Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 11 July 2021

::NATIONAL::

Prime Minister NarendraModi spoke with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh on Saturday and noted that the Indo-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership can contribute to promoting regional stability as both nations share a similar vision of an open, inclusive, peaceful and rules-based Indian Ocean region.
In his telephonic conversation with Pham, Prime Minister Modi congratulated him on his appointment as the premier of Vietnam and expressed confidence that the India-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership will continue to become stronger under his able guidance, the Prime Minister's Office here said in a statement.
Modi welcomed the fact that both the countries share a similar vision of an open, inclusive, peaceful and rules-based Indian Ocean region, and hence the India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership can contribute to promoting regional stability, prosperity and development, the PMO said.
Modi thanked PM Pham for the valuable support provided by the government and people of Vietnam during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in India, the statement said.

On Friday 9 and Saturday 10 July 2021, the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBGs) gathered in Venice for their third official meeting under the Italian G20 Presidency. This was the first in-person Finance Track meeting since February 2020.
G20 members continued their discussions on issues related to global economy and health, and on the efforts to promote economic recovery and the transition towards greener and more sustainable economies and societies. G20 Ministers and Governors also had a very fruitful exchange of views on the support to the most vulnerable countries, international taxation matters and financial sector issues, including sustainable finance.
The result of their discussions is detailed in the official Communiqué, issued at the end of the meeting.
G20 members recognised that the global outlook has further improved, mainly thanks to the roll out of vaccines and continued policy support. However, as already emerged at their last meeting in April, the recovery is uneven across and within countries, and remains exposed to downside risks.
FMCBGs reaffirmed their willingness to use all available policy tools and to continue to sustain the economic recovery for as long as required, to address the adverse consequences of the pandemic, especially on the most impacted groups of the society. On the basis of the G20 Action Plan, the G20 will continue its efforts to steer the global economy toward strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth.

Axis Bank will pick up a 9.9 per cent stake in Fettle Tone LLP, a promoter of Max Bupa Health Insurance Company, for Rs 90.8 crore to strengthen is insurance business.
Axis, which is privately owned, said in a BSE filing it has signed agreements with Fettle Tone LLP and its partners (on March 13).
Max Bupa Health Insurance (MBHI) is as a joint venture between private equity group True North and Bupa, a global health insurance and healthcare company. Fettle Tone LLP is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up by True North Fund; it holds a 5.6 per cent stake in health insurance company.
Fettle Tone LLP, incorporated in 2019 as a limited liability partnership, had a turnover of Rs 0.16 crore in March 2020 and its net worth stands at Rs 706 crore.
MBHI Gross Direct Premium rose by a 38.02 per cent (year-on-Year basis) at Rs 1,497.03 crore in February 2021 from Rs 1,084.62 crore in preceding 12 months ended February 2020, according to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
Axis will acquire nine per cent stake in the life insurance company while Axis Capital and Axis Securities will acquire another 3 per cent in the first leg of the transaction.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday imposed a monetary penalty on 14 banks, including State Bank of India (SBI), Bandhan Bank, IndusInd Bank, Bank of Baroda (BoB), Central Bank for non-compliance with certain provisions of directions issued by them. The penalty ranges from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 2 crore, with SBI being charged Rs 50 lakh and BoBRs 2 crore.
This action is based on the deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the banks with their customers,” the RBI said in a statement.
The central bank, in a statement, said the banks were non-compliant with certain provisions of its directions on ‘Lending to Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs)’, ‘Bank Finance to NBFCs’, ‘Loans and Advances – Statutory and Other Restrictions.’
Further, they were also non-compliant with certain provisions of directions on on ‘Creation of a Central Repository of Large Common Exposures – Across Banks’ read with the contents of Circular on ‘Reporting to Central Repository of Information on Large Credits’, ‘Operating Guidelines for Small Finance Banks’ and for contraventions of provisions of two Sections of Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

Swashbuckling entrepreneur Richard Branson hurtled into space aboard his own winged rocket ship on Sunday in his boldest adventure yet, beating out fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos.
The British billionaire is the first person to go to space in his own ship, beating the Amazon founder by nine days.
The nearly 71-year-old Branson and five crewmates from his Virgin Galactic space tourism company reached an altitude of about 88km over the New Mexico desert — enough to experience three to four minutes of weightlessness and see the curvature of the Earth — and then safely glided home to a runway landing.
The brief, up-and-down flight — the rocket ship’s portion took only about 15 minutes, or about as long as Alan Shepard’s first US space flight in 1961 — was intended as a confidence booster for Virgin Galactic, which plans to start taking paying customers on joyrides next year.

Next year's women's Asian Cup in India will be held in Mumbai and Pune after the Asian Football Confederation dropped Bhubaneswar and Ahemdabad as venues to minimise the travelling time for participants and ensure an "optimum environment" for a bio-secure bubble.
The Mumbai Football Arena at the Andheri Sports Complex and the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi, Pune have been chosen as the new venues.