29 june 2016

29 June: National Statistics Day

The National Statistics Day is being observed every year on 29 June to create public awareness among people about the importance of statistics in daily life and in the process of planning and development. 2016 is the tenth edition of National Statistics Day.

Significance of the Day: It is celebrated annually on the occasion of Birth anniversary of India’s eminent statistician Late Prof Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis. It also commemorates the contributions made by PC Mahalanobis in the fields of statistics and economic planning. 

2016 Theme: “Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare”. The Union Ministry of Statistics Programme Implementation had organised main function for the celebration day at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

NS Vishwanathan appointed as deputy governor of RBI

The Union Government has appointed NS Vishwanathan as deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). His appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. NS Vishwanathan will shall have term will be for three years and will succeed Harun R Khan, who will superannuates on July 7, 2016 on turning 62. 

About NS Vishwanathan 

• Prior to this appointment, Vishwanathan was executive director in the RBI since April 2014. He was oversing banking and non-banking regulation departments. 
• Earlier he had served as Principal Chief General Manager in the Department of non-banking supervision at RBI. 
• He also had served as Chief General Manager of Vigilance at IFCI Ltd, Delhi-based government owned finance company.
•  He also had served as a Director of Punjab National Bank (PNB) from September 2012 to May 2013. He was also nominee director at Dena Bank Ltd. from May 2011 to September 2012.

Asia's cleanest village is in Meghalaya

• The cleanest village in Asia, Mawlynnong, is situated in India's north-eastern state of Meghalaya.

•  The village having over 600 inhabitants was declared the cleanest in Asia in 2003 by 'Discover India' magazine.

• Mawlynnong, which has over 95 households with agriculture being its population's chief occupation, also holds a 100% literacy rate.

Sweden inaugurates world’s first electric road

• Sweden inaugurated a test stretch of an electric road, making it one of the first countries in the world to conduct tests with electric power for heavy transports on public roads

•  The test will be conducted on parts of road E16, and involves a current collector on the roof of the truck cab feeding the current down to a hybrid electric motor in the truck, according to a press release from the country’s transport administration Trafikverket, Xinhua reported.

United Bank remains cautious on corporate lending, aims at 30% retail loan growth this fiscal

•  Public sector lender United Bank of India is aiming to grow its retail credit portfolio by 30% for this fiscal as it remains cautions on lending to corporate sector. The bank is eyeing a 10-12% business growth in this financial year.

• At present corporate loan constitutes around 35-40% of the bank’s total loan portfolio. The lender aims to increase retail segment’s share in its lending portfolio. In the retail segment, the bank will focus on housing, education and vehicle loans.

• Total business of the bank stood at Rs. 187813 crore as on March 31, 2016, registering a modest growth of 5.58%. P Srinivas, managing director and CEO, said the lender was aiming at 10-12% business growth this fiscal.

Paytm ties up with Suzuki Motorcycle for easy booking of two-wheeler models

• India’s largest mobile payment and commerce platform Paytm announced its strategic partnership with Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt. Ltd. to offer its customers the largest assortment of bike and scooter models across all transactional platforms in India.

• With over 400+ Suzuki dealers on-board, the Paytm marketplace will now enable booking of all Suzuki two-wheeler models on its platform across India.

• As part of the association, Suzuki will also have a brand store on Paytm for higher consumer engagement guaranteeing an enhanced consumer experience.

Montella named as new AC Milan manager

•  AC Milan have appointed former Fiorentina and Sampdoria boss Vincenzo Montella as their new manager on a two-year contract.

•  The 42-year-old will replace Cristian Brocchi, who took charge on an interim basis after Sinisa Mihajlovic was sacked in April.

Viswanathan Anand honoured with ‘Honoris Causa’ Doctor of Science degree

• Five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand was conferred the “Honoris Causa” Doctor of Science by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) during its 49th convocation ceremony in Kanpur on Tuesday.

•  The 46-year-old Anand was bestowed with the degree by NITI aayog chairman Arvind Panagariya in Kanpur.

•  While receiving the degree, Anand remembered the day when he was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1985 and shared that this dress code in Kanpur brought back memories of that day at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.