Current Affairs For Bank, IBPS Exams - 28 December, 2013

Current Affairs For Bank, IBPS Exams

28 December 2013

Tax breaks to attract pension money to market

Terming tax benefits necessary to attract pension money to the capital markets, Sebi has sought a clarity on taxation policy to be applied to retirement-focused funds to tap this huge pool of capital.
The total size of pension market in India is estimated to have stood at over Rs 1.5 lakh crore in 2010, while it is expected to rise to over Rs 2 lakh crore by 2015 and further to close to Rs 3 lakh crore in 2020 and more than Rs 4 lakh crore by 2025.
This includes individual retirement money, provident fund and other small savings and is based on a study conducted by a government-appointed expert panel.
However, the share of this vast capital pool is almost negligible in the equity markets, although a lot of foreign pension funds including from the US and Canada regularly invest in Indian markets.

Drop in India's forex reserves

India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves declined by $12.6 million to $295.50 billion for the week ended Dec 20, according to data by ReserveBank of India (RBI).
This is the second consecutive week of decline in the country's forex reserves.
The foreign exchange reserves had declined by $192.8 million to $295.51 billion for the week ended Dec 31 after posting strong gains in the previous five weeks largely due to the special swap window opened by the RBI.
According to the RBI, the foreign currency assets, expressed in the US dollar terms, include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies held in reserve, such as the pound sterling, euro and yen.
The value of special drawing rights (SDRs) fell by $9.1 million to $4.43 billion during the week under review.
However, India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rose by $91.2 million to $1.99 billion.
The value of India's gold reserves remained unchanged at $20.60 billion.

Europe’s biggest economy by 2030: Britain

Britain will surpass France and Germany to become Europe’s biggest economy by 2030, according to a study released.

British research group the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) predicts that Britain’s output will outstrip France’s by 2018 before displacing Germany by around 2030.

But it will be overtaken by India and Brazil over the same time period, said the study.Germany is forecast to lose its position as the largest Western European economy to the UK around 2030 because of the UK’s faster population growth and lesser dependence on the other European economies.

Hockey World League Final

The training camp of the senior men core probables for the World Hockey League Final to be held in the capital from January 10-18 will begin at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium .
India is placed in Pool A with Germany, England and New Zealand, while Australia, Netherlands, Belgium and Argentina are placed in Pool B.
India will open its campaign against England on January 10 followed by New Zealand on January 11 and Germany on January 13.
Playing against all top teams of the World in this tournament will be good exposure for the Indian Men Hockey team prior to their preparations for the FIH Men's World Cup to be held in The Hague, Netherlands from May 31 to June 15.

Mitchell Johnson’s impressive international comeback

Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson may reportedly cap his impressive international comeback by being only the fourth Australian bowler to collect 40 or more wickets in a Test series against England in the 130 years the two combatants have gone head to head.
The three other Australians to have that honour are Terry Alderman, who claimed 42 in 1981 and 41 in 1989, Rodney Hogg (41 in 1978/79) and Shane Warne (40 in 2005), with Alderman and Hogg making the mark in six-match series.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Johnson, with 28 to his name with an innings remaining in Melbourne and the fifth Test in Sydney next Friday, is within sight of entering that category, having reached speeds of 155.8km/h in front of a world-record crowd on Boxing Day and continuing his burst on the second day with three scalps.