12 April 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. Namami Gange gets global recognition at the Global Water Summit in London

'Public Water Agency of the Year' award was presented to India's flagship programme National Mission for Clean Ganga or Namami Gange at Global Water Summit held in London, United Kingdom.
The Global Water Intelligence presented the award during the Global Water Summit.
The Global Water Summit is the primary business conference for the water industry worldwide.
The award recognises excellence across the entire international water industry and rewards those initiatives in the water, wastewater, and desalination sectors which bring remarkable improvements in the lives of people.

About Namami Gange Mission

It is an Integrated Conservation Mission, approved as ‘Flagship Programme’ by the Union Government in June 2014 with a budget outlay of Rs.20,000 Crore to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.

Source: The Indian Express

Banking & Economy

2. RBI injected Rs 2.98 lakh crore liquidity in 2018-19

According to the RBI reports, the Reserve Bank of India injected total liquidity of Rs 2.98 lakh crore in the market in 2018-19.
According to the First Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement for 2019-20, the systemic liquidity moved into deficit during February 7-March 31 from a daily net average surplus of Rs 27,928 crore during February 1-6, 2019, reflecting the build-up of Centre’s cash balances.
Simultaneously, total durable liquidity injected by the RBI through OMOs aggregated Rs 2,98,500 crore for 2018-19.

Source: The Economic Times

3. LIC gets 12 years from RBI to cut stake in IDBI Bank, says a report

According to the report, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) 12 years to reduce its stake by 10 percent in IDBI Bank.
RBI has stipulated that after 12 years LIC has to reduce stake in IDBI Bank by 10 percent to 40 percent.
LIC has 51 percent controlling stake in the bank, making the insurer the lender's majority shareholder.
The government is the other major investor in IDBI Bank owning 46.46 per cent while the rest is with the public.

Note:

According to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI), LIC can hold up to 15 percent stake in any bank which can go up to 30 percent as per the board approval.
But the insurance regulator has allowed LIC to invest up to 51 percent in IDBI Bank last year.

Source: The Economic Times

4. SBI inks co-origination loan pact with Paisalo Digital Ltd

With a vision to empower Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and small businesses, PAISALO Digital Limited signed the first co-origination loan agreement with State Bank of India (SBI).
Introducing a platform for the last mile customer, the loan ticket is designed at Rs 10,000 to 2 lakh.
The company expects to disburse 200,000 loan applications in FY20.
PAISALO Digital Limited operates a business in various states including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Bihar.
The company serves customers with 118 branches in rural areas, serviced by a team of persons over 1500.

Note:

PAISALO Digital Limited is a systemically important non-deposit taking NBFC registered with the Reserve Bank of India and has been in operations since 1992.

5. RBL Bank ties up with CreditVidya for improving the customer experience

On 11 April 2019, the RBL Bank said it has partnered with credit profiler CreditVidya to improve the lender's customer experience.
With this partnership, the bank will be able to gain significant insights into its customer base.
This will allow it to improve user experience and build customised offerings for over 15 lakh customers.
RBL Bank will leverage CreditVidya's big data underwriting platform across its credit card and mobile banking apps.
CreditVidya leverages alternative data, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning for credit scoring in order to facilitate institutional credit for the underserved.
In 2018, the bank had first partnered with CreditVidya for instant and automated verification of employment details of salaried card applicants.

Source: Business today

6. Unemployment in 11 states exceeds the national average, shows NSSO report

According to the National Sample Survey Office’s (NSSO’s) annual survey, as many as 11 states had an unemployment rate higher than the pan-Indian average in 2017-18.
As per the report, Haryana, Assam, Jharkhand, Kerala, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh face higher unemployment rates than the national average.
While nine states, including Kerala, have been part of the list even back in 2011-12, states such as Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh have also become part of the list.
The survey was conducted during the 2017-18 period.

Source: Business standard

7. Google launches New Cloud platform Anthos

On 10, April 2019, Google has launched a new cloud platform Anthos, which allow users to run applications from anywhere.
Anthos is a completely software-based solution. Users can set it up on existing hardware, claimed Google.
It allows users to run applications, unmodified, on existing on-premise hardware or on the public cloud and is based on the Cloud Services Platform that announced in 2018.

Source: The Hindu Businessline

Agreement

8. India, Sweden ink pact to collaborate on solutions for smart cities, clean tech

On 11 April 2019, India and Sweden launched a joint programme that will work towards addressing a range of challenges around smart cities and clean technologies among others.
The programme was co-funded by the Indian Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Swedish agency Vinnova.
Under this collaboration, Sweden’s Vinnova will provide funding to Swedish participants up to 2,500,000 Swedish Krona (around Rs 1.87 crore) as a grant.
On the Indian side, a conditional grant of up to 50% (with a limit of Rs 1.5 crore) per project will be provided to the Indian partners.

Note:

Stockholm is the capital of Sweden.
The currency of Sweden is Krona.

Source: The Economic Times

Honours & Awards

9. GIC India chief awarded Freedom of the City of London

The Chairman and Managing Director of the General Insurance Corporation (GIC) of India Alice G. Vaidyan have been awarded the Freedom of the City of London in recognition of her work to promote insurance ties between India and the UK.
Alice G. Vaidyan was the first lady officer to assume the post of Chairman-cum-Managing Director of General Insurance Corporation of India.
She was the first lady officer to assume the post of Chairman-cum-Managing Director of General Insurance Corporation of India.

Freedom of the City

Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by a City of London Corporation upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary.
Over the years, the award has evolved into an honour bestowed upon individuals who make an impact in the financial hub of London, referred to as the City or the Square Mile.

Source: Business standard

10. Deepa Malik honoured with New Zealand Prime Minister’s Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship for 2019

Rio Paralympics silver medallist Deepa Malik was named as the recipient of the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship for 2019 in recognition of her “inspiring achievements“.
The first Indian woman to earn a medal at the Paralympic Games, Deepa has won 58 national and 23 international medals.
A recipient of the Padma Shri and Arjuna Award, she has entered the Limca Book of World Records four times.
As a Sir Edmund Hillary Prime Minister's Fellow for New Zealand, Deepa will travel to New Zealand and meet with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, undertake a series of visits to Paralympic sporting organisations, and engage with Kiwi athletes, students and the media as well as New Zealand's significant Indian Diaspora community.

Note:

The Fellowship Program has been running since 2008, which aims to strengthen the relationship between India and New Zealand by showcasing the different aspects of the warm friendship between the two countries.
NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant was the recipient of this prestigious fellowship in 2017.

Source: The Times of India

11. India to be Guest of Honour country at ADIBF 2019

UAE has announced that India will be the Guest of Honour country at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, ADIBF 2019, to be held from 24th to 30th April 2019.
The fair aims to highlight the UAE’s rich heritage, showcasing its authenticity and modernity, as well as its cultural and literary output.
India’s participation in the fair is expected to attract a significant increase in the number of visitors with various events and activities which will be held throughout the entire duration of ADIBF.
The Indian Pavilion will host Indian writers, authors and literary scholars who will serve as ambassadors for the literature and art of their country.

Source: DD News

Appointment

12. Shiv Das Meena appointed as NBCC Chairman and Managing Director

Shiv Das Meena, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has been appointed as the Chairman cum Managing Director (CMD) of National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC).
Shiv Das Meena, an Indian Administrative Service officer of Tamil Nadu cadre of 1989-Batch, will succeed Dr. Anoop Kumar Mittal. He takes charge as the 17th CMD of the company after Mittal.

About NBCC

NBCC (India) Limited (formerly National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited) is a blue-chip Government of India Navratna enterprise and a Central Public Sector undertaking which trades publicly in the market.
NBCC was incorporated in 1960 as a wholly owned Government of India enterprise under the erstwhile Ministry of Works, Housing & Supply (MoWHS), which is now known as the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).