Railway Budget 2012

Passenger fares increased marginally. The increase will be by 2 paise per km for suburban and ordinary second class; 3 paise per km for mail/express second class; 5 paise per km for sleeper class; 10 paise per km for AC Chair Car, AC 3 tier and First Class; 15 paise per km for AC 2 tier and 30 paise per km for AC I.

Minimum fare and platform tickets to cost Rs 5.

50 per cent concession in fare in AC-2, AC-3, Chair Car & Sleeper classes to patients suffering from 'Aplastic Anaemia' and 'Sickle Cell Anaemia'.

Extending the facility of travel by Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains to Arjuna Awardees.

Travel distance under 'Izzat Scheme' to increase from 100 kms to 150 kms.

SMS on passenger mobile phone in case of e-ticket to be accepted as proof of valid reservation.

Higher Education Scholarship Scheme for Girl Students

Under the Central Sector Scheme of Scholarship for College and University Students, out of 82,000 fresh scholarships available every year, 50% scholarships are given to girl students, fulfilling other requirements under the scheme. For graduates Rs. 10,000 per annum for first three years and for post graduates Rs. 20,000 per annum is admissible under the scheme. There is no fresh selection at post graduate level. Students pursuing professional courses would get Rs. 10,000 per annum for first three years and Rs. 20,000 per annum for 4th and 5th year. The Scholarship under the scheme is renewed from year to year up to post graduate level in the same stream.

Bihar moots new plan to increase green cover

Patna: The Bihar government is considering a proposal to launch Vrikshpal (guards of plants) scheme in rural areas under which a Vrikshpal will be given maintenance rights for 30 years over a unit of 350 trees planted on government land in the vicinity of villages.

Forest and Environment Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said the scheme, the first of its kind in the country, would be helpful in protection and maintenance of trees planted on government land.
“If a Vrikshpal remains steady and sincere and his/her work is found to be satisfactory then the maintenance rights will be extended for another 30 years,” he added.

Vidya Balan receives her Best Actress National Award

Talents from India’s $2-billion Indian movie industry received from Vice President Hamid Ansari the 59th National Film Awards across various categories here on Thursday. Veteran Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee was also honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke award, highest honour in Indian cinema at the event.Regional cinema dominated the award function, while Bollywood maintained a low key this year.

Top honours, including best feature film, best direction and best actor titles, were bagged by regional talents, while Bollywood’s bold and beautiful Vidya Balan kept the Hindi film industry in the reckoning by receiving the best actress trophy for The Dirty Picture.
Vidya came on the dais in a rose pink-coloured sari with her hair neatly tied in a bun to receive the award.

Soumitra Chatterjee to receive Dada Saheb Phalke Award

Legendary Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee who has portrayed a versatile rage of lead characters in films by Satyajit Ray, has been selected for been selected for highest film honour. He will receive the 2011 Dada Saheb Palke Award for lifetime contribution to cinema.

After the National Award, the government announced four front runners for the coveted honour – Pran, Manoj Kumar, Vyjathimala and Soumitra Chatterjee. The veteran actor made his film debut with Ray’s 1959 film ‘Apur Sansar’ and went on to act in several other masterpieces like – Devi, Charulata and Ghore Baire.

Chatterjee, 77 has worked alongside most of the stalwarts of the industry, including legendary actor, Bengali matinne idol Uttam Kumar and some of the best directors of the country. Besides Ray, his work with other directors includes – Tapan Sinha’s Kshudito Pashan and Mrinal Sen’s Mahaprithivi.

SBI PO Associates GA(07-08-2011) Solved Paper

1. The International World Wide Web Conference 2011 was held at
a) Italy
b) Manila
c) Geneva
d) Newyork
e) Hyderabad

Ans) e

2.Which of the following countries is NOT associated with the proposed TAPI gas pipeline?
a) India
b) Pakistan
c) Portugal
d) Afghanistan
e) Turkmenistan

Ans) c

SBI may hire 2,500 officers this year

State Bank of India will recruit about 2,500 probationary officers soon. “The total recruitment for this year could be around 12,000 officers and clerks, including a couple of thousands or a little higher number of officers,” Mr A. Krishna Kumar, Managing Director, SBI, told Business Line here.

Last month, SBI had notified recruitment of 8,500 clerks and 1,000 stenographers.

The bank is planning to add 1,000 branches in the current financial year to take the total number of branches to 15,000 by end of March 2013.

The bank would need staff to man these branches and as replacement for the retiring staff, the official said.

When asked on the reduction in recruitment numbers compared to previous years, when over 25,000 people were hired, he said the higher hiring during last two years was due to lack to recruitment for about three years.

“Now that we have stabilised numbers, the recruitment has been rationalised but not reduced,” Mr Krishna Kumar said.

On the net interest margin for the bank during the last financial year, he said it could be at the same level of 3.82 per cent which was achieved in the quarter ended December 31, 2011.

SBI is yet to announce the financial performance for 2011-12.

Sukma collector likely to be freed by Maoists today

The 12-day long hostage crisis in Chhattisgarh is expected to end on Thursday as the Naxals have said they will be releasing Sukma District collector Alex Paul Menon before the public in Tadhmetla.

Negotiators B D Sharma and G Hargopal on 3rd may  morning left the state capital for Chintalnaar, from where they are slated to move to the jungles inside Tadhmetla.

The mediators are then likely to escort the IAS officer to Raipur for a medical check-up.
The breakthrough in the hostage crisis is likely after four rounds of talks between the Raman Singh government and Maoist-appointed mediators.

RBI lays down road map to make banks safer, avoid crisis repeat under Basel Committee recommendations

The Reserve Bank of India has laid out a six-year road map to make Indian banks safer and avoid recurrence of the 2008 crisis, but it will need an estimated Rs 1.5 lakh crore in capital at a time it is scarce.

The central bank has raised the equity component in overall capital and restricted dividend or bonus payouts when capital ratios fall close to mandated levels. It has also addressed banks' leverage ratios, which will shrink off-balance sheet businesses and investments in subsidiaries, to reduce risk.

The banking regulator also aims to reduce systemic risk by eliminating some dodgy entries in the books of accounts and explaining the cross-holdings of capital instruments among banks, which exposed many of them during the credit crisis.

Denmark's Noma retains world's best restaurant title for the third time

Denmark's Noma restaurant has been named the best in the world for a third year running in an international survey that also gave top rankings to establishments in Spain, Brazil and Italy.

The Copenhagen restaurant, serving Nordic specialties in a quayside warehouse, topped the World's 50 Best Restaurants list compiled for a 10th year by more than 800 international experts for Britain's Restaurant magazine.

The magazine called Noma's chef Rene Redzepi "the standard bearer for the New Nordic movement," citing his attention to detail and innovative approach.

He also won respect for his use of local and seasonal ingredients foraged from the seashore or the forest.

High-security registration plates for vehicles launched in Delhi

The ambitious High Security Registration Plates project has been launched in the Capital.

According to Delhi Transport Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely, implementation of the HSRP project involves installation of tamper-free number plates on vehicles which will help in checking vehicle thefts.

As per the new order, all newly registered vehicles will have to get the HSRP in the first phase. Subsequently, the old/existing vehicles will be covered from June 15.

The HSRP is made of 1 mm thick aluminium, has a retro-reflective sheet, a chromium based hologram and an India in-scripted hot stamping foil. It will have a unique laser code of minimum seven digits and embossed registration number. Other features of HSRP are that it will have self-destructive windshield sticker and a non-reusable snap lock.

SAARC nations to emulate India’s poll practices

India’s success in holding elections through electronic systems including the use of EVMs, has caught the fancy of Pakistan and other SAARC countries, which have expressed the desire to emulate it in their respective areas.

As heads of poll management bodies of SAARC countries got together to evolve solutions to common problems at the ongoing 3rd conference of heads of election management bodies of SAARC nations here, India showcased its use of modern technology for strengthening democracy and election management systems.

India made a presentation on use of technology in election management which generated encouraging response from Election Commissions of SAARC countries.

Platform ticket to cost Rs 5 from May 1

Get ready to shell out Rs 5 instead of Rs 3 for entering railway platforms across the country as the increased platform ticket rate will come into effect from Tuesday, May 1.

The hike in platform ticket was announced in the Rail Budget in Parliament and accordingly the new rate of platform ticket would be Rs 5 instead of Rs 3, a senior Railway Ministry official said.

The increased rate of platform tickets will be charged on tickets issued from May 1. A platform ticket is valid for two hours.

Proposals to increase train fares across the board along with platform ticket were announced by the then Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi in the budget.

Government allows use of MPLAD funds to build railway halt stations

Members of Parliament can now use funds provided under the MPLAD scheme for construction of railway halt stations.

"According to the modified guidelines, funds from MPLAD scheme...can be used for construction of railway halt station to facilitate the local community for easy access to railways and boarding or de-boarding from the train," Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation Srikant Kumar Jena said in a statement here.

Under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme, each MP has the choice to suggest to the district collector works to the tune of Rs 5 crore per annum to be taken up in his/her constituency.

Google updates Gmail with automatic message translation feature

Here is good news for Gmail users. Now, users will be able to conveniently comprehend emails they receive in other languages as Google has announced to roll out the automatic translation feature for all Gmail users over the next few days.

"Since message translation was one of the most popular Gmail labs, we decided it was time to graduate from Gmail Labs and move into the real world. Over the next few days, everyone who uses Gmail will be getting the convenience of translation added to their email," said Jeff Chin, Product Manager, Google Translate, in a blog post.

On receiving a message in a language other than your own, all the users need to do is click on Translate message in the header at the top of the message, and it will be instantly translated into your language

John Wright to resign as New Zealand coach

John Wright New Zealand coach and former team India coach will resign as the coach in August after rejecting an offer to extend his contract, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive David White said Tuesday.

"John has been an outstanding servant for cricket in New Zealand over a long time and it is disappointing to lose someone of his calibre," White said in a statement.

The statement gave no reason for Wright's departure, although he has reportedly had a tense relationship with Australian John Buchanan, who was appointed NZC's director of cricket in April last year.

"I appreciate the offer to extend my contract but after much consideration I feel it's the right time to move on and look at other opportunities," Wright said in the statement.

No immediate replacement was announced.

Green signal from ISRO for Railway's internet in train proposal

Surfing the Internet in trains without using data card seems to be a distinct possibility now as the Railways have got the much-awaited clearance from space agency ISRO for using the satellite for the purpose.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has given the clearance for using the frequency from KU band for using the satellite for Internet, said a senior Railway Ministry official, adding it will be for the first time that Internet will be operational in moving trains through satellite.

Though Railways had proposed two years back to provide Internet in trains, the project could not take off due to the absence of ISRO clearance.

"ISRO's clearance for using frequency from satellite for Internet is mandatory. Now that we have got the clearance, work on the project will commence soon," said the official.