Daily Gk Update July 2013

Daily Gk Update July 2013 Current Affairs July 2013

Google.COM crisis response' to help Uttarakhand flood victims

Search engine major Google has started an online resource facility to help people affected by the devastating floods in parts of Uttarakhand.

'Google crisis response' is prominently displayed on the home page of the search engine via the link 'resources' and provides up-to-date information on rescue and relief operations including details of statewise control rooms, shelters and medical centers among others.

Google has also started a unique facility--person finder-- to get or give details of a stranded person. 

"You can request status via SMS by sending an SMS to 9 77 33 00 000 with the message Search person-name," according to the information posted on the page.

Staff take Air India for a ride on free ticket scheme

Air India. Book a full fare ticket to New York, Singapore, Mumbai or any destination you fancy and get a second ticket for a companion for free.

Air India introduced the scheme as a promotional offer on most of the full fare tickets even in economy, as opposed to floating rate tickets, so that its seats didn’t go vacant. 

The scheme ended up being a bumper prize for the airline’s own employees who found novel ways of circumventing the rules.

Sathasivam would become the first judge from Tamil Nadu to become the Chief Justice of India. 

Justice P Sathasivam, the seniormost judge of the Supreme Court, will be the next Chief Justice of India (CJI).

Justice Sathasivam (64) will take over as the 40th CJI after the expiry of present CJI Altamas Kabir’s over nine-month tenure on July 19.

President Pranab Mukherjee has given his nod for the appointment of Justice Sathasivam as the next CJI. He will function as the CJI till April 26, 2014.

Born on April 27, 1949, Justice Sathasivam was enrolled as an advocate on July 25, 1973 at Madras and practised in all types of writs, civil and criminal matters, company petitions, insolvency petitions and habeas corpus petitions.

He also worked as government advocate, additional government pleader, and special government pleader in the Madras High Court and as a legal adviser. 

He was appointed as a Supreme Court judge on August 21, 2007.

Justice Pathanjali Sasthri became the Chief Justice of India from the combined Madras Province which comprised Tamil Nadu, parts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala, he was a native of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh.

बैंकिंग लाइसेंस के लिए आवदेन करने की तारीख सोमवार यानी एक जुलाई को खत्म हो रही है। अब तक तीन दर्जन कंपनियां इसके लिए आवेदन कर चुकी हैं। इनमें आदित्य बिड़ला समूह, टाटा कैपिटल, रेलिगेयर, रिलायंस कैपिटल शामिल हैं। इनके अलावा देश के सबसे पुराने वित्तीय संस्थान आइएफसीआइ, आइडीएफसी, इंडिया इंफोलाइन, वीडियोकॉन इंडस्ट्रीज, श्रेई इंफ्रास्ट्रक्चर फाइनेंस, डाक विभाग, बजाज फाइनेंस भी लाइसेंस के लिए आवेदन कर चुके हैं। सूत्रों ने बताया कि पांच माइक्रो फाइनेंस संस्थान भी बैंक लाइसेंस के लिए आवेदन करने जा रहे हैं। अंतिम तारीख तक बैंक लाइसेंस के लिए आवेदन करने वालों की सूची तीन दर्जन के आंकड़े को पार कर सकती है।

रिजर्व बैंक ने स्पष्ट किया है कि बैंक लाइसेंस हासिल करने वाली इकाइयों को शाखाएं खोलने के लिए 18 माह का समय दिया जाएगा। पहले 12 माह का समय देने का प्रस्ताव था। इसके अलावा प्रवर्तकों को निर्धारित समय में गैर परिचालन वाली वित्तीय होल्डिंग कंपनी (एनओएफएचसी) में अपनी होल्डिंग स्थानांतरित करनी होगी।

देश में इस समय 26 सरकारी बैंक, 22 निजी क्षेत्र के और 56 क्षेत्रीय ग्रामीण बैंक काम कर रहे हैं। इससे पहले जनवरी, 1993 में 10 कंपनियों को बैंक लाइसेंस दिया गया था। समय के साथ चार बैंक दूसरों द्वारा अधिग्रहित कर लिए गए। टाइम्स बैंक को एचडीएफसी ने खरीद लिया। ग्लोबल ट्रस्ट बैंक पर सार्वजनिक क्षेत्र के ऑरियंटल बैंक ऑफ कॉमर्स का स्वामित्व हो गया। सेंचुरियन बैंक ने बैंक ऑफ पंजाब को खरीदा और वह सेंचुरियन बैंक ऑफ पंजाब हो गया। 2008 में सेंचुरियन को एचडीएफसी ने खरीद लिया था।

China's ICBC tops global bank rankings for first time

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China --FULL FORM OF ICBC

ICBC topped The Banker magazine's annual list of the top 1,000 banks for the first time, relegating Bank of America

Britain's HSBC, which gains much of its earnings from Asia, was fourth in The Banker's list, with China Construction Bank (CCB) ranked fifth.

China had four banks in the top 10 and 96 in the Top 1,000. Its top four lenders - ICBC, CCB, Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China - filled the top positions for profit in 2012. 

ICBC's $49 billion profit put it top of the profit table for a third successive year.

Total profit for the biggest 1,000 banks is now back close to levels achieved before the 2007/09 financial crisis, but the regional share has shifted significantly, The Banker said.

In 2006 European banks accounted for 46 percent of global profits and 58 percent of assets, but last year that had dropped to less than 2 percent of profits and 43 percent of assets.

Asia's banks have lifted their share of profits to 56 percent from 19 percent in the same time and increased their share of assets to 35 percent from 22 percent.

Spain's Bankia posted the biggest loss last year at $33 billion, with six of the 10 biggest losses coming from Spain, the magazine estimated.

CPI becomes first party to respond to RTI application

CPI has become the first political outfit to respond to an RTI application after a CIC order declared parties as public authorities but underlined that it does not come under the transparency law.

Responding to an RTI application, Communist Party of India has said it supplies information to I-T authorities and the Election Commission on regular basis and stands for "transparency of income and sources of income" and added that it has not appointed any Public Information Officer so far.

CPI General Secretary Sudhakar Reddy

 In response to applicant S C Agrawal's query, CPI said it stands for transparency in income of political parties and supplied such information to CIC also.

As for internal decisions, we are not prepared to share with outsiders. We feel it is degrading for political parties to declare that they function with financial help from government. 

Acting on a petition of Association of Democratic Reforms, CIC had declared six political parties -- Congress, BJP, NCP, BSP, CPI and CPI-M as public authorities under the RTI Act.

West Indies to stage Women's 2018 World T20

The West Indies will host the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women's World Twenty20 in 2018 and the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in 2022.

These were among the various decisions taken at the conclusion of the ICC Annual Conference on Saturday.

In addition to this, between 2015 and 2023, the ICC will stage 18 events, including two ICC Cricket World Cup Tournaments, two ICC World Test Championships, two ICC World Twenty20 events, three ICC Women's World Cups, three ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cups, two ICC Women's World Twenty20 and four qualifying tournaments.

Now that the ICC World Test Championship has been confirmed, we'll work on the playing conditions and qualification criteria, and will submit these to the ICC Board for approval in due course.

Vodafone offers $673mn for 3 cities' license deal

Vodafone Group Plc's Indian unit, which is in a dispute with the government over the renewal of its licences in three key cities, is offering to pay 40 billion rupees ($673 million) for the extension of the permits, the company said in a letter dated June 18 to the telecoms ministry Vodafone for airwaves in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata

Vodafone's offer price is for the extension of the licences for 20 years, along with its current airwave holdings in the three cities, the company wrote to the government's telecommunication secretary, adding it was willing to discuss the issue further to arrive at mutually agreed terms and conditions.