Daily News Mail - News of 07/06/2015

EPFO to invest 5% of funds in equity market

• In a major policy shift, the Central Board of Trustees of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation has decided to park 5 per cent of its funds in the equity market.
• At a press conference here on June 6, Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said the decision was in line with the suggestions made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitely that the EPFO invest up to 15 per cent of its funds in the equity market.
• Mr. Dattatreya said the investment would fetch higher returns and help raise the interest rate offered to employees’ contributions.
• To start with, one per cent of the funds would be invested in the equity market this month and the amount would be gradually increased to 5 per cent by the end of the financial year.
• In another major announcement, the Minister said the Central Board of Trustees of the Employees State Insurance Corporation, at its latest meeting, decided to invest funds available with it from the contribution of employees through portfolio managers on the lines of the EPFO.
• Employees’ interests would be the priority of the EPFO and care would be taken in the equity investments, the Labour Minister added.

Employees' Provident Fund Organisation

• The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (abbreviated to EPFO), is a statutory body of the Government of India under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. It administers a compulsory contributory Provident Fund Scheme, Pension Scheme and an Insurance Scheme. It is one of the largest social security organisations in India in terms of the number of covered beneficiaries and the volume of financial transactions undertaken.The  EPFO's apex decision making body is the Central Board of Trustees (CBT).
• The total assets under management are more than ₹5 lakh crore (US$91 billion) as of 1 May 2013.
• On 01 October 2014, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi launched universal account number for Employee Provident Fund to enable PF number portability.

Employees' State Insurance Corporation

• Employees’ State Insurance Scheme of India, is a multidimensional social security system tailored to provide socio-economic protection to worker population and their dependants covered under the scheme. Besides full medical care for self and dependants, that is admissible from day one of insurable employment, the insured persons are also entitled to a variety of cash benefits in times of physical distress due to sickness, temporary or permanent disablement etc. resulting in loss of earning capacity, the confinement in respect of insured women, dependants of insured persons who die in industrial accidents or because of employment injury or occupational hazard are entitled to a monthly pension called the dependants benefit.
• On Feb 2, 2014 Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Kodikunnil Suresh said the Employee's State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) board has decided to increase the income ceiling limit for employees, from the existing Rs.15,000 a month for coverage under the ESIC scheme to Rs.25,000 a month.

Delhi, Dhaka set boundary pact in motion

• In a historic step towards improving ties, India and Bangladesh exchanged the instruments of ratification of the Land Boundary Agreement on June 6, promising an end to the “stateless existence” of more than 50,000 people in 162 enclaves on both sides of the border.
• Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar and his Bangladeshi counterpart, M. Shahidul Haque, signed the documents and exchanged the modalities for implementing the deal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his Bangladeshi counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee were present. The deal, signed in 1974, entered the process of implementation after Parliament ratified it in May.

More agreements

• The two countries signed 22 agreements and memorandums of understanding on economic cooperation, trade and investment, security, infrastructure development, education, science and technology, IT and culture.
• Earlier, Mr. Modi, Ms. Hasina and Ms. Banerjee flagged off the Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala and the Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati bus services in a gesture of what External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup described as “Connecting lands, binding hearts”. Before official talks at the Bangladeshi Prime Minister’s Office, Mr. Modi and Ms. Hasina had a 40-minute one-on-one meeting. Ms. Hasina thanked the Indian government, people and all political parties for their support.
• The ratification was “a great diplomatic success”, she said in a joint statement. She commemorated the role of Bangladesh’s founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and President Pranab Mukherjee in reaching the agreement.

Vikas and Lalita strike gold

• Vikas Gowda was far away from his season’s best but still retained his men’s discus throw title at the 21st Asian athletics championships in Wuhan, China on June 6. There was more joy for India with Lalita Babar winning the 3,000m steeplechase, her maiden Asian gold.

Dravid to coach India ‘A’ and U-19 team

• Former India captain Rahul Dravid was named coach of the India ‘A’ and under-19 teams after the cricket advisory committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) met here to discuss various issues pertaining to the Indian team.
• Announcing Dravid as coach of the age-group and ‘A’ teams, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said that Ravi Shastri, who is currently the director of the senior Indian team, will continue in his post till the Board appoints a successor for former coach Duncan Fletcher. Shastri’s immediate assignment will be to guide the Indian team in its forthcoming tour of Bangladesh (one Test and three ODIs).
• Rahul Dravid’s name was proposed by the cricket advisory committee (CAC) — comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and V.V.S. Laxman — which met Board president Jagmohan Dalmiya and the secretary here for the first time after it was formalised.
• Dravid, who is currently working as the mentor of IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals, was apparently reluctant to take up the national team’s coaching owing to personal reasons, and instead accepted the offer of shaping up the next generation of cricketers.

Rahul Dravid, former Indian Cricket Team's Captain

CM puts A.P. on the long road to Amaravati

• Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on June 6 took the first concrete step towards building a new capital for Andhra Pradesh, performing the bhoomi puja for “a world class capital city named Amaravati after the mythological City of the Gods.”
• He announced his resolve to develop it into an economic hub to beat even Singapore. “This will be a dynamic city, accessible to all, a people’s capital,” Mr Naidu said.Today’s series of rituals were meant to propitiate Mother Earth, with the consecration of a corner stone called boddu rayi that traditionally presages the founding of villages in the Telugu country, and the sowing of a field with navadhanyalu (nine chief grains). 
• The actual work on the capital will commence on Vijaya Dasami with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to lay the foundation stone for the new capital. Amid chanting of Vedic hymns by priests, Mr. Naidu and his wife Bhuvaneswari performed Vaishnavite rituals associated with the bhumi puja at Mandadam village in Guntur district.