CURRENT AFFAIRS 18th JULY, 2014

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1. RBI has allowed existing credit card companies, non-banking finance companies, mobile telephone companies, supermarket chains, real sector cooperatives and public sector entities to set up 'payment banks'. The minimum paid up capital requirement of payment and small banks has been fixed at Rs 100 crore, of which the promoters’ initial contribution will be at least 40 per cent. Payment banks can have current and savings deposits but cannot lend and can only invest in government securities.

2. The Department of Information Technology and Electronics ( DeitY) . is launching Hindi language domain names. this Independence Day. .IN domain name will be changed to .Bharat by the .IN Registry, a nodal agency of NIXI. The move could boost Internet governance and access in rural and remote areas. Government further plans to introduce other local languages such as Bengali, Punjabi, Gujrati, Tamil and Urdu.

3. A WTO dispute settlement panel . is formed to examine a complaint by the US against India's domestic content requirements under the country's solar power programme. US claims that the India's solar programme favours domestic industries and is against WTO principles of national treatment to foreign investors.

4. Finance Minister Arun Jaitely presented Rs 36,776 crore budget for Delhi in Parliament as the state is currently under the President's rule. No new tax was imposed and subsidy was given to small power consumers.

5. Seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are collaborating with Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to set up India's first home-grown virtual technology university. . The virtual university could provide a degree directly and also tie up with other universities to transfer credits for a degree.

6. The Finance Ministry proposes a major disinvestment plan. which is to be completed in 3 months time after cabinet's approval. It estimates that the sales in the already listed Public Sector Units (PSUs) will raise Rs. 43,000 crore. .