Daily GK Updates - 6th February 2015

1. Modi chairs first NITI Aayog meet

i. Ahead of his government's first full year budget, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today sought ideas from economists to attract investments, create jobs and finance infrastructure to put India back on high growth path. 

ii. Suggestions were given related to the General Budget for 2015-16 paving the high growth roadmap for the Indian economy.

iii. The meeting also discussed suggestions with regard to effective implementation of several flagship schemes of the government and how poverty levels can be brought down. 

iv. Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian, Aayog's full time members Bibek Debroy and V K Saraswat, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha, Planning Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, ex-RBI governor Bimal Jalan, Subir Gokarn, Ashok Gulati and G N Bajpai were also present in the meeting. 

2. Alibaba acquired 25% stake in Paytm 

i. Alibaba had signed a deal to buy a 25% stake in Indian mobile payments and ecommerce platform Paytm owner One97 Communications.

ii. Ant would initially pay around $200 million for the stake and stump up $375 million more in tranches based on the firm meeting performance milestones. 

iii. Paytm is India's largest mobile commerce platform with nearly 25 million orders a month and more than 23 million mobile wallet users.

3. Tata Communications signs $20 mn deal with KION Group

i. Tata Communications has signed a $20 million multi-year deal with Germany-based KION Group to provide global wide area network (WAN) services to the group’s 330 sites across 30 countries.

ii. As part of the deal, Tata Communications will replace the KION Group’s existing stable of multiple WAN providers with a single global network.

iii. The KION Group is the second largest global manufacturer of forklift trucks and warehouse technology.

4.M.O.Garg appointed as Director General of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research

i. MO Garg was appointed as the Director General of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR). Prior to his present posting, he was Director in CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dehradun.

ii. Born on 17 September 1954, Garg did B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from Nagpur University and M.Tech from IIT Kanpur. 

iii. He completed his Ph.D. from University of Melbourne, Australia in the area of solvent extraction. 

5. CSIR-NCL signed MoU with Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd

i.CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd (SPMCIL).

ii.The MoU is aimed at fostering collaboration on research and exchange of technical expertise in areas of material sciences and testing capabilities for bank notes, security documents and coins.

iii.The MoU was signed by Sourav Pal, Director of CSIR-NCL and Rakesh Kumar, Additional General Manager of SPMCIL.

iv. The MoU seeks to explore printing innovations. It ascertained the research projects within the focus areas of SPMCIL’s requirements and domain expertise available at CSIR-NCL.

6. Ajaypal Singh Banga appointed as member of US Advisory Committee for Trade Policy 
i. Indian-American Ajaypal Singh Banga is appointed as the Member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN), a key administration position in the United States (US).
ii. His appointment was announced by the US President Barack Obama. Presently, Banga is President and CEO of MasterCard since 2009.
iii. Currently, he is also the Chairman of the US-India Business Council (USIBC) representing more than 300 of the largest global companies investing in India.

Daily GK Updates - 5th February 2015

1. Poverty removal, child care should be on post-2015 agenda: India

i. India has told the UN that poverty eradication and special attention to children's needs should be the central goal for the post-2015 development agenda to ensure that youngsters get a protective and nurturing environment. 

ii. 568 million children globally are still living in extreme poverty and persisting challenge of inadequate investment for their well-being is often exacerbated by economic crises, natural disasters and armed conflict. 

iii. This has to be accompanied by focused cross-cutting strategies, including capacity development, partnerships, social inclusion and knowledge management aligned with national policies and priorities.

2. Goswami removed as home secretary 

i. Anil Goswami is removed from the post of home secretary. 

ii. Goswami was also summoned for an explanation on why he tried to intervene and prevent the arrest of Matang Sinh, former minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office, in the Saradha scam.

iii. Rural Development Secretary L C Goyal, a 1979 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Kerala cadre, has been appointed Goswami's successor.

3. HDFC Bank raises close to Rs 10,000 crore 

i. HDFC Bank raised Rs 9,880 crore in the largest share sale in the secondary market by a private entity to overseas and domestic investors through a mix of qualified institutional placement and American depository shares. 

ii. This is the largest share sale by a private sector entity and the second largest fund raising through by selling share in the secondary market after the bumper Rs 22,500 crore Coal India issue by the government.

iii. Parent HDFC holds 22.47 per cent in the bank, FIIs 33.75 per cent, ADRs/GDRs 16.84 per cent and the rest is held by others.

4. India at the bottom of GIPC index

i. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC), released its third annual International IP Index, ‘UP: Unlimited Potential’, which found that 20 of the 30 economies examined in the Index improved their scores from last year.

ii. Thailand, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Argentina, Nigeria, Brazil and Ukraine were described as low-tier performers. 

iii.. The index is based on 30 measurable criteria critical to innovation, including, patent, copyright and trademark protections, enforcement, and engagement in international treaties.

iii. India was ranked 11 with a score of 7.23 out of 30 against 6.95 per cent in the last edition.

iv. India’s patentability requirements remained outside established international best practices. Also, there is a lack of specific IP rights for the life sciences sector.

5. MahaMobile app launched by Bank for Maharashtra

i. With the perspective to make the bank more efficient and simpler for the customers, Bank of Maharashtra has rolled out a new mobile application Maha Mobile app for its customers. 

ii. The customers using debit card of the bank and having their mobile number registered with the bank can easily avail this facility without the need of visiting the bank branch.

6. 15th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit 

i. Environmentalists and policy makers met at the 15th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit to set agendas for the 2015 climate change summit in Paris as India plays an influential role in U.N climate talks. 

ii. The latest report from the IPCC stressed the risks of global warming and tried to make a stronger case for governments to adopt policy on adaptation and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

iii. India, along with other developing countries, committed to fulfill the eight Millennium Development Goals by the set deadline of 31 December 2015. 

7. Government to Decide on Roongta panel report on CPSEs

i. The government is expected to take a decision within a month on Roongta committee recommendations on bringing reforms in central public sector enterprises (CPSEs).

ii. The committee had given as many as 40 suggestions which include better corporate governance, more autonomy to Boards of PSUs, better utilisation of resources and transparency. 

iii. It had also suggested fixing tenures of the Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of state-owned companies. 

iv. The report had said that in the absence of adequate succession plan in many CPSEs, several competent executives don't get considered for these positions. 

Daily GK Updates - 4th February 2015

Daily GK Updates - 4th February 2015

1. Cisco Systems picks Visakhapatnam as first ‘smart city'

i. Visakhapatnam will be the first city to be taken up for development as a ‘smart city’ by Cisco Systems, the global IT networking major and the implementing company. 

ii. Cisco has also evinced interest in working on disaster management technologies as the state is hit by at least two cyclones every year.

iii. Cisco would focus on setting up a skill development centre and providing training through its global talent tracker. The company is also keen on working with the state government to digitise education and healthcare.

2. RBI extends range of collateral for interbank transactions

i. The Reserve Bank of India extended the range of collateral that can be used for repo transactions on the country's interbank market to include bonds issued by multilateral financial institutions such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

ii. Currently, such collateral is limited to commercial papers, certificate of deposits, non-convertible debentures, and listed corporate debt securities of more than one year maturity and rated AA or above.

iii. The move will help develop the corporate debt market.

3. China overtakes US as top investment destination

i. China has overtaken the United States as the top destination for foreign direct investment for the first time since 2003. 

ii. According to the United Nations Conference of Trade and Development, foreign firms invested 128 billion dollars in China and 86 billion in the US last year. 

iii. The growth in China's foreign investment benefited the services sector as manufacturing slowed.

4. Bihar to provide free education 

i. The Bihar government decided to provide free education to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and girl students till Post Graduation (PG) level in the state.

ii. The government would reimburse the financial loss to such universities/colleges after gathering the actual information about it. 

iii. According to latest government data, there were 4.05 lakh SC, ST and girl students studying undergraduate courses in the state, but the figure declines sharply to just 10,870 students belonging to these categories at the PG level.

5. Govt panel to suggest ways to monitor CSR works

i. The government has set up a high level panel to suggest a framework to assess CSR activities done by corporates under the companies law. 

ii. Certain class of profitable companies are required to shell out at least 2 per cent of their three-year average annual net profit towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.

iii. The panel, headed by former Home Secretary Anil Baijal, would have members from industry and academia, among others. 

6. Vijay Kumar shines in National Games

i. The Army shooter struck gold with a total of 583 points through the two rounds of competition — precision and duel. 

ii. Vijay had a score of 291 in precision before he returned to post 292 in the duelling round and to finish with a clear seven-point lead over second-placed Samresh Jung (Himachal Pradesh). Pemba Tamang (Services) was involved in a shoot-off with team-mate Gurpreet Singh before winning bronze.

iii. Chain Singh won a second gold medal for Services as he finished on top with a total of 205.8.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/02/daily-gk-updates-4th-february-2015.html#ixzz3QrwCCaQ7

Daily GK Updates - 3rd February 2015--

1. RBI releases Rs 42,000 crore to fund FY16 growth

i. Banks will have headroom to lend an additional Rs 42,000 crore because of Reserve Bank of India's move to bring down by 50 basis points the statutory liquidity ratio — the portion of deposits that banks must invest in government bonds. 

ii. Rajan left the repo rate — the rate at which it lends overnight funds to banks — unchanged at 7.75%. RBI also retained the cash reserve ratio — the portion of deposits that banks have to maintain with RBI — at 4%.

iii. The central bank expects that economy growth will pick up to 6.5% in FY16 which will result in an increased demand for funds in the banking sector. The cut in SLR is expected to help banks prepare their cash reserves to fund this growth. 

2. RBI doubles forex remittance limit to $250,000

i. The Reserve Bank of India has doubled the eligibility limit for foreign exchange remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) to $250,000 per person per year.

ii. This enhancement in limit comes after a review of the external sector outlook and as a further exercise in macro prudential management.

iii. RBI had reduced the eligibility limit for foreign exchange remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) to USD 75,000 in 2013 as a macro-prudential measure. 

iv. With stability in the foreign exchange market, this limit was enhanced to USD 125,000 in June 2014.

3. Terror charter against Pak at RIC Summit

i. In order to corner Pakistan for sheltering and facilitating terrorists involved the 26/11 carnage and other attacks in the country, India seeks to move a resolution in the UN to punish those who shelter and finance terrorism.

ii. China and Russia decided to back India for moving this proposal at the United Nations that essentially goes against Pakistan on the issue of terrorism.

iii. At the RIC summit - attended by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and Swaraj - a joint communique was issued which "underlined the need to bring to justice perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of terrorist acts". 

4. Modi govt to bring new scheme to replace JNNURM

i. The existing programme to modernize urban infrastucture will be discontinued and a new plan will be introduced by the Narendra Modi government.

ii. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) was introduced by the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2005 to improve civic infrastructure and services.

iii. It will focus on spatial planning, liquid and solid waste management and public transport

5. Madhya Pradesh gets national award for excellent work in MGNREGA

i. Madhya Pradesh has been awarded the 10th national award for excellent work in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act-MGNREGA. 

ii. Union Rural Development Minister Virendra Singh presented the award to state’s Panchayats and Rural Development Minister Gopal Bhargava at the MGNREGA summit held in New Delhi.

iii. 74 percent construction of permanent assets has been done through MGNREGA in the state. 

6. France win record fifth world handball title

i. France has became the first team in handball history to win five World Championships. 

ii. In the finals, they defeated hosts and surprised finalists Qatar.

iii. The win means France's are now world, European and Olympic champions.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/02/daily-gk-updates-3rd-february-2015.html#ixzz3Qjpv7Lve

The defensive Centre said its laws are meant to fight cyber crime and not curb free expression

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/sc-lends-powerful-voice-to-cyber-expression/article6853164.ece?homepage=true

Facing a tough time explaining in the Supreme Court where free speech ends and restrictions start for social media, the government on Tuesday said its laws are meant to fight cyber crime and not curb free expression.

The government was arguing before a Bench of Justices J. Chelameswar and Rohinton Nariman, which is hearing a batch of petitions challenging the constitutionality of certain legal provisions in the Information Technology Act, especially Section 66 A. This section prescribes a punishment of up to three years' in jail if found guilty of causing “annoyance or inconvenience” on the Net, including social media.

“Central government has no intention to curb the freedom of speech and expression. Section 66 A pertains to only certain cyber crimes and not freedom of speech,” Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Tushar Mehta sought to clarify.

One of the petitions filed is by Shreya Singhal, a law student, which deals with the arrest of two girls, Shaheen Dhada and Rinu Shrinivasan, at Thane district in Maharashtra for allegedly posting a comment against the shut down in Mumbai following Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray's death. The second girl had allegedly 'liked' the comment.

But Justice Chelameswar countered Mr. Mehta, noting that it is the Station House Officer (SHO) of a local police station who would be the first judge of whether an Internet user has been annoying or not and requires to be arrested.

To this, Mr. Mehta said the police has a cyber cell.

“What is this cyber cell? You form a group of police officers and name them 'cyber cell' and now they are suddenly experts,” Justice Chelameswar responded.

At this juncture, Justice Nariman posed a hypothetical query to Mr. Mehta, highlighting how terms used in Section 66A is undefined and vague. “What happens when a message or text is sent? For example, my community is opposed to conversion. If someone sends a message promoting conversion. Can they go to the police station and claim the message to be a gross threat to the community?” Justice Nariman asked.

“But nobody can file a complaint saying something caused me annoyance or inconvenience. The provisions of the Act requires there should have been a serious obstruction – like a planting malware in a bank's software," Mr. Mehta protested.

The ASG went to reveal how hackers had targeted the mails of defence top brass, and an investigation was currently on. He did not reveal any further details, but underlined that cyber attacks pose a clear and present danger to the security apparatus of the country.

In an earlier hearing, the government had submitted that comments expressing political dissent, and “decent” humour were excluded from what constitutes “grossly offensive” or “menacing” under Section 66 A of the Act.

Mr. Mehta had contended that prohibitions under the 2000 Act are “reasonable” and in consonance with the restrictions placed on free speech in Article 19 (2) of the Constitution.

Daily GK Updates - 2nd February 2015

Daily GK Updates - 2nd February 2015

1. Reliance teams up with State Bank of India for payments bank

i. Looking to foray into banking business, Reliance Industries has teamed up with state-run behemoth SBI to apply for a payments bank licence.

ii. RIL and SBI put in a joint application to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up a payment bank that can offer services such as remittances and deposits but not loans.

iii. The nation's largest lender SBI, which being a commercial bank could not apply for a payment bank license, will hold 30% in the joint venture. RIL will be the promoter and hold the balance 70%.

iv. RIL and SBI partnership comes close on the heels of the recently-announced Airtel-Kotak joint venture.

2.  India, China launch Visit India Year in China

i. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Yang jointly launched the Visit India Year in China at a function in Beijing.

ii. The initiative is aimed at enhancing the flow of tourists from China to India and strengthen the people to people bond.

iii. It is agreed to designate 2015 as Visit India Year in China and 2016 as Visit China Year in India. 

iv. Under this, the two sides will carry out a series of promotional activities to boost two-way tourism inflow and strengthen people to people bonds.

3. 5-day conference on wildlife poaching begins in Nepal

i. Officials from 13 countries across Asia are beginning a five-day conference in Nepal to discuss wildlife poaching.

ii. Conservationists in the region are battling to save several endangered species including tigers, rhinos, elephants and snow leopards. 

iii. The focus of this regional conference is to explore ways of ending poaching altogether.

4. Bharat Rang Mahotsav begins in Delhi

i. The 17th edition of Bharat Rang Mahotsav begins in the national capital. 

ii. Organised annually by the National School of Drama, NSD, the theatre festival was inaugurated by Culture Minister Dr Mahesh Sharma and National Award-winning actor and NSD alumnus Om Puri.

iii. Both national and international performances including those from Poland, Israel, USA, France, Bangladesh will figure in the Festival which will continue upto the 18th of this month.

5. Aditya Birla, Future Group apply for payment bank licences

i. Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd, Future Group and Vakrangee Ltd sought permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up payments banks. 

ii. A payments bank licence will allow companies to accept deposits of up to Rs.1 lakh and increase payment options, especially for people who have no bank accounts. 

iii. Aditya Birla Nuvo will hold 51% stake in the proposed payments bank and the remaining 49% will be owned by Idea Cellular

iv.  The Kishore Biyani-led Future Group, parent of Future Retail Ltd, also has filed an application for a permit.

6. HIV treatment to be linked to Aadhaar

i. Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) Treatment for HIV/AIDS infection will now be linked to Aadhaar.

ii. Even those coming for HIV infection testing will have to produce their Aadhaar cards. This is to avoid duplication of patients going to several ART Centres for testing.

iii. The National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) has created a special software which will identify a patient who goes for testing at different centres and gets registered at all the centres.

7. SIT likely to reinvestigate 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases

i. The government is likely to accept the recommendation of a committee led by former Supreme Court judge G.P. Mathur to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

ii. The riots, which followed assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, claimed over 3,000 lives, of which 2,000 fell prey to violence in Delhi.

8. Kanagasabapathy Sripavan appointed as Chief Justice of Sri Lanka

i. The new president of Sri lanka Maithripala Sirisena has appointed Kanagasabapathy Sripavan  as the country's top lawyer. Sripavan sworn in as Sri Lanka's 44th chief justice.

ii. Justice Sripavan succeeded Shirani Bandaranayake who resigned on 29 January 2015.

iii. Sripavan is the second Tamil to be the Chief Justice of the Sri Lankan Supreme Court. The first Tamil to hold this highest judicial post in Sri Lanka was Suppiah Sharvananda, who served between 1984 and 1988.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/02/daily-gk-updates-2nd-february-2015.html#ixzz3Qbm7kn5Q

Jayanthi Natarajan quits Congress party--- for Tamil Nadu/Karnataka IBPS Clerks Interview

Former Union minister Jayanthi Natarajan, a resident of Abhiramapuram has quit the Congress party after her letter to Sonia Gandhi, party president which appeared in The Hindu newspaper made public the many issues she raised against Congress party leaders. Jayanthi made her resignation public at a media meet held at Hotel Savera on Friday morning.

Jayanthi made known her anger and dejection at being targeted for issues related to her time as union environment minister when the Congress-led UPA government was in power. She was critical of the response of Rahul Gandhi to issues her ministry handled, indicating the flip-flop in his stand on environment issues.

Jayanthi says she does not intend to join any party. Recently, her former ministerial colleague G K Vasan quit to revive the TMC party his father G K Moopanar had launched some years ago after quitting the Congress.

http://www.mylaporetimes.com/2015/01/jayanthi-natarjan-quits-congress-party/