Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 11 July 2015

:: International ::

Greece exit’ will be extremely costly

“There should be no doubt that exit from the Euro would be extremely costly for Greece and its creditors,” said the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard, writing in his blog on imfdirect , the Fund’s global economy forum.
Underlining the Fund’s commitment to providing assistance, Mr. Blanchard ruled out further IMF funding for Greece until old arrears are cleared.
Greece defaulted on a loan repayment of €1.55 billion due to the IMF on June 30. Greece owes a total of €6.95 billion to its creditors in July alone, of which €452 million is owed to the IMF.
Taking on the main critiques of the 2010 bail-out programme for Greece, Mr. Blanchard said he wanted to clarify points of contention and support a way forward.
Refuting the claim that the 2010 programme only raised debt levels and demanded excessive fiscal adjustment, Mr. Blanchard argued that without assistance, Greece would have had to make fiscal cuts of between 20-25 per cent of GDP, leading to more severe adjustments and higher social costs than under the five-year bail-out programme. '
Mr. Blanchard also countered the criticism that finance provided to Greece was simply used to pay back foreign banks, saying that while it was correct to say that Greece’s debt was not restructured for two years, it was due to fears of contagion risk — the risk that macro-economic shocks in once country are transmitted through price-level changes, for example, to other countries.
Mr. Blanchard ruled out further IMF funding for Greece until old arrears are cleared. Greece defaulted on a loan repayment of €1.55 billion due to the IMF on June 30. Greece owes a total of €6.95 billion to its creditors in July alone, of which €452 million is owed to the IMF.

Airbus flew its electric plane

Airbus flew its electric plane across the English Channel for the first time on Friday, hours after an independent French pilot made a similar voyage, beating the aeronautics giant in this symbolically important step toward making electronic flight viable in the long term.
European planemaker Airbus flew its E-fan plane from Lydd, England, to the French port of Calais on Friday morning. The plane operates on batteries. The 20-foot long, 1300-pound jet releases zero emissions.
About 12 hours before Airbus’ Channel flight, French pilot Hugues Duval took his two-engine, one-seat Cricri plane from Calais to Dover and back.
Because he lacked authorisation to take off from Calais, another fuel-driven plane towed his 100-kilogram (220-pound) Cricri for the start of the trip, he said. Then he flew autonomously back to Calais and landed safely.

:: Business ::

Doha Bank keen to enter Tier-II Indian cities

Doha Bank, which commenced its India operations in April 2015, has identified Tier-II Indian cities and cheap loans as two of the main vehicles for scaling up its operations in the country. The bank is wooing small entrepreneurs with competitive lending rates..
The bank now has two branches in Mumbai and one in Kochi. These branches came into the fold through the acquisition of HSBC Oman. “We will like to relocate the Mumbai branch to another State,” he said at a media interaction.
The bank will set up a full-fledged subsidiary within a few years, and the branch expansion will follow. Doha Bank, which has global footprints in 12 countries through a mix of full-fledged branches and representative offices, “wants to enhance operations in India”.

EPFO considering a scheme

Retirement fund body the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is considering a scheme for its subscribers so that they are able to own a house by retirement, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said here on Friday. “
While he did not provide details of the scheme, sources said the Ministry intends to collaborate with PSU banks, housing finance companies, state-owned construction firms like NBCC and authorities like DDA, PUDA, HUDA to build houses at prices to be fixed by the government.

:: Sports ::

Sania-Hingis in Wimbledon final

Twenty-eight-year-old Sania Mirza scripted another piece of glory when she and her partner Martina Hingis reached the women’s doubles final of the prestigious Wimbledon in London on Friday.
In the process, she achieved another incredible first – the only Indian woman tennis player ever to reach a Wimbledon final in any event. Sania and her partner defeated R. Kops-Jones and A. Spears 6-1, 6-2 in the semis, keeping aside the disappointment of losing in the mixed doubles.