CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR BANK

CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR BANK

Pakistani national arrested from Firozabad in UP

The Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested a Pakistani national, who according to them was living illegally in Firozabad district of the state for last one year.

The Superintendent of Police (SP), Rakesh Singh, said on Tuesday that the arrested Pakistani national was being interrogated. He further said, "The government of Uttar Pradesh had asked him to leave one year back. He had been absconding since then and gone into hiding. Our intelligence team captured him and he is being interrogated. He will soon be deported to Pakistan."

The individual was living in Firozabad's area of Katra under the name of Najamuddin, while he is known in Pakistan as Salim Akhtar. Police received information that a Pakistani national was living in Firozabad and immediately investigated the matter, which led to his arrest.

Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy appears before Sebi in refund case

Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy and top executives reached Sebi's office to appear before the market regulator in connection with the high-profile refund case involving an estimated Rs 24,000 crore payment to over three crore investors. Sebi had said that if they failed to appear, it would issue orders for the attachment and sale of its assets.

The Supreme Court had ordered Sebi to get Sahara repay its investors Rs 24,000 crore. Meanwhile, the Mumbai Economic Offences Wing has launched a preliminary investigation against the Sahara Group. The probe will focus on whether Sahara is intimidating investors. The Mumbai EOW chief has told CNN-IBN that they have been asked by the Government of India to probe Sahara.

Sebi had summoned Roy and three other directors of two Sahara firms for personal appearance in an order dated March 26. Sebi wants to ascertain details of their personal assets, as also the investments and assets of the companies, to move ahead with sale of immovable assets for realisation of money to be refunded to the investors.

Deadline for states on rights of disabled people

Concerned over the delay in response from some states to the draft bill on the rights of people with disabilities, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Selja has shot off a letter setting a deadline for feedback on the legislation, which seeks to remove gaps in existing law.

In her letter to seven chief ministers and a governor late last month, Selja said that lack of comments from states had led to a delay in giving final shape to the "important" Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Bill.

She urged the concerned states to send their views by April 12 and noted that in the absence of comments, it will be presumed that the state has no comments to offer.

Sources said letters has been written to the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh (Akhilesh Yadav), Punjab (Parkash Singh Badal), Bihar (Nitish Kumar), Andhra Pradesh (N. Kiran Kumar Reddy), Tamil Nadu (J. Jayalalithaa), Assam (Tarun Gogoi) and Tripura (Manik Sarkar). The letter has also been sent to Jharkhand Governor Syed Ahmed as the state is under president's rule.

Expert group calls for monitoring China’s run-of-the-river projects

The Inter-Ministerial Expert Group (IMEG) on the Brahmaputra has said China is carrying out a series of cascading Run-of-the-River (ROR) projects in the middle reaches of the river and the same may be replicated in the Great Bend Area as a viable alternative to a single mega project, and called for further monitoring.

The IMEG is of the opinion that Jiacha could be the next power project on the mainstream of the Brahmaputra. It may be followed by projects at Lengda, Zhongda, Langzhen, where dam-related peripheral infrastructural activity, including four new bridges, has gathered speed.

Indian agencies have identified and reported a total of 39 projects/sites on the Brahmaputra and its tributaries for construction of reservoirs/power projects, showing an increase of three sites over 36 sites reported in the previous IMEG report. However, these projects are mainly ROR projects, catering to electricity or irrigational requirement.

Now smaller cities can also pitch in for a Metro

The Union Urban Development Ministry, which has been urging cities with two million plus population to pitch in for a Metro system, is now considering extending the efficient mass transit system to cities with lesser populace.

The proposal stems from the need to decongest cities, enhance the ease of commuting on public transport and to improve the link between the suburbs and the main city centres. If the proposal gets approved, more than 50 cities with a million plus population in States like Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir among many others will benefit.

Cities with under two million population will have to prepare a detailed project report and show adequate means of funding and prove that the passenger traffic of at least 4,000 persons per hour per direction will be met.

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Luxembourg to ease the secrecy surrounding its banks

Luxembourg has said it will ease the secrecy surrounding its banks.

It said it would implement rules on the automatic exchange of bank account information with its European Union partners from 2015.

Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker

Luxembourg is a country of only 500,000 people, but its banks and other financial institutions have assets worth more than 20 times the country's economic output.

Luxembourg's foreign minister, Luc Frieden, said at the weekend that he wanted to "strengthen co-operation with foreign tax authorities".

Last week, Germany signed a tax evasion treaty with Switzerland - another European banking centre known for its secrecy.

The treaty is designed to give the German tax authorities the ability to claw back taxes from their citizens who may be hiding money in Swiss banks.

New York Metropolitan Museum of Art receives $1bn donation

New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art has received a $1bn (£650m) donation of Cubist art from cosmetics executive, Leonard Lauder.

The heir to the Estee Lauder fortune has pledged 78 works - considered one of the foremost collections of Cubism in the world.

It includes pieces from Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Juan Gris and Fernand Leger which were amassed over 37 years.

Museum director Thomas Campbell said the gift was "truly transformational".

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Nokia 105: Cheapest entry level handset in India at Rs 1,249

Mobile phone maker Nokia today announced the launch of its most affordable handset -- Nokia 105 -- in the Indian market aimed at first time buyers.

Priced at Rs 1,249, the phone is a colourful introduction to the Nokia range for first time buyers and is lowest priced colour screen entry phone available in the Indian market, a company release said here.

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Samsung GALAXY S 4 Product Specifications

Network              2.5G (GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE): 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz

3G (HSPA＋ 42Mbps): 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz

4G (LTE Cat 3 100/50Mbps) : up to 6 different band sets(Dependent on market)

Display 5 inch Full HD Super AMOLED (1920 x 1080) display, 441 ppi

AP          1.9 GHz Quad-Core Processor / 1.6 GHz Octa-Core Processor

The selection of AP will be differed by markets.

OS          Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)

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Google to expand high-speed Internet and TV service to Austin

Google Inc is bringing its high-speed Internet and television service to Austin, Texas, the first move to expand the Google Fiber service beyond its initial location in Kansas City introduced last year.

Google plans to begin connecting homes in Austin by the middle of 2014, the company said in a post on its official blog on Tuesday.

As in Kansas City, Missouri, consumers in Austin will be able to get standalone Gigabit Internet service, which Google says is 100 times faster than today's average broadband performance, or a bundle that includes nearly 200 high-definition television channels. Pricing in Austin is still to be determined, Google said.

Google Fiber's ultra high-speed connections and television offerings are aimed at surpassing those of current providers, such as cable and telecommunications companies, including Time Warner Cable Inc.

Google, the world's No. 1 Internet search engine, launched its first Google Fiber service in Kansas City in November. The company initially billed the service as a test project to spur development of new Web services and technology but now says it views Google Fiber as a viable business.

Google said it will also offer Austin residents free Internet service, at a slower 5 megabit per second rate for 7 years, provided they pay a one-time construction fee that was not specified. In Kansas City, the fee is $300. 

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Economy

Goldman Sachs cuts gold price forecasts, recommends short position

Goldman Sachs cut its gold price forecasts for a second time in six weeks on Wednesday, citing expectations for an acceleration in U.S. economic growth and the metal's recent lacklustre price performance.

The bank lowered its 2013 average gold price forecast to $1,545 an ounce from $1,610 and its 2014 price view to $1,350 an ounce from $1,490.

It also advised that investors close a long COMEX gold position, recommended in late 2010, and replace it with a short COMEX position.

Business

Google to invest $390 million in data center in Belgium

Internet search giant Google says it is investing 300 million euros ($390 million) to expand its continental European data center.

Google Inc. said Wednesday it will upgrade the facility in Belgium to meet growing demand for its online services.

The information underpinning Google's services Internet search requests, Gmail or YouTube is processed in industrial-scale data centers such as the Belgian plant in St. Ghislain southwest of Brussels.

Google says the center currently has some 120 employees and is one of the most energy-efficient facilities of its kind. 

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All eyes on 'Red Bulls' after Sepang bust-up

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber will be under fierce scrutiny as they return to the Red Bull team garage at this week's Chinese Grand Prix following a furious team orders row in Malaysia.

The reigning world champion and his aggrieved Australian team-mate are said to have called a truce after Vettel's controversial late pass for victory at Sepang, but relations are likely to be uneasy at best.

Webber admitted he considered his future in the sport after Vettel ignored orders to stay behind his front-running stablemate, who was on deteriorating tyres, to snatch one of the most contentious wins of recent years.

HIL is a key fixture in FIHs calendar:FIH

The Hockey India League (HIL) is a key fixture in International Hockey Federation's calendar as the event would help in enhancing the possibility of playing the game throughout the year, FIH chief executive Kelly Fairweather said.

The inaugural season of HIL finished in February this year, with five teams competing for top honours.

There were over 50 million viewers and it went out to 83 countries. There were over ten million viewers over the semis and the final so it is heading in the right direction. There is also a big following on Facebook and Twitter."

Last-gasp Dortmund snatch Champions League semifinal place

Borussia Dortmund scored twice in added time to seal a dramatic 3-2 quarterfinal, second-leg win at home to Malaga on Tuesday to reach the last four of the Champions League.

With Malaga leading 2-1 in the dying stages, Dortmund's Marco Reus gave his side a glimmer of hope with a 91st-minute equaliser, but the Spaniards would still have gone through on away goals.

In the frantic closing seconds, Reus managed to stab the ball across the Malaga goal for Brazilian centre-back Felipe Santana to toe the ball over the line for the crucial third Dortmund goal to put the Germans in the last four.

Petra Kvitova leads Czechs against Italy in Fed Cup

Holders Czech Republic on Wednesday named a five-member squad led by world number eight Petra Kvitova for their Fed Cup semifinal tie against Italy on clay in Palermo on April 20-21.

Besides Kvitova, team captain Petr Pala has called up world number 21 Klara Zakopalova and 25th-ranked Lucie Safarova along with doubles specialists Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, the world numbers four and five in doubles.