NATIONAL
UPDATES:
1. IIM-Bangalore becomes only Indian institute to feature
in QS EMBA Rankings 2019:
The Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) has once again
made a mark at the global level. The institute's post-graduate programme in Enterprise
Management (PGPEM) has secured the 12th rank in APAC listing and came
61st globally in the QS Executive MBA Rankings 2019. Now, IIM-B has become the
only B-school in India to be a part of top 100 B-Schools globally and top 16 in
APAC, for the second
2. Jio races ahead of Airtel to become India's
2nd largest telecom company: Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio (from
September 2016) is reportedly the second-largest telecom company in
the country. Jio overtaken Bharti Airtel in terms of customer
base and now trails only Vodafone Idea. According to a report,
Jio presently has 306 million customers, Vodafone Idea continues to lead
the industry with 387 million subscribers, Airtel has 284 million
subscribers.
INTERNATIONAL
UPDATES:
1. World's 1st Malaria Vaccine Launched in Africa: The world's first-ever malaria vaccine was launched in a pilot project in Africa's Malawi. The country is the first of three in Africa in which the vaccine, known as RTS,S, will be made available to children up to 2 years of age. Ghana and Kenya will introduce the vaccine soon. About 93% of the world's malaria-related deaths in 2017 occurred in Africa.
2. Kazakhstan Sets Up Coordinating Council to
Attract Indian Investments: Kazakhstan has set up Coordinating
Council for attracting foreign investments including from India. A
decision was taken to lay down the functions of Investment
Ombudsman in order to venture for new approaches to improve the investment
scenario in Kazakhstan. The meeting identified the Astana International
Financial Centre (AIFC) as a Unified Center for the coordination of work
on investment and promotion of the investment image of Kazakhstan.
3. Iran, Pakistan to Set up Border 'Reaction
Force': Iran and Pakistan have agreed to set up a joint
border "reaction force" to combat the attacks by militant
groups on both sides their frontier. Both the nations have decided to
collaborate to form the joint quick reaction force by increasing cooperation
between border forces and intelligence agencies.
4. Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un hold first-ever
talks in Vladivostok: Kim Jong-Un (North Korean leader) and Vladimir Putin
(Russian President) meet for their first summit talks in the Pacific port city
of Vladivostok. The two leaders talked about the Korean peninsula's nuclear
problem. Mr Kim is believed to be seeking support after failing to reach an
agreement with US President Trump on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme at
Hanoi earlier this year. The situation in the Korean peninsula had stabilised
somewhat in recent months and Russia intends to help in any way possible to
cement that positive trend.
OTHER
UPDATES:
1. MD Karnam Sekar Appointed as IOB's New MD
& CEO: Former Dena Bank MD & CEO Karnam Sekar is set to
take over as the new Managing Director and CEO of Indian
Overseas Bank from July 1, 2019. He will take over from R
Subramaniakumar. Earlier Sekar was the MD & CEO of Dena Bank till September 2018.
2. Shri Rajendra Kumar Nayak took Over as CGDA:
Shri Rajendra Kumar Nayak (Indian Defence Accounts Service - 1983
batch) took over as the 52nd Controller General of Defence Accounts. He
was Additional Controller General of Defence Accounts, Defence Accounts
Department (DAD), and Ministry of Defence before taking over as the CGDA.
3. Uday Kumar Varma resigns from ASSOCHAM Secretary
General Post: Uday Kumar Varma resigned from the post of
the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM)
Secretary-General. He had succeeded D S Rawat who held the position
for nearly 14 years. Currently, Assocham Deputy Secretary-General Saurabh
Sanyal is the interim secretary general.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. RBI Becomes The First APAC Central Bank to Begin
Interest Rate Easing Cycle: The Reserve Bank of India has become
the first central bank in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region to
begin an explicit interest rate easing cycle. The Monetary Policy
Committee (MPC), headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, cut rates in
February and April. In the four months of 2019, the RBI has cut policy interest
rates twice by 0.25% each to a one-year low of 6%. This is the first
back-to-back rate cut since the MPC was formed in late 2016.
2. Kotak Bank Launches Debit Card-Based
e-mandate On NPCI’s API Platform: Kotak Mahindra Bank (Kotak) has
launched the first debit card-based authentication solution
on NPCI’s (National Payments Corporation of
India) e-Mandate (electronic mandate) API (Application
Program Interface) platform. With this, it has become the first
ever Destination Bank to go live with both Net Banking and Debit
Card-based e-mandate authentication.
3. IndusInd Bank Receives NCLT Approval for
Merger with Bharat Financial Inclusion: National Company Law Tribunal
(NCLT) approved the merger of private sector lender IndusInd
Bank with Bharat Financial Inclusion (BFIL), a microfinance
company. Earlier, IndusInd Bank had received ‘No Objection’ from
Reserve Bank of India, National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange.
Bharat Financial will become a subsidiary of the private lender.
4. SEBI Reduces Minimum Subscription Requirement for
REITs, InvITs: Markets regulator SEBI (Securities
and Exchange Board of India) has reduced the minimum subscription
requirement as well as defined trading lots for Real Estate
Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs). SEBI
has also increased the leverage limit for InvITs from 49% to 70%.
5. BuyUcoin Introduces First Indian Platform for
Wholesale Cryptocurrency Trading: BuyUcoin, second oldest Cryptocurrency
Exchange in India, has introduced a new and unique platform for wholesale
cryptocurrency trading. It is also known as OTC
(Over-the-counter) Desk that allows users to trade on a large scale with
low price fluctuations.
6.
RBI Sells Entire Stake in NHB, NABARD to
Government for INR 1,470 crore: The Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) has divested its entire stake held in National Housing
Bank (NHB), and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)
to the government, which now holds 100% stakes in these financial
institutions. According to an RBI press release, it is based on the
recommendation of the second Narasimham Committee. The transactions were
completed in February (NABARD) and March (NHB). The RBI sold the entire stake
worth 20 crore rupees in NABARD and 1,450 crore rupees in NHB in the last
quarter of 2018-19.
7. RBI to buy Rs 25,000 crore of bonds in two installments
via OMO in May: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) plans to buy Rs
25,000 crore worth of bonds in two installments from the secondary market in
May. The first such open market operations (OMO) for the fiscal year 2019-20,
amounting to Rs 12,500 crore, will happen on 2nd May 2019. This is despite
the central bank buying bonds worth Rs 3 trillion in the last fiscal year and
infusing another about Rs 70,000 crore through two-dollar swaps. In the OMO,
the central bank would be buying bonds maturing between 2020 and 2032, it said
in its notification.
SPORTS
1. Asian Athletics Championships - India
Finishes Fourth: Asian Athletics Championships 2019 held
at Doha in Qatar. It was the 23rd edition of the
Championships. India ended at the fourth spot in the medals tally with 3
Gold, 7 Silver and 7 Bronze. Bahrain topped the table with 11 Gold, 7
Silver and 4 Bronze. China was second while Japanwas third. Tejinder
Pal Singh Toor (Shot put), Gomathi Marimuthu(800 metres) and P.
U. Chitra (1500 metres) won gold for India. India had won 29
medals - 12 Gold, 5 Silver and 12 Bronze in the last edition
in Bhubaneswar in 2017, topping the medal tally for the first
time.
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