Aviation certificate of airworthiness to HAL’s Dornier … of airworthiness to HAL’s Dornier 228. ... company to receive banking licence in India. y ... The Reserve Bank of India

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mySINCE 1993 India’s Premier Banking / SSC Institute

Economy

SINCE 1993 India’s Premier Banking / SSC Institute

Aviation You may soon be flying regional routes on board a made-

in-India aircraft. The Directorate General of CivilAviation (DGCA) has allowed Hindustan AeronauticsLtd (HAL)-manufactured Dornier 228 to be used forcivilian flights. The 19-seater aircraft has, till now, beenused by defence forces and is the first plane to be madein the country for commercial flights. The DGCA hasgiven type certification to this aircraft and also givencertificate of airworthiness to HAL’s Dornier 228. Now,HAL can sell this plane to airlines in India and it can beused by them for regional flights under the Modi’s govt’sambitious UDAN scheme.

India will break up its debt-burdened flag carrier Air India(AI) into four separate companies and offer to sell atleast 51 per cent in each of them as part of a disinvestmentproposed by PM Narendra Modi. The core airlinebusiness comprising Air India and Air India Express —the low-cost overseas arm — will be offered as onecompany, and the process will be completed by the endof 2018, Junior Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha has said.Its regional arm, ground handling, and engineeringoperations will also be sold separately in the sameprocess. The Air India is carrying $7.9 bn in debt.

The State Bank of India (SBI) on 17 Jan said its boardhad given nod to raise ̀ 20,000 cr for financing affordablehousing and infrastructure projects through long-termbonds. Although the real estate sector is facing multi-year slowdown, the affordable housing segment hasgained momentum after the govt provided infrastructure

to it in last year’s budget. The govt is also providinginterest subsidy to buyers on the low cost homes underPradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. SBI is headquartered inMumbai and Rajnish Kumar is the present chairman ofthe bank.

The US buyout giant KKR & Co has become the firstforeign investor to fully own an asset reconstructioncompany (ARC) in India as it received approval from theReserve Bank of India. India’s banks are weighed downwith $180 bn of stressed assets, acting as a brake on thegrowth prospects of the world’s fastest-expanding majoreconomy. In May 2017, the govt has allowed foreigninstitutions to have 100% ownership in ARCs in a moveaimed at resolving mounting problems of bad debt. AnARC is a company that is set up to do exactly what thename suggests — reconstruct or re-package assets tomake them more saleable. The assets in question hereare loans from banks, card companies, financialinstitutions etc.

Kolkata-based Bandhan Bank on 1 Jan filed draft paperswith the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)for its initial public offer (IPO) to raise an estimatedamount of over `2,500 cr. The bank has filed a DraftRed Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the SEBI for itsproposed IPO of up to 11,92,80,494 equity shares of facevalue of `10 each. The issue, which is touted as thebiggest banking sector IPO till date, is expected to raiseover ̀ 2,500 cr. Chandra Shekhar Ghosh is the ManagingDirector and CEO of the bank, the first micro financecompany to receive banking licence in India.

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An agreement for the International Bank forReconstruction and Development (IBRD) credit of USD40 mn for ‘UP Pro-Poor Tourism Development Project’was inked on 28 Dec between the Govt of India and theWorld Bank. The IBRD will grant the loan which has a 5-year grace period, and maturity term of 19 years. Theprogramme size is approximately USD 57.14 mn, of whichUSD 40 mn will be financed by the Bank, and theremaining amount will be funded out of State Budget.

Kolkata-headquartered Allahabad Bank has entered intoan agreement with state-run National e-GovernanceServices Limited (NeSL) for utilising the latter’sInformation Utility Services envisaged under theInsolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. MD and CEO ofAllahabad Bank Usha Ananthasubramanian stressed onthe need for Information Utility Services in the presentcontext when most banks are reeling under NPA pressure,especially in large-value accounts, and looking for quickresolutions NeSL, owned by the govt, is the firstInformation Utility entity registered by the Insolvencyand Bankruptcy Board of India under IBBI (IU)Regulations, 2017.

The Govt on 27 Dec slashed interest rates on smallsavings schemes by 0.2 percentage point for the Jan-Mar period from the rates applicable in the previousquarter, a move that will prompt banks to lower depositrates. The interest rates on savings deposits and five-year Senior Citizen Savings Scheme have been leftunchanged

The rates National Savings Certificate (NSC) – 7.6 per cent Sukanya Samriddhi Account – 8.1 per cent Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) – 7.3 per cent (will mature

in 118 months) Public Provident Fund (PPF) – 7.6 per cent Five-year Senior Citizens Savings Scheme – 8.3 per

cent Savings Deposit – 4 per cent Five-year Recurring Deposit – 6.9 per cent

At 9.9 per cent ratio, India has been ranked fifth on thelist of countries with highest Non-Performing Assets(NPAs), and is on top spot among the BRICS nations, arecent report by CARE Ratings revealed. The country isreeling under a huge NPA burden of over ̀ 7.33 lakh cr,as of Jun 2017. The NPA list is topped by countries knownas PIIGS (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain),excluding Spain that is ranked at 7th.

Greece has the highest NPA of 36.4 in the world.Its economy is in tatters with around 50 per cent ofregistered unemployed people without a regular job forover one year and a half. Other countries like Italy (NPA16.4 per cent), Portugal (15.5), Ireland (11.9), Russia (9.7)and Spain (5.3) are also facing huge NPA crisis. Eversince the RBI spoke of asset quality recognition (AQR)in 2015, there was an increase in the pace of recognisingstressed assets in India.

The CARE ratings report was compiled in fourcategories, including low, very low, medium, and highlevel of NPAs. With NPA ratio of just 1 per cent, Australia,Canada, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea and the UnitedKingdom were listed in the first category, while China,Germany, Japan, and the USA - with less than 2 per centof NPA - were listed in the second category. Growingeconomies like Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa and Turkeywere listed in the third category.

A non-performing asset (NPA) is a loan or advancefor which the principal or interest payment remainedoverdue for a period of 90 days.

India’s largest mobile-first financial services platform,Paytm, on 27 Dec announced that its app has crossedthe 100 mn milestone on Google Play Store in the secondweek of Dec 2017. This makes Paytm the country’s firstpayments app to cross the 100 mn downloads mark. Theplatform allows users to make online recharges and billpayments, book movie tickets, and do travel bookings,among others. Paytm also allows users to scan its QRand pay at large merchants, grocery and kirana stores,milk booths, local taxi/autos fares, petrol pumps,multiplexes, restaurants and more.

Enthused by the quantum jump in the volume and valueof transactions in the last one-and-a-half years, theNational Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) isexamining the feasibility of introducing the next versionof the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). This versionwill allow transaction authorisation using Aadhaar-basedbiometric and mandate generation/recurring paymentauthorisation through one-time authentication. Banks,under the aegis of NPCI (the umbrella organisation foroperating retail payments and settlement systems in thecountry), are closely examining the next version of UPI(UPI 2.0) keeping in view the aspects of user convenienceand security. UPI is a mobile-phone-based paymentssolution for effecting person-to-person transfers andmerchant payments.


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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) presented the new ̀ 10banknote under the Mahatma Gandhi (New) series on 5Jan.

Highlights The new `10 note is chocolate brown in colour, and

it will bear the signature of RBI Governor Urjit Patel. The back of the note features the motif of Sun

Temple in Konark, ‘depicting the country’s culturalheritage’.

The dimensions of the note are 63mm x 123mm, asopposed to the older notes 63mm x 137mm.

The denominational numeral ‘10’ has also beenwritten in Devnagari.

There is a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi at the centreof the note.

There is a Swachh Bharat logo with slogan on theback of the note.

The older `10 notes from the previous series willcontinue to be legal tender.

The Finance Ministry on 2 Jan clarified that the govtwas not closing 8 per cent saving bonds but replacing itwith 7.75 per cent Savings Scheme. The clarificationcomes a day after the Ministry announced that it wouldstop the subscription for Savings (Taxable) Bonds fromJan 2. The 8% Savings Bonds Scheme is also known asRBI Bonds Scheme. The govt had introduced thesebonds in 2003 to encourage retail investors to invest.

The State Bank of India and Nabard have signed anagreement with five NGOs in West Bengal for thepromotion of 2,500 joint liability groups (JLGs) in selectdistricts of the State. JLGs are informal groups of 4-10members engaged in similar economic activities andwilling to jointly undertake the responsibility to repayloans taken by the group from a bank. They are typicallycredit groups of small or marginal tenant farmers who donot have a proper title of their farmland. Through theseJLGs, SBI plans to extend assistance to the financiallyexcluded sections of the society, especially landlessfarmers in the districts of Purulia, Paschim Medinipur,Purba Medinipur, Burdwan and North 24 Parganas.Nabard has fixed a target of credit linking 80,000 JLGs inWest Bengal in 2017-18.

HDFC Bank has announced a partnership with RajasthanGovt to promote and nurture startups in the state. Underthis partnership, HDFC Bank will team up with the stategovt to provide end-to-end solutions like currentaccounts, credit cards and other solutions to startups

under its SmartUp programme. Furthermore, HDFC Bankalso plans to assist startups in showcasing their offeringsto the general public through its various platforms.

The Finance Ministry has approved proposal for infusionof `75.77 bn in six weak public sector banks (PSBs) aspart of the recapitalisation plan to bolster capital adequacyratio (CAR).

Highlights All these banks, which got capital support, are

under prompt corrective action (PCA) of the ReserveBank of India.

The funding comes under the Indradhanush plan ofthe govt, which promised `70 bn over a period offour years ending Mar 2019.

Lenders, who will receive capital through preferentialissue of shares, include:Bank of India (`2,257 cr)IDBI Bank (`2,729 cr)Bank of Maharashtra (`650 cr)Central Bank of India (`323 cr)Dena Bank (`243 cr)UCO Bank (`1,375 cr)

While the govt decides the mode for recapitalisation ofall state-run banks, it advanced the release of funds tothese six banks to help them meet their equityrequirements and enable them to resume normal businessand help them come out of PCA. Finance Minister ArunJaitley in Oct had announced an unprecedented ̀ 211 tntwo-year road map to strengthen PSBs reeling underhigh non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans. Theplan includes floating re-capitalisation bonds of ̀ 1.35 tnand raising `580 bn from the market by diluting govt’sstake.

Scaling new peaks for the second consecutive week, thecountry’s foreign exchange reserves surged by awhopping $4.444 bn to touch a new life-time high of$409.366 bn in the week to Dec 29, Reserve Bank datashowed. The surge was due to a massive spike in foreigncurrency assets, which are a key component of thereserves. The foreign exchange reserves of India consistof the below four categories: Foreign Currency Assets Gold Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) Reserve Tranche Position in the IMF

The Paytm Payments Bank on 6 Jan said it had partneredInduslnd Bank to introduce a facility to create a fixed

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deposit when the customer balance exceeds ̀ 1 lakh atthe end of the day. Paytm Payments Bank customers canredeem their deposits instantly, anytime, without payingany pre-closure or miscellaneous charges and can earnup to 6.85% annual interest. Additionally, if a customerbecomes a senior citizen before the maturity period, theaccount will be auto-renewed under the Senior CitizenScheme, thus earning higher interest. Renu Satti is thepresent MD and CEO of the Paytm Payments Bankpromoted by Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

The Telangana Industrial Health Clinic Ltd (TIHCL), aState govt initiative, has got RBI clearance to registerand function as a non-banking finance company (NBFC).It will be the first State-promoted and co-financing NBFC.TIHCL was floated in 2017 with a corpus of `100 cr,which included contributions from the State and Centralgovts, financial institutions, industrial units and highnet worth individuals. TIHCL’s innovative institutionalintervention to resolve the stressed assets in micro andsmall manufacturing enterprises attracted the attentionof policymakers at the national level. It had won theSKOCH Platinum Award in Sep 2017 under the smartgovernance category in the MSME segment.

The State Bank of India on 1 Jan announced a 30-basis-point cut in old lending rate benchmarks — Base Rateand Benchmark Prime Lending Rate — in a bid to bringnew year cheer to customers whose loans are still linkedto these benchmarks. With effect from Jan 1, 2018, therevised base rate is 8.65 per cent (8.95 per cent earlier) forexisting customers and Benchmark Prime Lending Rateis 13.40 per cent (13.70 per cent). In terms of regulatoryrequirements, all rupee loans sanctioned by banks witheffect from Apr 1, 2016 are priced with reference to themarginal cost of funds based lending rates (MCLRs).Existing borrowers have an option to switch over tointerest rates linked to MCLR (other than fixed rate loans).

In a new initiative, the Andhra Pradesh Grameena VikasBank (APGVB) has operationalised its first desktop ATMat Kasibugga in Mandi Bazar of Warangal in Telangana.The mini-ATM within the branch premises will facilitatecustomers to withdraw small amounts. At the same timeregular bank account holders can withdraw money anddo other banking activities. The APGVB is the biggestRRB sponsored by the SBI and among the best RRBs.There are 56 RRBs at present.

Kolkata-headquartered Allahabad Bank on 3 Jan saidthe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had initiated ‘prompt

corrective action’ (PCA) against the state-run lender overits high bad loans. High net non-performing assets (NPA)and a negative return on assets (ROA) for two years ina row has prompted the action. The central bank has sofar ordered corrective action for about 10 lenders, mostlydue to their high bad loan ratios. UshaAnanthasubramanian is the present MD and CEO ofAllahabad Bank.

The private sector Federal Bank, headquartered in Aluva,Kerala, has entered into a strategic partnership withHedge Equities Ltd for providing Portfolio InvestmentScheme (PIS) services to NRIs. Federal Bank isauthorised by the RBI to issue permission letter to NRIson behalf of the RBI to transact in secondary market.Currently, the Bank has PIS arrangement with eightpartners and through these tie-ups, the bank facilitatesNRI clients to invest in shares of Indian companies, insecondary market for purchase/sale of shares orconvertible debentures on repatriable and non-repatriablebasis.

India has emerged as a top borrower from the China-sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank(AIIB) with USD 1.5 bn worth of loans in 2017 and USD3 bn more in the pipeline. India’s Ambassador GautamBambawale on 11 Jan met AIIB President Jin Liqun inBeijing and held in-depth talks. The vice president andchief investment officer of the bank is DJ Pandian. Nextto India, Indonesia has emerged as the second largestborrower with about USD 600 mn loans. In the 84-memberbank with an authorised capital of USD 100 bn, India isthe second largest shareholder with 7.5 per cent, followedby Russia 5.93 per cent and Germany with 4.5 per cent.China is the largest shareholder with 26.06 per cent votingshares in the bank.

The Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC)jumped more than six per cent after the country’s largesthousing finance company approved raising `130 bn inequity capital. Its board has approved preferentialallotment worth ̀ 111 bn to a clutch of marquee investors.The company said it would raise another ̀ 19 bn througha qualified institutional placement (QIP). Shares ofHDFC gained 6.2 per cent to an all-time high of ̀ 1,870.The market capitalisation of the mortgage financetouched `3 tn. HDFC on 15 Jan surpassed two – FMCGmajor Hindustan Unilever and top car manufacturerMaruti Suzuki – in terms of market cap to become India’sfifth most-valued firm.


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The public sector Punjab National Bank (PNB) andNational Scheduled Castes Finance and DevelopmentCorporation (NSFDC) have tied up to provide financialassistance for economic empowerment of personsbelonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) families living belowDouble Poverty Line (DPL). Under this tie-up, PNB wouldact as a channelising agent for the loan schemes ofNSFDC.

India’s newest scheduled commercial lender IDFC Bankand Warburg Pincus-backed Capital First on 13 Janagreed to merge in an all-share deal. V Vaidyanathan,chairman of the non-banking finance company, wouldbecome the MD and CEO of the merged entity, succeedingRajiv Lall. Lall, MD and CEO of IDFC Bank, will becomenon-executive chairman of IDFC. The marketcapitalisation of the combined entity works out to beabout `313 bn (`230.3 bn of IDFC Bank and ̀ 82.7 bn ofCapital First), based on the closing price of Jan 12.

The IndusInd Bank and Dynamics Inc on 9 Janannounced plans to introduce the first battery-powered,interactive payment cards in the Indian market in 2018.The new IndusInd Bank card from Pennsylvania-basedDynamics, which designs and manufactures intelligent,battery-powered payment cards, has multiple buttonsthat let the consumer use a single card to pay in multipleways. The solution requires no changes to the paymentinfrastructure or merchant systems. Consumers can payusing points or via instalment method whereverMasterCard is accepted.

Capital Market The markets regulator Sebi on 28 Dec said cross-holding

in credit rating agencies (CRAs) will be capped at 10per cent and also decided to raise the minimum networthrequirement to `25 cr from the current `5 cr. Also, theboard of Sebi has approved a slew of measures fortightening the financial and operational eligibility of thepromoters of CRAs, besides greater disclosurerequirements for them. The moves are likely to have animpact on global rating agencies like S&P, Moody’s andFitch, which have significant holdings in domesticagencies besides their direct presence. Ajay Tyagi is thepresent Chairman of Sebi headquartered in Mumbai.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on28 Dec said exchanges would be allowed to deal in bothequities and commodities from Oct 2018, a move thatwould benefit the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), and the Multi CommodityExchange (MCX), which currently trade in either of thetwo categories. The capital markets regulator alsoannounced easier access norms for foreign investorsand capped cross-holdings in credit rating agencies(CRAs) as well as mutual funds (MFs) to safeguardinvestors’ interest. The concept of universal exchangeswas in the works since the commodities regulator,Forward Markets Commission (FMC), was merged withSebi in 2015. Earlier in 2017, Sebi allowed singleintermediaries, such as brokers, to deal in bothcommodities and equities under a single licence.

The latest deal between the estranged Ambani brothers,where Reliance Industries will buy out telecom assets ofRCom, may have made many feel that promoters call allthe shots at listed companies. Market regulator SEBIthinks so too. Thus it has come with Minimum PublicShareholding (MPS) rule. The rule requires all listedcompanies in India to ensure that at least 25 per cent oftheir equity shares are held by non-promoters. PSUswere allowed a 10 per cent MPS, but have recently beenasked to comply with a 25 per cent MPS by Aug 2018.India has 5000 listed companies. Forcing promoters torelax their grip on listed companies can improve corporategovernance by giving public shareholders andinstitutions greater say in corporate actions that are putto vote.

The Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 14 Jan launchedoptions trading in guar seed on the commodity bourseNCDEX and asserted that the new initiative wouldbenefit farmers and ensure better prices in the comingdays. Higher production has led to fall in prices of someagri-commodities in some places and options trading isone of the major steps towards taking farmers out of thissituation. NCDEX is the second exchange after MCX tolaunch options trading in commodities.

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)’s India InternationalExchange listed the first bond on its Global SecuritiesMarket on 13 Jan. The bonds issued by the IndianRailways Finance Corporation (IRFC) are one of thehighest-credit-rated bonds issued by an Indian corporateand it has been IRFC’s first foray into the Green Bondmarket. On the occasion of listing the bond, RailwaysMinister Piyush Goyal said, in the days to come, IRFC isgoing to expand its footprint into the newer lines ofbusiness and will be able to use its Minimum AlternateTax (MAT) better. MAT is a way of making companies

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pay minimum amount of tax.

Disinvestment The Centre’s disinvestment agenda is likely to be on a

strong wicket in 2018-19, with nearly three dozen firmsready for stake sale. While the Finance Ministry isfinalising plans for strategic disinvestment of over sixfirms, including Air India, Dredging Corporation of IndiaLtd and Indian Medicines Pharmaceutical CorporationLimited, another two dozen companies, including railwayPSUs such as IRCTC and IRCON Ltd, Mishra DhatuNigam and Mazagon Dock Ltd will hit the markets withtheir initial and further public offering. The Bharat-22exchange traded fund, which helped the Centre raisenearly ̀ 14,500 cr, is also an option for 2018-19. However,the govt is likely to keep the target from disinvestmentproceeds at a lower level in 2018-19, compared to the`72,500 cr budgeted for this fiscal.

Energy State-run gas utility GAIL India on 29 Dec said it had

placed orders for another 400 km of pipeline of theambitious Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga natural gaspipeline project that will take the fuel to eastern India.With this, pipe supply orders for 2,100 km of theJagdishpur-Haldia & Bokaro-Dhamra Natural GasPipeline (JHBDPL) project have been placed. Theprestigious 2,655-km-long JHBDPL project, also knownas the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga project, will originateat Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh and will go to Haldia inWest Bengal and Dhamra in Odisha. It will pass throughUttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.The project will cost `12,940 cr and is targeted to becompleted by 2019.

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL) on 2 Jansaid it had commissioned and achieved the designedthroughput for its Refinery Off-Gas Cracker (ROGC)project of 1.5 MMTPA capacity in Jamnagar. RIL hassuccessfully commissioned and achieved designthroughput of the world’s first ever and largest ROGCcomplex of 1.5 MMTPA capacity along with downstreamplants and utilities. The ROGC complex is a corecomponent of RIL’s most innovative and world-scale J3project at its integrated refinery-petrochemicals complexat Jamnagar, Gujarat.

India on 18 Jan kicked off the bidding for the first roundof Open Acreage Licensing programme (OAL), in which

55 blocks will be up for grabs. This is the first majorbidding round in India after the National ExplorationLicensing Policy (NELP) round in 2010. The bids will beclosed on Apr 3, while blocks will be finally awarded byMay. The highlights of the round include a single licencefor all forms of hydrocarbons and simplified revenuesharing model with marketing and pricing freedom.

FDI The Norwegian fertiliser giant Yara International, on 12

Jan, announced the completion of its acquisition of TataChemicals Ltd’s 1.2 mn tonnes per annum productioncapacity urea plant at Babrala in Uttar Pradesh. The`2,682-cr deal includes the transfer of all assets andliabilities (working capital) relating to the Babrala unit,while marking the first foreign direct investment in India’shighly regulated urea sector.

In big-bang FDI reforms ahead of the budget, the govton 10 Jan permitted foreign airlines to invest in debt-ridden Air India, and eased norms for investment in single-brand retail.

Highlights The foreign airlines have been allowed to invest up

to 49 per cent under approval route in Air India.However, this nod comes with two conditions -foreign investment including that of foreign Airlinesshould not exceed 49 per cent either directly orindirectly and substantial ownership and effectivecontrol of Air India would continue to be vested inIndian national.

100 per cent FDI under automatic route for singlebrand retail trading has been approved.

100 per cent FDI under automatic route inconstruction development has been allowed.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) / ForeignPortfolio Investors (FPIs) have been allowed toinvest in power exchanges through primary market.

The definition of ‘medical devices’ has beenamended in the FDI policy.

The Union Cabinet has clarified that real-estatebroking service does not amount to real-estatebusiness and is therefore eligible for 100 per centFDI under automatic route.

The FDI policy has been amended to stipulate jointaudits in investee companies (receiving foreigninvestments) in situations where the foreign investorwishes to specify a particular auditor/audit firm


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having international network for the Indian investeecompany. One of the auditors should not be part ofthe same network, according to the amended FDIpolicy.

GDP The Central Statistics Office (CSO) on 5 Janreleased the first advance estimate for GDP growth ratein 2017-18.

Highlights The growth in GDP during 2017-18 has been

estimated at 6.5 per cent as compared to 7.1 percent in 2016-17.

The nominal GDP, or gross domestic product atmarket prices, is expected to grow at 9.5 per cent,slower than the 11.75 per cent growth assumed inthe 2017-18 budget.

The lower-than-anticipated nominal GDP growth willlead to “marginal slippage” in the fiscal deficit targetfor 2017-18—from 3.24% of GDP estimated in thebudget to 3.29%—assuming the governmentborrows what it budgeted for the year.

The CSO pegged FY18 advanced gross value added(GVA) estimate at 6.1 per cent as against 6.6 percent in FY17.

Chief Statistician TCA Anant said, agriculture,forestry and fishing is likely to slow to 2.1 per centin the current fiscal.

The growth in manufacturing sector too is expectedto decelerate to 4.6 per cent this fiscal.

The electricity, gas, water supply and other utilityservices sector is expected to grow by 7.5 per cent.

The construction sector is also expected to grow by3.6 per cent.

The data shows, the per capita income in real terms(at 2011-12 prices) during 2017-18 is likely toattain a level of ̀ 86,660 as compared to ̀ 82,269 forthe year 2016-17.

The growth rate in per capita income is estimated at5.3 per cent during 2017-18, as against 5.7 per centin the previous year.

According to an HSBC report, India’s GDP growth rateis expected to accelerate to 7.0 per cent in 2018-19 from6.5 per cent in this fiscal, shaking off the disruptionsfrom demonetisation and introduction of the Goods andServices Tax (GST). India’s growth story has a two-partnarrative. The first is a slowdown and gradual recoveryin the short run. The subsequent narrative is of brightergrowth prospects in the medium term (FY20 and beyond),when growth is expected to reap the benefits of recently

undertaken structural reforms. India’s growth rate isexpected to accelerate to 7.6 per cent in 2019-20.

Indices The manufacturing activity showed moderate growth

with annual SBI Composite Index rising to 53.1 in Deccompared to 53 in the previous month. The SBI CompositeIndex has mainly two indices - SBI Monthly CompositeIndex and SBI Yearly Composite Index. The month-on-month index declined to 50.6, showing low growth in themonth compared to 51.2 in Nov. This indicates a possibleslowdown in IIP growth in the next couple of months.

Inflation based on wholesale prices has come down to athree-month low of 3.58 per cent in Dec 2017. This wasdue to a decline in the prices of food articles even as fuelcost witnessed a surge. Calculated on the basis ofWholesale Price Index (WPI), the inflation was 3.93 percent in Nov.

The country’s exports grew by 12.36 per cent in Dec2017 to 27.03 bn US dollars on account of strongperformance by sectors like engineering goods andpetroleum products. According to data released byMinistry of Commerce and Industry, exports have beenon a positive trajectory since Aug 2016 to Dec 2017 witha dip of 1.1 per cent in the month of Oct last year. Exportsof engineering goods as well as petroleum productsshowed an increase of over 25 per cent in Dec.

India’s industrial output growth and headline retailinflation registered the highest growth since Jul 2016, inwhat was among the last crucial set of economic databefore the Union Budget 2018-19. Data released on 12Jan showed that the Index of Industrial Production (IIP),after slowing for two straight months, bounced back inNov, rising by 8.4% and signalling that industrial revivalwas back on track. Meanwhile, Consumer Price Index(CPI)-based inflation for Dec rose by 5.21%, comparedwith 4.88% in Nov and 3.41% in Dec 2016.

Insurance The insurance operations at India’s only operational

International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), atGujarat International Finance Tec City (GIFT), will geta major boost with the Insurance RegulatoryDevelopment Authority of India (IRDAI) issuing enablingregulations for undertaking offshore insurance businessfrom this IFSC. Under the regulations, for the first time in

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India, foreign insurers have been permitted to open IFSCInsurance Offices (IIO) at GIFT IFSC, which has beennotified as foreign territory by the Govt of India. GIFTIFSC, being a foreign territory, mainly conducts offshorebusiness. Thus, the restriction on shareholding doesnot apply in IFSC and thereby a foreign direct insurerhas option to set up operations directly without anylocal partner.

Manufacturing The output of the eight core sectors in the country rose

6.8 per cent in Nov 2017, a 13-month high, as comparedto the five per cent rise in Oct. This was primarily led bya double-digit jump in cement and steel production aswell as a sustained rise in refinery products. The coresector contributes 40 per cent to total industrialproduction in the country. The data issued by thecommerce and industry ministry on 1 Jan showed theeight core segments — coal, crude oil, natural gas,refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement, andelectricity — cumulatively grew 3.9 per cent in the firstseven months (Apr to Oct) of this financial year.

Power In order to kick-start fund mobilisation under the

International Solar Alliance (ISA), the Central Govt willset up a $350-mn solar development fund. Ninecompanies and banks have agreed to develop and financevarious solar projects, which include a $1-bn partnershipcorpus of NTPC and CLP India to the ISA. The fund wasannounced by RK Singh, Minister of Power and Newand Renewable Energy, at the first ever outreachprogramme of the ISA in Abu Dhabi’s World FutureEnergy Summit (WFES) 2018. Upendra Tripathy, interimdirector general, ISA, said the letter of intent/memorandaof understanding (MoUs) of nine solar-related projectsof various companies and bankers had been signed atthe WFES. YES Bank has announced it will mobilise $1bn by 2023 for financing solar energy projects in India,and $5 bn till 2030.

Taxation The total revenue collected under the Goods and Services

Tax (GST) kept falling for the second straight month to`80,808 cr in Nov from `83,346 cr in Oct. The GSTcollection for the month of Jul was over ̀ 95,000 cr, whilefor Aug, it was more than `91,000 cr. Sep’s indirect tax

collection stood at over ̀ 92,000 cr. Over 99 lakh taxpayershave been registered under GST so far till 25 Dec 2017.

Net direct tax collections grew at a multi-year high of18.2% in the Apr-Dec period, according to official datareleased on 9 Jan. The provisional figures of direct taxcollections up to Dec 2017 show that net collections areat `6.56 lakh cr, which is 18.2% higher than the netcollections for the corresponding period of 2017. Thenet direct tax collections represent 67% of the totalBudget Estimates of direct taxes for financial year 2017-18 (`9.8 lakh cr).

The GST Council, the apex decision-making body onGoods and Services Tax (GST), on 18 Jan revised rateson 29 items and 53 categories of services after thecouncil’s recent meeting held in New Delhi.

Highlights GST on mehndi cones cut to 5 per cent from 18 per

cent earlier Rates on sugar-boiled confectionery cut to 12 per

cent from 18 per cent earlier Tax rate on bio-diesel cut to 12 per cent from 18 per

cent earlier Tax rate on drinking water packed in 20-litre bottles

cut to 12 per cent from 18 per cent Rice Bran will now attract 0 per cent tax from 5 per

cent earlier Tax rate on velvet fabric cut to 5 per cent from 12 per

cent earlier Tax rate on drip irrigation system, mechanical

sprayer cut to 12 per cent from 18 per cent Tax rate on domestic LPG by private companies cut

to 5 per cent from 18 per cent earlier Certain motor vehicles will now attract 18 per cent

tax from earlier 28 per cent.

Telecom Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications (RCom) has

unveiled a plan to exit its ongoing Strategic DebtRestructuring (SDR) exercise and reduce its debt by 87per cent to about `6,000 cr. The plan, which will alsoon-board a strategic investor in the “new RCom”, isexpected to be closed in a phased manner between Janand Mar 2018. The new plan, which has the backing ofall the RCom lenders, including Chinese bankers, willinvolve neither any conversion of debt into equity norany haircuts and write-offs for lenders. RCom will sell itsspectrum, towers, optical fibre and certain real-estate


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assets for about ̀ 25,000 cr. Mukesh Ambani has steppedin to bail out the debt-ridden RCom by acquiring spectrum,tower, optical-fibre network and other wireless assets.

India’s largest telecommunications services provider,Bharti Airtel (Airtel), and Amazon India (Amazon) havecome together to offer Amazon Prime services, inexclusive deals. The new and existing Airtel postpaidcustomers with an Infinity plan of ̀ 499 or above will geta one-year Amazon Prime membership worth ̀ 999, whichincludes unlimited access to Amazon Prime Video, aspart of their plan benefits (at no additional cost). AirtelV-Fiber Broadband customers are also eligible forAmazon Prime membership benefits.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on 12Jan reduced the international call termination rate to 30paise from the present 53 paise. The new rates will beeffective from 1 Feb. This was being done to curb the“grey route” which was becoming a menace and posingserious security threat to the country, the regulatorpointed out. India has one of the lowest terminationcharges for international calls at 53 paise a minute. Butwhen customers from India want to call abroad, theyhave to pay a hefty termination charge on an averageseven to eight times higher (`3.50 to `4 per minute).

Others The cryptocurrency dealer Pluto Exchange on 28 Dec

announced the launch of India’s first mobile applicationfor transacting in virtual currencies. Pluto Exchangefounder and Chief Executive Bharat Verma said hiscompany is all set to launch the country’s first app-basedwallet that enables bitcoin transactions using a mobilenumber. By using a four-digit personal identificationnumber (PIN), users can now buy, sell, store and spendbitcoins via a mobile number.

India looks set to leapfrog Britain and France next yearto become the world’s fifth-largest economy in dollarterms. The Centre for Economics and Business Research(Cebr) consultancy’s 2018 World Economic LeagueTable painted an upbeat view of the global economy,boosted by cheap energy and technology prices. India’sascent is part of a trend that will see Asian economiesincreasingly dominate the top 10 largest economies overthe next 15 years. China is likely to overtake the UnitedStates as the world’s No.1 economy in 2032.

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development

Authority of India (PFRDA)-run Atal Pension Yojana(APY) has reached a subscriber base of 80 lakh. UttarPradesh is the highest contributing state at 11.41 lakhAPY subscribers, followed by Bihar and Tamil Nadu at8.87 lakh and 6.60 lakh respectively. The PFRDA hastaken various initiatives for expansion of outreach andeasing operations under APY such as account statementview and e-PRAN (permanent retirement accountnumber) so that customers can easily access theiraccounts. APY became operational from Jun 1, 2015and is available to all citizens of India in the age group of18-40 years. Under the scheme, a subscriber wouldreceive a minimum guaranteed pension of `1,000 to`5,000 per month, depending on his contribution, fromthe age of 60 years. The PFRDA is headquartered in NewDelhi and Hemant Contractor is its present Chairman.

The ministry of corporate affairs has asked the SeriousFraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to probe 57 suspectedshell companies on the basis of reports by regionaldirectors of the office of the Registrar of Companies(RoC). 18 of these entities deposited above `1 bn eachand the other 39 deposited between `250 mn and `1 bneach in the post-demonetisation period. Thisinvestigation has been ordered as per Section 216 of theCompanies Act, wherein the govt can order aninvestigation to find out who would benefit by financialtransactions of a company.

The Finance Ministry on 17 Jan announced that it wouldscale back its additional borrowing to ̀ 20,000 cr for thefiscal, from its earlier plan to raise an extra `50,000 crfrom the market. On Dec 27, the Finance Ministry hadsaid it would raise additional market borrowing of ̀ 50,000cr through dated Govt securities in the current financialyear. The reduction in the additional borrowing couldalso ease pressure on the Centre’s fiscal deficit, whichhad breached the Budget estimate by 12 per cent by Novend.

Reliance Jio is planning to create a cryptocurrency of itsown called ‘JioCoin’. The company is interested indeveloping blockchain technology to aid thedevelopment of smart contacts and cryptocurrencypayment-enabled supply chains. Blockchain is a digitalledger that works as a book-keeper for cryptocurrencies.The chairman of India’s capital markets regulator, AjayTyagi, had earlier said that the Sebi, the RBI and the govtwere locked in a huddle to determine the legal oversightfor cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.

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The World Economic Forum (WEF) has ranked India at30th position on a global manufacturing index — belowChina’s 5th place but above other BRICS peers, Brazil,Russia, and South Africa. Japan has been found to havethe best structure of production in the Geneva-based

WEF’s first ‘Readiness for the future of productionreport’ and is followed by South Korea, Germany,Switzerland, China, Czech Republic, the US, Sweden,Austria and Ireland in the top 10. Among BRICS nations,Russia is ranked 35th, Brazil 41st, and South Africa at45th place.


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Centre The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra

Modi has given approvals to the following: Ex post facto approval to the stand adopted by India

at the recently concluded ministerial meeting heldin Argentina in Dec last year: The mandate exercisedand approach adopted at the ministerial conference,the highest decision-making body of the WorldTrade Organisation (WTO), is aimed at protectingthe country’s interests, priorities, and concerns.

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) betweenIndia and London’s transportation authority toimprove public transport in the country: The MoUis aimed at improving the overall public transportsystem, improving passenger services and promotethe use of high-capacity buses in India.

An agreement between India and Myanmar on landborder, crossing which the govt said would enhanceeconomic interaction between people of the twocountries.

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) between India and Israel on cooperation inthe oil and gas sector: The MoU is expected toprovide impetus to India-Israel ties in the energysector.

The construction of Asia’s longest bi-directionalZojila Pass tunnel at an estimated cost of ̀ 6,089 cr,which will reduce the travel time between Srinagarand Leh to 15 minutes from the current 3.5 hours.The 14.2-km-long tunnel project in Jammu andKashmir will provide all-weather connectivitybetween Srinagar, Kargil and Leh, which remainscut off from the rest of India during winters due toheavy snowfall.

The revised model concession agreement for publicprivate partnership projects in major ports: Theamendments in the pact envisage constitution ofthe Society for Affordable Redressal of Disputes -Ports (SAROD-PORTS) as a dispute resolutionmechanism similar to the provision available inhighway sector. The approval provides an exit routeto developers by way of divesting their equity up to100 per cent after completion of 2 years from thecommercial-operation date.

The MoU between India and Canada forcooperation in the field of Science and Technology:The MoU will provide a mechanism and help fosterscientific cooperation between R&D and academicinstitutions of India and Canada.

The closure of Tungabhadra Steel Products Ltd(TSPL): The decision also allowed the name of thecompany to be struck off from the Registrar ofCompanies after settling balance liabilities of TSPL.

The proposal to amend Section 4(1) and Section5(1) of the National Trust for the Welfare of Personswith Autism, Cerebral Plasy, Mental Retardation andMultiple Disabilities Act, 1999 to fix the term of theChairperson and Members of the Board of theNational Trust for three years

In a big leap forward to empower women, the Minister ofWomen & Child Development, Maneka Sanjay Gandhi,inaugurated an online portal NARI in New Delhi on 2Jan. Developed by the Ministry of Women & ChildDevelopment, the portal will provide women citizens witheasy access to information on govt schemes andinitiatives for women. Further, to provide a platform forNGOs and Civil Societies to interact with the Ministry ofWomen & Child Development, e-Samvad portal has alsobeen developed.

The Union govt on 2 Jan notified a framework for electoralbonds — a financial instrument for making anonymousdonations to political parties — in a bid to clean uppolitical funding. However, new political parties will beineligible to receive funds through this route. All Indiancitizens and bodies incorporated in India can purchaseelectoral bonds from specified branches of State Bank ofIndia (SBI) in multiples of ̀ 1,000, ̀ 10,000, ̀ 100,000, ̀ 1mn, and Rs 10 mn by making payment from their bankaccounts, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in astatement in the Lok Sabha. These bonds will be aninterest-free debt instrument, resembling promissorynotes, where SBI will be the custodian of the donor’sfunds until political parties redeem them. Political parties,which have secured at least 1% votes in the last generalelection to the Lok Sabha or the state Assembly and areregistered under the Representation of the People Act,1951, will be eligible to receive donations throughelectoral bonds.

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Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister RadhaMohan Singh launched Livestock Disease Forewarning-Mobile Application (LDF-Mobile App), developed byICAR-National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology andDisease Informatics (ICAR-NIVEDI), Bengaluru, in NewDelhi. At the launch, Union Agriculture Minister informedthat the dreaded Rinderpest disease has been eradicatedfrom India and stressed that similar efforts are needed tocontrol and eradicate diseases like FMD, PPR, Brucellosis,CSF, BT and HS, which cause huge economic lossannually to the livestock rearers and livestock industryas a whole.

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) ofthe Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region(DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances &Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh,launched the electronic-Human Resource ManagementSystem (e-HRMS) recently. He launched it during theobservance of Good Governance Day (25 Dec) by theMinistry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.The launch of e-HRMS is also a step towards the ‘easeof governance’. This is an initiative by which thetechnology will be put to optimum use. The otherdepartments and state govts will also follow this systemin due course. Good Governance Day is observed to markthe birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal BihariVajpayee.

In another significant step to combat climate change,the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Changehas approved a regional project on ‘Climate ResilienceBuilding among Farmers through Crop ResidueManagement’ under the National Adaptation Fund forClimate Change (NAFCC). The project was approvedat the meeting of the National Steering Committee onClimate Change, held on 28 Dec, under the chairmanshipof Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and ClimateChange, CK Mishra. The first phase of the project hasbeen approved at a cost of approximately ̀ 100 cr for theStates of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The country’s Gross Enrolment Ratio or GER in highereducation has registered an increase from 24.5% in 2015-16 to 25.2% in 2016-17, according to the latest edition ofthe All India Higher Education Survey (AIHES)launched by Union Human Resource Development (HRD)Minister Prakash Javadekar on 5 Jan. GER is a statisticalmeasure for determining the number of students enrolledin undergraduate, postgraduate and research level

studies within the country and is expressed as apercentage of the population. Although India aims toattain a GER of 30% by 2020, it’s still much behindcountries like China, which, currently, boasts anenrolment ratio of 43.39%. USA’s GER is 85.8% andPakistan’s is 9.93%. There were a total of 864 universitiesin the country in 2017 compared to 799 in 2015-16.According to AIHES of 2016-17, Tamil Nadu has thehighest GER in the country at 46.9%, which is higherthan the national average. Bihar’s poor show continueswith just 14.9% of its eligible population (in the age groupof 18 to 23 years) pursuing higher education.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the firstPersons of Indian Origin (PIO) Parliamentary Conferencein the ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra’ at Chanakyapuri inNew Delhi. As many as 124 Members of Parliament and17 mayors from 23 countries participated in thisconference. While 124 MPs from the UK, Canada, Fiji,Kenya, Mauritius, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and othercountries took part in the conference, 17 mayors fromUS, Malaysia, Switzerland, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobagoalso participated in it. No lawmaker from the US attendedthis year’s PIO conference because of the ongoingsession of the Senate. Every year, Jan 9 is celebrated asPravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD), an annual celebratoryday that marks the contribution of overseas persons ofIndian origin (PIO) towards their homeland.

A nationwide cleanliness survey, which was announcedby Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently, is beingconducted from 4 Jan to evaluate achievements incleanliness level in urban areas. Projected as world’sbiggest survey, ‘Swachh Survekshan’, is beingconducted in more than 4,000 cities and in a populationof more than 40 cr. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had onDec 31 announced that a nation-wide cleanliness surveywould be conducted in the country from Jan 4, 2018.Remembering Mahatma Gandhi, the Prime Ministerreminded the nation that on Oct 2, 2014, the countrymenpledged to fulfil the dream of the Father of the Nation ofa ‘Clean India’ by his 150th birth anniversary (in 2019).

India has registered significant decline in under-five childmortality rate. As per the Sample Registration Systemdata, under-five child mortality of the country has shownthat the mortality has come down to 39 per thousand in2016 from 43 in 2015. Most of the states have showngood progress in reduction of under-five child mortalityfrom the previous year, except Chhattisgarh, Delhi and


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Uttarakhand, which have shown a slight increase overthe previous year. However, Telangana has shown nochange in 2016. India, with the current rate of decline ofunder-five child mortality rate, is on track to meet theSustainable Development Goal target of 25 by 2030.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on10 Jan put in place a two-layer security mechanism toreinforce privacy protection for Aadhaar ID numberholders. It introduced a virtual identification for the IDholders so that the actual Aadhaar number need not beshared to authenticate identity. It also places morerestrictions on the storage of the Aadhaar number withinvarious databases. The virtual ID will be a 16-digit randomnumber mapped with the Aadhaar number. It can only begenerated, replaced or revoked by the Aadhaar numberholder from time to time.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu inauguratedthe third edition of the geopolitical conference, RaisinaDialogue, in New Delhi on 16 Jan. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and external affairs minister SushmaSwaraj were also part of the inaugural session of theRaisina Dialogue. More than 150 speakers spoke at thethree-day event that saw participation of over 550delegates. The event, jointly organised by the ministryof external affairs and Observer Research Foundation,took place at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi.

Saksham (Sanrakshan Kshamta Mahotsav) is an annualflagship event of Petroleum Conservation ResearchAssociation (PCRA) under the aegis of Ministry ofPetroleum & Natural Gas, Govt of India, with activeinvolvement of the oil & gas PSUs along with otherstakeholders like State Govts, for creating focusedattention on fuel conservation through people-centricactivities and to sensitise the masses about theconservation and efficient use of petroleum productsleading to better health and environment. The month-long campaign aims to intensify efforts for making citizensaware about the conservation and effective utilisationof petroleum products.

The two-day International Workshop on DisasterResilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) successfully concludedon 17 Jan, setting the stage for taking the dialogue onresilient infrastructure forward at the global level. TheWorkshop identified Best Practices in the InfrastructureSector, as well as key issues in existing practices andways to address them. Priority areas for collaboration on

Disaster Resilient Infrastructure were also identified. TheWorkshop was organised by the National DisasterManagement Authority (NDMA) jointly with the UnitedNations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).

States The Assam govt has published the part draft of National

Register of Citizens (NRC) which includes names of 1.9cr of people of total 3.29 cr people in the state. Thecomplete NRC will be published within the year 2018.The NRC authorities had received applications submittedby 3.29 cr people, accompanied by six cr documents, ofthe state for inclusion of their names in the NRC. Theprocess of updating the NRC began in 2013 and it wascarried out under the guidance and instruction of theSupreme Court.

The Telangana govt ushered in the New Year on 1 Janby gifting the farmers 24-hour free power supply foragricultural purposes. Telangana is the only state in thecountry to achieve this distinction in power sector toend the despair of farmers. As many as 23 lakh agriculturalpump sets were to be provided free power from Dec 31midnight. The initiative would push the overall powerdemand to 11,000 MW by Mar this year.

Arunachal Pradesh on 31 Dec emerged as the secondstate in the Northeast, after Sikkim, to be declared OpenDefecation Free (ODF). Arunachal has 21 districts andthe state attained the feat much before the nationaldeadline of Oct 2, 2019. The state govt had cut short theODF target by one year and 10 months ahead of thenational target and set Dec 31 this year as the deadline.The project undertaken under Swachh Bharat Mission(Gramin) SBM (G) saw the light of day only after thestate govt extended an incentive of `8,000 per toilet.This is in addition to the Centre’s support of `12,000,raising the grant for constructing a toilet to ̀ 20,000.

The Union Home Ministry has released `167 cr to ninestates with international border for the development ofinfrastructure in forward areas. The states which willbenefit include Rajasthan and Punjab, both havinginternational border with Pakistan, and West Bengal andAssam, which share boundary with Bangladesh. Theamount was recently released to Meghalaya, Punjab,Rajasthan, Bihar, Sikkim, Tripura, Assam, HimachalPradesh and West Bengal under the Border AreaDevelopment Programme.

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Uttar Pradesh has launched a free household powerconnection scheme for the poor in the state to mark formerprime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birth anniversary.To begin with, Lohban and Gausana, two villages ofMathura district, have been covered for 100 per centelectrification on the birth anniversary of former primeminister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The govt has a target ofcovering 16 mn by 2018-end, driven by Yogi Adityanathgovt’s motto ‘Prakash hai to vikas hai’ (the barometerof development is light).

The World Bank will provide a $318 mn loan formodernisation of irrigation projects in Tamil Nadu andhelp small and marginal farmers improve watermanagement and adopt climate-resilient techniques. Theproject will also help increase market opportunities forsmall and marginal farmers. A tripartite agreement hasbeen signed today between the Central Govt, the WorldBank and the Tamil Nadu govt. About 500,000 farmers,of which a majority are small and marginal, are expectedto benefit from improved and modernised tank irrigationsystems.

The Chhattisgarh govt has signed a memorandum ofunderstanding (MoU) with three food processing firms,including Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved, to set upprocessing units at an estimated investment of `762.80cr. The pacts were signed with Patanjali Ayurved Limited,Manorama Industries Private Ltd and Aakriti SnacksPrivate Limited. The Chhattisgarh govt has given toppriority to the food processing sector in its industrialpolicy.

Haryana has achieved the distinction of becoming thefirst state in the country to launch High Risk Pregnancy(HRP) portal. This portal not only helps in earlyidentification of high-risk pregnant cases up to thegrassroots level but also ensures their timely referral tothe civil hospitals for further management and deliveryby specialists. The High Risk Pregnancy Policy has beenimplemented across the state since Nov 2017, foridentifying 100 per cent name-based high-risk pregnancycases, and ensuring their delivery by specialists at civilhospitals.

Arunachal Pradesh would get its first Film and TelevisionInstitute being set up by the Union Govt as part oftapping the potential of the Northeastern region. Thiswould be the second such one in the country. The firstFilm and Television Institute of India (FTII) was set up

in Pune, an autonomous institute operating under theInformation and Broadcasting Ministry.

Gujarat has topped logistics index chart, an indicator ofthe efficiency of logistical services necessary forpromoting exports in particular and economic growth ingeneral. According to the report by the CommerceMinistry - LEADS (Logistics Ease Across DifferentStates), prepared with the help of consultancy firmDeloitte, the findings would help in identifying the rightproblem areas in the sector and prepare policy responsesto deal with them. While Gujarat occupied the top positionamong 22 states, Jammu and Kashmir appeared last, evena notch below Bihar. The second place is occupied byPunjab, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka andMaharashtra.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on 8 Jan launcheda common card for rides on public buses and the metro,terming it a big step in the city’s transport sector. Delhi isthe first city in the country to have a common mobilitycard, which can at present be used on 200 DTC and 50cluster buses plying on different routes, apart from metrotrains. The buses of DTC’s Raj Ghat Depot-I and RohiniDepot-I plying on different routes and those of Clusterscheme’s BBM depot-II will have the facility as of now.

The Karnataka govt on 2 Jan announced that ‘KarnatakaInternational Travel Expo’ (KITE) will be held in the statefrom Feb 28, billing it as the “largest” B2B travel event inthe country. The three-day event will see close to 400delegates from 25 countries take part. The aim is to projectKarnataka globally and attract tourist footfall, withemphasis on promoting the state’s wildlife, luxury andadventure destinations, historical monuments andUNESCO world heritage sites. Overall, a budget of ̀ 7 cris expected to be spent on the event.

The official emblem of West Bengal was unveiled byChief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Jan 5. The emblemdesigned by Banerjee features the Ashoka Pillar. TheWest Bengal govt received the Centre’s approval for theemblem on Jan 3. Describing the occasion as “historic”,the Chief Minister said that henceforth the State emblemcan be used in all the official work and documents of theState govt. An expert committee was set up and the designwas sent to the Centre for approval. As for changing thename of the State, the Chief Minister said that it wouldbe announced as soon as the Centre approves it.


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Karnataka topped all states with investment intentionsof ̀ 1.49 lakh cr till Oct 2017, which was 43 per cent of thecountry’s total investment intentions. Karnataka hasperformed well in exports, contributing about 40 per centin electronics and software services. Both goods andservices put together, Karnataka’s contribution is about19 per cent, which places the State in the second rank inthe country.

Makar Sankranti was celebrated across the country withmuch pomp and fanfare. The occasion which marks thetransition of the sun into the Makar rashi or the zodiacsign Capricorn, also brings an end to winter solstice.People in North India celebrate the day with Khichri,while in Tamil Nadu, Sankranti is known by the name ofPongal. In Assam, the festival is celebrated as MaghBihu.

The first Loka Kerala Sabha, a conference of legislatorsand Parliamentarians as well as scientists, businessmenand technocrats with roots from the state and drawnfrom diverse regions of the world, was held recently. The‘global assembly’ was envisaged as a novel initiative tomine the global exposure and intellectual resources ofthe vast diaspora for the State’s development. The Sabhawill convene every two years. Renowned scientists MSSwaminathan, Prahlad Vadekkapad, and GeorgeGeevarghese, are among those who participated is theSabha.

Maharashtra’s mine workers who face an increased riskof tuberculosis will be part of awareness programmes onthe illness, as part of a partnership that the MaharashtraGovt recently formalised with Johnson & Johnson (J &J). Other interventions under the ambit of the agreementinclude hospital acquired infections and maternal andinfant mortality. Nine districts in Maharashtra faced themaximum rate of infant mortality. In these districts, J&JIndia will organise skill development programmes fornurses, along with activities including training to providecare to infants.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Rajasthan toinaugurate the commencement of work of oil refinery atPachpadra in Barmer district of Rajasthan. It will be firstoil refinery in the state. The project is a Joint Venture ofHPCL and Govt of Rajasthan worth over ̀ 43,000 cr. Therefinery is expected to be operational in four years and itwill give momentum to development of Rajasthan, mainlywestern parts of the state. The project is expected togenerate 10 thousand direct and 40 thousand indirect

employments.

The Maharashtra cabinet has approved one per centreservation for orphans in govt jobs under generalcategory. The provision will help in the rehabilitation ofthese kids and help secure their future.

The Odisha govt has launched Mukhyamantri KalakarSahayata Yojana (MMKSY) for artists. Subsequently,artists will receive a financial assistance of `1200 permonth. Under this scheme, male artists with minimum 50years of age and female artists with minimum 40 years ofage can avail the financial assistance. This scheme willbenefit around 50,000 artists across the state.

The political battle for three northeast states has beenset in motion as the Election Commission of India (EC)announced the schedule for assembly elections toTripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland on 18 Jan. Whilepolling for Tripura elections will be held on 18 Feb, thestates of Nagaland and Meghalaya will go to polls on 27Feb. Counting for all the three states will be held on 3Mar. The Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) alongwith EVMs (electronic voting machines) shall be used inall the polling stations of all the three states to enhancetransparency and credibility of the election.

The Punjab govt on 15 Jan signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) with the Indian Oil Corporation(IOC) to set up bio-gas and bio-CNG plants in the state.The pact is part of the state’s concerted efforts to findsustainable solutions to paddy straw burning, whichhas emerged as a major environmental concern. It willfacilitate regulatory clearances and incentives by thestate govt.

An official delegation from South Korea and the GujaratChamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) on 9 Jansigned a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for co-operation between industries in Gujarat and the EastAsian country, with a focus on automobile, defence andtextiles sectors. The main objective of the MoU is tohelp Gujarat-based small and medium enterprises (SMEs)to explore opportunities through joint ventures withSouth Korean firms.

Bills The Lok Sabha has passed the Goods and Services Tax

(Compensation to States) Amendment Bill-2017. TheBill will replace the Ordinance which was promulgated inSep. It amends the Goods and Services Tax

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(Compensation to States) Act, 2017. The Act allows theCentral Govt to notify the rate of the Goods and ServicesTax (GST) Compensation Cess on items such as panmasala, coal, aerated drinks, and tobacco, subject tocertain caps. The amount received by levying the GSTCompensation Cess is used to compensate states forany loss in revenue following the implementation of GST.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment)Ordinance, 2017 Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha.The bill seeks to replace an ordinance which waspromulgated in Nov 2017 to prevent unscrupulouspersons from misusing or vitiating the provisions of theInsolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). The ineligiblepersons or entities will include undischarged insolvent,wilful defaulter and those whose accounts have beenclassified as non-performing asset. These persons,however, can become “eligible to submit a resolutionplan” if they clear all the overdue amounts with interestand other charges relating to their NPA accounts. Theobjective of the bill is to allow creditors to move to theNational Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in case ofinsolvency.

LS passes triple talaq BillThe Lok Sabha passed the triple talaq Bill on 29 Dec. The

bill seeking to criminalise instant triple talaq will remain apolitical faultline dividing the govt and the opposition, withthe BJP leadership deciding against sending the legislationto a parliamentary committee despite being outnumbered inthe Rajya Sabha. Despite the opposition, including Congress,Left and regional parties, ally TDP, and friendly partyAIADMK opposing the bill, the govt decided to let theMuslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017remain in limbo as the winter session drew to a close.

Indian Forest BillThe Parliament has passed the Indian Forest

(Amendment) Bill, 2017. The bill will replace the ordinancepromulgated by the President on 23 Nov 2017. It seeks toexempt bamboo grown in non-forest areas from the definitionof tree, thereby dispensing with the requirement of fellingand transit permit for its economic use. It will promote thecultivation of bamboo in non-forest areas, improve the incomeof the farmers besides providing green cover in the country.

Parliament has also passed the Indian Institute ofPetroleum and Energy Bill. The bill establishes the Instituteat Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and declares it as aninstitution of national importance. The Institute aims atproviding high quality education and research focusing onthe themes of petroleum, hydrocarbons and energy.

Bill to hike salaries of judgesThe Lok Sabha on 4 Jan passed a bill to hike the salaries

of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts. The Billproposes to hike the salary of the Chief Justice of India to`2.80 lakh a month, and that of judges of the Supreme Courtand Chief Justices of High Courts to ̀ 2.5 lakh a month. Judgesof High Courts will draw a salary of ̀ 2.25 lakh a month oncethis Bill becomes law. The salary hike, in line with therecommendations of the 7th Pay Commission for officers ofall-India services, will come into force with effect from Jan 1,2016.

NMC BillThe Lok Sabha has sent the National Medical

Commission (NMC) Bill to the Standing Committee followingopposition demand. The committee has been asked to submitits report before the Budget session of Parliament. TheParliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said allopposition parties were unanimous to send the Bill to thecommittee and govt gave its nod for this. Following this,Speaker Sumitra Mahajan announced the decision. The billprovides for a medical education system that ensuresavailability of adequate and high-quality medicalprofessionals. It also aims at encouraging medicalprofessionals to adopt latest medical research in their workand contributing to research.

PanelPanel rejects AI report

The majority of members of a parliamentary panel soughtthe withdrawal of a draft report opposing the disinvestmentof Air India (AI). The Parliamentary Standing Committee onTransport, Tourism and Culture on 15 Jan decided to withdrawthe contentious draft report. The panel’s chairman and TMCleader Derek O Brien was not present at the meeting and itwas chaired by BJP member Rakesh Singh.

DefenceIndia tests interceptor missile

India on 28 Dec successfully test-fired its indigenouslydeveloped Advanced Air Defence (AAD) supersonicinterceptor missile, capable of destroying any incomingballistic missile in low altitude, from a test range in Odisha.This was the third supersonic interceptor test carried out thisyear in which an incoming ballistic missile target wassuccessfully intercepted, within 30 km altitude of the earth’satmosphere by an interceptor. The state-of-the-art interceptormissile has its own mobile launcher, secure data link forinterception, independent tracking and homing capabilities


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and sophisticated radars.Contracts for Navy, Army

The Ministry of Defence has approved the procurementof P-8I Training Solution and Low Intensity ConflictElectronic Warfare System (LICEWS), at a total cost of`2419.32 cr. These contract proposals were approved byRaksha Mantri Nirmala Sitharaman. The P-8I TrainingSolution, along with 10-year comprehensive maintenanceservice, will be brought from M/s Boeing for ̀ 1949.32 cr. Thesecond proposal cleared was for procurement of LICEWSfrom M/s Bharat Electronics Limited for ̀ 470 cr. This systemwill equip the Indian Army with upgraded communicationsinfrastructure.

Nirbhik, Nirghat end serviceThe warships INS Nirbhik and INS Nirghat were

decommissioned in Mumbai, after serving the Navy for 30and 28 years respectively. The ships, belonging to the Killersquadron, are inheritors of a proud legacy as their originalavatars were flag bearers of the naval offensive action onKarachi harbour during the India-Pakistan war in 1971. Thewarships, in their new avatar, were commissioned at Poti, inthe erstwhile USSR on Dec 21, 1987, and Dec 15, 1989,respectively.

India tests Agni-VIndia on 18 Jan test-fired its Agni-V intercontinental

ballistic missile (ICBM) in its final operational configurationfrom the Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast, takinganother step forward toward its eventual induction into theStrategic Forces Command (SFC). The nuclear-capable Agni-V missile can even reach the northern-most parts of China

with its strike range of over 5,000 km. Once the Agni-V isinducted, India will join the super-exclusive club of countrieswith ICBMs (missiles with a range of over 5,000-5,500km)alongside the US, Russia, China, France and the UK.

JudiciaryDiscontent in SC

Attorney General KK Venugopal has said everythinghas been settled in the higher judiciary in the aftermath of thecrisis after four senior judges openly castigated thefunctioning of the top court headed by Chief Justice of IndiaDipak Misra. Earlier, on 12 Jan, the differences in the SupremeCourt of India went public as four senior judges publiclycriticised the Chief Justice of India (CJI) for his style ofadministration and over the allocation of cases. The SupremeCourt judges J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, MB Lokur andKurian Joseph said they had been “compelled to call” theconference. All the four judges, the four seniormost in theapex court after the CJI, are part of the collegium that selectsjudges to the apex court and high courts.

SC strikes down banThe Supreme Court on 18 Jan stayed the operation of

orders banning the release of the film Padmaavat by theGujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana govts. Referring to its earlierjudgement, the court said that it was incumbent upon thestate govts to ensure the maintanence of law and order. Thecourt order came on the plea by the producers of the film —Bhansali Productions and Viacom18 Motion Pictures —challenging the ban on the screening of the film by the Gujarat,Rajasthan nand Haryana govts.

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India has become the 43rd member of the AustraliaGroup, an informal forum of countries which seeks toensure that exports do not contribute to the developmentof chemical or biological weapons. This is the third ofthe four export control regimes that India has joined since2017. In 2017, India became the 35th member of theMissile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), aninformal and voluntary partnership of countries to preventthe proliferation of missile and unmanned aerial vehicletechnology capable of carrying above 500 kg payloadfor more than 300 km, and the 42nd member of theWassenaar Arrangement, which seeks to contribute toregional and international security and stability bypromoting transparency and greater responsibility intransfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods andtechnologies.

Israel has filed notice to withdraw from the United NationsEducational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) alongside the United States. Israel hasblasted UNESCO in recent years over the organisation’scriticism of Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem and itsdecision to grant full membership to Palestine in 2011.UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay has said thatshe deeply regretted Israel’s decision to withdraw. BothIsrael and the US - which filed its own withdrawal noticein Oct, noting that it would instead seek to establish apermanent observer mission to UNESCO - will officiallycease membership as of Dec 31, 2018.

There have been growing tensions in Iran after anti-govt protests erupted over the country’s economicpolicies across different cities. Many people have beenkilled in the demonstrations. Iranians began protestingin the second-largest city of Masshad, rallying againsthigh prices. While some say economic woes are causedby Iran’s foreign policy, as the country is involved inregional conflicts, others say sanctions have ultimatelyhit people’s pockets. Later, rallies spread to the capital,Tehran, and other major cities. The demonstrations havegained momentum and are being described as the largestin nearly a decade.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)introduced value-added tax (VAT) from 1 Jan, a first forthe Gulf, which has long prided itself on its tax-free,

cradle-to-grave welfare system. Saudi Arabiacompounded the New Year blow for motorists with anunannounced hike of up to 127 per cent in petrol priceswith immediate effect from midnight. They are the latestin a series of measures introduced by Gulf oil producersover the past two years to boost revenues and cutspending as a persistent slump in world prices has led toballooning budget deficits.The five per cent sales taxapplies to most goods and services and analysts projectthat the two govts could raise as much as $21 bn in 2018,equivalent to 2 per cent of GDP.

China has successfully tested its first photovoltaichighway based on home-grown technology in thecountry’s eastern Shandong province. The road haswireless charging systems for electric vehicles. The roadis constructed using solar panels which have a thin sheetof clear concrete on top of them, protecting the surface.The panels were built to transfer energy to electricvehicles passing on top of them. The one-kilometresegment of solar-powered highway covers a surface areaof 5,875 sq m. The stretch has three layers. At the bottomis an insulator to prevent moisture from getting to thephotovoltaic devices in the middle layer, and on top isthe layer of transparent concrete.

The two-week-long eighth edition of the Indo-Maldivesjoint military exercise, ‘Ekuverin’, was held at Belagaviin Karnataka. The bilateral annual exercise was a 14-dayjoint military training between the Indian Army and theMaldives National Defence Force (MNDF), heldalternatively in India and Maldives since 2009. ‘Ekuverin’means ‘friends’ in the Maldivian language. The seventhedition of the exercise was held at Kadhdhoo, LammuAtoll, Maldives in Dec 2016.

China has launched the world’s largest human genomeresearch project to document the genetic makeup ofone lakh people to help generate the precision medicinesfor the future. The project would detect the genetic linksbetween health and sickness and involve one personfrom different ethnic backgrounds and regions. Theproject will collect the genetic data of Han ethnic majoritypeople from all over the country and nine other ethnicminority groups with a population of more than 5 mn.There are about 25,000 human genes and the project

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aims to decode the hereditary information contained ineach. The project includes four stages - collecting,sequencing gene samples, gathering the data and sharingthe findings, one of the project’s founders told state-runGlobal Times.

India and Jordan on 29 Dec discussed deepeningbilateral ties across multiple sectors during a meetingbetween External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj andJordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al Safadi. Jordan hassought an increased role for India in the Middle Eastpeace process while appreciating New Delhi’s supportfor a two-state solution to end the Palestinian conflict.After US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalemas the capital of Israel and the US vetoed a UN SecurityCouncil resolution opposing this, India went along withthe rest of the world and voted for an Arab resolutionagainst Washington’s decision in the UN GeneralAssembly.

Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella has dissolvedParliament as the country prepares for knife-edge generalelections in Mar 2018. The elections are scheduled to beheld on Mar 4 and are expected to mark a new era ofuncertainty for the country. However, the next parliamentcould be left without a clear majority as the vote ispredicted to be split between the right, centre-left andthe populist Five Star movement. But instability isnothing new for the country that has seen 64 govts since1946. Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni is the third leaderof the parliament that was elected in 2013.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his maidenappearance at Davos, the Alpine ski resort where theworld’s top CEOs and a large number of heads of govtgathered for the annual meeting of the World EconomicForum (WEF). He is the first Indian PM to attend themeet in over two decades and it was the first time that anIndian Prime Minister was treated like the chief guestwhere nearly a hundred Indian corporate chiefs andpolicymakers were present. In Jan 2017, Chinese PresidentXi Jinping delivered the main address in Davos, wherehe courted global businessmen and made a strong pitchto shun protectionism in what was an apparent dig at theUS ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The Malaysian govt has approved a new attempt to findthe wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. A US-based company early this week dispatched the searchvessel Seabed Constructor to look for debris in thesouthern Indian Ocean, three-and-a-half years after the

Boeing 777 disappeared on a flight from Kuala Lumpurto Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crew. The govts ofMalaysia, China and Australia called off the 1,046-dayofficial search on 17 Jan 2017 without solving the mystery.

The Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar AbbasNaqvi on 8 Jan said that Saudi Arabia had given thegreen signal for India’s decision to revive the option ofsending Haj pilgrims through sea route also and officialsfrom both the countries would discuss on all thenecessary formalities and technicalities so that Hajpilgrimage through sea route could be started in thecoming years. A decision in this regard was taken on 7Jan, during the signing of bilateral annual Haj 2018agreement between India and Saudi Arabia by Naqviand Haj and Umrah Minister of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,His Excellency Dr Mohammad Saleh bin TaherBenten atMakkah.

India has excluded Pakistan from the list of Saarc membercountries with which it will be connecting its state-of-the-art National Knowledge Network (NKN) for sharingscientific databases and remote access to advancedresearch facilities. The govt has kicked off the processof appointing a telecom company that will connect andextend the NKN to research and education networks insix South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation(Saarc) member states — Afghanistan, Bangladesh,Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Pakistan is theonly Saarc nation that has been left out of this initiative.

A new law in Iceland is requiring all companies to provethat their wage practices don’t discriminate againstwomen, in what is thought to be a global first in theeffort to reduce gender pay gaps. The law, which waspassed with a large majority by parliament in Jun 2017,took effect at the New Year. It seeks to erase the currentpay gap between men and women of about 5.7%. Whileother nations, and the US state of Minnesota, have equal-salary certificate policies, Iceland is believed to be thefirst to make it mandatory for both private and publicfirms. The North Atlantic island nation, which has apopulation of about 3,30,000, wants to eradicate thegender pay gap by 2022. The country has a female primeminister, Katrin Jakobsdottir, and ranks first on the WorldEconomic Forum’s global gender equality index.

The United States has suspended over 1 bn US dollarsecurity assistance to Pakistan until Islamabad takesdecisive action against terror groups, including theAfghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network. The State

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Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said inWashington that despite a sustained high-levelengagement by the Trump administration with Islamabad,Taliban and Haqqani Network continue to find sanctuaryinside Pakistan. The administration will freeze the aidpayments but not allocate the money elsewhere and itwould reassess it in the coming year.

The central bank of Pakistan gave its green signal to usethe Chinese yuan (CNY) for bilateral trade and investmentactivities, ensuring that imports, exports and financingtransactions can be denominated in the Chinesecurrency. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) stated thatChinese yuan is an approved foreign currency fordenominating foreign-currency transactions in Pakistan.In terms of regulations in Pakistan, CNY is at par withother international currencies such as US dollar, euroand Japanese yen.

Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kuwait, Peru, Polandand the Netherlands formally joined the ranks of thenon-permanent members of the United Nations SecurityCouncil (UNSC) on 3 Jan. The UN Security Council has15 members, including five with permanent seats whohave the power to veto resolutions - Britain, China,France, Russia and the United States. The six countrieswho left the UN Security Council on December 31 areEgypt, Italy, Japan, Senegal, Ukraine and Uruguay.

India and Pakistan today exchanged, through diplomaticchannels simultaneously at New Delhi and Islamabad,the list of nuclear installations and facilities under athree-decade-old bilateral pact. The two sides exchangedthe list under the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attackagainst Nuclear installations between India and Pakistan.The agreement, which was signed on Dec 31, 1988 andentered into force on Jan 27, 1991, provides that the twocountries inform each other of nuclear installations andfacilities to be covered under the pact on the first of Janof every calendar year.

The unusual and very efficient whistle language used asa means of communication by villagers in remote northernTurkey entered the UNESCO list of Intangible CulturalHeritage. Around 10,000 people, mostly in the district ofCanakci in Giresun province, still use the highly-developed and high-pitch system of whistling tocommunicate in the rugged terrain, where most of thetimes they cannot see each other. This form ofcommunication, which dates to some 500 years agoduring the Ottoman Empire, was widespread across the

Black Sea regions, but 50 years ago it suffered the impactof the progression of technology and nowadays the everrapid growing of cellular mobile systems has put thiscultural heritage under serious threat.

Pakistan on 2 Jan banned Mumbai attack mastermindHafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation from collecting donations. Thenotification comes on a day when President DonaldTrump accused Islamabad of giving nothing to the USbut “lies and deceit” and providing “safe haven” toterrorists. The Securities and Exchange Commission ofPakistan (SECP) issued a notification prohibiting thecollection of donations by the JuD, the front organisationof banned outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, as well as several othersuch organisations named in a list of banned outfits bythe UN Security Council.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has signed intolaw a bill that removes presidential age limit from theconstitution and allows him to run for election again.Museveni is 73 and would have been ineligible to run in2021. Now he could rule until 2031. Critics in the EastAfrican nation saw the bill as an attempt by the presidentto rule until the grave. The age limit had prevented anyoneyounger than 35 or older than 75 from holding thepresidency.

Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 peaks over 8,000metres and draws multitudes of climbers every year. Itbanned solo climbers from scaling its mountains,including Mount Everest, in a bid to reduce accidents. Ithas also endorsed a ban on double amputee and blindclimbers. The ban is likely to anger elite solomountaineers, who enjoy the challenge of climbing alone,even eschewing bottled oxygen, and who blame a hugeinflux of commercial expeditions for creating potentiallydeadly bottlenecks on the world’s tallest peak.

The agriculture ministers of ASEAN countries met forthe fourth sitting on 12 Jan in New Delhi. The topic ofdiscussion was based on food and agricultural futuredevelopments. On this occasion, Union AgricultureMinister Radha Mohan Singh said that India wascommitted towards the agenda set by the United Nationsand ASEAN countries had been working together forthe prosperity of the agriculture sector as well.

India has signed an MoU with the United Kingdom toenable the return of illegal Indian migrants within a monthof their detection by authorities abroad. Minister of State


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for Home Kiren Rijiju on 12 Jan confirmed that the pactwas signed by him and UK Minister of State forImmigration Caroline Nokes in Britain during his visitalong with an Indian delegation for a week. The MoU,which would affect hundreds of Indians, comes aheadof Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed visit to theUK in Mar. The UK has consistently raised the issue ofreturn of illegal migrants with India.

American and Japanese military forces have launchedjoint exercises amid tensions with North Korea over itsnuclear and ballistic missile programmes. The 13th annualIron Fist exercises started in the US western state ofCalifornia and will continue through Feb 12. More than500 US Marines and sailors are partnering with about350 members of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forceto train in fire support operations and amphibiousassaults. Exercise Iron Fist comes as tensions with NorthKorea have put Japan, South Korea and the United Stateson alert. North Korea tested an intercontinental ballisticmissile in Nov 2017 that some experts believe is capableof hitting anywhere in the continental US.

India has contributed USD 50,000 to the UN’s youthmission which works to raise awareness and attention toyouth issues globally. UN Youth Envoy JayathmaWickramanayake received the cheque from PaulomiTripathi, a First Secretary in India’s UN mission at theUN headquarters in New York. Home to 350 mn youngpeople, India is an important partner to the UN mission.The office of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’Envoy on Youth works to raise international awarenessand attention to youth issues among others. Sri Lanka’sWickramanayake, who was appointed the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth in Jun 2017 at the age of 26,works to expand the UN’s youth engagement andadvocacy efforts across all four pillars of work –sustainable development, human rights, peace andsecurity and humanitarian action and serves.

India and Israel inked nine pacts on 15 Jan to boostcooperation in key areas, including cyber security, afterPrime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpartBenjamin Netanyahu held extensive talks. The pacts are: MoU on Cyber Security Cooperation between India

and Israel MoU between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural

Gas and the Ministry of Energy on Cooperation inOil and Gas Sector

Protocol between India and Israel on Amendments

to the Air Transport Agreement Agreement on Film Co-production between India

and Israel MoU between the Central Council for Research in

Homeopathy, Ministry of AYUSH and the Centrefor Integrative Complementary Medicine, ShaareZedek Medical Center on Cooperation, in the fieldof Research in Homeopathic Medicine

MoU between Indian Institute of Space Science andTechnology (IIST) and the Technion-Israel Instituteof Technology for cooperation in the field of space

Memorandum of Intent between Invest India andInvest in Israel

Letter of Intent between IOCL and Phinergy Ltd forcooperation in the area of metal-air batteries

Letter of Intent between IOCL and Yeda Researchand Development Co Ltd for cooperation in the areaof concentrated solar thermal technologies

A Tanzanian probe found that the local unit of Indianmobile-phone company Bharti Airtel Ltd was originallytransferred from the state illegally and the govt wouldstart talks to retake what it says is its rightful share of thebusiness. The investigation discovered that the initialprivatisation of Tanzania Telecommunications Corp“broke the law, regulations and procedure,” accordingto a statement from President John Magufuli’s office.For its part, Airtel has said that its 2010 acquisition of the60 per cent stake in the company from Kuwait’s MobileTelecommunications Co., known as Zain, was in fullcompliance and followed all approvals from the govt.

Setting up of an Ayurveda chair in University of UTARin Malaysia and providing professional training inPanchakarma therapy for Malaysian experts in India wereamong the issues discussed at the 5th bilateral meetingon cooperation in the field of Traditional Systems ofMedicine between India and Malaysia held on 10 Jan.The meeting also considered evaluation of safety andefficacy of combination Ayurvedic/traditional productsfor clinical trials, safety evaluation of Ayurvedic productsbased on Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) andregistration of homeopathic practitioner and their capacitybuilding module in Malaysia.

China on 12 Jan became Nepal’s second internet serviceprovider, breaking India’s monopoly in providing internetaccess to the Himalayan Kingdom. The Hong Kong-and Beijing-based China Telecom Global (CTG) hasteamed up with Nepal Telecom to provide alternate cyber-

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connectivity to Nepal. So far, Nepal had been linked tothe global internet network through Indian telecomoperators, using optical-fibre connections in Biratnagar,Bhairahawa and Birgunj, among others. But a newterrestrial fibre cable launched in 2016 by CTG will nowconnect Nepal and China through the Jilong(Rasuwagadhi) border gateway.

The UN Environment and the World Health Organization(WHO) have agreed a new, wide-ranging collaborationto accelerate action to curb environmental health risksthat cause an estimated 12.6 mn deaths a year. Both thebodies have signed an agreement to step up joint actionsto combat air pollution, climate change and antimicrobialresistance, as well as improve coordination on wasteand chemicals management, water quality, and food andnutrition issues. The collaboration also includes jointmanagement of the BreatheLife advocacy campaign toreduce air pollution for multiple climate, environment andhealth benefits.

Bangladesh, India and Nepal have given nod to operatingprocedures for movement of passenger vehicles in thesub-region under Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal(BBIN) motor vehicles agreement. For seamless flow ofpassenger and cargo traffic in the region, BBIN motorvehicles agreement (MVA) was signed by the transportministers of the BBIN countries in Thimphu, Bhutan on15 Jun 2015. However, Bhutan could not ratify it later.The participating countries have also agreed to conductmore trial runs for cargo vehicles under the agreementduring a high-level meeting of officials of the threecountries for implementation of the MVA in Bengaluru.A Bhutanese official delegation also attended themeeting as observer.

India, for the first time, took part in a meeting of theinternational military cooperation departments of the

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) sincejoining the bloc. An Indian delegation led by MajorGeneral Ajay Seth participated in the meeting, whichdiscussed issues of practical cooperation among SCOnations. This is the first meeting attended by India in thefield of defence cooperation under the SCO framework.India and Pakistan were admitted last year into thegrouping in which China plays an influential role. TheSCO comprises China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia,Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.

The 48th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum(WEF) was held during 23-26 Jan in Davos, Switzerland.

Highlights The forum engages with the political, business and

other leaders of society to shape global, regionaland industry agendas.

It was established in 1971 as a non-profitablefoundation and is headquartered in Geneva,Switzerland.

The theme of the meeting, spread over 400 sessions,was ‘Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World’.

PM Narendra Modi addressed the opening plenaryat the WEF’s Davos summit, while the keynoteaddress was given by US President Donald Trump.

This is PM Modi’s first appearance at the WEFannual meet. Earlier, HD Deve Gowda attended thesummit in 1997.

PM Modi was accompanied by six union ministers,including Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Railwayminister Piyush Goyal, Commerce Minister SureshPrabhu, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, UnionMinisters MJ Akbar and Jitendra Singh along withtwo chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis(Maharashtra) and Chandrababu Naidu (AndhraPradesh).


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General The two Koreas have agreed to form a combined

women’s ice hockey team to take part in the 2018 WinterOlympics to be held in South Korea, and march togetherunder a unified peninsula flag at the opening ceremony.North Korea will send a 550-member delegation.

Badminton Hyderabad Hunters defeated Bengaluru Blasters to

become the champions of the third Premier BadmintonLeague at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad.India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Indonesia’s PiaZebadiah Bernadeth put up a dominant display in thelast encounter of the clash, the Mixed Doubles.

Boxing Indian boxers dominated the ring at the Galym

Zharylgapov Boxing Tournament in Karaganda,Kazakhstan, claiming three gold, a silver, and a bronzemedal at the event. The season-ending tournamentfeatured five international and 15 local teams, adding upto 154 boxers in all.

The former world silver medallist Sarjubala Devirepresenting Manipur claimed the gold in 48kg categoryin the National Women’s Boxing Championships inRohtak. She was also given the best boxer trophy.

Chess A victory against old nemesis Magnus Carlsen of

Norway helped Viswanathan Anand regain the WorldRapid Chess Championship in Riyadh. Anand tookrevenge of his 2013 World Championship loss as hedefeated World No 1 Magnus Carlsen in their ninthround.He continued his excellent run, bagging a bronze in the

World Blitz Chess Championship.

Cricket Vidarbha have created history by winning the Ranji

Trophy (2017-18) for the first time in history with athumping nine-wicket win over Delhi at the Holkar

stadium in Indore. Rajneesh Gurbani’s 6/59,including a hat-trick, and a century from Akshay Wadkarwere the key moments in Vidarbha scripting a fairytalerun.

The Delhi wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant, abruptlysacked from captaincy a week ago, gave another exampleof his rare talent by blasting a record 32-ball hundred ina North Zone match against Himachal Pradesh in NewDelhi.

Virat Kohli was on 18 Jan named captain of theInternational Cricket Council (ICC) Test and One-DayInternational (ODI) teams of the year that included fourother Indians as well. He surprisingly pipped Australianskipper Steve Smith for the ICC’s Test team captaincy.

Golf Shiv Kapur shot a stunning four-under-67 to claim his

third Asian Tour title of the year, winning the Royal Cupin Pattaya, Thailand. He had just one win in almost 11years till Apr 2017. He has now won thrice in the lasteight months.

Skiing In a major boost to India before the start of Winter

Olympics in South Korea from Feb, 21-year old AanchalThakur created history on 9 Jan by becoming the firstIndian to win an international medal in skiing. TheManali resident grabbed a bronze medal in the slalomrace category at Alpine Ejder 3200 Cup organised bySkiing’s international governing body, FederationInternational de Ski (FIS) at the Palandoken Ski Centre inErzurum in Turkey.

Snooker Asian Games medallist Aditya Mehta bounced back to

down English pro Alfie Burden 5-4 in a thrilling final andclinch the Kolkata Open International Invitation SnookerChampionship.

Table Tennis G Sathiyan has become India’s highest-ranked player in

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the latest International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)rankings. He surpasses his compatriot the legendarySharath Kamal. Sathiyan, who was nowhere near thetop-100 bracket until a few months ago, is the leadertoday at world No. 49.

Tennis Elina Svitolina secured her first WTA title in Australia

with a straight-sets victory in the Brisbane Internationalfinal. Third-seeded Svitolina beat Belarusian AliaksandraSasnovich.

Switzerland won their third Hopman Cup recently asRoger Federer and Belinda Bencic beat Germany’sAlexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber in the decidingmixed doubles to secure a 2-1 victory in the final at thePerth Arena.

Gilles Simon of France has lifted the inaugural Tata OpenMaharashtra Tennis trophy. In the summit clash atBalewadi Sports Complex in Pune on 7 Jan, the unseededFrench player humbled second-seeded Kevin Andersonin straight sets. Simon is ranked 89 in the world, whileAnderson is ranked Fourteen. The tournament is India’sonly ATP event.


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63rd Filmfare Awards 2018The list of winners

Best Film: Hindi Medium Critics’ Award for Best Film: Newton Best Actor In A Leading Role (Female): Vidya Balan

(Tumhari Sulu) Best Actor In A Leading Role (Male) : Irrfan Khan

(Hindi Medium) Best Director: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (Bareilly Ki

Barfi) Lifetime Achievement A ward: Mala Sinha and Bappi

Lahiri

Veteran singer KS Chitra has been selected for this year’sprestigious ‘Harivarasanam’ award, instituted by theKerala govt. She has been selected in recognition of hercontribution to propagate the spirit of secularism,equanimity and universal brotherhood. The awardcarrying a cash prize of ` one lakh, citation and plaquewas presented to the veteran playback singer at afunction at Sabarimala Sannidhanam on Jan 14, 2018.

Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma is animal rights groupPETA’s Person of the Year. PETA (People for EthicalTreatment of Animals) said on its website that AnushkaSharma got the title for “her wide-reaching work foranimals, from helping to protect dogs from fireworks toadvocating for horses who are forced to pull carriages inMumbai.” The group listed some examples of Anushka’sanimal rights work, including a cruelty-free clothing line,and “visiting an animal shelter and promoting its workon her social media platforms.” A vegetarian, Anushkareportedly stopped eating meat because her pet dog,Dude, hated the smell of it.

The 75th Golden Globe Awards ceremony was held inLos Angeles, the USA. The list of winners: Best motion picture, drama: Three Billboards

Outside Ebbing, Missouri Best motion picture, musical or comedy: Lady Bird Best director, motion picture: Guillermo del Toro

(The Shape of Water) Best performance by an actress in a motion picture,

drama: Frances McDormand (Three BillboardsOutside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best performance by an actor in a motion picture,drama: Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

Best performance by an actress in a motion picture,musical or comedy: Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird)

Best performance by an actor in a motion picture,musical or comedy: James Franco (The DisasterArtist)

Best screenplay, motion picture: Martin McDonagh(Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best motion picture, animated: Coco Best motion picture, foreign language: In the Fade Best original score, motion picture: Alexandre

Desplat (The Shape of Water) Best original song, motion picture: This Is Me..(The

Greatest Showman)

The managing director of the Monetary Authority ofSingapore (MAS), Ravi Menon, has been named the bestcentral bank governor in Asia-Pacific for 2018 by UK-based magazine The Banker. This annual awardadministered by The Banker, a publication under TheFinancial Times Group, is based on a selection processinvolving a survey of bankers and economists. FinanceMinister Heng Swee Keat was also given this award in2011 when he was then MAS’s managing director. Overthe last three years, the award went to the central bankersof Vietnam, India and Bangladesh. The magazine notedthat the MAS was among the first regulators to set up adedicated fintech group that focuses on understandingtechnology’s risks and benefits.

Shree Saini was crowned Miss India USA 2017. The 21-year-old is a student at the University of Washington.At the age of 12, Shree had a pacemaker implanted andwas told that she would never be able to perform. She isnow an inspiration for all the young souls. She hasalways strived for a cause and is well focused oneliminating the evil of human trafficking. She wants towork towards promoting the importance of emotionalwell-being in the society. Her parents migrated to USfrom Punjab. Prerna was the first runner-up whileIshwarya was declared the second runner-up at the grandfinale of the pageant.

Virat Kohli led the list of ICC Awards that were announcedon 18 Jan.

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List of winners Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer

of the Year – Virat Kohli (India) ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year – Steve Smith

(Australia) ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year – Virat Kohli

(India) ICC Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year – Hasan

Ali (Pakistan) ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year – Rashid

Khan (Afghanistan) ICC Men’s T20I Performance of the Year –

Yuzvendra Chahal (6-25 v England for India) David Shepherd Trophy for ICC Umpire of the Year

– Marais Erasmus ICC Spirit of Cricket – Anya Shrubsole (England) ICC Fans Moment of the Year – Pakistan stun India

to win the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year 2017:

Dean Elgar (South Africa), David Warner (Australia),Virat Kohli (captain) (India), Steve Smith, (Australia),Cheteshwar Pujara (India), Ben Stokes (England),Quinton de Kock (wicket-keeper) (South Africa),Ravichandran Ashwin (India), Mitchell Starc(Australia), Kagiso Rabada (South Africa), JamesAnderson (England)

ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year 2017:David Warner (Australia), Rohit Sharma (India), ViratKohli (captain) (India), Babar Azam (Pakistan), ABde Villiers (South Africa), Quinton de Kock (wicket-keeper) (South Africa), Ben Stokes (England), TrentBoult (New Zealand), Hasan Ali (Pakistan), RashidKhan (Afghanistan), Jasprit Bumrah (India)

Eighteen children have been selected for NationalBravery Awards, 2017. The awardees include seven girls.Three of the awards will be given posthumously. Bharat Award – Kumari Nazia from Uttar Pradesh

(for helping the local police track down an illegalbusiness of gambling and betting in her area)

Geeta Chopra Award – late Ms Netrawati M Chavan(for saving two young boys from drowning)

Sanjay Chopra Award – Karanbeer Singh fromPunjab for displaying outstanding bravery andsaving lives of 15 school children

Other winner: Mamata Dalai, F Lalchhandama,Betshwajohn Lyngdoh Peinlang, Sebastian Vincent,Laxmi Yadav, Samridhi Sushil Sharma, Zonuntluanga,Pankaj Semwal, Nadaf Ejaj Abdul Rauf, Mansha N,N Shangpon Konyak, Yoaknei, Chingai Wangsa,Loukrakpam Rajeshwori Chanu and Pankaj KumarMahanta

The children will participate in the Republic Day Parade.The National Bravery Award Scheme was instituted bythe Indian Council of Child Welfare to give duerecognition to the children who distinguish themselvesby performing outstanding deeds of bravery.

President Ram Nath Kovind presented the Sangeet NatakAkademi’s Fellowships (Akademi Ratna) and SangeetNatak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) for the year2016 at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 17 Jan.The President said that art connects people with culture.It also links people. The Sangeet Natak Akademi’sFellowships and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards arerecognised as among the most coveted national honoursbestowed on performing artistes as well as teachers andscholars of performing arts.


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President Ramnath Kovind on 27 Dec inaugurated the100th Annual Conference of the Indian EconomicAssociation (IEA) at Acharya Nagarjuna University inGuntur of Andhra Pradesh. The event was held for fourdays. The Indian Economic Association is a registeredbody of Indian economic professionals, established wayback in 1917, with the objective of providing a forum fordebate and discussion of policy-oriented issues. TheAssociation currently has 5000-plus members, bothindividual and institutional.

India’s supercomputing prowess moved up severalnotches on 8 Jan after it unveiled Pratyush, an array ofcomputers that can deliver a peak power of 6.8 petaflops.One petaflop is a mn bn floating point operations persecond and is a reflection of the computing capacity of asystem. According to a statement by the Indian Instituteof Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pratyush is the fourthfastest supercomputer in the world dedicated for weatherand climate research, and follows machines in Japan,USA and the United Kingdom. It will also move an Indiansupercomputer from the 300s to the 30s in the Top500list, a respected international tracker of the world’s fastestsupercomputers. The machines will be installed at twogovt institutes: 4.0 petaflops HPC facility at IITM, Pune;and 2.8 petaflops facility at the National Centre forMedium Range Weather Forecast, Noida.

In a major digital initiative to help plan the traffic flowsand optimise freight operations, Ministry of Railwayshas launched Smart Freight Operation Optimisation &Real Time Information (SFOORTI) App for FreightManagers, which provides features for monitoring andmanaging freight business using Geographic InformationSystem (GIS) Views and Dashboard. Both passenger andfreight trains can be tracked over Zones/Divisions/Sections and can be viewed through this application.Position of Rakes for Specific Type of Stock can be viewedthrough this application.

India launched 31 satellites, including the earthobservation spacecraft Cartosat in 2A series, on Jan 10,from its spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. Thelaunch included 28 satellites from the US and five othercountries in a single mission. The first space mission in2018 onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-

MiscellanyC40) came four months after a similar rocket failed todeliver the country’s eighth navigation satellite in theearth’s lower orbit on Aug 31. Cartosat will beam high-quality images for cartographic, urban and ruralapplications, coastal land use and regulation and utilitymanagement like road network monitoring.

Israeli archaeologists unveiled on 1 Jan a 2,700-year-old clay seal imprinted with images and Hebrew wordsthat may have belonged to a biblical governor ofJerusalem. The round button-sized seal was found in abuilding in Jerusalem’s Old City near the Western Walland dates back to the 7th century BC, from the time ofthe First Jewish Temple, said the Israel AntiquitiesAuthority. The artefact bears an engraving showing twomen wearing robes and facing each other in a mirror-like manner. Below them is an inscription in ancientHebrew that reads “to the governor of the city”, or mayor.

Scientists have announced the discovery of a crow-sized,bird-like dinosaur with colourful feathers fromnortheastern China that lived 161 mn years ago duringthe Jurassic Period. They named it Caihong, theMandarin word for rainbow. Microscopic structures inthe exquisitely preserved, nearly complete fossilunearthed in Hebei Province, indicated that it boastediridescent feathers, particularly on its head, neck andchest, with colours that shimmered and shifted in thelight, like those of hummingbirds.

The US space agency NASA has announced that itwould launch two missions to explore the little-understood area of 96 km above Earth’s surface. TheGlobal-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD)mission will be launched in Jan 2018, and the IonosphericConnection Explorer (ICON) will be launched later thisyear. GOLD and ICON will team up to explore theionosphere, a boundary area between Earth and thespace where particles have been cooked into a sea ofelectrically-charged electrons and ions by the Sun’sradiation. These layers of near-Earth space areincreasingly becoming a part of human domain as theyare home to radio signals used to guide airplanes, shipsand Global Positioning System satellites.

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The NASA scientists have spotted the farthest knowngalaxy in the universe, a primitive cluster of stars just500 mn years old. An intensive survey deep into theuniverse by NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer spacetelescopes has yielded the image of the galaxy namedSPT0615-JD, stretched and amplified by a phenomenoncalled gravitational lensing. Though a few other primitivegalaxies have been seen at this early epoch, they haveessentially all looked like red dots, given their small sizeand tremendous distances. However, in this case, thegravitational field of a massive foreground galaxy clusternot only amplified the light from the background galaxybut also smeared the image of it into an arc.

The UIDAI on 15 Jan allowed face recognition asadditional means of Aadhaar authentication to be usedin combination with existing ways such as fingerprintor iris scan. The move will enable easy authenticationfor those individuals who face a difficulty in otherbiometric authentication like fingerprint and iris. Thefacility is being allowed only in a “fusion mode” that isalong with other existing means of authentication, andwill be available by Jul 1, 2018. As of now, two modes ofbiometric authentication, fingerprint authentication andiris authentication are allowed under Aadhaar.

Aviation certificate of airworthiness to HAL’s Dornier … of airworthiness to HAL’s Dornier 228. ... company to receive banking licence in India. y ... The Reserve Bank of India

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