Friday, July 18, 2014

DAILY GK UPDATE - 18th July

 

1.298 killed as Malaysia plane shot down over Ukraine
i. All 298 people on board a Malaysia Airlines plane were killed on Thursday after the jet was shot down by "terrorists" over war-torn eastern Ukraine near the Russian border, nearly four months after the mysterious disappearance of MH370 in the Indian Ocean.
ii. The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew.
iii. Malaysia Airlines confirmed that it received notification from Ukrainian Air Traffic Control that it had lost contact with Flight MH17 at 1415 GMT (8:45 IST) at 30km from Tamak waypoint, approximately 50km from the Russia-Ukraine border.

iv. "Nearly 300 people died when a Malaysia Airlines Boeing- 777 crashed in eastern Ukraine," an advisor to the Ukrainain Interior Minister, Anton Herashchenko, said.
v. "It was flying at the altitude of 10,000 meters. 280 passengers and 15 crew members died," he said in a Facebook post.
vi. "The aircraft was shot down over Ukraine by terrorists operating a Buk surface-to-air missile system," he said.
vii.Witnesses from the town of Torez in the rebellion-wracked Donetsk region of Ukraine told RIA Novosti news agency that the plane wreckage and dead bodies have been found in the area.
viii. At least several dozen bodies were found scattered around the crash site of a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane in eastern Ukraine, witnesses said, adding the debris of the plane covered an area of about one square kilometer.

ix. The plane disappeared from the radar and teams from the emergency services have reached the scene.
x.Burning aircraft wreckage and bodies strewn on the ground were seen at the village of Grabovo, some 40 kms from the Russian border in an area where pro-Russian rebels are active.
xi. Malaysia Airlines confirmed on Twitter, "Malaysian Airlines has lost contact of MH17 from Amsterdam. The last known position of the plane was over Ukrainian airspace".

2.   RBI issues draft guidelines for setting up small and payment banks
i. The Reserve Bank of India issued draft guidelines for setting up 'local feel' small banks and payment banks which will disburse small-ticket loans to farmers and businesses.
ii. The Payment banks will cater to marginalised sections of the society, including migrant labourers, for collecting deposits and remitting funds.
iii. Such banks can be set up with aminimum capital of 100 crore rupees as against 500 crore rupees required for normal commercial banks.
iv. The proposed small banks will provide a whole suite of basic banking products such as deposits and supply of credit, but in a limited area of operation. Foreign investments in these new category banks would be as per the FDI policy.

3.    RBI to issue new Rs. 20 denomination notes
i.“The RBI will shortly issue rupees 20 denomination banknotes incorporating rupee symbol, with inset letter E, in the Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005 bearing the signature of Raghuram G Rajan, Governor,” RBI said in a release.
ii. These banknotes would bear the year of printing ‘2014’on the reverse side of the currency.
iii. RBI said that the design of these notes to be issued now is similar in all respects to the rupees 20 banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005, issued earlier.
iv. “All the banknotes in the denomination of rupees 20 issued by the Bank in the past will continue to be legal tender.”

4.   RBI increases diamond imports' credit time to 180 days
i. The Reserve Bank has relaxed norms governing import of rough, cut and polished diamonds by doubling the credit time period to 180 days.
ii. ... It has been decided, in consultation with the government, that the Clean Credit i. e. Credit given by a foreign supplier to its Indian customer/ buyer, without any Letter of Credit (Suppliers' Credit)/Letter of Undertaking (Buyers' Credit)/Fixed Deposits from any Indian financial institution for import of rough, cut and polished diamonds, may be permitted for a period not exceeding 180 days from the date of shipment," RBI said in a notification.
iii. Earlier, the time frame was of 90 days.
iv. The RBI also directed banks to ensure that due diligence is undertaken and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) Norms and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Standards, issued by it are adhered to while undertaking the import transactions.

5.    Sriram, Kannan appointed SBI Managing Directors
i. State Bank of India (SBI) said it has appointed B Sriram and V G Kannan as Managing Directors and Group executives. Both come to SBI from group associates, where they held senior positions.
ii. Sriram, previously Managing Director of State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, will be handling international banking, while Kannan, who was MD and CEO, SBI Capital Markets, will be looking after associates and subsidiaries division of the country's top lender, a bank release said.

6.    SC relieves Gavaskar as interim BCCI chief
i. The Supreme Court on Friday relieved legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar as the interim president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in charge of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2014 and said that he was free to take up any assignment.
ii. The apex court bench headed by Justice T.S. Thakur relieved Gavaskar noting that the IPL 2014 for which he was appointed interim president had concluded June 1.
iii. The court’s order came in the wake of a letter by Gavaskar to the apex court seeking clarity on his position in BCCI after the conclusion of IPL 2014 which he was entrusted to look after.

7.    Nikesh Arora leaves Google, joins SoftBank Corp
i. In a surprise move, Google’s Chief Business Officer India-born Nikesh Arora, regarded as among the top lieutenants at the Internet search giant, is leaving the company after almost 10 years.
ii. Mr. Arora is moving to Japan’s SoftBank Corp as vice chairman, according to a post by Google CEO Larry Page on his social network site.
iii. After almost ten years, Nikesh Arora, our Chief Business Officer, has decided to leave Google to join one of our partners, SoftBank, as Vice Chairman of SoftBank Corp and CEO of SoftBank Internet and Media.

8.    Hero MotoCorp named title sponsor of ISL
i. Renowned two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp Ltd was on Friday named as the title sponsor of the much-anticipated Indian Super League -- the first-of-its-kind franchise-based football league in the country.
ii. Hero has signed a three-year deal with ISL. With this sponsorship, the much-awaited new football league, promoted by IMG-Reliance and Star India, will be called the ‘Hero Indian Super League’
iii. Speaking on its association with ISL, Pawan Munjal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Hero MotoCorp Ltd, said: “Football is not just the world’s most popular game, it has today become a phenomenon sweeping across continents


 

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