NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Finance Minister announces
‘Aatmanirbhar’ Package 3.0: The
Finance Minister of India, Smt Nirmala Sitaraman has announced the
‘Aatmanirbhar’ Package 3.0. Addressing a press conference to announce more
stimulus measures to boost growth. According to Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitaraman, PMI rose to 58.9 in October 2020 indicating strong recovery of the
economy from COVID-19 crisis. The energy consumption growth was higher in
October 2020. This is yet another stimulus package ahead of Diwali. The Union
Cabinet approved a Rs 2 lakh crore production-linked incentive (PLI) package to
boost demand in the country.
1.
Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana: A
new Scheme “Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana” is being launched to incentivise
the creation of new employment opportunities during the COVID recovery phase.
Beneficiaries (new employees) under Scheme: Any new employee joining employment
in EPFO registered establishments on monthly wages less than Rs.15000/-. EPF
members drawing monthly wage of less than Rs.15000/- who made exit from
employment during COVID Pandemic from 01.03.2020 to 30.09.2020 and is employed
on or after 01.10.2020
Scheme
to be operational till 30th June 2021: Central Govt. to provide subsidy for two
years in respect of newly eligible employees engaged on or after 01.10.2020 at
the following scale: (a) Establishments employing up to 1000 employees:
Employee’s contributions (12% of Wages); (b) Employer’s contributions (12% of
wages) totalling 24% of wages; (c) Establishments employing more than 1000
employees: Only Employee’s EPF contributions (12% of EPF wages)
2.
Rs. 3 lakh crore existing Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS 1.0): Announced as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan. The
scheme is extended till 31st March 2021. Fully guaranteed and collateral-free.
Additional credit up to 20% of outstanding loans as on 29.2.2020 for entities
with outstanding credit up to Rs. 50 crore as on 29.2.2020 and annual turnover
up to Rs. 250 crore, which was up to 60 days past due as on 29.2.2020. Eligible
entities – MSME units, business enterprises, individual loans for business
purposes and MUDRA borrowers.
Guaranteed
credit for supporting stressed sectors: To be utilized for 100% guaranteed
collateral-free additional credit at capped interest rates to: (i) Entities in
26 stressed sectors identified by Kamath Committee plus health care sector;
(ii) with credit outstanding of above Rs. 50 crore and up to ₹500 Crore as on
29.2.2020; (iii) Entities with outstanding up to Rs. 50 crore previously
covered under existing Scheme; (iv) Entities to be up to 30 days past due (SMA
0) as on 29.2.2020; (v) Additional credit up to 20% of outstanding as on
29.02.2020
3.
Rs 1.46 lakh crore boost for Atmanirbhar Manufacturing Production-linked
incentives for 10 Champion Sectors: Government
of India has already approved PLI schemes for 3 sectors at a cost of Rs 51,355
crores as below:
(a)
Mobile Manufacturing and specified electronics components at a cost of Rs
40,995 crore.
(b)
Critical Key Starting Materials (KSM), Drug intermediates and Active
Pharmaceuticals Ingredients (API) at a cost of Rs. 6,940 crore.
(c)
Manufacturing of Medical Devices at a cost of Rs Rs. 3,420 crore.
(d)
10 more Champion Sectors (next slide) will now be covered under the Production
Linked Incentives Scheme to boost the competitiveness of domestic
manufacturing.
(e)
This is expected to give a significant boost to Economic Growth and domestic
employment.
4.
Rs 18,000 crores additional outlay for PM Awaas Yojana (PMAY) –Urban: A number of measures have been taken in the past several
months for the revival of the Housing and Real Estate Sector. These measures
have contributed to the fair recovery in this sector. (SWAMIH- 135 projects
approved with an outlay of Rs. 13,200 cr. This will result in the completion of
87,000 stuck houses/Flats)
Rs
18,000 crores will be provided over the Budget Estimates for 2020-21 for Prime
Minister Awaas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U) through additional allocation and Extra
Budgetary Resources. This is over and
above Rs 8,000 crores already this year. This will help 12 lakh houses to be
grounded and 18 lakhs to be completed. Expected add jobs – 78 lakhs, Steel – 25
LMT, Cement – 131 LMT
5.
Support for Construction & Infrastructure – Relaxation of Earnest Money
Deposit (EMD) & Performance Security on Government Tenders: Performance security on contracts to be reduced to 3 %
instead of 5 to 10%. Will be extended to ongoing contracts which are free of
disputes. Will also be extended to Public Sector Enterprises. States will be encouraged to adopt the same.
EMD will not be required for tenders and will be replaced by Bid Security
Declaration. Relaxations will be given till 31.12.2021 under General Financial
Rules. Will give relief to contractors by reducing locking up of capital and
cost of BG 16.
6.
Demand booster for Residential Real Estate Income Tax relief for Developers
& Home Buyers: Economic slowdown has led to decline
in prices of residential unit; Presently Section 43CA of IT Act restricts
differential between circle rate & agreement value @ 10% – Prices may
actually be lower than this. Decided to increase the differential from 10% to
20% (under section 43CA) for the period from the date of the announcement to
30th June 2021 for only primary sale of residential units of value up to Rs 2
crores. Consequential Relief up to 20% shall also be allowed to buyers of the
these units under section 56(2)(x) of IT Act for the said period. The necessary
amendment to IT Act would be proposed in due course. This measure will reduce
hardships faced by both home-buyers and developers and help in clearing the
unsold inventory.
7.
Rs 1.10 lakh crore Platform for Infra Debt Financing – Rs 6000 crores Equity
infusion in NIIF Debt Platform: Actual
investments made by 3 NIIF funds in downstream funds, platforms and operating
companies is Rs 19,676 cr. NIIF Strategic Opportunities Fund has set up a Debt
Platform comprising an NBFC Infra Debt Fund and an NBFC Infra Finance Company.
The Platform has a Loan book – Rs 8000 cr & deal pipeline of Rs. 10,000 cr.
NIIF AIFL (AA rating) and IFL (AAA rating) will raise INR 95,000 crores debt
from market, including project bonds. By 2025, will provide infra project
financing of ~INR 110,000 crores. NIIF has already invested nearly Rs 2000 cr.
in equity of the Platform. Government will invest Rs 6000 cr as equity. Rest of
equity will be raised from private investors.
8.
Support for Agriculture Rs 65,000 crores for subsidised Fertilisers: There is an estimated increase in fertiliser usage of 17.8%
over the actual usage in 2019-20 of 571 lakh metric tonnes. The increase is on
account of favourable monsoons and the resultant increase in sown area.
Fertiliser consumption which was 499 lakh MT in 2016-17 is expected to increase
to 673 lakh MT in 2020-21. Increased supply of fertilisers at subsidised rates
will help 140 million farmers. Rs 65,000 crores being provided to ensure
adequate availability of fertilisers to farmers to enable timely availability
of fertilisers in the upcoming crop season.
9.
Boost for Rural Employment – Enhanced outlays under PM Garib Kalyan Rozgar
Yojana: Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Rozgar
Yojana is also in progress in 116 districts. Rs 37,543 crores spent till date.
PMGKRY effectively dovetails various schemes including MGNREGA, PMGSY etc.
MGNREGA was provided with Rs 61,500 crore in Budget for 2020-21. Rs.40,000
crore was additionally provided in Atma Nirbhar Bharat 1.0. As on date, Rs
73,504 crore has been released under MGNREGA and 251 crore person-days of
employment have been generated. Further additional outlay of Rs. 10,000 crores
will be provided for PM Garib Kalyan Rozgar Yojana in the current financial
year.
10.
Boost for Project Exports – Rs 3000 crore to EXIM bank for Lines of Credit: Exim Bank extends Lines of Credit (LOC) on behalf of the
Government of India, as assistance to developing countries under IDEAS scheme. Promotes
Indian export by mandating recipient countries to import 75% value of the LOC.
Supported projects cover Railways, power, transmission, road and transport,
auto and auto components, sugar projects etc. As on date, 811 export contracts,
aggregating USD 10.50 bn are being financed under LoCs. Rs. 3,000 crore will be
released to EXIM Bank for promotion of project exports through Lines of Credit
under IDEAS scheme.
2. CM Naveen Patnaik launched a
mobile app “Secha Samadhan”: Chief
Minister Naveen Patnaik has launched ‘Secha Samadhan’, a bilingual mobile
application, to address the irrigation problems faced by farmers without them
having to visit the offices concerned. With the launching of the application,
farmers need not run to the offices of the Water Resources department and can
send their grievances through photographs or videos. The farmers will be
informed about the status of their complaints through SMS. Besides, immediate
steps will be taken to redress the grievances of the farmers. He also launched
four other online services to resolve the issue of water distribution for
industries, commercial establishments and other institutions.
Note:
Chief Minister of Odisha: Naveen Patnaik; Odisha Capital: Bhubaneswar; Odisha
Governor: Ganeshi Lal.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. 2nd World Health Expo kicks off
in Wuhan: The second World Health Expo was
inaugurated on November 11, in Wuhan, the capital city of Central China’s Hubei
Province. This year’s Expo will focus on displaying the most cutting-edge science
and technology in the global health industry, and help Wuhan build “city of
global health industry”. During the Expo, more than a hundred high-end forums
including a summit forum, academician forum and the roundtable dialogue on
epidemic prevention and normalized control, and the Global University Leaders
Forum, will be organized.
Note:
China Capital: Beijing; China Currency: Renminbi; China President: Xi Jinping.
2. Kash Patel named Chief of Staff
to acting US Defence Secretary: Indian-American
Kash Patel has been named as the Chief of Staff to the Acting US Defence
Secretary Chris Miller. The new appointment comes a day after Donald Trump
fired Defence Secretary Mark Esper and designated Chris Miller, as the Acting
Secretary. Kash Patel is currently on the National Security Council staff. He
replaces Jen Stewart, who resigned earlier in the day.
Kashyap
Pramod Patel, popularly known as Kash Patel, had previously served as senior
counsel for counter-terrorism at the House Permanent Select Committee. In June
2019, Patel, 39, was appointed as senior director of Counter-terrorism
Directorate of the National Security Council (NSC) in the White House.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. China’s Chen Meng claims ITTF
Women’s World Cup title: The world
number one Chen Meng beat Chinese compatriot Sun Yingsha to win her maiden
International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Women’s World Cup table tennis
title in held in Weihai, China. The 2020 ITTF Women’s World Cup was the 24th
edition of the ITTF-sanctioned event.
Note:
President of ITTF: Thomas Weikert; Headquarters of ITTF: Lausanne, Switzerland;
ITTF founded: 1926.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. HDFC Bank launches SmartHub
Merchant Solutions 3.0 for SMEs: HDFC
Bank has announced the launch of “SmartHub Merchant Solutions 3.0” for Small
and mid-size enterprises. This solution allows merchants and self-employed
professionals to instantly open a current account and start accepting payments
in-store, online, and on-the-go. The Bank plans to reach out to more than 20
million small and medium merchants and professional services like doctors,
pharmacies, salons and laundry services across the metro, semi-urban and rural
India in the next three years. The merchant solution was launched at a virtual
event held in Mumbai by Parag Rao, Country Head – Payments, Consumer Finance,
Marketing and Digital Banking at HDFC Bank along with T R Ramachandran, Group
Country Manager, India and South Asia, Visa.
About
SmartHub 3.0: SmartHub 3.0 will be available in app-based, web-based and a
range of PoS devices and will have features like digitizing Khata, enabling
collection reminders, inventory management, billing software and lending to
merchants’ basis their banking.
Key
features: Instant account opening and merchant setup; Payment collection
through any mode – Bharat QR code, Aadhaar Pay, UPI, SMS Pay, Credit or Debit
Cards, or any app such as Payzapp, Google Pay; Customise interface in nine
languages; Share product catalogue with customers via SMS, email or Whatsapp;
View and apply for loan and credit card offers; Single dashboard view of
payments and dues across locations; Merchants can also create their own
customer loyalty program on this solution. They can run their own ‘discounts
and offers’ for their customers.
Note:
CEO & MD of the HDFC Bank: Sashidhar Jagdishan; The tagline of HDFC Bank:
We Understand Your World; HDFC Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. M. Venkaiah Naidu presents 2nd
National Water Awards: The Vice
President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu has presented the National Water Awards
(NWAs) for 2019. This is the second edition of the award. Among the states
category, Tamil Nadu bagged the Best State Award, followed by Maharashtra and
Rajasthan.
About
National Water Awards: The award ceremony has been organised by the Ministry of
Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation are from 11 & 12 November 2020 through the virtual platform.
The NWA awards are given to motivate the individuals/organizations to adopt the
best usage practices in the field of water resources conservation and
management and create awareness among the people about the importance of water.
Note:
Minister of Jal Shakti: Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
OBITUARIES
1. Bahrain’s long-serving PM Khalifa
bin Salman Al Khalifa passes away: Bahrain’s
Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa has passed away. He was 84. He was
not only the longest-serving PM of Bahrain, but he was the world’s longest-serving
prime minister. He had held the post since independence in 1971. He played a
key role in Bahrain’s political and economic affairs for more than three
decades after setting the stage for a referendum that put paid to the Shah of
Iran’s claims to the tiny Gulf archipelago.
Note: King of Bahrain: Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa; Capital of Bahrain: Manama; Currency of Bahrain: Bahraini Dinar.
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