NATIONAL NEWS
India's first cryptocurrency ATM launched in Bengaluru
Despite the government and Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) crackdown on cryptocurrency in India, virtual currency exchange Unocoin has installed a currency deposit and dispensing ATM at Kemp Fort Mall in Bengaluru.
- The kiosk, installed by Unocoin, allows its customers to deposit and withdraw minimum amount of Rs 1000 from the platform.
- In order to deposit money into the ATM, KYC compliant customers have to enter their User ID and the OTP that they receive as SMS on their registered mobile number. The user would then confirm his account details and deposit the funds into the Kiosk machine.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe arrives in New Delhi
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is arriving in New Delhi this evening on a three-day visit to India. He will hold wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his stay.
- Both leaders are likely to review the status of the India-assisted housing projects in Sri Lanka's Jaffna.
- The investments are in diverse areas including petroleum retail, IT, financial services, real estate, and telecommunication.
Bihar's Shahi litchi gets GI tag
After Katrani rice, Jardalu mango and Magahi paan (betel vine), Bihar's Shahi litchi has got the Geographical Indication (GI) tag and has become an exclusive brand in the national and international market.
- The famous Shahi litchi, which is famous for its sweet, juicy, unique flavour and aroma, is mostly grown in Muzaffarpur and neighbouring districts including East Champaran, Vaishali, Samastipur and Begusarai.
- The GI registration was done in the name of Litchi Growers Association of Bihar, which had applied for the tag.
- Extra info.:
A GI is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin such as a town, region, or country. Its use may act as a certification that the product possesses certain qualities due to its geographical origin.
Haryana to hold corporate social responsibility summit
Haryana will organise its first-ever corporate social responsibility (CSR) summit in Gurugram on November 12 and it will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. During the summit, 16 state CSR Awards would be conferred.
- The nominations procedure for the CSR Awards would start on October 20 and continue till October 31.
- A total of 600 guests from the corporate world would be invited to take part in the summit.
BANKING & FINANCE
RBI issues guidelines to facilitate payments among PPI
In a move aimed at promoting digital transactions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released operational guidelines to facilitate payments among prepaid instruments (PPI) such as mobile wallets.
- The guidelines elaborate on requirements for achieving inter-operability for mobile wallets and cards, and norms for customer protection and grievance redressal.
- According to the notification issued by the RBI, inter-operability among mobile wallets, and between bank account and e-wallet would be enabled through the UPI system. The inter-operability shall be facilitated to all KYC-compliant PPI accounts and entire acceptance infrastructure.
- The inter-operability would be achieved in a phased manner. Paytm, MobiKwik, Oxigen and Ola Money are some of the popular mobile wallets in the country. Currently, a mobile wallet does not allow customers to send or receive money from a wallet run by another company.
- Extra info.:
Interoperability is the technical compatibility that enables a payment system to be used in conjunction with other payment systems.
Interoperability allows PPI issuers, system providers and system participants in different systems to undertake, clear and settle payment transactions across systems without participating in multiple systems.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
TCS displaces Accenture as largest IT firm servicing banks
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Ltd’s quarterly earnings from the financial sector have edged past that of Accenture Plc, which is nearly double its size, making the Mumbai-based company the world’s largest pure-play information technology (IT) and consulting firm servicing mega banks and insurers.
- Financial services sector is the largest buyer of services and solutions from IT and consulting firms, and in the last decade, Accenture has managed to retain its sectoral dominance.
- During the July-September period, TCS got $2.07 billion in business from banking, financial services and insurance, or the BFSI sector while Accenture, got $2.01 billion in business from banking and insurance customers in the June-August period.
Global IT spending to grow 3.2% in 2019: Gartner
Driven by increased Cloud adoption, worldwide IT spending is projected to total $3.8 trillion in 2019, an increase of 3.2 per cent from expected spending of $3.7 trillion in 2018, according to the latest forecast by market research firm Gartner.
- Global spending for devices PCs, tablets and mobile phones is forecast to grow 2.4 per cent in2019, reaching $706 billion, up from $689 billion in 2018.
SPORTS
Asian Men's Hockey Champions Trophy begins in Muscat, Oman
The Asian Men's Hockey Champions Trophy begins in Muscat, Oman. In their first round-robin match, defending champions India will face hosts Oman.
- Besides India and Oman, the other teams taking part in the 11-day tournament are - Pakistan, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea.
Akash Malik becomes first Indian archer to clinch silver medal at Youth Olympic Games
Akash Malik, became the first Indian to win a silver medal in archery at the Youth Olympic Games. The 16-year-old suffered a defeat in the final to USA’s Trenton Cowles 0-6 in the men’s recurve event.
- The archer, who achieved his training at the Army Sports Institute in Pune, started of brilliantly in the final, as he shot a 10 in his first attempt.
Bengaluru FC win Puttaiah Memorial Cup
Bengaluru FC clinched their second Puttaiah Memorial Cup after a 2-1 win over Madras Engineering Group (MEG) in the final of the 2018 edition of the competition at the Bangalore Football Stadium in Bengaluru.
- Bengaluru FC’s Parag Shrivas was among the individual awards as he picked up the best defender of the tournament.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
'Maharana Pratap: The Invincible Warrior': A Book Authored By Rima Hooja Released
A new book on Maharana Pratap named “Maharana Pratap: The Invincible Warrior” authored by historian Rima Hooja has been released. The book narrates the life of Maharana Pratap, the great Rajput warrior and also talks about the famous battle of Haldighati.
Stephen Hawking in final book: 'There is no God'
"There is no God" that's the conclusion of the celebrated physicist Stephen Hawking, whose final book is published recently.
- "There is no God. No one directs the universe," he writes in "Brief Answers to the Big Questions."
- "For centuries, it was believed that disabled people like me were living under a curse that was inflicted by God," he adds. "I prefer to think that everything can be explained another way, by the laws of nature."
- Extra info.:
Stephen Hawking’s final book “Brief Answers to the Big Questions" was launched recently.
AWARDS
9 scientists win 2019 Breakthrough Prize
The Breakthrough Prize Foundation announced nine recipients of the 2019 Breakthrough Prize in recognition of their important achievements in the fields of fundamental physics, life sciences and mathematics.
- The Foundation will award a total of $21 million to the nine winners. It is considered the most generous science prize in the world.
- Five scientists won the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for their contributions to finding significant solutions to curing human diseases. The rest of the 2019 winners were announced and they include a pioneer in the field of multi-messenger astronomy, gravitational-wave researchers and scientists investigating the nature of gravity and the quantum realm.
- The awarding ceremony of the Breakthrough Prize, which was hailed as the “Oscars of Science,” will take place on November 4 at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, with a gala event hosted by acclaimed actor, producer and philanthropist Pierce Brosnan.
OBITUARIES
Former UP, Uttarakhand CM ND Tiwari passes away
Former Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand chief minister Narayan Dutt Tiwari passed away in a private hospital in Delhi. He was 93 years old.
Tiwari, known as "Vikas Purush", had suffered a brain-stroke and was rushed to the hospital in Delhi's Saket in September.
No comments:
Post a Comment