Category: Assam Current Affairs

Assam Current Affairs August 08-14, 2018

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Assam Current Affairs –  August 08-14, 2018

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of August 08-14, 2018 )

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August 8

India’s GDP growth rate will be 7.3% in 2018-’19, 7.5% in 2019-’20, says IMF  Report

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expressed that the macroeconomic outlook for India for the 2018-’19 financial year is “broadly favourable”, as the economy continues to recover after the implementation of the GST and demonetization. India’s Gross Domestic Product growth rate will rise to 7.3% in the present financial year and 7.5% in 2019-’20.

India’s Current Account Deficit will also widen to 2.6% of GDP due to higher oil prices and strong demand for imports. The IMF described the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as a “milestone reform” in India’s tax policy, but pushed for a simplified structure, saying the multiple rate structure and other features could give rise to high compliance and administrative costs.

The overall inflation will rise to 5.2% in 2018/19 from a 17-year low of 3.6 percent in the previous fiscal year, due to higher oil prices, implementation of the minimum selling price for farmers, depreciation of the rupee and housing rent allowances.

FACTFILE – The International Monetary Fund (IMF)

  • IMF is an international organization consisting of “189 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.”
  • Formed at the Bretton Woods Conference primarily by the ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes, it came into formal existence in 1945 with 29 member countries and the goal of reconstructing the international payment system.
  • It has headquarters in Washington, D.C., US.
  • It now plays a central role in the management of balance of payments difficulties and international financial crises.
  • Countries contribute funds to a pool through a quota system from which countries experiencing balance of payments problems can borrow money. As of 2016, the fund had SDR477 billion (about $666 billion).

Govt appoints S Gurumurthy, Satish Marathe to RBI board

The Centre has appointed Swadeshi Jagaran Manch co-convenor Swaminathan Gurumurthy and businessman Satish Kashinath Marathe to the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The names were approved on 07th Aug as per provisions of Section 81 C of the RBI Act, 1934 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

They have been appointed as a part-time, non-official director for the period of four-year. With the two new appointments, the total number of government-appointed directors on the RBI board has reached 10. 

FACTFILE – Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

  • The central board is the RBI’s highest decision-making body, which approves all key decisions the central bank takes, the central board members are responsible for the broad direction the central bank takes.
  • Under the RBI Act, 1934, the central board is designed to consist of 21 members: the governor and four deputy governors [under Sec 8(1)a], four directors from the four regional boards of the RBI [under Sec 8(1)b] who are elected by their respective local board members, 10 directors nominated by the Union government who are usually experts in their respective fields [under Sec 8(1)c], and two government appointed officials (usually from the finance ministry) [under Sec 8(1)d].
  • Unlike the monetary policy committee (MPC), which releases the minutes of its meetings, central board meetings are closed-door affairs, and hence, do not attract the same level of public scrutiny as MPC meetings.
  • Mandate of the central board is far larger than that of the MPC.

Lok Sabha passes Rs 11,698 cr extra expenditure for current fiscal

Parliament on 07th Aug approved gross additional expenditure of Rs 11,697.92 crore for the current fiscal, including Rs 980 crore for equity infusion into the heavily indebted Air India’s Turnaround Plan (TAP), which is burdened with accumulated debt of Rs 50,000 crore.

The Lok Sabha passed the Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2018-19 and demands for excess grants for 2015-16 along with the appropriation bills by voice vote. This is the lowest in the last 15 years. It is just 0.2 per cent of the total budget compared to 14 per cent in 2008-09.

400 schemes had been brought under the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme under which Rs 4 lakh crore have been disbursed directly to beneficiaries.

As per the latest demands for grants, the net cash outgo amounts to Rs 5,951,22 crore and the government’s gross additional expenditure have been shown at Rs 5,745.68 crore. These are on account of expenditure of Rs 1,791.62 crore for the Agriculture Ministry, Rs 1,500 crore for the Textiles Ministry, Rs 1,057.84 crore for the Defence Ministry and Rs 1,708 crore for the Petroleum Ministry towards creation of capital assets under various schemes.

DMK chief Karunanidhi passes away

DMK chief M Karunanidhi, one of the foremost Dravidian politicians of in recent time, passed away at the age of 94. Karunanidhi became the chief minister for the first time in 1969 after the demise of Annadurai. He subsequently helmed the state as chief minister in 1971, 1989, 1996 and 2006. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly 13 times, the last time as a 92-year-old in 2016.

He has also made contributions to Tamil literature, having written stories, plays, novels, and a multiple-volume memoir. He was popularly referred to as Kalaignar, meaning artist in Tamil.

August 9

76th anniversary of Quit India Movement on 9th August

The Quit India Movement which was an agitation launched by Mahatma Gandhi in 1942 demanding an end to the British Rule. 9th August 2018 is the 76th anniversary of the start of the event.

The movement was started on August 9, 1942, and since then the day is celebrated as August Kranti Day/Diwas. The day is celebrated by paying tribute to freedom fighters with national integration speeches and other events.

In May 1942, Mahatma Gandhi called on Britain to “Leave India to God. If this is too much then leave her to anarchy”. In July 1942, the Congress Working Committee met at Wardha and a resolution was passed which was termed The Wardha Resolution. It is also known as Quit India Resolution which demanded, “The British Rule in India must end immediately.

The resolution was ratified in the AICC with minor amendments and a non-violent mass struggle under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi was sanctioned. The session began on the August 7 and concluded post midnight of August 8, 1942 at Gowalia Tank Maidan, Bombay. In a speech entitled, “Do or Die (Karo ya Maro),” given on by Mahatma Gandhi, he urged the masses to act as an independent nation and not to follow the orders of the British.

RBI to pay Rs 50,000 crore dividend to govt for FY18

The RBI decided to pay Rs 50,000 crore as dividend to government in line with the Union Budget provisions, helping the Centre stick to its fiscal road-map. The Reserve Bank, which follows July-June financial year, has paid about 63 per cent higher dividend than previous year (2016-17). The RBI made a dividend payout of Rs 30,659 crore for the fiscal ended June 2017.

The Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), at its meeting, approved the transfer of surplus amounting to Rs 500 billion (Rs 50,000 crore) for the year ended June 30, 2018 to the Government of India. Earlier in March month, RBI paid interim dividend of Rs 10,000 crore at the insistence of the government to support fiscal position.

As per the Budget Estimate, the government projected to collect Rs 54,817.25 crore as dividend or Surplus of Reserve Bank of India, Nationalised Banks and Financial Institutions.

It is to be noted that the RBI transferred a surplus of Rs 30,659 crore as dividend to the government for the year ended June 30, 2017, which was less than half of what it paid in the previous year (Rs 65,876 crore).

Point2Remember – Under the RBI Act, 1934, the central bank is required to pay the government its surplus after making provisions for bad and doubtful debts, depreciation in assets and, contribution to staff and superannuation fund among others.

Average Per Capita Income Edges Closer to Rs 80,000 in the Last 4 Years

The Parliament on 8th Aug  was informed that India’s average per capita income in the last four financial years was higher at Rs 79,882 as compared to the preceding four fiscals. Between 2011-12 to 2014-15, it was much lesser at Rs 67,594.

The average Per Capita NNI (net national income) in the country during 2011-12 to 2014-15 is estimated at Rs 67,594 whereas average Per Capita NNI in the country during 2014-15 to 2017-18 is estimated at Rs 79,882.

The data that the per capita income in India grew by :

  • 6 percent in 2013-14 to Rs 68,572
  • 2 percent to Rs 72,805 in 2014-15
  • 9 percent to Rs 77,826 in 2015-16
  • 7 percent to Rs 82,229 in 2016-17

FACTFILE – Per Capita Income

  • It is a measure of the average income earned per person in the country for the given period.
  • It can apply to the average per-person income for a city, region or country, and is used as a means of evaluating the living conditions and quality of life in different areas.
  • It can be calculated for a country by dividing the country’s national income by its population.

NDA candidate Harivansh Narayan Sing elected RS Deputy Chairman

NDA candidate and JD(U) member Harivansh Narayan Singh was elected as Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman, defeating Opposition’s BK Hariprasad by 125 votes to 105 votes.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu initiated the process of the election by calling for division of votes in the House.

Point2Remeber – Shri S.V. Krishnamoorthy Rao was the first Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha of India

FACTFILE – Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha

  • The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha presides over the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha in the absence of the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
  • The Deputy Chairman is elected internally by the Rajya Sabha.

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Assam Current Affairs – August 01-07, 2018

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Assam Current Affairs – August 01-07, 2018

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of August 01-07, 2018 )

August 2018 – eBook Monthly PDF  |  eBook Monthly Quiz PDF

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August 1

SEBI to appoint Auditors to carry Forensic Audit

India’s security market watchdog Securities and exchange Board of India (SEBI) has decided to appoint auditors to perform forensic audit of financial statements of listed companies to put a check on rising frauds.

Concerns regarding some of the auditors’ negligence have come up wherein they ignore different inconsistencies in the financial statement while examining the books of listed entities. SEBI has also put the directive to conduct forensic audit of some of the firms that include Fortis Healthcare.

FACTFILE – Forensic Auditing

  • Forensic Auditing is a specialization within the field of accounting, and forensic auditors often provide expert testimony during trial proceedings. Most large accounting firms have a forensic auditing department.
  • It is an examination and evaluation of a firm’s or individual’s financial information for use as evidence in court. A forensic audit can be conducted in order to prosecute a party for fraud, embezzlement or other financial claims.
  • The audit covers a wide range of investigative activities performed by accountants. The process may also include serving as an expert witness in a fraud trial. A forensic audit could also cover situations that do not involve fraud or embezzlement, such as disputes related to a bankruptcy, business closures, and divorces.

FACTFILE – The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)

  • SEBI was established on April 12, 1992 in accordance with the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992.
  • Securities and exchange Board of India (SEBI) was first established in the year 1988 AQF as a non-statutory body for regulating the, securities market.
  • It became an autonomous body by The Government of India on 12 May 1992 and given statutory powers in 1992 with SEBI Act 1992 being passed by the Indian Parliament.
  • SEBI has its headquarters at the business district of Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai, and has Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western Regional Offices in New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad respectively.
  • It has opened local offices at Jaipur and Bangalore and is planning to open offices at Guwahati, Bhubaneshwar, Patna, Kochi and Chandigarh in Financial Year 2013 – 2014.
Lok Sabha passed The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018

The Lok Sabha on 31st July passed the The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018, seeking to give home buyers the status of financial creditors. This will give the home buyers, just like the financial creditors, the right to decide the fate of defaulting builders.

Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said the financial creditor status will help home buyers protect their hard earned savings. Whether home buyers are secured or unsecured creditors will be decided on a case to case basis by the resolution professional and the courts.

Once it becomes a law, home buyers would be able to invoke Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code against errant developers. This would allow financial creditors to file application seeking insolvency resolution process.

As financial creditors, home buyers will be able to participate in the decision-making process when developers are declared bankrupt under the bankruptcy law – IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016). It also proposes to reduce the minimum voting threshold for the Committee of Creditors (CoC) to 66 per cent, from 75 per cent for key decisions.

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector would also benefit from the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code amendment. The promoter of MSME will no longer be disqualified to bid for their own enterprise as long as they are not the willful defaulters.

Earlier this year, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code was amended to prevent dishonest persons from misusing the law. Willful defaulters and those whose accounts were classified as ‘non-performing assets’ were barred from bidding for stressed assets.

Infrastructure growth jumps to 6.7% in June month

Growth of eight core sectors expanded to 7 month high of 6.7 % in June due to better performance by cement, refinery and coal segments, especially. The eight sectors, which also include fertilisers, steel, natural gas, electricity and crude oil, had expanded by 1 % in June last year.

The previous high rate of growth was recorded in November 2017 at 6.9%. The expansion in cement, refinery products and coal was 13.2 %, 12 % and 11.5 % respectively, year-on-year basis.

  • Crude oil and natural gas registered a negative growth of 3.4 % and 2.7 % respectively in June compared to the year-ago period.
  • The expansion in the electricity generation was 4 % in June compared to 2.2 % in the same month of the last fiscal.
  • Steel sector, however witnessed a slower growth of 4.4 % compared to 6 % in June 2017.
  • Expansion rate in the fertiliser segment was 1 %, better than negative growth recorded in the year ago month.
  • April-June quarter of the current fiscal, the eight core industries recorded a growth of 5.2 % as against 2.5 % in the same period last year.
  • These eight core industries comprise 40.27 % of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
Reliance overtakes TCS to become Most Valued Indian Company

Reliance Industries Ltd has overtaken Tata Consultancy Services Ltd in market capitalisation to reclaim the tag of India’s most valuable company.

The company is currently valued at Rs 7.44 lakh crore, higher than the Rs 7.39 lakh crore market cap of the India’s largest software exporter. The oil-to-telecom company reported its highest-ever quarterly profit in the April-June period, driven by its petrochemicals and consumer businesses.

FACTFILE – Reliance Industries Limited (RIL)

  • Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is an Indian conglomerate holding company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
  • Reliance owns businesses across India engaged in energy, petrochemicals, textiles, natural resources, retail, and telecommunications.
  • Reliance is one of the most profitable companies in India and the second largest company in India as measured by revenue after the government-controlled Indian Oil Corporation.
  • On 18 October 2007, Reliance Industries became the first Indian company to breach $100 billion market capitalization.
  • The company is ranked 203rd on the Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s biggest corporations as of 2017.
  • It is ranked 8th among the Top 250 Global Energy Companies by Platts as of 2016.
  • Reliance continues to be India’s largest exporter, accounting for 8% of India’s total merchandise exports with a value of Rs 147,755 crore and access to markets in 108 countries.
  • Reliance is responsible for almost 5% of the government of India’s total revenues from customs and excise duty.
  • It is also the highest income tax payer in the private sector in India.
India’s Fiscal Deficit reached 68.7% of budgeted target

India has already reached fiscal deficit of $62.57 billion (Rs 4.29 lakh crore) for the April-June quarter, which is 68.7 percent of the budgeted target of Rs 6.24 lakh crore for the current fiscal year of 2018-19 compared to 80.8 percent in the same period of the previous year.

For the same quarter of 2017-18, the government’s finances were constrained owing to the revision of the deficit target upwards to implement the new tax system-GST, that was launched on 1 July 2017.

For the first quarter of fiscal year ended March 2019, net tax receipts were Rs 2.37 lakh crore, that is 16 percent of the budgeted full-year target.

India aims to trim the deficit to 3.3 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) in this fiscal year, after meeting an upwardly revised fiscal deficit target of 3.5 percent of GDP in the FY 2017-18.  

Union government’s total expenditure for the quarter rose to Rs 7.07 lakh crore, or 29 percent of the full-year target, while revenue receipts stood at 15.5 percent of the target.

Fiscal deficit = The difference between total revenue and total expenditure

It indicates the total borrowings needed by the government. Fiscal deficit takes place either due to revenue deficit or a major hike in capital expenditure (expenditure is incurred to create long-term assets such as factories, buildings and other development).

The gross fiscal deficit (GFD) is the excess of total expenditure including loans net of recovery over revenue receipts (including external grants) and non-debt capital receipts. The net fiscal deficit is the gross fiscal deficit less net lending of the Central government.
A deficit is usually financed through borrowing from either the central bank of the country or raising money from capital markets by issuing different instruments like treasury bills and bonds.

 

August 2

US passes bill to waive sanctions against India for buying Russian weapons

The United States Congress has passed the conference report on National Defense Authorization Act-2019 (NDAA-19), which paves the way for waiver to India from punitive Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act or CAATSA, under which sanctions kick off on countries that purchase significant military equipment from Russia.

The Senate passed the John McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (NDAA) by an overwhelming, bipartisan vote of 87 to 10.

Passed by the House last week, the bill, named after Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, would provide USD 716 billion support in funding for national defense for fiscal year 2019.

The bill, which now moves to the White House for President Donald Trump to sign it into law, as, the proposed modified waiver requires presidential certifications designed to protect US alliances, military operations and sensitive technology.

RBI hikes repo rates by 25 basis points

The Reserve Bank of India increased the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.5% and the reverse repo rate to 6.25%, in their third bi-monthly policy review of the 2018-’19 financial year.  The marginal standing facility rate and the bank rate have been adjusted to 6.75%.

The Monetary Policy Committee headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel made the decision after a two-day meeting. Five of the six members on the rate panel voted for an increase.

The committee retained the growth forecast of 7.4% for the economy. Gross domestic product is likely to grow at 7.5% to 7.6% in the first half and 7.3% to 7.4% in the second half of the financial year.

The RBI lowered the retail inflation target for the first half of the 2018-’19 financial year to 4.7% from 5.1% on the grounds of a normal monsoon forecast and moderation in food price rise. For the second half 2018-’19, it has predicted an inflation outlook of 4.4%, lower than its last forecast of 4.5% to 4.6%.

The central bank takes the contrary position in the event of a fall in inflationary pressures. Repo and reverse repo rates form a part of the liquidity adjustment facility.

Repo rate is the rate at which the central bank of a country (Reserve Bank of India in case of India) lends money to commercial banks in the event of any shortfall of funds. Repo rate is used by monetary authorities to control inflation. In the event of inflation, central banks increase repo rate as this acts as a disincentive for banks to borrow from the central bank. This ultimately reduces the money supply in the economy and thus helps in arresting inflation.

Reverse repo rate is the rate at which the central bank borrows money from commercial banks in India.

7 Indian companies in the Fortune 500 list

Seven Indian companies have made it to the latest Fortune 500 list of the world’s biggest corporations in terms of revenue, with state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) continuing to be the highest ranked Indian firm and Reliance Industries (RIL) jumping 55 places.

In the list topped by retail giant Walmart, Indian Oil Corporation with 23 per cent rise in revenues at USD 65.9 billion was ranked 137th, up from the 168th position in 2017.

RIL was the top private sector company from the country as it jumped from 203rd rank last year to 148th. It had a revenue of USD 62.3 billion in 2017-18. RIL was also the most profitable Indian firm on the list. On the globally most profitable list, it secured the 99th position on the list topped by Apple.

  • Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) made a come back into the list with a ranking of 197, with USD 47.5 billion revenue. It did not feature in the 2017 ranking.
  • State Bank of India (SBI) with USD 47.5 billion revenue is on rank 216, a shade higher than 217 last year.
  • Tata Motors improved its ranking from 247th last year to 232nd.
  • State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) that moved up to 314th position from 360th last year.
  • Rajesh Exports was the seventh Indian firm on the list though its ranking slipped to 405th this year from 295th last year.

FACTFILE – The Fortune Global 500

  • Fortune 500, also known as Global 500, is an annual ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue and the list is compiled and published annually by Fortune
  • The world’s 500 largest companies generated USD 30 trillion in revenues and USD 1.9 trillion in profits in 2017. Together, this year’s Fortune Global 500 companies employ 67.7 million people worldwide and are represented by 33 countries.
Retail inflation hovers at 4.8%

The Reserve Bank pegged retail inflation at 4.8 per cent for the second half of current fiscal expecting increase in food prices due to hike in minimum support price (MSP). For the July-September quarter, it has projected inflation to be at 4.6 per cent.

RBI made the projections in its third monetary policy review for the current fiscal. Retail inflation has been projected to rise further to 5 per cent in the first quarter of the next financial year 2019-20.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), chaired by RBI Governor Urjit Patel has raised the benchmark repo rate by 0.25 per cent to 6.25 per cent citing inflation worries, which is likely to make consumer products costlier.

FACTFILE – Retail inflation

  • Retail inflation means the increase in prices of certain products or commodities compared to a base price.Retail inflation is linked to Consumer Price Index(CPI) which is managed by Ministry of Statistics.
  • Currently the base year for India’s CPI is 2012 which means the prices for the certain commodities for the 2012 year are considered as the base price to calculate the price rise.
  • CPI numbers are widely used as a macroeconomic indicator of inflation, as a tool by governments and central banks.

August 2018 – eBook Monthly PDF  |  eBook Monthly Quiz PDF

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