1. PSU bank ATMs will be able to print in
Hindi soon
i. ATMs installed by state-owned banks will soon have the
facility for issuing the transaction receipt in Hindi, finance minister Arun
Jaitley said on Friday in response to a question in the Lok Sabha.
ii. "The government has instructed public sector banks (PSBs) to install those ATM machines which can produce receipts in both Hindi and English languages.
iii. PSBs have been advised to ensure that all ATM machines have facility of doing transactions/printing in Hindi as well as in English.
iv. Most ATMs have a bilingual option on their home screens. Some machines, like those installed by ICICI Bank offer a regional language option as well in non-Hindi speaking states.
ii. "The government has instructed public sector banks (PSBs) to install those ATM machines which can produce receipts in both Hindi and English languages.
iii. PSBs have been advised to ensure that all ATM machines have facility of doing transactions/printing in Hindi as well as in English.
iv. Most ATMs have a bilingual option on their home screens. Some machines, like those installed by ICICI Bank offer a regional language option as well in non-Hindi speaking states.
2. Ashton Carter new US defense secretary
i. US President Barack Obama yesterday named Ashton Carter,
a technocrat and academic with deep experience working in the Pentagon, to
replace Chuck Hagel as US Defence Secretary.
ii. Obama praised the 60 year old former Deputy Defence
Secretary, saying that he would bring to the job a unique blend of strategic
perspective and technical know how.
iii. Carter, who is expected to be
confirmed by the Senate, takes over as the US military finds itself in an air
war against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, a sharp reversal of
course for an administration that had sought to bring home troops after 13
years of fighting.
iv. Ashton
carter was born in 1954 and he is a physicist and former Harvard professor.
v. He was professor and chair of the International Relations, Science, and Security faculty in Kennedy school of Harvard.
vi. He served as assistant secretary of defense for international security policy under President Clinton (1993-94).
v. He was professor and chair of the International Relations, Science, and Security faculty in Kennedy school of Harvard.
vi. He served as assistant secretary of defense for international security policy under President Clinton (1993-94).
3. Arun Duggal appointed as non-executive
Chairman of Credit rating agency ICRA
i. Credit
Rating Agency ICRA Limited on 5 December 2014 appointed Arun Duggal as
non-executive Chairman after he was elected unilaterally by the ICRA Board.
Currently, Arun Duggal is serving as an independent director on the Board of
ICRA Ltd.
ii. He will replace Pranab Kumar
Choudhury who will resign from ICRA Limited and all other affiliated entities
on 29 January 2015. He has been associated with the rating agency for 24 years.
iii. Duggal is the former
Chairman of the non-banking financial company Shriram Capital Ltd.
4. ICICI Bank ties up with price
comparison app Zopper
i. ICICI Bank, the country’s largest
private sector lender, has tied up with Zopper, an e-commerce app for
offline and online price comparison.
ii.
“This will allow
ICICI debit and credit card holders
to avail themselves of exclusive discounts at retail stores in their city,
which are powered by the Zopper app iii. To be eligible for this offer,
ICICI Bank customers need to download the Zopper app on their smartphone,” the
company said in a statement.
iv. This
deal helps Zopper to increase its user base, as ICICI Bank promotes the scheme
to its customers via SMS, email, ATMs, etc. An ICICI customer can then download Zopper app to see and avail of offers
in their city.
v. This unique partnership between Zopper & ICICI has
invigorated the retail ecosystem in areas under ambit. Merchants are getting
more footfalls and ICICI customers are getting exclusive discounts.
5. ICICI Bank sells Russian subsidiary to
Sovcombank
i. The board of country’s largest
private sector lender ICICI Bank on Friday approved sale of the bank’s
shareholding in its Russian subsidiary ICICI Bank Eurasia, to a third party
Sovcombank.
ii. “ICICI Bank Ltd has informed BSE
that the Board of Directors of the Bank at its meeting held on December
05, 2014, approved a proposal for the sale of ICICI Bank’s shareholding in
ICICI Bank Eurasia Limited Liability Company (IBEL), a non-material
wholly-owned banking subsidiary
in Russia, to Sovcombank, an unrelated third party Russian bank,” ICICI Bank
said in a release to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
iii. ICICI Bank Eurasia
accounted for less than 0.1 per cent of ICICI Bank’s consolidated total assets
at that date and consolidated profit after tax for the period, the BSE release
said.
6. Govt appoints Dinesh Kumar as CEO of
Polavaram Project
i. Senior IAS officer Dinesh Kumar was
today appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Polavaram Project Authority.
ii. Kumar, a 1983 batch IAS officer of
the Andhra
Pradesh cadre, is
currently working as Development Commissioner in the Ministry of Textiles.
iii. He has been appointed as Chief
Executive Officer of the Polavaram Project Authority under the Ministry of
Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary, for a tenure
of three years, an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training
said.
7. Orion spacecraft marks dawn of new
chapter in space exploration: US
i. The
successful test flight of the Orion spacecraft is the dawn of a
new chapter in space exploration, the White House today said after NASA’s
unmanned spacecraft completed its first test flight.
ii. Orion is expected to take up its first crew in 2021.
iii. After a successful launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida
aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket at 7:05 a.m. local time
this morning, Orion orbited the Earth twice, reaching speeds of 20,000 miles
per hour and travelling through belts of intense radiation before enduring a
fiery, 4,000 degree F re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.
8. American, South African hostages
killed in Yemen
i. An American photojournalist and a
South African aid worker held by al-Qaeda militants in Yemen have been killed
in a failed U.S. rescue attempt, authorities said on Saturday.
ii. Speaking in Afghanistan, U.S. Defence
Secretary Chuck Hagel said Luke Somers “and a second non-U.S. citizen hostage
were murdered” by al-Qaeda militants during the raid.
iii. Lucy Somers, the
photojournalist’s sister, told The Associated Press that she and her father
learned of her 33-year-old brother’s death from FBI agents at 5 a.m. GMT (10.30
a.m. IST) on Saturday.
9. Fifth World Cup Kabaddi begins today
i. The Fifth World Cup Kabaddi begins today at Jalandhar in
Punjab. 19 teams from 15 nations are participating in the tournament. These
include 11 Men's and 8 women's teams.
ii. Though the tournament will be inaugurated today evening, matches will start tomorrow. Prize worth 5.27 crore rupees are up for grabs in team and individual events which will continue till 20th of this month.
ii. Though the tournament will be inaugurated today evening, matches will start tomorrow. Prize worth 5.27 crore rupees are up for grabs in team and individual events which will continue till 20th of this month.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comment is under approval process and soon it will be published if it is not abusive.