Microsoft acquires Nokia's mobile phone business

1.    Microsoft acquires Nokia's mobile phone business

i. Microsoft has completed its purchase of Nokia's mobile phone business for 5.44bn euros ($7.5bn; £4.5bn).

ii. The deal between the two firms should have been completed earlier this year but it was delayed by a hold up in regulatory approvals.

iii. "Today we welcome the Nokia devices and services business to our family," said Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella.

iv. The Finnish company will now focus on networks, mapping services and technology development and licences.

v. Two Nokia plants will remain outside the deal - a manufacturing unit in Chennai, India, subject to an asset freeze by Indian tax authorities, and the Masan plant in South Korea, which it plans to shut down.

vi. Former Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop has become executive vice president of the Microsoft devices group, in charge of Lumia smartphones and tablets, Nokia mobile phones, Xbox hardware, Microsoft Surface, and Perceptive Pixel (PPI) products.

vii. The sale will see the end of production of mobile phones by Nokia.

viii. Nokia, which had the tagline 'Connecting People', has been one of the most trusted brands in India, according to Nielsen consumer rankings. 

     

2.    President confers Padma awards

i. President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday presented Padma awards to 56 distinguished personalities including actor Paresh Rawal, ace tennis player Leander Paes and author Ruskin Bond.

ii. Cricketer Yuvraj Singh, eminent writer Anita Desai and noted painter Sunil Das could not make it to the ceremony

iii. The President presented one Padma Vibhushan, eleven Padma Bhushan and forty-four Padma Shri awards today at the ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, President's Secretariat said.
iv. Renowned yoga guru Bellur Krishnamachar Sundaraja Iyenger, who took the ancient Indian exercises to modern world making them a global phenomenon, was conferred the Padma Vibhushan which is the highest honour in the Padma awards.

3.    RBI promotes three PCGMs to ED position

i. The Reserve Bank of India has promoted NS Vishwanathan, US Paliwal and Chandan Sinha as Executive Directors.

ii. Prior to their elevation, they were Principal Chief General Managers. As PCGM, Vishwanathan was heading the Department of Non-banking Supervision, US Paliwal (Human Resources Department) and Chandan Sinha (Department of Banking Operations and Development).

iii. Following the new appointments, the central bank now has nine Executive Directors. Meanwhile, Friday was the last day in office for KC Chakrabarty as Deputy Governor.

4.    Obama in first Malaysia visit by US leader since 1966

i. US President Barack Obama arrives on Saturday in Malaysia hoping to energize aloof ties with a Muslim-majority nation whose government is under the microscope for wide allegations of abuse of power and the loss of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

ii. After stops in Japan and South Korea, Obama becomes the first serving US President to visit Malaysia since Lyndon Johnson in 1966 as he tours Asia to fortify alliances amid concern over China's rise and push his troubled plans for a Pacific-wide trade pact.

iii. US-Malaysian relations remain coloured by bickering during the 1981-2003 tenure of authoritarian leader Mahathir Mohamad, a harsh critic of US policies, though trade ties have remained solid.

iv. Obama will tread a fine line between courting Najib and acknowledging the huge numbers in multi-cultural Malaysia who are fed up with the corruption-plagued coalition in power for 57 years.