues of capital and qualified institutional placements within 30 days, permission to banks for expanding the scope of para-banking activities of the bank/it’s subsidiary within 45 days and authorisation for import of gold/silver by banks within 60 days.


• India’s largest bank State Bank of India has started the 'SBI Youth for India fellowship' to enable young people to work for the development of India for one year. The SBI Youth for India fellowship is a volunteering platform initiated, funded and managed by SBI in partnership with NGOs (non-government organisations). The fellowship enables urban youth to work on rural development projects for one year,” SBI said in a statement. For the fellowship year 2014-15, the partner NGOs are MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, BAIF Development Research Foundation, Seva Mandir, Gram Vikas and Aga Khan Rural Support Program (India). It will have 100 SBI youth for India fellows working at 35 rural locations in 15 States across the country. The applications for the SBI Youth for India fellowship (2014-15) will close on June 30, 2014. More than 4,800 candidates have already applied for the fellowship.


• The Securities and Exchange Board of India has reorganised the committee that advises it on matters related to secondary market, including suggesting steps to improve market safety, efficiency and transparency. The capital market regulator has listed the revamped expert panel. The Secondary Market Advisory Committee is chaired by IIM Ahmedabad Professor and former whole-time member of SEBI, Jayanth R Varma. Besides Varma, the expert panel consists of 17 members, including top executives of nation’s leading bourses — NSE, BSE and MCX-SX — as well as government representatives.


• World Bank President Jim Young Kim has said India can save more than 27,000 lives and create over 128,000 jobs if it builds 1,000 kilometres of new bus rapid transit (BRT) lanes in the next 20 years. If India built 1,000 kilometres of new, bus rapid transit lanes, over 20 years, that could save more than 27,000 lives by reducing air pollution and accidents and create more than 128,000 jobs,” Jim Young Kim said.


• Youngsters may get an earning opportunity as ATM keepers. Andhra Bank plans to rope in individuals and business persons for cost-effective and efficient management of its ATMs. Unemployed graduates and other willing individuals will be asked to keep a watch on ATMs as a substitute to private security personnel who now man these counters.


• 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. 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. 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.


• ICICI Bank launches co-branded card with DMRC.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.


• RBI relaxes norms for Business Correspondents. 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). 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. 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.


• National Insurance Company Ltd has introduced a "insurance on wheels" concept for faster renewal of policies. 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. Currently, the service has been introduced in 15-odd cities.


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


• RBI: Policy coordination needed to reduce global spillover effects. The Reserve Bank of India once again made a case for policy coordination to reduce the spillover effects of changes in the monetary policy stance in advanced economies (AEs) on emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs). In its 9th Financial Stability Report, the central bank said with the eventual removal of policy accommodation in the AEs, better global policy coordination could reduce unexpected spillovers and improve trust which may be essential for future coordination. RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan underscored the importance of global monetary policy coordination twice in the last two months – at the Brookings Institution in April and at a conference organised by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) in May.


• RBI to remain open on July 1 to facilitate public transactions. This year the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made special provision to remain open on July 1, 2014 to facilitate settlement of market transactions as well as to facilitate the transactions of the general public. Normally, the RBI remains closed for public transactions every July 1 on account of its annual closing of accounts. The Reserve Bank’s accounting year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30.


• Vijaya Bank launches eLobby.Vijaya Bank's eLobby and refurbished branch at Varadarajapuram near Singanallur. The bank's Chairman and Managing Director V Kannan inaugurated the eLobby and highlighted the facilities it offered including a cash deposit machine, passbook printer and ATM.

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGIES

• Solar plane completes first test flight for world round-trip. The sun-powered airplane Solar Impulse 2 successfully completed its maiden flight on Monday in Switzerland, one year before its planned trip around the world, the project team said. The project’s Swiss initiators, the pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, plan the first solar-powered circumnavigation of the earth, after having crossed North America with the airplane’s previous model last year. Piccard, Borschberg and other pilots are planning to make the trip starting in March 2015 in numerous legs.


• 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. 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.


• India is among the world's top five nations in concentrated solar power (CSP) technology capacity rankings topped by the US, according to a new report.


• India on 9 June 2014 successfully test fired the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos from indigenous INS Kolkata off the coast of Karwar in Karnataka. BrahMos missile with a speed of Mach 2.5 to 2.8 is the product of joint collaboration between India and Russia and has a range of 290-km.


• NASA to conduct Mars 'flying saucer' test on Earth. The U.S. space agency is getting ready to launch a “flying saucer” into Earth’s atmosphere to test technology that could be used to land on Mars.


• NASA laser beams ‘Hello, World!’ video from space.NASA has successfully beamed a high-definition video with the message “Hello, World! from the International Space Station to Earth using a new laser communications instrument.


• Indian Army on 18 June 2014 test-fired surface-to-air Akash missile from an Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Balasore, Odisha. This test was last among the validation trials being carried out by the Army on the first off production models of Akash Supersonic missile. Now it is ready for being induction in Indian army.


• India will launch five satellites for France, Canada, Germany and Singapore on June 30 under commercial agreements, space agency ISRO said. The indigenous PSLV-C23 rocket will carry a 714 kg French Earth Observation Satellite ‘SPOT-7’ as the main payload. It will also carry 14 kg AISAT of Germany, NLS7.1 (CAN-X4) and two NLS7.2 (CAN-X5) satellites of Canada, each weighing 15 kg, and the 7 kg VELOX-1 of Singapore, it said.


• The US for the first time has successfully tested a ground-based missile defence system which intercepted a simulated incoming missile over the Pacific Ocean. The $40-billion Boeing-managed Ground-based Midcourse Defence (GMD) system aims to protect against long-range ballistic missiles and provide the data necessary to assess the performance of numerous Ballistic Missile Defence System (BMDS) elements for homeland defence.


• India set to open a new window to universe in two years. India is set to open a new window to the universe in two years. The country has developed the world’s second largest gamma ray telescope that will help scientists gain new knowledge on the origin of the universe and origin of cosmic rays that bombard the space. State-owned Electronics Corporation of India Ltd in Hyderabad has designed the giant 45 m high and 180 tonne telescope. The Rs 45-crore mammoth structure will begin its journey on Saturday to the high altitude Hanle region in Ladakh, where it will be finally be installed to study the universe.


• PSLV C23 launched successfully from Sriharikota. It was a 'grand' exclusive commercial success for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which successfully launched Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C23 with five foreign satellites into the space this morning. This has strengthened India's space mission capability to launch foreign satellites on a commercial basis. At 9.52 a.m., the ISRO’s power horse PSLV roared into the cloudy sky from the first launch pad here at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. The launch was delayed by three minutes to avoid space debris.

IMPORTANT DAYS

• 1 June -> Global Day of Parents


• 4 June -> International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression


• 5 June -> World Environment Day [UNEP]


• 6 June -> D-Day


• 8 June -> World Oceans Day


• 12 June -> World Day Against Child Labour


• 14 June -> World Blood Donor Day [WHO]


• 15 June -> World Elder Abuse Awareness Day / Father's Day


• 17 June -> World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought


• 20 June -> World Refugee Day


• 23 June -> United Nations Public Service Day


• 23 June -> International Widows' Day


• 25 June -> Day of the Seafarer [IMO]


• 26 June -> International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking


• 26 June -> United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture


• 27 June -> World Diabetes Day

For More Or Full Pack .Please Download Our GK Special Pack below :

Download June GK Power Pack (Landscape Style)

Don't Forget to Like Us On Facebook

Please Note - When you open this file,The default view is landscape.If you want to change view in Portrait Style then follow this steps -

First Option -

1. Open File in Adobe Reader


2. Go to View Option


3. Click on Clock wise Rotate .. That it..

Second Option -

1. Open File in Adobe Reader


2. Short Key - Cantrol + Shift + Plus(+) .. Thats it .. :)

Print - Landscape Mode Only.

Published By:
Banking Quiz
on 01:42

Read More -->