Current Affairs of 06 August



1.SEBI gets powers to clamp down on fraudulent deposit schemes
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) will now have explicit powers to disgorge — recover — the illegal gains made through fraudulent deposit schemes and capital market offences. The assets recovered will be paid back by the market regulator to people who had lost their money in such schemes.


The Securities Laws (amendment) Bill, 2014, which was approved unanimously by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, allows SEBI to issue disgorgement orders.


2.Will poverty figures drop after World Bank’s revision of PPP?
The World Bank has revised the base year for the International Comparison of Prices, from 2005 to 2011, according to informed sources in the Planning Commission.
The ICP figures are used along with other economic variables from countries’ national accounts to calculate Purchasing Power Parities (PPPs), a form of exchange rate that takes into account the cost and affordability of common items in different countries, usually expressed in the form of U.S. dollars, the World Bank website says. PPP is used worldwide to compare the income levels in different countries, monitor the incidence of poverty, and track progress towards the Millennium Development Goals and target programmes effectively.

3.Green signal for FDI in railway infrastructure
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US, the Cabinet has cleared a proposal to allow 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in Indian Railways. Two American companies — GE and EMD — have been shortlisted for a proposed diesel locomotive factory to be built in Bihar.
Now, except for Indian Railways’ operations, FDI can be brought into all special purpose vehicles, companies and joint ventures as an equity infusion, explained sources.
The existing Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) rules do not permit FDI in the railways.
Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda is likely to introduce a Bill in Parliament to amend the Railways Act, on Thursday.
With this policy change, FDI can be brought into high-speed train systems, freight terminals, building of rail links, electrification and signalling systems. A notification will have to be issued for the exact terms and conditions.
The policy change will also permit investments in manufacturing, construction and maintenance, spread over 20-30 years. There are already private investments in rail-based industries such as metro coaches, wagons and wheel manufacturing units.

4.Govt approves 14 FDI proposals worth Rs 1,528 cr
The Government has approved 14 proposals for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) worth Rs. 1,528.38 crore that include those from Johnson & Johnson, Acme Solar and Golden Agriculture Resources.
Six proposals including Agilent Technologies (International) Pvt Ltd and Gstaad Hotels Pvt Ltd were rejected, while seven were deferred, according to an official release.
The decisions were taken based on the recommendations of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in its meeting on July 4.
Approval was given to Laurus Labs Pvt Ltd, a brown-field pharma company, to bring in additional FDI worth Rs. 600 crore.
Golden Agri Resources (India) Pvt Ltd was granted approval for downstream investment of Rs. 485.9 crore through subscription to FDI compliant instruments.
A Menarini India Pvt Ltd also got the nod for issuing equity shares to M/s A. Menarini Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd, Singapore, against infusion of Rs. 91 crore.
Johnson and Johnson Ltd’s proposal to amalgamate with DePuy Medical Pvt Ltd and subsequently allot 326,752 fully paid-up equity shares of Rs. 100 each to the shareholders of DMPL was also approved.
Permission was also given to Global Pharmatech Bangalore to issue and allot 19,68,750 equity shares of Rs. 96 each to Pharma Science towards FDI worth Rs. 18.90 crore.
Other proposals that got approved were those by Kindex Healthcare, Jaipur; Par Formulations, Open Source Software Solutions, Hyderabad, FG International LLP, Ahmedabad, Leibherr CMC Tec India, Maharashtra, Samtel Thales Avionics Ltd, Security and Intelligence Services (India) Ltd and Sinclairs Hotels Ltd, Kolkata.

5. Forth test between India and England Starts today.

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