THE HINDU TOP NEWS SUMMARY - JULY 2012

Contributed by: Mr. Sumit Yadav, Sr. GK Faculty, Bank Power

FIRST WEEK - JULY 2012

1. 2. A new National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) is planned on the lines of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). The World Heritage Committee, meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, decided to inscribe 39 serial sites of the Western Ghats on the World Heritage List. The Finance Ministry issued a notification to the effect exempting high-end passenger fares and cargo freight from the purview of service tax till September 30. S.K. Thorat panel constituted to review the cartoons used in NCERT books, has ordered deletion of several cartoons. The Central Board of Direct Taxes has made e-filing of income-tax returns mandatory for all assesses whose annual earnings exceeded Rs. 10 lakh during the fiscal 2011-12. Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayee Arogya Yojana (health insurance scheme) was launched in Maharashtra. Supreme Court banned all kinds of commercial and tourism activities within a five-kilometre radius around the Jarawa Tribal Reserve in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Syrias President Bashar al-Assad said that he regretted his countrys defence forces shooting down a Turkish fighter jet on June 22. The Central Government has decided to set up a venture capital fund of Rs.2,000 crore which will promote research and development (R&D) in the pharmaceutical sector. State Bank of India (SBI), to attract new customers, has done away with the minimum balance criteria for saving banks account. British government banned the Indian Mujahideen (IM) describing it as a threat to national security The Union government appointed Home Minister P. Chidambaram the chairman of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on spectrum to fix the reserve price for spectrum in the 2G auctions scheduled for August. President Pratibha Patil was enrolled biometrically in the National Population Register (NPR). Once collected, the NPR data along with biometrics would be sent to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for UID numbers (Aadhar). The government also proposes to issue Resident Identity (Smart) cards under the NPR. Registration in the NPR is mandatory for all usual residents under the Citizenship Act 1955 and Citizenship Rules 2003. The Obama administration declared Afghanistan the United States newest major non-NATO ally, an action designed to facilitate close defence cooperation after U.S. combat troops withdraw from the country in 2014. New Chief Minister of Karnataka - Jagadish Shettar (BJP) (Previous CM Sadananda Gowda).

3.

4. 5.

6. 7.

8.

9.

16. Reserve Bank has launched a website explaining ways to detect counterfeit notes. With a tagline 'Pehchano Paise Ki Boli, Kyunki Paisa Bolta Hai', the website -www.paisaboltahai.rbi.org.in gives visual presentation with pointers on currency notes. 17. Over 49 lakh debtors have defaulted in repaying loans totalling more than Rs one lakh crore from various nationalised banks in the country, an RTI query has revealed. The State Bank of India tops the list accounting for 32 percent of the total defaulted amount. 18. Merchant discount rate (MDR) is the fees charged by banks from a businessman for accepting payment through debit or credit cards from their customers. It stands at 2-3 per cent at present. As per the new RBI directive, the fees will not be more than 0.75% of transactions of up to Rs 2,000. For transactions above Rs 2,000, MDR has been capped at 1%, as per the new rules that will be applicable from July 1. But now it has postponed to September 1. 19. National Housing Bank (NHB) and three others have joined hands to form the country's first mortgage guarantee firm which has an initial paid up capital of Rs 120 crore. The other members of the joint venture compan are Genworth, Asian Development Bank and International Finance Corporation. "IMGC (India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation) will offer mortgage guarantees against borrower defaults on housing loans from mortgage lenders.

10.

11. 12.

Classroom Program Highlights

13.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

5 Days Classes 3 months course duration Exhaustive Study Material Weekend Classes (Sat and Sun) 2 Weekly Speed Tests SSC Classes Free Demo Classes Classes upto Selection

14.

Call Now for More Details: Laxmi Nagar-8750505082; Kingsway Camp 8750505084; Munirka 8750505094; Rajendra Nagar 8750505097; Vikaspuri 8750505076; Noida - 8750505074

15.

20. Reserve Bank allowed holders of pre-paid payment cards, to deposits school and college fees and pay taxes in addition to buying rail and air tickets within the prescribed limit of Rs 10,000. The pre-paid cards, which are convenient alternatives to cash and cheques, are mainly issued by banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) for purchasing goods and services from limited outlets. 21. Morgan Stanley, US bank has received an in-principle approval from the Reserve bank of India (RBI) for a banking license. 22. The Planning Commission is proposing a target of reducing poverty by 10 per cent to less than 20 per cent of the population by 2017, the end of 12th Five-Year Plan. 23. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)s World Investment Report for 2012 has named India as the third most desirable destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) behind China and the United States. In 2011, the FDI inflows to India went up to 32 billion dollar. 24. India has allowed foreign direct investment from Pakistan. 25. International Conference held in Tokyo (Japan) to provide Afghanistan 16 billion dollar international aid in next four years. 26. Indias first bio-fuel outlet to be operational in Karnataka soon. 27. Anup Sankar Bhattacharya is the new director of Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS). 28. India and South Korea decided to cooperate in the areas of civil nuclear energy and space. SECOND WEEK - JULY 2012 1. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been termed an underachiever by TIME, a top U.S. magazine. 2. Roger Federer regained the Wimbledon trophy in mens single when he beat Andy Murray in the final. 3. Booking of tatkal tickets will start at 10 a.m., instead of 8 a.m. For two hours, from 10.00 a.m. to 12 noon, no IRCTC agent will be allowed to access the Internet, or authorised to purchase tickets from the reservation counters. Tatkal tickets can be booked only a day in advance of the scheduled journey. 4. Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) clarified that remittances from abroad would not attract service tax. According to World Bank data, India received remittances worth $64 billion in 2011, and emerged as the top recipient of such funds among developing countries. 5. Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) granted permission to MCX Stock Exchange (MCXSX) to operate as a full-fledged stock exchange. With This approval, MCX-SX would be able to offer additional asset classes such as equity and equity F&O (Futures and Options), interest rate futures and wholesale debt segments. 6. Andhra Pradesh has decided to speed up the 9,564 MW Kovvada Nuclear Power Park (KNP) project in Srikakulam. But local public is protesting against nuclear plant. 7. World farm production must rise 60 per cent by 2050 to meet the needs of a growing population, the U.N. food agency FAO and the OECD said. 8. The Supreme Court of Pakistan gave Prime Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf time till July 25 to comply with its order to

9. 10. 11.

12.

13.

14.

15. 16.

17.

18.

19. 20.

21.

write to the Swiss authorities asking them to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. Dara Singh and Rajesh khanna passed away. Reserve Bank said it is working on launching plastic currency. On GAAR (general anti avoidance rules), Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set up a committee headed by Parthasarathi Shome, to prepare fresh norms and to bring "greater clarity" and prepare a roadmap by September 30 for its implementation. The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of the Indian Army launched the nuclear- capable Agni-I missile (range - 700 km) from the Wheeler Island of Odisha coast. From August 1, transfer of funds not over Rs 10,000 from one account to another account through National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system, will attract maximum charge of Rs 2.50 per transaction, RBI said in a notification. Charges for electronic transfer of fund beyond Rs 10,000 but less than Rs 1 lakh will be a maximum of Rs 5 per transaction. At the same time, for electronic transfer of funds beyond Rs 1 lakh to less than Rs 2 lakh, RBI has retained maximum charges of Rs 15 per transaction. Prime Minister of Singapore Mr. Lee Hsien Loong arrived in New Delhi and signed 3 pacts in the field of education ,defence and security. Singapore Prime Minister announced to set up a World class skill development Centre in New Delhi with collaboration of both countries. 11th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2013 will be held in Cochin (Kerala). Last meeting was held in Jaipur. Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced to provide $74.8 million loan to improve road connectivity in the North East states. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd decided to get into a merger with Suzuki Power train India Ltd. This initiative will help them prepare and meet the increasing demand for diesel vehicles. World Energy Forum will hold its first conference outside its UN headquarters on 22 October 2012 in Dubai. 22 October is observed as world energy day. India and Mozambique signed on Bilateral Security Cooperation agreement. India and Russia have agreed to achieve the 20 billion US Dollars trade target by 2015. The bilateral trade between the countries stood at 9 billion U S Dollars in 2011. 9th World Hindi Conference will be held in South African city Johannesburg from 22 to 24 of September this year. The main theme of the conference is Bhasha Ki Asmita Aur Hindi Ka Vaishvik Sandarbh.

THIRD WEEK JULY 2012 1. IOA (Indian Olympic association) announced that wrestler Sushil Kumar will be the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent at the London Olympics. 2. Inflation declined marginally to 7.25 per cent in June, against 7.55 per cent in May WPI (wholesale price index) 3. Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams, along with her two colleagues, took off for her second space odyssey on a Russian Soyuz rocket, which blasted off successfully from Kazakhstan for a four-month mission on the International Space Station (ISS). 4. South Africas Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma became the first woman head of African Union (A.U.) Commission.

5.

6.

7. 8.

9.

10. 11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) has marginally reduced Indias growth projections from 6.8 per cent to 6.1 per cent for 2012 and from 7.2 per cent to 6.5 per cent in 2013. IMFs World Economic Outlook. Global growth will be at 3.5 per cent in 2012 and 3.9 per cent in 2013. With the Kudankulam nuclear project likely to be commissioned in August, Russia has agreed to extend a $3.4-billion credit for setting up two more 1,000-MW atomic power plants units 3 and 4 of the Kudankulam project at the same site in Tamil Nadu. UN peace mediator for Syria - Kofi Annan. U.S. is close to developing a hypersonic bomber able to reach any target on the globe in under an hour. The military hopes to fly such planes capable of moving at 20 times the speed of sound by 2016. The hypersonic bomber codenamed the XPlane will travel at Mach 20 (roughly 20,900 kmph). The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor D. Subbarao, proposed a Producer Price Index (PPI), which would measure the average change over time in the sale prices of domestic goods and services. In its present structure, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) does not capture the price movement of services. In contrast to Consumer Price Index (CPI), PPI measures price changes from the perspective of the seller. Sellers and purchasers prices differ due to government subsidies, sales and excise taxes, and distribution costs. The Rajasthan government decided to ban the production, storage, distribution and sale of gutkha. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued guidelines allowing overseas individual investors (Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs) to invest up to $1 billion in corporate bonds and debt schemes of mutual funds without any lock-in period. As per the existing norms, QFIs are allowed to invest in schemes of Indian mutual funds and Indian equity shares by opening a demat account with a qualified Depository Participant (DP). Retail inflation, based on the consumer price index (CPI), eased marginally to 10.02 per cent in June from 10.36 per cent in May. The rates of price rise for rural and urban areas were 9.74 per cent and 10.44 per cent, respectively. Russia and China vetoed a new U.N. Security Council resolution that would have slapped new sanctions against President Bashar Al Assads regime in Syria, while India was among the 11 countries that voted in favour. Terming serious the alleged violation of safety norms by HSBC staff members in the country against moneylaundering and terrorist financing, India promised to get to the bottom of it. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that foreign banks having 20 or more branches in the country will be brought on par with domestic banks for priority sector targets in a phased manner over a maximum period of five years starting April 1, 2013. Foreign banks with less than 20 branches will have no sub-targets within the overall priority sector lending target of 32 per cent. United Progressive Alliance (UPA) nominee, VicePresident Mohammed Hamid Ansari and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Jaswant Singh will fight Vice-President Election on August 7. A series of trials of anti-tank Nag missile, with focus on the performance of a modified Namica (Nag Missile Carrier) in

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26. 27.

28.

harsh desert conditions, will be conducted in the Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan between July 24 and August 10. A new report by tax researchers (Tax Justice Network) estimates that the amount of black money deposited by a global super-rich elite in offshore accounts is as much as $20 trillion equivalent of the combined GDPs of the U.S. and Japan. Lakshmi Sahgal freedom fighter and Netaji Subhas Chandra Boses comrade in the Indian National Army passed away. The Defence Ministry cleared a proposal to procure 56 transport aircraft, at an estimated price of Rs. 12,000 crore, for the Air Force to replace the ageing Avro planes. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced a new category of NBFCs, Non-Banking Financial CompanyFactors and stipulated that every company seeking registration as NBFC-Factors would have a minimum netowned fund (NOF) of Rs.5 crore. Factoring is a financial transaction where an entity sells its receivable to a thirdparty called a factor at discounted prices. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will issue rupee five denomination coins bearing the emblem of Indian Council Medical Research (ICMR). These coins are being issued to mark the Centenary Year of the ICMR. Home Ministry declined permission to three Iranian banks (Parsian Bank, Bank Kasargad and Eghtesad-e-Novin) to open branches in India due to threat of money laundering and terror financing in banking transactions as cautioned by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Government has initiated revision of base year from 200405 to 2011-12 for calculating the gross domestic product (GDP). Food grain production in India will be more than 257 million tonnes in last year as compared to nearly 245 million tonnes the previous year. India extended the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) HDFC Group has become India's second biggest corporate house after Tatas in terms of private sector stock market valuation, Reliance Industries group to the third position. According to India City Competitiveness Report-2012, compiled by Harvard based Institute for Competitiveness, New Delhi has emerged as the most competitive city in India followed by Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

FOURTH WEEK JULY 2012 1. To protect tigers, the Supreme Court banned all tourism activities in the core areas of the tiger reserve forests. 2. All trains could soon have bio-toilets, with the Ministry of Rural Development offering to bear half the total cost Rs. 500 crore of installing them. 3. Educational development index (EDI) a) Puducherry b) Lakshadweep c) Punjab has improved its rank from seven to three this year d) Tamil Nadu e) Kerala, which stood third last year, has gone down to fifth.

4.

5. 6.

7.

8.

9. 10.

11. 12.

13. 14.

15.

16.

17. 18. 19.

20. 21.

22. 23.

24.

Kulandei Francis (working for Micro finance and rural development in India) is among six winners of the Magsaysay Award this year. Kerala Assembly passed the Kerala State Right to Service Bill 2012. State Bank of India launched an international five-year bond sale programme to raise at least USD one billion. The bank has a board mandate to raise USD 10 billion from overseas markets over the next few years. Of the 169 countries outside of the euro zone, India has been ranked as the 85th most exposed to the European crisis. India and Singapore will share a list of suspected tax evaders and cases related to black money next week as part of bilateral financial enforcement cooperation between the two countries. India has banned USA sanctioned Iranian ships from entering its waters. President Asif Ali Zardari invited Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit Pakistan to discuss bilateral relations and to visit his ancestral village on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. India and China have agreed to achieve the 100 billion US Dollars trade target by 2015. Mobile phone users will soon be able to air their complaints, with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) set to install software that would track consumer complaints registered with network service providers. Indias foreign exchange reserves moved up to $287.34 billion. India test-fired the 290-km BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the integrated test range at Chandipur (Odisha). The WTO Report 2012 - India had the fastest export growth 16 per cent among major traders in 2011 and China had the second-fastest export growth at 9.3 per cent. Knowledge Commission Chairman, Sam Pitroda assured that all the country's 2,50,000 panchayats will have broadband connectivity by November 2013. Egypts President Mohamed Morsi elected Hisham Kandil as the countrys New Prime Minister. India and Indonesia signed an agreement to avoid double taxation and prevent fiscal evasion. Greentech Foundation awarded Gold Trophy in Safety Management Award 2012 to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). Chhattisgarh banned Gutka and Pan Masala. British financial sector regulator (FSA - Financial Services Authority) has entered into a fresh agreement with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for mutual assistance and information exchange in supervision of banks operating in both the countries. Pranab Mukherjee elected as 13th President of India. Central Government decided to provide skill-development training to one member of each family, which has completed 100 man days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Punjab government launched Greening Punjab Campaign to plant 40 crore saplings across the state in the next eight years.

25. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set up a panel headed by N. Rangachary, to bring clarity on taxation matters pertaining to development centres and the IT sector. 26. Indian Shooter Gagan Narang won bronze medal in 10 meter air rifle at the London Olympics. 27. World Bank approved an 1100 crore rupees loan for Himachal Pradesh to promote green initiatives and sustainable development. 28. Competition Commission of India imposed 397.51 crore rupees penalty on 11 Cement Company for violating the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002.

OUR CENTRES
East Delhi - Laxmi Nagar B-37, Guru Nanak Pura, Laxmi Ngr, Nr Nirman Vihar Metro Ph: 087-50-50-50-82 West Delhi - Vikaspuri C-9, New Krishna Park, Vikaspuri, Nr. Jkpuri (W) Metro Ph: 087-50-50-50-76, 011-64725221 North Delhi - Kingsway Camp I 120, Mall Road, Kingsway Camp, Near GTB Nagar Metro Ph: 087-50-50-50-84 North Delhi - Kingsway Camp II 81, Mall Road, Kingsway Camp, Near GTB Nagar Metro Ph: 087-50-50-50-84 Central Delhi Rajendra Nagar Radha Nikunj, 2nd Floor, 47/12, Nr. Rajendra Place Metro Stn. Ph: 087-50-50-50-97 South Delhi Munirka I G-92, Pratap Complex, Pratap Market, Munirka Ph: 087-50-50-50-94 South Delhi Munirka II Ground Floor, Laxman Plaza, Munirka Ph: 087-50-50-50-94 Noida Centre - I Y348C/3, Above ICICI Bank, Sector 12, Ph: 087-50-50-50-74, 0120-3136308 Noida Centre - II 2nd Floor, Veervati Palace, Near Vinayak Hospital, Sector 27 Ph No. 87-50-50-50-22, 98-99-56-50-58