CURRENT AFFAIRS 9-10th Dec., 2014

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CURRENT AFFAIRS 10th Dec., 2014

1. State Bank of India launched a tool SBI Composite Index which will primarily track manufacturing activity and provide future economic trends. SBI index has been developed on the basis of the bank’s internal loan portfolio reflecting the credit demand in the country. It is published monthly and yearly.

2. Climate Change Performance Index ranks emissions and climate policies of the 58 highest CO2 emitters worldwide. It ranked Denmark as the best performing nation and India was ranked 31 on the index, a moderate performer.

3. World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled against the U.S. imposing high duty on imports of certain Indian steel products. The move would help domestic manufacturers which had been affected due to inconsistent practices by the U.S.

4. Former Cuban Leader Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was awarded the Confucius Peace Prize 2014 for his important contributions in eliminating nuclear war after his retirement.

5. Child rights campaigner of India Kailash Satyarthi and Education activist of Pakistan Malala Yousafzai received the Nobel Peace Prize for the year 2014 for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.

CURRENT AFFAIRS 9th Dec., 2014

1. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley may propose about Rs 13,000 crore in Central Sales Tax (CST) compensation to states during his meet with state finance ministers and gather support for the Constitution Amendment Bill for a goods & services tax (GST). Centre is planning to pass the bill in the winter session and implement it from 2016.

2. World Economic Forum (WEF) released the 2013 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index. Switzerland topped the list in terms of travel and tourism competitiveness and India has been placed at 65th position in the 2013 Index. The theme of the 2013 Index is Reducing Barriers to Economic Growth and Job Creation.

3. Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will come out with a new set of norms to enable issuance and listing of municipal bonds. These bonds can be issued by urban local bodies to finance infrastructure such as water supply and sanitation. Currently there is an existing framework for issuance of muni bonds by the ministry of urban development but there are no unified norms to bolster this nascent market.

4. China has started a major water supply project in Sri Lanka which will deepen its relationship with Colombo.

5. Centre and States couldn’t reach any agreement on the nature of the body that should replace the Planning Commission. Centre would hold further consultations to decide on the alternative mechanism to transfer funds from the Centre to the States for Central Plan Assistance.