CURRENT AFFAIRS 5-6th Nov., 2014

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CURRENT AFFAIRS 6th Nov., 2014

1. At the India Economic Summit organised by the World Economic Forum, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the government would look at privatising some of the loss-making public-sector undertakings. He also hinted at easier norms for land acquisition and labour law reforms.

2. Union government has reconstituted the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change to coordinate the National Action Plan for Assessment, Adaptation and Mitigation of Climate Change. The 18-member council retains R.K. Pachauri, Chairperson of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change. The council was constituted first in 2007, but it had not met for over three years.

3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was ranked 15th on the Forbes list of world’s most powerful people which was topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin who pipped his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama for a second year in a row. The list also included the names of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani at 36th, ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal at 57th and Microsoft’s Indian-born CEO Satya Nadella at 64th.

4. India and Russia have agreed on negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India & the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan & Russia for the first time. The agreement was mutually agreed upon during the 20th session of India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission (IRIGC) in New Delhi.

5. Hockey India chief Narinder Batra was awarded the prestigious President's Award by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) at Morocco. The President's Awards were presented to Narinder Batra and Italian Valentina Quaranta for their lengthy and valuable services to the sports.

CURRENT AFFAIRS 5th Nov., 2014

1. National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has lowered India’s GDP growth forecast to 5 per cent in the current financial year on weak economic fundamentals and uncertainties in growth prospects. It had earlier projected that the Indian economy was likely to grow at 5.7 per cent in 2014-15.

2. Finance minister Arun Jaitley has said that Indian companies are expected to pump in as much as Rs 14,000 crore for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in 2014-15. Under the new Companies Act, certain class of profitable companies are required to spend at least 2 per cent of their three-year average annual net profit for CSR activities.

3. Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi accepted Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung’s recommendation to dissolve the 70-member House in Delhi. Delhi has been under President’s rule since February this year. The decision will pave the way for fresh elections in the capital.

4. Finance minister Arun Jaitley gave India Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 award to Hanumappa Sudarshan of Karuna Trust.

5. Securities and Exchange Board of India has proposed that bank funding to listed small and medium enterprises (SMEs) be given a priority lending tag. The proposal has received an in-principle approval from the Union finance ministry and now needs Reserve Bank of India’s approval. By RBI norms, banks compulsory have to lend 40 per cent of advances to the so-called priority sector. The move will help to ease the financing needs of smaller companies.