List of 20 smart cities announced by Union Government under Smart City Mission

* The Government recently (January 2016) announced the 20 winners of the Smart City Challenge competition for financing during the financial year 2016-17. The winners were from 11 States and the Union Territory of Delhi and the selection was totally objective and transparent based on standardized processes.

* 3 cities from Madhya Pradesh, two each from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan and one each from the remaining five made it to the winning list.

* Minister of Urban Development Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu announced the winners.

Here is the list of 20 smart cities announced by Shri Venkaiah Naidu based on rank:

1. Bhubaneswar - Odisha

2. Pune - Maharashtra

3. Jaipur - Rajasthan

4. Surat - Gujarat

5. Kochi - Kerala

6. Ahmedabad - Gujarat

7. Jabalpur - Madhya Pradesh

8. Visakhapatnam - Andhra Pradesh

9. Solapur - Maharashtra

10. Davanagere - Karnataka

11. Indore - MP

12. New Delhi Municipal Council - Delhi

13. Combattore - Tamil Nadu

14. Kakinada - Andhra Pradesh

15. Belagavi - Karnataka

16. Udaipur - Rajasthan

17. Guwahati - Assam

18. Chennai - Tamil Nadu

19. Ludhiana - Punjab

20. Bhopal - MP

Of these 20 cities accounting for a total population of 3.54 crore, 5 have  population below 5 lakhs each, 4 in the range of 5-10 lakhs, 6 in between 10-25 lakhs, 4 between 25 and 50 lakhs and only Ahmedabad has above 50 lakhs.

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Details of Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana for Exams

Friends.. in the last post we discussed about Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana. In case you missed that post: Click Here. Today we are going to discuss about the second scheme ie. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana.

2. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana

When announced: In Union Budget 2015-16 presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Loksabha on 28 February 2015.

When launched: 9 May 2015

Who launched: Prime Minister of India Shri.Narendra Modi

Launched from where: Kolkata

Note: Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana is for Life Insurance Cover. Here are the features of this scheme.

Eligibility: Available to people in the age group of 18 to 50 and having a bank account. People who join the scheme before completing 50 years can, however, continue to have the risk of life cover up to the age of 55 years subject to payment of premium.

Premium:  Rs.330 per annum.  It will be auto-debited in one instalment.

Payment Mode:  The payment of premium will be directly auto-debited by the bank from the subscribers account.

Risk Coverage: Rs.2 Lakh in case of death for any reason.

Terms of Risk Coverage: A person has to opt for the scheme every year.  He can also prefer to give a long-term option of continuing, in which case his account will be auto-debited every year by the bank.

Who will implement this Scheme?: The scheme will be offered by Life Insurance Corporation and all other life insurers who are willing to join the scheme and tie-up with banks for this purpose.

Government Contribution:

(i)       Various other Ministries can co-contribute premium for various categories of their beneficiaries out of their budget or out of Public Welfare Fund created in this budget out of unclaimed money.  This will be decided separately during the year.

(ii)     Common Publicity Expenditure will be borne by Government.

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Know about Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana for Bank/Insurance Exams

Friends..As you know Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 May 2015 launched three ambitious social security schemes, relating to the insurance and pension sector and intended at widening the process of financial inclusion. The three schemes were "Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana" (accident insurance), "Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana" (life insurance) and "Atal Pension Yojana". It's important to keep in mind the features of these schemes as they will surely be part of upcoming bank exams. Hence today we are going to look into the important aspects of each schemes, in detail. So starting, in this post we have chosen the first one "Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana".

1. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana 

When announced: In Union Budget 2015-16 presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Loksabha on 28 February 2015.

When launched: 9 May 2015

Who launched: Prime Minister of India Shri.Narendra Modi

Launched from where: Kolkata

Note: Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana is meant for Accidental Death Insurance. Here are the features of this scheme.

Eligibility: Available to people in age group 18 to 70 years with bank account.

Premium:  Rs.12 per annum.

Payment Mode: The premium will be directly auto-debited by the bank from the subscribers account. This is the only mode available.

Risk Coverage:  For accidental death and full disability - Rs.2 Lakh and for partial disability – Rs.1 Lakh.

Eligibility: Any person having a bank account and Aadhaar number linked to the bank account can give a simple form to the bank every year before 1st of June in order to join the scheme.  Name of nominee to be given in the form.

Terms of Risk Coverage: A person has to opt for the scheme every year. He can also prefer to give a long-term option of continuing in which case his account will be auto-debited every year by the bank.

Who will implement this Scheme?: The scheme will be offered by all Public Sector General Insurance Companies and all other insurers who are willing to join the scheme and tie-up with banks for this purpose.

Government Contribution:

(i)       Various Ministries can co-contribute premium for various categories of their beneficiaries from their budget or from Public Welfare Fund created in this budget from unclaimed money. This will be decided separately during the year.

(ii)     Common Publicity Expenditure will be borne by the Government.

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Know about MUDRA BANK for Competitive Exams

Friends.. As you Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 April 2015 launched the Mudra Bank to help small entrepreneurs get loan to start a business. With much hype we read/heard in newspapers and media the word 'Mudra Bank'. But we know still many of you might be wondering what this bank is all about..as we were to be frank :). This post is for those.. Let's look at what this Mudra Bank is?

Facts you should know about MUDRA BANK

1) This Bank is another leap forth to accelerate the ‘Make in India’ process launched by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on 25 September 2014.

2) What does MUDRA stand for? - Mudra Bank stands for Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA). Mudra in Hindi means monetary capital.

3) Mudra is a bank that is set up solely to encourage small entrepreneurs from urban and rural regions. The initiative has been taken with an intention to bring entrepreneurs from across the country into mainland business.

4) How is Mudra Bank set up? - The bank launched by the Prime Minister, Mudra is being set up through a statutory enactment. Mudra Bill will be brought into the Parliament within 6-12 months and it will incorporate the provisions of the Micro Finance Institutions (MFI) Bill. It has been registered as a company and an NBFC under the Reserve bank of India.

5) What is the aim of MUDRA Bank? - Aim is to provide financial assistance to the "unfunded" small entrepreneurs who provide employment to a large number of people.

5) Under which Yojana Mudra Bank is set up? - Pradhan Mantri Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Yojana

6) Who is the CEO of Mudra Bank? - One of the Chief General Managers of Nabard, Jiji Memon, has been appointed CEO of the institution.

7) Mudra bank aims at catering to the needs of as many as 5. 77 crore small business spread across India.

8) Mudra Bank will be set up with a corpus of Rs.20,000 crore and a credit guarantee fund of  Rs.3,000 crore. It can lend between Rs 50,000 and Rs 10 lakh to small entrepreneurs.

9) As the objective is to encourage small businessmen, the bank will not just provide monetary help but will nurture them through different stages of growth and development of businesses as Sishu, Kishor and Tarun.

10) What is Sishu? - Nascent businesses which are just starting up will be considered as Sishu businesses. Sishus loan cover will be up to  Rs.50, 000.

11) What is Kishor? - As the industries witness their initial profits they are regarded as Kishor industries. In this phase they are eligible for a loan ranging from 50, 000 to  5, 00, 000 lakh.

12) What is Tarun? - This is the final and progressive stage which if achieved by the businesses will be eligible for loan up to 10 lakh.

13) Background of setting up this Bank? - Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had proposed the creation of a Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank during the presentation of Union Budget 2015-16 on 28 February 2015.

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Daily Current Affairs: 6 March 2015

1) Prime Minister Narendra Modi among 30 most influential people on internet: Time Magazine

--> Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been named among the 30 most influential people on the internet by Time magazine in a list which also features US President Barack Obama.

--> The list, which analysed social-media followings, site traffic and overall ability to drive news, also includes British author of the Harry Potter series J K Rowling and singers Taylor Swift and Beyonce.

--> Time said the Indian Prime Minister has roughly 38 million followers on social networking sites Twitter and Facebook, putting him ahead of any other leaders in the world except Obama.

2) NPCI linked 15 crore bank accounts with Aadhaar number:

--> National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on 6 March 2015 said it has linked 15 crore bank accounts with Aadhaar number.

--> NPCI is the nodal agency for all retail payment systems under the Jan Dhan scheme.

--> "NPCI, the umbrella organisation for all retail payments system in India, reached a major milestone of successfully linking 15 crore bank accounts with Aadhaar number," it said in a statement.

3) Former Bihar Chief Minister Ram Sundar Das passed away:

--> Former Bihar Chief Minister and senior JD(U) leader Ram Sundar Das died on 6 March 2015 due to age-related problems.

--> Das was chief minister of Bihar as the head of the Janata Party government in 1979.

--> He had defeated Ram Vilas Paswan in the Hajipur (SC) Lok Sabha seat in 2009, but in the parliamentary polls last year, had lost to the latter.

4) RBI eased norms for home loans for up to Rs 10 lakh:

--> Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 5 March 2015 eased the norms for home loans for up to Rs.10 lakh by allowing banks to include stamp duty and registration charges to the cost of a unit.

--> These charges form around 15 per cent of the cost of the house and place a burden on borrowers.

--> As per the current practice, banks do not include stamp duty, registration and other documentation charges in the cost of housing property.

5) UST Global launched mobile app for women's safety:

--> UST Global has launched its mobile app for women's safety.

-->  iSafe has been rolled out for the Thiruvananthapuram City Police.

--> The app is currently available for Android phones and will soon be available on other platforms.

--> Through the app, women will be able to send instant alerts to the police control room by using the Panic Button or just by the long press of volume key of their mobile phones.

--> The police then immediately dispatches help via the police CRV (Control Room Vehicle)

6) Flipkart aquired mobile ad network AdIQuity:

--> Flipkart on 6 March 2015 acquired mobile ad network AdiQuity.

--> The acquisition is aimed at increasing advertising muscle of Flipkart.

--> The deal amount was not disclosed by both the companies. The deal marked the online retailer's first acquisition in 2015 so far.

7) Hyderabad best city to live in India: Study

--> Leaving behind India's more traditional business centres such as Mumbai and Bangalore, the city of pearls Hyderabad is the best city to live in the country, says a global survey.

--> According to consultancy firm Mercer's 'Quality of Living Report-2015', notwithstanding its top rank among Indian cities, Hyderabad globally ranks at 138th position in a list of 230 cities around the world in terms of standard of living.

--> The list is topped by Vienna for the second consecutive year.

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Highlights of Union Budget 2015-16: PDF Download

Friends..As you all know, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today (28 February 2015) presented the Union Budget 2015-16 in Parliament. Questions related to this budget will surely be asked in upcoming competitive Exams and mainly in Bank Exams. So in this post, we are sharing with you the highlights of the Union Budget 2015-16.

Download as PDF: Click Here

--> No change in personal Income Tax * Health Insurance Premium deduction hiked from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 25,000; for senior citizens to Rs. 30,000

--> Transport allowance exemption hiked to Rs. 1,600, from Rs. 800 per month

--> Additional 2% surcharge on people earning over Rs. 1 cr; to fetch Rs. 9,000 cr

--> Wealth tax abolished

--> Direct Taxes Code (DTC) dropped

--> Rs. 50,000 deduction for contribution to New Pension Scheme

--> To lower Corporate Tax to 25% over next four years

--> GAAR implementation deferred by 2 years to April 2017

--> Service Tax rate hiked to 14%, from 12.36%

--> Tax free bonds for roads, railways, irrigation projects

--> 2015—16 growth between 8—8.5%, double digit growth feasible

--> Retail inflation close to 5% by March, room for monetary policy easing

--> To achieve fiscal deficit of 3% of GDP by 2017—18

--> Fiscal Deficit target 3.9% in 2015—16, 3.5% in 2016—17

--> Revenue Deficit to be 2.8% in 2015—16

--> Current Account Deficit for 2014—15 to be below 1.3% of GDP

--> To introduce comprehensive law to deal with black money

--> Benami property transaction bill to tackle black money transaction in real estate soon

--> 100% deduction for contribution to Swachh Bharat, Clean Ganga projects

--> GST to be put in place by April 1, 2016

--> Internationally competitive direct tax regime to be put in place to incentivise saving

--> Incentivise use of credit, debit cards; disincentivise cash transaction to curb black money.

Here are sector-wise highlights:

TAXATION

* Abolition of Wealth Tax.

* Additional 2% surcharge for the super rich with income of over Rs. 1 crore.

* Rate of corporate tax to be reduced to 25% over next four years.

* No change in tax slabs.

* Total exemption of up to Rs. 4,44,200 can be achieved.

* 100% exemption for contribution to Swachch Bharat, apart from CSR.

* Service tax increased to14 per cent.

AGRICULTURE

* Rs. 25,000 crore for Rural Infrastructure Development Bank.

* Rs. 5,300 crore to support Micro Irrigation Programme.

* Farmers credit - target of 8.5 lakh crore.

INFRASTRUCTURE

* Rs. 70,000 crores to Infrastructure sector.

* Tax-free bonds for projects in rail road and irrigation

* PPP model for infrastructure development to be revitalised and govt. to bear majority of the risk.

* Atal Innovation Mission to be established to draw on expertise of entrepreneurs, and researchers to foster scientific innovations; allocation of Rs. 150 crore.

* Govt. proposes to set up 5 ultra mega power projects, each of 4000MW.

EDUCATION

* AIIMS in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Assam.

* IIT in Karnataka; Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad to be upgraded to IIT.

* PG institute of Horticulture in Amritsar.

* Kerala to have University of Disability Studies

* Centre of film production, animation and gaming to come up in Arunachal Pradesh.

* IIM for Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh.

DEFENCE

* Allocation of Rs. 2,46,726 crore; an increase of 9.87 per cent over last year.

* Focus on Make in India for quick manufacturing of Defence equipment.

WELFARE SCHEMES

* GST and JAM trinity (Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and Mobile) to improve quality of life and to pass benefits to common man.

* Six crore toilets across the country under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

* MUDRA bank will refinance micro finance orgs. to encourage first generation SC/ST entrepreneurs.

* Housing for all by 2020.

* Upgradation 80,000 secondary schools.

* DBT will be further be expanded from 1 crore to 10.3 crore.

* For the Atal Pension Yojana, govt. will contribute 50% of the premium limited to Rs. 1,000 a year.

* New scheme for physical aids and assisted living devices for people aged over 80 .

* Govt. to use Rs. 9,000 crore unclaimed funds in PPF/EPF for Senior Citizens Fund.

* Rs. 5,000 crore additional allocation for MGNREGA.

* Govt. to create universal social security system for all Indians.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

* Rs. 75 crore for electric cars production.

* Renewable energy target for 2022: 100K MW in solar; 60K MW in wind; 10K MW in biomass and 5K MW in small hydro.

TOURISM

* Develpoment schemes for churches and convents in old Goa; Hampi, Elephanta caves, Forests of Rajasthan, Leh palace, Varanasi , Jallianwala Bagh, Qutb Shahi tombs at Hyderabad to be under the new toursim scheme.

* Visa on Arrival for 150 countries.

FINANCIAL SECTOR

* Forward Markets Commission to be merged with the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

* NBFCs registered with the RBI and having asset size of Rs 500 crore and above to be considered as ‘financial institution’ under Sarfaesi Act, 2002, enabling them to fund SME and mid-corporate businesses

* Permanent Establishment norms to be modified to that mere presence of offshore fund managers in the country does not lead to “adverse tax consequences.”

Courtesy in preparing this article: The Hindu

Official Budget Speech: English and Hindi

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Economic Survey 2014-15 Highlights PDF

A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi government's first full Union Budget, the Economic Survey has been tabled in Parliament on 27 February 2015 by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. It has highlighted that the Indian economy would grow by more than 8 percent in the 2015-16 fiscal year. Following are the highlights of Economic Survey 2014-15:

* GDP growth seen at 8.1–8.5 per cent in 2015-16

* Double digit growth trajectory; 8–10 per cent GDP in coming years

* Inflation shows declining trend during April-December

* Current Account Deficit (CAD) to decline to about 1 per cent in 2015-16

* To adhere to fiscal deficit target of 4.1 per cent of GDP; to aim for 3 per cent

* Committed to fiscal consolidation; to enhance revenue generation

* More reforms on anvil; Goods and Services Tax, expanding direct benefit transfers to be game-changers

* Foodgrains production for 2014-15 estimated at 257.07 million tonnes; will exceed last 5-year average by 8.5 million tonnes

* NITI Aayog, 14th Finance Commission to enhance fiscal federalism

* External Sector returning to strength, resilience

* Need balance between ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skilling India’

* Services sector negotiations at WTO crucial for India in removing many market access barriers

* Revitalise PPP model to revive investment

* Manufacturing and services equally important for growth

* Consumer inflation in 2015-16 to be between 5-5.5%

* Lower inflation opens up space for more monetary easing

* There is scope for big bang reforms

* Labour, capital, land, market reform and skills to be engines of growth

* JAM Trinity — Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar, Mobile — to help transfer of funds to poor without leakage

* Shield domestic industry to promote ‘Make In India’

* Borrowings to fund investment, not for meeting expenses

* Food subsidy bill in April-Jan up 20% to Rs. 1.08 lakh cr

* Reform Railway’s structure, commercial practices, overhaul of technology

* Public investment key growth engine in short-run for Railways, but not a substitute for private investment

* More disinvestments on the anvil in current fiscal

* Under-recoveries on petroleum products to come down to Rs. 74,664 crore in 2014-15, from Rs. 1.39 lakh crore in FY14

4Ds — Deregulation, Differentiation, Diversification, Disinter (better bankruptcy laws) — to push financial sector growth

* Implementation of GST to boost GDP, exports

* Suggests medium to long term fiscal policy to target deficit, expenditure

* Global commodity prices to remain weak in 2015

* Ecommerce sector to witness 50% growth in 5 years

You can download this article as PDF by clicking the 'print friendly' button below.

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Questions related to NITI Ayog for exams

Union government has recently revamped and renamed Planning commission as National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. Here are some probable questions related to NITI Ayog for upcoming exams.

1) Expand 'NITI' in NITI Aayog? - National Institution for Transforming India

2) Who heads the NITI Aayog as its chairperson? - Prime Minister of India

3) Government had announced formation of NITI Aayog on? - 1 January 2015

4) What is the structure of Governing Council of NITI Aayog? - Chief Ministers of all the States and Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories

5) Who appoints the Vice-Chairperson of Vice-Chairperson? - Prime Minister

6) What is the composition of Part time members in NITI Aayog? - Maximum of 2. They will from leading universities research organizations and other relevant institutions on a rotational basis.

7) What is the composition of Ex Officio members in NITI Aayog? - Maximum of 4 members of the Union Council of Ministers to be nominated by the Prime Minister.

8) Who was recently appointed as the Vice Chairperson of NITI Aayog? - Arvind Panagariya

9) Who are the present Ex-Officio Members of NITI Aayog? - Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Suresh Prabhu and Radha Mohan Singh

10) Who are the present Special Invitees of NITI Aayog? - Nitin Gadkari, Smriti Zubin Irani and Thawar Chand Gehlot

11) Who are the present Full-time Members of NITI Aayog? - Bibek Debroy & V. K. Saraswat

12) Who was recently appointed as the CEO of NITI Aayog? - Sindhushree Khullar

If anybody would like to add more more questions you can comment below..we will add them here. 

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