CA February 01 & RACE FREE ONLINE EXAM

FORMER UNION MINISTER E AHMAD PASSES AWAY

Former Union Minister E Ahamed has passed away in the wee hours of today after suffering from heart attack. He breathed his last at the RML Hospital in the national capital, hospital sources said. He took ill in the Central Hall of Parliament during the President’s address yesterday. Now, the mortal remains has been kept at his official residence 9 Trimurti Marg in Delhi for public homage till noon and in the afternoon it will be flown to his home town Kannur in Kerala.

ALOK VERMA TAKES CHARGE AS NEW CBI DIRECTOR

Former Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Verma today took charge as the new CBI Director. He will hold the charge of the premier investigating agency for a period of two years. A 1979-batch IPS officer, Mr Verma was selected by a three-member committee comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice J S Khehar and Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge.

SAARC PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE MEETING BEGINS IN KATHMANDU

The programming committee meeting of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has began at Kathmandu today. Senior officials of all eight member countries are participating in the meeting.
Indian delegation is lead by Shri Prashant Agarwal, Joint Secretary (SAARC).During the two day meeting number of issues including budget of SAARC secretariat and its 5 regional centres and regular activities of the Associtation will be discussed. This is the first senior level meeting of Association since postponement of 19th SAARC Summit in November last year. Nepal, the current chair of SAARC had postpone the summit after Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh and India had decided to boycott SAARC summit scheduled in Islamabad last year.

UNION BUDGET 2017: AIIMS TO BE SET UP IN JHARKHAND & GUJARAT

Presenting the Union budget for 2017-18 in the Lok Sabha today, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said two new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will be set up in Jharkhand and Gujarat.

To make doing business easy, the budget proposes several measures. Individual Insurance agents having an income below the taxable limits are exempted from tax deducted at source – TDS.

Considering the wide range of use of LNG as fuel, the budget proposes to reduce the basic customs duty from 5 percent to 2.5 percent.

IRELAND JUST BECAME THE WORLD’S FIRST COUNTRY TO STOP INVESTING IN FOSSIL FUELS

Ireland has voted to be the world’s first country to fully divest public money from fossil fuels

This principle of ethical financing is a symbol to these global corporations that their continual manipulation of climate science, denial of the existence of climate change

DONALD TRUMP BANS 7 NATIONS FROM ENTERING US ON SECURITY ISSUES

The new US President has imposed a controversial 90-day ban on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The decision aims at protecting United States from the entry of foreign terrorists to keep the nation safe.

CHINA MAY DEPLOY 2ND AIRCRAFT CARRIER NEAR SOUTH CHINA SEA

The second carrier is being built at the eastern port of Dalian

The carrier is expected to be completed in the first half of 2017 and would officially join the navy in 2019.

The first carrier, the Liaoning, which is a refitted version of former Soviet Union ship, is based in Qingdao, a port that is close to Japan and South Korea.

CBC MCAA SIGNED BY SEVEN COUNTRIES

7 Countries signed Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement for Country-by-Country Reporting (CbC MCAA)

Seven Countries are Countries Lithuania, Gabon, Hungary, Indonesia, Malta, Mauritius and Russia

Total number of signatories has increased to 57 including India

CbC MCAA is a tax co-operation agreement

Aim: To boost transparency by multinational enterprises (MNEs) by allowing signatories to bilaterally and automatically exchange country-by-country reports

Facilitated as part of the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) Action Plan adopted by the OECD and G20 countries in 2013

BEPS refers to tax avoidance strategies that exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low or no-tax locations

WORLD’S FIRST COUNTRY TO STOP INVESTING IN FOSSIL FUELS

Ireland became the world’s first country to fully divest public money from fossil fuels

The Irish Parliament passed the historic legislation in favour of dropping coal, oil and gas investments from the 8bn (£6.8bn) Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF)

The bill was introduced by Deputy Thomas Pringle

Bill would force the ISIF to sell its investment in fossil fuel industries over the next five years

ISIF is a part of the Republic’s National Treasury Management Agency

SAARC MEMBERS’ ANNUAL MEET TO BE HELD IN NEPAL

Members of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) will meet at Kathmandu

Annual meeting of Programming Committee is going to take place

A number of issues including budget of SAARC secretariat and its 5 regional centres and regular activities of the Associtation will be discussed

INDIA AT SIXTH POSITION AMONG EIGHT GREAT POWERS OF 2017 LIST

India ranked at the 6th position in the annual list of eight great powers for the year 2017 published by leading American foreign policy magazine

The list has been topped by US

Magazine said India is home to the second largest English speaking population in the world

China and Japan equally shares second position

TUMP HOLDS FIRST SUMMIT WITH BRITISH PM

Donald Trump held his first summit with a foreign leader, British Prime Minister Theresa May in his Oval Office

Committed to strengthen US and the UK’s commercial ties and establish trade negotiation agreements

Reaffirmed their commitment to NATO alliance

JAPAN LAUNCHED KIRAMEKI-2 

Japan launched its first military communications satellite Kirameki-2 (kee-RAH-meh-kee 2) satellite

Launched on board of H-2A rocket

The first of three satellites will replace three civilian satellites currently used by Japan’s military

Allow military units to communicate on a high-speed and high-capacity network

Aimed at stepping up Japan’s emergency response capability as well as missile threats from North Korea

CORRUPTION PERCEPTION INDEX –INDIA 79TH POSITION

India is  at 79th position out of 176 countries in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for the year 2016

Released by Transparency International (TI), the Berlin-based corruption watchdog

New Zealand and Denmark, with 90 score, shared the first position jointly as the least corrupt nations

Somalia is the most corrupt country in the list

Finland occupies the third place

Sweden and Switzerland is at the fourth and fifth positions respectively

BAN FOR 90-DAY TO VISITORS OF 7 MUSLIM-MAJORITY NATION

Trump signed an executive order banning visitors from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries for three months

Put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the US

GLOBAL GO TO THINK TANK INDEX REPORT

Lauder Institute, Pennsylvania University, US released  the latest Global Go To Think Tank Index Report

In the category of Asian region, Delhi based Observer Research Foundation (ORF) ranked 5th out of 90 think tanks

ORF ranked as the top think tank in the China, India, Japan and the Republic of Korea category

In world-wide (Non-US) category, ORF ranked 50th out of 150 think tanks

INDIAN BANK REVISES INTEREST RATES FOR FCNR (B) DEPOSITS

Public sector Indian Bank has revised its rates for foreign currency interest rates (banking) on term deposits with immediate effect.

As per the revised interest rate for FCNR (B) deposits, in USD terms, the revised interest rate has been fixed at 2.26 per cent for deposits of one year and above but less than two years from the existing 2.20 per cent.

For deposits of two years and above but less than three years, the interest rates were revised to 2.52 per cent from 2.48 per cent, the city-based bank said in a statement.

GOVERNMENT ALLOCATES RS 1,800 CRORE AS BUDGETARY SUPPORT TO AIR INDIA

The government has put aside Rs 1,800 crore as budgetary allocation for Air India for the financial year 2017-18, less than what the national carrier asked for, in an indication the government continues its squeeze on fund handouts to the loss-making carrier.

In the last financial year, the government had allocated Rs 1,713 crore while the carrier had asked for a total of Rs 3,300 crore. In the supplementary grants, the government allotted Rs 752 crore more making it a total of Rs 2,465 crore.

MARUTI SALES JUMP 27.1% TO 1,44,396 UNITS IN JANUARY

After a lack lustre year-end which saw monthly automobile sales slide to a 16-year low, vehicle manufacturers managed to start off on a good note in 2017.

Passenger vehicle manufacturers Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) and Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) managed to post strong double digit growth in domestic sales in January.

While sales for Maruti Suzuki went up by a robust 25.7% to 133768 units, that of Toyota increased by 21% to 10336 units. Sales for the country’s largest car maker increased in all but one segment – the compact sedan category. Sales of DZire Tour fell by 15% to 3001 units during the month. Sales of mini cars (Alto, WagonR) grew by 10.9% to 37928 units, compact cars (Celerio, Swift, Ritz, Ignis, Baleno, DZire) increased by 25.2% to 55817 units. Volumes in the utility vehicle segment too double driven by the Brezza to 16313.

TATA MOTORS TO BRING NEW TIAGO MODEL, MORE CARS IN ITS QUEST TO GRAB NO 3 SPOT

Tata Motors is readying a twin of its Tiago hatchback, but with an extended boot, for a March launch to take on Maruti Suzuki’s upcoming new-generation Dzire and a facelifted version of Hyundai Motor’s Xcent. Having wrested the No. 4 position in the Indian passenger vehicle market in 2016, thanks to Tiago’s success, Tata Motors is now looking to unseat Mahindra & Mahindra from the third spot.

It launched the Hexa crossover earlier this month and has plans to drive in two more fresh products in 2017, which industry experts say may prove to be a turnaround year for the company.

While launching the Hexa, managing director Guenter Butschek said 2016 was a milestone year for Tata Motors and that it expected the products in the pipeline to help extend the “good momentum we are in”.

HONDA RECALLS 41,580 CARS IN INDIA FOR DEFECTIVE AIR BAG

Japanese auto maker Honda on Tuesday said it is recalling 41,580 vehicles in India to voluntarily replace faulty front passenger airbag inflators, its fourth recall in two years.

The replacement drive is part of Honda’s preventive global recall campaign concerning defective air bag inflators supplied by Takata Corporation, which has affected at least 7 million cars worldwide.

Honda Cars India said it will voluntarily replace passenger front airbag inflators in previous generation models of City, Jazz, Accord and Civic manufactured during the year 2012.

BUDGET BRINGS LOWER INDIRECT LEVIES FOR CLEAN ENERGY EQUIPMENT

Giving a boost to clean energy programme, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today proposed massive cuts in excise and customs duties on materials used in solar and wind plants, and also announced the second phase of solar park development for 20 GW capacity.

“In solar energy, we now propose to take up the second phase of Solar Park development for additional 20,000 MW capacity,” Jaitley said while presenting the Budget for 2017-18 in the Lok Sabha today.

Besides, the minister also proposed to feed about 7,000 stations with solar power in the medium term saying that a beginning has already been made in 300 stations and works will be taken up for 2,000 railway stations as part of 1000 MW solar mission.

PAYMENT COMPANIES HAIL ECONOMIC SURVEY SUGGESTION TO MAKE DIGITAL TRANSACTIONS PROFITABLE

The Economic Survey has underlined several important measures for digital payments, one of the most important one being that incentivisation should not become a burden on financial companies but should be borne by the government and the RBI.

Citing the impact of demonetisation, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian said the positive from demonetisation was the increase in digital payment transactions and called for measures to maximize the benefits.

The Economic Survey has called for incentivizing digitization in payments but only for the short-term and only at the cost to the government as well as the RBI and not to customers or financial intermediaries, in this case, the payment companies. It also says that digital payments should become privately profitable.

REC LENDS RS 6890CRORE TO TAMIL NADU FOR SETTING UP POWER PLANT

State-run Rural Electrification Corp (REC) on tuesday said it has signed loan agreement with Tamil Nadu’s power generation and transmission utilities for financial assistance of Rs 6,890 crore.

The agreements were signed with Tangedco and Tantransco on January 28 in Chennai for implementation of 800-mw supercritical thermal power plant, renovation and modernisation of existing thermal power plants and establishment of new 765 KV, 400 KV substations in and around Chennai, an official ..

L’ORÉAL INDIA OFFERS IMPROVED PARENTAL BENEFITS POLICY

L’Oréal India today said it has improved parental benefits policy which includes 26 weeks of maternity leave, 12 weeks adoption leave, 2 weeks paternity leave besides other facilities, in a bid to attract and retain employees.

The company’s new parental benefits include 26 weeks of paid leave for mothers, pre-commute assistance to expecting women employees starting from the 6th month of pregnancy and child care allowance for a period of two years from the date of delivery.

NEW H-1B BILL IN US HOUSE: WATCH OUT FOR THESE POSSIBLE SCENARIOS

A legislation has been introduced in the US House of Representatives which among other things calls for more than doubling the minimum salary of H-1B visa holders to USD 130,000, making it difficult for firms to use the programme to replace American employees with foreign workers, including from India.

Indian companies and workers are going to be hit badly by the new legislation, but it’s not the end of hope.

The Bill needs to become a law and meanwhile it can face a tough court challenge, testing the authority of the Congress to make such changes.

The H-1B visa has allowed Indian IT companies to send Indian engineers to the US, keeping costs low and giving them a margin advantage over the multi-national players.

EROS INTERNATIONAL SIGNS GAME DEVELOPMENT DEAL WITH VIAAN INDUSTRIES

Film entertainment company Eros International has signed a game development deal with celebrity couple Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra’s gaming company Viaan Industries. As part of the deal Viaan will develop an arcade game for Eros’s Trinity Pictures first franchise film, Sniff.

Directed by Amole Gupte, Sniff is a spy-superhero film, which will release on May 5. Eros will reserve full rights to exploit, publish and market the game designed for the film.

Ajit Thakur, CEO, Trinity Pictures, said, “This exclusive arcade game is a natural progression towards delivering on our promise of building true franchises in India. We see good potential in Viaan Studios developing this customised arcade game, and not just another mobile game, which can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. We will be soon launching the Sniff game for our audiences to experience the film’s characters and their exploits.”

CITING AIR INDIA’S EXAMPLE, ECONOMIC SURVEY FLAGS PSU PRIVATISATION DIFFICULTIES

Acknowledging difficulties in privatisation efforts for public enterprises, the Economic Survey today said there is still a commitment to make the “perennially unprofitable public sector airline” a ‘world class’ entity.

Citing civil aviation as an example, the survey said privatisation of public enterprises remains difficult even for firms with a strong case to be privatised, though the reform talks in the sector is animated by discussions of as much “an interventionist as liberalis ..

Without mentioning directly, the apparent reference is to national carrier Air India – which is staying afloat on a Rs 30,000 crore financial package extended by the government for a ten-year period ending 2021-22.

NEW ‘SUPER YIELD’ GM WHEAT TRIAL GETS GO-AHEAD

The planting of a new experimental crop of genetically modified (GM) wheat will take place this spring after the UK government gave the final go ahead.

This latest effort aims to see if the spectacular gains in productivity of 20-40% in GM wheat grown in the greenhouse can be reproduced in the open air. Last Autumn, the scientists at Rothamsted Research submitted an application to the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) seeking permission to carry out small field trials at a secure site near Harpenden between 2017 and 2019.

After an independent risk assessment and a public consultation, that permission has now been granted. The researchers say they want to test newly developed wheat plants that have been modified to carry a gene from a wild relative called stiff brome. The Rothamsted team, which is working in collaboration with researchers from the University of Essex and Lancaster University, believes this enables the modified wheat to carry out photosynthesis more efficiently, converting more sunlight and CO2 into grain.

UBER’S MERCEDES ALLIANCE IS A CLEVER NEW ROUTE TO SELF-DRIVING DOMINANCE

When you finally get your chance to ride in an autonomous Uber, you may find yourself clambering into a Mercedes-Benz. That’s because Daimler, which owns Mercedes, announced today that it will use Uber’s immense network to deploy its own robocars.

This isn’t Uber’s first hookup. Last year, it struck up with Volvo, which built Uber’s autonomous tech into a fleet of XC90 SUVs for testing in Pittsburgh and San Francisco (until the California DMV kicked it out). But the Daimler deal marks a new approach for Uber. Until now, its public plan called for stuffing its homegrown tech into vehicles built by an established manufacturer like Volvo, then deploying it. Such a move eliminates the driver, letting Uber keep the entire fare.

TRAVEL BAN THROWS RESEARCH, ACADEMIC EXCHANGE INTO TURMOIL

BOSTON (AP) — Universities across the nation say President Donald Trump’s ban on travelers from seven Muslim countries is disrupting vital research projects and academic exchanges in such fields as medicine, public health and engineering, with untold numbers of scholars blocked from entering the U.S.

For years, schools in the U.S. have worked to widen exchanges with scholars in the Middle East and especially Iran, known for its strength in math and science. But many academics worry those bridges are now in jeopardy because of the ban against Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen. Some fear the U.S. will lose its standing as the world leader in research and innovation.

“It’s terrifying,” said Sarah Knuckey, director of the Human Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School. “We’re damaging international research, including on issues like health and medicine.”Students in Knuckey’s clinic have been working with a think tank in Yemen to explore the health consequences of the country’s civil war, inviting scholars to lecture and planning a conference in New York this year. Because of the travel ban, they are trying to move the event to Canada.

Research between the U.S. and the seven countries covers a wide range of fields. According to the National Institutes of Health, U.S. and Iranian researchers have teamed up to study cancer, heart disease, hepatitis and opiate addiction.

Navid Madani, an HIV researcher at Harvard Medical School, said collaboration with scientists in Iran has been crucial to her work. Much of that cooperation is now in question. One of her counterparts in Iran was scheduled to teach at Harvard this year but may be prevented from entering the country.

UNION BUDGET 2017: DEFENCE ALLOCATION GETS 10 PERCENT HIKE

India’s defence budget received a boost of more than 10 percent in the Budget 2017 speech delivered by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. The defence outlay is pegged at just over 2.74 lakh crore. The allocation is about 12.78 percent of the total government expenditure of 21.47 lakh crore. The defence outlay represents the second consecutive year of a 10+ percent increase+ , amounting to about 11 percent over last year. The Budget 2016 allocation was 10.5 percent over the allocation made for 2015-16. When taken without the pension component, the outlay for the coming year shows a 5.8 percent increase over 2016-17. Analysts had said an increase of 10 percent would be a necessity to deal with inflation and with the ongoing modernisation drive in military hardware.

The capital acquisition component of the defence allocation for the coming fiscal is just over 86,400 crore, compared to about Rs 78,500 crore last year. However, the Defence Ministry had returned close to Rs 36,000 crore of the funds allocated to it for capital acquisition, Economic Times reported, signifying the difficulties in spending the allocated cash.

JAITLEY ANNOUNCES RS 2,74,114 CR FOR DEFENCE

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday announced an allocation of Rs 2,74,114 crore for defence, excluding pensions. “For defence expenditu.Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday announced an allocation of Rs 2,74,114 crore for defence, excluding pensions.”For defence expenditure excluding pensions, I have provided a sum of Rs 2,74,114 crore including Rs 86,488 crore for defence capital,” Jaitley said delivering his Budget speech for financial year 2017-18.

WHEN AN INDIAN KILO-CLASS SUBMARINE ‘ANNIHILATED’ A STATE-OF-THE-ART AMERICAN NUCLEAR SUB

If the hostile entry of United States Navy 7th fleet in the crucial stage of the 1971 war for the liberation of Bangladesh sent a shiver down the spine of Indian military commanders, events of last month gave them some relief. Not surprisingly there is a spring in the stride of those from India’s beleaguered submarine arm at the Vishakhapatnam-based Eastern Naval Command (ENC). “It is among the coolest things to happen in recent times,” said a young officer.

An operation under the high profile naval exercise MALABAR, between the navies of India, USA and Japan, featured a simulated battle to hunt and destroy each other’s submarines. Locked in this match were two prowlers, the INS Sindhudhvaj (S56), a Soviet-designed EKM class of conventional submarine and the USS City of Corpus Christi (SSN705), a nuclear-powered attack submarine which functions like a fighter plane – scramble and destroy enemy submarines and ships. The crew of both the vessels were asked to hunt the other down in a general area of the Bay of Bengal, based on ‘available int’. They, subsequently dived.

Hours later, as they still searched the Americans were informed that the game was over already.Unknown, they had been marked, tailed and suitably ‘annihilated’ by the 533mm torpedos ‘fired’ by their Indian counterparts from on board the INS Sindhudhvaj. What came as a clincher to the Indian side was the tool which detected the USS Corpus Christi – the ‘made in India’ Ushus SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging) which was recently installed.

PAKISTAN STEPS UP MISSILE TESTS TO COUNTER INDIA DEFENCE PUSH

Pakistan is ramping up nuclear missile tests in response to India’s drive to modernise its armed forces, increasing already heightened tensions between the two countries, military and political analysts warn.

Islamabad last week conducted its first flight test of the surface-to-surface Ababeel missile, which has a range of 2,200km and which officials and analysts say marks a significant step forward in the country’s ability to target locations in India. The move followed Pakistan’s first ballistic missile launch from a submarine earlier this month.“Taken together, these tests prove Pakistan’s ability to go for an outright war if war is imposed on us,” a senior Pakistani foreign ministry official told the Financial Times.

Relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours have been tense ever since the partition that followed independence from Britain in 1947. They have fought three major wars, largely for control of the disputed state of Kashmir.Those tensions were reignited by last year’s attack on an Indian army base at Uri in Kashmir, which killed 19 soldiers and was followed by tit-for-tat assaults across the de facto border.

GOVERNMENT’S EMPHASIS ON DEFENCE PREPAREDNESS HAS BEEN THE CENTRAL THEME: ROOMIE DARA VAKIL, DIRECTOR, SOLAR INDUSTRIES INDIA LIMITED

The budget of Rs 2.74 lakh cr. for defence, out of which capital outlay is Rs 86,500 cr.  This is about 10% higher than the previous year.It appears that while the capital outlay is similar to last year, the increase in the revenue budget by about 16% which would indeed increase the spend on am munition and consumables, it would be good for the domestic manufacturing companies in this segment.

Considering that the estimated lapse of 10% in the capital spend in the previous year, the budget on capital expenditure is satisfactory provided it is utilized with minimum lapse in budget.Since Government’s emphasis on defence preparedness has been the Central theme, we would have been happy if some incentives by way of tax exemption or deferment on loan payments would have been announced for domestic industry.

NEURAL TECHNOLOGIES SHORTLISTED FOR 2017 GSMA GLOMO AWARDS

ata integration, analytics and revenue management expert, Neural Technologies has been shortlisted in the Best Mobile Security/Anti-Fraud Solution category at the GSMA Glomo Global Mobile Awards 2017.

The nomination recognises Neural Technologies’ work for Safaricom – the leading telecommunications company in Kenya – and its mobile money solution M-PESA. Safaricom is a world leader in Mobile Money with over 45% of Kenya’s GDP flowing through their M-PESA service, which was presenting a challenge to Safaricom in terms of fraud activity monitoring.  Neural’s solution enables Safaricom to verify the identity of applicants to mitigate fraud and money laundering.  Neural’s solution also models each Safaricom subscriber and organisational behaviours to detect scenarios that are indicative of criminal activity such as smuggling, poaching and terrorism.

Luke Taylor commented: “This nomination is a testament to Neural’s agile, world-class solutions. Having been in the fraud and risk management industry for over 25 years, we understand the challenges facing companies and the need for flexibility and robustness. Indeed, these values are at the core of our solutions as we continue to innovate and expand our offerings and we are delighted to be shortlisted for a 2017 Glomo Award.”

Michael O’Hara, GSMA Chief Marketing Officer said: “We congratulate all of the nominees for the Glomo Awards, which once again saw an impressive number of entries. The Glomo Awards recognise those companies and individuals that are driving innovation in the rapidly evolving mobile industry, and we are excited to this year introduce several new awards that highlight the very latest developments in this dynamic industry. We wish the best of luck to the 2017 Glomo Award nominees.”

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY AWARDS LEIDOS J6 ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGY SERVICES PRIME CONTRACT

The DLA is the Department of Defense’s combat logistics support agency, providing worldwide logistics support in both peacetime and wartime to the military services as well as several civilian agencies and foreign countries. The DLA JETS program will provide DLA Information Operations (J6) the full range of information technology services to develop, maintain, and protect the applications, software, hardware, and systems that support DLA’s mission as the combat logistics support agency to the U.S. military services. Under the contract, Leidos will compete for task orders related to 21 Task Areas ranging from network and technology services, to application development and sustainment, including information assurance and cybersecurity, systems engineering and enterprise architecture support, and other technology and program support services.

“We look forward to applying our innovative enterprise information technology services to the JETS program to ensure DLA information Operations (J6) achieves its mission to support the DOD community with the highest quality information systems, customer support, efficient and economical computing, and data management,” said Leidos Defense and Intelligence President, Tim Reardon.

DUBAI ISLAMIC BANK : DIB WINS FOUR AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

(DIB), the largest Islamic bank in the , received four awards recently for delivering exceptional customer experience.

The Bank collected three awards at the 2016 Service Olympian Awards, including ‘Best Customer Experience Strategy’, ‘Best Customer Experience Improvement programme – Call centre’ and ‘Most Improved Call Centre.

In a separate ceremony, the (DED) in Dubai presented with the Gulf Customer Experience Award under the Financial Services – Banking and Investment category.

Sanjay Malhotra, Chief of Consumer Banking at DIB said, “We are delighted to win these four esteemed awards. This achievement shows that our unwavering focus of placing the customer at the centre of all our operations is inherent in our business. Our ‘Customer First’ programme is a key pillar of DIB’s strategic growth and is a bank wide initiative launched to develop a culture of service excellence. We strongly believe in combining our local tradition and heritage along with personal service, flexibility and innovation to give customer solutions tailored specifically to their financial needs, and these awards are testimony to our efforts.” The Service Olympian Awards recognise organisations that are outstanding in their approach towards customer service and employee engagement. Both assessments are developed and conducted by the , a global organisation dedicated to establishing the highest standards in service quality worldwide.