INDIAN ECONOMY THIS MONTH World Current News March 2014

--) March 2: The government decided to include the Jat community in the central list of Other Backward Class (OBC‘s) in nine states, a move that is expected to benefit about nine crore people from the community.
--) March 2: The Finance Minister has allowed retirement fund body Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to become a member of a stock exchange although its trustees oppose parking even a part of its over Rs five lakh crore corpus in equities.
--) March 2: Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Gulam Nabi Azad dedicated the 978 bedded All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar to the people of Odisha.
--) March 3: AIIMS has started issuing Unique Health Identification numbers to its patients with a view to electronically tracking medical care facilities provided to them and also to have a systematised database in place.
--) March 3: Now you will no longer have to dial 139 or visit the rail website to check the status of your waitlisted ticket as the railways will now send booking status messages to passengers on mobile phones, if the tickets get confirmed before the journey.
--) March 5: Assam became the first state in India to observe State Child Protection Day.
Note: Internationally Child Protection Day is observed on 19 November every year. It was launched by the Women‘s World Summit Foundation (WWSF) in 2000.
--) March 5: The government launched the 'Maulana Azad Sehat Scheme' which would see a 'Sehat Card' being issued to each minority student enrolled in institutions aided by the Maulana Azad Education Foundation.
--) March 5: The government has decided to hike interest rates on fixed deposit schemes offered by post offices by up to 0.2 per cent.
Note: The rates apply to post office saving schemes and the return on 1-2 years deposits has been hiked by 20 basis points from 8.2 percent to 8.4 percent.
--) March 7: North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) launched a new health scheme Stri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna for women.
Note: The Scheme aims to bring services closer for those living in rural areas and unauthorized colonies.
--) March 14: India‘s economy is likely to grow at 5.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal on higher agriculture output and pick up in the manufacturing activities, Prime Minister‘s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) chairman C Rangarajan said.
--) March 14: Wholesale price based inflation dropped to a nine-month low of 4.68 per cent in February this year, from 5.05 per cent in January, as prices of kitchen staples like onions and potatoes eased.
--) March 19: Global ratings agency Standard & Poor‘s said an increasing focus by India Inc on lowering debt is likely to improve their credit profiles.
--) March 19: Gujarat has been ranked number one in a list of India's 20 largest states in terms of ―economic freedom‖.
Note: The index on ―economic freedom‖ takes into account governance, growth, citizens‘ rights, and labour and business regulations.
--) March 22: Mobile Commerce Solutions Ltd (MCSL), a pre-paid/remittance provider with the m-Pesa platform, has started a pan-India inter-bank money transfer service by joining hands with the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) of NPCI.
--) March 26: In a bid to woo tribals ahead of Lok Sabha polls, the government raised the workdays under its flagship rural employment guarantee programme MNREGA from 100 to 150 for tribals, a move that will benefit 14 lakh families.
Note: The Union Cabinet decision will come into effect from April this year.
--) March 30: India's economy is likely to grow 5.5 per cent in 2014-15 as industrial output will recover to expand at 3.3 per cent.

--) March 31: State-owned power equipment maker Bhel has secured Rs 125 crore contract for setting up a 120 MW Hydro Electric Project in Bhel.

World Current News June 2013 Business News Economy News 2013

US files criminal complaint against Edward Snowden over leaks

US prosecutors have filed a sealed criminal complaint charging Edward Snowden, who disclosed American telephone and internet surveillance programs, with espionage, theft and conversion of government property, the Washington Post reported on Friday.

United States also has asked Hong Kong to detain the former National Security Agency contractor on a provisional arrest warrant, the Post reported, citing unnamed US officials. Snowden is reported to be in hiding in Hong Kong.

The criminal complaint was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, where Snowden's former employer, Booz Allen Hamilton

The prosecutors now have 60 days to file an indictment and can then take steps to secure Snowden's extradition from Hong Kong for a criminal trial in the United States

World Music Day

World Music Day also called Fête de la Musique was observed on 21 June 2013 across the world.

The World Music Day celebrated on June 21 has become a worldwide phenomenon as countries across the world rejoice in their own unique way to celebrate the day.

This day is celebrated to promote peace and spread goodwill through music. The main idea behind the day is to bring music out onto the streets.

For the first time, this day was observed in 1982 in Paris as the Fête de la Musique and since then has become an international phenomenon holding the same set of principles for being celebrated.

GMR seeks $1.4 billion in damages from Maldives

Indian infrastructure major GMR on Friday sought a compensation of $1.4 billion from Maldives for the "wrongful termination" of its 25-year contract to develop and operate the Male International Airport.

Sources said the arbitration process will go on and the Maldivian government along with the Maldivian Airport Company Limited, both parties in the suit, will give their responses.

over $500 million airport project contract awarded to GMR for modernising and operating the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), signed in 2010 during the previous regime of Mohamed Nasheed, was "unilaterally" terminated by the current government on November 27 last year.

Maldivian government's stand was that the contract was terminated because it was "void ab initio"" (invalid from the outset) and hence the government does not have to bear any compensation for the termination.

Earlier this week, Maldives' anti-graft watchdog had ruled out any corruption in the leasing of the international airport to GMR.

India and Iraq agree to renew bilateral ties

India and Iraq agreed to revive bilateral ties and intensify cooperation by moving beyond buyer-seller relation, with Baghdad inviting New Delhi to invest more in the oil-rich Arab country, scarred by years of conflict.

Allaying India's concern on the security situation in the country, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said, "There are many places in the country which are peaceful and stable. We invite Indian companies to invest in such areas, like Southern Iraq."

Khurshid, who is the first External Affairs Minister to visit Iraq in 23 years, said, "It is my highest priority to participate in rebuilding the infrastructure of Iraq. The priority we are giving to Iraq will become more intense and stronger."

The two leaders discussed economy, trade and cooperation in various areas like Information Technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, infrastructure and security.

In recent years, India's import of oil from Iraq has seen a significant rise. Iraq has the world's third largest proven oil reserves and it's trying to increase its oil production which was disrupted due to years of war and violence in the country.

Currently Iraq supplies 50 percent of its oil to Asian countries and it plans to take the figure to 80 percent by 2030, according to officials.

Till recently, Iran was India's second-biggest crude oil supplier after Saudi Arabia, meeting about 12 percent of the country's needs.

But India has reduced its dependence on Iranian oil in the wake of US and European sanctions on the import of oil from the Islamic Republic.

India imported about 13.3 million tonnes of crude oil from Iran in 2012-13 fiscal, down from 18.1 million tonnes shipped in the previous financial year.

Iraq, which currently exports around 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil, is looking to boost its energy output, with target of overall production capacity of 9 million bpd by 2017.

Australia announces 'Best Jobs In The World' winners

Australia on Friday selected a Californian as "Chief Funster" and an Irish Internet entrepreneur as " Outback Adventurer" in its " Best Jobs in the World" competition, a campaign that attracted 330,000 applicants from 196 nations.

Hopefuls had to upload a 30-second video explaining why they were best for the job, with Irishman Allan Dixon -- who will journey through the Outback, be immersed in indigenous culture and get up close with Australian wildlife for his job -- using social media to enlist the support of sprinter Usain Bolt, adventurer Bear Grylls, TV host Conan O'Brien and actor Hugh Jackman for his bid.

Sonia asks Cong MPs, MLAs to donate 1 month salary

Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday directed all party MPs and MLAs to donate their one month salary for relief work in the flood-ravaged Uttarakhand as the magnitude of the flash flood tragedy continued to unfold taking the death toll in the rain fury to 207.

Gandhi also directed all party MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to give Rs 10 lakh each from their MPLAD fund for carrying out relief work there," party's communication department in-charge Ajay Maken said.

MBA-MCA admissions cut-off mark reinstated

Gujarat government has decided to follow the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) norms regarding MCA admissions this year. 

According to the AICTE norms, candidates from the general stream should have at least 50% marks, while reserved category students should have 45% marks.

The merit list will be prepared taking the Common Management Aptitude Test (CMAT) exam results into account.

There are 132 colleges in Gujarat offering MBA courses with 12,000 seats and about 78 colleges offering MCA courses with 7,800 seats.

There are 16 colleges with 1200 seats offering the degree course.

Delhi to host South Asian Junior Table Tennis

The Capital will host the South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships next month instead of Ranchi after the organisers in Jharkhand expressed their inability to the stage the event.

The 20th-22nd July event will take place at Indira Gandhi Sports Complex. The Table Tennis Federation of India Secretary General Dhanraj Choudhary said that the Jharkhand unit secretary has expressed his inability to be involved in the tournament because if his illness.

The venue has been shifted to Delhi and we took this decision around 15 days ago. The secretary of Jharkhand unit is not keeping good health and so he has expressed his inability to host the tournament.

This is an important tournament and the winner and runner-up country will get direct qualification in the Asian Junior Championships,

India are the defending champions of the tournament.

New MA, MPhil, PhD courses in TISS Guwahati this year

Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Guwahati will be introducing new courses in masters in arts, and MPhil and PhD programmes.

The institute also plans to introduce joint research programmes with Assam Engineering College, based on Jawaharlal Nehru University's programmes.

"The five-year integrated master's programme comprises three-year graduation and two-year post-graduation in social sciences. 

The campus in dedicated to the northeast and 66 per cent seats are reserved for students from the region. The remaining 34 per cent seats are for students from other states of the country. 

Tuition fee is waived for scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST) students with low family income. 

Their hostel, food and other expenses are met by the institute," said professor and TISS director S Parasuraman.

Saina crashes out of Singapore Open

Saina Nehwal crashed out of the women’s singles quarterfinals at the Singapore Open Super Series in Singapore on Friday, losing to Indonesia’s Lindaweni Fanetri.

The second seed lost to unseeded Lindaweni 21-17, 13-21, 13-21 in 58 minutes at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. 

The World No.13 avenged her first round loss last week at the Indonesia Open by beating the Hyderabadi in their second career meeting was clearly the better athlete on court with her smashes and drop shots proving too difficult for Saina to retrieve.

Indonesian is now the only non-Chinese in the last four of the Super Series tournament and will face the winner of the match between seventh seed Shixian Wang and fourth seed Yihan Wang Saturday.

IIM-Raipur launches course with focus on research

first batch of Executive Fellow Programme in Management (EFPM) started at IIM Raipur with professionals, who joined, having a minimum experience of 12 years.

Four Indian boxers in semis of China Open: bronze assured

Four Indians assured themselves of a bronze medal each after reaching semifinals in their respective categories in the 3rd China Open boxing tournament at Guiyang .

Sunil Kumar in 52kg , Ajay Kumar in 56kg, Jaideep in 75kg and Manjeet Singh in 91 kg plus categories made it to the last four of the tournament played under the new 'Ten-Point must scoring system'.

But the Indian contingent suffered early setbacks in the women's division. Pinki Jangra in 51kg, Preeti Beniwal in 60kg and Neetu Chahal in 75kg categories all failed to make it past the quarterfinals. 

Robert Downey signs on as Iron Man for next two 'Avengers'

Actor Robert Downey Jr., who has gained huge box-office success with his portrayal of Iron Man, has signed on to star as the superhero in the next two installments of the " The Avengers," Marvel Studios said.

Downey, 48, was one of the main stars of the 2012 all-star superhero film "The Avengers," which united Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America, Thor and the Black Widow.

"The Avengers 2," set for release on May 1, 2015, will be directed by Joss Whedon. 

Marvel said the film would reunite the superheroes from the first film, as well as introducing Marvel characters never seen in film before.

"Iron Man 3" released last month has become the highest-grossing film of the year, with $1.2 billion in global ticket sales, and the fifth highest-grossing film of all time, Marvel said in a statement.