Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 11 July 2016


Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 11 July 2016


:: National ::

Centre is likely to announce Rs 25,000 crore capital infusion for public sector banks

  • Centre is likely to announce the first tranche of the Rs 25,000 crore capital infusion for public sector banks (PSBs), planned for this financial year (2016-17).
  • The recapitalisation is aimed at shoring up the PSBs lending capacities that are restricted by poor asset quality and weak capitalisation.
  • Gross bad loans, as a proportion of the total advances by these banks, rose to 7.6 per cent, a 12-year high in March 2016, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s latest financial stability report released on June 28.
  • On the rise since 2012, impaired assets in the banking system are negatively affecting credit supply and are a factor dampening India’s growth outlook, global rating agency Moody’s Investors Service recently said.
  • PSBs account for about 70 per cent of the total banking system assets. The banks requisitioned infusions after the finalisation of their fourth quarter results, in which, cumulatively, they had reported losses of Rs 18,000 crore in 2015-16.
  • The allocation is in line with the recapitalisation plan outlined in the Centre’s seven-pronged plan, ‘Indradhanush’, launched in August 2015 for reforming PSBs.
  • The Finance Ministry had estimated that the PSBs would need Rs 1.80 lakh crore by March 2019 to meet Basel III norms.
  • Of this, it proposes to provide Rs 70,000 crore as equity over four years and expects the banks to raise the rest from the markets or through internal profits.

Kudankulam successfully operationalised the first two reactors

  • The first unit, after attaining criticality in July 13, 2013 was synchronised with the southern grid in October the same year. It has generated 5,777 million units of power till May 2016.
  • Tamil Nadu is getting its share of 562.50 MWe from the first unit and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala are getting 50 MWe, 221 MWe and 133 MWe respectively from the first reactor while the Union Territory of Puducherry’s share stands at 33.50 MWe.
  • Tamil Nadu is expected to get a minimum of 462.50 MWe from the second unit.
  • Having successfully accomplished the mission by operationalising the first two reactors, the KKNPP will now pay more attention for commencing the work on the construction of the third and fourth reactors, each with a capacity of 1,000 MWe, at an outlay of Rs. 39,500 crore.

Kodaikanal town is facing acute water crisis (Register and Login to read Full News..)

Hubble Telescope has imaged the supernova Crab Nebula’s ‘beating heart’ (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: International ::

Bangladesh bans controversial preachers TV

  • The government of Bangladesh has banned broadcast of Peace TV, a channel run by controversial Indian preacher Dr. Zakir Naik on allegations that it inspired terrorism.
  • The announcement came at his meeting with the owners of private television stations, hours after the official decision to ban the channel.
  • Home Minister had earlier said that intelligence agencies were investigating Dr. Naik as his activities appeared provocative.
  • Dr. Naik is the founding president of Mumbai-based charity, Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), which owns Peace TV.
  • Dr. Naik, in a video response after the deadly Dhaka cafe attack, had said that he was not surprised that one of the gunmen knew him since he “inspires millions across the world”.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s coalition on track for a decisive victory (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: Business and Economy ::

India to press for a global pact to expedite the services trade flow

  • India will press for endorsement by more nations for its proposal on a global pact to expedite the services trade flow, during the forthcoming Nairobi meet of the United Nations (UN) body for development issues including on trade.
  • The proposed pact, among other things, is aimed at making it easier for services professionals and skilled workers to move across borders for ‘short-term’ projects.
  • It will officially be known as the ‘Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) for Services’ at the World Trade Organisation (WTO)-level.
  • Its objectives include streamlining procedures for global services trade, besides ensuring recognition at the WTO-level for services as a tradable item by establishing a framework.
  • The ‘Ministerial Conference’ is the Geneva-headquartered UNCTAD’s highest decision-making body, and is held every four years ever since UNCTAD was set up in 1964.
  • UNCTAD has 194 member States and is the UN subsidiary looking at measures to boost trade and investment in developing countries.
  • The idea of a ‘TFA for Services’ – similar to the WTO’s ‘TFA for Goods’ -- was mooted by India soon after the WTO’s tenth Ministerial Conference in Nairobi in December 2015.
  • According to UNCTAD, the ‘Global Services Forum’, will discuss various topics including “facilitating trade in services – with a focus on reducing transaction costs and explore if the lessons resulting from the WTO TFA (for Goods) could be applied to trade in services.”

Russia has offered Indian oil companies a stake in the second phase of Yamal LNG (Register and Login to read Full News..)

Click Here to Register for Full News

Click Here for Archive

Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

This is a Part of Online Coaching Programme for IAS Exam