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Gk Update | 14th May | bankersadda

Seema

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Title: Gk Update | 14th May | bankersadda
Author: Seema
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

Punjab becomes first state to issue Soil Health Cards to farmers i. Punjab has become the first state in India to issue Soil Health ...

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Punjab becomes first state to issue Soil Health
Cards to farmers</span></span></b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">i. Punjab has become the first state in India to issue Soil Health Cards
(SHCs), a Union Government initiative to all farmers in the state.</span></span></div>
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</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">ii. In this regard, every district of state has been assigned mobile
soil testing lab. These labs will take soil sample from every farm and issue a
digitalised soil health details.</span></span></div>
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</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">iii. Presently, state government has 66
such laboratories and has capability to test 3.5 lakh soil samples annually.
State government also has made mandatory for these labs to check soil health on
quarterly basis.</span></span></div>
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</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">iv. It will help farmers in maintaining the balanced health structure of
the soil and educate them to use right quantity of fertilisers in order to
prevent soil from becoming arid.</span></span></div>
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</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">v. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had formally launched the nationwide
‘Soil Health Card’ Scheme in Februrary 2015 in Suratgarh, Rajasthan.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Disinvestment: Cabinet nod for IOC, NTPC stake sale
may fetch Rs 13,600 crore</span></b></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">i. The government will sell its 10 per cent stake in blue-chip Indian
Oil Corporation (IOC) and 5 per cent in power producer NTPC to mop up about Rs
13,600 crore in this fiscal’s first disinvestment approval.</span></span></div>
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</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">ii. The approvals are part of Rs 41,000 crore disinvestment target for
the current financial year.</span></span></div>
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</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">iii. Buoyed by diesel price deregulation, the government is looking at selling
stake in Indian’s largest fuel retailer IOC for the second time in 13 months.
Sale of 24.27 crore shares, or 10 per cent stake, in IOC would mop up close to
Rs 8,000 crore at current market price.</span></span></div>
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</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">iv. Decision in this regard was taken by Union Cabinet Meeting chaired
by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. </span></span></div>
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</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">v. Currently, Union government holds 74.96 per cent in NTPC and 68.57
per cent in IOC.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Lok Sabha passes Negotiable Instruments (Amendment)
Bill</span></b></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">i. The Lok Sabha passed the negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill,
which aims at making filing of cases more convenient for payees if cheques
bounce.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">

</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">ii. The government faced questions from its own members and allies over
whether the Bill's provisions could be used by corporates to harass common people.</span></span></div>
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</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">iii. The Bill was passed by a voice vote, with Minister of State for
Finance Jayant Sinha insisting that it would boost the "integrity of
financial system" and not lead to the harassment of the common man.</span></span></div>
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</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">iv. The Bill was necessitated due to a Supreme Court order that cases
against those having defaulted on their cheque payments could only be filed in
courts under whose jurisdiction the bank account of the accused fell.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">RBI plans IT wing as financial crimes rise in cyber
space </span></span></b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">i. The Reserve Bank is planning to set up an information technology wing
to face the rising challenges coming from the cyber world.</span></span></div>
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</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">ii. It can be noted that online frauds in the financial sector have been
on the rise and hundreds of gullible people have been defrauded by crooks,
using their stolen credit and debit card information. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">

</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">iii. The cyber thieves have even been using RBI logos to send out mails
to cheat customers. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">India way behind on WHO health targets</span></b></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">i. India has met only four of ten health targets under the Millenium
Development Goals (MDG).</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">

</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">ii. The report finds that globally, life expectancy at birth has
increased by six years for both men and women since 1990. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">

</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">iii. Since 1990, child deaths have almost halved — falling from an
estimated 90 deaths per 1000 live births to 46 deaths per 1000 live births in
2013. Yet the world will not achieve the MDG target of reducing the death rate
by two-thirds. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">

</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">iv. In India, life expectancy grew by eight years between 1990 and 2013.
While India has sharply reduced its infant mortality between 2000 and 2013, it
still contributes for the most infant deaths globally. Non-communicable
diseases are the top killers, followed by communicable diseases and injuries.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">WPI inflation dips to record (-)2.65 per </span></b></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">i. Deflationary pressure continued for the sixth month in a row with
inflation dropping to a new low of (-)2.65 per cent in April, mainly on account
of decline in prices of fuel and manufactured items even as food prices
increased.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">

</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">ii. Inflation, as measured on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), has been
in the negative zone since November, 2014.</span></span></div>
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</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">iii. The deflationary trend has bolstered the case for a rate cut by the
Reserve Bank, as retail inflation has also eased and industrial production is
down.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Source : bankersadda </span></span></div>
</div>

Gk Update | 14th May | bankersadda

Punjab becomes first state to issue Soil Health Cards to farmers i. Punjab has become the first state in India to issue Soil Health ...

GK Update | 13th May | Bankersadda

Seema

Link Author

Title: GK Update | 13th May | Bankersadda
Author: Seema
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

President Pranab Mukherjee appoints new Governors in six states i. President Pranab Mukherjee on 12 May 2015 appointed Governors in s...

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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">President Pranab Mukherjee appoints new Governors in
six states<br />
</span></b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">i. President
Pranab Mukherjee on 12 May 2015 appointed Governors in six states. Their
appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge.<br />
Following are newly appointed Governors</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Jharkhand: Former
Odisha Minister Droupadi Murmu was appointed as Governor of Jharkhand. She will
replace Dr Syed Ahmed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Manipur: Dr
Syed Ahmed has been transfered to Manipur for remaining period of his term.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Arunachal Pradesh: J
P Rajkhowa was appointed as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. He will replace Lt.
General (Retd.) Nirbhay Sharma.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Mizoram: Lt.
General (Retd.) Nirbhay Sharma has been transferred and appointed as Governor
of Mizoram for the remainder of his term.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Tripura: Tathagata
Roy will be the Governor of Tripura.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Centre okays Rs. 20,000-crore budget for
Namami Gange scheme</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">i. The
Cabinet approved the flagship “Namami Gange” programme, which integrates the
efforts to clean and protect the River Ganga in a comprehensive manner. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">ii.  The
programme has a budget outlay of Rs. 20,000 crore for the next 5 years. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">iii. The
amount was a significant four-fold increase over the expenditure allocated to
the task of cleaning the Ganga over the past 30 years.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">iv. The
programme would be implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG),
and its state counterpart organisations, that is, the State Programme
Management Groups (SPMGs).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">v. Namami
Gange will focus on pollution abatement interventions, namely interception and
diversion and treatment of waste water flowing through open drains via
bio-remediation/ appropriate in-situ treatment/use of innovative
technologies/sewage treatment plants (STPs)/effluent treatment plant (ETPs).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Houses nominate members for Joint Committee on land
bill</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">i. Rajya
Sabha on Wednesday named 10 members, including Digvijaya Singh of Congress and
Trinamool’s Derek O’Brien, to the Joint Committee that will look into the
controversial Land Acquisition Bill.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">ii. The
30-member Joint Committee of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha would submit its report
on the first day of Monsoon Session on the bill which has already been passed
by the Lower House.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">iii. The
government, which had promulgated ordinance twice on the bill since December
last after it faced similar resistance earlier, had agreed to refer it to the
committee after NDA allies Shiv Sena and Akali Dal joined the Opposition in Lok
Sabha to oppose the measure.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Retail inflation eases to 4-month low</span></b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">i. Retail
inflation in April softened further and fell to a four-month low of 4.87 per
cent as prices of food items, vegetables and fruits turned cheaper.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">ii. The
retail inflation, measured on the basis of Consumer Price Index (CPI), was
revised upwards to 5.25 per cent from 5.17 per cent in March 2015.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">iii. Food
inflation, based on Consumer Food Price Index, fell to 5.11 per cent during the
month from 6.14 per cent in March.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">iv. Fall
in food inflation was mainly driven by fruits, vegetables, milk and related
products.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">HSBC cuts India ratings to “underweight”</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">i. In the
first major downgrade for Indian markets in the past one year, global brokerage
HSBC changed its stance on the country to “underweight”, saying corporate
earnings may remain muted, monsoon could be weak and odds are against further
rate cuts.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">ii. HSBC
further said that India has become the second most expensive and one of the
most over-owned markets in Asia.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">iii. The
downgrade comes at a time when Indian markets are already under acute pressure,
primarily because of foreign investors turning heavy sellers on concerns
related to the controversial MAT levy and delay in the ambitious indirect tax
(GST) and land reforms.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Reliance Jio to raise $750 million from Korean
company</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">i. Reliance
Industries has signed up for a $750 million loan, backed by Korea Trade
Insurance Corp, to primarily finance the procurements for its infrastructure
rollout from Samsung Electronics and Ace Technologies Corp.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">ii. It
has a door-to-door tenor of 12 years, including a two-year availability period
and a 10-year repayment period thereafter.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">iii. Reliance
Jio Infocomm is setting up a pan-India telecom network for 4th generation Net
services, communication services and other digital services in areas like
education, healthcare, security, financial services, government-citizen
interfaces and entertainment.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">BRICS Cup from next year, first one to be held in
India</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">i. Coinciding
with the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit next year
in India, an under-17 football tournament will be played between the nations.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">ii. As a
lead-up to the 2017 under-17 FIFA World Cup, India will use the competition to
test its infrastructure and on-field preparation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">iii. FC
Barcelona or Qatar’s under-17 side have been mooted as possible participants
due to their links with the United Nations body.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">iv. The
tournament’s launch was accompanied by the signing of a Memorandum of
Understanding between the Associated Chambers of Commerce (ASSOCHAM) and the
Brazilian representatives.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><b>Source : bankersadda </b></span></div>
</div>

GK Update | 13th May | Bankersadda

President Pranab Mukherjee appoints new Governors in six states i. President Pranab Mukherjee on 12 May 2015 appointed Governors in s...

GK Update | 12th May | Bankersadda

Seema

Link Author

Title: GK Update | 12th May | Bankersadda
Author: Seema
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

GST bill referred to select committee i. The government and opposition parties agreed to refer the constitutional amendment bill on ...

<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">GST bill referred to select committee</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">i. The
government and opposition parties agreed to refer the constitutional amendment
bill on goods and service tax (GST) to a 21-member select committee of the
Rajya Sabha.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">ii. The
committee will submit its report on the last day of the first week of
Parliament’s monsoon session.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">iii. The committee will be headed by Bhupendra Yadav, a
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and a party general secretary.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Members of
major political parties including BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal, Congress, Bahujan
Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party and Janata Dal (United) will be represented in the
committee.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">iv. After
passing the bill in the Lok Sabha, the government has faced problems in the
upper house. The government, which has 62 members in the 244-member house,
needs 162 members to support the bill for its clearance.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Nepal earthquake, magnitude 7.3, strikes near Everest</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">i. A major
earthquake has struck eastern Nepal, near Mount Everest, two weeks after more
than 8,000 died in a devastating quake.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">ii. The US
Geological Survey said it had a magnitude of 7.3. An earthquake on 25 April,
centred in western Nepal, had a magnitude of 7.8.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">iii. The
tremor was also felt in northern India and Bangladesh, and was centred east of
the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, in a rural area close to the Chinese border.<br />
<br />
<b>LS passes Black Money Bill with
Opposition support<br />
</b>i. A stringent law imposing 120 per cent tax, jail term of up to 10 years
and penalty on undisclosed foreign assets and income to deal with the black
money menace was passed in Lok Sabha Monday by voice vote and with support from
the Opposition.<br />
ii. The Congress argued that the Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets
(Imposition of Tax) Bill, 2015, is a finance bill.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">iii.
However, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan agreed to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s
argument that it is a money bill, in which case approval of the Upper House is
not mandatory.<br />
iv. Under the proposed law, there would be a short compliance window within
which persons with undisclosed income abroad can come clean by paying 30 per
cent tax and 30 per cent penalty. Once the window closes, anyone found having
undeclared overseas wealth would be required to pay 30 per cent tax, 90 per
cent penalty and face criminal prosecution.<br />
<br />
<b>Justice Cyriac Joseph appointed NHRC
acting chief<br />
</b>i. President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Justice Cyriac Joseph as acting
Chairman of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).<br />
ii. His appointment comes after then Chairman of NHRC Justice K.G. Balakrishnan
completed his tenure.<br />
iii. Presently, Justice Cyriac Joseph is member of NHRC. He hails from Kaiphuza
village of Kottayam district in Kerala and was a Judge of the Supreme Court
from 2008 to 2012.<br />
iv. Justice Balakrishnan, the former Chief Justice of India, completed his
tenure as the sixth and the longest serving NHRC Chairperson. During his
tenure, he was instrumental in charting out several new initiatives towards
promotion and protection of human rights in the country.<br />
<br />
<b>MIDC inks MoU with SIDBI to raise Rs
200-crore fund for MSMEs<br />
</b>i. Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) has inked
memorandum of understanding (MoU) with state-run Small Industries Development
Bank of India (SIDBI) to provide easy finance to micro, small and medium
enterprises (MSMEs) for their growth.<br />
ii. The MoU was signed Ananta P Sarma, MD and CEO of SIDBI and MIDC CEO Bhushan
Gagrani in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis in
Nashik, Maharashtra.<br />
iii. As per the MoU, both signatory parties have jointly created funds to the
tune of 200 crore rupees to provide immediate finance to the MSMEs.<br />
iv. Of the total amount, the MIDC has contributed 75 crore rupees, while SIDBI
has provided the remaining 125 crore rupees.<br />
<br />
<b>India-born Nikesh Arora named Japan's
SoftBank Corp president<br />
</b>i. Indian-born Nikesh Arora was on 11 May 2015 appointed as the President
of Japan’s multinational telecommunications and internet company SoftBank Corp.<br />
ii. As per the announcement made at the company’s earning conference, he will
also be the Representative Director of SoftBank Corp.<br />
iii. Before the present elevation, he had been the Vice Chairman of the company
and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SB Group US, Inc. (former SoftBank
Internet and Media, Inc.) since September 2014.<br />
iv. He succeeds Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of the Softbank Corp.<br />
v. Earlier, Arora worked in Google for 10 years and left the company as the
Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer before joining SoftBank Corp.
in 2014.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Canara Bank launches mega CASA campaign</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">i.
 Canara Bank has launched a mega CASA (current account, savings account)
campaign in Bengaluru with the CanBank men and women with their logo colour
caps flooding the nook and corners of the city to sell their products.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">ii.
Executive directors P S Rawat and Harideesh Kumar spearheaded the campaign.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">iii. The
entire city was divided into 16 clusters covering 173 branches. Each cluster
was led by the rank of a General Manager from head office.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Hyderabad to host global pharma summit</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br />
i. Hyderabad will play host to a four-day global pharma expo and summit from
July 23.<br />
ii. With ‘Innovation and Advances’ as its theme, the event will deliberate on a
range of issues, from pharmaceutical technology to education, indigenous drugs
and drug regulatory affairs, besides serving as a platform for joint ventures
and project collaboration.<br />
iii. Renowned pharmaceutical experts will be addressing the Indo-Global Pharma
Expo and Summit 2015, being organised by Indus Foundation, in association with
FTAPCCI and OMICS group, according to S.B.<br />
iv. Anumolu, president of the Foundation. More than 4,000 delegates are
expected to attend the event, which will serve as a one stop stage for
showcasing latest technological developments.<br />
<br />
<b>Indian-origin Priti Patel gets British
cabinet rank<br />
</b>i. Indian-origin Tory MP Priti Patel has been appointed minister of state
for employment in British Prime Minister David Cameron's new cabinet.<br />
ii. Patel, who called her new posting at the department for work and pensions
"<b>a real privilege</b>", won the recent elections by securing 58% of the
votes from Witham.<br />
iii. She was the exchequer secretary to the treasury from July 2014 to May
2015. The 43-year-old was first elected the MP for Witham in May 2010.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Source : bankersadda </span></span></div>
</div>

GK Update | 12th May | Bankersadda

GST bill referred to select committee i. The government and opposition parties agreed to refer the constitutional amendment bill on ...

GK Update | 11th May | Bankersadda

Seema

Link Author

Title: GK Update | 11th May | Bankersadda
Author: Seema
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

KV Kamath appointed BRICS bank president i. Eminent banker K.V. Kamath was on Monday appointed as head of the USD 50 billion New Dev...

<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">KV Kamath appointed BRICS bank
president</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
i. Eminent banker K.V. Kamath was on Monday appointed as head of
the USD 50 billion New Development Bank being set up by the five emerging
economies of BRICS grouping.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
ii. Mr. Kamath will have a five-year term of the bank, which is
likely to be operationalised within one year.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
iii. About NDB - The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred
to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank operated
by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) as an
alternative to the existing US-dominated World Bank and International Monetary
Fund. The bank is set up to foster greater financial and development
cooperation among the five emerging markets.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">President Mukherjee inaugurates
`Namaste Russia` festival in Moscow</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
i. President Pranab Mukherjee, currently on his four-day official
visit to Russia, has inaugurated a festival of Indian Culture 'Namaste Russia'
in Moscow.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
ii. As part of the festival, the Russian Ministry of Culture will
support the initiatives of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in
sending Indian teachers of music and dance to regional centres in Russia from
May 2015 to October 2015.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
iii. Special emphasis will be on encouraging the participation of
youth of both the countries in cultural exchanges.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
iv. The logo for the festival was designed by a young Russian from
the Russian town of Krasnoyarsk, who succeeded in an open competition
participated by both Indians and Russians.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jayaram Jayalalitha cleared of
corruption charges<br />
</b>i. An appeals court in southern India has acquitted powerful regional
politician Jayaram Jayalalitha of corruption charges, clearing the way for her
to return to public office.<br />
ii. The High Court of Karnataka delivered its verdict on the appeal by former
Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha challenging a special court order
convicting her in the disproportionate assets case.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
iii. Supporters from Jayalalitha's party cheered, set off fire crackers
and danced in the streets of the Tamil Nadu state capital of Chennai, her
hometown, after the Karnataka High Court in Bangalore delivered its verdict.<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">China becomes world's top crude buyer</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
i. China overtook the United States as the world's top importer of
crude oil for the first time in April, and its purchases are expected to remain
strong despite a slowing economy, with far-reaching consequences for global oil
and commodities markets.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
ii. China is already the world's biggest energy consumer, with oil
by far the largest traded energy market.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
iii. The Saudi-led decision by the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) in November 2014 not to cut production despite the
slide in oil prices has been largely motivated by an effort to defend market
share against outside competitors like Russia or US shale producers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Rosberg wins Spanish GP</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
i. Nico Rosberg has finally got the better of Mercedes teammate
Lewis Hamilton this season, winning the Spanish Grand Prix.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
ii. A crowd of 86,700 watched the race, with a total of 189,000
spectators attending the Catalunya circuit.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
iii. McLaren’s misery continued as two-time F1 champion Fernando
Alonso retired just short of halfway with faulty brakes on the track.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">May 11: National Technology Day</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
i. Every year, `National Technology Day’ is observed across India
on May 11.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
ii. This day glorifies the importance of science in day-to-day
life and motivates students to adopt science as a career option.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
iii. National Technology Day is being commemorated to celebrate
the anniversary of first of the five tests of Operation Shakti (Pokhran-II) nuclear
test which was held on 11 May 1998 in Pokhran, Rajasthan.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
iv. Apart from Pokhran nuclear test, on this day first indigenous
aircraft Hansa-3 was test flown at Bangalore and India also conducted
successful test firing of the Trishul missile on the same day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Andy Murray beats Rafael Nadal to win
Madrid Masters final<br />
</b>i. Andy Murray claimed his first victory over Rafael Nadal on clay to win
the Madrid Masters.<br />
ii. The Briton had never beaten Nadal in six previous meetings on the surface
but won 6-3 6-2 to stun the home crowd.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
iii. Defending champion Nadal was aiming for a record fifth win in
Madrid but Murray outclassed his Spanish opponent to lift his first Masters
title on clay.</div>
<br />
Source : <a href="http://www.bankersadda.com/" target="_blank">bankersadda </a></div>

GK Update | 11th May | Bankersadda

KV Kamath appointed BRICS bank president i. Eminent banker K.V. Kamath was on Monday appointed as head of the USD 50 billion New Dev...

Paper Crackers

Gk Update | 14th May | bankersadda

GK Update | 13th May | Bankersadda

GK Update | 12th May | Bankersadda

GK Update | 11th May | Bankersadda

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