Enda Kenny wins second term as Ireland’s prime minister

 Enda Kenny has been re-elected as prime minister of Ireland after 10 weeks of deadlock that followed an inconclusive general election in February. 

• Kenny is the first Fine Gael PM to win re-election in Irish history, though his triumph is marred by a minority administration that is propped up by independent MPs and, more crucially, by Fianna Fáil.
•  The party, which will remain on the opposition benches, has agreed to support the Fine Gael government for a period of two years in an unprecedented political ceasefire between the rivals.
• Kenny received 59 votes, with 49 against, in the 158-member parliament – by far the fewest votes ever received for a winning premier in Ireland.

IDBI Bank opens IFSC Banking Unit at GIFT City

Public sector lender, IDBI Bank announced opening of its IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) at India’s first and only International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at Gujarat International Finance Tec – City (GIFT) near Gandhinagar.

• The bank informed that it became the first Public Sector bank to start functions in GIFT-IFSC. 
• The IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) allows IDBI Bank to deliver a complete range of products to its clients with foreign currency funding requirements.

Musician Angélique Kidjo honoured with Amnesty International Award

 World-renowned musician Angélique Kidjo and three inspirational African youth activist movements have been declared this year’s joint winners of the prestigious Ambassador of Conscience Award for 2016.

•  The award will be shared between Benin-born artist Angélique Kidjo, one of world’s most successful African singer-songwriters, and the activist groups Y’en a marre from Senegal, le Balai Citoyen from Burkina Faso and Lutte pour le Changement (LUCHA) from DRC. 
• All will be honoured at the awards ceremony in Dakar, Senegal, on 28 May.

Projects worth Rs. 2446 Crore approved under Namami Gange Programme

Giving a major fillip to Namami Gange programme the Empowered Steering Committee (ESC) of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) has approved projects for Development of Ghats and crematoria in the stretch from Haridwar to Uttarakhand Border in Uttarakhand, Garhmukteshwar in UP, Buxar, Hajipur and Sonepur of Bihar, Sahibganj, Rajmahal and Kanhaiya Ghat of Jharkhand and Delhi and afforestation along the banks of river Ganga. 

• The total estimated cost of the projects is Rs. 2446 crore. 

Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba appointed as Chief of the Naval Staff

 Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba has been appointed as next Chief of the Naval Staff. 

• He will be 23rd chief of Indian Navy and 21st as an Indian. 
• He will assume the charge on 31 May 2016 and shall have full three-year-term in office till 31 May 2019.
•  He will succeed incumbent Navy Chief Admiral Robin K. Dhowan, who will superannuate from the post on 31 May 2016.

SBI launches card-less payment solution for offline transactions

 

State Bank of India, the country’s largest public sector bank, has launched a mobile payment solution that will enable customers to make digital payments at offline stores by scanning a QR (quick response) code on their smartphones.

•  The service has been launched in Bengaluru with a sizable number of merchants and will soon expand into other cities. 
• Dubbed mVisa, the solution is a card-less way for customers to pay for goods at offline stores, and will be available to all SBI credit card, debit card and net banking users. 
• The solution which is bank agnostic will be accessible to customers through the company’s SBI Anywhere app.

Kotak Mahindra Bank opens IFSC banking unit at GIFT City

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd became the fourth bank to open its IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) at India’s first and only International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) City.

• The private sector banking and financial major offers a range of financial services, including transaction banking.
•  At IBU, the bank expects a balance sheet of $one billion in the next three years.