Amitabh Chaudhry Re-appointed as MD & CEO of Axis Bank
Amitabh Chaudhry has been re-appointed as the Managing Director and CEO of the private sector lender Axis Bank for three more years by the bank board. His second 3 years term will begin with effect from January 1, 2022, up to December 31, 2024.
Chaudhry was first appointed as Managing Director (MD) and CEO of Axis Bank for a period of three years, with effect from January 1, 2019 up to December 31, 2021. Prior to that, he was the MD and CEO of HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Axis Bank Headquarters: Mumbai;
- Axis Bank Founded: 1993.
Senior TV Journalist Rohit Sardana Passes Away
Renowned TV journalist and news anchor, Rohit Sardana, has passed away, due to a heart attack, following the deadly COVID-19 infection. The young journalist was just 41-year-old. Sardana was associated with Zee News since 2004, before moving to AajTak in 2017.
With Zee News, he hosted Taal Thok Ke, a programme that discusses contemporary issues in India, while with AajTak, he was hosting the debate show ”Dangal.” Sardana was awarded the Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Puraskar by the Indian government in 2018.
LIC Among Top Ten Most-Valuable Insurance Brand Globally
The state-owned insurance behemoth ‘Life Insurance Corporation (LIC)’ has emerged as the third strongest and the tenth most valuable insurance brand globally, in Brand Finance Insurance 100 report for 2021. The annual report is released by London-based brand valuation consultancy firm Brand Finance, to identify the most valuable and strongest insurance brands globally.
According to the report:
- Most Valuable Indian Insurance Brand – LIC (10th)
- Most Strongest Indian Insurance Brand – LIC (3rd)
- Most Valuable Global Insurance Brand – Ping An Insurance, China
- Most Strongest Global Insurance Brand – Poste Italiane, Italy
Summary of the report:
- The brand value of LIC increased by almost 7 per cent to $8.65 billion in 2021.
- Chinese firm ‘Ping An Insurance’ emerged as the world’s most valuable insurance brand, despite recording a 26 per cent drop in brand value in 2021 over the previous year.
- In the strongest insurance brands category, Italy’s Poste Italiane was at the top position, followed by Mapfre of the US and LIC of India.
- However, the total brand value of the world’s top 100 most valuable insurance brands declined by 6 per cent from $462.4 billion in 2020 to $433.0 billion in 2021.
TRIFED inks MoU with ‘The LINK Fund’ for tribal development
Tribal Co-operative Marketing Federation of India (TRIFED), has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The LINK Fund, for a collaborative project titled “Sustainable Livelihoods For Tribal Households in India”. Under the project, both the organisations will work together towards:
- Tribal Development and Employment Generation, by providing support to tribals for increasing value addition in their produce and products;
- Sustainable livelihoods and value addition, for the increase in income and employment generation through technological intervention for efficiency in value addition for MFPs, produce and crafts diversification, skill training and enhancement of value additions in minor forest produce.
LINK Fund:
The LINK Fund is a Geneva, Switzerland based philanthropic operational foundation and practitioner-led fund, working towards eradicating extreme poverty and mitigating the effects of climate change.
TRIFED
TRIFED is a nodal agency under the administrative control of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, working for the empowerment of the tribals community in India.
SIDBI launches SHWAS and AROG Loan Schemes for MSMEs
The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), has launched two loan products for MSMEs to help them with the required financial support in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. These two new quick credit delivery schemes will facilitate funding for production and services related to the supply of oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators, oximeters and essential drugs by MSMEs.
The two new loan products are:
- SHWAS – SIDBI assistance to Healthcare sector in War Against Second wave of COVID19.
- AROG – SIDBI Assistance to MSMEs for Recovery & Organic Growth during COVID19 pandemic.
The schemes are devised under the guidance of the Government of India (GoI) which facilitates funding for production and services related to the supply of oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators, oximeters and essential drugs.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- CMD of SIDBI: S Ramann;
- SIDBI set up on 2nd April 1990;
- SIDBI Headquarters: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
UK become the first country to allow Driverless cars on roads
The United Kingdom has become the first country to announce regulation for the use of self-driving vehicles at low speeds. The UK wants to be at the forefront in rolling out autonomous driving technology. The Government of the UK forecasts that around 40% of UK cars will have self-driving capabilities by 2035. This will create 38,000 jobs in the country. The speed limit of the ALKS is to be set at 37 miles per hour. The ALKS shall drive itself in a single lane.
How do Self Driving Vehicles work?
A self-driving vehicle is fully autonomous. No driver is required for the safe operation of the vehicle. Self-driving technologies have been developed by Uber, Google, Nissan, Tesla. Most of the self-driving systems maintain an internal map. They use lasers, sensors and radars to map their surroundings. Based on the map created, instructions are delivered to the actuators of the vehicle.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Prime minister of United Kingdom: Boris Johnson.
- Capital of the United Kingdom: London.
Indian Bank signs MoU with BSNL
Indian Bank signed an MoU with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited to provide seamless telecom services to the Indian Bank at competitive market rates. This means the telco might be availing its services to the bank for a lower market rate than usual.
The bank is already using the services of BSNL and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited for its Wide Area Network across the country Dr VK Sanjeevi, chief general manager of Chennai Telephones said that BSNL and its subsidiary MTNL is connecting 5,000 branches and ATMs of Indian Bank.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Indian Bank Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
- Indian Bank CEO: Padmaja Chunduru.
- Indian Bank Tagline: Your Own Bank, Banking That’s Twice As Good.
- Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited Chairman & MD: Pravin Kumar Purwar.
- Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited Headquarters: New Delhi.
Vaishali Hiwase becomes 1st woman to be appointed officer commanding in BRO
Vaishali S Hiwase became the first woman officer to be appointed as officer commanding in the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) where she will be responsible for providing connectivity through an Indo-China border road. Vaishali is from Wardha, Maharashtra, and has completed a successful demanding tenure in Kargil.
In a first, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has appointed a woman officer to command a Road Construction Company (RCC) tasked to provide connectivity in a high-altitude area along the India-China border.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Director-General of BRO: Lt. Gen. Rajeev Chaudhary;
- BRO Headquarters: New Delhi;
- BRO Founded: 7 May 1960.
Karnal Admin rolls out ‘Oxygen on wheels’ to tackle oxygen crisis
In wake of the acute oxygen shortage across the country, the Karnal administration (Haryana) has rolled out ‘Oxygen on wheels’ to assist hospitals in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and oxygen crisis. The purpose is to ensure a smooth supply of medical oxygen to hospitals treating Covid patients.
Under this initiative, a carrier vehicle called a Mobile oxygen bank loaded with 100 Oxygen Cylinders reaches out to any district hospital which requisitions its urgent supply. This Round clock service has been able to cater to the demands of various hospitals in the area. The initiative is functional 24*7 for all hospitals in the Karnal district.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Haryana Capital: Chandigarh.
- Haryana Governor: Satyadev Narayan Arya.
- Haryana Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar.
