Daily GK Update - 14th February 2015

Hello every one,this time i came up with my clerk interview,i had already post my bank po interview experince on this blog,now lets start...
I entered there,as usual 5 persons were there,1 lady and 4 gents,i greet the lady first..
They told me to sit,
I said thanks and sit on the chair
Saradaji asked first ques-sab theek hai na??
Me-yes sir,sab theek hai
Madam took the charge
She-aap paramjit ho,peecho kya lgate ho singh??
Me-no mam,my name is paramjit yadav,but m sirf paramjit hi likhta hu
She-aisa kyun??
Me-mam 10 ke docs se yhi chal rha hai,mene change nhi kiya,mismatch naa ho jaaye...
She-okk,aapne btech ki hai,mechanical se,campus placement nhi hui aapki
Me-nhi mam nhi hui
She-company hi nhi aayi,yaa aapki nhi hui??
Mam-1-2 company aayi thi,but mera nhi hua
She-acha,fir apne field m nhi try kia aapne? - See more at: http://www.sbank.in/2015/02/ibps-clerk-iv-interview-february-2015.html#sthash.rP2U6E5a.dpuf1. Arvind Kejriwal sworn in as Delhi Chief Minister

http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/02/daily-gk-update-14th-february-2015.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BankersAdda1+%28Bankers+Adda%29

i. AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal took oath as the eighth Chief Minister of Delhi, promising to make Delhi the first corruption-free state and act against communal elements.

ii. Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung administered the oath of office and secrecy to Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and five other ministers at the historic Ramlila Ground.

iii. Asim Ahmed Khan, Sandeep Kumar, Satyendar Jain, Gopal Rai and Jitender Singh Tomar also took oath of office and secrecy at the ceremony.

iv. The AAP had won 67 of the 70 seats in Delhi decimating Congress and leaving only three seats for the BJP.

2. Modi’s ‘Make in India’ gets GE boost

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated American multinational General Electric's (GE) first manufacturing plant in India.

ii. The plant will manufacture a range of diversified products for sectors such as energy, aviation, oil & gas transportation.

iii. To support Mr. Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, GE Vice-Chairman John Rice announced the second phase expansion of this unit by saying that it was a testimony of GE's commitment for the Indian market.

iv. In the first phase of the operation, the facility is focused on products and solutions for the power generation, oil & gas and transportation industries. 

v. In the phase II, the site will include manufacturing capability for new generation aviation engine components and sub assembly for the latest rail locomotives and diesel engines.

3. ADP session ends, draft to fight climate change adopted

i. The six-day session of ADP, United Nation’s subsidiary body on climate change, has concluded here with nearly 200 member countries adopting the 86-page text as the basis for negotiation on reaching a climate agreement in Paris scheduled to be held in December.

ii. During the session, India’s demand for funds from the Green Climate Fund (GEF) to meet the full cost of IPR of environmentally-sound technologies to address climate change was supported by many other groups including the Like Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) and the Africa Group.

iii. Apart from technology transfer and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), finance and loss and damage issues were strongly contested during the week.

4.Coal block auction begins

i. Auction of coal blocks began for the first time with corporate honchos Ambanis, Adanis and Birlas queuing up for the two mines being offered on day one.

ii. After clearing the technical bidding stage, entities from Reliance, Adani, Essar, GMR, Vedanta and Aditya Birla groups became eligible to bid for these blocks — one in Odisha and the other one in Madhya Pradesh.

iii. Around 134 bidders have cleared the initial stages of eligibility for coal auction for 21 blocks put up by the government.

iv. Hindalco, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. (JSPL), Bharat Aluminium Co. Ltd. (Balco), GMR Chhattisgarh Energy Ltd., GVK Power, JSW Energy, Ambuja Cement and Hindustan Zinc are other major companies which have technically qualified for bidding.

5. India successfully test-fires BrahMos supersonic cruise missile

i. India on Saturday successfully test-fired the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile from INS Kolkata, the navy's most powerful and newest warship, in Arabian sea.

ii. The Indian Navy commissioned INS Kolkata on August 16, 2014. This is the first ship of this class, with two more in the pipeline. 

iii. The Universal Vertical Launcher Module (UVLM) being used in these has a unique design, developed and patented by BrahMos Aerospace. 

iv. The BrahMos has a range of 290km and can carry a conventional warhead of up to 300 kg. It has a top speed of Mach 2.8, which is about three times faster than the US subsonic Tomahawk cruise missile.

6. New Zealand beats Sri Lanka in the world cup opener

i. New Zealand recorded an authoritative 98-run win over Sri Lanka in the World Cup’s opening game Saturday.

ii. Brendon McCullum and Corey Anderson producing the destructive batting the co—hosts hope will carry them to the title.

iii. While Australia beat England by 111 runs in the second match of the day.

iv. Aaron Finch scored a brilliant ton and was ably supported with a quick fire half century by Glen Maxwell at the end. 

7. Chhetri is player of the year

i. National men’s team captain Sunil Chhetri was on Friday presented with All India Football Federation’s 2014 Player of the Year award.

ii. Chhetri was voted the winner by I-League coaches and this was the fourth time he received the award having earlier won it in 2007, 2011 and 2013. 

iii. In the process he surpassed the legendary IM Vijayan who won the award thrice.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/02/daily-gk-update-14th-february-2015.html#ixzz3RpZDnILR

Daily GK Update - 12th February 2015 --- bankers adda

Daily GK Update - 12th February 2015

1. ICC World Cup 2015 launched with quirky opening ceremony

i. The 11th edition of the ICC World Cup was officially declared open after a two-act opening ceremony in Christchurch and Melbourne. The event was a wonderful mix of culture and traditions of the host nations Australia and New Zealand.

ii. The first match of the tournament will take place at the Hagley Oval between New Zealand and Sri Lanka on February 14.

iii. International Cricket Council chief executive David Richardson unveiled the Cricket World Cup trophy, saying it was a symbol of the ICC's values of excellence, integrity and inclusion.

2. ICICI ties up with UAE Exchange for instant money transfer

i. ICICI bank has tied up with UAE Exchange to offer an instant bank transfer service to the Indians residing in the Gulf nation.

ii. ‘FLASHremit’ service started by the bank enables customers to conveniently send money instantly to their beneficiaries in India in Indian Rupees.

iii. Customers of ICICI Bank will be able to avail this service by visiting any of the over 135 branches of UAE Exchange in UAE including over 15 branches across the Dubai Metro network.

3. Himachal Pradesh Government launched Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System Project

i. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on 11 February 2015 launched the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS) project in the state.

ii. This 19 crore rupees project will be completely funded by the Union Government. It will help in connecting 177 sites and 114 police stations in the state besides 13 district headquarters, 26 sub-divisional police officers and three police ranges along with state crime records bureau. 

iii. It will also connect CID crime branch, 14 control rooms, finger print bureau, forensic science laboratory and 16 CCTNS training centers in the state.

4. Indian Navy conducted HADR Exercise in Lakshadweep Islands

i. Indian Navy had conducted Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster relief (HADR) exercise in Lakshadweep Islands (Kavaratti, Aggatti, Kalpeni and Androth).

ii. HADR was Indian Navy’s large scale exercise to test its readiness for handling a tsunami like disasters in order to provide immediate succour and relief to the affected people.

iii. It involved participation of more than 20 Indian Naval Ships from the Western and Eastern Fleet along with various aircraft of the Indian Navy.

5. Aditya Birla Chemicals to merge with Grasim Industries

i. The Board of Directors of Grasim Industries Limited on 11 February 2015 approved the proposed merger of Aditya Birla Chemicals (India) Limited (ABCIL) with Grasim. 

ii. The proposed scheme is subject to approval of the high court and regulatory authorities.

• Grasim is a leading manufacturer of caustic soda in India, with an installed capacity of 452500 tonnes per annum. Its plants are located at Nagda in Madhya Pradesh and at Vilayat in Gujarat.
• Aditya Birla Chemicals (India) Limited (ABCIL) is a leading manufacturer of bulk and specialty chemicals and viscose filament yarn. The business is spread across multiple manufacturing locations in four countries namely India, Thailand, Germany and China.

6. Apple Inc. becomes first company worth over $700 bn in global corporate history

i. US technology giant Apple Inc. became the first company to reach a market value of $700 billion.

ii. Earlier in January 2015, Apple Inc had recorded highest quarterly profit of 18 billion US dollar in corporate history worldwide after the company sold 74.5 million iPhones in quarter ending December 2014.

iii. With its $710 billion market value Apple is far ahead from the number two company, oil giant Exxon Mobil, which is worth around $382 billion in terms of market value.

7. CSK Ltd. to be owned by one lakh shareholders

i. The Board of India Cements Ltd. (ICL) has cleared the decks for transfer of IPL franchise rights of Chennai Super Kings to its wholly owned subsidiary, Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd.

ii. For the first time in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), a cricket franchise will be owned by the shareholders of a company.

iii. The move will help shareholders of India Cements exercise their choice — to own only the cement business or the cricket franchise or both. 

8. SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched from Florida

i. Unmanned SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has been successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida on its third attempt.

ii. It was carrying unmanned Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite. This satellite will be used by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to monitor the Sun.

iii. It will particularly monitor changes in solar wind and provide warnings on hazardous outbursts from our star to warn forecasters. In turn it will help forecasters to predict changes which affect satellites, power grids and communication systems.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/02/daily-gk-update-12th-february-2015.html#ixzz3RarDQBEo

Daily GK Updates - 11th February 2015

1. India presses for automatic exchange of tax information at G20 meet 

i. India has called for expeditious implementation of the automatic exchange of tax information saying it would help in tracking illegal money stashed in foreign banks. 

ii. Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha advocated "full and fast implementation" of Automatic Exchange of Information within the agreed time-frame. 

iii. India called for strengthening the IMF through implementing the 2010 quota and governance reforms and creating an environment for multilateral swaps to overcome such negative impact.

iv. The quota reform, if implemented, will increase India's voting share in IMF from the current 2.44 per cent to 2.75 per cent, following which the country will become the eighth largest quota holder at the IMF, up from the 11th position.

2. National Games mascot in Limca Book of Records

i. National Games mascot Ammu, the Great Hornbill, has immortalised itself by finding a mention in the Limca Book of Records.

ii. The mascot found a place in the record books owing to a play, Kalikkunna Kuttikalkkayi Bharatham Kathirikkunnu (India Awaits Children Who Play) in which Ammu is featured.

iii. According to the Limca Book’s 2015 Special Literature Edition, it is a play about a mascot which had been staged in most number of schools. The Great Indian Hornbill, had been staged in 147 schools.

3. Israel offers expertise to clean up Ganga

i. In an effort to deepen economic cooperation, Israel has offered its expertise and technological capabilities to India in its ambitious drive to clean up the Ganga.

ii. A preliminary offer on this was made by Amit Lang, Director-General of the Ministry of Economy, Israel led  delegation to continue talks on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which both countries had initiated in 2007, as well as expand cooperation in the field of water management, waste water treatment.

iii. Israel has made significant technological advancement in desalination and drip irrigation with the world’s largest desalination plants and recycles 90 per cent of water for agricultural needs.

4. Scheme for grant of government pension to journalists 

i. Puducherry government has initiated steps to bring into effect a scheme evolved in 2003 to pay monthly pension to media persons.

ii. The scheme envisages payment of monthly pension of Rs 6000 to a media person who had completed 20 years of continued service in a newspaper, periodical, news agency or in electronic media.

iii. The beneficiary should be aged 58 years and above at the time of presenting the application. 

5. NABARD announces Rs 1,14,927 crore credit plan for Rajasthan 

i. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) today announced Rs 1,14,927 crore credit plan for agriculture in Rajasthan for fiscal 2015-16, encompassing all 33 districts in the state. 

ii. The credit projections will grow by 39 per cent from Rs 82,534 crore in the ongoing fiscal (2014-15) to Rs 1,14,927 crore in 2015-16 for Rajasthan's agriculture and allied sectors.

iii. NABARD has identified infrastructure gaps in the state with 155 projects worth Rs 3,020 crore, which could be financed under RIDF and other channels available with NABARD. 

6. ICICI Bank launches ‘Pockets’, India’s first digital bank on a mobile phone

i. ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank, has announced the launch of ‘Pockets’, India’s first digital bank for the youth.

ii. Anyone, including those who are not customers of ICICI Bank, can download the e-wallet from Google Playstore, fund it from any bank account in the country and start transacting immediately.

iii. This wallet uses a virtual VISA card which enables the users to transact on any website or mobile application in India.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/02/daily-gk-updates-11th-february-2015.html#ixzz3RUydh8yu

Daily GK Update - 10th January 2015

http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/02/daily-gk-update-10th-january-2015.html

1. AAP deflates BJP

i. The AAP stunned everyone on Tuesday with an overwhelming victory in the Delhi assembly polls, setting up a second stint for Arvind Kejriwal as chief minister.

ii. The AAP bagged as many as 67 seats of the 70-member House, going far beyond the most optimistic exit polls.

iii. The BJP was left bruised in a distant second place with wins projected for it in just three seats. The Congress drew a blank. BJP's CM candidate, Kiran Bedi, lost the elections.

iv. Kiran Bedi lost Krishna Nagar seat which was considered as BJP's pet by a narrow margin, While Arvind Kejriwal won New Delhi seat comfortably.

v. AAP got 54.3% of the total polled votes, while BJP came a distant second with 32.2% of the votes polled.

vi. Arvind Kejriwal will sworn as the Chief Minister of Delhi for second successive term on 14th February.

2. PNB raises Rs. 1,000 crore via private placement

i. State-owned Punjab National Bank has raised Rs. 1,000 crore through bonds to fund business growth and meet global capital adequacy norms.

ii. The bank has raised Rs. 1,000 crore long term bonds at an annual coupon of 8.23 per cent on Private Placement basis.

iii. The government has decided to provide Rs. 870 crore to the bank as part of capital infusion plan.

iv. Public sector banks require equity capital of Rs. 2.4 lakh crore by 2018 to meet the global, Basel III norms on capital adequacy. For the current fiscal, the government has allocated Rs. 11,200 crore for bank capitalisation.

3. Govt gives Gauri Shankar additional charge of MD of PNB

i. Government gave additional charge of Managing Director and CEO of Punjab National Bank to Gauri Shankar, senior most executive director at the bank. 

ii. The post of full time Managing Director and CEO has been vacant since November, when the then Chairman and Managing Director K R Kamath failed to get extension from the government. 

iii. As per the government rules, the CMD and Directors are appointed in public sector entities for a period of five years or up to the age of 60, whichever is earlier. 

4. Amartya Sen wins John Maynard Keynes Prize

i. Economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has won the newly instituted Charleston-EFG John Maynard Keynes Prize.

ii. In the spirit of John Maynard Keynes’ work, life and legacy, this new global prize recognises Professor Sen’s outstanding contribution to society.

iii. Currently a Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University, he has been a Professor at the London School of Economics and until 2004 was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages.

5. Facebook rings Reliance Communications for free data access

i. Anil Ambani led Reliance Communications Ltd (RCOM) has partnered with Facebook to offer free data access to select popular websites for all its customers, existing and new ones.

ii. Thirty three popular websites can be accessed free of cost through internet.org and all the subscriber needs to have is an internet enabled hand set. 

iii. In the first phase this service has gone live in seven circles of RCOM which include Mumbai, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chennai and Kerala.

6. India pegs 2014-15 GDP growth at 7.4 per cent

i. Economy is likely to grow at a faster pace of 7.4 per cent in the current fiscal as against 6.9 per cent in 2013-14.

ii. The data further said economy grew by 7.5 per cent in the September-December quarter of the current fiscal after a growth rate of 8.2 per cent in the preceding quarter.

iii. The government had recently updated the base year to calculate Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 2011-12 from 2004-05.

iv. The sectors which registered a growth rate of over 7 per cent are financial, real estate and professional service; trade, hotels, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting; public administration, defence and other services; and electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services.

Daily GK Updates -7th - 8th February 2015

1. No change in nuclear liability law: MEA

i. In a press release, the Ministry has answered 19 frequently asked questions (FAQs) that make it clear that the government is not making changes to the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Act (CLND) 2010.

ii. MEA will read the Act to mean that supplier’s liability is not a mandatory part of the contracts to be signed.

iii. The Ministry of External Affairs makes it clear that immediate liability for any incident would be channelled only to the operator, in this case PSU Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL).

2. Australian PM survives vote of confidence

i. Australia’s ruling Liberal Party voted on Monday morning to defeat a leadership spill motion, thereby retaining Tony Abbott in his role as the party leader and the country’s prime minister.

ii. But the margin of the party-room vote — 61-39 — was not emphatic enough to ensure Mr. Abbott’s long-term future as prime minister.

3. Govt announces capital infusion of Rs6,990 crore

i. The government on Saturday announced a capital infusion of Rs.6990 crore in nine state run banks, including State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank (PNB), but based on new efficiency parameters such as return on assets and return on equity.

ii. The government had budgeted to infuse more than Rs.11,000 crore as capital in the current financial year.

iii. While State Bank of India will get Rs.2,970 crore as capital in the current fiscal, Bank of Baroda will get Rs.1,260 crore, Punjab National Bank Rs.870 crore, Canara Bank Rs.570 crore, Syndicate Bank Rs.460 crore, Allahabad Bank Rs.320 crore, Indian Bank Rs.280 crore, Dena Bank Rs.140 crore and Andhra Bank Rs.120 crore.

4. Grammies announced

i. The winners are - 

• Record of the Year - "Stay with Me," Sam Smith
• Song of the Year - "Stay with Me" (Darkchild Version)
• Album of the Year - Morning Phase, Beck
• Best Country Album - Platinum, Miranda Lambert
• Best R&B Performance - "Drunk in Love," Beyoncé
• Best Rock Album - Morning Phase, Beck
• Best Pop Vocal Album - In the Lonely Hour, Sam Smith
• Best Pop Solo Performance - "Happy," Pharrell Williams
• Best New Artist - Sam Smith
• Best Rap/Sung Collaboration - "Monster," by Rihanna and Eminem
• Best Rap Album - The Marshall Mathers LP2, Eminem
• Best R&B Song - "Drunk in Love," Beyonce
• Pop duo/group performance - "Say Something", A Great Big World with Christina Aguilera
• Best Rock performance - Lazaretto, Jack White
• Best Children's Album - I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up For Education And Changed The World (Malala Yousafzai)
• Best Musical Theater Album - Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, 
• Jessie Mueller, principal soloist; Jason Howland, Steve Sidwell & Billy Jay Stein, producers (Carole King, composer & lyricist) (Original Broadway Cast)

5. BAFTA announced 

i. The Lunchbox loses to Polish film at BAFTA

ii. The awards went to -

• BEST FILM: Boyhood
• BEST BRITISH FILM: The Theory Of Everything
• BEST DIRECTOR: Richard Linklater, Boyhood
• BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: The Grand Budapest Hotel, Wes Anderson
• BEST LEAD ACTOR: Eddie Redmayne, The Theory Of Everything
• BEST LEAD ACTRESS: Julianne Moore, Still Alice
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
• BEST ANIMATED FILM: The Lego Movie, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
• BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC: The Grand Budapest Hotel, Alexandre Desplat

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/02/daily-gk-updates-7th-8th-february-2015.html#ixzz3RJCUyVCT

Daily GK Update - 9th February 2015

1. Swiss leaks: India ranks 16th on leaked HSBC list

i. It is called Swiss Leaks — a trove of secret documents from HSBC’s Swiss private banking arm that reveals names of account holders and their balances for the year 2006-07.

ii. The investigation revealed 1,195 Indian HSBC clients, roughly double the 628 names that French authorities gave to the Government in 2011.

iii. The new revelation— published today as part of a global agreement — is expected to significantly widen the scale and scope of the ongoing probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Supreme Court.

2. CarDekho.com gets Ratan Tata fund

i. In a first-of-its kind partnership in the Indian auto space, CarDekho.com announced an investment in the company by Ratan Tata.

ii. Tata has for the first time ever joined hands with an auto portal by investing in his personal capacity.

iii. GirnarSoft, the parent company of CarDekho.com, now valued at USD 300 million, recently concluded its series B funding with a raise of $50 million.

iv. The automobile space has created the largest market value among vertical classifieds and globally public and private companies in the space are together valued at over $50 billion.

3. Bengaluru, Chennai, Surat among ‘100 Resilient Cities'

i. In its centenary year in 2013, the Rockefeller Foundation announced the 100 Resilient Cities project with a $100 million commitment to build urban resilience worldwide.

ii. The idea behind choosing is that cities have complex ecosystems and have a hard time organising themselves around what their key challenges are and the second is that too often the cities don’t access the resources or best practices efficiently enough.

ii. The project consists hiring of a Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) in each city, or a senior person to work in municipal government usually with mayors, or in the Indian context, probably more with the commissioners with the breadth and gravitas to work across the sectors and silos and engage with private sector and civil society.

4. Vodafone India appoints Naveen Chopra as Chief Operating Officer

i. Vodafone India on Monday announced the appointment of Naveen Chopra as Chief Operating Officer (COO) with effect from April 1, 2015.

ii. Mr. Chopra, currently Director — Vodafone Business Services (VBS), will succeed Sunil Sood, who will be the MD and CEO of the company.

iii. Naveen has, over the last five years, ably led the VBS into significant growth and led our expansion into new customer and product segments.

5. Singapore President's visit to India

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam, who is presently in the national capital to commemorate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

ii. Indian envoys focussed today on interface of Digital communications and Diplomacy. 

India-Singapore discussed an agenda of development. Skill development, connectivity in North East India primary focus.

iii. Singapore is one of India's major trade and investment partners, with bilateral trade for the financial year 2013-14 standing at $19.27 billion.

iv. The year 2015 marks 50 years of the establishment of India-Singapore diplomatic relations.

6. Nitish set to return as Bihar CM as BJP stumbles

i. The Janata Dal United (JDU) replaced their leader Jitan Ram Manjhi with Nitish Kumar, as the Bharatiya Janata Party put its weight behind Manjhi but could not coordinate his 'rebellion'.

ii. The leaders including JDU president Sharad Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) President Lalu Prasad and Congress legislature party leader Sadanand Singh handed over a list of 130 MLAS and asked the Governor to administer the oath of office to Kumar.

iii. Manjhi has been expelled from the party on grounds of "anti-party activities", which means he will retain his seat in the Assembly but will have to ensure two thirds of the JDU splits to enable him to form a government with the BJP's support.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/02/daily-gk-update-9th-february-2015.html#ixzz3RJ7iUQI9

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.