Important Current Affairs for Interview..................

1. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cut down repo rate by 25 basis points 

to 7.75 percent from 8 percent, with immediate effect. It was announced ahead of the scheduled date of monetary policy announcement on 3rd February 2015 as part of RBI’s 6th bi-monthly monetary policy statement.

RBI’s 6th bi-monthly monetary policy statement says that 

Repo rate: RBI has reduced the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 8.0 per cent to 7.75 per cent.

Cash reserve ratio (CRR): RBI has unchanged CRR and kept it at 4.0 per cent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL).

Reverse repo rate: RBI has adjusted reverse repo rate under the LAF to 6.75 per cent.

While, RBI has adjusted Marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 8.75 per cent with immediate effect.

2. Bankers retreat -- Gyan Sangam -- ended in Pune.Bankers collectively resolving to improve on five points and even demanded some commitment from the government to improve the state of banking in the country.The five points include -- a decision to re-orient the portfolios of small public sector banks to focus on specific and differentiated niches, build people capacities, use of more technology (especially in the top 30 processes), strengthen risk management practises and strengthen the partner channels such as business correspondents.

The bankers have requested the government to move from a state-owned structure to a state-linked structure, as recommended by the P.J.Nayak committee report. This would entail, among other things, setting up of a banking bureau comprising of professionals and eminent bankers to appoint and empower individual bank boards. Other commitments requested by the banks, of the government include: fully empower banks on human resource related decisions, creating the right environment for minimal interference, strengthening the legal framework for recovery of loans, strengthening and simplify processes for credit insurance, eliminate debt waivers and do away with interest rate caps, and finally creating the enabling infrastructure for digital banking.

3. Union government has renamed Planning commission as Niti Aayog. Government’s decision comes after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2014 Independence Day announcement that the Planning Commission would be replaced with a new-age institution.

(NITI) Aayog Members

Chairman- Prime Minister

Vice-chairman- Arvind Panagariya 

CEO- Sindhushree Khullar

Other Appointments of NITI Aayog

Full-Time Members:

Bibek Debroy- Economist.

V.K. Saraswat- Former Secretary Defence R&D.

Ex-officio members:

Rajnath Singh- Union Home Minister.

Arun Jaitley- Union Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information & Broadcasting Minister.

Suresh Prabhu- Union Minister of Railways

Radha Mohan Singh- Union Minister of Agriculture.

Special Invitees:

Nitin Gadkari- Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping.

Thawar Chand Gehlot-Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Smriti Zubin Irani- Union Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD).

4. The Government has separated the post of Chairman and Managing Director of a public sector bank. Accordingly, it has appointed four Managing Directors who will also be Chief Executive Officers.The four new MDs & CEOs will be P Srinivas (United Bank of India), Animesh Chauhan (Oriental Bank of Commerce), R. Koteeswaran (Indian Overseas Bank) and Kishor Kumar Sansi (Vijaya Bank). The appointment of the above MD & CEOs is for a period of three years or till the date of superannuation

5. LPG consumers across the country get cash subsidy directly into their bank accounts so that they buy the cooking fuel at market price.Domestic LPG users will get Rs. 568 in the bank account the moment they join the Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme for LPG, which has now been renamed PAHAL.

6. World Economic Forum Summit at Davos to discuss the road ahead for the WTO, including the post-Bali programme.

7. The Seventh Vibrant Gujarat Summit was held from 11 January to 13 January 2015 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The summit was organised by the Government of Gujarat. The sixth Vibrant Gujarat summit was held in 2013.During the summit, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel announced that the MoUs singed includes as many as 1225 strategic partnerships. The companies that have disclosed their investment committments include Reliance Industries, Adani Group, Aditya Birla Group, Suzlon and Videocon, and also some foreign players like Rio Tinto, Suzuki and CLP Holdings.Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US Secretary of State John Kerry, Chief Minister of Gujarat Anandiben Patel, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, Union Finance Minister Arun Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was attended the summit.

Highlights of the Summit

• The various leaders and experts from across the world also called for greater reforms in India.

• Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel announced that Gujarat has become a global business hub.

• John Kerry was highly inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's slogan of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas. He said that the US wants to promote co-operative federalism in India with a competitive element among the states.

• World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said that World Bank raised targeted growth of India to 6.4 percent. And also, he said that tax and subsidy reforms are essential for inclusive growth in India.

• Prime Minister Modi called for sustainable, inclusive growth and said that fluctuations in the global economy are the biggest concern. He also said that India wants to work with global leadership on issues ranging from poverty to ecology with various countries that are coming forward to work with India.

• Adani Group committed 20000 crore rupees investment in port sector in Gujarat and also another investment of 25000 crore rupees power sector plan.

• Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani had announced one lakh crore rupees investment and Birla Group has committed 20000 crore rupees in 12- 18 months across businesses.

• Among foreign companies, Mining giant of Australia Rio Tinto announced 30000 jobs in diamond cutting industry in Gujarat, and Australia is looking forward to Gujarat as a promising business destination.

8. Gujarat hosted 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) from 7 January 2015 to 9 January 2015.

The 13th edition of PBD marked the 100th year of Mahatma Gandhi’s return to India from South Africa. PBD is an event which celebrates the achievements of Indians living abroad. The chief guest of the 13th PBD was Guyana President Donald Ramotar.On 7 January 2015, the youth segment of PBD was inaugurated with the theme Bharat ko jano and Bharat ko mano. The aim of the youth segment is to familiarising children of migrant Indians with the traditions and history of the country as well as its modern day achievements in different fields.

The main highlights of the 13th PBD includes a plenary session in which presentations was made on the flagship programmes of the government such as Namami Ganga, Swachh Bharat, Skill Development and Urban Development and NRIs and People of Indian origin (PIO). Besides, there was separate sessions for Girmitya, Indian migrants taken to work in plantations, Gulf countries, French speaking countries and Diaspora organisations in various countries and the Ambassadors of these countries was present to understand their problems.

PBD is the world's largest annual gathering of people of Indian origin. PBD is aimed at enhancing networking and reinforcing commercial linkages. There are 25 million people of Indian origin residing outside India. Pravasi Bharatiya Samman 2015 has been awarded to 15 prominent non-resident Indians (NRI’s) on the concluding day of 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas.They have been conferred with award for their contribution in various fields. The awards were presented by Vice-President Hamid Ansari at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Recipients of awards are.........................................

Satyanarayan Nadella- CEO of tech giant Microsoft.Donald Rabindernauth Ramaotar- He is President of Guyana and awarded for his work for the Indian diaspora in Guyana.

Mala Mehta- For her contribution to Hindi language. She is founder of Indo- Australian Bal Bharatiya Vidyalaya in Thornleigh suburb in Sydney. Since its establishment, she has been pursuing the growth of Hindi in Australia.

Rajaram Sanjaya- He is India-born Mexican scientist. He is winner of the ‘2014 World Food Prize’ for developing 480 wheat varieties that have been released in 51 countries.

Kanwaljit Singh Bakhshi- He is Member of Parliament (MP) from New Zealand. He is also known for work he had done for the Indian diaspora in New Zealand.

Essop Goolam Pahad- He is a South African politician. He was Minister in the Presidency from 1999 to September 2008 in South Africa.

Mahendra Nanji Mehta- Uganda-based businessman of Indian origin.

Professor Nathuram Poori -He is founder of Purico Group are also chosen for their contribution to Indian diaspora.

Lord Raj Lumba- He is a philanthropist and founder of clothing company Rinku Group. He is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords, United Kingdom.

Kamlesh Lulla- He is chief scientist for Earth observation in the Human Exploration Science Office at the Johnson Space Centre at NASA. He has named for the award for his exceptional service to the space science.

Nandini Tandon- She has been given this award for her work in life sciences and Healthcare and IT in USA and India along with other emerging markets.

It is the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians. As a part of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), this award is conferred by the President of India on.Non-Resident Indian, Person of Indian Origin (PIO) or

An organization or institution established and run by the Non-Resident Indians or Persons of Indian Origin.This award carries a bilingual Sanad (certificate) under the hand and the seal of the President. In addition, it includes a citation, a gold medallion and a miniature of the medallion in the form of a lapel pin.

About Pravasi Bhartiya Divas

Pravasi Bhartiya Divas is a programme organized by Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs to foster greater interaction between the Indian Diaspora and Indian government. It provides the Diaspora a platform to put forth their issues and grievances before the government. At the same time, the government also uses this occasion to showcase opportunities for investment in India to the expatriate community.

Started in 2003 by the then NDA Government, it is held every year for 3 days between Jan 7-9.

Mahatma Gandhi had returned from South Africa to India on Jan 9th in 1915, this event inspires the dates of this programme.

9. Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched Mission Indradhanush to achieve full immunization coverage for all children by 2020.

The Mission Indradhanush aims to cover all those children who are either unvaccinated or are partially vaccinated against seven vaccine preventable diseases including diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B.

The Mission was launched on Good Governance Day that marks the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Madan Mohan Malaviya and birthday of Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Highlights of the Mission Indradhanush

• Under Mission Indradhanush, four special vaccination campaigns will be conducted between January and June 2015 with intensive planning and monitoring of these campaigns.

• The ministry has identified 201 high focus districts that have nearly 50 percent of all unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children. These districts will be targeted by intensive efforts to improve the routine immunization coverage.

• Out of the 201 districts, 82 districts are in just four states of UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and nearly 25 percent of the unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children of India are in these 82 districts of 4 states.

• 201 districts will be covered in the first phase of the mission, 297 districts will be targeted for the second phase in the year 2015.

• The Ministry will be technically supported by WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International and other donor partners.

• Mass media, interpersonal communication, and sturdy mechanisms of monitoring and evaluating the scheme are crucial components of Mission.

10. Important Government Schemes 

I. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana

The government rolled out its ambitious financial inclusion programme, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)

The programme is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first blockbuster social upliftment scheme and is aimed at improving the lives of millions of India's poor by bringing them into the financial mainstream and freeing them from the clutches of usurious moneylenders, while giving them a modicum of insurance cover.The slogan for the Pradhanmantri Jan Dhan mission is expected to be ” Mera Khata – Bhagya Vidhaata” which when translated into English means ” My Bank Account – The Creator of the Good Fortune”:

Benefits under Yojana

Every individual who open a bank account becomes eligible to receive an accident insurance cover of up-to 1 Lakh rupees for his entire family.

Moreover, an additional 30000 rupees life insurance cover will be provided for those opening bank accounts before 26 January 2015.Once the bank account became active for 6 months and being linked to account holders Aadhar identity, they would become eligible for an overdraft of up to 2500 rupees, which would further be enhanced by the bank to 5000 rupees over time.The Jan Dhan Yojana also seeks to provide incentives to business and banking correspondents. The banking correspondents act as link for the last mile between savings account holders and the bank by fixing a minimum monthly remuneration of 5000 rupees.

The long term vision of the Jan Dhan Yojana is to lay the foundation of a cashless economy and is complementary to the Digital India Scheme.

Accidental Insurance given by- HDFC ergo

Life Insurance by- LIC 

As on 17th January 2015, PMJDY has achieved feat of opening of 11.50 crore bank accounts under it in the short span of 5 months since it was launched against the original target of 7.5 Crore by 26th January, 2015.

II. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 2 October 2014 launched Swachh Bharat (Clean India) campaign in New Delhi. The Swachh Bharat campaign was launched on the occasion of 145th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and is aimed at making India clean by 2019, i.e. 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

On the occasion of launch of the campaign in Rajpath New Delhi, Modi administered an oath to a large gathering to keep their neighbourhoods clean. He asked people to donate (Shramdaan) 100 hours every year or two hours every week for cleanliness. After administrating the oath, he himself cleaned a police station and a scavengers’ colony, Valmiki Colony of New Delhi.

He nominated Sachin Tendulkar (retd. cricketer), Sashi Tharoor (Congress leader), Anil Ambani (industrialist), Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Kamal Hasan, Baba Ramdev, Mridula Sinha (Governor of Goa) and the whole team of TV serial Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. After nominating people for accepting the challenge, he said that each of these nominated people can nominate other nine people of their choice.

III. Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) on the birth anniversary of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan on 11 October 2014. SAGY will be implemented under the overall supervision of Union Ministry of Rural Development. The programme is an ambitious village development project under which each Member of Parliament will take the responsibility for developing physical and institutional infrastructure in three villages by 2019. The primary goal is to develop three Adarsh Grams or model villages by March 2019, of which one would be achieved by 2016. Thereafter, five such Adarsh Grams (one per year) will be selected and developed by 2024.