Capital First Merged With IDFC Bank to Create IDFC First Bank

• IDFC Bank and non-banking financial company (NBFC) Capital First has announced the completion of their merger, creating a combined loan asset book of Rs 1.03 lakh crore for the merged entity IDFC First Bank. The merged entity to be called IDFC First Bank, subject to shareholders’ approval.
• Following the merger, the board of IDFC Bank approved the appointment of V Vaidyanathan, founder and chairman of Capital First Ltd, as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the merged entity. His appointment awaits shareholders’ approval.

Pranab K Das Appointed New Chairman of CBIC

• Senior bureaucrat Pranab Kumar Das has been appointed as chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), the apex policy-making body for indirect taxes.
• Das, special secretary and member (customs) at CBIC, will succeed S Ramesh. Das, a 1983-batch IRS officer of Customs and Central Excise Cadre was appointed as a member in the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in 2017.

India’s Largest Cancer Institute Launched At AIIMS’ Jhajjar Campus

• India’s largest cancer institute, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has been soft launched at Haryana’s Jhajjar area. The institute was finalised at a cost of Rs 2,035 crore and the project was approved by the cabinet committee in 2013.
• The aim is to strengthen research and also bring down the patient load at All India Institute of Medical Sciences’ (AIIMS) cancer centre. The hospital will be fully functional by December 2020.

Book ‘Changing India’ By Manmohan Singh Released

• Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh released his book titled “Changing India” at an event in New Delhi. In the book, the Congress leader narrated his journey from an economist to a politician and shared anecdotes from his life.

Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep Announced As 2018 ITF World Champions

• The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced that Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Romania’s Simona Halep have been named the 2018 ITF World Champions. Djokovic receives the honour for the sixth time, while it is the first year Halep has been recognised.
• Djokovic’s won four titles including Wimbledon and the US Open, and climbed from No. 22 in the rankings to secure the year-end world No. 1 position. Halep also enjoyed Grand Slam success in 2018, claiming her maiden major title at Roland Garros and reaching the final at the Australian Open.