• India and Turkey vowed to strengthen economic relations with the aim of reaching 10 billion US dollars bilateral trade by 2020.

• Turkey`s Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal, who is on a three-day visit to India since May 7, held talks with Gitesh A Sarma, Secretary (West) under the institutional mechanism of foreign office consultations.

• Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement that Deputy Foreign Minister Onal and Secretary (West) held cordial discussions on various aspects of bilateral ties including examining opportunities for enhancing trade and investment relations.

• It added that other aspects such as enhanced cultural interaction, tourism, people-to-people contacts were also discussed.

• India and Turkey reviewed the current situation in their respective regions and also exchanged views on several multilateral issues. 

• Mr. Onal had earlier visited India as part of the delegation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May 2017.

 

 

• Max Life Insurance Co Ltd has notified that it will commemorate the 6th day of each month as ‘Protection Day’. 

• The objective of this initiative was to raise awareness on financial protection.

• Aalok Bhan, Director and Chief Marketing Officer, Max Life notified that this date of the calendar month was selected, because, generally, number 6 indicates love, harmony and is also a symbol of secured financial future.

• The decision came in line with the Company’s launch of Max Life India Protection Quotient survey conducted in collaboration with Kantar IMRB. 

• It denoted that the extent to which the Indians feel protected from financial uncertainties is extremely low, and that level was as 35.

• Various other initiatives will start off across Max Life Insurance’s network of around 240 offices, as a part of this initiative.

• The Company will also start an initiative called the “Super Customer Week“, in which the customers will be taught about the different facets of financial protection.

• The Max Life India Protection Quotient survey states 2 things, as follows:

1. Indians are negligibly prepared in facing financial instability.

2. The life insurance-consumers feel under-protected because of low uptake, lack of awareness and ownership of term insurance, thus degree of lesser awareness leading to inadequacy of cover.

 

 

• The 15th Finance Commission held a two-day meeting with eminent economists, top executives of leading banks at RBI headquarters in Mumbai. 

• Addressing the media, Chairman of Finance Commission Mr N.K. Singh said that last two days meeting with top economists, Panel of experts from RBI and bankers, the Finance commission explored issues pertaining to state leadership, development, better governance and its connection with the market mechanism. 

• Mr Singh said the experts also discussed on the future of Centrally Sponsored Schemes-CSSs and attempts by which rationalization and simplification were done in the past and overall situation at present.

• He said that the obligation for the recapitalization of Prompt Corrective Actions of Public Sector Banks is upon the Central Government; hence the action would be taken only upon a Memorandum is submitted by the Union Government.

• He also said that the panel expected that the Centre and states would conform to the targets stipulated in their respective Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Acts. 

• He added that the experts unanimously agreed that the quality of the budget needs to improve. 

• Speaking about Direct and Indirect tax scenario post GST, the FC Chairman said that projections of direct taxes made by Department of Revenue suggested a healthy buoyancy in coming years, while that of indirect taxes it`s not so healthy. 

• He stated that as per the inputs from the IT department, there is a significant rise in overall Tax Ratio.