SBI Hikes Fixed Deposit Interest Rates
Country’s largest bank State Bank of India has increased fixed deposit or FD rates for some select maturity periods. According to the revised rates, SBI is offering 6.8% interest rate on FDs with maturity period of one to two years, as compared to 6.7% earlier. The interest rate for senior citizens also goes up to 7.30% on SBI FDs with tenure between one year and two years, from 7.2% earlier.
Similarly, SBI has hiked interest rate on FDs with maturity period between two years and three years. SBI is now offering 6.80% as compared to 6.75% earlier. The interest rate for senior citizens also goes up to 7.30% on SBI FDs with tenure between two years and three years, from 7.25% earlier. SBI has kept interest rate unchanged for FDs with other maturity tenures.
Arvind Saxena Appointed As UPSC Chairman
Arvind Saxena has been appointed as the new Chairman of Union Public Service Commission. UPSC is the institution responsible for conducting examination for selection bureaucrats, diplomats and police officers. Saxena will be serving in the office till August 7, 2020, when he attains the age of 65 years.
Prior to this, he has been working as the acting head since June 20, 2018. He joined UPSC back in May 2015. Earlier, he has also worked as Director of the Aviation Research Centre (ARC).
LG Appoints Brian Kwon As Mobile Business President
LG Electronics has announced that it has appointed Brian Kwon as the new president. He is replacing Hwang Jeong-hwan after one year.
Brian Kwon is head of LG's home entertainment business, from December 1. It comes after LG's mobile business posted a loss of $410 million this year, including a $130.5 million net loss in the last quarter.
Azim Premji Conferred Highest French Civilian Honour
French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler will confer global software major Wipro Chairman Azim Premji with the highest French civilian award Chevalier del la Legion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) on Wednesday here, said its consulate on Tuesday.
"The award is in recognition of Premji's contribution to developing the IT (Information Technology) industry in India, his economic outreach in France and his contribution to society as a philanthropist through the Azim Premji Foundation and University," said the consulate in a statement here.
IFFI 2018: Donbass Wins The Golden Peacock
Donbass directed by Sergei Loznitsa has won the coveted Golden Peacock Award at the 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which concluded in Goa on November 28, 2018.
The Golden Peacock Award carries a cash prize of Rs 4 million (Rs 40 lakhs) to be shared equally between the Producer and the Director, Trophy and the citation.
Government Launches Bhasha Sangam
The government has launched a unique initiative called Bhasha Sangam to introduce school students to 22 Indian languages. The initiative, under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, was active for the period between 22nd November - 21st December.
Bhasha Sangam is a programme for schools and educational institutions to provide multilingual exposure to students in Indian languages. Another objective of Bhasha Sangam is to enhance linguistic tolerance and respect and promote national integration.
Himachal Pradesh First State To Launch Single Emergency Number '112'
Himachal Pradesh has became first Indian state to launch a single emergency number "112". This will connect to police, fire, health and other helplines through an Emergency Response Centre in the state.
Under this project, an Emergency Response Centre (ERC) has been established in Shimla along with 12 district command centres (DCCs), covering the entire state. Union Home Ministry statement stated that Ensuring safety of women, 'SHOUT' feature has been introduced in '112 India' mobile app to seek immediate assistance from registered volunteers.
India, China Ink Protocol On Hygiene & Inspection Requirements For Exports
India and China have signed a protocol on hygiene and inspection requirements for the exports. The commerce ministry stated in a statement that a protocol on hygiene and inspection requirements for the exports was signed in New Delhi during the visit of Chinese Vice Minister, General Administration of Customs of China Hu Wei who was leading a six-member delegation to India.
The move would enable India to commence export of fish meal and fish oil to China. The neighbouring country has so far not allowed these exports by India.
India-United Kingdom Exercise KONKAN-18 Held At Goa
Dehradun Airport To Be Renamed After Atal Bihari Vajpayee
The Uttarakhand government has decided to rename the Dehradun airport after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The proposal to rename the Jolly Grant airport after Atal Bihari Vajpayee was approved by the state cabinet at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat.
CSIR To Establish A High-End Skill Development Centre In Chandigarh
India’s premier National Research Laboratory CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (CSIR-IMTECH) announced a new partnership with Merck, a leading German science and technology company, to establish a ‘High End Skill Development Centre’ in CSIR-IMTECH, Chandigarh.
This ‘High End Skill Development Centre’ will enrich skills by conducting workshops, trainings and seminar series on cutting edges life science processes, tools and techniques.
Ukraine Declares Martial Law After Russian Naval Attack
Ukraine's parliament has imposed martial law in the country to fight what its president called "growing aggression" from Moscow after a weekend naval confrontation off the disputed Crimean Peninsula in which Russia fired on and seized three Ukrainian vessels amid renewed tensions between the neighbors.
Russia and Ukraine blamed each other in the dispute that further ratcheted up tensions ever since Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko asked lawmakers in Kiev to institute martial law.
Nepal Launches Social Security Scheme
Nepal government has launched a Social Security Scheme for formal sector workers of the country. PM of Nepal KP Sharma Oli stated that it was very necessary to strengthen the system in which the government is accountable to its people. People of all ages and categories would be included in the scheme.
The new social security scheme is contribution based and it will cover health and medical facilities, safe motherhood, accident, and physical incapacity security, security to dependent family members and security at old age.
SEBI Fines Brokerage Firm Anand Rathi For Violating Stock Broker Norms
Markets regulator Sebi Tuesday fined brokerage house Anand Rathi Rs 1 lakh for violating stock broker norms by transferring funds from the client's account to own account and vice versa on several occasions.
In an order, the regulator said that Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers has mixed-up client's funds with its own funds and vice versa and thereby acted in contravention of Sebi (Stock Brokers and Sub-Brokers) Regulations.
RBI Launches Survey To Create A Profile Of India’s Startup Sector
The Reserve Bank has launched a survey to gauge their scope with respect to turnover, profitability, and workforce with an aim to create a profile of India’s startup sector. The survey would also throw light on the problems faced by the startup sector.
According to the RBI, the survey forms have been mailed to all startup entities registered with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
‘HAUSLA-2018’ Inaugurated In New Delhi
The National Festival for Children of Child Care Institutions (CCIs)- “Hausla 2018” of the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) was inaugurated by the Secretary, Shri Rakesh Srivastava, in New Delhi.
The inter-Child Care Institution festival is witnessing participation of more than 600 Children drawn from CCIs from 18 states in the various events like painting competition, athletics meet, football, chess competition and speech writing as part of the Festival.
Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu In India
Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu is on an official visit to India. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held delegation-level talks with her Romanian counterpart in New Delhi.
They discussed diversifying the historical relations and boosting cooperation in the fields of agriculture, ICT, health and pharma, education, tourism, and culture.
India-China Amends Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty
India and China have signed a protocol to amend the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Finance, besides other changes, the protocol has the existing provisions for exchange of information to the latest international standards.
Centre, ADB Sign 200 Million Dollar Loan Pact To Upgrade State Highways In Bihar
The Centre and Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a 200 million dollar loan agreement to finance widening and upgrading of about 230 Kilometers State Highways in Bihar to all-weather standards with road safety features.
The agreement was signed by Additional Secretary in the Finance Ministry Sameer Kumar Khare and Officer-in-Charge of ADB’s India Resident Mission, Rajeev P Singh in New Delhi.
WhatsApp Business Head Neeraj Arora Resigns
WhatsApp's Chief Business Officer Neeraj Arora has resigned from the post after 7-years in the company. His exit comes seven months after WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum left the company. Arora had been an integral part of WhatsApp since 2011 and played a vital role in the company's acquisition by Facebook in 2014.
Neeraj Arora was the front-runner for the post of the CEO at WhatsApp after the departure of Koum. Koum had quit over data privacy concerns in April 2018. The company recently appointed Abhijit Bose as India head.
Sunil Arora Appointed New Chief Election Commissioner of India
Sunil Arora is learnt to have been appointed as the next chief election commissioner, highly-placed sources in the Law Ministry said Monday.
Though a formal notification announcing his appointment is yet to be issued, his name has been cleared by the Centre and sent to Rashtrapati Bhawan, the sources said.
RBI Eases Hedging Norms For ECBs To 70% From Current 100%
The Reserve Bank of India has further eased overseas borrowing rules at a time when the local credit market is in the process of normalisation from tight liquidity condition.
The central bank reduced the mandatory hedge coverage to 70% per cent from 100% for external commercial borrowings (ECB) raised by Indian companies.
Health Ministry Launches Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP)
Ms. Preeti Sudan, Union Health Secretary did soft-launch of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) segment of the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) in seven states.
The path-breaking initiative will provide near-real-time data to policymakers for detecting outbreaks, reducing the morbidity and mortality and lessening disease burden in the populations and better health systems.
UN Selects Noida, Greater Noida to Participate In Global Sustainable Cities 2025 Initiative
The United Nations Sunday officially invited Uttar Pradesh's Noida and Greater Noida to become a member of its initiative which aims to create 25 model cities across the world that will be fully compliant with the sustainable development goals by 2025, officials said.
The twin-cities in Gautam Buddh Nagar district, adjoining the national capital, have been selected in the "University City" category ahead of Mumbai and Bengaluru, which were also under UN consideration for the initiative, as the only invitee from India, a senior UN official said.
India To Lay Foundation Stone For Kartarpur Corridor Route
Vice President M Venkiah Naidu laid the foundation stone of the Dera Baba Nanak Kartarpur Sahib corridor for Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan.
The groundbreaking ceremony was held at village Mann of district Gurdaspur near Indo Pak border. Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore was the guest of honour.