Sunday, September 30, 2012

Triple Five scheme


The Union Government set up a directorate, under Tea Board, which will serve small tea growers, Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry.
The initiative is now only for the tea sector. This could be extended to other plantation sectors, if needed, Scindia said.
He added that some of the areas of importance for the tea sector were re-plantation and rejuvenation, increase in exports, and tackling challenges such as labour shortage and higher mechanisation.
The government had come out with the Triple Five (555) scheme to increase Indian tea exports.
It is 555 scheme because, the focus would be on five markets with five major measures for five years. For the first phase, the government had sanctioned Rs.6.5 crore for this scheme.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Centre confident of disinvestment target

Kelkar Committee report pegged the receipts from disinvestment this fiscal at Rs.10,000 crore, way below the budgeted target of Rs.30,000 crore. But the government appeared confident in raising Rs.25,000-30,000 crore through sell-off of the Centre’s equity in public sector undertakings (PSUs) and thereby remain as close as possible to the fiscal deficit target of 5.1 per cent of GDP (gross domestic product) set for the financial year. The disinvestment is purely based on the equity market conditions, so if the condition is good government will be able to achieve the target.
Appreciation of rupee will help reduce subsidy bill and contain inflation, says Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram

Friday, September 28, 2012

New chairman of the senior selection committee of BCCI



Sandeep Patil, former Indian has been appointed chairman of the senior selection committee for a maximum term of four years to be renewed each year by the BCCI.

He is part of a new five-member panel appointed by the Board, others being Roger Binny, Saba Karim, Vikram Rathour and Rajinder Singh Hans. Indian cricket will thus have a new set of selectors.
He replaces K. Srikkanth the former head. BCCI president N. Srinivasan explained the reasons for selecting this new panel.


Are you a Chelsea fan???? Want to know about Chelsea gossips? Click here...

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Saraswati Samman...

Tamil scholar A A Manavalan conferred with the prestigious Saraswati Samman(by K K Birla Foundation) consisting of a citation plaque, memento and a cheque of Rs 7.5 lakh, for his work Irama Kathaiyum Iramayakalyum, a comparative study of epic Ramayana written in 48 languages. Corporate Affairs and Power Minister M Veerappa Moily presented the award.

This award is for 2011.

Fiscal deficit could be higher than estimates in FY’13


The government now expects fiscal deficit —gap between expenditure and revenue —could overshoot the Budget target of 5.1percent and touch 5.3 percent of the GDP this financial year, Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram says.
In the first four months of 2012-13, fiscal deficit has already crossed 50 percent of Budget Estimate of Rs 5.13 lakh crore, or 5.1 percent of GDP.

According to the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC), India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is likely to be 6.7 percent this fiscal given the economic slowdown.

Related Posts...

http://gk4banking.blogspot.com/2012/09/3-fiscal-deficit-target-for-fy15-not.html
http://gk4banking.blogspot.com/2012/09/growth-estimates-by-s-and-pmeac.html

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Aishwarya Rai named UNAIDS goodwill ambassador



Indian actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan appointed as the new international Goodwill Ambassador for UNAIDS, the joint UN programme on AIDS and HIV.
The announcement was made at the UN headquarters by UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibe. In  Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's new role, she will help raise awareness on issues related to stopping new HIV infections in children and advocate for increased access to anti-retroviral treatment. 
Her main focus will be to advocate for the global plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children and keeping their mothers alive. This plan was launched at the UN in June 2011 and focuses on 22 countries including India, which account for more than 90% of all new HIV infections among children.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Double trap shooting World Cup


India’s double trap shooter Ronjan Sodhi won a silver medal at the ISSF World Cup in Slovania. It is third year in a row that Ronjan has won a medal at World Cup finals. In the previous two editions — 2010 and 2011 — he had won a gold each. Joshua Richmond, of USA won the gold.

Growth estimates by S&P and PMEAC

S&P version:
Even after the FDI decisions and policy changes Standard and Poor’s (S&P) has lowered the growth forecast for India to 5.5 per cent for this fiscal, from 6.5 per cent projected earlier, citing “volatile” global economic situation. Lack of monsoon is the main reason for for this cut. 
“A trifecta featuring a slowdown in China, ongoing troubles in the eurozone, and a weaker recovery in the U.S. leads us to forecast slower economic growth rates for Asia Pacific,” S&P said.

PMEAC version:
Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council Chairman C. Rangarajan expects India to grow at a much higher rate of 6.7 per cent which is better than last year. He expects the growth to pick up in the second half and will compensate for the first half which saw a muted growth.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Archery World Cup


India’s top archer Deepika Kumari lost a close game in the World Cup final to Olympic double gold medallist Bo Bae Ki to settle for a silver in the recurve women’s individual event at Hibiya Park in Tokyo. 
Deepika was in splendid form as she won the quarter-finals and semi-finals to lead 4-0 in the final before she lost 4-6 (26-23, 27-25, 24-28, 23-26, 25-26).
This is the first tournament after her disappointing performance in London Olympics. Because of her disappointing performance in Olympics she lost her no:1 ranking and she is currently ranked 2. 



Are you a Chelsea fan???? Want to know about Chelsea gossips? Click here...

‘Barfi’ chosen to contest in Oscars



Anurag Basu’s “Barfi!" has been chosen as India’s official entry for the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Barfi is a film which  portrays the love between a deaf and mute boy and an autistic girl. These roles are played by Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra respectively.
“‘Barfi!’ has indeed been chosen as the country’s official entry this year,” Film Federation of India(FFI) secretary general
 Suparn Sen told after the decision making meeting at Hyderabad.
The movie has been lauded in film circles for its simplistic and moving narrative that has managed to tug at the heartstrings of audiences which equally enjoy commercial potboilers.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Aung San Suu Kyi receives Congressional Medal




Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi of National League for Democracy, received prestigious Congressional Gold Medal, a rare honour to any foreign leader by the US administration.

“This is one of the most moving days of my life, to be here in a house undivided, a house joined together to welcome a stranger from a distant land. This is a moment for which I have been waiting for many years,” Suu Kyi said receiving the honour.

“To be a full human being, we need both security and freedom. Without security, we cannot rest in peace necessary to discover the world to be the beautiful place that it can be. Without freedom we will be deprived of the opportunities that will make us more human and more humane,” she added.

3% fiscal deficit target for FY15 not feasible: Planning Comm


The fiscal deficit numbers will stay high and one can expect some relief only after five years. The Planning Commission believes that the fiscal consolidation targets for the next three fiscals will be off target because of the domestic and international conditions and one can expect the fiscal deficit to reduce to 3% levels only by the end of the 12th Plan ie FY17 according to the draft bill 5-year plan.

The document also say that the government did not compress the fiscal deficit target immediately. However, to achieve fiscal consolidation, the government has to bring down its subsidy levels to 1.7% by FY17 and substantially increase its revenues.

It expects the growth number to be at 9% level by FY16 and FY17.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Visa with HDFC bank will offer mobile payments


Movida mobile payments platform promoted by Visa will be going live next month with the second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank as its banking partner. Other banks also will follow suite.

Movida, is an equal joint venture between Visa and the LSE-listed mobile banking solutions company Monitise.

The product is pitted against the interbank mobile payment service (IMPS) launched by the National Payments Corporation of India(NPCI), which already has 50 banks as members.

The IMPS is an account-to-account transfer of money and requires a special registration while the Movida solution will allow for a card-to-card transfer of cash using the mobile platform.

Rajapaksa begins India visit

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa begin his Indian visit during which he will meet President Pranab Mukherjee, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. This visit is expected to bridge the communication gap between the leaders of two nations while the fact remains that Sri Lanka and India have not been on the same side on many issues, especially after the fall of Tamil Tigers in May 2009. India wants substantial progress in reconciliation issues, especially the question of political rights of Tamils, ahead of Dr. Singh’s planned Sri Lankan visit. 

India’s vote against Sri Lanka in the March session of the United Nations Human Rights Council is one of the reason for the differences between the nation. India decided to vote against Sri Lanka because it made promises in 2009 which it did not keep.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Current Account Deficit will be lower: Rangarajan

Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) Chairman C. Rangarajan expects Current Account Deficit(CAD) to be lower at 3.5 per cent of the GDP (gross domestic product) this fiscal compared to 4.2 per cent of GDP last year following a declining trend in imports of gold. This expectation is on the backdrop of declining trend in inflation which will reduce the attraction of gold as an investment. This view is also enforced by the recent quarter import bill which shows a 18% decline in gold imports.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Effect of CRR cut on banking industry and Economy


The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), cut the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 25 basis points to 4.50 per cent while retaining the indicative policy rates at the current level. The CRR cut will inject a liquidity of around Rs.17,000 crore into the banking system.

“Since the first quarter review, while growth risks have increased, inflation risks remain…….In the current situation, persistent inflationary pressures alongside risks emerging from twin deficits - current account deficit and fiscal deficit - constrain a stronger response of monetary policy to growth risks,” RBI's Mid-quarter Review of the Monetary Policy say.

“Monetary policy also has an important role in supporting the growth revival,” it says. 
CRR is the portion of deposits that banks keep with the RBI, and it does not earn any interest for banks. Which means for banks it is a dead asset. This year so far RBI slashed CRR by 150 basis.

The reports adds further, “Liquidity conditions have remained comfortable since the first quarter review. However, going forward, the wedge between deposit growth and credit growth could widen on the back of the seasonal pick-up in credit demand in the second-half of the year.”, which shows RBI did this with a future outlook. 

REPO RATE REMAINS UNCHANGED

The short-term policy rate, repo rate, unchanged at 8 per cent and Reverse repo rate at 7 per cent. Repo rate is the rate at which banks borrow funds from the RBI, and Reverse repo is the rate at which banks park their funds with the central bank.

However, the central bank complemented the government for taking actions to spur growth, and contain fiscal deficit, mentioning goverment's policy decisions of FDI in retail, aviation and broadcasing and fuel price hike.

“Headline Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation (year-on-year) has remained sticky at around 7.5 per cent throughout the current financial year so far….Even as demand pressures moderate, supply constraints and rupee depreciation are imparting pressures on prices, rendering them sticky,’’ RBI said.

In terms of the new Consumer Price Index (CPI), the RBI said, inflation (year-on-year) remained broadly unchanged in July from June at close to 10 per cent, held up by rising prices of food items. Notwithstanding some easing in July, core CPI inflation (CPI excluding food and fuel sub-group) remains elevated.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Kohli wins ICC ODI cricketer of the Year Award


With his consistent performance over the last 12 months during which he amassed runs all over the world and against almost all the countries India played, Virat Kohli named the ICC ODI cricketer of the Year Award.


Are you a Chelsea fan???? Want to know about Chelsea gossips? Click here...

ICC ODI team of the year announced...



Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been named captain of ICC’s ‘ODI Team of the Year’ for the fifth consecutive year which also includes Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir.

ICC ODI Team of the Year (Batting Order) Gautam Gambhir (Ind), Alastair Cook (Eng), Kumar Sangakkara (SL), Virat Kohli (Ind), MS Dhoni  (Ind,wicketkeeper/captain), Michael Clarke (Aus), Shahid Afridi (Pak), Morne Morkel (SA), Steven Finn (Eng), Lasith Malinga (SL), Saeed Ajmal (Pak); 12th Man – Shane Watson (Aus).



Are you a Chelsea fan???? Want to know about Chelsea gossips? Click here...

A bunch of economic reforms from UPA...

Broadcast industry: 74 per cent FDI allowed


In a major decision to liberalise the broadcast industry, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) decided to raise Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) cap to 74 per cent in various services of the sector.This does not include the TV news channels and FM radio where the cap of 26 per cent will apply.

The decision apply to broadcast carriage services providers, including Direct-to-Home, Head-end in the Sky (HITS), Multi-Service Operators (MSOs) and cable TV to bring about uniformity.

HITS is a satellite multiplex service that provides TV channels for cable operations.
74 per cent FDI was allowed in Mobile TV, which is a segment likely to see future growth.

Commerce Minister Anand Sharma explained, out of the 74 per cent, 49 per cent will be through automatic route while the rest will be allowed through government route, ie Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance.

However, for sensitive segments like TV news channels, current affairs, FM radio and content providers, the FDI limit will not be changed from current 26 per cent.

Airlines industry: 49 p.c stake allowed for foreign airlines

Foreign airlines can now pick up 49 per cent stake in India’s domestic carriers, a step that is expected to give a boost to cash-strapped aviation industry.


The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Friday approved the proposal which would pave way for equity infusion into India’s airlines that are passing through acute turbulence as most of them are in dire need of funds for operations.


“Though FDI of upto 49 per cent, 75 per cent and 100 per cent was there in aviation sector, foreign airlines were not allowed,” Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh told reporters after the meeting.


Current FDI norms allow foreign investors, not related to airline business, to directly or indirectly own an equity stake of up to 49 per cent in Indian carrier.


Allowing foreign airlines to pick up stakes in Indian carriers has been a long-pending demand of the aviation sector.


Most of the Indian carriers are suffering losses because of high taxes on jet fuel, rising airport fees, costlier loans, poor infrastructure and cut-throat competition.


Except IndiGo, all airlines have posted losses in the financial year ending on March 31.



Multi-brand Retail: 51p.c FDI allowed



Cabinet decided to allow 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail but left it to the state governments, the final authority in setting up of such stores. The approval should be obtained from Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). The minimum investment is pegged at $100 million, 50 per cent of which should be invested in “back-end infrastructure”. Also, 30 per cent of the products must be procured from small-scale industries.

This will enable much-awaited entry of foreign retail giants such as Walmart, Tesco and Carrefour into the retail market(which is estimated as $450 billion), but they are allowed in million-plus cities in states which have agreed to back the measure.

For single-brand retail, the Cabinet decided that any firm seeking waiver of the mandatory 30 per cent local sourcing norms would have to set up a manufacturing facility in the country, the Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said.

In November last year, the government had approved 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand. This was, however, put on hold due to political opposition, including from UPA constituent Trinamool Congress.

The minister said since the implementation of the decision was put on hold, it had to go to the Cabinet again before going ahead with the decision.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

12th five year Plan highlights


The proposed 12th five year plan document that seeks to raise the average annual economic growth during the five-year period ending March 2017 to 8.2 percent from 7.9 percent achieved in the previous Plan.

The meeting of Full Planning Commission, which has been called by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will also vet various other social sector targets relating to poverty alleviation, infant mortality, enrollment ratio and job creation.

Besides other things, the 12th Plan seeks to achieve 4 percent agriculture sector growth while that for manufacturing sector is aimed at 10 percent.

The total plan size has been proposed at Rs 47.7 lakh crore, 135 percent more that the investments realised in the 11th Plan (2007-12).

The meeting will be attended by regular Planning Commission members and key cabinet ministers.

Once the document is approved by the full Plan panel, it will be considered by the Union Cabinet and then pass it to National Development Council(NDC), the apex decision making body, for final approval.

In view of the ongoing global problems, the average annual growth target for the 12th Plan has been scaled down at 8.2 percent from 9 percent stated  in the Approach Paper to the 12th Plan.

As regards poverty alleviation, the Commission proposed to bring down the poverty ratio by 10 percentage points during the Plan period. At present the poverty is around 30 percent of the population.

The targetted  job creation in the non-farm sectors during the five year period  is five crore.

In education efforts would be made to create 20 lakh additional seats in higher education and eliminate gender and social gaps in school enrollment.

It also aims to reduce infant mortality rate to 25 and maternal mortality ratio to one per 1,000 live births by end of the Plan period.

It also seeks to increase investment in infrastructure sector to 9 percent of the GDP by 2016-17.

The other monitorable targets include reduction of aggregate technical and commercial losses in power sector to 20 percent and electrification of all villages during the five year policy period.

The document proposes to create additional generation capacity of 30,000 MW in renewable energy segment during the 12th Plan period.

Efforts, it said, will also be made to provide banking services to 90 percent of Indian household by the end of the 12th Plan period.

As regards exports of goods and services, the commission said, the target would be to increase them to 2 percent of the Gross Domestic Product(GDP).

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

ECB norms relaxed by RBI


Reserve Bank of India hiked the maximum limit to $3 billion for foreign borrowers under the External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) norms with an aim of increasing the foreign fund flow into the country.

"We will continue to look at various spaces of which ECB is one...not only to increase the foreign flow in the country, but also to improve business climate," Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Dr Arvind Mayaram said.

The High Level Committee on ECBs also permitted Foreign Institutional Investors to invest up to $5 billion in rupee bonds within the overall corporate bond limit of $45 billion.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

MGNREGA now guarantees 150 working days


A ministerial panel has decided to increase the number of guaranteed work days under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act(MGNREGA) to 150 days for one year and cut interest rates on crop loans to 7 percent for one year, according to sources. These decisions were approved by the EGoM on drought headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to offer some relief to farmers in drought-affected states.

Four states—Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan—have declared drought in many sub-divisions. Monsoon deficiency in the country now stands at 9 percent.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister S Jaipal Reddy and Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath, are also members of the EGoM. 

MGNREGA is the scheme in which the government assures 100 days of work every year to each household in rural areas.

Generally, people avail of the benefit under the scheme during the off-season for agriculture. The government has provided Rs 33,000 crore to implement the scheme this fiscal, as against Rs 31,000 crore in 2011-12.

Somalia's new President



Somalia’s Parliament elected a new President for the country- Hassan Sheikh Mohamud beat out the Sharif Sheikh Ahmed(present President).

Mr. Ahmed had been the favourite heading into the election, so the result is a surprise to a nation which is in a process intended to establish a stable government in the war-torn country.

US Open summary

Men's singles:

Andy Murray(Britain) wins men's singles title defeating Novak Djokovic(Serbia).
Murray became the first British man since Fred Perry to lift the trophy at a major. He is also the 2012 London Olympics champion.

Women's singles:

Serena Williams(USA) won women's single title defeating Victoria Azarenka(Belarus, Current world no:1).
This is her 15th Grand Slam title and fourth at the US Open. 
The final was the first on the women’s side to stretch to three sets since 1995. She is also the 2012 London Olympics champion.

Men's doubles:
American twins Bob and Mike Bryan won men's doubles title defeating Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek.

Women's doubles:
Sara Errani and Roberta(Italians) won women's doubles title defeating Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka.

Mixed Doubles:
The unseeded Ekaterina Makarova  and Bruno Soares won doubles title defeating Kveta Peschke  and Marcin Matkowski.




Are you a Chelsea fan???? Want to know about Chelsea gossips? Click here...

Infosys makes a major acquisition



Infosys, announced the acquisition of Lodestone Holding AG, a leading management consultancy firm based in Zurich, for 330 million Swiss francs ($345 million or Rs.1,925 crore).
For this acquisition, Infosys will pay two-thirds of the amount immediately while the rest is to be paid after three years. Lodestone, which reported revenue of 200 million Swiss francs in 2011, derives 50 per cent of its revenues from Switzerland, and 23 per cent from Germany.
For a long time Infosys wasn't in the acquisition mode. This ends its waiting.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

The father of India’s ‘White Revolution’ passed away


The father of India’s ‘White Revolution’ Dr Verghese Kurien passed away.
Dr Kurien, who took India from being a milk-deficient country to the world’s largest milk producer, is recognized as the father of White Revolution and the man who started ’Operation Flood’, besides making the Amul dairy brand.This made him ‘Milkman of India’.

Major recognitions:
Padma Vibhushan
World Food Price
Ramon Magsaysay award for Community Leadership
Carnegie-Wateler World Peace Prize
International Person of the Year award from US.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

India, Pakistan: New visa agreement


India and Pakistan signed the much anticipated liberalised visa agreement, introducing for the first time group tourist and pilgrim visas, separate visa for businessmen and visa on arrival for those over 65 years of age.

The agreement, signed between External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik, will replace a 38-year-old restrictive visa agreement and ensure time-bound visa approval and greater people to people contacts and will boost trade.

This agreement was signed in S.M. Krishna's Pak visit. 

APEC meet



Leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member nations met in Vladivostok, Russia to discuss ways for regional development amid fragile world economic recovery. 
The meeting which focuses on trade and investment liberalization and regional economic integration, food security, supply chains and cooperation to foster innovative growth, is of the theme “Integrate to Grow, Innovate to Prosper” .
With the 21 member nations, APEC accounts for approximately 40 per cent of the world’s population, around 57 per cent of world GDP and about 48 per cent of global trade.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Plan panel cuts GDP growth target for 12th Plan

Due to the mild economic recovery, Plan panel has decided to lower annual average economic growth rate to 8.2% in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) from 9 percent estimated earlier.
This will be presented in the meeting of the Full Planning Commission, to be presided over by the Prime Minister, on September 15.
After this is approved by full Planning Commission  it would be reviewed and approved by the Union Cabinet and then it would be placed before the country’s apex decision making body National Development Council (NDC) for final approval.
The NDC headed by the Prime Minister also includes chief ministers and union cabinet ministers on board. It is the final authority to finalise the five-year policy document.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Chinese Defence Minister's India visit

General Liang Guanglie, Chinese Defence Minister on his visit to India discussed defence issues and military exchanges and cooperation with his Indian counterpart A.K. Antony. They agreed to enhance and maintain peace and tranquillity on the border, India and China decided to conduct the next round of joint military exercises at the earliest. A.K. Antony accepted General Liang’s invitation to visit Beijing next year.

Buchi Babu championship

Karnataka won Buchi Babu all-India cricket tournament outshining Kerala's commendable fight in the final. Last year also Kerala gave a decent fight to Maharashtra who won the championship. This tournament is to honour Mothavarapu Buchi Babu Naidu (1868–1908). Who was an Indian socialite and cricket pioneer who organised cricket clubs for native Indians. He is considered to be the "father of Madras cricket" and founded the annual Madras Presidency Matches, the first of which was held shortly after his death.

RIL is now in Dubai Mercantile Exchange

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) has got listed on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME). RIL is now the first major Indian firm to participate directly in a global oil futures market. DME is one of the fastest growing mercantile exchanges in the world. By this move Mukesh Ambani group company achieves one more milestone in terms of international presence.

Girisha wins silver at Paralympic Games


Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda, 24-year-old from Karnataka, won silver in the men’s high jump F42 event in London Paralympic Games 2012. Iliesa Delana of Fiji won the gold, while Lukasz Mamczarz of Poland settled for bronze finished on the same height of 1.74m. The medals were determined by the number of jumps.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Tajikistan President's India Visit

Visiting President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon expressed his views on expeditious conclusion of the Mumbai terror attack trial in Pakistan and called for “active prosecution of the authors of such crimes and their accomplices”. In his visit he held talks on key regional and international issues and reviewed the current status of bilateral ties apart from deciding to elevate it to “strategic partnership” which will include cooperation in a wide spectrum of areas, including political, economic, defence and counter-terrorism, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The talks were mainly focused on terrorism but also included economic matters also.

Inflation not growth is of more priority

If India want to control high inflation, RBI Governor D Subbarao said compromise in growth is “inevitable” amid efforts to bring down prices to acceptable levels. RBI Governor D Subbarao accepted the criticism that even after  raising interest rates and running a tight monetary policy, inflation is still “high and persistent” and growth has been hurt. But there is no other way explains Governor. He said the sacrifice in growth is short-term and if the inflation is under control growth will be more stable. Inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index stood at 6. 87 percent in July which is above RBI’s comfort level of 5-6 percent.
“In order to support growth, we need to keep interest rates low but in order to rein in inflation we have to keep interest rates high. The challenge is how do we manage growth-inflation trade off,” he said.

India lifts Nehru cup once again


India wins Nehru cup third consecutive time. This time beating Cameroon in penalty shootout. The ONGC Nehru Cup is an international association football tournament organised by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). The tournament was hosted in New Delhi, India. The other teams in the tournament were Maldives, Syria and Nepal.




Are you a Chelsea fan???? Want to know about Chelsea gossips? Click here...

Saturday, September 1, 2012

GAAR panel coverage widens

The government widened the scope of the expert committee on General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) to include non-resident tax payers also, even as the Committee submitted its draft report to the Ministry. The committee headed by tax expert Parthasarthi Shome, was set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in July to address concerns of foreign and domestic investors on GAAR.  Earlier the scope was only FIIs which now becomes wider with the inclusion of non-resident tax payers. Currently Government aims to implement GAAR from April 2013.

To know more on GAAR...
Independent member on GAAR panel
GAAR deferred by one year
General Anti-Avoidance Rules(GAAR)
Union Budget 2012-13 highlights

Worth reading