1. HDFC Bank included world’s top 50 most valuable banks
in 2014

i. India’s top private sector Bank HDFC was named among 50 most valuable
banks in 2014 with a market capitalization of 41.58 billion US dollar. It was
ranked at 45th position.

ii. The top 50 list is compiled by Relbanks, HDFC was ranked at 45th
position.

iii. State Bank of India was ranked at 51 and ICICI Bank was ranked at 55th
position.

iv. Well Fargo of the USA is the largest bank in the world based on market
capitalisation with 284. 39 billion US dollar which is followed by Industrial & Commercial
Bank of China (ICBC) and JP
Morgan Chase & Co.    

2. Deep Kumar Upadhyay is new Nepal’s ambassador
to India

i. Deep Kumar Upadhyay appointed as a new Nepal ambassador
to India.

ii. He is a veteran Nepali Congress leader and former
minister of Nepal.

iii. The post has been lying vacant for more than
three years. The decision to nominate Upadhyay was taken at a Cabinet meeting
headed by Prime Minister Sushil Kumar Koirala.

3. ICICI Bank launches money transfer service on Twitter

i.  ICICI Bank today introduce its
banking services on Twitter, which will help customers to transfer money
through the micro-blogging Web site.

ii. Savings account customers can register their Twitter account with a
onetime password and link their account number.

iii. Customer can send up to Rs. 5,000 per transaction with a limit of Rs.
10,000 per day. The online NEFT charges will be applied.

iii. Both the recipient and sender need to have a Twitter account.

iv. This facility also enables customers to view their account balance, view
the recent transactions and recharge mobile pre-paid through Twitter.

4. Eminent scholar
Rajni Kothari passes away

i. Eminent
political scientist, scholar Rajni Kothari passed away. He was 80 years
old.

ii. He was
the founder of the Centre for
the Study and Developing Societies (CSDS), a social sciences and humanities research institute, based in Delhi.

iii. He
started Lokayan (Dialogue of the People) forum for interaction between activists
and intellectuals  in 1980, which was
awarded by Right Livelihood
Award, also known as “Alternative Nobel in 1985.

5. Frank Islam
awarded with Martin Luther King Award

i. Eminent Indian – American entrepreneur and
philanthropist conferred with Martin Luther King Jr. Award for his contribution
to the legacy of the great leader through his efforts in international service
and civil engagement.

ii. He was born in Azamgarh (Uttar Pradesh) to a farmer
father, and moved to US at the age of 15 years, with less than USD 500 in his
pocket, to become a successful entrepreneur.

6. Mark and Ellen
Hoog named FIH Player-of-the-year 2014

i. Australian
captain Mark Knowles and midfielder of the Netherland Ellen were named as the
International Hockey Federation (FIH) Player of the Year 2014 in men and women
category, respectively.

7. AB de
Villiers scored fastest century in ODI

i. South African captain AB de Villiers scored
fastest century in one day international match against West Indies.

ii. He scored 100 runs in just 31 balls and
breaks the record of Corey Anderson of New Zealand who scored 100 in 36 bals.

iii. He also scored fastest half century (50 runs) in 16
balls and breaks the record of previous best mark (50 in 17 balls) of Sri
Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya against Pakistan in 1996.  

iv. Overall, De Villiers made 149 off 44 balls.
His innings included 16 sixes, which equalled the record set by Rohit Sharma on
the way to a score of 209 for India against Australia in Bangalore in 2013/14.

v. With the help of Ab De Villiers (149) and
Hashim Amla (153) century, South Africa set record total of 439/2 in 50 overs
against West Indies.

vi. South Africa defeated West Indies by 148
runs as West Indies team score only 291 in 7 wickets in 50 overs.