Current Affairs Update – 16th September, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 16th September, 2015. These are important for the upcoming IBPS PO V Exam.

Finance/RBI
RBI grants small
finance banks licence to 10 entities

  • Reserve Bank of India has granted in-principle licence for
    small finance banks to ten entities.
  • The name of the applicants that have been granted the
    licence include- Au Financiers, Capital Local Area Bank , Disha Microfin,
    Equitas Holdings, ESAF Microfinance and Investments, Janalakshmi Financial
    Services, RGVN (North East) Microfinance, Suryoday Micro Finance, Ujjivan
    Financial Services and Utkarsh Micro Finance.
  • The in-principle approval granted by RBI will be valid for a
    period of 18 months.
  • Small Finance Banks will be similar to the existing
    commercial lenders and will undertake basic banking activities of accepting
    deposits and lending to unserved and under-served sections. The maximum loan
    size and investment limit exposure to single and group obligators cannot be
    more than 10 per cent and 15 per cent of its capital funds, respectively.

Here is what they
will and won’t be allowed to do:
CAN DO:
  • Undertake basic banking activities of acceptance of deposits
    and lending
  • Can lend only for financial inclusion including small
    business units, small and marginal farmers, micro and small industries and
    unorganised sector entities
  • Allowed to distribute mutual fund products, insurance
    products and pension products

CAN’T DO:
  • Not allowed to set up subsidiaries to undertake non-banking
    financial activities
  • Other financial and non-financial services activities of the
    promoters should not be mingled with the working of the bank

RBI gives flexibility
to banks for equity investment

  • Giving more flexibility, the Reserve Bank today allowed
    banks to invest in equities of financial service ventures including stock
    exchanges and depositories without any prior approval.
  • The RBI said the investment flexibility will be limited to
    banks that have capital adequacy ratio (CRAR) of 10% or more and also made net
    profit in the previous fiscal.
  • While making such investments banks will have to adhere to
    other conditions, which include limit on holding in investee company.
  • Earlier banks were required to get a prior approval of the
    RBI for such investments which are subject to prudential limits.

Bank CEOs can avail loan
below base rate, says RBI
  • Bank CEOs and directors will now be able to avail personal
    loans from their own bank below the base rate- the floor rate below which banks
    do not lend to their customers.
  • The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday said that has banks
    are permitted to offer loans below base rate to their whole time directors and
    CEOs.
  • Base rate – the rate that bank charge to their prime
    customers- was introduced in 2010 with the aim to enhance transparency in
    lending rates of banks. State Bank of India, country largest bank, has pegged
    its base rate to 9.70%.
  • RBI also clarified that the rate charged to the CEO and
    directors should not be lower than the rate that is charged to their own
    employees. The loan and advances availed by the CEO and directors should be
    part of the compensation and remuneration policy approved by the board of
    director.

Spice Digital
launches m-wallet SpiceMudra, focus on remittances
  • Spice Digital, a subsidiary of Spice Connect, has launched
    mobile wallet ‘SpiceMudra’ which will focus on domestic remittances. The launch
    of wallet comes after the company received licence from the Reserve Bank of
    India to operate semi-closed pre-paid payment instruments (PPI) in May.
  • Speaking to ET, Sakat Agarwal, Global CEO of Spice Connect
    said “Spice Digital has 3000 retail outlets across India that facilitate
    remittance service using Spice Mudra. Eventually we plan to scale up the
    business to facilitate bill payments, mobile recharge and ticket booking.”
  • In the last quarter, several banks and e-commerce companies
    have launched mobile wallets such as Freecharge wallet from Snapdeal and Lime
    wallet from Axis Bank.

EPFO raises maximum
insurance cover to Rs 6 lakh
  • Retirement body Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)
    on Wednesday substantially increased the maximum amount assured under its
    Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI) to Rs 6 lakh from the
    existing Rs 3.6 lakh.
  • The decision, taken at the 208th Central Board of Trustees
    (CBT) meeting in Hyderabad, will benefit 40 million contributing members of the
    EPFO.
  • The release mentioned last year the government paid around
    Rs 180 crore to about 30,000 beneficiaries.
  • In another major relief, the trustees also decided to remove
    the condition of continuous employment of one year under current employer
    before being eligible for insurance benefits.

India
Pentagon established
first-ever country special cell IRRC to speed up defence ties with India

  • The abbreviation IRRC was in news in September 2015. IRRC
    stands for India Rapid Reaction Cell and was established in January 2015 by
    Pentagon to exclusively focus on advancing Defence Trade and Technology
    Initiative (DTTI).
  • IRRC is Pentagon’s first-ever country special cell and is
    headed by Keith Webster, Director of International Cooperation Office of the
    Under Secretary of Defence for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.
  • The cell was established as part of Joint Statement issued
    during the visit of the US President Barack Obama to India as chief guest of
    the Republic Day 2015 parade. Obama is the first US president to become the chief
    guest of the RD parade.

Union Cabinet
approved Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission for overall development of rural
areas
  • Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16
    September 2015 approved the Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM).
  • The Mission approved with an outlay of 5142.08 crore rupees
    is a bid to transform rural areas to economically, socially and physically
    sustainable spaces.
  • The mission aims to create 300 Rurban growth clusters over
    the next 3 years, across the country.
  • Main elements of Rurban Mission
  • Development of Rurban growth clusters, which have latent
    potential for growth, in all States and UTs to trigger overall development in
    the region. These clusters are essentially Smart Villages.
  • Rural growth clusters would be developed by provisioning of
    economic activities, developing skills & local entrepreneurship and
    providing infrastructure amenities.
  • Further, these clusters would be well delineated areas with
    planned layouts, which would be duly notified by the State/UTs. These plans
    would be finally integrated with the District Plans/Master Plans as the case
    may be.

Delhi government
approved Victim Compensation Scheme
  • Delhi Government on 15 September 2015 approved Victim
    Compensation Scheme. It enhanced the upper limit of compensation to rape
    victims to 5 lakh rupees from existing 3 lakh rupees and to the victims of acid
    attack to 7 lakh rupees from 3 lakh rupees.
  • The decision was taken during a cabinet meet headed by Chief
    Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Main highlights of
Victim Compensation Scheme
  • The scheme also includes victims of gang-rape, unnatural
    sexual offences and burns.
  • Earlier, as per the scheme, victim’s kin were eligible to
    get a compensation of 3 to 5 lakh rupees for loss of life, but the new scheme
    has proposed 5 to 10 lakh rupees.
  • The scheme also proposes same amount of compensation for
    those with loss of any limb resulting in 80 percent permanent disability.

India, Sri Lanka
exchanged four agreements to ensure peace and stability in the region
  • India and Sri Lanka on 15 September 2015 exchanged four
    agreements in various fields including medicare facilities. The agreements were
    exchanged with an aim to ensure peace and stability in the region.
  • These agreements were exchanged during the visit of Prime
    Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe to India from 14 September to 16
    September 2015.

The Four
agreements exchanged between the two sides were
  • Exchange of letters on orbit frequency coordination of
    satellite for SAARC region
  • Exchange of MoU regarding supply of medical equipment to 200
    bed ward complex at district hospital, Vavuniya
  • Exchange of letters on establishment of emergency ambulance
    services in Sri Lanka
  • Exchange of MoU regarding renewed India’s grant assistance
    for implementation of SDP

Awards
& Honors –
Indian-American
Swetha Prabakaran chosen for Champions of Change Award in US

  • Swetha Prabhakaran, an Indian American teen, was on 15
    September 2015 awarded with the prestigious Champions of Change Award of US at
    the White House. She is among eleven young women selected by the White House as
    Champions of Change.
  • Prabhakaran, a junior at Thomas Jefferson High School for
    Science and Technology in Virginia, founded a non-profit organisation Everybody
    Code Now! to empower the next generation of youth to become engineers,
    scientists and entrepreneurs.
  • She was chosen for the award in recognition of her efforts
    for empowering the community by imparting education of Internet coding through
    her non-profit Organisation. This organisation has raised thousands of dollars
    for STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) activities in schools.

Natura Brasil
selected for 2015 UNEP Champions of the Earth award in entrepreneurial vision
category
  • Natura Brasil on 13 September 2015 selected for the 2015
    UNEP Champions of the Earth award in the entrepreneurial vision category.
  • It was selected for unparalleled commitment to trailblazing
    sustainable business models.
  • Natura is a Brazilian brand leader in cosmetics, fragrances
    and personal care in the direct selling model.

National Geographic
selected for UNEP Champions of the Earth award in Science & Innovation
category
  • National Geographic Society (NGS) on 14 September 2015 was
    selected for the UNEP Champions of the Earth award in the Science and
    Innovation category.
  • NGS is a global nonprofit membership organization driven by
    a passionate belief in the power of science, exploration and storytelling to
    change the world. It is headquartered in Washington DC, the USA.

Sports
China’s Hangzhou City
Awarded 2022 Asian Games
  • The Chinese city of Hangzhou was today awarded the 2022
    Asian Games, organisers and state media said, in another win for China’s global
    sporting ambitions.
  • Hangzhou in eastern China — best known for the West Lake, a
    placid and much-painted tourist attraction — was the only candidate city, a
    report by the country’s official Xinhua news agency said.
  • Its sole candiancy made it a shoo-in for selection by the
    Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) at its congress in the Turkmenistan capital
    Ashgabat.
  • An OCA spokesman confirmed the decision to AFP, saying the
    body, the Chinese Olympic Committee and Hangzhou had already signed the hosting
    contract at the meeting.
  • The award comes shortly after Beijing won the right to host
    the 2022 Winter Olympics, having hosted the Summer Games in 2008, and means
    China will host two major multi-sport events in the same year.

Narsingh Pancham
Yadav won bronze at 2015 World Wrestling Championships
  • Narsingh Pancham Yadav on 13 September 2015 won bronze medal
    at the 2015 World Wrestling Championships held in Las Vegas, the USA. He won
    the medal in the Men’s 74kg Freestyle category.
  • Though Narsingh lost the semi final game to Unurbat Purevjav
    (Mongolia), he could defeat Zelimkhan Khadjiev (France) 12-8 in the bronze
    medal play-off.
  • Narsingh’s win confirmed quota place for India in the 2016
    Rio Olympics. This is the first time that an Indian wrestler has earned an
    Olympic berth with a medal at the World Championship.

American Boxer Floyd
Mayweather Jr announced retirement after defeating Andre Berto
  • American Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr on 12 September 2015
    announced retirement from the 19-year-long career in the ring.
  • He took the decision after the win against Andre Berto in
    the Welterweight World Championships held at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas,
    the USA.
  • The present win was his 49th overall and he never lost a
    game since his first match in 1996.
  • With this win, he tied with the late heavyweight champion
    Rocky Marciano in terms of number of wins in the professional league.

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Daily Expected Questions on Stock GK


Barsapara Cricket
Stadium is located in which city/state?
– Guwahati, Assam
Nargu Wildlife
Sanctuary is located in which state?
– Himachal Pradesh
Vadakkunnathan Temple
is located in which state?
– Kerala
Feroze Gandhi
Unchahar Thermal Power Plant is located in which state?
– Uttar Pradesh
Who is the Chief
Minister of Himachal Pradesh?
– Virbhadra Singh



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