31-Dec-2018
ESAF SFB Gets RBI Nod To Operate As Scheduled Bank
ESAF small finance bank has got RBI approval to operate as a scheduled bank. This makes ESAF small finance bank (SFB) the fifth scheduled bank from Kerala.
ESAF microfinance institution, started in 1992, was one among the ten applicants to receive approval from RBI to start banking operations in 2016.
3rd Edition of Women’s National Boxing Championships Begins
The third edition of women’s national boxing championships begins in Vijayanagara, Karnataka. Country’s top boxers will be vying for top honors as the tournament will be held at the JSW Sports-owned Inspire Institute of Sport.
World Championship silver and bronze medallists boxers, Sonia Chahal, Lovlina Borgohain, Pinky Jangra and Nikhat Zarin will be trying to upstage one another in the race to claim the top honors.
Smriti Mandhana Named ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year
India's stylish opener Smriti Mandhana has been named as the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women's Cricketer of the Year. The 22-year-old, who has also been named as the ICC Women's ODI Player of the Year, achieved the feat by giving some exceptional performances throughout the year.
She is currently ranked fourth in the ICC Women's Players Rankings for ODI Batters and 10th in the ICC Women's Players Rankings for T20I Batters.
Other Awards Conferred are:
- Smriti Mandhana has won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award for the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year.
- Australia’s wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy voted ICC T20I Player of the Year.
- England’s Sophie Ecclestone named ICC Emerging Player of the Year.
Book 'Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From' By Tony Joseph Released
The book titled “Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From”written by Tony Joseph was released.
The book talks about the migration of the First Indians also known as ‘Aryans’ who arrived here 65,000 years ago.
PM Modi Renames 3 Islands of Andaman & Nicobar
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unfurled 150-feet tall tricolor to mark Netaji's hoisting of the national flag 75 years ago in Port Blair. The Prime Minister also released a commemorative stamp, its first-day cover and a Rs-75 coin on this special day.
The three renamed islands of Andaman and Nicobar are:
1. Ross renamed as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep
2. Neil renamed as Shaheed Dweep
3. Havelock renamed as Swaraj Dweep.
Swachh Surveksahan Award For GHMC
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation was awarded Best Capital City in the Solid Waste Management in the Swachh Survekshan 2018 rankings.
The GHMC was also at the 27th place among 4,041 cities.
Centre Approves Rs 1,146.12 cr Cyclone 'Gaja' Assistance for Tamil Nadu
The High-Level Committee (HLC) chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singhapproved additional assistance of Rs 1,146.12 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to Tamil Nadu, which was affected by cyclone 'Gaja' recently.
The Central government had released assistance of Rs 353.70 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) as an interim relief to the state. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Union Minister for Agriculture Radha Mohan Singh and Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog Dr Rajiv Kumar are the members of the HLC.
Sheikh Hasina Wins 3rd Consecutive Term As PM of Bangladesh
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's alliance won Bangladesh's election with a thumping majority, the country's Election Commission announced. It gave her a third straight term following a vote that the opposition rejected as rigged.
The win consolidated Hasina's decade-long rule over Bangladesh. There are 300 constituencies in the country. The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which boycotted the last poll in 2014, won just six seats.
Pakistan Cabinet Approves Issuance Of 'Panda Bonds' In Chinese Currency
Pakistan's cabinet has approved the issuance of first-ever renminbi-denominated 'Panda Bonds' to raise loans from China's capital markets, as the country moved a step forward to give the Chinese currency status at par with the US dollar.
The Finance Ministry did not seek the Cabinet's nod for the size of the bond, but it expects to raise $500 million to $1 billion in various tranches.
Sudhir Bhargava Appointed New Chief Information Commissioner
The government has appointed Sudhir Bhargava as Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), along with four information commissioners. Mr. Bhargava was Information Commissioner in the CIC.
An alumnus of St Michael’s High School in Patna and St Stephen’s College in Delhi, Mr. Sinha is a 1981-batch Indian Foreign Service officer who was the High Commissioner of India in the United Kingdom.
Banks Recover Rs40,400 crore From Defaulters: RBI Report
Banks have seen a significant improvement in recovery of stressed assets helped by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and amendments in the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interests (SARFAESI) Act, during FY18, according to the RBI data.
In the fiscal ended March 2018, banks recovered Rs 40,400 crore worth of bad loans as against Rs 38,500 crore recovered in FY17. The various channels through which lenders recovered their bad loans include the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), SARFAESI Act, debt recovery tribunals (DRTs) and Lok Adalats.
29-Dec-2018
PM Modi UP Visit: 6th International Rice Research Institute Inaugurated
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Varanasi and Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh. During the visit, he laid the foundation stone of medical College in Ghazipur in the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The PM also dedicated the 6th International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), South Asia Regional Center (ISARC) to the nation. The Institute is built at the campus of National Seed Research and Training Center (NSRTC) in Varanasi.
Cabinet Approves Amendment in POSCO Act, 2012
The Union Cabinet approved amendments to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. The changes prescribe stringent punishment, including the death penalty for aggravated penetrative sexual assault of children.
Further, hefty fine would be imposed for not deleting, not destroying child pornographic material or not reporting child pornography. Attempt to inject hormones in children to make them major has been made an aggravated offence under Section 9 of the POCSO Act.
42nd Indian Social Science Congress Inaugurated in Odisha
The 42nd Indian Social Science Congress was inaugurated by Manipur governor DrNajma Heptulla at KIIT University campus in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
The theme of the Congress was ‘Human Future in Digital Era.’
Centre Declares Khalistan Liberation Force Banned Organisation
The Union government declared the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) a banned organization.
A Home Ministry order stated the decision was taken under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 for the outfit’s alleged involvement in the killing of innocent people and police officers and several bombings on civilian targets in India.
US Adventurer Completes 1st Unaided Solo Trek Across Antarctica
A 33-year-old man Colin O'Brady from the United States has become the first person to complete a solo trek across Antarctica without any assistance.
He finished the 1,500km journey across the frozen continent in 54 days, lugging his supplies on a sledge as he skied in bone-chilling temperatures from north to south.
RBI Allows SIDBI To Use Existing Rs1000-crore Corpus for Lending To MFIs
India’s institutional framework to support microfinance would get a boost with Reserve Bank of India clearing a proposal to dig in an existing Rs 1000-crore corpus for funding microlenders. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) had kept this money for some other purposes and had recently sought RBI’s approval for using it for the microfinance sector.
The development bank will now use the money to offer soft loans to MFIs on a condition that end borrowers should get loans at 15-17% rate, which is significantly lower than the prevailing 20-22% market rate.
ICICI Topped List Of Banks Penalising Staff For Fraud in 2015-2017: RBI data
According to data furnished by the Reserve Bank of India, between 2015 and 2017, private lender ICICI Bank penalized the highest number of employees for defrauding bank assets in the last three year out of 60 scheduled commercial banks operating in India.
It is followed by State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank. In all, banks took action against a staggering 13,949 officials, of which 16%, or 2,236, belonged to ICICI.
Government Infuses Rs 2159 Crore in United Bank of India
State-owned United Bank of India announced that the government has decided to infuse Rs 2,159 crore in the bank as part of Rs 28,615 crore capital infusion to be done in about half a dozen banks.
The government has decided to pump Rs 28,615 crore into seven public sector banks (PSBs) through recapitalization bonds soon. Out of these seven PSBs, Bank of India is likely to get the highest amount of Rs 10,086 crore.
RBI Launches Survey To Capture Retail Payment Habits In 6 Cities
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will capture the payment habits of individuals in six cities Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Guwahati. For the purpose, the central bank has launched a ‘Survey on Retail Payment Habits of Individuals (SRPHi)’.
According to RBI release, the survey will cover a sample of 6,000 individuals from various socio-economic backgrounds across six cities. Sigma Research & Consulting Pvt Ltd has been engaged to conduct the fieldwork of the survey on behalf of the RBI.
Luka Modric Wins Balkan Athlete of The Year Award 2018
Croatia captain Luka Modric was named Balkan Athlete of the Year, becoming only the second soccer player to scoop the prize after Bulgaria’s former European Footballer of the Year Hristo Stoichkov in 1994.
Ballon d’Or winner Modric won the Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup with his Spanish club Real Madrid as well as being instrumental in helping Croatia reach the World Cup final in Russia.
27-Dec-2018
Bhutanese PM Dr. Lotay Tshering On 3-day Visit To India
Prime Minister of Bhutan Dr. Lotay Tshering arrived in New Delhi on a three-day official visit to India.
The visit of the Bhutanese Prime Minister is taking place during the Golden Jubilee year of the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Madhya Pradesh Declares Kuno As National Park
Madhya Pradesh State government has declared Kuno wildlife sanctuary as a national park in compliance with the last condition imposed by a Supreme Court-appointed committee for the much awaited ‘translocation of Asiatic lions from Gir in Gujarat.’
The move is expected to pave way for translocation of lions from Gir in Gujarat to Kuno. It is spread over 750 sq km area.
Andhra Pradesh Gets New High Court in Amaravati
The separate High Court for Andhra Pradesh will start functioning from January 1. Ministry of Law and Justice notified the constitution of the High Court in Amaravati.
Andhra Pradesh High Court will be the 25th High Court in the country. The Hyderabad High Court has been functioning as common high court till now after bifurcation of undivided Andhra Pradesh.
Dwijing Festival Begins in Assam
In Assam, the third Dwijing Festival has begun on the bank of Aye river at Chirangdistrict. Assam PHE minister Rihon Daimary inaugurated the festival in presence of several dignitaries.
Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal will attend the event. Adventure sports, food mart, cultural events, traditional games are being organized in the 12-day long event.