News and Updates - February 11, 2015

AAP ki sarkar: KEJRIWAL RULES DELHI

The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday swept to power with 67 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly, leaving only three to the Bharatiya Janata Party and nil to the Congress.The Congress had been in power for three consecutive terms in the State until 2013 and the BJP had won all seven Lok Sabha seats in May 2014. After consecutive wins for the BJP in Assembly polls across the country in 2014, Tuesday’s defeat was the first electoral setback for Narendra Modi since he became the Prime Minister in May last year.

Apple becomes first company worth over $700 billion in market value

Apple became the first company to reach a market value of $700 billion Tuesday as shares vaulted amid upbeat news on the US tech giant's gains in the smartphone market and soon-to-arrive smartwatch. Shares rose 1.9 per cent to close at $122.02, lifting Apple's market value to $710 billion, and making it the first company to hit the $700 billion milestone.

Punjab National Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce raise Rs 1,500 cr to meet Basel III Norms

Punjab National Bank on Tuesday said it has raised Rs 1,000 crore through bonds to fund business growth and meet global capital adequacy norms. It raised the amount via long-term bonds at an annual coupon of 8.23 per cent on private placement basis on February 9. State-run banks require equity capital of Rs 2.4 lakh crore by 2018 to meet Basel III norms on capital adequacy. Oriental Bank of Commerce has raised Rs 500 crore through bonds compliant with the global capital adequacy norms, Basel III. "The allotment of bank's issue of 9.48 per cent unsecured non- convertible fully paid-up Basel III compliant perpetual debt instruments aggregating Rs 500 crore has been made on February 10," it said.

Adani to set up 10000 MW Solar Park in Rajasthan

The Rajasthan Government signed a deal with Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) to set up 10000 MW Solar Park in Rajasthan. The joint venture project to set up the solar park includes generation projects and a manufacturing unit for solar module, parts and equipments. iii. Adani Enterprises Ltd, the flagship company of Adani Group will set up solar project of 5000 MW on its own in the next five years.

Govt gives Gauri Shankar additional charge of MD of PNB

Government gave additional charge of Managing Director and CEO of Punjab National Bank to Gauri Shankar, senior most executive director at the bank. Shankar has been entrusted the additional charge with immediate effect, PNB said in a statement. A notification to this effect has been issued by Department of Financial Services, it added. The post of full time Managing Director and CEO has been vacant since November, when the then Chairman and Managing Director K R Kamath failed to get extension from the government. As per the government rules, the CMD and Directors are appointed in public sector entities for a period of five years or up to the age of 60, whichever is earlier.

New GDP measure puts India’s economy at $2.1 trillion

The growth of the Indian economy is projected to accelerate to 7.4% in the current fiscal compared with 6.9% last year based on a new way of calculating gross domestic product (GDP). At this level it is estimated to be on par with China, currently the fastest growing economy in the world. It is also the first time that the economy is projected to be bigger than $2 trillion; India’s GDP is estimated to be $2.1 trillion in 2014-15. The data released on Monday, which paints a rather unexpectedly favourable picture of the Indian economy, has been met with scepticism, both from within and outside the government. While there is consensus that the economy is on the mend, economists are questioning the extent of recovery being posited by the new measure of GDP. With the first three quarters’ economic growth numbers at 6.5%, 8.2% and 7.5% respectively, the data assumes that in the fourth quarter (January-March), GDP will grow at 7.5%.

Facebook, Reliance Communication tie up to provide free access to Internet

India’s Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM) has partnered with social networking giant Facebook to offer free internet access. Both companies have launched Internet.org, a Facebook-led initiative to bring internet to everyone in the world.Under this initiative both companies aim to bring the power of Internet to a billion people in India in order to increase internet inclusion and encourage more Indians to go online. As part of this initiative, RCOM will offer free data access to 33 popular websites for all its customers under the umbrella of Internet.org. Most of the services of 33 popular websites will be available in several Indian languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Gujarati and Marathi. All the subscriber of RCOM who have internet enabled hand set (mobile phones) will get access to this free service.

Economist Amartya Sen awarded inaugural John Maynard Keynes Prize 2015

Eminent Indian economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has been awarded the inaugural Charleston-EFG John Maynard Keynes Prize 2015. He was chosen for this award for his ground-breaking work that has profound impact on the formation of development policy worldwide and outstanding contribution to society. Amartya Sen will receive £7,500 to commission a work of art. He will also give the annual Charleston-EFG Keynes Lecture on the topic The Economic Consequences of Austerity at the Charleston Festival on 23 May 2015.

First World Ocean Science Congress concludes in Kochi

First World Ocean Science Congress (WOSC) concluded in Kochi, Kerala. The four-day-long event had started in Kochi on 5 February 2015. The theme of WOSC-2015 was Protect Oceans for Posterity and Blue Economy. It was organized by Swadeshi Science Movement, Vijnana Bharati, Kerala Chapter and the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS).

World’s first humanoid robot staffed hotel set to open in Japan

World’s first  humanoid robot-staffed hotel is set to open in Nagasaki, Japan in July 2015. The Henn-na Hotel which means Strange Hotel will be employing Robots as its staff and other advanced technologies in order to significantly reduce operating costs. The hotel will come up with a Huis Ten Bosch theme park which is named after a town of Netherlands.

Yash Bhati Samman conferred on Vinod Mehta

Yash Bhati Samman 2015 conferred on Vinod Mehta, a award given by Uttar Pradesh government. Vinod Mehta is an eminent journalist and writer, who launched a number of successful publications such as the Sunday Observer, Indian Post, The Independent, The Pioneer (Delhi edition) and Outlook. He has authored a biography of Meena Kumari (movie actress and poet) and Sanjay Gandhi- The Sanjay Story (2012). Yash Bharti Samman was instituted by Mulayam Singh Yadav in 1994 which is honoured by the Uttar Pradesh Government for excellence in literature, fine arts, folk and classical music and sports.

Apple taps First Solar for renewable energy in $850 million deal

Apple Inc is embracing renewable energy with an $848 million commitment to obtain electricity from a solar farm that’s big enough to power its offices in California, along with 52 retail stores and a data center. The company that revolutionized how people use computers and mobile phones is stepping up efforts to make the entire business more environmentally friendly. Apple is teaming up with First Solar Inc. to secure solar-generated electricity for 25 years, a deal that the energy company described as the largest agreement ever for a single commercial end user. Apple joins Google Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and other companies with intensive data operations that are seeking to get more power from renewable sources. Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive officer, has made environmental responsibility a key element of his management of the Cupertino-based company, with 100% of its data centers running on renewable energy.

ICICI prepares for competition from payments banks with new e-wallet

ICICI Bank Ltd. launched Pockets, a mobile payments wallet for Android phones, which can be topped up with money from any bank account for making phone-based payments. The entry into mobile wallets could help ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank by assets and branches, get ahead of expected competition from the soon-to-be-launched payments banks in India. The e-wallet app can be set up with basic personal details including name, mobile number and email ID and funded by any bank account. There is no know-your-customer (KYC) documentation required if the transactions per month are below Rs.10,000, the bank said. Chanda Kochhar, managing director and chief executive, ICICI Bank, did not deny this new offering was in anticipation of likely competition from payments banks. “The payment e-wallet allows everything that a payments bank can do. With this offering, we think that we are already offering the experience of a payments bank,” she said.

Adani Enterprises to set up country's largest 10,000 MW solar plant in Rajasthan.

Adani Enterprises Ltd. signed a pact with the Rajasthan government to develop the country's largest solar park in the state with 10,000 MW capacity over the next 10 years at an estimated investment of about Rs 40,000 crore. The company will set up solar power project of 5000 MW on its own in the next five years. The Adani Group will also develop solar manufacturing units and power evacuation systems. An investment of Rs 40,000 crore has been proposed in the state for the projects, according to an official statement.

Reserve Bank of India lifts hiring ban on UBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed state-owned United Bank of India to recruit staff, lifting a ban imposed 14 months ago when the lender's bad loans surged. Curbs on branch expansion and lending are expected to be withdrawn soon, the bank's new managing director and chief executive, P Srinivas, said after announcing a net profit of Rs 42 crore for the quarter ended December 31. RBI had imposed various operational restrictions on the bank after a sudden rise in sticky loans in late 2013 that led to a drop in capital and net losses. The Kolkata based bank reported a net loss of Rs 1,238 crore in the quarter ended December 2013 while its capital adequacy ratio fell to the bare minimum 9% level.

Kiran Bedi - Kaise Bani Top Cop: A book on Bedi's life released by her sisters

Kiran Bedi, who was Bharatiya Janata Party's chief ministerial candidate for the Delhi Assembly Polls 2015, launched a comic book based on her life in New Delhi. The book is titled as 'Kiran Bedi - Kaise Bani Top Cop.'The 32-page comic book was distributed by the former IPS Officer among the party members at a 'thanksgiving' event organised by her in Krishna Nagar. Also, the book with Hindi text has illustrations telling the story of Bedi, the first woman IPS officer of the country. As per the reports, the book is penned by Bedi's sisters Reeta Peshawaria Menon and Anu Peshawaria.

13th Ishara International Puppet Festival to be held in Gurgaon at Epicenter

13th Ishara International Puppet Festival to be held in Gurgaon at Epicenter. The festival will be from February 3, 105 to February 11, 2015. The motive of the festival is to entertain the people with modern and traditional form of puppet of all kinds. Various artists from Afghanistan, Portugal, Iran, Taiwan and United Kingdom will participate in the event, along with Indian artists. The international puppeteers also stress to renew the art of puppet in their respective countries.