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175
million bank accounts in India in three years: World Bank
India
> Financial
Inclusion > Apr 16
According to recent reports
of the World Bank, bank account penetration in India saw an increase
from 35 per cent to 53 per cent in three years. This steep growth in
bank accounts comes as a result of government’s push for financial
inclusion. In order to drive financial inclusion, the Indian
government launched Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana scheme for
comprehensive financial inclusion with the goal of opening a bank
account for every household. However, 97 per cent of the newly opened
accounts show 'zero balances' indicating a high rate of financial
inactivity in India.
Banks
all set to offer differential rates to fixed deposit holders
Banking
and Investment >
Rate of Interest > Apr 17
The Reserve Bank of India
has allowed banks to offer higher rates of interest to fixed deposit
holders who agree not to prematurely withdraw their high-value fixed
deposits. Banks will offer differential rates to depositors who
deposit a minimum of Rs. 15 lakh for a fixed tenure set by the banks.
The move will provide banks with an assurance of building a base of
medium to long-term assured deposits that will enable them to better
handle asset-liability issues. At present, depositors are entitled to
withdraw their deposits prematurely without giving any reason to the
banks. The announcement by RBI however, does not impose any changes
on the withdrawal of deposits below Rs. 15 lakh. A depositor
depositing more than Rs. 15 lakh will have the option to opt for a
higher rate of interest by depositing the money for a longer period
or to get the usual rate of interest with the option of breaking the
deposit any time during the fixed tenure.
First
International Day of Yoga to be observed on June 21
Days
>
International Day
of Yoga > Apr 20
Following a proposal put
forth by Modi at at the 69th Session of the United Nations General
Assembly last year, a resolution was adopted at the session for
observing the International Day of Yoga on June 21 each year. To
ensure that the purpose of the resolution is served, the government
of India has asked universities and colleges across the country to
observe the first International Day of Yoga on June 21.
Transport
allowance exemption raised from Rs 800 to Rs 1600 per month
Economy
> Taxation > Apr 20
A notification regarding an
increase in the transport allowance exemption from Rs 800 to Rs 1600
per month has been issued by the government. Exemption limit for
blind and orthopedically handicapped employees has been raised to Rs
3200 per month from Rs 1600. This comes after an announcement in the
budget by finance Minister Arun Jaitely to relax salaried class from
tax burden.
Others
Canadian
PM Stephan Harper returns 900 year old Khajuraho statue to Modi
During his visit to Canada,
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was handed a stolen 900 year old
statue from the Khajuraho temple in Madhya Pradesh by his Canadian
counterpart Stephen Harper. The statue is known as the 'parrot lady'
and was found to be in possession of a person in the year 2011, and
was confiscated due to lack of proper documents. The statue was
handed over in accordance of the UNESCO convention, as the Khajuraho
temple is a UNESCO world heritage site. The handing over ceremony
took place at the Canadian parliament library.
Civil
Services Day set to become a 2 day affair
India
> Important
Days > Apr 16
The Annual Civil Services
Day is set to become a two day event, instead of a one day affair
starting from 20th April 2015. The event will be attended by various
high profile government officials including the cabinet ministers and
the prime minister and will have special presentations on the PRAGATI
and E-SamikSha projects of the government. The PRAGATi project is a
unique integrating and interactive platform aimed at addressing
common man's grievances, and simultaneously monitoring and reviewing
important programmes and projects of the central as well as state
governments. The E-SamikSha project will allow the government's top
ministers, including the prime minister, a real-time clear view of
intra and interdepartmental file movements and gives them power to
intervene in case of a delay.
India
needs more awareness on Haemophilla
Days
> World
Hemophilia Day > Apr 17
World Hemophilia Day is
observed each year on April 17 to raise awareness and also to raise
funds for the disease. Hemophilia is a congenital lifelong bleeding
disorder that prevents the blood from clotting properly, leading to
internal bleeding; mostly in the joints, muscles and vital organs
like the brain. In India approximately 100,000 people are affected
with Hemophilia, with an estimated prevalence rate of 1 in 10,000.
Since a lot of people avoid taking the treatment due to its higher
cost, the government of India should take the step of making the
treatment and medicines available to Hemophilia-affected patients
completely free.
Sitaram
Yechury elected as general secretary of CPI(M)
Politics
and Government >
CPI(M) > Apr 20
62 year old Sitaram Yechury
was elected as the general secretary of the Communist Party of India
(Marxist) by the party's 91 member central committee. Yechury's
election faced stiff opposition from the Kerala committee of the
party, which preferred 77-year-old S Ramachandran Pillai, who
eventually withdrew his candidature. The outgoing general secretary
Prakash Karat suggested Yechury's name, which was approved
unanimously by the central committee.
ICICI
Bank launches NFC based payment technique 'Tap-n-Pay'
India
> ICICI
Bank > Apr 20
India's largest private
sector bank, ICICI Bank, launched a Near Field Communication (NFC)
enabled payment technique called 'Tap-n-Pay' in collaboration with
Tech Mahindra. The service enables customers to make payments by only
tapping on an NFC enabled phone near a merchant's payment counter.
However, this service will be available only for a close group of
customers, like employees paying for having food at their office
canteen, and not for universal services like a debit or a credit card
and the merchant will have to first register for the service and then
enrol customers for using it. The service will not be limited to the
customers of ICICI Bank exclusively and will also be available for
customers of all banks.
RBI:
Banks can tie-up with e-commerce companies
Banking
and Insurance >
E-commerce Firms > Apr 21
The Reserve Bank of India
has expressed its support for the integration of banks with
e-commerce firms to smoothen payments or appointing them as business
correspondents for acquiring new customers. RBI deputy governor H R
Khan stressed on the need for this collaboration in order to promote
banking. RBI has also asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
(TRAI) to give priority to banking transactions over others while
messaging.
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