(Current Affairs For SSC Exams) Economic February: 2014

February-2015

Economy

SC allowed Sahara group to raise “junior loan”

The Supreme Court allowed the Sahara group to raise a “junior loan” of $650 million from a foreign lender to pay Rs.5,000 crore and bank guarantee of same amount for the release of Subrata Roy and two directors on bail.
A three-judge bench led by Justice T.S. Thakur said the amount, raised as loan against its three overseas hotels located in London and New York, would be parked in Aamby Valley (Mauritius) Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sahara group’s India-based Aamby Valley Limited.
However, the court said Sahara Group should also clear up with the Reserve Bank of India if there were any impediments under the Foreign Exchange Management Act in case of transfer of the loan amount from its Mauritius subsidiary.
WB projects 6.4% economic growth in India this year
Indian economy is likely to grow at 6.4 per cent in 2015 and accelerate further in the next year on the back of steps being taken by the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said.
Speaking at the Vibrant Gujarat summit, he said the World Bank was committed to catalysing a vibrant India and there is much reason for optimism.
“We project that India will be a bright spot in an otherwise medium global economic outlook. (The) economy according to our projections is expected to grow 6.4 per cent this year and even faster in 2016,” he said.
After slowing to sub-five per cent growth in the previous two financial years, the economy has started showing signs of pick-up as it expanded by 5.7 per cent and 5.3 per cent in the second and third quarter of 2015.
The World Bank President said Mr. Modi and his government have been quickly putting in place the building blocks for even more rapid growth, streamlining national regulatory structure and promoting social inclusion.
Mr. Jim said, he was “very encouraged” by the recent proposal of a Constitution amendment bill for Goods and Services Tax. The proposed new indirect tax regime, he said, offers an opportunity to make it substantially easier to do business in India.
“GST will create one common market and substantial saving for companies on logistics, especially if the structure of the GST is uniform,” he added. He was also encouraged to see that the Prime Minister has focused on programmes to promote the broad sharing of the benefits of growths.

Deal for mega solar project

SunEdison Inc, the U.S.-headquartered solar energy services firm, and India’s Adani Group have come together to invest $4 billion or Rs. 25,000 crore in setting up one of the world’s largest solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing facility in Gujarat.
The project is expected to create not only thousands of jobs, but also provide a much-need impetus to the country’s electrification programmes through solar energy.
The proposed solar PV production unit will come up at Mundra in about three years. And, it will vertically integrate all aspects of solar panel production on site, including poly silicon refining, and ingot, cell, and module production.

‘Jan Dhan Yojana’ a game changer: RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Urjit Patel said that ‘Jan Dhan Yojana’ scheme implemented by public sector banks, whereby 100 million bank accounts have been opened for those who were un-banked, is unequivocally a “game-changer.”
“It provides an unprecedented scaffolding and a spring board for meaningful financial inclusion and, concomitantly, substantial financial deepening of our economy,” said Dr. Patel at an award function. The award was presented to Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Mumbai.
Citing the discussion at the ‘Gyan Sangam’, gathering of bankers and top-level policy makers in Pune, recently, Dr. Patel said: “We should redefine the metric for effective lending and prioritise loans to enterprises, which will generate more employment.”
In other words, he said “bankable labour-intensive enterprises should benefit as we go forward in this direction.”
According to him this would benefit, a much larger number of small business loans. He said that the hard earned macroeconomic stability provides an important backdrop for optimal decisions by all stakeholders.
“e have to preserve this. The dramatic fall in oil prices is a boon for us. It saves, on an annualised basis, around $50 billion roughly, one-third of our annual gross POL imports of about $160 billion. Of course, there willbe leakages and other set-offs,” he added.

Digital India programme will help to boost GDP growth: Ravi Shankar

Interlinking India’s growth to the government’s Digital India programme, IT and Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said increased computer literacy and growing use of mobile internet will help push India’s Internet economy to USD 200 billion by 2020.
The minister was speaking at the release of a report by IAMAI and The Boston Consulting Group. According to the report ‘India@Digital.Bharat’, India is heading towards an internet economy worth USD 200 billion by 2020, that will contribute 5 per cent of the GDP.
In 2013 alone, it contributed USD 60 billion or 2.7 per cent of India’s GDP. “For this, we need to move at a fast pace towards computer literacy.
The other key area which will help the internet economy to grow is mobile internet,” Mr. Prasad said, adding the government is committed to digitisation and is looking extensive PPP for successful implementation.
The minister said there is a need to create hubs in rural India that will help grow e-commerce.
“Unless connectivity reaches every village of India, they dynamics of growth will remain unchanged… It took 30 years to cover 10 lakh km of optic fibre laying, and in just next 3 years7 lakh km will be added, making rural connectivity a reality,” he said.

RBI decided to cut repo rates by 25 basis points

Encouraged by softening inflation, the RBI decided to cut the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 per cent to 7.75 per cent with a view to boost growth. The decision to reduce repo rate comes a fortnight ahead of the scheduled date of monetary policy announcement on February 3.
“It has been decided to reduce the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 8.0 per cent to 7.75 per cent with immediate effect,” Reserve Bank said in a statement.
The RBI has been keeping the benchmark interest rate at elevated level at 8 per cent since January 2014. The RBI, however, has decided to keep the cash reserve ratio (CRR), the portion of deposits which the banks are required to have in cash with the central bank, unchanged at 4.0 per cent.
Following reduction in the repo rate, the reverse repo rate has been adjusted to 6.75 per cent and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and Bank Rate to 8.75 per cent.
The RBI said that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has been easing since July 2014 and was below the expected trajectory and the government has reiterated its commitment to adhering to its fiscal deficit target.

Infosys announces $250 million ‘Innovate in India Fund’

In a move to help the Indian start-up ecosystem, India’s second largets IT company Infosys, announced the creation of a $250 million (Rs. 1,550 crore) ‘Innovate in India Fund’ from its recently expanded innovation fund.
Earlier, Infosys had said that it will expand its innovation fund to $500 million to accelerate the creation of its worldwide ecosystem of innovation.
The Innovate in India Fund, announced by Dr. Vishal Sikka, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director in a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be dedicated for investments in promising new Indian companies that will be inducted into the global ecosystem of strategic partners that Infosys is building.
The Fund will be used to invest in young companies innovating in next-generation solutions and technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation, pervasive connectedness as well as collaboration and design technologies, the company said in a statement.
Speaking on the fund, Dr. Sikka said, “Start-ups represent the vision, the hope and the persevering entrepreneurial spirit taking root in India. With the ‘Innovate in India Fund’, Infosys will invest in great Indian start-ups, help amplify their engineering and operations, as well as help bring their innovations to market at scale.
Next-generation solutions built on emerging computing technologies, in innovative new ways, can dramatically reshape and improve the world around us.
That’s why, we look forward to working with innovative companies to strengthen our collective potential and also accelerate the success of the Prime Minister’s ‘Digital India’ mission aimed at helping people gain benefits from the latest in information technology.”

Jaitley hailed decision of RBI to cut interest rate

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley hailed the decision of RBI to cut the interest rate, saying it is positive for the Indian economy and will certainly help in reviving the investment cycle the government is trying to restore.
“The RBI decision to cut the interest rate will lead to more money in the hands of the consumer for greater spending,” Mr. Jaitley said.
“It is positive for the Indian economy and it will certainly help in reviving the investment cycle the government is trying to restore,” said Mr. Jaitley who has been nudging the central bank to ease the interest rate to lower the cost of capital.
Earlier in the day, the RBI cut interest rate by 0.25 per cent to 7.75 per cent.
WPI inflation almost flat at 0.11% in Dec.
Wholesale inflation inched up to 0.11 per cent in December from 0 per cent in November on the back of a surge in food prices, raising hopes of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India in its next Monetary Policy Review, scheduled to be held on February 3.
Wholesale inflation in food, according to official data released on Wednesday, shot up to 5.2 per cent, a five-month high. It was 0.63 per cent in November. Inflation in pulses, vegetables and fruits was higher in December over the previous month.
The rise in food prices is attributed to the increase in prices in vegetables, fruits, pulses, onion and potatoes. Inflation as measured by the wholesale price index (WPI) has been on the decline since June.
The sub-1 per cent WPI inflation figure soon comes after the latest retail inflation data, released, at 5 per cent, too showed a marginal increase, and yet remained below expectations. With global crude now below $50 a barrel, fuel inflation continued to fall.
Wholesale inflation for fuel fell to minus 7.82 per cent in December against minus 4.91 per cent in November. Commenting on the WPI inflation, Confederation of Indian Industry Director-General Chandrajit Banerjee said that the December figure was much more favourable than anticipated.
The CII hopes that the conducive inflationary situation would spur the RBI to move away from its inflation-centric approach to policy making and focus on rejuvenating growth in the economy and industry, in its forthcoming monetary policy, he said in a statement.

Government likely to sell 10% stake in IOC this fiscal

The Department of Disinvestment (DoD) has circulated a draft note for the consideration of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) for sale of 10 per cent out of government’s 68.57 per cent stake in Indian Oil Corporation, sources privy to the development said.
It sought comments on the proposal from Petroleum Ministry as well as Departments of Expenditure, Public Enterprises and Economic Affairs.
Sources said the plan to sell 24.27 crore equity shares in IOC was mooted after big-ticket disinvestment in Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) got stuck in subsidy woes.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had discussed possible disinvestment candidates in oil sector, other than ONGC, with Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on January 8. Government was to sell 5 per cent of its stake in the country’s biggest oil and gas producer ONGC to raise Rs 17,000-18,000 crore.
However, the double impact of tumbling global oil prices and the rising subsidy burden has left the ONGC stock battered. It has slipped from Rs. 472 in June last year to Rs. 343.85 (at close of market). At current price, the government will get no more than Rs. 15,000 crore.
In 2014-15, the government has sold 5 per cent stake in steel major SAIL to garner Rs. 1,700 crore. It is racing against time to meet its disinvestment target of Rs. 43,425 crore for this fiscal. Blue-chip companies like ONGC, NHPC and Coal India had been lined up for disinvestment.

Decision by RBI to cut rate to help revive realty market sentiment

The decision by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 per cent to 7.75 per cent, although small, will boost the overall sentiment in the real estate market, the industry felt.
The liquidity-starved industry has seen increasing non-performing assets (NPAs) and banks have been wary of increasing their exposure to it.
The rate cut is also an indicator that inflation is now under control and that the government is keen on initiating steps to boost economic growth, felt experts.
“It is a small step but reflects positive intent and sends the right signals,’’ Lalit Kumar Jain, President, Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) said, adding, ``currently the effective rate is around 10.25 per cent as banks are not passing on the rates fully.
The industry cannot sustain business at a rate above 8 per cent and we are sure the rate will be brought down further.’’ The move is expected to instill hope and confidence in the real estate industry.
“However, the impact of this move on the real estate sector will be manifested only when commercial banks lower their lending rates. Leading banks may actually lead the obvious reduction,’’ said Sanjay Dutt, executive MD – South Asia, Cushman & Wakefield, a real estate consultancy. He expected demand from end-users to take a bit longer to actually transform into active buying.
Mr. Jain said a reduction of 200 basis points within a short span is needed. “RBI should look at the housing sector favorably given its linkages. It needs a policy for project funding to developers and has to take into consideration the market’s cyclical nature.’’

SC seeks RIL response to the final CAG report

The Supreme Court directed Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) to respond to the final CAG report alleging irregularities, including in payments made to the contractors on drilling of D6 wells at the Krishna-Godavari basin.
Granting RIL six weeks to respond, a Bench led by Justice T.S. Thakur posted the case for March 20.
On that date, the Bench said would examine RIL’s reply in connection with the audit body’s report that sought disallowance of $357.16 million (about Rs 2,179 crore) expenditure RIL incurred on drilling of wells and payments to contractors in KG-D6.
Solicitor-General Ranjit Kumar said the Centre would wait to comment on the CAG findings until the Parliament’s Public Account Committee, which is examining it, gives a final word.
The order was passed during a brief hearing of petitions filed in 2013 by senior CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta and NGO Common Cause. The petition challenged the then UPA government decision to double the price of natural gas from $4.2 to $ 8.4 per mmbtu and seeking cancellation of RIL’s contract for exploration of oil and gas from the KG basin.
The court further permitted Mr. Dasgupta and the other petitioners to file their responses to the NDA government’s fresh guidelines which would “supersede” the earlier UPA dispensation’s policy on price fixation for natural gas, including that from KG basin.

Japanese companies want to invest in India

The government said Japanese companies have ranked India as the top most preferred destinations for further investments.
According to the Commerce and Industry Ministry, the business sentiments of Japanese companies were revealed in a survey conducted by Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) in July 2014.
The survey of 1,000 Japanese manufacturing companies ranked India as the No.1 destination for future investments followed by Indonesia and China.
“Some Japanese companies are seriously contemplating their future investment plans in India amounting to about Rs.75,000 crore ($12 billion) in next 2-3 years,” the survey said.
During the period from June to September 2014, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow from Japan amounted to $618 million against $273 million for the corresponding period in 2013.
The ministry said FDI inflow of $103.14 million took place in October 2014. The ministry further said that the government has set up a special management team called Japan Plus to facilitate Japanese investors.
“The team is actively interacting with Japanese companies and handholding them through various approval processes, as and when required,” the ministry said.

Govt. to corporatise Ordnance factories

Days after terminating the contract of DRDO chief Avinash Chander, the government is planning to corporatise some of the ordnance factories. The plan is to initially corporatise about 10 ordnance factories and turn them into Public Sector Undertakings to make them more accountable and increase their capabilities.
Those under consideration are the cloth-making and equipment factories in the Kanpur belt. A note on this matter has already been circulated in the highest echelons of the government and the proposal is likely to get the government nod by April, the sources added.
These factories are into manufacturing personnel clothing, parachute material, small arms, metallurgical equipment, shells and other such equipment.
The move comes close on the heels of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar promising a major overhaul of the DRDO and defence production units. This is not for the first time though that corporatisation of ordnance factories is being considered.
In the UPA I regime too, the government mooted such a proposal in accordance with the recommendations of the Vijay Kelkar committee.

Obama proposes higher tax on wealthy Americans

President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address will propose closing multibillion-dollar tax loopholes used by the wealthiest Americans, imposing a fee on big financial firms and then using the revenue to benefit the middle class, senior administration officials said .
Mr. Obama’s annual address to a joint session of Congress will continue his theme of income equality, and the administration is optimistic it will find some bipartisan support in the Republican-dominated House of Representatives and Senate.
Mr. Obama’s proposals call for reforming tax rules on trust funds, which the administration called “the single largest capital gains tax loophole” because it allows assets to be passed down untaxed to heirs of the richest Americans.
They also would raise the capital gains and dividends rates to 28 per cent, the level during the 1980s Republican presidency of Ronald Reagan.
As a way of managing financial risk that could threaten the U.S. economy, Mr. Obama also wants to impose a fee of seven basis points on the liabilities of U.S. financial firms with assets of more than $50 billion, making it more costly for them to borrow heavily.

Amazon gets into movie production

Amazon Studios announced that it will significantly expand into movie production by acquiring films for theatrical release and early-window streaming through its subscription service, Amazon Prime Instant Video.
A key part of the new venture is to shrink what’s historically been a three-month window reserved for theatres, instead getting movies to its website four to eight weeks after theatrical release.
Roy Price, vice president of Amazon Studios, said the company’s goal is to produce 12 movies a year, with production beginning later this year.
India to beat China in growth in 2016: IMF
“India will grow at 6.3% in 2015, up from 5.8% in 2014”
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected India to grow at 6.5 per cent in 2016, overtaking China whose growth was forecast to slow down to 6.3 per cent.
In its World Economic Outlook report released , the IMF forecast that India would grow at 6.3 per cent in 2015, up from 5.8 per cent in 2014. China’s 2014 growth rate was 7.4 per cent.
In another forecast released , the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (U.N. WESP) report predicted a smart recovery for India in 2015.
It pegged its 2015 India growth forecast lower than the IMF’s — at 5.9 per cent. At 6.3 per cent, the UN WESP’s 2016 India growth forecast is, however, closer to that of the IMF.

Bajaj group to release book

The Bajaj group will release a book, commemorating the birth centenary of Kamalnayan Bajaj.
Titled ‘Kamalnayan Bajaj — Architect of the Bajaj Group’ and written by noted business historian Gita Piramal, the book traces the struggles, tribulations and emergence of one of the largest business houses in India and captures the spirit of the country in challenging times while profiling one of the giants of Indian industry.
From a trading group whose reins he took over from his father Jamnalal Bajaj, the group founding, till his passing in 1972, Kamalnayan (Kakaji) Bajaj transformed the group to being among the top 20 industrial houses in the country.
Centre to release new series of Consumer Price Index next month
For presenting a more accurate and realistic price situation, the government will release next month a new series of Consumer Price Index (CPI) with 2012 as base year for computing the retail inflation rate.
The first series (revised) would be compiled for January, which will be released on February 12
From January, 2016, onwards, inflation rates would be compiled using the actual CPI of the revised series, according to an official release “Now the CSO is in the process of revising the Base Year from 2010=100 to 2012=100,” it said adding that with this (base) revision, the gap between Price Reference Year (Base Year) and the Weight Reference Year has been minimised. Apart from base revision, a number of methodological improvements have been introduced in the revised series.

TVS Srichakra to Launch radial tyres

TVS Srichakra Ltd., a well-known maker of two-wheeler, three-wheeler and off-road tyres, will be launching radial tyres for motorcycles soon. Unveiling the company’s new identity and logo — TVS TYRES — here , P. Vijayaraghavan, Director of the company, said the new logo conveyed strength, speed and dynamism.
Talking to reporters, he said there was a rapid increase in tubeless tyres in the country with manufacturers incorporating it in the new vehicles. The concept was catching up fast, and they were also significantly increasing the production of tubeless tyres for the motorcycles and scooters segments.
Saradha scam: accused say bribes paid to SEBI official
Some of the accused in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam, in their disclosures to the Enforcement Directorate, have levelled bribery allegations against an official of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
The ED has been told by the accused that the official, then holding a senior position, was paid bribes regularly to ensure smooth conduct of operations of the Saradha Group companies that were allegedly involved in the scam.
Following Supreme Court observations last year, the Central Bureau of Investigation has also initiated investigations into the matter. “Investigation conducted so far puts a question mark on the role of SEBI, Registrar of Companies and officials of the RBI within whose respective jurisdictions and areas of operation the scam not only took birth but flourished unhindered,” said a Supreme Court Bench.
The CBI has also questioned several SEBI officials in view of allegations that the regulating body initiated action against Saradha Realty swiftly after receipt of complaints regarding the company’s alleged illegal activities.
A few days ago, the agency also sought clarifications from a SEBI member in connection with the probe conducted into the complaints and action taken by the body.
The probing agencies have found that the Saradha Group of companies collected funds of Rs.2,459 crore from lakhs of investors spread across 14 States, including West Bengal, Assam and Odisha, between 2008 and 2013.
Of the collected funds, Rs.1,983 crore — apart from the interest earned — remained outstanding and has, therefore, been marked as proceeds of crime committed by the accused persons for attachment of their properties under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The ED has already attached properties worth about Rs.500 crore.

Ashok Leyland gets ready for electric play

Ashok Leyland (AL) has indicated that the company is actively focused on developing electric and ethanol-powered vehicles in preparation for the emerging opportunities in the alternative transport solution segment.
The Hinduja flagship, showcased full-fledged working prototypes of three electric zero emission vehicles (that include the all-electric light commercial vehicle Dost, 10-tonne electric truck and midi bus) and an ethanol-driven Dost.
AL expects first major opportunity for plug-in electric vehicles to come in the bus segment. Its upcoming electric bus is being developed in-house with some parts sourced from Ashok Leyland’s UK subsidiary Optare, which is a pioneer in bus making.
Though the commercial launch of electric vehicles and alternate fuel-powered vehicles may take some more years, AL is seeing some green shoots in terms of subvention schemes under the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020.
The transportation sector accounts for a third of total crude oil consumption in the country and road transportation accounts for over 80 per cent of total consumption.

Kenstar ties up with Amazon

Consumer electronics and appliances manufacturer Kenstar has made a foray into the air conditioner segment, and launched its range of split ACs. In a first, Kenstar has tied up with e-commerce player Amazon.in to distribute the ACs exclusively.
A statement from the company said it aims to revolutionise the AC segment and plans to capture 5 per cent of the total market share by the close of 2014-15.

Xiaomi to set up first R&D base in India

Handset maker Xiaomi will set up a research and development unit in Bengaluru, its first such facility outside of China, as it looks to beef up presence in the booming Indian smartphone market.
The company, which expects the centre to be operational in the next few months, will focus on localising its products and features for the Indian market through the unit.
Work on the facility is expected to commence by the end of March and in the next few months, it will be operational, Xiaomi India Head Manu Jain told .
Banks free to decide NPA norms, says Supreme Court
Dealing a blow to borrowers, especially in the industrial sector, the Supreme Court upheld a 2004 amendment enabling banks to follow different guidelines for declaring bad loans as “non-performing assets.”
Noting that quick recovery of bad loans was essential to keep the financial health of the country intact, a Bench of Justices J. Chelameswar and S.A. Bobde upheld an amendment to Section 2, which defines non-performing assets (NPA) under the Securitisation and Re-constitution of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interests (SARFAESI) Act, 2002.
The Act allowed a secured creditor bank to determine a bad debt as NPA and proceed to seize and sell the assets to recover the amount due to it as loan.
The 2004 amendment classified borrowers into two categories. One, those who got secured loans from institutions which followed RBI guidelines framed on the declaration of NPAs. Two, those who borrowed from institutions governed by guidelines set by their own regulators.
The court was deciding a batch of petitions filed by borrowers, contending that the amendment discriminated against between two classes of borrowers. Especially, when RBI guidelines gave only 60 days before a bad debt can be declared an NPA, while individual regulators were allowed up to 180 days to lapse before the secured loan is declared an NPA.

Base year change pushes GDP growth to 6.9% in 2013-14

The base year was last revised in January, 2010 The Modi Government, sharply revised India’s 2013-14 GDP growth estimate to 6.9 per cent from 4.7 per cent. The 2012-13 growth estimate was revised to 5.1 per cent from 4.5 per cent.
Former Finance Minister and Congress leader P. Chidambaram said that the data released showed that the 10 years of the UPA government recorded the highest decadal growth since Independence.
GDP data for a fiscal undergoes three rounds of revisions; the process takes three years. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) releases the second Revised Estimate for a financial year ending in March on the subsequent January 30.
The estimates released on Friday also follow a change in the base year for calculating national accounts to 2011-12 from 2004-05 in addition to the routine annual revision — where changes are made only on the basis of updated data becoming available.
The base year was last revised in January, 2010.
In case of base year revisions, apart from a shift in the reference year for measuring the real growth, conceptual changes, as recommended by the international guidelines, are incorporated, the official release said.
The changes have reduced the gap between the way India calculates GDP and the methodology used by the International Monetary Fund.
The jobs-creating manufacturing sector’s growth estimate for 2013-14 was revised to 6.2 per cent from minus 0.7 per cent and for 2012-13 was revised to 5.3 per cent from 1.1 per cent.

Cash transfers can plug PDS leakages: study

A new study has estimated that 46.7 per cent or 25.9 million metric tonnes (MMTs) of the grains (rice and wheat), released through the PDS, did not reach the intended beneficiaries in 2011-12.
In the study, based on the latest NSSO data, by Chair Professor for Agriculture at ICRIER and former Chairman, Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP), Ashok Gulati and Shweta Saini, Chhattisgarh was the best performing State with 0 per cent diversion. Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were among the better performers with 11.1 per cent and 12.2 per cent leakages respectively.
The worst-performing State was Manipur where 97.8 per cent of the grains failed to reach beneficiaries, followed by Daman and Diu where leakages were 95.8 per cent. In Delhi, 82.6 per cent of the grains were diverted.
During the period under study, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister in Gujarat, the pilferage was 72.2 per cent. Poor States such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal delivered greater proportion of off-taken grains to the poor than Gujarat.
The PDS operates through a network of roughly 5.00,000 fair price shops (FPS) across the country and is likely the largest public network of its type in the world, currently distributing roughly 50-55 MMT of grains annually.
The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 also relies on this vehicle to deliver food security to 67 per cent of population (75 per cent rural and 50 per cent urban) with an estimated distribution of about 61.4 MMT of grains.

Centre proposes major changes to Tea Act

The Centre has proposed major amendments to the 1953 Tea Act to give more teeth to the regulator — Tea Board of India.
The move aims at plugging loopholes in relevant sections of the Tea Act to enable takeover of the management or control of tea gardens, which have been closed for over 90 days.
The amendments also propose new additions in the Act, like including in its ambit terms like small tea growers while defining tea estates. Special attention is also to be paid to protection of IPR of teas and monitoring of tea gardens. The Government feels that there is need to delete certain archaic provisions of the Indian Tea Act as they have become irrelevant. There is also a need to reinforce the powers and functions of the Tea Board so as to enable the body to regulate, develop and promote tea industry and trade while helping production and exports besides improving quality.
Surprisingly, the existing Act does not clearly define the powers of the Tea Board although it is widely known as the industry regulator. The amendments plan to lay out clear definitions in this respect while setting out the powers of the Tea Board chairman.
The Tea Board has sought powers to monitor the working of tea gardens, making its approach more direct and proactive than the present reactive attitude. It has been suggested that the Board shall constantly monitor the gardens and try to pre-empt closures.
It is felt that the Section 16 of the Tea Act, which provides for handing over management of sick gardens, has many limitations.

Obama proposes $3.99 trillion budget

President Barack Obama proposed a $3.99-trillion budget for fiscal year 2016 that sets up a battle with Republicans over programs to boost the middle-class that are funded by higher taxes on corporations and wealthy Americans.
The budget foresees a $474-billion deficit, which is 2.5 per cent of U.S. gross domestic product. It projects deficits stabilising at that rate over a 10-year period, senior administration officials said.
Mr. Obama’s budget fleshes out proposals from his State of the Union address and helps highlight Democratic priorities for the last quarter of his presidency and the beginning of the 2016 presidential campaign.
But it is as much a political document as a fiscal road map and would require approval from the Republican-controlled Congress to go into effect.

JK group Chairman Gaur Hari Singh passes away

JK group Chairman Gaur Hari Singhania passed away following a heart attack.
Singhania (80) was also the President of J. K. Organisation and a Promoter Director of JK Cement Ltd. since its inception in 1994.
A sports lover, he was also the chief patron of Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association’s (UPCA). He is survived by a son, Yadupati Singhania.
He was cremated this afternoon at Bhagwat Das Ghat in the city.

Rajan for raising tax exemption limit on financial investments

Days ahead of the Budget, Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan, pitched for increasing the tax exemption limit on financial investments by individuals from Rs.1.50 lakh a year.
Acknowledging that there was a Rs.50,000 increase in the limit in the last budget to Rs.1.50 lakh a year, he said benefits of this instrument had been lost over time as the limit was anchored at Rs.1 lakh for a long time.
Cracking its whip on entities using stock markets for evading taxes and laundering black money, watchdog SEBI has decided to suspend trading in listed companies that are found to be used by such manipulators.
The capital markets regulator has identified three parameters for taking action against such companies and the trading would be suspended in the shares of those entities that satisfy more than one of the criteria.
In its probe into various such cases, SEBI found huge share price rally in shares of the companies that existed only on paper and did not even exist on the addresses mentioned in their regulatory filings, while preferential allotment has emerged as a major route for laundering of illicit funds.
The modus operandi typically involves stock market dealings aimed at evading capital gains tax and showing the source of income as legitimate from stock markets. SEBI found a typical pattern in trading of shares of these companies. First, the shares would be allotted on preferential basis to certain connected entities, price would be pushed higher without any fundamental move, followed by an exit being given to these investors and the shares would be sold back to the company or related entities raking in huge profits.
Such huge profits were made in stocks where fundamentals or financials of the companies did not justify the price.
A large number of small NBFCs and brokers are already under SEBI’s scanner for having facilitated illicit transactions worth thousands of crores of rupees over the past two-three years, sources said.
Naveen Chopra is new Vodafone India COO
Vodafone India, announced the appointment of Naveen Chopra as Chief Operating Officer (COO) with effect from April 1.
Mr. Chopra, now Director (Vodafone Business Services), will succeed Sunil Sood, who will be the Managing Director and CEO of the company effective April