Current Affairs Technology

Apple Computers has emerged as the world’s most valuable brand in the 50 Top valuable brand list of the Forbes magazine. “This (Apple) is a company that has faced setbacks before and bounced back to become the world’s most valuable brand–worth USD 57.4 billion,” Forbes said, explaining the company’s number 1 position in its Top 50 world’s most valuable brands 2010 list.

Current Affairs Security Issues

There are no significant incidences of infiltration on Indo-Nepal, Indo-Bhutan, Indo-Myanmar and Indo-China borders.   Similarly, there are no reports to indicate the infiltration bids from sea into the coastal areas.  Although Indo-Bangladesh and Indo-Pakistan borders are prone to infiltration, number of apprehended infiltrators on these borders during the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 (upto June) indicate a decline as shown below :

The situation in the US is not very rosy where the unemployment figure is at 9.7% as per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Added to that is the fact that GDP growth has been lower than expected for the 1st Quarter of 2010, while the fiscal deficient is in excess of 10% and US national debt is reaching 75%. The EU is also facing similar pressures and as per the European Economic Forecast – Spring 2010, the EU GDP growth will be depressed for the 1st three quarters of 2010. The employment rate is expected to fall by 1% this year, putting greater pressure in the unemployment rate. The fiscal deficient would be as high as 6.8% throughout the EU, and a debt to GDP ratio of 78.7%.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports have been providing financial assistance to youth and sports organizations including NGOs for schemes of  (1) Promotion of National Integration, (2) Promotion of Adventure (3) Promotion of Youth Activities and Training and (4) Development and Empowerment of Adolescent. This was stated by Shri Pratik PrakashbapuPatil,  Minister of State of Youth Affairs & Sports, in the Lok Sabha today, in a written reply to a question by Shri Ashok Kumar Rawat.

The Indian economy could notch up a growth rate of 10 per cent in the next few years if the sluggish bureaucratic decision-making was speeded up, the systemic inefficiencies in the government removed and the leakage and pilferage in anti-poverty programmes were effectively plugged, Dr. Kaushik Basu, Chief Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Finance, said here today.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has sought a complete ban on exports of iron ore, having more than 60 per cent iron content in it adding that 40 per cent resource rent tax uniformity be imposed across mining sector to check windfall profits made by iron ore minors in case the former cannot be considered.

In a communication addressed to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, the ASSOCHAM said that in spite of initiatives of UPA government for imposing an export duty on iron ore, it has not been able to reduce exports of iron ore.

I-T Department Celebrations: 150 Years of Income Tax in India

The Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee has asked the income tax department to make double digit contribution to GDP by collecting high revenues and help in building strong nation. He was addressing the senior officials of the Department on the occasion of 150 years of income tax in India,. He said that efforts are on to bring tax reforms in Direct and Indirect taxes with effect from the next Financial Year. In this regard he mentioned that the Direct Taxes Code Bill will be introduced in the forthcoming session of the Parliament. On this occasion the Finance Minister released the revised Citizens’ Charter of the Income Tax Department. Minister of State(Revenue), Shri S.S. Palanimanickam, Secretary Revenue, Shri Sunil Mitra, Chairman CBDT and Members of CBDT were also present on the occasion among others.

The Income Tax department is celebrating 150 years of income tax in India. The Governor General of India accorded to the bill levying the tax, introduced by James Wilson, the first Finance Member in Council, on 24th July 1860. The 150 years of income tax, spanning 3 centuries, have witnessed tremendous global changes. The Income Tax department has traveled this journey by mobilizing resources, from a meager Rs.1.33 crore in 1860-61 to about Rs.380 thousand crore in 2009-10. These revenues have constituted a vital component in the resources used by the Government of India to lift the people out of abject poverty, disease and misery and propel India into the frontiers of strong and self-reliant nations.

Dr. C. Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister released the document ‘Economic Outlook 2010-11’ at a Press Conference in New Delhi. Following are the highlights of the document:

Only 30% of the bank branches operate in the rural areas that house 72.2% of the country’s population. Further, rural India accounts for just 9% of total deposits, 7% of total credit, 10% of life insurance and 0.6% of non-life business. There is therefore an urgent need to fast-track financial inclusion, he said, adding that the various technological and financial services and initiatives need to be dovetailed for this.

India’s  growth during the current year will record a substantial improvement over last year. Though IMF has recently upgraded its forecast of GDP for the year 2010-11 to 9.5% . The international community is optimistic in their projections of our growth rate. Behind this optimism is the robust growth of private investment which has been an important driver of growth.

India has to return to some of the urgent measures that will promote and sustain the growth process under the unique model of inclusion that espoused. Financial inclusion is a key determinant of sustainable and inclusive growth. It can unlock the vast hidden potential of savings, consumption and investment propensities of the poorer sections of our society. It provides credit to meet contingent expenses and undertake income-generating activities. Further, it is necessary to connect the banked and unbanked sectors and enable the unbanked to become vibrant and productive participants in the economic growth process.

July 15, 2010 turned out to be a historic day, as the Indian Rupee got the much awaited symbol, just like other leading currencies of the world viz – Dollar, Euro, Pound Sterling and the Yen. The new symbol is an amalgamation of Devanagari –‘Ra’ and the Roman ‘R’ without the stem. Till now, the rupee was written in various abbreviated forms in different languages.

The new symbol designed by IIT Bombay post-graduate Shri D.Udaya Kumar, was approved by the Union Cabinet on July 15. “It’s a big statement on the Indian currency… The symbol would lend a distinctive character and identity to the currency and further highlight the strength and global face of the Indian economy,” said Information and Broadcasting Minister Smt. Ambika Soni, while briefing the media on the Cabinet decision.

THE newly appointed  US  commanderfor Afghanistan, general David Petraeus, takes over at a time when the Taliban seem to have taken the upper hand. The general himself seems to have acknowledged that the facts on the ground are not conducive for the American military to score a decisive military victory anytime soon. While taking over command in Kabul, he told NATO and Afghan officials present at the ceremony that they were witnessing a “critical moment” in the country and that the US was engaged in “a contest of wills”. He tried to reassure his audience in Kabul and send out a message to the wider world that the US was inAfghanistan to “win” the war against the resurgent Taliban.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India has urged the government to confer industry status on retail so as to broad base the share of organizing retail in India to scale of economies. Currently, share of organizing retail stagnates at around 4 per cent and 96 per cent of retailing falls in un-organized sector.

In a note submitted to Ministries of Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs and Finance, the ASSOCHAM has stated that providing industry status should be the first basic step, needed for reforming the Indian retailing sector.

THE UPA government is once again attempting to completely open up the retail sector to foreign direct investment including, possibly, 100 per cent FDI in organised multi-brand retail or supermarket chains. The department of industrial policy and promotion has issued a discussion paper on this subject, significantly without suggesting any upper limit on FDI. Currently, FDI is permitted up to 26 per cent under the automatic route in wholesale so-called cash-and-carry operations and up to 51 per cent with government approval in single-brand stores such as Nike shoes, Levi jeans or Calvin Klein readymades.

The Union Cabinet  approved the symbol for the Indian Rupee. This symbol will be used by all individuals/entities within and outside India after its incorporation in `Unicode Standard’, ‘ISO/IEC 10646’ and ‘IS13194’.

A public competition was held amongst resident Indian citizens inviting entries for the symbol, which reflects and captures the Indian ethos and culture.  Over 3000 entries were received, which were evaluated by a Jury headed by the Deputy Governor, RBI, which also included experts from three reputed art and design Institutes.  The entries were presented to the Jury in such a manner that identity of the competitors was not revealed to the Jury members.  The Jury selected five final entries and also gave its evaluation of these five entries to the Government to take a final decision.

Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) released on April 20 by IMF states that now the “biggest threats have moved from the private to the public sectors in advanced economies”. Various reports of IMF which have come out during the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010 were more optimistic about the Global economic recovery.

But the development in many of the Euro area countries like Greece and Portugal forced IMF to change its stand and they are less optimistic now. In the GFSR report IMF experts observe that concerns about advanced country sovereign risks could undermine stability gains and prolong the collapse of credit. Without more fully restoring the health of financial and household balance sheets, a worsening of public debt sustainability could be transmitted back to the banking systems or across borders.

Currently, India is passing through an unprecedented phase of demographic changes. The ongoing demographic changes are likely to contribute to an ever increasing size of labour force in the country. The Census projection report shows that the proportion of population in the working age group (15-59 years) is likely to increase from approximately 58% in 2001 to more than 64% by 2021

What on earth are they thinking? In the midst of an almost unprecedented and continuous increase in the price of necessities, which is increasingly translating into generalised inflation, the UPA government has chosen to ”free” the price of petroleum products, to bring them in line with international prices. What this translates into is a significant and immediate increase in oil prices. And since oil is a universal intermediate (which enters directly or indirectly into all other prices), this necessarily means a further rise in inflation.

The replacement cycle of TV sets and home appliances has shrunk by 50 per cent due to evolving lifestyle of Indian consumers, in which income levels have risen due to two primary reasons which include – implementation of 6th pay commission report and enactment of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), according to a joint report of Ernst & Young (E&Y) and ASSOCHAM.

As per estimates, MGNERGA alone provided employment opportunities to over 47 million households from fiscal 2008-09 onwards and significantly put purchasing power in hands of individuals, part of which is being used to discard old articles at their home, especially TV sets and home appliances.