Economy - bsc4success | bsc4success€¦ · SINCE 1993 India’s Premier Banking / SSC Institute Economy ... requirement that the commercial banks in India ... Canara Bank and the

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mySINCE 1993 India’s Premier Banking / SSC Institute

Economy

SINCE 1993 India’s Premier Banking / SSC Institute

Banking The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) met on Jun 7,

2017 for the second edition of bi-annual policy meetingof FY18 to review the interest rates.

Highlights The policy repo rate, at which banks borrow from

the RBI, remains at 6.25%. The reverse repo rate, at which banks lend to the

central bank, remains at 6%. The cash reserve ratio (CRR), the ratio of deposits

which banks have to keep with RBI, unchanged at4%

\The statutory liquidity ratio (SLR), the reserverequirement that the commercial banks in Indiarequire to maintain in the form of gold, govt approvedsecurities before providing credit to the customer,cut by 50 bps to 20% w.e.f. Jun 24

The Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and Bankrate remain at 6.5%

According to the data, 82.6% of the economy hasbeen remonetised.

Recent GDP data show that economy started slowingbefore demonetisation; GDP slowdown more due tofundamental factors

RBI cut the economic growth projection to 7.3 percent for the current fiscal from 7.4 per cent earlier.

RBI cautions against rush of farm loan waivers,warns of risk on fiscal slippages and inflationaryspillovers

Inflation projected at 2-3.5% for H1, 3.5-4.5% forH2 of FY18.

7th Pay Commission allowances, geo- political,financial risk pose upside risk to inflation.

Need to revive private investment, restore bankingsector health, remove infrastructure bottleneck Thenext meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee willbe held on Aug 1 and 2.

The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank(AIIB) has approved USD 150-mn equity investment loanto the India Infrastructure Fund (IIF), the bank’s firstsuch loan to fund private projects. The bank, in whichIndia is a lead partner, has approved two loans and oneequity investment totalling USD 324 mn to supportinfrastructure projects in India, Georgia and Tajikistan.The Infrastructure Fund aims to invest in mid-capinfrastructure companies in India, and to expand thebank’s equity and loan deal sourcing pipelines in theprivate sector through its equity participation in thisfund. India is the second largest shareholder with 7.5per cent followed by Russia 5.93 per cent and Germany4.5 per cent.

Stepping up its fight against tax evasion, the Centre hasmade it mandatory to quote the Aadhaar number foropening bank accounts and for transactions exceeding`50,000. With the amendments to the Prevention ofMoney Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules,2005 notified earlier in Jun, banks will have to demandboth Aadhaar and the Permanent Account Number(PAN) for verification of identity.

Small accounts — those with a limit of `50,000 — canbe opened without Aadhaar, but only at bank branchesthat are core-banking enabled, or where it is “possible to

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manually monitor” such accounts. Banks are expectedto ensure that foreign remittances are not credited tosuch accounts, and that the stipulated limits on monthlyand annual transactions and balance are not breached.

Notwithstanding a significant 8.9 per cent drop inremittances to India in 2016, the country-retained thetop spot among remittances receiving nations, accordingto a World Bank report. India, while retaining its top spotas the world’s largest remittance recipient, led the declinewith remittance inflows amounting to $62.7 bn in 2016, adecrease of 8.9 per cent over $68.9 bn in 2015. India wasthe largest remittance recipient followed closely by China($61 bn), the Philippines ($29.9 bn), Mexico (28.5 bn) andPakistan (19.8 bn), making up the top five.

New one-rupee notes with predominantly pink-green onobverse and reverse in combination with other colourswill be soon put into circulation. The notes bearing therupee symbol have been printed by the Govt of India. Atpresent, one-rupee coins are minted. Printing of one rupeenotes was discontinued in 1994 but was relaunched in2015.

The Central Bank of India has become the latest to faceRBI’s restrictions under its Prompt Corrective Action(PCA) scheme, taking the total number of lenders underPCA to five. Earlier, the RBI had put Dena Bank, IDBIBank, Indian Overseas Bank and UCO Bank under PCAin view of their mounting non-performing assets (NPAs).

TerraPay, a mobile payments switch, has announced itscollaboration with Yes Bank to enable real-timeinternational money transfers to bank accounts in India.

India on 5 Jun signed a $39.2-mn loan agreement withthe World Bank for the “citizen-centric service delivery”project in Assam.

Vijaya Bank is going to develop as many as 100 digitalvillages in various States of the country as part of itsinitiative to promote digital banking among the ruralpopulation.

Axis Bank Ltd on 6 Jun announced biodegradableprepaid gift cards on the occasion of World EnvironmentDay (5 Jun). The card made of biodegradable plastic willhelp spread awareness about the benefits of suchproducts.

Amid growing protests over farm sector distress, theUnion Cabinet has approved the extension of the interestsubvention scheme for farmers to 2017-18. Short-term

crop loans up to ̀ 3 lakh will receive a subvention of 5%,effectively reducing the rate for farmers to 4%. The govthas earmarked a sum of ̀ 20,339 cr for this.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) observed financialliteracy week from Jun 5-9 across the country. Thefinancial literacy week focused on four broad themes —Know Your Customer (KYC), Exercising Credit Discipline,Grievance Redressal and Going Digital (UPI and *99#).

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced on 13 Junthat it had issued `500 denomination notes with insetletter A. However, the old notes, which were introducedafter PM Narendra Modi’s demonetisation drive in Nov2016, will continue to remain legal tender.

An agreement for International Bank for Reconstructionand Development (IBRD) credit of USD 36 mn from WorldBank for “Himachal Pradesh Public FinancialManagement Capacity Building Program” was signedrecently in New Delhi.

The state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) hasreceived $100 mn (about `645 cr) as the first tranche ofthe Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) multi-mn dollarfunding for installation of rooftop solar systems in India.This is the first tranche loan of the $500-mn multi-tranchefinance facility Solar Rooftop Investment Programme(SRIP) approved by the ADB in 2016.

The State Bank of India and the World Bank announcedon 2 Jun that they had financed 100 MW of rooftop solarprojects worth ̀ 400 cr in India. SBI has availed of a loanof $625 mn from the World Bank for on-lending to viableGrid-Connected Rooftop Solar PV (GRPV) projectsundertaken by developers, aggregators and end-users,for installation of rooftop solar systems.

Canara Bank and the New India Assurance Companyhave entered into a corporate agency arrangement fordistribution of insurance products.

The RBI Governor Urjit Patel will appear before aParliamentary panel on Jul 6, during which he is expectedto be questioned about total deposits made in bank’spost-govt demonetisation move. This is the fourth timePatel has been summoned by the Parliamentary StandingCommittee (PSC) on Finance, headed by Congress MPand former Union Minister Veerappa Moily.

The mortgage lender HDFC Ltd is the only Indiancompany to be named among the top 10 consumerfinancial services companies in the world, with American


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Express claiming the first position. With profits of USD1.6 bn and sales of USD 8.1 bn, HDFC was rankedseventh on the Forbes Global List 2017 in the consumerfinancial services sector — same as last year.

A sharp increase in demand has seen an exorbitant pricerally in crypto-currencies worldwide, with buying beingled by investors in the US, China, Japan and Korea. Atpresent, Bitcoin is trading at $2,550 – 155 per cent morethan its price in the beginning of the year. In India, itwent up to trade at ̀ 2.13 lakh recently. Globally, crypto-currencies’ market cap has surged to $88 bn. The topthree currencies – Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple – havea combined 80 per cent share in total market cap.

The World Bank has projected a strong 7.2 per centgrowth rate for India this year against 6.8 per cent growthin 2016.

If you are already a bank customer, either a depositor ora borrower, or a prospective customer, you may want tocheck the lender’s code compliance rating relating to itscommitment to customers and to micro and smallenterprises. According to the Code Compliance Ratingof banks done by the Banking Codes and StandardsBoard of India (BCSBI) 2017, only one (unchanged fromthe previous survey conducted in 2015) out of 26 publicsector banks and eight (nine in the previous survey) outof 17 private sector banks got ‘high’ rating for theiradherence to code compliance. IDBI Bank was the onlypublic sector bank that got ‘high (H)’(85 and above scoreout of 100) rating in two successive surveys.

The World Bank on 13 Jun approved financing worthmore than $500 mn for Afghanistan to support a stringof programs to boost the economy and help improveservices in five provincial capitals.

The Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), the Lead Bank forThiruvananthapuram district, has launched the RetailMart, a retail lending concept, in Kerala’s capital city.

Soon after the RBI announced in its credit policy a cut inthe statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) by 50 bps and reducedthe risk weightage on home loans above ̀ 75 lakh to 50%from 75% earlier, the State Bank of India – India’s largestbank – on 9 Jun cut the interest rate on home loansabove ̀ 75 lakh by 10 basis points to 8.55%-8.6%, witheffect from Jun 15.

Bank of India conducted a Star Mahotsav across itsbranch network in the country on May 31, 2017. The

thrust was on contacting every customer at their doorstepeither for recovery of bad loans, disbursement of retailloans including housing and vehicle loan, disbursementunder MSME and agriculture and promotion of itsproducts, including debit and credit card, POS machine,and internet banking service.

Capital Market The Union Cabinet on 7 Jun gave its nod for SEBI to

enter into two separate MoUs with securities marketregulators of the European Union and Iran. These MoUsare expected to strengthen cooperation between Indiaand the respective countries on matters pertaining tosecurities market.

The leading bourse NSE launched its internationalexchange in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City(GIFT City) on 5 Jun. NSE’s rival BSE has alreadyoperationalised its global exchange India InternationalExchange (INX) at international financial services centre(IFSC).

Bharti Airtel on 1 Jun said it had received approvals frommarket regulator Sebi and stock exchanges (BSE andNSE) for the proposed merger with Telenor India.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) hasprovided relief for genuine transactions through whichshares were acquired without paying the securitiestransaction tax (STT). According to final regulationsreleased on 6 Jun, the board provided exemptions foremployee stock options (ESOPs) and duly approvedmergers and acquisitions (M&As).

Sebi on 13 Jun allowed options trading in commoditiesto deepen the market but will permit each exchange tolaunch options on futures of only one commodity initiallyand asked bourses to follow robust risk managementmeasures. Options could be launched on futures contractof only those commodities that are among the top five interms of total trading turnover value of previous 12months.

Committee Aiming to improve the standards of corporate

governance of listed companies, markets regulator Sebion 2 Jun set up a committee under the chairmanship ofUday Kotak, chief of Kotak Mahindra Bank.

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Corporate TATA Projects has announced the launch of Green

Thumb, an initiative to enhance the green cover. Thisnew initiative of the infrastructure company coincideswith World Environment Day (5 Jun) and is incontinuation of TATA Projects’ programme last yearaimed at getting 10,000 people to click (pledge) to plant asapling on their behalf.

Disinvestment The Govt has selected five merchant bankers, including

Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, to manage the govt’s threeper cent stake sale in IOC, which could fetch about ̀ 6,000cr to the exchequer. The other bankers who have beenselected by the Department of Investment and PublicAsset Management (DIPAM) for managing the stake saleare Deutsche Equities, SBI Capital Markets and ICICISecurities.

Energy The Union cabinet on 24 May accorded its approval to

raising bonds worth `2,360 cr for development ofrenewable energy. The bonds will be raised during thecurrent financial year by the Ministry of New andRenewable Energy (MNRE) through the IndianRenewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA).

FDI The Union Cabinet on 24 May approved phasing out of

the 25-year-old Foreign Investment Promotion Board(FIPB). The FIPB is the inter-ministerial body — or asingle-window clearance mechanism for applications onforeign direct investment (FDI) in India in sectors underthe govt approval route.

Insurance The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority

of India (IRDAI) has taken over the administration ofSahara India Life Insurance, a first-of-its-kind move inthe insurance sector. It has named RK Sharma, GeneralManager, IRDAI, as administrator to manage the affairsof the insurer. Lucknow-based Sahara India LifeInsurance was the first wholly Indian-owned lifeinsurance company in the private sector which launchedits operations in 2004 with an initial paid-up capital of

`157 cr. In the long-running SEBI-Sahara case, theSupreme Court in Aug 2012 had ordered the group todeposit with the regulator over ̀ 24,000 cr collected fromnearly 3 cr investors through issuance of bonds.

The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has pulledoff a record claim performance by settling 99.92 per centof death claims in 2016-17 as against industry average of95 per cent.

PSUs The Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has overtaken the Oil and

Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) to become India’s mostprofitable state-owned company. IOC, which has fordecades been India’s biggest company by turnover,posted a 70 per cent jump in net profit to ̀ 19,106.40 cr inthe financial year ended Mar 31, 2017. This was morethan the `17,900 cr net profit ONGC posted in the 2016-17 fiscal, making IOC the most profitable PSU, accordingto earning statements of the companies.

Taxation The goods and services tax (GST) will be rolled out from

Jun 30 midnight. However, companies will be allowed tofile late returns for the first two months so that they canadapt to a new online filing system. The GST will requirefirms to file three online returns each month.

The GST Council on 11 Jun decided to revise tax rates on66 products and widened the scope of a concessionaltax payment scheme for small businesses andrestaurants.

Highlights GST on insulin, agarbatti lowered to 5 per cent;

school bags to attract tax of 28 per cent GST on movie tickets under ̀ 100 has been slashed

to 18 per cent, while tickets priced above `100 willbe taxed at 28 per cent tax.

The Council has also lowered tax rate on computerprinters from 28 per cent to 18 per cent and onchildren’s drawing books to nil from 12 per cent.

Kitchen-use items like pickles, mustard sauce andmorabba will attract 12 per cent GST, as against 18per cent proposed earlier.

The tax rate on cashew nuts has been cut to 5 percent from 12 per cent.

Under the GST, traders, manufacturers andrestaurants with turnover of up to ̀ 75 lakh can avail


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the composition scheme, against `50 lakh earlier. The council fixed the tax for hotel rooms costing

between `2,500 to ̀ 7,500 at 18 per cent. The cost of eating out at restaurants was also fixed

at 18 per cent, down from the 28 per cent decidedearlier.

The council fixed the tax of state-run lotteries at 12per cent and of state-authorised lotteries at 28 percent.

All goods and services under the GST regime have beencategorised in four tax slabs of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent,besides those items that attract zero tax.

Indian tax laws are perceived to be second most complexin the Asia-Pacific region, becoming even lesspredictable over the last three years, a Deloitte surveyhas said. India ranks only after China in having mostcomplex jurisdiction for taxation and most complicatedrequirements of tax, the Asia Pacific Tax ComplexitySurvey conducted by Deloitte said.

India on 7 Jun signed the OECD multilateral conventionthat aims to check cross-border tax evasion bymultinational companies. Union Finance Minister ArunJaitley signed the multilateral convention in Paris. Morethan 65 countries, including India, signed the convention.The Multilateral Convention is an outcome of the OECD/G20 Project to tackle Base Erosion and Profit Shifting(BEPS) which is resorted to by MNCs through taxplanning strategies by exploiting gaps and mismatchesin tax rules.

Select multilateral institutions such as the UN, WorldBank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) willcontinue to enjoy exemption from import duties underthe upcoming goods and services tax (GST) regime byway of refunds but not all projects funded by them mayenjoy the same facility.

Switzerland has ratified automatic exchange of financialaccount information with India and 40 other countries.This will facilitate Switzerland to share information aboutsuspected black money with these nations. Declarationfor implementation of Automatic Exchange of Information(AEOI) was signed between India and Switzerland inNov 2016.

Telecom The state-owned BSNL on 24 May started satellite phone

service through INMARSAT which will be initially offered

to govt agencies and later opened for other citizens in aphased manner. Satellite phones in India are presentlyprovided by Tata Communications (TCL), whichinherited the licence from Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited(VSNL). The services of TCL will be phased out by Jun30, 2017.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 5Jun launched three new apps to help customers ratequality of services, speed and performance. The threenew apps — MyCall app, MySpeed app and ‘Do notdisturb (DND 2.0)’ app — are being launched so thatthere is more transparency between the consumers andthe service providers.

Reliance Communications’ executive Punit Garg saidthat the merged wireless company with Aircel will becalled Aircom.

Lenders have decided to give Reliance Communications(RCom) time till Dec 2017 to make interest and principalrepayment so that the company could sell assets andreduce debt, even as they took the strategic debtrestructuring (SDR) route for the Anil Ambani group-owned firm.

Others India’s GDP or gross domestic product grew 6.1 per

cent year-on-year during the Jan-Mar period, govt datashowed on 31 May. With this, India loses its status ofthe world’s fastest-growing economy.

The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)has approved hike in investment limit in exchange tradedfunds (ETFs) to 15 per cent, from the existing 10 percent, as announced by the Union Labour MinisterBandaru Dattatreya on 27 May.

India has surpassed China to secure the top positionamong 30 developing countries on ease of doingbusiness. The 2017 Global Retail Development Index(GRDI), now in its 16th edition, ranks the top 30developing countries for retail investment worldwide andanalyses 25 macroeconomic and retail-specific variables.

The govt on 24 May decided to increase fair andremunerative price (FRP) of sugarcane by `25 perquintal to `255 for 2017-18 season beginning Oct 2017.A decision in this regard was taken at the meeting of theCabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). FRPis the minimum price that sugarcane farmers are legally

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guaranteed. However, state govts are free to fix theirown state advised price (SAP) and millers can offer anyprice above the FRP.

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Hong Kong’slocal and foreign currency issuer ratings just after it cutChina’s credit ratings for the first time in nearly 30 years.The US ratings agency downgraded Hong Kong’s ratingto Aa2 from Aa1 and said credit trends in China willcontinue to have a significant impact on Hong Kong’scredit profile due to close economic, financial and politicalties with the mainland.

According to the latest report from BMI Research,demand from construction, automotive and infrastructureindustries continues to accelerate in India. The reporthas put down the sector’s success to the govt’s push toraise capacity in order to meet demand from construction,automotive and infra sectors, said the Steel UsersFederation of India (SUFI) on 10 Jun.

The power to grant licence for defence manufacturing isback with the Department of Industrial Policy andPromotion (DIPP) a few months after the Home Ministrywas given the responsibility.

India has been ranked 45th, down four notches from lastyear, in terms of competitiveness, in the annual rankingscompiled by IMD, which saw Hong Kong topping thelist. US was “pushed out” of the top three slots whileHong Kong consolidated its dominance of the annualrankings for the second year in the list compiled by theInternational Institute for Management Development’s(IMD) World Competitiveness Center.

The govt on 31 May unveiled an updated series of theindex of eight core industries with a base year of 2011-12that registered a growth of 2.5 per cent in Apr. Thecombined Index of Eight Core Industries stands at 118.6

in Apr 2017, which is 2.5 per cent higher compared to theindex of Apr 2016. It grew at a robust 8.7 per cent in Apr2016 as per the new series and a similar 8.5 per cent in theold series.

Retail inflation fell to an all-time low of 2.18 per cent inMay 2017. Inflation fell as prices of kitchen staples likevegetables and pulses declined sharply. Consumer Price-based Inflation, or retail inflation, had stood at 2.99 percent in Apr 2017, and at 5.76 per cent in May last year.

Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd(GCMMF), which markets the popular Amul brand ofmilk and dairy products, has successfully quadrupledthe income of its dairy farmer-members in the last sevenyears, demonstrating the efficacy of the Amul model inexceeding the national goal of doubling farmers’ incomein six years.

The current account deficit (CAD) soared to USD 3.4bn, or 0.6 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), inthe fourth quarter of fiscal 2017, from USD 0.3 bn a yearago, the Reserve Bank said on 15 Jun. However, on asequential basis, the gap between forex earnings andexpenses, narrowed from USD 8 bn in the third quarter ofFY17. The widening of the CAD on a year-on-year basiswas primarily on account of a higher trade deficit whichstood at USD 29.7 bn, brought about by a larger increasein merchandise imports relative to exports. Balance ofpayments for the full financial year stood at USD 21.6bn, while for Q4 the same stood at USD7.31 bn.

As many as 20 Indian firms have been named in thelatest list of top 100 companies in the Nikkei AsianReview’s Asia 300. Indian IT service provider HCLTechnologies came in at the second place, followed byZee Entertainment Enterprises and Tata ConsultancyServices at the third and fourth place respectively.


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Centre Taking one step more towards making India open

defecation-free, the Govt on 30 May launched a newcampaign called ‘Darwaza Band’ for promotion of toiletusage in the rural areas across the country.

The Centre has launched a special drive to reach out tonearly 12 cr under-five children within a fortnight toreduce child deaths from diarrhoea, which kills 1.1 lakhchildren in India every year.

The Union Cabinet chaired by the PM Narendra Modigave approval to the following recently: Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) between Germany

and India regarding cooperation in the sector ofalternative medicine which will enhance bilateralcooperation between the two countries in the areasof traditional/alternative medicine.

Proposal jointly mooted by the Ministry of Shippingand the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways(MoRTH) for amendment of Central Road Fund Act,2000 to allocate 2.5 per cent of the proceeds ofCentral Road Fund (CRF) for development andmaintenance of National Waterways (NWs) and areduction in the share provided for development ofNational Highways.

Proposal for abolishing the Foreign InvestmentPromotion Board (FIPB) and allowingadministrative Ministries/Departments to processapplications for FDI requiring govt approval

Establishment of new AIIMS at Kamrup (NorthGuwahati Revenue circle) at a cost of ̀ 1123 cr underthe Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana(PMSSY)

MoU between India and Bangladesh on cooperationin the peaceful uses of outer space which will enablethe areas of cooperation such as space science,technology and applications including remotesensing of the earth; satellite communication andsatellite-based navigation; space science andplanetary exploration; use of spacecraft and spacesystems and ground system; and application ofspace technology

MoU between India and Bangladesh for promoting

cooperation in the field of Information Technologyand Electronics (IT&E)

MoU between the National Transplant Organization,Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality,Spain and the Directorate General of Health Services,Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India oncooperation in the field of organ and tissueprocurement and transplantation and betterunderstanding between the two countries

Raising of bonds of ̀ 2360 cr for Renewable Energyby the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy(MNRE) through the Indian Renewable EnergyDevelopment Agency (IREDA) during 2017-18;these funds will be used by MNRE in the approvedprogrammes.

MoU between Export-Import Bank of India (EXIMBank) and Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM)for export credit of USD 9 bn for infrastructuraldevelopment in India and for the supply of goodsand services as part of projects in third countries

MoU between India and Armenia for cooperationon youth matters to strengthen and encouragecooperation between the two countries on youthmatters through participation in events andactivities.

MoU between Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’Welfare and the Ministry of Agriculture in the Stateof Palestine on agriculture cooperation forcooperation in the fields of agricultural research;veterinary field including capacity enhancement ofPalestinian Veterinary services and Animal Health;irrigation and climate change.

All 12 major domestic ports will soon switch to renewableenergy to meet their entire power requirements, makingIndia the first country to have all govt-owned portsrunning on solar and wind energy.

The process for electing the 15th President of India beganon Jun 14 with the Election Commission issuing thenotification for the polls. Chief Election CommissionerNasim Zaidi announced that Presidential elections willtake place on Jul 17.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) and All IndiaCouncil of Technical Education (AICTE) will soon be a

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thing of the past as the PM Narendra Modi-led govt atthe Centre is planning to replace the two educationregulators with a new Higher Education Regulator. HigherEducation Empowerment Regulation Agency or HEERAis the name of the new proposed regulator.

The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare JPNadda launched the ‘Skill for Life, Save a Life’ initiativein New Delhi on 6 Jun. India enjoys a demographicdividend as more than 65% youth are below the age of35 years. The new initiative aims to upscale the quantityand quality of trained professionals in the healthcaresystem.

The second edition of the National Health Editors’Conference on Yoga was inaugurated by the Minister ofState for AYUSH (Independent Charge), Shripad YessoNaik, at the National Media Centre in New Delhi. Thetheme of this year’s conference was “Yoga for Healthand Harmony”.

President Pranab Mukherjee launched ‘Selfie withDaughter’, a mobile application aimed at raisingawareness about female foeticide and sex selection.

An MoU was signed between National SkillDevelopment Corporation (NSDC) and Bird Academyon the 1st of Jun 2017 in New Delhi, with regards toskilling of unemployed youth in the aviation andaerospace Sector.

The Union govt on 11 Jun launched ‘Tele-Law’ – aprogramme aimed at providing legal aid services in ruralareas through digital technology. The programme is acontinuation to the Access to Justice Project toMarginalised Persons implemented by UNDP in 2008.

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) forDevelopment of North Eastern Region (DoNER) DrJitendra Singh announced the launch of, “Hill AreaDevelopment Programme” (HADP) for Northeast inImphal (Manipur) on 5 Jun.

To usher in transformation in the education andhealthcare sectors along with State govts, NITI Aayoghas launched the Sustainable Action for TransformingHuman capital (SATH) programme.

The minister for road transport and highways NitinGadkari on 1 Jun launched INAM PRO+ — an e-commerceplatform for construction and infrastructure raw materialfor govt and private procurement.

The Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhakar Prabhuinaugurated Indian Railways’ 1st HR Round TableConference on 8 Jun. Chairman, Railway Board, AK Mital,Member Staff Pradeep Kumar, other Railway BoardMembers and senior officials were also present on theoccasion.

Railways have decided to provide the ‘buy tickets nowand pay later’ service for any Express train. According tothe Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation(IRCTC), soon passengers would be able to buy ticketsfrom the IRCTC website and pay later.

To enhance the passengers, experience by upgradingthe existing fleet of coaches with better furnishing,aesthetics and amenities and better safety features witha view to providing a safe and comfortable travel, Ministerof Railways Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu launched MISSIONRETRO-FITMENT in Rail Bhavan on 12 Jun. It is anambitious programme to upgrade the level of furnishingand amenities in the coaches of Indian Railways.

In a bid to ensure better law and order in the country, PMNarendra Modi has urged all the state govts to accordhigh priority to the Crime and Criminal TrackingNetwork and Systems (CCTNS). Initiated by the CentralGovt, CCTNS is a project aimed at creating acomprehensive and integrated system for effectivepolicing through e-governance measure.

States The state-run power giant NTPC has energised 150-kWp

canal-top solar PV System on cooling water (CW)channel inside power station premises at its 2,320- MWMouda Thermal Power Project near Nagpur inMaharashtra.

The Human Resource Development department of Sikkimgovt on 12 Jun signed an MoU with the British Councilto enhance quality of education in the state.

After setting up a happiness department, the MadhyaPradesh govt has signed a memorandum ofunderstanding (MoU) with IIT Kharagpur’s RekhiCentre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness onthe development of a Happiness Index for measuring thewell-being of the people of the state.

PM Narendra Modi on 26 May inaugurated India’slongest bridge, spanning 9.3 km across the Brahmaputra,promising to turn the north-east into a showpiece of


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infrastructure development. The road bridge, connectingDhola in Arunachal Pradesh to Sadiya in Assam, hasbeen built at a cost of `2,056 cr by the ministry of roadtransport and highways.

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on 25May launched a campaign to eradicate JapaneseEncephalitis (JE), a disease that claims the lives ofhundreds of children every year in the state.

The first Mega Food Park in the state of Odisha – M/sMITS Mega Food Park – at Rayagada was inauguratedrecently by Food Processing Industries ministerHarsimrat Kaur Badal. This is the 7th Mega Food Parkoperationalised in the last three years by the presentgovt.

Wedding ceremonies in Kerala are all set to become‘green’, with the state govt coming out with a greenprotocol to make the auspicious occasions more nature-friendly.

Telangana is the first state in the country to launchwelfare schemes such as pension for single women forthe betterment of society.

The Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) has initiateda French agency-funded project to retrofit 10 lakhconventional street lights with LED lights in GramPanchayats of seven districts in Andhra Pradesh. Thisis the first project for rural LED street lighting in thecountry under the Centre’s Street Lighting NationalProject (SLNP).

With the world observing Jun 12 as the ‘Internationalday against child labour’, leading child rights NGO CRY(Child Rights and You) pointed out that the persistenceof child labour in the country is mainly due to lack ofpolitical will to actually see to the complete ban of childlabour.

Soon, farmers in Telangana will be able to sell andpurchase cattle online. The state govt has launched awebsite to facilitate this service. The online sale orpurchase of cattle through pashubazar.telangana.gov.inwebsite will help farmers as the cattle need not be broughtto shanties every time and farmers can save ontransportation cost on cattle.

The Telangana Govt has launched a digital wallet, namedT-Wallet, which doesn’t charge transaction fee fromconsumers. The govt is planning to use the wallet,available in Google Play, for remittances under jobguarantee scheme MNREGA and scholarships forstudents.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on 30May launched a web portal ‘Mahaswayam’ that will caterto job seekers, employers, entrepreneurs, and traininginstitutes who can avail details regarding skilldevelopment and employment.

Odisha has prepared a system to warn the vastpopulation residing along its 480 km-long coast bypressing a single button from a control room in the Statecapital in the event of the occurrence of natural disasterslike a tsunami or a cyclone.

The Manipur govt has declared Dailong village ofTamenglong district as a Biodiversity Heritage Site ofthe state.

The Maharashtra govt has decided to form ‘goodmorning’ squads to monitor and prevent open defecationin villages and districts across the state.

Books and Authors When I Hit You: Or, a Portrait of the Writer as a

Young Wife – Meena Kandasamy Leila – Prayaag Akbar Lone Fox Dancing – Ruskin Bond Maid in India – Tripti Lahiri The Great Game in Afghanistan: Rajiv Gandhi,

General Zia and the Unending War – KallolBhattacherjee

Women at War: Subhas Chandra Bose and the Raniof Jhansi Regiment – Vera Hildebrand

Two Saints: Speculations Around and aboutRamakrishna Paramhansa and Ramana Maharishi– Arun Shourie

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness – Arundhati Roy Sonal Mansingh: A Life like No Other – Sujata

Prasad Winning like Virat: Think and Succeed like Kohli –

Abhirup Bhattacharya The Small-Town Sea – Anees Salim Age of Frenzy – Mahabaleshwar Sail The Golden Legend – Nadeem Aslam

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Bills The Centre has approved the modifications to the

Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (KarnatakaAmendment) Bill 2017 to pave way for organising‘kambala’ in the coming season. It will help in the smoothconduct of ‘kambala’ (the traditional slush track buffalorace) in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts ofKarnataka.

In line with the bankruptcy code for non-financial firms,the Union Cabinet on 14 Jun approved the proposal tointroduce a Financial Resolution and Deposit InsuranceBill, 2017 that will provide for a comprehensive resolutionframework for specified financial sector entities to dealwith bankruptcy situation in banks, insurance companiesand financial sector entities.

Defence India on 4 Jun successfully test-fired its first all-weather

tracked-chassis Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile(QR-SAM). The missile was launched from a mobilelauncher in the Integrated Test Range (ITR) off Odishacoast at Chandipur. The test was carried out for validatingvarious parameters of the sophisticated weapon systemto further strengthen its air defence system.

India on 2 Jun successfully test-fired its indigenouslydeveloped nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile from a testrange in Odisha as part of a user trial by the Army.

Indian warships reached Australia’s port city ofFreemantle to take part in a week-long naval exercise offthe Western Australian coast. This exercise AUSINDEXwas first conducted off the East Coast of India in Sep2015. AUSINDEX-17 was the second overall bilateral drillbetween Indian Navy and Royal Australian Navy.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO) on 13 Jun successfully test-fired anti-tankmissile ‘Nag’ in a desert in the western sector ofRajasthan.

In pursuance of India’s Act East policy, the Navy’s multi-role frigate Sahyadri visited Moresby, the capital city ofPapua New Guinea.

The govt is all set to roll out the process for a ̀ 60,000-crsubmarine programme, moving swiftly after unveiling amajor policy for defence manufacturing in the country.The project is set to be the first one to be launchedunder the ambitious ‘Strategic Partnership’ (SP) model,which aims to rope in leading private players for defenceproduction.


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India moved up six places to the 60th position in a surveyof innovative capacity among 130 nations on the GlobalInnovation Index (GII) 2017. Switzerland, Sweden, theNetherlands, the US and the UK lead the 2017 GIIrankings. China further improved its ranking to 22 from25 last year.

China successfully launched its first X-ray spacetelescope on Jun 15 to study black holes, pulsars andgamma-ray bursts. The Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope(HXMT), named Insight, will allow Chinese scientists toobserve magnetic fields and the interiors of pulsars andbetter understand the evolution of black holes.

In an endeavour to strengthen defence ties between Indiaand Fiji, the two nations signed an MoU on defence co-operation which envisages several areas of cooperation,including in defence industry, military training andhumanitarian assistance and disaster management.

India and Germany inked twelve MoUs and agreementsfollowing bilateral delegation-level talks presided overby PM Narendra Modi and German Chancellor AngelaMerkel. The agreements inked included nine jointdeclarations of intent (JDIs) and three memoranda ofunderstanding.

The Pentagon scored an important success recently in atest of its oft-criticised missile defence programme,destroying a mock warhead over the Pacific Ocean withan interceptor that is key to protecting United Statesterritory from a North Korean attack. Despite the success,the $244-mn test didn’t confirm that under wartimeconditions the United States could intercept anintercontinental-range missile fired by North Korea.

According to the recently released India DevelopmentReport by the World Bank, India has one of the lowestfemale participation in the workforce, ranking 120thamong 131 countries.

India, on Jun 13, ratified two key core conventions onchild labour at the International Labour Conference inGeneva, a step towards complete prohibition of childlabour.

China has installed a massive field of solar panels on aparticularly poignant site: a lake formed by the collapseof abandoned coal mines. The world’s largest floating

solar project can produce enough power to light up anearby city in China’s eastern Anhui province.

France and the European Union (EU) have extended agrant of 3.5 mn euros to India under the Mobilise YourCity (MYC) initiative. It aims to reduce emissions andpromote sustainability to help India’s smart cityprogramme. Three Indian cities — Nagpur, Kochi andAhmedabad — will get the grant as part of the EU’scommitment under the Paris Climate agreement.

Montenegro has become NATO’s 29th member. It wasformally invited to join the alliance in 2015. It so farconsisted of 28 independent member countries acrossNorth America and Europe. It is headquartered inBrussels, Belgium.

World

Important Days 01 Jun: Global Day of Parents 04 Jun: International Day of Innocent Children

Victims of Aggression 05 Jun: World Environment Day 06 Jun: Russian Language Day 08 Jun: World Oceans Day 12 Jun: World Day Against Child Labour 13 Jun: International Albinism Awareness Day 14 Jun: World Blood Donor Day 15 Jun: World Elder Abuse Awareness Day 16 Jun: International Day of Family Remittances 17 Jun: World Day to Combat Desertification and

Drought 18 Jun: Sustainable Gastronomy Day 19 Jun: International Day for the Elimination of Sexual

Violence in Conflict 20 Jun: World Refugee Day 21 Jun: International Day of Yoga 23 Jun: United Nations Public Service Day 23 Jun: International Widows’ Day 25 Jun: Day of the Seafarer 26 Jun: International Day against Drug Abuse and

Illicit Trafficking 26 Jun: United Nations International Day in Support

of Victims of Torture 27 Jun: Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

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Nepal has signed a major deal with a Chinese companyto develop a 1,200-MW hydroelectric project, the biggesthydro project in the landlocked country that could resolveits perennial power crisis.

India and Pakistan have become full members of theShanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a China-dominated security grouping that is increasingly seenas a counterweight to NATO.

India signed an agreement with Sri Lanka to provideUSD 318 mn as line of credit to develop the island nation’srailway sector.

India and Russia signed the St Petersburg Declaration –an action plan for deepening not only political andeconomic development of the two countries but also forensuring a benchmark of stability in times of globalinstability. The Declaration was signed following theannual bilateral summit between PM Narendra Modi andRussian President Vladimir Putin.

India and Spain have signed seven agreements followingtalks between PM Narendra Modi and his Spanishcounterpart Mariano Rajoy.

The seven agreements and MoUs Agreement for Transfer of Sentenced Persons Agreement of waiving of visas for diplomatic

passport holders MoU on Cooperation in Organ Transplantation MoU on Cooperation in Cyber Security MoU on Cooperation in Renewable Energy MoU on Technical Cooperation in Civil Aviation MoU between Foreign Service Institute and

Diplomatic Academy of Spain

India has been ranked at 137th globally in a latest surveyof the Global Peace Index 2017, which was prepared bythe Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace(IEP). Iceland topped the list followed by New Zealandand Portugal. Bhutan, which ranked 13, has been namedas the most peaceful country in South Asia followed bySri Lanka (80), Bangladesh (84). Syria has been rankedas the least peaceful nation in the world.

Japan has launched a satellite to help build a high-precision geolocation system that will complement theUS-operated GPS.


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Badminton Rio Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu has become the

second Indian after her compatriot Saina Nehwal to beinducted in the Badminton World Federation (BWF)Athletes’ Commission.

B Sai Praneeth clinched the Thailand Open Grand PrixGold badminton title after defeating Indonesia’s JonatanChristie in a closely-fought final in Bangkok on 4 Jun.

South Korea stunned China to win the Sudirman Cup inthe final on Australia’s Gold Coast and end theopponent’s 12-year stranglehold on the biennial mixedteam international badminton tournament.

Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth clinched his thirdSuper Series title, lifting the Indonesia Open men’s singlestrophy with a straight-game victory over Japanesequalifier Kazumasa Sakai in the finals in Jakarta.

Chess Shashikant Kutwal, a railway employee with Pune

Division, has won the gold medal at the 17th WorldIndividual Chess Championship for differently-abled,held in Slovakia.

The Vietnamese Grand Master Nguyen Duc Hoa clincheda decisive win against Indian GM Neelotpal Das in the10th Mumbai Mayor’s Cup International Open ChessTournament.

Cricket Indian all-rounder Harmanpreet Kaur is set to represent

the Surrey Stars in Kia Super League, the T20 tournamenthosted by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).She has become the first Indian player to be signed upfor the Big Bash League.

Muttiah Muralitharan, the most successful bowler inTests and One Day Internationals, was inducted into theICC Cricket Hall of Fame in London on 8 Jun. He hasbecome the first player from Sri Lanka and the 83rd overallto be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The cricket board for West Indies, on its 91st anniversary,has re-branded themselves as Cricket West Indies fromthe former West Indies Cricket board. The board alsoannounced that the cricket team from now on will beofficially known as ‘WINDIES.’

The glorious Indian batting line-up crumbled for 158 runsin 30.3 overs as the Pakistani team beat the Virat Kohli-led side by 180 runs on 18 Jun at London’s Oval groundto clinch their maiden Champions Trophy title.

Football Barcelona striker Lionel Messi won the European Golden

Shoe for a record- equalling fourth time, having scored37 goals this season in the Spanish league. He drewlevel with Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo with the fourthhonour.

Real Madrid retained Champions League after 4-1 winover Juventus. This is the first time in the history of theUEFA Champions League that a team won the title inconsecutive seasons.

Motorsports Sebastian Vettel secured a memorable one-two for Ferrari

in the 75th Monaco Grand Prix to extend his worldchampionship lead to a luxurious 25 points over LewisHamilton.

Shooting India’s Jitu Rai and Heena Sidhu combined to clinch the

gold medal in mixed team 10m air pistol event of the ISSFWorld Cup, beating Russia 7-6 in the final in Gabala inAzerbaijan.

Squash India’s Mahesh Mangaonkar ended runner-up at the New

Zealand International classic squash tournament.Scotland’s Greg Lobban dashed India’s hopes of winningthe 10,000 US Dollar PSA world tour event.

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Tennis The French open tournament 2017 was held at Roland

Garros in Paris, France. Men’s Singles: Spaniard Rafael Nadal defeated Stan

Wawrinka of Switzerland. Women’s Singles: Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko

defeated Simona Halep of Italy. Men’s Doubles: Michael Venus of New Zealand and

Ryan Harrison of the US defeated Santiago Gonzalezand Donald Young.

Women’s Doubles: Bethanie Mattek-Sands of theUS and Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic defeatedAshleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua.

Mixed Doubles: Rohan Bopanna of India andGabriela Dabrowski of Canada defeated Anna-LenaGroenefeld and Robert Farah.

India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan lifted the ITF(International Tennis Federation) men’s Futures tennistitle after outplaying Raymond Sarmiento of the US instraight sets in Singapore.

Others Indian fencer CA Bhavani Devi struck gold in the Turnoi

Satellite Fencing Championship at Reykjavik in Iceland.Bhavani Devi, who hails from Chennai, defeated GreatBritain’s Sarah Jane Hampson.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 9 Junapproved new events for the 2020 Tokyo Games,including a number of mixed-gender competitions. Theadditions include a mixed team event for judo. TableTennis will also get a mixed doubles competition. Three-on-three basketball is an example of the IOC’s focus onyouth and urban sports. The 10-minute match on a half-sized court is known for its speed.


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The Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin won thecoveted International Cricketer of the Year award atthe CEAT Cricket Rating (CCR) International awards2017.

The Bhupen Hazarika National Award, 2017 has beenconferred upon the noted writer Yeshe Dorjee Thongshi.

Israeli author David Grossman has won the Man BookerInternational Prize for his novel A Horse Walks Into aBar.

Two Indian peacekeepers were among 117 military, policeand civilian personnel honoured with a prestigious UNmedal awarded posthumously for courage and sacrificein the line of duty. Rifleman Brijesh Thapa, who servedwith the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), andPrivate Ravi Kumar, who was deployed with the UNInterim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), posthumouslyreceived the Dag Hammarskjold Medal on theInternational Day of UN Peacekeepers observed on 29May.

The Kolkata-based ITC has been conferred with PorterPrize 2017 award in Mumbai for Excellence in CorporateGovernance and Integration and its contribution inCreating Shared Value.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda was on 8 Jun conferredthe WHO Director-General’s Special Recognition Awardfor accelerating India’s tobacco control initiatives andtaking bold measures to protect people against hazardsof tobacco use.

Legendary Odiya poet, essayist and columnistHaraprasad Das was conferred with the covetous KalingaLiterary Award on Jun 11 for his work and contributionto literature at the fourth edition of Kalinga LiteraryFestival (KLF).

After nearly 50 years of warping across galaxies andsaving the universe from a variety of alien threats andcelestial disasters, Star Trek’s William Shatner finallywent where no other member of Starfleet has gone before.The acclaimed actor and director was honoured withNASA’s Distinguished Public Service medal, the highestaward bestowed by the agency to non-govt personnel.

12-year-old Padmalaya Nanda from Odisha has createdhistory by becoming the youngest girl to bag the “LittleMiss Universe Internet 2017” and “Little Miss Actress”crowns at the Little Miss Universe 2017 at port city ofBatumi in Georgia.

A model of water conservation adopted successfully bythe authorities in Nalanda district of south central Bihar,has been selected for the national award for excellencein the Mahatma Gandhi national rural employmentguarantee programme (MGNREGP), by the Ministry ofRural Development.

Thespian Soumitra Chatterjee has been conferred withthe highest French civlian honour, the Legion d’Honneur.

The National Assessment and Accreditation Council(NAAC) of India has received prestigious InternationalAward of Asia Pacific Quality Network (APQN) titled“APQN Quality Award 2017 for International Co-operation in Quality Assurance”.

The defence public sector BEML Ltd has bagged theRaksha Mantri’s Award for Excellence for design anddevelopment of 180-tonne electric hydraulic excavatorBE1800E.

The Ministry of Rural Development selectedVizianagaram as one among the 17 districts across thenation for the MGNREGA annual award for effectiveimplementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National RuralEmployment Guarantee Act during 2015-16.

Actress Priyanka Chopra will be honoured with theDadasaheb Phalke Academy Award for being aninternational icon.

The Pune city police have received the Federation ofIndian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)Smart Police Award for the year 2017.

Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute based inPune has become the first recipient of the Prime Minister’sAward for outstanding contribution to promotion anddevelopment of Yoga. The Award was instituted at the2nd International Day of Yoga celebrations at. PrimeMinister had instituted the award for promoting theancient Indian spiritual discipline.

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Amul and ISRO have announced a tie-up for the benefitof dairy farmers by signing an MoU envisaging fodderacreage assessment using satellite technology. The mainobjective of this MoU is identification/discriminationbetween food crops and fodder crops and identifyingsuitable areas of current fallows and cultivable wastelandsat the village level. Amul believes that the developmentand growth of dairy animals is associated with theavailability of fodder from cultivable land, forest, pasturesand grazing lands, which is crucial for enhancing milkproduction and survival of bovines.

The Human Resource Development Ministry and theExternal Affairs Ministry have launched an onlineverification portal to make the document verificationprocess easier for students who are planning to studyabroad. The Central Board of Secondary Education’s(CBSE) academic repository of degrees and certificates“Parinam Manjusha” was also involved in the projectof creating “eSanad”. This system will reduce the toutsand rackets involved in the verification of documents.

The govt-run Prasar Bharati has got into an agreementwith Morocco’s Societe Nationale de Radiodiffusion etde Television (SNRT) to step up cooperation in thebroadcasting sector. The MoU was signed during thefifth India Morocco Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) inRabat, Morocco’s capital.

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has signedan MoU for participation in the ANUGA Exhibition - aninternational business platform for Food Industry to beheld in Cologne, Germany. It is an honour for India to bea co-partner country in such a prestigious internationalevent which gives an opportunity to showcase India’sstrengths to an international audience. ANUGA(Allgemeine Nahrungs Und Genubmittel Ausstellung orGeneral Food and Non-essential Provisions Exhibition)is the world’s biggest and most important trade fair forfood and beverage trade.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)launched its most powerful rocket GSLV Mark IIIcarrying GSAT-19, a 3,136-kg communication satellitefrom Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, on 5 Jun.

Highlights GSLV Mk III took over 15 years to complete and

costs over ̀ 300 cr. On its maiden launch, GSLV Mk III put a 3136-kg

satellite into the orbit. Termed as the monster rocket, Mark III is as high as

a 13-storey building and can launch satellites asheavy as 4 tonnes.

The rocket is powered by an indigenous cryogenicengine that uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogenas propellants.

GSLV Mk III can carry 6 to 10 tonnes of payloadsinto space.

In near future, the rocket is expected to carry Indianastronauts into space.

ISRO wants to put Indian astronauts in space and isasking for ̀ 12,500 cr from the Centre.

Jupiter is a complex, turbulent world, with Earth-sizedcyclones at its poles and storm systems that travel deepinto the heart of the gas giant, according to the firstscience results obtained from NASA’s Juno spacecraft.Juno was launched in 2011, and entered Jupiter’s orbiton Jul 4, 2016. The next flyby by Juno is scheduled forJul 11, when it will fly directly over one of the most iconicfeatures in the entire solar system — Jupiter’s Great RedSpot.

Construction works for building Extremely LargeTelescope (ELT) has commenced in Chile. Aftercompletion, the ELT will become the world’s largestoptical telescope, which will be five times larger than thetop observing instruments that are in use today. Thetelescope will be constructed at a 3,000 metre-highmountain in the middle of the Atacama desert. Thetelescope is scheduled to commence its operations in2024.

The External Affairs Ministry inaugurated Know IndiaProgramme (KIP) for NRI and PIO youth with a view toproviding them with an exposure to the country of theirorigin so that they can understand India better and moreclosely. The KIP programme is aimed at Persons of IndianOrigin (PIOs) in the age group of 18 to 30 years.

Miscellany


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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated PromptCorrective Action (PCA) against Pune-based Bank ofMaharashtra (BoM) in view of the high level of bad loansand negative return on assets. BoM has become thesixth state-owned lender to be put under the PCA. Forthe year ended Mar 2017, the net NPAs of the bank roseto 11.76 per cent, while return on assets declined to (-)1.09 per cent.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) willbe commercially launching its credit cards soon, in orderto increase penetration of the credit card usage in thecountry. The Rupay Credit Cards are ready for usageand 10 banks are using it in a pilot stage. At present, ofthe 800 mn cards used in the country only around 25 mnare credit cards, while the rest are debit cards. This ratiois low compared to that of the countries like US andsome of the European countries.

A steel plant would soon come up at Manoharpur inWest Singhbhum district as announced by the JharkhandChief Minister Raghubar Das on 18 Jun. The Vedantagroup and Jharkhand Mineral Development Corporation(JSMDC) would jointly set up the plant.

The German luxury carmaker BMW is investing another`130 cr in India to enhance operations, taking its totalinvestment in the country to ̀ 1,250 cr. The company willlaunch new version of its locally manufactured 5 Seriessoon and 6 Series Gran Turismo (GT) model in 2018 tostrengthen its product portfolio in India.

Within a year of the launch of a medical devices park atVisakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, the Telangana govthas inaugurated what it claims to be the country’s biggestfacility, in Medak district. Spread over an area of 250acres in Sultanpur, about 50 km from Hyderabad, activityat the Medical Devices Park got off to a start withIndustries and IT Minister KT Rama Rao handing overland allocation to 14 industries.

Lanco Infratech has said the RBI has directed its leadlender IDBI Bank to initiate insolvency proceedings forthe company under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code(IBC). The company is among 12 firms identified by thecentral bank with a combined debt of over ̀ 1,50,000 cr,a quarter of the total NPAs, for proceedings under thenewly enacted Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.The RBI’s internal advisory committee (IAC) has sentthe list of 12 accounts to bankers for immediate referenceunder IBC. These accounts are with SBI (six of them),

PNB, ICICI Bank, Union Bank, IDBI Bank and CorporationBank. These 12 accounts referred by RBI have anexposure of more than ̀ 5,000 cr each, with 60 per cent ormore classified as bad loans by banks as of Mar 2016.Total NPAs of the banking system stand at over ̀ 8 lakhcr, of which ̀ 6 lakh cr is with public sector banks.

India’s very own desi Global Positioning System (GPS)is operational and is set to hit the market for public use inearly 2018. From 2018 onwards, ‘NavIC’ will come torescue and help find bearings if anyone lost their way inany part of the country or anywhere in the Arabian Sea.The seventh and final satellite of the Indian RegionalNavigation Satellite System, the IRNSS 1G, was launchedinto a sub-geosynchronous transfer orbit recently. NavIC(Navigation with Indian Constellation whose Hindimeaning is ‘sailor’ or ‘navigator’) is designed to provideaccurate position information to users within the countryand in neighbourhood.

The national space agency ISRO launched the PolarSatellite Launch Vehicle PSLV C38 on 23 Jun whichcarried the remote sensing satellite Cartosat-2 Series(also known as the Cartosat-2E) satellite and 30 othernano-satellites into a 505 km sun-synchronous orbit inspace. Of the 30 nano-satellites, 29 belong to foreigncustomers from 14 countries. For the PSLV, this was the40th flight and 17th in its extended configuration withsolid strap-on motors to give it the required additionalthrust.

According to the “World population Prospectus: TheRevision” released by the United Nations, India with 1.3bn inhabitants would surpass China’s population of 1.4bn by 2024, to become the World’s most populouscountry. The world’s total population will hit 9.8 bn by2050. At the present rate, the world population is expectedto reach 8.6 bn in 2030, 9.8 bn in 2050 and surpass 11.2 bnin 2100. Nigeria which is currently at the seventh place isexpected to become the third most populous country by2050 replacing the US.

In its effort to reduce complaints received from the publicover the premium trains of Indian Railways like Rajdhaniand Shatabdi Express, Railways have decided to launch“Operation Swarn” which is aimed at improving theservices in these premium trains. The operation will lookafter issues regarding the sanitation, food quality anddelay in train arrivals etc.

The US space agency NASA is testing the effectiveness

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of a flexible solar array, the Roll-Out Solar Array, orROSA, on space station for the very first time. ROSA issupposed to power satellites and spacecraft. NASA hadearlier tested the ROSA technology in vacuum chamberson the Earth but this is the first time it is testing thetechnology in space.

India has become the 71st nation to join the UnitedNations TIR (Transports Internationaux Routiers)Convention. India’s decision to join the convention ispart of its multi-modal transport strategy that aims atintegrating Indian economy with global and regionalproduction networks through better connectivity. In Mar2017, Union Cabinet had approved India’s accession tothe Customs Convention on International Transport ofGoods under TIR Convention. The UN has confirmedthat the TIR Convention will enter into force in India in 6months. The TIR is managed and developed byInternational Road Transport Union (IRU). With China’sambitious ‘One Belt One Road’ (OBOR) project, Indiahas no other option other than to join TIR if it wants tobe counted as a serious rising power.

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) isconducting a study to assess the feasibility of havingdifferent time zones in the country. Recently, PemaKhandu, the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh haddemanded a separate time zone for the northeast. One ofthe arguments is that early sunrise means that by thetime people in northeast start their day, almost half theday has passed and an early sunset requires extra use oflights in homes, offices and public places hampering theproductivity. Similar is the case with the archipelagos ofthe Andaman and Nicobar and the Lakshadweep.

The US space agency NASA has announced thediscovery of 10 rocky, Earth-sized planets in our MilkyWay Galaxy that could potentially have liquid water andsupport life. A survey of 219 potential exoplanets - planetsoutside of our solar system – that had been detected byits Kepler space telescope between its launch in 2009through its first four years in space was released recently.Ten of the new discoveries were orbiting their suns at adistance similar to Earth’s orbit around the sun, the so-called habitable zone - meaning surface temperaturescould support liquid water and, hypothetically, life.

The telecom giant Verizon has acquired Yahoo’s corebusiness for $4.48bn (£3.51m). Verizon is the topwireless operator in the US. The company will combine

Yahoo with AOL which was bought by it two years agoto establish a venture called Oath. The Oath is a divisionin Verizon’s Media and Telematics organisation. Oathowns more than 50 brands such as HuffPost, TechCrunchand Tumblr.

India has won its re-election to the UN’s principal organon economic, social and environmental issues for anotherthree-year term. India was one among the 18 nations towin election to the Economic and Social Council(ECOSOC). India has obtained second highest votesafter Japan in the Asia-Pacific category. India’s electioncomes just days after India’s Neeru Chadha got electedto the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea(ITLOS).

ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) has completed1000 earth days in orbit. The orbiter has outlived itslifespan which is more than 5 times the number of daysthe orbiter was designated to last in orbit. The MOMhas at present completed 388 orbits of Mars and hassent 715 images back to earth. According to the scientists,the MOM is in good health and shows no signs ofslowing down. India has plans to send Mangalyaan 2.0and a new mission to Venus after 2020. MOM waslaunched on Nov 5, 2013.

The southern African country Mozambique has toppedthe survey of nations with the lowest globalenvironmental impact done by UK-basedMoneySuperMarket as almost all its energy use comesfrom green sources. India has been ranked 75th in thereport with renewable energy making up only 15.2 percent of all energy used; only 2.2 per cent of waste waterbeing recycled, and municipal waste of 0.34 kg per personbeing generated daily. In Trinidad and Tobago, the worstcountry for environmental impact, the CO2 emissionsare an average of 37.1 tonnes per person.

The defence arm of the Tata Group has signed anagreement with American firm Lockheed Martin toproduce and export new generation F-16 fighter aircraft,potentially kick-starting a mega ‘Make in India’ projectahead of PM Narendra Modi’s first meeting with USPresident Donald Trump. The deal, signed at the ParisAir Show, is subject to the condition that the F-16 Block70 fighter jet emerges as the winner of an Indian AirForce competition to procure more than 100 single-enginefighters. The JV will compete with Sweden’s Saab, whichwill offer its Gripen fighter aircraft for the requirement.

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Economy - bsc4success | bsc4success€¦ · SINCE 1993 India’s Premier Banking / SSC Institute Economy ... requirement that the commercial banks in India ... Canara Bank and the