CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.
COM
Dilma Rousseff 2Nov
Brazilians celebrated the election of their
first-ever woman President, Dilma Rousseff,
who pledged to extend policies implemented
by popular outgoing leader Luiz Inacio Lula
da Silva.
Lula's tireless backing of Rousseff delivered
her 56 per cent of the ballots in a runoff
against opposition challenger Jose Serra, the
former Governor of Sao Paulo state who
scored 44 per cent.
Rousseff an economist who served as Lula's
Cabinet chief before he handpicked her as
his successor, swore she would make
eradication of poverty her priority in
government as she sought to “honour the
trust” voters had shown her.
She also lambasted the world's leading
economies for devaluing their monies in a
“currency war” that was threatening the
exports of Brazil and other countries, but
promised she would not put up more
protectionist barriers around Latin America's
biggest country.
Her biggest challenge will be preparing the
country to host the 2014 football World Cup
and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, both
awarded under Mr. Lula's deft lobbying. She
does not have the same solid support within
the Workers Party that Lula had, presaging
possible legislative troubles ahead.
Lula himself has not said what he plans to
do. He is retiring with a popularity rating
above 80 per cent and a high global profile.
“There is no possibility of an ex-President
participating in a government,” said Mr.
Lula on Sunday when he voted on Sao
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Paulo's outskirts, where he started out as a
factory metalworker and union leader.
Sergei Ivanov 4Nov
Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov has
been appointed to head the Russian part of
the Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental
Commission (IRIGC) for trade, economic,
scientific-technical and cultural cooperation.
Ivanov was replacing the former Deputy
Prime Minister, Sergei Sobyanin, who last
month became the Mayor of Moscow.
Ivanov's appointment is good news for the
defence establishments both in India and
Russia.
As Russia's Defence Minister in 2001-2007,
he co-chaired the IRIGC for military-
technical cooperation and helped formulate
Russia's arms export strategy, which calls
for the supply of the most cutting-edge
defence technologies to India, while
exercising extreme discretion in selling
weapons to China.
Anand Sinha 10Nov
Anand Sinha, Executive Director, Reserve
Bank of India, is likely to be elevated as the
new Deputy Governor following Usha
Thorat, Deputy Governor.
The portfolios (Legal Department,
Department of Currency Management, Rural
Planning & Credit Department, Urban
Banks' Department, Department of Banking
Operations, Department of Expenditure &
Budgetary Control, Department of Banking
Supervision, Premises and Central Security
Cell) handled by Thorat will be temporarily
looked after by the Deputy Governor,
Shyamala Gopinath.
Prithviraj Chavan 10Nov
Union minister Prithviraj Chavan will be the
next chief minister of Maharashtra
succeeding Ashok Chavan who resigned in
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the wake of the Adarsh Housing Society
scam. The announcement was made by
Pranab Mukherjee, a day after Chavan's
resignation. Congress president Sonia
Gandhi has chosen Prithviraj Chavan as the
Maharashtra Congress Legislature Party
leader.
Ajit Pawar 11Nov
Union Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar’s
nephew Ajit Pawar will be deputy of newly
elected Maharashtra Chief Minister
Prithviraj Chauhan.
Ajit Pawar will replace deputy chief minister
Chaggan Bhujbal in the office.
The decision was taken in the NCP meet.
Shyamoli Gupta 13Nov
The Ninth National Conference of the All-
India Democratic Women's Association
(AIDWA) came to a close with the election
of 101 Central Executive Committee
members from among the delegates.
In keeping with the three-term policy for
office-bearers, Subhashini Ali was relieved
from the post of President and Shyamoli
Gupta from West Bengal was elected in her
place.
Sudha Sundararaman will continue as
general secretary for another three-year
term.
Alpha Conde 16Nov
In Guinea, Alpha Conde has won the
presidential election. The National
Independent Electoral Commission said in
Conakry of Guinea that the preliminary
results show Conde received 53.5 per cent of
the 2.89 million ballots cast and his
opponent, Cellou Dalein Diallo, got 47.5 per
cent of the votes. A total of 4.2 million
citizens had registered to vote.
Mahindra Rajapaksa 19Nov
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa
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was sworn in for a second term .The
ceremony took place at the Presidential
Secretariat before Chief Justice Ashoka de
Silva. Rajapaksa opted for early elections in
January 2010 - two years before his term
was due to end - and received 57.81 per cent
of the votes. He then delayed being sworn in
for his second term by nine months,
enabling him to gain the maximum period in
power.
R. Varadarajan 24Nov
The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government
of India, has appointed R. Varadarajan as
the Managing Director of Repco Bank, a
Government of India enterprise established
for the rehabilitation of repatriates.
Varadarajan is a Post-Graduate in
Agriculture with CAIIB and Diploma in
Management. He was earlier holding the
post of Executive Director in the Bank for
over four years and General Manager for six
years.
Kiran Kumar Reddy 25Nov
N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Speaker of the
Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly, will
be the new Chief Minister of Andhra
Pradesh. The 50-year-old Kiran Kumar from
Chittoor district of the Rayalaseema region
will be sworn in as the 16th Chief Minister
of the State by the A.P. Governor, E.S.L
Narasimham at the Raj Bhavan.
Nitish Kumar 26Nov
Nitish Kumar and Sushil Kumar Modi were
unanimously elected leaders of JD(U) and
BJP legislature parties in Bihar, a day after
NDA notched up a landslide victory.
Kumar will be sworn-in as the chief minister
with Modi as his deputy. Governor
Devanand Konwar would administer oath of
office and secrecy.
V.K. Sharma 26Nov
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LIC Chairman T S Vijayan today said that V
K Sharma will take over as the CEO of its
housing finance arm.
V K Sharma has been appointed as LIC
Housing Finance CEO. Sharma is currently
in charge of LIC's South Zone operations.
LIC had convened an urgent board meeting
yesterday in the wake of the arrest of Nair
and the insurer's Secretary (Investment)
Naresh K Chopra.
S K Lal 29 Nov
S K Lal has assumed charge as Chief
General Manager of State Bank of
Hyderabad (SBH). He had earlier held
various assignments in State Bank of
Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore,
State Bank of Indore and SBH.
The bank has also got a new General
Manager, Jyoti Ghosh, who has also
assumed charge.
Nehchal Sandhu 30Nov
Bihar-cadre IPS officer of 1973 batch
Nehchal Sandhu will take over as new
Intelligence Bureau chief on January 1 for a
period of two years.
Sandhu, currently special director,
Intelligence Bureau has been appointed as
Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the IB
with effect from December 1.
He will take over as director, IB for a period
of two years with effect from January 1,
2011.
Sandhu will succeed Rajiv Mathur, an IPS
officer of 1972 batch, who will retire on
December 31.
Social Entrepreneur Award 15Nov
Rajiv Khandelwal and Krishnavtar Sharma,
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co-founders of Aajeevika Bureau, have been
awarded the Indian Social Entrepreneur
award for the year 2010, by the Schwab
Foundation and Jubilant Bhartia Foundation.
Schwab Foundation said Kapil Sibal,
Minister of Human Resource Development,
Science and Technology of India, handed
the award to the winners in New Delhi.
Rajiv Khandelwal was honoured at the
opening of the World Economic Forum's
India Economic Summit.
Aajeevika Bureau has introduced a unique
photo identification card for inter-state
migrants, allowing them to access banking,
mobile telephone and other government
services and citizenship entitlements.
In addition, the organization offers skills
training, job placement, legal aid and
counselling.
Banking Excellence Award 16Nov
Andhra Bank, South Indian Bank and YES
Bank have been adjudged the best banks in
the respective categories of public sector
banks, old private sector banks and private
new generation banks in the country at the
Banking Excellence Award instituted by the
State Forum of Bankers' Clubs, Kerala.
Among the public sector banks, Corporation
Bank and Canara Bank stood at the second
and third places respectively. Karur Vysya
Bank was the second best private sector
bank. Jammu & Kashmir Bank stood third in
this category. Among new generation banks,
IndusInd Bank bagged the second position;
HDFC Bank and Axis Bank sharing the
third slot. Union Bank of India Kalamassery
Branch was adjudged as the best public
sector branch in the State.
Corporate Hotelier 16Nov
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Oberoi Group Chairman P R S Oberoi was
awarded the '2010 Corporate Hotelier of the
World' award by HOTELS magazine in
New York.
In its 29th year, the annual 'Hotelier of the
World' award winner is selected on the basis
of votes cast by readers of the magazine in
more than 150 countries.
The cover story of the November edition of
HOTELS magazine refers to Oberoi as "the
founder father of modern luxury hospitality
in India" and credits him with growing the
company "into one of the world's most
prestigious luxury hotel groups".
Oberoi is credited with placing Oberoi
hotels on international luxury travelers' map
with the opening of several new luxury
hotels in the Mauritius, Indonesia and Egypt,
besides important tourist destinations in
India, such as Jaipur, Agra, Udaipur,
Ranthambhore and Mashobra in the
Himalayas.
Recently, The Oberoi Vanyavilas hotel at
Ranthambhore was ranked the best hotel in
the world in Travel + Leisure magazine's
2010 World's Best Awards readers' poll.
Global Vision Award 18Nov
Billionaire businessman and Reliance
Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has
received the Global Vision Award instituted
by the Asia Society for helping to promote
understanding between Asians and
Americans.
Ambani said that India has come a long way
from being a third world county in the 1980s
to become the world's third most important
economy.
General Electric's Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt received
the Global Leadership Award.
Indira Gandhi Prize 19Nov
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Outgoing Brazilian President Luiz Inacio
Lula da Silva will get the prestigious Indira
Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and
Development for 2010. Lula has been
selected by an international jury chaired by
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. A
statement from Indira Gandhi Memorial
Trust said the prestigious prize will be given
to Lula for his outstanding contribution to
the cause of eliminating hunger and
promoting inclusive growth in his country.
Aga Khan Award 25Nov
Projects as diverse as a textile factory in
Turkey, a school built on a bridge in China
and a wetlands project in Saudi Arabia are
among the winners of the 2010 Aga Khan
Award for Architecture.
India too figured in this year's list of
nominees for the 11th cycle of the Aga Khan
Award for Architecture which were given at
the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar.
The entry from India, ‘Palmyra
House' in Alibag, near Mumbai, owned
by industrialist Anand and Anuradha
Mahindra, and designed by Mumbai-based
architect Bijoy Jain, is included in the 19
nominees from across the world.
The winning five projects are Wadi Hanifa
Wetlands, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the
Revitalisation of the Hypercentre of Tunis,
Tunisia, the Madinat Al-Zahra Museum,
Cordoba, Spain, the Ipekyol Textile Factory,
Edirne, Turkey and the Bridge School,
Xiashi, Fujian, China. His Highness Sheikh
Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of
Qatar and Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint
Nasser joined His Highness the Aga Khan in
presiding over the ceremony.
The winning projects were selected by an
independent Master Jury from a shortlist of
19 projects announced in May 2010. A total
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of 401 projects were presented for
consideration for the 2010 Award.
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was
established in 1977 by His Highness the
Aga Khan, to enhance the understanding and
appreciation of Islamic culture as expressed
through architecture.
Its method is to seek out and recognise
examples of architectural excellence,
encompassing concerns as varied as
contemporary design, social housing,
community improvement and development,
restoration, reuse, and area conservation, as
well as landscaping and environmental
issues.
The Award is organised on the basis of a
three-year cycle and is governed by a
Steering Committee chaired by the Aga
Khan. Prizes totalling up to $500,000
constituting the largest architectural award
in the world are presented every three years
to projects.
Viktor Chernomyrdin 4Nov
The former Prime Minister, Viktor
Chernomyrdin, who steered the Russian
economy through its stormy transition from
Communism to capitalism in the 1990s,
died.
President Boris Yeltsin appointed
Chernomyrdin as Prime Minister at the end
of 1992 and he stayed in the post till 1998,
becoming the longest serving head of
government in post-Soviet Russia. He took
charge of the economy when it was in a
nosedive triggered by incompetent “shock
therapy” at the hands of radical reformers
led by Yegor Gaidar. State finances were in
disarray as oil plunged to $9 per barrel,
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
annual inflation measured in thousands of
percentage points and whole industries were
grinding to a halt.
“Chernomyrdin saved the country from total
collapse,” said the former Deputy Prime
Minister, Boris Nemtsov, who used to be a
fierce liberal opponent of Chernomyrdin.
Chernomyrdin made his career in the gas
industry, rising from a machine operator to
the Oil and Gas Minister under Mikhail
Gorbachev. As Prime Minister,
Chernomyrdin resisted pressure from liberal
radicals to split Gazprom, the natural gas
monopoly, turning it into Russia's most
powerful weapon in relations with the West.
Chernomyrdin displayed his superior
leadership and political skills during a
hostage crisis in 1995, negotiating over the
telephone in front of TV cameras the release
of 1,500 people held captive by Chechen
rebels in Budyonnovsk in south Russia.
After Vladimir Putin became President, he
appointed Mr. Chernomyrdin as
Ambassador to Ukraine in 2001 and he
remained in this post until last year.
Siddhartha Shankar Ray 7Nov
Former West Bengal Chief Minister
Siddhartha Shankar Ray passed away.
Ray was Governor of Punjab during the
State's turbulent period in the 1990s. He also
served as a Union Minister and as India's
Ambassador to the U.S.
Ray was a stalwart of the Congress Party.
He served as West Bengal's Chief Minister
between 1972 and 1977 during the Naxal
movement. He is credited with having
quelled the movement which, having started
as a peasant uprising, took the route of
annihilation, causing a rift within his party's
ranks and leadership.
He was appointed India's Ambassador to the
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U.S. in 1992. ESD Urdu, New Delhi and AIR Srinagar.

L.C. Jain 15Nov Leslie Nielsen 30Nov
Well-known Gandhian and Magsaysay The Hollywood comic actor Leslie Nielsen,
Award winner L.C. Jain passed away star of Airplane and The Naked Gun, has
following prolonged illness. died. Nielsen, who was born in Canada, had
An economist, organiser, commentator and a 60-year long career in television and film
activist, Jain spent more than six decades of drama. He was being treated for pneumonia.
his life as an impassioned crusader for what Nielsen appeared in more than 100 films.
Mahatma Gandhi called India's second
freedom struggle the fight against socio-
economic oppression.
Indigenous AWACS 2Nov
Known as a fierce opponent of
overwhelming state control and an ardent
India is in the process of developing nine
advocate for social action, his efforts to keep
home-grown, state-of-the-art versions and
alive the legacy of the freedom struggle
the first of Airborne Warning and Control
through the intervention of civil society led
System (AWACS) is expected to be flight-
to him being awarded the Magsaysay Award
tested by the end of next year.
in 1988.
Five frontline laboratories of the Defence
Much of the first phase of his entry into
Research and Development Organisation
public life was spent working on cherished
(DRDO) are working to develop the system
Nehruvian projects, but it was Gandhi who
which would be 85 per cent indigenous. The
remained a beacon throughout his career,
Centre for Airborne Systems, Defence
guiding and illuminating his responses.
Avionics Research Establishment, Defence
It was this association that led him to accept
Electronics Research Laboratory, Defence
one of his few forays into official life, as
Electronics Application Laboratory and
High Commissioner to South Africa, where
Electronics and Radar Development
he was plunged into that country's own
Establishment are involved in the
struggles to build an inclusive society.
prestigious project.
Jain subsequently became a member of the
While three of the systems would be
Planning Commission, where he served
integrated on board the Brazilian Embraer
from 1989 to 1990.
EMB 145 jet and delivered by 2014, the
The last years of his life were spent in
aircraft on which the remaining six AWACS
documenting some of the struggles he had
would be mounted was yet to be decided.
been associated with in a book called Civil
The DRDO received the sanction for
Disobedience, which will be released on
developing the six AWACS costing
December 13.
Rs.10,000 crore. The delivery of these
Kabeer Ahmed 22Nov
AWACS to the IAF would begin from 2015.
The former Station Director of AIR
They would be used for air defence,
Hyderabad Kabeer Ahmed died in
surveillance and network-centric operations.
Hyderabad. He was above 70 years. He
Military aerostats
worked at a number of stations including
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CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
With the three services requiring several
aerostats, the DRDO would be making two
types of military aerostats the first type to
carry military payloads up to an altitude of
1,000 metres and the second up to a height
of 5,000 metres.
Already a 1,000-metre aerostat was afloat
and its functions were demonstrated to both
the Army and Air Force.
The aerostats would be used for
surveillance, jamming of electronic systems,
intelligence data gathering and for
communication relay.
The radar of the 1,000-metre aerostat would
have coverage of 150 km, while that of the
5,000-metre one would be up to 200 to 250
km.
Scientific Expedition 2Nov
The scientific establishment is all set to add
one more feather to its cap with the Union
Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj
Chavan launching the first Indian scientific
expedition to the magical South Pole. An
eight-member team led by the Director of
National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean
Research, Rasik Ravindra, is to leave
‘Maitri,' the Indian station on the Antarctica,
for the South Pole on November 8 and
return by the middle of December.
Research Institutes 2Nov
The Think Tank Initiative (TTI), a
partnership of major donors, has awarded
$21 million in grants to 16 independent
policy research institutions in South Asia,
nine of them from India.
These include the Indian Institute of Dalit
Studies; Public Affairs Centre; Center for
Study of Science, Technology and Policy;
Institute of Rural Management; National
Council of Applied Economic Research;
Centre for Policy Research; Centre for
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
Budget and Governance Accountability; and
the Institute of Economic Growth and
Centre for the Study of Developing Societies
from India.
The TTI is a multi-donor programme
dedicated to strengthening independent
policy research institutions in the developing
world.
State's Birthday 2Nov
Colourful processions, cultural programmes,
release of Kannada books and similar
cultural events across the city marked the
Rajyotsava celebrations.
Students from about 125 schools in the city
put up a magnificent and colourful cultural
show at the Kanteerava stadium where Chief
Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa inaugurated the
official celebrations this morning. Students
from about 25 schools participated in the
march past.
Ajeva 5Nov
The Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) is working on India's
future main battle tank (FMBT) with a
1,500-horsepower (HP) indigenous engine.
This tank will replace beyond 2020 the
imported T-72 tanks, renamed Ajeya, with
the Army. Various specifications for the
FMBT have been finalised.
The first prototype of the indigenous engine
would be ready in four to five years.
The DRDO is launching a project to develop
the transmission for the tank; the indigenous
engine and transmission will together be
called Bharat Power Pack and it will meet
the FMBT's mobility requirements.
The FMBT will weigh only 50 tonnes
compared to Arjun-Mark II's 62 tonnes. The
DRDO is simultaneously working on Arjun-
Mark II. The volume occupied by the
electronics package in the FMBT will be
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less. The FMBT's engine will be two-thirds
the size of Arjun-Mark I's, but will generate
1,500 HP compared to Arjun-Mark I's 1,400
HP.
Improvements in material, fuel injection and
filtration technologies will contribute to the
reduction in the engine size without
compromising on power.
The immediate task for the CVRDE
[Combat Vehicles Research and
Development Establishment] is to develop
the Arjun-Mk II tank and demonstrate it to
the user and go for the production of 124
numbers in the HVF (Heavy Vehicles
Factory]. The CVRDE and the HVF are
situated in Avadi, near Chennai.
The Arjun-Mk II tank will have a number of
upgrades compared with Arjun-Mk I.
Missiles can be fired from the former to
destroy long-range targets and bring down
attack helicopters. The tank's commander
will have a panoramic sight with night
vision.
Another upgrade will see the introduction of
an explosive reactive armour panel which
will comprise explosives in metallic brick
form. These bricks will be mounted not only
on the front slope of Arjun-Mk-II tank, but
all round it as well.
When the enemy ammunition hits these
bricks, they will explode and retard the
energy of the projectile, which then cannot
penetrate the tank's armour.
The penalty for using these bricks is that
they will add 1.5 tonnes to the tank's weight.
But we can prevent top attack and side
attack. We can add to the tank's protection
from missiles and rocket-propelled
grenades.
The fourth upgrade is that Arjun Mk-II will
have an automatic target tracking system
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
which will add to the accuracy when firing
on a moving target.
Arjun-Mk-II would have a total of 93
upgrades, including the advanced air
defence gun system for firing at attack
helicopters. The Army had placed an indent
for production of 124 Arjun-Mk II tanks.
In phase I, 45 tanks will roll out with 56
upgrades, including the missile firing
capability and the commander's panoramic
sight with night vision.
In phase II, the remaining 79 tanks, with all
the 93 improvements, will come off the
assembly line. By 2013-14, the first batch of
around 30 tanks will go out.
These 124 Arjun-Mk II tanks would cost
Rs.5,000 crores.
Kaveri Engine 5Nov
Indigenously designed and developed
Kaveri engine that will power fighter
aircraft, especially Light Combat Aircraft
Tejas, was successfully flight-tested. The
flight-test took place at the Gromov Flight
Research Institute (GFRI) in Moscow. The
engine is being developed by the Defence
Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO).
An Ilyushin-76 cargo aircraft was modified
as a flying-test bed for the trial, with the
Kaveri engine replacing one of its four
engines.
The engine ran right from the take-off to the
landing of the aircraft. It flew for about an
hour up to an altitude of 6,000 metres at a
speed of 0.6 Mach.
The modifications in the aircraft included
instrumentation and integration of its
mechanical, electrical and fuel systems. . A
number of taxiing trials were done with the
engine integrated with the aircraft before the
flight. The data generated was transmitted to
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the ground station by telemetry.
The engine's control, performance and
health during the flight were found to be
excellent. With this test, it has crossed a
milestone in its development programme.
The engine is being developed at the Gas
Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), a
DRDO laboratory in Bangalore, with
support from other DRDO laboratories,
academic institutions and industries.
Bill for Women 5Nov
The Union Cabinet has approved the
Protection of Women against Sexual
Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010, that
ensures a safe environment for women at
work place, both in the public and private
sectors, in the organised and unorganised
sectors. The Bill, to be introduced in
Parliament in the coming session beginning
next week, will help in achieving gender
empowerment and equality. Domestic help
have, however, been kept out of the purview
of the proposed law that also proposes a fine
of Rs. 50,000 if found violating the
provisions of the law.
The move will contribute to realisation of
their right to gender equality, life and
liberty, and equality in working conditions
everywhere. The sense of security will
improve women's participation in work,
resulting in their economic empowerment
and inclusive growth.
The Bill proposes a definition of sexual
harassment, as laid down by the Supreme
Court in Vishaka vs State of Rajasthan
(1997). Additionally, it recognises the
promise or threat to a woman's employment
prospects or creation of hostile work
environment as ‘sexual harassment' at
workplace and seeks to prohibit such acts.
It provides protection not only to women
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
who are employed but also to any woman
who enters the workplace as a client,
customer, apprentice, daily wageworker, or
in ad hoc capacity. Students, research
scholars in colleges/universities and patients
in hospitals have also been covered.
The Bill provides for an effective complaints
and redressal mechanism. Under the
proposed Bill, every employer is required to
constitute an Internal Complaints
Committee.
Since a large number of the establishments
(41.2 million out of 41.83 million as per
Economic Census, 2005) in the country have
less than 10 workers for whom it may not be
feasible to set up an Internal Complaints
Committee (ICC), it provides for setting up
of Local Complaints Committee (LCC) to be
constituted by the designated District
Officer at the district or sub-district levels,
as the need be. This twin mechanism would
ensure that women in any workplace,
irrespective of its size or nature, have access
to a redressal mechanism.
The LCCs will enquire into the complaints
of sexual harassment and recommend action
to the employer or District Officer.
Since there is a possibility that during the
pendency of the enquiry, the woman may be
subjected to threat and aggression, she has
been given the option to seek interim relief
in the form of transfer either of her own or
the respondent or seek leave from work.
The Complaint Committees are required to
complete the enquiry within 90 days and a
period of 60 days has been given to the
employer/District Officer for
implementation of the recommendations of
the Committee. The Bill provides for
safeguards in the case of false or malicious
complaint of sexual harassment.
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However, mere inability to substantiate the
complaint or provide adequate proof would
not make the complainant liable for
punishment.
Implementation of the Bill will be the
responsibility of the Central government in
case of its own undertakings/establishments
and of the State governments in respect of
every workplace established, owned,
controlled or wholly or substantially
financed by it as well as of private sector
establishments falling within their territory.
Through this implementation mechanism,
every employer has the primary duty to
implement the provisions of law within
his/her establishment while the State and
Central governments have been made
responsible for overseeing and ensuring
overall implementation of the law.
India's Space Entities 7Nov
The declaration of an export control reform
package made by a senior United States
official accompanying U.S. President
Barack Obama would lead to greater
exchanges in high-tech trade and dual-use
items. It would also bring to a virtual close a
five-year-long process that began with the
formation of the High Technology
Cooperation Group (HTCG).
It is primarily a matter of U.S.' own regime
and systems being adjusted to reflect the
contemporary reality.
The export control reform package being
announced is that we will remove India's
defence and space-related entities from the
U.S. entity list. The list at one point had, I
believe, 220 Indian entities on it. And there
are only four left. And today we will be
announcing a removal of three. They are the
organisations under Defence Research and
Development Organisation [DRDO], the
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
four subordinates under the Indian Space
and Research Organisation [ISRO], and
Bharat Dynamics Limited [BDL],” observed
Deputy National Security Advisor for
International Economic Affairs Mike
Froman.
Removing these entities from the list will
allow for greater trade and cooperation in
civilian space and defence, and enable our
governments to focus on other outstanding
barriers that hinder the expansion of bilateral
high-tech trade. And this is a very
significant step forward.
The U.S. has been positive to our argument
that the older restrictions be changed now
that India adheres to the Nuclear Suppliers
Group (NSG) guidelines, has an impeccable
non-proliferation record, has passed its own
export control laws and increasingly meets
with international standards…..We have
made considerable progress in that.
Deal with U.S.A. 7Nov
Taking India-U.S. trade relations to new
territory, U.S. President Barack Obama had
announced that deals worth $10 billion
(nearly Rs.44,000 crore) have been reached
between India and the U.S. for creating
more than 50,000 jobs back in the U.S.
Several landmark deals have been done
shortly. Boeing is going to sell dozens of
planes to India and GE is going to sell
hundreds of electric engines. The deals are
worth $10 billion and will create more than
50,000 jobs in the U.S.,” said President
Obama while addressing the U.S-India
Business and Entrepreneurship Summit.
Among the deals, SpiceJet has purchased 30
737-800 aircraft with a total cost of $2.8
billion from Boeing and the Anil Dhirubhai
Ambani Group purchased power equipment
for 2,400 MW plants from GE for $2 billion.
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
Increase in trade between the U.S. and India
is a “win-win situation for both nations. The
summit was jointly organised by U.S.-India
Business Council, the Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of
Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
(FICCI). President Obama hoped that the
trade between the two countries would be
doubled in five years. “There is no reason
why India can't be our top trading partner.
Trade with India is less than with the
Netherlands, whose population and size is
less than Mumbai. Saying that economic
relationship between India and the U.S. is
still untapped, President Obama said, “India
can be U.S.'s largest trade partner instead of
12th”.
Solar Power
8Nov
India and USA teamed up on a space-based
energy initiative aimed at turning both
countries into net energy exporters, 48 hours
before US President Barack Obama landed
in India.
The project is led by former president of
India A P J Abdul Kalam, who was once a
staunch critic of the US, and National Space
Society (NSS), a non-profit US-based space
organization with chapters all over the world
including India. The initiative was
announced has at Washington's National
Press Club where Kalam and Isro Satellite
Centre director T K Alex were present.
Known as the Kalam-National Space
Society initiative, the mission envisages
harvesting solar power in space for use on
earth.
Alex is the project's principal investigator
from India. Kalam told the US media that a
team from Isro has been formed to carry out
a feasibility study for this project. He said
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan asked him
to take the idea forward after a discussing
the project. Referring to the Manmohan
Singh-Obama summit in New Delhi, Kalam
said both were concerned leaders ''interested
in energy-related issues and energy
independence''. Kalam said it was a 15-year-
project. The main challenge is to evolve
methods to transmit solar power from space
to earth and its distribution. To make it
economical, the cost of launching a
spacecraft, currently $20,000 a kg, has to be
slashed to $2,000 a kg.
Global Diseases Detection 9Nov
The United States and India had signed a
Memorandum of Understanding on
establishing and operationalising a Global
Diseases Detection Centre.
The agreement will facilitate the
development of human resources, both in
epidemiology and research; enable sharing
of best practices for detection of and
response to emerging infections, wherever
required. The MoU would be implemented
through an agreed plan between the National
Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), India,
and the Centres for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), Atlanta.
It would also facilitate advanced training in
the fields of epidemiology, surveillance for
emerging infectious diseases, and the health
and mentoring of public health professionals
internationally.
The MoU also aims to build laboratory
capacity in India for the diagnosis of
emerging infectious diseases using well
characterised reference material and
advanced technology transfer. The
agreement, for five years, was signed
between the directors of the NCDC and the
CDC. The CDC's Global Disease Detection
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
(GDD) programme is comprised of both
headquarters and field-based components in
the host country to develop core capacities
in emerging infectious disease detection and
response, training in field epidemiology and
laboratory methods in addition to pandemic
influenza preparedness and response, and
zoonotic disease research and containment
at the human-animal interface. The GDD
programme was established in 2004 to
rapidly detect and contain emerging health
threats.
It is mandated to mitigate the consequences
of a catastrophic public health event,
whether the cause is an intentional act of
terrorism or the natural emergence or re-
emergence of a deadly infectious disease.
The focus of the GDD is to establish and
expand its regional centres that build broad-
based public health capacity in sync with
International Health Regulations (IHR).
There are currently six regional centres
across the world with varying capacity
levels. These are at Guatemala, Kazakhstan,
China, Thailand, Egypt and Kenya. India
will host the seventh centre.
Clean Technologies 9Nov
India and the United States has signed an
agreement to establish a virtual centre to
promote research, development and
deployment in the area of clean energy
technologies.
Under the pact, the two countries would
each contribute $5 million every year for
supporting collaborative R&D projects
involving academics and private sectors of
both nations.
The pact will initially be valid for 10 years
and can be renewed for blocks of five years
at a time.
It will work in the consortia mode. Each
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
consortium will comprise entities or
individuals from national laboratories,
academic institutions, the private sector,
non-governmental organisations, and other
stakeholders, who have the requisite
knowledge and expertise of undertaking
first-rate programmes.
The consortia are expected to bring together
top talent and leverage existing resources
and infrastructure to generate key
technological advancements that can be
deployed rapidly to have the greatest impact
on the economy and society.
Initially, the focus will be on solar energy,
second generation bio-fuels and energy
efficiency of buildings. Each consortium
will be responsible for establishing its own
internal governance structure.
CEPA 10Nov
India and Japan will ink a comprehensive
market opening pact within a month, amid
indications that both sides had sorted out
differences on contentious issues.
This would be a move in the right direction
for enhancing trade ties and
reduce/eliminate tariffs on over 90 per cent
of the goods traded between the two
countries. The treaty that was slated to be
signed during Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh's visit to Tokyo last month but the
formal singing could not take place as both
sides were not able to sort out their
differences on some issues. Formally the
Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement (CEPA) will be signed in a
month or so. The free trade agreement is
likely to boost bilateral trade, which stood at
around $11 billion in 2009-10.
Grant for Indian Students 10Nov
Eight Canadian universities had announced
a series of scholarships worth four million
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
Canadian dollars for Indian students. The
investments include the new Globalink
Canada-India Graduate Fellowship. Six
memoranda of understanding were also
signed between Canadian and Indian
educational institutes.
The eight Canadian universities will provide
graduate fellowships for top Indian students
who wish to pursue a masters or PhD in
Canada. The Globalink Canada-India
Graduate Fellowship Program will give up
to 51 scholarships valued at more than 3.5
million Canadian dollars for Indian students
who have participated in the MITACS
Globalink program in 2010.
The scholarships were announced by
Stephen J Toope, president and vice-
chancellor of the University of British
Columbia, in the presence of HRD minister
Kapil Sibal and Canada's minister of state
for science and technology Gary Goodyear.
Peter McKinnon of the University of
Saskatchewan (UofS) announced the
inaugural disbursement of $150,000 from its
international partnership fund to establish a
new partnership between the UofS and Guru
Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences
University, Ludhiana, in the areas of public
health and toxicology. Guru Angad Dev
University has also committed an equal
amount for the project.
David Barnard of the University of
Manitoba announced a new partnership with
Indian Institute of Crop Processing
Technology and the ministry of food
processing industries. Both the sides will
contribute $100,000 each to train six
scientists and offer scholarships.
Six MoUs were also signed. These included
one is the University of British Columbia to
renew a long-standing student mobility
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
agreement with IIT Delhi, which involves
undergraduate engineering students
spending time at each others' institutions.
Another MoU was between the University
of Ontario Institute of Technology and Amal
Jyothi College of Engineering to jointly
offer a Bachelor of Applied Science in
Nuclear Power degree.
Pact on ISS Bolt 10Nov
The joint statement issued by Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and US President Barack
Obama states that India will join 17-member
US-led International Space Station (ISS).
The Singh-Obama statement said India and
the US will seek ways to colloborate in
future lunar missions, international space
station and human space flight.
Govt to Widen Roads 10Nov
The government said it has sought $2.96
billion (over Rs 13,000 crore) assistance
from the World Bank for converting 3,770
km of single lane national highways into
double lanes.
The tentative time for completion of these
stretches is up to year 2014.
The Road Transport and Highways Ministry
has identified 33 such single-lane stretches
to be widened in the next four years.
"Under this plan, Arunachal Pradesh will be
the biggest beneficiary with 1,940 km of its
single lane highway proposed to be
upgraded to 2 lane``.
The other states which would benefit the
most from the scheme include Bihar where
1,738 km will be converted into double lane
followed by Madhya Pradesh, which will
see conversion of 1,622 km under the
scheme.
Uttarakhand, Orissa and Rajasthan will also
benefit under the plan as the Ministry has
identified 1,437 km, 1,255 km and 1,200 km
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
highways in the respective states for
upgradation to double lanes.
The projects, as per information, would be
undertaken under the National Highways
Development Project (NHDP) phase IV
where the government has already identified
19,702 km of single lane highways.
Global N-Centre 10Nov
The US had joined hands with India to set
up a Global Centre for Nuclear Energy
Partnership for research and development of
secure and proliferation resistant reactor
systems.
India had announced at the Nuclear Security
Summit in April in Washington to set up the
Centre as part of its efforts to promote non-
proliferation.
A Memorandum of Understanding for
cooperation in building the Centre was
signed by Srikumar Banerjee, Secretary,
Department of Atomic Energy and Timothy
Roemer, the US Ambassador to India.
The Centre will facilitate deliberation and
discussions of international experts on
various issues including innovation in
nuclear reactors and the nuclear fuel cycle,
development of proliferation-resistant
reactors, security technologies and the
effects of radiation exposure.
The Centre would also host short-term
training courses for international nuclear
experts in the field of nuclear security.
As countries having advanced nuclear
technology, both India and the US would
like to promote cooperation on initiatives
aimed at strengthening global nuclear
security and addressing threats of nuclear
terrorism, and cooperating in programmes
for capacity building of interested states.
It will consist of four schools dealing with
Advanced Nuclear Energy System Studies,
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
Nuclear Security, Radiation Safety and
application of Radioisotopes and Radiation
Technology in areas of healthcare,
agriculture and food.
The Centre, which is expected to come up at
Bahadurgarh in Haryana, is visualised to be
a state-of-the-art facility based on
international participation from IAEA and
other interested foreign partners.
It will conduct research and development of
design systems that are intrinsically safe,
secure, proliferation resistant and
sustainable.
The objective of the School of Advanced
Nuclear Energy Systems Studies would be
to pursue design studies and analysis of
advanced nuclear energy systems with
features to achieve intrinsically enhanced
safety, security, proliferation resistance and
sustainability.
The programme modules will encompass
reactor systems and applications, fuel cycle
studies, accelerator driven systems, risk
assessment studies, emergency planning and
management and sustainability parameters
assessment.
National Maritime Policy 12Nov
The government has come up with an
answer to the delay in projects under the
National Maritime Development Programme
(NMDP). A brand new programme –
Perspective 2020 – will replace the existing
plan.
The shipping ministry will carry forward the
pending work under NMDP in its new
decade-long project. Major ports have been
able to complete only one-fifth of the 276
projects that were to be completed by 2012.
The projects which are yet to be completed
under NMDP will be included in the
Perspective 2020.
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
Former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee
had announced the programme in his
independence day speech on August 15,
2003.
NMDP was formulated for the period 2005-
12. Total investment involved under the
programme was Rs1,00,339 crore.
Under the programme, 276 projects were to
be taken up for ‘implementation’ but only
56 projects have been implemented so far, of
which eight projects have been completed in
the current financial year. The 2012 deadline
for NMDP was only for award of contracts
and not completion.
The new plan would cover not just major
ports but also state controlled non-major
ports. Besides, the perspective 2020 would
list target for the shipping sector. The
Maritime Policy will also be part of the new
plan.
Tiger Reserves 13Nov
The Government is looking at setting up
eight more reserves as part of the tiger
conservation efforts. The new reserves
would include one in the Satyamangalam
forests in Tamil Nadu, besides Karnataka,
Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh and Orissa.
The national tiger census report should also
be available in within the next 15 days.
The Government has introduced India's
Youth Tiger Ambassadors who will
represent the country at the International
Youth Summit being held alongside the
high-level government meeting on tiger
conservation. The Forum will commit
conservation and rehabilitation of tigers to
global action. The Youth Summit will take
place from November 19 to 24 at
Vladivostok, home to the Amur Tiger. The
involvement of youth at this important
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
meeting is aimed at drawing attention to the
importance of tiger conservation. WWF-
India has selected students Anusha Shankar
and Devanshu Sood to represent India at the
summit.
They will be part of a delegation comprising
representatives from all tiger ranges
countries. The youth ambassadors will visit
Siberian tiger trails and get a first-hand
account of the state of wild tiger populations
in Russia and measures being taken for their
conservation.
Solar Home Lighting Scheme 13Nov
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development (Nabard) will disburse about
Rs 200 crore under the solar home lighting
system and thermal application devices
(solar water heaters) to commercial banks
and regional rural banks.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
has introduced this scheme recently. Nabard
will support the initiative by providing
refinance to banks at an interest rate of 2 per
cent.
With over 300 sunny days available
annually in our country, there is a huge
potential to tap, store and retrieve solar
power, which can be much more than our
curent power requirement. Initially, the
ministry identified eleven pre-approved
models with the per unit indicative cost
between Rs 3,000 and Rs 60,000.
The beneficiary will get 30 per cent subsidy
and 50 per cent as loan from the commercial
banks and RRBs at 5 per cent rate of
interest. The balance 20 per cent will be
contributed by the beneficiary.
In Karnataka, RRBs and commercial banks
have already performed well in popularising
Solar Energy Scheme. With more incentives
for banks and beneficiary from Nabard, it is
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
expected that the new scheme will gain
much more popularity during the current
fiscal.
Life Support System 14Nov
An integrated life support system (ILSS),
which will administer required quantities of
oxygen at varying altitudes to pilots of
fighter aircraft on long missions and protect
them from losing consciousness due to
severe gravity (G) forces, has been
developed by the Defence Bioengineering
and Electromedical Laboratory (DEBEL) in
Bangalore.
Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas will be
equipped with the ILSS from February
2011. It will provide 100 per cent oxygen to
pilots in case of ejection from the fighter
aircraft.
An important constituent of the ILSS is the
onboard oxygen generation system
(OBOGS), which keeps the pilot's oxygen
status at sea-level despite flying at high
altitudes. The OBOGS enables the aircraft to
undertake long-endurance missions, free
from the burden of re-charging the oxygen
cylinders. A team of DEBEL scientists, led
by its director V.C. Padaki, developed the
ILSS. The DEBEL, a laboratory under the
Defence Research and Development
Organisation, was assisted by K. Tamilmani,
Chief Executive, Centre for Military
Airworthiness & Certification (CEMILAC)
in Bangalore.
Recently, DRDO Chief Controller (Life
Sciences) W. Selvamurthy handed over the
ILSS prototype to P.S. Subramanyam,
Director, Aeronautical Development Agency
in Bangalore for fitment into Tejas and for
trials.
Dr. Selvamurthy explained that the
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
atmosphere contains 79 per cent nitrogen
and 20 per cent oxygen. The OBOGS in the
ILSS will process the atmospheric air,
remove the nitrogen and administer the
oxygen to fighter aircraft pilots on long
missions.
The ILSS has another system called the
Demand Oxygen Regulator (DOR) which
will ensure that the breathing gas is
delivered to the pilot as per the altitude
requirements and also during anti-G
straining manoeuvres that the pilot will
undertake during combat missions.
Dr. Padaki said the contraption has a novel
electronic control unit which ensures proper
OBOGS functioning with changing altitude,
monitors the ILSS and activates the back-up
system in case of failure. The ILSS design
caters to both single and dual-pilot
operations.
The DEBEL, along with L&T as
development-cum-production partner, will
manufacture the ILSS.
Others who contributed to the ILSS'
development include the Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited, the Directorate-
General and Aeronautical Quality
Assurance, the National Flight Test Centre,
the Institute of Aerospace Medicine and the
CEMILAC. The ILSS can be customised to
suit MiG-29, Sukhoi-30 and Mirage-2000
for their long-duration flights, Dr. Padaki
said. It can be used in military hospitals in
forward areas and at rarefied heights, thus
obviating the need to carry oxygen
cylinders, Dr. Selvamurthy added. After the
United States, Russia and France, India is
the fourth country to possess this
technology.
Monsoon Forecasts 14Nov
India's monsoon forecasting is expected to
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
improve with its entering into a new
agreement with the United States.
The agreement between the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) and India's Ministry of Earth
Sciences is part of a series of food security
agreements formalised during President
Barack Obama's visit.
The Monsoon Agreement, by striving to
improve long-range monsoon prediction,
holds great potential to improve the well-
being of the people of India, while also
benefitting the United States and other
nations through improvements in their own
seasonal climate forecasts.
India experiences monsoon weather,
typically resulting in six months of rain
beginning in early June. But it is difficult to
predict when the monsoon will begin, how
strong it will be or when it will end
information that can help plan for seasonal
crops and project surface water supplies.
In addition to the regional impacts, the
Indian Ocean-Asia monsoon system
represents one of the largest weather and
climate features in the world, transporting
energy between the northern and southern
hemispheres and impacting weather and
climate throughout the world.
Under the agreement, the U.S. will create a
monsoon forecast desk at the National
Centres for Environmental Prediction, part
of NOAA's National Weather Service in
Camp Springs, Maryland.
U.K’s. Degree 14Nov
As India prepares to open its doors to
foreign universities, at least one British
university already has a foot in the door
through a joint venture with the University
of Madras and several other Indian
institutions.
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
The Northampton University is to launch a
master's degree in Environmental
Technology at Madras University in
February next year under a joint U.K.-India
programme aimed at promoting research
links between the two countries.
Although the course would be delivered by
teachers from both universities, the final
degree would be awarded by the University
of Northampton.
At the end of their studies, students will
achieve an MSc in International
Environmental Management from the
University of Northampton, pointing out that
it was a model that other British Universities
were also likely to follow.
The Northampton University already has
offices in India and recruits some 250
students every year. It also has links with the
Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) a
part of Anna University in Chennai and the
University of Mumbai. These links would be
developed further as India liberalised its
policy on foreign universities.
Playing down the hype that British
universities would rush to set up campuses
in India once the “market” opened up,
Professor Petford said most institutions were
likely to build on their existing links with
their Indian counterparts rather than having
their own independent infrastructure.
India and Germany 16Nov
India and Germany have decided to intensify
their cooperation in the area of environment
and sustainable development. A MoU was
signed to this effect in New Delhi.
Addressing media after signing the pact,
Minister of State for Agriculture K. V.
Thomas said that one of the components of
this cooperation is in the area of consumer
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
protection. He said the scope of the joint
working group has now been extended
which include the subject of consumer
protection also.
India and Canada 16Nov
India and Canada formally launched
negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic
and Cooperation Agreement, CECA, to
boost bilateral trade. Anand Sharma said
that as per a joint study group report, both
countries will benefit from the CECA and
the gains for Indian and Canada will be of
the order of 39 to 62 per cent. He said that
India's GDP is likely to benefit by around 10
billion US dollar from the proposed free
trade pact. The gains which are projected in
the report were between $6 to $12 billion for
the Indian GDP. There are huge
opportunities for Indian businesses in
Canada in sectors like energy, IT, education
and mining.
Canada's International Trade Minister, Peter
Van Laon, said bilateral trade between both
the countries will increase to 15 billion US
dollar in the next five years.
Non-proliferation Efforts 16Nov
The United States said, it sees India as a
partner in its global non-proliferation efforts
and no more as a target. The US Assistant
Secretary of State for South and Central
Asia, Robert Blake told in Washington that
India had an important role in strengthening
the regime to check the spread of nuclear
weapons. He said that one of the criticisms
in the past has been that US sometimes
regarded India more as a target than a
partner in non-proliferation. The steps
President Obama announced in the course of
his recent visit showed definitely that
America now sees India as a partner in the
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
global non-proliferation space not only in
terms of the actions, but also in terms of our
growing efforts in the nuclear area. He said
the US looks forward to working with India
in new areas like nuclear smuggling.
Eastern Freight Corridor 17Nov
Once completed, the eastern dedicated
freight corridor will bring about an
“industrial revolution” in West Bengal,
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed
at the inauguration of the work on the
project.
The 1,806-km eastern corridor will extend
from Dankuni to Ludhiana and pass through
several mining and industrial towns such as
Asansol, Dhanbad, Sonnagar, Khurja and
Saharanpur. It is being designed for a
maximum train speed of 100 kmph.
Port Projects 17Nov
The government has awarded two projects at
the Tuticorin Port and the Ennore Port under
the public-private-partnership mode and
aims to award 19 more such project this
year.
At the beginning of the financial year 2010-
11, the Ministry of Shipping has fixed a
target of 21 projects under public private
partnership (PPP) for the major ports, of
which two projects have been awarded so
far at Tuticorin Port and Ennore Port.
The targeted private investment through
these projects is expected to be
approximately Rs 14,000 crore during the
current financial year.
As per the current policy guidelines for PPP,
foreign companies along with Indian
companies can bid for these projects in the
Major Ports under PPP Mode.
India, Russia 19Nov
The high-level meeting to prepare for next
month's summit meeting between Prime
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev saw progress in
the expansion of ties beyond the traditional
military, space and strategic spheres.
Besides the civilian aircraft project, India
and Russia have identified pharmaceuticals,
diamonds, IT and petroleum that are prime
for cooperation.
Called the Inter-governmental Commission
on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical,
Economic and Cultural Cooperation,
Thursday's session It was chaired by
External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei
Ivanov. As Ivanov said during the signing of
a protocol by the two sides, “the idea is to
reach $20 billions in trade by 2015. This
year the figure will almost touch $10
billions.” While mentioning a new project
civil aircraft the protocol; avoided naming
the ill-fated Orissa Titanium project that is
embroiled in court cases.
However, the presence of top Russian
officials from the atomic energy and space
sectors enabled talks on these aspects as
well to tie up the loose ends before the
summit meeting. Both sides also touched on
the military Fifth Generation Fighter
Aircraft project for which a Cabinet note is
being considered by the Central Ministries
concerned.
Pharmaceuticals, a promising area for Indian
exports, which could help offset the trade
balance in future due to increasing imports
of Russian oil, has seen concrete discussions
over the past few months. India is in
concurrence with Russia's vision document
up to the year 2020 under which Moscow
plans to reduce its import dependence from
the present 80 per cent to 50 per cent
through joint ventures.
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
India is aiming for a fast track registration
process and argues that existing permissions
to its companies by the U.S. Federal Drug
Agency should suffice. Its internal studies
have shown that Russian stand of Indian
companies having to conduct clinical trials
may not be correct and Moscow could be
persuaded to waive this requirement
provided it is in conformity with the existing
laws.
In petroleum, the ONGC Videsh is poised to
invest five per cent equity in the bidding for
gas in Yamal Peninsula and India hopes to
use the political goodwill, accentuated by
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's
interest, to become a prominent stakeholder
in this asset.
India was also hoping to participate in the
development of Russia's recently openend
strategic reserves in Timan-Pechora
province Trebs and Titov oil deposits but
suffered a setback.
Tejas 20Nov
The fifth limited series production Tejas
Light Combat Aircraft successfully
completed its first flight near Bangalore.
V.K. Saraswat, Scientific Adviser to
Defence Minister, made an announcement
about the successful flight at the ongoing
aviation conclave. He said the multirole
fighter would be inducted into the Air Force
early next year. Dr. Saraswat, who is also
the Director-General of Defence Research
and Development Organisation, told that the
aircraft flew for about an hour, went up to an
altitude of 8 km and achieved a speed of
Mach 0.8. It was equipped with state-of-the-
art of technologies, including fly-by-wire
systems and communication.
Agri Help 20Nov
India has pledged to provide a grant
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
assistance of Rs 1,619 crore to Nepal for
construction of 350 tube-wells in the
southern region of the country.
An MoU was signed for providing the grant
assistance under India-Nepal Economic
Cooperation Programme.
Though agriculture is the largest sector of
the Nepalese economy with 39%
contribution to country's GDP, out of total
2.6 million hectares of cultivable land
available, only about 1.2 million hectares
has irrigation facilities.
Siraha, one of the Eastern Terai Districts, is
facing acute problem of irrigation due to low
rainfall in the area. Shallow Tube Wells
being developed with India's assistance
would provide all season irrigation facility
to over 1,000 hectares of land and would
uplift the socio-economic status of farmers
by augmenting production of wheat, rice and
seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Top Varsities 22Nov
Most of the top 50 Indian universities have
remarkably improved their H-index scores
in latest ranking by Delhi's National Institute
of Science, Technology and Development
Studies (NISTDS). H-index is a parameter
used to assess performance of researchers
and institutions based on number of times
published research paper has been cited by
peers or other researchers. The improved H-
index scores indicate that quality of research
pursued in many Indian universities has
improved.
Many state universities, including some of
the well-established ones in Hyderabad,
Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Pune, can now
look forward to higher grants from the
department of science and technology (DST)
under its flagship Promotion of University
Research and Scientific Excellence
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
(PURSE) programme.
In the latest H-index (provisional) sent by
NISTDS to the DST in October, the
University of Hyderabad has unseated the
Delhi University from the number one
position, which the latter held in 2008. The
University of Hyderabad which occupied the
second position with an H-index score of 54
has now secured 62 points against Delhi's
61. Earlier, the Delhi University boasted of
an H-index of 56. Banaras Hindu University
has climbed up from sixth position to the
third with an H-index of 58, while Jadavpur
University is ranked fourth, as opposed to its
earlier fifth rank. The University of Panjab
has slipped from the third position to the
fourth (tied with Jadavpur). University of
Pune is now placed one step down at the
fifth position.
Down south, the University of Madras has
retained its seventh rank but significantly
improved its H-index from 37 to 44.
Universities were able to improve their H-
index scores because of increased citations
by peers/research scholars.
Global Functional Jobs 22Nov
Wide availability of talent and cost
advantage has helped India emerge as a
"skill hub" not only for back-office jobs but
also global functional roles, says an
international recruitment firm.
Wide availability of talent and cost
advantage has helped India emerge as a
"skill hub" not only for back-office jobs but
also global functional roles.
According to GlobalHunt, an executive
search firm, In last two-three years, there
was a 25- 35 per cent rise in global
functional roles that came to India.
India's advantage is that a large number of
skilled professionals are available at very
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
competitive cost. Their skills are global in
nature and they are best in technology and
analytics.
About 20 per cent of companies have given
India as 'region status' and India is no longer
a part of Asia Pacific for them.
Besides, 15–20 per cent of global
workforces are reporting to Indian
counterparts at various functions and
hierarchy levels.
Security Cooperation Agreement 23Nov
India and the United Arab Emirates will, in
the near future, sign an agreement on
security cooperation, addressing issues
specially relating to counter-terrorism and
maritime security, Secretary (East) Latha
Reddy announced. The decision, she said,
was taken in the course of wide-ranging
talks between President Pratibha Patil
currently on a tour of the Middle East and
UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al
Nahyan earlier in the day.
The two leaders also agreed that specific
proposals relating to enhancing the strategic
relationship by focussing on education,
science and technology and regional security
be taken up at the coming meeting in Abu
Dhabi of the Joint Commission which is
headed by the Foreign Ministers.
The UAE was invited to participate in
upstream and downstream activities in the
petroleum sector to strengthen India's energy
security, as well as in the infrastructure
sector, including in the Railways.
Missile Tests 25Nov
In a step forward to attain the minimum
credible nuclear deterrence, India's defence
scientists are going to show more fire power
at the country's best test facilities at
Chandipur and Wheeler Island off the
Odisha coast.
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
According to the sources at the integrated
test range (ITR), the DRDO has planned to
test-fire at least five sophisticated long range
missiles within next two months. The
launching complexes at both the places have
been readied for the first ever synchronized
test in the recent times.
This is for the first time that altogether five
missiles have been lined up to be test-fired
within next two months. The lab
authorization committee of the ministry of
defence (MoD) has given necessary green
signal for the proposed test-firings. Range
integration has been completed. We all are
hopeful of test launching the missiles
successfully.
Next month there will be tests of BrahMos
and Agni-II. On September 5 last India
created history by flight testing Brahmos
cruise missile, for the first time in the world,
at a supersonic speed in a steep-dive mode.
The 8.4-meter long missile can hit a target at
a distance up to 290 km. The missile can
travel at thrice the speed of sound and carry
a conventional warhead weighing 200 kg to
300 kg.
BrahMos has become the only supersonic
cruise missile possessing this advanced
capability in the world. After the scheduled
test this version will be ready for induction.
Similarly, the two-stage solid-propelled
Agni-II is one of the key weapon systems of
the country's nuclear deterrence doctrine and
had been inducted into the armed forces.
Having about 1.3-meter diameter, it is 21
metres tall and capable of carrying a payload
of one tonne. It has strike range of nearly
2000 km. The missile, which had failed to
deliver desired results consecutively twice
last year, was successfully tested in May this
year.
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
Meanwhile, we have developed Agni-II+
missile which is completely a new missile
having a strike range between 2750 km and
3000 km. It has several advanced
technologies in comparison to its previous
missile. This missile, a part of the Agni
series, will bridge the gap between its long-
range missiles Agni-II (2000 km) and Agni-
III (3500 km)," informed the scientist.
The DRDO will test the Advanced Air
Defence (AAD) missile to shoot down an
incoming "enemy missile" as pa
rt of its efforts to build a credible ballistic
missile defence shield. Of the four
interceptor missile tests so far, the first three
were successful. The last one in March this
year was a failure.
Agni-I Missile 25Nov
India had test-fired an upgraded version of
the nuclear-capable surface-to-surface
ballistic missile Agni-I from a defence base
off the east coast.
The missile with better re-entry technology
and manoeuvrability was fired by the armed
forces from a mobile launcher at the
launching complex - IV of the Integrated
Test Range in Wheeler's Island at about
10.10am.
The test was to reconfirm the technical
parameters set for the user associated
launch.
After a vertical lift-off from the launch pad
at the ITR, the missile rose into the sky
leaving behind a ribbon of smokes. Ground
radars, telemetry stations and naval ships,
positioned close to the intended impact
point, monitored the course of the missile.
Agni-I has a strike range of 700-900 kms.
Compared to its longer-range cousins, its
height is just 15 metres and diameter is one
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
meter. It is powered by both solid and liquid
propellants, which imparts it a speed of 2.5
km per second.
It can blast off from both road and rail
mobile launchers. Weighing less but having
the same thrust.
Agni-1 was first test-fired on January 25,
2002. Its second and third tests were
conducted on January 9, 2003 and July 4,
2004 respectively from the same launching
site. This test was its eighth test.
Reservation for Women 25Nov
In a bid to woo the fairer gender and
backward classes ahead of the next year's
state elections, the W Bengal cabinet had
approved 50 pc quota for women in the
panchayat system, up from 33 pc at present,
and also brought OBCs under reservation for
the first time.
The decision to provide 50 per cent quota
for women in the panchayat system and
bring OBCs under reservation had been
taken earlier. It got the cabinet's approval.
A bill to amend the West Bengal Panchayat
Act-1973 would be placed before the
Assembly in the next session.
Communication Satellite 25Nov
India would launch a new communication
satellite from its spaceport of Sriharikota
next month to augment capacity and services
in the field.
The Indian Space research Organisation said
top space scientists would meet on
December 10 to conduct a mission-readiness
review and give the final go-ahead for the
launch on December 20.
The satellite, GSAT-5 Prime, would be
launched by geosynchronous Satellite
Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F06).
An exclusive C-band spacecraft, GSAT-5P
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
carries 24 normal C-band and 12 Extended
C-band transponders to augment
communication services in areas like
television broadcasting and telecom. GSAT-
5P has a designed mission life of 12 years.
India, Arab League Trade 25Nov
The two-way commerce between India and
the 22 League of Arab Nations is expected
to reach $240 billion by 2014 on account of
increasing cooperation in areas like
infrastructure and real estate.
India and the Arab Nations will soon
become major trading partners, exhibiting
significant improvement in two-way trade
and is expected to reach $120 billion by
2010–11 and $240 billion by 2014.
It said that there is a huge potential for both
the sides to cooperate in areas like oil and
gas, chemicals, real estate, infrastructure and
food processing.
The report - "India & League of Arab
States- Exploring New Horizons" - also
explores new horizons of collaboration to
harness investment and trade between India
and the countries in the Arab region.
Investments from the region into India have
been on a continuous upswing, especially in
sectors such as telecom and infrastructure.
Security, defence and education are new
areas of interest which will forge the
relationship ahead.
The Arab League was founded in Cairo in
1945 and its members include Algeria,
Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait,
Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan and
United Arab Emirates.
Electronic Warfare Systems 25Nov
India would build two ranges for testing
radar-based electronic warfare systems as it
seeks to strengthen its capability in the field,
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
seen to be vital in war scenarios.
One range would come up in Chitradurga in
Karnataka and another in Tandur in Andhra
Pradesh, which would test "non-
communication" and "communication" EW
systems.
These two would be part of the 4,000-acre
aeronautical test range in Chitradurga, some
200 km from here, and the 8,000-acre one in
Tandur, some 135 km from Hyderabad. At
present, EW systems are tested in the IAF
range in Gwalior in a limited way.
Once the two new testing ranges (in
Chitradurga and Tandur) are operational in
2012-13, experimental and R&D tests can
be conducted, said Prahlada, Chief
Controller, R&D (Ae & SI), Defence
Research and Development Organisation.
Speaking at the India National Electronic
Warfare Workshop (EWWI-2010), he said
an investment of Rs 200 crore each is
expected in the two test ranges.
Electronic Warfare is becoming a very
important area because. You may have all
weapons but if somebody jams you (the
weapons), you are as good as useless.
Before firing the missile, you are already
decimated.
Without electronic warfare, you cannot win
a war. Once you have it you have to test it,
you can't wait for a war to test it.
He said the present EW systems have been
integrated with MiG-27 fighters and
operational flights are slated next year. They
would be integrated with MiG-29 fighters
and the light combat aircraft next year.
In 2012 India would fly a fourth-
generational EW system, which is being
developed by Defence Avionics Research
Establishment and Defence Electronics
Research Laboratory.
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
DRDO now can source raw materials,
software packages, testing equipment,
components and manufacturing process
machinery, which was a difficult exercise
when sanctions were in place.
During times of sanctions, it was also
difficult to source such items from even
countries such as UK and Germany because
they were "aligned" with the US, resulting in
some of the DRDO projects being delayed.
DRDO was expecting a budget of Rs 9,000
crore in 2011-12 in the area of strategic
systems and tactical defence.
BrahMos Unit 27Nov
BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram
Limited (BATL), which caters to the
product requirements of the country's
defence, aerospace and nuclear industries, is
set to bag key orders that will fuel the
company's bid to become an industry major
in these sectors.
The Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO), it is reliably learnt, is contemplating
making the BATL its next work centre for
production of cryogenic and semi-cryogenic
engines.
Presently, the cryogenic as well as liquid
engines for the ISRO are made by a
consortium comprising Godrej and MTAR
Technologies. Technical collaboration
would be a lot easier with the BATL taking
up the job as the Vikram Sarabhai Space
Centre [VSSC] and the Liquid Propulsion
Systems Centre, which have designed and
developed the engine, are located within
four and 30 kilometres from it. BrahMos
Thiruvananthapuram has been asked by the
ISRO to produce some components of the
cryogenic engine, but to execute it in full, it
requires the Rotary Vacuum Brazing
facility. A request to set it up at the BATL is
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
being pursued with the ISRO. The BATL
had earlier purchased equipment worth
Rs.25 crore on a grant from the ISRO.
The company is sparing no effort to deliver
before March next a BrahMos cruise missile
container (canister), ordered as a trial piece.
We have secured a crucial order to
manufacture 135 BrahMos containers, each
costing about Rs.30 lakh to Rs.35 lakh.
Already under fabrication at the BATL are
the liquid Vikas engines for the ISRO and
the firm has so far been able to deliver 16 of
them. In addition, an order for 12 more has
come. Material for six engines is available
and four would be realised this year itself.
The BATL makes the full engine in-house.
And, the complicated friction ring of the
engine is manufactured only by it.
The first set of subsystems of the BrahMos
missile such as the FDU (front docking
unit), shutter assembly and cable separator
together called ‘metallic airframe
components' delivered by the BATL is
undergoing quality and acceptance tests and
the company is positive about getting a fresh
order for 200 such sets. This would require
us to set up a separate production line and
the process is well under way.
The machining capability of the BATL
spans products with diameters ranging from
0.5 millimetres to 2.5 metres (for L-40
propellant tank cages).
With the process of acquisition of nearby
land for the second phase development of
the company facing delays, a modest
complex for the integration of the cruise
missile has now been carved out within the
existing campus with assistance from the
Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO). Also in place is a
facility for meteorology for the
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
accommodation of fresh equipment.
India and Syria 27Nov
After concluding a five-day goodwill tour of
the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, President
Pratibha Patil touched down at the historic
city of Damascus.
The Syria visit, first by an Indian President,
will focus on bilateral issues political,
economic and cultural and exploration of
investment opportunities in both countries.
On the regional and international fronts, the
Middle East Peace Process (MEPP) and
Syria's relations with its neighbours will
figure in the President's discussions.
An IT centre is coming up in Syria with
Indian assistance and will be functional
soon. MECON is giving final shape to its
feasibility study on utilisation of phosphatic
resources of Syria; a power project awarded
to Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. is partially
funded by India through a $240-million line
of credit; and Apollo International of India
is upgrading a steel plant in Hama, for
which also India has extended a line of
credit of $25 million.
Unlike with the UAE, the two-way trade
level with Syria stands at a modest $530
million. The Indo-Syrian Joint Commission,
which met in June this year, has decided to
work towards doubling trade shortly. The
President's visit is expected to boost
economic relations, identify areas of
mutually beneficial cooperation and register
Indian interest in sourcing phosphates,
which will help in achieving food security.
Duty on Power Equipment 27Nov
The Union Cabinet is expected to take a call
on the issue of imposition of duty on import
of power equipment, especially heavy
equipment, from China which is hurting the
domestic industry badly and putting them at
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
a disadvantage due to cheap imports.
According to the Chairman and Managing
Director of Bharat Heavy Electricals
Limited B. P. Rao.
ISRO’s Satellite 27Nov
An advanced communication satellite called
Highly Adaptable Satellite or HYLAS, built
by ISRO was successfully launched by the
European Ariane-5 V198 launch vehicle.
The satellite was built on commercial basis
in partnership with EADS-Astrium of
Europe.
The launch took place from the Guyana
Space Centre at Kourou in French Guyana.
ISRO's Master Control Facility at Hassan in
Karnataka successfully received radio
signals transmitted by HYLAS and the
satellite's health is said to be normal.
HYLAS satellite developed for Avanti
Communications of UK consists of ten high
power transponders. The satellite is designed
to deliver high-speed broadband services
through its spot beams over Europe.
ISRO won the contract to build the satellite
in the year 2006 after competing along with
other leading manufacturers of USA and
Europe through the strategic alliance worked
out between Antrix, commercial arm of
ISRO and M/s. EADS Astrium of France.
The alliance was formed to jointly develop
communication satellites with ISRO
platforms and Astrium payloads and market
them internationally. Antrix provided the
satellite bus and performed the satellite
integration and testing at ISRO's facility in
Bangalore. HYLAS satellite weighing 2541
kg at lift-off is the heaviest satellite built by
ISRO. It is capable of operating for over 15
years mission life as demanded by the
customer.
Power Plant 27Nov
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
India's 20th nuclear power plant became
operational at Kaiga in Karnataka taking the
total installed atomic power capacity in the
country to 4780 MW.
The indigenously-developed 220 MW
capacity Unit 4 of the Kaiga Atomic Power
Station attained criticality at 8.07.22 am
making India the sixth country in the world
to have 20 or more nuclear power plants in
operation.
A nuclear reactor is said to have attained
criticality when it is ready to maintain
stability of the chain reaction indicating that
the unit is has achieved a steady output of
power.
The Kaiga-4 was built a few years ago but
was unable to start power production for
want of fuel.
India's exemption from the Nuclear
Suppliers' Group guidelines in 2008 that
facilitated its return to global nuclear trade
made the access to fuel possible.
The Kaiga Unit 4 will now undergo a series
of checks from the Atomic Energy
Regulatory Board (AERB) before being
synchronised with the grid. The commercial
production will begin thereafter.
The entire processes from criticality to
commercial production will take about two
months.
Three units of 220 MW each are already
generating electricity at the Kaiga nuclear
station at about 60 per cent of their capacity.
Kaiga is NPCIL's sixth nuclear power plant
site. The third unit at Kaiga attained
criticality in February 2007 in less than five
years of first pouring of concrete. Kaiga 1
and 2 had attained criticality in 2000.
Kaiga 4 has raised the installed capacity at
the power station here to 880 MW, the third
largest site of NPCIL after Tarapur and
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
Rawatbhata.
Presently, India produces 568 billion
units of electricity and of that 23 per cent
is from hydro-power, 64 per cent from
thermal power, 10 per cent by non-
conventional methods and only three per
cent by the nuclear power.
Development Plan 27Nov
With an aim of tackling naxalism through
development, the government has unveiled a
special Rs 3300 crore action plan in 60
affected tribal and backward districts across
nine states.
The Integrated Action Plan (IAP) is intended
to provide immediate redressal to problems
of the people in tribal and backward districts
in the sector like healthcare, drinking water,
education and roads.
The IAP would be given as an additional
central assistance scheme on 100 percent
grant basis to be implemented in two
years.In the current year (2010-11), a block
grant of Rs 25 crore will be made available
to each of the 60 districts for which the
schemes will be decided by a committee
headed by the distrcit collector with district
SP and district forest officer as members.
The projects would have to be completed by
March in a "concrete" and "visible" manner,
he said. The works would be taken up by
district collectors by 1st December, he said,
adding the block amount of Rs 25 crore will
have to be utilised in the remaining four
months of the current fiscal.
According to an estimate, about 40,000 sq
km areas in Naxal-affected states are under
the control of Maoists.
Rural Poor 27Nov
Oil Minister Murli Deora said the
government would offer Rs 1,400 subsidy
per LPG connection to BPL families in rural
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
areas as part of its effort to increase the
reach of cooking fuel among the poor.
The proposed subsidy will be available to
the new connections being offered under the
Rajiv Gandhi Rural LPG Distribution
Scheme.
Significantly, the Minister refused to take
any question on the Cairn-Vedanta deal.
The British energy major Cairn and
domestic firm Vedanta are waiting for the
government nod for their USD 9 billion sale
agreement inked in mid-August.
Deora said the country will have to import
3.9 million tonnes or 32 percent more
cooking gas this fiscal to meet the growing
demand and pointed out that the number of
LPG connection has grown nearly three
times since 1999 when there were only 3.81
crore consumers, to 12.2 crore now.
While domestic production of the cooking
fuel has gone up to 10.2 million tonnes last
fiscal, up from 7.6 mt in FY06, demand has
gone up much faster and is projected to
reach 13.96 mt this fiscal, and added that
"LPG demand is projected to touch 19.2 mt
by the turn of 2015.
Sex Ratio 30Nov
Gujarat is promising a safe cradle for girls to
be born. The latest civil registration system
(CRS) data released by the government said
the sex ratio has gone up to 905 girls per
1,000 boys as per births registered in 2009.
This is the first time that the number of girls
in the 0-6 year age group has raised above
the 900 mark in the past decade.
The issue was first brought into focus by
Times Of India through the 'Save the girl
child' campaign. Its reports were based on
the 2001 census data which showed only
883 girls per 1,000 boys in the state, leading
to a severe shortage of brides in certain
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
communities who reportedly practised
female foeticide. The economically
progressive state had the fifth lowest girl
child ratio in the country. In 2001, the CRS
figures too put the sex ratio at 834. To
correct the skewed sex ratio, the state
government launched its own 'beti bachao'
campaign.
India and Russia 30Nov
India and Russia have finalized several pacts
in Trade, Investment, Energy including
Nuclear Energy and High Technology trade
after delegation level talks between External
Affairs Minister, S. M. Krishna and his
Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in New
Delhi.
These agreements will be signed during the
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev summit
level talks with the Prime Minister Dr.
Manmohan Singh in Delhi next month. The
Russian President will be on a two-day
official visit to India on 21st and 22nd of
next month.
The two countries have also agreed to
implement projects in the areas of economy,
science and technology and military
cooperation. The two countries signed a
protocol to intensify strategic cooperation
between the two countries.
Talking to reporters after talks, S. M.
Krishna said that regional and global issues
also figured in the talks. He said, talks on
purchase of fifth generation aircraft are
being held.
Adult Literacy 30Nov
Government says that adult literacy will
empower the people and create better
employment opportunities for them. The
Minister of State for Human Resource
Development D. Purandeswari said this
while speaking at the interactive meeting
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
with State Literacy Mission authority and
Zila Lok Shiksha Samities on
implementation of Saakshar Bharat in New
Delhi today. She underlined the importance
of Saakshar Bharat keeping in context the
fact that India is among the countries with
the largest number of illiterates.
Saakshar Bharat programme aims to impart
functional literacy to 70 million non-literates
in 15 plus age group in 365 low female
literacy districts. Besides Basic Literacy, the
programme will focus on Basic Education,
Vocational Education and Continuing
Education. The meeting has been convened
to meet and discuss with the stake holders
about the implementation of Saakshar
Bharat programme and to seek their
cooperation for its effective implementation.
Afghan Mission 16Nov
The United States government is set to
announce a plan to end its combat mission in
Afghanistan by 2014, a goal that will require
the gradual transfer of responsibility for
security operations to Afghan forces over
the next 18 to 24 months.
A phased four-year plan to wind down
American and allied fighting in Afghanistan
will be presented at a NATO summit
meeting in Lisbon later this week.
A similar announcement by the Obama
administration, to begin a troop drawdown
in Afghanistan by July 2011, came in for a
barrage of criticism on the grounds that it
could strengthen the hands of militants who
might regroup.
According to reports, these local forces
comprise approximately 264,000 men; and
the goal is to raise this number to 350,000
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
by 2013.
The possibility of a 2014 handover appeared
to be a hit with President Barack Obama's
Republican opposition, now holding a
stronger hand of cards after a sweeping
victory in the House of Representatives
earlier this month.
Chinese Missiles 16Nov
In the event of a military confrontation,
China can destroy five out of six US bases
in Asia with a wave of missiles.
The main implication of China's improved
air and conventional missile capabilities is a
dramatic increase in the [People's Liberation
Army's] ability to inhibit U.S. military
operations in the region," a late draft of the
report by the U.S.-China Economic and
Security Review Commission concludes.
In addition to missiles, the Chinese military
build-up includes major deployments and
upgrades of Chinese jets that have increased
ranges and better weapons as well as greatly
improved air defences.
The U.S. government has growing concerns
over what the report says are "China's
improving capabilities to challenge the U.S.
military's freedom of access in East Asia."
The US bases vulnerable to Chinese missile
attack include two in South Korea, Osan and
Kunsan air bases.
Each could be destroyed with attacks by 480
short- and medium-range ballistic missiles
and 350 ground-launched cruise missiles.
The bases are some 380-640 km from China.
In Japan, US bases at Kadena, Misawa and
Yokota could be knocked out with 80
medium- and short-range ballistic missiles
and 350 ground-launched cruise missiles.
These bases are between 840 and 1,000 km
from China. The report says that in the event
of a conflict, Guam, in western Pacific
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
Ocean, is the only exception because it is
2,800 km from China.
China's growing long-range bomber arsenal,
however, means the 'PLA Air Force's
bomber fleet soon could allow it to target
Guam, where the sixth US Air Force base is
located.
Guam is the site of a major US military
buildup in Asia, with the addition of new
submarines and bombers and spy aircraft.
'Not only would US bases be threatened in
the event of a conflict with China but so too
would US deployed aircraft.
In addition to increasing the number of
missiles, China is also extending their range,
improving their accuracy, and increasing
their payload.
China is thought to have 1,150 short-
range missiles with ranges between 280
and 600 km and 115 medium-range
missiles with ranges between 1,600 and
2,900 km.
Nepal Road 16Nov
India will provide nearly Rs 700 crores to
Nepal for road projects in the Terai region,
close to its border in an attempt to help
improve transport infrastructure.
This was decided in Kathmandu at the first
meeting of the Project Steering Committee
for the strengthening of road infrastructure
of the Terai area of Nepal committee.
The committee agreed that work should be
completed in a time bound manner due to
the special importance the two countries
attach to the project.
The meeting was co-chaired by Satish C
Mehta, Joint Secretary (North), MEA, and
Kamal Raj Pande, Joint Secretary, Nepal's
Ministry of Physical Planning & Works,
according to an Indian Embassy release in
Kathmandu.
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
The project will be implemented in three
phases and envisages to construct over 1,450
kms of black topped all weather roads in the
Terai area of Nepal adjoining India.
Phase-I, on which work is expected to start
by next month, includes 19 roads totaling
605 kms.
The project would be funded totally by the
Government of India under the Nepal-India
Cooperation Programme and will be
constructed at an estimated cost of nearly
Rs. 687.5 crores. RITES is working as
consultant for the project from the Indian
side.
Report on Climate Change 16Nov
Ahead of the UN meet on climate change in
Mexico, India will release its first
assessment report on the impact of global
warming on four key sectors, including
forests and water in the country's climatic
regions like the Himalayas and the north
east.
Prepared by Indian Network of Climate
Change Assessment (INCAA), the
assessment report will address the concerns
about climate change on the natural
resources and livelihoods of the people in
the four identified regions.
These climatic hotspots are the Himalayan,
the north east, the Western Ghats and the
coastal plains and the four sectors under
study are agriculture, water, health and
forests.
INCAA was set up last year by Environment
Minister Jairam Ramesh as a mechanism to
evolve institutions as well as engage other
agencies already working in the area of
climate change.
Ramesh was of the opinion that the
understanding of the implications of climate
change at the regional and sub- regional
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
levels is rather inadequate and there is a
need to have domestic studies on the issue.
Comprising about 220 scientists from 120
research institutions across the country,
INCAA had almost six months ago prepared
the country's greenhouse gas (GHG)
emission data "India: Greenhouse Gas
Emissions 2007" which said the country's
emissions grew by 58 percent during 1994
to 2007.
By announcing the latest emission data,
India has become the first developing nation
to publish such updated statistics which
reflects its strong domestic actions and is
likely to strengthen the country's negotiating
positions at the climate change meet at
Cancun in Mexico in the month-end.
Ramesh had recently said that in view of a
serious threat of climate change, "we need to
know what would be the impact of such
changes in the middle term, like by 2030,
and not wait for reports that are predicting
for 2050 or later."
Study of climate change in north-eastern
region is most important as it has the
country's 25 percent of forest cover and will
be most severely affected by global
warming.
NATO to Erect Missile 20Nov
President Barack Obama won NATO
summit agreement to build a missile shield
over Europe, an ambitious commitment to
protect against possible Iranian attack while
demonstrating the alliance's continuing
relevance- but at the risk of further
aggravating Russia.
On another major issue, Obama and the
allies are expected to announce plans to
begin handing off security responsibility in
Afghanistan to local forces next year and to
complete the transition by the end of 2014.
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
That end date is three years beyond the time
that Obama had said he would start
withdrawing US troops.
Resource Centre 22Nov
The government will launch an Indian
Workers Resource Centre for its expatriates
in the UAE during the President's visit.
The resource centre will provide a 24-hour
helpline and counselling service to Indian
workers in distress.
Talking to All India Radio, West Asia expert
Professor Mustaba Khan of the Jamia Milia
Islamia University said about 1.75 million
Indians constitute the largest expatriate
community in the UAE, but they often find
it difficult to get help in time of distress.
The government is also likely to release
some additional funds for the distressed
expatriates.
S-E Asia Rail Links 23Nov
China will, in coming months, accelerate
plans for high-speed rail links with
Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos, as
part of a wider effort to deepen engagement
with its Southeast Asian neighbours.
In two months, work will begin on a 1,920-
km high-speed rail line connecting south-
western Yunnan province with Yangon in
Myanmar, with trains running at over 200
km/h, the official China Daily. The Wang
Mengshu, one of China's leading railway
consultants, as saying studies were also
under way to link Yunnan's capital Kunming
with Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. In
August, the Ministry of Railways also sent a
team to Thailand to explore investing in a $
25.6-billion, 240-km high-speed railway and
rail network.
Beijing's increased infrastructure investment
in Southeast Asia, analysts say, is part of a
larger effort to expand economic and
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM

strategic influence in the region. Beijing Salehi said they sealed the cover of the
hopes the investment will also ease anxieties reactor without any propaganda and fuss and
among its ASEAN (Association of that all the fuel rods are in the core of the
Southeast Asian Nations) neighbours over reactor. He said the electricity produced at
the impact of China's rising economic the Bushehr plant will be connected to the
influence. While China became the first national grid in a month or two.
country to ratify an ASEAN Free Trade The Bushehr nuclear reactor represents a
Agreement (FTA), a fast-widening trade key milestone in Iran's efforts to produce
imbalance in China's favour, in part fuelled nuclear energy. Russia will operate the
by the flooding of the ASEAN market with facility and will both supply the nuclear fuel
Chinese goods, has led to strains in and remove the nuclear waste. Iran has
commercial relationships with many repeatedly claimed its atomic programme is
ASEAN countries. The trade deficit grew to entirely peaceful and merely to produce
$21.6 billion last year. A number of energy.
countries have also voiced concern over the
pattern of Chinese investments, which have
generally targeted resources such as oil and
RTGS Transfer Limit 4Nov
minerals.
The Reserve Bank of India has raised the
China signed a deal to support $350-million
threshold limit for real time gross settlement
financing for trade and investments in
(RTGS) transactions from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2
Indonesia.
lakh and introduced a new value band for
China has also recently proposed a $15-
National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT)
billion fund for infrastructure-building in
in order to promote electronic transactions
ASEAN countries.
amongst customers.
In recent years, China has increasingly
According to the revised rates, banks can
begun to explore expanding its domestic
levy Rs 25 as service charge for transactions
high-speed rail network, which is already
from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh and a service
the world’s biggest, beyond its western and
charge of Rs 50 can be charged for
southern border. In the west, China has, so
transactions exceeding Rs 5 lakh. Currently,
far, reached agreements to build railway
banks could levy Rs 25 service charge on
lines from its Xinjiang region to Tajikistan
RTGS transactions above Rs 1 lakh.
and Kyrgyzstan.
The RBI has also introduced a new value
The national network will reach 120,000 km
band for NEFT transactions. The service
by 2020, and 60 per cent of the railway lines
charge on transactions of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2
will be located in China's western regions,
lakh will only be Rs 15 as against Rs 25 at
which have historically lagged the coastal
present. The changes will be applicable from
east on most development indicators.
November 15.
Nuclear Plant 27Nov
This has been done to encourage more
Iran's first nuclear power plant in the
customers to avail themselves of the NEFT
southern port city of Bushehr has started
facility. The central bank said that by the
operations. Iran's Atomic Chief Ali Akbar
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
end-July 2010, close to 70,000 branches of
98 banks had participated in the NEFT
system.
The volume of transactions on the NEFT
system reached around 9.83 million in
September 2010 and in value terms Rs
61,620 crore has been transferred.
The transactions on the RTGS system
though continue to be much higher. The
value of transactions on the RTGS system in
September 2010 stood at Rs 41 lakh crore.
A Working Group comprising of
representatives from the RBI and select
commercial banks including State Bank of
India, Punjab National Bank, ICICI Bank
and HDFC Bank has submitted its report for
the implementation of the next generation
RTGS system.
The roll out of the next generation system
has started and will take two years for
completion.
Bank credit 4Nov
According to the scheduled banks' statement
of position released by the RBI, bank credit
increased by Rs 7,133.86 crore in the
fortnight ended October 22 to Rs
34,76,132.80 crore.
In the fortnight ending October 8, bank
credit had increased by Rs 46,707.62 crore
to Rs 34,68,998.94 crore.
On a year-on-year basis, credit has grown at
more than 21 per cent till date.
However, bankers do not expect to achieve
20 per cent credit growth by the fiscal end.
The data showed that investments by banks
in Government and other approved
securities rose by Rs 26,335 crore to Rs
15,02,031.69 crore.
Deposits collections were up Rs 86,945.06
crore to Rs 48,75,254.35 crore.
Bond Trade 6Nov
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
banned Standard Chartered, Societe
Generale and Credit Agricole CIB from
proprietary trading in government bonds for
six months.
The ban follows an investigation into so-
called circular trading in government bonds,
where securities change hands at off-market
prices to hide losses.
The banks can appeal the ban and can also
continue to participate in other bond market
operations in India, including primary
auctions, open market operations conducted
by the RBI, buyback offers from the
government, and CBLO (collateralised
borrowing and lending obligation)
operations.
Trade Target 6Nov
India and the US should aim at achieving the
bilateral trade target of 220 billion US
Dollars in the next 10 years, to strengthen
the economic ties between the two nations.
Assocham President Swati Piramal said that
India accounts for a merely 1.3 per cent of
the US trade and there is substantial
potential to increase the bilateral trade.
No 3 6Nov
The International Monetary Fund has
announced that it has approved measures
that will overhaul the governance of the
organization, giving China and several other
countries more power in decision-making.
The change, altering the shares of voting
power, lessens the controlling interest the
United States and European countries had in
the organization, and makes China the third-
largest shareholder. The United States and
Japan are the largest shareholders; the move
elevates China above European members
such as Germany, Britain and France. IMF
Managing Director Dominique Strauss-
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
Kahn told that the top level of the IMF
governing board has been expanded to
include Brazil, China, India, Italy and
Russia. They join Britain, France, Germany,
Japan and the United States in the top ten of
the 24-member board. The other 177
countries in the IMF share 14 seats on the
board.
The IMF was created after the Great
Depression and World War II to encourage
global economic cooperation and
international assistance when individual
nations’ economies faltered. The institution
was charged with overseeing the
international monetary system, including
ensuring exchange rate stability and
encouraging member countries to refrain
from practices that hinder trade.
Most Improved Economies 7Nov
India is one of the 40 “most-improved
economies” that made significant changes in
business regulation at a steady pace in 2009
to make it easier for firms to operate,
according to a new World Bank report.
Since 2005, India has implemented 18
business regulation reforms in seven areas,
creating more opportunities for local firms,
according to the “Doing Business 2011:
Making a Difference for Entrepreneurs”
report.
Many of the reforms focused on technology-
implementing electronic business
registration, electronic filing for taxes, and
online submission of customs forms and
payments, the report notes.
India comes in at number 134 out of the 183,
one rung higher than last year's 135.
IPO Limit 7Nov
The Securities and Exchange Board of India
(SEBI) has doubled the limit for maximum
application for individual investors from Rs
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
1 lakh to Rs 2 lakhs across all public issues.
However, there is no increase in the
percentage allocation.
This helps investors invest over Rs 1 lakh in
an initial public offer (IPO). The market
regulator, SEBI, has permitted all investors
who apply in public offers for shares worth
Rs 2 lakhs or less to be treated as retail
investors.
Till now, in public offers, applications above
Rs 1 lakh were categorised under the high
net worth individual (HNI) segment, where
an investor could not get the benefit of a five
percent discount reserved for retail
investors. Besides, once categorised as HNIs
these investors had only 15 percent of the
shares at their disposal, as against 35 percent
reserved for the retail players. The
remaining 50 percent is set aside for
institutional investors. Usually, the HNI and
institutional parts are subscribed much more
that the retail part, so the chances of getting
allotment if one applies under the retail
category is much higher than in the other
two.
Some time ago, SEBI had issued a
discussion paper for proposed changes to
SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure
Requirements) Regulations 2009, proposing
the increase in the limit to Rs 2 lakhs. SEBI
had observed that the limit of Rs 1 lakh to
define a retail individual investor needs to
be enhanced. It had been observed that in
the recent public offerings, approximately
75 percent of applications in the retail
individual investor category have come in
the size of Rs 80,000 to Rs 1 lakh.
In the non-institutional investor category,
the number of applications in the size of less
than Rs 5 lakhs is negligible. This suggests
that retail individual investors who have the
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
capacity and appetite to apply for securities
worth above Rs 1 lakh were constrained
from doing so because of the Rs 1 lakh limit.
They could not make an application under
the non-institutional investor category
because the allocation there is limited to 15
percent as against 35 percent for retail
individual investor category.
Another argument in favor of the upward
revision is that the rate of inflation has also
more than doubled since 2005, when the rate
was around four percent.
Under the ICDR Regulations, since 35
percent of the public issue is to be allocated
to retail individual investors, in a largesized
public issue - for an issue size of Rs 4,000
crores to Rs 6,000 crores - the limit of Rs 1
lakh would mean the issue has to receive a
minimum of 1.5-2 lakh applications from
retail individual investors to fill in the 35
percent allocation. This could be a daunting
task considering that in case of well
oversubscribed issues, the number of
applications received from retail individual
investors was in the range of 35,000 to
70,000.
The present move will have several positive
outcomes for public offers. From now on all
investors applying for shares worth up to Rs
2 lakhs will be eligible to get shares at up to
five percent discount. This will also lead to
broader retail investor base for companies.
In addition, the chances of the retail part in
an offer getting over-subscribed could also
go up. The new enhanced limit will allow
more investors to enter the market as retail
players and thus avail the price discount for
the segment.
Retail investors will get to double their
chances in initial public offerings. This is
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
the first revision in five years, attempting to
keep pace with the eroding value of the
rupee.
RBI 8Nov
The Reserve Bank of India's unrelenting
focus on inflation was once again in
evidence and not merely because it hiked the
two short-term policy rates by 0.25
percentage-point each.
This move was widely anticipated and as the
stock markets' muted reaction to the policy
announcement showed, any other policy
action, say, a higher 50-basis point hike in
the repo rate, would have created a bigger
impact. However, even if the RBI did not
spring a surprise, its policy statement of
November 2 is a mine of information on not
just the monetary policy. As always, the
RBI's detailed analysis of the monetary
policy encompasses overlapping areas of the
macro economy. Besides, its forecast of
GDP growth is widely watched.
The central bank's preoccupation with price
stability is not new. The earlier policy
statements highlighted its role in combating
inflation. The traditional monetary policy
dilemma of meeting the credit needs of the
real economy while simultaneously
maintaining price stability has been in
evidence. Recently, the RBI has been
elaborating its monetary stance to include
other related objectives such as financial
stability.
The policy stance
This time, the policy stance is intended to
(a) contain inflation and anchor inflationary
expectations while being prepared to
respond to any further build up of
inflationary pressures; (b) maintain an
interest rate regime consistent with price,
output and financial stability and (c) actively
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
manage liquidity to ensure that it remains
broadly in balance.
The first objective captures the resolve of
the RBI to focus on inflation while the
second takes note of the fact that monetary
policy cannot lose sight of other objectives.
The third objective — of managing liquidity
— is new to this policy statement. Excess
liquidity will hinder transmission of
monetary signals while a serious shortage
will hurt credit offtake and financial
markets.
There are several reasons explaining why
inflation is such a major concern.
(a) Although there has been some
moderation recently, the Wholesale Price
Index-based inflation, 8.6 per cent in
September, remains significantly above the
target level of 5.5 per cent for March 2011.
(b) Despite a satisfactory monsoon, food
prices have not moderated. Persistently high
inflation, in such a situation, points to the
existence of structural factors that cannot be
tackled by monetary measures alone. These
factors tend to heighten inflationary
expectations.
(c) With the economy growing close to the
target, the risks of inflation spilling over to
other sectors is real.
(d) Global commodity prices, already high
despite a weak recovery in the advanced
countries, may rise further on the back of
strong demand from the fast growing
developing countries.
(e) The loose monetary policies pursued by
the developed countries will flood emerging
markets like India with surplus liquidity.
The RBI has retained its forecast of GDP
growth at 8.5 per cent for 2010-11, which is
entirely in line with most other forecasts. As
with monetary projections, the growth
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
estimates are subject to risks that are similar.
Interest rates
Too much has been read into the policy
statement that “the likelihood of further rate
actions in the immediate future is low.'' This
has been interpreted to mean that the RBI
has come to the end of the current interest
rate cycle. Yet the policy statement is
subject to numerous caveats. There can
obviously be no commitment from the
central bank to halt interest rate hikes, even
for a brief period.
However, the RBI has increased the number
of its policy statements to eight. The scope
for announcing new measures in between
two scheduled statement dates is limited.
The next mid-quarter review of monetary
policy will be announced on December 16
and the third quarter review on January 25,
2011.
Since the modest 0.25 percentage-point
increase each in the repo and reverse repo
rates was widely anticipated, there may not
be an immediate move by banks to increase
their lending rates. Besides, interest signals
operate with a lag. Two relevant points are:
(a) Transmission of policy measures from
policy rates to lending rates though
improving is still dependent on some factors
such as liquidity conditions. Tight liquidity
improves transmission. The recently
introduced base rate mechanism imparts
transparency to the process of determining
lending rates by banks.
(b) Bank depositors seldom get a fair deal in
policy statements probably because unlike,
say, organised industry, they do not have
anyone who will lobby for their cause.
However, deposits with banks are not
growing the way they should, mostly
because they are giving negative returns. It
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
is also fairly certain that household savings
are being deployed in a wide range of non-
monetary assets such as gold and real estate.
However, for many categories of savers,
bank deposits remain the safest option. It is
time banking policy recognises this crucial
role of deposits and not view them as
something whose costs determine the
lending rates.
IRDA Studying Merger 10Nov
The Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority is examining merger and
acquisition proposals from two non-life
companies, according to the IRDA
Chairman, J. Hari Narayan.
The two companies in question are Reliance
General Insurance and Royal Sundaram
General Insurance Company. At a CII
Insurance Conference in Mumbai two
months ago, the IRDA Chairman had said
that the regulator was in discussion with the
companies about some issues regarding the
merger. He had said then that M & A norms
would be announced soon and that a
committee was studying the issue.
Liquidity Pressure 10Nov
To ease the persistent funds crunch the
banking system is facing, the Reserve Bank
of India had reintroduced measures that
were announced late last month.
The RBI has allowed banks to temporarily
maintain lower statutory liquidity ratio (a
percentage of deposits that have to be
compulsorily invested in government
securities).
It also decided to open a second window
daily for banks to borrow funds for over a
month.
The RBI had announced these measures on
October 29 for a three-day period. Finding
no improvement in the liquidity situation, on
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
October 31, it extended the measures up to
November 4.
The latest round of liquidity-easing
measures will be in force till December 16.
LAF window
Banks are expected to become liquid to
the tune of Rs 50,000 crore as the RBI has
allowed them to use additional liquidity
support under the LAF to the extent of 1
per cent of their deposits.
What this means is that banks can
temporarily maintain SLR of 24 per cent
instead of 25 per cent of deposits.
Hence, government securities equivalent to
1per cent of their deposits can be placed
with the RBI's repo window to borrow
funds.
That banks are facing funds shortage is
underscored by the fact that the RBI's LAF
window has remained in injection mode
since September 9, with an average daily net
injection of around Rs 24,000 crore in
September and Rs 61,700 crore in October
2010 and a peak injection of Rs 1,31,260
crore on October 29.
In fact, the liquidity injected by the RBI
through its LAF widow on an average was
about Rs 113,000 crore during November 8-
9.
Contributory factors
Significant increase in government cash
balances (implying that the government is
not spending) with the RBI, which stood at
Rs 77,736 crore as on October 30; slow
growth in deposits in view of the thriving
equity market and initial public offers by
public sector companies; and credit picking
up gradually (non-food credit offtake was Rs
9,674 crore in the fortnight ended October
22) have all contributed to the cash crunch
in the financial markets.
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
The liquidity-easing measures announced
last time were only for a week. However,
this time around it stretches over a month.
This should help ease the liquidity pressure
in the market and cool short-term interest
rates.
Overseas Branches 11Nov
All the three overseas branches of Allahabad
Bank in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Dhaka
are likely to be operational in six to 12
months.
The bank has applied to the RBI and is
waiting for approval. While the bank plans
to set up full-fledged branches at Kowloon
in Hong Kong and Shanghai, it plans to
open a representative office in Dhaka.
The overseas expansion would entail an
investment of about $50 million.
The capital required to set up a branch will
be close to $30 million; while in Dhaka it is
about $12.5 million. In Hong Kong, the
capital requirement will be less as this is our
second branch and we have a good rating
there so it will work out to about $5-10
million.
Allahabad Bank also has a representative
office in Shenzhen, China. Overseas
business could account for 5-7 per cent of
the bank's business in three years.
According to the RBI data, 11 public
sector banks and three private banks in
the country account for about 138
overseas branches as on March 31, 2009.
There are about 15 branches of various
Indian banks in Hong Kong, four in China
(one each of SBI, Bank of India, Bank of
Baroda and Canara Bank), four in
Bangladesh (SBI), the RBI data says.
India-Japan FTA 11Nov
India's garment exports, which are mostly
directed towards the US and Europe may get
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
big market in Japan, as the two countries are
set to sign the free trade agreement (FTA) in
January.
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement (CEPA) is expected to come into
force from April.
Japan needs an approval from Diet
(Parliament) Committee of Legislation for
the agreement, which they will get soon.
India is ready with all the approvals. In
January, it (FTA) will be signed.
The CEPA will reduce or eliminate tariffs
on over 90 per cent of the $10.4 billion
bilateral trade in merchandise.
Indian exporters from the sector like cotton,
textile, readymade garments, marine
products will be benefited more, while
Japanese exporters would gain in areas such
as electronics, project imports and transport
equipment.
The CEPA relaxes barriers on trade in
goods, investment, trade in services and
movement of professionals, competition and
improvement of the business environment
by both sides, besides enhanced cooperation
on protection of intellectual property.
As the pact is all encompassing, India would
like increased investments from Japan and
easy access for its professionals in areas like
IT, healthcare and food and restaurants.
While India has emerged as one of the
favoured destination for foreign investors,
foreign direct inflows (FDI) inflows from
Japan remained small. Japanese FDI in the
country was only $4.2 billion out of
cumulative $121 billion since 2000.
India has already operationalised
comprehensive pacts with South Korea and
Singapore and in final stage of negotiations
with the European Union.
Divestment 11Nov
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
The government has already mopped up
more than Rs 17,000 crore through
disinvestment in the current financial year
and is on course to achieve the Rs 40,000
crore target by fiscal year-end.
We have already collected about Rs 17,000-
odd crore and with Power Grid (follow-on
share offer), it will be coming to Rs 21,000
crore.
Next in the line for disinvestment in the
current fiscal is Manganese Ore India,
followed by Hindustan Copper, Shipping
Corporation of India, Indian Oil Corporation
and Steel Authority of India.
Of this, 10 per cent dilution in government
stake in IOC and five per cent in SAIL
would be the "major contributors" for
meeting the target. It will reach the target
(mopping up Rs 40,000 crore in the current
fiscal).
The government last month raised Rs 15,200
crore by selling 10 per cent stake in Coal
India. Earlier in the fiscal, it had raised Rs
1,000 crore each from share sale of SJVN
and Engineers India.
Largest Export Destination 11Nov
India has become Israel's second largest
export destination after the United States, as
the Jewish state focusses on tapping
potential in the Asian markets.
As per the figures provided by Israel's
Export and International Cooperation
Institute, India jumped from the eighth
position to second as the favoured
destination for Israeli exports in the first half
of 2010.
Israeli exports to India in the first half of this
year equalled $990 million, an increase of
102 per cent compared to last year.
The reason for this sharp jump was a 63 per
cent leap in exports by Israel's mining,
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
minerals and quarrying sector, which
exported $228 million worth of products,
mainly fertilisers, to the subcontinent.
One of the biggest exporters to India in this
sector was Dead Sea Works, a subsidiary of
Israel Chemicals. Electronics equipment,
including warfare systems, exports to India
grew from less than $10 million in the first
half of last year to $160 million this year.
Major exporters in this sector included ECI
Telecom and Comverse, TowerJazz, Elbit
Systems and Rafael. Israeli exports to India
of metals and metal products also increased
from $21 million to $130 million, a sharp
increase of 524 per cent.
India and Israel have registered a
phenomenal growth in bilateral trade,
starting from humble figures of $200 million
in 1992 when diplomatic relations were
established between the two countries, with
current trends projecting a close to $5 billion
mark this year a real possibility.
Strengthening cooperation in the field of
agriculture, India would also be opening
several centres of excellence to replicate
Israeli model of success in the field.
Union Bank 12Nov
Public sector lender Union Bank of India
said that it is going to raise $175-200 million
(or around Rs 900 crore) from overseas
market in the coming month through
medium-term notes.
The bank also said it expects the
Government to increase its holding in it
from the present 55 per cent to 60 per cent
soon through a capital infusion to the tune of
Rs 1,500 crore.
The bank had raised $400 million and $175
million in two tranches in the last four
months from overseas markets.
The bank plans to raise another $175-200
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
million in the next one month through
medium term notes.
These funds are to be used to finance its
overseas business.
The bank has headroom of Rs 4,500 crores
as far as tier-II bonds are concerned and that
its Capital Adequacy Ratio is “very good.”
G20 Summit 12Nov
At the end of the G20 Summit in Seoul,
World leaders have vowed to address the
trade imbalances that are destabilising the
world economy. Global leaders pledged to
refrain from competitive devaluation of their
currencies and to take steps to mitigate risks
arising from excessive capital flows to
emerging markets like India.
The Seoul Action Plan, agreed at the end of
the two-day Summit of the G-20 leaders
including Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh, called for moving towards more
market-determined exchange rates. The
declaration comes amid a currency war
between the US and China, which also had
ramifications for India and several other
countries in terms of their exports becoming
uncompetitive.
The G20 leaders agreed a new programme
for the world economy, called the "Seoul
Action Plan". It included a promise to
"strengthen multilateral cooperation to
promote external sustainability and pursue
the full range of policies conducive to
reducing excessive imbalances and
maintaining current account imbalances at
sustainable levels.
Economic Recovery 12Nov
According to official estimates, the pace of
economic recovery has slowed in Europe's
major economies. Germany, Europe's largest
economy, has seen a sharp slowdown in the
third quarter, with growth of 0.7 per cent
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
compared with the record expansion of 2.3
per cent it reported in the previous three
months.
In France, GDP grew by 0.4 percent
between July and September, compared with
growth of 0.7 per cent in the previous
quarter. The 16 eurozone members grew 0.4
percent on average, down from 1 percent
growth before.
Italy also saw its rate of recovery decline, to
0.2 per cent from 0.5 per cent in the second
quarter. But in crisis-hit Greece, the
economy contracted at a slower rate of 1.1
per cent, compared with 1.7 per cent.
Task Force 12Nov
A task force has been set up by the
Confederation of Indian Industry and the
India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce
and Industry to study investment prospects
in India and Bangladesh and to increase
trade between the two countries.
CII principal advisor Sushanta Sen said that
a 10-member task force would submit its
report and recommendations to the prime
ministers of the two countries in the next six
months.
Sen said the trade between the two
countries, currently valued at three billion
dollars, could be doubled by next year if
proper infrastructure is put in place.
Microfinance Bill 13Nov
Borrowers taking loans from microfinance
institutions (MFIs) may have to pay back
one loan before taking another. They may no
longer be allowed to indulge in “multiple
borrowing” from the same MFI or from
more than one. Similarly, MFIs may also not
be permitted to lend to an individual who
has an outstanding loan.
The Government is likely to tackle this issue
through the Micro Finance Bill by
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
incorporating provisions that will help
identify wrong-doers and discourage these
practices.
In this regard, the Ministry is holding talks
with the Unique Identification Authority of
India to evolve a system to identify persons
availing themselves of multiple loans so that
they will not be eligible for loans if they do
not repay. The Bill, which is in the pipeline,
aims to regulate MFIs.
The Ministry has learnt of instances where
people have taken more than one loan from
MFIs under different or bogus names. It has
noted cases where persons have taken
advantage of the differential rates of interest
offered by different institutions and used the
loan amount from one to pay the other.
The Ministry has observed that owing to
competition, some MFIs have resorted to
multiple-lending without looking at the
repayment ability of their customers. There
have also been instances of ‘ever-greening'
of loans by MFIs where they have provided
fresh loans to borrowers to help them repay
the old ones, instead of defaulting. MFIs
allegedly resort to such practices in a bid to
grow fast, increase profits and investments
and even to go in for initial public offers.
MFIs would be soon forced to write-off
loans in the multiple-lending category. Sa-
dhan the country's largest umbrella body of
MFIs had attempted to create a national
database of district-level MFI operations to
prevent an overlap of more than one MFI
operating in the same area and instances of
multiple-lending. But the exercise is yet to
take off as MFIs have not furnished details.
Sa-dhan members have decided to move
towards reducing loan size per household to
a limit of Rs 50,000 and practicing within 30
days the Sa-dhan code of conduct on
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
transparency, governance, anti-coercive
practices and training of field workers.
SBI’s Bond Issue 13Nov
State Bank of India is planning to launch a
five-year euro-denominated bond issue.
It is expecting to raise a benchmark-size
euro bond. We have a significant pipeline of
existing customers who require euros.
A benchmark bond is typically upwards of
€500 million or more. The size of the issue
is likely to be between €500 million and
€750 million.
The tenor of the bond will be five years.
However, he did not disclose at what rate
the bank plans to raise the fund.
We will try to raise it at the best possible
level in the industry.
The bank is planning a road show in Europe
to meet potential investors between
November 17 and 19. Barclays Capital PLC,
BNP Paribas SA, Credit Agricole SA,
Deutsche Bank AG, Standard Chartered and
UBS AG are acting as the lead managers.
This is the first time that the bank is raising
such a huge amount in euro denominated
bonds.
ICICI Bank had raised €500 million through
a two-year floating rate bond in March 2007.
SBI is also looking to bring out another
tranche of its retail bond issue. Bhatt said
the retail bond issue will be around the same
size as the earlier one. The bank's maiden
retail bond issue of Rs 1,000 crore in
October had received good response from
retail investors.
Registrar for UID Project 13Nov
UCO Bank has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding with the Unique
Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
The MoU was signed by Ajai Kumar,
Executive Director of the bank, with Ashok
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
Pal Singh, Deputy Director General of
UIDAI.
The MoU would enable the bank to act as
one of the registrars for UID projects and
leverage its existing infrastructure for
implementation of UID projects.
The bank has already drawn its financial
inclusion plan for providing banking
services to around 9,800 unbanked villages
in the country.
Loan Processing Charges 13Nov
The Reserve Bank of India has asked banks
to disclose all charges involved in
processing and sanction of loan applications
in a transparent manner.
Banks must disclose ‘all in cost' inclusive of
all such charges involved in
processing/sanction of loan application in a
transparent manner to enable the customer to
compare the rates/charges with other sources
of finance.
The information should also be displayed in
the Web site of the banks for all categories
of loan products.
The RBI has asked banks to disclose
information such as fees payable for
processing the loan application, the amount
of fees refundable if loan amount is not
sanctioned or disbursed, pre-payment
options and charges and penalty for delayed
repayments. In addition, banks have been
asked to disclose the conversion charges for
switching loan from fixed to floating rates or
vice versa, existence of any interest reset
clause and any other matter which affects
the interest of the borrower. The RBI has
asked banks to ensure that all such charges
and fees are non-discriminatory.
IMF Quota 14Nov
India will have to contribute upto Rs.15,000
crore (about more than USD 3 billion) to the
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
following the decision of the Fund to double
its quota.
While doubling its quota the IMF Board has
also decided to shift 6 per cent shares in
voting rights to emerging economies as part
of governance reforms.
India and China are major beneficiaries of
this decision with New Delhi's position
climbing to 8th place above China in the
IMF Board from its present 22nd position.
With the doubling decision, the IMF quota
will go up from the present 214 SDR
(Special Drawing Rights) to 428 SDR.
India will have to contribute about more
than USD 3 billion to the increased quota.
The Summit of G-20 leaders, which ended
in Seoul, approved the decision of the
Finance Ministers and Central Bank
Governors at the meeting of Gyeongju last
month and the subsequent decision by the
IMF on a comprehensive package of IMF
quota and governance reforms.
The reforms are an important step towards a
more legitimate, credible and effective IMF,
by ensuring that quotas and Executive Board
composition are more reflective of new
global economic realities, and securing the
IMF's status as a quota-based institution
with sufficient resources to support
members' needs, the leaders said in the
Seoul Summit Document said.
The Seoul Summit said going beyond what
was decided in the Pittsburgh and Toronto
Summits the IMF reforms include shifts in
quota shares to dynamic emerging market
and developing countires and to under-
represented countries of over 6 per cent.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also hailed
the IMF reforms saying the grouping has
succeeded in several areas since the Summit
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
in Washington in 2008 till the Seoul
Summit.
The sources said the current reforms of the
IMF are a big step forward in the
organisation which was born out of the
Bretton Woods conference in the post-war
situation.
Another major decision of the G 20 is the
Mutual Assessment Process (MAP) by
which policy coordination will be done
among the countries in restoring economic
balance in which the IMF will be involved
in a big way.
A working Group comprising India and
Canada has been formed for the MAP. The
MAP will evolve decisions by broad
agreement but it will be for the leaders to
accept or not.
Global Gold Market 15Nov
The Indian consumer's affinity and appetite
for gold has continued over the years and
statistics from a report published by the
World Gold Council (WGC) indicate that in
2009 Indian demand accounted for 15 per
cent of the global gold market.
The WGC report, titled “India: Heart of
Gold”, addresses recent developments in the
market in the context of the revival of Indian
demand for gold in 2010. The report
indicates that in 2009, total Indian gold
demand reached $19 billion (Rs.97,400
crore), which accounts for 15 per cent of the
global gold market.
Over the past ten years, the value of gold
demand in India has increased at an average
rate of 13 per cent a year, outpacing the
country's real gross domestic product (GDP)
by 6 per cent, inflation by 8 per cent and
population by 12 per cent.
Gold jewellery demand in India, the world's
largest gold jewellery market, rose 67 per
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
cent year-on-year in the first-half of 2010.
Over the same period, the average domestic
gold price surged to almost Rs.52,800 an
ounce (Rs.18,625 per 10 gram) before
hitting a new high of Rs.60,460 (Rs.21,325
per 10 gram) on October 15, 2010.
IRDA's Guidelines 15Nov
The Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority's (IRDA) recent norms on
outsourcing may prompt insurers to increase
the quantum of back office work they give
out to third party vendors in the medium
term.
However, it will deter Indian back office
companies from moving up the value chain
as they remain stuck with low-end
processing-related work.
In its draft guidelines on outsourcing, IRDA
had defined the processes that could be
outsourced and those that should be done in-
house. Core functions such as product
design, claims, IT support and policy
servicing were functions that could not be
outsourced. Non-core functions include
house keeping, Web site management,
internal audit, payroll management, HR
services, data entry, medical check-ups, tele-
marketing and call centre for outbound
calling among others.
“Lot of insurance companies are waiting for
norms on outsourcing to come through…
now it is good for them to know what they
can outsource and what they can't. I expect
the new guidelines to open up the market in
the medium term.
Capital Flows 15Nov
Asian Development Bank (ADB) has
endorsed the Indian policy makers' current
wait-and-watch approach on placing any
restrictions on capital inflows.
Indian authorities have made it clear that
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
they are not looking at any capital control
measures for now even as the recent QE2
(second round of quantitative easing by the
US) could portend greater inflows into
emerging markets such as India.
Evidence is far from conclusive that capital
control works in the long run. India can
certainly absorb these flows given its current
account deficit and reserves position. I don't
think they (capital flows) are cause of great
concern, but they certainly need to be
watched.
Surge in capital inflows are a vote of
confidence on India and that people perceive
it as a good destination.
India has received record capital inflows of
about $35 billion (both foreign direct
investment and portfolio flows into equities)
so far this year. It was logical to expect
greater flows into India in the aftermath of
QE2 as funds are going to look for returns.
Interest rate spreads are in favour of
emerging markets. You can reasonably
expect that greater flows would come into
India. Authorities have to now watch it more
closely.
He said that policymakers should look at
capital controls as one option and ensure
that they don't introduce distortions. Any
restrictions on capital flows could have
implications in terms of “law of unintended
consequences.
Bank Acquisition 15Nov
To expand its operations in Southeast Asia,
State Bank of India is on a look out for
acquisition of a bank in Indonesia in cash
deal not exceeding $100 million (about Rs
450 crore).
Indonesian market provides high growth
potential and SBI has identified 2-3 banks
for possible
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
acquisition.
We are not in favour of giving cash more
than $100 million.
SBI currently has a subsidiary in Indonesia
called PT Bank SBI Indonesia with a
network of six branches. Last year, the name
of PT Bank IndoMonex was changed to PT
Bank SBI Indonesia.
Since increasing of branch network would
take time, the adding inorganic growth route
is easier and quicker way of expansion.
As per the Indonesian law, an entity cannot
run two banks simultaneously. The acquirer
has takeover only those banks where owner
or majority holders should completely exit
of the acquired bank and the entity is
merged.
The country largest bank, SBI, has 125
foreign offices spread across 23 countries
including Singapore, USA, Canada and
Mauritius at the end of March 2010.
Indians' Savings 15Nov
India may takeover the US in terms of
households savings by 2020, touching the $5
trillion mark, as the growing economy
would boost incomes of people.
"The household savings rate of 33.4 per cent
would translate into incremental savings of
$5 trillion over the next decade with
growing incomes of Indian households,"
Assocham President Swati A Piramal said in
a statement.
Currently, the size of Indian household
savings is over $330 billion, according to a
study jointly done by Assocham and
PricehWaterhouse Coopers.
Indian households have traditionally
preferred safety of bank deposits and
government saving schemes. Less than 10
per cent of their investments are in other
financial assets like shares, debenture and
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
mutual funds which is low as compared to
some of the developed economies.
Given the quantum of savings, the need to
mobilise savings into productive channels
and the opportunity for financial
intermediation, the next decade will be an
opportunity of a lifetime for Indian capital
markets.
Currently, Indian economy's size is about $1
trillion with the savings rate of Indian
households of 33.4 per cent, which is
expected to grow further at an average rate
of 8 per cent annually.
Concerted efforts of the government and the
regulators supported by a long-term vision
and a clarity in action can significantly help
in fostering a climate that is conducive to
growth and investments.
FDI in Retail 15Nov
The MSME ministry has proposed allowing
only up to 18 per cent FDI in multi-brand
retail, while cautioning that entry of global
retailers could harm interests of kirana
stores, small farmers and consumers.
In its reply to the comments sought by the
Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion (DIPP), the Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises (MSME) ministry has
said even if FDI in multi-brand retail has to
be allowed, it should be less than 18 per
cent.
"India should tread cautiously by opening
the sector, if at all, gradual and analysing the
impact before opening it more. In the
beginning FDI less than 18 per cent may be
thought of," the ministry's reply to
comments sought by DIPP said.
In July DIPP had sought comments from
various stakeholders on opening of FDI in
multi-brand retail. Currently FDI in multi-
brand retail is prohibited in India, while in
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
51 per cent is allowed in mono-brand retail
and 100 per cent in cash and carry.
It may harm the interest of small farmers as
well as consumers, who would be at the
mercy these global retailers, who will be
able to influence prices.
Once multi-brand retail FDI is allowed,
close competition of kirana stores among
each other will go. The multi-brand retailer
will take over the market as per its will
because there cannot be as many retail
outlets in each locality as the present kirana
stores.
Thus in practical terms competition will go
and monopoly will be established.
The ministry suggested that even if FDI is
allowed, conditions should be put that "50
per cent of the investment should be in fixed
capital, including facilities for supply chain
infrastructure, processing and storage.
It also said that malls housing multi-brand
retail stores should be "at least two
kilometers outside the precincts of the town
or city area" to minimise competition to
small retailers.
FDI-backed multi-brand retailers should be
allowed to open stores initially only in six
metros -- Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai,
Bangalore and Hyderabad.
"If allowed in cities or town having lesser
population, the impact of these multi-brand
retail stores will be felt faster and deeper
because of lesser number of local retail
stores.
Justifying its views to calibrate the opening
of FDI in multi-brand retail, the MSME
ministry said India should learn from other
global markets where few super market
players have established monopoly.
In 2007, five major chains accounted for
more than 50 per cent of the retail sales in
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
most of the European Union countries, even
as much as 70-80 per cent of the retail
market in Denmark and Finland.
Even in Thailand expansion of organised
retail caused dislocation to traditional supply
chains in 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis.
To protect interest of the small and medium
enterprises, the ministry said in case FDI is
allowed, it should be made mandatory for
retailers to source 40 per cent of the
manufactured products should be sourced
from MSMEs.
The MSMSE ministry also proposed setting
up of 'Retailers Regulatory Authority' and
enact 'Regulation and Conduct for Retailers'
(Act) to check exploitation of local kirana
stores and unfair practices by multi-brand
retailers.
In order to keep uniformity across the
country, the ministry also proposed creation
of a central agency Retail Trade
enforcement Organisation.
India, UK Trade 15Nov
India and the UK can more than double their
bilateral commerce to $24 billion in the next
five years by increasing trade and
investment cooperation in sectors like
energy, sciences and IT, a Ficci-Grant
Thornton survey said.
In 2009-10, the trade was valued at $10.6
billion. India seeks to double its bilateral
trade with UK to $24 billion in the next five
years, an ambitious but achievable target.
The UK being the world's sixth largest
manufacturer, a hub for science and
innovation and gateway to EU, will continue
to remain an attractive place to do business
for Indian companies.
Indian companies already provide
employment to 90,000 people in the UK.
The Tata Group is the largest manufacturing
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
employer there and more than 180 Indian
companies have invested in the IT sector.
APEC Summit 15Nov
Here are the main points from the Asia-
Pacific Economic Cooperation's joint
declaration following the conclusion of the
21-member grouping's summit.
* APEC Leaders pledged to move toward
more market-determined exchange rate
systems. They will enhance exchange rate
flexibility to reflect underlying economic
fundamentals and will refrain from
competitive devaluation of currencies.
"Advanced economies, including those with
reserve currencies, will be vigilant against
excess volatility and disorderly movements
in exchange rates. These actions will help
mitigate the risk of excessive volatility in
capital flows facing some emerging market
economies."
Doha round and Protectionism
* Affirmed their "strong commitment" to
bring the Doha Round of world trade talks
"to a prompt and successful conclusion".
* Declared that 2011 is "a critically
important window of opportunity" to
conclude the round and directed their
officials to negotiate with "a sense urgency
in the end game".
* Extended a 2008 freeze on any new
barriers to investment or to trade in goods
and services for another three years to 2013.
Free trade area
* APEC will take "concrete steps" toward
eventually forging a Free Trade Area of the
Asia-Pacific (FTAAP).
* This may be done by building upon
ongoing regional undertakings, including the
10-member Association of South East Asian
Nations and "ASEAN + 3", which includes
Japan, China and South Korea in an East
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
Asia community. Another building block
will be the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership
that is being negotiated among nine
countries.
* The FTAAP may also be pursued through
sectoral initiatives initially in areas such as
investment, services, and trade facilitation.
New growth strategy
* APEC is undertaking a collective growth
strategy for the first time.
* The strategy focuses on "five desired
attributes" of balanced, inclusive,
sustainable, innovative and secure growth.
* APEC aims to implement the strategy by
2015.
* An Action Plan to do that deals with
structural reform, human resource and
entrepreneurship development, green growth
knowledge-based economy, and human
security.
Regional economic integration
The regional economic integration initiative
aims to work toward the goal of having all
APEC economies achieve free and open
trade and investment by 2020. This is also
known as the "Bogor Goals" because it was
agreed at the 1994 summit in Bogor
Indonesia.
The leaders pledged to
* Strive toward an aspirational target of a 25
per cent improvement by 2015 in the five
priority areas of: starting a business; getting
credit; trading across borders; enforcing
contracts; and dealing with permits. "This
will make it cheaper, faster, and easier to do
business in the Asia-Pacific region."
* Further improve supply-chain connectivity
by 10 per cent in terms of time, cost and
uncertainty by addressing identified
"chokepoints".
* Continue an APEC programme of
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
structural reform to their economies, aimed
at simplifying trade rules and customs
procedures, and making it easier for
business executives to move across borders.
Oil India 16Nov
State-run Oil India said it hopes to seal an
estimated $1 billion deal for acquisition of
producing oil assets in Australia, South
America and Africa in the near future.
Definitely some opportunities are being
evaluated and we are hopeful that something
should click very soone.
OIL, along with GAIL and ONGC, is
looking to acquire Advent Energy of the
Australia.
Barmer Refinery 16Nov
The Rajasthan government plans to take a
26 per cent stake in a refinery proposed to
be set up in the state by Oil and Natural Gas
Corp (ONGC).
The Rajasthan government has been
pressing for a 9-12 million tonnes per
annum refinery at Barmer ever since Cairn
India found 6.5 billion barrels of oil reserves
in the Thar desert. The Barmer field can add
240,000 barrels per day (12 million tonnes
per year) to the country's total oil production
once plateau output is achieved.
ONGC has informed that the government of
Rajasthan has indicated to take up 26 per
cent equity stake in the proposed refinery.
The proposal for a wellhead refinery in
Rajasthan was originally floated by ONGC,
which owns a 30 per cent stake in the Cairn
oilfield. However, the state-run oil and gas
giant had a change of heart after R S Sharma
took over as Chairman and Managing
Director of the company in 2006 and has
been demanding fiscal concessions from the
state government before it embarks on the
project.
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
The state government is also in consultations
with Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Bharat
Petroleum Corp (BPCL) for the sale of
petro-products from the refinery.
ONGC is not keen on the project unless the
state government defers local sales tax or
extends an interest-free loan of Rs 1,300
crore per year for 16 years, gives free land
and water, exempts crude oil from entry
tax/cess/octroi and waives central sales tax
for 16 years.
World's Fastest Economy 16Nov
India is set to become the fastest growing
major economy in the world by 2012 and the
third largest by GDP-size in the next two
decades, behind China and the USA, a
global study by British banking giant
Standard Chartered said.
India would have overtaken Japan and will
be trailing the US by a slim margin by 2030.
China would be at a comfortable number
one position," StanChart's Head of India
Research, Samiran Chakraborty said, citing
the findings of the 'Super-Cycle Report'.
The country's contribution to global GDP
will go up to 10 per cent of the total pie of
approximately $600 trillion, while China's
will be 24 per cent.
StanChart expects the country to grow at an
annual rate of 9.3 per cent for the next two
decades and the per capita income of Indians
will shoot up to $7,000 by 2030 from the
current $1,000.
The world is currently growing through the
third super cycle a period of sustained high
economic growth driven by a particular
country which will go till 2030, and India
and China will be the biggest beneficiaries
from the current cycle.
The previous two super cycles were 1870-
1913 (led by the US) and 1946-1973 (led by
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
Japan).
For India, the biggest positive would be the
conducive demographics and the country
will continue to grow on the domestic
demand front rather than being an export
hub like some of its Asian peers.
The biggest risks for the expectations to not
come true, are a collapse of China,
confirming to theories of its growth being a
bubble; the US going into a 10-year
moratorium like Japan and protectionism
gaining currency.
Power Plants 16Nov
State-owned Neyveli Lignite Corp has
proposed to set up 4,000 MW coal-based
power plants in the states of Orissa and Uttar
Pradesh while a wind mill in Tamil Nadu.
Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC)
proposes to set up coal fired power plants of
2,000 MW capacity each in Orissa and Uttar
Pradesh...And is also setting up a 50 MW
wind power plant at Trinelveli district
(Tamil Nadu) at the cost of Rs 313 crore.
Industry observers say that the coal-fired
power plants could cost the mini-ratna
company as much as Rs 20,000 crore.
All three projects are yet to be approved by
respective state governments.
Details of land and households will be
known only after the state governments
approvals have been obtained for setting up
of the power plants.
The 4,000 MW power plants require as
much as 2,000 acre of land and the wind
power project would need an area of 100
acres.
Capital Inflows 16Nov
Amid a debate on curbing foreign capital
due to surge in their inflows into India, the
33-nation OECD said the country has the
potential to absorb the overseas funds, as it
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
along with other emerging economies, will
continue to drive the global growth
momentum.
There is a huge potential in Indian market to
absorb the money that is flowing in. If by
easing the money supply US returns to high
growth that would benefit India also,''
OECD Deputy Secretary General Richard
Boucher told on the sidelines of the World
Economic Forum.
He said India and other emerging economies
are driving the global growth story.
Globally emeging economies are driving the
growth moemntum. Asia is leading the pack,
with India and China on high growth
trajectory. The momentum would continue.
Boucher said the steps taken by advanced
countries, like the United States, to ease the
monetary situation in the country could
trigger capital flows to emerging economies.
US central bank's decision to buy $600-
billion worth of government securities, may
lead to further surge in capital inflows into
India.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD) countries,
comprising rich nations like US, Japan, UK,
Germany and France, account for more than
60 per cent of the global output.
The recovery process in other parts of the
world are slowing and easing money supply
is essential to return to high growth. Also,
the huge demand in India's infrastructure
and other social projects would keep the
money supply balanced.
A huge foreign fund has come into Indian
equities and debt market so far this year.
While foreign investors have put in $28
billion in stocks, in debt instruments the
amount is $9 billion.
Earlier, Prime Minister's Economic
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
Advisory Council Chairman C
Rangarajan had said time for curbing
capital inflows has not yet come, since the
country has the capacity to absorb $70
billion during the year without any problem.
Pointing out that the current account
deficit (CAD) was likely to be 3 per cent
of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this
fiscal, Rangarajan had said, "This will
mean something like $45-50 billion...
(India) can also accommodate
comfortably upto $20 billion as additional
reserves. Therefore, capital inflows into
the country up to $70 billion should not
pose any problem."
Gross Additional Expense 17Nov
The government had sought approval from
Parliament for gross additional expenditure
of Rs 44,945.52 crore during the current
fiscal, of which fertilisers subsidy alone
would account for Rs 5,000 crore.
The proposal involves net cash outgo of Rs
19,812.37 crore. The government has sought
extra subsidy of Rs 1,000 crore on imported
decontrolled fertilisers and Rs 4,000 crore
for indigenous decontrolled fertilisers.
The supplementary demands for grants for
2010-11 were presented in Lok Sabha by
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee amidst
din over demand of a joint parliamentary
committee probe by opposition in the
spectrum allocation issue.
Proposals involving net cash outgo will not
result in any significant variation in deficient
projected in budget estimates 2010-11.
The additional expenditure required by
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and
Public Distribution for payment of food
subsidy was in excess of Rs 5,000 crore.
Other big expenditure heads include
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
Ministry of Home Affairs Rs 2,000 crore
and Ministry of Rural Development Rs
3,000 crore.
Axis Bank 18Nov
Axis Bank has announced the acquisition of
the investment banking arm of Enam
Securities for around Rs.2,067 crore.
It is proposed that Enam Securities will
demerge its investment banking,
institutional equities, retail equities and
related businesses such as distribution of
financial products, NBFC and the like to a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Axis Bank
pursuant to a scheme of arrangement. Axis
Bank will also demerge its investment
banking business into the wholly-owned
subsidiary.
Pursuant to the scheme, Enam shareholders
will receive shares of Axis Bank in the ratio
of 5.7 shares of Axis Bank for every one
share held in Enam, resulting into about 3.3
per cent equity stake of Axis Bank on
enlarged capital.
The proposed scheme is subject to approvals
from the respective shareholders and
approval from the authorities such as the
Reserve Bank of India, the Securities and
Exchange Board of India and the high courts
of Gujarat and Mumbai.
The proposed transaction would create one
of India's leading financial services
powerhouses combining the investment
banking and equities franchise of Enam
Securities with the dominant debt capital
markets and commercial banking franchise
of Axis Bank.
The strategic objective is to create a
complete bouquet of financial products and
services for corporate, institutional and
individual clients that will enhance the
ability of the combined entity to better serve
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
client needs in a seamless manner across
product categories and geographies. With
the Axis Bank's distribution platform of
almost 1,100 branches and the Enam's retail
network, the combined entity will have an
unparalleled opportunity to build a dominant
retail franchise as well.
The board of Axis Bank proposes to induct
Vallabh Bhansali, Co-founder and Chairman
of Enam, as an independent director, subject
to approval from Axis Bank's shareholders
and the RBI. Manish Chokhani would be
the Managing Director and CEO of the
newly proposed entity, while Jagdish Master
will continue to provide guidance as a board
member of the wholly-owned subsidiary.
This merger is in line with Axis Bank's
strategy of continuously expanding its
product and service offerings to its
customers to deepen its relationships and
value differentiators.
We are delighted at the prospect of
combining forces with Enam Securities, a
pre-eminent name in the investment banking
and advisory field, to create an Indian
financial services powerhouse at a time
when India has occupied the world's centre-
stage and is poised for years of rapid
growth.
Microfinance Award 18Nov
The Dakshina Kannada-based non-
governmental organisation Shri Kshethra
Dharmasthala Rural Development Project
(SKDRDP) has been awarded the
Microfinance India Award 2010 by the
Hong Kong-based HSBC Bank and Access
Development Services.
At a time when the microfinance sector is
debating governance issues, SKDRDP has
been recognised for its low operational
costs, efficient administration, rapid scaling
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
up, social services and concern for poverty
alleviation through microcredit.
Promoted by Dr D. Veerendra Heggade,
Dharmadhikari of Shri Kshethra
Dharmasthala, SKDRDP started
microfinance operations in 1995.
At present, SKDRDP operates in nine
districts of Karnataka with client outreach of
12 lakh families and a self-help group base
of 1.17 lakh. The organisation had an
outstanding portfolio of Rs 850 crore as on
September 30.
Black Money 18Nov
In a season of swindles, kickbacks and
scams, here is some more on the mother of
them all. Black money the popular moniker
given to the billions seeded by dirty deals
and whisked away abroad from the taxman's
prying eyes has received much attention in
recent years.
The opposition never tires of screaming foul
at the government. The government, for its
part, is at pains to say it is doing all it can to
track down the illegal stash.
Despite the cacophony, an estimate of the
scads of black money in secret bank vaults
overseas has long been one big unknown,
resulting in a great deal of speculation and
glib talk around the subject.
Finally, some help is at hand. A new study
by an international watchdog on the illicit
flight of money from the country, perhaps
the first ever attempt at shedding light on a
subject steeped in secrecy, concludes that
India has been drained of $462 billion (Rs
20,556,848,000,000 or over Rs 20 lakh
crore) between 1948 and 2008.
The amount is nearly 40% of India's gross
domestic product, and nearly 12 times the
size of the estimated loss to the government
because of the 2G spectrum scam. The study
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
has been authored by Dev Kar, a lead
economist with the US-based Global
Financial Integrity, a non-profit research
body that has long crusaded against illegal
capital flight.
Mr Kar, a former senior economist with the
International Monetary Fund, says illicit
financial flows out of India have grown at
11.5% a year, debunking a popular notion
that economic reforms that began nearly two
decades ago had tempered the creation and
stashing away of black money overseas.
Outflows accelerated after reforms
If capital outflows were a child of the
independence era, the problem came of age
in the years after the reforms kicked in.
Nearly 50% of the total illegal outflows
occurred since 1991. Around a third of the
money exited the country between 2000 and
2008.
"It shows that reforms seem to have
accelerated the transfer of black money
abroad," says Kar, whose study titled 'The
Drivers and Dynamics of Illicit Financial
Flows from India: 1948-2008' sifts through
piles of data on the issue over a period of 61
years. The study, which Kar says is the most
comprehensive one yet on illicit financial
flows from India, will be made public on
Thursday.
His report comes amid a renewed
government push in recent months to pursue
black money stashed abroad. In late August,
the government signed an agreement with
Switzerland its banks top a list of usual
suspects that will enable exchange of
information on tax evaders. New Delhi is
also in talks with at least 20 tax havens,
particularly Mauritius, to extract similar
information.
The government is also attempting to gain a
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
measure of the total unaccounted money
circulating in the economy. The finance
ministry last week approached the National
Institute of Public Finance and Policy to get
a fix on such money.
But M Govinda Rao, director of the
institute, says his think-tank is yet to decide
on going ahead with the exercise because it
is not an easy task. "A study on this subject
is a huge challenge because one is dealing
with a very big problem that covers hordes
of money from many sectors," he says.
Black money turned into an election issue
during the 2009 general elections, with the
BJP harping on the issue throughout its
campaign. Its leader LK Advani has been
the most vocal critic of the government on
this issue, time and again questioning the
government's resolve to chase illegal funds.
Mr Advani recently urged the government to
publish a white paper on the issue.
While Mr Advani was unavailable for
comment, the government's detractors on
this issue say there is more talk than action
to address this issue.
"Everybody knows about the gravity of the
problem, but the government has not shown
the political will to bring the money back to
India," says Prakash Karat, general secretary
of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
The government has, however, received
praise from Paris-based Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development,
which has been at the forefront of the fight
against tax evasion. OECD, whose relentless
offensive is largely credited with lifting the
veil of secrecy over umpteen tax havens,
hailed India's efforts to crack down on tax
evasion and sign information exchange
agreements earlier this year.
These are but short-lived answers, say
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
experts, adding that an overhaul in the
global financial system is central to a lasting
solution. New tax havens will spring forth
when pressure mounts on existing ones.
That is not to say there are only a few tax
havens out there. Indeed, at least 91 such
hotspots flourish across the globe. Asian
countries, particularly Thailand, Singapore,
Hong Kong and Macau, too are emerging as
new destinations for parking illicit funds.
Besides Switzerland and Mauritius, Indian
money is also said to end up in Seychelles
and Macau. Due to the illicit nature of these
deposits, pinpointing the journey's end of the
bulk of India's black money is tenuous at
best.
The GFI study gives a measure of the
amount of money that the government is
chasing, but it is only a fraction of the $1.4
trillion that the BJP claims is the illegal
stash.
GFI acknowledges as much, saying its
figure is conservative and hasn't taken into
account smuggling and certain types of trade
mischief. It also admits to gaps in available
statistics, lamenting the lack of data on the
consolidated fiscal balance with the
government, which has hampered research.
If these indicators were counted, India's total
illicit outflows would well be half a trillion
dollars.
Branch for Youth 19Nov
It's an exclusive ‘youth branch' to be set up
by State Bank of India in Andhra Pradesh in
a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country.
This is a new concept and the idea is to
project SBI as a bank for youth too,'' Shiv
Kumar, Deputy Managing Director, SBI,
after the formal launch of e-payment system
for commercial taxes in Andhra Pradesh.
The proposed branch, to be set up in about
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three months, may have criteria such as age
for opening accounts. “We were working on
deciding an age bracket something below 35
years of age.
The nature of branding/naming of the branch
is also being discussed.
SBI now believes that a segmented approach
to cater to different types of customers is the
way to go.
The ‘crorepati' branch (with a minimum
balance of Rs 1 crore to open an account)
called Kohinoor Banjara launched in
Hyderabad recently is doing very well. It
had a Rs 90-crore business in just three
months.
With a view to helping its retail and
corporate customers to pay commercial
taxes, SBI has launched an e-payment
platform.
This provides a win-win situation for
everybody. While customers can pay
commercial tax round-the-clock from home
or office, it reduces work for us at the bank.
The State Government will have the
advantage of taxes credited to its account on
real-time basis.
Canara Bank 19Nov
Canara Bank plans to set up 105 branches
and 105 ATMs on November 19, its 105th
Founder's Day. Of the 105 new branches,
three are located in the Thiruvananthapuram
Circle at Perumbavoor, Kolencherry and at
Thiruvananthapuram (a specialised branch
for micro-finance). Smart cards will be
issued to customers at Chelakkara and
Kottayam. A Financial Literacy cum Credit
Counselling Centre will be opened at
Thrissur Collectorate campus with a view to
giving impetus to the financial literacy
campaign and counselling of the needy poor.
The functions at Chelakkara and Thrissur
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
will be presided over by T. Sreekanthan,
General Manager, Canara Bank,
Thiruvananthapuram Circle.
FDI 19Nov
India had received foreign direct investment
in India worth of 2.11 billion US dollar in
September, snapping a declining trend in
FDI inflows for three successive months.
The current FDI inflow is an increase of
about 40 per cent over that in the same
month last year.
Nabard Sanctions 20Nov
The National Bank for Agriculture and
Rural Development (Nabard) has sanctioned
a sum of Rs 206 crore under the Rural
Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) to
West Bengal.
The amount sanctioned would be utilised
towards minor irrigation, flood protection
and building of rural roads in the state
among others.
The apex bank for agriculture has sanctioned
funds to the tune of Rs 108 crore for minor
irrigation for installation of 3,076 minor
structures (river lift irrigation and shallow
tube wells).
The project would help create non-recurring
employment of about 39.80 lakh mandays
and recurring employment of about 15,700
per year.
Nabard has sanctioned an amount of Rs 74
crore for 21 flood and soil erosion
prevention projects in four districts of the
State.
Nearly 43 per cent of the state's
geographical area is flood prone posing a
constant threat to agricultural land and
human habitats. The amount sanctioned will
aim to achieve flood protection and
prevention of soil erosion in the four
districts of Murshidabad, Jalpaiguri,
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Coochbehar and Paschim Medinipur and
will aim to protect 14,234 hectares.
These projects will aim to protect existing
banks of river with proper side slopes to
protect the occurrence of floods. Non-
recurring employment generation was
expected to be 31 lakh mandays and
recurring employment was estimated to be
9,700 per year.
Nabard has also sanctioned an amount of Rs
14 crore for improving rural connectivity in
Uttar Dinajpur district. A total road length of
32.80 km was expected to be created under
these projects and would benefit 86 villages.
Funds have also been sanctioned for
infrastructure support of six Industrial
Training Institutes in four districts of the
state for supporting the manpower need of
booming unorganised manufacturing
enterprises as well as to divert the surplus
rural labor to other sectors. With this,
Nabard has sanctioned Rs 616 crore to the
state government so far during the current
fiscal.
Coal Production 20Nov
Coal production has increased to 253 million
tons during the current financial year till
15th of this month. This is 8 million tons
more than the production made in the
corresponding period last year.
Nuclear Power 22Nov
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Nalco can
each have up to 49 per cent equity in atomic
projects proposed to be set up in partnership
with Nuclear Power Corporation of India
Ltd (NPCIL), up from the 26 per cent stake
offered at the outset.
NTPC Ltd, the third entrant in the nuclear
sector, is already set to pick up 49 per cent
equity in its joint venture projects with
NPCIL. IOC is slated to partner NPCIL in
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
setting up the proposed seventh and eight
RAPS (Rajasthan Atomic Power Station)
units of 700 MWe each, which are to come
up by 2016. Nalco is being roped in as a
partner for NPCIL's third and fourth KAPS
(Kakrapar Atomic Power Station) units of
700 MWe each that are slated to be
commissioned in 2015.
While the venture with NTPC could take up
greenfield sites either in Madhya Pradesh or
Haryana, the possibility of roping in the
thermal power major for the imported Light
Water Reactor-based Jaitapur project in
Maharashtra could also be possibly
considered.
IOC has communicated to us that it will
eventually acquire 49 per cent stake in the
proposed venture (RAPS 7 and 8) entailing
an outlay of Rs 12,600 crore. In the first
phase, IOC will invest about Rs 960 crore
for a 26 per cent stake for setting up the two
700 MWe units. Nalco was keen to start
with 49 per cent in the two KAPS units and
that a 49:51 equity structure, on the lines of
the NTPC venture, could be decided for
Nalco as well.
NPCIL had signed a memorandum of
understanding with both IOC and Nalco in
November 2009. The final joint venture
agreements are expected to be signed by
NPCIL with the two public sector firms
shortly. With NTPC Ltd, NPCIL has already
signed an agreement in April for
incorporating a joint venture firm to set up
nuclear projects in the country.
IOC, NTPC and Nalco are being roped into
the nuclear sector as part of the Centre's
strategy to tide over the paucity of funds and
ramp up execution capability for new atomic
units by roping in cash-rich public sector
undertakings. This is being done as an
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
alternative to letting private sector players
into nuclear plant operations.
NPCIL now operates 19 reactors with a
generation capacity of 4,560 MWe. “Of the
20,000 MWe target for 2020, NPCIL which
has a surplus of Rs 12,000 crore, including
cash reserves can manage only about 10,000
MWe through its own financial resources.
Recipient of Remittances 22Nov
India has retained its position as the top
remittances recipient country, according to
the latest estimates put together by the
World Bank.
India has recorded remittances of $55 billion
so far in 2010, followed by China with $51
billion. Other leading recipient countries
include Mexico, the Philippines, France,
Germany and Bangladesh.
Remittances to developing countries are
expected to reach $325 billion in 2010, up
from $307 billion last year. Worldwide,
remittances are projected to reach $440
billion by the end of the year, says the
‘Migration and Remittances Factbook 2011'
brought out by the World Bank.
The top remittances sending countries in
2009 were the US, Saudi Arabia,
Switzerland, Russia and Germany. There are
recipient countries where the share of
remittances in GDP is more than 25 per cent
with Tajikistan topping the list with 35 per
cent, followed by Tonga (28 per cent) and
Lesotho (25 per cent).
It is pointed out that in the backdrop of the
massive decline in private capital outflows
touched off by the global financial crisis,
remittances have provided a lifeline to poor
countries. However, the growth in
remittance flows may slow down with many
migrant-receiving countries being prompted
to tighten immigration quotas in the context
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
of high unemployment rates they are faced
with.
According to the Factbook, remittances
flows to India grew robustly in the last
quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2010,
but appear to have levelled off in the second
quarter of 2010. Remittances to South Asia
as a whole are estimated to have grown by
10.3 per cent in 2010, but are expected to
grow at relatively slower rates of 5.1 per
cent and 6.3 per cent in 2011 and 2012,
respectively.
The top migrant country is the US,
followed by Russia, Germany, Saudi
Arabia and Canada. The top immigration
countries relative to population are Qatar
(87 per cent), Monaco (72 per cent), the
UAE (70 per cent) and Kuwait (69 per
cent).
RBI Penalties 22Nov
Reserve Bank of India has imposed a
penalty of Rs 1 lakh on Kasundia
Cooperative Bank Ltd, Howrah, for
violating the provisions of Section 35A of
the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, by
resorting to borrowings without prior
approval of the central bank. The penalty
was imposed after issuing a show-cause
notice and examining its written reply.
Reference Rates 22Nov
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had fixed
the reference rate for the US dollar at Rs
45.26 per dollar and the euro at Rs 61.78 per
euro, as against Rs 45.45 per dollar and Rs
61.80 per euro.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) fixed the
reference rate for the US dollar at Rs 45.26
per dollar and the euro at Rs 61.78 per euro,
as against Rs 45.45 per dollar and Rs 61.80
per euro.
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
The exchange rate of the pound and yen
against the rupee were quoted at R
s 72.6016 per pound and Rs 54.25 per 100
yen, respectively, based on the reference rate
of the US dollar and cross currency quotes at
noon.
The reference rate is based on the noon rates
of select banks in Mumbai and the SDR-
Rupee rate would be based on this rate.
Industrial Areas 22NoV
Himachal Pradesh will soon set up ten new
industrial areas equipped with state-of-the-
art infrastructure at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore
in different parts of the hill state.
This was stated by state industries minister
Kishan Kapoor on the occasion of
‘Himachal Utsav’ at the India International
Trade Fair-2010 in New Delhi.
The process is underway to provide around
5,000 bighas of land at six new locations in
Nalagarh area to industrial houses.
Another large chunk of land measuring over
12,000 bighas has been earmarked at
Sanspur terrace, Milwan, Kandrori and
Indora in Kangra district for the expansion
of industrial estates.
RBI’s Top Deck 22Nov
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has started
the process to re-shuffle the portfolios of
deputy governors following vacancy arising
out of the retirement of Usha Thorat.
Portfolios of some executive directors (EDs)
will also be re-distributed after a new ED is
selected. The interviews were held earlier
this month. An ED will be promoted as
deputy governor to take the place vacated by
Thorat.
The central bank has asked deputy
governors to give their choice. However, it
is not clear when will the re-allocation be
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
done. RBI was not sure when the
government would appoint a new deputy
governor. It is also not clear if RBI will re-
allocate portfolios among the three deputy
governors if the government delays the
appointment or wait till the appointment is
made.
In the interim, Shyamala Gopinath is
looking after Thorat’s departments. Thorat
was in charge of banking operations and
development, banking supervision, currency
management, and expenditure and budgetary
control, among others.
Among the three deputy governors,
Shyamala Gopinath is looking after 19
departments (including nine of Usha
Thorat) while Subir Gokarn and KC
Chakrabarty are handling seven and four
departments, respectively.
The skewed distribution is mainly because
in early August, RBI took half the portfolios
of Chakrabarty and distributed among the
other three.
In September, a search committee was
formed to select Thorat’s successor. Six EDs
were interviewed. The committee
recommended Anand Sinha and HR Khan’s
name to the government.
There is possibility of a delay as a section in
the government feels that VK Sharma, the
senior-most ED, should have been
considered for the job.
In 2009, after deputy governor Rakesh
Mohan quit RBI, and KC Chakrabarty took
charge as V Leeladhar’s replacement both
happened almost during the same time
portfolios were re-allocated among the three
deputy governors, except three departments,
including the all-important monetary policy
department. Governor D Subbarao took
charge of the three departments till Subir
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
Gokarn joined as Mohan’s replacement.
In recent past too, there have been instances
of delays. When V Leeladhar retired in
December from the deputy governor’s post,
the government took more than six months
to fill the vacancy. Chakrabarty came in
place of Leeladhar in June 2009. Similarly,
Rakesh Mohan quit RBI in June 2009 and
his replacement, Subir Gokarn, joined only
in November.
Infra Finance Committee 22Nov
Recognising the need for a policy to enable
flow of resources for infrastructure, the
Centre has constituted a High-Level
Committee on Financing of Infrastructure
under former Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
deputy governor Rakesh Mohan. Mohan will
be given the status of a minister of state in
an honourary capacity.
The committee will assess the investment to
be made by the Centre, the state
governments, public sector undertakings
(PSUs) and the private sector in the 10
physical infrastructure sectors during the
Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17).
The 16-member committee will have
representatives from banks, the Pension
Fund Regulatory and Development
Authority, Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority (Irda) and Life
Insurance Corporation of India (LIC),
among others.
Mohan earlier headed a committee that
recommended in 1996 that the sector get a
prioritised focus. He also chaired a
committee on railway financing. Currently,
he heads the National Transport
Development Policy Committee that will set
a multi-modal strategy to meet the country’s
transport needs for the next 20 years.
The committee, serviced by the Planning
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
Commission and the Infrastructure
Development Finance Company (IDFC),
will sketch the government’s role in
developing the capital markets for
channelling long-term savings for projects,
including fostering of appropriate
institutional arrangements. Its function will
also include examining the role of
international capital flows in infrastructure
financing and development, assessing the
nature of projects likely to receive such
capital and consider the level of financing
that can be obtained in a sustainable manner.
The committee will also identify any
regulatory or legal impediments constraining
private investment in infrastructure and
make specific recommendations to facilitate
their removal.
The step is in line with the government
assigning ‘high priority’ status to creation of
physical infrastructure for sustaining the
overall growth momentum. For the Twelfth
Plan, the likely target for infrastructure
investment will be Rs 41 lakh crore
compared to Rs 20.5 lakh crore in the
ongoing Eleventh Plan period.
Of the total investment in the Twelfth Plan,
half is expected to come from the private
sector and a significant portion from PSUs
through market borrowings.
Earlier this year, the Planning
Commission had constituted a committee
under Deepak Parekh to review the
proposal to set up Rs 50,000-crore
infrastructure debt fund to meet the long-
term needs of projects implemented by
public-private partnerships. The
committee had suggested amendments in
existing laws to enable tapping of long-
term pension funds.
Default Swaps 22Nov
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
The risk of default by the State Bank of
India (SBI) is falling more than similar
BRIC nation benchmarks as the company, a
proxy for the government in the global bond
market, sells debt in Europe for the first time
in five years.
Credit-default swaps on SBI, the nation’s
largest lender, dropped 32 basis points (bps)
over the past six months, data compiled by
Bloomberg show. That outpaced the 27 bps
decline for the Bank of China, the largest in
China, and compares with a 14 bps increase
for Sberbank, Russia’s largest. Bond risk for
sovereign debt in Brazil, whose banks have
no similar swaps, fell 23 bps.
Stronger-than-forecast earnings in India are
bolstering investor appetite for ¤SBI’s 500
million ($680 million) bond sale, even as
concerns that Ireland’s banking industry
needs a further bailout pushes up global
yields, according to UBS AG.
Net income of 17 of the 30 companies on
the Sensex exceeded analyst estimates in the
quarter ended September 30, rising an
average eight per cent from an year earlier,
data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Improved corporate earnings in the
September quarter, which met analysts’
expectations, instill confidence in investors
to buy Indian debt. The risk of a loan
delinquency blow-out in India is very low.
The Reserve Bank of India had said in a
report on November 8 the non-performing
assets of the nation’s banks, after deducting
bad-loan provisions, were 1.1 per cent of the
total, as of March 31. SBI has reduced debt
due this year to about Rs 2,000 crore ($440
million), from Rs 6,000 crore on March 31.
It increased borrowings maturing in 2015 to
Rs 11,000 crore, from Rs 6,000 crore,
according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
In the three months to June 30, the total
profit for the Sensex companies rebounded
last quarter, after declining 1.8 per cent from
an year earlier. ICICI Bank, India’s second-
biggest lender, said last month the second-
quarter profit climbed 19 per cent, as loans
rose for the first time in two years.
Retail Payment 23Nov
The mobile remittance service, which has
done wonders in other emerging market
economies such as Kenya and the
Philippines, was launched for the first time
in India that allowed seamless and real-time
fund transfer from one person's bank
account to another.
Launching the Interbank Mobile Payment
Service (IMPS), which has now seven
banks, including State Bank of India on
board, Reserve Bank of India Deputy
Governor Shyamala Gopinath said it had the
potential to change the retail payment
landscape that boasted 600 million mobile
subscribers and 300 million bank accounts.
National Payments Corporation of India
(NPCI), which has been promoted by ten
banks, will act as the settlement agency
between banks and deliver the back-end
support for the system to be operational.
This is the first-of-a-kind system in the
country and the real power will be when it
starts delivering in the rural areas.
A bank account holder will have to get his
Mobile Money ID (MMID) from the bank
which will be his ID for mobile-commerce
transactions.
The bank installs a special application on his
mobile phone from where the remitting will
be done. Once the process is complete, the
bank account holder can remit money to
anyone, provided he has the receiver's
MMID and mobile phone number. In case of
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
a lower-end phone where the application
cannot be installed money can be transferred
through SMS.
To start with, the entire service comes free
for the account holder with banks bearing
the cost of 25 paise a transaction.
In case the SMS-based remittance is being
done, the user is charged a fee of Rs.2 an
SMS which NPCI is trying to get waived-off
by talking to mobile phone operators.
RBI regulations cap the maximum amount
to be remitted at Rs.50,000 a day.
Gopinath said the launch of such a service
would help in financial inclusion because of
the success of mobile telephony in the
country.
She said stakeholders in the scheme banks,
merchants and mobile phone companies
should work together for greater integration
which will help address the twin challenge
of reducing the use of cash and encouraging
the use of mobile wallets.
The RBI is encouraging the bank-led model
for m-commerce which allows for the
offering of the complete gamut of banking
services such as deposits, withdrawals and
remittances rather than the less secure non-
bank-led model.
Navi Mumbai Airport 23Nov
Decks have been cleared for the take-off of
Navi Mumbai International Airport after the
Environment Ministry gave its clearance for
the project that will ultimately be able to
handle 60 million passengers annually by
2030.
Formally, the environmental clearance for
this project has been accorded. The
provisions of building the airport can start
today,” said Jairam Ramesh, Environment
Minister, stating that his Ministry's concerns
have been met 100 per cent.
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
The conditional clearance was granted after
the Civil Aviation Ministry and the City and
Industrial Development Corporation of
Maharashtra (CIDCO) arrived at a
compromise with the Environment Ministry
on issues such as diversion of one of the two
rivers, replanting of mangroves and
rehabilitation of around 3,000 families to be
affected by the proposed airport.
The bidding process for the airport will be
completed and contracts awarded in the next
12 months.
The airport is expected to handle 10 million
passengers by 2015, its first year of
operations, by when it is expected to create
some 25,000 direct jobs and equal number
of indirect jobs. By 2030, when the fourth
phase is complete, the airport would
eventually create about one lakh direct jobs.
Crisil’s Debt Papers 23Nov
Rating agency Crisil has placed its
outstanding ratings on the debt instruments
of 12 microfinance institutions (MFIs) on
`Rating Watch with Negative Implications',
following the Andhra Pradesh Government's
Ordinance. Six of these MFIs have ratings
that are in the `BB' category or below.
According to a report issued by Crisil, the
implementation of the Andhra Pradesh
Ordinance has triggered a chain of events
that can permanently damage the business
models of MFIs, by impairing their growth,
asset quality, profitability, and capital-
raising ability.
Among the MFIs whose ratings have been
put under watch are Bhartiya Samruddhi
Finance Ltd, Equitas Microfinance, SKS
Microfinance, Spandana Sphoorty Finance
and Ujjivan Financial Services.
The Andhra Pradesh Government Ordinance
has been highly unfavourable for the
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
industry resulting in a drop in the collection
efficiency and profitability of MFIs,
especially those operating in Andhra
Pradesh. Further, the flow of funding to the
sector from the banking system has been
severely constrained.
Consequently, the liquidity position and
growth prospects of many MFIs, including
those operating outside Andhra Pradesh,
have been affected.
Another risk is that other States may initiate
State-level legislation similar to the Andhra
Pradesh Ordinance.
The rating actions follow Crisil's credit alert,
issued on October 25, and a subsequent
assessment of the collections and funding
position of the rated MFIs.
Collections in Andhra Pradesh have
plummeted below 20 per cent, from nearly
99 per cent prior to the Ordinance. Fresh
disbursements in the State have been
negligible over the past few weeks. This
could lead to a sharp increase in
delinquencies for MFIs that have significant
exposure in the State.
As loans from banks and financial
institutions have dropped materially, it not
only limits MFIs' fresh disbursements, but
can also have a cascading effect on their
growth and asset quality in the near term.
Develop Banking 23Nov
Punjab National Bank is in the process of
adopting 116 villages across the country, as
part of its CSR (Corporate Social
Responsibility) activity.
The bank has, in the first phase, selected two
villages for adoption in Tamil Nadu
Anangur near Villupuram, and Kottur-
Nainarvayal near Karaikudi, Sivaganga
district.
A formal function to announce the adoption
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
of Kottur village was held last week.
PNB's Deputy General Manager and Trichy
Circle Head S.M. Veerappan said that the
bank had initiated activities for social and
economic upliftment of the people of the
village.
We select villages with a population of 2000
and less and strive to bring the people into
banking fold, apart from engaging ourselves
in other CSR activities.
For instance, in Kottur, we initiated the
work of cleaning the village tank under the
rain water harvesting scheme, provided a
system with Internet connection to a school
to enable the villagers get up to date
information on cropping pattern, weather,
prevailing prices of various commodities
and so on.
While stating that the bank would be
extending financial assistance to the nearby
villages in that belt through its Pillaiyarpatti
and Karaikudi branches, he indicated that
PNB would be opening a branch in
Devakottai soon.
Branch in Sri Lanka 23Nov
Indian Bank has got approval from the
Central Bank of Sri Lanka to open a branch
at Jaffna in Sri Lanka
Indian Bank expects to add two branches in
Batticola and Triconamalee, Sri Lanka, in a
year's time apart from opening a branch in
Jaffna shortly.
T. M Bhasin, Chairman and Managing
Director of Indian Bank, during his recent
visit to Srilanka, said that the new branch
would adopt a different model to its Jaffna
operations by forming and lending to Self
Help Groups in sectors such as Agriculture,
Fisheries and Dairy.
Indian Bank's Colombo branch expects to
double its balance sheet of Sri Lankan Rs 5
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
billion in two years. The Bank will also play
a major role in the rebuilding and
rehabilitation process in Jaffna and
financing the houses that are planned to be
built for the displaced persons. The branch
had a capital of Sri Lankan Rs 3.5 billion,
which was higher than the mandatory
requirement fixed by the Central Bank of Sri
Lanka to open a branch at Sri Lankan Rs 3
billion.
The Bank would deploy deposits garnered
from Jaffna , in Jaffna itself to improve the
economic development and to upgrade the
lives of the people there.
Indian Bank has played a pivotal role in the
formation of more than 4.5 lakh SHGs and
financing them through its 29 exclusive
microstate branches in India. The bank
intends to replicate a similar model in
Jaffna.
Axis Bank 23Nov
Axis Bank, India's third largest private bank,
had launched its rural banking strategy in
Gujarat with the inauguration of a branch at
Rajula in Amreli district. Shriniwas
Dandekar, Senior Vice-President of the
bank, who opened the branch, said the bank
would open five more branches under the
strategy in Gujarat in the next seven days.
Axis Bank had already launched similar
branches in Punjab and Tamil Nadu. It
would launch 100 such branches across
India by the end of this financial year.
Potential Liquidity 23Nov
In the wake of recent concerns over a
liquidity crunch in the system, Reserve Bank
of India Deputy Governor, Shyamala
Gopinath, has said there is a "potential
liquidity" available in the system.
The central bank's recent liquidity infusion
moves like the second LAF (Liquidity
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
Adjustment Facility) and the second one
percent below SLR (Statutory Liquidity
Ratio) have given confidence to market
participants.
When pointed out that banks are drawing
over Rs one trillion everyday for around a
month from the Reserve Bank as
compared to the usual Rs 700 billion and
are not using the SLR facility, she said,
"if they have not drawn from the one per
cent SLR as you say, it means that there
is potential liquidity available in the
system for the banks to draw if they
require it."
Gopinath further said that the RBI has been
monitoring the liquidity situation.
RBI Deputy Governor, Subir Gokarn, had
recently indicated the central bank is
concerned over the excess deficit in
liquidity, which has crossed the Rs 50,000
crore comfort zone which it has set for itself.
Reserve Bank Governor Duvvuri Subbarao
has opined that there is no easy replacement
for the American dollar as the global reserve
currency.
It is not easy to replace the US dollar as the
global reserve currency because of the sheer
size of the American economy and its
dominant share in global trade", the
Governor said at the launch of a book
entitled 'Global Crisis, Recession and
Uneven Recovery' by former RBI Governor
Yaga Venugopal Reddy.
Admitting that the emerging economies in
particular and all those economies which
have the American greenback as their
reserve currency, are suffering from
currency volatilities, such a singular
dependence on a single currency is creating
many a vulnerability to these economies in
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
particular and the global economy and its
still fragile recovery in general.
Port 23Nov
Orissa government has signed a concession
agreement with Navayuga Engineering
Company to set up a port with a capacity of
25 MTPA, at an investment of Rs 6,500
crore in Puri district.
The state government signed the concession
agreement, almost two years after
concluding a MoU with the Hyderabad-
-based developer Navayuga on 12th
December, 2008.
The port will be developed at Astarang in
Puri district. The detailed project report
(DPR) will be ready within a year,"
Navayuga's managing director Chinta
Sridhar said after signing the agreement.
The port would be operational within four
years of land acquisition, commerce and
transport department secretary G B Dhal
said.
Astaranga Port would be full-fledged all
weather multi-user port on BOOST (build,
own, operate, share and transfer) basis.
Though the initial capacity of the port will
be 25 MTPA, it would reach 70 MTPA to
export cargo like iron ore, thermal coal,
coking coal, coke and break bulk cargo.
In the initial phase, dredging would be done
up to 15.5 meters which could reach further
to 20 meters.
The port would carter to ultimate vessel size
of 1.75 lakh DWT (dead weight tonnage).
Astaranga Port project, which would
generate a large number of direct and
indirect employment, would have service
corridor of 90-km long rail and road.
The state government has already signed
concession agreements with three other
companies to develop port facilities at
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
Gopalpur, Dhamra and Kirtania, sources
said.
While Gopalpur port has already been
operational, Dhamra Port would be ready in
next few months.
Deal for African Coal 24Nov
Sajjan Jindal’s JSW Energy moved a step
closer to securing its coal requirements,
signing a definitive agreement with the
management of CIC Energy to buy them out
and take control of the Toronto-listed
company.
CIC Energy has an ‘A-grade’ mining-cum-
power complex called the Mmamabula
Energy Complex in Botswana, Africa. The
field there is estimated to have 2.6 billion
tonnes of high-thermal coal, mostly above
6,000 Kcal/kg of calorific value. Within the
next three to four years, it is expected that
around 24 million tonnes can be extracted
yearly. There is also a proposed 1,200-Mw,
coal-fired power unit and a coal-to-
hydrocarbons project.
The agreement between JSW Energy and
CIC’s management led by its chairman and
CEO, serial entrepreneur Warren Newfield,
says JSW will pay C$7.42/share (US$7.28)
to buy a minimum 66 per cent and up to the
entire stake in the company. The total
acquisition cost will come to around $418
million (Rs1,895 crore). Motilal Oswal was
CIC’s advisor for the deal.
JSW’s offer comes at a 43 per cent premium
to the market price of CIC, which was
trading at C$5.2/share on the Toronto
exchange at the time of going to press.
Currently, the promoters hold close to 20 per
cent stake in CIC. The promoters and
institutions together have close to 85 per
cent. The rest is with public shareholders.
CIC’s promoters are expected to approach
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
the company’s board with JSW’s offer
within a few weeks and the deal is likely to
get completed by end-February.
The coal linkage will help JSW mitigate its
raw material risks for its power portfolio,
which relies predominantly on imported
coal. JSW Energy has 995 Mw of
operational generating capacity and is
adding another 2,145 Mw, presently in
various stages of implementation. By 2015,
JSW Energy plans to have a combined
installed capacity of 11,390 Mw.
Five Projects 24Nov
The State Level Single Window Clearance
Authority (SLSWCA) had cleared five
projects worth Rs 1340 crore.
The Single Window Clearance Authority
has cleared five projects while five other
proposals have been referred to the High
Level Clearance Authority”, T
Ramachandru, principal secretary
(industries), Orissa government told.
Britannia Industries Ltd has got the nod to
set up a biscuit manufacturing unit at
Khurda on 12 acres of land at a cost ofRs 51
crore. This project will generate 500 direct
jobs besides creating indirect employment
opportunities for 200 others.
Similarly, Everest Industries Ltd has got the
approval for setting up a unit for
manufacturing asbestos cement corrugated
sheets and cement flat sheets at Somanthpur
Industrial Estate in Balasore district at an
investment of Rs 69 crore. This plant will
offer direct jobs to 309 people.
Chariot Steel & Power Ltd which operates a
cement plant at the Kalinga Industrial Estate
in Sundergarh district has proposed to scale
up its capacity from 0.2 million tonne per
annum (mtpa) to 1.4 mtpa at a cost of Rs
320 crore.
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
Fund for Credit 24Nov
.
Reserve Bank of India has stepped up
checks on the use of funds borrowed from
its liquidity window. The Central bank is
keen to see that such funds are not diverted
for lending purposes. Net borrowing by
banks rose to a record Rs 1,48,490 crore.
Dealers said bank borrowing has been rising
despite measures by RBI to ease liquidity.
RBI as the monetary authority has increased
monitoring. This includes examining if some
banks are routing overnight money for
lending in the busy season.
According to RBI data, gross borrowings at
the repo window were Rs 1,50,615 crore.
Some banks parked Rs 2,125 crore with
RBI’s reverse repo facility in two sessions.
The treasury head of a public sector bank
said, “RBI is in talks with us. They are
looking for feedback on why liquidity
continues to be tight. What they insist is that
overnight borrowed funds should not be
used to fund long-term credit needs.” The
concern has arisen due to sluggish growth in
deposits while the credit off-take has been in
line with the RBI projection of 20 per cent
for 2010-11. Deposits shrunk about Rs
65,000 crore in the fortnight ended
November 05, 2010. Credit rose by 54, 658
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
crore in the same fortnight.
RBI Deputy Governor Shyamala Gopinath
had said the central bank was monitoring the
situation and there was so much potential
liquidity in the system.
The rise in liquidity strains didn’t have
much impact on overnight call rates. They
hovered between 6.25 per cent and 7 per
cent, indicating stability in the money
market and the absence of panic. Call rates
closed at 6.80 per cent, above RBI’s repo
rate of 6.25 per cent, according to Clearing
Corporation of India data.
McKinsey Report 24Nov
Firm offers time-bound road map for getting
more of public savings into financial assets.
India’s savings rate has increased
substantially in recent years. Indian
households save more than other emerging
markets, China or Brazil. Household savings
were 25 per cent of India’s gross domestic
product (GDP) in 2008, as compared with
five per cent in Brazil and 15 per cent in
China. The figures for Britain and the US
were two and one per cent, respectively.
Less than half of household savings is
invested in financial assets. According to
data compiled by consulting firm McKinsey,
financial assets constitute 41 per cent of
household savings in 2008, and the figure
has remained the same over the past four
years. About 35 per cent of the savings are
in real estate.
FACTS AND FIGURES
Household savings in Household savings in
physical assets (59%) financial assets (41%)
Provident and
i) Real estate 35 i)
pension fund
ii
ii) Gold 5 Insurance
)
iii) Currency 7 Shares and
iii
debentures
)
(including MF)
iv) Others 12 iv Deposit
(including ) base of Rs 48,10,227 crore, according to
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
equipment
and
machinery)
v) Govt claims -2
Note: Govt claims include investment in
government securities and investment in small
savings
Source: McKinsey; Year 2007-08
More, there is very low participation in
direct equities, as well as mutual funds,
beyond the top 10 cities. About half of
international financial advisors are located
in the top five cities. Usage of plastic money
is also limited beyond 10 cities.
The consulting firm has prepared a report,
shared with the finance ministry and
bankers. And, it has given a road map of
how the physical assets could be turned into
financial ones.
Bankers have agreed to form a steering
committee to take the finding of the report
forward. The steering committee will work
with McKinsey to firm up
recommendations, to be then given to the
government and financial sector regulators.
Even banks can convert at least five per cent
of the physical assets into financial assets.
Then, there will be an addition of Rs 60,000
crore in bank deposits.
The McKinsey suggestions come when
deposit growth has been far below the
Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) projection
of 18 per cent for 2010-11, while credit off
6 take is one with the central bank’s projection
of 20 per cent. RBI had recently said
12 resources should not constrain the growing
7 demand of industry and hamper economic
growth.
Till November 5, the growth in deposits was
18 15.2 per cent, with an outstanding deposit
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
RBI data. Bank credit, on the other hand,
grew by 22.1 per cent in the 12 months
ended November 5.
McKinsey has drawn a short to medium-
term road map and suggested actions needed
to convert 10 per cent of physical assets to
financial assets over the next three to five
years. It suggests various actions by the
government and regulators over the next 12-
18 months, such as new products like gold
accumulated funds and real estate index
derivatives. It also points to the importance
of increasing the reach and penetration of
financial intermediaries, such as business
correspondents.
One-time amnesty schemes to bring in the
stock of physical assets and providing
guaranteed returns to a broader range of
financial products are other suggestions.
Indian Bank 24Nov
Public sector Indian Bank, which has almost
two-thirds of its branch network based in
southern India, primarily Tamil Nadu and
Andhra Pradesh, will now expand footprint
in the northern parts of the country.
The Chennai-based Bank has licences to
open 175 new branches to add to its current
tally of over 1,800, which would materialise
in 12 months.
Indian Bank will open its third overseas
branch in Jaffna, Sri Lanka after Singapore
and Colombo.
The Bank is also on an expansion spree in
Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and a new
circle office in western Uttar Pradesh. We
will open 19 more branches in the two states
in the current financial year, which would
take up our network strength to about 85.
The Bank is eyeing a total business of Rs
2,800 crore in the region. Pan-India, the
Bank is targeting to add one million new
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
accounts to reach 25 million customer base
by March 2011. Total business of the Bank
is about Rs 1,70,000 crore, including
advances and deposits of Rs 74,000 crore
and Rs 96,000 crore respectively.
Indian Bank would increase its ATM
strength to 1,250. Indian Bank has a
dedicated focus on self help groups (SHG)
and has a credit disbursement portfolio of
over Rs 1,900 crore.
Microfinance Sector 24Nov
The government plans to introduce the
Microfinance (Development & Regulation)
Bill, 2010, after a Reserve Bank of India
(RBI)-appointed panel submits its
recommendations on the sector within three
months. RBI had formed a sub-committee in
October to look into the functioning of
microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MFIs which mostly lend to the unorganised
sector came under the scanner for charging
high interest rates and using strong-arm
tactics for recovery of loans. Finance
Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the
government would take “appropriate
measures in consultation with RBI,” on
MFIs. Mukherjee also said some companies
had offered to cut their rates to 20 per cent
from the current 30-40 per cent.
Rules for New Bourses 24Nov
In a move that could make it difficult for
corporate entities to set up stock exchanges,
a Securities and Exchange Board of India
committee had recommended that only
banks and public financial institutions could
be anchor investors in bourses and stopping
them from listing or making huge profits.
According to industry sources, the
recommendations would make things
difficult for FTIL group-founded new
bourse MCX-SX, which is allowed to trade
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
only in currency futures, and its plea for
trading in equity and other segments has
already been rejected by SEBI on non-
compliance with shareholding and other
norms. SEBI has invited comments from the
public by December 31.
The panel suggested a minimum net worth
of Rs.100 crore for the stock exchanges and
allowing only banks and public financial
institutions as the anchor or main investors.
These anchor investors would need to be
identified in the application itself by any
entity seeking permission.
For anchor investors also, the committee has
suggested a minimum Rs.1,000 crore net
worth.
The committee also suggested disallowing
the stock exchanges to list themselves,
although it recognised the benefits of listing
in terms of providing investors an exit route.
But the disclosures and corporate
governance requirements of the listing
agreement would still be applicable on the
bourses.
The committee suggested that the stock
exchanges should be allowed to make only
‘reasonable' profits, although it stopped
short of recommending any clear-cut cap on
profitability and left it for SEBI to monitor
and act against any super-profits that are
made.
The high profits of larger bourse NSE has
been a subject matter of sharp criticism by
the newer entrant MCX-SX. The
recommendation of the Bimal Jalan
Committee, if accepted, would derail the
plans of the country's two premier bourses
the BSE and the NSE to go public.
Market infrastructure institutions (MIIs)
being public institutions, any downward
movement in its share prices may lead to a
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
loss of credibity and this may be detrimental
to the market as a whole. Therefore, the
Committee is not in favour of permitting
listing of MIIs.
The Jalan committee, which submitted its
proposals after months of deliberations, also
said that disclosure and corporate
governance norms for market institutions
should be the same as that applicable for
listed entities.
In case of companies wherein stock
exchanges hold 24 per cent or more, that
entity would have to seek prior nod of SEBI.
Foreign investors 24Nov
Many foreign investors had picked up equity
in the country's oldest stock exchange BSE
in the hope that its shares would be listed on
stock markets.
In August last, billionaire investor George
Soros had picked up a 4 per cent stake in
BSE for $35 million. Soros' Quantum hedge
fund bought the stake from Dubai Financial,
a part of state-run Dubai Holdings, for an
estimated Rs.380 per share. In February-
March 2007, Deutsche Boerse AG and
Singapore Exchange acquired 4.98 per cent
each of BSE's stake at the time when the
exchange was demutualised. Foreign
investors now hold 30 per cent stake in BSE,
lower than the permissible limit of 49 per
cent.
SBI 24Nov
State Bank of India, the country's largest
bank, has raised €750 million through a five-
year bond, the largest ever euro
denominated bond issue by an Indian
company.
The senior unsecured bond maturing on
November 30, 2015, will offer a fixed
annual coupon of 4.50 per cent. The bond
offers a yield of 4.601 per cent.
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
This is the single largest issuance by the
bank, which had earlier raised $1 billion
through a bond issue in July.
The deal was stuck through the bank's
London office. The response to the issue
was good and generated €1.3 billion in
orders from 180 investors. The pricing of the
issue is good and will offer attractive returns
to the investors.
The proceeds from the issue will be used for
funding the bank's euro-denominated assets
and for general corporate purposes.
The issue is rated Baa2 by Moody's
Investors Service and BBB by Standard &
Poor's.
The bank held a road show in Europe to
meet investors between November 17 and
19. Barclays Capital PLC, BNP Paribas SA,
Credit Agricole SA, Deutsche Bank AG,
Standard Chartered and UBS AG were the
lead managers to the issue.
European investors accounted for most of
the demand for the issue and were allocated
93 per cent of the bonds. The remaining 7
per cent was subscribed by Asian investors.
In Europe, investors from Germany were
allocated 24 per cent of the bonds, UK
accounted for 21 per cent, France accounted
for 15 per cent and Netherlands and
Switzerland accounted for 11 per cent each.
Banks and asset managers constituted the
bulk of investors.
Ssangyong Deal 24Nov
Homegrown utility vehicle major Mahindra
& Mahindra (M&M) moved closer to
acquire Korean SUV maker Ssangyong and
signed a definitive agreement to buy the
company for $463 million (around Rs 2,100
crore). The acquisition is likely to be
wrapped up by February-March on approval
of a revised corporate rehabilitation plan
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
from creditors in January.
Ssangyong has been under restructuring
since February 2009 when global recession
hit car sales. M&M is optimistic on the deal
and has said the deal would drive in
"immediate synergies" and help fulfil its
ambition of becoming a global player in
SUVs. M&M said it will buy 70% in
Ssangyong by issuing new shares worth
$378 million while purchasing $85 million
of Ssangyong's bonds.
The coming together of Mahindra and
Ssangyong will result in a competitive
global utility vehicle player.
IRDA Norms 24Nov
Insurance regulator IRDA said that all
universal life products, a new kind of
insurance which entered India recently and
gives greater flexibility to customers, will
not have any unit-linked component in them.
IRDA also said that from now, all such
products will be named variable insurance
products (VIPs) and have a lock-in period of
at least three years.
The regulator prescribed that all VIPs should
provide death benefits equal to the
guaranteed sum assured plus the balance in
the policy account while the maturity benefit
should equal the balance in the policy
account together with a terminal bonus, if
any, as applicable. It also said that the sum
assured under these policies should be at
least ten times the annual premium.
As of now, no group insurance is allowed by
IRDA to operate under these policies. Single
premium or limited premium structures are
also not be allowed for VIPs.
Specifiying on the cost structure, IRDA said
that the maximum expense, including
commission, should not be more than 27.5%
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
of the premium, while for the second and the
third year, this will be capped at 7.5%. From
the fourth year onward, the expense is
capped at 5%. The regulator also said that
the minimum policy and premium payment
term shall be five years.
Uranium Mining 24Nov
Russia has offered joint ventures in
exploration and exploitation of uranium
mining within its territory and third
countries, as part of moves to ease shortage
of fuel for India's nuclear power plants.
We have offered the Indians participation in
the uranium mining projects in the Russian
Federation and thirds countries. The
controlling stake in the joint projects must
remain with Rosatom and the partners could
get up to 49 per cent share in the projects
inside Russia.
The talks on the joint projects were held by
Rosatom CEO Sergei Kiriyenko in New
Delhi with the Uranium Corporation of India
Ltd. (UCIL) during the 16th session of Indo-
Russian Inter-Governmental Commission
last week. In Elkon project in Russia's South
Yakutia, the Indian stake would be less than
49 per cent as there were already some
foreign stakeholders.
Jobs under NREGA 24Nov
More than 1.79 crore households across the
country have been provided employment
under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme
(MGNREGS) this year.
As of 30th June, a total of 179,43,189
families in the country have been provided
employment under MGNREGS.
According to the sate-wise data presented by
the Minister, Andhra Pradesh tops the list of
states where most number of families were
given employment this year, followed by
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
Rajasthan, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh.
While a total of 48,04,559 households in
Andhra Pradesh have benefited from the
scheme, 25,01,792 families in Rajasthan,
22,055,89 in West Bengal and 19,959,50
families in Uttar Pradesh were given job
opportunities this year.
Tiger Habitat 24Nov
Officials from the 13 countries where tigers
live in the wild signed a declaration in
St.Petersburg, Russia. The declaration aimed
at saving the iconic big cats from extinction.
The new accord stipulates that the nations
will strive to double the tiger population by
2022, crack down on poaching and illicit
trade in tiger pelts and body parts.
The number of tigers worldwide has plunged
some 95 per cent over the past century. The
Global Tiger Recovery Program estimates,
the 13 countries will need about USD 350
million in outside funding in the first five
years of the 12-year plan.
India's Population 24Nov
India's population is expected to touch the
132 crore mark by March 2020 as against
the over 117 crore now. The population
projections are contained in a report of the
Technical Group, constituted by the
National Commission on Population.
The Health and Family Welfare Minister,
Ghulam Nabi Azad said as per the revised
projections by the United Nations, the
population of India will be 136.72 crore in
2020 and it will continue to be second most
populous country in the world.
The national population policy adopted by
India provides for a holistic approach for
achieving population stabilization. He said
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
the policy affirms the commitment of the
government towards voluntary and informed
choice and consent of citizens while availing
of reproductive health care services and
continuation of the target free approach in
administering family planning services.
NTPC with ADB 25Nov
NTPC had inked a pact with Asian
Development Bank and Japan's Kyuden
International Corporation to jointly develop
500 MW of renewable energy projects
across India over the next three years.
Under the joint venture agreement, NTPC
and its partners will set up a new company
to develop wind power and small hydro-
electric power projects. NTPC will be the
leader of the joint venture with a 50 per cent
stake, while ADB and Kyuden International
will contribute 25 per cent each towards the
equity share capital of the company. The
initial authorised share capital of the
company will be Rs.6.50 crore and the paid-
up share capital will be Rs.1 crore.
MNP from Haryana 25Nov
India ushered in Mobile Number Portability
that will allow cellphone users to switch
operators without changing numbers, with
Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal launching the
service in Haryana.
The rest of India would get to use MNP
from January 20, next year.
The consumer friendly service was mooted
over two years ago and was planned to be
implemented by end of 2009.
However, implementation had to be deferred
several times owing to reasons ranging from
lack of preparedness of operators to delay in
appointment of an agency to oversee MNP
execution.
Divestment Target 25Nov
Buoyed by the strong response to its PSUs
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
shares sales, the government exuded
confidence that it would meet the
disinvestment target of Rs 40,000 crore for
the current fiscal.
The government had already mopped up
around Rs 21,000-22,000 crore in the
current fiscal and the public issues of MOIL
(formerly known as Manganese Ore India
Limited) and Shipping Corporation of India,
which open this month, would take the
disinvestment amount to over Rs 23,000
crore.
Then we have next, issues of ONGC and
SAIL lined up, so we will surely achieve
what we are supposed to in terms of raising
Rs 40,000 crore.
The Centre will dilute 10 percent stake in
the country's largest manganese
manufacturer MOIL, while Madhya Pradesh
and Maharashtra governments will shed 5
percent each through the public offer that
will open on 26th November and close on
1st December.
The govt fixed a price band of Rs 340-375 a
share for raising up to Rs 1,238 crore
through initial sale of shares in Manganese
Ore India Ltd, which will become the fifth
state-run company to face government
disinvestment this fiscal.
So far in 2010-11, the government has
already diluted its stake in Satluj Jal Vidyut
Nigam, Engineers India, Coal India Ltd and
Power Grid Cooperation of India Ltd. All
these public issues were oversubscribed.
In 2009-10, the government had raised Rs
25,000 crore through stake sale in Oil India,
NMDC, REC and NTPC.
SCO Summit 25Nov
The Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde is
going to Dushanbe, the Tajik capital, for the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization, SCO
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
summit. This will provide New Delhi a great
opportunity to boost its strategic and
economic ties with the six-nation SCO.
India attaches considerable importance to its
association with the SCO, which has
emerged as an active and dynamic regional
grouping. Within the existing participatory
mechanisms open to the observer countries,
India has demonstrated its strong
commitment to the SCO by engaging
actively in several areas related to
development and security.
Subsidise on Fuel 25Nov
Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has paid
a phenomenal Rs 105,246 crore since 2003-
04 to subsidise auto and cooking fuels.
Since 2003-04, ONGC has been subsidising
petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene
by giving discounts on crude oil (raw
material for producing fuel) it sells to state
retailers.
The company has provided a total assistance
of Rs 96,711 crore and Rs 8,535 crore
during the period between 2003-04 and
2009-10, and April-September 2010
respectively, through price discounts to oil
marketing companies.
During July-September quater, ONGC sold
crude at $62.75 a barrel after giving subsidy
discounts. Its gross realisation on crude oil
sold (pre-subsidy discount) was $79.21 per
barrel.
State retailers Indian Oil Corp, Bharat
Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum
Corp sold fuel below imported cost on
government dictat aimed at controlling
inflation.
Petrol price has been freed from government
control since June 26 but other three
products continue to be subsidised.
The retailers now lose Rs 3.85 per litre on
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
diesel, Rs 16.50 per litre on kerosene and Rs
209.94 per 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinder.
During April-September, 2010, oil
marketing companies lost Rs 31,367 crore in
revenue on selling fuel below cost.
Of this, Rs 10,456 crore was made up by
upstream firms ONGC, Oil India and GAIL
India through price discounts on crude oil
and products. Besides, Ministry of Finance
has confirmed a budgetary support of Rs
13,000 crore.
The budgetary support was less than the Rs
15,683.30 crore that the oil ministry had
sought to cover for the public sector oil
companies' revenue losses in the first half of
the current fiscal.
For the full fiscal, IOC, BPCL and HPCL
are projected to lose Rs 61,634 crore in
revenues on fuel sales.
Mobile Users 25Nov
Only one out of five urban mobile
subscribers in India is expected to opt for 3G
services initially, despite its high popularity
among people, research firm The Nielsen
Company said.
Despite high degree of awareness about 3G
mobile services and its capability to deliver
high speed internet, it may take as long as 8-
10 years before a majority of mobile users
are on a 3G plan, said a study by the
company.
According to the study, nearly 70 per cent of
the urban mobile respondents said they are
aware of 3G services.
While service providers have succeeded in
popularising the concept of 3G and
articulating its promises clearly, consumers
seem tentative about their disposition to
embrace the technology.
While 19 per cent of the respondents said
they would definitely adopt 3G, 43 per cent
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
said they may or may not adopt the service.
Another 5 per cent said they will not adopt
the new technology.
Textiles Export Target 25Nov
Buoyed by the surge in outward shipments
of textiles in recent months, the government
had fixed the export target for textiles in
FY'11 at $24.4 billion, 9 per cent more than
the previous fiscal.
During April-July, 2010, exports of textiles
and clothing products, including handicrafts,
had increased by 11.5 per cent to $7.57
billion from $6.79 billion in the same period
last fiscal.
The government has set an overall target of
$24.48 billion for exports of textiles and
clothing products for the current financial
year, compared to $22.41 billion in the last
fiscal.
The handicraft and handloom sectors
together provide livelihood to 12 million
people and generate foreign exchange worth
more than Rs 10,000 crore for the country.
Refinance Interest Rate 25Nov
Long term finance to farmers through
cooperative and regional rural banks (RRB)
has turned costly with National Bank for
Agriculture and Rural Development
(NABARD) raising interest rate on
refinance by 50 basis points.
With the revision in interest rate, the new
interest rate on refinance for cooperative
sector is pegged at 8.25 per cent per annum
and 8.75 per cent per annum for commercial
banks.
The rate (interest rate) has been revised
upward in the wake of monetary police
review undertaken by Reserve Bank of India
this month.
RBI had hiked key short-term lending and
borrowing rates by 25 basis points each as
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
part of steps to rein in inflation.
The long term finance, disbursed to farmers
through cooperative structure and RRBs is
given for dairy development, farm
mechanisation, horticulture, poultry, micro
finance and fisheries etc. The long term
finance is primarily given for capital
formation in farm sector.
A major chunk of credit, given to farmers in
Punjab, is routed through cooperative sector,
RRBs and commercial banks.
NABARD is aiming to disburse money to
the tune of Rs 1,000 crore through refinance
window in Punjab in 2010-11 against Rs
704 crore disbursed in 2009-10.
Of Rs 1,000 crore, state cooperative banks,
RRBs and commercial banks will disburse
Rs 550 crore, Rs 150 crore and Rs 300
crore, respectively in the current fiscal.
Current Account Deficit 26Nov
Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
Governor, Dr Yaga Venugopal Reddy, has
voiced qualified concern over the current
account deficit (CAD) exceeding 3 per cent
of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2010-
11 on the back of higher commodity prices
and crude oil prices.
Exceeding 3 per cent is likely now.
He was in the Capital for the launch of his
book ‘Global Crisis Recession and Uneven
Recovery'.
Dr Reddy's concern on CAD assumes added
significance in the wake of a recent report
from Goldman Sachs that predicted CAD of
4 per cent for India in 2010-11 and even
higher 4.3 per cent for 2011-12. Former
Chief Economic Advisor to the Finance
Ministry, Dr Shankar Acharya, had also in
September forecast a record CAD of 4 per
cent of GDP or higher for 2010-11.
Stating that India has only “less cushion” to
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face any oil price shocks at the current level
of CAD, Dr Reddy noted that the big risk is
the country's oil bill going up, leading to
higher CAD.
Dr Reddy said that he entirely agreed with
the RBI Governor, Dr D. Subbarao's stance
that India should be comfortable if CAD is
anywhere near 3 per cent, but not above it.
China’s Monetary Policy 26Nov
China will shift its monetary policy to
"stable" from "relatively loose" next year
while conducting an active fiscal policy to
maintain economic growth of at least 8 per
cent in 2011.
At next month's annual economic working
conference, Beijing will also set next year's
inflation target at around 4 per cent, up from
3 per cent this year, while cutting 2011's
loan target to 7 trillion yuan ($1.05 trillion)
from 7.5 trillion yuan.
China has in the past few weeks raised
interest rates, lifted banks' required reserve
ratios twice, and imposed price curbs on
certain daily necessities to fight inflation
that accelerated to 4.4 percent in October.
Next year, China will focus on controlling
inflation and restructuring its economy,
aiming for more balanced growth.
Chemical Firms 29Nov
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has been
ranked globally at the 20th position on the
ICIS Top 100 Chemicals Companies list.
German major BASF topped the list.
The companies were ranked on the basis of
their annual sales figures in the annual list
released by ICIS Chemical Business
magazine. The ICIS is a global information
provider for the chemical and energy
industries.
Terming RIL and Chinese major PetroChina
among the major climbers on the list over
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
the past decade, the report said the two
companies could take top rankings soon.
Reliance is a candidate for major
acquisition, although it has failed to
consummate deals recently,” the ICIS said,
referring to the failed attempt by the Indian
company to acquire global petrochemicals
major LyondellBasell.
Incidentally, LyondellBasell has been
ranked fifth in the list after BASF, Dow
Chemical, ExxonMobil and Sinopec.
At the same time, LyondellBasell was
among the only 16 companies in the Top
100 to report a net loss last fiscal. It
underwent Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
during the whole of 2009 and emerged from
the exercise in April, 2010.
While RIL is the only Indian company in the
top 20, another Indian company, Tata
Chemical, has been ranked at 115th in a
separate list of companies titled ‘Bubbling
Under that did not make it into the Top 100.
The RIL has been also named as the 8th
biggest gainer in terms of operating profits.
The report noted that the global chemical
industry went through a year of turmoil in
2009, but RIL figured among the few
companies on the list that bucked the trend.
The RIL was ranked 20th on the basis of
sales worth $12.3 billion last year, while
top-ranked BASF had sales of $72.7 billion.
IMF Chief 29Nov
Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission
Montek Singh Ahluwalia figures among the
probables to succeed Dominique Strauss-
Kahn as the next chief of International
Monetary Fund (IMF.
Noting that the clout and role of the
international lender has increased
substantially in the emerging markets, the
New York Times reported that someone
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from the developing world was likely to
succeed IMF Managing Director Dominique
Strauss-Kahn.
Whatever he (Strauss-Kahn) decides, his
successor is likely to be someone from the
developing world. Frequently mentioned
names include Mohamed A El-Erian, the
American-born son of an Egyptian diplomat
and an economist who leads the giant bond
investor Pimco; Montek Singh Ahluwalia, a
senior Indian planning official; and Arminio
Fraga and Guillermo Ortiz, former heads of
the central banks of Brazil and Mexico
respectively. In his illustrious career,
Ahluwalia has also served at the IMF and its
sister institution, the World Bank, India's
Finance Secretary and Commerce Secretary,
among others.
Capital Infusion 29Nov
A decision to infuse Rs 1,200 crore as equity
in the ailing Air India is likely to be
considered by a Group of Ministers soon.
Members of the GoM, headed by Finance
Minister Pranab Mukherjee, were cognizant
of the fact that the issue needed to be
addressed in an expeditious manner, given
the critical financial health of the airline.
According to the sources, in a proposal
several months ago, the national carrier had
sought the infusion of Rs 10,000 crore.
The proposal was examined by the
Committee of Secretaries, led by Cabinet
Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, and it was
decided to provide Rs 2,000 crore to the
airline.
RBI Extends Liquidity 30Nov
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had
extended the ongoing measures to provide
liquidity comfort to banks, arising out of the
frictional liquidity pressure.
It said it will conduct the second liquidity
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
adjustment facility (LAF) auctions until
January 28, extending the previously
announced end date of December 16. It also
added that banks can now avail additional
funds of up to 2 per cent of deposits under
the LAF on these days as against the
previously announced 1 per cent.
After this the market should not expect
anything more from the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI). Expectations of a cash reserve
ratio cut will no longer be there after these
steps.
The only issue for banks would be that
availing funds under LAF would entail a
cost up to the extent of the repo rate, or the
central bank's key lending rate, of 6.25 per
cent, while a CRR cut would instead have
meant zero cost.
Liquidity has been tight in the banking
system following the government's
inadequate spending since October and
traders expect the situation to get worse
when corporates make advance tax
payments in mid-December.
Gas Price 30Nov
In an effort to make prices uniform for
consumers, the Oil Ministry has asked
Planning Commission to set up a committee
to suggest a mechanism to average out price
of costlier imported LNG with cheaper
domestic gas.
According to Oil Secretary S Sundareshan,
we have suggested to the Planning
Commission that a committee be formed on
'Pooled Pricing' of gas.
He said the panel may be headed by Advisor
(Energy), Planning Commission and may
include Chairman, Gail (India) Ltd;
Managing Director and CEO, Petronet LNG
Ltd; Secretary, Petroleum and Natural Gas
Regulatory Board and Director Finance, Oil
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and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC).
A pooled price or averaging out of
difference rates, for natural gas may be
necessary in view of the limited domestic
gas availability and increasing reliance on
imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) to feed
the demand.
The Oil Ministry had earlier commissioned a
study by Spanish consultant Mercados
International on the feasibility of pooling of
over a dozen different rates at which natural
gas produced from different fields in the
country is sold.
The price for domestic natural gas ranges
from $2.71 to $5.73 per million British
thermal unit, while LNG on long term
contract is currently imported at $6.92 per
mmBtu and from spot market at close to
$8.52 per mmBtu.
Mercados has suggested separate pools for
fertiliser and power sector and involved
several complex inter-ministerial issues.
Planning Commission has been requesting
an Inter-Ministerial Committee under the
Chairmanship of its Advisor (Energy), to
formulate a policy for pooling of natural gas
prices and devise pool operating guidelines
to make the policy operational.
Others in the Committee could be
representatives of the Ministry of Petroleum
and Natural Gas, Power, Fertiliser and
Finance at the level of the Additional
Secretary.
The need for pooling of domestic gas price
with imported LNG has arisen because LNG
from Australia will cost almost $14 per
mmBtu when it lands at Kochi in Kerala in
2014.
Petronet LNG Ltd, India's largest importer
of liquefied natural gas, has contracted 1.5
million tons a year of LNG from Australia
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
for delivery at its under-construction Kochi
terminal in Kerala from end 2014.
The natural gas produced by state-owned
ONGC and Reliance Industries, which
together account for over 80 per cent of gas
in the country, is priced at $4.2 per mmBtu.
Bailout Package 30Nov
The European Union and the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) had unveiled a 85
billion euro ($113 billion) bailout package
for heavily indebted Ireland, six months
after Greece was rescued from bankruptcy.
The three-year package, designed to prop up
the country's battered banking sector and to
help service its sovereign debt, was sealed
by the finance ministers of the 27-EU
nations at an emergency meeting in
Brussels.
These loans will provide money which we
already plan to borrow in the financial
markets," he said, "Funding will now be
available to Ireland at a cheaper interest rate
than if we had borrowed in the financial
markets."
A total of 50 billion euros has been
earmarked to support the state budget while
the remainder will be used to stabilise the
banking sector.
Ireland is the first country to receive funds
from the 750 billion-euro (nearly $1 trillion)
financial rescue fund for the Eurozone,
which was set up by the EU and the IMF in
the aftermath of the Greek debt crisis in
May, to support other Eurozone nations
facing a liquidity crisis.
The country needed a bailout as in the
aftermath of the global banking crisis, the
government, this year, raked up a staggering
budget deficit of 32 per cent of the GDP, ten
times more than the level permitted to the
EU countries.
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
Greece was bailed out with a separate 110
billion-euro financial assistance from the EU
and the IMF.
The rescue plan for the "Celtic Tiger" is also
intended to stabilise the 16-nation euro area
by calming down the financial markets,
which have became jittery for past weeks
over speculation that Portugal may be next
in line for a bailout.
The Irish government in return has pledged
to save 15 billion euros through tough
spending cuts and tax increases to get its
deficit below the 3 per cent limit, set by the
EU Growth and stability Pact by 2014.
Ireland will pay an interest rate of 5.8 per
cent, slightly higher than 5.2 per cent paid
by Greece for its bailout. However, the
country's low corporate tax, which has been
a bone of contention with its EU partners,
will remain unchanged at 12.5 per cent.
Several member-nations, especially France
and Germany, have been arguing that
Ireland's corporate tax give the country an
unfair advantage in attracting foreign
investments.
FDI in Renewable Energy 30Nov
The government said Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) in renewable energy sector
has shown an upward trend and investment
in the sector in 2009-10 has been very
attractive.
The FDI in renewable sector has been
growing rapidly. During 2006-07, 2007-08,
2008-09 and 2009-10, the investment to the
sector was USD 2.11 million, USD 43.15
million, USD 85.27 million and USD 497.91
million respectively.
Wind energy is the fastest growing
renewable energy sector and the FDI inflow
in the sector has been increasing over the
years.
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
On whether the government proposes to
modify the policy regarding foreign
investment in the wind energy sector,
Abdullah said his Ministry has already
announced a Generation Based Incentives
(GBI) scheme for grid connected wind
power projects with the objective of
broadening the investors' base by attracting
FDI and independent power producers.
GM IPO 27Nov
General Motors Co's initial public offering
became the world's biggest at $23.1 billion
after underwriters swiftly took up additional
shares following last week's IPO.
The added shares vaulted GM past
Agricultural Bank of China's $22.1 billion
IPO in July and underscored the strong
demand for the taxpayer-rescued
automaker's stock.
GM said that underwriters led by Morgan
Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of
America Merrill Lynch and Citigroup Inc,
exercised their full option on an additional
71.7 million common shares worth $2.37
billion.
They also exercised an option to purchase
13 million preferred shares for $650 million.
Underwriters had 30 days from the IPO to
exercise the options.
Door Step Banking 27Nov
Taking banking services to customers'
homes, public sector lender Central Bank of
India launched a service through which a
bank's representative will visit customers for
carrying transactions and collecting cheques
and drafts.
The service, named Door Step Banking, will
entail a representative going to the
customer's address for picking-up and
delivering cash through an arrangement with
a service provider.
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
Aung San Suu Kyi 14Nov
Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's celebrated
pro-democracy leader and a political
prisoner of global stature, was set free from
house arrest in Yangon.
The 65-year-old Ms. Suu Kyi's release was
greeted by cheering supporters who gathered
outside her house in a show of defiance
against Myanmar's military government.
Hundreds of other supporters waited for her
at the Yangon headquarters of the recently-
derecognised National League for
Democracy (NLD), which she still leads.
Suu Kyi's lawyer and close political
associate, Nyan Win, said “no conditions”
were imposed for her new freedom. There
was no confirmation of this by the junta, the
State Peace and Development Council.
World leaders hailed her in comments on the
release, which was ordered before the junta
could transfer power to an ostensibly
“civilian” government following the
November 7 general election.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations
expressed relief over member-state
Myanmar's action of setting Suu Kyi free at
least now, upon the completion of her latest
term of house arrest.
Myanmar's military establishments have
subjected Suu Kyi to four terms of house
arrest and at least two spells in prison, for
about 15 years in all, since 1989. She led the
NLD to a landslide victory in the country's
free elections in 1990 but was not allowed to
lead a civilian government.
Walking free on Saturday evening, for the
first time since 2003, Suu Kyi covered the
distance from her old lakeside bungalow to
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
the gate to acknowledge the greetings of her
supporters.
Powerful Rural Indians 15Nov
Mansukhbhai Jagani, Mansukhbhai Patel,
Mansukhbhai Prajapati and Madanlal
Kumawat, are among Forbes' list of seven
most powerful rural Indian entrepreneurs
Mansukhbhai Jagani, Mansukhbhai Patel,
Mansukhbhai Prajapati and Madanlal
Kumawat, are among Forbes' list of seven
most powerful rural Indian entrepreneurs.
Mansukhbhai Jagani, Mansukhbhai Patel,
Mansukhbhai Prajapati and Madanlal
Kumawat, are among Forbes' list of seven
most powerful rural Indian entrepreneurs,
whose "inventions are changing lives" of the
people across the country.
IIM-Ahmedabad professor and founder of
India's Honeybee Network Anil Gupta has
selected the seven most powerful rural
Indian entrepreneurs for a compilation in
Forbes magazine.
"India's villages have become a hot bed of
innovation, as its rural poor develop
inventions out of necessity. Several of the
people on this list have no more than an
elementary school education.
Jagani developed a motorcycle-based tractor
for India's poor farmers, which is both cost
effective-costing roughly USD 318-and fuel
efficient (it can plow an acre of land in 30
minutes with two liters of fuel).
A farmer, Patel invented a cotton stripping
machine that has significantly cut the cost of
cotton farming and revolutionised India's
cotton industry.
rajapati, a potter, invented a clay non-stick
pan that costs Rs 100 and a clay refrigerator
that runs without electricity for those who
cannot afford a fridge or their electricity and
maintenance costs.
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
Next on the list is Future Group Chairman
Kishore Biyani. Called the "Sam Walton of
India," Biyani's company operates about
three million square feet of retail space in 25
Indian cities.
Coming in next is social entrepreneur Anshu
Gupta who founded GOONJ, a system that
transfers used clothing and household goods
from India's rich to its poorest communities.
Gupta collects 30 tonnes of cloth every
month and distributes it across 20 states.
He has an amazing reach, a simple network
and excellent supply chain management,
adding Troikka Pharmaceuticals MD Ketan
Patel is "India's pain-killer."
Patel's business focuses on developing
painless solutions for medical procedures.
He developed the world's first painless
iclofenac injection, which helps alleviate
acute pain and inflammation.
Also on Gupta's list is Dadaji Ramaji
Khobragade, who invented the HMT rice, a
highly successful rice variety which yielded
80 per cent more rice than the conventional
variety.
HMT is now grown all over India, on some
100,000 acres in five states.
Madanlal Kumawat, a grassroots innovator
with no more than a fourth-grade education,
developed a fuel-efficient, multi-crop
thresher that yields cleaner grains, which
can be bagged directly and eliminates the
cost of cleaning.
Gupta said his last pick Chintakindi
Mallesham, inventor of the Laxmi Asu
Machine, "ignited a revolution in India's
weaving community."
Mallesham's machine can make six saris
worth of material in one day, and "no human
effort is required beyond placing thread on
the machine and removing the material after
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
the process is complete."
Powerful Economists 16Nov
Renowned Indian-origin academician
Raghuram Rajan has been named alongside
US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
Bernanke and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman
among the seven most powerful economists
in the world. According to a compilation in
Forbes magazine by economist Nouriel
Roubini, they asked a group of experts to
pick seven influential individuals each from
the world's nearly seven billion people for
fields such as education, Hollywood, media,
entrepreneurs, economists, energy,
philanthropists, bloggers, designers,
feminists and fashion. In the feminist
category, Indian environmentalist Vandana
Shiva has been named as one of the seven
most powerful feminists in the world.
Roubini, Harvard alumnus and New York
University professor who predicted the
global financial crisis, picked the world's
most powerful economists. His list of seven
includes US President Barack Obama's chief
economic adviser Lawrence Summers,
whose views are always very influential,
regardless of whether or not he is in
government, Bernanke, the most powerful
central banker in the world and New York
Times columnist Krugman, a strong and
most articulate defender of Keynesian
policies.
New CFO 18 Nov
Bharti AXA General Insurance has
appointed Sampath Kumar as the new Chief
Financial Officer and Manoj Nair as its new
Zonal Head South. Kumar was earlier with
Universal Sompo, where he was responsible
for setting up the finance and investment
function along with cost control and other
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
key aspects of the business. Nair would be
overlooking the sales and operations of the
southern region. Prior to joining Bharti
AXA GI, he worked with GE as Vice-
President - Strategic Initiatives and Sales.
Panel on Infrastructure 19Nov
The Centre had announced setting up of a
high-level committee on financing of
infrastructure.
The committee, to be headed by former
Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor
Rakesh Mohan, will submit its report within
18 months. The committee would suggest
steps for improving capital markets for
garnering long-term savings and facilitating
foreign investment flow.
Dr. Singh, during the recent visit of U.S.
President Barak Obama, had sought huge
investment by U.S. companies in
infrastructure in India and has been pitching
for the same during his recent tours abroad.
The panel will assess the investments
required to be made by the Central and State
governments, public sector undertakings
(PSUs) and the private sector in ten major
physical infrastructure sector projects. India
is aiming to double its investment in
infrastructure to about $1 trillion during the
XII Plan (2012-17) from an estimated $500
billion in the current Plan. The XII Plan
envisages investment of around Rs.41 lakh
crore for the infrastructure sector. It is
expected that half of the investment target
would come from the private sector and the
balance from PSUs.
The panel will also identify the regulatory or
legal impediments constraining private
investment in infrastructure and make
specific recommendations to facilitate their
removal.
The high-level panel will include secretaries
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
of the Department of Economic Affairs and
the Department of Financial Services,
Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority Chairman and Pension Fund
Regulatory and Development Authority
Chairperson.
Besides, the panel will include the RBI
Deputy Governor and chief executives of
State Bank of India, Life Insurance
Corporation, Power Finance Corporation,
ICICI Bank and Infrastructure Development
Finance Company.
Other members would include Uday Kotak
of Kotak Mahindra Bank, GMR Group
Chairman G. M. Rao, GVK Group
Managing Director Sanjay Reddy and
Goldman Sachs Country Head Madhav
Dhar. Railway Board Chairman, Secretary
to Chief Economic Advisor in the Ministry
of Finance and secretaries in the ministries
of power, road transport and highways,
urban development, petroleum and natural
gas, telecommunications, water resources
will be special invitees to the committee.
The convener of the panel will be Gajendra
Haldea, Adviser to Planning Commission
Deputy Chairman.
WTO Chief 19Nov
In a bid to expedite the much delayed
multilateral trade opening agreement, World
Trade Organization (WTO) chief Pascal
Lamy is arriving to hold consultations with
the Centre and industry to remove irritants.
Differences between rich and developing
nations have been a stumbling block in this
regard and efforts are on to reach an
agreement under the Doha Round of WTO
by 2011.
Lamy, who will spend three days in India,
will hold bilateral meeting with Commerce
and Industry Minister Anand Sharma.
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The two leaders are likely to discuss the
progress of the Doha Round of Talks.
The WTO Director General will hold a
meeting with members of the Federation of
Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
and academicians to ascertain views of
Indian industry and the civil society on
certain vexed issues that are holding
breakthrough in the global trade talks that
were launched in 2001.
India and other developing nations have
been defending their agricultural market to
protect millions of subsistence farmers from
easy imports that may result from the
multilateral agreement.
India along with Brazil, China and South
Africa is espousing the cause of developing
countries in the WTO negotiations.
According to WTO estimate, successful
conclusion of Doha talks could boost global
trade by up to $200 billion in a year.
Y.V. Reddy's Book 23Nov
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor
D. Subbarao launched the book, Global
Crisis, Recession and Uneven Recovery.
The book is a sequel to Dr. Reddy's best-
selling work, India and the global financial
crisis: managing money and finance. The
present book, written at a time of multiple
challenges for the Indian economy, provides
a thinker and experienced policy-makers'
understanding of the genesis, progression
and impact of the financial crisis, and of the
lessons it offered.
The book contains perspective and analysis
that Dr. Reddy has not published before,
presented in lucid style and non-technical
language from an oracle who has already
demonstrated how clearly he sees the future.
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
16th Asian Games 13Nov
China painted a memorable canvas on the
sky, as lithe girls danced on water and
strong men jumped around high in the air, in
front of four huge sail-boat screens that
towered above the arena to mark the
opening ceremony of the 16th Asian Games.
The city was lit up beautifully the Canton
tower stood majestically on one side and the
skyscrapers with colourful lighting
formations provided a brilliant backdrop.
From an arena on the Pearl River that had
speed boats whizzing past, spraying water
all around and fountains rising into the sky,
the stage turned into a platform.
White horses galloped across it and
eventually it turned into the stage for the
athletes to march.
Gagan Narang carried the flag for India and
the contingent was almost in strength to
imbibe the energy of the electrifying
atmosphere.
First Gold 15Nov
Pankaj Advani unleashed his best in the
climax in billiards to clasp India's first gold
in the Asian Games.
In a dramatic final, in which his opponent
Oo Oo Nay Thway of Myanmar had bridged
the gap to be teasingly close to him, Advani
came up with an unfinished break of 36
from 64-45 to clinch a thriller and the gold
along with it, at the Asian Games Town
Gymnasium.
Silver Medal 15Nov
The gold continued to elude Indian shooters
as the women's air pistol team fell one point
short of the top score in the Asian Games.
On a day when Vijay Kumar came up with a
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surprise bronze medal, with the best
performance among the eight finalists after
being eighth at the end of qualification
series in men's air pistol that is not his main
event, the trio of Heena Sidhu, Annuraj
Singh and Sonia Rai lost the gold to Korea
but hung on to the silver, a point ahead of
China.
Viredhawal Khade 17Nov
Virdhawal Khade declared that he was a star
swimmer in the making as he won the
bronze medal in the 50m butterfly event at
the Asian Games.
The 19-year-old Khade clocked 24.31s to
land India's first medal in swimming after a
gap of 24 years in the Asian Games. Khazan
Singh had won the last swimming medal for
India, a silver in the 200m butterfly at the
1986 Asian Games in Seoul.
The only gold for Indian swimming had
come through Sachin Nag in the inaugural
edition of the Asiad in Delhi in 1951, in the
100m freestyle.
Second Gold 20Nov
Bajrang Lal Takhar led from start to finish
in the men's single sculls event, to clinch
India's second gold medal, and the first ever
gold in rowing, in the Asian Games.
It was a moment that Indian rowing had
been awaiting for four years, ever since the
team had won two silver medals and a
bronze, in the last Asian Games in Doha.
Bajrang Lal was the undisputed hero of the
day, as he warded off a late surge from Ming
Hui Wang of Chinese Taipei with a touch of
assurance to win by a length.
Ronjan Sodhi 22Nov
Ronjan Sodhi asserted his class yet again, as
he clinched the elusive gold in shooting in
the Asian Games, with an overwhelming
performance in the double trap final, at the
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
Guangzhou Shotgun Centre.
Ranked No.3 in the world, the best in the
field that had five top-10 shooters that
included the three Chinese, Sodhi had the
handicap of being four points behind the
leader, Pan Qiang of China, going into the
final, with a total of 139 following a series
of 47, 44 and 48. Yet, he silenced everyone
with a spectacular performance, shooting 47
out of 50, to win by a four-point margin over
Shaikh Almaktoum of UAE.
ICC Ranking 25Nov
India have clinched the three-match Cricket
test series 1-0 against New Zealand
registering an innings and 198-run victory at
Nagpur.
With this, India maintained their supremacy
at the top of ICC rankings for Test teams
after winning the three-Test series against
Kiwis, while South Africa and Sri Lanka
remained static on second and third position
respectively.
Men’s Hockey 25Nov
In the 16th Asian Games at Guangzhou in
China, Indian Hockey Team has bagged a
bronze medal in Men's section by defeating
South Korea one-nil. With this bronze, India
has so far got 7 Gold, 13 Silver and 27
Bronze medals in its kitty. In other events,
World number one Indian Boxer Vijender
Singh along with four other compatriots
have stormed into the gold medal round in
their respective categories.
Vijender now meets Abbos Atoev of
Uzbekistan for the gold medal fight
tomorrow. The other four who have made it
to the title round are teen sensation Vikas
Krishan (60kg), Dinesh Kumar (81kg),
Santosh Kumar (64kg) and Manpreet Singh
(91kg).
Indian Kabaddi team has also stormed into
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the final by beating Japan.
Indian Women’s Kabaddi 26Nov
The Indian women's kabaddi team
completed a memorable Asian Games debut
by clinching the gold medal with a
comprehensive win over Thailand in the
finals in Guangzhou. They beat Thailand 28-
14 in a dominating performance to clinch
the inaugural women's kabaddi gold of the
Asian Games.
This takes the Indian gold count to eleven,
just four short of the highest haul of 15 Gold
in the first Asian Games. India has now
moved to seventh spot in the overall
standings. With the men's kabaddi teams
keeping themselves on course for the
coveted gold and star pugilist Vijender
Singh and two other boxers eying gold
medals, India is hoping for a top-five finish.
Meanwhile, China maintained their
supremacy atop the medals table; South
Korea and Japan occupy the second and
third positions.
Sreedharan Gets Silver 26Nov
Preeja Sreedharan and Kavita Raut clocked
their personal bests to clinch the silver and
bronze respectively in the women's 5000m
final of the Asian Games.
Sreedharan, who earlier clinched the
10,000m gold, returned a timing of
15:15.89.
Raut, who bagged silver in 10,000m, could
not get past Sreedharan yet again but
managed a personal best of 15:16.54 to win
the bronze.
Bahrain's Mimi Belete Gebgregeiorges
clinched the gold medal with a timing of
15:15.59, which was incidentally her
personal best as well.
Four Golds 27Nov
Vijender Singh's 7-0 win over Uzbekistan's
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
Abbos Atoev for the men's 75-kg boxing
title capped a productive day for India at the
Guangzhou Asian Games.
The country won four gold medals, taking
its overall tally to a record 64 medals. India's
previous best haul was 57, garnered at the
1982 Delhi Asiad.
The victory took India's gold haul to 14, one
shy of its all-time best of 15, which was
achieved at the inaugural Delhi Games in
1951.
Indian Women's 27Nov
The women's 4x400 metres relay team
brought home the last gold for the country
from the Guangdong Olympic Stadium
while Preeja Sreedharan and Kavita Raut
added a silver and a bronze each to the
collection.
India Shine 27Nov
India won eleven more medals and created
history by recording their best-ever medal
haul of 64 medals in the Asian Games. India
have now won 14 gold, 17 silver and 33
bronze.
Asian Games 29Nov
The sky lit-up with dazzling fireworks as an
emotional China brought the curtains down
on the biggest Asian Games in a riot of
colours, foot-tapping music and a cultural
extravaganza at the Haixinsha Island on the
Pearl River at Guangzhou.
The Games saw India record their best-ever
medal haul till date. India finished sixth on
the medal rostrum with a record 14 Gold, 17
Silver and 33 Bronze for an overall tally of
64, eclipsing their earlier record of 57
medals in the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi.
Forbes' List 5Nov
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Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh and Tata Sons
Chairman Ratan Tata are among the five
Indians named among the most powerful
people in the world in Forbes' list this year
of 68 people “who matter.”
India's business tycoons Reliance Industries
Chairman Mukesh Ambani and steel giant
ArcelorMittal Chairman Lakshmi Mittal also
make this year's list.
Chinese President Hu Jintao has topped the
2010 Forbes list of the “World's Most
Powerful People.”
For the top spot, Hu pipped United States
President Barack Obama, who comes in at
second place. Forbes' list picks 68 who
matter, out of the 6.8 billion people on the
planet. The heads of state, major religious
figures, entrepreneurs and outlaws on the
second annual list were chosen “because, in
various ways, they bend the world to their
will.”
Gandhi debuts at the 9th spot in this year's
list of the world's most powerful people.
Incidentally, she was not featured in Forbes'
recent list of the world's most powerful
women.
Ambani, who has a net worth of $29 billion,
comes in at the 34th spot. His ranking too
improved from his last year's 44th place.
The 53-year-old “business maharaja” is
Asia's richest person, who certainly likes to
live like a king, Forbes said.
Occupying the 44th spot is Lakshmi Mittal,
chairman of the world's largest steel
company ArcelorMittal. The 60-year-old
steel magnate has a net worth of $28.7
billion.
Tata, having dropped two notches from last
year, comes in at the 61st position in the list
of the world's most powerful people.
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
Tallest Hanuman 5Nov
Religiosity in India is scaling new heights.
Just on the outskirts of this erstwhile
summer capital of the British raj, a giant 108
feet high idol of Hanuman (the Monkey
God) was unveiled at Jakhoo Hanuman
temple, overlooking the entire city.
Given its gigantism, it would not be out of
place to say that monkeys will be
omnipresent in this famous tourist
destination which already has a large
monkey population.
Deemed to be world's tallest statue at 108
feet at the highest altitude of over 8100 feet
and constructed at a cost of Rs 1.5 crores, it
surpasses the current tallest statue of 'Christ
the Redeemer', which measures at 98 feet
and stands at an altitude of 2296 feet in Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil.
Ship Wrecks 7Nov
India has decided to join the Nairobi
International Convention on Removal of
Wrecks and adopt international norms in
shipping.
The Union Cabinet had cleared the path by
approving amendments to the Merchant
Shipping Act, 1958, which proposes to
enable a more purposeful approach towards
removal of wrecks and salvage.
These amendments which have become
necessary consequent to India's accession of
the Nairobi Convention would seek to
address problems arising from the increasing
number of wrecks and remove discrepancies
in the existing rules and regulations so as to
bring them in line with developments in
international shipping.
Adopted by 64 countries, the convention
lays out a firm jurisdictional basis for
dealing with hazardous wrecks, apart from
aiming at improving navigational safety and
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
maritime security.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on
Infrastructure approved the upgradation of a
600-km stretch of road in the Left Wing
Extremism-affected region of Orissa at an
estimated cost of Rs. 1,200 crore hoping to
help the tribals to exploit their talent and
potential.
Higher Education Summit 9Nov
India had announced the holding of a higher
education summit next year.
The announcement was made by Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh in his opening
remarks during a joint press conference with
the U.S. President Barack Obama.
Cooperation in the field of education sector
holds great promise because no two other
countries are better equipped to be partners
in building the knowledge economy of the
future.
The summit is likely to be held in India, and
will see the participation of academicians
and private players.
Talk Internet Radio 11Nov
Anil Ambani-led Reliance Broadcast
Network's (RBNL) digital vertical Big
Digital had launched the country's first-ever
talk Internet radio.
It said the 3G roll-out would give a
substantial boost to the segment.
The talk Internet radio has been christened
as BIG Net Radio.
India has over 50-million Internet users,
mostly in the age group between 18-30-
years and is growing, thus boosting the on-
line advertising, which is expected to grow
at 32 per cent to touch Rs 2,000-crore by
2013. This is the first-ever pure talk net
radio in India, which will work excellently
with the growing populace seeking
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
entertainment on the Internet.
"Internet radio is poised to increase even as
Bollywood, spirituality and humour are the
pegs that work excellently with Indian
audiences and the company is working
towards providing 24-hour seamless
entertainment to the audience.
Through this initiative, BIG Digital is
looking at capitalising on the growing
Internet user-base, both in India as well as
the global Indian diaspora, seeking this
entertainment.
UN Women's Board 11Nov
India along with 40 other countries have
been elected to the board of the new UN
agency to promote equality for women but
Iran lost its bid due to strong opposition
from the United States and human rights
groups.
UN Women is the amalgamation of different
United Nations bodies focused on women.
It was created this year to look exclusively
at gender equality and empowerment of
women.
The 41-member executive board also
includes United States and Britain, which
won seats in the donor nation’s category.
In the wake of intense opposition by human
rights organisations and several other
Western countries Iran lost its bid to East
Timor, a late entrant to the contest, in a vote
at the UN General Assembly.
Iran was initially running uncontested for 10
Asian seats but then East Timor decided to
join in the fray, which made the election
competitive and Iran lost.
Iran received just 19 votes and East Timor
got 36 from the 54 nations, which constitute
the UN Economic and Social Council that
voted.
Saudi Arabia, whose candidacy was also
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criticised, got an automatic seat.
India Economic Summit 12Nov
The three-day India Economic Summit,
organised by the Geneva-based World
Economic Forum (WEF), beginning
November 14, will witness the assembly of
over 700 top national and international
corporate honchos along with stalwarts of
the UPA-II regime and focus on the Indian
economy and deal with issues like
infrastructure, inclusive growth and
protectionism.
The CEOs from various parts of the world
will deliberate on the strides made by the
Indian economy, the bottlenecks and the
solutions required to keep the economic pot
boiling.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home
Minister P. Chidambaram and Union
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand
Sharma will be among the political leaders
who will be interacting with the captains of
the Indian and global industry.
Others on the political and government side
of the summit would include Road and
Transport Minister Kamal Nath, Planning
Commission Deputy Chairman Montek
Singh Ahluwalia, Minister of State for
Commerce and Industry Jyotirditya Scindia
and Minister of State for Telecom, Sachin
Pilot.
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh
Hooda would also attend a session on
agricultural reforms. “This conference will
focus on networking and learning and also
on the implementation process of the new
reforms being unleashed in the Indian
economy. This will provide a road from
Delhi to Davos to take the country on a new
economic trajectory,” said Chandrajit
Banerjee, Director General of CII, which is
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
a partner of the WEF.
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman
and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani,
State Bank of India Chairman O. P. Bhatt,
ICICI Bank Managing Director and CEO
Chanda Kochhar and Bharti Enterprises
Chairman and Group CEO Sunil Bharti
Mittal will be among the leading CEOs
participating in the annual event which has
been organised here for the past 25 years.
The main theme of the summit will be
“Implementing India.” “While India has
tremendous potential to sustain the high
growth and inclusive economy, it needs to
get from words to action by keeping up with
crucial reforms and addressing the country's
poor infrastructure,” WEF Director and
Head of Asia Sushant Palakurthi Rao said.
He said the summit would also take up for
discussion the burning issue of
protectionism. Several countries in the world
are resorting to protectionist measures even
as the global economy is grappling with a
fragile recovery.
Unemployment 12Nov
The first household-based unemployment
survey in the country, conducted by the
Labour Bureau, has found jobless rates as
high as 9.4 per cent, compared to the 2.8 per
cent estimated by the National Sample
Survey Organisation (NSSO) in 2007.
The survey, done for 2009-2010 and
scheming the 'usual status' approach, implies
that about 40 million people are jobless,
compared to the 10 million estimated in the
2007 survey. The new survey also points to
a significant drop in the share of the
agricultural sector in total employment, to
45 per cent from the 67 per cent reported in
the 2007 one.
The Labour Bureau comes under the Union
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
labour ministry and will conduct such
surveys every year. The 'usual status'
approach looked at a person’s employment
status over the past six months. NSSO got a
2.8 per cent unemployment rate using this
method.
While the ministry says the Survey's
unemployment data could be an aberration
caused by recession, the Labour Bureau has
said that while recession was to blame for
the job losses reported, the jump was also a
reflection of a more comprehensive job done
by the survey.
G20 13Nov
Leaders of 20 major economies had refused
to endorse a US push to get China to let its
currency rise, keeping alive a dispute that
has raised the specter of a global trade war.
At the end of their two-day summit, the
leaders of the Group of 20 rich and
developing economies - including President
Barack Obama and China's Hu Jintao -
issued a watered-down statement that only
said they agreed to refrain from
"competitive devaluation" of currencies.
Such a statement is of little consequence
since countries usually only devalue their
currencies in extreme situations like a severe
financial crisis.
The real dispute is over Washington's
allegations that Beijing resorts to
"competitive undervaluation" - artificially
keeping its currency, the yuan, weak to gain
a trade advantage. But the US position itself
has been undermined by its own recent
policy of printing money to boost a sluggish
economy, which is weakening the dollar.
The joint statement avoided the words
"competitive undervaluation," which was a
reference to China's currency policy that had
been inserted into a draft of the statement by
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
officials during pre-summit negotiations.
The dispute over whether China and the
United States are manipulating their
currencies is threatening to resurrect
destructive protectionist policies like those
that worsened the Great Depression in the
1930s.
The biggest fear is that trade barriers will
send the global economy back into
recession. A law the United States passed in
1930 that raised tariffs on imports is widely
thought to have deepened the Great
Depression by stifling trade.
The G20 leaders pledged to move toward
more market-determined exchange rate
systems and enhance exchange rate
flexibility. Although directed against China,
the statement leaves significant room for
interpretation since the language is vague
and does not impose any timeframe for
enforcing a market-determined exchange
rate.
The US says a higher-valued yuan would
make Chinese exports costlier abroad and
make US imports cheaper for the Chinese to
buy. It would shrink the US trade deficit
with China, which is on track this year to
match its 2008 record of $268 billion, and
encourage Chinese companies to sell more
to their own consumers rather than rely so
much on the US and others to buy low-
priced Chinese goods.
Other countries are irate over the Federal
Reserve's plans to pump $600 billion into
the sluggish American economy. They see
that move as a reckless and selfish scheme
to flood markets with dollars, driving down
the value of the US currency and giving
American exporters an advantage.
Some critics warn that US interest rates kept
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
too low for too long could inflate new
bubbles in the prices of commodities, stocks
and other assets. Developing countries like
Thailand and Indonesia fear that falling
yields on US government bonds will send
money flooding their way in search of
higher returns. Such emerging markets could
be left vulnerable to a crash if investors later
decide to pull out and move their money
elsewhere.
Friday's statement is unlikely to immediately
resolve the most vexing problem facing the
G20 members: how to fix a global economy
that's long been nourished by huge US trade
deficits with China, Germany and Japan.
Exports to the United States powered those
countries' economies for years. But they've
also produced enormous trade gaps for the
US because Americans consume far more in
foreign goods and services than they sell
abroad.
SBI-Bengal 15Nov
State Bank of India, Bengal Circle, has
adopted about 944 girl children in
coordination with NGOs such as SOS
Children's Village, Bharat Sevashram
Sangha, Pranab Kanya Sangha and
Ramakrishna Sarada Math among others
under the ‘Girl Child Adoption Scheme'.
The initiative was launched as a part of the
bank's corporate social responsibility in
2007 under the scheme ‘Bitiya ke sapne SBI
ke apne', according to a press statement
issued by the bank. Under the scheme the
bank bears the educational expenses,
including school fee, cost of books and
accessories, tuition fee and transportation
costs among others within the range of Rs
3,000-5,000 per year per girl child within
the age group of six-to-fourteen years.
UNESCO's Heritage List 17Nov
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
The UNESCO (United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organisation)
inscribes three Indian performing-art forms,
the Mudiyettu, a ritual theatre of Kerala; the
Chhau dance, a tradition from eastern India;
and the Kalbelia folk songs and dances of
Rajasthan in the Representative List of the
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
This annual list, unlike the World Heritage
list that focuses on monuments and natural
sites, spotlights performing art forms of
outstanding value and are vulnerable due to
lack of support.
This inscription, the UNESCO expects,
would provide better visibility for such
intangible heritage, help improve the
awareness of their significance and offer
international assistance to promote and
preserve them.
The Mudiyettu, the ritual dance drama
annually performed after the harvest of
summer crops in Kerala, is more than 250
years old. This art form involves elaborate
drawings on floors, masks made of areca nut
fronds and playing of drums. What was once
well patronised, now has only three
traditional families of regular performers.
The Chhau dance, known for its crafted
masks and mock combat movements, is
prevalent in the tribal parts of Orissa,
Jharkhand and West Bengal. The economic
backwardness of the area, an extensive
survey by the Sangeet Natak Akademi
reveals, has had a negative impact on the
artists of the Chhau and their art. Similarly,
the Kalbeli communities of snake charmers
from Rajasthan are also impacted. As a
result, their songs and dances, which are
characterised by movements and music that
evoke serpents, are affected and are in need
of support.
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
It makes it obligatory on the various
governments (132 of them) who have
ratified the UNESCO's Convention for
Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural
Heritage and who nominate heritage
elements, to ensure that necessary measures,
including legal and financial, are undertaken
to safeguard them. On its part, the UNESCO
would facilitate international cooperation,
provide financial assistance and extend
support for studies, provision of experts,
training and creation of infrastructure.
Every year various governments forward
nominations for inscribing in the
Representative List. In addition, separate
nominations are also sent for inscribing in
the Urgent Safeguarding List. This list
focuses on art forms “whose continuous
recreation and transmission” are threatened
and are in need of immediate support.
This year, the UNESCO received 54
nominations for the Representative List. The
subsidiary body, after reviewing them
advised seven nominations to be withdrawn,
rejected one and recommended the rest for
the inscription. Six nominations were
received for the Urgent Safeguarding List of
which two were withdrawn, one was
rejected and three were recommended for
inscription. All the three nominations
proposed by India for the Representative
List were recommended.
The Fifth Session of the UNESCO Inter-
governmental Committee for the
Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural
Heritage, that is under way in Nairobi,
accepted this recommendation. So far, about
eight Indian heritage elements, including
these three, have been inscribed in the
representative list.
UNIDO Guide 18Nov
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
The United Nations Industrial Development
Organisation (UNIDO) on private standards
has launched a guide to help exporters in the
developing countries like India to deal with
a maze of standards on environment and
social issues.
The guidebook will help exporters in the
developing countries in areas like garments,
footwear and furniture sectors.
Today, more and more companies in
developing countries are becoming global
producers. The liberalisation of consumer
markets provides these companies with
opportunities for exporting their products to
global markets, where they are increasingly
required to comply with 'private standards' a
phenomenon on the rise.
Private standards essentially focus on social,
safety and environmental issues and are
required by brand producers and retailers
when they source their products.
The producer of the developing country has
to comply with these standards to get access
into international markets. However, if
exporting companies fail to comply, they
will probably find themselves excluded from
certain exporting channels.
Faced with this scenario, the Guide aims to
provide producers in the leather, garments
and furniture sectors, who wish to sell to
major retailers and brands, with information
on the complex landscape of private
standards.
The guide helps the exporters to understand
the procedures to follow the standards.
Empower Elected Women 19Nov
India and United Nations had launched a
programme to empower elected women
representatives in South Asia. The
programme was jointly launched by the
Minister for Panchayati Raj Dr.C P Joshi
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
and his Norwegian counterpart Erik Solheim
at a function in New Delhi. The objective of
the programme is to address second
generation issues of democracy to pave the
way for women to play more effective role
as leader without facing discrimination in all
areas of governance. It also aims to focus
their concerns of economic, social and
physical security. The Norwegian minister
Erik Solheim said this is an important
collaboration between India and Norway.
Hailing India's track record in this area, he
asserted promoting women's political
leadership and governance is essential for
holistic growth and development of India
and South Asia.
Time's list 22Nov
Indira Gandhi and Mother Teresa have
figured in the list of 25 Most Powerful
Women of the Past Century by Time
magazine.
Indira Gandhi has been placed at 9th
position and Mother Teresa is ranked 22nd
in the list.
The list of '25 Most Powerful Women of the
Past Century' is topped by Jane Addams, an
outspoken advocate for women's suffrage,
who was the first American woman to win
the Nobel Peace Prize.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is ranked
sixth on the list.
She was the nation's daughter, brought up
under the close watch of both her father
Jawaharlal Nehru, who was India's first
Prime Minister after decades of British rule,
and her country," the Time magazine said.
When Gandhi was elected prime minister in
1966, a TIME cover line had read, 'Troubled
India in a Woman's Hands'.
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
Those steady hands went on to steer India,
not without controversy, for much of the
next two decades through recession, famine,
the detonation of the nation's first atomic
bomb, a corruption scandal and a civil war
in neighbouring Pakistan that, under her
guidance, led to the creation of a new state,
Bangladesh," the Time said.
She served three consecutive terms from
1966 to 1977 and was in the middle of her
fourth term from 1980 when she was
assassinated in 1984.
By the time she was assassinated, Gandhi
was the world's longest-serving woman
prime minister, a distinction she holds to this
day.
The list of 25 also includes Marie Curie,
Madonna, Golda Meir, Angela Merkel,
Eleanor Roosevelt, Margaret Thatcher,
Oprah Winfrey and Virginia Woolf.
On Mother Teresa, the magazine said: "Born
Agnes Bojaxhiu to Albanian parents living
under the Ottoman Empire, the petite nun
made her way to India in 1929, building her
start-up missionary community of 13
members in Kolkata into a global network of
more than 4,000 sisters running orphanages
and AIDS hospices".
Most Valued Firm 22Nov
State-run Coal India has become the third
most powerful Indian company with a total
market capitalisation (m-cap) of Rs
2,09,671.57 crore and is only lagging behind
RIL and ONGC.
The coal behemoth added another feather to
its cap last week when it replaced IT giant
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to become
the country's third most coveted firm.
RIL, the country's most valuable firm,
witnessed a wealth erosion of Rs 21,270.47
crore.
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM
Yet with a market capitalisation (m-cap) of
Rs 3,26,207 crore this weekend, it still
maintained its top rank in the top-10
companies as per their valuations.
Similarly, another energy major, ONGC,
suffered a loss of Rs 8,865.61 crore from its
market valuation. The m-cap of ONGC was
Rs 2,70,641.92 crore.
Besides, two of the top IT firms TCS and
Infosys Technologies together witnessed a
loss of Rs 9,555.12 crore from their
combined valuations.
TCS's m-cap was at Rs 1,99,272.32 crore,
while that of Infosys was at Rs 1,70,286
crore.
Similarly, the country's top two lenders SBI
and ICICI Bank together shed Rs 8,611.26
crore from their cumulative market
valuations.
The m-cap of SBI and ICICI stood at Rs
1,89,976.31 crore and Rs 1,31,912.11 crore,
respectively.
Climate Change Conference 29Nov
The United Nations Climate Change
Conference that gets under way in Cancun
may not result in much in terms of emission
reduction agreements. The main focus could
be on forestry issues and reducing emissions
from deforestation and forest degradation
(REDD) plus where significant progress
could be made.
According to the Centre for International
Forestry Research (CIFOR) the response to
the conference is lukewarm but no less than
15,000 delegates are expected to attend the
deliberations. REDD plus aims to reward the
developing nations for protecting, restoring
and sustainably managing forests and it
offers one of the cheapest options for cutting
global greenhouse gases.
Principal climate change scientist at the
Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.
CIFOR Louis Verchot said that among the
key issues likely to be addressed was
whether to include REDD plus as part of the
United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCC).
In India, the mechanism of REDD has not
been implemented and there are several
issues related to ownership of forests, forest
rights and protection. The CIFOR said $ 4.5
billion was promised so far, much of it from
Norway in bilateral agreements but money
was not the sole consideration. A major
breakthrough would be needed in the
UNFCC negotiations.
Meanwhile, the Mexican government is
committed to ensuring that participants'
mobilisation and energy consumption during
the conference results in the smallest
environmental impact, in compliance with
its obligations as host of the Sixteenth
Conference of the Parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (COP16) and the Sixth Conference
of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the
Parties of the Kyoto Protocol (CMP6).
A residual waste management programme
will operate during the conference. It is
aimed at enhancing the processing of
different waste materials and their
incorporation to productive cycles avoiding
their final disposal. The programme includes
the placing of recycle bins in the official
meeting areas of COP16/CMP6 events,
other locations within Cancun.
Nov 7 - World Cancer Awareness Day
Nov 9- Pravasiya Bharatiya Divas
Nov 26- National Law Day
CURRENTAFFAIRSMASTER.COM

Of Thee I Singh: A Letter to My

Daughters- Barak Obama
WTO and Indian Economy- Alokesh Barua
and Robert M Stern

IRIGC --Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental

Commission
AERB--Atomic Energy Regulatory Board
INCAA --Indian Network of Climate
Change Assessment
WGC --World Gold Council

Copyright © 2010 Current Affairs Master. All Rights Reserved.