1. The Reserve Bank of India
raised repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.75%. The central bank also pared its
GDP growth projection for the current year to 5% from 5.5% and, for the first
time, offered a projection for consumer price inflation (CPI), saying it
expects CPI to remain “around or even above 9% in the months ahead, absent
policy action”. New rates are:
a.
Bank Rate – 8.75 % (Decreased 0.25%)
b.
Cash Reserve Ratio – 4 % (Unchanged)
c.
Statutory Liquidity Ratio – 23 % (Unchanged)
d.
Repo Rate – 7.75 % (Increased 0.25%)
e.
Reverse Repo Rate – 6.75 % (Increased 0.25%)
f. Marginal Standing Rate –
8.75 % (Decreased 0.25%)
2.
Nobel Prize for different discipline has been announced. For details refer
Tid-Bits.
3.
G.K. Pillai was appointed as the Chairman of the MCX-SX.
4.
Subhas Goswami was appointed as the Director General (DG) of Indo Tibetan
Border Police (ITBP).
5.
P.S. Raghvan was appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Russia.
6.
The Government of India decided to appoint Air Marshal Arup Raha as the next
Chief of the Air Staff.
7.
Union Government of India appointed Gireesh B. Pradhan as the Chairperson of
the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).
8.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Sigrid Kaag as head of
the joint mission of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
(OPCW) and the United
Nations.
The main objective of the OPCW-UN Mission is to eradicate chemical weapons in
Syria.
9.
Government of Pakistan decided to appoint Pakistani veteran diplomat Syed Ibne
Abbas as the new Pakistani envoy to India.
10. US President Barack Obama
nominated Janet L. Yellen as the new head of the Federal Reserve Board. Janet
Yellen replaced Ben Bernanke. Janet Yellen is the first woman to lead the
Federal Reserve Board.
11. Arundhati Bhattacharya took
over as the Chairperson of the State Bank of India (SBI). She is the first
woman to take charge as the Chairperson of SBI.
12.
S. Varadarajan took over charge as chairman and managing director (CMD) of
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL).
13.
Ranjan Mathai was appointed as India's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
14.
Srishti Rana of India was crowned Miss Asia Pacific World 2013 in Busan, South
Korea.
15.
Shah Rukh Khan was appointed as the goodwill ambassador for South Korea.
16.
Four Indians have made to 2013 Fortune magazine's global list of top-50 women
business leaders. ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar has been ranked 4th, National
Stock Exchange chief Chitra Ramkrishna at 17th, Axis Bank's Shikha Sharma at
32nd and HSBC's Naina Lal Kidwai at 42nd place. This list is topped by
Brazilian energy giant Petrobras' CEO Maria Das Gracas Foster.
17.
Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize for literature. She was the first Canadian
woman to take the Nobel Prize since its launch in 1901.
18.
Arunendra Kumar was appointed as Chairman of Railway Board.
19.
Prime Minister of Libya, Ali Zeidan was abducted by gunmen on 10 October 2013.
Ali Zeidan was later rescued.
20.
Ethiopia's parliament elected Mulatu Teshome as the country's new president for
a six-year term.
21.
Ratan Tata was inducted into National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in the US
for his outstanding contributions to industrial development in India as well as
the world.
22.
Former Supreme Court judge of Sri Lanka C.V. Wigneswaran was sworn in the first
Tamil chief minister of Northern Province.
23.
Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh was on a 3-day Official Visit to Moscow
to attend the 14th India-Russian Annual Summit.
24.
Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh was on a 3-day Official Visit to
Beijing. During this visit India and China signed 9 agreements in total. The
most important among them was the agreement on defence cooperation.
25.
Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary visited India.
26.
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh paid an official visit to Brunei Darussalam
from 9-11 October 2013 to attend the 11th ASEAN-India Summit and 8th East Asia
Summit. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh paid a State Visit to Indonesia from
10-12 October, 2013. Dr. Manmohan Singh also stated that a Free Trade Agreement
on services and investments would be signed with ASEAN by end of 2013 to help
meet India-ASEAN trade to 100 billion Dollars by 2015.
27.
The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, paid a state visit to Belgium from 2
October 2013 to 5 October 2013, at the invitation of the King of the Belgium.
28.
Shreekant Javalgekar resigned as the Managing Director and CEO of Multi
Commodity Exchange (MCX).
29.
Rasheed Masood, the arrested Congress leader resigned from the post of Chairman
of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority
(APEDA).
30.
Jignesh Shah, founder, vice-chairman and a Director of Multi-Commodity Exchange
(MCX), resigned from the board on 31 October 2013.
31.
Legendary Pakistani folk singer Reshma passed away in Lahore, Pakistan.
32.
Rajendra Yadav, the noted Hindi writer passed away in Delhi because of
prolonged illness.
33.
Lawrence R Klein, Nobel Prize winning economist died on 20 October 2013 in
Gladwyne, near Philadelphia.
34.
Eminent Telugu writer and Gyanpeeth award recipient, Dr. Ravuri Bharadwaja
passed away in Hyderabad.
35. Wilfried Martens,
nine-times Prime Minister of Belgium died.
36.
Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor was honoured in the House of Commons, London
for her contribution to the global entertainment industry.
37. Tennis player- turned film
producer Ashok Amritraj was presented with the 'Soul of India Award' for his
outstanding achievements in the film industry.
38.
Former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen conferred with the Mother Teresa Memorial
International Award by NGO The Harmony Foundationfor her efforts towards
achieving social justice in Mumbai.
39.
Anjali Gopalan was awarded with French highest civilian award Chevalier de la
Legion d’Honneur. She was awarded for her work on transgenders and HIV positive
patients.
40.
Manna Dey, the legendary singer died in Bangalore hospital.
41.
Aung Suu Kyi received the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought at Strasbourg,
France. She was chosen by the European Parliament in 1990.
42.
Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar was presented the first national Yash Chopra
Memorial Award.
43.
Photographer Greg du Toit was announced the winners of 2013 Wildlife
Photographer of the Year.
44.
Eminent agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan selected for the Indira Gandhi
Award for National Integration for the year 2012.
45.
Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teen shot by the Taliban for championing girls'
education won the European Union's (EU) Sakharov human rights prize 2013.
46.
A senior Indian journalist, Ravi Shankar Narsimhan was presented with
Friendship award by China-the highest honor given to foreigners.
47.
The Empowered Committee headed by Mukul Mudgal submitted its report to
Information and
Broadcasting
Minister. The committee was appointed to examine issues of certification under
the Cinematograph Act, 1952.
48.
Government of India appointed a four member committee headed by Arvind Mayaram
to clear the ambiguity between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Foreign
Institutional Investment (FII).
49.
India developed a new tactical surface-to-surface missile Pragati which has a
range between 60-170 km.
50.
The Indian Navy inducted into service its largest offshore patrol vessel (OPV),
INS Sunayna, at the Southern Naval Command.
51.
India successfully test-fired it’s indigenously developed nuclear-capable
Prithvi-II missile with a strike range of 350 km from Chandipur Integrated test
range in Odisha.
52.
The Union government of India launched the Inter Company LPG portability scheme
in 24 cities across the country. It started with Bangaluru, Karnataka.
53.
Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) headed by P.C. Chako, on allocation and
pricing of telecom licences and 2G Spectrum during 1998-2009 was submitted its
report to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on 29 October 2013.
54.
Kirit Parikh Panel on advising Pricing Methodology for Diesel, Domestic LPG and
PDS Kerosene submitted report to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry.
55.
India ranked to the 134th spot in the ease of doing business list according to
the annual Doing Business report released on 29 October 2013 by World Bank and
International Finance Corporation (IFC). Singapore topped the list.
56.
Global Gender Gap Report 2013, which was published by World Economic Forum-
India was ranked 101 out of 136 countries on Gender Gap index.
57.
The annual economic publication of Asian Development Bank (ADB) titled Asian
Development Outlook released lowered the India economic growth forecast for
2013-14 to 4.7 percent.
58. National Green Tribunal has
banned digging of earth across the country for making bricks and
laying
roads without prior environment clearance.
59.
U.S. offer to open talks to extend its ‘Global Entry’ programme to Indian
citizens. Under the programme, frequent travellers from approved countries will
facilitates quick entry to them and reduces immigration hassles.
60.
The U.N. Security Council unanimously passed a landmark resolution ordering the
destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons and condemning a murderous poison gas
attack in Damascus.
61.
Canara Bank has agreed take over the Amanath Cooperative Bank.
62.
Rating agency Moody’s lowered its forecast to 4.5 per cent, a full one
percentage point below its earlier 5.5 per cent.
63.
A special CBI court in Ranchi pronounced all 45 accused, including Rashtriya
Janata Dal (RJD) leader and MP Lalu Prasad, guilty in the Chaibasa treasury
case of the Rs. 950-crore fodder scam.
64.
The Maharashtra Cabinet has proposed a policy to protect and support senior
citizens. The policy proposes declaring those who do not take care of their
aged parents as “defaulters.”
65.
Indian and Nepalese armies took part in a combined training programme in
Uttarakhand, which was recently ravaged by floods and heavy rains.
66.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that India’s current account deficit (CAD)
for the first quarter ended June 2013 has widened to 4.9 per cent of gross
domestic product (GDP) compared to 4 per cent in the same period of the
previous financial year.
67.
Net non-performing assets (NPAs) of all banks have increased to 1.68 per cent
of the total loan at the end of 2012-13. It was 1.28 per cent at the end of
2011-12.
68.
Mumbai Police registered an FIR against National Spot Exchange Ltd. (NSEL)
promoter Jignesh Shah and others in connection with the Rs.5,600-crore payment
crisis at the crippled exchange. Later The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the
Mumbai Police has arrested former CEO and Managing Director of NSEL Anjani
Sinha.
69. The Finance Ministry has
started preparations for Budget 2014-15. With general elections scheduled to be
held in May next, there will only be an interim Budget. The final Budget will
be presented by the new government.
70.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has instituted a preliminary enquiry into
alleged irregularities and subsequent non-payment of refunds to the tune of
Rs.5,600 crore by the National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) to hundreds of
investors.
71.
Peter Scholze, 25-year-old professor of mathematics, University of Bonn,
Germany, has been chosen for the 2013 SASTRA Ramanujan Prize.
72.
U.S.-Venezuela ties reached a breaking point as Venezuelan President Nicolas
Maduro expelled the top American diplomat and two other officials for “plotting
to sabotage the country’s electrical grid and the economy”.
73. Cooking gas will now be
available at select petrol pumps in metro cities after the Oil
Ministry
allowed the sale of five-kg cylinders at retail outlets.
74.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been nominated for the 2014 Nobel Peace
Prize by a Russian advocacy group — The International Academy of Spiritual
Unity and Cooperation Among the Nations of the World — for his key role in
preventing a U.S. missile strike on Syria and initiatives to dismantle Damascus’
chemical weapons.
75.
NABARD has announced a scheme ‘Nabard Warehousing Scheme (NWS) 2013-14’ with a
corpus of Rs.5,000 crore for providing loans to the public and private sector
to meet the growing demand of storage capacity of agricultural commodities in
the country.
76.
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad was sentenced to five-year rigorous
imprisonment in a corruption case. The sentence immediately disqualifies him
from Parliament and bars him from elections for 11 years.
77. Banks will offer cheaper
loans to stimulate demand for two-wheelers and other consumer durables as
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram tries to pull the economy out of the worst
slowdown in a decade ahead of the national elections due by next May. Banks
will get additional capital to carry out the plan.
78.
Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge and Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma
finalised a deal for Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) to set up a forged
wheel factory at Lalganj in Rae Bareli.
79.
Union Cabinet cleared the Jet Airways’ proposed sale of 24 per cent equity to
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad, days after the Rs.2,058-crore deal got regulatory
clearances.
80.
The polls to the Assemblies in the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the
States of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram will be held
between November 11 and December 4, the Election Commission announced. Counting
of votes will be taken up
on
December 8. The model code of conduct has already come into effect.
81.
Chief Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath told that as per the Supreme Court
direction, a ‘None of the Above’ button (the option of rejecting all
candidates) would be provided in electronic voting machines in the polls.
82.
Facing a cash crunch, the Railways have decided to increase passenger fare by 2
per cent for the second time this year to offset the additional financial
burden of over Rs.1,200 crore arising out of the increased fuel and power
costs.
83.
As Indian troops fought around 40 terrorists who infiltrated into the Keran
sector of Jammu and Kashmir from across the border, Army Chief General Bikram
Singh said that they would be flushed out soon and denied that a Kargil-like
situation had developed there.
84.
The Supreme Court posted for hearing on October 8 an application filed by the
Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, (MOPNG), seeking modification
of the interim order that restrained the government from making Aadhaar card
mandatory for transfer of social welfare benefits to beneficiaries.
85.
President Barack Obama cancelled a trip to Asia to stay in Washington due to
shut down. Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Bali, Indonesia and will head
the U.S. delegation to the summits.
86.
The Supreme Court asked Sahara and SEBI to formulate a mechanism for securing
payment of around Rs.19,000 crore of investors’ money.
87.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister M. Veerappa Moily launched the 5-kg LPG
cylinder scheme, on a pilot basis, in four metros, and inter-company LPG
portability in 24 cities across the country.
88.
Vijay Kelkar Committee was appointed by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry
to prepare a road map to make India self-sufficient in oil and natural gas by
2030.
89. India’s commercial export
of power to Bangladesh commenced with the inauguration of the Bangladesh-India
Power Transmission Centre at western Bherampura, adjacent to West Bengal. The
power is being imported under a memorandum of understanding signed during Ms.
Hasina’s visit to India in 2010. India will export 500 megawatts of electricity
a day to Bangladesh over a period of 35 years.
90.
The Yashwant Sinha-led Standing Committee on Finance has argued strongly
against grant of banking licences to corporate houses.
91.
Chief of Army Staff in Pakistan, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said he would
retire on November 29 at the end of his tenure.
92.
The one-man inquiry commission headed by retired Justice Vishnu Sahay started
probe into the Muzaffarnagar communal violence.
93.
Karan Thapar has won the International Press Institute (IPI) India Award for
Excellence in Journalism.
94.
The government shutdown in the U.S. has forced the postponement of a visit by
Army Chief Gen. Bikram Singh scheduled for later this month.
95.
Union Cabinet cleared the National Identification Authority of India Bill. It
will give statutory position to Unique Identification Authority of India.
96.
The Supreme Court directed the Centre and State Governments to provide 3 per
cent job reservation to disabled persons in their departments, companies and
PSUs.
97.
The Central Bureau of Investigation closed its probe against Bahujan Samaj
Party supremo Mayawati in the disproportionate assets case.
98.
The international lending agency said the global economy would grow 2.9 per
cent this year and 3.6 per cent in 2014.
99.
IMF slashed forecast for India’s growth 1.8 percentage points to 3.8 per cent
this year.
100.
India’s trade deficit — the difference between imports and exports of goods and
commodities — fell to a two-and-a-half-year low of $6.76 billion in September.
101.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Veerappa Moily announced that Aadhaar would
no longer be mandatory for availing the subsidy given for nine domestic
cylinders under the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme, till it was cleared
by the Supreme Court or through legislative authorisation.
102.
Indian shuttler Jwala Gutta moved the Delhi High Court challenging the decision
of
Badminton
Association of India (BAI) to recommend a life ban on her for alleged
indiscipline in the IBL.
103.
Veteran diplomats Syed Ibne Abbas will be the new Pakistani envoys to India.
104.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has taken over the probe against the former
Rajasthan Minister, Babulal Nagar, who was booked for allegedly raping a
35-year-old woman.
105. The Election Commission
clarified that any person it had enrolled but confined in a prison or in police
custody shall continue to be an elector and can contest polls if not convicted.
106.
The Pakistan Supreme Court held that there was no substantial evidence against
former President General (retired) Pervez Musharraf’s involvement in the
killing of Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and granted him bail.
107.
Bharti Enterprises and U.S. retail giant Walmart announced the termination of
their joint venture, ending a six-year relationship.
108.
Jignesh Shah, Vice-Chairman and Shareholder Director, has resigned from the
board of directors of MCX-SX.
109.
The International Monetary Fund said India’s fiscal deficit was expected to
increase to 8.5 per cent of GDP this financial year, mainly due to the downward
revision in GDP growth.
110.
Sachin Tendulkar was voted as the greatest batsman of all-time, ahead of Don
Bradman and Brian Lara, in an online poll conducted by a British newspaper The
Telegraph.
111. India made it clear at the
just-concluded Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) meeting of the Committee
on World Food Security in Rome that the procurement of foodgrains and distribution
under the new Food Security Act will not be substantially higher than the
ongoing public distribution system, indicating that it will not contribute to
international price distortions.
112.
The 29th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (India chapter) (WEF),
scheduled to be held in Kochi on November 8 and 9, has been cancelled in view
of the announcement of elections in five States.
113.
China and the European Union signed a 350 billion yuan (euro 45 billion)
currency swap agreement, a major step in pushing international use of the
Chinese currency yuan.
114.
The Telecom Ministry has approved new telecom licence for pan-India 4G spectrum
holder Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.
115.
OPCW, an obscure body recently thrust into the spotlight by the Syria crisis
won the Nobel Peace Prize for its work to rid the world of chemical weapons.
The Hague-based OPCW was founded in 1997.
116.
Industrial production dipped to a “disappointing” 0.6 per cent in August after
some signs of improvement in the previous month.
117.
A panel constituted by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has
recommended
that
state-run BSNL be entrusted the task of solarisation of the telecom towers in
the power deficient rural areas, with funding support from Universal Service
Obligation Fund (USOF).
118.
Wholesale price index (WPI) inflation touched a seven-month high of 6.46 per
cent in September, riding on the back of a whopping 323 per cent increase in the
price of onions.
119.
India summoned the Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Mansoor Ahmad Khan to the
Ministry of External Affairs to protest the firing on high seas that killed a
fisherman.
120.
India has improved its ranking from 65 to 63 in the Global Hunger Index, making
a marginal improvement since 2012. The index is prepared by the International
Food Policy Research Institute along with Welthungerhilfe and Concern
Worldwide.
121.
China defended its issuing of stapled visas to two Arunachal Pradesh athletes,
describing its policy as showing “flexibility” to allow travel while the
boundary dispute remains unresolved.
122.
The Central Bureau of Investigation filed an FIR naming Aditya Birla Group
chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and former Coal Secretary P.C. Parekh for having
allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy to facilitate the partial
allocation of an Odisha coal block to the group’s subsidiary Hindalco
Industries about eight years ago.
123.
The Environment Ministry has decided to turn approximately 60,000 square
kilometres of the Western Ghats across six States into an Ecologically
Sensitive Area (ESA), banning mining, quarrying, thermal power plants and
polluting industries over the entire range. The decision has been taken by the
Environment and Forests Minister Jayanthi Natarajan as a follow-up to the two
reports on the Ghats, one headed by ecologist Madhav Gadgil and the other by
Planning Commission member K. Kasturirangan.
124. Switzerland became the
world’s 58th nation to sign the Multilateral Convention on Mutual
Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. The agreement prepared by taxation
experts from the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), whichhas led the war against tax havens in recent years.
125.
Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh said the 2013 Land
Acquisition Act would come into force on January 1, 2014.
126.
The Bar Council of India has urged the Centre to withdraw the Judicial
Appointments Commission Bill providing for constitution of a National Judicial
Commission (NJC) for appointment of judges of High Courts and the Supreme Court
as it interfered with the independence of the judiciary and would affect the
basic structure of the Constitution.
127.
India signed an agreement with Finland to produce indigenous ethanol to promote
use of clean technologies and cut down the oil import bill. ONGC and Finnish
clean technology firm Chempolis will set up a pilot project to produce ethanol.
128.
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid visited Brazil.
129.
The Union Urban Development Ministry has finally recognised the ban on cycles
imposed in Kolkata as a contravention of the National Urban Transport Policy,
2006, and decided to take up the issue with the Mamata Banerjee government. In
August, the West Bengal government announced the ban on cycles, hand-carts,
pull-carts, tri-cycles and other non-motorised transport in 174 major and minor
roads.
130.
Eleanor Catton, the 28-year old author from New Zealand has won the Man Booker
prize 2013 for her novel, The Luminaries. She is not only the youngest novelist
to win this prize. Ms. Catton is also the last winner of the Booker prize in
its present format, confined to writers from the Commonwealth countries and
Ireland. From next year, the prize will be opened up to writers from all
countries.
131.
The World Bank has lowered its forecast for India’s economic growth in the
current fiscal year to 4.7 per cent from 6.1 per cent it had projected in
April.
132.
With an aim to make the reverse mortgage facility more attractive for senior
citizens, the government has extended the period of the scheme from 20 years to
the life of the person
seeking
funds from banks by pledging his residential property.
133.
The Centre informed the Supreme Court that there was no ground to make a
presidential reference for removing Justice K.G. Balakrishnan as chairperson of
the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for alleged acts of misbehaviour.
134.
The World Bank has praised India's evacuation of nearly 10 lakh people in
Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, which ensured minimal loss of human lives, before
the cyclone Phailin made landfall and attributed it to its years of disaster
management preparedness.
135.
The minimum support price for wheat has been hiked by Rs. 50 a quintal in the
2013-14 rabi marketing season. It will now be Rs.1,400 a quintal.
136.
Saudi Arabia has rejected a rotating seat at the Security Council, as a mark of
protest against the perceived inaction by the world body against Syria. The
kingdom had for the first time been elected by the General Assembly to become a
non-permanent member.
137.
China’s economy grew by 7.8 per cent in the third quarter, the fastest growth
recorded this year so far.
138.
The U.S. has quietly decided to release more than $1.6 billion in military and
economic aid to Pakistan that was suspended when relations between the two
countries disintegrated in the 2011-12 period.
139.
India bristled at Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif seeking American
intervention on resolving the Kashmir dispute and pointed out that this view
went against its long-held position of resolving the territorial dispute
through bilateral dialogue.
140. To prevent leakages in the
public distribution system, the Union government has decided to allow the
States to construct intermediary godowns under the Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) for storage of grains. For this, the
Rural Development Ministry will provide Rs. 450 crore in the first phase for
the creation of a capacity of 15 lakh tonnes.
141.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff announced a plan to host a global meeting on
Internet governance in April next year.
142.
Congress member of the Rajya Sabha Rashid Masood became the first MP to lose
his seat after the Supreme Court struck down a provision in the electoral law
that protected a convicted lawmaker from disqualification on the ground of
pendency of appeal in higher courts.
143.
The Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC) headed by Parthasarathi Shome,
is expected to submit its report in six months.
144.
India agreed to initiate an exercise for a free trade agreement with the
customs union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia to enhance economic ties. The
joint statement was issued after the 14th India-Russia annual summit meeting
between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
145.
Empowered Committee on film certification has mandated that no State government
can order the suspension of a film. The draft Cinematograph Bill, 2013 — posted
on the Information & Broadcasting Ministry’s website for drawing comments.
146.
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said the government was monitoring the top 30
NPA accounts in each public sector bank, and asked the lenders to set up
separate verticals to recover money from written-off accounts.
147.
India and China agreed that in any face-off on the Line of Actual Control (LAC)
they will not use force against each other. This was among a set of confidence
building measures contained in the Border Defence Co-operation Agreement
between India and China, signed by both sides at the conclusion of talks
between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
148.
BJP named Harsh Vardhan as its chief ministerial candidate for the December
Assembly elections.
149.
The Finance Ministry announced that it would infuse Rs.14,000 crore capital in
various banks this fiscal, including Rs.2,000 crore in State Bank of India and
Rs.1,800 crore each in IDBI Bank and Central Bank of India.
150.
Tamil Nadu Assembly called for a “total boycott” of the Commonwealth Heads of
Government
Meeting
(CHOGM) to be held in Sri Lanka in November.
151. The Foreign Investment
Promotion Board (FIPB) has given its nod to Singapore Airlines (SIA) to set up
a full service airline in India in partnership with the Tata Group. The two
companies plan to set up the airline with an initial investment of $100
million, where the Tatas will pump in $51 million, while SIA will invest $49
million.
152.
India was ranked 101 out of 136 countries on a global gender gap index. The
index, compiled by Geneva-based World Economic Forum.
153.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is readying a proposal to bring
mobile tower companies under the licensing regime, following government’s
decision to allow 100 per cent foreign direct investment in the telecom sector.
154.
The World Bank has approved an assistance of $250 million for Uttarakhand,
which was hit hard by flood.
155.
Mr. Modi lays the foundation of a 597-foot Sardar Patel idol (called the Statue
of Unity), billed to be taller than the Statue of Liberty.
156.
Five persons were killed and 83 injured in multiple blasts that rocked Patna’s
Gandhi Maidan and railway station hours before the BJP’s prime ministerial
candidate Narendra Modi was to address a Hunkar rally in Patna.
157.
UK has scrapped its controversial 3,000-pound "security bond" for
some "high-risk" foreign visitors, including those from India.
158.
Government’s fiscal deficit touched 76 per cent of the budget estimate (BE) in
the first six months of 2013-14.
159.
India has slipped by five places to 106th spot out of 142 countries in the
World Prosperity Index. while Norway continues to remain at the top.
160. World Bank estimates that
India received USD 69.4 billion in 2012, followed by China and the Philippines
receiving USD 60.2 billion and USD 24.5 billion, respectively.
161.
The Planning Commission has decided the Raghuram Rajan committee report on the
development index for states will not work for distribution of all central
funds. Instead, a committee comprising plan panel members Mihir Shah and
Abhijit Sen has been set up for a fresh look at the issues involved in
transferring money to state governments from plan budget.
162.
Inaugurating the ISO 20022-compliant system RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said
the new real time gross settlement (RTGS) system for fund transfers will
improve the efficiency of the country's financial markets. It will replace the
operating guidelines and regulations of 2004.
163. Addressing the 11th
ASEAN-India Summit in Brunei, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also said that
India was ready to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with ASEAN on services and
investment to boost their bilateral trade to USD 100 billion by 2015, from USD
76 billion last year.