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Current Affairs Economy & Banking

NHPC to acquire Lanco Teesta Hydro Power Ltd (LTHPL)

 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the acquisition of debt-laden Lanco’s 500 MW Teesta hydro-electric power project in Sikkim by state-owned NHPC.
Taking over of Lanco Teesta Hydro Power Ltd
  • NHPC will take over debt-laden Lanco’s 500 MW Teesta hydro-electric power project for Rs 907 crore in Sikkim.
  • CCEA has sanctioned the funds for the acquisition and execution of balance work of the Teesta Stage-Vl Hydro Electric Project by the NHPC Ltd.
  • The total cost of the project would be Rs 5,748.04 crore (at July 2018 price level), which includes a bid amount of Rs 907 crore for acquisition and estimated cost of balance work of Rs 3,863.95 crore, which includes Interest During Construction (IDC) and Foreign Component (FC) of Rs 977.09 crore
Teesta Stage-Vl Hydro Electric Project
  • Teesta Stage-Vl Hydro Electric Project is a Run of River (RoR) project in Sirwani Village of Sikkim to utilize the power potential of Teesta River Basin in a cascade manner.
  • The project involves the construction of a 26.5-metre high barrage across river Teesta.
  • The estimated power generation is 2,400 million units of electricity in a 90 per cent dependable year with an installed capacity of 500 MW (4x125MW).
NHPC NHPC Limited, formerly known as National Hydroelectric Power Corp. was incorporated as Central Govt. Enterprise for development of Hydro Power in Central Sector on 7th November 1975. Over the years NHPC has evolved as the largest central utility for hydropower development in India. NHPC is mandated to plan, promote and organize an integrated and efficient development of power in all aspects through Conventional and Non Conventional Sources in India and abroad. NHPC which is a premier organization in the country for the development of hydropower has an authorised capital of about Rs.15,000 crores and has a Miniratna status.
Catgeory: Economy & Banking

IBBI Signs Cooperation Agreement with IFC

 The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has signed a cooperation agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to assist IBBI in further building the capacity of insolvency professionals and insolvency professional agencies for the purpose of the bankruptcy code.
Strengthening IBBI IBBI established under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 provides a platform for re-organisation and insolvency resolution of corporate persons, partnership firms and individuals in a time bound manner for maximisation of the value of assets, to promote entrepreneurship, availability of credit and balance the interests of all the stakeholders. IBBI exercises regulatory oversight over the insolvency professionals, insolvency professional agencies and information utilities. Under the  Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 IBBI prescribes and enforces rules for processes, namely, corporate insolvency resolution, corporate liquidation, individual insolvency resolution and individual bankruptcy. IFC would assist IBBI in the effective implementation of the Code and its allied rules and regulations by assisting in further building the capacity of insolvency professionals and insolvency professional agencies for the purpose of the bankruptcy code.
Catgeory: Economy & Banking

Monster Salary Index Report

   The Monster Salary Index report has highlighted the following findings:
  • The gender pay gap is still high in India and women in the country earn 19 per cent less than men.
  • Wage inequalities in favour of men are present in all the relevant sectors.
  • The current gender pay gap in India stood at 19 per cent where men earned Rs 46.19 more per hour in comparison to women.
  • The survey report puts the median gross hourly salary for men in India in 2018 stood at Rs 242.49, while for women it stood at around Rs 196.3.
  • Gender pay gap encompasses across key industries, IT/ITES services showed a sharp pay gap of 26 per cent in favour of men, while in the manufacturing sector, men earn 24 per cent more than women.
  • Even in sectors like healthcare, caring services, and social work which are notionally identified with women, men earn 21 per cent more than women.
  • Only in Financial services, banking and insurance industry men earn just 2 per cent more.
  • The report notes that the gender pay gap widens with the years of experience. In the initial years, the gender pay gap is moderate but rises significantly as the tenure increases and for those with over 10 years of experience, the gender pay gap in favour of men reaches the peak, with men earning 15 per cent more than women.
  • The survey reports that the gap has narrowed only by one per cent in 2018 from 20 per cent in 2017.
Monster Salary Index Report was prepared by Monster India in collaboration with Paycheck.in (managed by WageIndicator Foundation) with IIM-Ahmedabad as a research partner.
Catgeory: Economy & Banking

Income tax exemption limit on gratuity doubled to Rs 20 lakh

  The government has increased the tax-free gratuity income limit to Rs 20 lakh. This move will benefit the public as well as private sector employees.
What is Gratuity? Gratuity is the monetary benefit provided by the employer to his/her employee for the services rendered by him during the period of employment. A minimum of five years of service with an organisation is mandatory for availing the benefit of gratuity. The Payment of Gratuity Act 1972 makes it mandatory for the employers to pay their employees gratuity at the time of quitting, provided certain conditions were met. An organisation comes under the purview of the Payment of Gratuity Act 1972 if it has 10 or more employees on any single day in the preceding 12 months. The Payment of Gratuity Act follows the rule of ‘Once Covered, Always Covered’ which implies that that once an organisation comes under the Act, it will always remain covered even if the number of employees falls below 10. The Ministry of Finance has now enhanced the income tax exemption for gratuity under Section 10 (10) (iii) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 to Rs 20 lakhs.
Catgeory: Economy & Banking

New Visually Impaired Friendly Coin Series

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled the new series of visually impaired friendly coins of various denominations.
About the Coins
  • The coins are of denomination Rs. 1, Rs. 2, Rs. 5, Rs. 10 and Rs.20.
  • Rs 20 coin, the first-ever coin offering in Rs 20 denomination, has been created in the shape of a 12-edged polygon with a design of grains to denote farm dominance of the nation.
  • Other than Rs 20 coins others are in round shape.
  • The new series of coins are characterized by the increasing size and weight from lower to higher denominations.
  • The coins designed by the National Institute of Design has been produced by Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited and the Finance Ministry.
About Rs 20 Coin
  • The face of the coin has the Lion Capitol of Ashoka Pillar with ‘Satyamev Jayate’ in Hindi inscribed below. The left periphery has the word ‘Bharat’ in Hindi and on the right periphery has the word “INDIA” in English.
  • On the reverse denominational value “20” is inscribed in international numerals below the symbol of Rupee.
  • The reverse side of the coin also has grains depicting the agricultural dominance on the left periphery of the coin.
  • The top right and bottom right peripheries bear the word ‘Bees Rupaye’ in Hindi and “TWENTY RUPEES” in English.
This new series of coins with various differentiating features will aid the visually impaired. These new coins will facilitate the visually impaired to do transactions with ease together with instilling confidence in them.
Catgeory: Economy & Banking

PM inaugurates IOC’s Ennore LNG Import Terminal

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOCs) LNG terminal at Ennore.
LNG Terminal
  • Ennore terminal is ambitious terminal for storage and re-gasification of imported LNG, built by the nation’s largest fuel retailer Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), at a cost of Rs 5,151 crore inside Kamaraj Port at Ennore.
  • The project was commissioned by the IOC through its joint venture company IndianOil LNG Pvt Ltd.
  • The capacity of the LNG terminal is 5-million tonnes per annum (MMTPA).
  • The LNG terminal was commissioned through the shipload of LNG from Swiss trader, Gunvor carried from Qatar.
  • Ennore LNG terminal is part of India’s plan to raise the share of natural gas in the country’s energy basket to 15 per cent by 2030
  • Together with associated pipeline infrastructure projects cumulatively accounts for Rs 9,000 crore.
  • The imported LNG at the terminal will meet the requirements of Chennai Petroleum Corp Ltd, Madras Fertilisers Ltd, Tamil Nadu Petroproducts and Manali Petrochemicals Ltd together with catering to the requirements of the industries in Tamil Nadu and parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
IOC is laying a pipeline of 1244 Km for evacuation of gas from Ennore terminal. The pipeline passes through Manali-Thiruvallur-Puducherry-Nagapattinam-Madurai-Trichy- Tuticorin-Ramnathpuram and a separate line will go to Bengaluru through Hosur.
Catgeory: Economy & Banking

OECD Growth Forecasts 2019

  The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has reduced the world economic growth forecasts for the year 2019.
Economic Forecasts of OECD
  • The report notes that trade tensions and political uncertainty, including Brexit and erosion of business and consumer confidence are weighing on the world’s economy thereby contributing to the slowdown.
  • OECD has cut its 2019 forecast for global economic growth to 3.3% for the current year, down from 3.5% it predicted earlier.
  • OECD growth forecasts for Germany sank to 0.7% from 1.4%, while Italy’s fell from 0.9% growth into a recession at -0.2%.
  • OECD forecasts noted that the sharp downturn in the two countries reflected “their relatively high exposures to the global trade slowdown.
  • The forecasts for France have slipped from 1.5% to 1.3%.
  • Britain’s growth forecast has been chopped from 1.4% to 0.8%. For the first time, the growth rates have fallen below 1% since 2009 following the global economic crisis.
  • The 19-nation eurozone was particularly hard hit, with predicted growth dropping from 1.8 per cent to one per cent which was contributed to policy uncertainty including those over Brexit.
  • The report notes that a sharper slowdown in China would have significant adverse consequences for global growth and trade.
OECD’s forecasts are more downbeat than the IMF’s for many economies, particularly the euro region and the U.K.
Catgeory: Economy & Banking

US Plans To End India’s Preferential Trade Status

 President Trump notified the Congress his intent to terminate trade benefits for both India and Turkey under the Generalized System of Preference (GSP) eligibility criteria.
India and GSP
  • About 2,000 products, including auto components and textiles, can enter the US duty-free if the beneficiary developing country meet the eligibility criteria.
  • India was the largest beneficiary of the GSP programme in 2017 with $5.7 billion in imports to the US given duty-free status.
Why the US is planning to withdraw GSP for India?
  • President Trump has accused India of failing to ensure the US of “equitable and reasonable” access to its markets. The US is pressing India to reduce US trade deficits and has repeatedly called out India for high tariffs.
  • Withdrawal of GSP is part of the President Trumps plan to redress what it considers to be unfair trading relationships.
India has sought talks with the US to avoid the withdrawal of the trade benefits under the GSP. India has offered a trade package to the US which promises of about Rs 35,000 crore annually in oil and gas imports from the US and another Rs 1,00,000 lakh crore in defence orders in the coming years.
Catgeory: Economy & Banking

India’s First Policy To Protect Bank Locker Launched

 IFFCO Tokio General Insurance has launched ‘bank locker protector policy’, the first stand-alone bank locker cover offered by any insurance company with a plan to protect the contents of a bank locker such as jewelry, title documents, and other valuables. The policy offers a cover against various risks including fire, earthquake, burglary, holdup or any act of terrorism. It offers 7 options of sum insured ranging from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 40 lakh and above and the premium rate is affordable with a cover of Rs 3 lakh available at just Rs 300.
Source: Financial Express
Catgeory: Economy & Banking

RBI, Bank of Japan Sign Bilateral Swap Arrangement

  Reserve Bank of India and Bank of Japan have signed a Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA). The BSA was negotiated between India and Japan during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Tokyo in October 2018. The BSA provides for India to access 75 billion US dollars whereas the earlier BSA had provided for 50 billion dollars. The BSA was approved by the Union Cabinet in January. India can access the agreed amount of 75 billion dollars for its domestic currency, for the purpose of maintaining an appropriate level of balance of payments or short-term liquidity.
Source: News On AIR
Catgeory: Economy & Banking

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