General Knowledge(GK) (or) General Awareness

SBI General Insurance has partnered with Doers NGO to assist Himachal Pradesh police in reducing the number of traffic accidents under the Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative.

Under this, SBI General has donated a well-equipped ambulance which would provide timely medical care to the road accident victims in Mandi district within the ‘Golden hour’.

MD & CEO of SBI General Insurance: Kishore Kumar Poludasu..

Source : Financial Express

A book titled 'COACHING BEYOND : My Days with the Indian Cricket Team' authored by R. Kaushik & R. Sridhar.

The book reflects primarily on R. Sridhar’s seven-year coaching tenure with the Indian cricket team as its fielding coach.

This book isn’t as technical as it is anecdotal. It throws light, for instance, on how Virat Kohli overcame a dismal Test series in England in 2014 to smash four hundreds in as many matches in his next overseas outing, in Australia.

 

It also traces Rishabh Pant’s journey towards becoming the ferocious ball-striker and outstanding gloveman he is today while delving into the minds of players and the support staff to analyse India’s progression towards the number 1 Test ranking.

Revelations of behind-the-scenes parleys jostle with the then head coach Ravi Shastri’s motivational skills in a riveting read that provides an insider’s account of the rise and rise of Indian cricket.

 

Author of the book : R. Sridhar, a left-arm spinner who played for Hyderabad in the late 1990s, discovered his love for coaching when still an active player.

Armed with the requisite knowledge and degrees, he took the National Cricket Academy route to the senior Indian team, where he served as fielding coach for seven eventful years, from 2014 to 2021, and formed an integral back-room coaching troika alongside head coach Ravi Shastri and assistant coach Bharat Arun.

Sridhar is now co-founder of Coaching Beyond, an institute that intends to produce not just high-quality players but also coaches.

 

R. Kaushik has been a cricket writer for more than three decades. Since starting his career with Newstime in Hyderabad, he has worked with Deccan Herald and Wisden India in Bengaluru.

He is the co-author of V.V.S Laxman’s autobiography, 281 And Beyond as well as Gundappa Vishwanath’s autobiography, Wrist Assured. His association with Sridhar dates back to 1991 and he had a ringside view of Sridhar’s stint with the Indian team.

Canara Bank on Friday (20th January 2023) said it plans to sell its stake in Russian joint venture (JV) Commercial Indo Bank LLC (CIBL) to the other venture partner State Bank of India (SBI) for about Rs 114 crore.

 

* CIBL, incorporated in 2003, is a joint venture in Russia between SBI (60 per cent) and Canara Bank (40 per cent).

 

* Canara Bank has entered into a share sale agreement in relation to sale of equity shares held by it in Moscow-based CIBL with SBI, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

 

* The Bengaluru-based state-owned bank entered into the agreement for sale on November 11, 2022, it said.

 

* Based on share sale agreement and with the consent of Central Bank of Russia, entire shares held by Canara Bank have been transferred to SBI on November 30, 2022, it said.

 

* "However, consideration in USD as agreed by the parties is not yet received. Expected to complete the transaction on or before March 31, 2023," it said.

 

* Canara Bank is expected to receive USD 14.67 million or about Rs 114 crore from SBI for its 40 per cent stake transfer...

Source : Business Standard

ESAF Small Finance Bank has bagged the prestigious Inclusive Finance India Awards 2022 for its contributions in advancing the goal of financial inclusion and supporting inclusive growth.

 

K. Paul Thomas, MD and CEO, ESAF Bank, received the award from Anantha Nageshwaran, Chief Economic Advisor at the 19th Inclusive Finance India Summit held in New Delhi.

 

The Inclusive Finance India Awards is an initiative of ACCESS Development Services constituted in 2009 in partnership with HSBC India.

“This valued recognition is a great encouragement for us to reach out to more deserving people who are still out of the banking purview in our country.

ESAF Bank has successfully fostered a culture of financial discipline and also encouraged those people, especially women, to become financially stable in the unbanked and underbanked regions of the country.”

 

This award is a recognition of ESAF’s unique spectrum of Financial Inclusion projects ESAF Dhansree, ESAF Udyog Jyothi, LSEDP (Local Sustainable Economic Development Project), ESAF Balajyothi, ESAF Vayojyothi, and ESAF Garshom...

Source : The Hindu Businessline

Laxman Rawat of PSPB overcame fellow PSPB challenger Aditya Mehta 9-6 in a best-of-17-frame final.

* Laxman Rawat of PSPB emerged victorious in the ‘Baulkline’ NSCI All India Snooker Open.

* Previously, Laxman Rawat won the runner-up in the last edition of the All India Snooker Open losing to Sourav Kothari in the finals. This win marks Laxman Rawat’s first major title after 2 to 3 years.

 

* Laxman Rawat of the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) won the NSCI Snooker Open 2023 against Aditya Mehta.

* Laxman Rawat received Rs 3 lakh cash prize while Aditya Mehta received Rs 1.5 lakh.

* The summit clash contested between the accomplished Indian Oil Cueists Rawat and Mehta witnessed top-quality positive play as both were aggressive and went for their shots.

* Rawat was more consistent and managed to wrest the initiative and enjoy a 5-3 lead at the break.

* Rawat was a bit scratchy, and Mehta did well to win frames to draw level at 5-all and stay in. the fight.

* Rawat gained the moment in the next three frames to surge to an 8-5 lead.

* Aditya Mehta managed to take some time in the 14th frame.

* However, Rawat was destined to win the game in the next frame.

The first ever joint exercise between the special forces of the Indian Army and the Egyptian Army named “Exercise Cyclone-I” is in progress at Jaisalmer in Rajasthan since 14 January 2023.

The exercise aims to bolster defence co-operation between the two nations and focus on sharing professional skills and interoperability of Special Forces in desert terrain while undertaking counter terrorism, reconnaissance, raids and other special operations.

 

Exercise “Cyclone - I” is the first exercise of its kind bringing the special forces of both the nations on a common platform.

The 14 days long exercise which is being carried out in the deserts of Rajasthan engages both the contingents to advance special forces skills such as Sniping, Combat Free Fall, Reconnaissance, Surveillance & Target Designation, sharing of information on weapons, equipment, innovations, tactics, techniques & procedures.

The participants would also undertake joint planning and drills for Special Forces operations in a mechanised warfare setting as well as surgical strikes on terrorist camps / hideouts to include sniping of High Value Targets.

 

The joint exercise would provide an insight into the culture and ethos of both armies thereby fostering military cooperation and interoperability to further strengthen the diplomatic relations between India and Egypt...

Source : PIB

The Indian Navy will commission the fifth scorpene-class submarine "Vagir" on 23rd January 2023, officials said on Thursday (19th Jan 2023).

* The commissioning of the submarine, built under the Project-75, is set to bolster the Navy's combat capability at a time when China has been increasing its presence in the Indian Ocean region.

 

* Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar will grace the induction ceremony as the Chief Guest.

 

* The Project-75 includes indigenous construction of six submarines of Scorpene design.

 

* The submarines are being constructed at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai under a collaboration with the Naval Group of France.

 

* Four of the Kalvari class of submarines have already been commissioned into the Indian Navy.

 

* The former Vagir was commissioned on 01 Nov 1973 and undertook numerous operational missions including deterrent patrols.

* The submarine was decommissioned on 07 Jan 2001 after serving the nation for about three decades.

* The submarine was launched and named ‘Vagir’ on 12 Nov 2020, in its new avatar has the distinction of having the lowest build time among all indigenously manufactured submarines to date.

* She undertook her maiden sea sortie on Feb 22, marking the commencement of sea trials, and has gone through a series of comprehensive acceptance checks and, stringent and demanding sea trials before being commissioned.

* The submarine was delivered to Indian Navy by M/s MDL on 20 Dec 2022.

About Vagir – Ferocious Fifth : Vagir will boost the Indian Navy’s capability to further India’s maritime interests and is capable of undertaking diverse missions including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, and surveillance missions....

Source :  Hindustan Times

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India, setting annual performance target for the year 2022-23.

The MOU was signed by Shri Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, Secretary, MNRE and Shri Pradip Kumar Das, Chairman & Managing Director (CMD), IREDA 20th Jan 2023 in the presence of senior officials from MNRE & IREDA.

 

The Government of India has set a target ₹ 3,361 crores for Revenue from Operation, up by approx. 18% from the previous year achievement.

The Government of India has also set various performance-related key parameters such as Return on Net Worth, Return on Capital Employed, NPA to Total Loans, Asset Turnover Ratio and Earning per share, etc.

 

Shri Pradip Kumar Das highlighted that IREDA has been delivering exemplary performances for the previous two financial years and is fully geared to meet these targets.

The company has posted 67% jump in Profit After Tax (PAT) in 2nd Quarter of FY 2022-23, as compared to corresponding period during FY 2021-22. Most importantly, Net NPAs have been reduced from 4.87% to 2.72% in Quarter 2, as compared to corresponding period during FY 2021-22.

 

IREDA has demonstrated exceptional performance by securing 96.54 marks for the MoU of FY 2021-22. The company as on date, has financed more than 3,068 Renewable Energy projects loan accounts with cumulative loan sanction and disbursement to the tune of

₹ 1,41,622 crores & ₹ 90,037 crores respectively and has supported Renewable Energy capacity addition of 19,502 MW in the country.

Source : PIB

An India-born multicultural marketing agency founder, Manish Tiwari has been awarded the 'The Freedom of the City of London' title for leaving a mark on the financial hub of the British capital.

 

Manish Tiwari received the honour at a ceremony at the Chamberlain's Court at Guildhall in London earlier this month (January 2023).

 

The award, given by the City of London Corporation, dates back to the 13th century and has since developed into an honour bestowed upon individuals who make an impact in the financial hub of London, referred to as the City or the Square Mile..

Source : NDTV

Himalayan Cataract Project Co-Founder Dr Sanduk Ruit has won the ISA Award for Service to Humanity, a top civilian award of Bahrain.

 

The award carries a cash prize of USD 1 million, a certificate of merit and a gold medal.  Dr Ruit is pioneer in delivering high-quality microsurgical procedures in remote eye camps.

He made modern eye care affordable and accessible to countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. He is fondly called as "God of Sight" to have saved 1,20,000 eyesight who would have otherwise gone blind in absence of treatment.  

 

Dr Ruit has trained more than 650 doctors, teaching them to cure preventable blindness. He is the recipient of the Padma Shri Award by the GoI, The National Order of Merit of Bhutan as well as the Ramon Magsaysay Award. 

Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' congratulated senior ophthalmologist Ruit for receiving prestigious Bahrain’s ISA award..

Source : AIR