Ø Canara
Bank has launched its canara e-infobook app for android/windows smartphones.
E-infobook app has customer friendly features like electronic passbook, balance
enquiry, mail your banking statement to mail id, branch locater, atm locater,
account summary, cheque status & product information.
Ø China
overtook India as the world’s largest consumer market for gold with a jump of
32 per cent last year, according to the World Gold Council. Chinese consumers
bought 1,066 tonnes of gold products in 2013, while their Indian counterparts
bought 975 tonnes, up 13 per cent from 2012, the London-based council reported.
Ø In a
major relief to three condemned prisoners in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination
case, the Supreme Court on 18th October 2014 commuted their death sentence to
life imprisonment on the ground of 11 years delay in deciding their mercy plea
by the Centre. A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam rejected the
Centre’s submission that there was no unreasonable delay in deciding their
mercy plea and the condemned prisoners did not go through an agonising
experience as they were enjoying life behind the bars.
Ø A
historic bill to carve out Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh was passed on
18th February 2014 by the Lok Sabha amid din and strong protests by members
from the Seemandhra region, including Ministers.
Ø In a
move aimed at reinventing itself and cut mounting losses, consumer electronics
giant Sony has decided to sell its personal-computer business and cut 5,000
jobs to save about $1 billion annually.
Ø The
Reserve Bank has issued ‘certificate of authorisation’ to four non-bank
entities - Tata Communications Payment Solutions, Prizm Payment Services,
Vakrangee Ltd. and Muthoot Finance, to set up White Label ATMs (WLAs) in the
country. Most of the ATMs belong to banks, but the cash dispensing machines
which are owned and operated by non-banking companies are called White Label
ATMs.
Ø PepsiCo
CEO Indra Nooyi and ICICI Bank Managing Director Chanda Kochhar are among
Fortune magazine’s list of 50 most powerful women in business who are “taking
on the world” by pushing into new territories and inspiring women in their home
countries.
Ø Google
launches corporate video conferencing product ‘Chromebox’. As many as 15 people
can take part in a Chromebox video conference using smartphones, tablets, laptops
or other Internet linked computers.
Ø The
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the banking licence of
Ahmedabad-based The Municipal Cooperative Bank Limited thereby restricting the
bank from carrying out the banking business in India.
Ø Bharat
Ratna, the country's highest civilian honour, was conferred(handed over) on
legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and scientist Prof C N R Rao on 4th
February 2014
Ø Software
giant Microsoft has appointed Hyberabad-born Satya Nadella as its new Chief
Executive Officer, replacing Steve Ballmer.
Ø Nabard
has sanctioned 11,112 crore for creation of 1,336 warehouses in various States
and State Government Corporations in the country.
Ø Nandan
and Rohini Nilekani inaugurated the Shailaja Soman Memorial Mobile Mammography
Unit on the occasion of World Cancer Day. The mobile diagnosis unit has been instituted
in the memory of Nandan Nilekani's mother-in-law, who lost her battle against
cancer because she was not diagnosed on time. The bus will take free Mammography
tests to the door steps of the people of Bangalore and surrounding areas. It
aims to cover slum and lower income pockets in the city.
Ø Justice
Mathur to head 7th Central Pay panel, paving the way for revision of salaries
of over 50 lakh Central government employees. The other members of the panel
are Petroleum Secretary Vivek Rae (full-time member), National Institute of
Public Finance and Policy Director Rathin Roy (part-time member) and Officer on
Special Duty in the Expenditure Department Meena Agarwal (Secretary), a Finance
Ministry. The Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations were implemented with
effect from January 1, 2006.
Ø Facebook
— with more than 1.2 billion users worldwide — is celebrating its 10th
birthday. The company was launched by Mark Zuckerberg on February 4, 2004, from
Harvard University.
Ø Karnataka
won seventh Ranji Trophy title after beating a spirited Maharashtra side by
seven wickets.
Ø The
Centre has appointed Jatinder Bir Singh, a 1983-batch IAS officer of
Assam-Meghalaya cadre, as Chairman and Managing Director of Punjab & Sind
Bank (PSB). Prior to this, Singh was an Additional Secretary in the Ministry of
Water Resources.
Ø Virat
Kohli slipped a rung but was still the best-placed Indian batsman at fourth in
the latest ICC Twenty20 rankings