SBI board approves merger of 5 associate banks, BMB with itself

- State Bank of India (SBI) board has approved merger of its five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) with itself to create a global-sized bank with assets worth over Rs 37 lakh crore.
- These five associate banks are State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Travancore and Bharatiya Mahila Bank.
Download mobile friendly notes
Install GK Digest Android App here
Doha Bank set to open branch in Kerala

- Doha Bank QSC is formally inaugurating its 1st branch in Kerala on August 27 by the State Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
- The branch is located at first floor of Lulu Mall in Edappally (Kochi) Kerala.The branch offers all banking products to corporate and retail customers.
- The Bank has its other two branches in Mumbai.
Union Power Ministry launches portal for electronic bidding and e-reverse auction

- Union Power Ministry Piyush Goyal has launched a portal in New Delhi for electronic bidding and e-reverse auction of tariff-based electricity transmission projects to enhance transparency in transmission sector.
- The portal is launched to mark a shift from present manual auction process to electronic mode for determining the lowest bidder for the projects.
Sachin Tendulkar adopts drought-affected village under SAGY
- Cricket icon and Rajya Sabha MP Sachin Tendulkar has selected Donja village in Osmanabad district of Maharashtra for development under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).
- Under SAGY,each member of parliament needs to choose one village from their constituency and develop it as a model village.
- The programme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan, on 11 October 2014.
Maharashtra launches India’s first Crime Criminal Tracking Network System
- The Maharashtra Government has become first state in the country to launch comprehensive ‘Crime Criminal Tracking Network System’ (CCTNS) in Mumbai.
- It was launched through the operationalisation of 34 cyber laboratories across the state in order to combat growing cybercrimes.
- All police stations in the state will be linked with one another for sharing information about crimes in their respective jurisdictions.
IIT-Kanpur adopts five villages under Namami Gange
- The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kanpur has adopted 5 villages (Katri Ladhva Khera, Ramel Nagar, Khoyra Katree, Pratapur and Hari Hindpur) in Uttar Pradesh under the Namami Gange programme.
- Civil engineering department of IIT-Kanpur will use its expertise to restrict the flow of sewage into the River Ganga.
- IIT-Kanpur is one of the 13 educational institutes directed by the Union Government to adopt villages and turn them into role models in sanitation for others to replicate.
World’s highest & longest glass bottomed bridge to open this weekend
- Much heralded world’s highest and longest glass bottomed bridge in China will open this weekend to visitors
- It connects two mountain cliffs in what are known as the Avatar mountains in Zhangjiajie, Hunan province.
- The 430 meters long bridge costed 3.4 million dollars to build and stands 300 meters above ground.
Narsingh Yadav’s Olympic dream over as CAS hands him 4 years ban
- Indian wrestler Narsingh Yadav’s (74-kg) hopes of participating in the Rio Olympics have been dashed .
- The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has denied him permission to take part and handed him a four-year doping ban.
- He was scheduled to take on Frenchman Zelimkhan Khadjiev in qualification round.
Usain Bolt wins 3rd consecutive 200m Gold
- Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt retained the 200 metres Gold for the second time.
- Bolt clocked 19.78 seconds to finish at the top of the podium.
- Earlier, he had won the 100 metres Gold, is eyeing an unprecedented treble.