CURRENT AFFAIRS 10th-11th August, 2014

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CURRENT AFFAIRS 11th August, 2014

1. Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is set to launch of Real Estate and Infrastructure Investment Trusts, commonly referred to as REITs and InvIT. It has allowed foreign institutional investor (FII) participation and reduced the minimum asset size for a REIT to Rs. 500 crore. The trusts will attract nearly Rs 1 lakh crore to the real estate and infrastructure sector.

2. Reserve Bank of India has allowed Non-resident Indians to buy property in India jointly with their spouse holding foreign passports. It has relaxed the restrictions under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), which make such acquisitions as a special one needing a prior permission from the RBI.

3. The finance ministry is likely to dilute the scope of the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAARs) to boost investor interests. GAARs are intended to prevent businesses from reducing tax liability through legal loopholes and arrangements that are legal in letter but not in spirit.

4. SEBI has notified norms that will allow sharing of Know-your-Client details with entities regulated by other financial sector regulators. This will facilitate a common KYC system for the entire financial sector. KYC information of nearly 2 crore investors in the capital markets is available on the centralised KRA (KYC registration agency) system of SEBI.

5. The Odisha government plans to create a land bank of 50,000 acres, an area that could notionally contain ten 12mt steel plants. This is to boost the development of downstream and value-addition industries in clusters and have a single-window mechanism for clearance of new industrial projects.

6. The multi-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor being built through the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) is ready for implementation. The corridor connect China's Xinjiang with Pakistan's Gwadar Port through the POK.

CURRENT AFFAIRS 10th August, 2014

1. Survey of India (SoI) has alleged that the Internet giant Google continued to “pollute” the Web with classified material despite being warned against it. Google had not taken permission from SoI before organising a mapping competition in February-March 2013 in which they asked citizens to map their neighbourhoods. It did not refrain from mentioning classified sites even after having been asked not to do so.

2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation two hydel power projects in Leh and Kargil in Jammu & Kashmir. These projects are the 44 MW Chutak hydro-electric project in Kargil district and the 45 MW Nimoo Bazgo project in Leh district in J& K. He would also lay foundation stone for the first power transmission line from Leh to Kargil and Kargil to Srinagar.

3. Delhi Police has initiated a pilot project wherein you can reach a police officer and place a complaint over WhatsApp. The new WhatsApp helpline number can be used not only to call and register your complaint but also send a recorded audio or video clip if any police man harasses a person or demands bribe. The new helpline is the brainchild of Delhi Police commissioner BS Bassi who wants the force to be corruption free.

4. India's first floating solar power panel will come up on a waterbody beside the Eco Park at Rajarhat New Town in Kolkata by November. The project will be implemented under central funding by the Arka Ignou College of Renewable Energy. The New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA), early next year, will also set up a canal-top solar power panel on a link-up canal flowing near Eco Park that will generate 500KW solar power every day.

5. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended the 47th Asean foreign ministers meeting in Nay Pyi Taw, the capital of Myanmar. This is the first time in 17 years after the admission to Asean that Myanmar has Chaired the grouping. The negotiations will be followed by the Asean-India Agreement on Trade in Services and Investment.