-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
RBI/ BANKING/BUSINESS NEWS THIS MONTH
30 April: India and Japan have signed a Five-point action agenda
to increase bilateral trade and investment between the two nations.
The five-point agenda includes
o Development of selected townships in India as Japanese
industrial townships.
o Promotion of investment and infrastructure development.
o Further development and cooperation in IT sector.
o Enhancing cooperation in strategic sectors.
o Asia-Pacific economic integration.
30 April: Online marketplace Flipkart has acquired mobile
marketing start-up Appiterate in order to strengthen its mobile
platform.
30 April: Real estate portal PropTiger.com has acquired its
rival Makaan.com to ramp up its presence in Indias secondary
property market. After the acquisition both portals will run
separately. This acquisition will help PropTiger.com to create a
comprehensive online real-estate platform in India which will offer
end-to-end services to real estate developers, home buyers,
property brokers, private equity investors and banks.
30 April: Seychelles, an archipelago of 90000 inhabitants became
the 161st member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It is one
of the smallest nations among the WTO members.
28 April: French IT services firm Capgemini has announced its
plan to acquire US based information
technology (IT) outsourcer IGATE for US 4 billion dollars. This
acquisition will help Capgemini to strengthen its foothold in the
North American market.
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
28 April : Parliament has passed Regional Rural Banks
(Amendment) Bill, 2014. It was first passed in Lok Sabha on
December 22, 2014 and later in Rajya Sabha on April 28, 2015. This
bill amends Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976 and aims to strengthen
the Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and deepen their financial
inclusion.
28 April: French IT services firm Capgemini has announced its
plan to acquire US based information technology (IT) outsourcer
IGATE for US 4 billion dollars. This acquisition will help
Capgemini to strengthen its foothold in the North American
market.
27 April: Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) has won The Asian Banker
Achievement Award 2015. The award was presented to the BMB in the
Technology Implementation category of Best Outsourcing Project (New
Bank).Usha Ananthasubramanian, Chairman and Managing Director of
BMB received the award at a function held in Hongkong as a part of
The Asian Banker Summit 2015. 26 April: Leading Indian public
sector bank Bank of Baroda (BoB) has partnered with UAE Exchange to
offer Non-resident Indian (NRI) customers an instant cash transfer
facility. This agreement will facilitate customers can send money
within minutes to their desired bank accounts in BoB in India.
24 April: India has emerged as the fourth largest supplier of
generic medicines to the United States. Indias generic medicines
exports have touched over US 4 billion dollars in 2013-14 in spite
of stringent regulatory measures imposed by US.
24April: Union Government has allowed Employees Provident Fund
Organisation (EPFO), Indias retirement fund body to invest five per
cent of its corpus in exchange traded funds i.e. in stock markets.
The new pattern allows EPFO to invest 5% of its incremental income
in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) from the current financial year
i.e. 2015-16.
24 April: National Institute of Electronics and Information
Technology (NIELIT) signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) with e-commerce giant Snapdeal to roll out
digital marketing courses. The MoU aims at helping small and medium
enterprises/businesses and artisans who want to take the online
route to become entrepreneurs.
23 April: National Institute of Electronics and Information
Technology (NIELIT) on 23 April 2015 signed a
memorandum of understanding (MoU) with e-commerce giant Snapdeal
to roll out digital marketing courses. The MoU aims at helping
small and medium enterprises/businesses and artisans who want to
take the online route to become entrepreneurs.
23 April: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has
approved three highway projects in
Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra with a total cost of
5,150 crore rupees.
23 April: Union Cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime Minister
Narendra Modi gave its approval for signing of a shipping agreement
between India and Jordan.The agreement aims at strengthening
cooperation
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
between both nations in the area of shipping and to provide
sustained mutual assistance and advice on merchant shipping and
other related maritime matters.
22 April: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between
Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL)
and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) to export petroleum
products to Bangladesh.
22 April: Online travel services provider MakeMyTrip.com has
acquired Mygola, a startup travel guide firm.
21 April: Indias largest private sector lender Industrial Credit
and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) Bank has launched a
payment service Tap-n-Pay. It was launched by bank in collaboration
with Tech Mahindra. This payment service is based on the near-field
communications (NFC) technology which will enable its customers
make over-the-counter payments without using cash.
17 April: Indias second largest state-owned oil explorer
company, Oil India Limited (OIL) has
commissioned 54 MW wind energy projects saddled between Gujarat
and Madhya Pradesh.
15 April: Finnish telecom network equipment maker Nokia
announced acquisition of French telecom network firm Alcatel-
Lucent. This merger will create the worlds largest supplier of
telecom equipments that powers mobilephone networks by surpassing
Ericsson and Huawei.
14 April: Online restaurant guide Zomato acquired MaplePOS, a
cloud-based point of sale product for
restaurants developed by Delhi based MapleGraph.
13 April: Mobile commerce platform Paytm inked memorandum of
understanding MoU with National Centre for Trade Information (NCTI)
to promote Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
11 April: Indias first International Financial Services Centre
(IFSC) became operational at Gujarat
International Finance Tec (GIFT) City in Gandhinagar district of
Gujarat.
9 April: India and United States (US) have signed Memorandum of
Cooperation (MoC) transportation between both countries. It was
signed by Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and
Shipping Nitin Gadkari and Anthony Foxx, US Secretary of
Transportation in New Delhi.
8 April: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 April 2015 launched
Micro Units Development Re-finance
Agency (MUDRA) Bank in New Delhi. MUDRA Bank will act as a
regulator for Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs) involved in
manufacturing, Trading and service activities to promote their
growth. The Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana will be the main support
system for the bank and will be the part of Small Industries
Development Bank of India (SIDBI).
8 April: Online marketplace Snapdeal acquired Indias fastest
growing mobile transaction platform
FreeCharge.
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
7 April: State owned Dena Bank has signed Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India
to provide insurance cover to its all Aadhaar-linked savings
account holders in the age group of 18 to 50 years. LIC will
provide insurance cover under the Union Governments flagship
Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJBY) scheme.
3 April: In 2015 FM Global Resilience Index, India has been
ranked a low 119 out of 130 countries. India
despite having scope and global potential was ranked 119
compared to 112th rank in 2014 Global Resilience Index.
3 April: Union Government has unveiled new Foreign Trade Policy
(FTP) to make India an exporting
powerhouse in the next five years.The new trade policy will
incorporate government ambitious initiatives such as Make in India,
Digital India mission, Skill India programme, ease of business in
order to boost jobs and take Indias exports to 900 billion dollars
by 2020.
1 April: Punjab Government has launched Padho Punjab- Khedo
Punjab Mission i.e. Learn Punjab- Play
Punjab Mission. It is a special mission launched to provide
school students a separate period in the curriculum for playing
along with studies.
1 April: New Zealand cricketer Kyle Mills announced retirement
from international cricket. He made this
announcement after New Zealand lost to Australia in ICC World
Cup 2015 final.
NATION THIS MONTH
30 April: India ranks at 13th position in the world in terms of
generation electricity from nuclear source. This information was
given by Minister of State (MoS) Dr Jitendra Singh. The ranking was
based upon the data published by Power Reactor Information System
(PRIS) of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2014.
30 April: Union Government has extended e-Tourist Visa scheme to
31 more countries with an effect from 31 May 2015. In this regard,
Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a notification.
With this the total number of countries under the scheme has gone
up to 76.
30 April: The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi gave its nod to amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act
(PCA), 1988 by pursuing the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment)
Bill, 2013. Key amendments are:
i. Proposes more stringent punishment for the offences of
bribery, both for the bribe giver and the bribe
taker. ii. Enhances punishment from the minimum 6 months to 3
years and from the maximum five years to seven
years. iii. Extends the protection of prior sanction for
prosecution to public servants who cease to hold office due to
retirement and resignation.
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
29 April: The logo for International Day of Yoga was launched in
New Delhi on 29 April 2015. It was launched by Union External
Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Union Minister of State (MoS)
for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik.
29 April: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered a
complete ban on burning of any kind of garbage, leaves, plastic
waste and rubber in the open in Delhi-National Capital Region
(NCR).
28 April: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully
tested an indigenous cryogenic engine at Mahendragiri in
Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. A team headed by Director D
Karthikesan had led the testing. This engine will allow launch
vehicles to carry satellites of up to capacity of four tonnes in
geostationary orbit. It will also give boost to Indias
interplanetary probes and manned space missions.
28 April: The Union government has cancelled licences of nearly
9,000 Non- Governmental Organisations for violation of Foreign
Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
27April: Indias largest power producer, National Thermal Power
Corporation (NTPC) flagged off a Mobile
Science Lab (MSL) as part of its efforts to promote scientific
learning.MSL seeks to revolutionize rural education in India and
make hands-on learning accessible to underprivileged children.
27April: Indian Army has named the rescue and aid to Nepal
Operation Maitri or friendship which was
aftermath of 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal. This
operation will involve number of Indian military aircraft and
choppers along with bus services through road route.
26 April: A high-intensity earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on the
Richter scale had struck central Nepal
between its capital Kathmandu and the city of Pokhara.
Earthquakes epicenter was 80 kilometers east of Pokhra near
Kathmandu.
25 April: State of Assam has been awarded as the Best
e-Panchayat state on 25 April 2015 on the occasion
of National Panchayati Raj Diwas.
24 April: Every year April 24 is being observed as National
Panchayati Raj (PR) Diwas across India.
23 April: Union Cabinet has approved lowering of age of
juveniles from eighteen to sixteen years for heinous crimes.
Decision in this regard was taken by Union Cabinet meeting chaired
by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
23 April: The Railway Ministry has launched utsonmobile, a
mobile application for paperless unreserved
tickets.The application service was launched by Union Railway
Minister Suresh Prabhu in New Delhi. This application will allow
its passenger to buy a ticket on the move and to board the train
with the ticket secured on his mobile phone in digital format,
without any need for printing the ticket.
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
23 April: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has
approved three highway projects in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and
Maharashtra with a total cost of 5,150 crore rupees.
22 April: Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
(I&B) received an ISO 9001:2008 certification
from the British Standards Institute (BSI). These licences or
permissions include for satellite Television channels, multi-system
operators, teleports, community radio stations and DTH
services.
21 April: Indian Railways launched E-Samiksha, an online
monitoring mechanism.E-Samiksha aims at
monitoring implementation of various ongoing projects of Indian
Railways on real-time basis including Rail Budget proposals.
20 April: Indian Navys new stealth destroyer named INS
Visakhapatnam was launched on 20 April 2015 at the Mazgaon Docks
Ltd (MDL) in Mumbai, Maharashtra.Visakhapatnam is the Kolkata-class
warship and the first of P15-B stealth destroyers which is designed
indigenously and fitted with advanced features. It is the largest
destroyer commissioned in India.
17 April: Indias second largest state-owned oil explorer
company, Oil India Limited (OIL) has
commissioned 54 MW wind energy projects saddled between Gujarat
and Madhya Pradesh.
16 April: Nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Agni-III ballistic
missile was successfully tested.The test was conducted from Wheelar
Isalnd off the Odisha coast in the Bay of Bengal by the Strategic
Force Command (SFC) with support of Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO).
15 April: Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has signed a
memorandum of understanding (MoU) with
a Russian company INTMA to set up a gas-based power project in
Kazakhstan.
14 April: Union Government constituted a task force on
interlinking of rivers in the country.The Task Force will be
chaired by former Secretary of Ministry of Water Resources B N
Navalawala and comprises experts and senior officials.
14 April: Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has renamed
Tourist Visa on Arrival-Electronic Travel Authorization scheme
(TVoA-ETA) to e-Tourist Visa with effect from 15 April 2015.With
this ambiguities faced by foreign tourists especially by schemes
nomenclature VoA, presuming that they would be granted visa on
arrival upon landing will be removed.
14 April: Border Security Force (BSF) launched nationwide
satellite-based tele-medicine programme for its troops.The
programme will address medical and health-related problems of its
troops deployed in far-flung frontier areas and difficult regions
in the hinterland in case of an emergency or illness.
14April: FM transmission of Vividh Bharati Service was launched
by Union Information and Broadcasting
Minister Arun Jaitley.
i. Vividh Bharti service will be available on 100.1 Megahertz
(MHz) frequency. It will be also available on mobile phone.
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
ii. It will be available to listeners in and around Delhi within
a range of 60-65 km.
13 April: Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) commissioned 600
MW unit of a thermal power project for the Dainik Bhaskar Power
Limited (DBPL) at Dhabra in Janjgir Champa district of
Chhattisgarh.
13 April: Union Government has brought into force the National
Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, 2014 along with the
99th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2014.
With this new law the collegium system to appoint members to the
higher judiciary has come to an end. Now President will appoint
judges in the Supreme Court (SC) and 24 High Courts (HCs) in
consultation with the NJAC.
10 April: Union government has suspended the registration of
Greenpeace India, a non-profit environmental organization for six
months with immediate effect. Decision in this regard was taken by
Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) after Greenpeace India had
prejudicially acted against the public interests and economic
interests of the country.As per MHA, Greenpeace India has used its
funds received from foreign sources for unauthorised purposes and
has violated the rules mentioned Foreign Contribution (Regulation)
Act (FCRA), 2010.
10 April: India was elected to four key bodies of the United
Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC). Four key
subsidiary bodies are : (a) Executive Board of United Nations
Childrens Fund (UNICEF), (b) Executive Board of World Food
Programme (WFP), (c) Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal
Justice (CCPCJ), (d) Governing Council of United Nations Human
Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)
9 April: Union government has allowed pharmaceutical companies
to hike rates of 509 essential medicines by 3.84 per cent. The new
prices will be effective from 1 April 2015. These essential
medicines are used for treating various ailments like hepatitis B
and C, diabetes, and cancer.
9 April: India has registered a major milestone for the nuclear
industry by producing record nuclear fuel i.e. producing over 1,252
Metric Tonne (MT) of uranium bundles.
8 April: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has
proposed 112 as a single emergency number that can be used all
across the country including for police, fire and ambulance
departments. This emergency number will be similar to the 911 an
all-in-one emergency service in the United States.
7 April: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) meeting
chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
approved strengthening and widening of three sections connecting
the two temple towns of Varanasi and Madurai.
6 April: First indigenously-built Scorpene Submarine was
undocked at the Mazagaon Dockyard Limited
(MDL) in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The undocked submarine was named
Kalvari and is expected to be commissioned into Indian Navy by
September 2016.
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
6 April: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched National Air
Quality Index (AQI) to give pollution
information on real time basis. AQI will be used to inform
people about daily air quality in turn it will provide advisories
on health consequences.
4 April: Union Government on 4 April 2015 formally launched the
Give It Up movement in Karnataka. It
was launched by Union Minister of State (MoS) for Petroleum and
Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradan. The movement appeals to the rich
people to voluntarily give up their subsidy amount given on
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders.
4 April: Union Government again has extended rolling out
deadline for National Food Security Act (NFSA),
2013 by six months.
2 April: Union Cabinet gave its approval for the amendment of
the Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973. Decision in this regard
was taken by Union Cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime Minister
Narendra Modi. The approved amendments in parent act aims at
improving the quality of homeopathy education in the country to
provide better healthcare through the homeopathy system of
medicine.
GLOBE- TROT THIS MONTH
25 April: India was placed at 117th position in the recently
released World Happiness Report 2015 among the 158 studied nations.
The report was published by the United Nations (UN) Sustainable
Development Solutions Network (SDSN).
24 April: Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Argentine President
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner have signed a series of framework
agreements on economic and energy co-operation in Moscow. The
signed agreements include
Russian investment in a hydroelectric plant in Argentinas
Neuquen River. Russias Rosatom nuclear corporation to build a new
reactor at Argentinas Atucha 3 nuclear power plant. Memorandum of
co-operation (MoC) on defence between both nations.
24 April: Calbuco volcano in southern Chile erupted for the
first time after more than 42 years. It had
erupted twice in the space of a few hours which led to billowing
of huge ash cloud over a sparsely populated, mountainous area in
southern Chile. Chilean Government authorities after the eruption
have ordered evacuation of the 1,500 inhabitants of the nearby
towns.
22 April: Pakistan Government on 21 April 2015 conferred
Nishan-e-Pakistan, top civilian award on Chinese President Xi
Jinping. He was bestowed with this award for his outstanding
contribution in promotion of relationship between the two countries
by Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain.
22 April: Japans state-of-the-art Magnetic levitation technology
(Maglev) train has clocked a new world
speed record smashing through the 603 kilometre per hour mark in
a test run near Mount Fuji.The new record has surpassed its
previous record of 581 kilometres per hour which was set in
2003.
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
21 April: Global E-Waste Monitor 2014 report by United Nations,
India is the fifth biggest producer of e-
waste in the world. The report was compiled by UN think tank
United Nations University (UNU).
17 April: Russia and Pakistan have agreed to hold first-ever
joint military exercises as part of their enhanced defence
cooperation. As per the agreement, both nations will strive for
--------
Enhancing cooperation in defence industry and military training.
Promoting joint participation in military exercises. Increasing
military cooperation in training and import of arms and equipment.
Resolving conflicts through diplomatic means rather than using of
force.
15 April: Canada has agreed to supply 3,000 metric tonnes of
uranium to India under a $254 million five-year deal to power
Indian atomic reactors.
15 April: Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has signed a
memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Russian company INTMA to
set up a gas-based power project in Kazakhstan. By signing this
MoU, BHEL will be able to expand its footprint in the commonwealth
of independent states (CIS) region.
14 April: KatTurkey on 14 April 2015 began the construction of
its first nuclear power plant located at Akkuyu in Mersin province
on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It will be built by Akkuyu
Project Company, a subsidiary of Russias nuclear agency
Rosatom.
12 April: India and France signed 17 agreements in various
fields during Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modis visit to France.
Some of key agreements signed are --- (1) MoU between Larsen and
Tubro and AREVA, (2) Pre-engineering agreements (PEA) between NPCIL
(Nuclear Power Corporation of India) and Areva, (3) MoU between
CNES (French National Centre for Space Studies) and ISRO (Indian
Space Research Organisation) on Megha Tropiques satellite, (4) MoU
between Union Sports Ministry and French Ministry of Sports, (5)
Railway protocol between Union Railways Ministry and French
National Railways (SNCF).
11 April: India is going to chair the ninth International
Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) council meeting to be held in Abu
Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).The 9th IRENA council is
scheduled to start from 10 June 2015 and will be a two day
event.
11April: Asteroid 316201 was named as 316201 Malala after the
youngest Nobel laureate and girls
education campaigner Malala Yousafzai. Asteroid 316201 Malala is
located in the Main Belt between Mars and Jupiter. It orbits around
the Sun every 5.5 years and is more-than 2 mile wide.
10 April: India was elected to four key bodies of the United
Nations Economic and Social Council (UN
ECOSOC).India was elected to these bodies during ECOSOCs
coordination and management meeting held at UN headquarters in New
York, United States (US) by acclamation i.e. form of election that
does not use a ballot.
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
1 April: Former military ruler Genral Muhammadu Buhari won the
Presidential election in Nigeria. He defeated incumbent President
Goodluck Jonathan by more than two million votes.
APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS THIS MONTH
23 April: Indian-American Dr. Vivek Murthy was sworn-in as the
US Surgeon General. He was administered oath by US Vice President
Joe Biden at a ceremony held at Fort Myer in Virginia.
20 April: Finlands opposition Centre Party has won the General
Election 2015 by defeating the left-right coalition National
Coalition party of incumbent Prime Minister Alexander Stubb.
20 April: Former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar was
appointed as chief adviser of the Board of Control for Cricket in
Indias (BCCI) Anti-Corruption & Security Unit (ACSU).
19 April: Nasim Zaidi assumed the charge as Chief Election
Commissioner (CEC). He is Indias 20th CEC and succeeded Hari
Shankar Brahma, who had retired on April 18, 2015.
18 April: Supreme Court has appointed Vivek Priyadarshi to head
an investigating team to further probe the Indian Premier League
(IPL) season 6 spot-fixing and betting scandals.
17 April: United Nation (UN) peace envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar
has resigned, after losing support from Gulf countries for his
mission in the conflict-riven nation. Since 2012, he was serving as
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moons special envoy for Yemen.
15 April: Pankaj More on 15 April 2015 was appointed as
Technology Head of Wal-Mart India Private Limited. Pankaj has over
19 years of experience and had had joined WalMart in January 2013.
He was leading the ISD strategy for the Walmart Asia market
including Japan, China & India.
15 April: Senior diplomat Dr. Mohan Kumar has been appointed the
Indias next Ambassador to France. He will succeed Arun Kumar who
was recently appointed Ambassador to the United States.
14 April: Indian-American businesswoman Shamina Singh has been
nominated as the member of the Board of Directors of the
Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).She was
nominated to top most post by United States President Barack Obama
for term of four year i.e. till October 2019.
10 April: Arun Kumar Jha was appointed as Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC),
Mumbai.
10 April: Captain Anoop Kumar Sharma has taken over as
whole-time director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Essar
Shipping Ltd (ESL).
9 April: President Pranab Mukherjee on 9 April 2015 appointed
the senior most Election Commissioner (EC), Dr. Nasim Zaidi as the
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
8 April: Sumit Mazumder was elected as the President of
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the year 2015-16. He is
Chairman & Managing Director (MD) of TIL Limited. He will
succeed Ajay Shriram, Chairman of DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd.
7 April: Dr Mayilsamy Annadurai has assumed the office of
Director, ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) in Bengaluru, Karnataka. He
replaced Dr. S.K. Shivakumar, who had retired on 31 March 2015.
Annadurai had joined ISRO in 1982. He had started his career at
ISAC as the team leader to design and develop Software Satellite
Simulator.
7 April: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has
re-appointed Rajeev Shukla as chairman of the Indian Premier League
(IPL) Governing Council. He replaced Ramakrishnan A. R. who had
retired from service on 31 March 2015.
4 April: Pedro Cateriano Bellido was appointed as Prime Minister
of Peru by the President Ollanta Humala. He will replace Ana Jara,
who had lost a confidence vote and was sacked by Peruvian Congress
amid allegations of corruption.
3 April: Captain Anoop Kumar Sharma has taken over as whole-time
director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Essar Shipping Ltd
(ESL). He replaced Ramakrishnan A. R. who had retired from service
on 31 March 2015.
1 April: Gulshan Rai on 1 April 2015 took charge as Indias first
cyber security chief under the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) as
Special Secretary for cyber security. Prior to this appointment, he
was Director-General Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) at the
Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY).
4 April: Pedro Cateriano Bellido was appointed as Prime Minister
of Peru by the President Ollanta Humala. He will replace Ana Jara,
who had lost a confidence vote and was sacked by Peruvian Congress
amid allegations of corruption.
3 April: Captain Anoop Kumar Sharma has taken over as whole-time
director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Essar Shipping Ltd
(ESL). He replaced Ramakrishnan A. R. who had retired from service
on 31 March 2015.
1 April: Gulshan Rai on 1 April 2015 took charge as Indias first
cyber security chief under the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) as
Special Secretary for cyber security. Prior to this appointment, he
was Director-General Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) at the
Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY).
AWARDS/HONOURS/WORLD TITLES/NEW DISCOVERIES THIS MONTH
30 April: Two Indians, Dr. Pramod Patil and Dr Ananda Kumar have
been awarded with the prestigious 2015 Whitley Awards for their
contribution to wildlife conservation in developing countries. Both
of them
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
received a Whitley prize worth 35000 pound along with seven
other environmentalists at a ceremony in Royal Geographical
Society, London.
28 April: Novelist Siddhartha Gigoo has won 2500 pounds 2015
Commonwealth Short Story Prize in Asia region for his novel
Umbrella Man.
27 April: French Government has honoured former Union Finance
Minister and veteran BJP leader Yashwant Sinha with Officier de la
Lgion dHonneur (Officer of the Legion of Honour).
27 April: Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) has won The Asian Banker
Achievement Award 2015.The award was presented to the BMB in the
Technology Implementation category of Best Outsourcing Project (New
Bank).
26 April: 50th Jnanpith Award was conferred on eminent Marathi
litterateur Bhalchandra Nemade on 25 April 2015.He was presented
award comprising of 11 lakh rupees and a citation plaque and a
bronze replica of Saraswati by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a
function in Parliament House Complex in New Delhi.
26 April: Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor conferred with prestigious
Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Award 2015.He was presented the award
by noted historian and writer Babasaheb Purandare.\
26 April: Indian-origin diplomat Gopinath Pillai was awarded
Outstanding Service Award for his services by the National
University of Singapore (NUS). Current he is serving as
Ambassador-at-Large of Singapore and special envoy to Andhra
Pradesh.
22 April: Pakistan Government conferred Nishan-e-Pakistan, top
civilian award on Chinese President Xi Jinping. He was bestowed
with this award for his outstanding contribution in promotion of
relationship between the two countries by Pakistan President
Mamnoon Hussain.
18 April: United States (US) President Barack Obama is going to
honour Microsofts Indian-origin CEO Satya Nadella with the
Champions of Change award.He will be honoured with this award for
bringing change within his company to support working families.
16 April: Professor Susanta Lahiri was awarded prestigious the
Hevesy Medal Award 2015.The award was presented to him for his
outstanding contributions in heavy ion induced radioisotope
production, converter targets, tracer packet technique and green
chemistry.
9 April: Uttar Pradesh government has conferred Sahitya
Shiromani Samman upon noted Hindi poet Gopal Das Neeraj. The award
carrying cash prize of 21 lakh Rupees was bestowed upon Neeraj by
UP Chief Akhilesh Yadav.
7 April: 15-year-old Indian-origin student, Pratap Singh from
United Kingdom (UK) has won prestigious award Institute of Physics
(IOP) Prize.
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
6 April: Syrian-Lebanese Arab poet Adonis has been chosen for
2015 Kumaran Asan World Prize for poetry. Adonis was born as Ali
Ahmad Said Esber in Western Syria in 1930. Since 1985, he had
settled in Paris, France.
6 April: Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has won the
prestigious Golden Peacock National Quality
Award for the year 2015.
3 April: Mariyam Asif Siddiqui, a 12-year-old Muslim girl from
Mumbai has secured first place Shrimad Bhagwad Gita Champion
League. She won the first prize in an inter-school competition for
explaining the teachings of the holy book- Bhagwad Gita. The
Shrimad Bhagwad Gita Champion League was organised by International
Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in March.
SPORTS NEWS THIS MONTH
29 April: Railway Sports Promotion Board has won the 5th Senior
Mens National Hockey Championship 2015. In the final match, they
defeated Uttar Pradesh Hockey by 5-3 goals which was played at
Pune.
27 April: World champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway on 26 April
2015 won the Shamkir Chess tournament held in Azerbaijan.In the
ninth and final round, he defeated Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan in 35
moves and scored seven points.
27 April: Indias Shamjetsabam Sarjubala and Pinki Jangra have
clinched gold medals at the 22nd Presidents Cup Open International
Boxing Tournament held in Indonesia. On the other hand,
Shamjetsabam Sarjubala won the gold medal in 48kg category by
defeating Russias Iseva Joya in the final match played at
Palembang, South Sumatra. Pinki Jangra won the gold medal in 51kg
category by defeating Mongolias Nandintsetseg by 2-1 score.
19 April: Three Indian race walkers Khushbir Kaur, Manish Rawat
and Sandeep Kumar have qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics. In the
International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Race
Walking Challenge held at Rio Maiorin Portugal, National womens
20km walk record holder Khushbir Kaur clocked 1 hour 33 minute and
58 seconds below the Rio Oympic qualification time of 1 hour and 35
minutes. In the mens 20km race walk event Manish Rawat and Sandeep
Kumar qualified for Rio Games.
19 April: Indias Y Pranjala has won the Asian Junior Tennis
championship title on 18 April 2015. In the final match played at
New Delhi she defeated Chinas Zheng Wushuang with a 5-7, 6-2, 7-5
scoreline.
19 April: Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton from Britain
on 19 April 2015 won Bahrain Grand Prix of Formula One on the
Sakhir Grand Prix Circuit.
18 April: Ashish Jakhar from Haryana on 17 April 2015 set a
national youth record in boys hammer throw event and won gold medal
in the 12th National Youth\ Athletics Championships held in
Bambolim, Goa.
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
15 April: Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar on 15 April 2015
was inducted into the prestigious Laureus Sports Academy. Along
with him four other sportspersons were inducted as new members in
the Academy. They are
Yao Ming- Retired Chinese professional basketball player. Tegla
Loroupe- Kenyan long-distance runner. Li Xiaopeng- Chinese gymnast.
Yang Yang- Former Chinese short track speed skater Yang Yang.
12 April: New Zealand has won the 24th edition of Sultan Azlan
Shah Hockey Tournament 2015 for second
time. In the final match, New Zealand defeated World Champions
Australia by 3-1 goals in the penalty shoot-out. In regulation 60
minutes time, both teams had tied at 2-2 goals.
12 April: Sania Mirza on 12 April 2015 created history by
becoming the first Indian female tennis player to achieve the world
number one rank in doubles category. She achieved this feat after
winning WTA Family Circle Cup along with her Swiss partner Martina
Hingis.
12 April: Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton from Britain
on 12 April 2015 won Chinese Grand Prix of Formula One on the
Shanghai International Circuit in China.
12 April: Ace Indian shooter Jitu Rai won a bronze medal in the
10m air pistol event at the International Shooting Sport Federation
(ISSF) World Cup in Changwon, South Korea.
11 April: Yuki Bhambri has won the 15,000 US Dollar ITF Futures
tournament title. In the final he recorded a straight-set win over
Dzmitry Zhyrmont of Belarus played at Karshi, Uzbekistan.
11 April: Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela on 11 April 2015 won
Bronze medal in the 10-metre air rifle event at the (International
Shooting Sport Federation) ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup in
Changwon, South Korea.
8 April: Gujarat won the Syed Mushtaq Ali T-20 cricket trophy
for the tournament season 2014-15. In the final match played at
KIIT Stadium, Odisha they defeated Punjab by two wickets
6 April: Indian chess Grandmaster Dronavalli Harika on 6 April
2015 won the bronze medal in the World Womens chess championships
along with Swedish Grandmaster Pia Cramling.
6 April: World No. 1 and Serbian ace tennis player Novak
Djokovic has won the 2015 Miami Open Mens Singles Title. In the
final match he defeated Britains Andy Murray by 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-0
score. This was Djokovics fifth Miami Open trophy.
4 April: Malli Mastan Babu, one of Indias top mountaineers
passed away. His dead body was recovered in the Andes Mountains
between Argentina and Chile after he went missing on 24th March,
2015 during an expedition to Cerro Tres Cruces Sur.
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
3 April: Minor planet was named after Indias chess legend and
first grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand by the Minor Planet Center.
His name was given to the minor planet which was previously
identified as planet 4538. Now the planet will be called as 4538
Vishyanand and is located somewhere between the Mars and
Jupiter.
1 April: New Zealand cricketer Kyle Mills on 1 April 2014
announced retirement from international cricket.
EULOGIES THIS MONTH
30 April: Eminent Marathi film and stage actress Bimba Modak
passed away due to her old age. She was 97
29 April: The Oscar-winning cinematographer Andrew Lesnie passed
away. He was 59.
28 April: Senior Pakistani politician and Baloch nationalist
leader Nawabzada Talal Akbar Bugti passed away in Quetta,
Balochistan. He was 63.
27 April: Hashim Mbita, a Tanzanian army general and the icon of
the southern Africa liberation struggle, died at the age of 74.
22 April: Janaki Ballabh Patnaik, a three-time Odisha Chief
Minister and former Governor of Assam, passed away in Tirupati. He
was 89.
22 April: Eminent historian Professor Christopher Alan Bayly
died in Chicago. He was 70.
21 April: Bengal batsman Ankit Keshri passed away. He was 20
years old.
20 April: Jaroslav Holik, an offensive forward who helped
Czechoslovakia win a hockey world title and an Olympic bronze medal
in 1972, has died. He was 72.
17 April: Former Prime Minister of Nepal, Surya Bahadur Thapa
passed away in Gurgaon. He was 87.
16 April: Former Czech Republic Prime Minister Stanislav Gross
died. He was 45. He was the youngest Prime Minister of the Czech
Republic from 2004 to 2005 at the age of 34.
15 April: Renowned film director and actor of Assam Bidyut
Chakraborty died. He was 55.
15 April: The Nobel-winning legendary German writer Gunter Grass
passed away at the age of 87 years.
14 April: Lt Gen Hanut Singh (retd) has passed away in Dehradun.
He was 82 years old.
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
11 April: Former Australian captain and legendary cricket
commentator Richie Benaud has died at the age of 84.
10 April: Firebrand writer Jayakanthan, who is a legend in Tamil
writing and literature passed away. He was 81.
5 April: Noted singer E.M. Hanifa whose voice transcended
religious lines died at Chennai. He was 97.
4 April: Sunita Tomar, poster girl of Indias anti-tobacco
campaign passed away at her hometown in Bhind
district of Madhya Pradesh.
4 April: Malli Mastan Babu, one of the top mountaineers of
India, passed away. His dead body was recovered from Andes
Mountains in South America, between Argentina and Chile, after he
went missing on 24 March 2015. He was 40
1 April: Renowned Hindi poet Kailash Vajpeyi died in New Delhi.
He was 79.
MISCELLANEOUS NEWS THIS MONTH
29 April: The logo of International Day of Yoga was launched in
New Delhi by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and
Union Minister of State (MoS) for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik.
27 April: The first postal Automated Teller Machine (ATM) in
Punjab and Union Territory of Chandigarh was opened at the General
Post Office (GPO) in Chandigarh.
27 April: The Asia Africa Summit ended with leaders of Asia and
Africa endorsing documents aimed at strengthening multilateral
relationships between the two regions. The summit was organised in
Indonesia's capital Jakarta.
25 April: Metals and mining conglomerate Sesa Sterlite Ltd has
changed its name to Vedanta Ltd to better align with its
international identity Vedanta Resources.
24 April: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has
accorded final approval to two national parks i.e. Kudermukh
National Park in Karnataka and Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand
for being declared as tiger reserves.
23 April: With an aim of monitoring implementation of various
ongoing projects including Rail Budget proposals, railways launched
E-Samiksha, an online monitoring mechanism.
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
21 April: Japanese bullet train Maglev created a new world speed
record of 603 kilometer per hour (kmph) in a test run near Mount
Fuji. The seven-car maglev (short for magnetic levitation) train
broke its previous record of 580 kilometer per hour created in
2003.
20 April: Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli announced to set up his
chain of gyms and fitness centres with the investment of 90 crore
rupees.The gyms will be launched under the brand name Chisel.
17 April: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
issued recommendations on broadband growth. It released
recommendations on Delivering Broadband Quickly: What do we need to
do? The Authority in its recommendations raised concerns about the
slow penetration and adoption of broadband in the country.
14 April: Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun
Jaitley inaugurated the Vividh Bharati Service of Delhi on FM Mode
in a function held at premises of New Broadcasting House of All
India Radio (AIR). The service will be available on 100.1 Megahertz
frequency.
11 April: PepsiCo India commissioned first phase of India's
largest beverage plant at Sri City (Andhra Pradesh). The plant is a
planned integrated township located 55 km North of Tamil Nadu
capital Chennai. Its a manufacturing hub comprising a special
economic zone (SEZ) of 2,700 acres.
9 April: Globetrotters from Switzerland shelled out maximum
money for their stay in India among the foreign tourists in 2014,
an 11 per cent rise from their spending on hotels against last
year, according to a report.
8 April: India Post, the postal department of Govt. of India
closed its 135-year old Money Order (MO) service.
8 April: A comprehensive Pew Research Center study shows that by
2050, India will surpass Indonesia to have the largest Muslim
population by any country in the world. However, India will
continue to have a Hindu majority, the study noted.
6 April: Union Government launched Faster Adoption and
Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME) India Scheme.
The scheme was launched as part of the National Mission for
Electric Mobility to boost eco-friendly vehicles sales in the
country.
4 April: M.S. Convent, the first direct container vessel from
India to Qatar arrived at Doha as part of a non-stop service
launched to facilitate swift trade between the two countries.
3 April: Virbhadra Singh, the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh
launched part one of e-Vidhan Mobile apps.
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
2 April: Film actress and local Member of Parliament Hema Malini
launched Uttar Pradesh's first water dispensing ATM at Sonkh town
in Mathura district.
2 April: The US space agency NASA has selected 12 Next Space
Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) to develop the
exploration.
1 April: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) became the largest
political party in the world with number of its registered members
crossing the figure of 8.8 crore.
RECURRING TERMS
(1) 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal
A high-intensity earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on the Richter
scale had struck central Nepal between its capital Kathmandu and
the city of Pokhara on 25 April 2015.
Earthquakes epicenter was 80 kilometers east of Pokhra near
Kathmandu. It had a depth of only 11 kilometers (7 miles) i.e. in
geological terms it was a shallow depth.
The intensity of this earthquake was high due to its shallower
depth which had more destructive power. It has resulted in
thousands of deaths and tremendous loss of property.
The tremors of this quake were felt in north Indian states of
Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, Delhi, Madhya
Pradesh, West Bengal, Haryana, and Punjab. The tremors were also
reported in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Earlier, Nepal had suffered its worst recorded earthquake in
1934. It was measured 8.0 and had destroyed the cities of
Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan.
Reasons for catastrophic earthquake in Nepal
This earthquake in Nepal may have occurred because of two
converging tectonic plates, the India plate and the overriding
Eurasian plate.
These tectonic plates are the large, thin, relatively rigid and
are moving relative to one another on the outer surface of the
Earth. Both of these plates are slowly moving and sometimes get
stuck at their edges due to friction.
Earthquake might have occured because of these overriding plates
after the stress on the edge overcomes the friction. It releases
tremendous energy in form of waves that travel through the Earths
crust and causes earthquake on the surface.
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
(2) Union Government unveils new Foreign Trade Policy
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ambitious MUDRA Bank
on 8 April 2015 at a function held at New Delhi. This bank would
primary be a lending entity to micro and small business entities
engaged in manufacturing, trading and service activities.
Following are the primary highlights and facts associated with
Mudra Bank:
What MUDRA stands for:
The term MUDRA stands for Micro Units Development Refinance
Agency (MUDRA). In Sanskrit and Hindi MURDA also means
currency.
What will be the main objective?
MUDRA Bank will be responsible for developing and refinancing
all microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in the business of lending to
micro and small business entities in manufacturing, trading and
service activities. In Prime Minister Narendra Modis words It will
be the bank for the unbanked people and businesses. Since small
entreprenuers are businssess are often cut off from banking system
because of limited branch presence, Mudra Bank will partner with
local coordinators and provide finance to Last Mile Financiers of
small/micro businesses.
What will the main roles to be played by MUDRA Bank?
Laying down policy guidelines for micro enterprise financing
business, registration of MFI entities
Accreditation, rating of MFI entities
Laying down responsible financing practices to ward off
over-indebtedness and ensure proper client protection principles
and methods of recovery
Development of standardised set of covenants governing last-mile
lending to micro enterprises
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
Promoting right technology solutions for the last mile
Formulating and running a credit guarantee scheme for providing
guarantees to loans and portfolios being extended to micro
enterprises
Support development and promotional activities in the sector
Creating a good architecture for last-mile credit delivery
Which scheme will be the primary support for MUDRA Bank?
The Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana will be the main support system
for MUDRA Bank.
MUDRA Bank will work under which entity?
MUDRA Bank will be the part of Small Industries Development Bank
of India (SIDBI), which is a principal financial institution for
the micro, small and medium enterprises in India. The bank will
also partner with states and regional level coordinators for
providing funding to last-mile financiers of small and micro
business enterprises.
What is the initial corpus of MUDRA Bank?
MUDRA Bank has been started with an initial corpus of Rs. 20,000
crore. Apart from this, Rs. 3,000 crore has been earmarked as
credit guarantee corpus.
What will be the expanse of MUDRA Banks operations?
MUDRA Bank will cater to the financing needs of over 5.77 crore
small business units that are spread all across India who currently
find it difficult to access credit from the regular banking
system.
What are the names given to 3 financing stages for MUDRA
Bank?
Shishu, Kishore and Tarun
Shishu : It will be the first financing stage for MUDRA Bank and
will include the time when a business entity is just starting its
operations. The loan cover in this stage will be upto Rs
50,000.
Kishore: It will be the second financing stage for MUDRA Bank
and the entreprenuer will be eligible for a loan ranging from Rs
50,000 to Rs 5 lakh under this stage.
Tarun: It will be the third and final financing stage for MUDRA
Bank and maximum loan up to Rs. 10 lakh can be provided under this
stage.
(3) Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC)
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
India was elected to four key bodies of the United Nations
Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC).India was elected to these
bodies during ECOSOCs coordination and management meeting held at
UN headquarters in New York, United States (US) by acclamation i.e.
form of election that does not use a ballot.
Four key subsidiary bodies are
Executive Board of United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) -
India is elected for a 3 year term beginning January 2016. It was
elected, along with 13 other nations.
Executive Board of World Food Programme (WFP) - India is
re-elected to the for a 2 year period starting from January 2016,
along with 5 other nations.
Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ)
India is elected for a 3 year period starting from January 2016.
India was elected along with 19 other nations. Some of them are
Iran, Pakistan, Austria, France, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and US.
Governing Council of United Nations Human Settlements Programme
(UN-Habitat) -India is elected for a 3 year period starting from
January 2016 along with 13 other nations.
With this, India has created significant 100 percent record of
winning the UNECOSOC elections.
While, The New York Times has won two prestigious Pulitzer
prizes for coverage of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
(4) E-Samiksha
Indian Railways on 21 April 2015 launched E-Samiksha, an online
monitoring mechanism.
E-Samiksha aims at monitoring implementation of various ongoing
projects of Indian Railways on real-time basis including Rail
Budget proposals.
It was launched by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in New
Delhi.
Facts about E-Samiksha
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
E-Samiksha is designed by National Informatics Centre (NIC).
It has been developed to make it a highly interactive web-based,
user-friendly and customised system.
E-Samiksha will be used to monitor budget-related projects and
also for monitoring the infrastructure target and board meeting
follow-up.
Currently, it is being used by Cabinet Secretariat, Prime
Ministers Office and other Ministries for monitoring progress
implementation of various programmes and follow-up of meetings.
(5) Foreign Trade Policy (FTP)
The new trade policy will incorporate government ambitious
initiatives such as Make in India, Digital India mission, Skill
India programme, ease of business in order to boost jobs and take
Indias exports to 900 billion dollars by 2020.
The goals of the new policy will be achieved by simplifying
complex procedures, addressing infrastructural bottlenecks and
eliminating manufacturing hurdles.
Focus areas of the new FTP are
Labour intensive sectors to generate more employment.
Boosting to environment-friendly products.
High tech value addition.
Involving skill India programme to promote entrepreneurship.
Moving towards branding of products.
Incentives for units located in SEZs.
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
Making the life of traders easier.
Key facts
FTP also takes into consideration e-commerce. Under the new
policy, Indias nascent, e-commerce sector would also be extended
sops.
The new trade policy will be based on two new schemes-
Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and Services Exports
from India Scheme (SIES). Under these two schemes, government has
merged all earlier export promotion schemes.
MEIS is for export of specified goods in specified markets with
the rate of rewards range from 2 to 5%. SIES is for increasing
exports of notified services and the selected services will be
rewarded at the rates of 3 to 5%.
The new also move towards paperless working. In this regard, a
facility has been created to upload documents in exporter/ importer
profile in order to avoid need of repeatedly submitting
documents.
ABBREVIATIONS THIS MONTH
ABBREVIATIONS
1. ADR - American Depository Receipt
2. AFS - Annual Financial Statement
3. AGM - Annual General Meeting
4. ASSOCHAM - Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of
India
5. BSCS - Basel Committee on Banking Supervision
6. BSR - Basic Statistical Returns
7. CAD - Capital Account Deficit
8. CVC - Central Vigilance Commission
9. DAP - Development Action Plan
10. DBOD - Department of Banking Operations and Development
11. DBS - Department of Banking Supervision, RBI
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
12. DGBA - Department of Government and Bank Accounts, RBI
13. DICGC - Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation
of India
14. ECB - External Commercial Borrowing
15. IFCI- Industrial Finance Corporation of India
16. IFS - International Financial Statistics
17. IGLS - Iterative Generalized Least Squares
18. ISO- International Standards Organization
19. NFD- Net Fiscal Deficit
20. NGO- Non-Governmental Organization
21. NNML- Net Non-Monetary Liabilities
22. SSSBE Small Scale Service and Business Enterprises
23. ALM Asset Liability Management
24. CBLO Collateralised Bank Lending Obligations
25. CIBIL Credit Information Bureau of India Limited
26. DPG Deferred Payment Guarantee
27. DPN Demand Promissory Note
28. DRAT Debt Recovery Appellate tribunal
29. DRI Differential Rate of Interest
30. DSCR Debt Service Coverage Ratio
31. EDI Electronic Data Interchange
32. EMI Equated Monthly Instalments
33. EPS Earnings Per Share
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
34. ESOP Employee Stock Options
35. FEDAI Foreign Exchange Dealers Association of India
36. FFMC Full Fledged Money Changers
37. EEFC - Exchange Earner's Foreign Currency
38. NCTC - National Counter-Terrorism Centre
39. PMGSY- Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
40. PMJBY- Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana
41. PMSBY- Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana
IMPORTANT DAYS THIS MONTH
April 29 - International Dance Day
April 25 - World Malaria Day
April 24: National Panchayati Raj Day
April 23: World Book and Copyright Day
April 22: Earth Day
April 21: Civil Services Day
April 18: World Heritage Day
April 17: World Hemophilia Day
April 7: World Health Day
April 2: World Autism Awareness Day
SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE MONTH
(1) 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
A high-intensity earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on the Richter
scale had struck central Nepal between its capital Kathmandu and
the city of Pokhara on 25 April 2015.
Earthquakes epicenter was 80 kilometers east of Pokhra near
Kathmandu. It had a depth of only 11 kilometers (7 miles) i.e. in
geological terms it was a shallow depth.
The intensity of this earthquake was high due to its shallower
depth which had more destructive power. It has resulted in
thousands of deaths and tremendous loss of property.
The tremors of this quake were felt in north Indian states of
Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, Delhi, Madhya
Pradesh, West Bengal, Haryana, and Punjab. The tremors were also
reported in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Earlier, Nepal had suffered its worst recorded earthquake in
1934. It was measured 8.0 and had destroyed the cities of
Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan.
Reasons for catastrophic earthquake in Nepal
This earthquake in Nepal may have occurred because of two
converging tectonic plates, the India plate and the overriding
Eurasian plate.
These tectonic plates are the large, thin, relatively rigid and
are moving relative to one another on the outer surface of the
Earth. Both of these plates are slowly moving and sometimes get
stuck at their edges due to friction.
Earthquake might have occured because of these overriding plates
after the stress on the edge overcomes the friction. It releases
tremendous energy in form of waves that travel through the Earths
crust and causes earthquake on the surface.
(2) Pulitzer Award 2015
All the Light We Cannot See, a novel based on Second World War
by author Anthony Doerr has won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
While, The New York Times has won two prestigious Pulitzer
prizes for coverage of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
List of 2015 Pulitzer Prize Winners
Books, Drama and Music
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
Fiction- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.
Drama Between Riverside and Crazy by Stephen Adly Guirgis
History Encounters at the Heart of the World: A History of the
Mandan People by Elizabeth A. Fenn.
Biography The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI
and the Rise of Fascism in Europe by David I. Kertzer.
Poetry Digest by Gregory Pardlo.
General Nonfiction- The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
by Elizabeth Kolbert.
Music Anthracite Fields by Julia Wolfe.Journalism
Public Service- The Post and Courier, Charleston.
Breaking News Reporting- The Seattle Times Staff.
Investigative Reporting- Eric Lipton of New York Times and Wall
Street Journal Staff.
Explanatory Reporting- Zachary R. Mider of Bloomberg News.
Local Reporting- Rob Kuznia, Rebecca Kimitch and Frank Suraci of
the Daily Breeze.
National Reporting Carol D. Leonnig of Washington Post.
International Reporting New York Times Staff.
Feature Writing Diana Marcum of the Los Angeles Times.
Commentary- Lisa Falkenberg of the Houston Chronicle.
Criticism Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times.
Editorial Writing Kathleen Kingsbury of Boston Globe.
Editorial Cartooning Adam Zyglis of Buffalo News.
Breaking News Photography St. Louis Post-Dispatch Photography
Staff.
Feature Photography Daniel Berehulak, freelance photographer of
New York Times.
(3) 17 Agreements signed between India and France during PM
Narendra Modis visit
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
India and France on 11 April 2015 signed 17 agreements in
various fields during Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modis visit to
France.
They were signed in presence of Indian PM and his counterpart
French President Francois Hollande after they had held wide-ranging
talks in Paris.
Some of key agreements signed are
MoU between Larsen and Tubro and AREVA- It aims at improve the
financial viability of the Jaitapur Nuclear plant project by
reducing cost by increasing localization.
It will also enable France to transfer of technology to India
for development of indigenous nuclear energy industry in India.
Pre-engineering agreements (PEA) between NPCIL and Areva- It
intends to bring clarity on all technical aspects of the plant.
It will help all parties including AREVA, Alstom and NPCIL to
fix their price and optimise all provisions for risks (still
included at this stage) in the costs of the project.
MoU between CNES and ISRO on Megha Tropiques satellite- It
extends MoU for two more years of joint project for sharing and use
of data from the satellite.
The satellite was launched in October 2011 on board of Indian
launch vehicle PSLV.
MOU between ISRO, CNES and ONERA- It proposes cooperation in the
areas of satellite remote sensing, satellite communications and
satellite meteorology and others field.
MoU between Union Sports Ministry and French Ministry of Sports-
It envisages cooperation and exchange of experiences in the fields
of sports medicine and institutional cooperation.
Railway protocol between Union Railways Ministry and French
National Railways (SNCF)- It seeks to establish cooperation between
Indian and French Railways for semi-high speed rail and station
renovation.
Other agreements signed between both nations in the fields of
economy, energy, culture, tourism, conservation, Ayurveda, skill
development and science and technology.
Note- NPCIL (Nuclear Power Corporation of India), CNES (French
National Centre for Space Studies), ISRO (Indian Space Research
Organisation)
(4) Indias first IFSC becomes operational at GIFT City in
Gujarat
Indias first International financial Services Centre (IFSC)
became operational at Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City
in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat.
-
VISIT-WWW.BANKERSGURU.ORG
It became operational after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
unveiled the rules and regulations for this global financial
hub.
Key facts of IFSC rules and regulations
Aim at creating a vibrant IFSC on the lines of those in Dubai
and Singapore.
They also seek to check the flight of trading in rupee and
Indian securities to such offshore financial hubs.
These rules will allow companies incorporate outside India to
raise money in foreign currencies by issuance and listing of their
equity shares on stock exchanges within the IFSC.
They will also allow individual and institutional investors from
India and abroad, including NRIs to trade.
Allows foreign and Indian stock exchanges to set up separate
bourses within IFSC as subsidiaries.
Relaxes capital and other requirements for some time in order to
facilitate exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories to set
shop in the IFSC.
Allows alternative investment funds and mutual funds that have
set up in the IFSC to invest in the securities listed there.