1. Axis Bank launched the First Multi-Currency Contactless Card service in India
i. India’s third largest private sector lender, Axis Bank has launched
the first Contactless Debit, Credit and Multi-Currency Forex Card in
association with VISA payWave in the country.
ii. Axis Bank will offer a contactless debit/credit cards to its 1.7
million premium customers which also enables withdrawal of 15 currencies
via Multi-Currency Forex facility.
iii. To facilitate contactless cards operations bank will upgrade
50,000, of its point of sale (PoS) machines across the country.
iv. Axis Bank Contactless cards contain a chip and an antenna (based on
radio frequency) that facilitates seamless, faster and hassle free
payments.
v. The customer has to enter the purchase amount in the contactless PoS
terminal and then simply has to tap the card on the terminal to complete
his/her payment wirelessly and in a secure manner.
2. IRDAI allows Banks to tie up with insurers
i. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has allowed banks to tie up with insurers.
ii. This decision was taken as part of the IRDAI’s new Bancassurance
model guidelines which will be notified soon. Prior to this decision,
banks were not allowed to have insurance agency tie-ups with more than
one insurer.
iii. As per new decision banks can tie up with nine insurers from three
segments viz. life, non–life and standalone health. It will not be
binding on banks and they are free to take their call.
iv. Earlier, IRDAI had constituted a 7 member committee to study the
reviewing of the existing architecture of the Banacassurance model.
v. Bancassurance is a French term referred as selling of insurance
through a bank’s. Thus it can be said that Bancassurance= Banks as
Insurance Agents. In this case, selling insurance means distribution of
insurance and other financial products of insurance companies through
Banks.
3. Government approves MoU between India and America to establish PACEsetter Fund
i. The Union Cabinet gave its ex-post-facto approval for the Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) between American and India to establish the
PACEsetter Fund.
ii.
The PACEsetter Fund is a fund that supports the Promoting Energy Access
through Clean Energy (PEACE) an initiative between US and India through
Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE).
iii. Accordingly both the countries has raised corpus of about 8 million US dollars (Rs. 50 crore) on a 50:50 sharing basis.
iv. PACE is a flagship initiative initiated between the U.S. and India
in 2009, to work jointly on energy security and clean energy, which
primly focuses on accelerating the transition to high-performing, low
emissions, and energy-secure economies.
v. It endeavours to boost joint efforts to demonstrate the viability of
existing clean energy technologies as well as identify new technologies
that can increase energy access and security.
4. PAHAL scheme enters into Guinness Book of world records
i. Union Government’s ambitious Pratyaksha Hastaantarit Laabh (PAHAL)
scheme has been acknowledged as the world’s largest cash transfer
program (households) by the Guinness Book of World Records.
ii. The scheme was formally launched as Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme
for LPG subsidy in 2013 in 291 districts under the aegis of Union
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
iii.
It was modified and christened as PaHal in November 2014 and was
launched in 54 districts. Later it was extended nationwide on 1 January
2015.
iv. Under the scheme, subsidized liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders
are sold at market rates and consumers are entitled to receive LPG
subsidy directly into their bank accounts.
v. It is done either through bank account or Aadhaar linkage. Currently
it covers more than 9.75 crore LPG consumers across the country. The
scheme aims at eliminating duplication or bogus LPG connections and its
diversion. It also seeks to meet substantive savings in LPG subsidy.
5. President appoints Om Prakash Rawat as Election Commissioner
i. President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed former IAS officer Om
Prakash Rawat as an Election Commissioner (EC) in the Election
Commission of India (ECI). He will have tenure of more than three years
which will end in December, 2018 i.e. till he attains the age of 65
years.
ii.
Rawat was born on 2 December 1953 and is a 1977 batch IAS officer from
Madhya Pradesh cadre. During his long bureaucratic career, he had served
at various important portfolios at Centre and state level.
iii. In 1993, he had served as a Director in the Defence Ministry. He
has also served as Principal Secretary to then Chief Minister of Madhya
Pradesh to Babu Lal Gaur from 2004 and 2006.
iv. He also had served as Secretary at Department of Public Enterprises
in the Ministry of Heavy Industries from 2012 till December 2014 when he
retired. With Rawat’s appointment, the sole vacancy in the three-member
ECI has been filled. Other two members are Nasim Zaidi (Chief Election
Commissioner) and A K Joti (EC).
6. NTPC signed two MoUs for Skill Development
i. National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has signed two Memorandum
of Understanding (MoUs) with National Skill Development Fund (NSDF) and
National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for skill development
training in eastern states and Bihar.
ii. As per the MoU NTPC will provide skill training to 5000 youth and
women across 22 locations with special focus on the eastern states. The
MoU is for two years with a project cost of Rs 6.5 Crore.
iii. As per second MoU NTPC will train over 25000 candidates in services
and manufacturing sectors across under-served locations in Bihar. The
MoU is for five years with a project cost of Rs 30 crore. Both the
projects will be funded by NTPC and executed by NSDC through its
Training Partners.
iv. The National Skill Development Corporation India (NSDC) is a Public
Private Partnership Company with the primary mandate of promotion of the
skills landscape in India. It aims to proactively catalyse creation of
large, quality vocational training institutions by providing grants and
equity.
7. Odisha Cabinet gave nod to new Industrial Policy Resolution (IPR) 2015
i. Odisha cabinet approved the much awaited Industrial Policy Resolution
(IPR) 2015 after several rounds of consultation with different
administrative departments and industry associations.
ii. The IPR 2015 lays focus on various sectors for the next five years
which includes infrastructure development, auto & auto components,
agro and food processing, IT and ESDM (electronic system design &
manufacturing), tourism, civil aviation, manufacturing, pharma sector,
handicrafts and textiles and petroleum & petro chemicals.
iii.
State Cabinet further cleared the State Capital Region Improvement of
Power System (SCRIPS) scheme and 650.64 km ambitious Biju Expressway.
iv. SCRIPS is a scheme with an outlay of Rs 1,500 crore that aims to
avail quality and uninterrupted power to the consumers in the twin
cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. This scheme will be implemented
entirely out of state’s own finances from 2015-16 to 2019-20, which
would have different components like underground cabling of important
lines, smart grid and SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition).
v. Biju Expressway Project is an ambitious 650.64 km four-lane economic
corridor stretching from Rourkela to Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh) that aims
to upgrade road connectivity in Naxal infested regions. The project got
Central government nod and accordingly out of 650.64 km the state
government would develop 307.44 km of roads into four-lane at an
estimated cost of Rs 3,630 crore.
8. The founder of Hero Cycle Om Prakash Munjal passes away
i. The founder of Hero Cycle and a leading industrialist Om Prakash
Munjal breathed his last in the DMC Hero Heart Centre, Ludhiana on 13
August. He was 87.
ii. On Prakash was born on 26 August 1928 in Kamalia, Punjab (then
British India). He moved with his family to Amritsar in 1944 to start a
bicycle spare parts business with his three brothers.
iii. The complete manufacturing of bicycle was started in 1956 under
brand name Hero. This unit became the first bicycle manufacturing unit
in India which produced 639 bicycles in that first year.
iv. Yesterday the Hero Cycles Limited is the world’s largest integrated
bicycle manufacturing company that manufacture 7.5 million cycles per
year.
v. Om Prakash has received the Udyog Rattan Award from Punjab
Government, Punjab Rattna award, The Samman Patra award towards for the
contribution to exchequer of the Punjab state government and The Indira
Gandhi National Unity award to recognize his social contribution.
