General Knowledge BUZZ - 10th September 2014

1. Now, withdraw cash from ICICI Bank ATMs without a card

I. ICICI Bank has introduced a cardless cash withdrawal facility which allows customers to transfer money from their account to anyone in India with a mobile number.

II. The recipient, even if he does not have a bank account, can withdraw money round the clock without using a debit card.



2. Economy to grow at 5.2% in 2014: Moody's

I. Rating agency Moody's on said  growth rate expected to accelerate to 5.2 per cent in 2014 and 6.5 per cent by end of 2015.

II. Government expects growth in current fiscal to be between 5.4-5.9 per cent.

3. Cabinet approves divestment in ONGC, Coal India, NHPC

I. Kicking off the mega disinvestment drive, government approved the sale of shares in Coal India , ONGC and NHPC to garner a combined Rs 43,000 crore.
II. At current market prices, the sale of shares in state-owned CIL, ONGC and NHPC could garner over Rs 23,000 crore, Rs 18,000 crore and Rs 2,800 crore respectively.
III. CCEA has cleared 10 per cent stake dilution in CIL, 5 per cent in ONGC and 11.36 per cent in NHPC through the Offer For Sale (OFS) route.

4. SBI sends wilful defaulter notice to Vijay Mallya 

I. SBI had sent a notice to Kingfisher Airlines, promoter Vijay Mallya and three other directors a notice to tag them as "wilful defaulters"
II. The state-run bank, which is the lead bank of a lender consortium to the crippled carrier, has an exposure of over Rs 1,600 crore.
III. Punjab national Bank (PNB) and IDBI Bank, and private lenders Federal Bank and Axis Bank are also in the process of doing the same.

5. Ferrari boss quits after 23 years, Fiat chief executive to take over.

I. Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said on Wednesday he was resigning after 23 years at the helm.
II. parent company Fiat-Chrysler (FCA) Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said Mr. Montezemolo had done a “great job” in terms of financial results, but criticized Ferrari’s recent winless streak in Formula 1.
III. Sergio Marchionne is taking over Montezemolo’s position.

6. Bhartendu Harishchandra Awards for the years 2011 and 2012. 

Union Ministry for Information & Broadcasting conferred the Bhartendu Harishchandra Awards.

for year 2011

• First Prize: Vijay Dutt Shridhar for his manuscript Pehla Sampadakiya
• Second prize: Harish Chandra Barnwal for his book Television ki Bhasha
• Third prize: Santosh Kumar Nirmal for his book Filmein aur Prachar: Tab se ab tak. 

Women’s Issues category: 

• Gitashri for her manuscript Aurat ki Boli 

National Integration category: 

• Dr. Navratan Kapoor for the book Tyoharon Tatha Melon ki Vichitratain, Jansanchar Maadhyam aur Rashtriya Ekta. 

Children’s Literature category:

• First prize: Bano Sartaj for her book Pakya aur Parichham
• Second prize: Shri Rajiv Saxena for Professor Khurana ka Clone 

For 2012:

Journalism and Mass Communication category

• First prize: Vijaya Lakshmi Sinha for her book Maine Awaaz ko Dekha
• Second Prize: Madhav Hada for his book Seedhiyaan Chadhta Media
• Third prize:  Suresh Kumar for his book Online Media 

Women’s Issues category: 

• First Prize: Urmila Kumari for her book Jaar Jaar Taar Taar
• Second prize: Sanjula Thanvi for her book Manavaadhikar, Panchayati Raj Se Sashakt Naari

Children’s Literature category

• First Prize: Dr. Mohammed Arshad Khan for his book Mickey Mouse 
• Second Prize: Pavitra Agrawal for her book Phoolon se Pyar

7. Pankaj Advani announced to retire from professional snooker.

I. Pankaj Advani announced to retire from the professional snooker tour.

II. However, he will continue to participate in Billiards.
III. Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI) decided to propose his name for the Padma Bhushan.