CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL
India’s Unemployment Rate Rises to 6.98%: CMIE
- Unemployment rate for October rose to 6.98% comparing to 6.67% in September, according to latest data by Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy CMIE.
- Unemployment rate in urban areas decline even though there is a rise in joblessness rate on a national level.
- The rural areas saw a big rise in unemployment. The rural unemployment rate rose from 6.9% in October from 5.86 percent in September whereas the urban unemployment in decline from 7.1% in October 8.45% in September.
- If we compare the states, Haryana has the highest unemployment rate of 27.3% followed by Rajasthan 24.1 % and J&K 16.1 %.
About CMIE
- Headquarters location: Mumbai
- Founded: 1976
- Managing Director and CEO: Mahesh Vyas
FinMin releases Rs 6,000 Cr to states under special window for meeting GST compensation shortfall
- The Ministry of Finance is releasing Rs 6,000 crore as the second tranche to 16 States and 3 Union Territories under the special window to states for meeting the GST compensation cess shortfall. 21 States and 3 UTs have so far opted for the Special Window under Option I and the finance ministry has facilitated loans of Rs 12,000 crore to date under the special window, stated a statement by the Ministry of Finance.
- The government added that the amount was raised at a weighted average yield of 42 per cent and it will be passed on to the states at the same interest rate, which is lower than the cost of borrowings for the states and will thus benefit them.
- The loans have been released to Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand. UT of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Puducherry also received the loans.
- During the 42nd Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting, it was decided to extend compensation cess beyond 2022. Levy of Compensation Cess to be extended beyond the transition period of five years i.e. beyond June 2022, for such period as may be required to meet the revenue gap, the ministry had stated in a statement. The government had also disbursed the compensation cess collected this year amounting to about Rs 20,000 crore.
About MoF:
- Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of India: Nirmala Sitharaman
- Constituency: Karnataka
CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL
Super Typhoon Goni, world’s most powerful storm in four years, smashes into the Philippines
- Super Typhoon Goni, the world’s most powerful storm in four years, crashed through the Philippines, smashing buildings, toppling trees, and causing floods and mudslides.
- The storm largely spared Manila, the capital and most densely populated city, showering it with rain toward the West Philippine Sea.
- Goni arrived days after Typhoon Molave killed at least 22 people.
About Philippines
- Capital: Manila
- Currency: Philippine peso
- President: Rodrigo Duterte
USTATED provides $3 m to COVIDActionCollab to mitigate effects of Covid-19 in India
- The funds will be used to provide comprehensive support on health, livelihood, and social protection for vulnerable communities
- Catalyst Management Services (CMS), a part of Catalysts Group, has ideated COVID Action Collaborative, partnered with the United States Agency for International Development (USTATED), to support India’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
- USTATED will provide $3 million over two years to support the COVIDActionCollab (CAC) partnership, which was formally announced through a virtual conference.
- As per the CMS official release, the funds will be used to provide comprehensive support on health, livelihood, and social protection for vulnerable communities.
- More than 150 civil society organisations, development partners, and private sector organizations attended the virtual launch event. At the event, participants discussed the importance of leveraging collective expertise to build resilient communities.
About United States Agency for International Development:
- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 billion, USAID is one of the largest official aid agencies in the world, and accounts for more than half of all U.S. foreign assistance—the highest in the world in absolute dollar terms.
- Headquarters: Washington, D.C.
- John Barsa, Acting Administrator
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE
Axis Bank revises stake acquisition agreement with Max Life
- Axis Bank announced a revised stake acquisition agreement with Max Financial.
- Axis Bank will acquire upto 9% of the equity share cap of Max Life. The bank’s subsidiaries Axis Capital Limited and Axis Securities Limited (together ‘Axis Entities’) will together acquire upto 3% of equity of Max Life. Axis Entities will have a right to acquire an additional stake of upto 7%.
- Axis enter into revised agreements with Max Financial for acquisition of upto 19.002% of the equity share capital of Max Life (“Revised Agreements”).
- The revised agreement happened as Reserve Bank of India rejected Axis Bank’s earlier proposal to directly buy 17% in Max Life.
About Axis Bank
- CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- Founded: 1993, Ahmedabad
About Max Life Insurance
- CEO: Prashant Tripathy
- Headquarters location: New Delhi
Centre extends Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme till Nov 30
- Union Government has extended the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by one month till 30th of November or till an amount of three lakh crore is sanctioned under the scheme, whichever is earlier.
- This has been done in view of the opening up of various sectors in the economy and the expected increase in demand during the ongoing festive season.
- This extension will provide a further opportunity to such borrowers who have not availed of the scheme so far, to obtain credit under the scheme.
- The ECLGS was announced as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Package to provide fully guaranteed and collateral free additional credit to MSMEs, business enterprises, individual loans for business purposes and MUDRA borrowers.
- Borrowers with credit outstanding up to Rs. 50 crore as on 29th of February 2020 and with an annual turnover of up to Rs. 250 crore are eligible under the scheme.
- Interest rates under the scheme are capped at 9.25 per cent for Banks and FIs and 14 per cent for NBFCs.
- Tenure of loans provided under the scheme is four years, including a moratorium of one year on principal repayment.
About Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme:
- The Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme provides 100% guarantee coverage by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) to Member Lending Institutions (MLIs), on GECL of up to Rs. 3 lakh crore to eligible MSMEs. MSMEs for the purpose of this Scheme will include MSMEs/ Business Enterprises which are constituted as Proprietorships, Partnerships, Registered Companies, Trusts and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs), and also interested borrowers under PMMY
ADB approves USD132.8 million loan to improve power distribution network in Meghalaya
- The Asian Development Bank has approved USD 132.8 million loan to improve and upgrade the power distribution network in Meghalaya, Power Minister James PK Sangma stated. The project fully supports Meghalaya’s initiative in improving the distribution system & financial sustainability of the Department,” the power minister stated.
- The Meghalaya cabinet had in August this year approved a proposal from the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) to avail a Rs 1,345.72 crore loan for clearing the power outstanding dues, on conditions that it has to bring down the aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses and reduce the gap of average cost of supply (ACS) and average revenue realized (ARR).
- The Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited (MePDCL) has a huge outstanding against the power purchased from central power generating stations and to the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL), the minister had stated.
About ADB:
- Headquarters: Mandaluyong, Philippines
- President: Masatsugu Asakawa
About Meghalaya:
- Capital: Shillong
- Governor: Satya Pal Malik
- Chief minister: Conrad Sangma
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
AAI hands over Lucknow airport to Adani group on lease for 50 years
- The Airports Authority of India (AAI) handed over the Lucknow airport to the Adani group on lease for a period of 50 years.
- The AAI had handed over the Mangaluru airport to the group on October 30.
- The central government in February 2019 privatised six major airports of the country — Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, and Guwahati. After a competitive bidding process, the Adani group won the rights to run all of them for 50 years.
About AAI
- Headquarters: New Delhi
- Arvind Singh (Chairman)
- Parent organization: Directorate General of Civil Aviation
