300-day Mars of odyssey

From: Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO),Sriharikota
By: Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25)

• It was a debut attempt to send a spacecraft to Mars, about 40 crore km away.
• On Tuesday PSLV had put the Mars spacecraft first into an earth-bound orbit after a flight duration of 43 minutes.
• The spacecraft will voyage for 300 days before it reaches the Martian orbit.
• This totally indigenous mission — the rocket and the five payloads come from various ISRO centres across the country.
• It is the silver jubilee launch of the PSLV (25th launch).
• K. Radhakrishnan, – Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

Bank Rate, SLR, Repo Rate, Reverse Repo Rate, CRR

Bank Rate is a tool, which central bank  uses for short-term purposes. Thus any revision in the Bank rate indicates that it is likely that interest rates on your deposits are likely to either go up or go down,  and it can also indicate  an increase or decrease in your EMI.

What is SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio)?  

It is Minimum percentage of deposits that the bank has to maintain in form of gold, cash or other approved securities.

What is CRR (Cash reserve Ratio)? 

Banks money to be kept with RBI to drain out excessive money from the system. If the central bank decides to increase the CRR, the available amount with the banks comes down. Maintained at 4% of the total of the Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL), on a fortnightly basis.

What is Reverse Repo rate?
RBI borrows from banks at this rate. Banks are always happy to lend money to the RBI since their money are in safe hands with a good interest.An increase in reverse repo rate can prompt banks to park more funds with the RBI to earn higher returns on idle cash. It is also a tool which can be used by the RBI to drain excess money out of the banking system.

What is a Repo Rate?
Banks borrow from RBI at this rate.
It is an instrument of monetary policy. Whenever banks have any shortage of funds they can borrow from the RBI.
A reduction in the repo rate helps banks get money at a cheaper rate and vice versa. The repo rate in India is similar to the discount rate in the US.

Maharatna, Navratna and Miniratna PSUs

PSU companies in India are divided into three categories:

A)Maharatna
B)Navratna
C)Miniratna

There are currently 7 Maharatnas, 14 Navratnas and 53 Miniratnas-I and 16 Miniratna-II.

Maharatna:
In 2009, the government established the Maharatna status. A Maharatna firm can take investment decision of up to Rs. 5,000 crore without going to the government.

List of Maharatna CPSEs:

1. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
2. Coal India Limited
3. GAIL (India) Limited
4. Indian Oil Corporation Limited
5. NTPC Limited
6. Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited
7. Steel Authority of India Limited

Navratna: 

Navratna was the title given originally to 9 Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) identified by the Government of India in 1997 as "public sector companies that have comparative advantages", giving them greater autonomy to compete in the global market so as to "support [them] in their drive to become global giants". A Navratna firm can take investment decision of up to Rs. 1,000 crore without going to the government.

List of Navratna PSUs:

1. Bharat Electronics Limited
2. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
3. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
4. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited
5. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited
6. National Aluminium Company Limited
7. National Mineral Development Corporation Limited
8. Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited
9. Oil India Limited
10. Power Finance Corporation Limited
11. Power Grid Corporation of India Limited
12. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited
13. Rural Electrification Corporation Limited
14. Shipping Corporation of India Limited
15. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited
16. Paradeep Phosphates Ltd

Note: BHEL and GAIL were granted the Maharatna status by the Union Government of India in February 2013.

KAC- Know A Country: Fiji

Motto: "Fear God and honour the Queen"

Capital: Suva

Currency: Currency Fijian dollar (FJD)

Official languages: English, Fijian, Fiji Hindi

English	Hello/hi	Good morning	Goodbye
Fijian	bula	yadra (Pronounced Yandra)	moce (Pronounced Mothe)
Fiji Hindi	नमस्ते (namaste)	सुप्रभात (suprobhat)	चलता हूँ (Chaltha hu)

Independence

 - from the United Kingdom 10 October 1970 

 - Republic                                 07 October 1987

Population (2012 estimate): 8.5 lakhs

Religion: 40% are Christian.Among Indo-Fijians, most are Hindu or Muslim while a small minority are Christian. 

Sports: Rugby Union is the most-popular team sport played in Fiji. 

Population Composition: Indo-Fijians (38.1%) - descendants of Indian contract labourers brought to the islands by the British colonial powers in the 19th century. 

Politics: Since independence there have been four coups in Fiji. The military has been either ruling directly or heavily influencing governments since 1987.

Interesting Facts:

Constant warfare and cannibalism between warring tribes were quite rampant and very much part of everyday life.  During the 19th century, Ratu Udre Udre is said to have consumed 872 people and to have made a pile of stones to record his achievement. Fijians today regard those times as "na gauna ni tevoro" (time of the devil). The ferocity of the cannibal lifestyle deterred European sailors from going near Fijian waters, giving Fiji the name Cannibal Isles; as a result, Fiji remained unknown to the rest of the world. 

BILATERAL INVESTMENT PROMOTION AND PROTECTION AGREEMENTS (BIPA)

What: Part of the Economic Reforms Programme initiated in 1991 aimed at promoting investments on reciprocal basic (bilateral).

More: Government of India as on July 2012 has signed BIPAs with 82 countries out of which 72 BIPAs have already come into force and the remaining agreements are in the process of being enforced.

Typhoon Haiyan in Philippines

What: Typhoon Haiyan (known in the Philippines as Typhoon Yolanda) is unofficially the strongest recorded tropical cyclone to make landfall, with wind speeds up to 315 km/h (195 mph). 

Areas affected: Micronesia, Philippines, Southern China, Vietnam 

Occurred on: November 2, 2013.

Four Fingers- 'Rabaa' (Egypt Protest)

What: Sign of anti-coup protests in Egypt.

More: Symbol of protest against toppling of democratically elected President candidate Morsi. This new hand sign refers to the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque, the site of a violent confrontation between Morsi’s followers and the Egyptian army.“Rabaa sign” made by raising four fingers has become the symbol of the massacre in Egypt and Rabaa al-Adawiya Square where the anti-coup protests take place. It also refers to the fact that Mohammed Morsi is the fourth president of Egypt after Nasser, Sadat and Mubarak.

National Development Council (Rashtriya Vikas Parishad)

• It was set up on 6 August 1952.
• It is an extra-constitutional and non-statutory body. Its status is advisory to Planning Commission but not binding.
• The Council comprises the Prime Minister, the Union Cabinet Ministers, Chief Ministers of all States or their substitutes, representatives of the Union Territories and the members of the Commissions.
• Presided over by the Prime Minister.
• Approves *FYP in India.

FYP: 

Joseph Stalin implemented the first FYP in the Soviet Union in the late 1920s. Most communist states and several capitalist countries subsequently have adopted them.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

What:  Geo-political and economic organization of ten countries located in Southeast Asia

Members: 10 states
1.Brunei
2.Cambodia
3.Indonesia
4.Laos
5.Malaysia
6.Burma (Myanmar)
7.Philippines
8.Singapore
9.Thailand
10.Vietnam

World Trade Organization

Aim: To liberalize international trade.
When: Formed in 1995, replaced GATT.(Marrakech Agreement)
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
Membership: 159 member states (Tajikistan became 159th WTO member)
Conflict: On Free trade vs protectionism and subsidies (as pushed by developing and welfare nations).

Important Pointers:

• The highest decision-making body of the WTO is the Ministerial Conference, which usually meets every two years.
• Iran is the biggest economy outside the WTO.
• The WTO has 159 members and 25 observer governments.
• In addition to states, the European Union is a member.
• GATT was established after World War II in the wake of new multilateral institutions formed – notably the Bretton Woods institutions known as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Radha Burnier- President of Theosophical Society passed away

Who: Radha Burnier, President of Theosophical Society (5 times re-elected)
Alma Matter: Benares Hindu University (Sanskrit)

World Prosperity Index- Norway tops, India slips below its neighbors

What: The Legatum Prosperity Index (compiled by London-based Legatum Institute) is an annual ranking, developed by the Legatum Institute, of 142 countries. The ranking is based on a variety of factors including wealth, economic growth, personal well-being, and quality of life. Norway has topped the list in the last three reports; those of 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Rank 1: Norway

Then: Switzerland, Canada, Sweden, New Zealand

India: India slipped from 100th (2012) to 106th this year.

Neighbors: Ahead are China, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

PS: Besides, in the 'Ease of Doing Business' report by World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) released earlier this week, India was ranked at 134th place while neighbours like China, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh were placed at better positions.

Dutch finance major 'RaboBank' fined $ 1 Billion in LIBOR scandal

Charges: RaboBank manipulated London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR)
Repercussions: CEO resigned, RaboBank slapped with $ 1 Billion fine (criminal and civil penalties).
More about RaboBank: It started out as an agriculture cooperative in the Netherlands in the late 19th century and has become the country’s biggest lender.

Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Co-operation (IOR-ARC)

Color code: Dark green: Member countries ; Light Green: Dialogue Partners

What: International organization with 20 member states.
When: March 1997 (formally formed after Charter of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Co-operation was signed)
Objectives: Maritime Safety and Security, Trade and Investment Facilitation, Fisheries Management, Disaster Risk Management, Academic and Science & Technology Cooperation, and Tourism and Cultural Exchanges.
Recent: Australia will assume role of chairman of IOR-ARC for 2 years term, taking over from India this week.

Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC)

• Objective of Commission: To revisit tax laws and recommend measures for putting in place a stable tax administration.
• Headed By: Parthasarathi Shome (Chairman)
• Who Parthasarathi Shome? : Advisor, Union Finance Minister, Ministry of Finance

Click here to read all the provisions (Govt Document)

Indian River Bodies (Map)

 

• The Indian River system is classified as Himalayan, peninsular, coastal, and inland-drainage basin rivers.
• Most of the rivers pour their waters into the Bay of Bengal; however, some of the rivers whose courses take them through the western part of the country empty into the Arabian Sea.
• The largest river basin of India is the Ganga basin, which receives water from Himalayas in the north and the Vindhyas in the South. 
• The Ganga, the Yamuna, the Ghagra, Gandak and Kosi are the main constituents of this basin.
• The Brahmaputra has the greatest volume of water of all the rivers in India. It is the source of the Indus and the Satluj and flows through Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
• The Mahanadi is an important river in the state of Orissa. This river flows slowly for 900 kms and deposits more silt than any other river in the Indian subcontinent.
• Longest river flowing in India: The Ganges
• Longest tributary river: Yamuna
• The Godavari River System has second longest course within India. The banks of this river have many pilgrimage sites like Nasik, Triyambak and Bhadrachalam.
• The Krishna is the third longest river in India with a length of about 1300 kms. It rises in the Western Ghats and flows east into the Bay of Bengal.
• The Narmada and the Tapti are the only major rivers that flow into the Arabian Sea.