23rd February 2013 Daily Gk Study Material

Published for http://www.jobentra.blogspot.com

1.    Final RBI norms for new banks

i. The Reserve Bank released the final guidelines for issuing new banking licenses as it will now allow entities in the private and the public sector as well as non-banking financial companies to enter the fray.

ii. "Entities/groups in the private sector, entities in the public sector and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) shall be eligible to set up a bank through a wholly-owned non-operative financial holding company (NOFHC),"

iii. The final guidelines sets 49 per cent cap on foreign holding in new banks and minimum paid-up equity capital is Rs 500 crore.

iv. New banks will have to set up 25 per cent of its branches in unbanked rural areas.

v. Existing NBFCs, if considered eligible, may be permitted to promote new banks or convert themselves into banks.

vi. The paid-up equity capital should be Rs 500 crore and they will have to get listed within three years of operations, the guidelines added.

vii. The RBI, which allowed private banks in 1993, had issued the last set of licences in 2001 to two entities - Kotak Mahindra Bank and Yes Bank.

viii. "The new banks shall open at least 25 per cent of their branches in unbanked rural centres (population up to 9,999 as per the latest Census)," the report stated, adding that all priority sector norms would be applied to the new entities as well.

ix. The RBI, however, said those banks promoted by groups having 40 per cent or more assets or income from non-financial business will require its approval for raising paid-up eqity capital beyond Rs 1,000 crore for every block of Rs 500 crore.

2.    Justice Usha Mehra Commission Submitted its Report

i. Justice Usha Mehra Commission on 22 February 2013 submitted its report to on the 16 December 2012 Delhi gang-rape incident to the Union Government of India.

ii. The report was received by the Union Minister of Law and Justice Ashwani Kumar and the Union Home Secretary R.K. Singh. 

Major Points of the Reort

i. Lack of Coordination between the Police and the transport department  ii. Lack of cooperation between the police of National Capital Territory and National Capital Region plays a great role in escape of the criminals from one place to another iii. Lack of PCR vans and public transport facility in Delhi

Usha Mehra Commission

i. The Usha Mehra Commission was constituted by the Union Government on 26 December 2012 to inquire into the different aspects of the brutal rape and assault incident of the girl on 16 December 2012 on the streets of Delhi.

ii. The commission was asked to submit the report within three months.

iii. Retired Delhi High Court Judge, Usha Mehra was the head of this commission.

3.    F.M. launches CPC (TDS)

i. Finance Minister P Chidambaram has launched the Centralised Processing Cell for Tax Deducted at Source (CPC-TDS) on Saturday, a move likely to ease the compliance procedure for taxpayers.

ii. "The CPC (TDS) will provide the tax deductors, taxpayers and the assessing officers a wide range of online services related to TDS through a functionality designated TDS Reconciliation, Analysis and Correction Enabling System (TRACES),"

iii. TRACES will provide a bouquet of services like viewing and downloading of Form 26AS and downloading of consolidated files for filing of correction statements.

iv. This will facilitate proper reconciliation between credit of taxes paid by deductors and claimed by deductees.

v. Moreover, banks, being the most important Tax Deductors will now have the facility to file correction statements online to minimise the difficulties faced by tax deductees in claiming credit of tax deducted at source.     

vi. It is expected that this facility will, to a large extent, ameliorate the problem faced by tax payers of mismatch in credit of tax deducted and claimed in the return of income," 

NOTE: The CPC (TDS) will be situated at Aayakar Bhawan, Sector-3, Vaishali, Ghaziabad (UP).

4.    'Mobile connections with Rs 20 balance cannot be deactivated'

i. Telecom regulator TRAI on Friday said inactive mobile connections of pre-paid customers cannot be deactivated if they have a minimum balance of Rs 20 in their account.

ii. Announcing an amendment to a regulation for protecting consumers, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said, "There shall be no deactivation if the balance in pre-paid consumer account is Rs 20 or more."

iii. "The mobile connections of prepaid consumers shall not be deactivated for any period of non-usage less than 90 days," 

NOTE: "A consumer whose connection is deactivated shall be given a grace period of 15 days within which he can reactivate the same number,"

5.    Taj Mahotsava begins

i. Taj Mahotsava, the ten-day long cultural feast showcasing country's finest crafts and culture at a single platform, has started near the Eastern gate of the Taj Mahal, Agra.

iii. The theme for this year's Mahotsav is 'Our Tradition, Our Heritage' (humari parampara, humari virasat).

iii. Uttar Pradesh Minister for Tourism Om Prakash Singh opened the festival at Shilpgram, the artisans village about a kilometre east of the Taj Mahal.

iv. The festival will showcase Indian art, craft, music and cuisine.

6.    Bopanna-Fleming in final of Open 13

i. Rohan Bopanna reached the first final of the season along with Briton Colin Fleming..

ii. The second seeded Indo-British pair converted all three breakpoints to beat third seed Austrian-Slovakian team 7-5 6-1 in the semifinals.

iii. This is the second tournament Bopanna has played without his regular partner American Rajeev Ram.

7.    Sania-Bethanie in Dubai Tennis Championships final

i. Sania Mirza reached the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Friday with partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

ii. The duo now await winner of the other semifinal between the pairs of Nuria Llagostera Vives -Jie Zheng and Nadia Petrova-Katarina Srebotnik.