Current Affairs - May 20, 2015

IndusInd Bank inks pact with payment processing company Worldpay

·         The UK-based payment processing giant Worldpay has partnered with IndusInd Bank to offer acquiring services in India. The association will assist both the companies in processing customers’ payments and marks the first step for Worldpay in entering the Indian market — a result of the growth in eCommerce across the country.

IDBI Bank to launch e-huts for services in rural areas

·         IDBI Bank is set to expand its branch network to 2,000 by the end of the current year from 1,740 now, besides rolling out e-huts to provide services to people in rural areas.

·         E-hut is a western concept and is set up at relatively populated areas, such as malls.

Finance Bill 2015 receives Presidential assent

·         Finance Bill 2015 has received the Presidential assent on May 14.

·         Although the Finance Bill 2005 has now been enacted into law, all the provisions have not been implemented from this date (May 14).

·         Among the provisions that would be applicable from a date to be notified include increase in service tax from 12.36 percent to 14 percent; imposition of Swachh Bharat Cess @ 2 percent on the value of taxable services and levy of service tax on entry to entertainment events and access to amusement facilities.

Amazon enters partnership with State Bank of India

·         Online marketplace Amazon has entered into a pact with State Bank of India (SBI) to develop payments and commerce solutions for consumers and small businesses.

·         Through this partnership, both Amazon and SBI would identify areas of cooperation to build a digital India, said an Amazon statement. “India is a land of entrepreneurs and e-commence has the potential to transform the livelihoods of millions of small businesses by helping them sell nationally and globally,” said Amit Agarwal, vice-president and country manager, Amazon India.

·         SBI had earlier collaborated with taxi hailing services Ola to disburse car loans to drivers on the taxi aggregator’s platform on a daily repayment basis. “Our partnership with e-commerce platforms like Amazon would give a fillip to e-commerce in India and brings lots of value to our retail and SME (small and meium enterprise) customers,” said Arundhati Bhattacharya, chairman, SBI.

Exim Bank to set up subsidiary to push investments in CLMV nations

·         The commerce ministry has decided to set up a project development company under Global Procurement Consultants Ltd (GPCL), a consulting firm promoted by Exim Bank, to kick-start investments in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, or CLMV countries.

·         The move is part of the ministry’s efforts to derisk India from the impact of regional trade agreements and create new exporting clusters for Indian companies.

·         The newly created subsidiary of GPCL will act as a facilitator by identifying opportunities, preparing feasibility reports and finally creating bankable projects in CLMV countries where Indian firms can set up manufacturing units. The subsidiary will subsequently create a number of special purpose vehicles with private entities, acquire a special economic zone (SEZ) or industrial park, develop it and then start allocating space in it to business entities in India against payments.

Meghalaya achieves 100% financial inclusion under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna

·         Meghalaya has achieved 100 percent success in implementing Union Government’s flagship scheme for financial inclusion-Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY). In the state, all eleven districts have been able to open at least one bank account of every household under the ambitious scheme.

·         More than 5.53 lakh households have been covered with 1.55 lakh new bank accounts. The rural population has given more response to the financial inclusion scheme in the state compared to the urban population. Over 1.8 lakh bank accounts have been opened in rural areas, while in urban area the figure is over 47,000.

·         All banks both from private and public sectors have contributed in successfully implementing the scheme. So far, under the PMJDY, banks have issued more than 1.31 lakh Rupay cards.

About Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)

·         It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the goal of eradicating financial untouchability of the poor by opening at least one bank account for every family in the country in less than six months. It seeks to financially empower the poor by providing them access to formal banking system. It also seeks to provide platform for Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) which will curb leakages in government subsidies and thus saving government exchequer. Initially, after its launch the scheme had a target of opening 7.5 crore bank accounts by January 26, 2015, but later it was revised and raised to 10 crore bank accounts.

Laszlo Krasznahorkai wins Man Booker International Prize 2015

·         "Visionary" Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai has been announced as the winner of the sixth Man Booker International Prize.

·         He was born in 1954 and gained recognition in 1985 when he published Satantango, which he adapted for the big screen in 1994.

·         The prize, worth £60,000, is awarded every two years for "an achievement in fiction on the world stage".

·         Krasznahorkai's win was announced at an award ceremony at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London on Tuesday night.

INS Kavaratti, anti-submarine warfare ship launched in Kolkata

·         INS Kavaratti, Indian Navy’s latest anti-submarine warfare class stealth corvette was launched on 19 May 2015 in Kolkata. Kavaratti is the last of the four anti-submarine warfare class stealth corvettes being built for India under Project 28.

V Shanmuganathan sworn in as 15th Governor of Meghalaya

·         V Shanmuganthan was sworn in as the 15th Governor of Meghalaya on 20 May 2015 at the oath taking ceremony held at Raj Bhawan in Shillong.

·         Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court, Uma Nath Singh administered the oath of office to him as per the provisions of Article 159 of Constitution of India.

·         He will succeed Keshari Nath Tripathi, governor of West Bengal who was given additional charge of Meghalaya since January 2015.

Economist Mrinal Datta Chaudhuri passes away at 81

·         Eminent economist, noted academic and policy advisor Mrinal Datta Chaudhuri, passed away in Pune. He was 81.

·         He was suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). 'MDC' as Professor Chaudhuri was popularly and affectionately called, studied with Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen in Shantiniketan and furthered his education at Kolkata's Presidency College before completing his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

News and Updates - March 13, 2015

Industrial output rises, but so does retail inflation

Two major data points released  — factory output for January and retail inflation for February — present a mixed picture of the economy, complicating things for Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan ahead of the April 7 monetary policy review. Retail inflation, as measured by a new consumer price index, rose to a four-month high of 5.37 per cent in February, largely due to a spike in the prices of vegetables and pulses, official data showed. CPI-based inflation was at 5.19 per cent in January 2014 and 7.88 per cent the following month. However, there was positive news on the industrial output front with the print for January 2015 at 2.6 per cent, higher than the 1.1 per cent growth in the same month last year.

Nine dwarf galaxies found orbiting Milky Way

Scientists have found nine new dwarf satellites orbiting the Milky Way, the largest number ever discovered at once. According to the University of Cambridge astronomers, three of the discovered objects are definite dwarf galaxies — small celestial objects that orbit larger galaxies. The others could be either dwarf galaxies or globular clusters — objects with similar visible properties to dwarf galaxies, but not held together with dark matter. The finding could hold the key to understanding dark matter, the mysterious substance which holds our galaxy together, researchers said. The new results mark the first discovery of dwarf galaxies in a decade, after dozens were found in 2005 and 2006 in the skies above the northern hemisphere. The new satellites were found in the southern hemisphere near the Large and Small Magellanic Cloud, the largest and most well-known dwarf galaxies in the Milky Way’s orbit. The newly discovered objects are a billion times dimmer than the Milky Way, and a million times less massive. The closest is about 95,000 light years away, while the most distant is more than a million light years away.

Labour ministry agrees in principle to set up a Workers’ Bank

The labour ministry has, in principle, agreed with a proposal by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to set up a Workers’ Bank, which the retirement fund manager says will help it deploy its corpus profitably. Minister of state for labour and employment ( independent charge) Bandaru Dattatreya has directed his ministry to form a committee to explore the proposal in all its dimensions and then take it up with the department of financial services in the finance ministry. He has also informed the central board of the EPFO. Dattatreya discussed the issue on Wednesday with his ministry and EPFO, which functions under the labour ministry. “We have decided to set up a committee on Workers’ Bank,” Dattatreya said. Both the labour ministry and EPFO believe that the proposed Workers’ Bank will help it expand investments, increase earnings and improve subscribers’ engagement with the organization, which manages a corpus of over Rs.6 trillion and has an active subscriber base of more than 42 million. Proponents of the Workers’ Bank say that if the institution materializes, it would handle all EPFO investments and may help the fund manager invest in the stock market.

RBI issues new norms on NPA sales

In a boost to banks which are facing rising asset quality issues, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed such lenders to reverse the excess provision on sale of bad loans to their profit and loss account provided the transaction took place before 26 February 2014. The central bank had on the 3 February monetary policy day had said that it would issue the final guidelines on this front after banks requested it to include the provision to those sales took place before 26 February 2014 as well. The move is aimed at incentivizing banks to recover appropriate value in respect of NPAs (non-performing assets). Almost all the banks, including private sector players, have been reporting higher NPAs and lower profits as they have to make more provisions for bad loans, which crossed 5.5% as of December-end. “We reiterate that banks can reverse excess provision arising out of sale of NPAs only when the cash received by way of initial consideration and/or redemption of security receipts/pass through certificates is higher than the Net Book Value (NBV) of the NPAs sold to a securitisation company or an asset reconstruction company (RRC),” RBI said in a notification. The notification also said, “The quantum of excess provision reversed to profit and loss account will be limited to the extent to which cash received exceeds the NBV of the NPAs sold.” It also made it mandatory for banks to report the quantum of such excess provision reversed to the profit and loss account in the financial statements of the bank under ‘notes to accounts’. Bad loans in public sector banks more than tripled to about Rs.2.17 trillion in three years to March 2014.

Union Government launches Pharma Jan Samadhan scheme for redressal of grievances on drugs pricing

Union Government has launched Pharma Jan Samadhan scheme, for redressal of grievances of consumers related to drug pricing and availability of medicines. It was launched by Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Ananth Kumar in New Delhi. The scheme is a web-enabled system created by National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). It seeks to serve as a robust E-governance tool for protection of interests of consumers through effective implementation of the price of drugs. The scheme will provide consumers with an online facility to redress their complaints related to over-pricing of medicines, non-availability of medicines and refusal of supply for sale of any medicine without good and sufficient reason. After receiving the complaint, NPPA will initiate action on any complaint within 48 hrs. The scheme also seeks to create awareness among the people and act as a deterrent against black-marketing, spurious medicines and inflated cost of drugs by creating phama-literacy initiative.

Karnataka lifted eighth Ranji title

Karnataka lifted Ranji Trophy by defeating Tamil Nadu by an innings and 217 runs on the last day of the final match at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. Karnataka batsman Karun Nair won the man-of the-match award for his maiden triple century (338) in first-class cricket. With this win Karnataka won 8th Ranji title and became the second most successful team after 40-time champions Mumbai. Karnatka also became the second team in the Ranji Trophy to defend the title on more than one occasion. They had retained the title in 1997-98 and 1998-99 in the past.

N Sakthan elected Kerala Assembly Speaker

Congress legislator and deputy speaker N Shakthan was elected as the new speaker of the Kerala Assembly. It was announced by Pro-term Speaker Dominic Presentation. Shakthan defeated CPI (M) candidate P. Aysha Potty by 74 to 66 votes. N Shakthan will replace G. Karthikeyan who had died on March 8, 2015. Prior to speaker election, he had resigned as Deputy Speaker of the Assembly on 10 March 2015.

Indian Railways inks MoU with LIC for Rs 1.5 lakh crore investments in rail infrastructure

Indian Railways inked an MoU with Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) to raise Rs 1.5 lakh crore for financing the development of its various commercially viable infrastructure projects. The MoU was signed by Financial Commissioner (Railways) Rajalakshmi Ravikumar and LIC Chairman SK Roy in presence of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu. State-run insurance giant LIC will provide a Financial Assistance of Rs 1.5 lakh crore to Indian Railways for developing infrastructure. From the Financial Year 2015-16 the financial assistance will be made available by LIC for over a period of 5 years as part of its commercial decision. The investment will be done in the form of bonds issued by various railway entities such as Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC). There will be a 5 year moratorium in interest and loan repayment. The rate will be linked to 10-year benchmark plus 10 basis points. With the Financial Assistance from LIC, the cash-strapped Railways will be able to augment its resources for speedier execution of projects.

Union Government appoints 9 Executive Directors in Public Sector Banks

Union Government has appointed 9 Executive Directors (EDs) in Public Sector Banks (PSBs). Their appointment was approved by Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on recommendation of selection panel headed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan.

Following 9 Executive Directors (ED) of PSBs were appointed

1. K. Sahoo- ED of Allahabad Bank.

2. Pawan Kumar Bajaj- ED of Indian Overseas Bank.

3. Ravi Shankar Pandey- ED of Syndicate Bank.

4. Kishore Piraji Kharat- ED of Union Bank of India.

5. C.Lodha- ED of Central Bank of India.

6. Charan Singh- ED of UCO Bank

7. Venkata Rama Moorthy- ED of Bank of Baroda.

8. P. Marathe- ED of Bank of India.

9. Harideesh Kumar B- ED of Canara Bank.

Parliament passes Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015

Parliament has passed Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015. It was first passed in Lok Sabha on 4 March 2015 and later in Rajya Sabha on 12 March 2015. In both the houses the bill was passed by voice vote. The amendment bill replaces ordinance promulgated in this regard and aims to bring improvements and revisions in the existing laws relating to insurance business in India. The bill also seeks to remove archaic provisions in previous laws and incorporate modern day practices of insurance business that are emerging in a changing dynamic environment, which also includes private participation. The amendment bill hikes Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in the insurance sector to 49 percent from present 26 percent. It also adds provision for the establishment of Life Insurance Council and the General Insurance Council. These councils will act as self-regulating bodies for the insurance sector. The bill also grants permission to PSU general insurers to raise funds from the capital market and increases the penalty to deter multilevel marketing of insurance products.

IMF increased India growth forecast to 7.2% for current fiscal

International Monetary Fund (IMF) has increased India's growth forecast to 7.2% for the current fiscal. Last year, IMF had projected that India would grow at 5.6 per cent in the current fiscal, and 6.4 per cent in the next. The new forecasts have taken into account a revised methodology adopted by India earlier this year for calculating the GDP figures, about which IMF said that the country has "improved the way it measures economic output".

Kumar Sangakkara creates record by scoring four consecutive ODI centuries

Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara became first batsman to score four consecutive one-day international (ODI) centuries in a Cricket World Cup. He achieved this feat by hitting 4th century by scoring 124 runs in a match against Scotland in the Pool A of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in Hobart, New Zealand. Previously, many batsmen had registered 3 consecutive ODI centuries along with Kumar Sangakkara. They are Ross Taylor (New Zealand), Quinton de Kock (South Africa), Zaheer Abbas (Pakistan), Herschelle Gibbs (South Africa), Saeed Anwar (Pakistan), AB de Villiers (South Africa).

UAE to host AFC Asian Cup in 2019

United Arab Emirates has won the bid to host the 17th edition of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in 2019.  AFC Asian Cup is an international football tournament which is organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The tournament will be held in three cities of UAE; Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Al-Ain. Earlier, UAE hosted the  AFC Asian Cup in 1996, and this will be the second time when UAE will host the tournament in 2019.

Mr. Veerappa Moily selected for Saraswati Samman 2014

Senior Congress leader and Former Union Minister Mr. M. Veerappa Moily will receive the Saraswati Samman 2014 for his Kannada poem ‘Ramayana Mahanveshanam’. The award would make Mr. M. Veerappa Moily the second Kannada author to receive the honour after S. L. Bhyrappa (2010). ‘Ramayana Mahanveshanam’ was first published in 2007 in Kannada and later was translated into English, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil. The poem explores the ‘Ramarajya’ or the true principle of the ‘ideal State’ from a secular and modern point of view.

Solar Impulse 2- world’s first solar-powered aircraft on global journey lands in Ahmedabad

World’s first solar powered aircraft on global journey- Solar Impulse 2 successfully landed in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The aircraft was piloted by Swiss pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg from its first halt Muscat, Oman.

Three French sports personalities died in a helicopter crash in Argentina

Three French sports personalities are among 10 people killed in a helicopter crash in Argentina. The incident took place when the two helicopters collided during filming near Villa Castelli, about 1,170km (720 miles) from Buenos Aires, according to local officials. In the accident three sports personalities of France died which included the famed sailor Florence Arthaud, who in 1990 broke the record for crossing the North Atlantic alone; the swimmer Camille Muffat, who won three medals at the 2012 Olympics in London; and the boxer Alexis Vastine, who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Union Budget 2015-16: Highlights

TAXATION

1. Abolition of Wealth Tax.

2. Additional 2% surcharge for the super rich with income of over Rs. 1 crore.

3. Rate of corporate tax to be reduced to 25% over next four years.

4. No change in tax slabs.

5. Total exemption of up to Rs. 4,44,200 can be achieved.

6. 100% exemption for contribution to Swachch Bharat, apart from CSR.

7. Service tax increased to14 per cent.

AGRICULTURE

1. Rs. 25,000 crore for Rural Infrastructure Development Bank.

2. Rs. 5,300 crore to support Micro Irrigation Programme.

3. Farmers credit - target of 8.5 lakh crore.

INFRASTRUCTURE

1. Rs. 70,000 crores to Infrastructure sector.

2. Tax-free bonds for projects in rail road and irrigation

3. PPP model for infrastructure development to be revitalised and govt. to bear majority of the risk.

4. Atal Innovation Mission to be established to draw on expertise of entrepreneurs, and researchers to foster scientific innovations; allocation of Rs. 150 crore.

5. Govt. proposes to set up 5 ultra mega power projects, each of 4000MW.

EDUCATION

1. AIIMS in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Assam.

2. IIT in Karnataka; Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad to be upgraded to IIT.

3. PG institute of Horticulture in Amritsar.

4. Kerala to have University of Disability Studies

5. Centre of film production, animation and gaming to come up in Arunachal Pradesh.

6. IIM for Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh.

DEFENCE

1. Allocation of Rs. 2,46,726 crore; an increase of 9.87 per cent over last year.

2. Focus on Make in India for quick manufacturing of Defence equipment.

WELFARE SCHEMES

1. GST and JAM trinity (Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and Mobile) to improve quality of life and to pass benefits to common man.

2. Six crore toilets across the country under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

3. MUDRA bank will refinance micro finance orgs. to encourage first generation SC/ST entrepreneurs.

4. Housing for all by 2020.

5. Upgradation 80,000 secondary schools.

6. DBT will be further be expanded from 1 crore to 10.3 crore.

7. For the Atal Pension Yojana, govt. will contribute 50% of the premium limited to Rs. 1,000 a year.

8. New scheme for physical aids and assisted living devices for people aged over 80 .

9. Govt. to use Rs. 9,000 crore unclaimed funds in PPF/EPF for Senior Citizens Fund.

10. Rs. 5,000 crore additional allocation for MGNREGA.

11. Govt. to create universal social security system for all Indians.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

1. Rs. 75 crore for electric cars production.

2. Renewable energy target for 2022: 100K MW in solar; 60K MW in wind; 10K MW in biomass and 5K MW in small hydro

TOURISM

1. Development schemes for churches and convents in old Goa; Hampi, Elephanta caves, Forests of Rajasthan, Leh palace, Varanasi , Jallianwala Bagh, Qutb Shahi tombs at Hyderabad to be under the new tourism scheme.

2. Visa on Arrival for 150 countries.

GOLD

1. Sovereign Gold Bond, as an alternative to purchasing metal gold.

2. New scheme for depositors of gold to earn interest and jewelers to obtain loans on their metal accounts.

3. To develop an Indian gold coin, which will carry the Ashok Chakra on its face, to reduce the demand for foreign coins and recycle the gold available in the country.

FINANCIAL SECTOR

1. Forward Markets Commission to be merged with the Securities and Exchange Board of India

2. NBFCs registered with the RBI and having asset size of Rs 500 crore and above to be considered as ‘financial institution’ under Sarfaesi Act, 2002, enabling them to fund SME and mid-corporate businesses

3. Permanent Establishment norms to be modified to that mere presence of offshore fund managers in the country does not lead to “adverse tax consequences.”

Economic Survey of India 2015-16: Highlights

India can increase investments without borrowing more, a key government report said on Friday, in an indication that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will stick to debt targets in his maiden full-year budget on Saturday.

The economic survey, the basis for Jaitley's budget for the fiscal year starting April 1, forecast the economy would grow by 8.1-8.5 percent under a new calculation method that makes India the world's top-growing big economy.

The survey was prepared by the finance ministry's chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian.

Following are the highlights of the survey:

FISCAL DEFICIT

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

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

·         Govt. should ensure expenditure control to reduce fiscal deficit

·         Expenditure control and expenditure switching to investment key

GROWTH

·         2015/16 GDP growth seen at over 8 pct y/y

·         Double digit economic growth trajectory now a possibility

·         Economic growth at market prices seen between 8.1 - 8.5 percent in 2015/16 on new GDP calculation formula

·         Total stalled projects seen at about 7 percent of GDP, mostly in private sector

REFORMS

·         There is scope for big bang reforms now

·         India can increase public investments and still hit its borrowing targets

INFLATION

·         Inflation shows declining trend in 2014/15

·         Inflation likely to be below central bank target by 0.5 - 1 percentage point

·         Lower inflation opens up space for more monetary policy easing

·         Govt and central bank need to conclude monetary framework pact to consolidate gains in inflation control

·         Consumer inflation in 2015/16 likely to range between 5-5.5 percent

FISCAL CONSOLIDATION

·         Govt remains committed to fiscal consolidation

·         India can balance short-term imperative of boosting public investment to revitalize growth with fiscal discipline

·         Outlook for external financing is correspondingly favourable

CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT

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

SUBSIDIES

·         Overhauling of subsidy regime would pave the way for expenditure rationalisation

LIQUIDITY

·         Liquidity conditions expected to remain comfortable in 2015/16

News and Updates - February 26, 2015

Govt accepts 14th Finance Commission recommendations

14th Finance Commission, which was headed by former RBI Governor Y.V. Reddy, recommended that the share of states in the centre's tax revenue be increased from 32 percent to 42 percent. The recommendations of the commission has accepted by the centre. The recommendation is for the five-year period 2015-16 to 2019-20. As per the increased devolution suggested in the report, the states will get Rs 3.48 lakh crore in 2014-15 and Rs 5.26 lakh crore in 2015-16.

Ram Niwas Goel elected as Speaker of Delhi Legislative Assembly

Ram Niwas Goel, MLA of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today unanimously elected as the Speaker of the Delhi Legislative Assembly. While AAP legislator Bandana Kumari was elected as the Deputy Speaker of the House. Ram Niwas Goel won the seat of Shahdara constituency in Delhi Assembly election. He defeated Bhartiya Janta Party's Jitender Singh Shunty.

Yes Bank raises Rs. 1,000 crore via green bonds, double the target

Yes Bank raised Rs.1,000 crore against a targeted Rs.500 crore by issuing green infrastructure bonds. The bonds are of 10-year tenor and the money raised will be used for funding renewable energy projects in solar, wind, biomass and small hydel plants, the lender said in a statement. The bank, which had set out with a target to raise Rs.500 crore, saw demand from insurance companies, pension and provident funds, foreign portfolio investors and mutual funds, which resulted in the greenshoe option being utilized. Yes Bank managing director and chief executive Rana Kapoor said this is the first green infrastructure bond issue in India and expressed satisfaction at the response. The statement, however, did not offer any details on the pricing of the issue.

IndusInd Bank to raise Rs. 2,000 crore via infra bonds, NCDs

Private sector lender IndusInd Bank will issue long-term infrastructure bonds or non-convertible debentures on private placement basis to raise about Rs.2,000 crore. “The board of directors ... approved the proposal of borrowings/raising funds in Indian currency by issue of long-term infrastructure bonds/subordinated non-convertible debentures in domestic market, on private placement basis, in one or more tranches, for an amount not exceeding Rs.2,000 crore,” the bank said in a filing to the BSE. The proceeds will be used to finance bank’s incremental lending for infrastructure and affordable housing, it said. The debt raised, to be added both as tier-I and tier-II capital, by the bank has a maturity period of seven years. These bonds may carry a coupon at a fixed rate or at a floating rate, it added.

RBI issues clarification on ARCs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has clarified that asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) will henceforth require its prior approval only if there is a transfer of 10% of more stake by such companies or alternatively if the transfer of such stake changes the sponsor of the firm. Earlier any change in the shareholding of ARCs had to be approved by the RBI. The change in the norms is to ensure “smooth” functioning of ARCs, RBI said.

Ranchi Rays lifted Hero Hockey India League trophy 2015

Ranchi Rays emerged the Champions of Hero Hockey India League 2015. Ranchi Rays defeated Jaypee Punjab Warriors by 3-2 in the final at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi. Ranchi Rays, which was earlier called Ranchi Rhinos was also lifted the inaugural title in 2013.

SBI inked an agreement with Indian Army on Defence Salary Package

The Indian Army and State Bank of India (SBI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Defence Salary Package. The MoU is tailor-made to suit the requirements of serving soldiers, pensioners and families. Under the MoU number of free/concessional services like free drafts, free cheque books, free funds transfers to any bank in India through RTGS / NEFT, free ATM cards and others have been included. Personal Accident Insurance (PAI) was enhanced and was linked to the Savings account instead of the debit card, etc.

Six Indians among Forbes' 50 'Power Businesswomen'

Six Indian women CEOs and Managing Directors, including State Bank of India head Arundhati Bhattacharya and ICICI CEO Chanda Kochchar, have been named by Forbes magazine in its 50 'Power Businesswomen' from Asia who are "knocking down" walls in the traditional male bastions. The Asia's 50 Power Businesswomen list showcases a year of accomplishments by the region's female entrepreneurs and executives, punctuated by the midas touch of China's Alibaba and newcomers from two rapidly growing economies where women are starting to find a toehold in business, the magazine said. Included in the list are women CEOs and founders who are active in the upper echelons of the business world in Asia, wield significant power and have access to robust financial resources. Apart from Bhattacharya and Kochchar, the Indian executives on the list are Akhila Srinivasan, MD/Non-Executive Director of Shriram Life Insurance/Shriram Capital, Biocon Founder, Chairman and MD Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Axis Bank CEO and MD Shikha Sharma and Life Insurance Corp. of India MD Usha Sangwan 56 (India).

Delhi Open: Somdev Devvarman retains title

Somdev Devvarman didn’t play as well as he can, but he did what he knows best. Devvarman dug deep and outfought Yuki Bhambri 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 to defend the $100,000 ATP Challenger Delhi Open title on Sunday.

The results: Final: Somdev Devvarman (Ind) bt Yuki Bhambri (Ind) 3-6, 6-4, 6-0. Doubles: Alexander Kudryavtsev (Rus) and Egor Gerasimov (Blr) bt Riccardo Ghedin (Ita) and Toshihide Matsui (Jpn) 6-7(5), 6-4, 10-6. — Priyansh

David Ferrer beats Fabio Fognini in straight sets to win Rio Open

No. 9 David Ferrer continued his strong start to the season by defeating Fabio Fognini 6-2, 6-3 Sunday to win the Rio Open. The win marks Ferrer's 23rd ATP title and his second title in three tournaments this year. He kicked off his season with a title at the Qatar Open and made the fourth round of the Australian Open. Seeded second in Rio, Ferrer lost just one set all week. A day after snapping Rafael Nadal's 52-match win-streak in ATP semifinals on clay, Fognini struggled to find his best form from the baseline, spraying 17 unforced errors to seven winners in the first set. Ferrer kept things much cleaner by hitting six unforced errors to four winners. With a set in pocket, Ferrer quickly built a 5-1 lead in the second before closing it out in one hour and 24 minutes to extend his record against the Italian to 8-0.

News and Updates - February 23, 2015

Nitish Kumar sworn in as CM of Bihar for 4th time

Nitish Kumar has sworn in as the Chief Minister (CM) of Bihar for the 4th time. Governor of Bihar Keshri Nath Tripathi administered the oath of office and secrecy to him at the oath taking ceremony held at Raj Bhawan in Patna. Along with Nitish Kumar, 22 Janta Dal United (JDU) Party legislators, including three women were also sworn in as Cabinet Ministers. Earlier on 20 February 2015, Jitan Ram Manjhi had resigned as CM ending a month long political turmoil in Bihar.

Purnendu Dasgupta wins American Chemical Society award 2015

Purnendu Dasgupta, an Indian-American has won 2015 American Chemical Society (ACSs) Division of Analytical Chemistry J. Calvin Giddings Award. He was awarded this award for his special contribution in the field of analytical chemistry. He will receive this award in August 2015 at ACS national conference in Boston.

Environmental loss in Sundarbans worth Rs. 1290 Crore: World Bank Report

As per World Bank’s recently released report Building Resilience for Sustainable Development of the Sundarbans, environmental damage in the climate change-hit islands of Sundarbans is costing India Rs. 1,290 crore each year. This report was jointly prepared by World Bank in collaboration with the West Bengal government. Sundarbans is an archipelago of 54 islands and is home to about 44 lakh people. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. In recent times it is hit hard by an increase in floods, storms, salinity and erosion caused by rising sea-levels and global warming.

RBI eases some restrictions on shadow bank lending

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has eased lending regulations governing the country’s shadow banking industry, removing investor limits and the need for collateral guarantees on standard debt transactions. The RBI said shadow banks would henceforth be able to conduct non-convertible transactions valued at Rs. 1 crore ($160,000) or more unsecured, and such issuance would no longer be limited to 200 investors. Restrictions would remain on debt of less than that value that is not convertible into equity, and on all convertible debt, the RBI said. India’s shadow banks, known as non-banking financial firms (NBFCs), are widespread and include housing finance companies and consumer finance firms that lend small sums to individuals. The central bank also said NBFCs would not be permitted to transfer the proceeds of non-convertible debt issues to affiliates.

Takahiro Hachigo appointed as new President and CEO of Honda

Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co has appointed Takahiro Hachigo as its new President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He will assume charge in June 2015 and replace Takanobu Ito, who had stepped down from the top most post in an unexpected move on 23 February 2015. Prior to this appointment, Hachigo was Managing Officer of Honda Motor Co. and was appointed to this post in April 2014.

Government Launches Portal 'Madad' to Redress Consular Grievances

Indian citizens living abroad will now be able to file consular grievances online as the government has launched an e-portal to address such complaints promptly with a high degree of "accountability". The portal 'Madad'(Help) was launched at the Ministry of External Affairs or MEA headquarters in Delhi by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who said the grievance monitoring facility would enhance "accessibility" for people and fix greater "accountability and responsibility" on officials. "The portal seeks to significantly reform the linear process adopted to post grievances from the originator of the grievance to the concerned Embassy or Consulate of India abroad and cut down the time required for grievances to be sent from Delhi to our Missions abroad and to get them to take necessary action," Ms Swaraj said. The speedy handling of complaints, improve tracking and redressal and escalation of unresolved cases are among the chief characteristics of 'Madad'. "After registering, the complainant can log in and file his or her complaints, and the entire history of that grievance would be maintained online. The authorities would be assigned the responsibility through a colour-coded dashboard that would change the colour if the response in not given in a stipulated time," a senior official of the MEA said.

India Signs Loan Agreement with ADB for $50 Million Loan To Boost Power Generation Capacity in Assam

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $50 million loan agreement for the second Assam Power Sector Investment Program which aims to build up the capacity of power generation and distribution systems to meet the growing energy demand in the state of Assam. The first tranche loan of the $300 million multi-tranche financing facility will fund generation capacity enhancement and distribution efficiency improvement subprojects in the state. Shri Tarun Bajaj, Joint Secretary (Multilateral Institutions), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, who signed the agreement on behalf of Government of India said that more than a third of households in the State face daily electricity cuts of 5 to 6 hours, many important businesses, such as the tea gardens, still aren't connected to the grid, and in peak periods Assam has to buy up to 15% of its power from independent producers at very high cost, said He added that the project will finance investments to augment and improve generation capacity through the replacement of an inefficient generating plant and construction of new hydropower plant.

First coal block e-auction earns Rs. 1 lakh crore for states

The first round of coal block e-auction saw some of the key names in the industry bagging 18 mines with a combined extractable reserve of 90 million tonnes, along with attached end-use infrastructure. According to the auction amount and royalty payable, six mineral-rich states are likely to earn a little more than Rs 1 lakh crore over the next 30 years. That's not all. Non-mineral-rich states will benefit from tariff concessions, or reduction in power rates arising out of stiff bidding for coal. By the coal ministry's rough estimates, for every decline of Rs 100 a tonne in a bid, the power rate gets reduced by 6 paise a unit. The auction saw companies making even Rs 0 bids; that implies the bidding company concerned is ready to take the fuel cost on its account books and pass on the rate reduction to power consumers.

PM launches soil health card scheme to spruce up farm productivity

In an attempt to check deteriorating soil quality and spruce up farm productivity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the soil health card scheme in Suratgarh, Rajasthan. The scheme will provide all 145 million farm owners in the country with a soil health card in the next three years. The ambitious scheme was announced in the first budget presented by finance minister Arun Jaitley in July last year. The budget allotted Rs.100 crore for issuing cards and an additional Rs.56 crore to set up 100 mobile soil testing laboratories across the country. The soil health card details existing nutrient status of the soil and crop-wise recommendations of nutrients and fertilizers required, making it easier for farmers to improve productivity by using appropriate inputs.

Scientist Tapan Misra appointed as Director of ISRO’s Space Application Centre

Eminent scientist Tapan Misra has been appointed the Chief of ISRO’s Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad Gujarat. He will succeed A S Kiran Kumar, who was appointed as the Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in January 2015.He was awarded Hari Om Ashram Prerit Vikram Sarabhai research Award (2004), ISRO Merit award (2008), Sir JC Bose National Talent Search (JBNSTS) Scholarship (1981). He has been 2 granted patents, 6 pending patents, 5 copyrights and many research papers to his credit.

Rs. 50000 crore naval project gets Cabinet nod

The Cabinet Committee on Security sanctioned the country's biggest naval project, the construction of seven stealth frigates for Rs 45,381 crore. Mazagon Dock Ltd (MDL), Mumbai , will build four of these, while Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata (GRSE), simultaneously builds the other three. This project, dubbed Project 17A, follows on from the earlier Project 17, in which MDL built three 5,600-tonne frigates: INS Shivalik, Satpura and Sahyadri. The first of these, the Shivalik, entered service in 2009. The timeline for Project 17A allows each shipyard a preparatory period of two years, in which they will prepare for construction and place orders for long-lead items like engines and transmission. Then they will actually build the warship over five years. The first two frigates would be delivered by MDL and GRSE in 2022, with the rest coming in pairs at one-year intervals. The Project 17A frigates, while superficially similar to those build under Project 17, will pack significantly more punch with more advanced weaponry. The new vessels will be fitted with BrahMos cruise missile for land attack, and the new Indo-Israeli Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LR-SAM) that can shoot down incoming anti-ship missiles.

Simona Halep lifted WTA championship title

Simona Halep lifted WTA championship title after defeating Karolina Pliskova in the final in Dubai. She defeated Pliskova in a straight sets 6-4, 7-6 to win the 10th trophy of her career.

AAP govt ropes in Sushil Kumar to promote sports in Delhi

The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government has roped in two-time Olympic medal winning wrestler Sushil Kumar to promote sports in Delhi. As part of the plan, Sushil would also promote special sports degree programmes. "The Delhi Government has come up with good ideas for development of sports in Delhi. I have also given some proposals," he said.

Apollo Hospitals inks pact with Republic of Macedonia

Apollo Hospitals Group ties up with the Republic of Macedonia, to expand healthcare services in the Southeastern European nation. It also establishes efforts to provide telemedicine, educational opportunities and training over the next five years for Macedonia, it added.

Veteran CPI leader Govind Pansare passed away

Veteran leader of Communist Party of India (CPI), Govind Pansare was shot along with his wife Uma by unidentified persons near his house in Kolhapur. He passed away at Breach Candy hospital in Mumbai. He was 82. He was leading a campaign against the collection of toll in Maharashtra.

State Bank of India to finance small tea growers in NE

State Bank of India(SBI) will provide finance Rs 100 crore benefiting 3,000 small tea growers in the North East soon, a senior official of the public sector bank said today. ii. Finance will be provided to tea growers who have proper basic documents of their existing garden as per Tea Board of India norms. "The benefit is not only for Assam, but also for new tea garden growing states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Meghalaya which will also be covered under a similar scheme.