Current Affairs 10th July 2014

Current Affairs 10th July 2014

Updated : 10-Jul-2014

Current Affairs 10th July 2014 - Important Points
Current Affairs 10th July 2014 - Details
India inks Audiovisual Coproduction Treaty with Canada
Canada and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) have signed an Audiovisual Coproduction Treaty. The treaty will strengthen ties between both the nations, as it will allow producers to combine creative, technical and financial resources to create audiovisual coproductions. The treaty will also help in major employment generation. The treaty came into force on 1 July 2014 but the announcement was made on 9 July 2014.

The treaty will combine creative, technical and financial resources of both the countries to create audiovisual co-productions. It is applicable for the media and entertainment industry across India and thus would lead to a deeper level of engagement between the audiovisual sectors of both the countries, greater cultural and economic benefits and increased access to audiences worldwide.
FIFA Bans Nigeria from International Competition
On 9th July 2014, FIFA suspended Nigeria from all international football competitions with immediate effect. Nigeria was suspended on account of government interference in running Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
The Statement released by FIFA includes that during the period of suspension, the NFF may not be represented in any regional, continental or international competitions, including at club level, or in friendly matches
The decision was taken after the Nigerian Government sacked the NFF executive committee and appointed a civil servant to manage NFF. FIFA had given Nigeria until 9 July 2014 to reinstate the sacked Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) executive committee.
However, the Nigerian Government and Football Federation are now in a race against the clock to get the suspension lifted before July 15th. If they fail to do so Nigeria would be removed from participation in the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada.
Union Budget 2014-15
On 10th July 2014, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented Union Budget 2014-15 in Parliament, Following are the highlights of Union Budget 2014-15 :

Individuals :
- Income tax exemption limit raised by from 2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh and for senior citizens to Rs 3 lakh.
- Exemption limit for investment in financial instruments under 80C raised from 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh.
- Investment limit in PPF raised from 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh.
- Deduction limit on interest on loan for self-occupied house raised to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 1.5 lakh.
- Kisan Vikas Patra to be reintroduced, National Savings Certificate with insurance cover to be launched
- Long term capial gain tax for mutual funds doubled to 20 pc; lock-in period increased to 3 years
- Mandatory wage ceiling of subscription to EPS (Employee Pension Scheme) raised from Rs 6,500 to Rs 15,000
- Minimum pension increased to Rs 1,000 per month
- Cigarettes, pan masala, tobacco, aerated drinks become costlier
- LCD, LED TV become cheaper
New Projects :
- 5 IIMs to be opened in HP, Punjab, Bihar, Odisha and Rajasthan
- 5 more IITs in Jammu, Chattisgarh, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
- 4 more AIIMS like institutions to come up in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Vidarbha in Maharashtra and Poorvanchal in Uttar Pradesh
- Govt proposes to launch 'Digital India’ programme to ensure broad band connectivity at village level
- Kisan TV for farmers, Arun Prabha TV for northeast.
- National Rural Internet and Technology Mission for services in villages and schools, training in IT skills proposed
- Govt proposes Ultra Modern Super Critical Coal Based Thermal Power Technology
- A project on the river Ganga called 'Jal Marg Vikas' for inland waterways between Allahabad and Haldia; Rs 4,200 crore set aside for the purpose.
- EPFO to launch the "Uniform Account Number" Service for contributing members.
- New programme “Neeranchal” to give impetus to watershed development in the country with an initial outlay of Rs. 2142 crores.
- Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana to generate awareness and help in improving the efficiency of delivery of welfare services meant for women.
- Free Drug Service and Free Diagnosis Service to achieve "Health For All"
- Two National Institutes of Ageing to be set up at AIIMS, New Delhi and Madras Medical College, Chennai.
Allocations :
- 1000 crore provided for “Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojna” for assured irrigation.
- Rs. 50,548 crore under the SC Plan and Rs. 32,387 crore under TSP
- Rs 100 crore to support about 600 new and existing Community Radio Stations
- Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to cover every household with sanitation facility by the year 2019
- Rs. 7,060 crore for the project of developing 100 Smart Cities.
- Set aside Rs 11,200 crore for PSU banks capitalisation
- Govt provides Rs 500 crore for rehabilitation of displaced Kashmiri migrants
- Rs 100 crore for metro projects in Lucknow and Ahmedabad
- Rs 2,037 crore set aside for Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission called 'Namami Gange'
- Rs 150 crore allocated for increasing safety of women in large cities
Economic Initiatives :
- Composite cap of foreign investment to be raised to 49 per cent in Defence and Insurance sectors.
- Requirement of the built up area and capital conditions for FDI reduced to 20,000 square metres and USD 5 million respectively for development of smart cities.
- Manufacturing can sell its products through retail including Ecommerce platforms.
- Requirement to infuse Rs.2,40,000 crore as equity by 2018 in our banks to be in line with Basel-III norms PSUs will invest through capital investment a total sum of Rs. 2,47,941 crores.
- Rs 4,000 cr set aside to increase flow of cheaper credit for affordable housing to the urban poor/EWS/LIG segment.
- Govt in favour of consolidation of PSU banks
- Govt considering giving greater autonomy to PSU banks while making them accountable.
Banking:
- Time bound programme as Financial Inclusion Mission to be launched on 15 August 2014 with focus on the weaker sections of the society.
- Banks to be encouraged to extend long term loans to infrastructure sector with flexible structuring.
- Banks to be permitted to raise long term funds for lending to infrastructure sector with minimum regulatory pre-emption such as CRR, SLR and Priority Sector Lending (PSL).
- RBI to create a framework for licensing small banks and other differentiated banks.
- Differentiated banks serving niche interests, local area banks, payment banks etc. are contemplated to meet credit and remittance needs of small businesses, unorganized sector, low income households, farmers and migrant work force.
- Six new Debt Recovery Tribunals to be set up.
- For venture capital in the MSME sector, a 10000 crore rupees fund to act as a catalyst to attract private Capital by way of providing equity , quasi equity, soft loans and other risk capital for start-up companies with suitable tax incentives to participating private funds to be established.
Insurance Sector :
- The pending insurance laws (amendment) Bill to be immediately brought for consideration of the Parliament.
- The regulatory gap under the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Scheme (Banking) Act, 1978 will be bridged.
Small Savings :
- Kissan Vikas Patra (KVP) to be reintroduced.
- A special small savings instrument to cater to the requirements of educating and marriage of the Girl Child to be introduced.
- A National Savings Certificate with insurance cover to provide additional benefits for the small saver.
- In the Public Provident Fund (PPF) Scheme, annual ceiling will be enhanced to 1.5 lakh rupees per annum from1 lakh rupees at present.
Please open following URL to get more indepth view of Budget 2014 -2015 :
http://indiabudget.nic.in/ub2014-15/bh/bh1.pdf