World Today - 04th September 2015

1.    Global ratings agency Fitch, downgraded Punjab National Bank’s Viability Rating by one notch to ‘bb’ on account of the growing risk to the bank’s capital position from mounting stock of stressed assets. It has been done to reflect the growing risk to the bank’s capital position from its mounting stock of stressed assets, which has risen at a faster rate than its capital replenishment. Fitch affirmed the Long Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at “BBB-” for banks including State Bank of India (SBI), PNB, Canara Bank, IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda and its subsidiary in New Zealand.

2.   India has won the top United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) prize ‘Award of Excellence-2015’ for the remarkable conservation efforts of the majestic Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple in Kerala. The Award of Excellence for the conservation of Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple, Thrissur, won this year’s top prize in the Asia Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. The award recognises the remarkable conservation effort undertaken at the sacred site which employed age-old rituals and conservation techniques drawn from vastu shastra focusing on architecture and construction. Sdaring Xieng Thong Temple in Luang Prabang won the ‘Award of Merit’.

3.   Foreign brokerages firms have cut their Indian GDP rate forecasts by up to 0.3 percentage points. Standard Chartered has revised down Indian GDP rate forecast for the FY 2015-16 to 7.3 per cent from 7.7 per cent. It attributed the cut to weaker growth data for Q1, external headwinds and slower agriculture growth. Its Japanese peer Nomura has also cut its forecast by 0.2 percentage points to 7.8 per cent for the fiscal.

4.   Mumbai won the Buchi Babu Memorial Cricket Trophy in the All India competition. In the final match played in Chennai, Mumbai defeated Tamil Nadu Cricket Association Districts (TNCA) XI by six wickets. TNCA batting first was able to score 163 all out in 74 over, in response to which, Mumbai scored 166 for four in 45.2 over. Mumbai’s Surya Kumar Yadav, was adjudged as the Man of the Series.

5.   RBI released the preliminary estimates, according to which, the household financial savings in the country have successfully broken a five year trend over which the share of financial savings was seen dipping. Financial savings stands for savings or investments done in deposits, stocks, insurance, mutual funds, pension funds and other such instruments. Household financial saving for 2014-15 placed at 7.5 % of India’s income as against 7.3% in 2013-14.

6.   India won a historic Test series against Sri Lanka as it defeated the hosts by 117 runs in the third and final test match played in Colombo. With this win India ended a 22-year long wait for a Test series win over Sri Lanka on their home soil. India’s last series success in Sri Lanka came under Mohammad Azharuddin’s captaincy in 1993 when they won 1-0. India won this Test series under the captaincy of new Test captain Virat Kohli. Needing 386 runs to win the final Test as well as the series, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 268.

7.   The Reserve Bank of India declared SBI and ICICI Bank as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs), which literally means that these banks are so integral to the national economy that their failure would have to be prevented at any cost. While State Bank of India (SBI) is the largest public sector bank and the largest banking entity in the country, ICICI Bank is the largest private sector bank in the country. SBI and ICICI have been so designated on the basis of a systemic importance score, arrived at after an analysis of the banks’ size as a percentage of annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Banks with assets that exceed 2% of GDP will be considered to be part of this class of lenders.

8.   An Indian-origin driver in Australia Tejinder Pal Singh has been named for ‘Australian of the Day’ award by Commonwealth Bank of Australia for feeding the homeless in Darwin for the past three years. The award recognises the extraordinary Australians who have made a big difference to the country. He dedicated the last Sunday of every month to feed the poor and homeless in northern Darwin.

9.   Nuclear safety expert Shiv Abhilash Bhardwaj has been appointed as the new chairman of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERD). Bhardwaj took over from Satinder Singh Bajaj who was steering the organisation since January 2010. A post graduate in mechanical engineering, Bhardwaj was earlier with Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL). He is a recipient of Indian Nuclear Society award for outstanding achievement in nuclear technology including nuclear safety.

10. Noted scientist S.A.V. Satya Murty has been appointed as Director of Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam. Murty, a Gold Medalist from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada, currently serves Electronics and Instrumentation and Radiological Safety Group as its Director, an official release said. Murty succeeds P.R. Vasudeva Rao