Binoy Kumar Assumes Charge of Secretary in Steel Ministry

Binoy Kumar has taken over as Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Government of India. He had been posted as Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry. Prior to this, Binoy Kumar held the post of Special Secretary, Logistics, in the Department of Commerce. 
He also held the post of Director General (Supplies & Disposals), where he developed the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) as a one-stop online public procurement platform, in line with the digital initiatives of the Government of India. 
Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB)

SBI Hikes Benchmark Lending Rate By 0.2%

Home, auto and other loans would become costlier as the country’s largest lender, State Bank of India, has increased its benchmark lending rate or MCLR by 0.2%, a development followed by other lenders. The new rates are effective with immediate effect. 
SBI has increased the lending rate by 20 basis points across all tenors up to three years. Now SBI’s overnight and one-month tenor marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) stands at 8.1% as against 7.9%.  
Source- The Hindu Business Line

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • SBI Chairman- Rajnish Kumar, Headquarters- Mumbai, Established on- 01st July 1955.

Asian Games 2018: Amit Panghal Wins Gold In Boxing

India’s 22-year-old boxer Amit Panghal defeated 2016 Olympic champion Hasanboy Dusmatov in the men’s 49kg final to bag gold at the Asian Games 2018. 
Amit was the only Indian boxer who made it to a final at the quadrennial event. He had won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year and a bronze at Asian Championships last year. 
Source- Asian Games

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • The Host cities for Asian Games 2018 are Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia. 
  • Bhin Bhin, Kaka, and Atung are the mascots of the 2018 Asian Games. 

AYUSH Minister Inaugurates 4th International Ayurveda Congress at Netherlands

Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik inaugurated the Fourth International Ayurveda Congress (IAvC) at the Netherlands. The Minister is in Netherlands to participate in the Congress jointly organized by International Maharishi Ayurveda Foundation, Netherlands; All India Ayurvedic Congress, New Delhi and the International Academy of Ayurveda, Pune in association with the Indian Embassy in the Netherlands. 
The congress would focus on promotion and propagation of Ayurveda in the Netherlands and its neighbouring countries of Europe. A special Seminar is also organized by the Indian Embassy titled “India-Netherlands collaboration in Healthcare, including Ayurveda”. 
Source- Press Information Burea (PIB)

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • Netherlands Capital: Amsterdam, Currency: Euro and USD. 

GDP Growth Soars To 8.2% In 1st Quarter Of Current Fiscal

Indian economy grew by 8.2% in the first quarter (April-June) of the current fiscal, the highest in over two years. This announcement was made by Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley. The manufacturing sector grew by 13.5% which signals very good turnaround in the sector. 
In a related development Reserve Bank of India stated Non-food credit growth in the system accelerated to 10.6% for July as compared to previous year, driven by loans to the services sector growing at the faster clip. Credit to the services sector grew 23% for the reporting period, up from the year-ago period’s 4.9%. 
Source- DD News 

4th BIMSTEC Summit Concludes | Kathmandu Declaration Adopted | Key Points

The 4th BIMSTEC Summit has been successfully concluded in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The leaders of all seven member states including Prime Minister Narendra Modi underscored the importance of robust institutional arrangements to effectively steering the process of regional cooperation under BIMSTEC. The Prime Minister of Nepal K.P. Sharma Oli presented draft Kathmandu declaration which was unanimously adopted by the all member states.
Key points of the Kathmandu Declaration: 
1. The Kathmandu Declaration has underlined the importance of multidimensional connectivity as a key enabler to economic integration for the shared prosperity of the region. 
2. The declaration also highlighted the importance of trade and investment as one of the major contributing factors for fostering economic and social development in the region.
3. The BIMSTEC leaders strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stressed that there can be no justification whatsoever for any act of terrorism. 
4. An MoU was also signed during concluding session of 4th BIMSTEC summit on the establishment of BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection to enhance energy cooperation among the member states. 
5. Sri Lanka has become the new chair of the BIMSTEC. The Nepalese Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli handed over the chairmanship of BIMSTEC to the President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena. 
Source- DD News 

HRD Ministry Introduces ‘Atal Ranking’ For Institutions

To promote a culture of innovation and research in higher education, the human resource development (HRD) ministry launched the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA), Union minister Prakash Javadekar announced. 
Named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the ARIIA “will rank educational institutions for innovation output based on all major indicators and parameters used globally”. 
Source- Hindustan Times

Balesh Sharma Appointed Vodafone Idea’s 1st CEO

Balesh Sharma takes over as Vodafone Idea’s first CEO. He was the Chief Operating Officer of Vodafone India and a member of its executive committee. 
Sharma holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering and MBA (Marketing and Finance) from the University of Rajasthan. He has previously served as the CEO of Vodafone Czech Republic and the CEO of Vodafone Malta. 
Source- Business Standard

IWAI Makes India’s 1st Standardised Modern Ship Design for Ganga a Reality


Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) made public 13 standardised state-of-the-art ship designs suitable for large barge haulage on river Ganga (National Waterway-1). This marks attaining a critical milestone in the growth of the country’s Inland Water Transport (IWT) sector. 
It will serve as an enabler for domestic shipbuilding industry working on inland vessels and open huge possibilities for cargo and passenger movement on National Waterway-1. The Government is implementing Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) for capacity augmentation of navigation on NW-1 (Varanasi-Haldia stretch) at a cost of Rs 5369.18 crore with the technical assistance and investment support of the World Bank. 
Source- DD News

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • Nitin Jairam Gadkari is the Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Minister of Shipping. 

NITI Aayog Kickstarts Action On MOVE: India’s 1st Global Mobility Summit 2018

NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr.Rajiv Kumar, and Chief Executive Officer Shri. Amitabh Kant, unveiled a series of events to take place in the ‘Mobility Week’ from 31 August to 6 September 2018, in the run-up to MOVE: The Global Mobility Summit 2018 on 7 and 8 September 2018 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The Summit will be inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India.
About ‘MOVE: Global Mobility Summit’: 
NITI Aayog, in collaboration with various ministries and industry partners, is organizing ‘MOVE: Global Mobility Summit’ in New Delhi on 7th and 8th September, 2018. The Summit will constitute three designated components – The Conclave, Digital Exhibition, and Featured Events. 
Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB)