India Barometer Report 2019: Economy to grow at 7.3%
FICCI in association with PwC revealed India Barometer Report 2019 on 9 Jan 2019.
The India Manufacturing Barometer survey brings out the key aspects related to the sector, including manufacturers’ outlook on the economy, the business environment for the next 12 months and factors that determine trade competitiveness.
2019 is the fifth edition of the report.
Highlights of the report:
India has the potential to grow at an average rate of 7% or more in the next 12 months. This is aligned with the projections of international development agencies such as the World Bank Group and IMF.
Business leaders anticipate faster growth in their sectors in the coming 12 months.
The report finds that speed and ease of logistics have improved on account of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
85% of business leaders believe that their future growth will be driven by export demand.
This is in sync with India’s export performance over the last 12 months.
In FY 2017-18, India’s exports grew by 9.8%, and that was the fastest growth in the last 5 years.
Sikkim launches One Family One Job Scheme
Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling on January 12 launched the 'One Family One Job' scheme which entitles one government job for every family in the state.
Chamling also announced that over 25,000 already employed but unregularised government employees would also be subsequently regularised within 2019 according to their seniority.
Sikkim has become the first state in the country to carry out such an exclusive programme for the people who would now be entitled to state government employee benefits.
As of now, the state government has over 1 lakh regularised employees on its rolls from a population of just 6.4 lakh.
How it will be implemented?
The scheme envisions employment to a member of every family which does not have a government job in the state.
Under this scheme, all loan debts in the farming and agriculture sector would be revoked.
At present recruitments are being made for Group C and Group D posts in 12 government departments.
RBI approves Brahm Dutt as Yes Bank Chairman
The Reserve Bank of India has approved the appointment of Brahm Dutt as non-executive part time Chairman of the board of private sector lender Yes Bank.
The appointment is till July 2020 as Dutt will then attain the age of 70 years.
RBI under Banking Regulation Act 1949 gets the power to approve or disapprove the candidacy for chairman recommended made by banks.
Brahm Dutt
Dutt has been on the Board of Yes Bank since July 2013 as an Independent Director.
He is a former IAS officer and was Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat and in the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.
America’s longest Shutdown under Trump
The government shutdown over President Donald Trump’s border wall became the longest in U.S. history on 12 January 2019, as it stretched into its 22nd day.
Before this year, the longest shutdown lasted for 21 days under President Bill Clinton in 1995.
Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion to build a wall on the Southern border — a proposal central to Trump’s controversial immigration agenda have stretched into 22 days of Federal Budget being locked out.
What is the impact of Shutdown?
Although core government functions such as military capabilities and public pension and health programs remain largely unaffected, many federal agencies have suspended their functions and hundreds of thousands of workers are no longer being paid, including many employees forced to work or risk losing their jobs.
An estimated 800,000 federal workers have missed at least one and in many cases two paychecks, creating an alarming number of personal crises in the form of missed rent, car or mortgage payments; spoiled credit ratings; lapsed insurance policies; healthcare and childcare conflicts; and in some cases food emergencies.
Even American parks are left with garbage as there are no staffs available.
American Political System
The US Government is divided into three clearly defined branches – the president and his cabinet (the executive), the US Congress (the legislature) and the courts (the judiciary).
Like the British Parliament, the US Congress decides and makes the laws that govern America. It also has the power to impeach the President and remove them from office.
The US Congress is made up of an upper chamber, known as the Senate, and a lower chamber known as the House of Representatives.
The Senate is formed of 100 senators – two for each state – and its main role is to approve legislation suggested by the House of Representatives.
A Senate term is six years, but unlike the presidency there is no limit to the number of terms an individual can serve.
The House of Representatives is made up of 435 voting members, with an additional six non-voting Representatives.
The House has the exclusive power to initiate revenue bills and to impeach officials who are then tried in the Senate.
So the main issue is Donald Trump’s demand for funding to build a wall on the Mexican border which is not met due to opposition by US Congress which is controlled by the opposition party of Democrats.
Tulsi Gabbard may launch US presidential bid
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii has announced she will run for president in 2020 – the latest in what is likely to be a huge Democratic field looking to defeat Donald Trump.
A native of American Samoa and an Iraq veteran, Ms Gabbard, 37, is seen as an outspoken figure on the left of the party.
If elected, the 37-year-old lawmaker, who is known to surf the waters of her native Hawaii, would be the youngest president in US history.
She is the first Hindu member of Congress and its first Samoan American member, and she sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
India to grow crops for UAE, Saudi Arabia
India and the UAE are reportedly working on creating a “farm-to-port” special economic zone to meet the latter’s food security interests.
Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu announced that the UAE and Saudi Arabia had decided to use India as a base to address their food security concerns.
Saudi Arabia and UAE will use India as a base for their social security concerns. Indian agriculture can get a boost if it materializes.
Gulf countries which lack fertile soil are heavily dependent on other countries for food security.
UAE particularly is interested in organic farming and food processing units. As currently, the farmers are getting 150% of the production cost as Minimum Support Price if the investments pour in Indian famers stand to be benefitted.
The UAE has, in fact, developed a comprehensive plan to secure food supply, which includes investments in farmlands across Namibia, South Africa, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Sudan and Egypt and improving domestic productivity by using new technologies.
However, poor security and political risks affected some of these projects with the UAE now shifting its focus to safer havens such as Eastern Europe, Australia, and North and South America.
Bengaluru Raptors win their first ever PBL title
Bengaluru Raptors were crowned champions of Premier Badminton League season 4 after a thrilling 4-3 win over Mumbai Rockets on 13 January 2019.
At 3-3, the Indonesian duo of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan clinched the deciding rubber against Rockets’ Kim Gi Jung and Lee Yong Dae 15-13, 15-10 to seal the championship for Raptors.
Premier Badminton League
Premier Badminton League is a franchise league; Sportz & Live Private Limited (Sportzlive) has the rights to operate and execute the Premier Badminton League.
It was named Indian Badminton League (IBL) when founded in 2013 then later rechristened to Premier Badminton League before the start of 2nd season in 2016.
Khelo India Games 2019 concludes
Maharashtra won maximum number of Gold medals in the Khelo India Games 2019.
Maharashtra won total 156 medals which include 56 Gold, 44 Silver and 56 Bronze medals.
Delhi and Haryana ranked 2nd and 3rd position respectively. Delhi won 42 Gold while Haryana got 33 Gold medals.
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