10 June 2017 Current Affairs
Eminent rights activist Mehrunnisa Dalwai passes away
Mehrunnisa Dalwai, a noted social activist and author, and the wife of one of modern Maharashtra’s most remarkable and formidable social reformers, Hamid Dalwai, passed away. She was 87. Her autobiography, “Mi Bharun Pawle” is considered an inspirational piece for progressive movement.
Indian Overseas Bank launches retail mart in Thiruvananthapuram
Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), the Lead Bank for Thiruvananthapuram district, has launched the Retail Mart, a retail lending concept, in Kerala’s capital city. The exclusive facility that handles retail products has started functioning at the main branch. The Retail Mart has been designed with an aim to complete all the pre-release formalities at the customer’s doorstep and sanction quality retail loans at a competitive rate of interest with a minimum turnaround time.
President Pranab Mukherjee launches ‘Selfie with Daughter’ mobile app
President Pranab Mukherjee today launched the ‘Selfie with Daughter’ mobile application, aimed at raising awareness about female foeticide and sex selection. The President urged people to take photographs with their daughters and upload them to make the campaign a success. The campaign was started by Sunil Jaglan in June 2015 in village Bibipur in Haryana’s Jind district. The former sarpanch had been working in the field of women empowerment and village development. The aim of the campaign is to motivate society to feel proud to be parents of a girl child, which, in turn, will result in improving child sex ratio.
Microsoft signs agreement to acquire Israeli security firm Hexadite
Ransomware attacks have prompted Microsoft to sign an agreement to acquire Hexadite. This deal cost $100 million. Hexadite is an Israeli startup that uses Artificial Intelligence to identify and protect against cyber attacks.
Canara Bank ties up with New India Assurance Company
Canara Bank has inked pact with the state-owned general insurer The New India Assurance Company Ltd. to sell policies through its branches. The pact allows Canara Bank to offer non-life insurance products to its customers across metros and tier II and III cities through the bank’s extensive network of over 6,000 branches. The pact also strengthens distribution network of New India Assurance. Under the agreement, New India Assurance will make offer a bouquet of products such as motor, home, health, travel, fire, marine, and engineering insurance policies through branches of Canara Bank.
India, Pakistan Become Full Members Of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
India and Pakistan became full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the first-ever expansion of the China-dominated security grouping after 2001. With the inclusion of India and Pakistan, SCO now represents over 40% of world population and nearly 20% of the global GDP. 2017 SCO summit was based on the theme “Future Energy”. The document was signed at Astana, Kazakhstan during the SCO Summit. (SCO) member-states viz. China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Govt sets up 18 sectoral groups for smooth GST rollout
The government has set up 18 sectoral groups, comprising senior members from the Centre and the States, to ensure the smooth rollout of the Goods and Services Tax. The 18 groups pertain to sectors such as banking and insurance, textiles, exports, information technology, transport, and oil and gas. As per the Finance Ministry, these 18 sectoral groups containing senior officers of the Centre and the States are being set up to timely respond to the issues and problems of their respective sectors.
Minister of Railways Inaugurates 1st Indian Railways HR Round Table Conference
Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu inaugurated Indian Railways’ 1st HR Round Table Conference in New Delhi. The Conference was organized around three themes i.e.,
(i) Stakeholders Expectations from HR.
(ii) The Future of Work – HR Role
(iii) Creativity Within Constraints
HR experts and leaders of industry held round table discussion on each of the above mentioned themes.
RBI Governor to appear before House panel on July 6
RBI Governor Urjit Patel will appear before a Parliamentary panel on July 6 during which he is expected to be questioned about total deposits made in banks post government’s demonetisation move. This is the fourth time Patel has been summoned by the Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) on Finance, headed by Congress MP and former Union Minister Veerappa Moily. The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee held its two-day policy meet recently. Patel has been called after former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, also in the panel, insisted on calling the RBI Governor despite strong opposition by BJP members in the PSC.
IOC approves new events for 2020 Tokyo Game
The International Olympic Committee has approved new events for the 2020 Tokyo Games, including a number of mixed gender competitions. The IOC’s Executive Board made the decision at a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland. The choices reflect the IOC’s focus on gender equality and appeal to young people. The additions include a mixed team event for judo. Table Tennis will also get a mixed doubles competition. The event was featured in the recent world championships in Germany. Three-on-three basketball is an example of the IOC’s focus on youth and urban sports. The IOC has recommended awarding the hosting rights for both the 2024 and 2028 Games at the same time.
SBI cuts interest rate on home loans above Rs 75 lakh by 10 bps
The State Bank of India, country’s largest lender cut the interest rate on home loans above Rs 75 lakh by 10 basis points (bps) to 8.60 percent. For salaried women borrowers, the loans will be offered at 8.55 percent. According to SBI, the new rates will be effective from June 15. The home loan rates offered are lowest in the industry. The statement added that taking a cue from the recent RBI reduction in risk weightage on home loans, SBI is passing on the benefit to its customers by reducing its interest rates on home loan above Rs 75 lakh. SBI has the largest share on the home loan market.