1. India should be pro-active: ASEAN
- All leaders at the just concluded ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit had urged India to play a proactive role in the Asia-Pacific region, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said .
2.India, Vietnam Relese First- Ever Commemorative Stambs
- The Ministry of Finance has announced that “Payments Banks and Small Finance Banks” will offer social security scheme Atal Pension Yojana (APY) to their subscribers. It was done to strengthen the existing channels of APY distribution.
- According to the Ministry, currently, there are 11 Payments Banks and 10 Small Finance Banksthat have received the license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to start their operations.
Takeaways
- The APY was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 9, 2015.
- It is the first ever guaranteed pension product, open to all citizens between the ages of 18 and 40 years.
- It provides a minimum guaranteed pension of Rs1,000 to Rs5,000 per month, after the age of 60 years, depending on the monthly contribution made by a subscriber.
4. FM Arun Jaitley says GST stabilised in short time
- Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said the Goods and Service Tax (GST) has stabilised in a very short time that provides an opportunity to widen its base and further rationalise the rates in the future.
- Also, he said the GST has brought about an entire change in the indirect tax system in the country.Jaitley further said the GST has “stabilised in a very short time in India” as compared to various other countries
5. Punjab CM Launches Benefits Under ‘Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat Vikas Yojana’
- Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh launched the release of benefits under ‘Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat Vikas Yojana’ (MGSVY) aimed at the inclusive growth of the distressed sections of the society.
- He appealed to the state’s debt-ridden farmers not to commit suicide since his government was committed to the total implementation of its farm debt waiver scheme by November 2018.
6. Forex kitty continues to scale new peaks, touches $414.78 billion
- The rally in the foreign exchange reserves continued for the fourth week in a row, and scaled a new peak at USD 414.784 billion in the week to January 19, helped by rise in foreign currency assets, according to the Reserve Bank data.
- The central bank data showed that the reserves rose by USD 959.1 million to touch during the reporting week.In the previous week, the reserves had touched USD 413.825 billion after it rose by USD 2.7 billion
- The country’s special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund rose by USD 10.4 million to USD 1.531 billion, while the country’s reserve position with the Fund also jumped by USD 14.1 million to USD 2.06 billion during the reporting week, the central bank said.
7. Pakistan again rakes up Kashmir issue during UN Security Council debate
- United Nations: Days after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ruled out any mediation effort between India and Pakistan, Islamabad’s top envoy to the world body raised the Kashmir issue during a UN Security Council debate on the Middle East.
- As usual, there were no takers for Maleeha Lodhi, the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, during the debate on the current volatile situation in the Middle East .
8. IPL auctions 2018: Ben Stokes, Lokesh Rahul grab eyeballs – List of 10 most expensive players
- Cricket’s most compelling platform which brings the limelight to the players, however, saw some jaw-dropping turns where marquee player Chris Gayle remained unsold. IPL auctions 2018