Current Affairs For Bank, IBPS Exams - 05 May, 2015

Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams

Australia's central bank cut interest rates for the second time this year, seeking to buttress the economy against sliding mining investment while heading off a harmful increase in the local dollar.
The currency did initially drop after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) trimmed its cash rate a quarter point to a fresh all time trough of 2.0 percent.

The Kishore Biyani-led Future Retail announced its merger with the retail arm of Sunil Mittal's Bharti, just a day after Aditya Birla Group made public its retail consolidation plans. The Board of Directors of Kishore Biyani-owned Future Retail approved the consolidation and realignment of its retail operations with Bharti Retail Ltd.
To streamline the operations resulting from the consolidation, the respective boards of directors propose to demerge the retail business of Future Retail to Bharti Retail and to demerge the infrastructure business of Bharti Retail to Future Retail
After the demerger becomes effective, the business will be operated through two distinct entities. The first, to be known as Future Retail, will host the retail operations of both entities while the second, to be known as Future Enterprises, will host the infrastructure, investments and assets of both the companies.

State-run companies Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) would set up an ultra mega steel plant (UMSP) in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region.
The greenfield project had proposed at Dilmili—about 35 kms from the divisional headquarters of Bastar. The plant would have a 3 million tonne per annum capacity and would come up with an investment of Rs 18,000 crore. Both the companies and the Chhattisgarh government would ink agreements for the project in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who would be visiting Bastar on May 9.

With the aim to make home more affordable for the people of Maharashtra, the state government is planning to start a ‘ housing fund’, where one can contribute a fixed amount of monthly earning for a certain period.
In the policy, the state housing department has proposed a housing fund, where a self- employed person or a government or private employee desirous of becoming a member, can contribute a fixed percentage of his/her salary in this fund, which will be managed by a fund manager chosen through competitive bidding.
After 10 years of contribution, the employee can apply for a house in a government scheme and the balance in this fund to his credit shall be his share of the cost towards the house and the balance amount can be borrowed. The housing fund also proposes to offer interest equivalent to a PF account and the state government will approach the Centre to make contributions to it tax-free.

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has constituted a high- level committee to secure confidential tax data, obtained under mutual exchange with US authorities, as part of India's compliance measures for signing the much awaited Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).
The seven-member panel will be headed by the Member (Income Tax) of CBDT who is of the rank of a special secretary in the finance ministry. Under FATCA, US government has Inter-governmental Agreement for sharing of information with various countries where American individuals and companies have accounts and other assets. Under the pact, the exchange of information between the countries will be subject to a confidentiality clause.