Current

Affairs
September
2013
















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September Current Affairs 2013
Famous Personality
1. President Pranab Mukherjee appointed Deepak
Sandhu as the first woman Chief Information
Commissioner of the Central Information
Commission. (5th sep)

2. Indian author Sushmita Banerjee shot dead
outside her house in Afghanistan. (5th sep)
Narendra Modi appointed BJP's PM candidate for
2014 polls. (13th sep)

3. UP BJP MLA Suresh Rana arrested for alleged
role in Muzaffarnagar riots. (20th sep)
Chandigarh-born legal luminary Sri Srinivasan
became the first Indian American to be sworn in
as judge of the US Courts of Appeal for the
District of Columbia Circuit. (27th sep)

4. N. Srinivasan re-elected as BCCI president for
the third term. (28th sep)

5. Ranjib Biswal named as new IPL chairman.
(28th sep)

6. Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association chief Rajeev
Shukla, Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA)
president Ravi Savant and Delhi & District Cricket
Association (DDCA) secretary Sneh Bansal will
the three new vice-presidents of the BCCI. (28th
sep)

7. Ravindra Kumar Elected as President of the
Indian Newspaper Society (INS) for the year
2013-14

8. Ruchira Kamboj was appointed as the
Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO

9. A special CBI court at Ranchi convicted former
Bihar Chief Minster and RJD leader Lalu Prasad
and 44 others including former Chief Minister
Jagannath Mishra in the in the multi-crore fodder
scam case. (30th sep)

10. Ranjan Mathai appointed as India's High
Commissioner to United Kingdom. (30th sep)

11. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
announced Rahul Dravid as Brand ambassador
for National Tobacco Control Campaign

12. Rajnath Singh, the BJP President Became the
campaign committee chief for the 2014 Lok
Sabha polls on 29 September 2013

13. NCA Chairman Ranjib Biswal Appointed as
chairman of the Indian Premier League on 29
september 2013

14. The Association of Mutual Funds in India
(AMFI) Appointed Sundeep Sikka, as its
Chairman on 26 September 2013

15. KC Ponnappa, Took over as the Chairman of
Nilgiri Planters Association (NPA) for 2013-14 on
26 September 2013

16. Tony Abbott was sworn in as Australia's New
Prime Minister on 18 September 2013

17. The President of the Republic of Liberia, Ellen
Johnson Sirleaf visited India

18. Siddiqa Parveen of India declared the World's
Tallest Woman

Visits
19. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrives in St
Petersburg for 8th G20 summit. (4th sep)

20. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA
Chairperson Sonia Gandhi visit riot-hit
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Muzaffarnagar. (16th sep)

21. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left for the
US for the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and
meeting with President Barack Obama. (25th
sep)

22. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
meets Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif in New York.
(29th sep)

Nation
23. Food Security Bill passed by Rajya Sabha.
(2nd sep)

24. The Pension fund Regulatory and
Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill, 2013 has
been passed in the Lok Sabha. The Bill will open
the doors for foreign investment in pension
funds. (4th sep)

25. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
informed that the number of telephone
subscribers in India reach to 903.09 million at
the end of June 2013. (5th sep)

26. The Rajya Sabha today passed the Pension
Fund Regulatory and Development Authority
(PFRDA) Bill. (7th sep)

27. Tripura ahead of Kerala to achieve top
position in literacy chart in India with 94.65
percent. (14th sep)

28. The Central Bureau of Investigation officially
closed its investigation into a corruption case
against Mulayam Singh Yadav citing lack of
evidence. (20th sep)

29. An Ordinance to protect convicted MPs and
MLAs from facing immediate disqualification was
approved by the Union Cabinet. (24th sep)
30. The Union Government announced
constitution of the Seventh Pay Commission to
revise salary and pension for about 80 lakh staff
and pensioners. (25th sep)

31. The Land Acquisition Bill, passed by
Parliament during the Monsoon Session to
replace a 119-year-old legislation, became a law
with President Pranab Mukherjee giving assent to
it. (27th sep)

32. The Supreme court said that the voters have
right to reject all candidates contesting the
election. (27th sep)

33. The Congress president Sonia Gandhi on 29
September 2013 unveiled the statue of R Sankar,
the First Congress Chief Minister of Kerala

34. The Ministry of Human Resource
Development (HRD) launched the third All India
Survey on Higher Education (AISHE)-2012-13

35. Prime Minister of India Approved Constitution
of Seventh Central Pay Commission.

36. Indian Railways Decided to Install a New Fuel
saving Device called Auxiliary Power Unit (APU)
in Diesel Locomotives

37. Indian Railways Developed a Fire and Smoke
Detection system on all the coaches for the
Safety of the Passengers

International
38. Egypt government has dissolved the Muslim
Brotherhood as a registered non-governmental
organization. (6th sep)

39. Liberal leader Tony Abbott will be the next
prime minister of Australia after his party wins 88
seats to Labor's 57 in the 150-seat parliament.
(8th sep)
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40. Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari steps down
as Pak President after successfully completing his
five-year term, paving the way for Mamnoon
Hussain to take over. (8th sep)

41. Ryan Campbell of Australia at the age of 19
became the youngest person to fly a single
engine aircraft around the globe. (9th sep)

42. Syria has accepted a Russian proposal to
place its chemical weapons under international
control for dismantling. (10th sep)

43. United Nations Security Council voted
unanimously on a resolution to destroy Syria's
chemicals weapons stockpile. (28th sep)

44. A court in Egypt has banned "all activities" of
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood from carrying out
any activities in the country. (23rd sep)

45. Tamil National Alliance (TNA) wins 30 of the
38 seats in the election held at Northern Province
of Sri Lanka. Election held after 25 years in this
former war zone. (22nd sep)

46. Pakistan released former Afghan Taliban
deputy chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar for
peace efforts in Afganistan. (21st sep)

47. China started flight operations at the world's
highest civilian airport in Sichuan. (17th sep)

48. Iran lifts ban on Facebook and Twitter after
four years. (17th sep)

49. US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced a deal
on a framework to eliminate Syria's chemical
weapons, after talks in Switzerland. (14th sep)

50. Ray Dolby, Founder and Director Emeritus of
Dolby Laboratories died in San Francisco, age 80.
He suffered from Alzheimers disease and acute
leukemia. (13th sep)

51. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Celebrated its
83rd National Day on 23 September 2013

52. The French Senate Approved Ban on Beauty
Pageants for Children below 16 Years

53. Afghanistan First time directly sent Afghan
dry fruits to India using the Chabahar port


54. The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Launched First Ever Deep UltraViolet (DUV) solid-
state laser device.

55. China, world's third largest investor after US
and Japan

56. India Gave one million US dollars to UNRWA
for providing Food and Medicines to Palestine
refugees

57. Tokyo on 7 September 2013 won the right to
host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games

Awards
58. Indian Freedom Fighter Jawaharlal Darda was
posthumously Conferred a Lifetime Achievement
Award at UK's House of Commons on 12
September 2013

59. Nina Davuluri wins the 2014 Miss America
pageant and becoming the first Indian-American
to wear the crown. (16th sep)

60. Pakistani education rights campaigner Malala
Yousafzai and American singer, human rights
activist Harry Belafonte named as joint recipients
of Amnesty International's Ambassador of
Conscience Award for 2013. (17th sep)

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61. Gyan Correa's Gujarati film 'The Good Road'
nominated to represent India in the Best Foreign
Film category at next year's Oscars. (21st sep)

62. Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan Selected for
a US Award For His Television Show 'Satyamev
Jayate' on 21 Septmber 2013

63. Eight scientists on 26 September 2013
selected for Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award for
the year 2013.

64. Anna Hazare presented with the inaugural
Allard Prize for International Integrity by
University of British Columbias Faculty of Law.
(27th sep)

65. Miss Philippines Megan Young crowned as
Miss World 2013 in Bali, Indonesia. (28th sep)

66. Navneet Kaur Dhillon won the Multimedia
Award at the Miss World 2013

67. Union Labour and Employment Minister Sis
Ram Ola presented the Vishwakarma Rashtriya
Puraskar & National Safety Awards for the
Performance Year 2011

68. The President of India presented the National
Awards to 336 teachers for their meritorious
performance on the occasion of the Teachers
Day

Banking
69. Raghuram Rajan took over as the 23rd RBI
governor of RBI. (4th sep)

70. Inflation in August rises to 6.1 per cent in
food prices. (16th sep)

71. RBI hiking the short-term policy rate by 0.25
per cent which may increase EMIs for home and
auto loans in the medium term. (20th sep)
72. RBI banned zero per cent interest rate
scheme for purchase of consumer goods through
credit cards.The central bank has also said that
no additional charges can be levied on payment
through debit cards. (25th sep)

73. Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram
Rajan was awarded with the Fifth Deutsche Bank
Prize for Financial Economics 2013

74. The Bank of Beijing Launched China's First
Direct Bank in Beijing, Xi'an and Jinan

75. Indias software company, Infosys launched
Finacle 11E -An Advanced universal banking
solution that simplifies banking operations

76. Federal Bank Limited Launched Electronic
Version of Passbook Called FedBook


World Organizations
77. India and United States of America (USA)
signed a Joint Declaration on 27 September 2013
in Defence cooperation.

78. Russia and China held a Joint Anti-Terrorism
Military Exercise called Peace Mission 2013

79. On 23 September 2013 India and China
signed 15 MoUs for procurement of Indian
products worth value of 338 million US Dollar
80. The Union Ministry of Science and
Technology, and RIKEN, Japans largest research
organization have signed Ministry of
Understanding (MOU) to Launch joint Research
Initiatives

81. The First meeting of India-Germany High
Technology Partnership Group was held in Berlin
on 10 September 2013

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82. The Indo-Japan Monorail and Light Rail
Transit (LRT) seminar held at New Delhi on 3
September 2013

83. The 3rd India-Republic of Korea (ROK)
Foreign Policy and Security Dialogue (FPSD) was
held in Seoul on 2 September 2013

84. The Union cabinet of India on 3 September
2013 approved the India-Abu Dhabi bilateral air
services agreement

Technology
85. Australia unveiled its Most Powerful Super
Computer Called Raijin

86. Indian IT Company Wipro Ltd signed
agreement with the US-based Kana Software to
provide customer service solutions to its global
insurers

87. Software Giant Microsoft Corporation Decided
to acquire Nokias mobile devices and services on
3 September 2013.

Sports
88. Gareth Bale included in the Real Madrid team
after completing his record-breaking move from
Tottenham for record 132m dollar. (2nd sep)

89. Gary Kirsten joins IPL giants Delhi Daredevils
as head coach. (3rd sep)

90. National pentathlon championship started in
Goa. (6th sep)

91. The International Olympic Committee has
asked the Indian Olympic Association to sack
"charge-framed" officials through constitutional
amendments by October 31 and conduct fresh
elections by December 15 to return to the
Olympic fold. (6th sep)

92. Tokyo will host the 2020 summer Olympics
after beating Istanbul in a head-to-head voting
by the International Olympic Committee. (7th
sep)

93. Wrestling included in the 2020 Summer
Olympic Games after it defeated baseball/softball
and squash for a spot in the competition. (8th
sep)

94. India Denies Visa to Pakistani team
Faisalabad Wolves for the Champions League
T20. (12th sep)

95. Thomas Bach of Germany elected as the 9th
President of the International Olympic Committee
(IOC) in place of Jacques Rogge. (12th sep)

96. Rajasthan Royals cricketers S Sreesanth and
Ankeet Chavan have been banned for life, Amit
Singh for five years and Siddharth Trivedi for one
year by the Board of Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI) for their involvement in the spot fixing
scandal during the sixth edition of the Indian
Premier League (IPL). (13th sep)

97. Indian cricketer Virat Kohli was appointed as
the brand ambassador of the Border Security
Force (BSF). (22nd sep)

98. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)
bans former IPL chief Lalit Modi for life after its
disciplinary committee found him guilty of
"various acts of indiscipline and misconduct".
(25th sep)

99. India beat China in the 8th Asia Cup Women
hockey tournament at Kuala Lumpur to win the
Bronze. (27th sep)

100. Sudha Singh of Railways won Gold Medal in
Womens 3000m steeplechase in 53rd National
Open Athletics Championship.
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101. Venkat Rahul Ragala won weightlifting gold
at Asian youth Games in Guangzhou.

102. Chinese Paddler Liu Shiwen Won Womens
Table Tennis World Cup 2013

103. Indian cricketer Virat Kohli was appointed as
the brand ambassador of the Border Security
Force (BSF)

104. India's Deepika Kumari Won Silver Medal at
the Archery World Cup in Paris on 22 September
2013

105. Indian Wrestler Sandeep Tulsi Yadav won
Bronze Medal in the 66kg Greco-Roman category
at Senior World Wrestling Championships

106. India retained its top position in the latest
One Day International (ODI) rankings, released
by ICC on 17 September 2013

107. Indian wrestler Bajrang Kumar Won bronze
medal in the 60 kilogram freestyle category at
the World Wrestling Championships 2013.

108. The Indian wrestler Amit Kumar Won Silver
Medal in 55 Kg Free Style category in the Senior
World Wrestling Championship 2013 .

109. Parupalli Kashyap Climbed up a place to
13th in the Badminton World Ferderation (BWF)
Ranking
110. Serena Williams Defeated Victoria Azarenka
to win 5th US Open Title 2013

111. Golfer Henrik Stenson won the Deutsche
Bank Title 2013

112. Sonia Rai won the Gold Medal in Women's
25-Metre Sports

113. Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi Won the Bronze
Medal in the World Junior Chess Championship

114. On 25 September 2013 Randall Oliphant
Appointed as The Chairman of the World Gold
Council (WGC)

Records
115. Bhuvana Kalva won 2013 ITF Women's
Tennis Tournament defeating sixth-seeded Akari
Inoue of Japan 6-4, 7-5 in the final of the
tournament. (1st sep)

116. Diana Nyad, 64 Became the First Women to
Swim across Florida Straits from Cuba without
any shark cage on 2 September 2013

117. Serena Williams wins 17th grand slam title
with US Open victory over Victoria Azarenka by
7-5, 6-7, 6-1. (9th sep)

118. Leander Paes-Radek Stepanek win US Open
men's doubles title after defeating second seeded
Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares pair 6-1, 6-3.

119. Leander Paes becomes the oldest man to
win a Grand Slam title. This is his 14th title. (9th
sep)

120. Rafael Nadal wins US Open title and 13th
Grand Slam crown as he beat Novak Djokovic 6-
2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the final. (10th sep)

121. Amit Kumar Dahiya wins silver medal at
World Wrestling Championships in Budapest,
Hungary. (17th sep)

122. Australia wins the 5 match series by 2-1
against England. (17th Sep)

123. Indian wrestler Bajrang wins the bronze
medal in the 60kg freestyle category in the World
Championship. (19th sep)
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124. Tiger Woods was named on Friday as the
PGA Tour's Player of the Year for a record 11th
time. (27th sep)

125. Kenya's Wilson Kipsang break the marathon
world record in Berlin with 2hrs 3 mins and 23
seconds. (29th sep)

Days
126. The United Nations first International Day of
Charity held as a marked in honour of Mother
Teresa (5th sep)

127. Teachers Day Celebrated across India on
the birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan. (5th sep)

128. International Literacy Day celebrated. (8th
sep)

129. World Tourism Day observed today. (27th
sep)

130. Google completes 15 years of its existence.
(27th sep)

131. World Rabies Day observed on 28
September across the world to spread the
awareness about Rabies disease

132. Every year on 29 September celebrated as
the World Heart Day

133. World Tourism Day observed on 27
September across the world to bring awareness
about the importance of tourism

134. International Day for the Preservation of the
Ozone Layer was observed on 16 September

135. International Literacy Day was celebrated
Across the World on 8 September 2013

Import and exports
136. Air India hikes fares by up to 25 per cent on
all domestic routes. (5th sep)

137. Government raises import duty on gold
jewellery to 15%. (17th sep)

Space
138. India successfully test-fired Agni-V missile
with range of about 5,000 km for second time
from an island of Odisha. (14th sep)

139. India's launch preparations for the Rs 450
crore Mars orbiter mission passed the successful
thermo-vacuum test of the spacecraft with its
payloads. (10th sep)

140. Astronomers have discovered densest
galaxy ever

141. Indias Most Deterrent Nuclear capable
Ballistic Missile, Agni-5 was successfully test Fired
from Chandipur

142. Union government of India to launch ISROs
ambitious Mars Orbiter Mission in November
2013.

143. Indias advanced multi-band communication
satellite GSAT-7 was successfully placed in the
Geosynchronous Orbit on 3 September 2013

144. Astronomers found a Twin Star to Earth's
own Sun Called HIP 102152

Books and Authors
145. Historian and Author Ramchandra Guha
Wrote a Book Titled Gandhi Before India

146. Kanoon Lugat, The First Urdu law dictionary
was released on 15 September 2013 in Mumbai

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147. The Lowland, the book of Jhumpa Lahiri was
shortlisted among the six books for the Man
Booker Prize 2013

148. The Vice President of India M. Hamid Ansari
released a book entitled India and Malaysia:
Intertwined Strands

149. The Vice President of India M. Hamid Ansari
released the Book Titled Ahmev Radha, Ahmev
Krishnah

150. The Department of Personnel and Training,
Government of India Launched an Internship
Scheme 2013

Passed away
151. Nobel Literature Laureate Seamus Heaney
passed away at the age of 74

152. British broadcaster and writer David Frost
died at 74

153. Rochus Misch, the Former Bodyguard of the
Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler died at the age of 96

154. Tommy Morrison, the Former heavy weight
champion died

155. World's Oldest Man Salustiano Sanchez-
Blazquez died at the Age of 112

156. Ken Norton, the Former Heavyweight
champion Died at 70

157. Mohan Singh, the Veteran Samajwadi Party
politician passed away at the age of 68

158. Hiroshi Yamauchi, the Third president of
Nintendo Passes away at the age of 85

159. Award Winning Colombian Writer Alvaro
Mutis Jaramillo, Died at 90

160. Veteran athletic coach A K Kutty passes
away at the age of 75

161. Freedom Fighter Ranjit Singh Passed away
at the age of 97

162. Ronald H. Coase, The winner of Nobel
Memorial Prize in Economic Science passed away
at the age of 102

Misc
163. Microsoft to acquire Nokia's Devices &
Services business in 5.44 billion euros deal. (4th
sep)

164. The Uttar Pradesh government revoked the
suspension of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal.
(22nd sep)

165. Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines decided to
set up a new world-class joint venture airline
based in India. (19th sep)

166. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Launch
First Women BPO Center in Saudi Arabia on 24
September 2013














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Banking Awareness

1) How much loan amount was written-off
by the public sector banks of India during
the January- March quarter of 2012-13 as
announced by the Union Govt. in Parliament
on 30 August, 2013?
Rs. 14,549 crore
(The public sector banks made recovery of bad
assets to the tune of Rs. 16,464 crore during this
period. Banks resort to write off bad loans only
after exhausting all other possible avenues for
recovery or when the asset coverage is not
enough)

2) What was the growth rate of GDP (gross
domestic product) for Indian economy for
the first quarter of the final year (April-June
2013)?
4.4%
(This growth rate of GDP was slowest since
the 2008 global financial crisis. It is lower than
the 5.4% growth logged in April-June last year
and 4.8% in January-March this year. Main
reason for slow growth rate has been attributed
to poor performance registered by countrys
manufacturing and mining sector. While
manufacturing output fell 1.2 per cent, mining
declined 2.8 per cent during this period)

3) What name is given to the electronic
version of conventional passbook that was
launched by Federal Bank on 30 August,
2013?
FedBook
(FedBook is an android-enabled app that can be
downloaded and carried easily on the tablet
computers or the smartphones. It enables the
customers to easily view the transactions in
various bank accounts online or offline for 24
hours a day. The bank plans to launch FedBook
on other operating systems also)

4) According to the recently released data of
Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy
(CMIE), which public sector bank had the
highest gross NPAs (non-performing assets)
as a percentage of advances among BSE-
Bankex constituents during the first quarter
(Apr-June 2013) of the current financial
year?
State Bank of India SBI
(SBIs gross NPAs stood at 5.56% during
the end of the first quarter. SBIs gross NPAs
rose highest since the quarter ending March,
2011. Central Bank of Indias gross NPAs stood at
a whopping 6.03% during the same quarter)

5) Which bank became the first bank to
translate financial literacy curriculum into
Gujarati language as part of its initiative to
impart financial literacy to rural populace in
Gujarat?
HDFC Bank
(The bank on 2 September, 2013 launched its
rural financial literacy initiative in Koteshwar
village under the aegis of the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI), becoming the first bank to translate
curriculum into Gujarati language. Under the
initiative, it will conduct literacy camps at 68
branches across 136 villages, reaching out to
both adults and school children in the state. It
complements HDFC Banks efforts to support
inclusive growth and take formal banking
services to the remote corners of India)

6) What instruction pertaining to home
loans was issued by the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) on 3 September, 2013 to banks?
The RBI asked banks to link the disbursal of
home loans to stages of construction
(This instruction was issued with an objective to
protect the interests of buyers and contain the
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fallout of some innovative housing financing
schemes. RBI in its instruction mentioned that
upfront disbursal should not be made in cases of
incomplete/underconstruction/green field housing
projects. The notification follows the introduction
by some banks of innovative housing loan
schemes in association with developers/builders,
where upfront disbursal of housing loans is made
to builders without being linked to the various
stages of construction)

7) Raghuram Govind Rajan took over as the 23th
Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
on 4 September, 2013. On this day itself he
came out with a slew of measures, including
more trade settlement in rupees to rescue the
battered financial markets and hinted at a shift in
focus from inflation control, pursued by his
predecessor D. Subbarao, to boosting growth. He
announced setting up of an outside panel of
experts to screen applications for new bank
licenses. Who was appointed as the head of
this expert panel?
Bimal Jalan, Former Governor of the RBI

8) Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 4
September, 2013 came up with clarifications
pertaining to
some restrictions imposed by it during last
month. What are the important
announcements made under this
clarification?
1. A company will be allowed to invest up to
400% of its net worth provided it has raised
the funds through external commercial
borrowings (ECBs)
2. Resident individuals are permitted to
make remittances for acquiring immovable
property within the annual limit of USD
75,000 for already contracted cases before
14 August, 2013
3. The curbs on capital outflows imposed on
August 14 will not apply with retrospective
effect
(Last month, RBI had reduced the overseas direct
investment limit to 100% of a companys net
worth from 400% for all companies and had
imposed a restriction of USD 75,000 for
purchasing immovable property abroad)

9) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 6
September, 2013 increased the amount of
Indian currency that individuals travelling
abroad can carry with them to Rs. 10,000
per person. What was this amount till now?
Rs. 7,500

10) Which private sector bank recently
launched Branch on Wheels, an initiative to
offer basic banking services in remote areas
which have so far been devoid of banking
facilities?
ICICI Bank
(Branch on Wheels is a mobile branch of the
bank, which will offer basic banking
products and services such as savings accounts,
loans, cash deposit/withdrawal, account
balance enquiries, statement printing and funds
transfer/DD/PO collection, among others. It will
also have an ATM. Banks first Branch on Wheels
was launched in Kolhapur, Maharashtra and it
will cover four unbanked villages)

11) State Bank of India (SBI) recently
tightened its eligibility conditions for its
four-wheeler loan scheme with a view to
minimising possible defaults. From now on
persons with an annual income of Rs. 6 lakh
or more will get SBIs car loans. What was
SBIs eligibility condition for availing car
loan till now?
An annual income of Rs. 2.5 lakh or more
(For SBI account holders, the limit has been
raised to Rs 4.5 lakh per annum. The rationale
for increase in the eligibility criteria
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is to revise the gross income limit upwards in
view of moderation in the economy)

12) Which bank on 19 September, 2013
became the first major state-run bank to
hike lending rates after short-term rates
rose as a result of the Reserve Bank of
Indias liquidity tightening moves
announced during July, 2013?
State Bank of India (SBI on 19 September
increased its base rate, or the minimum rate of
lending, to 9.80%. It revised the base rate by
0.10 per cent from 9.70 per cent per annum to
9.80. SBI also increased the spreads on auto and
home loans by as much as 0.20 per cent, which
will affect new borrowers. This move was
announced just a day ahead of the RBIs policy
review)

13) In what seemed like an unexpected
move Reserve Bank of Indias (RBIs) newly
appointed Governor Raghuram Rajan in his
maiden Monetary Policy Review on 20
September, 2013 raised the repo rate under
the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF). He
thus kept RBIs focus on controlling
inflation, which it felt would be above the
expected levels in the current fiscal. What is
the new Repo Rate?
7.5%
(Repo Rate was increased by 25 basis points
from its earlier level of 7.25%)

What were the main highlights of RBI Governor
Raghuram Rajans first monetary policy
review presented on 20 September, 2013 since
taking office on 4 September?
Following are the main highlights of
Raghuram Rajans first monetary policy
review
1) Repo rate under the liquidity adjustment
facility (LAF) increased by 25 basis points from
7.25% to 7.5% with immediate effect (This move
clearly reiterated the fact that RBI is still
keeping its focus on bringing down the inflation.
Consequently, the Reverse Repo Rate under the
LAF stands adjusted to 6.5%, and the bank rate
stands reduced to 9.5% with immediate effect)

b) Marginal standing facility (MSF) rate reduced
by 75 basis points from 10.25% to 9.5% with
immediate effect

c) The minimum daily maintenance of the cash
reserve ratio (CRR) reduced from 99% of the
requirement to 95% effective from the fortnight
beginning 21 September, 2013 (This move was
aimed at inducing liquidity into the system)

d) Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) kept unchanged at
4.0% (CRR is the portion of deposits that
banks are required to maintain with the RBI in
cash)
(With these changes, the MSF rate and the bank
rate are re-calibrated to 200 basis points
above the repo rate)

14) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 23
September, 2013 announced a 13-member
committee to frame a clear and detailed
vision for financial inclusion/deepening
across the country. This committee named
The Committee on Comprehensive
Financial Services for Small Businesses and
Low-Income Households is being
headed by
Nachiket Mor, member on the RBIs Central
Board of Directors (The committee
members are: Bindu Ananth (President, IFMR
Trust); Prakash Bakshi (Chairman, NABARD);
Bharat Doshi (Chairman, Mahindra & Mahindra
Financial Services); A. P. Hota (Managing
Director and CEO, National Payments Corporation
of India); Sunil Kaushal (CEO, Standard
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Chartered Bank India); Roopa Kudva (MD and
CEO, Crisil); Zia Mody (Managing Partner, AZB
& Partners); S. S. Mundra (CMD, Bank of
Baroda); Vikram Pandit (former CEO, Citigroup);
Ramesh Ramanathan (Chairman, Janalakshmi
Financial Services) and Shikha Sharma (MD &
CEO, Axis Bank))

15) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 25
September 2013 announced imposition of
ban on a very popular scheme for
consumers to purchase consumer goods.
Which scheme is this?
Scheme of 0% interest on EMIs (RBI imposed
ban as banks were reluctant to disclose the
hidden charges charged by them on purchases
done through these schemes. RBI maintained
that the very concept of zero per cent interest is
non-existent and fair practice demands that the
processing charge and interest charged should be
kept uniform product or segment wise,
irrespective of the sourcing channel, as such
schemes only serve the purpose of exploiting
vulnerable customers. RBI also issued guidelines
that no additional charges can be levied on
payment through debit cards. In the zero per
cent EMI schemes offered on credit cards, the
interest element is often camouflaged and passed
on to customers in the form of processing fee)

16) Which public-sector bank has installed
2,000 Cash Deposit Machines (CDMs) at
marketplaces across the country in the last
one year to give facility of depositing money
round the clock to its customers?
State Bank of India (In order to tap currency
in the hands of the public, Indias largest bank
SBI has been installing CDMs at marketplaces
across the country. Traders, shopkeepers and
vegetable vendors can deposit cash into these
CDMs anytime of the day (247) and 365 days of
the year just by swiping their SBI ATM-cum-debit
card. The money gets instantly credited to their
account and they get a receipt for their
transaction. The average cash collection per
machine a day is Rs 4 lakh. SBI plans to install
1,000 more machines this year)