Categories:

1. Banking/RBI
2. Business
3. India
4. Appointments
5. Summits
6. World
7. Sports



1.RBI/Banking/GDP News –



1. ICICI Bank ties up with UAE Exchange for instant money transfer "FLASHremit"


  • ICICI Bank has tied up with UAE Exchange to offer an instant bank transfer service to the Indians residing in the Gulf nation.
  • ’FLASHremit’ service started by the bank enables customers to conveniently send money instantly to their beneficiaries in India in Indian Rupees.
  • Customers of ICICI Bank will be able to avail this service by visiting any of the over 135 branches of UAE Exchange in UAE including over 15 branches across the Dubai Metro network.
  • Additionally, an instant SMS confirmation is sent to the sender and receiver informing about the credit, thus eliminating any follow up.
  • With over 3,800 branches in India, ICICI Bank has the largest branch network among private sector banks in the country.
  • The service is available to our customers 24 X 7 and 365 days a year. Our partnership with UAE Exchange is a reinforcement of our commitment to deliver best-in-class service propositions to NRIs across the UAE - Statement by ICICI.


2. IBM secures app development deal from RBL Bank


  • Tech giant IBM today said it has secured a deal with Ratnakar Bank (RBL) to provide the private sector lender with mobile apps to support financial planning, expense calculation, and financial portfolio management.
  • Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
  • This will enable RBL customers to interact with the bank — through the app, website, at kiosks and branch locations — to manage their accounts and finances, pay bills, transfer funds, open deposit accounts and so on.
  • It will also enable better managed processes for loan origination, regulatory compliance, account opening and credit approvals.



3. RBI’s CCCB guidelines credit positive for banks: Moody’s


  • Rating agency Moody’s on Thursday said the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) recent guidelines on the countercyclical capital buffer (CCCB) are credit positive for the domestic lenders though the norms are unlikely to be activated in the current year.
  • “The guidelines are credit positive for Indian banks because they make clear that banks will be required to hold the additional capital amid periods of rapid credit growth,” Moody’s said in a report.
  • Last week, Reserve Bank of India had issued guidelines on when it would require Indian banks to maintain a CCCB, an additional layer of loss-absorbing capital on top of banks’ increased minimum capital requirements under Basel III.
  • “According to the RBI’s guidelines, the key trigger for activating the CCCB will be when the credit/GDP ratio has risen relative to its long-term trend,” it said.
  • The RBI said it would require banks to hold the full 2.5 per cent buffer when the gap between the credit/GDP ratio and the long-term trend exceeds 15 percentage points.


4. West Bengal Government launched Micro Business Credit Card to boost MSME sector


  • West Bengal Chief Minister (CM) Mamata Banerjee on 11 February 2015 launched the Micro Business Credit Card in association with the State Bank of India to boost the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector in the state.
  • The Micro Business Credit Card is the first of its kind in India. These Business credit cards will even help the farmers to start businesses.
  • With the help of this card, the small and medium entrepreneurs will be able to avail the cash credit or loan up to 5 lakh rupees for their business activities, even without collateral security.
  • A fund of 200 crore rupees has been created for this purpose by the state government and a simplified clearance process was chalked out. The government will start the clearance centres in Bardhaman, Durgapur, Asansol and other places to expedite the clearance process.
  • The initiative was supported by the State Bank of India. The State Bank of India undertook the scheme as a pilot project and with its success, it will be introduced in other states as well.


2.Business News –



5. Microsoft acquired Sunrise for 100 million US dollars


  • Microsoft on 11 February 2015 acquired Sunrise for 100 million US dollars. Sunrise is the maker of one of the top calendar apps for iOS and Android.
  • The Sunrise app will remain in market and free after the acquisition. It will continue to support a wide range of third-party apps and calendar services.
  • Sunrise supports various features such as recurring appointments, alerts, birthdays, Google Maps directions, and more.


6. India Cements Limited transferred IPL team Chennai Super Kings franchise to CSKC Limited


  • The India Cements Limited on 11 February 2015 transferred the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Chennai Super Kings Cricket (CSK) franchise to its new subsidiary Chennai Super Kings Cricket (CSKC) Limited.
  • The decision was taken by India Cements Vice-Chairman and Managing Director (MD) N Srinivasan led Board of Directors meeting held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. With this, the company targets to get into a pure-play cement company.
  • Around 97000 shareholders of India Cements will be given free shares of Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd in proportion to the shares they currently hold in the company. The promoters together hold a 28.23 percent stake in the company.


7. Aditya Birla Chemicals to merge with Grasim Industries


  • The Board of Directors of Grasim Industries Limited on 11 February 2015 approved the proposed merger of Aditya Birla Chemicals (India) Limited (ABCIL) with Grasim.
  • Under the merger proposal, the shareholders of ABCIL will get one share of 10 rupees each of Grasim for every 16 shares of 10 rupees each, they hold in ABCIL. 14.62 lakh new shares will be issued by Grasim, which will help the company to increase its share capital to 93.31 crore rupees.
  • The proposed scheme is subject to approval of the high court and regulatory authorities.



3.India News –



8. Uber introduced two new India-specific safety features


  • Mobile application-based taxi aggregator Uber on 11 February 2015 had introduced two new India-specific safety features. The features include panic buttons and in-app tracking tools.
  • Uber apps will now have a send status feature, where passengers can share details about the driver and the vehicle with their friends and family.
  • The feature also lets passengers allow access to GPS tracking of their taxi to their kin, and share information like the driver’s photograph, name and vehicle licence number.
  • The company earlier allowed passengers to share their estimated time of arrival with others. With this new feature, passengers can also send their trip details to up to five pre-selected contacts with just two taps on a button in the Uber app.


9. INS Viraat to be decommissioned in 2016


  • The Navy is learnt to have taken the call to retire the decrepit warhorse INS Viraat, the aircraft carrier that has had a service life of 56 years as on date — first as HMS Hermes in the Royal British Navy and in its present avatar since 1987.
  • Viraat — which saw action in the Falklands War and remained for well over a decade the sole aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean region following the decommissioning of the first Indian carrier INS Vikrant in 1997 — is slated to have a grand farewell at the International Fleet Review at Visakhapatnam in February 2016.
  • It is in the process of obtaining Defence Ministry’s clearance to the retirement plan.
  • Mounting maintenance costs and rapid depletion of its integral fleet of Sea Harrier jump jets are said to have catalysed the decision to decommission Viraat. The Navy shelled out Rs. 70 crore for the last routine refit of the carrier.


10. Himachal Pradesh Government launched Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System Project


  • Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on 11 February 2015 launched the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS) project in the state.
  • This 19 crore rupees project will be completely funded by the Union Government. It will help in connecting 177 sites and 114 police stations in the state besides 13 district headquarters, 26 sub-divisional police officers and three police ranges along with state crime records bureau.
  • It will also connect CID crime branch, 14 control rooms, finger print bureau, forensic science laboratory and 16 CCTNS training centers in the state.


11. Web-based tool Atrocity Tracking and Monitoring System launched


  • A unique web-based tool, named Atrocity Tracking and Monitoring (ATM) System was launched in second week of February 2015. The tool was launched with an aim to monitor atrocities perpetrated against Dalits and Adivasis and to deliver timely and speedy justice.
  • The tool was launched by National Dalit Movement for Justice (NDMJ).
  • The SC/ST PoA (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (NCSPOA) 1989, an Act passed by the Parliament of Act was enacted to prevent atrocities against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
  • To strengthen SC/ST PoA (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (NCSPOA), NDMJ has started an initiative named National Coalition.

How the ATM system will work

  • Person who want to access the support provided by the ATM system will have to login into website and take the helpline provided over their (it is 9898915455)
  • Then, the person will have to sent a message on it after which the circle will be automatically by the website and a message will be sent
  • Further after validation, the message will be sent to the concerned authority to facilitate necessary action against the case


4.Appointments –



12. Krishna Chaudhary took charge as DG of ITBP


  • Senior IPS officer Krishna Chaudhary on 11 February 2015 took charge as the Director General (DG) of the border guarding force Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
  • He succeeded Subhas Goswami.  He is a 1979-batch Bihar cadre IPS officer.
  • Earlier, he was serving as the Director General (DG) of the Railway Protection Force under the Union Railway Ministry.
  • The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had issued orders for appointment of the officer in January 2015.



5.Summits/Meetings –



13. 7th round of India Kenya Joint Trade Committee meeting held in New Delhi


  • The 7th round of India Kenya Joint Trade Committee (JTC) meet was held in New Delhi on 12 February 2015.
During the meet, the two sides reviewed bilateral trade between the two nations and reiterated their commitment towards strengthening mutually beneficial relationship. The two sides agreed
  • To enhance cooperation in the fields of bilateral investment, infrastructure, SMEs, agriculture, health, energy, skill development & entrepreneurship, pharmaceuticals and tourism
  • To ensure enhancement of bilateral trade and mutual cooperation, the two sides also agreed to meet often.




6.International News –



14. Ukraine ceasefire deal agreed at Minsk talks


  • Guns will fall silent, heavy weapons will pull back from the front, and Ukraine will trade a broad autonomy for the east to get back control of its Russian border by the end of this year under a peace deal hammered out Thursday in all-night negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany.
  • The deal was full of potential pitfalls that could derail its implementation, however. In announcing the plan, Russia and Ukraine differed over what exactly they had agreed to in marathon 16-hour talks, including the status of a key town now under rebel siege.
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters that the agreement envisages a cease-fire beginning Sunday (2200 GMT (5 p.m. EST) Saturday) as well as a special status for Ukraine’s separatist regions and provisions to address border concerns and humanitarian issues.
  • Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said there was no agreement on any autonomy or federalisation for eastern Ukraine, a long-time demand of Russia, which wants that to maintain leverage over Ukraine and prevent it from ever joining NATO.
  • The deal, however, requires the Ukrainian parliament to give wide powers to the eastern regions as a condition for restoring Ukraine’s full control over its border with Russia a provision certain to trigger heated political debate in Kiev.


7.Sports New –



15. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 launched


  • Children mingled with cricketing greats in “backyard” matches and Maori warriors shared the stage with morris dancers as the Cricket World Cup opened today with a vibrant and quirky ceremony in Christchurch.
  • Thousands of fans crammed leafy Hagley Park to see the launch of the first World Cup in New Zealand and Australia in 23 years, the formal part of which began with a lone bagpiper and ended with a booming fireworks display --he biggest in the city’s history.
  • The World Cup is the largest event Christchurch has hosted since an earthquake in February 2011 devastated the city’s centre -- only a few hundred yards from where Thursday’s festivities took place, claiming the lives of 185 people.
  • Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are India’s highest-ranked batsman and bowler in third and 13th positions respectively with the defending champions entering the 11th edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup as the second-ranked side on the ODI Team Rankings.
Here is the ICC Cricket World Schedule in PDF in IST >>



16. Yahoo signs Jonty Rhodes as analyst for World Cup cricket


  • Trying to cash in on the cricket frenzy, tech giant Yahoo on Thursday said its Indian arm has signed up South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes as its analyst for the up coming World Cup 2015 coverage on Yahoo Cricket.
  • Yahoo Cricket promises to provide fans with in-depth stories, expert analysis, player profiles, game statistics, videos, match forecasts and Rhodes’ perspective on the game.
  • Regarded as the first fielding superstar of cricketing world, Rhodes has played 52 Test matches and 245 One Day Internationals, Yahoo said.