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CURRENT UPDATE : RBI- FIFTH BI-MONTHLY MONETARY POLICY STATEMENT, 2016-17

FIFTH BI-MONTHLY MONETARY POLICY STATEMENT, 2016-17 RESOLUTION OF THE MONETARY POLICY COMMITTEE (MPC)

On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation at its meeting today (07-12-2016), the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to:

·         Keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.25 per cent.

Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF remains unchanged at 5.75 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 6.75 per cent.

The decision of the MPC is consistent with an accommodative stance of monetary policy in consonance with the objective of achieving consumer price index (CPI) inflation at 5 per cent by Q4 of 2016-17 and the medium-term target of 4 per cent within a band of +/- 2 per cent, while supporting growth.

CURRENT RATES
POLICY RATES	BANK RATE	6.75 %
	REPO RATE	6.25 %
	REVERSE REPO RATE	5.75 %
	MARGINAL STANDING FACILITY RATE	6.75 %
RESERVE RATIO	CRR	4%
	SLR	20.75 %
LENDING RATE	BASE RATE	9.30% - 9.65%

The next meeting of the MPC is scheduled on February 7 & 8, 2017 and its resolution will be placed on the Reserve Bank’s website on February 8, 2017.

CURRENT UPDATE : PSLV-C36 SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES RESOURCESAT-2A

In its thirty eighth flight (PSLV-C36), ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle successfully launched the 1235 kg RESOURCESAT-2A Satellite today morning (December 07, 2016) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. This is the thirty seventh consecutively successful mission of PSLV. 

After PSLV-C36 lift-off at 10:25 am IST from the First Launch Pad with the ignition of the first stage, the subsequent important flight events, namely, strap-on ignitions and separations, first stage separation, second stage ignition, payload fairing separation, second stage separation, third stage ignition and separation, fourth stage ignition and cut-off, took place as planned. After a flight of 17 minutes 05 seconds, the vehicle achieved a polar Sun Synchronous Orbit of 824 km height inclined at an angle of 98.725 degree to the equator (very close to the intended orbit) and 47 seconds later, RESOURCESAT-2A was separated from the PSLV fourth stage.

After separation, the two solar arrays of RESOURCESAT-2A deployed automatically and ISRO's Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Bangalore took over the control of the satellite. In the coming days, the satellite will be brought to its final operational configuration following which it will begin to provide imagery from its three cameras.  The data sent by RESOURCESAT-2A  will be useful for agricultural applications like crop area and crop production estimation, drought monitoring, soil mapping, cropping system analysis and farm advisories generation. 

Like its predecessors RESOURCESAT-1 and 2, RESOURCESAT-2A has a unique 3-Tier imaging system with Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS), Linear Imaging Self Scanner-3 (LISS-3) and Linear Imaging Self Scanner-4 (LISS-4) cameras. The AWiFS provides images with a sampling of 56 metres, a swath of 740 km and a revisit of 5 days whereas the LISS-3 provides 23.5 metre sampled images with 141 km swath and a repitivity of 24 days. LISS-4 provides 5.8 metre sampled images with 70 km swath and a revisit of 5 days.

With today’s launch, the PSLV has yet again demonstrated its reliability.  The total number of satellites launched by India’s workhorse launch vehicle PSLV including today’s RESOURCESAT-2A has now reached 122, of which 43 are Indian and the remaining 79 are from abroad.

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CURRENT UPDATE : INDIA BECOMES ASSOCIATE MEMBER OF CERN, GENEVA

India and European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) signed an agreement on Monday making India an Associate Member State of CERN; This follows CERN Council’s adoption of the resolution to this effect on September 15, 2016.

The agreement was signed by Dr. Sekhar Basu, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy and CERN Director General Dr. Fabiola Gianotti in Mumbai.

India’s Associate Membership will strengthen the long-term partnership between CERN and the Indian scientific community. 

Associate Membership will allow India to take part in meetings of the CERN Council and its committees (Finance Committee and Scientific Policy Committee). It will also make Indian scientists eligible for staff appointments.

Finally, once the Agreement enters into force, Indian industry will be entitled to bid for CERN contracts, which will open up opportunities for industrial collaboration in areas of advanced technology. 

CURRENT UPDATE : WORLD SANSKRIT AWARD

FIRST 'WORLD SANSKRIT AWARD'

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that the case for studying Sanskrit makes itself, and there is no need at all to invoke higher spiritual incentives in order to justify this. He was addressing the gathering after giving away the The World Sanskrit Award 2015 & 2016 by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), here today. The Vice President congratulated Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand and Prof. George Cardona, an American linguist and Indologist for being the first recipients of ICCR’s World Sanskrit Awards.