Govt Announces Measures To Check Rising Current Account Deficit

The government has announced an array of steps to check the rising Current Account Deficit (CAD), and the fall in rupee. The steps include removal of withholding tax on rupee-denominated bonds known as Masala bonds issued till March 2019, relaxation for Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI), and curbs on non-essential imports. The government has decided on a number of steps to contain CAD, which widened to 2.4% of the GDP in the first quarter of 2018-19. 
What is CAD?
The current account deficit is a measurement of a country’s trade where the value of the goods and services it imports exceeds the value of the goods and services it exports.
The steps to be taken by the government to attract dollar inflows into the country include:
  • Reviewing of mandatory hedging condition for infrastructure loans. 
  • To permit manufacturing sector entities to avail of External Commercial Borrowing (ECBs) up to $50 million with minimum maturity of one year, instead of the earlier limit of three years. 
  • Removing restrictions with respect to FPI exposure limit of 20 per cent in corporate bond portfolio to a single corporate group or company or entity and 50 per cent of any issue of corporate bond. 
  • Removal of withholding tax on rupee-denominated bonds known as Masala bonds issued till March 2019. 
  • Removing restrictions on Indian banks, market making in masala bonds, including restrictions on underwriting of masala bonds. 
  • Relaxation for Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) and curbs on non-essential imports. 
Source- The Indian Express

Festival of Nuakhai being celebrated in Odisha

The festival of Nuakhai is being celebrated in Odisha. During this harvest festival of western Odisha, new produce Nabannis offered to presiding deities. After offering the Nabann, people relish different types of delicacies prepared from the newly harvested crop.

The Nuakhai Juhar is a major ritual of the festival, during which greetings are exchanged with friends, relatives, and well-wishers. The origins of the festival are said to date all the way back to the Vedic ages, the first records of its existence are believed to be from the 12th century when a certain Raja Ramai Deo saw agriculture as an important entity in maintaining the cohesiveness of a societal arrangement.
Source-News on Air
Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • Chief Minister of Odisha: Naveen Patnaik
  • Governor of Odisha: Professor Ganeshi Lal

International Day of Democracy: 15 September

The International Day of Democracy is observed globally on 15th September. It provides an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world. The theme for IDD is ‘Democracy under Strain: Solutions for a Changing World’. 
The Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly through a resolution in 2007 to strengthen national programmes devoted to the promotion and consolidation of democracy. The day was observed for the first time in 2008. 
Source- The United Nations

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • Antonio Guterres is the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
  • The UN Headquarters in New York, United States.

RBI to buy G-Secs in open market

The Reserve Bank to purchase government securities (G-secs) worth Rs 10,000 crore on September 19, a move aimed at inducing liquidity in the system. The purchase of the government securities will be done through Open Market Operations (OMO).
When the RBI thinks there is excess liquidity in the market, it resorts to the sale of securities, thereby decreasing the rupee liquidity. Similarly, when the liquidity conditions are tight, it may buy securities from the market, thereby increasing liquidity in the market.

Source- News on Air
Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • Urjit Patel- 24th Governor of RBI, Headquarters- Mumbai, Established on- 1st April 1935, in Kolkata.

Union Minister of Textiles Presents ‘Shilp Guru’ & National Award to Master Craft Persons

Union Minister of Textiles Smriti Zubin Irani presented ‘Shilp Guru’ and National Award to Master craft persons at a function held at Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh. Eight ‘Shilp guru’ and 25 National awards were presented for the year 2016. 

Shilp Guru’ is the highest award in the Handicraft sector in India. The handicraft export has witnessed a year-on-year growth and in the last four years, handicraft items worth Rs. 1 lakh 26 thousand crores had been exported from India. 

Source- AIR World Service

Engineer’s Day: 15 September | Birthday Of M Visvesvaraya

Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya’s birthday is celebrated on 15 September as Engineer’s Day. Fondly referred to as Sir MV, M Visvesvaraya was a world-renowned civil engineer who was a master of irrigation design. He was also referred to as the father of engineers by many. The bridge, among M Visvesvaraya’s most notable projects, is a representation of the Krishna Raja Sagara Lake and dam (in Karnataka). In 1924, Sir MV designed the Krishna Raja Sagara Lake and dam, the largest reservoir in India at the time, and oversaw the construction of the project. The dam is known to have provided drinking water for several cities. 
Life of M Visvesvaraya in Brief: 
Born in the early 1800s, Sir MV was raised in Karnataka’s Muddenahalli village. Sir MV walked for over 60 kilometres in Bengaluru to attend United Mission School and often resort to street lamps for studying during the night. M Visvesvaraya earned a License in Civil Engineering from the University of Bombay and began working with the Bombay city’s Public Works Division. He then joined the Indian Irrigation Commission. His expertise in the subject earned him the opportunity to travel to a port city in Yemen where he studied the water supply and drainage of Aden. 
Special Achievements of M Visvesvaraya: 
M Visvesvaraya was appointed as the Chief Engineer of Mysore State in 1909. He was then given the status of the Diwan in Mysore in 1912 which he held for seven years. He was awarded India’s highest honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1955 for his work in the fields of engineering and education. He was also awarded the British knighthood King also awarded to by George V, giving him the honorific “sir”. 
Happy Birthday, Sir MV……..



RBI Released India’s Foreign Trade: August 2018

India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) in April-August 2018-19 (as per the RBI Press Release) are estimated to be USD 221.83 Billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 20.70% over the same period last year. Overall imports in April-August 2018-19 are estimated to be USD 269.54 Billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 21.01% over the same period last year. 
1. Merchandise Trade
EXPORTS
Exports in August 2018 were US $ 27.84 Billion, as compared to US $ 23.36 Billion in August 2017, exhibiting a positive growth of 19.21 per cent. 
IMPORTS
Imports in August 2018 were US $ 45.24 Billion, which was 25.41% higher in Dollar terms and 36.34% higher in Rupee terms over imports of US $ 36.07 Billion in August 2017. 
2. Trade In Services
EXPORTS 
Exports in July 2018 were US $ 17.55 Billion registering a positive growth of 4.04 per cent in dollar terms, as compared to a positive growth of 4.32 per cent in June 2018 (as per RBI’s Press Release for the respective months).
IMPORTS 
Imports in July 2018 were US $ 10.85 Billion registering a positive growth of 5.35 per cent in dollar terms, as compared to a positive growth of 0.89 per cent in June 2018 (as per RBI’s Press Release for the respective months).
OVERALL TRADE BALANCE
Taking merchandise and services together, overall trade deficit for April-August 2018-19 is estimated at US $ 47.72 Billion as compared to US $ 38.95 Billion in April-August 2017-18. 

Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB)

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • Urjit Patel- 24th Governor of RBI, Headquarters- Mumbai, Established on- 1st April 1935, in Kolkata. 

Former Indian Hockey Captain Sardar Singh Announces Retirement

Sardar Singh has announced his retirement from international hockey. He made the decision after a disappointing Asian Games where India failed to defend their title and had to settle for a Bronze medal. 
India’s poor performance left them out of the reckoning for direct qualification to the 2020 Olympic Games. The 32-year old player made his senior debut for India against Pakistan in 2006, and since then played over 350 international matches, captaining the team for eight years. 
Source- News On AIR

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • Sardar Singh has received the Arjuna Award in 2012 and Padma Shri in 2015. 

23rd Meeting of India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission Held In Moscow


External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj led the Indian delegation at the 23rd meeting of India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission (IRIGC-TEC) to discuss the expansion of Russia-India relationship across all sectors.  The meeting was chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov. 
The IRIGC-TEC is a standing body which annually meets and reviews ongoing activities of bilateral cooperation in the fields of bilateral trade and investment, science and technology, culture and other issues of mutual interest. 
Source- ANI News

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • IRIGC-TEC: India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Technical and Economic Cooperation
  • Russian Capital: Moscow, Currency: Ruble, President: Vladimir Putin
  • IRIGC-TEC last meeting: December 2017, Delhi

National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) Releases HIV Estimations 2017

The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) released the report HIV Estimations 2017. The HIV Estimations 2017 is the 14th round in the series of HIV Estimations under National AIDS Control Programme (NACP). NACO undertakes HIV estimations biennially in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) – National Institute of Medical Statistics (NIMS). As per the report, Maharashtra has the highest number of people living with HIV in India. Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka were on second and third place, respectively. 
The first round of HIV estimation in India was done in 1998, while the last round was done in 2015. As per the report, in 2017, India had around 21.40 lakh people living with HIV (PLHIV) with the adult prevalence of 0.22%. The objective of HIV Estimations is to provide updated information on the status of HIV epidemic in India at national and State/UT level. 
Source- DD News