Indian Overseas Bank's Q2 FY09 profit after tax was up 12.3% at Rs 359.06 crore as compared to Rs 319.7 crore in the same period last year. Total income in the period under review stood at Rs 2,643 crore and other income came in at Rs 216.2 crore as against Rs 174.5 crore. Net interest income was up 24.18% at Rs 784.98 crore versus Rs 632.15 crore.

A series of coordinated blasts tore through a troubled section of northeast India on Thursday, killing at least 61 people and wounding hundreds more as police rushed to uncover any additional unexploded devices.
At least 11 bomb blasts in quick succession ripped through the main city of Assam state and three other towns, wounding as many as 335, police said, according to news services.
"I am confident that the people of India will rise unitedly against these attempts to disturb peace and harmony and to destroy our social fabric," Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a statement.
Thursday's attacks are the latest in a wave of bombing attacks to hit India in recent months, killing more than 125 people
The Assam area also has been hit recently by ethnic clashes. At least 49 people were killed in July in violence between members of the native Bodo tribe and recent migrants to the area, most of whom are Muslims, Reuters reported.

The fifth Economic Census-2005 results released by the government on May29, have revealed following important data :

Employment in sectors other than Crop production and plantation grew faster in rural areas in comparison with urban areas between 1998 to 2005. Milions of Indian shifted to Jobs in the retail trade, manufacturing and allied agricultural activities such as Livestock farming and fishing.

Employment grew at the ratye of 2.78 during 1998-2005 compared to 1.75% during 1990-98

Jammu & Kashmir emerged as the state that has the highest employment growth of 6.82%.

According to the survey of 211 million households and 42 million establishments, the employment growth rate in rural area went up by 1.60 per cent during 1998-2005 from 1990-98. In urban areas, teh rate rose by just 0.36% in the same periods.

Employment growth rate in rural areas during the current survey period was 3.88% while it was 2.22% during the previous eight year period. But in urban areas where economic activity is belived to be higher, the annual employment rate recorded for 1998-2005 was 1.70 per cent compared to 1.34 per cent in the previous periods. The survey does not accounts for employment in the government sector though.

The higher employment in rural areas was primarily because villagers ventured into self owned retail and manufacturing businesses- the two sectors with the maximum growth between 1998-2005.

Growth of self owned establishments run by family members doubled in rural areas during the census period as compared to 1990-98, when it was 2.25 percent. Similarly, establishment with up to 6 workers witnessed a three fold jump in rural areas.

BONN (GERMANY): Viswanathan Anand retained the world title with a 24-move draw against Russian Vladimir Kramnik in the penultimate game of the 12-game World Chess Championship final in Bonn today.
Anand earlier won three games -- the third, fifth and sixth -- and lost the 10th game in a match that looked one-sided till Kramnik brought back some life with a win in 10th game.

Few questions taht were asked in the SBI PO Exam recently held?

Where a nuclear plant is to be established in north east?
Ans Meghalaya
In which Sector GOI is planning to set up SEBI like regulatory authority for the recent boom?
Lottery

what is India's tax gdp ratio?
11.2%
which state to give preferance to hiv patients in govt. job?
Kerala
CRR also known as
liquidity ratio
Author of 'Shape of the Beast'- arundhati roy.
'Animal's people' - indra sinha
Ghulam nabi azad was CM of J&K?
UK is the country that provided fund for Siksha abhiyaan
What is Himadri?
Himadri is the new research centre at the Arctic.
Knighthoood award for Salman Rushdie..
India has signed currency swap deal with japan

Lisbon treaty is related to European Union.

World bank projected the growth rate for India 7%

LEE-MYUNG BAK IS THE PRESIDENT OF????

SOUTH KOREA

WHICH IS TRUE ABOUT G-8 MEATING

A)IT WAS HELD IN MOSCOW

B) THEY HAVE PLANED TO TAKE STEPS TO CONTROL GLOBAL WARMING TILL 2050

C)ISSUE OF RISING OIL PRICE DISCUSSED
Answer is B&C both

LET US LEARN A COUPLE OF NEW SYNONYMS

Dire- terrible,awful,miserable

Elegant - refined, graceful

The term Equity is generally used when referring to the equity available from an asset, in simple terms equity is the amount of money you have tied up in an asset.
This could be the amount you own/have paid off on a house, you are then able to use the equity as collateral to borrow against, if you choose to take out a mortgage on your house then you will need to have sufficient equity to equal or be greater than the borrowing/mortgaging amount in question.
Realty major Parsvnath is developing Parsvnath Nano City’ in a Joint Venture with Sabeer Bhatia.

Rafel Nadal won the gold medal in Men’s singles Tennis in Olympic Beijing-2008.

The eldest son of the Legendary Vinod Mankad and former Test cricketer, Ashok Mankand, passed away in Mumbai on August1,2008. He was popularly known as 'Kaka'.
let's learn few synonyms
Dolt - Stupid, fool, idiot, blockhead
Dire- terrible, awful, horrible, miserable
Elegant- refined, graceful
inculpate- blame
Demise- death, decease

55% of Indians will be living in cities by 2050

Less than 20 years from now, Mumbai will be the world’s most densely populated city after Tokyo, with Delhi and Dhaka following right behind. By 2025, the world’s four biggest cities will be in Asia. This is forecast by UN Habitat in its State of the World’s cities 2008/09 report. The three south Asian cities breaking into the top four will replace Mexico City, New York and Sao Paulo in Brazil. Tokyo is already in the top four.

According to UN Habitat in its latest report, State of the World’s cities 2008/09, most of the cities in China projected to shrink are intermediate and big cities. In India, which accounts for 20% of the shrinking cities, it is the smaller urban centres that are shrinking as people migrate to bigger cities or to other newer cities that become more attractive as destinations for migration.Despite shrinking cities, the urban population keeps growing as a proportion to the total in the developing world, as rural towns and centres grow to become new cities and further migration happens between these cities.

Migration has been the primary reason for growth of cities in countries with low levels of urbanisation as is the case in Asia and Africa. However, in many countries, the largest movements of population are taking place between cities and not from rural to urban areas. This city-to-city movement has been one of the strongest reasons for some cities expanding at the cost of others. Dhaka is the fastest growing meta city those with populations above 20 million — in the world with a population growth rate of 4.4% per year. But some of the fastest growing cities are in China, with Chongqing, Xiamen and Shenzhen all growing at over 10% per year. It’s no surprise that China is expected to be 70% urban by 2050.
In India, on the other hand, urbanisation is likely to be at a slower pace.The report estimates that about 55% of the population or 900 million people would be living in urban areas by 2050.

Indian carriers are slipping deeper into red every passing month. On Saturday, Jet Airways announced its highest net loss in six quarters — Rs 384.50 crore for this fiscal’s second quarter ending September 30 — while the airline had a profit of Rs 28.30 crore same period last year. The loss comes on account of higher operating costs that led to raising fares and saw dwindling of passenger loads. The company’s total income that quarter, however, increased to Rs 3,121.34 crore from Rs 1,818.55 crore in the yearago period. The airline admitted its subsidiary, JetLite, has accumulated losses more than its net worth. But the Naresh Goyal-led airline plans to support JetLite and turn it around.

The explosion maimed him for life.
What is the meaning of maim
Well maim means to deprive of the use of some part of the body, or to impair; make essentially defective.
Thus, people were maimed by the explosion.

What is the meaning of the word ‘rue’
Well ‘rue’ means to feel sorrow, regret

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) spent just over Rs 380 crore (about half the price of a Jumbo Jet) on Chandrayaan-1, with 1,000 scientists toiling over it for three years. A similar effort by NASA or any other space agency would have cost at least five times more. In real terms, Chandrayaan-1 cost only about 4% of Isro’s budget over three years.

Chandrayaan-2 is expected to cost ISRO just Rs 500 crore. Isro’s annual budget only recently increased to Rs 5,000 crore or $ 1 billion. This happened when the Mark 3 of GSLV was commissioned and there was a new thrust towards societal application of space projects. Five years ago, Isro’s annual budget was merely around just $200 million
On the brighter side, Antrix Corporation, Isro’s commercial wing, has earned Rs 900 crore from commercial satellite launches and sale of remote sensing data last financial year and the revenues are growing at 25%. “We have launched 16 satellites for other countries so far and another four are on the anvil. Commercial launches add to our earnings,” says Madhavan Nair. This should augur well for Isro, which has such ambitious projects as the Rs 12,000 crore manned space mission scheduled for 2015

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided at an emergency meeting in Vienna on 24th of October to slash its official oil output quota by 1.5 million barrels a day from November 1.
Let us learn a couple of words of English
Salvaged- means to save, e.g. Abhinav Bindra salvaged some pride for India in Beijing Olympics.
Foreclosure -A situation in which a homeowner is unable to make principal and/or interest payments on his or her mortgage, so the lender, be it a bank or building society, can seize and sell the property as stipulated in the terms of the mortgage contract.
Goldman Sach has decided to cut 10% Global workforce.
London has been declared 'Fair Trade City'
Asia- Europe Meeting took place in Beijing. leaders of 43 Nations participated in it. Leaders of various countries agreed that IMF should play a vital role in assisting countries seriously affected by the Crisis.

What is Baloon Mortgage Loan?

Balloon Mortgage Loans:A balloon mortgage is very similar to a fixed-rate mortgage, except the term (or duration) is shorter and the monthly payments are lower. However, a large payment (known as a “balloon payment”) is due at the end of the mortgage’s term.

What is a Bi-weekly Mortgage Loan?

Biweekly Mortgage Loans:Rather than making monthly payments, a bimonthly mortgage allows the borrower to make smaller payments every other week.

What is Blanket Mortgage Loans?

Blanket Mortgage Loans: The blanket mortgage is simply a single mortgage that covers multiple properties. It is used most frequently by commercial real estate developers.

What is a BuyDown Mortgage Loan?

Buydown Mortgage Loans: By using discount points, the borrower makes a lump-sum payment up front that reduces the interest rate on the mortgage loan. A temporary buydown will reduce the monthly payments for the first few years of the mortgage, while a permanent buydown will reduce the interest rate for the mortgage’s entire term.

Some other types of Mortgage Loans used across the World are

Hybrid Mortgage Loans:Similar to a convertible mortgage, a hybrid (or two-step) mortgage begins as a fixed-rate loan and converts into an adjustable-rate loan. However, the borrower has no say on when this conversion takes place. Hybrid mortgages are often referred to by numbers related to the terms of the loan. For example, a 23/7 loan would have a fixed rate for the first seven years, and then convert to an adjustable rate for the remaining 23 years. Sometimes, a hybrid mortgage is referenced by three numbers, such as a 30/5/5 loan. In this case, the loan is a 30 year mortgage that has a fixed rate for the first five years. After that, the rate will change every five years.

Interest-Only Mortgage Loans:An interest-only mortgage is set up so that the borrower only pays on the interest for a specified amount of time. After the initial period has elapsed, the borrower begins making payments on the principal and the remaining interest.

Pledged-Asset Mortgage Loans:With a pledged-asset mortgage, the borrower uses assets such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds to finance the home. This eliminates the need for a down payment and for private mortgage insurance, since the loan is financed 100 percent.

Reverse Mortgage Loans:Specifically designed for retired senior citizens, the reverse mortgage allows borrowers to convert their home’s equity into cash to pay off the loan.

Shared-Appreciation Mortgage Loans:In a shared-appreciation mortgage (or SAM), the lender offers the borrower a lower interest rate in exchange for a share of the home’s future value.Simple-Interest Mortgage Loans:A simple-interest mortgage is similar to an adjustable-rate mortgage, except the interest rate is calculated daily rather than monthly. Although this ultimately results in the borrower paying more, the monthly payments are smaller in the short-run.

Wraparound Mortgage Loans:Sometimes, a seller will offer a house with a new mortgage that includes (or “wraps around”) an older, unpaid mortgage. The buyer makes mortgage payments to the seller who, in turn, uses the money to pay on the original loan. Since the wraparound mortgage is usually for a higher amount and interest rate than the original, this enables the seller to turn a profit. Wraparound mortgages are also known as overlapping or overriding mortgages

Booker Prize goes to Aravind Adiga, the 33-years –old, Chennai- born author won the $50,000 man Booker Prize on Tuesday for his debut novel “The White Tiger.”
What is meant by mortgage and mortgage loan?
A mortgage is a method of using property (real or personal) as security for the performance of an obligation, usually the payment of a debt. A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage (a legal instrument). However, the word mortgage alone, in everyday usage, is most often used to mean mortgage loan.

Explain fixed rate Mortgage Loans and Adjustable rate Mortgage Loans?
Fixed-Rate Mortgage Loans:
The interest rate for a fixed-rate mortgage remains constant for the duration of the loan.
Adjustable-Rate Mortgage Loans:
The interest rate for an adjustable-rate mortgage (or ARM loan) fluctuates during the duration of the loan.
What is 80/20 Mortgage Loan?
80/20 Mortgage Loans:
In this type of loans the home buyer takes out two loans -- the first for 80 percent of the purchase price, and the second for 20 percent of the home's price. The borrower is expected to come up with the closing costs.
"It allows people to buy without a down payment, or for those people who would prefer not to touch their savings to get into a house,"
This type of loan is for people who have gotten out of college and have good jobs. They have good credit, but they haven't had the opportunity to accumulate a lot of savings."
This mortgage plan avoids paying mortgage insurance by getting a second mortgage to back up the first mortgage. The first and main mortgage is for 80 percent of the home's price. The second loan is for 20 percent of the home's price, minus the down payment, if any. If you see mention of an 80-15-5 loan, it means that the borrower got a main mortgage of 80 percent of a home's purchase price, a second loan for 15 percent, and made a 5-percent down payment. Combinations, such as 80-10-10, are also possible. The 80-20 uses a loan without a down payment.

The first ever India-Africa Forum summit was held on Aprail 8-9 2008 in New Delhi. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan singh announced a duty free tariff preferece scheme for exports from 50 Least Developed Contries- of these 34 are in africa. He also doubled credit assistance to Africa to $ 5.4 billion.He also announced an enhanced quota of 1600 seatsannualy for african under it's flagship technical trainning scheme, ITEC.

Khuda Ke Liye (In the name of God)- directed by Shohaib Mansoor becomes the first film from pakisatan to be released across cinemas in more than four decades.

What is CRR, Repo Rate, Reverse Repo Rate and SLR?

Cash reserve Ratio (CRR) is the amount of funds that the banks have to keep with RBI. If RBI decides to increase the percent of this, the available amount with the banks comes down. RBI is using this method (increase of CRR rate), to drain out the excessive money(liquidity) from the banks.

Repo rate is the rate at which banks borrow money from RBI. A reduction in the repo rate will help banks to get money at a cheaper rate. When the repo rate increases borrowing from RBI becomes more expensive.

Reverse Repo rate is the rate at which Reserve Bank of India (RBI) borrows money from banks.

SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) is the amount a commercial bank needs to maintain in the form of cash, or gold or govt. approved securities (Bonds) before providing credit to its customers

Some basics that must be understood clearly to have a bright future in banking world.

What are Assets and Liabilities?
Assets represent property or rights to property and liabilities are debts owed to others. Assets and liabilities together determine the wealth of an individual, a firm, or a nation. Individuals, Firms, and Nations have somewhat different assets and liabilities.
An individual's assets might include cash, bank deposits, stocks, rights to future pension payments, and a house and its contents. An individual's liabilities might include, for example, a home mortgage, debt incurred on an object or other personal possessions, or other financial commitments, such as income tax liabilities.

The loan that is taken out to buy a business asset is generally termed as commercial mortgage. Commercial mortgages are used to buy offices, shops, restaurants or other type of (generally) building. But they can also be used to buy other business assets such as plant or machinery.As well as being a useful way of financing the purchase of business premises for a new business, commercial mortgages can also be an excellent way of funding the expansion of an existing business. A commercial mortgage can also be used to fund investment in land or property which will be used for commercial purposes.

Airtel has launched the value added platform 'Sanchar Hat' for the farmers in a Joint Venture with IFFCO.
National Assembly of Bhutan is Gyalyong Tshongdu.
The General CENVAT rate on all goods have been reduced from 16% to 14% in budget 2008-09.the share of Government expenditure on social services, includuing rural development has been 16.42%According to Eco survey 2007-08, FDI, on a gross basis has risen to $ 2 billion in 2006-07.

scientist have found a tree in sweeden which is belived to be 8000 years old and possibly be the oldest living tree in the world.

The Prime minister of Bhutan is Jigmi Y Thinley, president of the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa that has won a landslide victory in the recently held Bhutan's first parliamentary election.

Now a days, we are listening in news constantly that US is undergoing a recession, what actually is a recession? well when the GDP growth is negative for two consecutive quarters, it is said to be in a recession. also we here the word 'Depression' what is Depression? A depression is a severe downturn that remains for several years.

we can say that currently US is in recession. This would have a impact on india as well. In Indian Economy there is a trade deficit that is import of goods is greater than the export of goods. This trade deficit is balanced by th revenues from the service sectors mainly software and IT companies and also from foreign investment.

Now what is happening is that Oil Prices are going upand india being a importer has to spend more on imports resulting in widening of trade deficit. This has led to increased pressure on service sector to balance this trade deficits. Now due to recession, many major financial firms that were using the Indian software has been closed and that has resulted in decline of revenues.

Also, the country that is facing recession has less purchasing power and therefore export to that country also declines.

Markets in India

Market Types most commonly prevailing in the World Economy are Consumer market, Industrial Market, Stock market, Real estate market, Food market, Commodity Market, Financial Market and others.
Market is the social arrangement where exchange of goods and services takes place among the buyers and the sellers.

According to absolute terms of Economics, main Market Types are Perfect Competition, Monopoly, Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly. But in general, we can find varying types of
markets. This is because, whenever a group of person has preference for a good or service that another group of person can supply, a new market emerges. Among various types of market, Consumer Market is the market of product and services which individuals buy for their personal use. The products of Consumer market are the FMCGs( Fast Moving Consumer Goods), which are high volume but have low unit value; Consumer Durables, which have low
volume but high unit value and the Services for personal care. Industrial market is the market of products and services which are exchanged between businesses. The products which are exchanged in the Industrial market are Finished Goods, Raw Materials and Services such as legal services, accounting services and security services. But the most important fact about markets is that whatever is the market type, all markets are more or less volatile at some or
other point of time and this volatility is very much important for the markets. Due to the volatility of the markets the upward and downward trends emerge which gives rise to good opportunities

News Channel NDTV in association with the Union travel Ministry, launched a special initiative on Aprail 20, 2008 to unravel new landmarks and historical monuments across the country as part of the popular "Incredible India " Campaign.

Why was Danica Patrick in news recently?

She had become the first female winner in IndyCar history on aprail 20, taking the Indy japan 300 after the top contenders were forced to pit for fuel in the final laps. she had won in her 50th career IndyCar start taking the leap from Castroneves on the 198th lap in the 200-lap race.

What is Tamil Nadu Vision 2025?

On Aprail 12, tamil Nadu Vision 2025 was presented in TN Vision Summit organised by Confederation of Indian Industry(CII). it is a 15- minute video and vision document prepared by the CII.Vision 2025 aspires for universal literacy, higher education for 50% of the population, healthcare infrastructure with 2.5 lakh hospital beds, 100% poverty alleviation, installed capacity of 1 lakh MW, quality drinking water at low cost and ten fold increase in income of the farmers.

China defeated South Korea 3-1 in Jakarta to win their third straight Thomas Cup Title.
The man who knew infinity is the biography of S.Ramanujan.
Sonia- A biography written by by Rasheed Kidvai

Operational Range of various Agni Missiles
Agni-1- 850 Km
Agni-II-3300-4800 Km
Agni-III- 3500-5500 Km
Agni-IV – 5000 Km

According to Economic Survey 2007-08
GDP (At Factor Cost) in 2007-08 was 43,03,654
Growth Rate at factor cost in 2007-08 in GDP is 13.6%
GDP (At Market Price) in year 2007-08 was 47,13,148
Growth Rate at Market Price in GDP in 2007-08 was 13.7%
Per Capita income in year 2007-08 was 33,299
Growth rate in Per Capita income was 12.3%
Kishan Maharaj who died recently was a famous Tabla Mastero.
Justine Henin of Belgium is a former world No.1 Player who had recently announced her retirement on May, 2008 is Justine Henin.
World's Youngest Democracy - Bhutan
World's Youngest Republic - Nepal

What is 'Forex' a term we commonly comes across ?

The foreign exchange currency or (forex or FX) market refers to the market for currencies . Transactions in this market typically involve one party purchasing a quantity of one currency in exchange for paying a quantity of another. The FX market is the largest and most liquid financial market in the world, and includes trading between large banks, central banks , currency speculators, corporations, governments, and other institutions.

Mark Ramprakash in August 2008 became the first player of the decade to reach 100 first class hundreds.

Forbes Magazine has released a list of 'best countries to do bussiness'. India has slipped 13 places to 64th position.

15th SAARC Summit held in Colombo.

According to the latest figure released by UN, world economy to grow by 1.81.

Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament- Argentina defeated India 2-1

Thailand moots five nation rice cartel in Asia.

Animal's People - A book written by Indra Sinha.

Bangkok hosted the 64th session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

India ranks 128 out of 177 Countries in the HDI ranking done by United Nations.

Bazen Chariot was the codeename of one of the biggest ever war game to be organised by the Indian Army and the Air Force in recent years.

India is set to sign the biggest ever deal with the US worth $2.2 billion for the eight Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance(LRMR) aircrafts.

Hockey Champions Trophy won by Australia by defeating Spain.

108th US open Golf won by Tiger wood

what is Virtual Banking?

Banking through Computer Networking and without having physical existence such as a branch infrastructure is known as Virtual Banking.

India Japan had signed a currency swap deal, according to which both countries will be able to swap Rupee and Yen against Dollar up to $ 3 billion.

Federal Reserves is the financial organisation of USA.

Orobanche is a total root parasite.

Cuscutta is a total stem parasite.

Striga is a Demi-root parasite

The Punjab Government and the UNWTO will jointly provide the state as a global tourist centre and a decision to this effect was taken on June 5 2008 .

Mumbai, the financial capital of India, is ranked seven among the World's most financially active 75 cities in the world. New Delhi and Banglore are the two other Indian cities that are at 61 and 66th position respectively.

According to a world Bank report, India has emerged as the second largest seller of carbon credits with 6% share in 2007 while China tops the list with 73%.

According to UN estimates fifty five percent of India's population amounting to 900 million people would move to cities by 2050.

Baku has been rated as the dirtiest city in the world.

My Country My Life is an autobiography of L K Advani.

Joseph E. Stiglitz and Linda J. Bilmer are the author of the book 'The Three Trillion Dollar War'.

The official Logo of the 2010 Commomwealth Games is Shera and the theme is Come out and play.

The Union Cabinet on Jan 10 has cleared a proposal allowing the hike in the monthly cheque of the president from 50,000 to 1 lakh, and from 40,000 to 85,000 for Vice president.

The first ever joint military exercise between India and China named 'Hand in Hand 2007' took place in Yunnan, China.

Kerala has been declared Total Banking State providing atleast one account per household.

Vaclav Klaus is the new Czech Republic president.

Big TV is the Direct to Home Services launched by Reliance Communications(RCOM)

What is Financial Inculsion?
The availability of banking and payment services to all sections of indian population without discrimination is the prime objective of the public policy.Financial Inculsion means the delivery of banking services at an affordable cost to the vast sections of disadvantaged and low income groups.
58th International Astronautical Congress was held in Hydreabad.
Javed Akhtar wrote the song 'Passing out parade' of the Indian Millitary Academy.
India on May21, finalized a draft to divide it's over 7000 km long coastal belt into four zone to conserve the biodiversity and better management of disasters. The Coastal Zone Management (CMZ) area is classified as CMZ1,(ecologically sensitive), CMZ2 areas like coastal municipalities, CMZ3 open areas that includes coastal waters up to territorial limits and CMZ4 comprising Andamans and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, offshore Islands and Islands in Coastal waterways.
Assocham has launched free MBA trainning to Backward classes.
Chetan Anand won the Nepal open Badminton Championship beating another Indians JBS
Vidyadhar21-11,21-7 in the finalin Kathmandu

Now a days banking exams contains questions that requires some basic information of banking. So I have tried to add some notes on basic principles and management of Banking

Core Banking Solutions (CBS) or Centralised Banking Solution is the process which is completed in a centralized environment i.e. under which the information relating to the Customer’s account ( i.e. financial dealings, profession, income, family memberetc.) is stored in the Central Server of the Bank (that is available to all networked branches)instead of branch server only.Depending upon the need of the bank, it can perform all or limited operations. The CBS system is advantageous to both bank as well as customers in many ways
Banks:
Standardization of the processes within banks
Availability of accurate data & better use of infrastructure.
Better asset Liability Management
Better Risk Management
.Increased business voume
Better customer Services.
Customers:
Better Fund Management.
Less chances of errors resulting in high accuracy of transactions.
Ability to access the account from any branch. Thus increasing the mobility of the customers.

The "state of tiger-copredators and prey in India" report, released in New Delhi on Feburary 12,2008 said that there have been an overall decrease in tiger population except in Tamil Nadu where the numbers have gone up substantially from 60 in 2000-01 to 76. India has lost more than 50% population of tigerpopulation in the last 5 yearswith the number remaining to 1411 from3642 in 2001-02 census.

On Aprail 1,2008 Great Britain "Point Based System Tier 1"(PBS)replaced Highly Skilled Migrant Programme.

Union Finance Minister P.Chidambaram appreciated the state of Chhattisgarh for procurement of wheat and rice.

The National stock Exchange on Aprail 8,2008 launched Volatility index called India VIX based on the Nifty 50 option Prices. This index would trace the volatility of share prices based on the option price of the stocks on the daily basis. Volatility Index is a measure of the amount by which an underlying index is expected to fluctuate in the near term based on the order book of the underlying index options.

Eminent Film maker and pioneer alternative cinema Mrinal Sen was on July filicitated with the Lifetime achievemnt award at the 10th edition of the Osian's Cinefest Film Festival 2008.

India unveiled the "look East" policy in 1991. East Asia including- China, South Korea Japan and ASEAN is today India's largest trading partner ahead of EU and the US.

India has signed $42 million "Country ProgrammeIndia 2008-2012" with the UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organisation) to strengtehen the competitiveness and productivity of it's industrial enterprises, with special focus on employment generation and greening of the industry.the five year programme signed in Viena in May 16 will focus on key manufacturing sectors especially SME clusters, in order to enhance employment generation and to ensure a more balanced and inclusive pattern of growth.

Novelist Salman Rushdie has being awarded Knighthood award by the British Empire Queen for his services to the Literature.

Oprah Winfey topped the Forbes list of the '100 Most Powerful Celebrities' for the second consecutive year. She makes yearly earning of $275 million.

World Bank with Robert B. Zoellick as it's President sanctioned a loan of US $944 million to India so that it can strengthen it's rura finance system, vocational trainning and improve it's water Management System.

Indonesia has decided to come out of membership of OPEC.

The book 'Towards Hunger Free World' is written by M.S. Swaminathan.

Jet Airways became the first Indian-based Airlines to operate flight to China.

World's first real sunmersible car is sQuaba.

Central Excise day is celebrated on Feb 24.

Nafisa Ali is the chairperson of the Children's Film Society.

Kerala has the highest monthly per capita in consumer expenditure (MPCE) in both the rural and urban areas. Rural Chhatisgarh ahas recorded the lowest average and Bihar is at the bottom on the urban front. According to the latest statistics on 'Household, Consumer expenditure in India in 2005-06 based on the data of the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO)' the average national MPCE in rural india was Rs 625 and Rs 1171 in the urban regions.

"People with Disabilities in India: From commitments to outcomes" A World Bank report, according to which Childrens with disability are around four or five times less likely to be in school than the Scheduled Caste and Schedule Tribe children.

Shiv Shankar Chowrasia from Kolkata emerged on Feburary 10, 2008 as the first Indian sportsperson to recieve the single biggest cheque of $416,660( Rs.1.61 Cr) in India. He achieved this outstanding feet by clinching the title at the Emmar MGF Indian Masters golf Championship held in the New Delhi.

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Feburary 13, 2008 announced discovery of gas reserves for the first time in the deep sea block in the Krishna Godavari basin off East Coast. The discovery was made in block KG-DWN-2003/1, lying about 50 km from Manchilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh. the discovery was named Dhirubhai-39

Boeing Company and Tal Manufacturing Solutions Ltd. (TALMSL) entered into an agreement for manufacturing structural components for the American aerospace major's 787 Dreamliner airplane programme.In a report released on Feburary 7, 2008, The World Health Organisation claimed that India has the second largest number of smokers in the world after China.

The Govt. will provide Visa on arrival to citizen of 18 countries from Oct 2009. They will also be allowed to avail multiple visa with 5-years validity at the airports. these countries include US Netherland, Japan, France, Belgium, Newzealand, sweeden, Luxemberg, Finland, South Korea, Vietnam, Chile, Mexico, Argentina, Chile and the UK.

The Ministry of Defence has selected Mohali in Punjab as the location for setting up it's prestigious National Defence University.

SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) was established in India on Aprail 12,1992 in accordance with the provision of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act,1992.

The preable of SEBI describes the basic functions of the securities and Exchange Board of India as "... to protect the intrest of incestors in securities and to promote the development of and to regulate the securities market and for matters connected there with or incidental thereto".

Dr. Sainudeen Pattazhy who has carried out pioneer research on 'Red Rain' which occured in Kerala in 2001 now has a minor planet named after him. The minor planet which was earlier called as 5718 CD4 was discovered by US-based space scientist Dr, R. Rajmohan.

Renowned marathi playwritter Vijay Tendulkar passed away in Pune on May 19, 2008. He was a political journalist and a screenplay writter. He is known for Shantata! court chalu ahe', Ghasiram Kotwal (1972) and Shakaram Binder (1972). He also wrote screenplay for Hindi films like 'Ardha Satya"

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna : M.S.Dhoni is only the second cricketer to be be selected for the award after Sachin Tendulkar who recieved the award in 1997.

Arjuna Award: Avneet Kaur Sidhu (Shooting), Chitra K Soman (Athletics), Johnson Varghese (Boxing), Harika Dronavalli (Chess), Arjun Atwal (Golf), Farman Basha (Power Lifting, Disabled category), Prabhjot Singh (Hockey), Tombi Devi (Judo), Anup Sridhar (Badminton), Bajranglal Takhar (Rowing), Alka Tomar (Wrestling)
Dhyan Chand award:Hakam Singh (Athletics), Mukhbain Singh (Hockey), Gian Singh (Wrestling)
Dronacharya award: Sanjeeva Kumar Singh (Archery), Jagdish Singh (Boxing), G E Sridharan (Volleyball), Jagminder Singh (Wrestling)

The negotiations at World Trade Organisation held at the end of July failed because the US and EU were not willing to scrap huge subsidies that they were giving to their farmers.

Miss Universe 2008 is Dayana Mendoza (Miss Venezuela)

Standard Chartered Private Bank has been named the "Global Best Private Money" by Euromoney for it's performance in 2007. The factors on which Euromoney gave the awards were risk management, focus on growth markets, achievementsin performance, growth in client base and a commitment to client service and advisory as success factors.

Centurion Bank of Punjab merged with HDFC Bank with effect from May 23, 2008

Bharat Nirman Project:
Under this project, every village to be provided electricity: remaining 1, 25,000 villages to be electrified by 2009 as well as connect 2.3 crore households.
Every habitation over 1000 population and above (500 and hilly tribal areas) to be provided in all weather roads: remaining 66,802 villages habitations to be covered by 2009.
Every habitation to have a safe source of drinking water. 55067 uncovered habitations to be covered by 2009. in addition all habitations which have slipped from full coverage to partial coverage due to failure of source and habitations which have water quality problem to be addressed.
Every village to be connected by telephone: remaining 66822 villages to be covered by November 2007.
10 million hectare of additional irrigation capacity to be created by 2009.
60 lakh houses to be constructed for rural poor.
Anne Enright's The Gathering has won the Booker Prize 2007.
The Golden Notebook is written by Doris Lessing, winner of the 2007 Noble Prize for literature.
What are Participatory Notes?
Participatory Notes are instrument used by foreign funds not registered in India, for trading in the domestic market. they are a derivative instrument issued against an underlying security that permits the holders to get a share in the income from the underlying securities.
According to a perort by United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, India ranks 41st in industrial competitiveness. Singapore tops the list.

Science friction writter Arthur C. Clarke died on march 19.

kolkata has been declared as UNESCO's world city of literature.

Oxford university has introduced a new degree i.e. MSc in contemporary India.

who is Samak Sandaravej?

Prime- minister of Thailand

Fehmida Mirza is the first women speaker in it's 60 year long history.HDFC Bank has incorporated 'jitter-enabled' card reders in all it's 1910 ATM's in order to prevent skimming or capturing of card details by fradulents.

The centre on Aug 14, 2008 announced a new employment generation scheme to create more than 37 lakh jobs by merging the existing Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana(PMRY) and the Rural Employment Generation Programme(REGP) . The financial implication of the new scheme to be implemented over a four year period is estimated at Rs. 4485 Crore.

The Govt. on Aug 14 2008 approved more than Rs. 921 Crore for development of infrastructure in the fast growing leather industry during the 11th plan period. The Indian leather industry is estimated to be about Rs. 40,000 crore is growing at a rate of 20%. export is about 15,000 crore and have been growing by 13-15%

State Bank of India has become the second bank in the world to have more than 10,000 branches, after China's ICBC. SBI has opened it's 10,000 branch on 9th March 2008 at Puduvayal a small town 85 Km from Madurai

World Bank has announced creation of two International climate investment funds . one is the Clean Technology Fund designed to accelerate investments in state-of-the-arttechnological solution to help developing countries mitigate the rise in greenhouse gas emission in developing countries. second fund is Strategic Climate Fund which will help more vulnarable countries adapt their development programme to the impacts of climate change while also addressing issues of forest management and access to green energy.

Weightage of diffrent sector in GDP is as follows:

Agriculture -17.8%

Services - 55.6%

Industry - 26.6%

Indian economy grew by 7.9% in the first quarter (Apr-June) of the current Fiscal the slowest in the past three and a half year. the economy had grown by 9.2% in the first quarter of 2007-08.

India has the fifth largest area cultivated under genetically modified crops. According to international Service for the Aquisition of Agribiotech Applications, (ISAAA), the total acerage planted under all GM crops amounted to 114.3 million hectare. of this 57.7mh is under UD followed by 19.1 by Argentina, 15mh by Brazil, 7mh by Canada and India 6.2 mh. in India the entire area is under one Crop i.e. cotton. of the total 114.3 mh global GM area, 58.6 mh was devoted to transgenic soybean. in India, Maharastra has the largest area under GM Crop.

On May 18, 2008 book "Animal's People" of Indian-Origin writter Indra Sinha based on Bhopal gas tragedy was adjudged best book of this year in Europe and South Asia by the Commonwealth.

Manik Sarkar is the Chief Mimister of Tripura.

First Indian women ambassadot to be nominated to Qatar is Padmasree Warior.

Chinese and Russian police starts a three day joint exercise " Cooperation 2007" in the suburbs of Moscow.

Vijay Malya buys a 50% stake in Spykar Formula 1

13 persons have been awarded the Padma Vibhushan Award 2008.

According to data released by National Crime Report Bureau, Maharastra has maximum cases of suicide by farmer.According to Forbes Magazine, Out of the world's 10 wealthiest CEO, 4 positions have been grapped by Indians.

ISB- Indian school of Bussiness hyderabad ranked among the top 20 B-school of the world.

Dakar agreement is signed between Sudan and Chad.

According to umited Nation, globally over 2.1 million kids under 15 have AIDS.

US missile SM-3 hits defunct spy Satellite (USA-193)

Dubai to build longest arched Bridge.

SAARC nations joins to fight illegal trade.

Punjab is the worst state in term of child sex ratio.

UP has the largest number of child labourer.

Reliance mutual Fund has been awarded the fund of the year award 2007.

UNESCO celebrates 2008 as 'year of languages', slogan is Language Matters.

Coca Cola Company has been awarded the golden peacock award for corporate social responsibility.

The Dabur group has entered into the retail sector with it's new venture. the name of new venture is LITE-BITE.

The Server of the computer is also known as Gateway.

The govt. has cleared 20 foreign direct investment that will bring in RS. 1962.05 cr including Rs. 924 cr. by UTV S0ftware Communications.The animated feature film Return of Hanuman has won an award for the best animated feature film at the FICCI frames event in Mumbai.

Indian open badminton Championship held at Gachibowli Stadium in Hydreabad won by Ponsana Boonsak of Thailand by defeating Chetan Anand of India.

Serzh Sarkisyan sworn in as new Armenian President.

Sport News

India clinched their fourth successive women's cricket Asia cup title by thrashing Sri Lanka by a massive 117 runs in the final at the welagendara stadium in kurunegala, Srilanka on may 11.

Brazil's Ferrari Driver Fellipe Massa Won the turkish Grand Prix for the third successive year.

Lewis Hamilton won the Monaco Grand Prix.

Monte Carlo Masters- wom by Rafel Nadal

Hamburg Masters- won by Rafel Nadal

Rome masters- won by Novak Djokovic

National under 9 chess won by Harshal Sahi of Delhi.

English Soccer Player of the year - Cristano Ronaldo

Indian weightlifter Kavita Devi has been baned for two years after failing a Drug test.

Azlan Shah Cup Hockey- won by Argentina, defeated India in the final 1-2.

Mobile service Provider Vodafone Essar has been cjhosen as official telecom Patner for the DLF Indian Premier League for a period of five years.

National Rural Employment Scheme extended to all districts from Aprail 1.

48 indian companies are listed in the Global 2000 list of Billionare Industries who have billion dollar size.

American John Griggs Thompson and Belgian Jacques Tits won the 6 million kroner ($1.2mn) Abel Prize for Mathematics for their contribution to the group theory of Algebra.