Daily GK Updates - 31st January, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Economic Survey 2016-17 – Highlights:

Union finance Minister Arun Jaitley tabled the Economic Survey 2016-17 in Parliament budget session. The survey prepared by chief economic adviser in the finance ministry Arvind Subramanian. The survey projects the economy to grow in the range of 6.75% to 7.25% in fiscal year 2017-18 in the post-demonetisation year. It says that the adverse impact of demonetisation on GDP growth will be transitional. 

Major highlights from the Economic Survey 2016-17

Growth Forecast:

Gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2016-17 pegged at 6.5%, down from 7.6% in last fiscal 2015-16.

Economic growth to rebound to 6.75 to 7.5% in 2017-18.

Farm sector to grow at 4.1% in 2016-17, up from 1.2% in 2015-16.

Growth rate of industrial sector estimated to moderate to 5.2% in 2016-17 from 7.4% in 2015-16.

Service sector is estimated to grow at 8.9% in 2016-17 GST, other structural reforms should take the growth rate trend  to 8-10%.

Taxation: Prescribes cut in individual Income Tax rates, real estate stamp duties.

IT net could be widened gradually by encompassing all high income earners.

Time table for cutting corporate tax should be accelerated. Tax administration could be improved to reduce discretion and improve accountability.

Goods and Services Tax (GST): Fiscal gains from GST will take time to realise.

Fiscal Deficit: Implementation of muted tax receipts, wage hike to put pressure on fiscal deficit in 2017-18. For fiscal health of the economy fiscal prudence for both centre and states is needed. Fiscal windfall from low oil prices to disappear in 2017-18.

Inflation: The average consumer price index (CPI) inflation rate declined to 4.9% in 2015-16 from 5.9% in 2014-15. CPI-based core inflation remained sticky around 5% in the 2016-17. Oil prices, seen rising by one-sixth in 2017-18 over the previous fiscal 2016-17 prices which could dampen India’s economic growth.

Monetary Policy: monetary easing headroom may be capped due to sharp rise in prices in 2017-18. Market interest rates seen lower in 2017-18 due to demonetisation. Government Debt to GDP ratio: It was 68.5% in 2016, down from 69.1% in 2015. Banking: Suggests setting up public sector asset rehabilitation agency (PSARA) to take charge of large bad loans in banks. With government backing, PSAR can overcome coordination and political issues on bad loans.

Demonetisation: The adverse impact of demonetisation on GDP growth will be transitional. It will affect growth rate by 0.25-0.5%, but to have long-term benefits It may affect supplies of certain agricultural products like sugar, milk, potatoes and onions. Remonetisation will ensure that the cash squeeze is eliminated by April 2017. Universal Basic Income (UBI): Advocates the concept of UBI as an alternative to the various social welfare schemes in an effort to reduce poverty. It will be alternative to plethora of state subsidies for poverty alleviation. UBI would cost between 4 and 5% of GDP.

2. BNHS launches climate change programme in Central Himalayas: The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has launched climate change programme to assess the status, distribution and conservation of finches and pheasants in the Central Himalayas. The first study will be funded by Oracle and facilitated by CAF-India.

Currently, there are nearly 50 species of pheasants and 62 species of finches in the Indian subcontinent. Several of these species are listed under the ‘Globally Threatened’ category created by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

3. Vampire star caught in the act by Indian space observatory ASTROSAT: India’s first dedicated space observatory ASTROSAT has captured the rare phenomenon of a 6 billion year old Vampire star preying on a bigger celestial body. The Findings were published in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters in the fourth week of January 2017. The findings were made by a team of scientists from IIA, Inter-University Centre of Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

4. Union Government launches Sparsh Leprosy Awareness Campaign: The Union Government on 30 January 2017 launched nationwide Sparsh Leprosy Awareness Campaign (SLAC). The Campaign was launched on the occasion of Anti-Leprosy Day. The Anti-Leprosy Day is observed annually in the memory of Mahatma Gandhi to rememorize his selfless efforts and care for the people affected by leprosy.

5. North East Seed biodiversity festival begins in Agartala : The two-day North East Seed Biodiversity Festival cum Workshop of Traditional Crops 2017 has begun in Agartala (Tripura).The chief guest for the function was Pabitra Kar ( Deputy Speaker, Tripura Legislative Assembly.)

6. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao - no provision for individual cash transfer component: Union Govt has clarified that Beti Bachao Beti Padhao has no provision for individual cash transfer component. The clarification came following reports that certain unauthorized sites, organisations, NGOs and individuals are distributing forms in the name of cash incentive under the scheme.

7. UberMOTO launches service in Hyderabad: Cab-hailing firm Uber has launched two-wheeler aggregation service UberMOTO in Hyderabad. The firm, which has signed an agreement with the Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd recently, formally launched the services. Using the app, people can hire two-wheelers for short-distance commute at cheaper rates.

8. 12^th Raising Day of NDRF observed:  National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team has observed 12th Raising Day celebrations.

9. Finance Ministry to aid Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh for rail safety:
The Union Finance Ministry has agreed to contribute partially to a new dedicated railway safety fund named as ‘Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh’ in the upcoming Union Budget 2017-18.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. H-1B reform bill introduced in US House of Representatives: Legislation has been introduced in the US House of Representatives which, among other things, calls for more than doubling the minimum salary of H-1B visa holders to 130,000 dollars. The current H-1B minimum wage is 60,000 dollars. This will make it more difficult for firms to use the program to replace American employees with foreign workers, including from India. 

2. Miss France Iris Mittenaere crowned Miss Universe 2016: Miss France Iris Mittenaere has been crowned Miss Universe, 2016 securing victory over the 85 other contestants in the final of the 65th ceremony of the world famous beauty pageant, in suburban Pasay city, south of Manila, Philippines. Iris Mittenaere of France received the crown from Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, while Raquel Pelissier of Haiti and Andrea Tovar of Colombia became the first and second runners-up respectively.

3. Moussa Faki Mahamat named as AU Commission chair : Chad's Moussa Faki Mahamat has been elected as the new chairperson of the African Union Commission, in a vote held at the bloc's headquarters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa on 30^th Jan 2017.

4. Tsar, the rare tiger-lion offspring: An extremely rare cross between a tiger and a lion has been born in a travelling zoo in southern Russia, one of only a few dozen of the animals believed to exist. Named Tsar, the two-month-old liger cub, is the offspring of a tigress Princess and lion Caesar. Ligers (Lion + Tiger) can grow to be the biggest cat in the animal kingdom, weighing more than 400 kilograms. A liger called Hercules in the United States is currently listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest feline in the world, at a weight of 418 kilograms and length of 3.33 metres.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Dushyant Chautala appointed President of Table Tennis Federation of India: Dushyant Chautala on 30 January 2017 was appointed the President of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI).

2. PV Sindhu wins Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold Title: Top seed Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu has won her maiden women's singles crown at the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium in Lucknow (UP).

BANKING/FINANCE:

3. India Post Payments Bank starts pilot services: India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) kicked off its operations by rolling out pilot services in Raipur and Ranchi.

AWARDS:

4. Priyanka Chopra among 150 most fashionable women: Indian actress Priyanka Chopra, who has been turning heads on the red carpet with her elegant choice of outfits, has made it to the list of Harper's Bazaar's 150 most fashionable women.

OBITUARIES:

5. Hollywood Legend & Harry Porter actor John Hurt dies at 77 : The versatile actor Sir John Hurt, who could move audiences to tears in The Elephant Man, terrify them in Alien, and spoof that very same scene in Spaceballs, has died. He was 77.Twice nominated for an Oscar for playing the tortured John Merrick in David Lynch's The Elephant Man and for his role as the heroin addict Max in Midnight Express.