News Highlights : 1 July 2016

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Gurpreet singh sandhu

1.Union Railway Ministry launches Nivaran portal, an online grievance redressal system

2.International Solar Alliance Cell and World Bank sign Declaration for promoting Solar Energy

3.Maharashtra, Tata Power to ink pact for 1,000 MW for Mumbai

4.Indian team wins 'team spirit award' at NASA's Prestigious global competition

5.Ravi Shastri resigns from ICC Cricket

6.India-born Rajesh Agrawal appointed London's Deputy Mayor

7.First squadron of LCA Tejas inducted into Indian Air Force

8.Indian Navy launches water jet craft in Kolkata

9.Indo-Israel medium range surface-to-air missile, Barak 8 test-fired successfully

10.China launches second Shijian-16 series satellite

11.Nirmala qualifies for Rio Olympics in 400m

12.Saina Nehwal moves up to fifth, Jwala Gupta-Ashwini Ponappa slip four places

13.Renowned Marathi literary scholar R C Dhere no more

14.Writer and futurist Alvin Toffler dies

15.National Doctors Day - July 1

16. India abstains from voting on LGBT rights at UN

17. Indigenously built Tejas inducted into IAF

18. Iceland named world's safest vacation spot

19. BRICS Youth Summit begins in Guwahati

20. Argentina women’s team wins 2016 Champions Trophy title of Hockey

21. Sundar Pichai gets Great Immigrants award in USA

22. SBI to offer banking services on Facebook, Twitter

23. India’s first integrated Defence Communication Network launched

24. World Bank commits $1bn for India solar projects

25. Kerala government to ban e-cigarettes

26. Eminent Marathi literary scholar RC Dhere passes away

27. Suresh Prabhu launches NIVARAN portal

i. ShriSuresh Prabhakar Prabhu, Minister ofRailways has launched "NIVARAN portal", anonline system for redressal of service relatedgrievance of serving and former railwayemployees.

ii. Nivaran portal is an online system thatseeks to facilitate the employees to lodgetheir grievances and also monitor theprogress.

iii. It has been developed by CRIS (Centre forRailway information systems), an IT arm ofIndian Railways on basis of processdesigned by Establishment directorateof Railway Board.

2/. Indigenously built Tejas inducted into IAF

i. The Indian Air Force (IAF) inducted thefirst squadron of the indigenously madeLight Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas into itsfleet.

ii. Aninduction ceremony to induct two Tejasaircrafts was held at the Aircraft SystemsTesting Establishment (ASTE) in Bengaluru,which included a multi religious prayer.

iii. The crew members of the first squadronof Tejas, a multi-role supersonic single-engine aircraft designed and developed bythe Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA)in collaboration with Hindustan AeronauticsLimited (HAL).

29. SBI Digital Village

i. Balal village in Kasargode district in the state ofKerala is one of the 21 villages selectedacross the country by the State Bank ofIndia under the SBI Digital Village initiative,which will be launched by the SBIChairperson on State Bank Day (1st July).

ii. The objective of the initiative is topopularise digital banking in rural areas. Thebank has already installed an ATM, providedfree Wi-Fi connection and conductedtechnology training sessions at Balal village.

30. D K Hota assumes charge as BEML chairman

i. D K Hotahas been appointed as Chairman & ManagingDirector (CMD) of Bharat Earth Movers Ltd.(BEML) with effect from July 1.

ii. Prior to assuming his office, he was theDirector (HR) on the board of the company.

iii. Further, BEML has informed the exchanges that P Dwarakanath, ceased to bethe company CMD consequent upon hisattaining the superannuation on June 30,2016.

31. World famous futurist, writer Alwin Toffler dies at 87

i. Alvin Toffler, the Famous author of FutureShock, passed away on in Los Angeles,United States. He was 87.

ii. Toffler’s book Future Shock outlinespeople's anxiety at the pace of social changein the 1960s.

iii. Alvin Toffler was known for his worksdiscussing modern technologies. His worksincluded the digital revolution and the communication revolution with emphasis ontheir effects on cultures worldwide.

32. India’s first integrated defence communication network launched

i. India'sfirst integrated defence communicationnetwork was launched, enabling the army,air force, navy and the Special ForcesCommand to share situational awareness fora faster decision-making process.

ii. The Defence Communication Network(DCN), a strategic, highly secure andscalable system, has a pan-India reach fromLadakh to the North East to islandterritories.

iii. Built by HCL under a nearly Rs 600 croreproject, DCN offers high quality voice, videoand data services covering 111 entities spread across the country.

33. India Post payments bank proposal getsCabinet nod

i. The UnionCabinet has granted its approval to set upIndia Post’s payments bank, 650 branches ofwhich will be made operational bySeptember 2017.

ii. The payments bank will be managed witha professional setup, headed a chiefexecutive officer, and will haverepresentations from variousother government departments including theDepartment of Posts, Department ofExpenditure and Department of EconomicServices among others.

iii. Total architecture of postal paymentsbank is of Rs 800 crore which will have Rs400 crore equity and Rs 400 crore grant. BySeptember 2017, all 650 branches of postalpayments bank will become operational.

34. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu makes history again,becomes first Indian to feature in Europa League

i. Indiangoalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu wasnamed in Norwegian club Stabaek FC'ssquad for their Europa League qualifyingmatch against Welsh Premier League sideConnah's Quay Nomads FC, making him thefirst from the country to play in thecontinental competition.

ii. Sandhu, who signed for Stabaek in 2014,made headlines in May when he became thefirst Indian to start a first team match in atop-division league of Europe. In that matchagainst IK Start in the NorwegianTippeligaen.

iii. He kept a clean sheet in a 5-0 awayvictory. He then returned back home to playin goal for India’s thumping victory overLaos.

35. Sameer emerges fastest athlete of 56thNational Inter-state Athletics

i. SameerMon, the veteran sprinter of India, won goldin 100 meter dash in 10.60 seconds at the56th National Inter-state Senior AthleticsChampionships in Hyderabad.

ii. With this, Sameer, representing Manipur,also became the fastest athlete in thecountry.

iii. 32-year-old Sameer was a member of thebronze winning Indian 4x100m relay quartetin Delhi Commonwealth Games. He hadearlier won the Inter-state titles in 2008 and2011.

36. Indian money in Swiss banks dips 33% to Rs 8,392 cr: Money held by Indians in Swiss banks has fallen by nearly one-third to a record low of 1.2 billion franc (about Rs 8,392 crore) amid a continuing global clampdown on the famed secrecy wall of Switzerlands banking system. The funds held by Indians with banks in Switzerland fell by CHF 596.42 million to CHF 1,217.6 million at the end of 2015, as per the latest data released by the countrys central banking authority SNB (Swiss National Bank). This is the lowest amount of funds held by Indians in the Swiss banks ever since the Alpine nation began making the data public in 1997 and marks the second straight year of decline. The funds held by Indians with Swiss banks stood at a record high of CHF 6.5 billion (Rs 23,000 crore) at 2006-end.

37. Bank of Maharashtra plans to raise Rs 1,000 crore to propel growth: Bank of Maharashtra is planning to raise Rs 1,000 crore for growth opportunities and has sought approval from shareholders for it. The approval was sought at the banks annual general meeting of shareholders held in Pune. "The meet was held to seek shareholders consent to raise Rs 1,000 crore by way of FPO/ Rights issue/ QIPs etc to meet capital requirements as per RBIs Basel III norms to tap future growth opportunities," Bank of Maharashtra said in a release on 30th June 2016. Chairman and Managing Director Sushil Muhnot of the bank also addressed shareholders queries on issues including non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans, future growth strategies and dividends. On a two-year roadmap for the bank, Muhnot outlined banks focus on reducing NPAs, expanding banks portfolio in home loan, small and medium enterprises and priority sector lending and raise Rs 1,000 crore capital to propel growth, said the release.

38. The CASA pillars of public sector banks are shrinking: Current and savings account (CASA) deposits are crucial to a banks health because they are the cheapest source of funds for banks. Banks with a high CASA ratio are considered stronger. Data compiled by ET shows that CASA ratio of public sector banks is on a downward spiral. Among the big players, only State Bank of India (SBI) has been able to maintain its CASA ratio since the turn of the century. Other large banks like Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Canara Bank have all seen CASA ratios drop since March 2000. Against this, private sector rivals like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank have gone from strength to strength to enhance their share of in the same period. Bank of Barodas CASA has fallen to 26% of its deposits in March 2016 from 32% in March 2000, while PNB has seen CASA drop from 45% to 37%. Among the large public sector lenders Canaras CASA has dropped the sharpest to 27% in March 2016 from 38% in March 2000.

39. Economically, PM Narendra Modi has done well for the country: World Bank President Jim Yong Kim: Calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a great leader who has done well for the country on the economic front, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim on 30th June 2016, said that under his leadership, Indias accomplishments have been fantastic. "India is the fastest growing economy in the world. Brexit happened and India proved to be extremely resilient. The inflation rate has been down, growth has been extremely strong, balance of payment is in better shape. Overall, you have to say that economically he has done well," said Kim on a two-day visit to India. The World Bank committed $ 1billion (about Rs 6,750 crore) to support solar energy programme in India.

40. Indias external debt increases on FCNR(B) deposits: Indias external debt at the end of 2015-16 grew $10.6 billion or 2.2 per cent, year on year, to $485.6 billion. Primarily on account of a rise in non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits, Reserve Bank (RBI) data showed. “The rise in short-term debt (residual maturity) mainly reflects payments due on account of maturing of FCNR(B) deposits mobilised under the special swap scheme in 2013,” said RBI. Banks had raised about $34 billion through FCNR(B) as deposits from NRIs in September 2013, most of which are due this year. RBI estimates the immediate hit to be around $20 billion, as some of the deposits were invested by borrowing money from the same bank. However, the magnitude of increase was partly offset by a valuation gain of $5.9 billion from the dollars rise against the rupee and other major currencies, RBI said. “Excluding the valuation effect, the increase in external debt would have been higher by $16.4 billion at end-March 2016 over the level at end-March 2015,” it explained.

41. Make in India boost: India-Israel medium-range surface-to-air missile for IAF test-fired: Giving a boost to the Make in India drive in the defence sector, India has test-fired a new surface-to-air missile that it has jointly developed with Israel. The medium range missile (MR-SAM) was successfully test launched from a mobile launcher in the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur. The new missile guided by a Radar system and on-board avionics successfully hit a Pilotless target aircraft. Both, Indian and Israel teams participated in the launch campaign.

42. US: Sunder Pichai, three other Indian-Americans honoured with “Great Immigrants Award”: Indian-origin Google CEO Sunder Pichai and three other Indian-Americans are among the 42 US nationals honoured with this years prestigious “Great Immigrants: The Pride of America” award. The other three Indian-Americans are Hari Sreenivasan, anchor and senior correspondent, PBS NewsHour, Vikram Malhotra Chairman of the Americas, McKinsey & Company and Bharati Mukherjee National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author. The annual award of the Carnegie Corporation would be presented to them at an event in New York on June 30, a statement said on 28th June 2016. For 2016, the Corporation named 42 honorees, who represent some 30 different countries of origin, a wide range of personal immigration stories, and inspiring professional accomplishments.

43. Anti-submarine torpedo Varunastra inducted in Navy: Indigenously-built heavyweight anti-submarine torpedo Varunastra has been successfully inducted in the navy, making India one of the eight countries to have the capability to design and build such a system. Developed by Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), a premier laboratory of DRDO, the electric torpedo was formally handed over to Indian Navy and the induction is set to be a “game-changer” boost for it. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said the programme is not only a boost to countrys indigenous capability but also an opportunity for export to other countries. Having almost 95 per cent indigenous content, Varunastra, costing about Rs 10-12 crore per unit, is capable of targeting quiet and stealthy submarines, both in deep and littoral waters in intense counter-measure environment.

44. FSSAI signs pact with ASCI to check misleading advertisements: Regulator Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) joined hands with Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) in its bid to check misleading advertisements in the food and beverages sector. "Advertising ASCI will comprehensively monitor these advertisements across various media. The council has been given a suo motu monitoring mandate by FSSAI to process complaints against misleading advertisements of food and beverages," ASCI General Secretary Shweta Purandare said. The MoU was signed by FSSAI CEO Pawan Agarwal and ASCI Chairman Benoy Roychoudhry. The agreement also requires ASCI to report to FSSAI non- compliance of ASCIs decisions for further action as required per provisions of the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Act, Agarwal said after signing the agreement. "FSSAI will also redirect complaints against misleading food and beverages advertisements to ASCI, which will be reviewed using ASCIs code and guidelines. The review will include violation of the FSS Act and regulations related to advertisements making misleading, unsubstantiated or false claims," he said.

45. Exercise Jalrahat for flood relief in Assam commences: Exercise JALRAHAT commenced at Narangi Cantt. The exercise JALRAHAT is a joint initiative taken by the Assam State govt and the armed forces that is being led by GAJRAJ Corps with full support from HQ Eastern Command. GOC GAJRAJ Corps Lt Gen D Anbu stressed upon the need for integrating the key facets of the NDMP-2016 guidelines to include understanding and strengthening disaster risks, governance to manage disaster risks, investing in disaster risk reduction and enhancing disaster preparedness. It is pertinent to mention that in addition to Exercise Jalrahat based on Flood Relief in an urban setting, Indian Navy will be carrying out Exercise Prakampana based on relief and assistance in case of a super cyclone at Vizag, Andhra Pradesh in August 2016 and Indian Air Force will be undertaking Exercise Sahayta based on relief and assistance in case of a major earthquake at Bhuj, Gujrat. All these will be joint exercises like Exercise Jalrahat.

46. Infosys internal platform Compass to help employees change job profiles: Employees at Infosys looking for a change in job profile will now be able to make use of a designated internal platform in order to explore opportunities. Employees at the company can look within their own firm instead of looking outside for a job change, with Compass — a new digital platform rolled out by the technology giant — which allows them to mobilise available opportunities on career growth, learning and networks. With an increased focus on using technology to improve the experience of employees, Infosys is trying to digitise HR processes. In the past couple of years, the company had been at the forefront of a slew of initiatives to help employees be more productive by using available technologies. "Those who want a change from their current job profile or posting can now log on to Compass, and view a curated list of opportunities based on their skills and interests. Employees can create a humanised profile to showcase their professional achievements. Video CVs, endorsements, blogs and badges can also be shared," said Richard Lobo, SVP and head-HR, Infosys.