Current Affairs Aug 26, 2015

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01. ISRO's GSLV D-6 puts GSAT-6 satellite in orbit : Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully put in orbit GSAT-6 communication satellite through its rocket GSLV D-6 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikotta .

02. ICICI Bank launches affordable home loans : ICICI Bank has launched the first and unique ‘Mortgage Guarantee’ backed home loans to help borrowers purchase their first homes in the affordable housing segment, named, ‘ICICI Bank Extraa Home Loans’. These loans allow borrowers to increase the loan amount by up to 20% and extend the repayment period up to 67 years of age. ICICI Bank has launched this in association with India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC).

03. HDFC raises Rs 2,000 crores through sale of bonds : HDFC has raised Rs 2,000 crore through sale of bonds in order to boost lending operations and meet its future capital needs. These bonds have a coupon rate of 8.5% and a tenure of 5 years.

04. Panel recommends for 15% of PSB branches to be all-women offices : A parliamentary panel has recommended for making at least 15% per cent Public Sector Banks (PSBs) branches all-women offices paving way for providing safe and convenient work environment to women in the banking sector.

05. India and, Egypt sign 2 MoUs: India and Egypt have signed two Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) in the field of Tourism, Scientific and Technical co-operation. These MOUs will pave way for increased bilateral cooperation in the field of Tourism, Hospitality and Human Resource Development (HRD) between both nations.
06. Govt. releases 98 smart cities list : Govt. has released the list of smart cities, which will have 13 cities from Uttar Pradesh, 12 from Tamil Nadu, 10 from Maharashtra, 7 from Madhya Pradesh ,3 each from Bihar & Andhra Pradesh.

07. Union Cabinet okays amendment of Arbitration : Union Cabinet has given its nod for amendments to the Arbitration and Conciliation Bill, 2015. These amendments seek to make of commercial disputes more user-friendly and cost effective . This will eventually result in disposal of the cases in a time bound manner and expeditiously henceforth.

08. Indian crude oil basket falls below $43 per barrel : As global crude oil prices nosedived, to new lows, the Indian basket also fell to $42.97 per barrel from $45.21 which is the close to the lowest since December2008.

09. India-Seychelles sign pact to curb black money: India and Seychelles signed a taxation agreement for allowing exchange of information to curb tax evasion and avoidance. This will look at strengthening maritime security ties and cooperation on blue economy with the island nation.