Current Affairs - 27 August 2015

General Affairs

Rahul Should Take Charge as Congress President Soon: Sachin Pilot

• NEW DELHI:  Rahul Gandhi should take over as Congress president soon, says Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot who also wants Mrs Sonia Gandhi to remain the parliamentary party head to guide the organisation.
  
  Mr Pilot feels that the Congress vice president has been able to energise the party after the rout in the Lok Sabha elections and has been leading it from the front by taking on the ruling BJP inside and outside Parliament.
  
  "Rahul Gandhi should take charge soon (as party president)," he told PTI while insisting that it was his personal view and the Congress Working Committee will take a call on Rahul's elevation. "It will be collective decision of the party," he said.
  
  

  Mr Pilot, who was handpicked by Mr Gandhi to lead the Rajasthan unit after it was decimated in both Assembly as well as Lok Sabha polls, emphasised that Mrs Sonia Gandhi will continue to be the "guiding force" for the party.
  
  He said Mr Gandhi's strategy is to build the party in the states so that it regains its strength by next election in 2019 for a comeback at the Centre.
  
  He also rejected the charge that the Congress was being "obstructionist" by stalling Parliament, saying it was the main opposition party's duty to highlight BJP leaders' alleged involvement in Lalit Modi issue and Vyapam scam.
  
  "Just because you have got a majority does it mean that you have got a blank cheque to do as you wish?" he said, attacking the Narendra Modi government over its "stubbornness" on the land bill and "failure" to reach out to the opposition.
  
  He said Congress does not need a certificate from BJP on reforms and claimed that the saffron party had blocked Parliament over "smaller" issues when it was in the opposition.
  
  "Obstruction is not something we want to do but it is the government's responsibility to run Parliament. They did not even make efforts to be seen to be reaching out to the opposition. That spirit is lacking," Mr Pilot said.
  
  Asked about Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's criticism of the Rajya Sabha, where Congress-led opposition outnumbers the BJP-led NDA, for vetoing pro-reform legislations passed by the Lok Sabha, he shot back, "You cannot change the rules of the game because you do not like it. You cannot wish away the Rajya Sabha because it is inconvenient."
  
  Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Pilot said he did not utter a single word over Vyapam scam and Lalit Modi row while he spent his time coining slogans.
  
  "The first one or two years, every government has a good run. But people have already begun saying about this government that it would fail to fulfil its promises," he said.
  
  "Blaming the past governments for today's problems will not help you. Blaming the opposition for your problems will not help you. It will not give you results," he said.
  

Army Called In to Help Keep Calm In Ahmedabad

• AHMEDABAD:  The Army has been asked to help restore law and order in  Ahmedabad, where violence and arson was reported overnight in some parts  over Hardik Patel's campaign  demanding  government jobs and college places for the powerful Patel caste.  Sources said soldiers are likely to hold flag marches to signal they are on guard against new violence.
  
  The Centre deployed paramilitary forces this morning to help the state government.  Though Ahmedabad has been largely calm today, nearby Surat is simmering with reports of clashes in sections of the city.  Parts of the state are under curfew . The city of Mehsana and the towns of Unjha and Visnagar have also reported violence.
  
  In a television appeal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said this morning, "I appeal to the people of Gujarat to maintain peace. Violence will never achieve anything."
  
  

  At least half a million members of the Patedar or Patel community rallied  yesterday in the heart of Ahmedabad around Hardik Patel, who is 21, as he demanded changes in policy that would allow them to qualify for "reserved" categories of caste.
  
  When he was briefly detained last night, clashes erupted. More than 100 buses have been set on fire and public property has been vandalized.  Offices, shops, schools and colleges in Ahmedabad are closed today, in part because of a bandh or strike called by Hardik Patel, who said his is "a non-violent movement that will intensify in  coming days".
  
  The Patels have been a driving force in the Gujarat economy, dominating the diamond trade, oil processing and textiles. But they say that caste-based reservations deprive them of opportunities and want affirmative action to apply to them as well.

Supreme Court Suspends Trial of Italian Marines Accused of Killing Kerala Fishermen

• NEW DELHI:  The Supreme Court today stayed all proceedings against the two Italian marines accused of killing Indian fishermen from Kerala in 2012 and set January 13, 2016 as the date for the next hearing in the case.
  
  The order came after a UN tribunal had asked India to suspend the trial of the two Italian marines on Monday and asked both countries to report to it on the case on September 24.
  
  The international tribunal had ruled that till an Annex Tribunal - to decide whether India or Italy will hold the trail of marines - is constituted, all proceedings will have to be stayed, the Centre told the Supreme Court today.
  
  

  It may take the international tribunal four months to decide the jurisdiction, the Centre said in response to a query from the judges.
  
  Responding to Italy's appeal, the International Tribunal on Law of the Sea had asserted its jurisdiction in the case and said there would be no more legal proceedings "that could aggravate the case".
  
  It also did not respond to Italy's request that its marines should be freed from all restrictions.
  
  The marines, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, were on board the oil tanker Enrica Lexie when they shot dead two unarmed Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast on February 15, 2012. Italy maintains that the shooting took place in international waters and that the fishermen were mistaken for pirates. It also claims that the marines have sovereign immunity as part of the Italian navy.
  
  Sergeant Girone is out on bail in India and sergeant Latorre was last month given permission by the Supreme Court to stay in Italy for another six months for medical treatment.
  
  His lawyer wanted the court to stay the proceedings indefinitely but the court said it will hear the case again on January 13.

India, UAE Launch Forum to Evaluate Business Opportunities

• DUBAI:  India and the UAE have launched a forum to discuss strategies and solutions to investor challenges in India due to taxation and policy related issues and evaluates business opportunities in infrastructure, alternative energy, tourism and finance sectors.
  
  The Arab-India Economic Forum (AIEF), in partnership with the Consulate General of India in Dubai, has been launched to bring together political and business leaders from UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Egypt and India.
  
  The AIEF shall be focusing on opportunities in infrastructure, alternative energy, digital India, tourism and finance, the forum said in a statement.
  
  They will discuss strategies and solutions to investor challenges in India due to taxation and policy related issues in India and how the government can assist in creating a conducive business environment for investors, the statement added.
  
  

  Focusing on the growth sectors, it will address the policy framework and guidelines required to attract Arab investors and industrialists.
  It will be a strong platform for Indian businesses aiming to explore the Middle East market, the statement said yesterday.
  
  The recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UAE heralds a new era in bilateral relations and opens up new opportunities for trade and commerce, it said noting that the UAE-India Infrastructure Investment Fund is an indicator of the true potential this relationship holds.

Rover to Mine for Water on Mars Designed

• WASHINGTON:  The US has ruled out any role for itself in the revival of India-Pakistan dialogue, saying it is for the leaders of the two countries to decide on the pace and scope of the peace talks.
  
  "The tensions in the region are significant. We recognize that, and we believe it's important for leaders of both countries to resume this dialogue and the discussion and to try to come to some resolution," State Department Spokesman John Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference on Monday.
  
  "What we've said, particularly with the tension in Kashmir, is that our position has not changed, that this is an issue that India and Pakistan need to resolve," Mr Kirby said. He was responding to questions on talks between the national security advisors of India and Pakistan that were called off by Islamabad at the last moment.
  
  

  "We were encouraged by the constructive interaction. The early constructive interaction between the leaders of India and Pakistan earlier this year in Russia," John Kirby said.
  
  "We are disappointed that the talks didn't happen. We just encourage India and Pakistan to resume a formal dialogue soon," he said.
  
  Mr Kirby reiterated that it is for the leaders of the two countries to decide on the pace and scope of the peace talks.
  
  "We want both nations to sit down and hammer out the issues between them. Some of them have to do with violent extremism and some of them don't. We understand that, but these are issues that the two parties have got to work out," he added.
  
  Making it clear that US' position about terrorism and the threat that it continues to pose around the world remains the same, Mr Kirby said: "When it comes to countering terrorism around the world, obviously the United States plays a role and we want everybody to play a role in that, but when you're asking me about these particular tensions, we're disappointed that the talks didn't occur and we would like to see them resume."

Business Affairs 

Raghuram Rajan warns against overburdening central banks to fix economies

• After a rout in Chinese stocks triggered the biggest ever carnage in Indian markets, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajanon Tuesday said China is a big country and every adverse development has impacts, even as he warned against overburdening central banks to fix struggling economies.

  "There is a lot of uncertainty about what the real numbers are...the numbers have to come out but China is a big country, has become very important to the global economy. Every adverse development across the world affects the rest of the world in some ways," Rajan said about the China-led slowdown. "It works through financial markets first, then trade later. So it's something that everyone is concerned about. But you have to be careful about attributing everything to China," he told .However, earlier in the day, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi asserted that the global market turmoil was not a cause of worry for India. Asked about fears of another global economic crisis, Rajan said, "Based on what I have seen so far there is no strong reason to believe that we are on the verge of another crisis...but we have to be vigilant about some of those fragilities that have built up."

  Rajan also issued a warning against overburdening central banks to fix struggling economies. In the interview for 'India Business Report' on BBC World News, the man in charge of India's monetary policy warned that economic problems can be solved only through reforms and over intervention by central banks could lead to more bad than good.

  "I have been a little concerned about the immense burden for action that is falling on central banks and I think it is quite legitimate for central banks to say at some point we can't carry the burden ourselves in fact we may not have the tools to do everything that is asked of us," Rajan said. "Don't keep asking us to do more because at some point we get into territory where the consequences may be more bad than good if we actually act," he stressed.

  Rajan acknowledged that his situation was not typical in the current climate because unlike most global economies India still has high inflation at close to 6 per cent. Interest rates are also high at 7.25 per cent despite having been cut three times this year to try and stimulate growth. "In my country I'm faced with traditional central bank problems like inflation so we still have a handle to work with those. But in some other countries you are faced with problems which are maybe way beyond what the central bank is capable of addressing such as demographic change, deep changes in productivity - and those are probably best dealt with other tools," Rajan said.

Sensex, Nifty shed over 1% on weak global cues

• Uncertainty over the Chinese markets, profit bookings and the upcoming derivatives expiry flared up volatility in the Indian equity markets - leading to barometer indexes shedding over 1 per cent on Wednesday's trade.

  The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 26,063.27 points, provisionally closed at 25,714.66 points down 317.72 points or 1.22 per cent from its previous close at 26,032.38 points.The Sensex touched a high of 26,156.61 points and a low of 25,657.56 points during intra-day trade.

  Bearish sentiments also subdued trade at the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The broader 50-scrip CNX Nifty of the NSE provisionally closed lower at 7,791.85 points, with losses of 88.85 points, or 1.13 per cent.

  Analysts point out that the investor sentiments were subdued due to the uncertainty over the Chinese markets and the upcoming futures and options (F&O) expiry on Thursday.

  "The markets are volatile. There is uncertainty over the next move of the Chinese government to stabilise their markets. Prices have risen and the investors are in a fix to chase them given the global uncertainties at hand," Anand James, co-head, technical research, Geojit BNP Paribas said.

  "The derivatives expiry tomorrow is also adding volatility and anxiety. Though a scheduled event, at this stage it is one of the most important factors to look out for."

Currency volatility upsets Asian growth plans

• Faced with falling exports and deflation risks, it suited much of Asia to let their currencies drift lower, until China's abrupt devaluation triggered a tide of volatility that is upsetting not just their currency management but also their growth strategies.

  China's 2 per cent devaluation on August 11 added to evidence that its economy was struggling, and overseas it caused a ripple of panic that a currency war was in the offing.Currencies and stock markets in the region have since tumbled to multi-year lows, pulling global markets in their wake, as worries about China played into broader concerns about global growth, a collapse in commodity prices and the timing of a rise in US interest rates.

  Suddenly, in a region still haunted by memories of destabilising currency devaluations during the 1997/98 Asian crisis, the option of a gently sliding currency has been taken off the table by a freefall that threatens a destabilising flight of capital, sharp market swings and a spike in the cost of funds.

  Central banks from South Korea to Thailand have deferred rate cuts, which would put further downward pressure on vulnerable currencies, with the result that growth and stimulus plans are likely to take a back seat.

  Bank Indonesia kept its main interest rate unchanged at a policy review last week, making clear currency stability is foremost among its priorities, even though the economy has slowed to its weakest pace in six years and inflation is falling.

  "We will not follow competitive devaluation," Indonesia's central bank Governor Agus Martowardojo said this week.

  The central bank said it was aggressively intervening in the rupiah markets and even mopping up short-term cash to stop investors speculating against the currency.

  Indonesia is particularly vulnerable after a sharp loss of 14 percent in the rupiah against the dollar so far this year, low forex reserves and a heavy dose of foreign money in its debt markets.

  But even central banks such as India's and Singapore's are unlikely to be able to cut rates while markets remain volatile.

  "Asian authorities have got to be willing to stomach high interest rates for a while," said Cliff Tan, head of east Asian markets research at Mitsubishi UFJ in Hong Kong.

  Capital Economics analysts Gareth Leather and Daniel Martin said in a note to clients that Malaysia and Indonesia might even be forced to raise rates "if the currency sell-off became a rout".

  Citibank has already cut its Asian growth forecast for 2015 to 6 per cent from 6.1 per cent, citing the volatility associated with China's weakening of the yuan, its slowing growth and the possible adverse policy reaction among other countries.

  It cut its forecast for Thailand's growth to 2.7 per cent from 3.5 per cent.

  Unwelcome Volatility 
  Though Thailand has admitted its economy wil be weaker than forecast and had welcomed depreciation in the baht as a remedy, its central bank voted to keep rates steady in August and alluded to financial market volatility as a factor. The baht hit its weakest levels since 2009 this week and most of the baht's 8 per cent losses this year against the dollar have been in the past couple of months.

  "It's clearly a bit uncomfortable. I would expect them to start to think this is unwelcome volatility rather than welcome depreciation," said Richard Yetsenga, global head of financial markets research at ANZ in Sydney.

  South Korea's central bank turned swiftly defensive of the won this week as it hit its lowest in nearly four years, selling dollars to slow the won's decline.

  That's a turnabout from its tactics earlier this year to weaken a currency that had become less competitive against Japan's sharply weaker yen. It also kept rates unchanged this month, two days after China's devaluation.

  MUFJ's Tan reckons Asian central banks could coordinate policies better and be more proactive in using their trillions of dollars in currency reserves to defend their currencies.

  "Asian central banks are already on the defensive, but the question is a strong versus a weak defence. They have a chance to prove that, by driving rates up and making it very expensive to hold these short-term positions."

The RBI is experimenting with players from diverse areas to push its financial inclusion plan. Will it succeed?

• Vodafone's mobile money transfer service, M-Pesa, began as an experiment in Kenya in 2007. Today, M-Pesa transfers cash via mobile phones in a host of under-banked countries such as Afghanistan and Tanzania.

  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) wants to replicate this model in India. It has given licences to 11 entities for opening payments banks to widen the financial inclusion net and bring small payments like remittances, utility bills, mobile recharge, cab fare, ticketing, etc, under the digital umbrella.Regional rural banks and co-operative banks have been present in rural and semi-urban areas for decades. Still, half the country's population does not have access to a bank. The heavy reliance on cash in the system is also creating headache as it encourages black money. This is where payments banks will come in. These new lenders are not allowed to lend but can accept deposits up to Rs 1 lakh and park these in government securities, making a margin of three to four per cent.

  State Bank of India chief Arundhati Bhattacharya, whose bank has joined hands with Reliance Industries to set up a payments bank, says this is an experiment to deepen the penetration of banking services and encourage digital transactions.The diverse background of selected players - from Sun Pharmaceutical promoter Dilip Sanghvi to IT firm Tech Mahindra - hints at the experimental nature of the licenses under the RBI's differentiated banking approach. Clearly, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan would want to see the most successful likely model in the future. India Post, for instance, has the widest network in pooling savings while FINO PayTech is probably the only one with experience of serving the poorest of the poor as a banking correspondent of state-run banks. But not everyone is convinced. "We are shocked to find amongst the selected players some who have done little work in the financial inclusion space, the key objective in the guidelines," says Pramod Saxena, Chairman of Oxigen Services, a payments solutions provider.

  Without doubt, the new lenders will bring competition to universal banks. Their success would be judged by how well they facilitate the last-mile access in unbanked areas. They will also be judged on how they use technology to enable payments of high-volume but low-margin transactions like an electricity bill or mobile recharge. Above all, they must keep costs low as they are barred from lending.

  If this experiment succeeds, the banking system would be the biggest beneficiary. "Today, many cash transactions dont leave any footprints, which makes it difficult to trace or tax them. Electronic footprints will provide a better tool to gauge such transactions," says Bhattacharya. Clearly, a lot is riding on the payments bank. The time starts now.

Emerging out of the shadows of a slowdown, the luxury market is a bundle of contradictions today. We shine a torchlight on the way forward.

• A lovely waterfront retreat in Goa with a private motor yacht moored to the sides, a large eclectic art collection, a house in Delhi's tony Sundar Nagar and a farmhouse in the making at Chhattarpur. On the surface, Arjun Sharma, the 48-year-old Chairman of Select Group, who takes exotic holidays with his wife, former model Jyotsna Sharma, and wears designer wear with elan, seems to be surrounded by all the trappings that money can buy. But beneath that luxurious veneer lie the odd twinges of discomfort. For a man who promotes material spending in a big way - he runs the happening Select City Walk mall in Delhi - Sharma talks about the need to cut back. "It may sound like a contradiction when I say it. But the consumption story has to come down," he says.

  To conquer his guilt every time he buys something new, he says, he gives away two. He and his wife fund a large number of charities - and his travel company Le Passage to India has a wing called Shaping Lives devoted to volunteer tourism. He talks passionately about organic food, and, pointing to the art on his walls, says he never buys extravagantly-priced works, but promotes newer artists. His new home in Chattarpur will be eco-friendly with active ceramic tiles that absorb pollution and solar panels that minimise energy consumption. "I want to give my family some intergenerational equity - clean air, clean water, clean energy," he says.
  New Boys on the Block

  Sharma is one example of the emerging new wealthy consumer for whom luxury is necessary, but pompous splendour is not. But there are others treading different consumption paths. Just last month, at the wedding of a scion of a top industrialist in NCR, the liquor bill alone ran into Rs 1 crore, with the most expensive of all champagnes (Louis Roderer Cristal) uncorked and pricey single malts flowing like water.

  Then, there are the CEOs of young e-commerce start-ups who have suddenly come into millions with venture funding and can be seen zipping around in Mumbai and Bangalore in their newly-acquired BMWs. In Delhi, young lawyers can also be seen in flashy Audis, lunching at fine dining outlets at Cyber Hub, and partying in the evening at five star bars.Then again, there are others, such as the 40-something CEO in Bangalore with a fancy salary, who can afford to splurge on top-end luxe products but chooses instead to invest in a farm on the outskirts of the Garden city and spends his weekends growing tomatoes. Luxury for him is more about experiences such as jetting off on holidays with his family to New Zealand or Machu Pichu.

  Dilip Puri, Managing Director, India of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which will be launching its poshest hotel St. Regis in India next month, admits: "People are changing in what they want from a luxury standpoint today." Puri says most people today want experiences, there is a focus on restraint, discretion and privacy.

General Awareness

List of Current Governors in India – Updated On August 2015

Current Governors in India

• • State Name	Governors Name
    Andhra Pradesh	E. S. L. Narasimhan
    Arunachal Pradesh	Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa
    Assam	Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya
    Bihar	Ram Nath Kovind
    Chhattisgarh	Balramji Das Tandon
    Goa	Mridula Sinha
    Gujarat	Om Prakash Kohli
    Haryana	Kaptan Singh Solanki
    Himachal Pradesh	Acharya Dev Vrat
    Jammu and Kashmir	Narinder Nath Vohra
    Jharkhand	Draupadi Murmu
    Karnataka	Vajubhai Vala
    Kerala	P. Sathasivam
    Madhya Pradesh	Ram Naresh Yadav
    Maharashtra	C. Vidyasagar Rao
    Manipur	Syed Ahmed
    Meghalaya	V. Shanmuganthan
    Mizoram	Nirbhay Sharma
    Nagaland	Padmanabha Acharya
    Odisha	S. C. Jamir
    Punjab	Kaptan Singh Solanki
    Rajasthan	Kalyan Singh
    Sikkim	Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil
    Tamil Nadu	K. Rosaiah
    Telangana	E. S. L. Narasimhan
    Tripura	Tathagata Roy
    Uttar Pradesh	Ram Naik
    Uttarakhand	Krishan Kant Paul
    West Bengal	Keshari Nath Tripathi

    Current Lieutenant Governors and Administrators of Union Territories
    

    Office and union territory	Name
    Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands	A. K. Singh
    Administrator of Chandigarh	Kaptan Singh Solanki
    Administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli	Ashish Kundra
    Administrator of Daman and Diu	Ashish Kundra
    Lieutenant Governor of Delhi	Najeeb Jung
    Administrator of Lakshadweep	H. Rajesh Prasad
    Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry	A. K. Singh