The New Pension Bill

The Rajya Sabha passed the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill, which will help extend pension cover to more citizens of the country through PFRDA's New Pension Scheme (NPS).

• The main objective of the bill is to help extend pension cover to more citizens of the country through PFRDA's New Pension Scheme (NPS). Currently just 12 percent of the workforce in the country has any formal pension or social security plan.

• The passage of the Pension Bill will make Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) a statutory authority. Earlier it had a non-statutory status.

• The Pension Bill would also provide subscribers a wide choice to invest their funds, depending on their capacity to take risk. A subscriber seeking minimum assured returns can opt for schemes providing minimum assured returns, as may be notified by the PFRDA.

• NPS is a defined contribution scheme and is based on the principle that 'you save while you earn'.

• The provisions of the Pension Bill will not apply to Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) subscribers. EPFO funds will be continued to be managed by the government.

• The Pension Bill allows foreign direct investment in the country's pension sector, the latest attempt by the government to attract more capital flows. Overseas investors can own stakes of up to 26% stake in domestic pension funds, or such percentage as may be approved for the insurance sector, whichever is higher etc.

• NPS was opened up for all citizens of the country including unorgnised sector workers, on voluntary basis, with effect from 1 May 2009.

• To encourage workers from the unorganised sector to voluntarily save for their retirement via NPS, the government launched the co-contributory pension scheme titled "Swavalamban Scheme" of NPS in the Budget of 2010-11. 

ICICI- First Private bank to launch ‘ATM On Wheels’ To Reach Rural Villages

• Villagers in the western state of Maharashtra, India, will soon have access to basic banking products and services thanks to a mobile “Branch on Wheels” offered by India’s largest private sector bank, ICICI Bank, as part of the bank’s financial inclusion initiative, aiming to expand its reach to citizens devoid of banking facilities.
• Two more could be opened in Odisha and Chhattisgrah states each depending on the success of its pilot project.
• The "Branch on Wheels" will be a van that travels to pre-identified unbanked villages at specific timings in the day, coming equipped with a GPS tracking system, laptops with 3G connections, LED TV, a safe, a printer, public announcement system, an UV Lamp that detects forged cheques, a note counting-cum-authentication machine that identifies fake currency notes and a unique low weight ATM.

Zubin Mehta gets Tagore Award for Communal Harmony

Who: Zubin Mehta
Profession: International Music Conductor  in western classical music specially the Munich’s Bavarian State Orchestra
Origin: Indian
Award: Tagore Award for Communal Harmony
Famous Concert: ‘Ehsaas-e-Kashmir’
More: The President called Mehta a "distinguished son of India" and also the country's "cultural ambassador".
                                       

Worlds largest solar power project to be installed in Jodhpur, Rajasthan

Asia's largest single location solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant with a generation capacity of 55 MW was commissioned on Wednesday. The project was part of the first phase of the National Solar Mission.Solar Park would be established in 10 thousand hectare land and Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide 3000 crore rupees loan for development of transmission lines of this solar park.The technical assistance for the solar park will be provided by Clinton Foundation as per the agreement between State government of Rajasthan and Clinton foundation in 2010. Three more solar parks will come in Jaisalemer, Barmer and Bikner Districts with the help of Clinton Foundation.

India's first All Women Bank- Bhartiya Mahila Bank

Government plans to set up about 25 branches of the proposed public sector Bharatiya Mahila Bank, India's first all women bank, by the end of this fiscal. The government has already approved Rs 1,000 crore seed capital for the women focused public sector bank, announced by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in his budget speech. The bank will be headquartered at New Delhi.

International Development Association

The International Development Association (IDA) is an international financial institution which offers concessional loans and grants to the world's poorest developing countries. The IDA is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1960 to complement the existing International Bank for Reconstruction and Development by lending to developing countries which suffer from the lowest gross national income, from troubled creditworthiness, or from the lowest per capita income. Together, the International Development Association and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development are collectively known as the World Bank, as they follow the same executive leadership and operate with the same staff.

India's tax-to-GDP ratio one of the lowest

At 15.5 per cent, India has one of the lowest tax-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratios. India has around 35 million taxpayers. Among G20 countries, India had the third-lowest tax base, before Mexico and Indonesia. The property tax-to-GDP ratio in India is only 0.48 per cent. France and the UK, it is 4.3 per cent and 4.21 per cent, respectively. For China, it is 1.7 per cent. Wealth tax in India is only 0.007 per cent of GDP, while it is 0.89 per cent in France.

In 2011-12, the tax-GDP ratio stood at 5.5 per cent for direct taxes and 4.4 per cent for indirect taxes.

Definition Tax-to-GDP ratio: 

This ratio is the total government tax collections divided by the country's GDP. Some countries, like Sweden, have a high tax-to-GDP ratio (as high as 54%). Other countries, like India, have a low ratio. When tax revenues grow at a slower rate than the GDP of a country, the tax-to-GDP ratio drops. Taxes paid by individuals and corporations often account for the majority of tax receipts, especially in developed countries.

Customs and duties paid by users of goods and services also make up a portion of tax receipts. (Investopedia)

SEZ land norms relaxed

**Minimum land requirement for SEZs**

For Single Product Industry:
Before:    100 hectares
Now:       50 hectares

For Multi Product Industry:
Before:     1000 hectares
Now:        500 hectares

Benefit of this change:        Easy for investors

Benefit of SEZ in general:
A- 100% income tax exemption on export income for SEZ units for the first five years.
B- SEZs allow duty-free imports or domestic procurement of goods

China launches worlds highest wind farm

What:         China strengthened its position as a leader in renewable energy by installing the world’s highest wind farm.
Where:       Tibet
Height:       4,900 m above sea level
How many: 5
Capacity:   15MW (enough to power 13,500 homes)

"Durga" - Largest Blast furnace of the country starts operating

Where:           Rourkela
Organization: SAIL
What:             Blast Furnace (named Durga)
Why:              To increase hot metal Capacity of SAIL
Whats new:   Closed-loop cooling system => zero water dischage