7 April 2015 Current Affairs
Gujarat Won Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy
Gujarat won the 2014-15 Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy played at the KIIT Cricket Stadium, Bhubaneshwar. In the final clash, Gujarat defeated Punjab by two wickets.
RBI’s First Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2015-16
Governor Raghuram Rajan-led Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its first bi-monthly monetary policy review has decided to keep the repo rate and cash reserve ratio unchanged.
Following are the highlights of RBI’s first bi-monthly monetary policy statement 2015-16 :–
* Short-term lending rate (Repo) unchanged at 7.5%.
* Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) unchanged at 4%.
* Statutory Liquidity Ratio unchanged at 21.5%
* Estimates GDP growth at 7.8% in FY’16, up from 7.5% in FY’15 .
* Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation forecasted at 5.8% by March 2016
* 100% CPI inflation to dip to 4% in August 2015.
* Hailstorms in March affected 17% of the rabi crop sown area .
* Future rate cuts will depend on interest rate reduction by banks.
* India better prepared to deal with volatility post US Federal Reserve rate action.
* State cooperative banks to be allowed to set up off-site/ mobile ATMs without prior approval from RBI.
* RBI to formulate scheme for market making by primary dealers in semi-liquid and illiquid G-Secs.
Union Cabinet Approved Amendments To Real Estate Bill
Amendments to the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013, were approved by the Union Cabinet on 7 April. The Bill is pending in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill paves the way for the creation of a regulator to protect home buyer interests as well as ensure accountability and transparency. With the amendments the provisions of the Bill are also applicable to commercial real estate.
World Health Day 2015 Observed Across The World
World Health Day 2015 was observed across the world on 7 April 2015. The day provides an opportunity for individuals to get involved in activities that can lead to better health. The theme for World Health Day 2014 is “From farm to plate, make food safe”. The theme was selected by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to bring focus on growing global burden of food borne diseases and underscore the need for coordinated cross-border action across the entire food supply chain i.e. from farm to plate. First World Health Day was celebrated on 7 April 1950 and marks the anniversary of the WHO in 1948. In 2013, the theme of the World Health Day was Control your blood pressure.