November 30 th current affairs

Daily GK update 30th November 2014 

1.    Institution to replace Planning Commission likely to be unveiled in Dec

i. Work has moved into top gear for finalising the name and structure of the new institution that will replace the 64-year-old Planning Commission and the same may be unveiled this December.
ii. “The Prime Minister has convened a meeting of the Chief Ministers on December 7 to seek their view points on the structure of the institution which would ultimately replace the Planning Commission,” an official source said.

iii. The Commission has received many suggestions regarding the name and role of the new body. Some of the suggested names are Sustainable Development Commission, National Development Agency, SocialEconomic Development Commission or Bharat Pragati Lakshya. Besides, there have been reports about the new body being named Niti Aayog or Policy Commission.

iv. The new institution, which is likely to be headed by the Prime Minister as was the case with the Planning Commission, may have four divisions — an Inter-State council, plan evaluation office, UIDAI and DBT. All the divisions would have experts from the Centre and State governments as also experts from the industry.

2.    Modi slips to second spot in TIME's 'Person of the Year' poll

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has slipped to the second place in the Time magazine's 'Person of the Year' poll with the Ferguson protesters surging ahead of him in a vote by the readers.

ii. As per latest reports, Modi is leading second with 9.8 per cent of the total votes polled so far while the Ferguson protesters are leading with 10.8 per cent of the votes. Joshua Wong, face of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement, is placed third.
iii. Nobel Peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai (5.3 per cent) and Russian President Vladimir Putin are placed fourth and fifth respectively. 
iv. US President Barack Obama is placed at a distant 11th position with just 2.4 per cent of the total votes. The annual poll, which is currently underway, is scheduled to end on December 6 and the poll's winner will be announced on December 8. 
v. However, it is the TIME's editors who will choose the Person of the Year, which is scheduled to be announced on December 10. 

3.    Theatre personality Veenapani Chawla passes away

i. Veenapani Chawla, acclaimed theatre personality and founder of the Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Arts and Research near Auroville, passed away on Sunday, following a sudden heart attack. She was 67.

ii. Her funeral is expected to be conducted on Monday at Karuvadikuppam in Puducherry.

iii. Winner of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Puruskar for her contribution to Indian theatre as a director, Chawla was considered a pioneer of experimental theatre in India.

iv. She established Adishakti in 1981 and was also its Managing Trustee and Artistic Director. Having directed most of Adishakti’s performances and scripted half of them, her work has toured India and abroad.

4.    Leviatha wons best film at IFF, Goa

i. Russian film “Leviathan” by Andrey Zvyagintsev won the best film award comprising Golden Peacock and Rs.40 lakh at the 45th International film Festival of India, which ended in Goa on Sunday.

ii. Mr. Alexey Serebryakov from the “Leviathan” also shared the best male actor award in the Cimena of the World competition.

5.    Book titled Letters for a Nation written by Jawaharlal Nehru & Madhav Khosla

i. Book titled Letters for a Nation written by Jawaharlal Nehru & Madhav Khosla was published by Allen Lane an imprint of Penguin Books on 15 October 2014.

ii. The book contains Jawaharlal Nehru letters as Prime Minister of India to the heads of the country’s provincial governments which he kept a tradition till 1963.

6.    Mumbai, Kolkata most vulnerable to loss of life, properties due to coastal flood: un

i. India's populous coastal cities Mumbai and Kolkata are most vulnerable to loss of life and properties due to coastal flooding in the second half of the century.

ii. Quoting a UN report, the government has said India is among the top 20 countries and regions most at risk based on analysis of climate risk and coping ability. 

iii. The statement assumes significance at a time when representatives of governments are scheduled to meet in Lima from tomorrow for the Climate Change Conference to lay the foundation for an effective, new and universal climate change agreement in Paris in 2015.

iv. With climate change impacts worsening and affecting the poor and most vulnerable, governments urgently need to scale up adaptation to climate change, says the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

7.    IOC to set up greenfield refinery on West coast

i. Country's biggest oil company Indian Oil Corporation is looking at setting up a greenfield refinery on the West coast as part of its expansion plans.
ii. Talking to reporters in Mumbai, Indian Oil Corporation Chairman B Ashok said, with the growth in the economy, there is a need for green field refinery by 2021-22.
iii. After setting up of Paradip Refinery in East coast, focus is now on setting up of a refinery in West coast region, for which suitable state and place is being looked into.

8.    Dubai to invest $32-billion to build world’s largest airport

i. To further secure its position as the world’s aviation hub, Dubai Airports is building a whopping USD 32—billion greenfield airport at the upcoming Dubai World Central, 30 km off the present international airport which already is the second busiest in the world.

ii. The proposed new airport will become the world’s largest aviation facility on completion and will have five runways which all will be simultaneously operational, all A380-compatible with a length of 4.5 km each.

iii. On completion, the new airport will be the world’s largest airport, with each concourse the size of seven football fields and have five runways which all will be simultaneously operational, all A380-compatible,” Mr. Baumann said.

iv. The other features include 200 aircraft stands for wide bodied aircraft, four concourses connected via six airport trains to two terminals, which in turn will be linked to the city’s metro network.

Note: The Dubai International Airport is the world’s second busiest airport after the London Heathrow and is on course to become the global aviation hub, thanks to its geographical location and the availability of cheap fuel.

9.    Gas price in India to dip to $5 in 3 years: Goldman Sachs

i. The new natural gas price of USD 5.61, which is already among the lowest in Asia Pacific, is likely to drop to around USD 5 per unit in three years due to the variables included in the formula, Goldman Sachs has said.

ii. “While the Indian government introduced a new gas price regime in October, we believe clear direction is needed on gas pricing for higher—cost projects, such as deepwater, to induce more E&P capex,” the global financial major said in a report.

iii. Stating that Indian prices for new projects are among the lowest in Asia Pacific, Goldman said China pays explorers USD 11.9 per mmBtu (million British Thermal Unit) rate for new projects while Indonesia and the Philippines price the fuel at USD 11 and USD 10.5 respectively.

iv. Gas from offshore fields in Myanmar, where Indian firms ONGC and GAIL have stake, are sold to China for USD 7.72.

v. Thailand prices gas from new projects at USD 8.2 per mmBtu.

vi. The only nations with lower rates are Vietnam (USD 5.2) and Malaysia (USD 5), it said.

10.  Sindhu bags Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton Title 

i. PV Sindhu today bagged the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton title for the second consecutive time.

ii. In the final, second seed Sindhu defeated Korean Kim Hyo Min, 21-12, 21-17. This was Sindhu's first title this season.

iii. In the semi-finals yesterday, second seed Sindhu had defeated Busanan Ongbumrungpan of Thailand 21-14, 21-15.
iv. In the Men's Singles, HS Prannoy had lost the semi-final. He went down fighting against Hong Kong's Wong Wing Ki Vincent, 16-21, 21-16, 12-21.

11.  Israeli cricket umpire dies after being struck by ball

i. In Israel, Hillel Oscar, 55, an umpire and former captain of Israel's national cricket team died yesterday after being hit in the jaw by a ball in the southern port city of Ashdod, the country's cricket association said. 
ii. His death comes just two days after Australian batsman Phillip Hughes died of a severe head injury after being hit by a bouncer in a New South Wales match in Sydney.
iii. Israeli police ruled out foul play in the incident that led to the death of the umpire. He was an international umpire.

12.  Abhishek wins 76th Junior National & Youth TT boys’ singles title

i. Petroleum Sports Promotion Board, PSPB's Abhishek Yadav has won the boys' singles title in the 76th Junior National and Youth Table Tennis Championships.

ii. In the final of the event at Alappuzha, Kerala, today, he beat his team mate Sudhanshu Grover by Four games to One. 
iii. In the youth girls singles, Manika Batra of the PSPB retained the crown. Manav Thakkar of the PSPB Academy emerged champion in the Junior Boys' section. Thus, it was a rare hat-trick of titles for the PSPB.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2014/11/daily-gk-update-30th-november-2014.html#ixzz3KZ3OdmcL

 

Financial and bank abbrevations

Financial Abbreviations

The following list of financial abbreviations will include abbreviations for business, banks, finance, and some of the abbreviations from the stock market.

Financial Abbreviations

There are some abbreviations and acronyms that refer to financial matters in general. Others are used more by businesses and accountants. Following are lists of both of these.
First are general financial abbreviations and acronyms:

• AIR - Assumed Interest Rate
• APR - Annual Percentage Rate
• ARM - Adjustable Rate Mortgage
• CD - Certificate of Deposit
• EFT - Electronic Funds Transfer
• ETF - Exchange Traded Funds
• FDIC - Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
• FOREX - Foreign Exchange
• FRB - Federal Reserve Board
• GNP - Gross National Product
• IRA - Individual Retirement Account
• LOI - Letter Of Intent
• MMKT - Money Market
• NAV - Net Asset Value
• NYSE - New York Stock Exchange
• PSP - Profit Sharing Plan
• REIT - Real Estate Investment Trust
• SEC - Securities Exchange Commission
• TSA - Tax-Sheltered Annuity
• YTM - Yield To Maturity 

Banking Acronyms and Financial Abbreviations

• CAGR - Compound annual growth rate
• CAPEX - Capital Expenditures
• COB - Close of Business
• EPS - Earnings per share
• LLC - Limited Liability Company
• MTD - Month-to-Date
• NAV - Net Asset Value
• NCND - Non-Circumvent and Non-Disclosure
• NDA - Non-Disclosure Agreement
• P&L - Profit and Loss
• P/E - Price-to-earnings ratio
• QTD - Quarter-to-Date
• ROA - Return on assets
• ROCE - Return On Capital Employed
• ROE - Return on Equity
• ROI - Return on Investment
• ROIC - Return on Invested Capital
• RONA - Return on net assets
• ROS - Return on Sales
• SIV - Structured Investment Vehicle
• TSR - Total Shareholder Return
• WC - Working capital
• YTD - Year-to-date

Lastly, here are some abbreviations for people whose jobs are in business and finance:

• CAO - Chief Accounting Officer
• CFA - Chartered Financial Analyst
• CFM - Certified Financial Manager
• CFO - Chief Financial Officer
• CIA - Certified Internal Auditor
• CISA - Certified Information Systems Auditor
• CMA - Certified Management Accountant
• CMO - Chief Marketing Officer
• COO - Chief Operating Officer
• CPA - Certified Public Accountant
• CPP - Certified Payroll Professional
• CSO - Chief Security Officer
• CTO - Chief Technology Officer

Stock Market Abbreviations

• ADTV - Average Daily Trading Volume. It is the average of the amount of stock traded during a certain amount of time during a day.
• AMEX - American Stock Exchange. It is the third largest in the United States. It has more than 700 companies in it and is headquartered in New York City.
• CB - Current Bid. It is the amount of the bids at the current time.
• CMP - Current Market Price. It is the price at which the stock is currently being traded. This figure is between the asking price of the stock and the bidding price.
• DJIA - Dow Jones Industrial Average. The average is taken from 30 of the top traded securities. It was first calculated by the founder and editor of the Wall Street Journal Charles Dow. 
• IPO - Initial Public Offering. This occurs the first time a stock is offered to the public.
• IRA - Individual Retirement Account. It provides tax breaks for people who are saving for retirement and invests in the stock market. 
• NASDAQ - National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation. Over 3,000 companies are traded on it and it is the second largest in the United States. 
• PFD - Preferred stock. This is stock which has a higher priority than common stock.
• QTE - Quote. It refers to a stock’s last price it was traded for on its exchange.

Daily GK update 28th November 2014

Daily GK update 28th November 2014

1.    RBI issues final norms for payment, small banks; Floor capital set at Rs 100 crore

i. The Reserve Bank of India has issued final norms for payment banks and small finance banks that would allow mobile firms and supermarket chains, among others, to enter the banking arena to cater to individuals and small businesses. The move aims at deepening financial inclusion and boost saving habits. 

ii. The RBI aims to push financial inclusion by setting up these niche outfits — small finance banks that can have all-India operations and payments banks, which can accept more deposits.

iii. The guidelines open up an window of opportunity for entities which did not bag new bank licences in April.

iv. Shriram Capital, Janalakshmi Financial Services, Magma Fincorp and Muthoot Finance, among others, are expected to throw their hats into the ring to set up small banks.

v. The Department of Posts, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Tata Teleservices, Western Union and online digital payment players such as Paytm, Oxigen and MobiKwik have expressed interest in floating payment banks.

vi. Companies will have to apply by January 16, 2015, for licences in both categories, and the central bank said it would consider more applications at a later stage. 

Note: The minimum paid-up equity capital for both small and payment banks has been pegged at Rs 100 crore.

Who are eligible?

i. Eligible promoters for a small bank include resident individuals/professionals with experience in banking and finance; and companies and societies.

ii. Existing non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), microfinance institutions and local area banks can also opt to convert into a small bank.

iii. The RBI said proposals from large public sector entities and industrial and business houses, including NBFCs promoted by them, will not be entertained to set up small banks.

iv. A promoter/promoter group can have a joint venture with an existing scheduled commercial bank to set up a payment bank, subject to the stake holding complying with the Banking Regulation Act.

Key activities
i. The small bank will primarily undertake basic banking activities of acceptance of deposits and lending to un-served and under-served sections, including small business units, small and marginal farmers, micro and small industries and unorganised sector entities.

ii. Small banks will be required to maintain a minimum capital adequacy ratio of 15 per cent of the loans on a continuous basis.

iii. In the draft guidelines, the RBI had suggested that small banks would have a restricted area of operations (possibly contiguous districts in a homogenous States). However, in the final guidelines, these restrictions have been removed. The small bank will be required to extend 75 per cent of its credit to the priority sector

Payment Banks:

i. Payments banks can accept deposits — current and savings bank — from individuals, small businesses and other entities but cannot provide loans.. However, they cannot accept non-resident Indian deposits.

ii. The payment bank will initially be restricted to holding a maximum balance of Rs1 lakh per individual customer.

iii. While the bank can issue ATM/debit cards, it cannot issue credit cards.

iv. It can contract outside liabilities (deposits) but not exceeding 33.33 times (against 20 times in the draft guidelines) its net worth.

2.    Economic growth declines to 5.3% in July-Sept quarter

i. Country's economic growth has declined to 5.3 per cent during July to September, from the previous quarter's 5.7 per cent.

ii. According to an official release, the manufacturing sector, which accounts for about 15 per cent of India's gross domestic product rose by 0.1 per cent during the quarter from the previous period's 3.5 per cent. Agriculture sector growth declined to 3.2 percent against 3.8 percent.

3.    India, Mozambique ink MoU for cooperation in oil, gas sector

i. India today signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with Mozambique for cooperation in the field of oil and gas. The MoU was signed in the presence of Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi. 
ii. It seeks cooperation in the areas of upstream and downstream oil and gas sector. Participation of Indian energy companies in the project will facilitate access to Liquefied Natural Gas, LNG for the growing Indian gas market. 
iii. Mozambique has emerged as a significant hydrocarbon rich nation following offshore gas discoveries in two adjacent offshore blocks. The country is strategically located near India and is ideally suited for bringing natural gas at market determined price.

4.    Anoop Mishra appointed as new Secretary General of Lok Sabha

i. Former Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Anoop Mishra was on 26 November 2014 appointed as new Secretary General of the Lok Sabha. He was appointed by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. 
ii. He will hold the rank and status of Cabinet Secretary with effect from 1 December 2014 up to 30 November 2016 or until further orders.

iii. As an accomplished civil servant of 1978 cadre, Mishra has held several important positions at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh.
iv. He was the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh for a year with the overall responsibility of the state administration, superintendence of law and order and developmental and infrastructure schemes in Uttar Pradesh.

5.    Historian Tapan Raychaudhuri died

i. Tapan Raychaudhuri, a distinguished historian of modern India’s economic and social history, died on 26 November 2014 at his home in Oxford, England. He was 88. 
ii. Raychaudhuri died of a series of strokes. He was bedridden for a year before his death. He is survived by his wife Pratima Raychaudhuri and daughter Sukanya Wignaraja.

iii. He was an Indian historian specialising in British Indian history, Indian economic history and the History of Bengal

6.    Namsai became the 18th district of Arunachal Pradesh

i. Namsai on 25 November 2014 officially became the 18th district of Arunachal Pradesh. The Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Nabam Tuki made the declaration.

ii. The Chief Minister exhorted the officials to prepare a master plan for the new district and the state government would extend all possible help.

iii. The State Legislative Assembly passed the District re-organisation Bill on 20 March 2013 for creation of Namsai district and notification was issued on 15 July 2013. The formal announcement was made during the 68th Independence Day celebration on 15th August 2014.

7.    EU parliament votes to break up Google

i. European Union lawmakers overwhelmingly backed a motion on Thursday urging anti-trust regulators to break up Google, the latest setback for the world's most popular internet search engine.

ii. Google has been in the EU's regulatory sights since 2010, and is also grappling with privacy issues, requests to scrub search results to comply with a court ruling, copyright concerns and tax controversies.

iii. The non-binding resolution in the European Parliament is the strongest public signal yet of Europe's concern with the growing power of US tech giants. It was passed with 384 votes for and 174 against.

iv. Google declined to comment. European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has said she will review the case and talk to complainants before deciding on the next step.

v. Her predecessor rejected three attempts by the company to settle complaints that it unfairly demoted rival services and stave off a possible fine of up to $5 billion.

vi. The resolution did not mention Google or any specific search engine, though Google is by far the dominant provider of such services in Europe with an estimated 90 per cent market share.

vii. The lawmakers called on the Commission to consider proposals to unbundle search engines from other commercial services.

8.    Book titled Your Dreams Are Mine Now: She Showed him What Love was released

i. The book titled Your Dreams Are Mine Now: She Showed him What Love was authored by Ravinder Singh was released on 20 November 2014. 
ii. The novel Your Dreams are Mine Now is a powerful and poignant love story that explores the romantic relationship between Rupali and Arun. They are complete opposites and have nothing in common when it comes to their interests and priorities in life. 

iii. Rupali is a small town girl and an idealist, whereas Arun is a Delhi guy with keen interest in youth politics. A major scandal on the college campus brings them together and somewhere along the line they fall in love with each other. But their fight against evil comes at a heavy price which becomes the ultimate test of their lives.

9.    Book titled Black Tornado: The Three Sieges of Mumbai 26/11 released

i. The book titled Black Tornado: The Three Sieges of Mumbai 26/11 authored by Sandeep Unnithan was released on 23 November 2014.
ii. Sandeep Unnithan in his book puts together a blow-by-blow account of the 26 November 2011 terrorist attack in Mumbai and how the siege of Mumbai was thwarted by India's security forces.
iii. The 26/11 attack is widely regarded as the world's first hybrid terrorist attack. The attackers achieved through this long-drawn siege what Al Qaeda did through the high-visibility mass-casualty attack on the World Trade Centre of USA on 11 September 2001. 

10.  Crime novelist PD James died at the age of 94

i. Crime novelist Phyllis Dorothy James on 27 November 2014 died at the age of 94 in Oxford, UK.

ii. She was best known for her series of detective novels starring the policeman and poet Adam Dalgliesh.

iii. Her novels include The Children of Men, The Murder Room and Pride, and Prejudice spin-off Death Comes to Pemberley.

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2014/11/daily-gk-update-28th-november-2014.html#ixzz3KKoKHgPA

Daily GK update 27th November 2014 1. 18th SAARC Summit concluded, Next Summit will be held in Islamabad in 2016 i. With the issuing of Kathamandu Declaration, the 18th SAARC Summit concludes at Kathamandu, this evening. Chairperson of the Summit and Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala declared the Summit closed. ii. The SAARC Framework Agreement on Energy (Electricity) Cooperation was signed among the SAARC member countries. Chairperson Sushil Koirala also announced that the 19th SAARC Summit will be held at Islamabad in 2016 iii. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other SAARC members held informal talks at the Retreat Session of 18th South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation Summit (SAARC) at picturesque Dhulikhel under foolproof security arrangements. Mr. Modi planted sapling of banyan tree at the venue. 2. SAARC nations sign seamless electricity grid deal i. In a face saver, SAARC countries today signed a framework agreement on cooperation in power sector but failed to finalise the much-awaited motor vehicle and railway pacts for greater people-to-people contact and movement of goods due to opposition from Pakistan. ii. There were hectic efforts to pursue the Pakistani side, which stalled the inking of the pacts on the pretext that internal processes were not completed following which three months' time was set for getting approval. iii. The framework energy pact will enable cooperation in the power sector among the eight member countries and facilitate integrated operation of the regional power grid. iv. "A time period of three months have been set for approval to the Motor Vehicle and Railway pacts," Nepal's Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, who is also the SAARC chair, said in his address at the concluding session of the 18th summit of the regional grouping. 3. Australian cricketer Phil Hughes dies of injuries i. Once compared to the great Donald Bradman, Australia Test cricketer Phillip Hughes passed away today in Sydney following a fatal injury he had incurred in a Sheffield Shield match on Tuesday. Hughes would have turned 26 on Sunday. ii. During this game for South Australia against New South Wales, Hughes was batting on 63 when he was struck on neck by a bouncer from pace bowler Sean Abbott. iii. Hughes stood dazed for a few moments before falling face first to the pitch. He did not gain consciousness again. iv. "It is my sad duty to inform you that a short time ago Phillip Hughes passed away," Australian team doctor Peter Brukner said in a statement. v. "He never regained consciousness following his injury on Tuesday," added Brukner. "He was not in pain before he passed and was surrounded by his family and close friends. vi. As a cricket community we mourn his loss and extend our deepest sympathies to Phillip's family and friends at this incredibly sad time." vii. "Phillip took the blow at the side of the neck and as a result of that blow his vertebral artery, one of the main arteries leading to the brain, was compressed by the ball," Brukner said on Thursday. "That caused the artery to split and for bleeding to go up into the brain. He had a massive bleed into his brain. This is frequently fatal at the time. Hughes was wearing old, lighter helmet: manufacturer i. With questions being raised over the degree of safety provided by protective gears in cricket in the wake of the Phil Hughes incident, the manufacturer of the injured cricketer’s helmet, Masuri, has said that the Australian batsman was wearing an older and lighter headgear. ii. A spokesman for the UK-based company said that Hughes was wearing an old helmet instead of their their latest model, in the Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and South Australia at the SCG on Tuesday. iii. “From the footage and pictures currently available to Masuri, it appears that Phil Hughes was struck by the ball to the rear of the grille and below the back of the shell, missing his Masuri Original Test model helmet,” the spokesman was quoted as saying by Australian press. iv. Hughes continued to fight for life as he remained in a critical condition after being struck on the head in a freak accident on Tuesday. 4. Justice CK Prasad assumes charge as new PCI chief i. Retired Supreme Court judge, Justice CK Prasad, Thursday assumed charge as the chairman of the Press Council of India (PCI), an official statement said. ii. "Justice C.K. Prasad who retired as the judge of the Supreme Court of India July 14, 2014 assumed charge today (Thursday) as chairman, Press Council of India," said the PCI statement. iii. Justice Prasad succeeds Justice Markandey Katju who was appointed as PCI chairman Oct 5, 2011. 5. Sanskrit to be 3rd language in Classes 6-8 in KV: Centre to SC i. Centre on Thursday submitted before the Supreme Court that Sanskrit will be the third language in classes 6 to 8 in Kendriya Vidyalayas. ii. Appearing before the bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi sought its permission to file an affidavit on the controversy arising out of Centre's decision to drop German as an alternative to Sanskrit as third language in Kendriya Vidyalayas 6. President penned a book titled The Dramatic Decade on 1970s era i. President of India Pranab Mukherjee penned a book titled The Dramatic Decade: The Indira Gandhi Years. ii. The book has been published by Rupa and will be released on 11 December 2014. iii. The Dramatic Decade is the first of a three-part volume; the second one will be on the years from 1981–88 and the third volume will be from 1988 to 2012. iv. The book presents an exceptional portrait of a complex nation and draws from Pranab Mukherjee’s personal diary extracts, conversations with key players of the 1970s, and vital secondary literature. 7. Biography My Name is Abu Salem released i. Biography titled My Name is Abu Salem was released on 16 November 2014. ii. Biography on underworld gangster Abu Salem has been written by S Hussain Zaidi and published by Penguin. iii. The author of the book, Zaidi who knows the Mumbai underworld better than anyone else has tried to tell, the life of Salem. iv. In My Name is Abu Salem, the author has tried to present complete unknown details and first accounts of the gangster. 8. PNB announces free ATM usage for customers i. Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Wednesday said it will continue giving free transactions to all saving bank account cardholders using PNB ATMs, irrespective of the number of transactions. ii. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had advised that atleast five free transactions (inclusive of financial and non-financial transaction) per month should be permitted to the savings bank account holders for use of own bank ATMs. iii. PNB has gone beyond this norm to provide value added services to its own customers, according to a release. . 9. RBI eases rules for low-cost home loans i. To provide liquidity to retail investors investing in long-term bonds issued by banks for financing infrastructure and affordable housing, the Reserve Bank of India said banks can extend loans to individuals against these bonds. ii. The central bank said boards of the banks should lay down a policy in this regard prescribing suitable margins, purpose of the loan and other safeguards. iii. Further, such loans should be subject to a ceiling, say, Rs. 10 lakh per borrower, and tenure of loan should be within the maturity period of the bonds. iv. The RBI also stated that banks are not permitted to lend against such bonds issued by other banks.​ 10. Bharat Asmita award for IIMB’s Trilochan Sastry i. Trilochan Sastry, Professor in Quantitative Methods and Information Systems, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), has been awarded the ‘Bharat Asmita’, an honor instituted by the Pune-based MIT group of institutions. ii. Professor Trilochan Sastry teaches a wide variety of courses in the post graduate programme, doctoral programme and executive education programmes, including operations management, quantitative methods, data structures, algorithms and discrete mathematics, at IIMB. iii. Professor Sastry has, to his credit, a number of management cases on operations management, ethics, change management and electoral reforms. iv. Announcing the awards for 2014, ‘Bharat Asmita’ Executive Director Rahul Karad said: “This is the eleventh year of the awards, which aim at recognizing the contribution of prominent figures from the field of teaching, people’s representation, public awareness and science and technology.” 11. Pakistani actress Veena Malik sentenced to 26 years in jail for blasphemy i. Pakistani actress Veena Malik was sentenced to 26 years in jail on 26 November 2014 by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) of the Gilgit region of Pakistan. ii. She was sentenced for blasphemy for appearing in mock Geo TV wedding scene in which religious song about the wedding of the Prophet Muhammad's daughter was played in background. iii. Apart from Veena Malik, the court’s Judge Shahbaz Khan also sentenced Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, owner of Geo TV and Jang group, Malik’s husband Asad Bashir Khan and TV host Shaista Wahidi for 26 years each. iv. The ATC also imposed a 1.3 million Pakistani rupees fine on the convicts and ordered that their properties should be sold to raise the fine, if they failed to pay it. 12. Chennai Super Kings should be terminated: SC i. The Supreme Court today observed that IPL team Chennai Super Kings, CSK, owned by BCCI President in exile N Srinivasan should be terminated without further enquiry as one of its officials Gurunath Meiyappan has been indicted for betting by an inquiry committee. ii. Meiyappan is the son-in-law of Srinivasan who is himself facing questions on conflict of interest. The court asked Srinivasan to give details about who controls Chennai Super Kings owned by India Cements. Srinivasan is the Managing Director of India Cements. iii. In further setback for Srinivasan, the Supreme Court proposed fresh elections in the BCCI. The apex court, which was hearing the Justice Mudgal Committee report into IPL betting and spot-fixing scandal, said election can be held but persons, including Srinivasan, named in the report will not contest and new board will take decision on the scam. Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2014/11/daily-gk-update-27th-november-2014.html#ixzz3KJbwIcff

Daily GK update 23 - 24th November 2014

Daily GK update 23 - 24th November 2014

1.    World Chess Championship: Carlsen retains title against Anand

i. Magnus Carlsen asserted his supremacy over Viswanathan Anand for the second year in running as the Norwegian retained his World Championship title after defeating the Indian Challenger in the 11th game, in Sochi, Russia on Sunday.

ii. The Norwegian world champion closed the 12-game match with a 6.5-4.5 scoreline, courtesy his win in the penultimate game.

iii. In the 11th game too, Anand made fewer mistakes than Calrsen and some even opined that the Indian had better chance. As it happened in the game, Anand came up with an exchange sacrifice when according to Grandmaster Peter Svidler, 'he felt he ought to be doing something'. 
iv. As things became clear, the exchange sacrifice was probably not the best of solutions for Anand in a seemingly equal situation and this was what eventually plotted the downfall for the Indian, Anand however regretted his decision to sacrifice a rook for a minor piece. 
v. "It was a bad gamble, and I got punished," he said. 

2.    Deepak Gupta appointed as Chairman of UPSC

i. Deepak Gupta was appointed as chairman of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). He was appointed as Chairperson of UPSC by the President Pranab Mukherjee in accordance with the Article 316 (1) of the Constitution.

ii. He replaced Rajni Razdan, who completed her term on 22 November 2014.

iii. He is the first non-UPSC member to be appointed as UPSC chairman.

3.    18th SAARC Summit begins from 26^th Nov

i. The eighteenth SAARC summit will be held in Kathmandu, the capital of Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal on 26–27 November 2014.

ii. This time the summit is taking place after an interval of three years as the last summit was held in 2011 in Maldives.

Note: i. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation has eight members: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

ii. Nepal has formed a high-level preparatory committee and several other panels to make the event a success, officials said.

iii. This is the third time Nepal will host the SAARC Summit after 1997 and 2002.

4.    Senior Congress leader Murli Deora passes away

i. Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Murli Deora passed away here this morning after prolonged illness.

ii. He was 77 and is survived by his wife and two sons, including former MP Milind Deora.

iii. Murli bhai, as he was known as, died at around 3.25 a.m. He had been unwell and admitted to hospital. He was brought home two days ago, family sources said.

5.    Adani Power to buy Avantha’s Korba plant

i. Crompton Greaves has said Avantha Power & Infrastructure Ltd (APIL), in which it holds an equity investment of about 23.14 per cent, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Adani Power for 100 per cent sale of APIL's Korba West Power Company Ltd (KWPCL).

ii. KWPCL, a special purpose vehicle of APIL, is commissioning a coal-based thermal power plant of 600 MW.

iii. In a communication to the stock exchange, Crompton said KWPCL is valued at over Rs. 4,200 crore.

6.    Senior Marathi actor-director Raghuvir Nevrekar died

i. Senior Marathi actor-director Raghuvir Nevrekar died in Mumbai on 23 November 2014 following a brief illness. He was 85.

7.    Switzerland defeated France to win 1st-ever Davis Cup of Tennis

i. Switzerland have won their first ever Davis Cup Tennis title. In the best of five Tie, at Lille, yesterday, they beat Hosts France by securing an unbeatable three - one lead.

ii. Roger Federer won the first revers singles by defeating Richard Gasquet in straight sets. The second reverse singles was canceled.

Note: Switzerland is the fourteenth nation to win the Davis Cup. The victory is one of the greatest sporting achievements for Switzerland.

8.    Sarjubala, Saweety settle for silver at World Championships

i. Indian pugilists S Sarjubala (48kg) and Saweety (81kg) faltered at the final hurdle to settle for silver medals, rounding off a decent campaign for the country in the 8th World Women’s Boxing Championships, in Jeju on Monday.

ii. Sarjubala lost to world No 3 Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan, who also happened to be a bronze-medallist from the previous World Championships.

iii. Saweety, on the other hand, lost to Yang Xiaoli of China, to also settle for a silver medal. India thus managed to improve its performance from a bronze in the previous edition to a couple of silvers this time.

9.    Australia beat S Africa, get top ODI ranking

i. Australia beat South Africa by two wickets in Sydney to win the one day international series 4-1 and return to the top of the world ODI rankings. In the International Cricket Council's new rankings table, Australia are only 0.2 ranking points ahead of India, with South Africa third.

10.  Lewis Hamilton wins Abu Dhabi Grand Prix & Formula One title

i. Lewis Hamilton has won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as well as the Formula 1 racing championship title of the year. Felipe Massa came second in the race. It is Hamilton’s eleventh win of the season, and he takes the crown by 67 points from Nico Rosberg. 
ii. At Yas Marina circuit today, Hamilton jumped into the lead in the very beginning of the race and never looked behind. He was followed by his Mercedes team mate Nico Roseberg in the initial laps but Roseberg’s engine broke down in the middle of the race. The World number one, Lewis Hamilton has now become the first British double world champion since Jackie Stewart in 1971.