Current Affairs Update – 12th Feb, 2015

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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.
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.

This post was last modified on July 20, 2019 12:10 pm