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Google, NSDC launch programme to improve Mobile Developer Ecosystem
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Google, NSDC launch programme to improve Mobile Developer Ecosystem The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Google India on 8 August 2017 launched Android Skill Development programme to improve Mobile Developer Ecosystem. The programme is aimed at imparting mobile development training on the Android and Web platform and improving the quality of mobile app development ecosystem in India. NSDC is a public-private partnership enterprise under the Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. ICICI Bank launches instant credit card facility with limit up to Rs 4 lakh After introducing instant loans, ICICI Bank in August announced the launch of instant credit cards. 51 | P a g e The savings account customers of the bank will now be able to get credit card instantly, in a completely digital and paperless manner. ICICI Bank customers can credit card with a credit limit of upto Rs 4 lakh based on pre-checked bureau scores. Parliament passes Banking Amendment Bill empowering RBI to deal with wilful defaulters Rajya Sabha on 10 August 2017 passed the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2017. The Lok Sabha has already passed the Bill. Now, the bill will be sent to President Ramnath Kovind for his nod. The bill seeks to amend the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to insert provisions for handling cases related to stressed assets of banks. Stressed assets are loans where the borrower has defaulted in repayment or where the loan has been restructured. The bill will replace the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 which was promulgated on 4 May 2017. The legislation will also enable the Central government to authorize the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to direct banking companies to resolve specific stressed assets by initiating insolvency resolution process. India and US to co-host Global Entrepreneurship Summit at Hyderabad in November 2017 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 10 August 2017 said that India and US will co-host the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at Hyderabad from 28 to 30 November 2017. In a series of tweets, Modi said, the Summit is a unique opportunity for bringing together entrepreneurs and start ups with the global leader. The Prime Minister said he is looking forward to the presence of Ivanka Trump at Global Entrepreneurship Summit as the leader of the US delegation. www.exampundit.in National Mission for Clean Ganga approves 10 projects worth more than Rs 2000 Cr The National Mission for Clean Ganga on 10 August 2017 approved 10 projects worth more than Rs 2000 Cr. The projects would be carried out in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. Among the ten projects, eight relate to sewage infrastructure and treatment, one to river front development and one to Ganga Knowledge Centre. The projects were approved in the 5th meeting of the Executive Committee of National Mission for Clean Ganga. Projects in Bihar The projects that were approved in Bihar include three major sewage infrastructure projects in Barh, Kankarbagh and Digha, the total cost of which is estimated to be Rs 1461 crore. The projects aim to create additional sewage treatment capacity of 161 MLD (100 MLD in Digha, 50 MLD in Kankarbagh and 11 MLD in Barh). There is presently no sewage treatment plant in the sewerage zones of Kankarbagh and Digha. The creation of 200 MLD sewage treatment capacities has already been sanctioned in the remaining four sewerage zones in Patna - Beur, Saidpur, Karmalichak and Pahari, under the Namami Gange programme.
Among them, two relate to sewage infrastructure and the third one pertains to river front development. Pollution abatement and rehabilitation works for river Ganga in Howrah and Tolly's Nullah (popularly known as Adi Ganga), a tributary of Ganga in Kolkata have been approved with total estimated cost of Rs 492.34 Cr. Projects in Uttar Pradesh 52 | P a g e A project involving sewage infrastructure work in Chunar, located in Mirzapur district of UP, has been approved at an estimated cost of Rs 27.98 Cr. Under the project a sewage treatment plant of 2 MLD capacity will be created apart from interception and diversion of drains. Lok Sabha passes State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017 The Lok Sabha on 10 August 2017 passed the State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017. The Bill was passed to repeal the SBI (Subsidiary Banks) Act 1959, State Bank of Hyderabad Act 1956 and to further amend the State Bank of India Act, 1955, following the merger of five associates with the parent SBI. Following the merger, the SBI has come in the list of top 50 banks globally and is ranked at the 45th position. Key highlights of the State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017 Repeal: It seeks to repeal the two Acts: (i) State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959, and (ii) State Bank of Hyderabad Act, 1956. These Acts established the State Bank of Bikaner, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Travancore, and State Bank of Hyderabad. These banks were subsidiaries of the State Bank of India (SBI). This is consequent to the Union Cabinet granting its approval in February 2017, which allowed the SBI to acquire these subsidiaries. Amendments to the SBI Act, 1955: The Bill seeks to amend the State Bank of India Act, 1955 to remove references related to subsidiary banks. These references include: (i) the definition of a subsidiary bank in the 1955 Act, and (ii) powers of SBI to act as an agent of the RBI for a subsidiary bank. Economic Survey Volume II admits achieving 7.5% growth target for this fiscal as tough www.exampundit.in Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 11 August 2017 presented the second volume of Economic Survey 2016-17 in both houses of the Parliament. Volume II of the survey was presented on the last day of the monsoon session of the Parliament. The second volume containing updated macroeconomic data was authored by Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian and his team. Volume II of the survey says achieving the high end of the 6.75-7.5 per cent growth projected previously will be difficult due to appreciation of rupee, farm loan waivers and transitionary challenges from implementing GST Highlights of the Economic Survey 2016-17 Volume-2 Fiscal Developments The fiscal outcome of the Central Government in 2016-17 was marked by strong growth in tax revenue, sustenance of the pace of capital spending and a consolidation of non-salary/pension revenue expenditure. This combination allowed the Government to contain the fiscal deficit to 3.5 per cent of GDP in 2016-17. The Union Budget for 2017-18 opted for a gradual fiscal consolidation path: the fiscal deficit is expected to decline to 3.2 percent of GDP in 2017-2018. The fiscal deficit target of 3 per cent of GDP under the FRBM framework is projected to be achieved in 2018-19. Monetary Management and Financial Intermediation The Reserve Bank of India cut the policy rate by 50 basis points during 2016-17. However, it shifted its monetary policy stance from accommodative to neutral in February 2017. As of August 2017, Repo rate stood at 6.00 per cent and reverse repo rate at 5.75 per cent. 53 | P a g e Monetary aggregates decelerated significantly following the withdrawal of legal tender status of specified bank notes on November 9, 2016. As of 31st March 2017, currency in circulation contracted by 19.7 per cent whereas reserve money contracted by 12.9 per cent. Credit off-take from banks continued to decelerate further. During 2016-17, gross bank credit outstanding grew at around 7 per cent on an average. The average gross bank credit to industry contracted by 0.2 per cent in the FY 2016-17.
on its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). India's NDC targets to lower the emissions intensity of GDP by 33 - 35 per cent by 2030 from2005 levels, to increase the share of non-fossil based power generation capacity to 40 per cent of installed electric power capacity(cumulative) by 2030, and to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3 Gt CO2e through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
improved in 2016-17, as a result of low and falling trade and current account deficits and moderate and rising capital inflows, resulting in further accretion of foreign exchange reserves. Reflecting the slowly improving world economic situation, India's exports turned positive at 12.3 per cent in 2016-17 after an interregnum of two years. This along with a marginal decline in imports by 1.0 per cent resulted in narrowing down of trade deficit to US$ 112.4 billion (5 per cent of GDP) in 2016-17 as compared to US$ 130.1 billion (6.2 per cent of GDP) in 2015-16. Agriculture and Food Management The average farm size in India is small, and declining since 1970-71. The predominance of small operational holdings is a major limitation to reap the benefits of economies of scale in agriculture operations. The progress in agriculture needs to be evaluated in terms of outcomes such as catching up with global yields of various crops as a means to increase incomes of farmers. www.exampundit.in
Industrial growth as per Index of Industrial Production (IIP) new series of 2011-12 shows overall IIP growth at 5 percent in 2016-17 as compared to 3.4 percent last year. The Index of Eight Core Industries growth during 2016-17 was 4.8 percent as compared to 3.0 percent in 2015- 16.
gross value added growth in 2016-17. However, the growth of this sector has moderated to 7.7 per cent in 2016-17 compared to 9.7 per cent achieved in the previous year, though it continues to be higher than the other two sectors and nearly at the top among the 15 major economies. The services growth moderation is mainly due to the deceleration in growth in two services categories- trade, hotels, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting (7.8 per cent), and financial, real estate & professional services (5.7 per cent). The share of services sector in total gross capital formation (GCF), at current prices, has increased consistently over the last four years from 53.3 per cent in 2011-12 to 60.3 per cent in 2015-16. Odisha government launches Facebook programme 'SheMeansBusiness' 54 | P a g e Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik launched Facebook's programme called 'She Means Business' for women entrepreneurs in the state on 10 August 2017. The programme was launched in partnership with Odisha's micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) department and Project Mission Shakti. Under the scheme, around 25000 women entrepreneurs and Self-Help Group (SHG) members will get training on digital marketing skills by the end of 2018. GeM and CII sign MoU to establish GeMSamvad The Government eMarketplace (GeM) SPV and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on 14 August 2017 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish GeMSamvad, a GeM -Industry forum. GeMSamvad will be a participative and collaborative approach with the industry for promoting Indian industry and entrepreneurship. The MoU was signed by S Radha Chauhan, CEO of GeM and Chandrajit Banerjee, DG of CII. India to host next steering committee meeting of TAPI gas pipeline India will host the next steering committee meeting of the proposed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline. The decision was taken during the sixth joint Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) meeting on trade, economic, scientific and technological cooperation. The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India Pipeline, also known as Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, is a natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). www.exampundit.in Cabinet approves MoU between India, Sweden on IPR The Union Cabinet in August cleared MoU signed between India and Sweden on intellectual property right (IPR) cooperation, aimed at benefiting entrepreneurs, investors and businesses. The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the memorandum of understanding (MoU), an official statement said. Axis Bank launches new home loan product "Shubh Aarambh" Aiming to ramp up its mortgage book volumes and expecting better credit behaviour, Axis Bank in August launched a home loan product that entails waiving off a few EMIs during the course of a loan. The third largest private sector lender will waive off four equated monthly instalments (EMIs) each at the end of the fourth, eighth and the 12th year of a two-year loan. This means that if a borrower takes a 20-year loan, the consumer will get 12 of the EMIs waived off, which the bank claimed will help save Rs 3.09 lakh on a Rs 30-lakh loan. ICICI Bank signs MoU with Government of Odisha for e-governance Services 55 | P a g e ICICI Bank, India's largest private sector bank by consolidated assets, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of Odisha to provide e-governance services to the people of the state.
gateway. RBI makes Aadhar linkage mandatory for farmers to avail short-term crop loans in 2017-18 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 16 August 2017 made Aadhar linkage mandatory for farmers who wish to avail short-term crop loans in 2017-18. In its, notification RBI has said, "To ensure hassle-free benefits to farmers under Interest Subvention Scheme, the banks are advised to make Aadhar linkage mandatory for availing short-term crop loans in 2017-18." RBI has clarified that farmers can avail of short-term crop loans of up to Rs 3 lakh at the subsidised interest rate of 7 per cent that could go down to 4 per cent on prompt repayment. An interest subvention of 2 per cent per annum will be offered to lending institutions viz. Public Sector Banks (PSBs), Private Sector Commercial Banks (in respect of loans given by their rural and semi-urban branches only) on the use of their own resources. This subvention will be provided on the short-term crop loans up to Rs 3 lakh to farmers at an interest rate of 7 per cent per annum during the year 2017-18. Union Cabinet approves new Metro Rail Policy The Union Cabinet on 16 August 2017 approved new Metro Rail Policy focussed on compact urban development, cost reduction and multi-modal integration. This new Metro Rail Policy seeks to enable realization of growing metro rail targets of a large number of cities. www.exampundit.in The policy enables private investments across a range of metro operations making Public-Private Partnership (PPP) component mandatory for availing central assistance for new metro projects. Private participation either for complete provision of metro rail or for some unbundled components will form an essential requirement for all metro rail projects seeking central financial assistance. Union Government releases 4th Advance Estimate of production of major crops for 2016-17 The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, on 16 August 2017 released the 4th advance estimates of production of major crops for 2016-17. The assessment of production of different crops is based on the feedback received from States and validated with information available from other sources. Key highlights of the 4th Advance Estimates The total food grain production in the country is estimated at 275.68 million tonnes, which is higher by 10.64 million tonnes (4.01%) than the previous record production of food grain achieved during 2013-14. The current year's production is also higher by 18.67 million tonnes than the previous five years' (2011-12 to 2015-16) average production of food grains. Total production of rice is estimated at record 110.15 million tonnes, which is a new record. This year's rice production is higher by 3.50 million tonnes (3.28%) than previous record production of 106.65 million tonnes achieved during 2013-14. Production of rice increased significantly by 5.74 million tonnes (5.50%) than the production of 104.41 million tonnes during 2015-16. 56 | P a g e Total production of wheat is estimated at 98.38 million tonnes, which is also a record. This year's wheat production is higher by 2.64% than the previous record production of 95.85 million tonnes achieved during 2013-14. The current year's production is higher by 6.10 million tonnes (6.61%) as compared to wheat production of 92.29 million tonnes achieved during 2015-16.
www.exampundit.in Power Grid inks $500 m loan pact with ADB State-run power transmission utility Power Grid Corp in August said it will get a loan of USD 500 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for its various projects. "Power Grid has entered into a loan agreement with ADB on August 17, 2017, for an amount of USD 500 million," Power Grid Corp said in a BSE filing. Cabinet approves raising Rs 9020 Cr for Long Term Irrigation Fund The Union Cabinet on 16 August 2017 gave its approval for raising Extra Budgetary Resources (EBR) of up to Rs 9020 Cr for Long Term Irrigation Fund as per the requirement during 2017-18. The funds will be raised by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) through the issuance of Bonds at 6% per annum as per requirement. They will be used for the implementation of Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) works of 99 ongoing prioritised irrigation projects along with their command area development (CAD) works under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY). A large number of major and medium irrigation projects taken up under the AIBP were suffering mainly because of inadequate provision of funds. NHAI launches mobile App MyFASTag and FASTag Partner 57 | P a g e The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on 17 August 2017 launched two mobile apps MyFASTag and FASTag Partner to facilitate the availability of FASTags for Electronic Toll Collection. The mobile apps will ease the process of purchase and recharge of FASTags just at the click of a mobile button. MyFASTag is a consumer app that can be downloaded from the App Store for both Android and iOS systems. Through this app, a consumer can purchase or recharge FASTags. Assam government to launch Compassionate family pension instead of employment The state government of Assam announced on 20 August 2017 that it would be launching a new scheme called Scheme for Compassionate Family Pension (CFP) in place of Compassionate Appointment, as the former approach didn't serve the objective due to practical difficulties. Elaborating on the same, the state government released an official statement, which read, "It has been noticed that the existing compassionate appointment policy did not fully serve the objectives and often the legal heir fails to get an appointment immediately due to practical difficulties such as lack of educational qualifications and non-availability of vacancies." Only five cent vacancies can be filled under such appointment. Govt notifies Rs. 200 currency notes The government in August notified currency notes in the denomination of Rs. 200. "In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 24 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, and on the recommendations of the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India, the Central Government hereby specifies the denomination of bank notes of the value of two hundred rupees," said an official notification. www.exampundit.in The new notes are expected to come into circulation from next month. The Reserve Bank of India had recently also unveiled a new series of Rs. 50 currency notes. NITI Aayog to launch Mentor India Campaign NITI Aayog on 22 August 2017 announced to launch the Mentor India Campaign, a strategic nation building initiative to engage leaders who can guide and mentor students at more than 900 Atal Tinkering Labs. These Atal Tinkering Labs are established across the country as a part of the Atal Innovation Mission. Highlights of the Mentor India Campaign Mentor India is aimed at maximizing the impact of Atal Tinkering Labs. It aims to engage leaders who will nurture and guide students in the Atal Tinkering Labs. These labs are non-prescriptive by nature, and mentors are expected to be enablers rather than instructors. These leaders will be expected to spend one to two hours every week in such labs to enable students experience, learn and practice future skills such as design and computational thinking. Yüklə 1,02 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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