1. UN Chief asks India, Pak to exercise maximum restrain at LoC 

(i) UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, has asked both India and Pakistan to exercise maximum control given the increased tension along the Line of Control (LoC).

(ii) He has advised both the nations to address their differences through dialogue, and welcomed the NSA-level talks between them. 

(iii) As decided in a meeting between PM Narendra Modi and Pak PM Nawaz Sharif, National Security  Adviser Ajit Doval is scheduled to meet his Pakistan counterpart Sartaj Aziz in New Delhi for talks on terrorism-related issues for the first time on 23rd August 2015. 

2. Digital banking to bring more money in tax net – FM

(i) Speaking at the launch of the State Bank of India’s digital wallet, ‘SBI Buddy’ on August 18, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that more people coming into the banking fold makes expenditure easier and more importantly, accounting for the money much simpler. He expressed view that this may bring in a lot of money within the official net with a change in consumer habits.

(ii) He also asserted that the prevalence of unaccounted money will come down with increased banking penetration and use of technology in payments. 

3. USAID to mobilise $41 million in India for clean energy projects   

(i) The US Ambassador to India Richard R Verma declared on August 19 that

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will mobilise $41 million (about Rs 268 crores) to fund clean energy projects in India, making off-grid power accessible to one million people.

(ii) Verma, who is in India to attend the India Off-Grid Energy Summit, also launched $8 million PACESetter Fund to accelerate commercialisation of innovation in off-grid clean energy solutions. the two countries have decided to set up the fund on 50:50 sharing basis.

(iii) The fund is a part of President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to strengthen and expand the US-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE).

4. Pahal enters Guinness World Records

(i) Government of India’s LPG subsidy scheme – Pahal – is now in the Guinness World Records for being the largest cash benefit program (household) in the world.

(ii) As on August 19th 2015, over 139 million consumers have joined the scheme and Rs 236.18 billion has already been transferred to their bank accounts. 

(iii) Bharat Petroleum had applied to the Guinness World Record authorities on behalf of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. 

5. Bank of Maharashtra may sell NPAs to clean balance sheet

(i) The state-owned Bank of Maharashtra is considering to sell non- performing assets (NPAs) worth Rs.1,500 – 2000 crore to improve profitability and efficiency parameters. 

(ii) Chairman and MD Sushil Muhnot on August 19 stated that weighed down rise in NPAs to 7.86%, the bank has initially decided to put assets worth Rs.500 crore on sale on September 2. It has also invited bids from asset reconstruction companies to this end. 

(iii) If all goes as planned the bank may sell another Rs.1,000 – Rs.1,500 crore in this fiscal year. 

6. Bengaluru highest in cyber crimes

(i) Bengaluru has recorded the highest number of cyber crime cases in 2014. A total of 675 cases were registered.

(ii) Hyderabad ranks second with 384 cases.

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