Current Affairs - 1 November 2014

Devendra Fadnavis took the oath as the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra on 31 October 2014 at a glittering ceremony held at Mumbai’s iconic Wankhede Stadium. He became …………Chief Minister of state

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  27th

  Fadnavis became 27th Chief Minister of Maharashtra and the 18th person to hold this post. He also became the fourth politician from Vidarbha region and the second youngest to become Chief Minister of Maharashtra. The oath was administered by Maharashtra Governor Vidysagar Rao. Eknath Khadse, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Vinod Tawde, Pankaja Gopinath Munde and Vishnu Rama Savra took over as Cabinet Ministers.

The 139th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on 31 October 2014 was celebrated as the first edition of

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  “Rashtriya Ekta Diwas” (National Unity Day)

  The Union Government during October 2014 had decided to observe the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on 31 October as “Rashtriya Ekta Diwas’ (National Unity Day) every year. Sardar Patel, nicknamed the Iron Man of India, was the first home minister of the country and is credited with persuading more than 500 princely states to accede to the Indian union post-Independence. On the occasion of first National Unity Day ‘Run For Unity’ were organised all over the country and a pledge to maintain unity was taken by all government employees as well as school and college students.

Warren Anderson, the former chief of Union Carbide, died on 29 September 2014 at a nursing home in Vero Beach, Florida according to public records. Anderson was wanted in India in connection with the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy in which over 3,000 people were killed. This tragedy took place on which date?

Midnight of 2 December 1984

The Bhopal horror began around midnight on 2-3 December 1984 when a chemical reaction in a plant, owned by US company Union Carbide that made insecticides, caused a leak of toxic gases (primarily Methyl iso-cyanide) that swept through the surrounding community. The Madhya Pradesh government confirmed 3,787 deaths as a result. More than a half million people were injured, with many dying from illnesses, including lung cancer, kidney failure and liver disease. Warren Anderson was heading Union Carbide at that time and he reached Bhopal 4 days after the mishap to be arrested immediately. But after quickly paying bail, he never returned to face trial. In 1989, Union Carbide paid $470 million to the Indian government to settle litigation stemming from the disaster. His death was not made public by his family and was revealed from public records

What is the name of the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) programme that was launched by the Union Government on 31 October 2014 on the National Highway 8 (NH-8) to enable motorists to pay tolls electronically without stopping at the toll plazas?

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  ‘FasTag’

  This programme has been launched by Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL) in partnership with private sector banks ICICI Bank and Axis Bank. It was launched on the 1,428-km highway (NH-8) which connects the country’s national capital Delhi with financial capital Mumbai. FasTag users will be able to cruise through the toll plazas without the hassle of stopping for paying cash with Axis Bank and ICICI Bank facilitating electronic Toll Collection service at all Toll Plazas on the National Highways.

Who took over as the Secretary Economic Affairs on 31 October 2014 to complete the official-level makeover of Finance Ministry?

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  Rajiv Mehrishi

  Rajiv Mehrishi succeeded Arvind Mayaram who was shifted to Ministry of Minority Affairs on 30 October 2014. Earlier on 16 October 2014 Arvind Subramaniam joined as the new Chief Economic Advisor.
  
  
  
  
  

Which bank became the second after United Bank of India to tag Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) as a wilful defaulter?

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  UCO Bank

  UCO Bank is amongst the consortium of 17 banks that have a total exposure of Rs. 6,500 crore in KFA. While the consortium is led by SBI, UCO on its part is said to have lent Rs. 300 crore. The grounded airline was earlier declared a wilful defaulter by United Bank of India. According to Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) guidelines a wilful defaulter is one who has the capacity to repay but chooses not to do so. The money borrowed is being used for purposes other than for which it was taken.

New restricted free monthly ATM usage regime came into effect in 6 metro cities of the country from 1 November 2014. Under this regime the number of mandated free transactions for savings bank account holders at other bank ATMs located in six metros has been reduced from five to ……..per month

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  Three

  This restricted free monthly ATM usage regime came into effect in country’s 6 metro cities Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The choice of 6 metros for introducing this regime was made primarily due to well-served payment infrastructure available here. This reduction in the number of mandated free transactions will, however, not apply to customers having no-frills/small/Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA) type of accounts as well as for transactions done by savings bank account holders at ATMs situated outside these six metro centres. Banks are also free to offer free transactions above this mandated limit.

Brief History of Banking in India

• From the ancient times in India, an indigenous banking system has prevailed. The businessmen called Shroffs, Seths, Sahukars, Mahajans, Chettis etc. had been carrying on the business of banking since ancient times. These indigenous bankers included very small money lenders to shroffs with huge businesses, who carried on the large and specialized business even greater than the business of banks.
  

  • The origin of western type commercial Banking in India dates back to the 18th century.

  The story of banking starts from Bank of Hindusthan established in 1770 and it was first bank at Calcutta under European management.
  

  • In 1786 General Bank of India was set up.

  Since Calcutta was the most active trading port in India, mainly due to the trade of the British Empire, it became a banking center.
  

  • Three Presidency banks were set up under charters from the British East India CompanyBritish East India Company On December 31, 1600, the English East India Company was incorporated by royal charter under the title of "the Governor and Company .....- Bank of Calcutta, Bank of Bombay and the Bank of Madras. These worked as quasi central banks in India for many years.

  The Bank of Calcutta established in 1806 immediately became Bank of Bengal.
  

  • In 1921 these 3 banks merged with each other and Imperial Bank of India got birth. It is today's State Bank of India.
  • The name was changed after India's Independence in 1955. So State bank of India is the oldest Bank of India.

  In 1839, there was a fruitless effort by Indian merchants to establish a Bank called Union Bank. It failed within a decade.
  

  • Next came Allahabad Bank which was established in 1865 and working even today.

  The oldest Public Sector Bank in India having branches all over India and serving the customers for the last 145 years is Allahabad Bank. Allahabad bank is also known as one of India's Oldest Joint Stock Bank.
  

  • The Oldest Joint Stock bank of India was Bank of Upper India established in 1863 and failed in 1913.
  • The first Bank of India with Limited Liability to be managed by Indian Board was Oudh Commercial Bank. It was established in 1881 at Faizabad. This bank failed in 1958.
  • The first bank purely managed by Indian was Punjab National Bank, established in Lahore in 1895. The Punjab national Bank has not only survived till date but also is one of the largest banks in India.

  However, the first Indian commercial bank which was wholly owned and managed by Indians was Central Bank of India which was established in 1911.
  So this bank is called India's First Truly Swadeshi bank
  
  Central Bank of India was dreams come true of Sir Sorabji Pochkhanawala, founder of the Bank. Sir Pherozeshah  Mehta was the first Chairman of this Bank. Many more Indian banks were established between 1906-1911. This was the era of the Swadeshi Movement in India. Some of the banks are Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Indian Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank and Central Bank of India.
  

  India’s First Bank to Open a branch Outside India:
  Bank of India was the first Indian bank to open a branch outside India in London in 1946 and the first to open a branch in continental Europe at Paris in 1974. Bank of India  was founded in September 1906 as a private entity and was nationalized in July 1969. Since the logo of this Bank is a star, its head office in Mumbai is located in Star House, Bandra East, Mumbai.

  Cradle of Indian Banking
  There was a district in Today's Karnataka state called South Canara under the British empire. It was bifurcated in 1859 from Canara district , thus making Dakshina Kannada and Udupi district. It was the undivided Dakshina Kannada district. It was renamed as Dakshina Kannada in 1947. Four banks started operation during the period of Swadeshi Movement and so this was known as "Cradle of Indian Banking.
  The above discussion was of  the first phase of Indian banking which was a very slow in development. This era saw many ups and downs in the banking scenario of the country.
  The Second Phase starts from 1935 when Reserve bank of IndiaThe Reserve Bank of India was established on April 1, 1935 in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 with ..... was established. Between the period of 1911-1948, there were more than 1000 banks in India, almost all small banks. The Reserve Bank of India In 1926, the Royal Commission on Indian Currency and Finance which is also known as the Hilton-Young Commission recommended the creation of a central bank. ..... was constituted in 1934 as an apex Bank, however without major government ownership. Government of India came up with the Banking Companies Act 1949. This act was later changed to Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act 1949. The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act of 1965 gave extensive powers to the Reserve Bank of India. The Reserve Bank of India was made the Central Banking Authority.
  The banking sector reforms started immediately after the independence. These reforms were basically aimed at improving the confidence level of the public as most banks were not trusted by the majority of the people. Instead, the deposits with the Postal department were considered safe.
  
  The first major step was Nationalization of the Imperial Bank of India in 1955 via State Bank of India Act. State Bank of India was made to act as the principal agent of RBI and handle banking transactions of the Union and State Governments.In a major process of nationalization, 7 subsidiaries of the State Bank of India were nationalized by the Indira Gandhi regime. In 1969, 14 major private commercial banks were nationalized. These 14 banks Nationalized in 1969 are as follows:
  

  1. Central Bank of India
  2. Bank of Maharastra
  3. Dena Bank
  4. Punjab National Bank
  5. Syndicate Bank
  6. Canara Bank
  7. Indian Bank
  8. Indian Overseas Bank
  9. Bank of Baroda
  10. Union Bank
  11. Allahabad Bank
  12. Union Bank of India
  13. UCO Bank
  14. Bank of India
  • After the two major phases of nationalization in India, the 80% of the banking sector came under the public sector / government ownership.
  Please note the following sequence of events:
  • Creation of Reserve bank of IndiaThe Reserve Bank of India was established on April 1, 1935 in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 with .....: 1935
  • Nationalization of Reserve Bank of India In 1926, the Royal Commission on Indian Currency and Finance which is also known as the Hilton-Young Commission recommended the creation of a central bank. ..... : 1949 (January )
  • Enactment of Banking Regulation Act : 1949 (March)
  • Nationalization of State Bank of India : 1955
  • Nationalization of SBI Subsidiaries : 1959
  • Nationalization of 14 major Banks : 1969
  • Creation of Credit Guarantee Corporation: 1971
  • Creation of Regional Rural BanksNarasimham Committee and Genesis of RRBs We all know that the first stage of nationalization that took place in 1969 boosted the confidence of the public ..... : 1975
  • Nationalization of 7 more banks with deposits over Rs. 200 Crore: 1980
  The result was outstanding. The public deposits in these banks increased by 800% , as the government ownership gave the public faith and trust. The third phase of development of banking in India started in the early 1990s when India started its economic liberalization. The above was followed by a second phase of nationalization in 1980, when Government of India acquired the ownership of 6 more banks, thus bringing the total number of Nationalised Banks to 20. The private banks at that time were allowed to function side by side with nationalized banks and the foreign banks were allowed to work under strict regulation.