STATE BANK PROMOTION EXERCISE INTERVIEW BOOKLET FOR MMGS-II

NOTE AND LEARN IMPORTANT POINTS

8-AUGUST 2016

BEST OF LUCK

Recap of the Week: 1 August to 6 August 2016

• Health Minister J P Nadda on 5 August 2016 launched a nation-wide programme for promoting

breastfeeding - MAA - Mothers’ Absolute Affection

• India’s flag bearer during parade at 2016 Rio Olympics opening ceremony - Abhinav Bindra

• The 31st Summer Olympic Games officially began on 5 August 2016 with inaugural ceremony

held at - the Maracana Stadium in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro

• He lit the 2016 Olympic cauldron - Vanderlei de Lima

• They were elected as the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat - Vijay Rupani and

Nitin Patel respectively

• China’s first satellite for mobile telecommunication that was launched is - Tiantong-01

• The state launched a unique Water Resources Information System to assess accurate reserves

of water in thousands of Tanks and reservoirs across the state - Telangana

• The Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC), an autonomous organization under Government of

India's Ministry of Culture, has organized a 64-day-long theatre festival in - Kolkata

• The country that has decided not to host the European Road Cycling Championships, planned for

14 to 18 September 2016, for security reasons is - France

• Olympics 2016 opens with a glittering ceremony in Rio De Janerio, with the theme - Peace and

Environment

• The country banned the Pokemon Go app because of unspecified security concerns - Iran

• The theme of the World Breastfeeding Week 2016 is - Breastfeeding: A key to Sustainable

Development

• Former Meghalaya Chief Secretary who waas appointed as the Chief Information Commissioner

of Meghalaya is - P B O Warjri

• The founder of Slingbox, a TV streaming media device, who died recently is - Blake Krikorian

• The portal launched by the Reserve Bank of India to check illegal money collection is -Sachet

• The former Comptroller and Auditor General of India who stepped down from private sector

lender IDFC Bank’s board is - Vinod Rai

• The state that was exempted from the purview of compulsory Aadhaar number which is required

for availing the University Grants Commission scholarships for higher education is -Assam

• The United Nations' top human rights official accused this country’s government troops and

rebels of ethnically targeted atrocities, during renewed fighting over the last month - South Sudan

• Five new sports that will be added to the progaramme for 2020 Tokyo Olympics include -

Baseball/Softball, Karate, Skateboard, Climbing Sports and Surfing

• She became first women to be member of International Olympic Committee (IOC) – Nita Ambani

• Person who has assumed charge of General Manager of East Central Railway in August 2016- D

K Gayen

• Person appointed as the Prime Minister of Tunisia in August 2016- Youssef Chahed

• Committee constituted by RBI in August 2016 to look at various facets of household finance in

India- Tarun Ramadorai Committee on Household Finance

• Geologists have found the first evidence for China's Great Flood, a 4000-year-old disaster that

led to birth of the Xia dynasty and modern Chinese civilization happened in this river –Yellow River

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved a new formula to calculate

production subsidy for – Sugar Mills

• The name of the frozen nutritional dessert developed by CSIR- Central Food Technological

Research Institute (CSIR-CFTRI) Mysuru - Nutrice

• This country has shown its intention to revive Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and

Partnership Agreement (CECPA) with India recently – Mauritius

• This Pakistan-based organization was designated by the United States as a ‘terror group’ –

Jamaat-ur-Ahrar

• The Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Chairperson who has been elected the 39th Prime

Minister of Nepal is - Pushpa Kamal Dahal

• Ahmed Zewail, the Egyptian-American scientist who died in the United States on 2 August 2016

won the Nobel Chemistry Prize in 1999 for - his pioneering work in femtochemistry

• Union Cabinet on 3 August 2016 gave its approval to Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill, 2016 that

seeks to improve - Road Safety in the country

• The Olympic Participant from India who’s named was cleared for participation in Rio Olympics by

United World Wrestling (UWW) – Narsingh Yadav

• The 7th meeting of SAARC Interior Minister's Conference has started in - Islamabad

• The singer who will be awarded with the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award is -Shubha

Mudgal

• The 7th SAARC Immigration Authorities meeting was recently held in - Islamabad, Pakistan

• Person who resigned as Managing Director of JM Financial Ltd in August 2016- Nimesh

Kampani

• Sudhanshu Mani has been appointed as the General Manager of - Integral Coach Factory

• Bill passed by Rajya Sabha in August 2016 to introduce the goods and services tax- The

Constitution (122nd Amendment) (GST) Bill, 2014

• Facility launched by Union Government in August 2016 that allows people to sign documents

digitally from remote places- eSignDesk

• Person appointed as the Chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) of Kerala-

VS Achuthanandan

• The Union Government has decided to raise a CRPF battalion consisting of scheduled tribe

candidates from - Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur and Sukma districts in Chhattisgarh

• The Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Chairperson who has been elected the 39th Prime

Minister of Nepal is - Pushpa Kamal Dahal

• Ahmed Zewail, the Egyptian-American scientist who died in the United States on 2 August 2016

won the Nobel Chemistry Prize in 1999 for - his pioneering work in femtochemistry

• Union Cabinet on 3 August 2016 gave its approval to Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill, 2016 that

seeks to improve - Road Safety in the country

• The Olympic Participant from India who’s named was cleared for participation in Rio Olympics by

United World Wrestling (UWW) – Narsingh Yadav

• Following Constitutional Article was referred by Delhi High Court to hold that Lt. Governor is the

administrative head of the National Capital Territory - Article 239 & 239AA

• The 7th meeting of SAARC Interior Minister's Conference has started in - Islamabad

• The 1979-batch IRS officer of the I-T cadre who taken over as the Chairperson of Central Board

of Direct Taxes is - Rani Singh Nair

• The Indian translator who won the 2016 PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants for English

translation of Hindi novel Simsim by Geet Chaturvedi is - Anita Gopalan

• Person named as the President of Microsoft India by the parent company Microsoft Inc in August

2016 - Anant Maheshwari

• Person appointed as the Managing Director of Mondelez International's India Business in August

2016 - Deepak Iyer

• Bill passed by Lok Sabha in August 2016 for reconstruction of Financial Assets -Enforcement of

Security Interest & Recovery of Debts Laws & Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Bill,

2016

• The team defeated by Patna Pirates that won the fourth edition of Pro Kabaddi League is -Jaipur

Pink Panthers

• The team that won the fourth edition of Pro Kabaddi League is - Patna Pirates

• National Disaster Response Force Director General, OP Singh laid the foundation stone for a

permanent NDRF station at Sudumbare village of - Pune

• The far eastern border district of Afghanistan that was declared free of Islamic State militants

after a month long offensive is - Kot district in Nangarhar province

• Aadi Perukku festival, celebrated on 18th of Aadi month in Tamil calendar year in gratitude to

water bodies especially Cauvery River, is being celebrated today with traditional gaiety in -Tamil

Nadu

• The country that enforced a new legislation that grants sweeping powers to its National Security

Council (NSC) is – Malaysia

• The National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2016

that was passed in Parliament wants to establish the National Institute of Technology in -Andhra

Pradesh

• Book R D Burmania: Panchamemoirs is authored by - Chaitanya Padukone

• The Olympic bound wrestler who was given clean chit by National Anti Doping Agency (NADA)

and can now participate in Rio Olympics beginning on 5 August 2016 is - Narsingh Yadav

• She won the women’s singles title in the 2016 Rogers Cup - Simona Halep

• He won the men’s singles title in the 2016 Rogers Cup - Novak Djokovic

• The Air Marshall who has recently assumed the charge of Air Officer-in-Charge Personnel is -B

Suresh

• The former Japanese Defence Minister who has been elected as the first woman governor of

Tokyo is - Yuriko Koike

• The F1 racer who won 2016 German Grand Prix is - Lewis Hamilton

• The 2016 Mohun Bagan Ratna has been conferred on - Syed Nayeemuddin

• Person appointed as the Head of Online and E-commerce of Lenovo India in August 2016-

Rajesh Thadani

• Indian State that signed MoU with Japan to develop food value chain in the state- Andhra

Pradesh

• Book titled India Rising: Fresh Hope, New Fears is authored by- Ravi Velloor

• Intelligence and security agency of India that was added to the Second Schedule of the RTI Act,

2005 leading to its exemption from the purview of the Act- Strategic Forces Command (SFC)

• International Kabaddi Federation on 31 July 2016 selected a country to host The 2016 Kabaddi

World Cup – India

• He was sworn-in as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court - Justice Dilip Babasaheb

Bhosale

• A skydiver with 18000 jumps, who became first person to jump from 25000 feet (7620 meters)

without a parachute or a wing suit - Luke Aikins

• Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off maiden broad-gauge train service between Agartala

and Delhi - ‘Tripura Sundari Express’

• The 47-day-long annual monsoon trawling ban from venturing into the Arabian Sea was lifted

midnight 31 July 2016 in - Kerala

• The Tamil Nadu Assembly on 1 August 2016 unanimously passed a resolution to rename the

Madras High Court as - the Tamil Nadu High Court

• The typhoon that is expected to hit south China's Guangdong Provinceis - typhoon Nida

• The AIADMK Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha who was expelled from the primary

membership of the party by AIADMK Chief Jayalalithaa is - Sasikala Pushpa

• The state’s Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary education has decided to delete a lesson

based on Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova from the next edition of a school textbook is - Goa

MOST IMPORTANT HIGHLIGHTS OF CURRENT WEEK

Expressing concern over alarming level of milk adulteration in the country, the

Supreme Court on Friday favoured stringent punishment of life imprisonment for

the offence which at present is punishable only up to six months jail term or fine.

Highlights

Supreme Court wants stringent punishment of life imprisonment for

milk adulteration.

At present, milk adulteration is punishable only up to six months jail

term or fine.

States like UP and West Bengal have already amended law making

adulteration punishable up to life imprisonment

The effective tax rate for fee-based services at banks might rise to 18 per cent, from

the present 15 per cent. This might mean a moderate increase in costs for loan

processing and credit card charges. Banks have also flagged the issue of

registrations across states.

In a move that champions the inflation-fighting policies of outgoing Reserve Bank of

India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan, the government on Friday announced an

inflation target of 4 per cent, plus or minus 2 per cent. The monetary policy

committee, which will be set up soon, will have to adhere to the target till March 31,

2021, or else the central bank will have some explaining to do.

RBI's monetary policy review on August 9 could be the last one to set the repo rate.

ICICI Bank reports 26% surge in stressed loans in US filing

State Bank of India assets will jump to about Rs.40-lakh crore in four years from

Rs.22.59 lakh crore as at March-end 2016, propelled by the proposed amalgamation

of six banks with it and the growth in the Indian economy, according to Chairman

Arundhati Bhattacharya

The six banks that are expected to merge into India’s largest bank by March

2017 are its five associate banks — State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of

Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, and State Bank of

Travancore — and the Bharatiya Mahila Bank.

As at March-end 2016, the combined assets (advances plus investments) of SBI and

the five associate banks stood at Rs.28.62-lakh crore.

Banks Board Bureau (BBB) chairman Vinod Rai has said resolution of stressed

assets is the first priority of public sector banks while the issue of consolidation in

the sector can be considered later.

GROUP DISCUSSION MERGER OF ASSOCIATES OF SBI

The proposed merger of the State Bank of India with its five associate banks and the

Bharatiya Mahila Bank is a long-delayed and welcome move on the path to banking

consolidation, especially among state-owned lenders. SBI’s takeover of its five

subsidiaries and the three-year-old niche provider of banking services for women will, once

consummated, vault the merged entity higher up the rankings ladder on the global banking

stage. The resultant benefits to the lender and the economy are evident. The increased

balance sheet size will enable the bank to obtain better pricing on both internationally

sourced funds and domestic deposits, thus helping it lower lending rates and improve

profitability. The added branch network and customer base will also help it expand reach

and enable the lender to rationalise resources across the board. There are various estimates

of the potential cost savings, with one projection putting the possible reduction in cost-to-

income ratio at 1 percentage point. The lender’s increased size, in terms of assets, will

also give it the requisite muscle to take on new competition from larger banking entities

that are likely to be created by consolidation in the banking industry. The Bank Board

Bureau has been tasked with overseeing a restructuring among public sector banks in

keeping with the government’s aim of reducing the number of state-owned lenders and

improving their financial health.

The merger will, however, pose its unique set of challenges. The scale of the task is

substantial given the total staff strength. With more than two lakh employees, the parent

will add close to one-fifth that number by way of additions posing a huge test in terms of

integration of roles, salary, perquisite and pension structures and, no less importantly,

work cultures. Much of the opposition from the bank unions stems from concerns relating

to these issues. Customers of the smaller, community or regional market-focussed

subsidiaries such as the State Bank of Travancore may be discomfited by having to deal

with a larger, more impersonal lender, one where the size of their accounts may be viewed

as comparatively marginal. For regulators, the new entity will throw up interesting

oversight issues. Already identified by the Reserve Bank of India as the country’s key

Domestic Systemically Important Bank, or too big to fail in simple terms, the enlarged

SBI’s capital adequacy norms will climb and may require far more by way of infusion

of funds than the Centre has committed so far. But such challenges must not be used to

undermine the obvious benefits of merger.

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RBI launches portal to curb illegal

money pooling, deposit taking by firms

To address the menace of illegal deposit taking/ money pooling, the Reserve Bank of India

along with other financial sector regulators on Thursday launched a website, which will

enable members of the public to obtain information regarding entities that are allowed to

accept deposits, lodge complaints and also share information regarding illegal acceptance

of deposits by unscrupulous entities

The RBI along with other regulators — Securities and Exchange Board of India,

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, Pension Fund Regulatory and

Development Authority, National Housing Bank, and Registrar of Companies — and

entities such as State governments and the Economic Offences Wing have launched

www.sachet.rbi.org.in, a website where such cases may be reported to the regulator

concerned. The website provides for tracking the status of one’s complaint.

SBI to offer overdrafts, loans to

7 lakh Jan Dhan account-holders

State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, will offer overdraft and loan facilities

to nearly seven lakh account-holders who have enrolled with it through the Pradhan Mantri Jan

Dhan Yojna (PMJDY). Under the PMJDY scheme, the public sector bank has opened 10 crore

accounts, its Chairman, Arundhati Bhattacharya, said here on Wednesday. Under its financial

inclusion plan, the bank continues to open around 60,000 accounts a day.

SBI to chalk out circle-wise

branch rationalisation plan

State Bank India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, will draft a circle-wise plan to

rationalise the group’s branch network. The plan, which includes relocation of bank

branches, is in view of the proposed merger of associate banks with SBI.

Work on this rationalisation had begun about a year ago, even before the merger decisions

were taken. The expansion of alternate platforms, including digital banking channels, has

made SBI rethink on the location of branches. About one-fourth of the network would be

impacted by this exercise, said a senior SBI bank executive.

While the bank has adequate presence in metropolitan and large cities, there is scope for

covering remote and under-served areas. At present, the SBI Group has 22,000 branches,

of which SBI alone has 16,800 units.

The bank has been going slow in expanding its branch network. It added 1,053 branches in

FY14. The next year, the number of additions was only 464. In FY16, the bank added 451

branches.

State Bank of India, the biggest bank in the country, is considering a proposal to

either relocate or shut down about 30% of its nearly 24,000 branches (SBI Group)

to remain competitive as advised by global management consultant McKinsey

The payments bank joint venture between Reliance Industries and the State Bank of

India is likely to take shape towards the end of this fiscal.

International rating agency S&P Global Ratings today said that Indian state-run

banks will need Rs 2.5 lakh crore capital infusion over the next three years to meet

Basel-III requirements.

To attract the beneficiaries of the Seventh Pay Commission, State Bank of India

(SBI) has launched cheaper home loan schemes for defence and other government

employees with instalment tenure extending up to 75 years of age.

It will offer two new home loan products ‘SBI Privilege Home Loan’ for

government employees and ‘SBI Shaurya Home Loan’ for defence personnel

without any processing fee.

In a first-of-its-kind joint corporate citizenship collaboration, two of India’s

largest organizations, State Bank of India (SBI) and Oracle India have launched the

‘D-Change’ programme .The initiative supports Prime Minister Narendra

Modi’s “Skill India― and “Digital India― plan and furthers

Oracle’s commitment to expand within the region.

Against the backdrop of Vijay Mallya episode, the Lok Sabha today passed a bill

that provides for expeditious recovery of bad loans by the banks, with the

government saying the country cannot have a banking system where people take

loans and do not repay. The Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of

Debts Laws and Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Bill, 2016, passed by voice

vote, seeks to amend four laws — Sarfaesi Act, DRT Act, Indian Stamp Act and

Depositories Act.

The Reserve Bank of India on Monday unveiled guidelines for ‘on-tap’

licensing of new private banks, opening the door for entities such as Edelweiss

Financial Services, JM Financial, LIC Housing Finance, Magma Fincorp, Muthoot

Finance, Shriram Capital and UAE Exchange & Financial Services, which had

missed the bus in the last round, to float universal banks.

All you wanted to know about...

The Goods and Services Tax (GST)

For many months now, the GST Bill has been an incendiary issue in the Parliament with

the ruling administration positioning it as a big reform, while the Opposition is insistent on

ironing out glitches. The Bill has edged a few steps closer to passage lately. So here’s

how it impacts you.

What is it?

The Goods and Services tax is an indirect tax to be levied when a consumer buys a good or

a service. It is intended to replace all indirect taxes that you currently pay. Today, apart

from the central excise duty or service tax, there are indirect taxes levied at multiple points

on every product or service — be it VAT/sales tax, octroi, luxury tax — which all add up

to pinch your pocket.

If the GST Bill becomes law, all the above taxes would now be subsumed under a single

GST tax rate. While the final rate is yet to be decided, it is expected to be in the range of

15-18 per cent. In order to bring in GST, a constitutional amendment is needed — with

approvals from both the houses of Parliament. The GST Constitutional Amendment Bill,

which incorporates the provisions of the GST, was passed in the Lok Sabha last May and is

pending approval from the Rajya Sabha. After many a push and pull from the Opposition,

the elder’s approval might finally be at hand. It is likely the deadline for the roll out of

GST would be April 1, 2017.

Why is it important?

GST is expected to help in a seamless flow of goods and services, unifying India into a

single national market. This can improve ‘ease of doing’ business. The current

taxation structure has created compartmentalization of markets due to many inter-State

taxes which didn’t qualify for credits. GST might simplify the taxation structure and

remove distortions in allocation of resources.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley has said that having a one-nation-one-tax regime would

provide a congenial business environment. He expects India’s GDP growth rate to be

boosted by 1-2 per cent over the long-term due to GST.

Why should I care?

Many of your purchases, including groceries, may get cheaper. Assume you are customer

staying in Mumbai, buying Apples from Shimla. They currently cost Rs. 100 a kg. This is

because there are multiple taxes levied across the five or more States they traverse. With

GST, the apples may be taxed just at a single rate, they may also move faster. While the

example of a food item has been taken here, GST would applicable for most consumer

items, except fuel, liquor and tobacco. GST, apart from making your life simpler through a

single tax, may make some of your favourite items available throughout the year by

improving the nation wide supply chain too.

Today, it is largely potatoes that have bulk share in cold storage facilities. Ushering in of

GST opens up possibilities, for instance, of processors or producers setting up large-scale

cold-storage facilities for all vegetables and fruits. This means you might get your Shimla

apples in off-season, instead of just imported Fuji or Washington apples.

It is also possible that ‘ease of doing’ business, could bring in private investments

and foster economic growth. So, don’t rule out the possibilities of more job offers and

income.

The bottomline

GST is the way forward, with most developed nations having a unified tax structure. States

will have to bite the bullet on revenues. But a proper compensation package would ensure

that the apple-cart isn’t upset.

DA for the months of August 2016 to October 2016

455 slabs :: DA Rate 45.50%

Increase- 3.50%

Banking operations across the country were hit on Friday as around 10 lakh

employees in around 40 private and nationalised banks struck work for a day to

protest against the central government's policies for the sector. Unions in the

banking sector had given the strike call to protest the mergers in the sector, infusion

of private capital in government banks, for recovery of bad loans, bringing to book

wilful loan defaulters and others.

OKI installs more than 600 recycling ATMs for SBI

Japanese payments company OKI has installed 600 automatic teller machines with

cash recycling abilities for State Bank of India, the country's largest lender. The

company which is headquartered in Japan and operates out of Mumbai in India

manufactures ATMs which work with recyclable cash and has both cash acceptance

mechanism along with cash dispensing in their teller machines.

ALL THE BEST FOR YOUR INTERVIEW FOR MMGS-II