RBI / BANKING/ BUSINESS NEWS THIS MONTH
February 5 Miramax became Indias biggest and worlds third largest Smartphone vendor

February 6 HAL bagged 1090 Crore contract to supply 14 Do-228 Aircraft to IAF

February 9 Siemens bagged orders worth 450 crore rupees from Varanasi-based Diesel Locomotive Works

February 11 Star India Pvt Ltd acquired Telugu television channel Maa Television Network Ltd

February 12 Microsoft acquired Sunrise for 100 million US dollars

February 12 Aditya Birla Chemicals to merge with Grasim Industries

February 16 Infosys announced to acquire automation technology firm Panaya Inc for 1200 crore rupees
February 17 If youre a @KotakbankLtd customer, you can create an exclusive banking account that comes with a range of services that can be availed through Twitter.

February 19 EPFO launched Online Help Desk to trace Inoperative Accounts.

February 19 Snapdeal.com acquired luxury fashion portal Exclusively.com

February 19 RBI issued Guidelines on Import of Gold by Nominated Banks and Agencies

February 20 CCEA approved continuation of incentive scheme for marketing of
*
raw sugar production.
February 25 Banks Take Over Kingfisher House In Mumbai. February 25 Google acquired Face book mobile marketing startup Toro
NATION THIS MONTH
February 3 The bench comprising Chief Justice HL Dattu and Justice AK Sikri issued notices to the Ministry and the CBSE while hearing a PIL filed by lawyer Santosh Singh.

February 9 The three sub-groups within NITI Aayog were constituted to study the 66 centrally-sponsored schemes and for poverty alleviation and creation of skilled manpower within states.
February 10 Union Ministry for Health & Family Welfare launched National Deworming Initiative
February 11 Union Cabinet approved a proposal to enhance the authorised share capital of the NMDFC to 3000 crore rupees from 1500 crore rupees.

February 12 Web-based tool Atrocity Tracking and Monitoring System launched

February 13 Union Government asked States to categorise cases for screening, isolation and hospitalization. It has been categorized in three categories.

February 14 Union Government approved revised Guidelines for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

February 16 BIS announced to develop Standards for Solid Waste Management and Potable Drinking Water

February 16 The EC (Election Commission) will use the huge database of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to link Aadhaar number of citizens with the electoral database to further authenticate and purify electoral rolls..
February 17 the Bloomberg Philanthropies will provide assistance to the Ministry of Urban Development to select cities for Smart Cities Mission funding on a

continuous basis.

February 17 Central Information Commission (CIC) on 17 February 2015 ruled that the Governments, at both the Centre and State level, are expected to be a responsible litigant and not treat a citizen as opposite party or its rival.

February 19 Union Government approved Project-17A worth 8 billion US dollar

February 20 Union Government proposed Oil Subsidy Sharing Formula between Public Sector Oil Companies
February 20 The scheme will provide 14 crore Soil Health Cards to farm owners across the country in the next three years.
February 24 TRAI issued Regulation on domestic carriage charges, The regulation prescribed a revised domestic carriage charges. The regulation will particularly benefit users of fixed-line phones.
February 25  Rajya Sabha passed Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2014, The bill seeks to modify the list of Scheduled Castes in three states- Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha and one Union Territory- Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

February 25 14th Finance Commission led by Dr YV Reddy seeks to provide more power to states for their progress.

February 26 Mumbai University signed MoU with Indian Railways to set up Rail Innovation and Technology Centre
February 26 Union Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers declared 2015 as Year of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients.
February 26 TRAI issued 6th Amendment to Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Regulation, 2009.

February 28 Union Government blocked private email network for official work.
 
INDIAN ECONOMY THIS MONTH
 
February 6 The MoU is aimed at fostering collaboration on research and exchange of technical expertise in areas of material sciences and testing capabilities for bank notes, security documents and coins.
February 9 Union Government decided to infuse 6990 crore rupees in nine Public Sector Banks
February 14 CBI was directed to investigate the role of market regulator SEBI and the RBI for effecting a mechanism.
February 14 The notes printed by the Government of India will carry the bilingual signature of Rajiv Mehrishi, Finance Secretary.

February 17 Union Ministry of Finance imposed Anti-dumping duty on imports of graphite electrodes, with this move, government aims to protect the domestic industry from below-cost shipments of graphite electrodes.

February 19 EPFO launched Online Help Desk to trace Inoperative Accounts.

February 20 Union Government launched single window eBiz portal to foster business environment.
February 20 CCEA approved four Highway Projects in Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
February 21 The MoU was signed to enhance the business skills and project-related skills of the beneficiaries under Prime Ministers Em ployment Generation
Programme (PMEGP).

February 26 Union Cabinet approved the implementation of 15000 MW Grid-connected SPV Projects under NSM
February 26 Railway Budget 2015-16 Highlights, Passenger fair was not hiked while the facility of booking tickets in advance has been increased to 120 days instead of 60 days which was available till date.


February 26 Railway Budget 2015-16 In this regard, Rail Budget 2015 - 16 unveiled certain initiatives ranging from cleanliness drive to development of infrastructure to improving the overall quality of life in train journeys.

February 26 Railway Budget 2015-16 In the budget, Prabhu gave 11 thrust areas to improve quality of life in train journeys which also includes Swachh Rail -Swachh Bharat drive.
February 27 The Economic Survey reviews the developments in the Indian economy over the previous 12 months, summarizes the performance on major development programmes and highlights the policy initiatives of the government
February 27 Arun Jaitley presented Union Budget 2015-16 in the Parliament. GLOBE-TROT THIS MONTH
♦    February 3 Foreign Ministers of India, Russia and China released a joint communique after 13th meet of Foreign Ministers held in Beijing, China.
♦    February 3 The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that neither Croatia nor Serbia had committed genocide against each others populations during the 1990s Balkan Wars sparked by the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.
February 9 Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott survived a vote of confidence motion on spilling the top leadership of Liberal Party.

February 9 China launched its first cruise liner to sail via its ambitious transcontinental initiative Maritime Silk Road (MSR). The sail was launched from the Beihai port located in southwest Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
♦    February 10 North Korea test fired homegrown anti-ship short range missiles. The missiles were tested off its east coast.
♦    February 11 The U.S. Embassy in Yemen is the third in an Arab country that has closed since the turmoil of the Arab Spring began in December 2010.
♦    February 12 The CTIIC will be created as part of the Office of the Director of


National Intelligence and will be structured like the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC).
♦    February 12 The 7th round of India Kenya Joint Trade Committee (JTC) meet was held in New Delhi .
♦    February 13 Experimental aerospace firm SpaceX successfully launched the Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
♦    February 13 The Reporters Without Borders (RWB) released the World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) 2015. In the WPFI 2015, India was placed at 136th position out of 180 nations that were surveyed worldwide in terms of press freedom.
February 13 The Russian Central Bank announced to cut its key interest rate from 17 percent to 15 percent following the fear of recession.
♦    February 14 Prime Minister Narendra Modi called four SAARC leaders, namely Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to wish for 2015 Cricket World Cup. He called the leaders of the cricket playing nations and wished them luck.
♦    February 17 India and Sri Lanka signed bilateral agreements on civil nuclear cooperation, cultural cooperation and cooperation in the field of Agriculture. Besides, an agreement was also signed for Sri Lankas participation in the Nalanda University Project.
♦    February 17 The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously adopted a resolution to choke off the source of financing for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Al-Nusrah Front (ANF).
♦    February 17 France signed a 5.2-billion-euro (5.9 billion US dollar) agreement with Egypt for the first foreign sale of its Rafale fighter plane. As per the deal, France will supply 24 Rafale fighters to Egypt.
♦    February 18 Indias Minister of State for Commerce & Industry (Independent Charge) Nirmala Sitharaman co-chaired the meet with Myanmars Union Minister of Commerce U Win Myint.


♦    February 18 India and Bangladesh decided to step up joint patrolling along the boundary to act against criminals and smugglers. The coordinated border management plan will also help in enhancing cooperation between the two nations.

February 20 India and the US held their first-ever bilateral dialogue on the United Nations (UN) and other multilateral issues in Washington.
♦    February 21 United Nation Security Council (UNSC) adopted the Resolution 2201 demanding immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Houthis from the government institutions of Yemen
February 21 Parliament of Thailand (National Legislative Assembly) passed a law banning commercial surrogacy, putting a halt on foreign couples seeking to have children through Thai surrogate mothers.
February 25 The United States (US) announced that it would allow work permits to spouses of H-1B visa holders from 26 May 2015.
♦    February 26 Russia and Cyprus signed an agreement to give Russian navy ships access to Cypriot ports in the Mediterranean Sea. Russian ships that will dock at Cypriot ports would mostly be used in counter-terrorism and anti-piracy efforts.
♦    February 26 Forbes released Asias 50 Power Businesswomen 2015 list. The list features six Indian women CEO and Managing Director (MD).
♦    February 27 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the United States (US) on voted to implement the Net Neutrality Rules. The rules seek to make sure that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the US treat all legal content equally so as to preserve the Internet as a platform for innovation, free expression and economic growth.


APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS THIS MONTH
February 2 Ashok K Agarwal is appointed as General Manager of Southern Railway, Chennai with immediate effect.


February 3 Nandita Chatterjee is   appointed as the Secretary in the Union
Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA). r February 4 Sergio Mattarella, 73, a Constitutional Court Judge was elected as the
President of Italy. He succeeded Giorgio Napolitano. r February 5 LC Goyal, a 1979-batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre was appointed as
the Union Home Secretary. He succeeded Anil Goswami who resigned from the
post.
February 6 Indian-American Ajaypal Singh Banga is appointed as the Member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN) February 6 Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Studio resigned . She resigned after her private mails were leaked.
February 6  MO Garg is appointed as the Director General of the Council of
Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR). Prior to his present posting, he was
Director in CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dehradun.
February 10 M Ravindran succeeded KK Gupta who has handed over the charge
upon completion of his two-year tenure r February 10 Naveen Chopra is appointed as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of
Vodafone India. He succeeded Sunil Sood. r February 11 Sanjay Mathur resigned as Vice-President of Global Technology
Centres, Asia Pacific at Cisco Systems. r February 12 Senior IPS officer Krishna Chaudhary took charge as the Director
General (DG) of the border guarding force Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). He
succeeded Subhas Goswami.
February 13 The Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) of Odisha Tarun Kanti
Mishra resigned from his position. r February 14 Arvind Kejriwal sworn-in as Chief Minister of Delhi. r February 16 The US Senate appointed Ashton B Carter as the Defense Secretary.
He replaced Chuck Hagel. r February 20 Indian-American Rashad Hussain is appointed as Special Envoy and
Coordinator for Strategic Counter-terrorism Communication in the United States
(US).
February 20 Chief Minister (CM) of Bihar Jitan Ram Manjhi resigned and recommended the dissolution of the Bihar Assembly.


r February 21 Eminent scientist Tapan Misra is appointed as the Chief of ISROs Space Applications Centre (SAC) at Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
February 25 Indian-American Ravi Chaudhary is appointed as Executive Director for Regions and Centre Operations at Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA).
February 25 Dr Rajendra Kumar Pachauri stepped down as Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
February 27 Justice Amitava Roy was sworn in as a judge of the Supreme Court (SC). Prior to this, he served as the Chief Justice of Odisha High Court. February 28 Kshatrapati Shivaji is appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (MD) of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). Shivaji was appointed on deputation basis for a period of three years.


AWARDS/HONOURS/WORLD TITLES/NEW DISCOVERIES THIS MONTH
â–     February 6 60th Filmfare Awards were announced in Mumbai. Shahid won the Best Actor (male) award for his role in film Haider and Kangana Ranaut won Best Actor (female) award for her role in film Queen.
â–     February 9 Eminent Marathi Writer Bhalchandra Nemade, known for his novel Kosala published in 1963 that changed the dimensions of Marathi literature, chosen for the Jnanpith Award for the year 2014.

February 9 The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. In all, 83 Grammy Awards were presented at the function.
February 10 The Yash Bharti Samman is conferred by the Uttar Pradesh Government for excellence in literature, fine arts, folk and classical music and sports.
February 13 Gurpreet Singh was honoured for his research on Scalable liquid exfoliation processing of ultrathin two-dimensional


metal dichalcogenides nanosheets for energy storage devices.

â–     February 16 Women scientists Dr. Tessy Thomas and Geeta Varadan were jointly named for Dr. Y Nayudamma Memorial Award 2014. They have been chosen for the award for their outstanding performance in the field of science and technology.

February 16 Economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen won the newly established Charleston-EFG John Maynard Keynes Prize 2015.
â–     February 16 Film Dhanak directed by Nagesh Kukunoor won two awards at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival. The 65th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 5 February 2015 to 15 February 2015.
February 20 The Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented Krishi Karman Awards 2013 -14 to State Government functionaries. The awards were presented during the launch of the Soil Health Card scheme nationwide at Suratgarh, Rajasthan.

â–     February 23 87th Academy Award was conferred at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The Best Actor Award was won by Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything and the Best Actress Award was won by Julianne Moore for Still Alice.

February 23 An Indian-American Purnendu Dasgupta was awarded with the 2015 J. Calvin Giddings Award for Excellence in Education.
February 27 Wipro won seven awards at the third annual edition of the CIO Choice Honour and Recognition 2015.

SPORTS NEWS THIS MONTH

H February 2 Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams won the mens and womens single title, respectively in Australian Open 2015 played in Melbourne, Australia. Indo-Swiss pair Leander Paes and Martina Hingis was the winner in mixed category.


February 2 Australia won the tri-nation One-Day International (ODI) Series by defeating England by 112 runs in the final. The tri-series was played between Australia, England and India.
February 4 12-year-old, Saloni Dalal became the youngest individual medal winner in National Games 2015. She won bronze in 200 meter breast stroke swimming event.
February 4 Vijay Kumar won the Gold in 25 metre centre fire pistol event under mens category in shooting competitions of the 35th National Games in Kerala.
February 12 The India Cements Limited transferred the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Chennai Super Kings Cricket (CSK) franchise to its new subsidiary Chennai Super Kings Cricket (CSKC) Limited.
H February 12 The mascot of Indias 35th National Games Ammu, the Great Hornbill is included in the LIMCA Book of Records.
H February 13 The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 started on 12 February 2015 with inaugural ceremonies held in Melbourne, Australia and Christchurch, New Zealand.
H February 14 Indian mens football team captain Sunil Chhetri and striker Bala Devi were awarded with the All India Football Federations (AIFF) 2014 Player of the Year trophy in men and women category, respectively.
H February 16 Virat Kohli scored 107-run at the Adelaide Oval, Australia. The previous highest score by an Indian batsman against Pakistan in World Cup was held by Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 98 in Centurion in 2003.

H February 16 Middle-distance runner Tintu Lukka on 13 february 2015 won gold in 800m in 35th National Games.
H February 16 35th National Games concluded in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. On the final day of the Games, hosts Kerala won five Gold medals, five Silver medals and four Bronze medals.
February 17 Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) awarded Honorary Life Membership to the former Indian cricket captain Saurav Ganguly.
H February 19 Pune-based I-League football club Bharat FC appointed English football coach Barry Knowles as head of its youth development programme.
H February 23 Former India captain Anil Kumble and Australian legend Betty Wilson were inducted into the International Cricket Council Hall of Fame at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia. .

H February 23 Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri won the Indian Open title at the Delhi


Golf Club. To clinch the title, Lahiri defeated SSP Chowrasia on the first playoff hole.
H February 23 Somdev Devvarman retained the Delhi Open title of tennis. The Delhi Open was held in New Delhi.
H February 24 Chris Gayle, the Cricketer of West Indies became the first person to make double century in any Cricket World Cup. He struck 202 off 138 balls in a match against Zimbabwe in World Cup 2015.
February 24 Ranchi Rays crowned champions of Hero Hockey India League 2015 (HHIL) by defeating Jaypee Punjab Warriors.
February 28 Former New Zealand cricket captain Martin David Crowe was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
February 28 AB de Villiers, the Captain of South Africa cricket team, hit the fastest-ever 150 runs in one-day internationals (ODIs). He achieved this feat in the league match against West Indies in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 at Sydney, Australia.


EULOGIES THIS MONTH

â–     â–  February 1 Renowned Photo journalist Krishna Murari Kishan passed away
after suffering multi-organ failure.

February 2Netball player Mayuresh Pawar who was in Kerala to represent Maharashtra in National Games 2015 died due to cardiac arrest few hours after the match against Chandigarh.

February 2 Acclaimed Indian sculptor and artist Mrinalini Mukherjee passed away following a brief illness in New Delhi. She was 65.
â–     â–  February 4 JK group chairman Gaur Hari Singhania died. He was the president of
JK Organisation and a promoter director of JK Cement Ltd since its inception in
1994.
February 7 The Father of Marathi Farce and pioneer of experimental plays in Marathi theatre Atmaram Govind Bhende died at the age of 91 in Pune, Maharashtra.

February 8 Japanese industrial designer Kenji Ekuan died following the heart


failure in Tokyo, Japan. He was 85.

February 8 Senior journalist Diptosh Majumdar died after suffering from acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) at a private hospital in Delhi.

â–     â–  February 12 Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, the spiritual leader of Malaysias
opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) died at his house in Pulau Melaka, Kota Baharu. He was 84

â–     â–  February 13 Veteran Telugu novelist Kesava Reddy passed away in Nizamabad
district of Telangana following a prolonged illness.

February 14 French actor Louis Jourdan passed away in Los Angeles, United States following a brief illness.
February 15 Veteran cartoonist, columnist and political activist Rajinder Puri passed away following a brief illness.

â–     â–  February 15 Legendary Urdu poet Dr. Kalim Ahmed Ajiz died in Hazaribagh,
Jharkhand. He was 90.

February 18 Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Vice-President Kalindi Charan Behera passed at Bhubaneswar following a brief illness.

February 18 Noted film producer and Dada Saheb Phalke award winner Daggubati Ramanaidu died .He was 78.

â–     â–  February 19 Eminent Odia filmmaker Nirad Mahapatra passed away in Mumbai
following a brief illness.

â–     â–  February 20 Govind Pansare, leader of Communist Party of India (CPI), died at
Breach Candy hospital in Mumbai.

â–     â–  February 23Popular Tamil director R.C. Sakthi passed away in Chennai, Tamil
Nadu following a brief illness. He was 76.

â–     â–  February 26 Former Chief Minister of Haryana Hukam Singh died at a private
hospital in Gurgaon. He was 89.

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS THIS MONTH

February 2 India test-fired the maiden canister-based most potent missile Agni-V with a strike range over 5000 kilometers. It is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead of over one tonne.

February 4 The Taj Mahal Gardens of India align perfectly with the rising and setting Sun during the summer and winter solstices, according to a study. The study is titled Observations on the Orientation of Some Mughal .The research centre will soon be functioning at Gujarat Forensic Science University, GFSU, in Gandhinagar.
February 4 The House of Commons of Britain voted in favour of the Bill that amends the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (HFEA), 1990 to allow creation of babies with DNA from three people.
#â–  February 9 The Nagasaki-based Henn-na Hotel (meaning Strange Hotel) of Japan in the announced to open the first Robot-staffed Hotel of the World. The hotel will be opened on 17 July 2015 and it will significantly reduce the operating costs.

#â–  February 10 NASAs Hubble Space Telescope captured the rare occurrence of the three largest moons of Jupiter namely Europa, Callisto, and Io racing across the banded face of the gas-giant planet.

#â–  February 11 A new study revealed that the Earths inner core has an inner core of its own, which has surprising properties that can reveal information about Earth.
#â–  February 12 Mobile application-based taxi aggregator Uber had introduced two new India-specific safety features. The features include panic buttons and in-app tracking tools.
#â–  February 14 Researchers found new 3D vaccine for cancer and infectious diseases. The vaccine is able to self-assemble into a 3D structure and manipulate immune cells, teaching them to attack cancer as well as infectious disease.
 


February 18 Ritika Singh, Shradha Prasad, Taranjeet Singh Bhatia are the three Indians who were chosen for third round for one-way trip to Mars under Mars One mission.

February 20 German researchers successfully combined the sunlight from a Solar Vacuum Tower Telescope in Tenerife, Canary Islands with the light of Laser Frequency Comb (LFC) to make possible the search of Earth-like planets in distant space with accuracy and ease.
February 26 The international team of scientists led by astronomers from Peking University in China and from the University of Arizona discovered the brightest quasar SDSS J0 100+2802 with the most massive black hole of 12 billion solar-mass.
February 27 Australian researchers unveiled the worlds first 3D-printed jet engine. This is the first of its kind 3D printed engine.
February 28 Words Ride-share and unboxing were added to Oxford. These words were added along with other words like bioprinting and vishing.


RECURRING TERMS IN NEWSPAPER THIS MONTH


1. Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC)
A Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 engaged in the business of loans and advances, acquisition of shares/stocks/bonds/debentures/securities issued by Government or local authority or other marketable securities of a like nature, leasing, hirepurchase, insurance business, chit business but does not include any institution whose principal business is that of agriculture activity, industrial activity, purchase or sale of any goods (other than securities) or providing any services and sale/purchase/construction of immovable property. A non-banking institution which is a company and has principal business of receiving deposits under any scheme or arrangement in one lump sum or in installments by way of


contributions or in any other manner, is also a non-banking financial company (Residuary non-banking company).
2.    NBFCs are doing functions similar to banks. What is difference between banks &
NBFCs ? NBFCs lend and make investments and hence their activities are akin to that of banks; however there are a few differences as given below

i.    NBFC cannot accept demand deposits;
ii.    NBFCs do not form part of the payment and settlement system and cannot issue
cheques drawn on itself;
iii.    deposit insurance facility of Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation
is not available to depositors of NBFCs, unlike in case of banks.

3.    Can all NBFCs accept deposits ?
All NBFCs are not entitled to accept public deposits. Only those NBFCs to which the Bank had given a specific authorisation are allowed to accept/hold public deposits.
DEMAT ACCOUNT DeMat is nothing but a dematerialized account. If one has to save money or make cheque payments, then he/she needs to open a bank account. Similarly, one needs to open a DeMat account if he/she wants to buy or sell stocks. Thus, DeMat account is similar to a bank account wherein the actual money is being replaced by shares. In order to open a DeMat account, one needs to approach the Depository Participants [DPs]. In India, a DeMat account is a type of banking account that dematerializes paper-based physical stock shares. The DeMat account is used to avoid holding of physical shares the shares are bought as well as sold through a stock broker. In this case, the advantage is that one does not need any physical evidence for possessing these shares. All the things are taken care of by the DPs. This account is very popular in India. Physically only 500 shares can be traded as per the provision given by SEBI. From April 2006, it has become mandatory for any person holding a DeMat account to possess a Permanent Account Number (PAN).


Cheque Truncation Truncation is the process of stopping the flow of the physical cheque issued by a drawer at some point with the presenting bank en-route to the drawee bank branch. In its place an electronic image of the cheque is transmitted to the drawee branch by the clearing house, along with relevant information like data on the MICR band, date of presentation, presenting bank, etc.

COMMERCIAL PAPERCommercial Paper (CP) is an unsecured money market instrument issued in the form of a promissory note. It was introduced in India in 1990 with a view to enable highly rated corporate borrowers to diversify their sources of short-term borrowings and to provide an additional instrument to investors. Subsequently, primary dealers and all-India financial institutions are also permitted to issue CP to enable them to meet their short-term funding requirements for their operations in denominations of Rs.5 lakh or multiples and with a validity between a minimum of 7 days and a maximum of up to one year from the date of issue


ABBREVIATIONS THIS MONTH
GAAR     General Anti Avoidance Rules
CAD    Current Account Deficit
MUDRA    Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency
GST    Goods and Service Tax
BEL    Bharat Electricals Limited
TROPEX     Theatre Level Readiness and Operational Exercise
BMS     Battlefield Management System
HFEA     Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act
APA     Advance Pricing Agreement
SMAP    Soil Moisture Active Passive
EXACTO     Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance
STRIPS    Separate Trading for Registered Interest & Principal Securities
NCERT    National Council of Education Research and Training
 
NCRDBD     National Centre for Research & Development in Bulk Drugs
 
FCCB
 
Foreign Currency Convertible Bond
 

 
CAC
 
Capital Account Convertibility
 

 
MEDA
 
Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer
 

 
NCDEX
 
National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Ltd
 

 
CARE
 
Crew module Atmospheric Reentry Experimen
 

 
SNIF
 
Special National Investment Fund
 

IMPORTANT DAYS THIS MONTH
2nd February    World Wetlands Day
4th February    World Cancer Day
4th February    Sri Lankas Independence Day (67th)
5th February    Kashmir Solidarity Day
10th February    National Deworming Day

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE MONTH

Oscar Awards 2015
87th Academy Award, popularly called Oscar Awards, was conferred on 22 February 2015. The award ceremony was held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The Oscar Awards for the year 2015 were presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in 24 categories.
The awards were produced by Neil Meron and Craig Zadan and directed by Hamish Hamilton. Actor Neil Patrick Harris hosted the ceremony for the first time.

The list of winners of 87th Academy Awards Best Picture Birdman
Best Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for Birdman Best Actor Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything Best Actress Julianne Moore for Still Alice Best Supporting Actor JK Simmons for Whiplash Best Supporting Actress Patricia Arquette for Boyhood
Achievement in Costume Design Milena Canonero for The Grand Budapest Hotel Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier for The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Foreign Language Film Ida directed by Pawel Pawlikowski
Best Live Action Short Film The Phone Call
Best Documentary Short Subject Crisis Hotline Veterans Press 1


Original Screenplay Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo for Birdman
Achievement in Sound Mixing Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins, Thomas Curley for Whiplash Achievement in Sound Editing Alan Robert Murray Bub Asman for American Sniper Achievement in Visual Effects Ian Hunter, Scott Fisher, Andrew Lockley and Paul Franklin for Interstellar
Best Animated Short Film Feast directed by Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed Best Animated Movie Big Hero Six 6
Achievement in Production Design Adam Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock for The Grand Budapest Hotel
Achievement in Cinematograph Emannuel Lubezki for Birdman
Achievement in Film Editing Tom Cross for Whipalsh
Best Documentary Feature Citizen Four directed by Laura Poitras
Best Original Song John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn for Glory
Best Original Score Alexandre Desplat for The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Adapted Screenplay Graham Moore for The Imitation Game

BAFTA Awards 2015

The 68th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 8 February 2015 at the Royal Opera Housein London, to honour the best British and international contributions to film in 2014.
Best film
Boyhood (Richard Linklater, Cathleen Sutherland)
Best actress
Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
Best actor
Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) Best director
Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
EE rising star award (voted for by the public)
Jack OConnell
Best costume design
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Milena Canonero) Best adapted screenplay The Theory of Everything (Anthony McCarten) Best film not in the English language
Ida
Best original screenplay
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer
Stephen Beresford (writer), David Livingstone (producer) Pride
Best cinematography


Emmanuel Lubezki (Birdman) Best supporting actress Patricia Arquette (Boyhood) Best supporting actor JK Simmons (Whiplash) Best special visual effects Interstellar (Paul Franklin, Scott Fisher, Andrew Lockley) Best animated film
The Lego Movie (Phil Lord, Christopher Miller)
Best sound
Whiplash (Thomas Curley, Ben Wilkins, Craig Mann) Best editing
Whiplash (Tom Cross) Best short animation The Bigger Picture
Best short film
Boogaloo and Graham Best makeup and hair
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Frances Hannon, Mark Coulier) Best production design
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Adam Stockhausen, Anna Pinnock) Best documentary Citizenfour (Laura Poitras)
Best original music
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Alexandre Desplat)
Outstanding British film
The Theory of Everything
Bafta Fellowship (announced earlier)
Mike Leigh
Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema (announced earlier)
BBC Films

Highlights of Railway Budget 2015

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu presented his maiden rail budget in the Lok Sabha. The key themes of the Budget were in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modis initiatives - Swachch Bharat Mission, Make in India and Digital India.
•    The most-expected part about this years Railway Budget - there is no increase in passsenger rail fares.
•    Rs.8.5 lakh crore will be invested in Railways in next 5 years.
•    Operation 5 mins, wherein passengers travellling unreserved can purchase a ticket in 5 minutes.
•    Bio toilets and airplane-type vaccum toilets in trains.

*
•    Surveillance cameras in select coaches and ladies compartments for womens safety without compromising on privacy.
•    Rail tickets can now be booked 120 days in advance.
•    Speed on nine railway corridors to go up to 200 km per hour.
•    Wi-Fi  in  more  stations,  mobile  phone  charging facilities  in  all  train compartments.
•    Facility of online booking of wheelchair for senior citizens.
•    Satellite railway terminals in major cities.
•    Centrally managed Rail Display Network is expected to be introduced in over 2K stations over the next 2 years.
•    All india 24/7 helpline - 138 from March 2015 ; Toll free No.182 for security.
•    917 road under-bridges and over-bridges to be constructed to replace 3,438 railway crossings; at a cost of Rs. 6,581 crore.
•    Four Railway Research Centers to start in four universities.
•    Details about new trains and increased frequency will be announced later in this session of Parliament after review.

Economic Survey 2014-15 highlights

Indias economy will grow at a rate of more than 8 per cent in the 2015-16 fiscal year, while consumer inflation will drop to between 5 and 5.5 per cent, according to the Economic Survey report, which was tabled at Parliament by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi governments first full Union Budget.

Following are the highlights of Economic Survey 2014-15
•    GDP growth seen at 8.1-8.5 per cent in 2015-16
•    Double digit growth trajectory; 8-10 per cent GDP in coming years
•    Inflation shows declining trend during April-December
•    Current Account Deficit (CAD) to decline to about 1 per cent in 2015-16
•    To adhere to fiscal deficit target of 4.1 per cent of GDP; to aim for 3 per cent
•    Committed to fiscal consolidation; to enhance revenue generation
•    More reforms on anvil; Goods and Services Tax, expanding direct benefit transfers to be game-changers
•    Foodgrains production for 2014-15 estimated at 257.07 million tonnes; will exceed last 5-year average by 8.5 million tonnes
•    NITI Aayog, 14th Finance Commission to enhance fiscal federalism
•    External Sector returning to strength, resilience
•    Need balance between Make in India and Skilling India
•    Services sector negotiations at WTO crucial for India in removing many market access barriers
•    Revitalise PPP model to revive investment
•    Manufacturing and services equally important for growth
•    Consumer inflation in 2015-16 to be between 5-5.5%

•    Lower inflation opens up space for more monetary easing
•    There is scope for big bang reforms
•    Labour, capital, land, market reform and skills to be engines of growth
•    JAM Trinity — Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar, Mobile — to help transfer of funds to poor without leakage
•    Shield domestic industry to promote Make In India
•    Borrowings to fund investment, not for meeting expenses
•    Food subsidy bill in April-Jan up 20% to Rs 1.08 lakh cr
•    Reform Railways structure, commercial practices, overhaul of technology
•    Public investment key growth engine in short-run for Railways, but not a substitute for private investment
•    More disinvestments on the anvil in current fiscal
•    Under-recoveries on petroleum products to come down to Rs 74,664 crore in 2014¬15, from Rs 1.39 lakh crore in FY14
•    4Ds — Deregulation, Differentiation, Diversification, Disinter (better bankruptcy laws) — to push financial sector growth
•    Implementation of GST to boost GDP, exports
•    Suggests medium to long term fiscal policy to target deficit, expenditure
•    Global commodity prices to remain weak in 2015
•    Ecommerce sector to witness 50% growth in 5 years

UNION BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS 2015-16

States to be equal partners in economic growth; move to making India cashless society; social sector programmes to continue. Some of the challenges mentioned by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley are poor agricultural income, decline in manufacturing ; and the need for fiscal discipline. Here are sector-wise highlights TAXATION
•    Abolition of Wealth Tax.
•    Additional 2% surcharge for the super rich with income of over Rs. 1 crore.
•    Rate of corporate tax to be reduced to 25% over next four years.
•    No change in tax slabs.
•    Total exemption of up to Rs. 4,44,200 can be achieved.
•    100% exemption for contribution to Swachch Bharat, apart from CSR.
•    Service tax increased to14 per cent.

AGRICULTURE
•    Rs. 25,000 crore for Rural Infrastructure Development Bank.
•    Rs. 5,300 crore to support Micro Irrigation Programme.
•    Farmers credit - target of 8.5 lakh crore.

INFRASTRUCTURE

•    Rs. 70,000 crores to Infrastructure sector.
•    Tax-free bonds for projects in rail road and irrigation
•    PPP model for infrastructure development to be revitalised and govt. to bear majority of the risk.
•    Atal Innovation Mission to be established to draw on expertise of entrepreneurs, and researchers to foster scientific innovations; allocation of Rs. 150 crore.
•    Govt. proposes to set up 5 ultra mega power projects, each of 4000MW.

EDUCATION
•    AIIMS in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Assam.
•    IIT in Karnataka; Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad to be upgraded to IIT.
•    PG institute of Horticulture in Amritsar.
•    Kerala to have University of Disability Studies
•    Centre of film production, animation and gaming to come up in Arunachal Pradesh.
•    IIM for Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh.

DEFENCE
•    Allocation of Rs. 2,46,726 crore; an increase of 9.87 per cent over last year.
•    Focus on Make in India for quick manufacturing of Defence equipment.

WELFARE SCHEMES
•    GST and JAM trinity (Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and Mobile) to improve quality of life and to pass benefits to common man.
•    Six crore toilets across the country under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
•    MUDRA bank will refinance micro finance orgs. to encourage first generation SC/ST entrepreneurs.
•    Upgradation 80,000 secondary schools.
•    DBT will be further be expanded from 1 crore to 10.3 crore.
•    For the Atal Pension Yojana, govt. will contribute 50% of the premium limited to Rs. 1,000 a year.
•    New scheme for physical aids and assisted living devices for people aged over 80
•    Govt. to use Rs. 9,000 crore unclaimed funds in PPF/EPF for Senior Citizens Fund.
•    Rs. 5,000 crore additional allocation for MGNREGA.
•    Govt. to create universal social security system for all Indians.

RENEWABLE ENERGY
•    Rs. 75 crore for electric cars production.
•    Renewable energy target for 2022 100K MW in solar; 60K MW in wind; 10K MW in biomass and 5K MW in small hydro
 
TOURISM
•    Develpoment schemes for churches and convents in old Goa; Hampi, Elephanta caves, Forests of Rajasthan, Leh palace, Varanasi , Jallianwala Bagh, Qutb Shahi tombs at Hyderabad to be under the new toursim scheme.
•    Visa on Arrival for 150 countries.

GOLD
•    Sovereign Gold Bond, as an alternative to purchasing metal gold.
•    New scheme for depositors of gold to earn interest and jewellers to obtain loans on their metal accounts.
•    To develop an Indian gold voin, which will carry the Ashok Chakra on its face, to reduce the demand for foreign coins and recycle the gold available in the country.

FINANCIAL SECTOR
•    Forward Markets Commission to be merged with the Securities and Exchange Board of India
•    NBFCs registered with the RBI and having asset size of Rs 500 crore and above to be considered as financial institution under Sarfaesi Act, 2002, enabling them to fund SME and mid-corporate businesses
•    Permanent Establishment norms to be modified to that mere presence of offshore fund managers in the country does not lead to "adverse tax consequences."