RBI selected just 11 out of 41 applicant to set up payment banks in the country.
- Payment banks will offer most of the banking services except loan and credit card products to retail customers.
- Customer can deposit money up to Rs 1 lakh in these banks, transfer money, make payments and buy financial products such as insurance and mutual funds.
List of selected applicants :
- India’s postal department
- Two telecom players (Airtel and Vodafone)
- Three large corporate houses (Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Aditya Birla Nuvo and Tech Mahindra)
- Two financial services firms (Fino Paytech and Cholamandalam)
- Two individual entrepreneurs (Dilip Sahnghvi and Vijay Sharma)
- National Securities Depository Ltd, a surprise winner
Tourism veteran Ashwani Lohani to be CMD of Air India.
- Ashwani Lohani has been featured in the Limca Book of Records in 2007 for holding four different engineering degrees.
- With his appointment as the CMD of Air India succeeding Rohit Nandan, he may well get to create some new records in the aviation industry.
- Ashwani Lohani belongs to the Indian Railways Services Mechanical Engineering 1980 batch and is presently working as the chief administrative officer of the Indian Railway Organization for Alternate Fuels, a subordinate organization of the Railway Board.
Union Govt gave its approval for signing of pact between India and Seychelles to curb black money.
- Now both nations will exchange information with each other regarding taxes so as to curb tax evasion and avoidance by its citizens according to pact.
- As per the agreement the information provided by each nation will be treated as confidential and may be disclosed only to persons or concern authorities (Judiciary) who in relation to taxes covered under the agreement.
Anupam kher named an advocate for the United Nations’ campaign on gender equality, and is collaboration with the UN will call on men and boys to stand up against inequalities against women and girls, further helping in ending the discrimination and violence against them.
- N Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri declared and honored Anupam Kher as an advocate for the “HeForShe” Champion at a ceremony that was held last evening.
- Kher was honored to be named the HeForShe advocate and he has promised full support for the UN’s effort.
- Lakhsmi Puri revealed that UN Women were highly keen on working with Kher because of his past records and achievements.
Maharashtra Bhushan Award 2015 to be conferred on historian Babasaheb Purandare.
He was bestowed this award in literature category by Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao in presence of CM Devendra Fadnavis at a function held in Raj Bhava, Mumbai.
About Babasaheb Purandare :
- He was born as Balwant Moreshwar Purandare on 29 July, 1922.
- He is famously entitled as Shiv Shahir i.e. ‘Shivaji’s poet’.
- He is being credited with writing the first historical work on 16th century Great Maratha king Chattrapati Shivaji.
- He is best known for his book Raja Shiv Chhatrapati and popular play Janata Raja.
- His book Raja Shiv Chhatrapati has more than 16 editions and widely read across the state.
Maharashtra Bhushan Award is a highest civilian award of Maharashtra state presented annually by the state government.
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways issued a notification to introduce Bharat Stage IV (BS-IV) compliant four wheeler vehicles though out the country from 1 April 2017 in order to reduce air pollution.
- As per the notification from 1 April 2017 all newly manufactured four-wheeled vehicle that are complaint with the BS-IV standards will be allowed to registered and move on roads.
- From 1 April, 2010 vehicles in few cities of NCR, Mumbai, Kolkatta, Chennai, Ahmadabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad including Secunderabad, Kanpur, Pune, Surat, Agra, Lucknow and Sholapur were already running with BS IV complaint engine.
- More 50 cities were added till 1 April 2015.
Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma Industries and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in the list of world’s top 100 innovative companies according to list released by Forbes.
- Hindustan Unilever the FMCG has been ranked 41 on the list . TCS stood at number 64 and Sun Pharma at 71 in the Forbes list of ‘The World’s Most Innovative Companies’.
- California-Based Tesla Motors has topped the list whose market capitalization is of $25.5 billion.
- Forbes has ranked these companies based on their innovation premium this is the difference between their market capitalisation and a net present value of cash flows from existing businesses.
- Forbes included only those industries that are known to invest in innovation and has seven years of public financial data and $10 billion in market cap.
Adam Gilchrist appointed as “ambassador to India for education” by Austrailian Govt.
- This move is aimed to strengthen the education ties with india.
- Minister for Education and training Christopher Pyne made the announcement prior to attending the Annual Ministerial Dialogue and third Australia-India Education Council meeting in New Delhi on August 24.
- Adam will play an important part in supporting the growth in the strong bilateral education relationship between Australia and India, to help ensure that Australia continues to be seen as a high quality provider of education.
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US military has launched the largest NATO airborne drills dubbed as Swift Response 15 since the end of the Cold War to enhance security and stability in the European region.
- Swift Response 15 will be month long simultaneous multinational airborne operations drill in which around 5,000 soldiers from 11 NATO member states will participate.
- 11 NATO member courtiers participating are: Bulgaria, Germany, France, Greece, Portugal, Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Britain Spain, and United States.
- These airborne drills aim to help high-readiness NATO forces in order to act as one single force and to demonstrate its alliance’s capacity to operate and rapidly deploy forces in support to maintaining a strong and secure Europe.
