Weekly GA Capsule 27th May to 2nd June 2019 Economy & Banking.............................................................................................................12 Government & Polity.............................................................................................................15 International...........................................................................................................................20 National..................................................................................................................................28 Defence & Security News.....................................................................................................30 Important Days……………………………………………………………………………………...31 Appointments........................................................................................................................33 Sports.....................................................................................................................................36 Person/Event/Award..............................................................................................................39 1 | P a g e Weekly GA Capsule 27th May to 2nd June 2019 Economy & Banking Standard Chartered teamed up with IBM to launch Trade AI Engine Standard Chartered officially launched the Trade AI Engine, a joint solution developed in partnership with IBM to enhance the client experience in trade document processing through increased operational efficiency and strengthened operational control. By significantly automating the time-consuming and high-risk traditional process, the Trade AI Engine will reduce manual back-office tasks to improve operational efficiency and control Trade AI Engine can convert non-digital shipping documents into a machine-readable format using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and identify different types of document from a pre- defined database. The engine also utilizes Natural Language Processing (NLP) to read and capture context, while continuous machine learning will enable the system to further improve accuracy. Standard Chartered PLC is a British multinational banking and financial services company. Ind-Ra Lowers GDP Estimate for FY 19 to 6.9% The India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) expects India’s GDP growth rate to be 6.9 % during 2018-19 as against the advance estimate of 7%. It expects that the fourth quarter (January to March 2018) GDP growth of FY19 will decelerate to 6.3 percent from 6.6 percent in the third quarter (October to December 2018). In Ind-Ra's opinion, the new government will have to devise and execute both short-term and medium-to-long-term measures to arrest the slowdown. "While cyclical challenges can be addressed through short-term measures, the need of the hour is to address the structural challenges plaguing the Indian economy," According to the report, short term policy priorities of the new government should include, agricultural price stability measures, supporting system credit growth especially to small industry, and provision of adequate liquidity and accommodative policy environment among others. Long term policy priorities should include, land and natural resource-related measures, labour related measures, capital-related measures, productivity related measures and sector-wise reforms, ICICI Bank's report added. Ind-Ra is one of India’s most respected credit rating agency (belong to Fitch group) that provides ratings, research and rigorous analytics of market in India. The headquarters of Ind-Ra is located in Mumbai RBI extends RTGS transfer timings from 4.30 pm to 6 pm The Reserve Bank of India has increased the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) time window for customer transactions (initial cut-off) from 4.30 pm to 6 pm The time-varying charges for transactions in RTGS from 1 pm to 6 pm (1 pm to 4.30 pm earlier) shall be ₹5 per outward transaction. After 6 pm (4.30 pm earlier), these charges will be ₹10. Real Time Gross Settlement 2 | P a g e Weekly GA Capsule 27th May to 2nd June 2019 RTGS is a system of continuous and real-time settlement of fund-transfers, individually on a transaction by transaction basis (without netting). ‘Real Time’ means the processing of instructions at the time they are received; ‘Gross Settlement’ means that the settlement of funds transfer instructions occurs individually. The RTGS system is primarily meant for large-value transactions. The minimum amount to be remitted through RTGS is ₹2 lakh with no upper or maximum ceiling. SBI Ecowrap report 2018-19 India’s gross domestic product will expand by 5.9-6.1 % in January-March 2019, which could pull down growth rate for the entire fiscal 2018-19 to below 7 % The slip in GDP growth may force the Reserve Bank of India to move with a deeper 0.50 % cut in rates at its next review to propel the sluggish economy Calling out the high real interest rates—the differential between the policy rate and headline inflation—as an impediment to investment, The rate cut of 35-50 basis points is likely at the monetary policy review meeting on June 6, 2019. But the RBI rate cut can be effective only if transmission of the rates happens quickly. SEBI tightens disclosure norms for listed debt securities Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has asked debenture trustees to enhance their disclosure for listed debt securities with a view to protecting the interests of investors. The debenture is an instrument of debt executed by the company acknowledging its obligation to repay the sum at a specified rate and also carrying an interest. It is one of the methods of raising the loan capital of the company. A debenture trustee is a person or an entity that serves as the holder of debenture stock for the benefit of another party. A debenture is a debt instrument that is not secured by physical assets or collateral. SEBI has asked the debenture trustees (DTs) to display on their websites the details of interest or redemption due on debenture holders in respect of all the issues during a financial year within 5 working days of the start of the financial year. Further, they are also required to update the status of payment against such issuers not later than one day from the due date. In case the payment is made with a delay by the issuer, DTs would require to update the calendar specifying the date of such payment with a remark delayed payment. In case of default payment of interest and/or principal redemption on the due dates, an additional interest of minimum 2 percent per annum over the coupon rate shall be payable by the issuer company for the defaulting period. Similarly, for the delay in listing of debt securities beyond 20 days from date of allotment, the issuer firm needs to pay to investor at least 1 percent annual interest over the coupon rate from the expiry of 30 days from the deemed date of allotment till the listing of such debt securities. IMD World Competitiveness Rankings 2019 India moves up to 43rd most competitive economy India has moved up one place to rank 43rd most competitive economy in the world on the back of its robust economic growth. 3 | P a g e Weekly GA Capsule 27th May to 2nd June 2019 India's ranking has improved by one place in the past one year to 43rd, driven by a robust rate of growth in real GDP, improvements in business legislation and an increase in public expenditure on education. Singapore has moved up to the top, while the US has slipped to the third place. Hong Kong SAR has held onto its second place, helped by a benign tax and business policy environment and access to business finance. Venezuela remained anchored to the bottom of the ranking, hit by inflation, poor access to credit and a weak economy The IMD World Competitiveness Rankings, incorporate 235 indicators from each of the 63 ranked economies to evaluate their ability to foster an environment where enterprises can achieve sustainable growth, generate jobs and increase welfare for its citizens. The study said the Asia-Pacific region has emerged as a global beacon with 11 out of 14 economies either improving or holding their ground. The IMD study said the challenges before India remain to maintain high growth with employment generation, digital literacy and internet bandwidth in rural areas, managing fiscal discipline, as also issues related to the implementation of Goods and Services Tax and resource mobilization for infrastructure development. In the 2019 rankings, India has scored well on several economic parameters and tax policies but has lagged in terms of public finance, societal framework, education infrastructure development. The IMD World Competitiveness Center is a research group at IMD business school in Switzerland. It has been publishing the rankings every year since 1989. Indian Overseas Bank launches ‘Bank on Wheels’ facility Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), has launched ‘Bank on Wheels’ facility in 14 of its lead districts in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, besides Vijayawada. The mobile van facility will enable the public, especially senior citizens, conveniently get door-step banking facility available at identified locations of the lead districts. A dedicated banking correspondent will accompany the vehicle with a micro-ATM inside the van to take care of services such as account opening, enrolment of customers in Social Security Scheme, passbook printing, and other financial inclusion activities. Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) HQ: Chennai, Tamil Nadu Non-Executive Chairman: T. C. A. Ranganathan MD & CEO: Karnam Sekar FICCI survey pegs Q4 GDP growth at