1.
Experian India launches fraud detecting credit scoring mechanism
(i) Global information services company Experian India
has launched the ‘Hunter Fraud Score’, a scoring mechanism that measures the
probability of fraud in a credit application across banking and insurance
industries.
(ii) The score, with its advanced analytical approach,
will help businesses identify credit applications that should be thoroughly vetted
for potential fraud.
(iii) Experian is enhancing fraud detection practices in
India by running the Experian Fraud Bureau – a closed user group (CUG) of
industry members, who share fraud data and in return obtain expedient fraud
detection services from Experian. The CUG comprises 47 banks and 15 life
insurance companies.
(iv) Experian had also launched the Hunter Fraud
Management Services for life insurance companies in March 2016.
2.
New Zealand wins Bank Note of the Year award
(i) New Zealand’s $5 note has won the 2015 Bank Note
of the Year award, which is presented by the International Bank Note Society
(IBNS), a group of currency enthusiasts.
(ii) The note, printed in Canada, is in orange-brown colour
with mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary on the front and a penguin on the back. Besides
reflecting New Zealand’s culture, it has advanced security features.
3.
Ban Ki-moon appoints Indian to UN University Council
(i) UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appointed an Indian
academician Radha Kumar to the UN University Council among 11 other members.
(ii) Kumar, Director General of Delhi-based think tank
Delhi Policy Group, specialises in ethnic conflicts, peacemaking and peace-building.
Along with the other appointees, she will work toward achieving a geographic
and gender balance, with due regard for major academic, scientific, educational
and cultural trends, as well as each member’s field of expertise.
(iii) A former Director of the Mandela Centre for
Peace and Conflict Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia University, Kumar has also
been a Senior Fellow in Peace and Conflict Studies at the Council on Foreign
Relations in Delhi.
(iv) The main function of the Council is to devise policies
of the University, govern its operations, and vet and approve its biennial
budget and work programmes.
4.
India to provide $1 bn Line of Credit to Mongolia
(i) PM Modi has announced that India will provide $1
billion line of credit to Mongolia.
(ii) The amount will be used to develop institutions,
infrastructure and human resources.
(iii) The announcement comes amid Modi’s visit to the
nation, where he signed 14 agreements to bolster bilateral ties between the two
nations. He is the first Indian PM to visit Mongolia.
5.
Kishalay Bhattacharjee’s book Blood on My
Hands: Confessions of Staged Encounters
(i) Investigative journalist and senior fellow at Institute
for Defence Studies and Analyses has released his book titled Blood on My
Hands: Confessions of Staged Encounters.
(ii) The book deals with staged encounters in the
north-east, which is one of the forms of institutionalised human rights abuse.
(iii) The author presents an anonymous account of an army
officer, whose confessions reveal how defence honours are based on body count
and the debilitating effect staged encounters have on the Indian democracy.
6.
Kane Williamson to captain New Zealand cricket team
(i) Kane Williamson has succeeded Brendon McCullum as
the captain of New Zealand team for all three formats of cricket.
(ii) He will become New Zealand’s 29th Test captain
when Mike Hesson’s side tour Zimbabwe and South Africa in July-August.
(iii) After four years as skipper, McCullum retired in
February 2016 following the Test series against Australia. During his captaincy,
the team made it to their first World Cup final and emerged more competitive in
the longer format of the game.
7.
Day of Remembrance for Chemical Warfare Victims observed
(i) April 29 is observed as the Day of Remembrance for
Chemical Warfare Victims. This year the UN urged nations to contemplate the
“terrible toll” of chemical weapons and take efforts to achieve the milestone
of a world free from the threat of such weapons.
(ii) April 29, 1997 was when the Chemical Weapons
Convention entered into force.
8.
Trinidad’s Iraq Thomas scores fastest T20 century
(i) Iraq Thomas, a 23-year-old from Trinidad, scored a
century in 21 balls, thereby surpassing West Indian batsman Chris Gayle’s
record of a century in 30 balls.
(ii) Thomas achieved the record-breaking score in a
T20 match organised by Tobago Cricket Association. In an earlier match
organised by the Association, he made 131 runs in just 31 balls, playing for
Scarborough/Mason Hall United.
(iii) Note: Former New Zealand captain Brendon
McCullum holds the record for the fastest Test century as scored a hundred runs
off 54 balls against Australia earlier this year. South Africa’s AB de Villiers
holds the record for the quickest century in ODIs-he took 31 balls to score a
century against the West Indies in 2015.
8.
China develops world’s first graphene electronic paper
(i) China has developed the world’s first graphene
electronic paper. The material has been developed by Guangzhou OED Technologies
in partnership with a company in Chongqing Province.
(ii) Graphene
is the world’s strongest and lightest known material; a single layer of
graphene is only 0.335 nanometers thick, and it can conduct heat and
electricity.
(iii) The material can used to make hard or flexible
graphene displays, in electronic products like e-readers and wearable smart
devices.
(iv) Compared with traditional e-papers, graphene
e-paper is more bendable, energy-efficient and has more intensity. Due to its
high-light transmitting capability, optical displays will be much brighter.
(v) Further, graphene is derived from carbon, as a
result of which production costs will be much lower than for traditional
e-papers, which use the rare, expensive metal indium.
9.
India’s investments into UK more than doubled in 2015 – Report
(i) A recent
report states that Indian investments in UK increased 65% in 2015, making it
the third-largest source of FDI in UK after the US and France.
(ii) The report is titled ‘India meets Britain 2016: Tracking the UK’s top Indian companies’
published by UK-based Grant Thornton and the Confederation of Indian Industry
(CII). The combined turnover of Indian businesses rose from £22 billion in 2014
to £26 billion in 2015.
(iii) As per the report, most companies with high growth
rates operate in fast-growth sectors like technology, telecom, pharmaceuticals,
and financial services.
(iv) Another report revealed that the number of Indian
companies in the UK has almost doubled from 36 to 62 firms in
a year. The top five Indian firms in the UK are: Bharti Airtel, HCL
Technologies, Emcure Pharma, Apollo Tyres, Wockhardt.
10.
N K Singh to be honoured with Japan’s national award
(i) Bureaucrat-turned-politician N K Singh is set to
be honoured with Japan’s second-highest national award for his contribution in improving
Indo-Japan economic ties over the past few years.
(ii) The award- Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and
Silver Star – will be conferred on Singh by Japanese PM Shnizo Abe.
(iii) Singh had served in Japan during the investment
decision of Maruti-Suzuki and subsequent forays of the Japanese automobile
companies into India. As one of India’s top bureaucrats, he handled key portfolios
like Expenditure and Revenue Secretary, Member of the Planning Commission, etc.
11.
Idea Mobile Commerce & Aditya Birla Idea Payments to merge
(i) Idea Mobile Commerce Services is set to merge with
Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Ltd., a new entity in which Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited
(a promoter of Idea) holds 51 per cent equity.
(ii) IMCSL presently manages digital wallet Idea Money
and ABIPBL will shortly receive RBI licence for the payments bank.
12.
Indian healthcare IT market is worth $1 bn: Nasscom
(i) As per a Nasscom report, the Indian healthcare IT
market is worth $1 billion (around Rs.6,650 crore) and is expected to grow about
1.5 times by 2020.
(ii) The IT industry body’s report stated that the healthcare
software market created revenues of $96.8 million in 2014 and may well achieve a
compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11% over the next five years.
(iii) On the other hand, the international health tech
market is likely to grow at a CAGR of 6% to $25 billion by 2020 from $17.36
billion in 2014.
(iv) One of the
major reasons for increased technology adoption is the privatisation of the
sector due to which patient-driven care, mobile apps, tech products like
wearables and wellness-related solutions are doing well and will grow faster in
the coming years.
(v) Also, the number of health start-ups (around 60%
of total companies) have increased over the years, thereby attracting funding
to the tune of $100 million since 2014.
13.
More than 72 crore benefitted by Food Security Act: Centre
(i)
The government has stated that more than 72.45 crore people across 33 states
and UTs have been benefitted under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
(ii)
The remaining three states, namely Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Nagaland are in advanced
stage of preparation for NFSA implementation.
(iii)
This is a huge leap from only 11 states and UTs, which started implementation
of NFSA by March 2014.
(iv)
The Consumer Affairs Ministry has also stated that total storage capacity with
Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies has been increased to 814.84
lakh metric tonnes (LMT).
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