Sbi Po 2016 Essay Writing-1

2016
DESCRIPTIVE ENGLISH
JIVAN BAINADE
9730602811
01/07/2016
Sr. No. Title Page No.
1 Nuclear Suppliers Group 4
2 Making us feel proud : The ISRO 7
3 Global Impact Of Brexit 10
4 Legends Never Die: Muhammad Ali 13
5 All About The Paris Climate Agreement 15
6 India As An Emerging Market 17
7 Pradhan Mantra Awas Yojna 20
8 City To Smart City 22
9 Fasal Bima Yojna 25
10 Start Up India Stand Up India 26
11 Odd Even Scheme 31
12 AIIB 32
13 Integrated Power Development Scheme 34
14 One Rank One Pension 35
15 Mission Indradhanush 36
16 DSIB 38
17 Truth Behind Yuan Devaluation 39
18 Digital India 41
19 Crude Oil Market Fluctuations And Plummets 43
20 Fdi And Insurance 45
21 International Organizations
WTO 48
22 WTO 49
23 FAO 50
24 ILO 51
25 UNESCO 53
26 SAARC 56
27 Gold monetization scheme 57
28 Sustainable development goals 59
29 MCLR 61
30 Labours Day 62
jbainade@gmail.com Page 2
31 Degrading Environment Of Processing World 65
32 Foreign Market Entry Modes 69
33 Revamping Indian Banking Is The Need Of The Hour 71
34 Farmers Suicides- A Sign Of Impending Disaster 72
35 Report On Alcohol Ban In Bihar 73
36 Is Development Possible At Cost Of Environment 74
37 Finance Related
SBI Merger 75
38 All About World Bank Group 77
39 All About IMF 79
40 All About PANAMA Papers 80
41 GYAN Sangam 81
42 7 Monetary Policy Tools In Hands Of RBI & Effects 82
43 Recently Introduced Funds 85
44 Green Bonds 88
45 Payment Banks 91
46 NBFC 93
47 Currency System in India 96
48 Foreign Exchange Reserves 98
49 Types of Money 99
50 BITCOINS 100
51 Reverse Mortgage Loan 103
52 RBI The Boss Of All Banks 104
53 MAT An Insight 108
54 Mergers of Banks- soon to be reality 109
55 Indian Economic Reform 111
56 Fiscal System in India 112
57 Short note on CBS 115
58 Bretton Woods Twins 117
59 Previous questions 120
60
Nuclear Supplier's Group (NSG)
Background:
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was signed in 1968 to prevent spread of
nuclear materials, technology and weapons so as to develop co-operation among the
nations. This treaty was signed by a total of 191 countries except India, South
Sudan, Israel and Pakistan. This treaty recognized two groups of countries namely
the Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) comprising US, UK ,China,France and Russia
and the other being Non Nuclear Weapon States (NNWS).
As per this treaty:
NWS member countries had to commit for the complete nuclear disarmament
NNWS agreed to let go the developing or acquiring of nuclear weapons.
Reasons for India and other countries did not signed in NWS:
India and the rest of the countries dint sign this as they must dismantle all nuclear
weapons and place them under international safeguards to become a NNWS
member.Indian foreign policy was against this keeping in mind security concerns,
for dismantling all our nuclear weapons will makes us more vulnerable if
any untoward thing happens in the future.
Origin and Purpose:

NSG is a multinational body concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by
controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that may be used for
development of nuclear weapons. NSG also sets global rules for international trade
in nuclear energy technology.
It was set up in 1974 as a reaction to Indias first successful nuclear tests
at Pokhran (Code Name - Smiling Buddha) conducted on 18 May 1974, to stop so
called misuse of nuclear material meant for peaceful purposes.
Pokhran test,1974
Number of Members of NSG: 48 Numbers
Why is India seeking to become a member of NSG ?
1. India wants to become a player in this international arena where nuclear

commerce norms are laid.
2. If India becomes a member it will have better international market for export
as well as for import of nuclear related materials.
3. For building nuclear reactors, for providing energy we need nuclear
materials. By becoming a member of NSG we can have better access of
nuclear materials .
4. All nuclear based programmes of India is being run on indigenous technology.
By becoming a member of NSG we will have access to sophisticated foreign
technologies.
5. By becoming a member India can also sell it's Indigineous technology thereby
giving 'Make In India' a face-lift.
6. Clean Energy - India is committed to reduce it's dependence on fossil fuels
and scale up nuclear power production.
Why are certain countries opposing/supporting India's entry into NSG ?
India has been trying to get into NSG since 2008. While India is being backed by
United States, Switzerland and Mexico for it's membership of NSG (due to
commendable efforts by NaMo), it is being opposed by China, New Zealand, South
Africa and Pakistan.
Recent Support for NSG Membership for India.
Switzerland - on 6 June 2016 during PM Modi's visit to Geneva.

USA - President Obama - on 8 June 2016 during PM Modi's visit to
Washington DC.
Japan has expressed support for India's bid for membership of the NSG.
China didn't approve of India's membership to NSG.
Mexico - In June 2016, India also got crucial support from Mexico
Basis of China, New Zealand, South Africa & Pakistan's opposition: A country
which is a non-signatory of NPT, CTBT etc shouldnt be given a NSG membership.
China is putting forward their arguments on the basis that if India is to be granted
a seat in NSG ,then all other South Asian countries like Pakistan which were non-
signatory of NPT should be granted a seat too.
Meanwhile Pakistan is opposing India's entry merely because it doesn't want India
to possess high end technologies in the nuclear field. And Pakistan also fears that if
India becomes a member it could prevent it from becoming a member just like how
China is currently down voting India.
Current Status: India could not get the membership of NSG.
India deserves NSG membership due to following:-
1. India has established itself as a responsible nuclear state
(a) Declared a voluntary moratorium on further underground nuclear tests
(b) Effectively acting in sense the spirit of NPT/ CTBT
(c) Only as a minimum deterrence & pledging NFU (No First Use)
(d) Unless faced with an attack of weapons of mass destruction
2. Indias nuclear doctrine is unique.

(a) It is non-offensive, non-proliferative and only for deterrence.
(b) Prepared to accept full-scale IAEA safeguards.
(c) Already acquired high-level expertise in the peaceful use of nuclear energy in
industry, power, agriculture and health care.
(d) Indias membership shall not only benefit it but also encourage civil nuclear
trade globally without compromising on world peace and harmony.
Way Ahead:
1. India may have one more chance to persuade China to give up it's opposition to
Indias candidature.
2. This is expected to be at the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
meeting in Tashkent to be held on 9th and 10th July'2016 where both Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese president Xi Jinping are expected to be
present.
3. Can talk with China for NSG membership. As China is seeking membership of
MTCR of which India is now a member of.
4. India can have a better face to get permanent membership of United Nations
Security Council.
1) Making us feel proud : The ISRO
As we all know that today Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has created
a record with launching 20 satellites in a mission from the Satish Dhawan Space
Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)
C34.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is the space agency of the Indian
government headquartered in the city of Bengaluru. Its vision is to "harness space
technology for national development, while pursuing space science research and
planetary exploration". It has been formed in 1969 but the space research activities
were initiated in our country during the early 1960s when applications using
satellites were in experimental stages even in the United States also. At that
time, ISRO took the place of erstwhile Indian National Committee for Space
Research (INCOSPAR), which was established in 1962 by the effort of independent
India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, who was
a Scientist.
The Structure of the Department of Space of the Government of India :-

The establishment of ISRO thus institutionalized space activities in India which is
managed by the Department of Space and the DoS reports to the Prime Minister of
India. These are the following agencies and institutes which have been managed by
the PM of India and the Space Commission.
1- Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, 2- Liquid

Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Thiruvananthapuram, 3- Satish Dhawan Space
Centre (SDSC-SHAR), Sriharikota, 4- ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC),
Mahendragiri, 5- ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC), Bengaluru, 6- Space Applications
Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, 7- National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC),
Hyderabad, 8- ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), Thiruvananthapuram, 9-
Development and Educational Communication Unit (DECU), Ahmedabad, 10-
Master Control Facility (MCF), Hassan, Karnataka, 11- ISRO Telemetry, Tracking
and Command Network (ISTRAC), Bengaluru, 12- Laboratory for Electro-Optics
Systems (LEOS), Bengaluru, 13- Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS),
Dehradun, 14- Antrix Corporation - The marketing arm of ISRO, Bengaluru, 15-
Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, 16- National Atmospheric
Research Laboratory (NARL), Gadanki, Andhra Pradesh, 17- North-Eastern Space
Applications Centre(NE-SAC), Umiam, 18- Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL),
Mohali, 19- Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST),
Thiruvananthapuram - India's space university.
ISRO & its key records :-
ISRO built India's first satellite, Aryabhata, which was launched by the
Soviet Union on 19 April in 1975.
In 1980, Rohini became the first satellite to be placed in orbit by an Indian-
made launch vehicle, SLV-3.
ISRO subsequently developed two other rockets: the Polar Satellite Launch
Vehicle (PSLV) for launching satellites into polar orbits and the
Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) for placing satellites into
geostationary orbits. These rockets have launched numerous communications
satellites and earth observation satellites. Satellite navigation systems like
GAGAN and IRNSS have been deployed.
ISRO sent one lunar orbiter, Chandrayaan-1, on 22 October 2008.
In January 2014, ISRO successfully used an indigenous cryogenic engine in a
GSLV-D5 launch of the GSAT-14.
One Mars orbiter, Mars Orbiter Mission, which successfully entered Mars
orbit on 24 September 2014, making India the first nation to succeed on its
first attempt, and ISRO the fourth space agency in the world as well as the
first space agency in Asia to successfully reach Mars orbit.
As the end of May 2016, ISRO has carried out 76 spacecraft missions, 46 launch
missions. Also, ISRO has launched 111 satellites using indigenously developed
launch vehicles out of which 57 are foreign. Also, 29 Indian satellites have been
launched by foreign launch vehicles.
20 Satellite in a single mission :-

The space agency's PSLV C-34 rocket lifted off at 9.25 a.m. from the Second Launch
Pad in Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, AP and some 16 minutes later
placed Cartosat-2 Series satellite about 505 km above the Earth's orbit. Within the
next 10 minutes, the remaining 19 satellites which includes- LAPAN-A3
(Indonesia), M3MSat (Canada), GHGSat-D (Canada), BIROS (Germany), SkySat
Gen2-1 (U.S.), Dove Satellites (U.S.) (a total of 12), Sathyabamasat (Sathyabama
University, Chennai), Swayam (College of Engineering, Pune) were eventually
placed in the intended orbits which includes two Indian academic institutions. The
total weight of all the 20 satellites carried onboard PSLV-C34 is about 1288 kg. This
is the 14th flight of PSLV. The primary satellite in this mission is the Cartosat-2
(Indian) (725.5 kg-weight) which will be used for drawing maps, urban and rural
applications, coastal land use and regulation, road network monitoring and water
distribution.
With 20 satellites, the ISRO has beaten its previous record of placing 10 satellites
into orbit in a single mission in 2008. On April 28, 2008, its PSLV-C9 rocket
launched a Remote Sensing satellite CARTOSAT-2A along with Indian Mini
Satellite (IMS-1) and eight nano satellites. While, Russia holds the world record for
placing the most number of satellites in a single launch. Its Dnepr rocket launched
37 satellites in 2014.
So if we say that the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is the reason to be
proud when we think about the space and science then it will not be wrong. Because
since its creation the organization has given us many reasons to feel proud by
creating extraordinary things in the history like- Chandrayaan, Mars Orbiter
Mission and now by launching 20 satellite in a single mission etc.
The day will be remembered not for the number of rockets or satellites but will be
remembered for the hard work of ISRO.
2) Global Impact Of Brexit
What is Brexit? What is a referendum? What is EU? Why Brexit? and more
important What will be the impact of Brexit on India? So here we go -
What is 'Brexit'?
Brexit is an abbreviation of "British exit" which is used to explained a possibility of
UK coming out of EU. It is a word that used as a shorthand way of saying the UK
leaving the EU - merging the words Britain and exit to get Brexit. So basically, It's
the issue of whether Britain should exit the European Union or not a question
that will be decided in a historic referendum on June 23 .
So now the question arise- What is Referendum?
A referendum is basically a legal mechanism for voters in which everyone (or nearly
everyone) of voting age can take part, normally giving a Yes or No answer to a
question. Whichever side gets more than half of all votes cast is considered to have
won. So we can say that here in the case of Brexit the referendum which is going to
happen on 23rd of June will be the decision maker for the future of Britain.
What is the European Union?

After the Second World War, there was a new movement to create unity between
Germany and France, which would ultimately lay the foundations for the European
Union four decades later. The European Union was established under its current
name in 1993 following the Maastricht Treaty. Since then the community has
grown in size because of the accession of new member states. EU has a common
market which permits free trade in goods, services, capital, and people. It is an
outcome of single European act 1987.
Presently EU is a block of 28 countries and 19 countries have formed EURO ZONE.

The 28 countries within the European Union include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Croatia, the Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,
Sweden and the United Kingdom. So we can say that the European Union is an
economic and political union of 28 countries where each of the countries within the
Union is independent but they agree to trade under the agreements made between
the nations.
Major Issues around BREXIT ?

The first issue is economic, second related to immigration, third related to business,
fourth - Sovereignty, etc.
Constitutional Provisional related to a Country coming out of EU :
For the first time, Lisbon treaty added the provision article no. 50 which provide a
member exit from the EU. As per this provision any country which wants to come
out of the Union, it has to negotiate a deal with EU. It implies that it is not very
easy to come out of EU. When a country opting out of the EU the settlement issue
between EU and UK.
How will this affect India?
If the global financial markets are affected by the Brexit, Indian markets are
unlikely to be insulated. Any material depreciation of the Euro/Pound could lead to
increased headaches for India in a sluggish export environment. As Indian
businesses have a material presence in both the UK & Europe. Besides,
Brexit could also endanger the flow of investment and personnel by diminishing
Britain's role in providing access to Europe.
Here are some basic effects from an Indian perspective :-
Indian companies will have to address two markets separately adding to

costs.
Indian companies having the base in Britain will have a smaller domestic
market, rest of EU will become an unprotected export market.
FII will become risk averse and move to safer avenues.
The Money will move out of Britain and will affect currencies including INR
(Euro will weaken and Dollar will strengthen) and in turn, affect the global
economy.
So yes if Brexit wins then there is going to be a selloff and short-term pain, but in
the long term Indian markets would be relatively stable compared to other markets.
Likely beneficiaries of Brexit:

According to some analyst point of view, dollar assets will emerge as the biggest
beneficiaries of Brexit. Events like these are usually followed by periods of volatility
and economic pain. Given the current state of global economy, investors will be
quick to rush to safer havens.
To conclude:
If it happens, will have the long-term economic impact of Brexit is hard to discern,
but the short-term disruption while the UK negotiates and renegotiates is only
likely to be bad news for both sterling and Euro assets. But it is almost impossible
to predict the outcome. We will have to wait till June 23rd to know the future of EU
and Britain.
3) Legends Never Die: RIP Muhammad Ali
It was quite shocking for everyone when we heard it! It was all around the news
channels and everyone was showing the feeds of his previous bouts. Then filled with
respect, I also decided to dedicate an article to the amazing boxer Muhammad Ali.
His story, told in and outside of the ring, is unparalleled in modern celebrities.
Alas! The man who never gave up and always stood for the right, is no more now.
Don't count the days, make the days count!
Muhammad Ali
After a 32-year battle with Parkinson's disease, Muhammad Ali has passed away at
the age of 74. Ali had suffered for three decades from Parkinson's, a progressive
neurological condition that slowly robbed him of both his verbal grace and his
physical dexterity.
The man who never gave up is defeated by the deadly disease now!
The disease is such a filthy one that ruins a person from body to his mind! Starting
with the shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement and difficulty with even walking
and gait, on later stage thinking and behavioral problems too arise and dementia
commonly occurring in the advanced stages of the disease, also great depression
being the most common psychiatric symptom.
Though good and bad times came in his life, Mohammad Ali always took everything
to a better end.
Mohammad Ali, formally Cassius Marcellus Clay, born in a slave family in United
States of America, being tortured by the racial discrimination at times, decided at
the age of 12 that he has to become strong......very strong! He started his training
for boxing when he was 12 years old. At 22, he won the world heavyweight
championship from Sonny Liston in an upset in 1964.
Shortly after that, Clay converted to Islam, changed his "slave" name to Ali, and
gave a message of racial pride for African Americans and resistance to white
domination during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement
Moment when 'Lion' Refused To Fight!
There are many instances which can be picked from his lifeline and discussed but I
decided to pick one when Ali himself refused to fight. When the military attempted
to draft him, Ali said he was a conscientious objector. I aint got no quarrel with
them Viet Cong, he had said in 1966. Appearing for his scheduled induction on
April 28, 1967 in Houston, he refused three times to step forward at the call of his
name. That day, the New York State Athletic Commission suspended his boxing
license and stripped him of his title. Other boxing commissions followed suit.
It's not bragging if you can back it up.
At the trial two months later, the jury, after only 21 minutes of deliberation, found
Ali guilty. The judge imposed the maximum sentence. After a court of appeals
upheld the conviction, the case went to the U.S. Supreme Court. During this time,
people turned against the war, and support for Ali grew up. Ali, however, claimed
victory in a bigger decision three months later when the Supreme Court ruled in his
favor.
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

The hands can't hit what the eyes can't see.
'Your soul may rest in peace - the great boxer as well as a great
human being!'
R.I.P
4) All About The Paris Climate Agreement
The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the framework of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dealing with greenhouse
gases emissions mitigation and adaptation. The agreement will come into force once
55 countries representing at least 55 % of global emissions formally join it.
So basically this is an agreement on the language of the treaty, negotiated by

representatives of 195 countries at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the
UNFCCC in Paris and adopted by consensus on 12 December 2015. It was opened
for signature on 22 April 2016 (Earth Day).
Till now 175 countries have signed the historic Paris Climate Agreement at United
Nations Headquarters in New York marking a significant step to combat global
warming. It was for the first time in the history that such a large number of
countries signed the agreement in a single day.
Under the agreement, all countries agreed to work to limit global temperature rise
to well below 2 degrees Celsius and to strive for 1.5 degrees Celsius. It also aims to
increase the ability to adapt the adverse impacts of climate change and foster
climate resilience that does not threaten food production. Countries furthermore
aim to reach "global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible.
Key features of the Paris Agreement

Safeguards the interests of Developing Countries : The agreement acknowledges
various development initiatives of the countries and rights to development. It
provides a harmonized path that synchronizes environmental protection and
growth.
Sustainable Development: The agreement highlights the importance of sustainable

development and consumption of resources in efficient manner so that climate
justice is not compromised at any phase of development.
Financial support from Developed countries: The agreement, calls on nations to

scale up their level of financial support with a complete road map. To achieve the
goal of mitigating climate change Developed countries will provide 100 billion
dollars annually to the developing counterparts beginning in 2020 and it would
increase with time.
Implementation of the Convention: Every country would make significant effort to

combat the global temperature rise.
So as per the agreement, participated countries set their own targets for reducing
emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The targets are not legally
binding but countries must update them every five years.
China, the worlds biggest climate polluter has announced that it would finalise
domestic procedures to ratify the agreement before the G20 summit in China in
September.
The 2nd biggest emitters 'The United States' and the 3rd biggest emitters 'India'
has also reaffirmed their intention to approve the deal this year. The environment
Minister of India, Prakash Javadekar signed the agreement in the UN General
Assembly hall at a high-level ceremony hosted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-
moon.
6)India as an emerging Market.
India,world biggest market for investment is the favorite destination for the most of
the developed nation in the 21st century.But the scenario was quite different till
1990,when Indian market were totally dominated by the closed economy,most of the
industry were run on behalf of the government. Serving people was the main idea
by the government instead of making profit,but the burden of Import over negligible
export forces Indian government to open its economy.
Thanks to the former finance minister and Prime

minister of India, Mr Manmohan Singh who helped Indian economy in
successful averting the economic crisis , he as a Finance Minister carried out
several structural reforms that liberalized India's economy .Since 1991
Indian market has progressed so much that , today every nation look for an
opportunity of investment in the Indian market.
Current situation of Indian market.
New government has framed different policies for

reducing the time and hustle free investment in India. Modi government always
talk about less paper work and more use of technology so that it reduces effort and
make investor comfortable while investing in India,they feel safe and confident
about their investment in India. The Indian governments favorable policy regime
and robust business environment have ensured that foreign capital keeps flowing
into the country. The government has taken many initiatives in recent years such
as relaxing FDI norms across sectors such as defence, PSU oil refineries, telecom,
power exchanges, and stock exchanges, among others. Recent visit of India's new
prime minister Modi to different nation has attracted a
lot of foreign investments across the whole world.
According to Department of Industrial

Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the total FDI inflows soared by 24.5 per cent to US$
44.9 billion during FY2015, as compared to US$ 36.0 billion in FY2014. FDI into
India through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) route shot up by 26
per cent to US$ 31.9 billion in the year FY2015 as against US$ 25.3 billion in the
previous year, indicating that government's effort to improve ease of doing business
and relaxation in FDI norms is yielding results .India received the maximum FDI
equity inflows from Mauritius at US$ 9.03 billion, followed by Singapore (US$ 6.74
billion), Netherlands (US$ 3.43 billion), Japan (US$ 2.08 billion) and the US (US$
1.82 billion),during FY2015. Healthy inflow of foreign investments into the country
helped Indias balance of payments (BoP) situation and stabilized the value of
rupee.
Some of the significant FDI announcements are as follows:
Swedish home furnishing brand Ikea has made a long-term plan of opening
25 stores in India by making an investment worth Rs 12,500 crore (US$ 1.9
billion).
Posco Korea, the multinational Korean steel company, has signed an
agreement with Shree Uttam Steel and Power (part of Uttam Galva Group)
to set up a steel plant at Satarda in Maharashtra.
Germany-based ThyssenKrupp group is aiming to double its revenue from
India to US$ 1 billion in next three-four years while the groups elevator unit,
ThyssenKrupp Elevator, plans to invest EUR 44 million (US$ 50.5 million) to
set up a manufacturing plant in Chakan, Pune.
Google plans to invest Rs 1,500 crore (US$ 234.3 million) for a new campus in
Hyderabad which will be focused on three key areas Google Education,
Google Fibre broadband services and Street view.
The Government of Karnataka has signed an agreement with the Taiwan
Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers Association for the purpose of
creating a Taiwanese electronic manufacturing cluster near the Bengaluru
airport, with an investment expectation of Rs 3,200 crore (US$ 500 million).
India emerges top FDI destination leaving behind China, US in 2015. India has
emerged as the most favored destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2015
so far, outpacing China and the US, London-based business daily Financial Times
(FT) said in a report on Tuesday. A ranking of top destinations for greenfield
investment (measured by estimated capital expenditure) in the first half of 2015
shows India at number one, having attracted roughly $3 billion more than China
and $4 billion more than the US
India is progressing at a faster rate but

still it lacks in many sectors as compared to other nations markets especially China.
The problem is not only be the deficiencies in policy and infrastructure but also
the low level of expenditure on marketing and branding of products, Global Value
Chain, Exchange rate policy and social politics. India need to address these factors
one by one and make sure , Indian market grows in such a way that every section of
Indian society can be benefited from that , development of ever section of society
make nation prosperous and healthy.
India has to go a long way and Indian market must take Risk more than others
think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others think is
practical. Indian market has lot of potential only need is to proper facility and
motorization of Indian market.
7) Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Housing for All 2022
The much awaited Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana has been launched by the Prime
Minister Narendra Modi that envisages the vision of Housing for All by the year
2022. The article includes various aspects of the scheme covering the beneficiaries,
eligibility and the process for applying under the scheme.
The government of India had earlier launched Housing for All scheme, which has
now been reformed as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. The Scheme has been
launched by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi on 25th June 2015.
The scheme comes with an aim of constructing more than two crore houses across
the length and breadth of the nation within a span of next seven years. This means
the scheme which is started in year 2015 would conclude successfully in the year
2022. The target beneficiaries of the scheme would be poor and people living under
EWS and LIG categories in urban establishments of the country.
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Housing for All 2022:
The PM Awas Yojana would start in the year 2015 and would be spread for
implementation till the year 2022 and would be carried out in three sustainable
phases:
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Phase 1: The Phase 1 of PM Awas Yojana would
span from April 2015 to March 2017 and a total of 100 cities would see the
developmental work started and completed during this phase.
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Phase 2: The Phase 2 of Pradhan Mantri Awas
Yojana would span from April 2017 to March 2019 and during this phase, a total of
200 more cities would be covered and developed.
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Phase 3: The Phase 3 of PMAY would span from
April 2019 to March 2022 and during this phase the left over cities would be covered
and developed.
Beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana:
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana would target specific groups from the society, which
are:
Women, irrespective of caste and religion.

Economically Weaker Section of Society (EWS).
Scheduled Tribes (ST).
Scheduled Casts (SC).
The Government of India would be granting a subsidy to people from these.
categories so that they buy a home for themselves and their families.
The subsidy amount may range from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2.30 lakh.
The features of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana are as following:

The government would provide an interest subsidy of 6.5% on housing loans availed
by the beneficiaries for a period of 15 years from the start of loan. The houses under
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana would be allotted to preferably the female member of
the family. Along with this, preference would be given to the female applicants, in
general. This scheme could well be termed as a pro-women scheme.
While allotting ground floors in any housing scheme under the PMAY, preference
would be given to differently-abled and older people. The construction of houses
under PMAY would be carried out through technology that is eco-friendly. Interest
Rates, EMI Calculation and Subsidy in PM Awas Yojana
The niche of the scheme lies in the fact that the EMI paid by the home owners
under the scheme would be reduced significantly. The current rate of housing loan
in India is at 10.50 per cent. If someone buys a property currently on a loan of Rs 6
lakh for a tenure of 15 years today, he/she would have to pay an EMI of Rs 6,632
per month currently. However, with 6.5 per cent subsidy under the scheme, the
beneficiary would have to pay just Rs 4,050 per month as EMI. Thus, there is a
significant reduction of Rs 2,000 in the EMI itself.
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Compnents (Housing for All 2022):
An average of Rs 1 lakh would be granted by the Government of India to all the

beneficiaries under the scheme. Through Credit Lined Subsidy Scheme, a subsidy of
6.5% would be given to each beneficiary belong from EWS and Lower Income Group
categories. A central government assistance of Rs 1.5 lakh would go to every
beneficiary for promoting housing stock and thus 35% of the units under the project
would be earmarked for the Economically Weaker Section category.
In addition to the above, an Rs 1.5 lakh would be provided to all eligible urban poor
who want to construct their own house in urban areas or wish to make necessary
renovations in their existing houses.
ICICI bank Awas Yojana Loans at subsidized rates of 6.5 %
The ICICI bank has planned a scheme to provide millions of Indian, their own
dream house, which currently they cannot afford right now. This scheme is in
support to the Prime Ministers housing scheme for the common masses namely
the Awas Yojana. Under this scheme, the ICICI will provide easy housing loans
with low interest rates andeasy options of EMI so that the financially weaker
sections of the population can also accomplish their dream of having their own
house.
Under this scheme, the ICICI will provide housing loans at subsidized rates of 6.5 %
annually for the loan amount of Rs. 6 lakh (maximum). This subsidy will be credit
linked. This housing loan will be provided along with the partnership with National
Housing Bank, which will administer the entire housing project. And the maximum
loan tenure to get the subsidy is 15 years.
8) City to Smart city

BACKGROUND:- During Election campaigning Narendra Modi promised to voters
that once he will be PM of the country, few of the Indian cities will get an
opportunity to be called as Smart City. And these cities will raise the lifestyle of
INDIANS as well as will work as the engines of the economy After becoming PM he
kept his promise and last year 98 cities were shortlisted for smart city project.
Of the 98 cities and towns that five years down will graduate into smart cities, 24
are capital cities, another 24 are business and industrial centres, 18 are culture and
tourism influenced areas, five are port cities and three are education and health
care hubs. Statewise distribution of cities was like 13 from Uttar Pradesh, 12 from
Tamil Nadu, 10 from Maharashtra, 7 from Madhya Pradesh, 3 each from Bihar &
Andhra Pradesh.
PRESENT SCENARIO:-Union Minister for Urban

Development M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday declared the first list of 20 cities
out of the 98 short-listed for the Smart Cities Mission.The Ministry has no role in
the selection of the cities and an expert committee set up by the Ministry is looking
into it, Mr. Naidu said.The next two years will see the inclusion of 40 and 38 cities,
respectively.
WHAT IS SMART CITY?
The first question is what is meant by a smart city. The

answer is, there is no universally accepted definition of a smart city. It means
different things to different people. The conceptualisation of Smart City, therefore,
varies from city to city and country to country, depending on the level of
development, willingness to change and reform, resources and aspirations of the
city residents. A smart city would have a different connotation in India than, say,
Europe. Even in India, there is no one way of defining a smart city.
Some definitional boundaries are required to guide cities in the Mission. In the
imagination of any city dweller in India, the picture of a smart city contains a wish
list of infrastructure and services that describes his or her level of aspiration. To
provide for the aspirations and needs of the citizens, urban planners ideally aim at
developing the entire urban eco-system, which is represented by the four pillars of
comprehensive development-institutional, physical, social and economic
infrastructure. This can be a long term goal and cities can work towards developing
such comprehensive infrastructure incrementally, adding on layers of smartness.
A 'smart city' is an urban region that is highly advanced in terms of overall
infrastructure, sustainable real estate, communications and market viability. It is a
city where information technology is the principal infrastructure and the basis for
providing essential services to residents. There are many technological platforms
involved, including but not limited to automated sensor networks and data centres.
Currently we can't expect smart cities fully automated and full of technology like
European countries plan & have. Strong reason behind this is that most of our
metro cities are not well planned and consist of slums and dwells too.
So practically Indian Smart cities will promise following comfortabilities first as

mentioned on official smart city website.
Adequate water supply

Assured electricity supply
Sanitation, including solid waste management
Efficient urban mobility and public transport
Affordable housing, especially for the poor
Robust IT connectivity and digitalisation
Good governance, especially e-Governance and citizen participation
Sustainable environment
Safety and security of citizens, particularly women, children and the elderly
Health and education
SMART CITY FUNDING:-After the Stage 1 of the challenge, each potential Smart
City will be given an advance of Rs. two crore for preparation of SCP which will
come from the citys share of the A&OE funds and will be adjusted in the share of
the city.In the first year, Government proposes to give Rs.200 crore to each selected
smart city to create a higher initial corpus. After deducting the Rs. Two crore
advance and A&OE share of the MoUD, each selected Smart City will be given Rs.
194 crore out of Rs. 200 crore in the first year followed by Rs. 98 crore out of Rs. 100
crore every year for the next three years.
9) Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY)
Faced with two consecutive drought years, the Centre cleared a crop insurance
scheme under which farmers premium has been kept at a maximum of 2 per cent
for foodgrains and oilseeds and up to 5 per cent for horticulture/cotton crops.
To be rolled out from the kharif season this year, the much awaited scheme
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana was cleared at the Cabinet meeting, headed
by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
PMFBY will replace the existing two schemes National Agricultural Insurance
Scheme as well as Modified NAIS which have had some inherent drawbacks.
OBJECTIVES:
- To provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of
failure of any of the notified crop as a result of natural calamities, pests & diseases.
- To stabilise the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming.
- To encourage farmers to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices.
- To ensure flow of credit to the agriculture sector.
The cabinet has cleared the Agriculture Ministrys proposal on new crop insurance
scheme, sources said.
It has approved farmers premium between 1.5 to 2 per cent for foodgrains and
oilseeds crops, and up to 5 per cent for horticultural and cotton crops, they said.
The farmers premium would be 1.5 per cent for rabi foodgrains and oilseeds crops,
while 2 per cent for kharif foodgrains and oilseeds crops. For horticutural and cotton
crops it has been fixed at up to 5 per cent for both the seasons.
According to sources, PMFBY will increase the insurance coverage to 50 per cent of
the total crop area of 194.40 million hectare from the existing level of about 2527
per cent crop area. The expenditure is expected to be around Rs 9,500 crore.
In PMFBY, there will not be a cap on the premium and reduction of the sum
insured, they said. Besides, 25 per cent of the likely claim will be settled directly on
farmers account and there will be one insurance company for the entire state as
well as farm level assessment of loss for localised risks and post harvest loss.
Private insurance companies, along with the Agriculture Insurance Company of

India Ltd, will implement the scheme. All claim liability will be on insurer and the
government would give upfront premium subsidy.
The new scheme is significant as the country is facing drought for the second
straight year due to poor monsoon rains and the government wants to enhance
insurance coverage to more crop area to protect farmers from vagaries of monsoon.
10) START UP INDIA STAND UP INDIA
It was on the occasion of Indias 69th Independence Day that Prime Minister
Narendra Modi announced the Startup India initiative from the ramparts of Indias
iconic Red Fort Just five months later, on 16th January, the PM unveiled the
historic Startup Action Plan. PM Modis talk was laced with humour: If anyone
asks whats the difference, the government working on a Saturday that too after
6pm is the difference. He also said: When I heard Ritesh (Aggarwal of Oyo) speak,
I thought how a tea seller like me didnt think of setting up a hotel chain.
To promote a culture of entrepreneurship, the government on Saturday announced
a slew of incentives including a Rs10,000-crore corpus for innovation-driven
enterprises, a three-year break from paying income tax on profits, a Rs500-crore per
year credit guarantee mechanism, and exemption from capital gains tax for start-
ups. After a full day of discussions at the launch of the Start-up India programme
attended by hundreds of young entrepreneurs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
unveiled his governments action plan to help entrepreneurs, and asked them to
play a transformative role in Indias development.
BACKGROUND- India is country of 1.3 billion people and still counting.Terms like
Population explosion is being used in context Of India's population. As population
grows, employment should also be generated simultaneously but it hasn't been so
smooth. There are too many reason behind it but one of the main reason is lack of
manufacturing products in India. For ex. USA, Germany, China, Japan, all these
countries have around zero employment and most significant reason is that they
have robust manufacturing culture.
PRESENT SCENARIO- Current NDA government also wants to erase

unemployment but this couldn't be done in 1 day or 1 year. It takes time. Even
China was in similar condition in 80s but today China is competing with USA and
that took around two decade. Now, India cant wait for decades because nearly 2
crore youngsters are joining the workforce every year and are forced to do meagre
jobs in lack of opportunity. Condition is even worse when it comes to Btech and Mba
pass outs. People keep blaming Namos foreign visit but he has tried his best to solve
this problem and result is also infront of us. India is currently on 130 rank(earlier
142) on ease of doing business according to world bank report. PMs visit to
Germany was a master stroke as Germany have best skill development
infrastructure and Skill India mission was launched after that. But only skill will
not eradicate unemployment, what's more important is proper utilisation of that
skill so that India also gains in long term.
Start Ups will come in play over here. As Namo explained Start-up is not just
about mobiles and laptops Start-up does not only mean a company with billions of
dollars of money and 2,000 employees. If it is able to provide employment to even
five people, it would help in taking the country forward. Young people have to
change their mindsets from being job seekers to try and become job creators. Once
you become a job creator, you will realise that you are transforming lives,
Banks are going to make or break this initiative as not all start up get funding from
softbank and alibaba. Mudra is already there to help start ups even in rural and
semi urban area. Start ups will also help in make in india campaign to be
successfull.
START UP INDIA EVENT- PM Narendra Modi concluded what was perhaps the
largest startup conference for entrepreneurs in India with his action plan, which
included new policies and initiatives that would make it easier for for investors and
startup founders to incubate their ventures in the country. Many startup founders
had expressed their wishes in the run up to the event, and would find many
potential game changers in the new policies announced in the action plan. Here's
what changed for India's startup ecosystem on Saturday.
1) A Rs. 10,000 crore fund for startups

The government will set up a fund with an initial corpus of Rs. 2,500 crore and a
total corpus of Rs. 10,000 crore over a period of four years, which will be be
managed by a board with private professionals drawn from industry bodies,
academia, and successful startups. The fund will participate in the capital of SEBI
registered venture funds, and invest in sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture,
health, and education.
2) A single point of registration for startups

The government will launch a mobile app and a portal on April 1, which will enable
startups to register their company in a day. The portal will also serve as a single
point of contact for clearances, approvals and registrations, and for companies to
apply for schemes under the Startup India Action Plan.
3) A simplified regulatory regime based on self-certification

To reduce the regulatory burden for startups, the government will allow startups to
self-certify compliance on nine labour and environment laws through the startup
mobile app. No inspections will be conducted in case of the labour laws for a period
of three years.
4) A fast-track mechanism filing patent applications

Launched on a pilot basis for a year, the Central Government shall bear the cost of
patents, trademarks and designs for a startup, with an 80 percent rebate to
encourage the creation and protection of its intellectual property.
5) A credit guarantee fund for startups
A credit guarantee mechanism willl help startups raise debt funding through the
formal banking system through National Credit Guarantee Trust Company
(NCGTC)/SIDBI, which has an annual corpus of Rs. 500 crore for the next four
years.
6) Tax exemption for three years, and capital gains

Aimed at facilitating growth and help retain capital, startups will be exempted from
income-tax for a period of three years. However, the exemption shall be available
subject to non-distribution of dividend by the startup. To augment the funds
available to various VCs and alternative investment funds, capital gains invested in
SEBI registered venture funds will be exempt from tax as well.
7) A Startup India Hub for collaboration

The Startup India Hub will serve as a single point of contact for startup ecosystem
players, and will function in a hub and spoke model with central and state
governments, Indian and foreign VCs, angel networks, banks, incubators, legal
partners, consultants, universities and R&D institutions. The hub will assist
startups in obtaining financing, and organise mentorship programs to encourage
knowledge exchange.
8) Relaxed norms of public-procurement

The Central Government, State Government and PSUs will exempt startups in the
manufacturing sector from the criteria of "prior experience/ turnover" as long as
they have their own manufacturing facility in India, and have the requisite
capabilities and are able to fulfil the project requirements.
9) Faster exits for startups

Startups may be wound up within a period of 90 days from making of an application
for winding up on a fast track basis, as per the recently tabled Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Bill 2015, which has provisions for voluntary closure of businesses. This
process will respect the concept of limited liability.
10) Atal Innovation Mission to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation

The Atal Innovation Mission will establish sector specific incubators and 500
'Tinkering Labs' to promote entrepreneurship, provide pre-incubation training and
a seed fund for high-growth startups. Three innovation awards will be given per
state and union territory, along with three national awards, as well as a Grand
Innovation Challenge Award for finding ultra-low cost solutions for India.
11) Innovation focused programs for students

An innovation core program targeted at school kids aims to source 10 lakh
innovations from five lakh schools, out of which the the best 100 would be
shortlisted and showcased at an Annual Festival of Innovations, to be held in
Rashtrapati Bhavan. A Grand Challenge program called NIDHI (National Initiative
for Developing and Harnessing Innovations) shall be instituted through Innovation
and Entrepreneurship Development Centres (IEDCs) to support and award INR 10
lakhs to 20 student innovations. Uchhattar Avishkar Yojana, a joint MHRD-DST
scheme has earmarked Rs. 250 crore annually to foster "very high quality" research
amongst IIT students.
12)An annual incubator grand challenge

The government will identify and select ten incubators, evaluated on pre-defined
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as having the the potential to become world
class, and give them Rs.10 crore each as financial assistance to ramp up their
infrastructure.
At the end few lines from start up event:
Passion and intention needed for business. Don't run just after the money,
advises Adam Neumann
In India, we will build a local brand with a global playbook: Adam Neumann
This young generation in India will not only change India, but the world: Mr
Neumann
In India launching a startup is like Abhimanyu entering in to Chakravyuha"-
- Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das
"You know I was richer than Bill Gates, then our share price went down, I
recovered by passion, passion"--Softbank founder Masayoshi Son
India can be bigger in momentum than China in next 10 years; 21st century
belongs to India: Softbank CEO.
What excites Mr Son about India: Smart people, young people, IT, Sunshine
and ability to speak in English.
11) Odd Even Scheme
One of the current news that created the curiosity all over the country is the Odd
Even Scheme. In a step to curb the pollution level down, this was the scheme
launched by state government. Well, the Delhites have shown quite a good response
and they were happy that at least this scheme reduced the traffic in the city. Well,
the High Court also kept a constant watch and has been asking the government to
keep them updated. Lets have a look what the scheme is and how it affected the
city.
In last few days, huge number of Delhites downloaded Poochh-o app, showing that
Delhi is supporting the local governments even-odd scheme to limit the private four
wheelers on the road, said Gopal Rai, Delhi Transport Minister. As on January 4,
the number of people downloading the app stood at 25,000. With additional 7,000,
the total has gone up to 32,000, the Minister said, adding that We are getting
questions about Delhi becoming congestion-free, but pollution data is not reflecting
the same. People have the right to get an answer.
The difference in air quality parameters of the Central Pollution Control Board
(CPCB) and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee arise because they use different
methodologies, he said. Delhi Pollution Control Board data for January 4 shows
that as you move closer to Central Delhi, such as Jangpura from borders, there is
an improvement, said Rai. Delhi Pollution Control Committee has collected data
from 55 locations till now, a data collection that did not happen earlier.
The ambient air data collected by teams of the Delhi

Pollution Control Committee through mobile dust samplers using Light Scattering
Technique at 20 locations in peripheral areas of Delhi shows a definitive declining
trend in the levels of particulate matter 2.5 (in dg/m3) a major source is vehicular
pollution. In 13 of these 20 locations, the PM 2.5 level has been recorded at less
than 300, which proves reduction in comparison to previous years at the same time
by at least 100 units. According to the scientists of the Delhi Pollution Control
Committee, 80 per cent of PM2.5 air pollution is caused by vehicular traffic and
reduction in its levels, even in outer areas of Delhi shows that reduction of four
wheeled vehicles on roads since the New Year Day is having a positive impact.
Delhi will release data on Particulate Matter 1, after 15 days.
Meanwhile, passenger traffic on DTC has increased with 40.63 lakh people taking
to DTC buses on January 4 against an average ridership of 35,000. Similarly, 38
lakh people used the DTC system on (January 1 and 2) Friday and Saturday, and
33 lakh on January 3 (Sunday). On a long term, construction of the Eastern and
Western Peripheral Expressway around Delhi will help clean up the Delhi air by
diverting truck traffic. Delhi government has already shared with the Centre over
Rs. 600 crore of the project cost that was required. UP and Haryana were also
supposed to share part of the project cost.
12) Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development

bank (MDB) conceived for the 21st century. The Bank's foundation is built on the
lessons of experience of existing MDBs and the private sector. Its modus operandi
will be lean, clean and green:
lean, with a small efficient management team and highly skilled staff
clean, an ethical organization with zero tolerance for corruption
green, an institution built on respect for the environment.
The AIIB, a modern knowledge-based institution, will focus on the development of

infrastructure and other productive sectors in Asia, including energy and power,
transportation and telecommunications, rural infrastructure and agriculture
development, water supply and sanitation, environmental protection, urban
development and logistics, etc. The operational strategy and priority areas of
engagement may be revised or further refined by its governing boards in the future
as circumstances may warrant. AIIB will complement and cooperate with the
existing MDBs to jointly address the daunting infrastructure needs in Asia. The
Bank's openness and inclusiveness reflect its multilateral nature. AIIB welcomes all
regional and non-regional countries, developing and developed countries, that seek
to contribute to Asian infrastructure development and regional connectivity.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang
announced the AIIB initiative during their respective visits to Southeast Asian
countries in October 2013. The Bank was envisaged to promote interconnectivity
and economic integration in the region and cooperate with existing multilateral
development banks. Following this announcement, bilateral and multilateral
discussions and consultations commenced on core principles and key elements for
establishing the AIIB. In October, 2014, 22 Asian countries gathered in Beijing to
sign Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish the AIIB. At a Special
Ministerial Meeting following the signing of the MOU, Mr. Jin Liqun was appointed
as the Secretary General of the Multilateral Interim Secretariat.
Discussions among Prospective Founding Members (PFMs) on the establishment of

AIIB commenced with the 1st Chief Negotiators' Meeting (CNM) in Kunming,
China, in November 2014. Discussions about the proposed Articles of Agreement
(AOA) were launched at the second CNM, which was held in Mumbai, India, in
January 2015. The AOA was discussed further at the 3rd CNM meeting that was
held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in March 2015 and at the 4th CNM meeting which
took place in Beijing in April 2015. The final text of the AoA was adopted on May
22, 2015 at the 5th CNM held in Singapore. Representatives from the 57 PFMs
gathered on June 29, 2015 in Beijing at a Signing Ceremony of the Bank's Articles
of Agreement at the Great Hall of the People and 50 PFMs signed the Articles,
including: Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam,
Cambodia, China, Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, India,
Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Kyrgyz
Republic, Lao PDR, Luxembourg, Maldives, Malta, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal,
Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Portugal, Qatar, Russia,
Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan,
Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
The Articles remain open for signing by PFMs Until December 31, 2015 and it is
expected that the AIIB would be operational by the end of this year.
Mr. Jin Liqun has served as AIIB's President-designate since September 1, 2015.
He was appointed Secretary-General of the Multilateral Interim Secretariat by the
AIIB Special Ministerial Meeting on October 24, 2014. The President-designate is
expected to be elected as AIIB's first President at the inaugural meeting of the
Board of Governors. The inaugural meeting will be convened after the AIIB's
Articles of Agreement enter into force, expected in late fall 2015. The AIIB Articles
of Agreement provide that the President shall be elected through an open,
transparent and merit-based process, by a Super Majority vote in the Board of
Governors, and that he (or she) should be a national of a regional member (Article
29, paragraph 1).
13) A Brief on IPDS (Integrated Power Development Scheme)
Moving towards the government's objective to provide 24x7 power supply, Prime
Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched Integrated Power Development Scheme
(IPDS) on 18th September 2015 at Varanasi.
To start the scheme in Varanasi, PM laid foundation stone of two power substations
and Union Government will provide 572 crore rupees to implement it. The
Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) is one of the flagship schemes of the
Ministry of Power and will be at the core attempt to ensure 24x7 power for all.
What is objective of IPDS?

The Scheme, announced in the Union Budget 2014-15, aims at strengthening of
sub-transmission network, Metering, IT application, Customer Care Services,
provisioning of solar panels and the completion of the ongoing works of
Restructured Accelerated Power Development and completion of the Reforms
Programme (RAPDRP).
The Project envisages converting area overhead lines into underground cabling in
the areas around the temples and ghats in the Varanasi city. The Scheme includes
up-gradation of the electrical assets at Sub centers, lines and distribution
transformers, capacity enhancement and renewal of the old sub stations and
installation of roof-top solar panel in government buildings.
The scheme will help in reduction in AT&C losses, establishment of IT enabled

energy accounting / auditing system, improvement in billed energy based on
metered consumption and improvement in collection efficiency.
14) A Brief on ONE RANK ONE PENSION SCHEME
The Union Government announced One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme for ex-
servicemen. The scheme was pending for nearly four decades.
Lets discuss What really this means?
What is One Rank, One Pension?

The one rank, one pension rule means that retired soldiers of the same rank and
length of service will receive the same pension, regardless of when they retire.
As of now, the date of retirement determines the amount of pension. With each Pay
Commission coming up with its recommendations every 10 years, the military
veterans who retire early, receive less pension as compared to those who retired
later with the same rank and length of service
Under OROP, a sepoy who retired in 1995, for instance, would get the same amount
of pension as the one who retired in 1996.
"In simple terms, OROP implies that uniform pension be paid to the Armed Forces
personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service, regardless of
their date of retirement. Future enhancements in the rates of pension would be
automatically passed on to the past pensioners. This implies bridging the gap
between the rate of pension of current and past pensioners at periodic intervals,"
said Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar while making the announcement.
Who will benefit from OROP?

Ex-servicemen drawing pensions will benefit from the OROP scheme, especially
those who retired before 2006. Why? Because at present, pensioners who retired
before 2006 draw less pension than their counterparts and even their juniors. The
scheme will benefit all three services -- air force, navy and army.
Details of OROP
1) The benefit will be given with effect from 1st July, 2014. The present government
assumed office on 26th May, 2014 and therefore, it has been decided to make the
scheme effective from a date immediately after. Arrears will be paid in four half-
yearly instalments.
2) All widows, including war widows, will be paid arrears in one instalment.
3) To begin with, OROP would be fixed on the basis of calendar year 2013.
4) Pension will be re-fixed for all pensioners retiring in the same rank and with the
same length of service as the average of minimum and maximum pension in 2013.
Those drawing pensions above the average will be protected.
5) Personnel who voluntarily retire will also be covered under the OROP scheme.
6) In future, the pension would be re-fixed every 5 years.
7) It has also been decided that a One Member Judicial Committee would be
constituted which will give its report in six months.
15) Indradhanush- A mission to revamp functioning of public

sector banks
"Indradhanush" which was launched by the government to revamp the functioning
of Public Sector Banks.
To revive the fortunes of public sector banks, government unveiled a seven-point
plan encompassing Rs 20,000 crore immediate fund infusion, creation of a single
holding company and minimising political interference.The government has named
this as Indradhanush that also includes setting up of a Bank Board Bureau (BBB)
for broad-level appointments and a performance-based monitoring mechanism.
The strategy, Indradhanush (rainbow), focuses on systemic changes in state-run
lenders, including a fresh look at hiring, a comprehensive plan to de-stress bloated
lenders, capital infusion, accountability incentives with higher rewards including
Stock Options and cleaning up governance.
The 7 Elements includes:

1. Appointments
2. Bank of Board Bureau
3. Capitalization
4. De-Stressing Public Sector Banks
5. Empowerment
6. Framework of accountability
7. Governance Reforms
Lets discuss these points.

1. Appointments : Executives from the private sector have been hired to run state-
owned banks with the government.
2. Bank Board Bureau : The Bank Board Bureau will start functioning from the
next financial year and is the first step toward a full-fledged bank holding company,
an entity that will house the government's stake in state run banks struggling with
mounting non-performing loans that have touched 6 per cent of gross advances.
3. Capitalization : The government will inject a total of Rs 25,000 crore of capital
into debt-laden state banks in this fiscal; Rs 20,000 crore would be injected in a
month. Over the next four years, the government plans to inject Rs 70,000 crore.
4. De-stressing : The government will concentrate on distressing the banks bad
loans.
5. Empowerment : The government will strive to make it easier for PSBs to hire.
The government is looking at introducing Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOPs)
for the PSU bank managements.
6. Framework of Accountability : The government also announced a
new framework of key performance indicators for state-run lenders to boost
efficiency in functioning while assuring them of independence in decision making on
purely commercial considerations.
7. Governance Reforms: The process of governance reforms started with Gyan
Sangam - a conclave of PSBs and FIs organized at the beginning of 2015 in Pune
which was attended by all stake-holders including Prime Minister, Finance
Minister, MoS (Finance), Governor, RBI and CMDs of all PSBs and FIs. There was
focus group discussion on six different topics which resulted in specific decisions on
optimizing capital, digitizing processes, strengthening risk management, improving
managerial performance and financial inclusion.
Note:
Under the plan, asset reconstruction companies will also be strengthened to deal
with bad loan situation. Moreover, the government has also resolved to set up a
Bank Investment Committee, which will act as a holding company for shares on
behalf of the government.
Under re-capitalisation plans for Public Sector Banks, 13 banks would get Rs
20,058 crore this financial year. SBI will get the highest Rs 5,511 cr, followed
by Bank of India at Rs 2,455 cr, & IDBI at Rs 2,229 cr,.
16) A brief on DOMESTICALLY SYSTEMICALLY
IMPORTANT BANKS
The Reserve Bank of India announced State Bank of India and ICICI Bank Ltd as
Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) & subjected them to higher levels
of supervision to prevent disruption to financial services in event of any failure. To
understand this better, lets discuss this in detail.
What is a systemically important bank meaning is?

Systemically important bank or a bank that is too big to fail, is one whose failure
will have nationwide or worldwide repercussions. A bank failure is a scenario in
which the bank or financial institution is unable to pay its depositors or fulfill its
financial obligations.
Systemically important banks are perceived as banks that are 'Too Big To Fail
(TBTF)'. This perception of TBTF creates an expectation of government support for
these banks at the time of distress. Due to this perception, these banks enjoy
certain advantages in the funding markets.
Why RBI choose these banks as DSIBs?

Primarily because of their size. The RBI uses a methodology to determine whether a
bank is systemically important or not on the basis of its size, inter-connectedness,
substitutability and complexity. Such banks have been termed as domestic-
systemically important banks (D-SIB).
Wait a second, what do these factors take into account?
Lets consider these factors in detail..
Size takes into account all exposures (Loans, savings deposits, commissions
from mutual fund businesses) of a bank.A
A bank is deemed more interconnected if it has borrowed or lent more money
from other banks or financial institutions.
Sustainability is a financial infrastructure indicator which determines if the
services provided by the bank are easily replaceable or not.
If a bank has higher complexity the cost and time taken to resolve its issues
will higher.
Based on these factors, RBI have choose them as DSIBs.
Framework for DSIBs
The Reserve Bank had issued the Framework for dealing with Domestic
Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) on July 22, 2014. The D-SIB Framework
requires the Reserve Bank to disclose the names of banks designated as D-SIBs
every year in August starting from August 2015.
The Framework also requires that D-SIBs may be placed in four buckets depending
upon their Systemic Importance Scores (SISs).
Based on the bucket in which a D-SIB is placed, an additional common equity
requirement has to be applied to it, as mentioned in the D-SIB Framework.
Based on the methodology provided in the D-SIB Framework and data collected
from banks as on March 31, 2015, the banks identified as D-SIBs and associated
bucket structure are as under:
Additional Common Equity Tier 1 requirement

Bucket Banks as a percentage of Risk Weighted Assets
(RWAs)
5 - 1.0%
4 - 0.8%
3 State Bank of India 0.6%
2 - 0.4%
1 ICICI Bank 0.2%
The additional CET1 requirements will be applicable from April 1, 2016, in a

phased manner and would become fully effective from April 1, 2019. The additional
CET1 requirement will be in addition to the capital conservation buffer.
Accordingly,SBI will now have to raise additional common equity at 0.8 percent of
risk weighed assets while ICICI will have to raise 0.2 percent.
17) The Truth Behind Yuan Devaluation

Before we proceed with the article, let us understand what the devaluation is and
what could be the implications. A deliberate downward adjustment to the value of a
country's currency, relative to another currency, group of currencies or standard.
Devaluation is a monetary policy tool of countries that have a fixed exchange rate or
semi-fixed exchange rate. It is often confused with depreciation, and is in contrast to
revaluation.
Devaluating a currency is decided by the government issuing the currency, and
unlike depreciation, is not the result of non-governmental activities. One reason a
country may devaluate its currency is to combat trade imbalances. Devaluation
causes a country's exports to become less expensive, making them more competitive
on the global market. This in turn means that imports are more expensive, making
domestic consumers less likely to purchase them.
While devaluating a currency can seem like an attractive option, it can have
negative consequences. By making imports more expensive, it protects domestic
industries who may then become less efficient without the pressure of competition.
Higher exports relative to imports can also increase aggregate demand, which can
lead to inflation.
Devaluation of Yuan
China cut the value of its yuan currency against the US dollar for the second day in
a row Wednesday, taking the reductions to 3.5 per cent this week the largest in
more than two decades. The move has reinforced concerns about the world's second
largest economy, and analysts are divided over the reasons behind the move and the
consequences it will have.The People's Bank of China (PBoC) said Tuesday's "one-
time correction" in the yuan is part of a larger scheme to give the market a bigger
say in the value of the currency, also known as the renminbi (RMB).
At the same time Chinese growth has been slowing, and

a devaluation can boost the economy by making exports -- a key sector -- cheaper for
overseas buyers. A decades-long boom has turned China into the world's second-
largest economy, but despite being the world's largest trader in goods its role in the
global financial system remains relatively limited. It has been looking to build up
its presence, setting up a new multilateral Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank,
and is also pushing to join the exclusive club of the International Monetary Fund's
basket of "special drawing rights" (SDR) reserve currencies. But it must show
progress on liberalising the yuan regime to win membership.
The jury is still out. For China, the move could deliver both an export and economic
boost -- but will also make imports more expensive, potentially pushing up inflation,
and raise costs for Chinese firms with dollar-denominated debt. For the rest of the
world, some analysts believe the move could trigger currency wars, as other
emerging market countries devalue to compete. Market and economic turmoil could
cause the United States to delay plans to raise interest rates as the world's biggest
economy recovers.
Most analysts expect the yuan to weaken further, but at a more gradual pace. SG
Global Economics said in a research report that it saw a "bias for further
depreciation" in the yuan, extending to five per cent over 12 months.The United
States has previously criticised the yuan for being undervalued, but also hopes
China will speed financial reforms and create a more level playing field for
American companies. It is taking a wait-and-see attitude. The IMF, now considering
China's application for SDR currency status, praised the move as giving market
forces a greater role.
India's Preparedness on This Move

Global experts have expressed extreme views on the devaluation extreme views on
the devaluation of the yuan. Some have said it is more significant than the Greek
crisis and the coming U.S. Fed interest rate increase. But for others, it is small and
long-overdue adjustment that barely begins
to make up for the really big recent moves in the dollar, euro and yen. The pick-up
in real credit growth and indirect tax receipts suggests that the underlying
momentum in the economy is improving. Mr. Subramanian told press persons.
The growth in underlying indirect tax collections (excluding the additional revenue
from excise increases in diesel and petrol and higher clean energy cess and service
tax rate) of 14.6 per cent for the first four months of the scal, he said, represents
a "healthy increase in nominal GDP growth.
He said China's surprise decision, which its Asian counterparts trade with a bearish
tone on Tuesday, could be aimed at satisfying the conditions the IMF had spelt nut
for granting it reserve currency status aud inclusion in the special drawing right
(SUB) basket. Arundhati Bhattacharya, SBI Chairperson, however, said: Yuan
devaluation is a challenge obviously because it makes our exports a little
uncompetitive.
18) Digital India : Key Features

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Digital India week on Wednesday
in the presence of senior ministerial colleagues and top industry honchos, a move
that aims to give a digital push to governance and jobs. Right from his first day in
office, the Prime Minister has always exhibited interest in a digitizing campaign for
India, something which he feels would bridge the gap between government
initiatives and its beneficiaries. With increasing internet penetration in India, a
digital India campaign is the need of the hour.
Digital locker system to minimize usage of physical documents and enable

their e-sharing via registered repositories.
MyGov.in as an an online platform to engage citizens in governance through
a "Discuss, Do and Disseminate" approach.
Swachh Bharat Mission Mobile app to achieve the goals set by this mission.
e-Sign framework to allow citizens to digitally sign documents online using
Aadhaar.
e-Hospital system for important healthcare services such as online
registration, fee payment, fixing doctors' appointments, online diagnostics
and checking blood availability online.
National Scholarship Portal for beneficiaries from submission of application
to verification, sanction and disbursal.
Digitize India Platform for large-scale digitization of records in the country to
facilitate efficient delivery of services to the citizens.
Bharat Net programe as a high-speed digital highway to connect all 250,000
gram panchayats of country -- the world's largest rural broadband project
using optical fibre.
BSNL's Next Generation Network to replace 30-year old telephone exchanges
to manage all types of services like voice, data, multimedia and other types of
communication services.
BSNL's large scale deployment of Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the country.
"Broadband Highways' as one of the pillars of Digital India to address the
connectivity issue while enabling and providing technologies to facilitate
delivery of services to citizens.
Outsourcing Policy to create such centres in different northeastern states and
in smaller towns across the country.
Electronics Development Fund to promote innovation, research and product
development to create a resource pool within the country as also a self-
sustaining eco-system of venture funds.
National Centre for Flexible Electronics to promote research and innovation
in the emerging area of flexible electronics.
Centre of Excellence on Internet on Things (IoT) as a joint initiative of the
government agencies and private institutions such as Nasscom.
Digital India promises to transform India into a connected knowledge economy

offering world-class services at the click of a mouse and will be implemented in a
phased manner.The government feels that open access to "broadband highways"
across cities, towns and villages would give a fillip to trade across the country. "The
other important benefit we see is surge in e-commerce. The intention is to bring
down net electronics imports to zero by 2020, from about $100 billion now, a move
which will help the country control its current-account deficit. As things stand, net
annual electronics imports could rise to $400 billion by 2020, outgrowing oil
imports.
19) CRUDE OIL MARKET FLUCTUATIONS AND
PLUMMETS :
The worlds oil supply is outpacing demand in the most uncomfortable way for the
oil industry. Some blame OPEC or Saudi Arabia specifically, for not slowing
production. But as the analysis shows, its really Americas relentless oil boom thats
flooded this market.
THE oil price has fallen by more than 40% since June, when it was $115 a barrel. It
is now below $70 and has now fallen to $50 barrel.
Factors which effect oil prices :
-The oil price is partly determined by actual supply and demand, and partly by
expectation.
- Demand for energy is closely related to economic activity. It also spikes in the
winter in the northern hemisphere, and during summers in countries which use air
conditioning.
-Supply can be affected by weather (which prevents tankers loading) and by
geopolitical upsets. -If producers think the price is staying high, they invest, which
after a lag boosts supply. Similarly, low prices lead to an investment drought.
-OPECs decisions shape expectations: if it curbs supply sharply, it can send prices
spiking. Saudi Arabia produces nearly 10m barrels a daya third of the OPEC
total. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries controls nearly 40% of the
world market.
Much of the new oil coming online is more expensive to develop. At the current price
of oil, many of those projects no longer make economic sense. Projects are typically
not cancelled immediately, but if prices remain low for an extended period of time,
many higher-cost projects will be shelved. Supposedly, too, many recent projects
have depended on heavy debt financing. Lenders are less likely to lend aggressively
if prices remain low. Lower prices hurt all producers over the short term. But the
Saudis may think they will have a much stronger long-term position if lower prices
slow the development of new projects. That gives the Saudi Arabia significant
incentive to allow, if not engineer, a large drop in oil prices.
Hence the Saudis and their Gulf allies have decided not to sacrifice their own
market share to restore the price(what this means is that they are not willing to cut
their supply order to help the prices to rise). This is because The Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries is dominated by Gulf producers, notably Saudi
Arabia. They have huge reserves to cushion the impact of low prices. They also hope
that the slump will eventually shut down high-cost production, tightening the
market again. They could curb production sharply
Other factors effecting the oil market are:.
- Demand is low because of weak economic activity, increased efficiency, and a
growing switch away from oil to other fuels.
- Second, turmoil in Iraq and Libyatwo big oil producers with nearly 4m barrels a
day combinedhas not affected their output. The market is more sanguine about
geopolitical risk.
-Thirdly, America has become the worlds largest oil producer. Though it does not
export crude oil, it now imports much less, creating a lot of spare supply.
- Finally, but the main benefits would go to countries they detest such as Iran and
Russia. Saudi Arabia can tolerate lower oil prices quite easily.
The main effect of this is on the riskiest and most vulnerable bits of the oil industry.
These include American frackers who have borrowed heavily on the expectation of
continuing high prices. They also include Western oil companies with high-cost
projects involving drilling in deep water or in the Arctic, or dealing with maturing
and increasingly expensive fields such as the North Sea. But the greatest pain is in
countries where the regimes are dependent on a high oil price to pay for costly
foreign adventures and expensive social programmes. These include Russia (which
is already hit by Western sanctions following its meddling in Ukraine) and Iran
(which is paying to keep the Assad regime afloat in Syria). Optimists think
economic pain may make these countries more amenable to international pressure.
Pessimists fear that when cornered, they may lash out in desperation
Will low prices continue?

It looks like it. Some high-cost production is closing, but once wells are drilled, it
usually makes sense to keep pumping, even at a loss. It is better to make a little
money rather than none. And the shale revolution is marching on.
How low can the price go?

It is something that cannot be predicted, but much below $40 will sharply increase
bankruptcies, and the pressure on OPEC to curb production. Cheap energy also
leads to higher demand
Who benefits from low prices?

Winners necessarily outnumber losers (imagine a world in which energy was free).
Consumers have more cash in their pockets; industry enjoys lower energy costs,
makes bigger profits, and pays more taxes. And it is a great time for companies with
strong balance-sheets to make acquisitions.
And who suffers?

The oil industrys immediate reaction is to squeeze costs out of its supply chain. So
wages and margins are falling fast. Highly indebted companies are going bust, with
knock-on effects on investors. But lower costs help the industry adapt and increase
efficiency.
For now OPECs wishes of pushing competition out of the market may seem to be
coming true over the next year. But adversity will eventually make shale stronger.
It will prompt a new round of innovation, from cutting drilling costs through
standardization to new techniques that increase output. Dan Eberhart, the boss of
Canary, a Denver-based oil-services firm, says the industry has already pressed
fast forward on saving costs.
And if and when prices recover, new wells can be brought on stream in weeks, not
years. Americas capital markets will roar back into life, forgiving all previous sins.
There is always a new set of investors, says the boss of a one of the worlds biggest
natural-resources.
20) FDI and Insurance

To understand what FDI in insurance means, one must know what FDI actually
means, what happens when a country's sector accepts investments from another
country.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) is a direct investment into production or business

in a country by an individual or company of another country, either by buying a
company in the target country or by expanding operations of an existing business in
that country.
What is the state of Indias Insurance Industry?

The Indian insurance industry seems to be in a state of flux.
After a decade of strong growth, the Indian insurance industry is currently facing
severe headwinds owing to reasons like:
Slowing Growth
Rising Costs
Reforms being stalled
Worsening distribution structure
To understand this better, let us have a look into IRDAs (Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority) report on Indian Insurance Industry landscape for the 10
year period between 2010 and 2010.
What are the ultimate benefits of increased FDI in Insurance sector?

Insurance products: Private as well as government insurers will benefit from the
proposed hike of FDI; these companies will offer better and wide range of insurance
products to customers at larger competitive prices.
1. Smaller Companies: FDI will help smaller insurance companies to break-
even faster and help monetize (convert into currency) the holdings of the
promoters of the older life insurance companies.
2. Capital inflow: Immediate capital inflows of $2 billion and long term inflows
of about $10 billion can be expected.
3. Aggression: The industry has been cautious in selling products which are
capital intensive, it will be able to become more aggressive.
4. Technology: Insurers will not just get capital but also technology and product
expertise of the foreign partner who is the domain expert.
5. New Players: We can expect about 100 life and non-life insurance companies
to serve a market of our size. Increasing FDI could see 25-30 new insurers
entering the market.
6. State-Run Companies: People in the country have more faith on government
insurance companies and less on private ones, this hike will benefit the state-
run companies more than the private ones.
7. Penetration: With the population of more than 100 crores, India requires
Insurance more than any other nation. However, the insurance penetration
in the country is only around 3 percent of our gross domestic
product. Increased FDI limit will strengthen the existing companies and will
also allow the new players to come in, thereby enabling more people to buy
life cover.
8. Employment: With more money coming in, the insurance companies will be
able to create more jobs to meet their targets of venturing into under insured
markets through improved infrastructure, better operations and more
manpower.
9. Level Playing Field With the increase in foreign direct investment to 49
percent, the insurance companies will get the level playing field. So far the
state owned Life Corporation of India controls around 70 percent of the life
insurance market.
10. Increased Capital Inflow Most of the private sector insurance companies
have been making considerable losses. The increased FDI limit has brought
some much needed relief to these firms as the inflow of more than 10,000
crore is expected in the near term.This could go up to 40,000 crore in the
medium to long term, depending on how things pan out.
11. Favorable to the Pension Sector If the pension bill is passed in the
parliament then the foreign direct investment in the pension funds will also
be raised to 49 percent. This is because the Pension Fund Regulatory
Development Bill links the FDI limit in the pension sector to the insurance
sector.
12. Consumer Friendly The end beneficiary of this amendment will be common
men. With more players in this sector, there is bound to be stringent
competition leading to competitive quotes, improved services and better claim
settlement ratio.
Types of Frauds in Insurance Sector
There are many but following are Main.
Premium Diversion
Premium diversion is the embezzlement of insurance premiums.

It is the most common type of insurance fraud.
Generally, an insurance agent fails to send premiums to the underwriter and
instead keeps the money for personal use.
Another common premium diversion scheme involves selling insurance
without a license, collecting premiums and then not paying claims.
Fee Churning
In fee churning, a series of intermediaries take commissions through

reinsurance agreements.
The initial premium is reduced by repeated commissions until there is no
longer money to pay claims.
The company left to pay the claims is often a business the conspirators have
set up to fail.
When viewed alone, each transaction appears to be legitimateonly after the
cumulative effect is considered does fraud emerge.
Asset Diversion
Asset diversion is the theft of insurance company assets.

It occurs almost exclusively in the context of an acquisition or merger of an
existing insurance company.
Asset diversion often involves acquiring control of an insurance company
with borrowed funds. After making the purchase, the subject uses the assets
of the acquired company to pay off the debt. The remaining assets can then
be diverted to the subject
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
21) All About The World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization which

regulates international trade. It was established on 1st January, 1995 under the
Marrakesh Agreement, signed by 123 nations on 15 April 1994. It has replaced the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in the year
1948.
WTO is a forum for governments to negotiate trade agreements, which deals with
regulation of trade between participating countries by providing a framework for
negotiating trade agreements.
So basically, we can say that, It is an organization for trade opening. It operates a
system of trade rules. So, it's a place where member governments try to sort out the
trade problems, they face with each other.
The WTO's current Director-General is Roberto Azevedo, who leads a staff of over
600 people in Geneva, Switzerland. Presently, 164 countries are the member of the
organization. The three official languages of the WTO are English, French and
Spanish.
The WTO's main activities are:
Negotiating the reduction or elimination of obstacles to trade (import tariffs,

other barriers to trade) and agreeing on rules governing the conduct of
international trade (ex. anti dumping, subsidies, product standards, etc.)
Administering and monitoring the application of the WTO's agreed rules for
trade in goods, trade in services, and trade-related intellectual property
rights.
Monitoring and reviewing the trade policies of our members, as well as
ensuring transparency of regional and bilateral trade agreements.
Settling disputes among our members regarding the interpretation and
application of the agreements.
Building capacity of developing country government officials in international
trade matters.
Conducting economic research and collecting and disseminating trade data in
support of the WTO's other main activities.
WTO and its activities in India :-

India has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995 and a member of GATT since
8 July 1948. With the joining of this organization, India has achieved more power in
terms of trade with other countries. Here are the recent activities of India with
WTO.
India ratifies Trade Facilitation Agreement
Indias WTO ambassador Anjali Prasad handed over her countrys instrument of
acceptance to Director-General Roberto Azevedo on 22 April, 2016.
India launches safeguard investigation on unwrought aluminium
On 21 April 2016, India notified the WTOs Committee on Safeguards that it
initiated on 19 April 2016 a safeguard investigation on unwrought aluminium.
India appeals panel report in dispute with US over solar cells and solar modules
On 20 April 2016, India filed a notice of appeal in the dispute with the United
States concerning certain measures relating to solar cells and solar modules. India
appeals certain issues of law covered by the panel report and certain legal
interpretations developed by the panel in this dispute.
22) All About The World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization which

regulates international trade. It was established on 1st January, 1995 under the
Marrakesh Agreement, signed by 123 nations on 15 April 1994. It has replaced the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in the year
1948.
WTO is a forum for governments to negotiate trade agreements, which deals with
regulation of trade between participating countries by providing a framework for
negotiating trade agreements.
So basically, we can say that, It is an organization for trade opening. It operates a
system of trade rules. So, it's a place where member governments try to sort out the
trade problems, they face with each other.
The WTO's current Director-General is Roberto Azevedo, who leads a staff of over
600 people in Geneva, Switzerland. Presently, 164 countries are the member of the
organization. The three official languages of the WTO are English, French and
Spanish.
The WTO's main activities are:
Negotiating the reduction or elimination of obstacles to trade (import tariffs,

other barriers to trade) and agreeing on rules governing the conduct of
international trade (ex. anti dumping, subsidies, product standards, etc.)
Administering and monitoring the application of the WTO's agreed rules for
trade in goods, trade in services, and trade-related intellectual property
rights.
Monitoring and reviewing the trade policies of our members, as well as
ensuring transparency of regional and bilateral trade agreements.
Settling disputes among our members regarding the interpretation and
application of the agreements.
Building capacity of developing country government officials in international
trade matters.
Conducting economic research and collecting and disseminating trade data in
support of the WTO's other main activities.
WTO and its activities in India :-

India has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995 and a member of GATT since
8 July 1948. With the joining of this organization, India has achieved more power in
terms of trade with other countries. Here are the recent activities of India with
WTO.
India ratifies Trade Facilitation Agreement
Indias WTO ambassador Anjali Prasad handed over her countrys instrument of
acceptance to Director-General Roberto Azevedo on 22 April, 2016.
India launches safeguard investigation on unwrought aluminium
On 21 April 2016, India notified the WTOs Committee on Safeguards that it
initiated on 19 April 2016 a safeguard investigation on unwrought aluminium.
India appeals panel report in dispute with US over solar cells and solar modules
On 20 April 2016, India filed a notice of appeal in the dispute with the United
States concerning certain measures relating to solar cells and solar modules. India
appeals certain issues of law covered by the panel report and certain legal
interpretations developed by the panel in this dispute.
23) About The Food And Agriculture Organization
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is an associate institution of the UNO

and was established in 1945 at Quebec, Canada. FAO has 194 member countries,
along with the European Union (a member organization) and the Faroe Islands and
Tokelau, which are associate members. The current Director-General, Jose
Graziano da Silva, assumed his functions on 1 January 2012 and was re-elected for
a term which expires on 31 July 2019.
The FAO headquarter is situated in Rome, Italy. On November 13-17, 1996, FAO
summit was organized in Rome, Italy which was known as World Food Summit.
FAO has organized a number of important summits like Rio Summit 1996 where it
has been declared to eliminate hunger, poverty and malnutrition from the world.
The functions of FAO are as follows :
To bridge the gap between the demand and supply of agriculture products in
the world by makings a regular supply of food products.
To adopt measures of protecting stored food grains from harmful pests and
also to look after sick animals.
To provide high yielding variety seeds of every crop and also to improve
agriculture production and distribution.
To improve standard of living of the people in member countries.
To increase nutrition and enable inclusive and efficient agricultural and food
systems
FAOs decentralized network includes five regional offices, nine sub regional offices,
80 fully fledged country offices, three offices with technical officers and 38 countries
covered through multiple accreditation. As of 31 December 2015, FAO employed
1738 professional staff and 1510 support staff.
24) All About The International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency dealing

with labour issues, particularly international labour standards, social protection,
and work opportunities for all. The organization has 187 member states. The
organization has also received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969 for improving peace
among classes, pursuing decent work and justice for workers, and providing
technical assistance to other developing nations.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) was created by the 1919 Peace
Conference that followed World War I. Its original constitution, which formed part
of the Treaty of Versailles, established it on 11 April 1919 as an autonomous
organization associated with the League of Nations. The ILO is the only major
organization originally part of the League of Nations system that has existed from
the founding of the League in 1919 down to the present day.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is devoted to promoting social justice

and internationally recognized human and labour rights, pursuing its founding
mission that social justice is essential to universal and lasting peace. It also
registers complaints against entities that are violating international rules however,
it does not impose sanctions on governments.
Mission and impact of the ILO is promoting jobs and protecting people. The ILOs
aims to ensure that it serves the needs of working women and men by bringing
together governments, employers and workers to set labour standards, develop
policies and devise programmes. The ILO regularly examines the application of
standards in member states and points out areas where they could be better applied
assistance.
The organization meets annually held in Geneva. Apart from ILO meets, the
Conference is also a forum for discussion of key social and labour questions. The
Governing body is the executive council of the ILO. It meets three times a year in
Geneva. It takes decisions on ILO policy and establishes the programme and the
budget, which it then submits to the Conference for adoption.
With over 50 years of experience in development cooperation on all continents and

at all stages of development, the ILO now has over 600 programmes and projects in
more than 100 countries with the support of 120 development partners.
ILO Director-General : ILO Director-General Guy Ryder took office on 1 October

2012. The Office employs some 2,700 officials from over 150 nations at its
headquarters in Geneva, and in around 40 field offices around the world. Among
these officials, 900 work in technical cooperation programmes and projects.
ILO & India : -

ILO's current portfolio in India centers around child labour, preventing family
indebtedness employment, skills, integrated approaches for local socio-economic
development and livelihoods promotion, green jobs, value-addition into national
programmes, micro and small enterprises, social security, HIV/AIDS, migration,
industrial relations, dealing with the effects of globalization, productivity and
competitiveness, etc.
A Decent Work Technical Support Team (DWT) for South Asia has also stationed in
New Delhi, through its team of Specialists, provides technical support at policy and
operational levels to member States in the sub-region.
The issues are special focus while implementing the DWT under the three priority
areas are:
(1) Social dialogue and strengthening of partners
(2) Informal economy
(3) Gender equality.
25) All About The UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN). It was created in 1945 to
contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable
development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture,
communication and information.
The Organization has more than 50 field offices around the world. Its headquarters
are located at Place de Fontenoy in Paris, France. UNESCO works to create the
conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon
respect for commonly shared values.
UNESCO has 195 member states and nine associate members. It is governed by
the General Conference and the Executive Board. The Secretariat, headed by the
Director-General. Most of its field offices are "cluster" offices covering three or more
countries, national and regional offices also exist. It is also a member of the United
Nations Development Group.
Objectives and Functions : -

Its objectives and functions are as follows:
To provide a platform for dialogue and participation of members of the Forum

to promote and strengthen the processes of democratization, the rule of law
and respect for human rights in Africa and the Arab region.
To help strengthen Arab-African relations and promote cooperation at the
legislative, institutional, business, academic and civil society organizations
levels.
To strengthen the conditions necessary for peace in both regions, given that
conflict is incompatible with democracy and human rights and reduces all
possibility for their development.
To establish or strengthen existing research networks, undertake research
and studies, disseminate the findings, organize dialogues and debates and
formulate policy recommendations, strategies and plans of action in the fields
of democracy and human rights.
To promote and undertake advocacy and ensure the participation of the
Forum members to raise awareness and effective participation and
engagement of the citizens, political actors and other decision-makers in the
activities of the Forum and national processes,
To encourage policy-makers to promote the participation of women in
political, legislative, social, economic and cultural processes.
To promote youth participation in political, legislative, social, economic and
cultural processes.
To encourage and foster implementation of the Forums recommendations,
resolutions, strategies and plans of action through national ownership,
integration and/or adoption of national legislation, strategies, plans of action
and other national systems, and to monitor implementation.
To promote advocacy activities that support the implementation of regional
and international instruments and decisions in the fields of democracy and
human rights and that support existing mechanisms and national
institutions.
To establish a sound communication programme at the Forum to disseminate
all the Forums outputs and activities through different media and IT
channels.
To take any other measures conducive towards the promotion of democracy
and human rights in Africa and the Arab region.
UNESCO and India :-

In India, taking into account its five major programmes, the Mission is to focus on a
number of overarching objectives:
Attaining quality education for all and lifelong learning.
Mobilizing science knowledge and policy for sustainable development.
Addressing emerging social and ethical challenges.
Fostering cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and a culture of peace.
Building inclusive knowledge societies through information and communication.
India is currently a member of its UNESCOs Conventions, including those on

natural and cultural heritage, education, and intellectual property rights. Among
the more recent ratification include the Convention of Intangible Cultural Heritage
in 2003, the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of
Cultural Expressions in 2005 and the Convention Against Doping in Sports in 2005.
UNESCO has two Offices in India, the New Delhi cluster office for eleven
countries in South and Central Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran,
Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) and most
recently the MGIEP the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and
Sustainable Development, a Category 1 UNESCO Institute established and fully
supported and funded by the Government of India. This is of particular significance
since it is the first Category 1 Institute in the Asia-Pacific region and was approved
by the Executive Board and General Conference within an unprecedented time
frame of six months.
A Category II Regional Centre for Biotechnology has also been established. The
37th General Conference has approved a proposal for a second institute on Natural
World Heritage located in Dehraduns Wildlife Institute.
Extra Info :
Director-General, Irina Bokova (from Bulgaria)
26) All About The South Asian Association For Regional Co-
operation (SAARC)
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an economic and
geopolitical organisation of eight South Asian nations. Those member countries
include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan
and Sri Lanka. The organization made on the recommendations of Dhaka
Conference on December 7-8, 1985. Presently, the Secretariat is headed by Nepals
ex-foreign secretary Arjun Bahadur Thapa.
Its headquarter is based in Kathmandu. The conference of members is held every
year. For the last two months, SAARC has been frequently making headlines with
several new developments being proposed by its member nations. However, the
organization continues to face many challenges. Disputes between nuclear rivals
India and Pakistan have often clouded the union's potential and progress.
Background of SAARC :
It was back in 1980 when the concept of regional political and economic cooperation
in South Asia was first thought. The ex-president of Bangladesh, Ziaur Rahman
was the one who made a formal proposal on May 2, 1980 about SAARC. The first
SAARC summit was held in Dhaka and Afghanistan is the only new inclusion that
happened since SAARC was established.
SAARC compromises 3% of the world's area, 21% of the world's population and
9.12% of the global economy, as of 2015. The organization promotes development
economics and regional integration. It launched the South Asian Free Trade Area
(SAFTA) in 2006. Earlier to this SAPTA established in 1995 had paved the way to
SAFTA. The SAARC maintains permanent diplomatic relations at the UN as an
observer and has developed links with multilateral entities, including the EU.
The Objectives of SAARC are :
Promote the welfare of the peoples of South Asia and improve their quality of
life.
Accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the
region by providing all individuals the opportunity to live in dignity
and realize their full potential.
Contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one anothers
problems.
Promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social,
cultural, technical and scientific fields.
Strengthen co-operation with other developing countries and also among
themselves in international forms on matters of common interest.
Cooperate with international and regional organisation with similar aims
and purposes.
SAARC mainly operates through six apex bodies which ensure regional cooperation
on multiple levels:
1. SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI)

2. SAARCLAW (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in Law)
3. South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA)
4. South Asia Foundation (SAF)
5. South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC)
6. Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL)
27) Gold Monetization Scheme

Our Union Minister of Finance stated in Union Budget 2015-2016 that India has
approximately 20,000 tonnes of gold but that gold is neither traded nor monetised.
Have you ever thought that a growing economy like India would need such a huge
amount of gold and why not? If we are having such a huge reserve then why not
make it flow in the veins of our economy.
The very first question that arises in our mind is that what is this Gold
Monetization Scheme and what are its objectives?
Well, the answer lies in the name itself. Gold Monetization itself talk about
converting the gold into money if we talk as a layman. It is a scheme that facilitates
the depositors of gold to earn interest on their metal accounts. Once the gold is
deposited in metal account, it will start earning interest on the same. The objectives
of the Gold Monetization scheme are:
(i) To mobilize the gold held by households and institutions in the country.
(ii) To provide a fillip to the gems and jewellery sector in the country by making
gold available as raw material on loan from the banks.
(iii) To be able to reduce reliance on import of gold over time to meet the domestic
demand.
Opening of Gold Savings Account with the banks

When the customer produces the certificate of gold deposited at the Purity Testing
Centre, the bank will in turn open a Gold Savings Account for the customer and
credit the quantity of gold into the customers account. Simultaneously, the Purity
Verification Centre will also inform the bank about the deposit made.
Interest payment by banks:
The bank will commit to paying an interest to the customer which will be payable
after 30/60 days of opening of the Gold Savings Account. The amount of interest
rate to be given is proposed to be left to the banks to decide. Both principal and
interest to be paid to the depositors of gold, will be valued in gold. For example if a
customer deposits 100 gms of gold and gets 1 per cent
interest, then, on maturity he has a credit of 101 gms.
Redemption:
The customer will have the option of redemption either in cash or in gold, which will
have to be exercised in the beginning itself (that is, at the time of making the
deposit).
Tenure:
The tenure of the deposit will be minimum 1 year and with a roll out in multiples of
one year. Like a fixed deposit, breaking of lock-in period will be allowed.
Tax Exemption:
In the Gold Deposit Scheme (1999), the customers received exemption from Capital
Gains Tax, Wealth tax and Income Tax. Similar tax exemptions are likely to be
made available to the customers in the GMS after due examination.
Utilization of Deposited Gold

Under medium and long-term deposit
Auctioning
Replenishment of RBIs Gold Reserves
Coins
Lending to jewelers
Under short-term deposit
Coins
Lending to jewelers
Tax Exemption:
Tax exemptions, same as those available under GDS would be made available to
customers, in the revamped GDS, as applicable.
Gold Reserve Fund:
The difference between the current borrowing cost for the Government and the
interest rate paid by the Government under the medium/long term deposit will be
credited to the Gold Reserve Fund.
Revamped Gold Metal Loan Scheme
Gold Metal Loan Account: A Gold Metal Loan Account, denominated in grams of
gold, will be opened by the bank for jewelers. The gold mobilized through the
revamped GDS, under the short-term option, will be provided to jewelers on loan, on
the basis of the terms and conditions set-out by banks, under the guidance of RBI.
Delivery of gold to jewelers:
When a gold loan is sanctioned, the jewelers will receive physical delivery of gold
from refiners. The banks will, in turn, make the requisite entry in the jewelers Gold
Loan Account. Interest received by banks: The interest rate charged on the GML
will be decided by banks, with guidance from the RBI.
MoU between Banks, Refiners and Purity Testing Centres

1. The banks will enter into a tripartite MoU with refiners and purity testing
centres, that are selected by them to be their partners in the scheme.
2. The MoU will clearly lay down the details regarding payment of fee, services to be
provided, standards of service and the details of the arrangements between the
banks, refiners and purity testing centres.
28) Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations officially adopted a new set of global goals on Friday to combat
poverty, inequality and climate change over the next 15 years in the most
comprehensive international effort ever to tackle the world's ills. Pope Francis and
leaders from more than 150 nations gathered at the United Nations to approve the
17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that resulted from three years of
brainstorming and negotiations in nearly every corner of the world. The global goals
are designed to provide a roadmap for countries to finance and shape government
policies over the next 15 years with targets to be monitored and reviewed using a
set of global indicators to be agreed by March 2016.
The SDGs are a set of 17 goals and 169
targets aimed at resolving global social, economic and environmental problems. To
be met over the next 15 years, beginning on Jan. 1, 2016, the SD SDGs
Gs replace the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were adopted in 2000 and expire
this year. Implementation of the new goals, requiring trillions of dollars in
investment, will be monitored and reviewed using a set of global indicators to be
agreed by March 2016.
Governments came up with the idea at the Rio+20 conference on sustainable

development in Brazil 2012. A working group with representatives of 70 nations
drafted a proposed set of goals. At the same time, the United Nations ran public
consultations
tations around the world and an online survey asking people about their
priorities for the goals. This summer governments negotiated a final version of the
SDGs that are due to be adopted by 193 countries at a Sept. 25
25-27
27 summit at the
United Nations in New w York.
If we meet the SDGs, how will the world improve?
The 17 goals aim to achieve these wider aims by 2030: -

end poverty and hunger everywhere - combat inequalities within and between
countries - build peaceful, just and inclusive societies - protectt human rights, and
promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls - ensure lasting
protection of the planet and its natural resources - create conditions for sustainable,
inclusive and sustained economic growth, shared prosperity and decent
decen work for all.
The United Nations says the SDGs go much further than the previous goals,
because they address the root causes of poverty and pledge to leave no one behind,
including vulnerable groups. They also emphasise the need to tackle climate change
urgently and protect the environment through a shift to sustainable consumption
and production, and wiser management of natural resources. The SDGs are
intended to be universal, applying to all countries rather than just the developing
world. They recognise the key role of the private sector in pursuing and financing
sustainable development, in partnership with governments and civil society.
29) THE MARGINAL COST OF FUNDS-BASED LENDING RATE (MCLR), THE

NEW WAY OF DECIDING THE INTEREST RATE
The Reserve Bank of India announced that banks, with effect from April 1, will
move to the marginal cost of funds-based lending approach for determining their
respective base rates. Base rate is the minimum lending rate below which banks are
not allowed to lend.
All rupee loans sanctioned and credit limits renewed with effect from April 1 will be
priced with reference to the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR).
The marginal cost of funds will comprise marginal cost of borrowings (constituting
deposits core portion of current and savings deposits; fixed and floating rate term
deposits; foreign and currency deposits and borrowings short-term and long-term
rupee borrowings and foreign currency borrowings) and return on net worth.
Apart from helping improve the transmission of policy rates into lending rates of
banks, these measures are expected to improve transparency in the methodology
followed by banks for determining interest rates on advances.
Below are the key Highlights
1. All rupee loans sanctioned and credit limits renewed w.e.f. April 1, 2016 will be
priced with reference to the Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR)
which will be the internal benchmark for such purposes.
2. The MCLR will be a tenor linked internal benchmark.
3. Actual lending rates will be determined by adding the components of spread to
the MCLR.
4. Banks will review and publish their MCLR of different maturities every month
on a pre-announced date.
5. Banks may specify interest reset dates on their floating rate loans. They will have
the option to offer loans with reset dates linked either to the date of sanction of the
loan/credit limits or to the date of review of MCLR.
6. The periodicity of reset shall be one year or lower.
7. The MCLR prevailing on the day the loan is sanctioned will be applicable till the
next reset date, irrespective of the changes in the benchmark during the interim
period.
8. Existing loans and credit limits linked to the base rate may continue till
repayment or renewal, as the case may be. Existing borrowers will also have the
option to move to the Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) linked
loan at mutually acceptable terms.
30) LABOUR'S DAY!
Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, especially the eight-hour
day movement, which urged eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and
eight hours for rest. Labour Day is an annual holiday to mark the celebration of the
economic and social achievements of workers. It generally sees organised street
demonstrations and marches by labourers and their unions, on this day.
The Labour Day public holiday is fixed by the state and territory governments, and
so it varies considerably.
In India, Labour Day is celebrated on May 1 every year. It is an official public

holiday. The first May Day celebration in India took place in Madras by the Labour
Kisan Party of Hindustan on May 1, 1923
May 1 is a national holiday in more than 80 countries including Bolivia, India,

Chile, Peru, Mexico, Uruguay, Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Israel, Philippines,
Nepal and Pakistan. It is also celebrated unofficially in various other countries.
In the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and South Australia, it is
celebrated on the first Monday in October. In Canada, Labour Day is celebrated on
the first Monday in September.Labour Day is being celebrated May 1 around the
world and Google is marking the holiday with a Google Doodle.
The International Labour Day was instituted in the early 1880s by labourers who
demanded better working conditions. Labour Day is also referred to as
International Workers Day or May Day.
The day was chosen to honour the people who died during a demonstration in
Chicago in 1886 when workers were striking for an eight-hour working day. A bomb
was thrown at the police, leading them to fire on the protesters. Four demonstrators
and seven policemen died in the violence.
Heres what you need to know:
1. The Holiday Celebrates the Achievements of Workers

The holiday celebrates the achievements of workers around the world. It is
celebrated on May 1 in most countries around the world.
2. It Is Closely Linked to Labour Unions & Was First Celebrated in the 1880s
The holiday was first celebrated in the 1880s, according to a history of Labour Day
posted on the Industrial Workers of the World website.
It is on May 1 to commemorate the May 1886 Haymarket Affair, which occurred in

Chicago.
From May 1st to May 3rd 1886, 250,000 Chicago-area workers hit the streets to
protest long working hours and call for factories to limit days to 8 hours. On May 3,
police fired on the peaceful crowd and killed two workers. The rally was held the
next day to protest police brutality. At about 10:30 a.m., a police line moved toward
the rally and someone threw a bomb at the police, killing one and wounding six
others. Police then opened fire and killed four workers, injuring several others.
3. The Holiday Is Celebrated With Parades & Rallies
Labour Day has historically been a day for parades, rallies and other celebrations of
workers.
4. Unions & Other Labour Groups Plan to Use the Holiday to Fight For Workers
Rights
Many labour groups plan to rally on May 1 to call for worker rights, including better
wages and conditions for workers.
Activists from the Indian Federation of Trade Unions, Communist trade union
workers and factory workers hold placards during a protest against state and
central government policies that they say negatively impact workers on
International Labour Day in New Delhi on May 1, 2014.
To commemorate the day, BankersAdda has compiled a top ten list of powerful
quotes that speak about the value and power of hard work.
I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of
it. Thomas Jefferson
A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life
depend on the labours of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert
myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still
receiving. Albert Einstein
A man is not paid for having a head and hands, but for using them. Elbert
Hubbard
Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the

work. Mark Twain
Before the reward there must be labour. You plant before you harvest. You
sow in tears before you reap joy. Ralph Ransom
All labour that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be
undertaken with painstaking excellence. Martin Luther King Jr
Nobody can think straight who does not work. Idleness wraps the
mind. Henry Ford
There is no substitute for hard work. Thomas Edison
God sells us all things at the price of labour. Leonardo da Vinci
The end of labour is to gain leisure. Aristotle
31) Degrading Environment of Progressing World

UN has assigned a day for this, but we believe it should be our responsibility
to make it clean. We should be generous enough not only for one day, but for the
lifetime so that our future generation can live a healthier life. What is the need that
we wait for a court's order, or lawmaker to force it on us. It is really something that
we need to introspect. Hope you all like the Article.
You all might have came across this term World Environment Day in recent
days. This is because 5th June is designated as world environment day by UN and it
is celebrated every year. World Environment Day (WED) is the United Nations
principal vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the
environment. Over the years it has grown to be a broad, global platform for public
outreach that is widely celebrated by stakeholders in over 100 countries. It also
serves as the peoples day for doing something positive for the environment,
galvanizing individual actions into a collective power that generates an exponential
positive impact on the planet.
The WED theme this year is "Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume
with Care." The well-being of humanity, the environment, and the functioning of
the economy, ultimately depend upon the responsible management of the planets
natural resources. And yet, evidence is building that people are consuming far more
natural resources than what the planet can sustainably provide.
Many of the Earths ecosystems are nearing critical tipping points of
depletion or irreversible change, pushed by high population growth and economic
development. By 2050, if current consumption and production patterns remain the
same and with a rising population expected to reach 9.6 billion, we will need three
planets to sustain our ways of living and consumption.
Consuming with care means living within planetary boundaries to ensure a
healthy future where our dreams can be realized. Human prosperity need not cost
the earth. Living sustainably is about doing more and better with less. It is about
knowing that rising rates of natural resource use and the environmental impacts
that occur are not a necessary by-product of economic growth.
"Although individual decisions may seem small in the face of global threats and
trends, when billions of people join forces in common purpose, we can make a
tremendous difference."
-UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon
Through decades of WED celebrations, hundreds of thousands of people from

countries all over the world and from all sectors of society have participated in
individual and organized environmental action. WED 2014 received a total of 6,437
pledges and over 3,000 activities were registered online, resulting in a total of about
9,700 which is triple to the previous two years.
Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care.
The well-being of humanity, the environment, and the functioning of the economy,
ultimately depend upon the responsible management of the planets natural
resources. Evidence is building that people are consuming far more natural
resources than what the planet can sustainably provide.
Many of the Earths ecosystems are nearing critical tipping points of
depletion or irreversible change, pushed by high population growth and economic
development. By 2050, if current consumption and production patterns remain the
same and with a rising population expected to reach 9.6 billion, we will need three
planets to sustain our ways of living and consumption.
"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's
greed."
Mahatma Gandhi
The WED theme this year is therefore "Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet.
Consume with Care." Living within planetary boundaries is the most promising
strategy for ensuring a healthy future. Human prosperity need not cost the earth.
Living sustainably is about doing more and better with less. It is about knowing
that rising rates of natural resource use and the environmental impacts that occur
are not a necessary by-product of economic growth.
"Harmony with land is like harmony with a friend; you cannot cherish his right
hand and chop off his left."
Aldo Leopold
Water
Well, you just might. It sounds so simple. H20 - two parts hydrogen and one part
oxygen. This substance also known as water, is one of the most essential elements
to health.Even though households are relatively low consumers of water, population
growth and expanded water use have outweighed the effect of water saving
technology and behavior.
Less than 3% of the worlds water is fresh (drinkable), of which 2.5% is frozen
in the Antarctica, Arctic and glaciers. Humanity must therefore rely on 0.5%
for all of mans ecosystems and fresh water needs.
Man is polluting water faster than nature can recycle and purify water in
rivers and lakes.
More than 1 billion people still do not have access to fresh water.
Excessive use of water contributes to the global water stress.
Water is free from nature but the infrastructure needed to deliver it is
expensive.
Energy
Despite technological advances that have promoted energy efficiency gains, energy
use in OECD countries will continue to grow another 35% by 2020. Commercial and
residential energy use is the second most rapidly growing area of global energy use
after transport.
In 2002 the motor vehicle stock in OECD countries was 550 million vehicles (75% of
which were personal cars). A 32% increase in vehicle ownership is expected by 2020.
At the same time, motor vehicle kilometres are projected to increase by 40% and
global air travel is projected to triple in the same period.
We can shift our consumption patterns towards goods and services with lower
energy and material intensity without compromising quality of life.
Households consume 29% of global energy and consequently contribute to
21% of resultant CO2 emissions.The cost of renewable energy is increasingly
competitive with that derived from fossil fuels. One-fifth of the worlds final
energy consumption in 2013 was from renewables.
Globally, energy consumption grew most quickly in the transport and service
sectors, driven by rising passenger travel and freight transport, and a rapid
expansion in the service economy.
Food
While substantial environmental impacts from food occur in the production phase
(agriculture, food processing), households influence these impacts through their
dietary choices and habits. This consequently affects the environment through food-
related energy consumption and waste generation.
1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted every year while almost 1 billion people go
undernourished and another 1 billion hungry.
Overconsumption of food is detrimental to our health and the environment.
1.5 billion people globally are overweight or obese.
Land degradation, declining soil fertility, unsustainable water use,
overfishing and marine environment degradation are all lessening the ability
of the natural resource base to supply food.
The food sector accounts for around 30% of the worlds total energy
consumption and accounts for around 22% of total Greenhouse Gas
emissions.
Increased consumption adversely affects food security.
Increase in food prices.
Upsurge in production methods that use more resource-intensive food
products.
Resource-intensive foods deplete the agro-ecological resource base, affecting
its ability to produce plentiful food.
-Source, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Official Website
32) Foreign market entry modes

A mode of entry into an international market is the channel which your
organization employs to gain entry to a new international market. There are
different modes of entry into international markets such as the Internet,
Exporting, Licensing, International Agents, International Distributors, Strategic
Alliances, Joint Ventures, Overseas Manufacture and International Sales
Subsidiaries.There are two major types of entry modes: equity and non-equity
modes. The non-equity modes category includes export and contractual
agreements.The equity modes category includes: joint venture and wholly owned
subsidiaries.
Licensing
Licensing includes franchising, Turnkey contracts and contract
manufacturing.Licensing is where your own organization charges a fee and/or
royalty for the use of its technology, brand and/or expertise.
Franchising involves the organization (franchiser) providing branding, concepts,
expertise, and infact most facets that are needed to operate in an overseas market,
to the franchisee. Management tends to be controlled by the franchiser. Examples
include Dominos Pizza, Coffee Republic and McDonalds Restaurants.
Turnkey contracts are major strategies to build large plants. They often include a
the training and development of key employees where skills are sparse for
example, Toyotas car plant in Adapazari, Turkey. You would not own the plant
once it is handed over.
International Agents and International Distributors
Agents are often an early step into international marketing. Put simply, agents are
individuals or organizations that are contracted to your business, and market on
your behalf in a particular country. They rarely take ownership of products, and
more commonly take a commission on goods sold. Agents usually represent more
than one organization. Agents are a low-cost, but low-control option. If you intend to
globalize, make sure that your contract allows you to regain direct control of
product. Of course you need to set targets since you never know the level of
commitment of your agent. Agents might also represent your competitors so
beware conflicts of interest. They tend to be expensive to recruit, retain and train.
Distributors are similar to agents, with the main difference that distributors take
ownership of the goods. Therefore they have an incentive to market products and to
make a profit from them. Otherwise pros and cons are similar to those of
international agents.
Strategic Alliances (SA)

Strategic alliances is a term that describes a whole series of different relationships
between companies that market internationally. Sometimes the relationships are
between competitors. There are many examples including:
Shared manufacturing e.g. Toyota Ayago is also marketed as a Citroen and a
Peugeot.
Research and Development (R&D) arrangements.
Distribution alliances e.g. iPhone was initially marketed by O2 in the United
Kingdom.
Marketing agreements.
Essentially, Strategic Alliances are non-equity based agreements i.e. companies
remain independent and separate.
Joint Ventures (JV)

Joint Ventures tend to be equity-based i.e. a new company is set up with parties
owning a proportion of the new business. There are many reasons why companies
set up Joint Ventures to assist them to enter a new international market:Access to
technology, core competences or management skills. For example, Hondas
relationship with Rover in the 1980s.To gain entry to a foreign market. For
example, any business wishing to enter China needs to source local Chinese
partners.Access to distribution channels, manufacturing and R&D are most
common forms of Joint Venture.
Overseas Manufacture or International Sales Subsidiary

A business may decide that none of the other options are as viable as actually
owning an overseas manufacturing plant i.e. the organization invests in plant,
machinery and labor in the overseas market. This is also known as Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI). This can be a new-build, or the company might acquire a current
business that has suitable plant etc. Of course you could assemble products in the
new plant, and simply export components from the home market (or another
country). The key benefit is that your business becomes localized you manufacture
for customers in the market in which you are trading. You also will gain local
market knowledge and be able to adapt products and services to the needs of local
consumers. The downside is that you take on the risk associated with the local
domestic market. An International Sales Subsidiary would be similar, reducing the
element of risk, and have the same key benefit of course. However, it acts more like
a distributor that is owned by your own company.
33) Revamping indian banking is the need of the hour
Indian banking system has been in operation successfully for more than 200 yrs. But today the
scenario has changed with most of the public sector banks gasping for breath. Corruption and
political intervention , uncollateralised loans and lack of competition has stagnated growth.
Hence it is the need of the hour for more stable but radical reforms.
There is need for reduction in CRR and SLR , deregulation of interest rates and increased
competition among banks so that they may work more efficiently for customer satisfaction . In
addition, Meticulously sketched Prudential norms should be put in place with strengthened
supervision under improved and healthy competition.This will help in introduction of many
private banks which will result in increased inflow of technology and investment in banking
sector in India.
Bad loans and stressed assets are prevalent problems today. Basel norms should be implemented
strictly to contain CAR and RCAR. Bankruptcy code should be followed so that stressed assets
do not get the time to augment. Parallely, special departments should be assigned to ensure
proper working of these procedures .Tribunals should be setup for accelerated decisions on
disputes,bankruptancy and insolvency. Asset reconstruction companies should be engaged to
reduce the stressed assets by either converting them into working companies or get them
absolved.
There are also so many loss making banks which should be merged with the single enormous
state bank , at the same time it should be ensured that ample number of state owned banks still
run to avoid repetition of Penn Square Bank failure or the Continental Illinois catastrophe.
Moreover, preference should be given to 200+ regional and rural banks and 350+ co-operative
banks to ensure deeper penetration and 100% financial inclusion.
Finally, efforts are to be made to make people aware about the procedures and benefits of
banking system. Educational drives in rural areas and proper internet facilities will help improve
financial inclusion. Moreover, public schemes should be properly conveyed to all.
The Indian banking system is under transformation, the current process must be viewed as an
opportunity to convert Indian banking into a sound, strong, and vibrant system.
34) FARMER'S SUICIDES - A Sign Of Impending Disaster

Farmers suicide is a matter of great concern in an agrarian country like India where nearly 45%
of people are farmers,60% of people are engaged in agricultural related activities and nearly 70%
of population is rural. Over the years this problem has became widespread and is seen as
manifestation of persisting agrarian crisis in the country. During 1995-2010,nearly 3lakhs
farmers committed suicides which counts to a staggering figure of 1 farmer committing suicide
every 30 minutes. This is really disheartening and worrisome for Indian society and economy.
What is more disheartening is the fact that farmers suicide is not a new phenomenon in India.
India during colonial rule had also suffered with scourge of famers suicide amidst farm distress,
repressive and exploitative practices prevailing at that time, for example-usury moneylending
activities, high debt burdens due to high taxes etc. But still no learning cues have been taken and
policies fall short of arranging appropriate mechanism and framework to deal with this disastrous
trend.
Many reasons are often cited by researchers, sociologists and agriculturalists for the impending
crisis in farm sector resulting in farmers suicide. From sociological point of view low levels of
literacy, big family norms, dowry related concerns, stress and frustration resulting from family
responsibilities are main causative factors in triggering suicidal course of action by farmers.
Recently these problems are exacerbated by farmers declining income and farm productivity.
Credit related issues points to the absence or low accessibility to formal credit channels due to
low levels of financial inclusion in the country. Infrastructural bottlenecks like inappropriate
warehousing, cold storages, kutcha roads etc also create problems for farmers to store and market
their farm produce. Distorted market mechanisms with middlemen at every stage puts farmers at
disadvantaged position resulting in low prices for their yields. Inappropriate govt policies and
flawed interventions also play their part in instigating farmer to go for suicide .Further climate
change in the form of low or high rainfall, cyclones, unseasonal hailstorms, truant monsoon etc
emboldens their suicidal tendencies.
As the disastrous trend looms, govt must rise to the problem and take pro-active, pragmatic and
sustainable steps in order to deal with the scourge of farmer suicides. Recent initiative of
National agri market ,a unified electronic portal for buying and selling of agri products in order
to remove market distortions is a laudable step. Further, mechanism of social safety nets in the
form PM Fasal Bima Yojana, under which farmers are insured for crop failures at low premiums
is a step in right direction. Financial inclusion furtherance to incentivize formal channels of
credits would be highly responsive as suggested by experts.
Farmers who had been described as salt of the earth by Gandhiji. Securing their life should be
the duty of everyone as they give us the food to eat, spices that adds flavor in our lives, fruits that
we relish. Without farmers we cant imagine for food security. What is more important than food
security is the farmers security and their prosperity in order to have peaceful and prosperous
country.
35) REPORT ON ALCOHOL BAN IN BIHAR

Recent decision of the newly elected govt of Bihar to ban alcohol consumption, manufacturing
and sale is a laudable step. With this it becomes 4th state after Gujarat, Manipur, Nagaland to
call for complete ban of alcohol. What is most significant is the lion hearted political will of the
govt to call for complete ban from 1st April 2016 by amending Bihar excise act. The decision
was announced just couple of days after election results and it provided time to go for the
change.
The decision is widely cheered by women across Bihar as this was long standing demand of
women as they were bearing the ill consequences of this social malaise from centuries. The
decision in fact is the manifestation of people will especially women and have wide spread
ramifications. From social dimension, this is a very significant step to check social problems of
domestic violence, alcoholism, substance abuse, rape, sexual assault etc. Economically, the
decision in short to medium term will lead to loss of revenue for the govt that was collected form
alcohol sale and production. However, the govt has exuded confidence that necessary steps will
be taken to recoup the losses. On individual basis, alcoholics and drinkers needs to be cautious as
disorders, anxiety, stress are common symptoms during abstinence. However, they need to
persist and take care of psychologists, trauma centres, counselors etc in order to maintain healthy
lifestyle and well being.
The step also has came under criticism of opposition that the step is nothing but political
gimmick given the UP assembly elections due for the next year. However, the step is really
laudable and these arguments can be easily rebuffed given the positive externality that it
generates.
With this ban the govt duty has not stopped, rather it must keep a constant vigil over its
implementation through strict surveillance by enforcement agencies-Police, Narcotics dept, Inter
state sales and customs officers etc. Suitable rehabilitation mechanism for de addiction and
promoting teetotalers should be arranged and any relapse must be prevented.
36) IS DEVELOPMENT POSSIBLE AT COST OF ENVIRONMENT?
Environment Ministry alias Road Block Ministry
The tussle between development and environment is not a new phenomenon. With increased
awareness at international, national and local levels, it became even bitter. The recent steps by
the Environment Ministry of Indian Government terming some species as vermin drew flak
from all corners bringing to fore the basic question, Is Development Possible At Cost of
Environment?
Experts are divided into two groups over this issue. Experts who support development
over environment base their arguments mainly on blame game. They argue that the hypocritical
rich countries destroyed and are destroying environment and the use the same environment to
stop developing countries in fear of losing markets. They also say that it is not possible to
provide basic needs to ever increasing population(10bn by 2100), a priority according to them,
without compromising on environment. Technological developments, they say, will keep
humans safe from all future consequences.
On the other hand experts who support environment are divided into two. First, those who
believe in Environmental Determinism propose zero damage to environment even at cost of
human life. Second are set of scientists who propose neo determinism or stop and go
determinism.
The neo-determinists propose a fine balance between environment and development. There are
many evidences-historical and scientific to prove their point. On global scale economic impact of
global warming is costing the world more than $1.2 trillion a year, wiping 1.6% annually from
global GDP. China is a classic example which went back from Green GDP within one year as
GDP growth fell sharply.
At micro level, against the claim of development prophets, poverty and environmental damage
are often linked. Also, the ill effects of environmental degradation on general populace are being
felt by human beings today in erratic rainfall, raising sea levels, increased extreme events, etc.
The importance of biodiversity can be gauged from the fact that without bees, at least 19 major
food crops would suffer and nearly 50% of the food in most grocery stores would be non-
existent. Many developing countries depend on agriculture and tourism. Destruction of coral
reefs and pristine forests has adverse effects on these economies.
Sustainable agricultural practices like crop rotation and effective seeding practices can help to
promote high yields while protecting the integrity of the soil as it produces food for larger
amounts of people.
Resource-poor economies will gain access to free and accessible energy through renewable
while also having the opportunity to train workers for jobs that won't be displaced by the basic
reality of finite resources.
A recent study expects oceans to rise between 0.8 and 2 meters by 2100, enough to swamp many
of the cities along the U.S. East Coast. This leads to more climate refugees. Riots and divisions
can happen on refugee issue like Brexit and communal conflicts in Burma, Assam in India.
The fact that green revolution has led to contamination of underground water and sterilizing of
soils, air conditioners and refrigerators leading to more pollution shows that technology cannot
be a panacea to all ills.
Thus, what at present seen as development and progress is actually progress towards destruction.
There is a urgent need for policy makers to discard the view that environment is a road block for
development. They should see distress signals as a natures speed breaker to protect the human
race from impending disasters.
FINANCE RELATED
37) SBI Merger : All about the creating of Banking Giant

Nowadays, a lot of news is being flashed on various newspapers about proposed merging of
smaller NPA ridden public sector banks with their larger counterpart. But the biggest move took
place only when the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave it's approval
to the takeover of several subsidiaries by the State Bank of India as proposed by SBI earlier that
it wants to take over five units that had been running at arms-lengths, and also the state-run
Bharatiya Mahila Bank. This is going to be the first move to consolidate the country's struggling
PSBs. Recently Gyan Sangam was also held in Gurugram where the center of discussion was
purely based on the merging of public sector banks with each other.
So the question arises, Why the merger is needed? Why does the government want to merge
various PSB with each other or consolidate the number?
So here are the reasons for merger :
As in the recent top 1000 banks of the world, no Indian bank could find a place in top 50
even after having 7th largest GDP and with 3rd largest purchasing power parity(PPP).
SBI that consists 18% of the total banking money and 6-7% its associate's banks, if gets
merged can be in the top 50 list of the world as the merged entity will create a banking
giant, which can compete with the largest in the world with an asset base of almost Rs 37
lakh crore, with 22,500 branches and 58,000 ATMs as on December 2015. SBI alone has
approximately 16,500 branches, including 198 foreign offices spread across 36 countries
in the world.
As per SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya also, the merger of SBI and its associate
banks is a win-win for both (SBI & SBI Associates). While the network of SBI would
stand to increase, its reach would multiply. One can expect efficiencies to be created from
the rationalisation of branches, common treasury pooling and proper deployment of a
large skilled resource base. With this merger, some visibility at the global level is likely
to increase.
Adoption and development of technologies in associate banks will be faster.
So for the same Government has created a panel to look after the merging of Public Sector
Banks. The panel will closely work with the Banks Board Bureau(BBB) to identify the right
matches for consolidation. The proposed merger is likely to be completed much before the end of
the current financial year. As the SBI chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya expects to have a
combined balance sheet for the financial year ending 2016-17.
Benefits & Losses of Merger :
From banking facility point of view, SBI is the more technically advanced compared to
it's associate banks. It takes 2-3 years to adopt the same technology for the associate
banks that SBI is using now.
Another thing is that it is not going to impact customers. Customers will be getting better
facilities or world class facilities.
Some associate banks which are under staffed will get exponential benefit out of it.
It will also help in financial inclusion. As now banks would be able to open more
branches at the rural places, it will help people to get banking facilities easily as all
associate banks will be on the same level and providing the same facilities.
Merging 27 banks not just SBI and associates into 4-5 big banks will boost the banking
sector. May help in reducing the bad loans as well.
The All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) wants the five associate entities to be
merged into a separate, single large bank, instead of all of them being merged individually with
SBI. AIBEA has even called for a strike on May 20, opposing the merger. Analysts also fear the
move will lead to higher operating costs in the near-term for SBI.
AIBEA's points related to this merger:
If the Government wants to keep the less number of banks, why did it issue licenses to
companies to set up payments and small finance banks as recently new license had been
given to various private players to open the payment bank?
If the main problem which is being faced by public sector banks is the rising of non-
performing assets then how will this get resolved by merging banks?
How does government's financial Inclusion program will be successful after

consolidating the Banks?
What about the Identity of the Merging bank, whether new name will be given after
merging or the largest entity will have their own name?
What about the career path and growth of the employees of merging entities ?
Possible effects of merger on SBI's recruitment process in Future:

Currently, vacancies in SBI and SBI associates are filled through separate recruitment. But after
the merger, the SBI associates will no longer exist. So at this point of time, we can't predict the
number of vacancies. It may can more or less. But, whoever will get recruited will get the
opportunity to work in the banking behemoth 'State Bank of India In the last, one thing is clear
that Indian banking is stepping toward a new era of Banking World.
38) All About The World Bank Group
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and its associate institutions as
a group are known as the World Bank. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C and presently 189
countries are the member of this organization. So basically we can say that the World Bank is an
international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital
programs.
The World Bank was established in December 1945 with the IMF on the basis of the
recommendation of the Bretton Wood Conference. That is the reason why IMF and World Bank
are called 'Bretton Wood Twins'. The World Bank has 30 founder members who attained
membership by December, 1945. India is also among the founder members.
The basic difference between World Bank and IMF is - that World Bank provided long term
loans for promoting balanced economic development, while IMF provides short term loans to
member countries for eliminating BOP (Balance of payments) disequilibrium. Both of
these institution are complementary to each other.The World bank aims to reduce poverty in
middle income and credit worthy poorer countries but promoting sustainable development
through loans, guarantees, risk management products and analytical and advisory services.
The World Bank is a component of the World Bank Group, which is part of the United Nations
system. India is a member of 4 constituents of the World Bank group - IBRD (International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development), IDA (International Development Association), IFC
(International Finance Corporation) and MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency) but
not of its 5th institute ICSID ( International centre for the settlement of investment disputes).
The parts of the World Bank Group :

The IBRD, the original arm of the WB, offers assistance to middle income and poor but credit
worthy countries and it also works as an umbrella for more specialized bodies under the World
Bank.
The IDA offers loans to the world's poorest countries. These loans come in the form of "credits,"
and are essentially interest-free. They offer a 10-year grace period and hold a maturity of 35
years to 40 years.
The IFC works to promote private sector investments by both foreign and local investors. It
provides advice to investors and businesses and it offers normalized financial market information
through its publications, which can be used to compare across markets. The IFC also acts as
an investor in capital markets and will help governments privatize inefficient public enterprises.
The MIGA supports direct foreign investment into a country by offering security against the
investment in the event of political turmoil. These guarantees come in the form of political risk
insurance, meaning that MIGA offers insurance against the political risk that an investment in a
developing country may bear.
The ICSID facilitates and works towards a settlement in the event of a dispute between a foreign
investor and a local country.
World Bank & India :

India has been borrowing from the World Bank through IBRD and IDA for various development
projects in the areas of poverty reduction, infrastructure, rural development etc. IDA funds
mostly used in Social sector projects. IBRD funds are relatively costlier but cheaper
than commercial external borrowings. The GOI utilized IBRD loans primarily for infrastructure
projects.
Recent activity India related to World Bank :
Government of India and World Bank Sign US$1.5 Billion Agreement to Support Indias
Universal Sanitation Initiative.
World Bank will work with Indian Railways for the Railway Development Fund.
India signs financing agreement with World Bank for US$ 3OO million.
India has signed $35 million loan agreement with the World Bank for MP project.
39) All About The International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF)is an international organization headquartered in

Washington, D.C. It was established along with the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (also known as World Bank), at the conference of 44 nations held at Bretton
Woods, USA in July 1944 to build a framework for economic cooperation and also to avoid a
repetition of the competitive devaluations that had contributed to the Great Depression of the
1930s. It came into formal existence in 1945 with 29 member countries and the goal of
reconstructing the international payment system.
The organization is working on to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability,
facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth and
reduce poverty around the world.
IMF works on quota system, Countries contribute funds to a pool through a quota system from
which countries experiencing balance of payments difficulties can borrow money. IMF is
controlled and managed by a Board of Governors. Currently there are 24 Directors and each
representing a single country or a group of countries. The transactions of IMF are expressed in
Special Drawing Right (SDR) which is also known as Paper Gold. The IMF's financial year is
form May 1 to April 30.
India and IMF :
India is the founder member of the IMF and also among the top 10 members of IMF, along with
the U.S, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, China and Russia. IMF has played
an important role in Indian economy. IMF has provided economic assistance from time to time to
India and has also provided appropriate consultancy in determination of various policies in the
country. India was among the first five nations having the highest quota with IMF and due to this
status India was allotted a permanent place in Executive Board of Directors.
Recent news related to IMF :-
Christine Lagarde appointed as MD of IMF for second term.

Nauru becomes 189th member of IMF.
IMF, WB, UN And OECD to form a new group to stop Tax Erosion.
IMF and India set up regional training and technical assistance center in New Delhi.
India to host the IMF conference on Asia's economic performance.
Voting Rights of India in IMF increased.
India To Notch Up To 7.5 % Growth In 201617 : IMF.
Sunil Sabharwal re appointed as alternate Executive Director at IMF.
40) All About Panama Papers
The Panama Papers are an unprecedented leak of 11.5 million files from the database of
the worlds 4th biggest offshore law firm, Mossack Fonseca. The records were obtained from an
anonymous source by the German newspaper Sddeutsche Zeitung, which shared them with the
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) put out an in-depth, investigated and
analysed report that blows the lid off tax evasion and secret offshore dealings of the powerful,
rich and famous across the globe in 21 offshore jurisdictions such as Nevada, Niue, Samoa,
British Anguilla, Hong Kong, Tortola, Seychelles and the British Virgin Islands. The 12 current
and former heads of state from Iceland, Ukraine, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Argentina
also figure on the list. It also provides data on some 214,000 companies.
RBI norms:
As per RBI, no Indian citizen could float an overseas entity before 2003 in 2004, for the first
time individuals were allowed to remit funds of up to $25,000 a year under the Liberalised
Remittance Scheme, and this limit stands at $250,000 a year now.
Globaly famous persons in the list:
Mauricio Macri, President, Argentina, Sergei Roldugin,Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, Prime
Minister Iceland, Salman bin Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud, King of Saudi
Arabia, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates
and emir of Abu Dhabi one of the wealthiest man in the world, Pavlo Lazarenko, former PM of
Ukraine, one of the world's 10 most corrupt politicians by Transparency International, Petro
Poroshenko, President of Ukraine and billionaire chocolate king
Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan, Kushal Pal Singh, DLF owner and 9 members of
his family, Sameer Gehlaut, Chairman & Founder, Indiabulls Group, Vinod Adani, industrialist
Gautam Adanis elder brother, Shishir K Bajoria promoter of SK Bajoria Group and politician
from West Bengal, Anurag Kejriwal, former chief of the Delhi unit of Loksatta Party, Onkar
Kanwar, chairman of Apollo Group,Anil Vasudeva Salgaocar , Goa-based mining baron and
former MLA, Mohan Lal Lohia, chairman emeritus, Indo Rama Synthetics, Chairman Indo
Rama Holdings Ltd, (late) Indira Sivasailam, wife of Anantharamakrishnan Sivasailam,
chairman of Amalgamations Group. Her daughter, Mallika Srinivasan chairman and CEO of
Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd,Harish Salve, former Solicitor General of India (1999-2002),
Tabasum and Abdul Rashid Mir, Founder and CEO, Cottage Industries Exposition, Zavaray
Poonawalla, head, managing committee, Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) and brother
of Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, Rajendra Patil owns medical and engineering colleges in Davangere.
He is the son-in-law of Congressman and Karnataka horticulture minister Shamanur
Shivashankarapppa, Jehangir Soli Sorabjee, honorary consultant physician, at Bombay Hospital.
He is the son of former attorney general Soli Sorabjee,Iqbal Mirchi, underworld don, now dead
About Mossack Fonseca:

Mossack Fonseca, founded in 1977 by German-born Jurgen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca,
specializes in commercial law, trust services, investor advisory and international structures. The
law firms website claims it is one of the largest firms in the corporate services industry and has
over 40 offices globally. It also offers intellectual property protection and maritime law
services. Mossack Fonesca is the worlds fourth biggest offshore law firm.
41) Gyan Sangam: 2nd Phase of Bank Reforms to Focus on Bad Loan
With mounting bad loans, the second edition of the Finance Ministrys brain storming session
with public sector banks focused on management of non-performing assets and consolidation in
the sector.
The two-day Gyan Sangam an annual retreat of chiefs of public sector financial institutions,
officials from the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India recently held on March 4
and 5 in Gurgaon. The last year retreat was held for the first time in pune.
"We have to go through phases in transformation agenda. The agenda would include
1. Restructuring and mergers and acquisitions of banks
2. NPA management and recovery
3. Technology, digital and financial inclusion,
4. Credit growth, and
5. Risk management.
This retreat has been held to take forward the governments commitment to reforms in the
banking and financial sector. The growth and change in the financial sector ought to be in tune
with the development in the real sector, said the Finance Ministry, adding that participants
would be divided into five working groups to devise strategies for specific sectors.
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha and Financial
Services Secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal inaugurated the meeting. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
addressed the participants.
In his Budget speech, Finance Minister Arun Jaitely had said that a roadmap for consolidation of
public sector banks (PSBs) would also be spelt out. The RBI wants to complete the clean-up of
bad loans through asset quality review (AQR) by March 2017, and most banks have reported a
sharp drop in third-quarter profit, or posted losses because of higher provisioning to cover
potential losses.
Banks would also be evaluated, on the progress on the recommendations from the first Gyan
Sangam that was held in Pune last year. While allocating Rs. 25,000 crore for recapitalisation of
banks in the Budget 2016-17, Jaitley had said the government would also unveil a road map for
consolidation in state-run lenders.
Gross NPAs of public sector banks stood at Rs. 3.60 lakh crore at December-end as against 2.67
lakh crore at the end of March 2015.
42) 7 Monetary Policy Tools in hands of RBI & Effects
(1) Cash Reserve Ratio
CRR is the minimum percentage of deposits with commercial banks that they need to deposit
with central bank of RBI.
Present CRR = 4 %
(A) Impact of increased CRR

Positive impact - It is a quick fix to control inflation. By increasing CRR, commercial banks
need to deposit more money with RBI.
Thus commercial banks left with less money. Now loans become dearer, so people have less
money.
As Less money with Commercial banks Less money with people Lower demand for goods
and services Lower prices
Higher CRR simply sucks money from the economy.
(B) Impact of decreased CRR

More money with Commercial banks More money with people Higher demand for good
sand services Higher prices
CRR should be aligned with supply and production levels. If people are producing more then
they deserve to spend more. Decreased CRR provides a short term fix as it increases demand for
short term.
(2) Statutory Liquidity Ratio

It is the percentage of liabilities and time deposits that commercial banks need to keep with them
in form of cash, gold or government approved securities.
Present SLR = 21.5%
(A) Impact of increase in SLR

Commercial banks need to keep more liquid funds Provides less loans to people Lower
demand for goods and services Lower prices
(B) Impact on decrease in SLR

Commercial banks need to keep less liquid funds Provides more loans to people Higher
demand for goods and services Higher prices
(3) Repo rate

It is the Rate at which RBI lends money to commercial banks against securities in case
commercial banks fall short of funds. Present Repo Rate = 6.75%
Impact :-
(IA) If RBI Increase Repo Rate, it becomes costly for banks to borrow money from RBI so they
in turn hike the rates at which customers borrow money from them to compensate for the hike in
repo rate. This will discourage customers from taking loans.
(IB) It also decreases supply of money in markets.
(IIA) If RBI Decreases its Repo Rate, it becomes costly for banks to borrow money from RBI so
they in turn hike the rates at which customers borrow money from them to compensate for the
hike in repo rate.
This will encourage customers for taking loans.
(IIB) It also increases supply of money in markets.
(4) Reverse Repo Rate

It is the Rate at which RBI borrows money from commercial banks.
Present Reverse Repo Rate = 5.75%
Impact
(I) An increase in the reverse repo rate will decrease the money supply and vice-versa, other
things remaining constant.
An increase in reverse repo rate means that commercial banks will get more incentives to park
their funds with the RBI, thereby decreasing the supply of money in the market.
(II) If commercial banks get more money they will lend more money to people which will lead
more demand in economy. Thus prices will increase.
NOTE - Due to these, lending and investment rates of banks changes. This is the only direct way
in which Repo Rate and Reverse Repo Rate can affect a common man.
Loan interest rate and Deposit interest rate fluctuate.
(5) Bank rate

It is a rate at which RBI lends money to commercial banks without any security (i.e No Selling /
Buying of Security).
Present Bank rate = 7.75%
Impact
When bank rate is increased interest rate also increases which have negative impact on demand
thus prices increases.
(6) Marginal Standing Funding

By this mechanism commercial banks can get loans from RBI for their emergency needs.
Commercial banks can take loan only upto 1% of their liabilities and time deposits.
Present MSF Rate = 7.75%
(7) Open Market Operations

Buying and selling government securities and bonds in order to manage liquidity in the
economy.
(i) Impact of Purchasing Securities
More money in economy More demand Higher growth rate
(ii) Impact of Selling Securities
Less money in economy Less demand Lower prices
Conclusion
Many economist says effect of "More demand" is higher growth rate while some says higher
prices. While it is actually state of economy.
Money supply should be aligned with production rate.
43) Recently Introduced Different Funds
TADF
a) Minister of State for Commerce & Industry (I/C), Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman, launched the
Technology Acquisition and Development Fund (TADF) under National Manufacturing Policy
which is implemented by Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion(DIPP).
b) TADF is a new scheme to facilitate acquisition of Clean, Green & Energy Efficient
Technologies, in form of Technology / Customised Products / Specialised Services / Patents /
Industrial Design available in the market available in India or globally, by Micro, Small &
Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
The Scheme is conceptualised to catalyse the manufacturing growth in MSME sector to
contribute to the national focus of Make in India.
The scheme will be implemented through Global Innovation and Technology Alliance (GITA), a
joint venture company, support to MSME units is envisaged by the following:
I. Direct Support for Technology Acquisition

II. In-direct Support for Technology Acquisition through Patent Pool
III. Technology / Equipment Manufacturing Subsidies
IV. Green Manufacturing Incentive Scheme
FIF:Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF)
The Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF) and Financial Inclusion Technology Fund (FITF) was
constituted in the year 2007-08 for a period of five years with a corpus of Rs. 500 crore each to
be contributed by Government of India (GOI), RBI and NABARD in the ratio of 40:40:20. The
guidelines for these two funds were framed by GOI.
In April 2012, RBI decided to fund FIF by transferring the interest differential in excess of 0.5%
on RIDF and STCRC deposits on account of shortfall in priority sector lending.
What is new?
The GOI has merged the FIF and FITF to form a single Financial Inclusion Fund. The Reserve
Bank of India has finalised the new scope of activities and guidelines for utilisation of the new
FIF in consultation with GOI.
The new FIF will be administered by the reconstituted Advisory Board constituted by GOI and
will be maintained by NABARD.
Important Points related to FIF

1) The overall corpus of the new FIF will be Rs. 2000 crore.
2) Contribution to FIF would be from the interest differential in excess of 0.5% on RIDF and
STCRC deposits on account of shortfall in priority sector lending (as notified by RBI from time
to time) kept with NABARD by banks.
3) The Fund shall be in operation for another three years or till such period as may be decided by
RBI and Government of India in consultation with other stake holders.
4) The objectives of the FIF shall be to support developmental and promotional activities
including creating of FI infrastructure across the country, capacity building of stakeholders,
creation of awareness to address demand side issues, enhanced investment in Green Information
and Communication Technology (ICT) solution, research and transfer of technology, increased
technological absorption capacity of financial service providers/users with a view to securing
greater financial inclusion.
Note: The fund shall not be utilized for normal business/banking activities.
Eligible Activities/Purposes for FIF
1) The fund will help for the setting up and operational cost for running Financial Inclusion &
Literacy Centers. The setting up of such Centers are in sync with the objective of GoI for setting
up Financial Literacy Centers upto the block level under the PMJDY. These centres are
important as they will be:
a. Providing financial literacy training to all individuals/households of the area.
b. Providing counseling services for opening of bank accounts and for operating banking and
other financial products and services.
c. Providing training to BCs about various banking & other financial products and services and
also for training them in use of technological devices so as to ensure smooth servicing of
customers.
d. Redressal of customer grievances by attending to customer complaints, if necessary, by taking
up with banks and other institutions.
2) Setting up of Standard Interactive Financial Literacy Kiosks in Gram Panchayats and any
other financial literacy efforts under taken by banks in excluded areas.
3) Support to NABARD & Banks for running of Business & Skill Development Centers.
4) Support to pilot projects for development of innovative products, processes and prototypes for
financial inclusion.
5) Financial assistance to authorised agencies for conduct of surveys for evaluating the progress
under financial inclusion.
Eligible Institutions
Financial Institutions, viz., Commercial Banks, Regional Rural Banks, Cooperative Banks and
NABARD.
Eligible institutions with whom banks can work for seeking support from the FIF:-
NGOs
SHGs
Farmer's Clubs -
Functional Cooperatives
I.T. enabled rural outlets of corporate entities.
Well-functioning Panchayats
Rural Multipurpose kiosks / Village Knowledge Centers
Common Services Centres (CSCs) established by Service Centre Agencies (SCAs) under the
National e-Governance Plan (NeGP).
Primary Agricultural Societies (PACs).
NIIF
a) India is set to launch its own version of a sovereign wealth fund the National Investment
and Infrastructure Fund that would focus only on core sector projects, by the end of the year.
b) The NIIF will have a corpus of Rs 20,000 crore. It was cleared by the Cabinet on July 29.
c) National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) is a fund created by the Government of
India for enhancing infrastructure financing in the country.
d) The objective of NIIF would be to maximize economic impact mainly through infrastructure
development in commercially viable projects, both greenfield and brownfield, including stalled
projects. It could also consider other nationally important projects, for example, in
manufacturing, if commercially viable.
Functions of NIIF
Fund raising through suitable instruments including off-shore credit enhanced bonds, and
attracting anchor investors to participate as partners in NIIF;
Servicing of the investors of NIIF.
Considering and approving candidate companies/institutions/ projects (including state entities)
for investments and periodic monitoring of investments.
Investing in the corpus created by Asset Management Companies (AMCs) for investing in
private equity.
Preparing a shelf of infrastructure projects and providing advisory services.
NIIF Purpose?
1. Provides equity / quasi-equity support to those Non Banking Financial Companies
(NBFCs)/Financial Institutions (FIs) that are engaged mainly in infrastructure financing. These
institutions will be able to leverage this equity support and provide debt to the projects selected.
2. Invest in funds engaged mainly in infrastructure sectors and managed by Asset Management
Companies (AMCs) for equity / quasi-equity funding of listed / unlisted companies.
3. Provides Equity/ quasi-equity support / debt to projects, to commercially viable projects, both
greenfield and brownfield, including stalled projects.
Funding to NIIF
The initial authorized corpus of NIIF would be Rs. 20,000 crore, which may be raised from time
to time, as decided by Ministry of Finance. Government can provide upto 20000 crore per annum
into these funds. Government's contribution/share in the corpus will be 49% in each entity set up
as an alternate Investment Fund (AIF) and will neither be increased beyond, nor allowed to fall
below, 49%. The whole of 49% would be contributed by Government directly. Rest is open for
contribution from others. The contribution of Government of India to NIIF would enable it to be
seen virtually as a sovereign fund and is expected to attract overseas sovereign/ quasi-
sovereign/multilateral/bilateral investors to co-invest in it. Cash-rich Central Public Sector
Enterprises (PSUs) could contribute to the Fund, which would be over and above the
Government's 49%. Similarly, domestic pension and provident funds and National Small Savings
Fund may also provide funds to the NIIF. NIIF may utilize the proceeds of monetized land and
other assets of PSUs for infrastructure development. The NIIF will work out these details in
consultation with the Ministry of Finance, to match different investors preferences.
Current News related to NIIF:

Government has set up a search committee under Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das
for selection of a CEO for the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF).
44) Green Bonds : A Few Insights

Climate change affects all of us to some extent. But it is expected to hit developing countries the
hardest. Its potential effects on temperatures, precipitation patterns, sea levels, and frequency of
weather-related disasters pose risks for agriculture, food, and water supplies. At stake are recent
gains in the fight against poverty, hunger and disease, and the lives and livelihoods of people in
developing countries.
Few people have heard of "green bonds", yet they could be a way of raising the huge amounts of
capital needed to tackle climate change and protect our natural world.
They could be critically important, but they remain shrouded in mystery and there is a great deal
of confusion about their exact form and structure. What are they? Are they a way for the
government to borrow money for green projects? Are they a new savings product for ethical
consumers?
This lack of clarity is understandable and is a direct result of all the different types that have been
recently proposed. They could, in fact, be all of the following: green gilts, green retail bonds and
green investment bank bonds. But, there are many more being proposed as well, including: green
infrastructure bonds, *multilateral development bank green bonds, green corporate bonds, green
sectoral bonds, rainforest bonds and index-linked carbon bonds.
All of these different (and sometimes confusing) classes of green bond have an important role in
helping to raise finance for different parts of our low-carbon transition.
What are green bonds?
A bond is a debt instrument with which an entity raises money from investors. The bond issuer
gets capital while the investors receive fixed income in the form of interest. When the bond
matures, the money is repaid.
A green bond is very similar. The only difference is that the issuer of a green bond publicly
states that capital is being raised to fund green projects, which typically include those relating
to renewable energy, emission reductions and so on. There is no standard definition of green
bonds as of now.
Indian firms like Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd and Greenko have in the
past issued bonds that have been used for financing renewable energy, however, without the tag
of green bonds.
Green bonds are issued by multilateral agencies such as the World Bank, corporations,
government agencies and municipalities. Institutional investors and pension funds also have
appetite for such bonds. For instance, investment funds BlackRock and PIMCO have specific
mandates from their investors to invest only in bonds which fund green projects. The issuer
provides periodic reports about the project.
Reason behind being in the News:
In March, the Exim Bank of India issued a five-year $500 million green bond, which is Indias
first dollar-denominated green bond. The issue was subscribed nearly 3.2 times. The bank has
said it would use the net proceeds to fund eligible green projects in countries including
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Earlier, in February, Yes Bank raised Rs 1,000 crore via a 10-year
bond, which was oversubscribed twice.
Importance of it for India:

India has embarked on an ambitious target of building 175 gigawatt of renewable energy
capacity by 2022, from just over 30 gigawatt now. This requires a massive $200 billion in
funding. This isnt easy. As reports suggest, higher interest rates and unattractive terms under
which debt is available in India raise the cost of renewable energy by 24-32 per cent compared to
the U.S. and Europe.
Budget allocations have been insufficient. Renewable energy is still part of the larger
power/infrastructure funding basket in most banks, and with most financing going towards coal
power projects, there is very little funding left for renewable energy. Currently, options for
raising funds and investing in the renewable energy story in the public markets in India is very
limited. Thats why green bonds seem like a good option.
Still, why are green bonds an attractive option?
Shantanu Jaiswal, analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, says, Green bonds typically carry
a lower interest rate than the loans offered by the commercial banks. Hence, when compared to
other forms of debt, green bonds offer better returns for an independent power producers,
Samuel Joseph, Chief General Manager, Treasury and Accounts Group, Exim Bank of India,
says as these bonds are meant for specific investors looking to invest in renewable energy
projects, pricing could be attractive.
The banks green bond was priced at 147.50 basis points over US Treasuries (whereas, usually,
bonds are priced at treasuries plus 150 basis points) at a fixed coupon of 2.75 per cent per
annum.
Green Bonds Performance Globally:
According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a record $38.8 billion in green bonds were issued
in 2014, 2.6 times the $15 billion issued in 2013. Most issuances of international green bonds
have been oversubscribed suggesting a strong appetite for them especially when done by a strong
issuer like a large corporate or a government agency, the report says.
In the last two years, studies have shown that around 200bn of low-carbon infrastructure
investment is required in the UK between now and 2020. Ernst & Young estimates though that
traditional sources of capital ranging from utilities through to project finance and infrastructure
funds can only provide 50-80bn over the next 15 years.
Issuers of these bonds?
In the period between 2007 and 2012, supranational organisations such as the European
Investment Bank and the World Bank, as also governments, accounted for most of the green
bond issue. Since then, corporate interest has risen sharply. In 2014, bonds issued by
corporations in the energy and utilities, consumer goods, and real estate sectors accounted for a
third of the market, according to KPMG.
The risks and challenges?
Globally, there have been serious debates about whether the projects targeted by green bond
issuers are green enough. There have been controversies too. Reuters a few months back reported
how activists were claiming that the proceeds of the French utility GDF Suezs $3.4 billion green
bond issue were being used to fund a dam project that hurts the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.
From an Indian perspective, a challenge of making investors subscribe could be the tenor and
rating of green bonds, reckons Bloombergs Jaiswal. The downside is that green bonds in India
have a shorter tenor period of about 10 years in India whereas a typical loan would be for
minimum 13 years. This is less when compared to many international issuances.
Green Bonds
Keep Studying Keep Rising!!
45) Payment Banks : A Step Closer Towards Financial Inclusion

Payments bank licence will allow companies to collect deposits (initially up to Rs 1 lakh per
individual), offer Internet banking, facilitate money transfers and sell insurance and mutual
funds. It is new stripped-down type of banks, which are expected to reach customers mainly
through their mobile phones rather than traditional bank branches.
The objectives of setting up of payments banks will be to further financial inclusion by providing
small savings accounts and payments/remittance services to migrant labour workforce, low
income households, small businesses, other unorganised sector entities and other users. Such
banks will ensure more money comes into the banking system and will help reach out to people
in rural areas. Moreover, the payments bank licence will enable the network of 1,54,000 post
offices (including 1,30,000 rural post offices) to offer banking services to the masses in the
country.
List of the companies who got the license to run payment banks :
Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd

Airtel M Commerce Services Ltd
Cholamandalam Distribution Services Ltd
Department of Posts
Fino PayTech Ltd
National Securities Depository Ltd
Reliance Industries Ltd
Dilip Shantilal Shanghvi
Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Tech Mahindra Ltd
Vodafone m-pesa Ltd
The next question that arrives in ones mind is that what is the need of payment bank and "Kya
baaki banks kam hain" but there is only one answer to all the questions that this step is one of the
major step towards Financial Inclusion. These banks have limited services as compared to the
other banks. Let's see what these banks can or can't do :
They cant offer loans but can raise deposits of upto Rs. 1 lakh, and pay interest on these
balances just like a savings bank account does.
They can enable transfers and remittances through a mobile phone.
They can offer services such as automatic payments of bills, and purchases in cashless,
cheque less transactions through a phone.
They can issue debit cards and ATM cards usable on ATM networks of all banks.
They can transfer money directly to bank accounts at nearly no cost being a part of the
gateway that connects banks.
They can provide forex cards to travellers, usable again as a debit or ATM card all over
India.
They can offer forex services at charges lower than banks.
They can also offer card acceptance mechanisms to third parties such as the Apple Pay.
This is for the first time in the history of India's banking sector that RBI is giving out
differentiated licences for specific activities. RBI is expected to come out with a second set of
such licences for small finance banks and the process for those is in its final stage. The
move is seen as a major step in pushing financial inclusion in the country.
Its a step to redefine banking in India. The Reserve Bank
expects payment banks to target Indias migrant labourers, low-income households and small
businesses, offering savings accounts and remittance services with a low transaction cost. It
hopes payments banks will enable poorer citizens who transact only in cash to take their first step
into formal banking. It could be uneconomical for traditional banks to open branches in every
village but the mobile phones coverage is a promising low-cost platform for quickly taking basic
banking services to every rural citizen. The innovation is also expected to accelerate Indias
journey into a cashless economy.
The most prominent figure among those left out is Kishore Biyani, founder and CEO of Future
Group. Indeed, Biyani throwing his hat in the ring was out of sync with the group's moves over
the past few years. He had sold his stake in public listed financial services firm Future Capital
(now Capital First) and has also been looking to rewind holding in insurance JVs to focus on the
core retail business.MG George Muthoot and others, from Muthoot Finance, the largest gold
financing company in the country, too missed on the list of firms which got nod for payments
bank licences. There is a set of firms such as Dhoots-controlled DTH company Videocon d2h
Ltd that was not considered for the licence. The group had sought to enter financial services as a
business through its DTH firm, which is now listed on NASDAQ. Among others, NSE Strategic
Investment Corporation Ltd, a part of national bourse NSE and realtor Kalpataru Corporation
also missed on the opportunity to add a new business line. While mobile wallets have been one
of the fastest growing segment, RBI granted approval only to Paytm (the applicant was its co-
founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma). Its peers like Oxigen, MobiKwik, Citrus and ItzCash lost out on
the opportunity to become payments bank, at least for now.
Indias domestic remittance market is estimated to be about Rs. 800-900 billion and growing.
With money transfers made possible through mobile phones, a big chunk of it, especially that of
the migrant labour, could shift to this new platform. Payment banks can also play a crucial role
in implementing the governments direct benefit transfer scheme, where subsidies on healthcare,
education and gas are paid directly to beneficiaries accounts. Also, this is the first time since
banks were nationalized, that private sector business groups have bagged the RBIs nod for
banking services.
46) Non-Banking Financial Companies
About the term NBFC:

A Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) is a company registered under the Companies Act,
1956 engaged in the business of loans and advances, acquisition of
shares/stocks/bonds/debentures/securities issued by Government or local authority or other
marketable securities of a like nature, leasing, hire-purchase, insurance business, chit fund
business.
Difference between BANK & NBFC:
NBFCs lend and make investments and hence their activities are akin to that of banks; however
there are a few differences as given below:
i. NBFC cannot accept demand deposits;
ii. NBFCs do not form part of the payment and settlement system and cannot issue cheques
drawn on itself;
iii. deposit insurance facility of Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation is not
available to depositors of NBFCs, unlike in case of banks.
Different types/categories of NBFCs registered with RBI:

NBFCs are categorized
a) In terms of the type of liabilities into Deposit and Non-Deposit accepting NBFCs,
b) Non deposit taking NBFCs by their size into systemically important and other non-deposit
holding companies (NBFC-NDSI and NBFC-ND) and
c) By the kind of activity they conduct.
Within this broad categorization the different types of NBFCs are as follows:
i. Asset Finance Company(AFC) : An AFC is a company which is a financial institution carrying

on as its principal business the financing of physical assets supporting productive/economic
activity, such as automobiles, tractors, lathe machines, generator sets, earth moving and material
handling equipments, moving on own power and general purpose industrial machines.
ii. Investment Company (IC) : IC means any company which is a financial institution carrying on
as its principal business the acquisition of securities.
iii. Loan Company (LC): LC means any company which is a financial institution carrying on as
its principal business the providing of finance whether by making loans or advances or otherwise
for any activity other than its own but does not include an Asset Finance Company.
iv. Infrastructure Finance Company (IFC): IFC is a non-banking finance company

a) which deploys at least 75 per cent of its total assets in infrastructure loans,
b) has a minimum Net Owned Funds of Rs. 300 crore,
c) has a minimum credit rating of A or equivalent d) and a CRAR of 15%.
v. Infrastructure Debt Fund: Non- Banking Financial Company (IDF-NBFC) : IDF-NBFC is a

company registered as NBFC to facilitate the flow of long term debt into infrastructure projects.
IDF-NBFC raise resources through issue of Rupee or Dollar denominated bonds of minimum 5
year maturity. Only Infrastructure Finance Companies (IFC) can sponsor IDF-NBFCs.
vi. Non-Banking Financial Company - Micro Finance Institution (NBFC-MFI): NBFC-MFI is a
non-deposit taking NBFC having not less than 85%of its assets in the nature of qualifying assets
which satisfy the following criteria:
a. loan disbursed by an NBFC-MFI to a borrower with a rural household annual income not
exceeding Rs. 60,000 or urban and semi-urban household income not exceeding Rs. 1,20,000.
b. tenure of the loan not to be less than 24 months for loan amount in excess of Rs. 15,000 with
prepayment without penalty;
vii. Non-Banking Financial Company Factors (NBFC-Factors): NBFC-Factor is a non-deposit
taking NBFC engaged in the principal business of factoring. The financial assets in the factoring
business should constitute at least 75 percent of its total assets and its income derived from
factoring business should not be less than 75 percent of its gross income.
Register with RBI:
A company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 and desirous of commencing business
of non-banking financial institution as defined under Section 45 I(a) of the RBI Act, 1934 should
comply with the following:
i. it should be a company registered under Section 3 of the companies Act, 1954
ii. It should have a minimum net owned fund of Rs 200 lakh.
Deposits in NBFC:
a) Presently, the maximum rate of interest an NBFC can offer is 12.5%. The interest may be paid
or compounded at rests not shorter than monthly rests.
b) The NBFCs are allowed to accept/renew public deposits for a minimum period of 12 months
and maximum period of 60 months. They cannot accept deposits repayable on demand.
c) The deposits with NBFCs are not insured.
d) The repayment of deposits by NBFCs is not guaranteed by RBI.
Brief about RNBC

a) Residuary Non-Banking Company is a class of NBFC which is a company and has as its
principal business the receiving of deposits, under any scheme or arrangement or in any other
manner and not being Investment, Asset Financing, Loan Company.
b) These companies are required to maintain investments as per directions of RBI, in addition to
liquid assets.
c) The amount payable by way of interest, premium, bonus or other advantage, by whatever
name called by a RNBC in respect of deposits received shall not be less than the amount
calculated at the rate of 5% (to be compounded annually) on the amount deposited in lump sum
or at monthly or longer intervals; and at the rate of 3.5% (to be compounded annually) on the
amount deposited under daily deposit scheme.
d) Further, a RNBC can accept deposits for a minimum period of 12 months and maximum
period of 84 months from the date of receipt of such deposit. They cannot accept deposits
repayable on demand.
Some other regulators:

Category of Companies Regulator
Chit Funds Respective State Governments
Insurance companies IRDA
Housing Finance Companies NHB
Venture Capital Fund / SEBI
Merchant Banking companies SEBI
Stock broking companies SEBI
Nidhi Companies Ministry of corporate affairs, Government of
India
47) A Brief on CURRENCY SYSTEM IN INDIA
Present Denomination of Bank Notes:
At present, banknotes in India are issued in the denomination of Re.1, Rs.5 Rs.10, Rs.20, Rs.50,
Rs.100, Rs.500 and Rs.1000. These notes are called banknotes as they are issued by the Reserve
Bank of India (Reserve Bank).
Denomination of Bank Notes & Coins:

The Reserve Bank can also issue banknotes in the denominations of five thousand rupees and ten
thousand rupees, or any other denomination that the Central Government may specify. There
cannot, though, be banknotes in denominations higher than ten thousand rupees in terms of the
current provisions of the Reserve Bank of India of Act, 1934. Coins can be issued up to the
denomination of Rs.1000.
Role of Government of India in Currency System:

In terms of Section 25 of RBI Act, 1934 the design of banknotes is required to be approved by
the Central Government on the recommendations of the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of
India. The responsibility for coinage vests with the Government of India on the basis of the
Coinage Act, 1906 as amended from time to time. The Government of India also attends to the
designing and minting of coins in various denominations.
How much currency to be produced?

The Reserve Bank decides the volume and value of banknotes except Re. 1 note to be printed
each year. The quantum of banknotes that needs to be printed, broadly depends on the
requirement for meeting the demand for banknotes due to inflation, GDP growth, replacement of
soiled banknotes and reserve stock requirements.
Who decides the coins issue?

The Government of India decides the quantity of coins to be minted on the basis of indents(
official order) received from the Reserve Bank.
How does the Reserve Bank estimate the demand for banknotes?
The Reserve Bank estimates the demand for banknotes on the basis of the growth rate of the
economy, the replacement demand and reserve stock requirements by using statistical
models/techniques.
What is a currency chest?

To facilitate the distribution of banknotes and rupee coins, the Reserve Bank
has authorized select branches of scheduled banks to establish Currency Chests. These are
actually storehouses where banknotes and rupee coins are stocked on behalf of the Reserve
Bank.
What is a small coin depot?

Some bank branches are also authorized to establish Small Coin Depots to stock small coins. The
Small Coin Depots also distribute small coins to other bank branches in their area of operation.
What are soiled, mutilated and imperfect banknotes?
(i) "soiled note:" means a note which, has become dirty due to usage and also includes a two
piece note pasted together wherein both the pieces presented belong to the same note, and form
the entire note.
(ii) Mutilated banknote is a banknote, of which a portion is missing or which is composed of
more than two pieces.
(iii) Imperfect banknote means any banknote, which is wholly or partially, obliterated, shrunk,
washed, altered or indecipherable but does not include a mutilated banknote.
Can soiled and mutilated banknotes be exchanged for value?

Yes. Such banknotes can be exchanged for value.
Clean Note Policy:

Reserve Bank of India has been continuously making efforts to make good quality banknotes
available to the members of public. To help RBI and banking system, the members of public are
requested to ensure the following:
a) Not to staple the banknotes
b) Not to write / put rubber stamp or any other mark on the banknotes
c) Store the banknotes safely to prevent any damage
Note:
1) Seeking to spread awareness among public about fake notes, the Reserve Bank has launched
a website explaining ways to detect counterfeit notes. With a tagline 'Pehchano Paise Ki Boli,
Kyunki Paisa Bolta Hai', the website- www.paisaboltahai.rbi.org.in -- gives visual presentation
with pointers on currency notes of 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 rupee denominations.
2) MINIMUM RESERVE SYSTEM

The Reserve Bank has the sole right to issue currency notes, except one rupee notes which are
issued by the Ministry of Finance. The RBI follows a minimum reserve system in the note issue.
Initially, it used to keep 40 per cent of gold reserves in its total assets. But, since 1957, it has to
maintain only Rs. 200 crores of gold and foreign exchange reserves, of which gold reserves
should be of the value of Rs. 115 crores.
3) After a gap of over 20 years, Re 1 note has been released in the country and it bears the
signature of Finance Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi. Incidentally, the note was released at Shrinathji
temple in Nathdwara, Rajasthan, on March 6 by Mehrishi.
48) A Brief on FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES
As it was in the news that, our country's foreign exchange reserves rose by $321.7 million to
$353.648 billion in the week to July 24 on account of increase in foreign currency assets. The
country's gold reserves remained unchanged at $19.074 billion. The special drawing rights with
the International Monetary Fund were up by $5.8 million to $4.024 billion in the week under
review, while the country's reserve position with the Fund also rose by $1.8 million to $1.304
billion.
Lets discuss What actually is FOREX?
Reserves are maintained by countries for meeting their international payment obligations both
short and long terms, including sovereign and commercial debts, financing of imports, for
intervention in the foreign currency markets during periods of volatility, besides helping to boost
the confidence of the market in the ability of a country to meet its external obligations and to
absorb any unforseen external shocks, contingencies or unexpected capital movements.
India's foreign exchange reserves comprise foreign currency assets, gold and special drawing
rights allocated to it by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in addition to the reserves it has
parked with the fund. Foreign exchange reserves are held and managed by the RBI.
The Foreign currency assets are investment mainly in instruments abroad which have the highest
credit rating and which do not pose any credit risk. These include sovereign bonds, treasury bills
and short-term deposits in top-rated global banks besides cash accounts.
The Special Drawing Right (SDR) is an interest-bearing international reserve asset created by the
IMF in 1969 to supplement other reserve assets of member countries. The SDR is based on a
basket of international currencies comprising the U.S. dollar, Japanese yen, euro and pound
sterling. It is not a currency, nor a claim on the IMF, but is potentially a claim on freely usable
currencies of IMF members. It can be held and used by member countries, the IMF, and certain
designated official entities called "prescribed holders"but it can not be held, for example, by
private entities or individuals.
Bn. US$ Mn.

Total Reserves 22,551.8 353,648.1
1.1 Foreign Currency
20,995.3 329,245.4
Assets
1.2 Gold 1,216.1 19,074.3
1.3 SDRs 257.1 4,024.2
1.4 Reserve Position
83.3 1,304.3
in the IMF
49) TYPES OF MONEY
Commodity Money - Commodity money value is derived from the commodity out of
which it is made. The commodity itself represents money, and the money is the
commodity. For instance, commodities that have been used a Medium of exchange
include gold, silver, copper, salt, peppercorns, rice, large stones, etc.
Representative Money - is money that includes token coins, or any other physical tokens
like certificates, that can be reliably exchanged for a fixed amount/quantity of a
commodity like gold or silver.
Fiat Money - Fiat money, also known as fiat currency is the money whose value is not
derived from any intrinsic value or any guarantee that it can be converted into valuable
commodity (like gold). Instead, it derives value only based On government order (fiat)
Commercial Bank Money - Commercial bank money or the demand deposits are claims
against financial institutions which can be used for purchasing goods and services.
Reserve Money (M 0)
Currency in circulation + Bankers deposits with the RBI + Other deposits with the RBI = Net
RBI credit to the Government + RBI credit to the commercial sector + RBI's claims on banks +
RBI's net is foreign assets + Govemments currency liabilities to the public - RBI's net non-
monetary liabilities.
M1
Currency with the public + Demand deposits with the banking system + 'Other' deposits with the
RBI
M2
M1 + Savings deposits of ofce savings banks.
M3
M1+ Time deposits with the banking system
= Net bank credit to the Government + Bank credit to the Commercial sector + Net foreign assets
of the banking sector + Goveinments currency liabilities to the public - Net non-monetary
liabilities of the banking sector.
M4
M3 +All deposits with post office savings banks (excluding National Savings Certificates)
Bhartiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited (BRBNMPL)
The Reserve Bank established BRBNMPL in February 1995 as a wholly-owned subsidiary to
augment the production of bank notes in India and to enable bridging of the gap between supply
and demand for bank notes in the country.
50) Bitcoins
In the recent days, we are hearing a lot about a new type of currency, "Bitcoin". It is basically a
"virtual currency", which is making quite hype in market today. There are various myths and
speculations surrounding this currency.
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a distributed peer-to-peer digital currency that can be transferred instantly and securely
between any two people in the world. It's like electronic cash that you can use to pay friends or
merchants.
Who created bitcoins?

According to various newspaper article, a 64-year-old Japanese-American physicist Satoshi
Nakamoto is speculated as the creater of Bitcoin.
What are bitcoins?

Bitcoins are the unit of currency of the Bitcoin system. A commonly used shorthand for this is
BTC to refer to a price or amount (e.g. 100 BTC). There are such things as physical bitcoins,
but ultimately, a bitcoin is just a number associated with a Bitcoin Address. A physical bitcoin is
simply an object, such as a coin, with the number carefully embedded inside. See also an easy
intro to Bitcoin.
How can I get bitcoins?

The entire bitcoins currency is generated by algorithms, it is very easy to make sure that once the
21 million mark is reached there are no more bitcoins to be issued. Bitcoins, their issue and their

maximum circulation have been predetermined from the beginning and therein lies its innate
value.
You can obtain Bitcoins by purchasing them from someone else using regular currency or by
earning them through a system called Bitcoin Mining. Bitcoins are stored in Bitcoin wallets
which also manage addresses from which you can send and receive payments. New and different
addresses can be generated for different transactions and can be done as many times as required.
How does it work?

As a new user, you can get started with Bitcoin without understanding the technical details. Once
you have installed a Bitcoin wallet on your computer or mobile phone, it will generate your first
Bitcoin address and you can create more whenever you need one. You can disclose your
addresses to your friends so that they can pay you or vice versa. In fact, this is pretty similar to
how email works, except that Bitcoin addresses should only be used once.
Balances - block chains - The block chain is a shared public ledger on which the entire Bitcoin
network relies. All confirmed transactions are included in the block chain. This way, Bitcoin
wallets can calculate their spendable balance and new transactions can be verified to be spending
bitcoins that are actually owned by the spender. The integrity and the chronological order of the
block chain are enforced with cryptography.
Transactions - private keys - A transaction is a transfer of value between Bitcoin wallets that gets
included in the block chain. Bitcoin wallets keep a secret piece of data called a private key or
seed, which is used to sign transactions, providing a mathematical proof that they have come
from the owner of the wallet. The signature also prevents the transaction from being altered by
anybody once it has been issued. All transactions are broadcast between users and usually begin
to be confirmed by the network in the following 10 minutes, through a process called mining.
Processing - mining - Mining is a distributed consensus system that is used to confirm waiting
transactions by including them in the block chain. It enforces a chronological order in the block
chain, protects the neutrality of the network, and allows different computers to agree on the state
of the system. To be confirmed, transactions must be packed in a block that fits very strict
cryptographic rules that will be verified by the network. These rules prevent previous blocks
from being modified because doing so would invalidate all following blocks. Mining also creates
the equivalent of a competitive lottery that prevents any individual from easily adding new
blocks consecutively in the block chain. This way, no individuals can control what is included in
the block chain or replace parts of the block chain to roll back their own spends.
How do we do business? Using bitcoins!
You offer to pay me for my services via bitcoins and I accept the same. Why bitcoins? Because
bitcoins are anonymous and are not traceable by anyone. They are the perfect way for people to
do business with each other without revealing identities. They don't leave any digital footprints
like credit card records, bank transactions, etc.

So let's say that we agree to a 'deal' and you agree to send me bitcoins in advance to pay me for
my job. I set the price at 3 bitcoins for my work. The current rate is about Rs 38,000 per bitcoin.
So, you are paying me about Rs 1.15 lakh for this covert operation.
Why are bitcoins so valuable?

The absolute brilliance of bitcoins is that only 21 million bitcoins will ever be made available in
the market. (So far 13 million are in circulation and 8 million more will be gradually released
into the system by the end of 2140). Given that the entire bitcoins currency is generated by
algorithms, it is very easy to make sure that once the 21 million mark is reached there are no
more bitcoins to be issued.
Does Bitcoin guarantee an influx of free money?

Since Bitcoin is a new technology, what it is and how it works may be initially unclear. Bitcoin
is sometimes presented as being one of three things:
A. Some sort of online 'get-rich-quick' scam.
B. A loophole in the market economy, the installation of which guarantees a steady influx of
cash.
C. A sure investment that will almost certainly yield a profit.
In fact, none of the above is true.
Is Bitcoin a 'get-rich-quick' scheme?
If you've spent much time on the Internet, you've probably seen ads for many 'get-rich-quick'
schemes. These ads usually promise huge profits for small amounts of easy work. Bitcoin is in
no way similar to these schemes. Bitcoin doesn't promise windfall profits. There is no way for
the developers to make money from your involvement or to take money from you. Bitcoin is an
experimental, virtual currency that may succeed or may fail.
As an investment, is Bitcoin a sure thing?

Bitcoin is a new and interesting electronic currency, the value of which is not backed by any
single government or organization. Like other currencies, it is worth something partly because
people are willing to trade it for goods and services. Its exchange rate fluctuates continuously,
and sometimes wildly. It lacks wide acceptance and is vulnerable to manipulation by parties with
modest funding. Anyone who puts money into Bitcoin should understand the risk they are taking
and consider it a high-risk currency.
How are new bitcoins created?

New bitcoins are generated by the network through the process of "mining". In a process that is
similar to a continuous raffle draw, mining nodes on the network are awarded bitcoins each time
they find the solution to a certain mathematical problem (and thereby create a new block).
Creating a block is a proof of work with a difficulty that varies with the overall strength of the
network. The reward for solving a block is automatically adjusted so that, ideally, every four
years of operation of the Bitcoin network, half the amount of bitcoins created in the prior 4 years
are created.

Blocks are mined every 10 minutes, on average and for the first four years (210,000 blocks) each
block included 50 new bitcoins. As the amount of processing power directed at mining changes,
the difficulty of creating new bitcoins changes.
Is Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme?

In a Ponzi Scheme, the founders persuade investors that theyll profit. Bitcoin does not make
such a guarantee. There is no central entity, just individuals building an economy.
A ponzi scheme is a zero sum game. Early adopters can only profit at the expense of late
adopters. Bitcoin has possible win-win outcomes. Early adopters profit from the rise in value.
Late adopters, and indeed, society as a whole, benefit from the usefulness of a stable, fast,
inexpensive, and widely accepted p2p currency.
Facts about Bitcoin

- Bitcoin is a real currency that fluctuates in price and which can be exchanged to conduct real
business.
- The business of transacting bitcoins and earning bitcoins in return is really the nerve centre of
this esoteric currency, and this is what makes it unique.
- Bitcoin is a work of not one but many geniuses. Satoshi Nakamoto may have been the chief
blueprint architect whose master design many other super clever architects used to build on.
- Bitcoins will get harder and harder to earn. Hence they will only keep growing in value as the
years roll by.
- Bitcoin is vulnerable despite being proclaimed as a digital currency with a permanent trace. But
its theft only points to the fact that it is potentially very valuable.
- Bitcoin is here to stay. It may have its share of troubles, but its acceptability is growing leaps
and bounds.
51) REVERSE MORTGAGE LOAN : A Helping Hand For Senior

Citizens
The scheme of reverse mortgage has been introduced for the benefit of senior citizens owning a
house but having inadequate income to meet their needs.

Some important Features of reverse mortgage are:
a) A homeowner who is above 60 years of age is eligible for reverse mortgage loan. It allows
him to turn the equity in his home into one lump sum or periodic payments mutually agreed by
the borrower and the banker.
b) NO REPAYMENT is required as long as the borrower lives, Borrower should pay all taxes
lating to the house and maintain the property as his primary residence.
c) The amount of loan is based on several factors : borrowers age, value of the property, current
interest rates and the specific plan chosen. The valuation of the residential property is done at
periodic intervals and it shall be clearly specified to the borrowers upfront. The banks shall have
the option to revise the periodic / lump sum amount at such frequency or intervals based on
revaluation of property.
Settlement - The loan shall become due and payable only when the last surviving borrower dies
or would like to sell the home, or permanently moves out. On death of the home owner, the legal
heirs have the choice of keeping or selling the house. If they decide to sell the house, the
proceeds of the sale would be used to repay the mortgage, with the remainder going to the heirs.
As per the scheme formulated by National Housing Bank (NHB), the maximum period of the
loan period is 15 years. The residual life of the property should be at least 20 years. Where the
borrower lives longer than 15 years, periodic payments will not be made by lender. However, the
borrower can continue to occupy.
52) RBI- the BOSS of all Banks

RBI is the central Bank of India and controls the entire money issue, circulation the entire money
issue, circulation and control by its monetary policies and lending policies by periodical updates
or corrections to discipline the economy.
The central bank of India, founded in 1935, which maintains the monetary policy of its national
currency, the rupee, and the nation's currency reserves.
It is also known as the Bank of last resort/Bankers bank/Governments bank.
Establishment:
The reserve bank of India was established on April 1, 1935 in accordance with the provisions of
the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. The Central Office of the Reserve Bank of India was
initially established in Calcutta but was permanently moved to Mumbai in 1937. Though

originally privately owned, since nationalization in 1949, the Reserve Bank is fully owned by the
Government of India.
MAIN FUNCTIONS OF RBI:
1) Monetary Authority: Formulates implements and monitors the monetary policy.

2) Regulator and supervisor of the financial system: Prescribes broad parameters of banking
operations within which the countrys banking and financial system functions.
3) Manager of Foreign Exchange: Manages the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.
4) Issuer of Currency: Issues and exchanges or destroys currency and coins not fit for
circulations.
5) Development role: Performs a wide range of promotional functions to support national
objectives.
6) Bankers to the Government: performs merchant banking function for the central and the state
governments; also acts as their banker.
7) Bankers to banks: maintains banking accounts of all scheduled banks.
Central Board of RBI:
The Reserve Bank's affairs are governed by a central board of directors. The board is appointed
by the Government of India in keeping with the Reserve Bank of India Act. They are
appointed/nominated for a period of four years
Official Directors:
Full-time : Governor and not more than four Deputy Governors
Currently:
Dr. Raghuram Rajan (Governor)

Shri H.R. Khan (Deputy Governor)
Dr. Urjit R. Patel (Deputy Governor)
Shri R. Gandhi (Deputy Governor)
Shri S. S. Mundra (Deputy Governor)
Subsidiaries of RBI:
Fully owned: Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation of India(DICGC), Bharatiya
Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited(BRBNMPL)
Other Important facts related to RBI:
Reserve Bank of India Act passed in 1934.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) established on 1 April 1935.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) established on the recommendation of Hilton-Young
Commission.
RBI is the sole authority in India to issue Bank notes in India.
Emblem of RBI: Panther and Palm Tree.

Chintaman Dwarkanath Deshmukh (C D Deshmukh) was the governor of RBI at the
Time of nationalization of RBI in 1949.
1st women Deputy Governor of RBI -K.J.Udeshi.
RBI is not expected to perform the function of accepting deposits from the general public
The first Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 01.04.1935 to 30.06.1937 was Sir
Osborne Smith
RBI decides the following rates namely; Bank rate, repo rate, reverse repo rate and cash
reserve ratio.
Banking Awareness: Inflation and RBI
To understand RBI monetary policy we have to understand why RBI has to do all this mehnat,
RBI has a biggest villain standing against him called as INFLATION.
INFLATION-
Inflation is the biggest parasite in the Indian economy. In the condition of inflation there is flow
of extra money in the economy creating excess of demand in the market for the products as
compared to supply in midst of all this maara maari the producers grab this opportunity with both
arms and if possible with legs too (too greedy these fellows), they mark higher prices for the
goods that are excess in demand and this creates a rise in price of the products resulting in
inflation.
Inflation has the following adverse effects on the economy:
Here is story of Mr. Bechara (common man)
Inflation and Purchasing Products-

Purchasing Power-The value of a currency expressed in terms of the amount of goods or services
that one unit of money can buy. Purchasing power is important because, all else being equal,
inflation decreases the amount of goods or services you'd be able to purchase. Mr.Bechara is
fetching a salary of Rs.20K monthly, he was doing his best to keep up to the expectations his
over sized wife and extra demanding kids, Now in inflation his salary is the same but his 20K
will now cannot complete the demands of his family, because that 20K has become equivalent to
say, 18K and now they can have less resources in the same prices, This will result in the debt
conditions , lesser purchase of goods and services(due to higher prices) and will directly hurt the
economy.

Inflation and Debt-
Price inflation is a debtor's best friend and a creditor's worst enemy. Lets see how, our Mr.
Bechara gave Rs. 10K to a debtor in 2006 for a period of three years, after two years inflation
occurred, now the value of that 10k becomes equivalent to 8k (loss in the value of Rs), The effect
of inflation on debtors is positive because debtors can pay their debts with money that is less
valuable.
Other negative impacts-
Black-marketing- Expecting inflation many mafias start to collect the onions and kerosene in
their backyards for releasing these when the inflation strikes, hence they will make big bucks in
no time and our Mr. Bechara has to pay more than hefty amount for the daily ka aaloo ,pyazz..
Unemployment- Inflation comes along with a gift package of unemployment, companies with
limited resources will start to fire people on the name of cost cutting and also the new
recruitments will not happen resulting in not so aache din for aspirants.
Different stages of Inflation-
Creeping Inflation:
Creeping or mild inflation is when prices rise 3% a year or less.
Walking Inflation:
This type of strong, or pernicious, inflation is between 3-10% a year. It is harmful to the
economy because it heats up economic growth too fast.
Galloping Inflation:
When inflation rises to ten percent or greater, it wreaks absolute havoc on the economy. Money
loses value so fast that business and employee income can't keep up with costs and prices.
Foreign investors avoid the country.
Hyperinflation:

Hyperinflation is when the prices skyrocket, the currency becomes a piece of trash, Zimbabwe
experienced a similar conditions in previous years.
Calculation of Inflation-
In India inflation is calculated by the help of CPI(Consumer Price Index),previously it was
calculated by WPI(Wholesale Price Index), CPI as a scale was adopted by RBI ,due the
recommendations of Urijit Patel committee.
53) Minimum Alternative Tax - An Insight
A Definition
Direct tax in lay terms is a tax on income that you have to pay, it cannot be shifted to others.
Some of its forms include income tax, wealth tax, etc. Direct taxes are directly levied on
individuals, corporations and organisations and collected by way of income tax returns to be
filed each year.
An indirect tax is collected by an intermediary (such as a retail store) from the person who bears
the ultimate economic burden of the tax (such as the customer). Indirect taxes include sales tax,
service tax, value-added tax, commodity transaction tax and securities transaction tax among
others.
One such indirect tax is the minimum alternate tax (MAT). Going forward, we will explain what
MAT is, the reasons for its introduction, and who is liable to pay the tax.
Normally, a company is liable to pay tax on the income computed in accordance with the
provisions of the Income-Tax Act, but the profit and loss account of the company is prepared as
per provisions of the Companies Act.
In the past, a large number of companies showed book profits on their profit and loss account
and at the same time distributed huge dividends. However, these companies didnt pay any tax to
the government as they reported either nil or negative income under provisions of the Income-
Tax Act.
These companies were showing book profits and declaring dividends to their shareholders but
were not paying any tax. These companies are popularly known as zero tax companies.
The Indian Income-Tax Act allows a large number of exemptions from total income. Besides
exemptions, there are several deductions permitted from the gross total income. Further,
depreciation allowable under the Income-Tax Act, is not the same as required under the

Companies Act. The latter provides a lower rate viz-a-viz the I-T Act which computes a higher
rate of depreciation.
The result of such exemptions, deductions, and other incentives under the Income-Tax Act in the
form of liberal rates of depreciation is the emergence of zero tax companies, which in spite of
having high book profit are able to reduce their taxable income to nil.
Government's take on MAT
Government formed panel to resolve tax dispute with foreign investors.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced that a high-level committee will look into the
controversial issue of payment of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) by FIIs.
The Committee is requested to give its recommendation of the specific issues of MAT on
FIIs expeditiously.
Government also declared that minimum alternate tax (MAT) would not be applicable on
foreign companies earning from capital gains on securities, royalty, fee on technical
services and interest, providing a huge breather to foreign investors.
54) Mergers of Banks - Soon to be a reality

While India claims to have escaped the global financial crisis, PSBs are in a mess today because
they were big lenders to many mega-scamsters of the UPA regime and shaky infrastructure
projects (telecom, coal, power, realty and SEZ).
The finance ministry is looking at the possibility of merging at least five state-run banks -
from Andhra Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Dena Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, Vijaya Bank,
and United Bank of India - with larger PSUs after their performance and bad asset levels
improve.
The move has been recommended by the Working Group on Consolidation and
Restructuring of PSBs (public sector banks).

Officials said smaller banks would be merged with larger banks, which needed a presence
in regions where the smaller banks were strong.
GYAN SANGAM
P.J.Nayak committee - RBI had appointed a committee under former Axis Bank
chairman PJ Nayak for improving governance in the sector. The panel had recommended
the government give up its control over these banks and reduce stake in these to less than
51 per cent.
Besides Basel, domestic banks need to merge or organically grow into larger entities in
the long term before the financial market is opened up to foreign banks.
US and European countries have long been demanding greater access to the Indian
financial market in return for concessions in the services sector.
Loss-making PSU banks have been similarly merged with the profitable ones to create
larger entities.To nudge the banks, the government has already decided that only
profitable banks with a good performance record will be recapitalised.
A provision of Rs 9,555 crore has been made this fiscal for the recapitalisation of PSU
banks, including the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, the Export-
Import Bank of India, India Infrastructure Finance Company and Small Industries
Development Bank of India.
Last year, a provision of Rs 11,200 crore had been made for recapitalisation, but a mere
Rs 6,990 crore was infused into banks, including the SBI, Bank of Baroda, Punjab
National Bank, Canara Bank and Syndicate Bank.
Case of SBI
SBI has five associate banks, namely State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of
Hyderabad, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Travancore, besides State Bank of
Mysore
SBI is waiting for all associate banks to turn in better results in the next financial year.
So, we would like them to stabilise and come out at a particular level.
The government has in the past toyed with the idea of merging the associates of the State
Bank of India with it or creating an "SBI-2" by merging some of these associates. Some
associates such as the State Bank of Indore were merged with the SBI in the past.

The smaller unlisted subsidiaries are almost 100 per cent owned by the SBI and merging
them should not pose any major problem as their functioning is similar to that of the
parent.
The move, officials said, will create a larger SBI, giving the country's largest bank much
more financial muscle.
The drive to create larger Indian banks stems from the need to comply with new Basel
norms that would kick off by 2019 and create large entities capable of taking on
competition from foreign banks with the opening up of the domestic financial sector.
Banks will need to raise almost Rs 4.5 lakh crore in Tier-1 capital, including Rs 2.4 lakh
crore in equity capital, by March 2019 under the Basel III norms.
Officials said at present the focus would be on assessing the loan portfolios of small
banks to help them exit businesses where they were not strong or were unprofitable.
Subsequently, these banks would be asked to concentrate on particular segments.
Earlier, the government had merged the State Bank of Hyderabad with the State Bank of
India. There was also a move to merge some of the other SBI subsidiaries with the State
Bank of Patiala seen to be next in the queue.
Disadvantages of the mergers -
The merger and consolidation of large PSBs, if it ever happens, will further reduce the number of
banks in the country and kill competition. This is bad for the consumer, because banks will
operate even more like a cartel in that situation. We also need to mobilise public opinion on the
circumstances in which having big banks, capable of funding large infrastructure projects, is in
Indias interest.
The big learning from the global financial crisis is that banks that are too big to fail are bailed
out by the exchequer and the entire country pays the price.
55) India Economic Reform

The economy of India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Since its
independence in the year 1947, a number of economic policies have been taken which have led
to the gradual economic development of the country. On a broader scale, India economic reform
has been a blend of both social democratic and liberalization policies.
Economic reforms during the post independence period

The post independence period of India was marked by economic policies which tried to make the
country self sufficient. Under the economic reform, stress was given more to development of
defense, infrastructure and agricultural sectors. Government companies were set up and
investment was done more on the public sector. This was made to make the base of the country
stronger. To strengthen the infrastructure, new roads, rail lines, bridges, dams and lots more were
constructed.
During the Five Years Plans initiated in the 1950s, the economic reforms of India somewhat
followed the democratic socialist principle with more emphasis on the growth of the public and

rural sector. Most of the policies were meant towards the increase of exports compared to
imports, central planning, business regulation and also intervention of the state in the finance and
labor markets. In the mid 50's huge scale nationalization was done to industries like mining,
telecommunications, electricity and so on.
Economic Reforms during 1960s and 1980s
During the mid 1960's effort was made to make India self sufficient and also increase the
production and export of the food grains. To make the plan a success, huge scale agricultural
development was undertaken. The government initiated the Green Revolution movement and
stressed on better agricultural yield through the use of fertilizers, improved seed and lots more.
New irrigation projects were undertaken and the rural banks were also set up to provide financial
support to the farmers.
The first step towards liberalization of the economy was taken up by Rajiv Gandhi. After he
became the Prime Minister, a number of restrictions on various sectors were eased, control on
pricing was removed, and stress was given on increased growth rate and so on.
Economic Reforms during 1990s to the present times

Due to the fall of the Soviet Union and the problems in balance of payment accounts, the country
faced economic crisis and the IMF asked for the bailout loan. To get out of the situation, the then
Finance Minister, Manmohan Singh initiated the economic liberation reform in the year 1991.
This is considered to be one of the milestones in India economic reform as it changed the market
and financial scenario of the country. Under the liberalization program, foreign direct investment
was encouraged, public monopolies were stopped, and service and tertiary sectors were
developed.
Since the initiation of the liberalization plan in the 1990s, the economic reforms have put
emphasis on the open market economic policies. Foreign investments have come in various
sectors and there has been a good growth in the standard of living, per capital income and Gross
Domestic Product.
Due to the global meltdown, the economy of India suffered as well. However, unlike other
countries, India sustained the shock as an important part of its financial and banking sector is still
under government regulation. Nevertheless, to cope with the present situation, the Indian
government has taken a number of decisions like strengthening the banking and tertiary sectors,
increasing the quantity of exports and lots more.
56) Fiscal System in India

A country's fiscal system is the complete structure of government revenue and expenditures and
the framework within which its agencies collect and disburse those funds. This system is
governed by a nation's economic policy, which comes from decisions made by the governing
body.
Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its spending levels and tax rates to
monitor and influence a nation's economy. It is the sister strategy to monetary policy through
which a central bank influences a nation's money supply. These two policies are used in various
combinations to direct a country's economic goals.

There are 3 parts of the fiscal policy
1. Public Revenue.
2. Public expenditure.
3. Public debt.
Revenues: are the source of income realized by the government and are divided into:
1. Revenue receipts : which consists of revenue from regular sources like Taxation revenues:
eg., receipts from corporate tax, income tax, excise tax, Excise duty, custom duty, service tax
etc.Non tax revenue: which include interest on loans, dividends from Public sector units, Fees
and stamp duties.
2. Capital receipts: Which refer to those inflows to government that are not in the nature of
regular income, But are repayments / recoveries, or proceeds from sale of assets. Other receipts
like Disinvestment (selling some shares of a PSU) comes under this head. Borrowings are
simply the deficit which can be covered by taking loans from market.
Expenditure: are the expenses incured by govt and are divided into :
Non plan expenditure: These are on going expenditure not covered under the 5 - year
plans. Non-plan revenue expenditure is accounted for by interest payments, subsidies (mainly on
food and fertilisers), wage and salary payments to government employees, grants to States and
Union Territories governments, pensions, police, economic services in various sectors, other
general services such as tax collection, social services, and grants to foreign governments. Non-
plan capital expenditure mainly includes defence, loans to public enterprises, loans to States,
Union Territories and foreign governments.
Plan expenditure: India has adopted economic planning as a strategy for economic development.
For stepping up the rate of economic development five-year plans have been formulated. So far
ten five-year plans have been completed. The expenditure incurred on the items relating to five
year plans is termed as plan expenditure. Such expenditure is incurred by the Central
Government.

A provision is made for such expenditure in the budget of the Central Government. Assistance
given by the Central Government to the State Governments and Union Territories for plan
purposes also forms part of the plan expenditure. Plan expenditure is subdivided into Revenue
Expenditure and Capital Expenditure.This expenditure involves funding for programmes and
projects covered by the 5 - year plans as decided by the various ministerial bodies.
Under the above heads there are two components:
Revenue expenditure - It is payments incurred for day - to - day running of government

departments and various services offered to citizens. This also comprises of spending towards
subsidies, interest payments. This spurs consumption in economy.
Capital expenditure: This expenditure spurs asset creation, resulting in increased investment with
spending diverted towards cost associated with acquisition of assets that may include
investments in shares, infrastructure as well as loans and advances given out by government.
Other Important Terms:

Public debt: The money borrowed by the government is eventually a burden on the people of
India, and is, therefore, called public debt. It is split into two heads: internal debt (money
borrowed within the country) and external debt (funds borrowed from non-Indian sources).
Usually the government spends more than what it earns through various sources. This shortfall,
which is met with borrowed funds, is called fiscal deficit. Technically, it is the excess of
government expenditure over 'non-borrowed receipts' revenue receipts plus loan repayments
received by the govt plus miscellaneous capital receipts. Fiscal deficit for FY13 is estimated at
INR.5.64 lakh crore, revenues of INR 9.18 lakh crores less expenditure of INR 14.82 lakh crores.
Fiscal deficit is measured as a percentage of GDP, hence INR 5.64 lakh crore / GDP of INR
100.74 lakh crores work out to estimated fiscal deficit of 5.6% of GDP.
Revenue Deficit: It is the excess of revenue expenditure over revenue receipts. All expenditure
on revenue account should ideally be met from receipts on revenue account; the revenue deficit
should be zero. In such a situation, the government borrowing will not be for consumption but
for creation of assets.
Effective revenue deficit: This is an even tighter number than the revenue deficit. It is revenue
deficit less grants for creation of capital assets.
Primary deficit: It is the fiscal deficit less interest payments made by the government on its
earlier borrowings.
Deficit and GDP: Apart from the numbers in rupees, the budget document also mentions deficit
as a percentage of GDP. This is because in absolute terms, the fiscal deficit may be large, but if it
is small compared to the size of the economy, then it's not such a bad thing, especially if it is
being used to create production capacities.
Types of fiscal policy

Fiscal policy has an effect on each of these categories. There are two types of fiscal policy:
Expansionary and Contractionary.

Expansionary Fiscal Policy
When an economy is in a recession, expansionary fiscal policy is in order. Typically this type of
fiscal policy results in increased government spending and/or lower taxes. A recession results in
a recessionary gap meaning that aggregate demand (ie, GDP) is at a level lower than it would
be in a full employment situation. In order to close this gap, a government will typically increase
their spending which will directly increase the aggregate demand curve (since government
spending creates demand for goods and services). At the same time, the government may choose
to cut taxes, which will indirectly affect the aggregate demand curve by allowing for consumers
to have more money at their disposal to consume and invest. The actions of this expansionary
fiscal policy would result in a shift of the aggregate demand curve to the right, which would
result closing the recessionary gap and helping an economy grow.
Contractionary Fiscal Policy
Contractionary fiscal policy is essentially the opposite of expansionary fiscal policy. When an
economy is in a state where growth is at a rate that is getting out of control (causing inflation and
asset bubbles), contractionary fiscal policy can be used to rein it in to a more sustainable level. If
an economy is growing too fast or for example, if unemployment is too low, an inflationary gap
will form. In order to eliminate this inflationary gap a government may reduce government
spending and increase taxes. A decrease in spending by the government will directly decrease
aggregate demand curve by reducing government demand for goods and services. Increases in
tax levels will also slow growth, as consumers will have less money to consume and invest,
thereby indirectly reducing the aggregate demand curve.
Conclusion On Fiscal Policy
The objectives of fiscal policy such as economic development, price stability, social justice, etc.
can be achieved only if the tools of policy like Public Expenditure, Taxation, Borrowing and
deficit financing are effectively used.Though there are gaps in India's fiscal policy, there is also
an urgent need for making India's fiscal policy a rationalised and growth oriented one. The
success of fiscal policy depends upon taking timely measures and their effective administration
during implementation.
57) Short Notes on CBS..!!
What is CBS?
CBS refers to the software applications for recording transactions, storing customer information,
calculating interest and completing the process of passing entries in a single database.
What CBS does?

CBS enables accessing of complete customer account details centrally. It makes it possible for a
bank customer to access his bank account through whichever channel he prefers like internet
banking, mobile banking, ATM etc.

CBS in India
This initiative was taken by the banks on the basis of First Rangarajan Committee report on
bank computerisation submitted in the year 1984.
The committee was constituted under the chairmanship of Dr. C. Rangarajan (Then deputy
governor of RBI).
Old generation banks initially were hesitant about this but with the advent of new generation
private sector banks in India during 1994-1996, the real era of bank marketing started and these
banks started to offer any-where and any-time banking facilities to its customers.
Syndicate Bank was the first among the Public Sector Banks to implement Core Banking.
First CBS branch of Syndicate bank was Jayanagar Branch in Bangalore.
Benefits of CBS
A. Benefits for the customers
Through CBS a bank customer can avail banking facilities (transactions) 24x7.
It is time saving, convenient and efficient.
B. Benefits for the banks
This paradigm shift in banking has revolutionised the speed, efficiency and reach of the
delivery systems. It gives greater customer satisfaction which is essential for every bank
in this day an age.
Since it offers alternate channels than brick and mortar banking, it is a viable alternative
to opening new branches, therefore reduces a banks operational costs.
Alternative for extended working hours.
Reduces long queues in bank cash counters.

58) Bretton Woods Twins
Bretton woods twins mean the organisations i.e.The International Monetary Fund (IMF) set up
along with the World Bank after the Second World War to assist in the reconstruction of war-
ravaged countries. Leaders felt that financial stability was best achieved when countries worked
in an environment of interdependence.
The two organisations were agreed to be set up at a conference in Bretton Woods in the US.
Hence,they are known as the Bretton Woods twins.The Bretton Woods Conference, formally
known as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference,was the gathering of 730
delegates from all 44 Allied nations at the Mount Washington Hotel, situated in Bretton Woods,
New Hampshire, United States, to regulate the international monetary and financial order after
the conclusion of World War II.The conference was held from the 1st to 22nd of July, 1944.
Agreements were executed that later established the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (IBRD, which is part of today's (World Bank Group) and the International
Monetary Fund (IMF)
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
IMF was supposed to oversee and monitor the economic

performance of 188 member countries and warn them of any developing economic crisis.If any
crisis does develop and a country approaches IMF for help, the organisation chalks out a
recovery plan, which includes imposition of conditions for keeping the economies on a particular
path.
The organization's objectives stated in the Articles of Agreement are:
promote international economic cooperation,

international trade,
employment,
exchange-rate stability including by making financial resources available to member
countries to meet balance-of-payments needs.
When did India take the IMF bailout package?

The Indian government, faced with a balance of payments crisis in 1991, took a loan and agreed
to the reforms process. The liberalisation in the economy was partly a concomitant of that need.
The IMF report is part of its mandate under Article IV of its constitution. The fund holds

consultations with finance ministries and central banks of each member countries annually for its
spring meeting in Washington.
The decision of the IMF to intervene in any country is based on the governing board's decision.
The voting rights are determined historically by the economic strength of the countries. India,
because of its rapidly growing economic clout, has demanded a re-drawing of the voting rights,
but that did not happen at the recent Singapore meeting.Instead, the fund gave ad hoc voting
right increase to China, South Korea, Turkey and Mexico. It has promised a long-term revision
in another two years.
WORLD BANK GROUP
World Bank group provides loans to developing countries for capital programs. The World
Bank is a component of the World Bank Group, and a member of the United Nations
Development Group.
The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty. According to its Articles of
Agreement, all its decisions must be guided by a commitment to the promotion of foreign
investment and international trade and to the facilitation of capital investment.
The World Bank should not be confused with the United Nations World Bank Group, a member
of the United Nations Economic and Social Council and a family of five international
organizations that make leveraged loans to poor countries:
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)

International Development Association (IDA)
International Finance Corporation (IFC)
Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

IBRD is an international financial institution which offers loans to middle-income developing
countries. The IBRD is the first of five member institutions which compose the World Bank
Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1944 with
the mission of financing the reconstruction of European nations devastated by World War
II.Following the reconstruction of Europe, the Bank's mandate expanded to advancing worldwide
economic development and eradicating poverty. The IBRD provides commercial-grade or
concessional financingto sovereign states to fund projects that seek to improve transportation and
infrastructure, education, domestic policy, environmental consciousness, energy investments,
healthcare, access to food and potable water, and access to improved sanitation.
The International Development Association (IDA)

The IDA is an international financial institution which offers concessional loans and grants
to the world's poorest developing countries.The IDA is a member of the World Bank Group and
is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1960 to complement
the existing International Bank for Reconstruction and Development by lending to developing

countries which suffer from the lowest gross national income, from troubled creditworthiness, or
from the lowest per capita income.
International Finance Corporation (IFC)

The IFC was established in 1956 to support the growth of the private sector in the developing
world. The IFCs stated mission is to promote sustainable private sector investment in
developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve peoples lives.IFC provides loans
and equity financing,advice, and technical services to the private sector. The IFC also plays a
catalytic role, by mobilizing additional capital through loan syndication and by lessening the
political risk for investors, enabling their participation in a given project.
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)

The ICSID is considered to be the leading international arbitration institution devoted to
resolving disputes between States and foreign investors, also known as BIT arbitrations.Based in
Washington, D.C. (U.S.A.) and operating under the World Bank, ICSID was established in 1965
by the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of
Other States (known as the ICSID Convention or Washington Convention).
The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)

The MIGA is an international financial institution which offers political risk insurance and
credit enhancement guarantees. Such guarantees help investors protect foreign direct investments
against political and non-commercial risks in developing countries.MIGA is a member of the
World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established
in 1988 as an investment insurance facility to encourage confident investment in developing
countries.
World Bank Group Strategy to Help India Achieve Its Vision

The World Bank Groups new Country Partnership Strategy will guide its support to India from
2013 through 2017. The strategy aims to help the country lay the foundations for achieving its
longer-term vision of faster, more inclusive growth.
A key feature of the new strategy is the significant shift in support toward low-income and
special category states, where many of Indias poor and disadvantaged live.The new strategy
proposes a lending program of $3 billion to $5 billion each year over the next five years. Sixty
percent of the financing will go to state government-backed projects. Half of this, or 30% of total
lending, will go to low-income or special category states, up from 18% of lending under the
previous strategy.

SBI PO Main 2015 Descriptive Paper
Essay (Any 1):-
(a) Pros & Cons of implementation of One Rank One Pension.
(b) Ethical problems of E Commerce.
(c) Indias over dependence on the monsoon
Letter (Any 1):- Write a letter to:-
(a) The Manager pointing out the haphazard manner in which files are maintained in the office &
proposing some innovative methods of filling.
(b) The Editor of a newspaper bringing to his notice the number of cybercrimes taking place in
your city & suggest measures to curb this menace.
(c) an aged teacher of yours thanking him/her for his/her contribution to your success as a
human being.

Sbi Po 2016 Essay Writing-1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Sbi Po 2016 Essay Writing-1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

2016

Origin and Purpose:

Why is India seeking to become a member of NSG ?

1. India wants to become a player in this international arena where nuclear

Why are certain countries opposing/supporting India's entry into NSG ?

Recent Support for NSG Membership for India.

Switzerland - on 6 June 2016 during PM Modi's visit to Geneva.

2. Indias nuclear doctrine is unique.

The Structure of the Department of Space of the Government of India :-

1- Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, 2- Liquid

ISRO & its key records :-

20 Satellite in a single mission :-

2) Global Impact Of Brexit

So now the question arise- What is Referendum?

What is the European Union?

Presently EU is a block of 28 countries and 19 countries have formed EURO ZONE.

Major Issues around BREXIT ?

Constitutional Provisional related to a Country coming out of EU :

Indian companies will have to address two markets separately adding to

Likely beneficiaries of Brexit:

Don't count the days, make the days count!

Moment when 'Lion' Refused To Fight!

It's not bragging if you can back it up.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

4) All About The Paris Climate Agreement

So basically this is an agreement on the language of the treaty, negotiated by

Key features of the Paris Agreement

Sustainable Development: The agreement highlights the importance of sustainable

Financial support from Developed countries: The agreement, calls on nations to

Implementation of the Convention: Every country would make significant effort to

Thanks to the former finance minister and Prime

Current situation of Indian market.

New government has framed different policies for

According to Department of Industrial

Some of the significant FDI announcements are as follows:

India is progressing at a faster rate but

7) Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Housing for All 2022

Women, irrespective of caste and religion.

The features of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana are as following:

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Compnents (Housing for All 2022):

An average of Rs 1 lakh would be granted by the Government of India to all the

ICICI bank Awas Yojana Loans at subsidized rates of 6.5 %

8) City to Smart city

PRESENT SCENARIO:-Union Minister for Urban

WHAT IS SMART CITY?

The first question is what is meant by a smart city. The

So practically Indian Smart cities will promise following comfortabilities first as

Adequate water supply

Private insurance companies, along with the Agriculture Insurance Company of

10) START UP INDIA STAND UP INDIA

PRESENT SCENARIO- Current NDA government also wants to erase

1) A Rs. 10,000 crore fund for startups

2) A single point of registration for startups

3) A simplified regulatory regime based on self-certification

4) A fast-track mechanism filing patent applications

5) A credit guarantee fund for startups

6) Tax exemption for three years, and capital gains

7) A Startup India Hub for collaboration

8) Relaxed norms of public-procurement

9) Faster exits for startups

10) Atal Innovation Mission to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation

11) Innovation focused programs for students

12)An annual incubator grand challenge

At the end few lines from start up event: