India’s leading Structural Engineer, man behind Salarjung Museum, Mahendra Raj passes away at 97
New Delhi: Mahendra Raj, one of India’s leading structural engineers and the man behind some of the most iconic modern buildings in the country passed away on Sunday at his residence in Delhi, aged 97. The funeral rites of Raj were held at Lodhi Crematorium here in the national capital at 5:30 pm today.
Some of the most prolific buildings that Mahendra Raj engineered are the Hall of Nations in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, the Salarjung Museum in Hyderabad, and the Municipal Stadium and Sports Complex in Ahmedabad.
After completing his civil engineering in Lahore in 1946, he joined the Punjab Works Department Buildings and Roads and rose to the rank of an executive engineer, working on Le Corbusier’s buildings in Chandigarh. With Pritzker Prize-winner architect B V Doshi, he also worked with American architect Louis Kahn at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
Syed Mohamed Beary, Chairman of Bearys Group expressed condolences on the passing away of Mahendra Raj adding that the Bearys Group took pride in the fact that several of its key projects were designed by Mahendra Raj himself.
“Every Bearys Group project that he designed has been applauded by everyone and have won several prestigious awards as well. He was a pioneer of structural engineering and a rare talent. He is the role model for several generations of engineers to come.” Syed Mohamed Beary said.
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ICICI Bank trims hike, lowers min balance requirement to Rs 15,000 from Rs 50,000
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI): In a U-turn, ICICI Bank has slashed the minimum monthly average balance (MAB) requirement to Rs 15,000 from Rs 50,000, citing "valuable feedback" from customers.
The minimum balance requirement for its new savings bank accounts opened on or after August 1 was recently raised five times to Rs 50,000.
"Following valuable feedback from our customers, we have revised these requirements to better reflect their expectations and preferences. We thank our customers for their continued trust and feedback, which help us serve them better," ICICI Bank posted on its website.
Similarly, the MAB for semi-urban and rural locations has been revised downwards to Rs 7,500 and Rs 2,500 respectively, it said.
Before August 1, the MAB for semi-urban and rural was Rs 5,000.
However, the bank said the revised MAB requirements are not applicable to salary accounts, senior citizens/pensioners (above 60 years), basic savings bank deposit account/PM Jandhan Yojana, and accounts for people with special needs.
They are also not applicable to savings accounts opened before July 31, 2025.
MAB is the minimum balance that a customer is required to maintain in a bank account. If the balance falls below the required amount, the bank levies a penalty.
In case account holders fail to meet the MAB, customers will be liable to pay penal charges of 6 per cent of the shortfall in required MAB, or Rs 500, whichever is lower.
The balance in the savings bank account of ICICI Bank earns an interest of 2.5 per cent per annum, it said.
The hike in MAB comes at a time when public sector banks have rationalised their penalties or completely waived them.
