Economy and Banking Current Affairs September 2015 (Part 5)

India Extended Anti-dumping Duty on Vitamin-C

• India extended anti-dumping duty on import of all forms and grades of Vitamin-C from China on August 6, 2015 for five years to safeguard the interest of domestic industry after findings of designated authority’s conclusion that imports of Vitamin-C have caused injury to the domestic industry.
• The anti-dumping duty Shall be applicable to all synonyms of Vitamin-C i.e., Ascorbic Acid, L-Xyloascorbic Acid, 3-Oxo-L-gulofuranolactone, L-3-Ketothreohexuronic Acid Lactone, etc. The government had earlier imposed the anti-dumping duty on import of Vitamin-C from China in 2009 and later extended it by one year till June, 2015.

Airtel Launched 4G Services in 296 Cities

• Airtel has commercially launched its. 4G services on August 6, 2015 in 296 towns across India. Airtel has also launched a dedicated website, where users can check if their number is eligible for a 4G upgrade, and whether they can request for a free 4G SIM card or not.
• In this regard, Airtel has just released an ad which boasts of really fast speed with Airtel 4G, and claiming that a full movie can be downloaded in just three minutes. Airtel had first launched its 4G service in Kolkata in April, 2012 and from then conducted trials in 51 cities.
• Airtel has join hands with mobile handset maker Samsung tp develop and provide 4G-enabled handsets in affordable price. Airtel also built first commercial 4G network in India that has brought high speed mobile broadband into reality.

BHEL Commissioned 500 MW Thermal Unit at Vindhyachal

• Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has successfully commissioned the 500 MW Unit-13 of Vindhyachal Super Thermal Power Station (STPS), Stage-V of NTPC on August 3, 2015. The project is located in Vindhyanagar in Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh.
• Thus, BHEL added one more coal-based power plant to the grid. BHEL has earlier commissioned six units of 500 MW rating each, at Vindhyachal power station. With the commissioning of this unit, BHEL has now commissioned seven sets of 500 MW each aggregating to 3500 MW, the highest by BHEL in a power project.
• The equipment for the project was manufactured at BHEL’s Tiruchi, Ranipet, Haridwar, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Bhopal plants, while the company’s Power Sector—Western Region undertook erection and commissioning of the equipment.

CBDT Signed First Rollback APA

• “ The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) signed first rollback unilateral Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) on August 3, 2015 with a US firm for nine years, which includes protection against litigation for the past four years as well.
• It is signed four months after the rollback norms were notified in March, 2015 aimed to make tax regime more investor friendly. Now, it will become clear to Multi National Companies (MNCs) in India that they can achieve certainty around transfer-pricing for a nine-year period.
• CBDT had entered into this APAs with US MNCs is first ever since the Finance Ministry made announcement in March, 2015. Over all CBDT has signed 14 APAs of which 13 are unilateral APAs and one is a bilateral APA but did not had facility of rollback provision.

Read Also – National Current Affairs October 2015 (Part 5).

McCann Bagged Incredible India Advertising Campaign

• McCann India, an advertising agency has bagged the Tourism Ministry’s Incredible India advertising campaign for the period of three years as on August 3, 2015. MaCann, constituted in 1902 is a global advertising company and is operating in 120 countries and headquartered at United States.
• As per the Ministry, the agency was chosen because of its unique consumer understanding, intrinsic reflection of the social conscience cultural insight and superlative creative work.
• McCann has been responsible for the set of four commercials on ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’, from the Tourism Ministry, which is currently playing on air, and which feature superstar Aamir Khan. McCann has replaced the agency Ogilvy India.

Spices Board Launched Subsidy Scheme to Boost Production

• The Spices Board has launched a raft of measures on August 2, 2015 to support farmers by offering various subsidies and sensitise them on the need, to enhance the quality of spices through post-harvest improvement techniques, as a part of boosting spices production in the country.
• The initiatives are part of the Board’s 12th Plan to improve export-oriented production of small cardamom and post-harvest improvement of other spices across spice-growing regions in the country.
• The eligibility criteria for availing the benefits are based on land held by the grower and is different for each programme.

Jharkhand and NTPC Signed 4000 MW Power Expansion Agreement

• National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and government of Jharkhand signed a MoU on August 2, 2015 for a 4000 MW capacity expansion of the Patratu Thermal Power Station in Ramgarh district through the formation of a joint venture company.
• The official name of the proposed venture is Patratu Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited. As part of the joint venture, NTPC will hold 74% share in the new holding company while the Jharkhand government will have 26%.
• The company will set up the 4000 MW (800 MW x 5) expansion in different phases using 1850 acres of land out of the existing 6300 acres.

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