Competition ZENITH

The Insurance Act of 1938 The Insurance Act of 1938 was the first legislation governing all forms of insurance to provide strict state control over insurance business. Life Insurance Corporation Act Life insurance in India was completely nationalized on 19 January 1956, through the Life Insurance Corporation Act.  The Government of India issued an Ordinance on 19 January 1956 nationalising the Life Insurance sector and Life Insurance Corporation came into existence in the same year.  The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) absorbed 154 Indian, 16 non-Indian insurers as also 75 provident societies—245 Indian and foreign insurers in all.  General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act In 1972 with the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act was passed by the Indian Parliament, and consequently, General Insurance business was nationalized with effect from 1 January 1973.  107 insurers were amalgamated and grouped into four companies, na...

1. GAAR deferred for 2 years  i. In a move to further improve investment sentiment in the country, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley proposed deferring applicability of General Anti-Avoidance Act (GAAR) by two years. ii.The Government had earlier proposed imposing the GAAR from April 1, 2015, for those claiming tax benefits of over Rs 3 crore . iii. The rules are aimed at minimising tax avoidance for investments made by entities based in tax havens. Jaitley said it (GAAR) is proposed to be applicable for income of the financial year 2017-18 (A.Y. 2018-19) and subsequent years. 2. Union Budget 2015 highlights i. No merit in going ahead with Direct tax Code as it exists today. Net impact of tax proposals Rs. 15,068 crore. ii. Yoga to be included under charitable activites. iii. Indiviual taxpayer can get benefits up to Rs. 4,44,200. iv. Transport allowance exemption to be increased to Rs. 1,600 per month. v. Rs. 50,000 contribution to new pension ...

1.Budget estimates Non-plan expenditure - Rs. 13,12,200 crore Plan expenditure - Rs. 4,65,277 crore Fiscal deficit - 3.9% of GDP 2.Taxation Basic rate of corporate tax in India is now 30 per cent. But rate of collection is 23 per cent. A regime of exemptions has led to loss of revenue. Coporate tax rate wil be reduced to 25 per cent over the next four years. 3.allocation for defence - Rs. 2,46,727 crore 4.education sector- Rs. 68,968 crore 5. AIIMS to be opened in- Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Assam. 6.AIIMS-like institution in - Bihar 7.IIM in Jammu and Kashmir, and Andhra Pradesh. 8.IIT in Karnataka. 9.The latest CPI inflation is 5.1 % and whole sale price inflation is negative 10.The rupee has become stronger by 6.4 % 11.Our actions have not only being confined to core and macro economic areas alone 12.Objective is to improve quality of life and to pass benefits to common man 13.Govt two game changing reforms: GST and JAM Trinity(Jandhan, AADHAR...

1.NSE to set up international exchange in Gujarat NSE MD and CEO - Chitra Ramkrishna  i.The National Stock Exchange (NSE), on Thursday, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City to establish an international exchange at the city-based financial hub. ii.The GIFT Special Economic Zone, spread over 886 acres, is being developed as India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). This will allow Indian and international entities to deal in financial products and services from India. 2.Irom Sharmila gets Sthree Shakti award Activist Irom Sharmila, who has been on an indefinite fast since November 4, 2000, demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, has been conferred with the Sthree Shakti award. The award is in recognition of her extraordinary courage and determination. 3.SBI debit card to double up as metro smart card in Mumbai i.State Bank of India account holders...

Tabled by- Shri Arun Jately Economic Survey is an annual commentary on the state of the economy of India which is put together by Finance Ministry of India. It is a document which presents economic development during the course of the year. The draft of the survey is prepared by Department of Economic Affairs and cleared by Chief economic Advisor(Arvind Subramanian) and the secretary Economic Affairs. The final version is vetted by Finance secretary(Rajiv Mehrishi) and Finance Minister(Arun Jately). Here are the Key Highlights of Economic Survey:  FY15 ESTIMATES   * FY15 fiscal deficit of 4.1% of GDP will be met * FY15 CAD estimated at 1.3% of GDP * States showed fall in share of mfg in their GDP FY15 * April-December major subsidies up 12.5% on year * Services sector clocked double-digit growth in FY15 * Equity markets continued to do well in FY15 * FY15 price subsidy pegged at 4.24% of GDP FY16 OUTLOOK  * 8.5% GDP grow...

Railway Budget was presented by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 26th Feb 2015. Here is the brief insight to the much talked Railway Budget: 1. ‘Operation Five Minutes’ (a) To ensure that a passenger travelling unreserved can purchase a ticket within five minutes. Provision of modified ‘ hot-buttons ’, coin vending machines and ‘ single destination teller ’ windows will drastically reduce the transaction time. (b) For the differently-abled travellers , a special initiative is being launched whereby they can purchase concessional e-tickets after one-time registration. The Minister said, it is also proposed to work towards developing a multi-lingual e-ticketing portal. He said, the Railways will move towards crediting all refunds through the banking system. (c) In Central Railway, Western Railway and Southern Railway suburban sections, a pilot project of issuing unreserved tickets on smart phones has already started. Automatic ticket vending machines with smart cards and c...

1. Cabinet nod to BRICS bank for contingency fund, dev projects i. Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the creation of the proposed 5-nation BRICS bank that will mobilise resources for infrastructure projects and provide short-term liquidity to emerging economies in case of payment crisis. ii. The setting up of the New Development Bank (NDB) and BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) is for mobilising resources for infrastructure projects and providing short-term liquidity support to emerging economies in case of Balance of Payment crisis. iii. India will hold the Presidency of the USD 100-billion NDB for the first six years. The Bank will be based in Shanghai.  iv. Heads of the 5-nation BRICS group decided last year to create a development bank as well as a reserve fund to finance infrastructure projects and to head off future economic crises.  2. Railway Budget 2015 i. Rail Minister Suresh Prabhu announced the 2015 - 16 Railway budget. ii. He announc...

•No increase in passenger fares •No new trains announced •Tickets can be booked 120 days in advance instead of 60 days to tackle tout menace •Outlay for passenger amenities increased by 67% • Plan expenditure to go up to a record Rs. 1.1 lakh crore in 2015-16 from an estimated Rs. 61,500 crore in 2014-15. •Central government to outlay likely to at 41 per cent (Rs.45,100 crore) in 2015-16 •The speed passenger trains across nine corridors will be increased to 160-200 km from 110 km • SMS alert to be introduced for train timings •To introduce air-conditioned coaches for suburban trains • Wi-fi to be available at 400 railway stations •To develop 10 satellite railway stations this year. • 800 km of gauge conversion will be commissioned • E-catering introduced in 108 trains , can order on IRCTC website •On-board entertainment facility could be extended on Shatabdi trains •Mobile charging stations will be introduced general class coaches •Railways plans to...

What is Finance Commission(FC)? It is appointed by President Under article 280 of the constitution. It has Five Members including a Chairperson. First FC  came in 1951 under K. C. Neogy and 14th FC eastablished in 2012 under Dr.Y. V Reddy for duration 2015-2020.The Fourteenth Finance Commission consisting of Dr. Y.V.Reddy, former Governor Reserve Bank of India , as the Chairman and the following four other members, namely: - 1. Prof Abhijit Sen  ,Member, Planning Commission (Part Time) 2. Ms. Sushma Nath. Former Union Finance Secretary 3. Dr. M.Govinda Rao, Director, National Institute for Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi 4. Dr. Sudipto Mundle, Former Acting Chairman, National Statistical Commission 5. AN Jha, Secretary to the Commission. Dr. Y.V.Reddy, Chaiman of 14th Finance Commission   Functions of FC i. Distribution of net proceeds of taxes between Centre and the States, to be divided as per their respective contributions t...