Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams

19 May 2016

:: National ::

Tim Cook makes first visit to India

• Tim Cook is in India and he is mixing business with pleasure, and spirituality. The CEO of the $233 billion Apple Inc., on his maiden India trip, started his day with a visit to the Shree Siddhivinayak temple.

• Apple announced a $1 billion investment in taxi-hailing company, Didi Chuxing, in China.

• Mr. Cook’s first visit assumes significance as Apple reported its first quarterly drop in global iPhone sales last month, while its India revenues grew by 56 per cent.

• Coinciding with the visit, the company announced an iOS mobile app design centre in Bengaluru, intended to support and accelerate the growth of Apple’s developer community.

IMD warns of intensifying Cyclonic activity

• Even as officials at the India Meteorological Department have warned of searing heat waves in several parts of North India.

• IMD also said the torrential downpour in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala was due to a cyclonic depression that could well bring the season’s first cyclone.

• The depression has moved towards Andhra Pradesh coast and will intensify into a cyclonic storm, after which it is likely to move towards the Northeast and off north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coasts in the subsequent 48 hours.

• IMD also said that “there may be rains for two more days and then it will reduce as (depression) will move towards Myanmar.

• The IMD’s latest update says the Southwest monsoon has advanced into some parts of Southeast Bay of Bengal, entire south Andaman Sea and Nicobar Islands.

• The conditions were favourable for further advance of the Southwest monsoon into some more parts of south Bay of Bengal, Andaman Islands and remaining parts of north Andaman Sea in the next three to four days.

• The IMD has said that monsoon in Kerala would likely be on June 7 but the overall forecast of above normal rainfall was unchanged.

Ahead of China visit President calls for all out fight against terrorism

• Ahead of a state visit to China from May 24 to 27, President Pranab Mukherjee has called for an “all out” fight against terrorism, in which both India and China come together.

• “India and China, both huge countries —multicultural, multiracial — if they come together in fighting this menace, I am sure it will have its own impact.” Mr. Mukherjee told Chinese CCTV channel.

• President Mukherjee’s words are significant as they come weeks after China’s decision to block India’s moves to ban Pakistani terrorist Masood Azhar at the U.N. Taliban sanctions committee.

• The move led to a strain in ties as India expressed its unhappiness over what was seen as an effort to shield Pakistan and Beijing refused to change its stand.

• Mr. Mukherjee’s visit marks the first Indian presidential visit to China since 2010 and is being seen as an effort to smooth over some of the issues that have come up in bilateral ties in his talks with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.

• Among them, recent comments by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs refusing to support India’s admission to the Nuclear Suppliers Group(NSG) unless it signs the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

• In New Delhi, visiting Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Liu Zhenmin struck a more conciliatory note, saying that China would work “with Indian colleagues together to find a solution” to the NSG issue.

• Officials said Mr. Mukherjee’s programme, where he will visit Beijing and the south China industrial hub of Guangzhou, will include a meeting with businessmen at the India-China business forum and address students at Peking University.

• The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced the visit by President Mukherjee which is the first by a Head of State since 2010 and returns the visit by President Xi Jinping to Delhi in September 2014.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also expected to travel to Hangzhou for the G-20 summit in September this year, while President Xi will travel to Goa to attend the BRICS summit in October.

Muslim women moved to court against triple talaq

• A Muslim woman moved the Supreme Court against the ‘triple talaq’ system to nullify the prevailing divorce practice.

• Afreen Rehman, a 25-year-old resident of Jaipur, filed a petition after receiving a divorce letter through speed post.

• Talaq-e-bidat refers to a Muslim man divorcing his wife by pronouncing more than one talaq in a single tuhr (the period between two menstruations) or in a tuhr , or pronouncing an irrevocable instantaneous divorce at one go (unilateral triple talaq).

• All-India Muslim Women Personal Law Board president Shaista Ambar has demanded the abolition of the triple talaq system.

• The Centre has set up a high-level committee to review the status of women in India and, according to reports, has recommended a ban on triple talaq, and polygamy.

:: International ::

Hillary Clinton closer to getting nominations

• Hillary Clinton claimed victory in Kentucky and Bernie Sanders took Oregon in Democratic primaries, but the outcomes would do little to change the dynamics in the race.

• Ms. Clinton has a clear lead over her rival in terms of the number of delegates who will elect the party’s candidate for November’s presidential election.

• Meanwhile, a national match-up poll showed that Ms. Clinton is leading the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump, by just three percentage points.

• Ms. Clinton gets 48 per cent against Mr. Trump’s 45 per cent. In their respective party bases, they have the same support—87 per cent.

• In ‘unfavourable’ ratings, Ms. Clinton is doing better than Mr. Trump, but there are danger signals for her.

• In an improvement of two points over a month, 56 per cent see her unfavourably; for Mr. Trump, the unfavourable rating dropped from 65 per cent to 60 per cent and his favourable rating rose from 33 per cent to 37 per cent over the previous month.

US senate allowed sept 11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia

• The U.S. Senate approved legislation that would allow September 11 victims and their relatives to sue Saudi Arabia over its possible role in the 2001 attacks, a bill which could trigger a diplomatic firestorm.

• Senators unanimously approved the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act which now heads to the House of Representatives, where Speaker Paul Ryan has voiced reservations.

• The White House has repeatedly stated that President Barack Obama, who visited the kingdom in April to soothe strained ties, opposes the law because it would waive the doctrine of sovereign immunity.

:: Science and Technology ::

Hypersonic test flight promises to shrink world

• A two-hour flight from Sydney to London is a step closer to reality after the latest successful test of hypersonic technology in the Australian desert.

• A joint U.S.-Australian military research team is running a series of 10 trials at the world’s largest land testing range, Woomera, in South Australia, and at Norway’s Andoya Rocket Range.

• It is a game-changing technology and could revolutionise global air travel, providing cost-effective access to space.

• Scientists have said hypersonic technology could cut travelling time from Sydney to London to as little as two hours for the 17,000-km flight.]

• Hypersonic flight involves travelling at more than five times the speed of sound.

• Scientists involved in the programme — called Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation (HIFiRE) — are developing an engine that can fly at Mach 7.

• He added that the scramjet was a supersonic combustion engine that uses oxygen from the atmosphere for fuel, making it lighter and faster than fuel-carrying rockets.

• The experimental rocket in the trial reached an altitude of 278 kilometres and a target speed of Mach 7.5, Australia’s defence department said.

• The first test was conducted in 2009 with the project expected to be completed in 2018.

Nuclear capable indigenously developed Prithvi-II missile test-fired

• India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile as part of a user trial by the army from a test range at Chandipur in Odisha.

• The trial of the surface-to-surface missile was carried out from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range.

• With a strike range of 350 km, the Prithvi-II is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines. It uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target.

• Inducted into the armed forces in 2003, the nine-metre-tall, single-stage, liquid-fuelled Prithvi-II is the first missile to be developed by the DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.

:: Business and Economy ::

Consolidation of associates of SBI will help in global sized institutions

• The proposal of SBI to merge its five associate banks with itself and acquire BharatiyaMahila Bank is in line with the government’s policy of consolidation as the country needs global-sized institutions, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.

• “Consolidation was part of the Indradhanush package. I had announced about consolidation in the Budget, therefore, the banks have acted. It is accordance with the government’s policy,” Jaitley said.

• The country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) proposed merger of its five associate banks and the three-year old BharatiyaMahila Bank (BMB) with itself and sought the government’s approval for the same.

• He said there is a need to reduce the number of banks by consolidating some of them.

• Further, he said the banks have given their own opinion and if some banks have a contrarian view, the government will “certainly respect that, look into it and take that into consideration“.

• According to SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya, with the merger, the balance sheet size of the bank will soar to Rs.37 lakh crore, from Rs.28 lakh crore currently.

• The five associate banks that are under proposal to be merged with the banking major are State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Hyderabad.

• Among these, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Travancore are listed on bourses.

• Asked about the government’s plan on strategic sale in public sector undertakings through divestment, he said suggestions from NITI Aayog are awaited.

• Speaking about the government having widened its policy for the first time, Mr. Jaitley pointed out to the available means such as divestment, strategic sale and privatisation, asset recycling and buybacks.

Anti-dumping duty imposed on seamless tubes, steel pipes

• The Government has imposed a provisional anti-dumping duty for six months on seamless tubes, steel pipes, among others imported from China.

• In March, the Directorate General for Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) had recommended to the Revenue Department to impose provisional levy on import of certain types of iron and steel pipes from China used in oil and gas exploration in a bid to protect the domestic industry from cheap imports.

• The anti-dumping duty will be in the range of $ 961.33-$1,610.67.

• The duty imposed under this notification shall be effective for a period not exceeding six months (unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier) from the date of publication of this notification in the Official Gazette and shall be paid in Indian currency.

Govt increased age for drawing pension

• The government has allowed Employees Pension Scheme (EPS) subscribers to defer drawing their pension until they attain 60 years of age, from the present 58 years.

• Under the present law, members are not allowed to contribute towards pension or defer withdrawing the pension after attaining 58 years of age.

• Also, an employee can receive pension only after minimum 10 years of service.

• The government’s new rules to increase the age criteria to 60 years of age for pension contributions and benefits were notified on April 25.

• At present, 8.33 per cent of a worker’s salary up to Rs.15,000 a month, is remitted to the Employees’ Pension Scheme of 1995.

• This is a voluntary scheme that could be availed by EPS subscribers at their own will.The move is a part of the government’s attempt to strengthen the employees pension scheme.

• Recently, labour and employment minister Bandaru Dattatreya had said that the government was looking to increase the minimum monthly pension amount.

• Under the present scheme, employees get a minimum pension of Rs.1,000 every month.

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