Business First as Angela Merkel Meets PM Narendra Modi
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held talks on stepping up bilateral cooperation in a range of key areas with a special emphasis on ramping up trade and investment when global slowdown is emerging as a major concern.
Bilateral engagement in diverse sectors like defence, security, education and renewable energy figured in the summit-level Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) between Modi and Merkel which also deliberated on issues relating to trade and investment.
1.The 3rd India-Germany Inter Governmental Consultations begin, led by PM & Chancellor," tweeted External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup.
2.India and Germany are strategic partners since 2001. The German Chancellor's visit here comes around six months after Modi's tour to Germany in April Germany is India's largest trading partner in European Union and the seventh largest foreign investor in India.
3.The overall exchange of goods and services between the two countries was valued at around around 15.96 billion euros last year, a drop of 1.14 billion euros from the level of 16.10 billion euros registered in 2013.
4.While India's exports to Germany rose marginally to 7.03 billion euros in 2014, its German imports dropped to 8.92 billion euros from 9.19 euros in the previous year.
5. More than 1,600 Indo-German collaborations and around 600 Indo-German joint ventures are currently in operation.
Ahead of Merkel's visit, German Ambassador Martin Ney said the third Inter-Governmental Consultations are expected to come out with "path-breaking results" and inking of "substantial" number of agreements between the two countries.
Black Money Disclosure Government Revises Amount to Rs 4,147 Cr
The government collected Rs 4,147 crore during the 90-day black money disclosure compliance window, which is higher than the previously announced amount of Rs 3,770 crore, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said on Monday.
Mr Adhia said that while the total number of disclosures was 638 as stated last week, the total illegal foreign assets brought to book stood at Rs 4,147 crore.
1.The government's total tax receipt from the black money declared during the window will be Rs 2,488.20 crore.
2.The government had on October 1 declared that a total of Rs 3,770 crore of black money was declared during the compliance window.
3.The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), signed with the US, India has already started getting information.
4.As many as 132 prosecutions in 43 cases out of the HSBC Swiss list have been filed.
Flipkart's Big Billion Days Sale: What You Can Expect and How to Make the Most of It
1.The festive season around Diwali accounts for a majority of sales reported across online and offline channels. It is only natural for e-commerce companies like Flipkart, Amazon, and Snapdeal to make the most out of it
2.Flipkart's Big Billion Days sale is scheduled to be held from October 13 to October 17 this year.
The Big Billion Days sale will be applicable across almost all product categories on Flipkart. The company's recent purchase, Myntra, will also be joining the Big Billion Days sale this year. Flipkart has also tied up with banks like State Bank of India, Standard Chartered, and Citibank to offer cash back and additional discounts. The most popular product categories during the Billion Days sale are electronics, computers and accessories, and smartphones.
Affordable Internet Is Digital India's Priority: Ravi Shankar Prasad
Union Communications and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the priority of the government's Digital India campaign is to provide subsidised Internet and optical fibre cable linking 250,000 gram panchayats,enabling speeds of 100Mbps, which will be used as a means to share information with stakeholders.
1.Prasad said that over 80,700 kilometre of lines have been laid and about 54,300 kilometres of optical cables have been installed. The previous government had only laid about 2,000 kilometres of lines and 250 kilometres of optical cable, he said. Kerala, Chandigarh, and Puducherry have been completely brought under Bharatnet.
2.Public Wi-Fi hot-spots will also be provided in cities and tourist destinations with a population of over 1 million, he said. In addition, over 250,000 secondary and higher secondary schools will be connected to free Wi-Fi facilities.
India Expected to Weather Global Volatility: World Bank
1.India is expected to weather global volatility with real GDP growth projected to increase to 7.5 per cent despite a weak export recovery, the World Bank has said.
2.The bank in its latest report projected the country to grow 8 per cent by 2017-18.
3.Annual growth is set to increase from 7.3 per cent in FY15 to 7.5 per cent in FY16.
India's Poverty Rate Lowest Among Countries with Poor Population
According to world Bank Report,India was home to the largest number of poor in 2012, but its poverty rate is one of the lowest among those countries with the largest number of poor.
In its report, the bank uses an updated international poverty line of USD 1.9 a day, which incorporates new information on differences in the cost of living across countries. The new line preserves the real purchasing power of the previous line (of USD 1.25 a day in 2005 prices) in the world's poorest countries.
1.The bank projects that global poverty will fall from 902 million people or 12.8 per cent of the global population in 2012 to 702 million people or 9.6 per cent of the global population this year.
2. The four nations with the largest populations were once classified as low-income but have moved into lower-middle-income category, China, India, Indonesia and Nigeria.
Shashi Kapoor Receives Lifetime Award at Jagran Film Fest
Veteran actor Shashi Kapoor was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award at the closing ceremony of the sixth Jagran Film Festival in Mumbai on October 4.
1.The legendary actor, who received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement honour by filmmaker Shyam Benegal.
2.Shashi Kapoor, 77, is best known for his nuanced performances in memorable films like Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Trishul, Kabhi Kabhie, Vijeta and Kalyug. Despite his ill health, Mr Kapoor attended the ceremony to receive the award.
Facebook, Eutelsat Partner to Deliver Satellite Internet to Africa
European satellite operator Eutelsat Communications and social media giant Facebook said Monday they are working jointly to deliver satellite broadband Internet to connectivity-hungry sub-Saharan Africa.
1.The firms revealed they have reached a multi-year agreement with satellite communication firm Spacecom to use the entire broadband payload of the AMOS-6 satellite due to come on stream in the second half of next year and provide coverage for large swathes of sub-Saharan Africa, after identifying "pent-up demand for connectivity".
2.Eutelsat chairman and CEO Michel de Rosen said: "We are excited by this opportunity to accelerate the deployment of our broadband strategy and to partner with Facebook on a new initiative to provide Internet access services in Africa.
PM Modi is World's 13th Most Influential Person: Bloomberg Markets
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has debuted at the 13th spot in 'Bloomberg Markets Most Influential' annual ranking topped by US Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen. Chinese premier Xi Jinping, US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are other politicians ranked above PM Modi in the coveted list of 50 people.
According to The Financial Times newspaper. The country also moved up 16 positions to rank 55th on a global index of the world's most competitive economies, according to the World Economic Forum. India's progress has been linked to several initiatives taken by the 15-month-old Narendra Modi government.
Bloomberg Markets Most Influential list is dominated by billionaire CEOs such as Apple's Tim Cook, Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett, Goldman Sachs' Lloyd Blankfein and JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon.
Telugu Producer Edida Nageswara Rao Dies at 81
1.Renowned Telugu producer Edida Nageswara Rao died on October 4 at a private hospital in Hyderabad. He was 81.
2.Mr Rao's Swati Mutyam, featuring Kamal Haasan was sent by India as its official entry for Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards in 1986, but was not nominated.
3.Three of Mr Rao's films have also won National awards.
4.He was also nominated for the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award.
DRDO sets up world's highest terrestrial centre in Ladakh
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) established the world's highest terrestrial centre at 17,600 feet above sea level at Changla near Pengong lake in Ladakh.
1.The centre will serve as a natural cold storage for preserving rare and endangered medical plants for generations to come.
2.The centre was inaugurated by Director General, DRDO Dr S Christopher. According to reports, the centre will act as an important utility for research work in frontal areas of food and agriculture and bio-medical sciences for well being of the soldiers deployed in high altitude cold desert.
3.A large number of Life Sciences activities are proposed to be undertaken at this centre.
Israel, India aim to step up bilateral ties during Mukherjee visit
1.India and Israel will aim to further step up bilateral engagement and are likely to sign three MoUs in water, energy and education sectors during President Pranab Mukherjee's visit to the Jewish nation later this month, which will be first ever by an Indian Head of State.
2.The two countries are on an upswing, Israeli ambassador Daniel Carmon said Mukherjee's visit will be a "landmark" one during which both sides will try to expand cooperation in a range of areas.
3.India had established "full" diplomatic relationship with Israel in 1992 though it had recognized the country in 1950. No Indian Prime Minister or President has ever visited the country.
Manohar succeeds Dalmiya as BCCI president
1.Shashank Manohar has been formally elected BCCI president at the board's special general meeting (SGM) in Mumbai on Sunday. Soon after, at his first press conference, he announced a wide range of measures to tackle various critical issues facing the board, including conflict of interest, corruption in cricket, the lack of transparency in the board's operations and financial accountability of the state associations.
2.All 30 members including the Tamil Nadu Association said we have to work together and build the image of the Board and not fight amongst ourselves.
