Daily Gk Update 22 June 2013

Daily Gk Update 22 June 2013 International Gk Update 22 June 2013

Raymond first Indian outlet goes to Pakistan

Raymond became the first Indian outlet to open its doors to Pakistani customers in the posh locality of Clifton

Najmus Saqib, a director of NexSource, which has got the right to run the Raymond outlet in Pakistan, said he saw the opening as the first step towards more Indian brands coming to the Pakistani market.

The interest from our clientele has been very encouraging, and it does not surprise us because Raymond is also known internationally and has some 40 international outlets,” Najmus Saqib said.

Amin Hashwani, President of the Pakistan India Business Forum, said the opening of the Raymond outlet was a positive sign for business and trade between the two countries. 

We have always stressed for equal opportunity for business community in both countries. 

People should not be surprised by opening of Indian brands and outlets because Indian films are already doing great business in Karachi,” he noted. 

SEBI issues guide for investment advisers to operate in stock markets

Market regulator SEBI has notified guidelines for investment advisers and their 'associated persons' making it compulsory for them to get requisite certifications to operate in stock markets.

The notification released by SEBI ordered the investment advisers and their associates which includes representatives and partners offering investment advice to get a certification from the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) after passing the relevant examinations.

The notification also mentioned that the associated person, who has received certification by passing the NISM Certified Personal Finance Advisor (CPFA) examination before or on the day of the notification, need not apply for any such certification.

Idea slashes data tariff by 90% in eight circles

Vodafone India and Bharti Airtel cutting 2G data charges by more than 80%, India's fourth-largest mobile phone company by subscribers Idea Cellular on Thursday slashed data charges by 90%, triggering a new tariff war.

Idea Cellular revised data tariff for its pre-paid and post-paid customers in eight circles of Tamil Nadu and Chennai, Karnataka, Kolkata, West Bengal, Assam, North East, Bihar and Orissa. 

Customers will pay only 2 paise for using 10 kb (kilobyte) of data instead of the earlier rate of 2 paise per kb data, for 90 days beginning July 1.

Bharti Airtel slashed 2G data charges by 90% in nine circles of UP east, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat, Kolkata, Punjab and Orissa from 10 paise per 10 kb to 1 paisa per 10 kb.

The changes are applicable for pre paid customers using recharge vouchers of Rs 22,Rs 25 and Rs 125 that will be valid for three months.

NISM (National Institute of Securities Markets)

National Institute of Securities Markets is a public trust, established by the SEBI, the regulator for securities markets in India. It is located in Navi Mumbai, India.

NISM seeks to add to market quality through educational initiatives. It is an autonomous body governed by its Board of Governors. 

In pursuance of the announcement made by the Finance Minister in his Budget Speech in February 2005, SEBI established the NISM in Mumbai.

National Payments Corporation launches e-commerce solution in RuPay Card

National Payments Corporation (NPCI) today launched its e-commerce solution named 'RuPay PaySecure' that will enable all RuPay card holders to make online payment.

NPCI, which is a body promoted by RBI and has ten core promoter banks, is a pioneer organisation in the field of retail payments in India.

"With RuPay PaySecure solution, anyone having RuPay cards can make online payments to fulfil various need-based services such as reservations, booking, ticketing, shopping, utility bill payments in a secured manner," Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NPCI, A P Hota said.

RuPay, only homegrown payment solution, has already crossed three million cards within two years of its launch and RuPay debit cards are being issued by 20 commercial banks, 32 regional banks and over 75 co-operative banks.

Rail link to Kashmir to be launched

The much-awaited railway section, providing all-weather surface link to Kashmir valley, will be launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on June 26. 

ii. Singh and Gandhi will jointly flag off the first train on the 18-km-long section between Banihal in Jammu and Qazigund in Kashmir, marking start of the service. 

The Banihal-Qazigund section, which includes an 11-km-long tunnel, will reduce the distance from 35 km (by road) to 18 km. It has been constructed at a cost of Rs 1,691 crore. 

This rail section is very significant as it will provide an all-weather link to Kashmir valley which often gets cut off from the rest of the country due to snowfall during winters.

Passengers travelling by train from Kashmir valley to Banihal can avail bus service from there till Udhampur where train service is available for rest of the country. 

The bus service will be available from Udhampur to facilitate passengers availing train from Banihal next month," 

Train service is already operational within Kashmir valley in the 118-km-long route between Qazigund and Baramulla in north Kashmir.

The mandatory inspection of the track by Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) is being done and the clearance is awaited. The line is expected to open on June 26," the official said. 

Trial run on this section was successfully done on December 28 last year and since then trains carrying stones are running on regular basis. 

Madras varsity to fill 350 vacant posts from July

University of Madras will begin a massive recruitment drive to fill in nearly 150 faculty posts, including that of 91 assistant professors and 50 associate professors from the first week of July.

UGC insists on a minimum of four permanent teaching faculty in a department and eight in advanced departments, which are known as advanced research centres. The university does not meet the criteria.

Reliance Capital becomes first company to suspend gold sales

Amid growing concerns over huge gold imports hurting the country's economic strength, financial services major Reliance Capital on Friday became the first company to suspend gold sales across all its businesses.

The decision includes suspension of sale of gold coins and other physical forms of the yellow metal, as also as an investment product across all its businesses and subsidiaries, Reliance Capital said in a statement.

The company said the decision has been taken in view of the government's "publicly stated objective of minimizing gold imports that are seriously hurting the country's economic interests".

Besides suspension of gold sales, Reliance Capital's Commercial Finance Division has also decided to suspend financing against gold as a security.

The fund is estimated to have a total Asset Under Management of over Rs 2,200 crore.

The suspension would also apply to supply of gold coins by Reliance Capital for sale through India Post

 i. India is estimated to have imported 860 tonnes of gold in 2012.

According to industry watchers, more companies are expected to follow suit with similar measures, as rising gold imports continue to burden the country's current account deficit.

The government has been consistently asking for measures to curb flow of household savings into idle assets like gold and channelise these funds towards financial market assets.

देश के सर्वश्रेष्ठ इंजीनियरिंग संस्थानों में दाखिले के लिए आईआईटी ज्वाइंट एंट्रेंस एग्जाम (एडवांस) 2013 का रिजल्ट घोषित कर दिया गया है। चेन्‍न्‍ई के पलाराजा ताई संदीप ने इस परीक्षा में टॉप किया है।

इस बार आईआईटी-जेईई (एडवांस) के परीक्षा पैटर्न में बदलाव किया गया था। प्रश्न-पत्र केमिस्ट्री, फिजिक्स और मैथ्स के सवालों पर आधारित थे। इसमें ऑब्जेक्टिव, कॉम्प्रीहेन्सिव, मैट्रिक्स और एनालसिस पैटर्न के सवाल थे।

Exim Bank approves $300 million loan to Ethiopia for Railway Link

The Export-Import Bank of India has approved a $300 million worth of line of credit to Ethiopia, paving the way for construction of a railway line linking this landlocked country in the Horn of Africa to a port city in neighbouring Djibouti.

An agreement in this regard was signed between T. C. A. Ranganathan, chairman and managing director of Exim Bank, and Ahmed Shide Mehamed, Ethopian State Minister of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED), in New Delhi Thursday.

Ethopia being a landlocked nation, the railway link to a port city will provide impetus to its growth, particularly in the northern region of the country," the minister said.

The railway line is the first part of a larger regional project to improve railway connectivity in Ethiopia and other east African countries

The proposed railway link will connect the city of Asaita, some 670 km of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, to the port city of Tajourah in neighbouring Djibouti.

The link is expected to improve regional connectivity and boost growth in the east African country

vii. "The new line will be very important for Ethopia because it will give us an access to a second port and boost economic activities in the country,

The credit line would entail concessional funds at an interest rate of 1.75 percent

Founded in 1982 under the Export-Import Bank of India Act 1981, Exim Bank is the first export finance institution of the country.

The bank provides other credit lines to the Ethopian government in the sugar and rural development sectors.

Ratan Tata signs up for Richard Branson’s B Team; to change way businesses are conducted and governed

Ratan Tata, former chairman of the Tata group, has signed up to a new global experiment christened Plan B, which seeks to infuse businesses with a new DNA that puts people and planet alongside profits. 

The B Team, a clutch of 14 global business leaders, cobbled together by the swashbuckling Richard Branson of the Virgin Group and Jochen Zeitz, former CEO of Puma last week, hopes to change the very manner in which businesses are conducted and governed.

Along with Tata, the leaders providing heft to the grouping include Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, an untiring proponent of social business, and Paul Polman of Unilever who is beginning to transform his co., and his stakeholders - suppliers and customers et al - into sustainability cohorts. Zeitz had computed a path- breaking, 

first- ever environmental profit & loss (EP&L) account for Puma.

The B Team kicked off its work with a confession.