1. Moody’s pegs India’s growth rate at 7.5% in 2016 & 2017
i. Global rating agency, Moody’s has forecast a growth rate of about 7.5 percent for the Indian economy in 2016 and 2017. This growth will be driven largely by private consumption growth.
ii. Moody’s said the prevailing low headline inflation is expected to continue, helped by a good monsoon, which will allow the Reserve Bank to maintain its current accommodative stance. But Moody’s noted that while India’s GDP growth is strong, private investment remains weak. Capital utilization rates also remain low.
iii. Moody’s also observed that, going ahead, the impact of weaker commodity prices is likely to fade over time, with the stabilization of commodity prices. It said since external demand is likely to remain lackluster, a sustained improvement in domestic private investment will be required to sustain the growth momentum.
2. Centre to postpone NEET by a year
i. Buckling under pressure, the Centre has decided to defer the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for medical college admission by a year through an ordinance or executive order.
ii. Following the Supreme Court order to implement NEET with immediate effect, the government was proposing to do so. However, it faced strong opposition from most of the States as well as medical colleges, which ‘in-principle’ favoured the concept, but objected to the immediate implementation.
iii. Under NEET, students would get admission to medical colleges across the country — both government and private — only on the basis of merit, scrapping in the process “management quota” seats.
3. Bonded labour rehab to be made Central sector scheme
i. Labour Minister (Independent) Bandaru Dattatreya stated that the Centre is revising the rehabilitation of bonded labour scheme, bringing it into the Central sector, and plans to raise financial assistance from rs. 20,000 to rs. 1 lakh .
ii. The scheme proposes to increase the Budget provision from rs. 5 crore to about rs. 47 crore per annum.
iii. As per minister,the money will remain in an annuity account, controlled by the District Magistrate (DM), and a monthly earning will flow to the beneficiary account for his/her comfortable living. The corpus remains untouched until decided by the DM.
4. Govt approves three pharma FDI proposals worth Rs. 60.73 crore
i. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has approved Rs.60.73 crore worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals of Wockhardt, Aurobindo Pharma and Advanced Enzyme Technologies.
ii. Enzyme Technologies FDI proposal is worth Rs.60 crore while Wockhardt and Aurobindo Pharma proposals are worth Rs.25 lakh and Rs.48 lakh respectively approved.
iii. The FIPB has also recommended the Axis Bank proposal worth Rs. 12,973.14 crore to increase foreign investment by FIIs / NRIs/ FPIs / ADRs / GDRs from 62 % to 74 % has been referred to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). This is in line with the government’s decision to refer all FDI proposals above Rs. 5,000 crores to the CCEA.
5. SBI seeks to take over 5 associate PSBs, Bhartiya Mahila Bank
i. The country’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI) has decided to merge its five associate public sector banks (PSBs) and the Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) with itself.
ii. In this regard, SBI has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) that it is seeking in-principle approval for acquisition from the Union Government. 5 subsidiary banks are: (i) State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, (ii) State Bank of Hyderabad, (iii) State Bank of Mysore, (iv) State Bank of Patiala and (v) State Bank of Travancore. Besides, the boards of the subsidiary banks and the SBI also met individually in Mumbai to begin merger talks to acquire the businesses including assets and liabilities.
iii. he merger move comes after the Union Government had announced a road map for bank consolidation during the 2016-17 Union Budget. This was seen as necessary to meet the huge infrastructure financing needs of the country.
6. Nepal SBI Bank launches payment gateway
i. One of the largest overseas subsidiaries of SBI, Nepal SBI Bank has launched payment gateway to facilitate online trade and non-trade transactions between the Himalayan nation ‘Nepal’ and India.
ii. The Payment Gateway was inaugurated by SBI Managing Director B Sriram, and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae. With the help of this facility, the customer of Nepal SBI Bank can utilize various features of mobile banking and other value added services along with the platform of the payment gateway.
iii. Apart from this, Mr. Sriram has also inaugurated construction of main entrance gate of Pashupati area development trust on the theme of UNESCO World Heritage Design as a part of social responsibility initiatives of Nepal SBI. He has also handed over a cheque of Rs 5.21 crore to Nepal Prime Minister K P Oli for PM Natural Disaster Relief Fund.
7. PNB tops list of worst losses in Indian banking history
i. Public sector lender Punjab National Bank has reported the largest net loss of rs. 5,367.14 crore for 4th quarter ended 31st of March against the backdrop of a surge in bad loans. This is the biggest quarterly loss in Indian bank history.
ii. Provisioning for NPAs grew almost threefold to Rs 10,485.23 crore in the fourth quarter compared with Rs 3,834.19 crore in the previous fiscal. The lender has reported gross bad loans of Rs55,818 crore compared to Rs34,338 crore in the previous quarter. As a percentage of its loan book, PNB’s bad loans are now at 12.9%.
iii. Indian banks have seen a surge in bad loans after a clean up ordered of their books under an asset quality review (AQR) by the Reserve Bank of India. The RBI wanted banks to classify some troubled accounts as non-performing and make adequate provisions for those over the December and March quarters. So in the continuation Bank of Baroda has been reported the 2nd and 3rs largest losses in December 2015 and March 2016 quarters and IDBI bank has reported a loss of Rs2,183 crore. This is the fourth highest loss reported by any bank. Syndicate has reported the 5th highest loss (2,158 crore).
8. Apple announces opening of its map development centre in Hyderabad
i. Apple CEO Tim Cook, who is currently on visit to India has announced the opening of its Hyderabad technology centre that will focus on the development of maps for its mobile products like iPhones, iPads, Macs and Apple Watches.
ii. The centre which has drawn in estimated investment of $25 million will employ up to 4,000 people according to the company.
iii. The announcement comes a day after the company said it will build an iOS design and development accelerator centre in Bengaluru, considered home to India’s startup scene.
9. Ola signs MoU with government to benefit ‘Safai Karamcharis’
i. Mobile app for transportation Ola has signed an MoU with National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) established under the aegis of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to focus on building a sustainable framework by supporting entrepreneurship, skill development training and self-defence courses for Safai Karamcharis and Scavengers.
ii. The Ola-NSKFDC partnership has the potential to generate synergies that will result in a better future for driver entrepreneurs by creating sustainable careers and livelihoods for them.
iii. The MoU was signed in the presence of Thaawarchand Gehlot, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment.
Aimed at socio-economic development of Safai Karamcharis/ Scavengers, the MoU will aim at benefitting these people and their dependents by enabling livelihood opportunities, especially for women beneficiaries identified by NSKFDC.
10. BHEL commissions 250 MW thermal unit in Maharashtra
i. State-owned BHEL has commissioned a 250 MW thermal unit in Maharashtra.
ii. The unit has been commissioned at Parli Thermal Power Station (TPS) located at Beed district in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra. BHEL has been a major partner in the power development programme of the state and has commissioned 16,000 MW of power generation capacity in Maharashtra, its highest in any single state.
iii. The project is owned by Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (Mahagenco). This is the eighth coal-based unit commissioned by BHEL at Parli TPS.
11. Tata Power bags 100 mw solar projects in Karnataka
i. A subsidiary of Tata Power, Tata Power Renewable Energy (TPREL) has announced that it has won two solar-grid connected photovoltaic projects of 50 mw capacity each in Pavagada Solar Park in the Tumkur district of Karnataka.
ii. TPREL has received the Letter Of Intent (LoI) to develop the projects and will sign a 25 year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd.
iii. The projects have been awarded through open category under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) Phase-II Batch-II Tranche-I under ‘State Specific Bundling Scheme’. The JNNSM, launched in January 2010, aims to establish India as a global leader in solar energy by creating favourable policy conditions for its diffusion across the country.
12. Nomura exits mutual fund JV with LIC
i. The Japanese financial company Nomura has announced fully departure of its mutual fund joint venture with insurance giant Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). As a result, LIC Nomura Mutual Fund has now been renamed LIC Mutual Fund.
ii. LIC were entered into a joint venture with Japans leading financial services conglomerate Nomura Asset Management Strategic Investments Pvt. Ltd. (Nomura) on 18th January 2011.
iii. As per the Association of Mutual Funds in India, LIC Nomura Mutual Fund managed assets of about Rs. 13.156 crore as of March 2016 and according to the officials release, the existing shareholding pattern of the new Asset Management Companies Limited (AMC) is LIC – 45 %, LIC Housing Finance Ltd – 39.3 %, GIC Housing Finance – 11.7 % and Corporation Bank – 4 %. Earlier, Nomura held 35 per cent stake in the asset management company.
13. Five Indian car models fail NCAP crash test
i. Five Indian car models got zero star ratings after failing in the crash tests conducted by the Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP).
ii. The cars that failed the crash tests are the Renault Kwid, Maruti Suzuki’s Celerio and Eeco, Mahindra Scorpio and Hyundai Eon.
iii. Global NCAP participated in a two-day conference on road safety hosted by the Institute of Road Traffic Education in Faridabad. The results showed low levels of adult occupant protection in the five models.
14. Ola sign MoU with KIAB
i. App-based cab service provider Ola has launched a unique initiative for travellers arriving at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).
ii. Through this first-of- its-kind agreement, Ola will have a designated ‘Ola Zone’ at the airport where its driver-partners will be able to park their vehicles and offer uninterrupted service to travellers.
ii. The move will help users to get an Ola cab within less than three minutes.
15. Rakesh Kumar Mishra appointed as CCMB director
i. Rakesh Kumar Mishra, a noted expert in the study of function of genes, has been appointed as the new Director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
ii. Mishra had joined CCMB in 2001 as a senior scientist after stints at the IISc, Bangalore, the University of Bordeaux, France, Saint Louise University, USA and the University of Geneva, Switzerland for post-doctoral experience.
iii. An MSc from Allahabad University, Mishra’s research interests include investigating evolutionarily conserved features of genome organisation, chromatin structure and epigenetic regulation of genes during embryonic development stages.
16. Scientists develop world’s first Zika virus clone
i. Scientists from The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) have developed world’s first genetically engineered clone of the Zika virus strain.
ii. They have dubbed it as infectious complementary DNA (cDNA) clone. It allows researchers to make Zika virus from test tube and cells on petri dishes.
iii. The clone comprises of five fragments of complete zika viral genome which were individually cloned and assembled into the full-length Zika virus clone.
17. UN-Habitat releases World Cities Report 2016, Urbanization and Development: Emerging Futures
i. As per United Nations report, India is projected to add 300 million new urban residents by 2050 and it will also need to build Climate Friendly cities to deal the challenge of accommodating the needs of the Population growth.
ii. Research in India found that an increase of 200,000 in the urban population resulted in a decrease of 1.3 to 2.6 per cent in rural poverty.
iii. The first ‘World Cities Report 2016 – Urbanization and Development: Emerging Futures’ report by UN Habitat- In India, urban areas already contributing 60% of the GDP and an extra 300 million new urban residents are projected by 2050 and recommended the Government of India to build 100 new cities with low infrastructure, denser and low energy to avoid the addition of Greenhouse gases Challenges of Municipal Concerns.
18. UN Secretary-General appoints Patricia Espinosa Cantellano Executive Secretary of UNFCCC
i. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Patricia Espinosa Cantellano of Mexico as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
ii. She will succeed Christiana Figueres of Costa Rica. The appointment was made after consultation with the Conference of Parties through its Bureau.
iii. Prior to this appointment Ms. Cantellano has been serving as Ambassador of Mexico to Germany. She has also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico and carrying 30 years of experience at highest levels in international relations, specializing in climate change, global governance, sustainable development, gender equality and protection of human rights.
19. Indian-American Rupa Iyer awarded for teaching in US
i. Rupa Iyer, an Indian-American bio-technologist, has received the University of Houston’s highest teaching award for her sustained and significant contributions to education in the US.
ii. She is an Indian-American Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies at the University of Houston’s College of Technology and has been presented the “Distinguished Leadership in Teaching Excellence Award”.
iii. It is the highest award given in teaching and the only one given in this category by the varsity. The award is presented to a person who has ten or more years of teaching experience and has made sustained and significant contributions to education.
20. Sevilla win 3rd consecutive Europa League title
i. Sevilla were crowned for the third straight year as the UEFA Europa League champions after they defeated Liverpool 3-1 in the final at the St. Jakob-Park in Basel.
ii. Daniel Sturridge had given the Reds the lead in the first half before Sevilla stormed back in the second half to score thrice and defend their title.
iii. Kévin Gameiro scored one goal and Coke grabbed a brace for Sevilla. Daniel Sturridge was the only scorer for Liverpool, which also made him the first English player to score in the Europa League final since 2001.
Important Current Affairs Quiz for Bank ...
