Gyanm general awareness_issue_october_2015

GENERAL AWARENESS – OCTOBER 2015 1
The Chinese Crash
The Chinese stock market was an envy of the investors.
It grew at an extraordinary rate of 150% in last one year
racing to a high of 5166 on June 12 this year. However,
on August 24, 2015, the Shanghai Composite (Stock
Market Index of China) crashed to 3000 dipping by
around 40% in two months, causing a loss of around $ 4
trillion dollars to the investors (which amounts to
around Rs.260 lac crores). Just think, what this means;
even the total GDP of India is around half of it; i.e.
around $ 2 trillion dollars. The richest man in China,
Wang Jianlin is said to have lost more than US $ 13
billion (around Rs. 85000) in the process.
The steep fall in Chinese share market had its ripple
effect. The Indian share market also suffered heavy loss
of more than 7 lac crore rupees in just one day. The Dow
Jones, the American share market index also lost more
than 1000 points, its worst fall since 2011 in one week.
Reasons:
The main reasons behind this landslide are :
1. Slowing economy: The Chinese economy constitutes
around 15% of the world economy and any slowdown in
their economy not only effects only them but also the
manufacturing and the trading world that is dependent
on their economy. The slowdown will mean that China
will buy less of gold, silver, or other products it sources
from across the world, thus affecting other economies as
well.
2. Exuberance of the investors: People borrowed money
to invest in the share market expecting high returns,
which did not materialise. The same kind of enthusiasm
in real estate market had led to the 2008 crisis, when the
losses exceeded US$7 trillion. The people were borrowing
money to buy property with the expectation of selling the
same later at a higher rate. But when there were no
buyers, the market crashed like a house of nine pins,
singeing the entire financial system. The process of
making investments with the borrowed money is known
as leverage and in China it had reached a ratio of 40:1,
meaning even a loss of 2.5% will wipe out the capital of
the investor.
Initially, the government reacted by restricting the
trading and banning short selling. But later, when the
things did not stabilize, Chinese government reacted by
devaluing its currency, yuan which had its own effects
on the currency markets around the world. Many world
currencies have came under stress, some losing 50% of
their value vis. a vis. US dollar, with Indian rupee
weakening from Rs. 64 to Rs 66.50 per US dollar. This
devaluation has raised concern as other countries may
also be forced to devalue their currency to compete with
the Chinese goods which have now become cheaper to
buy. Many Asian countries had been trading in Chinese
currency and it is said that the devaluation of yuan has
increased their debt by around US$16 billion. Already,
some economists are terming the step as ‘currency war’,
which had caused the great depression of 1929.
The whole world is watching China with abated breath.
Till now, it was considered a safe bet for investment;
having one party government with no unrest and no
opposition. What happens next is any body’s guess, for
the number of investors in the share market is said to be
more than 90 million which is more than the total
membership of the ruling Communist Party and it is they,
who have suffered the losses. If a fraction of them come
out in the street, what’s will happen next, is difficult to
say.
The words spoken by Bill Clinton in 1992 still ring
loud; It’s economy, stupid.

GENERAL AWARENESS
OCTOBER 2015
Vol. 4, Issue 04
A PUBLICATION OF GYANM EDUCATION &
TRAINING INSTITUTE PVT. LTD.
SCO 13-14-15, 2ND FLOOR, SEC 34-A, CHANDIGARH
Contents
CURRENT AFFAIRS
JUNE TO AUGUST 2015
01-43
BULLET NEWS
MARCH TO MAY 2015
44-59
PUNJAB GK BYTES 60-68
SSC CORNER 69-74
LATEST 100 GK MCQs 75-84
6 MONTHS GK BYTES 85-108
FIGURES TO REMEMBER
REPO RATE (02.06.2015) 7. 25%
REVERSE REPO RATE 6.25%
MARGINAL STANDING
FACILITY RATE
8.25%
STATUTORY LIQUIDITY RATIO 21.5%
CASH RESERVE RATIO 4.00%
BANK RATE 8.25%
BASE RATE(s)
(of various banks)
9.70 to
10 %
INDIA’S RANK IN
Global Competitiveness 44th
In terms of Peace 143rd
Motherhood Index 140th
Environmental Democracy Index 24th
Human Capital Index 100th
Global Resilience Index 119th
Global E-Waste Monitor 5th
World Happiness Report 117th
Global Networked Readiness 89th
Social Progress Index 101st
Open Government Index 2015 37th
Press Freedom Index 2015 136th
Talent Competitiveness 78th
Travel and Tourism Index 65th
Corruption Perceptions Index 85th
The Web Index 2014 48th
Global Terrorism Index 2014 6th
Global Slavery Index 2014 1st
Gender Gap Index 114th
NATIONAL NEWS
AUGUST 2015
CENSUS 2011 RELIGIOUS DATA RELEASED
Census 2011 data released on August 25 shows that the proportion of Muslim
community has registered a moderate 0.8 per cent growth from 2001 to 2011
to reach 14.23 per cent, numbering 17.22 crore while Hindus population share
showed a decline by 0.7 per cent to reach 79.80 per cent at 96.63 crore.
In terms of population growth, the national average during 2001-11 was 17.7
percent. Growth of Muslim population was 24.6 per cent while Hindus grew by
16.8 per cent only.
‘PAHAL’ ENTERS GUINNESS BOOK OF RECORDS
Pahal (Pratyaksh Hanstantrit Labh), the scheme to transfer cooking gas subsidy
directly into consumers' bank account, has made it to the Guinness Book of
World Records as the world's largest cash transfer plan for households. It is
also called as Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL). Some 13.9 crore cooking
gas consumers are enrolled under Pahal.
BENGALURU AND MYSURU ARE THE CLEANEST
Bengaluru has been ranked as the cleanest among capital cities in India and
Mysuru as the most clean city as per the Swachh Bharat ranking of 476 cities in
the country by the Urban Development Ministry. Two other Karnataka cities —
Hassan and Mandya are there in top ten. Ranking is done on two parameters of
cleanliness — solid waste management and eradication of open defecation.
MEETING POINT AT DAULAT BEG OLDIE
India and China opened their fifth border
meeting point on August 1 at Daulat Beg
Oldie in northern Ladakh for local military
commanders on either side to sort out
local issues to prevent needless flare-ups.
The four other meeting points are at
Kibithoo (Arunachal), Spanngur Gap at
Chusul (Ladakh), Bum-La near Tawang
(Arunachal) and Nathu-La (Sikkim).

BANGLA ENCLAVES MERGE WITH INDIA
On the midnight of July 31, with the execution of Land
Border Agreement between the India and Bangladesh,
51 Bangladeshi enclaves situated on Indian soil in
Coochbehar district of West Bengal amalgamated with
India, while 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladeshi
territory integrated with that country.
NATIONAL HANDLOOM DAY
Govt has declared that every year 7th August will be
celebrated as National Handloom Day to promote
genuine, global quality handloom products in
international markets. On August 7, 1905, Swadeshi
Movement was launched from Kolkata.
WB TO GIVE $ 412 MN FOR CYCLONE RISK
World Bank has agreed to provide $ 412.40 million
assistance for the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation
Project- I & II for mitigating vulnerability to the cyclone
and other oceanic hazards in the coastal India.
4 MORE COMMUNITIES INCLUDED IN OBC
Central govt has approved four communities to be
included in the Central List of OBCs in the two States -
Gujarat and Uttarakhand, on the basis of
recommendations of the National Commission for
Backward Classes (NCBC). The castes/communities are -
Sipai and Patni /Turk Jamat in Gujarat and Kahar and
Tanwar Singhariya in Uttarakhand.
‘SANTHARA’ DECLARED VOID BY RAJ HC
The Rajasthan High Court on August 10 declared the
practice of 'Santhara' or 'Sullekhana' practiced by Jain
community as illegal.
The court called the practice punishable under section
309 of the IPC as an attempt to commit suicide. Even any
support to Santhara by any person is punishable as
abetment under section 306 of the IPC. Santhara means a
fast unto death. A person after taking a vow of 'Santhara'
stops eating and even drinking water and awaits death.
 Prime Minister Modi made a two day visit to the
strategically-important UAE on August 16-17. He is
the first Indian PM to visit UAE after 34 years.
 James Alix Michel, President of the Seychelles came
to New Delhi on 25 August on a three-day visit to
India.
 Filipe J Nyusi, President of Mozambique arrived in
India on August 5 on a five day visit. The two
countries signed MoU on expanding cooperation in
energy sector.
 Adam Gilchrist, former Australian cricketer has
been appointed Australia's first education
ambassador to India.
 India has started the hotlines between Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama and
their national security advisers.
 Govt released a commemorative postal stamp of Rs 5
on August 24 on emperor Ashoka who ruled the
Indian subcontinent from 269 BC to 232 BC.
 Latest release from the Census 2011 data shows that
only 6.8 crore Indians (8.15%) have qualification of
graduation and above.
 The 18th Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) started
functioning from its temporary campus at Palakkad,
Kerala.
 Second summit of Forum for India Pacific Island
Countries (FIPIC) was held in Jaipur on August 21.
 India signs tax information exchange agreement with
Seychelles to curb generation of black money.
JULY 2015
INDIA TOPS IN 3 SOCIAL SECURITY SCHEMES
The World Bank has ranked the Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
as the world's largest public works programme,
providing social security net to almost 15 per cent of the
country's population. India's Mid-day Meal Scheme has
been classified as the biggest school feeding programme
covering 10.5 crore beneficiaries. The Janani Suraksha
Yojna, with 7.8 crore beneficiaries, has topped the
category of social security programme with conditional
cash transfers.

INDIA MAKES PROGRESS IN ACHIEVING MDGs
As per a UN report on the progress made under the
UNO’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), India has
already achieved the target for reducing poverty by half
and is set to achieve reducing hunger also by half. But
India lags behind in meeting goals like universal
primary school education and universal youth literacy
and lags in empowering women through wage
employment and political participation.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were set by
the United Nations in the year 2000 and were to be
achieved by December 2015.
MODI VISITS 5 COUNTRIES
Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook 8 day trip to
five Central Asian countries and Russia on from July 6 to
13. He visited Uzbekistan (July 6-7), Kazakhstan (July 7-
8), Russia (Ufa) (July 8-10), Turkmenistan (July 10-11),
Kyrgyzstan (July 11-12) and Tajikistan (July 12-13) for
the summits of BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China and
South Africa) and the Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation (SCO).
SIX SOLAR CITIES IN NORTHEAST
The six cities - Guwahati and Jorhat in Assam, Kohima
and Dimapur in Nagaland, Itanagar in Arunachal
Pradesh and Agartala in Tripura - will be developed
under the Development of Solar Cities Programme of the
union ministry of new and renewable energy.
LONGEST TUNNEL TO START NEXT YEAR
The last wall between the 9-km long Patnitop tunnel
between Chenani and Nashri, the longest in South Asia,
was broken, thereby reducing the road distance
between Jammu and Srinagar by 30 km. The tunnel is
likely to be operational in the next ten months.
2ANGLOINDIANS NOMINATED TO LOK SABHA
President has nominated 2 members of Anglo-Indian
Community to Lok Sabha as per the provisions of Article
331 of Indian Constitution. They are – Prof. Richard Hay,
Economist from Kerala and George Baker, noted film
actor from West Bengal.
WORLD BANK HELP FOR ANDHRA
The World Bank has agreed to provide $250-million
financial assistance for the Andhra Pradesh Disaster
Recovery Project which will help the state enhance its
capacity to respond promptly in times of crisis.
INDIA FORMS 17.25 % OF WORLD POPULATION
On the World Population Day (July 11), at 5 pm, the
number of Indians hit 127, 42, 39, 769, which is 17.25
per cent of the global population, as per the National
Population Stabilization Fund (NPSF), an autonomous
body under the Union Health Ministry.
NSSO 71ST ROUND DATA RELEASED
National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) released the
survey data of the 71st round related to key indicators of
Social Consumption: Education, showing prime
indicators on education as on 31 March 2014.
NAKSHATRA VATIKA LAID OUT IN HYDERABAD
President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated a 'Nakshatra
Vatika' in the Rashtrapati Nilayam gardens in
Hyderabad. The layout of the garden has been
developed in various geometrical combinations
corresponding to the Sree Chakra of Vedic astrology.
PANEL FOR HIKE IN MPs SALARY
A panel, headed by BJP MP Yogi Adityanath, has sought
doubling of the existing Rs 50,000 salary of MPs and
favoured increasing their pension from Rs 20,000 to Rs
35,000. It has also recommended doubling of the daily
allowance of MPs for attending the Parliament sessions,
from Rs 2,000 at present to Rs 4,000.
CASTE CENSUS SHOWS DEPRIVED RURAL INDIA
The Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) data
released on July 3 shows that of the total 17.9 crore
rural households across the country, 2.37 crore or 13%
still live in houses with only one room, kuccha walls and
kuccha roof.
This is the first such survey in more than 8 decades.The
country has a total of 24.39 crore households, putting
73% of them in rural areas. Manual casual labour is the
main source of income for rural households, with nearly
51% engaged in such jobs, followed by cultivation,
which provides employment to 30% of households.
About a fourth of the rural households don't have a
literate adult above the age of 25 and only 64 per cent of
the rural Indian population is literate,
The Union Cabinet has formed an expert group chaired by
Arvind Panagariya, Vice-Chairperson of NITI Aayog, to
classify the Caste names returned in the Socio Economic
and Caste Census (SECC), 2011.

RAIL LINK WITH BANGLADESH
Government has sanctioned around Rs.1,000 crore for a
15-km India-Bangladesh railway project from Agartala
in Tripura to Akhaura in Chitagong, Bangladesh. The
link will reduce distance between Kolkata and Agartala
by over 1100 kms.
ADB LOAN FOR NORTHEAST
The Asian Development Bank to give a loan of $ 300
million to India for improving road connectivity and
increasing the domestic and regional trade along the
North Bengal—North Eastern Region (NER).
IDEAS INVITED FOR INDIAN CITIES
The Union Urban Development Ministry organized a six
day competition "Mera Shahar Mera Sapna" in New
Delhi to encourage the citizens to contribute their ideas
and solutions for addressing the challenges faced by
Indian cities.
 India and Kazakhastan issued a joint statement - Tej
Kadam highlighting the continuation of strategic
partnership between the two nations.
 Government has decided to give Cabinet minister’s
rank to the Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, Arvind
Panagariya.
 Asian Development Bank to provide $ 300 million
loan to support the Government’s flagship program,
the National Urban Health Mission.
 The 46th Session of the Indian Labour Conference held
in New Delhi.
 India and Georgia signed an MoU in New Delhi for
cooperation in election management and
administration.
 26th July was celebrated as the Kargil Vijay Diwas as
the 16th anniversary of the Indian victory in the 1999
Kargil war.
 Of the 31 countries which produce power from
nuclear sources, India is 12th, producing 5308 MWe.
The list is topped by USA producing 98639 MWe.
 National Broadcasting Day was observed on 23
July. It is on this day in 1927, the Indian Broadcasting
Company started first radio broadcasting from
Bombay.
 Government has announced that 14 States and Union
Territories have achieved or exceeded the literacy
rate of 80 percent.
JUNE 2015
INDIA BREAKS TWO GUINNESS RECORDS
Led by the Prime Minister himself, India broke two
Guinness records – one for the largest yoga assembly of
35,985 at a single venue and the other for participation
from 84 nationalities in a single event on the occasion of
the International Yoga Day at Rajpath, New Delhi.
The Department of Posts released a special stamp on
yoga and the Finance Ministry released coins of the
denomination of Rs 10 and Rs 100 on the occasion.
MODI VISITS BANGLADESH
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Dhaka on June 6
on a two-day visit to Bangladesh. 22 agreements were
signed between two countries during the visit and a
credit line of $2 billion was announced for the
neighbouring country.
Mr Modi also received the “Bangladesh
Liberation War Honour” on behalf of former Prime
Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in recognition of his role
in the Bangladesh Liberation War.
The two countries agreed to start Kolkata-
Dhaka-Agartala (466+152 kms) bus service and
Guwahati – Dhaka (496 kms) bus services.
PRESIDENT VISITS SWEDEN
President of India visited Sweden on May 31 on his five-
day visit to the country and Belarus. This is first ever
visit by an Indian President to Sweden. Several
agreements were signed with Sweden to boost ties and
to find ways for investment in India’s defence sector
under the ambitious ‘Make in India’ initiative.
INDIA, BELARUS SIGN SIX AGREEMENTS
During the visit of Indian President, the Belarus
Goernment signed six agreements in fields like
textiles, double taxation, media etc. Besides, the State
University of Belarus conferred the Professor Honoris
Causa degree on the President. India has extended a
USD 100 million line of credit to Belarus.
INDIA BEST CHOICE FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT
As per the Baseline Profitability Index (BPI) compiled in
New York, USA, India has been ranked the best country
in terms of attracting foreign investors, in a study of 110
countries. China has secured the 65th position and the
U.S. is at the 50th place.

INDIA GOOD FOR INVESTMENTS
According to a World Bank report, India figures among
top five emerging economies for the highest investment
commitments in private sector, infrastructure sectors -
energy, transport and water. The top five countries are
Brazil, Turkey, Peru, Colombia and India.
DUTCH PRIME MINISTER VISITS INDIA
Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of Netherland, arrived in
New Delhi on a two-day visit to India. The two
countries announced a joint working group on counter
terrorism and working closely in areas such as
extremism, defence, maritime and cyber security while
the Dutch expressed interest in supporting the Make in
India and Clean India campaign.
MINIMAL ELDER ABUSE IN INDIA
A new global study reveals that elder abuse in India is
the lowest in Asia with an incidence of 14 per cent only
while it is the highest in China at 36 per cent. In other
countries, it varied from 2 percent in Ireland to 61
percent in Croatia.
Elder abuse includes psychological, physical and sexual
abuse, neglect and financial exploitation.
NATHU LA ROUTE OPENED BY CHINA
China opened the second land crossing in Tibet via
Nathu La in Sikkim, 4,000 metres above the sea level to
allow the first batch of Indian pilgrims undertaking the
arduous Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra. The route was
closed after the 1962 clash with China.
PRABHU ATTENDS G 20 MEET AT ISTANBUL
At the G-20 sherpa meeting in Turkey, India pressed for
petroleum pricing reforms globally to ensure stability in
the energy sector. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu
represented India at the meet.
'Sherpa' is a senior official responsible for preparing the
agenda for top leaders for a big meet.
GITA MARKS ITS DEBUT IN CHINA
Bhagavad Gita, the sacred
ancient Indian scripture, has
made its debut in China after its
Chinese version was released
during an international yoga
conference held in Dujiangyan
in the south-western Sichuan,
China.
E C SUSPENDS NATIONAL PEOPLE’s PARTY
The Election Commission has suspended the recognition
of former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma’s National
People’s Party because it failed to submit its poll
expenditure statement within the specified time frame
of 90 days since the general election last year.
HEALTH AGREEMENT SIGNED WITH USA
India and USA have signed a series of agreements for
cooperation in health sector in areas like cancer
research, medical infrastructure development and
application of new diagnostic technologies etc.
TALKS HELD WITH JAPAN, AUSTRALIA
India, Australia and Japan held trilateral talks in New
Delhi to discuss a range of issues including the security
situation in the Asia Pacific as also infrastructure and
developmental projects.
IIT TO VENTURE INTO MEDICAL SCIENCE
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur will soon
become the first engineering institute in India to
venture into medical education. The super-specialty
hospital named Dr BC Roy Institute of Medical Science &
Research is to become operational by 2017.
INDIA SIGNS GLOBAL TAX TREATY
India has joined the Multilateral Competent Authority
Agreement (MCAA) on Automatic Exchange of Financial
Account Information by signing the pact in Paris. This
will enable India to access the data related to bank
accounts from across the world, including tax havens
that had refused to cooperate earlier.
54 countries have already joined the MCAA. India is
among the six countries that signed the pact, taking the
number to 60. The target is to reach 94 countries by 2017.
INDIA HOME TO 24% OF WORLD’S HUNGRY
India is home to the highest number of hungry people in
the world, at 194 million, surpassing China, according to
the United Nations annual hunger report - 'The State of
Food Insecurity in the World 2015' by FAO. India
accounts for over 24 per cent of the total 795 million
hungry people in the world.

INDIA RANKED 143RD IN TERMS OF PEACE
According to research by Australia-based Institute for
Economics and Peace (IEP), India ranked among 20
most violent places globally, standing at 143rd rank in
2014. Syria and Afghanistan were rated the least
peaceful countries in the world while Iceland held its
position as most peaceful, followed by Denmark.
INDIA STILL LOW IN COMPETITIVENESS
India was ranked 44th in the annual global
competitiveness report by a Switzerland-based business
school, which cited problems like high corporate taxes
and a parallel economy for the low ranking. The USA
ranked number one in the study.
INDIA RANKS HIGH IN CARBON EMISSIONS
Data released by the US based World Resources
Institute shows that in terms of emissions of climate -
damaging greenhouse gases, India ranks fourth in
world, accounting for roughly 7 per cent of emissions.
The top three are China, USA and European Union.
However, in terms of per capita emissions, India ranks far
below at the 10th place.
 The three-day World Bangla Conference organized by
the Vishwa Bangla Sammelan was held in Nagpur,
Madhya Pradesh.
 India has emerged as Britain's third biggest job
creator in 2014 as it saw a 65% increase in FDI from
India, leading to 9,350 new jobs in 122 projects.
 India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh signed a Motor
Vehicles Agreement for the regulation of passenger
and cargo vehicular traffic.
 India emerged the top donor country for Nepal by
pledging $ one billion aid for reconstruction of earth-
quake hit Nepal
 World Bank gave a $250 million loan for Jhelum and
Tawi Flood Recovery Project for reconstruction of
flood-affected infrastructure in J&K.
NEWS FROM STATES
AUGUST 2015
NAGALAND REMEMBERS RANI GAIDINLIU
Birth centenary celebrations of freedom fighter Rani
Gaidinliu were inaugurated in Nagaland on August 24. A
commemorative coin of 100 rupees and circulation coin
of 5 rupees was launched on this occasion. She was a
Naga political and spiritual leader who had led a non
violent revolt against British colonial rule in India.
MOB VIOLENCE IN GUJARAT
Gujarat witnessed widespread violent clashes after the
massive rally on August 25 for demanding special job
reservation for Patel community. Curfew was clamped
in several towns as the mob violence claimed over 10
lives. Army was deployed to rein in the violence.
KOCHI IS WORLD’s FIRST SOLAR AIRPORT
Scripting a new chapter, the Cochin International
Airport, Kochi on August 18 became the first airport in
the world to operate completely on solar power. The 12
MWp power plant fully meets the daily requirement of
50 to 60 thousand units of the airport.
ALLAHABAD HC ORDER FOR GOVT SCHOOLS
The Allahabad High Court on 18 August 2015 directed
the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh to ensure that all
government officials, elected representatives, members
of judiciary and all other persons who get any benefit or
salary from state should send their children to primary
schools run by the state Board for Secondary Education.

TWO WAR MUSEUMS OPENED IN RAJASTHAN
Two war memorials - Jaisalmer War Museum and
Longewala War Memorial were inaugurated in
Rajasthan on August 24 in the honour of war heroes of
1965 Indo-Pak war and 1971 Indo Pak war,
respectively. Longewala is on Pakistan border near
Jaisalmer and is remembered for the fierce tanks battle
where 34 Pak tanks and over 500 military vehicles were
destroyed, killing over 200 Pak soldiers while only two
soldiers were killed from Indian side
‘DAHI HANDI’ IS ADVENTURE SPORTS
In an effort to bring some discipline during the popular
Dahi Handi festival, the Maharashtra government has
accorded the status of adventure sport to the art of
forming ‘human pyramids’ – main feature of this festival.
 Telangana govt has signed a MoU with the
Department of Posts for sale of stamp papers at post
offices from September 1 to avoid fraud and forgery.
 Kerala would be the first fully digital state in the
country by March 2016 by utilising e-governance to
deliver efficient and transparent services.
JULY 2015
GOA TO HOLD YOUTH DELPHIC GAMES 2016
The 5th Youth Delphic Games for cultural events will be
held in Goa in February 2016. Started in ancient Greece
in Delphy, the games are hosted every four years for
participants in the age group 15-25 years.
They are being hosted in India for the first time. The
motto of the 2016 Games is ‘Celebrating Arts and
Cultures.’ It will include competitions in six categories —
musical arts & sounds, performing arts, language arts,
visual arts, social arts and ecological arts & architecture.
BANGALORE RANKS 12TH IN WORLD AS IT CITY
Bangalore has been ranked 12th in the list of top 20
technology-rich cities in the world, according to a
survey conducted by global property consultant Jones
Lang LaSalle. Good economic growth, investments in
infrastructure, presence of startups and significant
supply of prime office space are some of the factors that
contributed in Bangalore's strong performance in the
survey. London, San Jose (California) and Beijing are top
three cities on the list.
NADIA WINS UN PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD
The "Abar Souchagar" (toilet for all) project in West
Bengal's Nadia district, aimed at making the district free
from open defecation, has won the prestigious United
Nations Public Service Award for making Nadia the first
'Open Defecation Free' district in the country.
XINJIANG TO AID GROWTH OF VADODARA
Vadodara in Gujarat and China's Xinjinag province have
signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to
enhance infrastructure growth and development
between the two regions.
U P TO HAVE GPS IN ALL STATE BUSES
Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation
(UPSRTC) has become the first State transport
corporation to have a vehicle tracking system for its
over 9600 inter-city buses, which has led to a reduction
in accidents and deaths as drivers are wary of crossing
the speed limits.
HARYANA TOPS IN SKILL DEVELOPMENT
A report brought out by National Skill Development
Corporation (NSDC) states that Haryana is number one
state in India in automobile production, accounting for
50% of total passenger cars and two-wheelers produced
in India.
HARYANA TO GIVE 24 HR ELECTRICITY SUPPLY
The Haryana government has launched the ‘Mhara
Gaon Jagmag Gaon’ scheme from Dyalpur village of
Kurukshetra district to ensure 24-hour power supply to
the villages which fulfill all parameters, particularly
avoiding power theft.
NAGALAND DECLARED ‘DISTURBED AREA’
The Home Ministry has declared Nagaland a “disturbed
area” under section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special
Powers) Act 1958, as it finds that a “dangerous
condition” prevails in the State and the armed forces
should assist the civil administration in maintaining law
and order.
 The Kerala Tourism has won Pacific Asia Travel
Association award for its Muziris Heritage
Conservation Project in the 'Heritage & Culture'
category.
 Uttarakhand became the first state in India to
successfully install an Earthquake Warning System
to detect earthquakes and disseminate warnings.
 Chennai is 6th city in India to have the Metro train.
The first train covered an overhead stretch between
Koyambedu and Alandur for 10 km.
 The Tripura government has introduced a pension
scheme for transgenders allowing them a pension of
Rs 500 per month.

JUNE 2015
RAJASTHAN TOPS IN SOLAR POWER
Data released by the Union Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy shows that Rajasthan, with an
installed capacity of 1147 megawatt for solar power,
topped the list of states commissioning grid connected
solar power projects in the country, followed by Gujarat
(1,000 mw).
KERALA STARTS PUBLIC DIGITAL LOCKERS
Kerala Government launched the Digital locker system
‘Akshay’, under which the public can store important
records and certificates such as birth and marriage
certificates, pan card, school/ college transfer certificate,
passport etc. in the digital format. The records can be
downloaded as and when required.
HEMIS FESTIVAL HELD AT LADAK
A two-day long annual Hemis festival dedicated to Guru
Padmasambha was held in Ladakh region of Jammu and
Kashmir the largest monastery of Ladakh - Hemis
monastery.
3 MORE DISTRICTS COME UNDER NCR
The Government has decided to include Muzaffarnagar
district of Uttar Pradesh and the Jind and Karnal
districts of Haryana as part of the urban conglomerate
of National Capital Region (NCR).
LIPULEKH PASS OPENED FOR BUSINESS
The 17,500-feet high Lipulekh Pass in Pithoragarh
district of Uttarakhand was opened for this year's India-
China trade and Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. The route
will remain open till October 31.
 Jaipur Metro, touted as one of the fastest built metro
systems in the country, has been thrown open to
public.
 India’s first of its kind Tier-I Oil Spill Response
Centre for Mumbai Port Trust, Jawaharlal Nehru
Port Trust and ONGC near Mumbai was inaugurated.
 Steffi Graf, Tennis legend from Germany, has been
appointed the brand ambassador for Ayurveda by
Kerala.
GOVERNMENT
INITIATIVES
AUGUST 2015
98 SMART CITIES SELECTED
The Centre declared the names of 98 cities on August 27
for its ambitious smart cities project. The cities were
selected on the parametres set by the Centre. U P leads
by getting 13 cities selected, followed by Tamil Nadu-12
and Maharashtra-10. Centre will release Rs. two crore
for each city for the preparation of the smart city plan.
‘SEHAT’ LAUNCHED WITH APOLLO HOSPITALS
The Government launched a health service called SEHAT
(Social Endeavour for Health And Telemedicine) on
August 25 in collaboration with the Apollo Hospitals,
which will connect 60,000 Common Service Centres
(CSCs) across the country to a common network. This
will provide healthcare access to millions of citizens
irrespective of geographical location or connectivity
through the CSCs.
‘VIDYALAKSHMI’ LAUNCHED FOR EDU LOANS
Government has launched the web portal "Vidya
Lakshmi” (www.vidyalakshmi.co.in) for the benefit of
students seeking educational loans. So far 13 banks have
registered 22 educational loan schemes on the portal
and five banks -- SBI, IDBI Bank, Bank of India, Canara
Bank and Union Bank of India have integrated their
system with the portal for providing loan processing
status to students.
GLOBAL ID FOR INDIAN SAILORS
India has ratified the International Seafarers’ Identity
Documents Convention, 2003 to provide a globally
recognised identity document to its seafarers. In
addition to facilitating mobility of seafarers, the smart
card will also improve maritime security with a
verifiable identification.
Every year, several hundred Indian sailors are
incarcerated abroad for various reasons, and without
proper internationally recognised identification, they are
unable to seek needed legal remedies.

ONLINE REGISTRATION FOR DISABLED
Government launched an online beneficiary registration
system, ‘On-line On-Site’ on August 17 to ensure
transparency in schemes implemented by the Ministry
of Social Justice and Empowerment to provide assistive
aids to persons with disabilities.
IAS OFFICERS TO START CAREER FROM DELHI
In a first, Union government has decided that from this
year onwards, IAS probationers will start their career
with a three-month stint at the Centre before going to
their respective states of posting as per the cadre
allocation.
‘SURAKSHA BANDHAN’ TO PUSH INSURANCE
Government has launched Suraksha Bandhan Yojna
through participating banks and insurance companies to
facilitate enrolment under two social security schemes -
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Pradhan
Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana. One has to invest Rs
201 and Rs 5,001 which will be kept as a fixed deposit in
banks and the yearly interest generated will be used to
pay the premium for PMSBY and PMJJBY, respectively.
‘NAI MANZIL’ LAUNCHED FOR MINORITIES
Govt launched a new national scheme Nai Manzil from
Patna on August 8 to address educational and livelihood
needs of minority communities in general and Muslims
in particular as they lag behind other minority
communities in terms of educational attainments.
NREGA WAGES TO BE PUT IN ACCOUNT
In an effort to prevent delay in payments to workers
under the rural employment guarantee scheme, the
Union Cabinet has approved direct benefit transfer to
beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). A sum of
Rs 34,000 crore has been allocated for the scheme in the
current fiscal year.
GOVT ADOPTS SENDAI DISASTER FRAMEWORK
Government has announced it plans to implement the
Sendai framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-
2030 to increase preparedness for response and
recovery and strengthen resilience in case of disaster.
This framework was adopted during the third UN World
Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai,
Japan in March 2015.
PEACE ACCORD SIGNED WITH NSCN
Government of India has signed a landmark peace
accord on August 3 with the National Socialist Council of
Nagaland-NSCN (Isak-Muivah group), promising an end
to almost two decades long pending peace talks. The
NSCN has been waging an armed struggle for securing
an independent Naga state foe past several years.
WEB PORTAL FOR ADARSH GRAM YOJANA
Union Ministry of Rural Development has launched
‘SAMANVAY’ web portal to monitor progress of
implementation of the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana
(SAGY) for development of Gram Panchayats. Every MP
is expected to adopt three villages for their overall
development.
E-VISA EXTENDED TO CHINA, HK & MACAU
Government has extended e-Tourist Visa facility to
China, Hong Kong and Macau with effect from 30 July
2015. With the inclusion of these countries, the total
number of countries covered under the e-Tourist Visa
scheme becomes 77.
 Government has launched the School Nursery Yojana,
to bring students closer to nature by involving them
in raising of saplings in school nurseries.
 Govt proposes to rename the present Agriculture
Ministry as 'Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare
Ministry’ to focus on the welfare of farmers.
JULY 2015
E-KISSAN TO START ONLINE MANDIS
The Ministry of Agriculture plans to launch E-kisan, a
portal that will go online on July 27, to allow the farmers
to showcase their farm produce on the Internet for
wholesalers to bid remotely before the crop is harvested
and sent to the buyer. Now the farmer need not bring
produce to the mandi and play in the hands of
commission agents for right price. Apart from ensuring
remunerative prices to farmers, the portal will be an
attractive alternative for wholesale buyers as they will
not have to pay any mandi tax.
PORTAL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE
The Ministry of Environment and Forests has launched a
web portal for online submission of applications for
Environment Clearance by State Environment Impact
Assessment Authorities for Category ‘B’ projects. This
facility is already there for projects cleared directly by
the Ministry.

WEB PORTAL LAUNCHED FOR EMPLOYMENT
The government has launched the National Career
Counseling Portal under the National Career Service
(NCS) project to coordinate all government-run
employment exchanges. The web portal will act as a
one-stop platform for both job seekers and job
providers where registration can be done online.
‘DIGITAL INDIA’ INITIATIVE LAUNCHED
The government has launched the 'Digital India'
initiative for digital delivery of all essential services
online to citizens and transform India into a digitally
empowered society and a knowledge economy by
leveraging IT. It plans to cover all the 2, 50, 000 village
panchayats with broad band connectivity. It aims to
reduce corruption in government services by making
them available online. It plans to provide Aadhaar card-
based ‘digital lockers’, wherein one can store all
documents like birth/death certificates, various
permissions, registrations etc.
ALL INDIA NUMBER PORTABILITY
The nationwide mobile number portability, MNP which
will allow customers to keep their existing mobile
phone numbers while shifting between States and
circles, is now operational. Until recently the users
could change their operator while retaining the same
number only in the same State or telecom circle.
HELPLINE LAUNCHED FOR RAILWAYS
The government has launched an All India Railway
Helpline number, 1512, using which the passengers can
lodge a complaint in the event of falling prey to a crime
on both, running trains and stations in India.
HRIDAY SCHEME LAUNCHED FROM AMRITSAR
The National Heritage City Development and
Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) was launched from
Amritsar in Punjab for development of 12 historical
cities in the country. The central government has
sanctioned Rs. 69.31 crore as 100% grant for Amritsar.
OVER 100 MILLION YOUTH TO BE SKILLED
The government has set a target to provide skill
development training to 102 million youth over the next
five years under the National Skill Development Mission.
A skill loan initiative will also be started, under which
loans from Rs 5000 to Rs 1.5 lakh will be given to more
than 34 lakh youth.
DIGITAL INDIA
15 SALIENT THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT PM
NARENDRA MODI'S PROJECT
Moving ahead on yet another pet project, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi launched the 'Digital India' campaign,
aimed at creating a digitally empowered society and
knowledge economy.
The programme comprises of various initiatives, each
targeted to prepare India for becoming a knowledge
economy and for bringing good governance to citizens
through synchronized and co-ordinated engagement of
the entire government.
The vision of Digital India programme also aims at
inclusive growth in areas of electronic services,
products, manufacturing and job opportunities etc. The
vision of Digital India is centred on three key areas –
(i) Digital Infrastructure as a utility to every citizen
(ii) Governance & services on demand
(iii) Digital Empowerment of citizens
9 PILLARS OF DIGITAL INDIA
The Digital India programme aims to provide
Broadband highways; Universal access to mobile
connectivity; Public internet access programme; E-
governance’ eKranti - Electronic delivery of services;
Information for all; Electronics manufacturing: Targeted
at net zero imports; IT for jobs & early harvest
programmes aimed at wifi in universities, e-books etc.

In line with these objectives, the government has
launched several initiatives. We take a look at them:
1. Digital Locker System aims to minimize the usage
of physical documents and enable sharing of e-
documents across agencies. The sharing of the e-
documents will be done through registered
repositories thereby ensuring the authenticity of
the documents online, says the government.
2. MyGov.in has been implemented as a platform for
citizen engagement in governance, through a
"Discuss", "Do" and "Disseminate" approach. The
mobile app for MyGov would bring these features
to users on a mobile phone.
3. Swahh Bharat Mission (SBM) Mobile app would
be used by people and Government organizations
for achieving the goals of Swachh Bharat Mission.
4. eSign framework to allow citizens to digitally sign
a document online using Aadhaar authentication.
5. The Online Registration System (ORS) under the
eHospital application has been introduced. This
application provides important services such as
online registration, payment of fees and
appointment, online diagnostic reports, enquiring
availability of blood online etc.
6. National Scholarships Portal is said to be a one
stop solution for end to end scholarship process
right from submission of student application,
verification, sanction and disbursal to end
beneficiary for all the scholarships provided by
the Government of India.
7. DeitY has undertaken an initiative namely
Digitize India Platform (DIP) for large scale
digitization of records in the country that would
facilitate efficient delivery of services.
8. The Government of India has undertaken an
initiative namely Bharat Net, a high speed digital
highway to connect all 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats
of country. This would be the world's largest
rural broadband connectivity project.
9. Policy initiatives have also been undertaken by
DeitY in the e-Governance domain like e-Kranti
Framework, Policy on Adoption of Open Source
Software for Government of India, Framework for
Adoption of Open Source Software in e-
Governance Systems, Policy on Open Application
Programming Interfaces (APIs) for Government
of India, E-mail Policy of Government of India,
Policy on Use of IT Resources of Government of
India, Policy on Collaborative Application
Development by Opening the Source Code of
Government Applications, Application
Development & Re-Engineering Guidelines for
Cloud Ready Applications.
10. BSNL has introduced Next Generation Network
(NGN), to replace 30 year old exchanges, which is
an IP based technology to manage all types of
services like voice, data, multimedia/ video and
other types of packet switched communication
services.
11. BSNL has undertaken large scale deployment of
Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the country. The user
can latch on the BSNL Wi-Fi network through
their mobile devices.
12. BPO Policy has been approved to create BPO
centres in different North Eastern states and also
in smaller / mofussil towns of other states.
13. Electronics Development Fund (EDF) Policy aims
to promote Innovation, R&D, and Product
Development and to create a resource pool of IP
within the country to create a self-sustaining eco-
system of Venture Funds.
14. National Centre for Flexible Electronics
(NCFlexE) is an initiative of Government of India
to promote research and innovation in the
emerging area of Flexible Electronics.
15. Centre of Excellence on Internet on Things is a
joint initiative of Department of Electronics &
Information Technology and NASSCOM.
Success of this programme will make India Digitally
empowered and the leader in usage of IT in delivery of
services related to various domains such as health,
education, agriculture, banking, etc.
Source Economic Times: July 1, 2015
************************************************
MINIMUM WAGE HIKED TO Rs 160
The National Floor Level Minimum Wage has been
increased to Rs. 160 per day from the existing Rs. 137
effective from July 1 this year. It is expected from the
state governments that they do not pay less than this
rate as it is mandatory.
GOVT TO CONDUCT SOCIAL AUDITS
With a view to focus on safety and health aspects of
workers, govt plans to prescribe norms for the quality of
air and water within the factory premises, along with
the extent of exposure of employees to particulate
matters within the factory. Social audits of workers will
be conducted to check implementation of these norms.
Over 93% of the country's workforce is still in the
unorganised sector, where most workers are deprived of
protection measures and are often exposed to hazardous
air and water.

‘Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana’
For power sector reforms in rural areas to ensure round
the clock electricity supply to farmers and rural
households, was formally launched in Patna on July 25.
The earlier scheme Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran
Yojana has been subsumed in the new scheme.
RULES NOTIFIED FOR FOREIGN ASSETS
The government has notified the rules for calculating
overseas income and assets under the Black Money
(Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and
Imposition of Tax Act, 2015. The rules notified by
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) say that the value
of overseas assets, including immovable property,
jewellery, archaeological collections and paintings,
shares and securities and shares in unlisted firms
abroad will be calculated at their fair market value.
BLACK MONEY WINDOW TILL 30th SEPTEMBER
The government has given three months time till 30th
September for people to declare their undisclosed
foreign income and assets to escape prosecution under
the new Black Money Law. Those making the disclosure
during this period will have a further three-month
period till 31st December this year to pay the taxes and
the penalty on their foreign income and assets. Those
availing of the one-time compliance window would have
to pay a tax of 30% and a penalty of a similar amount.
 The govt will give national awards with a cash prize
of Rs 1.5 lakh to 3 best rag-pickers and 3 associations
for their contribution to keeping India clean.
 The govt has launched the Surakshit Khadya
Abhiyan to create mass awareness and capacity
building for safe and hygienic food.
 The govt has decided to start an exhibition train—
Science Express to sensitise the people, especially
children and the youth, about Climate Change.
 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has
approved the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee
Yojana with an outlay of Rs. 50000 crore.
 The retirement fund body Employees’ Provident Fund
Organisation, EPFO, has launched a public outreach
initiative by the name ‘Nidhi Aapke Nikat'.
JUNE 2015
3 SCHEMES LAUNCHED FOR URBAN INDIA
Prime Minister launched three schemes to rejuvenate
the urban infrastructure in India.
i) Smart Cities Mission for applying smart solutions to
improve infrastructure and service delivery in the cities.
The Rs 48,000 crore mission aims to develop the overall
quality of life for citizens in 100 selected cities and make
them role models for others to follow.
ii) Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban
Transformation-AMRUT: A Rs 50,000 crore project
for infrastructure development of 500 cities with
population of over one lakh, covering basic
infrastructure like sanitation, drinking water, solid and
waste management and transport.
iii) Housing For All: To ensure decent houses for all the
needy, particularly the economically weaker sections
and low income group in all the 4041 notified towns
across the country. The scheme aims to construct 2
crores house for urban poor with central assistance of
Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2.3 lakh to promote slum-free cities.
NAND-GHAR YOJANA LAUNCHED
The government launched the first modernised
Anganwadi centre of India at Hasanpur village of
Sonepat in Haryana.. The centre has been set up as part
of Nand-Ghar Yojana of Union Government which aims
to transform the anganwadi centres.
FREE WI-FI HOT SPOT AT TAJ MAHAL
Visitors to Taj Mahal will soon be able to access internet
through wi-fi hotspots with launched by the BSNL from
June 16. The service will be free of cost for 30 minutes
in 24 hours and shall be charged subsequently. BSNL
plans to set up 40,000 such Wi-Fi hotspots across the
country in three years at a cost of Rs. 6,000 crore.
HEALTH PHONE PROGRAMME LAUNCHED
Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) in collaboration
with Ministry of Women and Child Development
launched the IAP Health Phone programme, the
world's largest digital mass education programme to
address malnutrition in women and children.

WEBSITE LAUNCHED FOR ‘MISSING CHILDREN’
The Women and Child Development Ministry has
launched a new website - www.khoyapaya.gov.in to
serve as a platform for people to not only report a
missing child but also track the efforts towards his or
her recovery. The website will answer all queries as to
what action is to be taken when a child goes missing.
APP LAUNCHED TO CLEAN GANGA
The Centre has started a mobile application, Bhuvan
Ganga, where the public can upload pictures of pollution
sources of the Ganga River for further action by the
authorities concerned. The app will be supported by the
National Remote Sensing Centre and ISRO.
JAL KRANTI ABHIYAN LAUNCHED
Ministry for water resources launched a Jal Kranti
Abhiyan from Jaipur on June 6 aimed at turning at least
one water stressed village in each district of the country
into a water surplus village.
EPFO MAKES ‘UAN’ MANDATORY
Employees Provident Funds Organisation-EPFO has
decided to make Universal Account Number (UAN)
mandatory for all employers covered under the EPF and
Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1952.
BILL TO REPLACE BIS ACT 1986
The government approved a new bill to replace the
existing Bureau of Indian Standards, BIS Act 1986 to
ensure supply of quality products and services to the
consumers. Currently, only products and systems come
under the ambit of standards and the bill proposes to
include services under the standardisation regime.
RAILWAY TIES UP WITH AIRLINES
Railways have entered in to a tie-up with Spice Jet and
Go Air airlines to enable the train travellers whose ticket
is wait-listed to cancel the train ticket and instead get on
to a flight of either airline by paying some extra fare.
INSURANCE POOL FOR NUCLEAR RISKS
The Union government has launched an insurance pool
of Rs. 1,500 crore, mandatory under the Civil Liability
for Nuclear Damage Act to offset the financial burden on
foreign nuclear suppliers in case of an accident. Under
the pool, nuclear operators’ liability and suppliers’
special contingency insurance policies will be offered.
APP LAUNCHED FOR BLOOD BANK LOCATION
Government has launched a mobile application for easy
access of information regarding the nearest blood bank
in the country. Prepared by the National Blood
Transfusion Council, it covers all the 2760 licensed
blood banks of the country.
SMS WEATHER ALERTS FOR FARMERS
The government has launched a web portal and weather
alert system for the benefit of farmers called Crop
Insurance Portal www.farmer.gov.in/insurance, which
will give information on adverse weather condition to
farmers through SMS. So far, one crore farmers have
registered with the portal for receiving SMS alerts.
WORKDAYS UNDER NREGA INCREASED TO 150
Govt. has decided to increase the number of workdays
under NREGA scheme from 100 days to 150 days, only
in drought affected areas. The scheme will be
applicable only to those households which complete 100
days of work.
NEW INCOME TAX RETURN FORMS
Union Finance Ministry has introduced two new forms
for filing income tax returns (ITR) for the year 2014-15 -
ITR-2 and ITR-2A. Form ITR-2 is for individuals and
Hindu Undivided Families (HUF) having income from
more than one house property and capital gains. Form
ITR-2A is for individuals who have income from more
than one residence.
 Individuals having income only from salary /
interest will fill Form ITR-1 (Sahaj) and those
having income from business will fill Form ITR-4S.
 The Govt has decided to rename Solar Energy
Corporation of India (SECI) as the Renewable
Energy Corporation of India (RECI).
 The Government has withdrawn the customs import
duties for drugs and test kits used to treat HIV and
AIDS infections.
 The Railway Ministry has decided to run Suvidha
trains from next month with dynamic fares to
address the rush during the peak travel season.
 The second border haat (rural market) opened at
Kamalasagar in Sipahijala district of Tripura
bordering Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh.

 Indian Renewable Energy and Development
Agency has been awarded the Mini Ratna-I status
by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
 Indian Railways has named Haridwar Mail running
between Ahmedabad-Haridwar as Yoga Express to
commemorate the International Yoga Day.
 The Railways has commenced the SMS alerts to
inform the passengers about the cancelled trains to
enable them to make alternative arrangements.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
AUGUST 2015
INDIA MAY SLIP TO 7% GROWTH: MOODY’s
Cautioning that slow reforms pace could dent growth,
Moody's Investors Service on August 18 reduced India's
growth forecast for 2015-16 to around 7% from 7.5 %
projected earlier, citing below-normal rainfall.
EXPORTS CONTINUE TO SHRINK IN JULY
With global demand not showing any signs of a pickup,
India's merchandise exports contracted for the eighth
month running in July to $ 23.1 billion, registering a 10.3
per cent drop over last year. Imports fell 10.3 per cent to
$35.9 billion, leading to a trade deficit of $12.8 billion.
 Indian Forex reserves gained $1.08 billion in the week
ended August 14, rising to $354.43 billion.
 On the back of rising consumer goods production,
Index of Industrial Production showed a growth of
3.8 per cent in June.
 Core sector output grew at a slower pace of 3% in
June. Sectors like coal and steel turned weak while oil
and gas production fell.
JULY 2015
ADB PUTS INDIA’s GROWTH AT 7.8%
The Asian Development Bank has projected that Indian
economy is likely to grow at 7.8 per cent in the year
2014-15, making it the fastest growing economy, but
cautioned that delay in land and taxation reforms could
hinder growth.
INDIA TO GROW BY 7.8% - FITCH
Global rating agency Fitch says that India is expected to
grow at 7.8 per cent in 2015. Its Global Growth Outlook
report says that the Indian Government's strong drive to
implement structural reforms should lead to
improvements in the business environment and, over
the time, to an increase in investments.
INDIA SET TO GROW BY 7.5% - IMF
In its World Economic Outlook Update, the IMF has
retained India's growth forecast for current year at 7.5
percent, which is higher than China's 6.8 per cent. The
report projects current year global economy growth
forecast at 3.3 per cent.
GDP CROSSES $2 TRILLION MARK – W B
According to latest World Bank data, India’s GDP
reached the $2.06 trillion mark in 2014. After taking 60
years to reach the $1-trillion mark, India added the next
trillion in just seven years. India’s gross national
income per person rose to $1,610 (around Rs. 1 lakh) a
year during 2014. India’s growth rate, at 7.4 per cent in
2014, makes it the fastest growing major economy.
JUNE 2015
GDP GROWS BY 7.3% IN 2014-15
According to the data released by the Central Statistics
Office (CSO), the Indian economy grew at 7.3 per cent in
2014-15 (base year 2011-12) due to improvement in
the performance of both services as well as
manufacturing sectors. It was 6.9 per cent in 2013-14.
The fourth quarter (January-March) of last fiscal saw the
economy grow at 7.5 per cent.
INDIA MAY GROW BY 8 %: NOMURA
Global brokerage firm Nomura said in a research note
that lower inflation, easier financial conditions, policy
efforts and rising profit margins are expected to back up
a cyclical recovery in Indian economy that may grow by
8 per cent this fiscal.

INDIA TO TOP IN GROWTH – WORLD BANK
The latest Global Economic Prospects report from the
World Bank says that India is expected to top the
growth chart in world, growing by 7.5 per cent this year,
surpassing China which is projected to grow at 7.1 per
cent this year.
OECD PUTS INDIA’s GROWTH AT 7.3%
Paris-based think tank Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) has said that
India’s economic growth is projected to remain “strong
and stable” at 7.3% in 2015 on the back of revival in
investments even as more reforms are needed to reduce
uncertainties over taxation norms.
RBI LOWERS GDP GROWTH TO 7.6%
The Reserve Bank has lowered the economic growth
forecast for the year 2015-16 to 7.6 per cent from 7.8
per cent projected in April, citing various risks,
including poor monsoon and rising crude oil prices.
Both lower than average monsoon and higher food
inflation would lead to reduction in demand.
ECONOMY & INDUSTRY
AUGUST 2015
3 INDIAN COs IN INNOVATION LIST
Three Indian companies, Hindustan Unilever, Sun
Pharma Industries and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
have been named among the world’s 100 most
innovative companies list compiled by Forbes magazine
of USA. The list is topped by Tesla Motors of USA.
INDIA TO BOOST PALM OIL PRODUCTION
India plans to spend $1.5 billion in the next three years
to help farmers grow oil palm trees to make the nation
self-sufficient in edible oils. Country spends $10 billion
on import of edible oils, its third-highest overseas spend
after oil and gold.
‘ACTIVA’ CROSSES ONE CRORE MARK
The country's most popular scooter - the Honda Activa -
has set a new record by crossing the one crore unit sales
landmark. First launched in 2001, the Activa currently
commands 59 per cent share in the Indian scooter
market - and over 2.1 million units of the Activa range
were sold in the last financial year.
RAJESH EXPORTS IS WORLD NO 1 IN JWELLERY
World’s largest gold jewellery manufacturer - Rajesh
Exports Ltd. Bengaluru, has acquired Switzerland based
Valcambi, the world’s largest integrated precious metals
refiner, in an all-cash deal of $400 million (around
Rs.2,560 crore).
NATIONAL INVESTMENT AND INFRA FUND
Union Cabinet has approved setting up of National
Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) to
support new and delayed projects. The fund will have
an initial corpus of Rs. 20000 crore, of which 49% will
be contributed by govt. of India.
AGRI PRODUCTION DOWN BY 4.9%
According to the Fourth Advance Estimates of
foodgrains production in 2014-15 in India, it was 252.68
million tonnes, down by 12.36 million tonnes (4.9%)
from the previous year’s record production of 265.04
million tonnes. Production of kharif crops suffered due
to bad monsoon while rabi crops were hit by unseasonal
rains/hailstorm during Feb-March 2015.
 The Union Cabinet has approved construction of
petroleum products pipeline from Raxaul (Bihar) in
India to Amlekhgunj in Nepal.
 Kolkata Port adjudged as the best ‘Major Port of the
Year’ in the country for the year 2014-15 on basis of
its turnover, efficiency and customer satisfaction.
 Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn to invest $5
billion in Maharashtra to set up large scale research
& development and manufacturing facilities.
 The government's 10 per cent stake sale in Indian Oil
Corporation on August 24 fetched around Rs. 9300 cr.
JULY 2015
IOC IS TOP CORPORATE OF INDIA
Seven Indian companies are among the world's 500
largest companies, according to a list compiled by
Fortune Magazine, USA. The list is topped by retail giant
Walmart. The 7 Indian companies are Indian Oil
(119th), followed by Reliance Industries, Tata Motors,
State Bank of India, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan
Petroleum, and ONGC.

SUBSIDY ON KEROSENE FIXED AT Rs 12/LTR
The government has decided to cap the subsidy on
kerosene at Rs 12 per litre. Currently, it is being sold
through the public distribution system at Rs 14.96 per
litre against the actual cost of Rs 33.47.
TELE CONNECTIONS CROSS 1 BILLION MARK
The total number of telephone connections in India
crossed the 1 billion mark in May, reaching 1,002.05
million, of which 975.78 million connections were
wireless or mobile, the data released by TRAI shows.
MILLIONAIRES GROWING IN INDIA
A report by the Wealth X and UBS bank, Switzerland
says that the number of dollar millionaires in India in
2014 rose to 2.5 lakh from 1.96 lakh in 2013, an
increase of 27 per cent.
RECORD MARINE EXPORTS IN 2014-15
The marine product exports from India crossed all
previous records in quantity, rupee value and dollar
terms in 2014-15, touching an all time high of Rs 33,441
crore. Frozen shrimps continued to be the flagship
product among Indian seafood exports by earning 67
per cent of the total value.
MOBILE APP FOR DAIRY FARMERS
The National Dairy Development Board has launched a
mobile application named ‘Pashu Poshan’ that will help
dairy farmers in boosting their income by raising milk
yield and cutting feed cost.
INDIAN ARMY/RLYs AMONG TOP EMPLOYERS
As per the World Economic Forum, the Indian Army and
the Indian Railways are among the world’s biggest
employers, employing 1.4 and 1.3 million, respectively,
securing 7th and 8th rank. The US Department of Defence
is at number one, employing over 3.2 million persons,
followed by China’s People’s Liberation Army with 2.3
million employees.
ICRISAT LAUNCHES GREEN PHABLET
Scientists at the Hyderabad based ICRISAT-
International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid
Tropics and the Government of Telangana have
collaborated to launch the Green Phablet for farmers in
Telangana to provide online weather alerts.
WORLD BANK FUNDING FOR EDFC
The World Bank has approved an additional loan of
$650 million for the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor
(EDFC), which is aimed at faster delivery of goods
between the northern and eastern parts of the country,
from Ludhiana to Kolkata.
LIMIT ON EPF WITHDRAWAL
The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)
has proposed that an employee be allowed to withdraw
only 75% of the overall kitty, instead of 100% as
permitted under the existing Employees' Provident
Funds Scheme, 1952, in case of resignation from a job or
for any other use before retirement.
CIBIL TO CHECK BIMA CLAIMS
The Life Insurance Council has engaged Credit
Information Bureau India Ltd (CIBIL) to detect
duplication of death claims under the Pradhan Mantri
Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojna. There is a possibility that
several customers bought policies from many banks and
therefore the need to check duplicate claims arise.
 The Electronic Toll Collection system was launched
on the Chennai-Bengaluru corridor on July26, aiming
to help road-users save time and money.
 BSNL, along with Andhra Bank and Pyro, has
launched a mobile VISA prepaid card SPEEDPAY to
allow users to do cash transactions up to Rs 1 lakh.
 The government plans to import 5,000 tonnes of Urad
dal to improve domestic supply and check price rise.
 India and Thailand signed the Double Taxation
avoidance treaty and the extradition treaty for
seeking extradition of fugitive offenders.
JUNE 2015
MSP FOR PADDY AND PULSES HIKED
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has
increased the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy
by Rs 50 to Rs 1,410 per quintal for this year, as per the
recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural
Costs and Prices (CACP).
Commodity Rs./quintal Commodity Rs./quintal
Paddy 1410 Ragi 1650
Paddy 1450 Tuar / Urad 4625
Jowar 1570 Moong 4850
Bajra 1275 Groundnut 4030
Maize 1325 Sunflower Seed 3800
Cotton Med. 3800 Cotton long 4100

LITTLE INDIAN MONEY IN SWISS BANKS
As per the latest data released by Switzerland's central
banking authority SNB (Swiss National Bank), Indians'
money in Swiss banks declined by over 10 per cent to
about 1.8 billion Swiss francs (USD 1.98 billion or Rs
12,615 crore) in 2014. India has moved down to the
61st place in terms of foreigners' money in Swiss banks,
having a share of just 0.123 per cent.
TARGET FOR SOLAR ENERGY UP BY 5 TIMES
The Cabinet has approved stepping up of India’s solar
power capacity target under the Jawaharlal Nehru
National Solar Mission by five times, reaching 1,00,000
Mega Watt by 2022. The target will principally comprise
of 40,000 mega watt Rooftop and 60,000 mega watt
through Large and Medium Scale Grid Connected Solar
Power Projects.
TWO COMMITTEES FOR GST IMPLEMENTATION
Finance Ministry has set up two committees for
facilitating the implementation of Goods and Services
Tax from 1st of April next year. The first committee will
suggest tax rates and look into IT preparedness for the
new indirect tax regime. The second committee would
monitor the progress of IT preparedness of
GSTN/CBEC/Tax authorities.
MEP HIKED FOR ONIONS
The government has hiked the Minimum Export Price
(MEP) of onion by 175 dollar per tonne to 425 dollar
per tonne to discourage exports and ensure adequate
supply in the domestic market and contain price rise of
the commodity
LISTING NORMS RELAXED FOR STARTUPS
The Securities & Exchange Board of India has
announced relaxed listing norms and liberalized several
other terms to encourage the booming start-up industry
to tap the local market so that local investors can also
access to the dramatic growth opportunities offered by
such firms.
INDIA HAS GOOD NUMBER OF SUPER RICH
India is home to the fourth largest number (928) of
ultra-high-net-worth households that have more than
100 million dollars in private wealth, according to the
Boston Consulting Group's 'Global Wealth 2015 report.
USA stands at number one (5201), followed by China
(1037) and UK (1019).
IPO NORMS REVISED BY SEBI
Investment in all IPOs (Initial Public Offering) opening
on or after 1 January 2016, has been made cheque-free
by SEBI by making ASBA (Application Supported by
Blocked Amount) mandatory for investors. Further, in a
bid to reduce the time period between the closure of an
IPO to its listing, the time allowed has been reduced
from the current 12 days to 6 days.
In the ASBA facility, the required amount is blocked in the
investor’s bank account and is debited only when the
shares are allotted to the investor. This helps in doing
away with the entire refund process that normally takes a
couple of days.
MUMBAI MOST EXPENSIVE IN INDIA
Luanda, capital of Angola has been rated as the world’s
costliest city to live in, as per Global HR firm Mercer’s
"Cost of Living Survey 2015". Mumbai was rated as the
most expensive city in India.
VEDANTA TAKES OVER CAIRN INDIA
India’s largest private miner Vedanta, headed by
billionaire Anil Agarwal, decided to absorb oil firm Cairn
India in a $2.3-billion all-share deal to create India’s
largest diversified natural resources company.
IMPORT PRICE HIKED FOR ARECA NUTS
The government has decided to increase the Minimum
Import Price, MIP on import of Areca nuts from existing
Rs 110 per kilogram to Rs 162 with immediate effect in
order to protect local growers from cheaper imports.
PROJECT LAUNCHED FOR WATERWAYS
The 'Jal Marg Vikas' (National Waterway-1) project on
River Ganges, which envisages developing a 1620 kms
water way between Allahabad and Haldia stretch, has
taken off with a $3.5 million funding from World Bank.
 Bangladesh has granted permission to Life
Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India to do business
in the country
 India has agreed to be a partner country in Russia’s
major Industrial Fair named INNOPROM-2016 to be
held at Yekaterinburg, Russia in July 2016
 World Bank granted a $400-million loan for the
Tamil Nadu Sustainable Urban Development Project
to improve services in urban local bodies.

BANKING & FINANCE
AUGUST 2015
RBI GRANTS PAYMENT BANK LICENCES
The Reserve Bank of India gave in principle approval for
11 entities on August 19 to set up payments banks. They
are India Post, Reliance Industries Ltd., Aditya Birla
Nuvo, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, National Securities
Depository Ltd., Airtel M Commerce Services Ltd.,
Vodafone m-pesa Ltd., Cholamandalam Distribution
Services Ltd., Fino Pay Tech Ltd. and Paytm.
 Concept of payment banks was proposed by the
Nachiket Mor committee.
 They differ from conventional banks as they cannot
give loans nor can they accept time deposits.
 Balance in deposit accounts cannot exceed Rs 1 lakh.
 They can issue debit cards but not credit cards.
 They will need to invest 75 percent of their funds in
government securities
(See article on Page No. 20)
FARM LOAN PERIOD EXTENDED
RBI has allowed banks to extend repayment period of
farm loan upto 5-years in case 50 percent or more of
crop is damaged due to natural calamities like drought
and flood and up to two years if crop damage is 33
percent or more.
RBI ALLOWS SHIFTING OF BANK BRANCHES
Reserve Bank of India has allowed banks to shift, merge
or close branches, except in rural areas, at their own
discretion. However, in case of rural branches and a
sole semi urban branch, approval of the District
Consultative Committee or District Level Review
Committee will be required.
GANDHI COMMITTEE ON COOP BANKS
R Gandhi committee on the urban cooperative bank
(UCB) system has recommended to amend the law to
allow UCBs to exit from the ambit of the Multi State Co-
operative Societies Act and come under the Companies
Act. All new banks in the private sector are governed by
the latter law.
INTEREST SUBVENTION FOR FARM LOANS
The RBI has notified that interest subvention of 2 per
cent per annum will be made available to all banks on
short term farm loans upto Rs. 3 lacs provided they
charge only 7 per cent per annum to farmers. Further,
additional subvention of 3 per cent will be available to
farmers who repay such loans in time. Such farmers
thus will pay interest at the rate of 4 per cent only.
IRDAI ALLOWS ALL INS. PRODUCTS TO BANKS
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
of India - IRDAI has allowed banks to tie up with
insurers, to sell three products each from life, non-life
and standalone health insurance segment.
GOVT TO PUT 70K CRORE IN BANKS
Government proposes to infuse Rs 70,000 crore in
public sector banks in next four years from budgetary
allocations. The estimate is based on credit growth rate
of 12 per cent for the current year and 12 to 15 per cent
for the next three years.
SIDBI LAUNCHES FUNDS FOR ENTERPRENEURS
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)
launched two funds on August 18 for financing
entrepreneurs. A 10,000 crore rupees fund named
SIDBI Make In India Loan For Enterprises (SMILE) is for
providing soft loans to MSMEs. The India Aspiration
Fund with corpus of Rs 2,000 crore has been launched
to create 7.5 lakh jobs in five years.
BANDHAN BANK JOINS BANKING INDUSTRY
Bandhan Bank began operations on August 23 as a full-
fledged bank with 501 branches and 1.43 crore accounts
across the country, becoming the newest member of the
estimated $2-trillion Indian banking industry.
SBI BUDDY – AN ALL PURPOSE APP FROM SBI
State Bank of India launched a mobile wallet application,
SBI Buddy, in collaboration with Accenture and
Mastercard. The application is available in 13 languages
for both SBI customers and non customers with several
features like cash transfer, bill payment, all types of
ticket bookings payment and booking for movies, hotels
as well as for shopping.
SMART DIGITAL LOCKERS FROM ICICI BANK
ICICI Bank has launched the first of its kind fully
automated digital locker named 'Smart Vault'. The vault
uses robotic technology to access the lockers from the
safe vault and enables customers to access their lockers
at any time of their preference, including weekends and
post banking hours.

PAYMENT BANKS
RBI has recently granted in principle approval to 11
entities for setting up Payment Banks.
Key features of the Payments Banks guidelines are:
i) OBJECTIVES:
The objectives of setting up of payments banks will be to
further financial inclusion by providing (i) small savings
accounts and (ii) payments/remittance services to
migrant labour workforce, low income households,
small businesses, other unorganised sector entities and
other users.
ii) ELIGIBLE PROMOTERS :
a. Existing non-bank Pre-paid Payment Instrument
(PPI) issuers; and other entities such as individuals /
professionals; Non-Banking Finance Companies
(NBFCs), corporate Business Correspondents(BCs),
mobile telephone companies, super-market chains,
companies, real sector cooperatives; that are owned and
controlled by residents; and public sector entities can
apply to set up payments banks.
b. A promoter/promoter group can have a joint
venture with an existing scheduled commercial bank to
set up a payments bank. However, scheduled
commercial bank can take equity stake in a payments
bank to the extent permitted under Section 19 (2) of the
Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
c. Promoter/promoter groups should be ‘fit and
proper’ with a sound track record of professional
experience or running their businesses for at least a
period of five years in order to be eligible to promote
payments banks.
iii) SCOPE OF ACTIVITIES:
a. Acceptance of demand deposits. Payments bank
will initially be restricted to holding a maximum balance
of Rs. 100,000 per individual customer.
b. Issuance of ATM/debit cards. Payments banks,
however, cannot issue credit cards.
c. Payments and remittance services through various
channels.
d. BC of another bank, subject to the Reserve Bank
guidelines on BCs.
e. Distribution of non-risk sharing simple financial
products like mutual fund units and insurance products,
etc.
iv) DEPLOYMENT OF FUNDS:
a. The payments bank cannot undertake lending
activities.
b. Apart from amounts maintained as Cash Reserve
Ratio (CRR) with the Reserve Bank on its outside
demand and time liabilities, it will be required to invest
minimum 75 per cent of its "demand deposit balances"
in Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) eligible Government
securities/treasury bills with maturity up to one year
and hold maximum 25 per cent in current and
time/fixed deposits with other scheduled commercial
banks for operational purposes and liquidity
management.
v) CAPITAL REQUIREMENT :
The minimum paid-up equity capital for payments
banks shall be Rs. 100 crore.
a. The payments bank should have a leverage ratio of
not less than 3 per cent, i.e., its outside liabilities should
not exceed 33.33 times its net worth (paid-up capital
and reserves).
vi) PROMOTER'S CONTRIBUTION:
The promoter's minimum initial contribution to the
paid-up equity capital of such payments bank shall at
least be 40 per cent for the first five years from the
commencement of its business.
vii) FOREIGN SHAREHOLDING:
The foreign shareholding in the payments bank would
be as per the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy for
private sector banks as amended from time to time.
viii) OTHER CONDITIONS:
a. The operations of the bank should be fully
networked and technology driven from the beginning,
conforming to generally accepted standards and norms.
b. The bank should have a high powered Customer
Grievances Cell to handle customer complaints.
The concept of Payment Banks is based on the
recommendations made by Nachiket Mor committee
appointed by RBI to improve financial inclusion. It had
proposed the concept of ‘differentiated banking’,
proposing Small Banks and Wholesale Banks to cater to
the needs of different strata of society. Now, RBI has
selected entities with experience in different sectors,
with different capabilities so that different models could
be tried. As payments banks cannot undertake lending,
these would not be subject to the same risks as a full
service bank. However, while selecting them, it did
ensure that all the selected applicants have the reach
and the technological and financial strength to service
hitherto excluded customers across the country. These
applications were screened for financial soundness, i.e.,
five year track record of the promoter and the key
entities of the promoter group.
Reserve Bank intends to use the learning from this
licensing round to appropriately revise the Guidelines
and move to giving licences more regularly, that is,
virtually “on tap”.
*** * ***

‘INDRADHANUSH’ TO REVIVE BANKS
Government has launched project “Indra-dhanush” to
lay down the framework for the revival of public sector
banks. It aims to provide immediate capital support,
create a Bank Board Bureau, link the compensation of
the top management to performance, improve
governance standards and focus on the quality of the
business rather than the quantity. A new framework of
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to be measured for
performance of PSBs is also being put in place, which
will boost efficiency in functioning of these banks.
(See Article on Page No. 23)
 RBI to transfer its surplus profit of Rs 65,896 crore to
the Centre, which is about 25% more than the
amount given last year.
 RBI to issue 10 rupee coins to commemorate Inter-
national Yoga Day. The coins will have image of lion
capital on one side and logo of Yoga Day on the other.
 The Central Government has notified that the second
and fourth Saturday of every month would be a
holiday for banks, with effect from September 1,
2015.
 NABARD has been accredited by the Green Climate
Fund of UNO as an implementing entity for
undertaking climate change related projects in India.
 Kotak Mahindra Bank has launched a mobile banking
app ‘Kotak Bharat’ to provide mobile
banking services to customers in the remotest regions
of India as this app does not require internet support.
 HDFC Bank has launched ‘Dhanchayat’, an
educational film to raise awareness on the dangers of
borrowing money from unorganised sources.
 ICICI Bank has announced ‘Saral-Rural Housing
Loan’ up to Rs. 15 lakh with a special interest rate
equal to its base rate which is currently at 9.70 per
cent.
JULY 2015
BANK ACCOUNTS SWELL UNDER PMJDY
Latest data on the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana
website shows that 16.9 crore accounts were opened as
of July 15, across public, private and rural regional
banks with a combined balance of Rs 20,288 crore. The
share of zero-balance accounts has come down to
50.6%, suggesting that the usage of accounts is
increasing.
SMALL BANKS MAY ISSUE DEBIT CARDS
The Reserve Bank has permitted the banks without ATM
network to collaborate with bigger banks that have their
ATM network to issue debit cards in tie-up to promote
cashless transactions. Co-op banks will also be allowed
to issue debit cards with a bigger bank as a sponsor.
INTT SUBVENTION OF 3% ON FARM LOANS
The Union Cabinet has agreed to continue the interest
subvention of three per cent on short-term crop loans of
up to Rs. 3 lakh to farmers to enable public sector banks,
private sector commercial banks, regional rural banks,
cooperative banks and NABARD to provide these loans
at 7 per cent per anum during 2015-16.
RBI ASKS BANKS TO MAKE USE OF CRILC DATA
With a view to improving credit discipline and reducing
the NPA levels, the Reserve Bank has asked the banks to
use the credit information available with Central
Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC), a
database for all big borrowers launched by it, for
verifying the credit history of the applicant before the
opening their current accounts.
QUICK AUTO LOANS FROM HDFC BANK
HDFC Bank's digital banking offering christened Go
Digital has designed a 30-minute auto loan and 15-
minute two-wheeler loan for loan seekers, based on
their Aadhaar card and finger prints.
NPAs IN PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS JUMP TO 5.4%
Bad loans in public sector banks have increased to Rs
2.67 lakh crore at the end of March 2015 from Rs 2.16
lakh crore in the last year. Gross NPA Ratio of these
banks increased to 5.43 per cent at the end of March
2015 as compared to 4.72 per cent last year.
UNITED BANK DOWN WITH NPAs
The United Bank of India has topped the list of public
sector banks with the maximum bad loans including
restructured assets as a percentage of total advances;
with 21.5 per cent of its loans classified as NPA or have
been restructured to save them from turning NPA.
FASTER HOME LOANS FROM SBI
The State Bank of India has launched 'Project Tatkal' to
attract home loan seekers by offering them the loan
within 10 days after the receipt of application form and
the relevant supporting documents.
ICICI BANK GOES FOR FASTER TRANSACTIONS
ICICI Bank has created a dedicated payments gateway
for much faster transactions for its customers. Over 60
per cent of the bank’s transactions are happening
through mobile and internet banking channels.
SBI TO REWARD ITS CUSTOMERS
The State Bank of India has launched a mobile banking
app State Bank Rewardz to give reward points to all its
customers for almost every banking transaction done
with the bank. The customers can view and redeem
their reward points by shopping through this mobile
app or at merchant establishments. Every 4 points
earned by a customer would get a reward of Rs 1.

INDRADHANUSH
NEW LIFE FOR BANKS
The government of India in a bid to improve the
functioning of the Public Sector Banks has announced a
comprehensive seven step programme aptly named
‘Indradhanush’. The objective of the programme is
capital efficiency rather than business growth. This
seven step approach can be categorised as ‘A to G’
approach involving following agenda :
1. Appointments
2. Bank Board Bureau
3. Capitalisation
4. De-stressing PSBs
5. Empowerment
6. Framework of Accountability
7. Governance Reforms.
1. Appointments: It has been decided to separate the
post of Chairman and Managing Director by
prescribing that in the subsequent vacancies to be
filled up the CEO will get the designation of MD &
CEO and there would be another person who would
be appointed as non-Executive Chairman of PSBs.
The entire process of selection for MD & CEO has
been revamped. Private sector candidates can also
apply for these vacancies. Already position of MD &
CEO of the five top banks i.e. Punjab National Bank,
Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, IDBI Bank and Canara
Bank have been filled with candidates from private
sector banks.
2. Bank Board Bureau: The government has decided
that the BBB will be a body of eminent professionals
and officials, which will replace the Appointments
Board for appointment of Whole-time Directors as
well as non-Executive Chairman of PSBs. They will
also constantly engage with the Board of Directors of
all the PSBs to formulate appropriate strategies for
their growth and development.
The structure of the BBB is going to be as follows:
i) Chairman ii) Six members of which three will be
officials and three experts (of which two would
necessarily be from the banking sector).
The Search Committee for members of the BBB
would comprise of the Governor, RBI and Secretary
(FS) and Secretary (DoPT) as members.
The members will be selected in the next six months
and the BBB will start functioning from the 1st April,
2016.
3. Capitalisation: The PSBs are adequately capitalised
and meeting all the Basel III and RBI norms. However,
the Government of India wants to adequately
capitalise all the banks to keep a safe buffer over and
above the minimum norms of Basel III.
The capital requirement of public sector banks for the
next four years up to FY 2019 is likely to be about
Rs.1,80,000 crore. Out of the total requirement, the
Government of India has proposed to make available
Rs.70,000 crores out of budgetary allocations for as
per the figures given below:
(i) Financial Year 2015 -16 - Rs. 25,000 crore
(ii) (ii) Financial Year 2016-17 - Rs. 25,000 crore
(iii) (iii) Financial Year 2017-18 - Rs. 10,000 crore
(iv) (iv) Financial Year 2018-19 - Rs. 10,000 crore
Total - Rs. 70,000 crore
The government expects that the valuations of the
banks will improve with proper implementation of
these steps and it will help PSBs to raise the remaining
Rs. 1,10,000 crore from the market.
4. De-stressing PSBs: The public sector banks have
been the major lenders to the infrastructure sector but
due to several factors, projects are increasingly
stalled/stressed thus leading to NPA burden on banks.
The govt. has initiated a number of steps to remove the
bottlenecks being faced by infrastructure companies to
improve their viability.

5. Empowerment: The Government has issued a
circular that there will be no interference from
Government and Banks will be encouraged to
take their decision independently keeping the
commercial interest of the organisation in
mind. A cleaner distinction between
interference and intervention has been made.
Banks have been asked to build a robust
Grievances Redressal Mechanism for
customers as well as staff so that concerns of
the affected are addressed effectively in time
bound manner. The Government intends to
provide greater flexibility to banks in hiring
manpower.
6. Framework of Accountability: Instead of
fixing the targets, the performance of the
executives will be judged on basis of a new
framework of Key Performance Indicators
(KPIs) which can be quantitatively measured.
These KPIs are :
i. Efficiency of capital use
ii. Diversification of business/processes
iii. NPA management
iv. Financial inclusion
v. Strategic initiatives to improve asset quality
and efforts made to conserve capital, HR
initiatives and improvement of credit rating.
7. Governance Reforms: The government has initiated
the governance reforms by engaging all the stake
holders when it organised “Gyan Sangam” - a conclave
of PSBs and FIs held in Pune last year. This conclave
was attended by Prime Minister, Finance
Minister,Governor, RBI and CMDs of all PSBs and FIs.
This will remain the regular feature and the next such
conclave is scheduled to be held in 2016.
It will provide a valuable platform for all the
executives and the stakeholders to engage in
meaningful discussion and make valuable feedback
and proposals to the government / RBI.
According to analysts and credit rating
agencies, the concept of Indradhanush has addressed
almost all the issues confronting the Public Sector
Banks. It has also implemented almost all the
recommendations of P.J. Nayak Committee, except
relating to the majority stake of the government. It is
expected that these measures will boost the working
and hence profitability of public sector banks. The
malaise in the banking sector runs deeper than it seems.
They are burdened with the ‘welfare functions’ of the
state and are expected to meet the expectations of the
government like implementing Jan Dhan Yojna Scheme
etc.; while the private sector banks are spared this extra
load. Similarly, the Bank Board Bureau is in no way
different from the existing system and a real structural
change can only be effected by creating an autonomous
‘Holding Company’, which is still elusive in the scheme
of things.
.....continued JULY 2015
MTS OPERATORS TO ISSUE PRE PAID CARDS
The RBI has allowed Mass Transit System operators
such as Mumbai Metro, Delhi Metro, Indian Railways
and even local buses to issue their pre-paid cards to
provide ease to the commuters. The balance in these
cards should not exceed Rs 2000 at any point of time.
The card will have a minimum validity of six months and
the amount will be non-refundable
 Axis Bank has signed a $200 million loan deal with
the Asian Development Bank for extending
customized and affordable agriculture credit to
farmers.
 Axis bank has launched 'Touch ID' - a one touch
authentication for doing transactions through its
mobile app using Apple iPhone 5s and above.
 The State Bank of India plans to offer up to 3% of its
annual profit to employees as part of a talent
retention and motivation initiative.
 RBI has set up a committee headed by Deepak
Mohanty to work out a five-year action plan to
spread the reach of financial services to unbanked
population.
 Corporation Bank has launched the country’s first
MUDRA (Micro Units Development and Refinance
Agency) card based on the RuPay platform.
 The Reserve Bank has signed a currency swap
agreement with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to let it
draw up to $ 1.1 billion for up to 6 months.
 HDFC Bank plans to roll out handheld machines that
could work like micro ATMs, in areas where setting
up of full-fledged ATMs is not commercially viable.
 The State Bank to open more digital branches like
InTouch and InTouch Light, e-corners at existing
branches to target young, tech-savvy customers.
JUNE 2015
RBI LOWERS REPO RATE TO 7.25%
Reserve Bank of India has cut the repo rate by 25 basis
points to 7.25 per cent from 7.5% in its first monetary
policy review on June 2. The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)
was kept unchanged at 4%.
This is the third reduction in rates during this
year aimed at boosting investment and growth. It is
expected that now the banks may lower the interest rate
on loans, leading to reduction in the amount of EMIs.
The new rates are as under: (w.e.f. 02.06.2015)
Repo Rate………………………7.25%
Reverse Repo…………………6.25%
Marginal Standing Facility…8.25%
Bank Rate…………………………8.25%
Statutory Liquidity Ratio…..21.5%
Cash Reserve Ratio……………4.0%

NEW DOCUMENTS FOR ADDRESS PROOF
Reserve Bank of India has allowed postpaid mobile
service, piped gas and water supply bills to be submitted
as proof of address (not more than 2 months old) for
opening bank account of low-risk persons. The
government has amended the Prevention of Money
Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005 for
providing these relaxations.
Some other documents approved as officially
valid documents (OVDs) for proof of address include
Bank/ post office account statement; pension or family
pension payment orders (PPOs), letter of allotment of
accommodation from official bodies.
NEW SAFER 100 RUPEE NOTE
The RBI has issued Rs 100 denomination bank notes in
Mahatma Gandhi Series - 2005 with new security
features. Now the numerals in both the number panels
of these bank notes will be in ascending size from left to
right, while the first three alpha0numeric characters
(prefix) will remain constant in size.
BANKS ALLOWED BORROWING FROM ABROAD
The Reserve Bank has allowed the banks to borrow
from global multilateral financial institutions for general
banking business. They can do so without seeking the
central bank’s approval. The objective is to make the
funding process easier.
RBI ALLOWS RUPEE LINKED BONDS OVERSEAS
RBI has permitted Indian corporates, eligible to raise
external commercial borrowings (ECBs), to issue rupee-
linked bonds overseas. The RBI has proposed that the
subscription, coupon payments and redemption might
be settled in foreign currency.
NEW RBI RULES FOR GOVT SECURITIES
The RBI has issued the final guidelines for the 6-year
and 13-year cash settled Interest Rate Futures (IRF) on
government securities with residual maturity of 4-8
years and 11-15 years, respectively, under the Interest
Rate Futures (RBI) Directions, 2015.
SBI TO PROMOTE ‘YOUTH FOR INDIA’
State Bank of India has selected 100 highly qualified
candidates for its 13-month fellowship programme
`Youth for India'. These candidates will work with one
of the seven NGOs that have a partnership with the bank
to work in rural areas.
BANKS TO TAKEOVER LOANEE COMPANIES
The Reserve Bank has allowed the banks to take control
of debt-laden companies by converting loans into equity
if a debt restructuring fails to revive them within a
stipulated time frame. Allowing loan conversion will
now be a pre-condition for all debt restructuring deals.
In a first such case, IDFC has replaced the promoters of
SV Power and brought in a new equity investor to revive
the company that missed payment schedules.
NSFR GUIDELINES ISSUED BY RBI
The Reserve Bank has issued the draft guidelines on the
net stable funding ratio (NSFR) under Basel III
framework on liquidity standards for banks and sought
comments from all stakeholders by June 26.
The NSFR is defined as the amount of available stable
funding relative to the amount of required stable funding.
PURI IS HIGHEST PAID CEO IN INDIAN BANKS
Aditya Puri, the Managing
Director of HDFC Bank, has
again become the highest
paid bank chief in the
country, earning a salary of
Rs 7.39 crore compared to
Rs 6.07 crore last year, up
21.74%. The next in line is
Chanda Kochhar, CEO ICICI
Bank at Rs 5.85 crore,
followed by Shikha Sharma,
CEO, Axis Bank at Rs 4.17 crore.
PAYMENT NORMS FOR BANK DIRECTORS
The Reserve Bank has capped the remuneration of non-
executive director of private banks to Rs 10 lakh per
annum while the compensation of non-executive part-
time chairman will require a prior approval from the
RBI. Banks will have to disclose the remuneration paid
to the directors on an annual basis in their annual
financial statements.
CARD FREE PAYMENT APP FROM HDFC BANK
HDFC Bank has launched a mobile phone application,
PayZapp, for online payments and money transfer.
Customers would be able to make money transfers, e-
shopping, buy tickets, pay utility bills and recharge their
mobile and DTH connections with just one click and a
single PIN entry, without using debit / credit cards.
10 LAKH CARD SWIPE MACHINES FROM SBI
State Bank of India will install 10 lakh payment card
swipe machines (point of sales terminals) across the
country, which will double the number of places where
card payments are accepted. The bank will also launch a
huge campaign to make public aware about the cash
withdrawal of up to Rs 1,000 at these terminals to
reduce pressure on ATMs.

 The Department of Post (India Post) has signed a deal
with CMS Info Systems to personalise over 15 million
debit cards for its savings account holders.
 The RBI has extended the date for exchange of pre-
2005 currency notes by six months to December 31,
2015. The earlier deadline was to expire on June 30.
 Reserve Bank of India has allowed non-resident
Indians (NRIs) to invest in chit funds to encourage
flow of capital into the country.
 ICICI Bank became the first bank to partner with
Alibaba.com for providing trade finance to their
India-based sellers
 SBI has launched an internet-based platform ‘SBI
eforex’, to enable customers to book their foreign
exchange transactions online.
DEFENCE, SCIENCE
& TECHNOLOGY
AUGUST 2015
UK AND INDIA CODUCT ‘INDRADHANUSH’
Ten day bi-lateral air exercise between Indian and
British Air forces named Indradhanush concluded in
Britain. Indian Sukhoi Su-30s fighter jets competed with
British Royal Air Force’s Eurofighter Typhoon aircrafts
in the exercise.
BSF PLANTS OVER 4 LAKH TREES
As part of the Golden Jubilee Year of Border Security
Force, the sentinels of Indian borders planted more than
4 lakh saplings at its head quarters and units across the
country on August 12 between 10 to 10.30 am. BSF was
raised on Dec 1, 1965.
ISRO LAUNCHES GSAT-6 SUCCESSFULLY
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
launched its twenty-fifth home-made communications
satellite GSAT-6 in space on August 27, using the Geo-
synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D6) that
uses an India made cryogenic engine. The 2,117 kg
Indian-made satellite will help India's defence forces to
communicate with each other on secure lines using
special small hand held devices.
 Mahindra Defence Systems Ltd and Europe’s
Airbus Helicopters set up a joint venture to manu-
facture military helicopters for the first time in India.
 India’s first Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence
and Surveillance System was commissioned in Kochi,
Kerala to beef up coastal security.
SATELLITE NAMED AFTER KALAM
A global satellite for earth observation and disaster risk
reduction -- GlobalSat for DRR -- proposed under the UN
framework will be named as “UN Kalam GlobalSat” as a
tribute to the vision of the celebrated rocket scientist
and former Indian President, APJ Abdul Kalam.
SCIENCE MUSEUM IN RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN
A new Science and Innovation Museum called
'Navachara Kaksh' was inaugurated at the Rashtrapati
Bhavan on August 5. Promoted by Intel India, it has a
compelling mix of information, scientific know-how and
inspiring innovation designed to encourage young
people on the path to scientific discovery and learning.
INFOSYS OFFERS ‘AIKIDO’ TO ITS CLIENTS
India’s second largest IT services company Infosys has
announced its new business strategy - ‘Aikido’, three
enhanced service offerings in design thinking, platforms
and knowledge-based IT (KBIT). The three services are
Ai in Platforms, Ki in knowledge-based IT and Do in
Design Thinking.
UNIQUE SOLAR OBSERVATORY AT UDAIPUR
Asia’s biggest multi-application solar telescope (MAST)
has been started in the Udaipur Solar Observatory
(USO), one of the six GONG (Global Oscillations Network
Group) sites in the world. Unlike other telescopes, MAST
is capable to capture three dimensional aspects of the
solar magnetic fields. The observatory is a part of the
Physical Research Laboratory under Deptt of Space.
GOOGLE FORMS NEW COMPANY ‘ALPHABET’
Google has reorganized itself into a multiple
company organization under a new umbrella company
called Alphabet. Google will now be the biggest
company in the fold of Alphabet. The new company will
be headed by Google co-founder Sergey Brin as
President and the other co founder Larry Page will serve
as CEO.

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