Current Affairs Update – 12th May, 2016

Hello and welcome to exampundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs based on Banking, Finance, Insurance, Appointments, Sports and other news for 12th May, 2016. These are important for the upcoming UIIC AO 2016, SBI PO Mains 2016 and SBI Clerk Mains 2016.

Current Affairs at a Glance – 12th May, 2016

  1. Kotak Mahindra Bank recently toppled
    ICICI Bank to emerge as India’s 2nd most valued private bank
    reported a 32% rise in its net profit for the quarter ended March 2016.
  2. Mobile payment and commerce
    platform Paytm,
    which has been registering strong growth in online purchase on automobiles, is
    looking at launching vehicle financing and insurance shortly.
  3. The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a monetary penalty of ₹ 2 lakh on Jalgaon District Co-operative
    Bank Ltd
    .
  4. ICICI Bank on Thursday launched the country’s first contactless
    business credit card
    in association with Jet Airways for small and
    mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their employees. Christened ‘Jet Airways
    ICICI Bank Business Advantage Card
    ’.
  5. The World Economic Situation and Prospect
    report
    by United Nations, in its
    mid-2016 update, has said India is expected to achieve a 7.5 per cent
    GDP growth in 2017
    and the economic prospects of the South Asian region
    will be “contingent” on the growth trajectory of India and Iran.
  6. Swiss Re
    launched a corporate accelerator, ‘InsurTech’, to help startups develop business
    solutions for the insurance sector in India.
  7. India and five other nations,
    including China and Israel, signed a pact Thursday for automatic exchange of
    information on tax issues and develop new tools and standards for tackling tax
    base erosion and evasion.
  8. Axis Bank on Thursday announced the elevation of Rajesh Dahiya and Rajiv Anand as
    Executive
    Directors
    with immediate effect.
  9. Oscar winning music composer A R Rahman today agreed to be the Goodwill Ambassador of the
    Indian Olympic contingent
    , joining cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, ace
    shooter Abhinav Bindra and Bollywood star Salman Khan.
  10. Kotak Mahindra Bank Chief Uday Kotak,
    who has a net worth of about $7.1 billion, is the sole Indian in Forbes’ list of 40 of
    the most powerful people in the financial world
    who control the flow of
    trillions of dollars around the global economy.
  11. Shashank Manohar on 12 May 2016 was elected unanimously and unopposed as the
    Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) by the Board
    .
  12. Charlotte Edwards, England’s
    women cricket team captain, announced her international retirement on 11 May
    2016. 
  13. Brazil’s Senate voted on Thursday
    to impeach President
    Dilma Rousseff
    after months-long
    fight that laid raw the country’s fury over corruption and economic decay,
    hurling Latin America’s largest country into a political turmoil just months
    before it hosts the Summer Olympics.
  14. Famous West Indian cricket
    writer, commentator and journalist Tony Cozier: The voice of West Indies cricket,
    passed away on 11 May 2016 in Barbados. He was 75.

Finance/Banking/Insurance –
Kotak Mahindra announces rise in earnings, becomes 2nd most valued
private bank

  • At a time when most Indian banks
    profitability has been marred by high levels of bad loans and provisions, Kotak
    Mahindra Bank’s earnings reflect the rise of yet another superior class bank
    despite the challenging times.
  • The private lender which recently
    toppled ICICI Bank to emerge as India’s 2nd most valued private bank reported a
    32% rise in its net profit for the quarter ended March 2016. Its net profit
    stood at Rs 695.78 crore as compared with Rs 527.14 crore a year ago.
  • Analysts expect that the bank
    will continue to draw huge premiums due to its tightly controlled asset quality
    and lower credit costs.

Paytm to launch vehicle financing and insurance

  • Mobile payment and commerce
    platform Paytm, which has been registering strong growth in online purchase on
    automobiles, is looking at launching vehicle financing and insurance shortly.
  • The company has seen online
    purchase of cars and bikes treble. Paytm sold over 1000 bikes in the month of
    April this year, contributing to 5% of Hero Electric’s pan India total monthly
    sales.
  • In order to expand and
    consolidate its footprint in the automobile market, Paytm will launch vehicle
    financing this month, and will soon after offer insurance service through third
    party partners.
  • Presently, Paytm has over 800
    dealers already functioning in their network and local commerce is being used
    to build this category.
  • Apart from Hero Electric,
    Mahindra launched Gusto 125 model exclusively on Paytm in April. An user can
    book the motorcycle variant as per the ex-showroom price that he wishes to
    purchase through the Paytm app. Dealers in the Paytm network consequently
    execute the orders.

RBI slaps Rs. 2 lakh fine on Jalgaon DCC Bank
  • The Reserve Bank of India has
    imposed a monetary penalty of ₹
    2 lakh on Jalgaon District Co-operative Bank Ltd.
  • In a statement, the central bank
    said this penalty is for violation of provisions under the Banking Regulation.
    Act, 1949 (as applicable to co-operative societies) relating to remission of
    debt due to Jalgaon DCC Bank by Jalgaon Starch Factory in which the then
    directors of the bank had interest, without obtaining prior permission from
    RBI.
  • RBI said it had issued a
    showcause notice to the bank in response to which the bank has submitted a
    written reply.

ICICI Bank launches business credit card with Jet Airways

  • ICICI Bank on Thursday launched
    the country’s first contactless business credit card in association with Jet
    Airways for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their employees.
  • Christened ‘Jet Airways ICICI
    Bank Business Advantage Card’, India’s largest private sector bank, in a
    statement said, this co-branded credit card will help customers to save on
    their business expenses.
  • It will also provide customers
    opportunities to earn JPMiles on both spends as well as repayments of credit
    card on a list of business expense categories, including travel, dining, office
    stationery, online advertising and vendor payments.
  • The reward will be in the form of
    JPMiles, that is allocated to both the SME and the cardholder/s as per the
    Miles Split Ratio Module (MSRM) chosen by the SME.

Indian economy poised to grow 7.3 % in 2016: U.N. report

  • Notwithstanding delays in
    domestic policy reforms, India’s economy “is slowly gaining momentum” and “is
    projected to grow by 7.3 per cent this year,” a United Nations report forecast
    on Thursday.
  • The World Economic Situation and
    Prospect report, in its mid-2016 update, has said India is expected to achieve
    a 7.5 per cent GDP growth in 2017 and the economic prospects of the South Asian
    region will be “contingent” on the growth trajectory of India and Iran.
  • “India’s economy is slowly
    gaining momentum, with an expected GDP growth of 7.3 and 7.5 per cent in 2016
    and 2017, respectively.
  • “Despite some delays in domestic
    policy reforms and enduring fragilities in the banking system, investment
    demand is supported by the monetary easing cycle, rising FDI, and government
    efforts towards infrastructure investments and public-private partnerships,” the
    report, released here said.

Swiss Re launches ‘InsurTech’ startup accelerator

  • Swiss Re launched a corporate
    accelerator, ‘InsurTech’, to help startups develop business solutions for the
    insurance sector in India.
  • The themes identified for the
    programme include the Internet of Things, systems of engagement and smart
    analytics.
  • InsurTech provides an opportunity
    for startups to develop products and business case.
  • During the InsurTech programme,
    startups will have access to the global expertise and insights from the Swiss
    Re team, mentors from the industry and technical enablement to work effectively
    from Swiss Re’s office in Bengaluru, the company said in a news release.

India, China, 3 others sign pact on tax info sharing

  • India and five other nations,
    including China and Israel, signed a pact Thursday for automatic exchange of
    information on tax issues and develop new tools and standards for tackling tax
    base erosion and evasion.
  • The signing ceremony took place
    Beijing.
  • Other countries which have
    already signed the pact include Australia, France, Germany, Japan,
    Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Italy and the UK.
  • The pact allows all signatories
    to bilaterally and automatically exchange Country-by-Country Reports with each
    other.

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Appointments –
Axis Bank elevates Rajesh Dahiya and Rajiv Anand as EDs

  • Axis Bank on Thursday announced
    the elevation of Rajesh Dahiya and Rajiv Anand as Executive Directors with
    immediate effect.
  • The private sector bank said
    Dahiya and Anand have also been inducted on the board, as additional directors,
    further strengthening the board.
  • Dahiya and Anand have been
    elevated as Executive Director (Corporate Centre), and Executive Director (Retail
    Banking), respectively.
  • Prior to their elevation, Dahiya
    and Anand were Group Executive & Head Corporate Centre and Group Executive
    & Head Retail Banking, respectively.

President approves name of Four Judges for Supreme Court

  • President Pranab Mukherjee on 11
    May 2016 signed the warrant for the appointment of four judges to the Supreme
    Court. These include three chief justices of high court and one senior
    advocate.
  • These names were recommended by
    the Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur on 4 May
    2016.  

The recommended ones were

Justices include
  • Justice AM Khanwilkar of the
    Madhya Pradesh High Court
  • Justice DY Chandrachud of the
    Allahabad High Court
  • Justice Ashok Bhushan of the
    Kerala High Court to the Supreme Court

Senior lawyer
  • L Nageshwar Rao: Fourth
    appointment

A R Rahman joins list of Olympic Goodwill Ambassadors

  • Oscar winning music composer A R
    Rahman today agreed to be the Goodwill Ambassador of the Indian Olympic
    contingent, joining cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, ace shooter Abhinav Bindra and
    Bollywood star Salman Khan.
  • Tendulkar, Salman and Olympic
    gold medallist Bindra had earlier accepted the role offered by the Indian Olympic
    Association.
  • The IOA said that it has also
    received an official written confirmation from Rahman.

India –
UP government approves bicycle highway between Taj and lion safari

  • The Uttar Pradesh government on
    11 May 2016 gave its nod to develop nearly 200-km long bicycle highway from
    Agra to the lion safari in Etawah. The plan aims at encouraging eco-tourism in
    the vicinity of the Taj Mahal.
  • The highway was approved in a
    Cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

Highlights of the proposed highway
  • The highway will not run along
    the Agra-Etawah main road but will cover various historical and tourism
    centres.
  • Starting from eastern gate of the
    Taj Mahal, it will cover areas such as Raja Bhoj ki Haveli, Bateshwarnath
    Temple, Mela Kothi Jarar, Naugava ka Quila and other rural areas to reach lion
    safari in Etawah.

Two Harbour Defence Systems commissioned at Vizag to enhance Navy’s
surveillance capability

  • Integrated Underwater Harbour
    Defence and Surveillance System (IUHDSS) and Mine Warfare Data Centre (MWDC)
    were inaugurated on 11 May 2016.
  • They were inaugurated by Flag
    Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command Vice Admiral HCS Bisht, at
    the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam.
  • The two Harbour Defence Systems
    would enhance the Navy’s surveillance capability and response to security
    threats.
  • Both the IUHDSS and MWDC will
    function under the control of the Naval Officer-in-Charge (Andhra Pradesh)
    Commodore Sanjiv Issar.

Lists –
Uday Kotak sole Indian financier in Forbes’ most powerful list

  • Kotak Mahindra Bank Chief Uday
    Kotak, who has a net worth of about $7.1 billion, is the sole Indian in Forbes’
    list of 40 of the most powerful people in the financial world who control the
    flow of trillions of dollars around the global economy.
  • 57-year-old Kotak is ranked 33rd
    in the Forbes list of ‘Money Masters: The Most Powerful People In The Financial
    World’ topped by Blackstone Group’s CEO Stephen Schwarzman, who has a net worth
    of $10.2 billion and oversees assets worth $344 billion.
  • It said the 40 financiers on the
    list dominate the world of money, from banking to buyouts, trading to
    takeovers.

Sports –
Shashank Manohar unanimously elected as Independent ICC Chairman

  • Shashank Manohar on 12 May 2016
    was elected unanimously and unopposed as the Chairman of the International
    Cricket Council (ICC) by the Board.
  • Manohar is the first elected
    independent Chairman of the Cricket governing body and will serve for two-year
    term with immediate effect.
  • He resigned from the post of
    President of Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) on 10 May 2016.
  • Before his election, the ICC Full
    Council approved constitutional amendments to accommodate the new position of
    an independent ICC Chairman.

Charlotte Edwards, England women’s cricket captain, retires from
international cricket

  • Charlotte Edwards, England’s
    women cricket team captain, announced her international retirement on 11 May
    2016.  In her 20-year cricket career, she
    captained England for ten years and became one of the most influential women in
    British Sport.
  • Edwards took the decision
    following England’s 2016 World T20 campaign, where they lost in the semi-finals
    against Australia.
  • The 36-year-old, Edwards will
    continue to play at domestic level including the first edition of the
    forthcoming Women’s Super League.

ICC lifts suspension on Sri Lankan wicket-keeper Kusal Perera
  • The International Cricket Council
    (ICC) on 11 May 2016 announced that it has lifted the provisional suspension
    imposed on Sri Lanka wicket-keeper batsman Kusal Perera.
  • The decision was taken after
    withdrawal of the disciplinary charges against Perera that were made in
    December 2015. The pronouncement came after the WADA-accredited laboratory in
    Qatar withdrew its original Adverse Analytical Finding following further
    investigations.
  • As a result, Perera can now
    return to domestic and international cricket with immediate effect.

Stephen Curry named NBA’s Most Valuable Player for second straight year

  • Golden State Warriors guard
    Stephen Curry on 10 May 2016 was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the
    second straight year.
  • With this, he became the first unanimous
    winner in the award’s 61-year history after a record-breaking contribution to
    the Warriors’ historic season.
  • Stephen Curry, the 11th person to
    win back-to-back MVP awards, swept all 131 first-place votes including 130 from
    a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters and one from the Kia MVP fan vote. He
    secured 1310 points to top in the list.

World –
Brazil’s Senate impeaches President Dilma Rousseff

  • Brazil’s Senate voted on Thursday
    to impeach President Dilma Rousseff after months-long fight that laid raw the
    country’s fury over corruption and economic decay, hurling Latin America’s
    largest country into a political turmoil just months before it hosts the Summer
    Olympics.
  • Ms. Rousseff’s enraged backers
    called the move a coup d’etat and threatened wide-scale protests and strikes.
    Her foes, meanwhile, insisted that she had broken the law, and that the
    country’s deep political, social and economic woes could only be tackled with
    her on the sidelines.
  • The 55-22 vote means that Ms.
    Rousseff’s ally-turned-enemy, Vice-President Michel Temer, will take over as
    acting President later on Thursday while she is suspended. The Senate has 180
    days to conduct a trial and decide whether Ms. Rousseff should be permanently
    removed from office.

Books & Authors –
Chaos and Caliphate: Jihadis and the West in the Struggle for the
Middle East by Patrick Cockburn

  • The book titled Chaos and
    Caliphate: Jihadis and the West in the Struggle for the Middle East authored by
    Patrick Cockburn was in news in the first week of May 2016.
  • The book was in news because it
    exposes how millions of people were killed by a series of disastrous Western
    interventions in West Asia.

Obituaries –
Renowned commentator Tony Cozier died

  • Famous West Indian cricket
    writer, commentator and journalist Tony Cozier passed away on 11 May 2016 in
    Barbados. He was 75.
  • Tony Cozier: The voice of West
    Indies cricket
  • Born on 10 July 1940, Winston
    Anthony Lloyd Tony Cozier was a cricket writer and commentator on West Indian
    cricket from 1958 until his death.
  • He was described as having an
    encyclopaedic knowledge of cricket.

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