1. Modi invites Malaysian companies to invest in India
i.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday invited Malaysian companies to come to India in a
ii.) Mr. Modi’s call came during a bilateral meeting with his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak at the Myanmar International Convention Centre on the sidelines of the 12th ASEAN—India summit on the second day of his ten—day three—nation tour of Myanmar, Australia and Fiji.
iii.) I am giving lot of emphasis to makeinindia & want to invite Malaysian companies to come to India. There are lot of opportunities,” Modi tweeted shortly after his meeting. India has traditionally relied on investments from Japan, South Korea, Europe and the US.
iv.) Mr. Modi told Najib that Malaysia and India have worked together in the past and that the two countries can take this much further under his leadership. Modi and Najib also invited each other to visit their countries.
2. Jawed Usmani appointed as State Chief Information Commissioner in UP
i.) Jawed Usmani appointed as State Chief Information Commissioner (SCIC) in Uttar Pradesh (UP).
ii. Governor of UP Ram Naik on 10 November 2014 approved appointment of Jawed Usmani as CIC.
iii. A three-member committee, headed by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav selected the name of Usmani and forwarded it to the Governor.
3. RBI tightens norms for NBFCs
i.) Tightening norms for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), the Reserve Bank of India on Monday raised the capital adequacy requirement and the net owned fund limit, among others, with an objective to mitigate risks in the sector.
ii.) With a view to streamlining the regulations for the sector, the RBI also revoked temporary suspension on issuance of Certificate of Registration (CoR) to companies that want to conduct business of non-banking financial institution (NBFI).
iii.) As per the latest directives, the RBI has raised the limit for NBFCs to maintain the net owned fund (NOF) requirement to four times by 2017 to Rs.2 crore. At present, the NOF requirement is at Rs.25 lakh. In a phased manner, the NBFCs would be required to raise it to Rs.1 crore by March, 2016, and to further double it to Rs.2 crore by 2017.
iv.) NBFCs failing to achieve the prescribed ceiling within the stipulated time period shall not be eligible to hold the CoR (Certificate of Registration) as NBFCs. The bank will initiate the process for cancellation of CoR against such NBFCs,” it said in a notification.
4. Tendulkar’s book to be published in regional languages
i.) Due to enormous demand, the publishers of Sachin Tendulkar’s record-breaking autobiography, Playing It My Way has decided to translate the book in Indian regional languages.
ii.) Hachette India will be co-publishing Tendulkar’s autobiography after being flooded with interest from several publishers.
iii.) “The book has topped 200,000 copies in orders, already pulling ahead of both pre-order and lifetime sales of the top hardbacks — Dan Brown’s Inferno, Walter Issacson’s Steve Jobs and J K Rowling’s Casual Vacancy,” Hachette India in a release.
5. Indirect tax collections rise 5.6 per cent in April-October
i.) Indirect tax revenues rose marginally by 5.6 per cent in the April-October period to over Rs 2.85 lakh crore, mainly on account of increase in service tax and customs collections. However, excise collection, which is an indication of economic activity, declined by 1.2 per cent during the seven month period to Rs 88,330 crore, an official statement said.
ii.) Indirect tax collections so far this fiscal has been 45.7 per cent of the budget target of full 2014-15. The government has budgeted to collect over Rs 6.24 lakh from indirect taxes in the current fiscal, up 20.28 per cent over the collection in 2013-14.
iii.) Service Tax collections increased 10.9 per cent during the seven months ending October to Rs 90,673 crore. This amounts to 42 per cent of the budget target. Mop up from customs rose 7.5 per cent to over Rs 1.06 lakh crore in April-October. This is 52.6 per cent of budget estimates.
iv.) Economic growth, after remaining at sub-5 per cent in last two fiscals, is estimated to be between 5.4-5.9 per cent in 2014-15. During the April-August period of 2014-15, industrial output growth as measured by Index of Industrial Production ( IIP) grew at 2.8 per cent, as against flat production in same period of the previous fiscal.
6. Rajnath Singh adopts Beti village in Lucknow
i.) Union Home Minister and Lucknow MP Rajnath Singh has adopted Beti village in the district under the Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojna.
ii.) “The Union Home Minister has adopted Beti village in Sarojini Nagar (Assembly segment) under the model village scheme,” Secretary of BJP’s Uttar Pradesh unit Virendra Tiwari said on Tuesday.
iii.) Though in Lucknow district, Beti village is not part of the Lucknow parliamentary constituency. It falls in the Mohanlalganj parliamentary constituency.
7. ASEAN summit begins in Myanmar
i.) ASEAN summit begins in Myanmar (NAY PYI TAW) The establishment of an economic
community by the end of 2015 along with plans for its future development will be a key topic of discussion among top leaders at the ASEAN summit that began here today.
ii.) Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, along with other world leaders, including US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gathered in Myanmar's capital to discuss the establishment of an economic community within the regional bloc.
iii.) According to the ASEAN Secretariat, 80 per cent of required measures for the community have been implemented before the 10 member states strive to build a single ASEAN market and production base, a competitive economic region, an equitable economic development and an integration into the global economy next year.
iv.) The envisaged ASEAN community will cover some 600 million people with a combined GDP of USD 2 trillion. The summit is expected to adopt a declaration for the ASEAN community's future vision, which will serve as the basis for a comprehensive road map for the regional bloc beyond 2015.
v.) The two-day summit also includes meetings among leaders from China, South Korea, Japan, India, New Zealand, Australia, the US and Russia. ASEAN, established in 1967, groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
8. Narendra Modi meets Aung San Suu Kyi
i.) Prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday met Mayanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi on the sidelines of the Asean summit here during his maiden trip to Southeast Asia.
ii.) Suu Kyi called on Modi at 6 pm local time at the Park Royal Hotel, where the Indian delegation is staying. This was Modi’s first meeting with the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. During the course of the meeting, Suu Kyi, who has studied in India, said that she considered the country to be her “second home”.
iii.) The meeting comes at a time when Myanmar is in the middle of a national debate on whether to allow Suu Kyi to contest the 2015 parliamentary elections, from which she is barred due to a provision in the Constitution. Suu Kyi had last visited the country in November 2012.
9. 18TH SAARC SUMMIT: AN ECONOMIC AGENDA – ANALYSIS
i.) The 18th SAARC summit is scheduled to be held in Kathmandu, Nepal, in a little less than three weeks from now. The theme of the summit is ‘deeper integration for peace and prosperity’.
ii.) Deeper integration, in addition to the creation of a free trade area, entails liberalisation of services, investment, elimination of non-tariff barriers, and in general, going beyond traditional market access issues.
iii.) The theme is appropriately timed, given that the neighbouring ASEAN bloc is expected to achieve the formulation of an economic community by 2015 and the larger region of the ASEAN+3 (China, Japan, Korea) +3 (Australia, New Zealand, India) is negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), also to be finalised by 2015. Compelling regional forces therefore exist for South Asia to accelerate towards deeper integration.
iv.) First, evaluate the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) for its continued relevance in the region. Second, focus on factors that could facilitate trade in South Asia. An aspect that has drawn relatively less attention but is of critical importance is the lack of financial connectivity in the region.
10. Barack Obama and Xi Jinping seal climate pact
i.) THE US and China have struck a historic pact to reduce carbon pollution levels on the eve of the G20, in a breakthrough that intensifies pressure on world leaders including Tony Abbott to commit to deeper emissions cuts.
ii.) After nine months of secret negotiations, presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping unveiled a surprise, ambitious agreement in Beijing that is designed to inject fresh momentum into international climate negotiations. It is the first time the two nations, which account for 40 per cent of the world’s carbon emissions, have agreed to work together.
iii.) “As the world’s two largest economies and emitters of greenhouse gases, we have a special responsibility to lead the global effort against climate change,” Mr Obama said.
iv.) “We hope to encourage all major economies to be ambitious so we can conclude a strong global climate agreement next year.’’
11. PM Narendra Modi invites ASEAN nations to invest in India
i.) Asserting that India and ASEAN have "no irritants" in their ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
today invited the 10-nation bloc to be part of his country's "new" economic journey even as his strong "Make in India" pitch got the support of the grouping.
ii.) The prime minister in his interaction in Hindi at the round table said that a "new era" of economic development, industrialisation and trade has begun in India and and that the rapidly developing country and ASEAN can be "great partner for each other.
iii.) We have embarked on a new economic journey in India, we invite you to this new environment in India," the prime minister said. ASEAN plans to become one economic community by the end of next year.
iv.) Modi's comments came at a time when India seeks to deepen its engagement with the bloc of 10 small and medium economies. Presently, India-ASEAN trade is around USD 76 billion which is just three per cent of total ASEAN trade. They have set a target of USD 100 billion for bilateral trade by 2015.
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