Current Affairs Update – 5th May, 2016

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the important Current Affairs of 5th May, 2016. These are important for the upcoming SBI PO 2016, SBI Clerk 2016 and UIIC AO 2016.

Current Affairs at a Glance – 5th May, 2016

  1. State Bank of India, the country’s largest public sector bank, has launched a mobile payment solution that will enable
    customers to make digital payments at offline stores by scanning a QR (quick
    response) code on their smartphones
    . The service has been launched
    in Bengaluru
    with a sizable number of merchants and will soon expand
    into other cities. Dubbed mVisa, the solution is a card-less way for
    customers to pay for goods at offline stores, and will be available to all SBI
    credit card, debit card and net banking users. The solution which is bank
    agnostic will be accessible to customers through the company’s SBI Anywhere app.
  2. New Development Bank (NDB), headed by K V Kamath, has chosen ICICI Bank,
    which he used to head, for its first
    tie-up with any bank in India to explore opportunities around bond
    issuances, co-financing, treasury management and human resources
    .
  3. 3D design company Autodesk on
    Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Maharashtra to provide advanced
    design technology to – local MSMEs
    from the manufacturing sector in the
    state.
  4. The Union Cabinet today gave its
    ex-post facto approval to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the
    Reserve Bank and the Central Bank of United Arab Emirates (UAE) on co-operation
    on currency swap agreement
    .
  5. Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba, Flag
    Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) of Western Naval Command, has been
    appointed as the new Chief of Naval Staff and will assume charge on May 31
    .
  6. The Supreme Court (SC) Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India
    TS Thakur, on 4 May 2016 recommended transfer of Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph to Andhra Pradesh High
    Court
    .
  7. The Union Cabinet on 4 May 2016
    approved the signing of Memorandum of Co-operation (MoC) between Ministry of Women & Child Development
    (MWCD)
    and Bill
    & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).
  8. United States of America (US)
    Navy on 2 May 2016 tested the world’s largest unmanned surface vessel
    named Sea
    Hunter
    in San Diego.
  9. The European Central Bank (ECB) on 4 May 2016 announced that it will
    permanently stop producing the 500 euro banknote by the end of 2018
    .
    The ECB will also exclude it from the Europa series, taking into account
    concerns that this banknote could facilitate illicit activities. Also nicknamed
    as the Bin Laden note
    , the value of the 500 euro banknote is several
    times greater than many of the largest circulating notes of other major
    currencies, such as the United States 100 dollar bill.



Finance/Banking –
SBI launches card-less payment solution for offline transactions

  • State Bank of India, the
    country’s largest public sector bank, has launched a mobile payment solution
    that will enable customers to make digital payments at offline stores by
    scanning a QR (quick response) code on their smartphones. The service has been launched
    in Bengaluru with a sizable number of merchants and will soon expand into other
    cities.
  • Dubbed mVisa, the solution is a
    card-less way for customers to pay for goods at offline stores, and will be
    available to all SBI credit card, debit card and net banking users. The
    solution which is bank agnostic will be accessible to customers through the
    company’s SBI Anywhere app.
  • Merchants too will be able to
    initiate transactions through the SBI mVisa merchant app which will display a
    dynamic QR code that a customer will be able to scan to authenticate the
    transaction. The payment process is completely cashless and enhances security
    as users don’t have to share their card or details with the merchant.
  • SBI’s mVisa solution will do away
    with POS (point of sale) systems, effectively reducing the cost for merchants
    to accept digital payments. The solution is aimed at small merchants who will
    be able to utilise the app to view further transaction details etc and keep a
    track on their digital income.
New Development Bank inks deal with ICICI Bank for business partnership

  • New Development Bank (NDB),
    headed by K V Kamath, has chosen ICICI Bank, which he used to head, for its
    first tie-up with any bank in India to explore opportunities around bond
    issuances, co-financing, treasury management and human resources.
  • On Thursday, the two lenders
    announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as per
    which they will consider each others as “preferred partners” to work
    in the aforementioned areas.
  • The lenders said that this MoU
    will help NDB in exploring bond issuance opportunities in the Indian and
    international bond markets, particularly in the rupee-denominated bonds. NDB,
    won’t be the first multi-lateral funding agency that is looking at tapping the
    rupee-denominated bond market. Recently, IFC, part of the World Bank group also
    raised about Rs 180 crore by issuing rupee-denominated ‘Maharaja’ bonds.
  • Apart from this, the two lenders
    will also be working together for funding development projects in the country.
    In fact, in 2014, the leaders of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and
    South Africa) countries had decided to establish NDB with the intention to fund
    infrastructure projects.
Maharashtra Govt partners with Autodesk to offer free design tools to
MSMEs

  • 3D design company Autodesk on
    Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of
    Maharashtra to provide advanced design technology to – local MSMEs from the manufacturing
    sector in the state.
  • As per the agreement the company
    will offer Fusion 360, Autodesk’s cloud-based software tool for Computer Aided
    Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) for free to MSMEs
    registered with the Department of Industries, Government of Maharashtra, and
    with annual turnover less than Rs. one crore.
  • Additionally for MSMEs in
    Maharashtra with annual turnover over Rs. one crore it will be available at a
    price of Rs. 1,999 (plus taxes) with a two years validity, through the
    Mahaonline portal of the Maharashtra Govt. The cost of the software in open
    market is about Rs. 22,000 per year.
  • The Government of Maharashtra
    announced its intention to introduce a dedicated industrial policy for MSMEs,
    providing necessary incentives and facilities for setting up their businesses
    in the state. The MSME sector is a major focus area for the government as it is
    also the largest employment generating sector in the state. Initiatives such as
    this, would help MSMEs in the state to become internationally competitive with
    easy access and availability of proven technology and tools and give a boost to
    Chief Minister’s Make in Maharashtra efforts.
Cabinet approves MoU between RBI and Central Bank of UAE

  • The Union Cabinet today gave its
    ex-post facto approval to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the
    Reserve Bank and the Central Bank of United Arab Emirates (UAE) on co-operation
    on currency swap agreement.
  • As per the MoU signed in
    February, RBI and the Central Bank of UAE will consider signing a bilateral
    Currency Swap Agreement on mutually agreed terms and conditions after
    undertaking technical deliberations, subject to concurrence of respective
    governments.
  • The MoU will further strengthen
    the close economic relationship and cooperation between India and the UAE, an
    official statement said after the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister
    Narendra Modi.
  • The swap agreement is also
    expected to facilitate invoicing of bilateral trade in local currencies.
Portal for Contract Labour Payment Management System launched

  • Piyush Goyal, Minister of State
    (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy on 4 May 2016 launched
    ‘Contract Labour Payment Management System’- a portal of Coal India Limited
    (CIL).
  • This web portal will help the
    government to curb problems like corruption and exploitation of contractual
    workers by contractors. It will also help in providing proper and timely wages
    to contractual workers.
  • It has been planned to make
    payment to the contractors only after submitting a system generated declaration
    of compliance.
  • The web portal is created for
    monitoring compliance of labour payment and other benefits to the contract
    workers under the Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, 1970.
  • It is an integrated system for all
    subsidiaries of CIL.
CCEA approved two laning with formation of four lane of Shimla Bypass
on NH-22

  • The Cabinet Committee on Economic
    Affairs on 4 May 2016 gave its approval for development of two laning with
    formation of four lane of Shimla Bypass (Kaithlighat to Shimla section) on
    National Highway-22 in Himachal Pradesh.
  • The main objective of the project
    is to expedite the improvement of infrastructure in Himachal Pradesh and also
    in reducing the time and cost of travel for traffic, particularly heavy
    traffic, plying on the Kaithlighat to Shimla section on National Highway-22.
    However, the approval for the project is in Hybrid Annuity Mode.
  • The work will be completed under
    the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase-III. The total length of
    the road will be approximately 28 kilometres.
Sponsored


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

Appointments –
Sunil Lanba to be the next Navy Chief

  • Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba, Flag
    Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) of Western Naval Command, has been
    appointed as the new Chief of Naval Staff and will assume charge on May 31.
  • 58-year-old Lanba, a specialist
    in Navigation and Direction, will have the full three-year tenure as the Navy
    Chief. He will succeed Admiral R K Dhowan who is retiring.
  • An alumnus of Defence Services
    Staff College, he will be the 21st Indian to be the Navy Chief. The first two
    were British.
  • He will take over from Admiral
    Dhowan on the afternoon of May 31 and will be in office till May 31, 2019.

SC Collegium recommended transfer of Uttarakhand Chief Justice to
Andhra Pradesh
  • The Supreme Court (SC) Collegium,
    headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur, on 4 May 2016 recommended transfer
    of Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph to Andhra Pradesh High Court.
  • Joseph, 57, was appointed as the
    Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court by President in July 2014. He was
    elevated to the post of Chief Justice on recommendation of then CJI Rajendra
    Mal Lodha.
  • In April 2016, a bench of
    Uttarakhand High Court, presided over by him quashed the Union Government’s
    decision to impose President’s rule in the state. However, the ruling was
    stayed by the Supreme Court.

SC Collegium recommended 4 names for elevation to apex court

  • The Supreme Court (SC) Collegium,
    headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur, on 4 May 2016 recommended elevation
    of three High Court Chief Justices and a senior lawyer to the apex court.
  • This is the first set of
    recommendations made by the SC Collegium for appointment as judges of the apex
    court after the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act was struck
    down by a Supreme Court bench on 16 October 2015.
  • NJAC wanted to replace the
    22-year-old collegium system and provided equal say to politicians in
    appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and the High Courts.

The three 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

L Nageshwar Rao: Fourth
appointment
India –
Union Cabinet approved signing of MoC between Ministry of Women &
Child Development and Bill &
Melinda
Gates Foundation

  • The Union Cabinet on 4 May 2016
    approved the signing of Memorandum of Co-operation (MoC) between Ministry of
    Women & Child Development (MWCD) and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
    (BMGF).
  • The MoC will be signed for the
    cooperation in Information and Communication Technology Enabled Real Time
    Monitoring (ICT-RTM) of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and other
    related technical matters.
  • The MoC will facilitate the
    development of CAS for ICT-RTM, training of trainers and other technical
    matters. ICT-RTM and other components will be rolled out in phased manner.

World –
US Navy tested world’s largest unmanned surface vessel, Sea Hunter

  • United States of America (US)
    Navy on 2 May 2016 tested the world’s largest unmanned surface vessel named Sea
    Hunter in San Diego.
  • It is a self-driving 132-foot
    ship able to travel up to 10000 nautical miles on its own to hunt for stealthy
    submarines and underwater mines.
  • It is designed to travel thousands
    of miles out at sea without a single crew member on board.

ECB decided to end production and issuance of 500 euro banknote

  • The European Central Bank (ECB)
    on 4 May 2016 announced that it will permanently stop producing the 500 euro
    banknote by the end of 2018. The ECB will also exclude it from the Europa
    series, taking into account concerns that this banknote could facilitate
    illicit activities.
  • The issuance of the 500 euro note
    will be stopped around the end of 2018, when the 100 euro and 200 euro
    banknotes of the Europa series are planned to be introduced.
  • However, 500 euro banknote, like
    the other denominations of euro banknotes, will always retain its value and can
    be exchanged at the national central banks of the Eurosystem for an unlimited period
    of time.
  • Also nicknamed as the Bin Laden
    note, the value of the 500 euro banknote is several times greater than many of
    the largest circulating notes of other major currencies, such as the United
    States 100 dollar bill. Therefore, a large monetary value can be concentrated
    into a small volume of notes. This opens the door for crimes that deal in cash,
    including money laundering, drug dealing and tax evasion.

:: DOWNLOAD TODAY’S PDF ::



Regards

Team ExamPundit