GK Monthly Special - June 2014

GK Monthly Special - June 2014 Power Pack

APPOINTMENTS

K Chandrasekhara Rao, popularly known as KCR, was sworn in as the first Chief Minister of Telangana, the 29th State of the Indian Union.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has been appointed as India's Governor on the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank.

Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan was sworn in as the Governor of Telangana, the country’s 29th state.

R K Malhotra, Director (R&D) at Indian Oil Corp (IOC), has been given additional charge as Chairman of the nation's largest company as appointment of a regular head has been delayed.

Peter Mutharika, brother of a former president and leader of an opposition party, was inaugurated as Malawi’s president after being declared the winner of the southern African nation’s contested elections.

Essar group company AGC Networks has appointed Anil Nair as Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director.

Pranav Kumar Suresh has been appointed the new Chief Operating Officer of Startup Village, Kochi, taking over from Sijo Kuruvilla George who will be moving to the board of directors.

Hashim Amla was appointed as new test captain of South African cricket team on 3 June 2014. Amla is the successor of Graeme Smith who retired in March 2014 after serving the test side of South African cricket for more than a decade.

Kavery Banerjee appointed as Secretary, Department of Posts.

The Palestinian National Unity Government of Hamas and Fatah was sworn-in on 2 June 2014 by the Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas in West Bank City of Ramallah. With the formation of new government, the Hamas government in Gaza strip resigned.

Sumitra Mahajan to be New Lok Sabha Speaker.

Congress appoints Capt. Amrinder Singh as its deputy leader in Lok Sabha.

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria won the Presidential election for the third time. The Presidential Election result was announced by the Parliament Speaker Jihad Laham on 4 June 2014.

Union Transport Minister Nitin Jairam Gadkari was given additional charge of the Ministries of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water and Sanitation on 4 June 2014.

Nara Chandrababu Naidu will be sworn in as the first Chief Minister of the newly-created state of Andhra Pradesh at a grand event hosted in Guntur district.

Vice-Admiral Anil Chopra, the second senior most officer of the Indian Navy.

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi sworn in as President of Egypt.

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly joined the Supreme Court—appointed Mudgal committee, which is probing the IPL betting and spot—fixing scandal, as an expert on cricketing affairs.

B Sriram, Managing Director of State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), and V G Kannan, Managing Director of SBI Capital Markets Ltd, are contenders for the post of two Managing Directors of the SBI.

Vice Admiral Anil Chopra took over the charge of Western Naval Command (WNC) as Commander-in-Chief on 6 June 2014. He was appointed two months after Vice Admiral Shekar Sinha took voluntary retirement.

Madhuri Dixit appointed as brand ambassador of health campaign, Mamta Abhiyan.

Pawan Goenka, Executive Director & President, Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors at Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M), has been appointed chairman of the board of governors at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

Naidu sworn in first CM of new AP, inducts 19 Ministers.

Petro Poroshenko was sworn-in as the President of Ukraine in Kiev on 7 June 2014. He was elected as President on 25 May 2014 with more than 54 percent of the vote.

I.Nara Chandrababu Naidu was sworn-in as the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh after bifurcation.

Kathleen Stephens on 6 June 2014 took charge as US interim Ambassador to India.

Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar assumed charge as the Solicitor General (SG) of India.

Telangana Rashtra Samiti MLA S Madhusudanachari today assumed charge as the Speaker of Telangana Legislative Assembly.

PK Mishra on 9 June 2014 was appointed as the additional Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. He is a retired IAS officer of 1972 batch of the Gujarat cadre.

Former Managing Director of BlackBerry Sunil Dutt has joined Reliance Jio as President.

Infosys board has appointed Vishal Sikka as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the company.

Tata Sons appoints Sunil Sinha as Resident Director, MENA region.

Padmanabhan appointed as Executive Chairman of Tata Quality Management Services.

DHL eCommerce, part of the newly re-named global division Post - eCommerce - Parcel (PeP), formerly known as Deutsche Post MAIL division, has named Malcolm Monteiro as CEO, Asia-Pacific.

ACC has appointed Harish Badami as CEO and Managing Director designate with effect from August 1. Badami will replace Kuldip Kaura who will demit office on August 13 before his term expires on December 31.

Lt Gen Amit Sharma was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of Strategic Forces Command on 13 June 2014. He replaced Vice Admiral SPS Cheema.

Shaktikanta Das, a 1980 batch Tamil Nadu Cadre IAS officer, assumed charge as Revenue Secretary in the Finance Ministry.

BSE-listed AGC Networks has appointed Amal Thakore as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Subhalakshmi Panse, former CMD of Allahabad Bank, has joined the board of Federal Bank as an Independent Director.

Rajeev Topno was appointed as Private Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Appointment Committee of Cabinet (ACC) approved the name of Topno on 18 June 2014.

BJP leader and Lok Sabha MP Meenakshi Lekhi took over as the chairperson of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).

In first oil PSU appointment by the new NDA government, Ashok Varma has been appointed Director (Onshore) of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC).

Manmohan Handa has taken charge as Director - Bangalore Complex of Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited.

Infosys has appointed Adfactors PR as its new PR partner.

AHM Mustafa Kamal has become the first from Bangladesh to be president of International Cricket Council (ICC).

N Srinivasan appointed as 1st ICC Chairman. BCCI President-in-exile N Srinivasan was formally appointed the first Chairman of the ICC after its 52-member council approved a controversial revamp of the body’s administrative structure.

A.K. Dubey on 25 June 2014 was appointed as Chairman of Coal India Limited with immediate effect. He will serve his post as an additional charge till a full-time chairman is appointed.

Indian-origin judge V K Rajah on 25 June 2014 was appointed as 8th Attorney-General of Singapore. President of Singapore Tony Tan Keng Yam presided at the swearing-in of Justice V K Rajah.

Kim Jong-Un, the North Korean leader on 25 June 2014 replaced his defence minister Jang Jong-Nam. General Hyon Yong-Chol replaced Jang Jong-Nam as Minister of the People’s Armed Forces.

Chung Hung Won was retained as Prime Minster of South Korea on 25 June 2014. The President of South Korea, Park Geun-Hye announced the decision to retain the Chung Hung Won who had resigned over ferry disaster in April 2014.

Gerdau Steel India Ltd has appointed Sridhar Krishnamoorthy as Managing Director with immediate effect.

Jean-Claude Juncker has been named as the next president of the European Commission.

RESIGNATIONS/RETIREMENTS

T. S. Vishwanath, Director and Chairman, Alstom T & D India Ltd has quit from the company’s Board with effect from July 1, 2014.

Anirban Dey, Managing Director of SAP Labs India, has quit the company.

Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Dinesh Singh tendered his resignation afternoon, according to news reports.

West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan today resigned from his post. Official sources confirmed his resignation. Earlier, the Governors of Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Nagaland had resigned following new government at the Centre. Sources said some other state governors may also resign in the coming days.

OBITUARIES

Former Union Minister of State and BJP leader Tapan Sikdar passed away at AIIMS this morning. He was 70.

Rural development minister Gopinath Munde dies in road accident. He met with the accident on his way to the Indira Gandhi International Airport, where he was scheduled to take a flight to Mumbai and from there to Aurangabad.

Gary Gilmour, a former all-round cricketer of Australia died on 10 June 2014 in Sydney. He died at the age of 62.

Jain philanthropist, educationist and businessman, Shrenik Kasturbhai Lalbhai of the Lalbhai family, passed away after a prolonged illness. Shrenikbhai, 89, breathed his last in the morning at his residence on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

Ramanarayanan, Tamil film director and producer died on 22 June 2014 in Singapore at the age of 65.

AWARDS/PRIZES/HONOUR

The Udupi-based Robosoft Technologies Pvt Ltd’s ‘RoboLife’, the proprietary hospital management and information system, has won ‘Healthcare Excellence’ award 2014 at an event organised by Goa unit of Indian Medical Association, according to a company statement.

Wrestlers Yogeshwar Dutt and Sushil Kumar on 1 June 2014 won Gold and Silver respectively at the International wrestling tournament held in Sassari city of Italy.

A.B. de Villiers dominated the Cricket South Africa Awards banquet by bagging four awards, including Cricketer of the Year 2014, in Johannesburg.

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), Hyderabad won the Roll of Excellence award. The award was given by Airport Council International (ACI) in Seoul, South Korea on 27 May 2014.

The UN General Assembly has established an award in the honour of anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela to pay tribute to his achievements and contributions.

India wins 5 medals at Junior Asian Wrestling Championship. Young Indian grapplers reaped rich dividends at the Junior Asian Wrestling Championship, winning a gold, three silvers and one bronze medal in the tournament at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Female wrestler, Vinesh (51 Kg) won the gold in Greco Roman Style, while male grapplers Ravinder (60Kg), Sandeep (84 Kg) and Anil (50 Kg) clinched silvers in Greco Roman Style, President of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said. Female wrestler Pooja Dhanda (58 Kg) won the bronze.

Tata Sky, the direct-to-home (DTH) service provider, has bagged the Limca Book of Records post for airing the longest TV commercial in Indian advertising history. Titled 'Prison Break', the ad had a run time of 3 minutes 30 seconds.

Uday Kotak, Executive Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, has won the ‘EY World Entrepreneur of The Year 2014’ award at a ceremony held in Monaco.

Irish author Eimear McBride won the 2014 Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction on 4 June 2014 for her first novel A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing.

EU court backs record €1 bn fine on Intel.A record €1 billion ($1.35 billion) fine imposed on Intel for hampering competition in the European Union was appropriate, a court found, rejecting an appeal by the US computer chip maker.

Kolkata Airport won the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Award by Airport Council International (ACI) in the category of the best improved airport in Asia Pacific Region.

Sachin Aggarwal receives 'Student Honour' in the Home of Adelaide Oval. Sachin Aggarwal has been named as one of seven International Student Ambassadors for South Australia.

C Radhakrishnan selected for Moortidevi Award.C Radhakrishnan, the eminent Malayalam scientist-turned-writer was selected for the prestigious Moortidevi Award for 2013 on 13 June 2014. He has been selected for his novel Theekkadal Katanhu Thirumadhuram.

Indian origin physicist Tejinder Virdee was honoured knighthood Bachelor by Queen Elizabeth II. He was awarded for his work on the Higgs Boson theory.

Erosion: Karnataka awards ₹223-cr tender for construction of sea wall. To find a permanent solution to the problem of sea erosion in many parts of the Karnataka coast, the State Government has awarded tenders to two companies to carry out the first phase of work on constructing a sea wall, according to B Ramanath Rai, Dakshina Kannada District in-charge Minister.

India won 12 medals overall to finish 5th in final medal tally at the 16th Asian Junior Athletics Championship held in Taipei City, China from 12 June to 15 June 2014. India’s medal tally of 12 medals included 2 Gold, 5 Silver and 5 Bronze. China topped the list with 24 medals comprising of 12 Gold, 10 Silver and 2 Bronze. Japan won 21 medals (11 Gold, 5 Silver and 5 Bronze) to finish second. Qatar was in the third place with total of 10 medals (6 Gold, 2 Silver and Bronze).

The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets the Amul brand of milk and dairy products, has won the World Dairy Innovation Awards-2014 for best marketing campaign ‘Eat Milk with Every Meal’.

India-born plant scientist Sanjaya Rajaram has been named the winner of the $250,000 World Food Prize for his breakthrough achievement in increasing global wheat production by more than 200 million tonnes following the Green Revolution.

Indian-born Booker Prize winning author Salman Rushdie was named the winner of this year's prestigious Pen Pinter prize for his outstanding literary output and support for freedom of expression.

India bagged its second title at the Tri-Nation squash doubles tournament in Kuala Lumpur when Dipika Pallikal and Joshana Chinappa emerged winners in the women's doubles final.

Hindi poet Kedarnath Singh on 20 June 2014 was chosen for the prestigious Jnanpith award for 2013. He is the 10th Hindi writer to receive the honour and is the 49th recipient of Jnanpith award.

Tang Prize Foundation announced the inaugural Tang Prizes on 18 June 2014. The Prize will be given in four categories of Sustainable Development, Sinology, Biopharmaceutical Science and The Rule of Law.(1) Sustainable Development - Gro Harlem Brundtland former Premier of Norway.(2) Sinology – Chinese American, Historian Yu Ying-shih.(3) Biopharmaceutical Science - James P Allison of US and Tasuku Honjo of Japan.(4) The Rule of Law - Albie Sachs, former justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.

Gro Harlem Brundtland was awarded with the first Tang Prize in sustainable development. The Tang Prize was given to her by the Tang Prize Foundation on 18 June 2014.

Norway’s Magnus Carlsen has won the FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship in Dubai.

Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank (APGVB) has won the Platinum Award for 'excellence'’ in banking awarded by Skoch Group, New Delhi.

UN award for govt’s Mobile Seva initiative. An initiative conceptualised by Indian government’s Department of Electronics and Information Technology to enable delivery of public services electronically through the mobile platform has been awarded a United Nations public service award.

TM Forum, a global trade association representing the digital economy, has announced one of its Catalyst awards to Thiruvanathapuram-based SunTec Business Solutions.

Former TATA Group Chairman Ratan Tata on 21 June 2014 received an honorary doctor of laws degree from York University in Toronto, Canada. The award was given for his achievements in promoting innovations, exemplary leadership and corporate social responsibility

Jitu Rai on 19 June 2014 became the first Indian to win three medals in successive ISSF Shooting World Cup.

The Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) has awarded Diya Systems (Mangalore) Pvt Ltd, an IT/ITeS company, with export excellence award for 2014, according to a company press release.

UST Global has won the Golden Stevie Award 2014 for ‘Human Resources Team of the Year’ at the 12th American Business Awards held in Chicago.

Kolkata-based UCO Bank has been awarded the “Platinum SKOCH Inclusion & Deepening Award 2014” for “excellence in banking”. The award was presented by MP Minakshi Lekhi to Arun Kaul, CMD, UCO Bank.

France announced to honour Shahrukh Khan with Officer of the Legion of Honour for his contribution to Cinema.

Amitabh Bachchan received the honour in 2007.Union Government granted Navratna Status to EIL and NBCC. The Union Government granted Navratna status to Engineers India Ltd (EIL) and National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC). Department of Public Enterprises under the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises granted the navratna status to enhance the greater financial and operational autonomy.

Kochi has won this year’s ‘best city award’ from news channel CNBC Awaaz.

Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik on 27 June 2014 won the People's Choice prize at the World Cup of Sand Sculpting-2014 held in the Atlantic City of the US. He won prize for his work Save Tree, Save the Future. This is first sand art world cup at USA 2014.

K Srinivasan, Managing Director of Emerald Jewel Industry India Ltd, Coimbatore, has been awarded the 'EO- Entrepreneur of the year 2014’ by the Entrepreneurs’ Organisation (EO), Coimbatore.

Malala Yousafzai has won the Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Centre in Philadelphia.

Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik on 27 June 2014 won the People's Choice prize at the World Cup of Sand Sculpting-2014 held in the Atlantic City of the US. He won prize for his work Save Tree, Save the Future. This is first sand art world cup at USA 2014.

SPORTS

Gambhir the best IPL captain this season: Akram. Attributing Kolkata Knight Riders’ second Indian Premier League title triumph to Gautam Gambhir’s leadership skills, the team’s bowling coach Wasim Akram said he is the best among all the IPL captains this season.

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on 1 June 2014 won the seventh edition of Indian Premier League 2014 by defeating Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) by three wickets in the final played at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. This is the second title triumph for KKR after their maiden win back in 2012.

Ronaldo most searched soccer star on Google in India. As the World Cup fever grips fans across the globe, Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has emerged the most searched player on Google in India, with Brazil topping the list country-wise.

India has slipped to the third position in the latest ICC ODI team rankings after Australia and Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan team eclipsed India with its 3-2 win over England in the latest ODI series. Virat Kohli has retained his position as number one ODI batsman while Saeed Ajmal is the top bowler. Latest ICC ODI rankings were released in Dubai. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is placed sixth while Shikhar Dhawan is ranked eighth.

India slipped to third position in the ICC ODI team rankings released on 4 June 2014 in Dubai. India is ranked after Australia (No. 1) and Sri Lanka (No. 2). Sri Lankan cricket team eclipsed India with its 3-2 win over England in the latest ODI series.

Golf: Shankar, Jaini in top-10 in Queens Cup. Anirban Lahiri fought his way back in the second round with a three-under 68 even as Manav Jaini (68-72) and Shankar Das (70-70) advanced to the top-10 at the half-way mark of the Queen’s Cup golf tournament at the Santiburi Country Club.

Maria Sharapova admits she is stunned to have won her fifth grand slam title in a decade and sometimes cannot believe what she has accomplished.

India’s tennis ace Sania Mirza became world number six in doubles, her career-best ranking, as the new chart was released following the conclusion of the French Open.

Rafael Nadal became the first man in history to win the French Open nine times as he swept to a record fifth straight title with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 defeat of Novak Djokovic.

Wimbledon champion Andy Murray shocked the tennis world when he hired Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo as his new coach at the weekend.

Rising Spanish star Jesé Rodriguez has emerged as the most popular young football star on Google among those who would make their debut in the FIFA World Cup which gets under way in Brazil.

Japan’s Yuichi Nishimura is to referee for opening match of the World Cup between hosts Brazil and Croatia in Sao Paulo.

Facebook, Twitter brace for World Cup fever. This year’s World Cup will play out on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and messaging apps like WhatsApp just as it progresses in stadiums from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro. Nearly 40 per cent of Facebook’s 1.28 billion users are football fans.

Dhoni ranked 22nd in Forbes' world’s highest paid athletes list. Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the lone Indian sportsman to figure in Forbes’ list of world’s 100 highest paid athletes. The list is being been topped by American boxer Floyd Mayweather and includes golfer Tiger Woods and tennis stars Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Jitu Rai of India on 11 June 2014 won Silver Medal in men’s 10-meter air pistol event at the ISSF World Cup Shooting in Munich. In the finals, Jitu scored 199.4 after aggregating 583 in the qualification stage.

Neymar’s brace, some help from the Japanese referee, and big support from the local fans have given hosts Brazil the perfect start to the World Cup.

Former Captain of Bangladesh Mohammad Ashraful on 18 June 2014 was banned for eight years by the disciplinary panel set up by the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

FIFA has suspended Colombian assistant referee Humberto Clavijo for making incorrect decisions during the World Cup’s Mexico-Cameroon clash on June 13 at the Arena das Dunas, Natal.

Jitu Rai on 19 June 2014 became the first Indian to win three medals in successive ISSF Shooting World Cup.

Britain's premium luxury goods brand East India Company has issued an exclusive legal tender gold coin worth 12,000 pound sterling in honour of Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. The rare coin has been issued in honour of Tendulkar's remarkable career spanning 24 years.

Eight-time Olympic champions India find itself in a lowly ninth position among men’s teams in the recently-released FIH World Hockey Rankings.

Nico Rosberg held off a challenge from teammate Lewis Hamilton to win the Austrian GP for the sixth 1—2 finish by Mercedes this season.

A court in Andhra Pradesh issued an arrest warrant against Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus.

FIFA banned Uruguay striker Luis Suarez from all football activities for four months for biting an opponent at the World Cup, a punishment that rules him out of the rest of the tournament and the start of the upcoming English Premier League season.

35th National Games will be held in different venues of Kerala from 31st of January to 14th February,next year.

Indian cueist Pankaj Advani won his maiden IBSF 6-Red World snooker title at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt.

Saina Nehwal wins Australian Open Super Series title. Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has won her second title of the year after beating Carolina Marin of Spain 21-18, 21-11 in the Australian Open Super Series final in Sydney .

RELEASED BOOKS

Indian cinema thespian Dilip Kumar’s autobiography ‘The Substance and the Shadow’ that chronicles his life since birth was released on Monday amidst big fanfare at a star-studded event in Mumbai.

The book titled Warrior State: Pakistan in the Contemporary World written by T V Paul was presented to the Vice President Hamid Ansari on 13 June 2014. The book published by Oxford University Press, New York was launched in January 2014.

A book Blood Feud: The Clintons vs. the Obamas written by Edward Klein was released. The book was published by the publishing house Regnery. Edward Klein is the former editor-in-chief of New York Times Magazine.

Novel A Bad Character was authored by Deepti Kapoor. It will be published in August 2014.

BANKING/RBI/FINANCE

RBI may keep key interest rate unchanged - 1 June. Mr. Rajan kept the policy rate unchanged at 8 per cent at the previous review on April 1 as inflation, especially of food items, hovered at over 8 per cent. Food inflation in April stood at 9.66 per cent and retail inflation at 8.59 per cent. India’s economic growth remained below the 5 per cent mark for the second year in a row at 4.7 per cent in 2013-14, although industry is hopeful of a rebound with a stable government headed by Mr. Modi.

RBI may cut interest rate by 25 bps: Assocham survey. The RBI may cut rates by 25 basis points at its first credit policy review after the Narendra Modi-led government assumed charge as governor Raghuram Rajan tries to strike a balance between fighting inflation and reviving growth, says an Assocham poll. A small, though symbolic cut in interest rates of say, 25 basis points, looks on cards," the survey of economists and CEOs said.

FICCI-CMSME, an affiliated body under the umbrella of FICCI, and IDBI Bank, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to make organised finance facility available for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across the country at competitive interest rates. The MoU was signed by A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI and FICCI-MSME, and by B K Batra, Deputy Managing Director, IDBI Bank.

The RBI has decided to reduce the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) of scheduled commercial banks by 50 basis points from 23.0 per cent to 22.5 per cent of their net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) with effect from the fortnight beginning June 14, 2014.

Exporters split on RBI move to curb export credit refinance. Exporters are divided over the impact of the Reserve Bank’s move to reduce availability of funds under the export credit refinance (ECR) window. Liquidity provided under the ECR facility will be cut from 50 per cent of eligible export credit outstanding to 32 per cent with immediate effect, the RBI said , adding that it will introduce a special term repo facility to compensate for the reduction. Banks would be reluctant to lend to the export sector, which is already facing a liquidity crunch, as the share of export credit in net bank credit has come down drastically from close to 9 per cent to 3.5 per cent in the last 10 years,” he added.

Canara Bank has opened its 42nd circle office in the country at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

RBI allows up to 100% FII investment in Zee Entertainment. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) can now invest up to 100 per cent of the paid up capital in Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, an RBI notification said. Earlier investment limit for FIIs in the company was 49 per cent. FIIs can now invest up to 100 per cent (revised from earlier limit 49 per cent) of the paid up capital of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd under the portfolio investment scheme. As on March 2014, promoter shareholding in the company was 43.07 per cent while FIIs held 47.94 per cent shares, as per BSE data.

The RBI has relaxed the eligibility limit for foreign exchange remittances. It was earlier possible to remit up to $2 00,000 under the liberalised remittance scheme. This was reduced to $75,000 last year, as a prudential measure when the country was going through a sudden depreciation of its currency. The RBI has decided to hike the eligible limit to $125,000. Guidelines will be issued shortly, the central bank said.

Axis Bank has launched a teaser advertising campaign featuring its recently signed brand ambassador Deepika Padukone. Created by Lowe Lintas, the campaign looks to extend the brand philosophy of 'Badhti ka naam zindagi' (progress is on). Axis Bank’s previous campaigns have showed the brand philosophy through different television commercials. The new one highlights the holistic nature of progress and highlights Axis Bank’s journey as a customer centric bank.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) said that it has received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank to open two new branches. The new branches will come up Gurgaon, NCR, and outer Bangalore, the bank said in a statement.

ICICI Bank overtakes HDFC Bank as top private bank employer. With the addition of over 10,000 jobs last fiscal, ICICI Bank has overtaken rival HDFC Bank as the biggest employer in the private banking space with more than 72,000 employees. Incidentally, HDFC Bank saw its employee headcount decline by 900 during the fiscal ended March 31, 2014, while at least five other major private sector banks saw their workforces grow during the year.

Foreign direct investment in the services sector declined by about 54 per cent year-on-year to $2.22 billion last fiscal, according to data from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. The services sector, which includes banking, insurance, outsourcing, R&D, courier and technology testing, had received FDI worth $4.83 billion during 2012-13. The services sector accounts for over 60 per cent of India’s GDP. Foreign investments are considered crucial for India, which needs about $1 trillion in the 5-year Plan period ending March 2017 to overhaul infrastructure such as ports, airports and highways and boost growth.

Lithuania will become the 19th country to adopt Euro as a Single currency from 1 January 2015. This was revealed by the European Union Commission's Convergence Report released on 4 June 2014. Convergence Report examined whether Member States satisfy the conditions for adopting the single currency Euro.

RBI eases address proof rules for bank A/c. Now, citizens without having permanent address proof can open a bank account by submitting only one document as current proof of address, according to the Reserve Bank of India. Taking note of citizens who are migrant workers and transferred employees who do not possess permanent address documents, the central bank eased the Know Your customer (KYC) documentation rules. In a notification, RBI said, “Henceforth, customers may submit only one documentary proof of address (either current or permanent) while opening a bank account or while undergoing periodic updation. In case the address mentioned as per ‘proof of address’ undergoes a change, fresh proof of address may be submitted to the branch within a period of six months.” No proof is required to be submitted for such address for correspondence/local address. This address may be verified by the bank through ‘positive confirmation’ such as acknowledgment of receipt of (i) letter, cheque books, ATM cards; (ii) telephonic conversation; (iii) visits; etc,” it said.

Now, submit single proof of address to open bank account. Migrant workers and transferred employees need to submit only one documentary proof of address (either current or permanent) while opening a bank account, according to the Reserve Bank of India. In a notification, RBI said, “Henceforth, customers may submit only one documentary proof of address (either current or permanent) while opening a bank account or while undergoing periodic updation.”

World Bank lowers growth forecast for developing countries to 4.8%.Developing countries are headed for a year of disappointing growth, the World Bank said in its Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report, which has lowered its forecasts for developing countries to 4.8 per cent growth rate this year from the January estimate of 5.3 percent. In its latest report, the Bank has lowered its forecasts for developing countries, now eying growth at 4.8 per cent this year, down from its January estimate of 5.3 per cent. Signs point to strengthening in 2015 and 2016 to 5.4 and 5.5 per cent, respectively.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is all set to launch a pilot on life insurance repository (IR) system. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is all set to launch a pilot on life insurance repository (IR) system. The two-month pilot would be started with effect from July 1, 2014 and it shall be mandatory of all life-insurers and existing five insurance repositories (IR) to participate in the programme, IRDA said in a circular issued.

India may achieve 5.5% growth rate this year: World Bank. With the new Indian government showing signs of economic reforms and brings in transparency in governance, the World Bank feels that the world’s third-largest economy could achieve a growth rate of 5.5 per cent this year compared with 4.7 per cent last year.

Canara Bank has achieved a milestone by opening its branch in New York.

ICICI Academy for Skills, an institute set up by ICICI Foundation, is looking to train more than 6,000 youth at nine training centres across the country by the end of financial year 2014-2015. ICICI Academy has signed three agreements with Spencers Retail Ltd, Bluechip Corporate Investment Centre Ltd and AkzoNobel India Ltd.

Union Bank of India (UBI) has set up its central processing cell (Saral) in Bangalore to process and clear all proposals with limits of Rs. 1 crore and above.

RBI allows FIIs to buy up to 49% stake in Idea Cellular. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) can now purchase up to 49 per cent stake in telecom operator Idea Cellular Ltd. The FII limit in the company was 24 per cent earlier. “... FIIs, through primary market and stock exchanges, can now purchase up to 49 per cent of the paid up capital of Idea Cellular Limited under the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS),” the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in release .

State Bank of India has partnered with payments service provider, Ezetap Mobile Solutions, to deploy mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) solution. SBI plans to deploy 5,00,000 point-of-sale terminals within the next five years, it said in a release. "Mobile POS has the power to transform payments and commerce. It can be deployed easily and at low cost in every corner of the country," SBI's deputy managing director S K Mishra said.

The wholesale price index-based inflation for May came in at 6.01 per cent, higher than 5.2 per cent in the previous month. This is also higher than the WPI-based inflation of 4.58 per cent recorded in May 2013.

Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Kalraj Mishra on 16 June 2014 launched Online Finance Facilitation Centre (OFFC) for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). OFFC is an initiative of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The Centre was launched with an objective to facilitate access to finance and credit for SMEs.

Foreign direct investment into China fell 6.7 per cent year-on-year to $8.6 billion in May amid a steady drop in inflows from the US, European Union and Japan.

The Reserve Bank of India is improving the regulatory framework for non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) as the law is inadequate to deal with several issues, according to R Gandhi, Deputy Governor, RBI. Delivering the Frank Moraes Oration lecture on the ‘Role of Non-Banks in the Indian Financial Sector: Regulatory challenges,’ organised here by the United Writers’ Association and Frank Moraes Foundation, he said it was the constant endeavour of the RBI to enable prudential growth of the sector for financial stability, and consumer and depositor protection. The need for regulating NBFCs arises primarily because of the high leverage with which they operate. The asset-liability mismatch, if any, can pose serious risks to the investors and depositors, and their capacity to engender havoc to the real sectors of the economy. In India, there are a number of companies that are registered as finance companies, but are not regulated by the RBI. There are a number of unincorporated entities, which are illegally accepting deposits.

Market regulator SEBI has issued new norms for public issuance of debt securities under which such offers have to be of minimum Rs 100 crore, while issuers would need to make additional disclosures and attain atleast 75 per cent subscription. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said that the entities coming out with public issue of NCDs would have to provide granular disclosures in their offer document, with regards to the "object of the issue".Also, an entity has to make additional disclosures in the offer document about details of money utilised from the previous issues of the issuer as well as the group companies. The new norms would be applicable for the draft offer document for issuance of debt securities filed with the stock exchanges on or after July 16.

SEBI board has decided to fix the minimum dilution of stake to public in an initial public offer at 25 per cent or ₹ 400 crore whichever is lower.

Indians’ money in Swiss banks has risen to over two billion Swiss francs (nearly ₹14,000 crore), despite a global clampdown against the famed secrecy wall of Switzerland banking system. The funds held by Indians with banks in Switzerland rose by over 40 per cent during 2013, from about 1.42 billion Swiss francs at the end of the previous year, as per the latest data released today by the country’s central banking authority Swiss National Bank. In contrast, the money held in Swiss banks by their foreign clients from across the world continued to decline and stood at a record low of 1.32 trillion Swiss francs (about $1.56 trillion or over ₹90 lakh crore) at the end of 2013.

The World Bank Group will give $1.4 million to 12 social enterprises in the North-East, working on access to affordable healthcare services, education, water and sanitation services.

State Bank of Travancore (SBT) has launched a special loan campaign for pensioners by revising all its existing loan schemes. The campaign addresses the loan needs of retirees of State and Central Governments; all public sector undertakings; banks; and defence services, drawing their pension through SBT branches. The campaign will extend up to June 30, an official spokesman said, adding that the bank offered full waiver of processing charges for loans sanctioned during this period. Under the scheme, service pensioners drawing pension from SBT branches are entitled to loans of up to ₹7.5 lakh, depending on eligibility.

SEBI revamps pricing norms for preferential issues. Market regulator SEBI has tweaked the pricing formula for ‘preferential issues’ with the intent of using a more representative price in such share sales. Henceforth, ‘volume weighted average price’ (VWAP) would be used as a parameter for pricing the preferential issues as against the current requirement of using the ‘closing price’, SEBI decided at a Board meeting.

State-owned Bank of Maharashtra launched MahaSecure, a digital banking app, to enable secure access to Internet banking facilities for both retail and corporate customers of the bank.

Kolkata-based United Bank of India (UBI) rolled out its merchant payment service on mobile phones using the IMPS (immediate payment service) merchant payment service offered by the National Payment Corporation of India.

Syndicate Bank is targeting a business of ₹10 lakh crore by 2020, according to SK Jain, Chairman and Managing Director.

The South Canara District Central Cooperative (SCDCC) Bank Ltd is targeting a business of ₹12,000 crore in the next five years.

India can grow at 6% without overheating: World Bank. The Indian economy has the potential to grow at only around 6 per cent without showing some effects of overheating, given current levels of workforce, total factor productivity and investments, a World Bank economist has posited.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), allowed foreign investors to access the currency futures market for hedging their currency risks while also partially reversing the restrictions put last year on banks proprietary trading in the exchange traded currency futures. The RBI said foreign portfolio investors could participate in the currency futures market by taking long or short position to the extent of $10 million without having to establish any underlying exposure. A foreign portfolio investor cannot take a short position beyond $10 million at any time and to take a long position beyond $10 million in any exchange, it will be required to have an underlying exposure,’’ the central bank said in the release.

RBI directs banks, FIs to give information to SIT on black money. The Reserve Bank of India today directed all banks and financial institutions to provide information and documents sought by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to unearth black money. All the banks and financial institutions (FIs) are advised to ensure that information/documents required by the SIT are made available as and when required,” the Reserve Bank said in a notification. The SIT under the chairmanship of former Justice M B Shah was constituted by the Narendra Modi—led government on its first day in office, in pursuance of a July 2011 Supreme Court judgement. The panel has jurisdiction in cases where investigations have commenced or are waiting to be initiated or have been completed. The SIT held its first meeting on June 2. Earlier, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government will write to Switzerland seeking details of Indians with unaccounted money in Swiss banks.

Swiss Money: India moves up to 58th rank; UK remains on top. India has moved up to 58th rank in terms of foreign money lying with Swiss banks, but it accounts for a meagre 0.15 per cent of an estimated USD 1.6 trillion total global wealth held in Switzerland's banking system. The UK has retained its top position with highest share of close to 20 per cent of global wealth in Swiss banking system, followed by the US, West Indies, Germany and Guernsey in the top-five in terms of exposure to banks in Switzerland. Amid much hue and cry over huge amounts of illicit wealth stashed by Indians in Swiss banks, the latest official data released by Switzerland's central banking authority SNB shows that Indian money in Swiss banks rose by 43 per cent during 2013 to close to Rs 14,000 crore (2.03 billion Swiss francs), pushing its global ranking up from 70th at the end of 2012. India now ranks higher than Pakistan, whose position has slipped from 69th earlier to 74th now, as its total exposure to Swiss banks declined from 1.44 billion Swiss francs at the end of 2012 to 1.23 billion Swiss francs in 2013.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released timelines for regulatory approvals. It said it will revert to the applicant if the deadline is likely to be exceeded. Among other deadlines, few included an in-principle approval to private bank licensing must be given within 90 days, ‘in principle’ approval to banks for IPO, preferential issues of capital and qualified institutional placements within 30 days, permission to banks for expanding the scope of para-banking activities of the bank/it’s subsidiary within 45 days and authorisation for import of gold/silver by banks within 60 days.

India’s largest bank State Bank of India has started the 'SBI Youth for India fellowship' to enable young people to work for the development of India for one year. The SBI Youth for India fellowship is a volunteering platform initiated, funded and managed by SBI in partnership with NGOs (non-government organisations). The fellowship enables urban youth to work on rural development projects for one year,” SBI said in a statement. For the fellowship year 2014-15, the partner NGOs are MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, BAIF Development Research Foundation, Seva Mandir, Gram Vikas and Aga Khan Rural Support Program (India). It will have 100 SBI youth for India fellows working at 35 rural locations in 15 States across the country. The applications for the SBI Youth for India fellowship (2014-15) will close on June 30, 2014. More than 4,800 candidates have already applied for the fellowship.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has reorganised the committee that advises it on matters related to secondary market, including suggesting steps to improve market safety, efficiency and transparency. The capital market regulator has listed the revamped expert panel. The Secondary Market Advisory Committee is chaired by IIM Ahmedabad Professor and former whole-time member of SEBI, Jayanth R Varma. Besides Varma, the expert panel consists of 17 members, including top executives of nation’s leading bourses — NSE, BSE and MCX-SX — as well as government representatives.

World Bank President Jim Young Kim has said India can save more than 27,000 lives and create over 128,000 jobs if it builds 1,000 kilometres of new bus rapid transit (BRT) lanes in the next 20 years. If India built 1,000 kilometres of new, bus rapid transit lanes, over 20 years, that could save more than 27,000 lives by reducing air pollution and accidents and create more than 128,000 jobs,” Jim Young Kim said.

Youngsters may get an earning opportunity as ATM keepers. Andhra Bank plans to rope in individuals and business persons for cost-effective and efficient management of its ATMs. Unemployed graduates and other willing individuals will be asked to keep a watch on ATMs as a substitute to private security personnel who now man these counters.

Bharatiya Mahila Bank Ltd (BMB) and trade body Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) will jointly facilitate women entrepreneurs by addressing their finance requirements for technological up-gradation, marketing, diversification in their businesses. BMB and the Business Women Wing (BWW) of GCCI have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the cause of women entrepreneurs by utilising the services of each other. As per the terms of MoU, BMB and GCCI-BWW would jointly conduct training workshops for GCCI-BWW members on the procedure for availing financial assistance. BMB will set up a simplified application process for loans of less than Rs 5 lakh by the GCCI-BWW members.

ICICI Bank launches co-branded card with DMRC.ICICI Bank has launched co-branded card with DMRC. It can be your credit/debit card, and offers the benefit of 10 per cent discount that the DMRC smart card offers.

RBI relaxes norms for Business Correspondents. To accelerate the flow of credit to those at the bottom of the pyramid, the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday permitted banks to engage non-deposit taking non-banking finance companies (NBFC-ND) as Business Correspondents (BCs). Further, to enlarge the catchment area of BCs, the central bank has done away with the stipulation regarding the distance criteria between the place of business of a retail outlet/sub-agent of BC and the bank’s base branch. BCs usually offer services such as disbursal of small value credit; recovery of principal/collection of interest; collection of small-value deposits; sale of micro insurance/mutual fund products; pension products; other third-party products; receipt and delivery of small-value remittances; and other payment instruments.

National Insurance Company Ltd has introduced a "insurance on wheels" concept for faster renewal of policies. Under the scheme, a vehicle will be parked at appropriate locations in a city. People can renew their polices from there instead of going to the company office, AV Girija Kumar, CMD, National Insurance. Currently, the service has been introduced in 15-odd cities.

Two big banks have 2/3rd of all Swiss money of Indians. It is just two big banks -- UBS and Credit Suisse -- which appear to be accounting for almost two-third of the total money held by Indians in Swiss banking system, known for their famed secrecy walls. According to the latest official data disclosed by Switzerland's central banking authority SNB (Swiss National Bank), Indians' money in Swiss banks rose by 43 per cent last year to 2.03 billion Swiss francs (nearly Rs 14,000 crore), despite growing global pressure on Switzerland to share client details of their banks. A further analysis of SNB data shows that the 'big banks' account for 68.2 per cent or about 1.4 billion Swiss francs (close to Rs 10,000 crore) of the total money belonging to the Indian clients of Swiss banks.

RBI: Policy coordination needed to reduce global spillover effects. The Reserve Bank of India once again made a case for policy coordination to reduce the spillover effects of changes in the monetary policy stance in advanced economies (AEs) on emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs). In its 9th Financial Stability Report, the central bank said with the eventual removal of policy accommodation in the AEs, better global policy coordination could reduce unexpected spillovers and improve trust which may be essential for future coordination. RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan underscored the importance of global monetary policy coordination twice in the last two months – at the Brookings Institution in April and at a conference organised by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) in May.

RBI to remain open on July 1 to facilitate public transactions. This year the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made special provision to remain open on July 1, 2014 to facilitate settlement of market transactions as well as to facilitate the transactions of the general public. Normally, the RBI remains closed for public transactions every July 1 on account of its annual closing of accounts. The Reserve Bank’s accounting year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30.

Vijaya Bank launches eLobby.Vijaya Bank's eLobby and refurbished branch at Varadarajapuram near Singanallur. The bank's Chairman and Managing Director V Kannan inaugurated the eLobby and highlighted the facilities it offered including a cash deposit machine, passbook printer and ATM.

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGIES

Solar plane completes first test flight for world round-trip. The sun-powered airplane Solar Impulse 2 successfully completed its maiden flight on Monday in Switzerland, one year before its planned trip around the world, the project team said. The project’s Swiss initiators, the pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, plan the first solar-powered circumnavigation of the earth, after having crossed North America with the airplane’s previous model last year. Piccard, Borschberg and other pilots are planning to make the trip starting in March 2015 in numerous legs.

Astronomers have discovered the “Godzilla” of all Earths – a new type of rocky planet that weighs 17 times as much as our planet and is more than twice as large in size, a surprising find that could change scientists’ understanding of the origins of the universe. The newly found mega-Earth, Kepler-10c, circles a Sun-like star once every 45 days. It is located about 560 light-years from Earth in the constellation Draco.

India is among the world's top five nations in concentrated solar power (CSP) technology capacity rankings topped by the US, according to a new report.

India on 9 June 2014 successfully test fired the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos from indigenous INS Kolkata off the coast of Karwar in Karnataka. BrahMos missile with a speed of Mach 2.5 to 2.8 is the product of joint collaboration between India and Russia and has a range of 290-km.

NASA to conduct Mars 'flying saucer' test on Earth. The U.S. space agency is getting ready to launch a “flying saucer” into Earth’s atmosphere to test technology that could be used to land on Mars.

NASA laser beams ‘Hello, World!’ video from space.NASA has successfully beamed a high-definition video with the message “Hello, World! from the International Space Station to Earth using a new laser communications instrument.

Indian Army on 18 June 2014 test-fired surface-to-air Akash missile from an Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Balasore, Odisha. This test was last among the validation trials being carried out by the Army on the first off production models of Akash Supersonic missile. Now it is ready for being induction in Indian army.

India will launch five satellites for France, Canada, Germany and Singapore on June 30 under commercial agreements, space agency ISRO said. The indigenous PSLV-C23 rocket will carry a 714 kg French Earth Observation Satellite ‘SPOT-7’ as the main payload. It will also carry 14 kg AISAT of Germany, NLS7.1 (CAN-X4) and two NLS7.2 (CAN-X5) satellites of Canada, each weighing 15 kg, and the 7 kg VELOX-1 of Singapore, it said.

The US for the first time has successfully tested a ground-based missile defence system which intercepted a simulated incoming missile over the Pacific Ocean. The $40-billion Boeing-managed Ground-based Midcourse Defence (GMD) system aims to protect against long-range ballistic missiles and provide the data necessary to assess the performance of numerous Ballistic Missile Defence System (BMDS) elements for homeland defence.

India set to open a new window to universe in two years. India is set to open a new window to the universe in two years. The country has developed the world’s second largest gamma ray telescope that will help scientists gain new knowledge on the origin of the universe and origin of cosmic rays that bombard the space. State-owned Electronics Corporation of India Ltd in Hyderabad has designed the giant 45 m high and 180 tonne telescope. The Rs 45-crore mammoth structure will begin its journey on Saturday to the high altitude Hanle region in Ladakh, where it will be finally be installed to study the universe.

PSLV C23 launched successfully from Sriharikota. It was a 'grand' exclusive commercial success for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which successfully launched Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C23 with five foreign satellites into the space this morning. This has strengthened India's space mission capability to launch foreign satellites on a commercial basis. At 9.52 a.m., the ISRO’s power horse PSLV roared into the cloudy sky from the first launch pad here at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. The launch was delayed by three minutes to avoid space debris.

IMPORTANT DAYS

1 June -> Global Day of Parents

4 June -> International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression

5 June -> World Environment Day [UNEP]

6 June -> D-Day

8 June -> World Oceans Day

12 June -> World Day Against Child Labour

14 June -> World Blood Donor Day [WHO]

15 June -> World Elder Abuse Awareness Day / Father's Day

17 June -> World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought

20 June -> World Refugee Day

23 June -> United Nations Public Service Day

23 June -> International Widows' Day

25 June -> Day of the Seafarer [IMO]

26 June -> International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking

26 June -> United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture

27 June -> World Diabetes Day

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