Capital market regulator Sebi on 8 April 2015 raised the transaction limit in exchange traded currency derivatives to USD 15 million for both foreign and domestic investors without having any underlying exposure. What was the earlier limit in Exchange traded currency?: USD 10 million
Explanation: Currently, domestic and foreign investors are allowed to take a long (bought) as well as short (sold) position up to USD 10 million per exchange. But now Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) and domestic clients can take position (long and short) in foreign currency up to USD 15 million or equivalent per exchange without having to establish existence of any underlying exposure. However, to take positions in excess of USD 15 million, FPIs and domestic investors would be "required to have an underlying exposure in Indian debt or equity securities, including units of equity or debt mutual funds."
The Reserve Bank of India 9 April 2015 announced the name of Deccan Grameena Bank is changed to which new name?: Telangana Grameena Bank
Explanation: The Bank came into existence in March 2006 by the name of Deccan Grameena Bank. The Union government holds 50 per cent stake in TGB, while 15 per cent share is held by Telangana government and the rest of 35 per cent by the State Bank of Hyderabad. Thus the Union government through a notification in October 2014 had changed the name of Deccan Grameena Bank to Telangana Grameena Bank (TGB). Currently, the Bank is operating in five districts - Adilabad, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Ranga Reddy and Hyderabad of Telangana state and provides financial services to rural masses in over 1,878 villages as well as in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
Mutual funds pumped in over Rs 40,000 crore in equity markets in 2014-15, making it their first net inflow in how many years for an entire fiscal.?: 6 (six) years
Explanation: The huge inflows also helped the MF industry reach around Rs 12 lakh crore mark in Assets under management (AUM) at the end of the financial year. Thus, Mutual fund managers invested a net sum of Rs 40,722 crore in 2014-15 while they pulled out over Rs 14,000 crore in the preceding financial year as per SEBI. However, industry body Association of Mutual Funds of India's (Amfi) decision to put one percent cap on upfront commission paid to distributors may impact the sector. In comparison, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) made a net investment of over Rs one lakh crore into equity markets during the fiscal ended last month. Mutual funds are investment vehicles that pool funds collected from investors to invest in securities such as stocks, bonds, money market instruments and other assets.
India's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at which city became operational on 10 April 2015?: Gandhinagar
Explanation: India's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City. The IFSC regulatory regime allows Indian and foreign stock exchanges to set up separate bourses within IFSC as subsidiaries, while market entities from India and abroad would be allowed to operate there by providing issuance and trading in depository receipts and debt securities of domestic as well as overseas companies. IFSC rules allow companies incorporated outside India to raise money in foreign currencies by issuance and listing of their equity shares on stock exchanges within the IFSC, where individual and institutional investors from India and abroad, including NRIs, would be allowed to trade. The capital and other requirements have been relaxed for some time for exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories to set shop in the IFSC. Mutual funds and Alternative Investment Funds set up in the IFSC can also invest in the securities listed.
The Reserve Bank of India 9 April 2015 announced the name of Deccan Grameena Bank is changed to which new name?: Telangana Grameena Bank
Explanation: The Bank came into existence in March 2006 by the name of Deccan Grameena Bank. The Union government holds 50 per cent stake in TGB, while 15 per cent share is held by Telangana government and the rest of 35 per cent by the State Bank of Hyderabad. Thus the Union government through a notification in October 2014 had changed the name of Deccan Grameena Bank to Telangana Grameena Bank (TGB). Currently, the Bank is operating in five districts - Adilabad, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Ranga Reddy and Hyderabad of Telangana state and provides financial services to rural masses in over 1,878 villages as well as in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
Capital market regulator Sebi on 8 April 2015 raised the transaction limit in exchange traded currency derivatives to USD 15 million for both foreign and domestic investors without having any underlying exposure. What was the earlier limit in Exchange traded currency?: USD 10 million
Explanation: Currently, domestic and foreign investors are allowed to take a long (bought) as well as short (sold) position up to USD 10 million per exchange. But now Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) and domestic clients can take position (long and short) in foreign currency up to USD 15 million or equivalent per exchange without having to establish existence of any underlying exposure. However, to take positions in excess of USD 15 million, FPIs and domestic investors would be "required to have an underlying exposure in Indian debt or equity securities, including units of equity or debt mutual funds."
Retirement fund body has achieved another milestone in the process of digitising its operations by updating how many PF accounts for 2014-15 in a day?: 15.54 crore PF accounts
Explanation: It has happened in the history of EPFO for the first time that accounts of all EPF member accounts have been updated on 1st April itself. However the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is required to update PF accounts for a fiscal till September 30 after the end of that financial year. But the task for 2014-15 was completed on April 1. Therefore, after digitization now tt has been found that 6,56,06,009 accounts are active and 8,08,56,444 accounts are inoperative. As many as 89,58,296 accounts are already settled.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch which Bank on 8 April 2015 in Delhi?: MUDRA bank or the Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Ltd. bank
Explanation: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch MUDRA bank or the Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Ltd. bank on 8 April 2015 in Delhi. Kindly find 10-point brief points to this story.
1) The bank will be an agency to refinance micro-finance institutions and will also act as regulator for the sector.
2) Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his first full-year Budget in February had proposed the creation of MUDRA bank with a corpus of Rs 20,000 crore and credit guarantee corpus of Rs 3,000 crore.
3) MUDRA bank is expected to benefit about 5.77 crore small business units.
4) Among others, the bank will benefit small manufacturing units, shopkeepers, fruit and vegetable sellers, beauty parlour owners, truck operators, hawkers, artisans in rural and urban areas with financing requirements up to Rs 10 lakh.
5) MUDRA bank will be responsible for regulating and refinancing all micro-finance institutions (MFIs) which are in the business of lending to micro or small business entities engaged in manufacturing, trading and services activities.
6) MUDRA bank would lay down policy guidelines for micro/small enterprise financing business, registration of MFI entities, regulation of MFI entities and accreditation /rating of MFI entities.
7) "The initial products and schemes under this umbrella have already been created and the interventions have been named 'Shishu', 'Kishor' and 'Tarun' to signify the stage of growth/development and funding needs of the beneficiary micro unit/entrepreneur," the Finance Ministry said.
8) 'Shishu' would cover loans up to Rs 50,000 while 'Kishor' above Rs 50,000 and up to Rs 5 lakh. 'Tarun' category will cover loans of above Rs 5 lakh and upto Rs 10 lakh.
9) The Finance Ministry said measures to be taken up by MUDRA are targeted towards mainstreaming young, educated or skilled workers and entrepreneurs including women entrepreneurs.
10) Banks, particularly dominant state lenders who are already under pressure over bad loans, have largely held back from lending to a sector where debt repayment installments can often be less than the cost of pursuing the payment.
Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) was re-launched during November 2014 and on 7 April 2015 Union Govt. has planned which step to promote it?: It has roped in Public Sector Banks (PSBs) to sell KVP certificates
Explanation: Kisan Vikas Patra (hugely popular small saving scheme of the 1990s) has failed to accumulate much interest and collected just Rs 1,100 crore in 2014-15. Gross collections for KVP were as high as Rs 21,631.16 crore in 2010-11, which was the year before it was discontinued. KVP is presently issued through Post Offices only but now the Union Govt. has decided to sell KVPs through PSBs also. However, comparing to this scheme another small saving scheme was launched last year int he name of Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA), is fast gaining popularity with over 27 lakh accounts already opened under it.
The I-T department has so far collected Rs 6,85,972 crore Direct Tax during the year gone by against the projected target of Rs 7,05,000 crore for fiscal year 2015, thus falling short of Rs 19,028 crore as per the data internally released by the department on 4 April 2015. However, which 2 states are able to meet their targets?: Delhi and Bangalore
Explanation: New Delhi alone has collected Rs 1,02,083 crore in tax, up from Rs 86,619 crore in the previous fiscal year, whereas Mumbai was able to mop up 2,26,305 crore, short of the Rs 2.30 lakh crore last fiscal year. The department revised the direct tax collection to Rs 7,05,000 crore for the fiscal 2014-15 against the initial projection of Rs 7,36,000 crore in view of the sluggish economic growth however officials believe that the figures are yet to come from some regions and once all the figures are in, which may take more than a week, the target would be met. The official blamed the shortfall on sectors such as manufacturing which witnessed a slow growth.
