ECONOMY AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2017

ECONOMY AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2017

• NK Singh appointed Chairman of 15th Finance Commission
   Former Expenditure and Revenue Secretary NK Singh will chair the Fifteenth Finance Commission. Former Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das and adjunct professor of Georgetown University Anoop Singh will be its full- time members. Chairman of Bandhan Bank Ashok Lahiri and NITI-Aayog member Ramesh Chand will be part-time members. IAS officer Arvind Mehta will be the Secretary to the Commission. The Union Cabinet had on November 22 approved the setting up of the Fifteenth Finance Commission.
  
  The panel, which is a statutory body under Article 280(1) of the Constitution, will prescribe the formula for devolution of taxes between the Centre and States for the five years commencing on April 1, 2020. It is expected to submit its report by October 30, 2019.
  
  This time around, the Finance Commission will have to finalise its recommendations in a new setting — after the abolition of the Planning Commission and Plan and Non-Plan expenditure as well as the roll out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
  
  It will also review the current status of the finance, deficit, debt levels, cash balances and fiscal discipline efforts of the Union and the States and suggest a fresh fiscal consolidation roadmap. Significantly, Singh, who is a former Member of the Rajya Sabha, had recently chaired a committee to review the FRBM Act and goalposts.
  
  The panel has also been tasked with proposing measurable performance-based incentives for States based on deepening the GST net, population, progress in capital expenditure, sanitation and drinking water efforts as well steps to curb populist measures.
  
• PM Narendra Modi flags off Hyderabad Metro Rail
  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation Hyderabad Metro Rail on 28th November. Mr Modi unveiled a pylon at Miyapur metro railway station on the outskirts of Hyderabad to mark the formal inauguration of the first phase of Hyderabad Metro from Miyapur to Nagole.
  
  The stretch of 30 kilometres with 24 metro stations will be open for commercial operations from 29th November onwards.
  
• PM Modi, Ivanka Trump inaugurate Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad
  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 28th November gave a clarion call to global Entrepreneurs to invest and take part in the Indian growth story. He said India has provided an enabling atmosphere by removing redundant laws and improving ease of doing business.
  
  He was addressing the 8th Global Entrepreneurship Summit after formally inaugurating the three-day event along with US President Donald Trump's advisor and daughter Ivanka Trump.
  
  Stating that several measures have been taken to provide enabling atmosphere in favour of entrepreneurship, Mr Modi said fiscal deficit has been contained and stringent measures have been taken against black money.
  
  The Prime Minister further said that by December next year, every household will be provided electricity through Sowbhagya programme. He said a comprehensive energy policy is in the pipeline.
  
  He further said infrastructure projects are progressing well and agriculture and food processing industry is flourishing in the country. Stating that India will not satisfy herself by the improvement of the world bank ranking to 100 from the 140, he said, the country will strive to achieve 50th rank.
  
  Mr Modi said India has been giving women honour and due respect from ancient times. Mr Modi said about 50 per cent of the loans under Mudra programme have been given to women.
  
  Ivanka Trump said without growth of women, humanity will not prosper. Strongly advocating that the cutting edge technology will help entrepreneurs, she asked them to be innovative and think to stand apart.
  
  Ivanka Trump will take part in two plenary sessions mainly on women entrepreneurship during the summit. She leads a delegation of entrepreneurs that has representation from 38 states of the US.
  
  Over 1500 delegates from 150 countries are taking part in the summit focusing on 'Women first-Prosperity for all'. Ten countries are being represented by all women delegations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented Ivanka Trump a wooden box of Sadeli craft.
  
  Sadeli craft is a highly skilled craft technique, native to Surat, of fabricating geometric patterns in wood. It was traditionally used for decorating doors, windows and furniture. It is now also used for embellishing jewellery boxes, containers and photo frames.
  
• Telecom Regulatory Authority of India upholds net neutrality
  The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has upheld the basic principles of an open and free internet in its recommendations on net neutrality.
  
  Net neutrality means that telecom service providers must treat all internet traffic equally, without any regard to the type, origin or destination of the content or the means of its transmission.
  
  TRAI on 29th November recommended prohibiting Internet service providers from making any discrimination in traffic while providing web access by either blocking or throttling some apps, websites and services or by offering fast lanes to others.
  
  The telecom regulator's recommendations pave the way to end all sorts of discriminatory practices that telecom operators may exercise to differentiate among services. It has suggested changing licence terms of players to explicitly restrict any form of discrimination in Internet access based on content.
  
  TRAI has also restrained service providers from entering into pacts with any person which discriminates on content, protocol or user equipment.It has recommended that the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) may identify specialized services.
  
  However, the specialized services may be offered by the service provider only if they are not usable as a replacement of Internet access services. Internet of Things (IoT) as a class of services are not excluded from the scope of restriction on non-discriminatory treatment.
  
  However critical IoT services identified by DoT would be automatically excluded. The other recommendations include reasonable measurement for traffic management by Internet access service provider.
  
  In finalising these recommendations the TRAI issued a pre-consultation paper in May last year and followed it up with a detailed consultation paper on 4th of January this year focussing especially on questions of requirements, design, scope and implementation of net neutrality framework in India.
  
• Ivanka Trump, Cherie Blair, Chanda Kochhar share common ideas at GES
  Advisor to US president Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, and wife of former British Prime Minister Cherie Blair, and ICICI bank MD, Chanda Kochhar have shared common ideas that cutting edge technology and a strong family support will take forward women Entrepreneurship.
  
  They took part in a plenary panel discussion along with Karen Hughes Quntos of Dell company on 29th November on Innovations in Workforce development and Skills training during the ongoing GES in Hyderabad.
  
  The plenary session was moderated by Telangana IT minister K Taraka Ramarao. He stressed on 3 Cs for growth of women entrepreneurs they include confidence, capacity and capital.
  
  Ivanka laid emphasis on technology as it reduces the barriers in starting businesses for women entrepreneurs. She said technology opened tremendous opportunities for women.
  
  She also added that US government is actively considering a policy in support to providing enabling environment for women entrepreneurs by New Year are so.
  
  Taking part in the deliberations, Cherie Blair said using IT advantages will help women to reach their goals. Referring her own experience, she said by taking advantage of technology, she is reaching out women in need across the world.
  
  Laying emphasis on strong family support for each step that women take, Chanda Kochhar said her bank is providing wide training programmes that bridge the digital divide. She said one lakh youth are being trained every year in various sectors out of which 50 percent are women.
  
  In another panel discussion, Badminton National coach Pullela Gopichand and Mithali Raj and Sania Mirza opined that community has to connect with the champions and sports winners.
  
  Gopichand pointed out that the country should have a vision to encourage local sports as sports itself is local one. Sports need to be played at regional level and asked intellectuals to put their brains together to promote this.
  
  Harsha Bhogley who moderated the discussion said women are doing well but athletes are facing tough situations.
  
  There are discussions held on various topics such as future of cinema, mentoring and networking, innovations to bridge the digital divide, investments in healthcare and Agritech Matters- Feed billions by harvesting technology are among others on 29th November on the GES.
  
• ADB approves $500-mn loan for rural roads in five states
  Multilateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 29th November said it will provide a $500 million loan to improve rural road connectivity in five states, including Assam and West Bengal.
  
  The board of directors of ADB has approved the multi-tranche financing facility (MFF) for the 'Second Rural Connectivity Investment Programme' to improve rural roads in five states of India
  
  Under this project, ADB will invest to construct and upgrade over 12,000-kilometre rural roads in Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal. It will also support state governments to improve rural road maintenance and safety.
  
  ADB is building on the success of previous assistance for rural roads in India. The agency will work closely with the government to improve connectivity for the rural people to access markets, health centers, education and other opportunities
  
  In the first tranche, ADB is expected to invest $250 million in December for construction of initial 6,254 km all-weather rural roads in these states.
  
  This leg of the ADB loan assistance for rural roads builds on the first 'Rural Connectivity Investment Programme in 2012' financing $800 million MFF to add about 9,000 km all-weather rural roads in these five states.
  
• Telangana govt to set up World’s first IT Campus for differently abled persons
  The Telangana State Government will be setting up the World’s first IT Campus for differently abled persons on the occasion of the World Disability Day to be observed on 3rd December.
  
  The state Government has entered into an agreement with a private entrepreneur to set up the Information and Technology campus to focus on creating employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.
  
  The Department of IT in a note said the proposed campus will be set up in an area of 10 acres in eth IT park developed by the state Government near the Hyderabad international airport. The Government also said the campus will have all the amenities like Training, Residential facility and Delivery centers that will cater to various clients both domestic and International. The campus is expected to create two thousand jobs in next 5 years by providing apt training.
  
• India saved $15 billion on energy subsidies in past two years: Report
  India has saved over $15 billion on energy subsidies in the past two years, on the back of reforms to curb wasteful consumption in oil and gas subsidies along with the decrease in global oil prices, said a report by the International Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD).
  
  According to the report, the total value of energy subsidies from the central government has declined substantially between financial years (FY) 2014 and 2016- from Rs 2,16,408 crore ($35.8 billion) to Rs 1,33,841 crore ($20.4 billion).
  
  The report reveals that India has been steadily increasing central government subsidies on electricity transmission and distribution, while reducing subsidies on oil and gas over the past three years. Central government subsidies for electricity transmission and distribution increased from Rs 40,331 crore ($6.7 billion) in 2014 to Rs 64,896 crore ($9.9 billion).
  
  As a member of the G-20, India had in 2009 committed to “phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, while providing targeted support for the poorest.” In 2016, transmission and distribution became the main recipient of energy subsidies in India.
  
  These figures, however, do not include the even larger volume of state government subsidies that have been provided through the government’s UDAY program that provided an additional Rs 1,70,000 crore ($25 billion) over 2016 and 2017.
  
  Total subsidies to coal mining and coal-fired electricity have remained stable due to a slight decline in the said period and stood at Rs 14,979 crore ($2.3 billion) in FY16.
  
  In 2016, around Rs 28,500 crore was collected through the Clean Environment Cess- a tax on coal whose revenues are allocated to a clean energy fund. However, out of this total sum, only Rs 9,310 crore was utilised for clean energy development. In the same year, India incurred an expenditure of Rs 14,990 crore to coal subsidies, it added.
  
• India’s GDP growth at 6.3% in 2nd quarter
  GDP growth rate at constant prices during the second quarter of this fiscal is estimated at six point three per cent which is up from five point seven per cent over the first quarter. It was 7.5 per cent in the corresponding period of last year.
  
  Releasing GDP data in New Delhi on 30th December, Chief Statistician of India T C A Anant said the GDP growth has seen a reversal trend from declining trend in the last five quarters.
  
  He said, this growth happened on the back of good growth in manufacturing sector, electricity, gas, water supply and other utilities. Mr Anant said, the manufacturing sector in the second quarter of 2017-18 grew by 7 per cent. Mr Anant said, agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors are estimated to have grown by 1.7 per cent.
  
• 50 new airports to come up under Udan scheme for regional connectivity: Finance Minister
  Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said India needs to upgrade its infrastructure in coming two decades to become a developed economy. Addressing a Defence Estate function in New Delhi, Mr Jaitley said, no one can expect infrastructure to come out of thin air.
  
  He said the users have to pay for better infrastructure. Saying tax non compliant is impediment on country's development, the Finance minister stressed that government is making more efforts to make system more compliant.
  
• NITI Ayog announces its support to women entrepreneurs
  NITI Ayog on 30th November announced its support to women entrepreneurs in a big way. Addressing a press conference on the conclusion of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad, Niti Ayog CEO Amitabh Kant said, Atal tinkering labs will be specially set up at women-owned schools to promote innovation and instilling entrepreneurship among women at an early stage.
  
  He said, a special cell will be set up to handhold women entrepreneurs and assist them to get fund. He further said, the Atal innovation will have a tie-up with T- Hub, the incubation centre of Telangana.
  
  Earlier, Telangana IT Minister Taraka Ramarao announced that a separate We- Hub, Women entrepreneurs Hub, will be set up to encourage entrepreneurship among women. He also announced a corpus fund of 50 crore rupees to extend assistance to women entrepreneurs.
  
  The summit witnessed nearly 2000 delegates from over 140 countries including 500 investors. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the GES on 28th November. US President’s Advisor Ivanka Trump led a delegation of nearly 40 entrepreneurs to the Summit.
  
• Union Cabinet has approved setting up of National Nutrition Mission: Maneka Gandhi
  The NNM, as an apex body, will monitor, supervise, fix targets and guide the nutrition related interventions across the country. According to Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi, the Government is committed to ensure that every child and pregnant woman and lactating mother gets adequate nutrition to eliminate malnutrition and stunting.
  
  The NNM will strive to reduce the level of stunting, under nutrition, anemia and low birth weight babies. It will create synergy; ensure better monitoring and issue alerts for timely action. Ms Gandhi said, food which is being served to children will be monitored by the Ministry.
  
  She said, the government will encourage states/ UTs to perform, guide and supervise the line Ministries and states/ UTs to achieve the targeted goals. She said, results of setting up National Nutrition Mission will show up within a year.
  
  The Women and Child Development Ministry has already designed a real-time monitoring system ‘ICDS -CAS’ to track nutrition goals and Anganwadi functionality.
  
• Central Government eases mine auction rules
  More than two years after it introduced auctions as a means to allot mining rights for major minerals, the Centre on 30th November significantly eased the auction rules in a bid to rekindle investor interest in a process that has been marred by failed auctions.
  
  While 33 blocks of minerals have been successfully auctioned since May 2015, when the mineral auction rules were introduced, as many as 60 auctions have flopped for lack of interest. The development assumes significance as the Centre is looking to auction more than 100 blocks over the next 15 months with a potential value of about Rs. 2 lakh crore.
  
  States can now allocate blocks even if there are less than three bidders in the fray during the second round of auction, as opposed to the existing rule that requires the process to be annulled if there are less than three bidders in the first three rounds.
  
  For an average annual output of up to Rs. 2 crore, bidders now need a net worth of just Rs. 0.5 crore. Similarly, for an average annual output of up to Rs. 20 crore, the net worth norm has been slashed from Rs. 40 crore to Rs. 10 crore.
  
  Rigid end-use conditions on minerals excavated from a block, have been done away with. Miners can now dispose of 25% of unused low-grade ore.
  
  The Centre aims to spur increased interest in the upcoming auctions — 34 mineral blocks are in the pipeline for the rest of 2017-18. The new norms also have a clause to discourage miners from ‘squatting’ on mine leases.

ECONOMY AFFAIRS NOVEMBER 2017

ECONOMY AFFAIRS NOVEMBER 2017

• India ranked 126 in terms of per capita GDP
  India has moved up one position to 126th in terms of per capita GDP of countries, still ranked lower than all its BRICS peers, while Qatar remains the world’s richest on this parameter.
  
  The IMF data, which forms part of the latest World Economic Outlook report of the International Monetary Fund, ranks over 200 countries in terms of per capita GDP based on purchasing power parity (PPP).
  
  PPP between two countries is the rate at which the currency of one country needs to be converted into that of a second country to ensure that a given amount of the first country’s currency will purchase the same volume of goods and services in the second country as it does in the first.
  
  India has seen its per capita GDP rise to $7,170 in 2017, from USD 6,690 last year, helping improve its rank by a position to 126th.
  
  Qatar remains top-ranked with per capita GDP of $1,24,930, followed by Macao at the second position with $1,14,430 and Luxembourg third with $1,09,190.
  
  Among BRICS countries, India has the lowest per capita GDP. Russia boasts of a GDP per capita of $27,900, while for China, it stood at $16,620, Brazil at $15,500 and South Africa at $13,400.
  
  Interestingly, as per a recent Credit Suisse report, India is home to 2.45 lakh millionaires with a total household wealth of $5 trillion.
  
  As per the IMF data, the richest 10 countries in the world in terms of per capita GDP also include Singapore (4th, $90,530), Brunei (5th, $76,740), Ireland (6th, $72,630), Norway (7th, $70,590), Kuwait (8th, $69,670), United Arab Emirates (9th, $68,250) and Switzerland (10th, $61,360).
  
  The US has failed to make it to the top 10 and is ranked 13th with a per capita GDP of $59,500, while the UK is ranked even lower.
  
• Centre raises Rs. 14,500 cr from Bharat-22 Exchange traded Fund
  The Centre’s PSU disinvestment plan got a big boost with the Bharat-22 Exchange traded Fund (ETF) subscribed four times and raising Rs. 14,500 crore.
  
  With this, the Centre is estimated to have raised Rs. 52,500 crore from disinvestment in public sector units, making it the highest ever mop-up from stake sales in a fiscal year.
  
  The receipts are also expected to give some relief to the Exchequer, facing revenue losses from the excise duty cut on fuel and reduction in GST rates of over 200 items, while trying to meet the fiscal deficit target of 3.2 per cent of GDP.
  
  The Centre plans to raise Rs. 72,500 crore from stake sales in PSUs this fiscal, including Rs. 15,000 crore from strategic disinvestment and Rs. 11,000 crore from listing of public sector insurers.
  
  The Finance Ministry is still working on a number of issues, including minority-stake sales and initial public offers in PSUs such as IRCON, IRCTC, Bharat Dynamics Ltd, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd and Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd, apart from strategic disinvestment in PSUs such as Air India, Engineering Projects (India) Ltd and Central Electronics Ltd. Additionally, a planned merger of oil PSUs ONGC and HPCL is also on the anvil.
  
• Hyderabad Metro Rail gets safety nod
  L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Ltd announced on 20th November that the Railway Safety Commission has given safety clearance for the project.
  
  A team headed by Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety Ram Kripal and members of the Railway Safety Commission inspected various aspects of the metro, including civil works, track, RoB, viaduct, stations, electrical, signalling and train control, telecommunication, and rolling stock among others.
  
  The team conducted speed trials on the Metro train for three days during November 17-19, 2017 and issued clearance for the Mettuguda to SR Nagar route via Ameerpet Interchange Metro Station.
  
• Moody’s Investors Service upgrades ratings of nine PSUs
  Moody's Investors Service has upgraded ratings of nine state-owned firms. These are Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL), Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL), Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), NHPC, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and GAIL India.
  
• IREDA inks $100-mn loan agreement with World Bank
  The government’s principal clean energy financing agency, the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) has signed a $100-million loan agreement to fund shared infrastructure for solar parks in the country. According to IREDA, the World Bank and the Department of Economic Affairs have signed the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loan agreement of $75 million, Clean Technology Fund loan agreement of $23 million and Clean Technology Grant Fund of $2 million to support lending by IREDA to the shared infrastructure for solar parks projects in India.
  
  The World Bank credit line should provide long-term funds, which will help lower the cost of the project and, thereby, the cost of generation of power and help the sector to achieve development of 20 GW through solar parks, of an overall target of 60 GW for ground-mounted solar.
  
• Cabinet approves Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendra scheme
  Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved a new scheme called Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendra (PM-MSK) to empower rural women through community participation. National level and State level structures will provide technical support to the respective government on issues related to women.
  
  The district and block level Centres will provide support to PM-MSK and also give a foothold to Beti Bachao Beti Padhao in 640 districts to be covered in a phased manner. More than 3 lakh student volunteers from local colleges will generate awareness about various important government schemes and programmes as well as social issues.
  
  CCEA has also approved expansion and intensification of efforts for Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) through sustained nation-wide advocacy and media Campaign across all districts and focused multi-sectoral action in selected 405 districts of the country.
  
  All low child sex ratio districts will be taken up in the first year itself under BBBP. 190 more Working Women Hostels will be set up to accommodate 19 thousand additional working women. CCEA has also approved additional SwadharGrehs to provide relief and rehabilitation of 26 thousand beneficiaries.
  
  CCEA has also given its approval for expansion of the schemes for Protection and Empowerment for Women for 2017-18 to 2019-20.
  
• 15th Finance Commission gets approval
  The Union Cabinet on 22nd November cleared the setting up of the 15th Finance Commission that will prescribe the formula for devolution of taxes between the Centre and States for the five years commencing on April 1, 2020.
  
  The Finance Commission, a statutory body under Article 280(1) of the Constitution, is set up every five years to decide on how the net proceeds of taxes would be shared between the Centre and States. It also decides the principles for grants-in-aid of the revenues of the States out of the Consolidated Fund of India.
  
  This time round, the panel will have a more unusual task with the roll out of the Goods and Services Tax. There have been many changes. The expenditure pattern of the Centre and States should be maintained and the impact of the new tax on the finances of both the pattern has changed with the GST.
  
• Wage policy for Central Public Sector Enterprises cleared
  The Cabinet on 22nd November cleared the decks for the 8th round of wage negotiations for workmen in Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) by approving a policy framework that makes it clear that no budgetary support would be provided by the government for any wage increase, and the entire financial implication would be borne by the respective CPSEs from their internal resources.
  
  In those CPSEs for which the government has approved restructuring/revival plan, the wage revision will be done as per the provisions of the approved restructuring/revival plan only
  
  As per the approved policy, CPSE managements would be free to negotiate wage revision for workmen where the periodicity of wage settlement of five years or 10 years has expired generally on December 31, 2016
  
  Also, CPSE managements need to ensure that the negotiated pay scales do not exceed the existing pay scales of executives/officers and non-unionised supervisors of respective CPSEs
  
  There are about 12.34 lakh employees in 320 CPSEs in the country. Out of these, 9.35 lakh employees are in the workmen category and about 2.99 lakh are board-level and below board-level executives and non-unionised supervisors.
  
  The wage policy also makes it clear that CPSEs must ensure that any increase in wages after negotiations does not result in increase in administered prices of their goods and services. Also, any wage revision “shall be subject to the condition that there shall be no increase in labour cost per physical unit of output.”
  
• Cabinet recommends President to issue ordinance to amend Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
  Union Cabinet has recommended to the President to issue an ordinance to make certain amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. The Code, which became operational last year, provides for a market-determined and time-bound insolvency resolution process.
  
• Cabinet approves India's membership for European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved India's Membership for European Bank for Reconstruction & Development.
  
  Membership of the EBRD would enhance India's international profile and promote its economic interests and contribute to an improved investment climate in the country.
  
  It would increase the scope of cooperation between India and EBRD through co-financing opportunities in manufacturing, services, Information Technology, and Energy. EBRD's core operations pertain to private sector development in their countries of operation.
  
• Oil and gas PSU mergers to be exempt from CCI purview
  To ensure that the transfer of State-owned oil major HPCL’s promoter stake to ONGC does not breach any norms on anti-competitive practices the government has exempted the merger of oil and gas PSUs from the purview of competition watchdog CCI. The Centre intends to complete the transfer of HPCL’s stake to oil giant ONGC early next year.
  
  The relaxation will be available for a period of five years. A similar mechanism has been adopted for public sector banks, for a period of 10 years. Originally proposed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Budget 2017-18, the HPCL-ONGC deal was approved by the Cabinet in July.
  
  According to the plan, ONGC will acquire a 51.11 per cent stake in HPCL, in line with the government’s objective to create an integrated energy major with businesses spread across the hydrocarbon value chain.
  
• Global rating agency S&P keeps India's sovereign rating unchanged
  Global rating agency, Standard & Poor's (S&P) on 24th November kept India's sovereign rating unchanged, at 'BBB minus' with a stable outlook. S&P said, the ratings reflect the country's strong GDP growth, sound external profile, and improving monetary credibility. It said, the country's strong democratic institutions, and its free press promotes policy stability and compromise.
  
  S&P added that these strengths are balanced against vulnerabilities stemming from the country's low per capita income and relatively high general government debt stock.
  
  The rating stance taken by S&P comes days after Moody's Investors Service raised India's sovereign rating for the first time in over 13 years. Moody's had said that India's growth prospects have improved with continued economic and institutional reforms.
  
• FDI up 17 pc to $25.35 bn during April-September
  Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country increased by 17 per cent to USD 25.35 billion during April-September fiscal.
  
  The department of industrial policy and promotion said on its 'Make in India' twitter handle thta FDI equity during the current FY 2017–18,up to September surged by 17 per cent to USD 25.35 billion from USD 21.62 billion in the year-ago period.
  
  It said that the total FDI into India including equity inflows, reinvested earnings and other capital stood at USD 518.10 billion during April 2000 to September this year.
  
  The main sectors which attract foreign inflows include services, telecom, trading, computer hardware and software and automobile. Bulk of the FDI came in from Singapore, Mauritius, the Netherlands and Japan.
  
• Price of new series of Sovereign Gold Bonds fixed at Rs 2,961 per gram
   The price of the new series of Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) which will open on 13th November has been fixed at 2,961 rupees per gram. Finance Ministry in a statement said, the government, in consultation with the RBI, has decided to offer a discount of 50 rupees per gram to investors applying online and making payments digitally. This round is part of the SGB calender announced till December and is spread over 12 weeks.
  
  The subscription opens from 13th November to 15th November every week between 9th of October and 27th of December. The settlement is to be made on the first business day of the following week.
  
• PM Modi says his govt intends to make India a global manufacturing hub
  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said his government intends to make India a global manufacturing hub. Addressing the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Manila, he highlighted India’s growth story to portray it as an attractive investment destination. Mr Modi said he wants to make Indian youth job creators instead of job seekers.
  
  Substantiating his claim, the Prime Minister said, over 90 percent of the Indian economy is open for foreign direct investment. Mr Modi added that the processes to start companies in India and to secure clearances have been simplified. Referring to digitization of Indian economy, he said cashless transactions have registered 34 percent growth since demonetization brought in about a year back. He stressed that technology is being put to ensure transparency at an unprecedented scale.
  
  Prime Minister Modi highlighted the implementation of GST saying, the complex process has been successfully completed, and added that much needs to be done. Pointing out at India climbing 30 places in the World Bank’s ‘ease of doing business’ list this year, Prime Minister said, it was the biggest jump by any country in a single year. He mentioned that South and South-East Asia would be the growth engine of the world, adding India attaches greater importance to boosting economic ties with the ASEAN nations.
  
  He referred to the Jan Dhan Yojana saying, it has transformed the lives of millions by way of bringing banking services to them in a short span of time.
  
  He said direct benefit transfer involving crediting of subsidies under 59 schemes of upto ten billion dollars has helped to check pilferages. He said, about 1200 outdated laws have been repealed in the last three years, in keeping with the emphasis on ‘minimum government, maximum governance’ principle.
  
• India to overtake Japan in nominal GDP by 2028
  India is likely to achieve strong growth over the next decade and will overtake Japan in nominal GDP by 2028, to emerge as the world's third largest economy.
  
  A Bank of America Merrill Lynch report titled, 'India 2028' said that the country has already overtaken Brazil and Russia to emerge as the second largest BRIC economy after China.
  
  The report said India is well on track to cross France and Britain to emerge as the world's fifth largest economy after Germany by 2019.
  
  The report said India will cross Germany and Japan in nominal GDP in dollar term by 2028. This assumes that the Indian economy grows at 10 per cent (in nominal US GDP) in the next decade, well ahead of Japan's 1.6 per cent. The American brokerage has conservatively projected the country's real GDP growth at 7 per cent potential.
  
• President inaugurates 37th India International Trade Fair in New Delhi
  Indian President Ram Nath Kovind on 14th November inaugurated the 37th India International Trade Fair (IITF) at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. The 14-day annual event is organised by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO).
  
  The theme of the fair is "Startup India Standup India". Vietnam is the Partner Country, while Kyrgyzstan is the Focus Country. Jharkhand is participating as a Partner State in the event. As many as 7,000 participants from 22 countries will showcase their products ranging from electronics to textiles.
  
• India’s 1st Tribal Entrepreneurship Summit at Dantewada
  India’s first Tribal Entrepreneurship Summit has been organised on 14th November at Dantewada in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.
  
  The event is being organized by NITI Aayog in partnership with Government of United States of America. The event is a part of 8th Global Entrepreneurship Summit being held in India. The Tribal Entrepreneurship Summit in Dantewada has been organised with the motive to inspire, nurture and promote the spirit of entrepreneurship in tribal youth. This ensures yet another step towards tribal-centric sustainable and inclusive development. The summit not only provides a platform to tribal youth but also addresses the issues faced by the tribal community in pragmatic and progressive ways.
  
• Cabinet approves creation of National Anti-profiteering Authority under GST
  Cabinet on 16th November approved the creation of National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) under GST, to ensure benefits of reduction in indirect tax rates are passed on to consumers. According to the Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad:
  
  The decision reflects governments full commitment to take all possible step to ensure benefits of implementation of GST to the common man.
  
  The authority will comprise a standing committee, screening committee in every state and Director General of safeguards in the central board of Excise and customs.
  
  The constitution of NAA will bolster the confidence of consumer as they reap the benefits of recent reduction in GST rates.
  
  NAA enables consumers to apply for relief if they feel reduction in prices is not passed on to them and for this an institutional framework has been provided to take appropriate remedial action.
  
  In case the consumers do not get the benefit of reduction in prices, they can apply for the relief to the screening committee to the particular state
  
  In case the incident of profiteering relates to an item to mass impact the application may be directly made to the standing committee.
  
• Govt removes restrictions on export of all types of pulses
  The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA has removed restrictions on export of all types of pulses. According to Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the decision will give farmers greater choice in marketing their produce and enhance their incomes.
  
  Opening of export of pulses will help the farmers to dispose of their products at remunerative prices and encourage them to expand the area of sowing.
  
  It is expected that pulses production will be sustained in the country and its import dependence on pulses will come down substantially.
  
  This is also likely to provide higher levels of protein to the population and work towards nutritional security.
  
  The CCEA also empowered the Committee chaired by Secretary, Food and Public Distribution to review export-import policy on pulses and consider measures such as quantitative restrictions and change in import duties.
  
  The CCEA also gave its nod for continuation of sub-schemes under Integrated Child Development Services, ICDS till November 2018 with an outlay of over 41 thousand crore rupees.
  
  The schemes under it are Anganwadi Services, Scheme for adolescent girls, Child Protection Services and National Creche scheme. More than 11 crore children, pregnant women and lactating mothers and the adolescent girls will be benefited through this scheme.
  
  Besides, it approved implementation of Scheme for Adolescent Girls for out of school girls in the age group of 11 to 14 years and phasing out of the ongoing Kishori Shakti Yojana.
  
  Anganwadi Services and Child Protection Services are already in operation in the entire country while the Scheme for Adolescent Girls will be expanded in a phased manner and National Creche Scheme will continue to be implemented in over 23 thousand crèches.
  
  The Cabinet also approved increase in carpet area of houses eligible for interest subsidy under the Credit-Linked Subsidy Scheme, CLSS for the Middle Income Group-MIG under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
  
  Under it the carpet area in the MIG- I category of CLSS has been increased from the existing 90 square metre to 120 square meters and for MIG II category, from 110 square meters to 150 square meters.
  
  Under the MIG-I category, a four-percent interest subsidy is provided to the beneficiaries, whose annual income is between 6 lakh rupees and 12 lakh, on a loan of up to 9 lakh rupees.
  
  Similarly, under the MIG-II category, the beneficiaries with an annual income of 12 lakh to 18 lakh rupees get an interest subsidy of three per cent on a loan of up to 12 lakh rupees.
  
• RBI Governor Urjit Patel appointed to Financial Stability Institute Advisory Board
  RBI Governor Urjit Patel has been appointed to the Financial Stability Institute Advisory Board or the Bank of International Settlement (BIS). Bank for International Settlements is an international financial organisation owned by 60 member central banks across the world.
  
  The Financial Stability Institute (FSI) of the BIS assists financial sector authorities worldwide in strengthening their financial systems. Since the beginning of 2017, the FSI has been implementing a new strategy that includes achieving closer interaction with central banks and financial supervisory agencies.
  
• Moody's upgrades India's credit rating to Baa2
  International rating agency Moody's Investors Service has upgraded India's local and foreign currency issuer ratings to Baa2 from Baa3 and changed the outlook on the rating to stable from positive. Moody’s has revised the sovereign rating of India a notch above investment grade after a long gap of 14 years. Moody's had last upgraded India's rating to 'Baa3' in 2004. In 2015, the rating outlook was changed to positive from stable.
  
  The 'Baa3' rating was the lowest investment grades just a notch above 'junk' status. Moody’s said in a statement, the decision to upgrade the ratings is underpinned by Moody's expectation that continued progress on economic and institutional reforms will enhance India's high growth potential.
  
  It will also improve large and stable financing base for government debt, and will likely contribute to a gradual decline in the general government debt burden over the medium term.
  
  The global ratings agency, however, cautioned that high debt burden remains a constraint on the country's credit profile.
  
• Centre hikes import duty on edible oils to help farmers
  The Centre has raised import duty on crude palm oil to 30 per cent from 15 per cent and on refined oil to 40 per cent from 20 per cent in a bid to curb cheaper shipments and boost local prices for supporting farmers and refiners, according to a notification.
  
  Import duty on soyabean oil, sunflower oils, canola/ mustard oils -- both crude and refined format -- has been raised, the notification released by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). Import duty on Soyabean has also been increased.
  
  An inter-ministerial group headed by Union minister Nitin Gadkari and the Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister (EAC-PM) had examined the local price situation and suggested raising the import duties on edible oils and some oilseeds.
  
  The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) said import duty of crude palm oil has been doubled to 30 per cent, while the refined crude palm oil been increased to 40 per cent from 25 per cent.
  
  Import duty on crude soyabean oil has been increased to 30 per cent from 17.5 per cent, while refined soyabean oil has been raised to 35 per cent from the current 20 per cent.
  
  India imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia and a small quantity of crude soft oil, including soyabean oil from Latin America. Sunflower oil is imported from Ukraine and Russia.
  
• India to be high middle income economy in 30 years: World Bank
   The World Bank has said that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and reforms push by the government will catapult the country to high middle income economy in 30 years. It credited India's extraordinary achievement of quadrupling of per capita income to reforms taken in last three decades.
  
  Speaking at India's Business Reform event organised by Ministry of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi, World Bank Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kristalina Georgieva said, high level ownership and championship of reforms is critical for success.
  
  Comparing the achievement of securing 100th rank in the latest Ease of Doing Business Report, she said a jump of that nature is very rare since the beginning of the survey 15 year ago.
  
  Last week, India moved for the first time into the top 100 of World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business global rankings due to sustained business reforms over the past several years.
  
• IPPB Bank to become operational in 650 districts by April 2018
  The government on 5th November said India Post Payments Bank will become operational in all 650 districts of the country by April next year. They will facilitate financial inclusion. In reply to a question, Minister of Communications Manoj Sinha said in New Delhi that these banks will be linked to 1.55 lakh rural post offices and carry out banking services. The Minister said, two such banks are already operational in Ranchi and Raipur.
  
• Multi-agency group on Panama leak to probe Paradise Papers
  Government has ordered a probe into cases of Paradise Papers by the Multi-Agency Group (MAG) which is also probing the Panama Papers leak.
  
  The reconstituted MAG headed by the Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) will have representatives from ED, RBI and Financial Intelligence Unit.
  
  The MAG was constituted in April last year to investigate the legality of money stashed in offshore entities by Indians named in the Panama Papers.
  
  The CBDT, in a statement, said the Investigation units of the Income Tax Department have been alerted to take note of revelations for immediate action.
  
• India's logistics sector likely to grow by 9-10% annually: ICRA
  Terming the outlook for logistics companies as positive in the medium term, rating agency ICRA on on 6th November said India's logistics sector is likely to grow by about 10 per cent annually. It said while there have been fluctuations in the economy and freight demand due to GST implementation, the impact of the same would be temporary and would be corrected over the near term.
  
  In addition, companies have benefited from the underlying sectors such as automobile, consumer durables etc. which have bucked the economic slowdown trend, it said.
  
  From a profitability perspective, while the aggregate operating profit margins improved marginally on a sequential basis to 9.7 per cent during Q1 FY 2018, there was pressure on the margins on a Y-o-Y basis
  
  Although the manufacturing activity has declined further in July 2017 post GST implementation, there has been a gradual improvement in most of economic indicators over the past couple of months, which suggest the outlook for logistics companies is likely to turn favourable going forward.
  
  The road freight rates also followed a similar trend, with the decline in industrial activity and lack of freight demand resulting in a sharp decline of freight rates in July 2017, and subsequent recovery in August 2017 as the industrial activity and freight demand improved, it added.
  
• 19 states freeze Rs 3,066-cr MNREGS wage payments to over 92 mn workers
  Wage payments under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) have been frozen in 19 states as of October 31, 2017, official data show. In Haryana, wages have not been paid since August 31, 2017. In 12 states, including Jharkhand, Karnataka and Kerala, payments have not been made since September 2017. No payments have been made in six states including Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh since October 2017.
  
  Over 92 million active workers may not be getting their wages on time and the delayed wage payments amount to nearly Rs 3,066 crore, according to a statement by NREGA Sangharsh Morcha, a network of grassroot organisations.
  
  It is mandatory for states to send audited reports of the previous financial year after September 30 every year for the central government to release the second tranche of funds. The rural development ministry statement said Rs 40,480 crore has been released so far in this financial year, which is around Rs 4,500 crore more than the release during the corresponding period of the last financial year.
  
  The ministry has also sought funds from the finance ministry to meet additional requirements. The central government has not approved most payments for 20 days in March-April 2017, and 80% wage payments in May 2017 were not processed.
  
• India pledges additional $100 million towards UN partnership fund
  India has pledged an additional 100 million US Dollar towards the UN partnership fund, significantly scaling up it support to sustainable development projects across the developing world.
  
  This was announced by the Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of India to the UN, Anjani Kumar on Monday at the 2017 UN Pledging Conference for Development Activities. He said this contribution would be in addition to India's contribution of 10.582 million US dollar to various other UN programmes.
  
  Kumar said, of the 5 million US dollar, India contributed to the fund this year, 2 million US dollar would be utilised for reconstruction in Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda, which took a big hit from hurricanes.
  
  The Counsellor said India believes that the UN should have the necessary resources to finance its activities, in an appropriate and balanced manner.
  
  The India-UN Development Partnership Fund was set up earlier this year as a partnership between India and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC). The first project from the fund is being executed in partnership with seven Pacific Island countries.
  
• DIPP inks pact with Anna University to set up tech support centre
  The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) on 8th November said it has signed an agreement with Anna University to set up a Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) in Chennai.
  
  This will be the second centre in the country to be set up under the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) TISC programme. It will be established at the Centre for Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR), Anna University in Chennai.
  
  WIPO’s TISC programme provides entrepreneurs in developing countries with access to locally-based, high quality technology information and related services, helping them to exploit their innovative potential and to create, protect and manage their Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs).
  
  CIPR has an experience of filing more than 185 patents, 29 trademarks, 39 copyrights, 25 industrial design and has also assisted in filing 12 international patent applications.
  
  The centre will also give an impetus to sharing of best practices among these centres, capacity building, generation and commercialisation of Intellectual Properties.
  
• Smriti Irani starts Digital Rath in New Delhi
  Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani flagged off Digital Rath in New Delhi on 8th November to create awareness among people for cashless transaction. Interacting with the traders, Mrs Irani said, digital transactions have increased sharply after demonetization.
  
  She said, UPI transactions have increased from 3.8 million in April to 77 million in October this year, which is a huge growth. The Minister said, small merchants are the backbone of Indian economy and a less-cash society will bring more transparency.
  
• GST rate on mass consumption items cut to 18% from highest slab of 28%
  In a major relief to promote ease of doing business, the GST Council on 10th November decided to reduce tax rate on a wide range of products. According to Union Finance minister Arun Jaitley, the tax on 178 items has been reduced to 18 percent from 28 percent.
  
  These include a wide range of common use items.
  
  Eight items have been moved from 12 percent slab category to 5 percent. Taxes on two items -- armoured vehicles and weight grinders --have been reduced to 12 percent from 28 percent.
  
  All stand-alone restaurants irrespective of air-conditioned or otherwise would attract 5 percent tax without Input Tax Credit, ITC. GST implemented from July 1, has five tax slabs of 0 per cent, 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent.
  
• Economic advisory panel spells out road map for skill development, job creation
  The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister in its second meeting spelt out a clear road map for stepping up skill development, job creation, enhanced resource investment in the social sector, including for health and education, and for boosting Infrastructure financing.
  
  According to an official statement, the Council chaired by Bibek Debroy, Member, NITI Aayog, which met on 10th November, also deliberated upon improvements needed in national accounts and innovative steps for unlocking growth, exports and the employment potential of growth drivers, including through transformation of India’s gold market.
  
  It has formulated far-reaching recommendations to guide the evolving framework for the 15th Finance Commission, including the incentivisation of states for achieving health, education and social inclusion outcomes.
  
  The council is also evolving the design of a new Economy Tracking Monitor, linking economic growth indicators with social indicators for last mile connectivity
  
  Lead presentations to the council were made by experts on key themes, including infrastructure financing by the Chairman EAC-PM Debroy, who underlined the need for infrastructure financing to be accorded high priority, with new mechanisms for a risk coverage umbrella.
  
  Member, NITI Aayog, Vinod K. Paul, highlighted strategies for achieving Swastha Bharat by 2022. Skill Development Strategies were presented by the Secretary, Skill Development, K.P. Krishnan, who highlighted convergent initiatives to reach out to youth and women.
  
  Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, T.C.A. Anant, outlined improvements needed in national accounts, complemented by the presentation by Member Secretary EAC-PM, Ratan P. Watal, demystifying issues on the current account deficit and the gold market. He also shared recommendations on the evolving framework for the 15th Finance Commission.
  
  The deliberations of the council took stock of the economic and social analysis done by the theme groups and evolving initiatives led by different members. The Council identified key issues, strategies and recommended interventions in respect of these themes.
  
• Govt approves utilisation of pulses from buffer stock
  Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA has approved utilisation of pulses from the buffer stock for meeting the protein component under various Central Government schemes providing nutrition to beneficiaries.
  
  The move will help ensure an adequate supply of nutrients and pulses under the various schemes including Mid Day Meal, hospitals as well as Ministries and Departments providing food, catering and hospitality services.
  
  To give effect to the decision, the CCEA has empowered the concerned Ministries and Departments to carry out suitable amendments in their schemes and guidelines to enable them to utilise pulses from the buffer stock.
  
  The disposal through the Central Government Schemes is in addition to the disposal of pulses from the buffer through open market sale and supply to States. However, the cost of pulses supplied to States would in no case be higher than the market price.
  
  In case of non-availability of pulses in the buffer, the concerned Departments may revert to the current system of making nutrition available.
  
• Trans-Pacific Partnership members agree on new framework to revive proposed trade deal
  Members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have agreed on a new framework to revive the proposed trade deal, following the US withdrawal earlier this year.
  
  At a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Vietnam, the remaining eleven nations in a joint statement on 11th November said they had agreed on the core elements of a deal. Vietnam’s Trade Minister, Tran Tuan Anh, said the agreement, which still needs to be finalised, would now be called the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
  
  The countries working towards an agreement are Canada, Australia, Chile, New Zealand, Brunei, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru and Vietnam. U.S. President Donald Trump ditched the TPP this year in favour of an America First policy he believes would save U.S. jobs.
  
• Foreign investors infuse $3bn into Indian capital markets in October
  Foreign investors have pumped in close to 3 billion dollars in the Indian capital markets so far this month due to high nominal and real yields and stable macroeconomic conditions. Most of the funds have been infused in the debt markets.
  
  According to the latest depository data, FPIs invested a net sum of Rs. 2,806 crore in the stock markets and another Rs. 15,132 crore in debt, taking the total to Rs. 17,938 crore during October 3-27.
  
  This follows a net outflow of over Rs. 10,000 crore from the capital markets last month.
  
• Government sets up Arun Jaitley led panel on PSU bank mergers
  The government has constituted a ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to oversee merger proposals of state-owned banks. The other members of the panel include Railway and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
  
  Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar said that the government is working on banking reforms and constituted an Alternative Mechanism for Public Sector Banks, PSB consolidation.
  
  Last week, Mr Jaitley had announced 2.11 lakh crore rupees capital infusion roadmap for the public sector banks. The Union Cabinet had decided to set up an Alternative Mechanism to fast-track consolidation among public sector banks to create strong lenders.
  
  The move to create large banks aims at meeting the credit needs of the growing Indian economy and building capacity in the PSB space to raise resources without dependence on the state exchequer. The mechanism will oversee the proposals coming from boards of PSBs for consolidation.
  
• India breaks into top 100 club in ease of doing business
  India has for the first time broken into the club of the top 100 nations easiest to do business in. The World Bank's Doing Business Report 2018, released on 31st November, showed that the country's global rank in ease of doing business jumped by 30 places to reach the 100th rank.
  
  The rank was 130th in the previous year. India has also been adjudged the 5th best performing nation globally in reforming the business environment.
  
  It also improved it's ranking in six of the ten sub-categories used by the World Bank to judge the climate of business ease in a country. The multilateral agency has recognised reforms by the government in eight sub-categories.
  
  Among these, the biggest improvement in rankings was seen in the category of paying taxes where India managed to reach 119th position from the 172nd position earlier.
  
  The World Bank, however, did not specifically ask respondents about the implications of the Goods and Services Tax regime. While the multilateral body said that GST was not a majorly mentioned issue from the respondents side, it cautioned that the tax system would play out significantly in the rankings over the next few years.
  
  In the protecting minority investors category, India is now the 4th best in the world, a jump of 9 ranks from the 13th place last year.
  
  However, despite hoping to get a better ranking in the securing construction permits category, India's rank has only improved to 181 from last year's 184.
  
• Fiscal deficit touches 91.3% of full-year target between April-September 2017
  The Centre’s financial situation improved marginally but remained precarious in the first six months of the fiscal as its spending outpaced its receipts by a wide margin.
  
  The Centre’s fiscal deficit rose to Rs. 4,98,938 crore or 91.3 per cent of the Budget target between April and September 2017. This is a marginal improvement from the August data when fiscal deficit touched 96.1 per cent of the full-year target, but it remains high compared to April-September 2016 when it was at 83.9 per cent of the Budget estimate.
  
  The revenue deficit was also contained but remained in excess of the Budget target at 118 per cent or Rs.3,79,591 crore between April and September this fiscal.
  
  It was at 133.9 per cent of the target between April and August this fiscal, although it was much lower at 91.9 per cent in the first six months of 2016-17.
  
  Total expenditure amounted to Rs. 11,49,187 crore or 53.5 per cent of the Budget target in the first six months of this fiscal, while total receipts stood at Rs. 6,50,249 crore or 40.6 per cent of the Budget estimate.
  
• CCEA approves extension of RKVY for 3 years
  Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the continuation of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana as Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana- Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied sector Rejuvenation, RKVY-RAFTAAR for three years to 2019-20.
  
  The financial allocation of the scheme will be 15,722 crore rupees with the objective of making farming a remunerative economic activity through strengthening the farmer's efforts, risk mitigation and promoting agri business entrepreneurship.
  
  The funds would be provided to the states as 60:40 grants between Centre and States and 90:10 for North Eastern states and Himalayan states.
  
  The scheme will incentivize states in enhancing more allocation to Agriculture and Allied Sectors.
  
  This will also strengthen farmer’s efforts through creation of agriculture infrastructure that help in supply of quality inputs and market facilities.
  
  This will further promote agri-entrepreneurship and support business models that maximize returns to farmers.
  
  Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana is a continuing scheme under implementation from Eleventh Five Year Plan.
  
  It provides considerable flexibility and autonomy to states in planning and executing programmes for incentivizing investment in agriculture and allied sectors.
  
• PFRDA increases maximum age of joining National Pension Scheme to 65
  Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has increased the maximum age of joining National Pension Scheme (NPS) Private Sector from the 60 to 65 years of age to increase the pension coverage in the country.
  
  Now, any Indian citizen, resident or non-resident, between the age of 60- 65 years can join the NPS and continue up to the age of 70 years.
  
  The increase in joining age will provide the options to the subscribers who are at the fag-end of the employment and expecting lump-sum amount at the time of retirement.
  
  Subscriber joining NPS after the age of 60 years will have an option of normal exit from the scheme after completion of 3 years.
  
  In this case, the subscriber will be required to utilize at least 40 per cent of the corpus for purchase of annuity and the remaining amount can be withdrawn in lump-sum.
  
  However, if the subscriber wants to exit from NPS before completion of 3 years, he or she will have to utilize at-least 80 per cent of the corpus for purchase of annuity and the remaining can be withdrawn in lumpsum.
  
  In case of death of the subscriber during his/her stay in NPS, the entire corpus will be paid to the nominee of the subscriber.
  
  NPS provides a very robust platform to the subscriber to save for his/her old age income security.
  
• Tata is most valuable brand in India; RIL, Airtel ranked No 2, 3
  The Tata Group is India’s most valuable brand, followed by Reliance and Airtel.
  
  In a press release, Interbrand India said the Tata’s brand value is estimated at Rs. 73,944 crore.
  
  It has held on to the top position for the fifth year in a row.
  
  Jio’s launch has pushed Reliance to the second position (Rs. 38,212 crore) and Airtel occupies the third ( Rs. 36,927 crore).
  
  HDFC Bank, Life Insurance Corporation, State Bank of India, Infosys, Mahindra, ICICI and Godrej follow in that order to make up the top 10 best Indian brands.
  
  Purpose, technology and brand were the key growth drivers, Interbrand said, adding that these qualities were reflected in the growth of Maruti, Reliance, HDFC, JSW and Kotak.
  
  Over half of the brands on the list came from five sectors: Automotive (5), Diversified (10), Financial Services (12), Telecom (2), and Technology (2).
  
  In Automotive, one of the top growing sectors, Maruti Suzuki led, posting a 19 per cent increase in brand value over 2016.
  
  Royal Enfield, at 17th position, is a new entrant into the list, valued at Rs. 9,078 crore. It owes this to its financial performance year on year and branding efforts.
  
  Ambuja Cement (Rs. 1,518 crore) is the other newcomer, at 40th rank, due to its financial performance despite the impact of demonetisation and recent merger with ACC, Interbrand said.
  
  The Top 40 Indian brands have a combined total value of Rs. 4,75,570 crore, an increase of 5 per cent from 2016.
  
  The ranking is based on the three key components that contribute to a brand’s cumulative value: Its financial performance, its role in influencing customer choice, and its ability to command a premium price or secure earnings for the company.
  
• Gender inequality widening after decade of progress: WEF
  A decade of slow progress towards better parity between the sexes has screeched to a halt, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said on 2nd November, warning the global gender gap was now widening.
  
  In recent years, women have made significant progress towards equality in a number of areas such as education and health, with the Nordic countries leading the fray.
  
  But the global trend now seems to have made a U-turn, especially in workplaces, where full gender equality is not expected to materialise until 2234, WEF said in a report.
  
  The Geneva-based organisation’s annual report tracks the disparities between the sexes in four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment. A year ago WEF estimated that it would take 83 years to close the remaining gap.
  
  But since then women’s steady advances in the areas of education, health and political representation have plateaued, and for the fourth year running, equality in the workplace has slipped further from view. The present report said that at the current rate of progress, it would now take a full 100 years on average to achieve overall gender equality.
  
  The estimated time needed to ensure full equality in the workplace meanwhile has jumped from 80 years in 2014 to 170 years last year to 217 years now, according to the report.
  
  Even more than in the workplace, political participation stubbornly lagged behind, with women still accounting for just 23 percent of the world’s decision makers, according to the report. But political representation is also the area where women have made the most advances in recent years, the report said, estimating it will take 99 years to fully rectify the situation.
  
• India at 108 in World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap index
  India slipped 21 places on the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap index to 108, behind neighbours China and Bangladesh, primarily due to less participation of women in the economy and low wages. Moreover, India’s latest ranking is 10 notches lower than its reading in 2006 when the WEF started measuring the gender gap.
  
  According to the WEF Global Gender Gap Report 2017, India has closed 67 per cent of its gender gap, less than many of its international peers, and some of its neighbours like Bangladesh ranked 47th while China was placed at 100th.
  
  Globally also, this year’s story is a bleak one. For the first time since the WEF began measuring the gap across four pillars — health, education, the workplace and political representation — the global gap has actually widened.
  
  The findings in this year’s report, published on 2nd November, showed that an overall 68 per cent of the global gender gap has been closed. This is a slight deterioration from 2016 when the gap closed was 68.3 per cent. At the current rate of progress, the global gender gap will take 100 years to bridge, compared to 83 last year. The case is worse in terms of workplace gender divide, which the report estimates will take 217 years to close.
  
  On a positive note, however, a number of countries are bucking the dismal global trend as over one-half of all 144 countries measured this year have seen their score improve in the past 12 months, the report noted.
  
  At the top of the Global Gender Gap Index is Iceland. The country has closed nearly 88 per cent of its gap. It has been the world’s most gender-equal country for nine years. Others in the top 10 include Norway (2nd), Finland (3rd), Rwanda (4) and Sweden (5), Nicaragua (6) and Slovenia (7), Ireland (8), New Zealand (9) and the Philippines (10).
  
• Aadhaar, Mobile SIM linking should be done by Feb 6, 2018
  The Aadhaar-Mobile SIM linking should be completed by February 6, under e-KYC verification, the Centre told the Supreme Court. The Centre also mandated production of 12-digit unique Aadhaar number for opening new bank accounts. The government has introduced three new methods, including through one-time password (OTP), to ease the process of linking the Aadhaar identity number with individual mobile numbers.

ECONOMY AFFAIRS OCTOBER 2017

ECONOMY AFFAIRS OCTOBER 2017

• RIL, ONGC join hands to share infrastructure
  
  • After six months of negotiations, the Directorate-General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) has successfully brokered an agreement between India’s oil and gas exploration business — the public sector ONGC and Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).
  • With this agreement, RIL and its partner BP Plc will be able to transport gas from their newer fields in the Krishna Godavari Basin (KG-D6) block using a sub-sea pipeline that passes through edges of ONGC’s block in the neighbourhood.
  
  
• RBI sets up task force on ‘Public Credit Registry’
  The Reserve Bank of India has constituted a 10-member ‘High Level Task Force on Public Credit Registry (PCR) for India’, which will, among other things, suggest a roadmap for developing a transparent, comprehensive and near-real-time PCR for India.
  
  Headed by YM Deosthalee, ex-CMD, L&T Finance Holdings, the task force includes Sekar Karnam, DMD & Chief Credit Officer, SBI; Vishaka Mulye, ED, ICICI Bank; Rashesh Shah, Chairman and CEO, Edelweiss Group; and Sriram Kalyanaraman, MD and CEO, National Housing Bank.
  
  The terms of reference of the task force include reviewing the current availability of information on credit in India, assessing the gaps in India that could be filled by a comprehensive PCR, and study the best international practices on PCR.
  
  Envisaged as an extensive database of credit information for India that is accessible to all stakeholders, PCR is expected to enhance efficiency of the credit market, increase financial inclusion, improve ease of doing business and help control delinquencies.
  
• Andhra Pradesh signs MoUs with UAE firms with $7.5-billion investment
  The Andhra Pradesh government on 23rd October signed two major deals with Dubai-based firms, which could net a total investment of $7.5 billion for the state.
  
  The AP Economic Development Board signed a memorandum of understanding with Aviation City LLP for developing an aero city hub in Andhra Pradesh with an investment of $5.5 billion.
  
  The Board signed another MoU with Bin Zayed Group, which promised to invest $2 billion in various infrastructure projects in the state.
  
  The AP government will have to secure 10,000 acres of land for the proposed aero city hub - the location is yet to be decided - which is expected to create 15,000 direct jobs and 5,000 indirect ones.
  
  The Aviation City LLP team will visit the state in November to study the project and will submit a preliminary report in January in Davos. Bin Zayed International LLC will partner with the AP government for various infrastructure projects.
  
  These projects include Vijayawada Metro Rail, Bhogapuram International Airport, multipurpose port at Ramayapatnam, major arterial ring road and inner ring road (locations not specified) and Bhogapuram-Bhimili and Visakhapatnam-Addaripeta beach corridors.
  
  Emirates "showed interest" in four proposals, a government release said, citing the meeting the chief minister held with the airline's executives in Dubai.
  
• Cabinet approves bank capitalisation plan of Rs 2.11 lakh crores
  The Cabinet has approved a capitalisation plan of two lakh eleven thousand crore rupees for public sector banks. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced huge spending on infrastructure on 24th October and according to him it will give a fillip to private sector investment, direct benefit to MSMEs and employment generation.
  According to Arun Jaitley: 
  • Once the banks are strengthened, appetite for their stock will improve.
  • It was decided that a bold step needs to be taken by the government to recapitalise banks
  • Various capital infusion measures have been taken by the government to ensure health of public sector banks.
  • Public sector banks will catalyse private investments and there is a need to increase public investment
  • The fundamentals of the economy continue to be strong.
  • India has remained the world's fastest growing economy for the last three years
  • Structural reforms have short-term impact but will help in the medium and long-term
  • The government has decided on the steps necessary to sustain the growth momentum
  Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs S C Garg: 
  • The real GDP growth average in the last 3 years has been 7.5 per cent
  • Expressed confidence that the disinvestment target for this year will exceed.
  • The Current Account Deficit is at a low level. Similarly, there has been a consistent low inflation story.
  
  
• Govt approves to build 83,677 km of highways
  The government on 24th October approved a mega plan to build 83,677 kilometre of highways over the next five years at a cost of about seven lakh crore rupees which includes the ambitious Bharatmala project.
  
  An official release said, out of this, Bharatmala project will be implemented with an outlay of 5.35 lakh crore rupees and will generate 14.2 crore man-days of jobs. Bharatmala is a mega plan of the government, aims at improving connectivity in border and other areas.
  
  Terming Bharatmala as "connecting India like never before", the Prime Minister's Office said the project will include 9,000 km of economic corridors to unlock full economic potential, 6,000 km of inter-corridor and feeder routes, 5,000 km of national corridors efficiency improvement, 2,000 km of border road connectivity, 800 km of expressways and 10,000 km of balance National Highway Development Projects.
  
  On funding of Bharatmala project, the government said, 2.09 lakh crore rupees will be raised as debt from the market, 1.06 lakh crore rupees of private investments would be mobilised through Public Private Partnership and 2.19 lakh crore rupees is to be provided out of accruals to the Central Road Fund and Toll collections of National highways authority of India.
  
• Govt hikes wheat MSP by Rs 110 per quintal, pulses by Rs 200
  The government on 24th October increased the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat by Rs 110 to Rs 1,735 a quintal and of pulses by Rs 200 per quintal to help boost the output of these crops and check prices. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the MSPs of all Rabi (winter-sown) crops for 2017-18. MSP is the rate at which government buys grain from farmers.
  
  It said, the CCEA approved Rs 110 per quintal hike in wheat MSP to Rs 1,735 per quintal for the 2017-18 rabi crop, up from Rs 1,625 per quintal last year.
  
  To encourage the cultivation of gram and masoor, their MSPs have been raised by Rs 200 per quintal each to Rs 4,200 and Rs 4,150
  
  Among oilseeds, rapeseed/mustard and sunflower seed MSP has also been increased substantially. It adds that the support prices are in line with the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices.
  
• Deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to govt schemes extended till March 31, 2018
  The Centre on 25th October told the Supreme Court that the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to avail benefits of various government schemes would be extended till 31st of March next year.
  
  Attorney General K K Venugopal told the apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Deepak Misra that extension of the deadline would apply only to those persons who do not have Aadhaar and are willing to enroll for it.
  
  He told the court that no coercive action would be taken against those who do not have Aadhaar but were willing to enrol for it. He added that they would not be denied the benefits of social welfare schemes till March 31 next year.
  
  In a note given to the court, the government has said that those who have Aadhaar are required to seed/link their Aadhaar with SIM card, with bank account, PAN card and other schemes.
  
  The petitioners challenging the Centre's move to make Aadhaar mandatory for welfare schemes termed the linking of the identity number with bank accounts and mobile numbers as illegal and unconstitutional. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the petitioners, said the main Aadhaar matter should be heard soon.
  
  He said though the government has decided to extend the deadline till March 31 next year, it has also not said that no action would be taken against those who do not want to link their Aadhaar with either bank accounts or mobile numbers.
  
  He contended that final hearing in the main Aadhaar matter which is pending before the apex court was necessary as the government "cannot compel" citizens to link their Aadhaar with either bank accounts or mobile numbers.
  
• Anti-dumping duty on some stainless steel imports to India
  India imposed anti-dumping duty on some cold-rolled flat products of stainless steel from China, the US, South Korea and the European Union, to curb the influx of cheaper imports and help local producers. The duty, which will be in effect until 10 December 2020, exempts certain grades of stainless steel, an official notification said. The government has allowed import of the product as long as the end use of the import is in the same form, it said.
  
  Earlier this month, the government imposed an anti-dumping duty on the import of some flat steel products from China and the European Union for five years.
  
  Last month, the government imposed an additional 18.95% countervailing duty on some hot-rolled and cold-rolled stainless steel flat products, a first such levy on a steel product.
  
• Ministries of Power and Textiles join hands for SAATHI initiative
  Ministries of Power and Textiles have joined hands under SAATHI (Sustainable and Accelerated Adoption of efficient Textile technologies to Help small Industries) initiative.
  
  Under this initiative, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a PSU under Ministry of Power, will procure energy efficient power looms, motors.
  
  The SAATHI initiative will be jointly implemented by EESL and office of Textile Commissioner on the pan-India basis. It will be implemented in the key cluster.
  
• India and Asian Development Bank Sign $300 Million Loan
  The Asian Development Bank and the Government of India signed a $300 million loan to continue a series of fiscal reforms in the State of West Bengal to improve the quality of public service delivery.
  
  The Second West Bengal Development Finance Program targets a further increase in public investment through the reduction of unproductive expenditure.
  
• Govt working on new consumer protection law: Narendra Modi
  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 26th October said a new consumer protection law is on the anvil to crack down on misleading ads and ensure that grievances are redressed in a time-bound and cost-effective manner.
  
  He said, the Government is committed towards consumer interest protection and is in process of drafting new consumer Act.
  
  Addressing an international conference on consumer protection in New Delhi, Mr Modi said:
  • A Central Consumer Protection Authority with executive powers will be constituted for quick remedial action.
  • The new law will incorporate the revised 2015 UN guidelines on consumer protection.
  • Due to GST, the various indirect and hidden taxes have ceased to exist
  • The biggest beneficiaries of GST will be the consumers and middle class.
  • A new business culture has been started after the GST and poor will be most benefited out of it
  • There is a need to move ahead from only consumer protection towards best consumer practices and consumer prosperity
  • The focus of his government is on consumer empowerment and ensuring consumer faces no difficulties
  • Effective grievance redressal systems are vital for a democracy and the government is integrating technology and ensuring stronger grievance redressal mechanisms
  • The Government's efforts ensured inflation has been kept under check and the consumer saves money
  • the Government has devoted effort and resources towards digital empowerment of the rural consumer
  • One person each from 6 crore rural houses of the country will be empowered to be digitally literate.
  • Paying consumers subsidy directly on cooking LPG has led to a saving of 57,000 crore rupees
  
  
• NITI Aayog recommends strategic disinvestment
  Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on 26th October said that the Government think-tank has recommended strategic disinvestment of 34 sick public sector units so far. Mr Kant was speaking at Crisil India Infrastructure Conclave in New Delhi. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had asked the think-tank to look into the viability of sick state-run companies.
  
  The government has budgeted to raise 72,500 crore rupees through stake sale in PSUs in the current fiscal. This includes 46,500 crore rupees from minority stake sale, 15,000 crore rupees from strategic disinvestment and 11,000 crore rupees from listing of PSU insurance companies.
  
  Mr Kant said, in last 3 years, government has put in lots of resources in building infrastructure like roads and airports, almost making up for private sector investment in such projects.
  
  The Niti Aayog CEO also stressed that India needs strong bids and concession evaluation mechanism of PPP infrastructure projects. He also said, if India wants wants to grow at 9-10 per cent then it must develop its infrastructure because countries like South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Japan grew on the back of good infrastructure.
  
• Centre to ensure adequate fund flow to States under MGNREGA
  The Centre on 27th October said it was making all efforts to ensure adequate fund flow to States/Union Territories under the flagship rural job guarantee scheme, MGNREGS.
  
  In a statement, the Ministry of Rural Development said it had released Rs. 40,480 crore so far in this financial year, which was around Rs. 4,500 crore more than the release during the corresponding period of the last financial year.With regard to fund release, the Ministry said it had been scrutinising proposals with promptness and had been releasing funds.
  
• Slowdown bottomed out, GDP likely to grow 7% in FY18, says Niti Aayog
   According to Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar, the economic slowdown that began in 2013-14 has bottomed out and the GDP is likely to grow 6.9 to 7 per cent this fiscal and 7.5 per cent in 2018-19. By first quarter of 2018, there will be a stronger recovery which will continue on much more sustained basis. Fiscal 2018-19 will be the much better year than fiscal 2017-18.
  
  The country did very well from 2007-13 and the downward cycle started in 2013-14, mainly because of splurge in lending to undeserving projects since 2007.
  
• GoM on GST composition scheme holds first meeting
  The Group of Ministers (GoM) set up to make the GST composition scheme more attractive held its first meeting in New Delhi on 15th October. The five member GoM, headed by Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been tasked to revisit Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates for restaurants.
  
  The other members of the GoM are Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, Jammu and Kashmir Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu, Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal and Chhattisgarh Minister of Commercial Taxes Amar Agrawal.
  
  It will examine whether the AC restaurants pass on the benefit of cost reduction under GST to consumers and if they are not, whether they should be disallowed input tax credit claims. Currently, GST is levied at 12 per cent on non-AC restaurants and 18 per cent on air-conditioned restaurants.
  
  The GoM was set-up by the GST Council in its last meeting on 7th of this month. It will submit its report by the end of next month. The council had also hiked the threshold for availing of the composition scheme to one crore rupees from 75 lakh.
  
  The tax rate for traders of goods in the composition scheme is 1 per cent, while it is 2 per cent for manufacturers and 5 per cent for restaurants.
  
• Wholesale inflation falls to 2.6% in September
  The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation data released on 16th October provided yet another indicator of improving macroeconomic parameters.
  
  Wholesale inflation fell to 2.60 per cent in September from 3.24 per cent in August due to a subdued rate of price rise in food items, particularly vegetables. However, economists warned that data of a few more months would have to be analysed to come to any conclusion on macroeconomic improvement.
  
  Though food inflation declined to 2.04 per cent, against 5.75 per cent in August, the rate of price rise in onions was elevated. Despite moderation, inflation in onions stood at 79.78 per cent against 88.46 per cent. Otherwise, inflation in vegetable prices cooled to 15.48 per cent in September, against a high of 44.91 per cent in the previous month.
  
  Inflation in manufactured products witnessed a slight increase at 2.72 per cent, against 2.45 per cent in August. Fuel and power inflation cooled to 9.01 per cent, against 9.99 per cent in August.
  
  Industrial production grew at a nine-month high of over 4 per cent in August, mainly on account of robust performance of mining and power sectors, coupled with higher capital goods output.
  
  Exports rose to over 25 per cent in September, the second consecutive month of double-digit rise. Retail inflation remained at 3.28 per cent in September, unchanged from August, even as vegetable and cereal prices softened.
  
• India taken several measures to tackle malnutrition in children and mothers: NITI Aayog
  According to NITI Aayog:
  • India has taken several measures to tackle malnutrition in children and mothers.
  • Pregnant women and lactating mothers will now receive five thousand rupees in cash on fulfilling basic conditions of health and nutrition.
  • The Ayog released the National Nutrition Strategy focusing on interdepartmental convergence, targets and real-time monitoring.
  • Additional 12 thousand crore rupees allotted to fight malnutrition over next 3 years by revising cost norms for supplementary nutrition.
  • Fortification of food provided under government welfare programmes, like Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and Mid-Day Meal has now been made mandatory.
  • ICDS systems strengthening and nutrition important project extended to 162 districts over 3 years for real time outcome monitoring.
  • The proposed National Nutrition Mission recommends convergence among ministries and expands digital monitoring to all districts.
  • Over 100 of country's High burden districts, on nutrition parameters, identified for taking up action in mission mode.
  
  
• Yes Bank commits Rs 156 crores for Namami Gange Project
  Private sector Yes Bank has committed Rs 156 crore to fund first Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) to be constructed at Varanasi under Hybrid Annuity-PPP Model. The bank has signed a deal with Essel Infraprojects for the financial closure of Rs 156 crore that will fund the STP under Namami Gange Project.
  
• Banks to provide funds at 7% to women SHGs under DAY-NRLM: RBI
  The RBI on 17th October said banks will provide funds to women self help groups, SHGs, in rural areas at 7 per cent under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) in the current fiscal.
  
  The central bank issued the revised guidelines on interest subvention scheme under DAY-NRLM, as received from the Ministry of Rural Development for implementation by 21 public sector banks and 19 private banks.
  
  All women SHGs will be eligible for interest subvention on credit upto 3 lakh rupees at 7 per cent per annum. Banks will be subvented to the extent of difference between the Weighted Average Interest Charged and 7 per cent subject to the maximum limit of 5.5 per cent for the year 2017-18.
  
  The notification said subvention will be available to banks on the condition that they make SHG credit available at 7 per cent per annum.
  
  The Ministry of Rural Development in consultation with state governments will harmonise State specific interest subvention schemes, if any, in line with the central scheme.The interest subvention scheme on credit to women SHG during 2017-18 is applicable in 250 districts across the country.
  
• EPFO launches online facility to link UAN with Aadhaar number ahead of Diwali
  The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has launched a new online facility where its members can link their Universal Account Number (UAN) and other relevant details with their respective Aadhaar number. This new facility will help the members to access EPFO services speedily and easily, Ministry of Labour and Employment stated
  
  UAN is a 12-digit portable number which acts as an umbrella for multiple member IDs that are alloted to EPF subscribers as they change jobs over the course of their career.
  
  EPFO mandatorily requires for its members to link their UAN with respective Aadhaar numbers in order to avail its online services like checking PF account balance, submit PF claims or for withdrawing some money from the PF accounts.
  
• Inflation, fiscal uncertainty induced RBI to hold rates
  RBI Governor Urjit Patel had recommended keeping the central bank’s key interest rate unchanged at 6 per cent citing risks to inflation and uncertainties on the external and fiscal fronts, the minutes of October’s monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting released on 18th October showed.
  
  Belying industry expectations, RBI maintained its hawkish stance at its fourth bi-monthly monetary policy review of the fiscal here earlier this month, refusing to cut rates in view of the rising inflationary pressure and concerns over “fiscal slippage”.
  
  On the other hand, the central bank lowered the country’s growth projection for 2017-18, pegging the Gross Value Added (GVA) to 6.7 per cent, from earlier estimate of 7.3 per cent.
  
  Declaring that inflation is expected to rise from its current level of around 3.3 per cent “and range between 4.2-4.6 per cent in the second half of this year”, Patel said the MPC remains committed to keeping headline inflation close to 4 per cent “on a durable basis”.
  
  Five members of the six-member MPC voted in favour of maintaining the key lending rate.
  
  The MPC had expressed concern about the upside risks to inflation and that implementation of farm loan waivers by states may result in fiscal slippages resulting in upward pressure on prices.
  
• 64% of Indians used banks, more than in Bangladesh, Nigeria and Pakistan
  Of over 45,000 Indians surveyed between September 2016 and January 2017, as many as 63% had a financial account of some kind, 64% of all bank account users had used their account in the last 90 days preceding the survey, but only 12% used an advanced bank account service in 2016, according to Intermedia, a research organisation that conducts financial inclusion surveys across India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania and Uganda.
  
  The survey also found gaps in bank account usage across gender and geography with 47% males actively using bank accounts versus 33% females, and 46% urban Indian’s actively using banks versus 37% of those who live in rural areas.
  
  Use of banks in India is higher than in other countries: 64% of Indians used a bank account, compared to 19% in Bangladesh, 30% in Indonesia, 31% in Kenya, 41% in Nigeria and 9% in Pakistan, according to the survey.
  
  As many as 68% said they had access to a mobile phone while only 26% said they had ever received or sent a text message, showing that basic cell phone usage–key to using mobile payment systems–is still low in India. In comparison, 85% had access to a mobile phone in Bangladesh, 80% in Indonesia, 93% in Kenya and Nigeria, and 77% in Pakistan.
  
  Use of mobile money in India (which does not include services such as Paytm) is about the same as that in Indonesia, with 1%, and Nigeria (2%), but lower as compared to Bangladesh (40%), Kenya (81%) and Pakistan (9%), the survey found.
  
• Linkage of Aadhaar number to bank account is mandatory: RBI
  Reserve Bank of India on 21st October said biometric identity number Aadhaar linkage with bank accounts is mandatory.
  
  The RBI clarification followed media reports quoting a reply to a Right to Information (RTI) application which suggested the apex bank has not issued any order for mandatory Aadhaar linkage with bank accounts.
  
  But the Reserve Bank, in a statement, clarified that linkage of Aadhaar number to bank account is mandatory under the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules.
  
  It said, these rules have been published in the Official Gazette on 1st of June this year.
  
  It also said, these rules have statutory force and, as such, banks have to implement them without awaiting further instructions.
  
• India is eighth most valuable nation brand
  India is ranked the eighth most valuable nation brand while the United States retained its top position and China took the second spot in the league of nations according to Brand Finance’s Nation Brands 2017. India went down one spot over the previous year, the report said, because the economy grew at its slowest pace. India switched places with Canada and its brand value dropped by one percentage point while that of Canada’s rose 14 per cent. China, the fastest growing nation brand in 2017, saw valuation grow 44 per cent.
  
• RBI to soon launch financial literacy drive in 9 states
  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is to launch a financial literacy drive in 80 blocks in nine states on pilot basis to educate people on e-transactions, formal sector borrowings and insurance purchases.
  
  The pilot project, according to RBI will be commissioned in the 9 states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Odisha, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh by the 6 NGOs in collaboration with the sponsor banks.
  
  The aim of the CFL is to inculcate the habit of making a household budget and recording financial transactions, encourage transactions in savings accounts, and active saving by depositing in banks through fixed deposits and recurring deposits.
  
• Ganga mission nod for Rs. 700-cr worth projects
  The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) on 9th October approved eight projects worth over Rs. 700 crore, four of which were for setting up sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
  
  Among others were three bio-remediation projects for treating drains dumping wastewater into the Ganga and one for inventorisation and surveillance of the river, a release issued by the Ministry of Water Resources said.
  
  The funds have been allocated for building a 40 million litre per day (MLD) STP at Bally in West Bengal at an estimated cost of Rs. 200 crore, 65 MLD STP at Bhagalpur in Bihar costing Rs. 268.49 crore and two STPs in Farrukabad and one in Bargadiya in Uttar Pradesh. These UP STPs are expected to cost Rs. 213.62 crore, the release said.
  
  A project for interception, diversion and treatment of sewage in Bithoor near Kanpur at an estimated cost of Rs. 13.40 crore was also given the green signal.
  
• Digital payments to grow at 26 % CAGR during 2016-2020: World Payment Report
  A new World Payment Report said that the initiatives of the government and the National Payments Council of India (NPCI) will help non-cash transactions grow at a compound annual growth rate of 26.2 per cent during 2016 to 2020.
  
  The World Payment Report 2017 was jointly commissioned by Capgemini and BNP Paribas. The report is about digital payments and transactions all around the world and their progress.
  
  Quoting NPCI, the report said India is expected to witness a six-fold growth in digital transactions to reach 25 billion transactions during 2017-18, up from 4 billion in 2015-16. According to the report, India could potentially make its way into the global top 10 markets in terms of non-cash transaction volumes.
  
• IIT Kharagpur signs MoU with Samsung for digital academy
  IIT-Kharagpur has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Samsung India for the setting up of a digital academy on the institute’s campus.
  
  The Department of Computer Science and Engineering in the institute would host the Samsung Innovation Lab and train students on the Internet of Things (IoT) through Tizen-based operating systems, commonly used by the company for its mobile phones and home appliances.
  
  IoT is a network of computing devices embedded in objects of everyday use for storage and exchange of information.
  
  An IIT-Kharagpur statement said that the training would help students acquire industry-relevant skills and “become job ready”.
  
  It said, the academy was a part of the company’s corporate social initiative that aims at bridging the digital divide in the country by imparting skills to students on cutting-edge technology. It said, the academy has planned to train over 100 students in the next three years.
  
• IMF lowers India’s growth forecast to 6.7% in 2017
  While projecting a more optimistic picture of the global economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 10th October slashed India’s growth forecast by 0.5 percentage points to 6.7 per cent in 2017.
  
  The growth projection for 2017 has been revised down… reflecting still lingering disruptions associated with the currency exchange initiative introduced in November 2016, as well as transition costs related to the launch of the national Goods and Services Tax (GST) in July 2017. Earlier, in April, the IMF had pegged India’s GDP growth at 7.2 per cent for 2017.
  
  It has also lowered the growth projection for 2018 to 7.4 per cent from its earlier estimate in April and June of 7.7 per cent, which could once again turn India into the fastest growing economy in the world.
  
  However, the IMF was more optimistic about medium-term growth prospects for India through gains from the new indirect tax levy.
  
  The IMF forecast is in line with a number of recent projections that have scaled down India’s growth prospects for the fiscal due to disruptions from demonetisation and GST, despite the government’s strong defence of the moves.
  
  GDP growth hit a three-year low of 5.7 per cent in the first quarter of the fiscal. The second volume of the Economic Survey also highlighted downside risks to its earlier growth projection of 6.75 per cent to 7.5 per cent for the fiscal.
  
  Recently, the Reserve Bank of India also lowered its growth projection to 6.7 per cent for the fiscal from its earlier estimate of 7.3 per cent. The economy grew at 7.1 per cent in 2016-17.
  
  But, in some relief to policymakers, the IMF has pegged retail inflation at 3.8 per cent in 2017, which is well within the monetary policy committee’s target of four per cent. However, in 2018, consumer price index based inflation could rise to 4.9 per cent it said.
  
  The IMF has also estimated an upswing in the global economy and has upped its growth forecast for 2017 and 2018 to 3.6 per cent and 3.7 per cent, respectively, which is 0.1 percentage point higher in both years than in the April and July forecasts.
  
  The IMF has scaled up its GDP growth forecast for both the US and China by 0.1 percentage point for 2017 to 2.2 per cent and 6.8 per cent respectively.
  
• Indian IT firms to generate fewer jobs in next 6 months: Report
  Indian IT services companies would create fewer jobs over the next couple of quarters as more companies are focusing on shifting towards digital technologies, said a survey report released by human resource firm ManpowerGroup on 10th October.
  
  The report, Experis IT Employment Outlook Survey, stated that 50 per cent of the IT services companies expressed their interest to hire people during the period between October 2017 and March 2018, since the industry is re-inventing itself to automate a lot of processes using artificial intelligence and machine-learning technology.
  
  In fact, the survey report said India would see pink slips being handed over to an increased number of senior-level professionals across IT firms, on account of digitisation and a surge in recruitment of junior and mid-level professionals.
  
  A slower job growth in the $154-billion services industry is, however, in stark contrast to other sectors in the country and captive IT units of global businesses will hire more people during this period, said the report, which surveyed around 500 Indian IT employers.
  
  The industry has been witnessing a slowdown in traditional software maintenance services- a segment that has been acting as a core revenue generator for nearly three decades now. The slowdown was attributed to the increased demand of digital technology-based services on the part of the businesses.
  
  IT professionals should look for opportunities to upskill themselves during this period, noted the report.
  
  The survey report also noted that a greater number of organisations prefer to upskill their existing workforce to thrive in the intense competitive environment, while many others seek trained freshers at entry-level jobs in the IT sector. The sector is, however, expected to see new job roles in digital technologies.
  
• Cabinet approves 7th Pay Commission
  Union Cabinet has approved the benefits of 7th Pay Commission to the faculty members of Central and state Universities, technical Institutions and aided colleges.
  
  It will be applicable from 1st of January, 2016. The annual Central financial liability on account of this measure would be about 9,800 crore rupees.
  
  Over 7.5 lakh teachers will be benefited from this decision.
  According to the Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar:
  • The salaries of teachers will increase from 10 to 50 thousand rupees under the new pay scale
  • Decision will also benefit the teachers of IITs, IIMs, IIITs and other Centrally funded institutes
  • The move will provide justice to the faculty members and attract new talents
  • The vacant posts of the teachers in Central Universities will be filled up within a year
  • Cabinet has approved two new schemes of skill development. The schemes are skill acquisition and knowledge awareness for livelihood promotion (SANKALP) and skill strengthening for industrial value enhancement (STRIVE).
  • Both the schemes are supported by the World Bank. SANKALP will be a centrally sponsored scheme with an allocation of 4,445 crore rupees while STRIVE will be central sector scheme with an expenditure of 2,200 crore rupees.
  
  
• Economic Advisory Council to PM identifies major priorities
  The newly constituted Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) is holding its first meeting on 11th October at NITI Aayog in New Delhi.
  
  The five member committee comprising of reputed economists and experts was constituted by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 26th of last month to halt the downhill movement of the Indian economy.
  
  NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Bibek Debroy is leading the council which include Finance Secretary Ratan P Watal as Member Secretary, along with Surjit Bhalla, Rathin Roy and Ashima Goyal as part-time members.
  
  The council is mandated to analyze all critical issues, economic or otherwise referred to it by the Prime Minister. It is also required to address issues of macro-economic importance and presenting its views.
  
  The present meeting comes in the backdrop of increasing concerns over declining GDP growth momentum. The slowing of GDP in June quarter triggered concerns especially regarding flagging consumer demand.
  
  The revival of the council indicates the government's effort to tap economists for new ideas on the economy. The Council will address all issues of emergent importance, engage with a broad spectrum of stakeholders and formulate advice accordingly.
  
  The newly set up Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister 11th October identified ten major priorities for accelerating economic growth and employment generation over the next six months. The council held its first meeting in New Delhi.
  
  These include economic growth, employment and job creation, integration of informal sector, fiscal framework and monetary policy.
  
  The council will take inputs from RBI and Monetary Policy Committee while considering issues related to monetary policy framework.
  
• Cabinet approves signing of MoU between SEBI and FSC, Gibraltar
  The Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Financial Services Commission (FSC), Gibraltar for mutual co-operation and technical assistance.
  
  According to the Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the MoU will promote further development of economic links and cooperation between the two regulators and aims at creating conditions for an effective development of securities markets in the two countries. It will also contribute towards strengthening the information sharing framework between the two signatories.
  
• GST regime must have minimal exemptions, fewer rates: IMF
  The International Monetary Fund has lauded New Delhi’s recent efforts to lower the compliance burden under the Goods and Services Tax, but said that efforts should also be made to lower the tax slabs and minimise exemptions. However, there is also scope to simplify the tax structure and bring down the number of tax rates, IMF said. The IMF also called for further broadening the tax base and including all sectors under GST.
  
  The objective of GST should be to have a broader base with minimal exemptions. At present, electricity and fuel are out of GST, which creates issues for companies in the sector as they do not get input tax credit
  
  The current model of GST with numerous exemptions and a four-tier rate structure — five per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent — apart from a compensation cess and exempt items and different rates for gold (three per cent) and rough diamonds (0.25 per cent), is very different from the original plan of one single tax rate.
  
• World Bank cautions against protectionism
  After years of disappointing growth, the global economy has begun to accelerate, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said on 12th October, cautioning that a rise in protectionism and policy uncertainty could derail this fragile recovery.
  
  He expressed concern that risks such as rise in protectionism, policy uncertainty or possible financial market turbulence could derail this fragile recovery. He said countries need to build resilience against the overlapping challenges the world faces present, including the effects of climate change, natural disasters, conflict, forced displacement, famine and disease.
  
• India must pursue fiscal consolidation, says IMF
  The IMF on 13th October said India should continue to focus on fiscal consolidation despite the recent slowdown in the economy.
  
  The comments come amid talks of India planning a stimulus package to boost growth, which fell to a three-year low of 5.7 per cent of GDP in the first quarter of the fiscal.
  
  However, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had on 13th October said that fiscal consolidation remained a top priority for the government. The Centre aims to control its fiscal deficit at 3.2 per cent of GDP in 2017-18. Though the IMF has revised down India’s GDP growth forecast to 6.7 per cent for 2017, Rhee said signs of a recovery are already showing.
  
  Apart from fiscal consolidation, India must also pursue reforms in the banking sector and labour markets, said Kenneth Kang, Deputy Director, Asia and Pacific, IMF.
  
  The IMF has also said that India should work on reforms to tackle supply bottlenecks, enhance the efficiency of labour and product markets and modernise the agricultural sector.
  
  Reducing the number of labour laws that total about 200 would promote investments and employment, said Kang, adding that female labour participation must also be encouraged.
  
  Further, efforts must be made to strengthen public sector banks and continue structural reforms to address bad loans.
  
  Noting the upswing in the global economy, the IMF said that Asia continued to play a key role. “Asia’s contribution to the global economy is 63 per cent, China and India accounts for more than 50 per cent of global growth with India contributing 17 per cent. Trade deficit narrows to 7-month low of $8.98 bn in Sept; exports rise 26%.
  
  Exports grew at a six-month-high rate of 25.7 per cent in September year-on-year, maintaining the momentum of 13 months of interrupted rise and despite the problems of getting refunds under the goods and services tax (GST) regime.
  
  This was the second month of exports expanding in double digits after outbound shipments were up 10.29 per cent in August.
  
  The pace of export growth comes after they contracted for more than a year. The country exported goods worth $28.61 billion in September against $22.76 billion in the same month last year.
  
  In the third month into the GST, export growth picked up mainly owing to rising global crude prices, which pushed up processed petroleum exports by nearly 40 per cent, apart from a broad-based improvement in exports of major foreign exchange earners such as engineering goods and gems and jewellery.
  
  This may give credence to the observations of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) that green shoots of economic revival were visible.
  
• Inland Waterways Authority of India raises Rs 660 crore through bonds
  In line with the Union government’s thrust on fund raising by tapping the capital markets, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) on 13th October announced it has raised Rs 660 crore through bonds.
  
  This would be the second department under Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to raise finances via the capital market, during the current fiscal, after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) raised Rs 3,000 crore worth of masala bonds at the London Stock Exchange in May this year.
  
  The resources raised by IWAI way of these fully-serviced government bonds will be in addition to the budgetary support from the central government, which had enabled IWAI to raise Rs 660 crore through this instrument.
  
  The IWAI had engaged arrangers, credit rating agencies – CRISIL and CARE, registrars and trustees prior to raising the bonds.
  
  The e-bidding for raising the bonds was organized on October 11, 2017 on the BSE Portal with the issue size of Rs 300 crore and green shoe option of Rs 360 crore. The issue was oversubscribed and the entire amount of Rs 660 crore has been raised in single tranche at a coupon rate of 7.47 percent.
  
  The proceeds from the bonds are intended to be utilized by IWAI exclusively for capital expenditure for development of National Waterways (NWs) under National Waterway Act, 2016 during 2017-18. The interest payment will be on semi-annual basis and the principal on maturity.
  
• Direct tax collections in first half of current financial year rise 15.8 %
  The Direct Tax Collections in the first half of the current fiscal shows growth of 15.8 per cent. Finance Ministry said, the provisional figures of Direct Tax collections up to September, 2017 show that net collections are at 3.86 lakh crore rupees which is higher than the corresponding period of last year.
  
  Net Direct Tax collections represent 39.4 per cent of the total budget estimates of Direct Taxes for Financial year 2017-18.
  
  The Ministry said, an amount of 1.77 lakh crore rupees has been received as Advance Tax up to 30th of September this year, reflecting a growth of 11.5 per cent over the corresponding period of last year.
  
• IndusInd acquires Bharat Financial in Rs 15,000-cr deal
  IndusInd Bank on 14th October said it agreed to merge with Bharat Financial Inclusion (BFIL) for 639 of the bank’s shares for 1,000 shares of the microfinance company, effective January 1, as the two saw complimentary network, customers and products focused on financial inclusion.
  
  The merger will add another Rs 10,000 crore from BFIL to the bank’s existing MFI portfolio of Rs 3,000 crore, Romesh Sobti, managing director of IndusInd Bank at a press conference.
  
  The deal will also bring down the microfinance company’s cost of funds by 3-4 per cent. He said the margin would remain the same and the benefit of lower cost of funds would be passed onto the customers.
  
• Centre planning to link panchayats with private firms to boost rural economy
  The Center is planning to facilitate partnership between gram panchayats and private companies to enhance economic activities in the rural areas.
  
  The rural development ministry has selected 50,000 gram panchayats across the country where women self-help groups are active and have basic banking infrastructure and households with savings accounts for this purpose.
  
  As part of the Mission Antyodaya, Rural Development Secretary Amarjeet Sinha gave a presentation to some start-ups on how these gram panchayats can play an important role in their respective businesses.
  
• RCom, Aircel put off merger plans
  Reliance Communications (RCom) and Aircel have called off talks to merge their mobile operations due to regulatory and legal hurdles. This casts doubts over the operators’ future as the merger was seen as vital for their survival in the competitive telecom sector. RCom and Aircel had signed binding agreements in September 2016 for the merger of Reliance’s mobile businesses with Aircel.
  
  For RCom, the merger was part of a plan to pare its Rs. 45,000-crore debt. Under this plan, post the merger with Aircel, Reliance was to sell 51 per cent stake in its tower assets to Brookfield for Rs. 11,000 crore. Without the Aircel deal, the tenancy ratio and the total number of towers will come down; the tower deal may therefore have to be renegotiated at a lower valuation.
  
• RBI keeps interest rates unchanged; lowers growth forecast to 6.7 %
  Reserve Bank on 4th October kept interest rate unchanged as was widely expected in view of upward trend in inflation even as it cut the growth forecast to 6.7 per cent for the current fiscal.
  
  Consequently, the repo rate, at which it lends to banks, will stand at 6 per cent. The reverse repo, at which RBI borrows from banks will continue to be at 5.75 per cent, it said at the fourth bi-monthly policy review.
  
  The bank lowered to 6.7 per cent the economic growth projection for 2017-18 from its August forecast of 7.3 per cent in view of issues with GST implementation and lower kharif output estimates.
  
  RBI also indicated a rise in inflation. It said the inflation is expected to rise from its current level and range between 4.2-4.6 percent in the second half of this year.
  
  Addressing the media after the release of the fourth bi-monthly policy decision of 2017-2018, RBI Governor Urjit Patel said the Monetary Policy Committee reviewed evolving macro-economic and financial conditions and decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 6% while maintaining a neutral policy stance.
  
  RBI governor expressed concern about the loss of momentum of growth in the early months of 2017-18 especially the persisting weakness in manufacturing. He further informed that the MPC noted that the implementation of the GST appears to have rendered short term prospects uncertain possibly delaying the revival of investment activity.
  
  He further added the teething problem related to the GST may get resolved relatively soon allowing growth to accelerate in the second half of 2017-2018.
  
  He said that the CPI inflation has risen since last MPC meeting. He added that factors that impart upside risks to the trajectory are implementation of farm loan waivers and salary and allowances award of seventh pay commission by the states.
  
  The RBI Governor Dr. Patel said the outlook of agriculture and allied activities is favourable and services sector performance has improved markedly. He said that it is has been reported that banks are turning away senior citizens and differently-abled. RBI governor instructed banks to put in place explicit mechanism to meet the needs of senior citizens and differently-abled so that they do not feel marginalized.
  
  Deputy Governor of RBI, Viral Acharya said it is too early to assess the loss in momentum in growth adding that real time activity indicators do not yet paint a clear picture. The next meeting of the MPC is scheduled on December 5 and 6, 2017.
  
• India's renewable energy capacity to double by 2022: IEA
  India's renewable energy capacity will more than double by 2022, which would be enough to surpass renewable expansion in the European Union for the first time, International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a report.
  
  The country's renewable energy installed capacity is 58.30 GW as per the recent government data. The government has an ambitious goal of increasing it to 175 GW by 2022 including 100 GW of solar and 60 GW of wind energy. IEA said the solar PV and wind together represent 90 percent of India's capacity growth as auctions yielded some of the world's lowest prices for both technologies.
  
• Govt has undertaken 87 reforms in 21 sectors in last three years
  According to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the NDA government has undertaken 87 reforms in 21 sectors in the last three years and the country has come out of policy paralysis to become a nation of policy makers and implementers.
  
  He said, his government had the courage to take bold decisions like demonetisation and implementation of GST, which the previous government lacked. Prime Minister Modi was inaugurating the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the Institute of Company Secretaries in New Delhi on 4th October.
  
  The Prime Minister said that in a crack down on the black money, registration of 2.1 lakh shell companies identified post note-ban has been cancelled.
  
  He said that in the policy and planning of the government, care is being taken to ensure that savings accrue to the poor and the middle class and their lives change for the better.
  
  Mr. Modi said there was a time when India was part of 'fragile-5' economies of the world and the BJP government pulled it out to make it the fastest growing economy. He also said, the government is aware that the growth has slowed and it is taking steps to improve it.
  
• RBI to allow inter-operability in prepaid payment instruments
  Users will be able to transfer funds from one mobile wallet to another as Reserve Bank is allowing inter-operability among prepaid payment instruments (PPI) very soon.
  
  PPIs which include the likes of e-wallets, gift cards and meal coupons are used as substitutes for cash. RBI on 5th October said in the 'Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies' that KYC compliant PPIs can inter-operate within six months of the revised directions.
  
  RBI will issue revised master directions on October 11 this year. The RBI said revised framework will pave the way for inter-operability into usage of PPIs, as per the vision for Payment and Settlement Systems in the country.
  
  Mobile wallet companies have supported RBI's latest move saying it will increase adoption of digital payments in the country.
  
• Govt announces major relief in GST for exporters, small and medium enterprises
  Government has announced major relief in GST for exporters and small and medium enterprises. The composition threshold limit under GST has been enhanced from 75 lak rupees to one crore. According to the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, under composite scheme, traders will pay one percent, manufacturers two percent and restaurants five percent. GST tax payers upto 1.5 crore rupees turnover can now file their return on quarterly basis, in place of monthly basis.
  
  Exporters will start getting refunds of their input credit for the month of July from 10th of October, and for August from 18th of this month. This is an interim arrangement which will be operated by Central and State Government officials. Exporters will have e-wallet from 1st April, 2018 for getting their refunds.
  
  The Council discussed e-way bill. Karnataka is already having good experience with it and after first of January it will go to other states. Items including Khakhra, plain chapati, food packets used in ICDS scheme and unbranded Namkeen will now be taxed at 5 percent instead of 18 percent.
  
  GST rate on unbranded medicines have also been reduced to 12 percent to 5 percent. Tax on parts of diesel engine has been reduced from 28 to 18 percent.
  
  To contain the cost of irrigation schemes involving high amount of labour, GST rate has been brought down to 5 percent. The Finance Minister announced that a concept paper on GST rate fitment has been approved by GST council. He said, the council has formed a Group of state finance ministers to look into different issues.
  
• Finance Ministry makes Aadhaar mandatory for small saving schemes
  The government has made biometric identification Aadhaar mandatory for all post office deposits, Public Provident Fund, National Savings Certificate scheme and Kisan Vikas Patra.
  
  Finance Ministry has issued four separate Gazette notifications making Aadhaar mandatory for opening all post office deposit accounts, Public Provident Fund, National Savings Certificate scheme and Kisan Vikas Patra deposits.
  
  Existing depositors who have not provided Aadhaar number at the time of application for such deposit "shall submit his Aadhaar number to the post office savings bank or deposit office concerned, on or before December 31, 2017.
  
  The government has insisted on quoting Aadhaar for bank deposits, obtaining mobile phone and several other utilities to weed out benami deals and black money.
  
• Petrol, diesel prices slashed by Rs 2 per litre as government cuts excise duty
  Petrol and Diesel will be cheaper by two rupees per litre from 3rd October. The Central government reduced the basic excise duty on Petrol and Diesel by two rupees per litre to cushion the impact of rising international prices of crude oil and retail prices of petrol and diesel. The reduction will apply on both branded and unbranded Petrol and Diesel. According to Finance Ministry the revenue loss on account of these reductions will be about 26 thousand crore rupees in a full year and about 13 thousand crore rupees during the remaining part of the current financial year.
  
  The Ministry said, due to the increase in the international prices of Petrol and Diesel, during the last few weeks, the retail selling price of Petrol had risen to 70. 83 rupees per litre and Diesel 59.07 rupees in Delhi. This rise was also reflected in WPI inflation in August this year. The rising prices of the two petroleum products had evoked criticism of the government by opposition parties.
  
• Infrastructure sector growth rises to 4.9% in Aug; highest in 5 months
  Helped by robust performance of the coal and electricity sectors, the country's infrastructure sector grew at a five-month high of four point nine per cent in August this year. The infrastructure sector had grown 3.1 per cent in August last year, and 2.6 per cent in July this year.
  
  Official data released on 3rd October showed that production of coal spurted 15.3 percent in August, output of natural gas increased 4.2 percent, and electricity generation jumped 10.3 per cent during the month. Refinery production grew 2.4 percent in August, and steel output grew 3 per cent. But crude oil, fertiliser and cement recorded negative growth in the month under review
  
• India to outperform in shrimp exports in 2017: UN report
  Amid growing uncertainties in the seafood trade, exporters from India have now a reason to cheer as the country is expected to be the standout performer in 2017 along with Chile.
  
  Indian exports is set to surge by 41 per cent more due to bumper harvesting of vannamei shrimp.
  
  According to Food and Agricultural Organization, of the world's major seafood exporters, India and Chile are expected to be the standout performers in 2017. In India's case, bumper harvests of aquacultured vannamei shrimp is the main factor behind expectations of a $2.3 billion increase in Indian seafood exports in 2017. The report on seafood demand analysed the market situation until June 2017.
  
  The report will provide respite to Indian exporters at a time when the European Union (EU), the third largest market, is contemplating a complete ban on Indian shrimp imports over quality issues.
  
  For Chile, a combination of a recovery in salmon harvest volumes and the high price level for salmon products will equate to a projected rise of $1.6 billion, marking a rise of 30 per cent, in export value, it added.
  
  Exports from Ecuador primarily include shrimp and tuna, while Peru exports fishmeal and fish oil. Norway is primarily known for the export of salmon, ground ish and small pelagics. Given that exports from these three countries are also expected to swell this year, a substantial increase in the overall yearly exports is logical. On the imports side, both developed and developing markets are expected to perform well in 2017.
  
  Driven by robust demand growth worldwide, a substantial proportion of global production will be exported. The value of world trade in fish and fishery products is expected to increase by a projected 5.8 per cent to $150.9 billion in 2017.
  
  As per an earlier report of FAO, India had emerged as the largest exporter of shrimps in the world by exporting 438,500 tonnes in 2016, marking a 14.5 per cent increase over the last year. The top five shrimp exporters to the international market in 2016 were India, Vietnam, Ecuador, Indonesia and Thailand.