Current Affairs For Bank, IBPS Exams - 24 June, 2014

Current Affairs For Bank, IBPS Exams

• The budget will be centred on growth-promoting policies and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will soon unveil new Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policies that the government is working on, Finance Secretary Arvind Mayaram said.
The government would focus on the infrastructure sector so that manufacturing that had slumped from 12 per cent growth to 0 per cent now could be revived, Mr. Mayaram further added. He explained that for this the system needed to gear up, especially for de-clogging the infrastructure sector as the new government had clearly stated that the system of project approvals was to be simplified and timelines were to be set so that there were no delays and so that then both domestic and foreign investments could return to the manufacturing sector.

In a pioneering move, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel announced 33 per cent reservation for women in the police force.It is necessary to empower women for their uplift in the society.It will be implemented in all cadres.
Gujarat will be the first state in India to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in the police force.The sanctioned posts in Gujarat Police is around 60,000, around 10,000 more than its present strength. There are around 2500 policewomen in the State at present. If the government manages to fill all 33 per cent posts for women against the sanctioned strength, the State would have around 19,800 women in the force.

After the sharp opposition to its Railway fare hike, the NDA government has decided to hold steady the administered prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene. This decision, confirmed by Oil Ministry ,could push up the annual subsidy bill by about Rs. 20,000 crore.
Over the last fortnight, the Indian crude basket (that comprises 30 per cent Brent and 70 per cent Dubai grade) spiked to $112.4 per barrel from $107 per barrel, worsening the macroeconomy headache for Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
The growing subsidy bill will widen the fiscal deficit and disturb the budget arithmetic. A $10-per-barrel price surge normally widens the fiscal deficit by Rs. 40,000 crore. A stable crude price is one of the key stated assumptions on which the United Progressive Alliance government had based its interim budget estimates. Its fiscal deficit target for this year is 4.1 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product.
The surge in the inflation rate that the diesel and petrol price hikes are likely to cause is by about 30 bps-90 bps. Wholesale inflation was 6 per cent in May.
Though, the Current Account Deficit (CAD) is at comfortable level, every $10/barrel rise in the Indian basket will widen it by $ 9billion-10 billion. Crude accounts for more than a third of India’s total imports. The CAD was 1.7 per cent of the GDP in 2013-14.

From July 11, Air India will provide seamless transfers and wider choice of flights following its membership of Star Alliance, consisting of 26 international carriers.
The decision to admit Air India was taken at a meeting of the Star Alliance Chief Executive Board (CEB) in London. Air India users will have a wider reach because Alliance members operate 21,900 flights daily to 195 countries.

Australian Open winner Stan Wawrinka reached the second round at Wimbledon on Tuesday, that also saw defending women’s champion Marion Bartoli made a tearful return to Centre Court.
Wawrinka, the World No.3 — but seeded five at the All England Club in a reflection of his grasscourt struggles — fired 18 aces and 39 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 win over Joao Sousa.Wawrinka has never got beyond the fourth round, and was without a win in the tournament since 2011.
Roger Federer began his campaign for an eighth title here with a confident 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 win over Paolo Lorenzi. Lorenzi’s defeat meant the 32-year-old has still to win a match at a Grand Slam in 11 years, and his record at the majors of no wins and 13 losses is the second worst in history.