Pakistan's blasphemy law

The Pakistan Penal Code prohibits blasphemy against any recognized religion, providing penalties ranging from a fine to death. However, in practice, it is only applied to Islam. An accusation of blasphemy commonly subjects the accused, police, lawyers, and judges to harassment, threats, and attacks.

15th Census 2011 highlights

Importance of census
Census 2011 will be the 15th National Census of the Country
The Indian Census is the most credible source of information on Demography (Population characterstics), Economic Activity, Literacy and Education, Housing & Household Amenities, Urbanisation, Fertility and Mortality, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Language, Religion, Migration, Disability and many other socio-cultural and demographic data since 1872. . This is the only source of primary data in the village ,town and ward level, It provides valuable information for planning and formulation policies for Central and the State Governments and is widely used by National and International Agencies, Scholars, business people, industrialists, and many more.

Capital Controls - When and How to rein in capital flows

What are Capital controls 
Capital Controls restrict the free movement of capital. Countries use these controls to restrict volatile movements of capital entering (inflows) and exiting (outflows) their country.

PIGS - Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain

Acronym PIGS is in news as alphabets of this acronym are countries which has been experiencing the sovereign debt crises due to their overspending. Read Europe's debt crisis
Which are the PIGS countries?

AFSPA - Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act

AFSPA became a law on September 11, 1958. Initially, it was applicable to the seven Northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. This was so because in all these states there were movements of ethnic groups demanding separation from India. The government felt that such insurgencies could be checked through deployment of the armed forces, and they would need special powers to carry out their responsibilities. AFSPA was extended to J&K in 1990, on similar considerations.

All About Real and Nominal Exchange Rates

The rupee has appreciated sharply against the dollar in the last few months, raising some concerns, especially among exporters. These exchange rate index are quite similar to a stock market index.  Several key issues  are considered for actual calculation for example, export competitiveness. The real issue, economists say, is not the exchange rate as we know, or the nominal exchange rate, but the effective exchange rate.

Real Interest Rate turning Negative and its implications

What is a negative real interest rate? 
The real interest rate is the effective rate after adjusting for inflation and is considered a true measure of the cost of funds for the borrower or the return to the lender. It is calculated approximately by subtracting the rate of inflation from the nominal interest rate. When inflation is higher than the interest rate, the real interest rate becomes negative. If the one year interest rate is 8% and average inflation over this period is 10% then the real interest rate is negative 2%.

Regulatory Autonomy

While reading newspapers, i came across regulatory autonomy issue which is becoming the source of headache for the finance ministry. As it again came to light from the Ulip controversy between IRDA and SEBI, so I find it worthwhile to share with you as extracted from the economic times.

Regulatory Autonomy:

Financial market regulators like the Reserve Bank of India, the Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) have their jurisdiction over different segments of the market. Their activities are overseen by the government, though they are supposed to be autonomous - meaning the government will not interfere in their daily functioning or in the rules and guidelines they formulate for market participants. But there is a regular interface between the government and the regulators over several issues.

Price Deflator

A deflator is used to convert data compiled over a period into prices prevailing at an earlier point in time. for example, the current price of a television can be deflated to what it would cost say three years ago.
GDP Deflator, on the other hand, is a comprehensive measure of inflation, implicitly derived from national accounts data as a ratio of GDP at current prices to constant prices. While it encompasses the entire spectrum of economic activities including services, it is available on a quarterly basis with a lag of two months since 1996. Essentially, a deflator removes the effect of inflation from data, making it comparable across periods.

CAT-20 for Banking Exam and other public services

1. Where ASEAN 2011 would be held?
a) Inodnesia
b) Maldives
c) Hanoi
d) Mexico

Gross Domestic Product

What is GDP? 

The gross domestic product (GDP) is perhaps the most talked about economic indicator. In simple terms, the GDP is the combined market value of all goods and services produced within an economy in a year.

    In order to avoid the same things getting counted repeatedly for instance, the tyres on your car getting counted when they are produced as tyres and then again as part of the value of the car, what is actually added up is the value added at each stage, that is the value of the output minus the value of the inputs. In a typical economy, the vast majority of the goods and services are created for consumption domestically while a much lesser quantity is exported to other countries.

Purchasing Managers Index

Started in 1948 by the US-based Institute of Supply Management, the Purchasing Managers’ Index, or PMI, has now become one of the most closely watched indicators of business activity across the world.

CAT-18 for Bank Examinations and other public service exams

1. which of the following is true?
a) Pradhan mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana was launched in 2009-10 for the for the integrated development of 1000 such villages.
b) This cover 1,000 villages with more than 50% Schedule Caste population.
c) There are 44,000 Scheduled Caste majority villages of the country.
d) The Government of India has released Rs 55.54 crore to the states of Assam, Bihar and Rajasthan under the pilot phase of the centrally sponsored “Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana” (PMAGY).
e) All are true

Credit-deposit ratio and its implication

What is credit-deposit ratio (CDR)?
It is the proportion of loan-assets created by banks from the deposits received. In simpler words, credit-deposit ratio is loans divided by deposits. The higher the ratio, the higher the loan-assets created from deposits.

Regional Rural Banks

In the early 70s, there was a realisation that the even after nationalisation there were cultural issues which made it difficult for commercial banks, even under government ownership, to lend to farmers. To address this issue, the government set up a working group to suggest alternatives for institutional finances to the rural sector. Accepting the recommendations of the committee, the government promulgated the Regional Rural Banks Ordinanace on September 1975, which was replaced by the Regional Rural Banks Act 1976. The Act allowed the government to set up banks from time to time at places where it considers necessary. The RRBs were designed as unique financial institutions with exclusive focus on development of rural areas.Each bank carries on banking business within local limits specified by the government notification. The regional rural banks (RRBs) were owned by the central government, the state government and the sponsor bank who held shares in the ratio of 50,15 and 35%.  At present, there are 82 RRBs with a network of 15,475 branches. 

Capital Controls and Capital Inflows

Capital Controls -
Foreign capital inflows in the form of loans and equity that are allowed in a restricted form are said to be controlled. Many countries which had closed economies had imposed severe restrictions on foreign capital. However, as these economies started opening up in the 80s, capital controls were eased, facilitating free flow of capital and ensuring integration with global financial markets.

Letter Of Credit

The forms of payment in business transactions are payment by cash or by cheques, drafts etc. All these modes of payment require proximity between buyer and seller and the element of trust between them. If we go across international trade, buyer and seller are miles apart, having different legal structures and each one is not having knowledge of other’s financial position. In such cases, it is preferred to deal through their bankers. In this method, seller should have the confidence that the buyer would pay for the goods either immediately or after the agreed period of credit. And in case seller is not satisfied, banks would be approached to provide element of trust between buyer and seller and by this the terms of trade are complied with and interests of each party are protected. LC transaction is based on the principle of strict compliance. And it is a promise to pay