Operation Sulaimani to eradicate Poverty in Kozhikode District

The “Operation Sulaimani” has been launched by the Kozhikode district Collector with the slogan “Food for the Hungry” to eradicate poverty from the Kozhikode district of Kerala.

•  Its’ an initiative by the district administration in collaboration with the state Hotel and Restaurants Association and numerous non-governmental organisations, to eliminate hunger by providing food free of cost to the needy.

About Operation Sulaimani  :

• Operation Sulaimani is a food programme introduced in the city of Kozhikode, India by the District administration and Kerala Hotel and Restaurants Association and is to enable those who cannot afford a meal to have food with dignity and to avoid food wastage in the city.
• Food coupons will be distributed at local village and taluk offices and at select hostels at railway station bus stand.
•  Then these coupons can be redeemed to have food at hotels who are members of the project Operation Sulaimani was introduced by Prasanth Nair IAS, the District collector of Kozhikode.

Natekar became first non-cricketer to become a member of CCI’s Legend Club

Badminton ace Nandu Natekar in April 2016 became the first non-Cricketer to be inducted into the Legends Club founded by the late Cricket Club of India (CCI) president Raj Singh Dungarpur.

•  Natekar was inducted into the club along with 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev, who became the sixth cricketer to be inducted in the club.
• The two, Nandu and Kapil were inducted into the Club’s legend group after consultation with the Cricket Club of India (CCI) president, Kekoo Nicholson.

About Nandu Natekar :

• Nandu Natekar is a former Indian badminton national champion.
• Natekar has won over 100 national and international titles for India in a career spanning 15 years.
• Natekar was the first Indian to win a title abroad, in 1956.
•  Natekar is a director of Natekar Sports and Fitness (NSF).

Lobsang Sangay re-elected Tibetan PM

Tibetan legal scholar and politician Lobsang Sangay has been re-elected as the Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharamsala.

• Darjeeling-born Dr. Sangay, who had first become the Sikyong (equivalent to the Prime Minister) of the Tibetan government-in-exile in August 2011.
• The result was formally declared by Chief Election Commissioner Sonam Chhoplae. Forty-five new members from across the world have also been declared elected along with Mr. Sangay.
• This was the second election after the Dalai Lama stepped down as the head of the government in 2011, preferring to remain only as the religious-spiritual head.

Tibet :

• Tibet is a region on the Tibetan Plateau in Asia. 
• It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Qiang and Lhoba peoples and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese and Hui people.

Experian India launches new fraud solution for banking and insurance

 Experian, the global information services company, launched the ‘Hunter Fraud Score’, a new scoring mechanism that measures the probability of fraud in a credit application across banking and insurance industries.

•  The new score will help retail finance providers and insurance companies in India significantly increase their efficiency in fraud detection.
•  Businesses will be able to identify applications that should be screened for potential fraud, and prioritise those that have a high probability of being fraudulent. 
• This will enable them to potentially lower their fraud losses and focus on approving applications from genuine customers.
• Hunter prevents application fraud by matching credit application data against multiple data sources, including the shared fraud data. It comprises several rules that work towards identifying inconsistencies in credit applications.
• The suspicious applications are moved into the investigation tool for further analysis and action.

National Food Security Act implemented in Manipur

Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh declared that the National Food Security Act has been implemented in the State.

•  Mr. Singh made the announcement at a function organised by the Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution department at Sangaiprou Godown.
• The Act would lay stress on those possessing Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) cards.
•  As per the Act, 11,796 metric tonnes of rice for April was released and one kg of rice would be made available at Rs.3 per kg to the beneficiaries. 
• AAY card holders can avail 35 kg of rice per a month.

National Food Security Act :

• The National Food Security Act, 2013  is an Act of the Parliament of India which aims to provide subsidized food grains to approximately two thirds of India's 1.2 billion people.
•  It was signed into law on 12 September 2013, retroactive to 5 July 2013.
• The National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA 2013) converts into legal entitlements for existing food security programmes of the Government of India.

DBS Bank rolls out mobile-only bank in India

DBS Bank launched a ‘mobile-only bank’ in India. 

• The ‘digibank’ uses technologies, such as biometrics and artificial intelligence, to enable paperless, signature-less and branchless bank.
• The bank will leverage biometrics-enabled ID and Aadhaar card to ensure that that there is no paperwork.
•  It will provide customer service via a 24x7 artificial intelligence-driven virtual assistant, which understands natural language and has learning ability, so that it is able to respond in real-time.
• The digital bank will also have an intuitive budget optimiser that will help customers do their budgeting, track expenses and analyse purchasing trends.
•  The function is smart enough to understand customer behaviour and preferences, synthesise data, and provide recommendations. 
• It also has embedded soft token security, avoiding the need to wait for SMS to arrive.
• Account-holders will have no minimum balance requirements, earn 7 per cent interest for accounts opened on digibank and can avail themselves of free cash withdrawals at over 200,000 ATMs nationwide.
•  The account will also provide a physical debit card which can be used across all Visa-enabled online and point-of-sale transactions, as well as overseas.
• DBS India accounts for around 5 per cent of the bank’s global book.

New Zealand's 'stunning' $5 bill named best banknote of the year

New Zealand’s five-dollar ($5) polymer note has been named the banknote of the year for 2015, a “clear winner” among nearly 40 eligible designs from a record 20 countries.

•  The honour is awarded every year by the International Bank Note Society. 
• To be eligible, a banknote must have been issued for the first time during the year of the award, and be in general circulation.
•  It is assessed for its “artistic merit and/or innovative security features”, including use of colour, contrast and balance. 
• Scotland’s Clydesdale Bank five-pound note, Sweden’s 20 kronor note, Russia’s 100 rouble note, and Kazakhstan’s 20,000 tenge note were named as runners-up. 
• The Reserve Bank of New Zealand released the new $5 and $10 notes in October as part of its Brighter Money range. 
• The $5 shows mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary facing the South Island’s Aoraki/Mount Cook, and, on the other side, a rare yellow-eyed penguin and local flora.