27 February 2015 Current Affairs
Kshatrapati Shivaji Takes Over As new CMD of SIDBI
Kshatrapati Shivaji, a 1986 batch IAS officer, has taken over as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). Shivaji was appointed on deputation basis for a period of three years. Shivaji is currently Principal Secretary (Expenditure), Finance Department in Maharashtra government.
Acclaimed US Actor Leonard Nimoy Died
Acclaimed US actor Leonard Nimoy was died on 27 February in Los Angeles. He was 83. He was best known for his half-human, half-Vulcan character of Mr Spock in the cult sci-fi series Star Trek. Leonard Nimoy was born in 26 March 1931. In 1950s, he started his career in teaching acting classes at Hollywood and making minor film and television appearances. In 1965, for first time he appeared in rejected role in Star Trek as pilot The Cage. From 1966-69, he played the role of Spock in original Star Trek series. The character of Spock had a significant cultural impact and had garnered Nimoy three Emmy Award nominations. He also had appeared in multiple films, television series and video games.
Economic Survey 2014-15
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Economic Survey for 2014-15 in the Parliament on 27 February.
Following are the highlights of Economic Survey:-
Economic Growth :-
* Economic growth at market prices is expected between 8.1 to 8.5% during 2015-16 (based on the new GDP calculation formula)
* Growth rate in 2014-15 is estimated at 7.5%
Fiscal Deficit :-
* Union Government will stick to fiscal deficit target of 4.1% of GDP in 2014-15
* Country needs to meet its medium-term fiscal deficit target of 3% of GDP
Current Account Deficit (CAD) :-
* Current Account Deficit (CAD) to decline to about 1 per cent in 2015-16.
Inflation :-
* Consumer inflation in 2015-16 likely to range between 5 to 5.5%
* Inflation likely to be below RBI’s target by 0.5 to 1% point
* Inflation shows declining trend in 2014-15
* Decline in inflation by over 6% points since late 2013
Foodgrain Production :-
* Foodgrains production for 2014-15 estimated at 257.07 million tonnes; will exceed last 5-year average by 8.5 million tonnes.
Subsidy :-
* Food subsidy at Rs. 1,07,823.75 crore during 2014-15 (up to January 2015), an increase of 20% over previous year.