Current and corporate affairs as on 01 september 2020
NATIONAL NEWS
Chief Economic Advisor K V Subramanian says, AprilJune GDP contraction happened mainly due to COVID pandemic: Chief Economic Advisor K V Subramanian has said April – June GDP contraction is mainly due to exogenous shock felt globally due to COVID pandemic. He said it is along expected lines and better performance is expected in coming quarters. Mr. Subramanian said the agriculture sector is one sector that has grown and it is reflecting reform impact.
Indian Railways solarises more than 960 stations: In order to achieve its objective of becoming 100 per cent self sustainable for all it’s power needs, Indian Railways has solarised more than 960 stations till date. Orders have been placed for 198 MW solar rooftop capacity for 550 stations which are under execution. This will contribute to national solar power needs. Some of the stations solarised are Varanasi, New Delhi, Old Delhi and Jaipur, Secunderabad, Kolkata, Guwahati, Hyderabad and Howrah. Railways had recently organised a meet of leading solar power developers who had shared their expectations of being partners in the journey of Indian Railways to become net zero carbon emitter before 2030. Indian Railways is set to produce solar energy for meeting all its energy consumption needs of more than 33 billion units by 2030. Current annual requirement is about 20 billion units.
DGCA extends ban on scheduled internationalcommercial flight ops till Sept. 30: Director General of Civil Aviation, DGCA has extended the ban on scheduled international commercial flight operations till 30th September. In a circular issued today, DGCA said, the restriction shall not apply to international allcargo operations and flights specifically approved by it. The aviation regulator said, however, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on case to case basis.
Former President Pranab Mukherjee passes away after battling long illness; Nation mourns loss of seasoned Statesman: Former President Pranab Mukherjee is no more. He breathed his last at Army Hospital in New Delhi this evening. He was 84. His son Abhijit Mukherjee informed this through Twitter. He said, Mr Pranab Mukherjee passed away in spite of the best efforts of doctors of Army R&R Hospital and prayers, duas and prarthanas from people throughout the country. Mr. Mukherjee served as 13th President of India from 2012 to 2017. He also served as Union Minister of Finance, Defence, External Affairs and Commerce.
STATE NEWS
Temples in Tamil Nadu to re-open tomorrow after almost 3 months: Sanitisation and cleaning works are being undertaken extensively in various temples in Tamil Nadu today as a prelude to their re-opening tomorrow after almost three months interval following COVID-19 pandemic. Major temples like Madurai Meenakshi, Trichy Malaikottai and Suchindram have been thoroughly sanitised using modern sanitizers. Steps are also being taken to ensure enough facilities for devotees to fulfill various parameters of social distancing. The Tamil Nadu State government has clarified that places of worship in the State will be allowed to be kept open till 8.00 pm from tomorrow.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Indian High Commission gifts books to 100 universities and Colleges to mark Mujib Barsho in Bangladesh: The High Commission of India on Monday gifted books on the life of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the liberation war of Bangladesh to 100 universities and colleges in the country in places like Dhaka, Chattogram, Khulna, Rajshahi and Sylhet among others. According to a press release issued by the High Commission of India, the books have been written by acclaimed authors and historians. The High Commission organised the online book gifting session as part of Mujib Barsho- the birth centenary year of Bangladesh’s founder president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Diplomat Mustapha Adib on course to be designated new Lebanon PM: Lebanon’s ambassador to Germany Mustapha Adib is on course to become the country’s next prime minister after securing major political backing. Mr. Adib was named by four former prime ministers on the eve of binding
consultations between the president and parliamentary blocs on their choice for the post. The announcement came a day before French President
Emmanuel Macron is due to arrive for a two day-visit, during which he is
expected to press Lebanese officials to formulate a new political pact to lift
thecountryoutofitsmultiplecrises.
BUSINESS AND FINANCE NEWS
RBI announces steps to ease pressure on liquidity and to maintain congenial financial conditions forsustainable recovery of economic growth: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today announced a host of steps, including term repo operations totaling Rs. 1 lakh crore in mid-September to ease pressure on the liquidity and maintain congenial financial conditions with a view to ensuring sustainable recovery of economic growth. In a statement, the central bank said the RBI stands ready to conduct market operations as required through a variety of instruments so as to ensure orderly market functioning. It added that recently market sentiment has been impacted by concerns relating to the inflation outlook and the fiscal situation amidst global developments that have firmed up yields abroad. The RBI said that in order to reduce the cost of funds, banks that had availed of funds under long-term repo operations (LTROs) may exercise an option of reversing these transactions before maturity. It thus further added that the banks may reduce their interest liability by returning funds taken at the repo rate prevailing at that time (5.15 per cent) and availing funds at the current repo rate of 4 per cent. The central bank added that the last date for paying the second installment of advance tax is September 15. Further, RBI said that it will conduct additional special open market operations involving the simultaneous purchase and sale of government securities for an aggregate amount of Rs 20,000 crore in two tranches of Rs 10,000 crore each. The auctions would be conducted on September 10, 2020, and September 17, 2020 RBI said that it remains committed to conducting further such operations as warranted by market conditions. It said that as part of the measures, the RBI has also decided to allow banks to hold fresh acquisitions 7 of statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) securities acquired from September 1, 2020, under Held-To-Maturity (HTM) up to an overall limit of 22 per cent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) up to March 31, 2021 which shall be reviewed thereafter. Currently, banks are required to maintain 18 per cent of their reserves in SLR securities. The extant limit for investments that can be held in the HTM category is 25 per cent of total investment.
Compiled By : CS Surbhi Saxena
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