CURRENT UPDATE : RBI - FOURTH BI-MONTHLY MONETARY POLICY STATEMENT, 2014-15

FOURTH BI-MONTHLY MONETARY POLICY STATEMENT

Monetary and Liquidity Measures

F Keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 8.0 per cent;

F keep the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks unchanged at 4.0 per cent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL);

F reduce the liquidity provided under the export credit refinance (ECR) facility from 32 per cent of eligible export credit outstanding to 15 per cent with effect from October 10, 2014;

F continue to provide liquidity under overnight repos at 0.25 per cent of bank-wise NDTL at the LAF repo rate and liquidity under 7-day and 14-day term repos of up to 0.75 per cent of NDTL of the banking system through auctions; and

F continue with daily one-day term repos and reverse repos to smooth liquidity.

Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF will remain unchanged at 7.0 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 9.0 per cent.

CURRENT RATES
POLICY RATES	BANK RATE	9%
	REPO RATE	8%
	REVERSE REPO RATE	7%
	MARGINAL STANDING FACILITY RATE	9%
RESERVE RATIO	CRR	4%
	SLR	22%
LENDING RATE	BASE RATE	10% - 10.25%

Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan hoped that inflation will moderate to acceptable level of 6 per cent by January 2016 and maintained that the GDP growth in the current fiscal will be 5.5 per cent, same as projected earlier.

While the unchanged policy will not result in any relief to borrowers in the festive season, RBI relaxed the 'know your customer' (KYC), norms by allowing self-certification of documents needed for opening bank accounts.

The central bank is also in the process of modifying the definition of "wilful defaulters" so as to bring the directors of defaulting companies within its ambit and announced setting up of a Central Fraud Registry to check frauds.

CURRENT UPDATE : NEW CHIEF MINISTER OF TAMIL NADU

O. PANNEERSELVAM SWORN IN AS NEW TAMIL NADU CM

Handpicked by J Jayalalithaa, O Panneerselvam, the 'Mr Faithful' of the AIADMK supremo, has taken oath as the new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after he was elected as leader of the legislature party in the wake of her conviction in an illegal assets case.

63-year-old Panneerselvam, who was chosen by J Jayalalithaa to fill her shoes in a similar situation in 2001, was unanimously elected as leader of AIADMK Legislature Party in Chennai on Sunday, a day after her conviction and sentencing in the Rs 66.65 crore disproportionate assets case. 

Described as "Mr Faithful", Panneerselvam belongs to the dominant Mudukulathor community and is a trusted lieutenant of Jayalalithaa. 

The ruling party MLAs will meet Governor K Rosaiah to communicate him the decision, party sources said. 

The name of Panneerselvam was understood to have communicated by Jayalalithaa in the court itself after the verdict was pronounced on Saturday. 

She also had a long conversation with him in the court before she was lodged in Bangalore jail. 

Panneerselvam was handpicked by Jayalalithaa in 2001 when Supreme Court struck down her appointment as Chief Minister by the then Governor Fathima Beevi following her conviction in TANSI land case. 

The soft spoken and suave leader literally functioned as "interim-chief minister" for about six months and duly vacated the post after Jayalalithaa was acquitted in the case. 

Panneerselvam, who had been camping in Bangalore since Saturday when Jayalalithaa travelled there for the verdict in the disproportionate asset case, returned to the city on Sunday to take up the new responsibility as per her direction. 

Soon after his election, Panneerselvam drove to Raj Bhavan to call on Governor Rosaiah to convey the party's decision. 

He was accompanied by Housing minister R Vaithilingam, Electricity Minister Natham Viswanathan and Highway Minister Edappadi Palanisamy. The press was denied entry into Raj Bhavan. 

CURRENT UPDATE : CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA

JUSTICE DATTU SWORN IN AS CJI

Justice H L Dattu, who has been heading the bench monitoring probe into the 2G scam, was sworn in as the next Chief Justice of India by President Pranab Mukherjee and will have a tenure of 14 months.

63-year-old Justice Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu, the senior-most Supreme Court judge, took oath at a brief ceremony held at the chandeliered Durbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Sunday. 

He will have a tenure of 14 months and will retire on 2^nd  December 2015. 

Justice Lodha, who retired on Saturday as the CJI, senior judges of the Supreme Court, High Court, retired judges and members of the Bar were also present. 

Justice Dattu has been heading the bench monitoring investigations into the 2G spectrum scam. 

"I will request for blessing of all citizens of this country to give me courage and confidence to take this institution of mine to the highest stride," he had said earlier this month when the file relating to his appointment reached the Prime Minister's Office. 

"Mine is the best institution in the world," he had said. 

However, the judge, who started his legal profession from Karnataka, had refused to comment on the controversy surrounding the attempt to scrap the collegium system of appointment of judges for higher judiciary. 

He joined the Supreme Court as a judge in December 2008. Born on 13th December 1950, he enrolled as an advocate in 1975 and began practising in Bangalore and dealt with all types of matters -- civil, criminal, tax and constitutional cases. 

From 1983 onwards, he appeared in various capacities before the Karnataka High Court, including as a government pleader for Sales Tax department, standing counsel for Income Tax department and later as a government advocate. 

After being designated as a senior standing counsel for I-T department in 1995, Justice Dattu was elevated as a judge of the Karnataka High Court. 

He was elevated as the Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court in February 2007 and shortly afterwards shifted in the same capacity to the Kerala High Court. 

He is the second apex court judge to take oath as the Chief Justice of India this year. 

Justice Lodha took oath in April this year. 

CURRENT UPDATE : SHANTI SWARUP BHATNAGAR PRIZE 2014

10 SCIENTISTS GET SHANTI SWARUP BHATNAGAR PRIZE

Ten scientists were on Friday felicitated with prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for their outstanding contributions to field of science and technology

P S Ahuja, Director General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) awarded the scientists for their notable and outstanding research, applied or fundamental, in the field of biology, chemistry, environmental science, engineering, mathematics, medicine and Physics. 

Roop Mallik and Pratap Raychaudhuri, both scientists from Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), were awarded for their contribution in the field of Biological and Physical Science respectively. 

Sadiqali Abbas Rangwala from Raman Research Institute in Bengaluru was given the award for Physical Science.

Anurag Agrawal of New Delhi-based Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB) was awarded for his contribution in the field of Medical Science.

S Venkata Mohan from Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT), Hyderabad and Soumen Chakrabarti from Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai were given the award in the field of Engineering Science while Kaushal Kumar Verma from Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru was awarded for his work in Mathematical Sciences. 

In the field of Chemical Sciences, Kavirayani Ramakrishna Prasad from Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru and Souvik Maiti from Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB) bagged the prestigious award while Sachchida Nand Tripathi from IIT Kanpur was given the award from the field of Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences. 

The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology (SSB) is an award in India given annually by the CSIR. 

It is named after the founder Director of the CSIR and carries an award money of Rs 5 lakh each.

CURRENT UPDATE : MARS ORBITER MISSION

MARS ORBITER SPACECRAFT SUCCESSFULLY INSERTED INTO MARS ORBIT

India became the first country to achieve the feat of reaching Martian orbit in its first attempt itself with the successful insertion of The Mars Orbiter Mission into orbit today.

India's Mars Orbiter Spacecraft successfully entered into an orbit around planet Mars today morning (September 24, 2014) by firing its 440 Newton Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) along with eight smaller liquid engines. This Liquid Engines firing operation which began at 07:17:32 Hrs IST lasted for 1388.67 seconds which changed the velocity of the spacecraft by 1099 metre/sec. With this operation, the spacecraft entered into an elliptical orbit around Mars.

The events related to Mars Orbit Insertion progressed satisfactorily and the spacecraft performance was normal. The Spacecraft is now circling Mars in an orbit whose nearest point to Mars (periapsis) is at 421.7 km and farthest point (apoapsis) at 76,993.6 km. The inclination of orbit with respect to the equatorial plane of Mars is 150 degree, as intended. In this orbit, the spacecraft takes 72 hours 51 minutes 51 seconds to go round the Mars once. 

Mars Orbiter Spacecraft was launched on-board India's workhorse launch vehicle PSLV on November 05, 2013 into a parking orbit around the Earth. On December 01, 2013, following Trans Mars Injection (TMI) manoeuvre, the spacecraft escaped from orbiting the earth and followed a path that would allow it to encounter Mars on September 24, 2014. 

With today's successful Mars Orbit Insertion operation, ISRO has become the fourth space agency to successfully send a spacecraft to Mars orbit. In the coming weeks, the spacecraft will be thoroughly tested in the Mars orbit and the systematic observation of that planet using its five scientific instruments would begin.

MARS ORBITER MISSION: CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS

05-11-2013	PSLV-C25, in its twenty fifth flight, successfully launches Mars Orbiter Mission Spacecraft from SDSC SHAR Sriharikota at 2:38 pm IST
07-11-2013	The first orbit-raising manoeuvre of India's Mars Orbiter Spacecraft was performed at 01:17 hrs Indian Standard Time (IST) early this morning (November 07, 2013) when the 440 Newton Liquid Engine of the spacecraft was fired for 416 seconds by commanding it from Spacecraft Control Centre (SCC) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Peenya, Bangalore. With this engine firing, the spacecraft's apogee (farthest point to Earth) has been raised to 28,825 km, while its perigee (nearest point to Earth) is at 252 km.
08-11-2013	The second orbit raising manoeuvre of Mars Orbiter Spacecraft, starting at 02:18:51 hrs(IST) on Nov 08, 2013, with a burn time of 570.6 seconds has been successfully completed. The observed change in Apogee is from 28814 km to 40186 km.
09-11-2013	The third orbit raising manoeuvre of Mars Orbiter Spacecraft, starting at 02:10:43 hrs(IST) on Nov 09, 2013, with a burn time of 707 seconds has been successfully completed. The observed change in Apogee is from 40186km to 71636km.
11-11-2013	In the fourth orbit-raising operation conducted this morning (Nov 11, 2013), the apogee (farthest point to Earth) of Mars Orbiter Spacecraft was raised from 71,623 km to 78,276 km by imparting an incremental velocity of 35 metres/second (as against 130 metres/second originally planned to raise apogee to about 100,000 [1 lakh] km). The spacecraft is in normal health. A supplementary orbit-raising operation is planned tomorrow (November 12, 2013) at 0500 hrs IST to raise the apogee to nearly 1 lakh km.
12-11-2013	Fourth supplementary orbit raising manoeuvre of Mars Orbiter Spacecraft, starting at 05:03:50 hrs(IST) on Nov 12, 2013, with a burn Time of 303.8 seconds has been successfully completed. The observed change in Apogee is from 78276km to 118642km.
16-11-2013	The fifth orbit raising manoeuvre of Mars Orbiter Spacecraft, starting at 01:27 hrs(IST) on Nov 16, 2013, with a burn Time of 243.5 seconds has been successfully completed. The observed change in Apogee is from 118642km to 192874km.
01-12-2013	·  Medium Gain Antenna of the Mars Orbiter Spacecraft is powered for long distance communication, subsequent to successful Trans Mars Injection (TMI) manoeuvre ·  Trans Mars Injection (TMI) operations completed successfully. The liquid engine burn time was 1328.89 sec and the imparted incremental velocity was 647.96 m/sec. ·  Trans Mars Injection (TMI) operation began at 00:49 hrs (IST) on Sunday Dec 01, 2013. ·  Forward rotation of spacecraft, to put it into the right orientation to perform Trans Mars Injection (TMI) operation has been completed successfully at 00:30 hrs IST on Dec 1, 2013
02-12-2013	Spacecraft has travelled a distance of 5,36,000 km by 17:00 hrs (IST) of Dec 2, 2013. It has crossed the distance to Moon's orbit around Earth (mean distance 3,85,000 km) this morning.
04-12-2013	Spacecraft has traversed beyond the Sphere of Influence (SOI) of Earth extending about 9,25,000 km at around 1:14 hrs (IST) on Dec 4, 2013.
11-12-2013	The first Trajectory Correction Manoeuvre (TCM) of Spacecraft was carried out successfully at 06:30 hrs (IST) by firing the 22 Newton Thrusters for a duration of 40.5 seconds. The spacecraft is travelling at a distance of about 29 lakh (2.9 million) km away from Earth.
12-06-2014	The second Trajectory Correction Manoeuvre (TCM-2) of India's Mars Orbiter Spacecraft was successfully performed on June 11, 2014 at 1630 hrs IST. TCM-2 was performed by firing the spacecraft’s 22 Newton thrusters for a duration of 16 seconds.
22-09-2014	The 440 Newton Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) of India's Mars Orbiter Spacecraft, last fired on December 01, 2013, was successfully fired for a duration of 3.968 seconds at 1430 hrs IST today (September 22, 2014). This operation of the spacecraft's main liquid engine was also used for the spacecraft's trajectory correction and changed its velocity by 2.18 metre/second.
24-09-2014	·      Spacecraft Successfully enters Martian Orbit ·      Burn Start of Main Liquid Engine Confirmed ·      The radio link between the Spacecraft and Earth is now blocked by Mars. ·      Eclipse starts - The Spacecraft is in shadow of Mars ·      Forward rotation starts ·      Changed Over to Medium Gain Antenna

CURRENT UPDATE : SARASWATI SAMMAN - 2013

GOVIND MISHRA GETS SARASWATI SAMMAN 2013 

FOR  NOVEL 'DHOOL PAUDHON PAR'

Renowned Hindi author Govind Mishra was conferred the 'Saraswati Samman' for his novel "Dhool Paudhon Par" published in 2008 at a function in New Delhi on Monday.

Giving away the award, constituted by the K K Birla Foundation, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that it has been recognised as the highest literary award in India. 

Referring to the earlier speech of Govind Mishra, Singh said that it was true that those who had not read the works of our litterateurs, they remain uneducated. "The way science and technology can be found in different Indian languages, it can't be found in any other language in the world," he said while giving the example of Heisenberg's principle of uncertainty which many people thought was his original. 

Singh said that Heisenberg's friend, an Australian scientist has written that when he was discussing the issue with Heisenberg and asked as to where did he get his theory's basic concept, he had replied that he had got it while discussing Vedant with Rabindra Nath Tagore, the Home Minister said. 

Referring to the Booker award, Singh congratulated the Foundation for keeping the name of the award not on some person's name but on Goddess of knowledge - Saraswati who he said was the "goddess of creation". 

Giving the example of how Google too is acknowledging the importance of Hindi as a language, he referred to the new Android One which the company had launched recently. "Today Google too is feeling the importance of Hindi. 

They have developed a new software Android One. Hindi and Indian languages has everything. All Indian languages are sisters to each other. "We talk of making India a superpower. But India will not become a superpower till the development is not related to India's soil and culture. Why is India considered as Vishwa Guru. It is because we have spiritual power," he said. 

Govind Mishra is the second Hindi author who was conferred this honour after it was given to Harivansh Rai Bachchan in 1991. Born on August 1, 1939, in Atarra (Banda, Uttar Pradesh), Mishra completed his BA and MA (English) at the University of Allahabad. 

In 1962, he was selected for the Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax), where he attained the position of chairman, central board of direct taxes. After his retirement in 1997, he has been devoting himself solely to literary pursuits in Bhopal. 

Mishra's published works include 11 novels, 14 short story collections containing 100 stories, five travelogues, five collection of literary essays, one poem collection and 2 story books for children. 

Mishra's first novel "Wo Apna Chehra" was published in 1969. His famous novel "Lal Peeli Zameen" published in 1976 was much talked about. He is also the recipient of various awards like 'Sahitya Akademi Award', 'Vyas Samman' and 'Bharat-Bharti Samman'. 

The novel, 'Dhool Paudhon Par', is about the struggle of modern Indian women. It is an artistic blend of reality and romance and can be read both for the realistic portrayal of the plight of Indian women in our times and for a love story. 

The award is given annually to an outstanding literary work of an Indian citizen published during the last ten years in any of the languages included in the Schedule VIII of the Constitution, Foundation president Shobhna Bhartia said. 

The responsibility for selection is that of the 'Chayan Parishad' which is under the chairmanship of former Chief Justice of India R C Lahoti and various scholars and writers. The KK Birla Foundation has instituted three awards in the field of literature. These are Saraswati Samman, Vyas Samman (for Hindi) and Bihari Puraskar (for Hindi and Rajasthani writers of Rajasthan). 

CURRENT UPDATE : MARS ORBITER MISSION

MARS ORBITER SPACECRAFT'S MAIN LIQUID ENGINE 

SUCCESSFULLY TEST FIRED

The 440 Newton Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) of India's Mars Orbiter Spacecraft, last fired on December 01, 2013, was successfully fired for a duration of 3.968 seconds at 1430 hrs IST today (September 22, 2014). This operation of the spacecraft's main liquid engine was also used for the spacecraft's trajectory correction and changed its velocity by 2.18 metre/second. With this successful test firing, Mars Orbiter Insertion (MOI) operation of the spacecraft is scheduled to be performed on the morning of September 24, 2014 at 07:17:32 hrs IST by firing the LAM along with eight smaller liquid engines for a duration of about 24 minutes.

India will be the first country to enter the Mars orbit on a maiden mission if it succeeds. 

It will also be the first Asian country and ISRO the fourth space agency to send a satellite to the Red Planet. 

European, US and Russian probes have managed to orbit or land on the planet, but after several attempts.

CURRENT UPDATE : NEW ISI CHIEF

LT GEN RIZWAN AKHTAR NEW ISI CHIEF

Pakistan government today named Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar, as the new head of its intelligence agency, Inter Services Intelligence, ISI. 

Lieutenant General Akhtar will take over from October 1, when the present ISI chief Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam retires. 

The appointment comes at a time when Pakistan army has been accused of instigating unrest to weaken Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. 

The ISI was established in 1948 and became the primary institution running the intelligence operations of the army, air force and navy.

CURRENT UPDATE : FIJI'S PRIME MINISTER

BAINIMARAMA SWORN IN AS FIJI'S PM

Coup leader Voreqe Bainimarama was sworn in as Fiji's new Prime Minister on Monday, five days after the South Pacific nation held its first general election since 2006.

With official results confirming Voreqe Bainimarama had swept the election with almost 60 per cent of the vote, he was sworn in by President Epeli Nailatikau at a brief ceremony in Suva's Government House. 

"I solemnly and sincerely promise to hold my office with honour, dignity and integrity," the 60-year-old pledged, eight years after he toppled Fiji's last democratically elected leader Laisenia Qarase in a bloodless coup. 

The final count in the election gave Bainimarama's Fiji First Party 59.2 per cent of the vote, equating to 32 seats in the new 50-seat parliament set up under a constitution introduced last year. 

The Social Democratic Liberal Party was a distant second at 28.2 per cent (15 seats), with the National Federation Party next on 5.5 (three seats). 

The election extended full voting rights for the first time to ethnic Indians, who make up about 40 per cent of the 900,000 population and enthusiastically backed Bainimarama's move to put them on an equal footing with indigenous Fijians. 

Tensions between the two races have been the underlying cause of four coups in the island nation since 1987. 

But Bainimarama promised on Sunday, when the scale of his victory had become apparent, that he would govern "for the well-being of all Fijians". 

"This is a victory for all Fijians, this is when history will record that as a nation we have embraced a new future," Bainimarama told thousands of cheering supporters in Suva. 

The election was conducted peacefully and, despite allegations from some opposition figures of irregularities, a multinational observer group has declared the poll "credible" and said it reflects the will of the Fijian people. 

The official returns showed an exceptionally high turnout of 83.9 per cent among the 590,000 registered voters. 

There was a festive atmosphere as people queued to cast their ballots last Wednesday. 

New Zealand, which along with fellow regional power Australia was among the strongest critics of Fiji's post-coup military regime, congratulated Bainimarama on his election victory. 

"The election process had been a significant step for Fiji, and for New Zealand's relationship with Fiji," said Foreign Minister Murray McCully.

CURRENT UPDATE : AFGHANISTAN'S NEW PRESIDENT

GHANI WINS AFGHAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, SIGNS DEAL WITH ABDULLAH

Former finance minister Ashraf Ghani was declared Afghanistan's next president on Sunday, hours after signing a power-sharing deal with his rival Abdullah Abdullah that ended a prolonged standoff over the disputed result.

Allegations of massive fraud in the June 14 vote sparked political crisis as both candidates claimed victory, paralysing the country at a key moment with US-led troops winding down their 13-year war against the Taliban. 

When the long-awaited "unity government" deal was finally signed, Ghani embraced Abdullah briefly at a low-key ceremony in the presidential palace that lasted less than 10 minutes. 

Abdullah will now nominate his choice for the new post of "chief executive officer" (CEO), which will be similar to prime minister -- setting up a tricky balance of power as Afghanistan enters a new era. 

Neither candidate spoke at the palace ceremony, and it remained uncertain when they would address the nation or when the unity agreement would be officially published. 

"The Independent Election Commission declares Dr Ashraf Ghani as the president, and thus announces the end of election process," commission chief Ahmad Yousaf Nuristani later told reporters. 

"During the election process fraud was committed from all sides...that has concerned people." 

Nuristani gave no winning margin, turnout figure, or the number of fraudulent ballot papers thrown out in an intensive UN-supervised audit that checked every individual vote. 

Ghani was widely acknowledged to be on the brink of the presidency after coming well ahead in preliminary results before the audit began. 

Under the constitution the president wields almost total control, and the new government structure will face a major test as the security and economic outlook worsens. 

"I'm happy that our brothers Dr Ashraf Ghani and Dr Abdullah struck an Afghani deal for the sake of goodness and prosperity of the country," outgoing President Hamid Karzai said in a short speech after the palace signing. 

"I hope with their efforts this country gets long-lasting peace." 

The vote count has been plagued by setbacks amid allegations of massive fraud, emboldening the Taliban insurgents and further weakening the aid-dependent economy.