1. Subbarami Reddy to head RS panel
Congress MP T. Subbarami Reddy, a former Union Minister, has been appointed Chairman of the Committee on Subordinate Legislation of the Rajya Sabha. As an important Parliamentary Committee which was first constituted in the 1960s, it reviews all rules, regulations, by-laws, schemes and other statutory instruments issued by various Ministries.
2. India, Vietnam ink 7 pacts
India and Vietnam signed seven agreements, including one for enhanced cooperation in the oil sector.
ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and Vietnam Oil signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for jointly exploring two more blocks, officials told the press.
President Pranab Mukherjee with his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang during the signing of agreements in Hanoi on Monday
Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jingping’s visit to India, India and Vietnam have called for freedom of navigation in the disputed South China Sea.
In a joint communique issued after President Pranab Mukherjee, who is on a four-day State visit to Vietnam, held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang here, the two countries said the freedom of navigation in the East Sea/South China Sea should not be impeded.
The two sides called for collective commitment of the parties concerned to abide by and implement the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and to work towards the adoption of a Code of Conduct on the basis of consensus.
The two countries also signed an MoU on operating and jointly promoting direct air services under which Vietnam Airlines and India’s Jet Airways will operate flights. They also agreed to undertake a focussed cooperation in defence related procurement.
Both countries decided to strengthen bilateral cooperation with a focus on political, defence and security cooperation, economic cooperation, science and technology, culture and people-to-people links, technical cooperation and multilateral and regional cooperation.
“They called for cooperation in ensuring security of sea lanes, maritime security, combating piracy and conducting search and rescue operations,” the joint communique said.
The signed pacts include EXIM Bank of India’s extension of a dollar credit line to Vietnam, agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance in Customs matters, MoU on animal health and an MoU on setting up of pangasius (basa fish) farming in India.
3.Green signal for National AYUSH Mission
The Union Cabinet, at its meeting on Monday, gave its nod for launching the National AYUSH Mission (NAM) with “core and flexible components.”
It is aimed at addressing the gaps in health services by supporting AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) care and education, particularly in vulnerable and far-flung areas.
“Under NAM, special focus will be given to specific needs of such areas and allocation of higher resources in their annual plans. The Mission will help in the improvement of AYUSH education through enhancement in the number of upgraded educational institutions; better access to AYUSH services through increase in number of AYUSH hospitals and dispensaries, availability of drugs and manpower; providing sustained availability of quality raw material for AYUSH systems of medicine; and improving availability of quality Ayurvedic, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy drugs through increase in the number of pharmacies, drug laboratories and improved enforcement mechanism,” a statement from the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry said.
4. Sri Lanka to sign FTA with China
hinese President Xi Jinping will arrive here on Tuesday, on a significant visit to the island nation, during which Beijing and Colombo are expected to firm up a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Sri Lanka will also join China’s efforts in the 21st Silk Road trade cooperation, President Mahinda Rajapaksa told Xinhua in a recent interview.
During his visit, Mr. Xi will visit the site of a $1.4-billion port city development project, Beijing’s latest investment in Sri Lanka, adjoining Colombo’s commercial port, which is also funded by China. His visit to Sri Lanka — the first by a Chinese President in nearly three decades — has evoked much interest, with Sri Lanka and China set to sign 20 major agreements, including the FTA. As many as 21 agreements worth $1.6 billion in loans are also to be signed during Mr. Xi’s visit, Export and Import (Exim) Bank of China announced recently.
While the Chinese President is likely to sign nearly as many agreements in India, where he will arrive on Wednesday, foreign policy analysts are closely watching the emerging dynamics among India, Sri Lanka and China, particularly after Mr. Modi assumed charge in May. Analysts often refer to Sri Lanka playing the ‘China card’ against India.
5. T. S. Raju to head HAL
The Public Sector Enterprises Selection Board, on Monday, named T. Suvarna Raju as the next Chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. R. K. Tyagi, present Chairman, is due to superannuate at the end of January 2015. Mr. Raju is at present Director (Design & Development). — Special Correspondent
6. Microsoft to buy Minecraft makerfor $2.5 billion
Microsoft will acquire the maker of the popular game Minecraft for $2.5 billion.
The technology company said it would buy Stockholm-based game maker Mojang. Minecraft which lets users build in and explore a virtual world has been downloaded 100 million times on PC alone since its launch in 2009. It is the most popular online game on Xbox, and the top paid app for Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating system in the U.S. The deal is expected to close in late 2014. Microsoft expects the acquisition to be break-even in fiscal 2015.
7. Exports growth declines to 2.53 per cent in August
The growth rate of India’s exports slipped to five-month low of 2.35 per cent in August at $26.95 billion, pushing up the trade deficit to $10.83 billion.
Gold imports jumped significantly to $2.03 billion from $738.7 million a year ago. Exporters body FIEO attributed the poor performance of exports to slowdown in European markets.
“The situation in EU is still bad. The exporters are waiting for the new foreign trade policy. We are expecting measures to boost exports,” FIEO President M. Rafeeque Ahmed said.
Trade deficit in August was the highest in the last four months. It was $10 billion in April when shipments had recorded a low growth of 5.26 per cent.
According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry data, overall imports grew only 2.08 per cent to $37.79 billion.
Exports in May and June had registered a growth of 12.4 per cent and 10.22 per cent, respectively. In July, export growth slipped further to 7.33 per cent.
For the April-August period exports have grown 7.31 per cent to $134.79 billion. Imports, however, have dipped by 2.69 per cent to $190.94 billion. Trade deficit during the five months has reached $56.15 billion, lower than $70.6 billion in the year-ago period. Oil imports declined by 14.97 per cent in August to $12.83 billion. However, non-oil imports were up by 13.82 per cent to $24.95 billion. Due to restrictions on gold imports, gems and jewellery exports dipped by 10.31 per cent to $3.23 billion in August. Similarly, overseas shipments of electronic goods declined by 17.67 per cent to $547 million.
The other exporting sectors which recorded negative growth in August include tea, coffee, rice, tobacco, spices, oil meals, iron ore and petroleum products.
However, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and engineering exports registered a growth of 7 per cent, 2.66 per cent and 22.2 per cent, respectively.
As for imports, sectors which recorded negative growth include fertilizer, coal, petroleum, transport equipment, project goods and silver.
8. RBI gives banks option to charge ATM users
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Monday said there were “no free lunches”, alluding to the usage of ATM services of other banks for free as it is a cost to the home banks.
“The ATM transaction is free to you but not free to the bank. It costs the bank Rs. 75-100 for those five transactions.
“The bank has to collect that amount from somewhere and it has to be from customers. But there are two distortions that it creates. First, not everybody is doing the same amount of transactions and (also) are we subsidising using of cash by freeing up ATMs?” Rajan said at FICCI’s banking conclave.
He said that since this increases the bank’s costs, it is passed back to the customer in some form. Ultimately, those who transact more are subsidised by those who transact less.
The RBI has reduced the number of free transactions per month at any non-home bank ATM to three from five earlier. This will be effective from November in the six metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Banks are also allowed to charge their own customers for more than five transactions at their own ATMs.
Rajan clarified that RBI has allowed banks to charge customers but that does not mean that banks have to do so. “If you (banks) like your customers to use free ATMs you can subsidise the transactions.
9. India to enter Mars orbit on September 24
An Indian spacecraft will enter Mars on September 24 for scientific exploration of the red planet after a 300-day voyage through inter-planetary space, an ISRO official said on Monday.
“After cruising through 666-million km across the solar orbit, for over nine months, our spacecraft will be inserted into the Martian orbit on September 24 at 7.30 a.m.," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientific secretary V. Koteswara Rao said here at a preview of the mission’s tryst with the celestial object.
The orbit insertion will take place when the spacecraft will be 423 km from the Martian surface and 215 million km away (radio distance) from the earth.
The ambitious Rs. 450-crore ($70 million) Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) was launched November 5, 2013 on board a polar rocket from the spaceport Sriharikota off the Bay of Bengal, about 80 km north-east of Chennai.
“India will be the first country in the world to insert a spacecraft into the Martian orbit in its maiden attempt if the operation succeeds and also the first Asian country to reach the red planet’s sphere,” Mr. Rao said.
The ISRO will be the fourth space agency after National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the U.S., Russian Federal Space Agency (RFSA) and European Space Agency (ESA) to have undertaken a mission to Mars.
Incidentally, NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Orbiter (MAVEN) will enter the red planet’s orbit Sep 22.
In the run-up to the D-day, the mission scientists will do course (trajectory) correction on September 22.
As on Monday, the 475 kg (dry mass) spacecraft is 13 million km away from Mars, having cruised 98 per cent (201 million km) of the radio distance from the earth and 653 million km of the sun’s 666 million km orbit.
“The course correction has been postponed to September 22 from Sunday (September 14) to conserve the precious liquid fuel weighing (852 kg) and ensure the orbital insertion takes place when the spacecraft is closer to Mars for smooth transition from the sun’s orbit,” Mr. Rao said.
Scientists at the spacecraft’s control centre have started uploading commands since Sunday and will verify them late Monday.
During the Orbiter’s long journey, mid-course correction was carried twice — Dec 11 and June 11 — but skipped in April and August as it was cruising in the solar orbit as intended.
“The liquid apogee motor (LAM) or fuel engine at the bottom of the spacecraft will be fired on September 22 for four seconds to enter the Martian sphere of influence and the course correction will consume about 500gm of fuel,” Mr. Rao said.
The speed of the spacecraft will also be reduced to 2.14 metre per second from 22.2 km per second for enabling smooth transition into the Martian orbit from the sun’s orbit Sep 24.
Congress MP T. Subbarami Reddy, a former Union Minister, has been appointed Chairman of the Committee on Subordinate Legislation of the Rajya Sabha. As an important Parliamentary Committee which was first constituted in the 1960s, it reviews all rules, regulations, by-laws, schemes and other statutory instruments issued by various Ministries.
2. India, Vietnam ink 7 pacts
India and Vietnam signed seven agreements, including one for enhanced cooperation in the oil sector.
ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and Vietnam Oil signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for jointly exploring two more blocks, officials told the press.
President Pranab Mukherjee with his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang during the signing of agreements in Hanoi on Monday
Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jingping’s visit to India, India and Vietnam have called for freedom of navigation in the disputed South China Sea.
In a joint communique issued after President Pranab Mukherjee, who is on a four-day State visit to Vietnam, held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang here, the two countries said the freedom of navigation in the East Sea/South China Sea should not be impeded.
The two sides called for collective commitment of the parties concerned to abide by and implement the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and to work towards the adoption of a Code of Conduct on the basis of consensus.
The two countries also signed an MoU on operating and jointly promoting direct air services under which Vietnam Airlines and India’s Jet Airways will operate flights. They also agreed to undertake a focussed cooperation in defence related procurement.
Both countries decided to strengthen bilateral cooperation with a focus on political, defence and security cooperation, economic cooperation, science and technology, culture and people-to-people links, technical cooperation and multilateral and regional cooperation.
“They called for cooperation in ensuring security of sea lanes, maritime security, combating piracy and conducting search and rescue operations,” the joint communique said.
The signed pacts include EXIM Bank of India’s extension of a dollar credit line to Vietnam, agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance in Customs matters, MoU on animal health and an MoU on setting up of pangasius (basa fish) farming in India.
3.Green signal for National AYUSH Mission
The Union Cabinet, at its meeting on Monday, gave its nod for launching the National AYUSH Mission (NAM) with “core and flexible components.”
It is aimed at addressing the gaps in health services by supporting AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) care and education, particularly in vulnerable and far-flung areas.
“Under NAM, special focus will be given to specific needs of such areas and allocation of higher resources in their annual plans. The Mission will help in the improvement of AYUSH education through enhancement in the number of upgraded educational institutions; better access to AYUSH services through increase in number of AYUSH hospitals and dispensaries, availability of drugs and manpower; providing sustained availability of quality raw material for AYUSH systems of medicine; and improving availability of quality Ayurvedic, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy drugs through increase in the number of pharmacies, drug laboratories and improved enforcement mechanism,” a statement from the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry said.
4. Sri Lanka to sign FTA with China
hinese President Xi Jinping will arrive here on Tuesday, on a significant visit to the island nation, during which Beijing and Colombo are expected to firm up a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Sri Lanka will also join China’s efforts in the 21st Silk Road trade cooperation, President Mahinda Rajapaksa told Xinhua in a recent interview.
During his visit, Mr. Xi will visit the site of a $1.4-billion port city development project, Beijing’s latest investment in Sri Lanka, adjoining Colombo’s commercial port, which is also funded by China. His visit to Sri Lanka — the first by a Chinese President in nearly three decades — has evoked much interest, with Sri Lanka and China set to sign 20 major agreements, including the FTA. As many as 21 agreements worth $1.6 billion in loans are also to be signed during Mr. Xi’s visit, Export and Import (Exim) Bank of China announced recently.
While the Chinese President is likely to sign nearly as many agreements in India, where he will arrive on Wednesday, foreign policy analysts are closely watching the emerging dynamics among India, Sri Lanka and China, particularly after Mr. Modi assumed charge in May. Analysts often refer to Sri Lanka playing the ‘China card’ against India.
5. T. S. Raju to head HAL
The Public Sector Enterprises Selection Board, on Monday, named T. Suvarna Raju as the next Chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. R. K. Tyagi, present Chairman, is due to superannuate at the end of January 2015. Mr. Raju is at present Director (Design & Development). — Special Correspondent
6. Microsoft to buy Minecraft makerfor $2.5 billion
Microsoft will acquire the maker of the popular game Minecraft for $2.5 billion.
The technology company said it would buy Stockholm-based game maker Mojang. Minecraft which lets users build in and explore a virtual world has been downloaded 100 million times on PC alone since its launch in 2009. It is the most popular online game on Xbox, and the top paid app for Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating system in the U.S. The deal is expected to close in late 2014. Microsoft expects the acquisition to be break-even in fiscal 2015.7. Exports growth declines to 2.53 per cent in August
The growth rate of India’s exports slipped to five-month low of 2.35 per cent in August at $26.95 billion, pushing up the trade deficit to $10.83 billion.
Gold imports jumped significantly to $2.03 billion from $738.7 million a year ago. Exporters body FIEO attributed the poor performance of exports to slowdown in European markets.
“The situation in EU is still bad. The exporters are waiting for the new foreign trade policy. We are expecting measures to boost exports,” FIEO President M. Rafeeque Ahmed said.
Trade deficit in August was the highest in the last four months. It was $10 billion in April when shipments had recorded a low growth of 5.26 per cent.
According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry data, overall imports grew only 2.08 per cent to $37.79 billion.
Exports in May and June had registered a growth of 12.4 per cent and 10.22 per cent, respectively. In July, export growth slipped further to 7.33 per cent.
For the April-August period exports have grown 7.31 per cent to $134.79 billion. Imports, however, have dipped by 2.69 per cent to $190.94 billion. Trade deficit during the five months has reached $56.15 billion, lower than $70.6 billion in the year-ago period. Oil imports declined by 14.97 per cent in August to $12.83 billion. However, non-oil imports were up by 13.82 per cent to $24.95 billion. Due to restrictions on gold imports, gems and jewellery exports dipped by 10.31 per cent to $3.23 billion in August. Similarly, overseas shipments of electronic goods declined by 17.67 per cent to $547 million.
The other exporting sectors which recorded negative growth in August include tea, coffee, rice, tobacco, spices, oil meals, iron ore and petroleum products.
However, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and engineering exports registered a growth of 7 per cent, 2.66 per cent and 22.2 per cent, respectively.
As for imports, sectors which recorded negative growth include fertilizer, coal, petroleum, transport equipment, project goods and silver.
8. RBI gives banks option to charge ATM users
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Monday said there were “no free lunches”, alluding to the usage of ATM services of other banks for free as it is a cost to the home banks.
“The ATM transaction is free to you but not free to the bank. It costs the bank Rs. 75-100 for those five transactions.
“The bank has to collect that amount from somewhere and it has to be from customers. But there are two distortions that it creates. First, not everybody is doing the same amount of transactions and (also) are we subsidising using of cash by freeing up ATMs?” Rajan said at FICCI’s banking conclave.
He said that since this increases the bank’s costs, it is passed back to the customer in some form. Ultimately, those who transact more are subsidised by those who transact less.
The RBI has reduced the number of free transactions per month at any non-home bank ATM to three from five earlier. This will be effective from November in the six metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Banks are also allowed to charge their own customers for more than five transactions at their own ATMs.
Rajan clarified that RBI has allowed banks to charge customers but that does not mean that banks have to do so. “If you (banks) like your customers to use free ATMs you can subsidise the transactions.
9. India to enter Mars orbit on September 24
An Indian spacecraft will enter Mars on September 24 for scientific exploration of the red planet after a 300-day voyage through inter-planetary space, an ISRO official said on Monday.
“After cruising through 666-million km across the solar orbit, for over nine months, our spacecraft will be inserted into the Martian orbit on September 24 at 7.30 a.m.," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientific secretary V. Koteswara Rao said here at a preview of the mission’s tryst with the celestial object.
The orbit insertion will take place when the spacecraft will be 423 km from the Martian surface and 215 million km away (radio distance) from the earth.
The ambitious Rs. 450-crore ($70 million) Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) was launched November 5, 2013 on board a polar rocket from the spaceport Sriharikota off the Bay of Bengal, about 80 km north-east of Chennai.
“India will be the first country in the world to insert a spacecraft into the Martian orbit in its maiden attempt if the operation succeeds and also the first Asian country to reach the red planet’s sphere,” Mr. Rao said.
The ISRO will be the fourth space agency after National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the U.S., Russian Federal Space Agency (RFSA) and European Space Agency (ESA) to have undertaken a mission to Mars.
Incidentally, NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Orbiter (MAVEN) will enter the red planet’s orbit Sep 22.
In the run-up to the D-day, the mission scientists will do course (trajectory) correction on September 22.
As on Monday, the 475 kg (dry mass) spacecraft is 13 million km away from Mars, having cruised 98 per cent (201 million km) of the radio distance from the earth and 653 million km of the sun’s 666 million km orbit.
“The course correction has been postponed to September 22 from Sunday (September 14) to conserve the precious liquid fuel weighing (852 kg) and ensure the orbital insertion takes place when the spacecraft is closer to Mars for smooth transition from the sun’s orbit,” Mr. Rao said.
Scientists at the spacecraft’s control centre have started uploading commands since Sunday and will verify them late Monday.
During the Orbiter’s long journey, mid-course correction was carried twice — Dec 11 and June 11 — but skipped in April and August as it was cruising in the solar orbit as intended.
“The liquid apogee motor (LAM) or fuel engine at the bottom of the spacecraft will be fired on September 22 for four seconds to enter the Martian sphere of influence and the course correction will consume about 500gm of fuel,” Mr. Rao said.
The speed of the spacecraft will also be reduced to 2.14 metre per second from 22.2 km per second for enabling smooth transition into the Martian orbit from the sun’s orbit Sep 24.
1. Subbarami Reddy to head RS panel
Congress MP T. Subbarami Reddy, a former Union Minister, has been appointed Chairman of the Committee on Subordinate Legislation of the Rajya Sabha. As an important Parliamentary Committee which was first constituted in the 1960s, it reviews all rules, regulations, by-laws, schemes and other statutory instruments issued by various Ministries.
2. India, Vietnam ink 7 pacts
India and Vietnam signed seven agreements, including one for enhanced cooperation in the oil sector.
ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and Vietnam Oil signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for jointly exploring two more blocks, officials told the press.
President Pranab Mukherjee with his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang during the signing of agreements in Hanoi on Monday
Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jingping’s visit to India, India and Vietnam have called for freedom of navigation in the disputed South China Sea.
In a joint communique issued after President Pranab Mukherjee, who is on a four-day State visit to Vietnam, held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang here, the two countries said the freedom of navigation in the East Sea/South China Sea should not be impeded.
The two sides called for collective commitment of the parties concerned to abide by and implement the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and to work towards the adoption of a Code of Conduct on the basis of consensus.
The two countries also signed an MoU on operating and jointly promoting direct air services under which Vietnam Airlines and India’s Jet Airways will operate flights. They also agreed to undertake a focussed cooperation in defence related procurement.
Both countries decided to strengthen bilateral cooperation with a focus on political, defence and security cooperation, economic cooperation, science and technology, culture and people-to-people links, technical cooperation and multilateral and regional cooperation.
“They called for cooperation in ensuring security of sea lanes, maritime security, combating piracy and conducting search and rescue operations,” the joint communique said.
The signed pacts include EXIM Bank of India’s extension of a dollar credit line to Vietnam, agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance in Customs matters, MoU on animal health and an MoU on setting up of pangasius (basa fish) farming in India.
3.Green signal for National AYUSH Mission
The Union Cabinet, at its meeting on Monday, gave its nod for launching the National AYUSH Mission (NAM) with “core and flexible components.”
It is aimed at addressing the gaps in health services by supporting AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) care and education, particularly in vulnerable and far-flung areas.
“Under NAM, special focus will be given to specific needs of such areas and allocation of higher resources in their annual plans. The Mission will help in the improvement of AYUSH education through enhancement in the number of upgraded educational institutions; better access to AYUSH services through increase in number of AYUSH hospitals and dispensaries, availability of drugs and manpower; providing sustained availability of quality raw material for AYUSH systems of medicine; and improving availability of quality Ayurvedic, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy drugs through increase in the number of pharmacies, drug laboratories and improved enforcement mechanism,” a statement from the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry said.
4. Sri Lanka to sign FTA with China
hinese President Xi Jinping will arrive here on Tuesday, on a significant visit to the island nation, during which Beijing and Colombo are expected to firm up a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Sri Lanka will also join China’s efforts in the 21st Silk Road trade cooperation, President Mahinda Rajapaksa told Xinhua in a recent interview.
During his visit, Mr. Xi will visit the site of a $1.4-billion port city development project, Beijing’s latest investment in Sri Lanka, adjoining Colombo’s commercial port, which is also funded by China. His visit to Sri Lanka — the first by a Chinese President in nearly three decades — has evoked much interest, with Sri Lanka and China set to sign 20 major agreements, including the FTA. As many as 21 agreements worth $1.6 billion in loans are also to be signed during Mr. Xi’s visit, Export and Import (Exim) Bank of China announced recently.
While the Chinese President is likely to sign nearly as many agreements in India, where he will arrive on Wednesday, foreign policy analysts are closely watching the emerging dynamics among India, Sri Lanka and China, particularly after Mr. Modi assumed charge in May. Analysts often refer to Sri Lanka playing the ‘China card’ against India.
5. T. S. Raju to head HAL
The Public Sector Enterprises Selection Board, on Monday, named T. Suvarna Raju as the next Chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. R. K. Tyagi, present Chairman, is due to superannuate at the end of January 2015. Mr. Raju is at present Director (Design & Development). — Special Correspondent
6. Microsoft to buy Minecraft makerfor $2.5 billion
Microsoft will acquire the maker of the popular game Minecraft for $2.5 billion.
The technology company said it would buy Stockholm-based game maker Mojang. Minecraft which lets users build in and explore a virtual world has been downloaded 100 million times on PC alone since its launch in 2009. It is the most popular online game on Xbox, and the top paid app for Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating system in the U.S. The deal is expected to close in late 2014. Microsoft expects the acquisition to be break-even in fiscal 2015.
7. Exports growth declines to 2.53 per cent in August
The growth rate of India’s exports slipped to five-month low of 2.35 per cent in August at $26.95 billion, pushing up the trade deficit to $10.83 billion.
Gold imports jumped significantly to $2.03 billion from $738.7 million a year ago. Exporters body FIEO attributed the poor performance of exports to slowdown in European markets.
“The situation in EU is still bad. The exporters are waiting for the new foreign trade policy. We are expecting measures to boost exports,” FIEO President M. Rafeeque Ahmed said.
Trade deficit in August was the highest in the last four months. It was $10 billion in April when shipments had recorded a low growth of 5.26 per cent.
According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry data, overall imports grew only 2.08 per cent to $37.79 billion.
Exports in May and June had registered a growth of 12.4 per cent and 10.22 per cent, respectively. In July, export growth slipped further to 7.33 per cent.
For the April-August period exports have grown 7.31 per cent to $134.79 billion. Imports, however, have dipped by 2.69 per cent to $190.94 billion. Trade deficit during the five months has reached $56.15 billion, lower than $70.6 billion in the year-ago period. Oil imports declined by 14.97 per cent in August to $12.83 billion. However, non-oil imports were up by 13.82 per cent to $24.95 billion. Due to restrictions on gold imports, gems and jewellery exports dipped by 10.31 per cent to $3.23 billion in August. Similarly, overseas shipments of electronic goods declined by 17.67 per cent to $547 million.
The other exporting sectors which recorded negative growth in August include tea, coffee, rice, tobacco, spices, oil meals, iron ore and petroleum products.
However, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and engineering exports registered a growth of 7 per cent, 2.66 per cent and 22.2 per cent, respectively.
As for imports, sectors which recorded negative growth include fertilizer, coal, petroleum, transport equipment, project goods and silver.
8. RBI gives banks option to charge ATM users
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Monday said there were “no free lunches”, alluding to the usage of ATM services of other banks for free as it is a cost to the home banks.
“The ATM transaction is free to you but not free to the bank. It costs the bank Rs. 75-100 for those five transactions.
“The bank has to collect that amount from somewhere and it has to be from customers. But there are two distortions that it creates. First, not everybody is doing the same amount of transactions and (also) are we subsidising using of cash by freeing up ATMs?” Rajan said at FICCI’s banking conclave.
He said that since this increases the bank’s costs, it is passed back to the customer in some form. Ultimately, those who transact more are subsidised by those who transact less.
The RBI has reduced the number of free transactions per month at any non-home bank ATM to three from five earlier. This will be effective from November in the six metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Banks are also allowed to charge their own customers for more than five transactions at their own ATMs.
Rajan clarified that RBI has allowed banks to charge customers but that does not mean that banks have to do so. “If you (banks) like your customers to use free ATMs you can subsidise the transactions.
9. India to enter Mars orbit on September 24
An Indian spacecraft will enter Mars on September 24 for scientific exploration of the red planet after a 300-day voyage through inter-planetary space, an ISRO official said on Monday.
“After cruising through 666-million km across the solar orbit, for over nine months, our spacecraft will be inserted into the Martian orbit on September 24 at 7.30 a.m.," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientific secretary V. Koteswara Rao said here at a preview of the mission’s tryst with the celestial object.
The orbit insertion will take place when the spacecraft will be 423 km from the Martian surface and 215 million km away (radio distance) from the earth.
The ambitious Rs. 450-crore ($70 million) Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) was launched November 5, 2013 on board a polar rocket from the spaceport Sriharikota off the Bay of Bengal, about 80 km north-east of Chennai.
“India will be the first country in the world to insert a spacecraft into the Martian orbit in its maiden attempt if the operation succeeds and also the first Asian country to reach the red planet’s sphere,” Mr. Rao said.
The ISRO will be the fourth space agency after National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the U.S., Russian Federal Space Agency (RFSA) and European Space Agency (ESA) to have undertaken a mission to Mars.
Incidentally, NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Orbiter (MAVEN) will enter the red planet’s orbit Sep 22.
In the run-up to the D-day, the mission scientists will do course (trajectory) correction on September 22.
As on Monday, the 475 kg (dry mass) spacecraft is 13 million km away from Mars, having cruised 98 per cent (201 million km) of the radio distance from the earth and 653 million km of the sun’s 666 million km orbit.
“The course correction has been postponed to September 22 from Sunday (September 14) to conserve the precious liquid fuel weighing (852 kg) and ensure the orbital insertion takes place when the spacecraft is closer to Mars for smooth transition from the sun’s orbit,” Mr. Rao said.
Scientists at the spacecraft’s control centre have started uploading commands since Sunday and will verify them late Monday.
During the Orbiter’s long journey, mid-course correction was carried twice — Dec 11 and June 11 — but skipped in April and August as it was cruising in the solar orbit as intended.
“The liquid apogee motor (LAM) or fuel engine at the bottom of the spacecraft will be fired on September 22 for four seconds to enter the Martian sphere of influence and the course correction will consume about 500gm of fuel,” Mr. Rao said.
The speed of the spacecraft will also be reduced to 2.14 metre per second from 22.2 km per second for enabling smooth transition into the Martian orbit from the sun’s orbit Sep 24.
Congress MP T. Subbarami Reddy, a former Union Minister, has been appointed Chairman of the Committee on Subordinate Legislation of the Rajya Sabha. As an important Parliamentary Committee which was first constituted in the 1960s, it reviews all rules, regulations, by-laws, schemes and other statutory instruments issued by various Ministries.
2. India, Vietnam ink 7 pacts
India and Vietnam signed seven agreements, including one for enhanced cooperation in the oil sector.
ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and Vietnam Oil signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for jointly exploring two more blocks, officials told the press.
President Pranab Mukherjee with his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang during the signing of agreements in Hanoi on Monday
Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jingping’s visit to India, India and Vietnam have called for freedom of navigation in the disputed South China Sea.
In a joint communique issued after President Pranab Mukherjee, who is on a four-day State visit to Vietnam, held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang here, the two countries said the freedom of navigation in the East Sea/South China Sea should not be impeded.
The two sides called for collective commitment of the parties concerned to abide by and implement the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and to work towards the adoption of a Code of Conduct on the basis of consensus.
The two countries also signed an MoU on operating and jointly promoting direct air services under which Vietnam Airlines and India’s Jet Airways will operate flights. They also agreed to undertake a focussed cooperation in defence related procurement.
Both countries decided to strengthen bilateral cooperation with a focus on political, defence and security cooperation, economic cooperation, science and technology, culture and people-to-people links, technical cooperation and multilateral and regional cooperation.
“They called for cooperation in ensuring security of sea lanes, maritime security, combating piracy and conducting search and rescue operations,” the joint communique said.
The signed pacts include EXIM Bank of India’s extension of a dollar credit line to Vietnam, agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance in Customs matters, MoU on animal health and an MoU on setting up of pangasius (basa fish) farming in India.
3.Green signal for National AYUSH Mission
The Union Cabinet, at its meeting on Monday, gave its nod for launching the National AYUSH Mission (NAM) with “core and flexible components.”
It is aimed at addressing the gaps in health services by supporting AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) care and education, particularly in vulnerable and far-flung areas.
“Under NAM, special focus will be given to specific needs of such areas and allocation of higher resources in their annual plans. The Mission will help in the improvement of AYUSH education through enhancement in the number of upgraded educational institutions; better access to AYUSH services through increase in number of AYUSH hospitals and dispensaries, availability of drugs and manpower; providing sustained availability of quality raw material for AYUSH systems of medicine; and improving availability of quality Ayurvedic, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy drugs through increase in the number of pharmacies, drug laboratories and improved enforcement mechanism,” a statement from the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry said.
4. Sri Lanka to sign FTA with China
hinese President Xi Jinping will arrive here on Tuesday, on a significant visit to the island nation, during which Beijing and Colombo are expected to firm up a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Sri Lanka will also join China’s efforts in the 21st Silk Road trade cooperation, President Mahinda Rajapaksa told Xinhua in a recent interview.
During his visit, Mr. Xi will visit the site of a $1.4-billion port city development project, Beijing’s latest investment in Sri Lanka, adjoining Colombo’s commercial port, which is also funded by China. His visit to Sri Lanka — the first by a Chinese President in nearly three decades — has evoked much interest, with Sri Lanka and China set to sign 20 major agreements, including the FTA. As many as 21 agreements worth $1.6 billion in loans are also to be signed during Mr. Xi’s visit, Export and Import (Exim) Bank of China announced recently.
While the Chinese President is likely to sign nearly as many agreements in India, where he will arrive on Wednesday, foreign policy analysts are closely watching the emerging dynamics among India, Sri Lanka and China, particularly after Mr. Modi assumed charge in May. Analysts often refer to Sri Lanka playing the ‘China card’ against India.
5. T. S. Raju to head HAL
The Public Sector Enterprises Selection Board, on Monday, named T. Suvarna Raju as the next Chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. R. K. Tyagi, present Chairman, is due to superannuate at the end of January 2015. Mr. Raju is at present Director (Design & Development). — Special Correspondent
6. Microsoft to buy Minecraft makerfor $2.5 billion
Microsoft will acquire the maker of the popular game Minecraft for $2.5 billion.
The technology company said it would buy Stockholm-based game maker Mojang. Minecraft which lets users build in and explore a virtual world has been downloaded 100 million times on PC alone since its launch in 2009. It is the most popular online game on Xbox, and the top paid app for Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating system in the U.S. The deal is expected to close in late 2014. Microsoft expects the acquisition to be break-even in fiscal 2015.7. Exports growth declines to 2.53 per cent in August
The growth rate of India’s exports slipped to five-month low of 2.35 per cent in August at $26.95 billion, pushing up the trade deficit to $10.83 billion.
Gold imports jumped significantly to $2.03 billion from $738.7 million a year ago. Exporters body FIEO attributed the poor performance of exports to slowdown in European markets.
“The situation in EU is still bad. The exporters are waiting for the new foreign trade policy. We are expecting measures to boost exports,” FIEO President M. Rafeeque Ahmed said.
Trade deficit in August was the highest in the last four months. It was $10 billion in April when shipments had recorded a low growth of 5.26 per cent.
According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry data, overall imports grew only 2.08 per cent to $37.79 billion.
Exports in May and June had registered a growth of 12.4 per cent and 10.22 per cent, respectively. In July, export growth slipped further to 7.33 per cent.
For the April-August period exports have grown 7.31 per cent to $134.79 billion. Imports, however, have dipped by 2.69 per cent to $190.94 billion. Trade deficit during the five months has reached $56.15 billion, lower than $70.6 billion in the year-ago period. Oil imports declined by 14.97 per cent in August to $12.83 billion. However, non-oil imports were up by 13.82 per cent to $24.95 billion. Due to restrictions on gold imports, gems and jewellery exports dipped by 10.31 per cent to $3.23 billion in August. Similarly, overseas shipments of electronic goods declined by 17.67 per cent to $547 million.
The other exporting sectors which recorded negative growth in August include tea, coffee, rice, tobacco, spices, oil meals, iron ore and petroleum products.
However, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and engineering exports registered a growth of 7 per cent, 2.66 per cent and 22.2 per cent, respectively.
As for imports, sectors which recorded negative growth include fertilizer, coal, petroleum, transport equipment, project goods and silver.
8. RBI gives banks option to charge ATM users
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Monday said there were “no free lunches”, alluding to the usage of ATM services of other banks for free as it is a cost to the home banks.
“The ATM transaction is free to you but not free to the bank. It costs the bank Rs. 75-100 for those five transactions.
“The bank has to collect that amount from somewhere and it has to be from customers. But there are two distortions that it creates. First, not everybody is doing the same amount of transactions and (also) are we subsidising using of cash by freeing up ATMs?” Rajan said at FICCI’s banking conclave.
He said that since this increases the bank’s costs, it is passed back to the customer in some form. Ultimately, those who transact more are subsidised by those who transact less.
The RBI has reduced the number of free transactions per month at any non-home bank ATM to three from five earlier. This will be effective from November in the six metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Banks are also allowed to charge their own customers for more than five transactions at their own ATMs.
Rajan clarified that RBI has allowed banks to charge customers but that does not mean that banks have to do so. “If you (banks) like your customers to use free ATMs you can subsidise the transactions.
9. India to enter Mars orbit on September 24
An Indian spacecraft will enter Mars on September 24 for scientific exploration of the red planet after a 300-day voyage through inter-planetary space, an ISRO official said on Monday.
“After cruising through 666-million km across the solar orbit, for over nine months, our spacecraft will be inserted into the Martian orbit on September 24 at 7.30 a.m.," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientific secretary V. Koteswara Rao said here at a preview of the mission’s tryst with the celestial object.
The orbit insertion will take place when the spacecraft will be 423 km from the Martian surface and 215 million km away (radio distance) from the earth.
The ambitious Rs. 450-crore ($70 million) Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) was launched November 5, 2013 on board a polar rocket from the spaceport Sriharikota off the Bay of Bengal, about 80 km north-east of Chennai.
“India will be the first country in the world to insert a spacecraft into the Martian orbit in its maiden attempt if the operation succeeds and also the first Asian country to reach the red planet’s sphere,” Mr. Rao said.
The ISRO will be the fourth space agency after National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the U.S., Russian Federal Space Agency (RFSA) and European Space Agency (ESA) to have undertaken a mission to Mars.
Incidentally, NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Orbiter (MAVEN) will enter the red planet’s orbit Sep 22.
In the run-up to the D-day, the mission scientists will do course (trajectory) correction on September 22.
As on Monday, the 475 kg (dry mass) spacecraft is 13 million km away from Mars, having cruised 98 per cent (201 million km) of the radio distance from the earth and 653 million km of the sun’s 666 million km orbit.
“The course correction has been postponed to September 22 from Sunday (September 14) to conserve the precious liquid fuel weighing (852 kg) and ensure the orbital insertion takes place when the spacecraft is closer to Mars for smooth transition from the sun’s orbit,” Mr. Rao said.
Scientists at the spacecraft’s control centre have started uploading commands since Sunday and will verify them late Monday.
During the Orbiter’s long journey, mid-course correction was carried twice — Dec 11 and June 11 — but skipped in April and August as it was cruising in the solar orbit as intended.
“The liquid apogee motor (LAM) or fuel engine at the bottom of the spacecraft will be fired on September 22 for four seconds to enter the Martian sphere of influence and the course correction will consume about 500gm of fuel,” Mr. Rao said.
The speed of the spacecraft will also be reduced to 2.14 metre per second from 22.2 km per second for enabling smooth transition into the Martian orbit from the sun’s orbit Sep 24.
No comments:
Post a Comment