Current Affairs - 28 November 2015

General Affairs

Puri Train Fire: Odisha Police Suspects Involvement of Terror Outfit

• BHUBANESWAR:  Suspecting the involvement of a terror outfit behind the recent serial burning of train bogies at Puri, Odisha Police has sought assistance of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in probing the incident.
  
  "We want an NIA probe into the train fire episode as similar incidents also took place in Hyderabad, Gaya and Kharagpur. Puri train fire was fourth in a row," Odisha DGP KB Singh said.
  
  Noting that NIA has specialised expertise in investigating such incidents, Mr Singh said the Odisha Police have sought their (NIA) help.
  
  The investigation carried out by the Government Railway Police (GRP), Odisha and Railway Protection Force (RPF) indicated involvement of more than one person in the train fire incident, Mr Singh pointed out.
  
  Earlier, the RPF had arrested one Ramachandran Subas from near the burning trains at Puri on November 12.
  
  Subas during interrogation reportedly claimed that a terror module was prepared in Mumbai by five terrorists to cause arson attacks in trains connecting different pilgrim places of the country.
  
  However, the investigating agencies here were unable to corroborate Ramachandran's statement and therefore Odisha police sought NIA's help, a GRP official involved in the investigation said.
  
  "We suspect there is some link behind the train fire incidents in four places in the country," Mr Singh said.
  
  Ramachandran (27), a native of Tamil Nadu also claimed to have received lakhs of rupees from the subversive group to carry out the arson.
  
  Three express trains caught fire on November 12 at Puri railway station, damaging at least four bogies, but no one got injured in the incident.

Nitish Kumar Orders Free Electricity Connection to Everyone in Bihar

• PATNA:  In a bid to keep up another election promise, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has directed officials to provide free electricity connection to everyone in Bihar by November 2017.
  
  Providing free electricity connection to all the households was one of the seven promises Mr Nitish Kumar made ahead of the assembly elections which his Grand Alliance won.
  
  The connections would be free, but users would be charged for the power consumed, officials said today.
  
  The government is expected to incur an expenditure of Rs. 1,500-1,800 crore on this project.
  
  Free electricity connection was earlier promised only for Below Poverty Line families but now it will also cover 50-60 lakh families coming in the Above Poverty Line category.
  
  A total of 2,719 of the 39,073 villages remain to be electrified in Bihar.
  
  In November 2005, average availability of power was six to eight hours in urban areas and two to three hours in rural areas.
  
  But in 2015, the average availability of power in urban areas is 22-24 hours and 15-16 hours in rural areas.

Venkaiah Naidu Pitches for Uniform Civil Code in Constitution Debate

• NEW DELHI:  Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu today said political parties must reach a conclusion on the long-pending women's reservation bill and attacked the Congress over the alleged remarks of its leaders.
  
  Participating in a debate on 'Commitment to Constitution' in the Lok Sabha, Mr Venkaiah Naidu also pitched for a common civil code and inter-linking of rivers.
  
  He said there was a need to focus on the women's reservation bill that provides for 33 per cent seats in Parliament and state assemblies for women.
  
  "We have been talking about it but not working (on) it. We must come to a conclusion," he said. The bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2010 but is yet to be passed by the Lok Sabha.
  
  Mr Venkaiah Naidu hit back at the Congress for its criticism of the Narendra Modi government on the issue of intolerance and said party president Sonia Gandhi did not condemn the remarks of Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar that Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to be removed for the resumption of talks between India and Pakistan.
  
  Mr Venkaiah Naidu also referred to Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar's earlier comment about the prime minister selling tea in his childhood.
  
  Congress leader in the lower house Mallikarjun Kharge sought to counter Mr Venkaiah Naidu and said Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar was not a member of the Congress Working Committee but a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha.
  
  Mr Venkaiah Naidu accused Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi of remarking that BJP central leaders could not even pronounce the names of their local leaders correctly and that there was an invasion by Hindi-speaking people in Assam.
  
  He said Mr Tarun Gogoi's remarks "create communal tension and spoil harmony".
  
  He also objected to former external affairs minister Salman Khurshid's remarks during a lecture at the Jinnah Institute in Islamabad that India didn't reciprocate well to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with regard to a lasting peace deal.
  
  The union minister said that the Supreme Court had referred to the need for a common civil code and called for introspection.
  
  "What personal law prevents women from getting equality? We have to introspect," he said.
  
  The Lok Sabha is discussing 'Commitment to Constitution' as part of celebration of the 125th birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar, regarded as the chief architect of the Constitution. Mr Venkaiah Naidu described Mr Ambedkar as a great social warrior.
  
  "We should visit constituent assembly debates - what was the vision of the members; assess as to what extent we have succeeded; take care of the shortcomings; and address challenges," he said.
  
  Mr Venkaiah Naidu also said Mr Ambedkar favoured inter-linking of rivers.

No Threat of Emergency in Country Today: Venkaiah Naidu

• NEW DELHI:  The government today dismissed opposition's charge of a threat to the Constitution and sought to turn tables on the Congress for imposing Emergency when fundamental rights were suspended.
  
  "Today there is no threat to the Constitution, no Emergency, there are no arrests (of political rivals), no supercession of judges. We must work together to strengthen the Constitution," Parliamentary Affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu said in the Lok Sabha while participating in the discussion on commitment to India's Constitution.
  
  

  He also insisted that the term 'secular' will remain part of the Preamble of the Constitution.
  
  Responding to the debate on the term secularism witnessed in the House yesterday, Mr Naidu said the word is part of the Preamble "and will remain so. But what I want to say is that it should be in our hearts and should remain."
  
  At the same time, the minister hit out at 'pseudo secularists' saying those who followed politics on the basis of caste and communal lines "call others as anti-secular."
  
  "People get swayed and misled by caste and religion. Then for five years, they cannot do anything," he said.
  
  Mr Naidu's remarks came in the backdrop of Congress President Sonia Gandhi's targetting of the government yesterday on the issue of intolerance. She alleged that ideals and principles of the Constitution were under threat and being attacked deliberately.
  

Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan Warns Russia Not to 'Play With Fire'

• ISTANBUL:  Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan today warned Russia not to "play with fire" in a dispute over the downing of a Russian warplane this week, but added he did not want to harm relations with Moscow.
  
  Relations between the former Cold War antagonists have a hit a recent nadir after Turkey shot down the jet near the Syrian border. Erdogan made the comments in a speech in northeast Turkey broadcast live on television.

Business Affairs 

Sensex ends 169 points up, Nifty at 7,942 even as Asian markets slump

• The domestic markets ended higher on Friday as hopes the government would look for a compromise with opposition leaders to pass a key reform on a goods and services tax (GST) lifted sentiment.

  The S&P BSE Sensex settled the day above its crucial psychological level of 26,000, up 169.57 points at 26,128.20, while the broader CNX Nifty ended at 7,942.70, up 58.90.

  Market breadth remained positive with 21 of the 30 Sensex components ending the day in green.

  The gains came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office said Modi was due to meet opposition Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi on Friday evening to discuss the GST reform and other bills to be debated in the winter session of parliament.

  "I am optimistic something should happen," said Jayant Manglik, president of retail distribution, Religare Securities, adding he was hoping so because "this government is also very keen to get it through and the opposition is also talking about it."

  Gains were led by financial stocks with investors buying beaten-down bank stocks, with S&P BSE BANKEX being the top sectoral gainer, which settled 1.86 per cent up.  

  ICICI Bank gained 2 per cent, Axis Bank rose 1.23 per cent and HDFC Bank added 1.34 per cent at close.

  Logistics stocks, which stand to gain the most from GST, also continued to rise on Friday. Gati ended 4 per cent higher and VRL Logistics added 1.83 per cent.

  Markets shed some gains in the afternoon trade following slump in Chinese markets, which fell over 5 per cent to log their biggest percentage loss since August 25, hit by fresh regulatory crackdown on leverage activities and weak industrial profit data.

  Reacting to this, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 1.87 per cent down, while Japan's Nikkei edged down 0.3 per cent to end the day at 19,883.94.

  US stock futures rose 0.4 per cent to their highest level since November 9 after a market holiday on Thursday for Thanksgiving Day.

  Lowdown on markets today

  12:30 pm

  Sensex at 25,999.36, up 40.73 points

  Nifty at 7,899.40, up 15.60 points

  10:38 am

  Sensex at 26,072.24, up 113.61 points

  Nifty at 7,924.40, up 40.60 points

  9:27 am

  Sensex at 26,005.79, up 47.16 points

  Nifty at 7,901.25, up 17.45 points

Rupee closes at more than two-year low at 66.76

• The rupee ended at more than two-year low at 66.76 against the American currency on month-end dollar demand from importers and some banks.

  Persistent foreign capital outflows also affected the market sentiment. They sold shares net $40.25 million on Thursday.

  The domestic currency opened lower by 66.66 per dollar as against Thursday's closing level of 66.57 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and dropped further to 66.8950 per dollar before ending at more than 2-year low at 66.76 per dollar, showing a loss of 19 paise or 0.29 per cent.

  The rupee had last ended at 67.07 per dollar on Sept 4, 2013.

  The rupee has dropped by 44 paise or 0.66 per cent in two days.

  The rupee moved in a range of 66.65 per dollar and 66.8950 per dollar during the day.

  The dollar index was up by 0.13 per cent as against the basket of six major currencies in the late afternoon trade.

  The dollar was nearly unchanged against the yen and the euro in Asian trade Friday.

  With US markets closed for the Thanksgiving Day holiday, investors held fire amid thin trade and limited catalysts.

  With the exception of the Turkish lira, flight to the safety of the dollar has largely subsided following the Turkish military s downing of a Russian fighter. Attention is now on the European Central Bank's policy meeting on December 3, and the magnitude of potential easing steps, traders said.

  Investors have largely factored in a possible US.

  Federal Reserve decision to raise short-term rates in December, but are skeptical about further monetary tightening in the months ahead, traders said. 

  Meanwhile, the Sensex rose further by 169.57 points or 0.65 per cent on Friday.

  In forward market, premium for dollar eased further on persistent receivings from exporters.

  The benchmark six-month premium payable in April ended steady at 177-179 paise while far forward October 2016 contract eased further to 385-387 from 387-389 paise.

  The RBI fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 66.7503 and for the Euro at 70.8755.

  The rupee moved down further against the pound sterling to end at 100.63 from 100.41 on Thursday also moved down against the euro to settle at 70.71 as against 70.64.

  The domestic currency dropped further against the Japanese currency to close at 54.45 per 100 yen from 54.30.

Why HSBC is shutting its private banking business in India

• Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), whose chairperson Naina Lal Kidwai announced her retirement a month ago, is now again hogging the limelight. Today, the bank announced the closure of its private banking business in India.

  Unlike mass banking, private banking is the dedicated banking services for high net worth individuals (HNIs). So what could be the reasons for shutting shop when India is the only bright spot in the world. We take a look.

  
  

  • The Environment Of Stress: The Indian economy is  yet to see a big pick up despite being in the bright spot as India is more consumption-oriented than other emerging markets such as China or Brazil. The  world economy is still not out of the woods. China is wobbling and  so many emerging markets. This  will have a direct impact on the Indian economy. So a specialized dedicated team for private banking when the business is not  expected to see any major jump in the next 3-5 years doesn't make sense.
  • Cut-Throat Competition: The private banking space is hugely competitive. Few decades ago, foreign banks had an edge in the private banking space because of quality service, global investment tools and an untapped market. Today, the likes of ICICI Bank and Axis  Bank  have stormed the market with a similar product offerings. That stress could be seen in many banks like RBS recently exited  the private banking business. Similarly, there are reports of StanChart and Morgan Stanley moving out of  private banking business.
  • Falling Returns: Look at the investment class from commodities, gold, equity, MFs to real estate. They are  already instances of HNIs losing big money because of bets going wrong. There is no hope of a major recovery in many of the asset classes. Take for instance, India despite being on bright spot is now witnessing any major moves in its stock market. In fact, the stock market has plunged from a high 30,000 in March this year to 26,000 levels.
  • HNIs Under Stress: Most of the HNIs  are promoters of SMEs , self employed , traders , big corporate and are under stress  because of their companies. The stress is not going to go away as revenues  and the profitability is not showing any big improvement. Many of the promoters have also pledged their shares, taken personal loans  etc. In such an environment of stress, the private banking  business isn't  looking encouraging for  any banks. Some like RBS  and HSBC  are taking a tough call, whereas others are holding on to it.
  • Simplification: HSBC  hasn't closed the banking business. These private banking clients can always  deal through the retail banking and wealth management  where the entire suit of product is available for them. For the bank, it's a major savings on costs at a time when business isn't showing encouraging signs.

Three reasons why Chinese markets cracked over 5% today

• Jitters in Chinese markets resurfaced on Friday as flagship indices CSI300 and Shanghai Composite logged their biggest percentage loss since August 25.

  The blue-chip CSI300 index slumped 5.4 per cent, to 3,556.99 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index plunged 5.5 per cent to 3,436.30 at close after falling as much as 6.1 per cent in the afternoon session.

  Here are three reasons why Chinese markets slumped today:

  1) Regulatory crackdown on leverage activities

  Market regulator China Securities Regulatory Commission (CERC) started investigations into China's biggest brokerage CITIC Securities and its smaller rival Guosen Securities as they allegedly reported inaccurate numbers in statistical reports on over-the-counter equity swap deals partly carried out during the summer's stock market rout.

  "Another brokerage firm Haitong Securities also came under investigation by the country's market watchdog," a Reuters report noted.  

  Marketmen turned cautious as CERC urged brokerages to cease financing clients' stocks purchases through over-the-counter swap contracts, in order to check on leverage activities.

  "The deleverage move certainly have a negative impact on investor sentiment. In addition, it fuels concerns that more brokerages would be probed and more executives would fall," told Shen Weizheng, fund manager at Shanghai-based Ivy Capital to Reuters.
  
  2) Industrial profit data

  Profits earned by Chinese industrial companies fell 4.6 per cent in October, declining for the fifth consecutive month, data from the statistics bureau showed on Friday.

  Industrial profits, which cover large enterprises with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan ($3.13 million) from their main operations, fell 2.0 per cent in the first 10 months of the year compared with the same period a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on its website.

  In September, profits fell 0.1 per cent from a year earlier.

  "I don't see signs that the economy has bottomed out," told Zhou Lin, analyst at Huatai Securities to Reuters.

  3) Possible yuan inclusion in SDR basket

  The yuan softened to a three-month low against the dollar on Friday and was set for its longest weekly losing streak in five months ahead of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s decision on whether or not to include the currency in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket. IMF is likely to decide on yuan's fate on November 30.

  Market watchers fear Beijing's commitment to market reforms and liberalisation may subside if the yuan is added to the reserve basket.

  "Some traders expect Beijing may allow the currency to depreciate after it is included in the IMF's Special Drawing Rights basket, partly to reflect China's slowing economic growth," said Reuters report.

  SDRs are supplementary foreign exchange reserve assets defined and maintained by the IMF. Their value is based on a basket of key international currencies reviewed by IMF every five years.

Gold, silver prices fall on global cues, muted demand

• Amid a weak trend overseas and subdued demand from jewellers at the domestic spot market, gold prices declined Rs 10 to Rs 25,810 per 10 grams at the bullion market on Friday.

  Silver also eased by Rs 150 to Rs 34,250 per kg on reduced offtake by industrial units and coin makers. Bullion traders said that besides a weak global trend, expectations of an increase in US borrowing costs by the end of the year buoyed the dollar, curbing the precious metals' appeal.

  Easing demand from jewellers at prevailing levels also led to fall in prices. Globally, gold was down 0.4 per cent at $1,068.36 an ounce in Singapore while the precious metal fell 0.38 per cent to $1,067.50 in London.

  The US markets were closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday. In the national capital, gold of 99.9 per cent and 99.5 per cent purity shed Rs 10 each to Rs 25,810 and Rs 25,660 per 10 grams, respectively.

  Sovereign, however, remained flat at Rs 22,200 per piece of eight grams. Tracking gold, silver ready fell Rs 150 to Rs 34,250 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs 205 to Rs 33,825 per kg. On the other hand, silver coins continued to be traded at the previous level of Rs 48,000 for buying and Rs 49,000 for selling of 100 pieces. 

General Awareness

10 New Schemes for Disabled Persons under the National Trust

• • Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment Shri Thaawar Chand Gehlot has announced the launching of Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan (Accessible India Campaign) on Dec 3 next month by the Prime Minister.
    
    
    

    • A nationwide flagship Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) is aimed at to achieve universal accessibility for Persons with Disabilities and to create an enabling and barrier free environment.
    • The number of categories of disability will also be increased from 7 to 19 so that more number of disabled could be brought into the ambit of Government’s new initiatives.

    Three verticals of campaign

    • Built Environment
    • Public Transportation and Information
    • Communication Technologies.

    It was announced during the launch of revised schemes of National Trust for the welfare of persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities in New Delhi. On this occasion the following schemes were launched:

    1. DISHA (Early Intervention and School Readiness Scheme)
    2. BADHTE KADAM (Awareness and Community Interaction)
    3. GHARAUNDA (Group Home for Adults)
    4. NIRAMAYA (Health Insurance Scheme)
    5. SAMBHAV (Aids and Assisted Devices)
    6. SAHYOGI (Caregiver training scheme)
    7. GYAN PRABHA (Educational support)
    8. PRERNA (Marketing Assistance)
    9. SAMARTH (Respite Care)
    10. VIKAAS (Day Care)

    Announcement was also made to launch new website for the National Trust which can be accessed as http://thenationaltrust.gov.in/content/.

    • Registration of NGOs and paying donations can be done in the website itself.
    • The National Trust for the welfare of persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has been implementing a number of schemes and programmes in the last 15 years.