Daily GK Updates - 3rd April, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. Asia Index, an arbitrage rate index launched by BSE: Asia Index, a joint venture between S&P Dow Jones Indices and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), has launched arbitrage rate index. It will provide market participants with a transparent benchmark to compare the performance of similar arbitrage strategies. The index will be rebalanced every month, effective after the close of business a day prior to the expiration of the futures contract.

2. Peace pact between Mizoram govt and HPC-D: A landmark peace accord was signed between Mizoram Government and Manipur-based Hmar People’s Convention (Democratic) in Aizawl. The peace pact aims to end nearly three decades of insurgency in Hmar inhabited areas of Mizoram. The peace pact agreed for setting up of Sinlung Hills Council consisting of 14 members to accelerate speedy development in north and northeastern parts of Mizoram.

3. Arun Jaitley re-appointed as leader of RS: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was once again appointed as the Leader of the Rajya Sabha (RS) following his re-election to the House. In June 2014, Mr Jaitley was appointed the leader of the House in Rajya Sabha.

4. Mangaluru airport adjudged India’s cleanest in an AAI survey: The Mangalore International Airport has been adjudged the cleanest airport in the country. In the survey conducted across 53 airports in the country by AAI, Mangaluru airport was adjudged the cleanest. A team of officials from AAI had inspected the airport terminal, parking area, toilets, commercial stalls, the road leading to the airport and customer lounge.

5. Subscribers under APY surpasses 97 lakh: The government revealed that at the end of Financial Year 2017-18, 97.05 lakh subscribers have enrolled under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) scheme. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority has taken various initiatives for the expansion and ease of operations under the APY. Under the scheme, a subscriber would receive a minimum guaranteed pension of Rs.1000 to Rs.5000 per month.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. Mukesh Ambani is the 3rd richest Asian in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index: Mukesh Ambani is Asia’s third-richest man and is ranked 19 in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Apart from Ambani, there are 23 Indians in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index top 500 lists. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates still hold on to the top two spots.

OTHER UPDATES

SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY:

1. New plant species found in Western Ghats: Researchers have discovered a new plant species from the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. Classified as a sedge, the grass-like plant has been named ‘Fimbristylis agasthyamalaensis’ after the locality from which it was found. The new species belongs to the Cyperaceae family.

BUSINESS / ECONOMY:

1. Ola acquires transportation app Ridlr: Cab aggregator Ola announced the acquisition of end-to-end public transport ticketing and commuting app, Ridlr. Ridlr enables users to search and book public transport options on their mobile phones.

2. Microsoft enabled Digital Payments Support launched on its app Kaizala: Microsoft enabled digital payments services on its enterprise social network app “Kaizala” in India.

Microsoft has integrated payment services of YES BANK and MobiKwik. Payment integration with Microsoft Kaizala will enable users to quickly send or receive money without having to leave the Kaizala application.

3. Debjani Ghosh is the new NASSCOM President: Debjani Ghosh, former managing director of Intel South Asia, is the new president of NASSCOM. She replaced R.Chandrashekhar whose term has completed.

4. Manufacturing PMI at five-month low in March: Manufacturing activity remained in the positive for the eighth consecutive month in March but fell to a five-month low. The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell from 52.1 in February to a five-month low of 51.0 in March.

BANKING / FINANCE:

1. RBI lets banks spread bond losses across four quarters: The Reserve Bank of India allowed banks to spread out the provisioning to cover losses on their government bond portfolio across four quarters. This dispensation to spread the so-called mark-to-market provisioning is available for the quarters ending December 2017 and March 2018. Banks using such option will have to make the disclosure in their notes to accounts of the quarterly results.

2. Axis Bank, Karur Vysya Bank removed from bullion importers list: The Reserve Bank of India dropped Axis Bank from a list of banks it has cleared to import gold and silver in the current financial year that began April 1. Bank of Baroda, HDFC Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia were among the 16 banks allowed to import bullion. Two other small banks Karur Vyasa and South Indian Bank were also dropped from the RBI list.