Current Affairs For Bank, IBPS Exams - 25 July, 2015

Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams

25 July 2015

:: National ::

Hurdles to ‘Make in India’

Public sector agencies in the strategic areas of aerospace and defence on Friday said it may be a tall order in the near term to reverse the 70 per cent import of military hardware.
However, they have started changing production strategies to meet the challenge.
To meet the government’s ‘Make in India’ mandate, public defence manufacturing majors are ready to source more from small and medium industries but suppliers are falling short on facilities, quality and time lines, was the refrain at the Aerospace & Defence Manufacturing Summit organised by Bengaluru-based Society of Indian Aerospace Technologies and Industries (SIATI).
V. Udaya Bhaskar, Chairman & Managing Director of Bharat Dynamics Ltd, Hyderabad, said a paradigm shift would be needed to get quality components on time. Public and private sectors must work in tandem.
In recent years, BDL had outsourced up to 80 per cent of the work for Akash and other missiles. “Now we have to outsource high-end sub-assemblies. The private sector must also gear up,” he said.

Union environment minister non-committal on air pollution-induced deaths

Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday refused to take a stand on whether air pollution in Delhi was indeed causing 80 deaths every day as per his earlier submission to the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
In a press conference outside Parliament here, at the conclusion of a review meeting with National Capital Region States – Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana, he said the Union Environment Ministry had set itself yet another three-month deadline to tackle air pollution in the capital.
Mr. Javadekar said action plans will be formulated to tackle the four main focus areas — agriculture, construction waste, demolition waste and vehicular pollution. “Air quality monitoring stations will be installed in every state and by every concerned organisation,” he said. The earlier three-month deadline, set by the Ministry in April, to take proactive measures to tackle Delhi’s air pollution ended on July 22, prompting Friday’s review meeting.

:: Business ::

Now RBI’s independence, is in govt’s hand

If indeed the second draft of the Indian Financial Code, released on Thursday for public comments, is implemented in its entirety, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor will have no veto power in the proposed seven-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that will have a dominant say in setting interest rates and that is not good news for the economy.
The matter of veto power is highly critical given the proposal is that four out of the seven members in the MPC should be from the government’s side.
This means the full control to chart the course of monetary policy will be with the government and not the RBI. The monetary policy, as we know it today, will cease to exist.
This will effectively undermine the independence of the central bank — an institution that has guarded the economy well from the pre-independent days, through multiple crisis-phases.
The RBI is probably among the few public institutions India can be proud of with impeccable integrity and proven track record. The government shouldn’t do the blunder of killing the RBI’s power to have a final say on the monetary policy.Reuters
This was clear when the finance ministry tried to cut the central bank down to size by mooting the idea to shift the power of debt management from the institution.
The decision was, however, reversed later when RBI put up a stiff opposition. Compared with the separation of debt management, denying the RBI the veto in MPC is a much more serious issue. If the government sticks to the plan, it can run into a serious, direct face-off with the central bank this time around.
At present, the monetary policy is framed by the central bank after factoring in the recommendations of an expert advisory committee, assessing multiple economic indicators in domestic and global markets and, finally, consulting with the finance minister on the broader policy direction. The final decision, however, rests with the governor.
But, under the proposed framework, RBI governor will be one of the several members of the committee and the government will dictate the policy.
In effect, the power to decide the country’s monetary policy will be shifted from an independent, credible institution to the political interests of the government, for whom monetary policy will then be among the many tools under disposal to work operate in line with its political agenda.
The difference is that the RBI undertakes the complex process of monetary policy formulation keeping in mind the long-term good of the economy, regardless of the immediate consequences, sometimes unpleasant to the ruling government.
Previous RBI governors D Subbarao and Y V Reddy, who have preferred to describe the tensions with the governments on policy issues as ‘constructive tensions’, has batted for sufficient autonomy in its functions in the larger interest of the country.
To safeguard the economy, it is highly critical that central bank enjoys dominance in policy decisions.

What is the Indian Financial Code? How does it work?

The Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) was set up on March 24, 2011, for re-writing the Code to regulate the financial sector and introduce principles for financial regulation and the constitution, objectives, powers and interaction of financial agencies.
Its aim was also to bring about coherence and efficacy in the financial regulatory framework.
In 2013, the commission, headed by Justice BN Srikrishna, submitted its report in two volumes, which included 'Analysis and Recommedation' and 'Draft Law'.
The revised draft in twenty parts will strive to regulate financial agencies.
Under this Act, the Financial Sector Appellate Tribunal was established to exercise the jurisdiction, powers and authority conferred upon it.
According to the Act, the general direction and management of the financial agencies will be vested in the respective boards -- the Financial Authority Board for the Financial Authority, the Reserve Bank Board for the Reserve Bank, the Redress Agency Board, with respect to the Redress Agency, the Corporation Board for the Corporation; the Council Board for the Council and the Debt Agency Board, with respect to the Debt Agency.
The Code deals with the establishment of financial agencies, establishment and structure of the tribunal, allocation and regulation of financial services.
A part of it discusses the functioning of financial agencies, such as boards of financial agencies, strength and composition of boards; decision making, advisory councils, accountability mechanisms and funding for financial agencies.
It also mentions the disposal of applications, information and inspections, investigations and offences as executive functions of financial agencies. These financial agencies also have quasi-judicial functions -- administrative law, show cause notices and orders, enforcement actions, procedure for enforcement actions and penalties.
Moreover, the Code also clarifies financial consumer protection, prudential regulation, contracts, trading and market abuse, capital controls, resolution of financial service providers, financial stability and development council, development (provisions for review), public debt management agency, offences, functions, powers and duties of tribunal, miscellaneous, and schedules.

1st time gulf country qualify for World Twenty20

Oman qualified for next year's Twenty20 World Cup in India with a five-wicket victory over Namibia in Ireland.
It will be the first time the Gulf country, coached by former Sri Lanka captain Duleep Mendis, have reached a major international tournament.
Afghanistan beat Papua New Guinea by six wickets to claim the other qualifying place and book a spot in the tournament for the fourth time in a row.
Scotland, Ireland, Hong Kong and the Netherlands will also join the 10 test-playing nations in the 16-team tournament.