Sept News

September 2nd, 2015

April – June Quarter GDP numbers out. Quarterly growth
pegged at 7%

Quarterly growth is the GDP growth of the country in
that quarter (3 months)compared to the same quarter of
the previous year.

 The growth in the April-June is lower than the
7.5% growth pegged in the previous quarter but
is higher than the corresponding quarter growth
rate of 6.7% of previous year.

 The Central Statistical Office has used a
different approach to measure GDP in 2015 by adopting the concept of GVA (Gross Value Added) and
is expanding the category of companies in the calculation

 Gross Value Added is the economic measure of the value of goods and services produced in an area,
industry or sector of an economy.

 In accounts of a Nation, GVA is output minus intermediate consumption.
 So GDP is calculated by adding the taxes collected to the GVA and subtracting the subsidies.
 Eight core sectors including Steel and Cement which together constitute nearly 38% of our country’s

factory output showed signs of negative growth as they fell to 1.1 % in July as compared with 3% in
the month of June.
 The RBI governer has indicated that he would consider cutting rates further after looking at the
inflation trend. The rates have already been cut thrice by cumulative 75 basis points this year.

RBI designates SBI and ICICI as DSIBs

 DSIB are Domestically systemically important
banks

 SBI and ICICI have been designated as DSIBs
by the RBI on 31 August as they have many
cross jurisdictional opportunities , having
complex operations and have penetrated to

almost every area of the Indian Financial system.
 More Importantly Failure of these banks will subsequently impact the Indian Economy drastically.
 Designation of these banks as DSIBs will mean that RBI will now monitor them closely.
 This will also result in increase in the Capital Adequacy Ratio of these banks which is expected to be

much higher than the required amount as stipulated by Basel norms.

The impact of Yuan Devaluation

 Chinese economy is reliant on exports rather
than the internal demand generated owing to
poverty in the Chinese interior regions.

 Devaluation of the yuan makes its exports
cheaper and offer stiff competition to local
products.

 Competitive devaluation which occured in the
1920s by the leading global economies was one of the reasons of Great Depression of 1929.

 The Silk road project of China is looking to connect rural regions of Xinjiang and Tibet with central
Asia and SEA thereby providing economic corridors of development and alleviating poverty in these
regions.

 The competitiveness of Indian exports is expected to go down as yuan gets cheaper.
 This will effect India’s GDP numbers.

Subscribe to Mockbank and receive your daily morning dose of GK Updates

September 3rd, 2015

Government decides to place 69 oil fields on the block.

 The govt. has decided to allot 69 small and
marginal oil fields to private and foreign
companies by way of bidding.

 Presently 63 are owned by ONGC and 6 are
owned by Oil India.

 This is expected to unlock reserves speculated
to be around Rs 70,000 crore.

 The government has decided to shift from
issuing production sharing contracts to issuing
revenue sharing contracts.

 In production sharing , the private companies are allowed to extract oil and gas equal to their
investment.

 The Reliance KGD6 saga where Reliance deliberately tried to hoard gas to sell it at a higher price later
was one of the reasons behind the shift.

 In revenue sharing , the govt. and private corporations share the revenue from the oil generated from
the very first batch itself.

 From now onwards , the companies are free to set their prices.

EU Refugee crisis increases.

 The ongoing civil war in Syria has led to the
displacement of millions.

 The refugees are trying to enter countries like
Britain , France through Turkey , Greece and
Eastern europe.

 Hungary has shut down all its train services
for migrants.

 Macedonia has imposed a state of emergency.
 This serves as a grim reminder of the casualties of war.
 Closer to home , The migrants from Rakhine region are still suffering and are migrating from one

country to another in search of a home.

Govt to merge SEBI with FMC

 FMC stands for Forward Markets Commission.

 The Forward Markets Commission (FMC) is the chief regulator
of commodity futures markets in India. Overseen by Ministry of
Finance.

 Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is the regulator
for securities market in India.

 This move seeks to strengthen the regulation of commodity forward markets.

Minimum Alternative tax to be waived for FIIs.

 MAT is imposed on companies that declare a profit but pay
minimal or no tax.

 MAT has been imposed retrospectively many times.
 It is one of the reasons why companies are hesitant to invest in

India.
 Financial Institutional Investors that do not have a place of

business in India will be exempt.
 This move signals the acceptance of Justice AP Shah committee on MAT on FPI investors.

Trade Union Strike

 The strike was against labour reforms proposed by the
government which will increase flexibility in hiring and firing
labourers.

 The trade unions aggressively demanded the preservation of
labour rights as a constitutional guarantee.

 These reforms were long sought after by the Industrialist lobby
and is seen as crucial in bringing more FDI in the country.

 The expected losses due to disruptions in bank and trade activities due to the strike are expected to be
around Rs 25000 crores.

September 4th, 2015

SIT submits recommendations regarding black money

 The Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted
by the Narendra Modi government to look into the
menace of black money has finally given its
recommendations on curbing the amount of
unaccounted money in the economy.

 It has suggested to make acceptance of cash by
educational institutions as a punishable offence.

 Large donations to religious and other trusts should
be accompanied by the donor ‘s PAN number.

 The SIT also called on to legislatively empower SEBI(The Securities and Exchange Board of India) to
deal with unusual rise of stock prices due to black money and for early detection of shell companies.

 Participatory notes or P Notes that are issued by FIIs to investors have come under major scrutiny as
the nature of the wealth that is used to invest is unaccounted for and the identity of the investor
remains a secret.

 The SIT has recommended SEBI to keep records of the final beneficiary of P notes.
 It has also issued guidelines in dealing with Indian nationals having accounts in foreign banks.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) reiterates commitment to
invest more in India.

 UAE Minister of State expressed keen interest in
investing in many government initiatives like Digital
India , Make in India and Smart Cities mission.

 UAE is home to 2.5 million Indian immigrants who are
responsible for the infrastructure and growth of many
of the Emirate’s metropolis.

 India is UAE ‘s largest trade partner and Make in India
serves to increase trade and commerce greatly in the
Arabian sea region.

 Increase in manufacturing will enable India to supply goods and services to the Middle East which
currently import all of their required goods from China.

 UAE will play a crucial link in India ‘s North- South project that seeks to connect Europe to India
through a network of land and sea routes through Iran that is pushed through as an alternative to the
Chinese silk route.

Chief Economic Advisor states that India is moving towards
deflation.

 CEA Arvind Subramanian has stated that India was
moving towards deflation which is the result of
simplifying tax laws and market oriented development.

 Deflation can either be due to a decrease in demand or
an increase in the supply .In India ‘s case it is more to
do with the latter.

 The supply of goods in the economy has been
haphazard owing to ambiguous tax legislation that is
mainly due to the industrial-politico-bureaucratic nexus.

 The CEA has also asked the RBI to factor in domestic and global deflationary trends while deciding
policy rates.

India Inc submits recommendations to improve ease of
doing business.

 Top companies like Godrej , Tata submitted
suggestions to the Department of Industrial policy and
Promotion to improve ease of doing business in India.

 It has sought for a single window clearance system and
simpler rules and regulations relating to environment
and forests.

 It has advocated for establishing a land bank database
that has details on land that is encumbrance free and
clear titles and can be allotted to industry.

 India currently ranks a very poor 142 out of 189 countries in the World Bank’s ease of doing business
index

 These proposals are necessary to improve business atmosphere in the country and if implemented will
see India catapult to 30 or higher in the ease of doing business index.

September 5th, 6th and 7th, 2015

Yuan devaluation and Federal interest hike will have only a
transient impact on Indian Economy : Arun Jaitley

 Finance Minister Arun Jaitley termed
the devaluation of Yuan and the hike
in the Federal interest rates will only a
transient impact.

 He also stated that only the structure
of the economy and domestic
policies dictate changes in currency
and markets.

 This statement comes post the G-20
meeting of finance ministers and Central bankers from most powerful countries in world.

 The finance minister strongly pitched for global safety nets to address concerns over volatility in
currency and stock markets, a demand that came against the backdrop of the economic shocks triggered
by the Chinese devaluation of yuan.

 These financial nets should be strong enough to spread a financial contagion from happening keeping
in mind the ASEAN crisis where the Thai Baht collapsed after a US Federal reserve hike.

 He asserted that India is on a “sound footing” as manufacturing and services sectors have begun picking
up due to the pro-business policies of the Modi led government.

TRAI proposes compensation for call drops

 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) is seeking
suggestions for compensating customers for deficient services on
mobile phones .

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi had personally asked TRAI to
look into the issue.

 This is occurring at a time of rising phone bills and in a digitized
world.

 The main cause is lack of network infrastructure to sustain such a large mobile base.
 Several Telecom Service Providers in other countries offer a credit of talk time for a dropped call to

customers.

Centre announces One Rank One Pension(OROP) scheme.

 The Centre on Sep 5 announced the OROP scheme
which finally fullfilled a long standing demand of
military veterans.

 This issue has gone pending for over 40 years where
pensions for veterans of same rank was different owing
to different dates of retirement .

 The veterans however want the revision which accounts
for currency and price change to be done annually
instead of every 5 years.

 The pension for veterans who have chosen voluntarily retirement will be comparatively lesser as
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar feels that if the pay scale was the same lot of people would opt for
voluntary retirement and it would lead to a decrease in the capability of armed forces.

 Following this announcement , the protesting veterans who although did not agree with some of the
finer details called off the hunger strike and advocated towards peaceful resolution of the rest of the
matter.

 According to the package , retired military officers will get a pension hike ranging from Rs 8,000 to Rs
22,000 per month, while jawans and junior commissioned officers will get Rs 2,200 to Rs 9,000.

Reserve Bank of India crisis fund short of target.

 According to the RBI annual report , contingency funds
with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), used in case of
unforeseen shocks, have fallen to 8.4 per cent of total
assets, against a target of 12 per cent.

 For the last two years, the RBI has made no transfers to
its Contingency Fund or its Asset Development Fund.

 The capital requirements of a central bank can vary
considerably depending on various factors. The wider its
responsibility , the more risks it will take and hence it would need more capital.

 A central bank may require recapitalisation, precisely at a time when the fiscal position is under strain,
say, due to a financial crisis. For example, if a systemically important bank goes bankrupt, then the RBI
has to take its losses onto its own balance sheet

 The RBI has transferred most of its profits to the centre without keeping any amount for itself.

RTI applicants to get protection against legal action

 In a landmark decision , the Kerala High Court announced
that an applicant under the Right to Information Act gets
immunity from legal proceedings against him/her based on the
statements in application.

 RTI activists and whistleblowers are subjected to a lot of
harassment and threats by corrupt government authorities and this
move comes as a relief to the crusaders.

 The judiciary has asked the centre to look into implementing
witness protection schemes ,the lack of which has resulted in the deaths of many righteous RTI activists
and honest IAS officers.

Railways and ISRO tie up for improving rail safety.

 Indian railways will join hands with Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) for improving rail safety and enhancing
efficiency.

 A massive exercise of GIS [geographical information systems]
mapping of the entire rail route and assets including buildings, land,
workshops and other facilities in the network using geospatial
technology will be undertaken.

 Geospatial technology involves a combination of GPS (global positioning systems), GIS(Geographic
Information System), and RS (remote sensing) technologies. The official said geospatial services will
be available from satellite-assisted navigational support through the GPS aided Indigenously developed
geo-augmented navigation (GAGAN) system of ISRO.

 The satellite images will also be used for geo-fencing of stations for paperless ticketing system.

 The technology is also expected to be used for tracking trains for disseminating information about their
movement on real time basis which will be a great help to passengers. Currently, train movements are
tracked manually.

Hindi writer to return Sahitya Akademi award.

 Hindi writer Uday Prakash on Friday decided to return his Sahitya
Akademi award in protest against the murder of Kannada scholar
and rationalist M.M. Kalburgi.

 He will officially communicate his decision to the Akademi and
return the award money of Rs.1 lakh and the citation next week
when he returns to the Capital.

 The murder of M.M Kalburgi by communal elements perpetrating
a hateful ideology has prompted rationalists across the country in
requesting the government to fester an environment that encourages free thinking and free speech.

September 8rd, 2015

7 Indians in Forbes Asia’s heroes of philanthropy list

 Seven Indians featured in Forbes Asia’s 9th Heroes of
Philanthropy list which highlights the most noteworthy
contributions to philanthropy.

 This list is prepared from 13 countries across Asia Pacific.
 Among the seven Indians, four are co founders of Infosys

namely N R Narayana Murthy, Senapathy Gopalakrishnan,
Nandan Nilekani and S D Shibulal.
 N R Narayana Murthy’s son Rohan also features on the list
for donating a whopping $5.2 million to Harvard University Press for promoting ancient Indian literary
classics.
 Kerala-born entrepreneur Sunny Varkey tops the list of the region
 He had pledged about half of his USD 2.25 billion dollar worth which he acquired by GEMS foundation
in June.
 The other two Indian philanthropists are brothers Suresh Ramakrishnan and Mahesh Ramakrishnan,
both London-based entrepreneurs and founders of Whitcomb & Shaftesbury Tailors on London’s
Saville Row.

India considering safeguard duty on steel after imports from
China, Japan surge.

 In the wake of threat to domestic steel industry arising from rising
imports of some hot-rolled steel products from China, Japan, South
Korea and Russia, India is considering to safeguard duty on imports
from these countries.

 The Steel Authority of India, JSW Steel and Essar Steel filed an
application in July seeking safeguard measures for a four-year period
prompted the Directorate General of Safeguards to look into the matter.

 The reason why steel makers are pushing for a safeguard duty instead of an increase in an existing
import tax is because a safeguard duty would also apply to companies in Japan and South Korea, since
India has free trade agreements with these countries and hence it gives them import duty concessions.

 Imports hit 13 percent this fiscal year of the total steel production in the country.

NPCI plans to roll out three new versions of RuPay.

 The National payment corporation of India (NPCI) is
planning to roll out three new versions of the card.

 The company will launch a Mudra card, a credit card and
an international card.

 Currently RuPay debit card is issued as a debit card,
kisan card along with the opening of saving bank
accounts.

 It was launched in March 2012.
 Till August 2014 35 million RuPay cards had been issued.
 Mudra Bank co branded card will be issued in association with Mudra Bank.

Reliance Defence Ties up with UAE firms for ships.

Reliance Defence Limited (RDL), a wholly owned subsidy of
Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. which is part of ADAG(Anil
Dherubhai Ambani group) signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB).

 Under this MoU, both companies are investigating the
opportunity to set up a strategic partnership for
construction of Naval ships.

 Reliance group is likely to use it newly acquired ship building facilities at Pipavav for implementation
of this collaboration.

Air India flight makes emergency landing after plane wheel
catches fire

 Air India flight AI 405 from Varanasi to Delhi had an emergency
landing here as the pilot reported hydraulic failure at around 1916
hours. However, a small fire was seen in the undercarriage of the
aircraft after landing which was quickly doused.

 Upto 5 passengers were injured in this accident.
 The flight was carrying 159 passengers on board.

September 8 – International Literacy Day

September 8 was proclaimed International Literacy
Day by UNESCO on November 17, 1965.

 It was first celebrated in 1966. Its aim is to
highlight the importance of literacy to
individuals, communities and societies.

 On International Literacy Day each year,
UNESCO reminds the international community
of the status of literacy and adult learning
globally. Celebrations take place around the world.

 The literacy rate in India as per 2011 Census is 75%.
 World Literacy average is 84%.
 Of all the nations, India has the highest number of illiterates.
 Effective literacy rate in 2011 were 82.14% for men and 65.46% for women.
 Kerala is the most literate state in India, with 93.91% literacy, followed by Lakshadweep at 92.28%.
 Bihar is the least literate state in India, with a literacy of 63.82%.
 Although the decadal rise from 2001–11 was only 7% (60.4% in 2001 to 67.1% in 2011) Rajasthan had

the biggest percentage decadal (1991–2001) increase in literacy of all Indian states, from about 38% to
about 61%, a leapfrog that has been termed “spectacular” by some observers

September 9th, 2015

Russia plans to build bases in Syria to fight ISIS

 Russia is building a military base in Syria in the
heartland of President Basher al Assad controlled
territory to fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and
the Levant (ISIL)

 Russia has already set up Air Traffic Control towers
and has transported pre fabricated housing units for
1000 troops.

 Until now Russia ‘s help has been restricted to
financial , military supplies and training of Syrian soldiers.

 With NATO trying to depose of President Basher al Assad , the Russian involvement has changed the
equation and surrounding NATO allies Iraq and Saudi have voiced concerns regarding Russian
intrusion in what they view as a Syrian internal problem.

 Russia currently maintains a naval base in the Syrian city of Tartus.
 They have also asked neighbouring countries to allow Russian combat aircraft into their airspace.

Chinese Economy crash impacts Indian diamond industry.

 More than 5000 Surat polishers have lost
their jobs as Chinese consumers pull back
from luxury purchases , leaving jewellers
with stocks of unsold diamonds and
jewellery.

 While China accounts only for a fifth of the
world diamond market but its growth has
fuelled the diamond industry in recent years
as companies expanded at break neck pace to
cater for luxury hungry consumers.

 Between 2008 and 2013 , Chinese Diamond purchases grew by over 18% but has now reduced to
single digit figures.

 India’s diamond industry accounts for over 70-75% of the diamond exports in the world and employs
over 1 million people.Surat , Ahmedabad are the major cities involved in the diamond trade.

Australia puts tough norms for Uranium sale to India.

 A multi party committee recommended that Australia
should not sell Uranium to India unless it sets up an
independent nuclear regulator and separate its civilian
and military installations.

 Overall the report recommended the sale of Uranium to
India despite not being a member of the Non
Proliferation Treaty or the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty.(CTBT)

 The report states that Australia must encourage India to ratify the CTBT.
 India ‘s views on NPT and CTBT are that , they are a flawed agreement that gives one party rights to

nuclear weapons and denies another and has proposed for a treaty that includes all countries .
 Indian import of Australian Uranium is expected to increase the size of Australian Uranium industry

to double its present size.

PM Modi tells India Inc. to invest more

 Prime Minister Modi encouraged Indian industry
leaders to take more risks and step up investments in
the domestic market.

 The meeting chaired by the PM was attended by
industry leaders , central bankers , economic advisers
and analysts.

 The business heads , requested the PM to remove red tape with regards to starting up a business which
could fuel a lot of development.

Centre bans import of Ammonium Nitrate in loose form.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked the Department of Industrial
policy and promotion , not to allow import of Ammonium Nitrate which
is a highly explosive substance in loose form.

 The MHA has directed that Ammonium Nitrate can be imported
only in bagged form irrespective of the quantity.

 This comes as a relief as domestic manufacturers had made
investments in bar coding of Ammonium Nitrate bags , IT infrastructure and tracking devices as till

now imported Ammonium Nitrate was allowed in loose form without any guidelines thus making it
cheaper
 Currently around 15 % of Ammonium Nitrate in India is imported. This ratio has come down from 60
% in 2010.

September 10th, 2015

Centre approves gold scheme to tap gold within households

 Centre approved two financial schemes on gold with
a view to use the bullion for the benefit of itself and
the households that pile up stocks of the idle asset.

 The Gold monetisation scheme aims to tap household
gold stocks of around 22,000 tonnes , the sovereign
bond scheme would help shift part of the estimated
300 tonnes of physical gold bars and coins purchased
every year in the country for investment into the
demat gold bonds.

 Both schemes will give tax free returns to investors , and the bond scheme would also enable them to
profit from a potential rise in gold prices.

 The sovereign gold bond programme could potentially reduce the cost of borrowing of the government
as the interest outgo on these bonds would be far lower than that incurred in market borrowings.

 The Central Banks of China , India , Russia are beginning on a trend that has seen them buying large
amounts of gold bullion as a backup for any currency fluctuations that might happen.

Cabinet approves 100% FDI under automatic route for white label ATMs.

 In a move meant to further financial inclusion and attract FDI , the
Cabinet approved a proposal for 100% FDI under the automatic
route for white label ATM operations (WLAO)

 White label ATMs refer to the ATMs set up by non bank entities.
WLAO in the country include Muthoot Finance , Srei Infra Finance
etc.

 This is part of the strategy of the centre of enhancing ATM
networks in semi-urban and rural areas.

 Until now , the foreign investment in WLAO was allowed only
through the government approval route which resulted in large delays and dissuaded investors from
investing in critical areas.

 Conditions for allowing 100% FDI includes that the non bank entity intending to set up WLAOs should
have a minimum net worth of 100 crores.

 The guidelines for setting up WLAO will be set by the RBI.

No FPI investment in commodities till Centre review : RBI tells SEBI

 The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has instructed
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to not
allow any Foreign Portfolio investment (FPI) until
Centre gives its nod.

 The merger of SEBI with Forward Market Commission
that regulates the commodity market was expected to
pave the way for FPIs to participate in commodity
derivatives market as they are already allowed by SEBI.

 Ahead of the FMC merger , SEBI has also amended its regulations that would allow the functioning of
the commodities derivative market under its ambit.

India must buy overseas assets aggressively: Pradhan

 India ‘s petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan stated that India
must buy overseas oil and gas assets aggressively for the creation
of strategic reserves.

 He also called to step up domestic exploration and production.
 India sources almost 80% of its crude by way of imports and the

decreasing oil prices have come as a big boon in reducing the
Current account deficit and in containing inflation.
 The low oil prices also brought down the value of oil and gas
fields abroad.
 ONGC Videsh limited is currently involved in an offshore oil field project in the South China sea in
Vietnam and is competing for rights in Kazakhstan which has some of the largest oil fields in the world
along with Chinese consortium.
 India is late in creation of foreign assets while large economies like USA , UK have many such strategic
assets in many countries. China is also seeking to aggressively bolster its clout in this region.

SEPTEMBER 9 – Himalaya Diwas Call for conservation of Himalayan
Ecosystems

 Activists across the world decided the date of September
9th as Himalaya Diwas.

 Wildlife conservationists have stressed on the dastardly
effect climate change and pollution has on the
Himalayan Cordillera.

 Until now , the conservation of Himalayas were confined
to research institutions .

 Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat stressed on
the importance of conservation of the Himalayan ecosystems and has advocated for a public
conservation campaign in these regions.

 Himalayas through melting of snow and glaciers provide water supply to many of the largest rivers in
Asia and is crucial to the security of the subcontinent.

September 11th, 2015

India urges Riyadh to waive immunity

 India has asked Saudi Arabia to waive immunity for one of
its diplomats and his father in law who are facing trial for
sexual slavery of 2 Nepali maids.

 The medical team of Gurgaon police have uncovered
prima facie evidence of abuse against the Nepali women.

 Ministry of External Affairs will have to handle this
situation in a delicate manner as it involves 2 more
countries.

 Saudi Arabia is India’s second largest supplier of crude oil and its fourth largest trading partner and is
also home to the sizeable diaspora of 2.5 million Indians.

 Nepal is one of India’s closest friends and Nepali citizens enjoy rights on par with Indians in many
cases and Indian higher educational institutions accept many Nepali students.

 All India Democratic Women ‘s association workers protested outside the Saudi Arabian embassy
against the actions of the diplomat and also against Saudi laws that curtail the independence and
freedom of women.

 Vienna Convention states that diplomats enjoy immunity from legal prosecution in the countries of
their posting and as a result the Saudi diplomat can go scot free.

BSF , Pakistani Rangers to check border firing

 The BSF and Pakistani Rangers held cordial talks with both sides
exploring avenues like coordinated border patrolling in the
Gujarat , Rajasthan and Punjab regions.

 India also proposed a sports meet between the BSF and Pakistani
rangers as an ice-breaker.

 Pakistan agreed with BSF on the drug smuggling menace and
called for BSF ‘s active role in subduing it and admitted that
these drugs smuggled from Afghanistan was a problem for them as well.

 Pakistan stated that it was primarily BSF ‘s duty to reduce cross border tensions as BSF had thrice
their manpower and were also equipped with sophisticated surveillance systems.

 Currently communication between BSF and Pakistani Rangers is held only at the sector level. Talks
are on to increase communication between both the parties to district level to prevent confusion and
increase trust.

 The success of this meeting came as a surprise after the talks between the National Security
Advisers(NSA) of both countries collapsed.

Package for exporters soon : Nirmala Sitharaman

 Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the government will soon
come out with a package to boost shipments , commerce and
industry.

 This move follows after the growth of merchandise exports registered
negative last year.

 The government apart from easing starting up businesses , the
government also looks focused to increase its exports and thereby
bring down its current account deficit.

 She also stated that the centre would soon release the ranking of states according to their ease of doing
business. This is helped to direct investors to states that have business friendly laws.

 Although the sectors that were to be benifited were yet to be confirmed , the Minister stated that under
this scheme , banks would give 3% interest relief on export credit and get compensated.

 Possible sectors that are expected to benefited include chemicals , pharma and electronics.

Cairn to go to International Court of Justice against India

 Cairn Energy is set to approach the International Court of
Justice asking it to appoint an arbitrator on behalf of the Indian
government in its $ 1.6 billion pending tax case.

 In 2012 the Government of India imposed tax retrospectively
on Cairn Energy over the issue of transfer pricing.

 The issue of retrospective taxation now is a major thorn in the
side of the government when it is wooing foreign corporates to invest and make in India.

September 14th, 2015

Current Account Deficit narrows to 1.2% of GDP

 The Reserve Bank of India released data which
indicated that the Current Account Deficit (CAD) of
India had narrowed to $6.2 billion or 1.2% of the Gross
Domestic product(GDP).

 The country’s balance of payments (BoP) stood at a
surplus of $11.4 billion in the first quarter of this fiscal
, unchanged from a year ago , but lower than $30
billion seen in the previous squarter.

 The CAD shrank owing to outflow of profits , dividend and interest earned by foreign interest.
 Dollar inflows fall and Dollar outflow increased due to External commercial borrowings and bank

loans.
 Exports fell for an eight straight month mainly due to China’s economic slowdown which is currently

impacting global growth.

Veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn elected as leader of Labour
Party

 Veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn was elected as
leader of British Labour Party . This move is signals
the shift of Labour party completely towards the left.

 Corbyn’s leftist agenda stems from his opposition to
Britain’s nuclear submarine program Trident and his
views that Britain must withdraw from the NATO.

 He was also one of the strongest critics of the war in
Iraq and Syria where Britain plays an integral part in
providing air cover and special forces operations .He
also has criticized PM Cameron ‘s policy for denying refugees from the war asylum.

 PM Cameron has called Corbyn ‘s elevation to leader of the labour party as a threat to national
security and that his socialist views also threaten the economic security of the country.

Germany reimposes border controls

 Interior minister of Germany stated that , Germany was
reinforcing border controls as the country is buckling under
pressure from a record influx of refugees.

 He stated that the aim of this measure is to stop the current
influx to return Germany and to return to an orderly process
with the refugees who are already present in Germany to be
provided for.

 The announcement comes on the eve of an EU Interior Minister’s meet which calls for discussion of
proposals to redistribute about 160,000 refugees across the European Union.

 The Minister also stated that Germany will no longer allow refugees to pick which European country
will host them.

 Germany ‘s negative birth rate and extremely low fertility rate is the sole reason behind Germany
allowing many refugees from Syria as they are highly qualified , having a diverse outlook and can
bolster the German workforce.

Jayant Sinha pitches for lower interest rates

 Minister of State for Finance , Jayant Sinha has stated that RBI should
take into account various factors including while low inflation while
deciding on the monetary policy.

 He also stressed on the need to make exports more competitive by
bringing down the cost of capital and the cost of manufacturing
following heavy competition in the market from cheap Chinese imports
that have got even cheaper following the renminbi devaluation.

 He also pitched for reducing the cost of production of manufactured
goods and that infrastructure and logistical backlogs were driving up
the cost of goods.

 It is essential for Indian exports to be competitive as exports alone can help the Current Account
Deficit in staying as a surplus.

 He stated that RBI was confronted with conflicting data as WPI is in negative , GDP deflator is at zero
but the Consumer Price Index that indicated retail inflation was rising.

Road ministry seeks additional 8,800 cr.

 Besides the record 82,000 crore envisaged as public
funds for construction and maintenance of highways
in the current fiscal , the road ministry has asked for
an additional 8,800 crores as budgetary support.

 The ministry move is as per PM Narendra Modi’s
advice that funds should be sought sufficiently in
advance so that projects don’t suffer due to their
paucity.

 Awarding of new highway projects had picked up since the last fiscal and construction has gained
momentum in the recent months

 The ministry stated in its report that over 2,000 km of highways have been built in April – August
2015 .

Srilankan PM to begin 3 day visit to India.

 Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe begins his 3 day state visit to India
on Monday.

 The focus of the visit would be more on optimising the ties between the
two countries.

 His visit to India comes after PM Modi ‘s visit to Sri Lanka 6 months
earlier.

 4 Memoranda of understanding (MoUs) are expected to be signed
pertaining to a SAARC satellite , launch of emergency ambulance health
protection services on the lines of Indian “108 Emergency response
services” and provision of medical equipment to hospitals in Vavuniya.

 However the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) would not be taken up as he
stated that both the countries had “moved on “

September 15th, 2015

Gujarat , Andhra , Jharkand top rankers in ease of doing
business

According to the report released by
World Bank , Gujarat topped among
states in implementing an ‘action
plan ‘ on ease of doing business with
Andhra Pradesh and Jharkand at 2nd
and 3rd respectively.

 The focus of the study is on 8
key areas : The setting up of a business, allotment of land , construction permits,environment clearances
, labour regulations,obtaining infrastructure related utilities , e-payment of tax , inspections and
enforcing contracts.

 As per the report , most of the states had made good progress in terms of tax reforms
 But the World Bank stated that so far only 32% of the reforms had been implemented on a pan India

basis.
 6 of the BJP rules states had found their way into the top 10.

Panel formed to restructure water agencies

The Ministry for Water Resources has constituted a seven-
member committee led by former Planning Commission
member Mihir Shah to restructure the Central Water
Commission and the Central Ground Water Board to encourage
optimal development of water resources in the country.

 The committee will embark on water resource planning
, augmenting and budgeting in an integrated manner.

 The river basin planning to be carried out will include mapping , measuring rainfall flows, rate of
groundwater recharge etc,

 With most of the Indian rivers found to be highly polluted a new approach is necessary to ensure
sustainable development.

Chinese , Indian stand off in Ladakh

Another stand off occured in the Ladakh region where Indian army
demolished a watch tower constructed by the Chinese on the Indian
border.

 These stand offs are routine due to the lack of border treaty
with the Chinese which adds to the confusion.

 However Beijing denied any confrontation and stated that
China was committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity.

Indo-US trade can grow to $500 billion : Arun Jaitley

 Addressing the 11th Indo-US Economic
Summit , finance minister Arun Jaitley stated
that Indo-US bilateral trade can rise to $ 500
billion from the current $ 100 Billion.

 According to him , there were vast
opportunities for American companies in
sectors like infrastructure , ports , railways and
clean energy

 The finance minister has stated that the government was taking maximum efforts to put in a taxation
regime that is fair and predictable which was critically looked upon by MNCs following the
retrospective imposition of Minimum Alternate Tax. The finance minister ruled out any retrospective
imposition of MAT in the future.

 The GST bill is seen as critical to implement tax reforms in the country as GST seeks to subsume all
indirect taxes into one tax and is expected to raise growth and development .

Novak Djokovic wins US Open

 Novak Djokovic won the US Open by beating
Roger Federer 6-4 ,5-7,6-4,6-4.

 The match went on for over 3 hours and 20
minutes with both players displaying great
technique and tactics.

 17 time grand slam winner Federer ‘s recent
dry run had put questions of retirement for the
34 year old which he brushed aside saying he
was happy with his game.

 Djokovic had lost four of his five previous finals at the US Open although the hard court was his most
preferred turf.

September 16th, 2015

India upgrades ties with North Korea

 India signalled its improved ties with North Korea by
sending Minister of State Kiren Rijju to participate in
an event marking the North Korean national
independence day at the North Korean embassy.

 India’s bilateral ties with North Korea have been
frosty with North Korea being a strategic partner of
Pakistan

 North Korea ‘s leader Kum Jong Un initiated thawing
of the icy relations between both countries by sending
his foreign minister to Delhi.

 North Korea has one of the largest deposits of rare earth metals and trade with North Korea is seen as
crucial to the booming IT and Electronics industry in India.

 While this move could been seen upsetting the South Koreans who are primed to invest a lot in India
in PM Modi’s Make in India , Smart Cities and other schemes.

Pentagon seeks to speed up Indo – US ties

 In an unprecedented move , signalling India’s importance as
a major buyer and potential collaborator in the defence
sector , the Pentagon has established its first ever country
specific cell to speed up ties with India.

 Pentagon is the head quarters of the US Department of
Defence.

 The India Rapid Reaction Cell (IRRC) is part of efforts to
pursue all aspects of the India-US Defence Trade and Technology Initiative(DTTI).

 The DTTI enjoys full backing from both sides and this was articulated by both President Barack
Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2015, who had directed the DTTI to focus on
pursuing six co-development pathfinder efforts.

 To strengthen and speed up Defence collaborative process , India and the U.S. are set to hold a series
of high-level exchanges in the defence sector, including a visit to the U.S. by Defence Minister
Manohar Parrikar.

India aids Afghanistan In Treating 4000 Kids With Heart
Diseases

 After helping Afghanistan in re construction of Salma Dam
in Herat as part of its post war reconstruction aid , the
Government of India will now sponser and provide
surgical operations required by kids with heart ailments.

 According to Afghanistan Red Crescent Society (ARCS),
India is going to help 4,000 Afghan children having heart
disease with their treatment. Most of the children have a
‘hole in heart’ condition, which is called Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) in medical terms.

 India will spend $3,000 (around ₹ 2000 crores) on each patient and if the expenses exceed
$4,000 (around ₹ 2600 crores), the balance amount will be paid by ARCS. This money will be used
for treatment for over five years.

 India will also train Afghani cardiologists in handling surgical procedures for minor heart operations.

Centre may set up shell Public Debt Management Agency
(PDMA) soon.

 Keen to avoid a stand-off with the Reserve Bank of
India, the government is likely to set up a “shell”
public debtmanagement agency (PDMA)

 However legislative backing for full-fledged operations
will not be given till a consensus is reached with the
central bank on the structure of the proposed agency.

 The shell PDMA would be set up through an executive
order in a couple of months. A cabinet note with these
suggestions are now being discussed among concerned ministries and the RBI, the sources added.

 The creation of the PDMA which was a budgetary promise of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley , would
enable RBI to focus on its core function of monetary policy and regulating banks. Such an agency is
also expected to lower the government’s borrowing costs eventually and foster a liquid and efficient
G-Secs market.

 The idea is also to resolve the conflict of interests involved in RBI simultaneously targeting inflation
by calibrating interest rates and regulating as well as managing government debt.

September 18th, 2015

Finance Minister assures Economic reforms

 Addressing investors in Singapore , Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley that the government has several
legislations in the pipeline to bring about economic
reform.

 The FM stated that a new bankruptcy code and
changes to the arbitration laws were in progress.

 He also hinted that the government might pass the
bills in the form of a money bill as the centre does not enjoy majority in Rajya Sabha.

 The economic reforms are one of the most awaited promises of the Narendra Modi and bills like GST
and Land acquisition are seen as crucial to the economy and development.

Cabinet allocates Rs 5142 crore to develop 300 smart rural
clusters.

 The Cabinet today allocated over Rs 5142 crore to develop 300
rural clusters as part of Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban
Mission that seeks to bridge rural – urban divide gap by 2019-
2020.

 The mission aims to spur economic, social and infrastructure
development in rural areas.

 The Mission, that was announced last year to replace UPA
government’s PURA (Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas) initiative, aims at improving the
quality of life of people there by involving the government this time.

 Under the scheme, the State Governments would identify the clusters in accordance with the
framework for implementation prepared by the Ministry of Rural Development.The clusters will be
geographically contiguous Gram Panchayats with a population of about 25000 to 50000 in plain and
coastal areas and a population of 5000 to 15000 in desert, hilly or tribal areas.

 The other components of the scheme in clusters will be providing citizen service centres- for
electronic delivery of citizen centric services and e-gram connectivity, public transport, LPG gas
connections, agro processing, agri services including storage and warehousing, sanitation, provision of
piped water supply, solid and liquid waste management and upgrading education facilities.

India to ban testing of soaps and detergents on Animals

 The environment ministry has accepted the Prakash
Javadekar ‘s committee’s suggestions in implementing a
ban on testing of soaps , detergents and cosmetics on
animals.

 This ban was actively pushed for by environment
minister and animal rights activist Menaka Gandhi and
will soon be notified by the Department of Industrial
Policy and Promotion.(DIPP)

 The Centre has constituted the (Committee for the Purpose of Control of experiments on
animals) CPCSEA to take all such measures as may be necessary to ensure that animals are not
subjected to unnecessary pain or suffering before, during or after the performance of experiments on
them. All establishments engaged in research and education involving animals, are required to comply
with the various guidelines, norms and stipulations set out by CPCSEA.

 Computer modelling and advances in molecular science allow such testing to be conducted without
endangering lives, such practices are not only inhumane but also anachronistic.

 A CPCSEA spokesman stated that their report was heavily influenced by Emperor Ashoka the Great
who treated the animals in his kingdom as citizens.

Government to compulsorily retire officers with bad record

 In a bid to curb corruption and inefficiency amongst government officers
, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) which is under the
Prime Minister has now strengthened the review processes to compulsorily
retire such officers.

 As per an existing rule FR 56 (J) which has been rarely enforced, the
performance of Group A and B officials who have completed 50 years and
junior officials who have completed 55 years of service must be reviewed
and a decision taken whether to compulsorily retire them before turning 60.

September 21th, 2015

Nepal adopts first democratic Constitution.

 On 20th September 2015 Nepal adopted its first democratic
constitution , a historic step for a nation that has seen war , a
palace massacre and devastating earthquakes since a campaign
to create a modern state began more than 65 years ago.

 The constitution creates 7 states in a secular , federal system but
was opposed by some groups who wanted to re-establish Nepal
as a Hindu nation.

 Demonstrations were also present in the lowlands were present as people felt that the constitution was
unfavourable to the Madhesi people living in the Terai near the Indian border.

 A crowd of over 2000 people cheered and took pictures of the constituent assembly building decked
out in red and blue Nepali flags.

 Following 7 years of turmoil after monarchy was abolished in 2008 , the Himalayan country is finally
looking forward to peace .

Federal reserve to keep US rates unchanged

 The rupee posted its biggest daily gain in 2 years while
the Indian stock index climbed to a three week high due
to the Federal reserve ‘s decision to keep interest rates
unchanged.

 This may also pave the way for the RBI to reduce
borrowing costs for a fourth time this year .

 Since 2008 , the US Federal reserve has kept its interest
rates near zero.

 Concerns over the Chinese market crash led to speculation about the Fed’s interest rates.

Forex reserves go up by $2.35 billion in September

 After falling for two straight weeks , India ‘s foreign exchange
reserves rose by $ 2.35 billion to $351.38 billion.

 The rise indicates that the RBI could be buying dollars from
the market .

 RBI has been purchasing dollars from the open market after
foreign currency outflows in August 2013 lead to the Rupee
dropping to its lowest ever.

Centre hikes import duty on edible oil by 5%

 In a move to protect interest of farmers and domestic processors , the
government hiked import duty on edible oil by 5%.

 India imported around 11.56 metric tonnes of edible oil in this fiscal year
alone.

 About 60% of the imported oil comes from Malaysia and Indonesia.
 The Solvent Extractors Association hailed the move but stated that they only wanted the duty

difference between crude and refined oil alone to increase so that value addition takes place in India.

Russia to help India develop technology to disinfect food
products

 Russia is all set to help India develop technology to disinfect food
commodities and sterilise medical products.

 Executives from Rusatom Overseas and the Indian company Gamma
Tech (where the Russians have picked 51% shares ) inked an
agreement to create a network of centres for radiation sterilisation in
India.

 These centres will perform disinfection of food commodities and sterilisation of medical products with
ionising radiation.

 The first two pilot centres are planned to be opened in Tamil Nadu.
 Radiation sterilisation is aimed at maximum reduction of pathogenic bacteria and viruses. It allows

decontamination of food products such as fruit , vegetables , berries as well as fish and meat. It also
increases the storage life of food products and prevents the sprouting of vegetables.

September 22th, 2015

Need to clean up banking system : Raghuram Rajan

 The RBI Governor stressed the need for sustainable
growth in the country while keeping the inflation rate
low.

 He stressed that extremely fast growth will lead to
higher inflation , higher deficits and lower growth in the
subsequent years.

 With the amount of bad loans rising , he stressed on
cleaning up the banking system of distressed assets instead of softening RBI ‘s stance on bad loans.

 The RBI chief has been facing constant criticism over the past few weeks from various sectors with
regards to him refusing to lower the interest rate.

India cannot reinvent language of liability : GE Chief

 Unless an agreement is reached with the US on “common language”
on the civil nuclear liability law , General Electric will not invest in
India’s nuclear energy industry, CEO Jeff Immelt said here on
Monday.

 He stressed on the need for India to follow the rules that rest of the
world abide by in case of civil nuclear liability.

 General Electric is the largest infrastructure company in the world
and any hesitation on their part will seriously impact PM Modi’s plan
of modernising India.

 The GE chief also called for reducing subsidies in the electricity sector and let prices be determined by
market rates to removes lingering doubts of investment in India’s energy sector.

 Expressing optimism , he stated that India represented a huge opportunity that remained untapped.

India calls back Ambassador to Nepal

 Deeply concerned over the continuing violence in
Nepal’s border regions with India , the Ministry of
External Affairs called the Indian Ambassador to
Nepal back to Delhi for consultations.

 The clashes between the Madhesi protesters and the
Nepali forces has caused Indian transporters to be stuck
at the Biratnagar integrated border post .

 The clashes are due to certain clauses in the Nepali constitution that was promulgated on Sunday that
were unfavourable to the Madhesi groups living near the border.

 The MEA stated that it was extremely concerned over the tension in the Nepali side of the border and
the possibility of its spillover of violence to neighbouring regions of Bihar which is slated to undergo
elections very soon.

 Nepali Ambassador to India termed the allegations as completely surprising and wondered as to why
India did not express its reservations earlier and that the constitution was only the beginning and any
further differences would soon be resolved.

Natural gas and oil production increase

 According to the Oil Ministry , production of natural gas has
increased by 3.7% and crude oil production has increased by
5.6%.

 This increase in the production of natural gas is the first increase
in almost 5 years.

 Increase in gas production to 2,836.5 million cubic meters is due
to ONGC’s fields in AP where production jump seven fold and
in Tripura where production increased 1.5 times.

 ONGC’s eastern offshore fields also registered an increase from
1.3 mcm in August 2014 to 21.3 mcm last month.

 Domestic crude oil production jumped from 3 million tonnes in August 2014 to 3.2 million tonnes last
month.Here again, ONGC’s western offshore fields and Cairn India’s Rajasthan fields increased
production .

 ONGC , Oil India and Cairn India requested the petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan to remove
the cess they pay on crude oil which they produce.

NTPC to start work in Jharkand coal mine

 National Thermal Power Corporation stated that it will
soon start production from Pakri-Barwadih coal block
in Jharkand this year with production from three more
coal blocks commencing over the next two years.

 In March, NTPC was re-allotted five coal blocks,
including Chatti-Bariatu, Chatti-Bariatu (South) and
Kerandari in Jharkhand; Dulanga in Odisha and
Talaipalli in Chhattisgarh.

 The PSU had earlier said it would soon appoint a mine developer and operator for its Pakri-Barwadih
coal block and Kerandari coal block.

 Following the SC ‘s cancellation of mining allotments in wake of the coal scam , this is the first
instance where production from a new field has started.

September 23th, 2015

India to buy Boeing’s Apache and Chinook helicopters

 Indian cabinet has approved a $2.5bn (£1.7bn) deal to buy
37 military helicopters from the US aviation company
Boeing.ndia will buy 22 Apache attack helicopters and 15
Chinooks

 The main objective of the purchase by India is to replace its
ageing Soviet-era helicopter fleet

 The Indian Air Force picked the Apache and Chinook
helicopters over Russian competitors in 2012, but budget constraints had held back the deal until now.

 The deals have direct commercial contracts with Boeing as well as a direct government to govenment
component between the two governments.

India, U.S. look at expanding horizons

 The first India-U.S. Strategic and Commercial Dialogue
kicked off in Washington headed by U.S. Vice-President
Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, External Affairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj and Union Minister of State for
Commerce Nirmala Sitharaman and attended by 400
business leaders from both countries.

 The U.S. corporate sector continued to flag weak contract
enforcement, unpredictable policy and tax regimes, opaque
regulatory mechanisms and rigid labour laws

 The Indian external affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj sought to reassure U.S. investors that the Modi
government was taking measures to ease doing business in India

 Secretary of State Kerry stated that that the climate for bilateral investment and trade has never been
better. And that is true in everything from clean energy to aerospace to financial services and movies,
where, obviously, Hollywood and Bollywood reign supreme.

 Shobhana Bhartia, chairperson and editorial director of HT Media, and Indra Nooyi, chairman and
CEO of PepsiCo, received the USIBC Global Leadership awards at the function for the contribution to
the global economy.

 A Memorandum of Understanding on climate change was also signed by the two countries.

Volkswagen emissions cheating probe

 Volkswagen (VW)AG ‘s admission cheating diesel vehicle
emissions tests in the U.S spread like wildfire as South Korea said
it would investigate three of the maker’s diesel models

 Volkswagen shares plunged by 19 per cent on Monday after the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Friday that
the world’s biggest carmaker by sales used software that deceived
regulators measuring toxic emissions and could face penalties of
up to $18 billion.

 U.S. Department of Justice has started a criminal probe into the allegations, which cover several VW
and Audi-branded diesel models including the Audi A3, VW Jetta, Beetle, Golf and Passat.

 VW’s U.S. head Michael Horn, who was attending a lavish event in New York to promote the 2016
VW Passat, admitted the company had ‘totally screwed up’ and vowed to make amends.

PM Modi to visit Ireland and United States

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi left on Tuesday evening for Ireland,
expected to be the first stop in a trip, which will end with his visit to
the Silicon Valley in the West Coast of the United States.

 He will be the first Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to visit
Ireland.

 Ireland has a significant number of Indian health professionals
many of whom represent pharma majors like Reliance GeneMedix
and Ranbaxy Ltd.

 The MEA stated that information technology, smart agriculture and
food processing industry provide other areas for closer cooperation
for mutual advantage.

RBI to soon come out with draft on relaxing ECB norms

 Seeking to attract overseas investments, the Reserve Bank will
soon come out with a draft paper on liberalising external
commercial borrowings (ECB) norms after consultations with
the Finance Ministry.

 Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das stated that the
government is also planning to remove various conditionalities
and restrictions to make the foreign direct investment (FDI)
policy more progressive and make the country an attractive investment destination.

 The liberalised ECB norms would be finalised after inviting comments from stakeholders
 ECB has implications for monetary stability as it adds to the country’s overall external debt and future

repayment liability.

ARCs need capital infusion to tackle Indian Banks’ non
performing assets(NPAs)

 Asset reconstruction companies (ARC)which are playing a
limited role in absorbing the booming non-performing assets
(NPAs) of the Indian banks need capital infusion to be more
effective, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) stated.

 Capital is constrained due to higher investment requirements
in security receipts for ARCs and shareholding ceiling for
sponsors at below 50 per cent.

 ARCs are now tapping debt markets to raise funds, which is
a shift to leverage from the near zero debt model earlier

 Currently banks’ stressed loans (NPAs+restructured) as of March 2015 stood at 11.1 per cent of the
outstanding credit, while all ARCs put together have a capital base of mere Rs 4,000 crore.

September 24th, 2015

PMO concerned about slow pace of progress in railway
projects

 The Prime Minister’s Office is concerned about the less than
satisfactory performance of railway in certain areas and is pushing the
railway ministry to speed up key projects.

 Nripendra Misra, principal secretary to Prime Minister Modi added that
he was confident that Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu would live up to
expectations and take the monopoly state-run transporter toward the
path of development.

 The concern of the PMO was over the slow progress of projects such as station development and high-
speed services which are futuristic projects and must be implemented with proper planning and
vision .

 Senior railway officials said there was pressure to speed up projects with “visible results.” Among the
projects that Modi is said to be especially keen on is the high-speed train service and that this was
nothing but a matter of “routine monitoring” by the PMO.

Cabinet Nod for Rs 8,000 crore Air Force radar system

 The Cabinet committee on security also cleared an 8,000
crore project for the extension of IAF’s fully automated air
surveillance and defence network to the whole country.

 The IAF has already established five nodes of the IACCS
(integrated air command and control system) in the western
sector facing Pakistan at Barnala (Punjab), Wadsar
(Gujarat), Aya Nagar (Delhi), Jodhpur (Rajasthan) and Ambala (Haryana) with help from defence
PSU Bharat Electronics.

 Now, as was first reported by TOI, four new major nodes and 10 sub-nodes will come up under Phase-
II of the IACCS. While three nodes will be in eastern, central and southern India, the fourth is meant
for the strategically-located Andaman and Nicobar Islands archipelago.

 The aim is to ensure any intrusion by a hostile aircraft, helicopter, drone or micro-light can be detected
and tackled as soon as it takes place. The composite air picture will be available in real-time at
centralised locations and the national command post.

 Some of the new nodes will be located in underground complexes to improve survivability in face of
enemy attacks, even as the entire IACCS infrastructure is also being upgraded with advanced early-
warning, jam-resistant radars and the like.

India will provide 24×7 power across the country by 2019:
Piyush Goyal

 Power Minister Piyush Goyal has stated that India will provide 24×7
power across the country by 2019 by creating cost effective
infrastructure which is sustainable and inclusive of clean energy
solutions .

 He also elaborated on India’s ambitious plans for deployment of 175
GW Renewable Power capacities by 2022, including 100 GW of Solar and 60 GW of Wind, which
may require investment of around $150 billion in the next seven years.

 He also stressed on government’s objective of construction of 100 smart cities which would include in
its blueprint adequate provisions for power generation, usage of renewables and energy efficiency
technologies and waste to energy technologies etc.

 Goyal pointed out that India-US collaboration in the energy sector offer great potential, in view of
India’s enormous energy needs and the US’ resources, capabilities and technology.

Xi Jinping seeks to fast-track Sino-U.S ties

 Chinese President Xi Jinping has begun a
much anticipated visit to the United States in
an attempt to woo US corporate giants amid
the economic slowdown being faced by China.

 He is expected to address prickly issues such
as cyber security and the South China Sea
which have began to sully Sino-US ties.

 President Xi called for the establishment of a
high-level joint dialogue mechanism with the United States on fighting cyber-crimes and stated that
the Chinese government will not engage in commercial theft in any form whatsoever.

 The President sought to reassure his hosts that China would not drive down the value of the yuan to
boost exports and will never seek to incite a global currency feud and the recent devaluations were to
control the impact of the recession faced by the chinese.

September 25th, 2015

14 Indians among 717 dead, over 860 injured in Hajj
stampede in Saudi Arabia

• At least 717 people, including four Indians, were killed and over 860
injured in a stampede on Thursday during Hajj here, in the second worst
ever tragedy to hit the annual pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
• It took place due to a sudden surge in the number of pilgrims heading to
Jamarat for symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing pebbles against
three stone walls resulted in the stampede at 9 AM local time (1130 IST).
• The state-run Saudi Press Agency said the stampede occurred at the intersection of two streets leading to
Jamarat, about five kilometres from Makkah.
• This is the second worst tragedy to hit the Haj after 1990 when 1,426 pilgrims were killed in a stampede
inside a tunnel leading to holy sites.

Forbes India annual rich list out

• Forbes Magazine has released its India rich list on Wednesday night.
• Industrialist Mukesh Ambani continued to lead the list for ninth year straight . He
has a net worth of $18.9 billion. It dipped by $4.7 billion in a year.
• Dilip Shanghvi was ranked the second richest Indian with a net worth of $18
billion. He owns Sun Pharma.
• Wipro’s Azim Premji retained his third place with $15.9 billion.
• Flipkart’s co-founders Sachin and Binni Bansals made their debut at 86th position
with a net worth of $1.3 billion each.
• The combined wealth of India’s 100 richest persons remained largely unchanged at $345 billion, compared
with $346 billion in 2014.
• In the top ten, Hinduja brothers were ranked 4th with $15.9 billion, followed by Pallonji Mistry at $14.7
billion, Shiv Nadar ($12. 9 billion), Godrej family ($11.4 billion), Lakshmi Mittal ($11.2 billion), Cyrus
Poonawala ($7.9 billion) and Kumar Mangalam Birla ($7.8 billion).

Modi in New York Day 1: PM woos Fortune 500 CEOs with
promise of reforms

• On the Day 1, he met CEOs of 47 Fortune 500 companies, media
companies and key financial sector players and made strong pitch for
making investments in India.
• Many top honchos of US business. Among the chief executives of the
financial world were Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan, Steve Schwarzman of
Blackstone, Charles Kaye of Warburg Pincus, Henry Kravis of KKR, Bill Ford of General Atlantic, Peter
Hancock of AIG Insurance, Chase Coleman of Tiger Global and Vicki Fuller of NY State Common
Retirement Fund.
• The prime minister later met US-India Business Council chair Ajay Banga, industrialist and former New
York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, Lockheed Martin chief Marillyn A. Hewson and Aecom chief executive
Mike Burke.
• For the Prime Minister, it was all about attracting capital and investment. At the meeting with 47 CEOs of
Fortune 500 companies, Modi assured continuity in economic reforms while pitching for more foreign
investments into India.
• Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch tweeted the following after meeting with the PM
” Great hour with Indian PM Modi. Best leader with best policies since independence, but massive task to
achieve in most complex nation. “

Gold tops Rs 27,000, surges Rs 400 to hit 1-month high

• Gold today reclaimed Rs 27,000-mark by zooming Rs 400 to hit 1-month high of Rs 27,250 per 10 grams at
the bullion market, tracking a firming trend overseas amid pick-up in jewellers’ buying

• Silver also retook the Rs 36,000-level by surging Rs 1,100 to Rs 36,500 per kg on increased offtake by
industrial units and coin makers.
• Bullion traders said besides a firming global trend where gold soared to one-month high, continued buying by
jewellers and retailers to meet wedding season demand largely influenced the precious metal prices.
• Globally, gold climbed 2.11 per cent to USD 1,154.10 an ounce, its highest level since August 24, and silver
2.43 per cent to USD 15.15 an ounce in New York in yesterday’s trade.
• Fresh weakness in the rupee against the dollar, making imports costlier, too supported the upside.
• In the national capital, gold of 99.9 per cent and 99.5 per cent purity climbed Rs 400 each to Rs 27,250 and
Rs 27,100 per 10 grams, respectively, a level last seen on August 25. The precious metals had gained Rs 340 in
the past two days.
• Silver coins spurted Rs 1,000 to Rs 53,000 for buying and Rs 54,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

September 28th, 2015

India successfully launches ASTROSAT

 The Indian space agency, ISRO today launched Rs 180 crore ASTROSAT,
India’s first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory that will help in
understanding the universe, and six other foreign satellites.

 The successful launch of ASTROSAT, has catapulted India in the group of
select nations like US, Japan, Russia and Europe which have their own
space observatories.

 ASTROSAT, will observe the universe through optical, ultraviolet, low and high energy X-ray
components of the electromagnetic spectrum, whereas most other scientific satellites are capable of
observing through a narrow wavelength band.

 The 44.4 metres, 320 ton polar satellite launch vehicle’s XL variant (PSLV-XL) carrying seven
satellites cumulatively weighing 1,631 kg was launched at 10am September 28.

 ASTROSAT with a five year life span weighed 1,513 kg, the six foreign satellites (four from the US
and one each from Indonesia and Canada) together weighed 118 kg.

 According to an official of Antrix Corporation – the commercial arm of India Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) – a deal has been signed to put into orbit nine American nano/micro satellites by
the end of 2016.

 It is the third time a PSLV rocket has launched seven satellites in a single mission. In 2008, ISRO had
launched 10 satellites in one go, including India’s Cartosate-2A satellite.

 This is the first time that an Indian rocket launched satellites from the US.
 Till date, India has launched 45 foreign satellites for a fee.

MHA okays visa-free biz trips to 15 nations

The Home Ministry gave in-principle approval to visa free
short business trips to leading businessmen from India and
15 other countries, including China and Japan, to make
visa-free short business trips to each other’s territory to
boost commercial ties.

 The member countries of the Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a

proposed mega trade agreement, will discuss the matter at its next meeting scheduled to be held in
Busan, South Korea, from October 12 to 16.
 Sixteen-member RCEP comprises 10 ASEAN member states and their trading partners — India,
South Korea, Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand.
 Under the proposal, a special business travel card, modelled on that of the Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC), will be issued to leading businessmen of RCEP member countries for
uninterrupted, visa-free short business trips to each other’s territory.

Modi in Silicon Valley: 21st Century Belongs to India

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ended his
two day whirlwind trip to West Coast with
the following quote “[India] has moved on
from scriptures to satellites, The world has
started to believe that the 21st century
belongs to India.”

 Prime Minister met the world’s top tech
chiefs, including India-born Satya Nadella
and Sundar Pichai, and shared his plans for
digital India in a massive event at Silicon Valley, followed by dinner with 350 business leaders.

 On Sunday, he answered questions from the audience at a Townhall at the Facebook headquarters and
took a tour of the Google headquarters with CEO Sundar Pichai. The Prime Minister also spoke about
the role of social media in governance, and the effect it has had on his personal life.

 He made a strong pitch for his pet Digital India initiative with the titans of the IT world, promising to
make governance more accountable and transparent while assuring data privacy and security.

 The PM said his government was working on deregulation and ensuring ‘ease of doing business’ as he
aimed to convert the country’s economy from 8 trillion dollars to 20 trillion dollars.

 Google will soon help set up base for free Wi-Fi at 500 railway stations
 Microsoft will bring in low-cost broadband connectivity to 5 lakh villages
 Microsoft will announce cloud computing systems from data centres in the country this week.
 Leading chipmaker Qualcomm will invest $150 million for mobile and Internet-of-everything start-

ups in the country
 Apple’s largest manufacturer Foxconn will set up a manufacturing base in India

France launches first air strikes against IS in Syria.

 France said on Sunday it had launched its first
air strikes against Islamic State in Syria in an
act of “self-defence” to stop to the militant
group from carrying out attacks inside France.

 “We are hitting Daesh because this terrorist
organisation prepares its attacks against France
from Syria. We are acting in self-defense,”
Valls said, using an Arabic name for Islamic
State.

 French President François Hollande said on Sunday six French jets had struck an Islamic State
training camp in Syria, destroying their targets, and warned of more strikes in coming weeks.

 Islamist militants carried out a number of attacks in France this year, including one on the Paris office
of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in which 12 people died. A source in the presidency said the strikes
were carried out early on Sunday morning.

 The United States is leading a coalition carrying out air strikes in Iraq and Syria. France had so far
only taken part in strikes in Iraq, fearing such action against the group in Syria could strengthen
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

London Games – Bindra shoots gold, Narang 4th.

 Beijing Olympics gold medallist Abhinav
Bindra clinched the gold medal while London
Games bronze medallist Gagan Narang failed
to finish on the podium in the 10m Air Rifle
event of the Asian Air Gun Championships.

 The 32-year-old shooter from Chandigarh shot
208.3 to bag the top prize ahead of
Kazakhstan’s world No. 8 Yurkov Yuriy
(206.6) and Korea’s Yu Jaechul (185.3) on the first day of the competition at the Dr Karni Singh
Shooting Range.

 Narang finished fourth with a score of 164.5 while Chain Singh finished seventh after notching up
122.7.

 India also won the gold medal in the 10m air rifle team event. Bindra, Narang and Singh shot a total of
1868.6.

September 29th, 2015

RBI cuts interest rate by 0.5 percent to boost economy

 The Reserve Bank of India owing to softer
inflation cut repo rate by 50 basis points to
6.75 percent in its fourth Bi- monthly policy
today.

 This is the lowest Repo rate in four years.
 Along with the cut in repo rate, the reverse

repo rate is adjusted to 5.75 percent, and the
marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the
Bank Rate to 7.75 percent.
 Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) remains unchanged at 4%
 GDP forecast for 2015-16 lowered to 7.4%.
 CPI inflation expected to reach 5.8% in January 2016, marginally lower than earlier 6%
 FPI investment limit in govt bonds to be hiked to 5 pc by 2018.
 Fifth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy review will be done on December 1.
 Till date, India has launched 45 foreign satellites for a fee.

Modi Obama talk Climate Change and China

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US
President Barack Obama discussed a series of
issues before concluding the formers US visit.

 Two key issues discussed were Climate
Change and strategic issue of China and its
rivalry with Japan.

 On the issue of climate change, PM Modi
talked about the upcoming Paris Conference in
December which is expected to set
international standards and fix responsibilities for governments in combating climate change problems
and seeking specific commitments from them.

 India is yet to announce its CBDRs (Common but Differentiated Responsibilities), while major
powers, including China, have done that already. India is expected to announce its CBDRs in October.

 On strategic aspects, Modi told Obama that the India-US defence cooperation, including defence trade
and training, was expanding and the two countries had just had a dialogue on cyber security.

 “I welcomed the progress in giving shape to our Joint Strategic Vision on Asia, Pacific and Indian
Ocean Regions as also our joint engagement with regional partners like Japan. This will also
strengthen our maritime security cooperation,” Modi said.

 This is a major gesture from Modi to the US as the Americans are most concerned about China and its
shenanigans in the South China Sea.

FMC Merges with SEBI

 The merger of Forward Markets Commission
(FMC), the erstwhile commodities regulatory
body and capital markets watchdog Securities
and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) came into
effect from today.

 The Forward Markets Commission regulated
commodities market since 1953, while the Securities and Exchange Board of India was set up in 1988
as a non-statutory body for regulating the securities markets and became an autonomous body in 1992
with full independent powers.

 India boasts of three national and six regional bourses for commodity futures in the country.
 The merger is aimed at streamlining the regulations and curb wild speculations in the commodities

market, while facilitating further growth there.

INS KOCHI to be commissioned tomorrow .

 INS Kochi will be commissioned on
Wednesday as the largest-ever warship to be
built in India till now.

 This is packed with packed with weapons and
sensors as well as advanced stealth features.

 Induction of the 7,500-tonne INS Kochi, the
second of the three Kolkata-class destroyers
being built at Mazagaon Docks (MDL) at
Mumbai for over Rs 4,000 crore apiece, will
make it the 10th destroyer in India’s combat fleet.

 The first of this class, INS Kolkata, was commissioned in August last year, while the third INS
Chennai will be inducted towards end-2016

Lewis Hamilton wins Japanese GP.

 Mercedes returned to the front of Formula 1 as
Lewis Hamilton dominated the Japanese
Grand Prix to put a stranglehold on the title
races.

 Nico Rosberg finished second.
 With this win, Hamilton equals Ayrton

Senna’s win tally of 41 wins.
 This is Hamilton’s 8th win of the season.
 He tops the leaderboard with 277 points, followed by Nico Rosberg at 229 points.
 Sebastian Vettel stands firm at third position with 218 points.