Current Affairs Update – 8th – 9th May, 2016

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5 years ago

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 8th May and 9th May, 2016. These are important for the upcoming SBI Clerk 2016 and SBI PO 2016 and UIIC AO 2016.

Current Affairs Update – 8th – 9th May, 2016

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 28 April 2016 released consultation
paper on Peer to Peer (P2P) lending to classify it as Non-Banking Financial
Company (NBFC). The suggestions or comments on the Paper may be sent
to Department of Non-Banking Regulation, RBI on or before 31 May 2016.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
on 5 May 2016 released Draft Guidelines for on tap Licensing of Universal Banks
in the Private Sector. It also sought views and comments on the
draft guidelines from banks, non-banking financial institutions, industrial
houses, other institutions and the public at large latest by 30 June 2016.
The Department of Industrial
Policy & Promotion (DIPP) under Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry permitted
100% foreign direct investment (FDI) into asset
reconstruction companies (ARCs) through automatic route.
112, the single emergency number
that will help people to reach immediate services of police, ambulance and fire
department will be operational throughout India from 1 January 2017.
The Karnataka Government in the first week of May 2016 decided to establish
Asia’s first-ever Rice Technology Park at Gangavati.
Switzerland government on 4 May 2016 honoured the late bollywood
film maker Yash
Chopra with a special bronze statue.
India is ranked at
ninth position in crony-capitalism index that was released by the Economist in
the first week of May 2016. India has a crony sector wealth accounting
for 3.4 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
SpaceX on 6 May 2016
successfully launched the Japanese communications satellite, JCSAT–14 on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Number one seed Novac Djokovic on 8 May 2016 defeated Andy Murray 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
to conquer the Mutua Madrid Open title in Madrid, Spain. Romanian tennis player
Simona Halep on 7 May 2016 won the women singles title of the
Madrid Open.
The British Labour party’s Sadiq Khan on 6 May 2016 was elected new Mayor of London.
His election as Mayor of London made him the first
actively affiliated Muslim to become mayor of a major Western capital.
Yesteryear’s Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor’s biography titled Shashi Kapoor – the
Householder, the Star was released on 6 May 2016.

Finance/Banking –

RBI releases consultation paper on Peer to Peer lending to classify it
as NBFC

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
on 28 April 2016 released consultation paper on Peer to Peer (P2P) lending to
classify it as Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC). The suggestions or
comments on the Paper may be sent to Department of Non-Banking Regulation, RBI
on or before 31 May 2016.
The Consultation paper outlines
the pros and cons of regulating the sector and proposes a suitable framework
for regulating the activity.
It includes minimum capital,
permitted activity, governance requirements, and fair practices code for customer
dealing and data security.

RBI released draft guidelines for licensing of Universal Banks in
Private Sector

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
on 5 May 2016 released Draft Guidelines for on tap Licensing of Universal Banks
in the Private Sector.
It also sought views and comments
on the draft guidelines from banks, non-banking financial institutions,
industrial houses, other institutions and the public at large latest by 30 June
2016.
RBI will issue the final
guidelines will after receiving feedback, comments and suggestions on draft
guidelines.

Salient features of the draft
guidelines:

Eligible Promoters:

i. Existing non-banking financial
companies (NBFCs) that are controlled by residents and have a successful track
record for at least 10 years.

ii. The residents, individuals or
professionals who have 10 years of banking and finance experience.

iii. Residents owned entities or
groups in the private sector which have a successful track record for at least
10 years.

Fit and Proper criteria:
Promoter or promoting entity or promoter group should have a past record
of sound financials, credentials, integrity and have a minimum 10 years of
successful track record.

Corporate structure:

i. The requirement of
Non-Operative Financial Holding Company (NOFHC) is not mandatory for individual
promoters or standalone promoting or converting entities that do not have other
group entities.

ii. Individual promoters or
promoting entities or converting entities that have other group entities, shall
set up the bank only through an NOFHC.

iii. The NOFHC shall be owned by
the promoter/promoter group to the extent of not less than 51 per cent of the
total paid-up equity capital of the NOFHC.

Minimum capital requirement: The initial minimum paid-up voting
equity capital for a bank shall be 5 billion rupees. Thereafter, the bank shall
have a minimum net worth of 5 billion rupees at all times.
Foreign shareholding in the bank:
The foreign shareholding in the bank would be as per the existing
foreign direct investment (FDI) policy. The aggregate foreign investment limit
is 74 per cent.

Corporate governance prudential and exposure norms:

i. The bank shall comply with the
provisions of Banking Regulations Act, 1949 and the existing guidelines on
prudential norms as applicable to scheduled commercial banks.

ii. The bank is precluded from
having any exposure to its promoters, major shareholders who have shareholding
to the extent of 10 per cent or more of paid-up equity shares in the bank.

Business plan for the bank: A realistic and viable business plan should be
submitted that can propose the bank’s ability to achieve financial inclusion.

Other conditions: The bank shall get its shares listed on the
stock exchanges within six years of the commencement of business by the bank.

100% FDI through Automatic Route permitted in Asset Reconstruction
Companies

The Department of Industrial
Policy & Promotion (DIPP) under Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry
permitted 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) into asset reconstruction
companies (ARCs) through automatic route.
In this regard the DIPP notified
the Press Note 4 (2016 series) on 6 May 2016.

Key Highlights

Person resident outside India can
invest in the capital of ARCs registered with Reserve bank of India, up to 100
per cent on the automatic route. Earlier, it was 49 per cent through automatic
route and beyond 49 percent through government route.
It stated that total share
holding of an individual foreign institutional investor (FII)/foreign portfolio
investment (FPI) shall be below 10 per cent of the total paid-up capital.

India –

Dial 112 for any Emergency throughout India from 1 January 2017

112, the single emergency number
that will help people to reach immediate services of police, ambulance and fire
department will be operational throughout India from 1 January 2017.
Single emergency number 112 of
India will be similar to the ‘911’ all-in-one emergency service in the United
States.

Highlights of its Usability

The service will also be
accessible even through those SIMs and landlines whose outgoing call facility
has been stopped or temporarily suspended.
A person in distress will need to
call only 112, which will direct the call to concerned departments immediately
for help.
All existing emergency numbers
will be phased out within a year of rolling out 112, depending upon the
awareness about this new facility.

Asia’s first Rice Technology Park to be established in Gangavati,
Karnataka

The Karnataka Government in the
first week of May 2016 decided to establish Asia’s first-ever Rice Technology
Park at Gangavati.
Besides, a Maize Technology Park
will also be established at Ranebennur in Haveri district.
The rice park is being
established at Navali-Karatagi villages on the outskirts of Gangavati, and the
maize park is to be come up in the APMC market yard at Ranebennur.

Key facts related to the establishment of parks

These parks will be established
under public private partnership (PPP).
The establishment of the Rice
Technology Park will help paddy cultivators in the Tungabhadra Command Area in
Ballari, Raichur and Koppal districts.