National News
Central Sanskrit Universities Bill, 2019
- The Lok Sabha had already passed the Bill on 12th December 2019 and on 16th March 2020, it was passed by voice vote in Rajya Sabha.
- After the passage of the bill, these 3 universities will have more opportunities to spread the knowledge of Sanskrit language not only in India but also across the world.
Wholesale Inflation in February 2020
- The Wholesale Price Index for 'All Commodities' for the month of February 2020 declined by 0.6% to 122.2 (provisional) from 122.9 (provisional) for January 2020.
- The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at 2.26% (provisional) for the month of February 2020 over February 2019.
S&P Lowers India's Growth Forecast
- S&P Global Ratings had earlier projected a growth rate of 5.7% during the 2020 calendar.
- The agency projected that the Asia-Pacific economic growth in 2020 will be more than halve to less than 3%.
National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill 2019
- The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill 2019 was presented in Rajya Sabha on 7th January 2019 and seeks to repeal the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970.
- It also contains the provision for setting up a National Commission for the Indian System of Medicine.
Covid-19 Economic Response Task Force
- Prime Minister Modi has also announced 'Janta curfew' on 22nd March 2020 in the view of coronavirus outbreak.
- Janta curfew means for the public, curfew imposed by the public on its own and will be followed from 7 AM to 9 PM on 22nd March.
Fitch Lowered India GDP Growth to 5.1%
- The Fitch Ratings gave the reason of the coronavirus outbreak, which is likely to hit business investment and exports.
- In December 2019, Fitch had projected India's growth at 5.6 % for 2020-21 and 6.5 % for the following year.
DPIIT: NRIs to Own Up to 100% Stake in Air India
- As per the notification, foreign investments in Air India including that of foreign airlines shall not exceed 49 % either directly or indirectly.
- But, the exemption has been made for those NRIs, who are Indian Nationals, where foreign investment is permitted up to 100 % under the automatic route.
Banking
Vivad Se Vishwas Bill
- The Vivad Se Vishwas Bill, 2020 offers a waiver of interest, penalty and prosecution for settlement of Direct Tax disputes.
- The bill was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Finance, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, on 5th February 2020.
39th GST Council Meet
- The Goods and Services Tax Council has made recommendations to increase GST rates on mobile phones to 18% from the existing 12%.
- The GST rates on mobile phones will come into effect from 1st April 2020.
GOI will Borrow Rs 51,000 crore in March 2020
- The decision is taken after reviewing the cash position of the Centre, in line with the Revised Estimate announced by the government in the Budget 2020-21.
- The Budget 2020-21 has raised the net borrowing to Rs 4.99 lakh crore from Rs 4.48 lakh crore in the Budget Estimate.
Paytm Bank to Issue Visa Virtual Debit Cards
- PPBL has said that it is targeting to issue over 10 million new digital debit cards in 2020-21.
- The visa virtual debit cards to its customers will enable them to transact at all merchants accepting payments through cards.
Governance Panel Set Up by IRDAI
- The Insurance Regulation and Development Authority (IRDAI) has announced on 19th March 2020 that it has set up a governance panel/committee.
- IRDAI is an autonomous, statutory body tasked with regulating and promoting the insurance and re-insurance industries in India.
Govt Liabilities Stood at Rs 93.89 Lakh Crore in Q3
- The increase in the Government’s liability is about 3.2% as compared to the previous quarter.
- The liabilities, including those under the public account, had stood at Rs 91,01,484 crore at the end of September 2019.
