1. ASEAN meet: leaders to raise concerns about China
ii. An agreement to include a statement on China�s use of water cannon on Vietnamese vessels was reached at a pre-summit meeting of the foreign ministers of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Naypyitaw on Saturday.
iii. The meetings, held twice a year, end with declarations on regional issues such as economic integration and common security concerns.
iv. The Philippines and Vietnam are lobbying this year for a strong statement from ASEAN against aggression in the South China Sea.
v. ASEAN has been pushing for a regional agreement with Beijing that includes a commitment to a peaceful solution to their territorial disputes, respect for international law and signing a Code of Conduct in the disputed areas.
2. Indian companies will not be permitted to raise External Commercial Borrowings: RBI
i. The Reserve Bank of India, RBI, has decided that Indian companies will not be permitted to raise External Commercial Borrowings from overseas branches or subsidiaries of Indian banks for refinance or repayment of the Rupee loans raised from domestic banking system.
ii. In a notification, the RBI said that the restrictions are applicable in case of take-out financing, infrastructure financing and spectrum allocation and other repayments. The changes in the ECB policy come into force with immediate effect.
iii. External Commercial Borrowing loans are much cheaper than domestic loans and it is believed that some companies use the arbitrage available to their advantage.
iii. External Commercial Borrowing loans are much cheaper than domestic loans and it is believed that some companies use the arbitrage available to their advantage.
3. President dedicates India's own payment gateway 'RuPay'
ii. President Pranab Mukherjee unveiled the indigenous card at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
iii. Dedicating it to the nation, Mukherjee said India is one of the few countries in the world to have its own card payment gateway.
iv. The RuPay platform -- developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)-- is being used by certain banks like ICICI, State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, among others, for clearing and settlement.
iii. Dedicating it to the nation, Mukherjee said India is one of the few countries in the world to have its own card payment gateway.
iv. The RuPay platform -- developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)-- is being used by certain banks like ICICI, State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, among others, for clearing and settlement.
v. RuPay, which works on three channels -- ATMs, Point of Sales (POS) and online sales, is the seventh such payment gateway in the world.
vi. A variant of pre-paid RuPay card would shortly be launched by IRCTC, which will help in booking railway tickets.
vii. RuPay will not only reduce dependence on cash, but will offer users diverse set of payment option within the country, Mukherjee said.
viii. NPCI Chairman Balachandran M said the NPCI board plans to take RuPay card overseas and is already in talks with Discover Financial Services in the US and JDC in Japan for partnership.
vi. A variant of pre-paid RuPay card would shortly be launched by IRCTC, which will help in booking railway tickets.
vii. RuPay will not only reduce dependence on cash, but will offer users diverse set of payment option within the country, Mukherjee said.
viii. NPCI Chairman Balachandran M said the NPCI board plans to take RuPay card overseas and is already in talks with Discover Financial Services in the US and JDC in Japan for partnership.
Note: i. The public sector banks have already installed 25,331 RuPay cards enabled ATMS and 9,000 more ATMs would be installed in the current fiscal, Sandhu said.
ii. The RuPay card is accepted at all ATMs (1.6 lakh plus), 95 per cent of PoS terminals (9.45 lakh plus) and most of the eCom merchants (about 10,000) in the country.
ii. The RuPay card is accepted at all ATMs (1.6 lakh plus), 95 per cent of PoS terminals (9.45 lakh plus) and most of the eCom merchants (about 10,000) in the country.
4. Caparo Group wins International Business of the Year award 2014
ii. Receiving the award on behalf of the company in London on Friday evening, Lord Paul's daughter Anjli Paul dedicated it to her younger sister Ambika.
iii. She said, her father on being told of the nomination had requested that rather than the award going to Caparo it should instead be given to one of the newer companies headed by the younger generation because young entrepreneurs needed to be encouraged in their business endeavours.
5. ANC registers resounding victory in South Africa polls
i. South Africa's ruling ANC on Friday notched up a commanding victory in the fifth post-apartheid election, giving President Jacob Zuma a second term in office after the first was marred by controversies including claims of corruption and a sluggish economic growth.
ii. With about 99 per cent of the results out, the African National Congress had won 62.2 per cent of the vote, down from 66 per cent in 2009 elections.
iii.The Democratic Alliance, which is the main opposition group, got 22.2 per cent, up more than 5 per cent since the last election. Julius Malema's populist Economic Freedom Fighters party bagged 6.25 per cent of the votes.
iv. The elections are the first since the death of Nelson Mandela - the country's first black president - in December and mark 20 years since the end of apartheid rule.
v. With a record number of 29 parties contesting the polls, opposition to the ANC was hugely fragmented, paving the way for 72-year-old Zuma to return to power, despite controversies including claims of corruption, unemployment and a sluggish economic growth during his first tenure.
iv. The elections are the first since the death of Nelson Mandela - the country's first black president - in December and mark 20 years since the end of apartheid rule.
v. With a record number of 29 parties contesting the polls, opposition to the ANC was hugely fragmented, paving the way for 72-year-old Zuma to return to power, despite controversies including claims of corruption, unemployment and a sluggish economic growth during his first tenure.
6. Pakistan test-fired Hataf-III Ghaznavi missile
i. Pakistan successfully test-fired Hataf-III Ghaznavi missile during war exercises of Army�s Strategic Force Command. Hataf-III Ghaznavi missile is a short range surface-to-surface Ballistic Missile and is capable of carrying nuclear and conventional weapons up to 290 kilometers.
ii. The field training exercise was performed with an aim to test the operational readiness of a Strategic Missile Group besides up gradation of various capabilities of Weapon Systems.
ii. The field training exercise was performed with an aim to test the operational readiness of a Strategic Missile Group besides up gradation of various capabilities of Weapon Systems.
7. Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Janardhan Reddy died
i. Nedurumilli Janardhan Reddy, former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh died in Hyderabad on 9 May 2014.
ii. Till his death, Reddy was a sitting Rajya Sabha member from Andhra Pradesh. He was elected to Rajya Sabh a in 200
8. HI recommends four players for Arjuna Award
i. Hockey India on Thursday announced its recommendations for the 2014 Arjuna Awards. Four players have been recommended for the sporting awards while one name each has been forwarded to the Sports Ministry for the Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award and Dronacharya Award for coaching respectively.
ii. Players recommended: Arjuna award: Dharamvir Singh, V.R. Raghunath, Tushar Khandker, Bharat Chetri; Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award: Sumrai Tete (national women�s team coach); Dronacharya Award: Romesh Pathania (junior women�s team coach).
9. Vikas Gowda wins silver at the IAAF Diamond League in Doha
ii. According reports, Gowda hurled the discuss to a distance of 63.23m, finishing behind Poland's Piotr Malachowski, who took the top spot with a throw of 66.72m.
iii. Estonia's Gerd Kanter took the bronze medal, with a best throw of 62.90 metres.
iv. The Mysore-born Gowda won the 2010 Asian Games bronze and silver in the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games in the discus event.
iii. Estonia's Gerd Kanter took the bronze medal, with a best throw of 62.90 metres.
iv. The Mysore-born Gowda won the 2010 Asian Games bronze and silver in the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games in the discus event.
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