1. 8 FDI proposals worth Rs 35 crore cleared.
Government has cleared eight foreign investment proposals worth about Rs 34.77 crore, including that of CSC Computer Sciences International Operations and Life Positive Pvt Ltd.
2. Union Cabinet approved hike of government stake in IFCI to 51 percent.
The current shareholding of Union government in IFCI after inclusion of the preference share capital was 47.93 percent. Therefore, IFCI was not a Government Company under section 2(45) of the Companies Act, 2013.
3. RBI liberalised norms for Overseas Direct Investment by Indian companies.
The liberalization of norms was part of series of amendment done by RBI from time to time in the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of any Foreign Security) (Amendment) Regulations, 2004
Liberalised norms –
• Bank may permit creation of charge on the shares of the Joint Venture/Wholly Owned Subsidiary/Step down Subsidiary (JV/WOS/SDS) of an Indian party in favour of a domestic or overseas lender for securing funded and/or non-funded facility.
• The loan availed by the JV/WOS/SDS from the domestic/overseas lender shall be utilized only for its core business activities overseas and not for investing back in India in any manner whatsoever.
• Bank may permit creation of charge on the domestic assets of an Indian party in favour of an overseas lender for securing the funded and/or non-funded facility.
• Bank may permit creation of charge on the overseas assets (excluding the shares) of the JV/WOS/SDS of an Indian party in favour of a domestic lender for securing the funded and/or non-funded facility
4. Super 30 among top 3 pioneering education initiatives.
A Japanese media group has selected Mathematician Anand Kumar’s Super 30 among three pioneering initiatives in the field of education.
5. Dhoni retires from Test cricket.
Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday retired from Test cricket with immediate effect, citing strain of playing all formats, after his team lost the Border – Gavaskar Trophy to Australia.
6. Virat Kohli named captain.
Virat Kohli is named the new captain of the Indian Test team. Kohli will be the 32nd Indian Test captain and will take the reign in the full time manner from the Sydney Test. Kohli first captained India as a stand in captain in the first test of the series at Adelaide.
7. Rupee rebounds from 13-month low.
Rising for the first time in five sessions, the rupee on Tuesday appreciated by 29 paise to close at 63.38 against the greenback following fresh dollar selling by exporters and foreign fund inflows in domestic debt.
8. Lupin’s HIV drug gets USFDA nod.
Drug firm Lupin has received tentative approval from the U.S. health regulator to market a generic version of Prezista tablets, used in treating HIV infection. The company has received tentative approval from the United States Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to market its Darunavir Ethanolate tablets in multiple strengths in the American market, Lupin said in a statement.
9. Banks may remain closed for nearly a week in January 2015.
This follows the strike call given by the United Forum of Bank Unions which has served notice for a day’s strike on January 7 and a four-day strike between January 21 and 24.
11. Taking cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pitch for SMART Policing, the Home Ministry has decided to establish one such model police station in each state and has asked the state governments to submit their proposal by January 31, 2015. The Prime Minister had said at a meeting of the country’s top police brass in Guwahati last month that he wanted a force which takes care of the country’s law and order in an efficient and SMART manner.
SMART Policing mean:-
- S for Strict but Sensitive
- M for Modern and Mobile
- A for Alert and Accountable
- R for Reliable and Responsive and
- T for Techno-savvy and Trained