New Current Affairs Quiz - 2011

1.      Recently which state has decided to set up a children's right protection commission, which will have judicial powers at par with district court - Uttarakhand.

2.      What is the GDP growth of India in the second quarter of this fiscal - 8.9%.

3.      Which country has became the first country to sign agreements to set up nuclear reactors in India - France.

4.      Who is the new Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh - N Kiran Kumar Reddy.

5.      Which country will host the 2018 FIFA World Cup - Russia.

6.      Which Company has bagged the 'Golden Peacock Environment Management' award for the year 2010 - Nokia.

7.      Which of the following country has offered uranium, oil, gas prospect for India - Zambia.

8.      To which heavily indebted  European country, European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) unveiled a 85 billion euro ($113 billion) bailout package after Greece was rescued from bankruptcy - Ireland.

9.       ‘All Pakistan Muslim League’ is the new Political party launched by Pervez Musharaf.

10. Dilma Rousseff had taken over as first female president of which country- Brazil.

Monetary Policy and Current Affairs of August - 2010

First Quarter Review of Monetary Policy 2010-11:

Monetary policy is the process by which the government, central bank of a country controls (i) the supply of money, (ii) availability of money, and (iii)cost of money or rate of interest, in order to attain a set of objectives oriented towards the growth and stability of the economy.

As expected, RBI has raised the policy rates in the first quarter review of monetary policy on 27-07-2010. This is the fourth rate hike since March this year raising the Repo by a total of 100 bps and Reverse Repo by 125 bps.

Highlights of the policy:

·        Repo rates hiked by 25 bps to 5.75% with immediate effect.

·        Reverse Repo rates hiked by 50 bps to 4.50% with immediate effect.

·        CRR, SLR and Bank rate kept unchanged at 6%, 25% and 6%, respectively.

·        Estimated for GDP growth for 2010-11 revised to 8.5% from 8%.

·        Inflation projection for March 2010 increased to 6% from 5.5%.

The next mid-quarter review of Monetary Policy for 2010-11 will be announced through a press release on September 16, 2010.

The second quarter review of Monetary Policy 2010-11, including developmental and regulatory policies, is scheduled on November 2, 2010.

August Current Affairs:

·        China has eclipsed Japan as the world's second-biggest economy after three decades of blistering growth that put overtaking the U.S. in reach within 10 years.

·        Former Union Power Secretary Harishankar Brahma has been appointed as the Election Commissioner in the Election Commission of India.

·        Britain’s Andy Murray won the 2010 Rogers Cup over Roger Federer 7–5, 7–5 on Sunday in Toronto.

·        The President Mrs. Pratibha Devisingh Patil this evening conferred the prestigious Best Parliamentarian Awards to Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, Mohan Singh and Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi at an impressive function in the Central Hall of Parliament. The Awards were given for the year 2007, 2008 and 2009 respectively for their outstanding contributions to parliamentary debates.

·        Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee's book, "Keeping the Faith: Memoirs of a Parliamentarian", which was released by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

·        The Centre cleared for implementation the Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls — known as ‘Sabla' — aimed at enhancing their nutritional and economic status. The scheme will be run along with the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) project in anganwadi centres in 200 select districts, targeting girls in the age group 11-18.

·        Senior IPS officer R K Medhekar will be the new Director General of elite commando force -- National Security Guard. Medhekar, a 1975 batch officer of Kerala cadre, currently serving as Special Director General of Border Security Force. He will take over from 1972 batch IPS officer N P S Aulakh.

·        Vineet Jain, Managing Director, The Times of India (TOI) Group, has been elected as the new chairman of Press Trust of India (PTI), the leading news agency of India. Jain succeeds Vjiay Kumar Chopra, Editor, Punjab Kesari Group.

·        Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh launched the Green Action for National Dandi Heritage Initiative(GANDHI) project in the historic coastal village in south Gujarat. It was at Dandi that Mahatma Gandhi launched his salt Satyagraha 80 years ago.

·        The postal department released a stamp(of Rs.5) in Visakhapatnam to commemorate the first death anniversary of the former chief minister late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy.

Review of the Indian Economy 2009-10

Indian economy grew by 8.4 per cent in the last quarter(Q4) of 2009-10, pushing up the overall growth to a better-than expected 7.4 per cent. The 7.4 percent growth is also an upward revision from the earlier estimate of 7.2 percent.

The gross domestic product (GDP) was Rs 44,64,081 crore (at 2004-05 prices), bettering the earlier government estimate of 7.2 per cent growth over the previous year's Rs 41,54,973 crore.

Central Statistical Organization(CSO) has revised all the previous three quarters. The first quarter GDP was revised downwards to 6 per cent against 6.1 per cent estimated provisionally. While the second quarter saw growth at 8.6 per cent against provisional estimates of 7.9 per cent, third quarter GDP rose by 6.5 per cent against 6 per cent.

Why there is a revised growth rates in the previous quarters?

Normally there will be no change in the quarterly figures, unless the annual figure firms up. This time it was done because, the base year was changed to 2004-05 from 1999-2000 earlier. The first two quarters Q1, Q2 of GDP were released on the basis of 1999-2000 base price, while the next two quarters Q3, Q4 were released on the basis of 2004-5 base price.

India’s gross domestic product (GDP) had expanded by 6.7 percent during 2008-09.

India’s Economic growth rates for the year 2008-09 and 2009-10:

	Industry	2008-09	2009-10
1.	Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing	1.6%	0.2%
2.	Mining and Quarrying	1.6%	10.6%
3.	Manufacturing	3.2%	10.8%
4.	Electricity, Gas and water supply	3.9%	6.5%
5.	Construction	5.9%	6.5%
6.	Trade, Transport and Telecom	7.6%	9.3%
7.	Finance, Insurance and Real Estate	10.1%	9.7%
8.	Community, social and personal services	13.9%	5.6%
9.	GDP at factor cost	6.7%	7.4%

Per Capita Income:

The per capita income at current prices during 2009-10 is estimated to attain a level of

Rs. 44,345 as compared to the Quick Estimates for the year 2008-09 of Rs. 40,141, showing a rise of 10.5 per cent.

The per capita net national income in real terms (at 2004-05 prices) during 2009-10 is

estimated to attain a level of Rs. 33,588 (as against Rs. 33,540 estimated on 8th February,2010), as compared to the Quick Estimates for the year 2008-09 of Rs. 31,821. The growth rate in per capita income is estimated at 5.6 per cent during 2009-10.

Inputs: CSO.

April Current Affairs 2010 -II

·        Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit conferred with the prestigious Dara Shikoh award by the Indo-Iran Society for her contribution to peace, harmony and brotherhood.

·        The Asian Development Bank said that India is poised for an economic growth of 8.2 per cent in 2010 although rising inflation would remain a concern.  It expects the economy to expand by 8.7 per cent in 2011.(Go for April Current Affairs Part -1)

·        India seems closer to achieving the millennium development goals with infant mortality and maternal mortality rates showing a slight dip and expected to go down further by 2012, thanks to Government's flagship National Rural Health Mission. The infant mortality rate which was 55 per 1,000 in 2005 has reduced to 53 in 2008. There has been a three point decline in rural IMR as against one point in 2008. The IMR is expected to be reduced further to 30 per 1,000 live births by 2012, according to the latest government statistics. The MMR which was 301 per lakh in 2001-03 has reduced to 254 by 2004-06. After the introduction of 'Janani Suraksha Scheme' it is has reduced further.

·        India has emerged as the second most challenging location to work for expatriates after China across the globe even as multinational firms are expanding their presence in the emerging economies, according to an annual Global Relocation Trends Survey.

·        Nepal government scrapped a controversial deal with India to print "smart" Nepali passports.

·        On a year-on-year basis, bank credit grew by 16.7 per cent or Rs 4,64, 849 crore, exceeding RBI's projected non-food credit growth target of 16 per cent for FY2010. This is the fifth consecutive fortnight in which bank credit has risen. As on March 26, 2010, banks' outstanding credit was Rs 32,40,398.52 crore.

·        Gujarat has decided to set up 810 new courts for speedy disposal of pending cases.

·        By contributing over 16,000 types of rice, India is biggest contributor to rice biodiversity bank, the Indian representative of Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Dr J K Ladha told.

·        India is developing a sub-sonic 1,000-km range cruise missile "Nirbhay" which can be used for a "variety of applications".

·        Iran announced the development of a new, more advanced, anti-aircraft system Mersad, or Ambush, air defence system would be able to hit modern aircraft at low and medium altitudes.

·        The government has decided to extend the import subsidy on pulses till September 30 2010 to augment domestic supplies and ease pressure on prices. India, the world's largest importer and consumer of pulses, depends on imports, as domestic production is lower than annual demand.

·        Israel would discuss the issue of homeland security with West Bengal which is reeling under the brunt of Maoist extremism.

·        The Washington Post won four Pulitzer Prizes, the most prestigious awards in U.S. journalism. The Post won for international reporting, feature writing, commentary and criticism. The New York Times won two Pulitzers, for national reporting and explanatory reporting.

·        Noted Gandhian and social worker Ravindra Bhai died.

·        The Orissa government signed agreements with five independent producers for five coal-fired power projects to generate 4,800 MW at an investment of Rupees 23,203.52 crore. The Orissa government has decided to electrify about 3,000 naxal-affected villages in the state. The naxal-affected villages were not included in Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutkaran Yojana (RGGVY) and Biju Gram Jyoti Yojana (BGJY).

·        Prominent India-origin banker Ajay Banga, a Citigroup veteran, has been appointed as the chief executive officer of electronic payment services provider MasterCard.

·        India will send two astronauts to space by 2017 in its own spacecraft and the Rs 12,400 project is likely to be approved before the Independence Day, ISRO chairman Dr K Radhakrishnan has said.

·        Former senior advisor and a Director at The World Bank, Harinder Kohli said India's average per capita income would jump 22 times from USD 940 to USD 22,000 in 30 years from now.

·        India will join the league of top 10 global pharmaceuticals markets in terms of sales by 2020 with the total value reaching USD 50 billion by then, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

FDI in India 2009

Foreign Direct Investment:

Foreign Direct Investment occurs with the purchase of the “physical assets or a significant amount of ownership (stock) of a company in another country in order to gain a measure of management control” (Or) A foreign company having a stake in other Country’s Company.

Advantages of FDI in India:

The Indian government made several reforms in the economic policy of the country in the early 1990s. This helped in the liberalization and deregulation of the Indian economy and also opened the country's markets to foreign direct investment. 

As a result of this, huge amounts of foreign direct investment came into India through non- resident Indians, international companies, and various other foreign investors. The growth of FDI in India boosted the economic growth of the country.

Major advantages of FDI in India have been in terms of -

§   Increased capital flow.

§   Improved technology.

§   Management expertise.

§   Access to international markets.

Here is the limit of FDI inflows in various sectors in India:

1.         Defence: 26%.

2.         Insurance: 49%.

3.         PSU: 49%

4.         Single brand Retail: 51%.

5.         Telecom: 74%.

6.         Private Banking: 74%.

7.         Civil Aviation: 74%.

8.         Power: 100%.

9.         Education: 100%.

10.     Hospitals: 100%

11.     Trading Companies: 100%.

12.     Housing & Real Estate: 100%.

13.     Drugs & Pharmaceuticals: 100%.

14.     Roads, Highways, Ports & Harbors: 100%.

15.     Pollution Control: 100%.

16.     Call Centers & BPOs: 100%.

17.     Small scale industries: 100%.

18.     Oil Exploration: 100%.

19.     Hotel & Tourism: 100%.

According to UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2009, India is among the world's 15 largest FDI recipient in 2008.

According to UNCTAD's World Investment Prospects Survey 2009-11, India has slipped by one notch to third position as the most preferred foreign direct investment (FDI) country. However, "These two largest emerging economies (China and India) ranked numbers one and three, respectively, as the most preferred FDI locations.

United States of America tops the list of FDI inflows in the world followed by United Kingdom.

Highlights of Union Budget 09-10

1. Total budget expenditure for 2009-10 will be Rs 10, 28,032 cr.

2. For Non-plan expenditure Rs.6, 95,689 cr and for Plan expenditure Rs.3, 25,149 cr registering an increase of 37% in non-plan and 34% in Plan expenditure over 2008-09.
3. Total expenditure increased by 36% in 2009-10 over 2008-09.
4. Fiscal deficit in 2009-10 is proposed at 6.8% of GDP.
5. Revenue deficit in 2009-10 is proposed at 4.8% of GDP.
6. Personal income tax exemption limit for senior citizens raised by Rs 15,000, from Rs 2, 25,000 to Rs 2, 40,000.
7. The exemption limit for income tax for women raised by Rs 10,000, from 1, 80,000 to Rs 190,000.
8. For all others, exemption limit for income tax raised by Rs 10,000 from Rs 150,000 to 1, 60,000.
9. No change in corporate tax.
10. Fringe Benefit Tax abolished.
11. Commodities Transaction Tax abolished.
12. Goods and Services Tax to be introduced from April 1, 2010.
13. To lead economy to high GDP growth rate of 9% per annum at the earliest, which is dipped from an average of over 9% in the previous three fiscal years to 6.7% during 2008-09.
14. Aim to create 12 million jobs.
15. Govt took 3 stimulus packages to fight slowdown.
16.Defence gets Rs 1,41,703 cr for 2009-10,a 34% hike from 200-09 budgetary allocation.

17. Allocation to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the National
Highway Development Programme (NHDP) increased by 23 per cent.
18. Allocation under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) stepped up by 87% to Rs.12, 887 cr.
19. Allocation under Rashtriya Krishi Yojana (RKVY) stepped up by 30%.
20. Allocation under NREGS increased by 144% to 39,100 cr.
21. National Food Security Act to be brought in to ensure entitlement of 25 kilo of rice or wheat per month at Rs.3/kg to every BPL families in rural or urban areas.
22. Allocation for Bharat Nirman increased by 45%.
23. Allocation under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak yojana (PMGSY) increased by 59% amounting to 12,000 crore.
24. Allocation under Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) increased by 27% to Rs.7000cr.
25. Allocation under Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) increased by 63% to 8,800 cr.
26. Allocation under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) increased by Rs.2,057 cr amounting 14,064 crore in 2009-10.
27. New Scheme Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY) with an allocation of Rs.100 cr for integrated development of 1000 villages having population of Scheduled castes above 50%.
28. Overall plan budget for higher education is to be increased by Rs.2,000 cr.
29. Rs.2, 113 cr allocated for IITs and NITs which includes a provision of Rs.450 cr for new IITs and NITs.
30. Rs.827 cr allocated for opening one Central University in each uncovered state.
31. National unique identification numbers to start rolling out in 12-18 months with a provision of Rs.120 cr.
32. Allocation for Commonwealth Games, 2010 raised to Rs.3, 472 cr from Rs.2, 112cr.
33. Rs.500 cr allocated for rehabilitation of internally displaced persons and reconstruction of the Northern and eastern areas of Srilanka.
34. Rs.1, 000 cr allocated for rebuilding the damaged infrastructure caused due to cyclone Aila in West Bengal.