Current Affairs Update – 5th April, 2016

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the important Current Affairs of 5 April, 2016. These are important for the upcoming SBI Clerk and NABARD Assistant Manager exam 2016.

• The Prime Minister Narendra Modi
  on 5 April 2016 launched Stand Up India Scheme to promote entrepreneurship
  among Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes and Women entrepreneurs.
• On this occasion, the Prime
  Minister also inaugurated a Kaushal Kendra (Skilling Center) under Pradhan
  Mantri Mudra Yojna in Noida.
• The Scheme is intended to
  facilitate at least two projects per bank branch, on an average one for each
  category of entrepreneur. It is expected to benefit at least 2.5 lakh borrowers
  within 36 months.

• It provides for refinance window
  through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with an initial
  amount of 10000 crore rupees.
• It will create credit guarantee
  mechanism through the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC).
• It will provide support for
  borrowers both at the pre loan stage and during operations.
• Its focus is on handholding
  support for both SC/ST and Women borrowers.
• The aim is to leverage
  institutional credit structure to reach out under-served sectors of the
  population by facilitating bank loans repayable up to 7 years and between 10
  lakh rupees- 100 lakh rupees for greenfield enterprises in nonfarm sector set
  up by such SC, ST and Women borrowers.
• The loan under the scheme would
  be appropriately secured and backed by a credit guarantee through a credit
  guarantee scheme for which Department of Financial Services would be the
  settler.

• In its first monetary policy
  review for the financial year 2016-17, the Reserve Bank of India announced a 25
  basis point reduction in the repo, or repurchase rate, which is the rate at
  which banks borrow from the central bank. One basis point is one hundredth of a
  percentage point.
• The repo rate now stands at 6.5%,
  the lowest it has been since March 2011. However, it reduced the minimum daily
  maintenance of the cash reserve ratio (CRR) from 95% of the requirement to 90%
  with effect from the fortnight beginning April 16, 2016.
• However, the RBI cut the reverse
  repo, or the rate at which banks park excess funds with the central bank, to
  6%, narrowing the policy corridor between the repo and reverse repo by 50 bps,
  bringing the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate to 7.0%. The Bank Rate which
  is aligned to the MSF rate also stands adjusted to 7.0%. But the CRR has been
  kept unchanged at 4.0 per cent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL).
• The rate cut had been widely
  expected, although the quantum of the cut had had mixed backers. A Reuters poll
  had predicted an interest rate of 25 basis points.

• DCB Bank on 3 April 2016 launched
  an Aadhaar-based Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) usage facility wherein a
  customer can transact using his biometric details instead of the PIN. The step
  is first of its kind in India.
• The ATM will accept Aadhaar
  number and Aadhaar fingerprint (biometric) instead of ATM/Debit Card and PIN to
  dispense cash from the bank account. It is a Cardless and PIN less ATM.  The user can key-in the 12-digit Aadhaar
  number or swipe the card at an ATM to start a transaction, but at the stage of
  confirming the identity, it requires biometric details rather than the PIN.
• This ATM is currently placed in
  pilot site at DCB Bank at Peninsula Business Park, Lower Parel, Mumbai.

• YES Bank has signed a Memorandum
  of Understanding (MoU) with T-Hub, a technology incubator set up by Telangana
  government, to set up a centre of excellence for startups in fintech space.
• Under the agreement, the
  association will help create a conducive business environment and support
  system for a large number of fintech startups. Besides, YES Bank will offer its
  various products and payment gateways and open APIs (application programme
  interface) to the startup community.
• The bank will also work with startups
  in segments such as agritech, healthcare, and ecommerce.
• T-Hub is a public-private
  partnership initiative between Telangana government, three academic institutes
  including IIIT-H, ISB, NALSAR, and key private sector leaders. Apart from Yes
  Bank, companies like CISCO and ParadigmIT will also set up smart cities centre
  of excellence at T-Hub. They will set up a PoC of smart parking and smart
  lighting solutions while working with companies and startups in developing
  innovative solutions using IoT.

• Private lender Yes Bank today
  inked a tripartite agreement for on-lending $50 million loan from World Bank arm
  IFC to women entrepreneurs.
• The bank will engage Goldman
  Sachs for identification and lending methodology to reach out to credit worthy
  businesswomen, the lender said in a statement.
• The agreement will be crucial in
  supporting growth in India as it will promote job creation and also in having a
  multiplier effect, International Finance Corporation (IFC) Global Director
  (Financial Institutions Group) Marcos Brujis said.
• The project is part of the Women
  Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility (WEOF), a global facility dedicated to
  expanding access to capital to about 1 lakh women entrepreneurs. It was
  launched by IFC through its Banking on Women programme and ‘Goldman Sachs
  10,000 Women’ in 2014.
• The ‘Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women’
  has also invested in the WEOF along with IFC, the statement said.

• India has signed an agreement
  with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) for a possible $100 million line of
  credit to facilitate exports to IDB’s member countries.
• The memorandum of understanding
  (MoU) was inked between the IDB’s private sector arm, the Islamic Corporation
  for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) and the Export-Import Bank of
  India (EXIM Bank), a specialised financial institution, wholly owned by the
  government of India to finance and facilitate foreign trade.
• ICD’s mandate is to support
  economic development and promote the development of the private sector in its
  member countries through providing financing facilities and investments which
  are in accordance with the principles of Sharia.
• The MoU envisages cooperation to
  explore the feasibility of extending a commercial line of credit of $100
  million to ICD with the aim of facilitating the export of goods and services
  from India to ICD’s member countries.
• Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Kuwait
  and Qatar are among the 56-members of the IDB.

• The Union Minister of State
  (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajeev Pratap
  Rudy on 5 April 2016 launched Transnational Skill Standards in New Delhi.
• On this occasion, 2 Memorandums
  of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between National Skill Development Council
  (NSDC) and Association of Colleges (UK) and NSDC and UK Awarding Organization
  City & Guilds and Pearsons Education.
• These MoUs were signed to enable
  sharing of best practice, staff exchange and development of new models to
  increase employer engagement and investment in skills in India.

• Aim: It was launched with the aim
  to support Make in India and Skill India initiatives and to align domestic
  skill standards with that of best practices recognized globally.
• India-UK Partnership: These
  Transnational Skill Standards are benchmarked to United Kingdom across 82
  identified job roles.
• India chose UK standards to
  benchmark Indian Skills standards since all the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
  countries recognize UK skill certification.

• Blackstone India, the Indian arm
  of global private equity fund Blackstone Group on 4 April 2016 entered into a
  definitive agreement with Hewlett Packard Enterprise to buy a majority stake in
  Mphasis Limited.
• Mphasis is a leading information
  technology services provider offering applications, business process
  outsourcing and infrastructure services. This deal represents the largest
  acquisition by Blackstone in India.
• As part of the agreement,
  Blackstone will buy 60.5 percent stake in Mphasis that is currently owned by
  Hewlett Packard.
• Blackstone will pay a purchase
  price of 430 rupees per share and based on the open offer subscription, the
  purchase price consideration will vary between 5466 crore and 7071 crore rupees.

• Rail Minister Suresh Prabhu on 5
  April 2016 flagged off India’s fastest train, the Gatimaan Express from Delhi’s
  Hazrat Nizamuddin station.
• The train completed its maiden
  journey from Delhi to Agra in 100 minutes as compared to about 2-3 hours that
  other trains take to cover the distance.
• The Gatimaan Express, which is
  indigenously built, will run six days a week, except Friday, in both
  directions. The train runs at a speed of 160 km per hour, covering the 184
  kilometre distance between Delhi and Agra in 105-110 minutes.
• In October 2014, the India
  Railways applied for safety certificate from Commission of Railway Safety to
  start the service. In June 2015, the train was announced officially and numbered
  12049/50.
• Besides, the Gatimaan Express
  provides free Wi-fi to its passengers. Also, the train will have stewards and
  hostesses on the lines of flight attendants.

• Indian Air Force (IAF) will
  participate in Red Flag air exercise along with US, NATO and allied forces that
  are scheduled to be conducted from 28 April to 13 May 2016 in Alaska.
• The exercise will see
  participation of 12 IAF aircraft including the Russian origin Su30 MKI, deep
  penetration Jaguars, two C17 transport plans and two mid air refuellers IL 78.
  Before reaching Alaska, the AIF aircrafts will travel through Bahrain, Egypt,
  France, Portugal and Canada.
• It will also see over 150 IAF
  personnel in action, who will undergo some training before being sent to
  Alaska. According to an estimate, it will cost India over 100 crore rupees.

• Apollo Hospitals has partnered
  with Google to provide additional healthcare information to Google’s Knowledge
  in India.
• The Health Card is standardised
  and would give information that gets presented on Google search engine. The
  health card aims to help consumers’ access information swiftly and easily.
• The hospital chain explained when
  users’ ask Google about common health conditions, he/she would start getting
  relevant medical facts right up front.

• Japanese electronics giant
  Panasonic on 4 April 2016 appointed senior executive Manish Sharma of India to
  its global executive council. It inducted an Indian onto the coveted
  decision-making body of the 80-billion dollar company for the first time ever.
• The global executive council of
  Panasonic is a key decision-making body that manages the firm’s business plans
  across the globe.
• Sharma is the first Indian and
  fourth non-Japanese member of the 50-member Council headed by a global
  president.
• Apart from him, the other
  international representatives in the executive council include three Americans
  and one European.

• Japanese giant Toshiba
  Corporation Monday said it has appointed Tomohiko Okada as the Managing Director
  of its India operations.
• Okada will lead Toshiba India to
  the path of next level of growth across the group’s storage, social
  infrastructure, and energy businesses in the country, Toshiba India said in a
  statement.
• Okada will replace Kenji Urai,
  who is moving back to Japan, it added.
• Toshiba India’s operations
  include businesses like hydro- power systems, social infrastructure systems and
  community solution systems, semiconductors and storage solutions,
  multi-functional printers/devices and digital products and services.

• The World Health Organisation
  (WHO) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) on 31
  March 2016 jointly released a report titled Global report on urban health:
  equitable, healthier cities for sustainable development, 2016.
• The report updates the 2010 joint
  WHO/UN-Habitat global report – Hidden Cities: Unmasking and Overcoming Urban
  Health Inequities – with the latest evidence on urban health inequity patterns
  and their social, economic and environmental determinants.
• The report further documents
  opportunities for joint action to realize the goals enshrined in the
  Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 by achieving universal urban health coverage.

• National level wealth does not
  always determine conditions for health at the city level.
• Megacities in low and
  middle-income countries (LMICs) have worse conditions for health than smaller
  cities.
• India’s urban population is
  projected to increase from 380 million (33 percent) in 2014 to 600 million
  (about 40 percent) by 2031.
• 15–19-year-old migrant girls in
  both rural and urban areas are less likely to deliver in a medical institution
  than non-migrants of the same age.
• Chennai stood at the 2nd place in
  world in terms of reported traffic fatalities per 1 lakh inhabitants. While
  Fortaleza (Brazil) stood at the top with 27.2 fatalities, death toll in Chennai
  was pegged at 26.6.

• The global human resource firm
  Aon Hewitt on 31 March 2016 released its list of India’s Best Employer 2016.
• A total of 113 organisations
  representing 12 key industries, cumulatively employing approximately 950000
  employees, participated in the 2016 Aon Best Employers India study.
• In the list released by Aon,
  Reliance Capital Asset Management is the only asset management company to be
  named as one of the best employers in India in the Aon list for 2016.

1. AAPC India Hotel Management
   (Accor Hotels)
2. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance
   Co. Bajaj Finance
3. Becton Dickinson India
4. Bharti Infratel
5. Blue Dart Express
6. DHL Express India
7. Godrej Consumer Products
8. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Global
   Soft
9. InterGlobe Aviation(IndiGo)
10. Lupin
11. Metro Cash and Carry India
12. Reliance Capital Asset Management
    (subsidiary of Reliance Capital)
13. Saint-Gobain India – Gyproc
    Business
14. Starwood Hotels & Resorts
    India
15. Tata AIA Life Insurance Company
16. Tata Autocomp Systems
17. Tata Chemicals
18. Tata Communications
19. The Oberoi Group
20. Whirlpool of India
21. WNS Global Service

• The President of India Pranab
  Mukherjee on 5 April 2016 presented the National Geoscience Awards – 2014 at a
  function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
• The annual awards are presented
  to honour individuals and team of scientists for their outstanding
  contributions in the field of fundamental or applied Geosciences, Mining and
  Allied areas.
• For the year 2014, Prof. Ashok
  Kumar Singhvi was conferred with the highest honour National Geoscience Award
  for Excellence for his outstanding contributions in the field of sedimentary
  technologies.
• Along with him, 32 other
  geoscientists were being given the awards in 13 disciplines including Mining
  Technology, Basic Geosciences, Geo-Information System, etc.

• The Philippines on 4 April 2016
  launched world’s first public immunization programme for dengue fever.
• The programme seeks to administer
  the world’s first licensed vaccine against a mosquito-borne disease to a
  million school children.
• The fourth-grade students at a
  public school in metropolitan Manila’s Marikina city were given the first of
  three shots of Dengvaxia.
• The Philippines had the highest
  dengue incidence in the WHO’s Western Pacific region from 2013 to 2015,
  recording 200415 cases in 2015.

• Jazz saxophonist Gato Barbieri
  passed away on 2 April 2016 in New York, the USA. He was 83.
• Barbieri came in the limelight
  during the free jazz movement in the 1960s. Latin jazz recordings of the 1970s
  earned him immense fame.

Regards

Team ExamPundit

Sponsored

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});