A Detailed Introduction To the Fives Year Plans of India

1st Five Year Plan:(1951-56)

1. It was presented by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in the Indian Parliament on 8th December, 1951.
2. The motto was to improve the standard of living of the people by effective use of the country's resources.
3. Nearly Rs2069 crores were spent on the following development areas.,

• Community and agriculture development
• Energy and irrigation
• Communications and transport
• Industry
• Land rehabilitation
• Social services
• Miscellaneous issues The target set for the growth in the gross domestic product was 2.1percent every year. In reality, the actual achieved with regard to gross domestic product was 3.6 percent per annum. This is a clear indication of the success of the 1st five year plan.

4. During the period of India first five year plan, many projects related to irrigation had been started, such as the Mettur Dam, Bhakra Dam, and Hirakud Dam.

5. The provisions have been made for the rehabilitation of agricultural workers who were landless. Apart from that financial allocation was also made for conservation of soil, experiments, and training in co-operative organizations. Increased provisions have also been made for the improvement of roads, civil aviation, railways, telegraphs, and posts. For the development of the basic industry which includes the manufacture of fertilizers and electrical equipment, provisions have been made in the Indian first five year plan.

2nd Five Year Plan(1956-61):

1. Motto to increase and carry forward the development that had been started by the first five year plan in India.

2. Increase by 25% the national income

3. Make the country more industrialized

4. Increase employment opportunities so that every citizen gets a job

5. second five year plan focused on industry - more specifically on the heavy industry. The domestic production of industrial goods in the public sector was encouraged by the second five year plan in India. The total amount for development given allocated under the second five year plan in India was Rs. 4,800 crore. It was spent for the following areas,

• Mining and industry
• Community and agriculture development
• Power and irrigation
• Social services
• Communications and transport
• Miscellaneous

6. During the time of second five year plan India, 5 steel plants in Jamshedpur, Durgapur, and Bhilai had been established, apart from a hydro-electric power project which was also undertaken and implemented. The production of coal increased during this period. Also, more railway lines were added in the north-east part of the country, during the Indian second five year plan.

7. During the term of the 2nd five year plan, Atomic Energy Commission came into being. The Commission was established in the year 1957. During the same period, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research was born. The institute conducted several programs to search for talented individuals. These individuals would eventually be absorbed into programs related to nuclear power.

3rd Five Year Plan:(1961-66)
1. To make a more determined effort to develop the nation, carrying forward the legacy set by the previous two five year plans.

2. The aim of which is to increase the quality of life of the citizens through effective use of the country's resources.
3. 3rd five year plan laid considerable stress on the agricultural sector. However, with the short lived Sino Indian War of 1962 India diverted its attention to the safety of the country. Again, during the period 1965 to 1966, owing to Green Revolution, once again agriculture attracted attention.
4. Due to the Chino Indian War, India witnessed increase in price of products. The resulting inflation was cost push in nature. Many dams were constructed during this period.
5. The following were the focused areas.,

• To increase the national income by 5% per year
• To increase the production of agriculture so that the nation is self sufficient in food grains
• To provide employment opportunities for every citizen of the country
• To establish equality among all the people of the country

6. Various organizations such as the Panchayat and Zila Parishads were set up at the block and district level in order to increase rural development. In India, the third five year plan have also laid emphasis on soil conservation, irrigation, afforestation, and dry farming. Many fertilizer and cement plants were built during the period of the third five year plan India.
Three Annual Plans:

Due to external war situations (with China in 1962 and with Pakistan in 1965), the government could not continue with regular five year plans. So, the 4th five year plan could not be framed but instead, 3 separate Annual plans were made in 1966-67, 1967-68 and 1968-69. The main focus was to concentrate on yearly short plans and executions. So, there is no specific goals and aims. But the themes of previous plans were involved and continued as goals and aims with a proper planning continuation.

4th Five Year Plan:(1969-1974)

1. The 4th five year plan of India also served as a stepping stone for the economic growth of the nation

2. India had to reform and restructure its expenditure agenda, following the attack on India in the year 1962 and for the second time in the year 1965. India had hardly recuperated when it was struck by drought. India also had a stint of recession.

3. Due to recession, famine and drought, India did not pay much heed to long term goals. Instead, it responded to the need of the hour. It started taking measures to overcome the crisis.

4. Food grains production increased to bring about self sufficiency in production. With this attempt, gradually a gap was created between the people of the rural areas and those of the urban areas.

5. The need for foreign reserves was felt. This facilitated growth in exports. Import substitution drew considerable attention. All these activities widened the industrial platform.

5th Five Year Plan:(1974-1979)
1. The 5th Five Year Plan commenced on 1974 and extended till 1979. Objective of the Fifth Year Plan The objective of the 5th Five Year Plan was to increase the level of employment, reduce poverty and to attain self sufficiency in agriculture.

2.This time was International Turmoil was happening in world economy. The international economy was in a turmoil, which had a great impact on the economy of both, developed and developing countries of the world.

3. The main changes were perceived in sectors such as food, oil, and fertilizers where prices sky-rocketed. As a result of this, attaining self-reliance in food and energy became a top priority. During this period, the Indian economy was affected by several inflationary pressures.

4. Food grain production was above 118 million tons due to the improvement of infrastructural facilities like the functioning of the power plants and the rise in the supply of coal, steel, and fertilizers.

5. In 1974-75, Indian exports crossed 18%, and the large earnings from these exports have further increased the Indian foreign exchange reserves.

6. Prices in the energy and food sector skyrocketed and as a consequence inflation became inevitable. Therefore, the priority in the fifth five year plan was given to the food and energy sectors .

7. The Following were the focused areas.,

Reducing the discrepancy between the economic development at the regional, national, international level. It emphasized on putting the economic growth at par with each other.

Improving the agricultural condition by implementing land reform measures.

Improving the scope of self-employment through a well integrated program.

Reducing the rate of unemployment both in the urban and the rural sectors.

Encouraging growth of the small scale industries.

Enhancing the import substitution in the spheres including chemicals, paper, mineral and equipment industries.

Applying policies pertaining to finance and credit in the industrial sector.

Stressed on the importance of a labour intensive production technology in India.

6th Five Year Plan:(1980-1985)

1. prioritized speedy industrial development, with special emphasis on the information technology sector.

2. One of the major hindrances in the way of further development in this period was the boom in the Indian population. However, several successful programs on improvement of public health and epidemic control were also undertaken to reduce infant mortality and increase life expectancy.

3. The transport and communication system also improved under this Plan. The National Highways were all built during this time .

4. Apart from the construction of new highways, the condition of the roads were meliorated. This helped in the betterment of the traffic system in India. During this time the Indian currency was devalued and this led to a dramatic increase in the number of foreign travelers.

5. The following were the focusing areas.,

• to control poverty and unemployment
• to develop indigenous energy sources and efficient energy usage
• to promote improved quality of life of the citizens
• to introduce Minimum Needs Program for the poor and needy with an emphasis to reduce the discrepancies in income and wealth accumulation
• to initiate Family Planning Programs in order to check the growing population trends
• to increase the growth rate of the economy
• to concentrate on the promotion of efficient use of resources
• to improve productivity level
• to initiate modernization for achieving economic and technological self-reliance

7th Five Year Plan:(1985 - 1990)
1. This five year plan was to upgrade the industrial sector and enable India to establish itself as one of the developed countries of the world.

2. This Plan was released under the National Development Council of India.

3. The main aim was to generate more scope of employment for the people of India, to produce more in terms of food which would lead to an overall increase in productivity.

4. It strong base on which it could built the superstructure of industrial development for the betterment of India's economic position.

5. strove to bring about a self-sustained economy in the country with valuable contributions from voluntary agencies and the general populace.

6. Special care was taken to spread education among girls, enhance telecommunication within the country.

7. The following were the focus points.,

Reducing poverty in India

Assuring the essentials of food, shelter and clothing to the people

Striving to achieve independence as per the Indian economy is concerned

Introduction and application of modern technology

Justice meted out to people from various social stratas

Improving the position of the weak in the Indian society Help the small as well as the large farmers to increase their productivity.

8th Five Year Plan:(1992-1997)
1. Attaining objectives like modernization of the industrial sector, rise in the employment level, poverty reduction, and self-reliance on domestic resources.

2. There was great political instability in India which hindered the implementation of any five years plan for the following two years after the Seventh Five Year Plan. This period is characterized by extreme FOREX reserve crisis and introduction of liberalization and privatization in Indian economy.

3. Agriculture was the greatest contributor to Indian GDP growth rate. Industries also made use of agricultural produce as inputs in their production process.

4. Following areas were focused.,to check the increasing population growth by creating mass awareness programs

• to encourage growth and diversification of agriculture
• to achieve self-reliance in food and produce surpluses for increase in exports
• to strengthen the infrastructural facilities like energy, power, irrigation
• to increase the technical capacities for developed science and technology
• to modernize Indian economy and build up a competitive efficiency in order to participate in the global developments.
• to prioritize the specific sectors which requires immediate investment
• to generate full scale employment
• to promote social welfare measures like improved healthcare, sanitation, communication and provision for extensive education facilities at all level.

9th Five Year Plan:(1997-2002)

1. Attaining objectives like speedy industrialization, human development, full-scale employment, poverty reduction, and self-reliance on domestic resources.

2. As a result in the Ninth Five Year Plan India, the emphasis was on human development, increase in the growth rate and adoption of a full scale employment scheme for all.

3. Public and Private relationship was given most important towards developmental growth.

4. Following areas were focused.,

• to stabilize the prices in order to accelerate the growth rate of the economy
• to ensure food and nutritional security
• to provide for the basic infrastructural facilities like education for all, safe drinking water, primary health care, transport, energy
• to check the growing population increase
• Industrialization at a rapid pace
• Reduction in poverty level
• Gaining self-sufficiency on local resources
• to encourage social issues like women empowerment, conservation of certain benefits for the Special Groups of the society
• to create a liberal market for increase in private investments.

10th Five Year Plan:(2002-2007)
1. Aims to transform the country into the fastest growing economy of the world and targets an annual economic growth of 10%

2. This GDP growth of 7% is much higher than the world's average GDP growth rate.

3. The primary aim of the 10th Five Year Plan is to renovate the nation extensively, making it competent enough with some of the fastest growing economies across the globe.

4. The 7% growth in the Indian GDP is considered to be considerably higher that the average growth rate of GDP in the world.

5. Following areas were focused.,
i. All main rivers should be cleaned up between 2007 and 2012
ii. Reducing the poverty ratio by at least five percentage points, by 2007 .

* According to the Plan, it is mandatory that all infants complete at least five years in schools by 2007.
* By 2007, there should be a decrease in gender discriminations in the spheres of wage rate and literacy, by a minimum of 50%.
* Ensuring persistent availability of pure drinking water in the rural areas of India, even in the remote parts
* The alarming rate at which the Indian population is growing must be checked and fixed to 16.2%, between a time frame of 2001 and 2011
* The rate of literacy must be increased by at least 75%, within the tenure of the Tenth Five Year Plan.The mortality rate of children must be reduced to 45 per 1000 livings births and 28 per 1000 livings births by 2007 and 2012 respectively.
* Setting up state-of-the-art infrastructure
* Capacity building in industry
* Corporate transparency

Anti Poverty Programmes

S.No.	Anti Poverty Programmes	Year of Beginning	Objective/Description
1	Antodaya Yojana	1977	To make the poorest families of the village economically independent (only in Rajasthan)
2	Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY)	1999	Assistance is given to the poor families living below the poverty line in rural areas for taking up self employment.
4	Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana (SGRY)	2001	Providing gainful employment for the rural poor.
6	Employment Assurance Scheme	1993	To provide gainful employment during the lean agricultural season in manual work to all able bodied adults in rural areas who are in need and desirous of work, but can not find it..
7	Pradhanmantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY)	2000	Focus on village level development in 5 critical areas, i.e. primary health, primary education, housing, rural roads and drinking water and nutrition with the overall objective of improving the quality of life of people in rural areas.
8	National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS)	2006	To provide legal guarantee for 100 days of wage employment to every household in the rural areas of the country each year, To combine the twin goals of providing employment and asset creation in rural areas
9	Swarnajayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJRY)	1997	It seeks to provide employment to the urban unemployed lying below poverty line and educate upto IX standard through encouraging the setting up of self employment ventures or provision of wage employment.
10	Antidaya Anna Yojana	2000	It aims at providing food securities to poor families.
11	National Housing Bank Voluntary Deposit Scheme	1991	To utilize black money for constructing low cost housing for the poor.
12	Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP)	1980	All Round development of the rural poor through a program of asset endowment for self employment.
13	Development of Women and Chidren in Rural Areas (DWCRA)	1982	To provide suitable opportunities of self employment to the women belonging to the rural families who are living below the poverty line.
14	National Social Assistance Programme	1995	To assist people living below the poverty line.
15	Jan Shree Bima Yojana	2000	Providing insurance security to people below poverty line.
16	Jai Prakash Narayan Rojgar Guarantee Yojana	Proposed in 2002-03 budget	Employment Guarantee in most poor districts.
17	Shiksha Sahyog Yojana	2001	Education of Children below poverty line.

Child Welfare Programmes

S.No.	Child Welfare Programmes	Year of Beginning	Objectives/Description
1	Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)	1975	It is aimed at enhancing the health, nutrition and learning opportunities of infants, young children (O-6 years) and their mothers.
2	Creche Scheme for the children of working mothers	2006	Overall development of children, childhood protection, complete immunisation, awareness generation among parents on malnutrition, health and education.
3	Reproductive and Child Health Programme	1951	To provide quality Integrated and sustainable Primary Health Care services to the women in the reproductive age group and young children and special focus on family planning and Immunisation.
4	Pulse Polio Immunization Programme	1995	To eradicate poliomyelitis (polio) in India by vaccinating all children under the age of five years against polio virus.
5	Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan	2001	All children in school, Education Guarantee Centre, Alternate School, ' Back-to-School' camp by 2003; all children complete five years of primary schooling by 2007 ; all children complete eight years of elementary schooling by 2010 ; focus on elementary education of satisfactory quality with emphasis on education for life ; bridge all gender and social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at elementary education level by 2010 ; universal retention by 2010
6	Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya	2004	To ensure access and quality education to the girls of disadvantaged groups of society by setting up residential schools with boarding facilities at elementary level.
7	Mid-day meal Scheme	1995	Improving the nutritional status of children in classes I – VIII in Government, Local Body and Government aided schools, and EGS and AIE centres.Encouraging poor children, belonging to disadvantaged sections, to attend school more regularly and help them concentrate on classroom activities. Providing nutritional support to children of primary stage in drought-affected areas during summer vacation.
8	Integrated programme for Street Children	1993	Provisions for shelter, nutrition, health care, sanitation and hygiene, safe drinking water, education and recreational facilities and protection against abuse and exploitation to destitute and neglected street children.
9	The National Rural Health Mission	2005	Reduction in child and maternal mortality, universal access to public services for food and nutrition , sanitation and hygiene and universal access to public health care services with emphasis on services addressing women's and children's health universal immunization, etc.

Employment Generation Programmes

S.No.	Employment Generation Programme	Year of Beginning	Objective/Description
1	Employment Guarantee Scheme of Maharashtra	1972	To assist the economically weaker sections of the rural society.
2	Crash Scheme for Rural Employmement (CSRE)	1972	For rural employment
3	Training Rural Youth for Self-Employment (TRYSEM)	1979	Program for Trainingrural youth for self employment.
4	Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP)	1980	All-round development of the rural poor through a program of asset endowment for self employment.
5	National Rural Employment Program (NREP)	1980	To provide profitable employment opportunities to the rural poor.
6	Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Program (RLEGP)	1983	For providing employment to landless farmers and laborers.
7	Self-employment to the Educated Unemployed Youth (SEEUY)	1983	To provide financial and technical assistance for self-employment.
8	Self-Employment programme for Urban Poor (SEPUP)	1986	To provide self employment to urban poor through provision of subsidy and bank credit.
9	Jawahar Rozgar Yojana	1989	For providing employment to rural unemployed.
10	Nehru Rozgar Yojana	1989	For providing employment to urban unemployed.
11	Scheme of Urban Wage Employment (SUWE)	1990	To provide wages employment after arranging the basic facilities for poor people in the urban areas where population is less than one lakh.
12	Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS)	1993	To provide employment of at least 100 days in a year in village.
13	Swarnajayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY)	1997	To provide gainful employment to urban unemployed and under employed poor through self employment or wage employment.
14	Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SYGSY)	1999	For eliminating rural poverty and unemployment and promoting self employment.
15	Jai Prakash Narayan Rojgar Guarantee Yojana (JPNRGY)	Proposed in 2002-03 budget	Employment guarantee in most poor distt.
16	National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme	2006	To provide atleast 100 days wage employment in rural areas.
17	Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana	2001	To provide wage employment and food security in rural areas and also to create durable economic ans social assets.
18	Food for Work Programme	2001	To give food thrugh wage employment in the drought affected areas in eight states. Wages are paid by the state governments partly in cash and partly in foodgrains.
19	Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)	2005	To create a right based framework for wage employment programmes and makes the government legally bound to provide employment to those who seek it.
20	Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)	2008	To generate employment opportunities in rural as well as urban areas through setting up of new self-employment ventures/projects/micro enterprises.

Women Empowerment Programmes

S.No.	Women Empowerment Programmes	Location	Year Of Estb.
1	Support to Training and employment Programme for Women (STEP)	2003-04	To increase the self-reliance and autonomy of women by enhancing their productivity and enabling them to take up income generaion activities.
2	Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK)	1993	To promote or undertake activities for the promotion of or to provide credit as an instrument of socio- economic change and development through the provision of a package of financial and social development services for the development of women.
3	Rashtriya Mahila Kosh	1993	To facilitate credit support or micro-finance to poor women to start income generating activities such as dairy, agriculture, shop-keeping, vending, handicrafts etc.
4	Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) – ‘Sabla’	2010	It aims at empowering Adolescent girls of 11 to 18 years by improving their nutritional and health status, up gradation of home skills, life skills and vocational skills.
5	Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB)	1953	To promote social welfare activities and implementing welfare programmes for women and children through voluntary organizations.
6	Rashtriya Mahila Kosh - (National Credit Fund for Women)	1993	It extends micro-finance services through a client friendly and hassle-free loaning mechanism for livelihood activities, housing, micro-enterprises, family needs, etc to bring about the socio-economic upliftment of poor women.
7	Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY)	----	To improve the health and nutrition status of pregnant, lactating women and infants
8	SwayamSiddha	2001	At organizing women into Self-Help Groups to form a strong institutional base.
9	Short Stay Home for Women and Girls (SSH)	1969	To provide temporary shelter to women and girls who are in social and moral danger due to family problems, mental strain, violence at home, social ostracism, exploitation and other causes.
10	Swadhar	1995	To support women to become independent in spirit, in thought, in action and have full control over their lives rather than be the victim of others actions.
11	Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP)	1986	To mobilise women in small viable groups and make facililies available through training and access to credit, to plovide training for skill upgradation, etc.
12	Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA)	1982	To improve the socio-economic status of the poor women in the rural areas through creation of groups of women for income-generating activities on a self-sustaining basis. The
13	Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women	1983	Aims at the socio-economic empowerment of women

Eradication Of Child Labor Programmes

S.No.	Child Labor Programme	Year of Beginning	Objective/Description
1	Child Labor Eradication Programme	1994	To shift child labor from hazardous industried to schools.
2	National Authority for the Elimination of Child Labour (NAECL)	1994	Laying down the policies and programs for the elimination of child labour, especially in the hazardous industries, etc.
3	National Child Labour Project Scheme (NCLP)	1998	Establishment of special schools for child labour who are withdrawn from work.
4	Education Department and District Primary Education Program (DPEP)	1994	To revitalise the primary education system and to achieve the objective of universalisation of primary education for young children.
5	International Programme for Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC)	1991	To contribute to the effective abolition of child labor in India
6	National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)	2007	To protect, promote and defend child rights in the country.
7	National Policy on Child Labour	1987	General development programmes benefiting children wherever possible. Project-based approach in the areas of high concentration of child labourers.

National Health Programmes In India

S.No.	National Health Programmes	Year of Beginning	Objective/Description
1	National Cancer Control Programme	1975	Primary prevention of cancers by health education regarding hazards of tobacco consumption and necessity of genital hygiene for prevention of cervical cancer, etc.
2	National Program of Health Care for the Elderly (NPHCE)	2010	To provide preventive, curative and rehabilitative services to the elderly persons at various level of health care delivery system of the country, etc.
3	National Program for Prevention and Control of Deafness (NPPCD)	----	To prevent the avoidable hearing loss on account of disease or injury, etc.
4	District Mental Health Program (NMHP)	1982	To ensure availability and accessibility of minimum mental health care for all in the foreseeable future, particularly to the most vulnerable and underprivileged sections of population.
5	National Cancer Registry Programme	1982	To provide true information on cancer prevalence and incidence.
6	National Tobacco Control Program	2007	Preventing the initiation of smoking among young people, educating, motivating and assisting smokers to quit smoking, etc.
7	National Leprosy Eradication Program	started in 1955, launched in 1983	To arrest the disease activity in all the known cases of leprosy.
8	Universal Immunization Program (UIP)	1985	To achieve self-sufficiency in vaccine production and the manufacture of cold-chain equipment for storage purpose, etc.
9	National Vector Borne Disease Control Program	----	For the prevention and control of vector borne diseases

Various Development Programmes

S.No.	Development Programmes	Year of Beginning	Objective/Description
1	Housing and Urban Development Corporation	1970	Loans for the development of housing and provision of resources for technical assistance.
2	Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS)	1993	To sanction Rs. 1 Crore per year to every member of Parliament for various development works in their respective areas through DM districts.
3	Scheme for Infrastructural Development in Mega Cities (SIDMC)	1993	To provide capital through special institutions for water supply, sewage, , drainage, urban
4	Scheme of Integrated Development of Small and Medium Towns	Sixth five year plan	To provide resources and create employment in small and medium towns for for prohibiting the migration of population from rural areas to big cities.
5	District Rural Development Agency (DRDA)	1993	To provide financial assistance for rural development.
6	National Slum Development Programme	1996	Development of Urban Slums.
7	Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP)	1980	All-round development of the rural poor through a program of asset endowment for self employment.
8	Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA)	1982	To provide suitable opportunities of self employment to the women belonging to the rural families who are living below the poverty line.

Agricultural Development Programmes

S.No.	Agricultural Development Programme	Year of Beginning	Objective/Description
1	Intensive Agriculture Development Program (IADP)	1960	To provide loan , seeds , fertilizer tools to the farmers.
2	Intensive Agriculture Area Program (IAAP)	1964	To develop the special harvest.
3	High Yielding Variety Program (HYVP)	1966	To increase productivity of foodgrains by adopting latest varieties of inputs for crops.
4	Green Revolution	1966	To increase the foodrains , specially food production.
5	Nationalization of 4 banks	1969	To provide loans for agriculture , rural development and other priority sector.
6	Marginal Farmer and Agriculture Labor Agency (MFALA)	1973	For technical and financial assistance to marginal and small farmer and agricultural labor.
7	Small Farmer Development Agency (SFDA)	1974	For technical and financial assistance to small farmers.
8	Farmer Agriculture Service Centres (FASC)	1983	To popularize the use of improved agricultural instruments and tool kits.
9	Comprehensive Crop Insurance Scheme	1985	For insurance of agricultural crops.
10	Agricultural and Rural Debt Relief Scheme (ARDRS)	1990	To exempt bank loans upto Rs. 10,000 of rural artisans and weaver.
11	Intensive Cotton Development Programme (ICDP)	2000	To enhance the production, per unit area through (a) technology transfer, (b) supply of quality seeds, (c) elevating IPM activities/ and (d) providing adequate and timely supply of inputs to the farmers .
12	Minikit Programme for Rice, Wheat & Coarse Cereals	1974	To increase the productivity by popularising the use of newly released hybrid/high yielding varieties and spread the area coverage under location specific high yielding varieties/hybrids.
13	Accelerated Maize Development Programme (AMDP)	1995	To increase maize production and productivity in the country from 10 million tonnes to 11.44 million tonnes and from 1.5 tonnes/hectare to 1.80 tonnes/hectare respectively upto the terminal year of 9th Plan i.e. 2001-2002 (revised).
14	National Pulses Development Project (NPDP)	1986	To increase the production of pulses in the country to achieve self sufficiency.
15	Oil Palm Development Programme (OPDP)	1992	To promote oil palm cultivation in the country.
16	National Oilseeds and Vegetable Oils development Board (NOVOD)	1984	The main functions of the NOVOD Board are very comprehensive and cover the entire gamut of activities associated with the oil seeds and vegetable oil industry including – production, marketing, trade, storage, processing, research and development, financing and advisory role to the formulation of integrated policy and programme of development of oil seeds and vegetable oil.
17	Coconut Development Board	1981	To increase production and productivity of coconut To bring additional area under coconut in potential  non-traditional areas To develop new technologies for product  diversification and by-product utilisation To strengthen mechanism for transfer of technologies To elevate the income level of small and marginal farmers engaged in coconut cultivation. To build up sound information basis for coconut industry and market information To generate ample employment opportunities in the rural sector.
18	Watershed Development Council (WDC)	1983	Central Sector Scheme(HQ Scheme)

Banking and Financial Terms

• Accrued interest: Interest due from issue date or from the last coupon payment date to the settlement date. Accrued interest on bonds must be added to their purchase price.

• Arbitrage: Buying a financial instrument in one market in order to sell the same instrument at a higher price in another market.

• Ask Price: The lowest price at which a dealer is willing to sell a given security.

• Asset-Backed Securities (ABS): A type of security that is backed by a pool of bank loans, leases, and other assets. Most ABS are backed by auto loans and credit cards – these issues are very similar to mortgage-backed securities.

• At-the-money: The exercise price of a derivative that is closest to the market price of the underlying instrument.

• Basis Point: One hundredth of 1%. A measure normally used in the statement of interest rate e.g., a change from 5.75% to 5.81% is a change of 6 basis points.

• Bear Markets: Unfavorable markets associated with falling prices and investor pessimism.

• Bid-ask Spread: The difference between a dealer’s bid and ask price.

• Bid Price: The highest price offered by a dealer to purchase a given security.

• Blue Chips: Blue chips are unsurpassed in quality and have a long and stable record of earnings and dividends. They are issued by large and well-established firms that have impeccable financial credentials.

• Bond: Publicly traded long-term debt securities, issued by corporations and governments, whereby the issuer agrees to pay a fixed amount of interest over a specified period of time and to repay a fixed amount of principal at maturity.

• Book Value: The amount of stockholders’ equity in a firm equals the amount of the firm’s assets minus the firm’s liabilities and preferred stock

• Broker: Individuals licensed by stock exchanges to enable investors to buy and sell securities.

• Brokerage Fee: The commission charged by a broker.

• Bull Markets: Favorable markets associated with rising prices and investor optimism.

• Call Option: The right to buy the underlying securities at a specified exercise price on or before a specified expiration date.

• Callable Bonds: Bonds that give the issuer the right to redeem the bonds before their stated maturity.

• Capital Gain: The amount by which the proceeds from the sale of a capital asset exceed its original purchase price.

• Capital Markets: The market in which long-term securities such as stocks and bonds are bought and sold.

• Certificate of Deposits (CDs): Savings instrument in which funds must remain on deposit for a specified period, and premature withdrawals incur interest penalties.

• Closed-end (Mutual) Fund: A fund with a fixed number of shares issued, and all trading is done between investors in the open market. The share prices are determined by market prices instead of their net asset value.

• Collateral: A specific asset pledged against possible default on a bond. Mortgage bonds are backed by claims on property. Collateral trusts bonds are backed by claims on other securities. Equipment obligation bonds are backed by claims on equipment.

• Commercial Paper: Short-term and unsecured promissory notes issued by corporations with very high credit standings.

• Common Stock: Equity investment representing ownership in a corporation; each share represents a fractional ownership interest in the firm.

• Compound Interest: Interest paid not only on the initial deposit but also on any interest accumulated from one period to the next.

• Contract Note: A note which must accompany every security transaction which contains information such as the dealer’s name (whether he is acting as principal or agent) and the date of contract.

• Controlling Shareholder: Any person who is, or group of persons who together are, entitled to exercise or control the exercise of a certain amount of shares in a company at a level (which differs by jurisdiction) that triggers a mandatory general offer, or more of the voting power at general meetings of the issuer, or who is or are in a position to control the composition of a majority of the board of directors of the issuer.

• Convertible Bond: A bond with an option, allowing the bondholder to exchange the bond for a specified number of shares of common stock in the firm. A conversion price is the specified value of the shares for which the bond may be exchanged. The conversion premium is the excess of the bond’s value over the conversion price.

• Corporate Bond: Long-term debt issued by private corporations.

• Coupon: The feature on a bond that defines the amount of annual interest income.

• Coupon Frequency: The number of coupon payments per year.

• Coupon Rate: The annual rate of interest on the bond’s face value that a bond’s issuer promises to pay the bondholder. It is the bond’s interest payment per dollar of par value.

• Covered Warrants: Derivative call warrants on shares which have been separately deposited by the issuer so that they are available for delivery upon exercise.

• Credit Rating: An assessment of the likelihood of an individual or business being able to meet its financial obligations. Credit ratings are provided by credit agencies or rating agencies to verify the financial strength of the issuer for investors.

• Currency Board: A monetary system in which the monetary base is fully backed by foreign reserves. Any changes in the size of the monetary base has to be fully matched by corresponding changes in the foreign reserves.

• Current Yield: A return measure that indicates the amount of current income a bond provides relative to its market price. It is shown as: Coupon Rate divided by Price multiplied by 100%.

• Custody of Securities: Registration of securities in the name of the person to whom a bank is accountable, or in the name of the bank’s nominee; plus deposition of securities in a designated account with the bank’s bankers or with any other institution providing custodial services.

• Default Risk: The possibility that a bond issuer will default ie, fail to repay principal and interest in a timely manner.

• Derivative Call (Put) Warrants: Warrants issued by a third party which grant the holder the right to buy (sell) the shares of a listed company at a specified price.

• Derivative Instrument: Financial instrument whose value depends on the value of another asset.

• Discount Bond: A bond selling below par, as interest in-lieu to the bondholders.

• Diversification: The inclusion of a number of different investment vehicles in a portfolio in order to increase returns or be exposed to less risk.

• Duration: A measure of bond price volatility, it captures both price and reinvestment risks to indicate how a bond will react to different interest rate environments.

• Earnings: The total profits of a company after taxation and interest.

• Earnings per Share (EPS): The amount of annual earnings available to common stockholders as stated on a per share basis.

• Earnings Yield: The ratio of earnings to price (E/P). The reciprocal is price earnings ratio (P/E).

• Equity: Ownership of the company in the form of shares of common stock.

• Equity Call Warrants: Warrants issued by a company which give the holder the right to acquire new shares in that company at a specified price and for a specified period of time.

• Ex-dividend (XD): A security which no longer carries the right to the most recently declared dividend or the period of time between the announcement of the dividend and the payment (usually two days before the record date). For transactions during the ex-dividend period, the seller will receive the dividend, not the buyer. Ex-dividend status is usually indicated in newspapers with an (x) next to the stock’s or unit trust’s name.

• Face Value/ Nominal Value: The value of a financial instrument as stated on the instrument. Interest is calculated on face/nominal value.

• Fixed-income Securities: Investment vehicles that offer a fixed periodic return.

• Fixed Rate Bonds: Bonds bearing fixed interest payments until maturity date.

• Floating Rate Bonds: Bonds bearing interest payments that are tied to current interest rates.

• Fundamental Analysis: Research to predict stock value that focuses on such determinants as earnings and dividends prospects, expectations for future interest rates and risk evaluation of the firm.

• Future Value: The amount to which a current deposit will grow over a period of time when it is placed in an account paying compound interest.

• Future Value of an Annuity: The amount to which a stream of equal cash flows that occur in equal intervals will grow over a period of time when it is placed in an account paying compound interest.

• Futures Contract: A commitment to deliver a certain amount of some specified item at some specified date in the future.

• Hedge: A combination of two or more securities into a single investment position for the purpose of reducing or eliminating risk.

• Income: The amount of money an individual receives in a particular time period.

• Index Fund: A mutual fund that holds shares in proportion to their representation in a market index, such as the S&P 500.

• Initial Public Offering (IPO): An event where a company sells its shares to the public for the first time. The company can be referred to as an IPO for a period of time after the event.

• Inside Information: Non-public knowledge about a company possessed by its officers, major owners, or other individuals with privileged access to information.

• Insider Trading: The illegal use of non-public information about a company to make profitable securities transactions

• Intrinsic Value: The difference of the exercise price over the market price of the underlying asset.

• Investment: A vehicle for funds expected to increase its value and/or generate positive returns.

• Investment Adviser: A person who carries on a business which provides investment advice with respect to securities and is registered with the relevant regulator as an investment adviser.

• IPO price: The price of share set before being traded on the stock exchange. Once the company has gone Initial Public Offering, the stock price is determined by supply and demand.

• Junk Bond: High-risk securities that have received low ratings (i.e. Standard & Poor’s BBB rating or below; or Moody’s BBB rating or below) and as such, produce high yields, so long as they do not go into default.

• Leverage Ratio: Financial ratios that measure the amount of debt being used to support operations and the ability of the firm to service its debt.

• Libor: The London Interbank Offered Rate (or LIBOR) is a daily reference rate based on the interest rates at which banks offer to lend unsecured funds to other banks in the London wholesale money market (or interbank market). The LIBOR rate is published daily by the British Banker’s Association and will be slightly higher than the London Interbank Bid Rate (LIBID), the rate at which banks are prepared to accept deposits.

• Limit Order: An order to buy (sell) securities which specifies the highest (lowest) price at which the order is to be transacted.

• Limited Company: The passive investors in a partnership, who supply most of the capital and have liability limited to the amount of their capital contributions.

• Liquidity: The ability to convert an investment into cash quickly and with little or no loss in value.

• Listing: Quotation of the Initial Public Offering company’s shares on the stock exchange for public trading.

• Listing Date: The date on which Initial Public Offering stocks are first traded on the stock exchange by the public

• Margin Call: A notice to a client that it must provide money to satisfy a minimum margin requirement set by an Exchange or by a bank / broking firm.

• Market Capitalization: The product of the number of the company’s outstanding ordinary shares and the market price of each share.

• Market Maker: A dealer who maintains an inventory in one or more stocks and undertakes to make continuous two-sided quotes.

• Market Order: An order to buy or an order to sell securities which is to be executed at the prevailing market price.

• Money Market: Market in which short-term securities are bought and sold.

• Mutual Fund: A company that invests in and professionally manages a diversified portfolio of securities and sells shares of the portfolio to investors.

• Net Asset Value: The underlying value of a share of stock in a particular mutual fund; also used with preferred stock.

• Offer for Sale: An offer to the public by, or on behalf of, the holders of securities already in issue.

• Offer for Subscription: The offer of new securities to the public by the issuer or by someone on behalf of the issuer.

• Open-end (Mutual) Fund: There is no limit to the number of shares the fund can issue. The fund issues new shares of stock and fills the purchase order with those new shares. Investors buy their shares from, and sell them back to, the mutual fund itself. The share prices are determined by their net asset value.

• Open Offer: An offer to current holders of securities to subscribe for securities whether or not in proportion to their existing holdings.

• Option: A security that gives the holder the right to buy or sell a certain amount of an underlying financial asset at a specified price for a specified period of time.

• Oversubscribed: When an Initial Public Offering has more applications than actual shares available. Investors will often apply for more shares than required in anticipation of only receiving a fraction of the requested number. Investors and underwriters will often look to see if an IPO is oversubscribed as an indication of the public’s perception of the business potential of the IPO company.

• Par Bond: A bond selling at par (i.e. at its face value).

• Par Value: The face value of a security.

• Perpetual Bonds: Bonds which have no maturity date.

• Placing: Obtaining subscriptions for, or the sale of, primary market, where the new securities of issuing companies are initially sold.

• Portfolio: A collection of investment vehicles assembled to meet one or more investment goals.

• Preference Shares: A corporate security that pays a fixed dividend each period. It is senior to ordinary shares but junior to bonds in its claims on corporate income and assets in case of bankruptcy.

• Premium (Warrants): The difference of the market price of a warrant over its intrinsic value.

• Premium Bond: Bond selling above par.

• Present Value: The amount to which a future deposit will discount back to present when it is depreciated in an account paying compound interest.

• Present Value of an Annuity: The amount to which a stream of equal cash flows that occur in equal intervals will discount back to present when it is depreciated in an account paying compound interest.

• Price/Earnings Ratio (P/E): The measure to determine how the market is pricing the company’s common stock. The price/earnings (P/E) ratio relates the company’s earnings per share (EPS) to the market price of its stock.

• Privatization: The sale of government-owned equity in nationalized industry or other commercial enterprises to private investors.

• Prospectus: A detailed report published by the Initial Public Offering company, which includes all terms and conditions, application procedures, IPO prices etc, for the IPO

• Put Option: The right to sell the underlying securities at a specified exercise price on of before a specified expiration date.

• Rate of Return: A percentage showing the amount of investment gain or loss against the initial investment.

• Real Interest Rate: The net interest rate over the inflation rate. The growth rate of purchasing power derived from an investment.

• Redemption Value: The value of a bond when redeemed.

• Reinvestment Value: The rate at which an investor assumes interest payments made on a bond which can be reinvested over the life of that security.

• Relative Strength Index (RSI): A stock’s price that changes over a period of time relative to that of a market index such as the Standard & Poor’s 500, usually measured on a scale from 1 to 100, 1 being the worst and 100 being the best.

• Repurchase Agreement: An arrangement in which a security is sold and later bought back at an agreed price and time.

• Resistance Level: A price at which sellers consistently outnumber buyers, preventing further price rises.

• Return: Amount of investment gain or loss.

• Rights Issue: An offer by way of rights to current holders of securities that allows them to subscribe for securities in proportion to their existing holdings.

• Risk-Averse, Risk-Neutral, Risk-Taking:
  Risk-averse describes an investor who requires greater return in exchange for greater risk.
  Risk-neutral describes an investor who does not require greater return in exchange for greater risk.
  Risk-taking describes an investor who will accept a lower return in exchange for greater risk.

• Senior Bond: A bond that has priority over other bonds in claiming assets and dividends.

• Short Hedge: A transaction that protects the value of an asset held by taking a short position in a futures contract.

• Settlement: Conclusion of a securities transaction when a customer pays a broker/dealer for securities purchased or delivered, securities sold, and receives from the broker the proceeds of a sale.

• Short Position: Investors sell securities in the hope that they will decrease in value and can be bought at a later date for profit.

• Short Selling: The sale of borrowed securities, their eventual repurchase by the short seller at a lower price and their return to the lender.

• Speculation: The process of buying investment vehicles in which the future value and level of expected earnings are highly uncertain.

• Stock Splits: Wholesale changes in the number of shares. For example, a two for one split doubles the number of shares but does not change the share capital.

• Subordinated Bond: An issue that ranks after secured debt, debenture, and other bonds, and after some general creditors in its claim on assets and earnings. Owners of this kind of bond stand last in line among creditors, but before equity holders, when an issuer fails financially.

• Substantial Shareholder: A person acquires an interest in relevant share capital equal to, or exceeding, 10% of the share capital.

• Support Level: A price at which buyers consistently outnumber sellers, preventing further price falls.

• Technical Analysis: A method of evaluating securities by relying on the assumption that market data, such as charts of price, volume, and open interest, can help predict future (usually short-term) market trends. Contrasted with fundamental analysis which involves the study of financial accounts and other information about the company. (It is an attempt to predict movements in security prices from their trading volume history.)

• Time Horizon: The duration of time an investment is intended for.

• Trading Rules: Stipulation of parameters for opening and intra-day quotations, permissible spreads according to the prices of securities available for trading and board lot sizes for each security.

• Trust Deed: A formal document that creates a trust. It states the purpose and terms of the name of the trustees and beneficiaries.

• Underlying Security: The security subject to being purchased or sold upon exercise of the option contract.

• Valuation: Process by which an investor determines the worth of a security using risk and return concept.

• Warrant: An option for a longer period of time giving the buyer the right to buy a number of shares of common stock in company at a specified price for a specified period of time.

• Window Dressing: Financial adjustments made solely for the purpose of accounting presentation, normally at the time of auditing of company accounts.

• Yield (Internal rate of Return): The compound annual rate of return earned by an investment

• Yield to Maturity: The rate of return yield by a bond held to maturity when both compound interest payments and the investor’s capital gain or loss on the security are taken into account.

• Zero Coupon Bond: A bond with no coupon that is sold at a deep discount from par value.

India to focus on enhancing trade ties with West Africa

India is focussing on enhancing economic and trade co-operation with West African nations and has set sights on increasing the trade turnover with such African countries to around $20 billion by 2015 from the present $14.1 billion per annum.

In addition, the focus would be on acquisition of energy assets, including oil and gas, and penetrate African markets for the pharmaceutical sector with generic drugs taking the lead. As a step in this direction, India will be holding a three-day ‘India Show’ in Ghana from July 9 in which nearly 100 leading Indian companies, including Airtel, L&T, Reliance Industries, Sun Group, Ashok Leyland, Apollo Hospitals and Tata Group are taking part.

Besides, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma will lead a delegation of businessmen and officials to explore the vast business opportunities in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which includes nations such as Mali, Niger, Togo, Congo and Senegal, according to Vikramjit Singh Sahani of Sun Group and lead the delegation on behalf of Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

The delegation comprised representatives from sectors such as fertilizer, oil and gas, agriculture, food processing, services, health, IT, telecom, manufacturing, energy, pharmaceuticals, textiles and education, Mr. Sahney said.

Interestingly, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the research arm of the Ministry of Defence, will also be showcasing its innovations that have civilian application and particularly in areas where there is suitability for the African sub-continent.

India to focus on enhancing trade ties with West Africa

India is focussing on enhancing economic and trade co-operation with West African nations and has set sights on increasing the trade turnover with such African countries to around $20 billion by 2015 from the present $14.1 billion per annum.

In addition, the focus would be on acquisition of energy assets, including oil and gas, and penetrate African markets for the pharmaceutical sector with generic drugs taking the lead. As a step in this direction, India will be holding a three-day ‘India Show’ in Ghana from July 9 in which nearly 100 leading Indian companies, including Airtel, L&T, Reliance Industries, Sun Group, Ashok Leyland, Apollo Hospitals and Tata Group are taking part.

Besides, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma will lead a delegation of businessmen and officials to explore the vast business opportunities in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which includes nations such as Mali, Niger, Togo, Congo and Senegal, according to Vikramjit Singh Sahani of Sun Group and lead the delegation on behalf of Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

The delegation comprised representatives from sectors such as fertilizer, oil and gas, agriculture, food processing, services, health, IT, telecom, manufacturing, energy, pharmaceuticals, textiles and education, Mr. Sahney said.

Interestingly, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the research arm of the Ministry of Defence, will also be showcasing its innovations that have civilian application and particularly in areas where there is suitability for the African sub-continent.

Two-tier structure to monitor PPP

The Union Cabinet approved the setting up of an institutional mechanism for effective monitoring of the contract performance of projects under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode to ensure timely completion.

As per the Cabinet decision on the Planning Commission’s proposal, the institutional mechanism for monitoring of PPP projects will have a two-tier scanning structure by way of a ‘Projects monitoring unit’ (PMU) and a ‘Performance review unit’ (PRU) in view of the fact that a number of infrastructural development projects are likely to be routed through the partnership mode for implementation.

Stressing on the need for such an approach, an official statement on the Cabinet decision said: “It has become necessary to adopt a well-defined institutional structure for overseeing contract performance effectively. This is all the more necessary as concessionaires will have an incentive to cut corners whereas the criticism would be faced by the government”.

To ensure timely completion of PPP projects, while the PMU will monitor their performance at the project authority level, the PRU will also oversee their implementation at the Ministry or state government level. Thereafter, as per the mechanism, the PMU will prepare a report and submit it to the PRU within 15 days of the close of each relevant month.

According to the statement, the PMU reports covering compliance of conditions, adherence to time lines, assessment of performance, remedial measures and imposition of penalties will be taken up for review by the PRU to oversee or initiate action for rectifying any defaults or lapses. Apart from adhering to these monitoring mechanism guidelines, the Ministries concerned will also have to submit a quarterly compliance report to the Planning Commission with a copy to the Union Finance Ministry.

On the basis of such compliance reports, the Commission, in consultation with the Finance Ministry, will prepare a summary of these inputs along with recommendations and place it before the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (CCI) once in each quarter for the next two years.

Based on the outcome and the experience gained in this regard, modifications would be made in the guidelines, if necessary. As of now, while the Planning Commission will have a major role in ensuring quality monitoring, the CIC will also be able to scan the progress of PPP projects every quarter.

Rs. 1,000 cr minimum capital mooted for holding company of new bank

Banks and institutions have suggested to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that the minimum capital required for the proposed non-operative holding company (NOHC) of new banks in the private sector should be Rs. 1,000 crore instead of Rs. 500 crore.

The RBI released on Tuesday the gist of comments and suggestions received on the draft guidelines for ‘licensing of new banks in the private sector’, which were placed on its website on August 29, 2011. The RBI said it would take these suggestions / comments into account while finalising the guidelines.

There were suggestions that the time for dilution of promoter shareholding (to 40 per cent in the bank) should be increased from 2 years to 3-5 years. There were suggestions that the the process of dilution should be done in a staggered way over a period of 15 years. “Certain parties suggested that the schedule for dilution of promoters’ shareholding should be reckoned from the date of commencement of business instead of date of licensing of the bank,” said RBI.

On foreign shareholding in the bank, some institutions felt that it should not be restricted in the new banks and be permitted up to a level of 74 per cent. A few business houses, NBFCs and a federation felt that restricting foreign shareholding to 49 per cent for initial 5 years was not a deterrent. Further, a federation suggested that 5 per cent cap for non-resident individual/ group was passive and that it would be important to raise the limit from 5 per cent to 25 per cent to attract strategic investors and bring synergy in banking.

The RBI said that some had suggested that the requirement of the non-operative holding company (NOHC) to be wholly-owned by the promoters might be revisited and diversified shareholding at the NOHC level be permitted to improve corporate governance and avoid regulatory overlap. Certain NBFCs also had suggested that existing non-operative investment/holding companies should be allowed to own / hold shares of the NOHC.

Unemployment to remain high in developed world: OECD

Unemployment levels will remain high in most of the developed world till the end of next year and low-skilled people are expected to bear the brunt, OECD said.

“To get employment rates back to pre-crisis levels, about 14 million jobs need to be created in the OECD area.

Members of the grouping, that accounts for over 60 per cent of global economic output, include the US, Germany and the UK.

“The current weak economic recovery will keep unemployment rates in OECD countries high until at least the end of 2013,” it noted.

The jobless rate in the 34-nation OECD region is projected to be 7.7 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2013, close to the high of 7.9 per cent unemployment rate recorded in May this year.

“This leaves around 48 million people out of work across the OECD. In the euro area, unemployment rose further in May to an all-time peak of 11.1 per cent,” Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said.

Amid persisting European debt turmoil hurting global economic growth prospects, many businesses are either not adding new people or are looking to trim workforces to reduce costs.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said recent deterioration in the economic outlook was very bad news for the labour market.

“Moreover, job creation during the weak recovery of the past two years has often been concentrated in temporary contracts because many firms are reluctant to hire workers on open-ended contracts in today’s uncertain economic environment,” OECD noted.

The employment situation is witnessing diverse trends across countries. Unemployment has been rising in the European Union since the end of 2011 but has been stable at around 8.25 per cent in the US.

In OECD countries, the unemployment rate was the highest in Spain 24.6 per cent, with double-digit rates also in Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and the Slovak Republic.

GAAR: What is it?

GAAR stands for General Anti-Avoidance Rules. It is aimed at checking the tax avoidance by companies. The Economic Times article HERE discusses the different dimensions and actual thought behind it. It is good for reading and making relevant notes.

Repurchase Agreements (Repo)

 

 

Repo

Repo is a money market instrument, which enables collateralised short term borrowing and lending through sale/purchase operations in debt instruments.

Under a repo transaction, a holder of securities sells them to an investor with an agreement to repurchase at a predetermined date and rate. In the case of a repo, the forward clean price of the bond is set in advance at a level which is different from the spot clean price by adjusting the difference between repo interest and coupon earned on the security.

In the money market, this transaction is nothing but collateralised lending as the inflow of cash from the transaction can be used to meet temporary liquidity requirement in the short term money market at comparable cost.

A repo is also sometimes called a ready forward transaction as it is a means of funding by selling a security held on a spot (ready) basis and repurchasing the same on a forward basis.

When an entity sells a security to another entity on repurchase agreement basis and simultaneously purchases some other security from the same entity on resell basis it is called a double ready forward transaction.

Reverse Repo

A reverse repo is the mirror image of a repo. For, in a reverse repo, securities are acquired with simultaneous commitment to resell. Hence whether a transaction is a repo or a reverse repo is determined only in term of who initiated the first leg the transaction. When the reverse repurchase transaction matures, the counter party returns the security to the entity concerned and receives its cash along with the profit spread. One factor which encourages an organisation to enter into reverse repo is that it earns some extra income on its otherwise idle cash.

Repo Period

Repo period could be overnight, term, open or flexible. Overnight repos last only one day. If the period is fixed and agreed in advance it is a term repo where either party may call for the repo to be terminated at any time although requiring one or two days’ notice. Though there is no restriction on the maximum period for which repos can be undertaken generally term repo are for an average period of one week. In an open repo there is no such fixed maturity period and the interest rate would change from day to day depending on the money market conditions.

Types of Repos

Broadly, there are four types of repos available in the international market when classified with regard to maturity of underlying securities, pricing, term of repo etc. They comprise buy-sell back repo, classic repo, bond borrowing and lending and tripartite repos.

1. Buy-Sell Back Ropo – Under a buy-sell repo transaction the lender actually takes position of the collateral. Here a security is sold outright and brought back simultaneously for settlement on a later date. In a buy-sell repo the ownership is passed on to the buyer and hence he retains any coupon interest due on the bonds. The spot buyer/borrower of securities in affect earns the yield on the underlying security plus or minus difference between these and the repo interest rate.
2. Classic Repo – Is an initial sale of securities with a simultaneous agreement to repurchase them at a later date. In the case of this type of repo the start and end prices of the securities are the same and the separate payment of “interest” is made.
3. Bond Lending/Borrowing – In a bond lending/borrowing transaction, the customer lends bonds for an open ended or fixed period in return for a fee. The fee charged would depend on the type of underlying instrument, size and term of the loan and the credit rating of the counterparty. The transaction would be taken care of by an agreement on securities lending and cash or other securities of equal value could be provided as collateral in the transaction.
4. Tripartite repo – Under a tripartite repo a common custodian/clearing agency arranges for custody, clearing and settlement of repos transactions. They operate under a standard global master purchase agreement and provides for DVP system, substitution of securities, automatic marking to market, reporting and daily administration by single agency.

This type of arrangement minimises credit risk and can be utilized when dealing with clients with low credit rating.

Basel Committee

The Basel Committee on banking supervision provide a forum for regular cooperation on banking supervision matters. Its objective is to enhance understanding of key supervisory issues and improve the quality of banking supervision worldwide. It seeks to do so by exchanging information on national supervisory issues, approaches and techniques, with a view to promoting common understanding.

At times, the committee uses this common understanding to develop guidelines and supervisory standards in areas where they are desirable. In this regard the committee is best known for its international standards on capital adequacy; the core principles for effective banking supervision; and the Concordat on cross-border banking supervision.

The committee encourages contacts and cooperation among its members and other banking supervisory authority. It circulates the supervisors throughout the world both published and unpublished papers proving guidance on banking supervisory matters. Contacts have been further strengthen by an International Conference for Banking Supervisors (ICBS) which takes place every two years. The Committee's Secretariat is located at the Bank for International Settlement in Basel, Switzerland, and is staffed mainly by professional supervisors on temporary secondment from member institutions. In addition to undertaking the secretariat work for the committee and its many expert sub-committees, it stands ready to give advice to supervisory authorities in all countries. Wayne Byres is the Secretary General of the Basel Committee.

The committee does not poses any formal supranational supervisory authority, and its conclusions do not, and were never intended to, have legal force. Rather, it formulates broad supervisory standards and guidelines and recommends statements of best practice in the expectation that individual authority will take steps to implement them through detailed arrangements-statutory or otherwise-which are best suited there own national systems. In this way, committee encourages convergence towards common approaches and common standards without attempting detailed harmonisation of member countries' supervisory techniques.

The committee reports to the central bank governors and Heads of Supervision of its member countries. It seeks their endorsements for their major initiatives. These decision cover very wide range of financial issues. On important objective of the committee's work has been to close gaps in international supervisory coverage in pursuit of two basic principles: that no foreign banking establishment should escape supervision; and that supervision should be adequate. To achieve this, the committee has issued a long series of documents since 1975.

In 1988, the Committee decided to introduce a capital measurement referred to as the Basel Capital Accord. This system provided for the implementation of a credit risk measurement. Framework with a minimum capital standard of 8 percent by end-1992 since 1988, this framework has been progressively introduced not only in member countries but also in virtually all other countries with internationally active banks. In June 1999, the committee issued a proposal for a revised Capital Adequacy Framework.

The proposed capital framework consist of three pillars: minimum capital requirement which seek to refine the standardised rules set forth in the 1988 accord; supervisory review of an institutions' internal assessment process and capital adequacy; and effective use of disclosure to strengthen market discipline as the complement to supervisory efforts. Following extensive interaction with banks, industry groups and supervisory authorities that are not members of the committee, the revised framework was issued on 26th June 2004. This text serves as the basis for national rule-making and for banks to complete their preparation for the new framework implementation.
Over the past few years, the committee has moved more aggressively to promote sound supervisory standard worldwide. In close collaboration with many jurisdictions which are not members of the committee in 1997 it developed a set of "core principles for effective banking supervision", which provides a comprehensive blueprint for an effective supervisory system. To facilitate implementation and assessment the committee in Oct 1999 developed the "core principles methodology". The core principles and methodology were revised recently and released in Oct 2006.
In order to enable a wider group of countries to be associated with the work being pursued in Basel, the committee has always encouraged contacts and cooperation between its members and other banking supervisory authorities.

Member countries:
Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong-Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico,-Netherlands, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, US.

Basel II

The Basel II Framework describes a more comprehensive measure and minimum standard for capital adequacy for national supervisory authorities are now working to implement through domestic rule-making and adoption procedures. It seeks to improve on the existing rules by aligning regulatory capital requirements more closely to the underlined risks the banks face. In addition, the Basel II Framework intended to promote a more forward-looking approach to capital supervision, one that encourage banks to identify the risks they may face, today and in the future and to develop or improve their ability to manage those risks. As a result, it is intended to be more flexible and better able to evolve with advances in markets and risk management practices.

The efforts of the Basel Committee on banking supervision to revise the standard governing the capital adequacy of internationally active banks achieved a critical milestone in the publication of an agreed text in June 2004.

In Nov 2005, the committee issued an updated version of the revised framework incorporating the additional guidance set forth in the committee's paper. The application of Basel II trading activities and the treatment of double default effects (July 2005).

On 4th July 2006, the committee issued a comprehensive version of the Basel II Framework. Solely as a matter convenience to readers, this 2004 Basel II Framework, the elements of the 1988 accord that were not revised during the Basel II process, the 1996 Amendment to the capital accord incorporate market risks, and the 2005 paper on the application of Basel II to trading activities and the treatment if double default effects. No new elements have been introduced in this compilation.

Basel III

Basel III is a comprehensive set of reform measures, developed by the Basel Committee on banking supervision, to strengthen the regulation, supervision and risk management of the banking sector. These measures aim to :

• improve the banking sector's ability to absorb shocks arising from financial and economic stress, whatever the source
• improve risk management and governance
• strengthen banks' transparency and disclosures.

The reforms target:

• bank level, or microprudential, regulation, which will help raise the resilience of individual banking institutions, to periods of stress.
• macropurdential, system wide risk that can build across the banking sector as well as the procyclical amplification of these risks over time.

The two approaches to supervision are complementary as greater resilience at the individual bank level reduces the risk of system wide shocks.