DAILY GK BULLETS | JAN 6 | S.W.A.G

1. Bank of India allots shares worth Rs 264 crore to LIC

• State-run Bank of India has alloted 2 crore shares to LIC valued at Rs 264.12 crore.
• The bank has allotted 2 crore equity shares to Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on preferential basis at the price of Rs 132.06 per share.

2. Andhra Bank launches IMPS for money transfer

• Andhra Bank has launched Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) at all its branches in association with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to provide inter-bank electronic fund transfer service “capable of processing person to account remittances” on 05 Jan 2016.
• A multi-channel, multi-dimensional platform, IMPS makes payments possible within fraction of seconds with all the standards and integrity maintained for security.
• Under the IMPS, a real time instant fund transfer system for inter-bank remittances, the maximum cap of transaction will Rs.2 lakh.
• The charges will be at the rate of Rs.5 per transaction.

3. India to implement BS-VI norms from April 2020

• In a bid to curb vehicular pollution, the government on 06 Jan 2016 decided to implement stricter emission norms of Bharat Stage (BS) VI from April 1, 2020, by skipping BS-V altogether.
• The decision was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, which was attended by Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.
• At present, BS-IV auto fuels are being supplied in whole of northern India, parts of Rajasthan and western UP. The rest of the country has BS-III grade fuel.

4. North Korea successfully tests fire Hydrogen Bomb

• North Korea announced on 06 Jan 2016 that it had successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test, a development that, if confirmed, would mark a stunning step forward in its nuclear development.
• The announcement triggered swift international condemnation but also scepticism, with experts suggesting the apparent yield was far too low for a thermonuclear device.
• A hydrogen, or thermonuclear device, uses fusion in a chain reaction that results in a far more powerful explosion than the fission blast generated by uranium or plutonium alone.

5. Sri Lanka, Pakistan agree to expand FTA

• Sri Lanka and Pakistan have agreed to expand their bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) by inclusion of services and investment.
• The expansion of FTA would help companies of the two nations to form joint ventures (JV) for exports to other nations.
• Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s official trip  to Sri Lanka comes after eight months of President Sirisena’s visit to Pakistan in April 2015.
• The FTA between Sri Lanka and Pakistan came into effect in June 2005. Since the Pakistan’s exports to Sri Lanka were to the tune of 150 million dollars.

6. Union Government reserves 33% posts of women constables in CAPFs

• The Union Government has reserved 33 per cent posts of Constables for women in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to enhance their representation.
• The proposal in this regard was approved by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and shall come into with immediate effect.
• 33 percent reservation of women constable level posts would be in CRPF and CISF and 14-15 percent posts would be in border guarding forces that is BSF, SSB & ITBP.

7. Cabinet approves conversion of MUDRA into bank

• The Cabinet on 06 Jan 2016 approved conversion of MUDRA Ltd, an NBFC, into MUDRA Bank and also setting up of a Credit Guarantee Fund for loans disbursed under the Pradhan Mantri Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Yojana.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared creation of a Credit Guarantee Fund for MUDRA loans and to convert MUDRA Ltd into MUDRA Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) Bank as a wholly-owned subsidiary of SIDBI.
• The Credit Guarantee Fund is expected to guarantee more than Rs. 1 lakh crore worth of loans to micro and small units in the first instance.

8. Reliance capital gets CCI nod to acquire Goldman Sach’s fund arm

• Reliance Capital Asset Management (RCAM) has received nod from Competition Commission of India (CCI) to acquire Goldman Sachs’s mutual funds and exchange-traded funds business in India.
• Now RCAM needs to get final nod of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to complete the takeover.
• Under the acquisition deal, RCAM will acquire all 12 onshore mutual fund schemes of Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) India with total asset under management of 7132 crore rupees.
• US based Goldman Sachs had entered the Indian mutual fund industry in 2011 with acquisition of Benchmark Mutual Fund for 120 crore rupees.

9. Jharkhand first among 15 early birds for UDAY

• Jharkhand, a mineral-rich but energy-deficit state has become first state in country to sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) scheme with Union Government.
• In this regard a tripartite MoU was signed between the state government, Union Ministry of Power and state power distributor Jharkhand Bijli Vitaran Nigam Ltd (JBVNL).
• The Scheme was launched on 20th November 2015 to help financially stressed Distribution companies (DISCOMs) to supply adequate power at affordable rates.
• It aims for financial turnaround and revival of Power DISCOMs and also ensures a sustainable permanent solution to the problem.

10. Union Govt launches Ganga Gram Yojana in Uttar Pradesh

• The Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti on 5 January 2016 launched Ganga Gram Yojana at Village Puth in Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh (UP).
• Under the scheme, 1600 villages of UP situated along the banks of river Ganga will be developed.
• These villages will be developed under the Sichewal model. Sichewal is situated in Punjab, where cooperation of the villagers has been solicited for the water management and waste disposal.

11. Harper Lee’s ‘Go Set a Watchman’ topped 2015 US Bestseller List

• Harper Lee’s second novel Go Set a Watchman topped the US bestseller list in 2015, selling 1.6m copies more than half a century after her Pulitzer-winning first book was published.
• The figures were based on US print unit sales reported to Nielsen since the novel was published in July 2015.
• The second and third bestseller in the list was Jeff Kinney’s Diary of Wimpy Kid series (1.48 million copies) and British author EL James’Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian (1.4 million) respectively.

12. Novo Nordisk names Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador for ‘Changing Diabetes’

• Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk has announced Indian cricket star Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador for the disease awareness campaign ‘Changing Diabetes’ initiated by it in India.
• ‘Changing Diabetes’ is  an initiative to raise awareness, improve access to care and address psycho-social aspects of diabetes to improve people’s lives.

13. BHEL commissions 600 MW Kakatiya Thermal Power Plant

• Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) on 5 January 2015 commissioned the 600 MW Kakatiya Thermal Power Plant Stage-II at Bhoopalapally in Warangal district of Telangana.
• The plant was dedicated by the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
• It is the first major plant to be commissioned after the formation of the state in June 2014.

14. Jharkhand land bank portal inaugurated

• Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das on 04 Jan 2016 inaugurated the state’s land bank web portal, jharbhoom.nic.in, that would help investors know land-related information.
• Stating that setting up of land bank would help investors get information through district-wise nodal officers, Das said their mobile numbers and email ID would be available on the website.

15. Mary Barra elected as Chairman of General Motors Board of Directors

• Mary Barra was on 4 January 2016 elected as Chairman of General Motors (GM) Board of Directors with immediate effect.
• Barra succeeds Theodore Solso, who will continue serving as the  Lead Independent Director of the Board.

16. Filippo Grandi assumes office as UNHCR Chief

• Filippo Grandi on 1 January 2016 took over as the new High Commissioner for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
• Grandi succeeded Antonio Guterres, a former Portuguese Prime Minister, who retired on 31 December 2015 after heading the Refugee Agency for 10 years.
• Grandi took over the position amid unprecedented displacement challenges, with worldwide forced displacement of people reaching a new post-World War-II high of 59.5 million.

17. Australia pulls out of U-19 World Cup

• Australia on 5 January 2016 withdrew from the Under-19 World Cup Tournament in Bangladesh. It pulled-out citing security reasons.
• The tournament is scheduled to happen from 22 January to 14 February 2016.
• ICC announced that Australia will be replaced by Ireland team – the runners-up in the qualifying tournament in Kuala Lumpur in October 2015.

18. Former CJI S.H. Kapadia passes away

• Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sarosh Homi Kapadia passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was 68.
• He was the 38th Chief Justice of India.
• His funeral was held as per Parsi tradition at Tower of Silence at Kemps Corner, South Mumbai.