1. ICG inaugurated its 4th Subordinate Officers Conclave 2019 in New Delhi
The 4thCoast Guard Subordinate Officers Conclave 2019 was inaugurated by Director General Rajendra Singh here today. The two-day conclave at Coast Guard Headquarters will have brainstorming and various other plenary sessions, involving highly motivated and committed subordinate officers who have come from various units of Coast Guard across the country. Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and has not only broadened the horizons of subordinate officers but also has provided them a platform to express their innovative ideas, thought process before the highest decision-making echelons in the service.
2. NGT formed a panel to discuss plea seeking a ban on plastic packaging
Following a plea seeking a ban on the plastic packaging of food products, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has constituted an expert committee to ascertain whether further norms are required to restrict the use of plastic packaging. A Bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel constituted the panel comprising representatives from the Central Pollution Control Board, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Bureau of Indian Standards and the Directorate of Health Services.
3. Estonia, Niger, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia, Vietnam elected to UNSC as Non-permanent Members
Estonia, Niger, St. Vincent, and the Grenadines, Tunisia, and Vietnam were Friday elected as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2020. The 193-member UN General Assembly held elections for five non-permanent members of the Security Council in the iconic General Assembly hall. In the African and Asia Pacific category, Vietnam got 192 out of 193 votes, followed by Niger and Tunisia (191 votes each).
4. World’s most punctual airline tag won by Srilankan Airlines
SriLankan Airlines, the flag carrier of the island nation, has been named the 'World's Most Punctual Airline' for the second consecutive time with over 90 percent of its flights in May being "on time", authorities said here Friday. SriLankan Airlines said in a statement that it had achieved this status for the second time in less than 12 months as in September 2018, it had achieved a punctuality rating of 91.37 percent, reports Xinhua news agency.
5. RBI to create foreign exchange trading platform for retail participants
Setting out various developmental and regulatory policy measures, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday said it will create a foreign exchange trading platform for SME exporters and importers. Unveiling its second Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2019-20, the Central Bank also decided to widen the ambit of small finance banks and get more players to extend such banking facilities. RBI in its statement said that the view is to create a market infrastructure that would ensure fair and transparent pricing for users of foreign exchange (such as Small and Medium Enterprise exporters and importers, individuals, etc.).
6. India’s first mutual fund side pocket initiated by Tata Mutual Fund
This instance is India’s first formal use of the side pocketing provisions introduced by SEBI in December 2018. Side pocketing allows AMCs to separate out a section of their portfolio corresponding to the bad debt held by them. Tata Mutual Fund has announced plans to introduce segregated portfolios (side pockets) in three schemes hit by the DHFL debt crisis – Tata Corporate Bond Fund, Tata Medium Term Fund, and Tata Treasury Advantage Fund. It has also suspended fresh inflows into these schemes. This instance is India’s first formal use of the side pocketing provisions introduced by SEBI in December 2018. Other AMC has made amendments to SIDs to allow side pocketing but this is the first time an AMC is actually proposing to carry out the procedure.
7. e-Money share in India’s payment systems reaches 21.5%: RBI
Getting a leg-up from the demonetization of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in November 2016, the share of e-Money in India's payment systems grew to 21.5 percent in 2017 from 0.8 percent in 2012, according to a new report from the Reserve Bank of India. With 345.9 crore e-Money transactions, India was behind only Japan and the US in 2017 with respect to the volume of e-Money transactions, said the report titled 'Benchmarking India's Payment Systems".
8. RBI relaxed leverage ratio for banks to 3.5%
The leverage ratio, as defined under Basel-III norms, is Tier-I capital as a percentage of the bank's exposures. The leverage ratio stands reduced to 4% for Domestic Systemically Important Banks 3.5% for other banks. The leverage ratio stands reduced to 4 percent for Domestic Systemically Important Banks (DSIBs) and 3.5 percent for other banks effective from the quarter commencing October 1, 2019, the central bank said in a notification.
9. MoU signed between MCA and SEBI for data exchange
This will involve sharing of information such as details of suspended companies and financial statements of corporates. This assumes importance in the wake of certain cases of alleged fraud being investigated by both Sebi and MCA, such as those involving Fortis Healthcare and Religare Enterprises Ltd. In an effort to tackle rising instances of fraud, corporate sector regulators Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for seamless sharing of data from corporates.
10. CCI approved Schneider Electric India, MacRitchie’s acquisition of L&T arm
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Thursday approved the acquisition of Larsen & Toubro's (L&T) electric and automation (E&A) business by Schneider Electric India and MacRitchie Investments. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) in a statement, however, noted that the acquisition could lead to lesser competition in the market. Therefore the CII has ordered the acquirers to reserve a part of L&T's installed capacity to offer white labeling services to third-party competitors.
