WWW.CAREERPOWER.IN & WWW.BANKERSADDA.COM IRRENT AFFAIRS : 18% INDIA IN NEWS Shinzo Abe Gujarat Visit: India's First Bullet Train Project Inaugurated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe laid the foundation stone of the 508-km long ‘Mumbal-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail in Ahmedabad. Ths is the fourth summit meeting between Modi and Abe. Government Launches Wood is Good Campaign Environmental Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurated @ two- day conference on “Sustainable landscapes and forest ecosystems: Theory to Practice”. Dr. Harsh Vardhan launched the “Wood is Good” campaign on the occasion. Wood is a climate-friendly material, as it Is 8 renewable resource, having zero carbon footprint. India's First Advanced Homoeopathy Virology Lab in Kolkata India's first State of art virology laboratory at Dr Anjali Chatterjee Regional Research Institute for Homoeopathy in Kolkata was inaugurated by Shripad Yesso Naik, Union Minister of State for AYUSH. India Launches “Operation Insaniyat’ to Help Bangladesh India has started ‘Operation Insaniyat' to provided assistance to Bangladesh in response to the humanitarian crisis being faced fon account of the large influx of Rohingya refugees into that country from Myanmar. Piyush Goyal New Rail Minister, Nirms Defence Piyush Goyal has been appointed as the Union allway Minister after being inducted into the Union Cabinet. He replaced former Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, who had earlier offered to resign following multiple train derailments. Further, Nirmala Sitharaman was given the Defence Ministry, becoming only the second woman to hold the post after Indira Gandhi. Sitharaman Gets Narendra Modi Cabinet reshuffled-9 New Faces as Ministers Nine new Ministers of state were inducted Into the Union Council of Ministers. Four Ministers of state were elevated to the cabinet rank. They are Minister of State for Commerce and Industries Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State For Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines, Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office and secrecy to them at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The portfolios of the Ministers will be announced later. Here is the 9 New Ministers, who take oath- 1. Former IFS officer Hardeep Purl ugust to 15% S tember 2017 2. Former Mumbai Police chief Satyapal Singh 3. Former IAS officer Alphons Kannanthanam 4. Lok Sabhia MP's from Madhya Pradesh Virendra Kumar 5. From Karnataka Anant Kumar Hegde 6. 2. 8 9. 3. From Rajasthan Gajendr Singh Shekhawat From Bihar Ashwini Kumar Choubey From Bihar Ra Kumar Singh and ). Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh Shiv Pratap Shukla ‘Supreme Court Declares Right to Privacy as Fundamental Right ‘The Supreme Court of India pronounced that individual privacy Is 2 fundamental right protected by the Constitution. A nine- judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of India 1S. Khehar ruled that the right to privacy Is intrinsic to life and liberty, thus coming under Article 21, and comes under the various fundamental freedoms in PART Ill of the Indian Constitution. Home Minister Rajnath Singh Launches Digital Police Portal ‘A digital police portal under the CCTNS project, which aims to Create @ national database of crimes and criminals has launched by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The digital police portal will provide the citizen, facility for online complaint registration and, request for antecedent verification. The police portal wil Provide 11 searches and 46 reports from the national database for state police and central investigation agencies. Central investigating and research agencies have also been provided logins to the digital police database to access crime statistics, \Venkaiah Naidu Laid Foundation of Country's First ‘Green- Field’ Smart city Vice President M Venksiah Naidu laid the foundation stone for Ranchi Smart City coming up on the Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) land. According to the Urban Development Minister CP Singh, this would be the country’s first ‘green-field” smart city, ‘Smriti Irani Inaugurates Handicraft Manufacturing Unit in Jharkhand Smriti rani has inaugurated Jharkhand’s first textiles manufacturing and export unit ‘Orient Craft Ltd Irani will also lay foundation stones of numerous companies under special make in Jharkhand drive, called "Momentum Jharkhand” in Jamshedpur. India's First World Peace University Inaugurated in MIT, Pune MIT World Peace University, the first of its kind in India, was Inaugurated by Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis.WWW.CAREERPOWER.IN & WWW.BANKERSADDA.COM STATES IN NEWS Karnataka, 1st indian State to Approve e-vehicle Policy Karnataka is the first state to roll out an Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy that looks not only at boosting sales of Electrical Vehicles, but also setting up charging infrastructure ‘and special manufacturing zones. Karnataka, 1st Indian State to Approve e-vehicle Policy Karnataka Is the first state to roll out an Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy that looks not only at boosting sales of Flectrical Vehicles, but also setting up charging infrastructure and special manufacturing zones. Narendra Modi inaugurated Rs15,000-rore worth road projects in Rajasthan Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Union minister for ‘oad transport and highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated highway and road projects worth Rs15,000 crore far the state in Udaipur, Rajasthan. He has also inaugurated Chambal bridge In Kota. ‘Modi inaugurated 12 national highways projects worth Rs5,610 crore and laid foundation stones for 11 projects worth 9,490 E-waste Disposal from Schools Kicks Starts in Kerala E-waste removal from Kerala schools has begun with about 12,500 kg being disposed statewide on a single day under a programme aiming to dear accumulated junk, reportedly estimated at over one crore kg. It Is aimed at disposing e-Waste such as desktop computers, CRT monitors, laptops, disk drives, printers, UPS, camera, speaker system, television, network components and generators from 10,000 odd schools and educational offices in the state. Jammu and Kashmir Government to Set Up First Eco-Park Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to build an Eco- Park on over 34 acres of land reclaimed from encroachers in the state's Rajouri district. The park isa first-oF its-kind project in the region. it will have a botanical garden, a cactus garden, @ cafeteria and other amenities. (Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Launches Rooftop Solar Program Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the grid-connected rooftop solar project through net-metering system. He also launched the web portal of the rooftop solar programme— wwwstsedisha.govin, Under the program, program can install solar plants on their rooftops and consume the generated solar power during the day time. The investment on a rooftop solar system is about Rs 70,000 per kw. The state government will provide 30 percent subsidy to the consumers. ‘Andhra Pradesh First to Implement Bharat OR Digital Payments Andhra. Pradesh’s Eastern Power Distribution Company Ltd {EPDCL) and the Southern Power Distribution Corporation of AP Lid, (SPOCL) have become the first state-owned distribution companies in India to accept payments through Bharat QR. Odisha: Special Programme to Prevent Spread of Malaria Odisha Government will soon launch “Durgama Anchalere Malaria Nirakaran” (DAMON), a special programme to prevent the spread of malaria in remote areas of Ganjam district. Under this programme, camps will be held in remote areas for mass ‘est for malaria. As many as 103 camps will be held in the next three months, Around 15,000 people would be covered under ‘the programme. First water ATM in Hyderabad Inaugurated ‘The First weter ATM has been inaugurated by Telangana State Home Minister N Narasimha Reddy at Nalgonda X Roads. A total cof 200 ATMs will be set up to reach a targeted 150,000 people. In the first phase, 50 water ATMs will be operationalized by 2018, Safe Water Network, an intemational NGO has partnered with Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to launch water ATMS. It will provide affordable, 24x7 safe water access in Hyderabad. ‘Yogi Adityanath and Rajnath Singh Flagged-off Lucknow Metro Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and UP CM Yogi Acityanath Jointly flagged off tts commercial run, The 8.5-km ‘priority corridor’ from Transport Nagar to Charbagh will be operational from 6 am to 10 pm daily. Rs. 6,00,080 crore has been spent in ‘the Lucknaw Metra Project. ‘Sushma Swara} Inaugurated 1st ‘Videsh Bhavan’ in Mumbat External Affairs Minister Sushma Swara) inaugurated the county's first ‘Videsh Bhavan’. The Bhavan integrates all offices of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in Maharashtra It Is located in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Mumbai. Nungthaang Tampak- North East's First 100% Computer Literate Village Manipur's Nungthaang Tampak village has emerged as the '100, percent computer literate’ not only in the state but in the entire [North East. The computer course, which fs afflated to All India Society for Electronics and Computer Technology (AISECT), was organized by Mangal Rural as a part of the Digital India program. Nungthang Tampak has become India's second 100 percent computer literate village. Kerala's Chamravattom village is the country’s first 100 percent computer literate village. INTERNATIONAL NEWS Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Elected as Chair of ‘the 10C Ethics Commission Former United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was elected as Chair of Ethics Commission of the International Olympic Committee (10C) for a four-year term. Ban succeeds Youssoupha Ndiaye of Senegal whose term has come to an end.WWW.CAREERPOWER.IN & WWW.BANKERSADDA.COM British Parllament Passed EU Withdrawal Bill ‘The Government's bid to extract the UK from EU law in time for Brexit has passed its first Parliamentary test. The EU Withdrawal Bill was backed by MPs by 226 to 290. The bill, which wall end the supremacy of EU law in the UK, now moves onto its next Parliamentary stage. Belarus President on Two-Day Visit in India Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Belarus President Aleksandr Grigoryevich Lukashenko in New Delhi to discuss various issues ff mutual Interest of both countries. A number of agreements are expected to be signed in several areas after the talks. NHAI Awards First International Project in Myanmar to Pun} Uoyd-Varaha National Highway Authority of India has awarded its first International project in Myanmar to a joint venture of Pun} Uoyd-Varaha, This is for the upgradation of the Yagyi-Kalewa section in Myanmar to two lanes with earthern shoulder in the engineering, procurement, and construction mode, The 120-km- long project was estimated ta cost Rs. 1,177.02 crore and Is to bbe completed within 36 months. Pun} Lloyd-Varaha’s bid was Identified as the most competitive among four qualified bidders, twas at Rs. 1,177 crore. ‘Swiss President visited India President of Swiss Confederation Doris Leuthard visited India. A number of agreements are expected to be signed in several ‘areas after the talks. India and Switzerland enjoy robust economic ties, with Switzerland being seventh largest trading partner and eleventh largest foreign investor for india. Nepalese PM Deuba visited India In his first foreign visit after assuming office, Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will arrive on a four-day trip. During the visit, he will hold wide-ranging talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on issues of mutual interest. India, US Establish TWO-BY-TWO Ministerial Dialogue India’ and US have establiched new two-by-two (2 by 2) ‘ministerial dlalogue to enhance strategic coordination between them and maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pactic region. The new dialogue format will replace the earlier India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue. It willbe similar to the Indi Japan 242 dialogue format between foreign and defence secretaries of the two countries. ‘Australia to Get World’s Biggest Single Tower Solar Thermal Plant Australian state government has approved the world’s biggest single tower solar thermal power plant, a 150-megawatt structure to be builtin South Australia by 2020. Solar thermal technology uses mirrors to concentrate the Sun's light at the top cf a tower. This heats the stored molten salt and the heat is then used to operate steam turbines. The Aurora Solar Energy Project, ‘willbe built nd managed by SolarReserve company. London: World's Top Financial Center London retained its crown as the world’s top financial center in a ranking that surveys industry professionals, extending its lead over New York and Hong Kong despite ongoing uncertainty about the implications of Brexit. New York held on to second place. In Asta, Hong Kong leapfrogged Singapore into third place. ‘sl Lankan President Sacks Deputy Tourism Minister Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has sacked his deputy Tourism Ministor Arundika Fernando for allegedly defying the party leadership, He Is the second top Minister remaved from the government in less than a month. Prince Charles Becomes Longest-Serving Prince of Wales Prince Charles, the heir to Britain's throne, ecamne the longest- serving Prince of Weles in history. The 68-year-old broke the record of Queen Victoria's oldest son Albert, who went on to become king Edward VIl after holding the title af Prince of Wales for more than 59 years before becoming monarch. Parineeti Chopra, First Indian Woman Ambassador For Tourism Australia Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra has been appointed as the first Indian woman ambassador in ‘Friends of Australia’ (FOA) advocacy panel by Tourism Australia. The ‘Friends of Australia program has been devised as a way of fostering mutually beneficial, long-term friendship with those that Tourism ‘Australia regards as unique storytellers. China Bans Raising Funds Through Cryptocurrencies China has banned individuals and organizations from raising funds through intial Coin Offerings (ICO), or launches of digital currencies, saying the practice constituted illegal fund-raising. World's Highest Sandcastle Built in German City ‘The world's highest sandcastle is now stending 16.68 meters tall In the German city of Duisburg. A Gorman travel operator organized the construction of the mammoth sandcastle, bringing in3,500 tons of sand over the past three and a half weeks to the site at a former steelworks in the inland city. It takes the ticle from a 14.84-metre sandcastle built early this year in Indie by sand artist Sudarsan Pattnalk IAEA Opens Atomic Fuel Reserve in Kazakhetan ‘The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) decided to open the Low Enriched Uranium Bank in Kazakhstan. The IAEA opened the bank to ensure the supply of nuclear fuel In the event of disruption due to politcal or market problems. Kenya Imposes World’s Toughest Law Against Plastic Bags In Kenya, selling or even using plastic bags will isk imprisonment ana PennsWWW.CAREERPOWER.IN & WWW.BANKERSADDA.COM Of up to four years or fines of $40,000. itis the world’s toughest law whichis aimed at reducing plastic pollution came into effect. In a First, Nepal launches Climate-Smart Snow Leopard Plan In a first, Nepal launched its climate-smart snow leopard landscape management plan, leading the way in safeguarding this endangered species, also found in India, and its habitat. This 's the first climate-smart landscape management pian for snow leopard conservation In the worid. The plan aims to safeguard the endangered species of snow leopard and its habitat. BANKS IN NEWS RBI to Introduce Rs 100 Coin to Mark MG Ramachandran’s Birth Centenary As per the notification of Finance Ministry, the Reserve Bank of India will introduce 100 rupees coin to mark the birth centenary (hundredth anniversary) of AIADMK founder Late Dr. MG Ramachandran. On the obverse, the face of the coin will bear on Capitol of Ashoka Pillar in the center with Satyamev Jayate inscribed below on it in Devanagari script. It will also bear the rupee symbol and denominational value of 100. On the reverse side, the portrait of Dr. MG Ramachandran will bein the center. The standard weight of the coin will be 35 grams. HSBC Ties-up With Sa-Dhan Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) has entered into an agreement with microfinance industry association Sa-Dhan to develop digital ecosystem for India's unbanked segment. The bank will provide technical expertise to train and educate microfinance consumers at the grassroots level and introduce digital banking to promote easier and time- efficient financial transaction among the so-called bottom-ol- the-pyramid customer. PNB, BSNL Join Hands for Mobile Wallet Speedpay Rollout Punjab National Bank and state-run firm BSNL teamed up to roll ‘out open mobile wallet Speedpay across 10 states in the country. PNB Speedway wallet will operate like any other mobile wallet for paying bills, recharging phone besides its users will be able to deposit and withdraw money from authorized retail outlets. US Banking Regulators Shut Down Pakistan’s Habib Bank US banking regulators ordered Pakistan's Habib Bank to shutter Its New York office after nearly 40 years, for repeatedly falling to hheed concems over possible terrorist financing and money laundering. The state's Department of Financial Services, which regulates foreign banks, also slapped 225 milion Dollars fine con the bank, ICICI Lombard Gets SEBI Nod for IPO ICIC| Lombard General Insurance Company has got capital markets regulator SEBI's go-ahead for its estimated Rs 6,000 crore initial public offer (IPO). ICICI Lombard is a joint venture between ICICI Bank and Canade-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Lie. ‘SBI Life Insurance Gets SEB1 approval for Rs 8,400 crore IPO Sal Life Insurance has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India for an IPO (Initial Public Offering) of up to Rs 8,400 crore ($1.3 billion). The IPO wil involve 120 million secondary shares or 12 per cent of the Insurer's equity capita State Bank of India which currently owns 70.1 per cent of the Insurer, will sell 80 million shares and BNP Paribas Cardif, holder of 2 26 per cent stake, wil sell 40 milion. Reliance General Insurance Gets IRDAI Nod for IPO lance General Insurance has received in-principle approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA!) for its initial public offering (IPO). The insurance firm, which is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Reliance Capital, Is expected to list during the ongoing fiscal. Reliance Capital plans to dilute about 25 per cent ofits holding inthe insurer. DBS Bank Gets RBI Nod for Subsidiary in India DBS Bank India, part of Singapore-based financial services group DBS Group Holdings, has received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to convert its existing India franchise to a locally incorporated wholly-owned subsidiary (WOS) in India RBI Includes HDFC Bank in ‘too big to fail List RBI included HOFC Bank in the list of ‘too big to fall! lenders, referred to as D-SIB or domestic systemically Important bank. India's largest lender SB! and private sector major ICIC| Bank ‘were classified as O-SiBs in 2015. With the inclusion of HOFC Bank in the list, there will now be three ‘too big to fail financial entitiesin the country. Fincare Small Finance Bank Starts Banking Operations Fincare Small Finance Bank (previously known as Disha Microfin Limited) kick-sterted its banking operations with about 25 operational branches across Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and ‘Andhra Pradesh. The bank was given final small finance bank (SFB) licence from the Reserve Bank of india (RBI) in May 2017. Rajeev Yadav Is the CEO of Fincare Small Finance Bank. Fincare Business Services Limited is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnatake. Uijivan SFB Received Scheduled Bank Status from RBI Ullivan Small Finance Bank Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Uijivan Financial Services Ltd, has been given scheduled bank status by RBI, Ujivan SFB has 65 full-fledged brick and mortar branches in eight states and two Union Territories. Ujivan SFB commenced its operations as a Small Finance Bank with effect, from February 1, 2017. Samit Ghosh is the MD & CEO of Ujiivan ana Penns SFB.WWW.CAREERPOWER.IN & WWW.BANKERSADDA.COM Canara HSBC Oriental Life Launched ‘PoS' product Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company (CHOICE} has come up with a ‘Point-of-Sale’ product targeted at the mass-market segment. The product: ‘PoS - Easy Bima Plan’ is the first PoS product for the company and isa pure term insurance plan, Banks to Pay 3% IGST on Gold Imports Banks Importing gold and precious metals will have to pay 3 per cent tax under the GST which can be claimed as input tax credit Under GST 386 Integrated-GST Is payable on all imports of precious metals in addition to the basic customs duty. IGST paid can be taken as input tax eredit by the banks. HDFC Bank Launches All-in-one PoS Machin HDFC Bank announced a software upgrade to create @ single point-of-sale (PoS) machine which will accept payments through Unified Payments Interface (UPI), BharatOR, SMS Pay and the bank’s mobile wallet, in addition to the traditional mode of swiping cards. Two RRBs Record Over Rs 150-cr Profit in FY17: RBI Of the 56 regional rural banks (RRB«), Karnataka Vikas Grameena ‘Bank and Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank recorded net profit of ‘more than Rs 150 crore during 2016-17. These are among the 49 [RRBs that recorded a profit in 2016-17. According to the Reserve Bank of India’s “Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India’, 45 of the 56 RRBs earned profits without carrying any ‘accumulated losses during 2015-16. NABARD Approves Rs 1,350-cr Loan to Rajasthan Government "National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) hhas sanctioned a loan assistance of Rs 1,349.55 crore to the Rajasthan government for the creation of rural infrastructure in the state under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF). The sanction includes assistance for construction of two rural drinking water supply projects, _strengthening/ rehabilitation of 1,614 rural roads and modernisation af three ‘major inrigation projects, First Regional Centre of NDB Opens in $ Africa The first regional center of the New Development Bank, set up by India and other BRICS nations, was offically opened by South African President Jacob Zuma and the bank’s Indien head K V Kamath in Johannesburg, South Africa. NDB has an authorized capital of the bank is USD 100 billion. ‘At 27%, SBI Tops Share of Wilful Default to PSBs The country's largest lender, SBI, accounts for over 27 per cent of the total amount owed to public sector banks by wilful defaulters. As many as 1,762 wilful defaulters owed SBI Rs25,104 crore. Punjab» National Bank (PNB) is next on the list with 1,120 wilful defaulters having outstanding non-performing. assets (NPAs) of Rs12,278 crore. HDFC Bank Revises Interest Rates On Saving Accounts: HDFC Bank Ltd has announced @ revision in its savings bank interest rate effective August 19, 2017. Post revision, customers ‘maintaining savings bank account balance of Rs 50 lakh and above will continue to eam interest at 4 per cent per annum. Customers maintaining account balance of below Rs 50 lakh wall earn interest at 3.5 per cent per annum from earlier 4 per cent. ‘The revised rates will be applicable to both resident and Non- resident customers. Karur Vysya Bank Appoints P R Seshadri as MD and CEO Karur Vysya Bank Ltd has informed BSE that the Reserve Bank of India has accorded their approval for the appointment of Shr P R Seshadri as Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of the Bank for 2 petiod of three years from the date of his taking charge. He has replaced K Venkataraman, ECONOMY NEWS Retail Inflation in August Shoots Up by 3.36% Consumer Price Index (CP!) oF retail inflation rose 3.36 per cent In August from a year earlier, government data showed. The current rate of inflation is the highest in five months. The rate, however, Is still helow the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) medium- term target of 4 per cent. In another set of date, the IIP or index of Industral Production for the month of July went up by 1.2 per cent. It has slipped from 4.5 per cent in the corresponding period, @ year ago. ‘Wholesale Inflation Hits Four-Month High of 3.24% in August Wholesale inflation rose to a four-month high of 3.24 per cent in ‘August as prices of food articles, led by onions and vegetables, soared. Inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index was 1.88 pper cont in July 2017 and 1.09 per cent in August 2016. [ADB to Provide $152 Million Fund to Nepal Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a USD 152 milion to ‘Nepal for the implementation and enhancement of its power transmission and distribution. ADB and Nepal's Ministry of Finance signed the loan agreement in Kathmandu, The aid will be granted to the Power Transmission and Distribution Efficiency Enhancement Project (PTDEEP) which supports the expansion of the transmission lines in various areas of Nepal. Fiscal deficit touches 92.4% of budget estimates at July-end India’s fiscal deficit at July- end touched 92.4 9 of the budget mainly because of front loading of expenditure by various ‘government departments. In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit- difference between expenditure and revenue ~ was Rs 5.08 lakh crore during Apri July 2017-18, according to the data of Contvoller General of Accounts (CGA). For 2017-18, the {government aims to bring down the fiscal deficit to 3.2 % of the GOP. Last fiscal, ithad met the deficit target of 3.5 % ofthe GDP. ana PennsWWW.CAREERPOWER.IN & WWW.BANKERSADDA.COM China Announced $80 Million Funding Plan for BRICS China will give 500 million yuan ($76.4 milion) for a BRICS economic and technology cooperation plan, and another $4 million for projects at the BRICS countries’ New Development Bank stated Chinese President Xi Jinping. {GST Collection for First Month at Rs 92,283 Crore The goods and services tax, GST, launched on 1 July, has got off to 8 good start, with collections exceeding the revenue target for the first month. According to the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, taxes worth Rs 92,283 crore were collected in July from just 64.42 per cent of the total taxpayer base, FDI jumps 37% to $10.4 billion during April-June 2017 Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country grew by 37 ppercent to USD 10.4 billion curing the first quarter of the current fiscal. According to the figures of the Department of industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), India had recelved USD 7.59 billion FDI during April-June 2016-17. The main sectors which attracted the highest foreign inflows include services, telecom, trading, computer hardware and software and automobile. The bulk of the FDI came in from Singapore, Mauritius, the Netherlands and Japan. World Bank Pledges $24 Million to Enhance India's Forest Ecosystem Services Finance Ministry and the World Bank signed a grant agreement Cf $24.64 million from the Global Environment Faclity (GEF) of the World Bank for ecosystem service improvement project. The project would be financed entiraly by the World Bank out of its GEF Trust Fund. The project's duration Is five years. The objective of the Project s to strengthen the institutional capacity of the departments of forestry and community organizations to enhance forest ecosystem services and improve the livelihoods Of forest dependent communities in central Indian highlands. Cabinet Approved raising of over Rs 9000 cr through NABARD for Completing Irigation Projects Union Cabinet hes approved raising extra budgetary resources {up 1 9,020 crore tupees for Long Term Irigation Fund in 2017- 18 under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY). According to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the amount will be raised by NABARD through Bonds. The Fund seeks to make loans from NABARD attractive for states by ensuring lending rate of 6 per cent per annum. The loans are for implementation of Accelerated Irigation Benefits Programme works of 99 engoing prised ligation projects under Pradhan Mantel Krishi Sinchayee Yojana. Indian Export Grows Nearly 4 Percent in July The country's exports grew three point nine percent in July this year (2017), on a yearly basis to 22 (point) 5 billion dollars, Exports rose due to an increase in shipments of petroleum, chemicals and marine products. Official data released showed that imports rose 15.4 per cent in July, to 24 billon dollars, due to a rise in inward shipments of crude oil and gold. The country’s trade deficit widened to 11.4 billion dollars during the month under review, from 7.8 billion dollars in July last year (2016). Government Imposes AntiDumping Duty on Sodium Nitrite Imports from China Finance Ministry has Imposed a five-year anti-dumping duty on Sodium Nitrite imports from China. Deepak Nitrite Ltd had filed ‘the petition, which was also supported by Punjab Chemicals & Crop Protection Ltd, seeking sunset review investigations on Sodium Nitrite imports from China. IRDAI Launches Central Database of Insurance Sales Persons. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of Indie (IRDAI) has launched a Central Database of all Insurance Sales Persons in the country. Named as ‘Envoy’, the database will ensure that all licensed insurance sales persons working for insurers and intermediaries including entities such as insurance agents, broker qualified persons, specified persons of corporate agents do not work with multiple insurers and intermediaries in the same busines category, Government Bans Export of Gold Items Above 22-Carat Purity The government has banned expors of gold jewellery, medallions and other articles above 22- carat purity in a bid to check round tripping of the precious metal. According to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), certain provisions fof the foreign trade policy (2015-20) are amended to allow export of gold jewellery and articles containing gold of 8 carats and above up to a maximum limit of 22 carats only from domestic tariff area and export-oriented units, electronics hardware technology parks, software technology parks and bio technology parks. BUSINESS NEWS Google to Launch Mobile Payment Service in India Tech giant Google is announced to unveil a digital payment service in India that has been developed for the local market Google Is looking at launching @ payment service ‘Google Tez’, which will include support for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as well as mobile wallets like Paytm and MobiKwuik. Paytm Partners with NPCI Paytm Payments Bank (PPB) has partnered with the National Payments Corporation of india (NPCI) to launch a RuPay- powered digital debit card, With the PPB Digital debit card, customers will now be able to transact at all merchants who accept credit and debit cards. PayU Ties up With IRCTC Payment gateway provider PayU has announced its