Dear Aspirants,
The General Awareness Section plays an important role in scoring well above cut off marks in any competitive exam. The Banking Awareness and Static Awareness questions asked in the General Awareness Section are based on Current Affairs mainly. So you need to prepare well this section to score good marks. Here is the Daily GK Update to get you acquainted with the top events that made the headlines today!
International News
1. World’s 1st Malaria Vaccine Launched In Africa
i. The world’s first-ever malaria vaccine was launched in a pilot project in Africa’s Malawi. The country is the first of three in Africa in which the vaccine, known as RTS,S, will be made available to children up to 2 years of age.
ii. Ghana and Kenya will introduce the vaccine soon. About 93% of the world’s malaria-related deaths in 2017 occurred in Africa.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for LIC AAO Mains Exam-
- WHO Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland, Director general: Tedros Adhanom.
2. Kazakhstan Sets Up Coordinating Council To Attract Indian Investments
i. Kazakhstan has set up Coordinating Council for attracting foreign investments including from India. A decision was taken to lay down the functions of Investment Ombudsman in order to venture for new approaches to improve the investment scenario in Kazakhstan.
ii. The meeting identified the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) as a Unified Center for the coordination of work on investment and promotion of the investment image of Kazakhstan.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for LIC AAO Exam:
- Kazakhstan PM: Askar Mamin, Capital: Nur-Sultan, Currency: Kazakhstani Tenge.
3. Iran, Pakistan To Set Up Border ‘Reaction Force’
i. Iran and Pakistan have agreed to set up a joint border “reaction force” to combat the attacks by militant groups on both sides their frontier.
ii. Both the nations have decided to collaborate to form the joint quick reaction force by increasing cooperation between border forces and intelligence agencies.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for LIC AAO Exam:
- Iran President: Hassan Rohani, Pakistan PM: Imran Khan.
- Iran Capital: Tehran, Currency: Iranian rial.
Appointments
4. MD Karnam Sekar Appointed As IOB’s New MD & CEO
i. Former Dena Bank MD & CEO Karnam Sekar is set to take over as the new Managing Director and CEO of Indian Overseas Bank from July 1, 2019. He will take over from R Subramaniakumar.
ii. Earlier Sekar was the MD & CEO of Dena Bank till September 2018. He was also the Deputy Managing Director and Chief Credit Officer in State Bank of India heading its highest Credit Committee.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for LIC AAO Exam:
- IOB Headquarters: Chennai.
Banking/Economy News
5. RBI Becomes The First APAC Central Bank To Begin Interest Rate Easing Cycle
i. The Reserve Bank of India has become the first central bank in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region to begin an explicit interest rate easing cycle. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, cut rates in February and April.
ii. In the four months of 2019, the RBI has cut policy interest rates twice by 0.25% each to a one-year low of 6%. This is the first back-to-back rate cut since the MPC was formed in late 2016.
6: Kotak Bank Launches Debit Card-Based e-mandate On NPCI’s API Platform
i. Kotak Mahindra Bank (Kotak) has launched the first debit card-based authentication solution on NPCI’s (National Payments Corporation of India) e-Mandate (electronic mandate) API (Application Program Interface) platform.
ii. With this, it has become the first ever Destination Bank to go live with both Net Banking and Debit Card-based e-mandate authentication.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for LIC AAO Exam:
- Kotak Mahindra Bank MD & CEO: Uday Kotak, headquarters: Mumbai.
- e-NACH: Electronic National Automated Clearing House; OTP: One Time Password.
7: IndusInd Bank Receives NCLT Approval For Merger With Bharat Financial Inclusion
i. National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the merger of private sector lender IndusInd Bank with Bharat Financial Inclusion (BFIL), a microfinance company.
ii. Earlier, IndusInd Bank had received ‘No Objection’ from Reserve Bank of India, National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange. Bharat Financial will become a subsidiary of the private lender.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for LIC AAO Exam:
- IndusInd Bank Headquarter: Mumbai, CEO: Romesh Sobti.
- NCLT Headquarter: New Delhi.
8. SEBI Reduces Minimum Subscription Requirement For REITs, InvITs
i. Markets regulator SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) has reduced the minimum subscription requirement as well as defined trading lots for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs). SEBI has also increased the leverage limit for InvITs from 49% to 70%.
ii. While making an initial public offer and follow-on offer, the minimum subscription shall not be less than Rs 1 lakh for InvITs and Rs 50,000 for REITs. Currently, in the case of a REIT issue, the minimum subscription from any investor in an initial offer and follow-on public offer is not less than Rs 2 lakh, while the same is Rs 10 lakh in case of InvIT.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for LIC AAO Exam:
- SEBI Headquarter: Mumbai, Chairperson: Ajay Tyagi.
9: BuyUcoin Introduces First Indian Platform for Wholesale Cryptocurrency Trading
i. BuyUcoin, second oldest Cryptocurrency Exchange in India, has introduced a new and unique platform for wholesale cryptocurrency trading.
ii. It is also known as OTC (Over-the-counter) Desk that allows users to trade on a large scale with low price fluctuations.
10: RBI Sells Entire Stake In NHB, Nabard To Government For INR 1,470 crore
i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has divested its entire stake held in National Housing Bank (NHB), and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) to the government, which now holds 100% in these entities.
ii. The transactions were completed in February (Nabard) and March (NHB). RBI had 100% shareholding in NHB, which was divested for INR 1,450 crore. RBI had 72.5% stake in Nabard, out of which 71.5%, worth INR1,430 crore was divested in October 2010 and the residual shareholding was divested in February 2019 for INR 20 crore.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for LIC AAO Exam:
- NHB is the regulator for housing finance companies while NABARD is responsible for regulating and supervising the functions of Co-operative banks and RRBs.
Sports News
11. Asian Athletics Championships: India Finishes Fourth
i. Asian Athletics Championships 2019 held at Doha in Qatar. It was the 23rd edition of the Championships. India ended at the fourth spot in the medals tally with 3 Gold, 7 Silver and 7 Bronze. Bahrain topped the table with 11 Gold, 7 Silver and 4 Bronze. China was second while Japan was third.
ii. Tejinder Pal Singh Toor (Shot put), Gomathi Marimuthu(800 metres) and P. U. Chitra (1500 metres) won gold for India. India had won 29 medals – 12 Gold, 5 Silver and 12 Bronze in the last edition in Bhubaneswar in 2017, topping the medal tally for the first time.
Important days
12. World Malaria Day: 25 April
i. Every year on 25 April, people around the globe observe World Malaria Day (WMD) to raise awareness and funds for the treatment and prevention of the disease.
ii. This year, the theme for the day is “Zero malaria starts with me” and it is being hosted by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Static/Current Takeaways Important for LIC AAO Exam:
- WHO Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland, Director general: Tedros Adhanom.
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