General Affairs
Infiltration Bid Foiled, 2 Terrorists Killed In Jammu And Kashmir's Kupwara
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SRINAGAR: Two terrorists were gunned down during an encounter with the security forces in Nowgam Sector of Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir as Indian forces foiled an infiltration bid.
Troops noticed suspicious movement along the LoC in Nowgam sector during the intervening night of July 29-30 and challenged the intruders, who opened fire, an army official said.
The soldier returned fire leading to the gunbattle in which two terrorists were killed, the official said.
He said two soldiers were also killed while another was injured in the operation which was going on till last reports came in.
Two AK rifles and one Under Barrel Grenade Launcher were recovered from the terrorists.
This is second major infiltration bid foiled by the Army in Nowgam sector this week.
Four terrorists were killed and one was caught alive in a failed infiltration bid on July 26.
The arrested terrorist, later confessed to be a resident of Lahore in a confession video.
Infiltration attempts have been on the rise. There were 90 infiltration attempts until June this year in comparison to 29 attempts in the corresponding period in 2015.
Troops noticed suspicious movement along the LoC in Nowgam sector during the intervening night of July 29-30 and challenged the intruders, who opened fire, an army official said.
The soldier returned fire leading to the gunbattle in which two terrorists were killed, the official said.
Two AK rifles and one Under Barrel Grenade Launcher were recovered from the terrorists.
This is second major infiltration bid foiled by the Army in Nowgam sector this week.
Four terrorists were killed and one was caught alive in a failed infiltration bid on July 26.
The arrested terrorist, later confessed to be a resident of Lahore in a confession video.
Infiltration attempts have been on the rise. There were 90 infiltration attempts until June this year in comparison to 29 attempts in the corresponding period in 2015.
Delhi Government To Hold First Parent-Teacher Meeting Today
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NEW DELHI: Delhi government schools will organise a mega Parents-Teachers-Meeting today as part of the state government's initiative to make parents of government schools students "stakeholders" in their child's education.
The Deputy Chief Minister has asked the parents of 16 lakh students studying in government schools to celebrate the mega Parents-Teachers-Meeting or PTM as a festival and said that on the lines of private schools, PTM will now be held at government schools.
Mr Sisodia, who also holds the Education portfolio, said the PTM will be held twice a year to make parents feel proud that they are also part of the several initiatives being taken by the AAP government.
"We have constituted welcoming teams in schools for the parents so that they feel proud and for this, government has set aside funds. The timing of PTM will be different in morning and evening shift schools.
"It is important to communicate the initiatives of Delhi Government in education, so that parents utilize these schemes properly," he said while addressing a press conference.
Mr Sisodia said that in theory, PTMs were supposed to happen at government schools, but they weren't, excluding exceptions, adding that the thought behind this mega event is to open the gates of schools for the parents of the children and leave behind closed spaces in government schools.
"We want to make PTMs a regular affair to keep parents in loop. At this meet, parents can seek details of performance of their children and get updated with all activities and initiatives taken by the government," he further said.
Mr Sisodia said government was improving quality of education in its schools everyday through policies, new infrastructure including CCTVs, classrooms and furniture.
He also said that government has directed all its senior officials of the education department including directors, deputy directors, and assistant director to hold a meeting with parents of government schools' students from 12 to 1 PM on Friday every week to address their issues.
The Deputy Chief Minister has asked the parents of 16 lakh students studying in government schools to celebrate the mega Parents-Teachers-Meeting or PTM as a festival and said that on the lines of private schools, PTM will now be held at government schools.
Mr Sisodia, who also holds the Education portfolio, said the PTM will be held twice a year to make parents feel proud that they are also part of the several initiatives being taken by the AAP government.
"We have constituted welcoming teams in schools for the parents so that they feel proud and for this, government has set aside funds. The timing of PTM will be different in morning and evening shift schools.
"It is important to communicate the initiatives of Delhi Government in education, so that parents utilize these schemes properly," he said while addressing a press conference.
Mr Sisodia said that in theory, PTMs were supposed to happen at government schools, but they weren't, excluding exceptions, adding that the thought behind this mega event is to open the gates of schools for the parents of the children and leave behind closed spaces in government schools.
"We want to make PTMs a regular affair to keep parents in loop. At this meet, parents can seek details of performance of their children and get updated with all activities and initiatives taken by the government," he further said.
Mr Sisodia said government was improving quality of education in its schools everyday through policies, new infrastructure including CCTVs, classrooms and furniture.
He also said that government has directed all its senior officials of the education department including directors, deputy directors, and assistant director to hold a meeting with parents of government schools' students from 12 to 1 PM on Friday every week to address their issues.
Punjab Government Approves Criteria For Grant To Sangharshi Yodhas
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CHANDIGARH: Punjab government on Friday approved the criteria for grant of financial assistance and facilities to Sangharshi Yodhas who participated in anti-Emergency protests and Punjabi Suba movement to safeguard the interest of the state.
The decision was taken by the Council of Ministers during its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in Chandigarh.
A spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said financial assistance of Rs. 1000 per month would be given to the participants who had undergone imprisonment for up to three months.
The Sangharshi Yodhas who were under imprisonment for three months to six months would be given a financial assistance of Rs. 1500 per month and Rs. 2000 per month for those who were imprisoned for more than six months.
They would be required to submit the jail certificate or two co-prisoners certificates for the purpose of proof.
The panchayat in rural areas and municipal committee in urban areas can also give in writing after unanimous approval, the time spent by Sangharshi Yodha in prison due to participation in Morchas.
Apart from this, those Sangharshi Yodha who were beneficiaries in the past their pensions have also been restored.
Keeping in view the administrative exigencies, the Cabinet also gave ex-post facto approval to revive and fill up 25 posts of Punjab Civil Service (Executive Branch) for direct recruitment as well as of various registers.
The Cabinet also gave ex-post facto approval to the appointment of Manjinder Singh Sirsa as Advisor to Deputy Chief Minister in the rank of State Minister.
It also gave approval for the creation of posts of six Private Secretaries, six Personal Assistants, six Clerks, six Telephone Attendants, six peons and six cooks for the office of the new Chief Parliamentary Secretaries, .
The Cabinet also gave green signal to amend The Right to Service Act-2011 by promulgating an Ordinance thereby substituting the name 'First Appellate Authority' and 'Second Appellate Authority' with 'Grievance Redressal Authority' and Appellate Authority, respectively in the principal Act and empowering them to take suo-moto notice of failure to deliver services and to pass order.
The Cabinet also gave go ahead to formulate a new policy for regularisation of plots/buildings located in the unauthorised colonies in the state by promulgation of The Punjab Laws (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2016.
The Cabinet also approved the creation of corpus of Rs. 10 crore for the upkeep and maintenance besides to meet day to day administrative expenses of the upcoming Punjab State War Heroes Memorial and Museum in Amritsar.
The Museum would be dedicated to the nation on October 23.
The Cabinet also gave nod to treat any of these documents i.e., voter card, electoral roll, ration card/Aadhar card, matriculation certificate and birth certificate issued by the Registrar of Births & Deaths as an evidence for the purpose of verification of age of the applicant.
In order to extend better police services to the people residing in the rural areas, the Cabinet cleared the proposal of Home department to recruit 4,000 constables and 750 constable drivers under Rapid Rural Police Response Scheme (RRPRS).
To further strengthen the Intelligence Wing of the state police, the Cabinet gave approval to create 781 new posts including 11 DSPs, 24 Inspectors, 66 SIs, 64 ASIs, 116 Head Constables and 500 Constables.
In another significant decision, the Cabinet also approved the creation of 4425 additional posts including ADCP/SP, ACP/DSP, Inspector, SI, ASI, Head Constable and Constable to provide best and efficient security services to the people in Ludhiana, Amritsar and SAS Nagar (Mohali) which are the famous business, religious and industrial centres.
The Cabinet also gave approval to amend the Marriage Palace policy so as to remove the hardships faced by the owners besides ensuring facilities of adequate security and parking lot for the general public converging there on the social functions.
It also agreed to go ahead with the proposed conversion policy for industrial plots laying within the Industrial Focal Points/Industrial Estates/Industrial Parks to non-industrial purposes.
The decision was taken by the Council of Ministers during its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in Chandigarh.
A spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said financial assistance of Rs. 1000 per month would be given to the participants who had undergone imprisonment for up to three months.
The Sangharshi Yodhas who were under imprisonment for three months to six months would be given a financial assistance of Rs. 1500 per month and Rs. 2000 per month for those who were imprisoned for more than six months.
They would be required to submit the jail certificate or two co-prisoners certificates for the purpose of proof.
Apart from this, those Sangharshi Yodha who were beneficiaries in the past their pensions have also been restored.
Keeping in view the administrative exigencies, the Cabinet also gave ex-post facto approval to revive and fill up 25 posts of Punjab Civil Service (Executive Branch) for direct recruitment as well as of various registers.
The Cabinet also gave ex-post facto approval to the appointment of Manjinder Singh Sirsa as Advisor to Deputy Chief Minister in the rank of State Minister.
It also gave approval for the creation of posts of six Private Secretaries, six Personal Assistants, six Clerks, six Telephone Attendants, six peons and six cooks for the office of the new Chief Parliamentary Secretaries, .
The Cabinet also gave green signal to amend The Right to Service Act-2011 by promulgating an Ordinance thereby substituting the name 'First Appellate Authority' and 'Second Appellate Authority' with 'Grievance Redressal Authority' and Appellate Authority, respectively in the principal Act and empowering them to take suo-moto notice of failure to deliver services and to pass order.
The Cabinet also gave go ahead to formulate a new policy for regularisation of plots/buildings located in the unauthorised colonies in the state by promulgation of The Punjab Laws (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2016.
The Cabinet also approved the creation of corpus of Rs. 10 crore for the upkeep and maintenance besides to meet day to day administrative expenses of the upcoming Punjab State War Heroes Memorial and Museum in Amritsar.
The Museum would be dedicated to the nation on October 23.
The Cabinet also gave nod to treat any of these documents i.e., voter card, electoral roll, ration card/Aadhar card, matriculation certificate and birth certificate issued by the Registrar of Births & Deaths as an evidence for the purpose of verification of age of the applicant.
In order to extend better police services to the people residing in the rural areas, the Cabinet cleared the proposal of Home department to recruit 4,000 constables and 750 constable drivers under Rapid Rural Police Response Scheme (RRPRS).
To further strengthen the Intelligence Wing of the state police, the Cabinet gave approval to create 781 new posts including 11 DSPs, 24 Inspectors, 66 SIs, 64 ASIs, 116 Head Constables and 500 Constables.
In another significant decision, the Cabinet also approved the creation of 4425 additional posts including ADCP/SP, ACP/DSP, Inspector, SI, ASI, Head Constable and Constable to provide best and efficient security services to the people in Ludhiana, Amritsar and SAS Nagar (Mohali) which are the famous business, religious and industrial centres.
The Cabinet also gave approval to amend the Marriage Palace policy so as to remove the hardships faced by the owners besides ensuring facilities of adequate security and parking lot for the general public converging there on the social functions.
It also agreed to go ahead with the proposed conversion policy for industrial plots laying within the Industrial Focal Points/Industrial Estates/Industrial Parks to non-industrial purposes.
'Traitors' Cemetery' Reserved For Turkey's Coup Plotters
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ISTANBUL: Captain Mehmet Karabekir's body was not washed before burial. Nobody recited prayers from the Koran before he was laid to rest in a hastily dug hole near an animal shelter, denied all Muslim rites.
He is among the dozens of Turkish soldiers accused of trying to overthrow President Tayyip Erdogan and the government in a failed military coup this month, his fate a sign of the fury felt over a night of bloodletting that killed more than 240 people.
Karabekir lies with no tombstone next to three other two-metre deep holes prepared with a mechanical digger. He was the first to be buried in a plot of land of about a quarter of an acre sectioned off last weekend in a disused part of a construction site on the eastern outskirts of Istanbul.
Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas called it "The Traitors' Cemetery" - established, he said, specifically for coup plotters in the military.
The government of Turkey - a predominantly Muslim country - has detained, removed or suspended tens of thousands of people in the civil service, military judiciary and elsewhere over their suspected links with perpetrators of the attempted putsch.
While the crackdown has drawn concern and criticism from Western capitals, rights groups and some domestic opponents of the government, most Turks have shown unity in their opposition to the coup attempt, with regular rallies of solidarity.
But, for many people, the retribution across the country has gone too far with the "Traitors' Cemetery".
There has been widespread criticism this week, not just from rights groups, but also from Turks who took to social media to express their opposition.
This reaction has led officials to distance themselves from the cemetery.
Even though Turkey's religious authority has said it will not provide Islamic funeral services for coup soldiers, a spokesman told Reuters that top cleric Mehmet Gormez did not support the establishment of a burial ground for traitors, saying it was hurtful to the families of the dead.
On Thursday Mayor Topbas, who was among the local officials who came up with the idea, told broadcaster TGRT Haber that he had ordered the removal of its "Traitors' Cemetery" signage - though it was unclear if the plot would continue to be used for the same purpose.
A spokesman for the mayor did not return repeated phone calls.
There is no suggestion that Erdogan or the central government had any link with the municipal decision to establish the Istanbul burial ground.
Local media reported that Karabekir's family refused to claim his body, prompting the authorities to bury him in the makeshift grave on Monday. His sister-in-law, when contacted by Reuters, said the family did not want to make any comment and requested privacy.
"Nobody should go to God with such darkness," said a resident in the Acibadem area of Istanbul, where officials and newspapers said Karabekir shot dead a local administrator as he and a group of soldiers tried to seize a building. She declined to give her name due to the sensitive nature of the issue.
He is among the dozens of Turkish soldiers accused of trying to overthrow President Tayyip Erdogan and the government in a failed military coup this month, his fate a sign of the fury felt over a night of bloodletting that killed more than 240 people.
Karabekir lies with no tombstone next to three other two-metre deep holes prepared with a mechanical digger. He was the first to be buried in a plot of land of about a quarter of an acre sectioned off last weekend in a disused part of a construction site on the eastern outskirts of Istanbul.
Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas called it "The Traitors' Cemetery" - established, he said, specifically for coup plotters in the military.
While the crackdown has drawn concern and criticism from Western capitals, rights groups and some domestic opponents of the government, most Turks have shown unity in their opposition to the coup attempt, with regular rallies of solidarity.
But, for many people, the retribution across the country has gone too far with the "Traitors' Cemetery".
There has been widespread criticism this week, not just from rights groups, but also from Turks who took to social media to express their opposition.
This reaction has led officials to distance themselves from the cemetery.
Even though Turkey's religious authority has said it will not provide Islamic funeral services for coup soldiers, a spokesman told Reuters that top cleric Mehmet Gormez did not support the establishment of a burial ground for traitors, saying it was hurtful to the families of the dead.
On Thursday Mayor Topbas, who was among the local officials who came up with the idea, told broadcaster TGRT Haber that he had ordered the removal of its "Traitors' Cemetery" signage - though it was unclear if the plot would continue to be used for the same purpose.
A spokesman for the mayor did not return repeated phone calls.
There is no suggestion that Erdogan or the central government had any link with the municipal decision to establish the Istanbul burial ground.
Local media reported that Karabekir's family refused to claim his body, prompting the authorities to bury him in the makeshift grave on Monday. His sister-in-law, when contacted by Reuters, said the family did not want to make any comment and requested privacy.
"Nobody should go to God with such darkness," said a resident in the Acibadem area of Istanbul, where officials and newspapers said Karabekir shot dead a local administrator as he and a group of soldiers tried to seize a building. She declined to give her name due to the sensitive nature of the issue.
Hillary Clinton Campaign Denies Report That Its Computer System Was Hacked
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The Clinton presidential campaign said Friday that an "analytics data program" maintained by the Democratic National Committee had been hacked but that its computer system had not been compromised, denying news reports from earlier in the day that the campaign had become the third Democratic Party organization whose systems had been penetrated.
So far, campaign computer experts "have found no evidence that our internal systems have been compromised," campaign spokesman Nick Merrill said in a statement.
Merrill said that "an analytics data program maintained by the DNC and used by our campaign and a number of other entities was accessed as part of the DNC hack." The campaign did not provide details, but a source familiar with the situation said that the hacked material was generally dull and did not include email communications, memos, research or other potentially inflammatory communications. Mostly, the source said, it included innocuous data such as computer code and lists of email addresses.
Earlier in the week people familiar with the campaign told The Washington Post that the campaign - like many other organizations - had been targeted by would-be hackers but that there was no evidence that any of the attempts had succeeded.
FBI agents visited the Clinton campaign in the spring and described efforts they had observed to break into the campaign's computer system. Campaign security consultants were aware of the attempts and concurred that none appeared to have been successful.
U.S. officials think that the Russian intelligence agency, the GRU, successfully hacked into the DNC and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Senior figures in the national security community are warning that the Russian hack of the DNC and the subsequent release of committee emails by the antisecrecy group WikiLeaks may be part of a broader attack on the U.S. electoral process.
The emails released by WikiLeaks on the eve of the Democratic convention showed that officials at the ostensibly neutral DNC were helping Clinton over Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vermont) in the Democratic primaries, deepening anger and resentment among Sanders's supporters. The email release led to the resignation of the DNC chair, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Florida.
If the email leak was orchestrated by the Russian government, "this is an attack not on one party but on the integrity of American democracy," the Aspen Institute Homeland Security Group, a group of 32 homeland security and counterterrorism experts, said in a statement.
"And it may not be the end of such attacks," said the group, which includes a former CIA director and a homeland security secretary. "It is not unthinkable that those responsible will steal and release more files, and even salt the files they release with plausible forgeries."
The FBI issued a statement Friday about the reported hacks.
"The FBI is aware of media reporting on cyber intrusions involving multiple political entities, and is working to determine the accuracy, nature and scope of these matters," the statement said. "The cyber threat environment continues to evolve as cyber actors target all sectors and their data. The FBI takes seriously any allegations of intrusions, and we will continue to hold accountable those who pose a threat in cyberspace."
The GRU apparently stole not only DNC emails but also opposition research files on GOP candidate Donald Trump, according to private investigators. Russian government hackers also have targeted computer systems at the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee, GOP political action committees, among others, law enforcement officials said, but it is unclear if they were successfully breached.
Some lawmakers warned that the operation - if the GRU role is confirmed - appears to have moved beyond traditional espionage into information warfare.
"Now that the precedent has been set of operationalizing the mass leaking of the information, we're in a whole new dangerous ballgame, with a level of brazen interference that we haven't seen before," said Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
Russian officials have dismissed reports of involvement by its intelligence services.
Lawmakers and security experts have called on the Obama administration to ensure that responsibility for the DNC hack and leak is assigned. Schiff and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, urged the administration to make public as much information as possible about the incident while protecting sources and methods to illuminate potential Russian motivations for "what would be an unprecedented interference in a U.S. presidential race."
The Aspen Group warned that election officials at every level of government "should take this lesson to heart: Our electoral process could be a target for reckless foreign governments and terrorist groups." Members of the group also raised the specter of foreign groups manipulating election results.
"What would be very troubling would be somebody hacking into the actual voting databases or network systems in which ballots are sent to the central database, and either altering results or raising questions about the integrity of the results," said Michael Chertoff, former homeland security secretary. "That would take the 'hanging chad' debacle of 2000 and make it seem trivial. This would become an issue of electronic hanging chads."
Russia experts say there is no question that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be aware of the operation to hack the DNC and by extension the leak to WikiLeaks if Russian intelligence is involved.
"I believe there's no chance at all that Putin would not have been aware of it," said Steven L. Hall, a retired CIA officer and expert on Russia and Eurasia. "I cannot imagine something of this seriousness, and also with the direct interest that Putin takes in these kinds of things," proceeding without his approval.
Some current and former administration officials say the closest analogue to the hack-leak combination is the 2014 hack of Sony Pictures. In that case North Korea broke into the systems of the Hollywood entertainment giant, stole emails and unreleased films, and leaked them in an effort to coerce Sony into pulling a satirical movie about supreme leader Kim Jong Un.
In the case of Sony, the FBI obtained "attribution" - or concluded with high confidence - fairly quickly that North Korea was behind the attack, which also damaged Sony's computers. The FBI made a public statement naming North Korea less than a month later. And less than three weeks after that, the administration imposed new economic sanctions on the government.
If the FBI concludes that Russia was responsible for the leak, "absolutely they should call Russia out," Schiff said. He acknowledged there would be fears of escalation and of complicating an already strained relationship with Moscow over Ukraine and Syria. But, he said, "the best way to deter" such conduct is to name the responsible party "publicly and forcefully."
Private cyber analysts have tracked for several years the GRU hacker group that targeted the Democratic Party organizations.
Dubbed APT 28 or Fancy Bear, among other monikers, last year it also hacked the French TV5Monde station, plunging the network's television channels into darkness. In that case, a front group calling itself the Cyber Caliphate claimed credit for the hack.
Within 24 hours of news of the DNC hack, a figure calling himself Guccifer 2.0 claimed credit and said he was Romanian. Independent researchers, analyzing forensic evidence in his communications and blog posts, have concluded he is part of a Russian information operation campaign.
Such campaigns are centrally directed by the Kremlin - and not by individual agencies, said Joel Harding, an expert on Russian information operations. "You have to look at this as a whole-of-government, Russian government program," he said.
So far, campaign computer experts "have found no evidence that our internal systems have been compromised," campaign spokesman Nick Merrill said in a statement.
Merrill said that "an analytics data program maintained by the DNC and used by our campaign and a number of other entities was accessed as part of the DNC hack." The campaign did not provide details, but a source familiar with the situation said that the hacked material was generally dull and did not include email communications, memos, research or other potentially inflammatory communications. Mostly, the source said, it included innocuous data such as computer code and lists of email addresses.
FBI agents visited the Clinton campaign in the spring and described efforts they had observed to break into the campaign's computer system. Campaign security consultants were aware of the attempts and concurred that none appeared to have been successful.
U.S. officials think that the Russian intelligence agency, the GRU, successfully hacked into the DNC and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Senior figures in the national security community are warning that the Russian hack of the DNC and the subsequent release of committee emails by the antisecrecy group WikiLeaks may be part of a broader attack on the U.S. electoral process.
The emails released by WikiLeaks on the eve of the Democratic convention showed that officials at the ostensibly neutral DNC were helping Clinton over Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vermont) in the Democratic primaries, deepening anger and resentment among Sanders's supporters. The email release led to the resignation of the DNC chair, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Florida.
If the email leak was orchestrated by the Russian government, "this is an attack not on one party but on the integrity of American democracy," the Aspen Institute Homeland Security Group, a group of 32 homeland security and counterterrorism experts, said in a statement.
"And it may not be the end of such attacks," said the group, which includes a former CIA director and a homeland security secretary. "It is not unthinkable that those responsible will steal and release more files, and even salt the files they release with plausible forgeries."
The FBI issued a statement Friday about the reported hacks.
"The FBI is aware of media reporting on cyber intrusions involving multiple political entities, and is working to determine the accuracy, nature and scope of these matters," the statement said. "The cyber threat environment continues to evolve as cyber actors target all sectors and their data. The FBI takes seriously any allegations of intrusions, and we will continue to hold accountable those who pose a threat in cyberspace."
The GRU apparently stole not only DNC emails but also opposition research files on GOP candidate Donald Trump, according to private investigators. Russian government hackers also have targeted computer systems at the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee, GOP political action committees, among others, law enforcement officials said, but it is unclear if they were successfully breached.
Some lawmakers warned that the operation - if the GRU role is confirmed - appears to have moved beyond traditional espionage into information warfare.
"Now that the precedent has been set of operationalizing the mass leaking of the information, we're in a whole new dangerous ballgame, with a level of brazen interference that we haven't seen before," said Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
Russian officials have dismissed reports of involvement by its intelligence services.
Lawmakers and security experts have called on the Obama administration to ensure that responsibility for the DNC hack and leak is assigned. Schiff and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, urged the administration to make public as much information as possible about the incident while protecting sources and methods to illuminate potential Russian motivations for "what would be an unprecedented interference in a U.S. presidential race."
The Aspen Group warned that election officials at every level of government "should take this lesson to heart: Our electoral process could be a target for reckless foreign governments and terrorist groups." Members of the group also raised the specter of foreign groups manipulating election results.
"What would be very troubling would be somebody hacking into the actual voting databases or network systems in which ballots are sent to the central database, and either altering results or raising questions about the integrity of the results," said Michael Chertoff, former homeland security secretary. "That would take the 'hanging chad' debacle of 2000 and make it seem trivial. This would become an issue of electronic hanging chads."
Russia experts say there is no question that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be aware of the operation to hack the DNC and by extension the leak to WikiLeaks if Russian intelligence is involved.
"I believe there's no chance at all that Putin would not have been aware of it," said Steven L. Hall, a retired CIA officer and expert on Russia and Eurasia. "I cannot imagine something of this seriousness, and also with the direct interest that Putin takes in these kinds of things," proceeding without his approval.
Some current and former administration officials say the closest analogue to the hack-leak combination is the 2014 hack of Sony Pictures. In that case North Korea broke into the systems of the Hollywood entertainment giant, stole emails and unreleased films, and leaked them in an effort to coerce Sony into pulling a satirical movie about supreme leader Kim Jong Un.
In the case of Sony, the FBI obtained "attribution" - or concluded with high confidence - fairly quickly that North Korea was behind the attack, which also damaged Sony's computers. The FBI made a public statement naming North Korea less than a month later. And less than three weeks after that, the administration imposed new economic sanctions on the government.
If the FBI concludes that Russia was responsible for the leak, "absolutely they should call Russia out," Schiff said. He acknowledged there would be fears of escalation and of complicating an already strained relationship with Moscow over Ukraine and Syria. But, he said, "the best way to deter" such conduct is to name the responsible party "publicly and forcefully."
Private cyber analysts have tracked for several years the GRU hacker group that targeted the Democratic Party organizations.
Dubbed APT 28 or Fancy Bear, among other monikers, last year it also hacked the French TV5Monde station, plunging the network's television channels into darkness. In that case, a front group calling itself the Cyber Caliphate claimed credit for the hack.
Within 24 hours of news of the DNC hack, a figure calling himself Guccifer 2.0 claimed credit and said he was Romanian. Independent researchers, analyzing forensic evidence in his communications and blog posts, have concluded he is part of a Russian information operation campaign.
Such campaigns are centrally directed by the Kremlin - and not by individual agencies, said Joel Harding, an expert on Russian information operations. "You have to look at this as a whole-of-government, Russian government program," he said.
Business Affairs
Subramanian Swamy attacks Rajan for 'dip' in MSME growth
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BJP MP Subramanian Swamy was on Friday back at attacking Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan, blaming him for dip in growth rate of small and medium enterprises.
"As you can see the MSME growth has sharply declined in one year. In 2015-16 data seen sharper decline. R3 effect!," he tweeted.
Swamy, who has been critical of the outgoing Governor for keeping lending rates high with a view to check inflation, uses R3 to describe Raghuram Rajan.
He attached with the tweet an unstarred question he raised in Rajya Sabha on July 27 on performance of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
Swamy had asked about the rate of growth of output of MSME in last three years. To this, Minister of State for MSME Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary replied that the rate of growth of output of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) at current prices, for the years 2013-14 and 2014-15 are 13.09 per cent and 9.79 per cent, respectively.
BJP MP Subramanian Swamy was on Friday back at attacking Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan, blaming him for dip in growth rate of small and medium enterprises.
"As you can see the MSME growth has sharply declined in one year. In 2015-16 data seen sharper decline. R3 effect!," he tweeted.
Swamy, who has been critical of the outgoing Governor for keeping lending rates high with a view to check inflation, uses R3 to describe Raghuram Rajan.
He attached with the tweet an unstarred question he raised in Rajya Sabha on July 27 on performance of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
Swamy had asked about the rate of growth of output of MSME in last three years. To this, Minister of State for MSME Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary replied that the rate of growth of output of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) at current prices, for the years 2013-14 and 2014-15 are 13.09 per cent and 9.79 per cent, respectively.
India leads in transport efficiency around the world
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Pollution maybe a raging debate in the country right now and vehicles have become obvious targets but a worldwide study conducted by American Council for Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has revealed India scored the maximum points alongwith Japan and Italy in a list of 25 countries in the area of transportation.
Though India has next to negligible population of electric or hybrid cars on the road, the domination of mini cars and their higher fuel economy and low carbon footprint as compared to bigger sedans and saloons is what enabled India to score the maximum points.
The study that anlysed countries on a scale of 100 possible points in 35 categories put Germany as the leader in the world in overall energy efficiency, followed by Italy and Japan (tied for second place), France, and the United Kingdom.
India was ranked 14th behind only Taiwan among developing economies but ahead of Russia, Indonesia, South Africa and Brazil. Together the list of 25 countries that were covered under the study represents 75 per cent of all the energy consumed on the planet and over 80 per cent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP).
The 35 categories against which each country was benchmarked against the other included areas like buildings, industry, transportation, and overall national energy efficiency efforts. Germany scored the most points in the national efforts, buildings, and industry categories.
"Energy efficiency is often the lowest-cost means of meeting new demand for energy. Governments that encourage investment in energy efficiency and implement supporting policies save citizens money, reduce dependence on energy imports, and reduce pollution," says ACEEE Executive Director Steven Nadel.
"Yet energy efficiency remains massively underutilized globally, despite its proven multiple benefits and its potential to become the single largest resource to meet growing energy demand worldwide."
India scored one of the lowest points for national efforts on increasing energy efficiency in the country, though the study was based on findings from 2013 and does not take into account a host of measures like LED and street light schemes launched from 2014 onwards in the country. ACEEE said some of the measures will be reflected in future studies and may result in an improvement in India's overall ranking.
"The energy efficiency measures such as Bachat Lamp Yojna, and others planned or undertaken by India are certainly very positive developments. Improving efficiency of lights, fans, and air conditioners will be quite effective in reducing the energy use of consumers and the overall energy intensity of the country. According to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, India, lighting accounts for about 20% of total electricity consumption in the country. With close to 30 million ceiling fans sold annually in India, and demand for air conditioners set to rise rapidly, India can capture huge savings through energy efficient appliances," says Shruti Vaidyanathan, senior researcher and co-author of the study at ACEEE.
"It is difficult to predict to what extent these savings will impact India's standing in our 2018 Scorecard, they would certainly contribute towards reducing energy intensity of residential and commercial buildings, and overall energy intensity, all of which are indicators we measure. They could also improve India's relative ranking in energy efficiency spending, which is currently one of the least among all the countries in the scorecard. To improve in the rankings, along with these measures, India could enforce mandatory building energy codes, and implement more mandatory standards and labels for appliances and industrial motors. Additionally, tracking and disclosing energy efficiency data and making it accessible to people and policymakers alike would help significantly in tracking progress in the energy sector."
Pollution maybe a raging debate in the country right now and vehicles have become obvious targets but a worldwide study conducted by American Council for Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has revealed India scored the maximum points alongwith Japan and Italy in a list of 25 countries in the area of transportation.
Though India has next to negligible population of electric or hybrid cars on the road, the domination of mini cars and their higher fuel economy and low carbon footprint as compared to bigger sedans and saloons is what enabled India to score the maximum points.
The study that anlysed countries on a scale of 100 possible points in 35 categories put Germany as the leader in the world in overall energy efficiency, followed by Italy and Japan (tied for second place), France, and the United Kingdom.
India was ranked 14th behind only Taiwan among developing economies but ahead of Russia, Indonesia, South Africa and Brazil. Together the list of 25 countries that were covered under the study represents 75 per cent of all the energy consumed on the planet and over 80 per cent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP).
The 35 categories against which each country was benchmarked against the other included areas like buildings, industry, transportation, and overall national energy efficiency efforts. Germany scored the most points in the national efforts, buildings, and industry categories.
"Energy efficiency is often the lowest-cost means of meeting new demand for energy. Governments that encourage investment in energy efficiency and implement supporting policies save citizens money, reduce dependence on energy imports, and reduce pollution," says ACEEE Executive Director Steven Nadel.
"Yet energy efficiency remains massively underutilized globally, despite its proven multiple benefits and its potential to become the single largest resource to meet growing energy demand worldwide."
India scored one of the lowest points for national efforts on increasing energy efficiency in the country, though the study was based on findings from 2013 and does not take into account a host of measures like LED and street light schemes launched from 2014 onwards in the country. ACEEE said some of the measures will be reflected in future studies and may result in an improvement in India's overall ranking.
"The energy efficiency measures such as Bachat Lamp Yojna, and others planned or undertaken by India are certainly very positive developments. Improving efficiency of lights, fans, and air conditioners will be quite effective in reducing the energy use of consumers and the overall energy intensity of the country. According to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, India, lighting accounts for about 20% of total electricity consumption in the country. With close to 30 million ceiling fans sold annually in India, and demand for air conditioners set to rise rapidly, India can capture huge savings through energy efficient appliances," says Shruti Vaidyanathan, senior researcher and co-author of the study at ACEEE.
"It is difficult to predict to what extent these savings will impact India's standing in our 2018 Scorecard, they would certainly contribute towards reducing energy intensity of residential and commercial buildings, and overall energy intensity, all of which are indicators we measure. They could also improve India's relative ranking in energy efficiency spending, which is currently one of the least among all the countries in the scorecard. To improve in the rankings, along with these measures, India could enforce mandatory building energy codes, and implement more mandatory standards and labels for appliances and industrial motors. Additionally, tracking and disclosing energy efficiency data and making it accessible to people and policymakers alike would help significantly in tracking progress in the energy sector."
RBI survey finds 30% of ATMs non-functional
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An RBI survey has found that 30 per cent ATMs of public sector banks and 10 per cent belonging to private banks were non-functional due to technical snags, and no cash, among other reasons.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said RBI has informed that it recently conducted a representative sample survey of about 4,000 ATMs situated in metro, semi-urban, urban and rural areas across the country.
Primary findings of the survey has revealed that around 30 per cent of the ATMs (600) of public sector banks and 10 per cent (100) ATMs of private sector banks surveyed were non functioning/mal-functioning, he said.
The major reasons for non-functioning/mal-functioning of ATMs noticed in the survey were-technical snag, non-availability of network, power failure and non-availability of cash.
The report does not explicitly capture bank-wise data on non-functioning/mal-functioning of ATMs surveyed, the minister said. At May 2016 end, there were 102779 on-site ATMs of banks besides 111492 off-site ATMs across the country.
An RBI survey has found that 30 per cent ATMs of public sector banks and 10 per cent belonging to private banks were non-functional due to technical snags, and no cash, among other reasons.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said RBI has informed that it recently conducted a representative sample survey of about 4,000 ATMs situated in metro, semi-urban, urban and rural areas across the country.
Primary findings of the survey has revealed that around 30 per cent of the ATMs (600) of public sector banks and 10 per cent (100) ATMs of private sector banks surveyed were non functioning/mal-functioning, he said.
The major reasons for non-functioning/mal-functioning of ATMs noticed in the survey were-technical snag, non-availability of network, power failure and non-availability of cash.
The report does not explicitly capture bank-wise data on non-functioning/mal-functioning of ATMs surveyed, the minister said. At May 2016 end, there were 102779 on-site ATMs of banks besides 111492 off-site ATMs across the country.
'2 million people using free Wi-Fi at railway stations in India'
-
About two million people are logging on to free Wi-Fi deployed by Google and RailTel at major railway stations across India every month, chief of the global search giant Sundar Pichai said.
"We are working with the Indian Railways and RailTel to bring high-speed wireless access to the entire Internet to millions of Indians who travel through India's top railway stations," the India-born executive said during an investor call.
He added that there are "already two million people logging in every month and they are using as much as 15 times the data they would otherwise use in a full-day on their cellular networks".
The Internet giant had teamed up with RailTel, the telecom arm of the Indian Railways, to provide free Wi-Fi at 23 stations across the country.
These include Mumbai Central, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal, Ranchi, Raipur, Vijayawada, Kacheguda, Ernakulum Junction, Vishakhapatnam, Jaipur, Patna, Guwahati, Ujjain, Allahabad and Chennai Central.
By the end of the year, Google aims to provide high-speed public Wi-Fi service at 100 railway stations across India under this project.
According to government data, India had a total Internet subscriber base of 342.65 million as of March 2016.
A majority of users log on using their cellular networks.
Bharti Airtel has 90.53 million Internet subscribers while Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Reliance had 67.55 million, 44.03 million and 39 million users, respectively.
State-run BSNL had 34 million Internet subscribers on its network.
Pichai, who made the comments while announcing Alphabet's (Google's parent company) second-quarter results, said mobile phones have changed the way people consume information.
"Our investment in mobile underlines everything we do...
(from) search and YouTube to Android and advertising. Mobile is the engine that drives everything."
He added that through Google's "deep investments in machine learning and artificial intelligence", the company is building the engine that drives its future.
Alphabet saw its quarter's revenues grow 21 per cent to $21.5 billion while net income was at $4.9 billion.
About two million people are logging on to free Wi-Fi deployed by Google and RailTel at major railway stations across India every month, chief of the global search giant Sundar Pichai said.
"We are working with the Indian Railways and RailTel to bring high-speed wireless access to the entire Internet to millions of Indians who travel through India's top railway stations," the India-born executive said during an investor call.
He added that there are "already two million people logging in every month and they are using as much as 15 times the data they would otherwise use in a full-day on their cellular networks".
The Internet giant had teamed up with RailTel, the telecom arm of the Indian Railways, to provide free Wi-Fi at 23 stations across the country.
These include Mumbai Central, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal, Ranchi, Raipur, Vijayawada, Kacheguda, Ernakulum Junction, Vishakhapatnam, Jaipur, Patna, Guwahati, Ujjain, Allahabad and Chennai Central.
By the end of the year, Google aims to provide high-speed public Wi-Fi service at 100 railway stations across India under this project.
According to government data, India had a total Internet subscriber base of 342.65 million as of March 2016.
A majority of users log on using their cellular networks.
Bharti Airtel has 90.53 million Internet subscribers while Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Reliance had 67.55 million, 44.03 million and 39 million users, respectively.
State-run BSNL had 34 million Internet subscribers on its network.
Pichai, who made the comments while announcing Alphabet's (Google's parent company) second-quarter results, said mobile phones have changed the way people consume information.
"Our investment in mobile underlines everything we do...
(from) search and YouTube to Android and advertising. Mobile is the engine that drives everything."
He added that through Google's "deep investments in machine learning and artificial intelligence", the company is building the engine that drives its future.
Alphabet saw its quarter's revenues grow 21 per cent to $21.5 billion while net income was at $4.9 billion.
GST will allow uniform prices across India, says Mercedes-Benz India chief
-
Excited over possible roll-out of GST, MD & CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, Roland Folger, said that the key tax reform may change the way cars are sold in India. Talking to BT's Chanchal Pal Chauhan he said a transparent taxation regime will bring down prices. Edited excerpts.
What will be the impact of GST on the luxury car market?
GST will usher big changes for automotive industry. Besides rationalising the taxes, a uniform system will allow us to have a pan-India price, which currently is cumbersome on account of different rates applicable across every state. The ex-showroom prices of all our vehicles will be the same across India once the GST comes into real practice. If the road taxes are brought in line than the on-road prices will undergo a seamless uniformity. It will also allow easier inter-state shifting of vehicles and lend flexibility into our domestic operations.
You had a slight dip in sales in H1 for the fiscal. With the festive period ahead, will 2016 be the best year for Mercedes-Benz India?
We are the India's largest luxury carmaker and despite the ongoing market restrictions in our largest market, Delhi-NCR, (on account of ban on bigger diesel engines of over 2000cc) we sold 6,597 units in the January to June 2016 period, against 6,659 units sold in the same period last year. We are looking ahead at a buoyant festive period, with some energetic sales from our new launches like the Mercedes-AMG SLC 43. It is the first product being introduced with a new two-digit nomenclature - 43, priced at Rs 77.50 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). We have a couple of new products lined-up for India that would fire up the festive season.
Despite facing market restrictions in your largest market, Delhi-NCR, how are you coming to the rescue of petrified dealers?
We have been working out with our dealers with regard to inventories and profitability concerns. The abject ban on diesel cars created a host of issues, both at the corporate and dealership levels and we have been constantly sorting it out. We have channelised most of our petrol variants to feed the Delhi-NCR market and also tried to help them on the massive impact on profitability.
Are you planning additional outlets?
We are on the expansion spree. At least a dozen are planned this year and some of the new ones have come up at Pune, Vijaywara, and Nagpur and planning is on for new ones at Ahmedbabad, Delhi and Mumbai. We already have the largest network in the luxury space and will constantly enhance to have superior customer experience.
Your have launched a new 'Dream Car', the Mercedes-AMG SLC 43. Are roadsters doing good here?
These are highly niche cars that have a very strong brand and imagery. Their presence is immense and people swear by their drive and experience. These open cars - cabriolet or convertibles too - are highly sought cars in the Indian market by ultra-high networth individuals. These performance cars have tremendous response. The AMG SLC 43's 3 litre V6 petrol engine can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.7 seconds. Its revolutionary 9G-TRONIC transmission ensures faster and smoother gear changes without compromising on fuel efficiency. Such things create a huge 'Halo' effect on the market with a massive rub off on the brand. I can conveniently say that our sales in the region are of three digits so far.
Diesel has attracted huge negative tinge and how do you plan to enhance your petrol portfolio?
We plan to add the petrol to all our existing variants in India by September. Basically, it gives customer a choice. In fact we are going back to our earlier years, when Mercedes-Benz was an all-petrol offering in India. We have expanded the market with more engines and petrol would be a central line for us.
Amid the ban (diesel vehicles above 2000cc), how is your much-acclaimed SUV portfolio doing?
We have been concentrating on the SUV's, which have been expanding on the fast pace. Also, the new additions, like the GLC along with the luxury collection of the GLA, GLE and the GLS portfolio. We also have the iconic off-roader Mercedes-AMG G 63, the quintessential SUV that strengthens the SUV portfolio of Mercedes-Benz in the niche end. SUV's have been growing very fast and form a major chunk of our sales in the Indian market.
Excited over possible roll-out of GST, MD & CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, Roland Folger, said that the key tax reform may change the way cars are sold in India. Talking to BT's Chanchal Pal Chauhan he said a transparent taxation regime will bring down prices. Edited excerpts.
What will be the impact of GST on the luxury car market?
What will be the impact of GST on the luxury car market?
GST will usher big changes for automotive industry. Besides rationalising the taxes, a uniform system will allow us to have a pan-India price, which currently is cumbersome on account of different rates applicable across every state. The ex-showroom prices of all our vehicles will be the same across India once the GST comes into real practice. If the road taxes are brought in line than the on-road prices will undergo a seamless uniformity. It will also allow easier inter-state shifting of vehicles and lend flexibility into our domestic operations.
You had a slight dip in sales in H1 for the fiscal. With the festive period ahead, will 2016 be the best year for Mercedes-Benz India?
We are the India's largest luxury carmaker and despite the ongoing market restrictions in our largest market, Delhi-NCR, (on account of ban on bigger diesel engines of over 2000cc) we sold 6,597 units in the January to June 2016 period, against 6,659 units sold in the same period last year. We are looking ahead at a buoyant festive period, with some energetic sales from our new launches like the Mercedes-AMG SLC 43. It is the first product being introduced with a new two-digit nomenclature - 43, priced at Rs 77.50 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). We have a couple of new products lined-up for India that would fire up the festive season.
Despite facing market restrictions in your largest market, Delhi-NCR, how are you coming to the rescue of petrified dealers?
Despite facing market restrictions in your largest market, Delhi-NCR, how are you coming to the rescue of petrified dealers?
We have been working out with our dealers with regard to inventories and profitability concerns. The abject ban on diesel cars created a host of issues, both at the corporate and dealership levels and we have been constantly sorting it out. We have channelised most of our petrol variants to feed the Delhi-NCR market and also tried to help them on the massive impact on profitability.
Are you planning additional outlets?
We are on the expansion spree. At least a dozen are planned this year and some of the new ones have come up at Pune, Vijaywara, and Nagpur and planning is on for new ones at Ahmedbabad, Delhi and Mumbai. We already have the largest network in the luxury space and will constantly enhance to have superior customer experience.
Your have launched a new 'Dream Car', the Mercedes-AMG SLC 43. Are roadsters doing good here?
These are highly niche cars that have a very strong brand and imagery. Their presence is immense and people swear by their drive and experience. These open cars - cabriolet or convertibles too - are highly sought cars in the Indian market by ultra-high networth individuals. These performance cars have tremendous response. The AMG SLC 43's 3 litre V6 petrol engine can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.7 seconds. Its revolutionary 9G-TRONIC transmission ensures faster and smoother gear changes without compromising on fuel efficiency. Such things create a huge 'Halo' effect on the market with a massive rub off on the brand. I can conveniently say that our sales in the region are of three digits so far.
Diesel has attracted huge negative tinge and how do you plan to enhance your petrol portfolio?
We plan to add the petrol to all our existing variants in India by September. Basically, it gives customer a choice. In fact we are going back to our earlier years, when Mercedes-Benz was an all-petrol offering in India. We have expanded the market with more engines and petrol would be a central line for us.
Amid the ban (diesel vehicles above 2000cc), how is your much-acclaimed SUV portfolio doing?
We have been concentrating on the SUV's, which have been expanding on the fast pace. Also, the new additions, like the GLC along with the luxury collection of the GLA, GLE and the GLS portfolio. We also have the iconic off-roader Mercedes-AMG G 63, the quintessential SUV that strengthens the SUV portfolio of Mercedes-Benz in the niche end. SUV's have been growing very fast and form a major chunk of our sales in the Indian market.
General Awareness
BANKING AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS FOR BANK EXAMS
-
1. Bank's Assets are classified into standard assets, substandard assets, doubtful assets and loss assets
based on the recommendations of _____ Committee.
a) Rangarajan
b) Narasimham
c) Ghosh
d) Tandon
e) RK Talwar
2. The Union Cabinet approved setting up the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) as a Public Limited
Company under the Department of Posts in June 2016. What is the equity of Government of India in IPPB?
a) 33%
b) 49%
c) 51%
d) 74%
e) 100%
3. The World Bank has classified India as ____ economy.
a) Low-Income
b) High-Income
c) Lower-middle-Income
d) Upper-middle-Income
e) None of these
4. Which of the following has decided to set up IT Innovation Startup fund with a corpus of Rs. 200 crore for start-up in the Financial Technology (FinTech) space in June 2016?
a) Andhra Bank
b) Canara Bank
c) Punjab National Bank
d) State Bank of India
e) Bank of India
5. Which of the following launched India's first iris recognition powered tablet that can be used for various authentications - related process like e-KYC (Know Your Customer), e-sign and Other government services like Jan-Dhan Yojana and e-Citizen?
a) LG
b) Samsung
c) Toshiba
d) Dell
e) Apple
6. The Financial Development Index is published by which of the following organisations?
a) United Nation Development Organisation
b) World Health Organisation
c) World Economic Forum
d) United Nation Organisation
e) None of the above
7. CARE is a/an..?
a) Development Bank
b) Investment Bank
c) Credit Rating Agency
d) Share depository
e) None of the above
8. Which of the following are known as negotiable instrument?
a) Cheque
b) Bill of Exchange
c) Promissory notes
d) All of the above
e) None of the above
9. BCSBI (The Banking Codes and Standards Board of India) was set up as per the recommendations
of the committee which was headed by:
a) M Damodaran
b) S S Tarapore
c) C S Murthy
d) R K Talwar
e) Narasimham
10. Which of the following ACT is useful in foreign exchange market?
a) FERA
b) BR ACT 1949
c) FEMA
d) Negotiable Instrument
e) None of the above
11. When were the commercial papers first introduced?
a) 1999
b) 1898
c) 1990
d) 1989
e) None of These
12. Corporate Governance includes:
a) Regulatory governance
b) Market Governance
c) Stake holder governance
d) Internal Governance
e) All the above
13. Regardless of the mode of payment the Government of India has now (from 1st January, 2016)
made it mandatory, to quote PAN (Permanent Account Number) for all transaction in excess of:
a) Rs. 2.50 lakh
b) Rs. 1.50 lakh
c) Rs. 3.00 lakh
d) Rs. 2.00 lakh
e) Rs. 1.75 lakh
14. PM Narendra Modi recently released the guidelines for operationalisation of the PMFBY at a
"Kisan Kalyan Mela" Organised in the Indian state of:
a) Uttar Pradesh
b) Haryana
c) Himachal Pradesh
d) Punjab
e) Madhya Pradesh
15. With a view to facilitate Japanese Corporate looking to invest in India, State Bank of India has
recently launched a first-of-itskind initiative by setting up a "Japanese Desk". This "SBI -
Japan Desk" is based in:
a) Tokyo
b) New Delhi
c) Kolkata
d) Yokohama
e) Mumbai
16. A company which pools money from investors and invests in stocks, bonds, shares is not called as:
i) A bank
ii) An insurance company
iii) Mutual Fund
a) Only (i) and (ii)
b) Only (i) and (iii)
c) Only (ii) and (iii)
d) (i), (ii) and (iii)
e) None of the above
17. The Union Government has recently constituted 8-member interministerial committee to prepare a blueprint for doubling farmers' income by 2022. The committee will be headed by:
a) Abhay Kumar Singh
b) Durga Sakthi Nagpal
c) Rajeev Nayan Choubey
d) Anil Goswami
e) Ashok Dalwai
18. What is the present spread between Repo Rate & Reverse Repo Rate?
a) 100 basis points
b) 50 basis points
c) 200 basis points
d) 150 basis points
e) Not fixed
19. Identify the one which is NOT a monetary tool of the RBI.
a) Call Money
b) Repo Rate
c) Reverse Repo Rate
d) Cash Reserve Ratio
e) None of these
20. Which of the following Union Ministry of India recently launched India Aspiration Fund
(IAF) and SMILE scheme to aid small enterprises?
a) Ministry of Agriculture
b) Ministry of Finance
c) Ministry of Communication & Information Technology
d) Ministry of Human Resource Development
e) Ministry of Broadcasting
21. What are the conditions stipulated for accounts which are to be treated as "BSBDA-Small Account"?
a) Total credits in such accounts should not exceed Rs. 1,00,000 in a year
b) Maximum balance in the account should not exceed Rs. 50,000 at any time
c) The total of debits by way of cash withdrawals and transfers will not exceed ten thousand rupees in a month
d) Remittances from abroad cannot be credited to Small Accounts without completing normal KYC formalities
e) All the above
22. Which rating agency has downgraded the banking sector outlook to negative, from stable, due
to more downside risks emanating from rising stressed loans and weak corporate earnings?
a) ICRA
b) Fitch
c) CARE
d) CRISIL
e) None of the above
23. Which of the following banks will be raising Rs. 200 crore through issuance of equity shares
on preferential basis as per it's Board Decision passed on 5th July 2016?
a) Dhanlaxmi Bank
b) Dena Bank
c) Indian Overseas Bank
d) Indian Bank
e) United Bank of India
24. While addressing at an ASSOCHAM event who said, "There is a need to consider financial regulator like the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to be audited"?
a) Sunil Kanoria, President ASSOCHAM
b) Sashikanth Sharma, CAG
c) C.P. Gurnani, Chairman, NASSCOM
d) Raghuram Rajan, Governor, RBI
e) Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister
25. Who is the Chairman of Allahabad Bank?
a) Rajiv Rishi
b) Rakesh Sethi
c) Suresh N. Patel
d) Melwya Rego
e) Arun Tiwari
26. The Head Office of New India Assurance Co. Ltd is located at:
a) Mumbai
b) Chennai
c) New Delhi
d) Hyderabad
e) Kolkata
27. ____ wants to close nearly half its India branches from 50 to 26, to focus on digital banking.
a) J.P. Morgan Chase Bank
b) DBS Bank
c) HSBC
d) City Bank
e) None of the above
28. Which of the following schemes are not meant for investment purposes?
a) National saving certificate
b) Mutual funds
c) Infrastructure bonds
d) Letter of credit
e) None of the above
29. Silviculture is related to:
a) Fruits and vegetables
b) Bee keeping
c) Silk
d) Forestry
e) Oil production
30. IDRBT (Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology) located in Hyderabad is a wholly owned subsidiary of:
a) Reserve Bank of India
b) Indian Banks Association
c) Central Government
d) SEBI
e) IRDA
31. The punishment prescribed for the offence of Money laundering Act is:
a) 1 to 3 years
b) 2 to 4 years
c) 3 to 5 years
d) 4 to 6 years
e) 3 to 7 years
32. The penalty for dishonour of cheque under section 138 of NI Act is:
a) The amount of the cheque or one year imprisonment or both
b) Twice the amount of the cheque or one year imprisonment or both
c) Twice the amount of the cheque or two years imprisonment or both
d) Twice the amount of the cheque or six months imprisonment or both
e) None of the above
33. Which of the following is not sensitive commodity for purpose of Selective Credit Control?
a) Food grains i.e. cereals and pulses
b) Major oil seeds and oils thereof
c) Raw cotton and Kapas
d) Tea and Coffee
e) Only a and B
ANSWERS:
1) b 2) e 3) c 4) d 5) b 6) c 7) c 8) d 9) b 10) c
11) c 12) e 13) d 14) e 15) b 16) a 17) e 18) b 19) a 20) b
21) e 22) b 23) a 24) b 25) b 26) a 27) c 28) d 29) d 30) a
31) e 32) c 33) d
1. Bank's Assets are classified into standard assets, substandard assets, doubtful assets and loss assets
based on the recommendations of _____ Committee.
a) Rangarajan
b) Narasimham
c) Ghosh
d) Tandon
e) RK Talwar
2. The Union Cabinet approved setting up the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) as a Public Limited
Company under the Department of Posts in June 2016. What is the equity of Government of India in IPPB?
a) 33%
b) 49%
c) 51%
d) 74%
e) 100%
3. The World Bank has classified India as ____ economy.
a) Low-Income
b) High-Income
c) Lower-middle-Income
d) Upper-middle-Income
e) None of these
4. Which of the following has decided to set up IT Innovation Startup fund with a corpus of Rs. 200 crore for start-up in the Financial Technology (FinTech) space in June 2016?
a) Andhra Bank
b) Canara Bank
c) Punjab National Bank
d) State Bank of India
e) Bank of India
5. Which of the following launched India's first iris recognition powered tablet that can be used for various authentications - related process like e-KYC (Know Your Customer), e-sign and Other government services like Jan-Dhan Yojana and e-Citizen?
a) LG
b) Samsung
c) Toshiba
d) Dell
e) Apple
6. The Financial Development Index is published by which of the following organisations?
a) United Nation Development Organisation
b) World Health Organisation
c) World Economic Forum
d) United Nation Organisation
e) None of the above
7. CARE is a/an..?
a) Development Bank
b) Investment Bank
c) Credit Rating Agency
d) Share depository
e) None of the above
8. Which of the following are known as negotiable instrument?
a) Cheque
b) Bill of Exchange
c) Promissory notes
d) All of the above
e) None of the above
9. BCSBI (The Banking Codes and Standards Board of India) was set up as per the recommendations
of the committee which was headed by:
a) M Damodaran
b) S S Tarapore
c) C S Murthy
d) R K Talwar
e) Narasimham
10. Which of the following ACT is useful in foreign exchange market?
a) FERA
b) BR ACT 1949
c) FEMA
d) Negotiable Instrument
e) None of the above
11. When were the commercial papers first introduced?
a) 1999
b) 1898
c) 1990
d) 1989
e) None of These
12. Corporate Governance includes:
a) Regulatory governance
b) Market Governance
c) Stake holder governance
d) Internal Governance
e) All the above
13. Regardless of the mode of payment the Government of India has now (from 1st January, 2016)
made it mandatory, to quote PAN (Permanent Account Number) for all transaction in excess of:
a) Rs. 2.50 lakh
b) Rs. 1.50 lakh
c) Rs. 3.00 lakh
d) Rs. 2.00 lakh
e) Rs. 1.75 lakh
14. PM Narendra Modi recently released the guidelines for operationalisation of the PMFBY at a
"Kisan Kalyan Mela" Organised in the Indian state of:
a) Uttar Pradesh
b) Haryana
c) Himachal Pradesh
d) Punjab
e) Madhya Pradesh
15. With a view to facilitate Japanese Corporate looking to invest in India, State Bank of India has
recently launched a first-of-itskind initiative by setting up a "Japanese Desk". This "SBI -
Japan Desk" is based in:
a) Tokyo
b) New Delhi
c) Kolkata
d) Yokohama
e) Mumbai
16. A company which pools money from investors and invests in stocks, bonds, shares is not called as:
i) A bank
ii) An insurance company
iii) Mutual Fund
a) Only (i) and (ii)
b) Only (i) and (iii)
c) Only (ii) and (iii)
d) (i), (ii) and (iii)
e) None of the above
17. The Union Government has recently constituted 8-member interministerial committee to prepare a blueprint for doubling farmers' income by 2022. The committee will be headed by:
a) Abhay Kumar Singh
b) Durga Sakthi Nagpal
c) Rajeev Nayan Choubey
d) Anil Goswami
e) Ashok Dalwai
18. What is the present spread between Repo Rate & Reverse Repo Rate?
a) 100 basis points
b) 50 basis points
c) 200 basis points
d) 150 basis points
e) Not fixed
19. Identify the one which is NOT a monetary tool of the RBI.
a) Call Money
b) Repo Rate
c) Reverse Repo Rate
d) Cash Reserve Ratio
e) None of these
20. Which of the following Union Ministry of India recently launched India Aspiration Fund
(IAF) and SMILE scheme to aid small enterprises?
a) Ministry of Agriculture
b) Ministry of Finance
c) Ministry of Communication & Information Technology
d) Ministry of Human Resource Development
e) Ministry of Broadcasting
21. What are the conditions stipulated for accounts which are to be treated as "BSBDA-Small Account"?
a) Total credits in such accounts should not exceed Rs. 1,00,000 in a year
b) Maximum balance in the account should not exceed Rs. 50,000 at any time
c) The total of debits by way of cash withdrawals and transfers will not exceed ten thousand rupees in a month
d) Remittances from abroad cannot be credited to Small Accounts without completing normal KYC formalities
e) All the above
22. Which rating agency has downgraded the banking sector outlook to negative, from stable, due
to more downside risks emanating from rising stressed loans and weak corporate earnings?
a) ICRA
b) Fitch
c) CARE
d) CRISIL
e) None of the above
23. Which of the following banks will be raising Rs. 200 crore through issuance of equity shares
on preferential basis as per it's Board Decision passed on 5th July 2016?
a) Dhanlaxmi Bank
b) Dena Bank
c) Indian Overseas Bank
d) Indian Bank
e) United Bank of India
24. While addressing at an ASSOCHAM event who said, "There is a need to consider financial regulator like the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to be audited"?
a) Sunil Kanoria, President ASSOCHAM
b) Sashikanth Sharma, CAG
c) C.P. Gurnani, Chairman, NASSCOM
d) Raghuram Rajan, Governor, RBI
e) Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister
25. Who is the Chairman of Allahabad Bank?
a) Rajiv Rishi
b) Rakesh Sethi
c) Suresh N. Patel
d) Melwya Rego
e) Arun Tiwari
26. The Head Office of New India Assurance Co. Ltd is located at:
a) Mumbai
b) Chennai
c) New Delhi
d) Hyderabad
e) Kolkata
27. ____ wants to close nearly half its India branches from 50 to 26, to focus on digital banking.
a) J.P. Morgan Chase Bank
b) DBS Bank
c) HSBC
d) City Bank
e) None of the above
28. Which of the following schemes are not meant for investment purposes?
a) National saving certificate
b) Mutual funds
c) Infrastructure bonds
d) Letter of credit
e) None of the above
29. Silviculture is related to:
a) Fruits and vegetables
b) Bee keeping
c) Silk
d) Forestry
e) Oil production
30. IDRBT (Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology) located in Hyderabad is a wholly owned subsidiary of:
a) Reserve Bank of India
b) Indian Banks Association
c) Central Government
d) SEBI
e) IRDA
31. The punishment prescribed for the offence of Money laundering Act is:
a) 1 to 3 years
b) 2 to 4 years
c) 3 to 5 years
d) 4 to 6 years
e) 3 to 7 years
32. The penalty for dishonour of cheque under section 138 of NI Act is:
a) The amount of the cheque or one year imprisonment or both
b) Twice the amount of the cheque or one year imprisonment or both
c) Twice the amount of the cheque or two years imprisonment or both
d) Twice the amount of the cheque or six months imprisonment or both
e) None of the above
33. Which of the following is not sensitive commodity for purpose of Selective Credit Control?
a) Food grains i.e. cereals and pulses
b) Major oil seeds and oils thereof
c) Raw cotton and Kapas
d) Tea and Coffee
e) Only a and B
ANSWERS:
1) b 2) e 3) c 4) d 5) b 6) c 7) c 8) d 9) b 10) c
11) c 12) e 13) d 14) e 15) b 16) a 17) e 18) b 19) a 20) b
21) e 22) b 23) a 24) b 25) b 26) a 27) c 28) d 29) d 30) a
31) e 32) c 33) d
based on the recommendations of _____ Committee.
a) Rangarajan
b) Narasimham
c) Ghosh
d) Tandon
e) RK Talwar
2. The Union Cabinet approved setting up the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) as a Public Limited
Company under the Department of Posts in June 2016. What is the equity of Government of India in IPPB?
a) 33%
b) 49%
c) 51%
d) 74%
e) 100%
3. The World Bank has classified India as ____ economy.
a) Low-Income
b) High-Income
c) Lower-middle-Income
d) Upper-middle-Income
e) None of these
4. Which of the following has decided to set up IT Innovation Startup fund with a corpus of Rs. 200 crore for start-up in the Financial Technology (FinTech) space in June 2016?
a) Andhra Bank
b) Canara Bank
c) Punjab National Bank
d) State Bank of India
e) Bank of India
5. Which of the following launched India's first iris recognition powered tablet that can be used for various authentications - related process like e-KYC (Know Your Customer), e-sign and Other government services like Jan-Dhan Yojana and e-Citizen?
a) LG
b) Samsung
c) Toshiba
d) Dell
e) Apple
6. The Financial Development Index is published by which of the following organisations?
a) United Nation Development Organisation
b) World Health Organisation
c) World Economic Forum
d) United Nation Organisation
e) None of the above
7. CARE is a/an..?
a) Development Bank
b) Investment Bank
c) Credit Rating Agency
d) Share depository
e) None of the above
8. Which of the following are known as negotiable instrument?
a) Cheque
b) Bill of Exchange
c) Promissory notes
d) All of the above
e) None of the above
9. BCSBI (The Banking Codes and Standards Board of India) was set up as per the recommendations
of the committee which was headed by:
a) M Damodaran
b) S S Tarapore
c) C S Murthy
d) R K Talwar
e) Narasimham
10. Which of the following ACT is useful in foreign exchange market?
a) FERA
b) BR ACT 1949
c) FEMA
d) Negotiable Instrument
e) None of the above
11. When were the commercial papers first introduced?
a) 1999
b) 1898
c) 1990
d) 1989
e) None of These
12. Corporate Governance includes:
a) Regulatory governance
b) Market Governance
c) Stake holder governance
d) Internal Governance
e) All the above
13. Regardless of the mode of payment the Government of India has now (from 1st January, 2016)
made it mandatory, to quote PAN (Permanent Account Number) for all transaction in excess of:
a) Rs. 2.50 lakh
b) Rs. 1.50 lakh
c) Rs. 3.00 lakh
d) Rs. 2.00 lakh
e) Rs. 1.75 lakh
14. PM Narendra Modi recently released the guidelines for operationalisation of the PMFBY at a
"Kisan Kalyan Mela" Organised in the Indian state of:
a) Uttar Pradesh
b) Haryana
c) Himachal Pradesh
d) Punjab
e) Madhya Pradesh
15. With a view to facilitate Japanese Corporate looking to invest in India, State Bank of India has
recently launched a first-of-itskind initiative by setting up a "Japanese Desk". This "SBI -
Japan Desk" is based in:
a) Tokyo
b) New Delhi
c) Kolkata
d) Yokohama
e) Mumbai
16. A company which pools money from investors and invests in stocks, bonds, shares is not called as:
i) A bank
ii) An insurance company
iii) Mutual Fund
a) Only (i) and (ii)
b) Only (i) and (iii)
c) Only (ii) and (iii)
d) (i), (ii) and (iii)
e) None of the above
17. The Union Government has recently constituted 8-member interministerial committee to prepare a blueprint for doubling farmers' income by 2022. The committee will be headed by:
a) Abhay Kumar Singh
b) Durga Sakthi Nagpal
c) Rajeev Nayan Choubey
d) Anil Goswami
e) Ashok Dalwai
18. What is the present spread between Repo Rate & Reverse Repo Rate?
a) 100 basis points
b) 50 basis points
c) 200 basis points
d) 150 basis points
e) Not fixed
19. Identify the one which is NOT a monetary tool of the RBI.
a) Call Money
b) Repo Rate
c) Reverse Repo Rate
d) Cash Reserve Ratio
e) None of these
20. Which of the following Union Ministry of India recently launched India Aspiration Fund
(IAF) and SMILE scheme to aid small enterprises?
a) Ministry of Agriculture
b) Ministry of Finance
c) Ministry of Communication & Information Technology
d) Ministry of Human Resource Development
e) Ministry of Broadcasting
21. What are the conditions stipulated for accounts which are to be treated as "BSBDA-Small Account"?
a) Total credits in such accounts should not exceed Rs. 1,00,000 in a year
b) Maximum balance in the account should not exceed Rs. 50,000 at any time
c) The total of debits by way of cash withdrawals and transfers will not exceed ten thousand rupees in a month
d) Remittances from abroad cannot be credited to Small Accounts without completing normal KYC formalities
e) All the above
22. Which rating agency has downgraded the banking sector outlook to negative, from stable, due
to more downside risks emanating from rising stressed loans and weak corporate earnings?
a) ICRA
b) Fitch
c) CARE
d) CRISIL
e) None of the above
23. Which of the following banks will be raising Rs. 200 crore through issuance of equity shares
on preferential basis as per it's Board Decision passed on 5th July 2016?
a) Dhanlaxmi Bank
b) Dena Bank
c) Indian Overseas Bank
d) Indian Bank
e) United Bank of India
24. While addressing at an ASSOCHAM event who said, "There is a need to consider financial regulator like the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to be audited"?
a) Sunil Kanoria, President ASSOCHAM
b) Sashikanth Sharma, CAG
c) C.P. Gurnani, Chairman, NASSCOM
d) Raghuram Rajan, Governor, RBI
e) Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister
25. Who is the Chairman of Allahabad Bank?
a) Rajiv Rishi
b) Rakesh Sethi
c) Suresh N. Patel
d) Melwya Rego
e) Arun Tiwari
26. The Head Office of New India Assurance Co. Ltd is located at:
a) Mumbai
b) Chennai
c) New Delhi
d) Hyderabad
e) Kolkata
27. ____ wants to close nearly half its India branches from 50 to 26, to focus on digital banking.
a) J.P. Morgan Chase Bank
b) DBS Bank
c) HSBC
d) City Bank
e) None of the above
28. Which of the following schemes are not meant for investment purposes?
a) National saving certificate
b) Mutual funds
c) Infrastructure bonds
d) Letter of credit
e) None of the above
29. Silviculture is related to:
a) Fruits and vegetables
b) Bee keeping
c) Silk
d) Forestry
e) Oil production
30. IDRBT (Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology) located in Hyderabad is a wholly owned subsidiary of:
a) Reserve Bank of India
b) Indian Banks Association
c) Central Government
d) SEBI
e) IRDA
31. The punishment prescribed for the offence of Money laundering Act is:
a) 1 to 3 years
b) 2 to 4 years
c) 3 to 5 years
d) 4 to 6 years
e) 3 to 7 years
32. The penalty for dishonour of cheque under section 138 of NI Act is:
a) The amount of the cheque or one year imprisonment or both
b) Twice the amount of the cheque or one year imprisonment or both
c) Twice the amount of the cheque or two years imprisonment or both
d) Twice the amount of the cheque or six months imprisonment or both
e) None of the above
33. Which of the following is not sensitive commodity for purpose of Selective Credit Control?
a) Food grains i.e. cereals and pulses
b) Major oil seeds and oils thereof
c) Raw cotton and Kapas
d) Tea and Coffee
e) Only a and B
ANSWERS:
1) b 2) e 3) c 4) d 5) b 6) c 7) c 8) d 9) b 10) c
11) c 12) e 13) d 14) e 15) b 16) a 17) e 18) b 19) a 20) b
21) e 22) b 23) a 24) b 25) b 26) a 27) c 28) d 29) d 30) a
31) e 32) c 33) d
