RBI raises policy rate by 0.25 pct to anchor retail inflation, EMI's to go up
1.Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan today again surprised the markets and raised the key policy rate by 0.25 per cent to 8 per cent in a bid to curb inflation, a move that may translate into higher EMIs and push up the cost of borrowing for corporates."...an increase in the policy (repo) rate by 25 basis points is needed to set the economy securely on the recommended disinflationary path," Rajan said while unveiling the Third Quarter Review of Monetary Policy.
2.The reverse repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility will be revised to 7 per cent and the marginal standing facility rate and bank rate to 9 per cent.
3.However, the RBI kept the cash reserve ratio unchanged at 4 per cent as liquidity seems to be comfortable.
4.It was widely expected that Rajan would maintain the status quo on rates to support growth. Ahead of the quarterly review, Rajan had termed inflation a "destructive disease."
5.The Governor said economic growth would be below 5 per cent in the current financial year and could accelerate in 2014-15 to a mean projection of 5.5 per cent.
6.In line with the Urjit Patel committee recommendations, monetary policy reviews will henceforth be undertaken every two months, consistent with the availability of key macroeconomic and financial data, Rajan said.
7.The RBI's baseline projections for retail inflation indicate that over the ensuing 12-month horizon, and with the current policy stance, there are upside risks to the central forecast of 8 per cent.
8."The extent and direction of further policy steps will be data dependent, though if the disinflationary process evolves according to this baseline projection, further policy tightening in the near term is not anticipated at this juncture," he said.
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Start exchanging pre-2005 currency notes: RBI
1.The Reserve Bank has advised the public to start exchanging pre-2005 notes at banks, saying the volume of such notes that are being withdrawn from circulation is ‘not significant.’
2.“Members of public may initiate the process of exchanging notes at bank branches at their convenience,” the RBI said in a statement.
3.The removal of older currency notes from circulation is a standard international practice, the RBI said.
4.The central bank is already withdrawing pre-2005 bank notes in a routine manner through banks as they have fewer security features than those printed subsequently.
5.In the Reserve Bank’s view, the volume of bank notes printed before 2005 that are still in circulation is not significant enough to affect the public in a large way.
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No change in inflation goalposts, CPI to be in focus: Rajan
1.Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan on Tuesday said the 25 basis point repo rate hike will help rein in consumer price rise at under 8 per cent by next January and denied speculation that the goalposts have been shifted to retail inflation and inflation targeting has been adopted.
2.We should be able to reach the 8 per cent objective (on consumer price inflation) by the end of the year with this rate hike, which in turn will aid sustainable growth in the long term,” Mr. Rajan told reporters at the customary post-policy interaction.
3.The Urjit Patel Committee on monetary policy framework set a retail inflation target of 8 per cent by January 2015.
4.The panel’s recommendations include shifting the goalposts to consumer price inflation and inflation targeting.
5.Mr. Rajan, however, denied that the RBI has adopted any of the suggestions formally and said it will have to be done in consultation with the government. He added that CPI inflation at 8 per cent is a very “reasonable” target.
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BSE to launch trading in interest rate futures on Jan 20
1.The Bombay Stock Exchange today said that live trading in interest rate futures (IRF), in long tenure 10-year government bonds, will begin on its platform on January 20.
2.The exchange has already received the approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India for launching IRFs.
3.We will launch IRF trading on January 20 of this year,” BSE MD and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan told reporters here at a function organised by the Association of National Exchange Members of India (ANMI).
4.Besides, NSE will begin live trading in IRF on January 21, while MCX-SX said it will also go live this month without giving an exact date.
5.Earlier last month, the market regulator had permitted the stock exchanges to introduce cash-settled IRFs on 10-year government bonds, which has been a long pending demand of the capital market participants.
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Former Rajasthan police chief appointed new secretary of security
1.Rajasthan's former police chief HC Meena has been appointed the secretary, security in the cabinet secretariat, an official statement said Friday.
2.Meena, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the 1976 batch, had been shifted as director general, jails after the Vasundhara Raje government assumed office in Rajasthan last month.
3.He was again shifted to the post of director general, home guard and civil defence a few days ago.
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Google Buys UK-Based Artificial Intelligence Firm, DeepMind Technologies, For $625M
1.Google’s purchase is reportedly its largest ever in Europe and ties in well with the online search giant’s top-secret [x] labs that works on AI technology including Google Glass and other wearable devices. The Guardian, citing sources close to the deal, reported that DeepMind’s technology would be used in Google's search systems instead of the company’s robotics division.
2."DeepMind was generally interested in reinforcement learning, and in deep learning, which is very useful in mining so called 'big data', something Google has a lot of and is interested in processing," Murray Shanahan, a professor of cognitive robotics at Imperial College London, told the Guardian.
3.According to DeepMind’s website, the company specializes in “machine learning and systems neuroscience to build powerful general-purpose learning algorithms.” The company was co-founded by Demis Hassabis, a chess prodigy who went on to become a neuroscientist and AI programmer who designs computer games.
4.A Google representative confirmed the deal without disclosing details, a report from CNET said, adding that DeepMind’s purchase closely follows the Mountain View, Calif.-based company’s efforts to open a new lab with a quantum computer that can be used by researchers around the world for their own work.
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India ranked 155th in global environment performance list
1.India has been ranked at a low 155th position in a global list that evaluates countries on how well they perform on high-priority environmental issues.
2.The country is also behind neighbouring China, Pakistan and Nepal.
3.The 2014 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) has ranked a total of 178 countries.
4.India is placed at the 155th position, with an index score of 31.23 points. Its rank is also much lower than BRICS peers.
5.Besides, India has fared poorly compared to neighbouring countries like Nepal and Pakistan -- which are ranked 139th and 148th, respectively.
6.Among the BRICS, South Africa was placed at 72nd position, followed by Russia (73), Brazil (77) and China (118)
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Queen Latifah to be honored with 2014 Matrix Award
1.New York: Rapper-turned-actress Queen Latifah will be honoured by the New York Women in Communications with its 2014 Matrix Award, which honours females who change the world.
2.Latifah, 43, will be honoured on April 28 at the Waldorf Astori along with eight others.
3."Queen Latifah was chosen not only for what she has done, but also for what she has given back, as her work and career are an inspiration to all women who are trying to change the world for the better," said the organization.
4.Past Matrix winners include Meryl Streep, Tina Fey, Robin Roberts, Ellen DeGeneres, Martha Stewart, Whoopi Goldberg and Meredith Vieira.
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