1. Indian Railways, Indian Army among world’s
biggest employers: WEF Study
i. Two Indian
organizations, India Army and Indian Railways are among the world’s biggest
employers. It was revealed in a research published by the World Economic Forum
(WEF). Both organisations employ around 2.7 million people together.
ii. Indian Railways
was placed at 8th position with 1.4 million staff, while Indian Army was placed
at 9th position with 1.3 million employees in the list of world’s biggest
employers.
iii. US department
of Defense: It is the world’s biggest employer with over 3.2 million employees.
iv. People’s
Liberation Army (PLA): Chinese military is 2nd biggest employer with 2.3
million employees.
2. Bharti Airtel
becomes 3rd largest mobile operator in world
i. Sunil Mittal-led
Bharti Airtel has become the world’s third largest mobile operator with 303
million subscriber.
ii. With operations
in 20 countries, Bharti Airtel, which is present in India, Bangladesh, Sri
Lanka and Africa, has “become the third largest mobile operator in the world in
terms of subscribers”, the company said in a statement.
iii. Quoting latest
data published by World Cellular Information Service (WCIS), it said Airtel has
over 303 million mobile subscribers across its operations and has moved up one
position in the global rankings.
iv. China Mobile,
according to WCIS, is the top mobile operator in the world with 626.27 million
subscribers. Vodafone Group of UK ranks second with 403.08 million subscribers.
3. IDFC appoints
former CAG Vinod Rai as independent director
i. Infrastructure
financing firm IDFC today appointed former Comptroller and Auditor General of
India (CAG) as independent director.
ii. The appointment
has been made with immediate effect.
iii. Rai also
worked as Financial Services Secretary. He was director on several boards
including the State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, and Life Insurance
Corporation of India.
4. Afghan prez Ghani nominates first female judge to
Supreme Court
i. Afghan President
Ashraf Ghani nominated a female judge to the Supreme Court on Tuesday in an
unprecedented move that has angered some Islamic conservatives.
ii. Anisa Rasouli,
the head of the Afghan Women Judges Association and a former juvenile court
judge, was the only female nominated to the nine-member bench after the
announcement was delayed due to opposition by a group of Islamic conservatives
earlier this month.
iii. President
Ghani's wife Rula stepped into the limelight during the presidential election
last year and has been actively campaigning for women's rights since then.
5. Nadia district
in West Bengal wins UN Public Service Award 2015
i. Nadia district
in West Bengal has won the United Nations Public Service Award 2015 in the
category of improving delivery of public services for or eliminating open
defecation in the district.
ii. The award was
presented by the acting Secretary General of the UN Lenni Montiel to District
Magistrate of Nadia and Sabhapati of Nadia Zilla Parishad in Medellin,
Colombia.
iii. It was a
collaborative effort with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World
Bank along with state government and local governments.
iv. The programme
was initiated in 2013. In one-and-half-years, toilets were built in 5 lakh
households and over 200 cluster toilets in public places.
6. HDFC Bank launches '30-min auto', '15-min
2-wheeler' loans
i. Country's second
largest private sector lender HDFC Bank on Monday launched '30-min auto'
and '15-min 2-wheeler' loan schemes, for which customers have to provide only
their biometric details.
ii. The 30-minute
auto loan is available for HDFC Bank customers, as well as others. With this
technology-enabled solution, loans for two-wheelers can also be approved within
15 minutes
iii. Any person
willing to avail a loan can walk into an auto dealership or any other touch
points of the bank and provide the Aadhaar card number and fingerprint, it
said.
7. Rahul Agarwal is Lenovo India MD
i. Technology major
Lenovo on Monday said it has appointed Rahul Agarwal as the Managing Director
of its India operations with immediate effect.
ii. Agarwal
succeeds Amar Babu, who will now take on a regional mandate as Chief Operating
Officer, Asia Pacific and Chairman, Lenovo India.
iii. Rahul Agarwal
takes charge at a time when Lenovo is gearing up for its next phase of growth,
diversifying beyond PCs into the smart connected devices while maintaining a
strong PC focus
8. Adelaide Oval to host cricket's first ever
day-night Test
i. Australia and
New Zealand will play cricket's first day-night Test in Adelaide from late
November.
ii. The Test,
running November 27-December 1, will feature pink balls that Cricket Australia
chief James Sutherland believes will hold up to Test match play.
iii. The Test is
one of six at home for the Australians - three each against New Zealand and
West Indies - from November 5 until January 7.