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GENERAL AWARENESS APRIL 2015 1

CricketW orld Cup

TheICC Cricket World Cupis the international championshipof OneDay International (ODI) cricket. Theevent is organised bythesports governing body, theInternational Cricket Council (ICC),with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finalstournament held every four years. Thetournament is oneof theworld's most viewed sporting events and is considered the"flagshipevent of theinternational cricket calendar" by theICC.

The first World Cup was organised in England in June1975, with thefirst ODI cricket match having been played onlyfour years prior. However, a separateWomen's Cricket WorldCup had been held two years beforethefirst men's tournament, anda tournament involving multipleinternational teams had been heldas early as 1912, when a triangular tournament of Testmatches was played between Australia, England and South Africa.Each of thefirst threeWorld Cups wereheld in England. Fromthe1987 tournament onwards, hosting has been shared betweencountries under an unofficial rotation system, with fourteen ICCmembers having hosted at least onematch in thetournament.

Thefinals of theWorld Cup arecontested by theten fullmembers of theICC (all of which areTest-playing teams) and anumber of teams madeup fromassociateand affiliatemembers ofthe ICC, selected via theWorld Cricket Leagueand a laterqualifying tournament. A total of 19 teams havecompeted in theten editions of the tournament, with 14 competing in the2011tournament. Australia has won thetournament four times, with

theWest Indies, India (twiceeach), Pakistan and Sri Lanka (onceeach) also having won thetournament. Thebest performanceby anon-full-member teamcamewhen Kenya madethesemi-finals ofthe2003 tournament.

ICC WORLD CUP FINALS AT GLANCEYear Host Natio Winner Runner-u1975 England West Indies Australia197 England West Indies England198 England India West Indies1987 Ind & Pak Australia England1992 Aus & NZ Pakistan England1996 Ind, Pak & SL Sri Lanka Australia199 England Australia Pakistan

200 South Africa Australia India2007 West Indies Australia Sri Lanka201 Ind,SL & Ban India Sri Lanka2015 Aus & NZ Going on Going on

SOME FACTS & FIGURES

1) TheWest Indies havemadetheWorld Cup finals thriceon thetrot. They had won thefirst two editions in 1975 and 1979but lost to India in 1983. But theCaribbeans never reachedthefinals of thetournament ever again. In 1996, they camevery closebut lost unbelievably to Australia.

2) England aretheonly teamwho havelost in threeWorld Cupsin threedecades, i.e., 1975, 1987 and 1992. GrahamGooch istheonly player to havefeatured in all thethreefinals andended in thelosing side.

3) India aretheonly Asian sideto havewon thequadrennialtournament twice(in 1983 and 2011). Pakistan (1992) andSri Lanka (1996) havewon it onceeach.

4) Melbournewill becomethesecond ground to host morethanone World Cup finals. Only Lord's have hosted more number of finals (4).

5) India's Sachin Tendulkar has scored themost number of runsin theWorld Cup (2,278 runs) and also themost number of

centuries (six). Tendulkar ended as thehighest run-getter intwo editions of theWorld Cup (1996 and 2003).6) Australia's Glenn McGrath has taken most wickets in the

World Cup (71 in 39 matches). McGrath also has thebestbowling figures of 7-15 which he had registered againstNamibia in 2003.

7) South Africa's Gary Kirsten has thehighest individual scorein a World Cup match, scoring an unbeaten 188 againstdebutants UAE in 1996.

8) Australia had remained unbeaten in theWorld Cup for 12years, which is a record. After the10-run loss to Pakistan in a

group match in the1999 edition, theAussies lost again in theWorld Cup in 2011 when they lost to samePakistan in agroup match by 4 wickets.

9) In the1996 World Cup, eventual champions Sri Lanka hadreceived two walkovers in thegroup stage, against Australiaand theWest Indies. At onestage, theLankans got 6 pointsby playing just 1 game!

10) Zimbabweshocked the cricketing world when they beat astrong Australian sideby 13 runs in their debut match in theWorld Cup in 1983.

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MORE POWER TO STATESThe constitution of India gives primacy to the Union in the matter of overall revenue generation. The states have

always complained that while the responsibility of providing all public amenities rests with them, the avenues to raisetheir income as the major resources are in the list reserved for the Centre.

In the Indian federal structure, obligations for various services like law and order, health education are unequallyshared between Centre and the States. The Centre retained the power to decide and allocate the funds to the different

states which led to charges of favouritism or discrimination based on ones opinion and share of resources.

It is not that the makers of the constitution did not think of such a scenario and as such inserted the provision of anindependent Finance Commission (vide Article 280) to decide the division of taxes between the Centre and the States fora period of five years. This commission is set up every five years to recommend how revenues from Central taxes shouldbe shared between the Centre and the states. This allocation is necessary in a diverse country like India to make sure thatthe people get all the public facilities, whether they are living in rich or a poor state. The successive Commissions havebeen remit in increasing the share of states in the divisible pool of taxes, though in small doses, leaving a large discretionwith the government at the centre. Still, with the centre holding the power to the purse, the Chief Ministers were treatedas beggars in the corridors of the North Block. The Central Ministers would devise one fit all schemes for which theallocation was not decided by the Finance Commission but by the Minister/ Planning Commission through grants orCentrally Sponsored Schemes, leaving no elbow room for the states to devise schemes to suit their specific needs. All thisis set to change.

The FFC (Fourteenth Finance Commission) headed by Dr. Y.V. Reddy has made radical proposals which mayredefine the Indian Federal Structure in a more desirable manner. The Commission has increased the amount of from the

divisible pool of taxes from 32% to 42%, the biggest jump seen so far. (The previous F.C.s had increased the same by 1 or1.5% only.) This marks a big departure as it will give the states a great leeway in deciding their own schemes. Therecommendations are based on the premise that the states can be trusted to settle their own priorities and so should begiven more fiscal space in this regard. It places a heavy responsibility on the states to design, formulate and implementand monitor their own plans without the big brother ( Centre) looking over their shoulder, leading to greater federalismby conferring more fiscal autonomy on the states.

REWRITING THE HISTORYThe year 1977 was a watershed year in the history of Independent Indias political scenario when for the first time

India had a non-congress government marking the emergence an alternative to the unchallenged established one partyrule. The transition was unexpectedly smooth.

The government led by a strong Prime Minister having imposed emergency and made changes to the constitution

to suit its convenience, wanted to seek legitimacy to its rule by seeking a fresh mandate from public.If it expected that the fractured political parties will not be able to pose any challenge to its monopoly over power,

it was soon deluded. The desperate opposition parties got together and came to power with a majority that, no one hadexpected. It is another matter that they could not retain the power for long and frittered away in a span of just two yearsthe historical mandate they had received.

However, it must not be lost that an alternative emerged, which was a coalition of different regional groups, andthis arrangement ruled the nation for next around thirty five years in one form or the other except for the period 1984-1988.

In the similar vein, the year 2015 will go down in the political history as challenge to the established politicalsystem and emergence of an alternative that none could have imagined or foreseen. A political party led by a socialactivist which emerged just two years ago on the horizon, decimated all the established political behemoths andcompelled them to bite the dust in the electoral battle of Delhi.

While the party which had won all the parliamentary seats in the just concluded elections fared very badly, the

party which was in power for the last fifteen years was packed off with a big Zero. The political pundits were leftspeechless and the established parties were exposed to be rootless.

The emergence of this small party in a small area represents a big leap in Indian political scenario where electionsare considered to be the pocket borough of moneybags and democracy has often been called a system of the rich, for therich in the name of the poor.

It has made some political leaders to go on sabbatical and others to vacation. And those who are serious will haveto reflect what has gone wrong or we may say 'right'.

People voted with their foot down and have a given a clarion call to the established system that they cannot betaken to be granted. Perform or Perish is the message loud and clear, given by the masses.

The message is too loud for those who lead and govern to ignore it at their own peril.


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GENERAL AWARENESSAPRIL 2015

Vol. 3, Issue 10

A PUBLICATION OF GYANM EDUCATION &TRAINING INSTITUTE PVT. LTD.

SCO 13-14-15, 2NDFLOOR, SEC 34-A, CHANDIGARH

Contents

BUDGET 2015-16 03-08

CURRENT AFFAIRSDEC 2014 TO FEB 2015

09-40

BULLET NEWSSEP TO NOV 2014

41-54

IBPS PO TEST PAPER 55-70

SSC MODEL TEST PAPER 71-81

6 MONTHS GK BULLETS 82-99

FIGURES TO REMEMBER

REPO RATE (15.1.2015) 7.75%

REVERSE REPO RATE 6.75%

MARGINAL STANDINGFACILITY RATE

8.75%

STATUTORY LIQUIDITY RATIO 21.5%

CASH RESERVE RATIO 4.00%

BANK RATE 8.75%

BASE RATE(s)(of various banks)

10 to10.25 %

INDIAS RANK INPress Freedom Index 2015 136th

Talent Competitiveness 78th

Travel and Tourism Index 65th

Corruption Perceptions Index 85th

The Web Index 2014 48th

Global Terrorism Index 2014 6th

Global Slavery Index 2014 1st

Gender Gap Index 114th

Ease of Doing Business (WorldBank)

142nd

Global Hunger Index 2013 55thGlobal Competitiveness 71st

Human Development Index 135th

Global Innovation Index 76th

Economic Confidence Index 01st

Choice for FDI 143rd

Social Progress Index 102nd

World Press Freedom Index 140th

Environment Performance Index 155th

BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS

ECONOMIC SURVEY

RAILWAY BUDGET


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UNION BUDGET 2015 16HIGHLIGHTS

Union Budget is an annual exercise that is undertaken asper the provisions of article 112 of the Indianconstitution. Passing of budget authorizes the

government to withdraw the funds from theConsolidated Fund of India.

Following are the highlights of the budget for 2015-16:

GDP growth in 2015-16 projected to be between 8 to8.5%

Amrut Mahotsav - The year 2022, 75th year ofIndependence Vision for Team India led by PM

Housing for all - 2 crore houses in Urban areas and 4crore houses in Rural areas.

Basic facility of 24x7 power, clean drinking water,toilets and road connectivity to all villages

Electrification of the remaining 20,000 villagesincluding off-grid Solar Power- by 2020.

Providing medical services in each village and city.

Ensure a Senior Secondary School within 5 km reachof every child,

Direct Transfer of Benefits to be extended furtherwith a view to increase the number of beneficiariesfrom 1 crore to 10.30 crore.

AGRICULTURE

Major steps take to address the two major factorscritical to agricultural production, that of soil andwater.

Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana to be fullysupported.

Pradhanmantri Gram Sinchai Yojana to providePer Drop More Crop.

Rs 5,300 crore to support micro-irrigation, watersheddevelopment and the Pradhan Mantri Krishi SinchaiYojana.

Target of Rs. 8.5 lakh crore of agricultural credit(through banks) during the year 2015-16.

FUNDING THE UNFUNDED

Micro Units Development Refinance Agency

(MUDRA) Bank, with a corpus of Rs. 20,000 crores,and credit guarantee corpus of Rs 3,000 crores to becreated.

MUDRA Bank will be responsible for refinancing allMicro-finance Institutions which are in the business oflending to such small entities of business through aPradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana.

A Trade Receivables discounting System (TReDS)which will be an electronic platform for facilitating

financing of trade receivables of MSMEs to beestablished.

Comprehensive Bankruptcy Code of global standardsto be brought in fiscal 2015-16 towards ease of doingbusiness.

Postal network with 1,54,000 points of presencespread across villages to be used for increasing accessof the people to the formal financial system.

NBFCs registered with RBI and having asset size of Rs500 crore and above may be considered fornotifications as Financial Institution in terms of theSARFAESI Act, 2002.

FROM JAN DHAN TO JAN SURAKSHA

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna to coveraccidental death risk of Rs 2 Lakh for a premium ofjust 12 per year.

Atal Pension Yojana to provide a defined pension,depending on the contribution and the period ofcontribution. Government to contribute 50% of thebeneficiaries premium limited to Rs 1,000 each year,for five years, in the new accounts opened before 31stDecember 2015.

Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojanato coverboth natural and accidental death risk of Rs 2 lakh atpremium of Rs 330 per year for the age group of18-50.

A new scheme for providing Physical Aids andAssisted Living Devices for senior citizens, livingbelow the poeverty line.

Unclaimed deposits of about Rs 3,000 crores in thePPF, and approximately Rs 6,000 crores in the EPFcorpus to be used for creating a fund which will be

used to subsidize the premiums on these socialsecurity schemes through creation of a Senior CitizenWelfare Fund.

INFRASTRUCTURE

National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF),to be established with an annual flow of Rs 20,000crores.

Tax free infrastructure bonds to be issued for theprojects in the rail, road and irrigation sectors.

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) to be established inNITI to provide Innovation Promotion Platforminvolving academicians, and drawing upon nationaland international experiences to foster a culture ofinnovation , research and development.

Self-Employment and Talent Utilization - SETU tobe established as Techno-financial, incubation andfacilitation programme to support all aspects of start-up business. Rs1000 crore to be set aside for this.

5 new Ultra Mega Power Projects, each of 4000 MW,to be started in the Plug-and-Play mode.


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FINANCIAL MARKET

Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) bringingboth external and domestic borrowings under oneroof to be set up this year.

Forward Markets commission to be merged with SEBI.

Sovereign Gold Bond, as an alternative to purchasingmetal gold scheme to be developed.

Indian gold coins to be made for investment in gold.

A student Financial Aid Authority to be formed toadminister all scholarships as well Educational LoanSchemes, through the Pradhan Mantri VidyaLakshmi Karyakram.

A post graduate institute of Horticulture Research &Education is to be set up in Amritsar

An autonomous Bank Board Bureau to be set up toimprove the governance of public sector bank.

BUDGET ESTIMATES

Total Expenditure estimated at Rs 17,77,477 crore. Fiscal deficit will be 3.9 per cent of GDP and Revenue

Deficit will be 2.8 per cent of GDP.

BLACK MONEYAcceptance or re-payment of an advance of Rs 20,000

or more in cash for purchase of immovable propertyto be prohibited.

PAN being made mandatory for any purchase or saleexceeding Rupees 1 lakh.

General Anti Avoidance Rule (GAAR) to be deferred bytwo years, to be applicable from 01.04.2017.

Wealth-tax replaced with additional surcharge of 2per cent on super rich with a taxable income of overRs 1 crore annually

Service-tax plus education cess increased from12.36% to 14% to facilitate transition to GST.

SWACHH BHARAT

100% deduction for contributions, other than by wayof CSR contribution, to Swachh Bharat Kosh and CleanGanga Fund.

Clean energy cess increased from Rs 100 to Rs 200per metric tonne of coal, to finance clean environmentinitiatives.

BENEFITS TO MIDDLE CLASS TAX-PAYERS

Limit of deduction of health insurance premiumincreased from Rs 15000 to Rs 25000, for seniorcitizens limit increased from Rs 20000 to Rs 30000.

Senior citizens above the age of 80 years, who are not

covered by health insurance, to be allowed deductionof Rs 30000 towards medical expenditures.

Deduction limit of Rs 60000 with respect to specifieddecease of serious nature enhanced to 80000 in caseof senior citizen.

Additional deduction of Rs 25000 allowed fordifferently abled persons.

Limit on deduction on account of contribution to apension fund and the new pension scheme increasedfrom Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh.

Additional deduction of Rs 50000 for contribution tothe new pension scheme u/s 80CCD.

Payments to the beneficiaries including interestpayment on deposit in Sukanya Samriddhi scheme tobe fully exempt from income tax.

MAJOR BUDGETARY ALLOCATIONS

Defence 2,46,727Subsidies of whichFood Subsidy 1,24,419 crPetroleum Subsidy 30,000 crFertilizer Subsidy 72,968 cr

2,27,387

Mahatma Gandhi National RuralEmployment Guarantee Scheme

34699

National Livelihood Mission (Rural &Urban)

3343

Housing for all (Rural and Urban)- 14200

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana 14291

National Social Assistance Programme 9074

Swachh Bharat 6000

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana 5300Krishonnati Yojana, incl. Rs. 4500cr forRashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana 12257

Micro, Small And Medium Enterprises 1350

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan 22000

Higher Education 11965

Women And Child Development 9694

Information Technology 2510

Telecommunications 4800

National Health Mission 18000

Urban Development 14585

Road Transport & Highways 40003

Deen Dayal Upadhyay GramJyotiYojana

4500

Science and technology 3550

Namami Gange for cleaning of the HolyGanga

2100

For recapitalisation of Public SectorBanks (Rs 7940cr)and other DFIs

9790

GOVT HOUSE KEEPING (In %)

Rupee Comes From Rupee Goes To

Borrowings 24 Central Plan Outlay 11

Corporate Tax 20 Plan Asst. to State / UTs 08

Income Tax 14 Non Plan Asst.State/UTs

05

Custom Duty 09 Other-Plan Expenditure 12

Excise Duty 10 States Share of Taxes 23

Service Tax 09 Interest Payments 20

Non-TaxRevenue

11 Defence 11

Non Debt CapitalReceipts

03 Subsidies 10

Total 100 Total 100


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KEY BUDGET FIGURES 2015-16

BUDGET HEAD Rs in Cr

1 Revenue Receipts (2+3) 1141575

2 Tax Revenue (net to centre) 919842

3 Non-Tax Revenue 221733

4 Capital Receipts (5+6+7) 635902

5 Recoveries of Loans 10753

6 Other Receipts 69500

7 Borrowings and otherliabilities

555649

8 Total Receipts (1+4) 1777477

9 Non-Plan Expenditure (10+12) 1312200

10 On Revenue Account - ofwhich,

1206027

11 Interest Payments 456145

12 On Capital Account 106173

13 Plan Expenditure (14+15) 465277

14 On Revenue Account 330020

15 On Capital Account 135257

16 Total Expenditure(9+13)(Budget Size)

1777477

17 Revenue Expenditure(10+14)

1536047

18 Of Which, Grants forcreation of Capital Assets

110551

19 Capital Expenditure(12+15)

241430

20 Revenue Deficit (17-1) 2.8% ofGDP

394472

21 Effective Revenue Deficit (20-18)2% of GDP

283921

22 Fiscal Deficit {16-(1+5+6)}3.9% of GDP* 555649

23 Primary Deficit (22-11) 0.7% ofGDP*

99504

*GDP for 2015-16 has been projected at Rs. 141. 09 tril lion cr.

GDP growth rate for 2015-16 is projected at 8 to 8.5%

RAILWAY BUDGET 2015-16

HIGHLIGHTS

No new tr ains announced

No increase in passenger far e

FINANCE

No increase in passenger fares Plan outlay of Rs 1,00,011 crore, up by 52 % Rs 8.5 lakh crore to be invested in next 5 years Rs.96,000 crore for 77 new projects

Rs 6,581 crore for rail safety Will set up infra funds for railways Plan to invite corporate sponsorship for stations

UPGRADES/NEW SERVICES

New Bullet-like trains to run on existing tracks Increase in track capacity by 10% to 1.38 lakh km Delhi-Kolkata and Delhi Mumbai to be overnight

journey

6,000 km to be electrified in 2015-16 Speed on 9 corridors to be increased to between 160-

200 km

High speed bullet train between Mumbai andAhmadabad

Direct line from Delhi to Arunachal Pradesh

PASSENGER CONVENIENCE

All India helpline No. 138 from March 1 No 182 helpline for women security Cameras in the women compartments in select trains

Rs 1,000 Nirbhaya Fund, which was lying idle so far,to be used to provide women's safety

Multi-lingual online ticketing Ticket booking timing increased to 120 days

Operation 5 minutes to ensure that a passengertravelling unreserved can purchase a ticket within 5minutes

Lower berth preference for senior citizens, pregnantwomen and differently abled

Cleanliness in Railways highest priority under SwachhRail Swachh Bharat

Food can be ordered online while booking ticket E-catering introduced on over 100 trains 400 stations to get Wi-Fi facility SMS alert service for train arrival / departure timings Mobile App to address passenger complaints Lockers at all stations

Innovation Council and Technology Portal will be set

up to invite suggestions on improvementsGREEN INITIATIVES

17, 000 toilets to be replaced by bio toilets Will move towards paperless ticketing To introduce vacuum toilets in trains

Disposable linen and garbage bags at all stations

ECONOMIC SURVEY 2014-15Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the EconomicSurvey in Parliament. The survey was prepared by theFinance Ministry's Chief Economic Adviser ArvindSubramanian. Given below are the Highlights:

GROWTH

FY 2014-15 GDP growth seen at 7.4% 2015-16 GDP growth seen at over 8 to 8.5 per cent Manufacturing and services sector equally important

for growth of economy Food grain production for 2014-15 estimated at

257.07 million tonnes Need for creation of National Common Market in

agricultural commodities


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FISCAL DEFICIT

Fiscal, revenue and primary deficits show a decliningtrend

India must meet its medium-term fiscal deficit targetof 3 percent of GDP

Government will adhere to fiscal deficit target of 4.1percent of GDP in 2014-15

INFLATION Inflation down by 6% since 2013 and likely to be

below RBIs target by 0.5 - 1 percentage point

Consumer inflation in 2015-16 likely to rangebetween 5 to 5.5 percent

CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT

Estimated at about 1.3 percent of GDP in 2014-15and less than 1.0 percent of GDP in 2015-16

SUBSIDIES

Rationalisation of subsidies, better targeting of

beneficiaries will release funds for public investmentin agriculture

Govt to discontinue support to 8 centrally sponsoredschemes

Govt aims at converting all subsidies into directbenefit transfers

Post Office can be linked with AADHAR based benefitstransfer architecture to allow linkage to AADHARaccounts

BUDGET GLOSSARY

APPROPRIATION BILLIt is presented to Parliament for its approval, so that thegovernment can withdraw from the Consolidated Fundthe amounts required for meeting the expenditurecharged on the Consolidated Fund. No amount can bewithdrawn from the Consolidated Fund till the

Appropriation Bill is voted is enacted.

CAPITAL BUDGETIt consists of capital receipts and payments. It alsoincorporates transactions in the Public Account. It hastwo components: Capital Receipt and CapitalExpenditure.

CAPITAL EXPENDITUREIt consists of payments for acquisition of assets likeland, buildings, machinery, equipment, as alsoinvestments in shares etc, and loans and advancesgranted by the Central government to state and unionterritory governments, government companies,corporations and other parties.

CAPITAL RECEIPTSThe main items of capital receipts are loans raised bythe government from public which are called marketloans, borrowings by the government from the ReserveBank of India and other parties through sale of TreasuryBills, loans received from foreign governments andbodies and recoveries of loans granted by the Centralgovernment to state and union territory governments

and other parties. It also includes proceeds fromdisinvestment of government equity in publicenterprises.

CENTRAL PLANIt consists of the governments budget support to thePlan and the internal and extra budgetary resourcesraised by public enterprises.

CONSOLIDATED FUNDIt is made up of all revenues received by thegovernment, loans raised by it, and also its receipts fromrecoveries of loans granted by it. All expenditure of the

government is incurred from the Consolidated Fund andno amount can be withdrawn from the Fund withoutauthorisation from Parliament.

CONTINGENCY FUNDIt is an amount Rs 500 crore placed at the disposal of thePresident and is used by the government to incur all itsurgent and unforeseen expenditure. Parliamentaryapproval for such expenditure and for withdrawal of anequivalent amount from the Consolidated Fund issubsequently obtained and the amount spent from theContingency Fund is recouped to the Fund.

EXPENDITURE BUDGETIt contains expenditure estimates made for a scheme orprogramme under both revenue and capital heads.These estimates are brought together and shown on anet basis at one place by major heads.

FINANCE BILLThis contains the governments proposals for levy ofnew taxes, modification of the existing tax structure orcontinuance of the existing tax structure beyond theperiod approved by Parliament. It is submitted toParliament along with the Budget for its approval.

FISCAL CONSOLIDATIONA policy aimed at reducing government deficits and debtaccumulation.

FISCAL DEFICITIt is the difference between the revenue receipts pluscertain non-debt capital receipts and the totalexpenditure including loans (net of repayments). Thisindicates the total borrowing requirements of thegovernment from all sources.


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FISCAL POLICYThe policy that decides the terms of governmentexpenditure and revenue collection (taxation) to ensurebest possible growth of the economy. It is the policy fordeciding the shape of govt budget.

FRBM ACT, 2003The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act

was enacted by Parliament in 2003 to bring in fiscaldiscipline in the govt expenditure. The FRBM Rulesimpose limits on fiscal and revenue deficit. In the longrun, the fiscal deficit is required to be reduced to 3% ofthe GDP.

GOVERNMENT BORROWINGThe money government borrows to fund publicspending. It is the total amount of money that thecountry's Government has borrowed to fund itsspending on public services and benefits.

NON-PLAN EXPENDITURE

It includes both revenue and capital expenditure oninterest payments, the entire defence expenditure (bothrevenue and capital expenditure), subsidies, postaldeficit, police, pensions, and economic services, loans topublic enterprises and loans as well as grants to stategovernments, union territory governments and foreigngovernments.

NON-TAX REVENUESInterest from loans to states, public bodies and PSUs is akey item under this head. So are dividends from PSUs.The government also earns income from the services itprovides. Though the Railways is a separate ministry, all

its money is routed through the consolidated fund.

PLAN EXPENDITUREThis is largely made up of the budget support to thecentral plan. It also comprises the amount the Centresets aside for plans of states & Union territories. Like allbudget heads, this is also split into revenue and capitalcomponents.

PRIMARY DEFICITIf we deduct amount of interest payments from theamount of fiscal deficit, we get the amount of PrimaryDeficit.

PUBLIC DEBTThe government's borrowings are the burden of thepeople. The difference between borrowings andrepayments is the net accretion to the publicdebt. Public debt can be split into two heads, internaldebt and external debt. The internal debt comprisesTreasury Bills, market stabilisation scheme, ways andmeans advances, and securities against small savings.

PUBLIC ACCOUNTIt is an account in which money received throughtransactions not relating to the Consolidated Fund iskept. For example, transactions relating to providentfunds, small savings collections, other deposits etc.Public Account funds do not belong to the governmentand have to be paid back some time or the other to thepersons and authorities who deposited them.

Parliamentary authorisation for payments from thePublic Account is not required.

REVENUE BUDGETIt consists of the revenue receipts of the government(which is tax revenues plus other revenues) and theexpenditure met from these revenues. It has twocomponents: Revenue Receipt and RevenueExpenditure.

REVENUE EXPENDITUREIt is meant for the normal running of governmentdepartments and various services, interest charges on

debt incurred by the government and subsidies. Broadlyspeaking, expenditure which does not result in creationof assets is treated as revenue expenditure. All grantsgiven to state governments and other parties are alsotreated as revenue expenditure even though some of thegrants may be for creation of assets.

REVENUE RECEIPTSIt includes proceeds of taxes and other duties levied bythe Centre, interest and dividend on investments madeby the government, fees and other receipts for servicesrendered by the government.Excess of revenue expenditure over revenue receipts is

called r evenue deficit .

VALUE ADDED TAX (VAT)It is a form of consumption tax. From the perspective ofthe buyer, it is a tax on the purchase price. From that ofthe seller, it is a tax only on the "value added" to aproduct, material or service, from an accounting point ofview, by this stage of its manufacture or distribution.The manufacturer remits to the government thedifference between these two amounts, and retains therest for themselves to offset the taxes they hadpreviously paid on the inputs.


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NATIONAL NEWS

FEBRUARY 2015GOVT ACCEPTS FINANCE COMMISSION REPORTUnion Government has accepted the recommendationsof the 14th Finance Commission for devolution ofrevenue collection from the Center to the states for theperiod from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2020. Thecommission was headed by Ex. RBI Governor Y V Reddy.

DIPLOMATS CONFERENCE IN NEW DELHIA three day Heads of the Missions Conference was heldin New Delhi from Feb 7 to 9 in New Delhi. About 110ambassodors/diplomats from various Indian embassies

took part in the conference that spelt the ways in whichthe diplomats can contribute to the country'sdevelopment.

AERO INDIA SHOW HELD AT BENGALURU

The 10th edition of Aero India Show concluded inBengaluru. The show was focused on Make in Indiacampaign of the Union Government which is aimed atencouraging small and medium industries to invest indefence manufacturing in India.

INDIA SET TO JOIN BRICS BANKThe Union Cabinet approved Indias plans for theestablishment of a New Development Bank led by theBRICS bloc of developing nations, and a ContingentReserve Arrangement (CRA) that will act as an extrasafety net in the event of financial crisis.

AIRTEL TO SERVE CHILDREN IN AFRICAIndian telecom major Bharti Airtel Limited on 18February 2015 tied-up with United Nations ChildrensFund (UNICEF) to provide health, education and youth-focused content to its customers in 17 African countries.

S C RULES ON CRIMINAL CANDIDATESIn a historic judgment, the Supreme Court has ruled thatthe suppression of criminal antecedents, especiallyrelating to heinous crimes, by an election candidateduring nomination deprives voters to make an informedchoice and creates impediments in the free exercise ofelectoral right and therefore, if such a candidate winsthe election, his election should be declared null and

void (invalid).

FENCED ELEPHANT SANCTUARY BY PETA

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)has announced to create India's first fenced elephantsanctuary within the Bannerghatta Biological Park inKarnataka. The forested space will allow elephants tomove around freely within the secure area.

Ms. SWARAJ VISITS CHINAExternal Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj went to Chinaon a four day official visit. She met the ChinesePresident Xi Jinping also. The visit focused on resolving

the tensions on border issue. She also launched the VisitIndia Year in China at a function in Beijing.

INDIA FARES POOR IN PRESS FREEDOMIndia has been ranked 136TH in terms of press freedomin 2015, out of 180 nations in the World Press FreedomIndex produced by Reporters without Borders.Countries are ranked on the basis of media pluralismand independence, respect for the safety and freedom ofjournalists and the legislative, institutional andinfrastructural environment in which the mediaoperates. Finland, Norway and Denmark were on thetop of the list.

Rajya Sabha was informed that 76.83 crore Aadhaarcards have been generated till 15 February 2015 outof a total population of 121.01 crore

Dr . Tony Tan Keng Yam, President of Singaporevisited India on Feb. 10 and inaugurated theSingapore Festival in New Delhi.

18th National Conference on e-Governance held inGandhinagar, Gujarat from 30 to 31 January 2015.


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Three Commemorative Postage stamps on the themeof Swachh Bharat Mission were released on 30

January 2015 to mark the Martyrdom Day ofMahatma Gandhi.

The first National Tribal Festival VANAJ-2015 heldat New Delhi from 13 to 18 Feb., 2015.

India and Sri Lanka have agreed to explore avenuesfor enhancing cooperation in oil and gas sector.

JANUARY 2015

OBAMA CHARMS INDIABarrack Obama became the first U.S. President to be theChief Guest at the Republic Day and the first U.S.President to visit India twice during his tenure.

The two leaders agreed to operationalise the civilnuclear deal, resolving the key hurdles pertaining tothe liability of suppliers of nuclear reactors in theevent of an accident and the tracking of fuelsupplied by the US.Obama announced new initiatives worth $ 4 billion

aimed at boosting trade and investment ties as wellas jobs in India through a new Indian DiasporaInvestment Initiative.For the first time in the history of Indias RepublicDay, all-women contingent from the three defenceforces-Army, Air Force and Navy, marched down inthe parade.India and the US signed MoUs for formulating actionplans for development of smart cities in Allahabad,

Ajmer and Visakhapatnam.

15 NRIS HONOURED AT PBD15 persons were conferred with Pravasi Bharatiya

Samman Award including Microsoft CEO SatyanarayanNadella and Guyana President Donald RabindernauthRamaotar at the three day Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas, Jan 7to 9, held at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

COINS AND STAMPS RELEASED IN PBDCoins and stamps showing in thesame frame pictures of a youngMohandas Karamchand Gandhiand another of his transformationinto Mahatma Gandhi were herereleased on Jan 8 at PravasiBhartiya Diwas to commemorate the centenary year of

his return to India from South Africa in 1915. The coinsare in the denomination of Rs 100 and Rs 10, whilestamps are of the value of Rs. 25 & Rs. 5.

TIGERS POPULATION UP BY 38.4%Across India, the mean figure for tiger numbersincreased from 1,706 in 2010 to 2,226 in 2014,registering an impressive growth of 30.48 per cent. With406 tigers, Karnataka tops the list, followed byUttarakhand 340 and Madhya Pradesh 308.

INDIA TO HELP NEPAL FOR FIGHTING GOITREIndia will provide Rs 6.90 crore support to Nepal forfighting against the Iodine Deficiency Disorder ControlProgramme for goitre control across the country. Goitreis an enlarged thyroid gland found in neck.

ASIAs BIGGEST LITERARY EVENT AT JAIPURZEE Jaipur Literature Festival, Asias biggest literary

event was held at Jaipur from 21st

to 25th

Jan 2015. Over2.45 lakh persons took part in the festival. More than300 authors from over 50 countries attended thefestival.

DSC Pri ze for Liter at ur e: The $50,000 prize won byIndian-American author Jhumpa Lahiri for her book, TheLowland.Poet Arunadhathi Subramaniam was declared as thewinner of inaugural Khushwant Singh Memor ial Pri ze

for poetry for her work When God is a Traveler.

H S BRAHMA IS THE NEW CECFormer bureaucrat HariShankar Brahma has beenappointed as the next ChiefElection Commissioner ofIndia. The presentincumbent, V S Sampathturned 65 on Jan 15, theupper age limit under theConstitution for holding thepost. Mr. Brahma too is completing 65 years on April 19.CEC has a tenure of six year s, or up to the age of 65years, whichever is earlier. He is appointed by thePresident, on recommendations of the Union Government.He enjoys the same official status, salary and perks asavailable to Judges of the Supreme Court and High court.

NATIONAL YOUTH FESTIVAL AT GUWAHATIThe 19th National Youth Festival began in Guwahati onJan 8. The theme this year is, 'Youth for Clean, Greenand Progressive India'. A mascot performing Sattriyadance and named as Baandhav has been designed forthe festival.

INDIA 78THIN TERMS OF SKILLED LABOURIn a list of 93 countries compiled by INSEAD businessschool, India has been ranked 78th globally in terms of

talent competitiveness of its human capital, indicatingacute shortage of skilled workforce. Switzerland hastopped the list, followed by Singapore.

SUPREME COURT ENDS SRINIs GAMEThe Supreme Court has barred N Srinivasan, thecontroversial businessman and cricket official, fromcontesting the Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI) election until he gives up his commercial interestin the IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK).


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India will provide 60 million dollars Line of Credit toGuyana for its road infrastructure projects. Guyana isa small republic on northern border of Brazil.

Tsherin g Tobgay,Prime Minister of Bhutan came toIndia on a weeklong visit.

The 13th Pune International Film Festival has held atPune in Maharashtra from January 8 to 15. Thetheme of the festival was War against War".

102nd Indian Science Congress was held at MumbaiUniversity, Maharashtra.

Two commemorative coins of Rs 100 and five werereleased in the honour of Tata Group founder

Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata's to mark his 175th birthanniversary.

January 12 is observed as National Youth Day on thebirth anniversary of social reformer, philosopher andthinker Swami Vivekananda.

India signed an agreement on transfer of prisonerswho are completing their sentence, with Hong Kong

Germany has agreed to partner with India indeveloping three smart cities. A six-member jointcommittee has been set up to identify the cities innext three months.

The first Border Haat (market) along Tripura-Bangladesh frontier was opened at Srinagar(Tripura) - Purba Madhugram (Feni, Bangladesh).

Indian Railways to run an additional weekly trip ofMaitree Express train between Kolkata and Dhaka.

DECEMBER 2014

BHARAT RATNA FOR VAJPAYEE AND MALVIYAFormer Prime Minister Atal

Bihari Vajpayee and LatePandit Madan MohanMalaviya will be honouredwith Bharat Ratna-country'shighest civilian award. Theannouncement was made in apress communique issued bythe Rashtrapati Bhawan onDec 24 on the

recommendation of the Prime Minister.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee is an Indian statesman who wasthe first Prime Minister from outside Congress to serve

a full five-year term from 1998 to 2004. Aparliamentarian for over four decades, Mr. Vajpayee waselected to the Lok Sabha nine times, and twice to theRajya Sabha. He completed 90 years on 25th December.He is the seventh Prime Minister to receive the award.

Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya was an Indianeducationist and politician well known for his role inIndian freedom struggle. He was the President of theIndian National Congress in 1909 and 1918. He is most

remembered as the founder of Banaras HinduUniversity, the largest residential university in Asia. 25Dec marks his 153rdbirthday. He is the 12th person tobe named posthumously for Bharat Ratna.

PUTIN OPENS ECONOMIC DOORS FOR INDIARussian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhito attend the India-Russia annual summit on Dec 11.

He addressed the World Diamond Congress held atVigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.Russian diamond mining giant ALROSA agreed tosupply diamonds worth $2.1 billion in the next three

years to 12 Indian companies.Russia's atomic firm Rosatom agreed to supply 12nuclear energy reactors to India over next 20 years,Russian oil major Rosneft signed a 10-year crudesupply deal with Indias Essar Oil.The two countries agreed to enhance the bilateraltrade from current $10 billion to $30 billion by 2025.The two leaders unveiled the Druzhba (friendship inRussian)-Dosti' vision to strengthen the bilateral

partnership over the next decade

GANDHINAGAR TO HOST 13THPBD13thPravasi Bharatiya Diwas will be held from 7th to 9th

January at Gandhinagar in Gujarat. It will celebrate 100years of Mahatama Gandhi's return from South Africa toIndia on 9th January, 1914. This years theme is ApnaBharat, Apna Gaurav.

INDIA 65THIN WORLD IN TOURISM

World Economic Forum (WEF) released the 2013 Travel& Tourism Competitiveness Index. The index assesses140 nations for their efforts made to develop the traveland tourism sector. India has been placed at 65thposition in the index topped by Switzerland.

INDIA TOPS IN OUTFLOW OF BLACK MONEYAs per the Global Financial Integrity, India figuresamong the top three countries that witnessed highestoutflow of black money in 2012 with about $94.76billion or 6 lakh crore rupees going out of the Country.


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INDIA PLACED 85THIN CORRUPTION INDEXAs per the CorruptionPerceptions Index 2014released by theTransparency International,India stands at 85th positionamong 175 countries,(scoring 38 marks) as

against 94th last year. Indiashares its position with Sri Lanka. Denmark retained itsposition as the least corrupt country with a score of 92while North Korea and Somalia shared the last place,scoring just eight.

JUNE 21 IS INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAYOn Dec 17, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted aresolution to declare June 21 as International Yoga Day,recognising the ancient Indian science's "holisticapproach to health and well-being." Indian PrimeMinister Mr. Modi had made the proposal during hisaddress to the UNGA on 27th of September this year.

Why Jun e 21? It marks the beginning of summer solsticein Northern Hemisphere and is the longest day of the yearreceiving highest amount of solar energy.

28000 CRORE SUPPORT FOR NORTH EASTFocusing on improving connectivity to the north-east,Central govt plans to provide Rs 28,000 crore for layingnew railway lines in the region and develop the"untapped" tourism potential of the area. Besides, Rs5000 crore each will be provided for extending 2Gmobile coverage and for improvement of power systemin north-eastern region.

INDIA FARES 48THON INTERNET UTILISATIONThe Web Index 2014 released by World Wide WebFoundation to measure the internet's contribution tosocial, economic and political progress in the world hasplaced Denmark on top followed by Finland andNorway. India stands at 48thrank.

The birthday of the former Prime Minister AtalBehari Vajpayee on the 25th of December will beobserved as Nation al Good Governan ce Day.

Mahaparini r wan Diwas observed on 6 December2014, death anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar.

The Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings 2015 ofUK has placed Bangalore-based IISc at No. 25 in theoverall 100, topped by China's Peking University.

Indias most prestigious Indian classical musicfunction The Tansen Sangeet Samar oh held atGwalior, Madhya Pradesh.

The first Arabic translation of the Indian Constitutionlaunched by the Arab League in Cairo, Egypt.

Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid arrived inKolkata on a two-day visit to West Bengal.

NEWS FROM STATESFEBRUARY 2015

MUFFLERMAN SWEEPS DELHI

The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party on Feb 10swept to power with 67 seats in the 70-member Delhi

Assembly, leaving only three to the Bharatiya JanataParty and nil to the Congress. Later, Mr. Kejriwal wassworn in as the Chief Minister of Delhi.

Uttarakhand govt launched on Feb 7 its ambitiousHimalaya Darshan programme as part of itsongoing efforts to boost tourism in the state.

Haryana to set up Gr am Sachival ayasto bring GramPanchayat and village level functionaries of alldepartments under one roof for better functioning.

The ten day long annual Taj Mahot sava, a culturalextravaganza, began in Agra, UP from 18thFebruary.

Gujarat govt. has decided to set up Plast Ind ia

Internat i onal University in Vapi in partnershipwith University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA.

Madhya Pradesh won the 10th National Award forexcellent work in Mahatma Gandhi National RuralEmployment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA).

Haryana launched e-registration of properties in allthe 130 tehsil and sub-tehsils of the State on Feb 04.

The First World Ocean Science Congress (WOSC) washeld in Kochi, Kerala from 5 to 8 February 2015.

JANUARY 2015

PUNJAB BANS SALE OF LOOSE CIGARETTESThe Punjab state has banned the sale of loose cigarettes(as single sticks) and loose tobacco, becoming the firstState to do so. Ban has been issued as the sale is inviolation of Section 7 of the COTPA (Cigarettes andOther Tobacco Products, Prohibition of Advertisementand Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production,Supply and Distribution Act, 2003). Since loosecigarettes are affordable and do not carry a pictorial or awritten warning, these will not be permitted to be sold.


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J&K BEST IN e-INITIATIVEJammu and Kashmir hasbeen selected, for the firsttime, for National e-Governance Award 2014-15 for the best district-level initiative in thecountry, for the project e-

Panchayat, launched in2013-14

ASSAM ONLY PLACE TO GROW PURPLE TEAAccording to a senior scientist and tea expert accordingto Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Jorhat, Assam canemerge as the only place in the world after Kenya tobecome a producer of health-rich medicinal purple tea.Currently, Kenya is the only country that producesunique purple tea which fetches three to four times theprice of black tea.

Amitabh Bachchan appointed as the brandAmbassador for health sector in Andhra Pradesh.

Hampi Utsav Jan 9 11, a mega cultural festival ofdance, drama, art and music held at Hampi, theerstwhile seat of the Vijayanagar Empire inKarnataka.

Governors rule imposed in J&K as political partiesfailed to muster the requisite number in the 87-member Assembly for staking claim to form the

government.

Voting for all 70 Delhi Assembly seats will be held onFebruary 7 and counting of votes will be done onFebruary 10

Haryana has appointed yoga guru Ramdev as the

state's brand ambassador to promote yoga andayurveda in a big way.

DECEMBER 2014

WORLDs LARGEST HUMAN FLAGIndia set a new world record on Dec 7 for forming thelargest human flag, when over fifty thousand volunteersformed the Indian Tricolour, at YMCA Grounds inChennai, beating the previous record held by the SportsClub of Lahore where 28,957 people formed the flag ofPakistan.

DIAL 161 FOR 4000 SERVICES IN KARNATAKAOn Dec 8, Karnataka launched Mobile one e-governance initiative to enable public to access 4000government and a few private services on their mobilephones just by dialling 161. They can pay electricity,water and BSNL telephone bills through their phones.Farmers can know about monsoon, market rates andsubsidies. The young aspirants can know about joboffers in private sector.

On Nov 29, Meghalaya got its first rail link when PMModi flagged off a train from Maligaon, Guwahati toMendipathar in Meghalaya, a distance of 131 kms.

Andhra govt. signed a MoU with Singapore for thedevelopment of its new capital that is set to come upnear Vijawayada region.

The New Year festival of Tibetans known as Losarfestival is celebrated mainly in Lahaul Distt. It

denotes the start of winter session in the valley. Maharashtra to observe the year 2015 as Year of

Digitised and Time-Bound Services to standardise,simplify and deliver the services electronically.

Arunachal Pradesh won the Krishi Karman Award forthe year 2013-14 for showing exemplary agri-

performance in 14 different categories.

Manipur to set up a Cultural University to promote itsrich cultural heritage, like Russias Moscow State Artand Cultural University.

Militants of the National Democratic Front ofBodoland (Songbijit) gunned down over 80 persons inSonitpur and Kokrajhar districts of Assam.

GOVERNMENTINITIATIVES

FEBRUARY 2015

NITI AAYOG HOLDS ITS FIRST MEETING

In the first meeting of the Governing Council of NITIAayog in New Delhi, the Prime Minister described TeamIndia as a combination of three teams the PrimeMinister and Chief Ministers; the Union Council ofMinisters; and the bureaucracy in the Centre and States.He suggested formation of three sub groups forimproved functioning of Team India.

The first sub-group will study the 66 centrally-

sponsored schemes and recommend which schemesshould continue, which should be transferred tostates, and which to discontinue.

The second sub-group will focus on skilldevelopment and creation of skilled manpowerwithin states.

The third sub-group will decide on the institutionalmechanisms to be evolved for Swachh Bharat

Abhiyaan, so that cleanliness becomes a part of lifein perpetuity.


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It was also decided that all the states should createtwo task forces under the aegis of the NITI Aayog,one to focus on poverty alleviation, and the other tofocus on future development of agriculture.

ALL INDIA MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITYFrom May 3, cell phone subscribers will be able to retainthe same mobile number on relocating to anywhere in

India. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of Indiaamended the mobile number portability (MNP)regulations for this purpose.

At present, number portability is available only within atelecom circle.

PM LAUNCHES SOIL HEALTH CARD SCHEMEThe nationwide SoilHealth Card schemewas launched by thePrime Minister fromSuratgarh, Rajasthanon Feb 19, focusing on

the health of soil toboost productivityand bring aboutincreased prosperity.

At least 14 crore cardsare envisaged to beissued over the nextthree years. Testreports could be made available over the internet ormobile phones, said the blueprint of the scheme.

MADAD LAUNCHED FOR CONSULAR SERVICESGovernment has launched Consular GrievancesMonitoring System named MADAD-Because You Are Us-to register grievances pertaining to the ConsularServices offered by the Indian Missions and Postsabroad. It will speed up forwarding and handling ofgrievance of the consular related matters.

NATIONAL DEWORMING DAY ON FEB 10The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched thefirst National Deworming Day on Feb 10 to reduce thethreat of parasitic worm infections in children.Medicine Albendazole will be orally administered topre-school and school-going children between one and

nineteen years of age in 12 states to begin with.

TWO CRORE TOILETS UNDER MNREGAGovt plans to construct over two crore toilets in selectvillages across the country under a programme ofmaking India free from open defecation by 2019. Theproject will be implemented under MNREGA. Literateand active women MNREGA workers will be selected asthe 'Sanitary Mates' to provide basic lessons about useof toilets to people living in villages.

The govt has launched a single window e-Biz portalfor 11 Central government services to bringtransparency in the ease of doing business.

The government plans to launch a new scheme 'KrishiDaak Service' to distribute improved seed varieties to

farmers at their doorstep, through post-offices.

Govt has constituted a three-member SpecialInvestigation Team (SIT) headed by Pramod Asthana

for re-investigation of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases. The govt has launched a single window e-Biz portal

for 11 Central government services to bringtransparency and ease of doing business.

JANUARY 2015

SCHEME LAUNCHED TO SAVE GIRL CHILDPrime Minister launched thenationwide 'Beti Bachao-BetiPadhao' (save girl child, educateher) campaign from Panipat in

Haryana on Jan 22 to counter theadverse sex ratio in the country.

Noted film actress MadhuriDixit was roped in as thebrand ambassador of thecampaign.

A special savings scheme by the name SukanyaSamriddhi Account was also launched to encouragespecial savings for girl child.

SUKANYA SAMRIDDHI ACCOUNT Account can be opened in the name of a girl child of

up to 10-year-old. After attaining the age of 10 years, the account

holder can herself operate the account.

Accounts can be opened in name of girl child inbanks and post offices,

Interest payment at 9.1 per cent per annum. Deposits can be made for 14 years from the date of

opening of the account.

Half of the fund can be withdrawn for her highereducation and marriage after she attains 18 years ofage.

The scheme would mature on completion of 21years from the date of opening of the account.

The account can be transferred anywhere in India Minimum deposit of Rs. 1000 and thereafter any

amount in multiple of Rs. 100 can be deposited.

Amount deposited in the scheme is eligible forincome tax rebate.

For one time, a girl child who has attained the age of10 years prior to one year from the date ofintroduction of this scheme is also eligible under thescheme.


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A maximum of Rs. 1,50,000 can be deposited in afinancial year.

The account can be opened in any post office orauthorized branches of commercial banks acrossthe country by producing birth certificate of the girlchild.

To meet the requirement of higher educationexpenses of the account holder girl child, partial

withdrawal of 50 % of the balance would beallowed after the girl child has attained the age of18 years.

The amount can be deposited in cash, cheque ordemand draft.

SCHEMES LAUNCHED FOR SC ENTREPRENEURSIn a bid to promote entrepreneurship among theScheduled Castes (SCs), the Ministry of Social Justice andEmpowerment launched two schemes on Jan 16 asunder:1. Venture Capital Fundfor Scheduled Castes, with aninitial capital of Rs.200 crore to provide financial

assistance up to Rs.15 crore for up to six years to SCentrepreneurs. IFCI Ltd. will act as Nodal Agency tooperate this fund.2. Green Business Schemeto provide loans up to Rs.1lakh at concessional rate of interest to SCs for running e-rickshaw, solar pumps and other solar energy-poweredimplements.

HRIDAY SCHEME LAUNCHED

The government has launched a Heritage CityDevelopment and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) topreserve and rejuvenate the rich cultural heritage of thecountry. In the initial phase, 12 heritage cities have been

identified which will be rejuvenated and developed.

NITI AAYOG IN, PLANNING COMMISSION OUTOn Jan 1, the government announced that the PlanningCommission has been restructured and rechristened asthe NITI (National Institution for Transforming India)

Aayog. It will be a multi-tiered structure headed byPrime Minister with a governing council comprising ofthe chief ministers of all states and lieutenant governorsof union territories.

PRICE STABILISATION FUND LAUNCHEDGovt plans to set up a Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF),with a corpus of Rs 500 crore, to check price volatilitythrough procurement of selected perishablehorticulture produce, maintenance of buffer stocks andtheir regulated release into the market. To begin with,interventions would be supported for onions andpotatoes only and other commodities may be added

later on.

ON-LINE TRACKING OF TOILET USAGEUnion Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation hassaid that people would be mobilised to check and verifythe use of toilets in the rural areas and they can postphotos or upload data of non use or misuse of toiletsthrough mobile phones, tablets or I-Pads onto a websitein real time.Shortage of toilets costs the country more than $50 billiona year, mostly through premature deaths and hygiene-related diseases, according to a World Bank study.

NORMS RELAXED FOR SEZsAiming to revitalise SEZs, the government has permitteddual-use of non-processing areas in special economiczones, allowing developers to set up socialinfrastructure like schools, hospitals and hotels whichcan be accessed by people within and outside theseconclaves.

FACILITY TO LODGE FIR IN TRAINUnder a new initiative by North Central Railway, railpassengers will now be able to lodge an FIR in the trainitself. Earlier the passenger had to cut short his visit andregister the FIR at the nearest Government RailwayPolice (GRP) station.

HELPLINE LAUNCHED FOR DRUG ADDICTSUnion Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment haslaunched a toll-free helpline (1800-11-0031) to assistthe alcoholic and drug-dependent persons. Initially, thehelpline will operate from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm fromMonday to Saturday and will be upgraded later on to a24x7 helpline.

GREEN INDIA MISSION LAUNCHEDGovt launched 'Green India Mission' for undertaking

eco-friendly development of the rural areas. To beginwith 18 villages in Seraikela forest division in Jharkhandhave been selected.

DBTL LAUNCHED IN 622 DISTRICTSThe Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG (DBTL) scheme, nowcalled Pratyaksh Hanstantarit Labh (PAHAL), launchedin 622 districts w.e.f. Jan 1, 2015. Finally, the schemewill cover over 15.3 crore consumers across 676districts of the country.


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NITI AAYOG(National I nstitution for T ransforming I ndia)

ThePlanning Commission was set up by the government inMarch 1950 with the declared objective to promote a rapidrise in the standard of living of the people by efficientexploitation of the resources of the country, increasing

production and offering opportunities to all foremployment in the service of the community.However, from being a under-developed economy in 1947,India has now emerged a powerful economic giant beingthe third largest economy in the world on the basis ofPurchasing Power Parity. The government has felt theneed for a change in the organisational set up to take theeconomy to a next level of development and meet theaspirations of the people.

Shortcomings observed with the system of PlanningCommissionIndia is a multi cultural country with distinct languages,faiths and cultural ecosystems. The government feels that

the time has come for a paradigm shift in the manner thepolicies are planned and implemented; taking in to accountthe view points of the states as the major stakeholder in theprocess of planning. The earlier approach of one size fits allcame for a sharp criticism depriving the states offormulating policies for their area based on localrequirements.

Further, the exercise in planning that was beingfollowed by the erstwhile Planning Commission hardly hadany relevance for the present day market economy. Therewas conflict between the planning framework and the roleof market. The role of public sector which were the primemovers of economy in the initial stages of developmentwere now incapable of meeting the demands of the

emerging economy. With the public sector getting edgedout with the private capital playing a crucial role in thedevelopment, the role of Planning Commission was moreobstructive than objective. The new body is expected toassist in policy making to enable the private capital and theentrepreneur to reach its full potential.The NITI Aayog will reorient its policies keeping in viewthe following challenges being faced by the IndianEconomy:1.

Leveraging of Indias demographic dividend i.e. makingthe best use of young population of the nation fordevelopment and realisation of their potential througheducation, skill development, elimination of gender bias,

and employment.2.

Rather than emphasising reduction of poverty, the newmantra will be-Elimination of poverty, and the chance forevery Indian to live a life of dignity and self-respect.

3.

Reddressal of inequalities based on gender bias, casteand economic disparities.

4.

Integrate villages institutionally into the developmentprocess.

5.

Policy support to more than 50 million small businesses,which are a major source of employment creation.

6.

Safeguarding of our environmental and ecological assets.

STRUCTURE OF NITI AAYOGThe NITI Aayog will comprise the following:

A.

Chairperson: Prime Minister of IndiaB.

Governing Council: Comprising the Chief Ministers of

all the States and Lt. Governors of Union TerritoriesC.

Regional Councils: will be formed to address specificissues and contingencies impacting more than onestate or a region.

D.

Experts, specialists and practitioners with relevantdomain knowledge as special invitees nominated bythe Prime Minister

Full-time organizational framework will comprise of:1.

Chairperson: Prime Minster2.

Vice Chairperson : To be appointed by the PrimeMinister

3.

Members: Full-time4.

Part-time members: Maximum of two from leadinguniversities research organizations and other relevantinstitutions in an ex-officio capacity. Part timemembers will be on a rotational basis.

5.

Ex Officio members: Maximum of 4 members of theUnion Council of Ministers to be nominated by thePrime Minister.

6.

Chief Executive Officer: To be appointed by the PrimeMinister for a fixed tenure, in the rank of Secretary tothe Government of India.

7.

Secretariat as deemed necessary.(Note: for actual office holders please see

APPOINTMENTS sect ion page 32)

Shortcomings foreseen in the process:I.

Will it continue to work in the same way as the

previous Planning Commission was working?II.

Distribution of Funds: This body is unlikely to allocatefunds or devise five-year and annual plans as wasbeing done by the Planning Commission. There is alsoa question mark on its other key role regardingallocation of resources to state governments.

The earlier plan allocation to states was being donethrough the Gadgil-Mukherjee formula. It will have to beworked out under the new dispensation. The Gadgil-Mukherjee formula has relevance because it ensured well-to-do states had to spare resources and money for the lessprosperous ones.The success of this organisation will depend on thefollowing factors:

Trust and cooperation it receives here from thedifferent ministries and the departments, it will beworking with.Cooperation it receives from the states

The first Aayog has onerous task of shaping the destiny ofthe nation and making it an important new institution inthe federal polity obligated with the objective oftransforming India from a developing economy to the next

level of development.---x---


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CHANDIGARH COULD BE FIRST SMART CITY

Finance Minister has indicated that the first Indiansmart city to be created probably could be Chandigarh.Smart cities would be built in a way so that they haveuninterrupted power, water, proper sanitation, efficientmanagement of solid waste, decongestion of roads, lastmile connectivity and effective use of ICT. Severalcountries like Japan, Germany, Sweden, Singapore,Israel, UK, US, Hong Kong and the Netherlands haveshown interest in building smart cities in India.

DOMESTIC EFFICIENT LIGHTING PROGRAMMEPrime Minister launched a scheme for LED (lightemitting diodes) bulb distribution under DomesticEfficient Lighting Programme (DELP) in Delhi on 5thJanuary. The LED bulbs will be supplied at an initialpayment of Rs 10 each and recovery of Rs 10 each for 12months from their electricity bill. The programme shallbe launched all over the country.

SPECIAL PHABLET LAUNCHED FOR FARMERSICRISAT launched a customised low-cost combination ofphone and tablet computer greenphablet for smallfarmers. The device is powered by GreenSIM and is

dust- and shatter-proof, readable under bright sunlight;operates from -20C to +60C.

ICRISAT: International Crops Research Institute for theSemi-Arid Tropics. HQ: Hyderbad, Telangana

HIMMAT- MOBILE APP FOR WOMENIndia's first integrated mobile application for womensafety called Himmat' was launched in Delhi on Jan 1.The app can alert the police in the hour of need by eithershaking the phone or pressing the power button twice.It is directly linked to the Police Control Room andallows police to locate the victim, with updation every

ten seconds.

PRESIDENT APPROVES JUDICIAL COMMISSIONPresident gave his assent to the National Judicial

Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, nearly endingthe two-decade-old collegium system for appointmentof judges of the Supreme Court and 24 high courts.The commission will be headed by the Chief Justice andwill have five other members - two senior-most judges ofthe SC, the Law Minister and two eminent persons.

INDIAs 1st CNG TRAIN STARTS FROM REWARICountrys first compressed natural gas (CNG) - poweredtrain was flagged from Rewari, Haryana on Jan 13. Thedual-fuel CNG Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) willrun between Rewari and Rohtak everyday and wouldhelp in reducing the operating cost of locomotives byover 50%.

Indias first International Institute of Music will be set

up in Kerala by a trust headed by Sarod MaestroUstad Amjad Ali Khan and his family.

Department of Disability Affairs has been renamed asDepartment of Empowerment of Persons withDisabilities (Viklangjan Sashaktikaran Vibhag).

President signed the Citizenship Ordinance to mergePerson of Indian Origin (PIO) and OverseasCitizenship of India (OCI) schemes and to grant life-long Indian visa to PIOs.

DECEMBER 2014

NATIONAL MISSION FOR TEACHERSPrime Minister launched a Rs 900-crore scheme "PanditMadan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachersand Teaching" at Benaras Hindu University, Varanasi onDec 25 aimed at creating an environment for producinghigh quality teachers.

GRAHAK SUVIDHA KENDRAS FOR CONSUMERSGovernment has decided to set-up Grahak SuvidhaKendras (Consumer care centres) to provide counselingto consumers in redressal of their grievances and assistthem in registering their complaints in the appropriateconsumer forums. The Centres will also be authorized to

take up complaints with private companies and serviceproviders on behalf of the government.

MISSION INDRADHANUSH FOR VACCINATION

Government has launched Mission Indr adhanush tocover all those children by 2020 who are eitherunvaccinated or partially vaccinated against sevenvaccine preventable diseases - Diphtheria, WhoopingCough, Tetanus, Polio, Tuberculosis, Measles andHepatitis B.


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ORDINANCE FOR 49% FDI IN INSURANCEOn Dec 24, Union Cabinet approved promulgation of theordinance on Insurance Bill to raise foreign investmentcap in the insurance sector from 26 to 49 per cent. It re-promulgated the ordinance to allow resumption of coalblock allocation. It also opened the medical devicessector to foreign investment by allowing 100 per centFDI in these.

COMMITTING SUICIDE IS NO MORE A CRIMEThe government has decidedto repeal Section 309 fromthe Indian Penal Code,claiming support of 18 statesand 4 Union Territories fordecriminalizing attempt tocommit suicide. The stepwas taken on the recommen-dation of the LawCommission of India.Section 309 of IPC makes the act of suicide punishable

with jail term of up to one year and fine.

SUSHASAN EXPRESS TO HONOUR VAJPAYEETo honour former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, anew train - The Sushaasan (good governance) Expresslaunched on Dec 25, from Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh),the birth place of Mr. Vajpayee, to Gonda in UttarPradesh.

Govt has decided to pay 8.75 per cent interest onprovident fund deposits of Employees Provident FundOrganisation (EPFO) for the year 2014-15.

Justice G P Mathur committee set up to examine thepossibility of forming a Special Investigation Team

for re investigation of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

FEBRUARY 2015

INDIA SET TO GROW BY 7.4%The Central Statistics Office (CSO) data released on Feb10 showed that India is set to grow 7.4 per cent in theyear 2014-15 and cross the $2.1-trillion mark against6.9 per cent achieved in 2013-14 on the back of robustmanufacturing sector performance and a surge in public

expenditure. India's monthly per capita income is likely to be at

Rs 7,378.17 this financial year, up over 10 per centfrom last year, when it was Rs. 6,699.88 year.

India grew 7.5 per cent in the October-Decemberquarter, overtaking Chinas 7.3 per cent growth inthe same quarter, to become the fastest growingmajor economy in the world.

The Central Statistics Office has revised its baseyear to 2011-12

CORE SECTOR GROWTH DOWN TO 2.4 %Slump in the production of crude oil and natural gas,pushed the growth rate of eight core sector industries tothree-month low of 2.4 per cent in December 2014 ascompared to 6.7 percent in Nov, 2014.

TRADE GAP SHRINKS TO $ 8.3 BILLIONIndia's trade deficit narrowed to an 11 month low of 8.3

billion dollar in January 2015 due to the sharpestcontraction in imports since May last year. Exportssharply contracted by 11.19 % in Jan to $ 23.9 billionwhile imports declined by 11.39 % to $32.2 billion.

India's foreign exchange reserves soared by $ 1.03billion to touch a new lifetime high of $ 334.19 billion

for the week ended 20thFebruary.

Growth in industrial production slowed to 1.7 % inDecember 2014 from 3.9 percent in November,mainly due to contraction in the mining sector.

JANUARY 2015

INDIA SET TO GROW BETTER THAN CHINAAs per Global Economics Prospects Report published bythe World Bank, India is set to clock a 7% rise in GDP in2017 compared with 6.9% for bigger rival China. Indiawill recover to 6.4% in the current calendar year itselfon the back of higher export growth and bolsteredinvestor confidence with the election of a reform-minded government at the Centre, said the report.

INDIA TO GROW BY 6.5% - MORGAN STANLEYA report by global financial giant Morgan Stanley says

that Indian economy is on its way to grow by 6.5 percent as the government's reforms agenda is on track andthe pace is accelerating too.

INDIAN ECONOMY SET TO GROW AT 6.4%Speaking at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, World BankPresident Jim Yong Kim said that the Indian economywas likely to grow at 6.4 per cent in the current year andaccelerate further in the next year in view of theeconomic measures being taken by the presentgovernment.

A report by the IMF says that India is expected to

grow at 6.3 per cent this year and 6.5 per cent in2016 by when it is likely to cross China's projectedgrowth rate.

A United Nations report says that India will seegradual growth acceleration with its GDP expected toreach 5.9 per cent this year and 6.3 per cent in 2016.

India's GDP growth has averaged 6.5 per cent overthe last 25 years, while in the last two years itaveraged 4.9% alongside very high inflation tillrecently.


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FISCAL DEFICIT TO BE CUT TO 3.6% OF GDPThe Expenditure Management Commission, headed byBimal Jalan, has recommended to the government that itshould cut fiscal deficit to 3.6 per cent of the GDP during2015-16. The recommendations are as per theprovisions of the Fiscal Responsibility and BudgetManagement Act, 2003.

FDI IN INDIA UP BY 14 PER CENT

As per the 'Global Investment Trade Monitor' report

released by United Nations Conference on Trade andDevelopment (UNCTAD), India's FDI increased by 26per cent in 2014 to an estimated 35 billion US dollarwith maximum growth in the service sector, despite thedecline in global Foreign Direct Investment inflows.

NEW CPI FOR BETTER PROJECTIONFor presenting a more accurate and realistic pricesituation, government plans to release by next month anew series of Consumer Price Index (CPI) with 2012 asbase year for computing retail inflation rate. Figures forJanuary 2015 will be compiled on revised base and will

be released on February 12.

As per a Labour Bureau survey, unemployment ratein the country rose to 4.9 per cent in 2013-14, mainlyon account of increase in joblessness in rural areas.

DECEMBER 2014

MOODYS PROJECTS INDIAS GROWTH @6%Global ratingagency Moodys hasprojected thatIndian economy is

expected to pick uppace in 2015 andgrow in the range of5 to 6 per cent,helped by strongdomestic demand.

The ADB says that India is on track to achieve 5.5%growth rate in 2014-15 as declining oil prices presenta golden opportunity for many beneficial reforms.

ECONOMY & INDUSTRYFEBRUARY 2015

GOVT NOTIFIES IND AS NORMSGovernment has notified the rules for Indian AccountingStandards (Ind AS) which are converged with global

standards IFRS. The norms will be mandatory forcompanies from 1 April 2016. However, these normscan be followed by corporates on a voluntary basis from1 April 2015. For companies having net worth of Rs.500crore or more, the norms would be mandatory from 1

April, 2016.

NUCLEAR SUPPLIERS NOT LIABLEGovt has clarified that the U.S. suppliers of nuclearreactors and parts will not be directly liable in case of anuclear accident, nor can they be sued by Indian nuclearoperators unless the contract they sign clearly states it.Further, the immediate liability for any incident will be

channelled only to the operator in this case the publicsector unit Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd.There will be no changes in the Civil Liability for NuclearDamages (CLND) Act, 2011.

ADB TO GRANT $400 LOAN TO INDIAThe Asian Development Bank has inked two loanagreements worth USD 400 million with India toupgrade district roads in Madhya Pradesh and tosupport improvements to power transmission anddistribution systems in Assam. Of this, $350 million isfor Madhya Pradesh and remaining $50 mn. for Assam.

India reclaimed its position as the leading consumerof gold in 2014 with an estimated consumption of880 tonnes against Chinas 866 tonnes.

World Bank agrees to grant $ 8 million loan to Indiafor sustainable livelihoods and adaption to climatechange project of National Rural Livelihoods Mission.

JANUARY 2015

MAKE IN INDIA IS BIG HIT ONLINEThe Department ofIndustrial Policy andPromotion-led Make In

India (MII) initiativehas become the largestand fastest growinggovernment initiative ever on digital platform. Withinthree months of its launch, the initiative has alreadytouched over 2.1 Billion global impressions on socialmedia and reached an overall fan base of over 3 Millionon its Facebook page.Make In India initiative focuses on attracting businessesto invest and manufacture in India.


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DUTY FREE IMPORTS FROM AFGHANISTANIndia has allowed duty free access to Afghanistansexport products in Indian markets under the Agreementof South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA). The exportconsignments will be allowed through the IntegratedCheck Post at Attariin Amritsar, Punjab.

INFOSYS TO INVEST $ 250 MILLION

Leading IT company - Infosys has assured Indiangovernment that they will spend USD 250 million tofund innovations in software and services in India. Theassurance was made by company CEO Vishal Sikkaduring his meeting with the Prime Minister.

IMPORT OF MOBILES RESTRICTED

Government has prohibited imports of all kind of mobilehandsets with fake or duplicate Unique IdentityNumbers. The decision will help the security agencies totrack callers using different SIM (Subscriber IdentityModule) cards.

PK CREATES BOX OFFICE RECORDSAccording to a report on Boxofficeindia.com, the film PKrecorded a sale of Rs.500 crore gross worldwide withintwo weeks of its release, there by becoming first everIndian movie to have such huge collection in this period.

OFFICE SPACE COST HIGHEST IN NEW DELHIConnaught Place in the National Capital has become theworlds sixth costliest office destination, with an annualoccupancy cost of around $ 160 per square feet, says areport of global property consultant CBRE. (London isthe costliest, followed by Hong Kong and Beijing.)

NEW FERTILIZERS COMPANY FORMEDNational Fertilizers Limited (NFL), Engineers IndiaLimited (EIL) and Fertilizer Corporation of India (FCIL)on 14 January 2015 signed an agreement to form a JointVenture Company (JVC) Ramagundam Fertilizers and

Chemicals Limited in Karimnagar district of Telengana.

NEW NAME FOR IRDAInsurance Regulatory and Development Authority(IRDA) has been renamed as Insurance Regulatory andDevelopment Authority of India after the promulgationof Insurance Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2014.

European Union has decided to lift a seven-month-long ban on the import of mangoes from India.

Sun Edison USA and Indias Adani Group will investRs.25,000 cr in setting up one of the worlds largestsolar photovoltaic manufacturing unit in Gujarat.

ADB to give $ 75 million loan and $1.8 million grantto Karnataka for Integrated Urban WaterManagement Investment Program.

India and Israel have signed a joint agreement toimplement the third phase of the agriculture

cooperation project for next three years, 2015-18. To boost the jute sector, govt has directed packaging

of sugar and food grains in jute bags to minimumextent of up to 90 % of production.

To meet the fiscal deficit, the government sold 10 percent stake in state owned Coal India Ltd to raiseabout Rs 24,000 crore.

Union Cabinet approved the hike of government stakein Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) Ltd.to 51 percent from around 48 percent at present.

DECEMBER 2014

RURAL HOMES LOW ASSETS, HIGH DEBTSFindings of the 70th round of National Sample Survey's

All India Debt and Investment Survey show thathouseholds in rural areas hold assets worth over Rs. 10lakh on average, less than half the holdings by those incities. Further, about 31 per cent of the rural householdsand 22 per cent of the urban households reported debt(cash loan) outstanding as on June 30, 2012. Theaverage amount of debt for a rural household was Rs32,522 and that for an urban household was Rs 84,625.

FINANCE COMMISSION SUBMITS REPORT

The 14th Finance Commission, headed by formerReserve Bank of India, RBI governor Y V Reddy,submitted its report to the President's office on Dec 11.The panel has given its views on the devolution of taxreceipts from the Centre to the states from 1st April2015 to 31st March 2020.

WORLD BANK LOAN FOR EDFC

India has inked a US $1100 million IBRD Direct Lendingpact with the World Bank for phase two of the EasternDedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC). It is a 1849 kmsbroad gauge railway freight corridor, starting fromLudhiana, Punjab to Dankuni, Kolkata in West Bengal.


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IFRS TO BE APPLICABLE FROM APRIL 1, 2015The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has advised that thenew International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)shall be applicable for large companies that canvoluntarily start adopting them in the next fiscal yearstarting April 1, 2015, after which the rules will becomecompulsory.

GOVT GETS 1715 CRORE FROM SAIL

Union government mopped up around 1715 crorerupees with the sale of 5 percent stake in SAIL at a floor

price of 83 rupees per share, increasing the public shareto 25 per cent. As per the Securities Contracts(Regulation) Rules of SEBI, minimum public shareholdingin listed state-owned firms should be 25 percent and thismust be achieved by 21 August 2017.

CREDIT GUARANTEE FUND FOR FACTORINGThe Union Cabinet has cleared a proposal for setting upof a 500 crore rupees Credit Guarantee Fund forFactoring for MSMEs (Micro, Small and MediumEnterprises). Factoring is a financing arrangement forsuppliers by making pre-payments against invoices. It

facilitates collection of receivables and provides liquidity

to MSMEs Government has asked PSUs to ensure that they

procure 20% of their requirements from the productsmanufactured by MSMEs, w.e.f. April 01, 2015.

Snapdeal.com has announced the launch of AgriStore, offering online products like seeds, fertilizerand irrigation tools, among others, to farmers.

World Bank will lend Rs 475 crore ($75 million) tothe Andhra Pradesh Government for implementing arural growth project.

Government has fixed an export target of $340 billionfor the current fiscal. Actual exports last year were

$312.6 billion. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will extend $200

million loan to Punjab to improve the state's fiscalsituation.

India Germany sign loan pact for euro 625 million forthe Green Energy Corridors project under the Indo-German bilateral development cooperation.

The World Bank has approved $130 million credit forthe Nepal Grid Solar and Energy Efficiency Project tominimize energy shortages in Nepal.

BANKING & FINANCEFEBRUARY 2015

SLR SLASHED TO 21.5 PER CENTIn its 6th Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statementannounced on Feb 3, the Reserve Bank held interest

rates steady at 7.75 per cent but cut the statutoryliquidity ratio (SLR) by 50 basis points to 21.5 per centof their total deposits from February 7, prodding banksto increase lending. This cut will spare around Rs 42,000crore with the banks, giving them more leverage forlending. RBI has estimated that the real GDP in 2015-16is expected to rise by 6.5 percent.

INDIANS CAN INVEST $2.50 LAC OVERSEASEncouraged by foreign exchange reserves touchingrecord peak levels, the Reserve Bank in its by monthlypolicy statement announced on Feb 3, doubled theannual overseas investment ceiling for individuals to

$250,000 per person per year under the LiberalisedRemittance Scheme (LRS).

WELCOME THE NEW ONE RUPEE NOTEThe Reserve Bank of India will soon put in circulationcurrency notes in one rupee denomination. The noteswill be printed by the Government of India as providedin The Coinage Act 2011. The government haddiscontinued printing of one rupee notes in November1994 due to higher printing costs.

RBI ALLOWS NON-CALLABLE DEPOSITSThe RBI has allowed banks to offer deposit schemes upto Rs 1 crore which cannot be broken prematurely

so-called non-callable deposits and they can earndifferent rates of interest.

At present, all deposits accepted from individuals and aHindu Undivided Family up to Rs 1 crore can bewithdrawn prematurely, leading to asset-liabilitymismatches in banks.

PMJDY GETS IN TO GUINNESS BOOKPradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana has got overwhelmingresponse all over the country. It entered the GuinnessBook of World Record for opening over 12.5 crore bankaccounts through the public sector banks with around10,500 crore rupees. The Rupay Debit Cards have been

issued to over eleven crore account holders so far.

PMJDY OD TO BE PART OF PRIORITY SECTORReserve Bank has advised that the overdrafts extendedby banks up to Rs.5,000 in PMJDY accounts will beeligible for classification under priority sector advances(others category) and also under weaker sections,provided the borrowers household annual income doesnot exceed Rs.60,000 for rural areas and Rs.1.20 lakh innon-rural areas.


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GOVT TO INFUSE EQUITY NINE BANKSGovernment will infuse Rs. 6,990 crore in nine publicsector banks including SBI, Bank of Baroda and PunjabNational Bank for enhancing their capital to meet theglobal risk norms under Basel III guidelines of Bank forInternational Settlements. This is the first tranche ofcapital infusion for which the government had allocatedRs. 11,200 crore in the budget for 2014-15.

BANKS TO BE CLOSED ON 2ND/4THSATURDAYAs per an agreement reached between IBA and bankunions, public sector banks will remain closed onsecond and fourth Saturdays. However, they will workfull-day on remaining Saturdays. At present banks workhalf-day on all Saturdays.

BANKS TO DISCLOSE UNCLAIMED DEPOSITSIn a bid to help people who have unclaimed depositslying with banks, RBI has directed banks to prominentlydisplay such account holders' names on the websitesand provide them with a "Find" option to locate the

information easily.

BANKS TO INSTALL CASH DEPOSIT MACHINESThe Reserve Bank has allowed banks to install CashDeposit Machines/ Bunch Note Acceptor Machines atlocations selected by them (banks) without getting itsprior permission. RBI, however, advised banks to installsuch machines with adequate security arrangements.

BANKS NOT TO SEND FAKE NOTES TO POLICEThe Union home ministry has asked the Reserve Bank todirect the banks that in case the number of counterfeitcurrency notes seized at a bank branch is up to four

pieces in a single transaction, they need not send notesto the police but handle it themselves. Banks sh

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