• 167 Current Affairs (Important) were found in Month -Jan 2015 to June 2015 for Type - Banking and Economy
  • RBI Monetary Policy Rates as on Today (24-July-2015 )
    • Repo Rate - 7.50 %
    • Reverse Repo - 6.50 %
    • Bank Rate - 8.50 %
    • Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) Rate - 8.50 %
    • CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) - 4 %
    • SLR(Statutory Liquidity ratio) - 21.5 %
  • Retirement fund body EPFO (Employees' Provident Fund Organisatio) raised age limit for vesting (Means to Avail Benefits) of pension by to 60 from 58 Years.
  • India - China trade deficit increased to 37.8 billion USD in 2014. Although the bilateral trade was increased to 70.59 USD (Hike of 7.9 %).
    1. India China Trade was USD 73.9 billion in 2011, 66.57 billion in 2012, 65.57 billion in 2013 and 65.49 billion USD in 2013.
    2. Chinas export to India in 2014 was 54.2 billion USD and Indias exports to China was 16.4 billion USD. The trade target of India China was 100 billion USD for 2014.
  • 14th Finance Commission Report -
    1. Main Suggestions Include -
      1. Rising share of states in central taxes from 32% to 42% to allow greater fiscal policy space to states, even at the cost of leaving less revenue for centr's schemes and programmes.
      2. Tax Devolution to be based on Area, Populcation, Demography, Income Distance & Forest Cover
        1. 50 % weight is to be given to distance from highest per capita income district, followed by population (1971 census) at 17.5 %, demography (2011 census) at 10 %, area at 15 % and forest cover at 7.5 %
      3. Fiscal deficit should come down to 3.6 % of GDP in 2015-16 from projected 4.1 % in 2014-15 and then 3 % in following year and kept at that for three more years.
      4. Centre's debt To come down from 45.4 % of GDP in FY15 to 43.6 % in FY16 and 36.3 % by FY20.
      5. States should empower local bodies to impose Advertisement tax to augment their revenues
      6. States be taken away from operation of NSSF with effect from next financial year.
  • 20 March - International Day of Happiness. It was established by United Nations General Assemby on June 28, 2012.
  • 23 March - Anniversary of Execution of of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru on 23 March, 1931, is declared as Martyr's Day.
  • 25 March: International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery.
  • Relbanks issued list of 66 largest banks in the world by market Capitalization.
    1. India's HDFC was ranked 45th with 41.58 USD Market Capitalization. SBI was ranked 51st with 36.40 USD and ICICI was 55th with 33.42 USD Market Cap.
    2. Wells Fargo & Co. of US is first with market cap of 284.39 Billion USD and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) of China is second with market cap of 269.70 Billion USD.
  • Union Budget 2015 - 2016 - Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented Union Budget 2015-16 in Lok Sabha. It was first full year Budget of the NDA government and second budget of Arun Jaitley. Main Points are -
    • Expenditures(Total 1777477 Crores)
      • Planned Expenditure - 465277 Crores
      • Non-Planned Expenditure - 1312200 Crores.
    • Revenue Receipts(Total 1671223 Crores)
      • Tax Revenue - 1449490 Crore Rupees
      • Non Tax Revenue - 221733 Crore Rupees
    • Estimates of various Deficits-
      • Fiscal Defict (Rajkoshiya Ghata) to be 3.9 % of GDP
        • Further Estimations - 3.5 % of GDP in 2016-17 and 3 % oof GDP in 2017-18
      • Revenue Deficit to be 2.8 % of GDP
    • Taxation -
      • Abolition of wealth tax and Additional 2% surcharge for the super rich with income of over Rs. 1 crore.
      • Corporate tax to come down from 30% to 25% over the next 3 year period.
      • No change in individual income tax rates and slabs, overall deduction benefits to individual taxpayers hiked to Rs 4.44 lakh a year.
      • 2 % Swachh Bharat cess on Service Tax and 100 % deduction on investment in Swachh Bharat Kosh.
      • Excise duty is up to 12.5 % and and service tax Increased to 14 % (From 12.36 %).
      • Pension fund exemption increase from Rs.1,00,000 to Rs.1,5,0000
      • Mediclaim policy limit increased from Rs.15,000 to Rs.25,000 (Rs.30,000 for Senior Citizen)
      • Goods and Services Tax to be implemented by April 2016.
    • Agriculture-
      • Rs. 25,000 crore for Rural Infrastructure Development Bank.
      • Rs. 5,300 crore to support Micro Irrigation Programme.
      • Farmers credit - target of 8.5 lakh crore.
    • Infrastructure-
      • Rs. 70,000 crores to Infrastructure sector.
      • Atal Innovation Mission to be established to draw on expertise of entrepreneurs, and researchers to foster scientific innovations; allocation of Rs. 150 crore.
      • Setting up of 5 ultra mega power projects, each of 4000 MW.
      • National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) will be made with annual flow of Rs.20,000 crores to help infrastructure finance companies leverage extra equity from the funds and use it to erect infrastructure.
      • Self- Employment and Talent Utilisation (SETU), a Techno-Financial, Incubation and Facilitation Programme will be created to support all aspects of start up businesses particularly in technology-driven areas. An amount of Rs.1000 crore is being set up initially in NITI (National Institute of Transforming India) Aayog for SETU.
    • Education-
      • New AIIMS in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Assam.
      • New IIT in Karnataka; Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad to be upgraded to IIT.
      • University of Disability Studies to be formed in Kerala.
      • Centre of film production, animation and gaming to come up in Arunachal Pradesh.
      • New IIMs in Jammu - Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh.
    • Defence Expenditure- 2,46,726 Crores (9.87 % )
    • Welfare Schemes-
      • DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) will be further be expanded from 1 crore to 10.3 crore.
      • For the Atal Pension Yojna, govt. will contribute 50% of the premium limited to Rs. 1000 a year.
      • Rs. 5,000 crore additional allocation for MGNREGA this year taking the allotement to 34699 Crores all time high.
      • Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank will be made with funds Rs. 20,000 crore and credit guarantee fund of 3,000 crore to refinance Micro-Finance Institutions through Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana.
      • Visa on Arrival Facility for 150 Countries.
      • 1000 crore rupees more allocated to Nirbhaya fund
      • For students belonging to minorities, a new scheme named Nayi Manzil will be started
      • Transport allowance increased to 1600 rupees per month
      • Pradhan Mantra Suraksha Bima Yojana to cover accidental death risk of Rs. 2 lakh for just Rs. 12 per year.
      • Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana to cover both natural and accidental death risk
      • Unclaimed deposits of about Rs. 9,000 crores in the PPF and EPF funds will be used to revitalize Senior Citizen Welfare funds.
      • Deen Dayal Upadhyay Grameen Kaushal Yojana will be launched to enhance the employability of Rural Youth with capital of 1500 Crores.
      • National Skills Mission will be launched with capital of Rs. 1,500 crores apart for Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gramin Kaushal Yojana.
      • A fully IT based Student Financial Aid Authority will be set up to manage Scholarships and Educational Loan Schemes, through the Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram.
      • Scheduled Castes Development Sub-Schemes to get 30851 Crores and Scheduled Tribes to get 19980 Crores, women welfare schemes get 79258 Crores.
      • Rural -
        • Rs. 15,000 crore for Long Term Rural Credit Fund
        • Rs. 45,000 crore for Short Term Cooperative Rural Credit Refinance Fund
        • Rs. 15,000 crore for Short Term RRB Refinance Fund
    • Renewable Energy-
      • Rs. 75 crore for electric cars production.
      • Total 175 K MW Renewable energy target for 2022: 100 K MW in solar; 60 K MW in wind; 10 K MW in biomass and 5 K MW in small hydro.
    • Gold-
      • New scheme for depositors of gold to earn interest and jewellers to obtain loans on their metal accounts.
      • An Indian gold coin with Ashok Chakra on its face will be made to reduce the demand for foreign coins and recycle the gold available in the country.
    • Financial -
      • Forward Markets Commission to be merged with the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
      • NBFCs with asset size above 500 crores to be considered as ‘financial institution under Sarfaesi Act, 2002, enabling them to fund SME and mid-corporate businesses.
      • Implementation of GAAR (General Anti Avoidance Rule) has been deferred by 2 Years.
      • People will have to quote their PAN for all purchases above 1 lakh rupees
      • GDP growth seen between 8% and 8.5% this year
      • Disinvestment target set at Rs 69,500 crore for 2015-16.
      • Tough Law to black money to be introduced including imprisonment up to 10 years and 300% penalty on tax for concealing income and assets.
      • Total transfer to the states will be 62 %
      • Electrification of remaining 20000 villages by 2020
    • Subsidies- 227000 Crores ( of 10.2 % from 2014 - 15).
      • Food Subsidy Increased to 122000 Crores.
      • Fertilizer Subsidy - 72968 Crores
      • Petroleum Subsidy - 60270 Crores
    • Others-
      • Year 2022 will be the Amrut Mahotsav, the 75th year, of Indias independence. Housing for all and employment for at least one person in every family is to envisioned to achieved by 2022.
    • Schemes and Expenditure-
      • Rural Development - 79526 Crores ( of 10 %)
      • Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) - 34699 Crores ( of 2.1 %)
      • Health Sector - 33152 Crores
      • Education Sector - 68968 Crores (Including Mid Day Meal)
      • Housing and Urban Development - 22407 Crores
      • Women and Child Welfare - 10351 Crores
      • Water Resources and Namami Gange - 4173 Crores
  • Economic Survey 2014 - 2015 Highlights-
    1. Finance Minister of India (Arun Jaitley Currently) presents the Economic Survey in the parliament every year, just before the Union Budget. It is the ministrys view on the annual economic development of the country.
    2. Highlights on Economic Survey 2014-15 are
      1. Prepared by Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian and his team in Finance Ministry.
      2. To improve investment climate and reduce backlog of stalled projects, a three-pronged strategy is suggested
        1. Revival of public investment in short term, to act as an engine of growth in infrastructure sector.
        2. Creative solutions needed to strengthen institutions relating to bankruptcy to ensurte that exit options are available.
        3. Restructuring the PPP (Public Private Partnership) model is required to make it more viable.
      3. Inflation
        1. Inflation declined by over 6 % since late 2013 and likely to remain 5-5.5 in 2015-16.
      4. Fiscal Deficit
        1. Government will stick to fiscal deficit target of 4.1% of GDP in 2014-15
        2. Country needs to meet its medium-term fiscal deficit target of 3% of GDP and expected to attain the same over next 3 years period.
      5. Current account deficit
        1. Current account deficit will decline from a 6.7 % of GDP in Quarter 3 of 2012-13 to 1.0 % in 2015-16.
      6. GDP Growth
        1. GDP Growth Rate to stay 7.4 % in 2014 - 2015 and Expected GDP Growth rate for India in 2015-16 lies between 8.1 - 8.5 % as expectations are high due to large scale economic reforms.
        2. After huge phase of deceleration, GDP has been growing at 7.2 % on average since 2013-14, based on the new growth estimates of the Central Statistics Office.
      7. Foodgrains production
        1. Foodgrains production for 2014-15 is estimated at 257.07 million tonnes, it exceeds average food grain production of last five years by 8.5 million tones.
      8. Subsidies and the JAM Number Trinity Solution
        • Food Subsidy Bill stands at 107823.75 crore rupees during 2014-15, increase of 20 % over previous year
        • The JAM Number Trinity - Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar, Mobile - can enable the State to transfer financial resources to the poor in a progressive manner without leakages and minimal distorting.
      9. Other Facts
        1. Rational Investor Ratings Index (RIRI) that combines indicators of macro-stability with growth illustrates that India ranks amongst the most attractive investment destinations.
        2. Growth will receive boost from cumulative impact of reforms, lower oil prices, likely monetary policy easing due to lower inflation and normal monsoon expected in 2015-16. In the long-run, private investments will be the engine of growth.
        3. Complement Make in India initiative with Skill India initiative to enable larger number of people to benefit from structural transformation that such sectors will facilitate.
        4. National Market for Agricultural Commodities should be created in place of thousands of agricultural markets
        5. The Model APMC Act, 2003 should be amended along the lines of the Karnataka Model that has successfully introduced an integrated single licensing system.
        6. Fiscal Framework
          • Expenditure control combined with recovering growth and GST will ensure that medium term targets are comfortably met.
          • In the short run, need for accelerated fiscal consolidation will be conditioned by recommendations of the Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC).
  • Agriculture Department issued second estimates for foodgrains production in 2014-15.
    1. In 2014-15, total foodgrains production is expected to stay around 257.07 Million tonnes, which is 3.3 % less than previous year (2013-14)'s record production of 265.57 Million tonnes.
  • Agriculture Ministry approved setting up of price stabilisation fund (PSF) with corpus of Rs. 500 crore to be used to support market interventions for managing prices of perishable agri-horticultural commodities.
    1. Initially, fund will be used for onion and potato only. Losses will be shared between the Centre and States
    2. PSF will be used to advance interest-free loans to State governments and Central agencies to support their working capital and other expenses on procurement and distribution for such commodities.
    3. Commodities will be procured directly from farmers and will be made available at reasonable prices to consumers.
  • Airline SpiceJet Tied up with IRCTC to sell Discounted (30-40 %) Air Line Tickets to Train Travellers whose Tickets do not get Confirmed.
  • Apex body of small traders, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) will launch its ecommerce portal Named 'e-Lala' to compete with Online Retailers. It will provide an interface between sellers and consumers without any third agency.
  • As per IMF (International Monetary Fund) Report -
    1. India's GDP Growth Rate in 2016 will be 6.5 %, It will surpass China's Expected growth rate of 6.3 % in 2016.
      1. India VS China GDP Growth Rates -
        Year India China
        2013 5 7.8
        2014 5.8 7.4
        2015 6.3 6.8
        2016 (Expected) 6.5 6.3
    2. As per recent Reports, Number of Tigers in India has risen by 30% up to 2226 from 1706 in 2010. Nearly 70% of world's Tigers are in India. Karnataka has most number of tigers (406) followed by Uttarakhand (340) and Madhya Pradesh (308).
  • As per a recent report, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has been implementing Mahila Udyam Nidhi and Mahila Vikas Nidhi to offer equity and developmental assistance to women for income generating activities.
  • As per data by Controller General (CGA) of Accounts, India's fiscal deficit crossed budget estimate of Rs 5.31 lakh crore by December-end. Target is to keep it under 4.1 % of GDP in 2014-15.
  • BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) has launched free roaming across nation to allow its customers to receive incoming calls for free.
  • Bank of Baroda (BoB) tied-up with UAE Exchange to offer instant money transfer facility to its Non-resident Indian (NRI) customers that will allow customers to send money to their desired bank accounts in BoB in India in Minutes.
  • Baseline profitability index (BPI) 2015 (ranking of nations for attractiveness to foreign investors) -
    1. India is ranked as most attractive investment destination in world among 110 countries, rising from 6th Position in 2014.
    2. China was placed at the 65th position and US was placed at the 50th.
    3. India was able to top in this edition of BPI because of high growth forecasts and investor friendly polices of Government led by PM Narendra Modi.
  • Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has announced to set up 40,000 Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) hot spots across country by 2018 with investment of Rs. 6000 Rupees.
  • Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar presented Bihar State budget for financial year 2015-16 with overall size 120685.32 crore rupees. It has plan expenditure of 57437 crores and non-plan expenditure of Rs. 63259 crore.
  • Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved 5 % disinvestment in National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) and 10 % disinvestment in Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
  • Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved launching Rs. 4,500-crore National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) with aim of bringing India into league of world class computing power nations.
  • Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved proposal of HDFC Bank to raise the foreign holding limit to 74 % (From 73.2 Currently). It will enable inflow of around 10000 crore rupees into the country from overseas investors.CCEA also approved proposal of Drug Maker Lupin's proposal of raising foreign holding up to 49%.
  • Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved two major policies to improve equity in the market and help delayed projectws due to various reasons -  
    1. First Reform is - a comprehensive Exit Policy framework to permit builders to divest 100 % of their equity two years after completion of construction. It will unlock equity from completed projects and will make it available for investment into new projects. This decision will help release equity worth Rs. 4500 crores. 
    2. Second Reform is - To allow National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to intervene in delaying projects. From ongoing 240 PPP (Public private partnership) Projects, some are delaying due to land acquisition issues, grant of clearances and shortage of construction materials etc. NHAI may now provide funds to such projects on a loan basis which will be recovered with interest from toll receipts immediately after completion of construction.
  • Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved mandatory packaging of 90 % of foodgrains produced in India as well as 20 per cent of sugar in jute bags for the 2014-15 crop season to help the jute sector.
    1. Almost all the foodgrains procured by Food Corporation of India is packaged in jute bags.
    2. West Bengal produces 80 % of Indias total annual jute production of 11-12 million bales (one bale is 180 kg).
  • Central Statistics Office (CSO) released provisional estimates (PE) of national income for 2014-15 at constant (2011-12) and current prices -
    1. At 125.4 lakh crore rupees, India is now the 10th Largest economy after crossing the 2 trillion USD Mark. However, 10.3 trillion USD China's economy is way ahead from India. USA is still at the top with 17.4 trillion USD Economy.
    2. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at constant prices in 2014-15 will grow at 7.3 % while at current prices it will grow at 10.5 %
    3. In fourth quarter (Jan - Mar) 2014-15, GDP will grow at 7.5 % and at current prices it will grow at 7.7 %.
    4. Gross national income will rise by 7.3 % in 2014-15 as compared to 6.8 % in 2013-14.
    5. Per capita income (Constant Prices) in 2014-15 is 74104 rupees as against 69959 rupees in FY 2013-14.
    6. Per capita income (current prices) in 2014-15 is 87748 rupees as compared to 80388 rupees in 2013-14.
    7. Consumer price index has rises of 6.4 % during 2014-15.
    8. Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) at current and constant prices during 2014-15 are 28.7 and 30.0 % , respectively as compared to 29.7 and 30.7 % in 2013-14.
    9. Sector-wise
      1. Over 7.0 % Growth in trade, hotels, transport, communication and broadcasting and related fields.
      2. Agriculture, forestry and fishing, mining and quarrying, construction grew at 0.2 %, 2.4 % and 4.8 %
      3. Third advance estimates of crop production show decline of 2.3 % in food grain production to 251.12 million tonnes (MT) as cmpared to second advance estimates.
  • Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and China's e-commerce firm Alibaba signed an agreement to provide global platform to Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
  • Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to deepen partnership between Indian companies and the bank in those countries where the bank has operations.
  • Contribution of manufacturing MSME (Micro Small and medium enterprises) sector to GDP during 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 & 2012-13 has been 7.52, 7.45, 7.39, 7.27 & 7.04 % of GDP respectively, as per GDP Data published by Central Statistics Office (CSO) of MOSPI (Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation).
  • Delhi Government Presented Budget 2015-16. It has been termed as first Swaraj Budget with total size of 41129 crore rupees . 19000 crore rupees is Plan Budget and 22129 crore rupees is as Non-Plan Budget.
  • Dena Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India to provide insurance cover to all Aadhaar-linked savings account holders of the bank.
  • Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) data about FDI Inflows Into India in FY 2014-15 -
    1. FDI inflows in services sector grew by over 46% to $3.25 billion in 2014-15 as compared to $2.22 billion in 2013-14. Services sector includes banking, insurance, outsourcing, R&D, courier and technology testing.
    2. Overall foreign inflows also rose by 27% to $30.93 in 2014-15 as compared to $24.29 billion in 2013-14.
  • Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) fined Cadbury India Limited with 570 crore rupees for excise duty.
  • Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) imposed penalty of 100 crore rupees on Riddhi Siddhi Bullion Limited (RSBL) for violation of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) norms.
  • E-commerce Portal Snapdeal acquired mobility solutions company Letsgomo Labs.
  • E-commerce firm Snapdeal acquired Hyderabad-based mobile technology startup MartMobi to strengthen its mobility platform.
  • Ease of Business Report by Forbes -
    1. India has been ranked at 93rd place in 143 Countries.
    2. Denmark at top, followed by Hongkong.
  • Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) made Universal Account Number (UAN) mandatory for employers under its purview and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.
    1. UAN facility was launched by PM Narendra Modi in October 2014. It is portable throughout the lifetime of an employee and removes the need for employees to apply for PF transfer claims while changing jobs.
  • Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has set up online help desk for tracing inoperative accounts and seek final settlement. There are about 8.15 crore inoperative EPFO accounts with 27000 crore rupees in them.
  • Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) suspended the 1000 rupees minimum monthly pension scheme (EPS)-95 ) from April 2015 and will hit about 32 lakh pensioners.Government notified resuming the scheme with financial aid from the government.
  • Finance Ministry made Permanent Account Number (PAN) mandatory for private firms seeking Central Excise Registration.
  • Finance Ministry sanctioned 250 crore rupees to Andhra Pradesh to set up Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the implementation of the Polavaram Multi Purpose Irrigation Project and 1500 Crore rupees for setting up new capital in Andhra Pradesh.
  • Financial Benchmarks India Private Limited (FBIL) will adopt FBIL overnight Mumbai Inter-Bank Offer Rate (MIBOR) from 22 July 2015 as a new method to set overnight interest rate benchmark based on traded levels instead of contributions from market participants.
  • Financial Indicators of 2014-15 (Based on Provisional Accounts for year ended on 31st March, 2015 )
    1. Fiscal Deficit for 2014-15 is 4.0 % as against Target of 4.1 % of GDP (Rs. 5,01,880 crore )
    2. Revenue Deficit for 2014-15 is 2.8% as Against Target of 2.9% of GDP (Rs.3,58,306 crore)
    3. Gross Tax Collections During 2014-15 are Rs. 12,45,037 Crore (Growth of 9% as Compared to last year)
      1. Tax Collestions are 9.8% of GDP.
      2. Devolution of tax collections
        1. States - Rs.3,37,808 crores(higher than Rs.19,578 crore over previous year)
        2. Non Tax Revenue - Rs.1,96,959 crore
        3. Non Debt Capital Receipts including disinvestment - Rs.43,439 crore
    4. Expenditure - Plan Expenditure is Rs.4,35,621 crore and Non-Plan Expenditure is Rs.11,91,140 crore
  • Financial Stability Report (FSR) June 2015 -
    1. Financial Institutions
      1. Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) -
        1. Public sector banks (PSBs) continued to have lowest capital to risk-weighted assets ratio (CRAR) among the bank-groups.
        2. PSBs have highest level of stressed assets at 13.5 % of total advances as of March 2015, compared to 4.6 per cent for Private Banks.
        3. Non-performing advances (NNPAs) of PSBs increased from 3.1 per cent to 3.2 per cent and from 0.8 per cent to 0.9 per cent for Private Banks.
      2. Urban Co-operative Banks and Non-Bank Financial Companies: 
        1. Asset quality of urban co-operative banks (UCBs) improved while that of non-bank financial companies (NBFCs) weakened further.
    2. Financial Regulation
      1. Financial sector reforms in India are driven by domestic priorities. As risk is essential in financial markets, scurrent Indian regulatory stance is balanced, predictable and technology neutral regulatory regime for the entire financial system.
      2. Banking - Policy initiatives for improving governance at PSBs will help improve their poor performance as they are look to clean balance sheets in wake of regulatory impetus.
      3. Securities market - Concerns from rise in algorithm trading in recent years highlights need for caution for Indias securities markets. Significant steps have been taken to curb illegal money-raising activities, insider trading and strengthening the risk management systems.
      4. Insurance - Agricultural insurance needs urgent focus due to frequent weather calamities and their impact on farmers.
      5. Pension - Atal Pension Yojana has been started by Government to meet challenges of old age income security arising due to Expected shifts in demography in coming decades .
    3. Financial Risks
      1. Global - Global economic recovery still is far from being self-sustaining. Development in Greek debt crisis front and uncertainty over timing of rate increases by the US Federal Reserve are immediate possible triggers for global financial market volatility.
      2. Domestic - There is improvement in the Indian economic environment and expected to be better in near future speacially due to strong foreign portfolio flows to India during past year.
  • Forbes Asia's 'Best Under A Billion' list 2015 (200 Asian Companies with annual Revenue 5 Million - 1 Billion USD) -
    1. 11 Indian companies Avanti Feeds and Borosil Glass Works were placed in this list
    2. list was dominated by China (84) and Taiwan (36). South Koread (17) was third While India 4th with 11 Companies.
  • Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 announced by Minister of Commerce & Industry Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman -
    1. The new five year Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-20 provides a framework for increasing exports of goods and services as well as generation of employment and increasing value addition in the country, in keeping with the Make in India”.
    2. Introduces two new schemes, namely Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS)” for export of specified goods to specified markets and Services Exports from India Scheme (SEIS)” for increasing exports of notified services.
    3. For grant of rewards under MEIS, the countries have been categorized into 3 Groups, whereas the rates of rewards under MEIS range from 2% to 5%. Under SEIS the selected Services would be rewarded at the rates of 3% and 5%.
  • Foreign direct investment (FDI) into India declined by over 6 % in November 2014 to USD 1.53 billion as compared to USD 1.63 billion FDI In November 2013. However, for the April-November period of the ongoing fiscal, FDI grew by 22 per cent to USD 18.88 billion as against USD 15.45 billion in the same period a fiscal before, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion data.
  • General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) will develop an insurance product for Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Financial Services (DFS) to provide insurance cover for liability arising from Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages (CLND) Act, 2010 for benefit of staff of nuclear power plants.
  • Global Rating Agency Moody's forecasted Indian economy will grow at 7.5 percent in 2015. This growth rate is marginally higher compared with 7.2 percent in 2014.
    1. The growth projections come after Moodys revised Indias sovereign ratings outlook to positive (Baa3) from stable. Another ratings agency, Fitch, had reaffirmed its stable outlook on India.
  • Governmenrt approved Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for entering into an agreement with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka for extending $1.1 billion as a special Currency swap outside the Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement for SAARC Member Countries.
    1. India has a Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement for SAARC Member Countries since 2012. The facility is available to all SAARC member countries with a floor of $100 million and ceiling of $ 400 million within an overall limit of $ 2 billion and is valid till November 14, 2015.
  • Government allowed Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to invest 5 % of its corpus in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) to bring around five thousand crore rupees into the stock markets during fiscal 2015-16.
  • Government allowed fertiliser firms to produce 100 % Neem-Coated Urea to boost income of farmers and reducing subsidy bill by up to 6500 crore rupees.
    1. Neem coated urea
      1. Neem coated urea works as insecticide. It costs 5 % more than the cost of normal urea which is about 260 rupees per tonne.
      2. It will reduce ground and soil pollution, increase crop yields and will lower cost for the farmers.
      3. It reduces nitrogen loss by more than 10 % thereby gaining a net savings of 13.5 rupees per bag for farmers.
  • Government announced to re-issue One Rupee Note after two decades of outage.
  • Government approved 21 proposals of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of Rs.280.70 crores on recommendations of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
  • Government approved 643 crore rupees drinking water and sewerage project for Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) for World Bank funding. World Bank will provide loan of 514 crore rupees for this Project of three years duration.
  • Government approved Namami Gange Program to clean Ganga river in a comprehensive manner with a budget outlay of Rs. 20,000 crore for the next 5 years.
    1. Government of India has incurred over Rs. 4000 crore on this cleaning ganga since 1985.
  • Government approved Enhancing Indias solar power capacity target under Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) by five times to 1,00,000 MW by 2022 (From 20000 MW Earlier). It will comprise of 40000 MW Rooftop and 60000 MW through Grid Connected Solar Power Projects. Total cost will be around Rs. 6,00,000 crores. 
  • Government approved construction of Rs 4,318.28 crore trunk infrastructure components in Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) in Gujarat and Shendra Bidkin Industrial Area (SBIA) in Maharashtra in the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project.
  • Government approved continuation of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) with Rs.3900 crore cost during XII Five Year Plan. 642 esisting KVKs will be continued and 109 new KVKs will be established as per the scheme.
  • Government approved enhancing authorised capital of NMDFC (National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation) to 3000 crore rupees from 1500 crore rupees
  • Government approved providing overdraft facility of drawing upto rs. 5000 from accounts opened under PMJDY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhayn Yojana). The amount is to be paid in 3 years with maximum 2% applicable interest.
  • Government approved spending of about one lakh crore on urban development under two new urban missions over the next five years namely Smart Cities Mission and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation of 500 cities (AMRUT) with outlays of Rs.48,000 crore and Rs.50,000 crores respectively.
  • Government created two committees to facilitate implementation of GST (Goods & Services Tax) from April 1, 2016.
    1. First committee will be headed by Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) and will recommend the possible rates of (GST) that would be consistent with the present level of revenue collection of the Centre and States.
    2. Second committees will be aimed to facilitate implementation of new indirect tax regime and will comprise of Additional Secretary in Revenue Department, Member Secretary and State Finance Ministers.
  • Government decided to hike Wages of Government owned Banks' Employees by 15% and decided to keep holiday on alternate saturday with other saturdays being fully working days unlike currently policy of half days work on each saturday in the month.
  • Government decided to link interest rates of State PFs (General Provident Fund and other similar funds), Superannuation and Gratuity Funds for the FY 2015-16 to Public Provident Fund (PPF) rates and fix the rates 8.7% per annum applicable to the following.
    1. The General Provident Fund (Central Services)
    2. The Contributory Provident Fund (India).
    3. The All India Service Provident Fund
    4. The State Railway Provident Fund.
    5. The General Provident Fund (Defence Services).
    6. The Indian Ordnance Provident Fund.
    7. The Indian Ordnance Factories Workmens Provident Fund
    8. The Indian Naval Dockyard Workmens Provident Fund.
    9. The Defence Services Officers Provident Fund
    10. The Armed Forces Personnel Provident Fund.
      1. Recently, Government announced to keep interest rates for PPF and other Small Savings Schemes intact. Note that interest rates for 5 year Senior citizen Saving Scheme and Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme were increased from 9.2 to 9.3% and 9.1 to 9.2% for welfare of girl child and senior citizens.
  • Government divested 10 % Stake in Maharatna Coal India Limited (CIL). With this, governments share in CIL came down to 79.65 %. Government divested 63.16 crores shares (10 %) of CIL through offer for sale (OFS) at a floor price of 358 rupees per share and got an amount of 22557.63 crore rupees through the disinvestment.
  • Government extended deadline for rolling out National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 by six months to help remaining states adopt and implement the law as soon as possible.
  • Government increased national floor-level minimum wage (NFLMW) to 160 rupees from 137 rupees per day. Now states will have to revise their minimum wages as per the new NFLMW  such that none of the scheduled employments, the minimum wage is less than NFLMW.
  • Government increased number of workdays under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) from 100 days to 150 days in drought-affected areas.
  • Government launched Indian Nuclear Insurance Pool (INIP) of 1,500 crore rupees as per mandatory provision under Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLND), 2010.
    1. It will be 27th such pool globally. It will give operator the Right to Recourse and allow it to sue the suppliers in case of any accident.
    2. General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) is the fund operator of this Rs. 1,500 crore Indian insurance pool along with 11 other non-life insurers as associates of the pool.
  • Government launched e-CPMP (Electronic Coal Projects Monitoring Portal) for tracking projects entailing investments related to coal.
  • Government made Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) eligible under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) to enable foreign investment inflows into real estate projects, that was prohibited as of now. 
  • Government plans to push for Green Bonds to meet its target to install 100 gigawatts (GW) of solar power and 60000MW of wind power by 2022 for which it needs 200 billion USD.
    1. Green Bonds (Climate Bonds) are fixed-income financial instruments linked to climate change solutions. These bonds are dollar / rupee denominated and are a new asset class. Like normal bonds, these can be issued by governments, multi-national banks or corporations.
  • Government removed customs import duties for drugs and test kits for treating Human immuno deficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) to help fight this disease.
  • Government updated the base year for calcutaion of GDP Growth Rate from 2004-05 to 2011-12. As per the new stats, GDP Growth rates and projections are updated -
    1. GDP Growth rate in FY 2013-14 is updated to 6.9 % (from 4.7 % earlier).
    2. GDP Growth rate in FY 2012-13 is updated to 5.1 % (from 4.5 % earlier).
    3. GDP Growth rate in FY 2014-15 is expected to be 7.4% and will rise to 8-8.5 % in FY 2015-16.
  • Government wil open 1000 stores under Jan Aushadhi Scheme to provide medicines to underprivileged people at prices 60-70 % less than the market price.
  • Government will Give Rs 6,000 Crore Interest-Free Loans to Sugar Mills to help the mills in clearing 30 % of Rs 21,000 crores debt on Sugar mills to be given to cane farmers.
  • Government will give 6990 crore rupees to nine Public Sector Banks to enhance their capital and meet requirements. This is the first installment of capital infusion of 11200 crore rupees alotted in the Union Budget 2014-15. SBI got most (2970 Crores), BOB Second (1260 Crores) and PNB Third (870 Crores).
  • Government will infuse additional USD 1.8 billion (about Rs 11,500 crore) in public sector banks in 2015-16 apat from USD 1.2 billion (Rs 7,940 crore ) stated in the Budget. Public sector banks will need additional capital of Rs 2.40 lakh crore by 2018 to meet the Basel III capital adequacy norms.
  • Government's scheme PEHAL has been named as world's largest Cash subsidy transfer scheme under which the cooking gas subsidy gets transferred directly to the bank accounts of 10 crore LPG Users. Note that more than 12 crore bank accounts were opened in Jan Dhan Yojana making a world record of its kind.
  • Growth of eight core sector industries (coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizer, steel, cement and electricity) in India slowed to 1.8 % in January 2015 as compared to 3.7 % in 2014.
  • HDFC Bank  launched quick Loan approval schemes for 3 wheeler (30 Minutes) and 2-wheeler (15-minutes).
  • HDFC Bank Launched Mobile App - Chillar App to enable easy transfers of upto 25000 / Month and max 5000 at a time through Mobile App.
  • HDFC Bank launched 10-second paperless instant loan Scheme for its existing customers as part of HDFC Banks digital banking platform GoDigital. Under this scheme, bank will now disburse personal loans to its customers in just 10 seconds and a pre-approved loan amount will be available to them at any time.
  • HDFC Bank launched PayZapp as a digital payment and purchase solution. This mobile app will allow customers to manage credit or debit card details, recharge and pay bills and Other activities.
  • HDFC Bank tied up with Apollo Hospitals to launch Medical Benefits Card. It will allow Apollo corporates to disburse medical allowances to their employees and has insurance cover for accidents.
  • Haryana government presented state Budget for 2015-16.  Overall size of the state budget is 68985.87 crore rupees with 52312.10 crore revenue expenditure and 16673.77 crores of capital expenditure.
  • ICICI Bank launched Indias first contactless debit and credit cards using Near Field Technology enabling payments by just waving the card near merchant terminals instead of swiping them
  • ICICI Bank launched Indias first digital Bank on mobile phone named Pockets. This digital e-wallet can be downloaded from Google Playstore. It uses a virtual VISA card that enables transacting on any website or mobile application in India.
  • ICICI Bank patnered with global payment solutions company UAE Exchange to offer an instant bank transfer service named FLASHremit.
    • Using FLASHremit, customers of the bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) may send money instantly to any ICICI Bank account in India in rupees in a secure manner.
  • ICICI Bank started Funds transfer Through Social network Twitter with ease and speed.
  • In the sixth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2014-15, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced cut in REPO rate of .25%.Now the REPO rate has come down to 7.75%. Accordingly, Reverse Repo rate has come down to 6.75%, Bank rate to 8.75% and Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate to 8.75%. Note that CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) is unchanged at 4% and SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) is unchanged at 23%.
  • Increased rate of service tax from 12.36 to 14 % became operational on 1 June 2015.
  • India Signed Loan Agreement of $300 Million with Asian Ddvelopment Bank for Improving Regional Road Connectivity along North Bengal-North Eastern Region (NER).
    1. ADB is based in Manila (Philippines).
  • India Signed US$ 400 million Loan agreement with World bank for Tamil Nadu Sustainable Urban Development Project.
  • India signed $31 million loan agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to boost water availability in Karnataka through implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).
  • India signed $43 million loan agreement with World Bank for Partial Risk Sharing Facility for Energy Efficiency (PRSF) project to help enterprises and Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) mobilize commercial finance for investments in energy efficiency initiatives. 
  • India signed US$ 500 million loan agreement with World Bank for Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for MSME Growth Innovation and Inclusive Finance Project. 
  • India signed agreement of 8 million USD loan with World Bank for funding of its Sustainable Livelihoods and Adaptation to Climate Change (SLACC) Project.
  • India will provide 60 million USD Line of Credit (LoC) to Guyana for its road infrastructure projects.
  • India's Exports during April, 2015 were US $ 22054.72 million and Imports in April 2015 were US $ 33047.02 (Trade Deficit of US $ 10992.30 million).
  • India's GMR Airport Developers Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Oman Airport Management Company (OAMC) for providing aviation training and consultancy services.
  • India's GMR Infrastructure tied up with Chinese Guizhou International Investment Corporation (GIIC) for developing Kakinada Special Economic Zone (KSEZ) in Andhra Pradesh.
  • India's Muthoot Group signed co-operation agreement with World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature - India for its Project -Friends for Life.
  • India's State Bank of India (SBI) signed a 100 million Euro loan agreement with European Investment Bank (EIB).
  • India's Trade deficit (Imports - Exports) declined to ten month low of 9.43 billion USd in December 2014 mainly due to fall down of global oil prices and fall of demand for gold. Imports declined by 4.8 % to 34.8 billion USD in December 2014 as compared to 36.6 billion USD dollars in December 2013. Exports fell by 3.8 % to 25.4 billion USD.
  • India's current account deficit (CAD) has narrowed to USD 1.3 billion(or 0.2 % of GDP) in fourth quarter of financial year 2014-2015. CAD shrank to 1.3 % of GDP for full financial year 2014-15.
  • Indian Army and State Bank of India (SBI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Defence Salary Package.
  • Indian IT Company TCS has been recognized as top employer in Europe for the third consecutive year by Top Employers Institute.
  • Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Launched Ru-Pay debit card service in collaboration with Union Bank of India and the National Payment Corporation of India to enable Railway passengers to book tickets, do shopping and pay service bills using RuPay pre-paid cards.
    1. RuPay is Indias own card payment gateway network like Visa and Master Card that provides alternative system for banks to provide a debit card service.
  • Indian Railways reported 12.16 % Increase in earnings in FY 2014-15 with Rs. 157880.50 crores as compared to Rs. 140761.27 crore in 2013-14. 
  • Indian telecom Provider Bharti Airtel partnered with United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) for providing health, education and youth-focused content to its customers in 17 African countries.
  • Indias foreign trade Data by Ministry of Commerce & Industry -
    1. In May 2015 - Trade deficit declined to 10.4 billion USD as compared to from 11.2 billion USD in May 2014.
    2. Exports -
      1. During May 2015 were valued at 22.34 billion USD as compared to 27.99 billion USD in May 2014.
      2. Cumulative exports for April and May 2015 was 44.40 billion USD as compared to 53.63 billion USD in Apr-May 2014.
      3. Decline in exports continuously for sixth month is mainly due to slowdown in China and fall in global crude oil prices that caused the exports of petroleum products to fall by 59.10 % to 2.42 billion USD. 
    3. Imports
      1. During May 2015 Imports were 32.75 billion USD as comparted to 39.23 billion USD in May 2014.
      2. Cumulative value of imports for April-May 2015 was 65.80 billion USD as compared to 74.95 billion USD in Apr-May 2014.
  • Indirect Tax Collections increase 46.2%from Rs.32,661 Crore in April, 2014 to Rs. 47,747 Crore during April 2015.
    1. Central Excise collections increased from 8,655 crore in April, 2014 to 18,373 crore during April 2015.
    2. Customs collections increased from 11,555 crore in April, 2014 to 14,286 crore in April, 2015.
    3. Service Tax collections increased from 12,451 crore in April, 2014 to 15,088 crore in April, 2015.
  • Indirect Tax Revenue Collections Increased From Rs. 36,408 Crore in May 2014 to Rs. 49,993 Crore During May 2015 (37 % Increase).
    1. Central Excise collections increased from 11,838 crore in May 2014 to 21,809 crore in May 2015 (84 %).
    2. Customs collections increased from 13,539 crore in May 2014 to 15,700 crore in May 2015 (16 %).
    3. Service Tax collections increased from 11,031 crore in May 2014 to 12,484 crore in May 2015 (13 %).
  • Indirect Taxes collections for Financial Year (FY) 2014-15 has exceeded Revised Estimates target of FY 2014-15 by Rs. 4,000 crore. The total collections as on 31-03-2015 is Rs.5,46,479 crore based on the provisional report as against the Revised Estimates target of Rs. 5,42,325 crore for the FY 2014-15. 
  • Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) Bank launched Tap-n-Pay, a near-field communications-enabled payment service in collaboration with Tech Mahindra.
    1. This payment service is based on the near-field communications (NFC) technology which will enable its customers to make over-the-counter payments without using cash.
    2. It will allow users to tap NFC enabled tag or mobile phone at merchants point-of-sale device for payments.
    3. It is a prepaid account which will be available to customers of any bank by simply registering for it.
    4. ICICI Bank customers can also transfer money to the Tap-n-Pay account through an SMS.
  • Infosys became first Indian Company to Join RE100 Renewable Energy Campaign which is global platform for major companies committed to 100% renewable power. Infosys also announced to become carbon neutral by 2018 with investment of 400 crore rupees.
  • Insurance Australia Group Ltd (IAG) announced to raise its stake in SBI General Insurance from 26 to 49 %. 
  • Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) imposed a 50 Lakh penalty on Future Generali Life Insurance Company for violating norms.
  • International Monetary Fund (IMF) released World Economic Outlook (WEO) April 2015 Report Update titled Uneven Growth: Short-term and Long-term Factors.
    1. Global growth is forecasted at 3.5 % in 2015 and 3.8 % in 2016.
    2. Growth in advance economies will rebound supported by the decline in oil prices.
    3. Growth in USA is projected to exceed 3 % in 2015–16.
    4. Growth for emerging and developing economies (except India) will get slightly slow from 4.6 % in 2014 to 4.3 % in 2015 .
    5. Indias growth is projected to strengthen from 7.2% in 2014 to 7.5 % in 2015 and 2016.
    6. For the first time since 1999, Indias growth rate may eclipse Chinas and there is increasing divergence in the growth paths of the two countries. India is trying to shift from consumption to investment led growth at a time when China is going opposite way.
  • Internet firm Askme acquired Online grocery marketplace BestAtLowest.com for 10 million USD to expand companys search plus capabilities and sync between online and physical stores in real-time.
  • Inward Investment Report 2014-15 of UK Trade and Industry (UKTI). -
    1. With 122 projects in 2014-15, India is now third largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) source for United Kingdom (UK) after USA (564 projects) and France (124 projects).
  • Islamic clothing company East Essence tied up with Snapdeal to set up store on their portal.
  • Japan announced to provide an Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) loan of 2620 crore rupees to India.
  • Japan will provide Loan of Rs. 1165 crore approx to India for Transmission System Improvement in Odisha.
  • Japan's telecommunications and Internet Giant SoftBank Corp, India's Bharti Enterprises and Taiwanese Foxconn Technology formed a Joint Venture (JV) named SBG Cleantech aimed at promoting adoption of clean and safe energy in India.
    1. SBG Cleantech will aim at solar and wind energy and will contribute to Indian Government's mission of 24x7 power for all with 100GW solar and 60GW wind target by 2022.
    2. Manoj Kohli will be executive chairman and Raman Nanda will be the Chief Executive Officer SBG Cleantech headquartered in Delhi.
  • Keeping in view the cane arrears mounting to Rs 21,000 crores, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) decided to raise import duty on sugar from 25 to 40 % and remove excise duty on ethanol to help mills clear dues to farmers.
  • Kochi Metro ties up with Axis Bank to make significant revenues from ticket sales through Automated Fare Collection(AFC) system.
    1. Axis Bank will install required hardware and software for AFC and will pay Rs. 208 crore to KMRL over next 10 years.
    2. Axis Bank will issue co-branded cards to users of Kochi Metro. KMRL will also be paid 0.2% of Axis Banks gross revenues from utlilisation of co-branded pre-paid cards outside Kochi Metro system. 
  • Kotak Mahindra Bank started social bank accounts with JIFI Saver technology that enables funds transfers to contacts on social networks such as facebook.
  • Lok Sabha passed Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, 2014 (Also called Constitution (122nd Amendment))
    1. The bill is aimed at transforming India into a common market, unifying into a national goods and services tax expected to boost manufacturing and reduce corruption. Main Highlights are -
    2. It will insert Article 279A in the Constitution.
    3. It proposes an additional tax on supply of goods, under 1 % and will be collected by central government for a period of two years and apportioned to the States in inter-State trade.
    4. It provides for the compensation to the States for loss of revenue arising on account of implementation of GST for a period of five years.
    5. It combines all Central indirect taxes and State Value Added Taxes.
    6. It covers all goods and services except alcoholic liquor for human consumption for the levy of GST.
    7. Now, after passing in Rajya Sabha and approval by more than a half of India's 29 states, it will give equal tax goods and services powers to central and state governments.
  • Lok Sabha passed Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015 that will replace Insurance Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2014. Proposed amendments in the bill aim to bring improvements in existing laws relating to insurance business in India.
    1. The Bill hikes Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in the insurance sector to 49 % from 26 %.
  • Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SIDBI Venture Capital provide easy finance to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Size of Funds is 200 crore rupees, 75 crore by MIDC and 125 crores by SIDBI.
  • Micro, small and medium enterprises ministry (MSME) tied up with Samsung to open a Digital Academy for offering young students a skill development course based on Tizen operating system (OS) platform. 
  • Micromax took over Samsung and became Indias biggest and world's third largest smartphone vendor in the world. According to the report, in October-December 2014 (Quarter 4), Micromax handled 22 % market share in smartphones shipments in India compared to 20 % market share of Samsung.
  • Microsoft will open Indias first Digital Experience Centre in Vadodara (Gujarat).
  • Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers (Ananth Kumar) launched Cluster Development Programme for Pharma Sector (CDP-PS) intended to enhance productivity of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the pharmacy sector.
  • Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), Jitendra Singh announced 325 crores worth projects for Northeast. Out of These, 200 crore for projects in Assam and Rs. 125 crore for "Organic Farming Mission" for entire North-Eastern region.
  • Ministry Science & Technology and Earth Sciences launched BIRAC Ace Fund aimed at accelerating growth of entrepreneurs in Biotechnology. It will be operated by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) a Public Sector Undertaking under Ministry of Science & Technology.
  • Ministry of Corporate Affairs released data of top ten Corporate of 2014 comprising eight public sector undertakings and two private companies.
    1. In term of assets, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is the largest corporate with assets worth 3.68 lakh crores
    2. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is second with assets worth 2.52 lakh crores, Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC) is third with assets worth 2.25 lakh crore rupees.
    3. Other entities in the top ten are Power Finance Corporation, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Rural Electrification Corporation, Power Grid Corporation, LIC Housing Finance (music), Steel Authority of India Limited and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited.
  • Multiplex chain PVR acquired DLF's DT Cinemas for 500 crore rupees.
  • NTPC Ltd. Becomes First PSU to Issue Bonus Debentures. Government received 618.06 crore bonus debentures amounting to Rs. 7725.76 crore and Rs. 2060.75 crore as dividend distribution tax by virtue of its 74.96% shareholding in NTPC.
  • National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) signed an MoU with India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) to speed up 'Make in India' and 'Digital India' agenda for electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM) and IT.
  • National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) launched Gold Now platform for forward trading in gold. Features are -
  • National Payments Corporation (NPCI), that manages retail payments system in India, has linked 15 crore bank accounts with Aadhaar numbers.
  • National Stock Exchange (NSE) launched online Overnight Liquid Transaction facility on its Mutual Fund Service System (MFSS) platform. It will allow purchase and redemption of orders simultaneously in liquid schemes. Earlier in May 2015, a similar product was introduced by Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) which now has daily transactions of worth 400-500 crore rupees.
  • Nepal Rastra Bank announced to provide interest-free loans for rebuilding houses up to 25 lakh nepali rupees in the Kathmandu Valley and 15 lakh nepali rupees for those outside the capital.
    1. Nepal Rastra Bank is the regulatory authority of the Nepalese economy.
    2. Nepal Rastra Bank also said the commercial banks and financial institutions could take a maximum interest of 2 % under home loan for such purposes.
  • Odisha  State  Co-operative Bank has launched ‘Bank on Wheels to help farmers get loans on their doorstep through 20 vans with ATM facility moving around 20 remote and tribal areas.
  • Online Retailer Flipkart acquired Delhi-based mobile marketing automation company Appiterate to focus more on the mobile segment.
  • Online Retailer Flipkart acquired mobile ad network AdiQuity to increase advertising reach of Flipkart.
  • Online fashion retailer Myntra.com acquired Bengaluru-based startup firm Native5 Software Solutions. With this acquisition, Native 5 will join Flipkart, parent company of Myntra.
  • Online marketplace Snapdeal acquired RupeePower, a digital financial products distribution platform.
  • Online shopping portal Snapdeal.com acquired luxury fashion site Exclusively.com for undisclosed amount. With this, Snapdeal aims to strengthen its fashion business and reach 2 billion US dollars in gross value in fashion category in 2015.
  • Oriental Insurance Company has been designated as insurance partner of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports under its Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme.
  • PM Narendra Modi inaugurated first branch of ICICI Bank in China at Shanghai during his official visit to china.
  • Private sector's Largest ICICI Bank Launched Voice Password Facility for customers in which they can make transactions by just using their voice without other means of authentication like a password.
  • RBI (Reserve Bank of India) issued Second bi-monthly monetary policy statement 2015-16.
    1. Repo rate has been cut by 0.25 %. New Repo rate is 7.25% (7.5 % Earlier). As a result, reverse repo rate became (the rate at which RBI borrows from commercial banks) 6.25 % while marginal standing facility (MSF) and Bank Rate became 8.25 %. Cash reserve ratio (CRR) is unchanged at 4 % and SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) is unchanged at 21.50 %.
  • RBI (Reserve Bank of India) notified hike in FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) limit in Insurance Sector to 49 % from the present 26 %.
  • RBI Allowed Gold loan Non Banking Financial Company Muthoot Finance to act as business correspondent for Yes Bank. It is the first time a bank has appointed any NBFC as their Business Correspondent.
  • RBI Relaxed Know Your Customers (KYC) rules for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) due to difficulties being faced by NBFCs in getting KYC documents at frequent intervals. Now, the KYC exercise will be required to be done -
    1. High-risk individuals and entities - Every 2 years
    2. Medium risk individuals and entities - Every 8 years
    3. Low risk individuals and entities - Every 10 years
  • RBI allowed Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs) to buy up to 49 % of paid-up capital of Bajaj Corp Ltd under Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS).
  • RBI announced Strategic Debt Restructuring (SDR) Scheme to allow banks and other lending institutions to convert their loans into equity stake in the Borrower Company. It is being done to encounter rise in Non Performing Assets (NPAs) as Gross NPAs of Banks will rise to 5.9 % of total advances during 2015-16 against 4.4 % during 2014-15.
    1. The scheme will benefit all Commercial Banks (except Regional Rural Banks (RRBs)), Term-lending and Refinancing Institutions, Export-Import (EXIM) Bank, National Housing Bank (NHB) and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). Key Features are -
    2. Lenders will be able to convert their outstanding loans into a majority equity stake if the borrower fails to pay the loans as per terms.  
    3. Decision on invoking the SDR will be taken within 30 days by the lender after review of account of borrowers and the conversion package within 90 days after taking such a decision.
    4. After conversion, all lenders should together own 51 % or more of the company's equity.
    5. Next Step will be to divest equity holdings of the company to new promoters as soon as possible. New Promoters will be un-related to existing promoters and will acquire entire 51 % Holding by the Lenders.
    6. On divestment of banks' holding in favour of new promoter, asset classification may be upgraded to standard
  • RBI made USIRS (United States Internal Revenue Service) Registration under FTCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) optional for RRBs (Regional Rural Banks) with assets under $175 USD.
  • RBI removed ban on importing gold coins and medallions by banks and allowed import of gold on consignment basis.
  • Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu presented the Railway Budget 2015-16 in the Lok Sabha -
    1. In his first Railway Budget, Suresh Prabhu outlined a plan to invest over 8 lakh crore rupees over 5 years.
    2. The size of the Plan Budget has gone up by 52 % from 65789 crore rupees in 2014-15 to 100011 crore rupees in 2015-16.
    3. Freight rate for cement, coal, others hiked by up to 10%
    4. Rail tickets can now be booked 120 days in advance.
    5. Speed on nine railway corridors to go up to 200 km per hour.
    6. Wi-Fi in 400 stations, mobile phone charging facilities in all train compartments.
    7. All india 24/7 helpline - 138 from March 2015 and Toll free No.182 for security.
    8. No hike in passenger fares
    9. No new trains announced
    10. 'Operation 5 mins', wherein passengers travellling unreserved can purchase a ticket in 5 minutes.
    11. Four Railway Research Centres to start in four universities.
    12. Transport Logistics Corporation of India (TRANSLOC), to be set up for developing common user facilities to provide end-to-end logistics solution at select Railway terminals through Public Private Partnerships.
    13. Operating ratio to improve to 88.5% in 2015-16
      1. The operating ratio, a key measure of efficiency, was at 91.8 per cent in 2014-15 after touching a high of 93.6 per cent in the previous financial year. The lower the operating ratio, the better is the profitability of an entity.
    14. Fast-track sanctioned works on 7,000 kms of double/third/fourth lines
    15. Commissioning 1200 km in 2015-16 at an investment of Rs. 8,686 crore, 84% higher Y-O-Y.
    16. Commissioning 800 km of gauge conversion targeted in current fiscal.
    17. 77 projects covering 9,400 km of doubling/tripling/quadrupling works along with electrification, covering almost all States, at a cost of Rs. 96,182 crore, which is over 2700% higher in terms of amount sanctioned
    18. Traffic facility work is a top priority with an outlay of Rs. 2374 crore .
    19. Preliminary engineering-cum-traffic survey (PETS) for four other DFCs in progress.
    20. Acceleration of pace of Railway electrification: 6,608 route kilometers sanctioned for 2015-16, an increase of 1330% over the previous year.
  • Rajya Sabha passed Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2014 to amend the Companies Act, 2013. Sixteen amendments about winding up, board resolutions, and utilisation of unclaimed dividends are made into Companies Act to address some issues raised by stakeholders. Lok Sabha passed the bill earlier on 17 December 2014.
  • Rajya Sabha passed Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015 that seeks to increase foreign investment limit to 49 % from 26 %. The Bill was earlier passed in Lok Sabha on 4 March 2015.
  • Rajya Sabha passed Regional Rural Banks (Amendment) Bill that was passed by the Lok Sabha on 18-12-2014 -
    1. The Bill amends the RRB Act, 1976 which provides for incorporation, regulation and winding up of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs). 
    2. It removes the five year limit cap that was put on the sponsor banks to assist the upcoming RRBs.
    3. Amount of authorized capital raised to to 2000 crore rupees and minimum 1 crore rupees as the previous limit of maximum five crore rupees and minimum 25 lakh rupees. Capital of 2000 Rupees is divided into Rs 200 crore of fully paid share of Rs 10 each.
    4. The bill allows RRBs to raise their capital from sources other than the central and state governments, and sponsor banks as was mandated under the RRB Act. As per the Act, 50% of capital issued was held by Union government, 15% by concerned state government and 35% by the sponsor banks.
    5. Raise the tenure of a director (excluding the Chairman) to three years and max six years.
    6. Change the date of closure and balancing of books to 31 March from 31 December earlier.
  • Rate of Service Tax will be increased from 12% to 14 from June 01, 2015 as proposed In Union Budget, 2015.
  • Reliance Communications tied-up with social networking site Facebook to offer free internet access to people in India through Facebook's initiative, Internet.org.
    1. Internet.org will provide access to popular websites and services with zero data charge to make it easier for people to access the Internet.
  • Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed Tap And Pay without PIN for transactions up to 2000 rupees. For higher than that, customer must provide pin for authentication.
  • Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended date to exchange pre-2005 bank notes till December 31, 2015 fr0m June 30, 2015 (for third time).
  • Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued final guidelines for 6-year and 13-year cash settled Interest Rate Futures (IRF) under the Interest Rate Futures (Reserve Bank) (Amendment) Directions, 2015.
    1. 6-year cash settled IRF contracts will be a coupon bearing government security of face value of 100 rupees and residual maturity between 4 - 8 years on expiry of futures contract.
    2. 13-year cash settled IRF contracts will be a coupon bearing government security of face value of 100 rupees and residual maturity between 11 - 15 years on expiry of futures contract.
    3. RBI also expanded residual maturity for existing 10-year cash settled IRF from 9-11 years to 8-11 years to provide market participants greater choice and flexibility to hedge interest rate risk across different tenors.
  • Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reduced repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.5 %. This is the second time since January 2015 that RBI reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points. New Monetary Policy Rates Are
    1. Repo Rate - 7.50 %
    2. Reverse Repo - 6.50 %
    3. Bank Rate - 8.50 %
    4. Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) Rate - 8.50 %
    5. CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) - 4 %
    6. SLR(Statutory Liquidity ratio) - 21.5 %
  • Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released report State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2014-15. with theme Fiscal Consolidation: Assessment and Medium Term Prospects. The report is an annual publication that provides data, analysis and an assessment of the finances of state governments. Highlights are -
    • Renewed and sustained efforts to be made by states for fiscal consolidation to increase revenues.
    • Rapidly growing e-commerce can contribute to states own revenue efforts after putting clarity in rules and better compliance.
    • Auctioning of natural resources need to be channelised for mineral rich states.
    • Transition from indirect tax regime to Goods and Services Tax from 1 April 2016 will create more revenues for centre and states.
  • Reserve Bank of India (RBI) signed a 400 million USD currency swap agreement with Central Bank of Sri Lanka. 
  • Reserve Bank of India (RBI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Supervisory Cooperation and Exchange of Supervisory Information with Brazils Central Bank, Banco Central do Brasil (BCB).
  • Reserve Bank of India allowed Authorised Dealer Category I (AD Category-I) Banks to borrow foreign currency from Global Financial Institutions without any prior approval from RBI.
  • Reserve Bank of India allowed non-resident Indians (NRIs) to invest in chit funds to encourage flow of capital into the country.
  • Reserve Bank of India approved amalgamation of ING Vysya Bank with Kotak Mahindra Bank with effect from 1 April 2015.
  • Reserve Bank of India changed external commercial borrowings (ECB) norms under which authorised money changing banks have been allowed to create a charge on securities.
    1. AD Category-I banks may now allow creation of charge on assets, financial securities in favour of overseas lender to secure the ECB to be raised.
  • Reserve Bank of India increased annual overseas investment limit by Indians to $250,000 per person due to foreign exchange reserves touching record levels.
  • Reserve Bank of India proposed to introduce Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) for Mass Transit System (PPI-MTS). It will Promote electronic payments for moving towards to a less-cash society. Such PPIs will be reloadable instruments subjected to an outstanding limit of 2000 rupees at a time.
  • Reserve Bank of India released Guidelines for Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) under Basel III Framework on Liquidity Standards for banks.
    1. RBI proposed to make NSFR applicable to all banks from 1 January 2018 to ensure that banks maintain a stable funding profile in relation to their assets and off-balance sheet activities to avoid disruptions and failure.  
    2.  NSFR - Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) is defined as the amount of available stable funding relative to the amount of required stable funding.
  • Rupeee 1 note released after a gap of over 20 years with signature of Finance Secretary on it. The note was released at Shrinathji temple in Nathdwara, Rajasthan by Finance Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi.
  • SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India ) simplifed IPO Norms to help investors and companies by reducing the the listing time from 12 to 6 days from the date of the public offer. Currently, companies are required to list their shares on the stock exchanges within 12 days of the last date of the IPO (Initial Public Offer) process, thus funds are kept locked for a longer period of time.
  • Search Engine Google signed a strategic partnership with consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to target Digital India Projects and large enterprise deals to push itself into large e-governance projects and improve the sales for its cloud services in India.
  • Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) raised transaction limit in exchange traded currency derivatives to 15 million USD for both foreign and domestic investors from Earlier limit of 10 million USD.
  • Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Board approved SEBI (International Financial Services Centres) Guidelines, 2015 aimed to provide an enabling environment for setting up of capital market infrastructure like stock exchanges, clearing houses, depository services, etc., in such centres.
  • Simplification of Income Tax Return Forms Forms (ITR 1, 2 and 4S) for Assessment Year 2015-16 -
  • Six of worlds biggest banks have been fined 5.7 billion by various concerned authorities in USA and UK for Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates manipulations. These banks are - Citicorp, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, UBS Group AG and Bank of America Corp.
  • Social Media Site Twitter Buys ZipDial, Its First Acquisition of an Indian Company in a 35 Million USD Deal.
  • Social networking site Facebook acquired shopping search engine TheFind to move into e-commerce effectively.
  • South American Country Venezuela entered recession with shrinking economic growth and Recession Jumping upto 63%.
  • State Bank of India (SBI) launched SBI eforex as an online platform to enable customers to book their foreign exchange transactions online.
  • State Bank of India (SBI) launched an Online Customer Acquisition Solution (OCAS) that enables customers to apply online for Home Loans, Car Loans, Education Loans and Personal Loans.  Customers can check their eligibility and get a personalized quote. If eligible, Bank officials will contact the customer and complete all the loan formalities.
  • State Bank of India launched Federal Bank-SBI co-branded credit cards with an aim to issue 1.5 lakh credit cards to its customers in first year.
  • State Governments Budgets 2015 - 16 -
    1. Assam -
      1. 50% Power Subsidy for Below Poverty Line Families.
      2. Rs. 100 crore for distribution of Yarn and Blankets to the Poor.
      3. Rs. 10000 for BPL Families for conducting daughters' Marriages and Rs. 10000 for women self help groups in the state.
      4. Exemption of Drugs from VAT (Value Added Tax).
    2. Bihar -
      1. Budget Size - 120685 Crore Rupeees
      2. Planned Expenditure - 57437 Crores
      3. Non-Planned Expenditure - 63259 Crores
    3. Chhattisgarh -
      1. Budget size - Rs. 67547 Crores
      2. New Bio Control Laboratory in Raipur and 10 New Veterinary Hospitals across state.
      3. Called it a Youth Oriented Budget with 16% of planned outlay dedicated to growth of Youth in the state.
    4. Haryana -
      1. Presented by Haryana Finance Minster Captain Abhimanyu.
      2. VAT (Value added tax) removed from Bio-Fertilizers and VAT reduced to 5% on LED Lights, Pipe Fittings and Prefabricated Steel Structures.
    5. Himachal Pradesh -
      1. Presented by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minster Virbhadra Singh.
      2. Budget size - Rs. 28339 Crores
      3. Entry tax on Industrial Inputs charged on New industries will be reduced to 1% from 2%.
      4. VAT on LED Bulbs will be reduced to 5% from 13.75% and 21 Lakh households will be provided 3 LED Bulbs at a rate of 150 each.
    6. Jharkhand -
      1. Presented by Chief Minster and Finance Minister Raghubar Das.
      2. Budget size - Rs. 55492 Crores
      3. State's First women engineering college to be established in Ramgarh.
      4. 10927 Poshan Sakhi ( Women Health Workers) would be appointed.
      5. Atal Gram Jyoti Yojana and Tikla Majhi Krishi Pump Yojana would be enacted in 2015-16.
      6. Cow slaughter would be prevented through enacting a special act for it.
      7. Tejaswini Scheme to be Introduced in 17 Districts to make the girls self reliant.
      8. Dal Bhat Yojana to be empowered through opening of 370 New Centres.
      9. Mukhya Mantri Vidya Laxmi Yojana to be introduced to promote Girls Education.
    7. Karnataka -
      1. Presented by Chief Minster K Siddaramaiah.
      2. Budget size - Rs. 72600 Crores
      3. VAT on Cigarettes, Cigars, Gutkha and other manufactured tobacco hiked from 17 % to 20 %
      4. Sales tax rate increased by one % on petrol and diesel
      5. Annabhagy, Runamuktha Scheme,Vasathi Bhagya and Pashu Bhagya scheme to be enacted soon.
      6. Social and Education door-to-door survey to be done to assess the current scenario.
    8. Maharashtra -
      1. Presented by Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar.
      2. Budget size - Rs. 72600 Crores.
      3. Local Body tax to be abolished from August 1. Compensation of Revenue by enhancing VAT tax rate.
      4. No VAT on Service Tax. Tax on LED Bulbs to be reduced to 5%.
      5. Excise duty on country liquor to be 200 % of the manufacturing cost or Rs.120 / litre whichever is higher.
    9. Telangana -
      1. Presented by Telangana Finance Minister Eatala Rajendra.
      2. Budget size - Rs. 115689 Crores.
    10. Uttarakhand -
      1. Presented by Uttarakhand Finance Minister Indira Hridayesh.
      2. Budget size - Rs. 32310 Crores.
      3. Vyapari Kalyan Kosh to be set up top benefit small traders.
    11. Punjab -
      1. Presented by Punjab Finance Minister S Parimner singh dhindsa.
      2. Budget size - Rs. 79314 Crores.
      3. Mukhya Mantri Pendu Vikas Yojana to be enacted for rural development.
    12. Rajasthan -
      1. Presented by Rajasthan Finance Minister and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.
      2. Mukhya Mantri Adarsh Gram Panchcyat Yojana to be enacted soon.
      3. Under 'Digital Rajasthan and Good Governance' segment, - Primary Agriculture Credit Society (PACS), Large Agriculture Multipurpose Society (LAMS) and 15,000 E-Mitra centreswill be made business correspondents
      4. New IT and e-governance policy, video conferencing at all ATAL Sewa Kendras, establishment of District Level Officer of IT
    13. Uttar Pradesh -
      1. Presented by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
      2. Budget size - Rs. 302687 Crores.
      3. Agri Junction Scheme to be started for Helping Farmers and rural youth with agricultural knowledge self sufficient by setting up more than 1000 one stop shops in 2015-16.
      4. Kanya Vidya Dhan and Laptop Distribution scheme to be relaunched.
    14. Madhya Pradesh -
      1. Presented by Madhya Pradesh Finance Minister Jayant Malaiya.
      2. Budget size - Rs. 131199 Crores.
  • Supreme Court directed CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) to investigate role of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in the multi-crore chit-fund scam.
  • Swiss National Bank (SNB) Data for Foreigners' Money in Swiss Banks -
    1. India is placed at 61st position in terms of foreigners money in Swiss banks. Indians Hold 0.123 % of the total global wealth of 1.6 trillion USD in Switzerland's banking system.
    2. United Kingdom (UK) is Country with Highest Share of Foreigners' Money in Swiss Banks (22%), Followed by United States (US), West Indies, Guernsey, Germany, Bahamas, Luxembourg, France, Jersey and Hong Kong
    3. Pakistan is placed at 73rd position with their share almost doubling to 472 million Swiss francs.
    4. UBS and Credit Suisse are two big banks with nearly two-third of the total money kept by foreigners in Swiss banks.
  • Tax receipts improved in April - January period of Financial year 2014-15 - (Total - 1006537 Crores)
    1. Tax Total Receipts % of Total Receipts
      Direct Taxes - 578715 Crores
      Corporate Tax 364665 36.2 %
      Income Tax 207613 20.6%
      Indirect Taxes - 427822 Crores
      Excise Duty 140284 14.0 %
      Customs Duty 155248 15.4%
      Service Tax 132290 13.2%
  • Taxes Collections data in FY 2014-15
    1. Direct Taxes Collections (Income Tax,  Corporate tax, Wealth tax) 

      Financial year

      Revised Estimates

      Direct Taxes collections

      2012-13

      5,65,835

      5,58,658

      2013-14

      6,36,318

      6,38,543

      2014-15

      7,05,628

      6,95,988
    2. Contribution of direct and Indirect taxes to the total Central Taxes is - 

      Financial year

      Direct Taxes

      Indirect Taxes

      Total Central Taxes (direct and indirect)

      Direct Taxes as % of Total Central Taxes

      2012-13

      5,58,658

      4,74,482

      10,33,140

      54.07%

      2013-14

      6,38,543

      4,97,061

      11,35,604

      56.22%

      2014-15

      6,95,988

      5,44,157

      12,40,145

      56.12%
  • Three sub-groups of Chief Ministers constituted within the NITI Aayog -
    1. First Sub-group- Study 66 centrally-sponsored schemes and recommend which schemes should continue, which to discontinue, and which are to be transferred to states.
    2. Second Sub-group- Look after creation of skilled manpower and skill development within states.
    3. Third Sub-group- Taking decisions about institutional mechanisms to be evolved for Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan to make cleanliness a part of life.
  • Trends in Global Carbon Di-Oxide Emission Report 2014
    1. Rise in CO2 Emission continues, gone up to 35.3 Billion Ton (2% up from 2012) in 2013.
    2. China Owns largest share of Carbon Di Oxide emissions (29%), followed by USA (15%), European Union (11%) and India (6%).
  • UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development)'s World Investment Report 2015 -
    1. China became largest recipient of FDI ($ 129 billion) wth US second ($ 92 billion).
    2. India leads inflow of FDI in South Asia with $34 billion investment during 2014 (22% high from 2013). India is Now 9th Most FDI Receiving country as comparted to 15th rank in 2013.
    3. Global FDI inflows fell by 16 % to $ 1.23 trillion in 2014.
  • USA based Apple Inc recorded profit of 18 billion USD dollar in 2014 which is Highest ever profit earned by any company in the corporate world.
    1. Apple sold 74.5 million iPhones in quarter ending December 2014.
    2. Revenue of the Apple Inc rose to 74.6 billion USD in 2014 from 57.6 billion USD in 2013.
    3. Apple now has a cash pile up of 178 billion USD which is enough to buy IBM or the equivalent to pay 556 USD to every American.
    4. The success of Apple may be attributed to -
      1. Apple's partnership in China with China Mobile Limited
      2. Larger screen size of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
      3. Doubling of sales of iPhone in Singapore and Brazil and Significant rise in India as well.
  • USA government has opened an investigation against TCS and Infosys, two of biggest Indian outsourcing companies for possible violations of H1-B visa rules.
  • Union Cabinet approved Approach and Key Components of e-Kranti: National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) 2.0 as an important pillar of Digital India programme and envisaged by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY). 
  • Union Cabinet approved a Bill for putting harsh penalties for those having unaccounted money abroad.
    1. The bill will give powers to tax authorities to track and deal with illegal wealth accounted abroad.
    2. Offenders will not be permitted to approach the Settlement Commission.
    3. Penalty will ne 300 % of taxes to be levied on the concealed amount, and 10 years imprisonment.
  • United Nation Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) 2015 survey Making Growth More Inclusive for Sustainable Development. Survey analyzes economic growth performance of the region. Highlights of the Survey -
    1. Economic growth in Asia and the Pacific will be good but will increase only slightly to 5.9% in 2015 from 5.8% in 2014.
    2. North and Central Asia are comparatively slow in economic growth and high at inflation.
    3. Due to lower global oil prices and geopolitical tensions, economy of Russian Federation will slow down in 2015 and 2016.
    4. Economic growth in South and South-West Asia gained in 2014, mainly due to stronger macroeconomic performance in India. Indias Economic Growth -
      1. Indian Economy will grow at 8.1 % in the 2015 and 8.2 %v in 2016.
      2. Investment will rise unevenly due to low capacity-utilisation rate at about 70 %.
      3. Volatile capital flows that may follow monetary policy normalisation in US remain the risky take.
  • United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released Global Investment Trend Monitor Report to provide global investments trend in 2014 and prospects of global investments in 2015.
    • Global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows declined by 8 % in 2014 to 1.26 trillion USD due to fragility of global economy, geopolitical risks and Political Uncertainities.
    • Report in context of India
      • FDI flow in India in 2014 increased to 35 billion USD (26 % Up) with maximum growth in the services sector.
      • Maximum growth in FDI in India was in services sector especially in electricity, gas, water, waste management and information and communication
      • This is one of the highest in recent years, though in 2008 FDI peaked in India with 47 billion dollars followed by 35.6 billion dollar in 2009
    • Top five FDI recipients countries in 2014
      • China is largest recipient of FDI with 3 % Increase. China replaced US that attracted largest FDI since 1980.
      • Rankings of Highest FDI Attracting Countries -
        • China with 128 billion USD
        • Hong Kong with 111 billion USD
        • The United States with 86 billion USD
        • Singapore with 81 billion USD
        • Brazil with 62 billion USD
  • United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospectus Report 2015 -
    1. India 's GDP growth will rise to 5.9 % in 2014-2015 and 6.3 % in 2016, recovery is credited to key reforms by the new Government led by PM Narendra Modi.
    2. Economic growth in South Asia will pick up from 4.9 % in 2014 to 5.4 % in 2015 and 5.7 % in 2016.
    3. Global economy is expected to grow at 3.1 % in 2015 and 3.3 % in 2016, compared with growth of 2.6 % in 2014.
    4. The WESP report is produced at the beginning of each year by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the five UN regional commissions and the World Tourism Organisation ( UNWTO).
  • Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav presented State's Budget 2015-16 of 302687 crore rupees.
    1. State government has focused on agriculture, education, power, health, roads and infrastructure development for which 51516 Crore rupees have been allotted.
    2. Budget size of 2015-16 is 10 % more than budget of 2014-2015.
    3. growth rate of up is expected to be 5 %, more than national growth of 4.7 %. Fiscal deficit is targeted to be kept under 2.96 5 of the State GDP and debt is targeted at around 27.5 % of State GDP.
  • Vistara airline, a joint venture of Tata-SIA, started its flight operation in India with first flight from Delhi to Mumbai.
  • West Bengal Government launched a Micro Business Credit Card to give boost to MSME sector in the state. Through This facility, entrepreneurs in the state will be able to avail cash credit up to 5 lakh rupees for their business activities.
  • World Bank Group released bi-annual Global Economic Prospects (GEP) Report, 2015. -
    1. Economic growth of India estimated at 5.6 % in 2014, will improve to 6.4 % in 2015 and 7 % in 2016.
    2. Global economy grew by 2.6 % in 2014 and is expected to grow by 3 % in 2015, 3.3 % in 2016 and 3.2 % in 2017.
    3. USA has growth above 2.4 % in 2014, expected to grow at 3.2 % in 2015 and 3 % in 2016.
    4. Chinas growth is expected to come down to 7.1 % in 2015, 7 % in 2016 and 6.9 % in 2017.
  • World Bank approved 250 million USD Loan for special Program for Enhancing Teacher Effectiveness in Bihar by improving effectiveness of elementary school teachers.
  • World bank released a report named Heights: Social Inclusion and Sustainable Development in Himachal Pradesh to mark significant growth over the past decades for Himachal Pradesh. highlights of the Report are -
    • Per capita income in Himachal Pradesh is second highest in India despite 90 % of its residents live in rural areas. Education and share of women in the workforce is also appreciable.
    • Himachal Pradesh is first in India to have banned use of plastic bags and has set heights in becoming free of defecation in open.
    • Poverty is one-third the national average. Rural poverty decline four times to 85. % in 2011 from 36.8 % in 1993–94.
  • Yes bank signed a $200 Million Loan Agreement with th Asian Development Bank for promoting financial inclusion in rural areas an advancing loans to women self help groups..