NATIONAL NEWS
India's first vertical-lift bridge to reconnect Rameswaram with mainland India by train
Railways will build the country's first vertical-lift bridge connecting Rameswaram in Arabian Sea to mainland India that will allow ships and steamers to pass through without any hinderance, replacing the existing 104-year-old Pamban bridge.
- The more than two-kilometre-long bridge, which is likely to cost Rs 250 crore, will have a 63-metre stretch which will lift up while remaining parallel to the deck to allow access to the ships.
- It will be ready in the next four years, and along with the new railway link between Rameswaram in Pamban Island and Dhanuskodi, which is considered the starting point of Ram Setu, will help ferry thousands of pilgrims from the Hindu religious site to the mainland.
Telangana govt hospital enters Guinness Book of World Records
The State-run MNJ Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre in Hyderabad has entered the Guinness Book of World Records for organising the largest men's Health Awareness programme on prostate cancer on a single day.
- This is the first Guinness World Records achievement for the state government in the field of medicine. Besides the Guinness World Record, the hospital also received recognition from 'High RangeBook of World Records'.
Railway Minister announces honeybee plan to help Railways keep off elephants from tracks in Assam
Railway minister Piyush Goel announced that the Honey Bee plan in Assam that kept elephants away from the tracks will be expanded to other areas of the country. He said that the initiative was started on experiment basis last year.
- The Divisional Railway Manager of Rangia Ravilesh Kumar started the project initially to avoid the death of animals particularly elephants on railway tracks. He said it is a simple device that amplifies the recorded sound of honey bees to keep elephants away from the rail track. Several mishaps had been avoided by using this method.
BANKING & FINANCE
ESAF SFB Gets RBI Nod To Operate As Scheduled Bank
ESAF small finance bank which received the first banking license in Kerala since independence has got RBI approval to operate as scheduled bank. This makes Thrissur-based ESAF small finance bank (SFB) the fifth scheduled bank from Kerala.
- ESAF micro finance institution, started in 1992, was one among the ten applicants to receive approval from RBI to start banking operations in 2016.
- Extra info.:
ESAF Headquarters: Thrissur, Chennai
MD and CEO: K Paul Thomas
Government to infuse Rs 10,086 crore in Bank of India
State-owned Bank of India said the government has decided to infuse Rs 10,086 crore in the bank as part of Rs 28,615 crore capital infusion to be done in about half a dozen public sector lenders.
- The government has decided to pump Rs 28,615 crore into seven public sector banks (PSBs) through recapitalisation bonds soon.
- The recapitalisation, the finance minister said, would enhance the lending capacity of PSBs and help them come out of the Reserve Bank of India's Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework.
Centre infuses Rs 3,076 crore capital into UCO Bank
State-run lender UCO Bank said the central government has infused Rs 3,076 crore of capital into it by way of preferential allotment. By the end of second quarter of 2018-19 (FY19), its capital adequate ratio (Basel III) stood at 7.57 per cent as against 9.32 per cent year-ago.
- The government holds 90.8 per cent stake in the lender as on September 30.
Banks recover Rs 40,400 crore from defaulters in FY18: RBI
Banks have seen a significant improvement in recovery of stressed assets helped by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and amendments in the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interests (SARFAESI) Act, during FY18, according to the RBI data.
- In the fiscal ended March 2018, banks recovered Rs 40,400 crore worth of bad loans as against Rs 38,500 crore recovered in FY17.
- While banks recovered Rs 4,900 crore of bad loans through the IBC, the amount recovered through SARFAESI was Rs 26,500 crore in FY18, the RBI said in its annual report on Trends and Progress of Banking in 2017-18.
Provision coverage ratio of PSU banks on the rise, crosses 66%
Public sector banks' provision coverage ratio which measures the provisioning for bad loans has gone up from less than 50 per cent in 2015 to 66.85 per cent as of September 2018, reflecting improvement in their financial health.
- The provision coverage ratio (PCR) gives an indication of the provision made against bad loans from the profit generated. Higher the PCR, lower is the unexposed part of the bad debts.
- At the same time, various initiatives taken by the government have yielded results, with the bad loans of public sector banks (PSBs) declining by over Rs 23,000 crore from a peak of Rs 9.62 lakh crore in March 2018.
RBI extends liquidity sops for banks to March 31
The Reserve Bank of India has extended the relaxation offered to banks for offering liquidity support to NBFCs up to March 31. It had allowed banks to use government securities equal to their outstanding credit to non-bank lenders- Non Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Housing Finance Companies (HFCs), over and above their outstanding credit to them as on October 19, to be used to meet liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) requirements.
- LCR are highly liquid assets that banks and financial institutions hold to meet their short term obligations. The Reserve Bank had relaxed these norms to help NBFCs get liquidity support from banks.
- Under the Facility to Avail Liquidity for Liquidity Coverage Ratio (FALLCR), the banks were allowed to reckon government securities as liquid assets within the mandatory statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) needs upto 0.5 per cent of the bank’s deposits for incremental lending to NBFCs and HFCs after October 19, 2018. This facility was initially available up to December 31, 2018 will now be extended to March 31, 2019.
- Also single borrower limit for NBFCs (not financing infrastructure) has been increased from 10 per cent to 15 per cent of capital funds till December 31, 2018.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
SBI Life Insurance signs 'bancassurance' pact with Allahabad Bank
Leading private insurer SBI Life Insurance said it has signed a 'bancassurance' pact, with state-run Allahabad Bank to offer a financial planning solution to consumers. This will empower the consumer to address their complete financial needs under one roof.
- The public sector bank's MD and CEO Mallikarjuna Rao highlighted the bank's objective of offering wider choices of life insurance products to the customers and also augmenting non-interest income of the bank.
- Extra info.:
Allahabad bank Headquarters: Kolkata
Shikha Sharma retires as Axis Bank MD & CEO
Lending major Axis Bank's Managing Director and CEO Shikha Sharma retired. She will be succeeded by Amitabh Chaudhry, effective January 1, 2019.
- Amitabh Chaudhry will be the Managing Director & CEO of the bank with effect from 1st January 2019 on the terms and conditions relating to the said appointment, including remuneration, as approved by the RBI.
SPORTS
ICC name Women's ODI and T20I team of the year
International Cricket Council announced the women's ODI and T20I teams of the year with senior New Zealand all-rounder, Suzie Bates named ODI skipper while as Indian batting star, Harmanpreet Kaur nominated as the T20I captain.
- Both Bates and Harmanpreet were exceptional with their leadership skills and performances throughout the year and as a recognition of their success, the duo has been named skippers' of the One day and Twenty-20 squads, respectively.
- Bates was instrumental in New Zealand's ODI success through the year while Harman helped India in reaching the semi-finals of ICC Women’s World T20 2018.
- The teams include both experienced and young faces from around the world. In ODI side, the likes of Tammy Beaumont, Sana Mir etc and in T20I squad, Ellyse Perry and Rumana Ahmed find a place. Kiwi star Suzie Bates, Indian duo of Smriti Mandhana and Poonam Yadav and Aussie wicket-keeper batsman, Alyssa Healy complete the team of the year.
Smriti Mandhana Named ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year
India's Smriti Mandhana was crowned women's cricketer of the year by the sport's world governing body, capping off a prolific run-scoring season for the opener. The left-handed batswoman was also named ODI cricketer of the year for accumulating 669 runs off 12 one-day internationals. She scored 622 runs in 25 T20 matches this year.
- Mandhana, 22, is only the second Indian woman to win an International Cricket Council award after fast bowler Jhulan Goswami who was named the women's player of the year in 2007.
Test team rankings: India retain numero uno spot
India retained their numero uno spot in the year-end International Cricket Council (ICC) Test team rankings. After their unassailable 2-1 lead in the ongoing four-Test series against Australia, India maintained their 116 points to consolidate their top place followed by the English team, who are placed at the second spot with 108 points.
- Meanwhile, New Zealand team that won fourth consecutive Test series and finished the year on 107 points, have overtaken South Africa by two points to move up to the third position after completing a 1-0 win over Sri Lanka in their concluded two-Test series. The top five teams end with Australian team, who are placed at the fifth position with 102 points.
Djokovic claims 4th Mubadala title
Serbia's Novak Djokovic defeated defending champion Kevin Anderson of South Africa 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 to win the Mubadala World Tennis Championship for the fourth time at Abu Dhabi International Tennis Centre, Abu Dhabi.
- Djokovic extended his dominance over Anderson, whose only victory in 10 matches against the Serb came a decade ago in Miami.
APPOINTMENTS
Sheikh Hasina Wins 3rd Consecutive Term As PM of Bangladesh
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's alliance won Bangladesh's election with a thumping majority. It gave her a third straight term following a vote that the opposition rejected as rigged. The win consolidated Hasina’s decade-long rule over Bangladesh.
- The alliance dominated by her Awami League, seen as close to regional power India, won 287 of the 298 seats for which results have been declared.
- Extra info.:
Bangladesh Capital: Dhaka
Currency: Bangladeshi taka
VK Yadav appointed new chairman of Railway Board
The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of V K Yadav as Railway Board chairman on the superannuation of Ashwani Lohani on December 31. Before his posting to the coveted post, Yadav was serving as General Manager, South Central Railway.
Sudhir Bhargava Appointed New Chief Information Commissioner
The government has appointed Sudhir Bhargava as the new Chief Information Commissioner. He has been a Commissioner since June 2015, and will take over as the ninth chief of the CIC. Four new members have also been appointed to the Central Information Commission (CIC), taking its total strength to seven.
- The CIC is the highest appeal body under the Right to Information Act. All four of the new Commissioners are also retired senior bureaucrats. Yashwardhan Kumar Sinha was High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom, while Vanaja N. Sarna was chief of the Central Board of Excise and Customs. Suresh Chandra retired as Union Law secretary earlier this year, while Neeraj Kumar Gupta was Secretary in the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management.
AWARDS
Swachh Surveksahan Award For GHMC
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation was awarded Best Capital City in the Solid Waste Management in the Swachh Survekshan 2018 rankings. The Swachh Survekashan survey ranks cities on various sanitation parameters. The GHMC was also at the 27th place among 4,041 cities.
OBITUARIES
Veteran actor-writer Kader Khan passes away
Celebrated veteran actor Kader Khan passed away at the age of 81, due to prolonged illness. He suffered from progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a degenerative disease that causes loss of balance, difficulty in walking and dementia. Kader also underwent surgeries for his knees in 2017.
- Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, Kader Khan was known for his impeccable comic timing, and his nonpareil work as an actor and a writer in several films.
- He has been part of numerous blockbusters including 'Bol Radha Bol', 'Khoon Bhari Maang', 'Biwi Ho To Aisi', 'Main Khiladi Tu Anari', 'Judwaa', 'Dulhe Raja' and 'Haseena Maan Jayegi'. He was last seen in 2015 in 'Ho Gaya Deemag Ka Dahi'.
Norman Gimbel, Grammy and Oscar Winning Lyricist Passes Away
Oscar and Grammy-winning composer Norman Gimbel has passed away. He was 91. Gimbel, an Oscar and Grammy-winning composer whose lyrics graced hit songs such as Roberta Flack's "Killing me softly with his song" and Jim Croce's "I got a name", passed away.
ARPAnet lead, early internet pioneer Larry Roberts passed away at 81
One of the early architects of the internet is no more. Larry Roberts who was the program manager for The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPAnet) (precursor to the internet), passed away. He was 81. Roberts latched on to the concept of computer-to-computer networks in the 1960s.
- Although he left ARPA in 1973, he went on to commercialize packet switching technology through his company Telenet and later dedicated himself to improve the quality of internet networking.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Book 'Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From' By Tony Joseph Released
The book titled "Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From" has been authored by journalist Tony Joseph, which unravels our history using the results of genetics and other research.
- According to book, the Indian population is a result of four major migrations, including that of the Aryans, into the country in prehistoric times. Apart from the formation of the Indian population and the development of the Harappan Civilisation, the book also looks into when and how the caste system began.
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