Latest current affair

                                                                                                                                                                          Defence

• Defence Acquisition Council presided by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar cleared military modernisation proposals worth over 12000 crore rupees.
• First of six Scorpene class submarines Kalvari (Built by Mazagon Dock) set afloat in Mumbai. It will undergo sea trials before commissioning into Navy in 2016.
• India and Indonesia will be conducting inaugural Navy exercise from October 17 - 18, 2015 in Andaman Sea during expanded version of coordinated patrol (CORPAT).
• India's Prestigious Missile Complex in Hyderabad to be renamed as Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex. 
• India, United States and Japan navies started 2015 Malabar Naval Exercise of eastern coast in Bay of Bengal and India Ocean.
• Indian Air Force started its annual exercise Livewire, aim is to validate the full spectrum of IAF capabilities.
• Indian and Sri Lankan Navies started 4th edition of Sri Lanka-India Exercise (SLINEX) in Sri Lanka.
• Indo-China Combined Military Training Exercise HAND-IN-HAND 2015 conducted from 12 to 23 October 2015 at Kunming Military Academy, Yunnan, China.
• Navy's INS Sahyadri Visited Vietnam as part of its operational deployment in South China Sea.
• Test of India's Nirbhay subsonic cruise missile failed when it lost control after about 12 minutes of flight and fell into the Bay of Bengal.
• Torpedo Launch and Recovery Vessel ‘INS Astradharini commissioned into Indian Navy.

ECONOMY

• Reserve Bank of India relaxed norms of Foreign Portfolio Investors by announcing higher investment limits in government securities to bring additional 1.2 lakh crore rupees by March 2018.
• Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone inked a Memorandum of Understanding with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to oversee operations of Kattupalli Port in Tamil Nadu.
• Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone signed an agreement with India Pulses and Grains Association to handle import and exports of pulses across its ports in India.
• Aditya Birla Group launched online fashion store Abof.com.
• Bank of Baroda became second bank after HDFC Bank to join Chillr payment platform that enables payments through a mobile application. Customers of banks integrated with Chillr can use application for sending funds. However, customers of any bank can receive funds using Chillr.
• Central Board of Excise and Customs increased limits for making any Tax Evader liable for arrest and prosecution to ensure these powers are not used against small businesses -
• Limit in case of tax evasion (Central Excise and Service tax) has been revised to 1 crore from current values of - 25 lakh (Central Excise), 10 lakh (Service Tax and Customs Duty).
• In cases of outright smuggling or mis-declaration of baggage- limit regarding value of offending goods have been revised from Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 20 lakh. Hovewer, No lower limit for arrest and prosecution in cases of smuggling of fake Indian currency, ammunitions and endangered species.
• Government increased basic customs duty on wheat from 10% to 25% for upto 31.03.2016.
• Government introduced Sin Tax under proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) law that will be effective from 1 April 2016. Sin Tax is an excise tax on products like alcohol, tobacco and gambling considered bad for health or society. This is meant to attract higher revenue and also to discourage people from use of such products or services.
• Government will issue Sovereign Gold Bonds in consultation with Reserve Bank of India on November 26, 2015 through banks and designated post offices. Tenor of Bond will be 8 years with exit option from 5th year. Minimum investment will be 2 grams of gold. Investors will be compensated at fixed rate of 2.75 % per annum payable semi-annually.
• ICICI Bank became first bank globally to launch service enabling customers to make payments from their smartphones at stores, e-commerce sites etc. without swiping debit card. Service is based on 'mVisa' mobile payment solution from Visa.
• Income-tax Department launched e-Sahyog project aimed at reducing compliance cost, especially for small taxpayers by addressing issues in income tax returns in convenient manner through internet.
• Nepal turned to United Nations over alleged obstruction of a key border trade point with India which has resulted in shortage of essential goods like fuel and Others.
• PM Narendra Modi inaugurated IDFC Bank that started operations on 1 October 2015 as an Indian Banking company with headquarters in Mumbai. It is a part of IDFC integrated infrastructure finance company. Rajiv B. Lall is its Managing Director & CEO. IDFC Bank initially has 23 branches and is 91st scheduled commercial bank in India.
• Paytm e-commerce platform tied up with Mumbai metro to offer online recharges of Smart Cards.
• Reliance Capital Asset Management took over Goldman Sachs mutual fund business in India for 243 crores
• Reliance Industries became first company to sign revised listing agreement with BSE as mandated by SEBI. Earlier, listing agreement was between stock exchange and company and SEBI didn't have regulations on this. SEBI in October gave six-month deadline for all companies to sign the new listing agreement.
• Reserve Bank of India allowed Foreign Institutional Investors /Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors to invest up to 74 % of paid up capital of DEN Networks Limited under Portfolio Investment Scheme.
• Reserve Bank of India allowed non-resident Indians (NRIs) to subscribe to National Pension System for old age income security.
• Reserve Bank of India formed a single Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF) of 2000 crore rupees by merging Financial Inclusion Fund and Financial Inclusion Technology Fund. FIF will be maintained by NABARD.
• Reserve Bank of India granted permission to Indian corporate to issue offshore rupee-denominated bonds outside India. Such bonds will attract withholding tax of 5 % and gains arising in case of appreciation of rupee against foreign currency. Capital gains tax will be exempted in this investment.
• Reserve Bank of India issued Directions to Banks (excluding Regional Rural Banks) on implementation of Gold Monetisation Scheme 2015 that will replace existing Gold Deposit Scheme, 1999. 
• Gold Deposit Scheme Guidelines -
• Minimum deposit shall be raw gold equivalent to 30 grams of gold of 995 fineness, with no maximum limit for deposit. 
• Gold will be accepted at Purity Testing Centres certified by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
• Deposit certificates will be issued by banks in equivalence of 995 fineness of gold.
• Principal and interest of deposit under the scheme will be denominated in gold.
• Designated banks will accept gold deposits under Short Term (1-3 years), Medium (5-7 years) and Long (12-15 years).
• Premature withdrawal will be available subject to a minimum lock-in period and penalty.
• Interest on deposits will start from date of conversion of gold deposited into tradable gold bars after refinement or 30 days after receipt of gold at CPTC or Bank. During the period between receipt and interest accounting, gold will be an item in safe custody held by bank.
• Utilisation of Gold mobilised under GMS
• Banks may sell or lend the gold to MMTC for minting India Gold Coins or to jewellers, or sell it to other designated banks participating in GMS.
• Risk Management under GMS
• Banks will keep a risk management mechanism to manage risk arising from gold price movements in respect of their net exposure to gold.
• Banks may access international exchanges, London Bullion Market Association or use over-the-counter contracts to hedge exposures to bullion prices.
• Reserve Bank of India signed memorandum of understanding with Bangladesh Bank for exchange of supervisory information.
• Telangana proposed Rs.405.17 cr plan on enhancing water supply in 11 AMRUT cities during 2015-16.
• Telecom Regulatory Authority of Indian (TRAI) made it mandatory for mobile service providers to compensate consumers call drops with effect from 1 January 2016. MSPs will Credit account of consumer by one rupee for every call drop for upto 3 dropped calls in a day.
• UCO Bank became worst Performer among public sector banks in 2014-15 with its Gross NPA rising to Total Loans ratio of UCO Bank rising to 8.05 % from 4.47 % in 2014. UCO Bank was followed by Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) and Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) with gross NPA rising to 8.30 % and 6.18 %.
• World Bank Report - Doing Business 2016: Measuring Regulatory Quality and Efficiency -
• Overall Ease of Doing Business Rank -
• Singapore is at top, Eritrea is at bottom. India ranked at 130th place (compared to 142nd in 2015). Ludhiana is top in India's Subnational List.
• Segment Wise Ranks -
• Starting a Business - New Zealand at top, India is at 155th.
• Dealing with Construction Permits - Singapore at Top. India is 183rd.
• Getting Electricity - South Korea at top. India at 70.
• Registering Property - New Zealand at top. India is at 138.
• Getting Credit - New Zealand at top.India is at 42.
• Protecting Minority Investors - New Zealand at top. India is at 8.
• Paying Taxes - Qatar and UAE at top. India is at 157.
• Trading Across Borders - 17 other eurozone countries at top. India is at 133.
• Enforcing Contracts - Singapore at top. India is at 178.
• Resolving Insolvency - Finland at top. India is at 136.
• YES Bank received RBI approval to set up a mutual fund, asset management company (AMC) and a trustee company.
• Yes Bank started its IFSC Banking Unit in GIFT city of Gujarat, aimed to accessing opportunities in international financial markets through large corporate clients requiring foreign currency funding.